REShow: Mike Vorkunov - Hour 2 (7-7-2023)

Taste some of this. This OMG is the Rich Eisen Show. No other way to put it. With guest host, Brian Weber.

Oh my gosh. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I'm not talking to you. I talk to anybody out there. Haters. Rich Eisen. I talk to the haters right now.

And now, sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. Easing into another stellar hour of the program. Hop aboard at 844-204-7424. I have taken a phone call this week. So as much as it sounds like I am an auctioneer or a carnival barker, I give out the number for a reason. If you want to, be a part of this fine program.

844-204-7424. Keep the conversation rolling along on Twitter. B. W. Weber. Weber with two B's in 40 minutes. We'll incorporate the first two guests. Coming up in this hour, we're talking NBA with Mike Vorkanov of The Athletic in addition to what I'm going to cover presently. And then final hour of the program, 2.40 Eastern Time. More baseball heading into the All-Star break. Looking forward to checking in with Scott Miller of the New York Times.

You hear him on Sirius XM Radio. 20 minutes from now, back to the NFL. We had a good, I thought, reasonable analysis of where Dalvin Cook could wind up.

We'll shift our attention to the San Francisco Bay Area. 49ers have been so consistent, irrespective of all of the injuries at quarterback. Can they maintain that this season? Was Brock Purdy more than just one of the most remarkable stories we've ever seen?

Or was that an aberration? Because there's reason to believe it's going to be a lot harder for Brock to duplicate what he did last year. In addition, coming back from the elbow procedure, a lot more tape on him. Because unless teams scouted Mr. Relevance as they were game planning early on, he was a mystery when he got on the field initially. But unbelievable performance last year.

It helps to have all of the talent surrounding him on both sides of the ball. And that's certainly the biggest asset the Niners continue to have. If we're just stacking rosters next to each other, Niners right there with clearly the Chiefs. So Kansas City continues to have defensive liabilities. That's not a problem when Mahomes and Kelsey can outscore you 42-35 if need be. Buffalo's still there despite whatever is going on with Stephon Diggs and head coach Sean McDermott or quarterback Josh Allen.

Whatever the dynamic you believe is happening in Western New York. And the Eagles, as is often the case when you lose the Super Bowl, we somehow forget about you. Now the good news for the Eagles, and we're talking NBA coming up in 90 seconds. Quick thought though on the Eagles.

And this might be me being a prisoner of the past, but this was a big chunk of a sample size. History said the team that lost the Super Bowl often struggled even to make it to the playoffs the following year. Not the case recently, and Cincinnati disproved that notion because they had a great shot at beating the Rams.

The Rams have imploded moving forward, and Cincinnati was right there last year, although probably got too cute with all of that burrowhead nonsense and the most ridiculous aspect I thought was the mayor of Cincinnati with his paternity test. Your honor, you have better things to do. Go fit yourself into, let's say, a construction crew, and why don't you go fix those potholes rather than trying to get a cheap headline. I'm Brian Weber. I know about cheap heat. I'm inforichizing. You can't tweet at me, B.W.

Weber, Weber with two Bs. So we started the program an hour ago going in-depth on the story that hijacked yesterday's program. We're not going down the Wembanyana-Brittany Road again. We'll revisit that coming up in an hour from now. But it's going to be intriguing to see what Wembanyana has to offer in the summer league context with the understanding he's playing summer league dudes. I also heard, well, he's got to make the adjustment from the international rules.

Here's a quick overview. In international ball, the key is a trapezoid. Big difference. Okay, he can move two feet forward into a standard rectangle.

I'm really breaking this down crucially. He'll learn that unlike international ball, when the basketball's on the rim, you can't touch it. Offensive goaltending.

And there's your quick summation. And international ball's more physical. That's a benefit for Wembanyana, especially because the NFL is foreshadowing how all these rules have changed. We've seen it in the NBA. Both the NFL, believe it or not, and the NBA are far less physical than they used to be. Now, clearly the NFL is a collision sport. Car wrecks happening all across the field, but the rules have changed a lot of the overall feel of the National Football League. Same thing in the NBA. If you had the bad boy piston showing up, Wembanyana would have a very different approach to what he's going to face when we get to the regular season.

Forget about largely unwatchable exhibitions in summer league play. So it's the summer of Wembanyana coupled with the summer of Damon Lillard. I've been with you all week long.

Always a delight to have an opportunity to contribute to a show I greatly admire. I have done my best to attack the Lillard story from a variety of angles. I've tried to incorporate different destinations that he could get to other than Miami, but perhaps because I've covered this, hopefully so thoroughly, I keep arriving at the same conclusion. This feels a lot like the Aaron Rodgers story on many different levels. It became clear Rodgers was going to wind up on the Jets. It took too long because of the negotiation, and the Packers did fairly well with the compensation. That's why you slow things down.

If the deal is not to your liking, get up and walk away from the table. But then things really tilted and became more of a it's a done deal dot dot dot other than the terms once Rodgers went public on the Pat McAfee program and said the Jets are where he thinks and wants to go. It took too long afterwards from a standpoint of content creation because it became so damn repetitive, but the endgame was clarified then. That's the other cop I'm making between Rodgers to the Jets, which we all presume would happen, and it did happen, and Lillard to Miami, which many of us presume will happen. Now the question is timing. We've not heard directly from Damian Lillard. He's had some cryptic tweets, and I'm not going to try to interpret that like we're hunting for the Zodiac Killer. The social media game is not my forte.

Hence, I will not be threading anytime soon. I am tweeting. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich. Friday edition of the Rich Eisen Show.

You can tweet at me, B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's in 30 minutes. We'll check in with Mike Vorkanov, who covers the NBA for the athletic. We'll get his perspective on the seemingly never-ending Damian Lillard saga. Lillard's not talking, but his agent Aaron Gordon is. So here are the new developments since the last time I was with you yesterday. According to reports, Goodwin and the GM for the Blazers, Joe Cronin, had what NBA insiders, Mark Spears of ESPN, labeled productive conversations, quote unquote, yesterday. So there's actually a dialogue happening, which is good. That was balanced by a report earlier in the day from the lead NBA insider, the Evan Schefter of basketball, Adrian Wojnarowski, who made a few points that stood out to me.

First of all, Woj seems to be carrying water for Portland here. And the job description of an information broker, you're a broker. You're looking for the correct scoop from everyone you can is a fascinating role to play. Now it's high paying.

I would like to be in the same tax bracket as Woj and Adam Schefter, but there's also a lot of personal relationships involved. And sometimes these guys, I'm not saying that it's particularly applicable to this situation, but we've seen a pattern in the past. Sometimes teams leak things for a reason. And if you are Adrian Wojnarowski or Adam Schefter, you're the go between understanding that if you play ball, you might get more access. You might get more information in the future.

That's how it works in this day and age. So I thought it was interesting that Woj felt the need to reiterate what we all know to be true, that Portland is not just going to lay down here. They're not just going to simply acquiesce to Lillard. They're going to do what any well run franchise should do, especially one that is parting ways with their best offensive player, a superstar in Lillard. They've got to fill that void, not only with guys could actually fill it up and score some points this year. In addition to all that they're going to ask Scoot Henderson to do, and he's going to be a phenomenal rookie, they need people to fill out the roster. Then they need draft capital because the more picks you have, the higher probability you're going to nail them and you're going to get future potential all stars. So if we're thinking about the pick equation, the threshold was set going back to the Anthony Davis deal between L.A. and New Orleans, Lakers sent three first round picks to get AD. And remember, how many years in the making was that trade? How long did we hear AD wants out and he wants to go to L.A.?

What happened? He got there. Because the vast majority of times NBA superstars not only are able to force their way out, they go where they want to go. That's how it works in that league, radically different than the NFL, for example. So three first round picks feels like the bare minimum, but then the stakes were raised recently. Somehow Rudy Gobert yielded four first round picks. I'm still trying to figure out how that made any sense, although credit the skilled negotiation power of Danny Ains. He's been in these kind of talks before to get four first round picks from Minnesota for Gobert is straight fleecing. And then that got confirmed in the Kevin Durant trade for more first round picks involved going from Phoenix to Brooklyn. So, however, the mechanics of this deal between Portland and Miami ultimately gets resolved.

And do the Nets, for example, have to jump in? Because they have all those draft picks as capital after dealing both Durant and Kyrie. I want to require a four team because clearly Portland has made it quite obvious by strategic leaking. They have no interest in Tyler Herro. Well, Herro is going to go someplace because the Heat need to get him off the books to create some room for Lillard. Plus, that's the only real name they have out there to send in addition to picks.

Let's say you have multiple teams involved. Herro briefly is sent to Portland and then Portland sends him to another team for another first round pick. And that's how we get closer to the four first round picks. They should demand because that's the precedent for a player, the stature of Damian Lillard.

But none of this has to happen now. So that's why, in my opinion, Lillard's agent Aaron Gordon has been on the phone because that's what an agent is supposed to do. He's supposed to be your zealous representative.

He's supposed to earn that percentage to help you achieve your career goals. Well, if Lillard only wants to go to Miami, and this thing continues to drag on, the accelerant should be the start of summer league play in Vegas tonight. Because in addition to Wembignana mania, NBA executives show up, they get in a room and deals get done.

We've seen it repeatedly over the years. So perhaps a week from now, all of this endless round to round will have culminated and Lillard will wind up in Miami as most of us believe will be the outcome. But so long as the deal has yet to be finalized, other teams have the opportunity to jump in. That's why, for all of the speculation, the Donovan Mitchell going to the Knicks was a done deal. He wound up in Cleveland. I'll go back to Paul George, forcing his way out of Indy. He made it clear that the Lakers were the preferred team he wanted to go to. Indy said, okay, well, thank you.

We're going to consider that. Now, how about Oklahoma City? Enjoy your time with the Thunder.

So those are the two exceptions that I think prove the rule. That if you are a superstar, if you do make that kind of profound difference, you can get the exit you want and you're going to the place that you desire, especially because the Blazers, I think, want this to be smooth from a PR perspective. They don't quote unquote owe Lillard anything. They're paying him and they'll continue to pay him because they signed with that monster contract extension. Still, the guy has been exceptionally loyal. He has stayed, I think, two years too long, blowing two more years in his prime. He has been an ambassador for the franchise. He's been great in the community.

You don't want it to end on a contentious note. There is also the minor school of thought that quote unquote, if they do dame dirty and I don't even know where sending him other than Miami could be perceived as. Oh, my goodness. Can you believe? Let's say he goes to Brooklyn.

All right. The goal to win immediately won't be achieved. But you're still in New York and then that still have a ton of assets. And they have an owner in Josiah who just demonstrated with the failed debacle of Durant, Harden and Kyrie that he's willing to do whatever it takes.

But let's just go back for the sake of argument to the notion that, well, they screwed him. They didn't send him to Miami. No other superstar is going to go to Portland.

That's the pushback you hear. Well, my counter would be how many superstars have voluntarily gone to Portland? And that's in no way a knock on a phenomenal city.

One of my favorite parts of the country as I come to you from our regal studios here in Southern California and a great basketball town, Rip City for decades. So you throw it all together. I think we get to the end game of Lillard going to Miami. The details will take time to iron out. But to accelerate the process, according to that first report from Woge I mentioned, Aaron Goodwin reportedly, quote unquote, cautioning prospective teams from trading for Lillard because, quote unquote, he would only be happy in Miami.

So the thought process there is this. Don't trade for Dame because you don't want a disgruntled superstar. Now, that has some big assumptions in it because to me, Lillard has been such a professional because he loves basketball so much because he carries himself in such a positive matter. I can't see Lillard winding up on a team that he did not want to go to a even happening. But if we're playing hypotheticals, let's play the hypothetical out to its logical conclusion. If that happens, I can't see Lillard mailing it in.

I can't see him going into operation shutdown. So Goodwin is doing the right thing as an agent, trying to achieve his client's goal. And you could say that's underhanded. And I would tell you, he's an agent.

That's part of the job description. And in fact, Goodwin went on the record interview with Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and clarified that initial thought that he's on the phone telling teams other than the Heat, don't trade for Dame because you'd get an unhappy Lillard. Here's what Goodwin said on the record. And I'm impressed that he took the time to say this after all of the rumor and innuendo and speculation, quote, I do what I should for my client. Some teams I did call. Other teams have called me. It's a respectful relationship with most teams. Truthfully, he wants to play in Miami. Period.

There's nothing wrong with that statement. And I applaud Goodwin for telling it like it is because we know this all to be true. So because your patience has been appreciated, because I'm not with you next week on this show, let's just give you the prediction you weren't looking for. But part of my job is the fill in host. Let me flip the page 19 here.

The FCC him book. How does this play out? Lillard winds up in Miami. Blazers get pieces, but for most among them, four first round picks and some dudes. Tyler Herro winds up elsewhere. Lillard plus Butler now able to play more of a complementary role, which is the right path for him to take now as he gets deeper into his thirties and an emerging offensive skill set we saw from Bam Adebayo in addition to all of his defensive prowess, coupled with one of the best coaches in the NBA.

I think I zigged there when you thought I was going to zag. Milwaukee did all the moves they needed to do to keep the core intact. Bring it back Chris Middleton, bringing back Brook Lopez, adding his twin brother Robin, Wonder Twins action. I'm aware Giannis had a minor, it's minor when it's not our knee, it's his knee, but a cleanup procedure on his knee.

That's okay, it's the summertime. If Giannis stays healthy, Milwaukee is still the best team in the East. Then I go Miami, then I go Boston, right there. If Boston can figure out whatever is going on from a standpoint of cohesion, maybe getting Marcus Smart out of that locker room, sending them Memphis will change the dynamic because according to reports, Brown and Tatum have been too differential, they'll be forced to step up as leaders.

So we're looking at Milwaukee, Miami right there, Boston, and then Philadelphia continues to be stuck in the middle and I'm with you hopefully next summer. Let me give you another look into the future. When I'm here this week, a year from now, it'll be the summer of Embiid. We'll be talking about Joel being unhappy, the Sixers losing in the second round again, Embiid wants out, where is he going, and I won't even start that. I need to probably take a nap after all of the windy roads I've been going down with Damian lowered. I'm Brian Weber, call me Rand and McNally, you're Thomas God, that is a contemporary reference.

Infra rich eyes at 844-204-7424, the phone number, you can tweet at me, B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's in 20 minutes, back to the NBA when we check in with our first guest today, Mike Vorkinoff of The Athletic. Up next, we return to the NFL. Despite having elbow surgery in the offseason, can the 49ers count on Brock Purdy to duplicate his magic of a year ago? We are focusing on where San Francisco belongs on the short list of teams with a real chance to win it all.

Coming off that run to the MC title game, everything changed when Purdy got hurt at the outset. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich, we continue on this Friday edition of the Rich Eisen Show. Are you currently enjoying the show on the Stitcher app? Then you need to know Stitcher is going away on August 29th.

Yep, going away as in kaput, gone, dead. Rest in peace, Stitcher, and thanks for 15 years of service to the podcast community. So switch to another podcast app and follow this show there.

Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Welcome back to the Rich Eisen Show Radio Network. Brian Weber with you. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you. Call, click Grainger.com, or just stop by.

844-204-7424 is the phone number. You can tweet at me, B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's. We'll keep this NFL block concise in 15 minutes. We'll get you fully lined up for the summer league debut of Victor Wimbunyana tonight in Vegas.

We will not talk Britney Spears. We'll get back to that scintillating topic coming up in 30 minutes to start the final hour of the program. Looking forward to coming up in our next block to getting the NBA analysis provided by Mike Vorkanov of The Athletic. We're 19 days away from the start of training camps, so I'm doing my best to pick topics that I think will be resonating when we get deep, deep, deep into the regular season. For example, I am not breaking down the Houston Texans. While I am more of a CJ Stroud fan than a lot of folks, I'm picking teams with the real chance of winding up playing in the Super Bowl and Las Vegas, if you've not been paying attention. Vegas, baby, Vegas, and what a spectacle that's going to be in February. 49ers undeniably belong on that short list.

Just think about the recent body of work. Multiple trips to the NFC title game and a Super Bowl as well. In fact, a Jimmy Garoppolo overthrow might have cost the Niners that Super Bowl, but let's stay grounded in the here and now. The quarterback situation remains muddled. Now, if you're a Niner fan, and I always try to be transparent, I went to college in the Bay Area, I spent 15 years on TV and radio there, I have great affection for the Niners.

I'm not bashing the Niners in any sense. John Lynch went to my alma mater. He's a brilliant football mind. Kyle Shanahan is always billed as one of the most innovative coaches we've seen. He is certainly a great play caller, but we're all mortal.

We all have things we can improve upon, and I won't even be snarky with a 28-3 observation in the Super Bowl. Shanahan, though, has demonstrated whoever the quarterback is, Nick Mullins, CJ Beathard, whoever is under center, he's going to find a way because of his tremendous command of his scheme, and because of the creative play calling, and especially because of the bold move, in part because Carolina was tanking to get the number one overall pick. It's going to be interesting to see if Bryce Young can just stay healthy.

I can't think of the comp of someone that, let's choose our words nicely, diminutive, undersized, having a long and productive career. That's going to be the big dilemma because arguably he had a better offensive line at Alabama than he will year one in Carolina, but adding McCaffrey to a team that was already stocked on both sides of the ball. We never talk about defense, but I'm presuming a level of sophistication if you're listening to this show. You know how good the Niner defense has been for the last five years.

The front seven is ferocious, and they went out and got Javon Hargrave from Philadelphia, who had an equally good defense. Big reason why Philadelphia and San Francisco met in the FC title game, in addition to the sensational play of Brock Purdy. And just from a standpoint of a watchable game, if Purdy doesn't get hurt, obviously there's a huge different dynamic to how things played out in that beatdown that occurred in the FC title game, which was just unwatchable. It was a shame.

Felt like rain delay kind of material immediately. Purdy went down at the same time the Niners chances went down. So, what's the realistic outlook this year?

And it starts with Purdy. Remember, he needed the procedure on his elbow. Everything we're hearing and reading, we'll get more clarity coming up in less than three weeks, and training camp starts is that he's on track to be available week one. If not, Sam Darnold is currently listed in front of Trey Lance on the Niners depth chart.

I realize that's just an overview, it's just a piece of paper. The fascination with Sam Darnold just puzzles me immensely. Maybe because of the bias, I'm here in LA and I went to grad school at USC. Sam Darnold is a nice player, but he was a turnover machine in college. He's now on his third team, and this is still a young guy.

But it's also a reflection that Lance is coming back from a procedure of his own. All of the positives we're hearing from his teammates, I think, are meaningful. George Kittle's going every show he can. I know he was on with Rich. Getting ready for tight end university, his gathering of the best performers at his position. Talking about how impressed he's been with the work ethic and the development that Trey Lance has made in his mechanics. Remember, Trey Lance was working out with Mahomes, and unfortunately for Trey, he took off his hat, and I guess the hairline is not as thick as it used to be. And the internet decided to write him prescriptions for Propecia.

That doesn't matter. But is Trey Lance going to be on the Niners long term? Now the question would be what are they going to get in return for him because of, unfortunately, the series of injuries and the perception that he's damaged goods. But can you have Trey Lance hanging around, although everything I'm reading says he's a great teammate, or do you need him, and I think this is the more accurate observation, do you need him for insurance reasons based on all of the injuries the Niners have gone through at the quarterback position?

That's how we got to Brock Purdy having the opportunity that no one foresaw, only because Lance got injured early in the year after struggling in his initial couple starts. Jimmy Garoppolo was not even supposed to be on that team a year ago at this time. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where's Jimmy Garoppolo going if he gets cut by the Niners.

How about Seattle? I had him in front of Geno Smith. Now, I'm not alone in saying that Geno didn't have a future. What was Geno's great line?

They wrote me off and I didn't write back. Geno is a phenomenal story, good for him, and Seattle's better than you think. Made the playoffs last year. But call me a skeptic, even if he's fully healthy, I think it's going to be a real monumental challenge for Brock Purdy to come close to the level of play last year for the reasons that you can come up with.

Defenses now have tape on him. There's also something called regression to the mean. You are what you consistently do. There was a reason why Brock Purdy was Mr.

Irrelevant. And I'm not trying to destroy what was a phenomenal story last year. The question is, can he replicate the success he had last year?

Now, he doesn't have to be as accurate. All the Niners need is a high-end game manager. That's all Garoppolo was and they made the Super Bowl with him because of how that roster is built.

I mentioned Kittle and you know about Deebo and Brandon O'Yoke and all the defensive names I could rattle off. Plus, in that division, Cardinals might be the worst team in all of football and I gave you the ESPN rankings of rosters based on their relative talent level. ESPN has the Rams as second worst, second only to the Cardinals.

So, it's a much more straightforward division than it was in the past. San Francisco certainly is a playoff team, probably going to win the division again. But, it's all about now winning a Lombardi Trophy. Especially with the expectations of that franchise and that fan base. I'm not convinced Purdy can run it back. Last year felt like the magical window. We've seen it before in the NFL. How radically things change. And we're all purchasing gold jackets and putting fellas in Canton, Ohio.

Then we never hear from them again. So, I'm rooting for Purdy. The league is more interesting if he can keep it going.

But, I'm skeptical. Still, as long as he can stay healthy and not become a turnover machine. And that was his biggest asset when he was thrown into duty, completely unexpectedly.

He limited the turnovers, didn't try to do too much. It's going to be very interesting to see how things develop this year in the Bay Area. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen. Hit me up on Twitter, B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's. Coming up, we'll return to the NBA.

What a realistic expectation for Victor Wembañana heading into his rookie year as he'll make his NBA Summer League debut tonight in Vegas. Looking forward to checking in with Mike Vorkanov of The Athletic. Weber in for Eisen. It's a Friday installment of The Rich Eisen Show. Brian Weber back with you. Friday edition of The Rich Eisen Show. 844-204.

7424 is our phone number. You can tweet at me, B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's. An hour from now, we get to set for the last push of MLB heading into the All-Star break and the game itself coming up on Tuesday when we check in with Scott Miller of New York Times. Now let's talk hoops.

Always a pleasure to focus on the NBA with Mike Vorkanov of The Athletic. Mike, how are you? I'm great. How's it going? I'm doing well.

I appreciate you taking the time. So, with Wembañana mania sweeping the world, I want your thoughts on not whatever happened between Wemba and Britney Spears. We'll save that for another day. But realistic expectations for Wembañana year one in the NBA. I don't care what he does in summer league, but what do you think he's going to achieve on the floor this season for San Antonio? Well, I think he'll be pretty good, which is impressive enough. Usually rookies, no matter where they're selected in the draft, struggle in their first year in the NBA.

They're inefficient, take time to adjust on defense, all those things. But I think it would be reasonable to see Victor Wembañana come in and play pretty well. Maybe become even a 20 point per game scorer, which is I think something Paul Bancaro, last year's number one pick did. And I don't know if he'll be the best player on the Spurs right away. They do have some talented guys there.

But I think he'll be a net positive contributor for sure. We're all looking for comps and then we all fall into the habit of saying, well, this player is a unicorn. He's one of one. But for casual fans who don't know much about Wembañana's game, from what you've seen and people you've talked to, have you heard the comparison? He's Kevin Durant's but taller.

I think the hardest thing about Wembañana is that there's not really a comp there to be made. He's seven, three and a half without shoes. He's got all skills of a guard. He's a great defender as a prospect. I guess you could say that, but I think the fact that he is so unique, that he is this kind of player that we haven't really seen coming into the NBA in his history, it makes it hard to even throw a comp out there.

So just think of really tall guys who can do a lot of things on offense and then also potentially be a really good rim protector, shot blocker, and just try to make that work in your head. And that's where the NBA is now, right? When you think about the unique skill set of Nicole Jokic doing things statistically, we haven't seen a center do in the playoffs since Wilt Chamberlain and Joellen Beat as well. It is a fascinating time to be a basketball fan. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen, talking to the NBA with Mike Vorkinoff of The Athletic. Mike, before we get to Damian Lillard, quick off topic question, but I think you can handle it.

So I was looking up summer league schedules to try to get a sense of how much Wembañana will play. I was directed by the NBA to a story about the upcoming in-season tournament in December in Vegas. Do you have any details on this thing?

We've been hearing it's coming. It just sounds gimmicky to me, but in fairness, I don't know everything about it. Yeah, I think the biggest comparison would be to something that we see in European soccer. I think it's their version to try to create the NBA equivalent of that. So we'll see a group play stage throughout the first month or so, month and a half of the season, where teams get put into the same groups. Three teams per group, if I remember correctly, and then they'll advance to the quarterfinals and the semis, and then you'll have your finals in Vegas. So the NBA's attempt to create something a little more meaningful during the regular season and to make people tune in in that first week or so of December and get them to care about games they might not have otherwise cared about.

Alright, thanks for the overview. Hey, I was a cynic on the play-in, and that's proven to be a good addition, so I'll try to keep an open mind. When we get to December, will we have clarity on Daniel Willard's future?

Now maybe I'm beat up because I've been doing this topic every show this week. Ultimately, do you think he winds up in Miami? Maybe. I think they'll make a good push for him. I think it's going to be a battle of wills, right?

Like, where he wants to go, where the Blazers want to send them, and also just who can offer the best deal out there. I think it's still a little early to tell. I wouldn't be surprised if it stretches into the summer a little bit.

And I've been laying it out. There's certainly no urgency for Portland to get it done because the longer they wait, maybe the offers get better. Let's play it out to its hypothetical conclusion.

Because typically when Stars went out and they have a preferred destination, they get there. If Willard winds up on the Heat, a team that just made the Finals as the 8th seed, although they were the top seed, as you know, in the East the year before. Where do you slot them then amongst the real short list of teams that can win it all? Do you think Willard plus Butler and Bam Adebayo would be better than the Nuggets? I'm not going to go so far as to say they're better than the Nuggets because I think the Nuggets still have the best player in that scenario. But I think they've become maybe the favorite to get out of the East. You remember, they made the Finals this past season, but the year before that they had the best record in the East. Or could Jimmy Butler free away from making it to the Finals that year too? So I think if you have Butler and Willard and Bam and whoever else Miami finds to put around them, that's a really good team with probably the best coach going in the NBA right now. So you're putting on that short list of title contenders and probably the favorite in the Eastern Conference to get there. Mike Vorodov of The Athletic is our guest here on the Rich Eisen Show.

Mike, in addition to covering the league from a big picture standpoint, you also spent a lot of time on the business of basketball. So with Jalen Brown eligible for the Supermax, and if he gets every dollar, that's what? $295 million something insane? Do you find it at all revealing or significant he has yet to sign that deal with Boston? I mean, I think maybe it speaks a little bit to how it's a more complex decision than a normal Supermax. I think the reporting there has been that they're also trying to throw incentives in there.

But Blair's as good as Jalen usually gets that contract in the end anyway. And so I think it seems like that's where it's going to end up. So I don't know, I wouldn't look too far into it. I think really what's going to be revealing is what the terms of the new deal end up looking like.

Is it the straight Supermax? Is there incentives to get them there? And that'll tell us what the Celtics think too. Yeah, and the reporting, I'm sure you've read and I've read out of Boston, claiming for now the Celtics are not interested in Damian Lillard as much as I created that straw man argument as well.

I'll let you go on this thought. James Harden is skilled at winding up where he wants to go. So he wanted to leave Houston to get to Brooklyn, achieve that goal.

Wanted to leave Brooklyn to get to Philly, got that done. Do you think he winds up leaving Philadelphia? And again, is this something we could be tracking all the way to the trade deadline? Well, I think the interesting question is going to be who wants him this time around, right?

James Harden is no longer the James Harden of his prime, and it's a lot easier to have that kind of juice and manipulate the way we were, you know, one of these, let's say, 10 best players. I think ultimately he'll probably get traded, but I think it should be a little bit more messy than it was in coming out of Houston and Brooklyn the last few times around. Mike, as always, I appreciate the information. Enjoy the summer league debut of Wembanyana tonight and the rest of your weekend. Thanks. It's going to be a fun one, I bet. Yeah, it's going to be a great atmosphere. Mike Vorkanov of the athletic kind enough to give us a few minutes, which was appreciated because I'm going to be always as upfront as I can be.

I'm getting a little Damian Lillard out. Now, no need for you to pick up the phone and call the bullpen. This is my job after all, and I'm in control of the topics.

I really appreciate the latitude that Rich gives me. Nobody tells me what to say. Nobody tells me what to say.

I don't mean to sound like I'm Robert Conrad now putting a battery on my shoulder. Look it up, kids. While you're looking it up, look up Battle of the Network Superstars. You'll have a wonderful time if you're of a certain age. Joe Frazier was not a skilled swimmer.

That was the superstars as well. I'm really dating myself. So coming up in less than 12 minutes as we ease into the final hour of the program, we'll talk baseball and all the important components of it. When we check in with Scott Miller, you hear him on Sirius XM radio.

You read his work in the New York Times. I've got more NFL to get to. We've already focused on the future of Dalvin Cook, reasonable expectations for Brock Purdy and the Niners because this is the Rich Eisen Show, and nobody amongst Jet Nation is more fired up that Aaron Rodgers is now a member of Gang Green. We will spotlight what Rodgers is capable of this year. And again, I keep using the foundation of realistic because the real salient question from the Jets point of view, what are you getting in Aaron Rodgers?

Certainly an upgrade from Zach Wilson, Mike White and everything else they had to throw on the field yesterday. But is Rodgers going to play at the level that won him back to back MVPs just a few years ago? Or if you watched him last year, he looked beat up and Tom Brady has skewed our expectations of what an aging quarterback should look like. I think Russell Wilson is showing us what quarterbacks used to look like as they got deeper into their 30s.

Now, we're talking about yesterday, according to reports, Russ changing his diet, getting in better shape, trying to make sure he's doing all he can to be as effective as possible. In addition to being coached up by a competent and Super Bowl winning head coach Sean Payton, in contrast to a completely clueless and overmatched Nathaniel Hackett, but I do think it's fair to wonder with Aaron Rodgers pushing 40, what is he going to look like on the field? And will the Jets have an offensive line that's going to protect him better than Green Bay? That was the other obstacle Aaron had last year.

And remember, because he went public with the injury update, he claimed he was rarely 100% because of a thumb injury. So he's got a fresh start. He's fully hit the reset button. But now he's got to match up with Buffalo twice, Miami twice.

And while the Patriots seem like they are in freefall, Bill Belichick can still coach up a defense. So we're talking Aaron Rodgers coming up, but we're going to start the final hour of the program. Taking you back to Las Vegas, Victor when banana, such a global superstar that the Queen of Pop herself Britney Spears, apparently either one to say hello, say hello to my little friend or take a picture. And this was the unexpected storyline that dominated the program yesterday. Straight ahead as we start the final hour of the show. We'll hear from Wimby what went down from his perspective.

How in the world that somebody make contact with a national treasure like Brit Brit and Spears is weighed in as well. So we'll talk a little bit more TMZ focus content. And then we'll get into what women Yana can achieve this year. Has the hype machine completely got out of whack or is he the rare player who's going to exceed our expectations.

All that and more. Coming up, Brian Weber always having a good time. Whenever I have the great opportunity to keep the chair warm for rich final hour of the program coming up here on the rich eyes and show how wrestling really works and how you get the ratings Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson explain on 83 weeks collision has been struggling a little bit out of the gate with these ticket sales and a little bit out of the gate. This was a major show announced on a major network with what everybody thought was this huge star CM pug. I said he was going to be the biggest financial flop in wrestling history and I think I'm being proven right every minute of the day. Eighty three weeks on YouTube or wherever you listen.