November 13, 2025 • 47 mins
ESPN NBA reporter Tim MacMahon calls the Luka Doncic trade "GM malpractice," and believes bad offense and public frustration made Nico Harrison's firing inevitable. Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love reminisces on the Cavs' 2016 run, and discusses Dan's comments on potential Cooper Flagg comparisons. PFT Live co-host Chris Simms breaks down the AJ Brown situation with the Eagles, and doesn't fully agree with the Brian Daboll firing.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Tim McMahon ESPN NBA reporter, he gave us The Wonder Boy,
the book on Luka Duncic and the Curse of Greatness.
It's been covering the MAVs as of late because we
got some drama there. Nico Harrison gets fired. Was that
just to playcate the fans? Tim Howdy?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Dan, I had to say, there's a lot of justification
for that one, including the fact that the reason the
fans were outrage is because the man made the most shocking,
the most controversial trade in NBA history, and it's been
a complete disaster. I mean, this thing could not go worse.
(00:45):
The Mavericks have the worst offense in the league, while
Luka Doncic is lighting it up for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Anthony Davis came into Campa a little bit heavy, has
a calf strain, you know.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
I mean they.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Traded Luca for for those exact reasons last year. Honestly,
this is it was just a horrendous case of general
manager malpractice and it reached a point where there was
no justification of Nico Harrison continuing to be the general
manager of Mavericks. It was only doing harm the fury
(01:25):
from the fans. That was the primary focal point. That like,
that was the dominant vibe when you walked in the arena.
The players felt like they had a home court disadvantage.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
One player said, it feels like our fans don't want
us to win, and he was right, because the fans
wanted them to lose, so Nika would would get gone.
And so it's a complete mess. They do have a
chance to pivot out of it because the basketball gods
gifted them the number one overall pick. Just complete luck
(01:59):
obviously not part of the plan. But it's going to
take a lot of winning in the margins and a
lot of you know, smart moves to be able to
build a sustainable contenter around Cooper Flack and but that
has to be the priority now, not trying to contend
in this three to four year window Nico Harrison.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
Thought he created.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Okay, but I can blame Nico Harrison. But does an
ownership have to sign off on this trade as well?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Absolutely, and listen, the firing of Nico Harrison is an
admission of the obvious. The Mavericks made a colossal mistake
when they traded Luka Doncic, and not just that they
traded him, but that the way they went about it.
You know, trade you don't trade a five time first
(02:49):
team All NBA selection entering his prime, fresh off of
finals appearance, and I could put a period there, but
you don't trade that guy, especially as a pocket listing like, hey,
a secret, We're not gonna We're not going to create
the biggest bidding war in NBA history. And so Patrick
Dumont allowed Nico Harrison to be the one basketball voice
(03:13):
in his ear.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
He got bamboozled.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Oh my gosh, Nico Harrison took us to the finals,
that's what he thought. No, dude, Luca Doncics took you
to the finals.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
There.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Yes, there were some moves to put some pieces around,
but come on, and it was it was new owner syndrome.
Just a complete disaster. My advice would be for Patrick
Dumont to whether it's a press conference, whether it's a
uh preferably a one on one sit down with me,
but to take verbal visual accountability for it and not
(03:47):
kind of some you know, he put the letter out there.
It was it was vague that kind of danced around it,
But what I would tell you is, yeah, it's also
on Patrick Dumont, absolutely, and he was less than a
year into being an NBA governor. He was listening to
one person, one person only, which is not the way
(04:07):
to go about doing business. It's been a very difficult
learning experience for him, and he understands there's a lot
of work to be done to get this fan base fully.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Back on board.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Why did Mark Cuban get kicked to the curb and
did he have any say in Nico Harrison getting fired?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Let me start with the last part. Cuban's been lobbying
for Nico to get fired for a while.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
He was not alone.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
He had a lot of people lobbying with him. I'm
not going to I'm not going to say that Cuban's
lobbying was a primary reason or even a major factor.
But listen, he laid out a logical case why they
needed to move on. It wasn't difficult to do. And
Patrick Dumont one thing he realizes, Hey, I've you know,
(05:01):
Cuban has been doing this for why he's been in
this world for a while. I should at least listen
to what he has to say, have dialogue with him
instead of we're going to be trading the face of
the franchise.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
Mark.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Oh, actually it's already done.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Hey, I'm just giving you a courtesy call before it's
about to be reported in two minutes, which is that
was Cuban's involvement in that trade. Now, why did he
get kicked to the curb? There's a lot there. One
thing I will tell you Cuban didn't help himself when
he sold this franchise or the majority share of the
(05:36):
franchise and you know, cash multi billion dollar check and
then told everybody wo would listen, Hey, I'm still in
charge of basketball operations. These people there, it's just a
real estate play for them. They don't know what they're
doing with basketball.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
I do.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I'm still in charge. Don't worry. When that was not
part of the discussion of the deal. I don't know
if he was trying to speak it into existence or
you know, Cuban. I don't know how well you know
Mark Cuban, but I don't think he do real well
on polygraph tests on a regular basis.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
He tends to be a little bit full of, you know, excrement.
But that didn't help because it's like what kind of dummy.
Do you think I am.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
We gave you all this money and you're telling everybody
you're in charge when that's not the deal. So that
didn't help. And I think Nico Harrison realized, Wow, oh,
Cuban says he's in charge. Dumont says he ain't. Let
me go cozy up to the guy who is in charge.
And Nico Harrison, you know, former college basketball player, did
(06:40):
a hell of job boxing out great boxing out there.
And you know, Cuban was complete. I called him the
world's richest mascot. That was Mark Cuban's role. You know
for the first probably year plus of Dumont's.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Tenures the governor talking to Tim mcmahony ESPN NBA reporter
banned to make man podcast on the Hoop Collective and
wrote the book literally on Luka Doncic and the Curse
of Greatness. How would we know if Luca is getting better?
I know he's in better shape, But what would you
see since you wrote the book on him? What is
(07:17):
different about him this year than maybe in previous years.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Well, one, let me just remind you his last year
with the Mavericks, he led the league in.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Scoring, was.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Rounding up averaging a triple double and took a roster
that wasn't loaded with star town around him. You know,
Kyrie is a co star, but took that roster to
the NBA Finals, So pretty high bar to get better
from that. Now, I will say that I believe that
this trade and frankly, the way he was backstabbed and
(07:55):
fat shamed and all those kind of things on the
way out the door.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
And look.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
On the fat chaming. The condition concerns are real, but
it was embarrassing for him. It was a slap in
his face. He has committed to conditioning in a more
consistent way than he ever has before. You saw the
body change. It's funny the Lakers listened to two forty four.
It's actually fourteen pounds heavier than the maps listened them.
(08:22):
The mass never updated to listen. The guy was in
the two sixties a lot of times in Dallas, so
you see the commitment to conditioning. He's also I think
grown up a lot in terms of understanding the importance
of being a leader, exactly what a face of the
franchise means, you know, having a working relationship with the
(08:44):
front office. Luca never wanted anything to do with front
office stuff. Early in his career, he didn't start giving
input until the Mavericks completely bungled the Jalen Brunson situation
and lost his CoA starf from the West Finals team
for nothing. Now he's not only is involved on you know,
like consistent dialogue with Rob Polenka and Genie Buss, but
(09:05):
he's making phone calls. He's calling DeAndre a and hey,
you know, we need you here recruiting. Same thing with
Marcus Smart. All things that are face to the franchise
needs to do, you know, to maximize their chances of
success and things that you know early in his career
and even before the trade, you know that wasn't part
(09:28):
of the Luka Doncics experience in Dallas.
Speaker 7 (09:31):
I'll leave you with this.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
I'm wondering if ownership will just blow this up in Dallas.
You look at you know, this draft coming up. There's
probably five guys who could be the number one overall pick.
There's a lot of talent there, and I wonder you
don't want to go into the next three four years
thinking you're going to get Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.
(09:54):
You got Cooper Flag and almost admit, you know, we
need to start over. Whether there be any sentiment towards
trying to do that, Well.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
It's complicated, okay, because in successfully building a contender around
Luka Doncic, you gave up your first round draft capital,
either outright or via swap twenty seven, twenty eight thirty okay,
and hey twenty eight okay, See Houston has now thirty
(10:25):
the Spurs have it. So not only did you give up,
but your closest geographic arrivals.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
You have the downfall here.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
So but you've got you've got gifted Cooper Flag and
this kid.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Look, but did you go to the wrong place though,
like Wenby went to the right place? Did Cooper Flag
go to the wrong place?
Speaker 4 (10:43):
So far?
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Now, hey, they've they've really got to get a lot
of things right to be able to build a sustainable
contender around him. Okay, to your point, anything out this year,
which they've done unintentionally so far, Like, hey, that's probably
(11:07):
in the best interest long term in the franchise because
this is their one and only chance to get a
high mid to high lottery pick and that type of
talent to pair with Cooper and you know, to grow
with him and I think there's Look, there's they will
(11:27):
have discussions at least internally about exploring the trade market
for Anthony Davis.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
He's got to get back on the floor. They got
to make sure.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
He's not in a situation where he's going to aggravate
the calf injury or worse.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
He will have some type of trade value. They've got
to explore that.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Kyrie Irving, it might be mutually beneficial for him just
to take the whole year focus on getting one hundred
percent healthy, not help them win a few four games
down the stretch. But they can't do a complete rebuild
Dan because if they're bad next season, they don't benefit
to Charlotte Hornets do if they're bad the year after that. Okay,
(12:06):
see he's going to get a high pick out of it,
you know, and then then Houston, then San Antonio. So
you can benefit from being bad one year and one
year only. And the other thing is Cooper Flag wants
to compete asap. They've got to get a lot of
things right to give them that chance. It's obviously not
gonna be as a rookie.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Would you rather have Victor Winmbanyama or Cooper Flag?
Speaker 4 (12:27):
I mean Listen, would I rather have Victor Winbnyama or
any other player?
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Meme?
Speaker 4 (12:31):
Okay, that's that's not a fair question, all right.
Speaker 7 (12:36):
I like the All Star format.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I didn't see the hoop collective if you guys were
talking about it. But I do love that there is
a chance that they play for pride and the world
will play for pride.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
And maybe maybe we.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Have an All Star game that feels like it's an
actual game. Your thoughts, I can you gave me a
little bit of a grimace there? If we're playing poker.
You don't like your hand?
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Well, listen, here's the deal. I don't give a crap
about the All Star Game.
Speaker 6 (13:08):
I don't.
Speaker 7 (13:09):
I'm not Dan.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Also, it's the problem, though Tim, people don't care about
the Alster guy.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
I'm the wrong guy. You know why, Dan, Here's what
I do on All Star weekend. I cash in Marriott
points and Airline miles and I take my wife to
a beach somewhere. I'm not the target demographic.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Now.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
The product has been poor, but I think it's an
overblown thing because like the Pro Bowl, it's awful. Major
League Baseball All Star Game like they're not competitive games.
The NBA is the only league that acts like it's
some kind of insane crisis.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
But what if Baseball did this and had the United
States players against the world.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
It does add some intrigue to it.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
And I was talking to somebody I was in LA
recently and I was talking more close to Luca and like,
Luca has shown zero interest in all stro games, same
with his buddy Joker, right, And they said, Hey, you know,
I think these guys are going to compete now, Like
to your point, the international players, I do think there's like, okay, hey,
(14:09):
US against US against America, and you know, for the
Americans maybe it is like, dude, we can't just like God,
these guys are already winning all the m vps. We
can't let these guys just come in and dominate us.
That's a bad look for us. So look, it can't
get worse. And it's it's a it's an interesting idea.
I'll give them that. I don't know that I'll tune
(14:31):
in as I'm sipping a surveys on on the.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
You know, with my toes in the sand.
Speaker 7 (14:36):
Thank you, Tim, Audios amigos.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Tim McMahon ESPN NBA reporter banned McMahon podcast on the
Hoop Collective.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
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(15:05):
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Speaker 4 (15:19):
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Speaker 5 (15:20):
On YouTube, subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Kevin Love is back on the program, The Utah Jazz
Forward and of course won a championship with the Cavs.
Five time All Star joins us on behalf of Shift
Naturals Natural Sciences Company. I'll let him talk about that
coming up. You know, yesterday was the anniversary of your
thirty point thirty rebound actually thirty one points thirty one
(15:48):
rebounds game. What do you remember most about that?
Speaker 6 (15:53):
I had just come off a game against the Lakers
against pau Gasol and Andrew Bytom where I didn't score,
you know, I laid an egg, so I needed to
make my presence known, and you know, it just so happened.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
That kind of started the you know, streak of double.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
Doubles where you know, I had fifty plus in a row,
and I think that led me into my first All
Star Game as well. So that that season was certainly
a breakout year for me, and I ended up being
I believe, most improved at the end of that season.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
And here we are, season eighteen, so I'm still here.
Speaker 6 (16:32):
I got gray hair, matching the shirt, trying to look
as good as you do when you you know, I
don't know your secret, damn. But withstood the test of
time as well. But a lot of fond memories from
my first six years in Minnesota. In that game in particular,
is one of the highlights.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
What player do you think gave you the most of
your gray hairs?
Speaker 6 (16:53):
Defensively going against Dirkowitzki, there was just nothing you could
do to stop that. And then I would say on
the offensive end, it was probably because I was the
fifth pick.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
I was the new guy in Minnesota.
Speaker 6 (17:08):
You know, I came into the league, Boston was a
superpower in the East.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
It was Kevin Garnett. So those two guys gave me
a lot of gray hairs.
Speaker 6 (17:18):
But I also believe in that time frame when I
came in two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine,
for several years, I mean, it was Zach Randolph, it
was Pougasol, it was Tim Duncan, it was Blake Griffin,
it was LaMarcus Aldridge, it was Dirk And that's just
the Western Conference, and I'm leaving a number of guys out,
(17:38):
but at that position, it was Yeah. It certainly aged me.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Go back to the NBA Finals when you were with
the Cavs Game seven, final minute and you get switched
off with Steph Curry.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Sure, I tell everybody all the time that you know,
we had gone over that play. I can't tell you
how many times, and we were switching one through five.
I knew that they were going to call my number up.
They didn't want Tristan Thompson to switch off. They didn't
want you know, Lebron, you know, really anybody else, Kyrie
(18:17):
jar Smith. They wanted to call me up. And you
know I was able to switch off on to Steff.
I kept my feet down, and I knew he was
going to try and get to his bag. I knew
he was going to try and get to you know
it three point shot. That year he was unanimous MVP.
They were seventy three and nineteen.
Speaker 7 (18:37):
Your arms are flailing like you're you're Kate.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
Listen like if you you know, it's like old school
when Will Ferrell goes up there and does the debate
and he like fully blacks out. That is exactly what
actually I tell everybody all the time that Steph gave
up that ball. He gave it back to Draymond, and
what I was supposed to actually do was denied the
ball back to Steph. So in terms of EQ and
(19:05):
and knowing the game and the situation and all that
was at stake, I always told everybody was actually like
a you know, I kept my feet down, arms were
flaying in Like I said, I blacked out.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
You know, I contested a heavily contested shot.
Speaker 6 (19:17):
So I did my job, But they don't realize that
it was actually a in some ways a bad defensive
play in terms of our concepts and what we were
trying to get done.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
I was supposed to deny that ball back. Steph Curry
was never supposed to get that ball back.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
So you know, there's a number of plays in that
game that that that stick out to me, obviously, the
block by Lebron, the shot by Kyrie that put us ahead,
and it was just yeah, I just that was that
was all I could.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
Do to to do my part.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
A had a tough series, but the end of the day,
people remember that last game, and you know that stop
was a huge moment in my career.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
All right, let's clear up something that happened last year.
There was a headline that was written Kevin Love graciously
reacts to Dan Patrick's disappointing Cooper Fly comparison.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
Okay, well you.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
Are so sensitive, man.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
I didn't take any any any type of I didn't
feel any sort of way about that. As you know,
I've been a friend of the show. I've been I
mean a friend of yours. I'd like to call your
friend for a long time.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Did you know what I was trying to say?
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Of course?
Speaker 6 (20:30):
Of course, that's where, like, you know, things get taken
out of context, and you know, people, and I mean
in general, people like the common fan that that add
so much to our game and sports in general.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
They want to take that and make it something that
it's not. So I didn't take any offense to that.
I know that I've had a damn good career. I
feel like I've left some stuff on the table. But
of course, one hundred I understand what you were saying.
But I've seen Cooper play in college when I'm when
(21:08):
they played Miami. I've met with his parents a number
of times. I've seen him up close. I've watched him
since he's been fifteen years old. And you know, I
know the Maps are having a tough go.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
But there's so much pressure on him. In the post,
I'm blaming us, the media. We won't be satisfied if
he made five NBA All Star teams and woned title,
played on the Olympic team.
Speaker 7 (21:32):
I mean, you're going to be a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
I'm blaming the media because we won't be satisfied, right,
And I think people took it differently.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Yeah, I think that's true, and that's unfortunately in some cases.
Is the is the world that we live in.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
But it would be better if you were actually mad
at me. This would be good content.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
Kevin, Yeah, exactly right, and I think that's what people want, right,
But I'm just listen. I'm very comfortable in my career,
very comfortable where I'm at now, And you know, I
hate looking back in the rear view, and I think
that in some cases that creates complacency. But no, I
knew exactly what you were saying, and I think I
(22:14):
even said like, and I believe that and feel that
with every ounce of my being. Like, I've always been
a fan of the show and will continue to be.
There's no hard feelings because I know the context in
which you said it in and what people wanted to
get out of it on the other side. But again, like,
if you want me to be pissed off, you know,
we could make some good headlines here.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
What's your favorite memory of Kobe when you played on
the Olympic team with him?
Speaker 6 (22:38):
Oh man, okay, So best best memory with Kobe was
we had finished the gold medal game. We had beat Spain,
you know, like a saw Brothers, Ricky Ruby, all those
those great teams that they had had two thousand and eight.
You know, it was kind of a running it back
in twenty twelve, and so when you know, we're thinking
(22:58):
we're going back to the locker room thinking we're doing
the champagne shower, and you know, that was I hadn't
had that moment before, you know, twenty sixteen was really
that first moment where I had felt that type of
you know, the joy of winning and winning big at
that type of level. So we're walking off and you know,
(23:19):
we do the media after the game. As we walk
off and are headed to the locker room and they say,
mister Brian, mister Love, come with us. We're thinking we're
doing media and we get drug tested. We get drug
tested and we have to so we have a couple
people on the staff I forget exactly who it was
(23:40):
bring us champagne. And we just had to sit there
and I think we probably got about, you know, thirty ish,
maybe half an hour of just Kobe and myself talking
all things just about life and kids in career. That
was a very special moment for me, especially all all
(24:05):
things considered now with obviously the terrible tragedy that happened
with him, But I look back with that as a
very fond memory in my basketball life and journey because
he was a giant in my eyes and a lot
of people's eyes, and you know I grew up a fan.
I loved this game, love the way that he chased
(24:27):
it as number eight, as number twenty four, And you know,
he certainly holds a special place in my heart in
terms of, you know, my overall basketball career and journey
these last thirty years.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
What was it like to get yelled at by Lebron?
Speaker 4 (24:43):
I still get yelled at by Lebron. I'll see him.
Speaker 6 (24:45):
We had to for other reasons, of course, But you know,
when I first got to Cleveland's, I had bad habits.
Like I look back, I had bad habits. I didn't
know what it meant to sacrifice. I didn't truly have
my first few years, but in my six years in
(25:06):
Minnesota like a vet to show me the way and
to deal with adversity and to understand, you know, what
it meant to be a good pro and also a
good teammate.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
So I think.
Speaker 6 (25:20):
Some of those moments, and you know, him yelling at
me and wanting me to be better was you know,
I would hope because he saw something more in me,
and also that you know, I was rough around the edges.
I needed to grow up in a lot of ways.
But I think that took looking in the mirror and
understanding that things weren't adding up as I would have liked.
(25:44):
And I think the adjustment curve in period was tough
for me that that first year. You know, I went
from being a guy that was a twenty plus point score,
ten plus rebounds, and you know, I'm all NBA guy,
and you know I had a step and sacrifice and
you play on the perimeter and let a basketball, you know,
(26:09):
magician and in Kyrie getting downhill, you know, I've never
seen it below the rim finisher quite like him. He's
so special. And then a freight train in Lebron do
their thing, and you know, it was about spacing for us,
and we were we ended.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Up being a machine.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
We were a team that was thrived under chaos. Sure,
I think that's part of what we're talking about. But
you know, certainly those are some of my my my
favorite memories because I do feel like personally professionally I
have uh it'll come a come a long way, but
it definitely added to a little bit. This this these
grays here in that silver Fox.
Speaker 7 (26:46):
What are you doing with Shift Naturals?
Speaker 6 (26:49):
So I invested in the company Shift Naturals out of
ben Orgon I grew up, you know, just just down
the street in Portland, Oregon, and it's a you know,
I'm talking about longevity here, right and really unwinding from
the grind. And for me, you know, this was an easy,
(27:10):
you know, thing.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
To be a part of.
Speaker 6 (27:12):
It's a hemp based beverage brand and it's focused on
that unwinding. Sparkling Water is ready to drink cocktails and
gummanies meant to help you relax and feel good without
you know, a hangover. And I think that that model
really defines them, that unwind from the grind, and it's
better for you. It's great tasting, and you know, it's
(27:33):
something that I implemented into my everyday life.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
How did you I was going to say courage. I
don't know if you'd use that, but you came forward
with mental health, Jared. It's something that especially guys don't
talk about. But can you help me understand maybe the
week leading up to that where you actually said I
need to talk to this about this, bring this to
people's attention.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
Well, it was All Star of twenty eighteen and if
you can remember that time in February, uh, you know,
there was a lot leading up to that in my
personal and professional life. I'd been named an All Star
that year, but even prior in the summertime, there was
you know, things going on within you know, my family
(28:17):
and my extended family, people within arms distance, whether I
was going through it or they were going through it.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Or.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
You know, we were estranged or or not speaking or
on bad terms. And then you know, we we trade
Kyrie Irving and we still have the expectations of make
you know, if not making the NBA Finals, then.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
You know, going and winning the NBA Finals.
Speaker 6 (28:41):
And so our team a lot of new faces, a
lot of new parts, and we did not have a
good start to the season, and I think that that
was stuff. I'd broken my hand, you know, I had
the panic attack on in November of that year against
the Atlanta Hawks, and everything kind of led up to
(29:03):
All Star you know, that year.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
So I had the game taken away from me, and I.
Speaker 6 (29:06):
Was just you know, so much of the time I
was able to just lean into basketball as a as
a safe space. So that being taken away, the team
didn't know what was going on. My teammates didn't know
what was going on. I was afraid that I was
going to be you know, found out. I didn't want
anybody to know because how it was going to affect
my livelihood and you know those things said. You know,
there was rumblings around all Star as well. I started
(29:28):
giving questions about you know, where my head was and
you know how I was really feeling, and I think
people started to catch wind of it, and I mentioned Parking,
Florida because I'm like, Okay, what is really going on
in our country and that community and you know those kids,
(29:49):
those parents who's all affected by that.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
And I thought that there.
Speaker 6 (29:53):
Was some some good to be done by you know,
sharing my story because I know that all of you know,
those people and so many others now that I've found
out in March of that year, when I press sin
on that first person article, just you know, my idea
was to just help that next person, help that one person,
(30:16):
and you know, maybe you can change the trajectory of
their life and thinking of their families, their friends, their siblings, mom, dad,
you know, teachers, community, peers. You just don't know the
ripple effect that that could have. And just changing one life,
so that, you know, led me to start the Kevin
Lovelund as well. So it's been a great you know,
(30:39):
a great thing and something legacy wise that I know
that I'll have after basketball. But I think that's what
led me to share, and as well as DeMar de
Rosen sharing his story you know as well, or just
a passive tweet that struck me as as something that
it felt like it was very courageous, and I got
(31:00):
to speak with him at All Star of that year,
and I think he could really He said it in
his book that you know, he could sense something was
going on, so that that that kinship, that brotherhood as
as has really.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Evolved as well. And you know, we've continued to do
the work the last seven US years.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
It's called Shift Naturals. You can visit Enjoyshift dot com
for more information.
Speaker 7 (31:24):
Great to catch up with you, stay in touch.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
Yeah sounds good, Thank you, Belly, appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Kevin Love, I've always enjoyed him. I think he's a
very interesting person and probably will make a great coach
or analyst when it's all said and done.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
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 2 (31:52):
Chris Sims Pro Football Talk Live co host. You can
see that show with Mike Florio preceding this one on
Peacock and soon starting Monday on NBC Sports Network. He'll
be in studio Football Night in America. They get you
ready for the Lions at the Eagles kick off eight
twenty eastern. Football Night America starts at seven Eastern. Chris,
let me start with the Eagles with AJ Brown. He
(32:15):
can be telling us the truth. He can be correct
in his assessment of the offense. It's just the style
in which he's telling us these things I have a
problem with. Tell me what is different about the Eagles
this year as opposed to last year, and in particular
Aj Brown?
Speaker 5 (32:33):
Well, I think you know, last year they got the
running game going to such an extent that it basically
made everything really easy. Right, everything now it didn't even matter.
I mean, again, let's not forget there was a seven
or eight week stretch towards the end of the season
where last year in Philadelphia were like, man, can they
throw the ball? Can they really do anything like that?
This is not like it's just coming up out of nowhere.
Speaker 7 (32:53):
Again.
Speaker 5 (32:54):
It was also like that the year before too, when
they you know, kind of had the meltdown late in
this football season. So this has been a continual issue
with them. They're not extremely creative, right. The quarterback is
not surgical playing within the pocket.
Speaker 6 (33:10):
You know.
Speaker 5 (33:10):
I don't think the quarterback wants them to do a
whole lot on offense either.
Speaker 7 (33:14):
So they're very simple that way.
Speaker 5 (33:16):
And I say that because I know that I've been
told by that by people that have played their coach.
There been, there, there now whatever. So those are the issues. So, yeah,
they lack a creative schematical attack on a week to
week basis where they basically rely on. And when you
see Jalen Hurts in the passing game have a good game,
what happens. It's always the same thing, Dan. The team
(33:38):
has to play run defense to such an extent, then
now we can just throw a go ball to AJ
Brown or we throw a slant to Devonte Smith and
then they run and do that. But there's never like, ooh,
watch this systematical destruction they're doing right here.
Speaker 7 (33:52):
And without the run game, all.
Speaker 5 (33:54):
Those things kind of get put at the forefront and
we all go, what's going on with the most talented offense.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
And why isn't anybody else complaining.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
That's a fair question. I get that you've heard the
offensive lineman going, we're predictable. We have people saying the
plays when we're lining up there, right, But at the
same time, too, right, they're wasting one of the biggest
assets in their football team. We got a guy that's
making thirty two million dollars and is one of the
best offensive players in the game, and they can't find
a way to let him touch the football. That's kind
(34:26):
of crazy in the twenty twenty five NFL. You know,
so again, I don't sit here and condone all the
things he said and done this thing, what he just
did being on playing online, playing in a game with somebody.
I don't think he said anything crazy there. I didn't
have that much of a problem with it. He just hey,
we're not good, don't take me on fantasy. We should
be better. Yeah, it's obvious stuff, right, But yes, I
(34:48):
understand your point in airing out their dirty laundry sometimes.
Speaker 7 (34:51):
Sure, I got you. What should we be watching for
with Drake May tonight?
Speaker 5 (34:56):
Oh man, man, Drake May is for what I love
is the aggressive nature of the offense. Right, you're watching
them every week. It's not dink and dunk and like
they're managing Drake May. Is that like they haven't gone
the full Tom Brady offense yet because it's a hard
offense and he's learning it. And I think Vrabel wants
to play a certain way, so it's not just like, hey,
(35:17):
the ball's in your hands, so you know, tear them
up that way.
Speaker 7 (35:20):
They play a balanced game of football.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
They can really run the football, but when they drop
back to pass, they're looking for heavy hitters. And that's
what I love about Drake May. He is just as
poison as can be in the pocket. He's fearless with
people around him, and he is an unreal intermediate deep
ball thrower right now and then when it's not there,
as you know, he's getting to the point like Tampa
(35:42):
Bay last week, Dan they spied them. His running is
getting good enough to wear a third downs. The defensive
coordinator's like, we got to account for him. We got
to have a plan here, so he'll post some problems.
The Jets defense, though, is no slouch. They're one of
the better pass defenses in all of football. I don't
think it's just gonna be bombs away playoff they play.
The problem is, we know the Jets offense stinks, and
(36:02):
you know eventually the dam will break with the Jets
all together.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
But with Josh McDaniels, there are they running? Are they
running Tom Brady's offense? Maybe just it's a little watered
down exactly they are they are? And you know, I
think the world Josh McDaniels. You know, you can say
what you want about him as a head coach. There's
no denying he's one of the best offensive coordinators in
football for about twenty years straight here, And yeah, I
think it's like it's early years Brady offense right now.
(36:28):
That's what I would say, Dan, Like when they were
winning those first three Super Bowls, they weren't in the
shotgun and it wasn't just Wes Welker Edelman, We're gonna
just totally destroy you that way, right It was a
little bit more we're gonna run the ball, and then
we're gonna fake the run and Tom's gonna sit there
and throw a twenty yard laser down the field for
play action pass to somebody.
Speaker 5 (36:44):
That's kind of the way they're playing right now. It's
like early two thousands, Patriots, Your MVP as of today
is Matthew Stafford. I'm gonna go with Matthew Stafford. Yeah,
I mean again, Drake May and that combo for sure, right,
I mean, we'll see where Baker Mayfield. I'm still not
gonna take him out of there, but I think the
top three right now would be Stafford, Drake May, and
Jonathan Taylor. For my money, those would be the three
(37:04):
guys i'd look at. Stafford is you know, phenomenal. It's
just phenomenal, and again a lot like Drake May. It's
not like it's a dink and dunk golfense. He drops
back and he's like, where's Pooka? Is he thirty yards
down the field? Oh no, he's not open. Lo Oh,
there's Davante. He's forty yards down the field? Show right,
I mean that's where he is. Phenomenal that way, and
for being the gun slinger he is and the arm
(37:25):
talent he still has and still to what he's only
thrown two interceptions.
Speaker 7 (37:29):
Yeah, I'll give him the title right now.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
As we sit here and I thought this would be
his last year. I love them as a team and
a Super Bowl contender. It just came down to Matt's
health and he's I don't know how many times he's
been sacked, but probably not very many. You've got a
great coach, you've got a couple of great receivers, and
you've got a running back, you got some playmakers on defense,
(37:53):
and then you got this show down with Seattle. How
is Seattle making this work kind of in the shadows?
Speaker 7 (38:00):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 5 (38:01):
And you know, I know you don't listen to me
like on a daily basis, and don't expect you to,
but Seattle's one of those teams. For about three weeks,
I've gone on my shows, different shows and gone They're
the team everybody's sleeping on. Seattle can go to the
super Bowl. They're that good. They literally are that talented.
And I think that their offense and what they do
fits Sam Donald a lot better.
Speaker 7 (38:22):
Than what he was in the Minnesota.
Speaker 5 (38:24):
So the first thing is they can legitimately run the
ball this year, where like if you don't play run defense,
they will run the ball with success. And then if
we know if you overplay the run. They're one of
the most aggressive passing teams in football too, yards per attempt,
yards per completion, you look it up. Sam Donald's at
the top of the list in that department, and then
you add Rashid Shaheed to it. So they have a
(38:44):
great combination of like, hey, we can run the ball
when you cheat and stop the run. We got some
guys on the outside, even Cooper Cup that can beat
you down the field watch out. And then that Shanahan
play action scheme is so effective off of that. With
Clint Kubiak the other side, I have a man crush
on their defense. Dan their front five, they're front four.
I mean, it's it's one big baller after another. So
(39:07):
they can win the physical battles and their secondary is
awesome on top of that. Not totally healthy yet, but
it's between that and the scheme. Yeah, as I've said
a lot of times this week, like don't be shocked
if we're sitting here Championship Sunday and the Seattle Seahawks
are there. I put them in the same class as
the Lions, the Eagles, and the Rams or the Bucks
(39:27):
in the NFC.
Speaker 7 (39:27):
The NFC's got some heavy hitters this year, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
Vikings having more of a seller's remorse with Daniel Jones
or Sam Darneld.
Speaker 7 (39:38):
That's a good question there.
Speaker 5 (39:40):
You know, I think that they made up their mind
they didn't want the Sam Donald thing at the end
of the year, you know, after the Detroit game and
then going into the RAM game, which the Ram game
wasn't Sam Donald's fault. The wild card game, I mean,
they got their butts whooped. In totality, everybody got whooped.
Nobody had a chance on that football game whoever played quarterback.
But you know, the Daniel Jones things. I had heard
(40:01):
from some people up there and some credible people that
they really like Daniel Jones. And again, as you've heard
me say to you before, the league views Daniel Jones
differently than the fans do. And so yeah, I would
think there's some buyers remorse. But at the same time,
like they were invested in JJ McCarthy, they trade it
up to get him. They had to do this. He's
a top ten pick or eleven pick whatever. He is
(40:24):
right in that range where they got to see what
they got here. So can he stay healthy here? He
is can't practice yesterday? Right, There is some talent there,
but it's not gonna be like he's gonna be able
to run the offense like Sam Darnold did last year
or Kirk Cousins before that. He's basically a rookie. So
there's gonna be a few bumps in the road as
we go forward.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Here feels like people are bailing on Jade and Daniels
because he got hurt. He did turn in maybe the
greatest rookie season of quarterbacks ever had.
Speaker 5 (40:56):
I'm so sick of the fickle nature of fans right now.
I mean I have people now be like Drake may
he's better than Jayan Daniels now right. I mean bo
Nicks is better than Jayan Daniels now right, And it's like, no, no,
Jane Daniels is phenomenal. This is the only issue you
really had about Jane Daniels that I think I worried
about and other teams worried about, is he's frail. I mean,
(41:17):
he can be painfully skinny looking at in the field
of times, so this is what we all wondered. Could
he take the punishment of the NFL when he ran
a little bit and did that. But still, I mean,
he's phenomenal and the class is phenomenal. I mean, come on,
Caleb Williams is going like this too, and he's totally
getting reconstructed as a quarterback robot here right in front
of us. So it's an incredible class right now that
(41:41):
I feel like you really only question right now to
this point is is JJ McCarthy and Michael Pennix and
where are they gonna go? The talent's there, but it's
just been all over the place so far.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
It feels like it was two months ago, six weeks
ago people were bailing on Caleb Williams Ben Johnson relationship
that it wasn't going to work.
Speaker 7 (42:01):
And I'm thinking, do we give up that quickly?
Speaker 5 (42:04):
With?
Speaker 7 (42:05):
Yeah, that talent?
Speaker 2 (42:06):
And then you bring in Ben Johnson who's trying to
get him to play the position how he envisions it
instead of Caleb Bin visions it exactly.
Speaker 7 (42:14):
That's a lot. That's a lot, Dan, You're spot on.
Speaker 5 (42:17):
I mean, this is a guy that his whole life
in Caleb Williams has been able to drop back and go, uh,
I can just make it happen. I'll just make this
throw or I'll scramble and move and buy some times
and make it happen. And he's got now Ben Johnson
coming into town and going no, no, no, that's cool. You
might be able to do that, and you know the
Pac ten against some crappy defenses are in the Big
(42:37):
twelve and all that, and you might get away with
it against a few offenses defenses in the NFL. But
as a whole, if you want to win a Super Bowl,
you gotta run an offense. You gotta run an offense.
You can't think you're just gonna make a play in
a big moment. You gotta trust the system and be
systematic that way. And he hasn't been that totally yet,
but he's getting there, that's for sure. And his talent
is eye popping. I mean to me, it's eye popping.
(42:59):
I mean you see his running. His running is like
a third down running back. He breaks tackles and breaks
ankles and does all that. His arm is arguably the
strongest in football. It's right up there with Josh Allen. Right,
But you know, throwing balls on time, in rhythm, in
the pocket.
Speaker 7 (43:14):
And all that, that's still a learning process.
Speaker 5 (43:16):
And you explained it right, and Ben Johnson, of course,
has a million rules and laws to his offense. That's
a big learning curve.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
Well, I want him to be Jared Goff through the
first three quarters. Then he can be Caleb Williams in
the fourth quarter. That's a great way to put it.
That's what he should be. You're exactly right.
Speaker 5 (43:31):
And I think if you looked at me and you
sat down and watch film right now of Caleb Williams,
you'd go, ah, yeah, there's a little too much, you know,
trying to color outside the lines in the first three
quarters where you just go, wait, that little slant rout
or that under route was open, let's hit it. Let's
be in second and four, let's just keep going that way.
And yeah, he hasn't totally gotten there yet.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
To your point, Dan, the Giant situation with Jackson Dart, Like,
I don't know how much this played into the firing
of Brian Dabele, but if you're going to have designed
runs with your quarterback who runs like a running back
like I have to protect Jackson Dard from himself.
Speaker 7 (44:10):
That crossed my mind. I don't think you're crazy for that.
You know.
Speaker 5 (44:13):
There's a little bit of like a thing with the
Giants where I was like, are they just gonna go
all out and ruin the football team just to save
their jobs?
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Right?
Speaker 5 (44:21):
And that's where I was like, ownership's got to look
at the bigger picture here, right, It's like, we gotta
win this one or I might be get fired. I'm
gonna ruin the rookie quarterbacks career today and run them
up the middle seventy five times, but I want to
win the keep.
Speaker 7 (44:32):
My job ready.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
He was knocking on the you know, the blue tent,
and yes, getting Jackson Dart out there.
Speaker 7 (44:38):
I went, wow, right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
This was a troubling situation because it really felt like
Brian Dable knew I can't put Russell Wilson in there.
Speaker 7 (44:48):
I'm totally with you.
Speaker 5 (44:50):
And then even last week, he gets concussed and then
he comes in plays two plays and then somebody with
some brains went, wait, that guy's brain's not working functionally here, let's.
Speaker 7 (44:59):
Get him out of the football. But yeah, I would
was that was that.
Speaker 5 (45:02):
You know a part of my thought at first was like, man,
they they just did they They don't trust him, and
they don't feel like he's protecting Jackson Dart. You know,
certainly that crossed my mind, but I think ultimately, you know,
they just they wanted to turn the page on Brian dayball.
And I don't know if I totally agree with it.
I'll just say from this like, I'm all for the new,
you know, getting a new head coach. I think there's
(45:24):
a part of me though, that goes, wait, you know
Jackson Dart and what he's doing, it is going this way?
Do we want to disrupt that right now? Maybe just
keep that going and then we can fire day ball
after the year. I think we all knew what was
going that way anyways, it didn't matter, right, So I
just wonder if this disrupts the whole process of Jackson
Dart to a degree.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
Is Jameis Winston goofy on purpose? I think no, he's
like that naturally. And I say that in a in
a good way, right. Jameis Winston I think was afraid
for a long time to show his true personality because
of some of the things that happened in college, in
his early career where I think he was like, wait,
I'm the number one pick. There's a bad reputation out
(46:04):
of here, so let me be a little bit, you know,
a little bit, you know, like as far.
Speaker 7 (46:08):
As just a straight arrow.
Speaker 5 (46:09):
But I think he's gotten to a point in his
life where he's finally like, hey, the hell with it.
I'm just gonna be myself, and I really love being
around him. He is he is hilarious, he's funny. It's natural.
Do you your quarterback, not as a starting quarterback. No,
but I want him over Russell Wilson. I think that
is no doubt. I'll take that. I You know again,
(46:30):
I don't think Russell Wilson plays to win games anymore.
I think he just plays not to lose. Jamis is
going to play to win this week. And yeah, he
might throw some interceptions, but he might throw some of
the damnedest touchdown passes we've ever seen too, And I'd
rather watch that than Russell either throw a go route
or take a sack.
Speaker 7 (46:45):
I don't want to see that.
Speaker 2 (46:46):
I can't imagine somebody giving Russ another chance.
Speaker 7 (46:50):
No, no, And does Russ really want another chance?
Speaker 5 (46:53):
I mean, I think Russ came to New York because
he wants to live the New York life, and they're
more worried about being famous and all that. And yeah,
I mean the days of being a starting quarterback are
certainly over. It's just yeah, does he want to take
the Joe Flacco route and be a backup somewhere, maybe
revive his career?
Speaker 2 (47:08):
That way good to talk to you. Thanks has always
have a great weekend. And you know what, you can
always text me if you want to tell me, hey,
Seattle is a legitimate you know, just send a text.
Speaker 7 (47:18):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (47:18):
Okay, sure, try to find your podcast or watching you
in Florio.
Speaker 5 (47:23):
I mean, well, I do want you to watch Christims unbtton.
But you can text me too and ask those questions.
It's not against the rules. I checked the rule book.
You're allowed to do that, all right.
Speaker 7 (47:31):
He's Christians. Tell those jerks, I said, Hi, Hey jerks.
Speaker 2 (47:34):
Pro Football Talk Live co host and his Unbuttoned podcast
as well. He'll be there on football Night in America.
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Tim McMahon ESPN NBA reporter, he gave us The Wonder Boy,
the book on Luka Duncic and the Curse of Greatness.
It's been covering the MAVs as of late because we
got some drama there. Nico Harrison gets fired. Was that
just to playcate the fans? Tim Howdy?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Dan, I had to say, there's a lot of justification
for that one, including the fact that the reason the
fans were outrage is because the man made the most shocking,
the most controversial trade in NBA history, and it's been
a complete disaster. I mean, this thing could not go worse.
(00:45):
The Mavericks have the worst offense in the league, while
Luka Doncic is lighting it up for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Anthony Davis came into Campa a little bit heavy, has
a calf strain, you know.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
I mean they.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Traded Luca for for those exact reasons last year. Honestly,
this is it was just a horrendous case of general
manager malpractice and it reached a point where there was
no justification of Nico Harrison continuing to be the general
manager of Mavericks. It was only doing harm the fury
(01:25):
from the fans. That was the primary focal point. That like,
that was the dominant vibe when you walked in the arena.
The players felt like they had a home court disadvantage.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
One player said, it feels like our fans don't want
us to win, and he was right, because the fans
wanted them to lose, so Nika would would get gone.
And so it's a complete mess. They do have a
chance to pivot out of it because the basketball gods
gifted them the number one overall pick. Just complete luck
(01:59):
obviously not part of the plan. But it's going to
take a lot of winning in the margins and a
lot of you know, smart moves to be able to
build a sustainable contenter around Cooper Flack and but that
has to be the priority now, not trying to contend
in this three to four year window Nico Harrison.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
Thought he created.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Okay, but I can blame Nico Harrison. But does an
ownership have to sign off on this trade as well?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Absolutely, and listen, the firing of Nico Harrison is an
admission of the obvious. The Mavericks made a colossal mistake
when they traded Luka Doncic, and not just that they
traded him, but that the way they went about it.
You know, trade you don't trade a five time first
(02:49):
team All NBA selection entering his prime, fresh off of
finals appearance, and I could put a period there, but
you don't trade that guy, especially as a pocket listing like, hey,
a secret, We're not gonna We're not going to create
the biggest bidding war in NBA history. And so Patrick
Dumont allowed Nico Harrison to be the one basketball voice
(03:13):
in his ear.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
He got bamboozled.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Oh my gosh, Nico Harrison took us to the finals,
that's what he thought. No, dude, Luca Doncics took you
to the finals.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
There.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Yes, there were some moves to put some pieces around,
but come on, and it was it was new owner syndrome.
Just a complete disaster. My advice would be for Patrick
Dumont to whether it's a press conference, whether it's a
uh preferably a one on one sit down with me,
but to take verbal visual accountability for it and not
(03:47):
kind of some you know, he put the letter out there.
It was it was vague that kind of danced around it,
But what I would tell you is, yeah, it's also
on Patrick Dumont, absolutely, and he was less than a
year into being an NBA governor. He was listening to
one person, one person only, which is not the way
(04:07):
to go about doing business. It's been a very difficult
learning experience for him, and he understands there's a lot
of work to be done to get this fan base fully.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Back on board.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Why did Mark Cuban get kicked to the curb and
did he have any say in Nico Harrison getting fired?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Let me start with the last part. Cuban's been lobbying
for Nico to get fired for a while.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
He was not alone.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
He had a lot of people lobbying with him. I'm
not going to I'm not going to say that Cuban's
lobbying was a primary reason or even a major factor.
But listen, he laid out a logical case why they
needed to move on. It wasn't difficult to do. And
Patrick Dumont one thing he realizes, Hey, I've you know,
(05:01):
Cuban has been doing this for why he's been in
this world for a while. I should at least listen
to what he has to say, have dialogue with him
instead of we're going to be trading the face of
the franchise.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
Mark.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Oh, actually it's already done.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Hey, I'm just giving you a courtesy call before it's
about to be reported in two minutes, which is that
was Cuban's involvement in that trade. Now, why did he
get kicked to the curb? There's a lot there. One
thing I will tell you Cuban didn't help himself when
he sold this franchise or the majority share of the
(05:36):
franchise and you know, cash multi billion dollar check and
then told everybody wo would listen, Hey, I'm still in
charge of basketball operations. These people there, it's just a
real estate play for them. They don't know what they're
doing with basketball.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
I do.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I'm still in charge. Don't worry. When that was not
part of the discussion of the deal. I don't know
if he was trying to speak it into existence or
you know, Cuban. I don't know how well you know
Mark Cuban, but I don't think he do real well
on polygraph tests on a regular basis.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
He tends to be a little bit full of, you know, excrement.
But that didn't help because it's like what kind of dummy.
Do you think I am.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
We gave you all this money and you're telling everybody
you're in charge when that's not the deal. So that
didn't help. And I think Nico Harrison realized, Wow, oh,
Cuban says he's in charge. Dumont says he ain't. Let
me go cozy up to the guy who is in charge.
And Nico Harrison, you know, former college basketball player, did
(06:40):
a hell of job boxing out great boxing out there.
And you know, Cuban was complete. I called him the
world's richest mascot. That was Mark Cuban's role. You know
for the first probably year plus of Dumont's.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Tenures the governor talking to Tim mcmahony ESPN NBA reporter
banned to make man podcast on the Hoop Collective and
wrote the book literally on Luka Doncic and the Curse
of Greatness. How would we know if Luca is getting better?
I know he's in better shape, But what would you
see since you wrote the book on him? What is
(07:17):
different about him this year than maybe in previous years.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Well, one, let me just remind you his last year
with the Mavericks, he led the league in.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Scoring, was.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Rounding up averaging a triple double and took a roster
that wasn't loaded with star town around him. You know,
Kyrie is a co star, but took that roster to
the NBA Finals, So pretty high bar to get better
from that. Now, I will say that I believe that
this trade and frankly, the way he was backstabbed and
(07:55):
fat shamed and all those kind of things on the
way out the door.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
And look.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
On the fat chaming. The condition concerns are real, but
it was embarrassing for him. It was a slap in
his face. He has committed to conditioning in a more
consistent way than he ever has before. You saw the
body change. It's funny the Lakers listened to two forty four.
It's actually fourteen pounds heavier than the maps listened them.
(08:22):
The mass never updated to listen. The guy was in
the two sixties a lot of times in Dallas, so
you see the commitment to conditioning. He's also I think
grown up a lot in terms of understanding the importance
of being a leader, exactly what a face of the
franchise means, you know, having a working relationship with the
(08:44):
front office. Luca never wanted anything to do with front
office stuff. Early in his career, he didn't start giving
input until the Mavericks completely bungled the Jalen Brunson situation
and lost his CoA starf from the West Finals team
for nothing. Now he's not only is involved on you know,
like consistent dialogue with Rob Polenka and Genie Buss, but
(09:05):
he's making phone calls. He's calling DeAndre a and hey,
you know, we need you here recruiting. Same thing with
Marcus Smart. All things that are face to the franchise
needs to do, you know, to maximize their chances of
success and things that you know early in his career
and even before the trade, you know that wasn't part
(09:28):
of the Luka Doncics experience in Dallas.
Speaker 7 (09:31):
I'll leave you with this.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
I'm wondering if ownership will just blow this up in Dallas.
You look at you know, this draft coming up. There's
probably five guys who could be the number one overall pick.
There's a lot of talent there, and I wonder you
don't want to go into the next three four years
thinking you're going to get Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.
(09:54):
You got Cooper Flag and almost admit, you know, we
need to start over. Whether there be any sentiment towards
trying to do that, Well.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
It's complicated, okay, because in successfully building a contender around
Luka Doncic, you gave up your first round draft capital,
either outright or via swap twenty seven, twenty eight thirty okay,
and hey twenty eight okay, See Houston has now thirty
(10:25):
the Spurs have it. So not only did you give up,
but your closest geographic arrivals.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
You have the downfall here.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
So but you've got you've got gifted Cooper Flag and
this kid.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Look, but did you go to the wrong place though,
like Wenby went to the right place? Did Cooper Flag
go to the wrong place?
Speaker 4 (10:43):
So far?
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Now, hey, they've they've really got to get a lot
of things right to be able to build a sustainable
contender around him. Okay, to your point, anything out this year,
which they've done unintentionally so far, Like, hey, that's probably
(11:07):
in the best interest long term in the franchise because
this is their one and only chance to get a
high mid to high lottery pick and that type of
talent to pair with Cooper and you know, to grow
with him and I think there's Look, there's they will
(11:27):
have discussions at least internally about exploring the trade market
for Anthony Davis.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
He's got to get back on the floor. They got
to make sure.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
He's not in a situation where he's going to aggravate
the calf injury or worse.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
He will have some type of trade value. They've got
to explore that.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Kyrie Irving, it might be mutually beneficial for him just
to take the whole year focus on getting one hundred
percent healthy, not help them win a few four games
down the stretch. But they can't do a complete rebuild
Dan because if they're bad next season, they don't benefit
to Charlotte Hornets do if they're bad the year after that. Okay,
(12:06):
see he's going to get a high pick out of it,
you know, and then then Houston, then San Antonio. So
you can benefit from being bad one year and one
year only. And the other thing is Cooper Flag wants
to compete asap. They've got to get a lot of
things right to give them that chance. It's obviously not
gonna be as a rookie.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Would you rather have Victor Winmbanyama or Cooper Flag?
Speaker 4 (12:27):
I mean Listen, would I rather have Victor Winbnyama or
any other player?
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Meme?
Speaker 4 (12:31):
Okay, that's that's not a fair question, all right.
Speaker 7 (12:36):
I like the All Star format.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I didn't see the hoop collective if you guys were
talking about it. But I do love that there is
a chance that they play for pride and the world
will play for pride.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
And maybe maybe we.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Have an All Star game that feels like it's an
actual game. Your thoughts, I can you gave me a
little bit of a grimace there? If we're playing poker.
You don't like your hand?
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Well, listen, here's the deal. I don't give a crap
about the All Star Game.
Speaker 6 (13:08):
I don't.
Speaker 7 (13:09):
I'm not Dan.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Also, it's the problem, though Tim, people don't care about
the Alster guy.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
I'm the wrong guy. You know why, Dan, Here's what
I do on All Star weekend. I cash in Marriott
points and Airline miles and I take my wife to
a beach somewhere. I'm not the target demographic.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Now.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
The product has been poor, but I think it's an
overblown thing because like the Pro Bowl, it's awful. Major
League Baseball All Star Game like they're not competitive games.
The NBA is the only league that acts like it's
some kind of insane crisis.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
But what if Baseball did this and had the United
States players against the world.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
It does add some intrigue to it.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
And I was talking to somebody I was in LA
recently and I was talking more close to Luca and like,
Luca has shown zero interest in all stro games, same
with his buddy Joker, right, And they said, Hey, you know,
I think these guys are going to compete now, Like
to your point, the international players, I do think there's like, okay, hey,
(14:09):
US against US against America, and you know, for the
Americans maybe it is like, dude, we can't just like God,
these guys are already winning all the m vps. We
can't let these guys just come in and dominate us.
That's a bad look for us. So look, it can't
get worse. And it's it's a it's an interesting idea.
I'll give them that. I don't know that I'll tune
(14:31):
in as I'm sipping a surveys on on the.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
You know, with my toes in the sand.
Speaker 7 (14:36):
Thank you, Tim, Audios amigos.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Tim McMahon ESPN NBA reporter banned McMahon podcast on the
Hoop Collective.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio wapp. Fox Sports
Radio is taking over YouTube and you can be a
part of it. Just go to YouTube and search Fox
Sports Radio, hit that subscribe button and smash that notification
(15:05):
bell and catch all the videos from your favorite shows.
Two Pros and a Cup of Joe, Dan Patrick, Colin Coward,
Doug Gottlieb Cavino and Rich The Odd Couple with Rob
Parker and Kelvin Washington, The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harme,
and The Ben Maller Show.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
On YouTube, subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Kevin Love is back on the program, The Utah Jazz
Forward and of course won a championship with the Cavs.
Five time All Star joins us on behalf of Shift
Naturals Natural Sciences Company. I'll let him talk about that
coming up. You know, yesterday was the anniversary of your
thirty point thirty rebound actually thirty one points thirty one
(15:48):
rebounds game. What do you remember most about that?
Speaker 6 (15:53):
I had just come off a game against the Lakers
against pau Gasol and Andrew Bytom where I didn't score,
you know, I laid an egg, so I needed to
make my presence known, and you know, it just so happened.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
That kind of started the you know, streak of double.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
Doubles where you know, I had fifty plus in a row,
and I think that led me into my first All
Star Game as well. So that that season was certainly
a breakout year for me, and I ended up being
I believe, most improved at the end of that season.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
And here we are, season eighteen, so I'm still here.
Speaker 6 (16:32):
I got gray hair, matching the shirt, trying to look
as good as you do when you you know, I
don't know your secret, damn. But withstood the test of
time as well. But a lot of fond memories from
my first six years in Minnesota. In that game in particular,
is one of the highlights.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
What player do you think gave you the most of
your gray hairs?
Speaker 6 (16:53):
Defensively going against Dirkowitzki, there was just nothing you could
do to stop that. And then I would say on
the offensive end, it was probably because I was the
fifth pick.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
I was the new guy in Minnesota.
Speaker 6 (17:08):
You know, I came into the league, Boston was a
superpower in the East.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
It was Kevin Garnett. So those two guys gave me
a lot of gray hairs.
Speaker 6 (17:18):
But I also believe in that time frame when I
came in two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine,
for several years, I mean, it was Zach Randolph, it
was Pougasol, it was Tim Duncan, it was Blake Griffin,
it was LaMarcus Aldridge, it was Dirk And that's just
the Western Conference, and I'm leaving a number of guys out,
(17:38):
but at that position, it was Yeah. It certainly aged me.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Go back to the NBA Finals when you were with
the Cavs Game seven, final minute and you get switched
off with Steph Curry.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Sure, I tell everybody all the time that you know,
we had gone over that play. I can't tell you
how many times, and we were switching one through five.
I knew that they were going to call my number up.
They didn't want Tristan Thompson to switch off. They didn't
want you know, Lebron, you know, really anybody else, Kyrie
(18:17):
jar Smith. They wanted to call me up. And you
know I was able to switch off on to Steff.
I kept my feet down, and I knew he was
going to try and get to his bag. I knew
he was going to try and get to you know
it three point shot. That year he was unanimous MVP.
They were seventy three and nineteen.
Speaker 7 (18:37):
Your arms are flailing like you're you're Kate.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
Listen like if you you know, it's like old school
when Will Ferrell goes up there and does the debate
and he like fully blacks out. That is exactly what
actually I tell everybody all the time that Steph gave
up that ball. He gave it back to Draymond, and
what I was supposed to actually do was denied the
ball back to Steph. So in terms of EQ and
(19:05):
and knowing the game and the situation and all that
was at stake, I always told everybody was actually like
a you know, I kept my feet down, arms were
flaying in Like I said, I blacked out.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
You know, I contested a heavily contested shot.
Speaker 6 (19:17):
So I did my job, But they don't realize that
it was actually a in some ways a bad defensive
play in terms of our concepts and what we were
trying to get done.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
I was supposed to deny that ball back. Steph Curry
was never supposed to get that ball back.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
So you know, there's a number of plays in that
game that that that stick out to me, obviously, the
block by Lebron, the shot by Kyrie that put us ahead,
and it was just yeah, I just that was that
was all I could.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
Do to to do my part.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
A had a tough series, but the end of the day,
people remember that last game, and you know that stop
was a huge moment in my career.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
All right, let's clear up something that happened last year.
There was a headline that was written Kevin Love graciously
reacts to Dan Patrick's disappointing Cooper Fly comparison.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
Okay, well you.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
Are so sensitive, man.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
I didn't take any any any type of I didn't
feel any sort of way about that. As you know,
I've been a friend of the show. I've been I
mean a friend of yours. I'd like to call your
friend for a long time.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Did you know what I was trying to say?
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Of course?
Speaker 6 (20:30):
Of course, that's where, like, you know, things get taken
out of context, and you know, people, and I mean
in general, people like the common fan that that add
so much to our game and sports in general.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
They want to take that and make it something that
it's not. So I didn't take any offense to that.
I know that I've had a damn good career. I
feel like I've left some stuff on the table. But
of course, one hundred I understand what you were saying.
But I've seen Cooper play in college when I'm when
(21:08):
they played Miami. I've met with his parents a number
of times. I've seen him up close. I've watched him
since he's been fifteen years old. And you know, I
know the Maps are having a tough go.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
But there's so much pressure on him. In the post,
I'm blaming us, the media. We won't be satisfied if
he made five NBA All Star teams and woned title,
played on the Olympic team.
Speaker 7 (21:32):
I mean, you're going to be a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
I'm blaming the media because we won't be satisfied, right,
And I think people took it differently.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Yeah, I think that's true, and that's unfortunately in some cases.
Is the is the world that we live in.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
But it would be better if you were actually mad
at me. This would be good content.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
Kevin, Yeah, exactly right, and I think that's what people want, right,
But I'm just listen. I'm very comfortable in my career,
very comfortable where I'm at now, And you know, I
hate looking back in the rear view, and I think
that in some cases that creates complacency. But no, I
knew exactly what you were saying, and I think I
(22:14):
even said like, and I believe that and feel that
with every ounce of my being. Like, I've always been
a fan of the show and will continue to be.
There's no hard feelings because I know the context in
which you said it in and what people wanted to
get out of it on the other side. But again, like,
if you want me to be pissed off, you know,
we could make some good headlines here.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
What's your favorite memory of Kobe when you played on
the Olympic team with him?
Speaker 6 (22:38):
Oh man, okay, So best best memory with Kobe was
we had finished the gold medal game. We had beat Spain,
you know, like a saw Brothers, Ricky Ruby, all those
those great teams that they had had two thousand and eight.
You know, it was kind of a running it back
in twenty twelve, and so when you know, we're thinking
(22:58):
we're going back to the locker room thinking we're doing
the champagne shower, and you know, that was I hadn't
had that moment before, you know, twenty sixteen was really
that first moment where I had felt that type of
you know, the joy of winning and winning big at
that type of level. So we're walking off and you know,
(23:19):
we do the media after the game. As we walk
off and are headed to the locker room and they say,
mister Brian, mister Love, come with us. We're thinking we're
doing media and we get drug tested. We get drug
tested and we have to so we have a couple
people on the staff I forget exactly who it was
(23:40):
bring us champagne. And we just had to sit there
and I think we probably got about, you know, thirty ish,
maybe half an hour of just Kobe and myself talking
all things just about life and kids in career. That
was a very special moment for me, especially all all
(24:05):
things considered now with obviously the terrible tragedy that happened
with him, But I look back with that as a
very fond memory in my basketball life and journey because
he was a giant in my eyes and a lot
of people's eyes, and you know I grew up a fan.
I loved this game, love the way that he chased
(24:27):
it as number eight, as number twenty four, And you know,
he certainly holds a special place in my heart in
terms of, you know, my overall basketball career and journey
these last thirty years.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
What was it like to get yelled at by Lebron?
Speaker 4 (24:43):
I still get yelled at by Lebron. I'll see him.
Speaker 6 (24:45):
We had to for other reasons, of course, But you know,
when I first got to Cleveland's, I had bad habits.
Like I look back, I had bad habits. I didn't
know what it meant to sacrifice. I didn't truly have
my first few years, but in my six years in
(25:06):
Minnesota like a vet to show me the way and
to deal with adversity and to understand, you know, what
it meant to be a good pro and also a
good teammate.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
So I think.
Speaker 6 (25:20):
Some of those moments, and you know, him yelling at
me and wanting me to be better was you know,
I would hope because he saw something more in me,
and also that you know, I was rough around the edges.
I needed to grow up in a lot of ways.
But I think that took looking in the mirror and
understanding that things weren't adding up as I would have liked.
(25:44):
And I think the adjustment curve in period was tough
for me that that first year. You know, I went
from being a guy that was a twenty plus point score,
ten plus rebounds, and you know, I'm all NBA guy,
and you know I had a step and sacrifice and
you play on the perimeter and let a basketball, you know,
(26:09):
magician and in Kyrie getting downhill, you know, I've never
seen it below the rim finisher quite like him. He's
so special. And then a freight train in Lebron do
their thing, and you know, it was about spacing for us,
and we were we ended.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Up being a machine.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
We were a team that was thrived under chaos. Sure,
I think that's part of what we're talking about. But
you know, certainly those are some of my my my
favorite memories because I do feel like personally professionally I
have uh it'll come a come a long way, but
it definitely added to a little bit. This this these
grays here in that silver Fox.
Speaker 7 (26:46):
What are you doing with Shift Naturals?
Speaker 6 (26:49):
So I invested in the company Shift Naturals out of
ben Orgon I grew up, you know, just just down
the street in Portland, Oregon, and it's a you know,
I'm talking about longevity here, right and really unwinding from
the grind. And for me, you know, this was an easy,
(27:10):
you know, thing.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
To be a part of.
Speaker 6 (27:12):
It's a hemp based beverage brand and it's focused on
that unwinding. Sparkling Water is ready to drink cocktails and
gummanies meant to help you relax and feel good without
you know, a hangover. And I think that that model
really defines them, that unwind from the grind, and it's
better for you. It's great tasting, and you know, it's
(27:33):
something that I implemented into my everyday life.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
How did you I was going to say courage. I
don't know if you'd use that, but you came forward
with mental health, Jared. It's something that especially guys don't
talk about. But can you help me understand maybe the
week leading up to that where you actually said I
need to talk to this about this, bring this to
people's attention.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
Well, it was All Star of twenty eighteen and if
you can remember that time in February, uh, you know,
there was a lot leading up to that in my
personal and professional life. I'd been named an All Star
that year, but even prior in the summertime, there was
you know, things going on within you know, my family
(28:17):
and my extended family, people within arms distance, whether I
was going through it or they were going through it.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Or.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
You know, we were estranged or or not speaking or
on bad terms. And then you know, we we trade
Kyrie Irving and we still have the expectations of make
you know, if not making the NBA Finals, then.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
You know, going and winning the NBA Finals.
Speaker 6 (28:41):
And so our team a lot of new faces, a
lot of new parts, and we did not have a
good start to the season, and I think that that
was stuff. I'd broken my hand, you know, I had
the panic attack on in November of that year against
the Atlanta Hawks, and everything kind of led up to
(29:03):
All Star you know, that year.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
So I had the game taken away from me, and I.
Speaker 6 (29:06):
Was just you know, so much of the time I
was able to just lean into basketball as a as
a safe space. So that being taken away, the team
didn't know what was going on. My teammates didn't know
what was going on. I was afraid that I was
going to be you know, found out. I didn't want
anybody to know because how it was going to affect
my livelihood and you know those things said. You know,
there was rumblings around all Star as well. I started
(29:28):
giving questions about you know, where my head was and
you know how I was really feeling, and I think
people started to catch wind of it, and I mentioned Parking,
Florida because I'm like, Okay, what is really going on
in our country and that community and you know those kids,
(29:49):
those parents who's all affected by that.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
And I thought that there.
Speaker 6 (29:53):
Was some some good to be done by you know,
sharing my story because I know that all of you know,
those people and so many others now that I've found
out in March of that year, when I press sin
on that first person article, just you know, my idea
was to just help that next person, help that one person,
(30:16):
and you know, maybe you can change the trajectory of
their life and thinking of their families, their friends, their siblings, mom, dad,
you know, teachers, community, peers. You just don't know the
ripple effect that that could have. And just changing one life,
so that, you know, led me to start the Kevin
Lovelund as well. So it's been a great you know,
(30:39):
a great thing and something legacy wise that I know
that I'll have after basketball. But I think that's what
led me to share, and as well as DeMar de
Rosen sharing his story you know as well, or just
a passive tweet that struck me as as something that
it felt like it was very courageous, and I got
(31:00):
to speak with him at All Star of that year,
and I think he could really He said it in
his book that you know, he could sense something was
going on, so that that that kinship, that brotherhood as
as has really.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Evolved as well. And you know, we've continued to do
the work the last seven US years.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
It's called Shift Naturals. You can visit Enjoyshift dot com
for more information.
Speaker 7 (31:24):
Great to catch up with you, stay in touch.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
Yeah sounds good, Thank you, Belly, appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Kevin Love, I've always enjoyed him. I think he's a
very interesting person and probably will make a great coach
or analyst when it's all said and done.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
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 2 (31:52):
Chris Sims Pro Football Talk Live co host. You can
see that show with Mike Florio preceding this one on
Peacock and soon starting Monday on NBC Sports Network. He'll
be in studio Football Night in America. They get you
ready for the Lions at the Eagles kick off eight
twenty eastern. Football Night America starts at seven Eastern. Chris,
let me start with the Eagles with AJ Brown. He
(32:15):
can be telling us the truth. He can be correct
in his assessment of the offense. It's just the style
in which he's telling us these things I have a
problem with. Tell me what is different about the Eagles
this year as opposed to last year, and in particular
Aj Brown?
Speaker 5 (32:33):
Well, I think you know, last year they got the
running game going to such an extent that it basically
made everything really easy. Right, everything now it didn't even matter.
I mean, again, let's not forget there was a seven
or eight week stretch towards the end of the season
where last year in Philadelphia were like, man, can they
throw the ball? Can they really do anything like that?
This is not like it's just coming up out of nowhere.
Speaker 7 (32:53):
Again.
Speaker 5 (32:54):
It was also like that the year before too, when
they you know, kind of had the meltdown late in
this football season. So this has been a continual issue
with them. They're not extremely creative, right. The quarterback is
not surgical playing within the pocket.
Speaker 6 (33:10):
You know.
Speaker 5 (33:10):
I don't think the quarterback wants them to do a
whole lot on offense either.
Speaker 7 (33:14):
So they're very simple that way.
Speaker 5 (33:16):
And I say that because I know that I've been
told by that by people that have played their coach.
There been, there, there now whatever. So those are the issues. So, yeah,
they lack a creative schematical attack on a week to
week basis where they basically rely on. And when you
see Jalen Hurts in the passing game have a good game,
what happens. It's always the same thing, Dan. The team
(33:38):
has to play run defense to such an extent, then
now we can just throw a go ball to AJ
Brown or we throw a slant to Devonte Smith and
then they run and do that. But there's never like, ooh,
watch this systematical destruction they're doing right here.
Speaker 7 (33:52):
And without the run game, all.
Speaker 5 (33:54):
Those things kind of get put at the forefront and
we all go, what's going on with the most talented offense.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
And why isn't anybody else complaining.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
That's a fair question. I get that you've heard the
offensive lineman going, we're predictable. We have people saying the
plays when we're lining up there, right, But at the
same time, too, right, they're wasting one of the biggest
assets in their football team. We got a guy that's
making thirty two million dollars and is one of the
best offensive players in the game, and they can't find
a way to let him touch the football. That's kind
(34:26):
of crazy in the twenty twenty five NFL. You know,
so again, I don't sit here and condone all the
things he said and done this thing, what he just
did being on playing online, playing in a game with somebody.
I don't think he said anything crazy there. I didn't
have that much of a problem with it. He just hey,
we're not good, don't take me on fantasy. We should
be better. Yeah, it's obvious stuff, right, But yes, I
(34:48):
understand your point in airing out their dirty laundry sometimes.
Speaker 7 (34:51):
Sure, I got you. What should we be watching for
with Drake May tonight?
Speaker 5 (34:56):
Oh man, man, Drake May is for what I love
is the aggressive nature of the offense. Right, you're watching
them every week. It's not dink and dunk and like
they're managing Drake May. Is that like they haven't gone
the full Tom Brady offense yet because it's a hard
offense and he's learning it. And I think Vrabel wants
to play a certain way, so it's not just like, hey,
(35:17):
the ball's in your hands, so you know, tear them
up that way.
Speaker 7 (35:20):
They play a balanced game of football.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
They can really run the football, but when they drop
back to pass, they're looking for heavy hitters. And that's
what I love about Drake May. He is just as
poison as can be in the pocket. He's fearless with
people around him, and he is an unreal intermediate deep
ball thrower right now and then when it's not there,
as you know, he's getting to the point like Tampa
(35:42):
Bay last week, Dan they spied them. His running is
getting good enough to wear a third downs. The defensive
coordinator's like, we got to account for him. We got
to have a plan here, so he'll post some problems.
The Jets defense, though, is no slouch. They're one of
the better pass defenses in all of football. I don't
think it's just gonna be bombs away playoff they play.
The problem is, we know the Jets offense stinks, and
(36:02):
you know eventually the dam will break with the Jets
all together.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
But with Josh McDaniels, there are they running? Are they
running Tom Brady's offense? Maybe just it's a little watered
down exactly they are they are? And you know, I
think the world Josh McDaniels. You know, you can say
what you want about him as a head coach. There's
no denying he's one of the best offensive coordinators in
football for about twenty years straight here, And yeah, I
think it's like it's early years Brady offense right now.
(36:28):
That's what I would say, Dan, Like when they were
winning those first three Super Bowls, they weren't in the
shotgun and it wasn't just Wes Welker Edelman, We're gonna
just totally destroy you that way, right It was a
little bit more we're gonna run the ball, and then
we're gonna fake the run and Tom's gonna sit there
and throw a twenty yard laser down the field for
play action pass to somebody.
Speaker 5 (36:44):
That's kind of the way they're playing right now. It's
like early two thousands, Patriots, Your MVP as of today
is Matthew Stafford. I'm gonna go with Matthew Stafford. Yeah,
I mean again, Drake May and that combo for sure, right,
I mean, we'll see where Baker Mayfield. I'm still not
gonna take him out of there, but I think the
top three right now would be Stafford, Drake May, and
Jonathan Taylor. For my money, those would be the three
(37:04):
guys i'd look at. Stafford is you know, phenomenal. It's
just phenomenal, and again a lot like Drake May. It's
not like it's a dink and dunk golfense. He drops
back and he's like, where's Pooka? Is he thirty yards
down the field? Oh no, he's not open. Lo Oh,
there's Davante. He's forty yards down the field? Show right,
I mean that's where he is. Phenomenal that way, and
for being the gun slinger he is and the arm
(37:25):
talent he still has and still to what he's only
thrown two interceptions.
Speaker 7 (37:29):
Yeah, I'll give him the title right now.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
As we sit here and I thought this would be
his last year. I love them as a team and
a Super Bowl contender. It just came down to Matt's
health and he's I don't know how many times he's
been sacked, but probably not very many. You've got a
great coach, you've got a couple of great receivers, and
you've got a running back, you got some playmakers on defense,
(37:53):
and then you got this show down with Seattle. How
is Seattle making this work kind of in the shadows?
Speaker 7 (38:00):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 5 (38:01):
And you know, I know you don't listen to me
like on a daily basis, and don't expect you to,
but Seattle's one of those teams. For about three weeks,
I've gone on my shows, different shows and gone They're
the team everybody's sleeping on. Seattle can go to the
super Bowl. They're that good. They literally are that talented.
And I think that their offense and what they do
fits Sam Donald a lot better.
Speaker 7 (38:22):
Than what he was in the Minnesota.
Speaker 5 (38:24):
So the first thing is they can legitimately run the
ball this year, where like if you don't play run defense,
they will run the ball with success. And then if
we know if you overplay the run. They're one of
the most aggressive passing teams in football too, yards per attempt,
yards per completion, you look it up. Sam Donald's at
the top of the list in that department, and then
you add Rashid Shaheed to it. So they have a
(38:44):
great combination of like, hey, we can run the ball
when you cheat and stop the run. We got some
guys on the outside, even Cooper Cup that can beat
you down the field watch out. And then that Shanahan
play action scheme is so effective off of that. With
Clint Kubiak the other side, I have a man crush
on their defense. Dan their front five, they're front four.
I mean, it's it's one big baller after another. So
(39:07):
they can win the physical battles and their secondary is
awesome on top of that. Not totally healthy yet, but
it's between that and the scheme. Yeah, as I've said
a lot of times this week, like don't be shocked
if we're sitting here Championship Sunday and the Seattle Seahawks
are there. I put them in the same class as
the Lions, the Eagles, and the Rams or the Bucks
(39:27):
in the NFC.
Speaker 7 (39:27):
The NFC's got some heavy hitters this year, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
Vikings having more of a seller's remorse with Daniel Jones
or Sam Darneld.
Speaker 7 (39:38):
That's a good question there.
Speaker 5 (39:40):
You know, I think that they made up their mind
they didn't want the Sam Donald thing at the end
of the year, you know, after the Detroit game and
then going into the RAM game, which the Ram game
wasn't Sam Donald's fault. The wild card game, I mean,
they got their butts whooped. In totality, everybody got whooped.
Nobody had a chance on that football game whoever played quarterback.
But you know, the Daniel Jones things. I had heard
(40:01):
from some people up there and some credible people that
they really like Daniel Jones. And again, as you've heard
me say to you before, the league views Daniel Jones
differently than the fans do. And so yeah, I would
think there's some buyers remorse. But at the same time,
like they were invested in JJ McCarthy, they trade it
up to get him. They had to do this. He's
a top ten pick or eleven pick whatever. He is
(40:24):
right in that range where they got to see what
they got here. So can he stay healthy here? He
is can't practice yesterday? Right, There is some talent there,
but it's not gonna be like he's gonna be able
to run the offense like Sam Darnold did last year
or Kirk Cousins before that. He's basically a rookie. So
there's gonna be a few bumps in the road as
we go forward.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Here feels like people are bailing on Jade and Daniels
because he got hurt. He did turn in maybe the
greatest rookie season of quarterbacks ever had.
Speaker 5 (40:56):
I'm so sick of the fickle nature of fans right now.
I mean I have people now be like Drake may
he's better than Jayan Daniels now right. I mean bo
Nicks is better than Jayan Daniels now right, And it's like, no, no,
Jane Daniels is phenomenal. This is the only issue you
really had about Jane Daniels that I think I worried
about and other teams worried about, is he's frail. I mean,
(41:17):
he can be painfully skinny looking at in the field
of times, so this is what we all wondered. Could
he take the punishment of the NFL when he ran
a little bit and did that. But still, I mean,
he's phenomenal and the class is phenomenal. I mean, come on,
Caleb Williams is going like this too, and he's totally
getting reconstructed as a quarterback robot here right in front
of us. So it's an incredible class right now that
(41:41):
I feel like you really only question right now to
this point is is JJ McCarthy and Michael Pennix and
where are they gonna go? The talent's there, but it's
just been all over the place so far.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
It feels like it was two months ago, six weeks
ago people were bailing on Caleb Williams Ben Johnson relationship
that it wasn't going to work.
Speaker 7 (42:01):
And I'm thinking, do we give up that quickly?
Speaker 5 (42:04):
With?
Speaker 7 (42:05):
Yeah, that talent?
Speaker 2 (42:06):
And then you bring in Ben Johnson who's trying to
get him to play the position how he envisions it
instead of Caleb Bin visions it exactly.
Speaker 7 (42:14):
That's a lot. That's a lot, Dan, You're spot on.
Speaker 5 (42:17):
I mean, this is a guy that his whole life
in Caleb Williams has been able to drop back and go, uh,
I can just make it happen. I'll just make this
throw or I'll scramble and move and buy some times
and make it happen. And he's got now Ben Johnson
coming into town and going no, no, no, that's cool. You
might be able to do that, and you know the
Pac ten against some crappy defenses are in the Big
(42:37):
twelve and all that, and you might get away with
it against a few offenses defenses in the NFL. But
as a whole, if you want to win a Super Bowl,
you gotta run an offense. You gotta run an offense.
You can't think you're just gonna make a play in
a big moment. You gotta trust the system and be
systematic that way. And he hasn't been that totally yet,
but he's getting there, that's for sure. And his talent
is eye popping. I mean to me, it's eye popping.
(42:59):
I mean you see his running. His running is like
a third down running back. He breaks tackles and breaks
ankles and does all that. His arm is arguably the
strongest in football. It's right up there with Josh Allen. Right,
But you know, throwing balls on time, in rhythm, in
the pocket.
Speaker 7 (43:14):
And all that, that's still a learning process.
Speaker 5 (43:16):
And you explained it right, and Ben Johnson, of course,
has a million rules and laws to his offense. That's
a big learning curve.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
Well, I want him to be Jared Goff through the
first three quarters. Then he can be Caleb Williams in
the fourth quarter. That's a great way to put it.
That's what he should be. You're exactly right.
Speaker 5 (43:31):
And I think if you looked at me and you
sat down and watch film right now of Caleb Williams,
you'd go, ah, yeah, there's a little too much, you know,
trying to color outside the lines in the first three
quarters where you just go, wait, that little slant rout
or that under route was open, let's hit it. Let's
be in second and four, let's just keep going that way.
And yeah, he hasn't totally gotten there yet.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
To your point, Dan, the Giant situation with Jackson Dart, Like,
I don't know how much this played into the firing
of Brian Dabele, but if you're going to have designed
runs with your quarterback who runs like a running back
like I have to protect Jackson Dard from himself.
Speaker 7 (44:10):
That crossed my mind. I don't think you're crazy for that.
You know.
Speaker 5 (44:13):
There's a little bit of like a thing with the
Giants where I was like, are they just gonna go
all out and ruin the football team just to save
their jobs?
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Right?
Speaker 5 (44:21):
And that's where I was like, ownership's got to look
at the bigger picture here, right, It's like, we gotta
win this one or I might be get fired. I'm
gonna ruin the rookie quarterbacks career today and run them
up the middle seventy five times, but I want to
win the keep.
Speaker 7 (44:32):
My job ready.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
He was knocking on the you know, the blue tent,
and yes, getting Jackson Dart out there.
Speaker 7 (44:38):
I went, wow, right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
This was a troubling situation because it really felt like
Brian Dable knew I can't put Russell Wilson in there.
Speaker 7 (44:48):
I'm totally with you.
Speaker 5 (44:50):
And then even last week, he gets concussed and then
he comes in plays two plays and then somebody with
some brains went, wait, that guy's brain's not working functionally here, let's.
Speaker 7 (44:59):
Get him out of the football. But yeah, I would
was that was that.
Speaker 5 (45:02):
You know a part of my thought at first was like, man,
they they just did they They don't trust him, and
they don't feel like he's protecting Jackson Dart. You know,
certainly that crossed my mind, but I think ultimately, you know,
they just they wanted to turn the page on Brian dayball.
And I don't know if I totally agree with it.
I'll just say from this like, I'm all for the new,
you know, getting a new head coach. I think there's
(45:24):
a part of me though, that goes, wait, you know
Jackson Dart and what he's doing, it is going this way?
Do we want to disrupt that right now? Maybe just
keep that going and then we can fire day ball
after the year. I think we all knew what was
going that way anyways, it didn't matter, right, So I
just wonder if this disrupts the whole process of Jackson
Dart to a degree.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
Is Jameis Winston goofy on purpose? I think no, he's
like that naturally. And I say that in a in
a good way, right. Jameis Winston I think was afraid
for a long time to show his true personality because
of some of the things that happened in college, in
his early career where I think he was like, wait,
I'm the number one pick. There's a bad reputation out
(46:04):
of here, so let me be a little bit, you know,
a little bit, you know, like as far.
Speaker 7 (46:08):
As just a straight arrow.
Speaker 5 (46:09):
But I think he's gotten to a point in his
life where he's finally like, hey, the hell with it.
I'm just gonna be myself, and I really love being
around him. He is he is hilarious, he's funny. It's natural.
Do you your quarterback, not as a starting quarterback. No,
but I want him over Russell Wilson. I think that
is no doubt. I'll take that. I You know again,
(46:30):
I don't think Russell Wilson plays to win games anymore.
I think he just plays not to lose. Jamis is
going to play to win this week. And yeah, he
might throw some interceptions, but he might throw some of
the damnedest touchdown passes we've ever seen too, And I'd
rather watch that than Russell either throw a go route
or take a sack.
Speaker 7 (46:45):
I don't want to see that.
Speaker 2 (46:46):
I can't imagine somebody giving Russ another chance.
Speaker 7 (46:50):
No, no, And does Russ really want another chance?
Speaker 5 (46:53):
I mean, I think Russ came to New York because
he wants to live the New York life, and they're
more worried about being famous and all that. And yeah,
I mean the days of being a starting quarterback are
certainly over. It's just yeah, does he want to take
the Joe Flacco route and be a backup somewhere, maybe
revive his career?
Speaker 2 (47:08):
That way good to talk to you. Thanks has always
have a great weekend. And you know what, you can
always text me if you want to tell me, hey,
Seattle is a legitimate you know, just send a text.
Speaker 7 (47:18):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (47:18):
Okay, sure, try to find your podcast or watching you
in Florio.
Speaker 5 (47:23):
I mean, well, I do want you to watch Christims unbtton.
But you can text me too and ask those questions.
It's not against the rules. I checked the rule book.
You're allowed to do that, all right.
Speaker 7 (47:31):
He's Christians. Tell those jerks, I said, Hi, Hey jerks.
Speaker 2 (47:34):
Pro Football Talk Live co host and his Unbuttoned podcast
as well. He'll be there on football Night in America.
Hosts And Creators
Todd "Fritzy" Fritz
Dan Patrick
Patrick "Seton" O'Connor
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