Future of Tua & Trevor (Hour 1)

Look around. You can find cars like these on AutoTrader. Like that car riding your tail. Or if you're tailgating right now, all those cars doubling as kitchens and living rooms are on AutoTrader too. Are you working out and listening to this ad at the same time?

Well, multi-tasking pro. Cars like the ones in the gym parking lot are for sale on AutoTrader. New cars, used cars, electric cars, maybe even flying cars. Okay, no flying cars, but as soon as they get invented, they'll be on AutoTrader.

Just you wait. AutoTrader. Worried about letting someone else pick out the perfect avocado for your perfect, impressed-them-on-the-third-date guacamole? Well, good thing Instacart shoppers are as picky as you are. They find ripe avocados like it's their guac on the line. They are milk expiration date detectives.

They bag eggs like the 12 precious pieces of cargo they are. So let Instacart shoppers overthink your groceries so that you can overthink what you'll wear on that third date. Download the Instacart app to get free delivery on your first three orders while supplies last.

Minimum $10 per order, additional term supply. You could spend the weekend doing the same old whatever, or you could conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for more details.

Hyundai, there's joy in every journey. Live from the play show, you're not over the ostentatious studios of the Infinity Sports Network sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to what is a Wednesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates.

Sirius XM Channel 158, the free Odyssey app, and of course, streaming live on YouTube. 855-212-4227 is the number to jump on in. 855-212-4227, you could always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexin' or via the good old cesspool of Twitter X at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Got Carlos with the K, my man CK, and also I have Moist Mike rockin' and rollin' with me all the way up until 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Bart Winkler will stop by at 4.40 p.m. Eastern. And I got a text from Stuart Kovacs, who usually is the board op on this show, but he is producing Bart's show this week. And Stu said, you and Bart are gonna have a very fun conversation today at 4.40 p.m. Eastern on Winkler Wednesday. Because Stu, even when he's not working on this show, he is locked into this show. He heard my opinion yesterday saying, I don't agree with CJ Stroud, who rather would have the career of Eli Manning compared to Aaron Rodgers.

I'd rather have Aaron Rodgers, and to no surprise Stu did alert me that Bart, who hates Aaron Rodgers and would rather go through 10 colonoscopies in a row than ever praise Aaron Rodgers, to no surprise Bart is in the camp of he'd rather have the career of Eli Manning. So, whole lot to do today. It'll be a fun conversation coming up an hour forty from now. I want to start with a little football.

We'll do a ton of NBA today as well with the final starting tomorrow. But I've heard a lot in the last two weeks from people on the Dolphins or people with the Dolphins or people on the Jaguars, people associated with the Jaguars, that they're not concerned about a Tua Tunga, Vailoa contract extension getting done or a Trevor Lawrence contract extension getting done. And both parties, the Dolphins and the Jaguars are talking as if Tua Tunga, Vailoa and then also Trevor Lawrence are their quarterbacks of the future and will be their franchise quarterbacks. And we know Tua Tunga, Vailoa is entering year five with the Dolphins and also you do have Trevor, Trevor Lawrence entering year four with the Jacksonville Jaguars. I can't say with certainty right now that Tua and Trevor are the franchise quarterbacks of the Dolphins and the Jaguars.

And let me be abundantly clear what I mean by that. They may get paid at some point this offseason by week one or maybe after this year like they are the franchise quarterback of the Dolphins or the Jaguars. But I don't know if they'll make it through the duration of that contract. And we've seen before in the NFL, Jared Goff get paid a big amount of money. Carson Wentz get paid a big amount of money. Russell Wilson getting paid a big amount of money. Deshaun Watson is going through it right now, but he's still at least on the Browns. We have seen quarterbacks before, Goff with the Rams, Carson with the Philadelphia Eagles, Russell Wilson recently with the Denver Broncos get the tag and get the title of being the guy for that franchise. And then rather quickly, those organizations are doing everything in their power to file for divorce and get rid of Jared Goff, Carson Wentz and Russell Wilson.

Yeah, for Jared Goff, he landed on his feet, he saved his career. Carson Wentz, I know where Carson Wentz is. Do you guys just wondering know where Carson Wentz is right now? What team Carson Wentz is on right now? I'll start with Carlos, do you know?

It's okay if you don't. No clue. It illustrates a point how far Carson Wentz has fallen, that this guy went from being a guy that if he didn't get hurt would have won the MVP over Tom Brady to now, Carlos doesn't even know where he is. Samter, do you know where Carson Wentz is right now? I feel like... You know, I know you know. I feel like I should know, is it my Chiefs? Yes, it is your Kansas City Chiefs. That's what it was in my head, I just wanted to make sure I was not hallucinating. Yeah. No, I just could tell by the way that you sarcastically were answering that question and arrogantly answering that question that you knew the answer to it.

I thought I knew the answer but I wasn't 100% certain so I was doubting myself even though I think I knew. Watch Mahomes get hurt this year, which would be terrible. Don't you dare say that! Terrible, but watch Mahomes get hurt this year and then Carson Wentz goes on to win a Super Bowl with Kansas City.

I would be ill, ill if that happened. And then obviously we know Russell Wilson, he's way gone from Denver and he's making like a million and a half dollars this year because of how much money the Broncos have paid him to go quarterback the Steelers and we'll see if he can make it through the season. So all I'm saying with Trevor and Tua, just because you get paid doesn't mean you are the guy and they haven't been paid yet. So to make a bigger point here, I would not right now pay Tua, Tunga, Vailoa and Trevor Lawrence because here's why. With Trevor Lawrence, year one, you can attribute the failure to Urban Meyer, he gets a pass for that. Year two, Trevor Lawrence was a damn good quarterback and then year three, he regressed. So one bad year out of his control, one good year and then one underwhelming year, why would I rush to pay him right now when you don't have to?

And potentially a few years down the road be stuck with a large dead cap hit. And for Tua, Tunga, Vailoa, let's acknowledge it because we fairly acknowledged it with Trevor Lawrence getting screwed by coaching. Even though most of us thought Brian Flores was a good head coach and he did a good job in Miami, the one thing he failed to do was develop a genuine good relationship with this quarterback. And I think that was more on Brian Flores than Tua, Tunga, Vailoa because Mike McDaniel walked in and many of us didn't even know who Mike McDaniel was when he got hired. And right away, when Mike McDaniel did go to Tua, Tunga, Vailoa's charity event, like first two, three weeks on the job, he developed a relationship and a relationship of trust with Tua, Tunga, Vailoa. And Tua felt that support from his new head football coach. But with Tua, the first few years he was hurt, Brian Flores and him didn't get along. Then with Mike McDaniel, he suffered the unfortunate concussions, but then last year he had statistics that would suggest he was a top five quarterback. But if you watch the games, I don't think anyone actually believed last year Tua was a top five quarterback in the NFL. So with the roller coaster ride that it's been for both, I'm not saying both of these guys won't end up being the guy in Miami or the guy in Jacksonville.

But what I'm saying is I can't say without a doubt they'll be the guy and they'll both be the guy for their franchises. So I don't see the harm, even if you have to pay maybe two or three more million dollars a year next season in just waiting. Because if you really wanted to for Tua, you could go the franchise tag route. Like this is the fifth and final year of his contract because the rookie fifth year option was picked up. So you could go the franchise tag route. It's not like you're in danger if you don't pay Tua now of losing him next year. You at least have the insurance of the franchise tag if you want to go down that road.

And don't tell me you can't. Because the Dallas Cowboys have done it with Dak Prescott. The commanders have done it with Kirk Cousins.

So it's possible to buy you more time to maybe get a deal done. And in Kirk's case, they didn't get the deal done with the commanders. And he ended up going to Minnesota. And obviously for Dak's case, they did get the deal done a few years ago. And now we'll see if they get the deal done again. And for Trevor, he still has one more year left on that contract after this year because of the fifth year option. So I get why both of those guys want to get paid now. And it does fall in line with the trend of paying those quarterbacks if you think you have the guy now rather than later.

But don't you eventually have to learn? Like, I get it. These franchises or some of them have survived. You know, the Rams survived. They won a Super Bowl because they got Stafford.

So it's like a little bit different. The Broncos haven't survived on the whole Russell Wilson thing. The Eagles were able to survive because they drafted a quarterback in the second round. So there's a way to pay those quarterbacks big money and then they flop and you could still go on to have a successful team. But I just don't think there's a need to go rush and pay those guys right now.

And I get it. Jared Goff got paid. I thought the Lions had to do that because for so many years the Lions were bad.

And now they're heading in the right direction. You don't want to disrupt anything in that organization. You don't want a contract to become an issue in that organization. But I don't think if Tua or Trevor Lawrence don't get paid this year that it's going to impact their play on the field. Because the reality is for both of these guys, for a career narrative, this is a massive year for both. Because if Tua gets hurt or if Tua falls back this year, what are the excuses? You have Tyreek Hill. You have Jalen Waddle. Odell Beckham Jr. say what you want about him. He's your third wide receiver. Raheem Mostert was a touchdown machine last year. And for Trevor Lawrence, you can't tell me for a guy that was supposed to be generational that your fourth year in the league, if you're going to be the guy, can't be a good one. Like it needs to be a good one. They need to make the playoffs.

They need to restore confidence in that organization. And you have a Super Bowl winning coach. And not only that, you have Travis A.T.N. You have Christian Kirk. You got Gabe Davis. You drafted Brian Thomas Jr. Evan Ingram's been a solid tight end as of late in the NFL. Like I'm not saying they have the best weapons in the league, but they have enough for Trevor Lawrence, if he is really a transcendent generational quarterback, to be a good quarterback this year.

And I get it. The AFC is loaded. The AFC South is very good.

Just like the AFC is loaded and the AFC East is very good. But for these guys, I can't say either right now or without a doubt, the franchise quarterback and they'll deliver on being the franchise quarterback in Miami and Jacksonville. And all I'm saying is make them earn the contract this year. And that's something that for some reason, it seems like that's a lost concept.

And that's now a foreign concept in the NFL, because if you think you have the guy for like a split second and both of these guys have been up and down, it's been a roller coaster ride to their careers, then right away they go get a record breaking deal. I just don't want to be on the wrong side of this if I'm Miami or Jacksonville. And I'd be happy to pay more money a year from now, like two, three, four, whatever it is, more million dollars per year, a year from now, as long as they deliver this year.

And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. So I'll ask Samter and Carlos this. I'll ask, I'll give Samter the Dolphins and I'll give Carlos the Jaguars. Two is in this fifth and final year of this contract. Are you getting a deal done with Tua Tunga Vailoa right now if you were Chris Greer, if you were Stephen Ross, if you were Mike McDaniel and you are the brain trust power running the Miami Dolphins? I would, yes.

OK, why? And by the way, Tyreek Hill agrees with you. Tyreek Hill, give him credit. Even though I don't like Tyreek Hill the person, he's going to bat for his quarterback and he's done so ever since going there.

And even the other day, he made it clear that he believes that Tua should have already got paid. I think Tua has shown enough when he's healthy that he could be an elite level quarterback, at least statistically. And you're right, he falls flat in big moments, but we've seen him not fall flat in big moments in college. So we know he has that clutch gene, like in Alabama when he came in the second half for Jalen Hurts and won a national title. So we know he has the clutch gene, he just hasn't shown it yet in the NFL.

We know that he can pass the ball, he fits into that offense. And the concern I would have on the Dolphins is if you don't pay him now, if he's feeling a certain way, he can walk next year. No he can't because you can franchise tag him and you can play that game for two years. You can, but eventually, I mean, look at the commanders, they franchised, like you said, Kirk Cousins twice.

He eventually walked. The commanders haven't had a quarterback for four or five years because they franchised him. And when you're doing it one year after one year, you're just good enough to not be a top five pick. But let me ask you this.

But you're not bad enough. Where is Tua walking to? There are a plethora of teams. No, I'm not saying teams wouldn't be interested, because Tua right now is a good, not great quarterback. But you have Tyreek Hill.

You have Jalen Waddle. You talked about him showing the clutch gene, and I used to be a big Tua fan. You talked about him showing the clutch gene at Alabama where that roster was filled with NFL talent. This Miami Dolphins roster filled with offensive talent. And in big games, that offense last year disappeared. And I get it, the Chiefs defense was great last year. But they played the Chiefs twice as great. And I was pounding the drums starting at week four when I texted Spags to tell him how great his defense was going to be this year. And I said, wow, I'm blown away by your defense.

You know, when I was talking to Steve Spagnuolo. But let's not act like this Chiefs defense was the 85 Bears or they were the steel curtain Steelers or they were the early 2000 Ravens. And that offense led by Tua twice last year, once in Germany and the other in Arrowhead when it was freezing. Tua couldn't get the job done. You know, those games, and they didn't show up in the first half.

Then he failed to get the, you know, he had the bad snap or he dropped the ball and then he had a miscommunication with his wide receiver. And then the second game, they did nothing offensively. So they had the talent on offense to at least be productive against the Chiefs and to put themselves in an actual chance to win the game. And they didn't do it.

So like, that's my thing with Tua and that's why I would just wait. Let me ask this to Carlos, you're running the Jaguars. Now, the Jaguars are not a popular team, right?

You know, I know their fan base has improved. But if Trevor Lawrence isn't the guy, this is going to set that franchise back for a long time. But let's say you are Trent Baalke, you're Doug Peterson, you're the Khan family. Are you paying Trevor Lawrence right now entering his fourth season to like a big time behemoth deal?

Only if I can get it on a team friendly deal. There is no way I'm giving him top of the market quarterback money right now. He hasn't shown enough, even with bad coaching. And here's the thing, he is still considered, just like Tua, a good quarterback.

And when you're a good quarterback, you get paid great quarterback money. So that's all I'm saying. All I'm saying is, let me just see both of these guys who they both, I will acknowledge, they'll both eventually get deals probably from their teams. Like if you put a gun to my head, is Trevor getting a long-term deal and is Tua getting a long-term deal from the Jaguars and Dolphins respectively? I'm going to say yes, if you put a gun to my head. All I'm saying is you don't need to give them that deal now.

That's all. Who's more deserving of a deal? Who are you more confident in giving that deal to? Trevor or Tua?

Oh boy, that's a good question. I think Tua is more deserving. Who I have confidence ending up developing into the better quarterback and being better long-term, it's Trevor Lawrence. One more concussion for Tua. And remember, this is not anti-Tua. I was one of the lone voices in the media last year to say, in the summer, Tua's going to get through the entire season healthy. But one more concussion. Tua, that conversation is going to be different than every other player in the league because of where it was two years ago.

I will trust Trevor also being the bigger quarterback too, that it will end up being Trevor Lawrence being the better quarterback than Tua Tungavello. The other thing too, Samter, and you showed me a picture. We talked about this, I think it was last week or maybe it was even Monday. But you showed me a picture and I was like, who the heck is that? And it was Tua. And I said, that guy looks more like a surfer or a soccer player than a football player. Now I did say to you, I thought he looked a little bit bigger and a little bit chubbier. It comes out yesterday and there was a different angle, and angles are everything, but Tua actually lost a lot of weight this offseason. So, Tua has lost a significant amount of weight this offseason, and I'll be curious to see how that either helps or hurts Tua Tungavello when we watch him play this upcoming year. Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb's show on the Infinity Sports Network. Should the Miami Dolphins pay Tua right now? Should the Jacksonville Jaguars pay Trevor Lawrence right now?

What say you 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27, 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27? We come on back, Eudonis Haslam revealed that he was almost traded for Allen Iverson. And Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade would have been a duo in Miami. What's an NBA duo you would have loved to have seen from the same era? I'll give you my answer, and I don't know if my answer could be topped, and it almost happened many years ago.

I'll tell you what that duo is. Doors take us to summers away, or winter adventures, and afternoon getaways. Your dedicated Fidelity advisor can help you open those doors by working with you on a comprehensive plan to help you reach your wealth's full potential.

Because doors were meant to be opened. Visit fidelity.com slash wealth. Investment minimum supply. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC.

Member NYSE SIPC. One, two, three, four. Those are numbers, but you already knew that. If you want to know what number you're going to pay each month for your car, use Kelly Blue Book My Wallet on AutoTrader.

They're really good at numbers. AutoTrader. Okay, picture this. It's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can waste another weekend doing the same old whatever, or I can conquer it. I can hop into my all-new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road. Any road.

The steeper the better. Because my all-new Santa Fe is available with H-TRAC all-wheel drive, so I can hit the trail without a worry in the world. Heck, with three rows and best-in-class rear cargo space, I can pack the whole family in with all our gear. We've got available dual wireless charging for our phones, so we'll never lose touch with civilization. And we won't lose touch with the primordial power of Mother Earth. So which is it?

Waste the weekend or do something a little more epic? And conquer it in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Hyundai.

There's joy in every journey. All right, it is the Infinity Sports Network and it is the Zach Gelb show. So, Eudonis Haslam revealed on the OG show that he was almost dealt in a trade for Allen Iverson that would have made the answer. And Dwayne Wade teammates in Miami, here is Eudonis Haslam sharing that story. I remember my name was in the hat one time when we was talking about making a move for Iverson.

And my name got thrown in that hat a little bit and I was all shook up and s***. But D-Wade was like, man, that's Allen Iverson. That's what I'm saying. I think whatever reason that didn't work, I don't know if the dynamics with him and Dwayne would have worked at that time.

So I think dynamically it didn't work. But my ass was almost out of here. How can I argue if you bring in Allen Iverson? That's different. Yeah, I gotta go. That's a great story. And Eudonis Haslam's career obviously worked out to be A-OK. And he was in Miami a lot longer than he probably should have been. But that's a great story and it shows you that even your ego, and everyone has ego, can get checked. Because, for example, I think there's all been jobs that people have been up for and you don't get the job. And then you go, man, they hired that person? And then like when they hire that person and you first say it, you then have to ask yourself, well, is that person on par or are they better than you?

And I think internally you truly know the answer to that. And there have been jobs right before that I have had people say to me, I can't believe you didn't get that job. And I'm like, no, they actually made a good hire. Like it's a fair hire that they made. And I'm realistic. Then there's other times that people have been like, man, I can't believe you didn't get that job. Like talking about years ago, not recently.

And I'll be like, yeah, you're right. I should have got that job over that person. But for Eudonis Haslam, when they're talking about Allen Iverson, it wasn't as if they were talking about some bum or some person that was worse than you. That's Allen bleep and Iverson. Now, I don't know if it would have worked between Allen Iverson and Dwayne Wade.

And Allen Iverson is really the antithesis of heat culture. But if they wanted to take the risk and run that gamble with it, I couldn't really fault Miami for doing so. So who'd wear number three in that case?

Oh, wow. What I wonder what year it was, too, because I think that does matter. Like if it was before the first championship that Wade won when he was with Shaq and they were down 2-0 and they made that comeback and they beat Dallas, then I do believe Dwayne Wade would have to give up the number. But once Wade won that championship, they called that that Wade County, you know, for Dade County, they would call it Wade County. And even when LeBron got there, it was kind of similar to when Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors, where we knew who the best player was. The best player in Miami was LeBron. The best player in Golden State at the time was Kevin Durant. But it was Dwayne Wade's team and it was Steph Curry's team. So if that was after the first championship, then, yeah, I would say Dwayne Wade keeps the number. But if it was before, you know, especially the culture significance that Allen Iverson played in the NBA, there is no doubt about it that would be Allen Iverson's number.

But who knows? Maybe he would have been fine with playing a different number. And Allen Iverson, that guy, I can't predict Allen Iverson.

So let me ask you this and let me set a little disclaimer here. This is not when we're looking for duos. It had to be duos that could have been in the same era. Like I'm not looking for, oh, I would have loved to have seen LeBron James and Michael Jordan be a duo. I'm talking about guys that played in the same era. And this duo almost happened when Kevin Garnett got traded to the Boston Celtics.

It was down to a few teams. One of those teams that he was considering was the Los Angeles Lakers. And I was reading because my duo that I would have loved to have seen happen is Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant. You had Kevin Garnett give a interview years later.

I actually think this was recently. It was like 2019, 2020, something like that, where Kevin Garnett was openly talking about what happened when he got traded to the Celtics and he gave an interview to GQ. And it says Garnett had reservations about going into play in Boston, even after speaking to Celtics president of basketball operation Danny Ainge. That's partly before he made a final decision. He wanted to talk with Kobe.

The only problem. Bryant was touring China for Nike. And from Garnett's point of view, couldn't be bothered to discuss the future as teammates. I needed to have conversations with him. I couldn't talk to Phil Jackson, then coach the Lakers or none of that.

I'm not a phone guy. You know what I'm saying? But it's Kobe. You know what I'm saying? It was just kind of water under the bridge.

At least it felt like that. Then once the trade does go down where Garnett is in a Celtics uniform and we know Kobe still in the Lakers uniform and all that rivalries. And they've met up in the finals and how it did go down. Garnett was never able to get in contact with Kobe and obviously agreed to get traded to the Celtics. So in this GQ article and this is via silver screen roll dot com Garnett then launches into a story about the first time he saw Brian after becoming a Celtic.

Quickly staging a one man show in which he played both parts as two opposite volumes and temperaments. So this is the exchange of Garnett reliving that conversation. This is Kobe. Yo, man, you were trying to get in contact with me, man. Get the bleep out of here.

Then Garnett. Now I'm serious, man. I got that bleep late, man. Damn, man. Oh, that was Kobe.

It's all good. And then Kobe said, no, it isn't good. You in the wrong color.

What the bleep, man? How are you going to go to Boston of all places? And then Garnett said, man, you got to chill.

So think about that. If Kobe didn't have to go to China to go do something for Nike or Garnett was just willing to talk to somebody on the phone. You may have had Kobe and Garnett on the same team, and that duo would have been so fun because you talk about passion, excitement and intensity individually on a basketball court. Kobe Bryant has one of the greatest wills to win ever in sports. And Kevin Garnett, I say this in a positive way, was a psycho on the court like he got on the court. Basketball was his sanctuary.

He would talk a ridiculous amount of crap. But also his passion, his excitement and his intensity was like no other. Like if you don't play for my team, I usually don't buy a jersey or a T-shirt. I was always a big fan of Kobe, but I once bought a big ticket Kevin Garnett shirt. And if we could have seen both of them play together, that would have been so awesome to watch. And I don't mean this to to put down Paul Gasol, who's a very good player.

We all know that. But Paul Gasol won two rings with Kobe Bryant. Imagine how many rings a former MVP like Kevin Garnett would have won with with Kobe Bryant if they were teammates together, if Paul Gasol was able to win two with Kobe Bryant. So that's the duo from the same era that I would have loved to have seen play together. Kevin Garnett and the late, great Kobe Bryant.

Santa, who's yours? Well, the one thing I'll say with that is I wonder how it would have worked. The great thing about Pao is he was fine taking that backseat to be the number two to Kobe. Garnett's a number two to nobody.

So hold on. Didn't he kind of do that in Boston? He walked into a place where that was Paul Pierce's team. Yeah, but he was still the guy. Like that was Paul Pierce's team.

I don't know about that. I disagree with that. And also Ray Allen was there, too, who's another Hall of Fame player. I think Garnett was willing to do whatever it did take to win after being in Minnesota.

And also there's a respect factor with Kobe. And even though Kobe and Shaq had their falling out at the end, they were still able to win three championships together. So if they eventually had some falling out, they would have at least bare minimum won one championship.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. They probably would have coexisted early on, but I think eventually it would have blown up with those two. But for me, I look at it, I guess we're sticking with the Lakers' team, maybe the greatest rivalry in NBA history. Imagine the two of them together, Magic and Bird on the same team. That would be awesome. Magic and Boston or Bird with the Lakers. That would have been awesome. I thought when you were talking about greatest basketball rivalries ever, you were going to say you wish that Kaitlyn Clark and Angel Reese were on the same team. That's what I thought you were going to go with.

No, no. I want to watch that rivalry play out. I mean Angel Reese just got ejected again last night.

And Kaitlyn Clark has her own issues with the refs. That's going to be a fun rivalry to watch over the course of those two years. Wouldn't that have felt a little dirty after how much of a rivalry it was from college and then in professional basketball if we ever had Magic team up with Larry Bird or vice versa? It probably would have back then because the mindset back then was different. The mindset was like, I don't want to play with you, I want to kill you. So they probably never would have wanted to play with each other. However, just the idea because they're skill sets. You talk about Iverson and Dwyane Wade.

Compliment each other greatly. Yes, Iverson and Wade would have been a disaster because they're the exact same player, just one's better than the other. They're both small shooting guards who can dribble and pass, but they're the same guy. Magic and Bird would have been perfect. And also, you thought Larry Bird scored so many points to begin with. Imagine if he had Magic dishing him the basketball. Running and gunning with the Lakers, Larry Bird just spotting up for three or driving to the hoop. Now, would you rather see that in Boston or would you rather see that in L.A. is the question? I think L.A. because it would have been a more fun style. The thing is, though, is Larry Bird a personality that fits with the Lakers?

Like you think the Lakers, you think Showtime, you think Star, you think all the glitz and glamour that comes of L.A. I don't know if Larry Bird has that personality. I think maybe that needed to be in Boston. But then with some of the racial tensions, let's just say, that did occur in Boston. Would Magic have wanted to go there? After I'm sure what Celtics fans said some not so nice things to Magic. Sure, but after Bill Russell, there were plenty of very successful black players in Boston. So I don't think that would have been an issue for Magic.

I think it probably would have to happen in Boston for it to happen. I just think Showtime Bird would have been more fun than gritty, beat-em-up Magic. Alright, Carlos, who's your duo? I'm going to go with a duel that almost happened in the late 90s. Michael Jordan, and no, not LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Tracy McGrady. The trade that almost went down before Jerry Reinsdorf vetoed it. And Jordan was just like, no, you're not trading Pippen away for Tracy McGrady. That would have been the ultimate scoring duel slash succession plan for the Bulls if they were able to pull that off.

The only problem would have been T-Max health, or lack of it. You know, Tracy McGrady is one of those people, if he didn't get hurt. Like, look at the way that we talk about him now, it's one of those what could have been. I mean, think about Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill, that's a duo I would have liked to have seen.

That really should have happened, but really didn't because they both got hurt in Orlando. It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network, who is a duo from the same era that you would have loved to have seen play together in the NBA off Adonis Haslam, saying that he was almost traded and that would have paired the answer, Allen Iverson, up with Dwyane Wade. We'll take a timeout, we'll come on back, we'll update you on some of the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio. We call that segment the News Brief, but update time first, here he is, Manny Rodriguez. Zach Gard! No, just kidding, it is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network.

This just puts you in a good mood. 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27, we were doing based off Adonis Haslam, saying he was almost traded for Allen Iverson, and that would have paired the answer and Dwyane Wade together, who were NBA duos that you would have loved to have seen play together from the same era. I did take Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, Samter goes great one Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, and Carlos with a K goes with Michael Jordan and Tracy McGrady. Let's go to Patrick in Harrisburg, he has a duo that he wants to offer up. Patrick, go ahead, you're on the Zach Gelb show. What's up, God, how you living?

Living fantastic, doing great, what do you got for me? Good man, so first and foremost, I want to give a shout out to your producer, man, the guy that's been in the cause. You don't give him enough credit, so let that be known. I don't give him enough credit? He was just gone for three weeks, what other credit do I need to give him? Look man, everybody needs a vacation every once in a while.

That was more than a vacation. Considering the work that he does. Nah, he's great, I love Samter. So do I. But are you a relative of his?

Not that I know of, but you know, I can find out. So first and foremost, he definitely mentioned a duo that I would have loved to see was Tim Duncan and Tracy McGrady. Right, but I was thinking Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki, because that high post, low post game would have been unbeatable, especially in that era. Because when you think about what Kobe and Paul Gasol did, not the ignition for that, but one of the best plays they had was Bynum to Gasol and vice versa. When Kobe would drive, hit Gasol, they'd come double him and drop it off to Bynum for an easy deuce. If you would have had that kind of offense with Tony Parker and Jenoble driving, dropping it off to Tim Duncan or Dirk. You probably wouldn't need Manu Jenoble, and I say that respectfully because I love Manu Jenoble, but someone probably would have to be squeezed out of the rotation or squeezed off that team.

I know Manu was a six man for years, but it probably would have been Manu. But that would have been awesome, and thanks for the phone call Patrick. That would have been great, Duncan and Dirk, watching him.

But Samter, wouldn't that be one of the most boring duos ever? They would have won a ton of championships, I love Dirk, he's one of my favorite players, but in terms of a personality standpoint, how boring would that have been? It would have kind of fit in San Antonio. It would have. It would have definitely fit in the culture of San Antonio.

Wouldn't it be boring? I mean it would have been boring maybe for the media, but like on the court it would have been beautiful. It would have been beautiful. It would have been spectacular.

Fundamentally perfect basketball. Alrighty, let's update you on some of the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio. What, are you paying that caller by the way to say all those nice things about you?

That's actually my cousin. Okay, let's get to the news brief. Alrighty, here's to a tongue of eye low, we open up the show with this. Is he concerned not having an extension yet as he goes into the fifth and final year of his contract? I'm not blind to people that are in my position that are getting paid.

Am I concerned about it? I'm not concerned about it, but there's a lot of discussion that we've had that we just are trying to move that thing into the right direction. And here is Tyreke Hill. He'll bring a little more energy to Tua getting paid. This is Tyreke on the Tua potential contract extension. Tua should have been paid. I've been saying this all offseason man. I know we've got a great front office with Greer and Shore and they're going to get it done.

Obviously a lot of people are comparing the Jarrett golf situation and stuff like that, but I feel like Tua is supposed to be up there with some of them guys impasse, some of them guys mad. Because just understanding his story and just the progression of how he's getting better each and every year and how he's carrying this offense, it's crazy. So he's going to continue to get better because I feel like when you get a new contract, they're not paying you for what you did. It's almost like an investment.

It's almost like an investment of what you're going to do in the future. So he's continually getting better. He's gradually getting better each and every year. Last year was Pro Bowl. This year is going to be playoff win and much more. So Tua should have been paid. Alrighty, so they're paying what you do off the future. Then have a great year this year and show back to back really good seasons and then I'll feel confident about what you'll be as a quarterback moving forward into the future.

Let me play one more. This is from Tyreek Hill. He was worried Tua was getting fat. I ain't going to lie, when I see Tua at the Pro Bowl, I was kind of scared. He was fat as shit. He was fat. He was chubby. I was like, hold on now. He was morass.

Hold on, brah. Ron Clark said you were kind of thick. Now he's one line. But seeing him now and where he's come from and how skinny he has gotten, what's that stuff with everybody taking?

Ozempic? He had to be taking that, bruh. I don't know. Tua has slimmed down. There's no doubt about it. That's a great line from Tyreek Hill. What's that stuff with the O?

Ozempic? Here is CJ Stroud on Nikko Collins' big extension. He's constantly here working on his body, constantly here working on his hands, his mobility in the weight room. So for me, just having a true, I think we have like five number ones. So that's kind of cool to have.

I've had that before in college and I'll have it again. It's going to be fun, man. Nikko, he loves to see everybody else eat too.

His love for his brothers hasn't changed. It's a special feeling to see somebody who deserves to get paid and get what they deserve. Five number ones. So they have Stefan Diggs, you can make the case number one. Nikko Collins, you can make the case number one. I guess Tankdell with the way that he got the start off too.

You can at least say it if you are CJ Stroud. Robert Woods, John Mechie. Is he considering Dalton Scholten a number one? You got three really good wide receivers. Three guys that you can make that case for. Let's go to JJ Redick of the Rumors. He's the front runner for the Lakers job.

This was on the Gojo and Golic show. My focus right now is on calling the NBA Finals. I am so fortunate that I'm in this position and I get to call these finals. My day to day right now is consumed with calling games.

The 19 different podcasts I feel like I have. So my focus is on the NBA Finals. I will say that. In terms of Shoms, that will be addressed once the season is over. It's going to be addressed when the season is over because you're going to get the Lakers job.

You just don't want to talk about it right now and make yourself the story at the NBA Finals. So I always love on Jeopardy because I never get the actual non-sport questions right. When you have these very smart people up there and they just are terrible in the sports question.

I saw this on Twitter going viral but I did not actually listen to it because I wanted to hear it live on the show. Here is contestant or sports clip one here. ABC, Jeopardy contestants that don't know sports.

21st century sports, 400. In 2007, this National League squad became the first team with 10,000 losses. In 2008, they won the World Series behind Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard. The Phillies. Christina. Who are the Chicago Cubs?

No, I'm sorry. It's a good guess but it's the Phillies. Back to you, Travis. Alrighty, Jeopardy contestants who don't know sports.

This was also another one via ABC. Here's the last clue in 21st century sports. With Oklahoma City, this master of the triple-double became the first back-to-back MVP of the NBA All-Star game since the 1950s. Adriana. Who is Durant?

Sorry, no. Not a bad guess. Who is his teammate Russell Westbrook? And they had a photo, you were saying, Santer, of Westbrook? Sorry, Russell Westbrook?

They did. It was a picture of him up in OKC, Jersey. I guess I can get it.

Durant wearing OKC jersey. No, no. There's no reason to justify this failure because when there's some question about earth science up there or history and I feel like a dope, those people, they make fun of it. So when it's easy questions and easy answers like the Phillies and Russell Westbrook, I don't think there is any justification for it.

Be a real person. Watch some sports. Here's the thing, if you know you're going to be on Jeopardy, you're studying, studying, studying. Do you think sports are really going to come up, though? I mean, it comes up, what, once every ten shows? Yeah, I guess you're right.

It's common enough. I think you just take the L on that. It's like you know what your weakness is. You just dominate everything else. You just take the L on that and hope all the other nerds don't know sports. You better dominate everything else.

I would just learn all the sports, just hope it's there, and then just dominate that category and win the whole thing. Anyway, that's a news brief. It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We will take a break. Zach Martin is talking retirement after this season. Dax on the final year of his contract.

C.D. Lamb and Micah Parsons still have not got new contracts. Is there any team in the league this year that needs to win more than the Drama Dallas Chokin' Cowboys?

I have a few of them. We'll get to those teams when we return, also coming up in hour two. What is better for the NBA? The Celtics or the Mavericks winning it all? Which team?

And Bart Winkler will join us 50 minutes from now for Winkler Wednesday. You could spend the weekend doing the same old whatever, or you could conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for more details. Hyundai.

There's joy in every journey. With Legion, you don't need supplements to build muscle, lose fat, or get healthy, but the right ones can help. Visit LegionAthletics.com. Go to LegionAthletics.com to get 20% off your order now. Modelo. Remarkable fighter. Walk responsibly. Beer imported by Crime Report Chicago, Illinois.