Biggest Threat To The Nuggets? (Hour 1)

Live from the palatial yet not overly ostentatious studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to another week and a Monday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, and that free Odyssey app. 855-212-4CPS. I'm gonna jump on in. 855-212-4227. You can always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Coming up hour 20 from now, former Denver Nuggets coach did win the coach of the year award in 2013. George Carr will be stopping by and then at 8 20 p.m eastern, 5 20 p.m pacific, Green Bay Packers legend Ahmon Green will join us as well. But first up produced in this extravaganza for the next four hours is no other than hot take Kiki. I don't know about that hot take Kiki. So it is unfortunate that the NBA finals are basically over. It's not unfortunate that the Denver Nuggets are going to eventually whether it's tonight or in game six or game seven gonna hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy. I think most of us do believe that this series is going to end tonight with Denver winning it all in five games as a basketball fan. After we got to see Denver take game one and then Miami take game two, I was hoping then going back to Miami. Miami would snag another game in this series.

That did not happen in game three nor game four. So we're in this scenario for a game five tonight where Denver is in firm control and this series all looks like that it's over with it being 3-1 in favor of the Denver Nuggets. So when you get into this game tonight, maybe I'm out here on an island, which I don't think so, but does anyone think Miami is winning tonight? I know Denver is an eight and a half, nine point favorite. It's not inconceivable that Miami gets this game, but I would imagine that if we put out a poll tonight, Hickey, you would assume, right? 85% and that's pretty high for a poll would be taking Denver to win tonight and expecting this series to be over, wrapped up, fat lady singing and the trophy getting handed out tonight. Especially if you are not a Heat fan, I mean 5% maybe? I can't give you anything optimistic and we both said going into the series Denver is going to win this series.

I was in between five and six. I lean more six, probably more so out of hope and then respect and admiration for what the Miami Heat have done. But you look at these rosters and you look at the dynamic duos, which the NBA has become. It's a dynamic duo league where we've seen different iterations of the NBA, super teams. We've seen some teams win with just one superstar. That is a rarity, but bare minimum you need two superstars to win. And when you look at the two stars on both of these teams, Jimmy Butler is a star.

Bam Adebayo, I just think is a really, really, really good player. I would not call him a star. At moments he showed like he could be a star, but when you go through the ups and downs of a series, the ebbs and flows of a series, you kind of see what happened last round happened here, where he looks like a star for a few games.

And then in other games, it's just not all there in a best of seven series. So when you look at what Miami has to offer, compared to what Denver has to offer, there's no up and down play from Nicole Jokic. Nicole Jokic, even when he doesn't have a great game, is still one of the more dominant players in the league. And we've reached the point where there's no stopping. Like when you talk about the Nuggets, sometimes you would say, oh, how do you stop Nicole Jokic?

No, no, no, no. You don't say that. How do you try to contain Nicole Jokic?

And we've talked about this. It's not easy, but you almost want to make him a scorer and take away one third of his game. That's his favorite part of the game. And that's dishing out the basketball and making others around him better. And then on the other side, too, you look at Jamal Murray. I believe that this run, you get a greater appreciation and people recognizing what the ceiling can be for Jamal Murray. And for a while, I was telling people what Jamal Murray did in the bubble, I didn't think was just something that was a one time thing. Because in 2021, I was a big proponent of the Nuggets.

I was a big proponent of Jamal Murray. And they went on a little win streak. And I'm pretty sure that they lost back to back games on that back to back game losing, you know, back to back games of losing things. Then you saw Jamal Murray tears ACL up against the Warriors. And then for the last two years, it was can Denver ever get back to that spot? And last year, I thought there was a gross overreaction when Denver got eliminated early in the postseason because they didn't have Jamal Murray and they also didn't have Michael Porter Jr. So you look at Denver in a league of dynamic duos, you know, having the Koliokic viewed as one of, in my opinion, the best player in the sport.

And Jamal Murray, his stock just keeps on rising exponentially with some of the efforts that he's been able to give with everyone watching. Because that is a problem, right? When you get into these national shows and like one that we do, you know, it's a little different for me because my sister lives out in Colorado. So, you know, my brother goes to a few games and I've just watched Denver more than than I probably usually would if I didn't have any ties to the area. But when people start to see a team night in and night out in the spotlight, you go one of two ways. You could either say they're boring, which is just Jack Astor. You look like a fool if you do that, or you understand their level of greatness.

And whether it's tonight or a few nights from tonight, I think it will be tonight, we're going to have a celebration of the Denver Nuggets. And you look at the league when we've seen in just the last 20 years, different teams win and different styles win in the way that you construct a roster. We've seen some individual superstars win championships where you don't really appreciate the rest of the roster, whether that was Kawhi Leonard with the Raptors, whether that was Dirk Nowitzki with the Dallas Mavericks.

So you've seen people do that. Then you've seen clearly the super team era, whether it was the big three in Boston with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, or you go into the two different waves of the Golden State Warriors when it was just Steph, Klay and Draymond, and then eventually you had KD even before that. You had the big three in Miami with LeBron, Wade, and Bosh. And ever since Kevin Durant elected to go to Brooklyn, and yes, now he's with the Phoenix Suns, we haven't seen another super team in the NBA or a super team, if you want to consider Brooklyn one of them, that has generated the results that we've seen a super team usually generate. And now for the last few years, we've been in this period of dynamic duos winning championships, whether it was Giannis Antetokounmpo and at the time closer Chris Middleton with the Milwaukee Bucks. Last year, Steph Curry, and you could still throw Klay Thompson in there.

And then this year, most likely barring some crazy comeback that no one really sees in Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. And for a while when super team Tiki would win championships, you would have some people that say, oh, it's bad for the sport. I was never one of those people because the Celtics were fun. The Miami Heat, you may not have liked them, but it wasn't always a lock that they were going to win the championship. It was a lock they were to get to the championship, but they did lose to San Antonio and they did lose to Dallas. They've also won two championships too. And then you look at the two different waves of the Golden State Warriors. When Steph Klay and Draymond were just the trio, they weren't hated. They won a championship defeating LeBron.

The next year up 3-1, they blow that 3-1 lead. And then after that, people started to have animosity towards Golden State because an already great team added Kevin Durant. And then they seemed as if it sucked all the fun out of the sport because no one was going to be able to beat Golden State. And we did see them add two championships up against LeBron and the Cavs with Durant. But then that last one, because of injuries and also the greatness of Kawhi Leonard, they lost that.

But the last few years, and what makes this fun, not that super teams were bad, is that we truly don't know who's going to win year in and year out. Like, look at when Milwaukee won the championship. They were doubted heading into that postseason. Look at last year, Golden State, they didn't even play their best brand to basketball.

It was still good enough to win a championship. But many people thought, including myself, that Steph was going to have to leave the Bay Area if he wanted to win another championship. And even heading into this year, even though Denver ended up being the number one city in the Western Conference, they were doubted because some people did not fully embrace Nicole Jokic or they didn't think Jamal Murray was as good or as great as the way that he's been playing. So if this continues, and I don't see another super team forming in the next few years, maybe I end up being wrong on that. But if this continues in this age of dynamic duos, I'll just ask this question. Who's the biggest challenger to the Denver Nuggets? Because Nicole Jokic isn't going anywhere.

Jamal Murray isn't going anywhere. That does not mean they're going to become a dynasty. That does not mean they're going to go on to win multiple championships.

But as long as they could stay healthy, this is what they're capable of doing. And by the way, I'd be remiss when talking about super teams. I know we don't consider the Spurs a super team, but they were a dynasty.

When you go back in the last 20 years and you look at all the greatness that we've seen in the different ways that people have won. But getting back to this storyline with Denver, in a league of dynamic duos, and it doesn't seem like we're going to have a super team comparable to super teams of the past forming anytime soon. Moving forward, who's the biggest challenger to the Denver Nuggets? That's my question for you.

855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227. And let's start in the Western Conference before we examine the teams in the Eastern Conference. Hickey, I'll let you open this one up first. If you have to pick one team next year, biggest challenger for the Denver Nuggets in just the Western Conference, who's the team that you're looking at? I would say it's a team that gave them so far the most trouble in the postseason, the Phoenix Suns. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, a great, great one-two punch. I'd argue right now the only other dynamic duo in the NBA that could compete for the best title or the title best duo in the league outside of Jokic and Murray. They obviously need a lot of depth help, or depth help, easy for me to say, so this is a very important offseason for them, but talent-wise they match up the most. And I just wonder how much mileage does KD have left on those legs? You know, Devin Booker and KD, can they coexist together?

That's something that you wonder. Both this year they were able to score, but you talked about that depth help. Well, let's see if they go get that this offseason, because I don't like the way that roster is currently constructed. You know Chris Paul, it seems like he's on his way out, and it doesn't seem like DeAndre Ayton's gonna last there that much longer, so who are you gonna be able to go out and get to help that duo? And you look around the Western Conference, I don't think it's Memphis.

I can't trust John Morant right now. Sacramento's a young, up-and-coming team. Can they take the next step?

That's something I'll have to wait and see. It's not Los Angeles for me just because I can't trust either Paul George or Kawhi Leonard to stay healthy. Minnesota I'm not buying into. Pelicans you don't buy into. Dallas, can they get Luka Doncic some health? Because Kyrie Irving is the answer. You know, and then obviously don't, let's not forget Los Angeles. But he asked the mileage question with KD, it's even worse for LeBron James. And then AD always ends up having injuries that pop on up. The team I'm actually going to go with, and I don't think there's a great answer, it's actually Golden State though.

And here's why, because I said something earlier. Golden State last year won a championship without playing their best brand of basketball. And maybe you don't need to be great night in and night out to win a championship in this day and age of the NBA where how we looked at all these teams that have been questioned that won a championship the last three years.

Now this Denver team has been great, don't get me wrong. But with Steph Curry still being Steph Curry, Klay Thompson going on these hot streaks, I'm assuming Draymond Green's going to be back. If they could ever get Jordan Poole to start looking like the old Jordan Poole like he did a year ago, I'm still going to hitch my wagon to that team when I look at who could be the biggest challenger moving forward for the Denver Nuggets in just the Western Conference. When we go to the East, Tiki, who's the team in the East? Because Milwaukee just lost in the first round, but they do have Giannis Antetokounmpo. I'm going to assume that Jalen Brown is back for next season along with Jason Tatum with the Boston Celtics. Philadelphia, they have them beat.

Is James Harden going to be back? Miami has Jimmy Butler, but I think Jimmy Butler needs another star like a Dame Lillard if they're going to want to go win a championship. They get to the finals, we've seen them do it twice now with Jimmy, but I still think they need another player to win a championship. So who's the team in the East that you look at and go, okay, that will be the biggest challenge if they get to the finals.

And let's say Denver's there again a year from now, that could knock them off their throne of eventual champions. I'm going to go with the Bucks. Obviously you have Giannis, which maybe right now is the player that could try to contain Jokic the best in the league.

And you look at the last two years, yes, health is a big concern because you could argue that the health has cost the Bucks right now the last two post-seasons. And there are questions about Middleton's future and Brook Lopez, but I'll go Giannis. I like right now the organization overall with Milwaukee, say in the East, Bucks. I'm actually going to go Boston. Most years I would probably go Milwaukee and you know how big of a proponent I am of the Milwaukee Bucks, but Boston has been so close.

I know they lack that killer instinct. I'll be curious to see what moves they make this off season. I thought it was a good decision to bring Joe Missoula back and then improve that bench to fill out the coaching staff, but I'll still go Boston because of the upside, even though Giannis I would say is the best player in the Eastern Conference, just the upside and the experience of what a Jaylen Brown and also Jason Tatum has done. And my only concern in Milwaukee, I love Giannis, but outside of Giannis is Chris Middleton going to be healthy? What's the future of Drew Holliday? Those are just some things that you look at where I'll give the slight edge to Boston over Milwaukee right now moving forward. It is Zach Gilp's show on CBS Sports Radio, assuming that Denver gets the job done tonight or in the foreseeable future and finds the way to get to four wins the quickest.

Who's the biggest challenger for the Denver Nuggets moving forward in this era of dynamic duos? 855-2124, CBS 855-212-4227. You all right over there Hickey? I was concerned during that segment. You were tripping over your words, you were sneezing up a storm it looked like, you were slamming the board, dropping your headphones, everything okay? You have a rough weekend? My right ear is clogged. Is it? It's throwing me off to be honest. I could tell it's not that bad as the way that you're probably thinking it is because you were throwing a tantrum on the other side of the glass. It's yeah, it's been clogged all day. I can't pop it. It's very frustrating, so I can't really hear on my right ear right now, which is throwing me off as well. It's very annoying.

I don't really know a solution, so it's been a frustrating day so far and it's bleeding now into the show. Can I have a theory here? Can I make a theory here?

Sure. Too many shower no cap videos? Is that what is happening where the water is getting in your ears and now you have a clogged ear?

No, no. Come on, I keep the water out. What do you mean you keep the water out? You're showering.

Yeah, but I keep it on my ears. I don't know. Clearly not. How else did you get clogged?

I don't know. I'm trying to, that's probably I'm trying to figure it out. It's been an issue. Just telling you.

Very frustrating. Maybe time to say rest in peace and to put a little death sentence to that shower no cap and eliminate that segment. If it's one or the other, I'll keep the clogged ear. Okay. Now I give the people what they want. I'm telling you, it is not worth it to have a clogged ear to continue to do that segment. What was the latest shower no cap?

Did you put one out today? Yes, Giant Chipase Acorn Barkley. Oh, perfect segue.

That was unintentional too. Because when we come on back, we're going to talk about Josh Jacobs and also Saquon Barkley and another sneeze from Hickey. This is a problem here. I may have to send you home.

I'm trying to blow like I'm holding my nose and blowing out to try to pop my ear. Okay. Geez, I may have to send you home. You're distracting. You're very distracting here. I'm sorry. I just try to do it very subtly. I'll wait till we go to break next time. Let's go.

Man up, compose yourself and get it together. We're doing a national radio show. I can't be looking at you doing all these things throughout the show. I'm trying to be very serious.

I take my job very seriously. Well, come on back in five minutes. We'll see if Hickey returns in five. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show. It is Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. Coming up in 15 minutes from now, we'll play audio from Jimmy Butler. This is shocking audio and will react to probably why he feels the way that he does.

But we'll get to that at 6.40 p.m. Eastern, 3.40 p.m. Pacific. So a lot of chatter has happened ever since the Dalvin Cook release that running backs aren't respected in the NFL and they constantly get screwed when it comes to contracts. And this is the latest example and why it kind of shows running backs.

Get your money, get your long term money and the most guaranteed money when you can. And the running back position, the way I would say it, it's an interesting one. You need running back production to win in this league.

You need to be able to run the ball. But the days of having a bell cow back is not a necessity because you look at the champions in the last decade plus in this league, the last bell cow back to win a Super Bowl was really Marshawn Lynch. And even when you looked at that team, it wasn't as if they ran all the time.

And no one runs all the time this day and age of football. But the signature parts of that team was really when they won more so LOB, the Legion of Boom, and then also the coach in Pete Carroll. And Beast Mode had some legendary runs.

There's no doubt about that. But outside of that, you look at the teams that have won when the Broncos won, they didn't have a bell cow back. When the Patriots in their six championships won, didn't have a bell cow back.

When Philadelphia won a Super Bowl, they had Jay Ajayi, LeGarrette Blount, Corey Clement. They didn't have a bell cow back. Kansas City hasn't had a bell cow back.

Look at what Isaiah Pacheco walks right in and played pretty well for them. Now we've seen different players perform well at the running back position for the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay. Now they had Leonard Fournette, but he's not considered a bell cow back.

So you look at this hickey where not only do you not need a bell cow back to win, but look how many running backs end up getting drafted outside of the first round that go on to be dominant in the NFL. Now Josh Jacobs was a first round pick. He turned his career around last season. He had a great year last season. You look at someone like Ezekiel Elliott. He's now a free agent. Christian McCaffrey, dominant player when healthy.

Saquon Barkley, really good player when healthy. But you look at the future of the running back position, it feels like not that just running backs grow on trees, but you could find a way to get a great running back or get great production out of a group of running backs and you don't need to commit a long-term deal. Or if you do commit a long-term deal, you front load the contract, and then the moment you see a little decline or you think that the player's not worth the money, you get out of that and you save yourself some money right there. Where the player gets some guaranteed money, no doubt about it upfront, but as that contract goes on, the guaranteed money does lesser. So now we're at a point where you have two guys that they're not available, but essentially they're working without a contract because they haven't signed their franchise tag yet in Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley, who both had really productive years.

And they have up until July 17th to get a long-term deal done. And both Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley are probably annoyed with the way that the running backs are treated. I get it. Like if I'm a running back, I'm not looking around and saying, oh, the league doesn't need a bell cow back. I'm saying, hey, I'm Josh Jacobs. I provided a big part and a big bulk of the offense last year for the Las Vegas Raiders. So I'm Saquon Barkley. Yeah, Daniel Jones played fine last year, but look at what I was able to do when I was on the field. And I'm the guy that's the explosive threat and the guy that people are afraid of when they line up to defend our football team. And yeah, Josh Jacobs saying, sometimes it's not about you.

We got to do it for the ones after us. And Saquon Barkley didn't rule out a holdout because there is, we get told all the time now with this new CBA, you can't hold out, you can't hold out, you can't hold out. That's if you're under a signed contract, like Daniel Hunter's going to hold out. He can get fined like up to $50,000 a day. And it's not as if it was when Michael Strahan did it where you would just wipe away those fines once you end up coming back to camp. But for Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley, they're in an interesting position because they can't get fined because they haven't signed their one-year contract, their one-year franchise tag left.

So I'll really be fascinated. Now you got time here. You got about a month because I don't think you need to get nervous about Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley because what are they going to do in many camps? What are they going to do in training camp? You're a running back.

You want to preserve that body as well. You've been in a league for the last few years. It's irrelevant if Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley are participating in these events in practice. But if we get to August, if we get to late July, mid July, and they haven't signed a long-term deal, I don't think either Josh Jacobs or Saquon Barkley would not sign the franchise tag and would sit out an entire season. I don't think that would happen and looked at what happened with Le'Veon Bell. Yeah, he eventually got paid by the New York Jets, but then after that, what did Le'Veon Bell really do? So I don't think Saquon nor Josh Jacobs would take it to that level, but it is something to look at. And then, Hickey, you also have to start to wonder if they're not happy on a franchise tag, when does something happen? And Saquon is a great dude.

We met Josh Jacobs at the Super Bowl, also a great dude. Where's the level of commitment if you're not taking care of long term, where let's just say, you know, your hamstring's a little bit tight or your back is aching up. And maybe if you had that security and if you were happy, you would get back onto the field as soon as possible.

But the slightest of pain, maybe you start to say, yeah, I'm going to sit out this week. I'm going to sit out for two weeks because I have to look out for myself to get that next big deal because maybe they'll go two years of the franchise tag or maybe next year, both those guys could wind up ended up being a free agent or maybe one of them could be a free agent in the NFL if they don't find a way to get a long term deal done by July 17th. Yeah, and the tough part for them is that just right now, every team for the most part is thinking the same thing. So it's like if they do reach for agency, I mean, we're seeing right now Davin Cook on the market. It's not like teams are busting down his door to give him a five year, 100 million dollar contract. We've seen Ezekiel Elliott was cut, what, two months ago? Yeah.

No one's even sniffing around him. So I think that's a tough part for Josh Jacobs, for Saquon Barkley. It's like, yes, you can hold down. You want to make a scene and make a point by maybe holding out a training camp and maybe even missing a few games during the season. Realistically, though, you reach for agency next year or you are in a position where you could try to cash in next year. What team is giving you the money you're looking for? I think there'd be at least one team that would give them that money if they get to the open market because a guy like Saquon is so flashy. Josh Jacobs is an absolute stud.

I do believe there will be one team. I'm not saying they're getting $16 million a year, but a deal that you could be happy with because those guys are still young. Barkley, the injury concern is there, but you saw what his value was last year. A guy like Josh Jacobs only played in the league for a few years, but you're not wrong in terms of the running back position and giving out big contracts.

It's not as if the last few years everyone's knocking at your door if you do get to an open market because I do think a lot of teams, sure, if you have a Christian McCaffrey, it's great. If you have a Josh Jacobs, it's great, but you look at the teams that have won Super Bowls in this league, most of them, they plug and play a lot at the running back position, and it's a collection of guys that get you that much needed production on the ground. That's also part of the reason why if you want to talk about skipping games, and like you said, Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley, let's just say for argument's sake, if they play this year on the franchise tag and there's no extension, give it to them. Let's just say, like you said, maybe there's a hamstring and if he had a contract, maybe you play through it, but he wants to preserve his body and say, I'm going to sit out. Well, also now if your placement goes for 100 yards, in a way you're almost diminishing your value because, sure, you're trying to stay healthy, but now also you're getting a look and other teams are getting a look of, oh, well, the Giants run game is actually equally as good, whether it's Saquon in there or not, then you're almost, again, then diminishing your value when you do get on the free agent market next year.

I feel so bad for them because it's an impossible situation that they're in. Let me ask you this, Marco Belletti, because you're a Giant fan. What do you think ends up happening with Saquon? Do you think he'll end up signing the franchise tag or do they get a long-term deal done by July 17th?

I got a feeling the two sides get it done. I think Barkley wants to be a Giant and I think the Giants want to keep him, to keep him part of the offense and they like the leadership, they like the player he is. It's not going to be a deal that Barkley is going to love, but I think he's also well aware and this is where I kind of disagree with you guys a little bit. These running backs, and we're seeing it with Dov and Cook, if there was really a market for that one team, we'd see it already. I don't think that running backs of this ilk are worth more on the free agency market. I think they're worth more to their current teams because they know what they have and they don't want to get rid of it. So I think Barkley will eventually realize the most money he'll make is with the Giants.

It's not going to be a deal that he's going to love. The guaranteed money is not going to be there, but he's going to get a long-term deal done that helps the Giants salary cap situation. And I do think the Giants and the Raiders are different situations.

And here's why I say that. The Giants, when I think of their offense, I think of Saquon Barkley first. Now they just paid Daniel Jones. There's not a lot of weapons that you look at on the Giants offense that you're shaking in your boots when you get up to prepare against them.

When you just invested in Daniel Jones, even though, say what we just said about the running back position, it wouldn't make a lot of sense to not move forward with Saquon Barkley into the future. I think that's partly that. And it's partly the player that he is.

It's also partly the person he is. I think the Giants are trying to, with the new regime, with Joe Shane and with Brian Daible, they want to create this culture that they have of the giant way and going back to the old way. And a lot of teams want to do a lot of franchise want to do that. I think they know that Barkley is a big piece of that because not only can he play on the field, he helps them do what they want in the locker room and off the field.

That's important to them. And I think it's for a short-term thing. It's only, look, it's going to be say a four-year deal. The first two years are going to be the only where the money is.

They'll wind up releasing them probably after two seasons. He won't get the guaranteed money that he loves. It'll probably be somewhere in the 26 to $28 million range of guaranteed money.

So everybody saves face. Giants get what they want in the fact of a 26-year-old running back for two years guaranteed and not for a four-year type of guaranteed thing. Barkley's not going to get exactly what he wants.

Everybody's going to save face in getting something done. Now, this goes back to 2020, but I think the best running back in football right now is Derrick Henry. And look, he got, and I'll say only in terms of what football money is, a four-year $50 million deal in 2020, but that deal only included $25 million in guaranteed. So if you get a four-year deal, it could look something like that where it says it's a four-year deal, but the guaranteed money is not through the roof. Which is, again, where all the discrepancy lies with Barkley saying, well, the $14 million that I turned down supposedly during the season, that's not exactly what it was. It's not as easy as that.

And the devil is in the details. You're right, because I would venture to guess that that's what, four years, $56 million. I'm pretty sure the guaranteed money was probably in the $20 something million range, which is not where Barkley wants it.

So that's where the distinction between the two sides comes in. I do think the Giants want it because they like his off the field and his locker room presence. They like that leadership.

They want that. They also want to keep that for Daniel Jones to help him and his maturity to go into the next step. I don't think Barkley looks at it and goes, well, if I play one year at $10 million, there'll be four or five teams knocking at my door.

Who's knocking at the door of Dalvin Cook right now? Basically the same age. What, two years older? Coming off four consecutive thousand yard seasons? Really good running back. And you would say actually would probably age better than Barkley because he's not built off agility. He may get signed. No one's pounding down his door once he became a free agent. I also wonder with Dalvin Cook, the timing of it, because if he was available at the start, a lot more teams could be interested.

I'm not saying he would get this enormous long-term deal, but I doubt that. But I think it makes it tougher this time of the year. And I think most teams, again, look, the running back position has been devalued through your salary cap. We all know this. We're all talking about it.

We all understand that every team gets it. It's economics. It's easier to pay your own guy because you want the guy. Don't tell me that personality and person don't come into it.

They do. When you don't like the guy and it's a problem and you want to move on, when you want to keep him, that's where you can pay a little bit extra for what you did before and for what you're going to do in presence. It's harder to do that with a guy from the outside coming in if you think that his value is going to go down because his play is going to go down. And now on the other side with the Raiders, just real quickly, all the same things could be said about the character of Josh Jacobs and his influence in the locker room.

It's ideal when you look at the way that he's conducted himself. But his first few years, yeah, he went for over a thousand yards twice, 1150 yards, 1065 yards. But a new regime comes in and that year in 2021, he had 15 games played before the new regime got there at 872 yards and nine touchdowns. But they declined when that new regime came in last year, his fifth year option.

And then he has his career year of almost 1,700 yards last year. And you know, McDaniel's comes in, they clearly didn't think he was going to be in the long-term plans in Josh Jacobs. Now, Josh Jacobs has been a bonus to your team and has been great for your team, but McDaniel's comes from that Belichick way where they just won six Super Bowls and they had a rotating cast of characters at the running back position. And I also think they're a little bit more in flux and I don't know if Mark Davis is looking to make that long-term commitment to a running back when he's not. Look, you could say what he wants. He's not 100% sure he's committed on his own head coach.

He doesn't know if he is. And I think that's fair. He's also got a quarterback that's more of a journeyman and Jimmy Garoppolo as opposed to a guy that's, yeah, and brittle and a guy that's necessarily on the up and come if you're hoping if you're a giant fan or a giant regime.

So I think the situations are different. I could see Jacobs getting the franchise. I could see him playing on it. I think if you sit out on the franchise, I don't think your value goes up. I think it goes down. I'd go the other way. If you're aching and your hamstring is tight and you don't have a contract, I'd say get the hell out there. Because if you sit three or four games, they're going to turn around and say, you only played 11 games last year. Where's your value?

So I don't think that it really helps. They're in a no win situation. Every running back is up against the wall. You got to get the money when you can. It's tough for Jacobs. He's going to wind up playing for that 10 million. He's going to play the year and he's going to wind up a free agent. I don't think the Raiders are in the same spot. The Giants, that would be perfect. If you told me that was last year, I would say, yeah, you got to play the one year with Barkley and let them move on.

You're blowing the thing up. The Giants feel like they have some stability now and with a regime, and I think they want to move forward with it. I think the Raiders are in total flux. And I think they know what they're doing. Look at Waller.

He has a monster year, maybe, and everything comes together. They can always resign them. I don't think they know what direction they're going in. Last thing you want to do is then commit to a running back. I agree with you. I think the Giants get the deal done with Saquon.

I do not think the Raiders get the deal done with Josh Jacobs. By the way, I've seen you throughout the years and I know Marco Belletti doesn't get much sleep. I've now seen you having a newborn. I could tell you're a little bit tired of not getting that two hours that you normally get at home now. I got about an hour and a half last night.

Yeah, just an hour and a half. You sound exhausted. You don't just show it when you just sleep, but get no sleep because of all the 9000 jobs that you do.

But new newborn, no sleep. Marco Belletti, it is recognizable just in your voice. OK, I thought I was playing it off. I got to be fair. I thought I was playing it off. Don't worry.

He has a clogged ear. You just have no sleep. If you're asking me, you're asking me, am I busted? Yeah, I'm busted.

I'm trying not to show it on the air. But yeah, I'm a broken, old, fat, tired man. That's what I am.

I didn't say that. I mean, yeah, I got three kids at home now. I got a newborn. I'm pushing 45. I'm fat.

Yeah, we need a lot of management. I'm slowing down. What do you want me to tell you?

I'm slowing down. You're listening to The Zach Gelb Show. Zach Gelb Show, CBS Sports Radio.

I was just watching this video and this is kind of I guess you could say shocking audio, bizarre audio. This is Jimmy Butler getting interviewed by Jared Greenberg, NBA TV. Listen up to this conversation. Your good friend Dwayne Wade's going into the Hall of Fame a couple of months. Have you allowed yourself to think what it would ever mean to you to be elected into the basketball Hall of Fame? Yes, I have.

And what do you think? Don't care. You don't care whether you're a Hall of Famer? No, I don't.

Do you think your resume? Still don't care. Honestly speaking, could care less. If we're being brutally honest, if I was selected to the Hall of Fame, I'm not going. You're not going to accept it? No, no, no. I'm not going like it's like the festivities and all that.

I just want to like, I just want to like go put my feet in the sand somewhere. You wouldn't accept that honor, the greatest honor in basketball? It's an individual thing. You know, I'm not for the individual type stuff. I'm really not. I'm like a team guy.

But even after it's all said and done and you've done. No, I don't want to go. I don't.

I'm not worried about the Hall of Fame, so I promise you it's an honor. It is, but I could care less. Interesting. I mean that too, by the way.

That's bizarre. Now I get it. Jimmy Butler talks about all the time how hard working he is, and it's all about the team, team, team, team, team. But once you're retired and you get that call from the Hall, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame that you are a basketball Hall of Famer, as the kids would say, I'll call cap on that one.

You're really not going to show up. You're not going to go to your own Hall of Fame induction ceremony. And I get it in terms of Jimmy Butler says you're not about individual awards. This is not just an MVP award. This is not just, oh, you won defensive player of the year, something like that. This is once your career is over, you go into an elite fraternity.

Now don't get me wrong. I do think the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame puts a lot of people in there that shouldn't truly be Basketball Hall of Famers, but it's not just about being in the NBA and your NBA days. But I would absolutely be shocked if whenever he gets that call to the Hall, and I do think he will, because to me, according to who's been in and who has not been in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, I think Jimmy Butler has done enough to get into the Hall of Fame. But I would be shocked if he follows through on that promise to bypass his own Hall of Fame induction ceremony whenever that day does come, Hickey. I'm with 100%. Look, it's easy to say now. It's game five of the NBA Finals. You still think, I'm sure you have a chance. So I bet all of his focus is still trying to win this game. And you're not thinking about the Hall of Fame or you're not thinking about your career, because at that point, we're still talking about what, bare minimum 10 years from now, like the induction ceremony.

So that's something still so far down the road. I think it's easy to say now. Yeah, I don't care. I won't go. I'll show you how much I don't care. I'm not even going to go to the own ceremony.

I just want to put my feet in the sand. When it's all said and done 10, 15 years from now, he will 100% be there. I think it's easy now when it's so far away and you're worried about the Finals to say, yeah, I don't care. And it's like one thing, right?

Remember when this happened with Terrell Owens, he felt he was disrespected because he absolutely should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer. But in this case, to say this now, and you're right, his mind is probably focused on something else. You could probably be annoyed with the question and you don't want to have that conversation and have any headlines created from, you know, talking about other things, but you saying you're not going to go is a huge headline.

It's a big one. And also with the story of Jimmy Butler and how much adversity he had to fight through, you're telling me that when you get the highest individual honor there is, you're not going to want to talk about the story and have your story be highlighted and be a part of where your basketball legacy is going to be enshrined forever. That to me, I don't know why he did go down that road. It doesn't really make much sense to me, but he did. And it wouldn't surprise me years from now if he ends up attending his own Hall of Fame ceremony. But I guess that's something to watch for like 10 to 15 years down the road if he'll stay true to his own word. But I think that is more so the character of Jimmy Butler and what he thinks he needs to portray for whatever reasons is that actually the real authentic Jimmy Butler down deep. I think when that is all said and done and he's retired, sure, you go sit in the sand and put your toes in the sand for 364 days out of the year. But one day, that 365 day, when you get called to the Hall, you're telling me you're not going to go? Bunch of bologna, if you ask me. We'll do a News Brief next, Zach Elbshaw, CBS Sports Radio, George Karl going to join us 25 minutes from now.