Kevin Durant's Legacy (Hour 4)

Alrighty, hour number four of our radio program. It is the Zach Gelb show.

Coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. The QB Carousel will be spinning once again. Coming up 20 minutes from now, where Kadriah Smile will join us. Always looking forward to our conversation with Q. First up, we got a few things to just kind of reset here. So Damian Lillard the other night goes for 71 points. Absolutely remarkable. Dame is my favorite player in the NBA.

We're just talking about this right before we went to break. My three favorite players in the NBA these days are Dame, Giannis Antetokounmpo and then also Anthony Edwards. I just love his mentality. Hickey, when we get into other players that really do stand out to you and guys that you so easily are able to root for, your three once again, you had Dame, you had Shay. Now I'll never be able to say the guy's name right. Shay Gilgis Alexander.

I always want to call him Gilgis because Jack Stern messed it up. That's like the Kirk Herbstreit thing. I was just going to say Kirk Herbstreit. I now want to call him Kirk Herbstreit because he messed that up. So who were your three again?

Go ahead. It was Shay. It was Gilgis Alexander. It was Dame Time, Dame Dalla and also Devin Booker. Devin Booker.

Booker I do like a lot. But the Suns now are tough to root for because they bring in Kevin Durant. And that's a, you know, for KD, I saw Barkley was talking about this when he was on first take. When LeBron went to Miami and won, people thought he had to leave Miami to really get the respect for the rings. When you look at Kobe Bryant, he had to win without Shaq, right? When you talk about him, those are the importance of the titles for him. And when you look at Kevin Durant, he goes from going to Golden State, which ironically with what I'm about to say, I didn't really have a problem with that at the time. I know a lot of people up in arms like, oh, it's weak.

It's gutless. What is he doing? He has every right to choose where he wants to go. He was a free agent.

He was an OKC for years. Yes, I understand. You blow that lead to that team and you go join him.

It does look weak. But you look at Golden State, like I don't fault them for doing it. They built the team how you're supposed to build a team. You build through the draft. And then when you think the time is right, you go pounce to improve your team and make them even better and go get another player via free agency. I think that's what we ask all of our teams to do. I know Golden State already won a title and they were just coming off that historical season.

Most wins of all time in a regular season. But I wasn't I don't know about you at the time, Hickey. I wasn't as nuts as everyone else was and all caught up in the actual decision, because maybe it's just we've seen that become more of the norm now in building these and building these super teams. Look, I mean, you're 100% right that you have the right to choose where you want to go. So it's like it's hard to get mad in one sense. But I do think if you are at a certain superstar level, which Kevin Durant clearly was out when he was leaving Oklahoma City, I think you almost owe it to... And he got to finals. No, I don't say the league or the fans. That kind of feels weird.

But I do feel like you kind of owe it to kind of do it on your own. I feel like it really is kind of a cop out or does feel weak to kind of go take a layup and go join the Warriors. And let's be real when he won the two finals MVPs. So can they win a championship without him? Yeah, they showed that last year. But do they win two more titles if he doesn't go there?

That I do not know. Could they have gone to the finals obviously without him? Yeah, they've done it two other times before he before he got there and they did it once after he left and they won two titles without him. But I look at this one with the Suns. This one actually annoys me more because he was a free agent and he just left.

Like that happens. But then he goes to Brooklyn off of his insecurities of what all these trolls and people say, oh, you got to go win a real ring, all that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And he goes to Brooklyn and he was running the show in Brooklyn. Him and Kyrie were running the show and I get it.

Kyrie stabbed him in the back. But the fact that he bailed on Brooklyn, the place that he wanted to go to, to then go back to what we now will call a super team, that to me, Hickey, I never thought about it this way until now. I thought it was more weak than actually going to Golden State because of him going to Brooklyn after the insecurities from Golden State and then quickly bailing on Brooklyn, the mess that really, let's be real, he created. It's funny.

I actually feel the exact opposite way. I didn't think Kevin Durant had to go to the Warriors in order to win a championship. And I really thought, again, he took the easy way out.

Yes. I thought he could have won one on his own. Again, they got to the finals in Oklahoma City. I thought that he is still one of the best basketball players in the league.

So I thought, okay, this guy can do it on his own. Harden no longer there though at the time. Right.

No, I know I get that. But it's like he goes to the Warriors and when he leaves and he goes to the Nets, okay, now this is his chance to do it on his own. And we saw in the three and a half years in Brooklyn, it was a total disaster. He could not lead. He seemingly did not want to be a leader, did not want to make any sort of decisions, even though he was a decision maker. So now, to me, kind of going to the Suns, it almost feels like, okay, he has proven he cannot do it. He cannot do it on his own. So at least I have come, I guess, to peace with the thought of Kevin Durant ever building a team and winning on his own.

Interesting. So going to the Suns to me is like, okay, that makes sense. When you can't do it on your own, now you go to a team with established leadership, established culture, team that's already good. He did well at Golden State. Now it is with the Suns. It's kind of par for the course at this point.

Let me ask you this, though. Let's say he wins a championship with the Suns. Don't you still think there's going to be a majority of people that go, oh, he had to take the easy way out to win the conversation and then do those insecurities pop back up where he goes, okay, now I have to leave the Suns down the road?

That conversation a million percent will happen. I just think because he saw how it went when he went on his own, I don't think he'll do it again. Also, if they do win a championship this year, let's say, CP3 eventually is going to walk away. That opens up a spot, not saying necessarily they're going to fill it with another great player, but then it's more Durant, Devin Booker, two guys that are considered great players. And then DeAndre Ayton, who is a really good player. I don't know if I'm calling DeAndre Ayton a great player, especially when he's been a number one overall pick. The year they got to the finals, he was incredible.

Last year, whatever happened in that just terrible playoff performance, him and Monty Williams didn't see eye to eye. And then he re-signs that contract, and everyone's like, oh, he'll get traded at some point, and then the Nets end up getting a trade done with the Suns. And I thought DeAndre Ayton would be involved in it, but it was Mikel Bridges who I do think could be a really, really, really good player in this league. I've been a big fan of his ever since you really saw his emergence at Villanova, and I used to work with someone who's actually cousins with Mikel Bridges back when I did Philly Radio at 97.5.

Which, by the way, that was one of the funniest and saddest things I've ever seen. When the Sixers drafted him, and his mother worked for the organization, Devon Givens, who covers the Sixers for 97.5, the Fanatic, was on the air. And that's his cousin, who started Villanova, right, with all their success, then gets drafted by the Sixers, where Mikel Bridges' mother works in the organization.

And you know how it goes with the NBA, no one actually understands when a trade happens on draft night. And Devon Givens, I'm pretty sure, was on the air that night, and he was crying. It's an emotional moment.

That's a family member. And then 20 minutes later, oh well, Mikel, it was a heartwarming story, you're actually going to the Phoenix Suns. That was like one of the craziest things, Hickey, that I've internally, and I don't remember if I was still working at 97.5 at the time or not, I forget when that was, but internally, knowing people involved in that story, it was really sad but also hilarious.

More so on the sad side, so I could be a good person. Because you're 100% right, it's just like that is, of all the trades that could be made, that's like of course the one guy who's drafted by the team, that he, you know, in the city he played in, Villanova, and his mom works there, of course that's the one guy that's traded. I would have respected, though, KD Moore, and I didn't really have a problem with him going to Golden State, but he knew what he was doing when he went there, if he just embraced being the villain.

He should have never gone to Brooklyn. And if you would have just stayed in Golden State and just kept winning championships and just kept winning finals MVPs, which he would have done, eventually people just shut up. Like, I understand you'll never get the trolls to shut up, but if he would have gone on to win like four or five championships in Golden State, like what else are they going to say? Especially if Klay was out for one of those years right with the injury, and Steph with how much time he's missed in his career as well. Like, let's just say KD didn't get hurt. If you're going to now go to the Suns as quickly as you did, I wonder at all in his mind, if he at all thinks, like, God, maybe I should have just stayed in Golden State.

And if he was to get traded, I was kind of hoping he would wind back up with the Golden State Warriors. And I wonder if that now fuels his, you know, next adventure here in Phoenix where, like I said, they win the championship this year, people are saying, oh, well, again, you had to go the cheap way out, couldn't do it on your own. I would say this time he's either going to respond better or just not let it affect him at all, and he'll stay in Phoenix for a long time. Oh, it will affect him. It will affect him.

He can't sit one out. I mean, he definitely cannot, but learn your lesson, I think, at the bare minimum. But here's the thing. What lesson is there to learn if you really don't think you did anything wrong? Like, if I am KD, I would have just chalked it up as, oh, this is just me getting hated.

And this is just people always having to talk about me. I chose to go to Golden State. I had the power to request a trade. They didn't have to trade me. They didn't do it in the offseason. Eventually, they were the ones that ended up pulling the trigger on the deal. Like, I don't think Durant thinks he did anything wrong in his mind.

If that's the case, then all I ask at this point, the bare minimum, is just think the stress is now worth it. If he thinks he's truly like the victim here in Brooklyn, despite the fact that all they did was listen to him, he is somehow the victim, then bare minimum, just say, OK, you know what? The stress of running a team is just not worth it. I'm just going to, quote unquote, be a Hooper. And you know who ends up looking the most right in all this?

Sparkly. When he went back to the bus rider and bus driver whole comment. And don't get me wrong, like Durant, when he's riding the bus, is in the first seat and sometimes like hand is on the wheel, helping out the bus driver. And sometimes the bus driver goes, I'm going to take like a nap here and I'm going to go drive the bus like Durant.

We all know his importance. We don't know how great of a player he is. But I understand in this debate world that we live in, when you see why he left Golden State and then goes to Brooklyn. And then if he wins a championship with the Suns, I don't think it makes him look any better. It would have just been better if he would have just stayed in Golden State, been the villain and said, bleep, all of you.

I would have respected it a lot more. And it's coming from someone that didn't really have a problem with him going to the Golden State Warriors in the first place. So that's the KD conversation. Also, Damian Lillard. And when we get into LeBron, now the big stories out there from Shams Harani is expected to miss several weeks.

Who knows when he's going to return? There's 21 games left in the season. But this is basically the death blow for the Los Angeles Lakers. Whatever miniscule amount of hope that you had left with this team being a game back of the Pelicans for the 10th spot. Who knows how many games Anthony Davis will play the rest of the way, right? Just naturally with how many games he misses. You got 21 games left. Even if you're on the optimistic side that he's only going to miss three weeks.

Those games keep on going down and down and down and down in number when we currently sit at 21. And even if LeBron is able to come back for the last two weeks of the season or week of the season, whatever that may be. How effective is he going to be?

And we saw him play through pain yesterday. And also, what is really the end goal here? Like, even if you get into the top 10, are you even getting into an eighth seed spot? And if you do, yeah, if you're the Nuggets, I think you'd much rather play the Jazz than go up against LeBron James.

But what are you going to end up accomplishing at the end of the day? Like, I don't think the Lakers win a first round series. But if you want to tell me the absolute apex, maybe they win a first round series. And then after that, they're going home in the second round. Like, I can't trust this team to be consistent and also consistently be healthy.

And that's it. The two things play well and also be healthy. Two things that have really doomed them the last two or three years. It's kind of been the same formula each of the last few years that's ruined their season and either have them miss a playoffs or be a quick exit. And that's just the stat that Bill Reiter put out there. LeBron James injury history. First 15 seasons only missed 71 games. Last five seasons, all with the Lakers, missed 98. And then on the NFL front, Adam Schefter, Bears are leaning towards trading the number one overall pick.

That's not a surprise. The compelling thought that I have, though, is, is there a way that they could actually move back twice and still get Jalen Carter or Will Anderson Jr. or whatever defensive player they prefer? Maybe the first move is you fall back to two to the Texans. Texans go up to one. And then when they're at two, can you get a team come up to two like the Colts or someone else?

And then you fall back a few spots and still get that big time defensive player and also keep on getting more assets for Justin Fields for the foreseeable future. And the other two NFL stories, and we'll get to these quickly. You do have Carson Wentz getting released today by the Commanders.

That surprises no one. And I want to replay you this conversation we had with Ron Rivera at the Super Bowl on Radio Road talking about Sam Howell and Ron believing that they're just a QB away. Listen up. And then for Sam Howell, I know that there's been conversation and you've even talked about it. He could be your week one starter. What is Sam Howell as a quarterback? Well, right now for us, Sam is going to come in as our guy that's going to be QB one. He's going to get an opportunity to earn the job and keep the job first and foremost. But he's going to have competition. We like Taylor Heineke, who he has been for us.

We also got to go out there and find somebody as well. I mean, we want to have a good room. We want to have a good competitive room so these guys can grow and develop as football players. How tough is it for you as a coach, Ron Rivera? Because I look at your roster, and I feel like we've been saying this the last two years, you guys are a quarterback away. You have one of the best receivers in the league in Tyler McClure. And Jahant Dotson, everyone knew when you guys drafted him he was going to be a stud. Defensively, as long as everyone stays healthy. I know that's a big problem in this sport. The front seven is just ridiculous. And Brian Robinson Jr. is also a good young player.

Right. And again, I think our biggest problem or the issue we have more so than anything else has just been health. You look at the health that we suffered through some injuries on our offensive line last season.

The year before it hit us as well. It's one of those things that if we can avoid that, stay healthy and build the right kind of depth, it gives us a chance to be successful. So I thought the most interesting part there was him talking about getting another quarterback, a veteran quarterback. Now, I don't know if Taylor Heineck is going to be back. He's a free agent. But then who's the veteran quarterback that you're bringing in? I've been leaning on the side that Sam Howell, even though I thought it would be inconceivable a month ago, is going to be their starting quarterback come week one. Because I don't think Derek Carr is going there. Rogers, it would be smart to to go for a trade, but I don't think he's going to the commanders with just the desperation of the Jets and then also the Raiders.

You haven't really heard a peep out of the commanders being interested in Rogers. It's like, are you then going to bring in Ryan Tannehill? You're going to bring in Jimmy Garale? Jimmy maybe get your playoffs if he's healthy. At that point, I would rather just go with the unknown of Sam Howell at one point was thought to be a first round pick. And I'm falling to the fifth round when he did come back to you and seeing all those guys that he had the year before were in the NFL, not on his team anymore. And Jimmy G is better than Ryan Fitzpatrick or Carson Wentz, right, than that, that they had the last few years.

But it's kind of like the same mold of guy of. But remember the excitement they had for Carson Wentz. Remember when they got Carson Wentz in there? He's like, oh, he's better than anything we had the last 10 years. And look what that happened, what that gave you.

It's like the death dish of insanity with the commanders just falling on the same rabbit hole and thinking this is going to be the one that's different. And then also, Stephen Jones did talk to ESPN's Todd Archer and he said they have all the faith in the world in Dak. And they've got a plan to ultimately extend Dak Prescott, who does have two years left on his contract. And this is my favorite quote, because we know and we know what he's all about. His leadership skills are undeniable, impeccable work ethic, Jones said. Other than that, other than he hadn't won some key playoff games, he's everything you want in a quarterback from the day he walked in the door. He's won a lot of games. We just got to get over that hump.

I love what you're saying, why you have so much faith in him, other than the fact that he hasn't won key playoff games. That's a pretty big but, yeah, but kind of statement right there. All right, we'll take a break. We'll come on back. Two more segments to play. Kadre Ismail will join us on the other side.

And also coming up at 9.40 p.m. Eastern, 6.40 p.m. Pacific, we will end the show out in style with the Closing Bell. A future hold for all 32 NFL teams at the QB position. Now I'm going to give you an opportunity to spin this wheel right here. Let's spin the wheel and find out which teams we hit today. The Baltimore Ravens. Feels like we talk about the Baltimore Ravens each and every day with the uncertain future, let's just say, of their quarterback in Lamar Jackson. Now joining us, one of our favorites, Kadre Ismail, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, and he is here today. Obviously does a great work, great job with WJZ-CBS Baltimore. Kadre, Q, what's going on? Zach, what up, what up?

So I got to start you off. What do you think is the truth with all this offseason talk with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens? Are there anywhere close to getting a deal done in your opinion?

Not anytime soon. I think the main thing is the fact that there's been a lot of he said, she said and some misreporting, misnumbers and a lot of guessing that's going on because this isn't a typical quarterback deal that has an agent and that has people talking about it from the standpoint of the agent leaking anything or the camp of the player. And then the insider gets the information and they push it out there. And the team has insiders that will leak out information and team sources. All those things are so different in this particular case. That's what makes it so unique. And I think for a lot of fans, it makes it so much more frustrating.

I almost want to just take an aspirin because whenever I think I know something about this, there's information literally the next day that's going to totally conflict whatever I thought I knew about the situation. Yeah, that's right. Whether it be the amount of guarantees or was there no guarantees or was there a Deshaun Watson total guarantee? Was there a consultation on who is going to be the new office of coordinator or not? And it just it really is.

It's a turn into a three ring circus. Do you agree with the notion that the Ravens are ready to move on with Lamar Jackson? They're fine if this comes to an end. Do I think that the Ravens will be comfortable with moving on from Lamar Jackson?

Yes. Would the Pittsburgh Steelers be comfortable moving on from Ben Roethlisberger when he was in his prime? Or how about Aaron Rodgers when he was in his prime? Or how about when you look at Patrick Mahomes when now what he's been able to do now and he's in his prime? You know, you just don't move away from franchise quarterbacks. You don't move away from generational talented players, you know, unless you got some kind of a shorty that the next guy is going to be the next guy. Heck, I think for Indianapolis Colts, they thought their next guy was Andrew Luck after they moved on from Peyton Manning.

And we saw what happened with Andrew, his body breaking down and him retiring. So, you know, I don't think it's as easy as that. I'm in agreement with you, but then it's like if all is what it takes, Kadriah Smile, is $230 million fully guaranteed, like why not just do that if you really think Lamar Jackson is the guy?

That's what makes it open up the question if they actually believe he's that great. So it's also called negotiation. It's also called the owner. Ultimately, as much as we want to say, well, the general manager, he's the one that, you know, controls the whole flow of this.

Not really. When you're talking this level of money, you're talking ownership signing off on a mega deal like this. And so I think for Steve Ushadi, even last year, he was saying and talked about how the Browns deal was an outlier.

And now everyone is using that as a buzzword because they're searching for information and they're searching for things. The thing is, I think when you look at this entire situation, it's about what we're going to negotiate and owners love their money. And even though, you know, collective bargaining wise, you have to give a portion over to the players.

They still like to hold on to their money. So I think this is just part of the plan of trying to figure out, you know, the parameters of the deal and making the deal happen. If they don't get a deal done this offseason, do you have any optimism that they'll get a deal done next offseason? Because you could franchise tag him for two years, pretty much is how this is going to go down potentially. But then you start to wonder if you're the Ravens. Well, what happens if we don't get a deal done? You can't just let him walk for a compensatory third pick two years from now.

I mean, it is what it is. What does that mean? It means that if Lamar isn't getting what he wants and he is going to sign the franchise tag.

OK, cool. You get your guaranteed money. Then at the same time, you know, the following year, it would be kind of interesting how that would all unfold as far as trying to trade him. But you also got to know this, that, you know, this league is a what have you done for me lately? And what we know is, is that I'm sure the Ravens are going to try to talk as far as Lamar is concerned.

Hey, look, you hadn't played a full, you know, season in two seasons. And when it comes to your contemporaries, especially the guys in our division, Joe Burrow. Well, we know this, that he basically has taken his team to the Super Bowl and has won playoff games on the road as well as at home. So I think the big picture in all this is for Lamar Jackson and for the team. I think it's both of them in their best interest to get something done.

It's just a matter of how they all will unfold. It's going to be fascinating to see the way that it plays out, but do you have full confidence that he'll be on the roster week one? Like you don't envision him getting traded this off season.

I have no idea. I, I, like I said, he's a franchise guy. He's a guy that is, you know, basically a generationally talented player. And I think if they are talking, you know, new offensive coordinator and Tom Monken has ideas and plans on how to, you know, make this an awesome situation for Lamar, he'll be here. And that's, that's how I'm kind of viewing it. Are the fans at all growing to a point because the Ravens are this great organization for the last 20 years.

We have always believed in the Baltimore Ravens. Are the fans starting to lose a little faith here with how long these negotiations have talked about? Like Kadri, we've talked about this thing for two years going on year number three. Well, I think now that Greg Roman is no longer the offensive coordinator, I think the fan base is happy.

But yes, I think now there's a little bit of unease because they're not really sure. You know, usually you're talking about draft picks and all that. I think Wednesday's press conference is going to be very telling. I could totally see John Harbaugh, you know, kind of deflecting everything over to Eric Jocasta. I'm like, well, hey, you know, we really want Lamar. We want Lamar. Lamar wants to be here.

He wants to be a Raven. He'll say all those things and then he'll defer it over to Eric Jocasta. And then Eric Jocasta is going to sit there and he's going to be coy and he's going to be very diplomatic. And, you know, it's a delicate situation. He's probably going to talk about how, you know, they got a deal done with Roquan Smith, who is his own representative, and how, you know, they had to do Ryan Stanley. And it took a long time.

But it got done. And so, you know, they're talking about, you know, the generic thing. But I think ultimately, fan base wise, they're going to be, you know, hanging on every word that is said and trying to decipher it. Because ultimately, you know, they know that there's a fresh new feeling of hope for this offense to really thrive and come into its own.

And a lot of it has to do on the shoulders of Lamar Jackson and what Eric Jocasta can do as far as bringing in the talent and what Todd Monken can do to cultivate that talent. We've talked about this a lot, Kadri Espaill, just even in this conversation. A lot of the questions have been, do the Ravens want to get this deal done?

Is there skepticism? I just wonder, and you know how negotiations go. When you have an agent, any of the negative stuff gets said really to the agent. And then when the contract's ready to go, they bring that over to the player. Like, I've done that in my own negotiation by agent.

I don't know what the heck management says about me. And then when they get a deal done or close to it, then they bring me in with Lamar and his mom being so closely tied to that, representing themselves. I just wonder if maybe Lamar's at a point where it's like, oh, we haven't heard a whole lot of positive things.

We haven't got a deal done. Maybe I don't want a player in Baltimore anymore. Well, I mean, he's been a unique player. And the way he thinks, the way he operates, obviously last year he could have held out if he felt that way. I don't think that's in Lamar's nature.

I know he's both teammate-wise as well as publicly has declared his high affinity for wanting to play here in Baltimore. So, I mean, something could change, sure. I mean, anything. But this is the thing. We don't know. And so, therefore, we're just, we are straight up stretching, reaching, guessing.

And every time you think you've figured it out, there's something different that comes about. Right as of now, I think Lamar's going to be a Raven. And I think he wants to be a Raven. I think he wants to do what he said he wanted to do on draft day, which is bring the Ravens a Super Bowl championship. Off of that, and I know you talked about him not being on the field at the end of the year, the last two years, also some of the shortcomings in the playoffs, and let me preface this. I'm a believer in Lamar Jackson. I've been a believer since he got drafted and all that stupid debate happened at the combine about him potentially changing positions. Do you have confidence that Lamar can win a Super Bowl and will win a Super Bowl in this league one day?

Well, yeah, absolutely. I think that his record as far as regular season-wise and doing what he needs to do speaks for itself. I think what will win this Ravens ballclub with him at quarterback a world championship, they need to add more pieces to the table so he can work and do his thing without having to do everything.

That's a good point you bring up because I know they tried right. They drafted Marquise Hollywood-Brown. They drafted Rashad Bateman.

I think you've got to go get a bonafide number one wide receiver in there. For whatever the reasons are, via trade or free agency, they just haven't been willing to do that. Well, I think part of it is, yeah. I saw a report on Twitter how basically the Ravens were last as far as spending dollars offensively. It was evident when you look at some of the young players, I'm sure that cancels out some of the big-time dollars. But even with all that, I think that there's some really good pieces in place. But make no mistake about it, the Ravens historically have not really had that wide receiver, that stud-wide receiver, be developed within the organization.

And that's been a problem. And then at the same time, yeah, if they can make it work, and that's part of what the holdup is, because of the fact that they're tight on the cap, and then basically if they can get a deal done with Lamar, great. But if not, they're going to have to do a lot of restructuring.

And it depends on what monies they do have, so they could bring in a free agent. So lots of nuances that goes on with surrounding Lamar, and in particular getting him a stud-wide receiver. You can check him out on his new Twitter account, I am cadreismile. I guess Twitter let him back in the building. Does a great job for WJZ, the CBS affiliate in Baltimore.

He is cadreismile. Q, always a pleasure. Thank you, Zach.

Appreciate you, brother. Thank you, Q. I'll say this, Marco, just when it comes to the Ravens situation. I've never been more confused about something in the last three years in regards to sports. That's not like a CBA or anything that's litigious. I'm just talking about getting a deal done than this one. Because any time you start to think, okay, it's on Lamar, then the Ravens show you up, maybe they're being skeptical, maybe they're low-balling him, the more and more we go through this, and it's kind of stupid on the Ravens' part that they'd be just like willing to move on, but it kind of comes off as they don't fully believe in Lamar as much as they say. And for Lamar, when he hears all this that's going on in negotiations because he's the one that is representing himself along with his mother, that's where I think he gets ugly, too.

And it has to be personal feelings that evoke here that wouldn't normally happen when you have an agent. I think that's all fair. To me, the thing that's closest to this is the Dak Prescott with the Cowboys. It just took too damn long.

And then eventually it got done, but it just got to the point where it was like, what are we doing? Is it that Dallas doesn't believe in him? Is it Dak wanting more?

What exactly was the story? I feel like this goes a little bit further than that, and it's different than the Kirk Cousins because that was firmly that Washington didn't believe, and we knew that after a while. I think this one, they actually do believe in Lamar Jackson. I know they're a little concerned about the injury history, and that's understandable, but I think they're smart enough to look around the league and realize that they have a number one quarterback. They have a franchise quarterback. It's hard to do. It's hard to find.

And when you find them, you don't let them walk away. So I still feel like, again, a lot of this is smoke. It's unnecessary probably in a lot of regards, but I find it difficult to believe that it'll mean anything in the end. Well, if that is true, then I would say they've got to get a deal done this offseason. I know they could wait until the offseason after that, but if you're the Ravens and you don't get a deal done the offseason after the second franchise tag, then it's like, uh-oh, you could lose him for only a compensatory third-round pick? Yeah, no, and again, that's why. I feel like it's like now or never. Even though you have an extra year.

That's the thing. Every one of these negotiations, usually with a quarterback you try not to go down that road, but it feels like unless there's a deadline, nobody wants to do anything. Everybody's waiting for the other person to blink, and it's really stupid because the longer everything drags out, the worse it winds up becoming on both sides. It would behoove both to get this deal done, but I think you got stubbornness on both sides, I would imagine, and they want what they want, and they feel like without a deadline, then what's the difference? We'll keep pushing that buck. Lamar, obviously for the injury protection, not that I think his stock is going to really fade, but for the Ravens, if you're going to get this deal done, the price only goes up more and more. I remember when we first saw the Mahomes deal, which obviously no one had a problem with.

It was, now that looks like a bargain. The Dak Prescott deal, I know he hasn't necessarily always held up his own end of the deal, but now they're talking about the Cowboys negotiating a new contract with two years left on the deal because if you believe in someone, whether we believe in them or not, it behooves you, as you said, to get the deal done now because you saved money the next few years. It still comes down to the same thing. The market will only go up. Value will only go up. So every time you reset the market, someone's going to surpass you. That's the way it goes.

And I come back to the same thing. You don't let franchise quarterbacks walk out the door unless you've got a really good reason. And if you've got a really good reason, guess what? They're not a franchise quarterback.

That's your reason. So to me, I've never seen a true franchise quarterback be on the market in their prime. The closest we ever came was Kirk Cousins, who's not a franchise quarterback. I mean, at the time we knew that this was probably not, but not the guy that you hang your hat on. And we knew it then. I think the Vikings knew it, but it was like, but he's better than what we've got. And we just got to get over the top.

And it's understandable. There were three or four teams in that same regard. Look at the Jets now. You've got teams that think they're right there.

Just get me over the top. I don't have to have a great quarterback. I just need a good enough quarterback. But that's where we are now. There are no guys that we look at and go, oh, he's definitely a franchise quarterback because everyone in the league would want him. And the team that's got him won't let him walk. All right, we'll get to the closing bell when we come back. James dollar time.

Seventy one points. How can't you love Damian Lillard? I hope he wins a championship one day. I don't think it's going to happen in Portland. I know it won't happen in Portland. All of Portland. Remember, we did shows.

They would be fine if he got traded because they would love to see him win a championship. But man, that was some performance. Give Dame dollar time. A stock up. You do that 71 times. Right here for a little bit.

I think we'd run out of time. Also, you got Bucks loss. Shout out Bart Winkler. Fourteen in a row for the Bucks. No Giannis.

No problem. Well, that wouldn't be the case for the entire season, but you got to get it yesterday. They defeat the Suns 104 to 101. Drew Holliday. All-star Drew Holliday.

33 points in the contest was 13 to 22 from the field. Middleton 11 points off the bench. Bucks win their 14th straight 104-101 with a victory over the Suns. Give the Milwaukee Bucks a stock up.

The Atlanta Hawks. Quinn Snyder is their new head coach. I thought Quinn Snyder could have got a better job. But he likes to take this job in the middle of the season.

So give the Hawks a stock up because that's as good of a coach you could get that was available. Mika Zbanajed of the Rangers. Yesterday, I'm at the Rangers game, Hickey. When he blocks that shot on the penalty kill, I thought his ankle was just shattered in a million pieces. He could even put weight on it when they were basically helping him off the ice. And at the start of the third period, he comes back on the ice no problem. Not even play off hockey yet. He didn't need to play in the third period.

But gets back on the ice and then scores a power play goal as well. Mika Zbanajed, give him a stock up. And also, afterwards I tried to go get a Mika jersey at the team store. I had like a 25% off coupon. With the tickets I had for the game, there was only one jersey left. Those were flying off the shelves.

So did you get it? It wasn't my size. It was a men's medium.

If you've seen me, I am not a men's medium. Damn. Gotta go pregame next time. Let's go.

It's alright. I knew it was Mika going in and I was waiting on Keontre Miller. And Keontre Miller spit in someone's face and I'm like, uh, probably should go Mika.

The Magic Luke crossed him off the list? I love Keontre Miller, bud. That was a bad look yesterday. Gotta give credit to the Nuggets in overtime. $1.34, $1.24 winners over the Clippers.

And we're inching closer and closer to Nicole Jokic winning back to back to back MVPs. Had 40 points yesterday. 12-15 from the free throw line. 4-2 to 21 from the field.

And oh yeah, by the way, had 17 rebounds at a tenesis. Give a stock up to Nicole Jokic. The Padres. Everyone freaks out when the Mets spend money. How about the Padres? They get this deal done with Manny Machado.

I respect it. When owners are willing to do whatever it takes, who knows when eventually they're gonna trade some of these guys. But right now the Padres have everything right in front of them. And they have no reason to not win a championship this year. But give the Padres a stock up. I gotta show a lot of love to Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings. When he got higher there, I think a lot of people were like, ah, retread again.

He gets a job. The Kings are rolling right now. And Mike Brown is making a strong case to go win Coach of the Year in the NBA. They have that team. 10 games over, 500. 7 games back of the 1-C.

They currently sit at 3. This is the job that Mike Brown is doing, they've won 3 in a row. Give the Kings coach a stock up. The Bears, according to Adam Schefter, are leaning towards trading the number one overall pick.

That is the right move. You keep Justin Fields, you trade back a few spots, maybe trade back twice. You get a bunch of assets, still get a pretty damn good player in the draft.

And you continue to just get more talent on that roster. It would have made no sense to draft a quarterback. You have a good quarterback, now you gotta surround that quarterback with the right pieces.

Give the Bears a stock up. Anyone that was bitching about the pitch clock, I think you've been proven wrong. I look at it, no base runners on, you gotta get that pitch off in 15 seconds. Base runners on in 20 seconds. The only thing that concerns me a little bit is deciding the 8 seconds left on the pitch clock. That the batter has to be in the box, it has to be a tentative or alert, whatever the word is.

I'm still trying to figure out what that means. I know everyone's freaking out over how that one game ended, where they called a strike 3 and then there was no extra innings and the game was over. I don't think it's gonna necessarily, I don't know how it's gonna be called to the regular season. But I do notice an increase in the pace of play and I never give compliments to Rob Manfred. But I like the shift, puts the ball more in play, banning the shift. And also you're picking up the game a little bit and it should not take more than 15 to 20 seconds to throw a pitch.

So I like the pitch clock so far, so stock down to anyone that was hating on the pitch clock. Carson Wentz. Oops, I did it again. Jeez, that's what Carson's saying right now. Eagles ended in a disaster. Cults, one and done.

Commanders, one and done. And if any team is gonna think they could find the magic of Carson Wentz for that 2017 season where he was unbelievable and if he didn't get hurt he would have beat out Tom Brady for the MVP. You're crazy at this point. He's a backup quarterback, I don't know if he can handle the role of a backup quarterback. But if I'm Carson, I think you're sitting on all that money that you have, you've suffered a lot of injuries, just go hunt and enjoy your family.

Because being a QB one is not for you anymore in the NFL. Wentz released, yikes, stocked down. And that's the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Big thanks to Kadre Ismail for joining us. Also Pete Bursage and Will Middlebrooks. Big thanks to all the listeners. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram at Zach Gelb.

Z-A-C-H-G-E-L being a big thanks to my producer extraordinaire, The Hot Take Kick. We out. Talk to you tomorrow everybody. Bye-bye. Peace.