December 1, 2022 • 34 mins
Jason Smith and Mike Harmon discuss a report that says one of 4 teams Tom Brady might be interested in – The New England Patriots. Devin Booker had 51 points through 3 quarters against the Bulls and the guys discuss a huge night in the NBA. Plus, FSR’s NBA insider Ric Bucher joins the show to talk all things NBA!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
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(00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Fox Sports Radio. Welcome
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(00:46):
way tire buying should be. We got Rick Buker come
in your way. In about twenty minutes, all the biggest
news from the NBA, including Devin Booker. Fifty one points
night for the Suns through three quarters. Early in the
fourth the Sons have an eighteen point lead, so maybe
Booker is done for the night. But fifty one points
through three quarters for Devin Booker, maybe the Sons are
(01:10):
getting back to being the Sun. It looked like they
were the Sons. Then they struggled. Now then maybe back
to being the Sons again. Is up? It was down,
they became on their way back up. Devin Booker fifty
one tonight. Really nice of you to not punctuate, and
it's coming against the bulls. I I see, But buddy,
I I did that for you. I just left it up.
As he's got this monstrous game as if you we're
playing on a nerve hoop on the back of his
(01:33):
door in his dorm room. No, no, no, he's beating
up on professionals at home. And you look at a
one ten, nine two game entertaining twenty five from the field.
How the hell is a shooting guard defense? Tom Tibenneau
used to have him running around there and six or
(01:53):
seven from three point range. The fact that he's only
taken six free throws, run out and hit him. Get
him out of his comfort zone? What are we doing here?
So we'll have more on this game and more with
Rick Buker from the on the NBA coming up in
about twenty minutes. But when this story broke today, it
became a really big deal right away. Jeff Howe, who
(02:15):
was a longtime Patriots insider Covers a team for The
Athletic wrote this on Wednesday about what Tom Brady could
do for next year in the NFL. He says, quote,
don't ever write off the Patriots, as he and Bill
Belichick still have an abundance of respect for one another,
(02:35):
and that Brady could go back to New England for
next year and it would mean a domino effect of
things like Matt Jones being traded or maybe Matt Jones
sits behind Tom Brady. It would be certain negotiations would
have to be okay in advance, that Brady would be
okay going year to year, or the contract not wanting
all kinds of money upfront, not wanting a long deal.
(02:56):
So there would be some stuff they would have to
be figured out, but not what you would but not
what you would think about. All they got to get
over their egos and there clashing Brady back to New
England can happen. Now. Look, we've told you for a
long time, Brady is gonna continue to play. Right, he
got divorced. The whole big thing of him not playing
football anymore was being with his family. Now he's divorced,
and he's gonna be able to play. He wants to
(03:18):
play till he's fifty. You know, he doesn't want to
leave after this year. He's going to play somewhere next season,
guaranteed not gonna be in Tampa because Tampa is not
a team that's suddenly, hey, we're in one off season
away from revamping and reloading. No, this Tampa team has done.
Brady needs to go someplace else. New England has a
lot of money to spend. Other teams lot have money
to spend as well. Maybe at San Francisco. He's playing somewhere.
(03:41):
But let's have a real conversation about why Brady can
go back to New England. Because for all of the
reasons about why Brady could go back, people are gonna
focus on the field on the field, on the field.
And I'll tell you why I can see Brady going
back to New England, Mike, And it's much more human
and much more personal than that. What did Brady do
in the last couple of years, right he was in
(04:02):
New England? New England was his home right for how long?
Twenty years? He's the patron saint of Boston everything that
the guy. The Guy's a legend everywhere, but specifically in
Boston's where he it's where he came in after college,
it's where he lived, it's where he got married. He's
got kids, he's raising a family in Boston. What happens,
things get weird with New England and they want to
push him out, So he leaves for Tampa Bay, goes
(04:24):
to Tampa, relocates his family to Tampa and they're kind
of still all over the map and moving between Tampa
and Boston. And what happens. He plays a couple of
years and he winds up getting divorced. So now his
whole family life has been uprooted. And now he's divorced
and he's a single dad, and he's got to figure
out time with his kids. From a human standpoint. Now
(04:45):
we talk about him, you know, Oh he's a superstar,
but just like any divorced dad, he's got to figure
out his life. And what am I gonna do? Am
I gonna stay in Tampa where I really don't have
the roots that I had in Boston? I'm gonna stay here?
Am I gonna? Am I gonna go someplace? Heel some
I're really gonna go be okay? If I go back
to San Francisco. Am I gonna be three thousand miles
away from the rent? Am I gonna really do that?
(05:07):
This is why New England makes sense because it's Brady
going home to something familiar when his life is in
a period of upheaval. He's going through a divorce. What
do you do when when big things like this happened
in your life? People move home, Right, It's like a
Hallmark movie, Like a Hallmark Christmas movie. Somebody gets divorced,
they move home. They reconnect with the person they dated
(05:29):
in high school who is now the town doctor, and
she helps him plan a fall festival and they fall
in love. And that's how it goes, right. He really
got sucked into all those Christmas movies pretty fast. It's
what happens. Brady's the quarterback who has a life change.
He moves back home and he reconnects with his high
school sweetheart who is a veterinarian, and they have this
(05:50):
big thing where they save a lot of dogs. They
plan a Christmas festival, and that's how that's how the
movie ends. Les They never go home and find someone
just living in their parents basement. Oh no, no, no,
no no, never happens become a you know, just kind
of wandering hippie or something. Now there's always the doctor,
the vet d you know, Mogul. What are you been
(06:10):
up to, Matt? Nothing, man, Just still living in my
parents basement, Still working in the movie theater. Yeah, I
get free tickets. I get to go movies all the time. Man,
it's great, all right. So yeah, yeah, I get thirty
hours a week and I got fifteen years in there. Now. Man,
it's all you want to come to the movie sometime,
It's gonna be great. I mean that, that's that's what happens.
And you know, maybe because it's it's the holidays now,
and I think about the Hallmark movies and Brady movie.
Forgot about a d for Brady. You could be the
(06:31):
hall the Hallmark movie for Brady. But still, going back
home is going to be a grounding thing and a
settling thing. Okay. Now I'm back in Boston, close enough
to New York wherever we wind up settling. It's easy
to get back to your old life, where your kids
were where, who they were friends with, and back with
the old family. It's an easy thing to do. And
going through a divorce is a real traumatic time for anybody,
(06:53):
much less a guy that had to live it through
the New York Post for the past five months. Right,
this is what's going Giselle and him are upset. Gills
always had a bit of a temper, and this is
not the first time it's happened, and they really had
a big blow up and all these things. I thought, Oh, man,
you gotta see this all the way through in the
newspaper every single day and online every single day. The
grounding going back to what's familiar is a huge pole.
(07:17):
For that reason alone, I can see Tom Brady going
back to New England just for that. Okay, here's where
I was successful. I'm comfortable here. I can hit the
ground running and we can win, right, I have one
here before The Patriots are going to spend more money,
have like a hundred million dollars of salary cap money
to spend next year, so they can they can start
spending again. Hopefully Guy spend it better than he did
two years ago and Brady left. But you know, the
(07:38):
possibility of winning is there. So it's not like Brady's
gonna show up and play for a couple of years.
Team is gonna stink. No, he wants to win, but
that that pole going back to New England. Yeah, I
can easily see that happening specifically for that because when
you have a big life change like that with a divorce,
especially as high profile as it is there, and you're
trying to figure out coast to coast and everything else,
and you gotta see pictures online of is this year
(08:00):
wife's new boyfriend? Like a month after you guys are divorced?
Is that? Uh? Yeah, going back to something familiar is
a really popular thing. It's a big pull to go do. Yeah,
I think when we look at the larger picture, right,
he did his Let's Go podcast the other day and
was kind of talking about it from the week to
week finish the season and about his noncommittaled to things
(08:22):
football team. So it's kind of an interesting piece because
I think part of it is in the background. You
know what's next. We've watched what Tampa is and look
how old you've become applies to him to a degree, right,
because he's missing some throws and the timing isn't there.
That would normally be part of that being the shoddy
work of the offensive line up until the last couple
(08:45):
of weeks. The ineffectiveness of the run game, guys in
and out of the receiving corps, et cetera. But when
we look at the season as a holder, still potential
to to do some damage in the NFC. All wishing,
wanting and hoping, but going forward, right, how real was
the flirtation and the stuff going ammy versus Hey, it's
two guys hanging out on a yacht. Yeah, I know
(09:06):
that's founds sounds funny to hear, and it was funny
to say it. That's why I did. Two guys hanging
out on a yacht. Uh, talking about their futures. But
if he goes back to New England, you talk about familiarity,
You talk about Bill Belichick and a guy that they
had that professional relationship. Yeah, you're gonna butt heads time
to time, but if it works, it works. And that's
in any type of business than any type of relationship.
(09:28):
It's not always gonna go swimming lee, but you know,
oftentimes you want or the other has to just shrug
and go all right, there's other stuff to worry about
and you move forward. Now. Some will just say all right,
this is the end of it, and we can get
into his personal life as it's been transcribed us through
the newspapers and tabloids, as much as you want to
believe all the details there or how much he's worried
(09:50):
in the photo section of page six about what Giselle
is doing right now? Is that guy a trainer? Is
it a friend? Because you know, men and women can
and be friends, folks, But the go on down to
like shocking. I know, but you still have to live that.
You still have to live with everybody thinking, hey, dude,
and you have to live with your teammates. Well, look
(10:10):
at you going, dude, man, she's with the trainer, with
the guy that was teaching her jiu jitsu? Dude, what's
going on? I mean, you still have to live with that,
you know, sure or not? It's here's these pictures that
are out there, that's okay. How are they explained? Are they?
And sometimes people don't care about here in the explanation.
They just want to look at the salaciosist of the story.
And you have to live with that. Jason, I like
how you called it jiu jitsu? Was that what it was?
(10:31):
What what did he teacher? Was it jiu jitsu? Was
what was he teaching her? Sure? You sure? You can
go with no, but that but that well, okay, that
was legally or that was the story that what he
was teaching. Okay, very yeah. Anyway, the the idea being
that you want that familiarity from a football perspective, and
(10:53):
with a hundred million to spend, your damn right, he's
gonna have more input on how it's spent. Because in Tampa,
did we really get the send that he got to
direct traffic that way? Maybe a little bit, but not
to the level that perhaps he was comfortable with. And
certainly Super Bowls isn't Uh, he's if he's not gonna
trust him in the final minutes to be able to
(11:14):
make a throw down the field, call a time out, etcetera. Again,
it goes back to the Tom Brady should have called
the time out and then if Bowls wanted to fight
about it, uh, then they could have had it out
on the sideline. Going back to my Aaron Rodgers Matt
Lafleur thing of well, the game against the Buccaneers a
couple of years ago. But for for Brady now, it's
what what's the next phase that's gonna make him happy?
(11:35):
If he's gonna play another year or two and going
back where the terminology, the working relationships and everything are
clean and well established. Who knows if things go really badly,
Josh McDaniels might be back again too. Oh shoot, you
can see everybody, the band could get back together, right,
So what I did there, I got him fired? That
very nice, very nice. But now but look that the
(11:56):
band gets back together. I mean that, that's really what
it is. I mean, you can you can see every
time you you think, this is why you say never
say never. Oh he's never gonna go back to England. Okay, yeah,
in theory you can see that. But you don't know
what life holds for you. I don't. I don't think
Brady thought, Hey, when I'm gonna move to Tampa, we're
gonna get divorced. I'm gonna get divorced. I'm gonna have
to worry about living my life in different places again.
Now I gotta I gotta do things differently. Now, I
(12:17):
got I got other things, I got kids I gotta
worry about. So yeah, maybe going back suddenly, that's not that.
You can't just say no to it right away. And
the more and you think about it, the more it
becomes a poll. And if they want him back. Hey,
bry I could see Brady going back strictly personal all
about that the football thing. You can find football anywhere.
(12:37):
You can find good football in San Francisco, But can
you find the combination of football and home life, which
he really wants a balance of Can you find that
anywhere but New England. That's why I like the Patriots.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific, Fox Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with
My best friend Mike Harmon from the tire rack dot
(13:01):
Com Studios. It's a big night in the NBA. Devin Booker.
Fifty one points through three quarters. Not been needed in
the fourth quarter for the Suns. The Knicks come close,
can't make free throws? Day fall to the Bucks. Are
things getting better for the Lakers? Will things ever get
better for the Warriors? Joining us now on the hotline,
nobody better to break it down? Fox Sports One. NBA
(13:24):
Insider Extraordinaire can check out his On the Ball podcast
as well. He's on Twitter at Rick Buker. It is
the aforementioned Rick Buker. What's happening, buddy? How are you? Man?
What is happening? Happy holiday? You gentlemen? Is that was
is that? Is that a shot at me tonight because
Drew Holiday had a big night against the Knicks? Is that?
Are you doing this already already to me? Happy holiday?
(13:46):
You met to me? Well? Who else would do it
to you? Damn right? I mean I have. It's been
a couple of weeks I think, since we have met
here at our appointed hour, and and I faigured, you know,
it was about time somebody needed to come around, and
Drew helped me out. He set me up, so here
(14:07):
we are. He did you could have mentioned Grayson Allen. No, honestly,
I can't even believes that question. Really really, I mean,
you laid it up and he dunked it, and then Rick,
Rick was hanging on the rim. He got his technical
and then he still smiled and waved at the reft.
It's all good, exactly, slapped the backboard and here we go,
(14:30):
let's go. You would be I think, Rick, I think
you are that guy who would hang on the rim,
get the tea and let go and go. What what
I wasn't hanging on the rim? I think you would
do that there was a guy under me. What do
you mean? I would do that? In various forms throughout
my life I have done that, may not have had,
(14:50):
may not have involved the backboard in the rim, but
I trust you I've done the wrong thing and then
steered somebody down and said what what He's now added
a a small nerve backboard on the set of all
TV shows he will do from now on and after
he makes a point, Rick dunks it stairs. All right,
So let's start here before we get into individual teams,
(15:13):
because I know you're you've been hot on this is
the Western Conference really good and deep? Or is it
just not very good? It's kind of hard to tell
right now. Yeah, yeah, no, it's it's it's muddled, for sure.
And I don't it's a great question because I've been
talking to a lot of g ms and scouts and
people around the league with December fifteenth coming up and
(15:33):
the possibility of you know, we're a quarter of the
way into the season, and so this is a time
where teams sort of have a sense of who they
are and are they are? Are they who they thought
they hoped they would be? And if not, do we
need to make a move, and I think one of
the reasons why you're not hearing a whole lot in
terms of teams making moves because if you look at
(15:56):
the Western Conference, it is so muddled. Nobody feels like
they're breaking away from the pack or meaning of the
Lakers for where they are, they're what five games out
of first place, so they can live by I think
it would be an illusion. But but but the idea
that hey, we're really not that far out of it,
and so, but I don't think. I think the class
(16:16):
of the league right now, without questions, is in the
Eastern Conference. The Phoenix Suns have been very good, uh
clearly the best team in the West, but we still
have questions in terms of what they're going to be
without Chris Paul. And I know they've done a lot
of this without Chris Paul, But I mean, as far
as the playoff team, the teams that I think are
for real and are demonstrating that they are for real
(16:39):
are in the Eastern Conference with the Milwaukee Bucks in
the Boston Celtics. Right now, I think the West is
is wide open, but it's wide open because um, every
team has a flaw of some kind and it's just
a matter of whether it's going to show up or
when it's going to show up. Well to that in
that vein, let's stay in the way Western Conference with
(17:00):
the Warriors, like so many teams sitting around five hundred
now just behind the once hot and sizzling Utah jazz
as right, look at the standings, but are they fixable
without having to make a larger move with those young guys.
They're not giving them the minutes you would expect, so
many weary miles on those older legs. Yeah no, and
(17:23):
and I just don't know where they're going to get
the bench if they don't develop those young guys. If
Cominga uh Wiseman's now with the G League, the cominga
moody like you can't. Somebody said to me at the
beginning of the year that for the Warriors to have
a chance to repeat, they needed one of those guys
to have like a Jordan Pool breakout year in terms
(17:45):
of what Pool became last year, and we certainly have
not seen that. I would say that Cominga is showing
flashes of being able to do that. But the bigger
issue for me is that they are just defensively, they're
nowhere close to what they used to be. I think
(18:07):
we always think of them as being this offensive juggernaut,
but they were number one in the league in defensive
rating last year and that's been a hallmark of all
of their championship teams. And right now, I think the
last night checked, they were twenty two, and that was
an improvement over four or five games ago. And it's
not just the young guys, it's the fact that Clay
(18:31):
Thompson is. I mean, he made his name being one
of the best two way players UH at wing players
in the league and being the guy who took the
tough defensive assignments so that so that Steph didn't have
to well Clay, Clay is a shadow of what he
once was defensively, I mean, teams go at him at
(18:53):
will and score, and then you don't have Andrea I
Guadala in there anymore. He was another defense to stop
her and Draymond Green can still get it done, and
he can get it done in spurts and so. And
then Jordan Pool is not a defender at all, does
not even attempt to be a defender. So you're looking
at a team that used to have, like all of
(19:13):
the stout wing defenders. Now they're at a deficit, and
I don't know, like cominga can be a very good
defensive player, um moody, Okay. I just don't know how
you replace what they've lost in Clay Thompson not being
the same and andre Iguadala not being available at all.
(19:37):
I think we lost Jason he is is dipped away.
H James Smith Show with Mike Armen Here, Fox Sports Radio,
Rick Buker on the Hotline with Us here, follow him
on Twitter as you do at Rick Bucker joined us,
I'm here. Tom Thibodeau just texted me saying he wanted
you wanted Rick Buker to call him after after his
hit with us that I had to return that text
real fast. That's what happened. Is he gonna he is
(19:58):
he gonna make a deal for Clay Thompson or get
somebody to cover Grayson Allen? Yeah? Too soon? Hit him,
hit him where it hurts, hey, So Rick, you know,
I know it's it's it's very difficult to say this
because everything we've seen for the past eight bunths says no.
(20:19):
But are the Lakers getting a little bit better? Are
they getting I mean with A B. And how good
is he's been It's been awesome. Are are they getting better?
Is this just they've won a couple of games. How
do you see them right now? No, I think what
you said is exactly right. They've gotten a little bit better.
There are there are winning game. They're beating teams that
(20:40):
they should beat. Now, an Antonio, Uh have to look
at who else they played recently. I mean, they should
beat Indiana and they did. They did not that hurts um.
So they are you know, Rust coming off the bench
and doing what he's doing, a D being available, well,
Lebron being available. Like they're playing a little bit better.
(21:04):
Is it enough for them? Because we immediately go from
they're playing a little bit better, or they could be
in the playoff picture, Lakers fans immediately go to, oh,
we just were one move away from being title contenders. Again,
they're not that and and and they sort of have
the opposite issue that the Warriors have, which is the
(21:25):
Lakers simply are so poor defending the three and shooting
the three. And there's no getting around that, Like that's
such a big element of the game now and they
don't have the requisite pieces or talent on that team
to change that, and so can they be a little
bit better? Yes, But are are they going to like
(21:49):
move up into the top four or five teams in
the West? As muddled as it is, every team that
I look at, I can say, well, there's reasons to
believe they're going to get better. Either they're young and
they or they have new pieces, or there's some element
where you say they're yeah, they're kind of muddling. They're
(22:11):
Clippers for example. The Clippers are just kind of muddling along.
They're not healthy, and shows the depth that they have
that they're still still have a winning record. Um, Like,
what what do I look at to say the Lakers
can take yet another step from what they've already done
(22:33):
from the beginning of the year that I'm just just
being realistic here, Like what I think A D and
Lebron are are playing very efficient, effective basketball. Are you
going to ask them at this point that they have
to go to get another level? And is that going
to make a difference? I just don't see how Rick
(22:55):
earlier you alluded to the Celtics as one of the
teams standing above everybody in the Eastern Conference started the
season four and three, uh and have since lost once.
As you flow through this, uh, do they have enough
depth on this squad because I look at most nights
it's the starting five dominant, dominating, and maybe one guy
(23:16):
off the bench like tonight. Yeah, yeah, no, it's a
fair question. I think getting Robert Williams back is a
big piece there. Their lack of sties once we get
two matchups in the postseason, um is potentially an issue
if Robert is not healthy and available, But uh, you know, overall,
(23:40):
I just you know, Peyton Pittcher doesn't get consistent minutes,
but when he does, he's able to contribute. They have
a number of guys who had the opportunity to show
what they could do in the postseason last year. So
we may not be seeing it right now, but I
think there's enough depth there for them to come through.
And the biggest thing is just you can't tell me
(24:02):
that Jayson Tatum, looking at the way he's playing now
versus the way he played in the finals against the Warriors,
was not dealing. I don't remember it was a shoulder
injury or what it was, but he clearly was not
because he played with nothing close to the aggression that
he's playing with now, particularly when it comes to attacking
the rim and defensively. UM, I feel like he's taken
(24:26):
another step forward, and Marcus smart teams to have I
don't know, you know, I don't know whether he's taking
what's there. There's the calm app, like the meditation app.
I think Marcus may have subscribed to that because um,
his efficiency has has gone another level. I just there's
(24:47):
two ways the teams can go when they lose in
the finals. They can either feel like we got to
the top of the mountain and we didn't finish the deal,
and that exhaustion can just take them under they and
think we've we missed our best chance. Or it can
light a fire under them. They can say we we
missed an opportunity and we're going to get back there,
(25:09):
like the Spurs did against the Miami Heat. Um, we're
motivated by missing out. And I feel like that's what's
happened with the Boston Celtics. And I gotta give a
lot of credit to Gobazola in picking up um where
his predecessor left off, and that he had he didn't
(25:30):
allow that the clouds surrounding the team as a result
of Emaodoka, like he hasn't changed anything, but in some
ways it's it's it's good he's he's like he's just
steadied the ship and kept them going with with what
they had and allowed the players to shine. And so
I'm I'm really excited and loving everything that I'm seeing
(25:55):
from from the Boston Celtics. I think they're for real. Rick. Lastly,
is Tatum the m v P right now? Is it Luca?
Is it Future? Nick Shy, Gilts Alexander, Like, who's the
m v P right now? Anthony David? Well, it can't be.
It can't be Luca just because of the record, Like
the numbers are good. But I'm watching him. I mean,
(26:18):
I gotta give it to Janice before I would give
it to Luca. I just saw those two go head
to head and um, you know what I love about
Tatum is he does it at both ends of the floor.
Joannice does it at both ends of the floor. If
you want to give it to Tatum right now or
make him the you know, put him in the pole position,
I have absolutely no problem with that. I would say
(26:39):
for me between uh, it's between Janice and Tatum and
whoever else you want to fill out. Um, feel free.
Some people want to put Devin Booker in there. I
would not, but um, but for me, yeah, it's it's
Tatum and Yannice at the top. How about this one
for my own personal giggles. Last two games points, twenty
(27:00):
three rebounds. Unfortunately on one thirteen, one oh seven lost
to Brooklyn tonight. How much do the Knicks miss Chris Stops?
Porzingis right now? Jerk? You know kristaps every he does this,
it's it's um, he's somewhere. He's a cross between a
unicorn and a Hailey's comment, Like he's a unicorn, like
(27:24):
on in Leap Years or something. Every once in a
while he'll give you one of those performances, go oh yeah, man,
that guy could be really good. But the problem is
is it's just not consistently there. So once you know,
there aren't a whole lot of things, as we all know,
there aren't a whole lot of things that the Knicks
have done right, but moving off of Kris Stops was
(27:46):
certainly one of them. He is our own Haley's comment unicorn.
It's Rick Buker. He's on Twitter at Rick Buker. Check
out his on the Ball podcast as well. Uh latest episode.
Can James Wiseman be what the Warriors need him to be?
In time? That's at Fox sports dot com. Rick is
always buddy, appreciate your time. My friend will talk to
you next week. Be sure to catch live editions of
(28:09):
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten
pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app Fox Sports Radio. The Jason
Smith Show with My best friend Mike Harmon and he
first responder will tell you never try to beat a
train after breaking. It can take a mile for a
train to completely stop. So when you come to a
(28:29):
rail crossing stop because trains can't. If you remember a
couple of months ago, we told you exactly how things
are gonna play out for the Yankees and Aaron Judge
right in the midst of his big season sixty two
home runs winning the m v P BECAU. Remember I
told him before the season he was gonna win a
l m v P and he did. Uh, the Yankees
are preparing for life without him, right. Randy Levine, team president, said,
(28:52):
it's gonna be up to Aaron if he wants to stay,
and that's how we're gonna pursue things after the season
is over. What did I tell you was gonna happen
at the end of the season. The Yankees are gonna
come out with an offer that was a good one,
but not nearly what the final offer is gonna wind
up being. They were gonna watch Aaron Judge waffle at
(29:12):
it because he could get more money, and the Yankees
would move on and they would say, we made a
big offer. He doesn't want it. He wants more money
from other teams. So we're gonna move on. But we
want to make it look like we made a big
offer for him, because he is the m v P,
he's been a Yankee. It would look really bad. We
don't want to have to tell people, Hey, we didn't
even make an offer for Aaron Judge. So what happens today?
(29:34):
The story is quote leaked that the Yankees offered Aaron
Judge eight years and three hundred million dollars better than
the offer they made to him earlier and in the season,
which he turned down. Why are we getting this? Why
have we not heard any leaked numbers for anybody else?
Why are we getting this from Aaron Judge? This is
sel The Yankees can't have it out there. Hey, we
(29:55):
offered them eight years and three hundred million. But by
anybody's estimation, any X, any team, that's not going to
be enough. Right, even the New York Posts that had
the story today, that would be the starting point. Yeah,
this is the last offer the Yankees are really gonna make.
Even though they said, oh, we could go higher depending
on what the offer is gonna be. This is their
last offer, and it's kind of a taking or lead
it offer. If he takes it, great, We have him
(30:17):
for money. We're okay spending and we keep Aaron Judge,
but we're not gonna get in a big time bidding
war for him. And we're more than okay with him
leaving because he's gonna make more money and get more
money than we want to spend for him. So watch
watch This be the last offer that the Yankees put
out there, and if he waffles, he's gonna talk to
the Giants about it and everything. Then you're gonna see
(30:39):
the Yankees back off, go after other players. You're gonna
see teams being a little bit more ruthless this offseason
and not saying, hey, all our eggs are in your
basket to give you a ton of money. The Yankees
put their offer out there because they wanted to get
it on record. We tried to bring him back. But
when it's not enough and suddenly the Giants off from
fifty sixty million dollars more, he's gonna wind up being
a giant. Well that's the curiosity. What does Aaron Judge want? Right?
(31:03):
Clearly noncommittal during the regular season. Hey, we got to
this point. We saw what the what happened at when
he when he had his hearing, and where the money
settled for this year. So he played on a huge
discount to what the open market uh dollars and cents
should have been. And now we're at this point of
all right, look at what your options. Maybe the Dodgers
(31:24):
we've talked about it the moving and bets and then
Bellinger leaves and this the Domino's work, and they always
have plenty of money that they can go at any point. Right,
So if it if it is truly a al right,
I want the most money, well then the Dodgers probably
went out, uh, and then you have the Giants, the hometown,
(31:45):
all of that that we've been talking about with Tom
Brady whatever else. You know, how much value does that have.
I would remind him, you know, from a baseball if
I'm advising him, uh, the money good, What what are
we playing for? We also playing for legacy and what
you are in his because going and playing in those
ballparks is not gonna be your friend in San Francisco,
in Los Angeles, down at Petco even Colorado was not
(32:09):
the home run of party that it once was, right,
so playing in in that division might mute some of
those power numbers. I'd also tell him to look at
his home at home and road splits throughout his career.
He bats thirty four points higher, the dodge will move
the the outfield fence in the might they might already
(32:31):
be doing that right now, might already be looking at dimensions.
But but the point is like there's these other factors
that that need to go and play as to what
you can continue to do with your career. Because you're
gonna make a pile of money. You gonna make a
mountain to day in New York and put up numbers
that gets you a legend status while you're making uh
the crazy as money off the field as well for
(32:53):
that Yankee brand. Even though I know every executive that
stepped forward going he's got to think about what that means.
I think legitimately he does. It doesn't need to come
from officials within. Talking to the media though, Twitter and
how about a fresca Mike. It's on the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon. Look, it's not like it's it's
it's definitely a nuanced thing because you can't just make
(33:15):
an offer and make it look like you want to
bring him back. So it gets embarrassing because people don't Okay,
they really don't want to bring this guy back. But
the Giants. Nobody's getting involved in an errand judge conversation
unless you know you're ready to spend fifty million dollars. Right,
there's no hey, would you take two years and fifty million?
Just really, I'm sorry, We sorry wasted their time. No
(33:36):
one's getting involved in that conversation, right, And it's it's
if you have that money, so you know the giants
are gonna offer more money than that, you know. But
we also get to the point of this is a
report and it's a feeler to see reactions. We do
this all the time. Right, this guy is up for
a coaching job, this guy is up and Mike get traded.
Let's let's see what how people react the whole Odell
(33:56):
Beckham Jr. Thing Hey, there might be a mystery team.
Who could it be? Which teams in desperate need of
a wide receiver coming up next? I mean, that's what
we do, and we're doing the same thing with the
contracts behind the scenes. He may have talked to seven
teams already. You have no idea. Well, the White Sox
are gonna claim they were in on it, though, I
can promise you that, Oh yeah, they'll be the mystery
you know what. Listen, hey, your White Sox are always
(34:18):
the great mystery team, and they'll throw it out there,
Bob Nightingale or somebody that they went aggressively, just like
they did for Jose and Dude, you are a great
mystery team. You are a great mystery team. I'll give
the White Sox we're really in it until the edge.
Sure they were twittering out about a Fresca Mike and
swallowed Doll the Jason Smith Show with my best friend
Mike car the Yankees. They want to go and this
(34:38):
is their stress coming up next? Does Aaron Rodgers listen
to our show every night? That's next to the tirect
dot com studios
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
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(00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Fox Sports Radio. Welcome
inside our to the Jason Smith Show with my best
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(00:46):
way tire buying should be. We got Rick Buker come
in your way. In about twenty minutes, all the biggest
news from the NBA, including Devin Booker. Fifty one points
night for the Suns through three quarters. Early in the
fourth the Sons have an eighteen point lead, so maybe
Booker is done for the night. But fifty one points
through three quarters for Devin Booker, maybe the Sons are
(01:10):
getting back to being the Sun. It looked like they
were the Sons. Then they struggled. Now then maybe back
to being the Sons again. Is up? It was down,
they became on their way back up. Devin Booker fifty
one tonight. Really nice of you to not punctuate, and
it's coming against the bulls. I I see, But buddy,
I I did that for you. I just left it up.
As he's got this monstrous game as if you we're
playing on a nerve hoop on the back of his
(01:33):
door in his dorm room. No, no, no, he's beating
up on professionals at home. And you look at a
one ten, nine two game entertaining twenty five from the field.
How the hell is a shooting guard defense? Tom Tibenneau
used to have him running around there and six or
(01:53):
seven from three point range. The fact that he's only
taken six free throws, run out and hit him. Get
him out of his comfort zone? What are we doing here?
So we'll have more on this game and more with
Rick Buker from the on the NBA coming up in
about twenty minutes. But when this story broke today, it
became a really big deal right away. Jeff Howe, who
(02:15):
was a longtime Patriots insider Covers a team for The
Athletic wrote this on Wednesday about what Tom Brady could
do for next year in the NFL. He says, quote,
don't ever write off the Patriots, as he and Bill
Belichick still have an abundance of respect for one another,
(02:35):
and that Brady could go back to New England for
next year and it would mean a domino effect of
things like Matt Jones being traded or maybe Matt Jones
sits behind Tom Brady. It would be certain negotiations would
have to be okay in advance, that Brady would be
okay going year to year, or the contract not wanting
all kinds of money upfront, not wanting a long deal.
(02:56):
So there would be some stuff they would have to
be figured out, but not what you would but not
what you would think about. All they got to get
over their egos and there clashing Brady back to New
England can happen. Now. Look, we've told you for a
long time, Brady is gonna continue to play. Right, he
got divorced. The whole big thing of him not playing
football anymore was being with his family. Now he's divorced,
and he's gonna be able to play. He wants to
(03:18):
play till he's fifty. You know, he doesn't want to
leave after this year. He's going to play somewhere next season,
guaranteed not gonna be in Tampa because Tampa is not
a team that's suddenly, hey, we're in one off season
away from revamping and reloading. No, this Tampa team has done.
Brady needs to go someplace else. New England has a
lot of money to spend. Other teams lot have money
to spend as well. Maybe at San Francisco. He's playing somewhere.
(03:41):
But let's have a real conversation about why Brady can
go back to New England. Because for all of the
reasons about why Brady could go back, people are gonna
focus on the field on the field, on the field.
And I'll tell you why I can see Brady going
back to New England, Mike, And it's much more human
and much more personal than that. What did Brady do
in the last couple of years, right he was in
(04:02):
New England? New England was his home right for how long?
Twenty years? He's the patron saint of Boston everything that
the guy. The Guy's a legend everywhere, but specifically in
Boston's where he it's where he came in after college,
it's where he lived, it's where he got married. He's
got kids, he's raising a family in Boston. What happens,
things get weird with New England and they want to
push him out, So he leaves for Tampa Bay, goes
(04:24):
to Tampa, relocates his family to Tampa and they're kind
of still all over the map and moving between Tampa
and Boston. And what happens. He plays a couple of
years and he winds up getting divorced. So now his
whole family life has been uprooted. And now he's divorced
and he's a single dad, and he's got to figure
out time with his kids. From a human standpoint. Now
(04:45):
we talk about him, you know, Oh he's a superstar,
but just like any divorced dad, he's got to figure
out his life. And what am I gonna do? Am
I gonna stay in Tampa where I really don't have
the roots that I had in Boston? I'm gonna stay here?
Am I gonna? Am I gonna go someplace? Heel some
I're really gonna go be okay? If I go back
to San Francisco. Am I gonna be three thousand miles
away from the rent? Am I gonna really do that?
(05:07):
This is why New England makes sense because it's Brady
going home to something familiar when his life is in
a period of upheaval. He's going through a divorce. What
do you do when when big things like this happened
in your life? People move home, Right, It's like a
Hallmark movie, Like a Hallmark Christmas movie. Somebody gets divorced,
they move home. They reconnect with the person they dated
(05:29):
in high school who is now the town doctor, and
she helps him plan a fall festival and they fall
in love. And that's how it goes, right. He really
got sucked into all those Christmas movies pretty fast. It's
what happens. Brady's the quarterback who has a life change.
He moves back home and he reconnects with his high
school sweetheart who is a veterinarian, and they have this
(05:50):
big thing where they save a lot of dogs. They
plan a Christmas festival, and that's how that's how the
movie ends. Les They never go home and find someone
just living in their parents basement. Oh no, no, no,
no no, never happens become a you know, just kind
of wandering hippie or something. Now there's always the doctor,
the vet d you know, Mogul. What are you been
(06:10):
up to, Matt? Nothing, man, Just still living in my
parents basement, Still working in the movie theater. Yeah, I
get free tickets. I get to go movies all the time. Man,
it's great, all right. So yeah, yeah, I get thirty
hours a week and I got fifteen years in there. Now. Man,
it's all you want to come to the movie sometime,
It's gonna be great. I mean that, that's that's what happens.
And you know, maybe because it's it's the holidays now,
and I think about the Hallmark movies and Brady movie.
Forgot about a d for Brady. You could be the
(06:31):
hall the Hallmark movie for Brady. But still, going back
home is going to be a grounding thing and a
settling thing. Okay. Now I'm back in Boston, close enough
to New York wherever we wind up settling. It's easy
to get back to your old life, where your kids
were where, who they were friends with, and back with
the old family. It's an easy thing to do. And
going through a divorce is a real traumatic time for anybody,
(06:53):
much less a guy that had to live it through
the New York Post for the past five months. Right,
this is what's going Giselle and him are upset. Gills
always had a bit of a temper, and this is
not the first time it's happened, and they really had
a big blow up and all these things. I thought, Oh, man,
you gotta see this all the way through in the
newspaper every single day and online every single day. The
grounding going back to what's familiar is a huge pole.
(07:17):
For that reason alone, I can see Tom Brady going
back to New England just for that. Okay, here's where
I was successful. I'm comfortable here. I can hit the
ground running and we can win, right, I have one
here before The Patriots are going to spend more money,
have like a hundred million dollars of salary cap money
to spend next year, so they can they can start
spending again. Hopefully Guy spend it better than he did
two years ago and Brady left. But you know, the
(07:38):
possibility of winning is there. So it's not like Brady's
gonna show up and play for a couple of years.
Team is gonna stink. No, he wants to win, but
that that pole going back to New England. Yeah, I
can easily see that happening specifically for that because when
you have a big life change like that with a divorce,
especially as high profile as it is there, and you're
trying to figure out coast to coast and everything else,
and you gotta see pictures online of is this year
(08:00):
wife's new boyfriend? Like a month after you guys are divorced?
Is that? Uh? Yeah, going back to something familiar is
a really popular thing. It's a big pull to go do. Yeah,
I think when we look at the larger picture, right,
he did his Let's Go podcast the other day and
was kind of talking about it from the week to
week finish the season and about his noncommittaled to things
(08:22):
football team. So it's kind of an interesting piece because
I think part of it is in the background. You
know what's next. We've watched what Tampa is and look
how old you've become applies to him to a degree, right,
because he's missing some throws and the timing isn't there.
That would normally be part of that being the shoddy
work of the offensive line up until the last couple
(08:45):
of weeks. The ineffectiveness of the run game, guys in
and out of the receiving corps, et cetera. But when
we look at the season as a holder, still potential
to to do some damage in the NFC. All wishing,
wanting and hoping, but going forward, right, how real was
the flirtation and the stuff going ammy versus Hey, it's
two guys hanging out on a yacht. Yeah, I know
(09:06):
that's founds sounds funny to hear, and it was funny
to say it. That's why I did. Two guys hanging
out on a yacht. Uh, talking about their futures. But
if he goes back to New England, you talk about familiarity,
You talk about Bill Belichick and a guy that they
had that professional relationship. Yeah, you're gonna butt heads time
to time, but if it works, it works. And that's
in any type of business than any type of relationship.
(09:28):
It's not always gonna go swimming lee, but you know,
oftentimes you want or the other has to just shrug
and go all right, there's other stuff to worry about
and you move forward. Now. Some will just say all right,
this is the end of it, and we can get
into his personal life as it's been transcribed us through
the newspapers and tabloids, as much as you want to
believe all the details there or how much he's worried
(09:50):
in the photo section of page six about what Giselle
is doing right now? Is that guy a trainer? Is
it a friend? Because you know, men and women can
and be friends, folks, But the go on down to
like shocking. I know, but you still have to live that.
You still have to live with everybody thinking, hey, dude,
and you have to live with your teammates. Well, look
(10:10):
at you going, dude, man, she's with the trainer, with
the guy that was teaching her jiu jitsu? Dude, what's
going on? I mean, you still have to live with that,
you know, sure or not? It's here's these pictures that
are out there, that's okay. How are they explained? Are they?
And sometimes people don't care about here in the explanation.
They just want to look at the salaciosist of the story.
And you have to live with that. Jason, I like
how you called it jiu jitsu? Was that what it was?
(10:31):
What what did he teacher? Was it jiu jitsu? Was
what was he teaching her? Sure? You sure? You can
go with no, but that but that well, okay, that
was legally or that was the story that what he
was teaching. Okay, very yeah. Anyway, the the idea being
that you want that familiarity from a football perspective, and
(10:53):
with a hundred million to spend, your damn right, he's
gonna have more input on how it's spent. Because in Tampa,
did we really get the send that he got to
direct traffic that way? Maybe a little bit, but not
to the level that perhaps he was comfortable with. And
certainly Super Bowls isn't Uh, he's if he's not gonna
trust him in the final minutes to be able to
(11:14):
make a throw down the field, call a time out, etcetera. Again,
it goes back to the Tom Brady should have called
the time out and then if Bowls wanted to fight
about it, uh, then they could have had it out
on the sideline. Going back to my Aaron Rodgers Matt
Lafleur thing of well, the game against the Buccaneers a
couple of years ago. But for for Brady now, it's
what what's the next phase that's gonna make him happy?
(11:35):
If he's gonna play another year or two and going
back where the terminology, the working relationships and everything are
clean and well established. Who knows if things go really badly,
Josh McDaniels might be back again too. Oh shoot, you
can see everybody, the band could get back together, right,
So what I did there, I got him fired? That
very nice, very nice. But now but look that the
(11:56):
band gets back together. I mean that, that's really what
it is. I mean, you can you can see every
time you you think, this is why you say never
say never. Oh he's never gonna go back to England. Okay, yeah,
in theory you can see that. But you don't know
what life holds for you. I don't. I don't think
Brady thought, Hey, when I'm gonna move to Tampa, we're
gonna get divorced. I'm gonna get divorced. I'm gonna have
to worry about living my life in different places again.
Now I gotta I gotta do things differently. Now, I
(12:17):
got I got other things, I got kids I gotta
worry about. So yeah, maybe going back suddenly, that's not that.
You can't just say no to it right away. And
the more and you think about it, the more it
becomes a poll. And if they want him back. Hey,
bry I could see Brady going back strictly personal all
about that the football thing. You can find football anywhere.
(12:37):
You can find good football in San Francisco, But can
you find the combination of football and home life, which
he really wants a balance of Can you find that
anywhere but New England. That's why I like the Patriots.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific, Fox Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with
My best friend Mike Harmon from the tire rack dot
(13:01):
Com Studios. It's a big night in the NBA. Devin Booker.
Fifty one points through three quarters. Not been needed in
the fourth quarter for the Suns. The Knicks come close,
can't make free throws? Day fall to the Bucks. Are
things getting better for the Lakers? Will things ever get
better for the Warriors? Joining us now on the hotline,
nobody better to break it down? Fox Sports One. NBA
(13:24):
Insider Extraordinaire can check out his On the Ball podcast
as well. He's on Twitter at Rick Buker. It is
the aforementioned Rick Buker. What's happening, buddy? How are you? Man?
What is happening? Happy holiday? You gentlemen? Is that was
is that? Is that a shot at me tonight because
Drew Holiday had a big night against the Knicks? Is that?
Are you doing this already already to me? Happy holiday?
(13:46):
You met to me? Well? Who else would do it
to you? Damn right? I mean I have. It's been
a couple of weeks I think, since we have met
here at our appointed hour, and and I faigured, you know,
it was about time somebody needed to come around, and
Drew helped me out. He set me up, so here
(14:07):
we are. He did you could have mentioned Grayson Allen. No, honestly,
I can't even believes that question. Really really, I mean,
you laid it up and he dunked it, and then Rick,
Rick was hanging on the rim. He got his technical
and then he still smiled and waved at the reft.
It's all good, exactly, slapped the backboard and here we go,
(14:30):
let's go. You would be I think, Rick, I think
you are that guy who would hang on the rim,
get the tea and let go and go. What what
I wasn't hanging on the rim? I think you would
do that there was a guy under me. What do
you mean? I would do that? In various forms throughout
my life I have done that, may not have had,
(14:50):
may not have involved the backboard in the rim, but
I trust you I've done the wrong thing and then
steered somebody down and said what what He's now added
a a small nerve backboard on the set of all
TV shows he will do from now on and after
he makes a point, Rick dunks it stairs. All right,
So let's start here before we get into individual teams,
(15:13):
because I know you're you've been hot on this is
the Western Conference really good and deep? Or is it
just not very good? It's kind of hard to tell
right now. Yeah, yeah, no, it's it's it's muddled, for sure.
And I don't it's a great question because I've been
talking to a lot of g ms and scouts and
people around the league with December fifteenth coming up and
(15:33):
the possibility of you know, we're a quarter of the
way into the season, and so this is a time
where teams sort of have a sense of who they
are and are they are? Are they who they thought
they hoped they would be? And if not, do we
need to make a move, and I think one of
the reasons why you're not hearing a whole lot in
terms of teams making moves because if you look at
(15:56):
the Western Conference, it is so muddled. Nobody feels like
they're breaking away from the pack or meaning of the
Lakers for where they are, they're what five games out
of first place, so they can live by I think
it would be an illusion. But but but the idea
that hey, we're really not that far out of it,
and so, but I don't think. I think the class
(16:16):
of the league right now, without questions, is in the
Eastern Conference. The Phoenix Suns have been very good, uh
clearly the best team in the West, but we still
have questions in terms of what they're going to be
without Chris Paul. And I know they've done a lot
of this without Chris Paul, But I mean, as far
as the playoff team, the teams that I think are
for real and are demonstrating that they are for real
(16:39):
are in the Eastern Conference with the Milwaukee Bucks in
the Boston Celtics. Right now, I think the West is
is wide open, but it's wide open because um, every
team has a flaw of some kind and it's just
a matter of whether it's going to show up or
when it's going to show up. Well to that in
that vein, let's stay in the way Western Conference with
(17:00):
the Warriors, like so many teams sitting around five hundred
now just behind the once hot and sizzling Utah jazz
as right, look at the standings, but are they fixable
without having to make a larger move with those young guys.
They're not giving them the minutes you would expect, so
many weary miles on those older legs. Yeah no, and
(17:23):
and I just don't know where they're going to get
the bench if they don't develop those young guys. If
Cominga uh Wiseman's now with the G League, the cominga
moody like you can't. Somebody said to me at the
beginning of the year that for the Warriors to have
a chance to repeat, they needed one of those guys
to have like a Jordan Pool breakout year in terms
(17:45):
of what Pool became last year, and we certainly have
not seen that. I would say that Cominga is showing
flashes of being able to do that. But the bigger
issue for me is that they are just defensively, they're
nowhere close to what they used to be. I think
(18:07):
we always think of them as being this offensive juggernaut,
but they were number one in the league in defensive
rating last year and that's been a hallmark of all
of their championship teams. And right now, I think the
last night checked, they were twenty two, and that was
an improvement over four or five games ago. And it's
not just the young guys, it's the fact that Clay
(18:31):
Thompson is. I mean, he made his name being one
of the best two way players UH at wing players
in the league and being the guy who took the
tough defensive assignments so that so that Steph didn't have
to well Clay, Clay is a shadow of what he
once was defensively, I mean, teams go at him at
(18:53):
will and score, and then you don't have Andrea I
Guadala in there anymore. He was another defense to stop
her and Draymond Green can still get it done, and
he can get it done in spurts and so. And
then Jordan Pool is not a defender at all, does
not even attempt to be a defender. So you're looking
at a team that used to have, like all of
(19:13):
the stout wing defenders. Now they're at a deficit, and
I don't know, like cominga can be a very good
defensive player, um moody, Okay. I just don't know how
you replace what they've lost in Clay Thompson not being
the same and andre Iguadala not being available at all.
(19:37):
I think we lost Jason he is is dipped away.
H James Smith Show with Mike Armen Here, Fox Sports Radio,
Rick Buker on the Hotline with Us here, follow him
on Twitter as you do at Rick Bucker joined us,
I'm here. Tom Thibodeau just texted me saying he wanted
you wanted Rick Buker to call him after after his
hit with us that I had to return that text
real fast. That's what happened. Is he gonna he is
(19:58):
he gonna make a deal for Clay Thompson or get
somebody to cover Grayson Allen? Yeah? Too soon? Hit him,
hit him where it hurts, hey, So Rick, you know,
I know it's it's it's very difficult to say this
because everything we've seen for the past eight bunths says no.
(20:19):
But are the Lakers getting a little bit better? Are
they getting I mean with A B. And how good
is he's been It's been awesome. Are are they getting better?
Is this just they've won a couple of games. How
do you see them right now? No, I think what
you said is exactly right. They've gotten a little bit better.
There are there are winning game. They're beating teams that
(20:40):
they should beat. Now, an Antonio, Uh have to look
at who else they played recently. I mean, they should
beat Indiana and they did. They did not that hurts um.
So they are you know, Rust coming off the bench
and doing what he's doing, a D being available, well,
Lebron being available. Like they're playing a little bit better.
(21:04):
Is it enough for them? Because we immediately go from
they're playing a little bit better, or they could be
in the playoff picture, Lakers fans immediately go to, oh,
we just were one move away from being title contenders. Again,
they're not that and and and they sort of have
the opposite issue that the Warriors have, which is the
(21:25):
Lakers simply are so poor defending the three and shooting
the three. And there's no getting around that, Like that's
such a big element of the game now and they
don't have the requisite pieces or talent on that team
to change that, and so can they be a little
bit better? Yes, But are are they going to like
(21:49):
move up into the top four or five teams in
the West? As muddled as it is, every team that
I look at, I can say, well, there's reasons to
believe they're going to get better. Either they're young and
they or they have new pieces, or there's some element
where you say they're yeah, they're kind of muddling. They're
(22:11):
Clippers for example. The Clippers are just kind of muddling along.
They're not healthy, and shows the depth that they have
that they're still still have a winning record. Um, Like,
what what do I look at to say the Lakers
can take yet another step from what they've already done
(22:33):
from the beginning of the year that I'm just just
being realistic here, Like what I think A D and
Lebron are are playing very efficient, effective basketball. Are you
going to ask them at this point that they have
to go to get another level? And is that going
to make a difference? I just don't see how Rick
(22:55):
earlier you alluded to the Celtics as one of the
teams standing above everybody in the Eastern Conference started the
season four and three, uh and have since lost once.
As you flow through this, uh, do they have enough
depth on this squad because I look at most nights
it's the starting five dominant, dominating, and maybe one guy
(23:16):
off the bench like tonight. Yeah, yeah, no, it's a
fair question. I think getting Robert Williams back is a
big piece there. Their lack of sties once we get
two matchups in the postseason, um is potentially an issue
if Robert is not healthy and available, But uh, you know, overall,
(23:40):
I just you know, Peyton Pittcher doesn't get consistent minutes,
but when he does, he's able to contribute. They have
a number of guys who had the opportunity to show
what they could do in the postseason last year. So
we may not be seeing it right now, but I
think there's enough depth there for them to come through.
And the biggest thing is just you can't tell me
(24:02):
that Jayson Tatum, looking at the way he's playing now
versus the way he played in the finals against the Warriors,
was not dealing. I don't remember it was a shoulder
injury or what it was, but he clearly was not
because he played with nothing close to the aggression that
he's playing with now, particularly when it comes to attacking
the rim and defensively. UM, I feel like he's taken
(24:26):
another step forward, and Marcus smart teams to have I
don't know, you know, I don't know whether he's taking
what's there. There's the calm app, like the meditation app.
I think Marcus may have subscribed to that because um,
his efficiency has has gone another level. I just there's
(24:47):
two ways the teams can go when they lose in
the finals. They can either feel like we got to
the top of the mountain and we didn't finish the deal,
and that exhaustion can just take them under they and
think we've we missed our best chance. Or it can
light a fire under them. They can say we we
missed an opportunity and we're going to get back there,
(25:09):
like the Spurs did against the Miami Heat. Um, we're
motivated by missing out. And I feel like that's what's
happened with the Boston Celtics. And I gotta give a
lot of credit to Gobazola in picking up um where
his predecessor left off, and that he had he didn't
(25:30):
allow that the clouds surrounding the team as a result
of Emaodoka, like he hasn't changed anything, but in some
ways it's it's it's good he's he's like he's just
steadied the ship and kept them going with with what
they had and allowed the players to shine. And so
I'm I'm really excited and loving everything that I'm seeing
(25:55):
from from the Boston Celtics. I think they're for real. Rick. Lastly,
is Tatum the m v P right now? Is it Luca?
Is it Future? Nick Shy, Gilts Alexander, Like, who's the
m v P right now? Anthony David? Well, it can't be.
It can't be Luca just because of the record, Like
the numbers are good. But I'm watching him. I mean,
(26:18):
I gotta give it to Janice before I would give
it to Luca. I just saw those two go head
to head and um, you know what I love about
Tatum is he does it at both ends of the floor.
Joannice does it at both ends of the floor. If
you want to give it to Tatum right now or
make him the you know, put him in the pole position,
I have absolutely no problem with that. I would say
(26:39):
for me between uh, it's between Janice and Tatum and
whoever else you want to fill out. Um, feel free.
Some people want to put Devin Booker in there. I
would not, but um, but for me, yeah, it's it's
Tatum and Yannice at the top. How about this one
for my own personal giggles. Last two games points, twenty
(27:00):
three rebounds. Unfortunately on one thirteen, one oh seven lost
to Brooklyn tonight. How much do the Knicks miss Chris Stops?
Porzingis right now? Jerk? You know kristaps every he does this,
it's it's um, he's somewhere. He's a cross between a
unicorn and a Hailey's comment, Like he's a unicorn, like
(27:24):
on in Leap Years or something. Every once in a
while he'll give you one of those performances, go oh yeah, man,
that guy could be really good. But the problem is
is it's just not consistently there. So once you know,
there aren't a whole lot of things, as we all know,
there aren't a whole lot of things that the Knicks
have done right, but moving off of Kris Stops was
(27:46):
certainly one of them. He is our own Haley's comment unicorn.
It's Rick Buker. He's on Twitter at Rick Buker. Check
out his on the Ball podcast as well. Uh latest episode.
Can James Wiseman be what the Warriors need him to be?
In time? That's at Fox sports dot com. Rick is
always buddy, appreciate your time. My friend will talk to
you next week. Be sure to catch live editions of
(28:09):
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten
pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app Fox Sports Radio. The Jason
Smith Show with My best friend Mike Harmon and he
first responder will tell you never try to beat a
train after breaking. It can take a mile for a
train to completely stop. So when you come to a
(28:29):
rail crossing stop because trains can't. If you remember a
couple of months ago, we told you exactly how things
are gonna play out for the Yankees and Aaron Judge
right in the midst of his big season sixty two
home runs winning the m v P BECAU. Remember I
told him before the season he was gonna win a
l m v P and he did. Uh, the Yankees
are preparing for life without him, right. Randy Levine, team president, said,
(28:52):
it's gonna be up to Aaron if he wants to stay,
and that's how we're gonna pursue things after the season
is over. What did I tell you was gonna happen
at the end of the season. The Yankees are gonna
come out with an offer that was a good one,
but not nearly what the final offer is gonna wind
up being. They were gonna watch Aaron Judge waffle at
(29:12):
it because he could get more money, and the Yankees
would move on and they would say, we made a
big offer. He doesn't want it. He wants more money
from other teams. So we're gonna move on. But we
want to make it look like we made a big
offer for him, because he is the m v P,
he's been a Yankee. It would look really bad. We
don't want to have to tell people, Hey, we didn't
even make an offer for Aaron Judge. So what happens today?
(29:34):
The story is quote leaked that the Yankees offered Aaron
Judge eight years and three hundred million dollars better than
the offer they made to him earlier and in the season,
which he turned down. Why are we getting this? Why
have we not heard any leaked numbers for anybody else?
Why are we getting this from Aaron Judge? This is
sel The Yankees can't have it out there. Hey, we
(29:55):
offered them eight years and three hundred million. But by
anybody's estimation, any X, any team, that's not going to
be enough. Right, even the New York Posts that had
the story today, that would be the starting point. Yeah,
this is the last offer the Yankees are really gonna make.
Even though they said, oh, we could go higher depending
on what the offer is gonna be. This is their
last offer, and it's kind of a taking or lead
it offer. If he takes it, great, We have him
(30:17):
for money. We're okay spending and we keep Aaron Judge,
but we're not gonna get in a big time bidding
war for him. And we're more than okay with him
leaving because he's gonna make more money and get more
money than we want to spend for him. So watch
watch This be the last offer that the Yankees put
out there, and if he waffles, he's gonna talk to
the Giants about it and everything. Then you're gonna see
(30:39):
the Yankees back off, go after other players. You're gonna
see teams being a little bit more ruthless this offseason
and not saying, hey, all our eggs are in your
basket to give you a ton of money. The Yankees
put their offer out there because they wanted to get
it on record. We tried to bring him back. But
when it's not enough and suddenly the Giants off from
fifty sixty million dollars more, he's gonna wind up being
a giant. Well that's the curiosity. What does Aaron Judge want? Right?
(31:03):
Clearly noncommittal during the regular season. Hey, we got to
this point. We saw what the what happened at when
he when he had his hearing, and where the money
settled for this year. So he played on a huge
discount to what the open market uh dollars and cents
should have been. And now we're at this point of
all right, look at what your options. Maybe the Dodgers
(31:24):
we've talked about it the moving and bets and then
Bellinger leaves and this the Domino's work, and they always
have plenty of money that they can go at any point. Right,
So if it if it is truly a al right,
I want the most money, well then the Dodgers probably
went out, uh, and then you have the Giants, the hometown,
(31:45):
all of that that we've been talking about with Tom
Brady whatever else. You know, how much value does that have.
I would remind him, you know, from a baseball if
I'm advising him, uh, the money good, What what are
we playing for? We also playing for legacy and what
you are in his because going and playing in those
ballparks is not gonna be your friend in San Francisco,
in Los Angeles, down at Petco even Colorado was not
(32:09):
the home run of party that it once was, right,
so playing in in that division might mute some of
those power numbers. I'd also tell him to look at
his home at home and road splits throughout his career.
He bats thirty four points higher, the dodge will move
the the outfield fence in the might they might already
(32:31):
be doing that right now, might already be looking at dimensions.
But but the point is like there's these other factors
that that need to go and play as to what
you can continue to do with your career. Because you're
gonna make a pile of money. You gonna make a
mountain to day in New York and put up numbers
that gets you a legend status while you're making uh
the crazy as money off the field as well for
(32:53):
that Yankee brand. Even though I know every executive that
stepped forward going he's got to think about what that means.
I think legitimately he does. It doesn't need to come
from officials within. Talking to the media though, Twitter and
how about a fresca Mike. It's on the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon. Look, it's not like it's it's
it's definitely a nuanced thing because you can't just make
(33:15):
an offer and make it look like you want to
bring him back. So it gets embarrassing because people don't Okay,
they really don't want to bring this guy back. But
the Giants. Nobody's getting involved in an errand judge conversation
unless you know you're ready to spend fifty million dollars. Right,
there's no hey, would you take two years and fifty million?
Just really, I'm sorry, We sorry wasted their time. No
(33:36):
one's getting involved in that conversation, right, And it's it's
if you have that money, so you know the giants
are gonna offer more money than that, you know. But
we also get to the point of this is a
report and it's a feeler to see reactions. We do
this all the time. Right, this guy is up for
a coaching job, this guy is up and Mike get traded.
Let's let's see what how people react the whole Odell
(33:56):
Beckham Jr. Thing Hey, there might be a mystery team.
Who could it be? Which teams in desperate need of
a wide receiver coming up next? I mean, that's what
we do, and we're doing the same thing with the
contracts behind the scenes. He may have talked to seven
teams already. You have no idea. Well, the White Sox
are gonna claim they were in on it, though, I
can promise you that, Oh yeah, they'll be the mystery
you know what. Listen, hey, your White Sox are always
(34:18):
the great mystery team, and they'll throw it out there,
Bob Nightingale or somebody that they went aggressively, just like
they did for Jose and Dude, you are a great
mystery team. You are a great mystery team. I'll give
the White Sox we're really in it until the edge.
Sure they were twittering out about a Fresca Mike and
swallowed Doll the Jason Smith Show with my best friend
Mike car the Yankees. They want to go and this
(34:38):
is their stress coming up next? Does Aaron Rodgers listen
to our show every night? That's next to the tirect
dot com studios
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Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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