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Welcome in What's Right with Nick Wright? Episode one three. No TV show today, so we are jammed packed here. There's also breaking news in the NFL world and the NBA world over the last eight hours, so let's get right to it. Here's what missed the cut. The Laker's retiring, pau Gasol's jersey, Jim Beheim officially retiring. I a moment on Beheim. There are other people. Yeah, I'm wearing the orange in slight tribute to Syracuse. There are people more
qualified to give a full Jim Beheim tribute. He has a great relationship to Will Bond and Kornheiser. He has an amazing relationship with Syracuse legend Adam Shine. He and I have a good relationship, but my feelings on him are a a little conflicted, not because of how he treated student media, but how kind of the last decade went on and off the court. And also, I'm just
gonna be honest. I am a Syracuse alum. I donate to WAER, a radio station that has the talk show studio named after me, and I love Syracuse, but I have not been live and die die hard with Syracuse Athletics the way a lot of my colleagues, who also
wear Syracuse graduates are. So rather than give a half hearted kind of synopsis of what you could argue is the greatest college basketball coaching career ever, that was all at one place, so like coach k at Duke is unbelievable, but he had a time at the Military Academy before that. Like there's as far as starting Bobby Knight obviously after Indiana was elsewhere. If you want to talk start to finish, only ever at one place. Beheim has an argument it's him.
It obviously wasn't all good. It was remarkable what he built there. If you want to argue stayed a little too long. There are some arguments there, but I don't want to do a full Beaheim retrospective here because I'm not the right man to do it. Kind Of missed the cut, kind of didn't And the Jets are the most bet team to win the Super Bowl. That means
nothing to me. However, there is Samaron Rodgers news we will get to, but demons, there is some shocking but not that shocking NBA news that we have to start with before we even get to the NFL stuff.
Go right ahead, all right, So last night Katie was set to make his home game debut.
It's also kind of crazy he hasn't played a home game yet for the Suns. Yeah, I mean, he got traded there when I was before the Super Bowl, right, but then he didn't play right after the break, and then but they had road games go ahead.
Right, but he rolled his ankle in pregame warmups unfortunately. Yeah, he can miss the remainder of the regular season, but if he's healthy come playoff time, the Suns are still okay.
Right Well, yeah, I mean, if he's healthy, the Suns have the most talent of any team in the West. But the ninety nine minute a block is what it says on YouTube. Listen. I planned to go long, but ninety nine minutes might be a touch strong, even by my standards. If you're watching on YouTube, you see it. So here's the thing. I've never seen that injury.
Right, no TV today, by the way, that's why we've got.
That because we have no television. Well, even then, I don't think I'm gonna do an hour and forty.
I think they might stop it.
I got you. Oh, They're just giving me an indefinite period of time.
And that's the maxim.
I get it, Okay, I got it. So it wasn't a mistake. It wasn't supposed to be that it was nineteen it was so I get it.
Okay, all right.
So here's the thing. I've never seen someone I've seen guys roll ankles, but I've never seen someone in warm up suffer an injury and warm ups that they're saying could knock him out a month. And it was weird because right after warm up, right after it happened, he kept warming up. But now they're saying it's a great two sprain Jeff Statts, who you can follow on Twitter,
I want to read you his exact tweet. He's on Twitter as in street clothes he does like injury analysis regarding Kevin Durant, a Grade two sprain is also known as a partial or incomplete tear. Other players have sustained Grade two ankle sprains include Conley LaMelo joh Trey Young. Historically, the average is about seven games or nineteen days. However, time loss for Grade two sprains this season have been longer. The average time this season comes in at fifteen games
or seven weeks. That does not include Justice Winslow, who has not played since late December. Okay, so the Suns have sixteen games left and they're already speculating that Durant could miss the remainder of the regular season and maybe the beginning of the playoffs if he is not back prior to the end of the regular season. I think they are in really, really rough shape, because we gotta remember, nobody comes back and is then playing thirty eight minutes
in their first game full go. Plus it's playoff intensity. They all ramp up, and the Suns right now are the four seeds. Now, A lot of people thought they were gonna catch Memphis or Sacramento. Memphis obviously dealing with its own issues on and off the court, but without kd I don't know that they will if you were if and even if they were to catch Memphis, because Memphis falls down, they get the three seed. You are then potentially playing in Round one Golden State or the Clippers,
or the MAVs or the Lakers. None of that's good.
I don't think you named a scary team besides the MAVs to be hoes.
Honest, Well, the Clippers last night cut Russ's minutes down, won the game, and with Kawi and Paul George healthy, that's a dangerous team. Phoenix, guys, Phoenix without Durant was not a contender flat they were in previous years, but not this year with this version of Yeah, I mean Chris.
Paul's slightly injured.
Yeah, I mean just old. Yeah, Chris Paul being old. But here's the bigger concern. Even if you think I didn't mention a Round one team that would knock them out, but I mean the Lakers could give them real trouble, real trouble. And who's the other team I mentioned, Oh the Clipper. Now I don't believe in the Warriors. But if the Warriors were ever gonna get up for a series, the chance to knock KD out even if they can't win the title, seems would be intriguing for them. But
here's the other problem. Kevin Durance hurt all the time. Playoffs are long. Chris Paul's hurt all the time. The playoffs are long. Kevin Durant since tearing his achilles, Like, here's Kevin Durant's career games played by season. Okay, eighty seventy four, eighty two, seventy eight, sixty six, but that was a sixty six game season. Eighty one, eighty one, twenty seven, broke his foot, had the Jones fracture, basically
missed a whole year. That's the one time. Then seventy two, sixty two his first year with Golden State, sixty eight seventy eight his last year with Golden State. Then he tears his achilles. Since then, the games played are as follows, thirty five, fifty five, forty two, forty two, and now he's looking at being done for the year. I'm sorry thirty I said forty two twice. I should have only said forty two once. It's zero thirty five, fifty five,
forty two. That's where he's at. I said, I think on this show, and also I know on the TV show that everybody, when it comes to all sports teams, you always do the yeah, as long as they stay healthy caveat. But there are certain teams that that is a greater concern than others. And right now the Suns, Lakers, Clippers, if they don't reach their ultimate potential because of injury, you can't say you didn't see it coming. You can't
say it's shocking. And it's one of the reasons that I was not quite as high on Phoenix as everyone else was after the trade Durant. Everyone bangs on Lebron and he's hurt right now because at this stage of his career he misses a lot of time. He's more available than Durant. Yeah, he's just as available as Steph. He's way more available than Kwhy the other thirty plus year old and KWHI is younger than any of those guys who are superstars who play big minutes like that.
Durant has had so many lower body injuries since the Achilles it's very hard to say confidently even if he comes back for game one of the playoffs. That he's gonna stay healthy for two months. It's been a long time since he's been able to stay totally healthy for two months playing you know, every other day is you're
gonna have to do once the conference finals start. This is a very ominous sign for the Suns, who are not gonna be able to ease themselves into the playoffs the way the Warriors with Katie used to be able to do. The Warriors won a series one year. I think when Steph missed the whole first round, like you could ease yourself in. That's not what the Western g Gonference playoffs are going to be like this year. All right, next, all.
Right, the Yokastat Patty allegation story took an interesting turn. Conversation about around race is taking sheep? Yeah, what are your thoughts on this discussion around the MVP, around the MVP voting.
Around the MVP voting. You're right there, chief, All right? So I would like to I got an email that i'd like to read. I got to pull it up real quick before I get to this. I want to see if I can find it. I apologize that I didn't have it right here.
Okay.
I'm not gonna read the full name here, but I got an email from Justin after our show on Tuesday.
Okay, okay, Hey Nick.
I'm a huge fan of yours. I love your delivery and how well you present your argument. She can be funny and also serious, with something that is rare to find in today's media. The only thing I ask is, can you please stick to the topic of sports. We listened to your show to get away from political propaganda that has shoveled down our throats by every news outlet in the country. Sports aren't escape from all that. I was eighteen minutes in today's show when you brought up
gun control and racism. Of course, the topic was about John Morant posting a gun on ig but you found a way to turn that into why black people are targeted when they have guns.
It's nonsense.
You're definitely, by all means entitled to your opinion, especially on your own show. However, your show is a target audience of sports fans, so please stick to what your audience loves.
You're better than this.
That last line I didn't love. I don't love the year better than this?
You did forget to if you're like, if you want to tune out.
Here's the thing though, But that John Morant thing, like you said, I started the show with it. We did eighteen minutes before I did a sixty second almost double standard. Yeah, just acknowledgment of it. So here's what I'm going to say, and Justin, I appreciate you listening and watching the show I we are. If I am being overtly political about things,
I always give a little comeback in ten minutes. Note, Okay, if I am just honestly discussing my thoughts on something and there is a racial component to it, I am not going to insult the audience by assuming that they can't handle a couple minutes of maybe a opinion that's different than theirs. If we are going to do a full blo of fledged topic or show that is not sports, I never try to like trick you into listening to it.
And what I will say to Justin is this the fact that you can just flippantly say that my opinion on the job story. When I've talked about the double standard of how people react to white people legally carrying guns and black people legally carrying guns, they can just flippantly say it's nonsense, would lead me to believe maybe you should actually open your eyes to distiff different viewpoints a bit more, because there's a lot of things we can talk about why that's the case, if it's right
that it's the case, a lot of things. But to call it nonsense and deny it that it's the case struck me as a bit off. Okay, so that's the whole preamble to this. We are going to talk race here for a few minutes. I don't know how long
it's gonna take. I would argue that if the people who are right now getting the fast forward thirty seconds or pausing the YouTube stream are the people that this might be the most valuable to, because I think I might say some things that surprise you or challenged the
way you think a bit. So the reason Race got brought into the MVP discussion was because Kendrick Perkins made a few observations that in the last however many years, the only MVPs to not be in the top ten and scoring were Larry Bird and Dark Noovitsky, and now Jokic is about to do it again. Also, I believe made the observation that since Wilton Russell. Only one guy has ever won three straight MVPs. That one guy is Larry Bird. Now it looks like it's gonna be Yokich again.
He was heavily implying Jokicic is benefiting by being a white player, and JJ Reddick lost his damn mind about So before I even talk about the merits of it, I want to say something about the media. I'm weighing how much if the juice is worth to screw it, whatever it is, what it is. That is a horrifying
way to treat a teammate on live television. To if I were in that spot, there is nothing I can imagine that Brewer Wilds could ever say on our show to wear live during the segment, I looked at them and said, with anger and fury, that's what's wrong with sports TV. Try to undress and embarrass a colleague on live television is to me so far out of bounds. Now, there are certain times that if somebody says something that you find so abhorrent that you're like, I don't care
if I ever work with this person again. I don't care if I torched this relationship. I am going to publicly disavow myself from it.
So be it.
This wasn't that. You know what I mean? If some if you're on TV with somebody and somebody starts dropping slurs and they're like bleep these be there like and you're like that, you're awful. I never want to worry.
So be it.
Then you gotta do what you gotta do. This wasn't that, So I thought. I think there's there has been a lurch in certain spaces in.
Our field.
Two guys wanting to and knowing they are embarrassing embar righteously embarrass a teammate for social media plaudits. I the I don't like it. I don't. I it is to me there are certain things. This is really more about media than anything before we get to the race stuff. I thought it was. I thought it was wrong. I just thought it was flatly wrong. And I've seen I thought, I forget who did it. I thought somebody did something similar on that same show Go Ahead.
AJ did something like that to Stephen A. Smith at one point, I believe, like a couple months back.
Well, I don't want to be wrong on Go.
Ahead always since I feel like JJ is like that's just kind of his persona when it comes to this.
It might be I'm just telling you I wouldn't and I don't mind spicy. But somebody on that same show did something to Mad Dog Russo uh implying that he was prejudiced, and it was JJ did a thing with him about plumbers and firemen and Bob Coozy.
Or whatever, and the guy said that I used to watch Bob Coosey like you weren't a lot.
Yeah, that's Mad Dog Russo.
I just think there's I think there are standards and practices for live television that sometimes folks forget, and it would if I were on the other side of that, I would get very, very angry. And I have seen the guys who deal with it. I stephen A had to deal with something Jay Williams did not that long ago that I thought was out of bound. But that's just my opinion there. Now let's get to the It
is race a part of this, all right? So JJ said that Kendrick was calling people racist, and that is what is so frustrating.
It is not the same thing to say race could be playing a factor in something as saying these people are racist.
Let me give you the simplest possible example. People are surprised when they find out you're my son. There are two major reasons for that. One is our ages, the other is our races. That does not make anyone who is surpri at all racist, it's just race is one of the reasons that they don't think we're related. It's, by the way, pretty reasonable assumption. It's like no now if they if once they hear how we're related, it makes them angry. Now we get to the racist part
of it. But there's there. There's racial components to a lot of things that are not racist.
That's first point.
Second point is this, I think white basketball players at the highest level get pulled in all different directions where race plays a component in how we evaluate them. For instance, the plumbers and fireman comment that JJ made about.
The older era players.
We all know why. One of the reasons why sixties basketball is considered a joke by some guys a lot of white guys, a lot of white guys. And we know that that when people are trying to tear down Jordan and show the clips of who he was playing in the eighties, they look for the clips of white guys guarding. So I would argue that when it comes to NBA basketball. Now let's go to modern day, the
average white player gets downgraded because of his race. I think people took way longer to recognize Alex Caruso was a hell of a player because he had a receding hairline and was a bald white guy, then they would have with the exact same resume if he was just a shaved head black guy from Texas, A and M.
I think that guys who again, whatever, I don't. I hope that if any of this reaches JJ's desk, he gets the full context of it, because I'm not really I'm not trying to attack him at all, but I bet JJ Reddick felt personally like I am not giving credit for what a excellent player I am because I'm a white dude. And I bet he dealt with that his whole basketball life, where it was like whether you're getting picked on the playground or whether it's all of
this how the media talks about him. So, now, does that mean those people were racists?
No?
Does it mean race conscious or more likely subconsciously, was playing a factor into how they evaluated them. Yes, So I think average white basketball players get downgraded by the media by fans a few percentage points. But there is
a flip side to that coin. I think once you, if you're a white player, crossed the threshold to undeniably great, you get a few bonus right, not intentionally, not because the voters are together and they're like, you know what, let's let's get some white folks this award, especially because the only white guys who win it these days are non American white guys. You know what I mean, it's
Steve Nash, who's Canadian. It's dark, it's jokic. But do I think that subconsciously there are some extra credit for when the white guy in the NBA is dominating that, Yes, I do. I do, And I don't think that makes anybody racist, just like I don't think it's racist that when I talk to your your mom's grandfather, one of my favorite people in the world, that his favorite team or every year is whichever team has the new black quarterback.
Now he's ninety three years old, So maybe there is a maybe that is a little different, But I don't think there are a lot of things where race plays a factor and doesn't make the participants racist. And it is an attempt, in my opinion, to shut down conversation by saying you are playing the race card. You are invoking race where it doesn't exist. This is where I believe. I believe race exists everywhere, two different factors in different ways.
But the and the people who get to claim I no, race plays no factor in my life are only white people. No non white people get to be like, race plays nothing to do with my life, and so to act like it can when we're all in shared spaces in anything, have nothing to do with anything I think is naive, okay, and I don't. And so if you're gonna make that allegation race might play a component or whatever, you do need.
Some data points.
And the data points that Nikola Jokic is being held to a different standard or at this point overwhelming. I've laid them out without ever bringing up the race components of it. But what we know is that and you know, I don't want to go it'll take too long, But what I will do it from memory, forget it. What we know is that we have a bunch of instances of guys winning consecutive MVPs and then not coming close
the third year. It happened to Kareem, it happened to Moses, it happened to Magic, happened to Michael, he won two titles, and then they gave it to Berkley. It happened to Duncan, it happened to uh Nash, it happened to Lebron, and then they gave it to Derrick Rose. Then it happened to Lebron won two in a row again. Then Durant wanted they didn't give it to Durant. Durant was the best guy that year is then Steph won back to back,
and then Russ one for the triple doubles. Then Giannis won back to back and hadn't produced in the postseason, and Jokic one, and now Yogic is gonna win a third. The one guy who previously they were like, no, you win three in a row was Bird. So that is an exception. We can look for all the reasons it's an exception, but it's an exception. We also know that
this year. One of the reasons so many people are acting like it's an outrageous debate whether or not Jokic is the MVP or not is because they're like, he has by some metrics, the best stats by any metrics, Some of the best stats and they have the best record,
they're the best team. That's who the MVP is agreed, which is why the exception that gave him the MVP last year was so gallington me when he was the sixth seed, because since nineteen eighty prior to last year, six seeds to win the MVPs were Moses Malone, Russell Westbrook, Russell Westbrook. The year Katie left, he averaged the first triple double in fifty years and led the league in scoring, and then Jokis last year. And the last part is these votes have not been close so this season or
his first MVP award. They're one hundred first placed votes. He got ninety one of them. Last year he got sixty five of them in the straw poll. This year he currently he had seventy seven of them. And to act like it's not close when the numbers are that Joel Embiid is averaging the most points anyone has averaged in a season not named Kobe, Jordan or Harden in forty years. In yeah, you're gonna say, will you know, well, a bunch of guys that have me in forty years
and he's doing it on crazy efficiency. Yannis is averaging as thirty one points in thirty two minutes per game on crazy efficiency, and both are demonstrably better defenders, right, and both of their teams. But we can just look at it. The Nuggets have forty six wins, the Bucks have forty seven, and the Sixers have forty three. So it is that if you want to argue he's the MVP, no problem. If you are arguing it's a runaway for the third straight year, it is not outrageous to then
discuss are there other factors at play here? Is it a panopoly of reasons? And could it could the fact that implicitly or explicitly he's a white player help him a bit in the eyes of some voters. It's not a third rail outrageous top. So That's where I'm at on it.
It's a lot to unpack there.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, I guess it was good. They put ninety nine minutes on there. We're twenty seven minutes into the show.
We're halfway through.
The A blots.
It happens.
Okay, all right, let's go on to football. Let's move on, all right.
Reports are out that the Jets are close to landing Aaron Rodgers. The Packers seem to be done with their future Hall of Famer, but Rogers also seems like.
The one who wants out.
Is this really an amicable divorce or is this or one side force in the move?
All right, before I answer it, if Gabe Goodwin's around, Gabe, if you could text me, as a Jets fan, your full thoughts on this, I'd like to read him on the air and then react to him. If that's possible, great, If not, don't worry about it. So I think this is an amicable divorce because I think both sides are done with the other.
I think one side's more done with who do you think Who's I think green Bay is more done with Aaron Rodgers than Aaron Rodgers is done with green Bay. I actually will, considering that they had to pay him all that money.
Right, but now the contract will go with him, so a lot of the money the Jets would have to pay him. I I think they're both done with each other. And I think that. Listen that I've said it before Nat Hackett. The moment Nott Hackett got hired, we knew the Jets were all in on Rogers. They didn't hire him because he bade himself in glory with the Broncos, and when we found the Broncos hired him to get Aaron Rodgers. And then with Chris Collinsrew was like, Aaron
Rodgers loves Nat Hackett. I'll never forget this moment watching Sunday Night Football, when you're talking about Aaron Rodgers loves Nat Hackett. I'm waiting for him to be like because of the offense he designed, or this that, and and what Chris Consreth said is Man, Rogers loves Nott Hackett. He made him laugh. They played corn hole together. I was like, that's the reason this guy got a head coaching job.
Like, that's the exact justifications you need for a guy like Aaron Rodgers, right.
I like that.
So they're moving on.
I think it's the right call for Roger, for the Packers to turn the page. This is why I was arguing for.
Seas.
Of course, now Mark Schlereth came on my show and said, they don't need to play Jordan Love. They already know they're going with him. I still think it's risky, like you would have, but maybe maybe they were like, we're just out of the Aaron Rodgers business. We're done with it here. And here's my question I would have if I were the Jets, is he going to participate in the offseason stuff? Because it's totally new receivers, it's a totally new team. It might not be a totally new
offensive system. But we did see last year about week ten he got on the same page as the young receivers and they started winning games. Christian Watson started going, I don't want to have to wait, like you're in a brutal division, in a brutal conference, so I want to know yes, so you don't have to do what Mahomes did, which was Mahomes and not only went to the optional offseason stuff, did all of that. He held
his own mini camp in Texas with the receivers. He flies the guys in, he puts them up, and they practiced together. Well, that's kind of going above and beyond. But he also knew we just lost Tyreek Hill. I want to win the damn Super Bowl. We have new receivers on the team. We got we gotta go, go, go, go go. The coaches can't be involved because of CBA stuff, So I'll do it. I'm not saying he has to do that. But you can't just show up to the mandatory stuff, especially after the last season.
Correct obvious, it's obvious that you need to take that extra sit.
Right with it.
The is that the you just can't. We're closed, We're closed. Sorry, we should have locked the door. Thank you, buddy. Oh sweet, I thought that was Laurie walking up, but it wasn't Lorii walking up.
I saw.
I just saw a hat, and then I realized it was somebody maybe wanting to shop. So I i'd want to know that if I were the Jets. Also, if I were the Jets, i'd far rather go after Lamar. But that's not what they're doing. So here is what Gabe Goodwin, our coordinating producer, the owner of Blue Duck Media and Jets fan says. This is a movie sequel nobody asked for. We did this with FARV. It was a mess. Aaron is obsessed with proving he's better than
the Gunslinger. This is just the latest and weirdest way to do so makes no sense. At least, those four days in solitary darkness prepared him for what it's like to be a Jet. So back to the point, like that new like that idiotic new point break all pass Bolt up Chargers for life. Wow, Gabe, because he lives in southern California, Gabe, Gabe, The Chargers are as cursed of a franchise as there is. If you're gonna change teams, get with the Prince, Buddy.
I knew you were gonna say that. Man.
Yeah, as soon as he said Chargers, I just thought of the comeback to be honest.
How great? What a moment?
All right?
Next topic? All right, the.
Ravens placed a non exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson. You suspected that might happen. You can now engage in contract talks with other teams. What do you think Baltimore's goal is here?
Uh, to get Lamar as cheap as possible. I and the Lamar things complicated. So why don't you go ahead and read the next question and I'll do the whole Lamar thing together.
So obviously Lamar is still available, but the Falcons, Dolphins, Panthers, Commanders, and Raiders are all reportedly out.
Okay, so let me jump in right there. It's one thing for teams to privately say this is not our you know, this is not where we're gonna put all our eggs. It is incredibly odd for those teams too, to leak the reporters that we are out on this. Okay, And here's the other thing that I don't understands, how do you not at least hold a meeting?
Right?
How do you not if their feeling is he wanted from the Ravens fifty million a year, five years, fully guaranteed. We're not doing that, So be it? Is it not still in your interest if you're the Falcons, panthers or commanders to call him and say, here's what we would offer.
Are you interested? Is it not worth finding out that if Lamar, having not gotten the fully guaranteed deal for two years from Baltimore, maybe has lowered his sites a bit, or that he would accept from you something he wouldn't have accepted from Baltimore because he's now angry with them to not at least investigate, it strikes me as negligence. Strikes me as like you are not doing your due diligence to make your team the best it can be.
Go ahead. Yeah, so we're in sort of unknown territory here.
The bachelor party in Bangkok scenario worked out for my boy Daniel Jones man. Yes, for some reason, teams aren't bending over backwards to trade for Lamar. You have to wonder would this be happening to any other quarterback at his level? What's really good?
Okay, So a lot of people think this is just blatant collusion and I am not. And and then you have some people. I saw Benjamin Albright, it was like, to believe it's collusion, you'd have to believe all thirty one gms got together, the Worgans their own interest. It's like, buddy, we saw, we saw collusion with cap. We saw it. We we know it can happen where a quarterback that could help teams, everyone agrees not to sign it. So to act like it's an impossibility is foolishness. Go.
I think it's a domino effect, like you know, the Ravens are already kind of like disrespecting him, and I think that.
Other teams are just kind of falling in line, you know, Like.
Well, I do think there is pressure amongst owners to other owners that the moment someone else gets the Deshaun Watson deal, all quarterbacks are gonna want it. The moment someone else gets a fully guaranteed deal, all the other quarterbacks are gonna want it, so hold the line. So I do think there's an element of that. I am not going to go out and say this is full blown. What are you confuse by?
This is Shawn Watson, Like, I don't understand this is Shawn Watson better than Lamar Jackson.
No, but they so no, And that's you guys correct. But all the owners want it to be like it's Cleveland made a mistake. We're not gonna make it. That's the the But the moment a second guy gets it, then you think only Joe Burrow's gonna want one, justin Herbert Jalen hurts everybody. Everybody's gonna want me. So the owners are trying to hold the line. I do believe that, but it does only take one. Only takes one. Owners say, man, I don't care if these dudes are mad at me.
I want Lamar Jackson and I want to win. Now. Do I understand the hesitation from teams like, fully guaranteed he's injured A lot doesn't throw that. Well, yes, but we also live in a world where Carson Wentz got traded for a first round pick, where teams gave Jared Goff one hundred million guaranteed Daniel where we do it, and now Daniels is only really like ninety million guaranteed. But there are not enough good quarterbacks for nobody to go out and pay through the nose for Lamar. I
think somebody will so. I the reason I've stayed somewhat quiet on this, at least on social is because I want to give them full context. I think what's happening right now is fishy. I also think someone will pay, even if it's not one hundred percent fully.
Guaranteed Lamar to the Texans.
So that's an interesting one.
Say, got the don't they have? Like the first number two pick number two pick.
They have the money? That that, to me is an interesting one. The foul Tilkins is the one that I had been promoting. The fact that the commanders are just out is wild to me. But here's the other to me, intriguing piece of it or not intriguing. Here would be my advice. Lamar's worked without an agent. Teams don't like it. I don't know either are pros and cons to that.
I think Lamar should call David Mulligetta. That's Deshaun's because the fact of the matter is whatever he did to turn Deshaun Watson, who had sat out a year and was facing twenty three civil suits and the specter of potential criminal charges. He organized an all out bidding war that ended up with Deshaun getting the best contract ever and that team having to give up three first round picks.
Everybody should be looking for the show.
And so but look the reason I'm saying Lamar specifically, Lamar is in a very similar spot right now without any of the baggage, where he is a star quarterback in his mid twenties who is available and accomplished. So but those guys normally don't come available, and so I would think it would be worth it because whatever David did to get to show on that deal, it's an all time and by the way he did with the team, the Browns did it knowing he was potentially going to be suspended.
He's eleven games.
So even if you can't get him that deal because the Browns were desperate and dumb, I do think at this point the best deal that Lamar could get, David could get him. And by the way, he's not a clutch agent. I have no ties to this or anything. I don't have a relationship with David except for to say hello to him. I'm not I am totally unconflicted on this. It just seems like the guy who was in this similar position but with a thirty tons of baggage that I don't have, he got this deal with
your help. Why don't you come help me. I don't think he's gonna play for the Ravens again. I've been saying that for a while. Now more people seem to be coming around to it. Right now. Do you have a follow up?
You want to you want to talk about Daniel or what I mean?
Do you think it's a good contract. Do you think it's a good deal for the Giants. I don't know what the Giants are doing.
I think I think Tom will tell steady improvement.
You should make the Giants your team.
You should. You don't really have a team.
You you know your front you were not you were born in Mississippi, you lived in Kansas City. But if you just tell people, I mean, you could be a Chiefs fan fairly. But if you feel like that's too easy, forget that the Texans are a disastrous franchise. You've lived in New York, you like Daniel Jones. You're about to move to LA When people are like, who's your team? I think Giants.
You should consider it.
You should consider it because you're not gonna be the You're not going with the Jags. I know it.
I'm definitely not going with the Jags.
I was always kind of I figured call myself a Chiefs fan, Jets would be or Giants would be a fun team.
Well, listen, you can. I'd be thrilled if you're.
Everybody always gets pissed at me when I play with the Chiefs on Mad Yeah.
But but the thing is, it's like, because of your connection to the city and having grown up there and all of that, you can fairly claim Chiefs fandom.
But if you didn't want to, that's the easy road, is what you're saying. Yeah, no, no fun in that.
Well no, there's a lot of I don't get me wrong, there's a lot of fun in it. But if you didn't want to claim it, you could go Giants. All right, that was a forty two minute a block. My bad, guys. We'll do a quick B block come back and answer questions after. What's right.
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Welcome Mack. In episode one thirty three, what's right with Nick Wright? Breaking news on the show? Can we get a live look? Is it possible? Can we get a camera into the studio to show Gabe? I want to see Gabe's reaction after this that the cameras down. All right, I'm just gonna tell him. Get ready. From rap sheet sources, the Jets have acquired Ravens safety Chuck Clark for a seven round pick. Sorry, Gabe, it is true. It is
breaking news. Uh So, Chuck Clark to the from the Baltimore Ravens to the New York Jets for a some dround pick. All right, demonse, Let's go, what's the first up in the B block?
All right, So, both the NFL and NBA have had some foundation shaking moves over the past year. The idea that you can get Lamar for just two first round picks has got me thinking. Deshaun Watson trade and guaranteed extension changed the quarterback market, and the Ruby Gobert trade has disasters disastrously inflated the trade market, which move will have worse ripple effects on their leak for years to come.
Well, I don't want to say worse, but the more impactful one is the Dashaun Watson one because the Gobart trade, now that Durant's been traded and we've had a bunch of guys traded, that kind of falls to the background as far as it being the standard, Like, well, Rudy Gobert went for this, nobody's gonna do that anymore now because now there's a new one. It's like, well, okay, this is what Kevin Durant went for, and then you
you know, jostled down from there. Right right now, the Deshaun Watson deal is still having an impact, and we'll look with Lamar, but then we'll also let's also see how the Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts negotiations. Go, I'm gonna say one other thing though about the Lamar thing before we move on to our game. The Ravens had an opportunity. You can sign quarterbacks to an extension.
After three years.
Okay, Joe Burrow's played three years, He's getting an extension. Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts.
Right.
Lamar three years into his career, was coming off a season where he won a playoff game and was a year removed from winning League MVP. The Ravens did not sign him to an extension that offseason. Here's why it's notable. That was before the Deshaun Watson contract. So the idea that, oh, it's just the Deshaun Watson thing that ruined this, No, it is not. Because they had an opportunity a year before Deshaun was ever traded to get Lamar done, and they did not.
All right, let's play our game, all right, So they were playing all inter foals. First off, you've got your boys the Lakers. Lakers have been on fire since the deadline and are in the playing window now, the play and window. But Lebron is still out and won't have tons of time to mess with the new guys before the playoffs. All in a fold, the Lakers will win a playoff series, not a playing game, but a playoff series.
Well, I don't know they're going to be in the plane.
Okay, they might get the sixth seed, might get the.
Sixte I mean right now the Lakers are at this point in the season. Don't worry about wins, just worry about losses. You can make up wins, you can't make up losses. So the way you figure out how far you up to go, you count losses. Does that make sense? Yeah, So the Lakers have thirty four losses, same as the Pelicans. Pelicans obviously going in the wrong direction despite the win
last night. The Mavericks and Timberwolves both have thirty three I'm sorry, Mavericks, Timberwolves, and Clippers all have thirty three losses, and the Warriors have thirty two losses. The Warriors are the five seed, so the Lakers could absolutely move up to the five or six line.
It's in play.
I'm not worried about Lebron meshing with the teammates and di'angelo Russell hasn't really played since that he was traded for they got him. He comes in on Friday the way Anthony Davis is playing right now. The Lakers have an argument with Kevin Durant now injured, that they are the scariest team in the West, and while I don't want them in the play in man, I'd love if
they could get Denver and round one. The problem with that is the only way to get Denvern round one would mean they are either at the nine to ten line and have to win back to back playing games, or they're at the seven to eight line and they lose their first play in game. So you're not so Denvern round one is probably not going to happen. But I'll tell you my ideal playoff bracket, and I don't think they're gonna get all the way there, but this
is what it is. Denver's obviously going to be the one, Sacramento stays the two, Phoenix move moves up to the fall. I guess there's two ideal playoff brackets. Phoenix will say that this is the first one. Phoenix moves up to the three, Memphis falls to the four, and the Lakers climb all the way to the five, and then you get Memphis in round one and Denver in round two.
The next ideal bracket would be Phoenix stays at the four and the Lakers move up to the six line and get Memphis or Sacramento in round one and the other one of those guys in round two. All of that is possible, and so the and if Lebron is actually gonna be back in two weeks, then the time off could be good for him. And let me also remind people of this when it comes to the Lake possibilities.
I'm gonna show them on to say something here. So tankathon dot com ranks every team by remaining strength of schedule. So the Spurs and the Suns have the hardest remaining strength of schedule left down.
At the very bottom.
Who's number twenty nine?
The Lakers? Lakers. The Lakers.
As far as remaining games and their ability to really get some wins together, I'll tell you, I can tell you quickly all of their remaining games. Toronto tomorrow. Toronto, by the way, played out, played the Clippers last night, now a night off in Los Angeles, and then they play the Lakers. Not great for the Raptors.
Those are not always outside.
Oh, there's no question about going outside.
Yes.
They then host the Knicks on Sunday, the Knicks again, this is where you gotta really look at the schedule, the Knicks. No, it's in La. The Knicks play the Clippers Saturday at four pm, and then the Lakers Sunday at nine pm. The Knicks going outside. So you have the Raptors in the Knicks the next two games at home. Then you're at New Orleans, who's floundering at Houston? And then you have home for Dallas, top important game, home for the Magic, home for the Suns, No Durant, home
for the Thunder, home for the Bulls. Then at Chicago. Remember Patrick Beverly said he wants to knock the Lakers out of the playoffs. Then at Minnesota, and then your stretch run at Houston. Who wants to lose? At Utah, who's going in the wrong direction at the Clippers, tough home for the Suns, don't know if Durant's there.
And then home for Utah. They could really go on a strong.
Run here and their toughest games. People were like, when that all they have two left against Phoenix. That changed dramatically, When now that Durant's out, all right, next, all right?
The Warriors have dealt with injuries and absences all year, but their greatest weakness has been playing on the road, where they are Unfortunately seven and twenty five. They're gonna have to play that. They're obviously gonna have to play road playoff games. Yeah, all in air fold. The Warriors won't win a playoff series.
Oh, they will not win a serious They could fall to the plan. Here's a fun question, because people gave me a hard time because I said the Warriors have a zero percent chance of winning the title since nineteen eighty You play obviously forty one road games a year.
This is hoty one road What do you think the number is for the fewest road victories in a season a champion has had a champion team, a team that won the titles that in the regular season of their forty one road games, what do you think the fewest is twenty twenty one. The worst a team has ever been on the road and won the title was the six heat that were twenty one and twenty. The Warriors are seven and twenty five on the road. Some context, there the full list of teams with fewer than seas.
You said win a title, though I won a playoff series.
Well, I don't think they're gonna win a playoff series, but I'm certain they're not winning a title. It's hard to really right now project playoff series because it's so we have no idea who anybody's playing. But just for some context, the complete list of teams with fewer than seven road wins this year. Spurs ryners. They both have six, and they are the two worst teams in basketball. All right, Well, the Pistons are terrible as well. They have seven road wins. All right, next, all.
Right, the Kings of the Field. Good story of the season so far.
The sixteen year playoff shout is bound to come to an end now that they've leaped frog to the two seed. All in the fold, Sacramento will win more playoff series than Denver, Golden State, and the Knicks combined.
Well, no, I can't say more. Listen, I think the Knicks are gonna win zero series. The Golden State's gonna win zero series. Denver should win the first round at least, and so in order for Sacramento to win more than one, they gotta make it. No, they'd have to make it to the third round. They make the conference finals. But I'm all for lighting the beam and I'm actually gonna buy I looked at the King's schedule yesterday to look for like a Mattine game, an afternoon game. They play
the Spurs. Sorry, they play the Spurs in three weeks on a Sunday, And I'm gonna buy your grandparents some really good seats.
Oh yeah, it's gonna be at about that.
I mean, I would love to do it for a better team. But the flip side is the tickets are way cheap because it's the Spurs, and I can get really good seats. So yet, listen, we have family and Sacramento. I like what the Kings are doing. I love dearon Fox. Remember him from you know, high school in Houston. Uh, but I listen, I don't think they'renna make the conference finals.
With that said, the case for them making the conference finals would be if let's say Minnesota ends up the seven seed and Sacramento's the two, and then Memphis is the three, and say the Golden State's the six and they Memphis beats Golden State. Could they beat Memphis in its current condition? I mean, listen, I'm not putting the Kings at zero percent to make the conference finals. But I don't think they will, and so much of that's gonna come down to who everybody's playing.
All right, next, All right, man, my Celtics are on a downward spiral right now, and people are pointing the finger at head coach Joe Missoula. The NBA's answered in that ass, Okay, that's not there all in their fold, Boston is drawing dead for the time.
No, I fold that.
They're definitely not drawing dead.
They're not my they wouldn't be my pick right now. And then listen, squandering the one seed could really matter. It's not just being I talk about this all the time. It's not just about home court. It's about avoiding Philly in round two. You want to you don't want to have to be the Philly. You only want to have to be one of them. And it's so it's just but they're not drawing dead. I mean, they have top
five offense, top five defense. They they're in really they're not in as good as shape as they should be, but they're still in good all right.
Next, remember that one time Harden sabotaged the Rockets to force his way out. Okay, Well, apparently the media doesn't. Rumors are thrilling that Harden is a lot to return to age sound this this offseason. Houston all in their fold Harden will play in Houston extion, I don't think you will.
I think he might, but it all fold that. I think that. Let's see all that. I think Sixers might win the em Bead's playing great. You know, Milwaukee, I haven't liked a lot of what I mean. Milwaukee just keeps winning. Give him credit, but it's just Giannis has to be so great every single night, and he is.
He is good.
And listen, he's the best player in the league by a mile. But I don't think I think Harden's gonna stick with Philly a little bit longer.
Next, no sneaky locking us up? Was Nicholas Claxton. Man, Watch out for that guy?
Oh yeah, watch out for Okay, all right, so quick, bonus NFL topic here. Deck Derrick Henry is rumored to be traded out of Tennessee. The Dolphins and Bengals are fake favorite to land the running back with the Eagles and your Chiefs right behind the Chiefs.
Yeah, it'd be crazy.
There's no chance he goes to the Chiefs.
I've actually saw it was like rumors. I mean they obviously went from verified account.
Yeah, no, no chance. They love Pacheco. They're not gonna spend money on a running That's what I was thinking.
Has awesome, Yeah right, all in her full and then Patrick mahomes like, what do you don't even need to go into the running back markets?
Yeah, but all in her fold.
Nick knows where Henry is going, all fold that.
I know where he's going, but I know he's not. He's not going to.
Philly. Would be interesting.
I could see that, you know what I mean with the way they try to run, but none of No, he's not going to Kansas City. We answer listener questions next, what's right? All right, welcome back in What's right with Nick? Right, let's get right to the listener questions. Demons go ahead, all right, Juicy beats.
Co said, what exactly would Daniel Jones have to accomplish over the next four seasons to validate his new contract?
Be a top twelve quarterback?
That's it.
I'm gonna have to do quarterback wins thing, throw the ball down the field, effectively, continue your running ability and just be a top twelve quarterback. You don't have to be great. Forty million these days for a quarterback is not crazy money. It's just like top ten quarterback money. You pay a slight preemium be a top twelve quarterback. But you got it. Everyone a shout out to Robert
Mays for having this. Everybody pointed out he was number one in the league and interception rate is in a positive way, the lowest interception rate of forty one qualifying quarterbacks. Pro Football Focus does big time throws, like, how many throws are big time throws? So it's a context. Gino Smith last year at thirty five big time throws, Derek Carr, who got cut by his team. The other guys that
signed this offseason had like twenty seven. Daniel Jones, how many big time throws do you think he had last year?
Eight?
Won every other game. Gotta have more. He was out of forty one qualifying quarterbacks, he was.
Forty, so he's the reason.
He won't turned the ball every wasn't taking any chances.
Think that says a lot about his receivers.
Oh well maybe, but he sure. But the Giant's also a sneaky underrated storyline this offseason this season was the Giants having no receivers, everyone being like, oh my god, they have no receivers. What a disaster is for them?
And despite having no receivers, they traded away a receiver who scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl and had a punt return in the Super Bowl that flipped the game and was awesome for the Chiefs, Like, if you really have no receivers, maybe find a way to see if Kadarius Tony, the guy who you drafted in the first round eighteen months prior, can help you next.
Ian gel any thought on Fred Van Vliet's words on refs after Clips Raps last night.
All right, this is worth watching on your own time. Played. It's too much cursing. It's the It's one minute of him torching one particular red and he's totally calm. He's totally calm, and he just lights this one guy up. And I mean I watched this whole thing and I was like, I think he might get suspended. Not fine,
he was just like totally calm. He's like, yeah, I mean, it's an effing shame when such and such, I mean, like name he names the guy he's like you look up most of the texts I've gotten this year, it's all from this guy. Uh you know, I you know, I think most of the reps in this league do a good job. It's a shame that this guy and I mean it was and he was totally calm and kept cursing, but it was wild.
But like, man, these guys are human. Man, No, I understand it's annoying.
No, So I think, did you see the tech that Jordan Poole got the other day when he threw the bounce pass to the ref?
Uh?
Uh?
I think some of these refs like spouses are watching the game, man, like they got like girls in the crowd.
This player isn't gonna I know that Scott Foster.
Another reason that bred Mean Vliet was mad is Scott Foster threw Scotty Barnes out the night before in a one point game on his first technical.
Yeah, because he said he challenged the integrity of it.
So that was interesting because I assumed what that meant was that Scottie Barnes said to him, did you bet the game?
Which like cheating, y'all are cheating to.
Me is cannot be a one tech ejection?
All right next Lloyd Kevin cy Uh says, Hey, Nick, it's Lloyd.
Oh, it's Lloyd from Jeopardy. What's up Lloyd from Jeopardy Again?
I just got a job as professor at Yale, And any advice for someone who just got their biggest career break ever?
All right, that's awesome. Grants to Lloyd.
That is really fantastic. And I do have advice, and this is my buddy Laslow gave me when I got my job in Houston. I didn't really follow it at one point. And that's the only job I feel like I didn't succeed at was the Houston radio show. I feel like I didn't do as good as I could have done, and I think it's because I didn't follow it. So the the advice that my buddy Laslow gave me that I will give you is beware of the golden handcuffs. And sorry, my mic stand is getting all funny. And
what does that mean? That means you do and this works in any field. You do your work a certain way, how you know it, You do, you are yourself, and you get rewarded for and you get promoted, and then you get promoted again, then you get promoted again, and eventually you get what you're calling your biggest career break ever, and instead of continuing doing what got you there, you
change out of fear you will lose it. You see this happen to people all the time, where once they get enough money or enough security or their dream job, it's not they start mailing it in that they start being way more conservative. That's not who they were, or cautious, whatever it is. Because you're afraid of losing the opportunity. Don't do that. Continue doing exactly what got you where you're going. That's how to keep the opportunities that being
yourself got you. So that would be advice. And congrats to Lloyd. That's awesome. Professor at Yale, that's fantastic. All right.
Next, all right, Joel Allen said, what do the Lakers do this offseason if they get if they get bounced out round one?
I mean, they're probably going to go after Kyrie. Yeah, that's the short answer. Whether they should or not, that's probably what they're gonna do. All right.
Next, well, Castle said Nick dressed like Vector from Despicable Me.
That is accurate.
Okay, I'm not familiar with vector, but uh was he the guy who stole the moon.
Yes, oh that Oh dude, that is so accurate.
Wow, that's pretty good. Wow, that's pretty strong. I also got to tell you the fact that we had that photoshop ready it leads me to believe this might have been a planted comment.
I I mean I was about to look it up.
Yeah, I mean, they'll just add it ready. Yeah, listen, I'm wearing a lower jumpsuit. I don't know what you want from me. This is how I've dressed my whole life when left my own devices, my entire life. I just want to dress like Tony Soprano when he's not at work. That's all I want to do. It's where I'm most comfortable. Tracksuits and jumpsuits.
It's what I like.
It's what I think looks good on me. Today. I awore it in honor of Jim Beheim. This was a long, fun, good show. Good job, pal, Love you.
What's Right? Episode one thirty.
Three, See you guys on TV tomorrow and see you back on this show Tuesday. Remember we're now Tuesdays and Thursdays.
What's Right