Mike Harmon and Ryan Hollins Talk Anthony Edwards' Ascension, Playoff Storylines & More!

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Greetings and welcome in another beautiful Sunday in our sporting universe.
Annasinco Demayo. Let's celebrate responsibly out there people. We're broadcasting
live from the tire rack dot Com studios tyrac dot com.
We'll help you get there, an unmatched selection, fast for you, shipping,
pre road hazard protection and over ten thousand recommended installers
tire rack dot com. The way tire buying should be.

(00:27):
Mike Harmon alongside ten year NBA, a veteran UCLA alum.
You hear him on the Houston Rocks Call Seat a
lot of his clips over the course of the season.
That was a nice rise for that young Rocket squad.
So our guy Ryan Hollins at the Ryan Hollins on Twitter.
What's going on, buddy?

Speaker 3 (00:46):
What's going on? Brother? Been a minute?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Man? Been a minute? Did you grow another foot? Or why.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Doesn't work like that? But I don't know.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Gone a minute? You know, often in gallivanting. Now you're
in the planet Houston and taking care of business down there. Fun, fun, year,
got a little bit of R and R and now
you're back with us here on Fox Radio.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
Man, ready to get rolling.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
It's a beautiful thing as we get ready for a
full day of action. There's action on the links. We've
got soccer, We've got NBA, NHL playoffs, Major League Baseball.
I open up my Twitter right because I got to
do the t's over at Fox Sports Radio at Swollen
Dome is where you find me. And one of the
things that's trending is family matters. And for a minute,

(01:29):
I'm like, what happened to Reginald bel Johnson. I'm like, oh, no, no, no,
it's more of the the Drake stuff. And so I
had to catch myself up on that Ryan a little bit.
You know, he took a day off, and you miss
a lot when it comes to pop culture and the
chaos that ensues. But one thing I did not miss
was game one of these next Western Conference playoffs and

(01:53):
the Anthony Edwards Show, which if you've been paying attention
to the NBA all year, you've watched him grow, You've
watch the Rise of the Tea Wolves. But if you're
nude to and just getting acclimated to things because it's
playoff time, welcome aboard because you've got to see something special.
And I like that we got already into the morphing
of his face into anything happen to do with Michael Jordan.

(02:17):
It happens fast. Ryan, we got to annoint the next.

Speaker 3 (02:21):
I mean, listen, it doesn't hurt that his game matches
the look. And you know what, it's funny, it's clearly
a familiar face, but he does have the resemblance. I
think we would love if that story was. You know,
Michael made a mistake somewhere. I'm sure his mother and

(02:42):
father are somewhere cringing every time they hear that. Sure,
but I mean it's gold because the league is starved
for the next face of the NBA, and I think selfishly,
we get it. Finally, Lebron James is gonna have to

(03:02):
slow down. Lebron James can no longer keep I mean,
he's unbelievable. And I think just as much as people
cringe when they see Lebron succeed, as many haters are
out there, they know, Okay, we're gonna have to pass
the torch to somebody. And Anthony Edwards right now is
looking like the guy. And what I'm hearing from all

(03:26):
of the former players, the ogs, the ones who throw
out the respect, is they want someone with that that
killer instinct. They want someone with the trash talk, the
trash talk that gets backed up. They want somebody that's
that's edgy. They want somebody that can jump, and with
all due respect, they want somebody like Jordan and Anthony

(03:49):
Edwards that just looks like him. He has a similar game.
He's a two guard that shoots the mid range and
can fly and you know it's crazyboy, I don't know.
I know you feel like this Mike. There's levels where
he jumps higher than Mikes double right where he's even
and Mike was a specimen like rookie Michael Jordan. I

(04:11):
think rookie young third year Michael Jordan was built like
this dude to tank.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Well you look at it. I think Ryan. One of
the things, and we've talked about it coming into these
playoffs is just the changing of the guard is is
always uneasy and for the NBA to suddenly have you know,
whatever you think of Kevin Durant, whether it was he
just latched on to the Warriors and whatever, he was

(04:38):
still the MVP of those finals both years and has
had one hell of a career. But he's out of
the playoffs as well as anybody that's attached themselves to him.
You've got Lebron James, We've got plenty on the Lakers
as we go forward, and like Lebron, at times, we'll
do things and say things that certainly bring the derision.
But it ties back to the Michael thing right there

(04:59):
and Tom Brady to take the NFL in whatever. People
get tired of stuff. They want to see something new.
You appreciate it to a degree. I was like this
guy again, and so that's when we get into some
of those discussions about, you know, the the love hate
relationship keep going. The Warriors are out of the playoffs,
so you're trying to figure out who's going to be
that next guy or next team that's going to captivate

(05:22):
the imagination and have some staying power, because yes, we
do get tired of it. The Warriors were another great
example of it. Wow, they're changing the game. It's like
a damn it. Now everybody's shooting three pointers. They changed
the game, jerks, and now we're mad at them all
these years later. So that happens quickly, right. The expiration
data is like leaving your milkout. The same thing. It's

(05:43):
gonna accelerate things a little bit along the way, and
for Anthony Edwards and for Minnesota. Right when was the
last time we talked about Minnesota where we were having
commercials that featured Kevin Garnett and Stefan Marbury.

Speaker 3 (05:57):
So there's so many similarities for May Edwards game and
even the ways it's funny as you bring up Minnesota
and the way they're built. That's like old school traditional basketball, right,
Like he doesn't cat's a great player, but he's he's
like a clear like like the second best. You get

(06:17):
what I'm saying. Sure, you got a lot of size there,
you got defenders on the team. And then it's kind
of like Anthony Edwards just go score, go score, like
they're built for him to score forty. Okay, it's not
Golden State Warriors moved to basketball. You got twenty, you
got twenty, you got that, Like this is Anthony Edwards.
Go score? Like people want Michael? Am I wrong? Like

(06:39):
as much as people scream for we want something different,
we wanted to like they want the same thing, Like
Anthony Edwards is is the mold of Michael. It's the mold.
There's enough similarity there there. They're asking for the same thing.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
Well, I think a lot of it comes back to
we want to talk about team after somebody loses, right,
right after somebody loses. Well, this wasn't constructed, right, this
wasn't great.

Speaker 4 (07:06):
Right.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
We heard a lot about that with the Clippers and
Kawhi not being available again, Lakers all right, Vanderbilt and
Vincent were hurt, so you didn't have the defensive specialists
whatever else. The roster was ill, ill constructed, and of
course you know with the Lakers you get the extra
Lebron residual stuff that flows out of there. But we

(07:27):
talk about roster construction after the fact. In the moment,
you want individual greatness because that's what this game has
been predicated on for as long as I've been alive,
and certainly for you you're younger than I am. Man, what
have you watched the end of everybody telling you about
the magic and Bird and doctor j Era, maybe a
little bit of Kareem at his end, but then it

(07:48):
goes straight into Michael and then the league has done
whatever it can to promote the individual superstar. Left and right. Man,
the Spurs were great. Nobody talks about how good Tim
Dunk was. He gets more talk for showing up in
Cabana where and with dreads on the sideline that he
does for anything he ever did on a court. Davitski,

(08:09):
he showed up in the studio. He got more love
showing up in that studio show for one night that
I think he's gotten for what was one of the
greatest careers we've seen in the last quarter century. Man,
you know what I mean, Like it's that kind of thing,
like we don't talk about those teams like they're one offs.
I mean, I was talking with it with Ian r
Our producer this morning, and Mark before he left, our

(08:31):
technical brucher Chris Prefett in the chair with us this morning,
you know, just talking about when we look at teams
that we talk about on a whole, it goes out
the window. Right. I heard Andy and Bucky talking about
Caitlin Clark and WNBA and you moving the needles, and
we'll get into a cool social media story that came

(08:51):
out of one of those games, a debut of a
pair of superstars. But go back to the college game.
What we were talking about. We're talking about individuals. Right,
Here's Caitlin Clark, there's Juju Watkins, there's Angel Reese and
then South Carolina one. They're a great team. Don Staley's

(09:11):
a great coach, but you're not talking about them the
same way they are the women's college basketball version of
the Spurs. You appreciate it, celebrate it, but I don't
think the individuals get necessarily the love that they would deserve.
And you can do that with Duncan, go back to
Dirk and so many players through history, because individually it
kind of gets pushed pushed away. You know, we celebrate

(09:34):
them for their Hall of Fame careers, but they don't
go into the same conversations.

Speaker 3 (09:40):
Now you're you're right. You know it's funny to me,
m and always and as you talk about it. We
just mentioned it with Michael and you know why everybody's
so big on Anthony Edwards. The team is constructed for
Anthony Edwards to just shoot an abundance of shots. I
don't want to not going to call it, Michael, look
Toby Ball. I'm not gonna say that. It wouldn't be

(10:02):
fair because their job is to score.

Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah, there's that fine line. I know exactly where you're
doing the tightrope right now.

Speaker 3 (10:09):
Their job is to unapologetically score. Okay, and all that.
People are gonna care because there are moments with Anthony
Edwards with a due respect, and they're built like this
where he can be inefficient, right because he's easy going
and he's scoring, and he's so much more. And our

(10:31):
job here is to make you smart. So when you
watch Minnesota, for the most part, Anthony Edwards is gonna
chill in the first half, He's gonna take whatever shots
come to him. In third quarters, he lights up. Oh
it's time. It is Anthony Edward. He lights up and
you'll see him all of a sudden, he starts bringing
the ball up court, he starts shimmying, he starts getting excited,

(10:54):
and it is it is Anthony Edwards time. Okay, so
that's that's different. It took Kobe a while in his
career before he kind of got to that point. Alan
Iverson would do that a bit, you know, with your
great scores. It's it's a game plan and they do
that now. Point is, the points are applauded, the team

(11:15):
play is not applauded. Lebron James, why a lot of
you would never see him as a goat for maybe
many reasons other than this is the one thing that
he's never gonna get respect for is the way that
he passes the basketball. The average fan will not look

(11:36):
at Lebron and say, and I'm not trying to have
to don't debate. Don't get me wrong here, just talking
to Anthony Edwards. I'm talking the next face of the league.
I'm talking that little butter the little butterflies you fill
in your stomach when you see Anthony Edwards. Lebron James
was a passer. He's not gonna excite you the same
way that Anthony Edwards is because Michael Jordan was such

(11:57):
a dominant figure that we got so so spoiled to
see Kobe Bryant step in right at We never had
to miss Michael because we have Kobe. And then not
just did Kobe, do us think Kobe had Phil? So
we felt like this was just just the torch was
just taking on at Phil Jackson is human eages. He
can't just coach forever, right, But we're getting it at

(12:21):
Anthony Edwards and everybody's a static.

Speaker 5 (12:25):
No.

Speaker 2 (12:25):
We're always trying again, We're trying to find next and
it looks like you've got that guy. The way this
roster is constructed, some of those explosive moments. The Dunks
will get deeper into the game here coming up in
a couple of minutes, and what we can glean from
from Game one in the Timberwolves one oh six ninety
nine victory. But in terms of this discussion, you're right,

(12:47):
it's that guy that wants the ball, gonna shoot the ball.
You know, Lebron's got tons of scoring accolades, the longevity,
and that's where you get into some of the debates
of you know, he's been healthy and played twenty one years,
so you know, the compiler versus dominance, scoring records versus

(13:07):
scoring individual season titles, all of those kinds of things.
When you get into Jordan, you start getting into defensive
player of the years. You know. The one thing I've
always loved though, and because every time I see Lebron play,
I get to think back to the old Clyde Drexler days,
the I'm gonna put my head down, bounce the ball
about three feet in front of me, and I'm coming
into the lane and you're gonna get hit, You're gonna

(13:31):
get run over. And that's the patented Lebron move no
matter what he does, and it begets a bigger argument
and discussion that I've had forever. You know, why can
I back you down as violently as possible? I think
Shack in his prime, Ryan Hollins, and you certainly as
a big man, faced your share of them and used

(13:52):
the same move. But if I'm facing you suddenly it's
an offensive file man, unless I'm Lebron running you over
in the lane. Riddle me that, batman. How's it different
because I'm making eye contact and it's malicious versus just
backing you down. I don't know on anxiety. I mean,
you know breakdown of NBA rules.

Speaker 3 (14:14):
You're right, the game is. We've had this complaint for
a long time. It is Taylor made for guards to
be able to succeed. What our eyes have grown accustomed
to is the goat. Is Taylor made to what the
traditional shooting guard who gets his numbers is to succeed,
even and another name because of behind and micalation. Let
me know if I'm wrong with this. I don't care

(14:38):
if Nicola Jokic puts up forty point triple doubles, fifty
point triple doubles. He hate sexy the way he plays
time is the next face that that will not be
appreciad now the basketball and we're going, oh my goodness,
he's amazing.

Speaker 2 (14:53):
He makes the right making that pass and.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
No, no, it's not going to be applotted.

Speaker 2 (15:01):
No, No, you're you're one hundred percent right. He's a
guy that will be the Hey, that was a great run.
All right, what's.

Speaker 3 (15:08):
Next Anthony Edwards Shooting's Anthony Edward shooting? You know they're
thirty for you know, for fifty and trash talking and
getting a forty ball or what you know whatever, sixty ball.
You could be applotted. Man, No, they'll get me wrong
to got to win.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
No, Well that's that's that's the next step. So let's
talk about that. Coming out next seventeen of twenty nine
yesterday for his forty three point total, including one another
call that I want to talk to you. I mean,
you're you're around the league. You've been around this league
a long long time. And when officials insert themselves a
little bit and instead of just saying, wow, that was fun,

(15:47):
get back up the court. He's Ryan Hollins at the
Ryan Hollins on Twitter is where you find him. Find
me over at swollendum coming out next to the breakdown
of Game one. What can we learn from the t
Wolves one six ninety nine victory. It's Fox Sports Radio
and Fox Sports Sunday.

Speaker 4 (16:03):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.

Speaker 6 (16:15):
Hey, this is Tom Berducci from Fox Sports, MLB Network
and Sports Illustrated.

Speaker 7 (16:20):
And I'm Joe Madden and we're going to be around
to talk a little bit about managerial decisions and what
may have accredited to Dougot maybe in the nineteen eighties.

Speaker 6 (16:27):
It's the Book of Joe podcast.

Speaker 7 (16:29):
I can't wait for this, Joe.

Speaker 6 (16:30):
We're going to dive into what goes on in the
dugout and behind the scenes in.

Speaker 3 (16:33):
Major League Baseball, cars, wind, whatever else we want to
talk about.

Speaker 6 (16:36):
Yeah, well there are no boundaries, right. Listen to the
Book of Joe podcast on the iHeartRadio app, on Apple
Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 2 (16:46):
Welcome back in It's Fox Sports Sunday, Fox Sports Radio,
my Carbon alongside Ryan Hollins at the Ryan Hollinds on
Twitter and find me over at Swollen Dome. And of
course you can always get us at Fox Sports Radio.
Take us with you where wherever you go on the
iHeartRadio app close to your vest, to and from services,
walking the dog, morning cup of coffee. However you're listening

(17:08):
to us, we do appreciate you being part of the
extended family. We only asked, hey, you know, continue to evangelize.
It is a you know, a little bit of a
preacher kind of thing. Get out there and let folks
know we're out there. What you agree with, what you
disagree with, and how smart Ryan makes me sound. Throughout
the rest of this morning, as we roll through a

(17:28):
lot of NBA, We've got some fun coming off the derby.
There was one interview in the Paddock area that I
had to clip off because I got to get your
reaction to something the gentleman claimed in terms of a
past experience he had in the para mutual wagering world.
As we come off the Kentucky Derby, shouts to my family,

(17:51):
my brothers and friends, all heading back from Churchill Downs
after another resplendent appearance there among the beautiful people, and
they look beautiful. Ryan, I gotta say, Mom sent me
some photos of my brothers and they look good. I
hope to one day walk among the beautiful people as well.

Speaker 3 (18:09):
Ah you are, man, Come on, dude, don't do that.

Speaker 2 (18:11):
Well, I'm in lost. Well you know what I mean.
Just I was dealing with, you know, lots of other stuff,
soccer practices and stuff, instead of putting on my best
jaunty hat and being there, even though I did manage
to lose quite successfully in my own paramutual wagering yesterday
on the derby. But we'll get into that in earnest

(18:32):
a little more as we talk about the photo finish
and all the fun stuff there. We're talking to Anthony
Edwards next right, that's the not WWE NXT, you know,
talking about the hype machine starting to crank up after
his forty three point performance and a seven point te
Wolves win at Denver to start the semi finals. And Ryan.

(18:56):
One of the things we were talking about the roster construction,
talk about Karl Anthony Towns looking at a little bit
of Gobart Nasried right. Obviously, the sixth Man of the
Year was huge in that fourth quarter coming up he
finishes with sixteen. But it is truly built and right
they rise and fall off the centerpiece of Edwards great
team basketball, great team defense, no doubt, but they're only

(19:21):
going as far as the heroics of Edwards can take them.

Speaker 3 (19:24):
No, you're you're right about that. And they need Anthony
Edwards to score and the one thing why they're allowed
to win. And you know, normally we hadn't said this
in a while, like this guy has to score. There's
one guy. Normally, you know, all the teams we've kind
of seen it needed two and three guys, right, two
and three guys. Well, they need you know, both of

(19:46):
those guys. Eyes have to have good nights. This has
to happen, right. The reason that this is working is
that's the way that this team has been built. They
have been built for Anthony Edwards to score. And the
reason they can do that is because the Timberwolves have
the NBA's best defense. If you are not familiar with
Minnesota in a in an era of basketball where everybody's

(20:09):
gotten smaller, there's no center on a number of teams,
there's starting there no power forward. There's a bunch of
small forwards playing position. They are huge. And in the
off season they went out and said, you know what,
this nas reed guy, he's getting in the way of
Karl Anthony Towns. What should we do about nas Reed?
How are we gonna make this work? You know what
they said, We're gonna sign nas Reed and we're gonna

(20:32):
keep it at Karl Anthony Towns and we're gonna give
everything we have to go and get Rudy Gobert. They said,
we're gonna just get bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.
And it is paid off, dude, it has paid off.
And when you play him, and when when we saw
him this season with the Rockets, we were able to
kind of check out what they were doing. There were

(20:53):
moments in that game where you just felt outmatched, where
you felt you felt like it was the JV Bursuta Varsity.
You know when you see the for those au parents,
you see the fifteen you kids, and then you see
the seventeen you kids and you're, oh, gosh, they're much bigger. Wow.

(21:13):
That is how you feel when you see Minnesota. They're huge,
and shout out to Denver. Denver cut did it first.
Michael Porter Junior is all at six foot ten, playing
the three guards the three guard spot. Okay, that team
is also huge, So these are two big teams. But
they're equipped size wise, physicality wise to match up and

(21:34):
Anthony Edwards. We'll give him probably about six five sixty six,
but he plays like he's seven feet.

Speaker 2 (21:38):
It's funny you mentioned the difference AAU. Obviously my daughter
is still in the soccer circuit. Sometimes you go to
these national events like, what the hell are they feed
these kids?

Speaker 5 (21:49):
Right?

Speaker 2 (21:50):
They're the same age, same. I was like, wait, what, like,
what's going on here? Certainly there? How do you feel
about the phase out of centers psychologically? For you, as
you know, an opinionated seven footer.

Speaker 3 (22:03):
Here's what I challenge right now. The two the two
front runners for MVP to al Embiid, Nicola jokicch but
arguably the two best players in the NBA. You're gonna
argue probably the last what three seasons, two best players
that know, we'll say the three best players. Fancy me
will go Giannisuth to the Kopo you want to call
them a center, you know? For for giggles, right, yep,

(22:26):
didn't you say the Defensive Player of the Year reigning
The guy's probably gonna go down in history because he's
got the award so many times. Rudy Gobert so are
these centers really being phased out?

Speaker 2 (22:39):
It's a good question. I mean, look, I think it's
just on the the overriding, and I think we changed
how we defined center because these guys don't play like
the seven footers that we remember. No disrespect to yourself
and others, right, it was a you put, you played
back to the basket, you played around the block, and
now you got guys like Yo kitchen emb It's like

(23:01):
I think I'll pull up from three feet beyond the
arc and has to go with it.

Speaker 3 (23:06):
You're absolutely correct. The way the position is being played
is completely different. They do not play it the way
that we traditionally saw it being played. I'm glad that
you said that. That's the biggest thing. And I said
this a couple of years ago. I don't think the
big players are getting phase out of the NBA. I
think what's gonna happen is the big players are going

(23:27):
to become more and more skilled.

Speaker 2 (23:29):
Well, look at Victor, right, we talk about Ween Binyama.
We went deep into this conversation and mean, there's a
guy seven to four who runs the floor about as
well as anybody right now, right, I mean, I don't
think it's hyperbole and me just wanting to be you know,
the hey, let's jump on the next greatness bandwagon to

(23:49):
say after watching him in his rookie year, and yes,
they did not have a lot of team success. You
rebuild around him, but you'd be hard pressed not to
already start looking as a top ten guy as an individual. Oh,
he's what he does on both ends of the court.

Speaker 3 (24:07):
You're gonna have Anthony Edwards on one end and Wimby
Yama on the other end, and Mike my opinion, he
has over exceeded expectations And hats off to san Antonio
because I felt like san Antonio was very calculated in this.
They wanted to make sure that the height was gone

(24:29):
around Wimby. And as the draft builds up, as Wimby
was came in, everybody wants to say, he's Lebron, He's this,
he's that, he's all, he's all these things right, and
how's he gonna fair? What is? And san Antonio was like, no,
he's just he's just a guy. And we're gonna be

(24:49):
conservative this year. We're gonna be this, this and this,
and he he quietly this is one of the most
This is one of the most amazing quiet seasons that
I had ever seen played. He quietly, I mean just
went berserk. He I mean quietly. Wimby absolutely was enough.

(25:11):
I mean this was something that we had not seen,
and I mean ever seen. This was this is unbelievable.
I mean every game and it's the great Sean Elliott
when we went down there, got to play, got to see,
got to see the spurs, said Sean, you know what
is he that good? What's the you know, what's the
deal with him? He said, Ryan. Every time I see

(25:33):
him play, every time he touches the floor, you will
see something that you have never seen done in the
game of basketball. You will see something that has never
been done in the game of basketball, ever been seen.
All the rules, everything that you thought was possible is
no longer possible when you see this guy play. So really, Sean,

(25:56):
that's it. That's those are the big words. And you know,
the old school, older players, they don't just jump on
the hype. They don't believe. They don't believe. And every
time I seen Victor play, he has done something that
I had never seen possible in the game of basketball.
There are possessions, as we talked about earlier, ore Au

(26:17):
or the dad stuff comes out and Mike you feel it.
We said, there's a difference between the JV and the varsity.
We're seeing things that you only see in kids basketball.
You're seeing NBA grown men dribble to the basketball and
not want to shoot the ball with Wimbayama in the vicinity.
You're seeing a three on one fast break in today's
NBA where guys are dribbling the ball out and saying no, no, no, no, no, dude,

(26:39):
shoot the ball anywhere near him, because if you shoot
the bonny where near him, he's gonna block it. You're
gonna put your your your shot in the stands. Dude.

Speaker 2 (26:47):
Yeah, that range is ridiculous. Right, You relax for a
second and he's up on you. You Well, he had
the glory that unless you had the the NBA package,
they weren't good enough to crack the rotation, no matter
how good he was, especially when you have the rise
of Minnesota and the force feeding on the west coast
of the Portland Trailblazers. But that's my own lamentation for

(27:09):
what I was forced to watch with great regularity here
in the studios alongside Jason Smith, not to mention his
insufferable Nick's self. We'll get into them a little bit
later on, but what do we take away from game one?
For me, it was the I mean obviously Edwards, but
you mentioned the defense of this squad before Ryan. They look,
Jokic got his numbers, but tell me that first half

(27:33):
they didn't make those guys look really uncomfortable. Some good
adjustments and obviously it's a game late. They rally back
from that huge early deficit, right because the t Wolves
put it to him in the first Murray goes scoreless
for a half and go on down the line. But
it really was it looked like that offense had to
be sped up because of the length, because of the

(27:54):
tenacity on the defensive end.

Speaker 3 (27:57):
Yeah, we talked about it earlier. Minnesota has the bodies
that throw at Jokic and we haven't seen teams be
able to match up. I mean, in the in the
finals last year. I mean it was embarrassing. I mean,
he was he was backing the Miami Heat under the
rim and just just scooting to shooting two foot layps.
I mean, he made the game look so easy. It

(28:20):
was it was honestly, it was. It was embarrassing and
with him being able to do that, I mean, it
puts you in a situation you're like, man, something has
to be changed. And I want to say, this is
the most uncomfortable Nicola has looked in the playoffs. But
they've got the bodies to throw out them. And normally,

(28:41):
you know when when you see Rudy on the other side,
it's just Rudy versus Nakola one on one, but they
are throwing cat at him there, throwing noos red, they're physical.
And then you got guys like McDaniel's on the backside,
Anthony Edwards that can get physical with the wings of
the of the of the Timberwolves. But it's the size

(29:04):
that stands out to me. And obviously you're not gonna
shut out Nicola, but you know, being able to match
up pound for pound because again, a lot of times
the niggas don't get credit. They're just bigger than imposing teams.
Aaron Gordon is physically man, He's as big as the
old school power forward and he jumps out the gym.
He is a physical player. And to me, that's one

(29:26):
of the big things that I'm seeing man being able
to just you guys are going great guys that are
gonna get their numbers. But people have not been able
to match up with Nicola. They have not.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
We've got a fun one and certainly our boss Scott Shapiro,
between the twins twelve game winning streak and this, he's wondering, well,
what is the shoe to drop? He's right allins, Oh
my garment. Here Fox Sports Sunday, Fox Sports Radio. Time
to turn our attention to a man who's all knowing
man with stats, figures and quips for days. It's our guy,

(29:57):
Isaac Low and cron Isaac lower Crown on Twitter. What's
going on?

Speaker 7 (30:02):
I love Good morning Mike, Good morning Ryan. And indeed
we do start with Game one of the NBA's Western
Conference semi Finals on Saturday night, as the Minnesota Timberwolves
stole Game one on the road at Denver, what oh
six to ninety nine. On the story Anthony Edwards pouring
in a playoff career high forty three points. Edwards has
been so good he is actually causing marital problems. After

(30:26):
Game one, some guy named Nate tweeted, and I quote, Hi, Nate,
Anthony Edwards is making me feel things no one ever
has unquote. A woman named Tyra replied and I quote,
oh parentheses, this is my husband unquote.

Speaker 2 (30:47):
Good luck to Nate.

Speaker 7 (30:49):
We'll try and follow up on how he's doing after
that perhaps reckless tweet.

Speaker 2 (30:54):
What did did Tyra take the challenge? I mean, what
happened there? Pats On? What would be by tap?

Speaker 3 (31:02):
What do you think ry? I said? Oh?

Speaker 7 (31:05):
Really, perhaps Nate was playing the long game.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
Is what you're saying.

Speaker 7 (31:07):
Go exactly a bit of a goblet laid down if
you will, you know what. I'm going to follow both
of them on social media and see where this story goes.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs. On Saturday night, the Boston
Bruins won Game one, Game seven of their opening round
series over the Toronto Maple Leafs that overtime, two to one,
as Boston's David Posterno scored the series winner a minute

(31:31):
and fifty four seconds into ot and Major League Baseball
on Saturday night, Max Munsey hit three home runs as
his Los Angeles Dodgers to beat at the Atlanta Braves
eleven to two. The San Diego Padres won an Arizona
thirteen to one. Luisa Rise went four to six in
his San Diego debut. Finally, earlier Saturday, Mysstic Dan won

(31:51):
the one hundred and fiftieth Kentucky Derby in a photo
finish over Sierra Leone. Here's what Mystic Dan had to
say after his glory. This trip past the blunt Oops, sorry,
how about that long rong glorious trip back to you guys.

Speaker 2 (32:09):
I mean a little decompression and self medication after a
hard fought victory. Thanks Hylo. At Isaac Lowan Crown. He's
also the voice of Angel City FC A big game
on Friday this past week. You know, I got my
finger on the pulse and I stalk him on social
media as well. At Isaac Lowan Crown find Ryan at

(32:29):
the Ryan Hollinds find me over at Swollendome and coming
up next, you can just point to the sky. They
will lead the way. We'll tell you what that's all about.
Coming up next here on Fox.

Speaker 1 (32:41):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (32:45):
Go to little old school here, Annie, beautiful Fox Sports Sunday.
Appreciate you being with us. It's Ryan Hollins with me.
I'm Mike Carmen. Thanks for being part of the family.
Got Isaac, we got Ian, We got Chris making a
sound so pretty all the information and tunes that you're
hearing over the course of the day, so Ryan, in

(33:05):
parallel with the fun and excitement of the NBA playoffs,
we've got the first exhibition games thus far for the WNBA.
A lot of excitement, people monitoring the price of tickets
on the secondary market, and all that fun stuff when
you get down to it. But not every game is
being televised and necessarily the same free flowing way that

(33:31):
you know you've come to expect in league passes and
all of that stuff. So the other night you had
the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx get after it and
there was no television, which doesn't make a whole lot
of sense. Cardoso and Angel Reese making their first appearances,
although after watching the press conference and set up they

(33:54):
had for Angel Reese, I'm still kind of scratching my head.
I don't need to, you know. The city of Chicago
they got enough issues, although they finally won an NBA
or an NFL draft, at least in theory with the
Caleb Williams arrival. But someone on Twitter decided, well, I'm
just gonna start live streaming this thing. They were sitting

(34:15):
around center court and they've got over two hundred thousand
people to tune in and watch some of that game.
Ryan the age of the w NBA, at least in
these exhibition moments, we've arrived on a different scale and
now it becomes the how do we capitalize and push forward?
But normally they shut you down when you got live

(34:35):
streams like that, although I suppose that's usually UFC, WWE
and other events that they want you on the pay
per view. So maybe an exemption here or maybe some
theory testing as to how big this could get as
another outlet for the games.

Speaker 3 (34:51):
I mean, I think you got to be excited and listen.
Demand gets big enough, they're gonna have to fix some
things with the WNBA. And I think you love it.
And here's the thing. For every sport, it takes personalities.
It's entertainment. It takes a name that you know, it
takes a household name. And for those who may not

(35:13):
know what Mike, you remember these times. Hey, it was
the competition between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson that took
the NBA to another level. Then he went from there
and Michael Jordan. We don't just applaud him as the goal.
We don't just applaud him as as a guy who
won championships. He grew the league exponentially. The league just

(35:33):
took off under Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant maintained the
torch Lebron James grew the league. He's gonna have to
get credit for that, for what he's done and where
the league has gone during his time and run in
the NBA. But ultimately, at the end of the day,
we bring that out because of Caitlin Clark, because of
Angel Reese. Are those two going to be the names

(35:55):
that take the w NBA to the next level where
they're going, Hey man, we're making this money, We're getting
this no variety of this TV packages here because of
what they had been able to do. They are household names.
The way that they transformed the game of college This
was the women's college basketball this year, Mike. You know this.
They they outrated you know, the NBA, NFL. I mean,

(36:20):
they were absolutely box office during that time, and they
did numbers. And the challenge is are those same numbers
going to roll over to the w NBA. Are change
is gonna be made? You know? Streaming wise, are they
gonna get more TV games. Where do they stand?

Speaker 2 (36:37):
Well, the beauty of it is, you know, and to
back it out, it's like your imprint has been small. Right,
go back to the NBA. Think about when Magic and
Bird came in. Your NBA Finals were on tape delay
after the late local news and nightlibe. Right, is all right?
Now at midnight, here's game three. I mean that's where
the NBA was, And now what is it? A ten

(36:59):
billion dollar?

Speaker 5 (36:59):
Ye?

Speaker 2 (37:00):
Your business estimated add some asterisks for some fuzzy accounting,
But for the WNBA, the last math I still saw
is that it was a two hundred million dollar business.
That's that's a huge gap, quite obviously, but there's room
for growth and a thirst for it that you know,
you've got a different generation and how you consume things.

(37:21):
Add the fact that, well it's another thing we can
bet on, so you're going to be able to get
that market in let's not let's call it what it
is when you can. Even during the NCAA tournament for
the women's we started seeing a lot of discussions on
point total over unders in some of those matchups, et cetera.
Here in Los Angeles, they're hoping you know that Cameron

(37:41):
Brink can become a star, right, the Steph Curry ties
there and everything else, But it's it's the idea that
even if you have massive growth on a percentage basis,
it may not be the exciting numbers that people are
looking for in terms of rating share and overall market.

(38:02):
But by the same token, NBA ratings on a night
to night basis aren't exactly you know through the roof, right,
they're good, but it's a new world order in terms
of what constitutes good ratings for live television and look,
sports is always going to be the last bastion because
you're gonna have to sit through some advertisement to get

(38:24):
to quarter four to see what Edwards and Jokic are
doing for you or in this case, Caitlin Clark is
she's still get getting forward. And something I think happened
with the Iowa squad as well Ryan that helped ratings
is you started to get people that were not just
the old head WNBA players. I wait to see her

(38:45):
on the next level. It was the all right, they're
waiting for her to fail. Hate watching is a real
thing in our sports watching society. It's part of the
Lebron James and why everything is so magnified. A lot
of excitement what's he gonna do next? But on the
same token, how's he gonna fail? The private parts discussion

(39:08):
of ratings for Howard Stern back in the day. There
you go aging myself truly, but it was I can't
wait to see what he's gonna do next. People that
hate him listen twice as long why I can't wait
to see what he's gonna do next? Same thing here.
You start getting that build up. That's the best thing
you can possibly ask for in the sport because you
start getting opinion makers to dive in. They may not

(39:30):
have a clue as to what they're saying, although a
lot of the guys that get paid the two commas
don't really seem to watch any sports anymore anyway, So
you know, I'll leave that there.

Speaker 3 (39:41):
Well, it's controversial because he hadn't seen it before, and
you talked earlier about Michael and Kobe. Kobe wasn't controversial
because you saw Kobe and Michael. Lebron's controversial because we've
seen anybody do it for that long. Hey, he doesn't
conduct it himself as we would assume his greatness is

(40:02):
and for the way that Caitlynkark plays. You hadn't seen
that success. You hadn't seen a name like that in college.
You hadn't seen it transfer over. She's a Steph Curry.
So many people did not believe in Steph Curry. You know,
I was taught in my time in the NBA that
rebounds the defense win championships.

Speaker 2 (40:21):
All those years ago, and then they changed the game.
All right, you mentioned Lebron, We got to talk about
the Lakers. Darvin Ham railroaded question mark.

Speaker 1 (40:30):
Next, you're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (40:35):
Greetings, Welcome in a tower two of the program Fox
Sports Sunday. Here Fox Sports Radio as we broadcast live
from the tire rac dot com studios. Tire act dot
com will help you get there an unmatched selection, fast,
free shipping, free road hazard protection, and over ten thousand
recommended in stallars tire rac dot com the way tire
buying should be. Thanks for being with us on a

(40:58):
beautiful Sunday morning. However, you're taking us in the local
radio stations fourn and plus nationwide. Thanks to the program
directors and of course to you for listening to us.

Speaker 3 (41:09):
There.

Speaker 2 (41:10):
The iHeartRadio app it's where you can take us wherever
you go globally. And if you're out there globally and
we know you are, please hit us up at Swollendo.
I'm at the Ryan Hollins, my guy, Ryan Hollins with
us ten years in the NBA working with the Rockets.
You can find the opinionated seven Footers podcast history going

(41:31):
on there. He's a man about town. What's going on, buddy?

Speaker 3 (41:34):
What's going on? Brother?

Speaker 2 (41:35):
That was a fast first hour, man. We covered a
lot of grounds. I think we spoke some wisdom into
the universe. And now we'll try to do it again.

Speaker 3 (41:43):
It was so fast, I mean I didn't even realize
it in like an hour already.

Speaker 2 (41:49):
No, that's it. And speaking wisdom on this NBA game,
we get more playoff action a little bit later on
a game seven. How about that? A Game seven Orlando
Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I picked the Calves to
go to the uh. You know, because we decided around
here Ryan, that we generally don't go chalk with our picks.

(42:12):
I go, I'll go a little off the grid. And
now the Cavaliers are on the brink of extinction.

Speaker 3 (42:18):
Hey man. For one, we're glad we're getting a game seven.
Always yeah, home court advantage, that's a that's a big thing.
And I think my disappointment is that I thought for Cleveland,
I thought experience went out. I thought this was, you know,
their moment. It got Donovan Mitchell, who'd been there before

(42:38):
for Orlando. This is a lot of first They're both
very constructed, very similar. I've got history work with JB.
Bickerstaff three times, coach Jamal Mosley, defensive mind to throw
back boxes and elbows team, they like to take care
of the paint first. But I just I didn't think.
I'm surprised with Paul and those guys that they are

(43:02):
having this much success this early. And I think for Cleveland,
if they end up losing this, I don't want to
say they blow things up, but I want to say
there's going to be, you know, be some changes. This
was a series they should have been able to win.

Speaker 2 (43:17):
Now let's go back. You got Game four, Franz Wagner
with the elbow to Jared Allen and he's not been
in since two and a half. Is the spread on
this one? Cleveland the home favorite, about one ninety four
and a half the total, But midway through the third
quarter of that game. Four. Man, you're talking about a
guy who's whated sixteen and ten that's suddenly out of

(43:38):
the middle and out of the mix. So on the
injury report for game seven and it's Dicey. I haven't
seen any true update. He's still listed as questionable with
the rib contusion.

Speaker 3 (43:52):
Yeah, and that'll be a big factor. But you know
sometimes that injuries like that can help out. The reasonably
why I can say that they end up helping out
is because what happens is, you know, you go smaller,
you change up, you know how fast you play, Mobiley
slides over to the center position. Those two don't conflict

(44:13):
with each other, and you know, it could be a
big thing. It could end up helping them out in
the long run. So I'm interested to see how that
works out. But I mean, listen, Game sevens, there's nothing
like them. A lot of times more than not, you
give the credit to the home team, And I think
in this situation, you're gonna have to roll with the
home team just because these two have not had a

(44:36):
lot of playoff success. And you know what happens. Role
players play better at home, and you're gonna have. That's
where you're gonna have to lean.

Speaker 2 (44:43):
We look at Suggs and Bunco who you mentioned before,
a couple of other young stars. So the kids are
all right, as it were, But let's go back to
the veterans, because, let's face it, the as much as
folks maybe bemoan the idea of, hey, let's talk Lakers again,
they're the story outside of the playoffs based on Lebron's
comments refusing to comment on his future, and we've played

(45:06):
that a little bit, so we'll just move past it
here for the sake of time. But you know, the
uncertain offseason. He's got the player player option, what is
it fifty one and a half million dollars there about,
and now we're talking about three years max deal for him.
You got Anthony Davis and a lot of questions of
the roster construction. But one thing that is certain is

(45:29):
the Lakers are in line for another head coach. And
I know you talked about it with Jason Smith in
my stead on Friday night, But for those who weren't listening,
I was off, you know, gallivanting and enjoying a little
time with my daughters and the others. It's a topic
welcome in for folks that only get us on a
Sunday morning. Ryan, was it inevitable given the last couple

(45:52):
of weeks and the public comments and histrionics of James
and Anthony Davis directed towards there? Now, former head coach.

Speaker 3 (46:03):
Here's the thing. Lebron knows how to end the season
with some controversy. You know, of course, he's been seizoned
enough and he's smart enough to also know his value.
You know, sometimes in sports, a lot of guys that
don't know their value, you know, you kind of you
just kind of go about, and Lebron knows how to

(46:24):
create that that kind of Oh, he knows, he knows
that he's how to put it. He knows those people
that hate him they secretly love him. They want to
see him. So as soon as he just throws out, yeah,
I don't know if this year is gonna work for me.
You know that excitement's gonna be there, Lebron also knows, Hey,
you know what, I need some leverage. You want to know,

(46:44):
I because I plan on my son playing with me.
I want an opportunity for my son to play with me.
And if I go out and not create the no no, no, Lebron,
we need you to stay. You mean so much, you
look so great. There's nothing there's no team without you, Lebron.
Guess what you have the leverage to say, Hey, I
want to make sure that my son is drafted here.

(47:06):
I want to make sure that I get a chance
to play with them. And I think it's very realistic
that you see that. And I think for Lebron, he
does not allow organizations. He does not allow people anymore
to get comfortable with them. And I think this is
part of it.

Speaker 2 (47:24):
I wields the un invisible hand. I use that phrase
with my daughter. She got all excited starting to talk
about Adam Smith and economics, which was kind of cool
at fifteen that she wants to have those kinds like see,
you're paying attention in your history classes. But it's the
idea that you do have a huge amount of power.

(47:45):
And for Genie Buss and husband j Moore and the
brass there Ryan, I mean, it's a lot of the
all right, if he leaves, what do we got? And
we know even if they backed off a little bit.
And this is where we can get into Rob Polenka
and the job of the front office with him comes

(48:06):
at a lot of expectations. Right, every it's built for
this year. It's not a long haul, right, it's always
the we have to win now and make moves accordingly,
or at least that's the thought. And for Darvin Ham
during this run, trying to maximize what was on your roster.
And I heard a lot of folks talking about Vanderbilt

(48:28):
and Vincent not being available. It's like, well it's the NBA.
I guess you know, as you were just talking about
with the Cavaliers, Well you change up how you approach things.
And they had great health from both James and Anthony
Davis that still only led them to the plan, even
with them playing together as often as they did Austin

(48:48):
Reeves after the big contract. I don't think you saw
the step up in game night to night that they
expected there. And we can go full on roster if
you need to. But for Lebron, he knows there's great
power in that jersey and for him personally, you know,
to wield all the leverage. Now. As for the kid,

(49:08):
I don't know what he's going to be. I don't
think anybody does at this point, but he's got Lebron James.
You know, as his backer and as a guy who
can say, well, I'll take my traveling road show somewhere else.
You know why because I've done it before. Because that's
the other thing. You know, we were talking about Michael
and Kobe and you know, the fun that were we
get to use all these guys first name like their

(49:30):
pop stars, but the idea that the other guys didn't
move like Kobe may have threatened a few times and
he did, he didn't go anywhere, and Michael didn't go
anywhere until the end when he left for Washington, and
that was after the run with the Bulls was done.
And there's ownership and all that other stuff that comes out.
But with Lebron, he's taken the road show before, so

(49:54):
you can use that as leverage.

Speaker 3 (49:58):
You're absolutely right, he as and before you're right, the
leverage was I'll go play somewhere else. But I think
Lebron's really everge we talked about earlier is that I
can retire. I don't need.

Speaker 2 (50:10):
This, And I was thrown that out a little bit, right.
You know what's next? What do I have left to accomplish?
You know, it's funny, which no anybody that believes that
I've got a bridge to sell you.

Speaker 3 (50:22):
You know what's funny. I watched him kind of like
the you know, the rant that he had or the
meltdown whenever, the frustration said it whatever, you want to
put it out right. When he did the challenge to play.

Speaker 2 (50:34):
Oh yeah, three year old stomp, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (50:37):
It was a challenge of play. I feel like that
was a move and he's had some things that stood
out that when he was towards the end of his career,
he to his career, you just don't care anymore. I
remember tore the end of my career. I didn't do
anything in the NBA, not wild, but just overseas. My
last year played in Spain and Italy. A little bit

(50:59):
maybe in the NBA, but there was that feeling that
I don't care anymore. I don't need this. There's some
of that I don't need this and some of my behaviors.
Coach would say some things we're unnecessary. I don't need this. No,
I don't agree.

Speaker 2 (51:17):
Did you ever eat on a bench like D'Angelo Russell?

Speaker 3 (51:21):
No? I did not do that. Okay, I didn't do that,
but there's just kind of some I don't agree to
that Often move on and for all of us who
have maybe been in a situation or you have another
job looming, you have another opportunity, and once you know

(51:42):
that opportunity viz.

Speaker 2 (51:44):
Yeah right, things change.

Speaker 3 (51:47):
The way you approach things change, okay, And I challenge
everyone in their lives to get to the point where
they don't listen, do not go jump off a bridge
at at my expense, but get to your like in
your in your life, like Lebron, where you don't need it. Hey,
do you want to do this little little little extra

(52:08):
extra day, don't need it. Get to the point where
you can say no, That's the challenge in life. Get
to a point where you can be appreciated and where
you can say.

Speaker 2 (52:17):
No, that's it. You talk about it as blank you
money or situations, and most folks never achieved that. But
just from the work perspective, as you say, man, Lebron
can now play the you know lakers where you're at
as an organization you need me more than I need you. Yeah,
well there'll be there would be plenty of people I think,

(52:38):
lined up perspective free agents to come fill that salary cap. Uh,
pretty fast, There's no question about it. But when we
talk about overall impact, et cetera. Even with early exits,
you know, it's still imments from the media coverage to
the sales and everything that rolled through it. The coverage
and continuity, and let's face it, LA is a star town.

(53:00):
So it flows to that. The sidelight, you know, talking
about you know, Bronnie James and what he becomes on
the next level. I know there's been a lot of
discussion of him getting the NBA combine. Invite my guy
Boo Booie, one of your top guards and in the
game coming out of Northwestern, did not get invited. In
their number of names, It's like, yeah, that's it. They

(53:23):
want attention. It's like everything else, right, this is a
draft class that if we're to believe it is either
a no good or if you are it's a lot
being dominated from abroad as the game changes and the globalization,
but that we're not getting the same level, you know,
owing to the conversation we had last hour about men's

(53:44):
college basketball versus women's college basketball and spotlights this year, Ryan,
So if Bronnie James' appearance gets a spotlight on the
rest of these guys and the doings over at the
Moody Bible Institute another. I mean, that's good for the game,
So why would you not invite him not to mention, Hey,
Lebron may show up or whoever else from Clutch Sports,

(54:05):
so you got more eyeballs documentaries, et cetera. And as
we certainly talk about a lot, we love legacy plays.
Now it makes me feel old as hell every time
I see this guy junior and it's like, yeah, I
watched his old man's entire career and he's been retiring
for ten years and now this guy gets drafted. So
the wait, now his kids retiring? No, his grandkid's coming up.

(54:29):
Now I'm truly old. But you know, we were talking
a lot, you know, yesterday and through the end of
the week about the Kentucky Derby. And when we start
talking about trying to make selections for future performance, what
are we doing. We're trying to go through and figure
out Hell the WWE it's all about bloodline. See what
I did there? I get the rocket while I'm at

(54:50):
it in the Little Roman reigns. But you know, you're
expecting greatness. But as long as you can link it
to the game of today, it's good for business. It's
good for marketing and sales even if the kid never
pans out.

Speaker 3 (55:03):
Well, here's the thing with Bronnie that I want people
to know this. He's not as great as the expectations say,
and he's definitely not as bad as some people like
to put a put to him. He definitely deserves the
draft invite that he's gotten. He's an incredible talent. Physically,
he's his dad, just a shorter version. He has the

(55:26):
same size movements. You'll see, We've seen it if you're
taking a good look at Bronnie, and he fits the
NBA game. So he's somewhere in between. Like I said,
does he deserve to be in the NBA? Yeah, I
think that as far as you know, the two way
contracts are given out and you see a lot of
that Today's mean like, Bronnie can definitely play in the NBA.

(55:46):
There's no There's no question. This is not a far
reach of if he's an NBA player, if he has
the potential, if he can do it or not do it,
he can do it. Okay, let's make that very clear
and very right now. Let's put those notions to rest.
And obviously, is he going to have a bit of
a nob because his dad is Yes, but he definitely

(56:11):
can play, and he has the talent and the potential
is there, and it's still potential. He didn't. You know,
it's not like he's just been tearing things up. We're
not going to pretend like he's been doing that. But
you know, he definitely has a shot to play in
the NBA.

Speaker 2 (56:24):
All right. And it comes back to the NBA draft
is all about potential anyway, because we're usually drafting virtually
all eighteen nineteen year old guys, maybe twenty year old guys.
It's all about, all right, are they going to grow
another inch or two? Are they going to put some
weight on? Are they going to develop? In this case,
you had a guy playing on a squad coming off
a heart attack, which is part of the background here,

(56:48):
but I mean he wasn't cleared to play basketball and
so you were well into the season.

Speaker 3 (56:52):
Yeah. Yeah. And one thing you mentioned too, which is accurate,
it's not a strong draft is one of the weaker
drafts that we've seen sometime. It is not by any
measure of strong draft. There's no clear cut number one.
There's no maybe there's gonna be some great role players
a diamond in the rough that we don't know about.
But this is not one of the memorable drafts that

(57:15):
we also see. But for Lebron, his mindset is saying, hey,
we want Bronni drafted by the Lakers, so we don't
have to have any type of movement with that second
round pick or going drafted, and I'm gonna scare every
other team out of going out and trying to get them,
you know, scare every other team. And I think the
the chess match is to say, is someone gonna challenge

(57:39):
Lebron and clutching those guys and go out and say, hey,
we're gonna draft Bronni just to mess some things up.
I would draft Bronnie just to just to see because
Lebron made the comments up I'm gonna go play where
my son plays.

Speaker 2 (57:53):
Yeah, And I mean there's been some reports the last
week that maybe he's backed off that a little bit
in terms of that being you know, a career cap
er kind of thing. But I agree with you. I'm
in the second round, man, how many guys truly make
it out of the second round? And I know we've
got Nicola Jokic as the great example running right now,

(58:15):
but one of those guys. There's no guaranteed contracts, so
why would you not try to apply pressure If nothing else,
you get some buzz for your lower level squad for
a little while of what might happen, right and the
excitement thereof So yeah, I don't think there's any downside,

(58:36):
And perhaps then you get to do one of those
big sales pitches like when those guys were all free
agents back in the day and Mike.

Speaker 3 (58:42):
Would you look down on an organization if they did that? No?
Like no, But what I'm saying is, like, you know,
Lebron wants him with him on the Lakers. He wants that,
you know, to be kind of something there. Would it
be kind of like a petty move? Would you would
just like, come on, man, you didn't have to do that.
Would you, like, we had a chance that's for him
to play with his dad, Like, would would that be
a petty move to do?

Speaker 2 (59:04):
I think you still have the opportunity to go and
pitch the dad right if he hasn't re up with
the Lakers by that point, because he doesn't have to
right now.

Speaker 3 (59:12):
So you feel fair game if somebody goes and wow
one hundred.

Speaker 2 (59:19):
Percent, yeah, wow, Like again, it's it's a roster spot. Look,
if he can come and claim it, two way deal,
whatever it is on that squad, that's all fine and good,
you know, But if it also puts me potentially in
Lebron James coming to my town, particularly if you're one
of these also ran squads that aren't in the playoff hunt,

(59:41):
you're trying to put butts in seats, man, You're trying
to be relevant. So yeah, all's fair to me. Hey,
coming up next, let's talk about the coaching side of
things here. We've gone a little long with this discussion.
He's Ryan Hollins at the Ryan Hollins, find me over
at Swollen Do Home. This is Fox Sports Sunday on
Fox Sports Radio. Hey, welcome back in Fox Sports Sunday.

(01:00:01):
Here Fox Sports Radio, My Carmen alongside Ryanhollins, live Fromthetire
Act dot Com, Fox Sports Radio Studios. Full slate of
action ahead. We've already got some Premier League on the pitch, golf,
reving up, some motorsports as the day goes on. Of course,
NBA NHL playoffs continue as well. Ryan, full slate of things.

(01:00:24):
But it always seems to be a coach hiring season
here in Los Angeles, somewhere along the line, and once
again the Lakers cycle out Darvin ham Is. Since Phil
Jackson left, it's a never ending cavalcade. I think if
Dan Byer were in the chair, we'd do a family

(01:00:44):
feud of all the guys who coached at least one
game for the Lakers in the last fourteen years and
the top what fifteen answers would be on the boards
or thereabout, including all those interims. So Darvin's out, what
do you do to maximum eyes? What's left of Lebron?
And how much input should he have.

Speaker 3 (01:01:04):
If he's going to be there, he should have a
lot of input. If Lebron is still the guy in
l A and they have invested into him, he should laugh.
He's still the best player on the Lakers. He's still
one of the better players in the entire NBA. And
I think what you do is and this is this
is what's really really tough, And this is where I
feel bad for the Lakers. This is what's tough for them.

(01:01:28):
You don't know how long Lebron is going to be
Lebron for and apparently he's got of like outlived, you know,
is his expectations of how long he can be Lebron.
And the reason I say it is, how do I
explain this the best way? No one knew you'd get

(01:01:51):
like Lebron playing at this level for this long, and
he's and he's still like really really not just kind
of good, he's still very, very good. So as long
as he's good, he's gonna have that choice. He's gonna
be the guy. And even when Lebron's done, he's still
gonna have some inputs. So the challenge is how long
do we keep you know, keep making him a priority.

(01:02:15):
But he's priority worth. The value is there and you're
seeing that with Lebron, so he should definitely, ever say,
things should be tailored around him. And what you would
normally do is you'd want your coach to match up
with your best players. So give or take, let's say
Lebron can do this for two more years. And I
feel crazy even saying this. Do we get a coach

(01:02:37):
on a two year deal that fits with Lebron.

Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
So and it doesn't want to coach defense?

Speaker 3 (01:02:42):
Whatever I mean, listen, whatever you want to put it under, right,
whatever you want.

Speaker 2 (01:02:46):
To say, come on, you're just gonna let that pass by.
Come on, I laid that up on a team for you.

Speaker 3 (01:02:51):
I'm not listen. I'm not gonna fight that. There are
moments were against the Nuggets where Lebron was he was gross.
He was absolutely gross, giving up backdoor layups you didn't
even know where.

Speaker 2 (01:03:01):
There were a couple of times where he made great
reads and stole them ball like it was old school.

Speaker 3 (01:03:06):
Yeah, that's part of when you are older. There's part
of that we talked about, just not Karen. That's part
of that. Not Karen, okay, but for for Lebron or
for the Lakers. You almost got a match up. Okay, Lebron,
if we're gonna let you handpick a coach, we're gonna
let you go out and go get JJ Reddick. Right,
We're gonna mark JJ Reddick's deal or put a team

(01:03:28):
in option there around the time where we feel like
Lebron may not be the same guy. But for right now,
everything that he's shown is that he deserves to be
able to handpick his coach.

Speaker 2 (01:03:42):
Yeah, still looks at least from the offensive end. You've
got two or three years of lifeline here, so trying
to construct the roster around it, it's just the curiosity
of you know, guys, have a look, you're hired to
be fired in all in all jobs, but certainly as
an NBA coach, just seems the lifeline there in organizational direction,

(01:04:05):
they're rudderless. Right, it's the all right, I gave you one,
or let's see how fast you can you can go?
Oh wait, I'm going in a circle. I'm not really
moving forward here because it seems we end up back
at the same place. Right, I mean, you got a
guy that won ninety regular season games over two years.
He got to the conference finals a year ago, and

(01:04:26):
yes they underachieved owing to what we said before. Right,
you had Lebron and ad healthy virtually all season and
still couldn't get there. But why is Rob Polinka, you know,
blameless in the larger, larger scale, like it seems like
he gets a free pass of all this.

Speaker 3 (01:04:48):
Oh no, there's no way that Rob gets a free pass.
The reason I say that is.

Speaker 2 (01:04:52):
Well, but everybody's going after Darvin and not the roster construction.

Speaker 3 (01:04:56):
That's the that's the name of the game, behind the scenes.
That that's that's somewhy where. And here's the thing. Don't
feel bad for Darvin. Hats off to Darvin He'll.

Speaker 2 (01:05:05):
Be fine, he'll have another job.

Speaker 3 (01:05:07):
But even more so, he knew taking the head coach
of the Laker's job, that he was going to be
in a position where he would have to be himself.
He'd have to do some controversial things, he'd have to
kind of be publicly scrutinized, he'd have to deal with
hey Lebron and his frustrations and when they set in.
He knew that. Darvinham very much knew that. And Darvinham,

(01:05:31):
in my opinion, did an excellent job in the in
the position. But I say, don't feel sorry for Darvin Ham,
because he's not asked. He's not gonna be asking you
or anyone to feel sorry for him. He knew what
was going on, he knew what the deal was, and essentially,
at the end of the day, hey man, I thought
he did an excellent job. Barring all the all those factors,

(01:05:52):
I thought Darvinham did an excellent job.

Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
Didn't think you'd catch the stray he did from a D.
When you Luly say we didn't know what we were doing.

Speaker 3 (01:06:00):
Here's what Here's where a D has to be careful.
If for some reason the Lakers say we want to
go out and get a name. We want somebody reputable. Okay,
you know I had coaches do they talk and they're
gonna look and be like, dude, I don't want to
coach Hansy Davis if that type of behavior is okay

(01:06:20):
and and and validated. I don't want to coach anybody
that It was a cheap move. You don't And I
don't care. Maybe maybe Darvin didn't do a great job
in that situation. You don't do that when you still
have a chance that you're competing in the playoffs or
you're you just don't do that. It's it's it's it's
a cheap move. You're throwing your coach, your guy under

(01:06:42):
the bus. And I don't I don't think it went overwhelm.
And if I'm a coach, I'm going And you're the Lakers.
You want to get a reputable coach, right, you want
to You want to bring in a name, right, you
want to get someone who who has value. They don't
want to They don't want to touch that job with
a ten football because of the things that you have
to go again, so you're in a position, hey, you

(01:07:02):
might as well go get you know, go get a
you know, let Lebron pick his coach. Let go get
a guy that he that he validates, that he feels
comfortable with Anthony Davis feels comfortable right, right, Because then
if there's a situation that they feel goes right or
goes wrong, don't go throwing that guy in the bus. Well,
he's your guy. He's your guy, so you should be
throwing your guy into the bus, buddy. I thought it

(01:07:25):
was a really cheap move. Even if Anthony Davis was right,
even if there's confusion behind the scenes with a couple
of those situations, you don't say it publicly that was wrong.

Speaker 2 (01:07:37):
Heavy is the head? Who where's the crown? And you
could use that either for you know, everything that people
will throw at at the Lebron world or certainly those
that take jobs coaching him. The Anthony Davis thing, you
know normally that's filtered to anonymously to a guy in
the back, so tells you where you were at there,
And I agree with you, but it is one of thirty.

(01:07:58):
So you'll take the guarantee money and move out. We'll
talk about guaranteed money in a whole other way in
a minute, but a reminder Shortly after the show, the
podcast goes up. If you missed any of today's show,
be sure to check it out searching Fox Sports Radio
wherever you get your podcast, be sure to follow rate
review it tell us how brilliant we sounded in these
discussions this morning. Again, search Fox Sports Radio wherever you

(01:08:19):
get your podcasts, you'll see this show Fox Sports Sunday
Hollins and Harmon posted right after we get off the air.
We'll get to that contract that I alluded to in
a moment, but first let's go to a man who's, oh,
right now, the most powerful voice in radio. He's our guy,
Isaac Lohenkron. Why thank you there? It is that deeper

(01:08:42):
and deeper.

Speaker 7 (01:08:43):
When he said powerful, my voice just went down in octave.
So I appreciate that. Game one mic at the NBA's
Western Conference semi Finals on Saturday night saw Anthony Edwards
of the Minnesota Timberwolves poor in a playoff career high
forty three points as they stole Game one at from
the defending champions on six to ninety nine. Minnesota meanwhile

(01:09:04):
forced seven turnovers by Denver superstar Nikola Jokic, leading to
this exchange and this question to Jokic in the postgame
news conference.

Speaker 5 (01:09:14):
What's the adjustment that you can make to you know,
Rudy Gobert's length, and you know, not only that them
just rotating three fresh bigs on you, you know.

Speaker 3 (01:09:24):
For most of the game to have duplicate klonof myself.

Speaker 7 (01:09:32):
Nikola Jokic two shows nightly at the Cherry Creek Hampton Inn.

Speaker 2 (01:09:37):
Anyway.

Speaker 7 (01:09:37):
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday night, the Boston
Bruins won Game seven of their opening round clash with
the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime, two to one, Boston's
David Posternock scoring this series winner a minute and fifty
four seconds into OT. In Major League Baseball Saturday Night,
Max Monthsey at the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had three
home runs and an eleven to two win over the

(01:09:59):
Atlanta Raves. The San Diego Padres won on Arizona thirteen
to one. Luisa Riise went four for six in his
San Diego debut earlier Saturday, missed it. Dan won the
one hundred and fiftieth running of the Kentucky Derby in
a photo finish over Sierra Leone's probably regretting getting that
nose job, Mike and Ryan back to you.

Speaker 2 (01:10:21):
One of the craziest photo finishes that you see. It's
like one's high, one's low, and then you've got the
eleven mixed there in great finish. Great race yesterday, Churchill Downs.
I'll have an update from the guys on the road
back from Churchill Downs because we have to discuss their
option for breakfast on the long and arduous road back

(01:10:42):
from Churchill Downs to Chicago. We'll get to that coming
up in a couple of minutes. But the power of contracts,
Ryan Hollins, I just wanted to point this out my
beloved Chicago Bulls. After missing two plus seasons with a
knee injury, Lonzo Ball was able to exorci Is a
twenty one point four million dollar option on his contract

(01:11:03):
for the twenty twenty four to twenty five season. Three
surgeries and a lot of well shaking hands and clapping
in his last couple of years with the Bulls. Boy,
the power of the union and guaranteed contracts in the
NBA showing at its best right here for the players.

Speaker 3 (01:11:24):
I love it. You want to why when when a
guy's on a rookie deal and he's averaging twenty or
thirty points or out playing his contract. No one goes, man,
that team was really good and away with the with
the value they're and they're selling millions of dollars in jerseys.

Speaker 2 (01:11:41):
So that's exactly what we say, they're getting away with
the value. I mean, we probably do it more in
the NFL than we do the NBA, but.

Speaker 3 (01:11:46):
It gets frowned upon more so from a player's Oh
he hadn't even played. When you sign a contract, you
are projecting. Okay, what you do? You are you are
making an investment. When when when that portfolio comes out
or you got an investment plan, we're gonna say, hey,
invest in this. It's not a guarantee, but it looks

(01:12:08):
like this is gonna work out if you pay this money.
You know this is gonna come back to you. You
know that's what that's that's it's an investment. And unfortunately
no one saw that Lonzo would be hurt. Otherwise they
wouldn't have paid on the money. And guess what they
still own the money that you don't just get the
back out on the money. Okay, So I'm I'm not
gonna bat No, I'm not gonna win them not gonna

(01:12:30):
do anything. It's just nothing. It's part of the game
because a lot of times the organizations, you know, they
are making those same moves and you know what, the
players outplay their contract. Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:12:43):
I mean that was the old uh staying in Chicago,
the old Scottie Pippen thing. You sure you want to
sign this long term deal?

Speaker 4 (01:12:50):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:12:50):
I want the security. I want to it. You sure
you want to sign this long term deal because we're
not renegotiating.

Speaker 3 (01:12:57):
No, it is one hundred a part of it. It's
a part of the game, and hey, you got to
respect it when it goes the other way, you know,
at the end of the day. And I think this
is one of one of those situations. But Lonzo Ball
is worth that. You know that that contract and it's
you know, it's hey, it's paying off.

Speaker 2 (01:13:14):
Man paid off for him and if he doesn't play
another minute, and there's insurances and other things that kick
in as well. We know the other side of that.
But you know, it's just always, you know, when when
a player has that opportunity to cash in and exercise.
But let's face it, the other side is if you're
not happy in today's hell, in any league, at this point, Ryan,

(01:13:36):
you basically say I want out, and you can find
another person, another team to find that contract and reup
you because that because that's the name of the game
at this point as well.

Speaker 3 (01:13:48):
Here here's the frustration that people have. And I think
this is what you're speaking to, Mike. In the NBA,
it's a players league, so the players have choice. And
we just talked about Lebron James and Darmenham and those guys.
We're not saying that the Lakers did it because Lebron
James was unhappy. But guess what, there are players understand
their voice, they know that they are heard, and they

(01:14:10):
know in these situations, guess what the coach is going
to go before the players go. And that's what we're
seeing with a lot of a lot of these things
going on here. And because of that, Hey, laws of
Ball's gonna get his money. The players don't have to
take these non guaranteed contracts, okay. And because it's a

(01:14:33):
guaranteed contract, whether he's hurt, whether unless if he just
does something unethical, he's gonna get his money. And we're
seeing that here.

Speaker 2 (01:14:42):
Well, everybody just wishes their jobs afforded. In the same
level of power. He's Ryan Hollins. I'm Mike Carbon here
Fox Sports Sunday, Fox Sports Radio. Coming up next week. Yeah,
we talk about questionable breakfast choices and then the goat debate,
but centralized around one se in the NBA playoffs to come.

(01:15:02):
We'll talk about that next year on Fox. Hey, welcome
back in Fox Sports Sunday. Here, Fox Sports Radio, Mike Harmon,
Ryan Hollins with you as we roll through and get
ready for a full day of our sporting world. We've
gotten the updates from Isaac Lowencron. You've got injury notes
looking at Jared Allen, Willie or Woney for Game seven

(01:15:24):
a little later Cleveland and Orlando. But I got to
pay off the tease. My brothers and friends High Bernsey.
They're driving back from Churchill Downs after a big day
at the races, the one hundred and fiftieth running of
the Kentucky Derby. Ilo talking about the photo finish a
little bit earlier. Guys, they were trying to stop for
breakfast along the highways and byways of America, right middle America,

(01:15:49):
getting after it, and they found the place closed. But
I got to ask, how often do we go to
Arby's for breakfast. WHOA, how about that bit of a
left turn right? McDonald's not he.

Speaker 8 (01:16:05):
I think when I lived down in Savannah, Georgia, they
did do breakfast of the Arby's there and it was
very good. It was like sausage e and cheese biscuits,
kind of remind me of the ones I had of
like Tim Horton's in the North.

Speaker 2 (01:16:17):
Ryan, what do you what do you say to that?
I don't think I see now, I'm intrigued.

Speaker 3 (01:16:24):
Here's I don't even know if I knew Arby's had breakfast.

Speaker 8 (01:16:28):
It is probably just regional franchises just picking up breakfast
on their own.

Speaker 7 (01:16:32):
Well, speaking of regional, isn't Louisville in waffle house territory?
They're open twenty four hours. Even McDonald's, you've got to
be able to find like Arby's just seems like such
a last resort.

Speaker 2 (01:16:44):
Now, now, let me let me throw this out here.
I did get a photo from from them from the
road here, Ryan, my brother was wearing a straight out
of Arby's T shirt album cover.

Speaker 7 (01:16:59):
I'm literally on the Arby's website right now and they
don't even have breakfast items on their own menu.

Speaker 2 (01:17:06):
So yeah, breakfast is it's rare. That's the other thing though, right,
it doesn't have to be traditional breakfast foods. I mean,
who's to say that a beef sandwich, you know, a
beef and shadder doesn't constitute breakfast for somebody.

Speaker 3 (01:17:20):
But you got to at least like put it on
a biscuit or something. You can't just leave it. It's eggs.
Eggs is the big thing that makes it breakfast for
me is like does your sandwich have eggs on it? Yes?

Speaker 2 (01:17:31):
Or no?

Speaker 3 (01:17:32):
I like that?

Speaker 2 (01:17:32):
ILOs going full research mode here, hold dud.

Speaker 8 (01:17:37):
I've had it before. I just don't know how, like
how many places really keep it around?

Speaker 2 (01:17:42):
Sorry about feedback? Are you gonna start? Did you plug
in a guitar?

Speaker 3 (01:17:45):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:17:45):
That would get a song now or sorry about that?

Speaker 8 (01:17:48):
Parts out there there are pictures of certain Arby's driveters
that have this.

Speaker 2 (01:17:51):
Yeah, go on island.

Speaker 7 (01:17:52):
Apparently there is an item called blueberry muffin French toasticks,
and toasticks are spelled ta sti x at Arby's for breakfast.

Speaker 2 (01:18:07):
Which means toast sticks in the general sense, was probably
trademarked by somebody else. Burgerhan, Yeah, yeah, how do you
feel about this, Ryan, I think I like going bold
and being off the map. I mean I've had breakfast Rosco's.
I mean, I guess there's waffles involved, but still fried chicken.

Speaker 3 (01:18:26):
I'm all in with it. The more the merrier I
like options, more options, the better I'm in with it. Hey, Arby,
keep it going. We'd like to see more places who
don't have breakfast. Give us some options, you know, Hey,
I'm in with it.

Speaker 2 (01:18:41):
At the Ryan Hollins, if you have a breakfast joint.
I mean he travels a lot with the rockets.

Speaker 8 (01:18:47):
All day breakfast back I got taken from us from
McDonald's before the pandemic. We were so close to greatness.
All day breakfast.

Speaker 2 (01:18:54):
Now's the time. How's the time to.

Speaker 3 (01:18:56):
Make your voice all day breakfast. I'm in with that
all day breakfast.

Speaker 2 (01:19:02):
Yeah, certainly locally you can find places like that. Now
I'm on the website and I'm going down a deep
dark rabbit hole. Appreciate you, fellows, Ian, Isaac and Chris
there at Chris perfat At Isaac Lowenkron where you find
them in the Twitter verse. Ian shout out, you got
an x account that you want to put out at
Ian Roddy Underscore. Get the extra underscore there at the

(01:19:24):
Ryan Hollins find me over at Swollendome. Coming up next, Ryan,
we take our conversation into goat status and no it's
not Michael Lebron and some of the usual tired things.
Now we're going to centralize it in New York because
for a first time in a long time, the New
York Knicks are relevant beyond the screaming of one Jason

(01:19:45):
Smith at night here on Fox Sports Radio from seven
to eleven Pacific time, and from other national talking heads
who may or not may may have missed the trade
deadline or may have missed how players are actually being deployed.
You know who you are, and I know you're listening
out there. Ryan, as we ponder breakfast, you have you

(01:20:06):
had breakfast yet? I mean it is a little later
there in Houston.

Speaker 3 (01:20:08):
I have not had breakfast yet.

Speaker 2 (01:20:10):
I did not because Arby's on the rain are now
might we get him down towards in Arby's. I don't know.
That's a tease coming up. Nick's talk, Yeah, you love it.
We'll talking next. John Fox.

Speaker 1 (01:20:25):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio, cruising right along
with your final hour of the program coming up live
from the ti rac dot com studios tire rac dot com.

Speaker 2 (01:20:35):
We'll help you get there an unmatched selection, fast, free shipping,
free road hazard protection at over ten thousand recommended installers
tirerac dot com. The way tire buying should be. Good morning,
wherever you may be listening, appreciate you giving us a
few minutes of your time. I'm by Karmen alongside me,
ten year NBA vet man who works over in the

(01:20:58):
planet Houston. Now with the Houston Rockets coming off a
big season. It's my guy, Ryan Hollins with his ties
back here to you see. Get your eight clap in
lay now, members of the Big ten Conference. Ryan Hollins,
it has been a fantastic fast two hours. Now we
go for hour three and tell me what's it like

(01:21:20):
being on the road as an announcer, a broadcaster and
getting ready for games.

Speaker 3 (01:21:26):
It's challenging, and I say challenging in the sense of
I thought it. You know, traveling in the NBA was tough.
But when you don't have practice to do, you gotta
find time to work out, you gotta find time to eat, right, man,
you can you don't find yourself eat a little too
much of that Arby's breakfast. Man, You know, you end

(01:21:50):
up sitting around so like you know, after work, after stuff,
after everybody's done everything, you gotta go work out, you
gotta go and eat right, and then you gotta kind
of manage your time. So it is very challenging. And
I'll give you a little little fun fact that probably
nobody thought about. Hit me, the broadcasters, the color guys,

(01:22:12):
we are the only ones in the entire traveling party
that still wear suits.

Speaker 2 (01:22:20):
No, that's actually a good point.

Speaker 3 (01:22:21):
It is rare. You might get a general manager right
that that wears the suit. Still right to.

Speaker 2 (01:22:27):
Go full Darvin Ham in your tracksuit.

Speaker 3 (01:22:29):
Well, a lot of people do not wear suits anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:22:32):
By the way, with Darvin Ham, you know, I kept
thinking of the meme, remember the one from Arthur where
he's got the shaking fist. Maybe that's why Darvin Ham,
because he didn't want to show his anger with the Lakers.

Speaker 3 (01:22:44):
Darvin's got some big fists.

Speaker 2 (01:22:45):
Why you always had the hands in the pocket because.

Speaker 3 (01:22:49):
You don't want to see those Darvin Ham fists going
all over the place. I'll tell you that much. That's
a big everybody's he he and hat from the internet.
Those are some big hands. That's a big mid You
don't want to upset I'll say.

Speaker 2 (01:22:59):
That, but I think about it now, Ryan. I mean
the keeping your discipline on your diet, right, because you
got some time when you get to a city to
kind of hang making sure you're getting into the fitness
center at the hotel. Yeah, being suited up.

Speaker 3 (01:23:14):
I mean, you know, I'm listen, how about this. I'm
seven feet tall, I wear a size seventeen. Those aren't
little shoes in suits that I'm lugging around. Those are
big suits. What's a big bag? And everybody has these jokes, Oh,
what are you traveling for the next two three weeks?
You know where you going? Man? Are you? Are you
moving away? There's something you want to tell us that.

(01:23:36):
It's all these jokes, and it's like, you guys are
not wearing three piece suits. I am. You guys are
wearing your your your truck pants and your you know,
your your fun stuff. I'm the one, okay that has
to wear these suits. Me and I got Craig. Okay,
me and Craig wear the suits. So that's the most
challenging thing. Now, there aren't some general managers that will
wear a suit and you know, put some slacks onto

(01:23:56):
the game. But for the most part, everybody's casual but us.
It makes travel very hard. But I'm not complaining. I
love what I do.

Speaker 2 (01:24:02):
That goes back to my old sports broadcasting thing of
the fact that guys are still wearing suits. I used
have to do that doing video segments for fantasy football.
It's like, really, I gotta suit up for that. I'm
gonna be more authoritative because I'm wearing a nice three
piece suit and a big tie. I don't think so.
I don't think it works that way. Now let me

(01:24:23):
ask you this, if you were to think of the
greatest Nicks of all time, where does your brain.

Speaker 3 (01:24:29):
Go, Well, Frazier gotcha ewing M Carmelo and the conversation
in there. Sure there's someone a lot older then that
I was not old enough to watch play. But that's
where I go when I think all time Nicks.

Speaker 2 (01:24:52):
Charles Oakley had some interesting comments that Mark Jackson felt
like he had to go and respond to, and he
did so with one of the great alongsiding.

Speaker 9 (01:25:01):
I'm not asking you to comment on it handless we
level Oaks a Warrior, tremendous teammate, tremendous guy. But Oak
made a statement that Jalen Brunson is the greatest New
York Knick basketball player since Clyde Fraser. Time out? Are
you kidding me again? I love you?

Speaker 2 (01:25:20):
But what are we doing?

Speaker 9 (01:25:22):
Let me introduce you again to the greatest, not just
since Clyde Fraser, the greatest New York Knick basketball player
of all time. That includes everybody. If you put everybody
that ever played in the Blue and Orange and you
put them on the draft board, the number one pick
is Patrick Ewing. So that's nothing against Jalen Brunson and
what he's been able to accomplish and the incredible year

(01:25:43):
that he's put together and.

Speaker 2 (01:25:44):
What he's going to do moving forward, but it is.

Speaker 9 (01:25:46):
Beyond question that this guy is the best to ever
do it in Blue and Iron.

Speaker 2 (01:25:52):
Mark Jackson appearing out a podcast alongside Patrick Ewing, Hey,
it's funny how we Brunson wins them a and we
like Jalen Brunson right because he's not seven feet and dominating.
He's not, you know, he's a guy that was His
contract kind of bashed a little bit as he got
signed by the Knicks and all and talk about his

(01:26:14):
dad and everything else. But uh, especially when he has
that clip. Say, he refused to have Michael Jordan autograph
a jersey for him at one point because he said
it would ruin the jersey, which I thought was pretty funny.
But you know, Carmelo's career kind of gets passed by.
I mean, certainly Patrick Ewing, man that do they have beef?
I didn't know about him and Oaks. I know Oak

(01:26:36):
has issues with James Dolan. Uh, and and folks there
at the Garden they're Ryan, but uh, you know Patrick
Ewing one of those guys who was unfortunately in that
time where he was overshadowed by Michael Jordan and the
OJ Chase.

Speaker 3 (01:26:53):
Well, I think it's just we've all been prisoner, some
of some recency biased. You gotta appreciate what he's doing.
And maybe he just forgot Pat. You know, maybe he
forgot It's easy. It's been a long time, and I
mean how long.

Speaker 2 (01:27:07):
How did you forget about Pat? Pat was the guy
you played alongside for years.

Speaker 3 (01:27:12):
You're right, it might be some beef. Who knows.

Speaker 2 (01:27:14):
Yeah, that's a story that comes out of that. For me,
it's like wait are they beefing? And I don't know
about it very well.

Speaker 3 (01:27:23):
With Oak, you never know, a lot of those folks play.
They're very very competitive. Those guys are are edgy. There's
a reason why they were as great as they were.
And who knows, there may be some beef. Who knows.
I don't know. I'm not speaking to it. I'm not
throwing it out, but we're trying to make a logic
of it. And you literally you never know.

Speaker 2 (01:27:44):
Yeah, when you throw out something and you just dismissed
the guy you were playing alongside, I got I gotta
ask some questions. But I mean you go through with
the Knicks and even looking at Carmelo Anthony, I mean
he average what nearly twenty five a game for them.

Speaker 3 (01:27:58):
They didn't win. There's some winning the Knicks have done.

Speaker 2 (01:28:01):
But all you did was beat the Sixers.

Speaker 3 (01:28:03):
No, that's not all you can do.

Speaker 2 (01:28:06):
If you're now Yorord and has a huge run, then sure, But.

Speaker 3 (01:28:09):
If you are a New York fan and you haven't
you haven't had playoffs, you haven't had won in the
playoffs and how long?

Speaker 2 (01:28:18):
No, it's I mean since Patrick Ewing.

Speaker 3 (01:28:20):
Yeah, yeah, guess what. It's not just all you did. Okay,
I'm telling you that right now, Mike, it's not just
all you did. And then it's even sweeter. I don't
know if you feel the same way, Mike, when you're
when you aren't expecting this, when you just said the
Knicks are gonna be good, We're gonna be competitive, and

(01:28:41):
I'm okay with that, and then they win and they
know you just beat anybody. You beat Philly, You beat Philly,
you beat the guys right there, right down the street.
Oh my goodness, it's a proud time. Those are the
fun seasons.

Speaker 2 (01:28:55):
No, the added pettiness of the ticket thing and everything
just took it over the top. There's no question about that.
But go back. I mean, you look at the Eastern Conference.
It's been for the entirety of the year was the
Celtics and this huge gap and everybody else, and then
Milwaukee whatever the hell happened after Doc Rivers showed up,

(01:29:15):
the disaster that was not to mention the the exit
of Pat Beverly. You want to jump on that one
for a minute. If anybody missed what you had to
say on Friday, throwing the ball at folks, and then
the the interview stuff I mean, that's Bush League material
on many levels and probably a massive suspension to follow.

(01:29:36):
But otherwise the Eastern Conference has been a bunch of
all right, wait and see. So why not the Knicks.

Speaker 3 (01:29:44):
Well, this is what I talked about with Jason. Jason
on Friday, and we had to agree here, and I
had to give him credit. I said, he didn't like
the way well, he did like the way I worded it,
you know him.

Speaker 2 (01:29:59):
Well, I mean, this is what I said my partner
during the week on a bash Jets, Knicks and Matt
super Fan to the point of for me sometimes nausea.

Speaker 3 (01:30:10):
Yeah, it was gross. It was gross.

Speaker 2 (01:30:12):
I mean, respect that I can.

Speaker 3 (01:30:15):
The things that he did Friday, they were gross. They
were illegal in fifty states. Okay, shouted shoutow Jason spit
by the way. Okay. But but the one thing that
I told him is I said, the Knicks are not
gonna win the championship. But if they were to win
a championship, this would be the year to win a championship.
For Zingis is out, Giannis is out, and Bean was hired.

(01:30:40):
This is a year. This is the year for the
Knicks to win a championship. But I don't think they're
gonna win the championship. Damian Lillard had the achilles Yep,
this is the year. Okay, this is the year.

Speaker 2 (01:30:52):
Sometimes it all flows together. It is a very I mean,
look in the in the NBA at this point when
we look at a what is it, three and a
half month playoff run, it's a war of attrition and
it has been the last couple of years, and the
lamentation when guys take an extra day off or or
whatever during the regular season. I can't blame him.

Speaker 3 (01:31:12):
And then he proceeded. He doesn't stop there. Just so
you know, I don't know if you're listening. We assume
you always listen.

Speaker 2 (01:31:18):
No, no, I'll be realized knowing that he was gonna
bombard you with Knicks talk. I took the mental health
day away from Knicks talk.

Speaker 3 (01:31:29):
He proceeded to kick Julius Randle off the team for assets,
did he Yeah, that's that's where Yeah. He Just when I.

Speaker 2 (01:31:37):
Found funny was Josh Hart like in a series where
it was all about our toughness and being together, where
Josh Hart made sure to point out the hey, we're
winning with this guy off, so just remember this big
component of ours and he started citing stats he's not here,
basically saying, if we end up losing to the Sixers,
remember Julius wasn't here.

Speaker 3 (01:31:57):
Yeah, but essentially, uh, mister Smith decided to kick Julius
Randall off the team, for.

Speaker 2 (01:32:05):
He does that every year.

Speaker 3 (01:32:06):
He moved forward, and you know, I'm like, wow, I thought,
this is you know, once a Nick, always a Nick,
you know, a thing like that. He moved forward right
right before our eyes, and I was I was dumbfounded.
I could not believe. But I was hearing.

Speaker 2 (01:32:21):
Did he put Julie Joel Embiid in a Nick's uniform
in doing so? I don't know if he's been trying
to speak that into existence.

Speaker 3 (01:32:28):
Yeah, I mean he's I mean, no, no, Oh, it
was Paul George. Paul George was in Nick. Paul George
was a Nick. That that's what was going on.

Speaker 2 (01:32:35):
Because when I think playoff and clutch performances and consistency,
I think Paul George.

Speaker 3 (01:32:40):
Yeah, well, listen, the Clippers no longer needed his services
and there's gonna be a big trade and it was
Julius Randall and you know, some assets for Paul George.
That that's where he went and you know, I mean
I had no parts of it. I couldn't. I couldn't
believe it. He wanted he you know, he's slick about
it because he wanted me to. He wanted me kind
of be like, yeah, man, that makes a lot of sense.

(01:33:02):
That should work for both sides. He wanted me to
go there, and I was like, what, No, I'm not
going there. I'm not booting the guy off the team.
I mean, what's wrong with you? You know he wanted me
to do that. I'm not doing that with him.

Speaker 2 (01:33:15):
That's what he does. He's already working on the next
generation of the squad.

Speaker 3 (01:33:20):
Yeah, and he wanted me to say it. He wanted
this to No, that's not what I'm saying. This is
not okay because the guy's injured to just you know,
put an end to him.

Speaker 2 (01:33:29):
No, No, Hey, he had a good run. Is really
where Smith comes Like now, as an injured asset, where
can we go and find value? The fact that he
went to Paul George. I'll have to bring that up
to him when I see him next, No question about that.
Clippers obviously in a strange state as well. The fact
that we have a lot of conversation about ty Lew

(01:33:51):
and extensions is kind of funny, like he still got
a year left on the deal.

Speaker 3 (01:33:56):
Yeah. I mean he's just completely.

Speaker 2 (01:33:57):
You're not gonna let him walk across the hallway.

Speaker 3 (01:34:00):
No, no, no, they're not. But he just he's all
over the place, and you know it is you know,
I love what TYLERU said. And I worked with ty
in la and in Boston, and you know, someone asked
him about it and he was just like, man, it's flattering.
It's always good to be wanted. No, sure, that is

(01:34:20):
the approach. It is always good to be wanted.

Speaker 2 (01:34:22):
That's a good quote. Take that into your day wherever
you may be. However you're listening, and whomever you're listening with,
maybe you just turn to the person next you say, see,
it's all I need to hear once in a while.

Speaker 3 (01:34:32):
It's always good to be wanted, right, That's right? Right,
significant other, Hey, always good to be wanted.

Speaker 2 (01:34:39):
Just you got to make it known.

Speaker 3 (01:34:41):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (01:34:42):
Sometimes you have to say it. Ryan Hollins with the
Sage Advice via Tyler at the Ryan Hollins where you
find him on Twitter find me over at Swollen Dome.
You know I'm talking about goats let's talk about villains
and one NFL player who had his realization moment of
maybe I've cross to the other side. Talk about that
next time. Hey, welcome back in It's Fox Sports Radios,

(01:35:05):
Fox Sports Sunday, Mike Carmen alongside Ryan Hollins at the
Ryan Hollins where you find him, find me over at
Swollen Dome, and of course follow us always at Fox
Sports Radio. Has become to you live from the ti
Raq dot Com studios. And Ryan, you know the old phrase, right,
you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

(01:35:25):
We steal it straight from Batman.

Speaker 3 (01:35:28):
Well.

Speaker 2 (01:35:28):
One NFL quarterback, a babyface, if we were to take
the WWE parlance, felt like he found that moment speaking
on the Impulsive podcast, Yes that with Logan Paul. Here's
Patrick Mahomes talking about that moment.

Speaker 10 (01:35:46):
This year definitely was a more villain type role for that.
I think the whole team. I don't think I really
realized that, Like I had heard people like talking in
like the obviously social media there's people always talking, so
I didn't know how real it was until I got
the Buffalo this year. I think I saw forty little
fingers on the way into the stadium. We go out
there and win. I'm trying to hand you know, I'm
trying to hand my headband and sleeve off to a kid,

(01:36:08):
and they're just snowballs and just flying at me headband
and sleeve. Trying to take care of a kid. Look,
I'm still getting pelted.

Speaker 2 (01:36:17):
But man is that's got to be the best feeling
in the world, right because now you know you've gotten
over on a full level again, ww Parlance like you,
you have won over a crowd to where they're all
against you. And there's nothing dislikable about the Chiefs except

(01:36:37):
they win because we get bored or we get angry.
We did it with the Warriors. People got tired of
the long, generous and a lot of what we talk
about with Lebron James. People got over it with Brady
and the Patriots like you, you're become tired of but
also to the villain status and maybe BUILDEO like Taylor Swift.
So they went after Travis Kelsey in that regard. But

(01:36:58):
I don't know, I got to think if I'm an athlete,
it's got to be a pretty cool feeling because if
forty thousand people hate me means I'm pretty damn good
at what I'm doing and I'm probably beating them with
some regularity.

Speaker 3 (01:37:09):
You're right about that, but I mean, listen, this is
elite company, this is elite talk, So I don't know
what it's like. But you know, Patrick Mahomes is a
very likable guy. He wants to be like so that
I mean that kind of stinks. Like I feel bad
for him. Man, he wants to be liked. He's likable,
he's positive. But then you hear him. He's given his

(01:37:31):
he's looking and this sounds like a consistent thing, giving
his headman to a kid.

Speaker 2 (01:37:36):
I like that. That random and not so random, if
you know what I'm saying, I'm kind of thrown. It's
like I'm trying to help out a kid. Look, I'm
giving him my sleeve and my headband and they're pelting
me with snowballs. Oh oh the horror.

Speaker 3 (01:37:52):
Yeah that's not you know, that's that's not nice. That stinks.
He's a good guy, but you know what hats off.
And I think everybody felt this. Lamar Jackson was so likable.
I think that you wanted to see Lamar uh, you know,
in that position, And I think just you just kind

(01:38:16):
of had enough of Mahomes winning. And then, honestly, I
think just the Taylor Swift thing, it just consumed the NFL.
It consumed them. That's where you know, a lot of
the frustrations came from. People were kind of just just
tired of you know, she's big, big down coming up.

(01:38:37):
You look over and it's like, what does Taylor Swift think?
I mean, she was getting in the NFL. After they
got the criticism, I mean, they leaned into it.

Speaker 2 (01:38:46):
Why wouldn't you people watching games that had never watched
games before. Every sport should be so lucky to have
somebody that status. They and look at the in the NFL,
you know, their ratings, kings anyway. But to get a
bunch of a bunch of folks who don't watch the
NFL suddenly activated for a Sunday afternoon of tilt in

(01:39:08):
early November, come on, sign me up right?

Speaker 3 (01:39:11):
Oh no, no, no, I understand it. But for the
the actual sports fan you were, you were against it.
They were they were the super villains. Hey, we talked
about it. Hey, we talked about Bronnie earlier. Would you
know what's stunk for Bronnie? As soon as Bronnie and
BRODDI is one of the greatest kids effort. But when
his dad is lebron his dad showed up to the game,

(01:39:34):
Bronnie became somewhat of a villain.

Speaker 2 (01:39:36):
You know, like, well dad, yeah, but dad also saying
that he should be playing heavy rotation minutes for the Lakers,
and yeah, but during during the year probably help that.

Speaker 3 (01:39:49):
When you're in a position of greatness, you have to
deal with that. And I think it's more so obviously
to two different situations. Ronnie just it's always tough to be,
you know, the sun of a great and Brunnie's one
of the greatest, just an amazing kid man, and I
hate that he has to go through that. But for
for Mahomes, yeah they've won, and you know what, Mahomes,

(01:40:11):
he does it his way. It's not the same expectation
of a lot of other people. Just goes and wins.
He's a good guy. It's it's I'm not gonna say
he's got the Russell Wilson treatment. It's different, but he's
he just's he's standard. He's Manila others. There's not a
lot of spice there. He's just a good guy. Just
does what he's supposed to do. Sometimes people don't appreciate

(01:40:33):
someone who does what they're supposed to do. Now, now
Tom Brady and them, don't get me wrong, to me
tom Brady, the spygate, all the controversy to them winning,
and someone would say cheating, I'm not gonna do that.
That's for you to say. Okay, I don't know enough information.
But for Mahomes, I think the big turning point was
a Taylor Swift thing. I'm gonna I'm gonna pin it

(01:40:53):
on Taylor Swift. That's why his team became very unlikable.

Speaker 2 (01:40:58):
Certainly does doesn't hurt. Why didn't she choose our team,
choose a guy on our team and give us the clicks?
And yes, the the cutaways were there, But again, as
Kevin Durant once famously said, you don't like it, don't
watch move on with my homes if they, at least
to this point, seems a little bit goofy, but it

(01:41:18):
hasn't crossed into the Russell Wilson quote phony area. And
as for the Bronny, you know you feel bad for him.
It's gotten him a lot of a lot of positives.
I think if folks anonymous folks on social media are
getting after him a little bit. I think you can
think of a lot, a lot worse things than what's
been bestowed upon him given the surname.

Speaker 3 (01:41:39):
Yeah no, and I'm in with that, And I think,
you know, you hit it right on the head. This
is a little different, but I think I guess it
all fairness. The more we think about it, I think
we unfortunately we put this on Taylor Swift and her
popularity and going, you know, what does this have to
do with football? You know? And I don't want to
see her in another cutaway again. You know that that
that's we'll lean into it with this one.

Speaker 2 (01:42:01):
Fair You know, I would have leaned into a hey
like the NBA does now, because you know, with most games,
if you go, it's at least on my YouTube TV
no ad, I pay for my subscription. I go to
pick up a game, it's like, Hey, would you like
to watch here? Would you like to watch the bet
cast on True TV? If I were the NFL, I
would have had the tailor cam worked out a deal

(01:42:23):
with her to where if that's all you wanted to
watch for three hours, you would get reactions of her
and Blake Lively and her cast of characters.

Speaker 3 (01:42:30):
You have to pay her a lot of money. Now
see that. Now we're now we're talking a whole different conversation.
Now now you live on pay per view. Come on now,
hey listen, I'm with it. Listen, Hey, I think that
every I think every sports team should have a celebrity
mascot would be wrong. I don't think that'd be a

(01:42:52):
good word.

Speaker 2 (01:42:52):
Maybe, yes, you might have angered the Swifties.

Speaker 3 (01:42:58):
A celebrity, you know, a face, a celebrity face.

Speaker 2 (01:43:03):
Let me ask you that. So let let's go through that. Right,
New York, he got all these guys up front. Right,
you saw Tracy Morgan flipping guys off, Jalen Brunson. Uh,
you've got Ben Stiller with not quite Zoolander face and
everybody else getting after it like the Luminaries in New York.
For Philadelphia, they were so low in terms of celebrities,
they had to go to Big Dom as one of

(01:43:25):
their top celebrities. You know who Big Dom is. Who's
Big Dom security guy and sidelined guy for the Eagles.
Oh wow, Yeah, that's how fast they got down your
celebrity stats.

Speaker 3 (01:43:38):
You know what Philly did a good job of, though,
they brought back their former players, Allen I ever since
kind of the guy? Would you count? Alan? Alan Iverson
feel like a former player doesn't count?

Speaker 2 (01:43:49):
Yeah, but former players generally don't count. And by the way,
anybody who ever wore a Knick's uniform is under one
of those baskets. At this point, there's a whole row
of guys celebrating every made bucket.

Speaker 3 (01:44:02):
Yeah, they's did a good job there, But but you
want a Taylor Swift esk Well.

Speaker 2 (01:44:07):
But like the former players I expect to be around,
it's when you get the added bonus of like the
San Diego Padres, there's Emma.

Speaker 3 (01:44:14):
Stone, Okay, well maybe the pattern.

Speaker 2 (01:44:17):
Game and part of the Swifty entourage there.

Speaker 3 (01:44:20):
Maybe whoever the person is, they have to have like
a I guess, a relationship with the player.

Speaker 2 (01:44:28):
I guess, you know, yeah, maybe, I don't know. We're
starting to get down the wags commentary.

Speaker 3 (01:44:34):
And I'm trying to go there. I don't know. You're
taking a.

Speaker 2 (01:44:37):
Bat a dark paths.

Speaker 3 (01:44:40):
You want them to show up every game, and it's like,
why would you show up every game? And if they're
a big enough name, you know you're not gonna have
enough money to keep them there every game.

Speaker 2 (01:44:51):
You know, Wow, football wise, you can make it work.
You got eight home games.

Speaker 3 (01:44:57):
Yeah, and then you know it's not enough money. Let's
say her and Kelsey their relationship changes, okay, as life happens.
But she may not want to be there. Dude, she
may not want to be there.

Speaker 2 (01:45:08):
You really took this in a whole other direction.

Speaker 3 (01:45:10):
There. You wanted the truth them give you the truth?
Do you want to know? Why not?

Speaker 2 (01:45:15):
Swift?

Speaker 3 (01:45:18):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:45:18):
Listen, which I mean right now would be a kid
to saying you know you dislike Arby's Sandwiches for breakfast.
See what I did there? You pull it all together Arvey's.

Speaker 3 (01:45:29):
I think you're going to Arvey's for breakfast. No, no,
I gotta go pick up my kid and twenty.

Speaker 2 (01:45:35):
Miles for soccer.

Speaker 3 (01:45:36):
Within the week, you will go to Arby's for breakfast
and you will shoot out a nice little tweet of
your Army's breakfast and we can't tell. Yeah, we will
do this.

Speaker 2 (01:45:43):
We may have to do a review again, not a sponsor,
just a discussion point on the highways and byways of life.
All right, we got a tale from Churchill Downs from
yesterday that I got to hear your opinion on and
we have to circle back to the Clippers and the
mess that is there for Steve Balmer. But first it's
turned it over to our guy, Isaac Lowingron with an
update of everything going on in our sporting universe.

Speaker 7 (01:46:06):
I've actually also got a tale of Churchill downs as
well going up. When we start with the first round
of the NBA Playoffs, it concludes today in Cleveland. Game
seven between the Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic tip off
about an hour and a half from now.

Speaker 2 (01:46:21):
Now.

Speaker 7 (01:46:21):
Cleveland's Jared Allen officially listed as questionable due to a
right rib contusion. Cavaliers head coach JB. Bickerstaff was just
asked moments ago if Allen will play and replied, we'll see.
In Game one of the Western Conference semi finals on
Saturday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves what at Denver? What six
to ninety nine Anthony Edwards a playoff career high forty

(01:46:44):
three points, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On Saturday night,
the Boston Bruins won Game seven of their opening round
series over the Toronto Maple Leafs that over time two
to one. Boston's David Posternoch, the series winner, A minute
and fifty four seconds into ot baseball Saturday night, I
saw the Dodgers Max Munsey hit three home runs in
an eleven to two win over Atlanta. The San Diego

(01:47:06):
padres one at Arizona thirteen to one as Luis Arrise
went four for six. It is San Diego debut. Earlier Saturday,
Mysstic Dan won the one hundred and fiftieth Kentucky Derby
in a photo finish over Sierra Leone.

Speaker 2 (01:47:20):
The drama of.

Speaker 7 (01:47:21):
The photo finish capsulated by a young woman named Hannah
who tweeted this morning and I quote called my parents
to tell them about my first Kentucky Derby experience. And
the first thing they asked me is if I saw
Travis kelcey unquote.

Speaker 2 (01:47:38):
Here you go, see Mike and Ryan back to you.
It all comes together. You gotta talk the guy that
had to have a full on entourage and security and everything. Boy,
life much different. You're a Super Bowl champion. Yeah, you
could walk about freely in that environment. Taylor Swift relationship
next level stuff. Although I still have people in my

(01:47:59):
timeline that are like, boy, they really have gone to
the ends about this fake relationship. And I'll leave that
there for the blogs. Shortly after the show, the podcast
goes up. If you missed any of today's show, be
sure to check it out. Search Fox Sports Radio wherever
you get your podcast. Be sure to follow, rate and
review the podcast. Search Fox Sports Radio wherever you get
your audio. You'll see this show posted Fox Sports Sunday

(01:48:22):
Hollins and Harmon right after we get off the air.
All right, the Clippers, how do you fix it? What happens?
What is Tyler working with next year? Who's coming back?
Who vacates the premises as they go into a new building.

Speaker 3 (01:48:34):
Well, you've got to sacrifice someone for an asset and
or assets. So I don't know if it's a sign
and trade opportunity. I'm not sure how you go about it,
but you have to go out and you have to
find a way to get someone that can actually kind

(01:48:58):
of you got to get younger, you know, you got
to get some young blood in there, because the thing
is younger players are typically more healthy, and the struggle
is health and you have to have a future to
look forward to because you know, hey, all of the
stars with the Clippers, they're on their back end. So

(01:49:18):
you're gonna have to I don't know if it's if
it's Harden, I don't know if it's even possible with Kawhi,
or it's it's Paul George, but one of those guys
you gotta kind of sacrifice to get younger. I don't
think you're in a position where you want to just
wash yourself, wash your hands of all of them, but
I think that could be a big factor somehow you
can get younger and obviously holding on to the you know,

(01:49:41):
Terrence Man and guys like that, but I think you
really have to find a way to get younger.

Speaker 2 (01:49:47):
Yeah, right, as we look at it in the moment,
both Harden and George both thirty four years old, Kawhi
Leonard at thirty two. I mean, nobody's training for that
contract at this point, given the injury history that he's got,
and you just signed him, right, he was the guy
that you decided, right, we're gonna build and then he's

(01:50:08):
unavailable once again when you need him. You know, it's
two seasons, right, and the NBA regular season, you can
be look in the Western Conference obviously much tougher sledding
in those back seeds. As we saw a lot of
the big superstars in the play in tournament, but you

(01:50:28):
have more room for error to be able to maybe
sit a game or two or get your load management.
I hate that term, but for the purposes of the conversation,
we'll use it here to try to make yourself available
to the playoffs. But as we know, there's no guaranteed
that that's the case. So now you're building and trying
to rebuild on faulty architecture as it were.

Speaker 3 (01:50:52):
Yeah, but again the answer, I don't think you just
clean house of all of them. I think you're going
into a new stadium. I don't think it works. And
here's a tough thing. I mean, Jason talked about this Friday.
Paul George is by far your best asset. That's the
best asset, and you hadn't signed him back, So maybe
there's a sign and trade opportunity or something there. I

(01:51:13):
don't think you'd want to see Paul George go, but
you maybe try to see something I guess come back
that definitely has a huge value there, you know. So
I think he is the asset, but he's the one
you wouldn't want to let go. But that's the one
that you can.

Speaker 2 (01:51:28):
Maybe feet enough for.

Speaker 3 (01:51:31):
Yeah, the value getting.

Speaker 2 (01:51:34):
Actual value and assets, be it a player, be it
you know that plus draft picks or whatever you're looking
for there. I mean, you're looking at a player option
of about forty nine million for this coming year, which
I don't know, does it even pick up the option?
You can sign and deal somewhere else and just leave

(01:51:57):
all together. And it's not where you get into your
side in trade.

Speaker 3 (01:52:01):
It's just really hard to see, you know, see the
Clippers moving on from Paul George. I think they I
think they write it out. I don't think there's a
situation where they just they just let him walk by
any any measure. But you know, and then what guy's
out there? And here's a tough thing right now in
the NBA. There are so many teams that are good.

(01:52:24):
So from another team standpoint, they're like, why would we
move on? There's nothing for us to move on to.
We're gonna hold put. We like what we have. There's
not a lot of teams just out there looking to
get better or to improve. So in terms of Paul George,
it's like, well, why would we get rid of them?

Speaker 2 (01:52:43):
Well, but that's the reality though, right what do.

Speaker 3 (01:52:44):
We need to move? No, we don't have anything that
we want to move right and.

Speaker 2 (01:52:49):
Not to disrespect the career of Paul George is a
nineteen well, he's a nineteen five a game in the postseason.
We've seen some great moments, and I don't mean to
diminish him as a player, but the idea that he's
your best asset that really isn't saying much. One guy
can't play, and we've watched James Harden in big moments
for years. Paul George is right there with him.

Speaker 3 (01:53:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:53:14):
Yeah, consistency he's not there. I don't think his inconsistency
isn't there. So why am I going to gut and
change up my rotation in chemistry to bring him in.

Speaker 3 (01:53:24):
Well, if you're another team, you're not looking at Paul
George as a guy. You're looking at him as a
as a second or third option. And a lot of
teams may feel like, hey, we'll take that, we need
that where that we are that one piece away. So
I think for for another team, that's the real appeal
of Paul George. I definitely think he's a second or
third option there. There's no there's no question there. He

(01:53:46):
can he can play that role. So I think that's
more and so what you would look for from Paul
and you know you're not you know, I don't think
you're you're going, you know, too too crazy about it
with that, and he's beyond great in that role. So
I don't know the honestly, the Clipper's best option right
now may just beat a state put, you know, or

(01:54:07):
maybe maybe make some small moves for maybe a second
round pick, maybe they sneak into the draft somewhere. But
you know, I'm not in love with getting rid of
Paul George at all. I don't. I don't, I personally
don't think that is the move.

Speaker 2 (01:54:21):
Well, and that's the thing. It's like, oh, you know,
all these thought pieces of his Russell Westbrore gonna leave town,
like you're shrugging, like this is the thing that's gonna
put him over the top. This guy's exit whatever, it's
it's a mess for Steve Balmer. But he will have
a new state of the art facility insert requisite toilet
joke capacity and hot dog gun here. He's Ryan Hollins, I,

(01:54:45):
Mike Carbin, Fox Sports Radios, Fox Sports Sunday and coming
up next. We all have those early jobs that may
have molded us. One guy had a really interesting response
at Churchill Downs about the most stress job an impactful
job he's ever had. We'll do that next. Welcome back

(01:55:08):
in Fox Sports Radio. Fox Sports Sunday coming up in
about ten minutes. Martin Wise, Carrie Rhodes, get you into
the day, get ready for Game seven, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers,
Major League Baseball, action and everything going around. The latest
in the sporting universe. Mike Carmen alongside Mike got Ryan
Hollins find him at the Ryan Hollins ten years in

(01:55:30):
the NBA working with the Houston Rockets. I'm sure he's
got plenty of ask me anythings on his social media,
including breakfast foods. You gotta listen to the whole show.
Go find the podcast. It'll be up in about fifteen
twenty minutes time. Wherever you get your audio Fox Sports Sunday,
Hollands and Harmon. Now, Ryan, you're a man hustling in

(01:55:50):
the NBA and in the post NBA world, the media
mogul that you are, and you love the art of
interviews and the conversations like we have here for our
three hours. This is one of my favorites. Watching the
Kentucky Derby pre I wouldn't call it pre show because
there are races going on, but you know, you start

(01:56:12):
interviewing all the luminaries eyes that got the line in
about Travis Kelsey. Jason Garrett was on the dais and
you know, passing by answering questions, and he gave an
answer that I think we'll get dissected as the week
goes on.

Speaker 5 (01:56:27):
You know, I grew up in a town called Mammoth
Beach and it's about three miles from Mammoth Park, a
great racetrack there. One summer, I was a paramutual until
this day, by far, the most high pressure job I've
ever had, right, I mean, there's all that time between
the races, but nobody shows up at your window till
like a minute before, and then there's fifty guys in
your line screaming at you. But great experience, Absolutely incredible

(01:56:50):
day here.

Speaker 2 (01:56:51):
This is really fun to be here.

Speaker 8 (01:56:53):
How much did you learn from those days of being
a mommouth Park as a young man.

Speaker 2 (01:56:57):
You know, I don't think I learned a whole lot.

Speaker 5 (01:56:58):
I've always loved horses, just seeing him being in the environment.
You know, I used to always bet on like this
long shot at the end of the day, and it
never came home for me. But it's it's incredible. It's
such a nice environment to be and it's fun. Everybody's
got their hats on. This is really a great day.

Speaker 2 (01:57:15):
See there you go. He got to the hats, got
to the pageantry, talking about betting on long shots. But
the key the money quote talking about pressure. And this
was a guy that coached the Dallas Cowboys. When we
talked about the Los Angeles Lakers, Lebron James and the
magnifying Glass, Jerry Jones certainly brings the spotlight with his
weekly visits to the fan there in in Dallas. So

(01:57:40):
to say that being a teller for paramutual wagering was
the most pressure he head. I kind of did that,
having spent many a night hanging around racetracks and watching
how that works. I got fifteen minutes still post no action,
Maybe someone cashing a ticket as soon as they say, hey, hey,

(01:58:00):
there's two minutes two minutes, all of a sudden, the
line starts to form and you got to make sure
those tickets are right. Yeah, a lot of potential for chaos.
So shout out Monmouth Park and those and those first
jobs that teach you the skills that you need to
definitely work through information.

Speaker 3 (01:58:20):
Yeah, no, look, man, sometimes you know, it's funny when
you've done something for so long, you feel pressure in
other places, you know, Like here's the thing, like I
have a I love playing flag football. In the times
that I go out and play flag football, it's a
different type of pressure, you know, and it's kind of
like you just want to you just want to try

(01:58:42):
something different, you know, and you can feel the anxiety.
You know, there's a there's just a deal when you're
trying something new, you're trying something different. So I get it.
I understand it.

Speaker 2 (01:58:53):
I'm immediately starting to think of how i'd use you
in the red zone, get you towards the edges. I
now have an extra six yards that I could throw
the ball out of bounds.

Speaker 3 (01:59:02):
Yeah, but there's a thing. If I drop a pass,
I feel pressure. But you know, you you think, hey,
I've kind of lived under pressure. That shouldn't be a thing,
but it's it's a thing.

Speaker 2 (01:59:11):
I just think it's funny, right saying this was the
pressure and the guy that was in the spot that
is the pressure cooker as the quarterback, as the coach,
but again, as we talked about, you come, like Darvin
Ham to some of these organizations. You recognize what you're
walking into and the opportunity that is there if you win.

(01:59:31):
But certainly as you lose, the slings and arrows will
mount up very fast.

Speaker 3 (01:59:38):
Yeah, and that's and that's honestly with anything. So I mean,
you get it, you gotta you gotta embrace it. And hey,
that's why you get paid the big bucks. And you know,
and unfortunately we like to call them what Mike you say,
it a lot rich people problem. So no one's gonna
unfortunately that.

Speaker 2 (01:59:53):
Sorry, first world problems, no question about it.

Speaker 3 (01:59:55):
Yeah, yeah, no one's gonna feel sorry for Darvin or
a couple of those guys. And he's gonna be fine. Man.
And I think just when I hear fans speak about
Darthard Ham, for me, hold respect, have respect, keep it
in context, keep it to the sport. You don't have
to like the guy or agree.

Speaker 2 (02:00:11):
Look at you try to be all positive. But I
now add paramutual teller to one of the list of
jobs I may have before I'm done. Martin Kerry coming
up next here on Fox

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Fox Sports Radio News

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

The Nikki Glaser Podcast

Stuff You Should Know

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Mike Harmon and Ryan Hollins Talk Anthony Edwards' Ascension, Playoff Storylines & More!

Episode Transcript

Fox Sports Radio News .css-1q01m3q{margin:0 0 -2px 0;}

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Dateline NBC

The Nikki Glaser Podcast

Stuff You Should Know

All Episodes