Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Nick Baumgardner talks Bears' outlook for NFL Draft (Hour 4)

Episode Date: February 16, 2026

In the final hour, Marshall Harris and Russ Dorsey were joined by Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic to discuss the Bears' outlook as it pertains to the NFL Draft. After that, Harris and Dorsey explained how NBA commissioner Adam Silver has tinkered with the league in many ways, often to no avail.

I don't think the process changes. You're going to identify the guys that fit what we want in our football team, which coach hit, and you just keep trying to acquire those players. We know what they look like. We know how they act. They know how to talk. And we'll continue to do that. I think that's part of the thing is, one, can you self-evaluate and be critical of yourself

and your team to make sure that you know what you have in the building? And then can you just keep pounded away and stick into your process? You make tweaks, of course, but stick to the process of bringing in the right types of people. You tell them, Mr. Poles. Let them know what a good draft class looks like, because you can finally do that. It took a little while. But we got there. It's a ramp up.

It's a ramp up. You need some experience. That is Ryan Poles talking about the draft process and building a team and what it takes and going out and getting the guys he likes. And for more on that, we welcome in Nick. Baumgardner. He's the senior writer and NFL draft analyst for The Athletic. He joins us on the Circa Sports Illinois Hotline. Download the Circa Sports app today. Nick, joining us on Rahimi Harris and Grody, Russell Dorsey Inn alongside Marshall Harris. And Nick,

it's about that time, I guess, right? What number mock draft are you on right now? Two or three? Two or three. I did the first three rounder, so we're under third. round area. So we're that deep into it now. What's so great about this is that you're saying two or three and I'm still thinking about one because the bears were actually in the playoffs and that extended our discussion of the actual, you know, football season. I know. Back in the day, you guys have been looking at this stuff in like November, right? Like after Thanksgiving, it'd have been like, okay, what's draft looking like, right?

But it's like, I'm in Detroit, so I know that feeling where it's like it's a lot better to have something else to think about maybe in January than what your team's going to draft. But hey, look, it's draft season for everybody now, so that's good, good for us. Yeah, you're thinking about depth and stuff like that now as opposed to. All right, where all my starters are going to come from? So here's my thing, Nick, as you're going through and you're going through your draft prospects and trying to grade guys and see where different fits are, for people who are now switching their brain over to, okay, combine's coming, draft is coming.

what's a theme that is big in this year's draft compared to, let's say, last year's draft. Yeah, I think this year's draft is really unique in that the linebacker class. It is like for the first time in a while, it feels like there's more teams in the NFL that are more willing to lean into these hybrids and these special unique athletes. And there's a lot of them this year. This feels like the deepest linebacker group we've seen in quite some time. The two guys at the top, Arvel Reese and Sonny Stiles, both from a whole. Ohio State, both 6-4-240 and both kind of similar, you know, guys. They can get all over the place.

They can run. They can wear different hats up front. They can rush off the edge. The best case there might be like a Micah Parsons, right? And there's a lot of guys in this class like that as you go down the list. So you can go all the way down into like Pittsburgh as a kid, Kyle Lewis, Kyle Louis, Lewis, I can never remember him to say his name. He's like six foot, 225, right?

But he was one of the fastest players at the senior bowl, runs like a safety. But he's like 225, 230, kind of like what we see with Nicky Menwari there in Seattle, right? Obviously, he's a special case with his explosive and as fast as he is. But this class has a lot of guys who can kind of do different things, wear different hats, and maybe make defenses more explosive at a couple different levels. And we're looking at this, and you mentioned linebacker, big discussion going on right now in Chicago, as I'm sure you know, is whether or not the Bears should move on from Tremaine Edmonds

and relieve themselves of some cap pressure right now. Is this linebacker class deep enough that they could get a quality guy to replace him in the second or third round? Yeah, I think it is. A guy like Jacob Rodriguez, the kid from Texas Tech, who was all over the place in the playoffs and all season for Texas Tech, is outstanding. And I don't think he's going to make it into the first round conversation. Same conversation for Jake Golda, the kid from Cincinnati, who didn't play in this shrine bowl. I think he was getting over a small injury here or there. But like those two guys right there, in other years, Anthony Hill from Texas is another one.

And other years might be like first round guys. But in this year, they're going to be bumped down. So this is, it reminds me a little bit of like a couple of years ago or maybe it was last year. The running back class was so deep that it was like, just wait, take your time, see what happens. I think it was last year because the Bears end up doing it. They waited in the Kalmanungi. Yeah. So this is a lot like that.

Yes, right. This is a lot like that. Maybe not as deep in some cases in terms of the explosion. that you can get at the bottom of the draft. But into the fourth and fifth, I think you can still get really good linebackers. I'm always so interested, Nick, in seeing what teams try to trade up

and get a quarterback if they're in need of one. And by all accounts, this is not necessarily the quarterback draft outside of Fernando Mendoza at the top. So here's my question for you. Let's say I'm a team and I need a quarterback and I want to get one in the draft, but those big time prospects that are usually in the top 10 are not there.

What do I do? Yeah, I mean, like this is, and I got to say also for folks, this is about to be the norm, I got to think, right? Like these guys, a lot of these guys are staying in college. They're getting paid. Trinidad Chamblis, the kid from Ole Miss is still trying to sue his way back. I think he's going to get back. And he's going to make more money in college than he would have as a second round pick this year.

So a lot of that has changed sort of, what has happened in terms of, oh, can we wait until next year? Can you keep doing this? Because I think a lot of these classes are going to be similar to this. Some of yours might be different. But in this case, this year, you've got a guy at the top, like you said, like Mendoza is a legitimate top 10 quarterback, you know, top 10 pick, you know, a guy that you can take up there and feel safe.

And kind of like Cam Ward last year, you can take him. He can be on a bad team. He's not going to be ruined by it, all that stuff. After that, it gets dicey, though. Like, Ty Simpson is the hardest one really at the slot because he has first round talent, Absolutely. But he's only started one year and only about three quarters of it was good. You know, the last quarter of it was pretty bad. Yeah. So when we look at him, it's like, you know, do you, where do you want to gamble on him?

Do you want to wait and see if you get, like the Jackson Dart thing? Do you want to wait and see if you can sneak one in in the 20s or, you know, and kind of play chicken with people? Or do you get nervous and jump up and overdraft him? And then, you know, and in that case, it might be a while until we see the next quarterback come off the board. Those are the two at the top of this draft that probably will be. will be in the first round. Everybody after that, I think, is probably further down. We are talking NFL draft with Nick Baumgardner. He is the senior writer at NFL draft analyst for The Athletic here on Rahimi Harrison Grotty on 104-3, the score. Nick, I'm looking

at this spot the bears are in right now. They're at 25. They don't know what's going on at left tackle necessarily after Ozzie Tripillo goes down. And then they also need edge help. They need somebody who can affect the quarterback. And so, if you've got the 25th pick in the draft, is it more likely that you're going to get a stud at offensive tackle or a stud at edge? Because I understand this is a deeper edge class, although Caden Proctor sounds like a guy who could be there at 25.

Yes, like that's what I'm, like, it's really tough because I do feel like you could get still maybe a good tackle there or an interesting prospect. Like Caden Proctor has got a lot of work to do. He's kind of a boomer bus guy at times. You see that size and that athleticism, all the uniqueness of how big he is and how he moves, but he's also very inconsistent.

Like his pressure numbers were really bad at times, very streaky. He was bad to playoffs. So it's very up and down. We'd take a good offensive line coach and all that stuff, which teams can do that and it can end up not being that big of a deal. Monroe Freeling would be another one that kid from Georgia if he lasts down there, another really good athlete. But I would probably say, Edge.

I would probably say, I think you could probably get the better value because there's more of them. You know, I guess it depends on what you want to do, though, too, because do you want to wait and say on that one, too? because I think you could get more inside the into the second or third round if you wanted to do that earlier. You know, so a guy like a key messador maybe to me in the 25 range would be one that I think would fill a couple different hats to get from Miami, the other edge opposite, Ruben Bain, super physical, super violent, sets an edge, gets it done, was a big sack guy, despite not having like a ton of like desirable measurables.

Feels like he would fit everything Ben Johnson's about, you know, to me. Zion Young would be another guy down there from Missouri. we can do a bunch of different stuff. But a lot of edges in this group. This is a solid edge class again, which is kind of a thing every year now. Nick, you're talking about value. You're talking about the depth that some of these positions.

And when you are in the range the bears are in, in the low 20s, I'm starting to get that trade back vibe. Is that something that many of those teams in the 20s because of the depth with some of these positions might do? that's always you know it's always something that they're always on the look for like we just said like if a team wants to best around down there and trade up or trade out for tie simpson or like chambliss was the one for me like if he was going to make this draft or he was going to

be in this class he was a guy that i thought would have like jackson dart a great example of sit there bottom of the first somebody comes up and trades into that spot and takes him i don't know if they would do that for garret nussmeyer i don't know if he's quite on that level I think he might be a stretch. Maybe he has a great combine and changes people's minds, I don't know. But beyond that, I think that they're going to try, but I think it's tough. Like the two things that I would look for, though, in terms of teams wanting to trade around, like if some guys start falling, like if Jeremiah Love starts falling,

Caleb Downs probably isn't going to fall too far. But if those guys start sliding, Kenyon Sadiq, the tight end, who's really special as well, that can kind of mess with things, right? That can kind of mess with the board and, you know, change people's, you know, you know, whatever. So that's when trades can kind of start happening in my mind. So it's possible, but I don't know how likely it is because that third quarterback is not really jumping off the page. You mentioned safety, Caleb Downs. I don't think the bears are going to get up high enough to get him. But they do have a need at that position. And I'm wondering with the way the safety class looks this year,

how far back can you go and still get a good safety because the bears might be needing one, maybe multiple? Yeah, the Bears are in the First World Problems Group now because this is what you do. The Ravens have done this for so many years. You just wait because there are really good safeties. And we never know where these guys are going to be drafted, right? Because of like people don't value it as much as they should. But Caleb Downs is no worse than the second best player in this draft. Like there's no, I think he's the best player in the draft.

And I mean, we're talking about him as a guy that could be there at like 10, you know, which is crazy to me. And then the same conversation with some of these other guys too. but that to me, like the safety class, as we're talking about, McNeil Warren, the kid from Toledo, Dylan The Annaman, the kid from Oregon, the other two, both those guys, I think some teams will probably have them graded

in their top 30. I think those guys are good enough. Like those guys are big, they can play multiple safety spots. They can come up in the box and hit as well. But if they slide down the board, all of a sudden you're looking at, like, Nikki Minwari went off the board last year

in the second round. And I don't know if teams have learned their lesson, but like, you know, one of these years, Malachi-Starks was the best safety in the draft couple years ago, last year I think it was, and went to the Ravens at the bottom of the first, right? So it's like, one of these years, teams are learning a lesson, but I don't know when, you know, Brian Branch went into the second a couple years ago. I think the Bears earned another good spot there, too, to maybe play the board, be patient.

And, hey, if you love a guy, like, if McNeill Warren is sitting there and you love him, just jump the line and take him and don't be afraid and just be like, that's our guy. We think he's going to, you know, change the back end for us. So I think that they're in position to do kind of whatever they want back there. Nick, you're at mock draft number three. And I know everybody has their guy. So I want you to tell me you've done each of these mock drafts. Who's the guy you keep coming back to and saying, nah, it's him.

Like this is the guy. It won't change from now till April. This is the guy that people are going to regret not drafting. I think it's Caleb Downs. It's either Caleb Downs or Jeremiah Love. But to me, it's probably Caleb Downs. because I just, I think he's so unique and special. And there's going to be people that get caught up in his size.

He's not real big. He's barely six foot, if he is that, maybe 200 pounds on the nose. But in terms of the fearlessness, the intelligence, that kid could play, you know, eight positions for Ohio State and be fine, you know, and get it done. And he was like, he was their best get it done guy at all spots. When things were falling apart, he was the one who would fix it. He played middle linebacker basically for Jim Knowles the one year. before he left. And then Patricia moved him around a bunch last year, too.

I just, I think to me, he's the best football player, period, in the draft. You know, Arvel Reese is more talented. Some of these other guys might have more physical gifts, too. But, like, that's the guy that I think some teams might, like, if he falls to, like, the Saints or something at 9, I think that's one where teams might look back and be like, well, what do we do here? You know, that was not, that was not smart. Saints, a team that could be on the move in the right direction based on how they finished last season. Nick Baumgartner joining us here on Rahimi Ayers and Grody. On 104, 3, the score, he is the senior writer and NFL draft analyst for the athletic.

You mentioned Jeremiah Love, and I'm really curious about him. So many people connecting him to Kansas City Chiefs, because let's face it, they've needed a running back for a long time. Is this just a match made in heaven? How would you describe the Chiefs and Jeremiah Love? And what do you think translates the best from his college work at Notre Dame to now being in Kansas City? I mean, it would be perfect. I think that his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and just be a receiver

is something that Andy Reid, I really feel I could have a lot of fun with. I mean, let alone the fit with Mahomes and some of the pressure he could take off just by being a, you know, a standard three-down back who can get you yards. You know, he's, he is in the class of, and he's bigger too, but he's in the class of the B. Jean-Robinson, Gibbs, Jamir Gibbs, you know, Christian McCaffrey, the guy who can be on the field all three downs, you can move him around, you can play another running back out there with him, put him in the slot, let him do some different stuff, just like was the best down-to-down playmaker in college football offensively this

best year. I thought he should have won the Heisman. I don't have any problems with Mendoza winning it. It's a cool story. But Love was the best, like, for me, when you turned it on and said, like, who's the best player out here? It was almost always offensively. It was him. So I really feel like he's another one, almost in the same conversation as Caleb Downs, where it's like if teams don't want to do this, I think you might end up regretting it. I don't even know how much, like every running back needs help like Gene T last year, I still think he's going to be a good player, but he goes to a terrible situation. I think Love is almost good enough to where he could even make a bad situation a little bit better, right?

Like if he didn't go to the Chiefs and went somewhere else, he's a special player, so I think he's one to watch for sure. Last year we saw Ted McMillan go in that first round and it felt like what we saw in the NFL, we kind of saw in the process leading up to the draft. Who is that guy in the first round amongst the wide receivers? Or is it multiple guys that could have that type of impact this year? Yeah, this is a cool receiver group too.

There's three at the top that it's going to be, I would think, a debate well through the combine. and it might be one that, you know, teams have different guys, you know, all the way through draft night, depending on what you want. Cardinal Tate from Ohio State, the big 6-3, 200-pounder, maybe 210, whatever he is, that played opposite, Jeremiah Smith, a big guy who can play like a small guy, but also was great in the air and play all three spots and do all that good stuff. Jordan Tyson from Arizona State, who that's, he's the most complete.

When he's healthy, he's had some injury issues in the past. When he's healthy, he's the most complete receiver in the class, physical blocks, like is a very good blocker, like a bigger Aminraa St. Brown, if we can think about that, like a bigger version of that. And then Mackay-Lean from USC is the smallest of that group. He's probably about 5-10, 5-11, maybe 190, but like fearless, awesome in the air. Another guy who could play all three spots and block and do all those good things. All three of those guys, I feel like are like top 15 players in the class. Wouldn't surprise me if somebody in the top five or six, like the Giants or somebody says, he's a perfect fit for us.

Like, you know, we're going to do this and we're going to, away we go. So those are special players. I think that, again, like Ted McMillan, when we see receivers like that, it's smart to do it, especially if you've got a young quarterback who needs that, you know, like these young guys come in and they're ready to go. So this is a really exciting receiver group, especially at the top. Nick Baumgartner, giving us all kinds of insight, the senior writer and NFL draft analyst for the athletic.

You can find them on the artist formerly known as Twitter. at Nick Baumgardner. That's his at. He joins us also on the Twitch stream. So if you're looking there, you can follow the Twitch screen at the score Chicago. That's actually our handle for everything these days, at the score Chicago. One last question before we get you out of here. Fernando Mendoza, any way he doesn't go number one overall?

I don't think so. I think the Raiders had waited way too long to pick a quarterback. and they got lucky here. I mean, this guy fell into their lap. I think that he's, I think he's a real deal. Reminds me of, like, a more athletic Jared Gough, you know, like he's just a really sharp guy in the pocket, stands in there, we'll take a hit, accurate, smart.

You know, some people during the season didn't know, like a lot of scouts, they didn't know what to do with that, all that positivity that comes out of him, right? Like, he's just, it's like relentlessly positive. But I think when, as time went on, you started to hear, like, you know, it's like people like him. He wears on people. He's magnetic, and it works.

So I do think that he'll be worth it, and he's a guy that you could, I think, plan in there and build your team around. So I think that special quarterback, I think he's one that unless they get a great deal, you know, the Raiders, I think, should probably have their guy. All right, Nick Baumgartner, we appreciate you stopping by. Go follow him on X, the senior writer and NFL draft analyst for the athletes.

Thanks so much for your time, Nick. You've been, fellas, anytime. All right, so that's Nick Baumgarner. We're going to switch, cross things up, if you will, back to the old NBA because there's a commissioner there, Adam Silver, who has been longer-held as maybe the favorite of the commissioners. For a long time. If you start looking around and obviously Goodell, obviously the other sports, a hunk of metal comes to mind. But Russ Dorsey, he took off his chef hat and now he's going to put it back on because are we cooking Adam Silver? Is that what's going on?

I have thoughts. he's not sure that Adam Silver is the right guy to lead the NBA into the next decade or so. We will have those thoughts and more. It's Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, the score. Rahimi Harrison Grody. The great Kevin Harlan. I just pulled through the Taco Bell drive-thru, and I've got a couple of big, nasty, supreme burritos right here waiting to beat.

You know, the first thing they ask you now, I'm using the app. The app, no, I just want my burrito. I don't want to use an app Bring a lot of mild sauce Because I'm going to squirt it all over the way Put some hot sauce on my burrito, baby Rahimi Harris and Grody Midday's 10 a.m. to 2 on the score.

Edgham doesn't have the response Another off-kiss of board. Muzella's drive. And finish. Modest Buzela's doing work. That's right. He is a three-time Rising Stars participant

and he is a champion this time around playing on a team with Ted Holmgren and more importantly, VJ Edgecombe. If you're looking to see what prospects look like versus what you want to see what it looks like, it looks like that. Yeah, Vijay Edgecom is a dude. Yeah.

He can, I could see him in the All-Star game very quickly. A lot of shades of D-Wade in there. That man can play basketball at a very, very, very high level. But you know what? Not everybody was happy with All-Star Weekend because guess what? People like to complain about NBA All-Star Weekend.

It is an easy mark. It is low-hanging fruit for a lot of reasons. But my partner today, Russ Dorothy, here on Mojeemi Harrison Grotie, he has some issues with the man leading the association at this current juncture, Commissioner Adam Silver. And before we get into why Russ has issues with Adam Silver, Adam's got a lot of people upset with him on where the league stands on tanking in the NBA after he issued a five-finding. $500,000 fine against the Utah Jazz because they pulled their starters, Larry Markinen and Jaron Jackson Jr. after three quarters in a game recently. And then also against the Indiana Pacers who weren't playing the full complement of players available to them as they continue their tank efforts in the 25-26 season. Here's what happened with Adam Silver when he was put on the

spot All-Star Weekend. Yes, it's been part of this league for a long time. I mean, that back in the 1960s, there was a coin flip. You know, at some point, it was in the 1980s, we moved to a lottery. That lottery has been changed, I think, roughly five times over the years to try ahead, to stay ahead of some of the behavior of our teams.

The incentives are not necessarily matched here. I think that the tradition in sports where the worst performing team receives the first pick from their partners. When any economists comes and looks at our system, they always

point out you have the incentives backwards there. That doesn't necessarily make sense. I think there was a more classical view of that in the old days where it was just sort of an understanding among partners about in terms of behavior. I think what we're seeing is modern analytics where it's so clear that the incentives are misaligned. I think when you maybe further answer your question, are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we've seen in recent memory? yes is my view and which was what led to those to those fines and not just those fines but to my statement that we're going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams behavior and and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice and there is

a bit of a note when you see it quality to this i mean we spend a lot of time at the league office going back and forth with teams on injury reports on coaches decisions it's not a position necessarily want to be in. But I'd say also to address your question, it's not what the fans want at the end of the day, although my caveat is, and this is where teams are in a difficult place. Many of you in this room have written and understandably about our teams that the worst place to be, for example, is to be a middle-of-the-road team, either be great or be bad, because then that will help you with the draft. And so in many cases, you have fans of those teams. Maybe it's not what they want to pay for to see poor performance. performance on the floor, but they're actually rooting for their teams in some cases to be bad to improve their draft chances. So I think we're coming at in I'd say in two ways. One is again focusing on the here and now the behavior we're seeing from our teams and doing whatever we can to remind them of what their obligation is to the fans and to their partner teams, but number two is I also said in that statement the competition committee started earlier this year

re-examining the whole approach to how the draft lottery works. And ultimately, any changes will require a vote of the Board of Governors, so then we'll need to go in front of the board. But there have been lots of different ideas out there over the years, not just necessarily changing the draft lottery odds yet once again, but looking at whether there's a better system here to try to align incentives. I think when the point about this year, when you look at the totality of the circumstances, I mean, of course, I'm paying attention to what's happening.

And the perception is you have a very deep draft class this year. A perception, who knows whether this will be the reality, that the next two years draft classes aren't as good. There's no doubt that's affecting the behavior of our teams. But at the end of the day, I think there needs to, I think all the teams need to step back, the ownership of those teams. and just as a reminder that we're all in this together, that we want to have fair competition, we want to have fair systems,

and to keep an eye on the fans, most importantly, and their expectation that we're going to be putting the best product forward. So that's Adam Silver, trying to explain his way out of the tanking conundrum, because it has become a conundrum about, and I thought the one part he was very clear on, and it makes all the sense the world is, teams have figured out

if we need to be bad this year to be bad this year but not next year it's got to be this year they will do what it takes to be bad in the class that has the biggest stars so people what people heard there a skilled orator Adam Silver

because he did a good job at trying to explain where things were at when it comes to tanking give you a little history lesson on where the league has been how they've changed the lottery over time etc it was the part at the end that made me laugh

because he actually did a good job up until the last 30 seconds where he was like I know this year's draft class is great compared to the next two and our teams need to kind of look at and say hey we're all in this together to which if I'm another team

I say absolutely the hell not I don't care about the next two years or the other teams take it I'm trying to get Camboozer this year I'm trying to get AJ this year I'm trying to get old my boy from Kansas I can now that you put me on the spot,

listen, here's the point. There's always going to be that one draft class where we need to have a top five pick in that draft class. This qualifies as that. And I don't know that I have any faith in Arturz Karasovas to make anything happen if they were to get a top five pick. I don't have any faith that he would pick the right guy. See, the thing with this draft class is if you get in the top three,

it's set it and forget it. It's like you could get any of the top three guys and feel really good about where you are. Well, currently the Bulls roster, yes, they need help everywhere. But if you get the number 11 pick again or 12 again or God forbid you fall even first, I don't trust them to find the diamond in the rough. You need the sure thing. They need sure things with their roster and where they are. And not only do that any short, like you're not looking for rotational players.

If you're the, like, you need the dude. You needed Caleb Wilson and AJ DeBonson. Yes. Cameron Boozer. And the guy you were thinking of was Darren Peterson. Darren Peterson. From Kansas. Yes.

But you think Adam Silver has a problem in general? I have seen Adam Silver be the commissioner of the NBA for some time now after taking over for David Stern. And a couple of things I believe about Adam Silver. I think Adam Silver is a good person, right? Like if I had to say, at his core, do you think Adam Silver is a good dude? Sure. I would say, yeah, right? I feel that.

I would also say that I think Adam Silver has done a terrific job with the business of basketball when it comes to globalizing the game even further what they were able to do with their TV rights, to which other leagues are like, no, we need kind of get in on what Adam did with the NBA, because they got all the different body got streaming with, Amazon. They got NBC in there now. They still have Pekot. They still have ESPN as a partner, right? They were able to move on from Turner and be cool, right? They have that figured out. So from the business of basketball standpoint, what they were able to do with the in-season tournament, even though I'm not a fan of it because I think like the season and the playoffs should be good enough. You went out. You made that a thing where you can get eyes on it.

You have a brand sponsor for it as well. You're able to do that with the in-season tournament. But I look at the product of the game of basketball right now, and I don't think the product is great. And I do think Adam Silver's strength, but also his weakness, is that he likes to tinker. And I think the league has tinkered a lot. But when you look back at his tenure,

what that they've tinker with has actually worked to the level of you think or they thought it should. That is the voice of Russell Dorsey here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie. On 104-3, the score. We're talking NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, and your question is a good one. What is he going to be remembered for it? More like, I think he'll probably be. Outside of Donald Sterling. Because I think that's what I say.

His biggest. He stepped up in times of crisis and handled it the right way, I would think. think is the biggest thing. They got through the bubble season in the right way. I think even this All-Star talk I think is secondary to the fact that

the league is strong and they're now doing a transition to the next set of stars, LeBron, Steph, KD, to the next guys. I like where the game is. I think the issue is basketball has changed

because sports and our attention span has changed. If the shot clock, excuse me, pitch clock, excuse me, didn't exist. We'd be having a very different framed conversation about baseball right now. But they made the two big adjustments,

the shift and the pitch clock, and now the introduction of ABS, I think has helped move baseball into the modern era. The problem with basketball is there's still 82 games in a season. And the way we as society have made it a rings are nothing culture

teams are now gearing to make sure that their guys are healthy for the postseason and they're not as concerned with the regular season and why should they be? They try to change the minimum number of games played

for all the NBA honors whether it's MVP, Ricky the Year, all NBA, that hasn't worked. I think they're still trying to figure it out to be honest, Russ. Do you have any good suggestions

for our commissioner Adam Silver of the game that we love? So when it comes to the product of basketball, I think I don't want to put 100% of the blame on him because I don't think he in the office in New York can necessarily control how the game of basketball is played. I think that's a grassroots thing that has happened over time. I also think that the rise of Hall of Famer,

future Hall of Fame or Steph Curry has changed the game of basketball. basketball significantly. But I don't like the idea of like people, oh, you, I saw a suggestion like you take away the three point line. It's like, that would bother me because it's like, bro, no. What about moving it back? I don't necessarily love that either. You know what I mean?

Like, once you start changing, and I know rule changes are a part of the game, but it's like that would feel, what's the word for it? inauthentic might be the word. I mean, you want to bring back hand checking? What do you want to do, Russ? Tell me how you want to change basketball. Yes.

Oh, you wanted to get physical again. A little bit more. Because, like, I think one of my issues with, and I love old hits, and I mean that with all due respect. But, like, I don't, I never like talking about basketball.

Like, oh, back of the day, you couldn't just come in the, I don't think being able to punch people when they drove to the basket. That's not good? That wasn't good basketball. Like, let's, let's, but like more physicality, I think is helpful. But I also, I just, I think sometimes in the effort, and I mean, this is a specific to

Adam Silver thing, but I think it's part of the job of a commissioner as well. You're thinking so, you have to think so forward, you have to be so forward thinking in terms of like globalization, expansion, XYZ, you forget that the people that you're trying to do this for is your fan base and you're so. focused on new fans, new fans, new fans, new fans, new fans that probably don't care ultimately what you end up doing. It's cool and flashy and sparkly that the core of fans that got you to this point, you've completely turned off. You know why this is hilarious? You just sound like an old baseball fan now. That's what you sound like right now. That's what you sound like.

For basketball. I understand what you're saying, but you sound like those baseball fans that complain about. But here's the difference, though. I'm cool with you trying to. to be forward thinking, but it's like you don't even care about the product anymore. Because you're so forth. You're like, but the business is great, but the product sucks. I think with baseball, it's more, well, I can't find the game. Well, you also can't find the game in basketball because it's on prime now. Or it's on peacock.

But you understand my point of like global is cool. Yes. But also, it feels sometimes that you don't actually care about. the product that you're trying to sell to all these brands and partners? All that, and I don't think we've come up with any ways to actually improve said product, although the physicality thing is a thing. That's not what they want to pitch to the Europeans. They want the beautiful game.

So more Europeans will be involved, more international play. China is a whole country with a billion people. Some would say that Europeans are more physical. Some would. Some would. But in the NBA, we know it's... And that they play a better brand of basketball. They definitely play a better brand of basketball.

all, but the physicality, the athleticism, there's not as much athleticism in the European game as there is in the American game. That is bar none, point blank, the truth. All right, we're going to take a time out. When we come back, we're going to go back to something that happened over All-Star weekend, correct? That's what we're doing. And so you may have heard some of the things that were said on social media, but Reggie Miller

got a chance to interview former president Barack Obama. And let me tell you something. He set himself up for an answer that brought back for Reggie, I'm sure, traumatic memories. That's up next on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, The Score. We're all in this together. Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. I'm a big bulls fan. Yeah, we hear.

It's Rahimi Harrison Grotie on President's Day hanging out with Russell Dorsey. I am Marshall Harris. Yeah. We're having a time, right? well we were having the time tell me what happened to us a microphone y'all got to get these joints secured

but no we've been having the time we've had a blast we've talked bulls we've talked about the draft which you were surprised I was as excited and enthused about super enthusiastic about the draft like I'm not a college football guy like I'm very much a

tell me who's going to be good at the next level type of guy but yeah I like talking about players in the draft I like talking the draft experts Nick, about what's the who's their guy? Like, you're going through this for six and seventh months and watching tons of college football, talking to people. And it's like, nah, this is the guy that people, if you miss on, you're going to regret it.

You know we have a whole segment called Who's Your Guy, right? I do. Okay. So make sure you know that. I'm a score listener. Okay. P1. P1.

P1. Russ Dorsey, everybody. That's why we let him on the show today. So, you know, who else is having a time? Who? Barack Obama had himself a weekend. Outside of the aliens. He was outside in L.A. How about that? With his wife, Michelle Obama. They lived there. And yeah, and they were outside, though. They were at the All-Stargett. They were front and center. They were. Front row. And Reggie Miller, he got the chance to interview the former president. But Reggie Miller probably didn't know exactly what he was asking for when he started asking Barack Obama questions. That run by Michael Jordan in Chicago. Do you have a favorite moment during that time in Chicago during the 90s?

I always enjoyed watching us beat Indiana. Oh, my goodness. I'm going to do that to me. Although I will say that nobody terrified me more than Reggie Miller with a possible three-point shot at the end of a game. You did push off Michael on that one play ball. Come on, Mr. President. Everybody knows it. Did he push off in the Utah series?

No, right? They didn't call it, right? No. No. We gave it to you. He had to come back in game seven, though. Didn't happen. You know how I know he didn't foul him?

Because the referees told me so. And Tim Donahey, I don't think, was at that game. So that's how it's how we're. That courtesy of NBC there as part of the All-Star festivities, Barack Obama's waiting for him. Yeah. Waiting for him to ask a question where he could roast him. Yes.

He's enjoying himself as not the, it's probably way more for a lot of it. than being president of the United States. So you can just go to games with your lady and talk to Reggie Miller. Front row. And talk crap. And talk to Aunt Edwards and have Aunt Edwards say he's my favorite person. Like, yeah, it's probably a way more relaxing vibe for Barack Obama. Is that what KD is going to be like in retirement?

Because he's my favorite player that doesn't play for my team. Like, KD is a hoophead to the core. KD is such a complex dude. because I know Katie loves basketball, and I don't know what way he'll give back to basketball, but, like, that is going to be, I think that's going to be important to him. Like, it might not be broadcasting,

but he has all his other stuff with boardroom. One of the best sports investors you're going to find. Like, his portfolio. He's got a wild portfolio. You're talking about a guy that's very close to a billion dollars net worth because of his investments. But, yeah, like, I think guys are leaning into it more. I think it took a couple of generations.

for guys to say, oh, the media. But guys are finding their own ends into it. But again, to circle back on what we started talking about at 11 o'clock, and if you want to listen to that conversation about Wilde the All-Star Weekend isn't as bad as you thought it was. Use the Odyssey app.

Hit that feature to go find that chapter. Part of the Rahimi Harrison Grotie show. But listen, Kevin Durant is out here talking all the time. Anthony Edwards is talking all the time. Back in our day, you had to wait a to a feature on NBA inside stuff. A model shot.

Yeah, like, that's what it was. You couldn't get all this free game. But now, free cheese everywhere in these social media streets, whether it's a clip of a podcast or a whole podcast. Yeah. There's just no imagination

and no anticipation, except for one guy I can name, who does that? Who's that? The guy that gets paid millions of dollars to talk, and that's Michael Jordan. Yeah. Oh, that annoys you, doesn't it?

Yeah. because it just didn't. Look how entitled you are right now to Michael Jordan's thoughts and inner workings. You know what's funny about the insights of a champion or whatever they called it? Insights of excellence, I believe. Ray, that's what it's called, right?

Insights of excellence with Michael Jordan? Yes. If we didn't get that, I wouldn't have felt any different about Mike. Like, I just, it didn't do anything for me. Wait, so you didn't listen? I did, and I was just like, okay. And this is from like a person who lives in the city of Chicago.

But what I'm saying is if he speaks, you're going to listen to what he has to say. That's the difference. I did to the first couple of it and I just caught the rest on social. But that's the point. You're still catching it. No. The first time it was like appointment viewing. Oh, you watched it live.

I watched it live the first one. I didn't after. Okay. What were you hoping for from him, Russ? You know, Ray, that's a good question. He doesn't necessarily. I don't know, but what I got left a lot to be desired. Basically, Russ, watched that live segment, and he was like, this ain't it.

But I saw them preview the next episode, and I saw Mike in the same outfit. And I'm like, ah, y'all just chopped up the out. Yes. This is not what I was asking for. And that's all I'm like, see, that y'all played around with us. Because they just chopped up the hour. It felt like Mike Tyrico and them played in your face. Yeah.

I mean, they did. But you know what? Your face was still looking at the video where it was live. You fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, and you couldn't, you can't pull that card anymore. I thought you can't get fooled again. You can't, yeah, that's what man once said that. Yeah, like what card do you play now if you're them?

Play more of Michael Jordan. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't think people are going to believe you this time. What do you mean, it's not about them believing. It's like Michael Jordan is speaking. Do you want to hear what he has to say or not? No, no, I think I bet, I bet now that we're going to. we saw what we saw, the answer is going to be no.

Did you want, like, studio talk, him talking smack about players currently? No, because I knew that that would, you can't pay Mike enough to sit in the studio. Well, so what did you know? You know what they brought, they paid him to sit in his house for 45 minutes? What did you want? If you can't give me an answer, then you can't be upset. Like, you know what you're like, you're like this one X I had. I'd be like, what do you know for dinner?

The best, the best thing that I saw from. Mike's sit-downs with Mike Tariko was the story he told about how he hadn't picked up a basketball in years and was scared out of his mind to shoot that free throw for that dude was like, oh, this dude was the greatest player ever. And then he knocked down the free throw,

but he was like heart beating fans and everything. That was great. But outside of that, man, I'm disappointed. You're not trying to hear it. No. Do you think they bring Mike out for the playoffs? In the same form, yes.

Not any new. He's not going to be in the studio. He's above the studio. That's the truth. I know that. So that's what it is. All right. You know who you want to hear from?

You want to hear from Lawrence Holmes and Matt Spiegel. Spiegel and Holmes is next, but first we got transitions. That's like all four of us talking together. That's coming up as that's it for us. Rahimi, Harris, Grotie, 104-3, the score.