The Pittstop 07/01/2023

Join Namath as he recaps the Mens College World Series. Craig joins Namath in studio to talk MLB, NFL, and NBA.

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
It's Saturday, July first, andyou're listening to news radio one oh one
nine Big Blacks. This is thepit Stop and I'm your host, name
of Pitts, and I am joinedin studio today by a really good friend
of mine. His name is Craig. Craig, go ahead and tell everybody
what's up. Hey, guys,how's it going? This is? This
is great to be back on theradio. It's been about a year for
me. But it's a quot tobe on the earth side of things with

(00:30):
Nameth producing and not me for once. Yeah, we're a little bit of
a different market than what we usedto be in college radio station. Now
the big market. Yeah, that'sa blessing, but you know it's crazy
at guys, whist is I thinka couple of weeks now that we've done
the pit Stop and we've done Congratsand Condolences to start every show. And
Congrats and Condolences was actually introduced bya show that Craig hosted for a while

(00:52):
at Jacksonville State University in the Scrimmage. So it's kind of a reunion here,
Yeah, it really is. We'vewe've been all over the place,
lots of cities, together, butget me back for once for a nerve
show. Absolutely all right, Craig, I'm gonna go ahead and kick things
off with my condolence today instead ofcongratulations to start, and then if you
have one, then you can shareas well. Craig will be with us
all show. We're gonna break downNBA free agency that kicked off yesterday.

(01:15):
We're gonna kick off the talk aboutthe men's College World Series, where things
are MLB wise, some trades inNBA. It's gonna be a really good
show. But my condolence is JimmyJohnson and he's not gonna race tomorrow after
his in laws and nephew were founddead. This is a really sad story
that developed this week. Again,Jimmy Johnson will not race this weekend in

(01:36):
NASCAR's Cup Series Street race in Chicagofollowing the death of his wife's parents and
a nephew in Oklahoma. Yeah,there was the body of Jack Januay sixty
nine, his wife Terry Januay sixtyeight, and their grandson Dalton Januay eleven,
which were discovered Monday at a homein Oklahoma. And this is a
sad story. Police responded to ahome after a woman called nine one one

(01:57):
to report a disturbance with a gunbefore hanging up. And I do apologize
it was not his wife, itwas his wife's parents. But our condolence
this week goes to Jimmy Johnson.I just can't imagine what he's going through.
Craig. Yeah, man, Andit's fully understandable of sitting out this
race. Um, you know,this is a time where it's family first
over everything. You know, familycomes before sports, before your job,

(02:21):
and you know it just you taketo take this time to be with his
family. Man, Just you know, remember the ones he has lost.
Yeah. Absolutely. When the policearrived on the scene, they found one
person near the front door of thehome. Then they heard a gunshot from
further inside, where officers later foundtwo other people dead. Sad story.
Let's come with some good news though, because we do have more sad story

(02:42):
that we're gonna get to in alittle bit, or more sad news,
I should say, but let's talkabout something good did happen this week.
Well, I gotta tell you it'sa great day to be a Tiger.
And I'm not a Tiger fan,so I mean for the LSU fans out
there, because the LSU baseball teamended its season at the same spot where
it began. Is the number oneteam. We've got the final call right

(03:05):
here from where LSU defeated Florida towin the Men's College World Series. There
is for the first time since twothousand and nine and seventh overall, the
Tigers can say we are champions.You heard it right there. Congratulations to
LSU on winning the Men's College WorldSeries. But anyway, Craig, big

(03:28):
accomplishment for the Tigers. They weredominant. Yeah, man, And I
mean SEC rules once again, andlike, I mean, we're gonna get
a SEC Championship champion once again withit being Fida versus LSU. But I
mean, what a series. Ikind of wish Game one was Game three
because Game one was such a greatgame, neck and neck the whole way

(03:49):
through, and then you had twoblots backed back with Florida putting up a
world series pretty much record center withtwenty four runs, and then you know,
LSU responds with eighteen runs next game. So Dylan Cruz schemes the picture.
Just a lot of talent on thatteam for LSU, and you know,

(04:10):
the first title since I believe twothousand and nine. So congrats to
the LSU Tigers. Yeah, absolutely, you said. Despite giving up a
men's College World Series twenty four runsin Game two, LSU bounced back in
a winner, take all game onMonday night thanks to a dominant pitching performance.
About Thatcher heard, So, congratulationsto the LSU Tigers on winning the
College World Series. Big accomplishment forthe Tigers. He's a national championship capped

(04:34):
off what was a roller coaster ofa season. And yeah, it's their
seventh national championship, first since twothousand and nine, and LSU is now
in sole possession of the second mosttitles in Division One baseball. Craig,
you've got a congrats and adults,if I'm not mistaken, I do,
and I'll get the candoleans all theway because there's er very sad story.
Ryan Mallett a former NFL QB anda lot of you may know him as

(04:57):
the former Arkansas QUARTERBA back earlier,I want said earlier this decade. He
was in the early two thousand andtens, I believe played. I mean,
he put on a pretty good Arkansasof football team. So he went
on to the NFL, got sometime most of his time with the Ravens.
He was presumed dead after drowning inthe ocean this past week in Florida.

(05:19):
So very tragic story coming out there. He was very young. I
believe he was thirty five years oldtoo, So tragic passing for a very
young athlete. And uh my congrats, however, is to all the Braves
fans. Not on the Braves anymore, but Freddy Freeman getting his two two
thousand career hit this past week onthe Dodgers, great accomplishment for him.

(05:43):
I know it's, you know,bitter sweet moment for the Braves with it
not being there guy anymore, butstill a lot of Braves fans in this
area happy with what he accomplished.Absolutely, congratulations to Freddie Freeman. Big
accomplishment in his career. Yes,I'm on the mattels and train now,
but reeled in greatness is deserving tobe recognized and that's what Freddie Freeman is.

(06:04):
He is great. And I gottatell you, Craig, I've seen
an interesting stat today that says there'sonly fourteen players in MLB that have played
in every game this season. FreddieFreeman is one of those fourteen. He's
joined by Jonathan Dy of the CincinnatiReds, Walda Kunja Junior of the Braves,
Francisco Lindoor of the Mets, MarcusSeaman of the Rangers, Ozzie Albe's

(06:25):
of the Braves, Won Soto ofthe Padres, Tiasky Hernandez of the Mariners,
Austin Riley of the Braves, MattOlsen of the Braves, Kyle Schwarber
of the Phillies. And then you'vegot a Yankees, Cleveland Guardians, and
Seattle Mariners player. I'm looking atpictures. I don't know the name off
the top of my head, butmaybe you can trial on those three players
as well. But there's fourteen playersthat have played in every single game this

(06:47):
season. I heard a lot ofbravest players there, and yeah, I
know that Cleveland player is Stephen Quong's. He's on my fans team. Speaking
of Craig's fantasy team, it's currentlytied in first place with me. No,
not that fantas team were dominate.We're dominating the league we're in.

(07:08):
It's not even close. It's likeeverybody else has five pictures, me and
Craig have fifteen. Okay, allright, so anyway, it's all about
how you play man. You justthe guys hat caught up, yet they
obviously don't keep up with the teams. I'm not gonna lie with you,
Craig every Sunday. I hope I'mnot getting really my tips that helps you.
But I don't think it matters everySunday. I just set my line
up for the week. I'm like, all right, oh, I do
the same thing, and I'm good. Like you know, something happened now,

(07:30):
I will say, you gotta checkbecause you got players who will get
injured. You got pictures who they'restart days to get pushed back. Um
you know, I mean this pastweek I had you Darvish for the Padres
pitching Tuesday, and he got outwith the sickness and his basically his start
got canceled for push pushed to thisweekend. So it happened, like you

(07:53):
gotta eating if you said for theweek, you gotta keep track of it
every single day. Yeah, Igot Aaron Judge on the aisle, your
Navarez on the I L I justcan't catch your break. Hey, speaking
of LSU National championship is not theonly thing they won. They consumed an
ungodly number of Jello shots at themen's College World Series. Now, Craig,
I'm not a drinker personally. I'ma believer and a very strong one,

(08:16):
and drinking jello shotters is not mything. But LSU may have won
the twenty twenty three College World Seriestitle on Monday night, but Tiger fans
also won. They said, importantcontest. I'm not gonna stay important.
Just a contest in Omaha, Nebraska, which is the Jello Shot Challenge.
LSU fans dominated the competition against sevenother schools at Omaha's Rocco's Pizza as they

(08:37):
purchased a record shattering sixty eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty eight Jello shots
during the span of the College WorldSeries. That's sixty eight thousand, eight
hundred and eighty eight Jelo shots inone week. The next closest seven thousand,
six hundred and twenty two by WakeForest. I saw where I mean,
I did the calculations when I sawthat stat and those Jello shots were
close to like five dollars apiece.Funny you say that each shot at Roccos

(09:00):
cost five dollars yea with a dollarfifty of that going to charity. So
one dollar to the local food bankin the school's town and fifty cents to
Omaha's Food Bank for the heartland.Hey do it for ju for the charity's
man? Absolutely, well, let'sfind not Absolutely we're drinking jello fans are
very thoughtful. Look, I tellyou if you now is the chance,
let's get real serious. Let metell you about the Lord. Let me

(09:22):
tell you about my mother in heaven, because I mean, seriously, jello
shots. I mean, I getit's going to charity, but there's other
ways you could raised charity money.All right, cool story here, Let's
shift to MLB. This guy isa phenomenon that probably will never be seen
again in the game of baseball,and it's show. Hey o'tany This past
week he hit two home runs andstruck out ten in a start that was

(09:43):
cut short by cracked Now show aOtani becomes the first Ale pitcher to strike
out ten batters and homer in thesame game since CC Sabathia in two thousand
and eight. Otsuka go check itup the night at the Angel three one.

(10:09):
I mean, Craig, you heardit right there that I mean just
a moonshot of a hint that hehad and Otani. I mean, this
guy's probably I mean, he deserveshim billion dollars. Do you think he
deserves a billion dollars? Hey,if he deserves a billion, I'll put
Matt Olson a two billion with havingthe same mount home runs with zero point
zero zero era A. But that'svalid. That's a good points on Twitter.

(10:31):
This one that is funny. Butno, seriously, like I don't
I don't want to say we'll neversee this again, but show hey,
Atani is a unicorn, like heis a like freak athlete. This dude,
Like I think someone said this morning, like this is like being good
on you know, it's like playingquarterback and then playing like defensive back in

(10:52):
the NFL, like both both sidesof the ball, like and dominating both
side. It should be like PatrickMahomes having like a twelve interception season at
cornerback after playing quarterback, Like that'swhat we're talking about here. And this
this baseball man, and he reachedbase all four times that he came to
bat. He contributed to a youknow, a four two victory of the
Chicago White Sox. But that secondhome run, I mean, this guy

(11:15):
becomes only the sixth player with tenstrikeouts and two home runs in a game
since the mound moved to its currentdistance in eighteen ninety three. Think about
that, like, you know whoelse has done that? Surprisingly Zach Grinky
and Madison Bumgarner. I didn't neverguess that two home runs and ten strikeouts
in the same game, would you. I mean, Zach Grinky's got to
be getting close to hanging it up. I mean that guy is old.

(11:37):
He is old. He's very old. There's one there's one thing about Shohei
Otani. You know, something's gonnahappen anytime he steps in the box or
on the mound, and it's prettyfun to witness, even as a Braves
fan who will never get to witnesshim play for Atlanta. Hey, that's
I think that's the biggest thing liketo watch is you know, besides just
him play baseball. This next yearhe's gonna lead the Los Angeles Angels.

(12:00):
I think it's pretty guaranteed it's gonnahappen, and it's gonna be It might
be the biggest decision ever in sports, Like I would think that showhead tany
leaving the Angels and going somewhere elseto be bigger than Lebron when he went
to Miami. Uh, you knowTom Brady when he with New England for
Tampa Bay. We're talking that bigand but let's pay real, heir,
Craig. There's only three teams thathave the money to sign this guy,

(12:22):
and it's the New York Yankees yep, the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New
York Mets. Let's just be real, like I'm hearing. Uh, the
Padres and Cubs also maybe, butthey're not gonna be able to reach the
same level the Yankees or Mets canthrow at him. Those are the top
three paid. If I'm him too, I would I would do Dodgers because

(12:43):
like, you don't have to leavewhere you're living. Um, you're still
close to the West Coast, likeclose to your like short plane ride of
your family, and you're not torelocate when it Constantin's the biggest thing,
too, is like just the threelocation. I think he's very comfortable in
Los Angeles. And the Dodgers ofcourse have a chim Championship aspirations every single
year, Like you're not having togive up much to get a new team.

(13:05):
Yeah, I think you're right again, I think he would he would
do great off a Cobb Avenue inAtlanta, and I think it would be
good for both sides. But thatwill not happen. But the Atlanta Braves
need to worry about locking up.Wrong to Kuna Junior passed his contract.
That is it set to expire intwenty twenty eight, which doesn't seem like
a long time. But I'm justsaying, we've seen guys leave and this
guy's running away with the MVP awardin the National League. Yeah, he's

(13:28):
really bounced back after his gruesome ACLinjury a couple of years ago. You
could tell last year he wasn't himself, but getting a full offseason, coming
back, getting back in shape.I mean, he's just he's been an
incredible you know, besides arrays fromthe Marlins. I think he's in second
place of the batting average right now. Yeah, and I mean with the

(13:48):
home runs of stolen bases, hehas truly been the MVP of the NL.
My dad, I was talking tohim yesterday and I said, you
know, Kunia's running away with theMVP and he said, well, I
don't know. Freeman's right there.I said, Dad, Freeman's good,
but he's not on the same levelright now. He said, don't be
biased. I said, don't bebiased. Okay, the dude's got six.
He leads the NL and runs totalbasis, stolen basis, slugging,

(14:11):
ops war He's second in baton average, second in hits, second in extra
bass hits, third in doubles fifthand OBP, should I keep going like
a call on dad. He's gonnahave over seventy stolen bases, will probably
forty home runs. Hey, Idon't know all the stats, but I
would probably say Mookie Beets is thebest player on the Dodgers, so he's
pretty good. I mean I wouldknow I have him on Fantasy. All

(14:31):
right, let's talk about Ellie dela Cruz. This guy has came up.
He's made waves for the Cincinnati Reds, my second favorite team, and
uh, you know, I don'treally pull for him, but you know,
I keep up with him, youknow, just like I'm a Bengals
fan. We're not gonna get intoNFL today a whole lot, but the
Cincinnator Heads rookie shortstop Ellie de laCruz was named the National League Player of
the Week because, yeah, hehad historic performance. He hit the team's

(14:54):
first cycle since nineteen eighty nine.Does this guy deserve to be in comm
versation for the All Star Game eventhough he missed two months. I don't
think so quite yet. It wouldbe as an accomplishment, But at the
same time, I think, youknow he did miss two months. You
gotta get you gotta get the playerswho have played the entire season, their

(15:16):
flowers, their props, Let themhave their like their chance to go to
the All Star weekend. And whenyou know, at least time comes,
which is gonna come, they probablywill come next year, that's when he'll
go absolutely well. He led theReds to four wins against the Rockies one
game against the Braves, he improvedhis overall season slash line to three thirty

(15:37):
three. The Reds had completed twelvestraight wins before the Braves took the next
two. That was their longest winningstrength since nineteen fifty seven. Day La
Cruz became the third Reds player towin Player of the Week honors in twenty
twenty three, joining Nick Cencil andMatt McClain, who has also been really
good this season. Let's shift NFL. Your strength is NFL, your strength
is NBA. Those are the twothings that I feel like you are really

(15:58):
strong. Your knowledge is really strong. At That's one of the reasons I
wanted you to come in studio,Craig, is because you're gonna be able
to break some of this NBA stuffdown. And I give you a hard
time on text message and group chatsand stuff. But I mean, when
it comes to NBA, he knowshis stuff. When it comes to NFL,
Craig knows his stuff except for whenhe tries to talk about the Bengals.
He doesn't ever get that right.Okay, all right, But anyway,

(16:19):
I've been right twice, oh mygod, actually once, well twice
if you count to Steelers. Butyou've been wrong time I'm talking about well,
I guess three times. Well,okay, so I was right with
the Rams finally last two years ago. Then I was right about the Chiefs.
Well, I'll tell you what Traviscuss and he's quit running his mouth
because hey, J mar Chase intwo seasons has made two AFC championship.

(16:41):
When it comes to me picking againstthe Bengals, a broken clock is right
twice a day. He only picksagainst us because we're a division rival.
Saying here Kenny Pickett got married thispast week. Congratulations with Kenny Pickett's pickets.
All right, here we go,let's talk Leonard Fournette. An unfortunate
accident that happened. He's very fortunateto be alive. Yeah, he experienced
a terrifying incident this past Tuesday,as his car burst into flames on the

(17:04):
highway. Luckily, luckily, heescaped without injury. He was driving on
two seventy five in Tampa Bay whensuddenly his whip set ablaze. His whip,
I mean, that's I mean,you know, they say that the
fire started due to mechanical issue,was not a crash. The flames were
extinguished, but I mean, couldyou imagine driving and your car just starts

(17:25):
smoking and it's on fire. Man, where was he at? It was
at Florida. Yeah, he wason I two seventy five in Tampa Bay.
Hey, it's it's getting very veryhigh. We're reaching incredible temperatures in
the month of June historically, andI mean it honestly doesn't surprise me,
but like I can see it happening. But like it is very fortunate that

(17:47):
he was able to come out,you know, with basically no scratches,
you know, alive because if you'veseen the pictures of his car, that's
like, it's incredible he was ableto get out of there. I mean
his car is basically just he isin the front. Yeah. Absolutely.
Fournette, who's currently a free agent, really loved his Durango SRT Hellcat.
But it is now burnt to acrisp. But hey, we are very

(18:07):
very glad you were. Okay,you mentioned it as your condolence. Very
sad news this week, former NFLand University of Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett died.
He was in an apparent drowning incidentalong Florida's Gulf Coast. He was
thirty five years old. He wasa really good college football player at the
University of Arkansas, where he transferredafter being in Michigan. He played two
seasons there. Was selected in thethird round the twenty eleven NFL Draft by

(18:32):
the New England Patriots. He playedseven seasons in the NFL with the Patriots,
Texans, and Baltimore Ravens. Soour condolences do go to Ryan Mallet's
family. Very sad story this weekthat developed and it happened in Deston Florida.
Guys, it is summertime. Fourto July is this next week.
You've got to be careful in theocean them waves. If you see red
flags, don't get in. Okay, I'm the idiot that tried to baptize

(18:56):
ten kids in a red flag asa youth pastor. Probably wasn't the best
example I set, But Craig,I gotta tell you, we were fortunate
that day. But I did losea kid. I went down to duck
him and he ended up coming outa couple of feet away from me.
But uh, probably shouldn't shared thatstory on air. But a kid.
Yeah, Well, we didn't loseit, and I just meant like he

(19:18):
came up a few feet away.Now you know, I'm probably five.
I'm actually six foot on the dot. According to the doctor the other day
said six foot one the yard,Dad, you shrink because the six foot
one that's what you said. Theear day he set six foot six.
I guess you set six foot sixthone. He did say six foot six
one. But you know, anyway, I'm gonna say six foot because I
try to say the last that way. If I'm taller, I'm taller.

(19:40):
But henway, I weigh about onehundred and sixty pounds now. My freshman
year at college, I probably waitedone hundred and thirty pounds and the kid
that I baptized and lost was probablysix foot five. Oh my gosh,
two eighty five? Did it?I probably wasn't, you know. I
let's just say when you got ared flag day and I'm very weak.
Um, they don't go together.But another thing, speaking in NFL,

(20:04):
DeVante Adams. You know, he'sbeen facing some charges assault charges, but
they were dismissed. His past leaguethoughts on that. Did he get his
bag not yet so that the guywho got pushed didn't? I don't.
I'm not sure. I don't thinkso. Okay, Well as as that
was my things, like, Imean, DeVante Adams, if you've seen
the clip, I think it wasafter the Chiefs beat the Raiders in like

(20:27):
an overtime this past season, DavantaeAdams the seam walking in the locker room
chefs. I think it was acamera guy. We're basically the facilities guy
for the Chiefs and came out atthe end the next day he'd pressed charges
of assault. Um, basically onewas I think it was one of those
things. We're like, it's justthe person trying to get their money.
Um, so I'm sure Davanta Adamsjust gave him the money just to dismiss

(20:51):
it. So do I support whatDevantae Adams did? No, But if
you're an immediate person, the wisestthing to do is not jump in front
of a guy after he just losta football game. I mean, it's
like the now, I don't supportputting your hands on a girl. Can
you Can you blame him for gettinghis money if I wasn't that guy,
Shoot, if I was in thatguy's position, Shoot, I'm filing the
lawsuit tomorrow. I'll be right upat the lawyer's office. I got assaulted

(21:14):
yesterday. He saw his opportunity againsttook it all. Right. Before we
go to the break, let's justquickly recap the NBA Draft. Let's start
with because after the break we're gonnatalk, you know, a lot of
the trades free agency. But before, let's talk the first round of the
NBA draft. The first pick inthe NBA Draft was with the first pick
in the two thousand and twenty threeNBA Draft, the San Antonio's first select,

(21:41):
Victor Wimba Yama. Non, youheard it right there, Victor Wimba
Yama. That's right, of whatwas it? He's Italy, France,
France? Okay, same place.No, that's a joke. That's a
joke. Come on then, comeon, come on, all right,
okay, let's go. All right, here we go. So Victor Wimba
Yeam of the Metropolitans ninety two wasthe first overall pick in the NBA draft.

(22:03):
But if you're an Alaballa fan,you enjoyed here in this. With
the second pick in the two thousandtwenty three NBA draft, the Charlotte Hornets
select Brandon Miller from the Universe threeof Alabama. Brandon Miller selected number two
overall by the Charlotte Hornets. Craig, Let's look at this draft. Victor

(22:25):
Wimbey Yama went number one, BrandonMiller two, Scoot Henderson three, Amen
Thompson four, Ausar Thompson five.All right, hanging there with me,
Anthony Black number six. I'm noteven gonna say that guy's name that went
to the Wizards. Blah Colaala Bally. And there is women Yama's teammate from
France. Okay, cool, howdoes he go seven? We're gonna talk

(22:45):
about it. In the second Jars, Walker went number eight, Taylor Hendricks
went number nine, and Cason Wallacewent number ten. Any surprises to you
in the top ten? I wantto say no, except for me.
Maybe the guy who went to theWizards. Um the below column. Yeah,
I think I think a lot ofthat probably. I mean, you

(23:07):
look at his stats. I meanI think a lot of his success came
from being Victor's teammate. Um.And of course the picture's gonna take a
lot of his stats away from him. So his stats weren't eye popping.
But at the same time, Ithink he could be a big piece of
their future. Um. I stillwould have taken um, you know,
point guard, like maybe Anthony Blackthat the magic guy, or maybe Jaris

(23:30):
Walker. But you know, Wizards, they made a lot of questionable decisions
lately, so I'm not gonna talkfor them. All right, Let's go
ahead and look at your Miami Heat. They had the pick at number eighteen.
They drafted Jamie ja Quas Junior fromUCLA. Thoughts on whatever, thoughts
on it? Hey, um,I pronounced his name Jamie first. But

(23:52):
you know, the Miami Heat theThe reason behind that pick was they wanted
a plug in guy. Damian Lillard. Yes, hopefully, they wanted a
plug in guy. And this dudewas a senior twentywo years old coming out
of the UCLA pac twelve Player ofthe Year, duke and ball. He
probably wasn't the best guy to pickthere, but at the same time,

(24:17):
he might have had the potential thatour guys had behind him. But he's
a guy who can play right awayif the Miami here to make a trade
and lose some pieces and they needa guy to step right into that bench
role in the rotation. All right, we got twenty seconds left. Who
you think had the best draft?Oh, that's tough. Probably the Utah
Jazz were, like the Indiana Pacersand of course the Spurs. All those

(24:40):
teams got multiple picks and multiple playersfor a young core to build for the
future. ESPN actually had the CharlotteHornington A and they had the Houston Rockets
and a minus, which I waskind of surprised to see. They thought
Kim Whitmore fall into twenty was massive. But we'll see. All Right,
we gotta take a break from newsand weather. You're listening to the pit
Stop on News Radio one oh onenine, Big Wax. Welcome back into

(25:04):
the pit stop on news Radio oneh one nine, Big Wax. Before
the break, we were talking toNBA basketball and I'm joined in studio today
with a good buddy of mine,Craig, Cameron Craig. Again, we
talked before the break about the NBADraft, so I just wanted to go
quickly back to that. We weretalking about who we thought had the best
draft out of the teams. TheESPN excuse me, had the Houston Rockets

(25:26):
and an A minus to Charlotte hornetsonan A And the reason for that was,
let's start with the Charlotte Hornets.They got Brandon Miller, okay,
which you know some people said,Scoot, I think Brandon's the best fit
for them personally with Lamello. Butthey also added a guy that was the
number one recruit in high school basketballcoming into college and that's Nick Smith Junior

(25:47):
from Arkansas. So thoughts on BrandonMiller and Nick Smith Junior going to Charlotte.
Yeah, I mean Charlotte Hornets,they have been I thought we're building
forever and I think they got togreat pieces to holly talented players who are
were very good prospects. I'm notonly coming to this draft, but also
coming into the high from high schoolto college. And Knick Smith Junior did

(26:11):
not rely whip into the hype thatBrandon Miller did Alabama. But you know,
Nick Smith Junior was able to,of course slide a little bit,
and you're you're able to get himlater than he probably should have gone.
Howd he you know, had theexpectations he had at Arkansas. So I
think it's too good great picks becausethe Hornets are probably gonna lose h Dennis
Smith Junior their backup point guard andfree agency, and you plug him right

(26:36):
there into that backup point guard rolebehind the mellow ball. The whole the
whole thing was Charlot the Hornets wasIs it Bernie Miller or Scoot Henderson?
And a lot of people will sayyou picked the best player, not the
best fit when it comes to theNBA Draft, because you never know what's
gonna happen. We all saw withMichael Jordan going second overall because they didn't
want to put him with Clyde Drexelerin Portland. You've seen it. I

(26:57):
left. They regret that decision.Oh, and it's staying with Kevin Durant
going number two to the songs becauseyou know Portland again didn't want to put
Portland. What's your problem? Andwell, ironically enough, Portland was the
third pick the time, so theyeveryo didn't get a choice. They could
not mess up. But the Horns'stime. We'll see in the future,
of course. But I think theyoung court of a Melo Ball and pretty

(27:18):
Mollard Mello can stay healthy. That'sthe biggest thing. I think it's gonna
be a great fit in Charlotte.Now, Scoot Henderson, the whole thing
with Damian Lillard, I think youknow, whether Damian Lillard is to leave
or stay in Portland, you toget a great dual threat pretty much backcourt
with both of them, and youget Damian Lillard to mentor scoot or you

(27:40):
get scooted. Basically, just takeover the reins that Damion Leeward is to
leave via trade. Yeah, andanother team we talked about's my favorite team,
hug the Houston Rockets. They drafteda Lynn Thompson, who Sam say
is the most athletic guy in thedraft. Now, how athleticism translates to
the basketball court is I don't knowto be turned to turn. I get
it. I get what they're saying. He's got a long wingspan. But

(28:02):
they also got Kem Whitmore. Now, he did fall to twenty, and
there's some questions about his defense,but at one point he was projected to
possibly be their pick at number fourand they got him a number twenty.
I mean, he just kept falling. He was I thought he was going
to number five to the Pistons.I thought he'd been in a great fit
in Detroit because of them trading SIDEKBeta Atlanta this past season, and I

(28:23):
figured they're gonna get a small four, which they did with with Thompson Amen's
brother. But you know, KemWhitmore. Everyone was wondering what it was
and there was questions about it.Maybe it was he hit a bad physical
but as Adrian Wildron Asking from ESPNreported, that ended up being he had
poor workouts for the teams he workedout with. And the interviews are not

(28:45):
that great coming from a Villanova teamthat had probably its worst season in years
with Jay Wright retirings or head coach. They did. They had a losing
Riker missed the unc labway tournament.Km Whitmore basically was on seeing as a
guy like basically like people say adog, were like a go getter,
like a hard worker, hard worker, and I think that's maybe why he

(29:07):
left. But the talent's there,that's the thing, like if you if
you go into a great culture,which I think you know Emai Adoka will
get the best out of him.We'll see because he's a defensive mint of
coach. But it was very shockingto see him fall. I was surprised,
even like a team like the Lakers, who they need some guys who
you know, maybe have some upsidein the air end. I think he
would have been a great fit forthe Lakers, but of course they went

(29:30):
into opposite direction. He was ableto fall was a pick twenty or twenty
one, twenty And what's crazy isas a Houston Rockets fan, you know,
I keep up with everything on Twitter, and guys were saying, hey,
we're gonna trade to number ten toget Kim Whitmore, like they that
was our guy. We wanted him, and we got him at twenty.
We didn't even have to trade up. And I knew a men Thompson was
bound to be in a Houston Rockets. Jersey. I peeled around with the

(29:52):
messing with you guys with the BrandonMiller might fall, you know, because
just as an Albama fan, Buteverything I read is, Hey, Thompson's
our guy. He was great inwork, scouts, great in film,
great in interviews, wants to bein Houston, you know. So I'm
happy. I think we're gonna talkmore about Houston a little bit with this
whole free agency thing, because Ihave a perspective on my team of them,
they're the only team that has capspace pretty much. But also at

(30:15):
the same time, I don't seethe point in using it. But we'll
get back to that in a minute. Let's go ahead and talk about Well,
let's talk about the biggest trade that'shappened yet to this point, and
it's Bradley Bill. I mean,he first became available, and your Miami
Heat were sniffing around thinking they mightget this guy, and Phoenix ended up
beating you guys out. And sothe Washington Wizards. We talked about this

(30:37):
last week, but I want toto re mention it because Craig's with me.
But the Washington Wizards all star guardBradley built of the Phoenix Suns,
and in return, the Wizards gotChris Paul, who they then flipped to
Golden State, and they did ultimatelyend up getting Jordan pull but because of
this three team trade, that's howthe Pacers ended up getting Jaris Walker.

(30:57):
So the Wids got Landry Shammitt,they got the number seven pick that we
talked about, same guy that wasteammates with Victor, and then the Suns
end up getting Jordan Goodwin and IsaiahTodd. Thoughts on Bradley Bill with Kadi
and Devin Booker. I don't understandwhy Phoenix did it. I really don't
because right now you this this wholenew CBA agreement and the second second apron

(31:21):
with the taxes and all stuff Phoenixis in, you know, just ends
in cap space jail right now forthe foreseeable future, they have traded every
tradeable pick throughout I think twenty thirtyone away now they still have picks available
because of the whole um. Ithink it's I forgot what rule it is,
but basically you can a way tradeevery other year, so they still

(31:42):
have first round picks everyone every otheryear. But at the same time,
why trade for a nurse shooting guard. When you have you already have Devin
Booker, you already have Kevin Durant, you already have two bucket getters.
Okay, scoring was not the problemin the playoffs. You had you had
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant putting upthirty plus a night against the Devin Nuggets,

(32:05):
and you still got blown out.The defense was terrible. It was
defense. Probably Bile does not playdefense. He scores. He's a great
score. He's he's probably gonna averagetwenty plus on the on the on the
suns. But you needed you neededa defensive wink. You needed a guy
like Michael Bridges. All of asudden, they they weren't gonna get him
back. But that's what Hell ofPhoenix together, and that's what helped him
in their finals run is Michaelly.Bridges was a wing, defensive minded guard

(32:30):
who could guard the perimeter and getyou stops on the air end. And
Den Booker and Chris Paul were thereend scoring. And I'd say it reminds
me of the Philadelphia Phillies. Likeevery year, hitting is their strength,
pitching is the problem. Yeah,and they go and get Trey Turner.
Yeah, more bad. So I'mlike, you're not fixing the issue.
The issue is pitching. Yes,you got hot at the end of the

(32:52):
year last year, but that doesnot mean it's going to translate into this
year. Does not mean it's gonnahappen all over again. That happened with
the Atlanta Brakes. We saw lastyear. They were real banged up.
But uh yeah. But also inthis trade, Chris Paul, I mean,
this guy is probably never gonna wina championship, but he's got his
best shot if he's ever had thisnext season. But Chris Paul, he
got traded to the Golden State Warriors. But before that, when he got

(33:15):
traded to the Wizards, he foundout via airplane. Listen, I'm surprised.
What are your first thoughts on that. I was surprised too. I
found out on the plane yesterday flyinghere for this. You know, in
this league, anything can happen,So you just figure out what's next.
Craig. Imagine you're ten thousand feetin the air, your feed or kicked

(33:37):
back on the Delta airplane and you'rewatching TV and it goes breaking news.
Bradley Bill has been traded to thePhoenix Suns and Chris Paul's like, oh,
this is news to me. Inreturn, Chris Paul's headed to the
Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards,are you serious, hey? Could you
imagine they didn't have the decency totell that guy before he got on the

(33:58):
flight. Well, he already knewhe was leaving, because I mean,
like they were either gonna it wasa report like a week before he was
gonna be waived, and then Ithink they said they were gonna find a
trade, and then they couldn't finda trade that he was gonna be waived.
So I think he already knew hewas leaving Phoenix. But you know,
it sucked probably for about forty eighthours where however long it was before

(34:20):
he was traded to the Warriors,I forgot how many days it was.
But at the same time, heis in a better situation than he like
I think you said he's ever beenin his career. With the Warriors,
he has his best chance to wina championship. I do think the Warriors
are gonna bounce back and they're gonnawin all again next year, but this
is probably one of the last chancestoo, because I mean Steph's get up

(34:42):
there in age. Clay Thompson probablyhad one of his worst playoff shooting performances
throughout a playoffs ban ever in hiscareer. Draymond Green, I think he
returns a free agency on a cheapercontract you trade away to Jordan Pole,
which Jordan Pole was probably one ofthe biggest reasons they lost in the playoffs
with this shot slow is playmaking,all the turnovers and stuff. So I
think Chris Paul it worked out forhim in the end. Now, like

(35:07):
the Phoenix Suns with them training forbride Beal and you said, like you
know that they did not fix theproblem, They only added to it.
Uh. Now, granted I saidit when the trade happened. The Suns
are gonna be you know, boxoffice must see TV. They're gonna be
very fun to watch and the regularseason with you know, their trio of
shooting and scoring. But they're notgoing to win a championship. They're not.

(35:30):
They don't have they don't have thedepth, they don't have the defensive
pieces. Um and you know along that you have DeAndre Aiden who is
mentally checked out multiple times throughout theseason. Throughout the playoffs, I mean,
there's clips of him just not eventrying to get a rebound against Nicole
Yokitch. You have a you havea lot of problems in Phoenix right now.
And that's as crazy to say withall the talent that's on the roster,

(35:52):
We're gonna say what happens in Phoenix, what happens in Golden State.
Again, the Warriors did agree toget Chris Paul from the Wizards in exchange
for Jordan Pole and maybe Jordan Poole. Obviously it's a money move, but
Draymond Green. I mean, doesthis enhance the Warrior's chance of resigning Draymond
Green now that Jordan Poole's gone.Yeah, I think that was the whole
big thing was. Of course ChrisPaul has that, you know, very

(36:15):
big contract, But I think DraymondGreen I can't see him on a different
team. And I think the Warriorsknow that they cannot win a championship without
Draymond Green. And like everyone wantsto talk down on Draymond Green about you
know, his lo was scoring atnumbers, but he is. He is
a big part of their offense,whether you like it or not, with

(36:35):
his screen setting, his playmaking,his rebounds, he draws charges, he
facilitates, and basically he runs theoffice for Golden State. If you actually
watched him play, Steph Curry andClay Thompson can find their own shot.
But at the same time, DraymondGreen basically the point guard of that team.
All Right, I got one righthere. I'm gonna go winner loser

(36:57):
and stayed still. Grizzlies acquire MarcusSmart winner, the Boston Celtics got Christoph
Perzingis, stayed the same, andI'm gonna say, Tis Jones head to
the Wizard's loser. What's your thoughtson that? I think Marcus Smart to
Grizzlies is a great ad for Memphis. Yeah, kind of kind of getting
that whole great defensive, that thewhole trade. It's the same thing as
the Sons the Boston Celtics. Whatare you doing? What are you doing,

(37:21):
Jalen Brown? I mean, atthis point, just let him go.
No, I wouldn't say that.My thing with the Boston Celtics is
it's the same thing with the beingSons. You you added to the problem,
the problem. Who has not yourfront court? Who was your backcourt?
You do not have a point guard. You do not have a guy
who can feelcilitate him. But DerekWhite, Derrick White's a shooting guard.

(37:45):
I'm just saying, I'm I'm spittingout stuff like other people, you know.
But that's why, Okay, thereason Horford, the reason the Boston
Celtics lost the last six years.I mean, like, basically, yeah,
Kimba Walker. Since Kimball Walker wasthere, you know, they're in
that air you had, you hada young Justin Tammi young Joel and Brown's

(38:05):
they weren't ready to win yet.But the last three seasons, since they
got rid of Kimba Walker, they'vehad Marcus Smart and Derek White and Malcolm
Brow then basically run the point.You have not had a true facilitating point
guard to run your offense. You'vehad the ball on Jason Tatum and Joe
and Brown's hands. They have hadmultiple ten plus turnover games combined and also

(38:29):
by themselves. I think Joe andBrown had like eight turnovers. Joe and
Brown had eight, I think moreturnovers than the whole Miami Heat team did
in Game seven this past Eastern ConferenceFinals. You cannot have that on a
championship Cowbird team. Christos porzingis nowgranted, Marcus Smart was not a pulling
guard to run your offense. Butat the same time, you still heat

(38:50):
guards, you still need defensive guards, and you trade a wave healthy guards,
you still trade away from another frontcourt person, Like, I don't
know where he's gonna fit in.I mean, gonna go big in one.
You know, Joe and Brown shootingguards, Jason tantum ats small forward.
You're gonna have Horford, Robert Williamsand Porzingis to run your front court.

(39:10):
That's a great front court rotation.But at the same time, like,
I just want to see where allfits in. Now, you know,
free agency trades can still happen.They can still add a guard.
I originally liked their pick in thedraft. They got Marcus Sasser out of
Houston and then trade him away.I don't understand what they're doing. I
really don't. Well, I thinkthe trade hadn't already been agreed to when

(39:32):
they made this trade, that theywere gonna send that pick in the deal
to the Celtics. Um or wasit the Wizards? How did they get
that? There's a something that Ijust read them end together. There's a
reason they got that pick. Okay, here it is jars Walker number eight.
The Pacers end up getting him,so the Celtics traded to them.
That was somehow, I don't knowhow it was included. Marcus Sasser was

(39:55):
getting protected picks and all that outbehind any of that works, beynest with
you, but anybody the Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies three team
trade. Christops perzingis his head tothe Boston, Marcus Smart to Memphis.
Now, I do like Thyas Jonesto Washington. I do like that.
Now, I don't really understand.I guess Tyas Jones was a great piece
for Memphis and run their offense whileJohn Marant was out. Um, I

(40:19):
don't really like trading him away becauseyou we're gonna need him when John rings
out for twenty five games. Yeah, but also Marcus Smart, he can
run the point if he needs to. Well, what's the other guy's name?
And Memphis it's a really good player. He shoots it from the three
point line. Um, oh,desn't by Yes, they're gonna need him
to be he's shooting gards. ButI'm saying, but they're gonna need him

(40:42):
to step up and take the loadof the offense with jaw out. Yeah,
and they have I think Kennedy Chandlerfrom Tennessee. Still he didn't didn't
play a lot, but you're you'regonna need every point guard you can get
from Memphis while John rants out.And but I think the reason they,
you know, brought Marcus Smart andwith that with that trade is you know
they are resigned Dillon Brooks. Youso need that. Please resigned Dillon Brooks.

(41:08):
Please, you need you need thatguy who hustles for the ball,
who's a defensive minded wing. Andyou know you lose out with Dillon Brooks,
but you gained out with Marcus Smart. All Right. The latest trade
was the Atlanta Hawks traded John Collinsto the Utah Jazz. Here we are
another offseason, and the Utah Jazzare busy. They obviously inquired John Collins

(41:29):
and they sent Rudy Gay in afuture second round pick. Last summer,
they sent Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolvesand Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers. As
part of that trade, the Jazzgot back Lorie Mark marketing yep, I
never say his last name right fromthe Calves, who wasn't phenomenal for them
this season. By the way.Yeah, so John Collins and Utah makes

(41:50):
them a stronger team. Absolutely.What about the Hawks? Where do they
stand getting Rudy Gay? Is thisa money move? Atlanta's not done,
That's all I can say. Okay, John, I don't know from or
from Georgia. The thing with Atlantais, Uh, it's been said that
their owner or their GM, theywant to get under the tax and they
have a lot of big contracts likeJohn Collins. I don't know how they're

(42:13):
gonna do it, trying to makesure they can keep Trey into John Tay
Murray. Well, here's the thingthat John Tay Murray is on an incredible
contract. I mean that man canget twenty five, ten and eight.
It runs in the city of Atlanta. We're good at that kind of thing,
you know what I'm saying. Yeah, he's in an eighteen million a
year and putting up all Star numbers. So you you gotta keep him.

(42:35):
Trey Young, same thing. Yougotta keep him because just the brand he's
he's basically the face of Atlanta.DeAndre Hunter. He's making close to thirty
million a year. Uh, AndClint Coppella is making close to twenty million
a year. Don't miss Clint Cappellaat all. When he was a Houston
Rocket, he couldn't shoot a freethrow. So anyway, all right,
let's move on. Let's talk KevinLove. He's played for your Miami Heat.
He's linked right out to the MilwaukeeBucks. Free agency officially opened yesterday.

(42:59):
Whoo whoo. There's a lot ofpeople that wonder if Kevin Love will
head to Milwaukee. He was apivotal piece in Miami reaching the NBA Finals
this year. Love knows what hedoes best in the league, and he
does it a perfection. Milwaukee obviouslywould like to add it to its championship.
DNA and a veteran would help dothat. Would this be a good
move for Milwaukee? It would,but it would be the same as I

(43:21):
think the Celtics. That's not whatyou need. Um, you don't need
more size. I don't think KevinLove will get a lot of playing time
in Milwaukee. I see Kevin Loveresigned with the Heat. All right,
here we go. The Houston Rocketsare linked to be strong contenders to sign
both Dylan Brooks and oh my goodness, let me tell you what right here,
buddy, Dylan Brooks. What willyou do if y'all get dyn Brooks,

(43:50):
That's what I'll say. I don'tknow, I don't know what I'll
do, but uh, Anyway,the Houston Rockets are one of the youngest
teams in the league. But supposedlythey're eyeing Dylan Brooks and Fred Vane and
there have been equally compelling singles thatthe Rockets will be strong conteners to sign
both. Then Vleet declined his twentytwo point eight million dollars option. It's
obvious nobody wants Brooks, so whywould he not go to Houston? Thoughts

(44:15):
Will Houston Rockets signed one or theother above or not neither? I don't
see the dullam Brooks. I thinkthe best option would be Fred van Fleet
because how I don't know a pointguard on the Rockets right now. You
have a lot of people who canplay make it's kind the Rockets kind of
look like the sult Least right now. You have a lot of great scorers
do you have a lot of playerswho can they can handle the basketball,

(44:37):
but you don't have a facilitator.And you know, Fred van Fleet's on
the best facilitator. But he's alsoI mean, he's a point guard who
played behind Kyle where he played ona championship team with the Raptors and Kawhi
Leonard. He has that veteran presence, that veteran experience. I think he'd
be probably the best signing option forthe Rockets because you have the cap space,

(45:00):
you might as well use it.Give them a two year deal.
That way, when your players whoare rookies and so on, the rookie
contracts come up to get their maxcontracts or extensions, you're able to sign
them and not go over the capor not be you know, put in
cat space jail pretty much. Uhso I would I would sign Fred Van
Fleet and get some maybe some death. But you want to let your rookies

(45:25):
and your young players develop without beingovershadowed by some NBA vets. But at
the same time, that's that's thingwith the NBA. You gotta be careful
with having the right balance of vetsand young players in the locker room because
you want to get those vets to, you know, give their wisdom to
the younger guys, but at thesame time, you still want to let

(45:45):
them grow. If I'm the HoustonRockets. I'm not signing dealon Brooks.
I'm not signing. Yeah, here'shere's not signing either. I don't see
dealon Brooks happening because you good,great you are ye. Hold up,
Craig, I like that what you'resaying. You already have too many small
forwards on my team and even storegoing, don't stop clapping. That's all

(46:07):
I got. That's as simple asa like. I think you need a
point guard, and that's that's thebiggest need for the Rockets right now.
All right, we got a coupleof minutes we were just drafted a point
guard. I'm in Thompson. I'min Thompson's a small forward. First show
talking point guard. I swear theyare. He can talk. They're talking
point guard. They're talking him pointguard. Jalen Green shooting guard, singoons

(46:30):
center. Then you still got yourin your power, Yeah, Jabbari,
you got Jay Shan Tate. Nowyou got Cam Whitmore, I mean Kevin
Porter Jr. Gosh, it's adisaster, all right. We gotta get
rid of somebody, and then you'regonna sign James Harden. I mean,
where does it fit in? Speakingof James Harden, free agencies officially open.
We got just three minutes left onthe show. The Hornets, Jazz,

(46:52):
Magic, Pacers, Pistons, Rockets, Spurs, and Kings are all
expected to have cap space to gofor those big names. All right,
so let's start James Harden. Doeshe stay in Philly? Does he end
up somewhere? What's your prediction?Just predictions Philly? You think he resigns
in Philly? Absolutely? All right, I'm gonna have to go with James
Harden resigning with the Philadelphia seventy sixers as well. Kyrie Irving, where

(47:13):
does he end up at? Thisis tough, man. He is probably
the least talked about free agent andhe's probably like, he's probably the only
free agent that I could see goinglike to somewhere that you're not even expecting.
But at the same time, DallasMavers they trade a lot to get
him. They gave us some pieces, they gave some very they gave some

(47:35):
first round picks. They basically puttheir season away for him, and they
didn't made the playoffs with him.I would I went to the Hawks mav
game last year at the end ofthe year and watched them too. They
were very great together. I thinkyou give him the whole off season,
the whole season to get together,they'll be a lot better. Give me
Kyrie back in Dallas. I've gotthe same thing. I've got Kyrie Irving
resigning with Dallas. Chris Middleton.Some say, but I just don't see

(47:59):
him anywhere other than Milwaukee. Yeah, I can't see anyone wanting him or
Milwaukee. All right, Draymond Green, does he resign on Golden State or
go somewhere else Golden State. I'mactually gonna say that he's leaving Golden State.
I think he's made his mind up. He wants out personally, just
from where I mean. I thinkhe goes to Los Angeles and plays Lebron.
Oh, I can see that,I really do. All right,
Van Fleet, I'm actually throwing oneout right here. I think he signs

(48:22):
with the Boston Celtics. They don'thave the money. I think they're gonna
I just I don't know, LikeI said, you know me, I
like to throw one crazy one outthere. That's the one. I don't
see it. Well, he's they'remaking moves. They can make money.
I see friend Van Fleet on theChicago Bulls or the Houston Rockets. All
right. Well, money wise,the Bulls are not included in the eight

(48:45):
teams with the cap space either.Well, I think they're gonna trade away
Zac Lavine were all right, JeremyGrant, I got him in Portland.
Yeah, that's that's who Dame wants. Dame wants its beat three of Draymond
Green. Jamy Grant himself, allright. I got Brooke Brook Lopez staying
in Milwaukee. Yeah. I've gotCameron Johnson actually going to Houston. You
can have him that much. Ijust say, I just think he's gonna

(49:08):
be in Houston. I think AustinReeves stays in LA. I think Cameron
Johnson stays in Brooklyn. I thinkAustin reve stays in LA. Also,
Okay, Nicola Vous, Yeah,I agree with you. De'angel Russell stays
in LA. I agree with you. Kyle Kuzma, I actually got him

(49:29):
in San Antonio. Hmm. Ithink Kyle Kuzma is gonna go wherever he
gets his bag, all right.Russell Westbrook, Russell Westbroker is gonna be
back in with the Clippers. Iagree with you, all right, quickly,
Jordan Clarkson, wherever that man wantsto go? All right, guys,
that's gonna wrap it up. Craig, thank you for coming on,

(49:50):
man of course. Man, allright, guys, we will see you
next Saturday, Happy fourth of July. You've listened to the pit Stop on
news Radio one h one nine BigWax