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How does that sit? Like, you're going to get a good look at the quarterbacks at their pro days. As long as they throw Rich, I don't think it matters much anymore. Earlier on the show, PGA Tour golfer Wyndham Clark. Coming up, Lakers Governor Jeannie Buss, producer and author Will Packer. And now, it's Rich Eisen. All right, our number two, the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. We have one of the 30 governors of the National Basketball Association getting set to join us in studio.
Not just any governor, our neighbor, Jeannie Buss, the governor of the Los Angeles Lakers, is getting set to join us in advance. And the new show available on Netflix starting this Thursday, available for streaming, Running Point, starring Kate Hudson, playing essentially the role of Jeannie Buss for a fictional Tiffany type NBA basketball team, the Los Angeles Waves. It's based on Jeannie's life, which is a really interesting way for the governor of the Lakers to try and get a free Netflix account. It's really interesting. But I won't be asking her about that. We'll obviously talk about Running Point and a big game for the Lakers tonight of all teams this evening in the downtown Hooves Dojo.
It's Luca's former team. I can't believe I'm saying those words of Dallas Mavericks. And that'll be fun. And then Will Packer, his new book, Who Better Than You? Will Packer will be here in studio hour number three.
And as I mentioned, I can't wait to ask him his favorite Kevin Hart story. And one of the most successful producers of TV and movies will be here in hour number three. Chris Brockman, you said at the end of hour number one that there's news a poppin' at the NFL scouting combine. News a poppin'.
You said it's a contract, a new contract and then someone's returning. Let's do the returning one first, since that must be of somebody who is very famous and a big, bold-faced name individual. I hit the drop. Go for it, J. Felley.
Go for it. Here it comes. Boom!
Am I right? I see. Breaking news. Best breaking news drop in the business. I can't imagine there's a better one.
Can't imagine there's a better one. Well, with the Oscars coming up, that's almost a year old of Al Pacino. I see. Oh my goodness.
Chris? What a year we've had. Here it comes. Boom! Rich, Rich, Rich.
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veitch says the team is anticipating that Travis Kelce will be back next year. Oh baby. We got some sound. Oh, okay we do. Let's hit it.
Okay. How we left at the end of the season is that he was fired up. He has one more year in the contract. Still think he has that fired up desire to play.
As far as I'm concerned, there is no deadline. I think we left it as he'd be back and it works out to get him back and get him going. Alright. Now, so he's not definitely, it's like Travis hasn't said the words, right? No, we have no idea what Travis is thinking. And I imagine he will make such an announcement on the new Heights pod, like that is the ultimate, as one would say, content. It's his own content.
Right. In this day and age, a player makes an announcement. They don't do it in a press release or in a tweet. They'll do it on their own pod and get all the downloads from it. And he'll be telling Jason yea or nay.
But Brett Veitch saying the way that they left it, we had Diana Russini on last week saying that it's her belief that Travis Kelce will come back. And I will say one more time, I would love that. It would be outstanding.
It would be great to see. I can't imagine, you know, if he has a choice about how he wishes to leave the game, this past game is not the way he would want to do it. That said, he knows what it takes to get his body ready. It's one of those situations where they pay him to practice and get his body ready. And he would play the games for free or hang out with the guys for free. The question is, is there the rest of his life that is waiting for him in a way that is already set up in a way that I can't recall another player having it already set up for himself?
Honestly, I can't recall the last play. Was Brady the last guy to have the world as his oyster all set up for him in a manner in which he ever wants to do it. But Brady wasn't also, I mean, when Brady retired, the only entertainment aspect was hanging out with Rita Moreno, right?
Frady for Brady. And nobody thought he was going to be in the booth or anything. You know what I mean? But Travis is set up in any way he wants to do it, absolutely any way he wants to do it. And I also would imagine it keeps his, it keeps his, one would say, podcast as relevant as ever that he's still playing. So I hope this is the case. Like the rent in Godfather Part 2.
It's an odd analogy, but I appreciate it. Before we get to the extension, there is a report out there. Speaking of future Hall of Fame tight ends who wear number 87. Yes, Gronk.
According to Cecil Lamy, who covers Denver Broncos over denversports.com, Rob Gronkowski is considering a return to the NFL. Get out of here. And the Broncos are quote in the mix. Get out of here. Are you serious? I am serious.
Yeah. Gronk has been retired for three years and is 35 years old. Well, but we see him all the time. And he is absolutely jacked and treaded still.
Right, it's not like he's let himself go. Wow. So Gronk pulling basically what?
Pulling a Shannon Sharp? Right? Right, to go to Denver and do his thing? I don't know. It's just a report. It's out there. It hasn't been verified by anybody else, but I don't know. Maybe he just wants to raise it Fox.
I'm not sure. I think that would be amazing. And we were just talking to Wyndham Clark in hour number one, that the Broncos need a tight end. And Colston Loveland of Michigan is basically penciled, if not Sharpied in, as the choice of the Broncos. That if you just take Gronk and you put Gronk there and then you could use that draft choice in other ways, that would be amazing. Sean Payton, man.
Telling Gronk, what's up? Hey, come on. Well, as you know, they spent time on the Fox set. Of course.
Not that that's the reason how Sean Payton would have his number. That's amazing. God, I love this sport. You can't make it up. Holy crap.
In the story, it notes that Gronk would love to play for Sean Payton, whom we work with at Fox, and he likes what he's seen from Bo Nix. So. Interesting.
Crazy. Now what about the contract extension? The contract extension, Rich. You know, a salary cap going up. Good time to lock up your own players.
And that's exactly what the Buffalo Bills are doing. With? Re-upping Khalil Shakir. Four years. $60.2 million extension.
$32 million. Guaranteed. So can I ask you a question?
First of all, let's just do this. Congratulations to him. You want to talk about somebody that's really played himself into a nice contract and what he's been able to do and how he performs and how consistent he is. He's consistent. He is. He's he's been excellent. He has put himself in the mix as a main.
A main go to guy in the NFL and certainly for the MVP of the league. And that is great. And congratulations him. And I want to give him his flowers first before I say I'm not really a math guy.
I was more of a verbal guy. You want to see what is 60 divided by four, Christopher? Real quick, Rich, off the top of my head, that's 15. How much does James Cook want a year? I read that that he would like 15. So we're going to give 15 a year to a wide receiver. By the way, bargain basement for your number one wide receiver. 15 million a year. Ask our cowboy friend in the corner how much the number one wide receiver for Dak makes.
That would be double that. That said, C.D. Lamb is on a Hall of Fame trajectory. Khalil Shakir is one of those higher register players like, hey, he's doing really nice here in Buffalo. You know what I mean? Like so.
But like I said, all due respect to him. Congratulations to him for playing himself into this contract. I think half is how much of it is guaranteed?
Yeah, 32. Just over half. OK. And but that said, he is dependent on having the ball gotten to him. Josh Allen must target him and find him. And a defense might be aligned to put the best corner on him. And remove him from the game in a way that makes him even more dependent on having an MVP caliber quarterback find him. Let's see how Brandon Bean pays James Cook, because this guy puts the ball in the freaking end zone.
Having it put in his belly or coming out of the backfield as another threat, equally as dangerous as Khalil Shakir. And this guy is a home run hitter where he can get it on his side of the field and go the distance multiple times in a game. And I'm just using this as another table pounding moment for a running back where why, if you give that contract to James Cook, he's signed, isn't he? When you say he wants 15 million a year, here's four years, 15 million a year. That's over, right?
Done. So let's see what James Cook has put on the table from the Bills, but the Bills right away are just like, okay, Khalil Shakir secured. End of story. And you're shaking your head over there, which means another thing just popped. Yeah, a lot of stuff has happened. A lot of stuff is happening right now. I know we're doing over action money on a Tuesday here, but we can punt that because I believe is Jeannie Buss in our green room right now? I think she is, right? We'll get to her shortly.
Yeah, a lot of stuff happening. Brown's GM, Andrew Berry, is talking right now. What is he saying? He has reiterated that they have no plans to trade Miles Garrett. Said it's irrelevant how many teams have called him because they don't have any interest in moving him.
Also was asked about Travis Hunter and said that they view Travis Hunter as, quote, a receiver primarily first. We're efforting that sound, but that's the quote that's out there right now. First to say it. That's the quote that's out there. First to say it. Oh, boy. Let's save that for later because I believe that is currently in an edit bay in the rich eyes and show machinery.
You'd be correct. We'll do overreaction Monday on a Tuesday later. So, cause I would like to make sure we have enough time for the Lakers governor, but that is just for a first to say it out loud like that.
Boy, I just love this. And then, you know, I mean, Andrew Berry could say that as much as he wants. We're not trading Miles Garrett. Do me this favor too.
I'm going to actually utilize rich eyes and show live time. Can we also, if you don't mind for later on, let's cut Miles Garrett at the super bowl. When I asked him, what if the Browns don't comply?
Remember I asked him that hypothetical and he, um, he just was basically let, let's just play it out. Uh, it's not, I imagine having Travis Hunter there at the second pick is probably enticing to Miles. No, really? Wow. It is not. No, it is not. Interesting. It is not. Who's playing quarterback in Cleveland, Chris?
I don't know. What if it's, what if it's Kirk? So that'll get him to stay 37 year old Kirk cousins will get him to stay that, okay, I'm in, you're right.
I was wrong. I put it all out there at the super bowl. I totally torched my reputation with the dog pound in a way by saying I want out the way it's been described to me by my Cleveland Brown friends that they understood when he initially said I want out. But then when he went to the super bowl and he put verb words behind it on our show and then later on, on ESPN on Sunday, now they felt like it was rubbing it in. And I'm like, give me a break.
No, no, this is the way it was described to me. And I, and I understand that the Cleveland Brown fan base is potentially touchy because you know, a lot of Ohio football fans are, but we will just leave it at that. Um, what if it's Sam Darnold then that's, that's going to make him feel like that's the answer you've been telling me all year. The guy just went 14 and three or whatever. And it looked great. There's any quarterback that would make him think maybe I stay here.
That's potentially available. I think it would be Stafford who's also 37, but he's not coming off an Achilles and having a crap end of the year where they turned to a rookie at the last minute to say, try and fix this. He damn near took care of the Eagles in the snow. Now that might make him think twice, but the time is kind of running out here because the new league year is coming up fast. We'll talk about more of it later, but let's take a break coming on out here on the Rich Eisen show. We're thrilled to have Jeanie bus back on the program, the governor of the Los Angeles Lakers and in support of the new Netflix program, running point, Jeanie bus. When we come back in the NFL, there's no margin for error.
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Get an expert now on turbo tax.com. I've got Jeannie Buss here on the Rich Eisen Show, back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network with our Roku Sports Channel live stream. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen 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. We just saw a clip of the new show Running Point available for streaming this Thursday on Netflix, which is available right here on Roku, starring Kate Hudson and Jeannie Buss here in support of that here on the program. That shot that we're seeing on the screen of her sitting there on the desk with a basketball looks a heck of a lot like your book cover. So was this on purpose? The creative people at Netflix that they put together the key art, but I appreciate the homage to my book Laker Girl. But what I love is the little details and the deflated basketball.
Obviously I've got the ball, it's there, but the deflated ball just showing like, hey, it's not perfect. It's messy. This is a family business. Stuff happens. And I think I've learned that most of the businesses in this country are family owned businesses. So people will relate to the situations that happen with her family, them trying to run a business. But at the end of the day, it's a family that comes together because they want the team to win and things go better when they all get along and work together. When would you first approached about this idea of basing a comedy essentially on your existence and how you came to be the governor of the Los Angeles Lakers?
Well, when you're in LA, you're surrounded by Hollywood and these creative people. So 20 years ago, a producer pitched to me the idea of a scripted show based on a character like me, because most of the women in power that you see on television are either a cop or a doctor. And this was something different and it would be appealing to men who like sports because it would be sports, but women would relate to it because a woman's in charge. And that had some traction and then Desperate Housewives came out and so they kind of changed. They wanted something more like soapy or something like that instead of that.
And so, you know, we dropped that. Then, you know, Linda Rambis, my, you know, partner in the show, the person I've worked with for the last 40 years, we always felt there was a comedy here somewhere and we just continued to talk to people and we connected with Mindy and pitched her the idea. And you pitched Mindy Kaling the idea. Oh yeah.
Yes. And, and, you know, I've been blessed to be surrounded by talent like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. And now I get to work with Mindy Kaley. It's like another all-star, but she got the, she got it right away, but this was five years ago.
It's taken this long. Well, that's this business, right? Exactly. When you're in development that it really means you're not doing anything.
Even if you're the governor of the Los Angeles Lakers? Well, I mean, I had a day job to worry about, so it wasn't like, Oh, okay. You know, what am I going to do? It just, but Mindy really got the character and created, you know, a family storylines. There's so much here that the show can go so many different ways. And, and you know, I think it's going to be entertaining for everybody. Something we'll find something that, that they can relate to in the show. That's fantastic.
It's great. And Kate Hudson, how did she get attached? Is that anything to do with you? Well, you know, I recommended Kate and I'll tell you, it's, it's very interesting that back in the nineties, I ran the forum. I was the general manager of the forum and that's when the LA Kings hockey team had Wayne Gretzky on the team. And of course the celebrities came out for the big star and that included Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. So they used to bring teenage Kate to the forum and you know, they, they would leave after the second period, but Kate wanted to stay. So they would leave her with me. So Kate would shadow me as, you know, like, okay, here's how the box office works. Like she's got such a curious mind. That's, she's an amazing talent. She can do anything.
She can do comedy, drama. She's got an album. Like she can sing. She's like, she's so amazing to me.
So she's always somebody that I knew understood what I did, you know, because she shadowed me back of the house. And so I said, well, what about Kate Hudson? And Mindy was like, I don't know. She's a movie star. You know, I don't know if she's going to want to do streaming, you know, this. And she goes, but we'll try. And, you know, Mindy kind of underestimates the gravity of her and people want to work with Mindy.
I sure did. And you know, Kate signed on and it's gone so great. And then, you know, another like interesting, you know, crosspoint for us is that my husband, Jay Moore, was played Kate Hudson's love interest in a movie called Two Hundred Cigarettes. So it's like, not only is she like, you know, playing a part inspired by me, but she, you know, had a pretend relationship with the man that I'm married to now. Like, it's like we were meant to be. This was meant to be. You can't make it up. Right. So you went from her chaperone and then she went from to be your avatar. Yeah, essentially. On Netflix on this program. Unbelievable. First of all, say hi to JJ for me, please. And secondly, you know, it's it's fun to see sort of a make believe part of your world.
But how how real is this program? There are things there are some things that get me angry, that put a lump in my throat, that make me laugh like, you know, I'm the first person to make fun of myself. And there's, you know, a scene where they talk about posing in Playboy. You know, I mean, that is true. It's I did like, you know, you can't make that stuff up.
It actually happened. And so the idea that it's used in the show to kind of, you know, kind of make her, you know, take taken aback. Well, I guess it's good that they for the poster of the the the TV show, they used your book and not the periodical. Right.
Jeannie Buss here on the Rich Eisen Show running point available for streaming this coming Thursday exclusively on Netflix, starring Kate Hudson and Max Greenfield and a great cast. Everyone should check that out. By the way, I'm in episode three. I know. I'm playing myself. So, you know, I'm very good at playing that character.
I can't wait to see that. Thank you for that. Oh, come on.
It's absolutely great. And in a minute, I'll tell you the connection actually on that front. But I do want to talk about the Lakers with you right now. OK. By the way, everything is just I can't believe Luca Doncic is a Los Angeles Laker. When you look and see him in your Laker 77, what are you thinking when you see that? You know, when in my position, you know, when you see certain players in the league and you think there's no way I'll ever have that player on my team like there it's just impossible unless you draft a star like that.
They usually don't move. And, you know, when the opportunity came up, you know, we were not looking to to move Anthony Davis. You know, he was a just the you know, he was our our rock solid player. And so we had to give up a lot to get Luca, but the opportunity to get him. And, you know, I look back and, you know, the last time I saw Kobe alive was about a month before he passed. And he had brought Gigi to the Lakers game to see Luca play because Luca was Gigi's favorite player. And you know, it's just the idea that Luca is now Laker. I know how happy that would make Kobe and Gigi. How happy is it made LeBron?
You know, I think I think it's I think it's working. No, I know. But I also listen, Jeanie, I understand the sensitivity here because Anthony Davis is a terrific basketball player and was I'm sure you're a championship right there on the ring on your finger from from 2020. And I I also understand that he was definitely your vision of when LeBron does retire.
That's the guy you want people to come down to crypto dot com to go see. And I totally get that. And now it's changed. It's now Luca in that role. So I understand the sensitivities about all that when it comes to Anthony Davis, certainly tonight with the Mavericks being in the building. But that said, when when did it arrive?
When did it finally first land on your radar screen that Luca was a possibility even in your world? You know, it the conversation started a couple weeks before the trade was executed. And what was really important was Rob Polinka, the general manager, and I, you know, we did not want any part of it to leak out because it's very disruptive to a team that's trying to focus on getting better.
We have a rookie coach in J.J. Redick. And, you know, the idea of blowing something up mid-season to make a trade like that, if it didn't go through, would have repercussions. So it was really, you know, tight lipped. And, you know, each step of the way was, you know, discussed.
And, you know, we were able to make a deal that both sides were comfortable with. Well, mission accomplished on keeping it quiet. I mean, the number of people that were just stunned, it was the whole world. It was the basketball world, you know, just absolutely stunned that this got pulled off.
And that also includes Luca, quite honestly. He had no idea. What was your first conversation with him like, if you don't mind me asking? Just, you know, I think it still hadn't set in with him, you know, because it is, it's very humbling to be traded.
Nobody wants to go through that. And, you know, he just bought a house and, you know, was settling in. And, you know, so I think it surprised him. But I think now, you know, it's been three weeks, so he's kind of getting on board. Well, how have you helped with that process?
Like, how have you or your team handled his mental state? Because, again, I totally understand this, not to equate me with Luca, but, you know, I thought I was going to be on ESPN my entire life and I was there for seven years and they allowed me to walk. And I was stunned. It took me a long time.
A couple of times, actually, my first year on NFL Network, I just said, you know, you're watching SportsCenter. It came out of my mouth. You know what I mean?
So I totally get it. But so how have you and your team been part of his sort of intake? We've embraced his family, his management, you know, everything we can do to make his transition smoother is what we're doing. And, you know, it takes time because he's got to decide, you know, he doesn't know L.A. He's got to figure out where he wants to live.
You know, there's there's just a lot going on. Plus, he's got to figure out how to fit into this team. But, you know, J.J. Reddick played with him for, you know, I think a month or so with the Mavericks.
So they had a relationship. Dorian Finney-Smith, who had been his teammate with the Mavericks, we had just acquired a few weeks before. So, you know, we're just trying to build that continuity, that community where he feels embraced and, you know, he can accomplish all the things that he wants to. And when I met him, the first thing I said to him, because I think a lot of times when players come to Lakers, there's such a history that it's kind of like, how am I ever going to stand out when all these great Laker players, how am I going to get my jersey up there? And, you know, the first thing I said to him was, you're going to write your own chapter in the Laker history book.
We're so excited to have you. And, you know, and then he said, you know, he really wished that Kobe was there. No kidding. Yeah. He said that.
Yeah. I mean, it's that that was like a very important relationship, you know, that, you know, Kobe really took him under his wing and was supportive of him. And so I think he feels that even though without Kobe present, that there's that kind of feel with our organization and, you know, we just will do our best. And so, again, I know you delegate quite a bit, but were you involved in the first night as to who was introduced last or is that just Luca and LeBron handling that on his first night? Yeah, that was the team deciding.
And I, you know, I'm not exactly sure whose idea it was, but when that happened, I thought that was a really special moment that they figured that out. Apparently it was LeBron who reached out to Luca. But I would imagine you as the governor of the team, you would want to make sure you didn't, you weren't even thinking about that sort of thing. No, but I mean, that is so like LeBron and he's captain of the team. That doesn't surprise me if it was LeBron's suggestion. Well, and I'd love to linger on LeBron, if you don't mind for a couple of minutes here. I've got Jeannie Buss, the Lakers governor, again, running points available for streaming on Netflix on Thursday.
Everyone should check that out. I'm not just saying that because I'm in episode three. So you've been through this before with an all-time great with Kobe and his end game of his career. How do you envision this going with LeBron right now?
You know, I mean, if, you know, there was a script writer writing a script, you probably wouldn't have him playing at this, at this well at this age. He's unbelievable. He's unbelievable.
So, you know, and he showed us in the Olympics, he's the best player in the world, you know, and so, you know, he can play however long he wants to play. He has to decide. That's, that's for him to decide and we're here to help him fulfill that vision. Do you have any conversations with him about this?
No. How often do you talk to LeBron? What's your relationship with him like? You know, I, I try not to bother him, you know, like he's got a lot of stuff going on. Right.
He's a multimedia star. Like you. And, but you know, he knows I have an open, so anytime he wants to come see me, he can come see me. So, you don't broach the subject matter and you just figure he'll, but, but you, I imagine you'd want him to finish in a Laker uniform, right? That would be your choice. That would be my choice and that's, he knows that's how I feel. But again, it's his story to tell, not mine. And so he has to decide how, how everything's going to go. And, and that's, that's very important to allow him. He's earned that right to write that, write his own story, his own ending.
Right. And so he, he will, I just would wonder if it's been, you verbalized, you just come to me and, and we'll talk about it and I want to be involved in it. That's the sort of thing you said to him. Yeah, because I mean, he watched very closely how, what we did with the end of Kobe's career. And you have to keep in mind, Kobe gave us the best gift because he told us in November of that season, this is going to be my last year. So we had all that time to prepare and, you know, Kobe was very thoughtful, you know, how he wanted to make the announcement, how he wanted the, the, the, the game that, where he made the announcement, every fan that was there got a special letter that unless you were there, you didn't get this letter so you could prove, you know, it was like, Kobe really was thoughtful that way.
And I imagine that LeBron will be the same way. Any bus here on the Rich Eisen Show, a few minutes left here. So on this program, on this channel and this platform in Roku, there's going to be a new show launching next month called Women's Sports Now. Every single Thursday, there's going to be an hour long show. Susie is executive producing and co-hosting it as well. Sarah Tiano, who Chris Brockman is, is a partner of, of, of Sarah.
She's going to be co-hosting it. Renee Montgomery as well. And the reason why I'm bringing all of this up is Women's Sports Now. I know you've got, wow, women of wrestling as well.
Year three, you said of it in return, season three. And your dad was the original owner of the LA Sparks. What would he think of the WNBA right now? He would, he'd be all in, you know, and I, I, I, I'm so proud of where women's sports is finally, I mean, it's seems like an overnight success, but it's, you know, in my experience, it's, you know, 40, 50 years since Billie Jean King played Bobby Riggs and, you know, title nine was passed and women got all these opportunities.
And I love the personalities. I love that there's various platforms where female athletes get center stage and, you know, so the, the show that you just described, that's, that's like my dream come true. These are all the pieces that are coming together to make sure that women's sports survives any challenges to title nine or any other, you know, challenges that, that make young women quit sports. You know, when they're, it's so important to have a well-rounded experience when you're growing up and playing sports is one of those elements that, that adds to confidence.
You know, creates relationships, friendships that last a lifetime, teaches, you know, teamwork, humility. And, and so I just want to make sure that women's sports, once I'm gone, you know, that there's more people, you know, carrying the torch. Well, and then with women's sports now, Susie says that, and she says it all the time. She wants to have a show that Kobe would be proud of sitting next to Gigi to watch.
And that, that's what she wants here. And because the competition, the level of competition, the intensity is just as great as the men doing it. And also Ike Barinholtz, who's a writer and showrunner of Running Point, his daughter and my daughter play on the same team coached by Susie, who at one point complaining about a call, the official kind of mansplained how physical basketball is to her. She almost got ejected from, from the arena. I had no idea.
Yes, these, these are all, yes, these are all true stories. And, and, you know, I obviously, you know, want you on as a guest and have you part of this whole show in a way, but it is, it's kind of wild how, you know, in mid May, in the middle of the NBA playoffs, there's going to be the launch of the WNBA season that, that is going to be pretty intense when you think about it, Jeannie, you know, wait, can't wait, you know, that's going to be, I just wanted to ask you about that, you know, the, where, where we are in this part of the sports world, you know, softball, volleyball, obviously there's so many other sports and the March Madness is coming up for, for the women's side, just as much as the men. Yeah. And, and the LA Sparks just traded for my husband's favorite WNB player, Kelsey Plumb. Same with TJ Jefferson in the corner right over there. You know, she's on, yeah, I know we're all, we're all big fans.
So Running Point available for streaming Thursday, exclusively on Netflix. Tonight's game is pretty huge. It's exciting. Do you feel an extra buzz in the arena because Luca's there now too? You do feel it?
I do. I think my dad would be proud. Kobe would be happy. Gigi would be there sitting on the floor. Her favorite player, Luca.
And I just have to finish by asking you this, Jeannie Buss. There are many people out there who watch you acquire a 25 year old superstar that nobody thought was available and was technically only what it seemed like made available to you and your franchise. I understand that once again, the Lakers have gotten a generationally brilliant player to put out there as a crown jewel for this franchise in Los Angeles and people are like, damn it.
How the hell do they pull it off? How do you respond to something like that? Chip off the old block?
I don't know. Like it's something my dad would have done, but I mean, you have to remember we had the piece that they wanted, which was Anthony Davis. And so, you know, it's, that's why they came, you know, that's why the conversation started because they wanted Anthony.
No, I know that there's a sensitivity to this subject matter. I saw your facial expression when I even brought this up, that it's just, you know, being brought on a silver platter to the Lakers or golden platter or platinum platter, you know, adamantium platter to your franchise. Yeah. And, you know, like I said, we have a rookie coach who is showing a lot of promise in what his career is going to be. And, you know, we want to give him all the resources that he needs to be successful. And certainly Luca was on that list.
Check that box, Jeanie Buss. Congrats on the show and what appears to be another fun finish to a Laker season. Yeah. And, you know, really this was all publicity for the Netflix show. That's what Netflix made. They've made the arrangements to get Luca to come here.
Listen, you tell Netflix Luca is going to appear on season two, I think you get the green light. That could be helpful. I'm just trying to help. I'm just trying to help. We just try to help our guests be better than when we first found them when they come here.
The Los Angeles Lakers governor, Jeanie Buss. And how can people check out the World of Wow? How can people check that out and be involved?
Just go to the WOW website, Women of Wrestling website and put in your zip code and it'll show you where you can watch it. Fantastic. Great. And then check out the Lakers tonight on Turner Sports and the rest of the streaming world that you could see right here on Roku.
Watch the Mavs and the Lakers tonight. Thanks for coming on. Appreciate it. We send you back on the, did you walk over here?
I know you could. Stop at Starbucks. What an L.A. thing to say.
Fantastic. Jeanie Buss right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk O'Reilly Auto Parts people. They're in the business of keeping your car on the road. O O O O'Reilly Auto Parts offers friendly, helpful service in the parts knowledge you need for all your maintenance and repairs. They've got thousands of parts and accessories in stock, either in store or online.
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Follow and listen on your favorite platform. When I spoke to Jeannie, she said that she would have you do anything you'd like for the Lakers franchise. Has she communicated that to you? Yeah. Okay, she has.
Even a rumor that you might consider even maybe coming out of retirement to play one more time for the Lakers. Right. I see you're laughing. Yeah. There's nothing to that, right? There's about a zero percent chance that I come back and play.
So not even like a? Nothing. Zero. You're toast. You're finished.
Done. As a player. That's it. Did last year at any point with you going through your first season not playing basketball? Never. Not once did you think about it?
Never. Here's the thing. For us athletes, it's really hard to transition from that. Right?
And I was really personal about it when I wrote Dear Basketball. But that is the true challenge of finding what comes next. Finding something that you love to do every bit as much as you love your first passion. That is a challenge for us. And I think unfortunately for us athletes, we've been pigeonholed into thinking that we can only be one thing. So when I retire and everybody is saying, okay, he's too competitive. He's not going to know what to do with himself.
He's going to have to come back. I took that as a personal challenge of them thinking I'm this one-dimensional person that all that knows how to dribble the ball, shoot the ball and play basketball and compete at that level. So I took that as a personal challenge. I will never come back to the game.
Ever. I'm here to show people that we can do much more than that. And creating this business, winning an Oscar, winning the Emmy and the Emmy, those are things that are showing other athletes that come after. No, no. There's more to this thing.
So I would never, it's not even a thought. So the goal was an EGOT. You won the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, the Tony. The challenge became how do I take the lessons that I learned through the game of basketball and translate them into building the studio, right? What are the things that I can take from that? The discipline, the commitment, the team and community. How do you get the best out of each other?
How do I take those lessons and move those here? That is a challenge. How do we do great work?
Uncompromising great work. Not looking at the bottom line. You're focused on the product first, right?
Is this the best thing that we can possibly make no matter what? And having that sharp focus is something that I got from the game of basketball. Oh man. Every time I see that, right? Every time I see that. It's in the gut.
It's in the gut. Yeah. You just think about what was coming. What might've been. Oh my God. Absolutely. Yeah.
All the greatness that was still left in there. Right. But him coaching women's basketball or girls' basketball, he was ahead of his time there, right?
Not a lot of people were kind of understanding why they understood a girl dad is coaching his girl. But he was kind of ahead of his time there too on the women's basketball front. And you know he would be at these LA Sparks games. You know that. He would be in front and center with the WNBA with his daughter right now.
God bless it. Well, she'd be in college right now. She'd be a freshman somewhere, you know, dominating. Yeah. You got to assume.
Yeah. It'd be her and Paige Becker's at UConn. Or USC with Juju.
I think UConn was like always her dream school from when I can remember. Good Lord. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show.
That was a great chat. Hyundai is available. A Hyundai, you can buy one.
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Pick up through a participating Hyundai dealer in select markets. During that conversation with Jeannie Buss, guess what? NFL news are popping. Mike Borgonzi.
He is, I guess it rhymes with Yahtzee because he's in the catbird seat. He has the new GM role in Tennessee and he is the one who is fielding phone calls on the first overall selection in the draft. And you bet he is fielding phone calls and he confirmed it today. You know, anytime you have number one pick, it's always going to be a topic of conversation. Yeah.
Has it gotten to a point where, you know, a lot of other teams are getting very nosy, so to speak? You know, I would say we've had some phone calls. Yeah. You know, I'll keep those phone calls to the best, but we've had some phone calls. Yeah. All right.
Confirming it. And also had no idea. Did you detect something? Listening to Mike there, Chris? Did you detect something?
Born in Everett, Massachusetts. You didn't pick it up? How about you didn't pick up then? How about them apples inflection? He had some good will hunting vibes. How about them apples? Getting phone calls and the first overall pick.
The question is, should they move it? What do they think of Will Levis? That's the end of the story.
What the Tennessee Titans do with the first overall selection is a window into their evaluation of Will Levis. Period. End of story. And you could sit there and go, well, it's really an evaluation of Cam Ward and Shadore Sanders.
Okay. Because Will Levis was not a first round draft choice. This is now, it's rubber meeting the road right now, pretty much on Will Levis. And you could start the clock again with another year of contractual control on a kid. And is that player not as good as Will Levis?
Okay. We'll take Abdul Carter or we'll trade the draft choice and we'll figure out the quarterback another time. And they could do that in free agency.
I cannot wait to see these puzzle pieces land because it is all about what's happening in two weeks. The NBA, we just had the governor of the Los Angeles Lakers leave us. The draft is before free agency and the NBA. They draft before free agencies. They draft first and then they can fill in free agency. And the NFL, that is not the way it works.
And we all know it. So you want a quarterback? You need to make the evaluation pretty darn fast right now. You need to make these decisions now because in three weeks, Sam Donald's gone. In three weeks, Aaron Rodgers could be gone. In three weeks, Matthew Stafford can be up and you can fall head over heels in love with Cam Ward and Shidoor Sanders. And then all of a sudden, wait a minute, who's really, are you gonna have Stafford?
Well, that goes out the window. That is exactly what's happening. And it starts with the Tennessee Titans making this evaluation on Will Levis. Is Will Levis in this second year of Brian Callahan's offense better off for them long-term, a better long-term play than Cam Ward or Shidoor Sanders.
And if you think Will Levis is that better play, then the world is your oyster on anybody else. You can have Travis Hunter, you can have Abdul Carter, or you can let somebody else fall in love with Cam Ward and Shidoor Sanders and move down and get more picks because your team has got to get some help. Although the previous general manager in Rand Carthon was making moves last year, like they were just a couple of players away. Like, let's get Calvin Ridley. Let's get La'Darius Snead. Let's go.
And it didn't work out. Their first overall on the clock. Coach stayed, GM gone, new GM in. How about them apples? Making the decision on Will Levis versus these two quarterbacks, those decisions get made now. And then if you fall in love with Abdul Carter and you're like, I don't know if these quarterbacks are as good as Will Levis, doesn't matter. Hey, Sam Donald, you want to come to Tennessee and be in the Callahan, Zach Taylor, Sean McVeigh type system.
And Sam Donald might say yes to something like that. If you put enough cheddar on the table and now suddenly your options at the first overall selection are vast because you don't have to use it on a quarterback. And sit back and see if anybody's falls in love with the quarterback because they got to jump ahead of the Cleveland Browns. You know what they're doing and you know the Giants are going to take one of them. Unless the Giants, the ones who choose and go up front.
I'm just giving everybody the scenarios that are playing out and they got to play out fast because free agencies right around the corner and the draftable kids are getting front and center attention this week. The bigger pockets podcast network is your home get it for real estate investing. I am very tired of people saying that your primary residence is not an investment. Get real talk from real estate pros about investing strategies that work. I bought a house for $1 and it makes me a million dollars. You can become a real estate millionaire over the course of like five or six years. No one needs a stock. No one needs cryptocurrency. They need a house. Bigger pockets. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.
