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You're listening to the Best of the Odd

0:25

Couple with Chris Brushaw and Rob

0:27

Harker.

0:31

Well, you know who doesn't have a bright future?

0:33

'al?

0:34

Who's that? The Phoenix Sun.

0:36

I don't know why I was thinking saying the

0:38

Phoenix Suns, Rob and

0:41

Kevin Durant, Devin

0:44

Booker, Bradley

0:47

Beal Championship

0:49

coach Frank Vocal swapped

0:54

like so many dust balls

0:56

into the dust bin, swapped

0:59

like so many balls of.

1:01

Lentz into the trash.

1:05

Four games, four ls

1:08

against the Minnesota Timberwolves

1:11

and Rob. The first three of them

1:13

were routes, yep, double

1:16

digit victories. Last night they

1:18

you know, they played a little bit better but still

1:20

went down by six points

1:23

and Rob.

1:24

First question, there's a lot to get to here.

1:27

First thing, I want to ask you, who

1:29

do you blame for this debacle

1:32

that is the Phoenix Suns.

1:33

Well, I'm gonna blame the front office,

1:35

Chris, for putting this together, because

1:38

they did not put together a good

1:41

enough froster. The bill trade

1:43

whoever pulled that trade off in Washington,

1:46

Chris should get a double raised today

1:48

when they realized that they were able to get rid of

1:50

Bradley Beal and that montrocity

1:54

of a contract, right that you're saddled

1:56

with, because, Chris, we talk about all the

1:58

time, all in the contract, you can't get

2:00

rid of it. Somebody's always willing to

2:02

take a bad contract. Apparently

2:05

this one might be. I don't know about this

2:07

one now, you know. But they got rid

2:09

of it. Nobody thought that they did. Nobody

2:12

thought that they could get him right, uh,

2:15

that they could trade him in Washington, and they were able

2:17

to do it. But but Chris, when

2:20

you think about where they are and

2:22

what happened, we talked about it before.

2:24

I told you.

2:26

Kevin Durant is NBA dead,

2:29

and and now Chris.

2:31

We went before.

2:33

It was just that he wasn't a conversation

2:35

anymore, right, That's what I was saying.

2:37

He wasn't even a conversation. He still was putting

2:39

up his number.

2:40

He was doing his number, he's gonna probably make second

2:42

team All NBA.

2:43

Right, But but but there was no buzz

2:45

about Kevin Durant despite the numbers,

2:47

and now he can't even win

2:49

a playoff game, forget about a series.

2:52

He was swept two years ago with

2:54

Brooklyn when they got swept and and

2:56

he was dismantled by uh

2:58

but they didn't make it.

2:59

What they make the play in last year? Or

3:02

did they even make it? They made the playoffs,

3:05

but he didn't.

3:07

You know?

3:07

They they did win around I think, and got

3:09

beat in the second round.

3:10

Okay, yeah, but but

3:12

but when you look at where Durand and the Clippers,

3:15

right, they beat the Clippers without Paul George

3:17

and Kawhi So and

3:19

then they got beat by Denver in the second

3:21

round. That was it, right, I almost forget

3:23

about that series because of the

3:26

Clippers injuries depleted. But

3:28

but my point is he's NBA

3:31

dead now. I mean I don't even know. And

3:33

that doesn't mean that he's not. I'm not taking

3:35

away his accomplishments and his place

3:37

in the NBA. But to go to

3:39

Phoenix, Chris where they had

3:41

gone to the to the championship without them,

3:44

Okay, they were up too. Oh, and

3:47

everybody was random Raven and when

3:49

they got Kevin Durant, you included

3:52

me.

3:52

We thought they're going to be viable

3:55

in the West.

3:56

They will be viable, okay, and

3:58

they just haven't been viable. And to

4:01

have this blow up in their face when

4:03

they have these three guys and

4:05

really nothing else and not be able

4:07

to forget about winning the series because

4:10

Minnesota is a really good team and have been

4:12

all year, Chris, but to not be able

4:15

to even win a game, to not

4:17

win ay.

4:17

Meat Minnesota three to zero in the regular

4:20

season. I mean, I know you know again, it shows

4:22

you right right, But

4:24

now I agree.

4:26

I'm looking at the front office and I'm even going

4:28

above this the owner.

4:29

Huh yeah, Matt Ishbia because

4:32

too many times these owners

4:34

robed, they come in and they think they're

4:36

about to play fantasy basketball in the

4:38

real NBA.

4:40

Right.

4:40

Oh, let me go get

4:42

KD with these there, oh

4:46

Beal? Who was you know what? These

4:49

are human beings. Chemistry

4:52

matters, fit matters.

4:55

They would have been better off in every

4:57

way, Rob keeping, Chris Paul.

5:00

Instead of trading from Bradley Beal, I

5:02

got Bradley Bill.

5:03

In fact, I've got a better Bradley Bill

5:05

in Devin Booker.

5:07

I didn't need another one. You know what, I need

5:10

a point guard.

5:11

You put Booker at point Yeah, he's good

5:13

enough to run the point, get seven assists

5:16

the game, but he's not a point guard.

5:18

He's a two. You

5:20

needed a point guard.

5:22

And Chris Paul's money next year wasn't

5:24

even guaranteed. Rob so now,

5:26

instead of or instead of having

5:29

three years one hundred and sixty million dollars

5:31

due to Bradley Bill on a on

5:33

a contract that has a no trade

5:35

clause to add you know, insult

5:38

to injury, you could have had Chris

5:40

Paul and either let him

5:42

walk this summer or

5:45

kept him for thirty million dollars one

5:47

year.

5:48

You'd have been better. And I know they would have been a

5:50

better team.

5:51

I don't know that they would have beat Minnesota, but

5:53

they would have been a better basketball team even

5:55

with Chris Paul and this diministration. I

5:57

also think Rob and this

5:59

is all be hindsight, but hey, it is what it

6:01

is. They shouldn't have traded DeAndre

6:04

Ayton that yo

6:06

Usef Nurkic and I get Ayton

6:09

was tired of Phoenix eighton wanted out.

6:11

You were tired of him. But Manty

6:13

Williams, the coach was gone.

6:17

That was a big part of the problem, right him and

6:19

Ayton he was gone.

6:21

Couldn't you have made good on Ayton

6:23

and made up with him.

6:25

Right because the coach wasn't there. The problem

6:27

that was the rub was gone

6:30

because Ayton is was seventeen

6:32

and ten.

6:32

I'm not saying he's Joe l Embat, but

6:35

he was seventeen points, ten rebounds

6:37

with no plays run for it. He's

6:40

a He was a factor on

6:42

the defensive end and the offensive end,

6:45

much more than Useef Nurkic.

6:47

So they made some bad moves, rob So and

6:50

that's that.

6:50

All is on the owner, Matt

6:53

Ishbia, because he's not an absentee

6:55

owner. He wants to be involved. He

6:57

wants his fingerprints. This is his plate and

6:59

now he your fingerprints, right, this is

7:01

his play there.

7:02

This is Jerry Jones and a small

7:05

way, smaller scale. But instead

7:07

of making sure you go out and get the people

7:09

you can own the team. Chris, sit in the front road,

7:12

have your drinks, entertain your people,

7:14

and leave the basketball stuff to the basketball

7:17

people. Like that is the best way

7:19

to do it. And it's just

7:21

when you think about where the Suns are. They're

7:24

doomed, They're they're really in a bad

7:26

spot for a long time to go.

7:28

Here's what I think they have to do.

7:29

As great as he is, still, I

7:32

think they have to trade Kevin Durant because,

7:35

like you said that, there's nowhere else

7:37

in it.

7:37

You can't trade Bradley Beal.

7:39

I mean, Rob, we talked about it

7:42

untradeable contracts. No

7:44

one is one hundred percent untradeable. But

7:46

Rob, who is taking him for three

7:49

years, one hundred and sixty million dollars when

7:51

he hasn't played more than sixty games since

7:53

twenty nineteen and

7:56

he didn't play that well this year in these playoffs

7:59

Terror yesterday?

8:01

Who's taking that?

8:03

And Kevin Booker's young enough

8:05

where I want to build around Booker. He's

8:07

still young enough where I can build around him.

8:10

And so I think, Rob, I'm.

8:12

Looking to see what I can get for Kevin Durant,

8:14

Golden State, Jonathan

8:17

kaminga uh,

8:23

then I can get Chris Paul's contract. I

8:25

mean, I got to get more than Kamen. I got to get a bunch of

8:27

picks.

8:28

But I don't know.

8:29

I mean Oklahoma City with they you know,

8:31

they got a ton of picks, but they probably

8:33

don't have the contracts to make it work. There's

8:35

been talking about the Lakers, Rob the Knicks.

8:39

I mean, there are a lot of teams out there that could

8:41

use Kevin Durant. It's gotta be a team Rob

8:44

that's close to a championship.

8:46

Yeah, and Bill has no trade

8:49

right, Yeah, that's why I don't think you can trade.

8:51

You can trade him. So now with

8:53

Duran, I hear you. I

8:56

just at this point, Yeah, it's

8:58

got to be a team.

9:00

If Boston loses, if

9:02

Boston for some some reason doesn't

9:04

get to the Eastern Conference finals,

9:07

would you take a maybe a Jalen

9:10

Brown and

9:15

Drew Holliday for

9:18

Kevin Durant. I don't

9:20

even know. I'm gonna be honest at this point, Chris.

9:22

I know this sounds crazy. No,

9:25

I know, but I'm saying I don't know

9:27

where Kevin Durant is. I gotta be

9:29

honest. And I'm not.

9:30

Saying you saying you might not even want him.

9:32

If I might not want Kevin Durant

9:35

at this point.

9:39

I want him if I'm right there. Yeah,

9:42

and it would have to do I

9:44

agree with that.

9:45

You're not You're not getting him on a team that's

9:47

that's trying to get there or or a year

9:49

or two away.

9:50

He's not that player.

9:52

But I just wonder, like, like

9:55

recently, it's just he just

9:57

doesn't seem the same to me, even in the postseason,

10:00

Like the numbers are there, but it doesn't

10:02

seem like they register into wins. And that's

10:05

scary as you get older. And then Chris,

10:07

let's be honest, that health issue

10:09

there is always there.

10:10

With him as oh you now, it.

10:12

Just is this year, God blessing

10:14

he was healthy, but there's no doubt that

10:16

that's always going to be a factor.

10:18

Be sure to catch live editions of The Odd

10:20

Couple with Chris Brussard and Rob Parker

10:23

weekdays at seven pm Eastern four

10:25

pm Pacific on Fox Sports

10:27

Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

10:29

What do you get when you combine a three

10:31

time Manager of the Year at a

10:34

three time National Sports Writer of

10:36

the Year.

10:36

It's the Book of Joe Podcast.

10:38

Hey, this is Tom Ferducci from Fox

10:40

Sports, MLB Network and Sports Illustrated.

10:43

And I'm Joe Madden, and we're going to be around

10:45

to talk a little bit about managerial decisions,

10:47

playoff games and what may have occurred to the dugout,

10:49

maybe in the nineteen eighties.

10:50

I can't wait for this, Joe. We're going to dive into

10:52

what goes on in the dugout and behind

10:55

the scenes in Major League Baseball.

10:56

Cars, wind, whatever else we want to talk about.

10:58

Listen to the Book of Joe. Podcasked on the iHeartRadio

11:01

app on Apple podcasts or wherever

11:03

you get your podcasts.

11:06

There's another team on the brink, and we talked

11:08

about him briefly in the last hour.

11:10

That's the Philadelphia seventy six.

11:12

Ers down three games

11:14

to one, going

11:16

back to New York for Game five. And I

11:19

don't know, Rob, I picked the Knicks in seven.

11:22

I'd be surprised at this point if

11:24

it reaches seven games.

11:26

Yeah, I don't. I don't think it's gonna go seven. I mean,

11:28

it just it doesn't

11:30

feel that way.

11:31

I mean, early on we

11:33

talked about it like they could have won the first two

11:35

games at Madison Square Garden.

11:36

Philly, especially the second one right and

11:38

they got that one stolen from him by the

11:40

rep.

11:41

Two fouls that weren't called, not one

11:43

but two.

11:44

And they failed to call the time out by

11:46

the coach. I mean, all of This was acknowledged

11:48

by the league, so it's not like we're.

11:49

Just belly aching over Yeah.

11:52

But Joe rob I

11:54

was not at Game four in Philly,

11:57

but by all accounts,

11:59

it was at least half Knicks

12:02

fans there, or that's what it felt

12:04

like, at least with the cheers and

12:06

the booze and who thes fans were rooting

12:08

for.

12:08

It felt like a Nick game. I gotta admit

12:11

it felt like a Nick game. And Chris, you know,

12:13

we talked about it. We both covered the Knicks.

12:15

I remember in my heyday

12:18

of being a beat writer going to Atlanta

12:20

with all the Nick fans. You remember that Atlanta

12:22

used to be like Madison Square

12:24

Garden.

12:25

South right right right, absolutely,

12:27

and their New Yorkers

12:30

all over the place. We know that New

12:32

Yorkers are like roaches, They're everywhere,

12:34

Okay, but I

12:38

thought that was a bad look for Philly fans.

12:40

It spoke volumes to me, Chris,

12:45

that they don't believe in this team.

12:47

They don't believe like they

12:50

weren't out of this series, like they were down three

12:54

hammer.

12:56

It just dropped fifty.

12:57

Thank you, And to sell

12:59

your tickets, Chris, and give up

13:01

your seats to your team

13:04

tells me, you're not buying embid and what's going

13:07

on with this team and this roster. You

13:09

don't feel good about it? Philly

13:12

sold out. They sold

13:14

out on them. If I'm embiid, I'm

13:17

bummed. I get that they played

13:19

terrible. Chris at the end, oh

13:22

four last eleven shots or whatever

13:24

it was down the stretch that could

13:26

happen. You can go call you can't make shots,

13:29

But they didn't know that going into

13:31

that game, right that they

13:33

didn't know that that you gave up your tickets before

13:36

that.

13:36

They looked at making money. That's

13:39

all that was.

13:40

And hey, they made some cash.

13:43

But Rob here, embiid, you said you'd

13:45

be bummed he was here.

13:46

He is.

13:48

Oh fans. I think he's unfortunate,

13:51

and I'm not calling them out, but it

13:53

is disappointed. Obviously. You got

13:55

a lot of Knicks fans and that down the road

13:57

that never seen it. And I'm

13:59

being here for ten years.

14:02

Yeah, kind of fisces me off, especially

14:05

because Sureley is considers

14:07

four style, so you know they've

14:09

always shown up and I don't think

14:11

that should happen.

14:12

Yeah, it's okay, Chris here,

14:16

Philly the Eagles, you better

14:18

not wear another jersey in that building.

14:20

Chris, you know that fighting.

14:22

You'll be fighting if you go down there and wear

14:24

Dallas Cowboys jersey at a game in

14:26

Philly. You know how they are about the

14:28

Phillies. You know how they are about the

14:30

Flyers, And it is shocking.

14:33

We know New York is a quick hour and ten

14:35

minute train ride, Chris, so it's an easy

14:37

commute for New Yorkers, right, But

14:40

I was shocked, and I think he was being

14:42

nice. He should have been irate and

14:44

disappointed in the Philly fans.

14:46

Well, I agree.

14:49

I agree that it

14:51

was unseemly

14:54

that they had as many Nick

14:56

fans there, or that the Nick fans took

14:59

over the guard and like you said,

15:02

Chris took

15:05

over, took over the Sixers arena.

15:07

But and Philly,

15:10

it makes it even worse, Rob, that Philadelphia

15:12

is such a sports town, right, that

15:15

makes it even worse.

15:16

I mean, if they Rob, if they had done

15:18

that in.

15:18

Miami or even as

15:21

you mentioned earlier, Atlanta, it's not I

15:23

mean, it's those are bad sports now.

15:25

Miami to me is the worst. It's

15:28

terrible. It's Atlanta might be the worst.

15:30

They're both bad. They're both bad.

15:32

And Chris I've been to Miami for the

15:34

opening season of

15:36

a Dolphins game, not

15:39

a sellout like the first game of the year

15:41

in Miami.

15:42

I've been to that. We know that, we know

15:44

the Marlins can't draw.

15:45

They had all the fans for the World Baseball

15:47

Classic down there, Chris in

15:49

South Beach, so they're baseball fans down

15:52

there.

15:52

They don't go to the games.

15:54

Rob I wrote when Lebron was in

15:56

Cleveland for his first stint the

15:59

November before he became a free agent,

16:01

so it was his last year in Cleveland that first

16:03

go round. I wrote a story they

16:05

were going to play the Heat, and

16:08

I wrote a story saying, and

16:11

I had no idea that this was gonna happen,

16:14

but I wrote a story on ESPN dot Com

16:17

saying Lebron James might need

16:20

to consider going

16:22

to Miami if he wants to beat Boston

16:24

and get a championship, because I was like, they got a Big

16:26

three, he doesn't have the supporting

16:28

cast, you know, d Wade,

16:31

I didn't know. I don't even know if I mentioned Bosh,

16:33

but I was like him and d Wade and

16:36

Rob, you know that if a story

16:39

like that had been written about somebody

16:41

maybe going to the Knicks. That

16:43

crowd would have had signs,

16:46

they would have been cheering that guy. They would

16:48

have made him feel that home. They would have rolled out

16:50

the red carpet. Miami fans

16:53

didn't get there as usual until

16:56

like the second round. Their lower Bowl was not

16:58

full until the second quarter. I mean,

17:00

that's just how they are. And even when

17:02

they were winning, ride with the Heatles,

17:05

I mean, yeah, it was sold out in packed,

17:07

but they weren't close to as good as fans

17:09

as most of these cities.

17:11

You know, when they got with you, I'm with you. Miami's

17:13

bad, Atlanta's bad. I once

17:16

wrote a column for ESPN dot Com Chris

17:18

called Atlanta the worst, the

17:21

worst sports town in America.

17:23

You know what, the only reason I know the year

17:25

is because of the comments.

17:28

It was twenty twelve, so that was

17:30

how many years twelve years ago, twenty twelve

17:33

for ESPN New York dot Com.

17:36

Seven thousand comments Chris

17:38

underneath the story seven

17:40

thousand disagreeable, you

17:43

know, like on both sides, but just the

17:45

idea. Seven thousand

17:47

comments on a story. Incredible.

17:50

It's a terrible sports town.

17:51

I was there when they won their World Series

17:54

in ninety five, when they beat the Cleveland

17:56

Indians.

17:57

I was covering the Indians and.

18:00

Rob is about seventy five people out outside

18:03

after they won it, like in downtown. I was like,

18:05

man, Cleveland, they to place

18:07

rows right right? It

18:09

was like nothing. But anyway, that's

18:12

the thing, Rob. They took over a sports

18:15

fanatic type city. And

18:19

here's what I will say though, and

18:22

I'm not excusing it, but

18:24

I think I'm just presenting the truth.

18:27

Rob.

18:28

Just like Joel emb was disappointed

18:31

and ticked off, so

18:33

are the fans. They're

18:35

disappointed Joel Embiid and

18:37

ticked off at you and your sixers

18:41

because you guys should

18:44

be better than you've been. And

18:46

I get it that you're hurt, but you're playing forty

18:49

minutes and Rob, Joel

18:51

Embiid has scored

18:53

one point in the last

18:55

two fourth quarters. Joel

18:58

MB has two rebounds

19:01

in the fourth quarter in this

19:03

entire series.

19:05

Wow.

19:06

And you know how much I praise Joel

19:09

MB's jump shot. He is easily

19:13

the best jump shooting big man ever.

19:16

You just over Patrick Ew.

19:18

I always believe Patrick.

19:20

Was, Yeah, undoubtedly, I mean

19:22

it's unbelievable how well he shoots.

19:24

But Rob, he he might as

19:27

well be six ' five because

19:30

he sits out there at the three point

19:32

line and the free.

19:33

Throw line and he plays

19:35

like he's a guard.

19:36

And I get that that's a

19:38

part of your game.

19:39

You're so good at it.

19:41

But when you need a bucket,

19:44

go inside. That's

19:47

what Yoki's yoga is outside a lot too,

19:50

But when it's time or when he has a mismatch,

19:52

he backs you down, and

19:55

that's what Joel Mbi needs to do.

19:57

Rob He had no rebounds in the fourth

19:59

quarter. Rob The Knicks

20:02

backup center Mitchell Robinson was out

20:05

all right with with ankle and ankle injury.

20:08

Isaiah Hartenstein played

20:11

two seconds in the fourth quarter

20:13

because of foul trouble. They were guarding

20:15

the seven foot three

20:18

hundred pound Joe Lmbid

20:21

with Precious a Qa seven

20:23

six ' eight and og Al

20:25

Nunobi six.

20:26

Seven precious I saw that movie

20:29

There you Go, but they

20:31

were guarding him with those players.

20:35

Come on, man, I

20:37

mean, you should be destroying, you

20:39

should be insulted. But the

20:41

reason they can guard you with guys like

20:43

that is because you've made yourself

20:45

that short by just

20:47

sitting around settling for jump shots.

20:51

How about going inside and get some offensive

20:53

rebounds.

20:55

I mean it's just.

20:56

So, I rob the fans are ticked

20:58

off too, And Joe l

21:00

Emby didn't paying money for the fans to come see

21:03

him.

21:03

They're paying money to go see him.

21:05

So I get it that.

21:06

He's disappointed and upset, but so

21:08

are they because year.

21:10

After year, season after.

21:12

Season, this is what they see.

21:17

And so it goes both ways.

21:19

It was a bad look for Philly fans, but.

21:22

They're like, man, it's enough this

21:24

process. When's it gonna pay off? Chris?

21:31

And and that's why you give up your tickets

21:33

in a playoff series where your

21:35

team is only down two to one, got

21:38

jobbed out of game two in in

21:40

at Madison Square Garden. It easily

21:43

could have been to one Philly, Chris, Can we believe?

21:45

Can we say that going into that

21:47

game? And and there's a series

21:50

there, and for them to sell their tickets ahead of time

21:52

and say, I'll just take the cash because I'm not

21:54

really buying into, uh,

21:57

you know, what this team is selling or

22:00

the idea of how

22:02

good they can be and if they're ever going to win

22:04

a championship.

22:05

It speaks volumes.

22:06

I was stunned at the

22:08

crowd noise and the reactions when

22:10

the Knicks made baskets and Philly and.

22:13

Rob I'm saying I'm saying

22:15

this because I would love

22:18

to see Joel and be cap his career

22:20

with the championship. The dude

22:22

is a great player. He's

22:24

a great score and shooter, and he is

22:27

a good good defender. But

22:29

part of defense also is rebounded.

22:32

And I get it.

22:33

He got ten, but he had none in the fourth quarter

22:35

when when push came.

22:37

And when it mattered. But Moore, thy

22:39

o four on the last eleven, like that's

22:41

what he.

22:41

Was go for five in the fourth. This is

22:44

constructive criticism. And

22:46

for whatever reason, it seems

22:49

like nobody in Philly will tell him

22:51

this.

22:51

I'm sure they are, but he's not listening.

22:55

If Joel Limby wants to win a

22:57

championship, watch take

22:59

this summer because you're gonna be starting summer

23:01

vacation pretty soon of Da

23:03

Kola Jokic, and watch when

23:06

some he decides, you know what is time,

23:08

let me go inside.

23:09

If you're not hitting shots in the

23:12

fourth.

23:12

MBAT, then go draw

23:14

foul. You're an excellent free

23:16

throw shooter. Get to the line. If

23:20

you were tired, and I'm sure you were because

23:22

you came back late in the season. You played

23:24

the whole second half. I get it, But Rob,

23:27

what goes first when you get tired?

23:30

Your legs? Your legs? Your jump shot?

23:33

Yep, that's the first, Belie.

23:35

Even more reason you need to get your butt

23:37

down on the vein. He couldn't find the low

23:39

post with a GPS, so

23:43

they were ticked off to in Philly.

23:45

Those both ways, Joel.

23:46

Fox Sports Radio has the best sports

23:49

talk lineup in the nation. Catch all

23:51

of our shows at foxsports Radio dot

23:53

com and within the iHeartRadio

23:55

app search FSR to listen

23:57

live.

23:58

But Rob, let's.

23:59

Stay on Anthony Edwards

24:02

and uh, he was

24:04

the star of

24:08

that first round series. Now, Karl Anthony

24:10

Towns played well, Rudy Gobert

24:13

did his thing. Jaden McDaniels,

24:16

God bless him, played really well.

24:18

Defensive play of the year. Rudy

24:21

Gobert. I'm sorry.

24:22

Yeah, he hasn't been announcing

24:24

on Rogers, but he yeah, he probably will win it.

24:28

And then Mike Connelly, like,

24:30

they've all played well. But the star of

24:32

that team, the leader and superstar

24:35

of that team is Anthony Edwards.

24:37

He averaged rob thirty one, eight

24:40

boards and six assists

24:43

on fifty one percent shooting Rob.

24:45

He took eight threes a game and

24:48

made forty four percent of them.

24:50

So this dude showed out. He

24:53

challenged his childhood hero, Kevin

24:56

Durant, took it to Durant.

24:58

Durant didn't want none. Durant wanted to Mill

25:00

and you know.

25:01

Laughing, Joe, you're

25:03

nice, You're not your Meanwhile.

25:05

Y'all going home, all right? So Chris,

25:08

Chris, I'm.

25:09

Just saying, like you an take

25:11

mine.

25:13

I'm not gonna be laughing and joke. We can laugh

25:15

and joke later in the Olympics.

25:19

Now when you're trying to compete, I'm not right. We're

25:21

not friends. We're not friends on the court.

25:23

I'm trying to beat you.

25:24

Thank you.

25:26

Edwards was looking at it, right, Go look at some old

25:28

Isaiah and magic thing and they couldn't have been closer.

25:31

Go look at the blood, Chris, right,

25:33

yep, yep, absolutely.

25:35

I mean it kind of ruined the refriendship for

25:37

a while, but still it was about winning, all

25:41

right. But here's the thing that Rob

25:43

we got some sound people are saying, is

25:46

now the face of the NBA.

25:48

We got some sound on that. That

25:50

was his teammate.

25:51

Yeah, but let's let's hear who is it? Karl Anthony

25:53

Towns Gobert Who, Yeah, let's

25:56

hear it Peter Face. I've been saying that.

25:58

He hate when I say it, but it's true.

26:00

Like I said, future so brag up put the sunglasses

26:02

on most of the time when I'm walking around with him.

26:07

Well, I liked that he's kind of like

26:09

nah nah, because one thing that comes.

26:12

I mean, he's obviously very confident.

26:14

Rob.

26:14

Course, we thought he got players.

26:17

Yeah, yeah, there's no doubt. But he gives

26:20

his teammates love.

26:22

Like when he was interviewed after the

26:24

game yesterday, he was

26:26

like, they asked him, well, what was the biggest,

26:29

you know, part of the game, what you remember

26:31

the most or what was the key? He

26:33

said, Karl Anthony Towns, He

26:36

said, you know, Cat coming out and doing

26:38

this thing that was the key to the game,

26:41

you know, and Cat giving him

26:44

love. That shows you they both

26:46

or Kat understands the pecking

26:48

order.

26:49

He's the guy and he's

26:51

the dog. He's the leader.

26:53

And what I want to ask you, Rob is

26:56

do you think it's

26:59

time to for him to be the face

27:01

of the league or is this premature?

27:03

Chris so premature? I mean,

27:06

can we stop. This remind me

27:08

of when Devin Booker was up two to zero in the finals

27:10

and he was the next Kobe. I mean, Chris,

27:14

stop it. And this is not We

27:16

talked about it. Me and you were the biggest

27:19

Anthony Edwards guys

27:21

rookie year yes or no, we thought

27:23

he got

27:25

and we couldn't understand why people didn't vote

27:28

for him and all that, and so we were on

27:30

that bandwagon.

27:31

And I love his game.

27:32

I love that he wants to play every night,

27:34

I love his enthusiasm.

27:36

I love everything about this guy.

27:38

But the face of the league, false

27:41

face of the league. I mean, come on, Chris,

27:45

stop it. He's in the first round.

27:47

If they lose to the next round, does that mean he's

27:49

not the face of the league.

27:50

I mean healthy,

27:52

they're supposed to right, amazing.

27:55

We can't have that. This is what we keep

27:57

doing. Is it over action

28:00

to everything? He had a great first

28:03

round series, but

28:05

the face of the league, with no MVPs

28:08

and nothing else to show for it.

28:10

Stop it. No no face, no league.

28:14

I agree with you, and like

28:16

you said, we both love Anthony Edwards,

28:18

but this is real.

28:20

This is bizarre.

28:22

And now if you want to say he's going

28:24

to one day be the face

28:27

of the league. If you won't even say

28:29

if they win the championship, which obviously

28:32

is a stretch, or they got a long way to

28:34

go, for sure he'll be the

28:36

face of the league. Okay,

28:39

he's trending toward that. He's

28:41

one of those guys that could be.

28:44

Okay, but now,

28:47

as you said, it's one series.

28:49

It's one Come on, man, he played

28:52

grade, but it's one series. That doesn't

28:54

make you the face of the league.

28:56

It just doesn't. I mean, we we're just I

28:59

get it. People want to celebrate. Everybody's

29:01

a gold everybody's a this the greatest,

29:03

everybody's the face of the league.

29:06

Got like, how many times are gonna keep

29:08

doing that?

29:09

It's like the younger folks can't understand,

29:12

like they don't know definitions or

29:15

no, you know what it might be this rob you

29:18

know, this is the generation where everybody's

29:21

got their truth right and do what everybody

29:23

can do what they want and you know

29:26

you can't criticize it.

29:28

Is that.

29:28

It is that why everybody

29:30

can be a goat. I guess

29:32

everybody's a goat, everybody's

29:34

a face of the league.

29:36

Is that what we're talking about? I

29:38

don't know. But look, here's the other

29:40

thing, Rob.

29:43

We've talked about how the

29:45

best handful of

29:48

the absolute top tier of

29:50

the league.

29:51

Right now are international guys.

29:53

You got Yo Kich, Yannis

29:57

MB now SGA.

30:01

They're all international players.

30:04

And Jason Tatum is in there because

30:06

you know, he was a top five you know, I believe

30:08

he'll be a top five MVP guy, probably be first

30:11

team All NBA.

30:12

He's American.

30:14

And Anthony Everard now job Rob

30:16

John Morant, if he gets

30:18

back and you

30:20

know, gets his stuff straightened out off the court,

30:22

he I think he'll jump back into

30:24

that conversation. But right

30:27

now, as far as Americans, I mean, Jason

30:29

Tatum.

30:31

Just now. The thing about Edwards,

30:33

Rob.

30:34

Is his game is spectacular,

30:38

but it's all so fundamentally sounding.

30:40

You know how I texted

30:42

with Michael Jordan. A lot of people have compared it to Michael

30:44

Jordan. Jordan says he sees the similarities,

30:47

and we talked about the defensive intensity,

30:49

wanting to play every night, the

30:52

spectacular dunks.

30:53

And high flying game. But

30:55

also Rob, and.

30:57

You know this, Jordan, the

31:00

thing people overlooked because of you

31:02

was so spectacular, was how fundamentally

31:05

sound he was and how team

31:07

oriented.

31:08

Even though he was like, I'm gonna be the reason

31:10

we win, he.

31:12

Still was team oriented

31:14

playing in that triangle offense and stuff

31:16

like that. And that's what you see

31:19

with Anthony Edwards. Yes, he can

31:21

do the great dunks and take over a game,

31:24

but he also moves that basketball.

31:27

He also lets other guys get theirs.

31:29

He doesn't dominate the ball like

31:32

that is that is all similar

31:35

to Michael Jordan. But the other thing

31:37

Rob Anthony Edwards

31:40

has charisma. No, he does

31:42

off the court right with smile,

31:46

his person Did you see the movie Hustle?

31:48

No, I didn't see it. You know, yeah

31:50

he was great, rob G. You saw it right,

31:54

Yes, it was.

31:54

On NETFLI didn't he I mean he was like he

31:56

wasn't a bit player. He had a nice

31:59

solid role, but you could

32:01

say he stole the show. You

32:04

know, he probably wasn't in it quite enough

32:06

to steal the show, rob

32:09

G.

32:09

No, Yeah, the riff.

32:10

He has the personality on the game

32:13

to absolutely be the face of the end. It's just the

32:15

problem is it's so early in his career. He's got

32:18

one playoff series victor under his belt.

32:20

Let's say in round two they get Denver

32:22

and Denver does what Denver does? They beat him

32:24

in five or six times, then

32:27

he's falls into the same category

32:30

as like Jahn Moran. Did you

32:32

know even Jason Tatum would probably still be ahead

32:34

of him, and Tatum has been.

32:36

The thing that has made Tatum not

32:39

that kept him from being kind

32:41

of the face or a face of the league is the inability

32:44

to win.

32:44

You gotta win now. Jordan was unique

32:47

in that he was one

32:49

of.

32:49

The faces of the league rob

32:51

before he started winning. I

32:54

mean, he had the shoes that just went

32:56

went wild to come fly

32:58

with me, videos, Gatoray career,

33:01

you know, he had all of that before

33:03

he started winning.

33:05

But that was a different day and

33:07

age.

33:07

You were question for you,

33:10

Chris, when you text with Michael Jordan's, did

33:12

you ask him if him and Edwards were related at

33:14

all?

33:14

Or No? That's just stuff on the internet

33:18

people. Yes, that's on the internet.

33:20

Yeah, there's there's a whole lot of viral memes

33:23

that their face cut in half.

33:25

You Jordan's Edwards

33:29

doesn't know his dad.

33:30

It's very similar to they they

33:33

think that Michael made to stop over

33:35

somewhere and from Georgia

33:38

is from Atlanta.

33:39

I know he's from Atlanta.

33:41

But it's similarly. You

33:43

know that too, right, Yeah, I know the meme people

33:46

really uncanny,

33:50

like literally, Chris, you used to see it, I

33:52

mean, yeah, iven.

33:54

Have you seen the auto porter Wilt Chamberlain

33:56

once? No, okay,

33:58

well, this one's even more believable than that

34:00

one, Like as far

34:02

as just the similar the way they look, they look exactly.

34:06

The Boston miamis he is from Atlanta.

34:09

From Atlanta. Yeah, he's born

34:11

in Atlanta.

34:15

Yeah, I know. He didn't make any mention

34:17

of that. No, I didn't think

34:19

so. I was just curious, you

34:22

know who. It's interesting.

34:24

I do know a story about an nb

34:27

I'm not even gonna say who, but

34:29

NBA legend who

34:33

a friend of our family.

34:35

You know, the child doesn't

34:38

really look like the parents.

34:41

There is the talk that Jama okay

34:43

good, and there's the talk that he's the son of an

34:45

NBA legend.

34:47

Why are you gonna put doctor Jay's business out there?

34:53

We know doctor j already tennis

34:55

player was Alexandris. She was

34:58

a reporter for the Times.

34:59

Christ That was an in depth

35:01

story, I guess right, undercover,

35:03

see.

35:04

Be careful, undercover, in depth, be

35:07

careful. But

35:11

I ain't even gonna say about that.

35:14

So yeah, look, I think rob

35:16

Anthony Edwards right now here.

35:19

Here's the thing who I'm gonna throw out to you guys or

35:22

you Rob before we go to the listeners. Best

35:25

bet of the American players because obviously

35:27

got Wimby and Jokic,

35:30

Yoannes, you know these international

35:32

guys.

35:33

Bet of the Americans?

35:36

Best bet or who's

35:38

the best like candidate for

35:40

facing the league?

35:41

Is it? I'm gonna give you three.

35:43

Jason Tatum, Anthony Edwards,

35:46

John Moran.

35:47

I would say Edwards is the number

35:50

one choice.

35:50

I say Jason Tatum because all it would take

35:53

for them to do is to win one. That

35:56

and they're closer if they win

35:58

one, Chris, it will change

36:00

the way people look at Jason Tatum

36:03

that it just takes one because

36:05

he's done just about everything you can do. He's still

36:07

young, he's he's

36:10

a good person, personality,

36:12

he's a good looking guy. He has all of those

36:15

things too, you know what I mean.

36:16

I think I think the thing.

36:19

I agree his game

36:21

is not as exciting as Anthony, and

36:24

the game is nice.

36:25

I mean it's not boring, don't get

36:27

me wrong, but and you.

36:28

Know, like he hasn't

36:31

captivated. I don't think he's captivated

36:33

people's imagination like

36:35

Anthony Edwards. But if they ever run this yea,

36:38

yeah, but if they have a run a

36:40

little different, it'll change the way people look

36:42

at it, don't you think. I don't know, Like

36:44

I actually feel this way. I

36:46

feel like Anthony Edwards.

36:48

If there's gonna be like if

36:51

there's just one guy that's the

36:53

face of the league, I think Anthony

36:55

Edwards could be that guy. I don't

36:57

think Jason Tatum could be that guy.

37:00

That's that's what

37:02

you're saying. But yeah, I think now it might just

37:04

be Wimby, or it might news for you.

37:06

The face of the n b A is not going to be an American

37:09

guy.

37:09

That's just not there's just right now,

37:12

there's just too many, too many great forms