PTI - Giannis Wants Out of Milwaukee!

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

Michael Wilbon and Frank Isola discuss Belichick HOF Report, Giannis/Towns Trade Block, Aussie Open Roundup + more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. It's National Kazoo Day, Frank. Do you kazoo?

Dylan Frank favors Fugelhorn. Everybody knows that. I don't know what any of those things are. Cizoo, to me, was that little big-haired dude on the Flintstones. That's right. That's a Cazoo. I think a Cizoo. When you watch NFL games, I think a Cazoo, because a lot of guys wear those bubble helmets.

Yes, same here. Right? Do we go Flintstone? Why don't want to do this show? Why don't know guys wear that? Vanity? I think it's a badge. I think of kazoo every time I see those homes.

Welcome to PTI. Tony's at the day spot. So here to handle his duties is our great friend from the starting lineup on Sirius XM, Mr. Frank I so large. Heard me play the flue horn. They can bring a kazoo. I do shows every week on.

I'm in D.C. Let's begin with blowback to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Committee's vote not to induct Bill Belichick on the first ballot. The six-time Super Bowl winning head coach reportedly fell short of the 40 votes needed of 50.

Belichick was reportedly puzzled by the decision. Tom Brady called it completely ridiculous and Jimmy Johnson turned it wrong and called on those members who did not vote for Bill to identify themselves. Frank, is all this reaction

merit it? And number one with the voters and we've seen this with the baseball writers for the Hall of Fame. some of the guys will reveal their votes. Other guys don't. And remember, Derek Jeter was not unanimous, and then each year old fell one vote short. And we never found out the identity of them.

I have no problem if you're not going to, they're not going to reveal themselves. I do like the fact that Bill Polling, a lot of people think that he's kind of behind this. And he said, I'm 95% sure I voted for Bill Belichick. I'm 100% sure with the way the climate is right now. I would not reveal my vote if I did not vote for Bill Belichick. But I was thinking about it, though.

Belichick accomplished a lot. I think we both think he should be in. He accomplished so much. Then there becomes resentment. Then he has some scandal so people don't like the fact that spy gate, you know, spy gate to flake gate. Then he leaves and then he goes to Carolina loses. Then there's some personal stuff off the field.

And he almost becomes a punchline. Now he has everyone. On his side. Back with him. LeBron James is coming out. This actually in a long run might be the best thing for Bill Belichick. here he is we're a week away from the Super Bowl and the former Patriots coach, not Pop Kraft,

is dominating the new cycle. In a weird way, he's become a martyr. He hasn't become. When I started hearing some of the reaction, the overreaction is absurd. Yes, I agree. It's absurd. I voted for 10 years in that room.

I would have voted for Bill Belichick on the first ballot. But let me explain this, the process which people, including most NFL players, past and current, Don't understand is that sometimes you're put in a position. And you're saying, wait a minute, if, and I'm not saying this happened in this case, but let's say Roger Craig, who is on that ballot. Great player.

Let's say this is his last chance to get in. And you want to get Roger Craig in, but there's not an infinite number of spots. You can only vote one person or two people in. And you say to yourself, you know what, I can get Belichick in next year. I don't want Roger Craig who should have been in already or else. see Greenwood, who should have been in already, to slip between the cracks. I don't want that. So I'm going to move Belichick to next year to get these two dudes in. Jimmy Johnson out there stumping for them? Tom Brady, stumping for them. No. So people don't understand the process.

The process is extremely flawed. It's always been flawed. I have never been happier to get out of a room because of things like this. And you mentioned, so the There were five guys in that group. It was Bill Belichick coach, Bob Kraft, a contributor, then Ken Anderson, the former Bengals quarterback and Roger Craig, who you see high stepping. I mean, those knees up high. Should have both been in. And that's my point. But when you see those five guys, you know, and Roger Craig was great and Elsie agreement should be in.

But out of those five, the first vote I'm giving to is Bill Belichick. It is, unless those guys have to go away. And their candidacy is over. So in other words, I'm going to say Bill Belichick can't wait a year if Elsie Greenwood goes away forever, a member of the steel curtain defense who was, come on now. So the overreaction, I agree. I would have voted for Bill Belichick. The overreaction, I'm tired of it.

You're pretty courageous. If you didn't vote for him, would you reveal that you didn't vote for it? Yeah, because I really. You and I both reveal our NBA balance. Yes, we do. We do. Well, the league does that. So when we vote...

I did it before. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did it before the league did it. Yeah. You've got to take people hair. I'm more sensitive than that. I don't want people coming after me on social media. You're a big shot.

It doesn't matter. I ain't going to see your social media anyway. You're teflon. It doesn't matter. You're damn about your social media. All right. Let's move to some potential NBA trade. Sean's reporting that the bucks are more open than ever to trading Yonnes and Tatea Kumpo.

And Mark Stein reports, quote, a persistent belief among rival teams is that Carl Anthony Towns, who was benched by the Knicks. In crunch time last night, the Knicks did win the game, could be moved, could be moved even in a deal that doesn't involve Janus. So, Mike, which situation is more intriguing to you? They're both absurd. See, look, I've been saying all along, I started saying Labor Day that Janus would be moved by the trade deadline. But then Janus, you know, Dr. Janus tells us he's out four to six weeks.

And I love that. So what are you going to do? If you're a team and you can't get back the real Janus onto the Koupo, the MVP and recent former champ, you're going to make that deal? Yeah. Unlikely. And don't tell me Carl Anthony Towns doesn't have great value. He's not an MVP, but last year you and I watched from the front row.

Carl Anthony Towns averaged about 22 and 12. Yep, for the playoffs, 25 and 12 against Indiana in that series. The Knicks cannot. This should be the New York Knickerbockers season. This is their year. Indiana lessened. Boston lessened because of injuries to their stars. Detroit's going to take their lunch money.

But this is supposed to be the next year. It ain't going to be the next year without Carl Anthony Towns. So what are they going to do with them? They're training for a who? Who are they going to get back to replace that production? Yeah, well, last year, the coach got blamed. And now Carl's getting blamed for everything. And I think what happened was Carl got wind over this summer that they were talking about moving them.

And I think Carl thought, hang on a second. I like Minnesota. Probably going to get my jersey retired there. You trade me to New York. I'm back home. I get to see my father. Now you're going to trade me to Milwaukee. I'm going to become one of those guys that's going to get moved around.

So Carl could have gotten, they could have extended him, they didn't do that. So he's become kind of the guy that gets all the blame. Now, as for you honest, I spoke with someone with intimate knowledge of those talks with the bucks. They said 50-50 he gets traded, but they haven't gotten a wow offer. Now, well, wow, think about this. McHell Bridges, the Nets got five first-round picks for him. Yeah. So I understand that, I understand that I get it, but it's still Yonis.

So I got to get, I want to get, I want to get, exactly, I want to get young stars and and draft picks. Why do I want the guys off the Knicks? I'm just, I'm going to be kind of stuck in that cycle. I want one or two young players and I want draft picks and I'm going to wait until the offseason when I know where teams are drafting. I have a better sense of where I could pick in the draft. I think he's going to get traded. I think it's going to happen in the off season. Off season. Yes. I can see it. I just can't. Now you can't see it with this out four to six weeks. Let me mention this though too, Frank. The Milwaukee Bucks have done a lot of things to surround Yon and with the necessary players, things he wanted.

Yep. Including changing the coach. Including his brother on the team. Okay, so they've done all this stuff for Janus, who let's review what Janus's record is in the last 10 playoff games in which he has participated. Yep. One in nine.

Otherwise, Janice is hurt and he's not even on the floor in the playoffs. And that's, you know, now you're hearing about the calf injury. It's not as much of a sure thing. When he plays, he's a dominant player. But to your point, one and nine is. last 10 playoff games and he's played it. All right. You go, Mike. You talk. And now to the quarterfinal results at the Australian Open,

Lorenzo Mussetti went up two sets to love on Novak Djokovic before having to retire with a leg injury. Joker will now face John McSenter, who rolled past Ben Shelton, again, I might add, in straight sets on the women's side. Elena, I'm going to get the name wrong again. Rib. Ribbacchina. Upset, upset second seed.

I didn't get that one wrong. And Jessica Pagula, looking for her first slam title, topped Amanda Anasimova, Frank, which result stands out to you the most. All right, so Jess Pagula, maybe this year will be her breakthrough. Last year, Madison Keyes got it at the Australian Open 1. Justa Pagula has only been to one major final. Maybe she can get their win, but you still have to face Sabaenka.

As for the men, if Novak Djokovic is going to win, that has to happen. He doesn't play a five-set match. catches a break. His opponent had to retire. Now he gets Yonick's center. He's probably going to have to play the match of his life. And if he gets to the loss four straight to center. And if he plays Alcarez, he's going to have to win the match of his life because he's trying to get to that 25th major. Now, as for Shelton, I'm wondering if he could be just like Andy Roddick, who was a great player. But unfortunately for him, he came along at a time when Roger Federer played and Raphael-O-Dadell.

So Rodick got one major. The U.S. Open, I think it was in 03 or 04. you know, he would have won more if those two guys weren't around. I wonder if that's going to be the same thing with Ben Shelton because you have those two great players. We keep waiting for Shelton to break through because it seems like he has all the parts, including the charisma tennis needs. And he kills it on his side. And so, but he can't beat Sinner.

He can't beat Alcrest. His record against those two dudes is one in 12. Yeah. So, and if you throw in the third seed, I'm sorry, the third ranked player, in the world. It's one in 17. And so Shelton just seems to, I hate to think this is Cecil at 23 years old. But to me,

that result, I'm looking at Shelton, every big tournament. And I'm saying, okay, this is the time for Shelton to break through. He's had these chances against the center. And when he had him once, it seems like he was in a great position, he had to retire because of the injury. Reporter asked the question to

Novak Djokovic. He said, you started your career chasing Federer and Nadal. Now you're chasing center and outdoors. He said, hold on a second. You failed to mention I won 24 majors in between that chasing you're talking about. Let's take a break, but coming up. How important is it that the man who got the Brown's job holds on to the man who did not? We'll ask Booger McFarland. We'll also ask him about the impact of Duke's quarterback transferring to win conference rival Miami to you.

We've got football questions for our great friend, ESPN NFL and college. Football analyst, Booger McFarland, there's no place to start except with Bill Belichick and the reaction in the aftermath of him not getting into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. You tweeted yesterday it was a disgrace that Bill did not get in on the first ballot. Explain or elaborate for us why it struck you in such a way? Well, because you have the greatest coach, arguably, in professional sport,

not just football, but in professional sports, when you talk about eight championships, six as a head coach, two as a coordinator. He has left his imprint on the game. He's one of the smartest coaches, I think, if you talk to anybody. And for a guy who is the second winning his coach when you talk about regular season and playoffs in the National Football League only behind Don Shula, and he's number one in every other category that you want to measure. For that coach named Bill Belichick not to be a first ballot Hall of Famer, to me is a disgrace.

I think when you look at the NFL, I understand the Hall of Fame is a small group, a very, very small group. It's a special group. And I think for someone like Bill Belichick, who's a historian of the game, he talks about the game from a perspective that not many people can going back 40 or 50 years.

So it means something to him. This is important to him. This is not like, okay, I'm a great player, I'm a great coach, and I know I'm going to get in. This man understands the fabric of what the game of football, and for at least 11 people,

because there were 50 people who voted, he needed at least 40, so he didn't get 40, so he got 39 or less. So for at least 11 people to say, you know what, we don't think Bill Belichick is a Hall of Famer. To me, it screams of powerless people trying to get power and become powerful, and it's a shame on them. And I think it just goes to show you that when you have a subjective measure like the Hall

of Fame, that should be a slam dunk. It should be a no-brainer for a guy like Bill Belichick, that there are people that always are going to have access to grind. and Roger Goodell and the people that run this process, shame on you because this should have never happened. And the fact that this happened, it needs to be fixed and rectified somehow. Yeah, it's a little hard to believe. One of those teams that Bill Belichick coach was Cleveland, they just named a new head coach, Todd Munkin, who, of course, was the Ravens offensive coordinator. Jim Swartz didn't get the job. The NFL network's reporting that he's upset about it.

How important is it for Todd Munkin to keep Jim Schwartz on this staff? It can be an important as hell, but it sounded like that. Jim Swartz ain't coming. Jim Swartz basically told everybody, if I ain't getting this job, I'm out. He threw the deuce. So I get he's under contract. But by all reports, Jim Swartz

interviewed for the head coaching job, and now you want him to stay and be the defensive coordinator. It just goes to show you where the Browns are as a franchise. Like, you knew Jim Swartz wanted the job, and the fact that he didn't get it,

now you want him to stay. And this is nothing against Todd Munkin because I think there's only 32 national football league teams, and there's only 32 of these jobs. and Todd Monkin took the job. And I honestly think he thinks that Jim Swartz is going to be his coordinator, but I don't think Jim Swartz is going to do that.

I think Jim is going to have other opportunities. San Francisco 49ers come to mind. But Jim Swartz is a great defensive coordinator. But to me, this speaks more to the Browns. Nobody wants this job. Think about how many people pulled out. Think about how many people said, nah, I'm withdrawing my name. I know there's only 32 of these in the world.

I don't want to be considered for one of them. Think about that. That's what the Browns are as a franchise. So I'm happy for Todd Monkin. I think Todd Monkin is a good coach. I knew him when he was at the University of Georgia. But with all that being said, man, it just goes to show you where the Cleveland Browns are as a franchise.

And I do not think Jim Swartz is going to be the defensive coordinator in 2026 for the Cleveland Browns. All right. Let's move to the Super Bowl, specifically the Patriots defense. defensive tackle Milton Williams eight pressures against the Broncos. What makes him so effective? Well, he's a tremendous athlete. You know, anytime you look at big guys, Frank,

the first thing you should focus on after you figure out how big they are, look at their ankles. Because you've got to have thin ankles to be a dancing bear. And Milton Williams is that. He is a guy that can create pressure and create havoc in the middle. And I don't care where quarterback you talk to it.

The one place they don't want to be rushed or don't want to be pressured is up the middle. and he does a phenomenal job. Did you know he's the highest paid patriot ever? Not Tom Brady, not drunk, not Venetary. Milton Williams is the highest paid New England Patriots ever player. And I think he's starting to earn that in the postseason. He's a phenomenal player.

And I think Mike Vrable understood when he went out and got him in free agency what he was doing. You put him and Christian Barmore together. They have a one-two punch inside. And if that one-two punch can create enough pressure on Sam Donald, and can make Sam Donald throw a couple of interceptions in the Super Bowl. Just maybe. Just maybe we might have a game when we get to Santa Clara. We're actually going to let you go after we ask a college question,

Booger. Duke quarterback Darien Mensa, he's going to Miami. He's going to end up transferring there. One, how do you like that fit? And what do you think philosophically about a guy being able to move within conference like that and go from one rival, if I want to use that word, to another? Well, think about this, Mike, and I'm going to take this to the relationship game. If you're dating somebody who left somebody to come with you,

don't be surprised when they leave you to go to somebody else. Let's not forget now. He was at Tulane before he got to Duke. Duke got him from Tulane. Now he leaves Duke and goes to Miami. So it is what it is, man. I think Mint is one of the better quarterbacks in the country. and Miami has kind of proven themselves

they're going to be a quarterback portal you. They're going to try to get the best quarterback in the portal they can. It was Cam Ward, then it was Carson Beck, now it's Darian Mensa. It's working for them.

It's the lay of the land that we live in right now. But don't be surprised if you're another school and guess what? Somebody comes and gets a player or two from Miami because that's the nature of the beast that we're living in.

But I'm not surprised at all. But Darren Minza is a really good quarterback. Duke paid a lot of money, but guess what? Miami's got just a little bit more money maybe than Duke. And so now they got the quarterback and he's in conference and they're going to have to see him maybe in the ACC title game. Good for Darien Mincer. I think he's making a lot of money. But something is wrong with college football to your point when this type of thing continues to happen one school from another. Yeah, seems like just the standard operating procedure we're going to have to get used to. Bougar, thanks, man. We appreciate you.

Let's take one last break. Still to come, another golfer leaves live to return to the PGA tour. And a report that Jets coach Aaron Glenn reached out to an unexpected name in his search for help on office. Yeah, Miami's got probably a little, I don't know. Who's got more money? Miami or Duke? Time to get happy people. Happy 28th birthday, Peyton Pritchard.

The Celtics Garden won last season, sixth man of the year. this season with Jason Tatea injured, Pritchard has started every game in which he played and is averaging 17 a game up a couple of ticks from last year. The Celtics are a surprising second in the east and Pritcher says he's found the lowered expectations motivated. He and Derek White are tough. How about Payton Pritchard only $7.2 million he makes? That's a bargain. Pretty good. They've hit all the right button so far. Happy anniversary, Dallas Cowboys. On this day, 30 years ago, the Cowboys became the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls in the span of four seasons. In this one, Troy Aitman, Emmett Smith, Michael Irvin, and company downed the Neil O'Donnell Steelers 2717.

I spent a lot of time taking shots at people's obsession over the Cowboys, but these teams were worthy of it, full of talent and chaos and greatness. The franchise hasn't even made it back to a conference championship game since. In the video, we saw the MVP that game. It wasn't Emmett. It wasn't Troy. Larry Brown. Defensive.

I got that interception. No. Good play. Happy trails to Nebraska's unbeaten season. The fifth-ranked Cornhuskers started 20 and O, but lost by three last night in Ann Arbor to third-ranked Michigan. Nebraska was great for the most part, but failed to score over the final three and a half. Their success so far has been stunning, Frank, because Nebraska is the only power conference program. Never to have won the NCAA tournament.

That's a great stat. They next, host number nine, Illinois Sunday. And the coach of Nebraska, Fred Hoyberg, the former Bulls coach. Fred is doing a great job. He really is. All right, let's run to the big finish. The athletic reports that Aaron Glenn reached out to John Gruden about joining the jets, but Gruden declined.

I'm a little surprised by that. Now they're saying Frank Reich being considered the offensive coordinator. Patrick Reed is leaving Lib to return to the PGA tour later this year. Is that significant? No. Brooks kept up playing Tori Pines tomorrow. That's significant. The U.S. women blew out Chile in a friendly last night, 5-0.

You'll take away? How about Trini Robin? She scored, then she danced with the head coach Emma Hayes. That was pretty cool. Patrick Kane of the Red Wings tied Mike Vedano last night for the most points by an American-born player. That's great. She'll be in a different sweater, but that is significant. Patrick Kane's accomplishment.

Last one, Lakers Cavs, Spurs Rockets, tonight, were intriguing. You said it before. It could be LeBron's the last game in Cleveland. maybe. Evan Moby out a few weeks with a calf injury. Stephen Adams out for the season. Anchor surgeons. Do you believe it? I'm good. We're out of time. Thanks for watching. I'm Frank Isola. I'm Mike LeBond. Same time tomorrow, local heads.