Straight Fire - The Biggest Threat in the West, Giannis Needs to be the Bad Guy & Why Tanking is Great for the NBA

This is an I Heart Podcast, Guaranteed Human.

We all want the best without having to pay the most. That's where Verizon comes in. Get this.

Now you can take your AT&T or T-Mobile bill into any Verizon store. They'll look at what you're paying

and give you a better deal, period. You get the amazing coverage you want while keeping more cash

in your pocket. Visit your local Verizon store to start saving today. Must provide recent consumer

mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms and conditions apply.

No one knows what the future holds, but you deserve a weather app that can help. Weather bug is

easy to use and provides forecasts for your every need. From storm warnings to pollen levels,

write at your fingertips. Get the fastest local alerts and comprehensive 10-day forecasts wherever you

are. It's hyper-local real-time customizable alerts. Make sure the weather never takes you by

surprise so you can plan every day with confidence. Download the free weather bug app from the

App Store today and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7. Crackin is built to make crypto

simple. Buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and over 450 other assets in seconds. Fast account funding,

fast with draws, and recurring buys if you want to stay on schedule. Simple, secure, and trusted

for over 14 years. Download Crackin on the App Store or Google Play. That's K-R-A-K-E-N.

Not investment advice. Crypto trading involves risk of loss and is offered to US customers

excluding New York and Maine through Payward Interactive Incorporate. View legal disclosures

at Crackin.com slash legal slash disclosures. Terms and conditions apply.

Tax season has arrived and doing taxes without the right help can feel overwhelming.

Into it, TurboTax is here now to guide you through it with confidence. Match with a TurboTax

full service expert who handles everything for you from start to finish. Your dedicated

expert checks every single deduction and credit to help you get the best possible outcome

so you can feel confident you're getting every dollar you deserve.

And the best part? You'll see real-time updates on your experts progress right on your phone

while you live your life. Plus, you get unlimited expert help at no extra cost, even on nights and

weekends during tax season. Visit TurboTax.com. Only available with TurboTax full service experts,

real-time updates only on iOS mobile app.

This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.

What is up, Straight Fire? Pay up. It's me, Jason McIntyre. Straight

all year for Thursday, March the 19th. Oh, ladies and gentlemen, you know what time it is

NCAA tournament time. Very excited. I put out my final four earlier. We did the Calcutta. I

don't know how much I should talk about it, but I need to be on belief. I'll just say it.

We got Michigan and Duke. Oh my god. Anything happens to Michigan or Duke,

short of the final four. And your boy is going to just be devastated. Last year's Duke was,

I mean, I still can't believe they lost that game to Houston. Unbelievable meltdown.

And the beauty is it Michigan and Duke are on opposite sides of the bracket, right?

After that, we didn't get any middle to your teams, which in hindsight could have been a whiff.

You know, we got some, my name is Ohio, which actually looked pretty damn good.

I don't know how close you guys watch out against SMU. I mean, are they going to hit a

million threes against Tennessee? I don't know. They're hot usually. And 11 C does

peel off some wins after that intro game. I'm a big Santa Clara fan, big Iowa Hawkeye's fan.

Are they going to be live against Florida? If they be clumsy, we'll see. We'll see.

Utah State Aggies, you know, I already bet them. If you're on my site,

Akron, I do think Akron is going to give Texas Tech a game. And then Northern Iowa.

So got a good collection of teams. Obviously, we'll talk about it more.

The sweats in the Calcutta are very, very real. Let me see what this tournament schedule

is in terms of order of game. So the first game today is going to be TCU, Ohio State,

followed by Troy Nebraska. I don't know why people see something Troy. I like Nebraska for sure

there. South Florida. I wrote about, I think they're going to be definitely live.

Interestingly, SMU said, oh, yeah, we're going to have our star expected back. Well,

he didn't return. They clearly lied. And the committee got them in any way and they lost our game.

I don't know how much, like, I don't know what's going on with UCLA. I don't know what's going on

with Mark out Brown. My guess is he's not going to play. It's a weird tournament. A lot of

injuries guys up in the air. Wisconsin's in the morning. Duke weirdly 1150 AM. You know,

when Duke wins, they will, I can almost guarantee you that on Saturday, the early prime game will be

Duke. The standalone CBS game, I think in LA, it's at like 10 or 11 AM. But for sure, they want

Duke in the standalone games. And then at tomorrow night, we, I think the game of tomorrow night

probably is Texas BYU, get AJ Demonson prime time. Michigan, obviously. So verified

up for the tournament. I've done a million brackets. I don't know. I don't know what else to say,

guys. The tournaments here. Now, fortunately, the NBA was popping off on Wednesday. You had the

Lakers going to Houston. Remember, they had, they beat Houston Monday with a fourth quarter.

Here's the fourth quarter score on Wednesday, also in Houston. Lakers 35. Rockets 24. Lakers

unbelievable fourth quarter finishing kick. Give all the credit to Luca Dantichou is certainly in

the MVP mix. I know everybody thinks it's a feta company that Shay is going to win it.

Folks, Luca 40 piece tennisists nine boards seven three pointers took over late with an insane move

on Shengoon splitting the double behind his back. Allie up to Rui Hachimura. And then a couple

possessions later to ice the game. He gets Jabari Smith on skates, lights him up from three.

The crowd actually was going wild. They were going bonkers in Houston. Listen,

when LeBron goes 13 for 14. And Luca drops a 40 piece one rebounds. I have a triple double.

LeBron and Luca combined for 70. Austin reads that a nightmare two gay two games offensively in

Houston. And it didn't matter. That's how scary this team is. And I know everybody wants to doubt

them. And I know Charles Barkley said they're not real contenders. They've won 10 of 11. They've won seven

straight. At what point do you guys want to take them seriously? I totally forgot. They

started 15 and four. LeBron was injured. Then they had the weirdness in the middle of the season.

They're all healthy now. The Lakers are one and a half up on Minnesota.

Two and a half up on Houston and Denver. And the Phoenix Suns, if they can ever get healthy,

have a chance to sneak in. And Rob G, I'm going to be keeping real with you. Keep it a hundred,

as a kid say, this team's a legit threat. Now, I just wish they weren't playing the Spurs in

the second round. Because I don't think they have a chance against the Spurs. And I know everybody's

going, what are the Spurs one? They have Wembe Nyama. Okay. And we're only seeing, Rob,

we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg with Wembe because he's only playing like 20, 30 minutes

a game. Playoffs, he's going to be playing like 38. Okay. So that Spurs team is terrifying.

Honestly, it's probably too hot of a take. You know, maybe I'll keep, maybe I'll use it on the

herd, Rob, about test drive it here. I would rather play OKC than the Spurs in the second round

if I'm the Lakers. Too hot of a take. Oh, getting me started early on a Thursday, Morton.

That's pretty hot of a take. That's a very hot take. I mean, the same thing you'd rather take

on the defending champions who by some metrics are calling the greatest two-year running NBA history.

We have the face just, you know, analytics guys, they like, what are the KD warriors? What

that? They love OKC analytically is like the greatest things in sliced bread. You know,

we've talked about this since last year. So okay. So walk me through this. Why would you rather

face OKC than the Spurs? The Spurs have not won a play. They have two guys on their roster who

have even won a playoff series. That's all facts. I think Wembe is the most dominant player.

Right. He's going to shut everything down around the rim of all those Luca Lobs. Good luck.

And I believe the best individual defender is on the Spurs in Steph Castle. I do not want Luca

trying to go at Castle. And ultimately, I think the Spurs are just a brutal matchup for the Lakers.

Again, maybe I'm it's checkered because I was at the Spurs game when Wembe went for like 28 in

the first quarter. Now I know Luca sat out and I don't think Reeves or LeBron played. It was a

skeleton crew. But I was also at the first meeting the Lakers had with him. Wembe did play

a couple of other guys missed the game and the Lakers won. But then it didn't if memory serves it

didn't go well in the other meeting. I don't know if they were all at full strength. I just don't

like the matchup. I for me and I go back to it. Luca on the maps against SGA in the Thunder

the year before the Thunder won the title. And they had no answer for Luca. And I don't know that

they will. Now again, this is a different looking Laker team. Now then it looked earlier in the

season when they played OKC. They do match up twice down the stretch. I'm curious if the Lakers

showed them something. And they probably will have to play their guys so they can ensure a

playoff spot. But I'm very curious if they maybe just say, you know what we're not going to show

you anything. We don't want to play our guys. I mean, that's possible. A little bit of

gamesmanship. But perhaps. But again, explain to me why you would much rather face Wembe and the Spurs

or excuse me, rather face SGA in the Thunder, the deraigning defending champions, the best team in

basketball all season long. I know the Spurs have been hot into a 19 and two in the last 21 Wembe

is awesome. But what about? Well, the Spurs also smoked the Thunder in their head to head. I

think it was three one or four one. Sure. But again, like I said, what is it that you makes you think

that that OKC would be a demonstrably easier matchup? I didn't say easier. I just just

OK, splitting hairs. Spurs tougher matchup. Here's the thing. And again, I know people are going

to disagree. I don't really care. I think in the Thunder Lakers, the best player on the court is

Luca Donjic. I think he makes everyone else better. Yes, SGA is probably going to win the MVP.

He's an unbelievable score. I believe Luca Donjic is a better overall player. And unfortunately,

nobody's going to get me off that. That doesn't mean SGA isn't going to win the MVP. He's at a great

season. OK, undeniable. Luca's head ups and downs. And I know the whole defense. And

Shen Hongren does not scare me. Wemben Yamma scares me. And I do believe like who? Let's just

again, I know Caruso is a really good defender. But like other than SGA, like we haven't seen

anything from J Dub this year. And I know that the the try hard Thunder have all those guys who run

and now they got Jared McCain and Caruso and Wallace as a Mitchell and

didn't know that could be able to play all those guys. Rob, were they going to run five and five

and five? I don't think so. I do believe, you know, the light. What is it? You play eight,

but you trust seven or something like that? I'm not not scared of the Thunder. I think I've

seen Luca take them down before. I haven't seen anyone take down Wembee because they haven't been

to play us. But even the regular season, every time I watch them, they're dominant.

That's a good point. Not enough of a sell. I mean, I don't know if I believe you, but that is

a very good point. And the Pat Riley quote, the famous quote, you use a rotate seven play six trust

five. And you know what's funny is with that in mind, to your point, okay, see, especially more

so than anything was in the league, what makes them such a dangerous team on a night to night basis

is even with the injuries to J Dub, Caruso, hard and stuff like all these guys have missed time

is they have one through like they're like 13, 14 guys that could be legitimate rotation players

on a number of playoff teams, including the Lakers, like they have just guys up in on the wazoo.

The problem that you run into when you get to the playoffs is I'm not taking SGA, SGA out,

like he's playing 40 to 42 minutes for me. If J Dub is healthy, he's playing 38 to 40 minutes.

If Chet is healthy, he's playing 36 to 38. So how am I going to play 12, 13, 14 guys? I'm not.

Yeah. And so that's an issue that you're going to run into. Now, the counterpoint to that would be

we saw that the Indiana Pacers playing that exact same style, playing 10, 11, 12 guys

every night in the playoffs, got them the game seven against the juggernaut thunder and for

both of our money, would have won game seven if Tyree's helmet is a poppin' of killies. Yeah.

So long-term history suggests, yeah, having all the tips great for October, November,

all the way through March, we get to April, May and June. Just give me the team with the best five,

six guys and we'll roll like that. We'll just find out I guess relatively quickly here if that's

the hose water in 2026. No one knows what the future holds, but you deserve a weather app that can

help. Weatherbug is easy to use and provides forecasts for your every need. From storm warnings to

pollen levels, write at your fingertips. Get the fastest local alerts and comprehensive 10-day

forecasts wherever you are. It's hyper-local real-time customizable alerts. Make sure the weather never

takes you by surprise so you can plan every day with confidence. Download the free weather bug app

from the App Store today and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7.

Kraken is built to make crypto simple by Bitcoin, Ethereum and over 450 other assets in seconds.

Fast account funding, fast with draws and recurring buys if you want to stay on schedule. Simple,

secure and trusted for over 14 years. Download Kraken on the App Store or Google Play.

That's K-R-A-K-E-N. Not investment advice. Crypto trading involves risk of loss and is offered

to US customers excluding New York and Maine through Payward Interactive Incorporate.

View legal disclosures at Kraken.com slash legal slash disclosures. Terms and conditions apply.

Copenhagen's spit-free pouches are packed full of American-grown tobacco.

Made for welders. Stuck behind masks. Form mechanics. Stuck on a few spark plug.

The long haul trucker is stuck in gridlock.

Performing, working late at the field office.

Or anytime there's no time or space to spit, there's Copenhagen's spit-free pouches.

Found them in stores today. Not all varieties available in all geographies.

Warning, this product can cause mouth cancer.

All right, two truths in the law. Here we go. I went to college with college football coach Jim

McElwain. I began my broadcasting career doing play by play for the Las Vegas stars.

And I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years. Okay, I lied. All three are true.

A Verizon isn't as expensive as you think. In fact, if you bring in your AT&T or T-Mobile

bill to a Verizon store, they'll give you a better deal. That's right, a better deal on the

best network with the most waste, save on plans, streaming, and phone deals.

So take that AT&T or T-Mobile bill to your local Verizon store today.

Get a better deal and start saving. Based on route metrics, best overall mobile network

performance, U.S. second half, 2020-25. All right, it's reserved.

Must provide a recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal.

Additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply.

Texting privacy policy in terms of conditions posted at TextingTurbs.us.

Texting rolls you for a current amount of detects, marketing messages.

Message data is my apply or play. Stopped out. Visit ISSA online for details.

Tired of the 9-5 grind. Looking for something different that's flexible,

fulfilling, and pays well? How do you like to get paid to work out?

Now you can, with ISSA, the global leader in personal fitness certification.

There's a huge demand for certified personal trainers right now.

And once you get ISSA certified, they guarantee you'll get a job.

Trainers can make as much as $100 an hour.

Yes, I said $100 an hour.

And with ISSA, you can be certified in as little as six weeks.

You do everything at your own pace, and 100% online.

Pursue your passion in specializations like yoga, nutrition, or strength training.

Get certified and live your life on your terms.

Work at a gym, start your own business, or a side hustle.

Whatever works for you, just don't wait.

Get your free personal training evaluation kit today.

Get certified in as little as six weeks.

And ISSA guarantees you'll get a job.

Text Train to 32-32-32-32.

Text Train to 32-32-32-32.

Train to 32-32-32-32.

Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.

Catch all of our shows at FoxSportsRadio.com.

And within the IHARDS Radio app, search F-S-R to listen live.

I mean, listen, it's probably a hot take if people are going to get angry.

That's fine.

Again, I see the thunder.

You and I have discussed it a million times.

That Nugget series, super close.

That PASER series, super close.

I don't care about the 68 wins.

Well, that's wonderful.

You know, I heard they were going to win 74 this year.

How'd that work out?

You know, like, let's just settle down.

Overall, I'm fascinated by the NBA now,

because the Lakers have gotten so good so quickly.

J.J. Reddit continues to push all the right buttons.

Just got to stay healthy for the playoffs.

Now, there is two other NBA stories we're going to touch on real quick, okay?

Number one, the Bucks have made it abundantly clear to Yannis

they want to shut him down, right?

And you know how they do this?

Is they're just exasperated?

They're at their wit sense.

So they say, hey, let's let's let's like it to Shams.

Now, it's either the Bucks or the Yannis leaking this to Shams.

But they have a disagreement about their future.

The Bucks want Yannis to shut it down after his latest injury.

And they're not going to make the playoffs.

Yannis has refused the request and wants to play again.

This kind of has shades of Max Crosby, Rob G's Raiders.

Remember, they were like, hey, dude, your menace could say, let's shut it down, blah, blah, blah.

And then he put out the video of him playing basketball,

then he was like, fine, I'll shut it down.

He got his wish.

He got traded.

I'm of the belief, Rob.

Yannis is terrified of looking like the bad guy.

So he's going to try to flip it and make more walkie out to be the bad guy.

Hey, I want to play.

They want me to lose so they can keep their draft pick.

I don't believe in that.

I'm a competitor.

I want to play.

And Yannis seems to be driving this home through the media.

And so the Bucks are like, wait, he just got hurt again.

You want to get traded?

You don't want to commit to us?

Well, then we have to trade you and we can't trade you if you're hurt.

This is getting ugly.

And it's like, Yannis is just so terrified of looking like the bad guy.

This is kind of like the Dave Liller thing.

Remember, he was like, hated.

But guess what?

They love him in Portland again.

They love him.

They once they love you, they don't hate you after that.

You spent a many years in Milwaukee.

It's going to be fine.

So again, Shams followed up.

There have been multiple meetings with Yannis

since his hyper extended knee.

And the disagreement between the sides is unresolved.

So they're manufacturing a story.

And I think Yannis is driving a lot of this.

And I think the Bucks are hoping to win in the media.

Rob, I don't see an end in sight.

It just, I feel like they had a great marriage.

And Yannis is afraid of looking like the bad guy

and asking for the divorce when he wouldn't be the bad guy

if he just asked for the divorce.

Now he's like manufacturing this controversy

that I believe is goofy.

Yeah, I would agree with you.

And this is something that we've been talking about

like a year now.

We're even longer than that because you know,

the Bucks haven't really been in the title contention for some time.

And you and I have been pretty straight up about it.

Like, look, it's very clear.

That Yannis does not have the horses in Milwaukee

to attend for a championship.

Like even if in this situation, let's say they do tank

and they alien in there for a second,

but they end up with a lottery pick,

that lottery pick is not going to be ready next season

to help him get to the top of the Western conference.

And let's say you find a way,

hey, we get the eighth overall pick.

And we're going to, I don't know, let's say a cuff falls

or somebody great falls, a great Kiffin Arizona falls.

And we're going to trade him for an established player.

Okay, so you mean to tell me that Yannis plus Miles Turner

plus, I don't know, Franz Wagner?

Like is that team making any know it?

No, it's not.

And for all parties involved,

the best option is and always has been rip the bandaid off.

You move on, you go somewhere where you think you can win.

We get some equity back whether it's draft picks

or young players, whatever it is.

But we accept the fact that we had this great run there

for a few years.

We were the winningest team in the NBA for four or five seasons.

We broke through, we won a championship.

There's a case to be made that Yannis

is the greatest player in Bucks franchise history.

And it just ran its course like everything else does.

And for whatever reason, Yannis is so how bent

on looking like the good guy and saving face

and preserving this image that he is, you know,

the hero in Milwaukee that he is a guy who came over,

awesucks, I just want to grind and put my head down and win.

And then eventually he broke through and he did win.

And what happens with that is the trajectory changes.

It's no longer, oh, Yannis is this plucky story,

this underdog kid from Greece who broke through

and won a championship.

Now the question is, you got a couple of MVP's,

you got a defensive player of the year,

you've been all NBA for like six or seven straight seasons.

One championship is no longer enough for you.

Like, you're in a different stratosphere now.

And once he realized that, he started to manipulate

the front office and, you know, it's like, hey,

I need more score next to me.

Drew Holiday, I love Drew, he's got to go.

Here comes Dame.

Dame comes in.

It's not really working too well.

And then the worst case scenario, he pops into killies.

Let's get him out of there.

Well, in order to keep you happy,

let's, we're going to flip Dame and his contract.

We're going to wave and stretch it

so we can bring in Miles Turner.

And it's just like you're adding bad debt

on top of bad debt, on top of bad debt.

And eventually you got to pay it off.

And the way to pay it off again,

Yannis, I want out Milwaukee, cool.

Where would you like to go?

I want to go X, Y and Z.

Here's what we can get for you.

Case closed.

Yeah, my guess is that this is going to get really ugly.

And it's going to be,

remember Anthony Davis was like in street clothes,

like refusing to play, you want to go to the Lakers,

so bad that they would boo him in the arena.

Do you think that this will get that bad

so they boo Yannis, he brought them a title, at least.

I don't think so, because in this scenario,

Yannis is trying to make it seem like he's the noble one.

No, I don't want to get shut down.

That might be too smart though, right?

He's right, but it's like,

and I hate to bring back my Raiders,

but this is very similar to the Max Crosby situation.

The Raiders wanted to shut down Max Crosby.

He legitimately hurt.

And that's, that's right, Yannis legitimately hurt.

But we need to get the number one overall pick.

And you are too good.

You might wreck our chances again.

They're more an overall pick.

Yannis, you are too good.

You might prevent us from getting the 7, 8, 9,

and up with 10, 11, 12,

because you might find a way to will us

into the play in tournament or whatever.

I don't know.

And so fans, it's so hard for a lot of them,

because a lot of them are very simple-minded.

What they see is,

no, like this is not talking out to turn.

Like you work in sports media.

You concern sports media content.

You've seen that the unwashed masses on Twitter.

Oh.

When you put a take out,

you know what I mean?

Like even if you disagree with my take,

there is some logic behind it.

Whatever it is.

Even if it's your,

the one that you got this week was at the Can Booser

and Yo-Kitch.

Like that was the one that got you going there

for a minute for a couple of hours at least.

And even if I disagree with your opinion,

I know you enough.

I listen to the take.

I consume it in such a way where it's like,

I can see there is some legitimate thought behind this.

I see how he got from this premise to this conclusion.

I can disagree with the conclusion,

but I can also tell there was a lot of thought

and preparation involved to getting to it.

And most sports fans don't operate that way.

All they see is the end result.

All they care about is the end result.

So all your hearing is,

look, man, I'm healthy.

I'm a competitor.

I'm going to play.

I'm not in the business of tanking.

I'm not in the business of losing games on purpose.

So you're gonna see a large faction.

If not the majority of Bucks fans say,

Yannis is about the right stuff.

If only we can get guys around him,

things would be going differently.

Well, newsflash guy,

the only way to get players around him

is to get the draft pick and either use it for a player

or flip it for assets.

And they don't view it that way.

Yeah.

It's certainly looking bleak for the Bucks.

I don't know if he's gonna end up with the Lakers.

We'll see.

But I don't quickly close it out.

So I saw this story that there's gonna be NBA expansion coming.

It looks almost certainly like it's going to be Seattle.

And what was the other team, Rob?

Las Vegas.

Las Vegas, obviously.

Yes, there's a lot of chatter that LeBron

could own the Vegas team.

Well, we'll see.

It's a little early.

But athletics already shutting that down.

Though LeBron will not.

Yeah, they said that his group,

which is I guess the Fenway group,

that's his largest investment group

that they are not interested in NBA expansion.

So if LeBron's gonna become an owner somewhere,

he's gonna have to hit up Dr. Dre or someone else

who got a billion dollars.

He's gonna have his own pocket.

You know what I mean?

You gotta find a new group.

No one knows what the future holds,

but you deserve a weather app that can help.

Weather Bug is easy to use and provides forecasts

for your every need.

From storm warnings to pollen levels,

right at your fingertips.

Get the fastest local alerts

and comprehensive 10-day forecasts wherever you are.

It's hyper-local, real-time, customizable alerts.

Make sure the weather never takes you by surprise

so you can plan every day with confidence.

Download the free weather bug app from the app store today

and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7.

Kraken is built to make crypto simple.

Buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and over 450 other assets in seconds.

Fast account funding, fast withdrawals

and recurring buys if you wanna stay on schedule.

Simple, secure and trusted for over 14 years.

Download Kraken on the app store or Google Play.

That's K-R-A-K-E-N.

Not investment advice.

Crypto trading involves risk of loss

and is offered to US customers excluding New York

and Maine through Payward Interactive Incorporate.

View legal disclosures at Kraken.com slash legal slash

disclosures, terms and conditions apply.

Copenhagen's spit free pouches are packed full

of American-grown tobacco.

Made for welders, stuck behind masks.

Or mechanics, stuck on a fused spark plug.

For long haul truckers, stuck in gridlock.

For Foreman, working late at the field office.

Or anytime there's no time or space to spit,

there's Copenhagen's spit free pouches.

Found them in stores today,

not all varieties available in all geographies.

Warning, this product can cause mouth cancer.

All right, two truths in the lie, here we go.

I went to college with college football coach Jim McElwain.

I began my broadcasting career doing play by play

for the Las Vegas stars.

And I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years.

Okay, I lied, all three are true.

A Verizon isn't as expensive as you think.

In fact, if you bring in your AT&T or T-Mobile bill

to a Verizon store, they'll give you a better deal.

That's right, a better deal on the best network

with the most ways to save on plans, streaming and phone deals.

So take that AT&T or T-Mobile bill

to your local Verizon store today.

Get a better deal and start saving.

Based on route metrics,

best overall mobile network performance,

US second half, 2025.

All right, it's reserved, must provide a recent consumer,

mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal.

Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply.

Texting privacy policy in terms of conditions posted

at TextingTerms.us.

Texting roles you for occurring on a media text marketing

as just message data is may apply or play stopped out

visit ISSA online for details.

Tired of the nine to five grind,

looking for something different

that's flexible, fulfilling and pays well.

How do you like to get paid to work out?

Now you can, with ISSA, the global leader

in personal fitness certification.

There's a huge demand for certified personal trainers

right now and once you get ISSA certified,

they guarantee you'll get a job.

Trainers can make as much as $100 an hour.

Yes, I said $100 an hour and with ISSA,

you can be certified in as little as six weeks.

You do everything at your own pace and 100% online.

Pursue your passion in specializations like yoga,

nutrition or strength training.

Get certified and live your life on your terms.

Work at a gym, start your own business or a side hustle.

Whatever works for you, just don't wait.

Get your free personal training evaluation kit today.

Get certified in as little as six weeks.

And ISSA guarantees you'll get a job.

Text train to 323232.

Text train to 323232.

Train to 323232.

Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.

Catch all of our shows at FoxSportsRadio.com.

And within the IHARDS radio app, search FSR to listen live.

They're targeting the 2829 season.

And one of the more interesting pushbacks I saw

was from Bobby Marks, the salary cap guy,

who said, we might want to rethink expansion

after looking at some of these scores the last couple nights.

In the past two games, Brooklyn has shown by a combined 60 points

at the half.

And I get it, maybe he's saying that tongue in cheek.

But I need Bobby, you know, I have never talked to him.

I've heard him on some podcast.

He's obviously really plugged in and knows his stuff,

worked in the net front office, blah, blah, blah.

But I need people to see how teams are built in the NBA.

He knows this because he worked for a team.

The Detroit pistons were awful for pretty much a decade.

They get some bites at the apple, a pie,

and they land Cade cunning him in the draft.

Now I remember I was pro Jalen Green,

what a bad call that was.

Cade cunning him was OK, had an injury,

Jalen Green score, score score,

and like, doesn't do anything else.

And now Cade cunning hands in MVP candidate.

And Detroit has the number one record in the East.

The Boston Celtics were bad.

They had a great run with Rondo and KG and Pearson.

Those guys, then they were rotten, so bad

that they drafted at the top in back-to-back years.

And got Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown.

They have a title, and they're pro Rennial contenders.

I mean, to Cleveland Cavaliers, horrible,

and the mobility in the draft,

all the teams at the top, even the Toronto Raptors

who were shockingly 10 games over 500,

their best player, Scotty Barnes.

Do you know how they got him?

They were awful.

Now I know Jason, wait, were all those teams tanking?

Do I remember if the Celtics were straight up tanking

eight years ago or whatever it was?

No, I don't, but bottom line is being awful is good.

And then you look to the West, and it's like game over.

The Thunder, tanked for Chad Holmgren, got him.

He's their second, third best player.

Now they got SGAV at trade fine.

But we can end things with the San Antonio Spurs

who aggressively tanked, got Lemonyama, and are now set.

They are way ahead of schedule, and they're not going anywhere.

No, not all tanking works out.

See the New Orleans Pelicans, Zion Williamson, I got it.

But the bottom line is a lot of the best players in the league

were drafted at the very top, the young best players.

Yokech was not curry, obviously a little older,

Anthony Edwards was, but I don't remember how much they tanked.

And that's how you get good quickly.

Okay, see, they were hideous.

Back when they were in Seattle, got Kevin Durant,

got Russell Westbrook.

Being bad is fine.

There's nothing wrong with it.

And this draft, I don't know how much we've talked about it, guys,

like ad nauseam.

Like Rob, I'm pitching this idea to the herd.

I've said it a couple times this week, they don't love it

because it's so, the draft is so far out.

I don't want the number one pick.

I don't.

I think there's going to be too much pressure

because there's so many good options.

Now some people, Miles Simon was on the show yesterday,

and he's like, well, I don't know.

I think there's really three or four.

There's not like six or seven number one picks.

Okay, fine.

You're still, you're odds of whiffing.

Like, AJ DeBonza, I don't want to say he's bust proof.

I think he's going to be really good.

Darren Peterson, maybe a little trickier.

Cameron Booser, I like him a lot.

I think some people are going to be scared.

I think he's probably going to drop a little bit.

I think Caleb Wilson from UNC might be overdrafted.

Doesn't have the skill set, but the athleticism there.

I think Darius A. Cough is a killer.

But if Darius A. Cough goes to Sacramento at three,

I don't know how good is he going to be?

I don't know the answer to that.

By the way, Darius and Fox went to Sacramento.

Best team they probably had in 15 years,

got to the playoffs, you know, like great story.

He's now gone, of course.

But there's so many good players up top

that I would be nervous

that I would, that I was going to screw it up

or I wouldn't pick the right guy.

Do you know the pressure that GM is going to be under?

It's similar to the Bryce Young who they traded up for

when CJ Strauss era two.

Do you know how quickly they fired the GM and the coach

and everyone?

Because it was cleared, they got the wrong guy.

I mean, you could do all the homework you want.

You're splitting hairs on 18, 19, 20 year olds

in the draft we are.

Like yeah, there's going to be some automatic hits,

but this is going to be a tough one.

Honestly, I don't want to win the lottery.

I definitely want to be top three.

Obviously, let's not get crazy.

But I don't, I, this isn't like the Zion one

where it was very clear Zion's a guy, right?

This feels a little different

and I think we're going to find out in the NCA tournament,

you know, okay, that guy looks like he hasn't.

I would not be shocked if Darren Peterson took Kansas

on some run.

Maybe they took down Duke.

That's not going to surprise me.

I've got a lot of brackets.

That's more than one of them.

But Rob, is it too hot of a take?

Like I don't want the number one pick,

but tanking works.

Like is that like two all over the place there?

No, because in this context, it makes a hundred percent sense.

Like historically, it's a year point.

Like if it's the Zion Williams and the Blake Griffin draft,

like, hey, you know that the gap between one and two

is pretty sizable.

Or if it's a situation like

Greg Oden and Kevin and now Greg Oden

became a punchline years later,

but at the time it was like,

hey, if you get one of these first two picks,

you are going to feel fantastic.

You either got the best big man since David Robinson,

prospect wise, or you have this seven foot 125 pound guy

who can shoot the lights out and he's just incredible.

What this situation does is as Bally Hoot

is this class is and we're going to focus

like on the top four or five guys, right?

Kayla Wilson's coming off an injury.

Oh, I'm sure he's going to be fine,

but you got to factor that in.

You didn't get to see a lot of him this season

because he got hurt.

Darius Acuff is everybody's favorite player,

including mine right now.

The problem is that he is, you know,

not a flash in the pan, but he really came on late.

Like he wasn't viewed in the same status

for years as other guys to start the season,

not to say that he won't be even be better,

but you got to factor that part in.

AJ DeBanza, great player,

probably the most prototype in terms of traits,

you know, six, nine wing, you can handle, do it all.

The fact that he went to BYU,

I think is going to raise some people's eyebrows

a little bit like what?

In a good way or bad?

Just I think anytime you see a five star player

end up at a not five star destination,

I think it kind of makes you think like,

hey, is he worried about being the star?

Does he really want to just be the man?

It's kind of similar to what Ace Bally

had to deal with last year going to Rutgers.

Like, well, do you really want to win

or do you just want to get all the shots?

You know, I don't think that,

I don't know if that's a fair comparison with,

with DeBanza, but like that's going to be discussed.

Darren Peterson, we're talking about him ad nauseam.

Does he really love the NBA?

Or does he love basketball?

You know, or is this full body cramp

like is his injuries history even worse than we thought?

And Cameron Booser, who seems like the safest pick

is not super explosive to your yokeish point.

Like he's not the most high flying guy.

So it's like any one of these guys,

you could make the case as being the best player

available on the draft.

The problem is I can't definitively say

that the gap between number one and number five

is that big.

So if I take Booser and he ends up being good,

but not great, I'm going to look stupid

if two of the next three guys are awesome.

If I end up taking Darren Peterson

because I've bought into the preseason hype

and he ends up having full body cramps all the time

and missing, you know, 25 games a season.

And Cameron Booser ends up being, you know,

to your point, a mini yokeish,

then I'm going to look stupid.

So this might be a situation where

let somebody else take the risk of number one

and I'll gladly accept whoever's available

because we all agree that these five dudes

can be transformative.

So you're almost would rather take the guesswork out of it

and just be forced into a decision.

Are you of the belief that like,

it's not happening, obviously,

but I don't think there's like a talent deficiency

around the league.

This idea, oh, we can't expand.

There's not what are they talking about?

Anybody who's against expansion is silly.

I mean, it's not, I know you're going to say,

well, there's like seven bad teams tanking.

Yeah, because it's a great draft.

That's why they're tanking.

They're not tanking like because they want like

a shot at the number one pick.

There's like a lot of potential franchise players

in this draft.

Now again, we didn't think Jalen Brown was a franchise player.

I don't think anybody did.

They're like, oh, he's really, really good.

But yeah, expansion is going to work.

It's going to be fine.

Will there be growing pains?

Yeah, just like there were the Michael Jordan expansion era.

You guys seem to forget the 90s when the Miami heat stunk

in Orlando, Orlando magic were awful for a few years

before they landed.

Oh, look at that.

Shack and penny in the draft.

You know, it's like, come on.

Anyway, these NBA people.

All right, folks, get to bed early.

Hope you got a good night's sleep because it is on

and popping with the NCA tournament on Thursday.

We'll see you tomorrow.

No one knows what the future holds,

but you deserve a weather app that can help.

Weather bug is easy to use and provides forecasts

for your every need.

From storm warnings to pollen levels,

right at your fingertips, get the fastest local alerts

and comprehensive 10 day forecasts wherever you are.

It's hyper local real time customizable alerts.

Make sure the weather never takes you by surprise

so you can plan every day with confidence.

Download the free weather bug app from the App Store today

and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7.

Kraken is built to make crypto simple

by Bitcoin, Ethereum and over 450 other assets in seconds.

Fast account funding, fast withdrawals

and recurring buys if you want to stay on schedule.

Simple, secure and trusted for over 14 years.

Download Kraken on the App Store or Google Play.

That's KRA KEN.

Not investment advice.

Crypto trading involves risk of loss

and is offered to US customers excluding New York and Maine

through Payward Interactive Incorporate.

View legal disclosures at Kraken.com

slash legal slash disclosures.

Terms and conditions apply.

Copenhagen spit free packs American grown tobacco

into pouches.

Made from when you're elbows deep in an engine block.

They're masked up, torching deep cuts into stubborn pipes.

Or helmets on, riding deep into backcountry.

When there's no time or space to spit,

grab Copenhagen spit free pouches.

Find them in stores today.

Not all varieties available in all geographies.

Warning, this product can cause mouth cancer.

T-Mobile has the best plan on the best network.

Just ask Kevin Baker.

Today, business happens virtually everywhere.

That's why you need super mobile from T-Mobile.

The best plan on the best network.

Letting you run your business from your phone.

Like, never before.

In moments of hide the man, T-Mobile's network adapts

to put your business connection first.

Discover more at supermobile.com.

Best business plan based on combination

with advanced network performance coverage

layers and security features.

Best network based on analysis by Uber's Speed Test

Intelligence data 1-8-2-2-2-2-5.

Uber's Trick March user horizons are we printed with permission?

Think Verizon is expensive?

Think again.

Anyone can bring their AT&T or T-Mobile

bill to a Verizon store today

and we'll give you a better deal.

So bring us your bill.

Walk in, run in, pogo, stick in, teleport if you can.

Right on the back of a roller-blading yacker,

fly in on the wings of a majestic Falcon.

Any way you can bring your AT&T or T-Mobile

bill to a Verizon store today

and we'll give you a better deal on the best network.

Based on root metrics, best overall mobile network performance

US-2-2-2-2-2-5.

All right, reserved.

Must provide a very recent post-paid consumer mobile bill

in the name of the person redeeming the deal.

Additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply.

This is an iHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.