The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 1: OTPFJ

Episode Date: January 4, 2024

Dan has Puka Nacua stats, Darvin Ham may be in trouble, and Taylor gives us takes on Stephen A. Smith and the Knicks with some big-time pressure from the Shipping Container. Then, 'Foot Girls' takes on an entirely new meaning, and this time, it's the one you're thinking. Plus, Klay Thompson's sound on the potential twilight of his career sparks a conversation on athletes aging with grace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. This is the Don Levertor Show with the Stugat Spatcast. I did a poor job of managing the clocks earlier because I was headed out to Taylor in the other room. But we got sort of distracted by John Reed's song, which all of you were mocking when it started. But now I have heard you start singing during the breaks. John Reed just said that he is willing in exchange for the $10,000 budget to do something at a rodeo that is a music video

at Las Vegas, that he's gotta go and rework his song because he forgot his favorite shipping container member. He said, there's no Tony in that song. Yes, that Chris Cody was wandering around singing during the break. And John Reed wants his start turn. What I was telling you about Metal Arc Media is it's been hard to build this company. You've seen that Hollywood was

shaking over the last couple of years, but it's about to take off, right? We're going to make a bunch of movies and we're going to have a bunch of stuff that makes us a media company that people are going to want to be working for. And Taylor's here and moved his life like Carlos moved his life in a. And Jessica and Lucy have moved their life to create a career, to create an opportunity. Mike made a musical at the start of this. And John Reed is like, I've made a music video, and now I want to be a country star.

And if I can just get out of that hot water, I had an Iowa with the company. Maybe I could parlay this into something that is a music career. You guys laugh at it, but when I tell you the following because you've been singing this song too, and there are others, we've got listeners who make songs for our show and they're very good yet. He blonks. He's an opportunity here with the Cody show and everything else. Make great

songs in his spare time, just fooling around because it's fun because we wouldn't want to do that for a living. Russell Clay writes the following. You're not prepared for what I'm about to show you. Most totally yards for a rookie wide receiver all time. Number seven Randy Moss. Number six Odell Beckham. Number five Justin Jefferson. Number four Anquan Bolden. Number three Bill Gromon. Number two Jamar Chase. And number one with 200 more yards than Randy Moss and they haven't played the 17th game yet. Puka Nakuwa. He saw Pukka standing there, his blade diminished Hoss'll take over, Nuku will hop into the car My face may be fun to start and then that staffer threw Him 25 and 2 Oh there's a brand new kid in town, out of me

Why you think all of Pukka? Pukka, Nuku, Pukka His quarterback is not named to us Yeah, he is booted up No, come on the crew, uh, go on Man, I see a assassin It's the tunnel to cash in Yeah, it's booted up

Don't need the go on Don't need the go on Homies been singing that on the way into work. I was I was parking in the garage to hit the metoret. I was like Puka Puka Nakoo It's a quarter back is not named to It's a cheap line and it doesn't make a lot of sense. Well, it's not as quarterback. It made it It made the whole song why are you glad that I said that I was thinking it but I didn't want to say it It's a cheap line, but it's a his quarterback. It made it. It made the whole song. Why are you glad that I said that? I was thinking it, but I didn't want to say it.

It's a cheap line, but it's a catchy song, so you allow it. The thing that I wanted to say about this, though, because things happen fast in that sport. You react to the reaction and the lion's offensive coordinators. Now I'm going to get Bella check money, 15 million a year. Because look at what he did with Jared Goff, but before McDaniel and before Shannon Han, there was this McVeigh guy who Bella check kind of undressed in the Super Bowl, but he had golf and he's like, get out of here.

That was a mistake. And now what you have with Stafford is something that's going to be real confusing to your grandchildren, which is the crossroads of when the systems took over. And Stafford is responsible for Calvin Johnson and Cooper Cupp and Pouca Nacua. That's three of the best season to ever. It's not because staffers the best quarterback ever. It's because the first guy at this McDaniel, you know, Shanahan buffet was this coach with this system who said, wait, golf's okay, but staffers better.

And now watch what I do. I'm going to make Pukinakua better than Randy Moss when get out of here, like get out of here. In my lifetime, there will not be better than Randy Moss's rookie season when he was just faster than everybody. And you could throw him jump balls, but sure as shit, this guy numerically is better. And it's not because I think he's a better athlete than Randy Moss or a better wide receiver. It's because he also has the groundbreaking system. We think of Matthew Stafford's kind of over the hill because he's been injured a lot

the last couple of years after the Subaru rule, but he's making throws this season that are insane. Yes, Cooper Cup is excellent. Yes, Pukin and Koo is a rising star, but Stafford is throwing balls off his back foot, fading away 45 yards and a dot. No one wants to play them and he could. He could. And he could be MVP of the league and you're right.

You don't even understand how his body has withstood everything that it withstood. But thank you, please, in the other room. Let's put this camera now on Taylor, because I've been remiss in getting to this. I've been wanting to get to this for a couple of segments, because Taylor, like Fountains and like some people on mystery crate, very eager to get a chance around here wants a chance and knows a lot about sports knows more about sports than some of the other people who are talking a lot at microphone and he had a very strong opinion

earlier today when I said Man, Stephen A Smith's about to write his own ticket in whatever he wants from sports start, or late night start, he has leveraged everything perfectly in an 18 month because he's already underpaid. Steven A Smith is going to be able to either have his own thing outside of ESPN or do whatever the hell he wants at ESPN, making more money than McAfee and Taylor had strong opinions on Stephen A Smith saying that he was more famous than most of the New York

Knicks. And that's a damn shame. Taylor's a Knicks fan. I'm not wrong when I say Stephen A Smith is more famous than all Knicks players. Am I Taylor? No, that's correct. The problem with Stephen A Smith, no self-respecting Nick's fan, like Stephen A Smith, he does the whole,

he perpetuates the narrative that the Nick's are a joke. And when you listen to him talk about the Nick's, you could tell he's not watching the games and that's why I call him Stephen A Spark Notes because he's not watching. He just has a producer filling him in on everything and yeah, it's very clear. He's not watching this team outside of the times they're on the the national stage. When you express this opinion, Mike Ryan told you be careful.

This guy's got a lot of power and I can hear the fear in your voice while you're giving takes. Is it because you're afraid of Stephen A. Smith or you're afraid that the whole that everybody on the show is surrounded? This is more afraid of being on the mic. And Chris is like petting my back. Chris Elliott, tiny hands, yes. It's a little bit, that's unfair to put him in a fight against Stephen A. Smith

because what happens around here is you know what happens? I'm going to get aggregated on saying fake Nickicks fan and then this stuff is gonna stick to me and he's gonna come at me on his show and keep building his platform and i'm gonna get hit with levitard calls steven a smith of fake nicks fan you know that's what's gonna happen right i will take the bullets for you um yeah he he said oji and an obi the next just trade firm he said he didn't move the the needle or he's not impressed by the moves. Even I has to realize that OG Aninobi is the move before the move. And since OG Aninobi's been on the next, the next are 2 and 0, there are 54 in Aninobi's minutes.

He's scared. You're right there. They are so much going on around here for the audience. I don't even know what's going on. And we're going to bump on Chris Cody's petting me with little hands. You got, I just want to give Nick's take. You've got 90 seconds to do it. I'm giving you the floor, 90 seconds.

Try not to sound scared. What was another cute little nickname, like, see if any spark notes, that was good. The nicks are more athletic. I think I use everything I have. That's it. You're out of material. Oh, that's your worst possible thing,

Nick, I don't have it. I think I have it. You just quit. Where is that's not your worst possible thing. I'm not gonna have. No, I think I have. You just quit. Where, where is that? A team that's building where a superstar awaits, even a Smith just wants to keep facing the dead and Mitchell, faten air. Oh god. And then go and throw him in jail.

Get him out of here. Fuck. Get him out of here. John Reed is ready for this moment more than you are. John Reed, give me that John Reed song because he, because he just came to me and John Reed said, you watch, they make fun of me. But when I rewrite this with Tony, they're gonna be singing this by the pool in Vegas.

They're gonna be singing it. The whole crowd will be. We both must Vegas. Here we come. I hate, hate, I hate who is that man? Is that stew? Is that mine, Ryan? He'll be ill, Chris and Greg too. Is that you do? I'll be Vegas.

Oh boy, oh boy, is that bro? Is that bro? Talkin' hockey at the bar. Look, you didn't took it too far out in Vegas I'm just saying to you, day by day, how do you... Folks, whether you're hosting a game day, a movie night, Dejorno knows that planning a watch party on a budget isn't easy. You need the perfect setting, the perfect squad, the perfect eats, and luckily you're a game time mastermind, and you know that grabbing Dejorno Classic Crosse Pizza can bring home the dub, because it's packed with half a pound of cheese,

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I had the beards grown out a little bit. I got a little life in my face. I feel like little 10 Colorado San Francisco. Great time. You get life on your face. You got death on your face. I think you've got 40 to life on your face. Ha, haKings Fantasy Sports, check out what DraftKings has to offer the season with Code Dan.

Because life's more fun when you're in on the action. DraftKings, the crown is yours. Gamling Problem, call 1-800-Gambleer, Age and Eligibility Restrictions Apply, void where prohibited, see DraftKings.com for details. LeBron is not speaking to the media, He does not do that very often after the Miami Heat Trag a game into the mud with all their young people. And let's go heat chance breakout around the Lakers. Lebron, you know, at this point in his career,

at any point in his career, grows tired of coaches quickly when there is trouble. And Shoms is now reporting deeply disconnected. Is the phrase, shoms is reporting about Garvin Ham and his rotations. Lebron is the oldest player in the league. Lebron is used to being on top of the league and the league's storylines. It's pretty rare for him to not talk to the media. This story coming out at the exact same time as Lebron not talking

to the media when the West is upside down, the Lakers are sub 500 and they're not good enough. He's going to put pressure on the organization again to make whatever changes need to be made so that he and Anthony Davis can be contender. This latest news drop from Shams, before it's made the opportunity to apologize to you and the audience because I'm very clearly wrong about something. I wanted to believe in the in season tournament, but given how little that's bot, Darwin, ham, I'm willing to admit, maybe it's not that important. Even furthermore, or maybe an IST curse, you win the IST, you have some dissension in the locker room,

all of a sudden something happens, your coach has worried more about the IST than he is the actual player. I think you got to wait till at least a second IST. Jessica, I don't think I've seen that much palpable disgust on your face directed at Tony and the entire history has been here. Like was there something happening there? Was it that he stumbled on the furthermore, that he was that eager to think of a curse involving the in season tournament? I was thinking of a ham pun the entire time, and I got nothing. That was discussed at myself.

Okay. I thought I was with a toilet seat. Tony was really hamming it up. Oh, for the love of God. Go out, stop it. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. It was hoping. Nobody learns from the toilet

because I just went to the bathroom and both seats were up. I like walked in. I was like, which one am I gonna go and I look right? I like leaven there both up. By the way, they're messing with their now to be honest. If I walk into one that it's down and the other one's got it up, I'll go to the one top. You don't want to touch anything in there. Correct. This is all with your foot. Correct. If it's already up, you don't want to be anywhere near someone else's toilet. If it's up, then I can go. If it's down amount. How have we already outgrown this studio?

How is that possible? There's two bathrooms is not enough. After Barry Sanders was on the cover of Madden and then he decided to retire, nobody came out the gate saying, well, that's a curse. They had to wait to the second one. I've never touched a flush with my hand in my entire life. Always use my foot. In any toilet, the one at home.

You know, it's easier what? Foot. Foot. Foot. The one at home. Is it what? The foot. Foot. Foot. The one at home. Even the one at home, you will not touch with your hand or you're saying outside, outside of home. That's my home. Okay, but all others, if you're in a fancy hotel, if you're a pristine, clearly clean,

pristine restaurant, that's a hard and fast rule. But, okay, but, we agree, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, God, I missed it. I will put my foot at eye level to get that stupid lever down if I have to, Dan. Understood, I don't think a lot of people want to be touched. I don't think I can even do that.

And I bought fancy IG's jeans that Joe Rogan through kicks in Really you have to want some hard ass kicks Dano. I don't want the problems Let me segue from LeBron James aging to the twerk Those jeans are loose dude those hips are open Let me segue as people look for aging tips from Joe Rogan. And so as soon as I got the jeans, I damn near dislocated my hip, trying to throw a kick. I haven't thrown a kick in a while. How the jeans feel though? Oh, like they could handle a kick at least four times better than

I threw. You're now doing advertising for Joe Rogan. I didn't mention the jeans anyway. Can you whisper him? I'm so lost. This is their two baggy. There are, I could have gone like a true way, says, but I always upsize because I hate the game. Do the things.

You could be a punter in those days. That is quite the kick. You know those Victorian toilets that have the string above the, yeah, you could grab that with your foot or all the toes pull it down. I did see the rock cats recently. Yeah, you could use it. Foot like a hand. Oh always. That's how I changed the channel. You can use your foot as a hand. Some people would pay very good money for that. I'm just selling it right now. You probably know this. Some people have a right winged grift pivot in their career. I always have the foot thing to fall back on. I've had this discussion with my wife. My

dude, I swear to God, my wife, less than a month ago, was like, could we do this? I think now we're in a point where every 30-something married couples have the discussion like, if we ever get on hard times, we gotta whip out those dogs. Here's the thing about that, okay. The dogs bark. If you do that, you people just don't stumble upon that. You have to go out and promote

that you have a link to view feet. My wife's like, can I do it without anyone knowing it's me? I was like, I think we can do this. We've had the conversation on like, I'm pretty sure Stakeshaw's what to do. So there's like, you can charge him whatever. like, I think we can do this. We have the conversation. I'm like, I'm pretty sure a steak sauce would do it. So there's like, you can charge him whatever. Chris, I think you should do it. I think the one who should profit off of foot

is you and your dad should do it. I believe you should. My dad? You and your father should absolutely the most. So my wife's cut out of this. I mean, whatever, however, look, if you did seriously consider it like doing only fans forced to where it was

just like ingestest but like I think Call it only dance everyone would recognize Greg's feet do it as a famous do it as an income supplement And allow me to have the show back to talk about aging of basketball players do it figure out how to do you have the conversation with Valerie yet? No, you guys are doing pretty well Oh, and I can't believe Chris Cody's having that conversation. What are you doing? You're worried about an apocalypse? You're worried about metal arc media falling into a ditch. My wife is just, you know, a little tired of her job So she's like, hey, like you think this is an option for me. That can be homalot. It'd be nice It'd be nice as a whole supplemental

But if you don't have to work, you stick sauce Who cares though? If you don't have to go out of your home in order to do it, uh, who cares about whether someone else knows that your wife is doing that for money, that seems to be, uh, the, the pride of that or the shame of that, the only thing keeping you from doing it is the fact that people will know that your wife did it. Right. But his parents, right?

It's just bear. Comment on my wife to do this. What's the shame? I'm not talking about you. Right. It's not much. What's the shame that you have one survivor? That's the shame that you have one survivor.

That's the reason. That's the reason. That's the reason. That's the reason. What if people are like, oh, those feet are nice. She shouldn't have her own like, I'm not worried about my wife's feet. Let me tell you something. Those in the audience, my wife's feet, very nice tell you something That was in the audience my wife's feet very nice. Oh mine too very nice delightful

You will dittle yourself to my wife's feet no doubt What is the shame here? I don't understand. It's why I thought foot girls was such a funny thing You I in fact I was not connected to my wife and I have a thing where sometimes when she's sleeping I'll pick up her foot and answer like it's a phone. Hello Hello, that's a great fit. This is your wake up call. It's cute. I learned.

I'll take a photo of that. That'll be the first post. I'm going to reveal too much here. I'm probably going to make my wife mad at me. We'll bleep it. I love it. Tell me. I just can't believe it happened the other day.

I was shocked by it. By all of what I'm about to express here. And I feel dirty because we shame the hell out of rect Ryan here. We really did. We still shame Raph Jack in here. Now, what are you doing? Oh, TPM. What is he doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? Rex Ryan didn't deserve that by the way, not even in Saltburn. That they didn't cross that line. He's on the right side of history. He is. Rex Ryan, we shamed him for being a freak when he should not

have been shamed this way. But also the what you just did to me, Chris Cody, with your lack of subtlety. What workplace in America? No, no. He's just a co-founder company, FJ. Yeah, yeah, that's what just happened. That is what just happened.

I'll save the skip. You will not. All right, let's do it. Nope, nope, nope, nope. No, we're gonna do that on there. Can I say it to myself, maybe skip? Nope, nope, no, Chris. We're gonna do it on there.

When John Skipper comes in here, I'm going. I beg your pardon. No, you're gonna sit across from him and you are gonna ask him that question and we're gonna build a whole company around that. I do believe that's inappropriate. Just give him a thumbs down too. Going back to using the foot as a hand. You and your wife, not an FJ.

The thing that happened with my wife in Los Angeles and I learned this about my beautiful wife. She comes back from a trip all day around Los Angeles wearing boots and she comes home at six o'clock at night and says these feet don't stink. And I'm like, I don't believe you. Like that. I've done this. Oh, this is not possible. This is not you can't be in boots for in leather boots with no socks for 12 hours and tell me that those that those feet don't just know to say it's blister central. Didn't smell like anything.

I lost the bed. It was too early in your marriage. It was I couldn't believe it though. I was scared of the full. Give it a year. It'll smell. You lost a bet. But you won the four play.

You're not stunned by this. I am. This was this was I have to smell those dogs. You will not smell my wife. And don't take his come on. FJ. Let's find out which one went to market. have to smell those dogs. You will not smell my wife's dog. Come on, FJ. Let's find out which one went to market. Let's get to that clay Thompson sound, please, because

what clay Thompson's transition. I asked Lewis while I was in the penalty box. If I missed anything with no taking, hated we talk about anything other than wife's feet. And he said, no, no, we did not. Well, we were placed. We started with LeBron and we started with his feet. Wolf.

He's got that. He's got that. That photo of him walking on the dial basketball players give up their feet. You can't do that for a living like that without like wrecking your feet. Yeah. It's his tools. Yeah. It's like football players with dislocated fingers.

Do Jam football. Do you think most people know that? Do you think most people listening to this know that one of the things that LeBron James pays for what it is that he gets is his feet forever will be a mangled mess that will cause him problems like obviously. I would trade that for what he has mangled feet. Yeah, I think it was a good word shoes. But Clay Thompson was talking about aging here with rare rare. Oh, you put Feed up on it's an action shot on a foot is just always tricky. It's moving

It's a three-metal ones are holding strong. It's really just the pinky and the big called a hammer toe by the way ladies and gentlemen Why did you do the ladies and gentlemen there for everybody in the the audience, over and out. Over and out is what I thought of there too. I don't know. You know what happened? The ladies and gentlemen was he took the show. He had it. He had the spotlight and he went and offered us something that wasn't useful. No, it is useful when a toe is displaced like that. It's called hammer toe. So for those people that need to have an answer for what it is, there it is, hammer to it. How was that?

Over and out. How was that useful? My Grammy had one of those nasty. What's he charging? You don't want to see those feet. They've been decomposing for a while. Oh, a whole new cat. I know people do want to see those feet.

I think she was cremated. A whole new category of tink grandma's dead feet for stakes. I was to spend $200 on deep down lebertard again started on the breakfast one. Oh, man, I've been singing a song to myself one morning. Well, breakfast, blonde, do no, no, no, no, no. Still got you never heard the breakfast. Well, no, hit me with it. Okay.

I wish I had some breakfast. Fondana. Breakfast. Fondana. What can I find some breakfast fun. Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da The point I was trying to make before we derailed into a grandmother's skeletal dead feet that were cremated. I was talking about aging and LeBron James being the oldest player in the sport, being impatient. All the competitive young people are coming now, right?

He's the oldest guy in the sport. He's dominated it for 20 years. He's given his feet to the cause, exceeded every expectation somehow and skip bailiffs is still chasing him. Like still tweets last night, you're 17 and 18, brawn, you lost to a high school algebra teacher. That's how it will end for LeBron after being the most relevant at the hardest thing, most competitive thing in sports. Here come the heat with their young people and the timber wolves and O.K.C. and the IST buying him nothing. Nothing. And they're 17 and 18 and the warriors are now vulnerable and aging and what I was going to say to you about Clay Thompson is this part's rare, right? If we can stop for a moment and just celebrate greatness in sports, the warriors were a dynastic thing.

They fought at the top of that with LeBron, and sometimes they won and LeBron won and they had to do different ownership architecture on how much power players will have, so that Kevin Durant and LeBron James, this could be the hardening of our lifetime in this sport over the last 10 years, them wrestling for the top of this sport. Clay Thompson now realizes, and this feels like concession to me, okay? I was surprised earlier last week

when I said, Domine, yeah, the Warriors are done, and he's like, mm, and I think he was doing that just out of respect for us really hard to be a champion like that for 10 years. Wait till Dremont gets back. No, they're done. Clay Thompson, they needed him to be the best two-way player in the world in order to win championships and he's washed. And I don't know what's happened to my algorithm.

I don't know if I got wit locked, but I get so much clay Thompson information. I get tons and tons of clay Thompson stuff. I don't know why, more than almost any other athlete. Now, I really like him. I find him quirky. I think he's one of the best shooters I've ever seen. I've admired his game and his like surfer,

kind of stony way of being around Steph and Dreymon and also being great. At one point, he could have been traded for Kevin Love in Minnesota. His career would have gone differently, but he settled into superstar, him Hall of Famer, probably should be a top 75 player gets hurt when you tell him he's not a top 75 player. Here's Clay Thompson talking in uncommon terms for a champion talking to Steve Kerr also a champion about like Yeah, I'm kind of washed at work and I'm negative about it because I'm super competitive and here's where I am in life when we're not quite good enough right now

Well, Steve and I had actually a great conversation yesterday and That helped me relax a lot Sometimes I forget Just how successful and how lucky I've been to be a part of championship teams and all-star games and gold medals. And when you want to get back to that little so badly, you've kind of gotten your own way. And rather than forcing it, we had a conversation about just enjoying this last chapter of my career and how lucky I truly am to still be playing this game and do it at a high level and being

a better mentor for these young guys. Leigh, by example, having my energy right every game. And he helped me realize I do have negative energy, how that affects the team in a poor manner. So we had a great conversation. That just helped me change my whole mindset and forget about shooting splits or points per game or all star games. And just to enjoy being in this war using a form and appreciate what we built because it's such a rare opportunity for any professional athlete to be a part of so much success and to try and pass that torch to the younger guys and keep this thing going.

He's a great champion. He's a lot younger than LeBron James. LeBron James beat that out of him, trying to keep up with LeBron James and injury, right, his body betrayed him in a way. LeBron's playing lots of minutes in depot season runs, ultimately facing LeBron James. And injury, right? His body betrayed him in a way LeBron's... Playing lots of minutes and deposes and runs ultimately facing LeBron James. So yeah, kind of indirectly so.

But that was really honest and revealing sound there. It's not only vulnerable and interesting though. I ask you just for a moment, right? Like I get it. Sports move fast, you gotta have your takes for more engaged than we ever are. Criticism is everywhere. Blame is everywhere. This guy is a great champion. Fighting LeBron James across this decade for the top of that sport. You know what it is for Charles Barkley to say in a series that involves LeBron James that Clay Thompson is the best two-way player in

the world. That's what Clay got being at the center of that champion. But then, money, glory, fame, who gets the touches, makes Dremon Green be what he is right now and punch Jordan Poole in an argument about money because everybody wants to get paid now. And Clay Thompson built an economy in that city with a stadium that makes that organization, quote unquote, light years ahead of everyone else,

because they've got such a thriving business that's actually at the center of an economy in a city with a stadium that makes that organization quote unquote light years ahead of everyone else because they've got such a thriving business that's actually at the center of an economy in a city. Clay Thompson built that. He wants his money. And sometimes when you're chasing championships, you forget the joy along the path. You punch your teammate because staying up there is hard. It's super competitive. It seems to make Kevin Durant unhappy. He fled that whole thing. It got so hot in that furnace and I thought winning would be fun forever. How would you not be there and be like, yeah, I'm Kevin Durant. I'll play with Steph. We will dominate for not too much, too much. Play fit there. Play save them one time against O.K.C with a third quarter making shots from half

court. But now it's the end and he knows it. An athlete's never looking a mirror like that at 33. Your coach and your organization have to be so strong for you to be the one who doesn't get the money at the end, isn't gonna get the minutes, isn't gonna get the touches. You're gonna be the odd man out in musical chairs. Everyone else there is gonna get their payments. You could have gone to the lakeers, you could have played with LeBron, but his body broke.

And now at the end, he's like, yeah, why would I bring negative energy in here? This is kind of, he says the last chapter. What is he? Five years younger than Lebron? Lebron's 39 and Clay's telling you there, I'm done. Like, I'm going to keep trying. But what I'm going to do now is I'm going to hand the mantle over to Wiggins and whoever else, you know, all these young players on that team. I mean, Wiggins also got paid. Like everyone got their money. Did Clay get, I know this stuff is silly, right?

It's tens of millions of dollars. But plays get to lose the musical chairs there, right? The ending for Clay isn't going to be, you get your big contract and get to play another four years. It sounds like encoding it as the loser there. You're lacking the perspective that I think played Thompson showed there because Clay Thompson won. He's ultimate winner.

I mean, one of the greatest shooters of all time would arguably be called that if he didn't share the same back court with the greatest shooter of all time. So he won. He's a historic winner. He also made 43 million dollars this year. Yeah. He signed a five year, $189 million contract. Like he got one huge contract there that I mean, obviously making 43 million this year to, you know, based off what he's saying, essentially in some ways play the role that like you don't as haslam was playing

before he literally played zero minutes when haslam was playing like eight to 10 minutes a night and mentoring guys. But it'll be interesting to see with Clay Thompson whether or not he's willing to just hang it up because he's no longer getting a huge contract somewhere and just would want to play with the Warriors or whether he'll try to find new life as a guy that probably gets a veterans minimum or a couple of years at 20 million or something like that with a team that is trying to take that next leap or is always competitive. Do you ever hear the 33 year old guy like Cam Newton at the end of his career, obviously different sport, but at the end of his career is still fighting to tell you, no, I can

do this for the Patriots. This isn't my body being done. This isn't me spent at 32 33. Do you get in the modern age of Tom Brady and LeBron James? Isn't one of the things that's refreshing about that vulnerability that he's looking in the mirror and telling you, I don't have much left here? One of the most interesting comparisons you can make now is actually Kevin Love, who is involved in all of those finals too. He got to a point with Cleveland where he wasn't playing on that team. He wasn't playing any minutes.

And he was just sort of the veteran guy who was there adding to those young guys who now have turned themselves into a better team alongside other young players they've added. But he essentially just left Cleveland for nothing. And now his had new life, you know, breathed into him with the Miami Heat playing a role there. Clay Thompson may try to do the same sort of thing where he's in this leadership role on a team where now it just doesn't make any sense for him to not be playing the same type of role he's been used to. But with a different franchise at some point, maybe he can get a few more years as a role player contributor somewhere else. Dan, I'm interested to see your thoughts here.. If Kerr wasn't his coach, do you think he would be talking this open and honestly about

his struggles? I don't know the answer to that question. I know that Kerr seems to care about these people in a way that extends beyond just employee employment relationships. He was a player that knows how hard it was to be a champion because he lived all of this with Michael Jordan. I would think that Clay having grown up some summing the sport around Steve Kerr and everything that he is, like grown up, because some of these guys can be overgrown children.

If you're that good at shooting, something else is lopsided and hasn't intended to do. They can beat kids. And Steve Kerr can be in that role, disciplinarian teacher, professional father, you know, if I don't know if Mark Jackson was that to those guys before that when he was telling us that they had the greatest shooting back court of all time. But I would imagine that Steve Kerr, who doesn't mind DJs at practice, even though he's yelling about T-shirt cannons and noise, Steve Kerr wants a player friendly atmosphere. I would imagine that Clay Thompson bringing negative energy to work is something that he would

notice and then just tell him, hey, like you're, you're soup, like I don't need you to be super sad guy. How you helping me? We've, it could be as simple as the perspective that Mike's giving there was like, how about we do joy while we're living joy as opposed to the pressure of the next competition that you have to win that keeps you from joy? Like, how about we accept who we are at this point with some self-awareness in our career? Yeah, and you saw the type of energy that he brought to the press conference, post that conversation with Steve Kerr, so I can only look like before. Yeah, I can only imagine when negative energy clay might have been like. But can you imagine if you've been that great and the other guys that, I mean,

staff's older than him. Like, you're looking around and your body cannot do what it did. LeBron's still out there doing it with gnarled feet and stuff and play us to look at his body and whoever, however he self identifies for the 30 years of his life that have brought him all the rewards and be like, oh, this shit betrayed me. This betrayed me at the end.

This was best two-way player in that league. And now it doesn't work the same way anymore. And now I've got to live the rest of my life with the grief of who I used to be as an identity. That's a hard shit to like see in a mirror at 33. But Steve Kirk probably lives something similar toward the end of his career next to Jordan. That would be helpful.

Or you can evolve into what Ray Allen was down the stretch. Just be the guy that nails big time threes and be a role player. I mean, Jason kid was one of the greatest point guards ever made plenty of contribution. So as the end of his career, one of championship, there's a great lane for that. And you say that though, but Carmelo didn't want to do it. And he was a lot older than Clay, Clay's young for this conversation. didn't want to do it. And he was a lot older than Clay's young for this conversation.