Mark Willard and Ephraim Salaam talk NBA Free Agency and more!

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Don't listen Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Yeah, let's rock into this Sunday evening. I am all
fired up and cannot wait to have this conversation with you,
especially because I am speaking to a man who is
so accomplished. That is how I feel about you, Ephram
Salav You are an accomplished man, okay. You are a
professional athlete, You are successful in your post athletic career.

(00:24):
You are a family man. You have a lovely wife,
you have two boys. You are an accomplished person. Therefore,
I have a very specific question for you to start
off this show tonight. Don't you think that whenever you
achieve something, you'd like that to be a part of it,
that sense of accomplishment rather than having it handed to you.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Of course, right, you accomplish something, you feel like you
earned it.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
You get it, You've worked for it. Yes, okay, good
that I would assume. I can only assume that you
would agree with me that the Miami Heat have no
interest whatsoever in winning a championship because players out on

(01:15):
the open market, or some who aren't even on the
open market, have decided they are going to work their
way directly to you without any help from you, not
because not because you did a good job as a
general manager, not because you did a good job drafting,
not because you did good job evaluating or roster building

(01:36):
or any of that, simply because you exist. You exist
in Miami, Florida, a top market, You've got a great
culture built by pot Riley, a very good coach, and
Eric Spolstra. Therefore, you're attractive. You're attractive, so you don't
need to do anything. You just need to sit there
and have the player force his way to your roster,

(02:00):
and then what if you win, you'll feel some sort
of a sense of accomplishment. I don't think I quite
understand that.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
What we don't see is the work behind the scenes.
So in reality, yes, it looks like a bevy and
a slew of players are lining up or want to
go to Miami. First of all, Miami's Miami and Celia self. Secondly,
the relationships these players have are tremendous. Right, So if

(02:33):
I call you, you play on one team. I play
on one team. I'm in Miami. I've reached out to you,
maybe I've been talking to you all through the season.
Season ends, and you're a dynamic player, and I was like, yo, man,
this offseason once you come hang with me in Miami.
So you come down, we hang, we you know, do

(02:53):
our my brainy kid.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Whatever that is.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
And now a situation comes up to where, hum, you
have a choice to make, Right, which team do you
want to go do?

Speaker 4 (03:06):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (03:06):
By the way, we just played in the NBA Championship again,
second time in three years. Why wouldn't you want to
go to my Miami shouldn't have to recruit you, right,
you picked the place you want to go. I want
to go to Miami, No State, Texas, Son, bb l's
everything you want in Miami is you know is out there?

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Sure?

Speaker 3 (03:30):
Some places recruit themselves LA, Right, Miami, New York, brook Brooklyn,
he remember he put Brooklyn on the list. And we're like, well,
what is going on there? Why Brooklyn brook.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Did he put him on the list? Right? Did he
put him on the list? Because it sounds like the
list quickly James turned into one one one place. It
turned into one place and and and you don't need
to tell me why the halves in the NBA are
the halves. I understand that Miami and New York and
Chicago and LA and San Francisco quite frankly have advantages

(04:13):
that the other cities do not have. This is a long,
well drawn out story in the NBA. I know why
somebody would want to be there, and I get that
some of those teams at certain points in their history
done a very good job of building themselves into being
an attractive place. But everything you just said to me,
that all applies to a free agent. This is not

(04:36):
a free agent. If you wanted to go to Miami
and you could do exactly what the man who started
player empowerment in the NBA did, that's Lebron James. And
maybe I'm getting ahead of myself giving him all the credit,
but that guy waited until he was a free agent.
Then he had Jim Gray come over. They sat on

(04:59):
too awkward hip talk to each other for a half
hour so that he could say that he was going
to take his talents to South Peach. You want to
be a free agent, you want to just build in
player options at the end of every year. Gosh, if
you're Dame Lillard you have the power to do that,
then do that. But when you're not a free agent,
you decide that you've now tired of a certain place.

(05:21):
And again I totally get it. I get that Portland
has not been able to do what you wanted them
to do to get things and pieces around you throughout
your very wonderful career. They've also made you an incredibly
wealthy man for a very long time, as have your talents.
He earned every single dollar. I think that's great. But

(05:43):
if you want to trade, then you ask for a trade.
I just don't like you have to trade me there,
because that takes essentially, that takes all of the different
aspects of this out of it. It weakens the value

(06:04):
one hundred percent. It takes away all the roster building,
all the fun for the fans. And how is how's
your team going to go get Dame? Like again, what
did Miami achieve here? If Dame says I'm going there
and that's where I'm going and you'll get who they
have to give up and you have absolutely no leverage
because I've taken it from you because I've decided to

(06:25):
say all this publicly.

Speaker 3 (06:28):
It's a funny time we're living in. Business is done differently.
Players have more of a voice now than ever before.
It's not a bad thing. So with that, organizations, agents,
owners have to move differently. Now owners can't really do

(06:49):
anything because there's a tampering rule and all of that.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
But players are players.

Speaker 3 (06:53):
I could talk to whoever I want to, I can
hang out with whoever I want to, and I can
decide on things that may not be conducive to the
betterment of the organization or the franchise, but it can
be better for me. And right now, I've sacrificed a
decade of mediocrity with the franchise. That and EPE can't

(07:19):
put a promising, competing team on the court that has
nothing to do with me. So look, I'm going to
make the necessary decisions for me to move on.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
That's it. But I don't think that is it like
the way you're saying it. I totally get I'm not
here trying to play pawn for the owners of basketball teams.
I think it's funny when we say, oh gosh, we
love it when the players stay loyal. It's ridiculous. They're
not shown any loyalty, so why should they show it
in the other direction. But I do want everyone to

(07:55):
understand how different it is when you do it this way.
Like people, we'll look at this and go Dame Lillard
was very loyal to Portland for a long time, and
then he just ran out of time. He's thirty two.
He doesn't want his career to go a certain way.
Portland is never going to get there. He's right, and
so it's fully understandable. Well, then you quietly behind the scenes,

(08:19):
say I would like out or I would like to
work with you on getting me to a place that's
mutually beneficial for everyone. When you just go to Twitter
and go, yeah, let's have my agent say Miami kills you.
You're done, You're dead. There's not a damn thing. But
that is equivalent to, hey, Portland, thank you for the

(08:42):
two hundred million dollars. Let me step on your nose
on the way out of town, because not only am
I leaving, I'm telling you where to send me, so
you don't even have the power to call around and
get what is best for you in return.

Speaker 3 (08:56):
But wait, that's what I don't understand. But they they
just had a meeting two days ago.

Speaker 2 (09:02):
Uh huh. They just had a closed door meeting.

Speaker 3 (09:06):
So when we're talking about all of this, something had
to have transpired in that meeting to where forty eight
hours later, Dame is I need to be out? Remember
coming out of that meeting. What they said, Dame Damien
is committed to being a trailblazer and helping blah blah blah.

(09:29):
Two days later, like, so what happened? What aren't we getting?
What is the information we're not getting? And based on
that and based on that information, that's why Dame was like,
I'm going to Miami, y'all figure it out.

Speaker 2 (09:41):
I'm gonna be over here waiting. Yeah, except for if
I'm Portland and you know what, I what I don't
even necessarily have in front of me right now, but
I'll look it up right now. What does Dame have
left on his current contracts? He signed a four year,
one hundred and seventy six million dollar deal, and he

(10:05):
is player, has already exercised. He's got two more years
on his deal.

Speaker 3 (10:11):
He's got two more years at forty five and forty
eight million dollars right, so roughly ninety three million dollars
somewhere in there.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
I mean, if I'm Portland, like this is not a
guy who can look at the acquiring team and say,
don't you dare acquire me? Because I won't. I won't
resign with you, and be like that's fine, you have
two more years on your deal. If I'm the Portland Trailblazers,
I say thank you so much for the suggestion of
the Miami Heat. If they can put together the best offer,

(10:40):
that's exactly where we'll send you. But if they don't,
we won't. And that's exactly what the Portland Trailblazers should
do in this situation.

Speaker 3 (10:52):
Yeah, but you know, technically they only have Dame for
one year because I believe he has a player option
in the in the last thing.

Speaker 2 (11:03):
Does it's already been exercised though, Okay, it's already been exercised,
at least what I'm reading this has already been exercised
for forty eight point seven million dollars for the five season.
So you get Okay, you get two years. Okay, he
is not an unrestricted free agent until twenty twenty five.

Speaker 3 (11:23):
M Yeah, I it's some relationships have to end. Some
relationships have to end. Now how they end is determined
by how the relationship was when they were together, right, Right,
you go through a divorce if it's amicable and it's

(11:45):
easy peasy, which very few divorces are.

Speaker 2 (11:49):
Right.

Speaker 3 (11:50):
That means, okay, look, we had a hell of a
time together.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
We've grown apart.

Speaker 3 (11:55):
I love you as a person, not my person, right,
not my person, but as a person. What we've built
and what we've done, I get it.

Speaker 2 (12:05):
I'm with you.

Speaker 3 (12:07):
So we're gonna part on good terms are which I
think this situation is here are it's the I hate you.
You've ruined my life. The last ten years have been
a nightmare. I'll say nine because our first year was bliss.

(12:27):
So I've spent nine years hating my life. Now I
hate you for hating my life. We're gonna drag this out,
and it's gonna be painful. We've seen those type of negotiations,
but right now everything seems like we've grown apart. I
respect you, you respect me. We're gonna try to get
you to the place you want to be. That's what

(12:51):
it feels like to me. To equate it in relationship turns,
which I think everyone can. Everyone who's been in a relationship. Uh,
you know that resonates with it.

Speaker 2 (13:04):
I feel you. Here's why I don't think that's what's
going on here. I'll tell you that coming up next.
This relationship is not Kumbai. It can't be more on that.
In a minute, we're broadcasting live from the ty rack
dot com studios. Tyrac dot com will help you get
there an unmatched selection, fast, free shipping, free road hazard

(13:24):
protection in over ten thousand recommended installers tyrac dot com.
The way tire buying should be, that is e from
salam Mark Willard. Wherever you are and however you are
listening on this Sunday afternoon slash Sunday evening, we appreciate you.
We got all kinds from the NBA, Major League Baseball,
and the NFL as well coming up throughout the evening

(13:47):
right here on Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 1 (13:50):
Fali Foosco here with Tony Fusco. Yo. Of course, you
know us as the host of the number one rated
show and all of sports doc The Paully and Tony
Fusco Show.

Speaker 3 (13:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
Now, the suits at Fox Sports Radio gave us this
ad time because they wanted us to tell you how
great our show is. Why. Yeah, Instead of us doing that,
let's just let on millions of fans do the TALKA.

Speaker 4 (14:12):
You ain't play the tape.

Speaker 2 (14:13):
You don't know crap about pool? Wow? Am I even
own this crap?

Speaker 1 (14:17):
Whoa whoa, whoa whoa that's the wrong tape. Wrong tape.
Just forget that look. Listen to the Falling Tony Fusco
Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you
get your podcasts.

Speaker 4 (14:30):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
All right, y'all, we're live in the tirag dot com studios.
We're brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Progressive makes bundling
easy and affordable. Get a multi policy discount by combining
your motorcycle, RV, boat, ATV and more all your protection
in one place. Bundle and save at Progressive dot com.
That's Eve from Salama Mark Willard. What a week for agent? Huh?

(15:01):
I mean, what is this? What's this new thing with
how the news is broken on Twitter? Every time there's
a woj bomb. It's now eight sentences long. Because we've
got to get the name of the agent, the name
of the agency, the name of the agent's assistant. We've
got to get where the agent went to college. We've

(15:22):
got to get where the agent thought about going to college, home,
name of his or her parents, and thank all of
them for getting the deal done to send Blank to Blank,
weird deal, and this is all this is all conducted
by them. The one thing that's cool about it is
I think fans are getting an idea of where woj

(15:44):
bombs and Sham's tweets, where they come from. This is
all coming from the agent's and it was the agent
for Dame Lillard who decided we're going public that we
want you in Miami. And to me from that suggests
because what you were asking a few minutes ago is
the key question here. What happened, What happened in these

(16:07):
behind the closed doors meetings, What went wrong? Who got
mad at who? Who threw a chair? Because you know
what I mean, Like, if it was just you want
to leave and you want to go to Miami, then
tell us and we'll work behind the scenes because Miami
doesn't need to know that. Miami doesn't need to know that,

(16:29):
because that just absolutely crushes the value of the player,
the leverage the team has. And I want to know
why Dame and his agent felt it necessary to make
that move.

Speaker 3 (16:44):
First off, we get to get every breaking news, every trade,
every contract extension, our salary with the agents mentioned because
it's the biggest recruiting tool that agents have.

Speaker 2 (17:01):
Right.

Speaker 3 (17:01):
If I look and see that Fred van Vliek got
a three year, one hundred and thirty million dollar deal
as a player, I'm like, well, who got him that?

Speaker 2 (17:16):
Right? It's rich, Paul, I believe. Right.

Speaker 3 (17:21):
So if as an agent you can stack three or
four of those big contracts, all these young kids, all
these AAU kids, when you go talk to them or
when guys want to change agents, work is already. You know,
there's no pitch, there's no pitch. Right, I've successfully gotten

(17:49):
an undrafted player two of the biggest contracts in NBA
history for an undrafted player.

Speaker 2 (17:55):
Right.

Speaker 3 (17:57):
Imagine if you're a draft pick, right, all you do
is do your job. I'll do my job and it'll
take care of itself. So when you look at these
numbers and these I mean Desmond Bain got.

Speaker 2 (18:11):
Two seven, I think, good, lord man, Yeah, it's twenty
teams in the league.

Speaker 3 (18:18):
He wouldn't even start for two undred seven, two hundred
seven million dollars.

Speaker 2 (18:25):
Yeah, what we do this? We do this. This is
now how we celebrate America. We gather around every July
fourth and go wow that for that guy. We do
this every year. We do it every year. And and yes,
I mean Desmond Bane, very very good player. You don't

(18:45):
have to worry about him. I think that that's for Memphis.
That's that's a key right now. Don't have to worry
about him. But yeah, man, that's going right.

Speaker 3 (18:56):
Dylan Brooks got eighty million dollars.

Speaker 2 (18:58):
Okay, we need to that's a holes for conversation.

Speaker 3 (19:01):
This is what I'm talking about. Dylan brook Rose ostracized.
Dylan Brooks was ostracized, and hold immediately, we will no
longer be requiring your services.

Speaker 2 (19:13):
You knew someone was gonna do it, though, yep, you knew.
And Houston step on up, you're that team? Why I
have no IDEA eighty million dollars A twenty guaranteed, Like
that's the other thing. If you wanted to do twenty
for Dylan because you think you could fix him for

(19:35):
a year, A one plus one. They guaranteed him four years.
His last team wanted him gone and they guaranteed him
four years. And anyway, I don't, I don't, I don't,
I don't know. I don't get it. You do a
one plus one with a player of right? The Rockets

(20:00):
doing like for real? I think they get some good
young players, and they brought in Van Vladies. Nice.

Speaker 3 (20:05):
Guess what you ask yourself? Who was his agent? Boom?
The more the deal. I'm gonna ask you a question,
how many how many clients do you think the Parsons
deal from Dallas a couple of years ago?

Speaker 2 (20:23):
Got that agent? Oh gosh, you remember that deal? I
very well, But I have no idea how to quantify
it in the way that you're asking me. But but yeah,
it probably went well, right.

Speaker 3 (20:35):
Because I'm like, oh, he got him that. This dude
don't even play. But really, like, is it the agent
or is it the going rate?

Speaker 2 (20:45):
Is that life in the NBA? Is it the stupidity
of the owners? We just get.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
Rude, right, But we convinced ourselves that the importance of
the agent, that the agent matters. That's what we've we've
told ourselves. And these young these kids are young's twenty
three years old, twenty four years old, making generational wealth
type numbers. So if that's what it is, if that's now,

(21:12):
we haven't seen NBA players come out and represent themselves
like we have in football. Right, if you know you're
worth right? I get while Lebron is with rich because
they grew up together, they built a business together. But
if you're a player, right, if you are, let's just

(21:34):
go just for the sake of argument. If you're Victor
women Yaba and you say I don't want to have
an agent, does that not make you the first pick
in the draft?

Speaker 2 (21:47):
Nope.

Speaker 3 (21:48):
If you're School Henderson, you're like, nah, I'm good, I'm
gonna represent myself. Does that not make you the third
pick in the draft?

Speaker 2 (21:54):
No? You might. You might have a hard time figuring
out all the rest of the financial world. Yeah, would
you you hire? You hire?

Speaker 3 (22:01):
You a dynamic team. And I'm talking about the real
deal lawyer, the same lawyer that negotiate that the agent
gives the contracts to and that you get one of
those guys. Now you're playing a fee, You're you're you're
paying uh a fee and instead of a percentage a percentage.

(22:23):
We have one guy on our staff who if ever
was on the open market, if we if they'd ever
let him reach free agency. We see those type of numbers, right,
And that's one Stephen f the say so.

Speaker 5 (22:42):
All I need is still in Brooks agent. That's what
you're saying.

Speaker 2 (22:46):
I think how many how many guaranteed years do you
have on your current deal?

Speaker 5 (22:52):
Yeah, exactly. Management would have to know that I'm actually
working here for starters. That would be number one. So
I think what you're saying reading between the lines with
the Dylan Brooks siding is that Houston you've got the problem.

Speaker 3 (23:06):
That's it beautiful and that's why they pay him the
big bucks seat people.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
That's why he gets the lion's share.

Speaker 5 (23:13):
We shall start with NBA news is the free agency
period started Friday night and the news has not stopped since.
The Utah Jazz are giving Jordan Clarkson a new three
year deal worth fifty five million dollars. He became a
starter and averaged twenty one points a game for him
last season. The Phoenix Sun signed Eric Gordon. He averaged
sixteen points a game for his career so far twelve
points a game last year for Houston and the Clippers.

(23:36):
Gordon gets one year plus a player option. He turns
thirty five in December. The Nets gave Lonnie Walker a
one year contract. He averaged twelve points a game for
the Lakers last season. New Orleans signed center Cody Zeller
to a one year deal. Denver gave justin Holiday a
one year deal. Charlotte's Miles Bridges signed his one year
qualifying offer. He can be a free agent next summer

(23:57):
if he missed this past year after the domestic violence
arrests and bullsguard Lonzo Ball is expected to be out
for the season, so Chicago has applied to the league
for a ten million dollars disabled players exemption. According to
the Athletic Nick's guard Josh Hart committed to Team USA
for this summer, so that's the final roster spot for
the Basketball World Cup squad. The US men's soccer has

(24:18):
just taken a four to nothing lead against Trinidad on
Fox TV sixty six minutes in in Charlotte. Jesus Ferrara
of FC Dallas with three goals in the first half.
The Americans are up to number eleven in the new
FIFA World rankings. Trinidad is number one oh one. Just
for the record, the Americans quarterfinal would be July ninth
in Cincinnati. NASCAR is in Chicago, which has had plenty

(24:40):
of rain this weekend, so they earlier today had a
range shortened Inxfinity Race where they handed Cole Custer the
title he was leading and Justin Haley for the moment
has taken the lead in the Cup Series event. They're
through a back lap fifty of the seventy five they're
saying scheduled now. Austin Dillon in is running second. Ricky
Fowler took the p tournament in Detroit in a playoff.

(25:02):
The Libgolf event in Spain went to Taylor Gooch. Bernard
Longer won the US Senior Open, and tennis Wimbledon starts tomorrow.
Nick Kyrios with drew today due to a wrist injury.
The Angel Show, Heyo Tani hit his thirty first home
run of the season. Halos beat Arizona five to two,
Seattle and Detroit with wins. White Sox won at Oakland
eight to seven, and after all the rain in Chicago,

(25:25):
the Cub's home game is only in the top of
the sixth inning. Guardians lead six to one over the Cubs,
and the Sunday night ballgame has the Mets ahead five
to one over the Giants bottom of the fourth. Pete
Alonso says he will be in the home run derby
this month.

Speaker 2 (25:37):
Back to you all, and he does that so so well,
so good for Pete Alonzo. I always love it when
the big stars say yes to that kind of stuff.
Thank you, Steve, Mark Willardy from salom and we're in
the Tyraq dot com studios, brought to you by Discover
credit Card. At the end of your first year, Discover
credit Cards automatically double all the cash back you've earned.

(25:57):
That's right, everything you've earned double see terms. Check it
out for yourself at Discover dot com. Slash match. Before
we get back to Dame Lillard in the NBA, Steve
mentioned show, Hey Otani and I don't have the exact
number in front of me, but somebody was working kind
of behind the scenes with a high level baseball executive
last week and based on you know, this changes every

(26:21):
week and the way he's playing right now, and he
quite frankly should be in the starting lineup for the
All Star Game and be the starting pitcher for the
American League. That's if baseball knew how to put on
a show. They usually don't. But anyway, leading the majors
in home runs, I mean, an absolute rocket ship. And

(26:45):
this conversation with a high level exec said, right now,
if this free agency were to start today, that opening offer,
let's call it. How about you know ten years, five
hundred and twenty five million dollars, and the exact fireback

(27:07):
immediately said, you're too low.

Speaker 3 (27:10):
Oh my god, where is baseball getting all this money?

Speaker 2 (27:16):
Good lord, I don't know what I mean this guy
and the latest word also heard, and I don't know
how to put any stock into any of this at all.
You know, show Hey is the biggest but also most
mysterious free agent because the language barrier prevents us from

(27:36):
maybe getting to know him in the way that we
might know other superstars. Of course, right, so I never
to know what Big Poppy was talking about, right, but
but not even that, like we can't even gather sort
of like what's the tone of what he's saying, what's
the look behind his eyes? We're just it's like, I
don't know. I don't know anything about the guy. I

(27:59):
know I'm mes arized by him, but I don't know
anything about what he's thinking. I did read an article
yesterday that said he is absolutely bound and determined to
stay on the West Coast, that that that's why he
picked it the first time, and he's going to pick
it again, And that particular article and report therefore suggested Angels,

(28:22):
Dodgers Giants as the new sort of favorite big three.

Speaker 3 (28:28):
That's all you got. You know, They're welcome on with
open arms down here in La.

Speaker 2 (28:33):
Now at the Dodgers, Oh come on, I mean they're
the favorite. The of course they got to be the favorite.

Speaker 3 (28:39):
The brand, baby, although only one bigger brand in baseball.

Speaker 2 (28:44):
Although the the way, the the way the Angels are playing,
I don't know, you know, I mean, I think they
haven't been playing all that great of late, but they
got a winning record.

Speaker 3 (28:57):
Yea, it still doesn't matter because even though he's in
southern California, the marketing dollars aren't there like it would
be if he came up an hour, you know, an
hour north.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
I would love to hear an expert actually explain to
me right like, because it's not like it's not like
we haven't all heard of show. Hey, the name value
is not suffering because he's ana high, right, So what
marketing dollars are not available to him right now?

Speaker 3 (29:28):
I would think the brand. It's all about the brand, though,
when you attach the talent with the brand is symbiotic.
You can have tremendous talent anywhere right and be a
great player. But if you're a great player like Derek

(29:50):
Jeter anywhere is a great player, right A Rod was
a great player. But when you get to the brand,
when you get to the Yankees, now, it takes on
the life. It's the biggest market in the world.

Speaker 2 (30:06):
I totally get it. So, however, what I want to
know is what's the dollar value for that? And my
secondary question would be, is show hey a brand buster?
Because Derek Jeter is your perfect comp that you just
brought up. Derek Jeter was a wonderful baseball player, but
you had to sort of have like an intricate knowledge

(30:28):
of the little things that he did on the field.
He didn't hit thirty home runs a year, right he
was a shortstop. He was a good hitter, but he
was that shortstop and he looked the way he did
and and you know Mariah Carey and all the things
that would go just sort of be about the aura
of Derek Jeter is what built him into a superstar.

(30:49):
Show Hey doesn't need that. He's like, I pitch and
lead the league at home runs. I don't need to
explain to you why I'm the most amazing thing in
the sport right now. So I just what is that
dollar figure that suddenly is available to him thirty miles
up the road.

Speaker 3 (31:08):
It's it's branding. When you attach a talent with one
of the most recognizable brands in the world, it makes sense.
It opens up different doors, right, like.

Speaker 2 (31:31):
If you.

Speaker 3 (31:33):
Currently right, there are a few brand but like I'll
take you like this all right? You put Lebron James
in Cleveland. He was from Cleveland, right, he was Cleveland's everything.
But then he goes to Miami. It's like, okay, he

(31:55):
goes to la It's just a different animal, was it?
Like o'bdno was already a billionaire before he even got
to La. Well, he wasn't quite a billionaire before he
got here. He's definitely a billionaire now because this is
where business is done. He would have to get on
a plane. He would, Oh, Giannis is out of there,
Like he won't be signing another extension in Milwaukee. Maybe

(32:16):
that's a that's a perfect example, perfect example for the Lakers,
or he plays for uh, the Knicks or or or someone.

Speaker 2 (32:26):
Like, it's a whole other level. Gianni's is great, he's great,
But what's the what's the what is the financial number?
Especially in the NBA, you either make the max or
you make the max and and yeah, they're off the
court opportunities. But I do feel like certain NBA players
get to the point where they can have as much

(32:47):
or as little of that as they want. I think
Jannis is one of those guys.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
No, no, I disagree, because market size matters. That's why guys,
you know now, I will say this, I will say this.
It has gotten much better because the reach now for
social media and you can brand and reach out to
millions of people directly.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Right.

Speaker 3 (33:17):
You don't need to be with a conglomerate or in
the same location as that conglomerate. You can build your
own brand, your own worth in all of those things.
But the things locally that come with being in New York,
being in LA right, being in you know, some parts

(33:40):
of Texas or something like that, it just speaks for itself,
it really does. You put an ultimate talent with an
ultimate brand. That's why the Yankees are the Yankees, man,
That's why the Yankees are the Yankees.

Speaker 2 (33:54):
Sure, I get that, right, I get what the Dodgers
are the Dodgers, I get it. I just I wonder
about show hey, who is not like the fans are
ever goingting the language Barrier is never going to change, right,
and he's already the biggest He's the biggest thing in
the sport where he is. So how do you go

(34:15):
from number one to number one? Or or at least
what's the dollar value? Is my is my question. I'm glad,
I'm glad you brought up the Lakers because this Dame
Lillard thing, you know, you know it's kind of their fault,
right you do know that? Right? Well, we'll get to
it here we go, coming up next five Sports Radio. Okay,
tyrack dot com Studios, Mark Willody from salam I mean

(34:37):
not actually the Lakers fault. It's not the Lakers fault.
It's not their fault of the number one brand. It's
not their fault there in Los Angeles, California. And when
opportunity knocks, why would you not strike? That's life. So
there's no blame here. But this Dame Lillard conversation that's

(35:00):
happening right now, to me, it feels very much like
the way Anthony Davis made his way to the Lakers.
And I'm not gonna lie to you, just as a fan,
I don't like it. I don't like the whole idea.
Like look, at the way fantasy sports have taken over.

(35:20):
And you probably know this real well. The younger the
players are in a fantasy league, the more trades that happen.
My son and his fantasy league. My god, these guys
are trade every two days. There's a blockbuster deal. You
get to adulthood, you know, we're in our forties. It's

(35:42):
a little bit different now. You just have a more
conservative sort of approach to life. But trades are a
big part of fandom. The ESPN trade machine and all
the things that we do. Looking at the way these
deals come together, it is not fun for the fans

(36:04):
of the league at large. Sure, if you're on, if
you're a fan of the team that is receiving the star,
you dig that. But where is the competitiveness? Where is
the fun in I would like to be traded, and
you must trade me there. And if you don't trade
me there, I'm going home with my ball, yak and

(36:27):
and I know you're not going to apologize for it.
I'm not I get it. I get it. I wouldn't either,
but I would like to at least see a player.
I'm not saying stay loyal to the organization, but why
kick him in there. You know what's on the way
off the door. Hey man, this is essentially what it
feels like is happening here.

Speaker 3 (36:49):
Hey you talking to a former professional athlete. Yep, Okay,
there is no such thing as loyalty. There is no
such thing as why would a player do that?

Speaker 2 (37:09):
But I'm not asking for loyalty at the door. But
they'll punch you in the gut though.

Speaker 3 (37:19):
Really, I'm not talking about I'm not talking about Portland
and its itself. I'm talking about as owners, as players
that there's them and us mentality? Are us in them mentality?
Because number one, they control the cards until players now

(37:42):
recently have started to control their own cards.

Speaker 2 (37:45):
Right.

Speaker 3 (37:45):
I've been on a team where a player has played
in a game with me and the next day he
was on a plane to god knows where. Okay, do
you think that player who was just out there playing
sixty and giving everything then dropping his kids off at
school that next morning to get to work, to realize

(38:10):
I won't be here to take my kids to school
for the rest of the year.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
Right.

Speaker 3 (38:16):
So, when you really look at the grand scope of it,
when players have the opportunity to control something in their career,
just like any other profession, they take the control. They're
going to take the control because in normal situations we

(38:40):
don't get it. That's what contracts are for. They lock
you up and they own your rights. Well, now, if
you're a big enough player, you get to be like, nah,
I'm good.

Speaker 2 (39:02):
The empowerment side, the loyalty side, lack thereof, the control side.
I understand all of it. What I'm trying to get
at here. What I'm wondering is why did that have
to go public? Because that everything changes everything nod in

(39:23):
pro sports? You know how much we don't know. You
know that as well as anyone I do.

Speaker 3 (39:28):
I understand that. But when you want ultimate leverage, you
get ultimate leverage. That's that you weaponize the media. And
they've been doing that since the dawn of time. That's it.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
Okay, Yeah, I'm not asking for loyalty, but if somebody
gave me what what's uh? What's what's dame made from?
From Portland? Uh? Career earnings Damian Lillard one hundred and
thirty three point seven. Sorry, if I'd like him to maybe,
I don't know, say thanks on the way out the door.

(40:09):
That's no loyalty. Say thanks. The business doesn't work like that.
It doesn't, you know what I mean? All Right? We
got much more on this NBA free agency and the
hidden problem with the All Star Game coming up.

Speaker 4 (40:23):
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
listen live.

Speaker 2 (40:35):
Continue to mess around on Fox Sports Sunday, broadcasting live
from the ti rag dot com studios tier rag dot com.
We'll help you get there on unmatched selection, fast free shipping,
free roadh hazard protection in over ten thousand recommended installers
tirag dot com. The way tire buying should be. I
will say this about your your Los Angeles Lakers there

(41:00):
a from pretty good week really so pretty good week. Yeah,
it's a pretty good week. They're gonna they're gonna be
an issue for other teams in the Western Conference. I
I look so far at what I've seen, and you
know me, I do this every single off season. I
don't don't don't win the off season because that seems
to never never work. So I don't get too hot

(41:21):
and bothered about things until I see them. But a
lot of continuity with with what the Lakers have done.
I do wonder how Lebron feels about it. More on
that in a second. But I look up and down
the Western Conference. Denver was already the standard, right they
win the championship. They haven't done a whole lot. They
lost Jeff Green, but I look around that conference and go, Okay,

(41:45):
the Lakers I like very much what they've done. The
Phoenix Suns gave up all of their depth and seemed
to rebuild it in about an hour and a half,
which was crazy. And they just got Eric Gordon today,
which is another that I like. We'll see where things
go with the Los Angeles Clippers. I think they are

(42:06):
a dark horse to end up with Lillard if this
heat thing doesn't happen, if Portland plays hardball, so I
can see them sort of really being a factor here.
But those are the teams right now to me that
have stood out in terms of positioning themselves to make
a run at Denver next year. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (42:29):
I think what the Lakers are doing. They really took
heat and paid attention to what transpired at the trade deadline. Normally,
in this day and age in free agency, when you
have an abundance of cap space, like the Lakers had

(42:51):
you do what they did when they got Westbrook, right,
you want something big, something splashy, and that wasn't needed.

Speaker 2 (42:59):
That wasn't the case.

Speaker 3 (43:00):
They needed to build out a roster, they needed to
retain some key uh pieces and elements to the team.
What I think they were able to do and then
they needed to get better in some areas. And so
I'm excited about what they did. I even liked them
bringing back D'Angelo Russell outside of the playoff stint and

(43:25):
him just not showing up in the playoffs. I think
over the course of the year, they're going to need
that firepower from him because he can, you know, put
points up on the board.

Speaker 2 (43:37):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (43:38):
And I just I love the addition of Cam cam Reddish.
I think this young man is talented. I think he
needs to be in a in a situation where he
feels needed. And uh, look, I'm excited. I'm excited. I'm

(44:00):
more excited that they didn't try to make a big splash.
I think Rob Polenka, Jenny Bust I think they learned
their lesson in doing that, and that's not you have
a big two, that's all you need. You don't need
Like I've been saying those days of the Big three,
That's not what it is. That's not what it is
unless all three of those players can play on both

(44:23):
ends of the court, which is very rare and to
just very few players who could do that individually, let
alone having three on the team. The Lakers have one
with Anthony Davis. Lebron James is no longer that guy
on the defensive side of the ball, so you need
three and d guys. I think they went out and
they bolstered their team. As far as the Clippers getting Westbrook,

(44:45):
I mean, excuse me, Damian Lillard. I think it'd be
the worst thing that could ever happen for Dame Lillard
because he would go there like most players go to
the Clippers and under the illusion of winning a championship.
It's just not going to happen. So I know he

(45:05):
really wants this, this this Miami thing to work out,
because you don't want to get stuck in that black hole.

Speaker 2 (45:12):
I did forget one other team in the Western Conference
who I think has has has a scenario that is
building nicely, and that is the Sacramento Kings. Yeah, yeah,
the Sacramento Kings, who they locked up some bonus. They're
bringing Harrison Barnes back, They're bringing Trey Lyles back. They
went and got the reigning euro League MVP. His name

(45:33):
is Sasha vezen Kaffin. You can play for those who
don't know, he is going to join the Sacramento Kings,
six foot nine player. They got him for only three
years and twenty million dollars, unproven and and unknown. But
combine all of that with now just the fact that
they've been through it a little bit, right, that to

(45:56):
me makes them a different entity next year. Yeah. I love.

Speaker 3 (46:02):
The fact that you when you're a young team and
you've had success, you got to keep the core together.
You have to well, look what Golden State did, right,
You have to build on that, and you time to time,
you add pieces to get better, to get better, to
get better. Sacramento is following that formula because it works.

(46:26):
They were a game away, you know, there were a
game away, a couple possessions away from moving on and
getting beat by the Lakers in the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (46:39):
Well, I got more questions. I'm not done with them.
I'm not done with them. Let's talk about the two
biggest brands in the Western Conference for a second. You
notice that of all those things I mentioned, you know
who I didn't mention. I didn't mention the Golden State Warriors,
who at this point have re signed Draymond Green yeah,

(47:00):
and give him a bed, did that well. And they
did it exactly the way that I've been saying for
weeks that they would do it. And a lot of
my brethren in the Bay Area did not believe me
because they thought that it meant Draymond taking a pay cut,
and I kept trying to explain to them, I'm like,
if he opts out of twenty seven million dollars and

(47:21):
ends up making twenty two or twenty three in year one,
that's not a pay cut. If it means another guaranteed
one hundred million dollars, it means he gave up twenty
seven and got one hundred. It doesn't mean he gave
up twenty seven and took twenty three. That's simply the
structure of the deal. It saves the Warriors over forty

(47:43):
million dollars on this year's cap when you add in
the luxury tax. So he took the deal exactly as
I figured he would take it. And I am a big,
big proponent of the Warriors focusing on the Big three
and keeping them together, and that's what they did. But
there are a couple of things that I would find

(48:05):
head scratching slash concerning for the Warriors, which is a
couple of their free agent veteran minimum targets are choosing elsewhere.
Eric Gordon is one of them. I also believe, as
much as the Warriors are going to sell to us
that Chris Paul is exactly who they wanted because he's
only got one year left on his deal and that's

(48:27):
what they needed for financial flexibility. Plus he is a
smart veteran guard who won't turn the ball over. I
only buy it to an extent. I think it also
means they went shopping with Jordan Poole and nobody wanted him. Nope,
that's what I think. Nobody wanted him, and that speaks

(48:49):
volumes about who he was as a player, what was
going on behind the scenes, all of that what we've
seen from him now two playoffs in a row. I
know he's had some good moments, but there been way
too many bad and so that that is a major
concern for the Warriors as well. I I like it's

(49:11):
hard to figure when you look at them right now. Now,
more moves could come and this would be the Other
concern is that Dario Sarich has supposedly been on the
one inch line for a free agent deal with the Warriors,
which I think would help them a lot, and it's
been sitting there for forty eight hours, like, what's the

(49:32):
hold up? What's going on? I think that they're gonna
be fine. I think they're gonna have a hard time
being markedly better than they were last year. If they are,
it means Jordan pool was even worse behind the scenes
than we realized.

Speaker 3 (49:51):
Yeah, it just wasn't a good fit.

Speaker 2 (49:54):
Now.

Speaker 3 (49:55):
Jordan Poole has talent. We saw that, you know two
years ago when they won the championship. He has talent,
But talent within the system is a completely different thing,
and it didn't work in that system. That system has
been together for a long time. They work in a

(50:17):
certain way, and that's just not who he was.

Speaker 2 (50:21):
Now.

Speaker 3 (50:22):
That doesn't take away from his talent. And he'll probably
go to Washington and to be amazing, He's gonna score
a bunch of points and you know, all of those things.
But I mean, they don't have a system now. They'll
be him and Kyle Kuzma putting up thirty shots a game,
and that's fine. He'll make a bunch of money and
he'll play. He's got a championship already as a young player,

(50:44):
so everything now is just icing on the cake, is
just stacking those chips and so. And that'll be the
type of player he is. He'll get older, he'll have
a better understanding of the league, teammates, locker room mystery
as he gets older, and you know he'll he'll turn

(51:04):
out to be an okay player. It just at the
time did not work in that locker room.

Speaker 2 (51:11):
Well, something changed, something changed, and I fear the only
thing that as an outsider, that I can guess that
changed was money. Because Jordan Poole is a guy that
will forever impress me because he went from the G
League to one hundred and thirty million dollars and I

(51:34):
will never, ever, ever not be impressed by that kind
of work ethic. Jordan had incredible work ethic and that
is well documented with the Warriors. And he built himself
last season, not this one that just passed, but the
championship year. He built himself into someone who was dynamic,

(51:54):
who could sort of hold things together when other guys
were either hurt or doing loadman management or whatever. And
then his contributions in the playoffs were more good than bad.
And there's a famous here in the Bay Area. There's
kind of a famous video because he and Andrew Wiggins
are real tight, and they were both obviously going into

(52:17):
into contracts that were into their final year. And as
they won the championship, like news cameras get him and
they're kind of embracing one another, and they're jumping up
and down and they're smiling, and they're both like Jordan
is going, we're going to get a bag. We're going
to get a bag. And Wiggins, with his personality, is
just kind of like smiling, like yeah, like I've already
had a bag, but yeah, let's have another one. And

(52:40):
and so he's just chilling and it's this famous quote,
We're gonna get a bag. And he did, and he
deserves it. He earned the bag. But from the moment
that happened, something wasn't right between him and almost everybody
else in that life locker room. And one thing I

(53:02):
keep stressing that famous punch from Draymond Green that was
not the start that everybody goes, oh, well, then the
punch and then the relationship went south. No, no, no,
something was already wrong. Something was already wrong, which is
why Draymond got so upset to the point where he

(53:23):
would do something so stupid. But that relationship had already
soured between Jordan and the veterans and uh and and
that's a big part of why they couldn't get it
back together. They couldn't get on the same page. And
I think that that bag had Jordan feel in a
certain kind of way about him, about him and his

(53:44):
role going forward, which is really, you know this, how
do you how do you demand a role when you're
in the room with a bunch of future Hall of famers?

Speaker 3 (53:55):
Don't work like that? And sometimes you gotta be humbled. Yeah,
they gave him the bag.

Speaker 2 (54:01):
But.

Speaker 3 (54:03):
There are other things to lose. The money's the money
right now, hopefully this is a learning moment for him,
right because money doesn't make you a great player, just
makes you a well paid player. Money doesn't make you
a great teammate. It just makes you able to buy

(54:27):
a nicer car. Right, So, in order to stay in
professional sports, there are certain things that come with it,
and we're not questioning his talent, but you know, talented
people are in and out of the league all the time.

(54:47):
It's what do you bring to a team? Can you
be that teammate? Can you help build something? Obviously Jordan
Poole wasn't in a position to do that. Don't want
to use him as a scapegoal. The Warriors had other issues, right,
They had no depth. Their younger guys outside of Jordan
Poole didn't develop like they thought they would. They got

(55:09):
rid of wise men, they had other things that they
were dealing with, trying to stay healthy. It just wasn't
their year, and it just was exacerbated by the punch
and then I mean they was the worst team ever
on the road in the NBA.

Speaker 2 (55:28):
Yep. That wasn't Jordan Poole's fault. Well, I mean, so,
you know, not his fault, but I think it was
emblematic of what was going on surrounding him, Like, why
would a really talented team not do well on the road. Well,
on the road is where y'all bond and where that
shows itself when you don't have your bands to juicy out.

Speaker 3 (55:52):
That's true, but historically younger players struggle on the road.

Speaker 2 (55:57):
YEP.

Speaker 3 (55:57):
So to throw that level of we need you guys
to be great up, it doesn't happen historically, that doesn't happen, right,
And so we can't point to their younger players and
be like we need no you get that as you
get older in the league. We can't have a bunch
of second year players leading our third year plays leading

(56:18):
us to the promised land on the road.

Speaker 2 (56:20):
Absolutely not. It just doesn't work like that, all right.
With what the Lakers accomplished this week, you're pleased, you
said you think Rob Polenka and Jenny bust learned their lesson.
I wonder what Lebron thinks about what happened this week.
We'll get into that coming up next with me from
salam Mark Willard. This is Fox Sports Radio, all right.

(56:43):
That's he from salama' Mark Willard, Tyreck dot Com Studios
and brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Progressive makes bundling
easy and affordable. Get a multi policy discount by combining
your motorcycle, RV, boat, ATV and more all your protection
in one place. Bundle and save Progressive dot Com. Okay,
So Ephraim is happy. E from is Laker happy. So

(57:06):
that's good. Check that box green check. You think Lebron's happy,
I do you do? I do think he's happy. It's
interesting because I certainly read the press conference where retirement
was not threatened but insinuated. For sure, I read that

(57:33):
to mean you got to go do something else large.
You got to go, whether it's Kyrie something like that,
you got to go get me one more big time player.
And what the Lakers did, I will agree with you,

(57:55):
is the smart thing. It was the right thing. I
like what they did for them and for the future
as well, but I did wonder I can't feel like
that's what Lebron was trying to do.

Speaker 3 (58:10):
I think at this point those days of dictating the
Russell Westbrook move was Lebron's for the Lakers. Was Lebron's
last thing that he was able. He's going to be
able to orchestrate for the roster. And you got to

(58:31):
remember remember last year when they realized this wasn't working,
Lebron was adamant about trading and making a change. And
what did Jenny bust and Rob Lincoln say. They came
out and said, you wanted it, you fix it. And

(58:52):
then that next year is when we met. You know this,
this season this past season where they made the trade
to move on and move further. But last year they
weren't going to bail them out, and I think that
was it that it shifted to what's best for the team.
How can we put the best team together, not the

(59:15):
best players or individuals. We need to put the best
team together. We need to address certain things that we
need to get better. And that's what they did, and
I think that is the formula they're going to use
moving forward, at least with Lebron James there.

Speaker 2 (59:40):
Yeah, again, I congratulate, like it's not been often in
the history of Lebron james career that teams have not
done basically exactly what he demanded. The last team did
not do exactly what he demanded was the Cleveland Cavaliers,
and he left and Dan Gilbert wrote a letter and

(01:00:03):
ended up with egg on his face and all of
that stuff, and then they made up, sort of, they
made it up enough because Lebron wanted to go back
and win a title for Cleveland, and as soon as
he did, he's like, my job is done here and
you're probably never going to see me again. And now
he's thinking much more about his own family his own

(01:00:23):
post basketball career, all of that stuff. But if Lebron
James and the way we know he thinks, if he
is actually still in this for anything other than getting
to play with Bronni someday, then he wanted more, then

(01:00:45):
let's bring everybody back and add Cam Reddish. He wanted
more than that aphram.

Speaker 3 (01:00:55):
Yeah, but once again, you don't get it to dictate
that anymore. And I think they've been clear with him
right whether he wanted it or not, it's going to
help the team. It's going to help him when he
doesn't have to drag the team up and down the

(01:01:15):
court for a whole season. That depth, that ability to
make shots. We know he wanted Austin Reevez back, We
know he wanted Rory Hashimora back. He got those things.
I don't think having Kyrie Irving in the mix would

(01:01:37):
benefit the team. Kyrie's a great player, dynamic player. But
did the did they have bringing those two guys back
at fifty two and fifty six million dollars? Did they
have one hundred and would Kyri get one hundred and
twenty seven million dollars to give the Kyrie Irving?

Speaker 2 (01:01:55):
Oh brother, I'm a listen I'm with you. I'm with you.
I just know the way Lebron thinks. Yeah. Well, and
Lebron doesn't care that he's thirty eight or thirty nine
years old. He doesn't think that way. He doesn't think
that way. One of them do. Well.

Speaker 3 (01:02:08):
I can tell you he knows what being tired is.
Watching him in these playoffs exhausted. Yep, for the first
time we've ever seen Lebron James flat out exhausted on
the court.

Speaker 2 (01:02:20):
So do you feel like with these moves he feels
like he can lay off the gas a little bit more?

Speaker 3 (01:02:24):
I think he can can serve himself. Right, if Anthony
Davis can somehow decide, Hey, in year what is it
fifteen for him, I'm gonna come in and be in shape.

Speaker 2 (01:02:37):
That's a big old f right, Hey, I think.

Speaker 3 (01:02:39):
I'm be in shape and get my body together, So
I can you.

Speaker 2 (01:02:43):
Know that's I mean, that's kind of the point. A
lot of money, man, That's that's kind of the point.
That's kind of the point.

Speaker 3 (01:02:49):
Hard to drive your wrath, hard to drive your Raithe
to to the gym every day.

Speaker 2 (01:02:53):
The Lakers might have done some nice things, but they
are still the same team that they were last year
with regard to winning it all, and that is better
be healthy. We need to Anthony better be engaged and
Anthony better not decide to play h play well on
more than just odd numbered games. We need it. We

(01:03:16):
need another big.

Speaker 3 (01:03:17):
That's the last thing that they got to do to
really round out this this uh this roster. We we
need another big. We need to go get Dwight Howard
back from Taiwan. I don't know what's going on over there.

Speaker 2 (01:03:28):
Oh God, you know what we need? Uh we need
Steve That's what I think we need. I think uh,
I think we need Stasty Figer, and I think we
need to find out what's trending right now.

Speaker 5 (01:03:42):
Hello again, gentlemen. NASCAR Street Race in Chicago, after all
the rain there this weekend was completed tonight and the
guy who won it in his Cup debut, Shane then
Gisbergen Okay Justin Haley finished second, Chase Elliott finished third.
About to start Mexico's Bucker at the forty nine Ers
Stadium large crowd tonight on FS one as a Gold

(01:04:05):
Cup tournament concluding the group stage. Now Mexico against Katar tonight.
US has just won in Charlotte six nothing over Trinidad
Jesus Ferrara of FC Dallas three goals in the first half.
The Americans quarterfinal will be in Cincinnati next Sunday, Jamaica.
Earlier in Santa Clara, a five nothing winner over last
place Saint Kitts. Ricky Fowler won the PGA tournament in

(01:04:28):
Detroit in a playoff. Colin Morricawa tied for second place.
In Spain, the Libgolf event went to Taylor Gooch. Bernard
Longer won the US Senior Open and tennis Wimbledon starts tomorrow.
Nick Carrios withdrew with a wrist injury. Nicks guard Josh
Hart committed to Team USA for this summer, so that's
the final roster spot for the Basketball World Cup team.
NBA Rookie of the Year Polo Benkerra will reportedly play

(01:04:51):
for the US, in other words, not for Italy. Also
committing to this year's Team USA Defensive Player of the
Year Jaron Jackson and All Stars Anthony Edwards and Tyree Halliburton.
We haven't had a formal announcement yet on the roster
from Grant Hill. He is managing director for the US Men,
but also due to play All Rookie Walker, Kessler, Brandon
ingram mcal Bridges, Austin Reeves due to play for the

(01:05:14):
Americans this summer. Bobby Portis, Jalen Brunson, and Cam Johnson.
The Utah Jazz are giving Jordan Clarkson a new three
year deal worth fifty five million dollars. The Phoenix Sun
signed Eric Gordon one year plus a player option. The
Nets gave Lonnie Walker a one year contract. He averaged
twelve points a game for the Lakers this past season.

(01:05:34):
To Major League Baseball, two games going on tonight after
all the rain in Chicago not yet done. Guardians holding
on six ' five over the Cubs in the bottom
of the ninth. The Mets leads big and a holding
on is now five to four against the Giants in the.

Speaker 2 (01:05:48):
Top of the seventh.

Speaker 5 (01:05:49):
Shohyotani did homer in Anaheim today five to two. The
Angels beat Arizona and all star Zach Gallon, who had
been ten and two this year. He went seven innings
with twelve strike but for Otani his thirty first home run,
a guy who had fifteen in June. He's up to
sixty eight RBIs were just past the halfway point of
the season, White Sox held on eight to seven at Oakland,

(01:06:11):
so the A's record now twenty three and sixty three.
Detroit was a fourteen to nine winner at Colorado. While
the A's are the worst overall, Colorado is the worst
team in the National League thirty three and fifty three.
Seattle beat Tampa Bay seven to six. Rais pitcher Shane McClanahan,
who's eleven and one, was selected as an All Star today,
but he went on the injured list yesterday with back tightness,

(01:06:33):
and we mentioned last hour. Pete, a Lonzo slugger for
the Mets, says he will be in the home Run
Derby along with Julio Rodriguez, who plays for Seattle, and
All Star Week in Seattle this year. A last add
on USA basketball we've mentioned this before, Steve Kerr of
Golden State is The US Head Coach Tournament gets underway
in late August in Asia. Team USA is going to

(01:06:54):
play in Manila. The assistants Toron Lieu of the Clippers,
Mark Few from Gonzaga, and the other assistant for Kurrs,
Eric Spolster at the Heat. His mom is from the Philippines.
The US will be playing New Zealand, Greece and then
the country of Jordan in its group.

Speaker 2 (01:07:09):
Back to you, all right, good sob Steve appreciate that
so much. Austin Reeves, by the way, not just a
new deal with the Lakers, but he's on that team.
Oh yeah, man, it's a hell of a rise for
that guy. What a find. It's a huge fine.

Speaker 3 (01:07:27):
Man.

Speaker 2 (01:07:28):
What do you get fifty six million?

Speaker 3 (01:07:30):
Yeah, fella, a man, get your money, baby.

Speaker 2 (01:07:34):
You know he deserved it.

Speaker 3 (01:07:35):
Worked extremely hard, played extremely well, really good.

Speaker 2 (01:07:41):
I got a quick question for you, which I'll ask
you after. I let everyone know when the tyrack dot
com studios and it's brought to you by Discover credit card.
At the end of your first year, Discover credit cards
automatically double all the cash back you've earned. That's right,
everything you've earned doubled. Seriously see terms. Check it out
for yourself. Discover dot Com slash match. Okay, the hell's

(01:08:04):
going on with San Diego State? Man? I mean I
didn't now you know, conference realignment college football. I'm sure
most of the people around the country are not even
aware of this little sort of idiosyncrasy that just kind
of took place. But a few weeks ago, SDSUS like,
peace out mouth the West right, And I'm sitting here,

(01:08:25):
especially since you know, I kind of get employed year
to year by PAC twelve network. I'm like, okay, okay,
San Diego State's coming. We're gonna get yourself a little
media rights deal. PAC twelve is gonna live on celater
USC UCLA. It's all gonna be okay. And then all
of a sudden, out of nowhere, just little whisper a
couple of days ago. Yeah, actually, we're just gonna stay

(01:08:47):
in the Mount West for a little while. What's going on? Man?
I know, you know people what is going on?

Speaker 3 (01:08:55):
The PAC twelve couldn't figure it out. They're main focus
is negotiating a TV deal or finding the right one.
Uh So, without a commitment to San Diego State, San
Diego State decided to stay in the Mounta West for
at least another two years. Also cuts down their exit

(01:09:16):
fee from thirty two million to sixteen million or something
like that. So they were like, hey, we're just gonna
stand in the Mount West. We're gonna dominate this again
at least for the next two years, and then we'll
see what happens.

Speaker 2 (01:09:32):
So in other words, you think it's still happening, and
it's just happening in two years. It'll happen later. Yeah,
because USC and UCLA still got one more year anyway.

Speaker 3 (01:09:42):
Yeah, they're gone, They're gonna be there, they'll be going,
but they got one more one more, Yes, they have
one more, one more year in the Black twelve.

Speaker 2 (01:09:49):
So San Diego State like maybe they're just like maybe
that'd be the Pac ten for one year. Yeah, and
then San Diego State joined that.

Speaker 3 (01:09:57):
Yep, san Diego State and uh, you know somebody else, brother,
what a mess? Man, it is a mess. Can we
just stop?

Speaker 2 (01:10:08):
Can we go do what I asked everybody to do
five years ago. It's really simple, man, it's simple. Like
tradition is gone, right, it's gone. Okay, So why universities
are we still handing money out to quote unquote conferences

(01:10:33):
which are really just holding companies at this hour? Like,
who cares if you call it the Big ten, the
Big twelve, the pack whatever, I know, the SEC, oh
SEC great, whatever, call it Conference one, Conference two, Conference three,

(01:10:53):
and Conference four for super conferences sixteen teams in each one.
That equals sixty four teams each of those four super
conferences have two divisions. That's eight divisions in major college football?
Do you follow me here? Eight division champions poof eight

(01:11:16):
team playoff? Is this so hard? That way? We don't
need to have people in a room at the end fighting.
Oh but Alabama lost to tennis? Say with tennis? Oh
my gosh, shut up, stop deciding in a ballroom who
gets to play? Give me eight divisions and let's go.
Why is it so hard?

Speaker 3 (01:11:39):
Because people want control?

Speaker 2 (01:11:42):
The schools can have it. Want control.

Speaker 3 (01:11:45):
People they want to they want Look, man, it's hard
to give up something that you feel you control, and
people will making a lot of money.

Speaker 2 (01:12:00):
Yeah, but I guess my point is is I like
the schools need Kirk Cousins to talk to them. Y'all
have power. You don't realize you have. Go in there
and demand a fully guaranteed deal. You don't need these conferences.
They don't exist anymore anyway. No, it's all over the
place right. Oh but the Pac ten and the Big

(01:12:23):
ten and the Rose Bowl. Yeah means what now you're
gonna have USC and UCLA representing the other side in
the Rose Bowl. UCLA is gonna play Oregon or something
like that. Like I mean it's over. It's over, So
forget tradition and forget sharing the dough. I think it's

(01:12:44):
so funny. In the name of selfishness and greed, I
think college football is actually selling itself short. They want
to keep it the same way because of money, and
I'm like, you could earn more. That would be the
greatest event of I mean, that would rival the NFL playoffs.

(01:13:07):
If you actually had a real eight team playoff where
all eight teams earned their way there.

Speaker 6 (01:13:16):
That'd be nice. But that's too easy, man, I know.
Never never do it easy. Do that, No, never do it?

Speaker 2 (01:13:26):
All right, coming up at the top of the hour,
the Baseball All Star teams were announced today, and I
got a question and a comment with regard to something
All Star related we'll do at the top of the hour.
But also coming up next, these gambling violations that are
growing in the NFL. Why suddenly now gambling's not new?

(01:13:48):
We'll get into that. Coming up next with eat from
Salam Mark Willard It's Fox Sports Radio. All right, it's
Fox Sports Radio, Fox Sports Sunday. Mark Willard e from
Salaam Live tire Raq dot Com Studios as mentioned a
little something about the Baseball All Star Game. I want
to get into with you coming up at the top

(01:14:09):
of the hour. But another slew no big names, but
I hate to diminish players in the NFL that you
know are not like quarterbacks or running backs or wide
receivers or whatnot. They're all important to their team. But
another slew of gambling suspensions in the NFL. What do

(01:14:29):
you think in general of these and why they are
suddenly growing in prevalence even though we should be. It's
sort of counterintuitive, right, I mean, now the NFL does
not think it's taboo to be in bed with gambling outlets,
but only now suddenly are all of these suspensions taking place.

Speaker 3 (01:14:51):
Yeah, it's a cluster cluster beep, because this is exact
why most the NBA, NFL, MLB stayed away from sports
booking and promoting of that because it's bound to happen.

(01:15:17):
It's bound to happen. So now you're preaching you can't
gamble on certain things in certain places, but we're going
to share this revenue check from those things, whether it

(01:15:37):
be a sports book and app whatever, that is revenue
from the you know, the games. It's crazy, man, and
it's easier and easy. You don't have to call anyone
to place a bet. Now, you don't have to physically
go anywhere to place the bet. It's on your phone.

(01:15:57):
You can literally just sign it into an app like
you do Facebook or TikTok, Instagram, and place of bet
take less than two minutes. So to tell people to
stop doing that, that's gonna be hard to do. First
of all, gambling is an addiction. Okay, let's not forget that.

(01:16:23):
You get addicted to the rush of winning, possibly winning.
I used to play black jack a lot, really good
blackjack player, and I'm very competitive. So as a younger player,
I had disposable income, no responsibilities, no marriage, no kids.

(01:16:47):
In every buye weekend I go to we go to
Vegas and I've won big and I've lost, and I
started to realize I'm too competitive to continue to gamble
like this. It's never a good thing. When you're competitive,

(01:17:14):
nature outweighs your brain. So I let it go. I
let it go, And they're making it easier and easier
to do that now, whether it be I never bet
on games or anything like that. Never was a big
you know, betting on I bet on myself at the

(01:17:37):
blackjack tables, even though there's a level of uncertainty there.
I'm just not sitting watching. I'm actively participating in my demise.
So I just think it's very hypocritical to just come
down and slam the gavel down on these guys. Very new,

(01:18:02):
and it's going to it's this serious growing pains. When
you walked into an NFL locker room, it used to
be huge signs plastered on the door, inside the door,
no gambling, no, all of that. Now it's like, no
gambling here, right right, don't stand right here, right, can't

(01:18:24):
gamble stand.

Speaker 2 (01:18:25):
Over there, go across the street and you're fine. Can't
gamble in here.

Speaker 3 (01:18:29):
But at lunch you can get in your car and
drive outside the facility and gambled and come back.

Speaker 2 (01:18:35):
What are we doing? What do we do? What do
we do? Come on? Like, I fully understand, and I
know this is where many people's brains go. The rules
are the rules, they're told the rules, follow the rules.
That's great, and there is some validity to that. However,

(01:19:00):
you're gonna have a hard time pitching to me that
the punishment fits the crime.

Speaker 3 (01:19:09):
Yeah, well, there at the stage of early punishment of
setting examples, that's why they're harsh like this, They're they're
they're the example setting phase to ward off others. Well,
you don't want to get what they got right that

(01:19:33):
that's why it's like it is now. And you know,
I get it as an organization, as a business trying
to stay on top of something, but it's gonna be
difficult because there's gambling happening in every locker room, on
every plane, on every bus, at every hotel, on every.

Speaker 2 (01:19:54):
This is that's right, and this has always been known.
I mean, even if you're gambling with just cards or
or or whatever it is. Major League Baseball's taking a
little bit of a gamble with the way they're building
their All Star game. Explain that next.

Speaker 4 (01:20:09):
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
listen live.

Speaker 2 (01:20:20):
One of those weekends where it all starts to come
together as we get ready to celebrate America's Birthday. A
month away from NFL training camps, NBA free agency has
the rosters coming into place. The All Star rosters are
in place in Major League Baseball, and we've got it
all right here on Fox Sports Radio, broadcasting live from
the ti raq dot com studios. Tiraq dot com will

(01:20:43):
help you get there an unmatched selection, fast free shipping,
free road hazard protection, and over ten thousand recommended installers
tire raq dot com The way tire buying should be. Okay, Ephraim,
I know that you're more of a baseball guy, kind
of through your kid, kids and the coach, that you
are at their level, then maybe you are at the

(01:21:05):
major league level. But I will ask you, like, is
there a major league team that you call your own?

Speaker 3 (01:21:10):
I would have to go with the Dodgers, Okay.

Speaker 2 (01:21:13):
All right, So you don't have to worry about this
rule because you follow the Dodgers and there's always a
gaggle of them going to the All Star Game. Freeman
is in, Betts is in, Kershaw is in, will Smith
is in. They're all going. So everything's cool there. What
about if you were a fan of one of these
teams that had to be part of quote unquote the rule,

(01:21:39):
which is every team needs to be represented at the
All Star Game. Now, in theory, I've never really had
much of an issue with this. In my forty some
odd years as a fan of the game, because I
am a believer in including all parts of the geography
when put together an event. An example, the college Football

(01:22:03):
Playoff too often has become a regional Southeastern event in
the United States, and that's not good. That's not good
for viewership. I'm not saying somebody should get advantages for
being outside the Southeast, but that's sort of what I
was getting at earlier with regard to geographic super conferences,

(01:22:25):
and then you would automatically have teams coming from every
corner of the country in order to play. That's kind
of what I was getting at there. This is different.
This is an all Star game and for the I
don't know how many years in a row, and I
apologize for selecting them. They're just the one that's closest

(01:22:48):
to me. That's an example. But again, the Oakland A's
will be sending a player that absolutely no one outside
of his parents, a few A's fans, god forbid, definitely
not the A's owner has even heard of this player.

(01:23:10):
It doesn't mean he's not good, I get it. He
is already at a disadvantage because he plays for the
Oakland A's, or the Twins, the Pirates, even the Rays
a good team, the Orioles. I know that's a bigger market.
I'm just throwing out teams that don't have your standard
bearing star players and they don't have those brands you

(01:23:34):
were talking about earlier. This has gotten to the point though,
where I find this to be very, very counterproductive. You
keep putting players on because you have to have a
representative from other team, from every team, that keeps other
deserving players out. And I also thinking from it rewards

(01:23:57):
what those teams are doing which shouldn't do, which is
tank and save money. Yeah, I don't.

Speaker 3 (01:24:07):
I don't agree with putting players in just because I
think when you're voted to the All Star Game, it
should be because of your body of work that season,
not because you got to send someone. Uh. That is
the opposite of what an All Star is and should be.

(01:24:32):
People's value increase from being All Stars because of the
work they've done on the pitch, the field, the court.
So when you take that away and you just send somebody,
because each team has to have somebody, you know, a representative,
you're right, you take away from other deserving people from

(01:24:57):
other teams. Another thing that I don't understand why Baseball
does with their All Star Game. I believe it's the
only I'm not sure about hockey, but most of the
major American sports have their All Star weekends, so weekend

(01:25:25):
people can travel, they can plan, and they can go, right,
make a big weekend out of it. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Well,
baseball it's on a weekday, Monday and Tuesday. Who is what?

Speaker 2 (01:25:42):
How? What sens does that make? Who's cool?

Speaker 3 (01:25:48):
So I don't get it, like things like that to
me is a head scratch, And somebody probably can tell me, well,
you know, it's tradition and it's what. To have an
All Star Game, an All Star Challenge during the week,
you can't make that make sense, right, because if you
were to have it in Vegas, people would or wherever

(01:26:12):
it is this year, you would plan for that during
people work doing the week day, so work day they
have the festivities on two work days.

Speaker 2 (01:26:25):
The whole thing has been extended as well. It used
to be that the All Star break was three days, okay,
and I get that it doesn't sound all that RESTful,
but teams would finish playing on a Sunday and then
on Monday. Everybody would get on either Sunday night or
Monday morning, get those players to where they need to be,
and then on Monday night would be your Derby and

(01:26:46):
all of that stuff, and then on Tuesday would be
the All Star Game, and on Wednesday was a complete
day off for everybody. It's the worst day of sports
all year long. It is literally there's nothing that happens
on day three of the All Star break. Somehow this
has turned into an extra day for almost all of
the teams, and there's now like a Thursday off as well,

(01:27:06):
and everybody needs to get to where they are in
order for Friday to be the resumption of the season.
I'm kind of with you, why don't you have the
Derby on a Saturday, the game on a Sunday, take
a Monday off, and have everybody in place for Tuesday
night baseball as you normally do, a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

(01:27:30):
series somewhere, a Friday Saturday Sunday series somewhere else. The
calendar works like I can think this out as you
can logically and figure out why this is though it's
got to be run by the television networks. It has
to be. It has to be, and that's probably part
of it. But what do you can get this time

(01:27:52):
on the week. Yeah, but on a home run Derby,
that means you're on a Saturday night. That's literally like,
that's the worst night of the week for TV, So
the worst side of the week for TV. So they
want that Derby out of Monday night. People come home
from work, cook your dinner, watch Derby. Yes, that part

(01:28:14):
of it is, right, part of it is, but part
of it is the sport. You know. Football doesn't need
to worry about that because in the fall, we're like
all set Saturday Sunday, pajamas, nachos, beer, We're ready. That's
not baseball.

Speaker 3 (01:28:32):
Hey, somebody needs an overhaul. Man, There's nobody in there like, Hey, guys,
let's rethink this. Let's make it a thing. Let's build
a dynamic weekend around this. Let's have a concert festival.
Let's make it fun and cool so the people who
do work during the week can actually fly out and

(01:28:55):
participate without taking days off work. How about that? To me,
that would would seem like a better idea.

Speaker 2 (01:29:09):
It just would. I want to throw some names at
you of all Stars, and you tell me if you
know what baseball team they're on. I'm just gonna throw
out some names okay, Alexis Diaz, No, okay, let's see

(01:29:40):
Mitch Keller mm hmm, okay, let's see. Let's see who
else can we come up with here? For Ephraim? How
about uh yeah, you'll know all those. How about Felix Bautista.

Speaker 3 (01:30:07):
Is he related to David Bautista?

Speaker 2 (01:30:11):
I don't know. I don't know. How about Brent Rooker? Rooker?
Brent Rooker is the infielder who is going for the
Oakland A's. These are all fantastic baseball players. By the way,
they're all Stars. They're on the All Star team. Some

(01:30:33):
of them are All Stars because of the uniform they wear,
and they have to go. So on a Tuesday night,
I'm going to gather the kids around. It's Tuesday, so
we'll make some tacos and we're going to say, kids,

(01:30:55):
get in here. Brent Rooker is up. I don't know, man.
I hate that I'm even saying this because I don't
want to do this to Brent Rooker, and I certainly
don't want to do this, and I don't want to
do this to Oakland A's fans. For God's sakes, they've
been through hell. But I just don't I don't understand

(01:31:21):
why baseball doesn't understand repeatedly how to get attention to market.

Speaker 3 (01:31:29):
They really don't. I've been saying this for years. Man,
they need some fresh ideas, some new blood in there
to really you know.

Speaker 2 (01:31:39):
I mean, it's a great sport.

Speaker 3 (01:31:41):
It's a beautiful sport, no doubt, and no doubt it
really is. Soccer markets itself better than baseball in this country.

Speaker 2 (01:31:56):
Yeah, it's crazy. No, it's uh, it's it's beautiful. And
for some reason, what they seem to not be able
to remove, especially in this example we're talking about right now,
they're they're unable to remove this idea that they need
to be driven by fairness. Okay, one for you and

(01:32:17):
one for you, one for you over here, You're not
handing out cookies at a party, Okay, I want show,
hey o Tani at every position. I want him to pitch.
I want him to see if he can hit his
own pitch. I want them to do like, seriously, are
you putting on a show or are we handing out

(01:32:40):
cookies at a party and everybody's got to get one
before anybody else can have their second cookie. That's what
I don't understand. Some of these are even yes, some
of these are even from the teams, you know, I
mean the Braves. The Braves are running the National League,

(01:33:04):
run in the National League. And even they've got you know,
they've got the Boy, they got a bunch of All Stars,
they got like seven All Stars, eight All Stars, and
even a lot of those are not names that people
are gonna be like, yeah, not terribly interested in uh
in watching them. So it continues to be a challenge.

(01:33:30):
Let's let's put it that way. Let's also let you
know that it's brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Progressive
makes buddling easy and affordable. Get a multi policy discount
by combining your motorcycle, RV, boat, ATV and more all
your protection in one place. Bundle and save at Progressive
dot Com. Coming up next, let's get back to Damian
Lillard potentially forcing his way to Miami, the rest of

(01:33:54):
NBA free agency as well. Dylan Brooks four for eighty
All right with e from Salama, Mark Willard, Fox Sports Radio. Okay, y'all,
glad you're with us. That's it from Salama, Mark Wellard
Live Tyrack dot Com Studios. Talking a lot about Dame
Lillard today. Em I wonder if you saw this. This

(01:34:14):
is kind of an interesting back and forth on Twitter,
and I think it gets to the bottom of what
I'm getting at you and I both, I mean lockstep.
I have no issue with player empowerment. I have no
issue with Dame Lillard saying, look, it's not happening here.
I either am or I'm about to be thirty three

(01:34:35):
years old. Got to take advantage of what I've got
while I've still got it, and I want to go
play some deep playoff games. And by the way, I
haven't even said this yet tonight. I'm a huge fan
of watching Lillard play. Like my fandom of players, if
it's not like a rival of my favorite team or whatever,

(01:34:56):
is really based on just the enjoyment I have in
watching US Pacific player play. Is why I've had a
hard time with Westbrook and Chris Paul and James Harden
in the past. They play a style where I'm just
kind of like, like you, you don't need to start
falling down when no one touched you and start playing
ISO ball all the time. I really enjoy watching Dame

(01:35:18):
Lillard play basketball. So my issue, my question is surrounding
the idea of not wanting a trade, but by telling
the world exactly where you want to go and seemingly
demanding not that you're traded, but that you're traded to
a certain spot, robs the leverage and takes away, quite frankly,

(01:35:41):
of the accomplishment of the acquiring team. So I wonder
what do you think about this in terms of a
back and forth that's on Twitter tonight as part of
the iHeartRadio station that's in Portland. One of their radio hosts,
who has the Twitter handle Chad in rip City wrote

(01:36:02):
earlier today, very surprised to see the number of fans
turning on Lillard today. I can't blame him for wanting
a change. The previous regime failed to build a legit
team around him, and the current chose to go young
and rebuild. I would guess this is the desired result
by Cronin and his stoff. Well Dame saw the tweet

(01:36:23):
and responded and said, it's in my blood to take
the high road. I'd love to hear what fans are
turning on. Have I misled them or anyone fill me in?
And then, of course there are millions of views, thousands
of responses, many of which are saying, Dame you're the best,

(01:36:46):
You're the greatest. Don't listen to him. This jealousy, man,
it's all of that. Well, allow me, a Dame Lillard
fan a retort if I'm please read to and it's
two things. One of them aforementioned you publicly said not

(01:37:09):
I want to go I want to go there. Rob's
leverage of the team that has paid you every dollar
that you've earned in the NBA two hundred and thirty
three million dollars. Why would you do that? And secondly,
I hate to use the phrase what goes around comes around,
but Dame Lillard has been one of the most outspoken

(01:37:31):
players in this entire league with regard to anti Kevin duranting.
He has stated it one hundred different ways, one hundred
different times. Don't give up on the grind. I don't
want to go join anything established. He has said all

(01:37:52):
of these things, and now he's hand picking the team
that was just in the NBA Final a couple of
weeks ago. You got to understand when you sound hypocritical
in this life. We all do. But I think you
have to have awareness of when you hit one of
those moments. I think he has awareness of it.

Speaker 3 (01:38:17):
I just think he really wants to go to a
place now where he wants to be. I believe he
thinks he deserves that, He's earned that, and I side
with that. You give a decade to an organization, which
is loyalty, and today's sports, you spend ten years, you

(01:38:41):
spent a whole decade somewhere, that's loyalty. You repeatedly have
stated that you want to win, you want to win here,
but you wanting to win there as a player doesn't
mean you'll win there because you can't control who you

(01:39:04):
win there with. And so if you're not developing young players,
if you're not bringing in players to help your superstar
win there after a decade, it's like, we get it.

Speaker 2 (01:39:23):
I get it.

Speaker 3 (01:39:25):
He's been one of the most loyal players in sport.
Who else right now, playing at his level has been
that loyal to a franchise?

Speaker 2 (01:39:38):
That's a good question. Who else has been that loyal
to a franchise? I mean, if we're just talking the NBA,
the NBA, yeah, I mean, now are you talking about
players who have not been able to get over the top,
or do even ring winners count any one? Giannis has

(01:40:01):
shown some loyalty.

Speaker 3 (01:40:02):
Yep won a championship there, I know, I know, I know,
it doesn't I said, it doesn't count. But you're there
to win a champion like if you stay somewhere, you
there to win a championship. Steph Clay and all up
they won. So why would they leave? Why would Yanni?

Speaker 2 (01:40:19):
He won? Right?

Speaker 3 (01:40:20):
So that loyalty's built in because you have accomplished the
ultimate goal and that's winning the championship. So let's take
the ring winners off the table. Okay, what about Joel Embiid?
How long has he been in Philly?

Speaker 2 (01:40:39):
Well, obviously he's his whole career, right and uh we're
we're we're getting we're getting up there on on how
many years that's been. Joel Embiid is twenty nine? So
Joel has played one, two, three, four, five six.

Speaker 3 (01:41:02):
He has played seven years in the league. Not quite
in three more years? How do you think Joel him?
That's a long time and three more years out of
all the turnover coaches, everything that, the process, all of
those things, they can't quite seem to get over the humph,

(01:41:22):
how do you think he'll fill in three years? Being
three years older? Like, to me, that's I'm like, I
can get it. It'll wear you down.

Speaker 2 (01:41:36):
Yeah, I'm I'm with you on Dame saying, look, it's time.
My questions are just again, why why did you have
to say publicly? It needs to be there and there's
nothing wrong here, But you have to take it on

(01:41:59):
the when you have a quote calls out all of
these other players for quote running from the grind, there's
no way around it. Brother, you now have to take
it on the chin. You do have to take it
on the chin. I don't blame you for doing it,
but you gotta take it on the chin because that's

(01:42:20):
your quote and you are now doing exactly what you
have said others shouldn't do.

Speaker 3 (01:42:27):
But let's be clear, Okay, let's be clear on this.
He's not saying I want to go to Philly. He's
not saying I want to go to Milwaukee. He's not
saying I want to go to Boston. So let's not
make Miami seem like they have a top ten player

(01:42:52):
or top you know, a great player in terms of.

Speaker 2 (01:42:59):
Today you know what I mean. It's you know, they're
the eight seed. So it's a fair point, right like
they do have they do have another star. This is a.

Speaker 3 (01:43:08):
Play and team now that the two play in game
team right, but the.

Speaker 2 (01:43:14):
Coltures five years, three of them have ended in at
least the Eastern Conference finals. Yep, right, you have championship pedigree,
coach championship pedigree GM and oh, by the way, pretty
nice weather. That would be attractive to me. Yes, right, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:43:33):
So when I'm looking at that, I'm not seeing, oh,
he's going to join a super team.

Speaker 2 (01:43:42):
No, it is not that he has a rubiner.

Speaker 3 (01:43:45):
It's one guy and a roster full of undrafted UH
players and the ball out.

Speaker 2 (01:43:51):
I'm with you on that. In a way I would
I would say this no matter where he where he
said he wanted to go, just the Blazers. Don't tell Twitter.
Just just tell the Blazers. See if they'll work with you.
I feel like they like you, Hey, I feel like

(01:44:13):
they've given you a quarter billion dollars. I think they
like you. Maybe they'll work with you. It would behoove
them as well, kind of like how we like Steve
de Sega. We like working with him.

Speaker 5 (01:44:24):
Love it.

Speaker 2 (01:44:26):
Comes to us with a request, We're very likely to
works to him on that.

Speaker 3 (01:44:30):
My heart smiles when I list that music.

Speaker 2 (01:44:33):
Thank you, Thank you, Hi, Steve.

Speaker 5 (01:44:35):
Good evening once again, gentlemen. The Sunday Night of All
Games A final in New York, the Mets beat the
Giants eight to four. Pete Alonzo of the Mets, who
announced tonight he will be in the Home Run Derby,
which is not this week but next week. He then
hit his twenty five twenty fifth home run of the season.
Tonight he's only betting two twenty one. But as fifty
eight RBIs Cleveland and ten innings beat the Cubs eight

(01:44:58):
six in Chicago. That means the Guardians are now tied
for first in the Al Central with the Minnesota Twins,
who by the way, have a record of forty two
and forty three. Cleveland is forty one and forty two. Yes,
they're tied for first in the division. Minnesota lost to
one at Baltimore with two runs in the bottom of
the eighth. In Anaheim Show, Hey Otani with his thirty

(01:45:19):
first home run five two Angels over Arizona, beating All
Stars Zat Gallen, who did have twelve strikeouts in seven innings,
had been ten and two this year. Otani today was
named as an All Star pitcher by the Way. As well,
he's already the starting DH for the American League. The
All Star Game is on Fox TV from Seattle a
week from Tuesday, July eleventh. Dusty Baker Houston will be

(01:45:42):
the AL manager. Rob Thompson of the Phillies will manage
the NL those with the two World Series managers last year.
In the American League, Texas has six All Stars on
the roster, including four infielders. With the full rosters out today,
eight Atlanta Braves total have been named four infielders, catcher
to two pitchers and an outfielder. One of those pitchers

(01:46:03):
got the win today. Spencer Strider is ten and two
at Lantadown, Miami, six to three, eight straight wins for
the Braves. Luis a Rias of the Marlins did have
an RBI single and RBI double. He's batting three eighty
nine wins for Detroit and Seattle. White Sox held on
to win at Oakland eight to seven. Cincinnati beat the
Padres four to three. The Reds are still tied for

(01:46:24):
first in the NL Central with the Brewers, who won
six to three at Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Washington with wins.
Houston got a victory at Texas five to three, Boston
five four over Toronto beating closer Jordan Romano. Saint Louis
down the Yankees and Garrett Cole five to one, the
winning pitcher former Yankee Jordan Montgomery. The Utah Jazz are

(01:46:44):
giving Jordan Clarkson a new three year deal. The Phoenix
Sun signed Eric Gordon. Nick's gar Josh Hart committed to
Team USA for this Summer's Basketball World Cup. NASCAR was
in Chicago. Shane van Gisberg and won the Street Race
in his Cup Series debut. US Men's soccer in Charlotte
defeated Trinidad six nothing in the Gold Cup tournament right

(01:47:05):
now in the Bay Area. At halftime, it's Katar ahead
of Mexico. Won nothing at the break. By the way,
the Americans quarterfinal in this tourney will be next Sunday
in Cincinnati. Ricky Fowler won the PGA event in Detroit
in a playoff, his first tour victory in over four years.
Live Golf was in Spain. The winner Taylor Gooch Course.

(01:47:25):
Every Live winner gets four million dollars. Ricky Fowler earned
over one point five million for taking the Detroit event
and PGA. How about this Bubba Watson is a guy
who left the PGA Tour for Live Golf. He finished
five over par in Spain this weekend, so thirty fourth

(01:47:46):
place out of forty eight golfers. Bubba Watson earned nearly
one hundred and seventy thousand dollars for three days of golf.
The comparison at the PGA event, not one hundred and
seventy thousand, would have been forty six thousand for a tie.

Speaker 3 (01:47:59):
For thirty thirty.

Speaker 2 (01:48:01):
It makes zero sense.

Speaker 5 (01:48:04):
Man, Well a lot of dollars put no sense exactly
back to you.

Speaker 2 (01:48:07):
No, they gotta do. I mean it's it's kind of easy.
I think what they need to do now that they've
got this dirty partnership or whatever you want to call it,
at the end of this year, Live Golf needs to
go away and then they all need to get on
back on the same tour together, and the persons need
to I don't know, double at least the fifty raise

(01:48:31):
in the in the purses or you know what. I
think they also want. They want appearance fees, which this
is one side I get. I get it a little bit,
I really do. Right, who's the guy that just wanted
today to Live Golf, Taylor Gootch, that's correct, Okay. Ricky Fowler,

(01:48:52):
despite not winning for four years, is still out there
wearing orange Puma gear. Like you could dress up as
Ricky Fowler for Halloween and I'd be like, oh, you're
Rickey Fallen, right, which means which means he deserves a
little doe because people are showing up to these tournaments
to see him.

Speaker 3 (01:49:15):
You're absolutely right, You're absolutely right. Golf is built on
the golfers.

Speaker 2 (01:49:24):
It has to be.

Speaker 3 (01:49:25):
The game's too born and and watchable any other way.
How many people it did? What happened to viewership when
tiger Woods became irrelevant in golf?

Speaker 2 (01:49:39):
I mean gone, gone right? Remember El Nino.

Speaker 3 (01:49:46):
Yep right, Like that's what the dailies in the uh
Michaelson like all of those. That's what drives you gambling
ones that you could take tiger Woods are the field
in a major?

Speaker 2 (01:50:07):
What type of odds are those? Totally?

Speaker 3 (01:50:11):
Tiger Woods are the field. But when you when you
take that away, it's just guys with sticks hidden like it,
it's not watchable. It's hard to watch it when you

(01:50:32):
don't have a rooting interest other sports you can watch
it because of the sport, the excitement of it, the
But when we don't have a rooting interest in golf,
it's like, so, yeah, pay them live is paying them?

Speaker 2 (01:50:54):
Yeah, it's not that hard. It's not it's not that hard.
What what what's difficult is figuring out who gets that
payment and how much is it? You know what I mean. Like,
I've got a very very good buddy who made it.
He made it to the tour and he was one
of these, you know, like he won. He was Taylor Gooch.

(01:51:15):
You know, you didn't know who he was, but he
was good. He got to like twentieth in the world,
and you know he's retired now, but he did very
very well for himself. But I've watched it, you know,
like it's a very very unglamorous daily life. It's just

(01:51:36):
like I'm flying myself to whatever, Ohio and when I
get there, somebody is going to grant me a courtesy car,
but I'm getting my own bags. I'm getting in that
rental car shuttle and I'm gonna go get my courtesy
car and then I'm gonna drive my courtesy car to
my hotel room that I paid for. Yeah, that's not it.

(01:51:59):
And then after I have my practice rounds for two days.
I'm going down the street to get my own dinner,
and I'm overdoing it a little bit. They get taken
care of, but not totally financially, like they are paying
their own way. And so if you go miss a cut,
you have essentially just performed as a professional athlete in

(01:52:20):
front of fans and paid to do it. Yeah. Look,
that's weird.

Speaker 3 (01:52:28):
It's weird and extremely extremely weird, and especially to be
a professional athlete. So how could you be mad at
a golfer for going to join and live and your
standard of living would dramatically increase because of your job?

Speaker 2 (01:52:46):
Yeah, duh. No, I'm well passed getting mad at those guys.
I don't have to root for that tour or like
its backing, or even like its existence. But I'm well
passed getting mad at golf who are like, wait, you
just offered me one hundred and fifty million dollars and
guaranteed paychecks every week. Yeah, I'll take that. I guarantee you.

Speaker 3 (01:53:09):
The live golfers aren't flying themselves anywhere, No, I can
promise you it's not happening.

Speaker 2 (01:53:17):
No, they all got a jet. I mean, maybe they
are flying themselves because they all bought a jet. Unbelievable.
All right, there's still one question I've not asked you
about Dame Lillard because the whole conversation has been through
the eyes of Dame. What about through the eyes of
the blazers. I got that question for you coming up next.

(01:53:38):
Mark with it He from Salam Fox Sports Radio show. Hey,
we'll pitch Tuesday on the fourth of July. There that
one might be longer than other, number.

Speaker 1 (01:53:52):
Thirty one for show hell time.

Speaker 2 (01:53:55):
I mean, the dude is just otherworldly. I can't wait
for that free agency. I cannot with that number. Oh
that's Bally Sports West Television. And that was also the
Progressive Play of the Day, brought to you by Progressive Insurance.
Progressive makes bundling easy and affordable. Get a multi policy
discount by combining your motorcycle, RV, boat, ATV and more

(01:54:19):
all your protection in one place. Bundle and say at
Progressive dot Com. It's Mark Ward and E from Salam
live from the tire Rack dot Com studios. Okay, big man,
what if I asked it to you this way? We've
laid it all out, all the different things in Dame
Lillard's situation, how he's handled it, and so it's public,

(01:54:41):
It's all over the internet. He wants to go to Miami.
I was just reading moments ago. Miami is treating this
as their moment. This is their chance. They're gonna get
their hands on Dame Lillard. If you were running the Blazers,
you would handle this how.

Speaker 3 (01:55:01):
I would try to get as much as I could
possibly get in return, and I would send Dame too.
I would send him to Miami. Hmmm, I would. I
would send him there.

Speaker 2 (01:55:23):
Why would you not just send him to whoever gives
you the best offer? Two more years left? So like
short of Dame, and I would call this bluff. If
Lillard's like, I'm only going to Miami, well, he didn't
say only that he's not. He hasn't said that what

(01:55:43):
he said. No, No, he has not said that, but
he could. Yeah, I don't.

Speaker 3 (01:55:50):
I don't think that's where his head is. I think personally,
I can see him wanting to go to Miami. Now
Portland doesn't have any they don't have to do that, right,

(01:56:14):
They don't have to send him to where he wants
to go. They can send him to whoever gives them
the best deal. But if the deal, in my opinion,
isn't earth shattering and that different than the Miami deal,

(01:56:35):
then I'd send him to where he would want to go, because, look,
they're rebuilding. We know that they got schooled, now that
they're changing course, what they've done hasn't worked. So what
are you looking for in return? You're looking for another
top tier player like Dame, then you'll be in the

(01:56:58):
same situation you were with Dame. You still don't have enough,
so you can get some pieces, you can get some
draft capital, and you can try to build eighteen. But
outside of that, I mean, what can someone offer you

(01:57:18):
that is gonna make the most sense.

Speaker 2 (01:57:23):
The package that has been floated out there from the
Miami Heat is a couple of future first round picks,
but well down the road, Okay, well down the road
twenty twenty eight, twenty thirty, and then also Tyler Herro
and then Yovich and Robinson. That's what's been floated out

(01:57:46):
there by those who know how these packages all work
financially and whatnot. I've seen that now in a couple
of places, And if I'm a fan of the Ortland Blazers,
I'll just be honest with you. From that doesn't excite
me very much. That doesn't do a whole lot for me, Like,

(01:58:07):
not even a little bit, not at all?

Speaker 3 (01:58:11):
Is their market for Dame Lillard out there though? What
doesn't excite you? What we don't wear?

Speaker 2 (01:58:18):
I don't know. Let's if I'm the Blazers, let's find out.

Speaker 3 (01:58:21):
Well, they're gonna find out, and the they're definitely going
to find out.

Speaker 2 (01:58:24):
But that's how I'd handled it if I were them.
That's that's how I And what if they are?

Speaker 3 (01:58:30):
But but what if they like, we don't we don't
hear that aspect of it. But as soon as Dame
Lillard was like, I want to trade, the phone started
to ring. So now you feel these offs. Hey, I
want to go to Miami. Okay, well, well let's see
if that works. If not, it doesn't work.

Speaker 2 (01:58:47):
Well, I mean you said, if you're the Blazers, you'd
you'd send them to Miami.

Speaker 3 (01:58:50):
I would try to send them to Miami. I would
definitely try to send them there. H But if it
doesn't work, it doesn't work. You get what I'm saying, Like,
if it's sure, so that I guess.

Speaker 2 (01:59:06):
I guess we spend a lot of time saying, hey,
players should be empowered to right, there's no loyalty and
they should be able to do what's best for them.
But somehow right like the team, the team now owes
something to Dame Lillard. No.

Speaker 3 (01:59:25):
I think by them trying to send him to where
he wants to go, that's them saying thank you, right,
thank you, well, appreciate what you did for us with
sticking with us, because he could have left, could have
left on his own, he didn't.

Speaker 2 (01:59:47):
Yep, you can now leave on your own because our
show's over.

Speaker 3 (01:59:51):
I'm out of here, but okay, good talking to you, brother.

Speaker 2 (01:59:54):
Stick with us on FSR

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Fox Sports Radio News

Host

Jonas Knox

Popular Podcasts

Crime Junkie

24/7 News: The Latest

Stuff You Should Know

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Mark Willard and Ephraim Salaam talk NBA Free Agency and more!