December 18, 2024 • 38 mins
Former NFL offensive lineman and FOX Sports Radio Weekend host Ephraim Salaam is in for Kelvin, and he and Rob discuss the narrative that Adam Silver is the worst commissioner in American pro sports and the Odd Couple Crew debates iconic Christmas songs in this week’s edition of One’s Gotta Go. Plus, The Athletic senior NBA writer Jovan Buha swings by to discuss all the latest happenings around the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Odd Couple podcasts. Be sure
to check us out live every weekday from seven pm
to ten pm Eastern four to seven Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Find your local station for The Odd.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Couple at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us
live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
All right, our number two of the Odd Couple. On
a worship Wednesday, Rob Parker and h E from Salam.
I'm sorry from Sala.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yes, I got you man.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
You know people I do a show where come on mate,
it does. It's only won me though, I can promise
you that.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Well, you know what, if you were in the same
studio with me, I would probably I'm not.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I'm good. I'm good. You and your tickle feel sick.
I'm good. I'm good.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Rob Parker, Ephraim Salam in for kelvin Washington. On this
orse of Wednesday. It is the Odd Couple. We're broadcasting
live from the tire Rach dot com studios. Tyrach dot
com will helpe you get there an unmatched selection, fast
free shipping. Free Road has a protection and over ten
thousand recommended installers tire rach dot Com the way tire
(01:20):
buying should be and Ephraim, we're gonna do some NFL
coming up in about twenty eight minutes. Johann Boja from
The Athletic he's a senior NBA reporter, covers the Lakers
as a podcast as well. We'll kept catch up with
him on the Lakers. And also we're doing one's Gotta
(01:40):
Go icon of Christmas songs. We'll pick one that you
gotta pull out of that list. That's gonna be interesting
because there's so many great Christmas songs. So we'll see
that there. But let's go here with the NBA. And
I know you've heard a little bit about Adam Silver
and his conversation with some members of the media and
(02:03):
he finally, you know, acknowledged because he was pushing back
on people talking about the ratings.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Ephraim, they are really horrific. They really are.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
And I know, you go to the Laker games and
you watch basketball or whatever, it's a hard watch. And
the numbers are incredible. They've lost half of their audience
since twenty twelve, half television audience since twenty twelve. The
numbers are that bad and you just can't say all
of cable numbers are bad because guess what last year
(02:35):
baseball had a bump up, right with the playoffs and
the World Series and the Yankees and the Dodgers and
the season the NFL, we know what the numbers are.
So there's only one major league right that's struggling, and
that's the NBA.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
I knew that this was headed for a disaster, thinking
directly to two years ago, Christmas in the NFL dated Christmas.
They took over Christmas. Now they took over Christmas, and
it was on Saturday, I believe, because last year I
(03:19):
believe it's Christmas was on a Sunday. Anyway, the NBA
has owned Christmas forever. The great matchups, that's literally when
people start watching the NBA. I always thought the NBA
should start on Christmas Day, but the guys want their summers,
(03:44):
so there's that. I knew it was over for him
when on that Christmas Day game, none of the Stars
were really playing, right, So I believe the Lakers played
the nets. I remember that, yeah, yeah, and none of
the players, the Marquee players were playing. They were heard
(04:07):
Lebron was heard ad and so it became oh, Okay,
do I want to watch this or do I want
to watch a n NFL will always beat the NBA.
This country is bred on football, literally bred on football
college football. No one watches college basketball to march madness,
except for if you're following a team Go Aztecs. And
(04:30):
so the NBA finds itself in a very precarious situation.
Although it is a player dominated league, it do is
not resonating with fans because there's a lot of flopping,
a lot of whining, a lot of load management. There
(04:53):
are things that have become unappealing about the NBA, including
the number of three point attempt So the game has
shifted in a way that analytics is not only killing
the game on the court, it's killing the game on
your living room couch because you don't want to see that.
(05:16):
I can go to the twenty four Our Fitness or
Life Fitness or Equinox and watch everybody shoot threes. But
when I watch the NBA, I want to see ball movement.
I want to see cutting. I want to see basketball.
As a basketball coach myself, if a kid comes down
(05:38):
to the court and shoots three point we got to have
a conversation.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Blow what's come on over here? So on the talk,
let's come on over here.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
And so I'm talking about fast breakthrees at nine ten
years old. I'm like, hey man, you're not even built
like that, brother, But that's what the product is. So
if the product becomes unwatchable, then what are we doing?
We don't have compelling matchups?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Right?
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Well, well, this is what is interesting is now the
commissioner finally talked about rob g have the details and
then this is where we want to take the next
part of this conversation.
Speaker 6 (06:12):
Yeah, so at the NBA Cup in Vegas, you know,
the media members got a hold of them in a
conference room and they were talking about a series of things,
one of them about possibly moving out of Vegas, so
on and so forth. The other one being, you know,
the ratings and how people have kind of decided that
one of the biggest issues with the NBA right now,
as you guys mentioned, is a three pointer. All the
is is threes, and whoever makes the most threes that
(06:33):
night's going to win. He said in part that the
NBA is quote having many discussions about the style of basketball.
He didn't want to reduce it to a so called
three point shooting issue, just something we want to look
at more holistically. But then he added later criticisms of
often is becoming quote cookie cutter and that teams are
copying each other is something he thinks the league needs
(06:55):
to look at and take seriously.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
From here's my issue.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
And this is why I said he's the worst commissioner
is he's a reactionary commissioner. And I'm sorry you have
to be looking at the game yourself and saying this
is not entertaining, like like there are people who are
basketball fans. Okay, I've been covering the league since nineteen
eighty seven. Okay, when I covered e From when I
(07:20):
started covering, I used to be on the commercial flights
with the players sitting next to him.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
That's how long.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
When the NBA, I was there, when the NBA used
to get less meal money than the sports writers from
the national newspaper.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
When you had the cigarette of the ashtrays in the right.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Smoking, and I.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Went to Europe. You ready, the last twelve seats, rob g.
The last twelve seats on a flight was smoking, right,
the last twelve I was in thirteens. I'm the whole
flight to Europe where they're smoking the twelve rows. I mean,
(08:01):
think about that, all right. So this is my issue
is now after you've ever like, haven't your people and
you watch the product, and you should have been like, no,
we need to have some conversations. We need to change
our game. Everybody rips Rob Manford.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
The MLB commissioner Ephraim looked at the game, and what
did he do? No more shift, we don't want home
runs and strikeouts. He made some radical changes. Right, you
can't throw over a million times. You can't bring in
nine pitchers to pitch right, they got all got to
(08:43):
warm up and come in and all that and exactly right.
And you just said the pitch clock revolutionized. Tay, you
chop thirty minutes off the game. I've gone to Dodger games, Ephraim,
and I'm like, it's over, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Like what I don't even feel like there long enough?
I want the game's over.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
No, you don't want to be You got to get
back and we get that traffic. That's what the time is.
Getting in it out of that stadium. What a great experience.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
And I'm telling anybody, if you're on your bucket list,
you want to go to Dodger Statium, but the traffic,
I'm not mad at me.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Time.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
You need time, so you can wait in the stadium
until everybody leaves and then you can get out of there.
I do get your point, and it's a product. Look,
you can't put the genie back in the bottle. You're
not going to make three pointers worth two pointers now
to reverse what analytics has done, kids are training to
(09:40):
do one step, fake, step back three. That's what the
training is at early as eight nine years old. So
that portion of the game, you've let it get out
of control. Now you can do what they've done already.
You can move the three point line back, but guys
are shooting from the logo anyway. So it it's one
(10:00):
of those situations where I really and truly don't know
how you fix what the NBA product that we get
to see every night every single person. What you can
do is you can implement if you score with your
back to the basket in the post, that's worth three points,
(10:22):
right because.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
No one needs to do it anymore. No one can
do it anymore.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
I mean, if you tell one of these young kids,
go to score what your back to the basket in
the post, they might kill themselves, like it's it's so
foreign to them now, the mid range jump shot is
so foreign to a lot of players. It's either a
layup dunk or a three pointer. There's no in between.
(10:48):
And nobody wants to watch that. Who wants to watch that? Nobody?
That's exactly right, and that's that's the point.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
But he has to see, Like, you can sit here
and brag about your your social media views and all that, dude.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Your media partners.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
You don't think the TNT thing was by accident like
they were like when they threaten the NBA, because they
have been on the bad end of a lot of
games from where the stars aren't playing. How many time
did you tune in, write a matchup and then you
turn it on and realize that two stars from each
team ain't playing.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
I'm good, I'm gonna move on to something else, right,
move on to a Hackey sack or something.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
But you're absolutely right.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Look they I don't know, I really don't know what
the answer is this new proposed playoff, I mean, all
star game format trash.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Trash from I'm like, can you imagine? Even even Kevin
Durant said this is terrible.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Are you kidding?
Speaker 4 (11:50):
I heard Magic on Speak today what he said, Matt
and they asked him about it, Kei, Sean and Paul Pierce,
they really asked him about what has happened to the
All Star Game? And he said, Look, we hated the
East right like I hated Jordan and Isaiah and Bird.
(12:13):
We wanted to beat them. I refused to let them
get one up on me. And that was the thing
that was driving the league. When you look at the
rivalries in the league, the Bulls and the Pistons and
the Lakers and the Celtics, Like when you look at
the Bulls and the next the Bulls and everybody for
(12:34):
all of the nineties, But when you look at that,
when you look at Philly and New York and all
of those rivalries, there was genuine dislike for the team,
the city, the players, and they played like that. They
played like it mattered. You were all those Miami nick
(13:00):
and the pacers in the Knicks, bro Van was on
the legs. That was that commonplace look. And I know
Adam Silver came in and was like, look, we're not
gonna we need more scoring. We don't want people fighting
on the court. But what you did was you took
the edge away from competing. You must step up and compete.
(13:20):
It is not at any given time, at any given
NBA game. Right now, you can watch a game for
five minutes and there complete zero defense played and zero
shots outside of a.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Three pointer taken. Try it.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
If you don't believe me, watch a five minute span
of any NBA game and there will be a time
where no one shoots the ball outside of a free
throw inside the three point line. How is that sustainable?
It's it's incredible.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
It's incredible that that is what we're viewing and why
people have tuned out. You could, people can poop pull
it all they want. These are hard call facts when
you look at the numbers, they just are. And you
can't say all everybody's ratings are down because it's just
not true, you know what I mean, It's just not true.
It's not it's the the NBA's ratings are down, and
(14:12):
it's for a reason. The game and how many times
you heard Charles Barkley on inside the NBA go this
game is unwatchable.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
These unwatched terrible, unwatchable.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
So I think I think that that's the way, uh
that's being an honest call on the NBA, and unfortunately
Adam Silver had to wait for other people.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
And now he's seen this.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
So eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox eight seven
seven nine, six sixty three sixty nine. And real, simple,
is he the worst commissioner in sports? I mean, make
a case. If you got somebody else, I'll gladly take him.
But I believe, for real he's the worst commissioner. And
(14:56):
he's been soft with the players, the load management, a
big black guy for the league, and it's just a
lot of things about the league that's not good. And
I can say this with complete confidence. There's no way
David Stern would have sat around and allowed that and
allowed stars to miss game national game for the NBA.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
You couldn't do it. They're making too much money to
do that. Crazy's making too much. Sixty million dollars a year.
It's going to get up to an eighty eighty now
one hundred million dollars a year for you to figure
out if you're sore enough to play a back to back.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Unbelievable, all right, eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox.
It is the Eye Couple right here on Fox Sports Radio,
stick and stay America.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
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listen live.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
It is the eyd Couple On a worship Wednesday. Parker
E from salam In for Calvin Washington coming to you
live from the tire Rach dot com studios. And in
an emergency, you want Rapid Radios instant push to talk
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(16:22):
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go to Rapid Radios dot com now for up to
sixty percent off and free shipping all right. E from
eight seven to seven ninety nine on Fox talking about
the NBA commissioner Adam silversse, I think he's the worst
(16:44):
commissioner going in sports. Uh so much has happened in
the NBA under his watch, and the league is just
not where it should be. There's so many talented players,
ephrom and the league should be better. That's that's all.
Excuse me, I'm saying it should be better. Eight seven,
seven ninety nine on Fox. You got some calls Ken
(17:05):
in California. You're on the couple of.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (17:10):
They Rob the Apron.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What's up Ken? What's happening? Man?
Speaker 8 (17:14):
All right, man, I got a little good news, you know,
because the show just got better because Ipron's on. You know,
he's knows he's inside the bowl. You know, he's he's
very intelligent and he's not vanilla.
Speaker 7 (17:28):
Like Rob some days. But anyway, you see that anyway.
But Rob's right about one thing that's sterning. You know,
the game is so polluted. See I get something watching
the bull Man right now, and I'm I love the Lakers,
but I can't even watch them right now because there's
three point game we watched. You know, they give three
points to the Beardsvender from the third row. But you
(17:51):
know what, I still listen, but you know, today I'm
listening even more because Hepron's on. Thanks a lot.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
All right.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
There you go. When you text him to call in,
did you no to do that?
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Many people? Look, I'm the voice of the people. The
people will come and they will respond, Oh, okay, I
know what it is, man.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
How about it is?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Andre in Massachusetts, You're on the odd couple Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
What's up Drake?
Speaker 7 (18:13):
How you doing.
Speaker 9 (18:14):
Thanks for taking the call. Yes, listen, Adam Silver, I
cannot say that he is the worst commissioner. I'm going
to put him up there with Roger Goodell at the
top of the commissioner hierarchy. He's not getting Goodell money
rumor at close to seventy million dollars. But listen, you
make a good point about what's going on with the analytics.
Speaker 8 (18:35):
Run them up.
Speaker 9 (18:35):
Team shooting seventy five to three pointers worse than a
youth wreck game. Okay, because everything has to be threes
or dunk and we're beholden to the stat nerds instead
of playing reasonable, pragmatic basketball. I'll grant you that. In
terms of ratings, I have to say Adam Silver is
big in the digital space. I'm going to credit some
(18:57):
of it to people cutting the cord and viewing.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
But the only problem with that is that this the
NFL numbers and the Baseball numbers haven't suffered like this,
And that's the only reason andre that you can't. If
you showed me across the board Ephraim that all the
sports were suffering from cord cutting, then I'll buy it.
But they've lost half of their audience forty eight percent
(19:21):
since twenty twelve.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
Those are facts, not feelings. Go look at the ratings, dude,
get it.
Speaker 9 (19:28):
Yep, go ahead, yeah, And bottom line, is the NBA
too political at times? Does that turn people off?
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Yes? Fine, it's not that it's bad play. It's bad play.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
You could say all you want about this that it's
bad play.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
That's just a cop out. It's political.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
No, it's not.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
It's because I don't want to go watch somebody take
seventy five threes.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
That's what I don't want to see.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I told you I've been coming the league for thirty
nine years.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Awful.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Yeah, I don't think the politicism of the you know
what the players are standing for hurts. The NFL really
didn't get hurt by the kneeling. That was the whole
big thing. If the product is good, people are going
to watch. Do you remember it's been subpart for that.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And do you remember when Baseball took away the All
Star Game from Atlanta because of the way that they
voted down in Georgia?
Speaker 5 (20:22):
You remember that?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Okay, so Baseball did it.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
You cannot put an inferior You know why college basketball
and the WNBA and women's basketball is really taken over.
They're fundamentally sound because they're just not relying solely on
athletic ability and ability to jump. So you have motion,
(20:50):
you have offense, you have backdoor cuts, you have pump,
fake screens, all the things you teach a kid how
to do to play basketball starting out still get that
in college a lot of the times.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
And in n W n b A All right, Jo
vonn Booja from the Athletic, he's a senior NBA reporters.
Coming up next, we'll get some skinny on the Lakers
and what's going on.
Speaker 5 (21:13):
But first let's get you caught up.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
All right, let's welcome in Jo vonn booh from the Athletic.
He's a senior NBA reporter covers the Lakers, has a
podcast and all yo, Von, what's up?
Speaker 8 (21:38):
Man?
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Say hi to eat from you on the eye couple
of Fox.
Speaker 10 (21:41):
Man, How you doing, how's it going good?
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Doing good? Doing good? Before we get to some Lakers stuff.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Just curious about the NB I just said I think
Adam Silver's the worst commissioner in sports.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
The NBA, where it.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Is the ridiculous threes, The ratings are down time, people
don't want to you.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
You're there, I mean night watching games or whatever. Is
the game?
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Is it entertaining to you or the fans crazy for
not thinking it is seeing all these threes?
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Threes are dunks, that's it.
Speaker 10 (22:14):
Yeah, I think it's It's still entertaining to me. I'm
not gonna lie, but get I also get the frustration
everyone's dealing with right now in terms of threes and
All Star Weekend and the NBA Cup and just the
regular season in general. I think they've de emphasized the
importance of the regular season, and that, to me, is
(22:37):
the biggest issue that they got to figure out. Is
just with the NBA has become more of a sixteen
game sport in terms of people focusing on the playoffs.
And I have friends who are casual fans who are like,
in the regular season, they don't care, and then once
April comes around, they lock in for the playoffs. I
think figuring out a way to get people to care
about the regular season is the thing that they got
(22:58):
to figure out.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
They got it absolutely wrong with the whole play in
and give the more teams.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
So Ephraim right now, twenty teams.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Are involved out of the thirty are involved and could
be in a playoff. So that's how you deemphasize the
regular season. If you've made it smaller and only ten teams,
then you'd have to play, right, Yova, You have to play.
Speaker 5 (23:20):
You have to play the whole year. If there are
only ten playoff.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Spots, well, you don't make more money, no, I know,
you know having less games. So you know the play
in works in April, the end of March when everybody
is trying to vibe for one of those last few
play in spots. But you know, as far as pre Christmas,
(23:46):
as far as pre All Star, the NBA is, unless
you're following your team and watching your team, it's hard
to watch. So I'm gonna get to my team, and
that's the Lakers. Since you know a thing or two
about the Lakers, what do we need? What does Rob
Palinka need to do at the trade deadline to uh hire,
(24:07):
make this make this roster better, be quiet, make this
roster better and more consistent.
Speaker 10 (24:15):
Well, first, first off, he needs to do something. It's
been twenty two months since the Lakers have made a trade,
so I think starting with making it, has.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
It really been that long? Almost two?
Speaker 7 (24:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
I just hurt my soul right there. Wow.
Speaker 10 (24:31):
Last big trade they made it was at the twenty
twenty three trade deadline when they traded away Russell Westbrook
and got d Angel Russell and all those guys remade
the roster, and they wanted a nice little run there.
But since then, twenty twenty three off season, no moves,
twenty twenty four trade deadline, no trades, twenty twenty four offseason,
no trade. So like we're now approaching the fourth trade
window for the Lakers that's actually go on and improve
(24:54):
this roster. So I think first and foremost that they
got to make a trade, But terms of what they need,
I just supported at the athletic from talking to people
with the team and also talking to people on the
league that they kind of identify three positional archetypes that
they would like to add. It's gonna be tough to
add all three. So I think that they got to
pick two of the three, but one is a defensive minded,
(25:18):
big physical center. They don't really have one of those
guys on the roster. You know, I got to back
up Anthony Davis and be reliable defensively. Second position is
a three and D wing, which they really haven't had
any of since they traded several of them away in
the Russell Westbrook trade. And then third thing is a
(25:38):
big athletic guard who has a certain level of speed
and quickness athleticism to partner with Austin Reeves in the
back court. So let me three going.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Yeah, let me ask you a question about the big
I was spent the last couple of days. Was with
him earlier today and I was pleading him. I'm like, hey, man,
get in the truck. I'll drive you over there. Right now.
I was with JaVale McGee, right, we have some business
that we're doing together, and I'm like, bruh, how are
(26:13):
you not on the Laker roster right now? He was like,
I'm too expensive? You know the what is the veteran
minimum for him is three point two or something like that.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
I'm like, hey, bro, whatever that is.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
I mean, just to have someone who's won a championship
with them, who's won two other championships with Golden State.
His presence, what he brings to the middle, so you
can bring somebody in and give a D a breaker.
I put a D at the four and have him
be the rent protector. To me, that's what we need.
And he's here just working out, ready to go.
Speaker 10 (26:53):
Yes. The other issue that they're currently facing right now
is they have a aster conch. They have fifteen players
who guaranteed contracts, so they couldn't even sign a GVL
McGee or another free agent if they wanted to. Uh,
And that was an issue that they could have addressed
over the summer if they attached most likely you know,
some type of protected second round pick, but which isn't
(27:14):
really a you know, too much of an asset to
give up to dump one of these minimum guys. That
last summer they gave all these VET minimum players player
options to entice them to sign with them, but then
it kind of backfired when all three of those guys
ended up opting in. Now you have one of those guys,
Christian Wood, who's yet to even play this season, and
(27:35):
that has just been kind of dead money on your What.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
About Brownie's contract spot there?
Speaker 10 (27:40):
Well, look, he scored sixty two points in his last
three G League games, so I think you're coming alone.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Man, he's coming alone. Okay, look at better.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Okay, I'm just saying, all right, let me ask you
about Lebron.
Speaker 5 (27:56):
I'm glad have you not scoring there? Where are you
going to score?
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Lebron sabbatical and what that whole thing was about, I mean,
obviously to what people thinking, Okay, he's ready to bolt
Dodge City and he's ready to go somewhere else and
he can't win here, he's ready to cash out.
Speaker 5 (28:12):
What was that all about?
Speaker 10 (28:15):
Yeah, So my understanding was it was just a physical
and mental break for Lebron. I think that they could
have handled it better. Certainly when you.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Say personal reasons, it just sounds like something else is
going exactly.
Speaker 10 (28:29):
And then it's not uncommon and he was just alluding
to Christian Wood, like, it's not uncommon for an injured
player to not be with the team at practice or
to not travel on the road with the team. That
is that is commonplace. But to then insert, well, he's
not here a practice actually for personal reasons, and then
(28:49):
to be asked before the game, you know, do you
know when Lebron is going to return to the team
and you say no, then that's where it starts to
fan the flames of speculation, handle spear seas And so
I think if today had just said, you know, if
we get to asked, hey, where's Lebron, we don't see
him I practice, Oh he's at home reh having its foot.
(29:13):
Then you know in Minnesota, when is Lebron gonna return
to the team, Well, we get back to LA tomorrow,
so he'll be back with us in LA tomorrow, or
you know, whenever he's done, we having whatever, whatever the
case may be. But I think the optics of it
were not great, and they certainly played into that. But
but ultimately he missed two games. He gave him a
(29:35):
nine day break, and I think it ultimately was not
a big deal. But but obviously the way it was
looking at the time, it was like, well is he gone?
Like what's he doing? Did he go get a procedure somewhere?
Like there was all these rumors and conspiracies. But ultimately,
I think dude's about to be forty in year twenty two.
He needed one week hiatus and he's back and looked
(29:57):
pretty good in his game back.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
Is JJ read a Coach of the Year or not?
You don't have to Joe vine. You don't have to
dance that. No, don't, don't, don't, don't subscribe to that.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
I'm just saying I don't know when they started three
and oh I heard he was the next pat Riley
and then all of a.
Speaker 5 (30:19):
It was ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
And the thing is, uh, you know when you look
at Darvin Ham, they're like in the same spot.
Speaker 5 (30:25):
It hasn't been that has it been a big difference
to you?
Speaker 4 (30:28):
Well, at least he's coaching. Darvin Ham refused to make adjustments.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
What I would what I.
Speaker 10 (30:34):
Would say to that is like, I think sometimes two
things can be true.
Speaker 7 (30:39):
So I think with.
Speaker 10 (30:41):
The Lakers especially, there's always a lot of attention on
the blame and the scapegoating and uh, years ago Russell Westbrook,
then more recently Darvin Ham, and I think as we've
seen in both scenarios since those since Russ was traded
and then since Darvin Ham was let go, they may
(31:01):
have been part of the problem, but they weren't the
only problem. And I think that's where I kind of
land with this of I don't agree with some of
the decisions Darvin Ham made last season in terms of
keeping Tory and Prince as a starter for fifty plus games,
some of the rotations and just not playing some of
the best players in combinations enough. And ultimately, I think
(31:23):
the most damning thing of all which came out in
the story today was he said he does not talk
to Lebron or Ade since the firing, Ady called him
out in a playoff series publicly to us, saying that
he feels like the team isn't prepared. Like that's about
so regardless of what the people on the sidelines are
saying in terms of what Darvin did, the players were
(31:44):
out on him, like that's indisputable. But even with that,
the Lakers are still a lot of the same issues.
So I look at the roster, and I look at
the front office and them not making a trade for
almost twenty two much.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yeah, and also we saw the Lakers get blown out
where it looked like the players quit on JJ Reddick.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
I mean, like, what was that.
Speaker 10 (32:05):
That's That's the second part for me is that it's
to me, I've almost compared it to a meat grinder,
where like it feels like coaches go into that locker
room and and get showed up and spit out. And
it was Frank Vogel, it was Arvin Ham right now
it's JJ Reddick. So at some point that's got to
fall in the players, and that's got to fall specifically
on Lebron and eighty as the two leaders in that
locker room. Why why, why does this team start to
(32:28):
tune out their head coach at some point in within
a two year span, and now three straight coaches like that,
That is a bit alarming.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
There's no doubt there's a pattern there, and it's alarming.
Jo vom B, thank you, my man. We appreciate the
insight as always.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
He's the athlete, your NBA reporter, all right, so uh
he's always giving us some good insight.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Great to heart, want to show you.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
I'm gonna let it out, hating your heart? Litter? What
the nicest guy going hate hate?
Speaker 3 (33:02):
All right?
Speaker 1 (33:03):
It's our most controversial segment of the week. One's Gotta
Go is next. It is the odd Couple right here
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 11 (33:10):
Stick and stay if you too like Rob Parker, give
me the money shot in the us of A.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
It is the Odd Couple. Our number two of a
worship Wednesday. Rob Parker from Salam coming to you live
from the ti rach dot com studios. Tyre rach dot
com will help you get there in unmatched selection, fast
free shipping, free road has a protection and over ten
thousand recommended installers. Tire rack dot com the way tire
(33:52):
buying should be. All right, Ephraim, I don't know if
you ever played. I don't think you have.
Speaker 5 (33:56):
But One's Gotta Go is next here on the Odd Couple.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Fives of crowd is that.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
When I'm planning fun even number figure it out.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
That's right, One's Gotta Go.
Speaker 6 (34:12):
The most controversial segment in the Odd Couple's stable, the
one where we decide which of our beloved items gotta go.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Can't talk about it anymore.
Speaker 6 (34:20):
We did Rob's jingles had to go, we did Thanksgiving
meals that gotta go. And this week extremely controversial Christmas
right around the corner.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
What is the week from tonight? Week from Tonight? Unbelievable?
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Wow.
Speaker 6 (34:34):
I did a survey here and Generative i AI gave
us the list of the five most popular.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Christmas songs of all time.
Speaker 6 (34:43):
Using whatever list they use, this is what they determined
are the five most popular, in order. All I Want
for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey, jingle Bell Rock,
Last Christmas, White Christmas, and Rocking around the Christmas Tree.
You got five songs, rob one of them's gotta go.
(35:03):
You cannot listen to it ever again for the rest
of your life.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
What was the third one? You said, I want to
get back last Christmas?
Speaker 2 (35:12):
You didn't even know that. No, I'm gonna give up Christmas.
I gave you my heart.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Oh no, that's the one. Absolutely get rid of that.
First of all, you know, baby is Cold Outside should
be in there. That's a that's a christ you.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Know, even though you know what, even though they.
Speaker 5 (35:30):
Never mentioned that it's a Christmas song, it's just that
a date.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
So no, it's not stopping Baby cold Outside. No, he's
worried about her. I really gotta go. Baby shouldn't stay. No,
you know, we're just stay inside. Yeah, unbelieve there's a
rotten answer. Ephraim. One's gotta go, right, just do it
(35:54):
ever again.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
Maria stays, Okay, come on, give me, give it, give them,
give them to me.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
It's white Christmas. It's all for Christmas. Hu jingle bell rock,
last Christmas, white Christmas, walking rocking around the Christmas Street. Yeah,
last Christmas.
Speaker 4 (36:17):
Now if that was this Christmas, that would be different,
right this Christmas.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Okay, yes, that's why it's not one of it's top
that's why either. All right, Welex, Alex, I'm gonna take
a stand for all of us here the miss So
we're getting rid of white Christmas, white Christmas. It's twenty four.
We gotta be more appropriate. Help everybody there, inclusive, and
I just gotta say Christmas. There we go from right Christmas.
(36:46):
I don't care for that, Alex.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
Did you see the election? Oh I'm sorry.
Speaker 11 (36:49):
Oh you find a quick way to make every conversation
interesting and I love you for that. No, like, for example,
like the old movie, the one with Bing Crosby. I
think it's called white Christmas or whatever it is too.
I watched the movie. It was like, Okay, I get
why they call it that movie. You know, it's just
I could do without these, you know, it just it
doesn't do it for me. All Right, So I'm taking
you agree with Alex. Yeah, white Christmas on the list,
(37:10):
but not for those reasons.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
That was just a funny reason. Yeah, it's just easy.
I could never listen to that song again.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
But so last Christmas you're cool with, but a good one.
Speaker 11 (37:20):
Come on, you're not in the kitchen cooking up some
lamb chops. You're like, what's Christmas? I ain't a baby
lamb now this time? I mean geez from the studio away,
you know, stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
So I had an answer, but it's his is two
to two. I feel like I gotta be the tie
break ahead you do?
Speaker 5 (37:37):
What was your answer?
Speaker 2 (37:38):
I would have got rid of Mariah who now we
don't even want to hear you.
Speaker 6 (37:43):
Only reason is all of these other songs have been
covered by other artists, so that one is just Mariah
Like it's you can't.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Frank Sinatra and Kelly Clarks. That's not fair. I got
your rid of whatever? Uh, White Chris, you gotta go. Yeah,
what's right? White Christmas? Got Christmas?
Speaker 5 (38:00):
I get man. You guys are hard all right?
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Our number couples sticking? Now is time for kwanzas
Thanks for listening to The Odd Couple podcasts. Be sure
to check us out live every weekday from seven pm
to ten pm Eastern four to seven Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Find your local station for The Odd.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Couple at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us
live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
All right, our number two of the Odd Couple. On
a worship Wednesday, Rob Parker and h E from Salam.
I'm sorry from Sala.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yes, I got you man.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
You know people I do a show where come on mate,
it does. It's only won me though, I can promise
you that.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Well, you know what, if you were in the same
studio with me, I would probably I'm not.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I'm good. I'm good. You and your tickle feel sick.
I'm good. I'm good.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Rob Parker, Ephraim Salam in for kelvin Washington. On this
orse of Wednesday. It is the Odd Couple. We're broadcasting
live from the tire Rach dot com studios. Tyrach dot
com will helpe you get there an unmatched selection, fast
free shipping. Free Road has a protection and over ten
thousand recommended installers tire rach dot Com the way tire
(01:20):
buying should be and Ephraim, we're gonna do some NFL
coming up in about twenty eight minutes. Johann Boja from
The Athletic he's a senior NBA reporter, covers the Lakers
as a podcast as well. We'll kept catch up with
him on the Lakers. And also we're doing one's Gotta
(01:40):
Go icon of Christmas songs. We'll pick one that you
gotta pull out of that list. That's gonna be interesting
because there's so many great Christmas songs. So we'll see
that there. But let's go here with the NBA. And
I know you've heard a little bit about Adam Silver
and his conversation with some members of the media and
(02:03):
he finally, you know, acknowledged because he was pushing back
on people talking about the ratings.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Ephraim, they are really horrific. They really are.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
And I know, you go to the Laker games and
you watch basketball or whatever, it's a hard watch. And
the numbers are incredible. They've lost half of their audience
since twenty twelve, half television audience since twenty twelve. The
numbers are that bad and you just can't say all
of cable numbers are bad because guess what last year
(02:35):
baseball had a bump up, right with the playoffs and
the World Series and the Yankees and the Dodgers and
the season the NFL, we know what the numbers are.
So there's only one major league right that's struggling, and
that's the NBA.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
I knew that this was headed for a disaster, thinking
directly to two years ago, Christmas in the NFL dated Christmas.
They took over Christmas. Now they took over Christmas, and
it was on Saturday, I believe, because last year I
(03:19):
believe it's Christmas was on a Sunday. Anyway, the NBA
has owned Christmas forever. The great matchups, that's literally when
people start watching the NBA. I always thought the NBA
should start on Christmas Day, but the guys want their summers,
(03:44):
so there's that. I knew it was over for him
when on that Christmas Day game, none of the Stars
were really playing, right, So I believe the Lakers played
the nets. I remember that, yeah, yeah, and none of
the players, the Marquee players were playing. They were heard
(04:07):
Lebron was heard ad and so it became oh, Okay,
do I want to watch this or do I want
to watch a n NFL will always beat the NBA.
This country is bred on football, literally bred on football
college football. No one watches college basketball to march madness,
except for if you're following a team Go Aztecs. And
(04:30):
so the NBA finds itself in a very precarious situation.
Although it is a player dominated league, it do is
not resonating with fans because there's a lot of flopping,
a lot of whining, a lot of load management. There
(04:53):
are things that have become unappealing about the NBA, including
the number of three point attempt So the game has
shifted in a way that analytics is not only killing
the game on the court, it's killing the game on
your living room couch because you don't want to see that.
(05:16):
I can go to the twenty four Our Fitness or
Life Fitness or Equinox and watch everybody shoot threes. But
when I watch the NBA, I want to see ball movement.
I want to see cutting. I want to see basketball.
As a basketball coach myself, if a kid comes down
(05:38):
to the court and shoots three point we got to have
a conversation.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Blow what's come on over here? So on the talk,
let's come on over here.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
And so I'm talking about fast breakthrees at nine ten
years old. I'm like, hey man, you're not even built
like that, brother, But that's what the product is. So
if the product becomes unwatchable, then what are we doing?
We don't have compelling matchups?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Right?
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Well, well, this is what is interesting is now the
commissioner finally talked about rob g have the details and
then this is where we want to take the next
part of this conversation.
Speaker 6 (06:12):
Yeah, so at the NBA Cup in Vegas, you know,
the media members got a hold of them in a
conference room and they were talking about a series of things,
one of them about possibly moving out of Vegas, so
on and so forth. The other one being, you know,
the ratings and how people have kind of decided that
one of the biggest issues with the NBA right now,
as you guys mentioned, is a three pointer. All the
is is threes, and whoever makes the most threes that
(06:33):
night's going to win. He said in part that the
NBA is quote having many discussions about the style of basketball.
He didn't want to reduce it to a so called
three point shooting issue, just something we want to look
at more holistically. But then he added later criticisms of
often is becoming quote cookie cutter and that teams are
copying each other is something he thinks the league needs
(06:55):
to look at and take seriously.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
From here's my issue.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
And this is why I said he's the worst commissioner
is he's a reactionary commissioner. And I'm sorry you have
to be looking at the game yourself and saying this
is not entertaining, like like there are people who are
basketball fans. Okay, I've been covering the league since nineteen
eighty seven. Okay, when I covered e From when I
(07:20):
started covering, I used to be on the commercial flights
with the players sitting next to him.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
That's how long.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
When the NBA, I was there, when the NBA used
to get less meal money than the sports writers from
the national newspaper.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
When you had the cigarette of the ashtrays in the right.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Smoking, and I.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Went to Europe. You ready, the last twelve seats, rob g.
The last twelve seats on a flight was smoking, right,
the last twelve I was in thirteens. I'm the whole
flight to Europe where they're smoking the twelve rows. I mean,
(08:01):
think about that, all right. So this is my issue
is now after you've ever like, haven't your people and
you watch the product, and you should have been like, no,
we need to have some conversations. We need to change
our game. Everybody rips Rob Manford.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
The MLB commissioner Ephraim looked at the game, and what
did he do? No more shift, we don't want home
runs and strikeouts. He made some radical changes. Right, you
can't throw over a million times. You can't bring in
nine pitchers to pitch right, they got all got to
(08:43):
warm up and come in and all that and exactly right.
And you just said the pitch clock revolutionized. Tay, you
chop thirty minutes off the game. I've gone to Dodger games, Ephraim,
and I'm like, it's over, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Like what I don't even feel like there long enough?
I want the game's over.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
No, you don't want to be You got to get
back and we get that traffic. That's what the time is.
Getting in it out of that stadium. What a great experience.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
And I'm telling anybody, if you're on your bucket list,
you want to go to Dodger Statium, but the traffic,
I'm not mad at me.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Time.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
You need time, so you can wait in the stadium
until everybody leaves and then you can get out of there.
I do get your point, and it's a product. Look,
you can't put the genie back in the bottle. You're
not going to make three pointers worth two pointers now
to reverse what analytics has done, kids are training to
(09:40):
do one step, fake, step back three. That's what the
training is at early as eight nine years old. So
that portion of the game, you've let it get out
of control. Now you can do what they've done already.
You can move the three point line back, but guys
are shooting from the logo anyway. So it it's one
(10:00):
of those situations where I really and truly don't know
how you fix what the NBA product that we get
to see every night every single person. What you can
do is you can implement if you score with your
back to the basket in the post, that's worth three points,
(10:22):
right because.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
No one needs to do it anymore. No one can
do it anymore.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
I mean, if you tell one of these young kids,
go to score what your back to the basket in
the post, they might kill themselves, like it's it's so
foreign to them now, the mid range jump shot is
so foreign to a lot of players. It's either a
layup dunk or a three pointer. There's no in between.
(10:48):
And nobody wants to watch that. Who wants to watch that? Nobody?
That's exactly right, and that's that's the point.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
But he has to see, Like, you can sit here
and brag about your your social media views and all that, dude.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Your media partners.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
You don't think the TNT thing was by accident like
they were like when they threaten the NBA, because they
have been on the bad end of a lot of
games from where the stars aren't playing. How many time
did you tune in, write a matchup and then you
turn it on and realize that two stars from each
team ain't playing.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
I'm good, I'm gonna move on to something else, right,
move on to a Hackey sack or something.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
But you're absolutely right.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Look they I don't know, I really don't know what
the answer is this new proposed playoff, I mean, all
star game format trash.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Trash from I'm like, can you imagine? Even even Kevin
Durant said this is terrible.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Are you kidding?
Speaker 4 (11:50):
I heard Magic on Speak today what he said, Matt
and they asked him about it, Kei, Sean and Paul Pierce,
they really asked him about what has happened to the
All Star Game? And he said, Look, we hated the
East right like I hated Jordan and Isaiah and Bird.
(12:13):
We wanted to beat them. I refused to let them
get one up on me. And that was the thing
that was driving the league. When you look at the
rivalries in the league, the Bulls and the Pistons and
the Lakers and the Celtics, Like when you look at
the Bulls and the next the Bulls and everybody for
(12:34):
all of the nineties, But when you look at that,
when you look at Philly and New York and all
of those rivalries, there was genuine dislike for the team,
the city, the players, and they played like that. They
played like it mattered. You were all those Miami nick
(13:00):
and the pacers in the Knicks, bro Van was on
the legs. That was that commonplace look. And I know
Adam Silver came in and was like, look, we're not
gonna we need more scoring. We don't want people fighting
on the court. But what you did was you took
the edge away from competing. You must step up and compete.
(13:20):
It is not at any given time, at any given
NBA game. Right now, you can watch a game for
five minutes and there complete zero defense played and zero
shots outside of a.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Three pointer taken. Try it.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
If you don't believe me, watch a five minute span
of any NBA game and there will be a time
where no one shoots the ball outside of a free
throw inside the three point line. How is that sustainable?
It's it's incredible.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
It's incredible that that is what we're viewing and why
people have tuned out. You could, people can poop pull
it all they want. These are hard call facts when
you look at the numbers, they just are. And you
can't say all everybody's ratings are down because it's just
not true, you know what I mean, It's just not true.
It's not it's the the NBA's ratings are down, and
(14:12):
it's for a reason. The game and how many times
you heard Charles Barkley on inside the NBA go this
game is unwatchable.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
These unwatched terrible, unwatchable.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
So I think I think that that's the way, uh
that's being an honest call on the NBA, and unfortunately
Adam Silver had to wait for other people.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
And now he's seen this.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
So eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox eight seven
seven nine, six sixty three sixty nine. And real, simple,
is he the worst commissioner in sports? I mean, make
a case. If you got somebody else, I'll gladly take him.
But I believe, for real he's the worst commissioner. And
(14:56):
he's been soft with the players, the load management, a
big black guy for the league, and it's just a
lot of things about the league that's not good. And
I can say this with complete confidence. There's no way
David Stern would have sat around and allowed that and
allowed stars to miss game national game for the NBA.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
You couldn't do it. They're making too much money to
do that. Crazy's making too much. Sixty million dollars a year.
It's going to get up to an eighty eighty now
one hundred million dollars a year for you to figure
out if you're sore enough to play a back to back.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Unbelievable, all right, eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox.
It is the Eye Couple right here on Fox Sports Radio,
stick and stay America.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
It is the eyd Couple On a worship Wednesday. Parker
E from salam In for Calvin Washington coming to you
live from the tire Rach dot com studios. And in
an emergency, you want Rapid Radios instant push to talk
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(16:22):
communication peace of mind with connecting with family for an emergency,
go to Rapid Radios dot com now for up to
sixty percent off and free shipping all right. E from
eight seven to seven ninety nine on Fox talking about
the NBA commissioner Adam silversse, I think he's the worst
(16:44):
commissioner going in sports. Uh so much has happened in
the NBA under his watch, and the league is just
not where it should be. There's so many talented players,
ephrom and the league should be better. That's that's all.
Excuse me, I'm saying it should be better. Eight seven,
seven ninety nine on Fox. You got some calls Ken
(17:05):
in California. You're on the couple of.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (17:10):
They Rob the Apron.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What's up Ken? What's happening? Man?
Speaker 8 (17:14):
All right, man, I got a little good news, you know,
because the show just got better because Ipron's on. You know,
he's knows he's inside the bowl. You know, he's he's
very intelligent and he's not vanilla.
Speaker 7 (17:28):
Like Rob some days. But anyway, you see that anyway.
But Rob's right about one thing that's sterning. You know,
the game is so polluted. See I get something watching
the bull Man right now, and I'm I love the Lakers,
but I can't even watch them right now because there's
three point game we watched. You know, they give three
points to the Beardsvender from the third row. But you
(17:51):
know what, I still listen, but you know, today I'm
listening even more because Hepron's on. Thanks a lot.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
All right.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
There you go. When you text him to call in,
did you no to do that?
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Many people? Look, I'm the voice of the people. The
people will come and they will respond, Oh, okay, I
know what it is, man.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
How about it is?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Andre in Massachusetts, You're on the odd couple Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
What's up Drake?
Speaker 7 (18:13):
How you doing.
Speaker 9 (18:14):
Thanks for taking the call. Yes, listen, Adam Silver, I
cannot say that he is the worst commissioner. I'm going
to put him up there with Roger Goodell at the
top of the commissioner hierarchy. He's not getting Goodell money
rumor at close to seventy million dollars. But listen, you
make a good point about what's going on with the analytics.
Speaker 8 (18:35):
Run them up.
Speaker 9 (18:35):
Team shooting seventy five to three pointers worse than a
youth wreck game. Okay, because everything has to be threes
or dunk and we're beholden to the stat nerds instead
of playing reasonable, pragmatic basketball. I'll grant you that. In
terms of ratings, I have to say Adam Silver is
big in the digital space. I'm going to credit some
(18:57):
of it to people cutting the cord and viewing.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
But the only problem with that is that this the
NFL numbers and the Baseball numbers haven't suffered like this,
And that's the only reason andre that you can't. If
you showed me across the board Ephraim that all the
sports were suffering from cord cutting, then I'll buy it.
But they've lost half of their audience forty eight percent
(19:21):
since twenty twelve.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
Those are facts, not feelings. Go look at the ratings, dude,
get it.
Speaker 9 (19:28):
Yep, go ahead, yeah, And bottom line, is the NBA
too political at times? Does that turn people off?
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Yes? Fine, it's not that it's bad play. It's bad play.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
You could say all you want about this that it's
bad play.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
That's just a cop out. It's political.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
No, it's not.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
It's because I don't want to go watch somebody take
seventy five threes.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
That's what I don't want to see.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I told you I've been coming the league for thirty
nine years.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Awful.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Yeah, I don't think the politicism of the you know
what the players are standing for hurts. The NFL really
didn't get hurt by the kneeling. That was the whole
big thing. If the product is good, people are going
to watch. Do you remember it's been subpart for that.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And do you remember when Baseball took away the All
Star Game from Atlanta because of the way that they
voted down in Georgia?
Speaker 5 (20:22):
You remember that?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Okay, so Baseball did it.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
You cannot put an inferior You know why college basketball
and the WNBA and women's basketball is really taken over.
They're fundamentally sound because they're just not relying solely on
athletic ability and ability to jump. So you have motion,
(20:50):
you have offense, you have backdoor cuts, you have pump,
fake screens, all the things you teach a kid how
to do to play basketball starting out still get that
in college a lot of the times.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
And in n W n b A All right, Jo
vonn Booja from the Athletic, he's a senior NBA reporters.
Coming up next, we'll get some skinny on the Lakers
and what's going on.
Speaker 5 (21:13):
But first let's get you caught up.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
All right, let's welcome in Jo vonn booh from the Athletic.
He's a senior NBA reporter covers the Lakers, has a
podcast and all yo, Von, what's up?
Speaker 8 (21:38):
Man?
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Say hi to eat from you on the eye couple
of Fox.
Speaker 10 (21:41):
Man, How you doing, how's it going good?
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Doing good? Doing good? Before we get to some Lakers stuff.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Just curious about the NB I just said I think
Adam Silver's the worst commissioner in sports.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
The NBA, where it.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Is the ridiculous threes, The ratings are down time, people
don't want to you.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
You're there, I mean night watching games or whatever. Is
the game?
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Is it entertaining to you or the fans crazy for
not thinking it is seeing all these threes?
Speaker 5 (22:11):
Threes are dunks, that's it.
Speaker 10 (22:14):
Yeah, I think it's It's still entertaining to me. I'm
not gonna lie, but get I also get the frustration
everyone's dealing with right now in terms of threes and
All Star Weekend and the NBA Cup and just the
regular season in general. I think they've de emphasized the
importance of the regular season, and that, to me, is
(22:37):
the biggest issue that they got to figure out. Is
just with the NBA has become more of a sixteen
game sport in terms of people focusing on the playoffs.
And I have friends who are casual fans who are like,
in the regular season, they don't care, and then once
April comes around, they lock in for the playoffs. I
think figuring out a way to get people to care
about the regular season is the thing that they got
(22:58):
to figure out.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
They got it absolutely wrong with the whole play in
and give the more teams.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
So Ephraim right now, twenty teams.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Are involved out of the thirty are involved and could
be in a playoff. So that's how you deemphasize the
regular season. If you've made it smaller and only ten teams,
then you'd have to play, right, Yova, You have to play.
Speaker 5 (23:20):
You have to play the whole year. If there are
only ten playoff.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Spots, well, you don't make more money, no, I know,
you know having less games. So you know the play
in works in April, the end of March when everybody
is trying to vibe for one of those last few
play in spots. But you know, as far as pre Christmas,
(23:46):
as far as pre All Star, the NBA is, unless
you're following your team and watching your team, it's hard
to watch. So I'm gonna get to my team, and
that's the Lakers. Since you know a thing or two
about the Lakers, what do we need? What does Rob
Palinka need to do at the trade deadline to uh hire,
(24:07):
make this make this roster better, be quiet, make this
roster better and more consistent.
Speaker 10 (24:15):
Well, first, first off, he needs to do something. It's
been twenty two months since the Lakers have made a trade,
so I think starting with making it, has.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
It really been that long? Almost two?
Speaker 7 (24:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
I just hurt my soul right there. Wow.
Speaker 10 (24:31):
Last big trade they made it was at the twenty
twenty three trade deadline when they traded away Russell Westbrook
and got d Angel Russell and all those guys remade
the roster, and they wanted a nice little run there.
But since then, twenty twenty three off season, no moves,
twenty twenty four trade deadline, no trades, twenty twenty four offseason,
no trade. So like we're now approaching the fourth trade
window for the Lakers that's actually go on and improve
(24:54):
this roster. So I think first and foremost that they
got to make a trade, But terms of what they need,
I just supported at the athletic from talking to people
with the team and also talking to people on the
league that they kind of identify three positional archetypes that
they would like to add. It's gonna be tough to
add all three. So I think that they got to
pick two of the three, but one is a defensive minded,
(25:18):
big physical center. They don't really have one of those
guys on the roster. You know, I got to back
up Anthony Davis and be reliable defensively. Second position is
a three and D wing, which they really haven't had
any of since they traded several of them away in
the Russell Westbrook trade. And then third thing is a
(25:38):
big athletic guard who has a certain level of speed
and quickness athleticism to partner with Austin Reeves in the
back court. So let me three going.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Yeah, let me ask you a question about the big
I was spent the last couple of days. Was with
him earlier today and I was pleading him. I'm like, hey, man,
get in the truck. I'll drive you over there. Right now.
I was with JaVale McGee, right, we have some business
that we're doing together, and I'm like, bruh, how are
(26:13):
you not on the Laker roster right now? He was like,
I'm too expensive? You know the what is the veteran
minimum for him is three point two or something like that.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
I'm like, hey, bro, whatever that is.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
I mean, just to have someone who's won a championship
with them, who's won two other championships with Golden State.
His presence, what he brings to the middle, so you
can bring somebody in and give a D a breaker.
I put a D at the four and have him
be the rent protector. To me, that's what we need.
And he's here just working out, ready to go.
Speaker 10 (26:53):
Yes. The other issue that they're currently facing right now
is they have a aster conch. They have fifteen players
who guaranteed contracts, so they couldn't even sign a GVL
McGee or another free agent if they wanted to. Uh,
And that was an issue that they could have addressed
over the summer if they attached most likely you know,
some type of protected second round pick, but which isn't
(27:14):
really a you know, too much of an asset to
give up to dump one of these minimum guys. That
last summer they gave all these VET minimum players player
options to entice them to sign with them, but then
it kind of backfired when all three of those guys
ended up opting in. Now you have one of those guys,
Christian Wood, who's yet to even play this season, and
(27:35):
that has just been kind of dead money on your What.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
About Brownie's contract spot there?
Speaker 10 (27:40):
Well, look, he scored sixty two points in his last
three G League games, so I think you're coming alone.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Man, he's coming alone. Okay, look at better.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Okay, I'm just saying, all right, let me ask you
about Lebron.
Speaker 5 (27:56):
I'm glad have you not scoring there? Where are you
going to score?
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Lebron sabbatical and what that whole thing was about, I mean,
obviously to what people thinking, Okay, he's ready to bolt
Dodge City and he's ready to go somewhere else and
he can't win here, he's ready to cash out.
Speaker 5 (28:12):
What was that all about?
Speaker 10 (28:15):
Yeah, So my understanding was it was just a physical
and mental break for Lebron. I think that they could
have handled it better. Certainly when you.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Say personal reasons, it just sounds like something else is
going exactly.
Speaker 10 (28:29):
And then it's not uncommon and he was just alluding
to Christian Wood, like, it's not uncommon for an injured
player to not be with the team at practice or
to not travel on the road with the team. That
is that is commonplace. But to then insert, well, he's
not here a practice actually for personal reasons, and then
(28:49):
to be asked before the game, you know, do you
know when Lebron is going to return to the team
and you say no, then that's where it starts to
fan the flames of speculation, handle spear seas And so
I think if today had just said, you know, if
we get to asked, hey, where's Lebron, we don't see
him I practice, Oh he's at home reh having its foot.
(29:13):
Then you know in Minnesota, when is Lebron gonna return
to the team, Well, we get back to LA tomorrow,
so he'll be back with us in LA tomorrow, or
you know, whenever he's done, we having whatever, whatever the
case may be. But I think the optics of it
were not great, and they certainly played into that. But
but ultimately he missed two games. He gave him a
(29:35):
nine day break, and I think it ultimately was not
a big deal. But but obviously the way it was
looking at the time, it was like, well is he gone?
Like what's he doing? Did he go get a procedure somewhere?
Like there was all these rumors and conspiracies. But ultimately,
I think dude's about to be forty in year twenty two.
He needed one week hiatus and he's back and looked
(29:57):
pretty good in his game back.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
Is JJ read a Coach of the Year or not?
You don't have to Joe vine. You don't have to
dance that. No, don't, don't, don't, don't subscribe to that.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
I'm just saying I don't know when they started three
and oh I heard he was the next pat Riley
and then all of a.
Speaker 5 (30:19):
It was ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
And the thing is, uh, you know when you look
at Darvin Ham, they're like in the same spot.
Speaker 5 (30:25):
It hasn't been that has it been a big difference
to you?
Speaker 4 (30:28):
Well, at least he's coaching. Darvin Ham refused to make adjustments.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
What I would what I.
Speaker 10 (30:34):
Would say to that is like, I think sometimes two
things can be true.
Speaker 7 (30:39):
So I think with.
Speaker 10 (30:41):
The Lakers especially, there's always a lot of attention on
the blame and the scapegoating and uh, years ago Russell Westbrook,
then more recently Darvin Ham, and I think as we've
seen in both scenarios since those since Russ was traded
and then since Darvin Ham was let go, they may
(31:01):
have been part of the problem, but they weren't the
only problem. And I think that's where I kind of
land with this of I don't agree with some of
the decisions Darvin Ham made last season in terms of
keeping Tory and Prince as a starter for fifty plus games,
some of the rotations and just not playing some of
the best players in combinations enough. And ultimately, I think
(31:23):
the most damning thing of all which came out in
the story today was he said he does not talk
to Lebron or Ade since the firing, Ady called him
out in a playoff series publicly to us, saying that
he feels like the team isn't prepared. Like that's about
so regardless of what the people on the sidelines are
saying in terms of what Darvin did, the players were
(31:44):
out on him, like that's indisputable. But even with that,
the Lakers are still a lot of the same issues.
So I look at the roster, and I look at
the front office and them not making a trade for
almost twenty two much.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yeah, and also we saw the Lakers get blown out
where it looked like the players quit on JJ Reddick.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
I mean, like, what was that.
Speaker 10 (32:05):
That's That's the second part for me is that it's
to me, I've almost compared it to a meat grinder,
where like it feels like coaches go into that locker
room and and get showed up and spit out. And
it was Frank Vogel, it was Arvin Ham right now
it's JJ Reddick. So at some point that's got to
fall in the players, and that's got to fall specifically
on Lebron and eighty as the two leaders in that
locker room. Why why, why does this team start to
(32:28):
tune out their head coach at some point in within
a two year span, and now three straight coaches like that,
That is a bit alarming.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
There's no doubt there's a pattern there, and it's alarming.
Jo vom B, thank you, my man. We appreciate the
insight as always.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
He's the athlete, your NBA reporter, all right, so uh
he's always giving us some good insight.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Great to heart, want to show you.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
I'm gonna let it out, hating your heart? Litter? What
the nicest guy going hate hate?
Speaker 3 (33:02):
All right?
Speaker 1 (33:03):
It's our most controversial segment of the week. One's Gotta
Go is next. It is the odd Couple right here
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 11 (33:10):
Stick and stay if you too like Rob Parker, give
me the money shot in the us of A.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
It is the Odd Couple. Our number two of a
worship Wednesday. Rob Parker from Salam coming to you live
from the ti rach dot com studios. Tyre rach dot
com will help you get there in unmatched selection, fast
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(33:52):
buying should be. All right, Ephraim, I don't know if
you ever played. I don't think you have.
Speaker 5 (33:56):
But One's Gotta Go is next here on the Odd Couple.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Fives of crowd is that.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
When I'm planning fun even number figure it out.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
That's right, One's Gotta Go.
Speaker 6 (34:12):
The most controversial segment in the Odd Couple's stable, the
one where we decide which of our beloved items gotta go.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Can't talk about it anymore.
Speaker 6 (34:20):
We did Rob's jingles had to go, we did Thanksgiving
meals that gotta go. And this week extremely controversial Christmas
right around the corner.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
What is the week from tonight? Week from Tonight? Unbelievable?
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Wow.
Speaker 6 (34:34):
I did a survey here and Generative i AI gave
us the list of the five most popular.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Christmas songs of all time.
Speaker 6 (34:43):
Using whatever list they use, this is what they determined
are the five most popular, in order. All I Want
for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey, jingle Bell Rock,
Last Christmas, White Christmas, and Rocking around the Christmas Tree.
You got five songs, rob one of them's gotta go.
(35:03):
You cannot listen to it ever again for the rest
of your life.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
What was the third one? You said, I want to
get back last Christmas?
Speaker 2 (35:12):
You didn't even know that. No, I'm gonna give up Christmas.
I gave you my heart.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Oh no, that's the one. Absolutely get rid of that.
First of all, you know, baby is Cold Outside should
be in there. That's a that's a christ you.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Know, even though you know what, even though they.
Speaker 5 (35:30):
Never mentioned that it's a Christmas song, it's just that
a date.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
So no, it's not stopping Baby cold Outside. No, he's
worried about her. I really gotta go. Baby shouldn't stay. No,
you know, we're just stay inside. Yeah, unbelieve there's a
rotten answer. Ephraim. One's gotta go, right, just do it
(35:54):
ever again.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
Maria stays, Okay, come on, give me, give it, give them,
give them to me.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
It's white Christmas. It's all for Christmas. Hu jingle bell rock,
last Christmas, white Christmas, walking rocking around the Christmas Street. Yeah,
last Christmas.
Speaker 4 (36:17):
Now if that was this Christmas, that would be different,
right this Christmas.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Okay, yes, that's why it's not one of it's top
that's why either. All right, Welex, Alex, I'm gonna take
a stand for all of us here the miss So
we're getting rid of white Christmas, white Christmas. It's twenty four.
We gotta be more appropriate. Help everybody there, inclusive, and
I just gotta say Christmas. There we go from right Christmas.
(36:46):
I don't care for that, Alex.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
Did you see the election? Oh I'm sorry.
Speaker 11 (36:49):
Oh you find a quick way to make every conversation
interesting and I love you for that. No, like, for example,
like the old movie, the one with Bing Crosby. I
think it's called white Christmas or whatever it is too.
I watched the movie. It was like, Okay, I get
why they call it that movie. You know, it's just
I could do without these, you know, it just it
doesn't do it for me. All Right, So I'm taking
you agree with Alex. Yeah, white Christmas on the list,
(37:10):
but not for those reasons.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
That was just a funny reason. Yeah, it's just easy.
I could never listen to that song again.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
But so last Christmas you're cool with, but a good one.
Speaker 11 (37:20):
Come on, you're not in the kitchen cooking up some
lamb chops. You're like, what's Christmas? I ain't a baby
lamb now this time? I mean geez from the studio away,
you know, stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
So I had an answer, but it's his is two
to two. I feel like I gotta be the tie
break ahead you do?
Speaker 5 (37:37):
What was your answer?
Speaker 2 (37:38):
I would have got rid of Mariah who now we
don't even want to hear you.
Speaker 6 (37:43):
Only reason is all of these other songs have been
covered by other artists, so that one is just Mariah
Like it's you can't.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Frank Sinatra and Kelly Clarks. That's not fair. I got
your rid of whatever? Uh, White Chris, you gotta go. Yeah,
what's right? White Christmas? Got Christmas?
Speaker 5 (38:00):
I get man. You guys are hard all right?
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Our number couples sticking? Now is time for kwanzas
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