PTI - Hornets Upset Celtics, Murray’s MLB Tease, and DJ Moore Lands in Buffalo

Episode Date: March 5, 2026

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss the Hornets’ stunning upset over the Celtics, Kyler Murray teasing a possible return to Major League Baseball, and DJ Moore shaking up the AFC East as he lands in Buffalo. 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. Tony and I've been doing this show, nearly 25 years, and every day we give it our best. I'm Tony Kornheiser, except today.

We're on ESPN, too. Oh, we're on the deuce? What? I mean, we're bumped by what? By who? What's more important than us? Well, apparently, the company thinks whatever is on is more important than us. I don't know what's on.

And I don't think it's bed sheet golf today. I don't think so. Welcome to PTI, boys and girls. In today's episode, the Bills Trade for the Bears, DJ Moore. Kyler Murray gets a baseball invite from the A's, and the Panthers pondered trading their star goalie. But we begin today with a surprising, maybe even shocking result from the NBA last night. Charlotte beat Boston in Boston, and did not just beat them, no.

Charlotte beat Boston in Boston by 29 points, 29. This was the Hornet's six straight win by 15 or more, and their 16th win in their last 19 games. And then today came the report that Jason Tatum could make his debut tomorrow night, his seasonal debut versus Dallas. Wilvon, you had the Celtics, quote, winning big at home last night. Your words. Yeah. But in light of the Tatum news, you tell me where you want to start. Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte.

We got plenty of time to talk about Tatum. And we will, because they are worthy. And Boston is a threat to win the whole thing. no, no, no, Tony, Charlotte, which has been entirely irrelevant. And you can see some of it coming this year. And there are people like our dear friend Charles Barkley who just declared, you know, a couple of weeks ago,

Charlotte's going to make the playoffs. I called Charles in live time. He was on commercial break. And I said, if you lost your mind, Charlotte. Charles goes, hey, boy, Charlotte's going to be good. And last night, I'm talking to our friend Neville Waters who says, you're watching. Charlotte Boston? I said no. He said, turn it on

the Celtics to down 25 at home. Unbelievable. Knieipple isn't just my rookie of the year anymore. He's almost everybody's rookie of the year. Is he Neville's rookie of the year now? Which would be great. You know, Brandon Miller, Tony. They're not actually vote. Tony, no, he doesn't vote. I do. They're a threat. Look, I know the vagaries of daily basketball in the NBA where you got 82 games.

You always say no one game is that significant. And I overwhelmingly agree with you over the decades. But, Tone, this was a stunner. So this is where I say on the show, slow down a second, Sparky. Slow down. We are both inclined to like Charlotte because, to be fair, Charlotte has been a lifeless franchise for the last 10 years. It's been an outpost.

It has made Sacramento look important. But the question then becomes, seriously do we take Charlotte right now today? And I would say not very seriously, and here's why. Today, they are 32 and 31. And to get to 32 and 31, they had to go 16 and 3. Yeah. They are in ninth place in the east today. So, you know, I don't, I don't want to get carried away. On the other hand, I think it's really good for the NBA that Charlotte has some life. The only thing we know about Charlotte, really, is that Michael Jordan sold them at some point, and then we lost track of Charlotte completely. Lamello ball is healthy. He's averaging 17 points and nine assists

a game. And last week, risking sacrilege, I said that Con Cinnipple could morph into Jerry West. I have a statistic that is a mind-blowing statistic when Brandon Miller and Lamello Ball are on the floor with Con Cinepple. Yeah. Con Cinepple shoots 50. 58% from 3. 58% and the last team in the NBA to win six in a row

by 15 or more was the Golden State Warriors in 2018 when they won something called the NBA Championship. So I'm not going to get carried away but all signs are good. The 16 and 3, Tom, the 16 and 3 is not a tiny sample size. It's fun. It's fun and Jason

Tatein will get to because it looks It looks like he's going to play as recently. We have talked about that. He's going to have enormous impact, but it's down the road. Yes, down the road. Let's move to football and baseball. The Oakland A's have invited soon to be former Cardinals quarterback, Kyler Murray, to explore a return to baseball.

Murray is 28 years old, and it's been more than seven years since the A's picked him number nine overall. First round in the 2018 baseball draft. That was the year Murray hit 296, but 10 home runs, 47 ribbies, and 51 games for Oklahoma. Tone, if you're Kyler Murray, would you seriously consider a return to baseball? Okay, if I'm Kyler Murray, I would. And I would say it's because I was a first-round draft choice.

But if he goes down that road, there are serious questions that have to be answered. Kyler Murray has now made $170 million in football. Yeah. So he doesn't need money. but if he wants money, he can go out right now, get a three or four year deal for another $100 million. If he is going to go to baseball, you have to be serious about it. I think you have to commit to it for at least two years. He's going to be 29.

If he commits for two years, then he's 31 if he wants to come back to football. And then maybe that economic window has closed for him. He's got to be absolutely serious about this. And the question that has to be answered if you're Kyler Murray is, can he hit major league pitching? That's it. Mike, he's got months before football starts again. If I were Kyler Murray and I was serious, I would go to the A's training camp. I would go to a backfield.

I would say, give me all your major league pitchers and let me see if I can hit. Because if I can hit, I can play. Yeah, go pay somebody to come and do that, a guy who, you know, is a hopeful at some camp somewhere Tony, first of all, it provides leverage for football. If you want to go get that contract and quarterback, and a team is real serious about bringing you into the quarterback, you just drove that up. No more NFL veteran minimum.

We're not talking that anymore. That's right. But here's the thing. He was considered a five-tool player at his height, okay, when he's in college. So if we know three of those tools, he's got to still have, tone, we know he can run, we know he can throw. That's right. And chances are pretty damn good.

He can still field. So the question, like you said, is for average and or power, can he hit major league pitching? And he's got to find that out. The team has got to find that out. If they're interested in him, Oakland's got to find that out. I would love for him to be Bo Jackson. I think that's really special. There's another part to this, Mike.

Then he put you in that mindset size and everything. Yes. But if he leaves football now, some people will judge him as a failure. He may not want to count. He carried out as a last impression. He may want to stay and try and get better. I don't know. But if it was me, I'd certainly try it.

Interesting. We moved to the NHL. The trade deadline is tomorrow at 3 p.m. The other day, we talked about the disappointing goaltending in last year's Stanley Cup finalists, Edmonton and Florida. We talked about Tristan Jarry and Sergey Burbrowski being like sieves in the nets lately. But let's narrow this down. Brobrovsky has won two straight Stanley Cups.

Right now, though, he's saying. 55th out of 59 NHL goalies in save percentage. This is the worst year of his 16-year career. So, Wilbon, if you were a contender, would you trade for 37-year-old legend, Sergei Bavrovsky? Tony, as

with anything, the answer to that lies largely with how much is it going to cost me. So depending on what sort of draft compensation, it's going to cost me, I think I would particularly, I'm going to bring up one team, which is used to having some

really fine goaltending come spring, and that would be Vegas. That would be Las Vegas tonight. So they got two goaltenders, both of whom are out of the top 30, all right? They're a division leading team. So they got aspirations now. And Bobrovsky is having a terrible regular season.

Looks like the worst of his career. But he can turn it on, it seems, because he was not great the last couple of regular seasons, but he gets to, you know, the time cherry blossoms around Washington, he can turn it on and be great again for a short period of time. So great playoff going. Yes, if I'm a team like Vegas, yeah, I do it. Okay.

So my feeling is, would I trade for him? I would trade for him in a red hot minute. What do I have to lose? He's going to be a free agent. If it doesn't work out, I've just rented him for a few weeks. That too. That's all. So then I'm going to.

to do that. There's a statistic here. It is about goals above expected. It's probably like war in hockey. Yeah, got to be. And these are saves you make against things that look like certain goals. In the last three years in the playoffs, in the 65 games where he was the goaltender, his average in this thing, goals above expected, is higher than in the last 161 regular. season games he's played. He's a great playoff goalie. You know, and he can't see you because he has two Stanley Cup rings in his eyes. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So I would trade for him and I would, I would reason it this way. I think he's simply exhausted from the last few years. I'd see him, Mike, for the first seven to ten regular season games. I'd put him back in in the last 10 regular season

games. And then I would start selling tickets to the Stanley Cup. Yeah. Because I I think he's a great playoff goalie. And you say Vegas, I would say Edmonton. Let's take a break. Still to come, the bills are trading from Bears receiver DJ Moore, and what is the word for that? And how best to describe Mike Brown's criticism of the way SGA is officiated? Really?

You know, he's got a 16-team, no trade course. Half the league he refuses to go to. Half the league. He can wave it. I mean, Bradley Beale waive it. did so Bobrovsky can wave it. How'd it work out for Bradley Beals so far? How's that going?

Trying to show off our extraordinary vocabulary, and I'm in my doctor suit, Ken Sammet. I'm in it. What's first? The bill's acquisition of wide receiver DJ Moore is blank. My word is enhancing. We keep hearing about how the Buffalo Bills don't get to the Super Bowl. And everybody's fear that Josh Allen is never going to. to get to the Super Bowl that the window has closed. This opens up the window.

This enhances Josh Allen's chances to get to the Super Bowl. And here's why. Buffalo last year had no real wide receiver threat. Two of their top three receivers were tight ends. DJ Moore is a professional wide receiver. Mike, as you know, he's had four years of over 1,000 yards. And he plays every day. I mean, he doesn't get hurt.

And the cold weather in Buffalo is not going to bother him because he just spent the last three years in cold weather in Chicago. To me, this is a really big move for Buffalo. And I hope at the end of whatever you're going to say, address this, because this is the second person who has left the offense, wide receiver and center. And I'm worried this has a negative effect on Caleb Williams. Tony, I get to that.

My word is necessary for all the reasons that you stated. Josh Allen needs some help. He needs it now. Not three years from now. No, you want to go get a veteran, not a draft pick. A veteran wide receiver, dependable. DJ more of the thing I worry about him leaving the Bears with. He's the toughest guy out there, all right?

He's the toughest guy at a room. Now, it's a deep wide receiver room with Roma Dunzee and Luther Burton, Jr. And we got this kid that nobody talks about, Jada Walker, which I said to you yesterday, he's going to have to slide up. and two tight-ins who can catch it, Loveland, you know, and commit. So I'm not worried about that part of it. We still need a center. But the draft pick the Bears get,

the second round draft pick can be used to trade or draft. But going back to Buffalo, this is necessary because Josh Allen needs this threat. And he's got to be thrilled today to get DJ Moore. But what do you feel you lost a good wide receiver and a great center and you have a young quarterback. What does that mean? Our receiver room is fine.

The center is problematic. It's problematic, although my friend Tommy Waddle, former bear says, don't lose sleep just yet. They're going to be able to replace them. I'm worried about losing him. What's next? What's next?

Mike Brown's criticism of the way SGA is officiated is blank. My word is nonsense, and I like Mike Brown. Okay, Mike Brown is complaining. that Gilgis Alexander gets all the calls. Nothing goes against him. Last night, he was upset because he thought that Gilgis Alexander had charged

and he didn't get that call. I watched enough of that game, Mike, that I know a little bit about what I'm talking about. There were no calls last night. There were no calls. When people bring the ball up in the NBA, the guy dribbling the ball, uses his offhand to push whoever is guarding him

and uses the ball hand to elbow whoever is guarding him and vice versa. Okay, the Knicks, for example, the Knicks have a player who you know well from Chicago. Would you like to say his name, Jalen Brunson? Jalen Brunson, yes, sir. He's a tank out there. He is. If you guard Jalen Brunson all game, you go home with welts. The only time a foul was called last night was after a ball was shot, and 99.99% of the time, it was a defensive foul call.

Does Mike Brown, that's the NBA, does Mike Brown not see this every single night? Because his players do it too. So this is nonsense. Tony, it's chickens coming home to roost. Because Jalen Brunson, who I love, yes, Chicago's own, no one is more physical, all right? Jalen Brunson has, he is so smart and so savvy. And he figured out as a second round draft pick how to formulate a game and use the skills he plus new ones and toughness, which fit the Knicks more than they did in Dallas when he was there.

Tony, it's his chickens coming home to Roos. Mike Brown, you don't want to call attention to SGA doing this because that means officials would start watching your best place. That's what Jalen Brunson is. You don't want to call attention. Your left-handed guard, who looks like he has three arms as he hits everybody on the court on his way to the basket. Yes. I mean, I feel exactly like you do. What is Mike Brown talking about?

It's like Mike, if I was a Knicks player, particularly Jalen Brunston, I would go to Mike today and say, Mike, come on. That does not get into my secret sauce. Come on now. Absolutely. Absolutely true. I'd love to talk, but nothing came up on the prompter, so somebody will get us out of the segment.

You will. Enough of Will Bond's drab vocab. Let's take one last break. Still to come a truly mind-boggling start to spring training. for an orio's prospect. And the Nuggets host to Lakers tonight, but is that tonight's most intriguing NBA game? No.

It's hand fighting. Mike, the guy bringing up the ball. It's hand fighting. SGA is not the most physical guy. He gets fouled limbs going to the basket. Happy time, people. Happy 33rd birthday, Kyle Schwabber. Your boy, Wilbaugh.

Schwartz, since he signed with the Phillies in 2022, Schwerber has been one of the great power hitters in baseball. He has 187 home runs in four years in Philadelphia, including a National League leading 56 this past season. In those four years, Schwerber has 434 RBI, including a major league leading 132 this past season. Phillies have made the playoffs in all of those four years, and Schwaber has 14 home runs in 38 playoff games for the Phillies.

For a while, Schwaber and Shoahe Atani, looked like the greatest lead-off power hitters ever. But this past season, Schwerber usually batted second after Trey Turner and before Bryce Harper. Tony, he can wear whatever uniform he wants for the rest of time. He's a cub. He's on the magical 2016 team that won the World Series. Kalswora came back from a horrific knee injury to do so. My former neighbor in Chicago, he's a cub.

Yeah, I wanted him to be a gnat, and he was for a while. He had a great June, and then he got hurt. Yeah. And then he left, and it hurt the Nats a lot. Happy anniversary, North Carolina. On this day, four years ago, the tar heels, coached by Uvert Davis, spoiled the retiring Mike Shishchevsky's final game at Cameron Indoor by beating Duke 94-81 in another episode of the greatest rivalry in college basketball.

Making matters worse for Duke, the heels beat the Blue Devils in the final four a few weeks later in Shishvsky's final game ever coaching Duke. Then they lost to Kansas. the championship game. Shishovsky finished up 50-50 against North Carolina, but he has five national championships, three Olympic gold medals, and 1,202 wins at Duke and Army, the most wins ever for men's college coach. Wilburne you go into Carolina Duke on Saturday, aren't you? Tony, I'm going to that game. I'm excited already. The last time I was just like 10 years ago, remember the game Jim Beheim King twirling out of his jacket? I think he got thrown out of that,

at least he got teed up. So I cannot wait for this game. The question is, is Carolina going to have enough firepower to get within 15 of the nuclear dukes? You'd never, ever give 15 in this rivalry. No, you never do that. Happy trails to another ball off the bat of Vance Honeycutt. The Orioles prospect at his fourth home run

in four spring training at bats yesterday. That's right. He has homered in every one of his at bats so far. earning him the nickname Home Run Honeycut. The 22-year-old was Baltimore's first round pick two years ago, but he has struggled in the minors, hitting just 171 in high A last season, just five home runs in 101 games.

In fact, Honeycutter is not even in big league camp. He's come over from the minor league side on occasion to serve as an extra player for the Big Boar team, like being a two-way contract in the G-League. He credits his sudden success to tweaking his swing in the off-season. Well, he should have tweaked earlier, it seems. When you heard the name Honeycut, we're of a certain age. I know what you had to think.

Is this kid related to Rick Honeycut? Apparently not. Rick Honeycutt. From all the research. He's not? We don't think he is. Can't find any stated relationship. Four home runs and four at bats.

Yeah, but he's still wearing number like 89. It shows you so far out of their thoughts and consciousness. 89. Man. Not Dennis Rodman. Let's go to the big finish if we could. Longtime pirate Andrew McCutcheon, reportedly signing a minor league deal with the Rangers. Is that significant?

I don't know about significant. He's a former MVP, yes, but that's like 13 years ago, and he's 39. Good luck, though. The U.S. women's soccer team beat Canada, won nothing in the She Belief's Cup. Is that a big deal? You know, I think we're, aren't we the best in soccer? But we have now beaten Canada in two hockey games than a soccer game. Mist beat Phantom for the unrivaled title.

Are you surprised by that? I'm not going to. I don't do a sort of off-season. of sports in any sport. And I'm waiting for the real season that comes along, but I have no idea. Sabres, at Penguins, tonight, who you got? All right, so Buffalo's in upstate New York.

I went to college in upstate New York. They haven't been in the playoffs in 14 years. It's the longest drought ever in the NHL. It's good that they're good now. I'm going to sentimentally root for them. Last one, Lakers Nuggets, Piston Spurs tonight, which is more intriguing. It's not close.

Of course, it's Pistons Spurs that is a potential NBA championship series matchup. You know what's significant? Your boy, Trey Young, back in a uniform tonight for the Wizards. Wizards debut. What's the over-runger on how many games until he says, I'm done here. We're out of time.

Trying to get better the next time. I'm Tony Cornynard. I'm Mike Wilvon. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. And now here's the point.