June 28, 2019 • 40 mins
Doug tells you what NBA players are finally starting to realize about owning NBA teams. He also reacts to the Lakers bringing Magic Johnson back to help recruit Kawhi Leonard in free agency. NBA Insider and FSR host Chris Broussard joins the show to breakdown the Lakers strategy with Magic Johnson and where the biggest free agents are signing.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug Gottlip
Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday
from three to six pm Eastern Time, that's twelve to
three Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station
for the Doug Gottlieb Show at Fox Sports Radio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the I Heart
Radio app by searching fs R. This is the best
(00:21):
of the Doug Godlive Show on Fox Sports Radio. Boom,
What Up America, Doug Gottlieb Show, Fox Sports Radio. It's
my favorite time of year. It's my favorite time year
when we want to spend other people's money. That's what
(00:42):
we do. Free Agency Bonanza, Free Agency Topia is upon
us and Sam Amy's gonna join us upcoming in fifteen
minutes from the Athletics. Sam's covered the league for twenty years.
This was supposed to be the biggest summer free agency
bonanza that we've seen ever, ever, ever, and it may
(01:04):
be reportedly Kwhide Leonards seriously considering the Lakers, Kemba Walker
supposedly headed to the Celtics, and of course we don't
know about Kevin Durant the Golden State Warriors, Clay Thompson
Kyrie Irving lots of different guys, but I find it
(01:25):
most fascinating, most fascinating, the mischaracterization of ownership in this
particular time. Right, Like I've heard this from a lot
of different people. Some have a microphone in front of
(01:46):
their face, many do not. Well, why don't they just
go into that, just spend the luxury tox? Okay, Um, Look,
the reality to this thing is, and this is really
important for you to understand that the luxury tax not
only limits what you can do in terms of your personnel, right,
(02:09):
because if you're in the luxury tax, you can only
deal with other teams they're in the luxury tax as well.
But then there's just the reality to it, which is
you're spending money and not getting anything in return. Right,
And every year that you're subsequently you're in the luxury tax,
you spend even more money on absolutely nothing that you
(02:31):
don't have to spend. So instead of spending whatever it is,
ten million dollars on a guy that takes you over
the luxury tax threshold, you end up spending one and
a half times that the first time, and then after
that it gets ridiculous. You don't want to be a
repeat offender, because now you're now you're just in tax hell,
(02:55):
tax death. And most teams, many teams operate in an
operating loss or maybe a minimal game per year. And
what you'll hear from the common fan, and sometimes you'll
hear from uneducated pundits is wow, I mean you make
up money on the value of the team, which is
(03:17):
in fact true. You've valuations on these NBA teams have
skyrocketed in recent years. But it depends on a couple
of things. What did you pay to buy the team? Right,
Like it's like, oh, well, you know, it used to
be worth five million dollars. Now it's worth a billion dollars? Okay,
(03:39):
when did you buy in on the team? And then
maybe most importantly, you do realize that you some of
these guys actually like the business of owning an NBA team.
Don't want to sell it to make the money. Like,
the whole idea of buying an NBA team was not
to sell it to make money, was to own an
NBA team, which, by the way, they're told now they
don't actually own, they're simply the governors of right. Take
(04:05):
Michael Jordan, for example, Michael Jordan's is, by my estimation,
the greatest player in the history of the game. If
you want to put him there with with Lebron James,
you can do that. Most people will disagree with you,
but that's not the purpose of this rand. Michael Jordan's
cannot sell the Charlotte Hornets. He bought them off Bob Johnson,
(04:28):
who you who started up b et. Bob Johnson went
through I believe, a nasty divorce, had to sell the team.
They were losing their hembring Jing money, and so he
sold him to Michael Jordan's. Michael Jordan cannot sell the Hornets.
Can't do it. It would be a bad look for
the NBA, no matter how much he sold them for.
Not only is he a former great player, but he's
(04:50):
also a minority owner in his home state. Can't sell
the team. So when you can't sell an asset, you
should probably try and make the set make money for you. Right,
well wrong, according to some This from j Williams, who's
the former colleague of mine. Of course, a former star
(05:11):
player too. Could number two pick in the NBA draft
now appundent on ESPN. If the Hornets don't pay kemball
Walker what he deserves the conversation about MJ's ownership will
be one of the hottest topics in sports. The one
dude to poured out his heart and soul for you
and you don't pay him. How many times we heard
NBA players say they want to be owners. Okay, but
(05:33):
here's the problem with ownership. It's the same problem with
going from being a salesman to a sales manager. Right,
Like what happens when you go from being a salesman
to a sales manager. You gotta fire people. It's just
not about not about hitting your quote, about hitting your
number when other people do not. You have to fire
those people. Why, Because it's a business. And what happens
(05:56):
when you go from player to owner is the bottom
line becomes the bottom line. Not only would they be
in tax cap tax hell, but it just wouldn't be
financially feasible in a small market where they're not the
number one, and honestly, they're not the number two and
might not be even the number three sport in their market.
(06:18):
Don't get me wrong, it's cool to have the hornets
in Charlotte. I like the throwback name, I like the
throwback uniforms. It's not it's not throwing back to the
nineteen thirties, it's throwing back to the nine nineties. But
the Panthers are in fact bigger. NASCAR is in fact bigger,
And if you really want to get down to it,
(06:39):
college basketball might actually be bigger in that market. Then
the Hornets are. They've lost a team before. Let's not
forget forget Like Charlotte, people think of charge piggle thing
is Charlotte as a burgeoning market. It maybe, but but
they have that scarlet letter right there, like the divorce
say like, you can get divorced once, anybody gets vorce
(07:00):
ones can you get divorced twice? Now you become that
guy that's on his third marriage. So can't move the team,
can't sell the team. Gotta make it work and make
money doing so. Kemba Walker is a tremendous player. He
was third team All NBA and whether or not he
should have been, whatever, He's one of the top twenty
(07:20):
five or so guys in the NBA. He's in his
you know, he's he's in his athletic prime. You're going
and you have to over pay him on some level
to keep him or or pay him to get him.
But the idea of well, you have to pay him
what he's worth. Listen. I know people like Jay Williams
(07:43):
right have some business acumen and they do TV shows
about sports business. But let me tell you the basics
of valuation personal professional valuations in business. Do you know
what something is worth? Okay, it is worth what somebody
(08:03):
is willing somebody else is willing to pay for it.
I have a piano in my house. It's a piano
from the nineteen thirties. Told the story before, but it's
worth the telling again. And I was looking for a
piano and a buddy of mine's like it, look, it's
not a Stein White. It's not very nice piano. And um,
(08:23):
and my daughters were playing piano. They're like two, if
three or four years old at the time. Whatever. My
wife plays the piano. You know, it's like kind of
like a signature piece of your house. And my buddy said, like, look,
there's a piano that it's right now. You can get
it at auction because nobody's been on it. And the
low bid is like I let the auction expire. I
(08:48):
offered the person I think it was like bucks maybe
two thousand dollars for the piano, and the gentleman who
owned it called me and he went for a half
hour on this. Piano has on this and been in
this store, and this has been evaluated at ten tho dollars.
And I said, sir, respectfully, that piano is worth what
somebody is willing to pay for it. And I'm willing
(09:09):
to pay two thousand dollars for it, and you add
in the six hundred dollars and shipping. I'll pay that
as well as tars. We'll have a come guy come
and tune it up, and it'd be great for my family.
We have it, we've had it for a decade. So
this idea that that Michael Jordan is supposed to drive
his team into the ditch. They didn't make the playoffs
(09:30):
overpay to get Kemba Walker and oh yeah, by the way,
he's a former player, only reeks of the lack of
true business acumen of a lot of players, which they
don't understand that at the end of the day, the
bottom line is the bottom line, especially when you're not
competing for championships. Doesn't mean we don't like you, doesn't
mean we don't love you. It just means it doesn't
make fescal sense. Okay, so all of this stuff is fascinating,
(09:57):
but the guys calling out Michael Jordan's, the former s
ber star player who understands fully how to keep the
Hornets functioning financially, is kind of ironic. Let's get the
damn buyer. He's got breaking news. Damn when he got
breaking news from Fox Sports? News is plural in this case.
(10:18):
First of all, at the Women's World Cup, the Americans
have scored right away against France in their quarterfinal match.
Megan Rapino a goal in the fifth minute. You can
see it right now on Fox. It's one nothing USA
in the eleventh minute. And this from Adrian Warzanowski of ESPN.
The Warriors are expected to offer Clay Thomps today five
year max contract with one ninety million dollars once free
(10:38):
agency begins Sunday at six o'clock Eastern time, and Thompson
and his representative are expected to accept that offer. So
it looks like Doug Clay Thompson is going to be
staying with the Golden State Warriors right now. Now, look
the listen that the different there. There is a difference
here with the Warriors as opposed and the Warriors are
owned by billionaire businessmen or whatever, and they bought it
(10:59):
full or I think they bought it for four or
five million dollars. Now it's like the second most valuable, uh,
second most valuable team in the NBA to the Nicks.
I'm gonna say maybe the Lakers are right there as well.
Part of that evaluation is they own the new arena
that they're going to occupy that has a ton of
value and they're gonna go into the luxury tax and
you just say, Doug, well they're gonna lose money. Well
(11:21):
they may, but this is again, they're competing for championships
and they've made a lot of money and all those
playoff games make you money over the years, not just
in your valuation, but the day to day you're turning
a profit. And now you've gotta pay a luxury text.
It's different. It's a different calculus when you're winning and
your make you have extra extra cash as well as
(11:44):
you're owned by It's like the minority owner who pushed
Kyle Lowry. He's owned by you know, two point seven
billion dollar guys that those guys can take it. These
guys can take a loss, Like, all right, we're not
collecting dividends, all right, we write off a loss this year.
Some some owners are willing to do that. And remember,
if they resigned Kevin Durant, they're gonna be paying like
(12:05):
three fifty million dollars in taxas, like crazy, crazy money.
And they would do that to try and you know,
maintain this dynasty that they have. But you know, Kevin
Durant and Lebron James and other players have said they
want to ultimately be an NBA owner. Michael Jordan's is
(12:28):
the picture of what they want to be. He has
his own shoe brand, he has his own NBA team,
and he understands the reality of I love Kemba Walker.
I'm not gonna give him the Super Max so that
I pay him the last two years in his mid
thirties forty something million dollars, meanwhile being the tax hell
(12:48):
for the entirety of his contract. And we're already not
a playoff team. That doesn't make sense. It's not personal,
it's just business. It's just business. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Doug Dot Leap Show weekdays at
noon eastern three pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app here's the difference in in
(13:10):
the Kevin Durant to some extent before he left to
Kawhi Leonard, which is, well, who's going to get the
ball at the end of the game. A couple of things, First,
Lebron is never Lebron late at Cleveland wanted the ball
and took the big shot, but he's always like to
create shots for other people. Secondly, I do think we
(13:31):
have to realize that Lebron knows he's older. Like I've
been told, he's lost a bunch of weight and we'll
see if he keeps it off, and then he knows
he's got to kind of change his body. But I'm
sure he also knows that there's got to be a
next phase to his game where he can be a
little bit more of a blend player. And he tried
that some with last year's team two limited success and
a lot of failure early. There's no reason that he
(13:54):
can't play with others. Is it ideal? Maybe not. Again,
we're not saying that this is gonna I'm not sitting
here saying this is gonna happen. I just don't think
it's the craziest thing. I don't think it's a terrible
idea because you know, the Clippers situation is is a
better version of what the Lakers were selling last year. Right,
(14:16):
the Lakers were selling the hey, come here, trust us,
we'll figure it out. The Clippers are like, come here,
trust us. Our culture is going to be so good
that we'll figure out how to win when we've never
won here before. Well what about the what about adding
somebody else? Like yeah, and I know that there are
(14:37):
people who are, hey, Toronto one with one star. Look,
you can tell yourself that that's cool. They needed a
crazy bounce on a home rim and hit the rim
four times to in front, to and back four, rolled
in to beat Game seven, beat the Sixers at home,
and then they needed k d Uh Clay can On
(15:00):
Looney and even Andrea Dolla to be banged up in
order to beat the Warriors. So like, you can give
me the one star one superstar is the way to go,
because the Raptors want like, Okay, if you can promise
that the other team is gonna lose half their roster
to injuries, then sure, I'll go with the one star thing.
And that's what the Clippers would be. Uh, that's what
(15:22):
the Clippers would be so I just I'm not gonna
sit here and tell you that I I don't think
actually the fit is perfect in terms of personnel, Like
I think there are other guards that fit better. But
it would be awesome to see you just line up,
like all right, they here's a starting lineup, and I
got Kauahi Letters and Anthony Davis and Lebron James, Like wow,
(15:49):
can you imagine being Magic Johnson or Tyron LOEU. Watching
that was like, maybe I should have taken that contract.
It was a little less money, couple of two less
years than I wanted, but could have gotten the contract
extension after winning a championship the first year. I think
the whole thing is fun um. But I also love
(16:09):
when guys who I mean, you know, whether it's you
look like Steven A, for example, who he didn't call
this one the weakest one. He called k D the
weakest one. Right, But like, look, I thought Stephen A
made a bold move early in his career. Do you
guys remember Stephen Aid was a political commentator for like
two years with CNN. It actually happened, Like that's bold.
(16:33):
It's not smart, but it's bold. But all these all
these people are like, well, that's weak to go join.
You know Lebron James, like, is it Staying in Toronto
is safe? It might be smart, it's safe. They love
you. You You want a championship, you don't win one again.
(16:53):
I kind of think trying it with Lebron James and
going to l A is bold. Going to the Clippers
is super bold. Going to the Mavericks who feel like
it's dumb but maybe bold. They got a bunch of
cap room, they got prezingis and they got the Rookie
of the Year. But I just I I see so
(17:13):
many people comparing this to Kevin Durant and like, look,
Durant hadn't one yet, he hadn't proven he can take
it and made the big shots, which he did by
the way, he proved to everybody. Kawhils proved what you
need to prove. Now he can pick his next place
where he wants to live and he wants to work,
and maybe it's the Lakers. Maybe at the end of
the day he looks at he's like, I don't know,
I like the Clippers, but it's the Lakers, And that's
(17:36):
not a crazy thought to have. Be sure to catch
live editions of the Doug dot Leap Show week days
at noon Eastern three pm Pacific Kawahi Leonards people plan
on meeting with Lakers president Genie Buss and Magic Johnson
next week when free agency begins. The meeting will most
likely be in Los Angeles. Oh that makes sense because
Magic is president of the No he wait, what we've
(18:01):
seen almost everything that we haven't seen before. What the
hell's Magic Johnson doing here? I mean, all right, I'm
just I want to think through this one out loud
for you, guys, out loud for you. Okay, now, Magic,
but oh hey, I just want you guys all know,
(18:21):
no bitter feelings here. Once a Laker, always a Laker.
That's why I'm here. That's a strong pitch. Of course,
Rob Polinkas should probably be there to know. Of course
Lebron James should be there as well. No, right, um,
(18:44):
maybe their coach, maybe their coach, maybe Anthony Davis. I
don't know if Anthony Davis can't attend because technically he's
not a member of the Lakers yet, right, that's why
he's not working out with him. I mean, I guess
he can attend any meeting, but technically to attend a
pitch meeting for the Lakers. That would be violing some
sort of rules. But this is weird, So wait, didn't
(19:05):
you tell me that there? They were run by a
guy who's a backstabber and they're inept and you want
to get back to having fun? Why are you here?
That is a weird one. It's like the It's like
the ex boyfriend showing up at the rehearsal dinner going, hey,
how are you guys? Yeah I used to data, Yeah
(19:27):
we're engaged. Yeah yeah yeah, left me at the altar.
Actually yeah, well you know I I didn't really wasn't
really into be married and just did it to my
parents were pressuring me. But hey, you guys, you're a
great match. She'd be so happy, so happy. She's kind
(19:47):
of bipolar, right, she can be all over the bed
like one day, grace person ever in the Latin, next
day coming at you with a knife. But you know what,
there's a way to her that you know, she's really special.
She's a big time Now. You guys are great? Does
that not strike anybody Else's the strangest? Oh hey, and
magic is going to be there? Why I do feel
(20:12):
like magic? And we said this before it there's a
little of a Kelly on Conway feel to it. Right,
Kelly on Conway used to run the Trump campaign. Then
Kelly and Conway was working with Trump, and then she
leaves Trump, and now she's on TV and something. And
the idea was she was being harshly critical Trump, but
really she's she's like a plant. So that one strikes
(20:42):
me as odd. I just I can't help but think
that what Brad Turner put out there is a little
bit different. Um. By the way, sources tell Sam Amick,
who joined US earlier, that Lebron and Anthony Davis are
also gonna be part the formal pitch. It's happening. It's happening.
(21:09):
I don't know how it all works in the basketball floor, right, Like, Okay,
Lebron's kind of your point guard, right and Anthony Davis
is kind of your center, and then you have like
two wings and kind you have a ton of size
and two great defensive players, and you'd obviously add another
guard or like three or four other guards. I don't
(21:34):
know how it actually works in the basketball floor, but
I just think the whole thing is fun. How about
Rob Polinka not getting an invite? Like, hey, guys like
donld Rod, we got this. Now you're good. You're good? Hey,
I can you want me to drive? Like he's sitting
there on Twitter, like you guys want me? You wanta
take my car? Your car? We all ubering together? You
want to meet there? Do you guys want to strategize beforehand?
(21:56):
They're like, dude, we didn't invite you. Fox Sports Radio
the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all
of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and
within the I Heart Radio app search f s R
to listen live. So how they were going to and
then Brad Turner, who covers the Lakers for the l
A Times, tweeted out that Genie Buss and Magic Johnson
(22:20):
will be part of the pitch meeting. And then of course,
uh sam ammyt who joined us earlier from the Athletics,
said that Anthony Davis and Lebron James will also be
part of the pitch meeting. Chris. Anytime we go to
a pitch meeting, we bring Chris Broussard. He's a closer,
he's that got that kind of pulled that kind of magnanimics,
magnanimous personality. What's your reaction to that, Brad Turner note
(22:42):
that Magic is going to be attending the pitch meeting.
First of all, thank you for that warm introduction. Um,
but I think it's I think it's smart. I'd certainly
Lebron and Anthony Davis need to be there, and I'm
fine with Magic in there for a few reasons. One,
(23:02):
it does dispel to some degree, maybe not totally, but
to some degree, the notion that the Lakers have been
and are just a dysfunctional franchise. If if Magic is there,
it kind of you know, lessons the blow of his
resignation and how badly it looked and and all that,
(23:25):
because you see, well maybe it was true Magic just
wanted to go out and do other things and and
didn't want to, you know, have to be in the
office all the time. So I think that's good. Secondly,
he is Magic Johnson, and he is known as you know,
he's Mr Laker, the greatest Laker ever to most people. Uh,
and he's got some pull because of that. So I
(23:48):
think it's smart. I think it will show Kauai. You know,
it's like bringing together all of the magnitude of what
it would be like to play for the Lakers. You
got the current to Superstars, and then you've got the
greatest Laker of all time. And look, Kauai obviously isn't
gonna give him a decision right then and there. Uh
(24:10):
So he'll go away and think about it, and he'll
be on his own when he makes his decision. But
to be in the presence of those three guys, uh,
that could certainly make it tough to say no. So
I think it's smart by the Lakers to do this.
Why Why isn't Rob O lincol didn't get invite? Well, no,
(24:30):
I think I'm I'm reading it as Genie bus Magic
and Cliney Davis Lebron are going to be there in
addition to others. I think Rob gotta be there. I
think Frank Vogel has to be there. I don't know
what it is. You have to provide a united you
have to present a united in front right, no question,
(24:53):
and not to mention. I mean, he's the head coach,
Vogel and Rob is the gym, so they've got to
be Like it wouldn't just everything I just said would
be killed if Pelinka and Vogel aren't there, you know.
So yeah, I'm reading into it like they need to
be Now. I don't think Curtain Linda Rambas need to
be there. I don't think Tim Harris needs to be there,
(25:15):
like I don't think these other people do. But if
it gets those six, then I think it's good. How
good a shot you think they have? You know, I said,
I think it was about two weeks ago. I was
told by someone pretty close to this, fairly close to
the situation. This was before the Lakers got Anthony Davis
(25:36):
that if they pull off the Anthony Davis trade, Kauai
will seriously consider going there. Now, I thought I believed that,
you know, he always was gonna meet with him, listen
to him, but I didn't think he would really go there.
Um Damon Jones reported the same thing. Now Stephen A.
Smith is saying it. I think they have a legitimate shot.
(26:00):
I still at this moment, I think the Clippers of
the front runners, followed by the Raptors. But I think
the Lakers are gaining steam. I feel that they have
a better shot right now than I felt last night.
Uh and I and maybe in a day or two,
I feel like they even have a greater chance. But yeah, look,
(26:23):
I think that the Lakers are pouring it on thick
and they've got a shot. Here's the thing. Of course,
you're Jay Williams today. Uh, you know, the former Duke
player and played in the league for a little bit.
He said it would be the weakest move in NBA
history for Kauai to go to the Lakers. I disagree.
(26:44):
I look, you could certainly criticize it. But what I
don't think is I don't think Kauai could be criticized
like Kevin Durant was when he went to Golden State.
Because Kauai has already proven that he could lead a
team with no superstars besides himself to an NBA title.
That's something Kevin Durant could not say and still can't
(27:07):
say when he went to Golden State. Uh. And so
I do think it's different. Like Kauai is a made man.
You can't question his greatness. You could say, Okay, he
really wants to take it a little bit easy these
next four years or whatever. Um. The thing I say
to Kauai about the pitch, you know, a lot of
(27:29):
the pitch will be looked. Lebron's here, but you know
he'll be here three or four more years, and then
you'll still be young. You and eight deals, still be young.
It'll be your franch chimees by then. He could still
he like he could sign with the Clippers for four years,
maybe wins a title with them or whatever, and then
go to the Lakers after that contract if if that
(27:52):
were an issue to him playing for the Lakers eventually,
because they're the more he stored French. So there's really
a lot for him to think about. The last person
I talked to about this that was close to Kauai,
they said, look, he's got a lot of soul searching
to do. I definitely think he wants to be home
in southern California, and now he has to sit out
(28:15):
and think about do I want to go to the Lakers,
who are the great historic franchise that I always wanted
to play for, or do I how do I feel
it out going to the Clippers, who you know, they're
the little brother and they don't have a second star
right now to play with him. And I think that's
a factor as well, from what I'm being told. Yeah,
(28:39):
I mean, and and before the pitch was different with
the Lakers. Now they have Anthony David Stunt just Lebron's team.
You have two different Superstars Team. Okay, let's the story
of yesterday was that Kemba appears headed to Boston. Is
that what you've heard? Or was that somebody getting out
ahead of it before anything has been decided. No, I mean,
I don't think it's a done deal, but I do
(29:00):
think they're the front runners. I think if Kevin Durant
surprises us and still goes to New York, then Kimba
walkers in big time play for them there. And there
are some people around the league, even though I haven't
talked to anybody that doesn't think Kyrie is a better player,
but they do think Kimba. A lot of people like
(29:21):
him with Durant better than Kyrie, just because you don't
get some of the baggage and and things like that. Now,
as far as Kimba with the Celtics, I love it.
I think the Celtics will be better with Kimba than
they were with Kyrie. I think he'll buy more into
what brast even sells. I think he'll get along better
with his teammates, the young guys. Uh. And he's you know,
(29:44):
not quite as good as Kyrie, I don't believe, but
he's it's not a huge gap. And I also think
we haven't seen him on the big stage and professionally,
but from college and just his success in the pros,
I do think he is a guy that won't shrink
on the big stage. I think for him it makes
all the sense in the world if he wants to
(30:06):
go to the next level in his career. He could
stay in Charlotte, make more money and maybe make the
playoffs once every three or four years, or he can
go to Boston becoming Eastern Conference contender and play on
the big stage pretty much every postseason. So I think
for Kimba Walker that would be a great move. It's
(30:28):
gonna be fasting, all right? What about what about Kyrie? Uh?
The thing about Brooklyn is they have unbelievable chemistry. Everybody
remarks about man that is that they're they're all in
it for all of each other. And then Kyrie comes
with his baggage of being a guy who was bad
for the chemistry of Boston. Is it is it locked
(30:49):
up since that he becomes a net No, it's not
locked up for a couple of reasons. We've seen the
reports about the team, you know, wondering, Okay, what if
k D doesn't come with Kyrie. Do we want Kyrie? Uh?
As far as that goes, I feel like if I
were the Nets and I didn't get Kevin Durant with Kyrie,
(31:12):
I would stick with D'Angelo Russell. Again, Kyrie is better,
but Russell seems to have fit in well with his teammates.
They do, as you said, have this good chemistry. I
don't think Kyrie takes them to the next level. He
takes He makes them better initially and on paper, but
(31:32):
he doesn't like take him to a whole another level completely.
D'Angelo Russell would be cheaper and you can use money
to go out and get somebody else. If not this year,
then maybe next year. Um Now, I also look at
it from Kyrie's perspective. There are people close to him
that would tell you Kyrie can change his mind and hurt.
(31:53):
He's very unpredictable. It might be something, whether it's going
out to dinner, what we're gonna do that at night,
or ever it's what he's gonna do over the weekend.
He's been known to have planned and playing something out
and then kind of the last minute going a different
direction just because he's decided to do it differently. So
even people close to him are hesitant to say, oh,
(32:17):
this is done, Brooklyn's done, or for anything out. So
while Brooklyn is the front runner, I don't think you
can totally say, uh, it's and then you have Kevin Durant.
Today the news came out at the Golden State. Warrior's
not really surprised. He's gonna offer Clay Thompson a max
contract that he's likely to accept. So Clay is gonna
(32:40):
stay anywhere down where k D's head is. Look, I
think New York is still in play. Brooklyn obviously is
somewhat in play, and I think Doug I think the
best option for k D. I would have liked to
have seen him opted in and then get a lay
(33:02):
of the land, you know, after this season. I think
that would have been a good move. Obviously he didn't
do that, But when you really look at it, Golden
State is a great option because we don't he gets
the most money, we don't know exactly how he's going
to come back from injury. I think he'll be great,
(33:22):
but will he be Kevin Durant. Maybe he's ninety five
percent Kevin Durant. Maybe he's as good as Carmelo Anthony
was in his prime, so he's not quite the old
k D. If that's the case, if he's say Carmelo
Anthony now, and he goes to New York and he's
by himself or maybe has a second star, maybe he
(33:46):
can't lead them to a championship, and the pressure would
be on, especially for the Knicks, to do just that
and lead him to a title. If he goes to
Golden State and he's not quite the same, he's still
got Steph and Clay and presumably Trade mind there and
there's still a great team. They're still winning championship. And
you know this, first of all, I think the narrative
(34:09):
that he's this outsider and he's not a real warrior
and he's a front runner. Yeah, there's still a little
of that because some people, including myself, think he they
would have won the championship without him if Clay had
been healthy. However, it has dissipated to a great degree
because of the courage and the heart he showed in
(34:29):
the finals, and because, however you feel about the injuries,
they didn't win it without him. So I think going forward,
he's going to get even more credit for the championships
they could win in the future, and then you know,
over time, as we get further and further removed from
these titles. You know, I don't know. I think we're
just gonna see him as a four or five time
(34:50):
champion if they do that, not you're not gonna look
back fifteen years from now and say, oh, but he
was on the stacked team and it was easy for
him and that so I think there's a lot of
reason for him to consider staying in Golden State. Uh.
It just is a matter of I mean, how badly
did he really want out of there? Uh? Is it
(35:12):
to a point where he just can't stomach another year
or two with the Warriors? Fascinating? Absolutely positively? Uh fascinating.
And then you get the Houston Rockets, right who you know, Like,
apparently they have a trade partner now for Clint Capella,
but they don't know if they can get Jimmy Butler.
(35:33):
They want Jimmy Butler. What do you think the Rockets
look like at the end of this month. I haven't
heard you on this yet, Doug, but I'm sorry, I
think this is ridiculous. I Jimmy Butler is a very
good player. I love him. I thought he was great
for Philadelphia last year. But I don't see the fit
(35:55):
with James Harden and Chris Paul because James Harden is
going to play as he's been playing for the most part,
if not completely, the last two years. Chris Paul already
doesn't feel like he's getting enough looks. Jimmy Butler is
not a spot up three point shooter. How in the
world is this gonna work? Now? If you brought in
a different coach, and I actually think d' antoni is
(36:18):
a good coach, But if you run in a different
coach who was going to be a little more traditional
for Chris Paul at the one, Hardened at the two,
Butler at the three, I feel a little better about it.
Or if Chris Paul went in the sign and trade
and it was Butler and hard not, I feel a
little better about it. But these three together, No, it's
(36:41):
not a fit basketball wise in my view, And it's
not a fit locker room wise, because both Chris and
Jimmy are strong minded, really outspoken, and it could be
a real battle in that locker room. Uh Now, let
me flip it. On the Philadelphia side. If the Sixers
can get p J. Tucker, Eric Gordon and there's a
(37:05):
third team involved where they can get a serviceable point
guard Darren Collison type, then I would do it. If
I'm the Sixers, I would do that and then resigned
to Bias Harris. Now you've got shooting with Gordon and Harris,
and p J. Tucker is a great defender as well.
You you bring back JJ Reddick. I mean, I think
(37:27):
Philadelphia would really be tough if they do that. So
I do it if I'm the Sixers and I can
get what I want. But I don't see why Houston
is pursuing this. I don't either. It just seems like
it seems like they're panic a little bit right. Seem
like the owner is really from what I hear, he
(37:49):
wants a title and he's putting the pressure or more
especially after paying Chris Paul, you pay Clint Capella, and
Morey's feeling the heat. But let's be honest, this has
been Morey's modus operandi for years now. He goes for
the big names, He ignores his own analytics and goes
for Dwight Howard, goes for Chris Paul, goes for Karmlo Anthony.
(38:13):
Now Jimmy Butler, uh it's a strange situation. It is
a strange situation. Um, here's one people haven't talked about
enough nationally. The Thunder are trying to move Steven Adams
right there. They're trying to move that deal. But like
all these big guys, and he try and move them,
and they make and and he he makes you know,
in the mid twenties twenty million dollar range. Um, are
(38:36):
they gonna be able to make a big move this offseason?
I don't believe so. Like, I mean, we all see
the way the game is going. Stephen actually Stephen Adams
actually is effective for them, Um, but you know, it's
no guarantee how good he's gonna be on another team.
And and like we said, it's just it's a different game.
(38:57):
And the bigs like that, who can't really it out
and guard on the perimeter and even something they can
couldn't Capella, are not as valuable as they used to be.
And so I really don't see. I mean, you never
say never, but I think it's gonna be difficult for
them to get good value back for Steven Adams. Man,
(39:20):
it's gonna be a fascinating, fascinating weekend. Leave your cell
phone on I know you've got your own show to
do later on tonight. The Odd Couple, Chris Broussard. Uh.
Rob Parker, who's now Major League Baseball analysts for Fox Sports. UH,
that's that should be that that should be a ton
of fun. Can't we hear the show tonight and into
next week? Enjoy the weekend, cebe thanks for joining us. Man.
All right, Dougs, crazy stuff going on in the world
(39:45):
of the NBA. Well we just sit and wait and
listen to these meetings and what takes place. Let's get
you to Dan Buyer. Be sure to catch live editions
so the Doug Dot Leaps Show weekdays at noon Eastern
three pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the i
Heart Radio app.
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug Gottlip
Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday
from three to six pm Eastern Time, that's twelve to
three Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station
for the Doug Gottlieb Show at Fox Sports Radio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the I Heart
Radio app by searching fs R. This is the best
(00:21):
of the Doug Godlive Show on Fox Sports Radio. Boom,
What Up America, Doug Gottlieb Show, Fox Sports Radio. It's
my favorite time of year. It's my favorite time year
when we want to spend other people's money. That's what
(00:42):
we do. Free Agency Bonanza, Free Agency Topia is upon
us and Sam Amy's gonna join us upcoming in fifteen
minutes from the Athletics. Sam's covered the league for twenty years.
This was supposed to be the biggest summer free agency
bonanza that we've seen ever, ever, ever, and it may
(01:04):
be reportedly Kwhide Leonards seriously considering the Lakers, Kemba Walker
supposedly headed to the Celtics, and of course we don't
know about Kevin Durant the Golden State Warriors, Clay Thompson
Kyrie Irving lots of different guys, but I find it
(01:25):
most fascinating, most fascinating, the mischaracterization of ownership in this
particular time. Right, Like I've heard this from a lot
of different people. Some have a microphone in front of
(01:46):
their face, many do not. Well, why don't they just
go into that, just spend the luxury tox? Okay, Um, Look,
the reality to this thing is, and this is really
important for you to understand that the luxury tax not
only limits what you can do in terms of your personnel, right,
(02:09):
because if you're in the luxury tax, you can only
deal with other teams they're in the luxury tax as well.
But then there's just the reality to it, which is
you're spending money and not getting anything in return. Right,
And every year that you're subsequently you're in the luxury tax,
you spend even more money on absolutely nothing that you
(02:31):
don't have to spend. So instead of spending whatever it is,
ten million dollars on a guy that takes you over
the luxury tax threshold, you end up spending one and
a half times that the first time, and then after
that it gets ridiculous. You don't want to be a
repeat offender, because now you're now you're just in tax hell,
(02:55):
tax death. And most teams, many teams operate in an
operating loss or maybe a minimal game per year. And
what you'll hear from the common fan, and sometimes you'll
hear from uneducated pundits is wow, I mean you make
up money on the value of the team, which is
(03:17):
in fact true. You've valuations on these NBA teams have
skyrocketed in recent years. But it depends on a couple
of things. What did you pay to buy the team? Right,
Like it's like, oh, well, you know, it used to
be worth five million dollars. Now it's worth a billion dollars? Okay,
(03:39):
when did you buy in on the team? And then
maybe most importantly, you do realize that you some of
these guys actually like the business of owning an NBA team.
Don't want to sell it to make the money. Like,
the whole idea of buying an NBA team was not
to sell it to make money, was to own an
NBA team, which, by the way, they're told now they
don't actually own, they're simply the governors of right. Take
(04:05):
Michael Jordan, for example, Michael Jordan's is, by my estimation,
the greatest player in the history of the game. If
you want to put him there with with Lebron James,
you can do that. Most people will disagree with you,
but that's not the purpose of this rand. Michael Jordan's
cannot sell the Charlotte Hornets. He bought them off Bob Johnson,
(04:28):
who you who started up b et. Bob Johnson went
through I believe, a nasty divorce, had to sell the team.
They were losing their hembring Jing money, and so he
sold him to Michael Jordan's. Michael Jordan cannot sell the Hornets.
Can't do it. It would be a bad look for
the NBA, no matter how much he sold them for.
Not only is he a former great player, but he's
(04:50):
also a minority owner in his home state. Can't sell
the team. So when you can't sell an asset, you
should probably try and make the set make money for you. Right,
well wrong, according to some This from j Williams, who's
the former colleague of mine. Of course, a former star
(05:11):
player too. Could number two pick in the NBA draft
now appundent on ESPN. If the Hornets don't pay kemball
Walker what he deserves the conversation about MJ's ownership will
be one of the hottest topics in sports. The one
dude to poured out his heart and soul for you
and you don't pay him. How many times we heard
NBA players say they want to be owners. Okay, but
(05:33):
here's the problem with ownership. It's the same problem with
going from being a salesman to a sales manager. Right,
Like what happens when you go from being a salesman
to a sales manager. You gotta fire people. It's just
not about not about hitting your quote, about hitting your
number when other people do not. You have to fire
those people. Why, Because it's a business. And what happens
(05:56):
when you go from player to owner is the bottom
line becomes the bottom line. Not only would they be
in tax cap tax hell, but it just wouldn't be
financially feasible in a small market where they're not the
number one, and honestly, they're not the number two and
might not be even the number three sport in their market.
(06:18):
Don't get me wrong, it's cool to have the hornets
in Charlotte. I like the throwback name, I like the
throwback uniforms. It's not it's not throwing back to the
nineteen thirties, it's throwing back to the nine nineties. But
the Panthers are in fact bigger. NASCAR is in fact bigger,
And if you really want to get down to it,
(06:39):
college basketball might actually be bigger in that market. Then
the Hornets are. They've lost a team before. Let's not
forget forget Like Charlotte, people think of charge piggle thing
is Charlotte as a burgeoning market. It maybe, but but
they have that scarlet letter right there, like the divorce
say like, you can get divorced once, anybody gets vorce
(07:00):
ones can you get divorced twice? Now you become that
guy that's on his third marriage. So can't move the team,
can't sell the team. Gotta make it work and make
money doing so. Kemba Walker is a tremendous player. He
was third team All NBA and whether or not he
should have been, whatever, He's one of the top twenty
(07:20):
five or so guys in the NBA. He's in his
you know, he's he's in his athletic prime. You're going
and you have to over pay him on some level
to keep him or or pay him to get him.
But the idea of well, you have to pay him
what he's worth. Listen. I know people like Jay Williams
(07:43):
right have some business acumen and they do TV shows
about sports business. But let me tell you the basics
of valuation personal professional valuations in business. Do you know
what something is worth? Okay, it is worth what somebody
(08:03):
is willing somebody else is willing to pay for it.
I have a piano in my house. It's a piano
from the nineteen thirties. Told the story before, but it's
worth the telling again. And I was looking for a
piano and a buddy of mine's like it, look, it's
not a Stein White. It's not very nice piano. And um,
(08:23):
and my daughters were playing piano. They're like two, if
three or four years old at the time. Whatever. My
wife plays the piano. You know, it's like kind of
like a signature piece of your house. And my buddy said, like, look,
there's a piano that it's right now. You can get
it at auction because nobody's been on it. And the
low bid is like I let the auction expire. I
(08:48):
offered the person I think it was like bucks maybe
two thousand dollars for the piano, and the gentleman who
owned it called me and he went for a half
hour on this. Piano has on this and been in
this store, and this has been evaluated at ten tho dollars.
And I said, sir, respectfully, that piano is worth what
somebody is willing to pay for it. And I'm willing
(09:09):
to pay two thousand dollars for it, and you add
in the six hundred dollars and shipping. I'll pay that
as well as tars. We'll have a come guy come
and tune it up, and it'd be great for my family.
We have it, we've had it for a decade. So
this idea that that Michael Jordan is supposed to drive
his team into the ditch. They didn't make the playoffs
(09:30):
overpay to get Kemba Walker and oh yeah, by the way,
he's a former player, only reeks of the lack of
true business acumen of a lot of players, which they
don't understand that at the end of the day, the
bottom line is the bottom line, especially when you're not
competing for championships. Doesn't mean we don't like you, doesn't
mean we don't love you. It just means it doesn't
make fescal sense. Okay, so all of this stuff is fascinating,
(09:57):
but the guys calling out Michael Jordan's, the former s
ber star player who understands fully how to keep the
Hornets functioning financially, is kind of ironic. Let's get the
damn buyer. He's got breaking news. Damn when he got
breaking news from Fox Sports? News is plural in this case.
(10:18):
First of all, at the Women's World Cup, the Americans
have scored right away against France in their quarterfinal match.
Megan Rapino a goal in the fifth minute. You can
see it right now on Fox. It's one nothing USA
in the eleventh minute. And this from Adrian Warzanowski of ESPN.
The Warriors are expected to offer Clay Thomps today five
year max contract with one ninety million dollars once free
(10:38):
agency begins Sunday at six o'clock Eastern time, and Thompson
and his representative are expected to accept that offer. So
it looks like Doug Clay Thompson is going to be
staying with the Golden State Warriors right now. Now, look
the listen that the different there. There is a difference
here with the Warriors as opposed and the Warriors are
owned by billionaire businessmen or whatever, and they bought it
(10:59):
full or I think they bought it for four or
five million dollars. Now it's like the second most valuable, uh,
second most valuable team in the NBA to the Nicks.
I'm gonna say maybe the Lakers are right there as well.
Part of that evaluation is they own the new arena
that they're going to occupy that has a ton of
value and they're gonna go into the luxury tax and
you just say, Doug, well they're gonna lose money. Well
(11:21):
they may, but this is again, they're competing for championships
and they've made a lot of money and all those
playoff games make you money over the years, not just
in your valuation, but the day to day you're turning
a profit. And now you've gotta pay a luxury text.
It's different. It's a different calculus when you're winning and
your make you have extra extra cash as well as
(11:44):
you're owned by It's like the minority owner who pushed
Kyle Lowry. He's owned by you know, two point seven
billion dollar guys that those guys can take it. These
guys can take a loss, Like, all right, we're not
collecting dividends, all right, we write off a loss this year.
Some some owners are willing to do that. And remember,
if they resigned Kevin Durant, they're gonna be paying like
(12:05):
three fifty million dollars in taxas, like crazy, crazy money.
And they would do that to try and you know,
maintain this dynasty that they have. But you know, Kevin
Durant and Lebron James and other players have said they
want to ultimately be an NBA owner. Michael Jordan's is
(12:28):
the picture of what they want to be. He has
his own shoe brand, he has his own NBA team,
and he understands the reality of I love Kemba Walker.
I'm not gonna give him the Super Max so that
I pay him the last two years in his mid
thirties forty something million dollars, meanwhile being the tax hell
(12:48):
for the entirety of his contract. And we're already not
a playoff team. That doesn't make sense. It's not personal,
it's just business. It's just business. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Doug Dot Leap Show weekdays at
noon eastern three pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
the I Heart Radio app here's the difference in in
(13:10):
the Kevin Durant to some extent before he left to
Kawhi Leonard, which is, well, who's going to get the
ball at the end of the game. A couple of things, First,
Lebron is never Lebron late at Cleveland wanted the ball
and took the big shot, but he's always like to
create shots for other people. Secondly, I do think we
(13:31):
have to realize that Lebron knows he's older. Like I've
been told, he's lost a bunch of weight and we'll
see if he keeps it off, and then he knows
he's got to kind of change his body. But I'm
sure he also knows that there's got to be a
next phase to his game where he can be a
little bit more of a blend player. And he tried
that some with last year's team two limited success and
a lot of failure early. There's no reason that he
(13:54):
can't play with others. Is it ideal? Maybe not. Again,
we're not saying that this is gonna I'm not sitting
here saying this is gonna happen. I just don't think
it's the craziest thing. I don't think it's a terrible
idea because you know, the Clippers situation is is a
better version of what the Lakers were selling last year. Right,
(14:16):
the Lakers were selling the hey, come here, trust us,
we'll figure it out. The Clippers are like, come here,
trust us. Our culture is going to be so good
that we'll figure out how to win when we've never
won here before. Well what about the what about adding
somebody else? Like yeah, and I know that there are
(14:37):
people who are, hey, Toronto one with one star. Look,
you can tell yourself that that's cool. They needed a
crazy bounce on a home rim and hit the rim
four times to in front, to and back four, rolled
in to beat Game seven, beat the Sixers at home,
and then they needed k d Uh Clay can On
(15:00):
Looney and even Andrea Dolla to be banged up in
order to beat the Warriors. So like, you can give
me the one star one superstar is the way to go,
because the Raptors want like, Okay, if you can promise
that the other team is gonna lose half their roster
to injuries, then sure, I'll go with the one star thing.
And that's what the Clippers would be. Uh, that's what
(15:22):
the Clippers would be so I just I'm not gonna
sit here and tell you that I I don't think
actually the fit is perfect in terms of personnel, Like
I think there are other guards that fit better. But
it would be awesome to see you just line up,
like all right, they here's a starting lineup, and I
got Kauahi Letters and Anthony Davis and Lebron James, Like wow,
(15:49):
can you imagine being Magic Johnson or Tyron LOEU. Watching
that was like, maybe I should have taken that contract.
It was a little less money, couple of two less
years than I wanted, but could have gotten the contract
extension after winning a championship the first year. I think
the whole thing is fun um. But I also love
(16:09):
when guys who I mean, you know, whether it's you
look like Steven A, for example, who he didn't call
this one the weakest one. He called k D the
weakest one. Right, But like, look, I thought Stephen A
made a bold move early in his career. Do you
guys remember Stephen Aid was a political commentator for like
two years with CNN. It actually happened, Like that's bold.
(16:33):
It's not smart, but it's bold. But all these all
these people are like, well, that's weak to go join.
You know Lebron James, like, is it Staying in Toronto
is safe? It might be smart, it's safe. They love
you. You You want a championship, you don't win one again.
(16:53):
I kind of think trying it with Lebron James and
going to l A is bold. Going to the Clippers
is super bold. Going to the Mavericks who feel like
it's dumb but maybe bold. They got a bunch of
cap room, they got prezingis and they got the Rookie
of the Year. But I just I I see so
(17:13):
many people comparing this to Kevin Durant and like, look,
Durant hadn't one yet, he hadn't proven he can take
it and made the big shots, which he did by
the way, he proved to everybody. Kawhils proved what you
need to prove. Now he can pick his next place
where he wants to live and he wants to work,
and maybe it's the Lakers. Maybe at the end of
the day he looks at he's like, I don't know,
I like the Clippers, but it's the Lakers, And that's
(17:36):
not a crazy thought to have. Be sure to catch
live editions of the Doug dot Leap Show week days
at noon Eastern three pm Pacific Kawahi Leonards people plan
on meeting with Lakers president Genie Buss and Magic Johnson
next week when free agency begins. The meeting will most
likely be in Los Angeles. Oh that makes sense because
Magic is president of the No he wait, what we've
(18:01):
seen almost everything that we haven't seen before. What the
hell's Magic Johnson doing here? I mean, all right, I'm
just I want to think through this one out loud
for you, guys, out loud for you. Okay, now, Magic,
but oh hey, I just want you guys all know,
(18:21):
no bitter feelings here. Once a Laker, always a Laker.
That's why I'm here. That's a strong pitch. Of course,
Rob Polinkas should probably be there to know. Of course
Lebron James should be there as well. No, right, um,
(18:44):
maybe their coach, maybe their coach, maybe Anthony Davis. I
don't know if Anthony Davis can't attend because technically he's
not a member of the Lakers yet, right, that's why
he's not working out with him. I mean, I guess
he can attend any meeting, but technically to attend a
pitch meeting for the Lakers. That would be violing some
sort of rules. But this is weird, So wait, didn't
(19:05):
you tell me that there? They were run by a
guy who's a backstabber and they're inept and you want
to get back to having fun? Why are you here?
That is a weird one. It's like the It's like
the ex boyfriend showing up at the rehearsal dinner going, hey,
how are you guys? Yeah I used to data, Yeah
(19:27):
we're engaged. Yeah yeah yeah, left me at the altar.
Actually yeah, well you know I I didn't really wasn't
really into be married and just did it to my
parents were pressuring me. But hey, you guys, you're a
great match. She'd be so happy, so happy. She's kind
(19:47):
of bipolar, right, she can be all over the bed
like one day, grace person ever in the Latin, next
day coming at you with a knife. But you know what,
there's a way to her that you know, she's really special.
She's a big time Now. You guys are great? Does
that not strike anybody Else's the strangest? Oh hey, and
magic is going to be there? Why I do feel
(20:12):
like magic? And we said this before it there's a
little of a Kelly on Conway feel to it. Right,
Kelly on Conway used to run the Trump campaign. Then
Kelly and Conway was working with Trump, and then she
leaves Trump, and now she's on TV and something. And
the idea was she was being harshly critical Trump, but
really she's she's like a plant. So that one strikes
(20:42):
me as odd. I just I can't help but think
that what Brad Turner put out there is a little
bit different. Um. By the way, sources tell Sam Amick,
who joined US earlier, that Lebron and Anthony Davis are
also gonna be part the formal pitch. It's happening. It's happening.
(21:09):
I don't know how it all works in the basketball floor, right, Like, Okay,
Lebron's kind of your point guard, right and Anthony Davis
is kind of your center, and then you have like
two wings and kind you have a ton of size
and two great defensive players, and you'd obviously add another
guard or like three or four other guards. I don't
(21:34):
know how it actually works in the basketball floor, but
I just think the whole thing is fun. How about
Rob Polinka not getting an invite? Like, hey, guys like
donld Rod, we got this. Now you're good. You're good? Hey,
I can you want me to drive? Like he's sitting
there on Twitter, like you guys want me? You wanta
take my car? Your car? We all ubering together? You
want to meet there? Do you guys want to strategize beforehand?
(21:56):
They're like, dude, we didn't invite you. Fox Sports Radio
the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all
of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and
within the I Heart Radio app search f s R
to listen live. So how they were going to and
then Brad Turner, who covers the Lakers for the l
A Times, tweeted out that Genie Buss and Magic Johnson
(22:20):
will be part of the pitch meeting. And then of course,
uh sam ammyt who joined us earlier from the Athletics,
said that Anthony Davis and Lebron James will also be
part of the pitch meeting. Chris. Anytime we go to
a pitch meeting, we bring Chris Broussard. He's a closer,
he's that got that kind of pulled that kind of magnanimics,
magnanimous personality. What's your reaction to that, Brad Turner note
(22:42):
that Magic is going to be attending the pitch meeting.
First of all, thank you for that warm introduction. Um,
but I think it's I think it's smart. I'd certainly
Lebron and Anthony Davis need to be there, and I'm
fine with Magic in there for a few reasons. One,
(23:02):
it does dispel to some degree, maybe not totally, but
to some degree, the notion that the Lakers have been
and are just a dysfunctional franchise. If if Magic is there,
it kind of you know, lessons the blow of his
resignation and how badly it looked and and all that,
(23:25):
because you see, well maybe it was true Magic just
wanted to go out and do other things and and
didn't want to, you know, have to be in the
office all the time. So I think that's good. Secondly,
he is Magic Johnson, and he is known as you know,
he's Mr Laker, the greatest Laker ever to most people. Uh,
and he's got some pull because of that. So I
(23:48):
think it's smart. I think it will show Kauai. You know,
it's like bringing together all of the magnitude of what
it would be like to play for the Lakers. You
got the current to Superstars, and then you've got the
greatest Laker of all time. And look, Kauai obviously isn't
gonna give him a decision right then and there. Uh
(24:10):
So he'll go away and think about it, and he'll
be on his own when he makes his decision. But
to be in the presence of those three guys, uh,
that could certainly make it tough to say no. So
I think it's smart by the Lakers to do this.
Why Why isn't Rob O lincol didn't get invite? Well, no,
(24:30):
I think I'm I'm reading it as Genie bus Magic
and Cliney Davis Lebron are going to be there in
addition to others. I think Rob gotta be there. I
think Frank Vogel has to be there. I don't know
what it is. You have to provide a united you
have to present a united in front right, no question,
(24:53):
and not to mention. I mean, he's the head coach,
Vogel and Rob is the gym, so they've got to
be Like it wouldn't just everything I just said would
be killed if Pelinka and Vogel aren't there, you know.
So yeah, I'm reading into it like they need to
be Now. I don't think Curtain Linda Rambas need to
be there. I don't think Tim Harris needs to be there,
(25:15):
like I don't think these other people do. But if
it gets those six, then I think it's good. How
good a shot you think they have? You know, I said,
I think it was about two weeks ago. I was
told by someone pretty close to this, fairly close to
the situation. This was before the Lakers got Anthony Davis
(25:36):
that if they pull off the Anthony Davis trade, Kauai
will seriously consider going there. Now, I thought I believed that,
you know, he always was gonna meet with him, listen
to him, but I didn't think he would really go there.
Um Damon Jones reported the same thing. Now Stephen A.
Smith is saying it. I think they have a legitimate shot.
(26:00):
I still at this moment, I think the Clippers of
the front runners, followed by the Raptors. But I think
the Lakers are gaining steam. I feel that they have
a better shot right now than I felt last night.
Uh and I and maybe in a day or two,
I feel like they even have a greater chance. But yeah, look,
(26:23):
I think that the Lakers are pouring it on thick
and they've got a shot. Here's the thing. Of course,
you're Jay Williams today. Uh, you know, the former Duke
player and played in the league for a little bit.
He said it would be the weakest move in NBA
history for Kauai to go to the Lakers. I disagree.
(26:44):
I look, you could certainly criticize it. But what I
don't think is I don't think Kauai could be criticized
like Kevin Durant was when he went to Golden State.
Because Kauai has already proven that he could lead a
team with no superstars besides himself to an NBA title.
That's something Kevin Durant could not say and still can't
(27:07):
say when he went to Golden State. Uh. And so
I do think it's different. Like Kauai is a made man.
You can't question his greatness. You could say, Okay, he
really wants to take it a little bit easy these
next four years or whatever. Um. The thing I say
to Kauai about the pitch, you know, a lot of
(27:29):
the pitch will be looked. Lebron's here, but you know
he'll be here three or four more years, and then
you'll still be young. You and eight deals, still be young.
It'll be your franch chimees by then. He could still
he like he could sign with the Clippers for four years,
maybe wins a title with them or whatever, and then
go to the Lakers after that contract if if that
(27:52):
were an issue to him playing for the Lakers eventually,
because they're the more he stored French. So there's really
a lot for him to think about. The last person
I talked to about this that was close to Kauai,
they said, look, he's got a lot of soul searching
to do. I definitely think he wants to be home
in southern California, and now he has to sit out
(28:15):
and think about do I want to go to the Lakers,
who are the great historic franchise that I always wanted
to play for, or do I how do I feel
it out going to the Clippers, who you know, they're
the little brother and they don't have a second star
right now to play with him. And I think that's
a factor as well, from what I'm being told. Yeah,
(28:39):
I mean, and and before the pitch was different with
the Lakers. Now they have Anthony David Stunt just Lebron's team.
You have two different Superstars Team. Okay, let's the story
of yesterday was that Kemba appears headed to Boston. Is
that what you've heard? Or was that somebody getting out
ahead of it before anything has been decided. No, I mean,
I don't think it's a done deal, but I do
(29:00):
think they're the front runners. I think if Kevin Durant
surprises us and still goes to New York, then Kimba
walkers in big time play for them there. And there
are some people around the league, even though I haven't
talked to anybody that doesn't think Kyrie is a better player,
but they do think Kimba. A lot of people like
(29:21):
him with Durant better than Kyrie, just because you don't
get some of the baggage and and things like that. Now,
as far as Kimba with the Celtics, I love it.
I think the Celtics will be better with Kimba than
they were with Kyrie. I think he'll buy more into
what brast even sells. I think he'll get along better
with his teammates, the young guys. Uh. And he's you know,
(29:44):
not quite as good as Kyrie, I don't believe, but
he's it's not a huge gap. And I also think
we haven't seen him on the big stage and professionally,
but from college and just his success in the pros,
I do think he is a guy that won't shrink
on the big stage. I think for him it makes
all the sense in the world if he wants to
(30:06):
go to the next level in his career. He could
stay in Charlotte, make more money and maybe make the
playoffs once every three or four years, or he can
go to Boston becoming Eastern Conference contender and play on
the big stage pretty much every postseason. So I think
for Kimba Walker that would be a great move. It's
(30:28):
gonna be fasting, all right? What about what about Kyrie? Uh?
The thing about Brooklyn is they have unbelievable chemistry. Everybody
remarks about man that is that they're they're all in
it for all of each other. And then Kyrie comes
with his baggage of being a guy who was bad
for the chemistry of Boston. Is it is it locked
(30:49):
up since that he becomes a net No, it's not
locked up for a couple of reasons. We've seen the
reports about the team, you know, wondering, Okay, what if
k D doesn't come with Kyrie. Do we want Kyrie? Uh?
As far as that goes, I feel like if I
were the Nets and I didn't get Kevin Durant with Kyrie,
(31:12):
I would stick with D'Angelo Russell. Again, Kyrie is better,
but Russell seems to have fit in well with his teammates.
They do, as you said, have this good chemistry. I
don't think Kyrie takes them to the next level. He
takes He makes them better initially and on paper, but
(31:32):
he doesn't like take him to a whole another level completely.
D'Angelo Russell would be cheaper and you can use money
to go out and get somebody else. If not this year,
then maybe next year. Um Now, I also look at
it from Kyrie's perspective. There are people close to him
that would tell you Kyrie can change his mind and hurt.
(31:53):
He's very unpredictable. It might be something, whether it's going
out to dinner, what we're gonna do that at night,
or ever it's what he's gonna do over the weekend.
He's been known to have planned and playing something out
and then kind of the last minute going a different
direction just because he's decided to do it differently. So
even people close to him are hesitant to say, oh,
(32:17):
this is done, Brooklyn's done, or for anything out. So
while Brooklyn is the front runner, I don't think you
can totally say, uh, it's and then you have Kevin Durant.
Today the news came out at the Golden State. Warrior's
not really surprised. He's gonna offer Clay Thompson a max
contract that he's likely to accept. So Clay is gonna
(32:40):
stay anywhere down where k D's head is. Look, I
think New York is still in play. Brooklyn obviously is
somewhat in play, and I think Doug I think the
best option for k D. I would have liked to
have seen him opted in and then get a lay
(33:02):
of the land, you know, after this season. I think
that would have been a good move. Obviously he didn't
do that, But when you really look at it, Golden
State is a great option because we don't he gets
the most money, we don't know exactly how he's going
to come back from injury. I think he'll be great,
(33:22):
but will he be Kevin Durant. Maybe he's ninety five
percent Kevin Durant. Maybe he's as good as Carmelo Anthony
was in his prime, so he's not quite the old
k D. If that's the case, if he's say Carmelo
Anthony now, and he goes to New York and he's
by himself or maybe has a second star, maybe he
(33:46):
can't lead them to a championship, and the pressure would
be on, especially for the Knicks, to do just that
and lead him to a title. If he goes to
Golden State and he's not quite the same, he's still
got Steph and Clay and presumably Trade mind there and
there's still a great team. They're still winning championship. And
you know this, first of all, I think the narrative
(34:09):
that he's this outsider and he's not a real warrior
and he's a front runner. Yeah, there's still a little
of that because some people, including myself, think he they
would have won the championship without him if Clay had
been healthy. However, it has dissipated to a great degree
because of the courage and the heart he showed in
(34:29):
the finals, and because, however you feel about the injuries,
they didn't win it without him. So I think going forward,
he's going to get even more credit for the championships
they could win in the future, and then you know,
over time, as we get further and further removed from
these titles. You know, I don't know. I think we're
just gonna see him as a four or five time
(34:50):
champion if they do that, not you're not gonna look
back fifteen years from now and say, oh, but he
was on the stacked team and it was easy for
him and that so I think there's a lot of
reason for him to consider staying in Golden State. Uh.
It just is a matter of I mean, how badly
did he really want out of there? Uh? Is it
(35:12):
to a point where he just can't stomach another year
or two with the Warriors? Fascinating? Absolutely positively? Uh fascinating.
And then you get the Houston Rockets, right who you know, Like,
apparently they have a trade partner now for Clint Capella,
but they don't know if they can get Jimmy Butler.
(35:33):
They want Jimmy Butler. What do you think the Rockets
look like at the end of this month. I haven't
heard you on this yet, Doug, but I'm sorry, I
think this is ridiculous. I Jimmy Butler is a very
good player. I love him. I thought he was great
for Philadelphia last year. But I don't see the fit
(35:55):
with James Harden and Chris Paul because James Harden is
going to play as he's been playing for the most part,
if not completely, the last two years. Chris Paul already
doesn't feel like he's getting enough looks. Jimmy Butler is
not a spot up three point shooter. How in the
world is this gonna work? Now? If you brought in
a different coach, and I actually think d' antoni is
(36:18):
a good coach, But if you run in a different
coach who was going to be a little more traditional
for Chris Paul at the one, Hardened at the two,
Butler at the three, I feel a little better about it.
Or if Chris Paul went in the sign and trade
and it was Butler and hard not, I feel a
little better about it. But these three together, No, it's
(36:41):
not a fit basketball wise in my view, And it's
not a fit locker room wise, because both Chris and
Jimmy are strong minded, really outspoken, and it could be
a real battle in that locker room. Uh Now, let
me flip it. On the Philadelphia side. If the Sixers
can get p J. Tucker, Eric Gordon and there's a
(37:05):
third team involved where they can get a serviceable point
guard Darren Collison type, then I would do it. If
I'm the Sixers, I would do that and then resigned
to Bias Harris. Now you've got shooting with Gordon and Harris,
and p J. Tucker is a great defender as well.
You you bring back JJ Reddick. I mean, I think
(37:27):
Philadelphia would really be tough if they do that. So
I do it if I'm the Sixers and I can
get what I want. But I don't see why Houston
is pursuing this. I don't either. It just seems like
it seems like they're panic a little bit right. Seem
like the owner is really from what I hear, he
(37:49):
wants a title and he's putting the pressure or more
especially after paying Chris Paul, you pay Clint Capella, and
Morey's feeling the heat. But let's be honest, this has
been Morey's modus operandi for years now. He goes for
the big names, He ignores his own analytics and goes
for Dwight Howard, goes for Chris Paul, goes for Karmlo Anthony.
(38:13):
Now Jimmy Butler, uh it's a strange situation. It is
a strange situation. Um, here's one people haven't talked about
enough nationally. The Thunder are trying to move Steven Adams
right there. They're trying to move that deal. But like
all these big guys, and he try and move them,
and they make and and he he makes you know,
in the mid twenties twenty million dollar range. Um, are
(38:36):
they gonna be able to make a big move this offseason?
I don't believe so. Like, I mean, we all see
the way the game is going. Stephen actually Stephen Adams
actually is effective for them, Um, but you know, it's
no guarantee how good he's gonna be on another team.
And and like we said, it's just it's a different game.
(38:57):
And the bigs like that, who can't really it out
and guard on the perimeter and even something they can
couldn't Capella, are not as valuable as they used to be.
And so I really don't see. I mean, you never
say never, but I think it's gonna be difficult for
them to get good value back for Steven Adams. Man,
(39:20):
it's gonna be a fascinating, fascinating weekend. Leave your cell
phone on I know you've got your own show to
do later on tonight. The Odd Couple, Chris Broussard. Uh.
Rob Parker, who's now Major League Baseball analysts for Fox Sports. UH,
that's that should be that that should be a ton
of fun. Can't we hear the show tonight and into
next week? Enjoy the weekend, cebe thanks for joining us. Man.
All right, Dougs, crazy stuff going on in the world
(39:45):
of the NBA. Well we just sit and wait and
listen to these meetings and what takes place. Let's get
you to Dan Buyer. Be sure to catch live editions
so the Doug Dot Leaps Show weekdays at noon Eastern
three pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the i
Heart Radio app.
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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