July 15, 2024 • 37 mins
Bernie Fratto fills in for Ben Maller and welcomes Clippers Talk host Adam Auslund to the show to talk about the departure of Paul George, the impending move out of Downtown LA, and much more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well that's rich you heard demand greetings and salutations. I
hope you are enjoying your one hundred and fifteen degree
a day summer. I am not Ben Maller, I am
not Archiebell in the Drells. I am not Kim Kardashian.
My name is Bernie Fratto. And yes we are coming
to you live from the tyrac dot com studios here
in Las Vegas, Fox Sports Radio tyrac dot com. We'll
(00:24):
help you get there. No max selection, fast free shipping
for you, Roadazer protection at over ten thousand recommend an
installers tyrack dot com. The way tire buying should be.
If you're scoring at home, and I hope you are.
This is my eighteenth Ben Maller Show, and as you know,
I've got mad respect for the Malard militias. So throughout
(00:45):
the evening tonight we'll take up to three am Pacific
six am Eastern. We look forward to your calls eight seven,
seven nine nine six six three sixty nine eight seven
seven ninety nine on Fox as we attempt to solve
the world's problems. We've got a pack show, will play
the latest the hits, catch you up on all the
current stuff and I'll try to ascertain whether or not
(01:06):
the world is going mad. You know, I've been I
was walking around the house thinking the other day it
is sometimes I got that kind of time to kill.
And did you know we are coming up on an anniversary,
on a very distinctive anniversary, November nineteenth, two thousand and four,
coming up the twentieth anniversary of the Malice at the Palace.
(01:31):
This is an event very near and dear to my heart.
I was at the mouse at the Palace. We were
doing a radio remote and about ten fifty we were
doing it from the concourse the Pistons, you know, we
were still celebrating the following year. This was probably well,
let's see, five months after the Pistons had beaten the
(01:53):
Lakers in five and in June two thousand and four.
So this is November nineteen, two thousand and four. We're
doing a remote in the concourse and went in for
my final break about let's call it ten forty eight pm,
something along those lines, And I walked into the concourse
and precisely at that moment Ben Wallace of the Pistons
(02:15):
was going in for a routine layup, and the game
had been decided there were forty five seconds left in
the game, and the Pacers were up by about twenty
and for whatever reason, Ron our Test commits this extremely
hard to gregious file looked very similar to Kennedy Clark
smashing Caitlyn Kennedy whatever the hell her name was, smashing
(02:41):
Caitlin Clark in the back. Of course, that was a
non basketball player. The player had stopped. But this is
like that, except Ben Wallace was going in for a
layup Kennedy Carter, excuse me? And what does what does
ben Wallace doll? He retaliated, He turns around and he
pushes our test, and I mean really pushes him. Our
test glides around the floor like a whirling dervish, and
(03:02):
he proceeds to lie down on the scorer's table like
he's lying on a canning bed. And then spontaneous, combustioned,
interrupted and all held procluse a flying beer cup. It
was an empty beer cup. People always screw the story.
It wasn't a cup of beer flew out of the stands,
thrown by a guy who became legend in Detroit for
all the wrong reasons, by the name of John Green.
(03:26):
The cup lands on our test. Our test charges him
to the stands punches the guy he thought of throwing
the cup, but he actually got the wrong guy, and
his law has it. The reason the gentleman who threw
the cup, his name was John did so was part
of a fifty dollars bet. No, folks, you cannot make
this stuff up, and of course his luck would have it.
Commissioner David Stern was watching and the game on TV,
(03:50):
and is Jermaine O'Neil, who is the center for the
Pats at the time, later said, and actually I agree
with him. As bad as you think this looked on TV,
it was twenty times worse in person. And after everything
calmed down, and by the way the game was called,
the Pacers were given the victory with forty five seconds
(04:10):
left on the clock. Final score in ninety seven to
eighty two, and the Pacers left the floor a bit
of sharer of beer beverages that rained down, and all
kinds of hell broke loose after that, another thing you
can't make up. After everyone calmed down, back in the
locker room, Ron our Test with a straight face, looked
(04:33):
at Steven Jackson and said to himself, do you think
we're going to be in trouble true story. Jackson responded,
he said, are you serious, Ron, We'll be lucky if
we have a freaking job And that conversations, as Stephen
Jackson would later admit, caused him to be convinced that
(04:55):
Round Artists was really not in his right mind. And
the following day, obviously, the NBA announced nine players would
be suspended for a total of what became one hundred
and forty six games. It essentially ruined the entire season
for the Indiana Pacers, who were a very promising team.
I don't think they franchise ever recovered completely right now.
While it's against a law of practice psychology with a
(05:17):
lot of license, I contend that there was an unhealthy
team culture fostered by the Pacers leadership that led into
that game that night. And this is something that had
been contemplating over the summer because the Pacers were really
pissed off that they'd been eliminated by the Pistons the
year before in the playoffs. It was the Pacers, not
the Pistons, who were supposed to go to the NBA Finals.
(05:38):
And oh, by the way, the Pacers were coached by
Rick Carlisle, who had been unceremoniously fired. The year before,
Larry Brown took his job with the Pistons and went
on to win the championship over the Lakers. So there
was bad bud all the way around. What was the
moral of the story here that the elements were in
place for this to happen? Why do I bring this up?
(06:01):
I've always wondered, could there be another malice at the palace?
In the last twenty four hours. In the inverse proportion,
we've had the same kind of mad pandemonium you really
can't describe, and you really can't ascertain as to what
the hell is going on here other than the world's
maybe going mad. First two days ago, you got the
(06:22):
Uruguay soccer team heading into the stands to fight Colombian fans,
and their coach, Marcelo Bilsa forget sanctions, forget being in trouble.
He thinks his players deserve an apology for going into
the stands. They deserve an apology for having to defend themselves,
and he criticized Terman organizers for not doing enough to
(06:43):
protect the families of players seated behind the Iuguay bench.
He justified the players taking matters into their own hands
the balls in this guy? Are you kidding me? That
was your only option. That's like the story of Hutzba
who murders both of his parents and they asks the
court to have mercy on him because he's an orphan.
(07:04):
And then earlier today in case she missed it. By
the way, as I said Friday night on the Bernie
Friders Show, I believe Argentina would won, but it was
a tougher game than I thought it would be. Did
you notice at the start time for the final of
the twenty twenty four Copo America between Argentina and Columbia
was delayed for seventy five minutes, not ten minutes, not
twenty minutes, seventy five minutes, following a security breach fans
(07:27):
broke through one of the main entry gates. How does
this happen? The game was supposed to start at eight
o'clock Eastern, They kicked off at nine to twenty two,
and finally two hours later, after regular playing extra time,
Argentina pulls out the one nol victory to win the
Copo America, But the delays before the kickoff began earlier
in the day, there was a video on social media
(07:48):
that showed fans breaking through the southwest gate of hard
Rock Stadium. Some are being tackled, some were apprehended by police,
but security was really outnumbered. There was a security guard
manning an interior extra the stadium. He confirmed they had
to lock the place down because there'd been a breach.
Then both teams were taking off the field during warmups,
and then the stadium went on lockdown, and then the
(08:10):
issued a statement coute. In anticipation of tonight's Copa America final,
thousands of fans without tickets attempted to forcibly enter the stadium,
putting other fans, security, and law enforcement officers at extreme risk.
Now security had shut down the gates in order to
control the entry process at a much slower rate and
sure everyone is kept safe. Organizers well, they ultimately reopened
(08:33):
the gates and they played the game amazingly without any
significant incident. But it raises the question, can there ever
be another malice at the Palace. We're coming up on
the twenty ar anniversary. I guarantee you people are going
to be giving anthologies all about it, and they're going
to screw up the story. I was there, by the way,
to add to the lunacy. One of the referees on
the floor that night was the legendary Tim donaghy. Yes,
(08:56):
that Tim Donahue, who was caught up in the betting scandal,
spent time in prison and has since done many documentaries.
It was a fun night all the way around. The
Palace no longer exists. They raised it to build the
Little Caesar Center in downtown Detroit, but for one night,
the center of the universe and John Saunders, the ESPN crushed,
the city of Detroit, crushed the NBA, crushed the mounts
(09:18):
at the Palace for what happened. Now, I've done shows
in the past where I've taken a whole hour to
tell the story. I'm not gonna boy with that tonight,
but it conjured up memories because of what I saw
happening in Copa America today. Again, you start to boil
people see this monkey see monkey dow atmosphere. With respect
to crowd control, the people feel less responsible for their
(09:39):
own actions. I don't know, man, be an alert, be
an alert. I'm not predicting anything. I'm certainly not wishing
on anything, but imagine if you are one of those
people there tonight, just out to see a ballgame with
your family, and you've got to deal with this michigas
that's no good. Coming up. Got a great guest. He
covers the Clippers pre and posts game show, and he's
(10:02):
really super knowledgeable basketball, covering the summer league as well.
And I wanted to have him on because, as you know,
our belove Ben Maller, he carries the water for the Clippers.
And if in a perfect world somebody the Clippers would
win a championship or maybe just get to the playoffs
and make some noise or something, but they just they
seem to be cursed. But we're gonna talk about the Clippers.
(10:23):
We're gonna talk about Paul George. We're certainly gonna talk
a little bit about the the Kawhi Leonard situation and
all things the NBA, as he's covering the NBA as well.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Maller
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Hey, gang, this is Jay Glazer, host of Unbreakable, a
mental wealth podcast, and every week we will have on
leader from sports entertainment like Sean.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
McVay, Lindsay Vaughn, Michael Phelp, David Spade, got then, and
also those who can help us in between the ears,
anyone from a therapist to someone like Ed Milette for
John Gordon. We've all been through some sort of adversity
to get to the top.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
We've all used different tools.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer and Mental Wealth podcast
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.
Speaker 5 (11:21):
The Ben Maler Shows a collaborative effort. You're invited to
communicate with those of us on this side of the microphones.
You can follow your host on X. In for Ben Mallor,
it's Bernie Fratto. He's at Bernie Fratto and you can
post that and follow me. Eddie Garcia, your humble sidekick,
the voice of Reason, your news guy, you're announcer guy.
I'm at Eddie on Fox and hewlive from the tyrack
(11:42):
dot Com Fox Sports Radio Studios. In for Ben Maller,
It's Bernie Fratto.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Well, thank you any of the dulcid tones of Eddie Garcia.
He'll be with us until three am Pacific, six am Eastern.
Let's welcome in gentlemen, very articulate, very knowledgeable on the
NBA pre and post for the Los Angeles Clippers. Say
hello to Adam Oslin. Adam, welcome in.
Speaker 6 (12:05):
How are you, Bernie. I'm in my pajamas. I'm parking
an undisclosed location in Burbank. I'm in my car because
I don't want to disturb my apartment dwellers. As I
scream into my phone, I want to do this for
you late night. I appreciate you getting me on.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Well. This will be the first to mini Adam. You
do a really good job. And as you know, I'm
sitting in for Ben Mallar tonight and Ben Mahller is
the torch bearer for the Los Angeles Clippers. And just
one time, if the NBA gods could just one time
thill the Clippers a bone for crying out loud. I
want to start out with the Paul George situation. You
hear lots of reports and I feel like this book's
(12:41):
missing a chapter. Could the Clippers really have kept Paul
George if they don't wanted them bad enough? Or did
he just want out? What happened? And I'll tell you why.
I'm asking me a minute, what really happened there.
Speaker 6 (12:53):
Well, it's things like the bumper music you brought me
into here to start this segment off. But this is
a situation where the Clippers were not willing to go
and pay him more than what Kawhi Leonard got. When
Kawhi Leonard got paid the one to fifty over three years,
a three year extension in January, that was basically setting
the market for the Clippers roster. They were saying, anybody
(13:16):
else James Harden being an unrestricted free agent, Paul George
now being an unrestricted free agent, was going to take
less than Kawhi Leonard. So I think that was a
clear signal, we're not paying you more than the best
player on this team. And eventually that MAX contract was
waiting for Paul George via the Philadelphia seventy sixers. I
think he and his agent knew the entire time that
(13:38):
that max was going to be there, because look, the
fixers at the trade deadline, they didn't use any of
their cap room. They made sure they had it available
for this summer. They were sending all the signals from
their GM. I do think that does a good job. But
Daryl Moore and the Philadelphia seventy sixers were dead set
(13:59):
on getting George. So unless the Clippers are going to
match or come close to it, I just think it
was an untenable situation. I'm not sure anyone lost in
this negotiation. I just think it was you know, sometimes
things run their course, and the Clippers were only gonna
pay so much for Paul George.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Well said, I agree with everything the way you laid
that out. And I'm not a Paul George guy. You
can have him. Okay. We went through this with three
summers ago with OKC and then the Clippers now they're
gonna win a damn thing in Philadelphia. It just he
had so many word sounds going out the doors. What
do you believe? What don't you believe? Secondly, I was
shocked at Kawhi Leonard found his way onto the Olympic team.
(14:40):
As of Tuesday, they were talking about unrestricted minutes and
right on schedule. The next day there's an injury and
he's out. How do the Clippers feel about the way
Kawhi ended the season completely unavailable and then he shows
up with bells on for the Olympics and now this
what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Well, look, Nobody is more frustrated I know this than
Kawhi Leonard, who puts in a tremendous amount of work
to get his body physically able to play. He played
almost seventy games this season, and then that right knee
that's gone through an ACL injury, that's gone through a
meniscus injury, started to swell up. It happened about three
weeks before the playoffs. A lot of people at the
time were suspicious that, oh, they're just trying to save
(15:21):
him for that first round series. I'm pushed back upon
that because they had a huge game against the Denver
Nuggets with seeding implications, and when he didn't play that night,
I knew something was off with Kawhi Leonard. So the
injury is legit. He tried to give it a go
against the Dallas Mavericks thirty at one point in Game three,
where he looked like a shell of himself. He was
(15:42):
hanging from the rim, afraid to drop to the floor
because the impact on his right knee. So the guy
has pushed through some stuff. Now, my knowledge was he
had gone through a little bit of training, He had
gone through some workouts. They were watching him closely and
monitoring him before the Olympic and he looked good or
good enough to give it a go. Lawrence Frank was there,
(16:04):
Steve Kerr was there, Coach lou was there. They were
all monitoring the situation. It was a collective effort. So
I wasn't shocked that he tried to give it a go.
I know this was a bucket listing for Kawhi Leonard
to try to get a gold medal, But I also
wasn't shocked that he wasn't able to complete the mission here.
And look, I'm sure the Clippers and Clipper Nation, you
(16:26):
know a lot of people in Clipper Nation were saying
they just didn't want to see him play because he
hadn't finished the last four seasons because of injuries, and
they want to more wear and tear on his body.
My real concern at this point was Kawhi is you
know how long has that need been swollen? Now? What's
going on with that right needs?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
And me, that's a.
Speaker 6 (16:45):
Little bit more alarming than anything, because one or two options.
He either left the Olympics because he looked pretty good
but they just want to save him for Game one
of the regular season, or he just didn't look that
great out there, and they want to make sure they've
saved him from self. He doesn't exacerbate the injury at all.
And look, I understand the criticism of him playing in
(17:05):
the Olympics when he couldn't finish the season, but I
thought of it like this, If we're gonna find out
about his knee and what's going on with it, I'd
rather find out now during the summer, the game one
of the regular season. So I was for him giving
it a shot, all.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Right, fair enough, And just to set the record straight
at him, I've been a Kawhi guy since his days
at San Diego State. I love the guy and I
agree with everything you just said. What threw me, and
perhaps I didn't articulate my question clearly enough, was what
happened at the end of the season when they really
needed him, and then subsequently shows up for the Olympics.
(17:41):
It's like the guy who calls and sick for work,
can't make it to work, but then shows up that
night at the bar at the company party, lighting the
place up. It just didn't sit right with me. What
are we doing here? I mean, the Clippers are moving
into the new arena next year. I was stupid enough
to buy into the Paul georgeting two summers ago. I
really believe it. I feel like Steve Baumer is a
good guy. The basketball guys need to throw on the bones.
(18:04):
And now you're heading into the new arena with no
Paul George and Kawhi to your point, whose knee? There
still seems to be question marks. What's the outlook for
the Clippers as you head into your new building this year.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
Well, I understand the optics of it. He couldn't finish
the season, but he tries to play in the Olympics.
But my thinking is if he's healthy, he should play.
He wasn't healthy in the playoffs. He was he thought
he was healthy enough to play in the Olympics. He
can't pick and choose when he's feeling good, when he
feels right, and he did try to play against Dallas,
(18:37):
and like I said, it was almost scary. After that
first stint in Game three, I thought they should pull
him because it looked like he lost all his basketball powers.
But moving forward this season without Paul George and by
the way, Bernie, I do have to say a lot
of what's gone wrong with this Clippers team has been
outside of their control. It's been everything they couldn't control
with all these injuries. Kawhi Leonard has missed one hundred
(18:59):
and seventy eight games as a Clipper. Paul George missed
one hundred and thirty three. There were some injury concerns
when they brought him in twenty nineteen. Nobody could have
foreseen anything like this playing out, and now Paul George
is gone. What I've noticed right away was they brought
in Derek Jones Junior on that Sunday when free when
free agency opened, dance who he locked up in that
(19:21):
first round. Paul George, he was playing for Dallas when
they made that runs to the finals and held PG
thirteen to nineteen points per game in that first round
series and looked like an all world defender. I think
the Clippers are trying to lead in his defense. Now
they're trying to have more of a defensive identity. There's
rumors of Chris Dunn coming now, Nicholas Batum is back
(19:42):
with them. So if you have a healthy Kawhi, if
it's a big one, I understand that. But if you
have him with James Harden, you still have enough firepower
on offense. What can you do defensively, because they were
not good on the defensive end at all this past season.
The last seventy games, they were twenty first in defense,
believe it or not, even though they were still the
four seed in the Western Conference, because their offense was
(20:04):
unbelievable when they were clicking on all cylinders. So going
into the new building, I really think it's about that
defensive DNA and that identity to trying to build just
with what they have left with superstar power with Kawhi
and James Harden. Surround them and insulate them with great defenders,
and maybe if you bring in more wings like this,
Kawhi doesn't have to do as much on the defensive end.
(20:26):
Therefore you save some of that wear and tear on
his right knee.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
And by the way, one last thing about Kawhi, not
to belabor it, which is exactly what I'm doing. I
was told from a source I trust, when he walked
into camp, the Olympic camp, he had a leg sleeve
on and with a slight limp. Is that the best
thing for him to do to go on that international
grind if he's walking with a slight limp and in
a lake sleeve.
Speaker 6 (20:48):
Well, I saw the video of him in the sleeve
and then he ended up. It looked like he had
on his right leg when he was walking in, but
then he had sleeves on both legs. Look, I'm not
a doctor. I know he has his own medical team.
They have the Clippers training staff. He did go through
some workouts before being there. Again, I'd rather find out
now if something else is going on, if that dwelling's
(21:11):
not going down, then waiting till game one of the
regular season, because Kawhi doesn't play five on five during
the offseason. A lot of the AAU guys were brought
up that way. They don't go five on five until
it's on in the regular season, so he's just not
going to know how taxing it is and how his
knee recovers from strenuous workouts until you get in a
(21:33):
setting like that. And he was playing some five on
five obviously with Team USA. So I don't think it
was the worst thing in the world to give it
a test run there to figure out what's going on.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Okay, fair enough, you're closer to the situation. I take
yet your word, and I hope the Clippers sell out
their building I'm going to get to a game there
this year, and I hope it's not half empty. Just
got about a minute. I'd like you to weigh in
on Bronnie. I'm not going to bash Bronnie here. I'm
maintaining my objectivity. I've set all long. If you've got
leverage in life, use it. But here's the reality, Adam.
(22:04):
If I get you a job as a lifeguard, because
I have connections and you look the part, and I'm
told you can act a part, one of these days
someone's gonna be flailing in the pool and you're gonna
jump in and we're all gonna find out if you
can swim. I don't think it's a fluke. He's zero
for twelve. From behind the arc, we are told he
can develop, but it's all theoreticals because we've never seen
(22:24):
it behind closed doors. You saw the meme. I'm sure
you saw the meme, Adam of Rob Polinka kind of smirking.
And now you know everybody from Gilbert Arenas to you know,
Mother Teresa's taking shots at Brownie. Now behind the scenes,
what's the narrative. We got to be patient or all
we might have some buyer's remorse.
Speaker 6 (22:44):
I mean, obviously, if you're a Lakers fan and you're
hoping for the best that he can turn things around,
because he's six for twenty six and as you mentioned, oh,
twelve from three so far in the summer league. You
just want to see some signs, some positive signs in
the summer league. That's it. You can't put a lot
into it, but you want to see maybe a little
bit of progress, and he could pretty much only go
(23:05):
up from here. It's been that bad so far. I'll
give him this. Defensively, he's been decent, he's been okay.
I just think he's behind the eight ball in so
many different ways here, Bernie. I don't blame Lebron wanting
to play with his son. I don't blame the Lakers
wanting to bring him in. We've talked about this for
everybody upset about nepotism like he isn't rampant and throughout
(23:26):
the NBA and throughout sports already. Jannist's brother, Jalen Brunton's
dad being an assistant coach Dwayne Wade getting his son
drafted by a team he's a part owner of with
the Utah Jazz. This stuff happens, I mean, Jim Buss
was vice president of basketball operations with the Los Angeles Lakers.
What experience did Jim Buss have.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Oh, he's part owner, the right stomach at the right time.
His dad was Jared. We get all that. I mean,
I'm not debating any of that. And with all the respect,
and we're gonna have you on. I'm gonna I want
you to be a regular on my show. Look, you
saw Reed Shepherd ride Brownie like a stick horse. I'm
not saying that Brownie's not given an effort. And he's
pretty strong and he's tough, he's trying. He's just not
(24:09):
an NBA player, not today. But you got the last word.
Speaker 6 (24:12):
He's six ' one unless he's Tony Allen with the
level of defense that he used to play for the
Memphis Grizzlies. At that size in today's NBA, if you
don't have a handle like stpe three and you're that short,
if you can't shoot from the qud, you better be
an elite defender. And so far he hasn't showed enough
on that end.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Thousand percent. You basically took the words out of my mouth.
I mean, he clearly you know he's not and they
don't see him as a facilitator. He doesn't he doesn't
bring the ball off the floor. He doesn't shoot well
enough to be a number two. And I'm okay with
the Tony Allen references. The problem is Tony Allen was
(24:52):
a stud at Oklahoma State. He had a body at
worked before he got to the NBA. I haven't seen
it out of it. I haven't seen it. Hey, thanks
so much, my man. And what you got like flannel pajamason,
you know, finish the thought for us? What kind of
pajamas do you have?
Speaker 6 (25:06):
I'm in my damn boxers here in the taktop. I
look like Ac Slater or something like that. From baside
and saved by the bell.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
You're probably my wife? Are you allowed to say wife,
Peter anymore? Am I going to be in trouble if
I say that? You said it? Not me?
Speaker 6 (25:20):
Bernie?
Speaker 1 (25:22):
All right, Joy your evening. Thanks for coming on, Bud.
Speaker 6 (25:25):
All right, Thanks for friend.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
That is Adam Osland preimposed for the La Clippers, and
I met what I said, Ben Maller is a good
guy and I'd like nothing better to see than the Clippers.
They've been kind of the bachelor child of the NBA
since Moby Dick was a mental come on one time
NBA gods.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Maller
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And let me just set this up ever so quickly.
The Brownie's now played three games in the NBA Summer League.
The NBA Summer League, I've covered ten of them. It's
about twenty percent of an NBA game, And so if
you are not lighting it up there, it's tough to
project you as an NBA player. And I was just
getting started, right, And can he develop over the next year. Maybe,
(26:10):
But it's all theoretical because he was wasn't the best
player on his high school team. He was second team
All league, did score fifteen points in the McDonald's All
Star Game, four points at USC You get the picture. Hey,
he was a backup on a team that was eight
and twelve. You know, if his name would have been
Eddie Gazinski, same skill set, same resume, everything. What al
he being drafted? Will you know the answer? But I
(26:32):
got no problem. Lebron wanted the Lakers to do him
a solid and they did. Got no problem with that.
But again, now be careful what you wish for, because
now here come the peanut gallery. These are just a
handful of the tweets over the weekend. Dad dude got
finessed by Bron meaning Rob Polinka got finessed by bron
(26:54):
Bronni just looks like he's being forced to play ball.
Another fan tweeted, not just sha just shame all over
his face. The fan said, Lebrick, he's out in the air.
Why should he care? This would be hilarious if it
weren't so entirely expected. Another fan said, bro, what in
the fresh hell is this? So? The question is I'm wondering.
I can't read minds. Might there be some slight buyer's remorse?
(27:17):
Maybe not too soon for that. I think it's pretty
well established Brownie who's going to spend the year in
the G League, and he should. And the truth of
the matter is six for twenty six, these are the numbers,
twenty three percent from the floor er for twelve. He
does give an effort on defense, he does have courts sense.
He looks like he was born to play basketball, but
(27:39):
he's not an NBA player, at least not today. Can
that change? I don't know, I said I would give
it a full year. I said I would give it
a full year before I would pass judgment. But I
still have opinions. And he's not savvy enough. He doesn't
have the guard skills, the handles to be a point guard.
They don't let him take the ball up the floor.
So I think at this stage of his development, Lakers
(28:00):
don't see him as a facilitator. That's for sure. He's
certainly not good enough to be a two guard. He
doesn't shoot well enough. His mechanics are fine, but he
can't shoot. And they're gona play at Celtics tomorrow night.
What's gonna magically change? You tell me? So they projected
him as a three and D, but you don't see
many guys that are six one and a half to
(28:21):
do that three and d. I've heard the comparisons. Maybe
he can beat Pat Beverley. Come on, please Pep. Beverly
was a stud in college. He had to go to
the Ukraine Fair year and ball out before we ever
got a chance to really get in the NBA. So
I want to bring the crew in and our guys
are honest and they're insightful. Eddie, if you were gonna
try to read the Laker's mind behind closed doors. Is
(28:43):
there a real concern here? Is like, I've got to
let this play out. Is it really a work in
progress or we're just gonna tell you that because we
want you to think that.
Speaker 5 (28:51):
I mean, they're just doing whatever Lebron wants them to do.
This is ridiculous. He has no business being drafted, He
has no business being on NBA roster. This is this
is this is embarrassing to me. I have no skin
in the game. I'm not a Laker fan. I don't
care about the NBA, but uh, you know I you
(29:12):
talk about, oh, nepotism is running rampant or whatever. Look,
if they want to give Lebron James Kid a job
working for the Lakers, I don't care. But for aim
to take up a roster spot of someone that has
earned it. And look, maybe maybe whoever the second round
pick was going to be wasn't gonna make the team anyway,
because that's not unheard of anymore. But as a joke,
a joke that he got drafted, he's he has he
(29:34):
has no talent to be in the NBA, Eddie.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
I really appreciate your cannon and honesty. This is my
eighteenth show, and you always bring it. I appreciate that
a lot. You're you're you're not stepping on the kid's neck.
You're just objectively, you don't have skin in the game.
You're not trying to you throw him under the bus.
You're you're giving an honest appraisal. He said something that
really stuck with me, though Brinni was drafted. If Brinni,
(30:00):
if Lebron wants to play with his son in the NBA,
to make history, because we are talking about satisfying the
emotions of an insecure man, and if the Lakers hadn't
drafted him, they would have inflamed the passions of this
insecure man. It wasn't enough that you bring him into camp,
put him on the roster, let him play a game.
He's got to be drafted too. Is this some sort
(30:22):
of badge of honor? We both know if his name
was Eddie Gazinski, he wouldn't have been drafted. No other
team in the NBA was willing to draft him. They
had no interest in drafting him. He only worked out
for one other team, the Phoenix Suns, and they weren't
going to draft him. And I'm tired of the narrative, Oh,
what's the big deal about the fifty fifth pick? I
don't know. You tell me. Mana Ginobili was drafted fifty seventh.
Is a pretty good player. You never know if you
(30:43):
might get a diamond in the rough. And what's the
big deal about being drafted? Well, Ben Wallace, you may
have heard of him, he's in the Hall of Fame.
He was never drafted. Fred van Vliet was never drafted.
Connie Hawkins was never drafted. They called around, there's a
bunch of very good players. That to me is the
dynamic that changed. And as far as the nepotism, you've
never heard me say once in any of the shows
(31:03):
I host. Questioning the favor that the Lakers wanted to
do for Lebron, I joked about it, and I said, hey,
there's an unwritten rule. You know, if you are the
all time leading scorer in the NBA and you win
four championships with three different franchises, you come to the Lakers,
you put butts in seats. Clear that Rob Polink has
got a man crush on him. He's made the Lakers' money.
(31:25):
They did win the championship in the bubble. He wanted
a favor. They did him a favor. I got no
problem with that. But let me tell you this is
the way the world works. If I hire you as
a lifeguard and we throw you in the pool, we're
all gonna know if you can swim. We can all
see what we're seeing. You know, if two people are
on an elevator and one person passes gas, everybody knows
(31:47):
who did it without saying a word. This is what
we are seeing. And I think ADDIE's point that this,
frankly is an embarrassment, it's correct, because for now it
is an embarrassment. Ask Gilbert, ask some of the people
around the league coming up. I want to coop to
Wayne on this as well. I'm not done. I'm not
bashing Bronnie. But they shove this in our face. They
(32:09):
said this is what we're gonna do, and they give
us all these kind of narratives, and they've been peeing
on our shoes a whole time and telling us it's raining.
We all can see you right through it. Can it change?
I said I'd give it a year. Am I betting
on it's gonna happen? No, I'm not. I'm Bernie Frattle.
We are company live from the Fox Sports Radio Tirec
dot com studios here in Las Vegas. We're sitting in
(32:30):
for Ben Mallor, so keep it locked. It's Ben Mallor
Show on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
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 5 (32:44):
This is the greatest show on overnight audio Earth. It's
even better when you join our curious world. Would be
appreciative that have you. You can co mingle with fellow
Mallard militia members on Facebook and Instagram. It's just a
few clicks away. Go to Facebook dot com slash Ben
Malor Show and on Instagram. It's at Ben Malor on
box and now live from the tyrac dot com Fox
Sports Radio studios in for Ben Maller. It's Bernie Fratto.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Well, thank you, Eddie, and I want to remind everybody
that Fox Sports Radio has teamed up with Tyraq dot
com to give away a set of four brand new
tires valued at up to fifteen hundred dollars every two
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(33:53):
buying should be. Before we get to Koople want to
get his thoughts on Brownie. He is a Laker fan.
A great tweet from my guy Art Puff and hey Bernie,
a great start to the show. I'd like to see that.
As a parent, I feel Bronnie is being exploited by
lebron and the Lakers for a chance to make NBA history.
In the meantime, Bronnie will be the burden bearer and
(34:14):
may retire along with his dad. I'm with Eddie on
Fox one hundred percent. I can't disagree with any of that,
all right, Coop, not trying to force it on you,
but I like your takes, and you are, in fact
a Laker fan, so as someone who's invested in the Lakers,
your thoughts on the Brownie situation thus far.
Speaker 7 (34:33):
Well, first of all, Yeah, I'm sure, very very heavy
burden for Bronnie James. I'm sure he'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
I detect the sarcasm.
Speaker 7 (34:41):
Yeah, I think he'll be okay.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
But if you think about what Art's saying, he's gonna
be okay. He'll have enough money for the rest of
this ten lifetimes and he's got to get to play
in the NBA, so you're not gonna feel sorry for him.
But he is a young kid, and he's got the
white hot spotlight on him. It's gotta be a little uncomfortable.
Would you grant him that?
Speaker 7 (34:57):
Sure, but I think he would choose is that un
comfortability and being in the NBA over not fair enough?
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Fair enough? Duly?
Speaker 7 (35:09):
And then as far as this goes, I mean, I
don't think you're really gonna find anybody that's gonna sit
here and argue that it's not a nepotism draft pick.
But I'm kind of I mean, I'm kind of like,
who cares. I Mean, Lebron's still great, you know, he
and as far as off the court, he puts, you know,
(35:30):
fans are gonna come to see the Lakers anyway, but
I'm sure he raises the revenue for the team, and
so if they want to spend the fifty fifth pick
on him, that's fine. I'm going back to the Lakers
draft picks throughout the years. The last time they even
had a pick higher than fifty fifth was you know,
Robert Sokre back in twenty twelve. Oh yeah, so I mean, yes, anyway.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
Yeah, yeah, good memory, go ahead.
Speaker 7 (35:56):
So I don't know, I just and then if you
just look even picks before the fifty fifth, you just
look back at the Lakers' second round choices, there's not
many that made much of an impact whatsoever. So if
that's what they do to make Lebron happy, fine, I'm whatever.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
All right, that's fair. I think that's a measured response.
At the end of the day, it's really kind of
a tempest in a teapot. It is Lebron James, it
is Bronnie James, and so therefore it's going to carry
a different dynamic, as it were, And right now it
just feels a little weird, and I think Bronnie is
you know, acknowledging. I mean, there's one thing about him,
(36:38):
his ability to provide an honest assessment. He did not
hesitate to acknowledge his shortcomings. He says, I just feel
like I'm a little slump right now. You think six
or twenty six from twelve of them behind the arc. Well,
if you want to see the Bronnie James Traveling Show
from Las Vegas. Monday night, they teed up again against
the Boston Celtics. Let's see what he does. But he
(37:00):
does when he gets to the G League, and we'll
revisit this a year from now. By the way, Tuesday night,
did you forget they used to call it the Midsummer Classic?
It's the All Star Game? What the hell is up
with those jerseys? Are you kidding me? Are those Beer
League Bowling shirts or Major League Baseball All Star jerseys?
We chop it up. Bernie Frattles sitting in for Ben Maller.
Keep it locked.
Well that's rich you heard demand greetings and salutations. I
hope you are enjoying your one hundred and fifteen degree
a day summer. I am not Ben Maller, I am
not Archiebell in the Drells. I am not Kim Kardashian.
My name is Bernie Fratto. And yes we are coming
to you live from the tyrac dot com studios here
in Las Vegas, Fox Sports Radio tyrac dot com. We'll
(00:24):
help you get there. No max selection, fast free shipping
for you, Roadazer protection at over ten thousand recommend an
installers tyrack dot com. The way tire buying should be.
If you're scoring at home, and I hope you are.
This is my eighteenth Ben Maller Show, and as you know,
I've got mad respect for the Malard militias. So throughout
(00:45):
the evening tonight we'll take up to three am Pacific
six am Eastern. We look forward to your calls eight seven,
seven nine nine six six three sixty nine eight seven
seven ninety nine on Fox as we attempt to solve
the world's problems. We've got a pack show, will play
the latest the hits, catch you up on all the
current stuff and I'll try to ascertain whether or not
(01:06):
the world is going mad. You know, I've been I
was walking around the house thinking the other day it
is sometimes I got that kind of time to kill.
And did you know we are coming up on an anniversary,
on a very distinctive anniversary, November nineteenth, two thousand and four,
coming up the twentieth anniversary of the Malice at the Palace.
(01:31):
This is an event very near and dear to my heart.
I was at the mouse at the Palace. We were
doing a radio remote and about ten fifty we were
doing it from the concourse the Pistons, you know, we
were still celebrating the following year. This was probably well,
let's see, five months after the Pistons had beaten the
(01:53):
Lakers in five and in June two thousand and four.
So this is November nineteen, two thousand and four. We're
doing a remote in the concourse and went in for
my final break about let's call it ten forty eight pm,
something along those lines, And I walked into the concourse
and precisely at that moment Ben Wallace of the Pistons
(02:15):
was going in for a routine layup, and the game
had been decided there were forty five seconds left in
the game, and the Pacers were up by about twenty
and for whatever reason, Ron our Test commits this extremely
hard to gregious file looked very similar to Kennedy Clark
smashing Caitlyn Kennedy whatever the hell her name was, smashing
(02:41):
Caitlin Clark in the back. Of course, that was a
non basketball player. The player had stopped. But this is
like that, except Ben Wallace was going in for a
layup Kennedy Carter, excuse me? And what does what does
ben Wallace doll? He retaliated, He turns around and he
pushes our test, and I mean really pushes him. Our
test glides around the floor like a whirling dervish, and
(03:02):
he proceeds to lie down on the scorer's table like
he's lying on a canning bed. And then spontaneous, combustioned,
interrupted and all held procluse a flying beer cup. It
was an empty beer cup. People always screw the story.
It wasn't a cup of beer flew out of the stands,
thrown by a guy who became legend in Detroit for
all the wrong reasons, by the name of John Green.
(03:26):
The cup lands on our test. Our test charges him
to the stands punches the guy he thought of throwing
the cup, but he actually got the wrong guy, and
his law has it. The reason the gentleman who threw
the cup, his name was John did so was part
of a fifty dollars bet. No, folks, you cannot make
this stuff up, and of course his luck would have it.
Commissioner David Stern was watching and the game on TV,
(03:50):
and is Jermaine O'Neil, who is the center for the
Pats at the time, later said, and actually I agree
with him. As bad as you think this looked on TV,
it was twenty times worse in person. And after everything
calmed down, and by the way the game was called,
the Pacers were given the victory with forty five seconds
(04:10):
left on the clock. Final score in ninety seven to
eighty two, and the Pacers left the floor a bit
of sharer of beer beverages that rained down, and all
kinds of hell broke loose after that, another thing you
can't make up. After everyone calmed down, back in the
locker room, Ron our Test with a straight face, looked
(04:33):
at Steven Jackson and said to himself, do you think
we're going to be in trouble true story. Jackson responded,
he said, are you serious, Ron, We'll be lucky if
we have a freaking job And that conversations, as Stephen
Jackson would later admit, caused him to be convinced that
(04:55):
Round Artists was really not in his right mind. And
the following day, obviously, the NBA announced nine players would
be suspended for a total of what became one hundred
and forty six games. It essentially ruined the entire season
for the Indiana Pacers, who were a very promising team.
I don't think they franchise ever recovered completely right now.
While it's against a law of practice psychology with a
(05:17):
lot of license, I contend that there was an unhealthy
team culture fostered by the Pacers leadership that led into
that game that night. And this is something that had
been contemplating over the summer because the Pacers were really
pissed off that they'd been eliminated by the Pistons the
year before in the playoffs. It was the Pacers, not
the Pistons, who were supposed to go to the NBA Finals.
(05:38):
And oh, by the way, the Pacers were coached by
Rick Carlisle, who had been unceremoniously fired. The year before,
Larry Brown took his job with the Pistons and went
on to win the championship over the Lakers. So there
was bad bud all the way around. What was the
moral of the story here that the elements were in
place for this to happen? Why do I bring this up?
(06:01):
I've always wondered, could there be another malice at the palace?
In the last twenty four hours. In the inverse proportion,
we've had the same kind of mad pandemonium you really
can't describe, and you really can't ascertain as to what
the hell is going on here other than the world's
maybe going mad. First two days ago, you got the
(06:22):
Uruguay soccer team heading into the stands to fight Colombian fans,
and their coach, Marcelo Bilsa forget sanctions, forget being in trouble.
He thinks his players deserve an apology for going into
the stands. They deserve an apology for having to defend themselves,
and he criticized Terman organizers for not doing enough to
(06:43):
protect the families of players seated behind the Iuguay bench.
He justified the players taking matters into their own hands
the balls in this guy? Are you kidding me? That
was your only option. That's like the story of Hutzba
who murders both of his parents and they asks the
court to have mercy on him because he's an orphan.
(07:04):
And then earlier today in case she missed it. By
the way, as I said Friday night on the Bernie
Friders Show, I believe Argentina would won, but it was
a tougher game than I thought it would be. Did
you notice at the start time for the final of
the twenty twenty four Copo America between Argentina and Columbia
was delayed for seventy five minutes, not ten minutes, not
twenty minutes, seventy five minutes, following a security breach fans
(07:27):
broke through one of the main entry gates. How does
this happen? The game was supposed to start at eight
o'clock Eastern, They kicked off at nine to twenty two,
and finally two hours later, after regular playing extra time,
Argentina pulls out the one nol victory to win the
Copo America, But the delays before the kickoff began earlier
in the day, there was a video on social media
(07:48):
that showed fans breaking through the southwest gate of hard
Rock Stadium. Some are being tackled, some were apprehended by police,
but security was really outnumbered. There was a security guard
manning an interior extra the stadium. He confirmed they had
to lock the place down because there'd been a breach.
Then both teams were taking off the field during warmups,
and then the stadium went on lockdown, and then the
(08:10):
issued a statement coute. In anticipation of tonight's Copa America final,
thousands of fans without tickets attempted to forcibly enter the stadium,
putting other fans, security, and law enforcement officers at extreme risk.
Now security had shut down the gates in order to
control the entry process at a much slower rate and
sure everyone is kept safe. Organizers well, they ultimately reopened
(08:33):
the gates and they played the game amazingly without any
significant incident. But it raises the question, can there ever
be another malice at the Palace. We're coming up on
the twenty ar anniversary. I guarantee you people are going
to be giving anthologies all about it, and they're going
to screw up the story. I was there, by the way,
to add to the lunacy. One of the referees on
the floor that night was the legendary Tim donaghy. Yes,
(08:56):
that Tim Donahue, who was caught up in the betting scandal,
spent time in prison and has since done many documentaries.
It was a fun night all the way around. The
Palace no longer exists. They raised it to build the
Little Caesar Center in downtown Detroit, but for one night,
the center of the universe and John Saunders, the ESPN crushed,
the city of Detroit, crushed the NBA, crushed the mounts
(09:18):
at the Palace for what happened. Now, I've done shows
in the past where I've taken a whole hour to
tell the story. I'm not gonna boy with that tonight,
but it conjured up memories because of what I saw
happening in Copa America today. Again, you start to boil
people see this monkey see monkey dow atmosphere. With respect
to crowd control, the people feel less responsible for their
(09:39):
own actions. I don't know, man, be an alert, be
an alert. I'm not predicting anything. I'm certainly not wishing
on anything, but imagine if you are one of those
people there tonight, just out to see a ballgame with
your family, and you've got to deal with this michigas
that's no good. Coming up. Got a great guest. He
covers the Clippers pre and posts game show, and he's
(10:02):
really super knowledgeable basketball, covering the summer league as well.
And I wanted to have him on because, as you know,
our belove Ben Maller, he carries the water for the Clippers.
And if in a perfect world somebody the Clippers would
win a championship or maybe just get to the playoffs
and make some noise or something, but they just they
seem to be cursed. But we're gonna talk about the Clippers.
(10:23):
We're gonna talk about Paul George. We're certainly gonna talk
a little bit about the the Kawhi Leonard situation and
all things the NBA, as he's covering the NBA as well.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Maller
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Hey, gang, this is Jay Glazer, host of Unbreakable, a
mental wealth podcast, and every week we will have on
leader from sports entertainment like Sean.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
McVay, Lindsay Vaughn, Michael Phelp, David Spade, got then, and
also those who can help us in between the ears,
anyone from a therapist to someone like Ed Milette for
John Gordon. We've all been through some sort of adversity
to get to the top.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
We've all used different tools.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer and Mental Wealth podcast
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.
Speaker 5 (11:21):
The Ben Maler Shows a collaborative effort. You're invited to
communicate with those of us on this side of the microphones.
You can follow your host on X. In for Ben Mallor,
it's Bernie Fratto. He's at Bernie Fratto and you can
post that and follow me. Eddie Garcia, your humble sidekick,
the voice of Reason, your news guy, you're announcer guy.
I'm at Eddie on Fox and hewlive from the tyrack
(11:42):
dot Com Fox Sports Radio Studios. In for Ben Maller,
It's Bernie Fratto.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Well, thank you any of the dulcid tones of Eddie Garcia.
He'll be with us until three am Pacific, six am Eastern.
Let's welcome in gentlemen, very articulate, very knowledgeable on the
NBA pre and post for the Los Angeles Clippers. Say
hello to Adam Oslin. Adam, welcome in.
Speaker 6 (12:05):
How are you, Bernie. I'm in my pajamas. I'm parking
an undisclosed location in Burbank. I'm in my car because
I don't want to disturb my apartment dwellers. As I
scream into my phone, I want to do this for
you late night. I appreciate you getting me on.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Well. This will be the first to mini Adam. You
do a really good job. And as you know, I'm
sitting in for Ben Mallar tonight and Ben Mahller is
the torch bearer for the Los Angeles Clippers. And just
one time, if the NBA gods could just one time
thill the Clippers a bone for crying out loud. I
want to start out with the Paul George situation. You
hear lots of reports and I feel like this book's
(12:41):
missing a chapter. Could the Clippers really have kept Paul
George if they don't wanted them bad enough? Or did
he just want out? What happened? And I'll tell you why.
I'm asking me a minute, what really happened there.
Speaker 6 (12:53):
Well, it's things like the bumper music you brought me
into here to start this segment off. But this is
a situation where the Clippers were not willing to go
and pay him more than what Kawhi Leonard got. When
Kawhi Leonard got paid the one to fifty over three years,
a three year extension in January, that was basically setting
the market for the Clippers roster. They were saying, anybody
(13:16):
else James Harden being an unrestricted free agent, Paul George
now being an unrestricted free agent, was going to take
less than Kawhi Leonard. So I think that was a
clear signal, we're not paying you more than the best
player on this team. And eventually that MAX contract was
waiting for Paul George via the Philadelphia seventy sixers. I
think he and his agent knew the entire time that
(13:38):
that max was going to be there, because look, the
fixers at the trade deadline, they didn't use any of
their cap room. They made sure they had it available
for this summer. They were sending all the signals from
their GM. I do think that does a good job. But
Daryl Moore and the Philadelphia seventy sixers were dead set
(13:59):
on getting George. So unless the Clippers are going to
match or come close to it, I just think it
was an untenable situation. I'm not sure anyone lost in
this negotiation. I just think it was you know, sometimes
things run their course, and the Clippers were only gonna
pay so much for Paul George.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Well said, I agree with everything the way you laid
that out. And I'm not a Paul George guy. You
can have him. Okay. We went through this with three
summers ago with OKC and then the Clippers now they're
gonna win a damn thing in Philadelphia. It just he
had so many word sounds going out the doors. What
do you believe? What don't you believe? Secondly, I was
shocked at Kawhi Leonard found his way onto the Olympic team.
(14:40):
As of Tuesday, they were talking about unrestricted minutes and
right on schedule. The next day there's an injury and
he's out. How do the Clippers feel about the way
Kawhi ended the season completely unavailable and then he shows
up with bells on for the Olympics and now this
what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Well, look, Nobody is more frustrated I know this than
Kawhi Leonard, who puts in a tremendous amount of work
to get his body physically able to play. He played
almost seventy games this season, and then that right knee
that's gone through an ACL injury, that's gone through a
meniscus injury, started to swell up. It happened about three
weeks before the playoffs. A lot of people at the
time were suspicious that, oh, they're just trying to save
(15:21):
him for that first round series. I'm pushed back upon
that because they had a huge game against the Denver
Nuggets with seeding implications, and when he didn't play that night,
I knew something was off with Kawhi Leonard. So the
injury is legit. He tried to give it a go
against the Dallas Mavericks thirty at one point in Game three,
where he looked like a shell of himself. He was
(15:42):
hanging from the rim, afraid to drop to the floor
because the impact on his right knee. So the guy
has pushed through some stuff. Now, my knowledge was he
had gone through a little bit of training, He had
gone through some workouts. They were watching him closely and
monitoring him before the Olympic and he looked good or
good enough to give it a go. Lawrence Frank was there,
(16:04):
Steve Kerr was there, Coach lou was there. They were
all monitoring the situation. It was a collective effort. So
I wasn't shocked that he tried to give it a go.
I know this was a bucket listing for Kawhi Leonard
to try to get a gold medal, But I also
wasn't shocked that he wasn't able to complete the mission here.
And look, I'm sure the Clippers and Clipper Nation, you
(16:26):
know a lot of people in Clipper Nation were saying
they just didn't want to see him play because he
hadn't finished the last four seasons because of injuries, and
they want to more wear and tear on his body.
My real concern at this point was Kawhi is you
know how long has that need been swollen? Now? What's
going on with that right needs?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
And me, that's a.
Speaker 6 (16:45):
Little bit more alarming than anything, because one or two options.
He either left the Olympics because he looked pretty good
but they just want to save him for Game one
of the regular season, or he just didn't look that
great out there, and they want to make sure they've
saved him from self. He doesn't exacerbate the injury at all.
And look, I understand the criticism of him playing in
(17:05):
the Olympics when he couldn't finish the season, but I
thought of it like this, If we're gonna find out
about his knee and what's going on with it, I'd
rather find out now during the summer, the game one
of the regular season. So I was for him giving
it a shot, all.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Right, fair enough, And just to set the record straight
at him, I've been a Kawhi guy since his days
at San Diego State. I love the guy and I
agree with everything you just said. What threw me, and
perhaps I didn't articulate my question clearly enough, was what
happened at the end of the season when they really
needed him, and then subsequently shows up for the Olympics.
(17:41):
It's like the guy who calls and sick for work,
can't make it to work, but then shows up that
night at the bar at the company party, lighting the
place up. It just didn't sit right with me. What
are we doing here? I mean, the Clippers are moving
into the new arena next year. I was stupid enough
to buy into the Paul georgeting two summers ago. I
really believe it. I feel like Steve Baumer is a
good guy. The basketball guys need to throw on the bones.
(18:04):
And now you're heading into the new arena with no
Paul George and Kawhi to your point, whose knee? There
still seems to be question marks. What's the outlook for
the Clippers as you head into your new building this year.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
Well, I understand the optics of it. He couldn't finish
the season, but he tries to play in the Olympics.
But my thinking is if he's healthy, he should play.
He wasn't healthy in the playoffs. He was he thought
he was healthy enough to play in the Olympics. He
can't pick and choose when he's feeling good, when he
feels right, and he did try to play against Dallas,
(18:37):
and like I said, it was almost scary. After that
first stint in Game three, I thought they should pull
him because it looked like he lost all his basketball powers.
But moving forward this season without Paul George and by
the way, Bernie, I do have to say a lot
of what's gone wrong with this Clippers team has been
outside of their control. It's been everything they couldn't control
with all these injuries. Kawhi Leonard has missed one hundred
(18:59):
and seventy eight games as a Clipper. Paul George missed
one hundred and thirty three. There were some injury concerns
when they brought him in twenty nineteen. Nobody could have
foreseen anything like this playing out, and now Paul George
is gone. What I've noticed right away was they brought
in Derek Jones Junior on that Sunday when free when
free agency opened, dance who he locked up in that
(19:21):
first round. Paul George, he was playing for Dallas when
they made that runs to the finals and held PG
thirteen to nineteen points per game in that first round
series and looked like an all world defender. I think
the Clippers are trying to lead in his defense. Now
they're trying to have more of a defensive identity. There's
rumors of Chris Dunn coming now, Nicholas Batum is back
(19:42):
with them. So if you have a healthy Kawhi, if
it's a big one, I understand that. But if you
have him with James Harden, you still have enough firepower
on offense. What can you do defensively, because they were
not good on the defensive end at all this past season.
The last seventy games, they were twenty first in defense,
believe it or not, even though they were still the
four seed in the Western Conference, because their offense was
(20:04):
unbelievable when they were clicking on all cylinders. So going
into the new building, I really think it's about that
defensive DNA and that identity to trying to build just
with what they have left with superstar power with Kawhi
and James Harden. Surround them and insulate them with great defenders,
and maybe if you bring in more wings like this,
Kawhi doesn't have to do as much on the defensive end.
(20:26):
Therefore you save some of that wear and tear on
his right knee.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
And by the way, one last thing about Kawhi, not
to belabor it, which is exactly what I'm doing. I
was told from a source I trust, when he walked
into camp, the Olympic camp, he had a leg sleeve
on and with a slight limp. Is that the best
thing for him to do to go on that international
grind if he's walking with a slight limp and in
a lake sleeve.
Speaker 6 (20:48):
Well, I saw the video of him in the sleeve
and then he ended up. It looked like he had
on his right leg when he was walking in, but
then he had sleeves on both legs. Look, I'm not
a doctor. I know he has his own medical team.
They have the Clippers training staff. He did go through
some workouts before being there. Again, I'd rather find out
now if something else is going on, if that dwelling's
(21:11):
not going down, then waiting till game one of the
regular season, because Kawhi doesn't play five on five during
the offseason. A lot of the AAU guys were brought
up that way. They don't go five on five until
it's on in the regular season, so he's just not
going to know how taxing it is and how his
knee recovers from strenuous workouts until you get in a
(21:33):
setting like that. And he was playing some five on
five obviously with Team USA. So I don't think it
was the worst thing in the world to give it
a test run there to figure out what's going on.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Okay, fair enough, you're closer to the situation. I take
yet your word, and I hope the Clippers sell out
their building I'm going to get to a game there
this year, and I hope it's not half empty. Just
got about a minute. I'd like you to weigh in
on Bronnie. I'm not going to bash Bronnie here. I'm
maintaining my objectivity. I've set all long. If you've got
leverage in life, use it. But here's the reality, Adam.
(22:04):
If I get you a job as a lifeguard, because
I have connections and you look the part, and I'm
told you can act a part, one of these days
someone's gonna be flailing in the pool and you're gonna
jump in and we're all gonna find out if you
can swim. I don't think it's a fluke. He's zero
for twelve. From behind the arc, we are told he
can develop, but it's all theoreticals because we've never seen
(22:24):
it behind closed doors. You saw the meme. I'm sure
you saw the meme, Adam of Rob Polinka kind of smirking.
And now you know everybody from Gilbert Arenas to you know,
Mother Teresa's taking shots at Brownie. Now behind the scenes,
what's the narrative. We got to be patient or all
we might have some buyer's remorse.
Speaker 6 (22:44):
I mean, obviously, if you're a Lakers fan and you're
hoping for the best that he can turn things around,
because he's six for twenty six and as you mentioned, oh,
twelve from three so far in the summer league. You
just want to see some signs, some positive signs in
the summer league. That's it. You can't put a lot
into it, but you want to see maybe a little
bit of progress, and he could pretty much only go
(23:05):
up from here. It's been that bad so far. I'll
give him this. Defensively, he's been decent, he's been okay.
I just think he's behind the eight ball in so
many different ways here, Bernie. I don't blame Lebron wanting
to play with his son. I don't blame the Lakers
wanting to bring him in. We've talked about this for
everybody upset about nepotism like he isn't rampant and throughout
(23:26):
the NBA and throughout sports already. Jannist's brother, Jalen Brunton's
dad being an assistant coach Dwayne Wade getting his son
drafted by a team he's a part owner of with
the Utah Jazz. This stuff happens, I mean, Jim Buss
was vice president of basketball operations with the Los Angeles Lakers.
What experience did Jim Buss have.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Oh, he's part owner, the right stomach at the right time.
His dad was Jared. We get all that. I mean,
I'm not debating any of that. And with all the respect,
and we're gonna have you on. I'm gonna I want
you to be a regular on my show. Look, you
saw Reed Shepherd ride Brownie like a stick horse. I'm
not saying that Brownie's not given an effort. And he's
pretty strong and he's tough, he's trying. He's just not
(24:09):
an NBA player, not today. But you got the last word.
Speaker 6 (24:12):
He's six ' one unless he's Tony Allen with the
level of defense that he used to play for the
Memphis Grizzlies. At that size in today's NBA, if you
don't have a handle like stpe three and you're that short,
if you can't shoot from the qud, you better be
an elite defender. And so far he hasn't showed enough
on that end.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Thousand percent. You basically took the words out of my mouth.
I mean, he clearly you know he's not and they
don't see him as a facilitator. He doesn't he doesn't
bring the ball off the floor. He doesn't shoot well
enough to be a number two. And I'm okay with
the Tony Allen references. The problem is Tony Allen was
(24:52):
a stud at Oklahoma State. He had a body at
worked before he got to the NBA. I haven't seen
it out of it. I haven't seen it. Hey, thanks
so much, my man. And what you got like flannel pajamason,
you know, finish the thought for us? What kind of
pajamas do you have?
Speaker 6 (25:06):
I'm in my damn boxers here in the taktop. I
look like Ac Slater or something like that. From baside
and saved by the bell.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
You're probably my wife? Are you allowed to say wife,
Peter anymore? Am I going to be in trouble if
I say that? You said it? Not me?
Speaker 6 (25:20):
Bernie?
Speaker 1 (25:22):
All right, Joy your evening. Thanks for coming on, Bud.
Speaker 6 (25:25):
All right, Thanks for friend.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
That is Adam Osland preimposed for the La Clippers, and
I met what I said, Ben Maller is a good
guy and I'd like nothing better to see than the Clippers.
They've been kind of the bachelor child of the NBA
since Moby Dick was a mental come on one time
NBA gods.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Maller
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And let me just set this up ever so quickly.
The Brownie's now played three games in the NBA Summer League.
The NBA Summer League, I've covered ten of them. It's
about twenty percent of an NBA game, And so if
you are not lighting it up there, it's tough to
project you as an NBA player. And I was just
getting started, right, And can he develop over the next year. Maybe,
(26:10):
But it's all theoretical because he was wasn't the best
player on his high school team. He was second team
All league, did score fifteen points in the McDonald's All
Star Game, four points at USC You get the picture. Hey,
he was a backup on a team that was eight
and twelve. You know, if his name would have been
Eddie Gazinski, same skill set, same resume, everything. What al
he being drafted? Will you know the answer? But I
(26:32):
got no problem. Lebron wanted the Lakers to do him
a solid and they did. Got no problem with that.
But again, now be careful what you wish for, because
now here come the peanut gallery. These are just a
handful of the tweets over the weekend. Dad dude got
finessed by Bron meaning Rob Polinka got finessed by bron
(26:54):
Bronni just looks like he's being forced to play ball.
Another fan tweeted, not just sha just shame all over
his face. The fan said, Lebrick, he's out in the air.
Why should he care? This would be hilarious if it
weren't so entirely expected. Another fan said, bro, what in
the fresh hell is this? So? The question is I'm wondering.
I can't read minds. Might there be some slight buyer's remorse?
(27:17):
Maybe not too soon for that. I think it's pretty
well established Brownie who's going to spend the year in
the G League, and he should. And the truth of
the matter is six for twenty six, these are the numbers,
twenty three percent from the floor er for twelve. He
does give an effort on defense, he does have courts sense.
He looks like he was born to play basketball, but
(27:39):
he's not an NBA player, at least not today. Can
that change? I don't know, I said I would give
it a full year. I said I would give it
a full year before I would pass judgment. But I
still have opinions. And he's not savvy enough. He doesn't
have the guard skills, the handles to be a point guard.
They don't let him take the ball up the floor.
So I think at this stage of his development, Lakers
(28:00):
don't see him as a facilitator. That's for sure. He's
certainly not good enough to be a two guard. He
doesn't shoot well enough. His mechanics are fine, but he
can't shoot. And they're gona play at Celtics tomorrow night.
What's gonna magically change? You tell me? So they projected
him as a three and D, but you don't see
many guys that are six one and a half to
(28:21):
do that three and d. I've heard the comparisons. Maybe
he can beat Pat Beverley. Come on, please Pep. Beverly
was a stud in college. He had to go to
the Ukraine Fair year and ball out before we ever
got a chance to really get in the NBA. So
I want to bring the crew in and our guys
are honest and they're insightful. Eddie, if you were gonna
try to read the Laker's mind behind closed doors. Is
(28:43):
there a real concern here? Is like, I've got to
let this play out. Is it really a work in
progress or we're just gonna tell you that because we
want you to think that.
Speaker 5 (28:51):
I mean, they're just doing whatever Lebron wants them to do.
This is ridiculous. He has no business being drafted, He
has no business being on NBA roster. This is this
is this is embarrassing to me. I have no skin
in the game. I'm not a Laker fan. I don't
care about the NBA, but uh, you know I you
(29:12):
talk about, oh, nepotism is running rampant or whatever. Look,
if they want to give Lebron James Kid a job
working for the Lakers, I don't care. But for aim
to take up a roster spot of someone that has
earned it. And look, maybe maybe whoever the second round
pick was going to be wasn't gonna make the team anyway,
because that's not unheard of anymore. But as a joke,
a joke that he got drafted, he's he has he
(29:34):
has no talent to be in the NBA, Eddie.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
I really appreciate your cannon and honesty. This is my
eighteenth show, and you always bring it. I appreciate that
a lot. You're you're you're not stepping on the kid's neck.
You're just objectively, you don't have skin in the game.
You're not trying to you throw him under the bus.
You're you're giving an honest appraisal. He said something that
really stuck with me, though Brinni was drafted. If Brinni,
(30:00):
if Lebron wants to play with his son in the NBA,
to make history, because we are talking about satisfying the
emotions of an insecure man, and if the Lakers hadn't
drafted him, they would have inflamed the passions of this
insecure man. It wasn't enough that you bring him into camp,
put him on the roster, let him play a game.
He's got to be drafted too. Is this some sort
(30:22):
of badge of honor? We both know if his name
was Eddie Gazinski, he wouldn't have been drafted. No other
team in the NBA was willing to draft him. They
had no interest in drafting him. He only worked out
for one other team, the Phoenix Suns, and they weren't
going to draft him. And I'm tired of the narrative, Oh,
what's the big deal about the fifty fifth pick? I
don't know. You tell me. Mana Ginobili was drafted fifty seventh.
Is a pretty good player. You never know if you
(30:43):
might get a diamond in the rough. And what's the
big deal about being drafted? Well, Ben Wallace, you may
have heard of him, he's in the Hall of Fame.
He was never drafted. Fred van Vliet was never drafted.
Connie Hawkins was never drafted. They called around, there's a
bunch of very good players. That to me is the
dynamic that changed. And as far as the nepotism, you've
never heard me say once in any of the shows
(31:03):
I host. Questioning the favor that the Lakers wanted to
do for Lebron, I joked about it, and I said, hey,
there's an unwritten rule. You know, if you are the
all time leading scorer in the NBA and you win
four championships with three different franchises, you come to the Lakers,
you put butts in seats. Clear that Rob Polink has
got a man crush on him. He's made the Lakers' money.
(31:25):
They did win the championship in the bubble. He wanted
a favor. They did him a favor. I got no
problem with that. But let me tell you this is
the way the world works. If I hire you as
a lifeguard and we throw you in the pool, we're
all gonna know if you can swim. We can all
see what we're seeing. You know, if two people are
on an elevator and one person passes gas, everybody knows
(31:47):
who did it without saying a word. This is what
we are seeing. And I think ADDIE's point that this,
frankly is an embarrassment, it's correct, because for now it
is an embarrassment. Ask Gilbert, ask some of the people
around the league coming up. I want to coop to
Wayne on this as well. I'm not done. I'm not
bashing Bronnie. But they shove this in our face. They
(32:09):
said this is what we're gonna do, and they give
us all these kind of narratives, and they've been peeing
on our shoes a whole time and telling us it's raining.
We all can see you right through it. Can it change?
I said I'd give it a year. Am I betting
on it's gonna happen? No, I'm not. I'm Bernie Frattle.
We are company live from the Fox Sports Radio Tirec
dot com studios here in Las Vegas. We're sitting in
(32:30):
for Ben Mallor, so keep it locked. It's Ben Mallor
Show on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
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dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
This is the greatest show on overnight audio Earth. It's
even better when you join our curious world. Would be
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box and now live from the tyrac dot com Fox
Sports Radio studios in for Ben Maller. It's Bernie Fratto.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Well, thank you, Eddie, and I want to remind everybody
that Fox Sports Radio has teamed up with Tyraq dot
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(33:28):
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(33:53):
buying should be. Before we get to Koople want to
get his thoughts on Brownie. He is a Laker fan.
A great tweet from my guy Art Puff and hey Bernie,
a great start to the show. I'd like to see that.
As a parent, I feel Bronnie is being exploited by
lebron and the Lakers for a chance to make NBA history.
In the meantime, Bronnie will be the burden bearer and
(34:14):
may retire along with his dad. I'm with Eddie on
Fox one hundred percent. I can't disagree with any of that,
all right, Coop, not trying to force it on you,
but I like your takes, and you are, in fact
a Laker fan, so as someone who's invested in the Lakers,
your thoughts on the Brownie situation thus far.
Speaker 7 (34:33):
Well, first of all, Yeah, I'm sure, very very heavy
burden for Bronnie James. I'm sure he'll be fine.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
I detect the sarcasm.
Speaker 7 (34:41):
Yeah, I think he'll be okay.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
But if you think about what Art's saying, he's gonna
be okay. He'll have enough money for the rest of
this ten lifetimes and he's got to get to play
in the NBA, so you're not gonna feel sorry for him.
But he is a young kid, and he's got the
white hot spotlight on him. It's gotta be a little uncomfortable.
Would you grant him that?
Speaker 7 (34:57):
Sure, but I think he would choose is that un
comfortability and being in the NBA over not fair enough?
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Fair enough? Duly?
Speaker 7 (35:09):
And then as far as this goes, I mean, I
don't think you're really gonna find anybody that's gonna sit
here and argue that it's not a nepotism draft pick.
But I'm kind of I mean, I'm kind of like,
who cares. I Mean, Lebron's still great, you know, he
and as far as off the court, he puts, you know,
(35:30):
fans are gonna come to see the Lakers anyway, but
I'm sure he raises the revenue for the team, and
so if they want to spend the fifty fifth pick
on him, that's fine. I'm going back to the Lakers
draft picks throughout the years. The last time they even
had a pick higher than fifty fifth was you know,
Robert Sokre back in twenty twelve. Oh yeah, so I mean, yes, anyway.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
Yeah, yeah, good memory, go ahead.
Speaker 7 (35:56):
So I don't know, I just and then if you
just look even picks before the fifty fifth, you just
look back at the Lakers' second round choices, there's not
many that made much of an impact whatsoever. So if
that's what they do to make Lebron happy, fine, I'm whatever.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
All right, that's fair. I think that's a measured response.
At the end of the day, it's really kind of
a tempest in a teapot. It is Lebron James, it
is Bronnie James, and so therefore it's going to carry
a different dynamic, as it were, And right now it
just feels a little weird, and I think Bronnie is
you know, acknowledging. I mean, there's one thing about him,
(36:38):
his ability to provide an honest assessment. He did not
hesitate to acknowledge his shortcomings. He says, I just feel
like I'm a little slump right now. You think six
or twenty six from twelve of them behind the arc. Well,
if you want to see the Bronnie James Traveling Show
from Las Vegas. Monday night, they teed up again against
the Boston Celtics. Let's see what he does. But he
(37:00):
does when he gets to the G League, and we'll
revisit this a year from now. By the way, Tuesday night,
did you forget they used to call it the Midsummer Classic?
It's the All Star Game? What the hell is up
with those jerseys? Are you kidding me? Are those Beer
League Bowling shirts or Major League Baseball All Star jerseys?
We chop it up. Bernie Frattles sitting in for Ben Maller.
Keep it locked.
Host
Ben Maller
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