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All right, it is time. This is sort of the semi official start, John or I may miss one Sunday, but this is kind of the official start. As we move into August very quickly, John, former NFL scout three and out what's going to happen in college football in the next year. This is really a thing that's happening. So I've talked to two different athletic directors. Is these college programs are going to hire general managers because right now,
these guys don't know how to work their cap. So let's say I'll just take usc they're making somewhere between thirteen and fifteen million in IL. That's what I've been told.
You're saying, that's their budget to pay, that's.
Their annual budget. They're building new facilities. That money is always easy to get. Boosters love facilities, they can.
Feel put their name on it.
Yeah, right, nil again about thirteen million a year in that ballpark. They don't know how to spend it. They don't know. They just don't understand quite they needed general manager. So I think what's going to happen in college football in the next eighteen months. A guy like a Chris Peterson who works at Fox, A guy like a Chris Peter. You hire Chris Peterson, you give him a good salary, and see, Chris, you just run the cap. You organizationally kind of run our personnel. You don't get the heat
of the coach. And I think that guys like Chris Peterson are going to have schools throw seven figures at them and say, can you run from a personnel standpoint, organize our football program because these guys, these schools now are paying high schoolers, not seniors. They're paying juniors to announce they're going to the schools. So I think there's a massive shift going on. UCLA can't compete at all.
Thank god they're moving to the Big Ten because the home attendants will buoye their you know, their revenue, but they have a debt service every year. They're they're in big trouble.
Did you see the highlight of Deshaun Foster talking about that, which is crazy because he was a high level college player, good NFL player. It's not like he's never been in front of the media. He's not some lifetime coach. It was pretty it felt very UCLA right now and kind of Mickey Mouse and it's they're going to be terrible.
Jake Rosenberg, who I was dming with this weekend, who I used to work with with the Eagles, who was one of how he's right hand men with the Cap, who worked in finance before he got hired with the Eagles, left the Eagles and created a company and is now working with Oklahoma. He's literally signed contracts and worked with these contracts and his business will only grow exponentially quick because again, obviously thirteen million is less than two hundred
million NFL salary cap. But it's still These guys aren't used to and philosophically. You know, Kirby Smart I've heard, is very uncomfortable getting to a certain number with a high school kid. Yeah, he will pay his own guy once he gets established, or pay a transfer portal guy. But in terms of a high school kid, I mean Nebraska Dominic Riola, who I think is the dad? I feel the kid's name. Who's the quarterback? You know, there are rumors he we got four million dollars and you
fall college recruiting right closer than I do. We have seen a million number one, number two overall guys, the guys that turn into Andrew Locke and Trevor Lawrence and Caleb Williams. But those guys are actually the minority. Yeah, the majority bounce around, become average, get benched. That's a
very risky proposition. Like you said, you don't have fifty million to deal with, So if you're gonna allocate several million, wasn't the thing a couple of years ago with USC I guess it would have been two years ago when they had Jordan Adison and Caleb weren't those guys taking like eighty percent of their nil money to the two players. Yeah, it's they were worth it. But still, I mean, you better get it right.
It's a much bigger mess than anybody in the sports media is talking about. It is a shit show. It is. These schools are paying juniors in high school. Some of these guys take the money and then they flip their senior year to the school that comes to like an Oregon and pays more money. So it's a mess. So general managers are coming. I think venture capitalists could own chunks of college football programs. But it is is it's
pro football and the air thing. You know, the other thing athletic directors are going to have to go through over the next couple of years. John, All these sports are driven by football. At basketball makes money for men and women at a lot of colleges. After that, they
all lose money. So let's save money a lot. I mean so, but it's hard because if let's say you have a swimming program or a golf program and it loses a million a year, but your third biggest booster in the athletic department supports their kid who's on the swimming team. So it's very you get you have to be very judicious with your decisions because a lot of times the biggest boosters their kids, you know, they got a scholarship in golf for swimming or water polo or fencing.
It out east hockey and it's like the sport loses US three million, but the guy gave US eight million. I think if you really privately asked athletic directors what they could do, they would all shave off twenty programs, twenty five programs. You can't make money. And so I've said years ago you should privatize football. But a lot of the biggest boosters at these schools are not football boosters. And so but I'm here to tell you there's guys
out there, the Chris Peterson's Bob Stoops. Those guys. Now people are going to start calling them and say, do you want to run the program? You're the GM, here's a million a year. Just organize this stuff. Run our cap and or xgms at fifty five who are just burnout from crazy owners. There's a new industry starting in college football. General managers are a year away from being hired everywhere.
Well, that's why you're going to see it this year, and it's only going to grow the next five years. Is the wiping out of all the and them colleges. When it comes to football. I was at the gym today and this guy who looked like he played football was decked out in Washington State football gear. Kind of made me sad, you know, I mean, we grew up on that program playing in big games. They're going to turn it in closer to UC Davis in the next five years than they are back to Washington because the
money the SEC has made. I mean, look at the SEC, the amount they pay college basketball coaches now, I mean they're college basketball conference now. I fall college golf because a lot of the top guys go on to the PGA Tour. All the college golf programs in the SEC they flay private because, like you say, they have big boosters, they have the football money behind it, and the Big Ten is not going to be far behind as they start making gobs of cash now that they've gotten Oregon
and USC and it's inevitable. It feels like Notre Dame, you know, and those programs go and the SEC gets Florida State and Clemson over the next decade, it's gonna wipe out the little guy. And I started at Fresno State. They don't have a snowballs chance in hell to survive. And it's just it's going to become the NFL light because I get a lot of questions like why doesn't the NFL invest in minor league football? So why would they?
College football produces all their talent and they don't have to spend a penny, so why would they spend any expense on developing players. Besides, once they have them in their own building, when college football is doing it for them, they're spending all them and football, like you said, makes all the money in college sports. It's it's also the most expensive program to run. It's why you know where I grew up in Northern California, Saint Mary's Santa Clara.
When I worked for Pat Hill, he played at Riverside. Those programs back in the seventies, Pete Carroll played it, you know, Piscopic School, Pacific. They all cut football after a while because they couldn't afford it. And that's back, I mean, they were bare bones. So it just becomes how does Washington State or Fresno State or New Mexico whose programs forever, I mean they were playing real football, how do they survive moving forward? And the answer is
they just don't. That's just the way kind of business works, right.
So I'm looking at all these new contracts, and you know, it really is interesting. I'm totally comfortable with Jordan loves and some of it's just this because I fashioned myself as a poor man's scout. He's bigger than Tua, he's faster than to A, he's got a better arm than to A, and Green Bay almost always gets offense, right. I really that's my bias, whereas too a smaller don't love his arm, not his athletic and Miami screws stuff up the two two hundred and twelve million dollars. I'm
a little uncomfortable with it. I don't think I would have gone there. But I think to myself all the time what Jay Glazer once said, the worst great job in America is being a football coach. Driving to the stadium knowing you're going to win six games, and if two is upright, you have a chance to win eleven. So I just think I trust the Packers, Jordan's bigger, stronger, faster, better whip. Where are you on TUA twelve over four years? Would you have gone there?
And one hundred and seventy million dollars guaranteed? Is insane to me? I think there's two ways to look at it. That contract to me is jaw dropping. I think most people that have watched and play go that's crazy. That's that's insane because you have no shot to beat any of the top quarterbacks who are all in your conference. And we just saw last year you were like, what were they eight and one or nine and two and the other Bills were six and six and they still
ended up winning the division. Why because Josh Allen translates in November, December and January and your guy doesn't. But there is value in just being relevant and competing to make the wild card everything. Yes, So why can't we find some middle ground of like Alex Smith never made Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady money, but like he was getting Harbaugh and Andy Reid to the playoffs and there was value in him. And now we've got to the point of like, well you just gotta make
this much? Why why couldn't you just offer him Daniel Jones money like ninety million dollars guaranteed. You cut that guarantee in half. Who are you bidding against the thing with Dak? You know if he hit the open market, other people would be interested. The Raiders would take him into heartbeat like they were. And he's proven like every single year you can win twelve games. Toua. It still feels like is he even that good? But but he clearly you could win with him. You have a good
offensive coordinator. He's a good guy like all the character stuff, but his physical flaws one, he's a relic. He's a true pocket quarterback, bad athlete. Relative. And I heard you, what was your analogy about the furniture with you with your quarterbacks?
I like, I like my quarterbacks like my furniture, big and hard to move.
Okay, so the old school quarterbacks. Anyone that's ever met one of these guys, Carson, Palmer, Eli or Peyton. Did you see the pictures of Peyton at Team USA practice standing next to all these guys that are six seven and six ten. He does not look that much smaller than any of them. Know, the Mannings are huge. Carson Palmer is a giant. Philip Versus is huge. Well, that's how to a place. The problem is he's six feet tall. Yeah, and he's got a weak arm, so he doesn't translate
to the winter. Well, he plays in the division with cold weather teams. So I just I get investing in him. And if you would have said, hey, they signed him to a three year, one hundred million dollar deal, and they guaranteed every pennon of like, I kind of get it. But to pay him enormous money, I think is insane.
I just don't know. Like when it comes to Jordan Love, if you and I pulled every GM we know and said who would you take for this next five years, Jordan Love or to us all take Jordan, it'd be unanimous and it would be one hundred percent. So Jordan Love technically signed for less. That's what I just think. Listen, I don't get it. That's I'm shortened the Dolphins for the next three or four years. I'll tell you what.
And here's the other issue. In thirty two years since Brett fav arrived, it's been thirty two years since he stepped foot. He was a packer. The packer have the number one rated offense in the league, second, winning his team to New England, and have never in thirty two years that I recall, have a bad offensive line. So if you look at the ancillary reality of Green Bay, Jordan Love will get better protection on average and better coaching on average. So Jordan Love got paid less and
has much better support system. So I mean, Steven Ross is one of the richer owners, but do you really trust him. He's always been a distracted owner and Miami hasn't had a great offensive line since Don Shula. So my take is, not only don't I Love to a contract, but let's just be honest. Over five years of it, he'll have middle of the Paco lines and there's the possibility that they won't draft terribly well. I mean Green Bay is I said this the other day, like there's
certain people. Spielberg makes a movie or is involved in something. If you go to his like movie page, it's almost always good. He doesn't he has B projects. He doesn't have any c's like Green Bay. If they had a bad season, it's because a quarterback got hurt. I mean, there are B two A minus virtually B plus to A minus every year in my life So the other thing I don't like about Tua is Marino had shula. I don't think Mike McDaniels, I guess the way I
would say it's this. They are about four organizations and four ownership groups I just trust implicitly, and Miami's not one of them.
No. I think people often ask like, why have the Ravens stayed so consistent over now two and a half decades. They've had the same people there forever. So Eric DeCosta, who's now in charge, worked for Ozzie Newson for twenty years. Well, when you look at the Packers, it's kind of similar. Maybe coaches, you know, they go from McCarthy to the floor, But Gudakins worked for Ted Thompson, who worked for Ron Wolf.
I mean, the carryover of the philosophical beliefs of the organization have not changed, the non negotiables of what you look for in players, the way you develop. Obviously in Green Bay they love offensive coaches, and I think when you look at Jordan Love, I don't think they get enough credit because we just the way our society works, were always on to the next for when they pulled the trigger on drafting them. I mean it was pretty ugly.
They got destroyed. You know, Charlie Munger says, if you can't handle, you know, the fifty percent downturns, you deserve the mediocre returns. Well, they that was ugly. I mean it created this weird dynamic with Rogers. It was crazy even though Rogers member was coming off that kind of weird season their first year. But when they did it well three four years later, it's paying off big dividends. Now they're still risk involved. But there are still some
unknown with this player. He's only had eight good games. But I don't know if you have watched any of just I watched a little bit of his press conference I think yesterday, and I saw a clip today with the NFL networkers there. Just because he's been the backup, you haven't really heard. He's pretty impressive, Yes, you just as a guy. And yes, his maturity. I was like, oh damn, that's this is this has a Mahomes Josh Allen. The way he carries himself. And obviously, like you said,
first off, you have to have the physical. Alex Smith checked every box except weak armed. Yeah, you know, he had a great arm. He would have been Rogers or something. You know, and that's what this guy has. He has these physical characteristics, he has the infrastructure around him, and then he has the maturity. I I think, you just I don't know if he's gonna be then Aaron Rodgers two point zero, But how's he not gonna be pretty damn good, you know? And that's it's listen my life.
Joe Montana was a little bit before me. I remember as a kid he was more on the Chiefs than Steve Young and then Jeff Garcia, who was nowhere near as good as those two, but he was still damn good going the I think this guy has a chance to be like their version of Jeff Garcia, but the but actually closer to Rogers are fourth, and that's why I think they are. They feel really good. Now he got he got seventy five million dollars signing bonus. He
will get seventy five million dollars. I think it's three twenty five million dollars direct deposits between now and like mid December. So I mean they're pushing all their chips in the middle of the table on this. But I think you ask people around the league, any person that watch them, if you're a fan, of the Packers, You go, yeah, I get it, I would do it. Where the opposite reaction of Tua like, did you need to do this? That's that's my question? Did you need to do this?
Well?
They are NBA. You know when NBA team just max out guys like you're a forty win team, you have to pay this guy to two hundred million dollars.
You don't.
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I don't know why I'm so interested in this, but I am. This is my This is kind of my thing. I talked to Dave Wants then about this, So this is not an opinion by me. This is the truth. When when Russell Wilson gets married, he doesn't have ten players at the wedding with Ciarra. He's never been wildly popular inside of his locker rooms, and he's been good. It's like generally good looking, rich guy, beautiful wife. You'd be just by you know, just the way the world works, you'd be kind of popular.
He's not.
Really.
We've seen players in Denver, we've seen players in Seattle, coaches take shots at Russell. I like him, but he comes off to a lot of people as inauthentic. So and I don't think he's changed. In fact, he's befriended. I've been told Mike Tomlin more than any teammate like he's because Tomlin, by the way, is like Russell, wealthy, you know, worth seventy five to one hundred million dollars or more. So he's befriended you know, Tomlin not a teammate.
And then here comes Justin Fields, who to the last day in Chicago. Despite being the worst fourth quarter quarterback in like a decade, players loved him. He's young, he's a nice guy, he's supportive, he's secure in himself. He just doesn't He's got a Zach Wilson thing. He struggles post snapped or read a defense. He just struggles with it. He doesn't identify certain things. Zach and Justin I see except that. But now Russell's banged up, and Justin's guarantee
as a great practice player. And here's my thing. You look at that Pittsburgh schedule. There are a lot of two game losing streaks in it. I mean, if they don't get that old line right, there's a lot of two game losing streaks. And you tell me, having worked for the Eagles, Russell has a two game losing streak, and like right now, Justin's crushing it at practice. It's a young roster players like Justin. Like, I think that's
a fascinating potential mess. Do you think they replaced Russ or do you think he's been guaranteed a starting spot this year?
I think it's already getting weird. I mean he's already injured. It's late July, pulled calf. He feels like a weathered guy that's thirty four to thirty five years old, and partly is the way he's looked the last couple of years. I've said forever, if I was a Steeler fan, I would want no part of Russell Wilson's starting because we high Arthur Smith, who we've seen resurrect Ryan Tannehill's career. Now I would say Tanny Hill then a little more accurate.
This guy's a better athlete. Can you get anything out of this player? The other thing in Pittsburgh, what's that territory like right by Ohio State. A lot of those fans watch justin Fields succeed. Remember the game he had against Clemson the playoff game. I think he threw six touchdowns. Yeah, there's stuff there. I would just want to see that guy. When I think the Steelers going back even before I
was born, to throughout my youth to this team. Now, they just have guys, guys like when you think football players in the like TJ. Watt feels like everyone likes Cam Hayward's the man of the year, making Fitzpatrick's like one of Saban's favorite players, and it doesn't feel like those guys are going to be into this at all at all. And the other thing is, let's face it, Russell's more of a dink and dunk guy now and
they have explosive players on that roster. My guess is I think we now who knows, We'll see if he can by the time within a week and are on if he's back at the starter. It would not shock me if Justin Fields's starter very early on. I wouldn't even put week one out of the realm possibility. They're not invested into this player. I mean, they're in for a million dollars, so it means you can't get a player of his status any cheaper.
I love future bets. So two years ago, Minnesota was at like eight and a half and I just sold the farm. I said, that is a terrible mistake by Vegas. They won thirteen. I think last year, I said, do you realize the Rams were at six and a half in Vegas? I said, Timeout, they're just an older Chiefs. Great offensive coach, great quarterback, one great defensive lineman. Outside of Cooper Cup, we don't know what they are, but pretty good protection and kind of young on the defensive side.
I said, Now, Mahomes is better than Stafford, I said, but they kind of line up with Kansas City, a weaker version. They're winning eight nine games, so the team this year, Listen, I don't think they're great. Denver's over unders five and a half left tackle, excellent O line was rented seventh by PFF. One of their guards is top four in the league. Excellent offensive coach, two solid NFL running backs, an elite corner in safety. Linebackers move well,
one good defensive lineman. They drafted an edge rusher that's a weakness. Mims could be an excellent two. Courtland's sort of a Week one, but two dependable receivers, service sole tight ends. If bow Nicks just runs the plays, and I do think there's a Drew Brees thing here. They can't go seven and ten?
Yeah, to me, that's that'd be a pretty easy overhammer. There are some I can't they make the playoffs or whatever with the rookie quarterbacks. It's different. Five five and a half feels insanely low way looking. I was looking on our friends at DraftKings I usually don't do over unders because for me to get the juices flowing, you know, the numbers got to be like five or ten thousand dollars and I don't want to just have it sitting there. But I saw something that I'm like, I'm all in
the Chargers to make the playoffs. Are plus one ten, So you are You're not even having to pay a vict You're getting plus one odds on this. This is the best quarterback he's ever had. They invested in another offensive lineman, They're gonna be able to run the ball. We know wherever he's gone. They've been good on defense wherever they and let's face it, you get to ten wins with that quarterback, you're probably the seventh seed. I like them a lot more than the Dolphins this year.
I think that was my favorite. Just long term, I think the charges are in the playoffs. I mean, Jim Harbaugh has a long history. The other thing is I've watched a lot of just Charger content Jim and I was around him for a couple of years when I kind of got into radio when he was with the Niners, and I think early on Stanford s he had this huge chip on his shoulder. He was just hard to be around. I think, I don't know if it's the championship for the last couple years in Michigan, he feels
a lot lighter. I know, you know, the Spano says, he feels a lot easier to be around. And there's a looseness like a I don't know if it was insecurity, but he just tried to beat this ball in the China shot NonStop and it feels looser. But he clearly is better at his craft now than he's ever been in his entire life. And he's been good at it since he started coaching. How are they not really good? I actually think if you just go well, I can see the Chiefs kind of just cruise control. I don't know.
They just won the last two Super Bowls. Is it out of the wrong possibility they win the division?
Well, they were favored to win gold. But there's been a lot of storylines with Team USA at the Olympics in France. Jason Timph hoops tonight. So let's talk Embiid who you know, when he comes into the league, there was a sign early first couple of years can't play it unhealthy. So it's like, uh, oh, biggs get hurt early. Biggs usually get hurt often, so he's always had an
injury history. But most bigs eventually do right, like almost all of them, y'aw ming shack just Greg Odin Sam Booie couldn't get on the floor, Like it's the position. People probably aren't built to last at seven to two, you know, or shack size with those feet back. It wears out, Like I get it, But Embiid presents something else beyond the injuries, and because he is more dynamic and more fun to watch than Jokic or a Yiannis, and there is a shack component with with better ball
handling skills. There is also something that I find my eyes keep telling me this when I watch the Sixers.
Is that?
And the Olympics just heighten this is that they can keep running coaches through Philly and teammates through Philly. I mean even Ben Simmons for a while, he wasn't All Star like his first year right, like Ben did have promise.
They were good. Is that?
Yeah, Embiid really needs to stay closer from the basket, so coaches kind of pushed a d out for a couple of years. It was like fashionable and Ady didn't good shooting from out there. A D said, I want to go back, and he has been for two years.
A monster.
I mean, to me, the most underrated player in the Olympics and the league right now is ad. He is just turn the sound down watch you can't if he's on the floor. It's like Lebron, you can't take your eyes off him. He's dominant. Embiid to me, somebody has to just acknowledge fella. Get away from the perimeter. He fashions himself or is told that he is such an important part sometimes of perimeter basketball. He's big, he's aging, he's not as quick. I thought he literally got in
the way of this offense. I'd seen it in Philly, but it was so profound with this team. It bothered me. I'm screaming at the TV, get him out of the game. Your thoughts on Embiid and are any of these valid? That I watch him offensively. I know the numbers probably say is great, but he can he stops. I just feel like he can stop offenses too often.
So it's both. It's the jump shot and it's the ball movement piece. The jump shot piece. This has been a consistent story in Embiad's career, especially over the previous couple of years. This last year he actually shot the ball okay against the Knicks, But like in the previous couple of seasons, he would shoot like fifty percent on these like mid range pull up jump shots in the regular season, but then he'd get in front of Al Horford and he couldn't make them like he would he
would struggle to knock him down in the posts. That was a consistent theme, and be you would get to the postseason, his jump shot would go away. And one of the biggest things that he never built out the way Jokic did is those short range shots, the hooks, the floaters, all that stuff that like six exactly, and those are way more dependable in this kind of setting. The second piece of it is learning how to play
basketball with other people. This is a this is an epidemic around the league with certain guys, and we see this. It's kind of like this with Luca a little bit with more of a perimeter sense, but we see it with Embiid where it's like, as long as everything is flowing through him and he's deciding every single possession, he
has this otherworldly value as almost like a force of nature. So, for instance, if you took Ad or Bam and you put them on last year's Sixers team with Tyrese Maxi, they're not as good because you can't just give the ball to Ad and Bam like every single possession and ask them to determine outcomes. They're not good enough on
the offensive end of the floor. But when you're actually playing with people other good basketball players, and this will be really interesting this year with Paul George now in the equation when you actually need to keep everybody in rhythm and there's ball in player movement, and Be for lack of a better term, sucks at that style of basketball.
He doesn't know how to play quick decision making flowing from side to side, and especially at the center position in modern NBA basketball, when you play five out, the center is the bridge between the two sides of the floor. He's the guy who has to catch and turn and go to the other guard and flow on the other side. So when you're trying to keep Booker and Steph and Lebron and all these guys in rhythm at the same time, it's better to have a guy like Ad who his
entire life has been a screen and roll big. He's going to pitch the ball to the other side, set a screen, roll hard to the rim, run up and down the floor, and transition. It's a foot speed thing. It's a decision making thing. You put him in this setting and it's just a completely different kind of basketball than what he was doing for the Sixers last year.
And it's quite frankly, he has years of needing to learn how to play that style if he's ever gonna play in more of a five out, read and react type of system.
Hey, what's up everybody? John middlecoff here for the Three and Out podcasts. The NFL season is right around the corner. And if you want some of the best football content out there, I got you covered training camp, through the preseason, throughout the entire season. Subscribe and follow the Three and Out podcast with me John middlecop on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcast.
So during copa team a struggled and I not to make an excuse or defend Greg Berhalt or the coach at the time, but our style is more European. We have more players now soccer players in America playing in Europe and flourishing. So COPA is a smaller, shorter field. It didn't play to our space, our strength, which is speed and spacing. So as we've become more skilled and more European, which is the Goldwyn World Cup, COPA has become a bad tournament for US, which is a grittier,
lower ranked teams, more physical soccer. Similarly, Steph with FIBA three point shooting is almost it plays with your head. It's closer, it's more physical, you don't get the whistle, more physicality allowed. And as I watch Steph struggle, it's not like Tatum struggling. It's not a confidence issue. It's a is it possible that FIBA Olympic basketball isn't really it's not really built necessarily for Steph all the time. I mean, Lebron's good everywhere, but as stuff struggles, I'm
how do I reconcile that he's a great shooter. It's closer he should be shooting the lights out, he's not.
Why so Sudan in particular, and I think their reputation obviously that them as an organization within FIBA don't have the reputation of the other great European teams or South American teams that we faced over the years, Like even back in the old days when it was like Argentina, you know that that was or France that was given his issues, they don't have that history. But I think South Sudan is the most athletic team in this field by far, Like they have just an enormous amount of
fast dudes with really long wingspans. They're athletic by NBA standards, let alone by FEBA standards. And so what if you remember last year when Golden State needed to get some big wins down the stretch of the season, the two teams that were giving them a lot of trouble were Sacramento and New Orleans, two teams that were really fast
and really long on the perimeter. And that's like kind of one of those things whereas Steph has aged, he's become a little bit susceptible to specific types of matchups, particularly teams that are that are closing those gaps on him. And then the piece you mentioned about spacing is real, Like the lack of a defensive three seconds is a
real thing that people aren't factoring in. So I put it simply, the vast majority of teams, when they're spacing, will put their big man on the opposite block from where the ball is, and so with defensive three seconds, that defender has to step in and out of the lane on the far end of the court, whereas in FIBA he can park his ass right underneath the basket
and he doesn't have to move at all whatsoever. And so this, by the way, is why I'm far more concerned about teams like Germany and France or even Serbia against USA than a team like Canada who just doesn't have the bigs to deal with USA underneath the basket. Teams that can park big bodies under the rim can force you to make jump shots. And as soon as you force a team to make jump shots, they can go cold, they can have issues, which is what happening
in South Sudan last time. But yeah, as far as Steph goes like he, I mean, we let's put it. Let's put it straight up, Colin. He struggled most of the tail end of the season last year too, so this is an extension of that. And I'm really hoping as a basketball fan that this is just a blip and he's going to figure it out, because I really want the Warriors to be interesting next year.
You know, when you have a bunch of kids. I have six in my life, the early years can be frustrating and a lot of work. But what's fascinating about the early years is kids make giants social and emotional and physical leaps in nine months. I mean, my son had a biting stage, he had a coughing stage where he would make coughing noises, and I always told my wife, I'm like, it's just just nine year old boys go through weird, weird you know sizes.
Yeah, they just do.
Like And I want to use that as sort of a pivot to watching young NBA players, is that when they're eighteen nineteen twenty, the players just come back of an off and off season and you're like, damn, he got a joke. So I'm watching Wemby and I feel like I'm watching a kid grow, Like I'm watching him in some of these games and I'm like, oh, this is terrifying for the league. Like he you go to his first month in the league, and now Jason offensively,
he plays with so much more confidence. Defensively, he's blocking stuff with his elbow. He is now way more aggressive and asserting himself. And I'm watching this and I'm like I said, by the trade deadline, I said this on our previous podcast, By the trade deadline, he and Ann will be the faces of the league. I'm not sure it's going to take that long. Like, Jokich is still the best player. His ability to not only dominate but compliment other players and elevate them, it kind of separates
Lebron's magic certain guys. I would say Michael didn't make everybody better, not every teammate, Lebron Magic, Jokic, Chris Paul, every teammate's better. You play your best with him, And now we get Chris Paul with Wemby. But I'm watching him and maybe it's maybe I don't see him as much as you do. I'm seeing major jumps from Wemby even in these Olympics.
No. Absolutely, they've been running a lot more offense through him than you would expect. And a big part of that is France doesn't have an amazing guard corps like Evan Fournier is their best guard, a guy who couldn't crack the rotation for the Micks last year, right, So, like, but what they're doing in a lot of cases is they're feeding him at the elbow and they're like running literally ball screens like the way you would typically with
a point guard in a center. They're running with him and gobaer at the foul line, and they're letting him determine the outcome of possessions. They're throwing it to him down on the blocks. He's become a lot quicker at like reading the floor and making reads then I would expect a player at his age. And part of this I think has a lot to do with him playing professionally as opposed to coming up through the college system, Like he's just been around a lot of really smart
basketball minds in his development. The big one to me that stands out is the dude is just a savage competitor and is not scared of the moment. Like he was kind of on the back burner for a good portion of that second half against Japan, and then it went to ot and he just took over. Immediately was demanding the ball in the block, got an and one, he missed a three on the right wing, and then immediately called for the ball back and knocked one down at the top of the key. He's got like just
incredible scoring polish all over the floor. He's handling physicality really really well. Obviously you mentioned the defensive stuff, even it's hard to even describe. It doesn't even look like other NBA players that have come before him.
I'm with you.
I think I think we got to think long and hard about him being a top ten player right now, right now, and then I think right and I think by the deadline next year, we could be talking about a guy who's who's second team All NBA. Like this is a real, a real potential outcome for him. In the short term.
You put a bunch of alphas together, and some alphas will shrink and some alphas will rise. Lebron is now the best player on this team. It's like it's now, it's gone past. But what's interesting is that Nick Wright said this to me today on the show in FS one. He said, deep down, Lebron may realize these are the last games of his career that people are really gonna watch, like have a huge audience and are gonna matter and listen.
You and I have been critical of the executive wing of the Lakers, AD and Lebron on any given game that I've watched Team USA are the two best players and they're struggling to win a playoff game. It's really frustrating. There's Jeremy Grant may come to town. He would be a solid three, a better a four on a really, really good team. He's probably a four, not a three. But be that as it may. But I as I watched Lebron, what it tells me is he's not having
to fight to be the alpha. He is so respected that other young players are like, hey, big fella, you run the offense. I mean, I mean like Magic and Michael when they went together, they were fighting. They Magic didn't want to give up the baton, Michael grabbed it, like even Ant. All these guys, it's like, no, no, this is Lebron's. This is Lebron's world. And I know you're not surprised by it, but it it does jump out of the TV, does it not.
I'm glad everyone's seeing it too. First of all, to what Nick said, I agree. I think Lebron has always been very aware of the narrative surrounding him, and I think that he saw an opportunity here to be like, if I am the best player on Team USA, it will resonate with people for a long time. And for the record, I think Lebron came right out of the season and started prepping forward. He looks like he's in great shape, and.
Man, he is flexing every other time down the floor.
I know, like he's he clearly prepped for this as though it was an NBA playoff run. Like that is abundantly clear. And he and he's and he's playing at that crazy high level. I'm glad you mentioned the Lakers because like so many people are like, oh, they're they're a playing team. They're this, they're that, and it's like, guys, the reason they're a playing team is they don't have a single player on the roster other than Lebron and AD who can play both ends of the floor. That's
literally why they've struggled. It is a personnel issue. It is not a Lebron James and Anthony Davis issue. Those two pull their weight. They pulled their weight in a major way last season, and the organization is what let them down. And so I don't really see it that way.
As far as as far as Lebron with his team USA context, what's been super fascinating from a basketball perspective is what you're seeing is what it would look like to run five out offense with all the ball and player movements, Steph lying off of screens with the best playmaker of this era, kind of orchestrating it at the top of the key. He's not taking a ton of shots. He's seeing his openings and he's shooting the gap and he's attacking the basket right, but they're they're ducking under
all those picks at the top of the key. He's not jacking up threes and hijacking possessions. He's just reading the floor as Steph is running around and as Devin Booker's running around and waiting for guys to make mistakes. One of the most classic decisions that you'll see from that part of the floor is Steph runs off a screen and the guy screens for him. If those defenders make a mistake, that guy can slip it, and Lebron is just making reads based on what the mistake the
defense has made. And so it's kind of like a juiced up version of Draymond with the Warriors, but surrounded by all of these, you know, world class types of players, and it's been the perfect role for him and then quite frankly, to your point, and this is where it gets really scary, Colin. I would argue, KD and Lebron and Steph have been the only consistent offensive forces on this team, and we've been disappointed by Jason Tatum. Anthony
Edwards has given us some mixed results. There's been good games, there's been bad games. I think it's just a bad look that here in the year twenty twenty four, Steph, Lebron and KD are playing the way they are and the younger generation is struggling to keep up. It's like, thank God for a band being as good as they've been, because it's just been It's been a disappointing performance from some of the younger American players.
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