Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Then we continue on fred Rogan Rodney peak on five
seventy LA Sports two hours down or thanks to Dylan
Hernandez for joining us during the one o'clock hour. And
now let us bring on the salty a Adam Auslin
to get into some NBA salty Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
What's up, Freddie? What's up? Rodney? Going to be back
with you guys?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
How we do double A? Right on? Bro right on?
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I'm good. I'm feeling real good after this Clippers off season.
I'm pumped. I'm ready to go.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So I guess that we're going to start with the Clippers.
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Well, I thought if I led us that direction, you'd
have to for one spread.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Can I tell you something. I thought the Clippers had
a hell of an off season. To be very honest,
I was actually going to start with the Clippers and
surprise you, but you didn't allow me to surprise. I
thought they had a really good off season, Adam. Now
are they long long in the tooth? But who isn't?
Aside from that, they really I thought did well.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
The age issue is real. They were the oldest team
in the league last year and they just added a
forty year old and CP three and the thirty seven
year old in Brook Lopez. But as Lawrence Frank said
one of his press conferences recently, age is just a number,
and it's like, would you rather get younger get better?
Because often those two things don't go together. They got better.
(01:15):
They may have gotten older, but they definitely got better.
And they at least got John Collins who's just entering
his prime at twenty eight, and Bradley Beal is still
just thirty two years of age. And they have so
much depth on this team that the hope is you
have this revolving door of veterans that can kind of
cover for one another. If CP three's not playing one night,
that's okay, he'll be fresher for the next game. We
(01:37):
know Kawhi's gonna miss some games, Bradley Beal's gonna miss
some games, But they have guys that constantly kind of
replenish one another with just having this revolving door of
really talented players that just happen to be a little
bit older.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I did see today, by the way, that Bradley Beal's
going to give Chris Paul his number.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Well, yeah, that was a nice gesture him. They both
were wearing number three. He recognizes CP three. Guys, you
can make the argument Chris Paul is the greatest Clipper
of all time. Like this will be his seventh season
now with the Clippers. This year it's his swan song.
He's retiring with them, and most people associate the turning
(02:17):
point with the Clippers to him coming in the Lob
City days back in the start of I think twenty eleven.
So I think he added a ton of credibility to
this franchise when he entered and they started winning their
winning ways where you know they've won they've had fourteenth
straight winning seasons. Unfortunately they haven't won it all, but
fourteenth straight winning seasons. That's the longest current run in
the NBA. And it really started with his tenure with
(02:39):
the Clippers and what he helped establish. So him being
that leader as well and embracing Clipper Nation, you know,
everybody's pretty excited about this. There were some mixed feelings
I think from some before it was made official because, oh,
he kicked their butt in Game six of the twenty
twenty one Western Conference Finals when he was playing for
Phoenix and closed out that series and He also made
(03:01):
some remarks when he first left the Clippers about the
culture and it seemed like Doc rivers. But you know,
I think most wounds heal at this point, and there's
a nostalgia play here on top of the fact that
he is just a really good player still even at
the age of forty. Guys, he played all eighty two
games last season with San Antonio and he had the
best plus minus next to Victor wembin Yama with that team.
(03:25):
He's still impactful. He's still a winning player, and in
limited minutes, which he'll be playing now because he's not
going to be the starting point guard. They have James Harden,
he can help and he's not gonna play every night.
So you're hoping that he's going to have those fresh
legs out there.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
You think, you think that he has made a bigger
impact in Clipper history than Benoyd Benjamin Well.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
He did have that documentary and I know you guys
had him on recently, so maybe not, because when's last
time CB three has been on your show. I mean,
that's that's impactful.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
I want to tell you true, that's true. Do we
have the Fitch Fry We had a Fitch Fry for Panoy.
I don't think that worked out. Hey, Adam, we had
Dan Wik on yesterday. He talked about the Clippers though,
have to prepare for two teams, right, the team that
plays with Kawhi the team that plays without Kawhi. Is
(04:14):
that a difficult dilemma even with the new additions.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
No, I think that's fair. And it's been like this
throughout the last six years overall, unfortunately, because he's been
unreliable with his health. It's not his fault, it's just
what has happened with his right knee. You're hoping he
can go more than thirty seven games he played last season,
but even with that, they still won fifty games when
they only got thirty seven from Kawhi. What happens if
(04:39):
they get fifty or fifty five games from him this season?
Because this is the first offseason he has been healthy
since twenty twenty likes, that's pretty huge. He hasn't had
a surgery, he hasn't needed one. He exited and talked
about his goal making it through this season healthy. He did,
so we can actually train and get back to doing that.
Manai coal meticulous training regiment that he is on that
(05:02):
has made him such a great player. So I think
there's a lot of things going in his favor, in
the Clippers favor heading into this offseason and heading into
trading camp, that Kawhi is just healthy, but yeah, you
expect him to still probably not play on back to
backs and he's gonna miss games, and they at least
have the calvary on the way when he is out
to have enough talent out there on the floor to
still be very competitive, to still be very good. And
(05:24):
I think that also means when you have someone like
CP three, James Harden doesn't have to play eighty games
like he did last season for the Clippers. I think
technically it was seventy nine, but he was playing heavy
minutes well. James Harden is thirty six now, and while
overall he's been pretty reliable and available, you can't expect
that to continue as he gets older. So you gotta
have backup plans. And they're calling Chris Paul having that
(05:48):
reserve role like he's almost a luxury in some ways.
He's an insurance policy, state farm. He can help them
in those ways. There they just have so many guys
that they can throw at you. With Brad be all
out there. This is somebody who has his own injury concerns,
but when he's available, he's still a very good player
and a very potent score And then John Collins, what
(06:09):
can he do on his first good team in a while.
You know, he was with Atlanta when they went to
the Eastern Conference finals back in twenty twenty one, but
since then he's been on some really bad teams, and
he was excited about being a Clipper. There's a lot
of guys who have that extra motivation just from having
a change of scenery. You come over from Utah where
they've been in this perpetual rebuild. What's that going to
do for John Collins who's just twenty eight and in
(06:32):
the prime of his career and in a contract season.
Can they lean on him more? Vitza Zubats is just
twenty eight, So they do still have some key guys
who are smack dab in the prime of their career
that if Coli is out or if he just can't
have as much of the scoring load on him, you
could pass it off to somebody else. Like, this team
is so deep that, yes there are still issues because
(06:54):
of age, but you expect them to be able to
navigate the regular season well enough, just because there's so
much talent on this team. With this offseason that they
have made, you know, I having to mention brook Lopez enough.
I think that's a really big pickup because he played
all eighty two games and was starting last year playing
over thirty minutes per game for the Milwaukee Bucks. Yes,
he's thirty seven, but he's kind of been an ageless
(07:16):
wonder and he's the best backup center they've had since
they had Isaiah Hartenstein. So all of a sudden, for
the first time in three or four years, they actually
have that front court depth. I don't know. There's a
lot of different ways they can play. There's a lot
of versatility. It always comes down to health with this group,
and it starts with Kawhi Leonard there and there's still
question marks on if is Kawhi in his prime still
(07:38):
at the age of thirty four. Can he be the
number one option on a championship team still, that's a
big lurking question. I think so, but he's got to
prove he can stay healthy and then when they get
to the playoffs, he also has to play at the
highest level. Can he still be the best player in
that series for you. There's a lot of question marks,
but you know you got to give him an AA
(08:01):
plus for just the offseason they have had, because the
one thing people aren't talking about enough, guys, is they
did all this, all these moves a competitive team that
you think can be a contender while staying under the
first apron. That is damn impressive work by this front office.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Freddy, all right, so now you gave them an AA plus,
so you can't give him a higher grade than you
gave him.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Uh, I'll give him a BEE, a solid B. I
think they've done well overall. Losing Dorian Finney Smith hurt,
and I think that was the impetus for upsetting Lebron
James initially being like, why is this guy leaving? Why
are we letting him go? They were like seventeen points
per one hundred possessions better. When DFS was on the
(08:47):
floor with the Lakers, they gave up stuff to get him.
It seemed like he was going to be a part
of more of the long term picture. He's thirty two.
He goes to Houston arrival in the Western Conference, but
they he kind of pivoted to bringing in Jake Lavia,
who I really like, who's young. He's twenty three. He's
not as good as DFS right now, but he could
(09:09):
be better three years or two years from now. And
then you get DeAndre eight and for cheap and now
Marcus Smart. Now, the question with Marcus Smart, to me, guys,
is just where's he at in his career. He's on
the wrong side of thirty. Boston traded him a couple
of years ago and then went on to win the championship.
I'm not saying there's a connection there. I really like
Marcus Smart. He was a Defensive Player of the Year.
(09:31):
He's just never been a great three point shooter, and
they need more shooting. They still have the same issues
I think that I've been talking about for a while.
Too many one way players on this Lakers team. They're
good on one end, they're a liability on the other.
With Marcus Smart, he's a good defender, but his body
seems to be breaking down a little bit. He's missed
a ton of games the last two years with Memphis
and Washington, and he's still not a good three point shooter.
(09:54):
Some are referencing the fact that in Washington he shot
thirty nine percent from three great that was in fifteen
bleeping games. That was fifty shots he attempted from the outside.
The volume was very low, So I don't know where
he's at in his career and how much he can
truly help now. For the amount of money they got
him for, you take that risk. So I don't mind
(10:14):
the way they pivoted after losing DFS. But when you
talk about teams getting better, you have to look at
everyone else around you and kind of grade yourself on, well,
how much better did those teams get as well? Because yes,
we got better internally in some ways, but the Rockets
got better, the Clippers got better, the Denver Nuggets got better.
(10:35):
So how did you get? How much better did you
get relative to those teams? And I'm not sure if
the Lakers got good enough to say that they're a
top four seed currently in the Western Conference or on
paper they're as good as OKC, Houston, Denver or the Clippers.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I think Houston is the scariest, Easton will be the scariest.
They added Durant and they got They're still a young,
hungry team and interesting coach, but yeah, they are a
hungry team. DeAndre Ayton, you mentioned him, But does he
get a reset here? And then also, what do you
make of the reports that Luca is the one out
(11:14):
here recruiting guy.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I mean that bows well for him signing that contract
extension on August second. I never was really overly concerned
with that. I know there were some murmurs out there
that maybe the Lakers are a little bit worried he's
not going to sign it. I think he will. I
think he's embracing being a Laker. He's talked about the
Mark Walter deal taking over with ownership and said, you know,
(11:38):
I want to help win multiple championships with this Lakers team.
So I think the riding's on the wall that he
will be here for a while. But it helps knowing
that he's also recruiting guys. So why would he not
sign the extension. It seems like he's pretty settled in
uncomfortable as a Laker. DeAndre Ayton, here's the problem. And
Fred has brought this up for a long time, and
I always give him credit. He was the original DeAndre
(12:01):
eighton Hater. He was ahead of the curve with this college.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yeah college.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
I don't know about his motivation and his motor out
there and I used to mock him, fred I was wrong,
you were right. I'm ugly, You're very good looking all
those things referencing Happy Gilmore. Since the Happy Gilmore two's
coming out, uh DeAndre eight in last season was the
worst of the Portland Trail Blazers. Three centers Robert Williams
(12:29):
and Donovan Klingen, a rookie, were both better than him.
If you look at the advanced numbers, does Aton have
more potential in those guys? Does he have a very
high ceiling in this league? Is he very talented?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Is he gonna reach that potential? Is he gonna get there?
Is he motivated enough now? Because it's basically a one
year type of prove it deal. But he's only making
eight or nine million, and then he's hoping in the
summer of twenty twenty six, when teams have more money
to spend, he can get one hundred million dollars. Again,
he should have all the motivation he needs. Like he's
(13:02):
a good enough rim runner. I don't think he's great
in that area, but I'll tell you what the numbers say.
He's really good in the mid range, like really good,
like shooting over fifty percent on the elbows and that
can help this Lakers offense because he's not just you know,
a guy who's in the dunker spot all the time
and clogging up the paint. He can help you as
(13:24):
being a pick and roll guy and maybe a little
bit of a pick and pop guy with Luka Doncic. Now,
Luca has done wonders for his bigs over the years,
just asked Derek Lively. I think the pairing is pretty
strong as long as DeAndre Ayton is completely bought in
and willing to play hard and shows the motor that
he hasn't consistently shown throughout his career. The defensive vent
(13:46):
is where I'm more concerned, Like if their starting lineup
is Luca, Austin Reeves, Lebron James, Rui Hachima, and DeAndre Ayton,
there's just a lot of weaknesses on that end of
the court defensively, and they were almost atom ten in
that category last season, even though they had a two
month stretch where they literally were the best defense in
(14:07):
the league I think from around midway through January to
midway through March, and that was different iterations with Anthony
Davis without him, without Luca. With Luca, they seem to
come together, and JJ Reddick had a good defensive strategy
to kind of cover for Guy's mistakes, but it didn't
work obviously in the playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves,
and just on paper individually, DeAndre Ayden he's not a
(14:30):
great rimp protector because that's a lot of want to
and a lot of hustle out there. Now, does he
have the potential again, of course, but what happens after
the first month if they're around five hundred. Let's say
he starts off strong and he wants to show what
he can bring to this Lakers team, but then things
start to sour and go wrong. What's gonna happen to him?
(14:51):
Then that's what I would be concerned about. So it's
not about the talent, it's just about he has the ability,
does he want to do it? And throughout his career
while he's still young. I think he's just twenty six.
There's time to turn things around. He just hasn't shown
enough of that motor in will consistently see.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I think this is it for him, to be very
honest with you, for all the reasons you just stated,
this is it. If he doesn't turn it around. Now
there's no more big, giant paydays for him. That's it.
You're an NBA guy, you made your money and thanks
for being in the league, there'll be no more big paydays.
So he has no choice. The question is does he
(15:30):
have the mental constitution to do it, because I mean, seriously,
this is it. No If he flounder is here, he's done.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It could be looked at as a kind of make
or break season for him getting the big money at least. Yeah,
some people have paralleled it to Andre Drummond. This was
somebody who was an All Star and then eventually he
kind of got phased out and was on minimum contracts.
And when he came to the Lakers in twenty twenty one,
people thought that was a big deal and a lot
of us were like, guys, he's not that great. He's
(16:00):
a very good rebounder, but he's kind of a rebound
merchant and his style of basketball doesn't work so much
in today's game. Well, DeAndre Eaton's style of basketball works,
but it's just about being hall to the little.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Hearts and it will. That's all talent. Talent wise, you
see it, and you know you see it sporadically, but
you see he's got talent. When he was in Phoenix,
yes he underachieved, but there are moments where you're like,
this guy could be big time. And Fred called it, Yeah,
I'll give him. I'll give him credit to he called
it in college that he he's sometimey. He's a sometimey guy.
(16:39):
And I don't know if this new move this does
he realize that this is, as Fred said, his last
shot and if he does, it'll be great. And does
he does he fall in line with Lebron and Luca
and being part of the Lakers, because sometimes that brings
you up too. When you're part of a franchise that
has got that kind of credibility and got that kind
(17:04):
of brand, you kind of fall in mind. It's like
people when they go to the Dodgers, they fall into
the way the Dodgers do things. And it may be
a case that he's with Lebron and Luca and this
team that Okay, this is my shot, I'm lucky to
be here. Let me turn it around and give him
everything I got.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
And we mentioned how he's been a malecontent in his past,
but he's obviously had really good runs. When they went
to the NBA Finals, in twenty twenty one and we're
up two games to the none on the Milwaukee Bucks.
It looked like Phoenix was going to go on to
win that series and he was going to have a
ring and be a big part of it. He was
very good. I saw him up close and personal against
the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals. He had the
(17:43):
valley oop they called it to win Game two off
the inbounds pass where he had the dunk to win it.
I guess foreshadowing for the Clippers losing on a dunk
to Aaron Gordon this past year in the playoffs. My god,
unfortunate luck. If it was for bad luck, they'd have
none at all. But he has. That's what's so maddening,
and sometimes it leads us to being overly critical of
(18:05):
how good a guy is because we want them to
be this and they're not. But I do think that
pressure of being in LA that's either gonna bring out
the best in him or the worst. Like it's going
one way or the other. There should be enough fuel
and all the motivation in the world for him to
have a good season, but he still has a lot
(18:25):
to prove, I think, and it's him missing, you know,
team meetings, and I think he missed a game because
there was snow outside. Yet fans showed up to that
game at Mota Center up in Portland, and he said, oh,
I couldn't get there. It was it was a game
or it was practice. I forget what it was were
talking about practice, but yeah, it was something like that.
(18:48):
I just there's a long track record of him looking
like he was just resting on his laurels and he
just did not care enough. But to Fred's point, if
this is it, if this is last chance you or
whatever you want to say, if his back is really
against the wall as a member of the Lakers, and
I think it comes down to are they gonna be
good enough? If they're winning? You know, that's the best deodorant, right, Rodney, Like,
(19:12):
if they're winning and things are going well, I think
DeAndre Ayton is gonna be a big part of that.
But if they're losing, yeah, are they gonna splinter? And
is he gonna be a big part of that?
Speaker 1 (19:22):
All right, Well, thank you for not splintering our show today.
We appreciate that. Salty eight.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Oh we're strong like a redwood today, Freddie, appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Tonight. The Dodgers return to Dodger Stadium. They take on
the Twins. The first pitch at seven. Listen to all
Dodger games on A five to seventy LA Sports live
from the Galluping Motors Broadcast Booth, and stream all Dodger
games in HD on the iHeartRadio app. The keyword is
AM five to seventy LA Sports. He really doesn't like
him having him on. Man, he knows his stuff. Brother,
he is dialed in, and the great thing about him
(19:54):
is he's making it all up. I don't think anything
he says is real, but he's making it. No, he
stopped Fred. He's terrific and we appreciate him coming on
the show. I love this story. I just wanted to mention,
if you know, college sports have changed and the everything
is surrounding it, The landscape has changed dramatically, and the
(20:15):
one thing you want to do is be in the
right conference because long term you're going to make money
that way. And oftentimes in collegiate sports, as all of
this happens, you're on the outside looking in. So Memphis
is a pretty good competitive school, would you agree with that? Yes? Yeah,
they've been competitive for for years now. Right, So Memphis
(20:38):
isn't bad, and they wanted to join a Big twelve. Now, normally,
you know, people beg you or offer you the opportunity
to come to a conference, and if you're in another conference,
sometimes you have to pay off to get out. Yeah,
(21:02):
we've Memphis calls the Big Excess.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Go to SEC Oklahoma, go to the SEC Uscucla and
Oregon and Washington, go to the Big ten.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah. They were recruited to go to those conferences, right,
because what they want to do is get schools in
certain markets. And the larger the markets, the more the
TV revenue, the more the media revenue in today's world. Yeah. Right,
So Memphis said, look, we're kind of out here now,
we're on the out skis, but we would be perfect
(21:31):
for the Big twelve. That's where we should be. We
can compete in the Big twelve. You'll have the Memphis market.
I don't know if that's a prize or not, but
you'll have it. And here's what we're going to do.
You don't even need to make us an offer. We're
going to make you an offer. We're going to do
you a solid. We're basically going to offer you the
(21:54):
Big twelve two hundred million dollars. We're gonna pay you
to get in there and be a part of it.
That's real money. Money in your hand, you're ready, real money.
And they said, I don't think so. We don't need you.
(22:17):
We're not gonna do that. No, that's not gonna happen.
Can you imagine it's come to this now? Are you
telling me if years ago a school would have offered
the PAC twelve two hundred million dollars?
Speaker 3 (22:30):
If b why you said we'll pay you two hundred
million dollars to join your conference? They got worried up
to by you any in two seconds? Yes, where are
you provo?
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Will you talk? Oh? Yeah, come on right, come on,
how do you want your schedule to look? We'll take care.
You don't even have to play USC in the first
two years. You to play USC in ten years, it's
fine with us. San Diego State. Could you imagine if
they had a call and staid, well, give you two
hundred million dollars we want in Yeah, big key must
(23:00):
be doing all right, then, yeah, it must be doing
all right. They must be doing all right.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Yeah, I mean they obviously they didn't feel like they
could go to the SEC and offer that money. I mean,
when you look at the SEC in their own state,
they've got Vanderbilt in the SEC, like Memphis could have
a claim to say, hey, we perform better than Vanderbilt.
Let us in. We'll give you two hundred million dollars.
(23:29):
But that's interesting that the Big Twelve turned that down
given the way conferences are nowadays, and when you look
at the landscape, it is now feels like it's a
it's a two conference college football system. Yeah, the Big
Ten and it's the SEC. Right either one of those
conferences is going to win a national title every year
(23:52):
going forward, because Clempton has already said in Davilsweeney has said,
we're not playing the nil game. And if you don't
play the nil game, you're not going to get the
players and you're not going to be successful long term.
So Clemson their best days are behind them. As ACC,
(24:12):
I don't care if you got Bill Belichick or not.
You're not competing against Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC Washington,
Oregon and a playoff system Alabama, Ole, Miss Texas, Oklahoma.
(24:33):
You're in a playoff system, you're not doing it. You're
not doing it. I mean last year they even had
Indiana had a good year in the Big ten. So
it's just it's really strange that the Big twelve would
turn that down.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Oh, I agree, that's money in given the fact that
they lost Texas and Oklahoma just a couple of years ago. Yeah,
but they replaced them with Arizona, Arizona State. Of course.
You know. It's funny and maybe because my you know,
one of my sons went to Kansas State and the
other one went to Arizona State for a year. When
I look at the conferences around the country now, athletically
(25:13):
to me, the number one conference in the country, and
tell me if you disagree, is a Big ten Yes
overall I'm going Big ten. Yes, And there's just something
about it. It seems big, it seems strong, you know. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Yeah, they they've got and they've got they've got more
money than the other conference by far. Like look, Texas
can compete with anybody because they got they got money.
Texas and m two. So SEC's got to schools. Even
Alabama can't compete with Ohio State, Michigan, and now they
can't even compete with USC where USC is now with
(25:49):
their NIO program, they can't compete with the Oregon money wise,
Penn State they can't compete with. I mean it is
the Big Ten is a month now, it is a monster.
I mean you got schools like Wisconsin that pay out,
(26:11):
you know, and I'm talking all sports.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Now right, No, not real. They're basketball as well, basketball, football,
women's volleyball, women's basketball, all of that. Big Ten is
the powerhouse. Yeah. Now if you just play the football game,
then you go SEC. Yeah. But I have to tell again,
and maybe we're not that part of the country, or
(26:35):
maybe my kids shouldn't go to school in the South.
I think the Big twelve is pretty powerful as well.
They don't have the schools of the Big Ten, but
they have some pretty competitive schools. Then I would say
the SEC. But now look at the ACC and maybe
it's because we're on the other side of the country. ACC.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Yeah, mheh wait, you got Clemson, maybe South Carolina from
time to time.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
You know what is it? Uh, it's Florida State in
Florida State.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Florida State's in the ACC. Now they struggled last year.
You know, Miami I believe was in the ACC as well.
Duke basketball wise is gonna be there. Yeah, it's a
different ball game, yeah, different ballgame basketball wise, ACC is
North Carolina, Yeah, but they still can't compete on a
(27:39):
level from a football standpoint.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
That the Big ten can or the SEC can.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
No.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
But but you look at that, you said the Big twelve.
I mean, Arizona State was a playoff team last year,
and if you really think about it, they had they
had Texas on the ropes, probably should have beat them.
So they they have some talent in that conference. I
just don't know. But money wise, I don't know why
(28:05):
they would turn that down. I don't know why they
would turn down two hundred million down. Memphis is a
good school, good quality school, and have multiple sports that
do well. Interesting that they turn that down.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Well maybe if they you know, if the deal was this,
there's two hundred million, all right, you got it good,
and we don't want any piece of the pie for
the next ten years, I'm sure they would have walked
them in with open arms. But I think the problem
becomes once you're in. Now you that pie again.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Yeah, that's another piece of the pie you got to
cut away from the other teams, right.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
And they just got their new TV deal, So why
at this point would you welcome somebody in. If you
were going to do it, you would do it in
the next deal where your rights fee would increase, sort
of like earlier we were talking about the NFL. Now
I'm not exactly sure when the broadcast deals are up
for the NFL, the media rights deals, but the way
(28:59):
the NFL does it, you know, they could be up
in twelve years, but they have an out in three months.
I mean, that's how the NFL does stuff. Yeah, because
they're so they can do it anyway. They can negotiate
anything they want to, right, so you know, whenever they
have an opportunity, and the next one, let's say whenever
that could be, that could be when they expand why okay,
(29:22):
new money and from the from the media deals. So
everybody's happy, because we don't want you two to come
in and take a piece of our pie. That's not
gonna work for us. But if we get a new
media rights deal and we increase our media rights adding
to gigantic markets, oh good, Now you can pay us
(29:43):
for the right to be part of the club eight
billion each. So give me eight billion, all right, sixteen
billion dollars. We're the owners. We're gonna split that up
because that's just how we are. I hope you don't mind,
but we're gonna split that. That's gonna be ours. Yeah,
and then you can what do you think, Yeah, you
have the opportunity at that point, then you can jump in,
(30:04):
feel free and be part of the team. I think
that's what they'll do. It's like the NBA just did
a new meteorites deal which begins next year. Would it
really be wise for them to expand? Maybe neither the
middle or the end of the deal, because at that
point the next one comes up and it's worth more.
(30:29):
You have more markets to play with, you have a
bigger piece of the landscape, which in theory gives you
more money. So I think that's what may happen. Who
do you think is the next to expand? The NFL
or the NBA. Rodney NBA. I think they got their
(30:50):
sites on Vegas Company coming up.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Real soon, real soon. I think Vegas is in the
next two years.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Then.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
I don't know if it's just one, because it feels
like it needs to be two. I don't know where
the other team goes. Where do you think the other
team goes? Maybe it goes to where Seattle, Seattle, Yeah,
they're gearing for it. Yeah, maybe it goes to Seattle.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
M h. I think that's what happens. I mean, Vegas
is in So who's the other team you want to
go east West? It would work in Nashville, Nashville.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
They got Memphis already in Tennessee, but yeah, Nashville is
a bigger city.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Yeah, it would work in Nashville, big time Vegas, but
Seattle is really the larger market that's missing a team
that wants one.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
So that's where I would put it out. That's kind
of like, well, Cleveland was more die hard. They got
it back, but I think there's enough support in Seattle now,
on the base in Seattle and the wealth in Seattle,
that the NBA feels good about going back to Seattle.
You know, as opposed to what we talked about earlier
(32:06):
of them going to the NFL going back to San Diego.
The chances of them NBA going to Seattle are greater
than NFL going to San Diego. What do you think
the price tag for the NBA expansion team is you
said eight billion for NFL NFL, Yeah, I think what Well,
(32:27):
the Lakers put everybody out of the mix with that
ten billion dollars by but theoretically what the Phoenix Sus
went for for like four and a half something like that.
After that, who sold? Somebody else sold? I think for
six maybe Celtics old with Dallas, so Celtics sold, that's right,
(32:48):
probably probably two three billion.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
You think to get in it would cost less get
in than what the franchises are selling for.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Yeah, yeah, I do, because, like you said, they got
to build the arena.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
They gotta do it. I think they give him a break.
I'm gonna say it's four billion, then, yeah, four billion
a team just to get in. They've got T mobile
built in Vegas and they have the arena and Seattle built,
so that'll help them out. That's what I'm gonna say.
Four billion. So I think we actually know the people
(33:27):
that will own the Vegas franchise, to be honest with you, Oh,
nothing's been decided, no one knows anything. But I think
I think there's a pretty good, pretty good idea. Who's
gonna get that one? Then the question will become Seattle
and at that point then they will have expanded. Yeah,
I think it'll be four billion. Tonight Rodney thought last
(33:51):
night was just sparkling and scouting. Yes, and good for
the soul, and yes, thank god Minnesota is in town. Yes,
a bit differently when somebody came within five inches of
hitting a game tying three run homer at the bottom
of the night. But never a doubt. Take the wind,
take the w get out of town. That's what the
(34:12):
Dodgers did. That put a tourniquet on the bleeding. They'll
go at it again tonight against the Twins. Yamamoto will
be on the hill and hopefully he'll do right. It's
a win.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Yamamoto, he's a Remember when glassnow was a stopper last year,
it stopped the bleeding. Yamamoto's the guy this year good
stop it. So he will be on the mountain tonight
for the Dodgers. We've not heard anything about Tanner Scott.
I've been checking. I haven't heard a word me either,
me either. I'm gonna have to call my son r J.
To see what the real deal is. He's in the clubhouse,
(34:42):
so he'll know.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Well he would know, of course, then he would tell you,
but then you couldn't tell us because.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Well he did tell me first thing that Freddie was good.
After that, he hit me right away Freddie's okay. Freddie's
gonna be all right when he got hitting the wrist,
so he's on it. He's the first one. Oh, I'm
gonna ask him.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
I got it. I should have them during the show.
What am I thinking? Well, that's good. Run you ask
me when we go out, so nobody will find out
that's good in the clubhouse. And and I didn't call
him when the world. Well, anyway, you'll get to know
before anybody, which is nice. So I hope you have
a pleasant afternoon with that. Tomorrow we are off. It's
a day game get away day for the Dodgers at
(35:23):
the stadium to wrap things up against Minnesota, so we
will take the day off. We'll be back on Thursday
with a three hour show, and then Friday will be
back for an hour. So Ronnie, thank you, great job today.
Really appreciate it as always, Kevin terrific work. Rodney, enjoy
your day off tomorrow, and we get him again on Thursday.
Then we continue on fred Rogan Rodney peak on five
seventy LA Sports two hours down or thanks to Dylan
Hernandez for joining us during the one o'clock hour. And
now let us bring on the salty a Adam Auslin
to get into some NBA salty Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
What's up, Freddie? What's up? Rodney? Going to be back
with you guys?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
How we do double A? Right on? Bro right on?
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I'm good. I'm feeling real good after this Clippers off season.
I'm pumped. I'm ready to go.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So I guess that we're going to start with the Clippers.
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Well, I thought if I led us that direction, you'd
have to for one spread.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Can I tell you something. I thought the Clippers had
a hell of an off season. To be very honest,
I was actually going to start with the Clippers and
surprise you, but you didn't allow me to surprise. I
thought they had a really good off season, Adam. Now
are they long long in the tooth? But who isn't?
Aside from that, they really I thought did well.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
The age issue is real. They were the oldest team
in the league last year and they just added a
forty year old and CP three and the thirty seven
year old in Brook Lopez. But as Lawrence Frank said
one of his press conferences recently, age is just a number,
and it's like, would you rather get younger get better?
Because often those two things don't go together. They got better.
(01:15):
They may have gotten older, but they definitely got better.
And they at least got John Collins who's just entering
his prime at twenty eight, and Bradley Beal is still
just thirty two years of age. And they have so
much depth on this team that the hope is you
have this revolving door of veterans that can kind of
cover for one another. If CP three's not playing one night,
that's okay, he'll be fresher for the next game. We
(01:37):
know Kawhi's gonna miss some games, Bradley Beal's gonna miss
some games, But they have guys that constantly kind of
replenish one another with just having this revolving door of
really talented players that just happen to be a little
bit older.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I did see today, by the way, that Bradley Beal's
going to give Chris Paul his number.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Well, yeah, that was a nice gesture him. They both
were wearing number three. He recognizes CP three. Guys, you
can make the argument Chris Paul is the greatest Clipper
of all time. Like this will be his seventh season
now with the Clippers. This year it's his swan song.
He's retiring with them, and most people associate the turning
(02:17):
point with the Clippers to him coming in the Lob
City days back in the start of I think twenty eleven.
So I think he added a ton of credibility to
this franchise when he entered and they started winning their
winning ways where you know they've won they've had fourteenth
straight winning seasons. Unfortunately they haven't won it all, but
fourteenth straight winning seasons. That's the longest current run in
the NBA. And it really started with his tenure with
(02:39):
the Clippers and what he helped establish. So him being
that leader as well and embracing Clipper Nation, you know,
everybody's pretty excited about this. There were some mixed feelings
I think from some before it was made official because, oh,
he kicked their butt in Game six of the twenty
twenty one Western Conference Finals when he was playing for
Phoenix and closed out that series and He also made
(03:01):
some remarks when he first left the Clippers about the
culture and it seemed like Doc rivers. But you know,
I think most wounds heal at this point, and there's
a nostalgia play here on top of the fact that
he is just a really good player still even at
the age of forty. Guys, he played all eighty two
games last season with San Antonio and he had the
best plus minus next to Victor wembin Yama with that team.
(03:25):
He's still impactful. He's still a winning player, and in
limited minutes, which he'll be playing now because he's not
going to be the starting point guard. They have James Harden,
he can help and he's not gonna play every night.
So you're hoping that he's going to have those fresh
legs out there.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
You think, you think that he has made a bigger
impact in Clipper history than Benoyd Benjamin Well.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
He did have that documentary and I know you guys
had him on recently, so maybe not, because when's last
time CB three has been on your show. I mean,
that's that's impactful.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
I want to tell you true, that's true. Do we
have the Fitch Fry We had a Fitch Fry for Panoy.
I don't think that worked out. Hey, Adam, we had
Dan Wik on yesterday. He talked about the Clippers though,
have to prepare for two teams, right, the team that
plays with Kawhi the team that plays without Kawhi. Is
(04:14):
that a difficult dilemma even with the new additions.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
No, I think that's fair. And it's been like this
throughout the last six years overall, unfortunately, because he's been
unreliable with his health. It's not his fault, it's just
what has happened with his right knee. You're hoping he
can go more than thirty seven games he played last season,
but even with that, they still won fifty games when
they only got thirty seven from Kawhi. What happens if
(04:39):
they get fifty or fifty five games from him this season?
Because this is the first offseason he has been healthy
since twenty twenty likes, that's pretty huge. He hasn't had
a surgery, he hasn't needed one. He exited and talked
about his goal making it through this season healthy. He did,
so we can actually train and get back to doing that.
Manai coal meticulous training regiment that he is on that
(05:02):
has made him such a great player. So I think
there's a lot of things going in his favor, in
the Clippers favor heading into this offseason and heading into
trading camp, that Kawhi is just healthy, but yeah, you
expect him to still probably not play on back to
backs and he's gonna miss games, and they at least
have the calvary on the way when he is out
to have enough talent out there on the floor to
still be very competitive, to still be very good. And
(05:24):
I think that also means when you have someone like
CP three, James Harden doesn't have to play eighty games
like he did last season for the Clippers. I think
technically it was seventy nine, but he was playing heavy
minutes well. James Harden is thirty six now, and while
overall he's been pretty reliable and available, you can't expect
that to continue as he gets older. So you gotta
have backup plans. And they're calling Chris Paul having that
(05:48):
reserve role like he's almost a luxury in some ways.
He's an insurance policy, state farm. He can help them
in those ways. There they just have so many guys
that they can throw at you. With Brad be all
out there. This is somebody who has his own injury concerns,
but when he's available, he's still a very good player
and a very potent score And then John Collins, what
(06:09):
can he do on his first good team in a while.
You know, he was with Atlanta when they went to
the Eastern Conference finals back in twenty twenty one, but
since then he's been on some really bad teams, and
he was excited about being a Clipper. There's a lot
of guys who have that extra motivation just from having
a change of scenery. You come over from Utah where
they've been in this perpetual rebuild. What's that going to
do for John Collins who's just twenty eight and in
(06:32):
the prime of his career and in a contract season.
Can they lean on him more? Vitza Zubats is just
twenty eight, So they do still have some key guys
who are smack dab in the prime of their career
that if Coli is out or if he just can't
have as much of the scoring load on him, you
could pass it off to somebody else. Like, this team
is so deep that, yes there are still issues because
(06:54):
of age, but you expect them to be able to
navigate the regular season well enough, just because there's so
much talent on this team. With this offseason that they
have made, you know, I having to mention brook Lopez enough.
I think that's a really big pickup because he played
all eighty two games and was starting last year playing
over thirty minutes per game for the Milwaukee Bucks. Yes,
he's thirty seven, but he's kind of been an ageless
(07:16):
wonder and he's the best backup center they've had since
they had Isaiah Hartenstein. So all of a sudden, for
the first time in three or four years, they actually
have that front court depth. I don't know. There's a
lot of different ways they can play. There's a lot
of versatility. It always comes down to health with this group,
and it starts with Kawhi Leonard there and there's still
question marks on if is Kawhi in his prime still
(07:38):
at the age of thirty four. Can he be the
number one option on a championship team still, that's a
big lurking question. I think so, but he's got to
prove he can stay healthy and then when they get
to the playoffs, he also has to play at the
highest level. Can he still be the best player in
that series for you. There's a lot of question marks,
but you know you got to give him an AA
(08:01):
plus for just the offseason they have had, because the
one thing people aren't talking about enough, guys, is they
did all this, all these moves a competitive team that
you think can be a contender while staying under the
first apron. That is damn impressive work by this front office.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Freddy, all right, so now you gave them an AA plus,
so you can't give him a higher grade than you
gave him.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Uh, I'll give him a BEE, a solid B. I
think they've done well overall. Losing Dorian Finney Smith hurt,
and I think that was the impetus for upsetting Lebron
James initially being like, why is this guy leaving? Why
are we letting him go? They were like seventeen points
per one hundred possessions better. When DFS was on the
(08:47):
floor with the Lakers, they gave up stuff to get him.
It seemed like he was going to be a part
of more of the long term picture. He's thirty two.
He goes to Houston arrival in the Western Conference, but
they he kind of pivoted to bringing in Jake Lavia,
who I really like, who's young. He's twenty three. He's
not as good as DFS right now, but he could
(09:09):
be better three years or two years from now. And
then you get DeAndre eight and for cheap and now
Marcus Smart. Now, the question with Marcus Smart, to me, guys,
is just where's he at in his career. He's on
the wrong side of thirty. Boston traded him a couple
of years ago and then went on to win the championship.
I'm not saying there's a connection there. I really like
Marcus Smart. He was a Defensive Player of the Year.
(09:31):
He's just never been a great three point shooter, and
they need more shooting. They still have the same issues
I think that I've been talking about for a while.
Too many one way players on this Lakers team. They're
good on one end, they're a liability on the other.
With Marcus Smart, he's a good defender, but his body
seems to be breaking down a little bit. He's missed
a ton of games the last two years with Memphis
and Washington, and he's still not a good three point shooter.
(09:54):
Some are referencing the fact that in Washington he shot
thirty nine percent from three great that was in fifteen
bleeping games. That was fifty shots he attempted from the outside.
The volume was very low, So I don't know where
he's at in his career and how much he can
truly help now. For the amount of money they got
him for, you take that risk. So I don't mind
(10:14):
the way they pivoted after losing DFS. But when you
talk about teams getting better, you have to look at
everyone else around you and kind of grade yourself on, well,
how much better did those teams get as well? Because yes,
we got better internally in some ways, but the Rockets
got better, the Clippers got better, the Denver Nuggets got better.
(10:35):
So how did you get? How much better did you
get relative to those teams? And I'm not sure if
the Lakers got good enough to say that they're a
top four seed currently in the Western Conference or on
paper they're as good as OKC, Houston, Denver or the Clippers.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I think Houston is the scariest, Easton will be the scariest.
They added Durant and they got They're still a young,
hungry team and interesting coach, but yeah, they are a
hungry team. DeAndre Ayton, you mentioned him, But does he
get a reset here? And then also, what do you
make of the reports that Luca is the one out
(11:14):
here recruiting guy.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I mean that bows well for him signing that contract
extension on August second. I never was really overly concerned
with that. I know there were some murmurs out there
that maybe the Lakers are a little bit worried he's
not going to sign it. I think he will. I
think he's embracing being a Laker. He's talked about the
Mark Walter deal taking over with ownership and said, you know,
(11:38):
I want to help win multiple championships with this Lakers team.
So I think the riding's on the wall that he
will be here for a while. But it helps knowing
that he's also recruiting guys. So why would he not
sign the extension. It seems like he's pretty settled in
uncomfortable as a Laker. DeAndre Ayton, here's the problem. And
Fred has brought this up for a long time, and
I always give him credit. He was the original DeAndre
(12:01):
eighton Hater. He was ahead of the curve with this college.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yeah college.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
I don't know about his motivation and his motor out
there and I used to mock him, fred I was wrong,
you were right. I'm ugly, You're very good looking all
those things referencing Happy Gilmore. Since the Happy Gilmore two's
coming out, uh DeAndre eight in last season was the
worst of the Portland Trail Blazers. Three centers Robert Williams
(12:29):
and Donovan Klingen, a rookie, were both better than him.
If you look at the advanced numbers, does Aton have
more potential in those guys? Does he have a very
high ceiling in this league? Is he very talented?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Is he gonna reach that potential? Is he gonna get there?
Is he motivated enough now? Because it's basically a one
year type of prove it deal. But he's only making
eight or nine million, and then he's hoping in the
summer of twenty twenty six, when teams have more money
to spend, he can get one hundred million dollars. Again,
he should have all the motivation he needs. Like he's
(13:02):
a good enough rim runner. I don't think he's great
in that area, but I'll tell you what the numbers say.
He's really good in the mid range, like really good,
like shooting over fifty percent on the elbows and that
can help this Lakers offense because he's not just you know,
a guy who's in the dunker spot all the time
and clogging up the paint. He can help you as
(13:24):
being a pick and roll guy and maybe a little
bit of a pick and pop guy with Luka Doncic. Now,
Luca has done wonders for his bigs over the years,
just asked Derek Lively. I think the pairing is pretty
strong as long as DeAndre Ayton is completely bought in
and willing to play hard and shows the motor that
he hasn't consistently shown throughout his career. The defensive vent
(13:46):
is where I'm more concerned, Like if their starting lineup
is Luca, Austin Reeves, Lebron James, Rui Hachima, and DeAndre Ayton,
there's just a lot of weaknesses on that end of
the court defensively, and they were almost atom ten in
that category last season, even though they had a two
month stretch where they literally were the best defense in
(14:07):
the league I think from around midway through January to
midway through March, and that was different iterations with Anthony
Davis without him, without Luca. With Luca, they seem to
come together, and JJ Reddick had a good defensive strategy
to kind of cover for Guy's mistakes, but it didn't
work obviously in the playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves,
and just on paper individually, DeAndre Ayden he's not a
(14:30):
great rimp protector because that's a lot of want to
and a lot of hustle out there. Now, does he
have the potential again, of course, but what happens after
the first month if they're around five hundred. Let's say
he starts off strong and he wants to show what
he can bring to this Lakers team, but then things
start to sour and go wrong. What's gonna happen to him?
(14:51):
Then that's what I would be concerned about. So it's
not about the talent, it's just about he has the ability,
does he want to do it? And throughout his career
while he's still young. I think he's just twenty six.
There's time to turn things around. He just hasn't shown
enough of that motor in will consistently see.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I think this is it for him, to be very
honest with you, for all the reasons you just stated,
this is it. If he doesn't turn it around. Now
there's no more big, giant paydays for him. That's it.
You're an NBA guy, you made your money and thanks
for being in the league, there'll be no more big paydays.
So he has no choice. The question is does he
(15:30):
have the mental constitution to do it, because I mean, seriously,
this is it. No If he flounder is here, he's done.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It could be looked at as a kind of make
or break season for him getting the big money at least. Yeah,
some people have paralleled it to Andre Drummond. This was
somebody who was an All Star and then eventually he
kind of got phased out and was on minimum contracts.
And when he came to the Lakers in twenty twenty one,
people thought that was a big deal and a lot
of us were like, guys, he's not that great. He's
(16:00):
a very good rebounder, but he's kind of a rebound
merchant and his style of basketball doesn't work so much
in today's game. Well, DeAndre Eaton's style of basketball works,
but it's just about being hall to the little.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Hearts and it will. That's all talent. Talent wise, you
see it, and you know you see it sporadically, but
you see he's got talent. When he was in Phoenix,
yes he underachieved, but there are moments where you're like,
this guy could be big time. And Fred called it, Yeah,
I'll give him. I'll give him credit to he called
it in college that he he's sometimey. He's a sometimey guy.
(16:39):
And I don't know if this new move this does
he realize that this is, as Fred said, his last
shot and if he does, it'll be great. And does
he does he fall in line with Lebron and Luca
and being part of the Lakers, because sometimes that brings
you up too. When you're part of a franchise that
has got that kind of credibility and got that kind
(17:04):
of brand, you kind of fall in mind. It's like
people when they go to the Dodgers, they fall into
the way the Dodgers do things. And it may be
a case that he's with Lebron and Luca and this
team that Okay, this is my shot, I'm lucky to
be here. Let me turn it around and give him
everything I got.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
And we mentioned how he's been a malecontent in his past,
but he's obviously had really good runs. When they went
to the NBA Finals, in twenty twenty one and we're
up two games to the none on the Milwaukee Bucks.
It looked like Phoenix was going to go on to
win that series and he was going to have a
ring and be a big part of it. He was
very good. I saw him up close and personal against
the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals. He had the
(17:43):
valley oop they called it to win Game two off
the inbounds pass where he had the dunk to win it.
I guess foreshadowing for the Clippers losing on a dunk
to Aaron Gordon this past year in the playoffs. My god,
unfortunate luck. If it was for bad luck, they'd have
none at all. But he has. That's what's so maddening,
and sometimes it leads us to being overly critical of
(18:05):
how good a guy is because we want them to
be this and they're not. But I do think that
pressure of being in LA that's either gonna bring out
the best in him or the worst. Like it's going
one way or the other. There should be enough fuel
and all the motivation in the world for him to
have a good season, but he still has a lot
(18:25):
to prove, I think, and it's him missing, you know,
team meetings, and I think he missed a game because
there was snow outside. Yet fans showed up to that
game at Mota Center up in Portland, and he said, oh,
I couldn't get there. It was it was a game
or it was practice. I forget what it was were
talking about practice, but yeah, it was something like that.
(18:48):
I just there's a long track record of him looking
like he was just resting on his laurels and he
just did not care enough. But to Fred's point, if
this is it, if this is last chance you or
whatever you want to say, if his back is really
against the wall as a member of the Lakers, and
I think it comes down to are they gonna be
good enough? If they're winning? You know, that's the best deodorant, right, Rodney, Like,
(19:12):
if they're winning and things are going well, I think
DeAndre Ayton is gonna be a big part of that.
But if they're losing, yeah, are they gonna splinter? And
is he gonna be a big part of that?
Speaker 1 (19:22):
All right, Well, thank you for not splintering our show today.
We appreciate that. Salty eight.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Oh we're strong like a redwood today, Freddie, appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Tonight. The Dodgers return to Dodger Stadium. They take on
the Twins. The first pitch at seven. Listen to all
Dodger games on A five to seventy LA Sports live
from the Galluping Motors Broadcast Booth, and stream all Dodger
games in HD on the iHeartRadio app. The keyword is
AM five to seventy LA Sports. He really doesn't like
him having him on. Man, he knows his stuff. Brother,
he is dialed in, and the great thing about him
(19:54):
is he's making it all up. I don't think anything
he says is real, but he's making it. No, he
stopped Fred. He's terrific and we appreciate him coming on
the show. I love this story. I just wanted to mention,
if you know, college sports have changed and the everything
is surrounding it, The landscape has changed dramatically, and the
(20:15):
one thing you want to do is be in the
right conference because long term you're going to make money
that way. And oftentimes in collegiate sports, as all of
this happens, you're on the outside looking in. So Memphis
is a pretty good competitive school, would you agree with that? Yes? Yeah,
they've been competitive for for years now. Right, So Memphis
(20:38):
isn't bad, and they wanted to join a Big twelve. Now, normally,
you know, people beg you or offer you the opportunity
to come to a conference, and if you're in another conference,
sometimes you have to pay off to get out. Yeah,
(21:02):
we've Memphis calls the Big Excess.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Go to SEC Oklahoma, go to the SEC Uscucla and
Oregon and Washington, go to the Big ten.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah. They were recruited to go to those conferences, right,
because what they want to do is get schools in
certain markets. And the larger the markets, the more the
TV revenue, the more the media revenue in today's world. Yeah. Right,
So Memphis said, look, we're kind of out here now,
we're on the out skis, but we would be perfect
(21:31):
for the Big twelve. That's where we should be. We
can compete in the Big twelve. You'll have the Memphis market.
I don't know if that's a prize or not, but
you'll have it. And here's what we're going to do.
You don't even need to make us an offer. We're
going to make you an offer. We're going to do
you a solid. We're basically going to offer you the
(21:54):
Big twelve two hundred million dollars. We're gonna pay you
to get in there and be a part of it.
That's real money. Money in your hand, you're ready, real money.
And they said, I don't think so. We don't need you.
(22:17):
We're not gonna do that. No, that's not gonna happen.
Can you imagine it's come to this now? Are you
telling me if years ago a school would have offered
the PAC twelve two hundred million dollars?
Speaker 3 (22:30):
If b why you said we'll pay you two hundred
million dollars to join your conference? They got worried up
to by you any in two seconds? Yes, where are
you provo?
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Will you talk? Oh? Yeah, come on right, come on,
how do you want your schedule to look? We'll take care.
You don't even have to play USC in the first
two years. You to play USC in ten years, it's
fine with us. San Diego State. Could you imagine if
they had a call and staid, well, give you two
hundred million dollars we want in Yeah, big key must
(23:00):
be doing all right, then, yeah, it must be doing
all right. They must be doing all right.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Yeah, I mean they obviously they didn't feel like they
could go to the SEC and offer that money. I mean,
when you look at the SEC in their own state,
they've got Vanderbilt in the SEC, like Memphis could have
a claim to say, hey, we perform better than Vanderbilt.
Let us in. We'll give you two hundred million dollars.
(23:29):
But that's interesting that the Big Twelve turned that down
given the way conferences are nowadays, and when you look
at the landscape, it is now feels like it's a
it's a two conference college football system. Yeah, the Big
Ten and it's the SEC. Right either one of those
conferences is going to win a national title every year
(23:52):
going forward, because Clempton has already said in Davilsweeney has said,
we're not playing the nil game. And if you don't
play the nil game, you're not going to get the
players and you're not going to be successful long term.
So Clemson their best days are behind them. As ACC,
(24:12):
I don't care if you got Bill Belichick or not.
You're not competing against Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC Washington,
Oregon and a playoff system Alabama, Ole, Miss Texas, Oklahoma.
(24:33):
You're in a playoff system, you're not doing it. You're
not doing it. I mean last year they even had
Indiana had a good year in the Big ten. So
it's just it's really strange that the Big twelve would
turn that down.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Oh, I agree, that's money in given the fact that
they lost Texas and Oklahoma just a couple of years ago. Yeah,
but they replaced them with Arizona, Arizona State. Of course.
You know. It's funny and maybe because my you know,
one of my sons went to Kansas State and the
other one went to Arizona State for a year. When
I look at the conferences around the country now, athletically
(25:13):
to me, the number one conference in the country, and
tell me if you disagree, is a Big ten Yes
overall I'm going Big ten. Yes, And there's just something
about it. It seems big, it seems strong, you know. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Yeah, they they've got and they've got they've got more
money than the other conference by far. Like look, Texas
can compete with anybody because they got they got money.
Texas and m two. So SEC's got to schools. Even
Alabama can't compete with Ohio State, Michigan, and now they
can't even compete with USC where USC is now with
(25:49):
their NIO program, they can't compete with the Oregon money wise,
Penn State they can't compete with. I mean it is
the Big Ten is a month now, it is a monster.
I mean you got schools like Wisconsin that pay out,
(26:11):
you know, and I'm talking all sports.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Now right, No, not real. They're basketball as well, basketball, football,
women's volleyball, women's basketball, all of that. Big Ten is
the powerhouse. Yeah. Now if you just play the football game,
then you go SEC. Yeah. But I have to tell again,
and maybe we're not that part of the country, or
(26:35):
maybe my kids shouldn't go to school in the South.
I think the Big twelve is pretty powerful as well.
They don't have the schools of the Big Ten, but
they have some pretty competitive schools. Then I would say
the SEC. But now look at the ACC and maybe
it's because we're on the other side of the country. ACC.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Yeah, mheh wait, you got Clemson, maybe South Carolina from
time to time.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
You know what is it? Uh, it's Florida State in
Florida State.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Florida State's in the ACC. Now they struggled last year.
You know, Miami I believe was in the ACC as well.
Duke basketball wise is gonna be there. Yeah, it's a
different ball game, yeah, different ballgame basketball wise, ACC is
North Carolina, Yeah, but they still can't compete on a
(27:39):
level from a football standpoint.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
That the Big ten can or the SEC can.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
No.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
But but you look at that, you said the Big twelve.
I mean, Arizona State was a playoff team last year,
and if you really think about it, they had they
had Texas on the ropes, probably should have beat them.
So they they have some talent in that conference. I
just don't know. But money wise, I don't know why
(28:05):
they would turn that down. I don't know why they
would turn down two hundred million down. Memphis is a
good school, good quality school, and have multiple sports that
do well. Interesting that they turn that down.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Well maybe if they you know, if the deal was this,
there's two hundred million, all right, you got it good,
and we don't want any piece of the pie for
the next ten years, I'm sure they would have walked
them in with open arms. But I think the problem
becomes once you're in. Now you that pie again.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Yeah, that's another piece of the pie you got to
cut away from the other teams, right.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
And they just got their new TV deal, So why
at this point would you welcome somebody in. If you
were going to do it, you would do it in
the next deal where your rights fee would increase, sort
of like earlier we were talking about the NFL. Now
I'm not exactly sure when the broadcast deals are up
for the NFL, the media rights deals, but the way
(28:59):
the NFL does it, you know, they could be up
in twelve years, but they have an out in three months.
I mean, that's how the NFL does stuff. Yeah, because
they're so they can do it anyway. They can negotiate
anything they want to, right, so you know, whenever they
have an opportunity, and the next one, let's say whenever
that could be, that could be when they expand why okay,
(29:22):
new money and from the from the media deals. So
everybody's happy, because we don't want you two to come
in and take a piece of our pie. That's not
gonna work for us. But if we get a new
media rights deal and we increase our media rights adding
to gigantic markets, oh good, Now you can pay us
(29:43):
for the right to be part of the club eight
billion each. So give me eight billion, all right, sixteen
billion dollars. We're the owners. We're gonna split that up
because that's just how we are. I hope you don't mind,
but we're gonna split that. That's gonna be ours. Yeah,
and then you can what do you think, Yeah, you
have the opportunity at that point, then you can jump in,
(30:04):
feel free and be part of the team. I think
that's what they'll do. It's like the NBA just did
a new meteorites deal which begins next year. Would it
really be wise for them to expand? Maybe neither the
middle or the end of the deal, because at that
point the next one comes up and it's worth more.
(30:29):
You have more markets to play with, you have a
bigger piece of the landscape, which in theory gives you
more money. So I think that's what may happen. Who
do you think is the next to expand? The NFL
or the NBA. Rodney NBA. I think they got their
(30:50):
sites on Vegas Company coming up.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Real soon, real soon. I think Vegas is in the
next two years.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Then.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
I don't know if it's just one, because it feels
like it needs to be two. I don't know where
the other team goes. Where do you think the other
team goes? Maybe it goes to where Seattle, Seattle, Yeah,
they're gearing for it. Yeah, maybe it goes to Seattle.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
M h. I think that's what happens. I mean, Vegas
is in So who's the other team you want to
go east West? It would work in Nashville, Nashville.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
They got Memphis already in Tennessee, but yeah, Nashville is
a bigger city.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Yeah, it would work in Nashville, big time Vegas, but
Seattle is really the larger market that's missing a team
that wants one.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
So that's where I would put it out. That's kind
of like, well, Cleveland was more die hard. They got
it back, but I think there's enough support in Seattle now,
on the base in Seattle and the wealth in Seattle,
that the NBA feels good about going back to Seattle.
You know, as opposed to what we talked about earlier
(32:06):
of them going to the NFL going back to San Diego.
The chances of them NBA going to Seattle are greater
than NFL going to San Diego. What do you think
the price tag for the NBA expansion team is you
said eight billion for NFL NFL, Yeah, I think what Well,
(32:27):
the Lakers put everybody out of the mix with that
ten billion dollars by but theoretically what the Phoenix Sus
went for for like four and a half something like that.
After that, who sold? Somebody else sold? I think for
six maybe Celtics old with Dallas, so Celtics sold, that's right,
(32:48):
probably probably two three billion.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
You think to get in it would cost less get
in than what the franchises are selling for.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Yeah, yeah, I do, because, like you said, they got
to build the arena.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
They gotta do it. I think they give him a break.
I'm gonna say it's four billion, then, yeah, four billion
a team just to get in. They've got T mobile
built in Vegas and they have the arena and Seattle built,
so that'll help them out. That's what I'm gonna say.
Four billion. So I think we actually know the people
(33:27):
that will own the Vegas franchise, to be honest with you, Oh,
nothing's been decided, no one knows anything. But I think
I think there's a pretty good, pretty good idea. Who's
gonna get that one? Then the question will become Seattle
and at that point then they will have expanded. Yeah,
I think it'll be four billion. Tonight Rodney thought last
(33:51):
night was just sparkling and scouting. Yes, and good for
the soul, and yes, thank god Minnesota is in town. Yes,
a bit differently when somebody came within five inches of
hitting a game tying three run homer at the bottom
of the night. But never a doubt. Take the wind,
take the w get out of town. That's what the
(34:12):
Dodgers did. That put a tourniquet on the bleeding. They'll
go at it again tonight against the Twins. Yamamoto will
be on the hill and hopefully he'll do right. It's
a win.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Yamamoto, he's a Remember when glassnow was a stopper last year,
it stopped the bleeding. Yamamoto's the guy this year good
stop it. So he will be on the mountain tonight
for the Dodgers. We've not heard anything about Tanner Scott.
I've been checking. I haven't heard a word me either,
me either. I'm gonna have to call my son r J.
To see what the real deal is. He's in the clubhouse,
(34:42):
so he'll know.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Well he would know, of course, then he would tell you,
but then you couldn't tell us because.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Well he did tell me first thing that Freddie was good.
After that, he hit me right away Freddie's okay. Freddie's
gonna be all right when he got hitting the wrist,
so he's on it. He's the first one. Oh, I'm
gonna ask him.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
I got it. I should have them during the show.
What am I thinking? Well, that's good. Run you ask
me when we go out, so nobody will find out
that's good in the clubhouse. And and I didn't call
him when the world. Well, anyway, you'll get to know
before anybody, which is nice. So I hope you have
a pleasant afternoon with that. Tomorrow we are off. It's
a day game get away day for the Dodgers at
(35:23):
the stadium to wrap things up against Minnesota, so we
will take the day off. We'll be back on Thursday
with a three hour show, and then Friday will be
back for an hour. So Ronnie, thank you, great job today.
Really appreciate it as always, Kevin terrific work. Rodney, enjoy
your day off tomorrow, and we get him again on Thursday.
Roggin And Rodney News
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