REShow: Sam Amick - Hour 3

This is the Rich Eisen Show. Don't make me angry.

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. I think conference championship Saturdays stink. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. There's no pageantry that feels like a college campus or the game. It just feels like a total complete money grab.

College football does not care that it takes four hours long. Earlier on the show, senior writer for the MMQB, Albert Breer, host of Nothing Personal Podcast, David Samson. Coming up, senior NBA writer for The Athletic, Sam Amick. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Here we go. Here we go. What if I started every hour of the show like Dak starts every play?

What if I did that? What if in changing topics, before changing topics in the middle of a segment, every time I go, here we go. Now, I know TJ, you said he's been doing that, but it was really the first time last week where you could hear it. No, no, I've been hearing it all. I've even pointed it out. Oh, really? You can hear it because they are Thanksgiving game.

I'm telling you all year, it's just like last two weeks, people have just been calling. Here we go. Someone even made a song.

Someone made a song out of like they made a song and they put him, his cadence into the song. I'll find it for you guys. Here we go. It's the get the line ready. It's working.

The home's 180 and you know, all those cadences don't, they go in one ear and out the other, but every time he goes, here we go, you know, you get ready. It's just, it's enough though. What do you mean it's enough? Sure.

How does it cook? And you hear it like 80 times a game. Well, then keep our offense off the field. There you go. There you go. Oh my God.

It's so loud. Did you imagine we started every segment that way? I started yesterday's show like that.

Or just every time one of us starts talking. Here we go. Here we go. All right, wrench.

What do you think about, Hey, don't, don't, don't put it out there. Cause I'll do it. No God, please don't get enough of it. You're good. Sunday night. Oh, Sunday night. Let's see how earth responds to that.

Earth will not respond well into that earth. Just start paying attention. It's been going on, you know, it was really prom in the Thanksgiving game is when it went and I was like, gosh, it was so bad on Thursday. So Sam Amick of the athletic is going to join us shortly on the program. He had a chat with James Harden who spilled some tea about what happened with him in the Sixers and Daryl Maury and the, the breakup of that bromance. Um, and he'll be joining us. Now you guys, you in particular Chris have been caping for the in-season NBA basketball. You've been talking about. I think it's been a great idea. Do you still feel the same way?

No, it's terrible. Now that we saw, I think it's a waste of time for everyone coming out party for Tyrese Halliburton. Now he's been in this league since the 20, 20, 20, 21 draft season. Yeah.

I mean, he left Iowa 2020 and, um, and it was his first time on TNT apparently last night. Yeah. I think I heard that.

I think I heard that story. And then he triple doubles his first career, triple double, including a four point play. That was, I didn't agree with that call.

And everybody going nuts in Indiana, in Indianapolis, they loved it. They bounced the Celtics. Now where, you know, is that on your record now that the Celtics got one and done? They got knocked out. They were the first team to get knocked out in a knockout round of an in-season NBA tournament. That's now forever going to be on, on Joe Mazzola's record. It was funny to me, people try to use that to say that like Tatum can't win a big game.

And I was like, really? Did you forget the 50 piece in game seven? I do like that the players are into it. And I've said this before that game last night was intense and you could see it really matters to both sides.

And even in the night game, Pelicans, the Kings, it really mattered to the players. And I think because of that, it should matter to us. And, and that is 100% spot on because I love it when people come up talking about us because you know, it is about us around here. That's the best thing about us. And the worst thing about us is Mike Del Tufo doing his banking when it's time for him to listen to us. And the drop was there. The drop was there. I'm talking about what's the best thing about us, Mike.

The best thing about us, bro, it's about us. I wasn't doing banking. It wasn't your job.

Whatever you were doing was not your job. Your friend spotted a whale off the coast. Can you believe it? What does that matter? They sent you a picture of a whale. Like when we go into like deep sports talk, he's just like, well, I'm not going to be involved in this.

Certainly it's the NBA. I'm out of here. Oh, there's a whale. Oh my God.

What the hell? The best thing I like to hear about us is like, you guys look like you're having fun and it makes me feel like it's fun. So yes, it is true. So you're watching these guys. It means much to them. It should mean much to us.

And that definitely comes through. And what the NBA wanted to do with this construct is to make games like, hey, Suns Lakers on December 5th would have just been, ah, you know, it's nice to see Lakers start shooting the ball better because then maybe we can start feeling better about their chances four months from now. The rotation is Reeves getting more right. What's going on with the Suns and all that business. But tonight there's something more on the line and we're talking about it. And that is exactly what they wanted.

They wanted these games to have a certain significance and level of import that one would think game 22 of an NBA regular season would not normally have for the players, for the viewers, for the league. And so check that box, man. Check it because they nailed it. They've gotten it. And then we'll see what happens.

And I know I had my fun when it first came out. Hey, hey, the semifinals. Good luck. It's in Vegas on the night the Patriots play the Steelers. And now here we are. And it's sappy versus Trubisky. And there's going to be, you know, might be 10, 10, seven.

Who knows? Throwing it out there. So that's why you go for it. Even in the NBA, you're not going to sit there and go, well, you know, hey, there's a Monday night game between Cincinnati and Jacksonville.

Why? Why do we want to send the first night of the knockout rounds out there? Well, Tyrese Halliburton had a hell of a night and proved again, like I said earlier, in our number one. Brock Purdie is not the only Iowa State guy killing it right now at the next level. He's killing it.

They both have it as a shot at MVP. It's fun. It's fun. Yeah, it's fun.

But not when your team gets knocked out. No waste of time. I wish I wish I didn't do it because I'm not sure what we're doing here. The Knicks are taking on the Bucks tonight. So hey, what's going on in the sphere for Dolan? I don't know. We'll see. They should play that game in the sphere.

The final. You've been in the sphere, right? Is it big enough for a basketball card? For a basketball game? Yeah. Really?

Really? Everybody be on one side looking at the court. Imagine the finals next year in the sphere.

It should be like three games in the bubble. Well, I mean, it's just cool just to take us back. What would you put? What would you put in the background? Would you put it in the back? And it'll be a little distracting if you're shooting towards the, you know, I don't know, fans on Zoom. I don't want to go back to the COVID years. But no, thank you. And make it like a New York City, like a Rucker Park background. I don't know.

But it's common. At any rate, Sam Amick's about to join us. We'll talk about all that stuff. So I've got a top five. One, two, three, four, five.

It is the top five teams that can crash the playoff party. Wait for it. Hold on a second. Here we go. High five. One, two, three, four, five.

Riches, top five. What if I did in fact transition on this program every time with Dax? Here we go. We should do it for one whole day and just see how it goes. No, no, we shouldn't.

I'm already sick of it. And I love Dax. Dax going to the playoffs. We are going to hear a big game in January with about 60 to 80.

Here we go. These are teams that are on the periphery of the race. Either they're currently barely in a spot or they are sniffing it right now. Entering week 14 of the National Football League. Here are the top five teams that can crash the playoff party.

Number five. They are your Super Bowl champions from a couple of years ago and the guys in our studio who love to sell their tickets for this game to somebody else coming into SoFi Stadium, the route against the Rams. That's what you do.

I gave two of my games away for free. I vet who buys my tickets. But the Los Angeles Rams guys are proving they are. Your fandom is required to let everyone know whose house it is. Rams house. Hey man, this is Karen Williams, right? Is he is he first round do fantasy next year?

Right. I mean, if you were smart enough to snag him in your waiver wire a couple of weeks ago, you are going to be a winner, I think. And I'm sure people dropped him when he got hurt. This Rams team Stafford finds Cup and Nakua and, you know, you know, Robinson started scoring touchdowns for him. You know, I mean, this guy, Sean McVeigh is dialing it up and Aaron Donald still plays football and the young guys on this defense are bawling out. And the Rams, you know, they've got a tough game in Baltimore and then they're home for Washington, home for New Orleans at the Giants and then a game at San Francisco to wrap things up. Maybe the Niners are are sitting people. I don't know.

I don't know. They might want to spit their last week 18 breath at the Rams if it's to make the playoffs. Right. So I think they can make the crash the party and maybe make a run number four on the list. Not going to quit on them, even though they just lost and rushed through a pick in the end zone to wrap up their loss. The Texans, I still think the Broncos can crash this playoff party. Well, you do.

I do. I think the Broncos have the defense to do it. I think they need to get their running game going a little bit. And every single time you think their passing game is totally out, Russell just ballooned one up to Courtland Sutton and I'll catch it.

He did it again in Houston this past week. So Denver's remaining schedule there at the Chargers. I think that's a winnable game for Denver for sure. And then they're at Detroit, which is a big night game on Saturday night on NFL Network. They're on Christmas Eve against the New England Patriots.

They're home for the Chargers and they're at Vegas. I think they could finish up strong and crash the playoff party here. Certainly if the Steelers and Browns keep losing. Number three on this list are the Houston Texans. I think they're going to wind up in this playoff spot.

And I know you said an overreaction Monday on Tuesday earlier. Maybe as the AFC South champions, if CJ Beathard needs to play an extended amount of time and does not perform, maybe up to snuff with Trevor Lawrence out with a high ankle sprain for who knows how long. How good is Will Anderson, by the way? I think that trade was worth a million percent because they're not getting Will Anderson with their pick in this upcoming draft.

Go up and get him. I love the aggressiveness when you see someone you think is a difference maker and can make your head your new head coach look good in year one. Hell yeah. My only problem for them is this.

My question for you is this. When Damian Pierce is trying to get a one yard touchdown and is a mosh pit, what the hell are you putting Tank Dell in the play for to try and block on the one yard line? He's 150 pounds. And I know this is totally 2020 hindsight because he broke his leg on that play and he's out for the rest of the season. What the hell? Why is he even in there? I couldn't believe when they're like someone's down and it was Tank Dell. I'm like, wait a minute. He was in on that play. He was blocking on that play.

What the hell was that for? I'm with you. And that is also very fantasy related. Just to kind of get that off my chest. And just a bummer because he's been such a breakout star.

I said that kind of facetiously. I still think he should be on the podium for Offensive Rookie of the Year is one of the three is one of the three finals this year. OK, number two on the list of the Green Bay Packers. I think they're going to make the playoffs. And and even Chris, you had an overreaction Monday subject today that they're going to win a playoff game. Feels like it. I said this yesterday on Monday show to Chris Long.

I said to him, hey. Dynamite pass rush. Quarterback who is playing at a high level, a run game that can get to the yards, a head coach who knows how to do it. And he's deep in his bag, an offensive line that can protect. That sounds like a playoff team to you, doesn't it? And one that can win in the playoffs. That's the Green Bay Packers right now. Watch, you know, they'll take a stumble and against the Giants because the Giants, you never know what's going to happen with them. So DeVito starting this week.

I think Green Bay is is going to crash the party here. And number one, I'm not quitting him. I refuse to quit him.

I won't quit him. They are number one on the team that can crash the playoff party. And they are the Buffalo Bills.

You bet. They've got the best quarterback in this mix right now. They have coming off a buy. They've got one of the best receivers in the game coming out of this mix.

I love what Dalton Kincaid is growing into. The run game is beginning to blossom what they did in Philadelphia. Damn, they just made those mistakes that came up to roost on them. And they've got a tough game clearly in Kansas City with the Chiefs coming off of that loss. You don't want to face him coming off a loss.

They are ornery. That's what exactly happened in Germany against Miami. They're going to treat that game just like this one. But I still believe despite them being 11th in the AFC at six and six, they have the stuff. And I think they've figured out what's going on with their offense.

They're number one on this list. I will give you one more. All right, we'll get one. Yes, indeed. I had an either or depending on last night's result. And last night's result hit.

And I'm not saying you got to do clearly we didn't see Einstein in the commercial. So I'm not I'm not running an OK deal. Thank goodness. Hey, the Bengals. I mean, again, the tie breaks are not going in their direction. But they're not going in their direction. They are 0 and 4 in Division two and six in conference.

That is terrible. But they looked like the part. They looked like the part on both sides of the ball. They looked like that tough team because Jake Browning was doing burrow like stuff. And I have the number one team on this list, six and 16. That's 11th in the AFC because they've lost a game to Cincinnati.

I got to put Cincinnati in as a one more to see what they can do. Brilliant. I believe so. They are not the other one. They are not completely poor. They're not.

They are still in this mix. And that is my top five plus one teams that can crash the playoff party. Eight, four, four, two or four riches, the number to dial Sam Amick of the athletic. He talked to James Harden and I'm going to ask him the question. Who is James Harden? I don't know who is because that was the conversation that Sam said to James at one point, you know, people don't know who you are. And he goes, you're right. People don't know who I am.

And I'm one of those people. I do not know who he is. He also said in this conversation at one point that he sensed something was different than previous years because Morey wasn't reaching out to him to try and work something out or figure something out. Morey came back and said, that's because, you know, he's been popped for draft choices, for talking to potential free agents. And Harden's like, I'm very intelligent.

I could see through it. You know, when people say they're very intelligent, I want to know who you are. Who are you? Who is James Harden?

I have no idea. Okay. In the meantime, let's take a commercial break because Suzy dropped off some donuts. And I know some of you guys want to get back in there.

That's why I said, get back in today. Rich Eisen here. If you love football as much as we do here and want to be in the game every day, there's something that guys on my show have been enjoying. Prize picks Daily Fantasy Sports, the number one daily fantasy sports app. Brockman, tell everybody about prize picks and your strategy this season. Rich, it's fun and easy. Pick two players or more based on their stats and place your entry.

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Visit prizepicks.com for restrictions and details. Stacking Benjamins with Joe and his good friend OG not only has great financial insight, it's laid back with humor too. Joe talks with Stacking Deeds co-host, Crystal Hammond. I've always been a fan of nosy neighbors. I want nosy neighbors. They can tell you what's going on 10 times faster than you would know. Again, what's she talking about, Doug? Really? We're repairing neighborhoods, but then we're into nosy neighbors. I built a career off of that.

Find out more by searching the Stacking Benjamins podcast, wherever you listen. Um, if our company, you know, decides to put advertising somewhere and that person tells everyone to go F themselves, I would take that as an indication I should do so. Yes. I would stop.

I would not advertise with them. Correct. But I'm still on it. You know, I'm still on it because it's where the news is.

Well, I mean, it still is a little bit, not, not, not too much anymore. You know, it's also still great for live sports. Hey, Rich, you were talking about the sphere two thousand and twenty four NHL draft will be held in the sphere in Las Vegas. That's great. NFL draft.

That would be cool too. They should just keep it there. No NFL is drafted as an outside event. Now, you know, where the NFL draft is not going, I would think and just is to a James Dolan place.

True. Because the reason why it's traveling is because James Dolan's place once upon a time told the NFL your date is no longer available. And they wound up drafting on a Mother's Day weekend and everyone was livid about it. And then the reason why it wasn't available was some Easter extravaganza in Radio City Music Hall that got canceled. And so the place was empty anyway. On the weekend, the NFL wanted it and it was already in the middle of May.

And that's when the NFL is like, let's see where else we can go. It's true. So it'd be ironic if it wound up in a Dolan house.

Maybe it will. I don't know. Stranger.

Strange things happen. But the NHL to salute, that'll be a fun night, I'm sure. That great place back here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-rich is the number to dial. I'm sitting on the Rich Eisen Show radio network at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.

Call clickrainger.com or just stop by. He is the senior writer of basketball NBA coverage for the athletic. And he spoke one-on-one with none other than James Harden, one of the many reasons we're saying hello right now, to Sam Amick back on the Rich Eisen Show. How are you doing, Sam? Hi, Rich. Doing great.

Thanks for having me, sir. You bet. Do you change your background when it's the in-season tournament or is it just the same for you? Are you getting into that?

Are you accusing my blue paint of being gaudy and hard to find? No, it actually looks like an in-season tournament NBA construct, which is why I thought of it. It's like this big bowling alley of different colors right down the middle of the court. It looks like you're getting into the regular background.

Although if you do have old school NBA courts in the back, we got the forum right here. I like it. It's Kareem with Wilt. Look at that. And look at that. You got your elliptical. Look at that. I was going to say, now we're getting in the weeds.

That's the product of it's the holidays and there's a lot of presence that restricted me from moving the elliptical like I normally would. So you now have to deal with that visual. Okay. No, it's great. And by the way, kudos to you, because if that was in my office, it would be used as a rack for dry cleaning.

That's just return to the house. So at least you're using it, Sam. It's impressive. Good for you.

Good for you. So let me just jump into it. I think the in-season tournament is doing what it was supposed to do, which is get some real intensity to some late November, early December games, some attention as well, and have the players go all out like it is a playoff game. Sam, would you say that that is what is happening with the NBA right now?

Yeah, I would. It's funny. It feels very strange, admittedly, to be so positive on the in-season tournament.

And I will actually share with you too, Rich, before jumping on your program, a mutual friend of ours, Howard Beck from The Ringer, who says hello. We were chatting about being two of the more kind of long tenured NBA writers and how we almost have to make sure that we are using proper cynicism in regards to what the league does. And I was admitting, man, I'm about to write my third puff piece about how great the tournament is on the athletic tomorrow, because I have enjoyed it. And I'm responding, like you kind of alluded to, to the players and the way they're reacting to it. I was at the Kings-Pellicans game last night.

Great environment. Fans were wild. Players are into it. Zion Williamson, this is a little hyperbolic, and I understand he didn't play at Duke all that much, but to hear Zion after the game literally say it was close to Duke, it was close to being at Cameron, I thought was a hell of a statement. So yeah, I mean, I think mission accomplished to this point.

Yeah, I thought I saw the same quote too, Sam. I thought maybe a shoe had exploded, but that didn't happen last night. So, but why do you think the players are into it? It's not the money, is it? I mean, a lot of these guys are incredibly wealthy or they maybe want to win it for other members of the staff and other members of the roster who don't make that cash. I don't know. Why do you think it is resonating with the players? I think it's kind of a buffet of reasons. The money does matter.

I looked at this the other day. I don't know what percentage, I would love to have the figure on what percentage of the league makes less than $5 million a year. And the point is that 500 grand to that type of an athlete is a hell of a raise.

You know what I mean? Like league minimum is 1.1 million. So all those guys on league minimum, and when I wrote about this, I was focusing on the Warriors. Trace Jackson Davis, second round pick for the Warriors is a league minimum guy.

I guarantee it. He's a little bummed that he didn't add that to his salary. Money matters. The Vegas thing is just a very desirable destination for NBA players. I actually, last night, chatted with CJ McCollum, who was the president, as you know, of the players union on the Pelicans.

And he highlighted the destination in the city as being a big thumbs up from the player community. From there, and now I'm trying to kind of psychoanalyze these guys a little bit, part of me wonders if, over these past couple years, as load management has been such a focus and a conversation, if maybe we underestimated how many players were ready for the league to just play ball again. Meaning for everybody to come out and play every night. And the player participation policy now obviously is compelling guys to sit out less because it feels like they're enjoying it. And it feels like they're very comfortable having playoff style games in late November and early December. I love that, Sam, because I was driving to work today and I heard JJ Redick on my friend DP's show saying how you don't have to really give these, I guess, competition junkies in the NBA, these players who love the competition much of an excuse to get out of bed and play basketball.

And I thought to myself, my first thought was like, really? Because load management, sometimes some of these, you know, all world players are just sitting there in their street clothes with a huge game on the line that we'd normally would think they would want to play in. Because it's against elite competition that we in this sports world, whether you're fans or you're in the media, uses a measuring stick for your chances to win it all and they're just sitting there, you know? And so I think this is awesome in that respect, you know?

Yeah, and you can see it, you know what I mean? And the role players who we don't talk to as much in terms of the national media or focus on, you know, last night Jose Alvarado is so entertaining. He's doing his whole backdoor steal thing in the back court where he's doing the extra stuff that he might do in the postseason. Herb Jones, all these kind of no-name guys having big games. The guys seem to be into it.

It is working. You know, we'll see. I mentioned Beck earlier. His piece on the ringer asked the question of, is the novelty going to wear off next year? Who knows? We shall see.

But so far it's been fun. Sam Amick here on the Rich Eisen Show. And then of course, one last one on this. Tyrese Halliburton is a guy who is so good and he's so terrific. And then of course he gets lost amongst a lot of other NBA stars of which he is clearly one. You know, I want to walk people through who this kid is and what he's doing in Indianapolis and how sustainable you think it is for the Pacers right now, Sam.

So much fun. Now, listen, as you know, I'm based near Sacramento. So I'm in the press room pregame of the Kings Pelicans game, watching former King Tyrese Halliburton go bonkers in Indiana. And really to this point, the trade that sent Tyrese to Indiana, brought Damana Sabonis to Sacramento has been widely seen as a win-win and it certainly still is.

But man, Halliburton just keeps getting better. And to your point too, the Pacers are just a team that they don't get any national TV shine. They're fun.

They're exciting. They're on pace to set another offensive mark for scoring the way the Kings did last year, ironically. And the dude is, he's a five tool player, so to speak. Doesn't hit the glass like his teammates gave him a hard time about last night. It was his first triple double, but he's fun to watch.

And I think to me, he has a little bit and I don't want to, this is not, make sure I land this point. I'm not putting him in a sentence with Steph Curry, but Steph Curry has always resonated with fans because he's very relatable. He just looks like a guy. And Tyrese just looks like a guy that you could see at the park. And then you see him light an NBA team up and it's fun to watch.

Sam Amick here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's get to your conversation with James Harden. And don't take this in any way, shape or form as a slight. It's not a backhanded way of getting into the conversation, Sam. Why did you get this conversation with him? Because he could choose pretty much anybody to be straight up. And everybody's been wanting to ask him the questions you did. So can you walk me through how this conversation happened?

If you don't mind. Yeah, no question. I'm a bit of an old school reporter when it comes to, I go to a ton of games and you certainly get to know these guys along the way. I've covered James since going back to the OKC days. It's funny cause I feel like I've always gotten along with him, but he's not the kind of guy that frequently sits down and opens up to the media. This was the first time he and I had this extensive of an on record conversation.

But the vibe generally speaking has been pretty positive. If you go back to training camp in the middle of his saga with the Sixers, I decided to go back to Fort Collins, Colorado and cover this story closely. Wrote a number of stories from there and from a reporting standpoint was on top of the situation. Attempted to connect with James in Fort Collins, but he was certainly in shutdown mode and wasn't in the mood to be sharing his kind of innermost thoughts. Fast forward to the Clippers visit to Northern California.

They come through Sacramento. You know, the dust has settled a bit on the Sixers situation. He's well aware that I had kind of attempted to be all over it and like always be fair to both sides. Put a bug in his ear when he came through sack that, hey, if I go ahead and make the drive down to San Francisco, would you be willing to spend a few minutes after the game unpacking everything that we've seen in the past couple months and to his credit, you know, he followed through. I connected with him in the locker room after the game.

Like I wrote in the lead, it was it was funny. We kind of left the locker room. He goes into a secondary room.

There's food for the players. And I was a little confused as to why he walked in the room and then wasn't doing anything. And that's when he kind of joked that that he was hungry and didn't like the look of the food and headed toward the team bus.

But yeah, he was obviously pretty candid. Is that going to be the food going to be a trade demand reason now, Sam? But in all seriousness, yeah, you know what I mean? So, OK, so let me ask, let's let's take it one piece at a time. Does James have a team of people where he sits down and he says, hey, I like Sam. Sam asked me to unpack this stuff.

Should I do it or does he just do it himself? Because obviously he's got to know when this stuff gets out. It's just going to be another churning of the storyline unless he wanted to get stuff out that hadn't been out yet.

And he now felt comfortable being in Los Angeles, maybe winning a game against the Warriors. I don't know if this is the exact timeline, but he feels now comfortable to do this stuff. Does he have somebody on his team like that, Sam? He does.

This was not an arranged thing. My my sense for sure is that this I'm James is his own guy. OK, and even his his own agents, you know, Mike Silverman, Troy Payne and Brandon Greer, the guys who he's worked with for some time now, will be the first to tell you that he's his own guy. You know, they certainly I gave him a heads up in advance of the interview being published.

Sure, did small guard. But this was his choice. I think also that once we started chatting, if the conversation doesn't go anywhere, then it might fall flat quickly. I think, you know, admittedly, I enjoyed the hell out of the talk because there were a number of unanswered questions that that I'm a sucker for for finding a way to get to the athlete and give them a chance to help the public understand why they did things that they did for better or worse. And, you know, once we went down a few of those roads, I think he he seemed anyway to agree that it was worth sharing and exploring a bit as to, you know, what he was thinking at the time. All right. So you learned what I know I know, but I'd love for you to be the one to tell this story here.

What did you learn? Well, so we already knew in relation to the length of time that it took for him to get traded. We knew he was frustrated by how long it took. And he had told people from the NBA during their investigation when they looked into his comments toward Darryl Morey, calling him a liar when he was in China. He indicated to league investigators that the liar accusation was specifically in relation to being told that he'd be traded quickly. And then he was not now.

So we already kind of knew that. But I did find it interesting that to hear him put a detail on it, that he had been told in his opinion, here is his side 10 days that it was going to be 10 days that he would be gone. That, you know, I think as far as understanding behind the scenes, how he saw the situation that was revelatory. Now, listen, the the subplot with Houston is certainly, I think, a bit sensitive where, you know, Stephen A. Smith on ESPN multiple times had talked openly about the message that James sent to the Rockets in a meeting in advance of free agency. And so when he said it, in my mind, it was just when James talked about that meeting, it was not, it didn't, the alarm bells didn't go off because it was all public knowledge, but it is certainly something different to have him share the details of that meeting where what he wanted to get across was, and I'm paraphrasing, but no, the claim that I went in there and acted like I was going to be the league scoring champ again, and that that's what turned the Rockets off, he disagrees with because he says, A, where's the personnel on their team for that?

That makes no sense that I would say that. And then B, and I actually agree with him here. If you look at his past couple years, how has he attempted to play the game? He has been a playmaker. He's led the league in assists last season.

He's been above 10 assists per game the last three seasons, I believe. And so, you know, basketball wise, that was his argument was that that's not why he's going to play. That's not why the Rockets came off of him. And I tend to agree with him. I actually think Ime Udonka just was very more interested and determined to have a younger group that he could build with and be different identity-wise than a James Harden.

But those two things, I think, come to mind most. So when he said Maury was a liar, it wasn't because Maury promised him a max contract and didn't give it to him. It was about that he was going to be traded. And it was, I think his anger and his frustration towards Darryl is certainly related to both. I don't admittedly understand his motivation for focusing specifically on the timing of the trade in relation to the liar comment.

I do think as far as like, you know, you saw, I asked him, when did Darryl tell you that you were going to get a max? And what's fascinating about the way he worded it was he said, and I think I have this right, that the only time that matters or the time that matters was, and then he detailed that time and I took it as, Oh, interesting. So it might've happened previously, but you just, you don't, you're not going to talk about those other instances.

You're going to just say that the most recent one was before the playoffs this past season. But you know, yeah, that one is one where I'm still a bit confused about how he played it. And then, you know, the exchange you guys had at the end, again, this is Sam Amick of the athletic and everyone should seek out the interview. And you, you, you, you wrote it and you said you, you cut down stuff for, I guess, what'd you say? Brevity as well as just, just putting it out. It's pretty much, I'll be honest, that's a stock line.

This particular one, this was, this was the conversation pretty much verbatim here. Yeah. So he, he said a lot of people don't understand and know that about me being that he's strategic and he thinks before he reacts, he goes, a lot of people don't understand and know that about me, which is fine. You say people don't know you, James, you know, that he says, they don't know me at all. And I'm fine with that, which I probably think he's, he's not really fine with that. So who is he?

You know what I mean? Like, cause he he's, he's such an entertaining player to see. And he's also a guy that may go into the hall of fame.

Well, he's going to go in the hall of fame, but he may go into the hall of fame, you know, ringless and with a litany of teams that he used to be on that spent, you know, a lot of them Maury, you know, associated that gave up so much for him to bring him in only to just be done with him at some point. And then, you know, he shows up in Los Angeles for first to himself as a system. And it, again, it's just, I don't know who he is.

So who is he, Sam, what do you got for me? I mean, to that question, Richard, like when I said people don't know you, it's a funny thing to say, cause I don't know James a little more than most media, but not much. And, and, and the insight, I think that I was kind of being driven by there was that when you talk to people who do know him extremely well, they actually highlight the fact that does he care about what the public thinks he's human, of course, to some degree, I'm sure he does, but he is wired differently. He's not a social media guy. He's not, I mean, he can go viral and it'll be viral for a day. And James Harden is not going to notice unless one of his people decides it's worth bringing up to him. That's how he functions.

He doesn't clap back on, you know, he's not Kevin Durant on Twitter going at everybody. Who's got something to say for him. He's different. I think I would argue, I mean, I know I'm subjective cause I'm in the media like you, I think strategy wise, it probably has not served him very well to be disconnected like that.

But that is his personality. The other aspect of this, and it's funny cause I almost can't believe I'm saying this out loud, but it is my opinion. Like I can't remember an athlete where, okay, free trade demands in four years. I almost don't need the context. Like the legacy is going to be what it is, right?

Like that's extraordinary behavior that we've not really ever seen from a star player. But then if you unpack all three of them, and I'm always a big time sucker for context, it's a debate about how he got here in terms of the reasoning. And you're in Houston and, you know, Daryl Morey, Mike D'Antoni bounces first, then goes Daryl Morey. Next thing you know, the walls are coming in on what you built previously.

Everybody you did it with is gone. Doesn't mean you couldn't have stuck around, but at the time I did understand why he was ready for a new chapter. You go to Brooklyn and you've got everything from Kyrie Irving not taking the vaccination to, you know, drama left and right that had nothing to do with him.

I kind of understood at that time. And the problem with this Philly move is that, you know, you could unpack the Sixers thing and say, man, if it's true that you got promised a max and then they iced you out, if it's true that all these different things happen, you can kind of see it. He's got to know at this point, I don't think even the most open interview is going to clean any of that up. Like all these trade demands have led to this conclusion from the media and the public that he's a malcontent.

And that's, you know, that's a narrative that I'm not sure he's going to be able to flip. And basketball wise, I'm not bullish on what they have over there. I don't see them really clicking and contending on an elite level.

So I think it excuse me, it kind of just is what it is. Sam, great chat with us. And then, of course, with James Harden, appreciate it.

Enjoy the rest of the in-season tournament. Let's have more of these talks. Thank you. Sure. Thank you, Rich. You bet.

Sam Amick, senior NBA writer of The Athletic. Fun, deep talk right there. I love what he's saying. He's just like, on the whole, it's just like, yeah, he's a malcontent. He's always wanting out when they gave so much to get in.

But then you dig in deep in the details. It's like, why shouldn't he want to leave Houston after all that happened? Remember, he and Chris Paul weren't even shooting at the same basket in practice. Get out. Certainly go to Kyrie and Durant when they want you in Brooklyn. That's your big three.

That's your super team. And then stuff fell apart that he had nothing to do with. Get out to Philadelphia. And he goes to Philly.

And then if he says he was promised a max contract and he didn't get it, that would make me angry, too. And Chris, you read a book about the net season, the one year and you said there was all types of stuff, all kinds of weird stuff going on, stuff going on. So, look, it's easy. It's easy just to peg someone as this, that or the third. But when you do a little digging, you have to ask yourself, if I was in that situation, how would I respond?

How would I feel? Let's take a break. When we come back, Susie Schuster, Amy Trask, I'm going to be doing what the football with them later on. They're coming out to just chitchat to wrap up this program. Tell you who's on Wednesday show as well. Get an inside look at Hollywood with Michael Rosenbaum.

Let's get inside of my father, John Glover. You know, we've watched Talk, Phil and most of these episodes I never saw. I didn't watch the show.

You never once saw yourself on Smallville. In the beginning, I used to look at myself all the time and love to. And then as I get older, I stopped. Why is that? I don't know. Maybe because I'm older. I was going to talk to you about that because you're 79. Yeah. How old do you feel? 11.

Inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum, wherever you listen. Hello. You play to win the damn game. Right. You don't play just to play it. When you start telling me it doesn't matter. Get your ass out of here. Then retire.

Cause it matters. Well done. That's number one. Next up in October 16th, 2006, after the Cardinals blew a 20 point lead against the bears on Monday night football, Dennis Green. They are who we thought they were as, as portrayed by Victor Newman. The bears are who we thought they were, you know? That's why we took the damn field. Now, if you want to crown them, then crown their ass. But they are who we thought they were.

And we let them off the damn hook. Very good. Very well done. All right. Last one for you. I can feel it. I'm glad that we got it rolling. Cause here's the last one.

I can feel it. On May 7th, 2002, the famed practice press conference of one Allen Iverson as recounted by the man who plays Victor Newman, Eric Braden hit it. I mean, listen, man, you're talking about practice. Okay. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. All right.

Not a game that I could have then die for and play every game like it's my last. I know it's important. Yeah, I do. I do. I do.

I honestly do. You're talking about practice, man. What are we talking about? Practice. You're talking about practice, man.

I still want to give him a round of applause, Eric. Game time tickets. Go and get the app and put it on your phone right away. Certainly in time for the holidays. Certainly if you're traveling with your family, you want to take your family, take your spouse, take your kids, take your boyfriend or girlfriend to a game, a music comedy, a theater event near you. Or if you're traveling in that town that you're heading to, cause game time has everything you need. Last minute tickets, flash deals, zone deals. See the view from your seat before you buy, you know exactly what to expect when you arrive.

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They want me to spell the name like, what is it? R Y C H. You know what I mean? I don't mean to push back, uh, download game time today.

Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. I don't know why I needed to deliver the attitude. You know what it's because maybe the the co-hosts of what the football Susie Schuster and Amy Trask are here. There is a code. It's WTF. We too have our own code.

So I'm just letting you all out there know that if you want to use our code as our Christmas Hanukkah gift to you, it's WTF. And in fact, Amy and I were at dinner last night while you were home doing Monday night football. And you are not eligible to appear at this dinner. No, we had a dinner last night, uh, for women in sports, like a really hardcore dinner at Toscana. I don't know if you were, you know, but we had a dinner last night for women in sports to kind of get together and start fueling our fires together.

Yes. And in the middle of it, we were talking about the U2, uh, at the sphere in Vegas. And this is, you know, an email to which she said, you know, you can buy tickets using gametime.com. And we did a live read at the table.

Did you really? And we giggled. I giggled and I giggled and we, we told everybody where they could buy their tickets. I said, I buy the tickets. There's no hassle at checkout.

There's no hidden fees. I knew where I'm going to be sitting. You know what I say to the folks at Westwood one all the time, find yourself someone in your life who loves doing a live read more than they love you. And that's the truth. Not who simply loves them, but who does them as magnificently because she does them. This is Amy Trask. There is no I in Amy or Trask.

You're a team player. Look at you. Well, you know, speaking of the dinner that Susie just referenced.

Yes. I never hung with the cool kids growing up. You know, I never had a seat at the lunch table with the cool kids, you know, and you're high and, you know, I just never was part of that.

You felt that way last night, did you? I was with the cool kids last night. Last night, I had a seat at the cool kids table.

Well, cause you guys are, and I have a seat at the cool kids table on what the football coming up. See how I just turned that. That was cute. That was a good transition. Thanks, Sus. I appreciate that. I transitioned just like you do reads.

Thank you. So listen, before the end of the show, Chris Brockman wants the Patriots to tank. What if somebody had ever told you as a league executive, your team needs to tank to get, uh, did you tank for Jamarcus?

No, that was a packed question. First of all, athletes don't tank. And there's all this conversation all the time about will a team tank won't a team irrespective of what an executive, what a GM, what a team owner may want. And believe me, I worked for a team owner who was never, ever, ever going to harbor anything the like of tanking, but irrespective of what a GM or an executive wants, players take the field to play to win. Players don't tank.

It's not just tank, baby, right? Here you go. Just give that over there. We have created Chris Brockman for office has created a memorandum.

And it reads, it reads usly. Let's just see if this would land in your front office. It is to the Patriots, Panthers and Cardinals. It's come to my attention that not everyone is on the same page to make my clear agenda a reality.

New England must lose every remaining game and Caroline must win at least one more, if not two. The Cardinals should keep on chopping wood like they did in Pittsburgh, your immediate attention and focus on this crucial matter is an absolute must time for everyone to cut the crap. Thank you, Chris Brockman.

And there's the office space meme right there, Suze. Nice. Fantastic. What do you think?

Great shirt and tie combo on you. But it's very Gary Cole-like, right? Very well written, very well punctuated. Okay. Clear, effective and players don't tank.

How would that land with a resounding thud? That players don't tank. That's one patriot way. No one's accusing players of tanking. Front office is clearly tanked. Oh, I understand you're not accusing them.

And please don't think I was suggesting you were. I'm simply saying that irrespective of what the front office may want, irrespective of what a team owner may or may not want, when players take the field, they're going to try to win. But sometimes they're not good enough.

And so by putting them on the field, you know they're not going to win. You want Caleb Williams? I mean, clearly he's not as good as Matt Jones. Are you referring to Zach Wilson or are you referring to Mac Jones?

Nicely done. We know he stays. You can hear more about that on What the Football wherever you find your podcasts.

Just listen every single week right here on What the Football. Should we send that to the craft group? See how it's launched? Probably not.

Probably not. I also didn't write this. I just want the public to know that. You did not. I wonder who did. Also, Chris and I were texting during the show and we both feel very badly for Mac Jones. I know I use chat GPT for that. No, I know I did it on Sunday night.

We're on like one hour of sleep. That's what Arias Consulting does for one another. Check out WTF later on in your podcast listening group. For the real story behind some of wrestling's biggest moments, it's something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson to 1995 when WCW announces they're going to be live and head to head with Monday Night Raw. Feels like this would have been something Vince would have kind of laughed off. No, we did not like them moving to Monday nights. There were a lot of hotels. They all carried CNN, TBS, and TNT. Vince was convinced Ted Turner had deviously done this deal to get in the hotels and keep us out. Something to wrestle wherever you listen.