June 25, 2024 • 34 mins
FOX Sports Radio Weekend host Martin Weiss is in for Rob, and he and Chris tell us why they have a problem with the report that LeBron James wants the Los Angeles Lakers to go all-in for a third star, share their thoughts on JJ Redick publicly shooting down allegations that he called a woman the N-word back in college and discuss Magic Johnson’s assertion that Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese can have a similar impact to the one Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird had in the 1980s.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of the Odd Couple podcasts.
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to the Best of the Odd Couple with
Chris Brusha and Ron Harker.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Martin, let's get this party started with the Lakers, and.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Of course JJ Reddick was.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Introduced yesterday as the head coach of the team. And
now there are of course articles coming out about what
the Lakers need to do, and the athletic Sam Amic
wrote a column.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Here's a quote from it, Martin. They meaning the.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Lakers need more high level talent and they need it
fast if they're going to keep Lebron James and Anthony
Davis from growing frustrated about this uncertain Lakers future ahead, Martin,
(01:21):
you know, I think you know, I am very fond
of Lebron James. Sure people think maybe not because I
think Jordan's the goat, But I love Lebron James, especially
love what he does off the court. What he's about
and as a player love him too. And there was
a time earlier in his career when I thought he
(01:44):
would become the goat.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
But I have to be objective.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I think it's Jordan, but that doesn't diminish my love
for Lebron James. Any that said, and now I think
this is kind of this sells Lebron short, not me,
but this situation he seems to, at least according to
(02:08):
this article. And you know, in his past, puts himself
in these situations where the article is saying they want
a third star, right, Lebron and Anthony Davis want a
third star.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
And Martin.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Because Lebron James is so good, because I have such
respect for his game, I'm gonna be honest, it bothers
me that there's always this feeling that he's gotta get more.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I need more. I need another star.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Anthony Davis is not enough, and a bunch of good
role players are not enough.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
I need more. And I'm like, you wanted to be
baddest dudes in the league.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Still You've got one of the baddest dudes in the
league in his prime as your teammate. You're a perimeter player,
he's a big and the role players aren't bad. And
no one who has a big three, who has a
big three Phoenix, Is that what we're shooting for? I mean,
(03:24):
in name only, contract day Bright, they got three superstars.
Denver doesn't have a big three, Boston doesn't have what
we would call a big three. The Minnesota I mean,
you know you got a good third player Rudy Gobert,
Boston christophsfor Zingis, but not big threes like Wade, Bosh,
(03:46):
Lebron or Durant Curry Clay and even throwing Draymond. Heck,
even love Lebron Kyrie, that's gone. So why do I
hear the best way of this generation, at least the
way it's written, clamoring for a third star.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
The Lakers are one.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Of the few teams with two top fifteen players in
the league, right, I think Ad and Lebron are both
top fifteen players.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Who else has that?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Martin Phoenix Phoenix Phoenix as the Randon Booker, Maybe Boston
if people want to move Jalen Brown up to that level.
But it's not like, I mean, this is not an
era anymore of big threes and stacked teams and all
that so I'm just like if it just I feel
(04:43):
like it's selling he's if indeed this is aw Lebron Fields,
I'm going off the report like it's selling himself.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Short.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
You that guy go out and get it done. I
get it, he's thirty nine about to be forty. I
get all that. But I'm just saying, you, that guy
go out and get it done, because it's not like.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You got scrubs on your roster.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
You got Anthony Davis and Austin Reeves and DiAngelo Russell.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
He got his warts.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Everybody every team got somebody with warts, right, So that that's.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
You know, I just think Lebron's better than that.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
I just I mean, I was yesterday years old when
I heard Rob Polinka and J. J. Reddick the new
brain trust off the Lakers, tell me how much they're
gonna invest in their in their international scouting department, and
then they're in building up the core players that they
have already and and and developing from within. In part
(05:41):
because of this whole second and first Apron situation, I
don't see how it's even possible to get a third
star of a of any repute, like I mean, Donovan
Mitchell and Cleveland. That's a team that seems that's under
the apron. But all reports say he's gonna be back
in Cleveland. So maybe Donovan Mitchell.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Yeah, I don't see that, but but I hear.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
You if de Jontay Murray, I mean, if you, if
you're telling me I'm wrong, let me know, because you're
more plugged in than I am.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
I think I don't think they getting Donovan.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Oh okay, all right, but I thought you were saying
you didn't think Donovan was gonna stay.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
No, no, no, I think de Jontay.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
Murray if the Hawks make that trade, then they can't
do anything else because of their apron status. That doesn't
seem like a team that's gonna be trying to blow
things up. I'm not sure how that would work. I
don't see how it's possible. And also it just flies
in the face of everything we heard yesterday, right all
of the inn was talking about depth, all that exactly,
(06:39):
and then not only that, look at the teams that
just the final four of the NBA, the four most
successful teams this year, the Mavericks, the Timberwolves, the Celtics,
and the Pacers. You already said they don't have any
Big three. But you know what, they all did have
its solid players. Like the gap between the stars and
the role players was was thinner, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
It wasn't like there was.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Ah, you were starting undrafted rookies, not to be smirts
any of them, but starting undrafted rookies next to all
stars because you were paying these all star players so
much money you couldn't afford anybody else like.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
You had guys. So it also it doesn't make sense
as the team building standpoint.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
It doesn't make sense to what the what the rules
now state, right, and it doesn't make sense to what
the Lakers just told us yesterday, Like we were talking
about this yesterday and now we're talking about it today.
So I agree with you in that I don't think
Lebron needs a third star in.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
A way, but I also don't think it's possible for
him to get one.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Yeah, And and look, I just think that when you
look at the Lakers uh situation. Look, I'm not saying
they can go out. I don't think they're gonna go
out and win it, but I think I'm not putting
that all on they don't have a good enough roster.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
And that third guy. I've all I'm said, and you.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Know you've heard me say this before, Martin I was saying,
unless they get Kyrie Irving in the trade, they're not
winning another championship with this group.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And they're obviously not getting Kyrie Irving in the trade.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Right.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
He's set in Dallas. He's not getting moved. Yep. And
part of.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
The reason, obviously Kyrie is simply great, But they're better
players out there, right.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Donovan Mitchell, I think is.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
A right now, would probably go down as a better
player than Kyrie.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I think, absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
But Kyrie fits. We know he fits because he can
play with Lebron. My point is this, can you name
me a third star that if he was brought to
the Lakers you know absolutely would fit.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
No, right, especially when you look at the truncated pool
of stars that they really have potential of getting right, right, Like, sure,
if you were telling me they trade for Nikole Jokis,
I mean, yeah, I think they can figure that out,
but that's not happening, right.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Look at the guys.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
I mean, if they able to get a Paul George,
I think he'd fit. There'd be some growing pays, but
he fit. But they're not getting him either exactly. And
so my point like and a lot of times that
third guy becomes a role.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Player anyway when he's been with Lebron, and.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
So I just don't I don't think that's the way
they should be looking at it.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
I think they need to be looking.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
At what is the best way for us to play
with Lebron at thirty nine years old? Ad is going
to be our focal point. What's the best way to
use Lebron? And what how can we maximize these players
around him? And yeah, if they can add some you know,
role players and parts around him, sure that'd be great.
(09:52):
But I don't look, Austin Reeves is pretty good, Ruey
Hatchamura is pretty good.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
They weren't healthy.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
If they get you know, Jared vy Anderbill's healthy, he's
solid for what he does. You know, if they can
get some of the guys that were injured this year healthy,
Gabe Vincent, then you know.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
These guys have played well for other teams.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
So I think it's about trying to maximize what they
had have. And I just to be talking about a
big three right now, it just seems so so yesterday.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Yeah, it's it's an era of the NBA. That doesn't
it's just not happening anymore at this point. It's like
the flip phone, right, That's when that's what you were doing.
The Big Three was with the flip phone. Well, now
everybody got an iPhone or some type of smartphone. That's
where we're at now. So you're not printing out map
quest anymore. With your Big Three. You're going on Google
Maps on your phone and getting where you need to go.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Odd Couple
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Eastern four pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the
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Speaker 3 (11:00):
Hey what's up everybody?
Speaker 5 (11:01):
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Speaker 3 (11:08):
What is Up on Game?
Speaker 5 (11:09):
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(11:31):
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Speaker 1 (11:41):
Some of you may know, some of you may not.
But a woman named Haleema Nash claims that when she
was once on the campus of Duke University that JJ
Reddick called her the N word.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Here's what she tweeted this morning.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
I've only been called the IN word to my face
by a white man once in my life, and it
was on the campus of Duke University while I was
doing work with the basketball team. And today he was
named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
What a world. She obviously is talking about.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
JJ Reddick, Uh and JJ Reddick's camp.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Martin just within the last hour.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Told tmz dot com that there is no truth to
her story. The headline reads, JJ Redick denies calling woman inWORD.
Now TMZ reached out to JJ's camp and here's what
they were told. So direct quote in the story, it reed, No,
(13:01):
it never happened. That's it. It was short and sweet.
The way TMZ described that. They said, we reached out
to Reddicks camp for a response to the claim. And
they completely shut it down. Now, I did a little digging.
I did not talk to this woman, but I did
do some digging. I was, as Rob g knows, I
(13:21):
was trying to get her on the show because I
do want to kind of, you know, this is obviously
a huge claim, and want to get her on the
show to talk about it, verify if it's true and
her account wasn't hacked, and things like that. From what
I understand, she does not want to do any media.
(13:42):
We'll see if she keeps that that going. But and
when't what I understand, Martin, she was surprised at how
this thing kind of snowball. And the reason we didn't
even leave the show with it was because we just
wanted to kind of make sure this thing, you know,
that was really accurate.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Before we dealt with it.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
But now JJ Reddick's camp answers it and they deny it.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
And here's here's what I'll say to that, Martin.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I don't know if Haleema Nash will come out and
speak to it, but what.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I will say.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Is that JJ Reddick better not be lying, or whoever
spoke for him better not be lying. Yeah, because if
you I mean, it'd be bad enough if you did it,
and but you can you know it was if it
had happened, I will say that because he's denied it,
it would have been twenty years ago something like that.
(14:39):
You could you know, I would you could you know,
maybe survive that, right, right, that was so long ago.
Obviously he's developed good relationships with African Americans now.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
The one thing is not like he.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Didn't know any African Americans that do, not like he
hadn't been playing with black players much of his life,
you know, as a top great high school and college player.
But I agree with you that you know it's twenty
years ago.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
If it wasn't a pattern in something, you you.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Know, your behavior at Duke and after that would have
to line up with somebody that is not racist and
somebody who was remorseful if indeed they did that, and you.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Could perhaps survive it.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
The one thing that would possibly nail him if he
had done it and apologize for it, Martin, would be
if players just weren't feeling you because of it, you know,
and obviously you need black players, and if they weren't
feeling you, how they reacted to you would be an
issue or could be an issue.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
But if if it comes.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Out and I you know, I mean, look, you got
two people making claims.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
I don't know who's right or who's telling the truth,
but I'm.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Just saying it better not JJ better not be lying
because if it comes out like I said, it would
have been bad enough.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
But then you deny it.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
That that very well might cost him his job if
it comes out that this was actually true. So I
don't know if they were one on one, if it
was people or whatever. If indeed, again he says it
didn't happen, or his people say it didn't happen, so
we will see. But he better not be lying. That's
my main thing. He better not be lying.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
And I think you're the point you met earlier is
why we didn't leave the show with it without him responding,
because I mean, I had seen this tweet going around.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
People have sent it to my phone, and I was like, look.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
We'll find out sooner or later, because the Internet never
forgets right. The Internet last forever, especially when you look
at some of these, you know, repositories and blogger sites
and especially early internet.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Right, So.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
If in fact it had happened, right, and I'm not
saying I'm not denying it. I'm not taking either side
of it. I'm just laying it out. If it did
happen and he had said some level of contrition and
then said, well, look show me the other instance in
life in which this occurred, then we could have I
think a different level of conversation. I think to you
(17:18):
would out there with a lot of it, a lot
of contingencies about players and how they feel and so on,
and how the general consensus feels about it after the fact.
If but I just maybe I'm maybe I'm naive, Maybe
I'm just I just have trouble believing that one pert
Like if you're the type of person that will call
(17:38):
somebody the end word, I have trouble believing that it's
all you would only do it one time. I feel
like that's one of those damn breakings where it would
just continually happen, and maybe not happen all the time,
but happen enough to where we will hear somebody else
come out from this, right, somebody else come out and say, oh,
this also happened to me. This all is like very
(17:59):
much like when we hear one allegation of sexual assault
by somebody and then all of a sudden we hear
multiple and then boom b boom boo boom, and then
the next day, and then the next day and then
the next day, and now it's like, all right, well, hey,
there's a lot of smoke around this.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Maybe fire here right right, No, look, you're right, and
this is interesting.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Well and also I say, when they acknowledge that it
never happened, I think, you know, if in fact it
never did, like I probably would have just left this you.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Saying, well that it would have been and we don't know, Martin,
would media have jumped on this because I was surprised
it wasn't trending like you said. I received you know,
people send it to me as well, and it wasn't
trending somewhat surprisingly because it got and I'm about to
look up the number now, rob g. You may have
(18:53):
it that it got something like ten million. When the
TMZ story came out, it was ten million views. It's
probably more than that now, rober Gi, see if you
can get a number on how many views this is.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
But yeah, I don't know. It may have gotten so big.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
It's twelve million views, so it may have gotten so
big that they would have had to respond to it.
But you you know, it's interesting. Would would the route
of just denying it not then like it wasn't there?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Have you know? Worked? I don't know.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I mean I think somebody somewhere next time he was
in front of a microphone. I would hope that somebody
would have asked him JJ, there was an allegation on Twitter.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
You're not accusing him of it. Their allegation on.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Twitter that you called this woman the N word?
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Is it true? And give him an opportunity to respond? Yeah. Yeah,
somebody would have asked him that.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I'm sure, but they you know, they responded to I mean,
that's all I can say.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Mark, Now, what do you think? Do you agree with me?
If he's lying?
Speaker 1 (20:07):
I mean, it's bad enough if he did it, But
if he's lining, do you think he can survive that?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
No?
Speaker 3 (20:15):
I probably not. No, I don't think he should can
survive it.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
I think that he would have had to be if,
in fact, again this happened, he would have had to
have been forthcoming in the moment as soon as this
kind of came out, like right now, he would have
had to have been forthcoming and then speak to the
twenty odd years of his life from that moment to
now and show you know, look at my track record.
This this was something that happened to one off.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
It was a mistake.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
It was this was that I'm terribly sorry for all
the people I offended, so on and so forth. But
now you got people screenshot and now they're old blogs
like I don't.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Think that bost it.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
But dot com necessarily has the same journalistic standards as CNN,
you know, But there's headlines here leaked email show was
white NBA baller JJ Reddick called X groupie girlfriend a
dirty N word and stupid S word and that was pebblic.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Now where's that? I know it's in bossip, but where
was that? Just where was the source of that information?
Speaker 4 (21:14):
So the source of it was they're saying, and again
this article was published February eleventh, twenty fourteen, so over
ten years ago. Okay, But they are saying, we first
reported a legal document that was drawn up in two
thousand and seven by lawyers representing NBA player JJ Reddick
and his then pregnant blue model groupie Vanessa Lopez. So
(21:34):
they obviously are taking some editorial uh you know, leeway here.
But it's saying it's reported from a legal document that
was drawn up in two thousand and seven and so,
but my point to that is.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
We will I think we will get to the bottom of.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
This or if it really had, like if there was
a history of this, well no by this time tomorrow,
because the Internet never sleeps.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, you're right about that. We're gonna throw this out
to you guys. Again, We're not We're not saying JJ's line.
We're not saying Helima's line.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
We don't know. You got two people.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
It's a he said, she said thing in the very
definition of that term.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
One of them is lining.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
And like I said, if it's JJ Reddick, it's not
gonna be good.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
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Speaker 3 (22:40):
NBA and Martin. You know, I've been saying it.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
The storylines are good for the league.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Sure, we'll get to the basketball.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
If the stories bring us there, then we'll get to
the basketball eventually. But just enjoy the stories bringing eyeballs
to your sport. And none other than the legendary magic
Johnson has weighed in on this, and let me first
start here by giving one.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
I don't even know who.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
The caller was, but one of our callers called in
near the end, it might have even been after the
collegiate basketball season, and he said, I don't know if
he asked me or he just made a statement, but
basically he was saying, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark could
(23:31):
be to the NBA or WNBA what Magic and Bird
were to the NBA. And I shot it down, not vehemently,
but you know, I thought that that's a little bit
of a stretch because Bird and Magic they were like,
I mean, they were right.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
They were on the same level.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
You know, Bird had led somewhat like Caitlin Clark, but
different in that Indiana State wasn't even on the level
of IOWA in women's basketball like you know they were.
That was like leading a mid major to the an
undefeated record in the championship game.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Larry Bird was.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Just phenomenal, took the nation by storm, and Magic was
the same way.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Did it differently, obviously, but he was.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
They were the two best players in the country, period,
and I didn't think I knew Angel Reache was good.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
I mean I knew she was really good player and
a future All Star, most likely in the WNBA, but
I didn't think she was on the same level as Clark,
and so far now I do think, and we talked
about it yesterday.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
Clark has been the rookie of.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
The Year, but Reese is giving her a surprise and
run for her money. And Andrew Reese is second in
the league and rebounding, she's averaging thirteen points a game,
which is very good for a rookie.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Like she's balling and moretant.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
So she's played well enough and she's clearly the second
best rookie and some would try to argue that she
should get the award, but she's wayed well enough where
the tension, the rivalry between the two is real, not just.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
It was real in college, clearly, but it's real in
the w NBA.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
And it's not just because of the feistiness and the
pushing and shoving and you know, Reese clapping when her
teammate Kennedy Carter, you know, pushed or bumped into.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
While you want the character, yeah, hipcheck, That's a good
way to put it.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Caitlin Clark it's real because they're both very good players
and Magic Johnson has weighed in and he tweeted this,
Martin Larry and I heightened the NBA's overall popularity. The
Lakers and Celtics sold out arenas throughout the league and
increased television viewers exponentially. The higher viewership numbers led to
(26:04):
the NBA signing significantly larger TV contracts, which then led
to higher salaries for all the players. Caitlin and Angel
are now doing the same thing, selling out arenas and
increasing the viewership. They have taken women's basketball by storm,
and with expiring TV deals on the horizon, the WNBA
(26:25):
is now in a position to negotiate higher TV contracts
and increase salaries for all of the talented players. So
he compared it to the way he and Bird resurrected
the NBA and Martin rob g's gonna give us some
numbers to kind of back that up, and then the
floor's yours.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Yeah, guys.
Speaker 6 (26:46):
So on June sixteenth, when the Fever faced the sky,
they had an average television audience of two point twenty
five million viewers. At the time, it was the largest
figure for any WNBA regular season game into one you
talked about.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
On the show.
Speaker 6 (27:02):
One week later, they broke that record again two point
three zero million viewers this past weekend on ESPN. Now,
I don't know how much of that is both of them,
how much are just kating Clark because again full disclosure,
Clark and the Fever, just them minus Angel Reese have
already had the most viewed WNBA games ever for CBS, ESPN,
(27:24):
ESPN two, ESPN plus ABC and NBA TV.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
So I think that this rivalry is not Magic and
Bird yet, because what made Magic and Bird special. Now,
you obviously had the college lead up, but what made
us care going after that was that they were both
superbly successful in the NBA, both individually and team success. Yes,
(27:57):
that's what's going to have to occur for this to
remain having the same level of Bird magic kind of
juice where we're setting viewership records and so on and
so forth. It's gonna have to be, Oh, Angel Rees
vers Kaitlyn Clark in the championship game or in the postseason,
depending on how it shakes out. When we see that
(28:18):
chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, very much like we
saw it when they were both in undergrad we saw
chapter one, Angel Reese got the ring you know, famously
did the ring meat thing.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
All of that. The Kaitlin Clark was started the firestorm.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
Right then we saw chapter two, Kaitlyn Clark got the
best of her and that one goes on loses to
South Carolina International Championship game. What we're seeing now and
the thing though, Chris, if they're able to have that
team's success, I think that it could be right at
that level of Magic and Bird in terms of the
injection of popularity and the injection of the TV money
(28:57):
and all of that that Magic was alluding to in
his tweet. If no other reason, because we are going
to get a ton of these matchups because the league
is so relatively small compared to other ones.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Right, we're gonna say team.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
It's not gonna be three months in between the next iteration,
so it'll be something that is consistently the conversation. And
I think what's odd, Like I was actually very interested
to hear because I was here doing updates on the
during the game on Sunday. Right the conversation on Monday
was about the game. It wasn't It was about the
(29:34):
game and the way that the game ended. And the
way that Angel Rees had an incredible fourth quarter to
go ahead and get that win. It was about how
Caitlyn Clark only had one field goal in tel in
the last seven minutes.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Who's like, who's to blame?
Speaker 4 (29:49):
It was very much the same way that the conversations
are around the NBA, right it wasn't about the off
the court stuff. So I think we are almost we
are almost already there to where we're just talking about
the game because of the storylines that have been built up.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
That's the thing We're going to see more and more
of these.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Because this league is so relatively small compared to the
NBA was at the time of Magic and Bird in
terms of teams.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Now you're you're absolutely right in that if that's what
they're gonna have to do to equal Magic and Bird.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
You know, on on a relative scale, it's never.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Obviously gonna be the NBA, but relatively speaking, if they
both start winning, if they both start winning, they will
definitely you know that that's the next step for.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Them to get to.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
And it's a lot like it in other ways. Like
Caitlin Clark, let's say she wins Rookie of the Year.
I think she's on pace to do that. Bird won
Rookie of the Year, but Magic won the championship.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yep, you know, and I.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Look the Chicago sky are. They're both at the same
level their teams. They're fighting for that eighth and final
playoff spot and maybe though rise. They've got time for
both of them to rise in the standings, but that
neither of them are on like the best teams or
even close to the best teams in the league.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
So they won't do that this year, it doesn't look like.
But you're right.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
If they were to somehow both like start winning the
way Magic and Bird did, it really would take off.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
And it's great.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I'm happy for the w NBA. I'm happy for the
players in the league. I'm happy for all the you know,
fan the girls basketball players that aren't even in the
w NBA, because obviously they've had the league to shoot
for as far as getting there. But now it's a
league that, at least for now, is getting more publicity.
(31:56):
Let me ask you this, Martin, do you see it
ever like kind of going back, maybe not quite to
where it was, but kind of fading from the national consciousness,
which it is squarely in the national consciousness right now.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
Uh it, I think it really has to do with
the strength of the college game because what we had,
like when we saw like this, the w NBA boost
that we're seeing now is direct result of the rivalry
of angel Resa, Kaylin Clark and college. Right That's what
is Like you said, there's storylines, right, like, that's what
(32:33):
kind of is what we're where. That's growing and it
was on the way up, but this skyrocketed it.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
So let's say, for example.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
We get uh, you know, you know, Juju Watkins and
I'm not sure who the other you know, hot sophomore
guard or forward or whoever in the in women's college basketball.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
They got some great players right now. I mean Page
Becker's like you said, Juju Page only be there for
one more year.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
That's so. But I'm saying, do you think see I
don't where I disagree, I don't.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
I think it's dependent on Caitlin and the current players
in the WNBA. I mean Asia Wilson's fantastic, and they
got some other great players too. But like, if let's
just look, the rivalry is good. But as Rob g
he read the numbers, Martin, for the most part is
(33:23):
Caitlyn it's not a fifty to fifty thing as far
as boosting the league. We've heard the numbers. Now the
rivalry is is you can call that fifty to fifty.
Angel is more popular than most other players in the WNBA.
If not, I don't know if I say if not
all of them, But but Caitlyn Clark is the one
(33:46):
driving these numbers, and so I look, I think Martin
is as long as she plays well, and if she
does become like the dominant figure or at least one
of the top two or three along with Asia Wilson
because he ain't going nowhere, then I think that will
boost the WNBA by itself, irregardless of what the college
(34:09):
players do beneath them.
Speaker 4 (34:10):
Well, I think if we see you know, college players
like you know we have, we get that buy in
and then they go to different teams. All of a sudden,
we're paying attention to more teams in the WNBA. And
again there's only a handful of twelve teams in the
whole league, So you get a star on every team,
then boom, we're playing attention to everybody
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Which is why what what's boost the DNBA exactly is
that they marketed individual stars,
Thanks for listening to the best of the Odd Couple podcasts.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday from seven
pm to ten pm Eastern four to seven Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for The Odd
Couple at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us
live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to the Best of the Odd Couple with
Chris Brusha and Ron Harker.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Martin, let's get this party started with the Lakers, and.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Of course JJ Reddick was.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Introduced yesterday as the head coach of the team. And
now there are of course articles coming out about what
the Lakers need to do, and the athletic Sam Amic
wrote a column.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Here's a quote from it, Martin. They meaning the.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Lakers need more high level talent and they need it
fast if they're going to keep Lebron James and Anthony
Davis from growing frustrated about this uncertain Lakers future ahead, Martin,
(01:21):
you know, I think you know, I am very fond
of Lebron James. Sure people think maybe not because I
think Jordan's the goat, But I love Lebron James, especially
love what he does off the court. What he's about
and as a player love him too. And there was
a time earlier in his career when I thought he
(01:44):
would become the goat.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
But I have to be objective.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I think it's Jordan, but that doesn't diminish my love
for Lebron James. Any that said, and now I think
this is kind of this sells Lebron short, not me,
but this situation he seems to, at least according to
(02:08):
this article. And you know, in his past, puts himself
in these situations where the article is saying they want
a third star, right, Lebron and Anthony Davis want a
third star.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
And Martin.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Because Lebron James is so good, because I have such
respect for his game, I'm gonna be honest, it bothers
me that there's always this feeling that he's gotta get more.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I need more. I need another star.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Anthony Davis is not enough, and a bunch of good
role players are not enough.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
I need more. And I'm like, you wanted to be
baddest dudes in the league.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Still You've got one of the baddest dudes in the
league in his prime as your teammate. You're a perimeter player,
he's a big and the role players aren't bad. And
no one who has a big three, who has a
big three Phoenix, Is that what we're shooting for? I mean,
(03:24):
in name only, contract day Bright, they got three superstars.
Denver doesn't have a big three, Boston doesn't have what
we would call a big three. The Minnesota I mean,
you know you got a good third player Rudy Gobert,
Boston christophsfor Zingis, but not big threes like Wade, Bosh,
(03:46):
Lebron or Durant Curry Clay and even throwing Draymond. Heck,
even love Lebron Kyrie, that's gone. So why do I
hear the best way of this generation, at least the
way it's written, clamoring for a third star.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
The Lakers are one.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Of the few teams with two top fifteen players in
the league, right, I think Ad and Lebron are both
top fifteen players.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Who else has that?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Martin Phoenix Phoenix Phoenix as the Randon Booker, Maybe Boston
if people want to move Jalen Brown up to that level.
But it's not like, I mean, this is not an
era anymore of big threes and stacked teams and all
that so I'm just like if it just I feel
(04:43):
like it's selling he's if indeed this is aw Lebron Fields,
I'm going off the report like it's selling himself.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Short.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
You that guy go out and get it done. I
get it, he's thirty nine about to be forty. I
get all that. But I'm just saying, you, that guy
go out and get it done, because it's not like.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You got scrubs on your roster.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
You got Anthony Davis and Austin Reeves and DiAngelo Russell.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
He got his warts.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Everybody every team got somebody with warts, right, So that that's.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
You know, I just think Lebron's better than that.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
I just I mean, I was yesterday years old when
I heard Rob Polinka and J. J. Reddick the new
brain trust off the Lakers, tell me how much they're
gonna invest in their in their international scouting department, and
then they're in building up the core players that they
have already and and and developing from within. In part
(05:41):
because of this whole second and first Apron situation, I
don't see how it's even possible to get a third
star of a of any repute, like I mean, Donovan
Mitchell and Cleveland. That's a team that seems that's under
the apron. But all reports say he's gonna be back
in Cleveland. So maybe Donovan Mitchell.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Yeah, I don't see that, but but I hear.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
You if de Jontay Murray, I mean, if you, if
you're telling me I'm wrong, let me know, because you're
more plugged in than I am.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
I think I don't think they getting Donovan.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Oh okay, all right, but I thought you were saying
you didn't think Donovan was gonna stay.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
No, no, no, I think de Jontay.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
Murray if the Hawks make that trade, then they can't
do anything else because of their apron status. That doesn't
seem like a team that's gonna be trying to blow
things up. I'm not sure how that would work. I
don't see how it's possible. And also it just flies
in the face of everything we heard yesterday, right all
of the inn was talking about depth, all that exactly,
(06:39):
and then not only that, look at the teams that
just the final four of the NBA, the four most
successful teams this year, the Mavericks, the Timberwolves, the Celtics,
and the Pacers. You already said they don't have any
Big three. But you know what, they all did have
its solid players. Like the gap between the stars and
the role players was was thinner, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
It wasn't like there was.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Ah, you were starting undrafted rookies, not to be smirts
any of them, but starting undrafted rookies next to all
stars because you were paying these all star players so
much money you couldn't afford anybody else like.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
You had guys. So it also it doesn't make sense
as the team building standpoint.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
It doesn't make sense to what the what the rules
now state, right, and it doesn't make sense to what
the Lakers just told us yesterday, Like we were talking
about this yesterday and now we're talking about it today.
So I agree with you in that I don't think
Lebron needs a third star in.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
A way, but I also don't think it's possible for
him to get one.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Yeah, And and look, I just think that when you
look at the Lakers uh situation. Look, I'm not saying
they can go out. I don't think they're gonna go
out and win it, but I think I'm not putting
that all on they don't have a good enough roster.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
And that third guy. I've all I'm said, and you.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Know you've heard me say this before, Martin I was saying,
unless they get Kyrie Irving in the trade, they're not
winning another championship with this group.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And they're obviously not getting Kyrie Irving in the trade.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Right.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
He's set in Dallas. He's not getting moved. Yep. And
part of.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
The reason, obviously Kyrie is simply great, But they're better
players out there, right.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Donovan Mitchell, I think is.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
A right now, would probably go down as a better
player than Kyrie.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I think, absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
But Kyrie fits. We know he fits because he can
play with Lebron. My point is this, can you name
me a third star that if he was brought to
the Lakers you know absolutely would fit.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
No, right, especially when you look at the truncated pool
of stars that they really have potential of getting right, right, Like, sure,
if you were telling me they trade for Nikole Jokis,
I mean, yeah, I think they can figure that out,
but that's not happening, right.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Look at the guys.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
I mean, if they able to get a Paul George,
I think he'd fit. There'd be some growing pays, but
he fit. But they're not getting him either exactly. And
so my point like and a lot of times that
third guy becomes a role.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Player anyway when he's been with Lebron, and.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
So I just don't I don't think that's the way
they should be looking at it.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
I think they need to be looking.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
At what is the best way for us to play
with Lebron at thirty nine years old? Ad is going
to be our focal point. What's the best way to
use Lebron? And what how can we maximize these players
around him? And yeah, if they can add some you know,
role players and parts around him, sure that'd be great.
(09:52):
But I don't look, Austin Reeves is pretty good, Ruey
Hatchamura is pretty good.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
They weren't healthy.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
If they get you know, Jared vy Anderbill's healthy, he's
solid for what he does. You know, if they can
get some of the guys that were injured this year healthy,
Gabe Vincent, then you know.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
These guys have played well for other teams.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
So I think it's about trying to maximize what they
had have. And I just to be talking about a
big three right now, it just seems so so yesterday.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Yeah, it's it's an era of the NBA. That doesn't
it's just not happening anymore at this point. It's like
the flip phone, right, That's when that's what you were doing.
The Big Three was with the flip phone. Well, now
everybody got an iPhone or some type of smartphone. That's
where we're at now. So you're not printing out map
quest anymore. With your Big Three. You're going on Google
Maps on your phone and getting where you need to go.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Odd Couple
with Chris Brussard and Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm
Eastern four pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Hey what's up everybody?
Speaker 5 (11:01):
It's me three time pro bowler LeVar Arrington and I
couldn't be more excited to announce a podcast called Up
on Game.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
What is Up on Game?
Speaker 5 (11:09):
You asked, along with my fellow pro bowler TJ. Huschman
Zada and Super Bowl champion Yup. That's right, Plexico Burds.
You can only name a show with that type of
talent on it. Up on Game We're going to be
sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen
to Up on Game with me LeVar Arrington, TJ. Huschman,
(11:31):
Zada and Plexico Birds on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts
or wherever you get your podcast from.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Some of you may know, some of you may not.
But a woman named Haleema Nash claims that when she
was once on the campus of Duke University that JJ
Reddick called her the N word.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Here's what she tweeted this morning.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
I've only been called the IN word to my face
by a white man once in my life, and it
was on the campus of Duke University while I was
doing work with the basketball team. And today he was
named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
What a world. She obviously is talking about.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
JJ Reddick, Uh and JJ Reddick's camp.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Martin just within the last hour.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Told tmz dot com that there is no truth to
her story. The headline reads, JJ Redick denies calling woman inWORD.
Now TMZ reached out to JJ's camp and here's what
they were told. So direct quote in the story, it reed, No,
(13:01):
it never happened. That's it. It was short and sweet.
The way TMZ described that. They said, we reached out
to Reddicks camp for a response to the claim. And
they completely shut it down. Now, I did a little digging.
I did not talk to this woman, but I did
do some digging. I was, as Rob g knows, I
(13:21):
was trying to get her on the show because I
do want to kind of, you know, this is obviously
a huge claim, and want to get her on the
show to talk about it, verify if it's true and
her account wasn't hacked, and things like that. From what
I understand, she does not want to do any media.
(13:42):
We'll see if she keeps that that going. But and
when't what I understand, Martin, she was surprised at how
this thing kind of snowball. And the reason we didn't
even leave the show with it was because we just
wanted to kind of make sure this thing, you know,
that was really accurate.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Before we dealt with it.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
But now JJ Reddick's camp answers it and they deny it.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
And here's here's what I'll say to that, Martin.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I don't know if Haleema Nash will come out and
speak to it, but what.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I will say.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Is that JJ Reddick better not be lying, or whoever
spoke for him better not be lying. Yeah, because if
you I mean, it'd be bad enough if you did it,
and but you can you know it was if it
had happened, I will say that because he's denied it,
it would have been twenty years ago something like that.
(14:39):
You could you know, I would you could you know,
maybe survive that, right, right, that was so long ago.
Obviously he's developed good relationships with African Americans now.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
The one thing is not like he.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Didn't know any African Americans that do, not like he
hadn't been playing with black players much of his life,
you know, as a top great high school and college player.
But I agree with you that you know it's twenty
years ago.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
If it wasn't a pattern in something, you you.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Know, your behavior at Duke and after that would have
to line up with somebody that is not racist and
somebody who was remorseful if indeed they did that, and you.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Could perhaps survive it.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
The one thing that would possibly nail him if he
had done it and apologize for it, Martin, would be
if players just weren't feeling you because of it, you know,
and obviously you need black players, and if they weren't
feeling you, how they reacted to you would be an
issue or could be an issue.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
But if if it comes.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Out and I you know, I mean, look, you got
two people making claims.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
I don't know who's right or who's telling the truth,
but I'm.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Just saying it better not JJ better not be lying
because if it comes out like I said, it would
have been bad enough.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
But then you deny it.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
That that very well might cost him his job if
it comes out that this was actually true. So I
don't know if they were one on one, if it
was people or whatever. If indeed, again he says it
didn't happen, or his people say it didn't happen, so
we will see. But he better not be lying. That's
my main thing. He better not be lying.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
And I think you're the point you met earlier is
why we didn't leave the show with it without him responding,
because I mean, I had seen this tweet going around.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
People have sent it to my phone, and I was like, look.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
We'll find out sooner or later, because the Internet never
forgets right. The Internet last forever, especially when you look
at some of these, you know, repositories and blogger sites
and especially early internet.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Right, So.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
If in fact it had happened, right, and I'm not
saying I'm not denying it. I'm not taking either side
of it. I'm just laying it out. If it did
happen and he had said some level of contrition and
then said, well, look show me the other instance in
life in which this occurred, then we could have I
think a different level of conversation. I think to you
(17:18):
would out there with a lot of it, a lot
of contingencies about players and how they feel and so on,
and how the general consensus feels about it after the fact.
If but I just maybe I'm maybe I'm naive, Maybe
I'm just I just have trouble believing that one pert
Like if you're the type of person that will call
(17:38):
somebody the end word, I have trouble believing that it's
all you would only do it one time. I feel
like that's one of those damn breakings where it would
just continually happen, and maybe not happen all the time,
but happen enough to where we will hear somebody else
come out from this, right, somebody else come out and say, oh,
this also happened to me. This all is like very
(17:59):
much like when we hear one allegation of sexual assault
by somebody and then all of a sudden we hear
multiple and then boom b boom boo boom, and then
the next day, and then the next day and then
the next day, and now it's like, all right, well, hey,
there's a lot of smoke around this.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Maybe fire here right right, No, look, you're right, and
this is interesting.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Well and also I say, when they acknowledge that it
never happened, I think, you know, if in fact it
never did, like I probably would have just left this you.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Saying, well that it would have been and we don't know, Martin,
would media have jumped on this because I was surprised
it wasn't trending like you said. I received you know,
people send it to me as well, and it wasn't
trending somewhat surprisingly because it got and I'm about to
look up the number now, rob g. You may have
(18:53):
it that it got something like ten million. When the
TMZ story came out, it was ten million views. It's
probably more than that now, rober Gi, see if you
can get a number on how many views this is.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
But yeah, I don't know. It may have gotten so big.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
It's twelve million views, so it may have gotten so
big that they would have had to respond to it.
But you you know, it's interesting. Would would the route
of just denying it not then like it wasn't there?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Have you know? Worked? I don't know.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I mean I think somebody somewhere next time he was
in front of a microphone. I would hope that somebody
would have asked him JJ, there was an allegation on Twitter.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
You're not accusing him of it. Their allegation on.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Twitter that you called this woman the N word?
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Is it true? And give him an opportunity to respond? Yeah. Yeah,
somebody would have asked him that.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I'm sure, but they you know, they responded to I mean,
that's all I can say.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Mark, Now, what do you think? Do you agree with me?
If he's lying?
Speaker 1 (20:07):
I mean, it's bad enough if he did it, But
if he's lining, do you think he can survive that?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
No?
Speaker 3 (20:15):
I probably not. No, I don't think he should can
survive it.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
I think that he would have had to be if,
in fact, again this happened, he would have had to
have been forthcoming in the moment as soon as this
kind of came out, like right now, he would have
had to have been forthcoming and then speak to the
twenty odd years of his life from that moment to
now and show you know, look at my track record.
This this was something that happened to one off.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
It was a mistake.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
It was this was that I'm terribly sorry for all
the people I offended, so on and so forth. But
now you got people screenshot and now they're old blogs
like I don't.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Think that bost it.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
But dot com necessarily has the same journalistic standards as CNN,
you know, But there's headlines here leaked email show was
white NBA baller JJ Reddick called X groupie girlfriend a
dirty N word and stupid S word and that was pebblic.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Now where's that? I know it's in bossip, but where
was that? Just where was the source of that information?
Speaker 4 (21:14):
So the source of it was they're saying, and again
this article was published February eleventh, twenty fourteen, so over
ten years ago. Okay, But they are saying, we first
reported a legal document that was drawn up in two
thousand and seven by lawyers representing NBA player JJ Reddick
and his then pregnant blue model groupie Vanessa Lopez. So
(21:34):
they obviously are taking some editorial uh you know, leeway here.
But it's saying it's reported from a legal document that
was drawn up in two thousand and seven and so,
but my point to that is.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
We will I think we will get to the bottom of.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
This or if it really had, like if there was
a history of this, well no by this time tomorrow,
because the Internet never sleeps.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, you're right about that. We're gonna throw this out
to you guys. Again, We're not We're not saying JJ's line.
We're not saying Helima's line.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
We don't know. You got two people.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
It's a he said, she said thing in the very
definition of that term.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
One of them is lining.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
And like I said, if it's JJ Reddick, it's not
gonna be good.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
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 Man the w.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
NBA and Martin. You know, I've been saying it.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
The storylines are good for the league.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Sure, we'll get to the basketball.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
If the stories bring us there, then we'll get to
the basketball eventually. But just enjoy the stories bringing eyeballs
to your sport. And none other than the legendary magic
Johnson has weighed in on this, and let me first
start here by giving one.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
I don't even know who.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
The caller was, but one of our callers called in
near the end, it might have even been after the
collegiate basketball season, and he said, I don't know if
he asked me or he just made a statement, but
basically he was saying, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark could
(23:31):
be to the NBA or WNBA what Magic and Bird
were to the NBA. And I shot it down, not vehemently,
but you know, I thought that that's a little bit
of a stretch because Bird and Magic they were like,
I mean, they were right.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
They were on the same level.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
You know, Bird had led somewhat like Caitlin Clark, but
different in that Indiana State wasn't even on the level
of IOWA in women's basketball like you know they were.
That was like leading a mid major to the an
undefeated record in the championship game.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Larry Bird was.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Just phenomenal, took the nation by storm, and Magic was
the same way.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Did it differently, obviously, but he was.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
They were the two best players in the country, period,
and I didn't think I knew Angel Reache was good.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
I mean I knew she was really good player and
a future All Star, most likely in the WNBA, but
I didn't think she was on the same level as Clark,
and so far now I do think, and we talked
about it yesterday.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
Clark has been the rookie of.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
The Year, but Reese is giving her a surprise and
run for her money. And Andrew Reese is second in
the league and rebounding, she's averaging thirteen points a game,
which is very good for a rookie.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Like she's balling and moretant.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
So she's played well enough and she's clearly the second
best rookie and some would try to argue that she
should get the award, but she's wayed well enough where
the tension, the rivalry between the two is real, not just.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
It was real in college, clearly, but it's real in
the w NBA.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
And it's not just because of the feistiness and the
pushing and shoving and you know, Reese clapping when her
teammate Kennedy Carter, you know, pushed or bumped into.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
While you want the character, yeah, hipcheck, That's a good
way to put it.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Caitlin Clark it's real because they're both very good players
and Magic Johnson has weighed in and he tweeted this,
Martin Larry and I heightened the NBA's overall popularity. The
Lakers and Celtics sold out arenas throughout the league and
increased television viewers exponentially. The higher viewership numbers led to
(26:04):
the NBA signing significantly larger TV contracts, which then led
to higher salaries for all the players. Caitlin and Angel
are now doing the same thing, selling out arenas and
increasing the viewership. They have taken women's basketball by storm,
and with expiring TV deals on the horizon, the WNBA
(26:25):
is now in a position to negotiate higher TV contracts
and increase salaries for all of the talented players. So
he compared it to the way he and Bird resurrected
the NBA and Martin rob g's gonna give us some
numbers to kind of back that up, and then the
floor's yours.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Yeah, guys.
Speaker 6 (26:46):
So on June sixteenth, when the Fever faced the sky,
they had an average television audience of two point twenty
five million viewers. At the time, it was the largest
figure for any WNBA regular season game into one you
talked about.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
On the show.
Speaker 6 (27:02):
One week later, they broke that record again two point
three zero million viewers this past weekend on ESPN. Now,
I don't know how much of that is both of them,
how much are just kating Clark because again full disclosure,
Clark and the Fever, just them minus Angel Reese have
already had the most viewed WNBA games ever for CBS, ESPN,
(27:24):
ESPN two, ESPN plus ABC and NBA TV.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
So I think that this rivalry is not Magic and
Bird yet, because what made Magic and Bird special. Now,
you obviously had the college lead up, but what made
us care going after that was that they were both
superbly successful in the NBA, both individually and team success. Yes,
(27:57):
that's what's going to have to occur for this to
remain having the same level of Bird magic kind of
juice where we're setting viewership records and so on and
so forth. It's gonna have to be, Oh, Angel Rees
vers Kaitlyn Clark in the championship game or in the postseason,
depending on how it shakes out. When we see that
(28:18):
chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, very much like we
saw it when they were both in undergrad we saw
chapter one, Angel Reese got the ring you know, famously
did the ring meat thing.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
All of that. The Kaitlin Clark was started the firestorm.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
Right then we saw chapter two, Kaitlyn Clark got the
best of her and that one goes on loses to
South Carolina International Championship game. What we're seeing now and
the thing though, Chris, if they're able to have that
team's success, I think that it could be right at
that level of Magic and Bird in terms of the
injection of popularity and the injection of the TV money
(28:57):
and all of that that Magic was alluding to in
his tweet. If no other reason, because we are going
to get a ton of these matchups because the league
is so relatively small compared to other ones.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Right, we're gonna say team.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
It's not gonna be three months in between the next iteration,
so it'll be something that is consistently the conversation. And
I think what's odd, Like I was actually very interested
to hear because I was here doing updates on the
during the game on Sunday. Right the conversation on Monday
was about the game. It wasn't It was about the
(29:34):
game and the way that the game ended. And the
way that Angel Rees had an incredible fourth quarter to
go ahead and get that win. It was about how
Caitlyn Clark only had one field goal in tel in
the last seven minutes.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Who's like, who's to blame?
Speaker 4 (29:49):
It was very much the same way that the conversations
are around the NBA, right it wasn't about the off
the court stuff. So I think we are almost we
are almost already there to where we're just talking about
the game because of the storylines that have been built up.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
That's the thing We're going to see more and more
of these.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Because this league is so relatively small compared to the
NBA was at the time of Magic and Bird in
terms of teams.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Now you're you're absolutely right in that if that's what
they're gonna have to do to equal Magic and Bird.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
You know, on on a relative scale, it's never.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Obviously gonna be the NBA, but relatively speaking, if they
both start winning, if they both start winning, they will
definitely you know that that's the next step for.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Them to get to.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
And it's a lot like it in other ways. Like
Caitlin Clark, let's say she wins Rookie of the Year.
I think she's on pace to do that. Bird won
Rookie of the Year, but Magic won the championship.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yep, you know, and I.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Look the Chicago sky are. They're both at the same
level their teams. They're fighting for that eighth and final
playoff spot and maybe though rise. They've got time for
both of them to rise in the standings, but that
neither of them are on like the best teams or
even close to the best teams in the league.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
So they won't do that this year, it doesn't look like.
But you're right.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
If they were to somehow both like start winning the
way Magic and Bird did, it really would take off.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
And it's great.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I'm happy for the w NBA. I'm happy for the
players in the league. I'm happy for all the you know,
fan the girls basketball players that aren't even in the
w NBA, because obviously they've had the league to shoot
for as far as getting there. But now it's a
league that, at least for now, is getting more publicity.
(31:56):
Let me ask you this, Martin, do you see it
ever like kind of going back, maybe not quite to
where it was, but kind of fading from the national consciousness,
which it is squarely in the national consciousness right now.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
Uh it, I think it really has to do with
the strength of the college game because what we had,
like when we saw like this, the w NBA boost
that we're seeing now is direct result of the rivalry
of angel Resa, Kaylin Clark and college. Right That's what
is Like you said, there's storylines, right, like, that's what
(32:33):
kind of is what we're where. That's growing and it
was on the way up, but this skyrocketed it.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
So let's say, for example.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
We get uh, you know, you know, Juju Watkins and
I'm not sure who the other you know, hot sophomore
guard or forward or whoever in the in women's college basketball.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
They got some great players right now. I mean Page
Becker's like you said, Juju Page only be there for
one more year.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
That's so. But I'm saying, do you think see I
don't where I disagree, I don't.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
I think it's dependent on Caitlin and the current players
in the WNBA. I mean Asia Wilson's fantastic, and they
got some other great players too. But like, if let's
just look, the rivalry is good. But as Rob g
he read the numbers, Martin, for the most part is
(33:23):
Caitlyn it's not a fifty to fifty thing as far
as boosting the league. We've heard the numbers. Now the
rivalry is is you can call that fifty to fifty.
Angel is more popular than most other players in the WNBA.
If not, I don't know if I say if not
all of them, But but Caitlyn Clark is the one
(33:46):
driving these numbers, and so I look, I think Martin
is as long as she plays well, and if she
does become like the dominant figure or at least one
of the top two or three along with Asia Wilson
because he ain't going nowhere, then I think that will
boost the WNBA by itself, irregardless of what the college
(34:09):
players do beneath them.
Speaker 4 (34:10):
Well, I think if we see you know, college players
like you know we have, we get that buy in
and then they go to different teams. All of a sudden,
we're paying attention to more teams in the WNBA. And
again there's only a handful of twelve teams in the
whole league, So you get a star on every team,
then boom, we're playing attention to everybody
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Which is why what what's boost the DNBA exactly is
that they marketed individual stars,
Hosts And Creators
kelvin washington
Rob Parker
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