Do You Agree with Mike Evans that He's the One Missing Piece? And Does That Matter?

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Filling in for Greg Papa is John Dickinson on these sports leader.

A team that always compete even with the injuries last year. I think they went 13-4.

I mean, I feel like they were one piece away and I think that I'm that piece and I'll look

forward to coming here and improving that. Mike Evans with the Mike Drop and his introduction

to the media, good audio, good quote, good vibe, good optimism from the newest weapon for Kyle

Shanahan, Brock Purdy and this 49ers offense. The 49ers, he felt like we're one piece away last year

from being a Super Bowl team. He believes he's that piece. Now, whether or not you believe

that's the truth, we can get into that discussion. But first and foremost, JD, you're just initial

reaction to the whole eight minutes and the swag of the newest member of the 49ers.

I mean, he is a serious and thoughtful individual. I mean, he gave some pretty well thought out

answers and, you know, serious about his play and where he is at his career. But serious

in terms of, you know, just his opinion of the 49ers. And you look at the money component,

not necessarily being, if I thought it was interesting, I mean, him saying, you know, every time I come

to Levi Stadium, which he had on multiple occasions and the appreciation of the history of

the 49ers franchise and the 49ers fan base because he's seen Levi's going back to that game

that he referenced in Brock Perty's first career start there in 2022 and the 49ers smoked the

bucks and Tom Brady. The place was pretty lit that day. I can remember going back to December of

2022. And that's something that he remembered here. What? Now, three plus almost three and a half

years later. And so I thought that was something that stood out to me. And again,

he also said before he even talked to Kyle and to John Lynch that this was the number one spot

that he was looking to target if he was in fact going to, going to leave Tampa. So it tells me that

that he, I don't want to say soured. And I know we got into this with Jenna Lane a little bit

yesterday. Sourd probably is too strong on Tampa. But I think there's something that during his

time in Tampa, he feels that they are now lacking after coming up short here the last few years

that that he was looking to have maybe reinvigorate him elsewhere. And I think, you know, he spoke

to that point, the extra fuel coming off of the year that he had last year and just wanting to

want to help another franchise and another group that he clearly has a high level of respect for

attempt to get over the over the top. Halo 8K and the are your reactions to Mike Evans. You know

what kind of reminded me of because there's no right or wrong way to do an interview. But when we

were out at training camp and you just think of all the prominent 49ers and the big personalities,

right? Like George Kittle is the total character on his own. Trent Williams, we got to talk to he was

fantastic. Fred Warner, obviously a central figure of this team. But you know how when Christian

McCaffrey was sitting across from us, you're like, wow, this guy's like a locked in and competitive

even during an interview at training camp. Mike Evans was giving me that energy. Like he was just

you could tell he was a locked in and competitive person over a zoom call, which I found to be

pretty fascinating. And like again, not that it's right or wrong if he acted more similar to someone

like George Kittle, but it did really give me that Christian McCaffrey kind of energy.

It definitely again, just a serious, focused, honed in on his craft kind of a guy. And again,

we talked about OSA being a great culture fit for the 49ers coming over from Dallas. I think

Mike Evans is a future Hall of Famer is going to be a great culture fit for San Francisco as well.

A quick note, and then I want to get to this text. The Buccaneers officially signed Kenneth

Gainwell. That contract is the eyes are dotted and the T's are crossed. And a name that you had

highlighted, Rashad White is off the board now at running back. He's going to the the Washington

commanders. So take take a moment, port a little out. I know. Great silver stream. Well, dude,

the running backs for pop and silver, Gainwell and Rashad White didn't end up working out quite

in that way. They had to swap like geographical regions of the country. But hey, it's okay. You

know what? Like there was a name I would have liked. It wasn't everything that I was hanging the

hat on. And I also with Rashad White, I was in on Mike Evans. I much rather would have ended up

with Mike Evans. I also wanted to get to this text from the 530 on the golden state lumber and

showroom text line. Maybe the point of view from outside going back to Mike Evans is Rosier

than in the bay. Mike says he feels like the Niners are one piece away. That's news to me. Ha ha.

And I think there are a lot of 49er fans that probably would would agree with that. I mean,

I kind of perked up and thought, wow, I don't think the Niners are one piece away. But again,

maybe Mike Evans and his evaluation of the guys that were out and he referenced that in the press

conference via zoom. The fact that he noticed how well the 49ers played and competed even while

having so many of their best players out. He was in the game in Tampa when the 49ers lost

Fred Warner for the season. So up close there. But it's interesting because I don't know. Do you

get the impression that that that it's a Rosier situation? Maybe on the outside. Then we feel like

it is here in the in the bay area with this team because it is it is a consistent debate as to,

you know, was this really a 12 and 5 team? Was this a team that overachieved a little bit to

get to 12 and 5? But I mean, Mike Evans is saying, no, I think they're I think they're one one player

away and I'm that guy and I'm coming here and we're going to win. It is a great text from 530 on the

Golden State Lumberan showroom text line. I guess my follow up question to that and it's a rhetorical

question. Is it Rosier from the outside or is it Rosier from Tampa Bay where they ended with a very

sour taste in their mouth by the time we got to December and January? I mean, fair, but I still

I mean, again, if we pulled 49er fans right now, I think we'd get a pretty a pretty wide range of

looking at, you know, what what level people think the Niners can get to. Like I think there's

some people that believe, yeah, they're contenders right now. I think there's some people that think

they're a lot farther away than than you would think for a team that won a playoff game and

Mike Evans was injured by the way in that game. I just played in that game. He was injured in that

game. I wanted to make sure I corrected myself. Instantly like Mark Derosa realized that I had that

run wrong and wanted to jump in and try to correct it. But yeah, I think I don't know. I mean, I

think it's a good sign. We get into this debate about the Warriors about, you know, do star players

want to come and help them, you know, potentially get over the top and I think the Warriors have lost

that because I think the rest of the league looks at the Warriors as a team that's farther away

than maybe at times we think they are in in the Bay because of Steph. And I think it's the opposite

maybe with the 49ers. I think that's an important thing. I think it's important for great players

around the league that you potentially may have interest in having a belief that you are going

to be one of those franchises that's always going to be in the mix and is always maybe a player

of the way. I viewed it not as something out of bounds, but more as something of, huh, okay, you

know, maybe I don't feel that way. But if a guy like Mike Evans feels that way, it's certainly,

it's certainly not a bad thing for the 49ers franchise. No, not bad thing whatsoever. Five three

says saying Mike Evans is a culture fit for the 49ers is an understatement. And on the whole

rosier from the outside thing, I mean, look, in a literal sense, I don't think Mike Evans is

winning you that game in Seattle and what you lost 41 to six, right? Like I'll stay consistent with

my belief that the right team ended up winning the Super Bowl. But it doesn't mean that the 49ers

when they get all recouped and you get guys healthier that maybe with the brand and I hugged

situation and the way this thing went south, they were one reliable piece away from being right

back in that short list of teams because you can make the case that, okay, wait a minute, like,

so he said 13 and four while they were 13 and six in the end, they were 12 and five in the regular

season. They won 13 games on a road playoff game with all that they didn't have. So now think

about what they're going to get back and add a piece like that. I don't think it's a stretch to say

that they're one piece away from being a Super Bowl level team. I don't necessarily agree with

the statement at an entire face value, but I kind of get where he's coming from in the sense of

like, look, they still did get to the divisional round. Seattle's defense just ran through everybody

and you gotta do more to your roster, just like everybody else does to deal with the defense like

that. But as far as the 49ers, they won 13 games last year without next wide receiver the whole

way. And this is no diss to Jawan Jennings or Jake Thomas or anything. But I was just telling

curly during the break, I was like, look at the NFC playoff teams. And for that matter,

you can throw Detroit in this mix too as a team on the outside looking in. If you just go by weapons

available for the quarterback, I mean, the 49ers were so clearly at the bottom of that list. And

again, there is no diss to the players that they have. I love Jawan Jennings. I think guys like

Tom just everything they stepped up immensely. But it's like, okay, well, you got the two NFC West

teams. Obviously Seattle and the Rams Chicago, it's a lot of younger guys to be sure. But the

way someone like Colston Loveland came around at the end of the year, that's a team with a big

bright future. Green Bay and Carolina would probably be the other two teams. I'd put more the bottom

of the list. But still Christian Watson for the Packers, they're going to get Tucker Kraft back.

And for Carolina, it's just a lot of young guys. They did have the offensive rookie of the year

and the number eight overall pick in the draft, right? I'd even throw Minnesota into that mix.

Yeah. Maybe not at the quarterback position, but I would throw them into that mix as another

team on the outside looking in when you go through the overall skill position talent, although we

shouldn't we shouldn't underrate Christian McCaffrey. Christian McCaffrey's a skill player. I think we

need to, you know, and sometimes I think we do tend to take him for take him a little bit for

granted, but I think the point remains remains the same as you kind of run through everybody and

go through top to bottom. And so that's an area where the 49ers do at times because of injuries,

but also due to roster composition, they rely on the fact that Kyle Shanahan and his quarterback,

whether it's Brock Purdy or Mac Jones, as it was for a good chunk of the season, what, eight out

of the 17 games that they are in lockstep to where you can maximize basically more with less

as it relates to to being able to cobble together an offense that can win you games. So to me,

again, the Niners are not done. I think they surely are more than a player away,

but and I think even on offense, you know, they probably need one more receiver. But to me,

it just tells me that Mike Evans is coming in ready to lead. And, you know, we were talking about,

you know, at this age, what level of player are you getting in Mike Evans, right? Did you,

are you, did you replace your one with 33 year old Mike Evans, or did you replace, you know,

your two? I think I'm more inclined to believe again, he has to stand the field and stay healthy,

but I'm more inclined after hearing Mike Evans, like, no, the Niners replaced their, like,

they're getting a one. And they're, they're getting a dude that probably took a little bit less

in order to come here and is motivated to help this, this franchise attempt to get,

to get over the top and get that elusive Super Bowl. So you remember the year the Niners

got to the Super Bowl in 23 throughout that playoffs and the game that Detroit won to get to

the NFC championship. They beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home in a really hard fought contest.

Tampa had come in. They won their first game and then they ended up going into Detroit and

having a hard fought loss against the Lions before that all went down. I remember how much Mike

Evans was bawling out in that game and granted that was two whole year. What was that coming up

on three years ago in football years, which is a long time, but I'll never forget this text chain

I had going with the family. And then there was the comment of, it was from my dad and he said

to me and my brother, he's like, when I tell you guys what a true number one wide receiver

is and I talk about what a real one is, it's Mike Evans with the way he was playing in that game.

It's just the build, the hands, the consistency, like Jackson Smith and Jigba was phenomenal this

year, right? But you don't look at that build and go like, oh, that's a number one wide receiver.

You know, you think of your Julio Jones, right? Like your big body X wide receivers that Kyle

Shanhand, by the way, with Julio Jones, hasn't really had since someone like Julio Jones. So I do

got to laugh at myself for a moment though. You brought up the McCaffrey thing. Maybe I was

discrediting McCaffrey by saying they didn't have an X. I guess they had an X and a slot and a running

back all on one player. I mean, it just he has been so important to the 49ers success here. And at

times, I think even last year, like statistically, you look up and by comparison to other years,

you're saying, oh, it was kind of not as explosive or whatever. Like think about all the conversations

we were having about McCaffrey. You want to want to make sure you protect and then he's, you know,

you look up in December and he's basically in the MVP conversation. Even though you're like,

oh, it's kind of by his standards, maybe a little bit, I dare I say underwhelming. I think that's

that's probably a little bit too strong. But then you look up and he's just he's right there. Oh,

where would this team be without him, considering everything else and and know the need for him to play

all 17 games? So again, that is a value, I think that that others see. And I don't know, maybe I'm

making too much of it, but it is interesting to me to hear Mike Evans say that he thinks that

Niners are a player away when I think at times, really, since they went out, I think a lot of the

focus in the in the fixation here in the Bay Area has been, oh my God, the Seahawks are so much better

in all these areas and the Rams are so much better in all these areas. Again, I'm not saying Mike

Evans is necessarily right, but I do think that perspective is one that that should be accounted for

and afforded a decent level of consideration and respect. Let's continue unpacking some of these

Mike Evans comments and then we'll talk to Sam Amick at 1250 for a little gear switch. It is

Papa and Silver. We got Walter hanging out. We got JD with you all the way up until two o'clock,

more coming up on these sports later. Hey, everybody. Brian Murphy here for my friends at

Provident Credit Union. And do you ever feel like your money's just sitting there and not growing

fast enough and definitely not working as hard as you are? Well, if you're saving for a home

improvement project, a trip you've been planning or just building up a rainy day fun for life surprises,

Provident Credit Union has smart short term options to help your savings grow. Providence pick a

term certificates let you choose three six or 12 month terms and earn up to 3.40% annual

percentage yield a solid rate that helps your savings do more. And Newsweek named Provident,

one of America's best regional credit unions. You can feel good about where you save.

Learn more at ProvidentCU.org or stop by a local branch that raised effective February 25th,

2026. Minimum balance of $10,000. Early withdrawal penalties may apply,

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Now back to great papa and great silver on KNBR. These sports leaders.

I'll talk to most of the guys already on the team. Great players, great dudes. I knew

a lot of them from pro bowls and just, you know, seeing them around the league after games and

things like that. But George's was the biggest salesman. I mean, George sold it big time. He's

a big reason why I'm here just because the type of player and teammate that he is.

George Kiddell may not start the season on the field as he had the torn Achilles in the playoff

game in Philadelphia, but he was the biggest salesman of all for Mike Evans to come to the Bay

area 808 KNBR is the number. By the way, we are getting a few messages about the FM signal. I

think our 104 5 FM has been a little bit funky today. So there's still ways to access us. You

got the good old 680 AM. You've got YouTube and Twitch. I think we're streaming on X as well.

You've got the app. You've got the sports leader dot com. So apologies for what's going on there.

I'm just being made aware of this right now. But a lot of places to go and sometimes once you go

to YouTube and Twitch and you become part of the video community JD, you never go back because

you know this one does OT. Yeah, it's great. It's the best YouTube chat in sports and we appreciate

everybody always for for chime in in there. It's a fun way, different way. Obviously, if you're

driving around, maybe you don't want to be watching on YouTube, but we take all comers and we

appreciate the interaction in a major way. So the big money quote from Mike Evans, the mic drop,

if you will, was the 49ers were one piece away from being a Super Bowl team. And I believe

that I'm that piece and sitting on it a little bit longer, having a couple more minutes to

let that marinade. You know what I really take away from that JD is we can argue whether that's

true or not. And I personally don't think it is literally true in the context of last season.

If Mike Evans playing in the 2025 postseason was going to lift the 49ers to a lumbarity. I don't

think that's true, but it's also the kind of talk you want coming from a new X wide receiver.

That's the talk you want coming from a weapon. You want your players to believe that there is a

culture where they can win. So the fact that kiddle was the primary salesman again, this season for

the 49ers, it did do a lot for them. The fact that they did win 13 games, it reaffirmed the culture.

The win they had with Mac Jones on Thursday night football in LA. That was a culture win.

The week one win in Seattle. That was a bit of a culture win where Jake Thomas was the hero after

never catching an NFL touchdown in his career. A lot of guys did step up in a very valuable way.

And if you look on paper and even statistically at some of the defense, you're thinking,

how are they even able to win games? And Mac Jones has this offense running really well and then

Brock party comes back and it kicks it to an even another level. So the fact that all of this

played out in the way it did that had a lot of value in the offseason perception for somebody

like Mike Evans to come over. So again, we're the 49ers one piece away from being a Super Bowl

team. Well, I guess it's our job on the radio to quibble about that and have a discussion and

interact with fans. But here's what I really take from it. Some players earn the right to be

delusional. If you see that as a little bit delusional, it's better that that comes from Mike Evans

than a younger player like a Brandon Pajewski. When Pajewski has made comments about wanting to be

better than step for the White Show. Hey, Otani comment. That rubs fans the wrong way because then

when he's being a solid player and a seventh man on a team, that's not enough. And to some degree,

he's dug his own hole in that regard. But if your Mike Evans, who is a Super Bowl champion,

has seen what championship football looks like and who is still trying to make that the sole

purpose of what's left in his career. Maybe you can say that comment is delusional. But Mike

Evans is on that list of players that has earned the right to be delusional. If you even see it

that way in the first place. Well, and now the owners goes to the 49ers is to other ways to

make that stand up. And I know we're going to get into that coming up after we talk to Sam.

But at this point, it is again, I think it should offer the 49er fan base a little bit of solace

for a lot of the angst about the belief that they haven't to this point done enough

in terms of free agency. Because I think that's, again, not to totally get into it here,

but I think we can't start to get into it and then we'll come back to it after Sam.

I believe that they've addressed their top two needs to this point in terms of the wide

receiver, getting that wide receiver one, even if it's an older player in Mike Evans in getting

the interior defensive line help. They've added a couple of guys in the offensive

line of some competition. I think probably at the left guard spot, they go get the backup swing

tackle. The next I think order of business is that's separate, I think, from looking to improve

the roster is make sure that Trent Williams is on the roster and available and wanting to be

around. I think when Mike Evans looks at the 49ers being a player away and he's that player,

I think part of what he's saying, he's accounting for Trent Williams being on the team in saying

that. So I know there's been varying degrees of reports is to the level at which the 49ers are

truly considering moving on from Trent Williams. But that's in a week that I think has been

relatively positive. I think that's the one thing that would make me a little bit nervous

still if I'm a 49er fan and it's the notion that moving on from Trent Williams,

if the contract situation doesn't get fixed, then you're definitely not a player away. If you're

telling me Trent Williams is not on this team at some point here in the next three weeks,

then it's a completely different conversation. So I think to kind of relate that back to

Mike Evans and what he said, all right, we can quibble about it and we will, I think, coming up in

the 1 o'clock hour to kind of close out the show. But if you take and believe what Mike Evans has

to say, then you can't be subtracting from any of the key players that were a part of the decision.

And I think Trent Williams probably was along with Kittle, along with Brock, that along with

Christian McCaffrey as to wanting, you know, to join this team and help them get over the top.

Anyway, K and B are a couple of really good texts coming in as well. Six five O's says,

so pumped for what Evan said, not delusion at all. Confident man equals W's. Finally,

we get a dog at wide receiver, 209 saying he's talking about when they're healthy. When

Warner and Bosa come back, they're one piece away. It's not that complicated fellows. And again,

I'm not even saying I think Mike Evans is entirely delusional. My larger point is whether you

think that is an accurate statement or not in the literal sense that he's the one missing piece

for being a Super Bowl team. It doesn't really matter whether you think it's true or not. What

matters is that a little delusion there is healthy. And maybe so the point of six five O,

it's not delusional at all. Or maybe there's a party where it's like, okay, yeah, they still

got holes to fill. There's two other teams in the division that they're going to be chasing. But

doesn't Evan's attitude right there reaffirm that you can't let Trent Williams go. Isn't it

reaffirm that he is locked in and he's got one sole purpose to compete for a Lombardi Trophy?

I think to me, the answer is clearly yes. And it doesn't change our opinion because we've been

aligned on that front from the beginning, JD. But I'm thinking, how could you bring in Mike Evans,

see what kind of person you're getting, see what kind of competitor you're getting. And then

well, we can do this, but then find a way to not bring Trent Williams back.

Dude, Trent's got the leverage here. You got to pay up and and make it happen because the 49ers

right now are trying to win. I think a little delusion, even if that's how you see it is always

healthy. I mean, dude, we got March madness coming up right now. We've seen double digit seeds

get to the final four. You always got to believe even if the outside noise or the outside

perception or even some statistics and facts might be pointing in a different direction.

Well, I think the 49ers need that infusion, not the not the locker room. I think there are

enough guys who got to the Super Bowl and a couple that had gotten to multiple Super Bowls.

I think those guys, the leaders of the 49ers locker room, the guys that have been here,

those guys are in Super Bowl or bust mentality. I think the fan base has long been in Super Bowl

or bust mentality. I don't think that changed going into even 2025 from a fan standpoint.

And again, I don't think it changed from that that core group of players from Brock

Purti to CMC, to Kiddell, to Warner, to Bosa. Again, Trent, who's been here, obviously now since

2020 and that there's others I'm probably forgetting a couple. But the reality is I think right now

for the 49ers, the question would not be the key stakeholders in the 49ers locker room. The question

would not be Mike Evans coming from the outside and believing it's championship or bust. The question

is not coming from the fan base as to whether it's championship or bust. I think if there's been a

question given the way the 49ers handled last off season would be, and I'm going back to,

and I'm paraphrasing things that both John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have said that in going through

that reset that it's, yeah, the standard is obviously to get to the Super Bowl, but we want to

be in the mix and we want to be able to compete for a playoff spot. And those kinds of things,

almost setting an understanding that while the standard is the standard that you may be in a

little bit more of coming up shorter that standard as the ultimate, even if it's not

spoken goal. So I think having another player in the room that, and I get it, it's different

coming off of a 12 and five versus coming off of a 6 and 11 and tough decisions need to be made.

But I think having somebody from the outside come in that can continue to kind of push that

as the goal. I think is nothing but a positive because if there is a misalignment, it's between,

not between the core group and the fans, it might be between the core group and the fans,

and then what maybe the front office is looking at is they have to look at the big picture in

addition to being the best team that they can be for each individual season.

We're going to get to switch gears coming up here shortly. Sam Amick usually joins us on Tuesday.

As we move that one to Thursday, so we'll talk to him coming up for one five on the Golden

Sailor and showroom text line. The comment Evans made about Kittle being the salesman reminds me of

another transaction a few years back. The Hamptons, Steph Curry, etc. Oh boy. I mean, if they can win

a couple of titles out of it, not a terrible comparison on that. We'll talk to Sam about a team that

feels pretty far from the Hamptons days and championship days. He'll join us next on the sports

leader. Hey everybody, Brian Murphy here for my friends at Provident Credit Union. And

do you ever feel like your money's just sitting there and not growing fast enough and definitely

not working as hard as you are? Well, if you're saving for a home improvement project,

a trip you've been planning or just building up a rainy day fund for life surprises,

Provident Credit Union has smart short term options to help your savings grow. Providence,

pick a term certificates. Let you choose three six or 12 month terms and earn up to 3.40%

annual percentage yield, a solid rate that helps your savings do more. And Newsweek named Provident,

one of America's best regional credit unions. You can feel good about where you save.

Learn more at ProvidentCU.org or stop by a local branch that raised effective February 25th,

2026. Minimum balance of $10,000. Early withdrawal penalties may apply,

federally insured by the NCUA. Provident Credit Union discover the best in retail and business

banking right here in your community. Start saving today. Listen up, Redwood City residents.

Your city council is calling on you to make your voice heard. The city is seeking passionate

individuals to serve on various advisory boards, commissions and committees. Multiple positions are

available on the arts commission library board planning commission and other important advisory

bodies. Many positions are open to residents as young as 16. All voices are welcome because

diversity strengthens our community. Ready to make a difference? Find out more and apply today

at redwoodcity.org forward slash VCC. That's redwoodcity.org forward slash VCC.

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One eight hundred gambler. Papa and Silver with JD continues here on your Thursday.

It's been a heavy dose of Mike Evans. Osa O'Diggy Zua will get into a little bit of other topics here

as we move closer to the two o'clock hour. I will have crew in with me tomorrow and the week just

continues to turn. We are getting closer to baseball season and we are trying to figure out

if and when Steph Curry is going to see the court again for the Golden State Warriors joining us now.

On the huma guest line, we talk to him every other week normally on Tuesdays today.

It is a Thursday and it is Sam Amick. Sam, what's going on? How are you?

JD Gray, great to see you guys. Thanks for having me. Likewise. It looks like a nice day wherever

you're hanging out there with the beautiful camera background. So we're getting some good weather here.

Looks bad action there. Oh, yes. The Amick Starbucks. That's that's the classic spot. We love it.

I want to start with the 83 point performance of BAM out of bio and before I get into what you

wrote about it and more of the serious comments and reflecting on Kobe Bryant, just a general

question because I was trying to do this exercise with a friend yesterday. We were grabbing a drink.

If you told me going into the year that a player would pass 81 and score 83 and then you made

me list out all of my guesses. At what point would you write down BAM out of bio's name?

And it's hard to do after the fact when you know it. But I'm thinking like he's a really good

player. What I've pegged him to be the guy to do it. And hey, here we are. Anything's possible

when you play the wizards. Yeah, I mean, I've heard that exercise in a couple places and I've heard

the extreme of like top 150, which is probably a little much. I don't think he'd be in my top 50.

And I honestly, to be fair, I think that's partly played a part in the reaction to what happened.

Not because he's not a very talented offensive player because there was kind of a sense of

this being an aberration. And then you look more skeptically at it like, all right, how, you know,

if you're an average cook who puts together a Michelin meal, like how did you get there? You know what I mean?

And that's a kind of a rough analogy. But I think that is part of the conversation. And I mean,

he's a great player. I mean, two way force. One of the best defensive anchors in the league and a guy

who he's covered around 19, 20 points of game. His whole career. He's only went above 21 time and

nine seasons. But it's just not what he's known for to your point. Yeah. And it's, I mean, it's

interesting. And he would be down on, on, on my list as well. But is it, do you view like if James

Hardin had done this, do you think it would, it would be viewed that much differently in the context

of how it obviously went, went down with all the free throws and the fouling to get the ball back

and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, I mean, if it was that agree just I think it'd be similar. I mean,

I look at just ask SGA, you know, what the free throw conversation looks like when he is, is,

you know, doing the theatrics and going overboard to get to the line. So public and the media,

you know, myself included our critical at those times. So I think it would have been similar.

I mean, it's funny in retrospect, you know, I mean, and a bunch of people who liked what I wrote

because they didn't like the way I went down and a whole bunch of folks who didn't like it. And

my contention is that, you know, my focus on Kobe and the fact that his 81 point record,

you know, there was a moment as you guys know on the telecast or the broadcast where Jason

Reed, the longtime heat play by play man, kind of made a mistake where he said that BAM was coming

out of the game to honor Kobe and said, oh, what a great way to go out. And then said, well,

hold on a minute, he's still out there. And I think that it kind of did a disservice to BAM because it

did for people like me make you kind of go, oh, that's a great idea. Because even as messy as this is,

the way I see it is, it was like an off ramp, right? Like, all right, the optics are out of control.

Like what is happening in these past couple of minutes? But then if you did that gesture, I think

you get a little more grace from some of the public. It was not about preserving Kobe's record.

I think it was more like a possible way to avoid the scrutiny that had since come on the way

that he got there. Well, how would you say or what's your sense as to how it's been viewed?

Let's say within the league because it's obviously an event that drew a ton of attention. It was

kind of a rare in some ways, regular season moment where people that maybe wouldn't have been

watching are finding avenues to be able to watch it, which you could make the cases good for the

league. But then it's garnered so much negative attention whether it's where the wizards are and

their tank job or maybe it being BAM who's not on anybody's top 50 to be able to break that kind

of a record. Has it drawn more attention to some of the negative aspects I would say that the league

is going through than the positive when you'd think on the surface that a guy going for 83 would bring

a positive light. I think so. I think John, the tanking component is part of it because nobody

respects the wizard. As far as how it's been received around the league, I also have heard from

some head coaches and people who kind of behind the scenes are saying that as much as everybody loves

and respects Eric's poultry, the heat are to some degree lucky that there wasn't an edgy or

coaching staff on the other side. There's some coaches that are like, no, we would have put it

into this. This is embarrassing. It's disrespectful. There was a sportsmanship conversation that

fans can agree with or not. But in terms of just relaying feedback within the NBA, that was a real

conversation. It's not a disrespect to BAM. It's more so like guys, you're up by 30. What are we

doing here? Yes, so I guess to that point, Sam, why do you feel like this one was different from

say bookers 70, Kobe's 81, even Wilson, 100, like looking for extra possessions down the stretch

during an all time scoring performance isn't new, but is it just kind of the combination of it all

with the NBA, the modern issues that they're going through, tanking the fact that it was the

wizards, maybe the extra fouling at making it a little bit more blatant about hunting for

the extra possessions. I think it's all of those things, Greg, and I think it's, I mean, I

in my own, you know, attempt to, I guess, bolster my own defense. I've since looked even deeper

into the context here. And the reality is when people say, oh, what would Kobe have done? He

would have gone for it. Well, guess what? History actually says otherwise. Multiple times, he got

to 60 plus points through three quarters and then went to the bench because they were up by 30 points.

That happened several times. Clay Thompson, more appropriately for the Bay, did that in the game

where he got to 60 after three. Now admittedly, I remember watching that game and wishing

this team care left him in because he was having so much fun. But, you know, James Harden got to 60

after three and sat down. So I don't agree with the crowd that says everybody would have gone for it.

And I share this, you know, somewhat kidding, but there's substance to it. You know, I know I'm

in the right guys because, you know, Swaggy P and Nick Young agrees with me. Of course.

And the interview the other day, I mean, you got like one of the most shameless chuckers in the

history of the game. And then granted, he is a Kobe stand, so to speak, just from their friendship

and their relationship. But Nick said in no uncertain terms that he thought, you know, the way

Van did it was too much. It was, you know, kind of not in concert with the game. So that's my biggest

thing is it was questionable to begin with that he was still out there. But to push past 90 seconds

with 27 point lead. Sorry about the noise guys. You know, that's a little much. And even Pat

Riley himself, I don't know if you guys saw the clip where he's congratulating Bam in the hallway

after the game. And only he knows if he was kidding, but his first comment to Bam, well,

I would have taken you out after 70, you know, and that was a question around the NBA like,

is Pat Riley okay with this? This is not a great look for key culture.

$2,000 fines for everybody, right? I say that kidically, that was his line from the statue

unveiled down in L.A. when the guys that showed up without ties other than James worthy,

the former players, he had the joke $2,000 fines for everybody. So maybe he'll be handing out

some points. Every point pass 70, $2,000 fines for Spowe and for you, Bam, you're listening to

KBR1045 FM and 680 AM San Francisco, the sports leader, cumulus media station, hour number three

here. We're joined by Sam Amick on the Uma Guest line here on the sports leader, switching gears

to the warriors, things have taken an uglier turn here over the last few days with the losses

to Utah and to Chicago, given where those teams stand. What is your sense as to how the warriors

internally are dealing with the fact that Steph's still not back, it's probably going to be a

couple of weeks still before he's able to return. And while they had been quietly more competitive,

maybe than people would have anticipated they would be, it feels like the worm is starting to turn

here over the last couple of games in a way where this thing could potentially get ugly with

the road trip that they've got coming up and some of the opponents that they've got coming up here.

Now, I mean, you laid that out well, John. I'll have a better feel for them tomorrow. I haven't

been around them a lot. Maybe I'm going to be at the Minnesota game. And, you know, like you kind

of said, at the jump guys, it's first of all, admittedly, as somebody who enjoys watching the game,

you're going, all right, you're going to make this trek to not watch Steph Curry. That's never

as entertaining as it would be otherwise. Minnesota has been scuffling in their own right. And I'm

curious to see how that game goes. But it is kind of crazy to look back a few games at the OKC

game and how well they can port it themselves in Port Zingas had a presence in that game. And you

kind of felt like they'd be able to keep their head above water a bit. And then, you know, they

turn around and drop a bunch of games to lottery bound teams and taking teams. So that's a tough

stretch. I mean, they're playing. If you do the math, they're playing positioning is still pretty

firmly safe. You know, we all know where this is going. It feels like a last ditch effort where,

you know, whether it's one game before two games before or who knows, maybe Steph doesn't play

until the plan. You know, I wouldn't ruin anything out, but it will be a fascinating, you know,

can you flip a switch and actually make some noise and get on the plan tournament. And then,

you know, who knows, shock the world and put up a fight in a first round matchup. We'll have to

wait and see. Within that, you have, can Port Zingas down the floor, can Anthony Melton, you know,

carry a larger load, but tough times for the warriors as they kind of stumbled from the finish line

here. It's not going to say I'm a keer on the Yuma guest line. So when the trade for Port Zingas

initially happened, I thought, all right, well, hey, look, the value of the rest of the season is

to see how he and Steph can play. And then to see, maybe, is it going to be a good fit with Steph

theoretically, Jimmy at some point? Dreymon, maybe Melton, who knows what's going to happen with

Horford, but it was all about to see if it was the good fit. Well, Steph is going to continue to be

sideline into your point. We don't know exactly when he's coming back. So my question with all that

would be, what can the warriors get out of the Port Zingas experience while Steph remains sideline

from playing with him on the court? They, I mean, they in a vacuum, excuse me, they need to decide

what they think of this guy. I mean, that's all there is to it. He's going to be a free agent this

summer. And it's just it's one of the more challenging player evaluations that I can remember in

recent history, when you consider the body of evidence that we have of him at his vest, when it,

I can see why she'll like him to mic down, definitely be in the future. And the rest of their group

got excited to say, dang, this could, this could really pop with our group. And then it's like,

oh, yeah, he has a condition that is always going to be making it tough to know if he's going to play.

They will, he might play, but it might impact his energy. And then you're not going to get the

same level of play that you might have otherwise. It is, it's just the uncertainties are pretty

overwhelming when it comes to his situation. And then you have the ticking clock of the summertime

and his creativity, where not only do you want to know if you want to offer him a contract, but

as you guys know, there's this kind of tangential factor, if you will, regarding that salary slot.

And some of their trade possibilities in the summer, and how, you know,

Porzinga's could come into play in another Yannis pursuit, or somebody of that nature. So

a lot to consider and not to kind of evidence, I think they were hoping for.

Sam, Amy, joining us here on these sports leader, quick note aside from the NBA and aside from

the Warriors. And Sam, you don't have to weigh it on this, although I do believe you're a 49ers

fan of the 49ers. Yeah, play the breaking new center. The 49ers are bringing back

Dre Green law on a on a one year deal that per E and rap report of the NFL network. And now

others, a one year seven point five million dollar deal for Dre Green law who spent last year with

the Broncos, the Niners, he was gone and got on the plane and tried to get him to come back. He went

to Denver, Denver, cut him. And so Dre Green law is coming back to the Niners. We'll have more on

that coming up. So Sam, you can, you can come in on that as a resident 49er fan, or we can,

I can ask you an NBA question, either way, brother. I mean, listen, they've had so much

trouble in the middle of the field on defense. That's a familiar name. A welcome name.

JD, I thought you, because I got another notification on my phone. I thought you were going to dive

deep on them, the belated white Howard retirement that just got announced. Oh, the other,

you buried the lead, JD. I did. I buried the lead. I never make light of this stuff,

but it does make it laugh when it's like, there's this latent effect, which is like,

oh, he finally figured out, and this happens a lot. Like, he's not getting another job. So,

yeah, it's time to retire. Yeah, I mean, there are a few, right? Like, I always, the running

joke I have is like, I feel like Brandon Crawford of the Giants ends up re-retiring like every three

months. It's like, oh, does that mean they have to have another ceremony for Brandon Crawford? I

thought that he had two days. Yeah, we all forgot about Rudy, and he was announced. I was like,

Rudy, Rudy's on TV on on prime or one of the networks I saw my camera was peacocker. Like,

Rudy's doing post game shows and is pretty good at it. I'm thinking, yeah, what's, what's going on

you're good. Oh, I was just going to say I think Brett Farve also just retired at some point

today too for the fourth time. Sam, who's, who's the, who's the drag green law of your NBA media

circle? Someone who like lives on the edge a little bit is phenomenal a little what they do, but

isn't afraid to cross lines. So I wish he was in the market so he could hear me give him a hard

time. He's an East Coast buddy of mine and a colleague at the athletic Joe Varden is a Cleveland

base kind of eddies sarcastic. In my phone, I nicknamed him diplomacy Joe, and that's literally

how I have him that I phone and that is an ironic nod to his lack of diplomacy. Some of our,

you know, Slack channels for our company where you'll have big bosses like weighing in saying,

hey, we need this, we need that. And then you have Joe who allegedly like the rest of us is a worker

be will just like yell at the higher up and just feel like that's a stupid idea.

Just the type of stuff and you know, politically, you don't normally do, but it works for Joe.

That's who comes to mind. I, I knew I liked that guy. I knew I've liked that guy every time I've

got a little bit of maybe. He definitely has a little bit of JD at him. No, I, one more on the

warriors just real quick. And it's way too early, but we are kind of having the offseason discussion

because of where the team currently sits. De Anthony Melton is an obvious opt out. He's making

the minimum player option next year. He's making the minimum. So he opts out. Al Hoerford player

option. I think at the the taxpayer mid-level around six million, you would think he would opt out.

Do you, I mean, again, I'm, you may not have a lot of intel on either guy, but the warriors

obviously would want to bring both back because they've been highly productive players. You could

make the case. They've been the best and second best or second best and third best players for this

team here in the time where Stefan and Jimmy have been out. But just what, what's your feel for

maybe Al's desire to keep playing? And you know, he came to the warriors because he thought he

was helping put them over the top. Are they farther away now? And, and, and how would, you know,

Melton may be factor that? And even though I think we all would agree that Melton's really enjoyed

his time with the warriors, you know, coming back when he didn't have to last year.

So I probably had a cap. And again, this is just early speculation, but the Anthony would

seem more likely to me than Al because Al, the questions about Al wanting to retire were pretty

loud for like you said, it was a unique kind of desire to come try to put the warriors over the

top that compelled him to come to the West Coast. You know, you've heard at times this year that

that he hasn't enjoyed it the way that he thought he would. And so in terms of just kind of the

mood around that situation, it's nothing by any means remotely close to toxic or anything. But it's

just, you know, I mean, look at, look at the record, look at the challenges. There's been some good

and some bad, but, you know, I probably lean against Al continuing, but maybe retiring. That's

obviously going to be a play again. So the Anthony is a tricky one because, you know, you would think

that he has helped himself and earned a bigger payday, but free agency money is not what he used

to be. And you've got to find the right fit. And I think that he probably really likes and appreciates

the role he's been given. So as far as the basketball side, you know, he's got a lot of support

with this warrior's group. So I'm curious to see what he does. Sam, always good to talk to you.

We appreciate your flexibility throughout the week as well. A lot of news to be shortened through.

I'd like to think it will mellow out at some point. We'll get to the end of the regular season here

for the NBA. Baseball is going to start up NFL always has its dead points too. So we'll catch up

with you in a couple of weeks and we'll continue reading you as always. Thanks guys. Be good. Appreciate

you. Absolutely. Sam Amick. Read him in the athletic. You can give him a follow. And one of our

favorites to have on these sports later. All right. When we come on back, let's react to the

breaking news. Dre Green law one year seven point five million dollars. It is a reunion for

big play. Dre in the bay. We'll talk about it next on these sports later. Hey, everybody. Brian

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