Speaker 1: You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Speaker 1: Sports Radio. Welcome to the program. It's our one on
Speaker 1: this Thursday, Dan and The Dane's Dan Patrick Show. I
Speaker 1: don't know how we tapp yesterday. It was kind of
Speaker 1: a wild three hours where we had gotten word that
Speaker 1: Danny Ainge was stepping down, maybe retiring, although I don't
Speaker 1: think he's retiring. I think he'll end up with another
Speaker 1: team in the NBA, perhaps the Utah Jazz. And then
Speaker 1: Brad Stevens was no longer going to coach, he was
Speaker 1: moving into the front office. And then Mike Shashevsky announces
Speaker 1: that this season will be his last season as a
Speaker 1: basketball coach. That's just Wednesday. I don't know what today holds,
Speaker 1: but you know, you start to think about this. You
Speaker 1: may not like Duke, you may even hate them, but
Speaker 1: it's hard not to respect what coach k has done
Speaker 1: over the last four decades. He'll retire after this season.
Speaker 1: John Schier, his assistant, will take over a former player,
Speaker 1: and that gives us time to celebrate the winning his
Speaker 1: coach in history and to understand what he accomplished. I
Speaker 1: think you have to remember what Duke was like when
Speaker 1: he took over in nineteen eighty. Not an elite program.
Speaker 1: Duke had had some prior success in the sixties, but
Speaker 1: this is the premier program in the country. Won five
Speaker 1: national titles. He did it with different styles, different players.
Speaker 1: He broke through with upperclassmen one titles that way and
Speaker 1: brace the one in dunners one titles that way, wasn't
Speaker 1: plagued by scandals, and his players always stayed close to
Speaker 1: the program after they left. He added Olympic gold medals
Speaker 1: to his resume and did so much to grow the
Speaker 1: sport here and abroad. So you might boo Duke, and
Speaker 1: why not. I have no problem with that, but make
Speaker 1: sure you cheer Coach K. Recognize an incredible impact on
Speaker 1: the sport. Congratulations Coach K, going out the way you
Speaker 1: want to go out. John Shire takes over, and I
Speaker 1: wondered about John Shire. Now he had stayed there, but
Speaker 1: the timing other players, Tommy Amaker, Johnny Dawkins, Quinn Snyder
Speaker 1: years ago, Steve Wojahowsky like they had taken jobs. They
Speaker 1: were waiting waiting, can't pass this up, And Coach K
Speaker 1: would probably say to them, take those jobs. Jeff Capel like,
Speaker 1: there's probably six or some Bobby Hurley. I mean, there's
Speaker 1: a lot of former players where you go, he would
Speaker 1: be ideal. John Shier was a player on a national
Speaker 1: title team, but he's only been there seven years now,
Speaker 1: age I think really factors in because he's thirty three
Speaker 1: years of age. I thought Tommy Amaker was the ideal
Speaker 1: coach because he's had success at Harvard, he's made Harvard
Speaker 1: relevant in basketball. But he's fifty five years of age,
Speaker 1: and had he been ten years younger, five years younger,
Speaker 1: maybe he gets that job. Johnny Dawkins at Central Florida
Speaker 1: team that nearly upset Duke in the tournament. Johnny was
Speaker 1: coach K's first prize recruit. But John Shire gets the job. Now,
Speaker 1: this is where we look at these legends. When the
Speaker 1: legend leaves and then what happens. You never want to
Speaker 1: be the guy who follows. You want to be the
Speaker 1: guy who follows the guy who follows the legend. You
Speaker 1: don't want to be the guy who follows the legend.
Speaker 1: We've seen this before Ucla or Indiana, now Kentucky. After
Speaker 1: eight off rupstep down, joe By Hall took over and
Speaker 1: they won a national title there. But John Shire now
Speaker 1: This is a completely different college basketball landscape, you know,
Speaker 1: the one and done. You know, are we eventually going
Speaker 1: to get those players coming right out of high school?
Speaker 1: Does that change things? Are you going to try to
Speaker 1: recruit upper classman? You want to get guys who can
Speaker 1: stay maybe two years, maybe three years at the most.
Speaker 1: But John Shire, that's a big seat. That's a big
Speaker 1: seat you're taken over. And he knows that. But I've surprised.
Speaker 1: I was surprised that he was going to get the job.
Speaker 1: And I think we've had John on before when he
Speaker 1: was a player, after he won a national title. But
Speaker 1: as far as you know basketball acumen, I know what
Speaker 1: I've seen with these other players. You know, Bobby Hurley
Speaker 1: has been successful Buffalo, Arizona State. You know, I'd mentioned
Speaker 1: Johnny Dawkins has been at a couple of different stops.
Speaker 1: Tommy Amaker obviously, so there there's a pretty good lineage here.
Speaker 1: But John Shire, who has less on his coaching resume
Speaker 1: than these other former players do. But I think he's
Speaker 1: got age on his side, gonna have to recruit, got
Speaker 1: to get out there. Even it's though it's Duke, you know,
Speaker 1: Coach k that's the closer you know when you're bringing
Speaker 1: in the closer, that's Marianna Rivera. Yeah, you walk into
Speaker 1: his office and you probably see trophies and you know, pictures, moments,
Speaker 1: nets from championships and you're going, all right, this seems
Speaker 1: like a pretty plus. If you've ever been on the
Speaker 1: Duke campus, that's pretty good place. Too beautiful place, but
Speaker 1: you got to get out there and recruit. And college
Speaker 1: basketball has changed. If I was coaching, I would if
Speaker 1: I was just starting to coach, I would realize what
Speaker 1: the landscape is. The players are going to get paid
Speaker 1: by somebody. The question is you may not know about
Speaker 1: it because everybody's got their hand in somebody's pocket. And
Speaker 1: I think after a while that would be that'd be
Speaker 1: really tough to deal with on a day to day,
Speaker 1: you know, week to week, month to month, year to
Speaker 1: year basis. Where this is what college basketball is all about,
Speaker 1: players going to the G League. I mean, there's this
Speaker 1: hasn't settled yet. I don't know where we're headed, but
Speaker 1: we're headed in some direction in college athletics. And is
Speaker 1: it a seismic shift, I don't know, but it feels
Speaker 1: like something is going to happen. It's going to happen
Speaker 1: in college football, the haves and the have nots. It's
Speaker 1: going to happen in basketball with players. Do they go
Speaker 1: to a G league? Do they go right to the NBA?
Speaker 1: Those who do go to college, how long are they
Speaker 1: going to stay at college? You know, the shoe companies,
Speaker 1: all of those. I mean, there's just so much involved
Speaker 1: in this, a whole lot to unpack. But coach k
Speaker 1: you know, it's almost like you survived forty one years
Speaker 1: because it's a it's a grind. And I know you're
Speaker 1: only recruiting how many players signing but four players? Five
Speaker 1: players a year, maybe maybe six, But you know, you
Speaker 1: got to keep them there, keep them happy, playing time.
Speaker 1: Everybody wants they're touches. Everybody thinks they're a star. You're
Speaker 1: coming into Duke, you're one and done. You know, look
Speaker 1: at what's John Calipari's going through. Coach call the king
Speaker 1: of the one and donners got you know, I had
Speaker 1: a horrible year this year now, and these kids weren't great.
Speaker 1: They're not great talent. They're not you know, transcendent talent
Speaker 1: where you go, Okay, I'm gonna put up with this.
Speaker 1: You got guys who average like six points a game
Speaker 1: and they're going into the NBA. You know, they said,
Speaker 1: I'm going into the draft. Guy's transfer. But everybody has potential.
Speaker 1: When you get to college, everybody's got potential, and you're
Speaker 1: told so many things. Hey, you know what, you should
Speaker 1: be averaging twenty. Hey you're the number one guy. You
Speaker 1: gotta get your touches. Now, that's what that's how it works.
Speaker 1: Now you don't go in there and still you still
Speaker 1: have a coach who is your coach, and he is
Speaker 1: he's got the final say. But you see player empowerment
Speaker 1: in the NBA, and probably started when Magic Johnson got
Speaker 1: Paul westhead fired. I mean, that's probably where player empowerment
Speaker 1: first started. And we're seeing this in all sports. But
Speaker 1: to be a coach now, to be at least in college,
Speaker 1: you get to control. And that that's why, you know,
Speaker 1: it's always interesting when somebody wants to coach, Like when
Speaker 1: coach thought about coaching the Lakers, and I went, he's
Speaker 1: not wired to do that. Urban Meyer is going to
Speaker 1: coach in the NFL. I still don't think he's wired
Speaker 1: to do it. I got no salary cap in college.
Speaker 1: I don't have to worry about you know, a lot
Speaker 1: of this stuff. I might lose two games, he may
Speaker 1: lose two games in the first month of the season,
Speaker 1: and then Coach K is going to coach the Lakers
Speaker 1: just the losing. They're so used to winning, and you
Speaker 1: could see it with Coach K. I don't know if
Speaker 1: he really enjoyed the wins as much as those losses
Speaker 1: are so painful, and he didn't have that many losses.
Speaker 1: When you think about the numbers that he's put up,
Speaker 1: He's got one thousand, one hundred seventy wins three hundred
Speaker 1: and sixty one losses. Second on the list is Jim
Speaker 1: Beheim nine hundred eighty two. Jim Calhoun has nine hundred
Speaker 1: and eighteen. That's a sneaky number for coach Calhoun. Roy
Speaker 1: Williams just retired. He has nine hundred three. Bob Knight
Speaker 1: had nine hundred two. Bob Huggins has nine hundred. Man,
Speaker 1: it feels like these guys are dinosaurs. Adolph Roup coach
Speaker 1: forty one years, Dean Smith thirty six, Bob Huggins thirty nine,
Speaker 1: Bob Knight forty two, Roy Williams thirty three, Jim Calhoun
Speaker 1: forty three, Bay Hund forty five, Mike Shashevski forty six. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't know if the younger coaches like you set
Speaker 1: sail and you go, I'm gonna coach for thirty years.
Speaker 1: Good luck with that. Good luck with that. This program
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Speaker 1: So Father's Day we got you covered. It's uh Ganpatrick
Speaker 1: dot com and shop till you drop. Yesterday, it was
Speaker 1: a very interesting afternoon. Seaton came over and we were
Speaker 1: shooting our album covers. We uh, well, the French kid
Speaker 1: was there weeks, our other cameraman doing behind the scenes,
Speaker 1: and it was a closed set. You know, when you
Speaker 1: have nudity in a movie, there'll be a close set.
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, Seaton came out and went to
Speaker 1: the pool and it wasn't as cold as I thought,
Speaker 1: or maybe it seemed, but um, how are you judging
Speaker 1: that by thermometer? It was an interesting comment. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean I didn't know if it was that cold. But um,
Speaker 1: is that a compliment to Seaton? Oh? Well, Seaton was
Speaker 1: a true champ. He jumped in. He was a true champ. Oh,
Speaker 1: I see what you guys are talking about. I was
Speaker 1: just talking about I was just talking about the temperature
Speaker 1: of the water. It is odd that all the other
Speaker 1: photo shoots that we've been in so far took about
Speaker 1: three seconds ord be like click, Okay, I think we
Speaker 1: got I leave this one forty five minutes. I'm still
Speaker 1: in the water. I know. I kept saying to the
Speaker 1: French sand I don't know if you really got the
Speaker 1: angle that we need for this album cover. But Seaton
Speaker 1: was a true champ there. And then after a while,
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know, I'd suggested that we all
Speaker 1: get naked just to have Seaton feel good. It was
Speaker 1: just a very comfortable environment. Yeah. Yeah, you know, when
Speaker 1: I've been on those Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoots, I mean
Speaker 1: I feel like I should have very little on when
Speaker 1: I'm there when they're taking the pictures. But Seaton got
Speaker 1: in the water yesterday and this calendar is going to
Speaker 1: be spectacular. It is, I think in a good way.
Speaker 1: I mean it'll be something. Yes, Paully, are you considering
Speaker 1: making this photo three D in the calendar? Any thoughts
Speaker 1: of that, like a hologram where it kind of moves
Speaker 1: and moves with you. No, But but I I think
Speaker 1: we captured it yesterday. I think I think so. I
Speaker 1: think it's uh. I think we got a couple more
Speaker 1: album covers now. These will be each month in the calendar,
Speaker 1: and then we have rejected ones, the ones that we're
Speaker 1: not going to be able to use. We have some
Speaker 1: fun ones as well. Yes, McLevin, um I would saying
Speaker 1: I would have saved this idea. But I have a
Speaker 1: brilliant business idea with the calendar. Okay, well, when are
Speaker 1: you going to tell me? I don't know, I do
Speaker 1: you want to tell me privately? Privately? But there's a
Speaker 1: trend that is taking over sports right now that this
Speaker 1: feels like I know where he's going. Okay, save it?
Speaker 1: Oh is this an n F? I think we're diving
Speaker 1: into that territory a little bit. Oh, I for one
Speaker 1: won't be buying that one the first one. Would somebody
Speaker 1: want Seaton in my pool, and you would own that
Speaker 1: somebody would want it, just depends on how many people
Speaker 1: would want it. Would your wife want it? I don't know. Yeah,
Speaker 1: she doesn't find my things nearly as amusing as other
Speaker 1: people do. These days. She's been around my she knows
Speaker 1: my bits. There's there's a there's At one point, Seaton's
Speaker 1: leaning on the fence looking out over my front yard
Speaker 1: and he doesn't have anything on. So I just said, man,
Speaker 1: somebody's really enjoying the moment here. Very comfortable, very comfortable.
Speaker 1: And then I realized, you know, I'm always looking to
Speaker 1: see if my neighbors are around, because you know, they're
Speaker 1: not used to seeing that at my house. And uh,
Speaker 1: seton Seaton, I said, yeah, I think we got it.
Speaker 1: I think we got it. Now, let's go see, let's
Speaker 1: go on. Let's taking safety. He was taking his time.
Speaker 1: Are you sure we got it? Yeah, I think we
Speaker 1: got it. And the French kid, French kid had an
Speaker 1: underwater camera went in the water up to his you know,
Speaker 1: his shoulders, trying to get the right shot. I mean
Speaker 1: it was there. It was pretty impressive. Yes, Mclem Jacques Cousto, Yeah,
Speaker 1: the French kid, Yes, the undersea World of Jacques couste Yeah,
Speaker 1: all right, pull question today. This is a silly one,
Speaker 1: but I was curious about who is the best trash
Speaker 1: talker on the Dan Patrick Show to you, Coach K,
Speaker 1: Coach Calipari, or Coach Beheim. And keep in mind, all
Speaker 1: three just love to get into with you. It's like
Speaker 1: a basketball school yard. Coach K is subtle, like he's sneaky.
Speaker 1: I think Calipari is more of a trash talker. Coach
Speaker 1: K does it, but doesn't in a way where you go,
Speaker 1: is he taking a shot at me? Coach Cow I know,
Speaker 1: I know he's always coming and he's always he's bringing it.
Speaker 1: That's that Pittsburgh mentality on him. Beheim is not. He'll
Speaker 1: just say things like, Okay, finally got good enough be
Speaker 1: on your show. So it's not trash talking. It's cavetching.
Speaker 1: I think is would be the word there for the
Speaker 1: back row. Yes, mcclub oh, I was. I remember the
Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year event where you introduced
Speaker 1: Coach K. Yeah, and I was. We were all back
Speaker 1: there with you, and Coach K was being ferried around
Speaker 1: everywhere he saw you. He immediately broke off from all
Speaker 1: the things he was supposed to do and came and
Speaker 1: delivered three jokes he was dying to, like just joke
Speaker 1: around with you. Yes, Polly, coach Coach Beheim always sounds like,
Speaker 1: you know, when you're trying to start your card and
Speaker 1: won't turn over, hoping it clicks like one of those
Speaker 1: really cold winter mornings. Yes, we have another pole hardest
Speaker 1: name to spell in sports. We might want to save
Speaker 1: that because Paul thinks he could get some of these,
Speaker 1: but it's really I mean, you know, Todd is famous
Speaker 1: for winning spelling b oh controversial spelling Saturday capital ass
Speaker 1: um denti coompole is probably pretty tough. I don't think
Speaker 1: Shashevsky is that hard because I always looked at as
Speaker 1: It starts crazy k r z y, so I always
Speaker 1: think crazy and then uh Jusky, so crazy Jusky. Remember
Speaker 1: those names you had to do for the NBA draft?
Speaker 1: Those here, Oh, Nicholas. Skittish Valley was one of my favorites,
Speaker 1: and I don't think there's an S in there. It
Speaker 1: starts skittish Valley. I think it starts with that d
Speaker 1: it does man Manu tasa sopo oh, that starts spelling
Speaker 1: be gun. Yeah, but he didn't know how he knew
Speaker 1: how to spell the words that they're familiar with. I
Speaker 1: gave him these names. He had no idea. Bless you,
Speaker 1: What what name did I give him? Where are you
Speaker 1: the Steelers fullback? Oh? Chris Fuamatum follow He thought you
Speaker 1: were punking him, bless you. Oh, he's like nine years
Speaker 1: of age. He's probably a billionaire now, some tech giant,
Speaker 1: some origin of the name. Yes, two is a tough one. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And Nicholas. Oh, Nikolai Hobby Bulin, that's Cabibulin. Yeah, well
Speaker 1: that's what I said when he first The first highlight
Speaker 1: I ever did of this goaltender, Nikolai Hobby Bulin, and
Speaker 1: he just been called up, and you know, we're live
Speaker 1: on Sports Center. I get this shot sheet that has
Speaker 1: like four plays on it, and nobody gives me a
Speaker 1: pronouncer and I go and Nikolai Cabibulin get off the air,
Speaker 1: and then one of our hockey guys goes, it's a
Speaker 1: Hobby Bullen. I said, oh, okay, so the k is silent.
Speaker 1: He goes, yeah, Hobby Bulling. I said, I got the
Speaker 1: Nicholas part. Yeah, point the fighter that I'm a fighter
Speaker 1: could be Narmaga made off which I could barely pronounce.
Speaker 1: I'm probably wrong. Yeah, you're pretty good at it. I
Speaker 1: just say culbib yeah, which a lot of people do. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I took Greek freak. Thank god he's got that nickname.
Speaker 1: Anything else. I have some Celtics related polls. I could
Speaker 1: save them for Chris Mannox, who is going to join
Speaker 1: us again. And he's beside himself. He I know less
Speaker 1: about the Celtics today than I did yesterday. But Mannix
Speaker 1: is so passionate man he is. Because Okay, so I
Speaker 1: have one of the great young coaches in the NBA,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna put him in the front office. Brad
Speaker 1: Stevens is forty four. An ownership says yeah, okay, Danny's
Speaker 1: gonna step down and we're gonna have Brad Stevens be
Speaker 1: a general manager. Okay. And it was awkward the press
Speaker 1: conference yesterday. It almost felt like, Okay, how do we
Speaker 1: how do we sell the media? How do we sell
Speaker 1: the public on this? You have the owner, you have
Speaker 1: Ange and Brad Stevens, and I I just kept going
Speaker 1: this time to make any sense. You you found your coach, Okay,
Speaker 1: find a GM. All right. Let me take a break
Speaker 1: here getting all fired up, and you know I'm not
Speaker 1: as invested as Chris Mannox is, but Mannox will join
Speaker 1: us coming up and we'll talk about what happened last night.
Speaker 1: Seventy six Ers close out the Wizards, Hawks close out
Speaker 1: the Knicks, Jazz bounced the Grizzlies, maps up three two
Speaker 1: on the Clippers, Nuggets, Blazers game six tonight, Suns Lakers
Speaker 1: games six tonight. Man, it's gonna be great. Thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to The Dan Patrick Show podcast. Be sure to
Speaker 1: catch us live every weekday morning nine to noon Eastern
Speaker 1: or six to nine Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
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Speaker 1: check out the Dan Patrick Shows Store Father's Day Gifts.
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Speaker 1: Let's see McClelland just sent me this. The highest points
Speaker 1: per game in playoff history minimum ten games. Michael Jordan,
Speaker 1: perhaps you have put her dub him thirty three point
Speaker 1: four points per game, and then it's Luca don Chick
Speaker 1: at thirty two point eight points per game. So Luca's
Speaker 1: second all time minimum of ten games playoff history. McLevin, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I have the full list. Alan iversonce, third, Kevin Durant,
Speaker 1: and then your guy Jerry West. Then Lebron. Not not
Speaker 1: a bad group to be in. And there's a Lebron
Speaker 1: feel to Luca. If you look back at Lebron at
Speaker 1: this age, you can see some similarities there. You know,
Speaker 1: Lebron was a score he was a pass first guy.
Speaker 1: Luca's a score first guy. But you can see some
Speaker 1: similarities there in the numbers that they put up. Chris
Speaker 1: Mannox joined us yesterday on short notice after we learned
Speaker 1: that Danny Ainge stepping down, Brad Stevens stepping up, and
Speaker 1: Chris wanted some answers to some questions. He got a
Speaker 1: chance to take part in the press conference yesterday and
Speaker 1: Chris on Own from Sports illustrated their senior writer with
Speaker 1: the NBA. Chris, um, I feel like I know less
Speaker 1: today than I did yesterday. How do you feel about
Speaker 1: this situation? Well? I think I know, or maybe we've
Speaker 1: knows the wrong word. I feel a little more comfortable
Speaker 1: with certain aspects of this. Specifically, I'm less certain that
Speaker 1: Brad Stevens would have been back as head coach if
Speaker 1: he wasn't elevated to this job. And that was the
Speaker 1: question I asked Brad yesterday, you know, would he be
Speaker 1: comfortable and happy going forward just as the head coach?
Speaker 1: And look, he answered in the affirmative. But if you
Speaker 1: listen to the answer, it wasn't you know, kind of
Speaker 1: a resounding yes, you know to that that question. So
Speaker 1: I wonder about that now. I do think if the
Speaker 1: Celtics had hired Sam Presty, as they probably should have,
Speaker 1: he would have had convinced Brad steven to be needed,
Speaker 1: convincing to stay on the relationship between those two is
Speaker 1: rock solid. But if it had just been anybody else
Speaker 1: an internal promotion Mike zarrein the assistant GM there, I
Speaker 1: don't know. Maybe you would have stuck around for a year,
Speaker 1: but I don't know if he would have been as
Speaker 1: committed as he's been for the last eight years as
Speaker 1: the head coach. I just don't know if they strengthened
Speaker 1: the organization. If Aine steps down and then you take
Speaker 1: your coach, and then you put him into the front
Speaker 1: office and his first job is to then hire a
Speaker 1: coach to replace him. They had one of the bright
Speaker 1: young coaches in the NBA, they did, and a coach that,
Speaker 1: despite a rocky last few years, was still widely regarded
Speaker 1: by his peers as a top five coach, top ten.
Speaker 1: Oh everyone to frame it in the NBA, and now
Speaker 1: they begin a coaching search for his replacements while he
Speaker 1: is running the front office as a novice. I completely
Speaker 1: agree with you, I don't I don't know how you
Speaker 1: can look at the situation objectively and say the organization
Speaker 1: improved now. Who he hires his coach will influence that opinion.
Speaker 1: But I know I sound like a broken record Dan
Speaker 1: with this Sam Presti stuff. But that's the best GM
Speaker 1: in basketball, who grew up in suburban Massachusetts, who probably
Speaker 1: views the Celtics as his dream job. Where's the phone call?
Speaker 1: Where is the aggressiveness? Why? Why did this move need
Speaker 1: to happen right now? I don't think Brad Stevens is
Speaker 1: worse than you know other candidates. I'm specifically only talking
Speaker 1: about Sam Presti, an elite general manager who was available.
Speaker 1: I don't know why that conversation didn't take place. But
Speaker 1: was there a chance that Brad Stevens was not gone
Speaker 1: if he didn't move up, Like was he given a hey,
Speaker 1: we need you to move up because Danny's angels retiring. No,
Speaker 1: to hear with Grossbeck explain it and to hear people
Speaker 1: behind the scenes sort of talk about it. It wasn't
Speaker 1: a You've got to do this. It was Danny's idea,
Speaker 1: I believe first, and Brad Stevens eventually warmed to it.
Speaker 1: I don't think. I don't think even understate Dan how
Speaker 1: or overstate rather how much, how important and influential the
Speaker 1: last three years has been on this decision. If the
Speaker 1: Suntists had been conference finalists or NBA finalists over the
Speaker 1: last three years with no issues whatsoever, I think Brad
Speaker 1: Stevens might be more motivated to stay on that job
Speaker 1: if he saw a championship light at the end of
Speaker 1: the tunnel. But eighteen nineteen was brutal. Last year was
Speaker 1: the bubble season, which was stressful, and this year had
Speaker 1: so many problems. So if you're Brad Stevens, you know
Speaker 1: maybe at break feels good for you. As I said
Speaker 1: to you yesterday, you can always if you're Stevens, go
Speaker 1: back to coaching like that, that opportunity will be available
Speaker 1: to you. This this might not be. So I completely
Speaker 1: understand why Brad Stevens jumped on it. Again, the question
Speaker 1: is why the Celtics, without conducting a deeper search, offered it.
Speaker 1: It'd be like me going into the front office at
Speaker 1: ESPN to then oversee all of the sports center anchors.
Speaker 1: It doesn't. It just doesn't. What I do well is
Speaker 1: anchors sports center, not oversee sports center anchors. I just
Speaker 1: something's missing here, That's all it is. It is a well. Look.
Speaker 1: One of the overriding factors is the regard in which
Speaker 1: Celtics ownership holds Brad Stephens. I mean, all the public
Speaker 1: clamoring for Brad Stephens job over the last couple of
Speaker 1: years has been nonsense because ownership firmly believes in him
Speaker 1: and firmly believes in his basketball acumen. So I don't Again,
Speaker 1: I don't think another organization would have offered Brad steve
Speaker 1: Is this job, but the Celtics, because of how much
Speaker 1: respect they have for him, they believe that he can
Speaker 1: do it. But you're right, it is a mixed bag
Speaker 1: with this stuff. Right, like pat Riley certainly did it
Speaker 1: exceedingly well. Danny Ainge can get it exceedingly well. Both
Speaker 1: those guys are ex players, but I don't know if
Speaker 1: that's as relevant as as it used to be. So,
Speaker 1: but there have also been the flip side. I mean,
Speaker 1: Tom Thibodeau was an abject disaster as the head coach
Speaker 1: of the GM all the Timberwolves. There are other examples
Speaker 1: of playoff coaches jumping into that situation and not doing well.
Speaker 1: So it's hard to gauge how well it's going to
Speaker 1: go for Brad Stevens with all with these results that
Speaker 1: we know about around the league. He's Chris mannis the
Speaker 1: senior writer Sports Illustrated covering the NBA. Who's in worse shape?
Speaker 1: Lakers or Clippers? Well, because we don't know the status
Speaker 1: of Anthony Davis and because their elimination game comes first,
Speaker 1: I will say the Lakers in this uh, in this situation, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, look, I picked the Suns to win on
Speaker 1: the show before. Um, I didn't think they'd win like that.
Speaker 1: I didn't think they come out and just storm the
Speaker 1: Lakers in that game. And if Davis plays, I can't
Speaker 1: imagine him being close to one hundred percent, and the
Speaker 1: presence of Chris Paul in that lineup, I think will
Speaker 1: mitigate kind of the overwhelming feelings those teams, those players
Speaker 1: will feel being in a closeout type of game. So
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say the Lakers, But man, can the Clippers
Speaker 1: do anything to stop Luca Dante when he's when he's right? Like,
Speaker 1: I don't I heard you say Luca's numbers. What makes
Speaker 1: those numbers that much more remarkable is that he's done
Speaker 1: all against the Clippers, and he's done it entirely against
Speaker 1: two elite defenders like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. He's
Speaker 1: not gonna go up against many better defenders than those
Speaker 1: guys in the postseason. So add that to the remarkableness
Speaker 1: of what what Kawhi's doing. But you know, it's it's
Speaker 1: it's important can put the Lakers to win. Obviously, I
Speaker 1: don't think it affects Lebron's legacy one way or the other.
Speaker 1: But man, if the Clippers bow out in the first round,
Speaker 1: you know changes will be a coming in Los Angeles,
Speaker 1: that's for sure. Let me go back to Luca here,
Speaker 1: because I wonder when the media turns on him that
Speaker 1: he puts up these incredible numbers, Are you gonna get
Speaker 1: close to winning a championship? Like, at what point do
Speaker 1: we ask for receipts here where it's hey, Luca, unbelievable performance,
Speaker 1: Then you're going to be asking if let's say they
Speaker 1: don't make it out of this round. I mean, the
Speaker 1: media is going to turn on him at some point
Speaker 1: and say, you know he is he two ball dominant? Yeah,
Speaker 1: Like I don't know, there's a James Harden Russell Westbrook
Speaker 1: feel of always having the ball here, Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: there is, although he's very much a facilitator when he
Speaker 1: has that ball too. I mean he's an a lead passer.
Speaker 1: And I mean Porzingis made a big shot last night,
Speaker 1: but he was awful for much of that game. You know,
Speaker 1: in general, I asked, you know, asked for proverbial receipts
Speaker 1: when a player has the has championship talent around him.
Speaker 1: And I make it a comparison here, like Donovan Mitchell.
Speaker 1: A lot of people jumped on Donovan Mitchell this season.
Speaker 1: He saw the Shack interview where Shack said You're not
Speaker 1: the guy. Other people have said something similar. I kind
Speaker 1: of shook my head at that like Donovan Mitchell before
Speaker 1: this season has never been surrounded by championship level teammates,
Speaker 1: so I never You know, it was a bad look
Speaker 1: to blow the three one lead in the Bubble last year,
Speaker 1: but it was the Bubble. They didn't have Bullion, Buddanovitch
Speaker 1: and Mike Conley was in and out of that lineup
Speaker 1: during that series. This year, I want receipts from Donovan
Speaker 1: Mitchell this year. I want to see Donovan Mitchell at
Speaker 1: a bare minimum get to the conference finals, if not
Speaker 1: get all the way to the NBA Finals. Luke is
Speaker 1: not quite there yet. That's a good team in Dallas.
Speaker 1: Tim Hardaway has been excellent for them. Jalen Brunson a revelation.
Speaker 1: But as they add p this is around him and
Speaker 1: they get to that championship level, that's when you start
Speaker 1: expecting Luca to take that team to that level. Would
Speaker 1: you ask the question to Anthony Davis about his new nickname?
Speaker 1: And if so, how would you ask that question? I
Speaker 1: don't even know what his new nickname is. What are
Speaker 1: we street close by? Charles Barklay Oh, I didn't hear that. No,
Speaker 1: I would not ask the brows too good, like why
Speaker 1: why change if it ain't broke, don't fix it right? Well,
Speaker 1: street clothes is not a good nickname. Brow is a
Speaker 1: pa Yeah, I mean the guy. I mean this is
Speaker 1: like I have this argument in Boston all the time
Speaker 1: about like, joke, did the Celtics tune out Brad Stevens
Speaker 1: while they were in the conference finals last year? So
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say no, Anthony Davis is injured a lot,
Speaker 1: but he won a championship last year, So I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, it'll TiVo. It's a little bit too early
Speaker 1: to start tagging with that, like Chris Paul. Frankly, if
Speaker 1: Chris Paul's injury had been more significant, it probably would
Speaker 1: have reflected more, you know, poorly on him than it
Speaker 1: would Anthony Davis, because it seems like every time Chris
Speaker 1: Paul gets on a team that has that potential, an
Speaker 1: injury comes about, whether it's the Rockets team that was
Speaker 1: in the conference finals or this team this year with
Speaker 1: that shoulder injury. So I think it's it's more important
Speaker 1: for Chris Paul to be healthy in this series and
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis. Oh no, Anthony Davis has to be healthy
Speaker 1: because that's bigger picture that they can win a championship
Speaker 1: if Chris Paul's don't you don't think you don't think
Speaker 1: Phoenix can can win a championship? Uh? If Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: is healthy? No, well, I mean, look, I'm saying, if
Speaker 1: they get past the Lakers, yeah, I think Phoenix. Yeah yeah,
Speaker 1: that's it's kind of a wide open field. I mean,
Speaker 1: how about how about I give you the Sons and
Speaker 1: I take the field in the way. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: no no, I'm I'm taking the field. I think, oh
Speaker 1: they can't. Well, you know, so you basically eliminated them
Speaker 1: before they play Game six. So I'm just you know,
Speaker 1: advocating for Ricky Rubio's former team. Is Ricky Rubio? Right?
Speaker 1: They would have been right here with Ricky Ruby. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they would have been here. Yeah yeah, right in Boston
Speaker 1: with you out of the playoffs where that would have been.
Speaker 1: Is Rubio is still in the league. Uh, yes, he's
Speaker 1: still in the league. He lives up. He was guiding
Speaker 1: the Timberwolf. I can't even finish that sentence. Is that
Speaker 1: the worst organization? Uh no, because I think Gerson Rosas,
Speaker 1: taking over a year ago, starts to turn in the
Speaker 1: right direction. But no, I mean, I think, you know,
Speaker 1: Cleveland looks like they're in worse shape. But do you
Speaker 1: think Minnesota is staying that the Timberwolves will stay in
Speaker 1: Minnesota even though I don't. I don't And this is again,
Speaker 1: this is pure speculation on my part. But you know
Speaker 1: Glenn Taylor getting caught with his pats down in that
Speaker 1: lawsuit where there's you know, no language in that contract
Speaker 1: that says yes, by the way, Dan, And you know this, like,
Speaker 1: even if there is language in that contract, it's unenforceable,
Speaker 1: Like you can find a loophole that says, well, you know,
Speaker 1: we lost money here, so we got to move the team.
Speaker 1: Like there's no there's no teeth to any language there.
Speaker 1: If you're a Minnesota Timberwolves fan, the only way you
Speaker 1: know you're keeping your franchise is at a Rod and
Speaker 1: Mark Lori invest in you know, one hundred million plus
Speaker 1: renovation the Target Center or build a new one. That
Speaker 1: is the only evidence you'll have that the Timberwolves will stay.
Speaker 1: Otherwise I'd be keeping my eye on Seattle. Yeah, but
Speaker 1: Garnett's gonna get involved in this, and KG wants to
Speaker 1: keep the team in Minnesota, And how involved is he
Speaker 1: going to be though, and don't you know, I mean
Speaker 1: money talks at some point and if again, it comes
Speaker 1: down to the arena. Like the reno, the targets has
Speaker 1: been renovated a couple of times in recent years, but
Speaker 1: it's I think twenty plus years old at this point,
Speaker 1: which is right around the time you start wondering if
Speaker 1: there's a new arena, if they build a new arena
Speaker 1: in suburban Minnesota. Okay, but until then, I'm just gonna
Speaker 1: believe that there's gonna be one eye on Seattle, which
Speaker 1: is gonna get more and more aggressive at the NHL
Speaker 1: pops up there, and it, you know, it starts to
Speaker 1: become a professional sports down once again, Thank you, Chris.
Speaker 1: As always, we appreciate your time. Are you going to
Speaker 1: call me tomorrow? I'll I'll call you the rest of
Speaker 1: your life if you want me to. Will you call tomorrow, Dan,
Speaker 1: will you call? You? Will call if if the Suns win? Oh,
Speaker 1: I'm calling it the Suns win, So don't have to
Speaker 1: worry about that, okay, Yeah, yeah, I mean you'll be
Speaker 1: texting christ and Boston, Chris, and Boston comes coming hot
Speaker 1: from what Yeah? Thank you Chris. God, that's Chris Mannox
Speaker 1: He's going to be calling in tomorrow. Do you want
Speaker 1: to keep fans, you want to get fans excited? Chris
Speaker 1: Mannix is calling in tomorrow. I'm letting you know. Plan
Speaker 1: your morning accordingly. Take a break back after this. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to The Dan Patrick Show podcast. Be sure
Speaker 1: to catch us live every weekday morning nine until noon
Speaker 1: eastern six to nine Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, and
Speaker 1: you can find us on the iHeartRadio app at FSR
Speaker 1: or stream us law on the Peacock app. Hey it's
Speaker 1: me Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast, Inside
Speaker 1: the Parker for twenty two minutes of piping hot baseball
Speaker 1: talk featuring the biggest name to newsmakers in the sport.
Speaker 1: Whether you believe in analytics or the eyecast, We've got
Speaker 1: all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so
Speaker 1: do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker
Speaker 1: with Rob Parker on the iHeart Radio app or wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcast. Did you see where Tom Brady
Speaker 1: finally admitted that he lost track of the downs in
Speaker 1: that game against Chicago? Remember Bruce arians they all try
Speaker 1: to cover up for Tom and then Brady said, uh yeah,
Speaker 1: I lost track it down. We all knew it. When
Speaker 1: you win the Super Bowl, then it's funny. We can
Speaker 1: look back and go, oh, remember, Tommy, that's funny. You
Speaker 1: know that's funny. There's no bigger Lebron supporter than Nick Wright,
Speaker 1: a Fox Sports one one. First things first, and they're
Speaker 1: great co host. There is your faith in Lebron shaken
Speaker 1: at all? Nick? My faith in Lebron? No, I do
Speaker 1: think it's pretty clear. He's not one hundred percent, but
Speaker 1: I do think they will win tonight. Is my faith
Speaker 1: in the Lakers' ability to win the championship shaken? It
Speaker 1: has to be somewhat. I mean, they went into the
Speaker 1: year the clear favorites. They didn't really look like it
Speaker 1: after the first two months of the season, and now
Speaker 1: you have to There's the following things are all in
Speaker 1: question if they get past Phoenix, which I think they will.
Speaker 1: By the way, when Willie Anthony Davis come back? And
Speaker 1: what Anthony Davis are you getting? And even if Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis comes all the way back? What has happened to
Speaker 1: Dennis Shrewder. We've seen different guys who get COVID be
Speaker 1: different players right after and it's kind of it's a
Speaker 1: little bit of a black box how much it affects everybody.
Speaker 1: But Shrewder. I thought it was going to be fine
Speaker 1: because games two and three he was really good, but
Speaker 1: game four he was bad. In game five he was
Speaker 1: worse than you, Dan, and you didn't play, but you
Speaker 1: at least had zero points on zero shots. Shrewder at
Speaker 1: zero points on nine shots. So all those things have
Speaker 1: shaken my faith somewhat. But sorry to filibuster, but can
Speaker 1: I give one positive? No, nothing in the world worse
Speaker 1: than losing in the finals. So if he loses tonight,
Speaker 1: at least Lebron wont to throw the finals loss. And
Speaker 1: in fact, in the Chase of the Infinite Chase of
Speaker 1: Michael Jordan, where Jordan is, the biggest lead is first
Speaker 1: round losses, he's up three to nothing, so Lebron could
Speaker 1: close that gap a bit, which is nice. Better supporting
Speaker 1: cast the Lakers are the Clippers? Well, are you saying
Speaker 1: after their top two? Yeah, it's right now the Clippers,
Speaker 1: But neither's great. I think the Clippers. Two years I've
Speaker 1: had a bad roster. I've been the only person in
Speaker 1: America who's been saying and I said it all year.
Speaker 1: Last year you don't have it. You don't have a
Speaker 1: rim protector, and you don't have a point guard. Seems
Speaker 1: kind of important. And this year they're like, got the
Speaker 1: rim protector, Serjabaka. I'm like, eh, don't know, Like, got
Speaker 1: the point guard who we're gonna trade for Rondo? Okay,
Speaker 1: all right? And then at the here's the thing, you
Speaker 1: know how I know the Clippers don't have a great roster.
Speaker 1: In the final minute of Game five of the postseason,
Speaker 1: Nick Batoum and Terrence Man were on the court. No
Speaker 1: one was hurt, no one had fouled out. That ain't great. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and the Clippers are puzzling just because they should know Luca,
Speaker 1: they should know his game. Now you got a former
Speaker 1: Defensive Player of the Year and Kawhi Leonard. You've got
Speaker 1: a great two way guard and Paul George. I could
Speaker 1: at some point I gotta get the ball out of
Speaker 1: his hands. Dan, listen, you obviously, I consider myself as
Speaker 1: much of a basketball storian as one can be, but
Speaker 1: I in then, I'm not trying to be sarcassic here.
Speaker 1: You've obviously been able to watch the game longer than me,
Speaker 1: and I know people my generation sometimes we're a little
Speaker 1: more prisoner of the momenty. So tell me if you
Speaker 1: think I'm being over the top here, But I think
Speaker 1: what we're seeing in Luke is the makings of a
Speaker 1: guy who's going to be one of the ten greatest
Speaker 1: players ever. Dan. He has played eleven career playoff games.
Speaker 1: They have all been against Kawai and Paul George. So
Speaker 1: no first round series against a bad you know, Pistons
Speaker 1: team with Andre Drummond where you can just rack up stairs.
Speaker 1: He already has as many career forty point playoff games
Speaker 1: as Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan and Karl Malone. He's only
Speaker 1: played eleven and it's opening against these guys, and he
Speaker 1: has no All Star teammates. What this reminds me of
Speaker 1: almost Line for Line Lebron's second year in the playoffs
Speaker 1: at age twenty two with no other All Stars. It's like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, they're in the finals. Yeah. And Luca
Speaker 1: at age twenty two in his second playoffs with no
Speaker 1: other All Stars, and Dan he plays like how I
Speaker 1: assume you play against Frixie, Like you get in front
Speaker 1: of him, put your butt on his hip, and it's
Speaker 1: like you can't get to the ball. You can't get it.
Speaker 1: It's insane. He plays like their little kids out there,
Speaker 1: and it's best players in basketball. But I wonder, though, Nick,
Speaker 1: when the media turns on Luca that this is a
Speaker 1: wonderful story. You're putting up great numbers. But Lebron got
Speaker 1: to the NBA Finals with one of the worst teams
Speaker 1: that's ever been in the NBA Finals, And I wonder if, like,
Speaker 1: at some point we want receipts from Luca of can
Speaker 1: you do what other great players have done before? Well,
Speaker 1: what if the MAVs get to the finals of that
Speaker 1: that that I don't think it's out of bounds. I
Speaker 1: don't think it's out of the I don't know how
Speaker 1: Utah's going to deal with Luca. Utah's got a great
Speaker 1: defensive player in Gobert who has almost no utility against Luca.
Speaker 1: Luca's not going to try to get to the rim.
Speaker 1: And so I just think that you're right eventually if
Speaker 1: he eventually, he's going to have to show the receipts. Everyone.
Speaker 1: Jannis got a few years, leeway Kad got a few,
Speaker 1: but Katie got to the finals early. He just got
Speaker 1: beat by Lebron, but he got to the Finals early,
Speaker 1: but then we started coming for him a bit after
Speaker 1: they blew the three one lead to Golden Stadium. That
Speaker 1: was a great team. So I agree with you that,
Speaker 1: but I think this is a hell of a start, man,
Speaker 1: And I think you do have to start to think
Speaker 1: last year, back when Chris STAPs Porzingis was a good
Speaker 1: basketball player. I don't know what's happened to him. Would
Speaker 1: they have won that series if Chris Stapps didn't get hurt?
Speaker 1: I think so. I thought they were the better team
Speaker 1: last year, and this doesn't surprise me. It surprises me
Speaker 1: of how Dallas is still doing this, Like they haven't
Speaker 1: really changed their game plan. It's just Luca, go out
Speaker 1: and just see what you can do. And then if
Speaker 1: somebody happens to get hot and great, you know Tim
Speaker 1: Hardaway will make sure you know you'll get the ball.
Speaker 1: You know, Dorian Finney, like somebody bay Porzingis showed up.
Speaker 1: It doesn't feel like there's a whole game plan here.
Speaker 1: Last night was also a great example of why at
Speaker 1: times like we all saw what Dame did and Dame's
Speaker 1: game was special for a million reasons, but we give
Speaker 1: it extra special quality because of what he did in
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter in the overtimes. We've always put and
Speaker 1: added importance on what you do late in games, but
Speaker 1: sometimes that's unfair because Luca was clearly wiped at the
Speaker 1: end of that game. Why because when they tried to
Speaker 1: rest him earlier, the moment he's off the court, they
Speaker 1: look like the worst offensive basketball. So like he's everyone
Speaker 1: else is a little fresher than him late in the
Speaker 1: games because it's not only that he's playing forty plus minutes,
Speaker 1: but the ball is in his hands the entire time.
Speaker 1: He stick right Fox Sports Ones. First things First, co host,
Speaker 1: wouldn't you ask the question to Anthony Davis about Charles
Speaker 1: Barkley's new nickname for him? Like, what do you mean?
Speaker 1: You mean if I were in the media. I am
Speaker 1: in the media, but if I were at a press cut, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that's a I think Chuck is not only
Speaker 1: if it was. Let me put it like this, if
Speaker 1: I had given him that nickname, then no one should
Speaker 1: ask him about it because I'm just an idiot. It
Speaker 1: just talks about basketball right when it's a Hall of Famer,
Speaker 1: when it's one of the best to ever do it. Who,
Speaker 1: by the way, you play basically the same position, even
Speaker 1: though it's very different. I think that it's fair. I
Speaker 1: think it's fair to ask him, you know what, do
Speaker 1: you yeah, I think that would be fair. Do you
Speaker 1: do you think it wouldn't be I think it just
Speaker 1: it depends on when you ask him. How you And now,
Speaker 1: if he said yesterday at the press conference, hey, I'm playing,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna play in game six. Hey, is this any
Speaker 1: reaction to what Charles Barkley, you know, his new nickname,
Speaker 1: you know, calling you street clothes, then at least it's
Speaker 1: um you know. I can see where people say, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm not playing all the time. These are legitimate injries,
Speaker 1: but I'm playing tomorrow night. I got. I don't know
Speaker 1: how you ask it when you ask it, but I
Speaker 1: do think that it's there. I mean, it was. It
Speaker 1: was the top trending topic yesterday. Go ahead, I'm sorry. No,
Speaker 1: I'm just saying that it's a it's a it's a
Speaker 1: big deal, and it's the Lakers, and then it becomes
Speaker 1: even bigger. And I also think that I think that
Speaker 1: Chuck opens himself up, and I know Chuck a little bit,
Speaker 1: you know Chuck really well, uh, he opens himself up
Speaker 1: for guys to be able to come back at him,
Speaker 1: which I think it would be totally fair if if
Speaker 1: a d wanted to say, wait, is Charles Barkley is
Speaker 1: saying that I'm not in playing shape. That's the argument
Speaker 1: he's making, Like there are things Chuck's not impervious to
Speaker 1: criticism of these things. I also think that, you know,
Speaker 1: here's where all defend Anthony. Anthony probably hurt his groin
Speaker 1: because he was playing through a bad knee, right like,
Speaker 1: So that was what the team said yesterday, was the
Speaker 1: doctor said the hyper extended knee, the right knee that
Speaker 1: led to the groin injury. At least they think that
Speaker 1: the old kinetic chain thing. So maybe if he simply
Speaker 1: had sat out with the knee injury, then maybe he's
Speaker 1: healthy for Game five. The knee's better than the groin
Speaker 1: doesn't happen. And I think that this is gonna sound silly,
Speaker 1: maybe a little silly. We're kind of in a post
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant world, which was people have burned the columns,
Speaker 1: but go back and read. You know, what was being
Speaker 1: implied in a lot of the Bay Area press about
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant's recovery from the calf injury that the team
Speaker 1: is expecting him back, and even the owner of the
Speaker 1: Warriors was like, we think KD could be back any
Speaker 1: day now, and then all of a sudden, he comes
Speaker 1: back and he pops as achilles. Right. So I do
Speaker 1: think there is a bit of concern about trying to
Speaker 1: push guys too fast. I think what Kevin Durant has
Speaker 1: done in the postseason has been undersold dramatically, like it's
Speaker 1: I mean he was he was off for five hundred days.
Speaker 1: I mean this he I look at him and say
Speaker 1: that if you have a shooter's menu, a scoring menu,
Speaker 1: he gets to order from whatever appetizer entree desert, He'll
Speaker 1: just sort of go, okay, do I haven't hit a
Speaker 1: fifteen foot in a while? You know I'm gonna I'm
Speaker 1: gonna hit a runner. You know I'm gonna take a
Speaker 1: three point. I'm gonna take you off the dribble. There's
Speaker 1: not many guys in the NBA who can do it.
Speaker 1: He does more without appearing to do more than any
Speaker 1: player in the NBA, in my opinion. So he's showing
Speaker 1: seemingly no ill effects from the Achilles, which is unprecedented.
Speaker 1: I understand the Celtics were overmatched and he again is
Speaker 1: in a beneficial position because it's like the bizarro version
Speaker 1: of Luca is that you can't focus all your defense
Speaker 1: on Katie. You really have to single cover him because
Speaker 1: of the team he's on. It. I get all of that,
Speaker 1: but he's playing almost perfect offensive basketball from an efficiency standpoint.
Speaker 1: I had somebody who is somebody that is very very
Speaker 1: close with a different top player in the league. Not
Speaker 1: KD make the argument that if you had every player
Speaker 1: in league history standing on a blacktop and you were
Speaker 1: just describing their traits to somebody who had seen none
Speaker 1: of them play, that the unquestioned number one pick based
Speaker 1: on traits would be duran That's like, okay, tell me
Speaker 1: about this guy. Okay, Well, he's seven feet tall, he
Speaker 1: has handled like a guard, he can protect the rim,
Speaker 1: he can score from anywhere on the court. He's athletic,
Speaker 1: he's you know, he doesn't have a seeming weakness. Like
Speaker 1: if you describe obviously, I think Lebron is a far
Speaker 1: all time player than Durant, But if you described Lebron
Speaker 1: in the same scenario, it's like, well, he's four inches shorter,
Speaker 1: he's not as good as a ball handler, and he's
Speaker 1: not as good as a shooter, and so like Durant.
Speaker 1: When Durant is full go and when he doesn't have
Speaker 1: the added weight of I have to do it all myself,
Speaker 1: He's pretty flawless man. Before I let you go. I'm
Speaker 1: having a hard time understanding what the Celtics are doing
Speaker 1: because I have a great coach who now is my
Speaker 1: president in GM, who has to now hire a coach.
Speaker 1: And the analogy I used was, let's say, back in
Speaker 1: the mid nineties, I'm doing Sports Center, and I say,
Speaker 1: kind of getting tired of burn out a little bit,
Speaker 1: Could I be a coordinating producer and head up all
Speaker 1: of the Sports center talent? I gut doesn't make any sense, right,
Speaker 1: but that's what I feel like. Brad Stevens, Hey, you're
Speaker 1: forty four, you're a great coach, been to the Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference Finals. We're gonna make you GM, and now you
Speaker 1: got to hire a coach. What am I missing here?
Speaker 1: I don't understand it, especially because is the Celtics job
Speaker 1: a perfect job? No tough to recruit free agents to
Speaker 1: that city and you don't have you're not missing draft picks.
Speaker 1: But amazingly, Danny Ainge, after hoarding all these assets, they
Speaker 1: have no extra first and they're in a tricky cap situation.
Speaker 1: But it's almost assuredly the best GM job that's going
Speaker 1: to come open, And so I would think you would
Speaker 1: call up Massai Yujii say hey, you want to come
Speaker 1: around the Celtics and by the way, and maybe Sam
Speaker 1: Presty if Sam Presty is like, listen, I've left the
Speaker 1: cupboard full for whomever's next. But man, I don't want
Speaker 1: to do this full rebuild. And it feels like you
Speaker 1: you created a void in one of the few spots
Speaker 1: you were set at to create an unknown in another spot.
Speaker 1: It doesn't Yeah, I agree with you entirely. Like it is,
Speaker 1: it is difficult to believe you're gonna get a coach
Speaker 1: better than Stevens. And we have no reason to believe
Speaker 1: positively or negative believe it Stevens gonna be a good GM.
Speaker 1: I don't get it. I totally I agree. Yeah, you've
Speaker 1: now I've created two questions instead of one, and that
Speaker 1: is I could have kept Brad Stevens as my head
Speaker 1: coach and I could have gotten a GM. It's Sam
Speaker 1: Presty and Brad Stevens that makes you so much stronger.
Speaker 1: It feels like, and now it feels like you've weakened yourself,
Speaker 1: unless unless those players have tuned out Brad Stevens, which
Speaker 1: I don't know. It just feels like there's something that
Speaker 1: I there's a disconnect there. I think Nick's feed just
Speaker 1: froze up. It's a dramatic pause by Nick. Um it is.
Speaker 1: It looks like he's really serious, he's baffled by he
Speaker 1: is nailed that question. My thanks to Nick Wright joining
Speaker 1: us for a Fox Sports one. First things first, guest hunt,
Speaker 1: would you let Nick know the Thank you very much.
Speaker 1: I will do that. Okay, thank you very much. Let's
Speaker 1: take a break. Last call for phone calls. What we learned?
Speaker 1: What's in store tomorrow? Ooh, I think we got a
Speaker 1: pretty good guest list tomorrow aside from coach k Yeah,
Speaker 1: that is breaking news. Decent guest list on the Dan
Speaker 1: Patrick Show tomorrow. Back after this