March 7, 2026 • 61 mins
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Nick Wright reacts to his Kansas City Chiefs trading CB Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams and what it means for both Super Bowl contenders in 2026. Later, Nick breaks down what Kyler Murray's future looks like in the NFL as the Arizona Cardinals QB is set to be a free agent as well as how Joe Burrow should feel after the Cincinnati Bengals botched the Trey Hendrickson situation. Next, Nick reacts to Max Kellerman saying Michael Jordan would average a 40-point triple double in today's NBA as well as Giannis Antetokounmpo returning to the Milwaukee Bucks and what lies ahead in his future. #Volume
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Best of the Week for What's Right
with Nick Right the best takes and moments from this
week on the show. Enjoy. My lifelong team made a
trade with my you know, off again on again NFC team,
the Rams. Let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Uh yeah, The Chiefs traded probably one of their best players,
or their best player outside of Patrick Mahomes for a
nice hal of picks. Last time Kansas City did something
like this with Tybek Hill, they went on to make
three Super Bowls.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Do you find this to be a similar move?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
So listen, I want to start on McDuffie. McDuffie's an
excellent player. I think he is a good sometimes because
of his size, struggles on the outside, but a good
outside corner and the single best slot corner in football.
(00:58):
I think he is the best in football at slot corner.
They drafted him as Demons, they mentioned they immediately went
to the next three Super Bowls. Mcduffee had startlets three four,
three two. Mcduffee won the first nine playoff games he
(01:22):
ever played in his and his rookie year they went
three and oh. His second year they went four and oh.
His third year they went two and oh. Until the
Super Bowl when they got clocked by the Eagles. Obviously,
he was part of a historic draft class for the
(01:44):
Chiefs that set up this era of Chiefs football, particularly
on the defensive side of the ball. He was instantly
in All Pro. He's excellent, he will be very very
good for the Rams. Okay, nothing, and he's only he
was a young player coming out of college, so he's
played four years. He's only twenty five. He got a
(02:06):
little ding last year. He's durable, he's an excellent player,
and I the Rams. Let me add this to it, Demonse,
I think the Rams are more all in than any
team in the league, more than Buffalo, more than Baltimore,
(02:27):
because their quarterbacks got one maybe two years left. So
I think that the other teams with great quarterbacks have
to weigh trying to win the Super Bowl every year
with staying in contention for a long period of time.
The Rams don't have to weigh that. The Rams are like,
(02:48):
let's go for it right now while we have Matt
Stafford and figure out the play in post Stafford when
we're post Stafford. So I totally get this move from them,
And they got an excellent player at the single biggest
position of need for them makes sense. With that said,
(03:11):
I am so glad the Chiefs management still has the
stomach to do things like this because this is the
only way to stay in perpetual contention. There is only
(03:34):
one team ever that has done what the Chiefs are
trying to do, which is, for fifteen plus years, be
in the mix basically every single year. I understand last
year was a disaster, but at Week six of last season,
(03:58):
the Chiefs were the literal suit Super Bowl favorites, So
they didn't They obviously weren't. They didn't end up as
contenders last year, but the idea that last year was
destined to be a disaster year, they were the favorites
to win the whole thing right around Halloween and so
(04:19):
in order the only blueprint for that long of a
contending stretch is the Pats with Belichick and Brady and Bill.
Belichick made moves like this. He traded away Richard Seymour,
He would move on from guys when they got super expensive.
(04:42):
He would load up on draft picks and try to
restock the talent with young, cost controlled players. It's what
you have to do. And yes, the Chiefs are in
a different position than when they traded Tyrek. When they
(05:05):
traded Tyrek, they weren't coming off a six win season.
They also though when they traded Tyrek were not coming
They are as far removed from the three years before
leading into the Tyrek trade. They won a Super Bowl,
they lost the Super Bowl. They lost in the AFC
(05:26):
Championship Game. The three years leading into this, they won
a super Bowl, they lost the Super Bowl. They had
a disaster year. The Tyrek trade netted them the twenty
ninth pick, a second rounder, two fourths, and a fifth.
This trade netted them the twenty ninth pick, a third rounder,
(05:47):
one fourth and a fifth, or as Ian Rappaport would
call it a basically fifth round value, exactly twenty nine
to third, fourth, fifth, basically fifth round value. So they
got for Tyreek, they got a second instead of a
(06:09):
third and an additional fourth. And you know what, I
might have said, what they got here wrong. I did.
Actually they got the twenty ninth, a third, a fifth,
and a sixth, not a fourth and a fifth. So
my apologies, but the by the draft charts they got
(06:32):
essentially this is maybe a better way to do it.
It's for people to understand. By the draft charts. They
got the equivalent for McDuffie of about the twentieth pick
of the draft all in, and for Tyreek, they got
the equivalent of about the fourteenth fifteenth pick of the draft.
(06:54):
So they got call it eighty percent of the value
for Trent McDuffie they got for Kill.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And the situation is so much more different though, considering
like the need of the team, like if the defense
is already having trouble generating our pressure, like trading away
your best cornerback, I think is.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I know, I understand this obviously for Week one of
twenty twenty six doesn't make the Chiefs better, That's obviously true,
But this was Trent McDuffie is about to become the
single highest paid corner in the NFL because he plays
(07:36):
on the he's best on the inside instead of on
the outside. That already was going to be a bit
of a tough pill to swallow. But when you have
the highest paid d tackle, the highest paid center, one
of the highest paid guards, and mahomes, you can't. You've
got to make these choices. And here is the reason
(07:59):
where I went from kind of expecting this move for
the Chiefs, and you know, coming to terms with it,
to being outright happy about it. Barnwell, in his off
season predictions column called this trade. He called McDuffie to
(08:22):
the Rams. I think a lot of people thought this
was possible, But Barnwell put what he thought the trade
would be Demandsey. He thought it would be McDuffie plus
a fifth from Kansas City for just the twenty ninth pick. Instead,
(08:47):
it was McDuffie by himself for the twenty ninth pick,
plus a third to fifth and the sixth. So I
think they got such intents value that and the free
up of cap space of he was gonna make thirteen
(09:07):
million this year. If you wanted to keep him, who's
gonna be thirty million a year to add other players?
I think you just have to make that move. It
also gives them real flexibility in the draft.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
I do not think they're gonna move off that ninth pick,
but they are drafting now nine, twenty nine and forty,
and I would be surprised if they actually draft twenty
nine and forty. It should be noted they used the
twenty ninth pick from the Tyreek killtrade to move up
(09:41):
to twenty one or twenty two to draft Trent McDuffie,
and so I. Right now, the Chiefs have the six
best Super Bowl ups. That feels about right to me,
where you've got to see the health of Mahomes. But
they have the ability to go out in free agency
(10:06):
in the draft and address what are significant weaknesses on
the team right now. And let me also say this,
because Jalen Watson, their other starting corner, seventh round pick,
is gonna hit free agency and get paid a bunch
of money by other people, by somebody else. This is
(10:27):
the one position on the team the Chiefs believe we
can just coach up. They had They had Marcus Peters,
they traded him to the Rams. They had Javarius Ward,
they let him go sign a huge contract with the Niners.
They had Lagarious Snead, they traded him to the Titans.
(10:49):
They had Marcus Peters, they traded him to the Rams,
and they're letting Jalen Watson. And Jalen Watson got him
his proof of concepts. He was a seventh round pick
same year as Marcus Peters. He was starting at corner
as a seventh round rookie. They are letting him walk.
They have Noel Williams, who was a third rounder last year,
and they're gonna have to address secondary. But they think
(11:11):
spags that they can scout secondary players, that they can
coach them up. And what they have to get better
at is pass rush, running game, and pass catcher. It's
a lot, I understand, but I think the offensive line
is mostly set and obviously quarterbacks set, and now you
(11:33):
have some cap space and you have a bunch of
draft picks to go attack. This stuff go ahead.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It's like a little word coming out that Trent McDuffie
his hit would have been about the same as Kenneth
Walker next year.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Well it's about fourteen million.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So here's the thing. He was Kenneth Walker's franchise tag
fourteen would be fourteen million. I think he'll probably sign
for around fourteen million. Yes, you're right. McDuffie was under
contract fifty year option four thirteen point eight or something.
But that wasn't the problem. The problem was he was
(12:09):
gonna want and it's not a problem. He's earned it
thirty million a year on a new deal and what
and we'll get to the Bengals in a bit. What
immature franchises would do would just be like, well, thirteen
million for McDuffie. That's that's actually not a bad deal.
(12:33):
Let him play out his contract and then either franchise
tag him and then let him walk for nothing, or
after this year, let him walk for nothing. Instead, the
Chiefs were proactive, which you have to be if you
want to contend over a long stretch of time. Now
here's the other piece of it. You have to do.
(12:56):
Hit on these draft picks. In twenty twenty two, they
crushed the draft. In twenty twenty three they seem to
really well. The verdict right now in the twenty twenty
three draft is it's a disaster. The only truly productive
(13:18):
player they've gotten from that draft is Rashi Rice, who
has a bunch of his own issues. So that happens.
But now, in order for the Chiefs to continue to
be a list contenders, this draft is gonna have a
lot to do with it. And we'll see what they
you know, what they make of these picks?
Speaker 3 (13:40):
All right?
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I know you have some follow ups here, go ahead, the.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Soul just off of what you did say, Kansas City
has two First, what can they do with those picks?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Let's do a likely maybe what if on it?
Speaker 1 (13:50):
So listen, I think it is likely that with their
the number nine pick, they address offensive skill position. I
think that's likely. I think that whether it's Jeremiah Love,
whether it's their favorite receiver, it would be a little
(14:11):
rich for me. But maybe the tight end, the number
one tight end that everybody loves. At nine, it feels high.
I think it is likely they do that at nine,
and then at twenty nine they maybe move around a
little up or a little back and take a pass rusher.
(14:34):
I am of the belief if Ruben Bain is there
at number nine, you've just got to take him. I
the short arms be damned, and it would be utterly
stunning to me if they use either of these first
round picks on offensive line or on corner. I think
(14:58):
that they are going to go wide receiver, running back,
maybe tight end, and defensive line. Those are the spots
that I think you are going to see those the
first round picks go for. And I think the only
running back would be Jeremiah Love, and I don't know
(15:18):
if he'll be there at nine. All right, I know
you want to talk Mahomes for a second.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Yeah, So after the deal, Mahomes tweeted, damn, how much
are you reading into that? Do you think that was
just support for his teammate.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yeah, listen, I think Patrick understands. I even't talked to Patrick.
I think he understands the business side of this. I
also think you know, he's won multiple Super Bowls with McDuffie,
likes McDuffie. McDuffie's a good player. You hate to see
him go out the door. But I think Patrick also
(15:52):
knows whatever you know he had. I would imagine a
very similar relationship and had won a Super Bowl with
Tyreek Hill and saw the same regime trade Tyreek in
a very similar spot at the same time of calendar
and what it turned into the right right, Tyreek has
(16:15):
more of a direct impact on These are the decisions though,
you've got to make. They traded Joe Tooney last year,
like you've got to find ways to restock. And it's
why the Chiefs are not a team that's ever going
to be like we just traded for Max Crosby. We
(16:35):
just traded multiple that. You don't have that luxury in
my if you want to contend for again fifteen plus years,
which only the Patriots have done. All right, before we
get to the a little more on the rams side
of it and some of the other potential guys who
could be traded. Let me remind you today's show is
(16:56):
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(18:48):
All right, Demanse, let's keep going on this trade and
then get to the other stuff.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Oh yeah, So the Rams just cleared up one of
their only needs with that trade, and they still have
the falcons pick at number thirteen. Now they are the
lone favorites at plus seven fifty to win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Do you agree with Vegas there?
Speaker 1 (19:06):
I mean, it makes a lot of sense. The no. No,
he's not going to be a punt returner, so maybe
they do need to address that. But that thirteenth pick
should be an impact player for them. It they have
really struggled on drafting and developing their own corners. Which
(19:28):
is the traded for Marcus Peters. They traded for Jalen Ramsey,
they traded for Trent McDuffie, So this is, you know, again,
I think they paid a lot. But when you have
thirty eight year old Matt Stafford and you've been banging
on the door and he's the defending league MVP, why
the hell not? And so, I you know, if I
(19:52):
look at the Rams depth chart as we sit here today,
let me just pull it up real quick, I wouldn't
hate them at thirteen demands a considering wide receiver, just
because I don't think DeVante, you know, has probably many
(20:13):
years left, maybe just one gay or left. I also
wouldn't hate them going offensive line to shore up that
right side of their offensive line. But in reality, the
Rams don't have many glaring holes I mean, the entire
(20:35):
secondary needs a lot of work, but it doesn't seem
like they trust themselves on drafting corners. So I would be,
I guess, a little surprised if they draft a corner
at thirteen. I would not be surprised if they moved down,
if they tried to restock some of the picks they
just traded away, you know, by moving down in the draft.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Of seven years after taking him at number one. The
Cardinals are splitting ways with Kyler Murray. We all know
you aren't the biggest fan of the shorter quarterbacks. Where
do you stand at on Tyler or Kyler?
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I'm stunned how many people are trying to convince themselves that,
seven years and eighty seven starts into his career, Kyler
Murray is different than what we know he is, which
is a below average NFL starting quarterback. And you can say, oh,
(21:32):
below average, that's harsh, it's not. There's thirty two teams
in the league. And if right now I were to
tell you, stop me when I say a quarterback, Kyler's
better than Mahomes, Stafford, Allen, Lamar Burrow, Darnold Caleb May, Trevor,
(21:56):
golf Love, Dak Hurts are Herbert Jaden. That's sixteen. That's sixteen.
I have not mentioned c. J. Stroud, I have not
mentioned Bo Nicks, I have not mentioned brock Purty. I
have not mentioned you know, some cam Ward, some people
(22:18):
like Kyler. I'm sorry Bryce though, but that's.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
The it chans to get questionable there. But the fact
that it's a debate is right.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
So he's at best, the twentieth best quarterback in football,
at best, and he is. He does wear down over
the course of the season. He does have shaky relationships
with teammates and front offices, and he does have very
(22:53):
questionable work habits. And that's just who he is. And
so that the Arizona Cardinals last year, the coaching staff
was fighting for its life and Kyler came back healthy
from injury and they were like, yeah, Jacoby Brissett runs
(23:15):
this offense better. We're sticking with it. I don't. People
are trying to convince themselves that Kyler on the Vikings
would be dangerous. Noah wouldn't. Would it be an upgrade
over JJ McCarthy, Sure, would they be dangerous?
Speaker 3 (23:32):
No?
Speaker 1 (23:33):
And again Darnald got like thirty five starts with the Jets.
Gino got thirty starts with the Jets, Baker got I
think fifty some with the Browns and showed something. Kyler
has started eighty seven games. Kyler has started more games
(23:57):
in this league than Joe Burrow. Like, it's not oh,
he hasn't had the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I mean, people are probably just saying it's the Cardinals though.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah, but when he got there, people were like, oh, man,
Cliff Kingsbury, you traded for DeAndre Hopkins. People didn't think
that was some terrible mess. Now it turned into it,
but he was a part of it. And so do
I think Kyler is a starter in this league? Yes? Absolutely.
(24:28):
Do I think that he would be an upgrade over
what the Browns, the Jets, the Steelers, the Vikings are
likely going to go into next season with if they
don't sign him. I do. But do I think that
means there's any contending possibilities? I don't now. The glass
(24:57):
quarter full would be this Demansey. This is the first
time in his athletic life he has failed in any way.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Yeah, some adversity he is seven seasons.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
No, but I'm saying m cutting him, cutting him is
the adversity. He He was the greatest player in the
history of Texas high school football, the greatest. He also
was such a great baseball player. He was a first
round pick for the Oakland A's. He then went to college,
(25:36):
won the Heisman, went number one in the draft, and
instantly as early as they could have got paid. And
so it was just nothing. But everything I'm doing is working,
everything's great. And now it's a real slap in the
face of No, they're paying you to go away, and
you'll probably sign, make sense, sign for the minimum because
(25:58):
this team's going to be paying you anyway. So maybe
that is a come to Jesus moment.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
But I don't know. I think maybe you should switch
over to baseball.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I feel like it's probably late for that, but I
think that could have been an option at some point. Listen,
it seems like people loved him as a baseball player,
loved him and he is just a sick.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Elite in baseball.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Let me see if I can. He was the eighth
overall pick. The yeah, I mean he was. I mean
he he's a legendary athlete. And the I'm trying to
see you guys can ninth overall pick? Uh, And I mean, god,
(27:04):
bless him for that he is. He has been a
major disappointment as an NFL quarterback. And I don't think
again he is two months older or two months younger
than Darnald, Like, I just don't think he is this
unpolished diamond. We'll see, but I don't. I don't buy it.
(27:28):
All right, let's talk Bengals for a moment.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Uh So, the Bengals bought Trey Hendrickson, they failed to
tag him. They're not going to tag him. They failed
to trade him away get something for him. How should
Bengals fans feel and how should Burrow feel?
Speaker 1 (27:42):
So this is just franchise malpractice. Two, You had Trey Hendrickson,
he led the league in sacks. He wanted a big,
long term deal. You didn't want to give it to him.
He was pissed. You move some money around a bit
to get him to comeback in with seventeen and a
(28:05):
half sacks. The next year, he responded with another seventeen
and a half sacks and he's like, all right, now
you've gotta pay me. They're like, nope, we're not doing that.
So then he was super pissed. He left training camp.
It was a whole mess. He then begrudgingly comes back.
(28:28):
You then have last year, Burrow gets hurt and he's pissed,
and you know you're not re signing him, and you
don't even trade him for pennies on the dollar at
the deadline. He then never comes back from his injury,
and now you let him walk for nothing. It's just
(28:49):
such bad business, just indefensibly bad business. And Burrow should
be live it that they either couldn't get a deal
done or couldn't accept they weren't gonna get a deal
done and moved him last off season or the off
(29:11):
season before, or at the very least at the deadline.
And to lose Trey Hendrickson for nothing's outrageous. Now I
do think he will. I think you can make an argument,
how old is Hendrickson thirty two?
Speaker 3 (29:33):
That might be old younger than that?
Speaker 1 (29:37):
No, No, he's thirty one.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Oh so.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
He is. And Max Crosby is twenty eight. I should
have looked these up before him.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Bad job and me.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
I apologize, but I got it right. Max Crosby's twenty
eight turns twenty nine in August. If I were running
a team Demonsey, I would rather sign Trey Hendrickson in
free agency for good money, rather than trade multiple firsts
(30:22):
to give me for Max Crosby for and then resign
him to huge money. Crosby's a better player, and Crosby's
got more years in front of him. But the fact
that you can sign one guy and you'd have to
trade multiple.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Picks for the other guy.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
And so here's the other question I have about Trey
because Trey, listen, he was underpaid, but it's not like
he had never been paid. So Trey Hendrickson up to
this point in his career has made ninety five million bucks.
He was making twenty million a year on this contract
(31:05):
with the Bengals, basically five year, twenty million ish dollar
deal after his rookie deal. If Trey wants one last
huge payday, he has earned it, and God bless him.
I do wonder if he might want to stick it
(31:25):
to the Bengals, And if he does, I think the Patriots,
the Bills, the Ravens, Ravens Yes, call yeah is particularly
the Ravens.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Like in the division, all four of those teams desperately
need pass rush help and be like, yeah, I'm sticking
around and I'm going to write for the Ravens twice
a year and for the other teams maybe if the
Bengals ever make the playoffs again. So I I've said
(32:03):
this for I'll say it again. There is a lot
of Burrow Sinsey that reminds me of Breeze New Orleans,
where right after he got there, they make it to
his Super Bowl. Breeze won, Burrow didn't, and then those
Saints went seven to nine three years in a row,
they missed the playoffs a lot, and then at the
(32:25):
tail end had it like a three to four year
period of super high contention again at the tail end
of Breeze's time, but never made another Super Bowl. Where
you are wasting big portions of this player's career even
though he is super highly productive, because you can't get
the defensive side of the ball right. And that's a
(32:47):
damn shame, all right. Deman's couple of my pals have
a podcast together. It's called Game Over.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
One is my buddy Rich Paul, who you met and
hung out with a couple of weeks ago, and the
other is Max Kellerman, who I once didn't officially intern
for him, but I interned for the radio show before
his radio show and He and I haven't spent much
time together since we've come across each other a couple
of times. But I really like Max. Like I. I
(33:20):
have about as much respect for Max as anybody who
does what I do. And Jordan came up on their
latest pod. I'll let you take it from there.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Uh yeah, So the latest pod, Rich Paul Max Kellerman
said that if MJ played today, he would average a
forty point triple double. For a little bit of context,
Will is the only player ever to average forty in
a season, and only three players ever have averaged a
triple double.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
So yeah, so listen, I don't even care about the
triple double piece because Jordan, I do. I think averaging
a triple double today. Sure, maybe he almost did it
the one year he played point guard for the Bulls.
It can be done. Jordan obviously is a demonstrably better
(34:13):
player than Russ. Russ's averaged a bunch of triple doubles.
I I and so no problem the forty pointed game
thing with Jordan in today's game. Here's the problem. And
this is why I'm so stunned Max said it, because
one of the reasons I have so much respect for
(34:35):
Max it's kind of like arrogant. The reason I have
so much respect for Max because the guys have like
so much of me. Yes exactly, I'm like, man, that
guy's smart. I like how he makes arguments. A lot
of it is just he reminds me of myself. So
that's kind of a But regardless, Max very often in
(34:59):
his arguments, does what you've got to do if you're
gonna have a sound argument, which is tease it out
and realize the full implications of your argument, and the
full implications of Michael Jordan could average forty a game
(35:19):
are so then the guys who when Jordan was averaging
twenty nine averaged twenty eight, They would in today's game
be thirty eight thirty seven point a game. And the
guys today who are the best scorers back then would
(35:42):
be in the low twenties. So let's right, because it
can't only apply to Michael the nineties deflation and contemporary inflation.
So let's let's just grab some Michael Jordan seasons. So
if you're saying Michael Jordan in ninety two two, a
lot of people think that is peak Jordan, second Bowls Championship,
(36:06):
the best team he's he's got it all figured. He
averaged thirty point one points per game. Dominique Wilkins averaged
and Carl Malone both averaged exactly twenty eight. So nineteen
ninety two, Dominique Wilkins in today's game, we're giving him
thirty seven a night. I'm not Chris Mullen excellent player?
(36:34):
Was it twenty five and a half and he wasn't
even better of you know, a great shooter on you know,
three point shooter. Uh So, Chris Mullen's thirty five a
game in today's euro hard for me to you know,
hard for me to wrap my mind around. But that's
(36:54):
the implication. Ninety five, Michael was thirty two and a
half and Dominique was thirty, Carl Malone twenty seven. So
all those guys once again, they're gonna be in the
high to mid thirties in today's game. The next year,
by the way, when Michael was retired, David Robinson averaged
(37:19):
thirty a game. So in today's game, the Admiral is
thirty eight and a half a night. I don't think so.
But let's take it a step further and do the
best scores of this era, and what because what you're
(37:40):
saying is scoring is so much easier today that those
guys in Michael's era, when thirty was the high watermark
then and thirty is basically the high watermark now, those
guys would struggle. So you're telling me peak, okc Kevin Durant,
(38:08):
who never averaged more than thirty two a game, you
drop him into the nineties. He's a twenty four point
per game guy. That's what we're saying. Because if you're
saying you're gonna give a twenty five percent boost to
the scores of the nineties in today, then you've got
(38:28):
to take a twenty five percent tax on the scores
of today in the nineties. So peak Kevin Durant, if
he's dropped into nineteen ninety two, is looking up at
Chris Mullen and Clyde Drexler on the scoring list. I
don't think so, Okay, call me crazy.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
He really probably is averaging forty at that time.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Well, no, I don't think that either, because it was
no just the game was slower, less possessions, it was
the it was harder. But maybe you think it wouldn't matter.
But the other thing that happens, and this is what
Max said, and this is just maddening, and I've talked
(39:14):
about this before. People pretend that the one weakness in
Michael's game three point shooting, was a weakness by choice, like, well,
if you wanted to be good, he would be good
as if he was shack and never shot, when in reality,
(39:39):
there was a brief stretch of time when Jordan was
a good three point shooter. Because of that, he shot
a lot of them for the era, and that period
was when they moved the line in, and as soon
as they moved the line back out, he went from
thirty seven percent shooting for a game, which was a
(40:02):
lot for the mid nineties, to twenty three percent shooting
one and a half a game. And then after he
had three years of retirement, seeing that, oh, guys are
shooting more and more threes and my athleticism isn't what
it once was, he came back and was a nice,
(40:23):
crisp nineteen percent three point shooter. Again. He might be
the greatest player of all time, there is a strong
argument for that, but the idea that he just chose
to be bad at something rather than it was the
(40:43):
one thing he wasn't great at. The idea that because
he took over seventeen hundred threes in his career. And
if you again, if you I'm trying to do should
have done this beforehand, but when in his career because
(41:05):
his career three point numbers don't actually look awful. It's
thirty two point seven, that's fine, But if you remove
the years where they moved the line in. So the
years where they moved the line in Michael from three
was thirty nine percent and the years where it was
the regular line was twenty nine percent. We don't have
(41:29):
to make stuff up. I'm not gonna sit here and say,
you know, if Lebron really wanted to, he'd be a
ninety percent free throw shooter. He just chooses not to be. No,
he just it's not as good as he is, as
hard as he works, it's not for him to be
a ninety percent free throw shooter. So, but again, if
(41:52):
you believe Michael Jordan would average forty in today's game,
then you must believe Dominique would average thirty eight and
peak Kevin Durant in the nineties would average like twenty three.
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Speaker 2 (42:48):
All right, so Jannis return from his five week hiatus
and lost to my Celtics. With no Jalen Brown, the
Bucks are currently three and a half games out of
the play in.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
What is the goal for the Bucks at this point?
Speaker 1 (43:00):
All Right, First, I do want to say this. I've
been very high on Jalen Brown and his MVP chances
and you know, giving him a lot of respect, I'm
now gonna say something totally unfair. His first team All
NBA slash MVP ballot consideration took a bit of a
(43:22):
hit last night. Just a tiny one. Not because he
missed the game, because the guy is basically an iron
man by today's NBA standards, but because he missed the
game and it was and it was just like Peyton
Pritchard's like, no problem, I got this. Hugo Gonzales like,
watch me throw up a plus twenty seven and thirty
(43:45):
five minutes. I was does I didn't know Hugo Gonzalez
had an eleven and sixteen in him, a Baylor's Shireman
with double All the starters were in double figures. They're
twenty to fifty from three, and they just annihilate the Bucks.
And again I should give a shout out to the
(44:07):
weirdest coach in the NBA, Joe Missoula, because he's cooking.
The guy's cooking. And so we'll get to more of
the Celtics piece in a moment. I do think the
end of this season will have at least some impact
(44:29):
on whether or not Yannis stays. So I think we
can all agree that the Bucks have no even if
they were to make the play in, have no shot
of doing any damage in the playoffs, and making the
(44:51):
play in is going to be hard because they're three
and a half back, having lost the last before Yannis
got back, and then last night's game, and the team
they're chasing, Charlotte, has been flatly an excellent team for
the last like six weeks, maybe close to two months.
(45:15):
So I think they are actually more likely if they
were to get in. I don't think it would be
because they catch Charlotte, who's the ten. It's because they
catch Atlanta, who's the nine. And that's gonna be hard.
They've played sixty games, They've got twenty two games left,
and they are three losses behind the Hawks, who are
(45:37):
on a little four game winning streak of their own.
And so the reason I mention even any of that
is Yannis, you know, doesn't. I don't think he wants
to leave, but I also don't think he wants to stay.
(45:57):
I think that he is he will wants to have
something that does not exist, the ability to stay in
Milwaukee forever and compete for championships in the remainder of
his prime, and that that is not a world that exists. However,
the fact that he has not yet forced himself out
(46:20):
of there means I don't think he is dead set
one hundred percent on leaving. And if Milwaukee could fight
its way into the play in play good basketball the
remainder of the season. Then maybe he doesn't force the
Bucks hand. Now there is a very strong argument to
(46:44):
be made he shouldn't have to force their hand that
the Milwaukee Bucks leadership should say the best thing for
the franchise is to move on from you, Honis this
summer to see what if the Spurs have a disappointing postseason,
if the Rockets have a disappointing postseason, if the Thunder
(47:09):
have a disappointing postseason, what those teams would give us
four a guy who is still unequivocally a top five,
almost assuredly a top four. Very strong argument for a
top three player in the entire world. It seems like
(47:31):
neither party here really has the stomach Demond's to want
to be the one to officially pull the trigger on
a breakup. But I do wonder if if in the
final twenty three games of their season, the first of
which was last night, they go nine and fourteen and
(47:57):
finish the year thirty five and forty seven and you know,
tied with or right behind the Bulls for twelfth in
the Eastern Conference, if they don't say Okay, it's been
an amazing run. Jannie Is Yiannis has been there a
(48:19):
long time. Jannis came into the league in twenty thirteen,
which remarkably means this is his thirteenth year with Milwaukee.
Thirteen years with Milwaukee. That is like context on that
(48:42):
Lebron played fifteen with the Calves and the Heat combined
both Calves stins plus the Heat stint thirteen years with
a team is an unbelievable run. That's as many years
as Michael Jordan played with the Bulls thirteen years, and
(49:05):
so there is no he won a championship. It's been
an unbelievable career. But I do think that if the
Bucks go what would they have to go, probably in
their final twenty two If they go twelve and eight
(49:31):
and get to thirty eight and forty two, No, that
wouldn't be it.
Speaker 3 (49:37):
Hold on what am I?
Speaker 1 (49:40):
Oh? They have twenty two left, not twenty left? Sorry.
If they go thirteen and nine and get to thirty
nine and forty three and catch Atlanta and make the play,
(50:01):
I wonder if they run it back one more year,
which I think would just be a mistake for all
parties involved.
Speaker 2 (50:07):
Do you think a bad postseason would be or a
bad ended season would be more eye opening for Giannis
or the Bucks front office.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
I think the Bucks front office has basically decided we're
only trading him if he tells us to trade him.
I don't think that's necessarily the right thing to way
to do it, but I think that's that's what they've decided.
So I guess the answer would be for Yannis. All right,
let's talk Celtics on this.
Speaker 2 (50:34):
Uh So, Yeah, that Tatum return is looking likely. Looks
like it's coming later this week actually, And he was
talking to the doctor and saying he's not coming back
to be a role player. How deep are you reading
into that or where do you.
Speaker 3 (50:45):
See it from?
Speaker 1 (50:46):
This? So that clip, correct me if I'm wrong, is
from very early in his rehab. It was just released,
but it was from very early in his rehab. So
I think what Tatum is saying to the doctor is
is we need you know this process.
Speaker 3 (51:05):
Well I don't.
Speaker 1 (51:08):
So I don't think I think people are That's not
how I read it. I don't think Jason Tatum is
saying the day I come back, I need to be
Jason Tatum. That everybody knows. I think what Jason Tatum
is saying, I need to rehab in a way so
that once I'm all the way back, rust is off.
(51:32):
I've played, you know, once I am back to whatever
the peak version of me is, it's the same as
the version from before the injury. Do you do you
understand the distinction there?
Speaker 3 (51:44):
No, get I get it.
Speaker 1 (51:46):
So I think he's saying we need to approach this
rehab so that at some point, not immediately, but at
some point it's like Kevin Durant, where you see no
difference in the player pre and post achilles on a
(52:06):
long enough time horizon that we are not you know,
I will you know, mix metaphors massively here. You tore
your achilles is different type of Achilles tear, and you
actually didn't have surgery, and one of the things they
told you flatly was if you don't have surgery, you
will never regain one hundred percent of the athleticism you
(52:30):
had before. You're not a pro athlete. And you know
what I mean, you were, you know, you were like,
that's fine. I think what Jason Tatum is saying, we
need to approach this rehab so at some point I
am one hundred percent of the guy I was before,
(52:50):
and go ahead.
Speaker 2 (52:51):
And say that he like, given where the Celtics are
right now and when he is going to be coming back,
that he is more likely to be a role player
than not.
Speaker 1 (53:01):
I think he will definitively. So I think he's coming
back in the next ten days, right, the next ten
to fourteen days. I think he obviously will be a
role player for the first month. Yeah, but if he
does come back in the next week to ten days,
you know, week to two weeks. And Simmons said he
(53:24):
thinks he's coming back Friday, and Simmon's pretty plugged in
with the Celtics obviously, I think that gives him enough
of a runway to where he can be by the
time the playoffs start, not his not peak Tatum if
(53:45):
he comes back in March. I do not think he'll
be peak Tatum until the beginning of next season. But
there is a big golf between peak Tatum and role player.
Peak Tatum was first team All NBA, you know, six,
seventh best player in the league, right right, So I
think by the playoffs he could be backed. He could
(54:08):
be the twenty fifth best player in the league, you know,
like that, and then maybe by midway through the playoffs
approaching that top fifteen. And maybe that's too optimistic, But
do I think that Jason Tatum, you know, do you
(54:28):
look at Derek White as a role player, I don't.
I look at him as a little bit somewhere between,
like a step above roll step below Star. Yeah, so
like and I guess maybe there's not a name for that,
So maybe that is a role player, like just a
high quality starter. So I think it's like Superstar star,
(54:56):
high quality starter, role player, bench player, you know, and
then one down.
Speaker 3 (55:03):
That's fair.
Speaker 1 (55:04):
I think when I think the day Tatum comes back,
he's a role player, I think within a few weeks
he will be high quality starter. And I think his
goal would be by round two of the playoffs, be
a star and get back to Superstar next season. And
(55:28):
I think that's realistic. I think the fact that he
had surgery within hours of the injury, that he has
been everything seemingly has been going great, I think that
is realistic. And I just I've tried to dead this before,
but I just want to reiterate it here. I think
(55:51):
any discussion about Tatum disrupting what the Celtics have going
is to utter nonsense, not because he won't at least
temporarily potentially disrupt what they have going. I think he will,
but I think what they have going is worth nothing
(56:14):
for a team that has championship aspirations. What they have
going right now is a really good season and an
awesome story that has no chance of resulting in a championship.
And so you can disrupt that and it's fine if
(56:37):
at the end of the disruption.
Speaker 2 (56:41):
So so, Jason Tatum was on the Celtics last year
and he's been on the tea.
Speaker 3 (56:45):
He's also not a new guy.
Speaker 1 (56:47):
Oh yeah, that's the guys haven't played with him. That's it.
But I would I would almost again all mix metaphors here,
and this won't really work. But if midway through NASCAR race,
(57:11):
uh car is leading and you know, like appears just
by that snapshot of time or near the front that
they could win it. Yeah, but the the people in
the again mixing metaphors on shaky ground for me, but
(57:31):
just stick with me. The people in the the pit
crew and the spot are like, oh man, our front
right tire is wobbly, and it's at some point in
this race it's going We're gonna lose it, right, it
does not disrupt your ability to win the race by
(57:55):
taking your medicine, pitting, falling a little back in the
pack and fixing that, because fixing that is a necessity
to have any chance of actually completing the race. That's
what I would say Tatum coming back is you know.
Speaker 3 (58:11):
All your ceiling is broken tire right, but now.
Speaker 1 (58:17):
Right, what the Celtics are right now is it's not fake,
but it is not championship caliber. And so even if
the first few weeks with Tatum or Rocky that gives
you a chance to become championship caliber. And so I
(58:38):
I I also think.
Speaker 3 (58:40):
That does Jason Tatum get to be Jordan Love this year?
Speaker 1 (58:45):
What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (58:46):
Well, you're just talking about how if Jordan Loved this
year over this season, he had the team, the complete team.
As long as he can just be there and not
mess up in a huge way, they should be a
super Bowl team. Michael Parsons obviously got injured in a
little derailed, but I saw some similarities there.
Speaker 1 (59:04):
So I think that's interesting. I'm trying to think if
there's another comp that I would have for it, because
we don't have many examples of a team who all
of a sudden is going to drop in this late
(59:25):
in the season, a guy who objectively has been and
is their best player, with hopes of winning the title.
Speaker 3 (59:33):
Right already there.
Speaker 1 (59:35):
Yeah, and so it's very fascinating. This is also where
Tatum is a bit of a victim of his own rehab.
And I've talked about this. I'll move on after this.
If Tatum just had a regular rehab schedule and there
(59:57):
was no chance he was coming back this year, I
think this Celtics playoff run would have reminded the world
how valuable he is to that team that this Celtics season,
when if he never came back, it it ended in
(01:00:18):
round two in the playoffs. Now, I understand last year
it also ended in round two in the playoffs, but
in previous years we'd seen the team win the title,
make a bunch of conference finals, making NBA Finals. It
would as good as Jalen Brown has been, as good
as Missoula has been, as good as the team has been,
remind folks that in order to be able to win
(01:00:39):
sixteen playoff games, held to win twelve playoff games, there's
a requisite talent level that I don't think the Celtics
without Jason Tatum have but it doesn't look like we're
gonna see a playoff run without Jason Tatum because I
think he'll be back by the time I get back
(01:00:59):
from Japan. Again, reminder, no shows next week. We are
doing Thursday, but no shows next week because I'll be
in Japan. I think that Jason Tatum's back playing ball
with the Celtics.
Welcome to the Best of the Week for What's Right
with Nick Right the best takes and moments from this
week on the show. Enjoy. My lifelong team made a
trade with my you know, off again on again NFC team,
the Rams. Let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Uh yeah, The Chiefs traded probably one of their best players,
or their best player outside of Patrick Mahomes for a
nice hal of picks. Last time Kansas City did something
like this with Tybek Hill, they went on to make
three Super Bowls.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Do you find this to be a similar move?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
So listen, I want to start on McDuffie. McDuffie's an
excellent player. I think he is a good sometimes because
of his size, struggles on the outside, but a good
outside corner and the single best slot corner in football.
(00:58):
I think he is the best in football at slot corner.
They drafted him as Demons, they mentioned they immediately went
to the next three Super Bowls. Mcduffee had startlets three four,
three two. Mcduffee won the first nine playoff games he
(01:22):
ever played in his and his rookie year they went
three and oh. His second year they went four and oh.
His third year they went two and oh. Until the
Super Bowl when they got clocked by the Eagles. Obviously,
he was part of a historic draft class for the
(01:44):
Chiefs that set up this era of Chiefs football, particularly
on the defensive side of the ball. He was instantly
in All Pro. He's excellent, he will be very very
good for the Rams. Okay, nothing, and he's only he
was a young player coming out of college, so he's
played four years. He's only twenty five. He got a
(02:06):
little ding last year. He's durable, he's an excellent player,
and I the Rams. Let me add this to it, Demonse,
I think the Rams are more all in than any
team in the league, more than Buffalo, more than Baltimore,
(02:27):
because their quarterbacks got one maybe two years left. So
I think that the other teams with great quarterbacks have
to weigh trying to win the Super Bowl every year
with staying in contention for a long period of time.
The Rams don't have to weigh that. The Rams are like,
(02:48):
let's go for it right now while we have Matt
Stafford and figure out the play in post Stafford when
we're post Stafford. So I totally get this move from them,
And they got an excellent player at the single biggest
position of need for them makes sense. With that said,
(03:11):
I am so glad the Chiefs management still has the
stomach to do things like this because this is the
only way to stay in perpetual contention. There is only
(03:34):
one team ever that has done what the Chiefs are
trying to do, which is, for fifteen plus years, be
in the mix basically every single year. I understand last
year was a disaster, but at Week six of last season,
(03:58):
the Chiefs were the literal suit Super Bowl favorites, So
they didn't They obviously weren't. They didn't end up as
contenders last year, but the idea that last year was
destined to be a disaster year, they were the favorites
to win the whole thing right around Halloween and so
(04:19):
in order the only blueprint for that long of a
contending stretch is the Pats with Belichick and Brady and Bill.
Belichick made moves like this. He traded away Richard Seymour,
He would move on from guys when they got super expensive.
(04:42):
He would load up on draft picks and try to
restock the talent with young, cost controlled players. It's what
you have to do. And yes, the Chiefs are in
a different position than when they traded Tyrek. When they
(05:05):
traded Tyrek, they weren't coming off a six win season.
They also though when they traded Tyrek were not coming
They are as far removed from the three years before
leading into the Tyrek trade. They won a Super Bowl,
they lost the Super Bowl. They lost in the AFC
(05:26):
Championship Game. The three years leading into this, they won
a super Bowl, they lost the Super Bowl. They had
a disaster year. The Tyrek trade netted them the twenty
ninth pick, a second rounder, two fourths, and a fifth.
This trade netted them the twenty ninth pick, a third rounder,
(05:47):
one fourth and a fifth, or as Ian Rappaport would
call it a basically fifth round value, exactly twenty nine
to third, fourth, fifth, basically fifth round value. So they
got for Tyreek, they got a second instead of a
(06:09):
third and an additional fourth. And you know what, I
might have said, what they got here wrong. I did.
Actually they got the twenty ninth, a third, a fifth,
and a sixth, not a fourth and a fifth. So
my apologies, but the by the draft charts they got
(06:32):
essentially this is maybe a better way to do it.
It's for people to understand. By the draft charts. They
got the equivalent for McDuffie of about the twentieth pick
of the draft all in, and for Tyreek, they got
the equivalent of about the fourteenth fifteenth pick of the draft.
(06:54):
So they got call it eighty percent of the value
for Trent McDuffie they got for Kill.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And the situation is so much more different though, considering
like the need of the team, like if the defense
is already having trouble generating our pressure, like trading away
your best cornerback, I think is.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I know, I understand this obviously for Week one of
twenty twenty six doesn't make the Chiefs better, That's obviously true,
But this was Trent McDuffie is about to become the
single highest paid corner in the NFL because he plays
(07:36):
on the he's best on the inside instead of on
the outside. That already was going to be a bit
of a tough pill to swallow. But when you have
the highest paid d tackle, the highest paid center, one
of the highest paid guards, and mahomes, you can't. You've
got to make these choices. And here is the reason
(07:59):
where I went from kind of expecting this move for
the Chiefs, and you know, coming to terms with it,
to being outright happy about it. Barnwell, in his off
season predictions column called this trade. He called McDuffie to
(08:22):
the Rams. I think a lot of people thought this
was possible, But Barnwell put what he thought the trade
would be Demandsey. He thought it would be McDuffie plus
a fifth from Kansas City for just the twenty ninth pick. Instead,
(08:47):
it was McDuffie by himself for the twenty ninth pick,
plus a third to fifth and the sixth. So I
think they got such intents value that and the free
up of cap space of he was gonna make thirteen
(09:07):
million this year. If you wanted to keep him, who's
gonna be thirty million a year to add other players?
I think you just have to make that move. It
also gives them real flexibility in the draft.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
I do not think they're gonna move off that ninth pick,
but they are drafting now nine, twenty nine and forty,
and I would be surprised if they actually draft twenty
nine and forty. It should be noted they used the
twenty ninth pick from the Tyreek killtrade to move up
(09:41):
to twenty one or twenty two to draft Trent McDuffie,
and so I. Right now, the Chiefs have the six
best Super Bowl ups. That feels about right to me,
where you've got to see the health of Mahomes. But
they have the ability to go out in free agency
(10:06):
in the draft and address what are significant weaknesses on
the team right now. And let me also say this,
because Jalen Watson, their other starting corner, seventh round pick,
is gonna hit free agency and get paid a bunch
of money by other people, by somebody else. This is
(10:27):
the one position on the team the Chiefs believe we
can just coach up. They had They had Marcus Peters,
they traded him to the Rams. They had Javarius Ward,
they let him go sign a huge contract with the Niners.
They had Lagarious Snead, they traded him to the Titans.
(10:49):
They had Marcus Peters, they traded him to the Rams,
and they're letting Jalen Watson. And Jalen Watson got him
his proof of concepts. He was a seventh round pick
same year as Marcus Peters. He was starting at corner
as a seventh round rookie. They are letting him walk.
They have Noel Williams, who was a third rounder last year,
and they're gonna have to address secondary. But they think
(11:11):
spags that they can scout secondary players, that they can
coach them up. And what they have to get better
at is pass rush, running game, and pass catcher. It's
a lot, I understand, but I think the offensive line
is mostly set and obviously quarterbacks set, and now you
(11:33):
have some cap space and you have a bunch of
draft picks to go attack. This stuff go ahead.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It's like a little word coming out that Trent McDuffie
his hit would have been about the same as Kenneth
Walker next year.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Well it's about fourteen million.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So here's the thing. He was Kenneth Walker's franchise tag
fourteen would be fourteen million. I think he'll probably sign
for around fourteen million. Yes, you're right. McDuffie was under
contract fifty year option four thirteen point eight or something.
But that wasn't the problem. The problem was he was
(12:09):
gonna want and it's not a problem. He's earned it
thirty million a year on a new deal and what
and we'll get to the Bengals in a bit. What
immature franchises would do would just be like, well, thirteen
million for McDuffie. That's that's actually not a bad deal.
(12:33):
Let him play out his contract and then either franchise
tag him and then let him walk for nothing, or
after this year, let him walk for nothing. Instead, the
Chiefs were proactive, which you have to be if you
want to contend over a long stretch of time. Now
here's the other piece of it. You have to do.
(12:56):
Hit on these draft picks. In twenty twenty two, they
crushed the draft. In twenty twenty three they seem to
really well. The verdict right now in the twenty twenty
three draft is it's a disaster. The only truly productive
(13:18):
player they've gotten from that draft is Rashi Rice, who
has a bunch of his own issues. So that happens.
But now, in order for the Chiefs to continue to
be a list contenders, this draft is gonna have a
lot to do with it. And we'll see what they
you know, what they make of these picks?
Speaker 3 (13:40):
All right?
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I know you have some follow ups here, go ahead, the.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Soul just off of what you did say, Kansas City
has two First, what can they do with those picks?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Let's do a likely maybe what if on it?
Speaker 1 (13:50):
So listen, I think it is likely that with their
the number nine pick, they address offensive skill position. I
think that's likely. I think that whether it's Jeremiah Love,
whether it's their favorite receiver, it would be a little
(14:11):
rich for me. But maybe the tight end, the number
one tight end that everybody loves. At nine, it feels high.
I think it is likely they do that at nine,
and then at twenty nine they maybe move around a
little up or a little back and take a pass rusher.
(14:34):
I am of the belief if Ruben Bain is there
at number nine, you've just got to take him. I
the short arms be damned, and it would be utterly
stunning to me if they use either of these first
round picks on offensive line or on corner. I think
(14:58):
that they are going to go wide receiver, running back,
maybe tight end, and defensive line. Those are the spots
that I think you are going to see those the
first round picks go for. And I think the only
running back would be Jeremiah Love, and I don't know
(15:18):
if he'll be there at nine. All right, I know
you want to talk Mahomes for a second.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Yeah, So after the deal, Mahomes tweeted, damn, how much
are you reading into that? Do you think that was
just support for his teammate.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yeah, listen, I think Patrick understands. I even't talked to Patrick.
I think he understands the business side of this. I
also think you know, he's won multiple Super Bowls with McDuffie,
likes McDuffie. McDuffie's a good player. You hate to see
him go out the door. But I think Patrick also
(15:52):
knows whatever you know he had. I would imagine a
very similar relationship and had won a Super Bowl with
Tyreek Hill and saw the same regime trade Tyreek in
a very similar spot at the same time of calendar
and what it turned into the right right, Tyreek has
(16:15):
more of a direct impact on These are the decisions though,
you've got to make. They traded Joe Tooney last year,
like you've got to find ways to restock. And it's
why the Chiefs are not a team that's ever going
to be like we just traded for Max Crosby. We
(16:35):
just traded multiple that. You don't have that luxury in
my if you want to contend for again fifteen plus years,
which only the Patriots have done. All right, before we
get to the a little more on the rams side
of it and some of the other potential guys who
could be traded. Let me remind you today's show is
(16:56):
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(18:48):
All right, Demanse, let's keep going on this trade and
then get to the other stuff.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Oh yeah, So the Rams just cleared up one of
their only needs with that trade, and they still have
the falcons pick at number thirteen. Now they are the
lone favorites at plus seven fifty to win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Do you agree with Vegas there?
Speaker 1 (19:06):
I mean, it makes a lot of sense. The no. No,
he's not going to be a punt returner, so maybe
they do need to address that. But that thirteenth pick
should be an impact player for them. It they have
really struggled on drafting and developing their own corners. Which
(19:28):
is the traded for Marcus Peters. They traded for Jalen Ramsey,
they traded for Trent McDuffie, So this is, you know, again,
I think they paid a lot. But when you have
thirty eight year old Matt Stafford and you've been banging
on the door and he's the defending league MVP, why
the hell not? And so, I you know, if I
(19:52):
look at the Rams depth chart as we sit here today,
let me just pull it up real quick, I wouldn't
hate them at thirteen demands a considering wide receiver, just
because I don't think DeVante, you know, has probably many
(20:13):
years left, maybe just one gay or left. I also
wouldn't hate them going offensive line to shore up that
right side of their offensive line. But in reality, the
Rams don't have many glaring holes I mean, the entire
(20:35):
secondary needs a lot of work, but it doesn't seem
like they trust themselves on drafting corners. So I would be,
I guess, a little surprised if they draft a corner
at thirteen. I would not be surprised if they moved down,
if they tried to restock some of the picks they
just traded away, you know, by moving down in the draft.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Of seven years after taking him at number one. The
Cardinals are splitting ways with Kyler Murray. We all know
you aren't the biggest fan of the shorter quarterbacks. Where
do you stand at on Tyler or Kyler?
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I'm stunned how many people are trying to convince themselves that,
seven years and eighty seven starts into his career, Kyler
Murray is different than what we know he is, which
is a below average NFL starting quarterback. And you can say, oh,
(21:32):
below average, that's harsh, it's not. There's thirty two teams
in the league. And if right now I were to
tell you, stop me when I say a quarterback, Kyler's
better than Mahomes, Stafford, Allen, Lamar Burrow, Darnold Caleb May, Trevor,
(21:56):
golf Love, Dak Hurts are Herbert Jaden. That's sixteen. That's sixteen.
I have not mentioned c. J. Stroud, I have not
mentioned Bo Nicks, I have not mentioned brock Purty. I
have not mentioned you know, some cam Ward, some people
(22:18):
like Kyler. I'm sorry Bryce though, but that's.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
The it chans to get questionable there. But the fact
that it's a debate is right.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
So he's at best, the twentieth best quarterback in football,
at best, and he is. He does wear down over
the course of the season. He does have shaky relationships
with teammates and front offices, and he does have very
(22:53):
questionable work habits. And that's just who he is. And
so that the Arizona Cardinals last year, the coaching staff
was fighting for its life and Kyler came back healthy
from injury and they were like, yeah, Jacoby Brissett runs
(23:15):
this offense better. We're sticking with it. I don't. People
are trying to convince themselves that Kyler on the Vikings
would be dangerous. Noah wouldn't. Would it be an upgrade
over JJ McCarthy, Sure, would they be dangerous?
Speaker 3 (23:32):
No?
Speaker 1 (23:33):
And again Darnald got like thirty five starts with the Jets.
Gino got thirty starts with the Jets, Baker got I
think fifty some with the Browns and showed something. Kyler
has started eighty seven games. Kyler has started more games
(23:57):
in this league than Joe Burrow. Like, it's not oh,
he hasn't had the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I mean, people are probably just saying it's the Cardinals though.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah, but when he got there, people were like, oh, man,
Cliff Kingsbury, you traded for DeAndre Hopkins. People didn't think
that was some terrible mess. Now it turned into it,
but he was a part of it. And so do
I think Kyler is a starter in this league? Yes? Absolutely.
(24:28):
Do I think that he would be an upgrade over
what the Browns, the Jets, the Steelers, the Vikings are
likely going to go into next season with if they
don't sign him. I do. But do I think that
means there's any contending possibilities? I don't now. The glass
(24:57):
quarter full would be this Demansey. This is the first
time in his athletic life he has failed in any way.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Yeah, some adversity he is seven seasons.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
No, but I'm saying m cutting him, cutting him is
the adversity. He He was the greatest player in the
history of Texas high school football, the greatest. He also
was such a great baseball player. He was a first
round pick for the Oakland A's. He then went to college,
(25:36):
won the Heisman, went number one in the draft, and
instantly as early as they could have got paid. And
so it was just nothing. But everything I'm doing is working,
everything's great. And now it's a real slap in the
face of No, they're paying you to go away, and
you'll probably sign, make sense, sign for the minimum because
(25:58):
this team's going to be paying you anyway. So maybe
that is a come to Jesus moment.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
But I don't know. I think maybe you should switch
over to baseball.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I feel like it's probably late for that, but I
think that could have been an option at some point. Listen,
it seems like people loved him as a baseball player,
loved him and he is just a sick.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Elite in baseball.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Let me see if I can. He was the eighth
overall pick. The yeah, I mean he was. I mean
he he's a legendary athlete. And the I'm trying to
see you guys can ninth overall pick? Uh, And I mean, god,
(27:04):
bless him for that he is. He has been a
major disappointment as an NFL quarterback. And I don't think
again he is two months older or two months younger
than Darnald, Like, I just don't think he is this
unpolished diamond. We'll see, but I don't. I don't buy it.
(27:28):
All right, let's talk Bengals for a moment.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Uh So, the Bengals bought Trey Hendrickson, they failed to
tag him. They're not going to tag him. They failed
to trade him away get something for him. How should
Bengals fans feel and how should Burrow feel?
Speaker 1 (27:42):
So this is just franchise malpractice. Two, You had Trey Hendrickson,
he led the league in sacks. He wanted a big,
long term deal. You didn't want to give it to him.
He was pissed. You move some money around a bit
to get him to comeback in with seventeen and a
(28:05):
half sacks. The next year, he responded with another seventeen
and a half sacks and he's like, all right, now
you've gotta pay me. They're like, nope, we're not doing that.
So then he was super pissed. He left training camp.
It was a whole mess. He then begrudgingly comes back.
(28:28):
You then have last year, Burrow gets hurt and he's pissed,
and you know you're not re signing him, and you
don't even trade him for pennies on the dollar at
the deadline. He then never comes back from his injury,
and now you let him walk for nothing. It's just
(28:49):
such bad business, just indefensibly bad business. And Burrow should
be live it that they either couldn't get a deal
done or couldn't accept they weren't gonna get a deal
done and moved him last off season or the off
(29:11):
season before, or at the very least at the deadline.
And to lose Trey Hendrickson for nothing's outrageous. Now I
do think he will. I think you can make an argument,
how old is Hendrickson thirty two?
Speaker 3 (29:33):
That might be old younger than that?
Speaker 1 (29:37):
No, No, he's thirty one.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Oh so.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
He is. And Max Crosby is twenty eight. I should
have looked these up before him.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Bad job and me.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
I apologize, but I got it right. Max Crosby's twenty
eight turns twenty nine in August. If I were running
a team Demonsey, I would rather sign Trey Hendrickson in
free agency for good money, rather than trade multiple firsts
(30:22):
to give me for Max Crosby for and then resign
him to huge money. Crosby's a better player, and Crosby's
got more years in front of him. But the fact
that you can sign one guy and you'd have to
trade multiple.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Picks for the other guy.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
And so here's the other question I have about Trey
because Trey, listen, he was underpaid, but it's not like
he had never been paid. So Trey Hendrickson up to
this point in his career has made ninety five million bucks.
He was making twenty million a year on this contract
(31:05):
with the Bengals, basically five year, twenty million ish dollar
deal after his rookie deal. If Trey wants one last
huge payday, he has earned it, and God bless him.
I do wonder if he might want to stick it
(31:25):
to the Bengals, And if he does, I think the Patriots,
the Bills, the Ravens, Ravens Yes, call yeah is particularly
the Ravens.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Like in the division, all four of those teams desperately
need pass rush help and be like, yeah, I'm sticking
around and I'm going to write for the Ravens twice
a year and for the other teams maybe if the
Bengals ever make the playoffs again. So I I've said
(32:03):
this for I'll say it again. There is a lot
of Burrow Sinsey that reminds me of Breeze New Orleans,
where right after he got there, they make it to
his Super Bowl. Breeze won, Burrow didn't, and then those
Saints went seven to nine three years in a row,
they missed the playoffs a lot, and then at the
(32:25):
tail end had it like a three to four year
period of super high contention again at the tail end
of Breeze's time, but never made another Super Bowl. Where
you are wasting big portions of this player's career even
though he is super highly productive, because you can't get
the defensive side of the ball right. And that's a
(32:47):
damn shame, all right. Deman's couple of my pals have
a podcast together. It's called Game Over.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
One is my buddy Rich Paul, who you met and
hung out with a couple of weeks ago, and the
other is Max Kellerman, who I once didn't officially intern
for him, but I interned for the radio show before
his radio show and He and I haven't spent much
time together since we've come across each other a couple
of times. But I really like Max. Like I. I
(33:20):
have about as much respect for Max as anybody who
does what I do. And Jordan came up on their
latest pod. I'll let you take it from there.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Uh yeah, So the latest pod, Rich Paul Max Kellerman
said that if MJ played today, he would average a
forty point triple double. For a little bit of context,
Will is the only player ever to average forty in
a season, and only three players ever have averaged a
triple double.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
So yeah, so listen, I don't even care about the
triple double piece because Jordan, I do. I think averaging
a triple double today. Sure, maybe he almost did it
the one year he played point guard for the Bulls.
It can be done. Jordan obviously is a demonstrably better
(34:13):
player than Russ. Russ's averaged a bunch of triple doubles.
I I and so no problem the forty pointed game
thing with Jordan in today's game. Here's the problem. And
this is why I'm so stunned Max said it, because
one of the reasons I have so much respect for
(34:35):
Max it's kind of like arrogant. The reason I have
so much respect for Max because the guys have like
so much of me. Yes exactly, I'm like, man, that
guy's smart. I like how he makes arguments. A lot
of it is just he reminds me of myself. So
that's kind of a But regardless, Max very often in
(34:59):
his arguments, does what you've got to do if you're
gonna have a sound argument, which is tease it out
and realize the full implications of your argument, and the
full implications of Michael Jordan could average forty a game
(35:19):
are so then the guys who when Jordan was averaging
twenty nine averaged twenty eight, They would in today's game
be thirty eight thirty seven point a game. And the
guys today who are the best scorers back then would
(35:42):
be in the low twenties. So let's right, because it
can't only apply to Michael the nineties deflation and contemporary inflation.
So let's let's just grab some Michael Jordan seasons. So
if you're saying Michael Jordan in ninety two two, a
lot of people think that is peak Jordan, second Bowls Championship,
(36:06):
the best team he's he's got it all figured. He
averaged thirty point one points per game. Dominique Wilkins averaged
and Carl Malone both averaged exactly twenty eight. So nineteen
ninety two, Dominique Wilkins in today's game, we're giving him
thirty seven a night. I'm not Chris Mullen excellent player?
(36:34):
Was it twenty five and a half and he wasn't
even better of you know, a great shooter on you know,
three point shooter. Uh So, Chris Mullen's thirty five a
game in today's euro hard for me to you know,
hard for me to wrap my mind around. But that's
(36:54):
the implication. Ninety five, Michael was thirty two and a
half and Dominique was thirty, Carl Malone twenty seven. So
all those guys once again, they're gonna be in the
high to mid thirties in today's game. The next year,
by the way, when Michael was retired, David Robinson averaged
(37:19):
thirty a game. So in today's game, the Admiral is
thirty eight and a half a night. I don't think so.
But let's take it a step further and do the
best scores of this era, and what because what you're
(37:40):
saying is scoring is so much easier today that those
guys in Michael's era, when thirty was the high watermark
then and thirty is basically the high watermark now, those
guys would struggle. So you're telling me peak, okc Kevin Durant,
(38:08):
who never averaged more than thirty two a game, you
drop him into the nineties. He's a twenty four point
per game guy. That's what we're saying. Because if you're
saying you're gonna give a twenty five percent boost to
the scores of the nineties in today, then you've got
(38:28):
to take a twenty five percent tax on the scores
of today in the nineties. So peak Kevin Durant, if
he's dropped into nineteen ninety two, is looking up at
Chris Mullen and Clyde Drexler on the scoring list. I
don't think so, Okay, call me crazy.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
He really probably is averaging forty at that time.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Well, no, I don't think that either, because it was
no just the game was slower, less possessions, it was
the it was harder. But maybe you think it wouldn't matter.
But the other thing that happens, and this is what
Max said, and this is just maddening, and I've talked
(39:14):
about this before. People pretend that the one weakness in
Michael's game three point shooting, was a weakness by choice, like, well,
if you wanted to be good, he would be good
as if he was shack and never shot, when in reality,
(39:39):
there was a brief stretch of time when Jordan was
a good three point shooter. Because of that, he shot
a lot of them for the era, and that period
was when they moved the line in, and as soon
as they moved the line back out, he went from
thirty seven percent shooting for a game, which was a
(40:02):
lot for the mid nineties, to twenty three percent shooting
one and a half a game. And then after he
had three years of retirement, seeing that, oh, guys are
shooting more and more threes and my athleticism isn't what
it once was, he came back and was a nice,
(40:23):
crisp nineteen percent three point shooter. Again. He might be
the greatest player of all time, there is a strong
argument for that, but the idea that he just chose
to be bad at something rather than it was the
(40:43):
one thing he wasn't great at. The idea that because
he took over seventeen hundred threes in his career. And
if you again, if you I'm trying to do should
have done this beforehand, but when in his career because
(41:05):
his career three point numbers don't actually look awful. It's
thirty two point seven, that's fine, But if you remove
the years where they moved the line in. So the
years where they moved the line in Michael from three
was thirty nine percent and the years where it was
the regular line was twenty nine percent. We don't have
(41:29):
to make stuff up. I'm not gonna sit here and say,
you know, if Lebron really wanted to, he'd be a
ninety percent free throw shooter. He just chooses not to be. No,
he just it's not as good as he is, as
hard as he works, it's not for him to be
a ninety percent free throw shooter. So, but again, if
(41:52):
you believe Michael Jordan would average forty in today's game,
then you must believe Dominique would average thirty eight and
peak Kevin Durant in the nineties would average like twenty three.
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Speaker 2 (42:48):
All right, so Jannis return from his five week hiatus
and lost to my Celtics. With no Jalen Brown, the
Bucks are currently three and a half games out of
the play in.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
What is the goal for the Bucks at this point?
Speaker 1 (43:00):
All Right, First, I do want to say this. I've
been very high on Jalen Brown and his MVP chances
and you know, giving him a lot of respect, I'm
now gonna say something totally unfair. His first team All
NBA slash MVP ballot consideration took a bit of a
(43:22):
hit last night. Just a tiny one. Not because he
missed the game, because the guy is basically an iron
man by today's NBA standards, but because he missed the
game and it was and it was just like Peyton
Pritchard's like, no problem, I got this. Hugo Gonzales like,
watch me throw up a plus twenty seven and thirty
(43:45):
five minutes. I was does I didn't know Hugo Gonzalez
had an eleven and sixteen in him, a Baylor's Shireman
with double All the starters were in double figures. They're
twenty to fifty from three, and they just annihilate the Bucks.
And again I should give a shout out to the
(44:07):
weirdest coach in the NBA, Joe Missoula, because he's cooking.
The guy's cooking. And so we'll get to more of
the Celtics piece in a moment. I do think the
end of this season will have at least some impact
(44:29):
on whether or not Yannis stays. So I think we
can all agree that the Bucks have no even if
they were to make the play in, have no shot
of doing any damage in the playoffs, and making the
(44:51):
play in is going to be hard because they're three
and a half back, having lost the last before Yannis
got back, and then last night's game, and the team
they're chasing, Charlotte, has been flatly an excellent team for
the last like six weeks, maybe close to two months.
(45:15):
So I think they are actually more likely if they
were to get in. I don't think it would be
because they catch Charlotte, who's the ten. It's because they
catch Atlanta, who's the nine. And that's gonna be hard.
They've played sixty games, They've got twenty two games left,
and they are three losses behind the Hawks, who are
(45:37):
on a little four game winning streak of their own.
And so the reason I mention even any of that
is Yannis, you know, doesn't. I don't think he wants
to leave, but I also don't think he wants to stay.
(45:57):
I think that he is he will wants to have
something that does not exist, the ability to stay in
Milwaukee forever and compete for championships in the remainder of
his prime, and that that is not a world that exists. However,
the fact that he has not yet forced himself out
(46:20):
of there means I don't think he is dead set
one hundred percent on leaving. And if Milwaukee could fight
its way into the play in play good basketball the
remainder of the season. Then maybe he doesn't force the
Bucks hand. Now there is a very strong argument to
(46:44):
be made he shouldn't have to force their hand that
the Milwaukee Bucks leadership should say the best thing for
the franchise is to move on from you, Honis this
summer to see what if the Spurs have a disappointing postseason,
if the Rockets have a disappointing postseason, if the Thunder
(47:09):
have a disappointing postseason, what those teams would give us
four a guy who is still unequivocally a top five,
almost assuredly a top four. Very strong argument for a
top three player in the entire world. It seems like
(47:31):
neither party here really has the stomach Demond's to want
to be the one to officially pull the trigger on
a breakup. But I do wonder if if in the
final twenty three games of their season, the first of
which was last night, they go nine and fourteen and
(47:57):
finish the year thirty five and forty seven and you know,
tied with or right behind the Bulls for twelfth in
the Eastern Conference, if they don't say Okay, it's been
an amazing run. Jannie Is Yiannis has been there a
(48:19):
long time. Jannis came into the league in twenty thirteen,
which remarkably means this is his thirteenth year with Milwaukee.
Thirteen years with Milwaukee. That is like context on that
(48:42):
Lebron played fifteen with the Calves and the Heat combined
both Calves stins plus the Heat stint thirteen years with
a team is an unbelievable run. That's as many years
as Michael Jordan played with the Bulls thirteen years, and
(49:05):
so there is no he won a championship. It's been
an unbelievable career. But I do think that if the
Bucks go what would they have to go, probably in
their final twenty two If they go twelve and eight
(49:31):
and get to thirty eight and forty two, No, that
wouldn't be it.
Speaker 3 (49:37):
Hold on what am I?
Speaker 1 (49:40):
Oh? They have twenty two left, not twenty left? Sorry.
If they go thirteen and nine and get to thirty
nine and forty three and catch Atlanta and make the play,
(50:01):
I wonder if they run it back one more year,
which I think would just be a mistake for all
parties involved.
Speaker 2 (50:07):
Do you think a bad postseason would be or a
bad ended season would be more eye opening for Giannis
or the Bucks front office.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
I think the Bucks front office has basically decided we're
only trading him if he tells us to trade him.
I don't think that's necessarily the right thing to way
to do it, but I think that's that's what they've decided.
So I guess the answer would be for Yannis. All right,
let's talk Celtics on this.
Speaker 2 (50:34):
Uh So, Yeah, that Tatum return is looking likely. Looks
like it's coming later this week actually, And he was
talking to the doctor and saying he's not coming back
to be a role player. How deep are you reading
into that or where do you.
Speaker 3 (50:45):
See it from?
Speaker 1 (50:46):
This? So that clip, correct me if I'm wrong, is
from very early in his rehab. It was just released,
but it was from very early in his rehab. So
I think what Tatum is saying to the doctor is
is we need you know this process.
Speaker 3 (51:05):
Well I don't.
Speaker 1 (51:08):
So I don't think I think people are That's not
how I read it. I don't think Jason Tatum is
saying the day I come back, I need to be
Jason Tatum. That everybody knows. I think what Jason Tatum
is saying, I need to rehab in a way so
that once I'm all the way back, rust is off.
(51:32):
I've played, you know, once I am back to whatever
the peak version of me is, it's the same as
the version from before the injury. Do you do you
understand the distinction there?
Speaker 3 (51:44):
No, get I get it.
Speaker 1 (51:46):
So I think he's saying we need to approach this
rehab so that at some point, not immediately, but at
some point it's like Kevin Durant, where you see no
difference in the player pre and post achilles on a
(52:06):
long enough time horizon that we are not you know,
I will you know, mix metaphors massively here. You tore
your achilles is different type of Achilles tear, and you
actually didn't have surgery, and one of the things they
told you flatly was if you don't have surgery, you
will never regain one hundred percent of the athleticism you
(52:30):
had before. You're not a pro athlete. And you know
what I mean, you were, you know, you were like,
that's fine. I think what Jason Tatum is saying, we
need to approach this rehab so at some point I
am one hundred percent of the guy I was before,
(52:50):
and go ahead.
Speaker 2 (52:51):
And say that he like, given where the Celtics are
right now and when he is going to be coming back,
that he is more likely to be a role player
than not.
Speaker 1 (53:01):
I think he will definitively. So I think he's coming
back in the next ten days, right, the next ten
to fourteen days. I think he obviously will be a
role player for the first month. Yeah, but if he
does come back in the next week to ten days,
you know, week to two weeks. And Simmons said he
(53:24):
thinks he's coming back Friday, and Simmon's pretty plugged in
with the Celtics obviously, I think that gives him enough
of a runway to where he can be by the
time the playoffs start, not his not peak Tatum if
(53:45):
he comes back in March. I do not think he'll
be peak Tatum until the beginning of next season. But
there is a big golf between peak Tatum and role player.
Peak Tatum was first team All NBA, you know, six,
seventh best player in the league, right right, So I
think by the playoffs he could be backed. He could
(54:08):
be the twenty fifth best player in the league, you know,
like that, and then maybe by midway through the playoffs
approaching that top fifteen. And maybe that's too optimistic, But
do I think that Jason Tatum, you know, do you
(54:28):
look at Derek White as a role player, I don't.
I look at him as a little bit somewhere between,
like a step above roll step below Star. Yeah, so
like and I guess maybe there's not a name for that,
So maybe that is a role player, like just a
high quality starter. So I think it's like Superstar star,
(54:56):
high quality starter, role player, bench player, you know, and
then one down.
Speaker 3 (55:03):
That's fair.
Speaker 1 (55:04):
I think when I think the day Tatum comes back,
he's a role player, I think within a few weeks
he will be high quality starter. And I think his
goal would be by round two of the playoffs, be
a star and get back to Superstar next season. And
(55:28):
I think that's realistic. I think the fact that he
had surgery within hours of the injury, that he has
been everything seemingly has been going great, I think that
is realistic. And I just I've tried to dead this before,
but I just want to reiterate it here. I think
(55:51):
any discussion about Tatum disrupting what the Celtics have going
is to utter nonsense, not because he won't at least
temporarily potentially disrupt what they have going. I think he will,
but I think what they have going is worth nothing
(56:14):
for a team that has championship aspirations. What they have
going right now is a really good season and an
awesome story that has no chance of resulting in a championship.
And so you can disrupt that and it's fine if
(56:37):
at the end of the disruption.
Speaker 2 (56:41):
So so, Jason Tatum was on the Celtics last year
and he's been on the tea.
Speaker 3 (56:45):
He's also not a new guy.
Speaker 1 (56:47):
Oh yeah, that's the guys haven't played with him. That's it.
But I would I would almost again all mix metaphors here,
and this won't really work. But if midway through NASCAR race,
(57:11):
uh car is leading and you know, like appears just
by that snapshot of time or near the front that
they could win it. Yeah, but the the people in
the again mixing metaphors on shaky ground for me, but
(57:31):
just stick with me. The people in the the pit
crew and the spot are like, oh man, our front
right tire is wobbly, and it's at some point in
this race it's going We're gonna lose it, right, it
does not disrupt your ability to win the race by
(57:55):
taking your medicine, pitting, falling a little back in the
pack and fixing that, because fixing that is a necessity
to have any chance of actually completing the race. That's
what I would say Tatum coming back is you know.
Speaker 3 (58:11):
All your ceiling is broken tire right, but now.
Speaker 1 (58:17):
Right, what the Celtics are right now is it's not fake,
but it is not championship caliber. And so even if
the first few weeks with Tatum or Rocky that gives
you a chance to become championship caliber. And so I
(58:38):
I I also think.
Speaker 3 (58:40):
That does Jason Tatum get to be Jordan Love this year?
Speaker 1 (58:45):
What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (58:46):
Well, you're just talking about how if Jordan Loved this
year over this season, he had the team, the complete team.
As long as he can just be there and not
mess up in a huge way, they should be a
super Bowl team. Michael Parsons obviously got injured in a
little derailed, but I saw some similarities there.
Speaker 1 (59:04):
So I think that's interesting. I'm trying to think if
there's another comp that I would have for it, because
we don't have many examples of a team who all
of a sudden is going to drop in this late
(59:25):
in the season, a guy who objectively has been and
is their best player, with hopes of winning the title.
Speaker 3 (59:33):
Right already there.
Speaker 1 (59:35):
Yeah, and so it's very fascinating. This is also where
Tatum is a bit of a victim of his own rehab.
And I've talked about this. I'll move on after this.
If Tatum just had a regular rehab schedule and there
(59:57):
was no chance he was coming back this year, I
think this Celtics playoff run would have reminded the world
how valuable he is to that team that this Celtics season,
when if he never came back, it it ended in
(01:00:18):
round two in the playoffs. Now, I understand last year
it also ended in round two in the playoffs, but
in previous years we'd seen the team win the title,
make a bunch of conference finals, making NBA Finals. It
would as good as Jalen Brown has been, as good
as Missoula has been, as good as the team has been,
remind folks that in order to be able to win
(01:00:39):
sixteen playoff games, held to win twelve playoff games, there's
a requisite talent level that I don't think the Celtics
without Jason Tatum have but it doesn't look like we're
gonna see a playoff run without Jason Tatum because I
think he'll be back by the time I get back
(01:00:59):
from Japan. Again, reminder, no shows next week. We are
doing Thursday, but no shows next week because I'll be
in Japan. I think that Jason Tatum's back playing ball
with the Celtics.
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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