Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
Give you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Hello, Welcome in Side hour two The Jason Smith Show
with my best friend Mike Harmon, Live from the ti
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(00:50):
think the Lakers are ready for the beginning of the
Luca doncaic Era on the bench for the Lakers tonight
got a big ovation when he walked into the arena,
even though it is a Clippers craft. You know, he's very,
very handsomely dressed in a big black Lakers warm up soup,
sitting on the bench and hanging out watching the Lakers
absolutely paced the Clippers in the first half. Twenty seconds
(01:13):
before halftime, and the Lakers have a seventy three to
fifty lead over the Clippers. They shot seventy five percent
from the floor in the first quarter. They scored forty
five points. Lebron already with twenty one, five assists and
three boards. They've been getting it from everywhere. Connect has seven,
Gabe Vincent's got six, Austin Reeves has ten. Uh, look,
(01:37):
Hatchamura's got fifteen. Let's wait for Bronni. That just dropped twenty.
This could be and you know, honestly, this might be
the last night we see Bronni for a while, because
you know, Luca's gonna get a pretty decent amount of minutes.
I don't know how many minutes there's gonna be for
Bronni there. If it's over, this might be the Well,
let's get him in there. Come on, it's twenty three
point halftime lead. Let's get him some quality minutes here
(01:57):
to mock the Clippers on their home court. Lucas smiling
and clapping on the bench. Yeah, they may. He may
start the beginning of the second half with Brick.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
I would I put him out there, And I'm pretty
sure I saw Moncey and Brianna crying on the wall.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Yeah yeah so uh Monty Blagos who was at the
game tonight with Brianna, one of our editors, they're their
new best friends. They were crying on National TV. Yeah.
I think they're on the wall. I think they're watching
the game from the wall and this has not gone
the way they expected. Monty being a huge Clippers fan,
is it has not gone their way?
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Not exactly what they had in mind.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
No, not at all.
Speaker 5 (02:32):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Now, look, while this game is that have to you
think the Lakers are ready for the Luca Era. I
mean they came out tonight with there was blood in
their eye.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
They just how about a half now mocked the other
side though, Smith.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
But they Clippers have fifty. If you have fifty points
at halftime of a game, oh we had a not
not bad first half. No, you're down twenty three. Oh okay,
you're shooting.
Speaker 6 (02:50):
Forty percent from the field, Yeah, forty against a team
that doesn't have a center.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Yeah yeah, yeah, and you're down by twenty three.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Cowhi's got fight.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:59):
He and James Harden nine points between them, got Mike,
tell you what? Now, there's that just him sitting there,
steely gaze from Luka Dacics is enough to get it done.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
You know, the vibe I get and this is great
news for the Lakers because I was trying to think
of you know, we went back and compared this trade
the last couple of days all you know, the biggest
trades made in sports, and where it is for the Lakers,
who pretty much every ten to fifteen years make a
trade that you know, helps push the franchise one way
or another. And I remember when Shaq signed with the
(03:32):
Lakers in nineteen ninety six, and it was like, okay,
that's a little bit different the way it was. It
happened under the cover of night, and it was always
assumed that Shack was going to be a Laker anyway.
But the vibe I get from this is the same
vibe I got when the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol
and they made that run, going to three finals and
(03:52):
winning two of them and Kobe winning the last two
titles of his career. Because at that time, you could tell, boy,
the Lakers were good, but they just kind of needed something.
They were still looking for an identity. Following the Shack trade,
Shack had already won a championship with the Heat, so
he's like, I won my war with Kobe because I
won before he did, and the Lakers were trying to
figure their way out of things. Remember Kobe had the
(04:13):
big free agent situation where he's setting I nearly signed
with the Clippers because he didn't know about the direction
the Lakers were taking. He was a little upset that
doctor Jerry Buss wasn't making moves. He felt to supply
him with the supporting cast. And then you know, entered
Jerry West and then the Memphis Grizzlies, who say, hey,
you need a big that's a little active that can
(04:35):
do things on both ends of the floor. I mean,
pow Gasol was a better fit for the Lakers because
now obviously Luke and Lebron have to share the ball,
not that you can't because it's a different eraor in
the NBA now where where a positionless NBA has become
more of a thing. But you could just tell. I
could tell they got Paw Gasol, and I remember saying
they are gonna take off. They're gonna take off right
away after getting I think they won nine of their
(04:55):
first ten and all of a sudden, the Lakers were
unbeatable and pow Gasol was He's exactly what they needed.
And then here they are, three Finals, they lose to
the Celtics. They beat the Magic, they beat the Celtics.
That was the run they had. It's the same kind
of vibe I'm getting right now from the Lakers, where hey,
we can talk about Luca's conditioning and staying in shape.
(05:18):
That's a long angle view thing, right, that's a long
angle view. And as we talked about last night, now
the Lakers will be able to hold him more beholden
to it than the Mavericks will, because the Mavericks were
the team that drafted him. They cowtowed to him. He
could do whatever he wanted to. But now the wake
up call with the trade suddenly, that might take care
of itself, especially looking at a player like Lebron who
keeps himself an incredible health and is playing better at
(05:40):
forty than anybody in the history of sports. So that's
a long term concern. Like when we say there's a
reason why the Mavericks traded him is because hey, you know,
we had to commit to him for three hundred and
fifty million dollars at the end of this year, and
we didn't know we wanted to do that. But for
right now, I expect Luca to show up and the
Lakers just take off. Sometimes the energy of a trade
(06:00):
is all you need, and they will find a way.
Who are you gonna stop? Who are you gonna guard?
If you, I mean you're you're gonna try to lock
down on Luca, and Lebron's gonna kill you. You try
to worry about Lebron and Luca. Guess what you got
some shooters that can hit some shots? Man right Hotcha
more can hit shots and hit threes. Austin Reeves is
deadly like the Lakers can suddenly be a team that
(06:21):
suddenly goes in there. They're scoring one hundred and thirty
points a night, Like that's what could happen to this
team right away. It's the same vibe I got when
they got Pau Gasol, And it's the same vibe I
feel right now that I'm not gonna be surprised they
just start blowing the doors off the teams right away
when Lucas starts playing.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Did Frostburg pay you extra for that?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
I'm telling you, man, I'm telling you, I look are
you just coming around now.
Speaker 7 (06:43):
Are you are you?
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Are you?
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Are?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
We auditioning for La Radio.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Scar's legit concerns about Luca long term obviously we've talked
about them, but right now coming off and look again,
magically he's gonna be healthy to play on Friday. I
can play Friday night. So you know, bad stuff was
going on with him in the Mavericks and they had
to trade him and he wanted to move on. Okay,
no matter what they say, you know that was at
the at the at the crux of it. Don't let
don't let just having a knee jerk reaction, no know
(07:11):
what they're doing, be your your overwhelming response to this.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
No, it's still it still can be part of the trade.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
But overall, I mean, hey, Luca's ready to come out
and play and and and I don't know, man, I
don't know how you're gonna stop them, and and Lebron's
gonna wind up being okay with it potentially being Luca's team,
because I you know, it's there is the question out
there of all, how's Lebron gonna because he's really gonna
be the one A Now, Luca's gonna take over. As
much as you could say, hey, Lebron wanted to be
(07:40):
a D's team. Eventually, he knew it was never gonna
be AD's team. He knew, he knew he wasn't the leader.
He knew he wasn't a guy who's gonna be out
there all the time, is gonna that people were gonna
rally behind. He knew that. He was comfortable saying I
wanted to be a D's team because he knew it
was still gonna be his team. Now with Luca, that's
clearly not the case. Luca is twenty five years old,
and he is in his and he is in his prime,
(08:00):
and Lebron has probably three years left at least you think,
with doing what he's doing at forty. But Lebron's gonna
be okay with Luca getting all the spotlight because he's
not gonna care about the regular season. It's not gonna
care about the first round of the playoffs. I care
about the second round of the playoffs. When it gets
to the finals, it will once again be Lebron's team,
(08:23):
and that's what he's gonna focus on because he's about finals.
He's about when if I can't get to the finals,
the year is a loss for me and I don't care.
I'd rather hang out at home than play a year
and not get to the finals. Lebron is measured by
the finals he gets to. In the finals, he wins.
He's okay with Luca getting all the attention and all
the credit for now and coming in. Everything's great. He's
(08:44):
gonna say wonderful things about Luca. He has wanted to
play with Luca for a long time. And you see
how excited he is now. You know he's not upset
with ad getting traded. Look at what he's out doing
the last couple of nights against the Knicks. Now he's
out here tonight. But when it gets to the finals,
then it's gonna be Lebron. And then it's going to
be Lebron triple doubles and forty years old in the finals.
Look at what he's doing. Maybe another finals MVP for Lebron,
(09:06):
James as he is okay with Luca taking all of
that as long as when the finals come, it's Lebron time.
But that's why this is going to work.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
Wow, you've now catapulted them all the way to the
finals and to a finals MVP.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Well, that's when Lebron is going to care that. Okay,
now it's my team. I don't care if you say
it's his team. But in the finals, it's my team,
and I'm going to show you because I'm going to
save all my best for the NBA Finals. That's the man.
That's how Lebron goes well.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
I mean, look at look at the games he's playing, right.
You mentioned the Knicks. You mentioned this game against the Clippers.
Who are the two teams two places, two teams that
he wants to show out for. Hell, a lot of
folks in the last forty eight hours have started to
photoshop Lebron James into a Clippers uniform based on Luca
coming to town and what the next domino to fall
(09:53):
would be.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
You know, all of it to.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
Say there's still flaws with the squad and curious to
see what happens. You know, the center thing is part
of it. The well defense thing is the other.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (10:06):
But if teams are gonna be dumb enough to keep
more relying on jump shooting, uh to play and then
you're they're playing right into the Lakers hands.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Wait, you want you crash down, Loan, go and go.
Speaker 5 (10:18):
And work work the low nascrew that let's let's be
jump shooters against a team that can't defend uh and
is slow to move their feet. But but look, it'll
be thrilling.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
That's why robs Plink is getting that rim protector that
A D said they so sorely needed, especially after they
trade a D away. Hey a D blank you, I'm
still gonna get that center you want? How about that
good luck in Dallas?
Speaker 4 (10:42):
Yeah, I don't know who that guy is, but that
I can't wait to see.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
It's your center on the bulls. What's his name? Pick
one guy that's last name starts with and then Bill
cart Right, Bill Wennington. You'll get Bill cart Right and
Bill Wennington.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
You know what I'd like to really we're going down
to that.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
I don't know. I would like brop a link and
to say, all right, I'm gonna go get the exact
guys that won the title for us in twenty twenty.
Then I'm gonna go get Javail McGee and Dwight.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
I think that would be fantastic. Like, there's the best move.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
What do you want?
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Vucevic?
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Yeah, you're trying to get to I'm like, who the
hell are you talking about? Nilaud Yeah, Vusovich Yeah, I
mean he's played well in Spurts. He'd be fun. Both
stinks and they've got a really bad front office. They'll
be happy to just give him away, So get after it.
What is he at twenty and ten? Yeah, he can
(11:35):
fill up a stat sheet for you. So yeah, six ten,
six eleven. He fits the bill and he's a willing center.
I'm like, uh, well, Ad wasn't, which is why I
do like if you go bring back Javail McGee, Hey,
you guys ready to run? Can you give me fifteen
minutes a night? That's all I need to.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Prove my points. That would be fun.
Speaker 5 (11:57):
Meanwhile, let me see if I could get this jacket
off because it's kind of painted on me. It's getting
hot here under the lights. But no, look, I love
your enthusiasm.
Speaker 7 (12:06):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
The Tankathon's got him as the seventh hardest schedule remaining,
and and certainly I would fully anticipate Luka Doncic has
a lot to prove and and a lot of folks
he'd love to h shove the fat jokes back on them,
no question about it. But let's let's see what the
rest of the roster. Because you start to elevate the
rest of the roster a lot higher than I think.
(12:31):
I mean, And I like some of these guys, Don't
get me wrong. I don't think there is bereft of
talent as they've made out to be. But look, man,
they're not showtime.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Just yeah. NBA is a star league, Man, you win
with stars, and and and Luca is the biggest one.
You're gonna get me think he's a top three player?
Telling you what? Watch them all hit shots? And what
are we gonna do?
Speaker 8 (12:50):
What?
Speaker 1 (12:51):
What are we gonna do? How many points are we
gonna score? Man?
Speaker 4 (12:55):
You got Lebron staying healthy.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Oh, now look at you. He's not out there. No,
he's not gonna look at you putting it out there.
Now he's gonna get hurt. Watch it's your fault. It's
gonna be your fault.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
I'm a reality man. Someone's got to keep you in check.
Are you overweight?
Speaker 1 (13:10):
If you know it, you know it, and if you're
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PhD weight Loss Well straight ahead. We got Rick Bucker
stop and buy FS one NBA insider, what he expects
from Luca and Ad going forward, and what do we
(13:31):
expect trade wise between now and the deadline. Buker is
always a must listen. He is next right here Jason
and Mike Fox Sports Radio. Now, look, I'm not a weatherman,
but I'll give you my forecast. Lots of points of
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Speaker 2 (14:40):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Guess who got introduced today? Luka met the media and
then he went away. Fox Sports Radio, The Jason Smith
Show with my best friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
That wasn't terrible.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Speed up your hiring process with Express Employment Professionals. Reduced
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Transform your hiring process. That's expresspros dot Com. So halftime,
the Lakers lead the Clippers one hundred and seventy five
to three. They seem motivated for the beginning of the
(15:28):
Luca doncic Era joining us now on the hot line.
Nobody better then Fox Sports one, NBA insider extraordinaire, host
of the On the Ball podcast. He's on Twitter at
Rick Puker. It is Rick Puker. What's happening, Bud so Slow?
Last couple of days for you?
Speaker 7 (15:44):
Huh yeah, pretty cash, you know, and kind of figure
out what I can do with myself. I will say,
I don't know that I've ever and this is TV problems,
I don't know that I've ever put on and taken
off makeup more times than I did yesterday. Appearances across
(16:05):
the board. We'd like you at seven, we'd like you
at ten, we'd like you at one thirty. Hey, come
on down.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Like you're like you're on a like you're a Hollywood
star that has a movie coming out. You're just doing
all the local morning show interviews.
Speaker 7 (16:19):
That's what I, yes, exactly exactly doing doing the uh
the car wash back at the old place.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
So yeah, Rick, this w d i V and Wheeling,
West Virginia. You got ten minutes down at w p
i V in Philadelphia, then you're gonna have it.
Speaker 7 (16:34):
We got ourselves, Rick Butcher on the line now, all.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Right, So before I want to go back and then
and then go forward, when you heard this trade go
down Saturday? Where were you? Did you believe it?
Speaker 7 (16:49):
What?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
What did you do when it happened.
Speaker 7 (16:52):
I was on a plane. I was changing planes. Actually
I was on my way back to the East Coast,
changing planes in LA because changed my flight at the
last second, had to connect through LA to the Bay Area.
And I saw I saw the tweet and I was like, oh,
somebody got hacked. And I'm reading the comments and that
(17:14):
was everyone's reaction. And so then I got a text
from someone and they were going, is this real? And
and I wasn't seeing any pushback. I wasn't seeing any Hey,
I was hacked. I wasn't seeing anybody like nobody was
immediately coming out and saying this is wrong. Et there
there was no pushback. So I was like, okay, wait
a minute. So then I texted someone in the mix
(17:34):
who would know someone who involved in it, would be
involved in the deal. I said this is real and
they said yes, and I was like, oh my god.
And so then it was talking to execs and gms
and scouts around the league because if everybody was caught
off guard, and we just started comparing notes in terms
(17:57):
of why what, how all of that, and so then
the next day it was unpacking all of that, and
I will say, you know, at first, I was like,
this is the craziest trade ever. And then it got
me thinking about all of the things that I had
been hearing, not so much from the Lakers side, but
(18:19):
from the Dallas side of a certain level of frustration
with Luca and what I believe, and this is the
big thing. We're at a sea change point in the NBA.
The Los Angeles Clippers were not willing to pay Paul George.
It used to be if you had a star player,
(18:40):
you didn't want to pay him all that they had coming.
You knew it was going to be a huge contract,
but you just bit the bullet and you paid them
because you didn't want to. They were still an asset.
It was still worth more paying them because you could
still potentially move them than not paying them. But then
we saw the Clippers not pay Paul George. And then
(19:03):
we saw the Miami Heat essentially announce we're not going
to pay Jimmy Butler what he won, and the Dallas
Mavericks were in the exact same position. They just got
ahead of the curve and they were like We're not
willing to pay Luke at Donci's three hundred and forty
five million dollars if losing in the final because he
(19:24):
wasn't in shape doesn't convince him to come back and
be in shape the following season. We're just not going
to invest that in that player. So what is it
that we can do? And they found what I think
is a reasonable alternative in terms of getting a guy
who can still keep you in the championship hunt this
(19:47):
season and next. And they decided, let's go ahead and
do it.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Look, I'm with you. I'm with you for all of
the all the Mavericks don't know what they're doing. All
the they traded for a reason. It didn't just wake
up Saturday and decide to do it. And you know,
when Lucas said today really quickly at the press conference,
I always do it would end this way. And then
he kind of moved past it, and you're like, Okay,
maybe there was something there. And then when he's ready,
(20:14):
he can make his debut Friday. He'd been out since
Christmas and now suddenly, oh, I'm healthy. I could play Friday.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Right.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
No talk about the timeline for him to return, So
you know, there was stuff going on, and look if
and I get the Mavericks, if you're faced with, hey,
we can either lose him for nothing this summer or
get a top ten NBA player in return, we're gonna
get that. Yeah, people are gonna want us to have
first round picks or three guys of the Spencer, Dinwoodie
Elk And really that's not gonna help. But you got
(20:41):
a D. I think that's a pretty good get for
if they decided they're gonna trade Luca getting a D.
What better player are you gonna get from any other
team than Anthony Davis? I don't know, you get anybody
that's better.
Speaker 7 (20:52):
Yeah. No, it's a great point. I think that's a
point that is overlooked when people immediately go, would you
if you had put him out on the on the
on the open market, what could you have gotten? Look
what they got for Michale Bridges five first round picks
and Bojan Bogdanovich. And it's like, okay, so let's say
(21:13):
you did that. Let's say you traded Luca for Austin
Reeves and found a way for the Lakers to go
get eight first round picks. What does that make you?
Right now? Where are you How long are you waiting
for those first round picks? So you can make a
case where you could have gone out on the open
(21:34):
market and you could have gotten more assets for Luca.
But what would have happened in the meantime, And here's
the thing, maybe you wouldn't have even because now you're
not just dealing with the Lakers who are as desperate
in a way to get their next superstar as you are,
(21:55):
and so they are willing to trade a guy like
Anthony Davis. What if Luca and his agent now say well,
we're only going to this team or this team the
same way that Jimmy Butler. What Jimmy Butler is doing
to the Miami Heat right now? Now, suddenly you don't
have control over this. I think that's why Nico kept
(22:15):
it as close to the vest, and he found a
number of things. One Anthony Davis still keeps them as
a title contender, at least in my mind and certainly
in DCO's mind for the next two years. He also
you get to make a decision on him at age
thirty three, in terms of what happens over the next
two years. Do we resign him, how much do we
(22:36):
resign him for do we move in another direction, Do
we use the cat flexibility that so many teams do
not have now because they've they're locked up with the
Joel Embiids and the Zion Williamson's and all these guys
that are so different than possible to trade because they're
injury prone like Luca. And I know there's people out
there like he plays plenty of games, yeah, but he
plays them all hurt and and he's had the same
(23:00):
calf injury three times in the last year. That's a
huge red flag. So I understand why Nico did it,
and I respect the fact that he put it all
on him. He said I, this wasn't on anybody but me,
and I could have sat there and not done anything
(23:21):
and people would have been fine with my job. But
I didn't see a way forward paying Luca three hundred
and forty five million dollars. We're supposed to be playing
for championships. I think this still gives an opportunity to
play for a championship for in the next two years.
So I pulled the trigger on it. And this isn't
(23:44):
on Jason Kidd, It's not on anybody else, And I
respect the hell out of that, because I'm sure that
Jason was aware of the reasons that they would want
to move Luca. You know, maybe he didn't know exactly
when it was going down or the particulars, but those
two are very close, and you have brand new ownership,
(24:07):
and he would have had to sell them on this idea.
And Nico said, but it's on me. I'm taking all
of it, and I look, it's a huge hamble, But
I can understand why he did it, and I respect
that he stood up and said I'm the one who
did it.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
Rick. I would have liked to see Anthony Davis arrive
with a little more fanfare.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
I don't think they really rolled out the.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Red carpet to say, hey, we got our guy. That's
taken us there as much as Nico saying defense wins
championship and well, at some point it sounded like he
was trying to convince himself.
Speaker 7 (24:44):
Yeah, well, look, I think that there's the shock of
moving a guy like Luca, and keep I just keeping
in mind that like no one saw this coming. This
wasn't like a rumor that was finally realized. This was
like wait, what what what just happened? And and I
(25:05):
and I think it was in some ways. I think
Nico felt like he was somewhat forced into doing this,
and he made the best of the situation. Again, you
were do you do you wait? If you wait, are
you going to get a player better? Uh? And I
(25:29):
and I think that there's a couple of things. One one,
the fact that Luca wasn't doing any Cardio who's putting
on weight? You know, all of that, All of that
is legit. And then the team this season playing better
with him at times, certainly against the best teams in
(25:51):
the Western Conference. Maybe not the overall record, but performing
against the best teams better without Luca than with him.
And I think all of that like this wasn't man,
we just we got to get rid of Luca. It
was more like, how can we keep Luca? Maybe we
need to pivot. And I think that that still was jarring,
(26:15):
even for Nico at the moment. So I think there's
too much mourning that's going on in Dallas for very
good reason. Look at Luke as a monster. He can
be a monster, even you know, with all of the flaws,
it's not I think this is where Dallas fans and
those fans who are upset, really upset with Nico and
(26:36):
the trade. It's because they don't realize that you don't
pay him three hundred and forty five million for what
he's done. You're going to pay him three hundred and
forty five million for what you expect him to do
over the next five six, six years. And if you're
looking at his conditioning and his health and the price
(26:59):
that you're going to have to pay, which is double
what he's making now, and you're saying that's a that's
a bad bet, Like I don't feel comfortable making that bet.
That's why Luca got traded, not because he's not appreciated
for what he did, it's can he do even more
because he's gonna get paid more over the next five
(27:22):
six years. And that's where Nico had his doubts.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Rick Bucher our guest the Jason Smiths with Mike Carmen
live from the TIREC dot Com Studios. Okay, so with
as we wait for Luca's debut and AD's debut, Kevin
Durant out tonight for maybe he's hurt, maybe they're gonna
trade him, maybe he goes back to the Warriors. Rick,
what is Kevin Durant the next big domino to fall
before Thursday.
Speaker 7 (27:46):
I would honestly be surprised if he wasn't, because the
Phoenix Suns are in a tough position. They know they
can't move Bett, Bradley Beal and and it's it's largely
because once it gets out there that a team And
again this is why the Dallas Mavericks kept it quiet
with Luca, because let's say it didn't happen, like, then
(28:07):
you got to move forward. Like, once it gets out
that the team is looking to potentially move a superstar player,
you gotta move that superstar player. He's not feeling the
same way about you going forward. And that word is
out there that the Phoenix Suns are exploring what they
could get for Kevin Durant, So you know, there's a
(28:28):
lot of talk about. This is what I'll be interested
in is whether Jimmy Butler becomes the last player to
get his way. I think power player empowerment is is
being being cut back, and the Paul George, Jimmy Butler,
Luka Doncic, like teams and gms are are sort of
(28:48):
resting back some of the authority and control. And I'll
be interested to see if there's a There's been rumors
of a multi team deal where KD, where Jimmy gets
his wish and he ends up in Phoenix and KD
would end up either at Golden State or with the
Houston Rockets. I'm very interested to see whether that happens,
(29:13):
but I would be Let's put it this way, I
would be more surprised if Kevin Durant was a Phoenix
Sun on Friday than if he wasn't.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Well at this point, how do you follow up?
Speaker 5 (29:26):
I mean, you can't be shocked about anybody getting moved
at this point, Rick, I mean it's over.
Speaker 7 (29:32):
You know what if the two of you Jimo started
ended up ended up like you know, I don't know
it Amazon or someplace someplace down the road, that would
be just a shocking to me.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
We come a long way from you know, a guy,
a big personnel guy in the NBA. So and I
hear you with those two knuckleheads on the radio all
the time. You guys sound pretty like you're having a
lot of fun together.
Speaker 7 (29:57):
Oh, we appreciate that. We appreciate. I appreciate you knuckleheads,
and I appreciate this guy for recognizing that I come
on with one head. I love the whole. I love
everything about that.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
All right.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Lastly, really quick, if I said to you, all right,
we talked about KD. We're waiting to see what's next.
If I said to you the big name, you wouldn't
be surprised to see delt by the deadline?
Speaker 7 (30:20):
Oh come on, Like, what are you kidding me? You
are so what You're not statisfied. We had to look
at doctor Anthony Davis. We're talking about Kevin Durant and
Jimmy Puler and You're like, okay, but give me Moore.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
Joel Embiid play tonight, Rick, Yeah, come on, Rick, Joellen
Joel een Beiid said, hey, if I want to get traded,
I better play tonight.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I'm expect you to say Joel Embiid.
Speaker 7 (30:41):
Yeah. Well no, I wouldn't say Joel Embiid. But the
other name that came to mind with Paul.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
He's on Twitter at Rick Buker, That is at Rick Buker.
Check out the On the Ball podcast as well. This week,
of course, us all about the biggest story in the NBA.
Who can the Knicks add by the deadline?
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Oh boy?
Speaker 1 (31:05):
That championship team in the East Rick is always mighty
appreciate it. We'll talk to you Thursday night after the deadline.
All right, let's go say Rick Man. Great stuff there
from Rick Buker. So I'm not to find out what's
trending in the wide world of sports with someone who
we call the Rick Buker of Fox Sports Radio. He
(31:26):
knows so much about so many things. It's Steve de Seger.
Speaker 8 (31:30):
Well, highly complimentary, thank you, and honestly, you want more
after that?
Speaker 1 (31:34):
He gave you all of that NBA and you're asking
for more. Sorry. The Lakers have dominated the Clippers from
the styling forest. We don't need anything else, just.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Steve Rick said, we should tell Jason it was Jalen Bronson.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
Oh would done.
Speaker 8 (31:49):
Lakers are leading at the Clippers tonight, ninety two to seventy.
Late in the third quarter for the Clips, James Harden
two of ten shooting from the floor. The Lakers shot
seventy five percent in the first quarter, scored forty five
points in the first period. And yes, the Lakers introduced
Luka Doncic at a media conference today. He will practice
Wednesday and should play Saturday afternoon. Doncisho's been out since Christmas.
(32:13):
With a stray calf. The other late game is at Portland.
Mid third quarter, Blazers are leading sixty to fifty two
over Indiana. Boston won at Cleveland won twelve one oh five.
Cleveland's record coming in was forty and nine. Brooklyn defeated
Houston with a late comeback ninety nine ninety seven, the
game winning three pointer to D'Angelo Russell of the Nets,
(32:35):
who had been two of fourteen shooting from the floor.
The Knicks won at Toronto, won twenty one to one
point fifteen Karl Anthony Towns twenty seven points and twenty rebounds.
Philadelphia's Joel Embiid returned and had a triple double in
a win over Dallas one eighteen one sixteen twenty nine
points for Embiid. He had been out four a month.
(32:55):
Kevin Durant to the Suns is dalf for Wednesday with
a sprained ankle. In college basketball, under ten minutes to
go at UCLA, Bruin still leading night rank Michigan State
fifty four forty six wins in the top ten for
Auburn and Houston, for Florida and Purdue Hey.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
If UCLA wins tonight, Will Mick Cronin still say he
wants out and hates his team. No, just the latter, Okay,
very good, all right, very good? In the still hate
all these guys, But you want tonight by fifty? Yeah,
I don't care, and big ten refs don't forget he
hates the ten reps.
Speaker 8 (33:25):
Sure, seven minutes to go in the NHL game with
the Maple Leafs up at Calgary five to three, Islanders
two to one winners over Vegas. Former Green Bay kicker
Mason Crosby retired he did not play last year.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Back to you, Thank you, Steve. In an emergency, like
during the fires recently swept through Los Angeles, you want
Rapid Radio's instant push to talk walkie talkies for clear
national LT coverage and one touch communication, peace of mind
for connecting with family and emergency. Go to Rapid radios
dot com now for up to sixty percent off and
free shipping. So we'll have more NBA on the way.
(34:00):
But coming up next, a story that I still can't
believe we do not have a resolution on after what
we heard today the Jets still sucking. Well, we have
a resolution. We've known that for a long time. This
is a different story that we need a resolution for
okay that we haven't gotten. That's next right here, Jason
and Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Fox Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with my best
friend Mike Harmon. Speed up your hiring process with Express
Employment Professionals. Reduce time to hire, cut costs, find the
right talent for both contract and full time roles. Visit
expresspros dot com today, transform your hiring process. That's expresspros
(34:51):
dot Com. Well, we got more from the NBA coming
up in a few minutes. Wait, do you hear what
Nikola Jokic had to say about the Luka Doncic trade.
My goodness, but this story earlier today that really it
doesn't make sense. We still don't have an answer on
who didn't vote for each Hero Suzuki for the Hall
(35:12):
of Fame. Ballots were revealed today. All three hundred and
twenty one voters who were allowed their ballots and made
public today all selected Echiro Suzuki. He appeared on three
hundred and ninety three of three hundred and ninety four
ballots when voting was announced earlier in January, so you
still had about seventy three ballots that voters decided to
(35:33):
not make public. So everybody made their that wanted to
make their ballots public today, did you saw how everybody voted?
We still don't know who it was that didn't vote
for Echiro and quite honestly, Mike, at this point, this
is more embarrassing for Major League Baseball and the Hall
of Fame than if we knew who it was, and
it was Haja pointed this guy and ridicule him because look,
(35:56):
this is someone who is afraid to say why because
they don't have a reason, right, they don't. There's no
reason why because usually if you had a reason that
anybody would love the attention on this. I was the
guy who didn't vote for each row, and I'm gonna
tell you why because of X, Y, and Z. Usually
voters who do something like this can't wait to tell
(36:16):
you why, how you're wrong. They want some sort of
social media validation on it. But yet we're getting nothing.
This makes this is why it's worse and more embarrassing,
because this makes the process seem like it just has
unqualified voters whereas you could disagree with the guy. I
don't do this because I never vote for a guy
to be unanimous. I don't think anybody should be unanimous.
(36:37):
Or I really wanted so and so to get in
the Hall of Fame, and I knew Eachiro was gonna
get Jason Stark talked about this that if there was
a voter that said, listen, I really wanted to see
if Andrew Jones get in the Hall of Fame, and
I knew everybody would vote for each Row, and maybe
I could give Andrew Jones an extra vote to get in.
At least there's a reason behind it. You could completely
disagree with it, but these are guys that covered baseball
(36:58):
for a long time and they have their reasons. Now,
there's no reason to not vote for Eachiro Suzuki. There's
no reason to because you're you're voting for who you
think are the best players that belong in the Hall
of Fame. But this is worse that the person who
voted for him won't own it, won't stand up and
say it was me. And here's why, because this makes baseball.
You see, like, who the hell do you have voting?
Speaker 7 (37:18):
Man? Like?
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Who are these who are these people like these seventy
three people that wouldn't make their ballots public? How the
hell did they vote?
Speaker 7 (37:24):
Like?
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Who else did they vote for? In this?
Speaker 5 (37:25):
Like?
Speaker 1 (37:25):
What what are we not seeing? This is more embarrassing
for baseball.
Speaker 4 (37:29):
Well, there's a couple of things.
Speaker 5 (37:30):
Number One, you should never be in a scenario where
you can't vote for Andrew Jones in that scenario because
you get to vote for ten guys, which is asinine
in and of itself. But again, you know, with time,
maybe we look at the achievements of guys that are
on the peripherya a little bit differently, maybe starting pitching,
(37:50):
Maybe we have a greater appreciation for closers that don't
surrender to a committee situation. All of those things to
say you your big, biggest point was bringing up the
seventy three people who are unknown. That means they're either
not working anymore or they're a bunch of cowards.
Speaker 6 (38:09):
That's eighteen point five percent of your electorate.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
Jason, Wow, it's not just the one guy.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Did you do that math that fast? I really eighteen
point five yes? Or did you just throw that out there?
Speaker 4 (38:20):
No, it's seventy seventy three out of three ninety four. Okay,
I gotta got to it pretty fast.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
Okay, that's what I mean.
Speaker 6 (38:26):
So nearly twenty percent, right, roundup, that's twenty percent of
your people who decide they don't have a column, to
write a.
Speaker 4 (38:34):
Video, to put out.
Speaker 5 (38:36):
Any kind of promotion of the Hall of Fame. That
means they're doing nothing to help promote your game.
Speaker 4 (38:42):
Right.
Speaker 5 (38:43):
They get a ballot and they turn it back and
they do the bare minimum.
Speaker 3 (38:48):
Right.
Speaker 5 (38:48):
It's however, many pieces of flair you decide you need
at your place of employment, on your theme restaurant, they're
they're useless to you. They're dead weight. Let alone the
guy that didn't vote for Echro. That's a whole other discussion,
right that say, all right, why would you not be
shouting from the rooftops as to why you were the
(39:11):
guy that didn't vote for him?
Speaker 4 (39:12):
But I got a problem that if it was another Parker,
he would.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Have said it right away. I didn't vote for him.
I didn't think he's the Hall of Famer.
Speaker 6 (39:19):
But he's backed himself into a corner now because he
only voted for two people this year, and there's nobody
that you can argue next year as a first ballot
that should be getting in.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (39:29):
No, he doesn't get to do anything next year. He
gets to sit and hand in.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
An empty ballot next year A one.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
Yeah, I know.
Speaker 5 (39:36):
But those seventy three people that that don't want to
be known, why, Yeah, what what purpose do you serve?
Because you're not helping to argue for any individual. And
then you've got the one guy with ero. So yeah,
those seventy three people, you're off the bat. You get
nothing because this is done with me, he's done with
MLB needs to.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Continue to kind of kind of purge the the the
people who vot. If something like this happens, Okay, you
know what, you're you're suspended from voting whatever it is,
or you lose your vote. There's got to be some
sort of way because you need to be beholden to
the process, right, And that's the whole thing is that
you need to vote. Who do you think should be
in the Hall of Fame? And if you don't think
(40:16):
Etiro should be in, you shouldn't have a ballot. But
at least if you did. If you didn't, let's hear
your reasoning. Let's hear your reasoning. Why I will always
hear you out before I disagree with you and say
you're ridiculous, but I will always hear you out and
and and that would be an embarrassing thing for baseball.
We find out who it is. But this is worse
because now it's like, hey, you're not gonna help uncover
(40:37):
the process at all. You're not gonna help see why
this person's voting. How embarrassing this is for baseball, Like
this is that baseball? At some point, we got to
find out who this is.
Speaker 4 (40:46):
But the whole thing is rear entitled to a ridiculous opinion.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Ex Exit DOUN, Dona Fresca, Exit swollen Dome, Jason Smith,
Mike Carman Coming up next, my favorite reactions to the
Luca ad trade. Fuck