The Kevin Sheehan Show - "Scared to Death What Washington Could Be w/Jayden Daniels"

Episode Date: June 28, 2024

Kevin and Thom today talked golf "hole-in-ones" to start along with the more on the Wizards' long-term tank. Then the boys got to an ESPN "NFL Live" conversation today where Jeremy Fowler said that people he has talked to around the league are "scared to death what Washington could be with Jayden Daniels". They finished with a discussion about Bronny James to the Lakers.Download the PrizePicks app today and use code Sheehan for a first deposit match up to $100! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheon Show. Here's Kevin. Tommy's here. I am here. The show's presenting sponsor, as always, is Window Nation.

Give them a call at 86690 Nation or head to Windonation.com. Mention my name for a free, no-risk in-home estimate. Tommy, I'm starting the show with a golf story. I know this will thrill you. but this is like the most incredible thing I think I've ever heard and I would like to see what the odds on this happening are because no one has put him out there. But Frank Benzel or Benzel is a U.S. senior golfer on the U.S. senior tour and at the U.S. Senior Open today in Newport, Rhode Island at the Newport Country Club, I bet that's a nice spot. He recorded back to back hole in once. He had a hole in one on the fourth hole, which was a 184-yard par three.

And then on the next hole, on a 203-yard par three, the fifth, he had another ace. Back-to-back, hole in ones. That is, that's, I would assume the odds are not. you know, lottery odds, but they are about as long shot as you could possibly get in sports. You know, I wouldn't make such a big deal about this. I had back-to-back holes in one last week. Yeah. Right. So, I mean, the odds are not that astronomical. Did you really have back-to-back hole in ones playing puttut? No, but actually, I did have two holes in one. They were pretty close. I don't think. they were back to back.

Ah. But have you ever had a hole in one? Never. Never. But can I tell you something? I think I've said this before. My father, who is 86 years of age, has had eight of them.

He's had eight hole in ones. Wow. Wow. I've never had one. Wow. You think he could have saved one for you somewhere? I know. He's a much, much better golfer than I am.

I mean, even at 86, you know, and he plays up, T's, but, you know, he's still, you know, probably right around a 10 handicap, even at his age. Well, good for him. Wow. I mean, but he used to, he was single-digit most of his life, but he, he eight whole one's once. He had his eighth like a year ago or nine months ago or something like that. But this guy had. I've got to be some kind of, that's, I wonder if there's a, I wonder if there's a, oh, a record somewhere of collective holes in ones over the course of your life. It is pretty amazing.

Oh, it's got to be way up there. It's got to be way up there. Yeah. But to have them back to back, I mean, look, to have them back to back playing putt-putt is a pretty, that's a long shot, but not as much, of course. But I've never had a hole in one. I've been close many times. There's an element of luck, obviously, in a hole in one,

but you do have a better chance if you're a better golfer and play more golf. You know, the more times you play, the chances are better, and the better golfer you are. And, you know, I'm not a great golfer. I'm a very, very average to maybe slightly below average golfer, not compared to, I think, the world of people playing golf. But anyway, I've never had one, never had one. I've been within literally a ball hanging on a cup on a par three where, you know,

you're trying to hope that it, you know, the wind will blow it in or maybe if you walk up close to it, it'll go in, but never had one. Witnessed several of them, but never had one. Actually, during the pandemic, this would have been, you know, this spring or summer of 2020. I was playing golf because that was one of the few things you could do, although not every place around town was open, but the place that I play was open. And I was playing with my youngest son and actually two distant relatives,

father and his son and his son and my son were college roommates at Penn State for four years. And the four of us were out there and we were playing a par three, I don't know, 165 yards. And my friend Dennis hit it to about 20 feet. I hit it to about 15 feet. My son hit it to about 10 feet. And then Jack, my son's distant cousin and roommate at Penn State for four years, and I coached Jack in sports and basketball for many years.

Jack drained it. He drained it. And it was in those early days when people were like, you know, supposedly social distancing. Well, if you were outside, you know, they had already basically said if you're outside, you're good. But the amount of jumping around and hugging and it was amazing because rarely do you see four balls within 20 feet on a par three in a, now Jack's a good golfer, my son's a good golfer. But yeah, it was pretty cool to see that.

But anyway. Now, you know, having a hole in one is sort of like a walk-off moment. moment, you know, in a lot of other sports or something like that. I mean, that seems like the kind of moment you should be able to say, you drop the mic, you're done. That's it. You know, but how rare is it to have a hole in one, have you ever seen one on the 18th and final hole? Well, the 18th and final hole would have to be a part three to see a hole in one.

Most places don't end their rounds on a par three. Their courses on a part of three. There are some that end on a part of three. The U.S. open at Congressional in 97, the Ernie Ells win. I think that was the year that they redesigned Congressional Blue to have the 18th and final hole part three. I think that's right. Could be wrong. Could have been the open after that.

But whatever. Yeah, no, it's, that would be a true walk. off on 18. Yeah. Mike drop. I'm done. But the problem is, if you have a hole in one, because the sport does have an addictive quality to it, you're back out

the next day. I mean, Tommy, you know, the funny thing about golf is people will always say, you know, oh, my God, I'm hitting it sideways, I'm hitting it all over the place. But then for whatever reason, on that 18th hole, you hit a couple of good shots,

you make par, and they've hooked you back in for the next day or two days later. But I thought that was pretty amazing back-to-back hole in once. He apparently went bogey-bogey on the next two holes and is like three or four over on the day. It's kind of hard to be three or four over on the day when you've got two aces. But I guess he's not playing super well. But it is a U.S. Senior Open.

It's the actual Open Championship. Anyway. How good do you have to be to make the senior tour? Oh, really good? Like what kind of handicapped do you have to? Oh, plus, you know, plus, I don't know, plus six, plus five, I don't know. I mean, that's the thing, Tommy, about golf. Like guys who, you know, and those of you that are listening that are golfers and some of you, I bet, are very good golfers.

And maybe even scratch or even plus ones or plus twos. it's so far away from being a professional golfer. You know, you say, and you've said in the past, and I don't disagree with you, that golf is very popular because you get to play the sport that you watch. But the sport that you're watching is a completely different sport than even the best golfers you play with play. You know, when they were playing a few weeks ago in the U.S.

open. And it was playing very difficult, right? I mean, it was playing incredibly difficult a few weeks ago at Pinehurst. And ultimately, there were four or five players, I think. I'm pulling it up right now. Four or five players that finished underpar. DeCambeau won at 600. But the course played really difficult. And Tommy, during those events, what you get is you get a conversation among golfers, and I'm talking about really good golfers, what do you think you'd shoot? Do you think you'd break 80? Do you think you'd break 90? Well, you know, guys like Steve Sands, you know, Scott, who have been a part of the tour covering the tour, will tell you that like a scratch golfer, a guy who's really good,

would have gone out to Pinehurst that weekend and would never have broken a hundred on any of those days. And then like just a, my sons were like, what do you think, you know, we'd shoot from the tips. And I said, 140. And my youngest son goes, no, no, I think I could break 100. I'm like, you wouldn't have a chance of breaking 100. And he's like an eight handicap, you know, seven or eight handicapped. He wouldn't have a chance of breaking 100. That's the difference between the pros and the guys who play, who are really,

good is massive. It's massive. And I don't think a lot of golfers realize that the difference between a guy that's a two-handicap versus a pro golfer is miles and miles difference. Not to mention... I bet there are a lot of guys out bet who are out there. They've been playing for 20, 25 years. And they probably think, you know, I wonder if I should try. I wonder if I Try out for the senior. No doubt. There's probably a lot of guys I think that. Oh, 100%.

100%. And occasionally, there is somebody that'll break through that didn't, you know, play, even sniff the PGA tour. But, you know, like, I'm trying to think who are the best professional athlete that plays golf is. It might be Steph Curry. I mean, Steph Curry is one of them. And he's, I... It's usually a baseball player. Baseball and hockey.

because they have the most time. And hockey players are very good. Let me see what Steph Curry's handicap is. He's a plus 1.3. I mean, John Smoltz was considered a terrific golfer. That whole Atlanta Braves group, Maddox, Glaven, and Smoltz, that's all they did was play golf. They were all good?

Together. Yeah. Interesting. Anyway. All right. You didn't get a chance to weigh in on the Wizards NBA draft, but you wrote about it. So why don't you tell everybody what you wrote about

and give some thoughts on what is clearly, you know, an intent to tank for the next few years minimum, which we knew anyway. Yeah. I mean, you had three French guys picked in the top ten. you know, France is the hot ticket right now for basketball players.

And the common thing you keep hearing, not just from the Wizards, but throughout the NBA now is upside. Upside. You know, he's got tremendous upside. You know, and this is with the value thing. You know, what kind of upside does he have?

Well, all draft picks are based on upside. You know? I mean, you're picking everybody based on how you've, think they're going to do. You know, that's basically upside. Right. But I just find a curious that that's become like a buzzword in the last couple years,

in particular with the European players, because you're trying to project how good they'll be because most people have never seen them play. Right. Yeah. And I point out, I mean, for the average basketball fan sitting at home, home, it used to be a joy maybe to do your own amateur scouting based on the guys you saw playing the Big Ten or the ACC who were going to be picked in the draft. But you're not watching National Basketball League in Australia.

You know, you're not watching these guys anymore. So you have to rely on these guys, these front office people, more than ever, that they know what they're doing. because you don't have a clue. You watch video. Maybe the geeks watch, you know, the European ball and Real Madrid basketball and stuff like that. But, you know, you don't have it. There's been a missed joy.

And I'm not saying they're all like this. Of judging of projecting how players will do in the NBA based on college because so many players now are coming from overseas. and you never see him play. All that said? Yeah. All that said, since we really don't have any idea, you have to trust

what's his name, Dawkins? Yeah, Will Dawkins, Michael Winger, yeah. And Michael Winger, you just have to trust them that they know what they're doing. I pulled this up because I was curious, because I was actually having this conversation with somebody not on the radio show or the podcast.

podcast last night. The NBA at the beginning of this past season announced a record 125 international players from 40 countries on opening night rosters. A record number of players from Canada 26 and then France was second with 14. Australia had nine, Serbia, 7, Germany six. And then Nigeria and Turkey each had five players. and, you know, what is it, 15, 15 players on each roster times 30, 4.50, so 125 divided by 450. So basically 28% of the league was international. That's amazing. I mean, this sport, you know, is, we've known for, I mean, maybe starting with the Dream Team in 92,

it's become the second most popular sport on the globe. The NBA in some ways is more popular outside of this country than it is inside the country, which is one of the reasons they got these TV deals. I mean, it's not just about, you know, the number of U.S. viewers. It's worldwide viewers. You know, the 70 plus million in television deals that are being signed. But, yeah, I mean, to your point, like I was making the case that next year's draft will, include a lot of U.S. players at the top, and it's thought to be a great draft. And the players

that will be at the top of it will include Cooper Flag, who will play at Duke this year. And everybody has been, you know, waiting for Cooper Flag. And there's a lot of talk that he is a franchise-changing player. And then there is the kid that's going to Rutgers, Rutgers, believe it or not, Tommy had one of the top recruiting classes in the country. But A.C. Bailey is like a six foot nine inch, you know, swing, you know, small forward shooting guard. He's going to Rutgers. He's thought to be a massive franchise changing player. Dylan Harper's going to Rutgers.

He's going to be a top two or three pick. Then there is a French player in there. But really, this upcoming season, if you're a Wizards fan, you'll actually be able to pay attention to and root for, you know, them to get the opportunity. to draft Cooper Flag or Ace Bailey at Rutgers. I mean, it'll probably be flag, but there at least will be a conversation, and you'll know the players that the Wizards will be, because the Wizards are going to finish with one of the three worst records.

This is what they want to do. They're going to win 15 to 20 games. Somebody suggests to me on Twitter that they're much better than you think they are, and I'm like, from what? I mean, with Denny Abdiah last year, they won 15 games. The Spurs with Wembe won 22 games. So this is what they're... They're going to be exactly what they were.

You're right, 15 to 20 wins, which is where you want them. Yeah, but to your... This is where you want them to be. But where you were right about this draft in a lot of drafts recently, at least there will be much more familiarity, you know, especially if Duke goes into the tournament is a one-seed, And you get to watch this guy, Cooper flag play. And then the 26th draft, there's thought that at the top of that draft, it's the same thing,

which includes Carlos Boozer's son Cameron Boozer. So the next two years for the Wizards are about ending up with the number one or a top two pick in each of the next two drafts. And as I said on the podcast yesterday, we're two years away from being two years away. It's four to five years before you come up for a, for air. And you see what they did with Kulibali, with the three picks from the other night, with who they pick next year, who they pick in 26. And then you say, did they get enough of them right to actually have a good team starting in 2028, 2029, 2030? But that's how far away you are from this. Now, I'm fine with this. This is the right way to do it. It doesn't guarantee anything.

I bet you it's killing Ted, even though he knows it's the right thing. Of course he does. I'll give them credit. They don't use rebuild even. Winger and those guys, they don't even use the word rebuild. Well, this is. They use it. This isn't openly tanking because they're not doing what Philadelphia, you know,

admitted they were doing with the process. But the trade of Denny Avdia the other night to grab the 14th pick in the first round to take Bub Carrington, who I'm actually. kind of excited about after having his college coach on the show yesterday. That is just, you know, that's an out-and-out admission, but they didn't need to admit it. We knew it last year. This is their plan. I agree.

Yeah. But it's just so funny. I mean, speaking to how it bothers Ted is, I'm sure, that's why these front office people are very careful about how they describe what they're doing and go out of their way to say, this is not a rebuild. Right. Because, I mean, because their boss doesn't want to hear that. You know?

I'll bet you you don't hear the word rebuild on NBC Sports Washington very much, if at all. Is it called that anymore? Or is it called Monumental Group Network? Oh, monumental. That's right. It's called a monumental network now. And I don't know if it's not necessarily, it's the right way, given the circumstances they're in. okay this is the right way to do it given the circumstances they put themselves in

over the years there's no you know there's no other there's no less painful way around this I actually and I thought about this after the last couple of days just from my own standpoint I watched less of the Wizards this past season than I think I have ever watched You did? Why? Then I have recently, because I'm curious about Kulibali. I am. I mean, he's shown me enough that I would say I'm curious about him. Okay. That's the first time you've admitted that you watched a lot of an NBA team. I didn't say I watched a lot.

Well, you watched more than I did in the previous few years. I watched less because they suck. I am curious about it. Because they suck. They're bad. But I actually think the upcoming season, there will be, like, they've got a seven-foot center that they pick number two overall, you know? I mean, that's a reason. When you end up with one of the top two picks in a draft, typically when you're a fan of that team, there is intrigue there.

They had three first-round picks. I know it's the NBA draft, and that does it. mean much. But they had three first round picks, and they were really, really into this guy, Bub Carrington, because they traded for him, basically. They traded a young player at 23 years old. And a young... Have you seen him play? I've never seen him play. No, I'd be long. I'm sure I watched Pitt this year at some point, but was not really familiar with Bob Carrington as part of a Pitt game. If I watched Pitt, it was because I had a wager on the game more likely than not. But I did watch a lot of the highlights, and I see, you know what I see, Tommy?

I see the upside. I see the upside in Bub Carington. But no, what I was going to say is, I actually think there will be more of a reason to watch them this upcoming season than there was last year when they only just had Kula Bolly. Yes. But again, why? Because you're curious. Yeah, I want to see You want to see what these guys might be able to do. You want to see the upside. I want to see if they reach their upside. Projection.

Yes. And what's so ridiculous is that, you know, they got basically an 18, 19, and 20-year-old. Kula Bali is a 19-year-old, right? Maybe he's 20 now. Yeah. And, you know, it takes in the NBA, hey, this is a league where winning teams have men on them.

You know, guys, I mean, Tatum and Brown just finally cleared the hurdle in year, what, eight and nine or seven and eight or whatever. And they're still only 26 and 27 years old. So, you know, it's like four years from now, 2028, you know, you hope that they have Cooper Flag and Cameron Boozer and Balal Kulibali and the three. guys from yesterday, Sar and Carrington and George, and no one is going to be older than 24 years old. Even the guys that they just took are going to be 22 and 23 and 24. And so that's what they're doing here.

They're taking big swings on big upsides, and there's no guarantee that any of them will hit, but they're hoping that after four drafts, you know, the 23, 24, 25, and 26 draft, that they can come up for Aaron 27 or 28 and say, we got two stars and we got another guy that's really good. And we got a chance now to take that next step to win 50 games and contend. But we do all recognize how damaging and painful this process is when you have been in what I called in my column a bottomless pit for 50 years. You know, we're not talking about a championship within a generation. Right.

And then a collapse. Right. irreparable from all that misery and just terrible operations of this basketball team for decades. So while this is the right way, there's no team in the NBA has had to go through this that I can think of with such a track record of failure still pulling that track record along with them. Yeah, I mean, like the Sixers, the Thunder, you know, teams that have done this have had stretches where they've, I mean, they've contended and the Wizards have not. No, the Wizards are definitely the longest drought. Well, we know this. They have not, they're the longest drought team in the NBA in terms of playing in a conference finals.

I think every other team in the league, right, is played in a conference finals since the last time the Wizards played in one, which was 1979. I think every other team in the NBA has had a 50-win season since the last time the Wizards had a 50-win season, which was 1979. Yes. I mean, it's pathetic. While all this may work, who knows what it will result in. Right. And, you know, it's too bad that Ted didn't come to this conclusion a year or two earlier because the biggest asset that they have had and the one that would have produced a lot of picks

and a lot of opportunities for upside swings would have been to trade Bradley Beale a year or two earlier. But, you know, he was just. just too loyal and thought that he was much better than Beale really actually ever was. But, yeah, God, I was going to say something else about this, and I totally forgot what I was going to say. Yeah, this is the 14th year that Ted's owned the Wizards. 14 years, 2010, yeah. Oh, what I was going to say is that no other, none of the other three major sports requires this. You know, the dolphins remember tried it in the NFL, but I mean, you know, the NFL, you can turn it around in one season if you land on a couple of key players in free agency and you land on the quarterback, et cetera.

And there's just such a fine line between winning and losing NFL games to begin with. Major League Baseball, there is, you know, a rebuild process, no doubt. Yeah, there is. And he saw it up north with the Orioles. Right. But I don't think it's equivalent to the NBA. You know, the NBA, it's just such a league of haves and have-nots. And if you're a have-nought, you know, especially when you're in a situation like Washington is,

which is they've never been a big money team, they've never been a big spending team, and they've never been a big destination team for a big star. And look, the trend here anyway isn't to do what, you know, LeBron did with Miami or KD did at Golden State or any of those super teams. The trend has been, you know, build it from scratch through the draft. That's the last two champions now. You know, Boston and Denver. And so they're doing the right thing.

It just kind of sucks. as a fan that this is the way that it has to be done. And it takes so much time because you don't win with a young core. You win with an experienced core. So you've got to get the core first. And then you've got to let it age like wine. You've got to let it breathe for a few years or a few minutes. You know, I've compared it to trying to turn around an aircraft carrier.

a pass-up. Yeah. That's how it's a change the direction of a franchise in the NBA. It's crazy. But it is, you know, like the idea, like back in 2016 when they actually had, you know, Wall and Beal to what they thought at the time, because they were super high draft choices, were cornerstones, and they were all in for KD, you know, which was never going to happen. But they back then, if you could attract him, you know, like Toronto attracted Kauai Leonard, you know, and the Warriors were already champions, but getting Golden State and what, you know, LeBron did with Bosch and and Wade in Miami.

But we've had a run now of Milwaukee with players they drafted, Golden State with players they drafted, because the title that they won in 22 when they beat Boston, was with Clay, Steph, and Dremont. And then Denver in 23 and Boston and 24. This is the way it's got to be done. The league is not appealing to, you know, these TV deals would certainly be in conflict with that. But the way you have to do this is not appealing to most sports fans who want, you know, who want something and they want it right away.

All right. not have to wait on is Jaden Daniels. Some Jaden Daniels talk coming up. We'll also get to Brony James being selected by the Lakers. We'll talk nepotism maybe in sports a little bit. We've got lots to get to. And we will continue with all of that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. All right, guys, the NBA finals are over, but we've got a summer of baseball ahead of us.

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various NFL scouts, executives, et cetera. And we played that. We talked about it earlier in the week. Well, just moments ago, he was on with Lewis Riddick, Sam Acho, and I'm forgetting who the host of NFL Live Show on ESPN was. But you'll hear the exchange where he basically follows Lewis Riddick, who was raving about Jaden Daniels, and Jeremy Fowler gets into even more detail on what people are saying around the league about Jaden Daniels. Here's how it sounded just moments ago. Jeremy, you were about to get into it. We let the guys rave about his talent.

What are other people around the league saying about the commanders in Daniels? A lot of them are basically saying exactly what Lewis is saying right now, because this is a time year where I talk to teams, just about big picture stuff. What do you think of this player or that player? And I've had multiple people this week bring up unprompted. Like, I'm kind of scared to death of what Washington could be with Jayden Daniel. Because he's got the high-end running ability, like some of these other quarterbacks we've seen come in, but he is more advanced as a passer. Like, it was brought up to me to comp with Lamar Jackson. Maybe not quite as good of a runner's Jackson was, but good enough, but a better passer at this stage of his career than Jackson was.

So really the offensive line is the one thing that could be holding back Washington's because they have a lot of skill to go along with Daniels. Scared to death, Tommy, what Washington could be with Jaden Daniels. What could they be with Jaden Daniels in 2024? Unbelievable. I mean, I'm sick of this guy already. He hasn't played it down yet. Yeah.

I mean, this is just ridiculous, ridiculous. Scary? He may be very good. in punt pass and kick competition. But until they start playing games, well, you get a glimpse of it. Yeah. You know?

Uh, I mean, this is just, this should be driving you nuts. This is the kind of thing that drives you crazy. I know. Isn't it? Yeah. I, I, look, it's coming from, we're not,

we're not getting what we've typically gotten in the past, which is, it's coming actually directly from the building. You know, people, although we're getting that too. And I'm actually, Austin Echler was on an NFL network show yesterday or the day before. And he went on and on for like two and a half minutes about, you know, how good Jaden Daniels is and how natural his leadership is. And this is a guy that played with Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert. But when, when Jeremy Fowler says, people around the league are talking about how scared to death they are about what Washington could be with Jaden Daniels.

Serious question. Like, let's say he is everything people are talking about. What will that mean with the team he has in 2024? And I guess we're talking about, well, we would be talking about the aberration, which is what C.J. Stroud was last year as a rookie. That is unusual. That's the exception to the rule for rookie quarterbacks. He threw for over 4,000 yards, 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, five interceptions, and he was outstanding. He completed 64% of his passes. He was top 10 in almost every category, you know, as a rookie. So, you know, yeah, I guess it would mean 10 wins and maybe pushing for a playoff spot. They're in the NFC East.

They're not in the AFC South, but I would guess that if he has a C.J. Stroud kind of a year, and he's 23 over 5 and 4,100 yards throwing. By the way, he's probably going to be at 6, 700 yards rushing. Washington's good enough around him, and I'm not saying that they're good, but they'd have enough around him. And by the way, a new coaching staff,

10 wins. When somebody says they're scared to death about how good Washington could be with Jaden Daniels, I bet they're thinking 10 wins. And why does every preseason prediction have this team between six and seven wins? Why does every one of people who cover the league? Let me tell you something about Louis Drittick. I know everybody loves the guy. Well, that was Jeremy Fowler.

But Lewis, Riddick is a massive Jaden Daniels fan. But go ahead. Okay. Well, he sang the praises of Wayne Haskins. And, you know, it just like endlessly. And he also said that Dan Snyder had changed, too. So he doesn't have a lot of credibility as far as I'm concerned. But this is just, it would be, again, if this was a team like maybe like the Steelers,

and you were hearing this and you were a fan, you're thinking, oh, this is great, you know? I mean, you know, we're still in the running. We haven't lost the step and all that. But when you've been trampled, like this franchise has, and I know there's a handful of fans that will buy into it no matter what. But this is just maddening, you know? I mean, just shut up.

Everybody shut up and let it and let them go. I know. Look, I think Jane Daniels could be good only based on the fact that, I mean, you know, he has a lot of experience. He played a lot of games in college, and he's got, he's older. He's not 21. He's not 22. You know, so he probably has a level maturity and experience that is probably at the high end of a college football quarterback, right? Say that again, sorry.

I wasn't paying attention to you. I was reading something. Of course not. He has a level of experience and maturity that's probably at the high end of quarterbacks coming out of college. Oh, yeah, in terms of the games played. And not only that, let's face it, he played in the SEC for the last two years. So he's playing against a lot of NFL talent in the highest pressure environments.

In fact, he's going to walk into FedEx Field for his first game week two against the Giants, and he's going to think he's back in high school compared to where he's been playing in Death Valley. Yeah. Yeah. So that's part of it. I mean, there's some credibility to expectations. If he's not good, then that would be a disappointment. Now, I'm just saying good.

I'm not saying scary. Okay, if he's not good, even at this early stage, that would be a little bit disappointing. All right. I'm going to admit something to you right now. First of all, I, you know, nobody knows rookie quarterback. I mean, team around him that, you know, it's one of the reasons that you're seeing the six and a half over under number in Vegas. you're seeing a lot of power ranking numbers, 29, 29, 30. It's not because these guys don't believe Jaden Daniels is going to be good. It's because they don't think that he'll be so perfect in year one

that he could overcome what the roster looks like. I actually don't think the roster is as bad as a lot of you listening do, but what I'm going to admit is this. I actually do have a weird gut feeling that Jaden Daniels is going to be the real deal sooner rather than later. I think worst case is we get to the end of 17 games and there's been enough over the 17 games that we know they got it right. I mean, this is my belief because I've been on him since the beginning and I just have great belief that this guy is going to be a legitimate starting quarterback in the NFL. and a good one. I don't know if he'll be an elite one,

but I think he'll be the best one we've had around here in a long time. But what I'm admitting to you is that I have a feeling it's going to come sooner rather than later. Part of it is because of what you described. He is a more mature quarterback. He's played a lot of games. Part of it is the fact that he is just so incredibly lethal as a runner that just almost raises the floor. You know, the upside, Tommy, the upside to him may not be realized rookie year.

But I just don't see a massive downside because I think he'll make so many plays with his legs. But like Fowler just said, and I think the rest of the league, I don't know what took him so long to catch up with this, he presented himself all season long as a very polished in-the-pocket quarterback, much more advanced than Lamar Jackson was coming out of Louisville and probably more advanced than even C.J. Stroud was coming out of Ohio State. But I think that he could be really good as a rookie quarterback. And wouldn't surprise me if he was the NFL offensive rookie of the year. And it wouldn't surprise me if he plays at that level that this team is on the higher end of what I've thought about, which is 7 to 8. you know, maybe pushes nine wins.

You know, they do have, even though I hate the schedule talk, they do have a last place schedule, but you don't know how that's really going to pan out. You know, you just never really know for sure. But, you know, they're in an NFC this year where you've got nine home games, eight road games. The division's got, you know, potentially Dallas on the down, you know, turn and the Giants, you know, trying to figure it out.

And one more thing. I actually am legitimately excited about Cliff Kingsbury, working with Jaden Daniels. Kingsbury has been a quarterback guru. I mean, the quarterbacks he's worked with and the quarterbacks that swear by Kingsbury, including, by the way, one Patrick Mahomes. And I also feel good about what Dan Quinn will bring defensively. I think there'll be a much better defensive team. So I do have this gut feel that they could end up being a surprise team

and that Jaden Daniels would be a big part of it. He wouldn't be the sole reason for it, but that they could have a better than anticipated year, which, by the way, would be the first time I've predicted that in a long time because the best record I've predicted in years is 8-8-1, which I got right two years ago. So this may be a preview. of when we get to late August, early September,

I might be going nine wins or more on this team in 2024. Wow. I'm sure you will. What do you mean you're sure I will? Because I don't, I mean, you won't see enough in preseason to scare you off. No, probably not. An injury would scare me off to the quarterback. Yes.

You know, if we start hearing things like you were hearing about Dwayne Haskins during his offseason and his training camp, I mean, it was clear that Jay Gruden didn't think then, and he's talked about it afterwards, that he was not ready to play quarterback in the NFL. You know, he had to grow up. There was a lot of maturing he had to do. Everything we hear about this guy is that he is mature. Yes, you're right. So. Absolutely right. Look, I hope he is a magical player. That would be so exciting. We haven't had a magical player in this town since Bryce Harper. I know Soto is great, but beyond that, there's a sort of a presence. There's sort of an aura. I mean, we haven't had that. When you say that about Ovechkin? Ovechkin's been here for, well, okay, yeah, I would say that Ovechkin in his prime.

Wouldn't you say that about Max Scherzer? Well, he played with Harper. I know. But I thought you were actually going to say keeping it to football. I thought you were going to say RG3, which would be the right answer. Because RG3 gave us a thrill of a season, a memorable season, regardless of how it turned out. Shock and awe. Yeah, I think the word.

I think you coined that phrase. even prior to his first game. You predicted shock and awe that whole week leading up to the game in New Orleans. I can't wait to hear what you will be predicting and what you'll come up with Labor Day week leading into the opener at Tampa Bay for Jaden Day. You know, to be honest with you, just a little reflection here. I probably won't have anything particularly insightful,

but I'm just not as connected as I used to be. Back then when I made that, I used to still talk to players. I need some players. You know, I don't know any players on this roster. God, I just, I'll never forget how impressed you were with RG3 waiting for the planes to pass over. I mean, my God, you, it was love at first sight. The irony, because, you know, I don't think RG3 is a fan of either one of us. But the irony of him not necessarily caring for you is that you were,

love at first sight in April during rookie minicamp. Yes. You know the funny part? What? I test kept thinking he would wait for the planes to pass so that we could hear him talk and record him. I had no idea he was doing it so he could hear himself talk. Yeah.

Well, what he had to say was so important. So, or at least he thought it was. He was great that first year. And we have so many memories of his games, but oh my God, that's what's going to make, honestly, the documentary or the 30 for 30 so fascinating is to draw that, you know, that distinction between what he was in those first six to eight months and then what he was after that. Yeah. You should be in that. When they do that, you. be in that.

I think there are a lot of people in local media that should. Because look, he hated our local media, hated it. I mean, I think it was going to be a part of his book that got shelved. How much he hated the local media. All right. Bronny James to the Lakers, we'll get to that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey, guys, most of us are interested in our mental and physical well-being to a certain degree. And with that in mind, I'd like to welcome and introduce a new sponsor to the podcast.

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regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, including EE system. All right, Tommy, tell us about Shelley's. Look, we've had some pretty hot days here. I think they're starting to come down a little bit. The weather's starting to get a little bit nicer, but we've had some scorching hot days here. And if you're in the city, those are the days you're looking for an oasis. You're looking for a place to get out of the heat, out of the blistering sun. And you don't want to stop at the first place you see. You don't want to go into a CVS or an Orange Julius shop or something like that.

What? CBS or Orange Julius. Are you at the mall? You want to, you want someplace where you can really get away from the outside world and the heat and the humidity and the pain and the suffering. And I'm telling you, Shelly's back room is the oasis to do that. When you're walking around downtown, make your way to 1331 F Street Northwest because Shelley's inside, it's the kind of place where in the outside, the world could be, crashing down on everyone, and you wouldn't know it in Shelly. I thought I'd love going to the movies in the middle of the day sometimes

because you can walk into a movie theater and it's so dark and you're so enclosed and, you know, the world could be destroyed. Nobody knows where you are. Yeah. Huh? You wouldn't know it. Nobody knows where you are and you're not accountable to anybody during this time in the middle of the day in the movie theater.

Well, Shelly's is better because you've got these comfortable couches, these great overstuffed chairs. I mean, you know, it's not, there's not. It's an oasis. Yes, that's exactly what it is with great food, great drink, and great cigars. Shelley's Backroom, find out more at shelley's backroom.com. Orange Julius. When's the last time you were in an orange Julius? Where is there even in Orange Julius?

Is there one in a mall locally? I don't know. I've never been the one. I've never had an orange choice. I haven't. No, I haven't. I do remember as a kid, Hot Shops, remember Hot Shops?

The restaurant? That's a D.C. thing. I know it's a D.C. thing. Were you here when Hot Shops existed? I don't think so. We came here in 83. Oh, no, no, no. There was a Hot Shops right at East West.

Highway, Wisconsin, and East West. Okay. They were all over the place. Anyway. Were they owned by Marriott? They were. They were owned by Marriott. They had like an orange freeze

kind of a drink. And I think that's what Orange Julius is, right? I don't know. I could be wrong. I don't know. I always thought it was kind of a funny name. All right.

I thought I had a friend named Julius in high school. I don't know. I don't think I know one Julius. I don't think I've ever known. Julius, Shackleford. Julius, that's, was he a basketball player? It's combining Dr. J. and Charles Shackleford. He was a track guy who played, actually, he played on my intramural basketball team in high school.

He was a big kid about 6-2, 6-3, but he was a high jumper in high school on the track team. And a good friend of mine. I miss Julius. I think he's in Florida somewhere. Okay. All right. What did you make of the Lakers drafting LeBron James at 55 in the second round after the agent for Brani and for LeBron, Rich Paul,

was apparently calling and telling teams other than the Lakers. Don't draft him if you draft him. He's going to Australia. What an embarrassment the Lakers have become. The crown jewel of the NVR. and they've managed to turn themselves into a laughing stock, a joke. First they hire a coach who hasn't done anything, and not to belittle you, okay, but coach, I think, his son's basketball team in terms of coaching. Who j.J. Reddick?

By cursing. Yeah. Okay. He embarrasses himself by cursing in the introductory press conference. And then they do this thing with, then they draft LeBron James' son, who couldn't even get off the bench at USC if I'm not mistaken, right? Yeah, he averaged four points per game at a bad Pac-12 team, yes. Yeah, I mean, they won like 15 games.

U.S.C. did. Right. So, and this is just really an embarrassing. And for all those, what's really more embarrassing is the way ESPN is trying to suck up to LeBron and the Lakers by defending them, you know, with this thing about, you know, don't tell me about nepotism. There's nepotism everywhere throughout the league. Here's the big difference.

Nobody's buying jerseys for the brothers, sisters, and cousins in the front office. Talent is different than the rest of the operation. Okay? When you have nepotism and the talent on the roster of, of, of, a team, that's distinctly different than hiring your brother-in-law to be the assistant general manager. Big difference.

Wait, explain the difference again? When you hire, when you hire your, when you draft your son to be on the team, you are pretty much directly, you are affecting

the direct connection between fans and the product. Because they're players. Yes, they're players. That's what I thought you were saying. My fault. Okay.

People buy jerseys of these players. They don't buy jerseys of the assisting equipment manager. Right. Who may be your cousin, your third cousin. Right. So don't wave this nepotism flag to me. It's different. I mean, you could say, you could say coaches and, you know, coaches hiring brothers or hiring sons.

And by the way. It's different. I could give you an example. Imagine programming a radio station. And, you know, you've got a brother who wants to break in the radio. So you give them a job, maybe you teach them how to be a gopher, maybe an assistant producer, or something like that. Do you put them on the air? No.

I know, but they're not putting them in the game right away either. I mean, so... He's taking up a roster spot. Yeah, so I understand what you're saying. I mean, it is a customer touch point much more than, you know, hiring your, you know, your daughter to be, you know, the marketing director or even the vice president of marketing or whatever in your organization, if you're an owner as an example. So just a couple of things. And one thing that bothers me about this, and I'm not so bothered by this overall. I'll just tell you that.

The first thing I would say is everything I've read about Brony James going back to when he got recruited by USC. Apparently he's a really good kid, very well-liked teammates, the whole thing. And he doesn't like the attention. Too bad, you're LeBron James' son. I mean, the attention was going to be there regardless. But he has not wanted, you know, sort of everything to be handed to him. I mean, he got picked in the second round, and he probably did not deserve to get picked in the second round. round. But I've heard, you know, and read very good things about him as a kid. Number two is that

he's not void of talent. Yeah, he only averaged 4.8 points per game. Remember, Tommy, he had that congenital heart defect, had a heart issue, had to undergo surgery. You know, it was like, I think initially it was reported as a heart attack. I don't know if that's what it actually was, but there were some real health issues. I think he's been completely cleared and he came back and he played, but it's one of the reasons that he didn't have a big year in his year at USC is he was behind the eight ball from the jump because of the medical condition. But he's not a player that people look at and say, oh my God, like he can't play at all. There are people that believe he's got real talent and that he is still growing and that if he had stayed in college another year,

that he would have been a double-digit score next year, and then maybe he would have gotten a big I. L. Deal to go to Kentucky or North Carolina in his third year, and then maybe he would have been, you know, a draftable player at some point down the road. But it is very premature to have a guy like this with his resume to get taken at any point in the draft. But it's not that he can't play at all. But lastly, to me, it's just, it's okay to say, look, LeBron James is in the twilight of one of the greatest careers in the history of the game. He came to L.A. We got a title. We got another championship. You know, it was the bubble championship in COVID in 2020,

but we got another title with LeBron James. And LeBron is going to stick around and play a couple of more years. But to do that, we had to hire the coach he wanted, and we had to draft his son. and instead it's just this these shenanigans around well this is the guy we wanted J.J. Reddick and Brony James is a guy that we think will fit in. No, just say LeBron's making the calls

which by the way he's been doing for much of his career everywhere he's been. And this is where I think a lot of people see LeBron as a bit of a phony and a bit of a fraud. Like LeBron has called the shots everywhere. We've been joking about LeBron James being the general manager going back to Miami. The only team that basically told him to shut up and sit down was Pat Riley in the Miami Heat when he wanted spolstra fired early on.

He's not a very good general manager, by the way, when it comes to these things. As a Laker fan, would I be upset that they burned a late second round pick on Brony James to keep LeBron in L.A.? I don't think I would be. I mean, the chances that that pick was going to actually amount to anything was not very good. They're not going to win with LeBron. No, no, they're probably not, but, you know. So it's a waste of time. Well, yeah, they're not going to win a title, that's for sure. They were in the Western Conference Championship two years ago. I mean, I know that. Their best player is Anthony Davis, and that's the guy they should be catering to. Oh, God. Anthony, I've got an outchy, Davis. I can't play for the next three weeks.

Yeah, they're not a championship contender at all. They got a player, by the way, in the first round in Dalton Connect that actually is the perfect fit for that team right now, because he is ready to play, and he fills a major need for them as a space the floor. stretch three-point shooter and score. But yeah, I don't, big picture or big takeaway, I really don't have much of an issue with if I were a Laker fan with them taking Brony James. It's just that the whole LeBron doesn't make calls. He's not involved.

Stop. He's been involved in every team he's been that he's played for in big decisions in the organization. And if this is what he wanted at the end of his career to keep him there, I mean, I kind of understand it to a certain degree. All right, anything else? I got nothing else for you, boss. I'm fresh out. I'm done. All right.

Good job. I got to run too. Have a great weekend, everybody, back on Monday. See you, boss. All right.