OverDrive - OverDrive - July 24, 2026 - Hour 2 - Connor Bedard/Bobby Marks

Episode Date: July 24, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes and Dave Feschuk for Hour 2 on OverDrive! Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard joins the show to discuss his new contract extension with his club, his excitement in Patrick Kane joining the fold, and his personal on-ice expectations this season. ESPN NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks joins the program to share his thoughts on LeBron’s decision to sign in Philadelphia, and the likelihood that the Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto holds up. The show wraps up with FanDuel Best Bets.

Hour 2 Overdrive continues. Powered by Fandole. Brian Hayes, Dave Festruck in here. It's been a pretty crazy day in sports, though. Pretty great. Yeah, we got LeBron going to Philly. Michael Kim shot 59 at the 3M. 59.

And he rolled in like a 25-footer. Bertie's 18 to break 60, which is awesome. And he rolled in like a 17-footer on 17. Really? To get in a position to shoot 59. That's amazing. 15 guys ever, I believe, have done it on tour. 1559's and a 58 from Jimmy Furik.

Furek at the Travelers, I think, shot of 58. 58. It's amazing. That's so crazy. That is crazy. You think about it, like Tiger never did it? Yeah. Mickelson never did it on tour.

I don't believe he did. Mickelson, no, no, he didn't. He did. The best player that's done it is Sheffler. Sheffler had a 59 back in 2020 at the Northern Trust. but give our guy Adam Hadwin, Canada's Adam Hadwin, a big up because, you know, there's different types of 59s, right? And Michael Kim's was a minus 12, par 71. Right.

Adam Hadwin, one of four guys on the PJ tour to have a minus 13. Wow. So that's Hadwin, 59, on a par 72, David Duval, Chip Beck, and Al Guyberger. Okay. And then, of course, Furik is what? Fierich. No, sorry, Furix 58 was a minus 12, par of 70. Okay.

So there's only four minus 13th. That's amazing. And Adam Hadwin has one of them. That's amazing. Pretty amazing. Yeah, I mean, I, I'm not surprised at Chaffler, I guess. I'm not surprised at Furek. Like, to shoot that low, you basically, you got to hit every fairway, every green.

And that's why I would look at Tiger. It just wasn't in his, you know, he'd be trying to take. on corners and do stuff that just wasn't going to put them in that position. It's a hot hand too. Sometimes you just get hot. Yeah, that's ultimately what it is. All these guys are capable of doing it because you hear stories of guys at their home course shooting 58, 59, chasing 57 at times because they eagle every par five. And they're just, they're so good.

And they're relaxed and they've got music playing. They're in the cart. They're like, watch what I'm going to do today. Right. Like they would do that. I wouldn't say with ease. You still got to perform. but to do it on tour is ultimately a completely different, you know, phenomenon.

And yeah, you're right. Ultimately, you just, your putters, literally everything's got to be perfect. Everything. Everything in your bag has got to be perfect. And then you got to get some luck. You've got to hit some long puds that usually miss. Yeah, you got to keep rhymes. It's just incredible.

Like when you think about all the great players and all the rounds of golf that have been played in it, and I only have, you know, 16, sub 60 rounds and 15, 59s, I mean, It's pretty amazing. Yeah. And it's kind of like a perfect game pursuit where it's not, when the guy makes a turn, no one's talking about shooting 59. No. You know,

because I think Kim shot six under, six under on both nines. Right. So, you know, guys, red hot. No one's on 59 watch,

though, on the tent T. No. Just like you're not on perfect game watch in the fifth inning. No, you can't be. You can't be. You don't want to mention it.

No, it's like you got to kind of get to like 16 until you start looking, and say, oh, if he pars in a couple birdies, it's possible. Same thing with a perfect game. You've got to have, I'd say the line is six outs before you really start to commit to that watch. Like this guy might actually pull this off. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, because you're right. I mean, and we've seen, we were just talking about it with Cs going into the ninth inning with a no hitter, not a perfect game, but, you know, how many Blue Jays, we went through the list of the number of Blue Jays that went to the ninth inning with no hitters and never got one. There's still only been one no hitter in Blue Jays history.

Dave Steve, right? But they've had a ton of guys, long list of guys that have gone into the ninth inning with a chance at it and didn't get it. Right? So it's, you know, if you start watching too early, you're kind of just jinx it. You're asking for trouble a little bit. They've been on the wrong side of no hitters. Yeah, perfect game too, right?

Yeah, and a perfect game. That's right. Like, Verlanders got them twice, I believe. Yeah. Like, I know Verlander has two no hitters against them for sure. That's right. he had a perfect game again. Who was the perfect game against that? It was a long time ago. I don't remember

that. Jim Bunning maybe. Okay. I know, I think Nolan Ryan had one against him. Brian certainly had a one hitter. I know that. Like, I think I was at that game when I was a kid. Len Bark. Len Bark. Len Barker. Len Barker. 81. Yeah, so that's a little before our time. I don't remember

that. I was just kind of, I mean, I was around but not really. Shout out to Len Barker, but come on. Yeah. I don't remember that. It's one of the great things in sports. Like, 59 watch, perfect game watch. Yeah. It's great that there are like, there's something,

there's something you can achieve within the game that separates you. And it illustrates literally perfection. And that's kind of what, like 59, you're just, you're perfect. Yeah. Now, the crazy thing about golf is maybe you could go back and say,

man, if I hit a, if I hit an eight iron there instead of a seven, I actually would have been, maybe I could have birdied that hole. 18, 18 birdies is 54. Yeah,

I mean, I guess technically you could always kind of, critique yourself a little bit of perfect game you can't. Perfect game is quite literally perfect. It's an amazing situation. All right. We've been talking a lot about the Chicago Blackhawks recently. A lot about them. And yesterday, big news out of Chicago, Patrick Kane, who's making a lot more money than LeBron is. Double. He's making double. And Patty Kane's an all-time great player. LeBron's LeBron, but Pat Kane is making double what LeBron is now making.

And do you know a guy who's making almost four times as LeBron? LeBron? He joins us now. Here he is from the Chicago Blackhawks. Here's Connor Badd. Connor, have you thought about it that way? You're making four times more money than LeBron James. I actually haven't. That's a great way to look at it.

It makes me feel good. I think his endorsements might be another billion dollars, but I'll take what I can get for sure. That's true. I mean, you can get some shoes or something, right? Like, how does that work with you in the endorsement deals? The sticks, and I'm sure you got a number of them. Like where do you see that going with your career in terms of what kind of action you can get going on off the ice? Yeah, I've been lucky to have a lot of great kind of partnerships in that sense.

And, you know, some is pretty cool. You can kind of expand away from hockey a little bit in some ways with, like you said, shoes or clothes or something like that. So that's another obviously cool opportunity we got. So, Connor, take us through your reaction when you found out that one of the great Blackhawks of all time and the face of a team or one of the faces of a team that won three Stanley Cups

was going to be your teammate. Where were you? And what were your thoughts? Yeah, I know, I was pretty fired up. You know, you kind of hear, you know, it could happen. and, you know, you're here in Chicago or Buffalo or whatever, and, you know, you're just kind of praying that he joins us. So, you know, I think probably everyone on the team texted

every other person on the team how fired up they were. And, you know, just to have something like that, obviously the legacy portion of it, but just him as a player as well, he's going to add a lot to us. And, you know, we're all thrilled for sure. Yeah, Patrick came back to Chicago. It's pretty, it's very cool. and I know you were on record talking about it the other day

when you were discussing your own contract and how much fun it would be to play with Kane. Of what you know of his game, you know, if you guys end up playing together, which I'm sure you will, five on five, certainly on the power play. How do you think Patrick Kane can help you in particular? Oh, yeah.

I mean, everyone he's played with is he's made him better and obviously probably the best hands ever in history of hockey and, you know, one of the best passes, some of the best IQ. And, you know, so I think, obviously, if it's me, if it's, you know, whoever's playing on his line, it's going to, you know, make that player so much better just because the way he kind of controls the game and can freeze guys and make plays. So, you know, I would be, I'd be very lucky to get to, you know, get some passes from him, for sure. It's been a pretty wild summer in the NHL on the business side, Connor.

with that huge earth-shaking offer sheet that got Leo Carlson an $18 million AAV, the highest paid player in the league now. I was wondering, you know, when you went into negotiations and finalize your deal for three times as much as, or four times as much as LeBron James, you know, how much did that contract come into play? Because, I mean, there were people thinking you could play a little bit of hardball here and say, I'm probably worth what Leo Carlson's worth, if not a little more. know, how much did that influence your thought process when it came to negotiations?

Yeah, not at all, to be honest with you. You know, for me, I kind of let them know from the start an offer sheet wasn't something I was ever going to do, I think. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm extremely happy for Leo. And, you know, he's an amazing player, and he's going to be worth more than that, you know. But just for me, the risk of, you know, not being a black, Rock who isn't, you know, worth any amount of money. So, you know, they knew that.

And we, I didn't want to change just because that happened. Obviously, it's a different scenario with the offer sheet. And, you know, we had good conversations the whole time throughout. So we're happy, happy where we landed. And I think both sides feel good about it. With Connor Bardard, how do you think, you know, now you're going into year four, you're the highest paid guy on the team, you know, and obviously the market loves you, the team loves you,

like where do your expectations for yourself go from here? Like how does it change, you know, what you expect out of yourself going into next year and I guess over the next five? Yeah, I mean, I think my expectations of myself are always high. It's not whether, you know, you're on an ELC or making, you know, 15. It's not something to think about during the game. You want to be the best you can possibly be.

and of course it is an added pressure to make that kind of money and there's even higher expectations and, you know, that's something that everyone's aware of, but to have that pressure is obviously, you know, a privilege and the support I've gotten from the fans and just a belief in Kyle and Danny and everyone in the organization to put a commitment to me like that, just gives you so much confidence and, you know,

just so grateful to be here. And, you know, like I said, have that confidence in the in the team. You had such a great season last year and especially, you know, before you hurt your shoulder and we had you on the show, I want to say last November and we asked you about the Olympic team and, you know, obviously you said you'd do anything to be on it and I remember the three of us that are usually on the show, we were all advocating for you to be on it because you were playing so well. How close did you feel you were to make in that Olympic team?

Yeah, I don't know. I think when I was, I got hurt early mid-December, obviously not the best timing, but I think when I was playing, I kind of felt like there was a chance, but once I got hurt, it kind of seemed maybe less of a chance. And there were so many maybe players in similar positions to me that were already on the team well-deserved. You know, you look at the right-handed players forwards that would be in similar roles that were already kind of making the team. So, you know, obviously there's hope, but, you know, I was pretty 50-50 on it if I made it or not. And obviously, you're disappointed in the moment, but you understand it's a lot of great Canadian players. So, Connor, you're dealing with the shoulder through this offseason on the rehab trail? What's that been like and how are you feeling about the prognosis going forward for the season?

Yeah, it's been good. You know, it's a frustrating thing at the time. but I don't want to pour my energy into negativity and just try to obviously I mean my I'm probably busier now than before I got hurt just was trying to do everything I can to get back as soon as possible and just get back to play and you know especially when we already haven't played a game for three or four months you just miss it so much and you know that's all I want to do so I'm just kind of you know trying to do everything I can to obviously get back safe, but get back as soon as possible.

Well, we're looking forward to that, too. I mean, it'll be August next week. You know, like, camps opening up pretty quickly. What is your usual routine? I know it's going to be thrown off a little bit because of the surgery and everything, but do you like to get into Chicago pretty early and get together with the guys? And do you still intend on kind of going through with the same game plan, even if you can't be full activities?

Yeah, yeah. I mean, we, I think, once camp usually, like mid-September, September 20th-ish. So I think we all kind of head up there first week of September and hang out and stuff. And obviously, you golf will be able to do that. But by then I'll be, you know, on the ice and kind of more full-ish go in the gym. So it'll be good. I can kind of get this, you know, eight-ish weeks after the surgery being at home and just kind of, you know, you're not able to do as much. you're just kind of trying to get it back.

And then once I'm back with the team, I can be able to do a little more. So it makes you feel a little more, you know, involved. Obviously, when you're hurt, you're kind of, you know, off to the side a little bit, trying to just rehab. But if I can, you know, do some stuff with the team, that's obviously nice. Yeah, Chicago and September has got the chance to be electric, too,

with the Bears winning the division last year. The Cubs and White Sox are really good right now. Like, do you just dive right into Chicago? you get a chance to kind of jump around town and check out the other teams or what? Yeah, for sure. I think probably the first thing we always do there is the Cubs game, like on a weekend or something and hang out in that area. It's always kind of buzzing there and had a lot of fun with those.

And then I think I've been to Bears every year. And, you know, just kind of, it's exciting now with how good they are. And then the Bulls, that guy they dropped, it looks pretty sick. and then Kane is back. It should be pretty electric in Chicago for sure. Yeah, it's going to be a good time to be in Chicago. Absolutely. Well, congrats on the new deal, the new teammate. Good luck with the rehab and everything.

And we'll catch up once the season gets started. Thank you for doing us. Awesome, yeah. Thank you. Hope you guys enjoy the rest of the summer. You got it. There's Connor Bedard, the Chicago Blackhawks. And, yeah, he's an easy guy to root for. He's such a good player. And, you know, Chicago, when he got there, they were, they were, it was full blown tank mode. When he arrived, there was not a lot around. Oh, they still, still finish 30 first issue. They're still struggling.

Not exactly out of the, out of the woods yet. No, not at all. You know, that's, I think, again, why they're bringing Kane in, they paid him a lot of money. They went out and got Byron them. They traded the fourth overall pick to get a defenseman. Like, that doesn't happen in the league a lot. You don't see a lot of top five picks being traded. We'll see if it works.

Yeah, I think they like Spencer Knight a lot. I think they feel like they got a pretty good goal tender. They got a really good young defensemen. They just got to kind of take time to grow a little bit. But I really appreciate his honesty, too, about telling the Blackhawks, I'm not doing the offer sheet thing. And that comes up all the time. And we talked about it with Carlson.

And I understand that you get offered a five-year deal, $18 million. Everyone's going to say the same thing. You've got to sign it. I get it. But it would not have been a very important. available to you if you told the ducks and every other team, don't waste your time. I'm not doing it. Right.

And again, I'm not disparaging Carlson. Like, Carlson, I think, got the best of both worlds. I'm sure he wants to stay in Anaheim and he wants to make $18 million. He gets both. But, but, butard, like, Connor just, just laid it on the line. Like, we just did the whole dance yesterday with Darren Farris and Marner and all that kind of stuff. It's the player's career. It's the player's life.

It's the player's choice. Yeah. not the agents, not the family and friends, the player's call. And if the player like Connor Bedard says, I don't, nothing's worth not being in Chicago, then you're going to work it out. And guess what? You're still, you still have a ton of leverage because of who you are as a player.

Now Carlson and his camp may have said, listen, we were trying and Pat Verbeek wanted to pay me $5 million. You know, which it sounds like Verbeek was being a little bit stiff on the negotiations. Yeah, I mean, he wasn't given him the risk. respect you thought he was due. Sure. But Baderd got exactly what he wanted to stay in Chicago, which I think if you're a Blackhawk fan, you have to just love hearing that. Yeah. That he's fully embraced the organization, the market, and the team and the responsibility of being the guy that's going to drag them out of, you know, this dark period of time.

And they still paid him a lot of money. Pretty generously. Yeah. But, you know, I like hearing that from players. Yeah, no, that, hey, if you're a fan of the Blackhawks

and you just hear your best players say there was no amount of money that I wanted to risk to leave Chicago, right? I mean, there's something to be said for that.

But I also think, Hayes, speaking of the Mitch Marner saga, like I think players realize, especially in very hockey, rabid markets, they realize that there is a tax because Martin has proven it.

There's a cost to go on for every last dollar. and playing hardball on negotiations and getting every last cent you think you were due because you know what comes with that? It comes with acrimony with the team at times and it comes with a fan base to realize it's a hard cap sport and you damn well better be worth every last penny if you're going to take you every last penny. Yes, that is 100% true.

If you're in a market where there is a large fan base and media that is paying attention to everything. Every cent. and calibrating everything and trying to calculate exactly what it's going to mean in terms of the format. Because ultimately it sucks, but it's the reality of the NHL. It is a math equation. Like building a team is yes, it's about the tangible characteristics of players and all that, but it's also about what the money is going to tell you or allow you to build.

There's a limitation on all of this. And that's 100% true. And that's the thing with Marner. Like that was the fork in the road with Marner and the market. it was always the contract negotiation and the payment. And listen, that was on the Leafs for doing it. The Leafs gave him a great contract. And he earned it during the regular season.

He earned every penny plus, plus, plus, plus. But obviously in the playoffs, just like Matthews, just like DeVar's, just like Neander, just like all of them, they didn't pull their weight. No, they didn't. And then all of a sudden, you're like, wait a minute, you're getting paid a lot of money. So, yeah, and you're right. And in Vegas, I just don't know if that exists.

And in Vegas, there was no hard. Just give me the rant in a deal. Let's make it easy. Sure. What is it? Twelve million, eight years. So I take every year that benefits the team because the cap's going to go so far up. Yeah. Like he gave Vegas an easy sweetheart negotiation. Isn't that amazing? And the leaves got taken to the cleaners.

Yeah. And as a result, everyone knew it and everyone talked about it. And you're right. And there's more of a highlight on that. Yeah. And I think, and I know, like, I mean, look, agents, it's the job of the agents to look out for their, their athletes' interests. And I'm sure there's agents out there saying to a guy,

you know, don't leave money on the table because you don't know how they're going to spend it. Exactly. They'll probably let you down with the way they spend it. They're going to pay, I'm not like, I mean, we don't want to disparage Patrick Kane, but is he worth $8 million? Like, you know?

No, not, not, you know, as a player. He's a great player. His numbers going up in the rafters. 100%. He's a Hall of Famer. I mean, he's one of the great players in franchise history, and he, you know, lived, he brought them through.

in a very big way, the most prosperous era in franchise history. But is that worth $8 million a year at this age with the way he's played lately? He's made half that much money in Detroit these past few years? And that's the thing. Chicago's a big sports market, big hockey market, that if he doesn't pull his weight, that will be a part of the conversation. Yeah. Too is, hey, man, he's making a lot of money.

You know, what is he, is he, you know, it's not a, it's not a nostalgic tour here. It's about playing and performing. They're trying to get back to the playoffs. Very tough division. And maybe they think his influence would be great on Bedard. And he'll not only as a mentor, but as a playmaker. And again, sparks him life. Like we talked about it yesterday.

It's the entertainment business. Cubs and White Sox are going to the playoffs. The Bears just won the NFC North. If you're in Chicago, if you're in charge of the Blackhawks Marketing Department, you're like, we've got to find a way to spice. We've got to get some spice in a market here. Thank God the Bulls stink. Yeah, the Bulls are in a perpetual rebuild themselves.

they stink all the time. But, you know, you're competing for dollars and for eyes. And like, you can't, you're not beating the Bears. It's not going to happen. Like the Bears, when the Bears are playing and if they're good, there's no chance you've beaten them in Chicago. But if the Cubs and White Sox are both going to the playoffs in October, you're not to compete with them either, you know,

for the first little while anyway. But, yeah, I mean, the ability for a player to determine how they want you know, the negotiations to go, how to feel publicly, and to kind of control the narrative, it is possible to do it. Like you got to thread a needle. Yeah. And there's still huge expectations.

Like, Badar just said it, and he knows it. You still got to go perform because the market will turn on you if you don't play well enough. Of course, that's going to happen, regardless how much money you're making. For sure they will. And, I mean, he's, I mean, he could have got, but if you, you know, there were certain, there are certain agents who would have said to him, look, I'm going in there to get you what Leo Carson got and more. Because you're better than that.

You're better than that guy. You should make more than that guy. And it's not an unreasonable argument on the face of it. Not at all. And so, and yet, I give the guy credit for understanding the dynamic of a locker room, the need for that economic chemistry that if you take all that money, there's less for everybody else. There's heightened pressure on you.

You know, suddenly it becomes about you more than maybe you want to become about you. Well, and being the highest paid player in the league, that's a title that's like exclusive. It's one of one. Yeah. Like now, again, Carlson's in a market where it may not matter because I don't know if Anaheim, you know, you're not in Toronto or Montreal.

It might become a punchline. Like he may turn into the player they hope he turns into, but what if he kind of flat lines? Like maybe he's at, you know, who knows? It's only 21. I'm not saying he's going to do one of the other. I'm not saying he's a lot of pressure on him, though. There's a lot of pressure when you're making money you probably don't deserve

because of an economic circumstance that you manipulated very successfully and fairly. And someone helped you do it. Like Danny Breyer was going to have to bite that bullet in Philly. Yes. Like if Anaheim did match, now Philly's got the highest paid player in the league, who's not the best player in the league. That's a tough score. And they were willing to, and that's a town that would look at this and say,

okay, let me look up this guy. All right. Okay, that's interesting. What's he got? Let's see what he brings. You're making almost five times as much as LeBron. Then in Philly. In Philly.

You're with LeBron and you're making a lot more money. Leo or LeBron? Who would we rather have? That would be an interesting scene, man, in Philly if they ended up with Carlson and LeBron. Nell it on Friday brought you by Boston Pizza. Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree aside 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 fast lunch of your local Boston pizza. Speaking of LeBron, Bobby Marks coming up of ESPN. How much does this change? the landscape of the east. What does it mean for his legacy? Is he ring chasing?

Are we okay with that, considering where he is in his career? That more still to come overdrive continues up on YouTube live. The newest tracks. Let's go. New music. And the next big thing. Always on the new music first.

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think we need something new. Discover IHeart new music. Always fresh. Always first. Stream now on the free IHart Radio app. All right, best bet's coming up later in the hour. Bobby Marks of ESPN in a moment. LeBron James on his way to Philly. Someone sent me a DM on Instagram asking what this could mean for Nick Nurse in his legacy. Well, I would say it's a very significant moment for Nick Nurse in his legacy because if you were coaching a team that has LeBarrs, Bron James on it, you're a part of history immediately. Like you're immediately part of his, his legacy. You're tied to it.

And that comes with a lot of responsibility. Now the amount of national media that is going to be at your doorstep is going to be way bigger than it ever was. Right? Because LeBron still carries so much weight. Now they can release the schedule and you know you're playing on Christmas Day now. Like that seems like a lock. It'd be shocked if it's not filling Knicks Christmas Day. I'd be shocked.

They didn't find a way to make that work. Or Philly Lakers. Possibly Philly Lakers. Although that's an interesting question. I feel like LeBron playing Cleveland still holds more meaning than him playing like going back to L.A. LeBron versus Luca and Brony?

That's true. I didn't thought of him playing against Brony. Yeah. Bronnie's in the lineup, which could not be guaranteed, but Adam Silver, I'm sure, would pay a lot of money to make sure he was. but I just, I'm never going to think of LeBron as a Laker. I never will.

A long time there, man. I know, but like for me, he's a cavalier first. I'd probably go Miami second, and I know he was only there for four years, and he's been in L.A. for six, I think it was. I think he joined 20. That was the first year, 1920, I believe it was. It's just, it's also. It was 18, 1919. Yeah, yeah, 1920, you're right.

Because I, yeah, 18, he beat the Raptors. He beat the Raptors. In Cleveland. And then the Raps obviously won in 19, which he was... Yes. In the West. Yes, by that point. So 18, 19, he was in L.A.

Yeah. But... And I think it's more about the Lakers' legacy of players. You know, you think Kobe first. You think Magic. Kareem. You know, Kareem, of course. Jerry West might be higher.

You know, I think Shaq is a Laker, I'd think of... Before I'd think of LeBron's a Laker. I mean... Absolutely. But this is pretty... This is pretty big news, pretty big news, and how does it change kind of the landscape of the East and what to expect? And the championship pedigree potentially there for Philly to chat about it. We're joined now by ESPN's NBA front office insider Bobby Marks.

Bobby, it seems like the whole world was surprised by LeBron's choice with Philly. Do you fall in that same category? Were you surprised he ended up choosing the Sixers? I wouldn't say totally surprised. I thought it was going to be one of the three, of course. I thought probably more leaning towards Miami just as of late here but yeah I mean listen

he goes to a Sixers team that wasn't part of the conversation a month ago and they make the jail and Brown trade and now they became part of the conversation and now they are really part of the conversation when you look at the Eastern Conference as far as the ability to add him so never really catches me off guard but yeah I mean I think

just because I was leaning a little bit more towards probably than Miami could be the final home for him. So were you leaning toward Miami more, Bobby, for the lifestyle aspects of it, the nice weather in Miami. It's a retirement type of place. And obviously the history there where he won a couple of titles as a heat. Or, you know, why do you think he leaned toward Philly,

despite all those factors that a lot of us thought might sway him down south? I mean, I think roster-wise, and I think Miami's done a good job getting Janice and Bam. I think there's some holes to the roster. Certainly they need a playmaker, and certainly LeBron could have filled that, and there are some other things. Certainly they need a little bit more depth in the front court here, but I think with Philadelphia, I mean, he slides into a roster that's, you know, Tyrese Maxie, V.J. Edgecom, Jalen Brown, and Joel and Bede,

and they still have the depth what they did this summer adding some pieces in free agency here to go nine or ten deep with that roster here. So I think you look at it from that perspective here what team gives him the best chance to win.

Certainly finances didn't mean anything in this as we all know. So you could have made the argument for Cleveland also, right, as far as with that group here. So I think, yeah, as they said, he probably looks at it that's the opportunity that gives him the greater chance. In terms of being Nick Nurse, we were discussing that pride of having you on.

Nick obviously won up here in 19, and when the Kauai trade happened, he had been on the job for like a few weeks at that point. He was obviously with the staff prior to it, but as the head coach. And he's had ups and downs in Philly, a lot of an injury-related stuff, but there's been some good years and some bad years. Do you think he's prepared for, or how do you prepare for, the LeBron being a part of your world? Yeah, I mean, certainly the goalposts are moved.

From where they were a year ago, you know, Nick's been through it. He won a championship, certainly in Toronto, a little bit different, of course, with that group than what he has right now. And I think you have to be prepared, certainly style play as far as with LeBron and Jalen and Tyrese and Joel. and DJ here, certainly that will be a little bit of different. The spotlight is now on you, shining on you directly as far as from an expectation standpoint. I think what helps them a little bit is that they're probably not the favorite in the East.

You know, and this is different than when he went to Miami in 2010 and they were the favorite right off the bat or even Cleveland in 14. I mean, I think New York's still the favorite. I think East is really, really good. and I think when the Kauai trade goes through, Toronto is going to be in part of the conversation also here. So, yeah, I think it's just, it's the, you know, the distractions that come with it, the ability to deal with adversity, all those things here. But fortunately, we're in the offseason, and some of that doesn't have to happen until end of September, early October. So, Bobby, obviously, the East is going to be very interesting this year with so many, so many intriguing teams. in Toronto here, it feels like this means,

it means more than ever now that the Raptors have got to get this Kauai trade to go through. They've got to accept whatever penalty and all likelihood that the Kauai is going to face here, unless it's outrageously punitive. What is your expectation if you had to get near Christabal? What do you think is going to happen in terms of the penalties levied to the clippers and how it might affect this trade one way or another? Yeah, I mean, I would be. Um, you know, and hopefully within the next week or two or, you know, you know, towards

telling the summer this all gets resolved and the investigation gets wrapped up. I would be, I would be probably more surprised if the trade does not go through, um, based on, um, you know, certainly, certainly the, uh, the ramifications that it has now, now, if something drastically changes, certainly with Kauai, then that changes it here. But I, you're right. I mean, I think from Toronto's perspective, where the east stacks up right now with New York and Philadelphia and Miami and you can put Indiana in the equation and Cleveland. You know, listen, you've got to, that's got to be a deal that you should only want to make

because it only helps you. If you don't, then it's going to be tough sledding. I mean, the reality of it is where those teams are, but the ability to get Kauai on your roster and with Scotty and Emmanuel and RJ and everything like that, I think it gives you, you know, as I said, it puts them in the conversation with these teams that, better competing of top. With Bobby Marks of ESPN. And, you know, there's a bunch of markets in the East now

that obviously you're happy with the off-season. Up in Toronto, you know, presuming this goes through and Kauai plays like he did last year, that's a big, big impact. If you're in Miami, you got Janus. If you're in Philly, obviously, you got Jalen Brown and LeBron. You know, which star, though, like presuming health, and maybe LeBron's a little bit separate because of his age.

Let's say it's Jaylen, Brown and Philly, Kauai and Toronto, Janice, and Miami. How would you rank those in terms of affecting your power rankings for next year? I think Kauai, just based on what I saw last year, and you guys know, I mean, of course, health. I thought he was as good that we've seen in a long time, like both ways, two-way player, and him playing a bunch of games. And I think the biggest thing will be longevity through the playoffs.

That would be the big key as far as, because we haven't. seen it as much in the past. But I think where Kauai is at this stage in his career, and I think he's an all-M-B-A player, I think that has an impact, significant impact. I think Jalen and Philly, I think, just based on what is already there, yeah, he'll impact it. But I just think Kauai walking into, you know, with him and Scotty and the front core, I mean, that is as good as a defensive combination that is probably in the league right now. Bobby, when you look at the parameters of this deal that LeBron James just agreed to,

how much does it surprise you that this guy is making the lowest salary of his entire career, even lower than he made in his rookie year back in 2003, a grand total of $3.9 million, the veteran minimum exception. I mean, we know LeBron doesn't need the money. There's a lot of people that don't need the money that still want the money. How surprised you that he agreed to a number that low? That was the beauty of it all. I thought that, you know, the five or six teams that were in the mix,

everyone was on an equal financial playing field, right? Like nobody needed to go through hoops to trade cap space and all this money. And, you know, I never, I don't like really talking about other people's money, but, you know, he's made close to 600 million in his career. And he probably, and he looked at it like, hey, listen, I can go there for the vet, you're right, the better and minimum, which is 3-9 for a player with 10 years of service. It's for Philly. It's 2.4% of the salary cap, which is a remarkable thing.

And there's a $4 million player option, or $4.1 million player option for next year. And you're right, he's probably, I haven't looked at it quite yet, but he's probably out of the 430 under contract. He probably ranks 330. Wow. Maybe even later in the mix and everything like that. And yeah, I mean, so he goes there on the bet and at a moment. And that's that, when you already have three players making north of 40,

what Philadelphia has, I mean, come up, right? I mean, a top 15, top 20 player guy who's in all, you know, one of the greatest players of all time. And I think has a lot of juice left in them. We still got an offseason to go here, but it does feel like this is. Don't remind me. I know, I know. We still got to wait to get to opening night.

But maybe more activity around the corner. I guess we'll find out. Great stuff, Bobby. you for doing this. Appreciate it, guys. Thank you. You got it. Bobby Marks of ESPN.

LeBron James and Philly. That's high praise though for Kauai, too. Like, Kauai was great last year. He really was. He was really, really good. Contract year. That's the thing. Like, now the Rapplers are going to go through the trade

and tack on a couple more years, you know, and he's going to make a lot of more money. But, like, is Kauai a chip on the shoulder guy? I don't, he doesn't seem like his personality. You know, like I'm going to show you, Adam, Sylvia. You're coming after me. I hope so.

If you're a Raptor fan, that's what you're banking on. You're hoping. You're banking on him being like, all right, I'm out of there now. I'm back where I won, and I'm going to, I'm here. And you think LeBron's going to push me around in the east? Do you think I'm scared of Janus? Do you remember what happened in 2019? To me, that was the key to the championship run was when...

He took on Janus. Yeah, when Nick Nurse figured out that Janus was afraid of Kauai. And they said, down to another in the series, in overtime in game three, you know, and they came out of that. luckily winning in, you know, game three, they came out of thinking, we can make Kauai the head of the snake against Janus in this wall against Janus that we've devised,

and it's going to cause problems. And guess what? It did. It sure did. Yeah, we're just showing that. Oh, yeah, there's Embed. That's Embeddead. Was crying afterwards.

You know, and Jimmy Butler's not there anymore. Yeah, LeBron. But, yeah, it's a, I mean, it's a different world, obviously than it was seven years ago. Case in point, LeBron's in Philly. Now, the Knicks just won a championship. I don't know what's crazier. Probably the Knicks winning is crazier.

It is crazy. By a mile, the Knicks winning is crazy. When you consider the fact that that had not been even close to reality for a long time. It's crazy. But you know, that's the beauty of this league right now. I know there's a lot of people that are upset about the second apron and, you know, the Celtics having to unload a player like Jalen Brown for financial reasons after they win a championship only in 2020.

I mean, but it just, like, there is a certain charm to a league where pretty much anybody that's good can win. There's no, like, there's no gatekeeper right now that's saying you're not getting past these guys. Right. Wemby may become that. We don't know. He's showing signs of that at times. Although I would have thought that was Oklahoma City. Yeah.

Like after they won a year ago, I would have thought there's no way they don't run it back. And yet Wemby got in their way. Wembe got in their way. And Chet showed up and said, I don't know. really want to play a ball. I'm not doing this. Yeah. But I mean, that's to be like, and Williams was hurt. And there was, I mean. Yeah. Having,

having Williams hurt was an underrated storyline for sure. I mean, the guys understand. He was unreal the year before. Yeah, and they may come back with a vengeance this year with him healthy and and Shay still having lots in the tank and they could be a big problem. Although this whole thing about Chet not wanting to play in big games is going to be, that's going to be a recurring theme.

A bit concerning. Yeah, when you're a guy that's supposed to literally be covering Wemby or he's going to be on you. That's speaking of speaking of players who are afraid. Right. And if not, maybe Yokej is waiting for you or whatever. Like there's some big game players out there in the West. All right. Best Betts coming up. Mailing

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Make your picks and assemble a same game parlay in seconds on the Fandrelts book app. I'm going to look at the CFL board tomorrow night. The Argos, you've got to lay a number on the road at BC. Okay. spreads three and a half, but I'm going to lay the points because we had Luke Wilson on the other day, and Luke really likes the way the Argos are playing, you know, and said Chad Kelly's been playing pretty well. They've thrown away a couple of games, including last week where they missed the field goal. That should have been a win.

BC's really struggling. You know, and obviously they're down their best player. Nathan Rourke's hurt. I'm going to lay the points. I like that pick. Laying the points. The Argos out in B.C. Tomorrow, best bets powered by Thanduel.

same game parley's available for every CFL game on the Fandual Sportsbook. Yeah, please play responsibly 19 plus, physically located in Ontario. J's socks tonight, you savage on the mound for the Jays. Addison Barger has really, he's barely played this year. He said, you know, a lot of different injuries. But he is going to have surgery on his arm, his throwing arm, which is really concerning because it was a real talent. He had a hose and right feet.

Yeah. And that's, I think, how he blew his arm out. Like, he made that incredible throw. I think it the plate. Yeah. Like his first game back after having other injuries. He had lower body injuries earlier in the year. And now he's going to have possibly Tommy John.

If it is Tommy John, then that's nine plus months of recovery. And that gets into next season. And if it's not, it's still going to knock him out for his offseason and likely lead up to a spring training scenario where you're not sure if he's at 100%. And that's so disappointing because, you know, I had, like everyone else, huge expectations for him this year. He was going to be the power bad.

He's going to be a guy. Like last year, he was a bit of a platoon. You know, he faced predominantly righties. Well, the Grand Slammy here in the World Series was against a lefty. Good point. But it was, you know, more or less he would face righties. You know, obviously John Snyder did that a lot last year, kind of manipulating the lineup a little bit.

based on who was on a mound. But I thought this would be a year where you just plant him in right, really good right fielder, great arm, power bat, young guy. He's just going to play 155 games this year and be a huge part of your team. Pencilman for 25 homers. Exactly. And it just never happened. And now you get the injury bug.

And now with a guy that's that young and just doesn't have enough sample size, you just can't predict on what he's going to be next year. That's the problem. It really affects your front office. And Springer's likely going to be gone. Varsal is going to be gone. Like opening night, You had Varsho and Center Field, and you have barger and right field.

They're both not going to be available to start next year. Hard to have foreseen that. That's a rough luck. And Santander was likely supposed to play in left field. Well, no one was expecting. There were not a lot of high hopes there. That I understand. But I'm saying, like, let's say last, you know, a year from now, your game planning

what your opening night lineup would have been in 2026. Probably Santander and left. Yeah. Barso and center and barger and right. Yeah. It would have been a nice trio. None of those guys. are here. I mean, Varsha's here, but it's not playing that well.

And that speaks to, you know, if you're thinking about trade deadlines coming up and now it's like, forget this year, we got to be good next year. Like there's, it's a long shopping list for Ross Atkins. And it only gets longer, it seems. Yeah, if injuries are factoring now. Like now you're saying you can't even count on barger, like the odds of him being effective next year. I mean, let's like, I mean, cross your fingers. Let's just hope it's not Tommy John. Something less than that. he can come back, he'll be back for opening day, everything will be fine. Maybe he can be the same player he was, but that seems like the longer eyes. You're still objecting. Yeah.

Like you obviously hope that happens, but management types do not think that way. You got to think like what's most likely to happen or what if it doesn't happen that way? How do we compensate? Right. You know, it's almost a Ziparger, that's the way he might be viewed. It's like this would be a bonus if he can stay healthy and perform. Just like Santander would have been a bonus.

Exactly. And hasn't turned out that way. Yeah, and Santander is still under contract. Like maybe he plays next year, maybe he doesn't. Who knows? It's not going to play this year. But I mean, it's completely different outfield that do D.H. You need three arms in the rotation.

Jeez. Like, there's a lot of things they have to do. A lot of things they've got to do between now and next year. Luckily, they're rich. They are that. But the CBA may dictate how they can turn their team around too, right? Who knows what type of penalties are going to be there in terms of spending money, all that kind of stuff.

So we'll see. Jay Sox tonight. CFL on TSN going on as well. We've got a lot going on this weekend. We get the 3M Michael Kim. Shoutout, 59 today. That's unbelievable. Unreal.

Schaeffler's out on the course right now. I don't know how he's doing, but probably not going to shoot 59. He has done it. as well for everyone tuning in today. TV radio, podcast, web, up on YouTube live, streaming soon up on Crave. We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy your weekends. We're back Monday at 4 p.m. We'll chat then. Mail it in Friday 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.

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