July 2, 2025 • 37 mins
Fox Sports Radio NBA insider, Mark Medina, joins us to talk about the Lakers' pursuit of DeAndre Ayton, Lebron's future, the Clippers' offseason and more. Are the Angels true playoff contenders or just fools gold? TSA will flag you if you have 'swamp crotch.'
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And we continue on Fred Rgan Big Ben Mallard in
today for Rodney on a five to seventy LA Sports
NBA Free Agency. The clock continues to tick, the moves
continue to happen, and let's bring on our good friend
Fox Sports Radio NBA insider Mark Medina, Mark, how are
you today?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Fred? I'm always going I get to talk with you
and hope you're hanging with them.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
We're doing well, We're doing well. Okay, DeAndre Yayton, he
seems to be the guy right now. What do you know?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, I mean it's almost by default because the Lakers
are running out of center options. When you're looking at
clicks of peloping off the board, brook Lope has Steven
Adams's lacked the boom before free agency was open. Here,
it's not a definitive thing. He does have to clear waivers.
I'm sure that knowing the issues that DeAndre Ayton has
gone through in recent years of underachieving performances, injuries, concerns
(00:53):
about his attitude, the Lakers will have a lot of
question marks. But I want to be surprised if he
winds up being the guy. I mean, Andre views this
is a good opportunity to reclaim ownership of his career.
But I think actions speak leutter in words. I remember
talking to him about a year ago and I asked
him if he felt like he has something to prove,
(01:14):
and he says, I have nothing to prove. I'm a
Max player and I'll continue to be a Max player.
And I don't think I'm understanding this. Fred. There's comments
to not sit well with people in the Blazers organization.
So it might happen, but there's gonna be a lot
of questions on whether the foll will work well.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
If not the DeAndre Ayton mark, then, as you mentioned,
there's not much left, at least much obvious name brand
players left. So where would they go if they say
he goes to the Pacers maybe signed with him originally?
That offers you, Yeah, so like if he goes to
Indiana or somewhere else, Like where where's Plan B after that?
Or plan is it planned D or E?
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Or Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I think it's I think it's a Plan F at
this point. And the bad thing is he is. You
don't want plan have to stand for failure, right, But
to your point, the other alternative is it's not It's
not a bad alternative. It's not great. Al Horford could
be someone they get. He's a very established veteran, great player,
(02:16):
great locker room guys. Just you know, he's up in
age and what his role would be would likely be
a backup role in limited minutes. So even if they
do get Deandrade, and I think that, you know, just
to give them reinforcements from both availability locker room presence,
they would still go for Al Horford just to give
themselves even better depth. But he's not available. That's the
(02:38):
most likely solution. But again, if you connect the dots here, guys,
the Lakers are talking about addressing the center position is
their number one priority this offseason. And if what they
have to show for it is getting Al Horford, who
is again a great, respectable player, but it would be
an e limited minute its role, that would mean that
the Lakers weren't fulfilling their objectives here. And it's it's
(03:02):
just confounding. It's early in free agency, but I think
it is concerning, at least in these first few days
that they lost story in Phinney Smith. I mean, he
great wing player, great relationship with Luca Dodgers, stating back
to their time together in Dallas well liked locker room guy,
great defender, great shooter, and so what I'm hearing about,
(03:23):
you know, they're concerned about an extra year because they
want to have flexibility for the long term. They should
care more about the short term because it's not even
just about Lebron James. It's it's about Luca Dodgins. Like,
you have a championship window with a generational player, you
should be thinking more along those lines as opposed to
two three years from now.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Yeah, but here's the problem. Mark, you have a generational
player with Luka Doncicch, but you pay Lebron James too
much money, so you can't do anything. That's your problem.
If Lebron's off the books and you're not stuck paying
him now, they got money to go play with and
start building something around. But as long as Lebron is there,
it kind of is what it is. You know, we
(04:04):
can only do so much. And if that's the case,
And I know Rich Paul saying we want to win
nowt so to the Lakers. Thanks Rich So to the Lakers.
They want to win, But I get let's protect our
future here. I mean, we want to win now, but
we're not going crazy mortgaging everything for right now because
(04:25):
probably next year we're gonna have money to spend, and
we're gonna spend it and we're gonna start building another team.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, Fred, I'm with you one hundred percent on that philosophy.
I would slightly push back a little that I don't
view adding extra year or two to door infiny' sis
contract is mortgaging a lot of things. I think, to
your broader point, what would be mortgaged doing in the
future is chasing a third star, trying to round up
every single good rotation player and a deal Austin Reeves,
(04:55):
ruey Atchamora gave Vincent. We've seen since that Russell Westbrook
to bap again, a third star doesn't work. It's better
to have two guys with good pieces that you know
can fill the rest of rotation bench. But I think
against you're also your broader point, it is a tough balance. Lebron.
He deserves every single penny of the fifty two million
(05:17):
dollars he's about to spend or he's about to make.
But that does he didn't see your caps. That does
eat in the second Apron concerns, and that's the cards
that the Lakers have to take. But I think this
has more to do with Luca than Lebron. That he
is the future. He is long term, but you know,
(05:37):
you when you do have a generational talent in the
prime of your career, it is about making win now moves,
at least for him, because you know all you need
is one or two good moves to suddenly be back
in championship contention with him that season.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
All right, Mark, what are the odds Lebron's names out there?
Of course everyone's running its great clickbait Lebron's going to
be traded by the Lakers. But what what if you
were to put some percentage odds on it, up to
one hundred percent, which means Lebron's traded tomorrow? Like, what
what percentage chance is Lebron actually going to be traded
before the start of next NBA season by the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, I think that everything's on the table, and it's
the odds. I wouldn't say with any certainty it wouldn't happen,
so I would give it. I would give ten percent
odds that Lebron gets traded. But I don't think this
is anything beyond an attempted last leverage play from Lebron,
but the Lakers also have leverage, and so I think
(06:37):
they'll let him speak at peace and then nothing changes.
I think what's telling is that when I asked Lebron
James he turned forty, uh, you know, practice last season,
what would mean for him to be retired as a Laker.
He said, well, that's the plan. I hope that saves
the plan. And you know, when you connect the dots here,
(06:59):
he settled in la if Ronnie's playing there. He wants
to get ready for, you know, post retirement, for him
to be chasing a championship on another team. Like he's
already seen how many qualifiers people make for him winning titles,
and that goes against the goat argument. So and when
(07:20):
you look at how Kevin Durant was received with Golden State,
it's even worse. And so I don't think at the
end of the day, he's going to wind up on
another team to pursue a title, because his resume is fine.
I don't think he'll get much credit for it anyway.
I think the other thing with the Lakers, you know,
I asked the same question of Jeanie Buss a few
years ago what it would mean for them to have
(07:41):
him retire as a Laker, and she said it means
a lot. Now, she did add a qualifier, it's not guaranteed.
And you know, she brought up Shaquille O'Neil not finishing
his career with a Laker, but they still retired in Jersey,
still gave him a statue. But they're the point that
she was making that it was more if Lebron decided
to leave, we still support you enough that she's on
(08:02):
records saying that they're going to retire his jersey once
he's in the Hall of Fame. But I think, knowing
how the Lakers are for better and for worse, they
want to keep the star players around. They want to
be able to give them the farewell tour. But unlike
when Kobe Bryant went through this situation nine years ago,
the Lakers are in a competitive situation. So the end
(08:23):
of the day, it is still about winning. But just
knowing all these different factors I'm outlining for you, I
would be very, very surprised, even with the statement this week,
that it winds up changing anything. Lebron will play the
rest of the season with the Lakers. And he'll retire
a Laker at some point, either at the end of
this season or next season.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Oh, you think he'd come back for another year with
the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
I could see it if I had a guess. I
think it's this year. But I think the bigger thing
is I don't They're going to listen to things. They'll
see how the season plays out. Laming with Lebron. I
just don't think that when they add all the pluses
and minuses from either side, that the Lakers will pull
the trigger in a deal, and Lebron would like them
to pull a trigger on the deal. I think right
(09:07):
now we're just, you know, in the stages of offseason negotiating,
and Lebron's doing that because they have a decision to
make with his player options.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
All right, and Mark, I want to get your thought. Yeah,
we mentioned this earlier. Me and Fred were talking about
Lebron when he This is the first time in Lebron's
career where he is clearly behind another player. Like in
Miami he was better than Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh
in Cleveland, he was better than Kyrie and those other
guys they had with the Cavs. But with Luca. Like
(09:36):
Luca is a better player right now than Lebron. Is
he having issues dealing with that? Is that part of
the problem here, that he's clearly behind Luca.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, that's the fascinating thing about Lebron and how he plays.
I don't think that he has any issues from a
basketball on the court role of taking a back seat,
being the number two guy, delegating ball handling duties. I mean,
in one sense, he actually likes that because it makes
his job easier, and a lot of times he would
(10:07):
revert back to wanting to steer control of the offense
because he didn't trust the other players after giving them
that Rope D'androl Russell and Russell Westbrook are most notable examples,
And so I think with Luca it's a different animal
here because Luca is such a much better player now. Yeah,
there's tactical adjustments more on time, chemistry, et cetera. But
(10:28):
I think the broader point, I don't think that there's
the issue with the role. I think it's more with
everything else, with the command, making sure he's still in
command of the locker room. I think his hope that
he has some sort of influence with the Lakers front office.
But guys, ever since the Russell Westbrook trade, the Lakers
beyond and I don't want to diminish this because this
(10:48):
is a huge decision, but beyond drafting Brownie James, they
haven't made any other decisions that were directly influenced with Lebron.
It's all been about what they think is best for
the team, and a lot of times Lebron hasn't agreed
with that. And at the same time, Lebron has made
the decision not to tell directly to the front office,
(11:10):
hey I like this guy or that guy, because he
feels at some point, you know, the blame will be
put on him if it doesn't work out. And so
what we saw this week was kind of a building
point of you know, different back and forth with the
dynamics behind the scenes with the front office and Lebron.
But a lot of that more has to do with
(11:32):
just that front office dynamics roster building than it actually
is with his role on the court. I mean, he's
adapted relatively well with that and has embraced as best
as any superstar could reasonably expect. But that's you know,
the interesting contradiction dichotomy and layer about how Lebron James
(11:53):
is as a player on the court and how he
is behind the scenes with everything else.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
All right, when you look at Ron pulling as general manager,
I'm just sitting here making some notes. How do how
do we sum up Ron Polik as a general manager?
I mean you mentioned the Russell Westbrook deal. I wrote
that down. There was the Luca trade. Okay, I think
you get a thumbs up on that, But I think
what he does answered the phone on that one, the
(12:19):
title in the bubble, you get credit for that. I
don't know if he gets credit for Lebron. I think
that was magic.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yeah, but he.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Gets Anthony Davis, right, he gets credit for that.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah, he does get some credit, But there are some
qualifiers here. To answer your question, how should we view
Ron Polenka as a general manager with the Lakers? I
think the best analogy is think of your slugger in baseball,
Jose Canseco, if you will, hits a lot of home runs,
also strikeout the Laws. He's not a singles doubles guy.
(12:55):
You know you mentioned about Luca and Anthony Davis. Part
of that how to do with the Lakers both you
know eighty one to be with the Lakers. Lebron wanted
him there with Luca, Nico Harrison was trying to trade him.
So some of these things did quote unquote fall into
Rob's lap, But well, where Rob does deserve credit is
(13:16):
figuring out the details to make that deal happen. I mean,
the Lakers had to give up a lot in both
of those deals, but they didn't give up too much,
you know, you all may recall, and they got Anthony Davis. Yeah,
they traded some of the young guys and Brandon Ingram
and Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. They still kept Kyle Kuzma.
In Luca Doctors's case, there was a lot of criticism
(13:37):
for Nico Harrison trading Luca, not just because he traded Luca,
but for what they got in return. Yeah. I think
Davis is great, but as we've known, his injury history
isn't the best. Max Christie, yeah he's a great He's
a good young player, but that's it. And one first
round pick. There was the thinking, Okay, if you're going
to trade Luca, you could have gotten a lot more
with that. I think the other thing is, clearly, you know,
(13:59):
Theussell Westbrook trade didn't work. You know, there's a lot
of I think fair criticism on breaking up the championship
team after the bubble. But what I what one thing
that I think Rob isn't as noticed for that should
deserves at least some credit, is that he has shown
a pattern of course correcting mistakes. You know, with the
Russell Westbrook deal, you know they'll acknowledge it wasn't a
(14:22):
good fit. They won't put it all to plame on Russ,
but you know he deserves some of it. But they
did make moves slowly but surely to get out of
that deal with getting some better pieces, getting more depth,
and so not a clean track record, a lot of
high risk, high reward. But I think Rob is at
least aware when something doesn't work, he will eventually pivot.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
I was talking with the great Mark Medina here, NBA insider,
NBA guru for Fox Sports Trade. So, Mark, I don't
want to I don't want to just do Laker talk.
What about the Clippers, the people's team here? Mark, So
they got they got Brook, Lopez, and there's who's next.
I saw Bradley Beale's name was thrown out although he's
still under contract with the Suns. He's got a lot
of money. Yeah, is there another name out there that
(15:08):
the Clippers are going to add here? Mark, Are you
hearing anything to fatten up the roster this offseason?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Yeah? I think most of their works done. I mean,
James Harden's back on a two year deal. You mentioned
they got Brook Lopez. That's a really good deal, especially
because of the fact that it's not like he's expected
to be the main center. They still have the Visa
Zoo bots and he has become a really good two
way player as a big rim protector, versatile five. I
(15:36):
think really the next roer of business is finding the
right number to extend Norman Powell because he's really grown
beyond just a six Man of the Year Canada. He
really became dependable as a starter last season. So they might,
you know, get some fringe, rotational guys, because that's what
the Clippers do. They like having depth. But I don't
(15:57):
think there's going to be any major moves movie order
with them.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So let's say Phoenix buys out Bradley Beal. Let's say
that happens, all right, and now he's available. If you're
the Clippers, would you take a run at Bradley Beal
at the right price.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, I mean right price is obviously key here, and
you know, Bradley, there's gonna be a lot of steps.
This has to happen because is in his financial interest,
is in his interest with the no trade clause, because
exerts control for making sure he doesn't get dealt here
to any team. But if all those hoops are made, yeah,
(16:35):
I think a Clipper should entertain it, but it has
to be at a low risk kind of contract. I
mean I'm talking veterans minimum, maybe mid level, but only
a part of the mid level. And the main reason
is just his availability history. He doesn't have a good
track record of being healthy. I think that he's a
(16:56):
great locker room guy, great attitude. Yeah, there's adjustments with
how he managed his role in Phoenix with Sharon Ball,
handling duties with Devin Booker, but he means well, he's
not going to cause any issues there. He is a
competitive guy. I think it's more the injury history than
anything else that gives me pause. But you know, it
(17:17):
doesn't hurt the Clippers, so at least consider if it
is a low market kind of transaction.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Well, the Clippers have been very good at getting players
who are hurt. They've mastered that over the years. But Marke,
what about speaking players that are hurt? How about Damian Lillard?
His name, you know, is being connected to all kinds,
including the Lakers, the Warriors. He's now free to roam
around the NBA. Where do you think Lillard ends up?
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Mark, Yeah, I've been told from people in his camp
he's he's going to be weighing a lot of different
options here. It's not clear because it literally happened yesterday.
If he's in the boat about signing on to a
team now or just waiting until next summer just to
see how the options play out. And I think the
reason for the patients is twofold here. One one of
(18:03):
the reasons why he wasn't that upset that Milwaukee waived
him is that he's still getting paid a lot of money,
number one, so they owe him regardless. So if he
if he joins a team next season on a much
more discounted deal, because of where he's at and his
career with his age, Achilles injury return, he's not going
to sweat it as much. And I think secondly, it
(18:26):
does mean a lot that now, at least in the
short term, he can go back to Portland, be closer
to his family, do his rehab there. So he's right
now he's going to listen to teams see if there
is a right fit for next season. But the reality
is he's not going to be playing next season anyway
because of the Achilles injury. So if I had a guess,
(18:47):
I think it's about finding the team that's the best
fit the following summer. But this is so fluid and
they're they're sorting all those things out. But you know,
one thing is very clear that he and the people
around him are viewing this more as a win win
than feeling offended that hey, how could the Bucks wave
me and do this to me after injuring my achilles
(19:08):
worse than support all this stuff, he's pretty much embracing
this scenario that he's under.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
All right, Mark, appreciate you coming on, Thanks for the time,
and have a good fourth July.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
H Right back at you, my friend. I appreciate you
all and always get to hear your voice.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
All right, there, he goes Mark Medina, Fox Sports Radio
NBA Insider, thinking about Bradley beal Ben.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Yes, sir, they want him out.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
They want him out. They don't ever want to see
him again. They want to trade him first. When they
sign him, you knew they were dead. It was a
terrible move. But they want him out. But here's the thing,
Nolan Aeronado and Saint Louis, the Cardinals wanted to trade
him and they you know, Nolan Aernado dinged one of
the deals. What is that like for a guy to
play in a team where you know the only thing
(19:56):
they want is for you to go, but because you
don't on you can sit there. Do you think that's difficult?
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Well, it depends how much money you're making. Fred And
I think when you're at a certain level, like if
you have a normal job and you hate your job.
Like so despite a lot of people listening right now,
listen every day to the show, they can't stand there.
They're not making a lot of money. They get disrespected
by management. Right, it sucks. But if you're making at
you put up with a lot. If you're making the money. Now,
(20:23):
the difference in sports is you can you can force
your way somewhere else, right, so you don't necessarily have
to be in that situation where if you've got the
mortgage to pay, obviously you can't just you know, I
quit and then you don't get paid or anything like that.
So it is a weird dynamic in professional sports. But
you know, you can put up with a lot if
the money's right. You put up with a lot of stuff,
(20:44):
a lot of crap that you don't want to put
up with. If the check is big enough.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
That's probably true, all right. Tenant the Dodgers take on
the White Sox the Dodgers Stadium in the first picture seven.
Listen to all Dodger games on AM five seventy LA Sports.
Stream all the games on the iHeartRadio app the key
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(21:10):
and final with digital coupon. We still have tickets to
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Will do that between now and three and when we
come back, a decision must be made. Do you go
for it? We'll figure it out.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
Make AM five to seventy LA Sports a preset before
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Speaker 1 (21:40):
All right, big Ben in today for Rodney. Here's the
deal with the Angels. It's a tough spot to be in.
You gotta think about this. Twenty nine days from the
trade deadline, Angels are treading water at five hundred. Well,
Ardy moreno hold on to his rental players or do
the start making deals? Ben?
Speaker 3 (22:02):
No, Artie's not. He didn't trade Otani a couple of
years ago when he could have traded him. Why would
he do that now? The Angels had It's all about
just making the playoffs for the Angels, right they How
long has it been? They've got the longest draft. It's
been a decade since the Angels made the playoffs. And
you talk about building the farm system and all this stuff.
The Angels have been irrelevant. They've been especially because the Dodgers.
(22:24):
It coincides with the Dodgers being dominated. But if you're
the Angels, you'll take a wild card berth even if
you lose in the first round, because it beats not
having a pulse, which is what the Angels franchise has
had for the last ten years. I mean, I don't
care if the team's put together with duct tape, which
it appears to be, and five hundred you're like a
faux contender. In baseball, there are only a couple games
(22:47):
out of the final wildcard spot in the American League,
and it's like, well, you trade for some minor league
players and maybe it'll turn out to be good in
a couple of years. But then it's this revolving door syndrome.
If I'm the Angels, I think Ardi Morino is gonna
go for it, because baseball is all about irrational hope anyway,
and uh, and you can't and that's a sport. You
(23:08):
can't sneak in the playoffs as a wildcard team and
end up winning a pennant and getting into the World Series.
It has happened. It doesn't look like this is the
team to do it, but that's baseball, right And rather
than just yet again, look at the spreadsheet and start
unloading players. If I'm the Angels, I go for it.
I don't. I don't add players, but I keep the
team they have. The team's good enough to hang around
(23:30):
five hundred. They've been hovering around five hundred all year,
and that's all you have to be If you're around
five hundred. You're a contender in modern baseball, So why
not why would you? What are you gonna how are
you gonna benefit? The players they're gonna trade are the
guys they brought in on short term contract. You're not
gonna get anything for them. So what's the point of
(23:51):
trading them. You're not gonna get anything of value that's
gonna turn your minor league system around. For like Tyler Anderson,
who they signed a couple of years ago, is kind
of coming up on the end of his deal, or
some Mencada, some of these other guys they picked up.
You're not gonna get much for them.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Okay, here's why I completely disagree, completely disagree. I think
first you have to explore the trademarket. I think if
you can't get anything, and I mean even if you
make your moves, you traded Tyler Anderson, you make moves
and you get a couple of guys back that could
help you, it's better than where you're at. And here's why.
(24:28):
Because they're not going to get better. They're going to
be marginally better. They're not going to win. They're not
going to be a contender. They cannot be one as
they are constructed. They're now going with their young guys
their first round picks. Their philosophy now is we took
you get in there and play. Everybody else sends you
out to the minors. You're learning on the job now.
(24:50):
And it's a philosophy. Okay, but that takes time. That
takes time, and I can't see them having any type
of infrastructure that says sustained success. So if at the
trade deadline, I think they have an obligation they need
to look at all, Right, if we move Tyler Anderson,
(25:12):
are you going to give us two guys that we
think can play and that we can use anytime? You
can do it two for one, and if you think
both can play, I think you do it. I just
think they have to get better. Being around five hundred
and getting in this year. Yeah, that'd be great, but
it probably won't happen. But if it did, it'd be great,
but they wouldn't be appreciably better next year. And I
(25:33):
just think they have to worry about that.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
But it'll never end though, for it's a continuous cycle
where every year the angels will be you know, at
this point you're kind of in contention, but then well,
you're better off because you get a couple of minor
league players. A prospect is a suspected to approve it. Otherwise,
fread these minor league players. Most of them do not
work out. They're not as advertised. These guys get hyped
up in the minor leagues and then they get to
(25:55):
the major leagues, and the success rate, even if they're successful,
not like next level successful. That's the issue I have
with the revolving door and Mike Trout. How many more
years does Mike Trout have? He's already his body's already
falling apart. Now he's back, he's playing there taped him
together or whatever. He's out there playing. But what do
you think Trout's gonna How's he gonna be in two
(26:17):
or three years? You know what I'm saying. I mean,
this is Mike Trout as close to what he can
be at his at his peak right now, even though
he's a shell of what he had been. But imagine
what Trout's gonna be like in twenty twenty eight or
twenty twenty nine, you know, down the line. So, I mean,
if you have a chance to get in and you
play well for a month, all you have to do
(26:38):
is play well for a month, you'll sneak in there.
I just always in Ardy Marino's DNA to give up
like that, because he if you didn't get rid of
Otani a couple of years ago, when they had him
with the Angels and could have traded him, they knew
he probably wasn't gonna come back, and they traded. Why
would you now you'd hold onto these guys. These guys
aren't Otani. You know you held on to him. These
(27:00):
guys around and they're not gonna, Like I said, I
don't think they're gonna get much of anything of value
in return for the patchwork roster they have. It's a
it's a flotsam and jetsum situation in Anaheim. And they've
actually played pretty well against some of the better team
They beat the Dodgers up, they beat the Yankees up
pretty good this year, So they've done okay against some
of the better teams in baseball. Granted it's a small
(27:22):
sample size though, which is an issue.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
You know you mentioned Mike Trout, and to me that
confirms something I believe. The dangers and giving people these
gigantic long term deals, that's the problem. I mean you
said when is he gonna be up? And I'm not
exactly sure. Things got three four.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
More years twenty thirty one.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Oh he's got more than that.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Yeah, they are six six years. So Ben, if they
don't do anything about twenty twenty eight, they have still
have a couple more cracks at it with Mike Trout
when he's thirty eight and thirty nine years old. Oh,
I'm sure it'd be great. I can't imagine Mike's rout
be walking out, but they'll roll them out the home
plate at that point there, get out there, hit Mike,
come on, please.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
And good news for him. He got the deal, they
got the money, and so that's great for him, seriously,
but it's destructive for the club.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Well it isn't it. It isn't you know these baseball
people for they say, well, it's a ten year contract,
but it's really a five year contract, and anything you
get after that, you know you're really paying the full
amount over the first five years of the country. Because
this is the same issue the Dodgers are gonna have,
right at some point, Mookie Betts got the massive contract
with Kanye's on a big come out. Everyone who's good
(28:27):
in baseball gets these massive contracts, but you're really paying
him for the first four or five years of the contract,
and then after that, if you get much of anything,
it's gravy. But I did not realize Trout is locked
up till twenty thirty one. My god, they Wow? Are
the Angels gonna win a World Series before Mike Trout
leaves in twenty thirty one? Are they gonna sniff a
(28:47):
World Series? No? No, no chance? Right?
Speaker 1 (28:50):
So no? Would you agree?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
I don't think at this point based on what we've seen. Yeah,
they don't know what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Kevin, you're the ultimate Angel fan. Will they sniff a
World Series before Mike Trout?
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Lease? Why what they? How would they? Ya know what?
I'll say this? If Steve Balmer buys the Angels, yes,
how about that?
Speaker 1 (29:08):
So let's qualify it. If Ardi Moreno was no longer the.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Owner, then you know what? You got a chance? Absolutely? Yeah?
Or will we hear Mike Trout in a lot of
time left? Is his name gonna pop up on the
trade market? I don't think the Angels will trade him,
but will like that he's a he grew up a
Phillies fan. Would the Phillies say we'll make a deal.
We want Trout to come back to the Philly and
play for the Phills. I mean, it is his name
gonna pop up between now and July thirty first. I
(29:34):
bet you there's some rumors out there with Trat, don't.
I don't think the Angels are gonna do it, just
based on how they've been operating in recent years. They're
gonna hold onto the team and try to get in
And whether they have a manager. They don't right now.
Ron Washington's out for the rest of the year and
all that, and they got the interim manager, they're on
temporary manager. They've got a lot of things that are
patched together, just kind of thrown together here. But they're
(29:56):
five hundred. They're in baseball. As we said, you've got
a shot to make the play and wonky things happen
when you get in the playoffs. The better team in
that sport does not win as often as they should otherwise.
How many championship should the Dodgers have won two in
this stretch? They should have at least what five probably
since they became dominant. That's fair five championships in this run.
(30:18):
But they only have two so there's three teams that
Dodgers could have should have won the World Series that didn't.
Because that's baseball. That's how it works in baseball.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
All right, fourth of July weekend, if you are planning
on flying anywhere in the country, we have a warning
for you.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
Next. Oh, hello, Rogan and Rodney listener.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
Did you know Am five seventy LA Sports has a
wide range of LA Sports podcasts, shows like Petros in Money.
We are streaming Matt Dodger Talk with David.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Vasse, the Dodger Podcast of record.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Clipper Talk Without a Musk, follow us all and many more.
Just go to AM five to seventy LA Sports on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
All right, Ben mellerin today for Rodney. Don't forget we're
giving away Dodger tickets fourth of July game against the Astros.
We'll do that before we get off the air. And
coming up right after the top of the hour, David
Vasse joins us from Dodger Stadium. Clayton Kershaw looks for
strikeout number three thousand this afternoon. All right, Uh, if
you plan on flying this Fourth of July weekend, be
(31:20):
careful going through TSA. You might set off the alarm.
If you have swamp crotch.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Now, that's not swamp aspred. That's that's different. That's that backset.
This is the front side, right, swamp crotch.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Apparently what's happening is people are going through the detector. Yeah,
and it's if you are sweating and you're growing, it's
showing up as if you have something down there. So
when you get out, they patch you down, and really
it is it's just excessive sweating, but they're patting you
(31:57):
down down there just to make sure you got you're
not packing it thing.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
Yeah, swamp crotch. Yeah, I had to tell you for
I have Actually I'm on team sweat. I don't know
about you. I don't know if you're a sweater. I
am a sweater and I actually have had I didn't
know this was a thing, but I have been stopped
multiple times in my travel and I've been stopped at
TSA and I've been taking a side for a pat
(32:22):
down and I had nothing, and I didn't know what
it was. And maybe maybe I am part of a team.
You know, I got the the sweat.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
In the groin, you got the swamp crotch.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
I have a swamp crotch. How sweaty do you have
to be before Homeland Security determs you a risk that
you're a threat, a biological biochemical threat? Like do you
know how much sweat does one have to have?
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Fred?
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Do you know?
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I think it's a fair question. I can't really tell
you because they don't They don't specify it. But what
it is is if it shows up, you know, they
they scream yet and then they look to go home.
I mean, it's funny. I don't really sweat a lot,
but I have been padded down and to be one
thousand percent honest, and this was highly inappropriate, and I
(33:04):
don't understand it. I mean, one of the most recent
times when I got patted down, that guy ran his
hand right right there and I was.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Like, yeah, you're doing Yeah they do, they've they've yeah,
they peded me down. They always say that, well, do
you want to go in the other room or whatever
you want more privacy? And usually I'm like, well no,
I'll just do it right here, get it over with,
and uh yeah, wait.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
A minute, what are they doing to you. They've never
invited me to the other room.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
They've never taken you into the back room. No, no,
for you know, for privacy reasons. You have the airport,
you're in lax or whatever. It's packed. They say, well,
can go with the back, and we can. We can
do this in the back. But uh yeah, I multiple times.
One time in I was at an airport in Virginia
and I got taken in the back by TSA because
I got I got red flagged over something. I don't
know what that was, but.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Yeah, what happens when they take you in the back.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Oh yeah, they take your ID, they go through all
your bags. It's a big nightmare. They're like double triple
check everything. It's a it's a pain in the in
the behind. And I don't even know why I ended
up on this list. I guess I guess I was
on a list that wasn't because of the swamp a
growing situation. But yeah, yeah, they took me back and
they were they took all your ID. You couldn't leave
(34:14):
the room and they were asking you like a bunch
of questions and all that, and they were polite, but
it's still awkward. You know, I didn't do anything. I
don't think I'm a threat, but they pulled me aside.
But now are they gonna be able to fix these machines,
fread or is this just something us people that are
sweaty are gonna have to deal with.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
You're gonna deal with it. Yeah, you're gonna have to
eat it. Yeah, you eat it.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
I only know a swamp crotch. I'm good on that.
Did they say is it mostly women that are? Is
it more women than because I'm a obviously I'm not
a woman, Fred, but I have had this app so
I have a very sweaty body. My body loves to sweat.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
It can get you either way. But it is women
and get it too, Ben, Okay, men can deal with it.
The last time I was in Vegas talking about TSA,
I thought this was really odd. So my bag, of course,
I flew out a burbank. Fine, and you know it's funny.
You packed the same stuff coming back as you did going.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
Yeah, but now.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
There's a problem in Vegas, exact same stuff. So it
comes through, it gets kicked out, and now you gotta wait. Right,
they got to go through your bag, and you gotta wait.
So I'm standing there and I'm watching and the bag
is just sitting there. And now they're on a shift change.
So now you have to wait longer, and you really
can't say anything because what are you going to say,
(35:31):
because if you say anything, it triggers them and they go, okay,
now you okay, all right, come over here. So you're
standing there waiting. It's twenty minutes. Now it's twenty minutes,
and they send the bag back through and it was fine,
no adjustment, didn't take a thing out, nothing changed. So
I said, okay, why did it work the second time?
(35:54):
We don't know, maybe it was broken the first time.
I went, this is how you're making decisions, This is
how you base what you do.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Gives you a level of confidence, right you when you're
when you're going through tsah. Yeah. And also this this
crotch swamp swamp crotch or whatever like this has been
happening to me randomly for probably three or four years.
This is not something that's new here, So like, why
all of a sudden did this become so I can't.
(36:22):
Obviously I wasn't the only one. This is happening to
a lot of people, And are they trying to get
a sponsorship deal for it? Do you think TSA can
be sponsored by like gold bond or something like that?
They can get a sponsorship deal, some kind of powder.
If you're sweaty before you go through TSA, here's some powder.
Get an endorsement deal. That way.
Speaker 5 (36:39):
I was taking the exact same thing. Yeah, that'd be
the way to go. Be perfect little cross promotion. Right,
you're pre check the pre check line. They give you
a little bag of gold bond or whatever. You rub
that on, you're good to go.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Yeah, all right, gold bond.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
How about the man with the gold Star? David Essay
joins us next from Dodger Stadium.
And we continue on Fred Rgan Big Ben Mallard in
today for Rodney on a five to seventy LA Sports
NBA Free Agency. The clock continues to tick, the moves
continue to happen, and let's bring on our good friend
Fox Sports Radio NBA insider Mark Medina, Mark, how are
you today?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Fred? I'm always going I get to talk with you
and hope you're hanging with them.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
We're doing well, We're doing well. Okay, DeAndre Yayton, he
seems to be the guy right now. What do you know?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, I mean it's almost by default because the Lakers
are running out of center options. When you're looking at
clicks of peloping off the board, brook Lope has Steven
Adams's lacked the boom before free agency was open. Here,
it's not a definitive thing. He does have to clear waivers.
I'm sure that knowing the issues that DeAndre Ayton has
gone through in recent years of underachieving performances, injuries, concerns
(00:53):
about his attitude, the Lakers will have a lot of
question marks. But I want to be surprised if he
winds up being the guy. I mean, Andre views this
is a good opportunity to reclaim ownership of his career.
But I think actions speak leutter in words. I remember
talking to him about a year ago and I asked
him if he felt like he has something to prove,
(01:14):
and he says, I have nothing to prove. I'm a
Max player and I'll continue to be a Max player.
And I don't think I'm understanding this. Fred. There's comments
to not sit well with people in the Blazers organization.
So it might happen, but there's gonna be a lot
of questions on whether the foll will work well.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
If not the DeAndre Ayton mark, then, as you mentioned,
there's not much left, at least much obvious name brand
players left. So where would they go if they say
he goes to the Pacers maybe signed with him originally?
That offers you, Yeah, so like if he goes to
Indiana or somewhere else, Like where where's Plan B after that?
Or plan is it planned D or E?
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Or Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I think it's I think it's a Plan F at
this point. And the bad thing is he is. You
don't want plan have to stand for failure, right, But
to your point, the other alternative is it's not It's
not a bad alternative. It's not great. Al Horford could
be someone they get. He's a very established veteran, great player,
(02:16):
great locker room guys. Just you know, he's up in
age and what his role would be would likely be
a backup role in limited minutes. So even if they
do get Deandrade, and I think that, you know, just
to give them reinforcements from both availability locker room presence,
they would still go for Al Horford just to give
themselves even better depth. But he's not available. That's the
(02:38):
most likely solution. But again, if you connect the dots here, guys,
the Lakers are talking about addressing the center position is
their number one priority this offseason. And if what they
have to show for it is getting Al Horford, who
is again a great, respectable player, but it would be
an e limited minute its role, that would mean that
the Lakers weren't fulfilling their objectives here. And it's it's
(03:02):
just confounding. It's early in free agency, but I think
it is concerning, at least in these first few days
that they lost story in Phinney Smith. I mean, he
great wing player, great relationship with Luca Dodgers, stating back
to their time together in Dallas well liked locker room guy,
great defender, great shooter, and so what I'm hearing about,
(03:23):
you know, they're concerned about an extra year because they
want to have flexibility for the long term. They should
care more about the short term because it's not even
just about Lebron James. It's it's about Luca Dodgins. Like,
you have a championship window with a generational player, you
should be thinking more along those lines as opposed to
two three years from now.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Yeah, but here's the problem. Mark, you have a generational
player with Luka Doncicch, but you pay Lebron James too
much money, so you can't do anything. That's your problem.
If Lebron's off the books and you're not stuck paying
him now, they got money to go play with and
start building something around. But as long as Lebron is there,
it kind of is what it is. You know, we
(04:04):
can only do so much. And if that's the case,
And I know Rich Paul saying we want to win
nowt so to the Lakers. Thanks Rich So to the Lakers.
They want to win, But I get let's protect our
future here. I mean, we want to win now, but
we're not going crazy mortgaging everything for right now because
(04:25):
probably next year we're gonna have money to spend, and
we're gonna spend it and we're gonna start building another team.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, Fred, I'm with you one hundred percent on that philosophy.
I would slightly push back a little that I don't
view adding extra year or two to door infiny' sis
contract is mortgaging a lot of things. I think, to
your broader point, what would be mortgaged doing in the
future is chasing a third star, trying to round up
every single good rotation player and a deal Austin Reeves,
(04:55):
ruey Atchamora gave Vincent. We've seen since that Russell Westbrook
to bap again, a third star doesn't work. It's better
to have two guys with good pieces that you know
can fill the rest of rotation bench. But I think
against you're also your broader point, it is a tough balance. Lebron.
He deserves every single penny of the fifty two million
(05:17):
dollars he's about to spend or he's about to make.
But that does he didn't see your caps. That does
eat in the second Apron concerns, and that's the cards
that the Lakers have to take. But I think this
has more to do with Luca than Lebron. That he
is the future. He is long term, but you know,
(05:37):
you when you do have a generational talent in the
prime of your career, it is about making win now moves,
at least for him, because you know all you need
is one or two good moves to suddenly be back
in championship contention with him that season.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
All right, Mark, what are the odds Lebron's names out there?
Of course everyone's running its great clickbait Lebron's going to
be traded by the Lakers. But what what if you
were to put some percentage odds on it, up to
one hundred percent, which means Lebron's traded tomorrow? Like, what
what percentage chance is Lebron actually going to be traded
before the start of next NBA season by the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, I think that everything's on the table, and it's
the odds. I wouldn't say with any certainty it wouldn't happen,
so I would give it. I would give ten percent
odds that Lebron gets traded. But I don't think this
is anything beyond an attempted last leverage play from Lebron,
but the Lakers also have leverage, and so I think
(06:37):
they'll let him speak at peace and then nothing changes.
I think what's telling is that when I asked Lebron
James he turned forty, uh, you know, practice last season,
what would mean for him to be retired as a Laker.
He said, well, that's the plan. I hope that saves
the plan. And you know, when you connect the dots here,
(06:59):
he settled in la if Ronnie's playing there. He wants
to get ready for, you know, post retirement, for him
to be chasing a championship on another team. Like he's
already seen how many qualifiers people make for him winning titles,
and that goes against the goat argument. So and when
(07:20):
you look at how Kevin Durant was received with Golden State,
it's even worse. And so I don't think at the
end of the day, he's going to wind up on
another team to pursue a title, because his resume is fine.
I don't think he'll get much credit for it anyway.
I think the other thing with the Lakers, you know,
I asked the same question of Jeanie Buss a few
years ago what it would mean for them to have
(07:41):
him retire as a Laker, and she said it means
a lot. Now, she did add a qualifier, it's not guaranteed.
And you know, she brought up Shaquille O'Neil not finishing
his career with a Laker, but they still retired in Jersey,
still gave him a statue. But they're the point that
she was making that it was more if Lebron decided
to leave, we still support you enough that she's on
(08:02):
records saying that they're going to retire his jersey once
he's in the Hall of Fame. But I think, knowing
how the Lakers are for better and for worse, they
want to keep the star players around. They want to
be able to give them the farewell tour. But unlike
when Kobe Bryant went through this situation nine years ago,
the Lakers are in a competitive situation. So the end
(08:23):
of the day, it is still about winning. But just
knowing all these different factors I'm outlining for you, I
would be very, very surprised, even with the statement this week,
that it winds up changing anything. Lebron will play the
rest of the season with the Lakers. And he'll retire
a Laker at some point, either at the end of
this season or next season.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Oh, you think he'd come back for another year with
the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
I could see it if I had a guess. I
think it's this year. But I think the bigger thing
is I don't They're going to listen to things. They'll
see how the season plays out. Laming with Lebron. I
just don't think that when they add all the pluses
and minuses from either side, that the Lakers will pull
the trigger in a deal, and Lebron would like them
to pull a trigger on the deal. I think right
(09:07):
now we're just, you know, in the stages of offseason negotiating,
and Lebron's doing that because they have a decision to
make with his player options.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
All right, and Mark, I want to get your thought. Yeah,
we mentioned this earlier. Me and Fred were talking about
Lebron when he This is the first time in Lebron's
career where he is clearly behind another player. Like in
Miami he was better than Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh
in Cleveland, he was better than Kyrie and those other
guys they had with the Cavs. But with Luca. Like
(09:36):
Luca is a better player right now than Lebron. Is
he having issues dealing with that? Is that part of
the problem here, that he's clearly behind Luca.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, that's the fascinating thing about Lebron and how he plays.
I don't think that he has any issues from a
basketball on the court role of taking a back seat,
being the number two guy, delegating ball handling duties. I mean,
in one sense, he actually likes that because it makes
his job easier, and a lot of times he would
(10:07):
revert back to wanting to steer control of the offense
because he didn't trust the other players after giving them
that Rope D'androl Russell and Russell Westbrook are most notable examples,
And so I think with Luca it's a different animal
here because Luca is such a much better player now. Yeah,
there's tactical adjustments more on time, chemistry, et cetera. But
(10:28):
I think the broader point, I don't think that there's
the issue with the role. I think it's more with
everything else, with the command, making sure he's still in
command of the locker room. I think his hope that
he has some sort of influence with the Lakers front office.
But guys, ever since the Russell Westbrook trade, the Lakers
beyond and I don't want to diminish this because this
(10:48):
is a huge decision, but beyond drafting Brownie James, they
haven't made any other decisions that were directly influenced with Lebron.
It's all been about what they think is best for
the team, and a lot of times Lebron hasn't agreed
with that. And at the same time, Lebron has made
the decision not to tell directly to the front office,
(11:10):
hey I like this guy or that guy, because he
feels at some point, you know, the blame will be
put on him if it doesn't work out. And so
what we saw this week was kind of a building
point of you know, different back and forth with the
dynamics behind the scenes with the front office and Lebron.
But a lot of that more has to do with
(11:32):
just that front office dynamics roster building than it actually
is with his role on the court. I mean, he's
adapted relatively well with that and has embraced as best
as any superstar could reasonably expect. But that's you know,
the interesting contradiction dichotomy and layer about how Lebron James
(11:53):
is as a player on the court and how he
is behind the scenes with everything else.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
All right, when you look at Ron pulling as general manager,
I'm just sitting here making some notes. How do how
do we sum up Ron Polik as a general manager?
I mean you mentioned the Russell Westbrook deal. I wrote
that down. There was the Luca trade. Okay, I think
you get a thumbs up on that, But I think
what he does answered the phone on that one, the
(12:19):
title in the bubble, you get credit for that. I
don't know if he gets credit for Lebron. I think
that was magic.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yeah, but he.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Gets Anthony Davis, right, he gets credit for that.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah, he does get some credit, But there are some
qualifiers here. To answer your question, how should we view
Ron Polenka as a general manager with the Lakers? I
think the best analogy is think of your slugger in baseball,
Jose Canseco, if you will, hits a lot of home runs,
also strikeout the Laws. He's not a singles doubles guy.
(12:55):
You know you mentioned about Luca and Anthony Davis. Part
of that how to do with the Lakers both you
know eighty one to be with the Lakers. Lebron wanted
him there with Luca, Nico Harrison was trying to trade him.
So some of these things did quote unquote fall into
Rob's lap, But well, where Rob does deserve credit is
(13:16):
figuring out the details to make that deal happen. I mean,
the Lakers had to give up a lot in both
of those deals, but they didn't give up too much,
you know, you all may recall, and they got Anthony Davis. Yeah,
they traded some of the young guys and Brandon Ingram
and Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. They still kept Kyle Kuzma.
In Luca Doctors's case, there was a lot of criticism
(13:37):
for Nico Harrison trading Luca, not just because he traded Luca,
but for what they got in return. Yeah. I think
Davis is great, but as we've known, his injury history
isn't the best. Max Christie, yeah he's a great He's
a good young player, but that's it. And one first
round pick. There was the thinking, Okay, if you're going
to trade Luca, you could have gotten a lot more
with that. I think the other thing is, clearly, you know,
(13:59):
Theussell Westbrook trade didn't work. You know, there's a lot
of I think fair criticism on breaking up the championship
team after the bubble. But what I what one thing
that I think Rob isn't as noticed for that should
deserves at least some credit, is that he has shown
a pattern of course correcting mistakes. You know, with the
Russell Westbrook deal, you know they'll acknowledge it wasn't a
(14:22):
good fit. They won't put it all to plame on Russ,
but you know he deserves some of it. But they
did make moves slowly but surely to get out of
that deal with getting some better pieces, getting more depth,
and so not a clean track record, a lot of
high risk, high reward. But I think Rob is at
least aware when something doesn't work, he will eventually pivot.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
I was talking with the great Mark Medina here, NBA insider,
NBA guru for Fox Sports Trade. So, Mark, I don't
want to I don't want to just do Laker talk.
What about the Clippers, the people's team here? Mark, So
they got they got Brook, Lopez, and there's who's next.
I saw Bradley Beale's name was thrown out although he's
still under contract with the Suns. He's got a lot
of money. Yeah, is there another name out there that
(15:08):
the Clippers are going to add here? Mark, Are you
hearing anything to fatten up the roster this offseason?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Yeah? I think most of their works done. I mean,
James Harden's back on a two year deal. You mentioned
they got Brook Lopez. That's a really good deal, especially
because of the fact that it's not like he's expected
to be the main center. They still have the Visa
Zoo bots and he has become a really good two
way player as a big rim protector, versatile five. I
(15:36):
think really the next roer of business is finding the
right number to extend Norman Powell because he's really grown
beyond just a six Man of the Year Canada. He
really became dependable as a starter last season. So they might,
you know, get some fringe, rotational guys, because that's what
the Clippers do. They like having depth. But I don't
(15:57):
think there's going to be any major moves movie order
with them.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So let's say Phoenix buys out Bradley Beal. Let's say
that happens, all right, and now he's available. If you're
the Clippers, would you take a run at Bradley Beal
at the right price.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, I mean right price is obviously key here, and
you know, Bradley, there's gonna be a lot of steps.
This has to happen because is in his financial interest,
is in his interest with the no trade clause, because
exerts control for making sure he doesn't get dealt here
to any team. But if all those hoops are made, yeah,
(16:35):
I think a Clipper should entertain it, but it has
to be at a low risk kind of contract. I
mean I'm talking veterans minimum, maybe mid level, but only
a part of the mid level. And the main reason
is just his availability history. He doesn't have a good
track record of being healthy. I think that he's a
(16:56):
great locker room guy, great attitude. Yeah, there's adjustments with
how he managed his role in Phoenix with Sharon Ball,
handling duties with Devin Booker, but he means well, he's
not going to cause any issues there. He is a
competitive guy. I think it's more the injury history than
anything else that gives me pause. But you know, it
(17:17):
doesn't hurt the Clippers, so at least consider if it
is a low market kind of transaction.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Well, the Clippers have been very good at getting players
who are hurt. They've mastered that over the years. But Marke,
what about speaking players that are hurt? How about Damian Lillard?
His name, you know, is being connected to all kinds,
including the Lakers, the Warriors. He's now free to roam
around the NBA. Where do you think Lillard ends up?
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Mark, Yeah, I've been told from people in his camp
he's he's going to be weighing a lot of different
options here. It's not clear because it literally happened yesterday.
If he's in the boat about signing on to a
team now or just waiting until next summer just to
see how the options play out. And I think the
reason for the patients is twofold here. One one of
(18:03):
the reasons why he wasn't that upset that Milwaukee waived
him is that he's still getting paid a lot of money,
number one, so they owe him regardless. So if he
if he joins a team next season on a much
more discounted deal, because of where he's at and his
career with his age, Achilles injury return, he's not going
to sweat it as much. And I think secondly, it
(18:26):
does mean a lot that now, at least in the
short term, he can go back to Portland, be closer
to his family, do his rehab there. So he's right
now he's going to listen to teams see if there
is a right fit for next season. But the reality
is he's not going to be playing next season anyway
because of the Achilles injury. So if I had a guess,
(18:47):
I think it's about finding the team that's the best
fit the following summer. But this is so fluid and
they're they're sorting all those things out. But you know,
one thing is very clear that he and the people
around him are viewing this more as a win win
than feeling offended that hey, how could the Bucks wave
me and do this to me after injuring my achilles
(19:08):
worse than support all this stuff, he's pretty much embracing
this scenario that he's under.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
All right, Mark, appreciate you coming on, Thanks for the time,
and have a good fourth July.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
H Right back at you, my friend. I appreciate you
all and always get to hear your voice.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
All right, there, he goes Mark Medina, Fox Sports Radio
NBA Insider, thinking about Bradley beal Ben.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Yes, sir, they want him out.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
They want him out. They don't ever want to see
him again. They want to trade him first. When they
sign him, you knew they were dead. It was a
terrible move. But they want him out. But here's the thing,
Nolan Aeronado and Saint Louis, the Cardinals wanted to trade
him and they you know, Nolan Aernado dinged one of
the deals. What is that like for a guy to
play in a team where you know the only thing
(19:56):
they want is for you to go, but because you
don't on you can sit there. Do you think that's difficult?
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Well, it depends how much money you're making. Fred And
I think when you're at a certain level, like if
you have a normal job and you hate your job.
Like so despite a lot of people listening right now,
listen every day to the show, they can't stand there.
They're not making a lot of money. They get disrespected
by management. Right, it sucks. But if you're making at
you put up with a lot. If you're making the money. Now,
(20:23):
the difference in sports is you can you can force
your way somewhere else, right, so you don't necessarily have
to be in that situation where if you've got the
mortgage to pay, obviously you can't just you know, I
quit and then you don't get paid or anything like that.
So it is a weird dynamic in professional sports. But
you know, you can put up with a lot if
the money's right. You put up with a lot of stuff,
(20:44):
a lot of crap that you don't want to put
up with. If the check is big enough.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
That's probably true, all right. Tenant the Dodgers take on
the White Sox the Dodgers Stadium in the first picture seven.
Listen to all Dodger games on AM five seventy LA Sports.
Stream all the games on the iHeartRadio app the key
AM five to seventy LA Sports, and get ready for
the fourth with Hoffey thirty two to forty ounce Premium
b frankson selected varieties seven to ninety nine at smart
(21:10):
and final with digital coupon. We still have tickets to
give away for the Dodger game on the fourth of July.
Will do that between now and three and when we
come back, a decision must be made. Do you go
for it? We'll figure it out.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
Make AM five to seventy LA Sports a preset before
you plug in your foot presets in the iHeartRadio app
now available with Apple CarPlay and Android autom just another
easy way to listen to LA's best sports talk.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
All right, big Ben in today for Rodney. Here's the
deal with the Angels. It's a tough spot to be in.
You gotta think about this. Twenty nine days from the
trade deadline, Angels are treading water at five hundred. Well,
Ardy moreno hold on to his rental players or do
the start making deals? Ben?
Speaker 3 (22:02):
No, Artie's not. He didn't trade Otani a couple of
years ago when he could have traded him. Why would
he do that now? The Angels had It's all about
just making the playoffs for the Angels, right they How
long has it been? They've got the longest draft. It's
been a decade since the Angels made the playoffs. And
you talk about building the farm system and all this stuff.
The Angels have been irrelevant. They've been especially because the Dodgers.
(22:24):
It coincides with the Dodgers being dominated. But if you're
the Angels, you'll take a wild card berth even if
you lose in the first round, because it beats not
having a pulse, which is what the Angels franchise has
had for the last ten years. I mean, I don't
care if the team's put together with duct tape, which
it appears to be, and five hundred you're like a
faux contender. In baseball, there are only a couple games
(22:47):
out of the final wildcard spot in the American League,
and it's like, well, you trade for some minor league
players and maybe it'll turn out to be good in
a couple of years. But then it's this revolving door syndrome.
If I'm the Angels, I think Ardi Morino is gonna
go for it, because baseball is all about irrational hope anyway,
and uh, and you can't and that's a sport. You
(23:08):
can't sneak in the playoffs as a wildcard team and
end up winning a pennant and getting into the World Series.
It has happened. It doesn't look like this is the
team to do it, but that's baseball, right And rather
than just yet again, look at the spreadsheet and start
unloading players. If I'm the Angels, I go for it.
I don't. I don't add players, but I keep the
team they have. The team's good enough to hang around
(23:30):
five hundred. They've been hovering around five hundred all year,
and that's all you have to be If you're around
five hundred. You're a contender in modern baseball, So why
not why would you? What are you gonna how are
you gonna benefit? The players they're gonna trade are the
guys they brought in on short term contract. You're not
gonna get anything for them. So what's the point of
(23:51):
trading them. You're not gonna get anything of value that's
gonna turn your minor league system around. For like Tyler Anderson,
who they signed a couple of years ago, is kind
of coming up on the end of his deal, or
some Mencada, some of these other guys they picked up.
You're not gonna get much for them.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Okay, here's why I completely disagree, completely disagree. I think
first you have to explore the trademarket. I think if
you can't get anything, and I mean even if you
make your moves, you traded Tyler Anderson, you make moves
and you get a couple of guys back that could
help you, it's better than where you're at. And here's why.
(24:28):
Because they're not going to get better. They're going to
be marginally better. They're not going to win. They're not
going to be a contender. They cannot be one as
they are constructed. They're now going with their young guys
their first round picks. Their philosophy now is we took
you get in there and play. Everybody else sends you
out to the minors. You're learning on the job now.
(24:50):
And it's a philosophy. Okay, but that takes time. That
takes time, and I can't see them having any type
of infrastructure that says sustained success. So if at the
trade deadline, I think they have an obligation they need
to look at all, Right, if we move Tyler Anderson,
(25:12):
are you going to give us two guys that we
think can play and that we can use anytime? You
can do it two for one, and if you think
both can play, I think you do it. I just
think they have to get better. Being around five hundred
and getting in this year. Yeah, that'd be great, but
it probably won't happen. But if it did, it'd be great,
but they wouldn't be appreciably better next year. And I
(25:33):
just think they have to worry about that.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
But it'll never end though, for it's a continuous cycle
where every year the angels will be you know, at
this point you're kind of in contention, but then well,
you're better off because you get a couple of minor
league players. A prospect is a suspected to approve it. Otherwise,
fread these minor league players. Most of them do not
work out. They're not as advertised. These guys get hyped
up in the minor leagues and then they get to
(25:55):
the major leagues, and the success rate, even if they're successful,
not like next level successful. That's the issue I have
with the revolving door and Mike Trout. How many more
years does Mike Trout have? He's already his body's already
falling apart. Now he's back, he's playing there taped him
together or whatever. He's out there playing. But what do
you think Trout's gonna How's he gonna be in two
(26:17):
or three years? You know what I'm saying. I mean,
this is Mike Trout as close to what he can
be at his at his peak right now, even though
he's a shell of what he had been. But imagine
what Trout's gonna be like in twenty twenty eight or
twenty twenty nine, you know, down the line. So, I mean,
if you have a chance to get in and you
play well for a month, all you have to do
(26:38):
is play well for a month, you'll sneak in there.
I just always in Ardy Marino's DNA to give up
like that, because he if you didn't get rid of
Otani a couple of years ago, when they had him
with the Angels and could have traded him, they knew
he probably wasn't gonna come back, and they traded. Why
would you now you'd hold onto these guys. These guys
aren't Otani. You know you held on to him. These
(27:00):
guys around and they're not gonna, Like I said, I
don't think they're gonna get much of anything of value
in return for the patchwork roster they have. It's a
it's a flotsam and jetsum situation in Anaheim. And they've
actually played pretty well against some of the better team
They beat the Dodgers up, they beat the Yankees up
pretty good this year, So they've done okay against some
of the better teams in baseball. Granted it's a small
(27:22):
sample size though, which is an issue.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
You know you mentioned Mike Trout, and to me that
confirms something I believe. The dangers and giving people these
gigantic long term deals, that's the problem. I mean you
said when is he gonna be up? And I'm not
exactly sure. Things got three four.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
More years twenty thirty one.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Oh he's got more than that.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Yeah, they are six six years. So Ben, if they
don't do anything about twenty twenty eight, they have still
have a couple more cracks at it with Mike Trout
when he's thirty eight and thirty nine years old. Oh,
I'm sure it'd be great. I can't imagine Mike's rout
be walking out, but they'll roll them out the home
plate at that point there, get out there, hit Mike,
come on, please.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
And good news for him. He got the deal, they
got the money, and so that's great for him, seriously,
but it's destructive for the club.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Well it isn't it. It isn't you know these baseball
people for they say, well, it's a ten year contract,
but it's really a five year contract, and anything you
get after that, you know you're really paying the full
amount over the first five years of the country. Because
this is the same issue the Dodgers are gonna have,
right at some point, Mookie Betts got the massive contract
with Kanye's on a big come out. Everyone who's good
(28:27):
in baseball gets these massive contracts, but you're really paying
him for the first four or five years of the contract,
and then after that, if you get much of anything,
it's gravy. But I did not realize Trout is locked
up till twenty thirty one. My god, they Wow? Are
the Angels gonna win a World Series before Mike Trout
leaves in twenty thirty one? Are they gonna sniff a
(28:47):
World Series? No? No, no chance? Right?
Speaker 1 (28:50):
So no? Would you agree?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
I don't think at this point based on what we've seen. Yeah,
they don't know what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Kevin, you're the ultimate Angel fan. Will they sniff a
World Series before Mike Trout?
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Lease? Why what they? How would they? Ya know what?
I'll say this? If Steve Balmer buys the Angels, yes,
how about that?
Speaker 1 (29:08):
So let's qualify it. If Ardi Moreno was no longer the.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Owner, then you know what? You got a chance? Absolutely? Yeah?
Or will we hear Mike Trout in a lot of
time left? Is his name gonna pop up on the
trade market? I don't think the Angels will trade him,
but will like that he's a he grew up a
Phillies fan. Would the Phillies say we'll make a deal.
We want Trout to come back to the Philly and
play for the Phills. I mean, it is his name
gonna pop up between now and July thirty first. I
(29:34):
bet you there's some rumors out there with Trat, don't.
I don't think the Angels are gonna do it, just
based on how they've been operating in recent years. They're
gonna hold onto the team and try to get in
And whether they have a manager. They don't right now.
Ron Washington's out for the rest of the year and
all that, and they got the interim manager, they're on
temporary manager. They've got a lot of things that are
patched together, just kind of thrown together here. But they're
(29:56):
five hundred. They're in baseball. As we said, you've got
a shot to make the play and wonky things happen
when you get in the playoffs. The better team in
that sport does not win as often as they should otherwise.
How many championship should the Dodgers have won two in
this stretch? They should have at least what five probably
since they became dominant. That's fair five championships in this run.
(30:18):
But they only have two so there's three teams that
Dodgers could have should have won the World Series that didn't.
Because that's baseball. That's how it works in baseball.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
All right, fourth of July weekend, if you are planning
on flying anywhere in the country, we have a warning
for you.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
Next. Oh, hello, Rogan and Rodney listener.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
Did you know Am five seventy LA Sports has a
wide range of LA Sports podcasts, shows like Petros in Money.
We are streaming Matt Dodger Talk with David.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Vasse, the Dodger Podcast of record.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Clipper Talk Without a Musk, follow us all and many more.
Just go to AM five to seventy LA Sports on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
All right, Ben mellerin today for Rodney. Don't forget we're
giving away Dodger tickets fourth of July game against the Astros.
We'll do that before we get off the air. And
coming up right after the top of the hour, David
Vasse joins us from Dodger Stadium. Clayton Kershaw looks for
strikeout number three thousand this afternoon. All right, Uh, if
you plan on flying this Fourth of July weekend, be
(31:20):
careful going through TSA. You might set off the alarm.
If you have swamp crotch.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Now, that's not swamp aspred. That's that's different. That's that backset.
This is the front side, right, swamp crotch.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Apparently what's happening is people are going through the detector. Yeah,
and it's if you are sweating and you're growing, it's
showing up as if you have something down there. So
when you get out, they patch you down, and really
it is it's just excessive sweating, but they're patting you
(31:57):
down down there just to make sure you got you're
not packing it thing.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
Yeah, swamp crotch. Yeah, I had to tell you for
I have Actually I'm on team sweat. I don't know
about you. I don't know if you're a sweater. I
am a sweater and I actually have had I didn't
know this was a thing, but I have been stopped
multiple times in my travel and I've been stopped at
TSA and I've been taking a side for a pat
(32:22):
down and I had nothing, and I didn't know what
it was. And maybe maybe I am part of a team.
You know, I got the the sweat.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
In the groin, you got the swamp crotch.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
I have a swamp crotch. How sweaty do you have
to be before Homeland Security determs you a risk that
you're a threat, a biological biochemical threat? Like do you
know how much sweat does one have to have?
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Fred?
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Do you know?
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I think it's a fair question. I can't really tell
you because they don't They don't specify it. But what
it is is if it shows up, you know, they
they scream yet and then they look to go home.
I mean, it's funny. I don't really sweat a lot,
but I have been padded down and to be one
thousand percent honest, and this was highly inappropriate, and I
(33:04):
don't understand it. I mean, one of the most recent
times when I got patted down, that guy ran his
hand right right there and I was.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Like, yeah, you're doing Yeah they do, they've they've yeah,
they peded me down. They always say that, well, do
you want to go in the other room or whatever
you want more privacy? And usually I'm like, well no,
I'll just do it right here, get it over with,
and uh yeah, wait.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
A minute, what are they doing to you. They've never
invited me to the other room.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
They've never taken you into the back room. No, no,
for you know, for privacy reasons. You have the airport,
you're in lax or whatever. It's packed. They say, well,
can go with the back, and we can. We can
do this in the back. But uh yeah, I multiple times.
One time in I was at an airport in Virginia
and I got taken in the back by TSA because
I got I got red flagged over something. I don't
know what that was, but.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Yeah, what happens when they take you in the back.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Oh yeah, they take your ID, they go through all
your bags. It's a big nightmare. They're like double triple
check everything. It's a it's a pain in the in
the behind. And I don't even know why I ended
up on this list. I guess I guess I was
on a list that wasn't because of the swamp a
growing situation. But yeah, yeah, they took me back and
they were they took all your ID. You couldn't leave
(34:14):
the room and they were asking you like a bunch
of questions and all that, and they were polite, but
it's still awkward. You know, I didn't do anything. I
don't think I'm a threat, but they pulled me aside.
But now are they gonna be able to fix these machines,
fread or is this just something us people that are
sweaty are gonna have to deal with.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
You're gonna deal with it. Yeah, you're gonna have to
eat it. Yeah, you eat it.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
I only know a swamp crotch. I'm good on that.
Did they say is it mostly women that are? Is
it more women than because I'm a obviously I'm not
a woman, Fred, but I have had this app so
I have a very sweaty body. My body loves to sweat.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
It can get you either way. But it is women
and get it too, Ben, Okay, men can deal with it.
The last time I was in Vegas talking about TSA,
I thought this was really odd. So my bag, of course,
I flew out a burbank. Fine, and you know it's funny.
You packed the same stuff coming back as you did going.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
Yeah, but now.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
There's a problem in Vegas, exact same stuff. So it
comes through, it gets kicked out, and now you gotta wait. Right,
they got to go through your bag, and you gotta wait.
So I'm standing there and I'm watching and the bag
is just sitting there. And now they're on a shift change.
So now you have to wait longer, and you really
can't say anything because what are you going to say,
(35:31):
because if you say anything, it triggers them and they go, okay,
now you okay, all right, come over here. So you're
standing there waiting. It's twenty minutes. Now it's twenty minutes,
and they send the bag back through and it was fine,
no adjustment, didn't take a thing out, nothing changed. So
I said, okay, why did it work the second time?
(35:54):
We don't know, maybe it was broken the first time.
I went, this is how you're making decisions, This is
how you base what you do.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Gives you a level of confidence, right you when you're
when you're going through tsah. Yeah. And also this this
crotch swamp swamp crotch or whatever like this has been
happening to me randomly for probably three or four years.
This is not something that's new here, So like, why
all of a sudden did this become so I can't.
(36:22):
Obviously I wasn't the only one. This is happening to
a lot of people, And are they trying to get
a sponsorship deal for it? Do you think TSA can
be sponsored by like gold bond or something like that?
They can get a sponsorship deal, some kind of powder.
If you're sweaty before you go through TSA, here's some powder.
Get an endorsement deal. That way.
Speaker 5 (36:39):
I was taking the exact same thing. Yeah, that'd be
the way to go. Be perfect little cross promotion. Right,
you're pre check the pre check line. They give you
a little bag of gold bond or whatever. You rub
that on, you're good to go.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Yeah, all right, gold bond.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
How about the man with the gold Star? David Essay
joins us next from Dodger Stadium.
Roggin And Rodney News
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