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Discounts not available in all states and situations. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Rich Eisen Show. What would you do against Satchel Paige? Me? The Rich Eisen Show. Yeah, you.
Gone. Live from the Rich Eisen Show Studio in Los Angeles. Would you care to chime in on who you think is now currently the greatest living ballplayer on our planet, Bob? You could make a case for the pre-steroid Barry Bonds. Today's guest, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, Chris Mannix.
Plus, what's more likely? Latest news and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number three. The Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Fun two hours we've already had. Just chopping it up with you and and if you missed it, we re-air on the Roku Channel, Channel 210 as soon as this is over and we re-air throughout the weekend. And we're back here on Monday for more good times to wrap up the month of June. 844-204 Rich is the number to dial. We got a full phone bank.
We'll try and get to as many of you as possible before we send you to your weekend. Chris Brockman and Jason Feller are where they are. TJ Jefferson is in his usual space here on the Rich Eisen Show and with the Dr. J behind him right there. It's funny, earlier today, somebody called in TJ and of all the things of Dr. J's remarkable accomplishments to mention why he's his favorite, he mentioned the fish that saved Pittsburgh, which is really wild. Joining us here from Sports Illustrated in studio as there's a duck boat parade going down in the city of Boston is none other than Chris Mannix. Good to see you, sir. How are you?
Good to see you, Rich. There's a parade going on right now, man. Pretty wild one based on the videos that I've seen. They're pretty good at celebrating in Boston in June especially. No doubt about that. A lot of practice, Mannix. A lot of practice. Oh, stop it. Enough. It's just 13 parades in 22 years. It's been a lot. It has been a lot.
Titletown. The reason why the Celtics are celebrating today is as opposed to when? I guess, just why did they win at all in the estimation? I mean, it's always talent, right? And they have a collection of not only elite talent, but modern NBA talent where they have versatility with, you know, four guys that can guard five different positions.
They have great length at all those positions. They've got solid depth. At least they had it when Porzingis was healthy and able to play. Look, they didn't rely on one guy to win this series. Jaylen Brown won Finals MVP, and I didn't have a vote. I would have voted for him, but this was about Jaylen Brown defending Luka Doncic, Jason Tatum playing a complete series when it comes to rebounding and defense and playmaking. Drew Holliday having some massive moments. Christos Porzingis, first two games, like he was a difference maker in those first two games. And Derek White making timely shots.
They are a elite team in this modern era where they have all the pieces you need or you'd want to win a championship. And Tatum's up next to get the Supermax? He'll get his money. The two things the Celtics have to deal with this summer is the Jason Tatum extension, which is as simple as here's the most we can possibly offer you and you put your signature there. It's probably going to be in the neighborhood of $315 million, which I think will at the time qualify for the richest contract in NBA history until like Luka's up a year from then.
It all just keeps going like dominoes. So that's an easy one. The Derek White extension is coming up as well. He's got one year left on his contract. My understanding is the Celtics is going to extend him. One thing, the owner of the Celtics has said to Brad Stevens and people in the organization is if you have guys that impact winning championships, don't worry about me paying them. I'm going to pay him. Derek White unquestionably had an impact on this team winning a championship.
So I would expect Derek White, who is going to be 30 years old this summer, still very much in his prime to get a multi-year extension this offseason. And so when he says paying them, it's the luxury tax is what he's basically saying. And the Celtics are in the tax right now.
I forget the number they had to pay. They're going to have to pay this year, but they're a tax paying team. But this ownership group, I think is willing to pay that tax for the right mix of players. And let's be clear, like they're in the tax, but they're not golden state in the tax. They're not some of these teams that, you know, the Clippers in the tax, like they're, they're payers, but it's not to the level that some of these other teams that didn't achieve what the Celtics have achieved are in.
Another reason why Brad Stevens is who he is. And so the Mavericks aftermath is what, what's the takeaway here? Look, I think when you have a team that was effectively put together five or six months ago, right? Because two key players, Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington, 40% of their starting lineup was not on the team before the trade deadline.
You add them to the mix. And the fact that you get to the finals is a pretty impressive accomplishment. I think the Mavs now have a group that they can build on and organically grow from. Look, PJ Washington, Jayden Hardy, these guys are 25 years old and younger.
They're going to get, to get better just by natural progression. Derek Lively, I'm calling it right now. Derek Lively is the most improved player next year. I believe that Derek Lively was phenomenal this year as a defender, as a rim protector, as a rebounder.
He's 20 years old. I think he's going to go into this off season and hone his offensive game. You saw at the end of, I think it was game four, he made a three point shot. I don't think he made a, he didn't make a three all season long for the Mavericks. This is a guy that has, has shown in practice that he can be a good three point shooter. So if Derek Lively, who already has kind of these Tyson Chandler-esque qualities to him in terms of rebounding and defense, can add a three point shot to his game, all of a sudden you've got a very different Dallas Mavericks team. Then what is the major, if you will, takeaway the league is going to have, the association is going to have from the Celtics winning it now that we're in the roster building portion of the calendar year?
What do you think the takeaway is there? I think you saw some, a move already yesterday when Oklahoma City acquired Alex Caruso. Now Oklahoma City has looked at the blueprint that the Celtics laid out there for how they built their team in recent years and effectively mimicked it, right? Like they've got high level talent, Shea Gilders Alexander at the top of it, but everyone on that roster does a little bit of everything. They, they rebound, they play make, they defend, they can score.
They've got a bunch of four or five tool guys on that roster. Now you add Alex Caruso and if the Celtics have a great bunch of wing defenders in Drew Holliday, Derek White and Jalen Brown, now you look at Oklahoma City with Shea, with Lou Dort, with Alex Caruso, a two-time all-defensive player, they've got a similar type of, of mix there. So I think the, that Oklahoma City, just with that one small move, has repositioned itself to be the number one seed next year, and I think be the favorite to crowd the Western Conference next season.
And I've got Chris Mannix here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk Los Angeles basketball because obviously one hire just happened down the street for the Lakers and the free agency period has a big, huge domino first to tumble in this city. Let's talk about JJ Redick off the, off the, the jump. What's your opinion of his hiring? So I probably wouldn't have hired JJ Redick if I was running a team, mostly because like I'm a fan of hiring guys that have the qualifications for the job basically. Like I like hiring assistant coaches.
I think that assistant coaches who grind, who, who put in their time too often get overlooked. Like Sam Cassell is on the bench in Boston. Sam Cassell had a comparable career to JJ Redick, played 15 seasons, won three championships, made an all-star team, won all NBA team. When Sam Cassell retired in 2008, he didn't go into media, though I think if you know Sam Cassell, he would be great at the media.
He went and learned on Flip Saunders bench in Washington, on Doc Rivers benches. He was a key member of Joe Mazzola's staff. What does Sam Cassell have to do to earn a head coaching opportunities? A former player, a point guard, lot of respect, championship pedigree. Sam Cassell would have been atop my list, but I also would have gone down to Sean Sweeney, who was Jason Kidd's top Lieutenant. Uh, you've got David Adelman in Denver, terrific one. I could name a dozen assistants that I think are, are, are, I would have gone for if I was hiring for that Lakers job, but Rich, it could not matter one bit.
I put this in my column on si.com today. They could have hired Eric Spolstra had Ty Lou as his lead assistant and Tom Thibodeau as his defensive coordinator. And it would not matter one bit because the Lakers roster is the problem. The Lakers have a roster that is good, but not great and has almost no room to significantly improve, right? Like they had some injuries last year. People will point out Jared Vanderbilt out for a while, Gabe Vincent missed most of the season. Those are problematic, but they also had great health from their stars. Anthony Davis played 76 games.
LeBron James played 81 Austin Reeves or 71 LeBron James played all our Austin Reeves played all 82. So the Lake, I don't think health is going to be a difference maker. The Lakers are going to make a trade this summer. There's no doubt about that. They've got three first round draft picks the deal. Maybe it's Trey young, maybe it's Ajante Murray, maybe it's Zach Levine, but given what they're going to have to give up to get one of those guys, I don't see either one of those guys, any one of those guys making a measurable difference.
So to me, when people talk about the impact that JJ Redick can make, oh, he, he can connect with players really well, or the negatives of it, that he's too close to LeBron James. I'm here to tell you, it does not matter because I don't think any coach is going to make a measurable difference with the Lakers because I think their roster is kind of stuck. And I don't think they can improve enough in a conference where everyone's improving.
I just mentioned the Caruso deal. Dallas is going to get better. Denver is going to be back. Look below them in the standings. Houston's going to be better.
Victor, when Benyama is coming with San Antonio and he's going to get some help this off season, the Western conference outside of Portland, which is going to get clobbered every night, the Western conference one through 14 is going to be hell this year for the Lakers. And I think that's going to put them right back in the same position that they're in right now. Yeah.
And you didn't even mention Minnesota, right? And they're right at the top as well as what you just described, so expertly I might add, is the reason why Dan Hurley said no. What are you hearing about that?
You know, I think, I don't think it's one thing, right? Like I think Dan Hurley, from what I've been able to glean, like looked at the Lakers as a long-term situation. Like he was offered what, five, six year deal.
So he was looking at the Lakers beyond the LeBron James era. I think for Dan Hurley, two things came into play. One, his family's affection for the Northeast.
They, you know, his wife, his kids, they love that area of the country. And two, coming back to a top five college basketball program with a chance to etch your name in history books as a three time, three consecutive NCAA champion. I mean, if I was Dan Hurley, I probably would have taken the job because you can always go back to college and find a great coaching job.
But I will never criticize a guy for, you know, choosing like your better life, like the lifestyle, choosing lifestyle you like over one, maybe you don't. And, but you just described what a, what a difficult roster situation it was. You still would have counseled Dan Hurley to take the job?
Yeah. Again, because, and look, it could mean the same thing for JJ Reddick. Like if he's there for five or six years, maybe he gets the opportunity to grow with that group. But Reddick, I think is the fourth coach in the last six years with the Lakers. They just cycle through these guys because the expectation, the expectations in Los Angeles don't match the reality of the situation. People expect the Lakers because they've got LeBron, because they've got AD, two guys that were all NBA players this year. They were still playing at a really high level. LeBron played like 35, 36 minutes per game in his 71 games this year.
This was the most durable Davis has been at any time since very early in his career. But the roster doesn't support them. The roster is not going to push them to that level that those other teams we mentioned are on. So short term, I think the Lakers are problematic for a head coach.
Longterm, if they play things right, they could be a great situation. Interesting. And the money wasn't an issue with Hurley? I mean, you live in L.A. I know. Well, I'm just saying, you know, if it was six for 70, that's south of Pop, that's south of Spolstra. That's true too. So it's south of Monty Williams, to be honest, who's now collecting more to not coach for the next five years. I do think that if the Lakers really wanted Dan Hurley, they could have come higher.
Right. Because I'm not a tax expert, but the taxes in California, you just use half you just are significantly worse than the taxes in Connecticut. Like that's a reality. But even if you take the taxes out of the equation, like if you come at like six years, 90 million, 100 million, like that is making a guy an offer he can't refuse. And look, I think Dan Hurley said it in one of the ninety seven interviews he did in the aftermath of of rejecting that deal, like that economics were a factor that he could if there was a bigger offer, probably would have been more difficult to turn down.
I think that's something that's a factor on this. But I do think Dan Hurley likes Connecticut. His family likes Connecticut. The situation there for him is perfect. He got a bump in pay.
The NIL money is going to flow through UConn as well. Again, I'll never begrudge a guy for choosing a lifestyle over anything else. Chris Mannix from Sports Illustrated here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk Clippers because Paul George is the biggest domino.
Right. And what his decision is going to be. What, what, what are his options?
Do you think here? Well, the two free agent options are Philadelphia and Orlando, two teams that have had different levels of interest in Paul George over the last few months. He saw on ESPN. Joel Embiid basically just asked him, do you want to get hitched?
Check this box. You know, I just love that. I love, I love everything about Joel Embiid. He's, he's one of the best guys to cover in the NBA. I think Paul George makes a ton of sense in, in Philadelphia. You're probably gonna have to offer him a four year max level contract to, to lure him away from the Clippers. But if I'm the 76ers, given my situation, we're gonna be, the clock's kind of ticking. He's 30, 31 years old. He's often injured. You get, you're looking at a two or three year window max for Joel Embiid to, to be the best player on a championship team.
Tyrese Maxey is just coming into the prime of his career. I wouldn't hesitate if I was the, the Sixers to offer Paul George that type of contract. I also wouldn't hesitate either if I was the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic have not succeeded in recent years at luring big time free agents to Orlando.
You watch the way the Magic played last season, especially in the playoffs against Cleveland. What are they missing? A score. They need a wing score. You know, Paulo Bancaro, very good player.
Franz Wagner, very good player. They need help in the scoring department. Paul George could help them.
And they're in one of these, these windows rich where they have money to spend right now. But in a couple of years, when they got to pay Paulo, when they got to pay Franz, when they got to pay Jalen Suggs, all the guys that are young and inexpensive are about to be older and really expensive for that team. So the window for them to sign someone big is right now. So if I'm Orlando, I'm also looking at Paul George and I'm saying, you know what? It's a risk because he's probably going to be 35, 36 years old by the time the contract is out.
But this is the kind of risk for us that's worth taking. Well, what's his thoughts on staying put though, right? I think all things being equal, he probably would want to be in LA, but it was interesting that when Kawhi Leonard signed his contract extension months ago, and then the Clippers said they want to bring back Paul George. Paul George said a lot of the same things.
Nothing happened. We're in that window right now, Rich, where we saw contracts being announced, Malik Monk in Sacramento, among others. We're in that window where the Clippers could extend Paul George.
They're the only ones who can actually do something right now. It seems apparent to me and most of the teams I talk to across the NBA that Paul George is going to free agency. What happens there is anyone's guess, but it seems more likely than not right now that Paul George, come July 1st or what is it, end of June 30th, is going to be a free agent. And then LeBron's free agency, right? I mean, Rich Paul already said he's not taking some sort of minimum discount to become the fourth horseman in Phoenix.
So how does that play out for him? You know, my understanding is that the Lakers are willing to give LeBron whatever contract he wants. So whether it's an extension on top of the current deal or a brand new contract, I think he's going to be back in Los Angeles. But by going to free agency and opting out, he can get a three-year deal worth a little north of $150 million. But he can also get a no trade clause with that deal, which I don't know if LeBron necessarily needs, but there has been some chatter about trading LeBron in recent years as the Lakers have kind of deteriorated. By getting the no trade clause, he could have some power over them in that particular situation.
So I have not heard anything to suggest that LeBron won't be back with the Lakers in some form or another. And do you feel if Paul George goes to Philadelphia, that that puts them on what footing with the Celtics? It just doesn't, it feels like that is the most aggressive maneuver they can make to get as close to Boston as possible.
I would agree. I'm just wondering if while they're, you know, in their duck boats, they're just also just shaking off whatever moves could possibly be made here. You saw last year with Denver where the Nuggets won a championship and there was optimism that they could run it back, but they did have some free agents, right? They had Bruce Brown that left. They had Jeff Green that left. And among the reasons Denver came up short this year is because their young players, Christian Brown and the collection of younger guys that were on that roster just didn't match that same level of production that Denver got from their veterans last season.
The Celtics don't have that problem. Like everybody's under contract for next year. Sam House got a team option.
They'll either pick that up or give him a new deal. Their top seven, top eight will be back with this team next season. They're not worried about replacing some of the important role players on that team. Their confidence comes from this group that just went 16 and three. And we could laugh and dismiss the whole, ah, you know, they didn't get to play the full strength Bucks or they didn't play the full strength Knicks. They didn't play the Timberwolves or the Nuggets.
Who cares? They went 16 and three. That is the best mark in the postseason of any Celtics team in the 78 year history of that franchise.
That was impressive. And the Celtics believe they are well positioned to do it again. Yeah. The only reason why the 85, 86 Celtics didn't go 16 and three is they weren't required to play a 16th game to win. Yeah.
Like they, they swept the, they, they would have gotten that four game sweep of the bulls in the first round of that playoffs if they had to. Yeah. So, all right, let's take a break right here. Chris Mannix on the Rich Eisen Show.
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson are back on everybody. We can't wait to talk about that. We also have a basketball only what's more likely cooked up. Correct. Okay.
So stuff to, stuff to hang out with and play. And then we'll empty the phone banks best we can before we get out of Dodge. That is Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated right here on the Rich Eisen Show.
Back with more in a second. Save two customers who save by switching their home and car insurance to progressive save over $775 on average. That's a whole lot of savings and protection for your favorite podcast, listening activities like going on a road trip, cooking dinner, then even hitting the home gym.
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Slows full terms at mint mobile.com. All right, back here with Chris Mannix. I've got two residual checks here. We opened my residual checks on the air and again, have the guys and guess what it is prices, right?
Rules closest without going over. And would you be up for doing something like this? Absolutely.
Thank you very much. And you said you, you get one of these sang after deals. I don't know if it's a residual check because I did have a very, very, very inconsequential role in Creed three, which I love that experience, but I don't know if it was a residual or like a payment. Well, if it was a significant amount, if it was sizable, then it was okay.
Now these are, these are residuals. Okay. And we even have a drop. Go ahead and hit it right here. Okay. Here we go.
I get the prices, right? Music envelope one or two. You're doing envelope two. Okay. Here we go. Here we go. This is for winning time as well. It's all coming in here.
I did a voiceover for winning time. Chris, what do you have over there? It was $7 and it was $1. I'm going to say a 77 cents. 77 cents. What do you have?
Jay? I'll go 83 cents. 83 cents.
What do you have TJ? Same episode. Same episode. I was only in one. $1 and two cents.
You want to get in there? So this is price is right rules. This is price is right rules. I'm going to go one cent, one cent. All right. So 77 cents, 83 cents, one cent and a dollar and change. The actual retail check is you almost won all my checks.
Jason feller. Here we go. It is 83 cents. Wow.
What did you say? 83. Wow. Well done.
He's won all the checks. Back here on the rich eyes and show radio network. I'm sitting at the rich eyes and show desk furnished by Grange with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grange has the right product for you.
Call clickgrange.com or just stop by Jason feller just won the residual rich game by getting it directly to the scent. He's mad at me. Wow. Wow. 83 cents. And you guessed it right down.
Chris, you're, you're here for a moment to stay on the one cent usually went out like the bottom level. It does. It does sometimes work. Not today. Not today. Jason fellers went all my checks. You won both showcases, sir.
Feeling wealthy. Okay. Uh, so Jake Paul, Mike Tyson back on. So your favorite fight.
It's your favorite fight deep down. Come on now. It's back on. It's an event. It's back on. It's back on in November. Right.
Isn't that what it is? I believe a Friday night in at cowboy stadium. Okay. AT&T stadium. Jake Paul, Mike Tyson back on. The co-main event. Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano too.
Also on that card. So yeah, the, the show will go on. Okay.
And, um, you're still, I mean, a little more runway. Mike's going to have get rid of that ulcer. He's going to come, he's going to show up and this is going to be fun videos. You guys get me in trouble. So exuberant and enthusiastic about this fight. We are ridiculous.
Say ridiculous Chris. When I talk about it, it comes across as being negative. I'm not trying to be negative about Mike Tyson, Jake Paul. I think it is going to be a huge event.
The fact they're putting it in AT&T stadium speaks to how big an event it's going to be. I said right here on the show, I think it's going to do more, uh, more bigger numbers than any fight in modern boxing history. All I've been saying on Netflix is don't expect Tyson versus Holyfield or don't expect Tyson versus Trevor Burbick. If you want to go even further back to have a virtuoso Tyson performance, just remember, he's 58 years old this month.
I think a couple of days now he's 58 years old. And the fact that he had an ulcer that cost him his training time does make me a little bit worried about his ability to just ramp up his training once again and be ready to get into the ring in mid-November. If this fight goes off, I'll be there. I will watch this fight. I'm dying to see Taylor Serrano too.
I think that is a huge fight. But I'll be there covering this event. I will be, in addition to my Sports Illustrated duties, I will agree to be the official Rich Eisen correspondent from the ground. I would, first of all, expect no less.
I will be the- It's a must. Because out of anybody that you talk this fight with, who has more enthusiasm for this fight than everybody in this studio? Well, one has more enthusiasm. Because when Tyson comes out of the tunnel- DMX, all black, it's going to be amazing. When that happens, I kind of view this in the same way that when I was training for my 40 a few years ago, Chris Maddox, I ran a 40-yard dash at the Super Bowl in Atlanta. I ran a 40-yard dash with Usain Bolt. And there is a photograph of me and Usain Bolt coming out of the start. And in that photograph, it's a shot of me side by side with Usain Bolt. There's a snapshot in time where I am stride for stride with the fastest man on earth.
And you can't take that away from me. I'm just saying, that's the way we're going to think about Tyson when he's coming out of that tunnel. We haven't seen anything in the aftermath, but he's going to be there. And we're going to sit here and say, just maybe, maybe, just maybe, just maybe. He lands that one punch, and the 58-year-old makes us all feel like we're 28 all over again. I encourage that enthusiasm.
Thank you, sir. I think people should watch because it is going to be an incredible event. And I am looking forward to seeing Tyson come out of the tunnel.
Hopefully, he's got the towel with the hole cut in it over his head. Come on now. All old-school Mike Tyson. All I'm saying is if a fight that is over eight two-minute rounds turns out to be less than you expect it to be, don't go on social media and bellyache about it.
Don't be like, oh my God, I can't believe what I just watched. If it's great and there's a big knockout, by all means, go on Twitter and say, I want to see a rematch or say, Mike Tyson is back. But if it turns out they kind of hold each other for 16 minutes of boxing action, do not complain about the outcome.
Well, then you could just watch The Brady Roast right after it on Netflix, you know? But again, just that moment where they're touching gloves and they're about to start, and that's all, Tyson's back in the ring, and he's got a puncher's chance. That's the whole idea. Again, it is similar to, look at that photograph right there on the screen.
That's me in my whole getup on planet Earth, stride for stride with Usain Bolt. You can't take that away from me. Right at the beginning, I'm sure, right? Yeah.
Yeah. That's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying is we're not seeing what happens at the finish.
Now, what happens at the finish of Jake Paul and Mike Tyson might be a complete dominating a performance by Jake Paul, and we're all like, oh, you know? But for that moment, I will always have that on my wall. No one can ever take that away from me.
I'm surprised that's not on the wall behind you. That is correct. It can be. We could probably put it in there.
That should be, yes. I would too. Like, I have a picture. About 15 years ago, I boxed Juan Manuel Marquez, former world champion. He flew to New York City to box me for a story I was writing about what it takes to be a fighter. And he beat the bag out of me for three rounds. But I do have one picture where I'm landing like a clean right hand and it's like bouncing off his face and kind of squinting going back. So in that moment, I'm allowed to tell people that I hurt Juan Manuel Marquez. That is correct, because there's photographic evidence that you landed a punch on him. Yes. And I was stride for stride with Usain Bolt. We don't have to mention that it was yard one of 40. Yes.
I'm just saying. He's a notoriously slow starter. Well, and as you know, I've got only one speed.
And he learned it that day. Very good. What is that speed? I don't know. It's not good. Okay. You and your facts.
Chris Maddox here on The Rich Eisen Show. All right. You made a What's More Likely specifically for... NBA edition. Let's go. All right. Go ahead and hit it. Hit it. What? What's more likely?
Never say never, but never. All right. What do you have over there, Chris?
Well, let's get the ridiculous out of the way, since it is Duck Boat Day Parade. Who's more likely to finish their careers with more NBA titles? This is for you, TJ. Stephen Clay or Tatum and Brown? Stephen Clay or Tatum and Brown. Who's going to finish their careers with more NBA titles?
Oh, Stephen Clay. I mean, winning four is incredibly difficult. I think Tatum and Brown have one or two left in them, but getting to four is tough.
2022 hurt. Yeah. I think four is...
They're already... They're in the clubhouse, right? And you're assuming they don't win another one, right? Well, Clay's not going to be on the team next year. How many players individually have four?
It's a pretty small club as it is. That's true. Well, how many does PJ Tucker have? I'm serious, by the way.
Steve Kerr, Robert Horry, they've got enough for two hands. All right, so would you agree with that, TJ? Would you go with Stephen Clay? Absolutely.
Okay, very good. What else you got then, Chris? I disagree with you guys. Texas superstar to win MVP or championship first? Luca or WEMBE? To win either?
Either. Either or Luca? I mean, Luca... What was he, third in MVP voting this year, second?
I forget what it was. He's right there on the doorstep. I think his team's going to be better next year. Voters... One of the things I think worked against Luca was that they were the five seed this year.
I think they're going to be a little bit better as a team next year because of the things we talked about, Derek Lively. And if he puts up the same kind of numbers he did this year on a team that is the first, second, or even third seed next year, I think he's going to be a strong, strong favorite to win MVP. That said, you in the first segment talking about how deep the Western Conference is, you're like, oh, and here comes WEMBE for year two. I mean, the way he was playing towards the end of the regular season, just some of the videos that would pop up in the palm of my hand of a blocked shot here, running the floor there, then a blocked shot there, then a three-pointer there, all in the same sequence. I lost track. That happened multiple times. And so I'm not talking about a title there, but I guess you can't be an MVP on a team that's battling for the play-in seed, number 10. Is that what you're saying?
You really can't. Westbrook won when he was sixth with Oklahoma City that year. Usually it's reserved for players on teams in the top three. We're asking the question now before San Antonio does anything. And San Antonio is one of the teams to watch this off-season, including next week leading into the draft. They've got two lottery picks inside the top eight. They've got cap space.
They've got movable contracts. They need a point guard to play opposite WEMBE. Think of what he did this year with, effectively, what, Jeremy Soshan, a power forward, starting at point guard for much of the year. They are going to land a quality point guard, either via trade or a free agency, this off-season. And that is going to make WEMBE N'YAMA go to another level. Every great big man needs a great point guard to play off of. And I think WEMBE N'YAMA is going to get that guy.
I think he's going to be an all-NBA player next season. I think that's my prediction of the WEMBE jump. What else, Chris? To be a more competitive tournament, what's more likely here? The NBA playoffs that just happened or the upcoming or the upcoming Summer Olympic men's basketball?
Oh, interesting. The Summer Olympics. You know, the USA team is like suiting up the Avengers for this. Like they're sending their best once again. But I mean, look at the teams that are out there. USA basketball might not be the best team in North America. Like Canada just released its roster.
And I think Andrew Wiggins is probably going to be a part of it. Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins, Shea Gildas-Alexander, Dylan Brooks, they are stacked up in Canada with really high-level NBA players, many of whom have been playing together for multiple cycles. The thing that trips the US team up is that they keep reinventing the roster. They keep bringing new guys back in instead of having the same team over and over again that develops consistency. What made them, the Radine team, a great team, was that they were part of what the 2003 tournament, the 2004 Olympics, 2008, all the way up to 2012, a lot of the same guys on that roster. This team, some of the guys will be back, but it's like LeBron's back.
You're bringing Jason Tatum back. Just a bunch of guys that are not used to playing against each other. Whereas France, Slovenia, Canada, Giannis is going to play I believe for Greece. These are a bunch of guys that are used to playing with each other. I think that's going to be an ultra-competitive tournament.
I wouldn't even make the US team the favorite going to that tournament. Really? Yeah. Okay.
Yeah, I'd have to agree with that. As opposed to, we just saw 16-3 victorious champions. How many game sevens were in the playoffs? Not that many, right? Minnesota played with Denver into game seven.
I'm trying to think of the Eastern Conference. Did they go? I don't know.
Not many. I think the Magic, didn't the Magic? Magic and Queensland. So two game sevens, that's it?
What else? Who takes their team to the finals first in the West, Shay or Ant? I'm going to say Shay because just a second before I said the Thunder were the favorites to win the conference. The organic growth in Oklahoma City, Chet, Shay, all the young guys, Jaylen Williams, they're all just going to be better naturally next year. They've got another wing defender in Alex Caruso. They've still got 307 draft picks over the next four years that they can potentially deal for a rebounder.
I think Sam Presti is going to find out getting that guy. Minnesota is kind of in a weird place right now. I think if they run this whole thing back, they're still one of the best teams in the Western Conference, but they may have some decisions to make because of the finances on that team. They're a very expensive roster. They could have new ownership coming in, however that shakes out with A-Rod and Mark Lurie and Glenn Taylor and that whole fight that's going on in Minnesota. So they may decide not to want to spend as much as they spent this year.
And that could cause that team to take half a step back, which in the Western Conference, that's all you need to go from a conference finalist to a first round exit. I've got one, if you don't mind, and then we only have time for one more. I got two more. Can I jump in? I'm just going to catalyze it. It is your show. Do you have one about Bronny James? No. Okay, let me jump in if you don't mind. Sorry.
Not interested. I got to send him off. Well, what's more likely at this point next week, draft is over, we are talking about LeBron leaving Los Angeles to play with his son because his son winds up in a spot that's significant. Or it doesn't matter because the Lakers use the 55th overall selection on him. Yeah, I think it doesn't matter. I don't get the sense that any team is overly interested in Bronny right now.
That could change. The second round is where you take flyers, right? Just have some fun and go on basketball reference sometime and look at the history of second round picks. That's what I'm saying. If the Lakers are 55th overall, why not just remove any sort of part of the equation and just bring his son in here?
Well, yeah. I don't think he gets past 55, basically is what I'm saying. Does he get picked by somebody before then? I would call that extremely unlikely. I've had some conversations with team executives, say like the Knicks. They draft Bronny somewhere in the second round. Could they just dare LeBron to fulfill his destiny and come play in New York for a year?
Philadelphia, do they do? Didn't Rich Paul say he's not going to sign a two-way? He said he's not going to sign a two-way.
We'll see. We'll see how everything ultimately shakes out for him. Bronny one way or the other is going to spend most or all next year in the G-League. He's in the developmental phase. He only played, it was a dozen or so college basketball games. I don't think any team but the Lakers will draft him. That's my guess right now. But I do think the Lakers at 55, where virtually no one of any consequence has ever been drafted before, I do think they'll use that pick on Bronny.
Okay. Last one, oft-injured superstar to finish their career with their current team, Zion or Joel Embiid? I would say Joel Embiid because he's a little bit older. And they're not trading Joel Embiid unless he demands it, right? And maybe the same can be true with Zion, but Joel Embiid has this, he's got this affection for Philadelphia. The process, the city, the passion they have for it. I don't think Joel Embiid wants to go anywhere.
And I think they've got a top executive in Daryl Morey who just got a contract extension himself that is going to be aggressive in pursuing every veteran available via free agency and trade to surround Joel Embiid with the right kind of talent. Sir, I greatly appreciate it. You're awesome. I love chatting with you. And you're also, I'll just say it on the air too, you're cool enough to say, hey man, I'm in town.
Some people don't do that, sir. And I appreciate it. I really do value that. Thank you. And we're sending you off to another plane flight. So thanks. The good news is LAX is literally around the corner. You could be through security by the time we finish up this program.
Chris Mannix, everybody check him out and Sports Illustrated SI.com. We are back to wrap up the show and get as many phone calls in as we possibly can in a moment. Are you struggling to close deals? Business to business selling is tougher than ever. And that's why I want to tell you about LinkedIn Sales Navigator. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sales intelligence platform that helps professionals effectively prospect and engage high value customers, drive higher revenue and increase sales performance. Sales Navigator helps you target the right buyers, surface key signals, such as job changes, or which accounts you should prioritize and shows you hidden allies so you could find those buyers that are most likely to convert. Fueled by LinkedIn's 1 billion member platform, Sales Navigator gives you the most up-to-date first party data, enabling you to unlock conversations with the people that matter. Right now, you can try LinkedIn Sales Navigator and get a 60 day free trial at LinkedIn.com slash direct that is LinkedIn.com slash direct for a 60 day free trial. Let LinkedIn Sales Navigator help you sell like a superstar today.
Just go to LinkedIn.com slash direct and get started. Check out our new NBA show beyond the arc part of the CBS sports podcast network, where you can find me, John Gonzalez, NBA insider Bill writer, and Ashley Nicole Moss five days a week talking all things NBA, whether you're looking for insightful discussions, upbeat commentary, breaking news, interviews, or coverage of all the biggest stories in the NBA. Our new show is the place to be five days a week. Download and follow beyond the arc on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts. What's great about it is, you know, we do a lot of NFL NBA shows on Family Feud for celebrity.
It's great, man. When regular people discover that celebrities don't know nothing, they don't. You think cause a person is famous. They know more. They actually know less. They know less than anybody else because they're exposed to less. Rich people don't know how much milk costs. You get out of touch, man. And when they come on Celebrity Family Feud, you find out how out of touch they are.
They don't know anything, man. Like one of the questions for the NFL team was, and we were asking the guy running back for the Packers. Can't think of his name, but the question was complete the sentence strip. And you spoke, you know, like strip mall strips, strip poker, strip sack, strip sack. I said, name complete the word strip. He said, per strip per I went, hold on, man. I quit breathing.
How is that your point of reference to complete the word strip per PR. That was it. I was done. That was one of my great moments.
And again, you just walk away and you just, you realize that in the moment, like, okay, this is it. And I'm going to let this thing go. He asked me, he said, Steve, is there any way we can edit that out? I said, sir, we're not editing that out. Matter of fact, we're going to embellish it. You're going to say per so loud.
Per. Love it. Steve Harvey, man. That was the night before he hosted the NFL honors at the Superbowl in Miami. Go ahead and get the game time app. If you already haven't, we've been talking about it for months now here on the Rich Eisen show, we love using game time because it takes the guesswork completely out of buying tickets to any sporting event, major league baseball tickets. It is awesome because you get to see the view from your seat, which is so very important. Game times are also an authorized ticket marketplace of major league baseball makes tickets getting faster and easier. And the guesswork is removed because you could see the view from your seat. You get all in pricing before you figure out buying it.
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Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed, guaranteed fun show, everybody. Um, Pete Fairbanks, the closer of the Tampa Bay Rays last we saw him, it was in the middle of April. He blew a save and then his postgame presser in front of his locker was laugh out loud, hilarious and honest. And in case you need a refresher, this is how it went. No, I thought it generally sucked. I didn't think it was a specific suck.
I thought it was like an all encompassing type of suck. So, you know, we're gonna try and rectify that, but for right now, I'm going to be pretty pissed about it. So, uh, cut to yesterday, uh, Pete Fairbanks was on the mound in Minnesota trying to protect a three run lead after, uh, he came in in the middle of the ninth inning, uh, with two men on after a home run had been hit to make it a three run game. So the tying runs at the plate, um, and, uh, with one out left to go, he gave up a game tying home run. Uh, the Rays won in extra innings and the guy who finished it up was Fairbanks. They left him in the game because he's a closer. So he closed it out. He got the win. And this was the postgame press conference, if you will.
And the, uh, crucial question being asked by Trisha Whitaker, who, uh, nailed it to say the least with the questioning, knowing her subject matter, and perhaps also knowing what had happened in between innings of giving up the game tying home run and extras. Do we get to ask what you destroyed? Uh, Elvis is shaking his head. It's nothing bad, Elvis. Look, let's just say that I owe the Minnesota Twins visiting cage, a new Ikea stool, a new Ikea stool.
There needs to be a new stool, not barstool height, like one of the many ones that like kids use. Yeah. It's, it's not a non-existent anymore, but you know, sometimes you gotta get it all out to go out there and put up another zero.
Okay. But after that, you went back out there, which we don't normally see you do. What was that conversation like? And why did, did you go back out there? I guess.
Well, I was busy, uh, letting every bit of negative emotion out of my body in the cage. Uh, and Snide said, Hey, you have to throw the next one. And I said, uh, and I quote, so turn your sensors on. I blanked it. So I'll throw it.
Okay. And that was that. And I saw Phil warm enough and I was a little confused because he told me I was still in the game. And I asked Nides, am I still in this game? He said, yes, he ran down the hitters and was a serene made an incredible throw. I would say almost a Kevin Kuehmeyer-esque throw. Okay.
If you guys want to pull up a playoff, I'm going to pull up game four from the 2021 ALDS eerily similar. So getting your frustration out on that still was key to go back out. I thought so. Yes. I thought so.
Wow. This guy is amazing. We got to get him on necessary. Bring me, bring me Pete Fairbanks. I had written that down last time when we played it originally, the all encompassing kind of suck. The all encompassing kind of name.
If you need to have any bad fantasy team name. Um, let's go take a couple of phone calls here. Dre in Kansas city. Let's take his phone call. What's up, Dre.
Sorry about that. You're there, Dre. Can you hear me, sir?
I can. What's on your mind? We only have a couple of minutes left here.
What do you have for me? Oh man, I need to do the win loss for the Kansas CDT. All right, here we go. We've only had one I've had here, Sean in Kansas.
Has anybody had a 17 or no? Uh, yes. Uh, my man did the Eagles, Ron in Los Angeles.
Uh, okay. Here we go. Here we go. Uh, Dre in Kansas city. How does the, how do things work on opening night against the Ravens? Close game, but we get the dub. Home for the Bengals. We get another dub. At the Atlanta Falcons. Oh, we get another one.
Kurt cousin, Michael Pennix. It don't matter. All right. At the chargers. Ah, that's going to be the piss.
The pesky you lost. They'll be getting into the vision. Oh man. You normally, normally that's Kelsey's house. It's not so five stadium. It's Kelsey stadium, John Harbaugh, you know? Okay, Jim, I got you all good. Home for the saints on a Monday night.
Bounce back. That's another one, man. Derek Carr. We got his number.
All right. Four and one off the buy at San Francisco. We know how Andy Reid is off the bio. We get the dub in San Francisco. Patrick Mahomes remains undefeated against the 49ers. Five and one at Vegas for the first time since you won the super bowl there. That's a win. Six and one home for the bucks on a Monday night. Another win. Seven and one home for the Broncos. Another one. Eight and one at the bills. We going to get that one too.
Josh Allen, that team they're done. Nine and one at the Panthers. We getting another win there too. A black Friday day after Thanksgiving against the Raiders.
Another win. We on the, we on the street. Home for the chargers.
We on the street, man. We getting another one. At the Cleveland Browns.
That one, close. We getting the win. Home for the Texans on a Saturday. This one scares me. This one scares me.
CJ Strauss, that guy. We at home though. Another win. At the Steelers on Christmas. We making up for last Christmas. Another win. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas at the Broncos. We getting another win there and then we running the table for the first three-peat ever. Dre and Casey has the Chiefs going.
16 and one. Their only loss is at Jim Harbaugh's first crack at them. Finishing up this, finishing, finishing up the season on a 13 game win streak. Wow.
Thank you, Dre. Wow. Or he thinks, wait a minute. Or he thinks it's a 16 game win streak. Right. Run the table. Because they would clearly be the one seed at 16 and one and needing only to win three playoff games. 19 and one. If they three-peat going 19 and one.
Oh baby. You would have to talk about them as the greatest team in the history of the sport. On the greatest heater in the history of the sport. If they go into a three-peat season and go 19 and one.
You're probably right. To three-peat. Take any all-time great team and put them right up next to it.
And even argue that they're better. So there's that. Great way to send us into our weekend and go and hang out and enjoy the longest day of the year on this Friday.
Back to wrap it up on Roku in a second. Hey guys, welcome to the Candy Valentino Show. I'm Candy Valentino. I was a founder before I could legally order a drink. And for more than two and a half decades, I've built, scaled, acquired and exited multiple businesses in diverse industries. Now my goal is to help you by sharing the knowledge that I've learned, the mistakes that I've made and the wisdom that I've developed over my journey. Bi-weekly episodes every Monday and Thursday. The Candy Valentino Show, wherever you listen.
