OverDrive - Kawhi is back in Toronto | OverDrive: Sept. 14, 2026 - Hour 1

Episode Date: September 14, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys dive into Kawhi Leonard joining the Raptors, the trade with the Clippers and the Raptors' contending roster, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hitting his first home run at home and Week 1 in the NFL. ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania joins to discuss the Raptors' deal with Leonard, the Clippers' trade perspective and Leonard's role on the team.

There's no shortcut for saving time, but saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellair direct.com. This hour of Overdrive is powered by Fandool. Fan Duel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. All right, here we go. Overdrive, off and running TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker up on TSN4. Brian Hayes, the odd dog, Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Noodles, McClennett.

going on. How are we doing this afternoon? I have to get some energy back. And for 10 plus years, I would only walk in 30 seconds before the show. And today I realize why I did that. You have no idea. When you get like the production people and senior production people along with Doogie, it's an hour and a half chat I had to sit through about options, ideas, this thing, that thing. And I understand some of them are necessary parts of doing this job. But it was like, it was like a sports show. And I'm like, I can't sit here and listen to this because you know I'm like matter of fact.

But you guys were going back and forth. Yeah, well, what if this guy said that? How about his exit, though? We just stood up and goes, I can't take this. I know what Jim Rutherford was for his whole career dealing with you. He goes, I can't take this anymore. I'm out. So to clarify, a couple different things.

this kind of stuff happens all the time, right? Like, Doogie and I and the grappler and step are around. And there, you know, JPs in there. And then Cause comes out. And we have a little chat trying to figure things out because there's a lot going on. Before you get into this, what I just witnessed there for an hour and a half, did you enjoy? Oh, it's not about enjoying it, dude. I'm not in Vegas.

We're preparing for the show. I hate it. Like, honestly, I wanted to say to Doogie, you need to shut up. and Grappler. They're all doing their job. I'm like, I got to leave. I'm going to yell at somebody. So a couple different things.

One, it's a big week for us. We're going to Buffalo on Thursday. Which will be amazing. Which, what happens, behind the curtain for anyone out there watching or listening, when a show like ours hits the road, there's a lot of people involved. Yes, a lot of money.

How are we getting there? Where are we going to be set up? It turns out we're giving away tickets. Yes. Tomorrow to the game on Thursday night down at Highmark, the new stadium in Buffalo. bills with maybe the win of the weekend yesterday. We're getting into all that.

So we're preparing for that. Roger Goodell is coming on the show. I think we're going to be sitting down doing a Larry King with Roger Goodell. So we've got a lot of moving parts. You know, so people are involved, and you have to plan for that kind of stuff. You're sitting there like a garden gnome contributing nothing. And then when you do time in, you're like, no, I don't like that. And it's like, what?

We've been talking for 20 minutes about something. That was nonsense, man. But it's important. I'm going to, no, I'm going to record the next one. It's important to get into that. And then today, we got big news. The Kuwaiti deal finally came through. Vladia actually hit a home run.

Yes. You know? We got the football game tonight, big game, Chiefs, Broncos. You guys are back into the... And we're in the lead. We had a perfect Sunday. Al's brother and I, I mean, a lot of people are pointing that out. Camps are opening.

We got the top 50 for TSN launching today. Oh, it's a lot going on. I will not argue the fact that it's a busy week and going to be. It is a great week. But I will never. I will lock myself in my dressing room until $3.59 until the end of time. That's fine. What I just witnessed out there is the, that's why I never go on the conference calls, those meetings or whatever.

It's just people going, yeah, no, what about this? There is a lot of people that want to hear themselves speak. That can happen. That can happen. Raffler might be one of them. The accident was the greatest. I forgot, like I actually forgot, because we used to have a lot of those. and then he just would get up and walk away.

Yeah, the exhumed. Jim Rutherford, Carolina. Where are you? You're supposed to be in my office. The fact that you announced it, that was the best part, because usually you'll just get up and go get a coffee or whatever. You stood up and said, this is ridiculous. You've wasted an hour of my life, and you walked away.

It was the greatest. I had it. Like, I went down to the sports center. Everyone down there's normal. Like, they're just, hey, how's it going? There's a lot of planning to go there. Head producers. It was just like, hey.

A lot of preparation going in. Anyway. Today's show and Thursday. I'll tell you what. Doogie, you put some pressure on yourself and JP because you were chiming in there to JP. Yeah, JP's a chimer. Yes. There was a lot of.

JP gets there better be a good week on the show. There was a lot of opinions, but good opinions. And Buffalo, I'm excited for. I did ask one question. I said, is somebody jumping through a table? I believe that is in the cards. But again, in order for a table to be there, guess what has to happen? You got a plan?

You got to plan these kind of things. You know what I mean? Like you've got to have some preparation. We're working on tables. What's the most difficult tactic you trust me with going off the top of a truck onto a table? Do you think I could do like a flip onto a table? No, chance, dude. Or does that bring in ambulance type stuff?

Yes. I think it's a ball backwards, possibly. Or a side little thing. The thing is we're jumping through a table half the time they just snap and half. You know what I mean? But you're hitting the ground regardless. I think there's a good chance you're going right through the ground. You could be waffled.

Or it can waffle you. And then you're in a really weird position. Like I would say, don't wear a loose shorts. Snout. Yeah, you could be Peter Jacobson with yourself. You could be in your own twisted pretzel. I thought to myself, there should be a list of who we would like to see go through a table. Him or Al's Brothers number one?

Yeah, and I think Al's brother's going to be down there. We got like a grill set up again, planning, putting the plans together. And Al's brothers is just going to be there like flipping burgers and jumping through tables and basically contributing nothing else. Well, in terms of our show, maybe he jumps on, maybe he doesn't. I think he'll be doing a lot of stuff for social media and everything. Because if he's on the show, he'll attack Goodell. He'll try.

Well, we can't. That's, I'm sure Roger Goodell's people have already notified TSN that Al's brother is not allowed within 30 feet. 30 feet of the commissioner of the NFL. Because that guy would travel with security, wouldn't he? Yes. And I would guess Al's brother's probably been targeted as someone that should not be in the orbit of project. In the pre-scote, there's people back. They're pre-planning right now. The FBI are watching or saying, and this is, Al's, keep an eye on this guy.

This is Al's brother guy. Exactly. So, yeah, the tables are going to be there. Are you saying you're willing to go through it? I'll believe that when I see. I don't know. I think you chicken out. I've always wanted.

And I want to even channel, there's a guy in Buffalo, I think. who just like pours ketchup and mustard on himself, and I will get involved with that cat. Yeah, that guy's real. That guy does it. And other people, like, spray him all the time. Joe, try to get us some viz of this guy. I don't know what is.

He's ketchup and mustard guy? Yeah. He's got a mustache and glasses. And he goes crazy with, like it's an addiction or something. It's a really weird thing to, like that's your thing. But I will get involved with ketchup and mustard guy, and we'll both go through the table together. Okay, I like that idea.

Yeah, but you have to do it at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. How are you going to sit beside Roger Goodell with ketchup and mustard all that I'm not doing? Well, yeah. Maybe we leave the ketchup and mustard guy out of it. Well, he's, that's his thing, too. He's got that trademarked. I don't think you want to mess with that. I think people have a great appreciation for mustard and ketchup guy in western New York.

Obviously, the game is exciting. There is. Look at this guy. Look at him. He loves it, too. Yeah, he just gets, like, hammered with mustard and ketchup the whole time. He looks like Buffalo Bill. Yeah, he's got a beard and glasses.

It's a really weird thing to establish. But he's a big part of the culture down there. And again, a big win yesterday for the Bills. The Jays end up getting two out of three over the weekend, which is significant. And again, Kauai, it's official. Nothing changed. This was a part of what we were discussing out there, too. Like, what is different other than the formality of the trade actually going through?

It actually happened, yeah. And I think the answer. there's nothing other than maybe you can breathe easy if you were concerned that Kauai was not going to start the season with the Raptors. Well, I got, my biggest question is, how big of a threat was it that this was not going to happen? Like, did that all decide on Bomler, like, how, you know, pissed off he was going to act, or what was his response going to be to this?

Like, how close was this to not happening? I think that's a valid question. Shom Sharani are coming up in about 20 minutes to try to answer that. Great planning and great job, Doogie. That's a big part of the planning out there. Doogie really swung for the fences and nailed this one, hit a grand slam. But I would guess that Adam Silver got to Balmer because originally the reporting was like Clippers not happy. Right.

You know, issuing statements. They might come back and counters Sue. And then yesterday the news breaks, Palmer, or I think this morning, I accept the punishment and then the trade goes through. That screams of silver saying, don't get stupid. Right. Like, yes, I hammered you because you deserve to get hammered. If you want to escalate this thing, we'll open the books. We can really get crazy.

We'll see exactly what you did. Yes. You want me? Or you want to start talking like, we got to kick you out of the club. Go ahead. Because you just felt the new stadium there. Yeah. Stop messing around.

And again, in the end, Kauai Leonard and the rappers completely benefit from all this. Like the rappers just swoop in and get Kauai. Different contexts from 2019, clearly. Yeah. Or 1819, 19, when they acquired them when he wanted out of San Antonio. but he gets clipped with a $700,000 fine and nothing else that he's just coming up here and get a play. And he's on a better team with more hopes of winning.

I mean, that's the amazing thing. Yeah, the Clippers stink. Ever since he's been there, well before he arrived, they've just been a joke of a franchise for 50 years. And now he gets to come back to Toronto and team up with Scotty Barnes, and they got a really good squad up here. So if you're a Toronto sports fan, hey. Talks to be a Clipper fan, but thanks.

It is crazy the way that it went down, that in the end, his only shrapnel 700K. Yeah. When we're talking 50 sheets type of thing, like. And all the side money that he kept, to my knowledge. I mean, I don't think the tree company's getting the money back from Kauai. How tempered should Raptors fans be from this acquisition? Should they just be excited, hey, Kauai's back?

or should a reasonable expectation be, we might have a chance to pick off another one in the next three or four years? I think that's reasonable to compete for one. I don't think you can never guarantee anything. But look at the NBA. They've had eight or nine different winners in eight or nine years. Like, it's true parity in the league. Yeah.

But this is going beyond saying we get to watch Kauai for the next two or three years. Oh, I think it substantially boost their chances of being competitive. Like if he plays like he did last year, he's not a young guy, 35. He's not going to play every night. We know the routine with Kauai. But last year, he was a second team all-N-B-A player. He was one of the five or six best players in the game when he was healthy and on his game.

That's how good he was. He does that. You substantially improve your odds of being competitive. Not guaranteeing a championship, but that wasn't guaranteed when they acquired him in 2018. No, I mean. No one knew that everything was going to break the way of broke. A lot of things had to go right for them to win that championship,

but he was a big part of it. Yeah. Like Milwaukee? Philly. And then Golden State. And then Golden State got injuries. Yeah. But he's still. Golden State was the dynasty of dynasties in the 2010s.

And they had to go through all of them. And I think people are just going to be ecstatic with the fact that he's here and no one cares about the scandal in L.A. Nobody care. Why would you? If you're a Raptor fan, why would you? And I think yesterday you look at the reaction to Blattie hit in a home run. Part of that was it was a big moment in the game.

It made a 3-1 on the score, you know, in terms of them trying win the series and actually win the game. It's coming off a home run from Springer. Yeah. But there was a lot of relief in the stadium, but a lot of people that were just genuinely happy for a guy who... I'm not going to lie.

I wasn't one of them. I found it awkward. I almost was like, there is 40,000 plus people in that building. Shearing, like, this guy just got called up and he's a local... He's from Toronto. He just got his first home run. And this guy is supposed to be an air.

and judge type. And it's his first, I found it really weird, to be honest with you. I was, the only reason I was happy, oh, is because I watched the other games

and he got booed out of, he got booed off. He was getting hit hard a couple times. Like, on a stretch. Well, but I'm, I'm saying in this series alone,

he got booed. Friday night, he took a lot of heat. So I was happy for him yesterday because the same people, I guarantee you, a lot of those same people who were pissed at him on Friday,

were like, happy for him yesterday going. I just found it. I was obviously excited. You're like, you put a smile on your face and you're like, the guy hit a home run. But I also, I think if I had to come up with one feel, it was just awkward. I'm like, I can't believe that it's gotten to this. But I'll tell you what, like, if you talk about hitting and power, the dynamic of it,

like in a split second, three guys in a row hit, like hit bombs and it changes the game. It changes average. Yeah, as opposed to the nonsense when they can't hit it out of the infield. like it is such a dynamic where you can break a game open like that in a 10-minute span, and the game's over. And C's was in trouble early on. He got out of a lot of hands. Bases loaded with zero outs in the first inning.

I think he had 36 pitches in the first inning. I was watching him like, this guy is getting hit. Well, his last outing was a struggle too, right? Exactly. Coming off a poor outing, but he got out of it and then he never looked back. That's right. And that's, I mean, that's playoff baseball, as everyone knows. You got to have pitching and you got a hit for.

power. Yeah. Like, that's how you break games open. Yeah. And listen, they're 500. There's still a game behind the,

the Guardians. They've got Detroit in town. Detroit's playing well. Like, they've won four in a row. Yeah. They're not going to be in the playoffs this year. But the,

the Vladdy reaction, I think is just more of a confirmation that fans genuinely want to be happy for players, you know? Like, sure there are cynical fans out there. I had the same type of reaction you did. Oh,

like, a celebration. It was awkward when they were calling him out for like a curtain call. Curtin call. It's like, man, he hit his ninth home run in his first at home. He's had over 250 at Bats, I believe, at the Rogers Center. He just finally hit one. It's awkward. It's strange. It never should have happened. But it coincides with them getting the win, winning the series, back to 500. He has been hotter recently in terms of slugging percentage in particular. And they're in a hunt. And fans want it to work. You know, I said it last week when we all came back on Tuesday. He said he's the luckiest guy in pro sports because he has a chance to

completely redeem himself when he has not earned it based on performance. But if he gets hot, has some big hits. People will remember that. He has an opportunity to grab the moped and the Lloyd Christmas mobile and turn it around. Completely turn it around. Completely turn it around. Like if you can get red hot, like I still think they're going to need eight wins here. Eight and four is probably what you're going to need. Yeah. Minimum. I think it's 83. You know, who knows, you can't control what Cleveland's going to do. Right.

But you can control what you're going to do. They could. And the problem with that is the days do not have the tie break against the White Sox. So they do have the tie break against the Guardian. So you're rooting for Chicago to kind of separate here. And Baltimore's gone now. And Baltimore, more or less, is gone. Now they're back. And you're still going to fit. You have to go down to Camden Yards later this week, I believe it is.

But listen, they're, they keep one and two out of three. Like, that's what they keep doing. And now you're back to 500. and unfortunately they have a history of it this year when they hit 500, they hammer the brakes. You lose four in a row. Yeah. So you got to find a way to just keep plugging along here. But, yeah, I'm just glad that it's not like the history of Vladdy never hitting a home run for a full season at home

is officially erased from the record books. He's incredibly lucky. Which would have been insane. Crazy. And it was that close to happening. That close. Like we're into September, mid-September. And he finally got one.

Opposite George, though, because the bills went down and got a win where they hadn't won. In almost 20 years or something down. There's like game one MVP. Josh Al. He was so good yesterday. Crazy. His, like, obviously he ran in multiple touchdowns. He threw him for multiple touchdown.

DJ Moore had a big first impression game, too. That's significant. Right? He had over 100 yards. He was outrageously good. Yeah. And I actually thought Stroud was pretty good. He looks like he's.

Yeah. Kind of trimmed down. He looked pretty good. But it was like Josh Allen, he's that guy where you said it numerous times when he decides, just like Mahomes two years ago or three years ago, it's like when they decide they're taking over and winning the game, they're doing it. Yeah. And that was it.

They needed them yesterday. Like it was going to be a shootout and Josh Allen delivered. There's no other way to put it. It was phenomenal yesterday. There was some scores, though. Like some of the scores yesterday were insane. Lots of points. There were great.

games. Like, they were great games. I felt for you because your Green Bay Packers were up. That offensive line stinks. Is that what it is? So that's where he, yeah, they were Flores, like, Alice brother, credit to my guy, he called it. Well, you wanted to strangle him halfway through that game. When Murray left and the Packers were up early. 12, I think. Yes. Then it was 1910 or whatever it was. And I'm like, okay, the Packers are going to win this game because Love was slinging it early. Yeah. But Flores and the Vikings defense, they were blitzing every snap. Like it was some ridiculous.

It was like 89% of snaps or something. They were sending a blitz. And the Packers' offensive line, as the game went on, they just couldn't do it. And that was the concern. If you don't have an offensive line that can hold up,

it doesn't matter how good your quarterback is. You can't make plays. They literally, in the fourth quarter, they got smoked. Smoked. Like, it was embarrassing coverage. Embarrassing. And I was reading about it today,

like people that went back and reviewed the all 22 tape. they're like, it's even worse when you review it, how bad the O-Line was. When you break it down, yeah. They had no, like, guys just blowing past linemen, and it was ugly. And that's going to be a problem because they've lost a lot of games in a row, including the playoff game, almost all of them, they had leads, and they just can't find a way to close.

I'll tell you what, if you had an underpants cam, though, and you could just point it anywhere around the league on a Monday morning to see where you wanted to point it, where's it going? The Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator. Oh, 59 points. Like everything you've prepped, you're ready to go week one, and you give up a 59 spot. Yeah, that's college stuff, man. Dude, you are walking into work this morning with your tail between your legs.

That's a tough breakdown of what was our game plan against the Bears? 59. And conversely, Ben Johnson, he called the shot. It's one game, but he said we want to be the greatest offense of all time. 59 out of the gates a pretty good way of establishing that. Unreal. Full credit to Ben Johnson and the Bears. And now we've got a big game tonight.

Like it's a great way to cap things off with Denver at Kansas City. That'd be a good game. And Hayes and Brough on the clock. And the lines were moving a little bit, but as of now, I think it's still... KC. Is it? Chiefs 2.5? Yeah, KC. was...

Yeah, Chiefs 2 and a half. I kind of think it's a first game of the year for Casey, but I kind of think it's a big game for them. I agree. To kind of say, like, we're back. We're that old team. We're not the team that struggle to put up points. Mahomes is magic again because they got the up-and-comer with the stud young quarterback.

I think it's a big game for KC. I totally agree. And Al's brother and I, Al's brother coming up in an hour, we are not seeing eye to eye because it is tremendous information versus gut instinct. Like the information leans Denver. I think Denver's a better team. I picked them to win the Super Bowl. I'm not convinced the Chiefs are going to make the playoffs this year.

I really got to see it to believe it. I don't love the roster, but it's Mahomes, chip on his shoulder, at Arrowhead, Andy Reid with a full off season to prepare. Tough to bet against that. Put it this way. This time last year, if it was the same situation, you'd be nuts not to hammer the chiefs. Right? After seven, eight years of dominance, seven, eight years of Mahomes at Arrowhead, he never loses. Yeah, they've been.

You'd be like, it's crazy. One off, you're in an injury, and you're like, threw up, we got to go with the Broncos. Dude, you've seen some unreal outcomes this weekend. Look at us. One of our survivor picks was that Chargers team, I swear to God. God, I hate the Chargers. I hate them so much. I know.

I hate the Chargers. They suck so much all the time. That Herbert is the box. The Cowboys, too. I hate the Cowboys. I always send Pierre, Glenn Schiller, Chris Johnson, and Mark Rowe a text when they crapped a bed, and I did again this morning.

I hate all of you guys. I know, they jammed you guys up. You were on the Cowboys last night. Jackson Dart was running and slinging and Scataboo, they kind of look good. Jimmy, like John Harbaugh, he can coach, man. Like, he had a great run in Baltimore. A great, great run.

So are the Giants for real? Wow, it's one game. I know. It's an overreaction Monday. Exactly. Just a brand new knee and I'm going to do a back. He can't help himself. Like he's just, he said after the game, that's enough.

I can't keep doing this. Yeah. But no, Dart was slinging, and their defense showed up. Yeah, it was a good game. It was a great game. It's been a great week so far. So Luke coming up, Al's brother coming up. Shams coming up on why today the Kauai deal went down.

What does it mean for the Raptors into the future? Jay's Tigers tonight. We've got Keegan coming up. John Chike has been doing a lot of media, talking to media about, you know, this upcoming season. We'll tell you a little bit about that as well. A lot going on on a Monday. A lot of planning on a Monday.

Overdrive continues up on YouTube live. I made a drastic statement on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, and I'm going with it for life. I am now visor guy, and it's a movement. I swear I wear a visor. Like strutty? Like a visor? Well, it's a golf visor.

Like Bill Mickelson in his prime. That's what you're saying? Pete Mitchell. I even went as far. Dude, you can't wear a visor. You can't wear a visor. Do you want to know how far I took it? I DMed Keith Mitchell

and I said where can I get Did he respond? No, of course, but I kind of know. I bought the guy dinner one night. He bought Teddy Bruske dinner one night too. He doesn't know you. I'll tell you what.

Teddy Bruske was so not thankful that we bought him dinner. He was annoyed. He was kind of annoyed because it was unnecessary. We're all at the bar. It's Super Bowl week. You could tell he was going in there to hide. Yes. Teddy Bruske is a very famous person.

I get it. But I don't think I was bothering. Well, when you're like, Teddy, what station you want? We're going to watch some this. You were annoying. You were annoying. You picked up the check, which was nice. But here's why it would bother him.

He has so much money. He doesn't need you to. Because once you've done that, it's an obligation. Now I've got to come over and talk to you. Say hi to this guy. I got a, hey, thanks for doing that. You know, he's just like, I don't want to talk to you at all. Like, I think he would have to.

I can't believe what you're saying right now. Dude, I have a good read on people. Yeah. I have a good read. I thought that me and Teddy, we kind of had a nice chat, and it was totally different than what you're saying. It was an obligatory chat for Teddy Bruske. If someone picks up your check, you have to go over and give a day.

Hey, guys. Oh, really? Who do you like? Oh, you think the Seahawks will win? That's great. Like, he had no interest in doing that. He just wanted to catch and release at the end of the bar and get the hell out of here. And you, I mean, it was just like Al Roker at the diner in the morning.

You couldn't help yourself. You just kept going up to people. And now we're going to maybe go to the Super Bowl this year, and you tell me you're going to be wearing a visor around now. Can't wear a visor? Is it one of those visors with the see-through, like colors, like green? No, no, no. You're talking like a Hunter-S-Thompson one.

Yes. No, he's not wearing that. He's a golf visor. Yeah, golf visor. A Keith Mitchell, I want Keith Mitchell. Tom kite wore a visor. Every once in a while, Pongkite would. He had the odd one on.

I don't know if it's, I got to see it on you. I'll, next time I come in, next Monday, I will have a visor on. I'll do a golf outfit with a visor. All right, I want to see it. We'll lock it in. All right, we've been waiting for the news. I think the whole NBA, the whole sporting world has been waiting. Will the Kwai deal finally go through?

Yeah. Why today? Was there ever a chance that it was going to either not happen or possibly be changed in terms of the details of the deal? And it turns out it didn't. Like, it's still the same trade. we heard about two months ago and a guy that obviously is all over it unlike anyone else.

ESPN NBA insider Sharm Sharania joins us now. Shams, thank you for doing this. I guess we'll start with the obvious question as to why today, like why did this go down all of a sudden? What happened? Hey guys, I'm not joining you all, but yeah, I think when you get to now 12 days, 13 full days off the NBA's punishment,

the clippers had to absorb that. they had to figure out their next steps. They really didn't have a plan because I don't think the clippers expected to play out this way where the league was going to drop the findings, drop the punishment that Kauai Leonard would reach a settlement deal that would basically negate any form of arbitration for the clippers. So it was a lot of absorbing for the clippers and then from there internalizing what their next steps are. And now after Steve Ballmer came out, I think that was a big moment. moment and all this.

Steve Balmer coming out with a statement late Sunday night accepting that the Clippers weren't going to fight it. They weren't going to take this to the courts and sue the NBA, that they were going to take the penalties as described five for Sean Pigs' stock, $30 million fine. Steve Balmer, other executives being suspended for at least a year in six months in Lawrence Frank's case. And now on Monday, Trent Redden, the Clippers, you know, right now he's their general manager. they're essentially their head of basketball as we speak uh you spoke to body webster the raptors

head of bass operations and the sides agreed after the clippers now have given their sign off to move forward with the trade they're figuring out the final paperwork necessarily schedule they're also scheduling a trade call with the league uh and the league is approving of the deal and so this will be moving forward i'm sure with announcements uh you know soon here so is it your understanding that either the Raptors or the Clippers at no point in the last 12, 13 days, tried to reopen the trade. In other words, changed the details of it? Any reason to believe that ever happened? Or was it just a formality they were going to wait for the right time and pull the trigger on the original details of the trade a couple months ago?

No, that never occurred. It was always going to be this trade, the same one that was agreed upon back on June 30th. I never got a sense that either side not only wavered in that, but, waiver overall on the deal. Even within the first several hours of the league's punishment, the Raptors and Clippers did speak, both showed an interest and the intent to move forward with the deal as negotiated and the sides are now moving forward.

How close do you think that there was a possibility of this not happening, Shams? I mean, there was reports of Balmer and the Clippers out of spite to Kauai or for whatever reason that this might not happen, period, and it might go in a different direction? I never got that sense. The Clippers are losing five first-round picks to the NBA as of right now. Now they could recoup some down the line based on compliance. But this trade was also necessary for the Clippers to move forward.

You have two players in Brandon Ingram and Grady Dick that have been a part of the Clippers system, all off-season training in the facility, part of their off-season program, and you're also able to get multiple first-round picks. You're able to get a pick swap. You're able to get multiple second-round picks. And so being able to recoup value there, my understanding is meant a lot for the Clippers. And moving forward with the deal as described is, I think, something that the Clippers had an interest in doing as well. Like, remember, they decided not to move forward with an extension for Kauai Leonard.

There was no long-term future for him in L.A. Whereas with the Raptors, there is expected to be a long-term future for Kauai Leonard. How much bad blood is there between Kauai Leonard and the Clippers? Or even Steve Palmer. How would you describe... 50 million. How would you describe their relationship? I mean, I think the relationship is described in one word, over.

And they... The clippers never expected, I think, for this to play out the way it did, not only being guilty on the salary caps or a convention situation, but also that Kauai Leonard would reach a settlement that would negate them from any type of arbitration. So none of this has played out the way that the clippers expected, but now they are moving forward, as Steve Ballmer stated. Were you surprised about, we'll call it Kauai's punishment or maybe lack of it?

You know, I've definitely seen the conversation like, did the league take it too light? The reality is it's hard for the league because of how the collective bargaining agreement is, and there is a players union. And so having to negotiate with the people, they had to have every form of evidence if they were going to go down the path of voiding Kauai Leonard's contract or administering a suspension. And when you look at the report, you know, clearly the league didn't, you know, the one person that was banned was Dennis Robertson, Kauai Leonard's uncle who was fired by Kauai in June.

And so the league, if you are going to go toward voiding a player's contract, you have to have a stone cold case. Otherwise, you're dealing with a ton of real litigation and real arbitration through the NBPA. And that's obviously not a fight the league move forward with. With Sean Sharani of ESPN, the Kauai deal is official. He is now a Raptor or it's about to be made official and he will be a Raptor. There was some anxiety up here.

Like, if this falls through, what does it mean for the Raptors? Now that we know the answer, it has not fallen through. He is a Raptor. He's coming back after seven years. He had a great season. last year. They'll be in town in a couple of weeks opening camp. What do you project the Kauai Leonard, Toronto Raptors to look like this year and over the next two or three?

I think they're going to be formidable in the east. The question is just in the revamped Eastern Conference. How do they stack up, right? But you add Kauai Leonard to this mix. You already have Scotty Barnes. You have R.J. Barrett. You have a plethora of young players as well that you're expecting to take a jump as well. And so I think there's reason to be optimism for competitiveness and contending potentially in the East.

But which of those young players steps up and how healthy, how much of Kauai Leonard are we going to see over the next few years? You know, to everything I hear, Kauai Leonard's been doing good. This offseason is motivated. I'm sure he's going to be motivated. Anytime you go through a summer like this, both in reputation and your name being out there the way it has been. for Kawhi Leonard, how does he come? And he's made it clear. His goal was to be a Raptor. And so how does he push that

forward? I think it will be very interesting to see. Yeah, I mean, we got to know him a little bit for a year. And it was a magical season. I mean, it was the most magical season in the history of the Raptors, one of the truly great seasons in the history of Toronto Sports. But you're inside the bubble, Sean. Like, how much does anyone

really know about Kauai? How tough is he to figure out, so to speak. Well, I think that's been his career is just being guarded and, you know, but the one thing that I did glean throughout the last several months is him going back to Toronto. This is a complete legacy play for Kauai. There were teams, Detroit, Minnesota, others that had interest in trading for him, that wanted to trade for him, that wanted to give him an extension. But he made a decision, because he had one year left on his deal to essentially weed out where he wanted to play,

where he wanted to be. And so this is a legacy play for Kauai Leonard. There's no doubt about it. Great catching up with you, Shams. We know you're busy. Thank you so much for doing this. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.

Sharm Shorani of ESPN. That's, I think, a pretty significant statement right at the end. It's a legacy play for Kauai. Curious comment, though, that he always wanted to come back here. Doesn't that seem a little bit, it makes you kind of think a little bit, doesn't it? Well, like the LA kid who was just dying to get back there and be in his hometown

and then all of a sudden he's dying to come back here. I find it weird. I'm not going to lie. I think the original emotion, my guess would be, I got to get out of L.A. Right. It was more prominent than I got to get back to Toronto. Noisy right now around him, all of that type of stuff. But there is a familiarity.

If you're going to go somewhere, you can't be there because of your situation, go somewhere where you did like it and you won. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I guess maybe the Spurs, I don't think they would have had room for it. They would not have. Like they're an up-and-coming team with tons of young talent. But I don't think he was dying and go back to San Antonio.

Right. Maybe he would have if they offered him that opportunity, which I don't think they ever would again. But listen, he had a great year here. He just made up his mind. He was going to L.A. And I think to your point, oh, if they had been very successful and this never came out,

Kauai's not leaving L.A. to come to Toronto. But this is the reality. This is the real world. The fact is Pablo Torre exists and everything got out the way it did. The Clippers stink. And now he had to go somewhere else. And I do believe if he had the pick of the litter, the Rappers would be top high on the list.

For sure. A place he's familiar with. He's comfortable here. He knows the staff. He knows the team. Like, Maasai's not here anymore. Nick Nurse isn't here anymore. It's not the same Rapplers.

None of the players are here. Lowry's gone. Seacom's gone. They're all gone. Darko is going to be with him. Darko, I'm curious to see what, he'll be very protective of him. I mean, we know that. He's going to have to find a way to make it successful.

It's got to work. Like, just a gamble in a way, too, right? You're bringing on a guy that he has a perfect reputation in terms of the one season. Right. Let's do what he plays like for the next three years. That Pablo Tori must make some people run for shelter. Oh, my. You've got to be a tough when you, you see him following you on X.

You're like, I'm deactivating my account. You see him in his car somewhere outside of a grocery store? You want to talk about an underpants cam, you would run for your life. A text that just says, hey, it's Pablo Torre. Think we can have a quick chat? Costa Rica, immediately. I'll go to Costa Rica. That's a phone in the ocean and you're flying as far away.

Doogie, get that guy. I want to talk to that guy. You think he'll come on? I don't know. Maybe. We got a plan. You want to be a part of the planning? I just think it would be fascinating to find out there for 90 minutes before the show.

to find out what that guy's all about. He's not going to tell you. You're not going to go. How the hell do you go about your business? Okay, we won't get Pablo Torre. I mean, how would you interview him, though, like about being Pablo Torre or about his info? You know what I'm saying? Like, are you interviewing him to give you information?

He's not going to tell you how the sauce is made. Yeah. Right? So he's going to say, well, I would ask something stupid. Like, how did you find out about Kawhi doing all that stuff? Exactly. I want to know that, too, but he's not going to tell you. Yeah, exactly.

I think you want to get in his good books, just in case he comes sniffing around. Here's the thing. Kauai's in this city. We don't want Pablo Torre sniffing around here. Hey, good job, Pablo. If I ever came in here and he was in the hallway, I'd get back on my truck and go home. Something to chew on brought to you by Boston Pizza,

Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree of side and a drink and you get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 lunch of your local Boston pizza. Now that we know Kauai is coming back, yes or no, the number two is getting retribing. tired by the Rappers.

I think, you already know my stance. You think it should be anyway. Yes, I'm a lock, too. You think it's, I'm like to say it's a lock. I set out in our meeting out there, unless he's a complete dog for three years. Right. What you're forgetting to understand. If he doesn't perform, like his true intentions are, he might have been like,

I got to go up to Canada and hide out for a year. And after that, all bets are off. If you think this is guaranteed anything long term, are insane. So you don't think that should be a Jerry's or something at something. I'm saying he's got to be in the equation that he's like, I've got to go to Canada and hide. I told you guys that when

it first happened. There's something weird about this deal. All of a sudden he's back in Toronto. Why? What is the reason why? He does have good instincts. This guy. I hope you're wrong, but would I be shocked if it was like you got to get the hell out of Dodge

for a bit and then work your way back into some other NBA market. Michael Jordan went and played baseball for a year. He did. But it takes... Chicago White Sox. It takes two to tango, though. It is. The Raptors don't have to move them the next time.

Listen, I hope that's not true. If it is, then his numbers not getting retired. Like if this guy, it's the old George Bush saying, fool me once. Shame on, shame on you. He is. You can't get fooled twice. But if he pulls the plug a year from now, people are going to be like, that's enough, you left in 19.

Remember when Cleveland fans felt when LeBron came back and then left? But he won them a championship the second time he came back. I think they were okay with it the second time. If he wins a championship, sure. Do you remember when Kauai arrived here? He had played nine games the year before for San Antonio. Right. Like a nine spot.

Right. A lot of uncertainty about his status. And you weren't sure what was going all and all that it worked out. You're right. He's cemented. What we know of him right now, he's here. That's as good as you can get. Like, you don't want it to come down.

Right. Like, on the court, he's got the most pristine reputation, maybe in the history of the city. Honestly, like, you can't be any better in one year. Yeah. It's Doug Eighty-three type of thing. As much as I love Doug Gilmore, he didn't even get to a cup final that year.

Right. You know, like I loved Dougie and Wendell, and they were phenomenal. They did everything they possibly could. This guy actually was a part of a team that closed. Yeah. Like, that's how good Kauai was. It fooled me. We can't get fooled again.

That one scared me, man. I wasn't ready for that one. An old saying in Texas. I'm sure it's here in Oklahoma or wherever the hell he was. Play the whole thing, JP. Yeah, it's actually a great... There's an old saying in Tennessee. I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee. This says, fool me once.

Shame on... Shame on you. It's fool me. We can't get fooled again. That pie... That is the most butchering of a saying. His head is... When he does the first part, he realizes, like, I don't have it. Don't have it.

And I'm not finding it. Yeah. So what do I do? He was in ours. Dude, that is a pregnant pause. That is a four-second pause in a speech. With a realization, I'm not finding it. I don't have it.

I can't find it. It's gone. And he doesn't have somebody in his ear. No. That's just him. He went down a path. He shouldn't have gone down. And he jammed himself.

That pause is. outrageous. All right. We got Luke coming up, Keegan coming up, Jay's Tigers tonight, Monday night or down in Kansas City. Overdrive continues up on YouTube Live. Something to Chew on is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree of sight and a drink and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less.

A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. Very special occasion. Recently, boys, go from the bridge. Put the picture up of this. beautiful lady. That is my mother. Yes. 80th birthday party. Wow. Happy birthday. Mrs. O'Neill. Mrs. O'Neill. Look how good she looks. That's great.

That's great. Is that a cake? What is that? Something. My uncle Peter sent me that picture. Maybe he made her that dessert. I have no idea. It looks amazing. Anyway, 80 years old. Look how great she looks. I love you, Mom. I hope it was a great birthday. That's great to hear. That's great to see. Yeah. Great to see. Mrs. O'Neill, 80 years old. Wow.

Laverne, right? Laverne. Yeah, we love her. I remember you're bringing up her name years ago. We've never spoken it since, but Mrs. O'Neill. Happy birthday. Always addressed it, Mrs. O'Neill. Ultimate respect.

I love that. I love that. Okay, shout out. What is this? You were like dropping pucks that rings? We got to get it. His Instagram was just loaded with it. He's like,

Where are you dropping a puck? I was waiting for you in the mask. God thing to be in the background. So an opening of an arena and they invited you to drop the... Tell me what is this? Tim Whitby, was it? For starters, man of the people,

right? I need to make sure that that's established. I want to thank the mayor of Whitby for inviting me. It was that... So this is the story, right? Was Bob McKenzie sick and Gregs? Okay, so here's what I think happened. Right. Fieldgate Sports Complex

just open. Phenomenal. Pop of the line. I can't Matt, the city did a phenomenal job. And they invited everyone out on Saturday. It was awesome. I think they reached out to a lot of esteemed. No, I know who they reached out to. Joe Newandike, Gary Roberts, Darren Dregor, Bob McKenzie.

It goes on it. Paul Perfetti. Adam Footh. Adam Footh. The Primo brothers. Yes. So here's what happens. I get an email from the mayor's office like a week ago.

Yeah. We're having the opening where you come out. And I said, absolutely. Yeah. And my wife saw you got to go. got to go. I'm like, all right, I'll be there. And I'm thinking I'll do whatever you need me to do. Yeah. And they threw out the idea like a play by play. There I am dropping the puck. There's the mayor right beside me. And I almost jammed up. I was like not paying attention.

And the mayor was like, excuse me, are you doing this or not? Yeah. And I completely blanked. And those are the wolves. There you go. You 11 and just amazing. Yeah. And both girls I know because they played with my daughters. And so anyway, awesome people, awesome crowd. They write me and they go, how about you do the puck drop for the 1130 game? I go, all right, great. And I'm thinking, okay, Keith Primo said I'm not going to be in town, Adam Foote. So we got a 1030 game and an 1130 game. I go, lock me in, I can't wait to do it.

That'll be awesome. Whippy Wolves, the girls hockey, I love it, great place, I'll be there. What a curiosity, who's dropping the puck at 1030? Gary Roberts. I knew it. Gary Roberts, who's Mr. Whitby. Like, no one is more famous in terms of that hot, like, Leaf, 50 goals, tough his nails. He still contributes

a ton to the community. Everyone loves Gary Roberts. You know, what you should have said is, you should have asked that first. Who's up at 1030, by the way, and if they said Gary Roberts, you start coughing, you say, I'm not feeling that. I should have. Because I could feel the energy in the rink. They're like, man, Gary Roberts

dropped at 1030. I wonder who's coming out 1130. Can't wait to see who's doing our game. And it's me. And people are like, what are you doing? I'm like, well, I'm dropping the puck. They're like, oh, Well, Gary Roberts. Listen.

It was here an hour ago. I guarantee Joe Newndyke and Adam Fitt and Adam Fitt and are doing the 1130 game. Everybody, please welcome Brian Hayes. That's exactly what it would have been. Like, it's got to be Joe Newendai coming out. It has to be. With Adam Foote.

With Adam Foote and the Primo brothers. Yeah, like everybody. Everybody. All the famous, Cole Profetti, you're right, a big wippy guy. Wow. It's me out there. Listen, Brian Hayes. Yeah.

So I. The face of overdrive. I want to thank the mayor for the invite. It was an absolute blast to be a part of it. I would love it. I would have also tossed in there. This is really greasy to do. I can do it, but I want some kind of parking pass for anywhere in Whitby.

Well, so. I thought of that. Like, what happens now if I have an issue? Hang it got a property tax thing. Or yeah. I would guess I get flushed. Yeah. Like it wasn't enough.

I showed up and, you know, shook some hands and dropped the puck. It wasn't really. It wasn't like I was there for eight hours. No. The mayor emailed you. got the email, I float an email back to the mayor saying, what about some kind of slip that goes on my dasher that I can park wherever I want? You're right. I should have. I should have probably tried to come up with some compensation. I scratch your back. You scratch your back. Imagine that. Parking

ticket free. Anywhere you park. For life. For the rest of time. Just because you dropped a pocket 1130. Yeah. And if you look at the video, the mayor was like, not getting rattled, but she's like, are you doing I was totally not paying attention. Like I was looking into the crowd, I was waving at my kids, and she's like, excuse me. Let's do this. Let's move it along here.

Who do you think you are? Gary Roberts. Like, let's go. I saw Gary on the way out, actually. Stop it, chat? Well, I shook my hand, shook my daughter's hand. My daughter goes, as we're walking away, goes, man, that guy almost broke my hand.

He's, like he's so jacked and strong still. Yeah, Gary's, he's a man. Love Gary. Great to see him. Awesome to see him. I like that everyone to point their attention to center ice, dropping the park for the 11, 13. game. Brian Hayes. Well, at least they got the name right. They did get my name right.

Brian Hayes. So again, thanks for having me out. It was an absolute pleasure. Way to go with me. Man of the people. Fieldgate. Great spot. Hour two coming up. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by Fandul. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. You've heard the chaos. Now you can see it. Oh, my gosh. Watch all your favorite podcasts from start to finish, right inside the free IHare Radio app.

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