OverDrive - OverDrive - June 3, 2025 - Hour 1

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Maple Leafs' offseason plans, Matthew Knies' contract value in Toronto and the foundation of the deals on the team. Toronto Star Sports Writer Dave Feschuk joins to discuss Giannis Antetokounmpo's sweepstakes with the Raptors and who would be traded in a deal, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's acclaim in the NBA and the RBC Canadian Open headlines.

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Some restrictions and exclusions may apply. See participating stores for details. This Hour of Overdrive is powered by FanDuel. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Alright, here we go Overdrive, off and running. TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker up on TSN 2. Brian Hasey, Odog, Jeff O'Neil, Jamie Noodles, McLennan. What's going on?

What's going on what's going on never and my life have i hated you two more and all toss in james dot the with the comments coming my way in public hit but i was running along the lake shore this morning yeah and my earbud came out worst thing that could have happened to me because I look over, picking it up, and there's a guy in his pajamas

smoking in front of his grubby apartment, and he goes, did you play the Red Teas, oh dog? And then I got another one later in the day saying it was probably a scramble and you counted it's just now it's now I know now I know what hazes a fraud is like because it's just like thank you welcome to my world. Yeah I know it's just like no it's just I want to say to people really like I think it's over.

Yeah it's not. When you when you try to portray that then they start hammering it even more because they know you hate it. Wow. Yeah, exactly. If they give you a nickname or something, you can't go, hey, I don't like that because people double down. But I will say this, you ended the show and then I got blowback in the other way going,

you guys shortchained him. He might have got 63. And I was like, all right. Well, listen. So in the end, it's a hell of a round and we should give you credit instead of me sit here with my father it's a great rounds regardless of what the number was sixty three or sixty four it's one of the other it's a phenomenal round i still have no idea what carlo coli akiva was trying to prove yesterday

when he came on and when he started explaining i thought by the end of his explanation i would have had an eighty yeah i thought you're gonna shoot eighty two by the end because he's like wow is a par seventy two it's a guy it doesn't matter like whatever the amount of times he hit the ball if it's a mini pot or a championship course at oakmont it doesn't matter you struck the ball a certain amount of time but uh... yeah joe pashy

that's he was joe pashy from what's that yet my cousin any he was joe pashy yes by the end he was like that to you you it's yeah like what is this guy talk i thought he was going to take a socks off and start counting with his toes in his fingers like well it was something to see if he was his head was about to blow off because i think he was confusing himself i think he started dancing around and he got kind of place where uh... he was like i don't know where i am right now i'm talking about these and parser

uh... and i've been there and i know what it's like but you're right about the tea i i ran into a of mutual friend today and he threw out was all planned the whites you know i'm like i don't know there there people analysis that you know you had to say that you and your thirty and the fact that i had a lot of garbage clubs and you know

golfers and you know you gotta have a comment there everywhere man everyone it's all right right is me is guys with fifteen beers at the matter in call and they're going to look at the but not going to think everywhere we have chance to more the wrinkle and on thursday all shot sixty four hahaha sixty four or just red t's red t's red t's red t's i think you can be i'm i think you guys know who you can blame for all of this like the catalyst of all this was a

a guy who won an award yeah the canadian screen award winner james duffy so and uh... he's right now i know you guys just couldn't just let it you could A guy who won an award last week. Yeah, the Canadian Screen Award winner, James Duffy. And Duffy's right in the middle of it. I know, you guys just couldn't have let it sleep and it would just be, hey, great round, but now it's a side show. Couldn't do it, just couldn't do it. You know what I was thinking off the game?

We should have kept playing Major League because the Jays didn't play last night. Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Why wouldn't you come in with it today? They're off of five-gamer, right? Yeah, I mean they didn't play yesterday, so yes they didn't win, but they also didn't play last night. Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Why wouldn't you come in with it today? I guess off of five gamer. Yeah, I mean they didn't play yesterday. So yes, they didn't win, but they also didn't lose. They're still in a five game winning streak. And he got the Phillies in town.

We've got dome open weather finally. It gets muggy and hot in Toronto, man. It's a beautiful thing. How crazy is that? How it went from, I thought it was going to snow. Like I had two tee times up north and I couldn't play because it was going to snow like I had two tee times up north and I couldn't play because it was it was six degrees felt like minus two yeah on the weekend I can't play golf in this no it was crazy man and like tomorrow

it's supposed to feel like 33 or 34 and you've like obviously we got the big fires in Manitoba and stuff and it's really hazy and muggy and all that kind of stuff like all throughout the country and Anyway, the domes open we get the Phillies in town. This is a real test, right? You play who you play, you know, it doesn't great the athletics stinks. So what they played them four times They beat them four times, you know, the Rangers aren't that good. Okay fine the Jays they weren't that good And they found a way to win those games But when you get the Phillies rolling through man there's certain teams in pro sports you know and this would be a good practice that maybe we should do at some point like you look at what we've got in the cup final and it's not like this in

the NBA finals where Oklahoma City and Indiana are very young teams they have no finals experience they don't have like grizzled veterans that you look at and think man that guy's been through the ringer if anyone maybe it's Pascal Siakam actually who might wear that title but you look at and think man that guy's been through the ringer if anyone maybe it's Pascal Siakam actually who might wear that that that title but you look at the Phillies with like Bryce Harper and some of these guys they're gonna roll through and they just look like they mean business the the the Panthers look like they mean business that yeah like it's just it's I don't know there's something about these major teams these big brands these teams with superstars that know how to win That just bring a different spark and you can feel it with the Phillies in town

You can feel it with the cup finals starting tomorrow night It just makes you also like not to look at it in a negative light, but it makes you realize like Teams that claim or think that they're on the rise, like, how far they actually are from their players performing and getting that kind of grit and edge to them and being that team. Like, I don't know. How far do you think the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings are from being like that and looking like that. It seems like it's just a long ways away.

I think, oh, you make a great point, but I think the next step for those is what Ottawa took. Right? Like Ottawa had a great season, like up and down, but they made the playoffs. They had a good first round pushback against the Leafs, but they lost. And I think they, you know, and now you start to assess, okay, how close are you? How far, you know, now the big challenge for Ottawa and teams that lost in the first round are don't take a step back. Don't let somebody catch you and leapfrog you next year because that's, you know, the Detroit's and the Buffalo's and, and, and,

Well, that's just it, Jamie. If you take a step back and somehow they're like, it would be more than reasonable to think that they could be in A battle for one of the last spots coming down the stretch, and if they miss then it's like where are you then? Yeah, I don't know it just seems like You try to get the right players, and if you don't it's almost like you're kind of screwed like yeah We're talking about grizzled that's like how fortunate the Chicago Blackhawks Pittsburgh Penguins LA Kings rizzled that's like how fortunate the Chicago Blackhawks Pittsburgh Penguins LA Kings were to get players that they had all these intangibles and capabilities as far as talent goes in their first four years in the league

yeah well the league yeah it's huge man and and what happened after they won you started attracting people to add you know know, the hoses and... Well, remember back in those days, guys, the philosophy was you got to try to pick one off when these guys are on their entry level deals. Yeah. That's true. I mean, that's, you know, it's the turnover now in today's game, especially with salaries and all that.

And we talk obviously here in Toronto Toronto how the Leafs are constructed. I don't know if you could get onto a dynasty situation, you've got to try and get one. Like now where these guys are in their prime and heading on the backside of it. Like Tavares is on the backside, now we don't know if those guys are going to be back. But right now the players under contract in their wheelhouse to their prime It's it's Matthews and Nylander, right? I mean and and Niza's even there yet He's setting uphill type of thing like he's heading up the mountain but as a damn good contract for nice has been fascinating when other guys around the league and it's like

Let's see it like people say all Toronto's this and Toronto's that it seems like the number around Toronto just gets inflated so much for whatever reason I have no idea. I talked about a Dawson Mercer extension that was I don't know it was like two or three years at 4.5 or something like that. Yeah, it's four and a half. Similar stats and everyone in Toronto, you got to give nines nine. It's like, really? Why does it have to be nine? Well, I mean, I can give you the answer as to why it always happens here.

And it was because they allowed it to. They allowed it to, and they talked themselves into how tough it is. Like, the Leafs played the victim card for a long time. And, you know, they actually may have been the ones perpetuating behind the scenes how tough it is and how crazy it is And they allowed everyone else to talk on their behalf. You know, we always mention it. Well, why is Kachuk talking about this? Why is Marchand? Why is McKinnon?

Why are all these other players talking about how great all these players are and the Leafs the way that they operated Bought into that and thought it's so tough and we can't find anyone and no one's gonna come up here and we better just pay these guys and forget it. Just now some of it was out of desperation because they were in a window and they thought they could win and they thought we can't mess around and throw something away here and allow you know some sort of a holdout to go into October or November and throw off the mojo of the team so just forget it get it done but they decided to just treat Matthews like he was McDavid and treat Marner like he was dry subtle and treat Nylander like he was Kucherov they decided to do that they didn't evaluate properly they just said forget it we think those guys are

gonna be like that so we're gonna operate this way and just overpay over pay overpay and allow every player to win everything. And this is what happens with the culture of the team. You talk about the DNA of the team. Right. A lot of it, if I'm a guy like Nyes, now I don't know him personally and he says all the right things.

I like this kid a lot, man. I love the way he loves being a Maple Leaf. I love the way he plays. I love where his future is going. And I look forward to seeing it blossom here in Toronto. But he would not be in the wrong to look at the other guys who are the leaders and say, well, this is how they operate. This is how they negotiate. Why would not? Exactly. And that's on the team to stop it. And I don't know if that was Shanahan. I have

a sneaking suspicion it was. Maybe it was Dubis, maybe it was Loot, maybe it was Tree Living in some ways. But it's on Tree Living and Pelley and the Maple Leafs to stop that garbage because it's been killing them for years, it's been killing them. You can't overpay. And it's not that these aren't great players. They're all great players.

It's not like it's some egregious overpay, it's not. But every million dollar counts, every extra year counts. You know, like we don't need to rip off the bandaid here and get into this, but I said it two weeks ago. The reality is, if they got Matthews to sign for eight years at entry level, he'd still have a few years left at 11.6. Now you got value with the cap going up.

If you got Marner at an appropriate number for eight years, he'd have two more years. Now maybe you wouldn't want that, maybe you'd want to move off in any way. Willie the same thing. Willie should be making 6.9 million. Guy sits in Sweden until November and they still only give him six years. Don't force them to take eight at that number. Like that, they just kept capitulating and capitulating and doing it. I'm with you man like you talk DNA change look in the mirror treat Matthew Nyes the same way he would be treated in Jersey in Utah in Edmonton everywhere else because you're damaging yourself. Yeah those organizations you just mentioned it's not nine million. No it's not he's a really good young player who got to play with great players. people of like since what happened with the Edmonton Oilers last year people are really horned up to bring up the idea of an offer sheet.

Like as soon as you know it turned January was like I'll watch out for this guy offer sheet target number one and it's like okay here we go. And then the eights and nines and tens and it was like what the hell is going on here yeah it's a you can't like listen if it's an eight-year deal you have to pay more money clearly absolutely it's a long-term deal you gotta you gotta pay a more than that and i i don't know what that number is maybe it's seven maybe it's eight and maybe that makes sense for both parties but if it's a if it's a bridge it's nowhere close to that number now it's a smaller number I even close but but the team

gives him a bump and he makes good money horse good player but and then he bets on himself and goes yeah let's kick the can down the road for two years and if I'm a 40 goal score the number looks different if he's a 26 goal score the number you know he'll still get a bump but he won't be as egregious like that's the way I look at you still got to figure out and I think there's a lot of people he had a fantastic year yeah but keep in mind he played on the top line and he earned it you know and and played with Matthews and Marner this is gonna look different next year the you know the playmaker if Marner doesn't return which you know controls his own future they're gonna have a different playmaker on that line they're gonna have

somebody different and they'll still have lost success but it just might he might get 26 goals instead of 29 or he might get 38 or 40 you know who knows like internal improvement they may need exactly they might need that internal improvement I think you always need internal improvement and if you always need internal improvement And and if you don't then you start looking at it and go who can we move past here because that that's you know We're always focused on and rightfully so Marner and Tavares is contract. What's nice gonna look like What is young is your own crook gonna improve internally or is it just healthy? Is Max Domi going to have a bounce back year? You hope so because he's on term.

That's the thing I'm looking at because those guys aren't making 700 grand. It's 4 million, it's 3 million or 2.8. Every penny counts and if those guys aren't going to have that internal improvement, you might have to look and go, going to move past certain situations. Again, you're not turning over the whole team i'm just trying to think out loud here it's just not that the two players were constantly focusing on you gotta look at the whole group and and see where you can improve

and and that's the the job for battery living that's true and and that's what every team does i mean look at evidence and there's an example or yes they got hit with pro-berg and holloway you know getting basically swept from underneath them you know and it was a brilliant play by St. Louis. They knew they had Edmonton backed into a corner because of their cap situation and how deep into the off season it was. They offered it the players were willing to take it and they got the players and they're ecstatic because they should be. They're two

really good players on incredibly I think you know team-friendly contracts even considering the scenario. But look where Edmonton is now. You think they care about that? Like obviously they probably loved that Holloway even though he was hurt going into the playoffs. Sure they'd like to have Broberg. They didn't sit there and cry about it. Yeah, they said, all right, you got us. Let's see what else we can do here. And I was amongst many people that said, you know what? The young legs, the speed, it was a massive mistake and it's going to be very costly. And it wasn't.

So as of right now, at flip flops, a year from now we could be saying, you know, they need those guys back. Whatever the situation. For sure. But as of right now, they just said, go play in St. Louis because we're not flinching and we got the two best players and we're going to make it work. Like the Edmonton Oilers, they're like the show pickers, man. They just pick off the scrap heap and the guy has turned into magic.

Like Casper Capitan could barely get in the lineup and he's like going out, he's out there wheeling around with dry-sidle, like just different guy. Wallman, it's like, it's crazy. Speaks to how good dry-sidle is to make guy Wallman it's like yes crazy speaks to how good dry-sidle is to make players better that's the other that's big and and the last thing too oh you talked about those young players I think Edmonton in the progression wanted a veteran team like they wanted and I get they gave up speed they gave up and in the future maybe a year from now or two

years from now certainly gonna regret it but they they replaced them with veteran guys and that's kind of what I think their mantra was they are the oldest a year from now or two years from now, certainly going to regret it, but they replaced them with veteran guys. And that's kind of what I think their mantra was. They are the oldest team in the league, but you heard Knobloch yesterday. Like he doesn't worry about them panicking and situations or being overwhelmed by it because these guys have been around the block seven or eight times, you know, most of them. So I think that's kind of what their mantra was.

Now they might regret it again. I don't think might. I think they will. Listen, if they win, they won regret it again. I don't think might I think they will Listen if they win they won't exactly like if you win a Stanley Cup You're not looking at sure would be great to have those guys maybe but you're like, you know I don't have to explain a thing to anybody if you win a Stanley Cup Alright Dave fest Chuck is is in the house. He's coming in studio. We're gonna get fest in here get his take on these Yannis, you know conversations. Can he see a fit here in Toronto? Can he make sense of it?

We'll get into a number of different things including McDavid Shay Gildes Alexander I mean those are the two faces of both respective leagues They're both Southern Ontario guys, right McDavid's from Newmarket Chase from Hamilton and they're both the leaders of probably the two best players in each respective league So we'll catch up with Dave. We'll get into that conversation. Jay's back in action tonight. Mike Johnson and Chris Johnston coming up live from the cup final in Edmonton.

They will join us. We got Mac Hughes, our boy Mac, for our annual meet and greet before the RBC Canadian Open. Mac will join us just after 6 o'clock. We're gonna be up at TPC Toronto, Osprey Valley tomorrow, all throughout the rest of the week. We cannot wait to get up there. It's gonna be great. We got our picks be up at TPC Toronto, Osprey Valley tomorrow, all throughout the rest of the week. We cannot wait to get up there. It's going to be great.

We've got our picks coming up tomorrow. We've got a lot of things cooking as we get ready for the RBC Canadian Open. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN 2. All right, Overdrive continues powered by Fandoa, bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score. We're up on YouTube Live on the TSN and youtube channel comments are flying a lot of people sand sixty four for the old dog i love it looks good sixty four and it feels like

they're like that i know scott lott is busy but he use that watch it you know what i it's all on cameras so that i understand that the fire understand that some sick of talking about uh... uh... there's a fashion Did you hear the news? You gotta see what these idiots did. I go out there and I am so dialed in and I golf my ball and all I did was roll in birdie putts. And I don't have a pencil. Carlo kept score for them. They kept score for us. There was a lady, I had no idea who she was.

She was apparently keeping score for everyone. And then these guys start popping off about a rock like i didn't that fill in this and i made bogey like they they were making up an imaginary things that happen now i got bombs smoking on the street yelling at me on the sidewalk saying i play from the red t's oh yeah that's he that's a power and re- man will look at the james on look at i i i consider you mister sixty four congratulations thanks no asterisk

required we've we've sorted out the math it was painful listening to you guys sort of the math yesterday but i i i did not incredible wasn't that if you want fastball who was it it was carlo and you could see his head if you could actually see smoke coming out of his ears, correct? Oh, yeah, you're right, dude. His hamster was RIP, but what you guys nine his grade nine math Exactly was coming into play. Well, you guys are doing that math. I was doing the more important math I was looking up Jeff O'Neill's birthday. I realized you and the tiger both 49 both coming up on Champions Tour

eligibility Run let's get Crazy you say that because all the way up I was like watching tiger and I'm like I've got like 12 goals like around Christmas time and Because I was thinking in my head like this fantasy world where me and Tiger were like dominating but Tiger went one way and I kind of went the other and it was just it was two different stories man

so good you guys are connecting the champions to say how you can play together yeah well good all these years good to CFS I'm guessing you'll probably are you gonna make a run up to the RBC Canadian open this year and So I we debate this every year I'm curious how you would answer this if you're if you're running the tournament, okay It's your your job your golf Canada a PGA Tour or whatever. I give you the option of Rory McIlroy winning or Pick a Canadian. Mm-hmm, which would you choose? Pick Canadian you're picking a Canadian pick a Canadian. Yeah, I mean Rory's wanted enough

I mean, yeah ease and you know why he keeps coming back here cuz he's out at Oh dogs course today on a Sponsors event. Oh, yeah I'm sure the price to get Rory out of bed and onto a private jet and out to the Weston golf club is not cheap I had a guy called out there last night and I'm like, just to let you know I have to come by in the morning to grab a few clubs I had re-gripped and they're like, you're not coming here. Like this place is legit shut down everywhere. Yeah, really? I walked in the pro shop and grabbed it myself when no one was there because like when Rory's showing out, he shuts down the whole thing. That's crazy. Because he was at Oakmont yesterday. I believe. So he's at the US Open playing, preparing for Oakmont. Today he flies in,

he's at Weston. He may not see Osprey Valley until he gets there on Thursday. He had the caddy out surveying the grounds at TPC Toronto. And he'll play the Pro Amp tomorrow. and tomorrow yeah play one of the nines tomorrow but i wouldn't be shocked if the second nine that he doesn't play it's site on cd just season for the first time that's what he's done in the past is that yeah he's done that the past and was a and and and and and and and and and and that's a good this cat is that like there's a part of me

like the patriot in me wants a canadian obviously now i will say with taylor winning two years ago. That was big It was triumphant. It's happened now. We don't have to do the first time since 1964. Hey Rory is such a big star It's almost like Rory and a Canadian winning are on par. I actually think it is Yeah, I think you know if you're macro if you're this tournament. They've never played at Osprey Valley You want you like he keeps saying I'm coming back every single year I I'll always come back. If you win, you're definitely coming back. Yes. Right? And there's something about going up there and finding McElroy. And it's amazing to see Connors and Hughes and

Taylor and Pendrith and all these incredible Canadians that are going to be in the hunt. And I wouldn't be surprised if any of those guys won it and it would be an incredible story. But the idea of having a ticket and showing up and saying I was there to see the McElroy RBC Canadian Open like there's something about history and what he represents he's almost larger than the game. Oh yes no he's by far the biggest celebrity on tour right now that Tiger is not on tour and so yeah for sure you have to you have to respect that but look a Canadian winning I think is also you know it's a very patriotic moment in our country's history right like

i think people you get behind that reason yes they definitely could uh... are you buying the yannis in the rafters doing a little dance thing like we stand on this i mean look it's no secret that the site you jury has covered yannis for a long time right he cleared the decks handful of years ago you know salary cap space to to try and get a bright and didn't get in leave my

milwaukee at that particular moment yannis is going to leave milwaukee at some point others some people walk you say it's not going to be this year why why does he want to leave period faster police he's just he said it out loud more than once in a bunch of interviews about how he's not going to be there forever. I mean it's a very small town, right? This is a guy with all the money in the world and a big family and big ambitions and big

curiosity. He's a man of the world. He's a global citizen. So the idea that he wouldn't want to live in a slightly bigger place than sleepy little Milwaukee, not that there's anything wrong with Milwaukee, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Sounds like something I would say. Hazel piggyback off of that. Yeah, it's brutal. Nobody cares what anybody says. is any wrong with milwaukee has not only rama possibly i would say i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i

i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i mean they do have old milwaukee beer there which has you know do they is that actually where it's from is that just a clever name like a lot of things and he said here and now i think there is a lot

your beer brewery there in jeffmer was for there. Oh, that's there you want to be known for He has a sign as you're driving into town. I hope not No kidding. No kidding. They call him the brewers for a reason right? It is a beer Yeah, like Miller's from there like there's a bunch of great and Bob Euker the great Bob Euker Milwaukee's a great place That's we're not here to blast Milwaukee, but whether or not it's gonna happen this year I mean, that's that's the big question, right? Do you think everything would be on the table Scotty Barnes included?

I give if like why I said that yesterday How could it not be like I like we all love Scotty but like Giannis is 30 I wouldn't put him on the table for Kevin Durant. That's a different. No, I would not be a couple years ago Yeah, a couple years ago. Sure, but Durant's he's older. He's a I don't at Durant I don't know where his headspace is that either man i don't know if you really cares that much anymore the honest he's just getting older

yeah he i guess i'd just i guess what i'm saying is i don't know if you drive the boss i'd and to separate conversation but you know this is thirty in his prime still one of five those players in the game scottie barnes is a poor man's yannis right for i don't see it the rich man's yannis yes yis. Exactly. And I understand that Yanis may not want to come here without help of course, but that's where Masai would really have to go to work. If you bring him in, you better make sure some of these kids you're developing, the ones you don't trade for them actually pop. You better make sure Emmanuel quickly can play point the way that

you've been planning on him playing the last year and a half. And you better keep Pertle happy and healthy. Like they're gonna have a lot of to play a lot of basketball absolutely his thing lay in score and all that kind of stuff i mean that's why we're going to it what do you think about miss i am this part of the recruiting apparently this relationship with the honest and miss i itself is like him massaging this part of the organization and being involved with potentially Yanis.

Is that a factor in him still being around period with what's happened in other organizations around MLSC? Yeah, the presidents are being picked off, aren't they? Don't think Masai Ujiri hasn't noticed that, right? But it's an intriguing aspect to the idea that miss i might try and make a big swing this offseason because you could make a case he'd be doing it for his job because yeah like his deal runs through next season period that's the end of it you would think a guy of that stature who's had that many outside

offers over the years would want clarity on his situation going into the coming season he wouldn't want to be a lame duck and i think edward rogers was thrilled with signing him in the beginning but he was to know so he must have thought he might have been the first to go exactly so the idea that rogers not happy about the signing in the beginning and and larry tanabom ended up doing an end around use the technicality in the nba rule book to sign the site against Rogers wishes essentially and against his legal objections.

Because Larry Tanban was the governor of the team and the governor had the right to do it even though he was not the majority shareholder. For all those reasons, yeah, you have to believe that his days will be numbered unless unless Messiah can pull a win. Kawhi 2.0. Well, and this is where the timing is actually fascinating because Messiah in a way may want it to be kicked down the

cannon next year so he can say well he's not available now but I know Yanis will be available next year and you need me to get him. Yeah. So you better make sure I stick around because if he's available now and he doesn't get Yanis, how is Messiah gonna stick around? Yeah. Like that's the thing. If this is becoming a reality where MLSC is moving off presidents and Keith Peli is going to have more power and it's going to be GM right into the president. Now it might be different with the Raptors because they may look at it and say Bobby Webster, you're out, Messiah, you can stay. I don't know. They may decide to change the way it looks

because at one point Messiah was the GM. Right. Or that's not the case with Shanahan or Bill Manning in the past. Very different. I don't know, they may decide to change the way it looks, because at one point, Messiah was the GM, that's not the case with Shanahan or Bill Manning in the past. Very different jobs. Different jobs and different roles. Like he is the architect of the team. Shanahan always tried to pretend as if he wasn't

in on everything or pushed that. They would have known his role behind the scenes, but I would think if Yannis is available, and we know that the next month, he's up for grabs, you gotta put forth the best price, Yannis is gonna have a say in that, clearly where he's going to go. This is where, like,

cause we can talk about why the Raptors would want it, why would Yannis want it? You know, like you mentioned he's a man of like international prestige and he's Greek, and there's a massive Greek community here. And that I think is a big part of it. And he's always kind of had this affinity, I think for the city. But New York's pretty cool too and

the Knicks are better than the Rockers. I don't think the Knicks have enough to get them. No? No I don't think they've got the passers. Well they fired Tibbs today I mean they're looking for a new coach I mean maybe they go get who? The thing that you know. Putinholzer and they bring the band back together in New York.

Danny Hurley maybe out of Yukon. Yeah. That's been the hot rumor. Who knows but. Don't you think though if you're for Giannis, you want him to play with Barnes? Ideally, yes. Ideally, Noodle, you're right. You can't have... You're giving up a King's Ransom to get him, and then now you've got to go and get players to play with him. Don't you think you're trying... it's futures or players, you know, players that are around the periphery.

Now I know it's easier said than done, but it should be Giannis and Barnes and somebody else, you know, that, that because now Giannis shows up, that might attract other free agents or other players that go, I'll go to Toronto for a year and try this out with this guy. Like to me, that's you go and get him. Now you might be a destination for players. Even it's one-year deal. I'll go play with this guy. Don't you think that's what you know? Masai should be aiming for ideally the question is Can it be can it work in year one? I'm not convinced it can't Because like when Kawhi came up that team was stacked like they had Lowry the rest of the league wasn't aware of

You know Norman Powell and Van Vliet and Siaka, but those guys were ready. They had a Baca, little did we know they were going to go out and get Marc Gasol, which was the perfect piece. Danny Green came with them. That team was ready the second Kawhi arrived to be a very good team. And then post-trade deadline, they were a championship team. I don't see how that happens with Yannis joining this team, even if you keep Scotty Barnes. Like even if you get rid of picks and kids and you got to move money around and you know Barrett's gonna have to go on other pieces. I just I don't know how you replicate what we saw in 2019. It's a tough resell. They're not ready-made. No exactly. So many question marks like to your point. Quickly barely played enough last year to know what he really is. Brandon Ingram

hasn't played to know what he is and we all know he's been injury-prone. You know, we know Jacobi Walter, young guy, what is he? Would you have to give him up or could you ride with him? Obviously, you know, RJ Barrett is a possibility for being thrown into the trade but, you know, could he stay behind and be a, you know, a scorer for you? I don't know, you're right. There's way more question marks about this team and the kind of blockbuster deal you'd have to pull off to make it happen, but to the point

we're all sort of started with, it's like, what other option does Masai Ujiri have in a lot of ways? You could ride with this team and all those question marks, or you could ride with those question marks plus Giannis. Plus Giannis. Which maybe makes some of those question marks go away because he's just that good big time i mean you put him on this team they're obviously a playoff team immediately for sure and then possibly moving up the significantly day fest

rick in studio uh... when tim my wiki arrived you could tell them the the mandate was like think big go big find superstars bring them in here. Giannis would represent that clearly with the Raptors. I'm curious if you get the impression Keith Pelly is pushing a similar mandate or is he put like, because Laiwiki was like superstars,

you know, we need brand ambassadors and winning would be great. Like he wanted to win and they did win with Toronto FC, they won the Raptors. They eventually won. What is your read on Pelley? You know, now that he's about what 15, 16 months on the job, his kind of infatuation with superstars like Giannis might represent also like maybe some possible free agents in the NHL next year.

Like, could you see him having some sort of a voice in, hey, the Leafs, maybe you should keep some space in case that guy becomes available and you might want to sign him. Look, I think Keith Peli is a big swing guy. I think he's a little bit like Tim Leiwiki. He's not the force of nature that Leiwiki was who kind of commanded headlines and everything he said and it was a big, big presence around the MLSC headquarters and sort of just was a loud voice in a very authoritative voice but the police that is a big idea guy with with a lot of ambition and i think looks he knows who he works for right like he's got he's got a carry out the marching orders of the ownership of the

marching orders of the ownership is we were not happy not winning you know what he said with the least they got to be on a pathway to a stanley cup i think there's a lot of disconcerted people around that ownership group when it comes to the Raptors. So what does that mean for Messiah? It means you gotta make something happen here. You know, like what you've done is not good enough.

In my estimation, it's hard to imagine Edward Rogers would rubber stamp an extension for Messiah-Ujiri with the team as it sits right now. Would he rubber stamp one if he goes out and pulls off the blockbuster deal of the NBA summer and Transforms this team into something a lot more exciting That's so that seems like a pretty good pitch It seems like a pretty good way to you know At least take your chances and roll the dice and hope they come out in your favor fast Chuck

do you think if SGA was American, that he would have more sizzle? Because it seems like he's the Canadian guy, he's the MVP, he's wheeled his team into the finals with somewhat ease. Like how come it just doesn't, it's not poppin'? It's like, if he was American, would it be different? I think if he was more about me, you me, if he was more about SGA,

in the way that we've seen a lot of these kind of narcissistic, self-obsessed guys who've been complete assassins in the league have been about themselves. LeBron's always about LeBron and LeBron's legacy. And he's not LeBron. Don't get me wrong. I'm not comparing him. He's pretty damn good, man.

But he's also a very low-key superstar who defers credit to his teammates and defers credit to everybody but himself more often than not and doesn't really engage in the kind of NBA drama that we're used to. You never hear any nonsense out of him. Yeah, he's not saying kind of crazy things about how he's the man or it's his team or this is his league now or he's the face of the league. You never hear that out of him and that's just who he is. He's a humble guy from Hamilton, man. He's not a guy that's going to do that. Don't expect it and it's not going to change, right? But to me, like, hey,

man, I watch a lot of American ESPN, and they're talking about him a lot, don't get it wrong, like they are talking about him a lot. It's just not like maybe commanding headlines in the way the previous superstars on finals teams have had them. I think it's also the nature of that market in the states. You know, like Oklahoma City is, I believe, the smallest market in the league,

if not real close to it. But I think it's actually the perfect finals for him to be the face of it because they're playing the Pacers. And Halliburton clearly is a stud and he's playing great and he's going to get a lot of buzz. But if they met the Knicks, it would have been all New York all the time down there. It would have been all Jalen Brunson, all about New York, all about the Knicks, all about the Garden.

And now it's not because it's two small market teams without any championship you know pedigree or history it actually is a perfect platform I think for Shea to wrap up which something one of the great seasons we've ever seen oh I mean at regular season MVP if he gets the finals MVP which I anticipate he will if they win championship he's 26 years old they they've what are they have 62 63 wins this year it's incredible like it and they have in law they swept in the first round Denver pushed them to seven they won game seven by like 30 and then they just won the last round in five I

wouldn't be shocked if they beat the Pacers in five or less like it's an all-time great season yeah to be to be like minus 700 favorites in an NBA final crazy doesn't happen and he's the guy like he's the man on that team I guess some of those Kobe Shack teams were minus two thousand, you know back in the early 2000s But and there's been other teams that have been heavy favorites But yeah, it's it's kind of and it's come on quick, right? Like that this team has got they're the youngest team in the NBA, right? They've kind of gone from being what if to we are very quickly and they're here to stay I think too for sure NBA don't you

think the NBA needs it because the NBA I their viewership was down I thought their product stunk this year like when you look at it like there you watch a lot of the games and load management guys not trying like it was just a like there was bad storyline after bad storyline like don't you think the NBA needs you know some positivity everyone everyone pays attention the finals because they actually try yeah where you know in the other games it's mail it in and they're not sure who's playing tonight like i think the nba really struggled this year from a viewership standpoint and people getting excited about the league well they they got hit now part of it i

think is again the brands and like where lebron is in his career to rant all those guys have yes staff exactly like they came on down the stretch but okla golden state didn't have a great start and now you've got oklahoma city in indiana yet if you're a pure basketball fan it could be a great series and you got young players and stars and i don't think either of these teams are going anywhere and like siakam pasco siakam is two weeks away from a second ring. I know. Playing a prominent role. It's incredible. You know what these teams too maybe aren't going anywhere but I'll say this if you to get it back to the Raptors like if you look

at this Eastern Conference playoffs it gives you a lot of hope that you're not that far away. Like if these teams can be winning like if the Knicks can be be that close, you know, it doesn't feel like it's that big a leap to go from sort of being a struggling tanking team to suddenly being in playoff contention and maybe knocking some of these teams off. These are not juggernauts. No. I think Tatum being injured though was a massive factor in the East, was it not? Big time, but he's done for next year probably too and they may move off Jalen Brown like they're up against it in Boston and that's why I think you know the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau he gets funny he lasts three or four years

everywhere he goes runs guys into the ground he doesn't he doesn't play his bench much and well I love that haze like oh he just he got fired because he ran everybody into the ground isn't that a message that he needs more depth possibly yeah unless he just won't you although I don't think they had depth that wasn't being used but you know you get to game six of the Eastern Final that's a great year for the Knicks on their history but I think it's also kind of a backhanded shot at the Pacers right it's we lost we beat Boston thinking oh how are we gonna pull this off they beat them and you can't beat Indiana in a

scenario like that yeah that's why I think Tibbs. Well, they blew that game early in the series. Game one was crushing. Yeah, game one. And they should never lost that game. No, they hadn't. And they can't argue, that's at least partially on the coach. Yes.

That's about situational basketball and nursing at home, right? And they didn't do it. And that pretty much was the story of the series. Yeah, it was. And you look back. So, look, the whole thing about overplaying guys, I mean, I don't buy that.

I mean, I think Tibbs probably does go a little farther than most, but Nick Nurse was very similar when he was in Toronto. He played like eight guys in the playoff run, maybe nine, maybe nine. You're trying to win. It's not about balance in minutes. It's about trying to win.

Yeah. And so the whole load management thing, it's a huge discussion around the league. Load management isn't working, right? Like preemptive rest is not working. Guys are still getting hurt. There's got to be a better way. There's a lot of science guys on it right now trying to figure it out. There's been a book written that everybody's reading about how you got to change the way you train. You're not, you know, you can't just run up and down. You got to do these

specific exercises that protect your knees and protect your ankles and protect all these things that keep popping on these guys The Achilles and so on but I mean that's that's another debate But yeah, like it wasn't a great year like you saw it You saw who who led the US at the Olympics last summer. It was Stefan LeBron still Yeah, and still I'm beat in the middle of it all somehow. It was still their team They still a stir of their dominance only last summer Yeah, and so, you know, and Golden State,

Steph was still really good this year until he got hurt, obviously. But if Golden State would've, if they had slightly different rules, like this new second apron rule that limits your spending, I mean, Golden State would've spent to get Steph back into the finals. They couldn't do it, right?

And they kinda had some injuries that kind of, you know, put the money they had spent it into the into the wrong spot so yet it's a it's a problem for the league right now i think in some ways because the next stars have yet to emerge but the only way they can emerges is that is a is a stage like this they gotta play you gotta give a platform and uh... that starts on thursday night okc against the indiana pacers gracy any day it's a nice bonus but it will catch up with the open areas they on Thursday night. OKC against the Indiana Pacers. Great seeing you Dave. Thanks for doing this buddy. We'll catch you up at the open. There he is. Dave Feshtruck from the

Toronto Star. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050N on TSN 2. So we were on snack last night. We were on snack at soccer last night. Did that carry on coming after you? No. I showed up and it was all good. But after the comments, I know I never I never I was waiting for some sort of an awkward Kind of confrontation was waiting for someone to come up to me and say you think you're smart I can't attack by the Karens. I was waiting to get scissor-kicked right in the back of the head from somebody Then I heard you a little stupid show You think you're so funny, huh?

Didn't happen, shockingly. But we have now spun the snacks out of control. I had to talk to my wife after and said, you did people dirty because we went with like these icy kind of things and chips and we had snacks for all the brothers and sisters and my wife's like who else need and I'm like you're just now we're going to get the other reverse text saying snacks were great but please relax you know like let's just keep it under control here so we went reverse and flipped into hero mode and i think now people are probably thinking this

was just equally as outrageous and a heroic and uh... i i was talking with after my quiet we bring what are we doing like that the kids and our brothers and sisters like on a birthday party for a kidney tolbaco my kids were younger they would go to this party and come home with a goodie bag that was better than the gift that I gave the kid at the party that they were going to.

Right. Loot bag, and the loot bag's got $50 worth of stuff in it. Yeah. And cash. Right. Cash, gift cards, and cash. I couldn't believe the thank you presents in the Kingsway are better than the gift that I gave every time.

I know. I'm like, these people are rich and they don't care you know i know i don't know man but that's that we we spun it out of control last night and now the whole snag scene yeah it's it's completely out of control you might be cut out of the group status we might be i might be the end of us just like an old school case of coca-cola

let them guzzle a coke after soccer and get two giant bins of Timbits and say, go at it. Timbits can't miss. You're right about that. They can't miss. But I mean, the Coca-Cola, you know somebody, there's health nuts and all that. Yeah, sugar, there's too much. I don't know about that. That'll get you attacked by the kids too. Remember that orange syrup from McDonald's? Orange drink. It was the best. Dude, it was the best. I remember that that orange syrup from McDonald's.

Orange drink. It was the best. Dude, it was the best. That might kill people now. I don't know. Every training camp, remember they wheel that big green Gatorade bucket out? There's a guy who's swirling it up with his arm in there. The best was I remember going to skates and you could tell it was warm and I'm like, this

has been here for the whole weekend. It would be a weekend of tryouts and by the Sunday night you're like no one's changed this over it's been sitting in here. I gotta be honest that hockey that was a couple weeks ago that Quinn's hockey had wrapped up and there were people filling like I witnessed it other teams and stuff filling the water bottles with just the water from the sink of the Rink and the rink was like a thousand years old. I hadn't seen that in a minute Yeah, like oh my god, like I did I don't even go take a leak in those bathrooms sometimes It's pretty gritty at some of these rinks here in Toronto

Yeah, and there are people like filling the water bottles from that's all I remember that that was old school where you just be like the water bottles that's what happened you'd feel like sometimes they the coach would go on in the trainer start a shower the shower up and just like put the hand up on the shower and I actually was at a place recently same thing they actually had the common sense to say do not drink the water so it was out in the kind of middle of nowhere, which means, you know, it wasn't filtered or anything. But clearly the reason they had to do that

was because people were guzzling the water and coming back with like a third ear. And they're like, can you not drink the water here? And don't sue us because this is not for your pleasure here. Yes, bring your own water bottles or go buy one from the shop. All right. Mike Johnson coming up. Johnny's out in Edmonton. We've got game one of the cup final tomorrow night. We've got confirmed with the night coming up at five 30 overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN two. You've been listening to overdrive powered by FanDuel FanDuel bringing you everything

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