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Welcome in episode one fifty four What's Right with Nick? Right. We appreciate those of you watching us live on YouTube. We have a special surprise for you all in just a moment. Also, speaking of the YouTube audience, we're gonna start probably next week a little pre show show four our YouTube viewers that will not be a part of the actual audio podcast. That is. One reason for that is to thank you guys for watching us live on YouTube.
Another reason is so we don't have the calamity that happened last week, which was I was so excited and so loud that I blew out our audio for a podcast listeners, and we had to start the whole show over, so a little troubleshooting and a little bonus. But speaking of bonuses, this show is fet You guys know how this show works. It is me alongside a member of my family. Now the official co host of the show is my soon to be twenty five year old son Demanse.
He however, is taking some time off living in Los Angeles getting his life set up. He will be back come football season. During his absence, his sister, my now eighteen year old daughter, Diora, has been filling in for him as part of a senior project. However, she has decided today to go to six Flags, so they're calling it a senior class trip. But again, she goes to quite a different school than I think most of our audience went to. They did post prom in the Hamptons.
They did tried to do spring break at Paradise Island, and I was a mean, stodgy parent because I wouldn't let her go as a seventeen year old on a spring break trip to the Bahamas or Cayman Islands, wherever the hell it is. And now they're doing a class trip to six Flags, so who's gonna fill in for none other than my legendary wife, Danielle, the owner of the store that we do this from, Trintage here in Harlem, and a woman who's for some reason gets nervous every
time she does the show with me. Damp Oo, thank you so much. Are you wearing all your jewels at the moment I see the watch, I'm not sure about what's on the right hand?
Ready for Okay? After this?
Okay? Ready? So are you feeling good about today's show?
I'm feeling great.
You've reviewed it?
I did.
You're fresh off a trip to Los Angeles, fresh off the plane. Saw our son.
He's doing well, he's doing good.
Checked out the apartment, yep, did all that. Did some shopping for the store. So if you stop by Trinted in the next few weeks, there's some fresh new items from the West Coast. But we must now get to work. And again, you can include your questions and comments for myself or Danielle. We will get to them at the end of the show in the C block, as we always do. But here's what missed the cut for episode one fifty four. Not on the show. Adrian Peterson evidently
not retired. I didn't know that Mike Trout passes Joe DiMaggio in home runs, Marilyn Monroe not available for comment, and the Patriots caught cheating once again. You know how I know. Matt Ford, our producer, must be out and Gabe sitting in for him because he found a way to get a Patriots shot in to the preamble of the show, the Patriots losing two OTAs because of a legend malfeasance. We don't know what it was, but we know they had two OTAs taken away. There is also
some breaking news courtesy of sham Sharania moments ago. Gabe Vincent, the undrafted but playing great guard for the Miami Heat, out tonight with a sprained ankle. That leads us nicely into our first topic, Dampoo, take a deep breath, believe in yourself, and go right ahead.
Boston did not get swept, but you still believe in the Heat even if Vegas doesn't yep. Denver, on the other hand, is going to have to wait ten days between games because Lebron couldn't avoid another sweep.
Okay, the guys swept in the finals previously.
It is actually good for the Heat. That they lost so they can get so they don't get rusty before the finals. And are they given the Celtics any chance at the comeback?
All right, so are you get Yeah, I'm not the There is shockingly high amounts of optimism surrounding the Celtics' ability to come back from three to nothing. Now, I said when the Lakers were down three to zero that some team at some point is going to do it. This Boston Celtics team is not that team. So no,
I'm not giving them a chance at the comeback. The idea that Eric Spolstra and Jimmy Butler are going, pardon me, are going to lose four straight games up three to zero to Joe Mizzoula in company, it's just not realistic. And the line for this game is Boston minus nine. Boston was favored by eight in Game one, by nine and a half in Game two, by four on the road. In Game three. The only game they've been an underdog all series was Game four point and a half underdog,
and they won it. And now it's right back to Vegas, loving the Celtics and disrespecting the Heat the series. The Heat are only minus two sixty. You and I are
in the market for a new car. I considered I've not pulled the trigger, but I have a few hours left to do it in putting a not a car sized wager, but a car down payment sized wager on the Heat for the series because minus two sixty up three to one when they and this is where people can't divorce themselves from talent on paper and winning basketball
and playoff winning basketball. I've heard from my co hosts on TV, across other television shows, across other podcasts well, the Celtics the reason they have a chance is they have so much more talent. Who cares these playoffs? The Miami Heat, not just this series, this entire postseason, the Miami Heat have been dominant. Only Denver has matched their level of domination round by round. Round one, they played Milwaukee one game one, got up three to one in
the series. Round two, they played the Knicks, one game one, got up three to one in the series. Round three, they played the Celtics, one game one, got up three to one in the series. Boston, on the other hand, Round one loses a game five at home to Atlanta and needs a sixth game. The Celtics in Round two lose a Game five at home to Philly, and Bats are up against the wall and need a brilliant final few minutes from Tatum in Game six after an awful start to the game, and then a fifty piece in
Game seven to escape them. And in round three were dead for the first fourteen quarters of this series, and then had a good final half of Game four, and all of a sudden, people are, huh, don't let you Boston wins tonight. All the pressures on my The idea that Boston that has not been consistent all postseason is gonna string together four straight excellent games is just not realistic. Now to your other question, is it good for the heat that they lost so they don't get rusted for
the finals? I I don't think it's good that they lost, But had they won Game four, they would have headed into the finals when the Finals started on June first, not having lost a game in three weeks prior to Game four. Their most recent loss was May tenth. The final start June first. So do I think that there are some positives that can come from a Miami team recognizing they need to refocus and that if we are not the hungriest grittiest, first to loose balls, locked in
defensively team that anybody can beat us. Yeah, I do think there is a positive now. The negative is, of course, the extra games and the extra risk of injury. I don't think Gabe Vincent has any real risk of missing time for the finals with the ankle sprain, but the more game if Jimmy gets banged up, if any if Bam gets banged up, then they go into the finals essentially drawing dead. And so there is a level of risk. But it should be noted Boston has been worse at
home than on the road the last two postseasons. They're below five hundred at home this postseason. The idea that them coming home is some panacea for him is just not realistic to who they've been. So I picked Miami before this series, before the playoffs, when it looked like we were getting Celtics Heat, I said, I thought the Heat were a bad matchup for him. I don't care about the college pro file of the Miami Heat players.
They have the best coach in basketball, they have one of the best playoff performers in basketball, and Jimmy Butler. They have a wildly underrated number two in BAM and they have a culture that works. So I like the heat in the series. I even like the heat tonight.
All right, next Dampo, Anthony Davis has taken major heat after his up and down postseason. The lebron picked the wrong running mate to be his co star when it comes to LA.
Well, so to me, this is where we get a little unfair. So Anthony Davis offensively. So let me describe a player to you. Okay, this player is unquestionably great defensively. He is a seven footer but doesn't or seven footer ish but is not listed as such. It takes more jump shots than guy a guy his size typically would, doesn't like to really bang down low, and is you can rely on him for twenty points a night, but
thirty point games are a bonus. Another thing about this player at his first stop had essentially no playoff success whatsoever, with one year being an exception, and needed to go to a major market with major history with another Hall of Famer in order to break through. I just described Anthony Davis. I also just described Kevin Garnett, who is universally considered one of the thirty five greatest players ever.
Nobody talks trash on his career. Nobody kills him for the fact that his entire time in Minnesota they were they didn't get passed round one except for one year, and that he couldn't get over the top until he got with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. That is also true for Anthony Davis and great now Kevin Garnett had a better level of intensity and his body held up more and we might say was not as naturally physically gifted as a d But that is guys whose biggest
strength is their the defensive end. We consider their ups and downs offensively at times without considering the consistent dominance defensively. Furthermore, Lebron and ad won a title and just made the conference finals as the seventh seed. So is he the perfect fit? Do you wish Anthony Davis? Instead of being satisfied, it would seem being one of the ten best players in basketball, took the steps to be one of the
three best players in basketball. Sure, but asking a lot man, everybody can't be Yannis or at this point you gotta say Jokic or Steph or Durant. The guys who go years on end and their bad playoff performances are one in every twelve games, one in every nine games, one in every fourteen games. Those are the greatest players in the history of the sport. Even Durant had him more often than you would like. Yannis doesn't have him anymore. Jokic is starting to build a resume of not having them.
Lebron you could find a six year stretch where he had maybe five actually bad playoff games. Steph has won every month in the playoffs. But those are some of the greatest players ever. Anthony Davis isn't that that's not an indictment on him. It's just like it's not an indictment on Tatum that Tatum's up and down a bit now. Tatum's offensive peaks are far higher than Anthony Davis's, but Anthony Davis's defensive best in the world when he's locked in.
So do you think that ad is still the player the Lakers should build a future around.
Well, I don't think Anthony Davis is going to be the best guy on a champion. I think it's either going to have to be. If he is, it's gonna have to be the Garnet path where he has two not one other two other great players. He's the best guy, but it's close, and the other guys can fill in the blanks. I but there are not a lot of You look around and say who would you rather have than Anthony Davis? You can't say embiid So in my opinion, you can't there that. You call that a push. So
would you rather have Jokic? Okay? Sure? Not available? Giannis not available? Steph not available? In getting older? So this idea of trade Anthony Davis, I don't buy now. Kevin O'Connor and we talked about on TV discussed the four possible outcomes for Lebron and one of them was him requesting a trade. We will get to that later in the show because what koc laid out is intriguing. We'll get to that later in the show, but first let's get to some football. Go ahead, Danielle.
It is rumored this off season that mahone may rework his contract. He's no longer even one of the five highest paid quarterbacks in football. Mahomes ultimate goal is to pass Brady eventually, and now he's saying he's prioritizing his legacy over his paycheck. Should he take discounts to catch Tom Brady.
Okay, so first of all, I gotta say.
What I do.
You are just adorable. You didn't say anything, you just I can feel your heart beating when you're reading these.
I don't like it because I don't know what I'm reading. That's the thing, like, you know, when you have to be confident and you like know what you're what you're talking about.
I understand talking about NFL quarterback salary cap stuff is not exactly exactly. I understand that I'm here for you.
And that's all that matters.
And you're pinch hitting and we appreciate it. You are just such a confident person in every walk of life, right, and then you have to read these sports questions and you're like the kid giving the present, right exactly. You're just so nervous.
I'm glad that you put it out there so people can understand.
Yeah, no, you're doing great, baby. All right. So here's the deal. Mahomes in a weird spot because Mahomes could every single year demand a new contract and the Chiefs should give it to him. Every single year. He could say, oh, who's the highest paid guy? Is he better than me? No? I want more than him. So Lamar just got X. I want X plus a dollar and Joe Burrow's getting a new one. Give me xplusit, give me y plus a dollar. He could do that. He is opting to
go a different path. And the path he's opting for is I need to be one of the highest paid. But if I leave some meat on the bone for my contract, does that allow us to be more aggressive when it comes to acquiring players and keep other great players and such as Chris Jones. The guy who's really underpaid for the Chiefs is Travis Kelcey, wildly underpaid, but he doesn't seem to care. I do not think it
is Mahomes's responsibility. And I understand folks who make the argument of he should take every single dollar he can possibly make. What I would tell you is this strategy for him? It might actually be from a pure dollars and cents standpoint, the smartest because let's say that Patrick Mahomes this year is leaving seven million dollars on the table, okay, and let's say that number next year'd be eight million,
nine million. Let's say that number is seven million, eight million, nine million, ten million, increasing over the next decade of his career, do that math over the next decade, he'd
be leaving on the table about one hundred million dollars. Okay, do you think you could make the argument that it is worth one hundred million dollars not in feeling or emotion or success, one hundred million dollars in actual cash if he becomes the universally recognized greatest football player ever, one hundred million dollars in more endorsements, in more opportunities, better marketing, more, more investments that people try to bring
him in on because of who he is. What has being Tom Brady earned Tom Brady as opposed to if Brady had won two Super Bowls or even three Super Bowls, how much money did Brady make as cream on the top once he universally passed Joe Montana. I think financially for Mahomes, there is more money in continuing to win Super Bowls then there is an actual salary as long as he's not as long as we're done about it, between forty five million and fifty million, as oppose of
the difference between forty five million and eighty million. That money can't be made up totally. So I do think there's that now I understand. Andrew Brant, who used to run the Packers, writes for SI is Big on that the cap is a myth and no player should ever take a discount and teams can rework things and players
and agents are being tricked. I vehemently disagree with him on that when it comes to a player who plans to be with a team for a decade plus, yes, you can borrow from future years to pay a player cash and not have it hit the cap. Absolutely, but every dollar eventually becomes due. And if Mahomes's plan is to be with the Chiefs until twenty thirty five, there is no world where the money they pay him doesn't eventually impact their ability in a season. He's on the
roster to field the best team possible. And so now if the Chiefs ended up, you know, getting a discount with Mahomes and then not spending to the cap or being cheap those types of things, then he would have a gripe. Thus far, that hasn't happened, and thus far you can say, oh, well, they didn't want to pay Tyreek, but it's not because they were being cheap. It was because they wanted to spend those resources elsewhere. And they ended up winning the Super Bowl. So I love what
he's doing. I think it's smart what he's doing, and I think that right now it is very noteworthy to see what Joe Burrow does and other quarterbacks trying to compete with him.
All right, Next, Aaron Rodgers just can't wait to get out of the new I mean, you can't stay out of it and stay at noon. He hurt his cap in his first practice with the Jets. Roger says that he wakes up excited to come to the facility every day. Yep, are you already getting a bad feeling about Roger's Jets marriage.
It's not so much that I'm getting a bad feeling, it's that this is I think a lesson will be a lesson for folks in any walk of life, any business, about the importance of underpromising and over delivering, the importance of expectation setting. Okay, So you see this in politics a lot, where before a presidential debate you will have people from a candidate's own camp talk to the media about, am our guy's not a great debater. We're worried about this. This is not his strong suit. That way, if he
has he or she has just a mediocre performance. We were like, oh, beat expectations. This is why in a marriage or with your kids before Christmas, Moore, if you lead them to believe they're getting a pony and it ends up being a puppy, they might actually be disappointed when if you let them to believe can't do anything for Christmas this year, and then you come home with a puppy there over the moon. So why am I bringing up with the Packer or sorry, with the Jets
and Rogers. The Jets and Rogers could have talked playoffs, competing for the division, beating the Patriots for the first time in eight years, as these we are building things. Lebron, by the way, learned this lesson when Lebron went to Miami. He holds that press conference and says not six, not seven, not eight when it came to championships, and then he wins two and four years, goes to four finals and
people are like, ah, kind of a disappointment. When he to Cleveland in that article for Sports Illustrated, he said, I know it won't be fast, I know it won't be easy, but we're going to try to build to eventually be a champion. He was in Cleveland for the same amount of time he was in Miami. Four years. They won one title. People think it was a resounding success. Rogers got there and immediately started talking Super Bowl. Lombardes Robert Sala yesterday said there's only six or eight teams
competing for the Super Bowl. We're one of them. Well, now, if you go twelve and five but don't win the division and lose in the divisional round, it would simultaneously.
Be isn't that what they're supposed to do? Like basically make the fans feel good like I'm here to do what I'm supposed to do. Like, you know, I think.
That's what their argument would be. My argument is, Jets fan, the fans were going to be thinking super Bowl no matter what got you. But you want to level set expectations to where you can exceed them. And now, all of a sudden, if they're twelve and five and losing the divisional round, that will simultaneously be the best Jets season in a decade and a disappointment. That's a mistake. Now you can't sell Let's just compete for the playoffs.
See what happens if you're the Chiefs. The Chiefs now have the burden of success and of expectations, where every year it is Super Bowl or bust. But that's because of what they've accomplished. The Jets lost I think six straight games to finished the year the worst quarterback in the league. So I don't think the marriage is doomed, but I think they have set the bar too high for themselves, and I think that's a mistake. Dampo doing a great job. We're gonna play some games here. You
like games. We're gonna answer some questions from the audience. Remember in the C block, you guys, you can put them in the chat. Now you look lovely today.
Thank you?
This all Lime Green ensemble. Can the audience see your boots? You want to show off your boots to the audience. I mean, who has knee high lime green boots to go with an outfit? Only? Well, these aren't for sale.
I did sell them.
Oh you did?
Oh sold out?
Okay, come see us at Trentage. All right, take quick break, come back, what's right?
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All Right, welcome back. In episode one fifty four, What's right with Nick? Right, Chris. In the YouTube chat, Danielle says, your outfit is fire.
Thank you.
You do look lovely. You always look lovely. I'm gonna I'm gonna reveal something here. It's gonna be risky. Let's go. The last time Danielle filled in on.
This show, oh baby, she and I were.
In a tiff. In a tiff, yeah, and the morning of. In the morning of, I said, I was like, you don't have to do it. I can just do it by myself, and she was like, no, I'll do it. I was like, boy, this could be you talk about you being nervous reading those questions. I was more nervous during that show than I was the first time I filled in for Colin on the Herd Wow, because I was like, this is like an hour of just live broadcasts where at any point.
Yeah, I was really mad at you.
You were really mad at it.
And I had a right to be mad at you. That's why you were so hard.
Okay, we don't need to get in.
I'm just saying I just want people to know that Nick made me very upset, and it was it was, it was. It was a good reason for me to be upset.
It was Honestly, I felt like the way I would imagine a producer of one of those New Year's Eve shows feels when they know their host the like for rocking New Year's Eve has had a couple too many cocktails, huh, and it's like, oh my god, whole career could just go like go up and smoke here. No, I know I am talking about for the producer, but I'm just saying where it's just like you're just holding on for
dear life. On the flip side, now, you just endlessly adore me, and today's show has been spectacular.
Shill out.
All right, let's get to uh sorry, sit the microphone. Let's get to a game. Likely maybe what if regarding your favorite topic, Lebron James, go ahead.
My favorite topic?
Your favorite? Uh huh?
Okay? What the Lakers now eliminated? Lebron's future is a mystery. The Lakers GM said our hope would be his career continues. It's time to polish off an old game for old man Lebron. Likely maybe what.
If, yep, you will give us.
You will give us a likely outcome for Lebron next year, a slightly more far fetched move and an out and an out of left field idea. So what's Lebron up to next?
All right? The most likely outcome is you just comes back and plays for the Lakers. That's the most likely. Is that the postgame press conference referencing retirement was a combination of frustration, exhaustion, and I also thought credit where it's due. I think it was Bill Simmons who made this point. I also think for the first time in Lebron's life, he played and you know what, Brew also made this point. Brew and Bill Simmons made various versions
of this point. He played in a playoff game where he played his best and he wasn't the best guy out there. And I think that was Jarring. Now, he's obviously lost plenty of times, and he had the series against the Mavericks where he was not even close the best guy out there, but he played terribly Lebron in this game, played all forty eight minutes, had a career high first half points, and at the end of it was gassed and they lost, and the ball was in
his hands and he didn't make the shot. And I think there's a man, you know I have I'm far, far, far closer to the end than to the beginning. So I think all of that was wrapped around his comments about retirement. I think a little bit of it was putting pressure on the Lakers, like gotta win now, gotta
win now? Do I know there is this narrative he was trying to change the story from him missing the shots at the end that to me, I mean he had forty ten and nine and played the whole game, was guarding Jokic, Like, I don't think that's what it was. So I think the most likely is he's just back, go ahead, just something you will say no.
But I just think that sometimes some people are frustrated, they say things yeah they don't actually mean.
They don't or exactly right. Maybe though, because I do think he is going to have the first surgery of his career this offseason, first real surgery on that tendon in his foot. Maybe he waits to have it until late summer and because of that, misses the first fifteen to twenty thirty games of the year, so he has more in the tank at the end of the season. So not a retirement, but a partial season due to the surgery.
Do you like that idea?
I actually advocated that Lebron do this a few years ago. Was that with Lebron, I mean, he's played sixty five thousand minutes. Only Kareem has played more. Only Kareem and Robert Parrish have played more games. Only six players in the league history have played a twenty first season, and only three guys, Dirk, Vince and KG actually played in their twenty first seasons. The other guys were just, you know,
played a couple of minutes all year. That Lebron, it maybe would be smart for him to be a fifty game a season guy into the playoffs as he got older. I don't hate the idea, However, can you trust the Lakers if he were to miss thirty games to not be in the same position they found themselves in this year.
Where one of the things that hurt the Lakers, and one of the reasons Lebron ran out of gas at the end despite playing all forty eight in the final game, was they their playoffs started in March because they were they were the eleven seed, so they were playing the Nuggets, locked up the one seed and rested people. The Lakers were in the eleventh spot and had to win every night.
And so since Lebron came back from his injury March twenty six, two months ago, not only do he and ad have the most minutes of anyone in basketball, they're over nine hundred and there's only three other guys over eight hundred or in the eight hundreds. And so I do think that he had two months of playoffs in him, but the playoffs started early. What if is what if Lebron for the first time in his career, says I want to trade. So this is something Kevin O'Connor brought up,
and it does warrant some discussion. So Lebron, to his credit, has finished every contract he's ever signed. He has only left teams via free agency. Now I know technically when he went to Miami the first or when he went to Miami he was a sign in trade, but he was a free agent and he signed there. He has one year left on his deal and then a player option. Now.
I don't think it's likely demands a trade in part because his son is going to usc and he's gonna want to watch him play, But there have been There was an odd quote from Lebron a couple months ago where he said, just because it's my dream to play with Bronni doesn't mean it's his.
And yeah, I wouldn't want to play with my dad.
Well, so there's there's something to that. There is also something too. Again I do not know their relationship at all, but as a parent, I could totally imagine a scenario where at fourteen and fifteen, when Bronni is starting to ass sinned as an athlete, him and Lebron being in lockstep son, I'm a hold on until you get to the league. I'm gonna help you get to the league.
We're gonna play together, and the kid being like, oh my god, that would be the coolest thing ever at fourteen years old, and at eighteen years old with a seven million dollar nil deal of his own and the most popular kid in school. And I would imagine girlfriends and millions of followers on social and now going to USC and like, I mean, I don't want to hang out with you dad, right, Like that is the idea. It sounds funny, but the idea that for Bronni Lebron is just kind of corny and old.
Yeah. And I was like, when we went to do Yours brom nobody knew you were her dad. She hadn't told anybody.
Oh that that that was hilarious.
That you want to tell that story to the audience real quick. Then I'll get to the Lebron.
What if everybody's like Nick writes here, Nick writes, you can hear all the boys, Nick, right?
Nick?
Great, somebody introduced himself and he's like, what are you doing here? He's like, I'm yours dad? Really?
Yeah? So my daughter evidently as hidden the fact that I'm that who like who she is? Who I am from? Not from her friends, no, but from like the outer circle. Because ultimately, no kid really at that age thinks their parents cool wants to hang out with them matter.
What they do.
Doesn't matter what they do, And so could I see a scenario where Bronnie doesn't want Lebron Court sided these USC games, you know what I mean, doesn't the and so again I'm not saying that's what it is, but just as a parent, I can I could see that happening. So if he were to demand a trade, we now
have to thread the needle of Danielle. A team that has the salaries to make it work, has assets the Lakers might want and would be interested in trading any type of assets for what might just be one year of Lebron James. Because once you're at his age, his portion of his career, he could retire at any moment and to go back to the Bronny thing. If he and Bronnie do play on playing with each other, that could happen as recently as in as soon as two years from now or a year and a half from now.
And so when he team trading for him is like, well, okay, well his contract's only got a year left. He could leave in a year and we would be, you know, out whatever we traded for him. So what team has the assets, believes they can win right now and would make sense for Lebron Well that's when Kevin O'Connor brings up the Golden State Warriors. You start having a real discussion there. Go ahead, What are you shaking her head about? Why do you not like the sound of it?
I mean, it's just been his rival forever, you know, It's just it just doesn't sound right. I mean, you know, but I guess it was for that for Durant as well.
So people would say, oh, Durant did it, and you killed Durant for doing it. You'd be fine if Lebron did it, This would be an apples and bowling bulls.
Yeah, because I think Durant he was supposed to be the best player, and he was supposed to just build something off of Durant, and then he went to the Warriors, right, so what you're kind of like?
And the Warriors had a that the Warriors had just won seventy three games, had just beaten.
Durant, right exactly.
And Durant was in the prime of his career. Steph was in the prime of his career. Lebron and Steph are will be Lebron will be the oldest player in the league next year, Steph one of the oldest. The Lakers just beat the Warriors. The Warriors are on a seventy three win team, they were the sixth seed. It would be like a last hurrah. Why else would the Warriors make So the trade would be Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kaminga,
Moses Moody. So the Warriors would be getting off Pool's contract and the Lakers will be thinking, maybe he'll get back to being the player he was before Draymond punched him. If Draymond's gone, you'd get the young lottery picks and Cominga and Moody. Here's the other thing. The Warriors are about to have a contentious negotiation with Draymond Green. They want him back, but they want him to take a discount.
It's going to be impossible to miants Draymond to take less money than Jordan Poole makes thirty two million a year. You know what I think would be a good negotiating position if you're the Warriors, go to Draymond and be like, so, here's the deal. We want you to sign for twenty million a year, three years, sixty million bucks. We know that doesn't sound good deal, but what if we traded away the kid you hit, don't deal with him anymore, and the person we got back. Is your best bud
who you bear hugged after the playoffs, Lebron James. I think Draymond might be amenable to that. How good would that team be? Well, you would start Steph Clay, Lebron, Draymond Looney. You would have Wiggins and Gary Payton coming off the bench. Wow, that can win the title. Yeah, that would be the favorites to win the title. Now, it would be a very short window, but and the Warriors luxury tax bill would be obscene. However, they would then just be recognizing our two track plan went awry
and we're gonna try to peel one more title. I don't think it's insane. I absolutely think it's on the board, and I don't want to say it's on the board. But if Lebron were to demand a trade, is there any other team that makes a ton of sense? Not really. If he wants to stay in LA, he's not gonna go to the Clippers, I mean stay in California. I mean it's not gonna go to the Clippers. The King's timeline. It doesn't make sense. He's not gonna go out east
like there's something there. So I think he just returns as a Laker. I think maybe he missed the start of the season. And what if he says, send me to the Warriors pool Kaming and Moody works. The Warriors have the best seven man rotation in basketball.
It'd be pretty fun to watch more.
Yeah, I would imagine, I mean it would because you like the Warriors Wars. Yeah, I'm his. And one last point on this. An odd part of this phase of Lebron's career is some of the most ardent and vocal Lebron critics are who Kobe fans because Lebron and Kobe had a rivalry and the Lebron goes to the Lakers wins a title, and some of them still are anti Lebron,
but he has won some of them over. Who are the most vocal Lebron critics of the last post Kobe Steph fans goes to the Warriors and helps them win some of them over. So it's something there. All right, let's play another game. We'll do it quick so we don't go too late. Go ahead, what's the game.
All in or fold?
Yeah, let's do it.
Everyone now thinks the Nuggets are the best team in the NBA and Yokic is the best player crazy. What sweeping the Lakers will do for you? Yep, all interfold. Yokish wins the finals MVP and silences the haters.
I'm not gonna go all in on this because I think the Heat have a real shot in that series. I don't. I think the Jokic hater narrative at this point is a straw man. It certainly existed in the past, and all raised my hand to it. I was one of the faces of it. It no longer exists, and it is not. And this is where I get frustrated. People act as if treating Jokic the way we have treated every potentially all time great ever is unfair. It
is not so. There have only been a handful of guys ever who won multiple MVPs before going on a deep to the finals or to a championship postseason run. All of them were criticized, so you might say, well, Lebron won, Yet Lebron made the finals at twenty two, didn't win his first MVP for two more years. He already had shown you he could be that guy in the playoffs. Durant made the finals before he won his MVP. Kobe had three championships before he won his MVP. Shack
was a champion before he won his MVP. Steph won his championship the same year he won his first MVP. So who were the guys who won multiple MVPs before even making a finals? Jokic guess okay set him aside for a moment. Yannis won two MVPs before ever making a finals. And you know what, people wouldn't call him the best player in the world. People said Durant was better. People were arguing Anthony Davis was better. Oh, Yannis is a great regular season guy, but what's in his bag?
Doesn't have a jumper, can't hit free throws. And then he went to the finals. Even when he got to the finals, people were like, ah, they got lucky. Duran's foot was on the line. It wasn't until he had a fifty piece to win a title that everyone laid down their swords. Steve Nash won two MVPs before making the finals. People were like, ah, were those good MVPs? Are bad MVPs? He then never made a finals, and we look back, we're like, probably little our skis Michael
Bleeping Jordan. Go back and read the Chicago Sun Times articles from nineteen eighty nine and nineteen ninety. He won MVP in eighty eight and they called Jordan great stats, not a winner. Then he won his second MVP in ninety one, and what did he do in ninety one? Won the title? This is how we've always done it. Now, was I do I look back and say when I called yok it's the worst MVP since Dave Cowens when
he won his first one. As a little harsh, maybe, but calling someone the worst MVP is kind of like the poorest on the Forbes five hundred list. You're still super rich, right and and Ki And by the way, prior to this postseason, Nikolajokic in his last twenty playoff games, was six and fourteen. Prior to this postseason, nikola Jokicic's worst series of his postseason career was his one Conference
finals appearance. Now, if you are criticizing him in the midst of this postseason, if you're saying, ah to, don't believe in him, if he doesn't win the title, he's a fraud, then you're being unfair. But nobody is saying that. And it is it is to me irrational when folks act persecuted because they are simply treated the way we've treated everyone else. So that's it. As Jokic won me over, of course he has you know how he did it by following the same steps. Everyone has to show it
to me on a deep playoff run. That's how the It's not baseball where Mike Trout, greatest player in the world, doesn't make the playoffs. Who cares? That's not how professional basketball works. Next, I'm Michael Malone, Nuggets coach. Keeps taking these subtle shots at me. Not a fan of it. Yok has been unbelievable, but we were what you say.
I know about this.
It's just let's just keep going go ahead.
Reports are that John I mean that Josh Allen wants to bring the titles a Buffalo.
Yeah, no shot what Wow, you're just cursing on the shot.
Nobody When bon Miller aiming for the mid season comeback and deep hop de hop trade rumors still swarming, swirling.
They definitely have a shot all in Erfold, this is the Bill's best shot at a super Bowl yet, oh.
Fold, No, their best show was two years ago. They should have won it two years ago. They're up on the Chiefs with thirteen seconds left and they choked it. Sorry, that was their best chance. Josh Allen's contract hadn't kicked in. I think Stefan Diggs was a bit better. The league was not as strong as it is right now. They would have gotten the Bengals, who I think that year they could have matched up well against, and then the Rams, who I think they would have rocked in the Super Bowl.
I'm sorry Buffalo Brent Hanks, my friend from Poker Go and the different the Bills fan that I met at Soho House the other night. But no, I think you've been jumped in line. I think your chance you took a shot at the King and you missed in that playoff game against the Chiefs. And now the Bengals are right there. We'll see what the Ravens look like. The Dolphins are coming. Your division got tougher with Aaron Rodgers. So no, their best chance was two years ago. It
doesn't mean they'll never win one. But their best chance was two years ago. Next tough one for you here, Dan pooh.
Brock Party, good job. Set to start throwing again next week after entering his elbow in the NFC Championship game. He's not a lot to fully back to be fully way back the week one, but the forty nine ers think that he's still there guy all interfold proc perty will be starting in the playoffs.
You know, I'm actually gonna fold on this, not because the Niners, excuse me, aren't going to be in the playoffs, but because I don't think he's their guy. I think they have to see if Trey Lance is their guy, and I think they have a limited ceiling with Purty. And I also worry about his body holding up. So I'm gonna be I'm gonna be one of the last people to think that Trey Lance has a real shot to be in the quarterback for the Niners. So I'm gonna fold on that all right.
Last one, the NFL changes the kickoff rule to where every fair catch is a touchback. In response, your coach Andy Reid said the league has turned into flag football. All in or fold kickoffs should be canceled entirely.
I mean, I think they probably I'm all in on this, with the caveat of what does it do to onside kicks? They need to make the onside kick That idea that I don't know if it's the XFL or USFL had, it's just a fourth and like seventeen player a fourth and thirteen play and you run it from the thirty five yard line and you do it like that. I love kick returns, but they've determined they're not safe, and so they're just trying to take them out of the game.
And there are certain adjustments. Guys. The football is trying to find ways to stay as safe as possible playing an inherently dangerous game. And if one of the costs of it is the kickoffs gotta go away, then the kickoffs gotta go away. I understand some people are up
in arms about it. It's just the brute. As human beings evolve and the athlete evolves to bigger, stronger, faster, football becomes more dangerous than ever before because guys this size, we're not ever supposed to be this fast and agile and fierce, and so they've got to make adjustments. So I'm not gonna There are certain things the NFL does that I think is outrageous. I think the Thursday night football flexing is outrageous and an insult to the paying customer.
I think the removing kickoffs or trying to eliminate kickoffs is just the cost of doing business. Danielle and I answer your questions and comments. Next, very quick break, right back, What's Right? Welcome back in episode one fifty four What's Right with Nick Wright. We now will answer some listener questions and if you guys have some specific questions for Danielle because we don't know when she'll be back on the show, because Doora will be back on Tuesday, you
can include those in the chat. Ryan Fitzgerald's got one says, Hey, Nick, just had my first child yesterday. What what's some advice for a new father like myself? Do you want to give the advice first? You think about it. I'll give my piece of advice first. This is now. I was very lucky because when Danielle and I had Deanna, Danielle obviously had already had two babies before she and I got together. We got together when Diora was a toddler. But I had never been, you know, done the infant stuff.
But Danielle had and the kids survived and we're fine, so I knew she knew what she was doing. This is what I tell anybody that's KNOWRMS about having kids. Every day people have babies a lot of those people are dumber than you, have less resources than you, and the kids are fine. It is overwhelming, but then remind yourself, literally been going on since the beginning of time. People
figure it out and there is no instruction manual. And my buddy Laslow had great advice when it came to potty training, which was never met an adult that just peased their pants. They all learn it eventually. Don't stretch yourself out about it, So those would be my piece of advice is like, just take a deep breath and not worry. You just rolled your eyes.
Just make sure as a man, just make sure that you help the woman at all times because she's basically gonna take care of everything, but yet you have to be there, and you know, there's times we need to get rest, and there's times that you need to go get the bottle or the or.
The How helpful was I with Deanna at the beginning?
You sucked?
Well, I was in mornings. I remember, you know, you.
Were having the morning show when you got me pregnant. So it was just like, Okay, I have to figure out a way where I can help her and do my job. And Nick sucked at the beginning It's okay because it was the first time I've ever had any help when I had a child, So it was okay with me. Set the times where I was so exhausted and I just had to let you have it.
Yeah, yeah, don't do the pretend not to hear the baby crying. Yeah, so the other person has to do it.
It was rude. I mean he does that with his alarm clock this morning in the morning.
No, I'm not pretending. I'm actually not hearing it, but the baby I would because I had to get up at like four point thirty every morning to do radio in Houston, and it would be like three forty and we'd hear the baby crying, and.
You'll literally look at your phone and see the times like.
Uh, I would just try to pretend in here. Uh. Jackson Higgin says, can we get proof of life? For producer Dan? Oh, you missed it yesterday or Tuesday? One of our producers on this show was texting to the group chat. He's a big Nuggets fan, trolling me after each Lakers win, and I explained, you think it's awesome. How do you think I reacted to it?
You're probably upset, especially at that time.
Yeah, yeah, like big man. Yeah yeah, I was big man all right. So, uh Caleb asks, oh there is Oh he's doing it again this? Oh sorry, pardon me.
The I put something on my story too when Lebron had to grab the broom and he says, thank you, I put it on my story. I couldn't help it, so.
Petty, Uh, Caleb says, would you say Jason Tatum and Josh Allen's a fair player comparison? Yeah, that's about right. I think I think Alan has more wow moments and Tatum has fewer what the hell were you thinking? Moments? But I think as far as in the hierarchy, it's about right. The Suavemente asks, Danielle, you have a great sense of style. I want to know if Nick was always dripped out or did you teach him?
I taught him everything he knows when it comes to fashion, and he barely knows anything.
Still, well, what how did I used to dress? Who?
Nick used to wear? The Loora sweatsuits?
I still do.
Yeah, but those were like two sizes too big for you and you were a smaller person then, so and you guys know that he had the lower fade, but yet didn't stay on time with his haircuts. That was the reason why I wanted him to grow his hair out, because it's just like, if you're not gonna keep your your hair faded, then you might as well just let it grow out. And uh, what else did you used to wear that? I didn't like.
All of it? I mean she got within two years of us being together. Yes, I didn't have a single piece of clothing that I had when we got together.
No, And I don't think you will be where you're at if you didn't change your wardrobe.
You think professionally it's helped me.
I think it helps you a lot. Yeah.
Uh, speaking of my wardrobe, cutlass asks who picked your suits out? For? First things?
First, I do every day.
Yeah, she works for Fox. She's the stylist.
She's I've been the stylist since since the show started. Yep, I'm not going anywhere.
Yeah. No, So she does it. And so yes, what do you think of him? But she loves Yeah, I love them.
Why I want him to follow up with it like him?
No? No, no, I'm sure he likes him. Uh. Also, so question for me, how about a trade for Anthony Davis for Damian Lillard and signed Draymond for the defense. I would not trade Anthony Davis for Damian Lillard. Why wouldn't I I like him too, but Anthony. I think Anthony Davis is because of his age and his size. I think he's more valuable than Dame. Gotcha, that's not That's
not a trade that I would make. Uh Jake Jack Sullivan says, when a team eventually comes back down from three to oh, do you think it'd be more about the team that wins with the team that loses. It's a great question. I think that'll be more an indictment on the team. I think it will be remembered more about the team that blew it than the team that won. Because no team in basketball has ever been down three to zero in a series and come all the way back.
It's happened once in baseball, a handful of times in hockey. UH Jose Andres Thule says, which team that did not make it to the finals can feel the most confident about their future? That's interesting. I ain't the King should feel good, but they are a couple steps away from the champion.
I'm really proud of them. Yeah, I'm really proud of the King.
I they should feel good. I think the Bucks shouldn't panic for now as long as the new owner is not gonna be cheap. And I think the Lakers should feel good about the fact that Lebron still has this level of playing him. Anthony Davis could stay healthy as long as he did, and the emergence of Austin Reeves is one of the great stories of the season. I think the teams that should be pessimistic or Philly Golden
State as is. I think those teams have a hard time are gonna have a hard time getting to the next getting to the next step, and they might have to take a step back. All right, Dampo, Yeah, you did a great job. I appreciate you. I love you. Oh thank you, Dampo. No television show Friday, NASCAR once again, then moving back normally on Fridays. Won't have many Fridays off. We will be on TV today at three. I hope to see you guys there. Episode one fifty four. That's wrap. What's right, h