July 24, 2018 • 50 mins
Doug argues expanding the college football playoff will actually help make the regular season more important when most people are saying the opposite. He's tired of NFL players lying about their contracts and complaining about getting underpaid. Enes Kanter of the Knicks joins the show to talk about their expectations for next season, playing with Russell Westbrook in OKC, and LeBron James signing with the Lakers.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the best of the dun got Lee Show
on Fox Sports Radio. Oh of America, Doug Gottlieb Show,
Fox Sports Radio, coming to you the beautiful, sunny, red
hot City of Angels, home of lebron Manny Machado and
for at least the next six years, Todd Gurley, The
(00:25):
Rams are girly men for more money then Levian bell
Is said to make. Will discuss upcoming in the show.
Plus a j Hinge, manager of the defending champs, your
Houston Astros who have been lam based ing fools, just
smacking fools around. I got a bunch of things I
(00:46):
want to get to. How did they fix justin VERLANDA?
How do they do it? How they fixed justin VERLANDA?
Plus I want to talk to about the challenges of
trying to do it a second time. No, fellas, I'm
not talking about that a second time, although there are
similar challenges a second time around. Uh. Kevin Love gets
paid today? What's that mean for the Calves? I got
(01:07):
some and his cant is gonna join us in studio.
How all of a sudden he made nice with Colin Cowherd,
Brian Scalabrini. We think we'll join us, although we don't
know who was supposed to join us yesterday. He's big
Scale and Connor Barrowin, who signed a new contract with
the Gyan Connor Barrowin, who, of course has made a
kind of mercurial run around the National Football League Eagles
(01:30):
most uh it was Houston Eagles Rams and now he
goes back to the NFC East. We'll find out if
he still carries that awful Houston Texans letterman jacket from
back in the day when they were playing good and
then they haven't been the same since. We got a
lot to get to today. I want to start with
this though. College football is around the corner, and college
(01:53):
football does it right, I mean right right out of
the shoot unbell leavable games. Have you guys spent any
time and looking at the opening slate of college football games?
Can I? Can? I wet your appetite? And by the way,
I didn't know this until I misspelled it on Twitter
and got chastised for it years ago. But wet your
(02:15):
appetite is not spelled w e T. It is not.
It is what your appetite w h e T right,
So you almost pronounce it like you do. Um uh
what's the family guy, f family episode Whip cool whip
cool whip. Right, it's what your appetite, dude, college football
(02:40):
does it right, don't believe me? All right, here you go,
this is awesome. You're opening weekend of college football Oregon State,
Ohio State, UH, Texas, Maryland. Remember last year Maryland went
into Texas and smacked him around Old Miss Texas Tech,
Florida Atlantic, Lane Kiffin taken on Oklahoma UM. And then
(03:06):
you start to get to some of the premier games.
Washington taking on Auburn that's at Mercedes ben Stadium. UH,
Tennessee taken on West Virginia. You're welcome, and dude, you
get it gets even better U c l A. Cincinnati's okay,
but you also have No Tree Dame playing host to
(03:27):
Michigan first weekend of the season, Miami l s U
Virginia Tech, Florida State. It's awesome. They're just like, hey,
let's get awesome teams with awesome programs, really interesting stories, coaches,
new players that you've never heard of, and stop with
the players reserved to be paid because I'll make the
easiest case, you know. And this kind of goes in
(03:47):
a theme with what we're talking about, which is I
can guarantee that outside of your own football program, you
cannot name ten college football players as of right now,
can't name ten. You might take away your own school
and you can't name ten. I challenge you to do
so that are currently playing in college football. So if
(04:08):
you want to tell me that the players likeness and
image matter, you tell me. Do you have any idea
who plays for Miami? Can you name a dude? Can
you name a guy? Do you know who l s
u S quarterback is Virginia Tech, Florida State? DeAndre francois
Florida State. That's because he got hurt last year. So
(04:30):
one of the biggest lies you've ever been told is
that college football players name and likeness matter. They don't.
The jersey matters, the logo matters, the coach matters, the
stadium matters, the fight song matters more than a player does.
Now you come to fall in love with the player
because you tune in to see the team and the
(04:52):
logos play against one another. But the players don't matter.
But this goes in line with so many things you've
been lied about in your life. Uh, there's a guy
who's roadtuned. Who you celebrate the appearance of in the
end of December. I'm not going to mention his name
because some of you have kids in the car. But
that's the first lie you've you're told when you're just
(05:13):
a baby. Not the only lie, but it's the first.
You want to know. The biggest lie you're told in
sports is that if we were to expand the college
football playoff, it would diminish the value of the regular season. Right,
it would diminish the value of the regular season. If
(05:35):
that were true, if people liked the fact college football's
regular season more so than any other regular season, why
are the numbers more than double when the NFL plays
in the exact same time of year the very next day,
in the exact same sport. You can tell me that
it's because they're better players. I'll buy into that. You
(05:58):
can tell me it's because of fantasy football. I'll buy
some of that. But this has forever been true that
an NFL rating almost always doubles and sometimes triples that
of the best college football rating of the day. And
the NFL that's twelve teams in their playoffs. There's only
thirty two teams in the sport. You have been lied to,
(06:21):
my friends. Now, that does not mean that I believe
every team belongs in but using college basketball as a
parallel to college football, hey, college basketball's regular season has
become almost irrelevant. That's what would happen to college football. Right,
that's what people say. And that is a low hanging fruit,
very neanderthal, very easy argument for us to grab onto
(06:44):
because we go college equals college perfect. The problem though,
is that it's not really accurate. Right. College basketball has
been greatly diminished because players are only there for a
split second, one and done. We don't know any of
the players. Forget about coaching movement. We've got player movement.
(07:06):
There's also almost three times as many teams in college basketball.
It's a h Division one teams in college football. There's
three hundred and fifty two Division one teams in college basketball.
It's just too many teams, just too many games, and
it will be out by the way. And this is
hurt college football. With these super conferences being put together,
we sometimes lacked the rivalry games we used to. Arizona
(07:29):
and U c. L A one of the great rivalries
in the West Coast. They only play each other many
times one time of year. The league championships don't matter
anymore because you don't play everyone twice, because you don't
have eight and ten team leagues the way you used to. Also,
college basketball continues to compete up against college football on
the same campus for the first two months of the season,
(07:50):
which is death. I love the sport, I've covered the
sport nationally for fifteen years, I've played in the sport.
But the idea that let's start our year during the
prime time of baseball and NFL and college football on
the same campus for the same money, for the same fans.
And oh yeah, by the way, every game now for
college basketball, like football, is on TV. And what used
(08:13):
to be special about college basketball is getting people in
a small bandbox building. The buildings are bigger, and yet
it's more expensive to go there, and you're competing for
the same fans that their attention is turned to back
to football, same fans, same dollar. It doesn't go nearly
as far. There's a one and done, there's player movement,
(08:36):
there's no rivalries anymore. All of these things contribute to
college basketball having a very having a relatively irrelevant regular
season comparison to that of college football. The truth is,
the absolute truth is if you want to make college
football's regular season matter, because right now it mostly does not.
(08:58):
That's actually the biggest lie. It's a counter to it.
Every game manners. No, it doesn't. Once you lose your
third game, your season is over. Your season is over.
And if you play if you think you're not going
to have a great team, and so you soften your
schedule and you play an easy nonconference schedule and you
lose one game, many of these teams season is over.
(09:20):
Let alone too. The only way a to win team
can get into a college football playoff is by winning
their winning their side of the division, and then winning
their league championship. So for the most part, you get
down to the most important part of the season, you
get into late October early November, and three quarters of
(09:40):
the teams games don't actually matter. It's counter to what
you've always been told. And so in this in this
effort to expand the college football playoff, which should and
likely will happen, mostly because there's just too much money
for it not to do. So, you have all kinds
of issues that you're going up against. Right, you got
the bulls and they want to stay relevant. You got
(10:04):
the conference championship games, which some want to eliminate, which
one they do oftentimes settle who is the true conference
champion because teams don't always play each other in the
same league, especially some of the best teams, you gotta
play at least play each other once and then sometimes
in the Big twelve, now they play each other twice,
which we didn we already beat you, we gotta beat
you again. But more importantly, it makes conferences the schools
(10:28):
that don't participate a lot of money. The idea of
changing the conferences, making super conferences seems like a great idea.
But somebody's gonna get left out. And if they get
left out, their congressmen may bring it up that, hey,
there's a tax shelter here for all these college football programs.
Why are we allowing them not to pay taxes? And
(10:50):
that may bring the whole system down. There are a
lot of stuff there, a lot of stuff. But the
truth is that if you simply expand to eight teams
and you make five or have even six teams, and
you make the five conference champions champions automatically gain access
to a college football playoff, You've done the opposite of
(11:10):
what they told you it would do. You have made
the regular season the conference season, which anyone who's ever
played in college knows. We were told that's the most
important thing. When your league beat for our tribal the rest, Hey,
we'd like to win the rest of our games too,
you'd make the regular season more relevant. But of the
lies that you've been told when you were growing up,
(11:33):
and there's lots of them, lots of things you were
allied to, right, I remember when you're like, hey, you
can be anything you want when you grew up, like
now you can your mom's five to your dad's five
six both the road. Tun You're not gonna play in
the NBA. It's just not happening. Hey, Bud, your i
Q is not good enough for you to be an
asked astronauts are super smart and super studious. Just because
(11:54):
you want to go to space doesn't mean it's gonna
happen for you. There's economic barriers. There's barriers based upon
the sex, barriers based upon regionality, barries based upon language.
It's all said, different sorts of barriers. It doesn't mean
you shouldn't dream big and try and have your kid,
try and be better than what you are. But you
were told young age, like you can do anything you want,
(12:16):
not really, not really. You can be a success at something,
but not anything you want. Let's be honest, there's like
one percent of one percent that can ever play a
skill position, a speed athletic position in the National Football
League because you're just not born with the natural gifts.
You didn't win the genetic lottery. Sorry, same thing in
(12:39):
the NBA. Like, if you're not going to be six
ft or taller, hell, six ft two, six ft three
or taller, you should probably pick a different sport. The
numbers are against you, no matter how much you love it.
But you lied to all the time. We were lied
to about the danger of certain drugs that were then
(13:02):
illegal and then not illegal, certain drugs that were legal.
Al Right, Like remember the beer commercials where everybody's good looking,
everybody's having a good time. Have you ever been to it?
You ever been to a shady bar at happy hour?
Nobody's particularly good looking, they're not having a great time,
and they're simply trying to drink all their sorrows away. Right,
(13:23):
So you've been lied to your whole life. But in sports,
the number one lie you were told was that expanding
the college football player for simply having a playoff would
make the regular season irrelevant, like college basketball, like the NHL,
like the NBA. It could you know, we got a
sixty four team playoff on a teams, but no one
(13:44):
is proposting that, and that will never happen. But if
you validate conference champions, grant them automatic admission admission to
a college football playoff. And there is a lot of
other stuff. Too many games for the teams that play
that extra game, and and can the can a young
(14:05):
college body stand up to sixteen games and be standing
at the end of the year. A lot of things
that go into it, But the idea that it makes
the season, the regular season irrelevant is the opposite of
the actual truth. You've been lied to. We just want
to be honest with you. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Doug gott Leap Show weekdays at three
(14:25):
p m. Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app. The Astros are the best
team in baseball, don't get it twisted. But that shouldn't
be a surprise. They won the World Series last year,
of course, with the help of the addition of Justin
verlanderd their managers. A J. Henches kind of to spend
some time of this year on the Doug Gottlib Show
on Fox Sports Radio. A J. Do you do you
(14:49):
agree generally with that philosophy that run differential is a
better sign, a better telltale sign of how good a
team is in comparison to their actual win loss record. Yeah,
I mean a little bit. I think I think our
run difference those you know, kind of an overall snapshot
of the season. You know, we've been extremely dominant on
the mound. We can score. Um, you know, the wins
(15:11):
and losses are ultimately what matter. It doesn't you know,
you want to have the winds and the law and
and and avoid the losses. That, um, when you're looking
at at at comparison across the league, there's so much
that that can be taken away from so many different
numbers nowadays run differentials. Certainly, if you're good at run
scoring and good at run prevention, the wins are gonna
be there for you. And um, you know, obviously we've
(15:33):
done very well so far, and and it and it
and it proves that we have a good team. So um,
I'm not sure how much that helps you when you
go head to head with Boston or New York or
Cleveland or the surging Oakland A's and stuff like that
that are on our schedule. But but I think it helps.
It helps describe a little bit of how the season
has gone thus far for teams. Um, okay, what what
(15:54):
about the fact that teams are hitting two eleven against you?
And and for people who by batting average against and
and here's your like, is that good? It's the best
in baseball. It's not just the best in baseball by
you know, a percentage point or two. The Dodgers are
people hitting two thirty six. They have the second best.
Like it's that's by a mile. Um, it's really remarkable
(16:16):
what your staff is able to consistently do. And like, look,
the ball flies out of your ballpark. That is not
an easy ballpark to pitch in, as are some of
the ballparks you guys playing. How have you been able
to have the staff be so consistent through the year. Well,
our starters, I mean, and not to put it all
on them, but we had three of our five starters
maybe All Star team, a fourth in Dallas Kaiko, who's
(16:38):
probably pitched as well as anybody in the last month
and a and a and a former si UN Award winner.
So we we roll out a starting pitcher who's dominant
it's hard to hit, that doesn't give up a ton
of hits every single night, and we use five starters
to date. UM, that shows you've been healthy, they've been consistent. Um,
they all haven't been perfect for the entire season. It's
usually when if somebody is is having a rough time
(17:01):
getting deeper in the game, the other guys are picking
up the slack. So you know when we're when in
the names like Burlander and Cole and Kaiko and and
McCullers and Morton. Um, you know mccullors and Morton both
finished big playoff games last year. Kaikos want to say
you on Gerrit Cole has been tremendous edition that we
traded for uh this offseason. And then Justin Verlander is
(17:22):
right up in the in the in the in the
A l C. A young conversation. So when you do
that and and and have that kind of starting pitching, UM,
you know you're asking your bullpen to come in and
get you know, six to eight outs to night. UH,
your limit hits there and all of a sudden, you
look up and you're like, man, our steps pretty tough
to hit. How did you guys fix Burlander? You know,
(17:42):
I don't know if it's fixed them as much as
just encourage them to be the best version of himself.
This his high fastball. You know, I think it's as
pictures age, they get a little bit concerned about how
they used to pitch. You know, when you're young and
you have your tank, it's pretty easy to pitch with
your strength. As you age, you might try to adjust
a little bit too soon. And we got him back
(18:04):
to being himself using the high forcing fastball. Both of
his breaking balls are very effective. A lot of people
don't know one of his best pitches as a young
pitcher was his changeup. We've incorporated that a little bit more.
But um, you know, this guy is a little bit
of of of a different animal when it comes to
how he how he's aging, how he's able to hold
his stuff. Um, he gets better if the game goes on.
(18:26):
He's a tremendous finisher. Um. But like with all of
our pictures, I think if, if, if we can just
get the best version of themselves to them to use
their stuff correctly in the right areas of the side
zone against the right type hitters. You know, that's matchup baseball.
That's the way that we scout now, and it's the
way that we we acquire our information to the to
the pitching staff. So j V took ticket to heart
(18:47):
and has been tremendous. And and and the proofs in
the numbers. Yeah, but wasn't. Wasn't. Don't you guys use
these high speed cameras, these super expensive high speed cameras
from different angles of the park to which he was
able to pick up some of the different some of
the things that he had changed that he wanted to
fix when he first got there. Sure, now we use
technology as much as anybody in baseball. And they were,
(19:08):
you know, I joke with the All Star team last week,
like where they using master. We try everything, We'll try anything.
And and when you have players that are open, uh
to any sorts of information, I'm I'm I'm very impressed
with the way that Derrick Cole has come over and
jumped into our culture. And justin Verlanders as intellectually curious
as any picture in baseball, And and and Dallas Kaiko
(19:28):
has grown up in this system born and bred in
this in this organization has known nothing but that Charlie
Morton comes off of an injury season, un Philadelphia comes
over immediately jumps on board with some some pitch use
and stuff like that. So it takes players too, you know,
to buy into what we're doing and what our analysts
are studying and what our coaches are preaching and and
(19:49):
it's a true team effort. But um, without the player
participations just information, Uh you look, you the the one
issue that I think people are going to point to
is the bullpen. You know, Giles has had up and
down year um and and obviously that came to ahead
a couple of weeks ago or a week and a
half ago or so. Um can can we can we expect?
(20:09):
I mean, look, the front office has done everything in
its power last year, took to the waiver wire to
get j V. Is there an expectation that there could
be an addition made before this season runs runs its course? Maybe?
You know? Maybe? I think I think in some ways
it has to fit your overall philosophy and it has
to fit, you know, the day to day that we're
trying to accomplish. Me we're built for one sixty two
(20:30):
right now. We have a good bullpen who's whose pits
very well this season. And I think sometimes we point
to some of the losses or some of the the
only time you notice the bullpen is when they when
they don't do their part and you end up blowing
a few leads or blown a few saves. And you know,
there's a lot of talk of how how things were
put together last season, but um, I don't know. I mean,
I think it's it's always possible. I think any team
(20:52):
that's in playoff contention is can probably be linked to
every reliever in baseball because that's that's the easiest thing
to add. And and people always like they can upgrade
their bullpen. Um if there's a viable option that Jeff
Fields is an upgrade Jfflunar general manager, then we'll do it.
If not, we'll go with the group that we have.
And and what people need to remember is that is
similar to how we did it last year. The playoffs
(21:13):
often push one or two of your starters uh into
the into the bullpen. And if that's the case, I
just rattled off the starting The starters that are hard
to hit have low e r as do we have
to make the All Star team and and that might
be the addition that needed down the bullpen to to
get to your twenty stuff and out. Plus you have
my boy Joe Smith, who of course is the Yankee
killer right last year just Sanchez and and Judge couldn't
(21:34):
couldn't hit him, you could always you always call him
Smitty to come in and get some some right easy,
no doubt and no doubt. He comes from the funky angle.
He's done everything in baseball. He's a great clubhouse guy.
We signed him, um to really be this this sort
of ready killer. He actually left. He's out this seas
you've got the backdoor slider and you can pitch up
in the zone with the little side arm stuff. So
um again, I think I think there's always this plantation
(21:57):
with having to have the fine roles. Any thing that
we've learned in the last your calendar year, even dating
back to two dozen fift team when I first started here.
And there's a lot of different ways to get to
your twenty seven out and and while everyone wants to
Mariana Rivera and the Trevor Hoffman and the and the
You're aldest Chapmans of the world that are that are
that are shut down ninth inning guys. You know, there's
(22:19):
there's there's trigger points through the through the game that
you're gonna need. Somebody's got to get the outs in
the seven. Somebody gotta get out in the six. Joe Smith,
Kris Davinski. He had to run down who's pitching terrific
in our ninth inning? Right now? Um? Those are those
are guys that can get out against these teams? Um?
Is it as enjoyable this year as it was last year? Yes, well,
(22:40):
there was, there was, there was there was there was
a breath, there was well the World Series is hard
to top in the in the regular seast, but was
nothing like but the but the process of it, now,
last year it was still you know three years ago
you got there. The next year it was like right,
and there's changes made obviously, So last year you're building
towards it, but you know, trying to do it again.
(23:02):
And so is it it's just fun this year as
it was last year? Yeah? I think that. I think
there's a couple of different observations. Number one is I
am so proud of our players for for taking the
message in spring training about owning up to the fact
that no one's no one's repeated since I think it
was in two thousand when the Yankees are there. Eighteen
years since the team has been able to go back
(23:23):
to back, and that's what that's what our goal is,
and the players absorb it. We haven't. We haven't had
any sort of hangover, any sort of dragging, or any
sort of sort of diva status that can come with
winning or success. I mean, I've got great examples in
jose L Today and George Springer and Alex Bregman is
having a coming out party in Major League Baseball now
and Carlos Korea when we get him back, will be
(23:43):
a nice blues these I got names throughout the whole
team that have have showed up ready to play every day.
The interesting part that I've learned about winning he is
the standard that's said that there's no room for failure. Right.
You lose two games in a row as as the
defending world champions, and people are asking a lot more
about what's wrong. And and I think we're a game
or two off of our pace for last season. We're
(24:05):
thirty games over. I love the second two fifteen. We
wanted to win ninety games. We wanted to to win
the division. We end up making the playoffs for the
first time in ten years, and in four short years.
You know, the it makes me smile to know that
the standards are so high that when if you lose
a series or you lose back to back games, there's
there's that sense of of, hey, we need to win
this both inside the clubhouse and from our fan base,
(24:27):
and that that, to me, is the winning franchise. I
I don't think there's any doubt in it. Um, how
do you solve how do you solve baseball's issues with um?
With the shift? You know you just said how you're
you're talking about how you guys use analytics, you guys
use high speed cameras, you guys use any possible legal
means to be better. And if the numbers say, hey,
(24:49):
this guy is a dead pull hitter and they're not
trying to lay down a butt, they're not trying to hit,
what why Why should baseball be dumber instead of being
smarter and and go away from the shift. I don't
think the hit. I don't think you should go away
from the shift. I don't think I need to fix
the shift. I think the hitters need to fix the shift.
If the hitters adjust, the game will adjust. But if
(25:10):
you refuse to play the game line to line, and
you're gonna get teams like us and teams like around
the Cubs, the Royals, the the the Indians, aggressive teams
that will play into the shift. I mean virtually all
teams shift now because the hitters aren't making the adjustment
to play the game. If they play the game, then
we have to shift back. And we have there's a
number of hitters that we shifted in the past that
(25:32):
we don't shift anymore because they've they played the game.
So I mean, we considdle with the rules and we
can make it a layup drill. And when when a
guy wants to pull, pull across the ball and pull
the ball into the four hole, I don't think that's
what our sports about either. It should be hard to
get on base. And I understand fans want to see
more hits and they love the homer and the way
that that that baseball has grown. But um, if if
(25:54):
people want to fix the shift, we gotta fix the hitters.
How do we how do we fix the hitters? How
do we fix the hitters from hitting you know, home run,
strikeout or walk. I mean like we we had ten
home run Like like like even you're even the World Series
last year with the ball is flying out of the ballpark. Uh,
some of it, I'm sure is has to be a
little bit of the baseball. Some of it is the parks,
Uh you know, some of it's the bats, some of
(26:15):
it's the players in their strength, but a lot of
it is also their swing plan and how that's changed.
How do we how do we put the ball in
play more? Sure? Well, if one would be if we
compensate contact a little bit differently than we than we
have in the past. I mean the ops numbers are
are are sky high, and what drives ops are walks
and Homer's. I mean, that's that's Those are two statistics
that are immense now in in the in the financial
(26:36):
structure for players in it, and and you know they're
obviously it's hard to compensate a single to the other
the other side or um, you know, I don't know
if that's the complete answer, but um, you know, I
think for for us to simply put fielders where there's
dead grass like old school in the outfield, or where
there's you know, you're not allowed to have an off
offside shortstop has to play traditionally where shortstop is um.
(27:00):
I think then we should stop. We should start telling
the NFL they can't blitz. We can't do full core press.
In the NBA, we can't. You know, you can't put
any pressure on during a tennis match. You can't shoot
for birdies and golf. I mean, we're it's up to
the to the to the to the teams. If it's
valuable enough to win games by playing the game in
a different way, then that's what we have to combat.
But we rereward walks and homers at an all time high.
(27:23):
It's going to continue. It is fair though to point
out that like it look in basketball, they've evolved the rules, right,
they change the hand check rules. You can play zone,
albeit the zone rules a little bit different than the
traditional zone. Right In in football, there are a certain
number of guys you have to have on the line
of scrimmage, like, so there are rules that are put
in place, like I agree with you, like like the
s guy report says the guy's deadpool hit her and
(27:43):
he refuses to lay down a bunt or to hit
the other way that you know, make him make a change.
But there there is the idea of the kind of
the watchability factor. I go to baseball games and there
are there are big lolls in between it. Um, I
just there. There are rules have been put in place
by other sports to make it a little bit more right.
But we're but we're I mean the configuration of where
(28:04):
you play your defense in the NFL and what you
do on the basketball court is is a little bit different.
I think. I think for me, if if the if
the if the home run in the in the walk
is changed, the mentality of what winning baseball is all about,
then does it matter where josel two they standing tonight
When a Carlos Gonzalez is up to bed We're playing
the Rockies tonight and he plays in store right field
and that and that's all Carlos Gonzalez wants to do,
(28:26):
then then I'm defending in the sport. I mean, if
they put the rules in play for us to have
to play like an off side rule and you want
to draw a line behind second base, then ull of
bye by it. But um, as long as the hour,
my my job as the managers to put our players
in a position where the alter are made, the outer
are made to the pull side for a tremendous amount
of players nowadays. Um, and they don't want to concede
(28:47):
the homer and they want they don't want to single.
Then I'm not going to defend it. And and so
it will be up to baseball to make some sort
of radical move if that's what is best for the sport.
I'm not convinced it is. Well be had a great
off day, you got too in Denver, then the rival
against Texas, then you go to Seattle, very game team,
he's playing good baseball, and then you get you know,
the Dodgers. They get what they would consider a rematch
(29:08):
now adding Manny Machado. So obviously some tough games here
in the middle of the season before you get to
the stretch. Run. Really appreciate your time, Amazed by your
team's consistency coming off the World Series win, and wish
you nothing but health and luck the rest of the way.
Thanks for joining us. All right, it's a J. Hinch
of the Houston Astros, your world champion Houston Astros. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
(29:30):
Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio Dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app. Super happy
to have Annis Cantor of the New York Knicks, still
love the New York Knicks joining us in in studio.
There's a ton of things I want to get to,
um Man, you want to start the start all right. Look,
you didn't ever get a chance to play in Kentucky.
Remem okay, but you you were playing overseas, and look
(29:56):
I kind of knew the deal. Like I cover college bass,
we've done for fifteen years, and most people thought you
would ever play there just because of how then would
view your your eligibility. You want to come clean where
you really you're you're pro before you're playing Kentucky. Right,
let me I'll make it clear, man. And I don't
think I ever said set up to any media before.
I think that's the first time I'm saying it here.
(30:17):
I had a Nike deal, you know what. I had
a Nike deal in overseas when I was deal Nike deal.
Oh yeah, Nike deal. Of course, I was sixteen years old,
but I didn't know. I didn't know the rules. That's
the thing. I had an IQ deal. I took some
money with expenses. You know, it's normal. Because you started
getting paid when you're like fourteen fifteen years old in Europe,
it's normal. And then, uh, you know, I try to
(30:40):
come here. They offered me a lot of money in Turkey.
Ye say to stay six years. It was a very
very good money. By the way, speaking of Nike, we're
both were we're Shee brothers because we both have the
flying Knit, the fly Knit air Force air Force ones.
And then, uh, you know, I turned on million dollars
to just come here to play college basketball. So you know,
I can go to school, learn the language, learn another culture,
(31:00):
and play basketball the same time and enter draft as
well as I can. Well, when they said you cannot
play college basketball permanently ever, it just broke my heart.
I see. I here's the thing. I knew that you
had had the Nike deal, and I knew that you'd
gotten some sort of payments. But I also think that
there should be some I agree, like, there should be
(31:22):
the ability for even guys who are paid profession to
play over seas to come and play in college. It
makes college basketball better and it would increase your readiness
for the NBA. That's what I'm saying, man, Because like
oldest people want to come play college basketball and go
to school same time. We'll get the education same time.
But when I see he said, oh, you know, I'm sorry,
We sorry, we cannot let you play. It just it
(31:42):
just it was so frustrating for me because turning down
all the all the money to just come and go
to play and see a basketball like no, I just
come home. All right. So and it's cancer. You only
twenty six years old. Let's let's let's go to this
offseason or the season ends, okay, and you have a
decision to make. And there were some reports, oh he's
opting out, and then I you took the Twitter like
(32:06):
trying to make a decision here relaxed, Um, was there
a time in which you had decided to opt out?
I promised to the last day. I didn't know. I
didn't know if I was gonna opt out. I made
my decision the last day. Okay, But okay, season ends.
In your mind, you're thinking I'm gonna opt out. I
even told her the media, I think I'm thinking about
(32:27):
opting out. And then, uh, you know, when the and
then like the after the draft, all those people were saying,
but like, man, you know, the summer is not good.
The money is not there whatever, and I wanted to
I didn't. Of course, everybody cares about money, but I
wanted to stay in New York and sign a long
term contract with him. But I think they'd really try
to get like a big free agent next year. They
(32:49):
said they want to get to next year. They want
to Yes, So that's why I like, you know what,
I just like play a more year and then see
how it goes. What did your agent tell you was
out there for you realistically out there or you had
you decided to opt out? They actually know it was
actually the money was terrible. And then you give me
some you know, five teams. You know. Of course I
think I was a truly everybody with the bucks thing whatever.
(33:11):
So you gave me, give me some few teams, buz
I was like, you know what, I think right now
the best place for me to just play one more
year and then go from there. Okay, So so the
Knicks are in this interesting position you got prezingis coming
back at some point. We think this year there has
been talking about them shelving him, getting him to resign,
and and look the Knicks have also this year. You guys,
(33:32):
position yourself for a draft pick Kevin Knots another Kentucky kid. Well,
I think it's gonna be fantastic. He's only eighteen years old,
play well in the summer league. He does play some four.
I know you think he's a three. He play some four,
which is a little bit of your spot. Um, what's
it like to play on a team to which most
people think you're trying to lose? Like, how do you
how do you games going on? Like is that in
(33:53):
your mind at all? Actually? No, man, because like I
remember the GM, the GM of the Knicks was texting
us and m hmm, having a meeting with us every
before the game and saying, hey, we're trying to win. Yes,
I'm not where. There had to be games which you're
playing well, and then it's in the fourth course close game,
like you're coming out you're like, whoa wait what so
(34:16):
so the GM can say we're trying to win, but
based upon who they play at the end of the
game media, I was like, Hey, they pay me to
go out there and win, they're not paying me to lose.
So that's not I came from winning culture Oklahoma City, Yes,
so there's no way I'll go out there. Hey, we'll
get a drafting and there's that we lose. No, I'm
(34:36):
going out there to play my hardest play hunter person
and try to win. That's it, and nobody can change
my going out. And even this year, I don't care
how good the team, how bad the team is. I'm
trying to win every game. And it's Cancer New York.
Next joining us to Gatlip Show, Fox Sport Trading before
we get to Oklahoma City, you're first in Utah and
right before you were trading you started to kind of
make your make your mark there. Um, what's your impression
(34:58):
of why Utah even though they've they've made some moves
that they've seemingly gotten better there has become kind of
a is that Quinn? What is it? What is it
that's allowed them to take I've seen with Dennis Lindsay,
he's an amazing GM and we do you know Quinn,
he's ever very very He was there was one of
the you know, the top three coaches at this year.
But I think with that with them too, I think
(35:20):
the whole organization they wanted the next level and I
think you know, they they've been doing an amazing job,
you know, building the players. You know, I think Utah
was maybe two or three times better before I was there.
When I was there, Um, okay, what about Hayward. There's
a lot of people who have There are people now
(35:41):
who like, look, Gordon Hayward's okay, if the boss the
celt is gonna move, somebody move Hayward. I was like, look,
and I know he wasn't an All Star when you
play with him, but he has improved every year. He
wasn't All Stars last year before he became a free
and signed with the Celtics. For people who don't have
never played with Gordon Hayward, don't know him. What about
his game has allowed him to he was an All
(36:02):
Star in the West and get him to where he
should be a long star in the East as well.
I mean one thing about Gold start amazing teammates, making
everybody better, else a better around him, and you know
they very just I mean, he's he's a good guy
on the court off the court, and the people are saying, oh,
just this guy that I think that they'd have a
really good team to just just go go from it
because they got Tatum, they got you know, the Kylan Brown,
(36:24):
Jaylon Brown, they got goldon have Ward. They have an
amazing team. I think I wouldn't trade anybody, man, it
will be tough decision at Okay, So you get to
Oklahoma City. What was that like when they had you
have Kad, you got Russ? What was that locker room like?
As my first time playing it with superstars first time?
Because I get in the locker room, there's Katie in
(36:46):
that locker room. Ross in that locker room. We've got
a surgeon, Steve, And I'm like, okay, this is like
what the real tim feels like. So I mean, I
get in there, but this this sad thing. It killed
me because that year Ross got hurt, Katie got hurt Stephen,
and we missed the playoffs by hef game by one
by one one. Anthony Davis three point shot shot. That's
(37:08):
the only That's the only three he made all seasons.
Anthony Davis made a three that year. It wasn't it
was like twenty might have been middle almost middle of
the season. Anyway, he made the last second three to
beat Oklahoma City in Oklahoma City was his only three
he made the entire season, and that ended up keeping
out of playoffs. And that remember that was the year
kat miss fifty one games with broken broke broke, broken,
(37:29):
broken foot, But what was the dynamics like with k
D and russ in that lot. It's good man, because
playing players like k D Ross or like you know,
the superstars like him or even like KP like these people,
those those superstar will take you to the next level
because you cannot relax around him, you know, especially with
russ Man, because you could. For him, it's not a game,
(37:51):
it's a war every night, and uh, you know he
will try to do everything to win the game. And
then when when you see may he's a superstar, he's
going that hard. I was like, you know what, I
think I got? Um? What went wrong? When you guys
are up three one? Oh man? That serious? We can
never forget. The playoff series are seven games you can
(38:11):
never forget. I think we relaxed a little bit. And
I remember after the game almost everybody was crying. I
was crying because we got we got the phone. We
had the ring game. Game six was the game six
was the one leg was crazy and and k D
was awful. Katie forced it. He looked, he looked, how
much how much of it look In watching that series
(38:36):
between Stephen and Andre Andre robertson the fact that they
couldn't shoot. It was like three on five, right, Like,
basically Golden State was putting two guys in his own
and doubling k D and helping on Russ every time
they drove, and and you didn't get a lot of run,
right yeah, and and everybody said, well he can't. Well
but no, everybody's point out your defense. But you guys
(38:58):
needed actually more offense in order in order to keep
up with them. Um, how much of the frustration that
led Katie leaving was that series? Every time he put
the ball on the deck, there were two guys on him.
It was it was tough, man, because like like you said,
I mean they were doubling Katie, they were doubling you know,
the ross and everything. But I think and then later
(39:20):
we'll be trying to and then search, and then later
I think we try to if you doubt that's what
we were up by three one, and then like game five,
he's like, Okay, you know, even if you lose this game,
you gotta go back home and take the game six.
But that's why we lost the games. She was then
almost like it was impossible to almost get a game
like that. That Clay Thompson game in game six is
(39:40):
as good as anyone's ever shot them all I can
I can remember. Okay, So where were would you when
you found out Katie was leaving and going to Golden State.
I was actually on the airport check my phone? What
whatever port city? I can't even remember my airport, but
I checked my phone on Twitter and say, oh, you
know my next chapter. I'm like, are you kidding? So
(40:00):
what were the texts like between teammates? Actually? First whatever
it is, nobody texted each other like I texted, you
know what, not many people know this man. I texted
KDD that in that airport, I texted kated amen good luck,
and they said that he did hit me back to you,
just said we got we got no problem between me
(40:21):
and you were good, thank you or something like that.
And then like later on that I learned that he
didn't text. He didn't say it anybody that is living
because you were like more and more than a thin
were like family, are like brothers. And then it's not why,
it's it's how he did it. You know. I didn't
say nobody nothing, And then I was nobody was expecting
(40:43):
to join him to because they just want seven or
three games. They don't need no help. And then when
I heard that, it was he killed me in my heart?
Was that come onment, we're like brothers. So first time
you saw Russ after it, what did he say? We
actually because it was a very awkward and very weird moment,
so we did not talk about it at all. We
(41:05):
did not say nothing. It was like, you know what,
you go from there, We're gonna keep moving forward and
then just just keep everybody his first time back in
Oklahoma City, everybody had the cupcakes. You guys were talking
a ton of trash, you in person, you in particular,
we're talking trash. What were you saying? We are? I
think they're gonna fight away with the Russell Westbrook and
(41:26):
that actually didn't play that game because I freaking broke
my arm finding a chair, But well, I think I
think that game I was like I never seen even
I played Western Conference Finals, I did not see any
game like this that that that the whole gene was
blown out. It was amazing. Yeah, it was like a
college atmosphere, that's the thing. So I played Oklahoma State
and what people now know in the NBA about Oklahoma
(41:48):
City and the Thunder, like that's what the fans were
back then about Oklahoma State basketball. It's only major sport.
They love it. And then with the Thunder that they
you know the city and Thunder goes like saying, taking
through the of the level, that's good. So so it's
interesting though. I remember when it happened last off season.
We talked to you on the radio, which is you know,
Oaklama City was all about loyalty and then you end
(42:10):
up getting sent to the New York Knicks. Was it
a phone call? Did you get it from your agent?
It was weird. I was actually doing a basketball camp
for orphans, and then my manager assistant of all the
things like I'm actually working with orphans, and then my
manager like brought me the phone. I was like, hey,
you need to take this. I'm like, hey, man, no,
I'm middle of the camp. I'll take it. Later said no, no, no,
(42:32):
it's important. I put the phone on my ears, Like
what and then you know, my you know, my you
guy said it was not sand Preancy was one of
my age and one of my managers. He said, hey,
don't look too happy. You just got treated for because
he knows I love a lot. I love New York
at a lot of people, you know, I've known a
(42:52):
lot a lot of people there. So I'm like, oh
my god, I look at my phone. I look at
my phone. There's all these takes, oldest miss calls, oldest
like Twitter to say things whatever, notifications. I'm like, oh
my god, I think I really did get traded and
this cancer join us New York Next Gallup show, Fox
Sports Radio. So you go from a championship caliber team,
you go from playing with an m v P. So
(43:15):
professionally like, look, you want to win, but now you
get to go to a team where you're in New York,
where you could be more comfortable. There are people to
speak your language, you cook the food that you grew
up on. You can feel more comfortable, right, incredibly diverse city,
and you get to start so so like it's like,
look do I want to do I want to win more? Yeah,
but I also want to play and play more. I
don't think enough people ask about things like that. What's
(43:37):
that like to know you're competing on a team that's
not gonna win a championship, but you're gonna get to
explore more and explain your game one. It's so tough
to focus for every night because I remember month of
February last year, we only won one game. The whole month,
We've just been one game, and then every night the
locker room was so frustrating and so bad. I'm like,
(43:58):
come on, man, we need to that. The episode was terrible.
It was like a bad It was bad. And then
I was like, you know what we gotta I didn't.
I mean I learned better in a cay see. We
need to keep moving forward with you need to keep fighting.
And then we try to fight, but like we lost KP.
We lost Team hardaway for like nineteen games. It was
so hard because like I knew, I knew what were
(44:18):
capable of doing, and then we just couldn't do it.
It was so frustrating, and then the fans were started
to boone us. I'm like, oh my god, this is
getting worse. Oh what do you think about Lebron going
to l A Well, okay, uh, I think, well, he
lost so many finals with Cleveland, we lost six finals.
Last thing. He just that's is like the last whatever
(44:39):
years in his career. He just wanted to came here,
build this brand more it's l a you know. But
one thing, man, this is Kobe is a magic team.
So I'll say he just joined the Kobe's the magic team. Yeah.
I mean, like, look, im, I grew up here and
it was Magic's team and then they were bad for
a couple of years and then you know, Shaq and Kobe,
and even Shaq and Kobe they couldn't win, and it
(45:00):
became chat Kobe's team, and then it was Kobe's team.
Like I kind of think that's a little bit overplayed.
It becomes if you win, they embraced you, and He's
gonna win. I just I wonder. I feel like most
people in the league think the Warriors got one more
year in him and then guys started to go their
separate way. Is that Is that a fair statement? It
is a fair spiritment. I think so. But I think
(45:20):
with the Lebron think, let me ask you this, do
you think he can deal with Magee l I think so,
And I'll tell you why. I think they're coming off
the bench. I think they're all on one year deals
and I think if they don't buy in that, they're gone.
As you know, like, look is different when a dude
walks in and he's got You know, if it's mellow
(45:40):
and he's got no trade clause, you're making twenty seven
million and there's a lot of hoops to have to
go through. Like there's guys have. It's a different way
in which a guy is treated as opposed to Hey, dude,
if you don't buy into what Lebron and what what
we're doing, then we'll get rid of you. It's fine,
we got rid of a whole team. A guy's last
is that fair is fair, but a perfection professionalism. They
(46:02):
got a little character of personal but j R. Was
a huge character before you play with him. Just one
that's that's true, that's true. How are you gonna deal
with LaVar Ball? I think again, you need to buy
in or your gone. Dude. We'll find that's gonna be
very But I think his dad puts so much pressure
(46:25):
on him that every guard or every player in the
league want to just bring him on that court. If
his dad leave him alone a little bit, and I
think you know, he's going to do it, do his things.
He's every really talent a players, skilled player, but his
dad just talks too much and just put so much
pressure on him. Do you have insider information on who's
going to join the next next year. Actually I do warrant,
(46:47):
but I can't tell. I can tell, but it's one
of the superstars, does it? Does his name ride with
Smarrie Loving? I can't talk about him, but lords his
name Ryan was Meimily Letler. Oh my god. I think
next year we're gonna get for sure one or two superstars.
(47:07):
But I think that's what I think the NIXT focus
on two thousand nineteen. Last thing and most important thing
we've had you on before, obviously the government of Turkey.
You don't agree with with the leadership and some of
the things politically. Can you go home? Are you allowed
to go home? Uh? To go visit your friends and family?
Surely not? Man still not that still struggling because I
(47:29):
mean I can go. The sad thing is even my
family cannot come because you know, they took their passport.
They cannot travel here. I try to, you know, just
bring him back here, bring him to America, but they said, no,
you cannot leave the country. Because every time then I
say something there you know, we can't put them, put
you guys in jail, and just trying to sell and
sends very sad man crazy stuff. Listen. Love what you
(47:51):
do on social media more than anything. Can't say how
much I appreciate you coming. Yeah, and we can't wait
to see you working out with Hoodie. Mellow do Hoodie,
You're gonna work out together. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Doug gott Leap Show weekdays at three
p m. Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app. Buyer. And I don't know
how busy you are. You brought up the Julio Jones deal.
(48:14):
We talked about this going back a week ago or
two weeks ago. Here's the problem with the Julio Jones thing. Look,
the Julio Jones thing is basically a reaction to two
different deals. Two different deals. One, everybody's reacting to Sammy
Watkins contract, which was ridiculous sixteen million dollars a year
(48:34):
to a guy who is the fourth best wide receiver,
fourth best wide receiver for the l A Rams last year. Secondly,
it's Julio jo and saying, look at how little I make.
But it's it I just I'm just tired of being
lied to by these players, Like oh he's taking a
(48:55):
pay cut, Like dude, he got his when he negotiated
this contract. It was a huge up front the contract
where he got guaranteed money up front, knowing full well
that this was gonna happen. This is the most disingenuous
crap that NFL players do all the time, right, I mean,
(49:15):
look at the money he he he made early on
twenty in the early stage of this contract, he made
twenty two million dollars his first year. Like nobody ever
says like hey, In two thousand fifteen, at twenty six
years old, he made twenty two million dollars, which was
far and away the highest paid wide receiver in the
history of the National Football League and still would be.
(49:39):
Then he made thirteen and eleven and now it's ten
and a half this year, and then it would go
back up if he stays under this deal to twelve
and a half next year and eleven point five in
his final year. That was the deal he signed, totally
front loaded, totally frontloaded. And yeah, the base salary is
(49:59):
only ten point five, but he also makes two point
two point five in in a signing bonus this year.
So the truth is his first year he made twenty
two mill His second year he made thirteen a half mill.
His third year, he made thirteen excuse me, fourteen mill.
So all they're doing is they're like, hey, look at
(50:20):
his base salary. Yeah, but he made a whole bunch
of bonuses, and he made a bunch on the front end.
That was the deal he signed. If you don't like,
don't sign the deal. That easy three years left. I'm
supposed to have sympathy for him. None. None,
This is the best of the dun got Lee Show
on Fox Sports Radio. Oh of America, Doug Gottlieb Show,
Fox Sports Radio, coming to you the beautiful, sunny, red
hot City of Angels, home of lebron Manny Machado and
for at least the next six years, Todd Gurley, The
(00:25):
Rams are girly men for more money then Levian bell
Is said to make. Will discuss upcoming in the show.
Plus a j Hinge, manager of the defending champs, your
Houston Astros who have been lam based ing fools, just
smacking fools around. I got a bunch of things I
(00:46):
want to get to. How did they fix justin VERLANDA?
How do they do it? How they fixed justin VERLANDA?
Plus I want to talk to about the challenges of
trying to do it a second time. No, fellas, I'm
not talking about that a second time, although there are
similar challenges a second time around. Uh. Kevin Love gets
paid today? What's that mean for the Calves? I got
(01:07):
some and his cant is gonna join us in studio.
How all of a sudden he made nice with Colin Cowherd,
Brian Scalabrini. We think we'll join us, although we don't
know who was supposed to join us yesterday. He's big
Scale and Connor Barrowin, who signed a new contract with
the Gyan Connor Barrowin, who, of course has made a
kind of mercurial run around the National Football League Eagles
(01:30):
most uh it was Houston Eagles Rams and now he
goes back to the NFC East. We'll find out if
he still carries that awful Houston Texans letterman jacket from
back in the day when they were playing good and
then they haven't been the same since. We got a
lot to get to today. I want to start with
this though. College football is around the corner, and college
(01:53):
football does it right, I mean right right out of
the shoot unbell leavable games. Have you guys spent any
time and looking at the opening slate of college football games?
Can I? Can? I wet your appetite? And by the way,
I didn't know this until I misspelled it on Twitter
and got chastised for it years ago. But wet your
(02:15):
appetite is not spelled w e T. It is not.
It is what your appetite w h e T right,
So you almost pronounce it like you do. Um uh
what's the family guy, f family episode Whip cool whip
cool whip. Right, it's what your appetite, dude, college football
(02:40):
does it right, don't believe me? All right, here you go,
this is awesome. You're opening weekend of college football Oregon State,
Ohio State, UH, Texas, Maryland. Remember last year Maryland went
into Texas and smacked him around Old Miss Texas Tech,
Florida Atlantic, Lane Kiffin taken on Oklahoma UM. And then
(03:06):
you start to get to some of the premier games.
Washington taking on Auburn that's at Mercedes ben Stadium. UH,
Tennessee taken on West Virginia. You're welcome, and dude, you
get it gets even better U c l A. Cincinnati's okay,
but you also have No Tree Dame playing host to
(03:27):
Michigan first weekend of the season, Miami l s U
Virginia Tech, Florida State. It's awesome. They're just like, hey,
let's get awesome teams with awesome programs, really interesting stories, coaches,
new players that you've never heard of, and stop with
the players reserved to be paid because I'll make the
easiest case, you know. And this kind of goes in
(03:47):
a theme with what we're talking about, which is I
can guarantee that outside of your own football program, you
cannot name ten college football players as of right now,
can't name ten. You might take away your own school
and you can't name ten. I challenge you to do
so that are currently playing in college football. So if
(04:08):
you want to tell me that the players likeness and
image matter, you tell me. Do you have any idea
who plays for Miami? Can you name a dude? Can
you name a guy? Do you know who l s
u S quarterback is Virginia Tech, Florida State? DeAndre francois
Florida State. That's because he got hurt last year. So
(04:30):
one of the biggest lies you've ever been told is
that college football players name and likeness matter. They don't.
The jersey matters, the logo matters, the coach matters, the
stadium matters, the fight song matters more than a player does.
Now you come to fall in love with the player
because you tune in to see the team and the
(04:52):
logos play against one another. But the players don't matter.
But this goes in line with so many things you've
been lied about in your life. Uh, there's a guy
who's roadtuned. Who you celebrate the appearance of in the
end of December. I'm not going to mention his name
because some of you have kids in the car. But
that's the first lie you've you're told when you're just
(05:13):
a baby. Not the only lie, but it's the first.
You want to know. The biggest lie you're told in
sports is that if we were to expand the college
football playoff, it would diminish the value of the regular season. Right,
it would diminish the value of the regular season. If
(05:35):
that were true, if people liked the fact college football's
regular season more so than any other regular season, why
are the numbers more than double when the NFL plays
in the exact same time of year the very next day,
in the exact same sport. You can tell me that
it's because they're better players. I'll buy into that. You
(05:58):
can tell me it's because of fantasy football. I'll buy
some of that. But this has forever been true that
an NFL rating almost always doubles and sometimes triples that
of the best college football rating of the day. And
the NFL that's twelve teams in their playoffs. There's only
thirty two teams in the sport. You have been lied to,
(06:21):
my friends. Now, that does not mean that I believe
every team belongs in but using college basketball as a
parallel to college football, hey, college basketball's regular season has
become almost irrelevant. That's what would happen to college football. Right,
that's what people say. And that is a low hanging fruit,
very neanderthal, very easy argument for us to grab onto
(06:44):
because we go college equals college perfect. The problem though,
is that it's not really accurate. Right. College basketball has
been greatly diminished because players are only there for a
split second, one and done. We don't know any of
the players. Forget about coaching movement. We've got player movement.
(07:06):
There's also almost three times as many teams in college basketball.
It's a h Division one teams in college football. There's
three hundred and fifty two Division one teams in college basketball.
It's just too many teams, just too many games, and
it will be out by the way. And this is
hurt college football. With these super conferences being put together,
we sometimes lacked the rivalry games we used to. Arizona
(07:29):
and U c. L A one of the great rivalries
in the West Coast. They only play each other many
times one time of year. The league championships don't matter
anymore because you don't play everyone twice, because you don't
have eight and ten team leagues the way you used to. Also,
college basketball continues to compete up against college football on
the same campus for the first two months of the season,
(07:50):
which is death. I love the sport, I've covered the
sport nationally for fifteen years, I've played in the sport.
But the idea that let's start our year during the
prime time of baseball and NFL and college football on
the same campus for the same money, for the same fans.
And oh yeah, by the way, every game now for
college basketball, like football, is on TV. And what used
(08:13):
to be special about college basketball is getting people in
a small bandbox building. The buildings are bigger, and yet
it's more expensive to go there, and you're competing for
the same fans that their attention is turned to back
to football, same fans, same dollar. It doesn't go nearly
as far. There's a one and done, there's player movement,
(08:36):
there's no rivalries anymore. All of these things contribute to
college basketball having a very having a relatively irrelevant regular
season comparison to that of college football. The truth is,
the absolute truth is if you want to make college
football's regular season matter, because right now it mostly does not.
(08:58):
That's actually the biggest lie. It's a counter to it.
Every game manners. No, it doesn't. Once you lose your
third game, your season is over. Your season is over.
And if you play if you think you're not going
to have a great team, and so you soften your
schedule and you play an easy nonconference schedule and you
lose one game, many of these teams season is over.
(09:20):
Let alone too. The only way a to win team
can get into a college football playoff is by winning
their winning their side of the division, and then winning
their league championship. So for the most part, you get
down to the most important part of the season, you
get into late October early November, and three quarters of
(09:40):
the teams games don't actually matter. It's counter to what
you've always been told. And so in this in this
effort to expand the college football playoff, which should and
likely will happen, mostly because there's just too much money
for it not to do. So, you have all kinds
of issues that you're going up against. Right, you got
the bulls and they want to stay relevant. You got
(10:04):
the conference championship games, which some want to eliminate, which
one they do oftentimes settle who is the true conference
champion because teams don't always play each other in the
same league, especially some of the best teams, you gotta
play at least play each other once and then sometimes
in the Big twelve, now they play each other twice,
which we didn we already beat you, we gotta beat
you again. But more importantly, it makes conferences the schools
(10:28):
that don't participate a lot of money. The idea of
changing the conferences, making super conferences seems like a great idea.
But somebody's gonna get left out. And if they get
left out, their congressmen may bring it up that, hey,
there's a tax shelter here for all these college football programs.
Why are we allowing them not to pay taxes? And
(10:50):
that may bring the whole system down. There are a
lot of stuff there, a lot of stuff. But the
truth is that if you simply expand to eight teams
and you make five or have even six teams, and
you make the five conference champions champions automatically gain access
to a college football playoff, You've done the opposite of
(11:10):
what they told you it would do. You have made
the regular season the conference season, which anyone who's ever
played in college knows. We were told that's the most
important thing. When your league beat for our tribal the rest, Hey,
we'd like to win the rest of our games too,
you'd make the regular season more relevant. But of the
lies that you've been told when you were growing up,
(11:33):
and there's lots of them, lots of things you were
allied to, right, I remember when you're like, hey, you
can be anything you want when you grew up, like
now you can your mom's five to your dad's five
six both the road. Tun You're not gonna play in
the NBA. It's just not happening. Hey, Bud, your i
Q is not good enough for you to be an
asked astronauts are super smart and super studious. Just because
(11:54):
you want to go to space doesn't mean it's gonna
happen for you. There's economic barriers. There's barriers based upon
the sex, barriers based upon regionality, barries based upon language.
It's all said, different sorts of barriers. It doesn't mean
you shouldn't dream big and try and have your kid,
try and be better than what you are. But you
were told young age, like you can do anything you want,
(12:16):
not really, not really. You can be a success at something,
but not anything you want. Let's be honest, there's like
one percent of one percent that can ever play a
skill position, a speed athletic position in the National Football
League because you're just not born with the natural gifts.
You didn't win the genetic lottery. Sorry, same thing in
(12:39):
the NBA. Like, if you're not going to be six
ft or taller, hell, six ft two, six ft three
or taller, you should probably pick a different sport. The
numbers are against you, no matter how much you love it.
But you lied to all the time. We were lied
to about the danger of certain drugs that were then
(13:02):
illegal and then not illegal, certain drugs that were legal.
Al Right, Like remember the beer commercials where everybody's good looking,
everybody's having a good time. Have you ever been to it?
You ever been to a shady bar at happy hour?
Nobody's particularly good looking, they're not having a great time,
and they're simply trying to drink all their sorrows away. Right,
(13:23):
So you've been lied to your whole life. But in sports,
the number one lie you were told was that expanding
the college football player for simply having a playoff would
make the regular season irrelevant, like college basketball, like the NHL,
like the NBA. It could you know, we got a
sixty four team playoff on a teams, but no one
(13:44):
is proposting that, and that will never happen. But if
you validate conference champions, grant them automatic admission admission to
a college football playoff. And there is a lot of
other stuff. Too many games for the teams that play
that extra game, and and can the can a young
(14:05):
college body stand up to sixteen games and be standing
at the end of the year. A lot of things
that go into it, But the idea that it makes
the season, the regular season irrelevant is the opposite of
the actual truth. You've been lied to. We just want
to be honest with you. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Doug gott Leap Show weekdays at three
(14:25):
p m. Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app. The Astros are the best
team in baseball, don't get it twisted. But that shouldn't
be a surprise. They won the World Series last year,
of course, with the help of the addition of Justin
verlanderd their managers. A J. Henches kind of to spend
some time of this year on the Doug Gottlib Show
on Fox Sports Radio. A J. Do you do you
(14:49):
agree generally with that philosophy that run differential is a
better sign, a better telltale sign of how good a
team is in comparison to their actual win loss record. Yeah,
I mean a little bit. I think I think our
run difference those you know, kind of an overall snapshot
of the season. You know, we've been extremely dominant on
the mound. We can score. Um, you know, the wins
(15:11):
and losses are ultimately what matter. It doesn't you know,
you want to have the winds and the law and
and and avoid the losses. That, um, when you're looking
at at at comparison across the league, there's so much
that that can be taken away from so many different
numbers nowadays run differentials. Certainly, if you're good at run
scoring and good at run prevention, the wins are gonna
be there for you. And um, you know, obviously we've
(15:33):
done very well so far, and and it and it
and it proves that we have a good team. So um,
I'm not sure how much that helps you when you
go head to head with Boston or New York or
Cleveland or the surging Oakland A's and stuff like that
that are on our schedule. But but I think it helps.
It helps describe a little bit of how the season
has gone thus far for teams. Um, okay, what what
(15:54):
about the fact that teams are hitting two eleven against you?
And and for people who by batting average against and
and here's your like, is that good? It's the best
in baseball. It's not just the best in baseball by
you know, a percentage point or two. The Dodgers are
people hitting two thirty six. They have the second best.
Like it's that's by a mile. Um, it's really remarkable
(16:16):
what your staff is able to consistently do. And like, look,
the ball flies out of your ballpark. That is not
an easy ballpark to pitch in, as are some of
the ballparks you guys playing. How have you been able
to have the staff be so consistent through the year. Well,
our starters, I mean, and not to put it all
on them, but we had three of our five starters
maybe All Star team, a fourth in Dallas Kaiko, who's
(16:38):
probably pitched as well as anybody in the last month
and a and a and a former si UN Award winner.
So we we roll out a starting pitcher who's dominant
it's hard to hit, that doesn't give up a ton
of hits every single night, and we use five starters
to date. UM, that shows you've been healthy, they've been consistent. Um,
they all haven't been perfect for the entire season. It's
usually when if somebody is is having a rough time
(17:01):
getting deeper in the game, the other guys are picking
up the slack. So you know when we're when in
the names like Burlander and Cole and Kaiko and and
McCullers and Morton. Um, you know mccullors and Morton both
finished big playoff games last year. Kaikos want to say
you on Gerrit Cole has been tremendous edition that we
traded for uh this offseason. And then Justin Verlander is
(17:22):
right up in the in the in the in the
A l C. A young conversation. So when you do
that and and and have that kind of starting pitching, UM,
you know you're asking your bullpen to come in and
get you know, six to eight outs to night. UH,
your limit hits there and all of a sudden, you
look up and you're like, man, our steps pretty tough
to hit. How did you guys fix Burlander? You know,
(17:42):
I don't know if it's fixed them as much as
just encourage them to be the best version of himself.
This his high fastball. You know, I think it's as
pictures age, they get a little bit concerned about how
they used to pitch. You know, when you're young and
you have your tank, it's pretty easy to pitch with
your strength. As you age, you might try to adjust
a little bit too soon. And we got him back
(18:04):
to being himself using the high forcing fastball. Both of
his breaking balls are very effective. A lot of people
don't know one of his best pitches as a young
pitcher was his changeup. We've incorporated that a little bit more.
But um, you know, this guy is a little bit
of of of a different animal when it comes to
how he how he's aging, how he's able to hold
his stuff. Um, he gets better if the game goes on.
(18:26):
He's a tremendous finisher. Um. But like with all of
our pictures, I think if, if, if we can just
get the best version of themselves to them to use
their stuff correctly in the right areas of the side
zone against the right type hitters. You know, that's matchup baseball.
That's the way that we scout now, and it's the
way that we we acquire our information to the to
the pitching staff. So j V took ticket to heart
(18:47):
and has been tremendous. And and and the proofs in
the numbers. Yeah, but wasn't. Wasn't. Don't you guys use
these high speed cameras, these super expensive high speed cameras
from different angles of the park to which he was
able to pick up some of the different some of
the things that he had changed that he wanted to
fix when he first got there. Sure, now we use
technology as much as anybody in baseball. And they were,
(19:08):
you know, I joke with the All Star team last week,
like where they using master. We try everything, We'll try anything.
And and when you have players that are open, uh
to any sorts of information, I'm I'm I'm very impressed
with the way that Derrick Cole has come over and
jumped into our culture. And justin Verlanders as intellectually curious
as any picture in baseball, And and and Dallas Kaiko
(19:28):
has grown up in this system born and bred in
this in this organization has known nothing but that Charlie
Morton comes off of an injury season, un Philadelphia comes
over immediately jumps on board with some some pitch use
and stuff like that. So it takes players too, you know,
to buy into what we're doing and what our analysts
are studying and what our coaches are preaching and and
(19:49):
it's a true team effort. But um, without the player
participations just information, Uh you look, you the the one
issue that I think people are going to point to
is the bullpen. You know, Giles has had up and
down year um and and obviously that came to ahead
a couple of weeks ago or a week and a
half ago or so. Um can can we can we expect?
(20:09):
I mean, look, the front office has done everything in
its power last year, took to the waiver wire to
get j V. Is there an expectation that there could
be an addition made before this season runs runs its course? Maybe?
You know? Maybe? I think I think in some ways
it has to fit your overall philosophy and it has
to fit, you know, the day to day that we're
trying to accomplish. Me we're built for one sixty two
(20:30):
right now. We have a good bullpen who's whose pits
very well this season. And I think sometimes we point
to some of the losses or some of the the
only time you notice the bullpen is when they when
they don't do their part and you end up blowing
a few leads or blown a few saves. And you know,
there's a lot of talk of how how things were
put together last season, but um, I don't know. I mean,
I think it's it's always possible. I think any team
(20:52):
that's in playoff contention is can probably be linked to
every reliever in baseball because that's that's the easiest thing
to add. And and people always like they can upgrade
their bullpen. Um if there's a viable option that Jeff
Fields is an upgrade Jfflunar general manager, then we'll do it.
If not, we'll go with the group that we have.
And and what people need to remember is that is
similar to how we did it last year. The playoffs
(21:13):
often push one or two of your starters uh into
the into the bullpen. And if that's the case, I
just rattled off the starting The starters that are hard
to hit have low e r as do we have
to make the All Star team and and that might
be the addition that needed down the bullpen to to
get to your twenty stuff and out. Plus you have
my boy Joe Smith, who of course is the Yankee
killer right last year just Sanchez and and Judge couldn't
(21:34):
couldn't hit him, you could always you always call him
Smitty to come in and get some some right easy,
no doubt and no doubt. He comes from the funky angle.
He's done everything in baseball. He's a great clubhouse guy.
We signed him, um to really be this this sort
of ready killer. He actually left. He's out this seas
you've got the backdoor slider and you can pitch up
in the zone with the little side arm stuff. So
um again, I think I think there's always this plantation
(21:57):
with having to have the fine roles. Any thing that
we've learned in the last your calendar year, even dating
back to two dozen fift team when I first started here.
And there's a lot of different ways to get to
your twenty seven out and and while everyone wants to
Mariana Rivera and the Trevor Hoffman and the and the
You're aldest Chapmans of the world that are that are
that are shut down ninth inning guys. You know, there's
(22:19):
there's there's trigger points through the through the game that
you're gonna need. Somebody's got to get the outs in
the seven. Somebody gotta get out in the six. Joe Smith,
Kris Davinski. He had to run down who's pitching terrific
in our ninth inning? Right now? Um? Those are those
are guys that can get out against these teams? Um?
Is it as enjoyable this year as it was last year? Yes, well,
(22:40):
there was, there was, there was there was there was
a breath, there was well the World Series is hard
to top in the in the regular seast, but was
nothing like but the but the process of it, now,
last year it was still you know three years ago
you got there. The next year it was like right,
and there's changes made obviously, So last year you're building
towards it, but you know, trying to do it again.
(23:02):
And so is it it's just fun this year as
it was last year? Yeah? I think that. I think
there's a couple of different observations. Number one is I
am so proud of our players for for taking the
message in spring training about owning up to the fact
that no one's no one's repeated since I think it
was in two thousand when the Yankees are there. Eighteen
years since the team has been able to go back
(23:23):
to back, and that's what that's what our goal is,
and the players absorb it. We haven't. We haven't had
any sort of hangover, any sort of dragging, or any
sort of sort of diva status that can come with
winning or success. I mean, I've got great examples in
jose L Today and George Springer and Alex Bregman is
having a coming out party in Major League Baseball now
and Carlos Korea when we get him back, will be
(23:43):
a nice blues these I got names throughout the whole
team that have have showed up ready to play every day.
The interesting part that I've learned about winning he is
the standard that's said that there's no room for failure. Right.
You lose two games in a row as as the
defending world champions, and people are asking a lot more
about what's wrong. And and I think we're a game
or two off of our pace for last season. We're
(24:05):
thirty games over. I love the second two fifteen. We
wanted to win ninety games. We wanted to to win
the division. We end up making the playoffs for the
first time in ten years, and in four short years.
You know, the it makes me smile to know that
the standards are so high that when if you lose
a series or you lose back to back games, there's
there's that sense of of, hey, we need to win
this both inside the clubhouse and from our fan base,
(24:27):
and that that, to me, is the winning franchise. I
I don't think there's any doubt in it. Um, how
do you solve how do you solve baseball's issues with um?
With the shift? You know you just said how you're
you're talking about how you guys use analytics, you guys
use high speed cameras, you guys use any possible legal
means to be better. And if the numbers say, hey,
(24:49):
this guy is a dead pull hitter and they're not
trying to lay down a butt, they're not trying to hit,
what why Why should baseball be dumber instead of being
smarter and and go away from the shift. I don't
think the hit. I don't think you should go away
from the shift. I don't think I need to fix
the shift. I think the hitters need to fix the shift.
If the hitters adjust, the game will adjust. But if
(25:10):
you refuse to play the game line to line, and
you're gonna get teams like us and teams like around
the Cubs, the Royals, the the the Indians, aggressive teams
that will play into the shift. I mean virtually all
teams shift now because the hitters aren't making the adjustment
to play the game. If they play the game, then
we have to shift back. And we have there's a
number of hitters that we shifted in the past that
(25:32):
we don't shift anymore because they've they played the game.
So I mean, we considdle with the rules and we
can make it a layup drill. And when when a
guy wants to pull, pull across the ball and pull
the ball into the four hole, I don't think that's
what our sports about either. It should be hard to
get on base. And I understand fans want to see
more hits and they love the homer and the way
that that that baseball has grown. But um, if if
(25:54):
people want to fix the shift, we gotta fix the hitters.
How do we how do we fix the hitters? How
do we fix the hitters from hitting you know, home run,
strikeout or walk. I mean like we we had ten
home run Like like like even you're even the World Series
last year with the ball is flying out of the ballpark. Uh,
some of it, I'm sure is has to be a
little bit of the baseball. Some of it is the parks,
Uh you know, some of it's the bats, some of
(26:15):
it's the players in their strength, but a lot of
it is also their swing plan and how that's changed.
How do we how do we put the ball in
play more? Sure? Well, if one would be if we
compensate contact a little bit differently than we than we
have in the past. I mean the ops numbers are
are are sky high, and what drives ops are walks
and Homer's. I mean, that's that's Those are two statistics
that are immense now in in the in the financial
(26:36):
structure for players in it, and and you know they're
obviously it's hard to compensate a single to the other
the other side or um, you know, I don't know
if that's the complete answer, but um, you know, I
think for for us to simply put fielders where there's
dead grass like old school in the outfield, or where
there's you know, you're not allowed to have an off
offside shortstop has to play traditionally where shortstop is um.
(27:00):
I think then we should stop. We should start telling
the NFL they can't blitz. We can't do full core press.
In the NBA, we can't. You know, you can't put
any pressure on during a tennis match. You can't shoot
for birdies and golf. I mean, we're it's up to
the to the to the to the teams. If it's
valuable enough to win games by playing the game in
a different way, then that's what we have to combat.
But we rereward walks and homers at an all time high.
(27:23):
It's going to continue. It is fair though to point
out that like it look in basketball, they've evolved the rules, right,
they change the hand check rules. You can play zone,
albeit the zone rules a little bit different than the
traditional zone. Right In in football, there are a certain
number of guys you have to have on the line
of scrimmage, like, so there are rules that are put
in place, like I agree with you, like like the
s guy report says the guy's deadpool hit her and
(27:43):
he refuses to lay down a bunt or to hit
the other way that you know, make him make a change.
But there there is the idea of the kind of
the watchability factor. I go to baseball games and there
are there are big lolls in between it. Um, I
just there. There are rules have been put in place
by other sports to make it a little bit more right.
But we're but we're I mean the configuration of where
(28:04):
you play your defense in the NFL and what you
do on the basketball court is is a little bit different.
I think. I think for me, if if the if
the if the home run in the in the walk
is changed, the mentality of what winning baseball is all about,
then does it matter where josel two they standing tonight
When a Carlos Gonzalez is up to bed We're playing
the Rockies tonight and he plays in store right field
and that and that's all Carlos Gonzalez wants to do,
(28:26):
then then I'm defending in the sport. I mean, if
they put the rules in play for us to have
to play like an off side rule and you want
to draw a line behind second base, then ull of
bye by it. But um, as long as the hour,
my my job as the managers to put our players
in a position where the alter are made, the outer
are made to the pull side for a tremendous amount
of players nowadays. Um, and they don't want to concede
(28:47):
the homer and they want they don't want to single.
Then I'm not going to defend it. And and so
it will be up to baseball to make some sort
of radical move if that's what is best for the sport.
I'm not convinced it is. Well be had a great
off day, you got too in Denver, then the rival
against Texas, then you go to Seattle, very game team,
he's playing good baseball, and then you get you know,
the Dodgers. They get what they would consider a rematch
(29:08):
now adding Manny Machado. So obviously some tough games here
in the middle of the season before you get to
the stretch. Run. Really appreciate your time, Amazed by your
team's consistency coming off the World Series win, and wish
you nothing but health and luck the rest of the way.
Thanks for joining us. All right, it's a J. Hinch
of the Houston Astros, your world champion Houston Astros. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
(29:30):
Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio Dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app. Super happy
to have Annis Cantor of the New York Knicks, still
love the New York Knicks joining us in in studio.
There's a ton of things I want to get to,
um Man, you want to start the start all right. Look,
you didn't ever get a chance to play in Kentucky.
Remem okay, but you you were playing overseas, and look
(29:56):
I kind of knew the deal. Like I cover college bass,
we've done for fifteen years, and most people thought you
would ever play there just because of how then would
view your your eligibility. You want to come clean where
you really you're you're pro before you're playing Kentucky. Right,
let me I'll make it clear, man. And I don't
think I ever said set up to any media before.
I think that's the first time I'm saying it here.
(30:17):
I had a Nike deal, you know what. I had
a Nike deal in overseas when I was deal Nike deal.
Oh yeah, Nike deal. Of course, I was sixteen years old,
but I didn't know. I didn't know the rules. That's
the thing. I had an IQ deal. I took some
money with expenses. You know, it's normal. Because you started
getting paid when you're like fourteen fifteen years old in Europe,
it's normal. And then, uh, you know, I try to
(30:40):
come here. They offered me a lot of money in Turkey.
Ye say to stay six years. It was a very
very good money. By the way, speaking of Nike, we're
both were we're Shee brothers because we both have the
flying Knit, the fly Knit air Force air Force ones.
And then, uh, you know, I turned on million dollars
to just come here to play college basketball. So you know,
I can go to school, learn the language, learn another culture,
(31:00):
and play basketball the same time and enter draft as
well as I can. Well, when they said you cannot
play college basketball permanently ever, it just broke my heart.
I see. I here's the thing. I knew that you
had had the Nike deal, and I knew that you'd
gotten some sort of payments. But I also think that
there should be some I agree, like, there should be
(31:22):
the ability for even guys who are paid profession to
play over seas to come and play in college. It
makes college basketball better and it would increase your readiness
for the NBA. That's what I'm saying, man, Because like
oldest people want to come play college basketball and go
to school same time. We'll get the education same time.
But when I see he said, oh, you know, I'm sorry,
We sorry, we cannot let you play. It just it
(31:42):
just it was so frustrating for me because turning down
all the all the money to just come and go
to play and see a basketball like no, I just
come home. All right. So and it's cancer. You only
twenty six years old. Let's let's let's go to this
offseason or the season ends, okay, and you have a
decision to make. And there were some reports, oh he's
opting out, and then I you took the Twitter like
(32:06):
trying to make a decision here relaxed, Um, was there
a time in which you had decided to opt out?
I promised to the last day. I didn't know. I
didn't know if I was gonna opt out. I made
my decision the last day. Okay, But okay, season ends.
In your mind, you're thinking I'm gonna opt out. I
even told her the media, I think I'm thinking about
(32:27):
opting out. And then, uh, you know, when the and
then like the after the draft, all those people were saying,
but like, man, you know, the summer is not good.
The money is not there whatever, and I wanted to
I didn't. Of course, everybody cares about money, but I
wanted to stay in New York and sign a long
term contract with him. But I think they'd really try
to get like a big free agent next year. They
(32:49):
said they want to get to next year. They want
to Yes, So that's why I like, you know what,
I just like play a more year and then see
how it goes. What did your agent tell you was
out there for you realistically out there or you had
you decided to opt out? They actually know it was
actually the money was terrible. And then you give me
some you know, five teams. You know. Of course I
think I was a truly everybody with the bucks thing whatever.
(33:11):
So you gave me, give me some few teams, buz
I was like, you know what, I think right now
the best place for me to just play one more
year and then go from there. Okay, So so the
Knicks are in this interesting position you got prezingis coming
back at some point. We think this year there has
been talking about them shelving him, getting him to resign,
and and look the Knicks have also this year. You guys,
(33:32):
position yourself for a draft pick Kevin Knots another Kentucky kid. Well,
I think it's gonna be fantastic. He's only eighteen years old,
play well in the summer league. He does play some four.
I know you think he's a three. He play some four,
which is a little bit of your spot. Um, what's
it like to play on a team to which most
people think you're trying to lose? Like, how do you
how do you games going on? Like is that in
(33:53):
your mind at all? Actually? No, man, because like I
remember the GM, the GM of the Knicks was texting
us and m hmm, having a meeting with us every
before the game and saying, hey, we're trying to win. Yes,
I'm not where. There had to be games which you're
playing well, and then it's in the fourth course close game,
like you're coming out you're like, whoa wait what so
(34:16):
so the GM can say we're trying to win, but
based upon who they play at the end of the
game media, I was like, Hey, they pay me to
go out there and win, they're not paying me to lose.
So that's not I came from winning culture Oklahoma City, Yes,
so there's no way I'll go out there. Hey, we'll
get a drafting and there's that we lose. No, I'm
(34:36):
going out there to play my hardest play hunter person
and try to win. That's it, and nobody can change
my going out. And even this year, I don't care
how good the team, how bad the team is. I'm
trying to win every game. And it's Cancer New York.
Next joining us to Gatlip Show, Fox Sport Trading before
we get to Oklahoma City, you're first in Utah and
right before you were trading you started to kind of
make your make your mark there. Um, what's your impression
(34:58):
of why Utah even though they've they've made some moves
that they've seemingly gotten better there has become kind of
a is that Quinn? What is it? What is it
that's allowed them to take I've seen with Dennis Lindsay,
he's an amazing GM and we do you know Quinn,
he's ever very very He was there was one of
the you know, the top three coaches at this year.
But I think with that with them too, I think
(35:20):
the whole organization they wanted the next level and I
think you know, they they've been doing an amazing job,
you know, building the players. You know, I think Utah
was maybe two or three times better before I was there.
When I was there, Um, okay, what about Hayward. There's
a lot of people who have There are people now
(35:41):
who like, look, Gordon Hayward's okay, if the boss the
celt is gonna move, somebody move Hayward. I was like, look,
and I know he wasn't an All Star when you
play with him, but he has improved every year. He
wasn't All Stars last year before he became a free
and signed with the Celtics. For people who don't have
never played with Gordon Hayward, don't know him. What about
his game has allowed him to he was an All
(36:02):
Star in the West and get him to where he
should be a long star in the East as well.
I mean one thing about Gold start amazing teammates, making
everybody better, else a better around him, and you know
they very just I mean, he's he's a good guy
on the court off the court, and the people are saying, oh,
just this guy that I think that they'd have a
really good team to just just go go from it
because they got Tatum, they got you know, the Kylan Brown,
(36:24):
Jaylon Brown, they got goldon have Ward. They have an
amazing team. I think I wouldn't trade anybody, man, it
will be tough decision at Okay, So you get to
Oklahoma City. What was that like when they had you
have Kad, you got Russ? What was that locker room like?
As my first time playing it with superstars first time?
Because I get in the locker room, there's Katie in
(36:46):
that locker room. Ross in that locker room. We've got
a surgeon, Steve, And I'm like, okay, this is like
what the real tim feels like. So I mean, I
get in there, but this this sad thing. It killed
me because that year Ross got hurt, Katie got hurt Stephen,
and we missed the playoffs by hef game by one
by one one. Anthony Davis three point shot shot. That's
(37:08):
the only That's the only three he made all seasons.
Anthony Davis made a three that year. It wasn't it
was like twenty might have been middle almost middle of
the season. Anyway, he made the last second three to
beat Oklahoma City in Oklahoma City was his only three
he made the entire season, and that ended up keeping
out of playoffs. And that remember that was the year
kat miss fifty one games with broken broke broke, broken,
(37:29):
broken foot, But what was the dynamics like with k
D and russ in that lot. It's good man, because
playing players like k D Ross or like you know,
the superstars like him or even like KP like these people,
those those superstar will take you to the next level
because you cannot relax around him, you know, especially with
russ Man, because you could. For him, it's not a game,
(37:51):
it's a war every night, and uh, you know he
will try to do everything to win the game. And
then when when you see may he's a superstar, he's
going that hard. I was like, you know what, I
think I got? Um? What went wrong? When you guys
are up three one? Oh man? That serious? We can
never forget. The playoff series are seven games you can
(38:11):
never forget. I think we relaxed a little bit. And
I remember after the game almost everybody was crying. I
was crying because we got we got the phone. We
had the ring game. Game six was the game six
was the one leg was crazy and and k D
was awful. Katie forced it. He looked, he looked, how
much how much of it look In watching that series
(38:36):
between Stephen and Andre Andre robertson the fact that they
couldn't shoot. It was like three on five, right, Like,
basically Golden State was putting two guys in his own
and doubling k D and helping on Russ every time
they drove, and and you didn't get a lot of run,
right yeah, and and everybody said, well he can't. Well
but no, everybody's point out your defense. But you guys
(38:58):
needed actually more offense in order in order to keep
up with them. Um, how much of the frustration that
led Katie leaving was that series? Every time he put
the ball on the deck, there were two guys on him.
It was it was tough, man, because like like you said,
I mean they were doubling Katie, they were doubling you know,
the ross and everything. But I think and then later
(39:20):
we'll be trying to and then search, and then later
I think we try to if you doubt that's what
we were up by three one, and then like game five,
he's like, Okay, you know, even if you lose this game,
you gotta go back home and take the game six.
But that's why we lost the games. She was then
almost like it was impossible to almost get a game
like that. That Clay Thompson game in game six is
(39:40):
as good as anyone's ever shot them all I can
I can remember. Okay, So where were would you when
you found out Katie was leaving and going to Golden State.
I was actually on the airport check my phone? What
whatever port city? I can't even remember my airport, but
I checked my phone on Twitter and say, oh, you
know my next chapter. I'm like, are you kidding? So
(40:00):
what were the texts like between teammates? Actually? First whatever
it is, nobody texted each other like I texted, you
know what, not many people know this man. I texted
KDD that in that airport, I texted kated amen good luck,
and they said that he did hit me back to you,
just said we got we got no problem between me
(40:21):
and you were good, thank you or something like that.
And then like later on that I learned that he
didn't text. He didn't say it anybody that is living
because you were like more and more than a thin
were like family, are like brothers. And then it's not why,
it's it's how he did it. You know. I didn't
say nobody nothing, And then I was nobody was expecting
(40:43):
to join him to because they just want seven or
three games. They don't need no help. And then when
I heard that, it was he killed me in my heart?
Was that come onment, we're like brothers. So first time
you saw Russ after it, what did he say? We
actually because it was a very awkward and very weird moment,
so we did not talk about it at all. We
(41:05):
did not say nothing. It was like, you know what,
you go from there, We're gonna keep moving forward and
then just just keep everybody his first time back in
Oklahoma City, everybody had the cupcakes. You guys were talking
a ton of trash, you in person, you in particular,
we're talking trash. What were you saying? We are? I
think they're gonna fight away with the Russell Westbrook and
(41:26):
that actually didn't play that game because I freaking broke
my arm finding a chair, But well, I think I
think that game I was like I never seen even
I played Western Conference Finals, I did not see any
game like this that that that the whole gene was
blown out. It was amazing. Yeah, it was like a
college atmosphere, that's the thing. So I played Oklahoma State
and what people now know in the NBA about Oklahoma
(41:48):
City and the Thunder, like that's what the fans were
back then about Oklahoma State basketball. It's only major sport.
They love it. And then with the Thunder that they
you know the city and Thunder goes like saying, taking
through the of the level, that's good. So so it's
interesting though. I remember when it happened last off season.
We talked to you on the radio, which is you know,
Oaklama City was all about loyalty and then you end
(42:10):
up getting sent to the New York Knicks. Was it
a phone call? Did you get it from your agent?
It was weird. I was actually doing a basketball camp
for orphans, and then my manager assistant of all the
things like I'm actually working with orphans, and then my
manager like brought me the phone. I was like, hey,
you need to take this. I'm like, hey, man, no,
I'm middle of the camp. I'll take it. Later said no, no, no,
(42:32):
it's important. I put the phone on my ears, Like
what and then you know, my you know, my you
guy said it was not sand Preancy was one of
my age and one of my managers. He said, hey,
don't look too happy. You just got treated for because
he knows I love a lot. I love New York
at a lot of people, you know, I've known a
(42:52):
lot a lot of people there. So I'm like, oh
my god, I look at my phone. I look at
my phone. There's all these takes, oldest miss calls, oldest
like Twitter to say things whatever, notifications. I'm like, oh
my god, I think I really did get traded and
this cancer join us New York Next Gallup show, Fox
Sports Radio. So you go from a championship caliber team,
you go from playing with an m v P. So
(43:15):
professionally like, look, you want to win, but now you
get to go to a team where you're in New York,
where you could be more comfortable. There are people to
speak your language, you cook the food that you grew
up on. You can feel more comfortable, right, incredibly diverse city,
and you get to start so so like it's like,
look do I want to do I want to win more? Yeah,
but I also want to play and play more. I
don't think enough people ask about things like that. What's
(43:37):
that like to know you're competing on a team that's
not gonna win a championship, but you're gonna get to
explore more and explain your game one. It's so tough
to focus for every night because I remember month of
February last year, we only won one game. The whole month,
We've just been one game, and then every night the
locker room was so frustrating and so bad. I'm like,
(43:58):
come on, man, we need to that. The episode was terrible.
It was like a bad It was bad. And then
I was like, you know what we gotta I didn't.
I mean I learned better in a cay see. We
need to keep moving forward with you need to keep fighting.
And then we try to fight, but like we lost KP.
We lost Team hardaway for like nineteen games. It was
so hard because like I knew, I knew what were
(44:18):
capable of doing, and then we just couldn't do it.
It was so frustrating, and then the fans were started
to boone us. I'm like, oh my god, this is
getting worse. Oh what do you think about Lebron going
to l A Well, okay, uh, I think, well, he
lost so many finals with Cleveland, we lost six finals.
Last thing. He just that's is like the last whatever
(44:39):
years in his career. He just wanted to came here,
build this brand more it's l a you know. But
one thing, man, this is Kobe is a magic team.
So I'll say he just joined the Kobe's the magic team. Yeah.
I mean, like, look, im, I grew up here and
it was Magic's team and then they were bad for
a couple of years and then you know, Shaq and Kobe,
and even Shaq and Kobe they couldn't win, and it
(45:00):
became chat Kobe's team, and then it was Kobe's team.
Like I kind of think that's a little bit overplayed.
It becomes if you win, they embraced you, and He's
gonna win. I just I wonder. I feel like most
people in the league think the Warriors got one more
year in him and then guys started to go their
separate way. Is that Is that a fair statement? It
is a fair spiritment. I think so. But I think
(45:20):
with the Lebron think, let me ask you this, do
you think he can deal with Magee l I think so,
And I'll tell you why. I think they're coming off
the bench. I think they're all on one year deals
and I think if they don't buy in that, they're gone.
As you know, like, look is different when a dude
walks in and he's got You know, if it's mellow
(45:40):
and he's got no trade clause, you're making twenty seven
million and there's a lot of hoops to have to
go through. Like there's guys have. It's a different way
in which a guy is treated as opposed to Hey, dude,
if you don't buy into what Lebron and what what
we're doing, then we'll get rid of you. It's fine,
we got rid of a whole team. A guy's last
is that fair is fair, but a perfection professionalism. They
(46:02):
got a little character of personal but j R. Was
a huge character before you play with him. Just one
that's that's true, that's true. How are you gonna deal
with LaVar Ball? I think again, you need to buy
in or your gone. Dude. We'll find that's gonna be
very But I think his dad puts so much pressure
(46:25):
on him that every guard or every player in the
league want to just bring him on that court. If
his dad leave him alone a little bit, and I
think you know, he's going to do it, do his things.
He's every really talent a players, skilled player, but his
dad just talks too much and just put so much
pressure on him. Do you have insider information on who's
going to join the next next year. Actually I do warrant,
(46:47):
but I can't tell. I can tell, but it's one
of the superstars, does it? Does his name ride with
Smarrie Loving? I can't talk about him, but lords his
name Ryan was Meimily Letler. Oh my god. I think
next year we're gonna get for sure one or two superstars.
(47:07):
But I think that's what I think the NIXT focus
on two thousand nineteen. Last thing and most important thing
we've had you on before, obviously the government of Turkey.
You don't agree with with the leadership and some of
the things politically. Can you go home? Are you allowed
to go home? Uh? To go visit your friends and family?
Surely not? Man still not that still struggling because I
(47:29):
mean I can go. The sad thing is even my
family cannot come because you know, they took their passport.
They cannot travel here. I try to, you know, just
bring him back here, bring him to America, but they said, no,
you cannot leave the country. Because every time then I
say something there you know, we can't put them, put
you guys in jail, and just trying to sell and
sends very sad man crazy stuff. Listen. Love what you
(47:51):
do on social media more than anything. Can't say how
much I appreciate you coming. Yeah, and we can't wait
to see you working out with Hoodie. Mellow do Hoodie,
You're gonna work out together. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Doug gott Leap Show weekdays at three
p m. Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app. Buyer. And I don't know
how busy you are. You brought up the Julio Jones deal.
(48:14):
We talked about this going back a week ago or
two weeks ago. Here's the problem with the Julio Jones thing. Look,
the Julio Jones thing is basically a reaction to two
different deals. Two different deals. One, everybody's reacting to Sammy
Watkins contract, which was ridiculous sixteen million dollars a year
(48:34):
to a guy who is the fourth best wide receiver,
fourth best wide receiver for the l A Rams last year. Secondly,
it's Julio jo and saying, look at how little I make.
But it's it I just I'm just tired of being
lied to by these players, Like oh he's taking a
(48:55):
pay cut, Like dude, he got his when he negotiated
this contract. It was a huge up front the contract
where he got guaranteed money up front, knowing full well
that this was gonna happen. This is the most disingenuous
crap that NFL players do all the time, right, I mean,
(49:15):
look at the money he he he made early on
twenty in the early stage of this contract, he made
twenty two million dollars his first year. Like nobody ever
says like hey, In two thousand fifteen, at twenty six
years old, he made twenty two million dollars, which was
far and away the highest paid wide receiver in the
history of the National Football League and still would be.
(49:39):
Then he made thirteen and eleven and now it's ten
and a half this year, and then it would go
back up if he stays under this deal to twelve
and a half next year and eleven point five in
his final year. That was the deal he signed, totally
front loaded, totally frontloaded. And yeah, the base salary is
(49:59):
only ten point five, but he also makes two point
two point five in in a signing bonus this year.
So the truth is his first year he made twenty
two mill His second year he made thirteen a half mill.
His third year, he made thirteen excuse me, fourteen mill.
So all they're doing is they're like, hey, look at
(50:20):
his base salary. Yeah, but he made a whole bunch
of bonuses, and he made a bunch on the front end.
That was the deal he signed. If you don't like,
don't sign the deal. That easy three years left. I'm
supposed to have sympathy for him. None. None,
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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