June 29, 2017 • 44 mins
Doug explains the real reason why Chris Paul left the Clippers and why Doc Rivers needs to realize that. He also talks about the free agency moves that could happen in the next week or so and why he thinks the NBA is headed in the wrong direction. Lakers new Center, Brook Lopez joins the show to talk about his time with the Nets and what he expects to happen with the Lakers next season.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the best of the Dog Dot Leap Show
on Fox Sports Radio. Boom, What Up America? Doug gott
Leap Show, Fox Sports Radio Live from Tel Aviv, Israel
this week and we are getting fired up for July one,
which is of course NBA Free agency season. And uh,
(00:22):
now everybody just starts lying to us and we get craziness.
Let me start with this. I want to get to
what Chris Paul is really saying, because DC Rivers said, uh,
he tried to see if Chris Balton was it Wasn't
it not you, It's me. We know what that actually means.
We'll get to that in a second. But um, the
stories out of New York that there's a possibility of
(00:45):
Isaiah Thomas becoming the general manager again of the New
York Knicks. Isaiah Thomas is, without any question, the single
worst general manager in the history of professional sports. Aside
from the fact that he was terrible as a general
manager and terrible running the c b A into bankruptcy,
(01:06):
he also was at the Helm during a ten million
dollar then million dollar sexual harassment lawsuit. Outside of that,
he was incredible. Did no one pay attention to the
fact that he turned over a roster. He signed two
players whose contracts were uninsured. And for people who don't
(01:27):
know what that means, um, when a player signs in
the NBA, like the reason they found out that Magic
Johnson had HIV, the virus that then they thought would
cause aids, never cause aids to them is because before
every season players have to take a complete physical. They
take that complete physical because their contracts are insured, so
(01:49):
teams pay a premium to insurance companies in case there's
a season ending or career ending injury. If that's the case,
you know, just like um other contracts that are insured.
You know, whether you're getting something done in your house,
you want to get it insured. And there's a reason
you have insurance in case something goes wrong, right, Chris
(02:09):
Chris Rock says, in case ish right, That's what it is.
Isaiah Thomas signed players with uninsured contracts. He turned over
the whole roster. They were the most expensive team in
the league and they still sucked. And he had brought
he had he had bankrupt the c b A and
and he was at the Helm and part of a
(02:31):
ten million dollar sexual ha harassment lawsuit. Outside of that,
he would be a great higher because you know, he's
been on nb NBA TV and he was an incredible
Hall of Fame point guard, and he's got a great
smile and no matter how old he looks, he doesn't
seem to age. Okay, enough of that, Brett Favre might
(02:52):
want to get back into the game of football. I'll
tell you why we should have seen this coming all along,
but let's start with with Chris Paul. I saw this
story today. Um Doc Rivers says that Chris Paul left
to be with James Harden, not because of Clipper players. Quote.
At the end of the day, when you lose c P,
it's a big loss. I want to thank him for
the years he was here. He left because he wanted
(03:13):
to be with James Harden. Let's not get it twisted.
I wish him well. I have no problem with that.
Do I disagree? Yeah? I think it would have been
better served here, but that's not for me that cp
uh to decide. He decided again, he decided against that.
We've heard all the stories about Blake and DJ and Austin.
I can't comment on Austin because that's just not right.
(03:34):
We've heard he left because of all three. Today he
left because DJ. He left because Blake, Now he left
because Austin. We know he didn't leave because of that.
There's a lot of speculation as to why he left.
The one thing I know is that he didn't leave
us because of any of those guys. He left because
he felt like he would have a better chance to
win somewhere else. Okay, It's almost as if Chris Paul said,
(03:56):
Chris Paul went to Doc Rivers and said, it's not you,
it's me, and Doc Rivers is like the only human
being on earth that actually believes that crap. Anytime they
say it's not you, it's me, it really is you.
It's like any time an athlete says, it's not all
about the money, what's it about? It's about the money.
(04:18):
It's It's like when somebody says no offense, what's the
next thing gonna come out of their mind, out of
their mouth something offensive. No, when somebody says no disrespect,
But what's the next thing they're gonna say something disrespectful?
Anytime somebody breaks out the it's not you, it's me card,
we know it really is you. And oh yeah, by
(04:40):
the way, I don't think the NBA got better like,
I don't think the Houston Rockets got better. They got
more interesting, they got more star studded, they got a
second dominating ball handler. I love Chris Paul, love love
love love, love, love, love love love. If I could
(05:00):
play basketball as a point guards a four point guard,
like any player, it would be Chris Paul. Maybe a
little Steve Nash, but mostly Chris Paul. He's tenacious, he
makes shots. He's not ridiculously explosive, but he always finds
a way to get by. He completely controls the game
at both ends of the floor. He is spectacular, but
(05:22):
everything he does is with the basketball, and everything James
Harden does is with the basketball. And unless they are
going to propose a new rule to which the Houston
Rockets are the only team in the NBA that could
play with two basketballs, I don't know how they got better,
especially considering what changed with the Rockets was mid season.
They made a move and got Lou Williams from the
(05:43):
l A Lakers, gave them some bench depths, got some
toughness with which Patrick Beverley Chris Paul is a better player,
But I don't know if they got definitively better. And
oh Yeah, by the way, did the NBA get definitively better?
We would all agree everything. I think we all came
to agreement last night or yesterday afternoon, depending on where
you're listening to this show Doug Gotlip Show Fox Sports Radio,
(06:07):
that this is the end of any sort of Clipper
This is a dynasty by the Clippers. For for the
in the context of who the Clippers are, this has
been a dynasty, and that dynasty has ended. But it
also limits the growth potential of the Spurs, a potential
landing spot for Chris Paul. And while it makes the
Rockets more interesting by depleting two playoff teams in the West,
(06:32):
we've got more of the same. Like, the Rockets aren't
better than Golden State Warriors unless they add another body.
And if they don't add another body, and even if
they do, the idea that they're definitively going to be
better with two guys who kind of play the same
position sort of seems really really far fetched, really far fetched.
(06:55):
But if Doc Rivers really believes that it's not you,
it's me, then he's the first guy ever, the very
first guy. Come on, Doc, you know I could disagree
with that, but he didn't leave because of these guys. Yes,
he didn't leave because of those guys. And uh, Lebron
James has never fired anybody, right, That's like the Lebron
(07:17):
James had nothing to do with the firing a day
of David Griffin. But if Lebron James didn't want David
Griffin fired, David Griffin wouldn't be fired. And Chris Paul
wanted to play with those guys, he would play with
those guys. He didn't have anything bad to say about
our guys. There was nothing there. What are you talking about? Then?
On the in the very next sentence, you said he
(07:38):
wanted to play with James Harden thought he had better
chance of winning. Doesn't that tell you all you need
to know? So, like, we have kind of the same
problem with the NBA. We've had not only the rich
getting somewhat quasi richer, right, but there becomes more and
(08:03):
more poor. And the NBA's value is not just based
upon those two teams that meet up in the finals.
It's based upon all of the playoffs and the regular
season being interesting. And it's completely and utterly uninteresting right now.
I mean, it's it's it's crazy. What's happened, so well,
(08:24):
we're celebrating it because it's we We as sports radio hosts,
love interesting stories, love the tabloid stuff, with the with
Austin Rivers, you know, did Chris Paul who do you
get along with? Who? He didn't go along with? But
if you look as good as the NBA finals numbers were,
the regular season numbers were putrid, so too with the
(08:44):
rest of the playoffs, and the playoffs were short lived.
And oh yeah, by the way, the Nicks aren't going
to be good. The Nets aren't going to be good.
The Bulls are hit and refresh, the Lakers are probably
at least a year away from being there are a
year away from being a year away, and the upperst
take a step back. All your teams in major markets.
And I do know that Houston is a big market,
(09:05):
but it's also a football market and the market that's
still big in China. That's the weird, don't you guys
know that? That because of yao. And then that's why
Tracy McGrady is was one of the most popular players
in the world. It wasn't because Tracy McGrady is nearly
as good as the Hall of Famer that he's he's
become like Tracy McGrady. Never until he's with the Spurs
and he was washed up and he'd been out of basketball,
(09:27):
he'd never been on the first round the NBA playoffs.
Let's not kid ourselves, but Traycean McGrady is one of
the most popular players in the world because he played
with Yao Ming that plays in China, and the Rockets
became kind of the team of China. Anyway, as big
as that market is, nobody's ever gone like I can't
wait to see the Houston Rockets play. Just something weird
(09:49):
about Houston. They've been good periodically through history, winning the
two championships with with the Chemalai Juan and Robert Ory
and Kenny Smith and those guys, getting to an NBA
finals with Ralph Sampson early on. But but that doesn't
(10:10):
solve their issue of having no big market teams, none
of the three biggest markets having playoff caliber teams. Be
sure to catch live editions of the Doug gott Leaps
Show weekdays at three pm Eastern noon Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app two nights ago. Um,
(10:32):
I just like, look, I know it's easy to crush
Phil Jackson because he seemed a little bit aloof, But
in fairness, he wasn't the biggest disaster this year for
the Knicks. That was actually their owner getting into it
with Charles Oakley during a game. He did draft christophs
prezingis and though it doesn't appear to have worked, it
hasn't been working there for a long time. Helped me
(10:54):
out how how the broadcasting from Tel Aviv, Israel, and
what happens is when you how the wrong number, you
dial out the wrong way, you get kind of that
same sort of message, but it's in Hebrew shalom, and
then they start and I don't speak Hebrew, so I
could be down the wrong number. Uh, this could be
a disconnected number. Uh my my cell phone could be
(11:17):
completely out of minutes. I'm not really sure all of
these things are possible, but I don't. Not only do
I not speak Hebrew, I do not speak operator Hebrew.
So we'll work to get Howard Howard back is back
your thoughts on the out sting of Phil Jackson. Howard
Well just posted a column a few hours ago. You know,
I've got a counterintuitive you know on this one, Like
(11:40):
I'm not gonna defend his tenure. Um. There were many
mistakes made. I don't think those mistakes were nearly of
the scale that I think people are portraying to be.
And my main takeaway in the main thrust of the
column I put up today, is that this is not
nearly um the dire straits that the Knicks have been
in the past due to the calamitous regimes of of
(12:03):
other gms. They were far worse off after the Isaiah era.
I know, it's a little bar. They were in bad
shape even when Phil took over, and people seemed to
overlook this that they were on their wip with thirty
seven win season, with kind of a broken group, and
they had no room that summer his first summer, they
had no they had no draft that first June that
(12:25):
Phil Jackson was on the job. And if you look
at it for like, forget for a moment all of
the things that have set people off over the last
few years. And I'm not diminishing them, there were a
lot of things that were very avoidable, a lot of
self inflicted wounds. Just concentrate for a moment on what
the new GM is inheriting or the new team president
(12:46):
A team that has twenty plus million kapper in this summer,
had a lottery pick that was used on the French
point guard whose last name I spoke can't pronounced well um,
and have all their draft picks going forward and potential
for cap room next summer when Carmelo Anthony would be
off the books, assuming he isn't traded. In the meantime,
they have Christaps Porzingis. They have some young players who
(13:06):
look like they're gonna be growing into absolute rotational roles,
Willie ern and Gomez and uh kuz Minsk. They've they're
in okay shape. They're fine there. This is not the
Brooklyn Nets with no draft picks and no hope. This
is not the you know, the Clippers of the old days,
who were just on a perpetual cycle of of no
(13:30):
moderate appearances every spring. This is not nearly the disaster. Again,
you know, I covered an next for nine years from
from two thousand two. I've seen far worse. I've seen
bigger controversies. I've seen sexual ritchie lawsuits and fights on
the court, and I mean, this is this is not
nearly that scale. I agree, which is crazy because one
(13:52):
of the names being floated about is Isaiah Thomas. And
what I pointed out, Howard, because again like like you,
I mean I covered on a national level, You've covered
on a day to day So you know Isaiah. First
of all, Isaiah turned over the roster, so all of
those that it's he didn't inherit any of the every
but why I inherited No, No, he got rid of
all all of the previous resimes. Guys, those are all his, guys.
(14:13):
He two of the biggest contracts were uninsured contracts, which
is has never been never been heard from or seen
since no one does that in the NBA. Uninsured contracts.
They were the they had the highest salary in the
NBA and they still weren't a playoff team. And oh yeah,
by the way, there was the ten million dollar sexual
harassment lawsuit that he was at the helm of the
(14:36):
Knicks during, Like that was a much bigger disaster. And
guess what. Somehow Isaiah's name is being floated about as
a dark horse candidate for the same job that he
was awful at ten years ago. Yeah. I don't know
how realistic that is. I mean I don't I don't
dismiss the reports that that he could be the quote
(14:58):
unquote dark horse candidate. It's clearly not their focus. I
mean they're clearly going after Messiah Gerry of Toronto, which
would be you know, a phenomenal on one level, because
he's one of the best gms in the NBA period.
Messiah is fantastic. Part of the Leagon. We know he's
fantastic is because of prior deals in which at least
to the Knicks, both in Toronto and in denver Um.
(15:20):
So there's a weird, you know, funny twist there, but
there clearly they've learned some lessons if their first target
is Messiah Jerry instead of another retread or somebody who
just has a big name. I mean, there's a mixed
problem there. Their their worst habit over years and years
(15:41):
is constantly going for the shiny object, the big name.
So they hire ri Isaiah Thomas to be team president
back in two thousand three when he had you know,
when his his his own own experience had had not
been so great in that regard as an executive. They
you know, hired you know, the safe brow, and they've
traded for Stefon Marbrey. They eventually you know, high Phil Jackson.
They're constantly and Phil had of course non executive experience whatsoever.
(16:03):
They're constantly going for the shiny object instead of looking
around and saying, who's done this job and done at
the highest level, because we're Madison Square Garden and we've
got a mental resources, and we're in a great market,
and we're a historic franchise, and we should be able
to pry loose one of the best in the business.
Messiah Jerry represents that. So if they can land him,
and you know, there may have to be compensation, which
means losing some picks and you got away that, but
(16:25):
landing Messiah Jury would be a huge coup. And it's
the way that they should go and not keep reaching
for the shiny objects. And if it's not even a
shiny object at this point that you've been there and
done that, I don't think that's gonna happen. I mean,
it will always bubble up because he's always working in
the UH in the corridors there, and he's working for
Madison Square Garden on the Liberty side in the w
(16:47):
n B A, so he's you know, he's around. But look,
I don't think that's gonna happen. Hower back joining us
and Bleacher Report, Doug Gottlieb Show, Fox Sports Radio. Okay,
then let's go to Chris Paul. Um. I love this
quote from from Doc Rivers. It looks he wasn't about us,
it was about James Harden, right. He It's almost as
if Chris Paul sat him down and said, it's not you,
(17:10):
it's me, and Doc Rivers actually believed him. Um. I
guess the first question is how how surprised were you
that Chris Paul and not just that he left, but
he left for the Houston Rockets. The only surprising part
is is that you know the Rockets. Of course, I
(17:30):
didn't have cap room. We weren't going to have cap
room without offloading much of salaries, and so it didn't
look like it was going to be possible. Um. Clearly
there were some back channel discussions going on here because
the Rockets new and then Chris Paul knew that if
if he wanted to go there, he could, and so
he used that to get himself traded there instead of
going to free agent route, which would have um which
would have created a much steper challenge for the Rockets
(17:54):
to pull it off. The surprising part two, of course,
is yes, he's going to a team that already has
one of the elite point guards in league, James Harden,
who until recently had been a shooting guard, but full
time point guard as of this last season, and Mike D'Antoni.
And so now you've got to ball dominant guards. But
you know, I know people kind of flinch at that,
but the fact is one these two guys are actually
(18:14):
pretty good friends, and that's always the basis, or can
be the basis for for a good working relationship on
the court if you trust each other, you know, willing
to give up a little for each other. And clearly
they've already had that discussion or he wouldn't have been
forcing himself to be traded there in the first place.
So it can absolutely work. What Mike D'Antoni has said
over the years is, you know, basically, if you've got
(18:36):
five guys on the court who can all dribble, pass,
and shoot, you're that much better off. So the idea
of two guys who are you know, to have been
ball dominant, it's fine as long as they both also
no when to give up the ball and are going
to keep moving, keep the offense humming. Because Mike D'Antoni
wants you know that. He always says the ball finds energy.
That the idea there is you keep moving and running
(18:57):
the offense and you'll get your shots. And so having
two guys who can make place for themselves and for
other players who are both great shooters um and and
and Chris Paul's case also a great defender, which you know,
can help, you know, compensate for hardened being a subpart defender. Um,
it's it. You know, it can work. It can certainly work.
(19:18):
I think they've got more works to do on that roster.
And I'm also pretty sure that Darryl Morey's probably not
stopping at this. I would I agree with you. I
guess my question is, and I talked to some of
my NBA front office friends and they kind of agree
with they did the Rockets actually get better last night?
Because because what I thought was they might not have
gotten better, Uh, losing Lou Williams off their bench, who
(19:39):
was a great weapon for them, Losing Patrick Beverley was
probably better off coming off the bench, but was a starter. Um,
maybe that kind of equals out. But but what they did,
what happened was now San Antonio now they're gonna have
to go probably with youth at point guard, and so
San Antonio no longer feels like a championship caliber contender.
(19:59):
The Hippers don't feel like a championship caliber contender. And
whereas we thought we might have had more competitive teams
in the West challenging the Warriors, there's a chance we
have less challenging teams because the Rockets were a challenger
last year. But but still not of the elk of
the Warriors. Aren't we still in that exact same spot,
only it takes the Spurs down a notch and the
(20:21):
Clippers down a notch. It doesn't take the Spurs down.
I mean the Spurs are down, and not just because
Tony Parker got hurt. There was no guarantee that Chris
Paul was going there. So I don't, I don't. We're
taking too many leaps to assume that this takes the
Spurs down a notch. I think that, you know, the Spurs. Look,
what's best front office is in the NBA um as
we're talking about messire Jeril, you're obviously R C. Beauford.
(20:42):
You know, there's the cream of the crop. They will
find ways to create room and maybe I don't. I'm
not making predictions here, but they can go get Kyle
Affrey or maybe they can bring back George Hill, who
they once created for Kawhi Leonard to get cow while
Leonard um don't find somebody they're the Spurs have no
doubt in my mind they will find a way to
patch it up until Tony Parker either gets back and healthy. Um,
(21:05):
you know, they can keep Patty Mills potentially again that
there's gonna be some cape machinations involved here. They're gonna
have to get creative, but that's the franchise that knows
how to do it. So the Spurs, I think at
the end of the day, at the end of the summer,
or it was in the next couple of weeks, we'll
be right back there. So we'll have the Spurs and
the Rockets, who were the two teams that were challenging
(21:25):
or presumably chanting the Warriors last year, will be the
same two or either of them really going to close
the gap, that's the question. And I think what the
Rockets did was ensured that Harden doesn't have to carry
so great of a load anymore. He can spend time
on the bench and have a more than competence, um
all star point guard out there running a team. When
he's not, they'll have time to whether it together and
(21:45):
you can play off of each other and times they
can all penate. And you know, maybe Harden was worn
down at the end of that playoff series, uh you know,
a month or so ago. Maybe that accounts for for
how badly he finished, and you know you need to
an account for that. And again, I don't think they're done.
I mean we're not even the free agency yet. I
think the Rockets are gonna have more moves to make.
(22:06):
All right, speaking of free agency, what's the most likely
destination for Gordon Hayward. I would say it's still Boston.
That that relationship with Brad Stephens is not to be underestimated.
Um there. You know, they've always remained tight. That the
team that has a chance to win right now and
(22:28):
for years to come, because they're mostly pretty young. They've
got a couple of older guys and how Al Horford
in particular, but they've got you know, all that youth,
all those assets. Picks still coming if you go there,
whether or not they can trade for Paul George. If
you go there, as Gordon Hamward joining Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford,
Avery Bradley, J. Crowder. You're joining a team that already
(22:52):
made it to the conference finals without you. And now
is Gordon Hayward enough to put you over the top
against Lebron? Probably not, But look there's there's a you know,
the callock is kicking on Cleveland. Um. You know, I
know we should never rule out Lebron and you know
he might just go forever, but you know there's talk
of Lebron leaving as soon as next summer. If that
happens and you're the Celtics and you've got Gordon Hayward,
(23:13):
guess what, you're the new favorites in the East. Um,
if they if they cav trade, heaven love. You know,
even if they got Paul George, even if they somehow
made themselves more dynamic and with better wing players to
try to face the Warriors, they're still they're gonna be
different that have introduced some volatility into what was a
winning formula. Maybe have an opportunity even immediately, But um,
(23:33):
I think you look beyond the Lebron window. If you're
Gordon Hayward looking to Boston, So I think the Celtics
are a real threat. I think other teams will make
a run. But I think if I had to guess
if he leaves Utah, it's going to be because he
goes to Boston. What about Paul George? Where does he
play his first game of next season? That one's really
hard to predict. I mean, logically, um, it should be
(23:59):
the Lakers because that's where he ultimately has said he
wants to go. And that's been a rumored for months,
long before this all became public, like that was that
was his his goal. Everybody in the league knew it
that Paul George wanted to go back to southern California.
So you know, everybody is now in a position where
they're trying to to weigh, um, the risks associated with
(24:21):
trading for him or not trading for him. Can you
still get him in free agency next summer if you're
the Lakers, or is Paul George gonna fall in love
with Cleveland or Boston or somewhere else. Um, if you're
one of those teams, how much are you willing to
give up knowing that he might leave you for the Lakers?
And how how confident are you that you can spend
the season selling him on the long term. If you're
Boston or Cleveland, or say San Antonio or Houston, knew
(24:43):
who I think also will be chasting and so um
trying to predict how that that one plays out. I
wouldn't even guess. Hm. Well, look, if nothing if not entertaining,
go to bleacher Report or all tweeted out as well.
Using his witter handle, our Beck covers the NBA does
an outstanding job for Bleach Report. His most recent article
(25:05):
is about the New York Knicks and providing the accurate
and proper context of where the Knicks are now as
opposed to where they have been even before the Phil
Jackson regime. Howard, thanks so much for joining us enjoy
a wild early July with NBA free agency, and thanks
for being on Fox Sports Radio. You gotta guys appreciate it.
Thank you. Be sure to catch live editions of the
(25:25):
Doug gott Leaves Show weekdays at three p m. Easter
noon Pacific. Here's Jeff Van Gundi on Sports Talk seven
ninety on the idea that the NBA is actually a
player's leg Everybody says it's a players league, but you
know what I believe it is. I believe it's the
who picks the players league. I think this is a
general manager's league as much as anything, working with other players,
(25:48):
deciding on who's in the draft, who you're going to
pick in the draft, because you've got to pick the
right players. And I think the general managers have been
undervalued when it came to you win because obviously the
players have to be great. But who's in charge of
putting together great players? I think it's a general manager.
I think that was that's a direct shot at the
(26:09):
Cleveland Cavaliers for firing David Griffin. That's a direct shot
of them for firing David Griffin. That's what it is. Oh,
this is general manager. Look, do I think that the
inmates running the asylum is a bad thing? Short you can't,
players can't. There has to be there's got to be
a balance between player power and front office power. Michael
(26:33):
Jordan's didn't like many of the moves and didn't respect
Jerry Krause a ton but the Bulls did not consult
with Michael Jordan when they trade away Charles Oakley for
medical Bill Cartwright, and it worked out, and it worked out.
They didn't like Tony Coo coo coach. It worked out,
Dennis Robin was brought in. UM, it worked out, and
(26:53):
so there should star players have power? Sure? Does that
mean they should call the shots? Absolutely not. And my
sense is that was a direct shot at the Cleveland
Cavaliers who fired David Griffin and yet to hire anybody
and are floating around trade possibilities and trying to figure
(27:16):
out because they don't value what David Griffin has done.
It's the only possible reason that he would go on
that tangent, which doesn't really make sense. Like, yeah, picking
the players is impressive. Sam Presty has done an incredible
job of picking players. May drafted James Harden, they drafted
Russell Westbrook, they drafted Kevin Durant. Those are all guys
that he drafted. Um on the other hand, drafted Steven Adams.
(27:43):
On the other hand, as much as drafted those guys,
he also trade away James Harden, which caused him on
some level to lose Kevin Durant. And now he's gonna
have to hope that Russell Westbrook does in fact sign
that five year extension because otherwise you're gonna have to
trade Russell Westbrook too. So He's done a great job
of selecting the play, but the players still hold the power.
(28:06):
The players are the most powerful in the NBA, more
so than Major League Baseball, even though Major League Baseball's
union is more powerful, so their second deals are far bigger.
But the real reason they're far bigger is because they
play a hundred sixty two games, more so than how
powerful the players are. Their contracts are better in Major
(28:27):
League Baseball than another sport, but the players are more
powerful because if in fact they leave, and they're willing
to make slightly less money to leave, they can dramatically
change the entire league. Whereas that's just Zach Grinky was
one of the best pitchers in the National League. He
switched from the Dodgers to the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks all
(28:48):
they needed was pitching. He switches. They load up on
pitching in an offseason and it completely fails. Now that
Backs are better this year, they're still not great this year,
but they completely failed. And is a big that's a
big time player that that would be as like a
Kevin Durant switching teams. Kevin Durant switches teams and look
(29:08):
at the impact that he's had it's a players league.
That's messaging. That's like we talked about Isaiah Thomas last hour.
Anytime he points out that he thinks Lebron James is
the greatest player ever, that's because Isaiah Thomas hates Michael Jordan.
Because Michael Jordan hates Isaiah Thomas. He doesn't really think
that Lebron is better than Michael Jordan's just Michael Jordan
tweaked him, shunned him, kept him off the ninety two
(29:31):
Olympic team, the Dream Team because previous to that, Isaiah
Thomas told the Eastern Conference players to freeze out Michael
Jordan's first ever All Star game. And Jordan never forgets
things like that. That's just messaging, that's all it is.
Just like when Doc Rivers said, Hey, you know, CB
three didn't leave us because of our players. He left
(29:54):
to go play with James Harden, Like, that's just messaging.
That's trying to tell his players that CP three said
it's not you, it's me, and he believes it. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports radio dot
com and within the i Heart Radio app. Collins Comparing
and comparables because it's kind of what he does at times.
(30:16):
Because in the first four years of a major League
baseball player's career, they don't make any money. They don't
make any money. They make a million dollars or less
in the first four years of the deal. Many you know,
if you go by the true rookie deal, make a
combined million dollars over the first four years. And unlike
basketball players, um if you're a pitcher, for example, though
(30:39):
you may only be pitching thirty five times a year,
you run the risk of a career debilitating injury or
at least an injury that derails you for a year
a year and a half in terms of rehab while
making that money. Now it's a longer career. But you're
also if you're if you're an everyday player, you're playing
a hundred and sixty two or you can play a
hundred and fifty of the hundred sixt two games. That's
(31:00):
a lot more work for a lot less pay. Because
of the way the salary structure is set up, you
can make as much or frankly, usually more money if
you leave the organization. The differences in the collective Barten
agreement nothing more, nothing less. If the major Major League
Baseball had a franchise tag or had a at a
(31:21):
Larry Bird's right, more players would in fact stay on
their team. Instead, it's the opposite. Teams encourage some players
to leave to take to get more money because they
get two first round picks in return. So there's been
a big swing in Major League Baseball in that free
agents aren't The hot stove isn't nearly what it used
(31:43):
to be because they've seen so many of these long
term deals go bad. Our pools is deal, willis will
eventually go bad. Some of these pitching deals have gone bad. Um.
But the biggest thing is there's no franchise tag. There's
no desire, there's no added bonus for staying home, unlike
the NBA. And yeah, they want more money, but they
(32:07):
also don't have as big of a They don't factor
as large in regards to whether or not you win
a championship or don't want a champiship basedup on one player.
Can you be an added piece? Sure? Look, Zach RANKI said,
as much anybody pays me two hundre million dollars, I
wanna leave dime becks? Did they won less? They won less.
(32:29):
So he's not wrong, but he also might not be
providing the accurate context for it. Be sure to catch
live editions of the Doug gott Leaps Show weekdays at
three pm Easter Noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app. Right, so here's the story. Um.
Alex Lopez was the most dominant center in sixth grade
(32:51):
basketball back when I was in sixth grade. So I
was twelve years old in sixth grade right born Summer, Bellevue, Washington,
the AU National Championships. I joined a team called a
r C mid Valley. Alex Lopez and Cameron Murray were
the stars. Camer Murray's brother Tracy, great player at U
c L a NBA player as well. Anyway, Axel was
(33:13):
the best UH sixth grade center in America six ft six.
So he had twin brothers who hung out with us
as a basketball team, and we end up winning the
a U National championship at twelve years old. We're at
dinner one night and I turned to Alex and I said, hey, man, Um,
(33:34):
and like his brothers were like almost as tall as me. Right,
and they had they had massive afros um and they
were strong and they were silly and we play with them,
but they weren't speaking all that clearly just yet, because
I mean we thought were like they're like six or
seven years old. And I was like, hey, is there
anything wrong with your brothers? He's like, what do you
mean wrong with them? Like, well, you know, they don't
(33:55):
speak all that clearly yet, like you can't understand them.
He's like, dude, there too. I was like, what anyway, Um,
they now speak very clearly. Uh, they're both Stanford lum
and Stanford Lums. And one gets to come back home
to southern California where he grew up and play for
the Lakers after serving nearly a decade. Some would say
(34:18):
it's a sentence, but he saw some good times and
bad with the New Jersey. Then Brooklyn Netsi's brook Lopez,
he joins us on the Doug Gottlip Show. I think
you speak quite well now as compared to when you
were two years old. Thank you. I think my linguistic
skills have improved slightly. And I have to say that
that introduction was the most unique, incredible thing I think
(34:39):
I've ever heard. Well, So, okay, so where were you
when you got the call that you were going to
be a Laker. I was in uh my brownstone across
the street from Barclay Center, just fashed up the workout
that day, and I was actually aptely watching Saved by
the bellot ball shows so randomly, so I think it
(35:00):
pretty fitting getting the call at that moment. Are you
a screech guy? Is that your favorite Save Saved character?
That's Robin's guy. Actually, Robin thinks he's exactly like and
I agree, you know, I don't know if he's as
smart as he is, but on the nerdy, uh sader
kind of side, that's Robin. Okay, So who's your who's
your like go to? Like, who do you most embody
(35:21):
of the Saved by the Belt characters? I mean, I'd
like to say Zach Morris, but I feel a lot
closer to a C. Slater honestly, and I have to
go up with, honestly, the whole Mario Lopez Lopez connection
there as well. He's he's a brother from another mother
and and father brook Lopez joining us. Uh. It should
(35:42):
be pointed out that like, I know you're moving to
l A and people like, oh, it's in l A.
Is awesome. Brooklyn is kind of awesome too. Like Brooklyn
for people don't know, Brooklyn is actually more expensive to
live in than man Manhattan. It's it's not on the
island of Manhattan. It's a and where you were like
crazy popular families everywhere, restaurants everywhere. That's actually a place
(36:03):
that I think you're I don't know, bummed out, but
you're you gotta miss it a little bit, right, especially
in the summer. It's it's awesome. Yeah, yeah, No, it
was great to be out there in the situation I
was in. I was literally right across the street from
Barclays in a park slow and then had some of
the best restaurants in the world. Great community. My neighbors
were super welcoming. Uh, they come over, invite me to dinner,
(36:27):
everything like that. It was just a very friendly, welcoming
community and I'm definitely gonna missed that all right. So
then you but then you get the call. Was it
your agent? Was it the Lakers? You see it on
the scrolls, you see it on Twitter? Like, how did
you find out it was? Actually? Uh, it was Brooklyn Management.
They reached out to me first. So what goes to you,
You know, a guy who grows up in southern California
(36:50):
and you hear you're gonna be like in our granted,
the Lakers kind of like you with the nets this year.
You know, you guys there in rebuild mode. But what
was the first thought that came to your mind? Uh,
there are a lot of different emotions swirling at once,
and through this whole process, I'm I've kind of been
equating it to uh, you know, being drafted all over again,
because it really was a quick whirlwind. But but once
(37:13):
everything settled for me, I was just pure excitement. I
was thrilled, and I honestly, uh, the very next morning,
I flew right out and I've kind of been just
getting at it after that. Okay, so now you're in
l A. Does it feel like home? Like you've been
away from home for a long time. I've done that
as I'm moving kind of back to southern California as well.
(37:34):
Uh when when you get out the plane, you're like, oh,
I'm home or it's l A, which kind of used
to be home, and I know stuff, and I know
the valley, and I know in North Hollywood and whenever,
but it's not Did it feel like home when you
got out the plane? You know, it still does. It
still does. I tell people like I have to adjust
to certain things, Like I I grew up here, but
(37:54):
I've never really been an adult out here. So I'm
learning certain things about it from another perspective, which is
fun and exciting. But at the same time, it it's uh,
just great being back out here and being back home,
you know, just even dumb things like sitting in traffic
right now on the on the ten or something like that. It's, uh,
you know, I'm just sitting here, like, Wow, I'm back
(38:15):
out here. It's pretty clay. I know it's crazy. But
did you even have a car in Brooklyn? No? No,
I did. I had one, but I never used it.
I never used it. I literally the first time I
used it was what the day before I left. And
now you're getting thrust into Now you're on the ten Freeway.
You're just like trawling along brook Lopez hopefully joining us
(38:36):
via Bluetooth in his car on the ten stud Outlip
show Fox Sports Radio. So you get to l A
and you meet with Magic. What did he tell you
he expects of you? I mean, like, look, you've been
through the You've been through the I mean, you guys
were terrible a couple of years with the Nets, and
you had a couple of really good years and then
terrible again with the Nets. What what were what was
(38:58):
his expectations for your time here? Got one year left
on this deal, right, his expectations for you with the Lakers?
You know, just just talking to Rob and Magic, I think, Um,
what they want me to bring this team? They want
me to to bring some veteran leadership, to be a sort
of a mentor. And that's that's something you talk about
the ups and downs of my time with the Nets.
Just I learned a lot from the personnel I played with,
(39:21):
you know, playing with guys like Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett,
Joe Johnson, paulp Pears, you know, playing for Jason Kidd.
These are like Hall of Fame players, and so I
just try to soak up everything I can. I was
a young guy and the ladder, just eager to learn
and you do whatever I could. And now I'm kind
of in that reverse position, trying to help these guys
along the way, and you know, uh, bring these guys together,
(39:43):
and you know, we're we're really looking at some fun
times ahead this next season. Um. The most important question
to ask any laker, is are you a big baller?
If they if they if they can set me up
with free gear? Um, absolutely a big baller. If if?
(40:07):
What size shoe? I don't look, I heard Alonzo wore
his wore the shoes on Monday and then Tuesday and Wednesday.
He didn't wear them like they're not ready for prime time.
So if they're not waiting for Alonzo there you're you're
probably like an eighteen or something like that. Yeah, your
size size twenty? Shoot? Yeah, I mean can you can
(40:27):
you can you just can you imagine how much trouble
they would have making a size twenty shoe if they're
struggling with Alonzo balls like size thirteen or fourteen shoo?
I think I think they might be a ways away
in the prototype stage before they get before they get
to you. But it's good to know you are a
big baller. How how would you like look? One of
the things that I think is unique to you and
your brother is you've kind of been on the l
(40:48):
A l A scene in au and you know that
there have been some parents, maybe not as prominent or
as well known as LaVar is. What's it like for
a player now? Like in terms of how you approach
getting to know law Anzo as a veteran league and
a guy who's exceptionally bright. What's it like for you
to carry kind of that what you thought of him
when you're in Brooklyn too. Now he's a teammate. You know,
(41:10):
I always thought very highly Alonzo, you know, um, you know,
just look at him as a prospect in general. Uh,
you know, I thought the Skuy's winner for this kid,
and being uh on his team now you know, and
he's my point guard, so obviously I'm gonna talk him up.
But there's no embellishment at all, you know, just playing
with him in the last three or four days, just
(41:31):
seeing his on court composure, vision, just overall ability for
where he's at in his career, you know, never playing
an NBA game, his first real NBA competition. It's just
it's been super impressive. Brook Lopez, Jonius and the Doug
Gotlip Show new center for the l A Lakers. Um.
I don't know if you heard the the Jimmy Butler's
(41:51):
press conference earlier today, But in addition to giving out
his phone number to anybody who was a hater, which
he actually really did, he also said like, Hey, I'm
gonna recruit guys to come here. Um, so are you
gonna try and do the same. You're gonna try and
recruit guys to come to the Lakers if that's what
Magic wants. Absolutely, you know the thing I feel about
(42:12):
l A and the Lakers with such a proud heritage
and history, I don't uh, the recruiting comes a lot easier.
You know that there's a there's a fantastic lineage. It's
just something you're proud to be a part of. I
think a lot of that just speaks for itself. All right,
see are you going? That's basically the Stanford recruiting pitch, right,
(42:32):
It's like, look at Stanford, Okay, Stanford, you want to
come and you don't want to come. You don't want
to come and find it's best education where you go
in Stanford. Kind of Mike Montgomery slightly highbrow, almost a
little bit arrogant recruiting on me? Is that what you're
doing We're better than you. We know we're better than
you where the Lakers? Is that what you're doing when
you're recruiting pitch. I'm not trying to go completely in
that direction, but I we'll say we got you know,
(42:55):
we have mad Dog Madison with us obviously, so you
know we do have a sort of standing for contingent
with the Lakers. Yeah. Um, I don't think that helps you.
There's no Stanford guy like you can't Casey Jacobson's not
coming out of retirement anytime soon. I can't think of
I can't think of a Stanford guy who you have
to absolutely have to get. The biggest question is this
Comic Con is where this year? Oh? The big ones
(43:18):
always San Diego and July. Yeah right, so that's my
immediate thought when you were traded, was sweet, Now he
can like ride the train or you know, like he
can he can drive his car down to Comic Con.
It's not a it's not a trip all the way
across the country like this is. This is as good
as set up as you can get for you and
your brother to go to Comic Con. No, no question,
you know. And I don't think I can do the train.
I think I have to drive down just because I
(43:39):
need to be able to put all my swag in
the car and I'm gonna need a pretty I might
need a you honestly, So if you help carry all
that stuff. You're more than welcome. I would you know what,
I would love to come out, honestly making I've never
been to comic Con, and if I'm gonna go, I'm
gonna go with the Lopez Twins. Brook Listen, Welcome back
to l A. Can't wait to see you in form,
Blue and Golden. Thanks how much for joining us on
(44:00):
Fox Sports Radio. Thanks for hauding me.
This is the best of the Dog Dot Leap Show
on Fox Sports Radio. Boom, What Up America? Doug gott
Leap Show, Fox Sports Radio Live from Tel Aviv, Israel
this week and we are getting fired up for July one,
which is of course NBA Free agency season. And uh,
(00:22):
now everybody just starts lying to us and we get craziness.
Let me start with this. I want to get to
what Chris Paul is really saying, because DC Rivers said, uh,
he tried to see if Chris Balton was it Wasn't
it not you, It's me. We know what that actually means.
We'll get to that in a second. But um, the
stories out of New York that there's a possibility of
(00:45):
Isaiah Thomas becoming the general manager again of the New
York Knicks. Isaiah Thomas is, without any question, the single
worst general manager in the history of professional sports. Aside
from the fact that he was terrible as a general
manager and terrible running the c b A into bankruptcy,
(01:06):
he also was at the Helm during a ten million
dollar then million dollar sexual harassment lawsuit. Outside of that,
he was incredible. Did no one pay attention to the
fact that he turned over a roster. He signed two
players whose contracts were uninsured. And for people who don't
(01:27):
know what that means, um, when a player signs in
the NBA, like the reason they found out that Magic
Johnson had HIV, the virus that then they thought would
cause aids, never cause aids to them is because before
every season players have to take a complete physical. They
take that complete physical because their contracts are insured, so
(01:49):
teams pay a premium to insurance companies in case there's
a season ending or career ending injury. If that's the case,
you know, just like um other contracts that are insured.
You know, whether you're getting something done in your house,
you want to get it insured. And there's a reason
you have insurance in case something goes wrong, right, Chris
(02:09):
Chris Rock says, in case ish right, That's what it is.
Isaiah Thomas signed players with uninsured contracts. He turned over
the whole roster. They were the most expensive team in
the league and they still sucked. And he had brought
he had he had bankrupt the c b A and
and he was at the Helm and part of a
(02:31):
ten million dollar sexual ha harassment lawsuit. Outside of that,
he would be a great higher because you know, he's
been on nb NBA TV and he was an incredible
Hall of Fame point guard, and he's got a great
smile and no matter how old he looks, he doesn't
seem to age. Okay, enough of that, Brett Favre might
(02:52):
want to get back into the game of football. I'll
tell you why we should have seen this coming all along,
but let's start with with Chris Paul. I saw this
story today. Um Doc Rivers says that Chris Paul left
to be with James Harden, not because of Clipper players. Quote.
At the end of the day, when you lose c P,
it's a big loss. I want to thank him for
the years he was here. He left because he wanted
(03:13):
to be with James Harden. Let's not get it twisted.
I wish him well. I have no problem with that.
Do I disagree? Yeah? I think it would have been
better served here, but that's not for me that cp
uh to decide. He decided again, he decided against that.
We've heard all the stories about Blake and DJ and Austin.
I can't comment on Austin because that's just not right.
(03:34):
We've heard he left because of all three. Today he
left because DJ. He left because Blake, Now he left
because Austin. We know he didn't leave because of that.
There's a lot of speculation as to why he left.
The one thing I know is that he didn't leave
us because of any of those guys. He left because
he felt like he would have a better chance to
win somewhere else. Okay, It's almost as if Chris Paul said,
(03:56):
Chris Paul went to Doc Rivers and said, it's not you,
it's me, and Doc Rivers is like the only human
being on earth that actually believes that crap. Anytime they
say it's not you, it's me, it really is you.
It's like any time an athlete says, it's not all
about the money, what's it about? It's about the money.
(04:18):
It's It's like when somebody says no offense, what's the
next thing gonna come out of their mind, out of
their mouth something offensive. No, when somebody says no disrespect,
But what's the next thing they're gonna say something disrespectful?
Anytime somebody breaks out the it's not you, it's me card,
we know it really is you. And oh yeah, by
(04:40):
the way, I don't think the NBA got better like,
I don't think the Houston Rockets got better. They got
more interesting, they got more star studded, they got a
second dominating ball handler. I love Chris Paul, love love
love love, love, love, love love love. If I could
(05:00):
play basketball as a point guards a four point guard,
like any player, it would be Chris Paul. Maybe a
little Steve Nash, but mostly Chris Paul. He's tenacious, he
makes shots. He's not ridiculously explosive, but he always finds
a way to get by. He completely controls the game
at both ends of the floor. He is spectacular, but
(05:22):
everything he does is with the basketball, and everything James
Harden does is with the basketball. And unless they are
going to propose a new rule to which the Houston
Rockets are the only team in the NBA that could
play with two basketballs, I don't know how they got better,
especially considering what changed with the Rockets was mid season.
They made a move and got Lou Williams from the
(05:43):
l A Lakers, gave them some bench depths, got some
toughness with which Patrick Beverley Chris Paul is a better player,
But I don't know if they got definitively better. And
oh Yeah, by the way, did the NBA get definitively better?
We would all agree everything. I think we all came
to agreement last night or yesterday afternoon, depending on where
you're listening to this show Doug Gotlip Show Fox Sports Radio,
(06:07):
that this is the end of any sort of Clipper
This is a dynasty by the Clippers. For for the
in the context of who the Clippers are, this has
been a dynasty, and that dynasty has ended. But it
also limits the growth potential of the Spurs, a potential
landing spot for Chris Paul. And while it makes the
Rockets more interesting by depleting two playoff teams in the West,
(06:32):
we've got more of the same. Like, the Rockets aren't
better than Golden State Warriors unless they add another body.
And if they don't add another body, and even if
they do, the idea that they're definitively going to be
better with two guys who kind of play the same
position sort of seems really really far fetched, really far fetched.
(06:55):
But if Doc Rivers really believes that it's not you,
it's me, then he's the first guy ever, the very
first guy. Come on, Doc, you know I could disagree
with that, but he didn't leave because of these guys. Yes,
he didn't leave because of those guys. And uh, Lebron
James has never fired anybody, right, That's like the Lebron
(07:17):
James had nothing to do with the firing a day
of David Griffin. But if Lebron James didn't want David
Griffin fired, David Griffin wouldn't be fired. And Chris Paul
wanted to play with those guys, he would play with
those guys. He didn't have anything bad to say about
our guys. There was nothing there. What are you talking about? Then?
On the in the very next sentence, you said he
(07:38):
wanted to play with James Harden thought he had better
chance of winning. Doesn't that tell you all you need
to know? So, like, we have kind of the same
problem with the NBA. We've had not only the rich
getting somewhat quasi richer, right, but there becomes more and
(08:03):
more poor. And the NBA's value is not just based
upon those two teams that meet up in the finals.
It's based upon all of the playoffs and the regular
season being interesting. And it's completely and utterly uninteresting right now.
I mean, it's it's it's crazy. What's happened, so well,
(08:24):
we're celebrating it because it's we We as sports radio hosts,
love interesting stories, love the tabloid stuff, with the with
Austin Rivers, you know, did Chris Paul who do you
get along with? Who? He didn't go along with? But
if you look as good as the NBA finals numbers were,
the regular season numbers were putrid, so too with the
(08:44):
rest of the playoffs, and the playoffs were short lived.
And oh yeah, by the way, the Nicks aren't going
to be good. The Nets aren't going to be good.
The Bulls are hit and refresh, the Lakers are probably
at least a year away from being there are a
year away from being a year away, and the upperst
take a step back. All your teams in major markets.
And I do know that Houston is a big market,
(09:05):
but it's also a football market and the market that's
still big in China. That's the weird, don't you guys
know that? That because of yao. And then that's why
Tracy McGrady is was one of the most popular players
in the world. It wasn't because Tracy McGrady is nearly
as good as the Hall of Famer that he's he's
become like Tracy McGrady. Never until he's with the Spurs
and he was washed up and he'd been out of basketball,
(09:27):
he'd never been on the first round the NBA playoffs.
Let's not kid ourselves, but Traycean McGrady is one of
the most popular players in the world because he played
with Yao Ming that plays in China, and the Rockets
became kind of the team of China. Anyway, as big
as that market is, nobody's ever gone like I can't
wait to see the Houston Rockets play. Just something weird
(09:49):
about Houston. They've been good periodically through history, winning the
two championships with with the Chemalai Juan and Robert Ory
and Kenny Smith and those guys, getting to an NBA
finals with Ralph Sampson early on. But but that doesn't
(10:10):
solve their issue of having no big market teams, none
of the three biggest markets having playoff caliber teams. Be
sure to catch live editions of the Doug gott Leaps
Show weekdays at three pm Eastern noon Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app two nights ago. Um,
(10:32):
I just like, look, I know it's easy to crush
Phil Jackson because he seemed a little bit aloof, But
in fairness, he wasn't the biggest disaster this year for
the Knicks. That was actually their owner getting into it
with Charles Oakley during a game. He did draft christophs
prezingis and though it doesn't appear to have worked, it
hasn't been working there for a long time. Helped me
(10:54):
out how how the broadcasting from Tel Aviv, Israel, and
what happens is when you how the wrong number, you
dial out the wrong way, you get kind of that
same sort of message, but it's in Hebrew shalom, and
then they start and I don't speak Hebrew, so I
could be down the wrong number. Uh, this could be
a disconnected number. Uh my my cell phone could be
(11:17):
completely out of minutes. I'm not really sure all of
these things are possible, but I don't. Not only do
I not speak Hebrew, I do not speak operator Hebrew.
So we'll work to get Howard Howard back is back
your thoughts on the out sting of Phil Jackson. Howard
Well just posted a column a few hours ago. You know,
I've got a counterintuitive you know on this one, Like
(11:40):
I'm not gonna defend his tenure. Um. There were many
mistakes made. I don't think those mistakes were nearly of
the scale that I think people are portraying to be.
And my main takeaway in the main thrust of the
column I put up today, is that this is not
nearly um the dire straits that the Knicks have been
in the past due to the calamitous regimes of of
(12:03):
other gms. They were far worse off after the Isaiah era.
I know, it's a little bar. They were in bad
shape even when Phil took over, and people seemed to
overlook this that they were on their wip with thirty
seven win season, with kind of a broken group, and
they had no room that summer his first summer, they
had no they had no draft that first June that
(12:25):
Phil Jackson was on the job. And if you look
at it for like, forget for a moment all of
the things that have set people off over the last
few years. And I'm not diminishing them, there were a
lot of things that were very avoidable, a lot of
self inflicted wounds. Just concentrate for a moment on what
the new GM is inheriting or the new team president
(12:46):
A team that has twenty plus million kapper in this summer,
had a lottery pick that was used on the French
point guard whose last name I spoke can't pronounced well um,
and have all their draft picks going forward and potential
for cap room next summer when Carmelo Anthony would be
off the books, assuming he isn't traded. In the meantime,
they have Christaps Porzingis. They have some young players who
(13:06):
look like they're gonna be growing into absolute rotational roles,
Willie ern and Gomez and uh kuz Minsk. They've they're
in okay shape. They're fine there. This is not the
Brooklyn Nets with no draft picks and no hope. This
is not the you know, the Clippers of the old days,
who were just on a perpetual cycle of of no
(13:30):
moderate appearances every spring. This is not nearly the disaster. Again,
you know, I covered an next for nine years from
from two thousand two. I've seen far worse. I've seen
bigger controversies. I've seen sexual ritchie lawsuits and fights on
the court, and I mean, this is this is not
nearly that scale. I agree, which is crazy because one
(13:52):
of the names being floated about is Isaiah Thomas. And
what I pointed out, Howard, because again like like you,
I mean I covered on a national level, You've covered
on a day to day So you know Isaiah. First
of all, Isaiah turned over the roster, so all of
those that it's he didn't inherit any of the every
but why I inherited No, No, he got rid of
all all of the previous resimes. Guys, those are all his, guys.
(14:13):
He two of the biggest contracts were uninsured contracts, which
is has never been never been heard from or seen
since no one does that in the NBA. Uninsured contracts.
They were the they had the highest salary in the
NBA and they still weren't a playoff team. And oh yeah,
by the way, there was the ten million dollar sexual
harassment lawsuit that he was at the helm of the
(14:36):
Knicks during, Like that was a much bigger disaster. And
guess what. Somehow Isaiah's name is being floated about as
a dark horse candidate for the same job that he
was awful at ten years ago. Yeah. I don't know
how realistic that is. I mean I don't I don't
dismiss the reports that that he could be the quote
(14:58):
unquote dark horse candidate. It's clearly not their focus. I
mean they're clearly going after Messiah Gerry of Toronto, which
would be you know, a phenomenal on one level, because
he's one of the best gms in the NBA period.
Messiah is fantastic. Part of the Leagon. We know he's
fantastic is because of prior deals in which at least
to the Knicks, both in Toronto and in denver Um.
(15:20):
So there's a weird, you know, funny twist there, but
there clearly they've learned some lessons if their first target
is Messiah Jerry instead of another retread or somebody who
just has a big name. I mean, there's a mixed
problem there. Their their worst habit over years and years
(15:41):
is constantly going for the shiny object, the big name.
So they hire ri Isaiah Thomas to be team president
back in two thousand three when he had you know,
when his his his own own experience had had not
been so great in that regard as an executive. They
you know, hired you know, the safe brow, and they've
traded for Stefon Marbrey. They eventually you know, high Phil Jackson.
They're constantly and Phil had of course non executive experience whatsoever.
(16:03):
They're constantly going for the shiny object instead of looking
around and saying, who's done this job and done at
the highest level, because we're Madison Square Garden and we've
got a mental resources, and we're in a great market,
and we're a historic franchise, and we should be able
to pry loose one of the best in the business.
Messiah Jerry represents that. So if they can land him,
and you know, there may have to be compensation, which
means losing some picks and you got away that, but
(16:25):
landing Messiah Jury would be a huge coup. And it's
the way that they should go and not keep reaching
for the shiny objects. And if it's not even a
shiny object at this point that you've been there and
done that, I don't think that's gonna happen. I mean,
it will always bubble up because he's always working in
the UH in the corridors there, and he's working for
Madison Square Garden on the Liberty side in the w
(16:47):
n B A, so he's you know, he's around. But look,
I don't think that's gonna happen. Hower back joining us
and Bleacher Report, Doug Gottlieb Show, Fox Sports Radio. Okay,
then let's go to Chris Paul. Um. I love this
quote from from Doc Rivers. It looks he wasn't about us,
it was about James Harden, right. He It's almost as
if Chris Paul sat him down and said, it's not you,
(17:10):
it's me, and Doc Rivers actually believed him. Um. I
guess the first question is how how surprised were you
that Chris Paul and not just that he left, but
he left for the Houston Rockets. The only surprising part
is is that you know the Rockets. Of course, I
(17:30):
didn't have cap room. We weren't going to have cap
room without offloading much of salaries, and so it didn't
look like it was going to be possible. Um. Clearly
there were some back channel discussions going on here because
the Rockets new and then Chris Paul knew that if
if he wanted to go there, he could, and so
he used that to get himself traded there instead of
going to free agent route, which would have um which
would have created a much steper challenge for the Rockets
(17:54):
to pull it off. The surprising part two, of course,
is yes, he's going to a team that already has
one of the elite point guards in league, James Harden,
who until recently had been a shooting guard, but full
time point guard as of this last season, and Mike D'Antoni.
And so now you've got to ball dominant guards. But
you know, I know people kind of flinch at that,
but the fact is one these two guys are actually
(18:14):
pretty good friends, and that's always the basis, or can
be the basis for for a good working relationship on
the court if you trust each other, you know, willing
to give up a little for each other. And clearly
they've already had that discussion or he wouldn't have been
forcing himself to be traded there in the first place.
So it can absolutely work. What Mike D'Antoni has said
over the years is, you know, basically, if you've got
(18:36):
five guys on the court who can all dribble, pass,
and shoot, you're that much better off. So the idea
of two guys who are you know, to have been
ball dominant, it's fine as long as they both also
no when to give up the ball and are going
to keep moving, keep the offense humming. Because Mike D'Antoni
wants you know that. He always says the ball finds energy.
That the idea there is you keep moving and running
(18:57):
the offense and you'll get your shots. And so having
two guys who can make place for themselves and for
other players who are both great shooters um and and
and Chris Paul's case also a great defender, which you know,
can help, you know, compensate for hardened being a subpart defender. Um,
it's it. You know, it can work. It can certainly work.
(19:18):
I think they've got more works to do on that roster.
And I'm also pretty sure that Darryl Morey's probably not
stopping at this. I would I agree with you. I
guess my question is, and I talked to some of
my NBA front office friends and they kind of agree
with they did the Rockets actually get better last night?
Because because what I thought was they might not have
gotten better, Uh, losing Lou Williams off their bench, who
(19:39):
was a great weapon for them, Losing Patrick Beverley was
probably better off coming off the bench, but was a starter. Um,
maybe that kind of equals out. But but what they did,
what happened was now San Antonio now they're gonna have
to go probably with youth at point guard, and so
San Antonio no longer feels like a championship caliber contender.
(19:59):
The Hippers don't feel like a championship caliber contender. And
whereas we thought we might have had more competitive teams
in the West challenging the Warriors, there's a chance we
have less challenging teams because the Rockets were a challenger
last year. But but still not of the elk of
the Warriors. Aren't we still in that exact same spot,
only it takes the Spurs down a notch and the
(20:21):
Clippers down a notch. It doesn't take the Spurs down.
I mean the Spurs are down, and not just because
Tony Parker got hurt. There was no guarantee that Chris
Paul was going there. So I don't, I don't. We're
taking too many leaps to assume that this takes the
Spurs down a notch. I think that, you know, the Spurs. Look,
what's best front office is in the NBA um as
we're talking about messire Jeril, you're obviously R C. Beauford.
(20:42):
You know, there's the cream of the crop. They will
find ways to create room and maybe I don't. I'm
not making predictions here, but they can go get Kyle
Affrey or maybe they can bring back George Hill, who
they once created for Kawhi Leonard to get cow while
Leonard um don't find somebody they're the Spurs have no
doubt in my mind they will find a way to
patch it up until Tony Parker either gets back and healthy. Um,
(21:05):
you know, they can keep Patty Mills potentially again that
there's gonna be some cape machinations involved here. They're gonna
have to get creative, but that's the franchise that knows
how to do it. So the Spurs, I think at
the end of the day, at the end of the summer,
or it was in the next couple of weeks, we'll
be right back there. So we'll have the Spurs and
the Rockets, who were the two teams that were challenging
(21:25):
or presumably chanting the Warriors last year, will be the
same two or either of them really going to close
the gap, that's the question. And I think what the
Rockets did was ensured that Harden doesn't have to carry
so great of a load anymore. He can spend time
on the bench and have a more than competence, um
all star point guard out there running a team. When
he's not, they'll have time to whether it together and
(21:45):
you can play off of each other and times they
can all penate. And you know, maybe Harden was worn
down at the end of that playoff series, uh you know,
a month or so ago. Maybe that accounts for for
how badly he finished, and you know you need to
an account for that. And again, I don't think they're done.
I mean we're not even the free agency yet. I
think the Rockets are gonna have more moves to make.
(22:06):
All right, speaking of free agency, what's the most likely
destination for Gordon Hayward. I would say it's still Boston.
That that relationship with Brad Stephens is not to be underestimated.
Um there. You know, they've always remained tight. That the
team that has a chance to win right now and
(22:28):
for years to come, because they're mostly pretty young. They've
got a couple of older guys and how Al Horford
in particular, but they've got you know, all that youth,
all those assets. Picks still coming if you go there,
whether or not they can trade for Paul George. If
you go there, as Gordon Hamward joining Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford,
Avery Bradley, J. Crowder. You're joining a team that already
(22:52):
made it to the conference finals without you. And now
is Gordon Hayward enough to put you over the top
against Lebron? Probably not, But look there's there's a you know,
the callock is kicking on Cleveland. Um. You know, I
know we should never rule out Lebron and you know
he might just go forever, but you know there's talk
of Lebron leaving as soon as next summer. If that
happens and you're the Celtics and you've got Gordon Hayward,
(23:13):
guess what, you're the new favorites in the East. Um,
if they if they cav trade, heaven love. You know,
even if they got Paul George, even if they somehow
made themselves more dynamic and with better wing players to
try to face the Warriors, they're still they're gonna be
different that have introduced some volatility into what was a
winning formula. Maybe have an opportunity even immediately, But um,
(23:33):
I think you look beyond the Lebron window. If you're
Gordon Hayward looking to Boston, So I think the Celtics
are a real threat. I think other teams will make
a run. But I think if I had to guess
if he leaves Utah, it's going to be because he
goes to Boston. What about Paul George? Where does he
play his first game of next season? That one's really
hard to predict. I mean, logically, um, it should be
(23:59):
the Lakers because that's where he ultimately has said he
wants to go. And that's been a rumored for months,
long before this all became public, like that was that
was his his goal. Everybody in the league knew it
that Paul George wanted to go back to southern California.
So you know, everybody is now in a position where
they're trying to to weigh, um, the risks associated with
(24:21):
trading for him or not trading for him. Can you
still get him in free agency next summer if you're
the Lakers, or is Paul George gonna fall in love
with Cleveland or Boston or somewhere else. Um, if you're
one of those teams, how much are you willing to
give up knowing that he might leave you for the Lakers?
And how how confident are you that you can spend
the season selling him on the long term. If you're
Boston or Cleveland, or say San Antonio or Houston, knew
(24:43):
who I think also will be chasting and so um
trying to predict how that that one plays out. I
wouldn't even guess. Hm. Well, look, if nothing if not entertaining,
go to bleacher Report or all tweeted out as well.
Using his witter handle, our Beck covers the NBA does
an outstanding job for Bleach Report. His most recent article
(25:05):
is about the New York Knicks and providing the accurate
and proper context of where the Knicks are now as
opposed to where they have been even before the Phil
Jackson regime. Howard, thanks so much for joining us enjoy
a wild early July with NBA free agency, and thanks
for being on Fox Sports Radio. You gotta guys appreciate it.
Thank you. Be sure to catch live editions of the
(25:25):
Doug gott Leaves Show weekdays at three p m. Easter
noon Pacific. Here's Jeff Van Gundi on Sports Talk seven
ninety on the idea that the NBA is actually a
player's leg Everybody says it's a players league, but you
know what I believe it is. I believe it's the
who picks the players league. I think this is a
general manager's league as much as anything, working with other players,
(25:48):
deciding on who's in the draft, who you're going to
pick in the draft, because you've got to pick the
right players. And I think the general managers have been
undervalued when it came to you win because obviously the
players have to be great. But who's in charge of
putting together great players? I think it's a general manager.
I think that was that's a direct shot at the
(26:09):
Cleveland Cavaliers for firing David Griffin. That's a direct shot
of them for firing David Griffin. That's what it is. Oh,
this is general manager. Look, do I think that the
inmates running the asylum is a bad thing? Short you can't,
players can't. There has to be there's got to be
a balance between player power and front office power. Michael
(26:33):
Jordan's didn't like many of the moves and didn't respect
Jerry Krause a ton but the Bulls did not consult
with Michael Jordan when they trade away Charles Oakley for
medical Bill Cartwright, and it worked out, and it worked out.
They didn't like Tony Coo coo coach. It worked out,
Dennis Robin was brought in. UM, it worked out, and
(26:53):
so there should star players have power? Sure? Does that
mean they should call the shots? Absolutely not. And my
sense is that was a direct shot at the Cleveland
Cavaliers who fired David Griffin and yet to hire anybody
and are floating around trade possibilities and trying to figure
(27:16):
out because they don't value what David Griffin has done.
It's the only possible reason that he would go on
that tangent, which doesn't really make sense. Like, yeah, picking
the players is impressive. Sam Presty has done an incredible
job of picking players. May drafted James Harden, they drafted
Russell Westbrook, they drafted Kevin Durant. Those are all guys
that he drafted. Um on the other hand, drafted Steven Adams.
(27:43):
On the other hand, as much as drafted those guys,
he also trade away James Harden, which caused him on
some level to lose Kevin Durant. And now he's gonna
have to hope that Russell Westbrook does in fact sign
that five year extension because otherwise you're gonna have to
trade Russell Westbrook too. So He's done a great job
of selecting the play, but the players still hold the power.
(28:06):
The players are the most powerful in the NBA, more
so than Major League Baseball, even though Major League Baseball's
union is more powerful, so their second deals are far bigger.
But the real reason they're far bigger is because they
play a hundred sixty two games, more so than how
powerful the players are. Their contracts are better in Major
(28:27):
League Baseball than another sport, but the players are more
powerful because if in fact they leave, and they're willing
to make slightly less money to leave, they can dramatically
change the entire league. Whereas that's just Zach Grinky was
one of the best pitchers in the National League. He
switched from the Dodgers to the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks all
(28:48):
they needed was pitching. He switches. They load up on
pitching in an offseason and it completely fails. Now that
Backs are better this year, they're still not great this year,
but they completely failed. And is a big that's a
big time player that that would be as like a
Kevin Durant switching teams. Kevin Durant switches teams and look
(29:08):
at the impact that he's had it's a players league.
That's messaging. That's like we talked about Isaiah Thomas last hour.
Anytime he points out that he thinks Lebron James is
the greatest player ever, that's because Isaiah Thomas hates Michael Jordan.
Because Michael Jordan hates Isaiah Thomas. He doesn't really think
that Lebron is better than Michael Jordan's just Michael Jordan
tweaked him, shunned him, kept him off the ninety two
(29:31):
Olympic team, the Dream Team because previous to that, Isaiah
Thomas told the Eastern Conference players to freeze out Michael
Jordan's first ever All Star game. And Jordan never forgets
things like that. That's just messaging, that's all it is.
Just like when Doc Rivers said, Hey, you know, CB
three didn't leave us because of our players. He left
(29:54):
to go play with James Harden, Like, that's just messaging.
That's trying to tell his players that CP three said
it's not you, it's me, and he believes it. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports radio dot
com and within the i Heart Radio app. Collins Comparing
and comparables because it's kind of what he does at times.
(30:16):
Because in the first four years of a major League
baseball player's career, they don't make any money. They don't
make any money. They make a million dollars or less
in the first four years of the deal. Many you know,
if you go by the true rookie deal, make a
combined million dollars over the first four years. And unlike
basketball players, um if you're a pitcher, for example, though
(30:39):
you may only be pitching thirty five times a year,
you run the risk of a career debilitating injury or
at least an injury that derails you for a year
a year and a half in terms of rehab while
making that money. Now it's a longer career. But you're
also if you're if you're an everyday player, you're playing
a hundred and sixty two or you can play a
hundred and fifty of the hundred sixt two games. That's
(31:00):
a lot more work for a lot less pay. Because
of the way the salary structure is set up, you
can make as much or frankly, usually more money if
you leave the organization. The differences in the collective Barten
agreement nothing more, nothing less. If the major Major League
Baseball had a franchise tag or had a at a
(31:21):
Larry Bird's right, more players would in fact stay on
their team. Instead, it's the opposite. Teams encourage some players
to leave to take to get more money because they
get two first round picks in return. So there's been
a big swing in Major League Baseball in that free
agents aren't The hot stove isn't nearly what it used
(31:43):
to be because they've seen so many of these long
term deals go bad. Our pools is deal, willis will
eventually go bad. Some of these pitching deals have gone bad. Um.
But the biggest thing is there's no franchise tag. There's
no desire, there's no added bonus for staying home, unlike
the NBA. And yeah, they want more money, but they
(32:07):
also don't have as big of a They don't factor
as large in regards to whether or not you win
a championship or don't want a champiship basedup on one player.
Can you be an added piece? Sure? Look, Zach RANKI said,
as much anybody pays me two hundre million dollars, I
wanna leave dime becks? Did they won less? They won less.
(32:29):
So he's not wrong, but he also might not be
providing the accurate context for it. Be sure to catch
live editions of the Doug gott Leaps Show weekdays at
three pm Easter Noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app. Right, so here's the story. Um.
Alex Lopez was the most dominant center in sixth grade
(32:51):
basketball back when I was in sixth grade. So I
was twelve years old in sixth grade right born Summer, Bellevue, Washington,
the AU National Championships. I joined a team called a
r C mid Valley. Alex Lopez and Cameron Murray were
the stars. Camer Murray's brother Tracy, great player at U
c L a NBA player as well. Anyway, Axel was
(33:13):
the best UH sixth grade center in America six ft six.
So he had twin brothers who hung out with us
as a basketball team, and we end up winning the
a U National championship at twelve years old. We're at
dinner one night and I turned to Alex and I said, hey, man, Um,
(33:34):
and like his brothers were like almost as tall as me. Right,
and they had they had massive afros um and they
were strong and they were silly and we play with them,
but they weren't speaking all that clearly just yet, because
I mean we thought were like they're like six or
seven years old. And I was like, hey, is there
anything wrong with your brothers? He's like, what do you
mean wrong with them? Like, well, you know, they don't
(33:55):
speak all that clearly yet, like you can't understand them.
He's like, dude, there too. I was like, what anyway, Um,
they now speak very clearly. Uh, they're both Stanford lum
and Stanford Lums. And one gets to come back home
to southern California where he grew up and play for
the Lakers after serving nearly a decade. Some would say
(34:18):
it's a sentence, but he saw some good times and
bad with the New Jersey. Then Brooklyn Netsi's brook Lopez,
he joins us on the Doug Gottlip Show. I think
you speak quite well now as compared to when you
were two years old. Thank you. I think my linguistic
skills have improved slightly. And I have to say that
that introduction was the most unique, incredible thing I think
(34:39):
I've ever heard. Well, So, okay, so where were you
when you got the call that you were going to
be a Laker. I was in uh my brownstone across
the street from Barclay Center, just fashed up the workout
that day, and I was actually aptely watching Saved by
the bellot ball shows so randomly, so I think it
(35:00):
pretty fitting getting the call at that moment. Are you
a screech guy? Is that your favorite Save Saved character?
That's Robin's guy. Actually, Robin thinks he's exactly like and
I agree, you know, I don't know if he's as
smart as he is, but on the nerdy, uh sader
kind of side, that's Robin. Okay, So who's your who's
your like go to? Like, who do you most embody
(35:21):
of the Saved by the Belt characters? I mean, I'd
like to say Zach Morris, but I feel a lot
closer to a C. Slater honestly, and I have to
go up with, honestly, the whole Mario Lopez Lopez connection
there as well. He's he's a brother from another mother
and and father brook Lopez joining us. Uh. It should
(35:42):
be pointed out that like, I know you're moving to
l A and people like, oh, it's in l A.
Is awesome. Brooklyn is kind of awesome too. Like Brooklyn
for people don't know, Brooklyn is actually more expensive to
live in than man Manhattan. It's it's not on the
island of Manhattan. It's a and where you were like
crazy popular families everywhere, restaurants everywhere. That's actually a place
(36:03):
that I think you're I don't know, bummed out, but
you're you gotta miss it a little bit, right, especially
in the summer. It's it's awesome. Yeah, yeah, No, it
was great to be out there in the situation I
was in. I was literally right across the street from
Barclays in a park slow and then had some of
the best restaurants in the world. Great community. My neighbors
were super welcoming. Uh, they come over, invite me to dinner,
(36:27):
everything like that. It was just a very friendly, welcoming
community and I'm definitely gonna missed that all right. So
then you but then you get the call. Was it
your agent? Was it the Lakers? You see it on
the scrolls, you see it on Twitter? Like, how did
you find out it was? Actually? Uh, it was Brooklyn Management.
They reached out to me first. So what goes to you,
You know, a guy who grows up in southern California
(36:50):
and you hear you're gonna be like in our granted,
the Lakers kind of like you with the nets this year.
You know, you guys there in rebuild mode. But what
was the first thought that came to your mind? Uh,
there are a lot of different emotions swirling at once,
and through this whole process, I'm I've kind of been
equating it to uh, you know, being drafted all over again,
because it really was a quick whirlwind. But but once
(37:13):
everything settled for me, I was just pure excitement. I
was thrilled, and I honestly, uh, the very next morning,
I flew right out and I've kind of been just
getting at it after that. Okay, so now you're in
l A. Does it feel like home? Like you've been
away from home for a long time. I've done that
as I'm moving kind of back to southern California as well.
(37:34):
Uh when when you get out the plane, you're like, oh,
I'm home or it's l A, which kind of used
to be home, and I know stuff, and I know
the valley, and I know in North Hollywood and whenever,
but it's not Did it feel like home when you
got out the plane? You know, it still does. It
still does. I tell people like I have to adjust
to certain things, Like I I grew up here, but
(37:54):
I've never really been an adult out here. So I'm
learning certain things about it from another perspective, which is
fun and exciting. But at the same time, it it's uh,
just great being back out here and being back home,
you know, just even dumb things like sitting in traffic
right now on the on the ten or something like that. It's, uh,
you know, I'm just sitting here, like, Wow, I'm back
(38:15):
out here. It's pretty clay. I know it's crazy. But
did you even have a car in Brooklyn? No? No,
I did. I had one, but I never used it.
I never used it. I literally the first time I
used it was what the day before I left. And
now you're getting thrust into Now you're on the ten Freeway.
You're just like trawling along brook Lopez hopefully joining us
(38:36):
via Bluetooth in his car on the ten stud Outlip
show Fox Sports Radio. So you get to l A
and you meet with Magic. What did he tell you
he expects of you? I mean, like, look, you've been
through the You've been through the I mean, you guys
were terrible a couple of years with the Nets, and
you had a couple of really good years and then
terrible again with the Nets. What what were what was
(38:58):
his expectations for your time here? Got one year left
on this deal, right, his expectations for you with the Lakers?
You know, just just talking to Rob and Magic, I think, Um,
what they want me to bring this team? They want
me to to bring some veteran leadership, to be a sort
of a mentor. And that's that's something you talk about
the ups and downs of my time with the Nets.
Just I learned a lot from the personnel I played with,
(39:21):
you know, playing with guys like Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett,
Joe Johnson, paulp Pears, you know, playing for Jason Kidd.
These are like Hall of Fame players, and so I
just try to soak up everything I can. I was
a young guy and the ladder, just eager to learn
and you do whatever I could. And now I'm kind
of in that reverse position, trying to help these guys
along the way, and you know, uh, bring these guys together,
(39:43):
and you know, we're we're really looking at some fun
times ahead this next season. Um. The most important question
to ask any laker, is are you a big baller?
If they if they if they can set me up
with free gear? Um, absolutely a big baller. If if?
(40:07):
What size shoe? I don't look, I heard Alonzo wore
his wore the shoes on Monday and then Tuesday and Wednesday.
He didn't wear them like they're not ready for prime time.
So if they're not waiting for Alonzo there you're you're
probably like an eighteen or something like that. Yeah, your
size size twenty? Shoot? Yeah, I mean can you can
(40:27):
you can you just can you imagine how much trouble
they would have making a size twenty shoe if they're
struggling with Alonzo balls like size thirteen or fourteen shoo?
I think I think they might be a ways away
in the prototype stage before they get before they get
to you. But it's good to know you are a
big baller. How how would you like look? One of
the things that I think is unique to you and
your brother is you've kind of been on the l
(40:48):
A l A scene in au and you know that
there have been some parents, maybe not as prominent or
as well known as LaVar is. What's it like for
a player now? Like in terms of how you approach
getting to know law Anzo as a veteran league and
a guy who's exceptionally bright. What's it like for you
to carry kind of that what you thought of him
when you're in Brooklyn too. Now he's a teammate. You know,
(41:10):
I always thought very highly Alonzo, you know, um, you know,
just look at him as a prospect in general. Uh,
you know, I thought the Skuy's winner for this kid,
and being uh on his team now you know, and
he's my point guard, so obviously I'm gonna talk him up.
But there's no embellishment at all, you know, just playing
with him in the last three or four days, just
(41:31):
seeing his on court composure, vision, just overall ability for
where he's at in his career, you know, never playing
an NBA game, his first real NBA competition. It's just
it's been super impressive. Brook Lopez, Jonius and the Doug
Gotlip Show new center for the l A Lakers. Um.
I don't know if you heard the the Jimmy Butler's
(41:51):
press conference earlier today, But in addition to giving out
his phone number to anybody who was a hater, which
he actually really did, he also said like, Hey, I'm
gonna recruit guys to come here. Um, so are you
gonna try and do the same. You're gonna try and
recruit guys to come to the Lakers if that's what
Magic wants. Absolutely, you know the thing I feel about
(42:12):
l A and the Lakers with such a proud heritage
and history, I don't uh, the recruiting comes a lot easier.
You know that there's a there's a fantastic lineage. It's
just something you're proud to be a part of. I
think a lot of that just speaks for itself. All right,
see are you going? That's basically the Stanford recruiting pitch, right,
(42:32):
It's like, look at Stanford, Okay, Stanford, you want to
come and you don't want to come. You don't want
to come and find it's best education where you go
in Stanford. Kind of Mike Montgomery slightly highbrow, almost a
little bit arrogant recruiting on me? Is that what you're
doing We're better than you. We know we're better than
you where the Lakers? Is that what you're doing when
you're recruiting pitch. I'm not trying to go completely in
that direction, but I we'll say we got you know,
(42:55):
we have mad Dog Madison with us obviously, so you
know we do have a sort of standing for contingent
with the Lakers. Yeah. Um, I don't think that helps you.
There's no Stanford guy like you can't Casey Jacobson's not
coming out of retirement anytime soon. I can't think of
I can't think of a Stanford guy who you have
to absolutely have to get. The biggest question is this
Comic Con is where this year? Oh? The big ones
(43:18):
always San Diego and July. Yeah right, so that's my
immediate thought when you were traded, was sweet, Now he
can like ride the train or you know, like he
can he can drive his car down to Comic Con.
It's not a it's not a trip all the way
across the country like this is. This is as good
as set up as you can get for you and
your brother to go to Comic Con. No, no question,
you know. And I don't think I can do the train.
I think I have to drive down just because I
(43:39):
need to be able to put all my swag in
the car and I'm gonna need a pretty I might
need a you honestly, So if you help carry all
that stuff. You're more than welcome. I would you know what,
I would love to come out, honestly making I've never
been to comic Con, and if I'm gonna go, I'm
gonna go with the Lopez Twins. Brook Listen, Welcome back
to l A. Can't wait to see you in form,
Blue and Golden. Thanks how much for joining us on
(44:00):
Fox Sports Radio. Thanks for hauding me.
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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