The Ryen Russillo Podcast - Can Belichick Wake a Sleeping Giant at UNC? Tom Curran on Why Bill Didn’t Return to the NFL. Plus, Clippers Guard Norman Powell.

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

Russillo starts the show by sharing his thoughts on Bill Belichick agreeing to become the new head coach of North Carolina (0:44) and then welcomes in Tom Curran to learn more about Bill and why he didn’t return to the NFL (15:20). Then, Ryen breaks down the most recent NBA Cup games (41:25) before Norman Powell joins to talk about his relationship with Kawhi Leonard, how he learned he was going to the Clippers, and his breakout year (51:30). Finally, Kyle and Ceruti join for Live Advice (85:11)! What is the statute of limitations on dating a friend's ex? Check us out on YouTube for exclusive clips, livestreams, and more at https://www.youtube.com/@RyenRussilloPodcast. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Ryen Russillo Guests: Tom Curran and Norman Powell Producers: Steve Ceruti, Kyle Crichton, and Mike Wargon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Packed Friday pod for you. We start with Bill Belichick to Chapel Hill. Bill is on to college football. Tom Curran knows Bill well until Bill didn't like him anymore, but he's great to talk to him about it. So, Curran's going to join us from back in Boston. NBA, we've got Norman Powell, perhaps the most underrated bucket hitter in the NBA, his role with the Clippers, his numbers just raging. And I've got some thoughts on the in season tournament results from earlier this week, and we've got life advice. Have a great weekend.

With Uber Reserve, you can book your Uber ride in advance 90 days in advance. Perfect for all you forward thinkers and planning gurus. Reserve your Uber ride up to 90 days in advance. Uber reserve. See Uber app for details. I want to start with Belichick in the news that he's going to be the head coach in North Carolina. Then I get some MBA stuff that I'll get to here in a second. But there you go. Bill Belichick,

head coach of UNC football. Now the oldest active coach in all of college football. And I'm happy for him because I think we can all assume and we know based on his decisions and what he has given his life to, given his life to the sport, that this is what he wants. I know 15 years ago, he said, I don't want to be more of leaving and coaching in my seventies, well, he's 73 now. But he also admitted years later that he wished he hadn't said that. But when he said it, you know, he's still in his fifties. I think what he did is he made a mistake that a lot of people make. A lot of really successful people make this mistake.

As you start pretending, you think you know who you'll be years later. I think what he did is he made a mistake that a lot of people make. A lot of really successful people make this mistake. As you start pretending you think you know who you'll be years later. You know, age is a really weird thing because when you're younger, you make all these assumptions about who you think you'll be and what your priorities will be. And then when you're in it, you're like, all right, well, this isn't that old and like, I'm not, I'm not done. And I think last year was the first time Belichick was outside of football since like 1975. So Bill needs football and that's cool that he needs football.

I, I, I in a way would think it'd be really cool to have like this one thing that is, that is so important to you that you never want to not have it in your life. So he said it down to Chapel Hill. I know that in the Wickersham piece this week, and he went on in more detail with Bill last night for his podcast, but Wickersham wrote this week that a Belichick confidence said, quote, this is a big fuck you to the NFL by bill.

And that bill's disgusted with certain elements of today's NFL. Um, apparently through this last cycle, right? Belichick and his group were trying to figure out, okay, which teams would be available? Would it be the bears? The bears hire him? Would it be Jacksonville? Could it be Dallas potentially, uh, after last year's hiring cycle where it looked like Atlanta was the only team that really even considered him all that strongly.

And that felt like it was coming more from ownership because there was another piece to this from wickershams.com piece with that Atlanta brass, once they had to come together and put their, their top three finalists together for the head coaching gig for the Falcons that Rene Morrison ended up getting that all of the people that were asked to go give us your top three, no one had Belichick even in their top three. And that's probably where that quote comes from. That also could probably be the birth of Belichick being disgusted because you're thinking, all right, whatever you think of Belichick, like he's not a top three

finalist for the Atlanta Falcons by anybody that has influence on that decision being made, but remember too, when these jobs get really important, okay. Um, it becomes the goal can become more about self-preservation that it can become about wins on a Sunday. So if you're handing the keys over to Bill, even if he's telling you not fully handling the keys over to him, you're still kind of handing the keys over to Bill Belichick. Because like what's a reduced role Bill Belichick like in an NFL. Like if you're bringing them in, you're doing it his way. And so the people that are probably going, I don't know that he's a finalist. May not be thinking about the football piece of it as much as they're

thinking about their own future. And the reason we'd even come to this because as much as I think Belichick's. Yeah, I don't, I don't really know. I guess we, if we wanted to make an argument, we make anything an argument, but if he's not the greatest coach of his time, he's the greatest coach of all time. And when it came to a team being prepared or a team adapting, um, I'll never forget. Like when they were rolling, rolling, when I still like cared about the team and the games and that kind of stuff, and I was still like in my fan mode.

It was the most amazing feeling being a fan of a Belichick coach team, because whatever wasn't working or was whatever was disconnected in the first half, you just knew they were going to figure it out and they would come out in the second half and they'd have solved the problem. Doesn't mean they're going to win every single game, but whatever was a problem in the first half likely would not be a problem in the second half. I can't tell you how much fun that is when it's the head coach of the team that you care about.

And that's what happened. But I've talked about the GM part of this. I mean, the GM Belichick, the GM cost Belichick, the head coach's job because it was ugly for years, man. I was going through it again this morning. Cause I remember years and years ago when I was still thinking of working with Van Pelt, like we started to point it out a little bit being like, this is a bad draft class and this class is bad.

And we all know like what the receivers and all that kind of stuff. But I was going through like some of those second and third rounders where you need a couple of those guys to hit. You need those mid rounders in the NFL draft to hit so that you have depth and you're developing your own guys because we assume Belichick, not just a great coach, but great at developing this stuff. But there's just so many lean, lean years that then you go back a couple years ago in free agency and then Belichick had to do something that was

the antithesis of how he wanted to team build as he had a dip in a free agency, he starts spending all this money. I remember one year they had the highest combined cap hit at receiver tight end combined and I doubt any of you can even name who those guys were. Certainly not the receivers, maybe a couple of the tight ends, but he had been so bad at drafting. He didn't even want to resign any of the guys he drafted. And if you go through some of those draft records, and I'm talking like the second and third round guys, like a second round of this flip for seven, three years later, the second round or that doesn't get a contract anywhere else, the second round of this completely out of football, the second round of the draft and then

they're already trading two years later. There's a lot of those guys in the list. So there's certainly with the way it ended in New England, hesitation, because you go, he might be the great coach, but can he run our entire organization? And then of course, there's always the Brady. You want to get ahead of Brady? You want to say, I want to get in front of this before it gets a little too ridiculous.

Okay. All right. Fine. Cause again, New England was the only Belichick, that combination, the only franchise, probably in NFL history with that dynamic that ever say, no, Brady, that's fine. You can go somewhere else. And by the way, when another Superbowl, if you wanted to do those things, fine. But what was the backup plan?

Cam Newton hanging around with nowhere else assigned for 1.75 million and then Mac Jones. So I think the personality, I think the track record of the front office, obviously dinging him, but not in college football. Right. Cause why should any of that matter? Is it an evaluation thing? And again, we're talking about Bill Belichick here. Uh, there are times where he talks about football where I'm like, do I understand

anything about this game that I watched like 40 years? And maybe the recruiting part that people are worried about, which I think is totally fair to wonder, like how is he going to handle recruiting with today's athlete where these guys are verbally committing and then flipping nonstop and just all the nonsense that goes along with it. Which again, I don't really criticize the kid because who cares? They've been exploited for years. But old school Belichick, is he gonna be into that? Is he gonna be into the NIL part of it, the transfer portal? I mean, the NIL stuff, a lot of that stuff is just delegated anyway.

So it's not like the head coach is sitting there writing out checks going like 20 for you, 20 for you, you know what I mean? So I think some of that can be insulated from Bill having to worry about that all the time. But when it comes to recruiting and evaluating and all that stuff, I can't imagine Bill watching high school football with his staff and not being able

to figure out who is good or who is not good for his system. North Carolina has always felt like the sleeping giant in college football. Can't they get it right? I know it's not. Maybe this is a bum Clemson fans out, but if Clemson can at one point reach national title contender status and win a couple of national titles, can't UNC at least win an ACC? I don't think that's a stretch. If you look at the recruiting databases and look at stuff by state, like North Carolina, if I say top 10, that's a little misleading. I would say they're depending on who you want to look at, who you

trust, like in that 10 plus range as far as states with high school talent going into D1 programs. So that make a lot of sense. I mean, it's an awesome town. It's an awesome history. There's a real selling point. North Carolina is cool in a way. Very few colleges compare as well in the cool part of this. Um, so, and really what's worse, talking to high school kids and trying to recruit them and do them with all that bullshit that you have an advantage of just knowing it's bullshit ahead of time. Like, you know how that you're like, this is going to be tough.

It's going to be challenging. It might not be a lot of fun, but at least I know these things ahead of time. And I think that actually can be, maybe it's not advantage, but it, it desensitizes. Yeah. I think, I think you're just going to have more calis built up for it ahead of time, knowing how ridiculous all that recruiting stuff can be, but is that worse than talking to NFL owners that are wondering why you did or didn't go for on Fort Down?

Cause it didn't seem like Bill really loved the ownership part in any of his travels throughout the work on Sunday. Um, I also wonder what he's going to be like with the media. Is there a more affable bill? Is that what we're going to see? Are we going to see somebody who is like, okay, maybe I can't be the way I was in Foxboro all that time. We know that in the beginning, right?

In the beginning, it's going to be awesome, friendly, ready to go. Um, and you know, bill, it's gonna be awesome, friendly, ready to go. And, you know, Bill, it wasn't that he was a bully or didn't respect anybody. I mean, you could, you could accuse him of those things. It didn't bother me as a media person. It wasn't like I was fighting for my media brethren. I just felt like there was kind of like a human decency thing or I was like, does it have to be like this?

But at the same time, as I've mentioned numerous times, I respected the fact that he never was going to let noise be a factor with his organization. He was never going to allow any of the stuff that happened with the media, any of the negativity leak in and get in the way of impacting whether or not they could win a football game. And that part, you may not love it, but I kind of respect it when you look at all of these drama-filled

organizations where every week it's something else, it's something else stupid, it's a misunderstanding, it's a quote, it's all this bullshit. And he's like, I am going to eliminate all of that. That's not going to happen here. I like the fact that he's going to get his son involved because clearly the relationship between Bill and his father is something that meant a lot to him and it's celebrated. And maybe he's just trying to recreate that on the fly with his son, who I would tell you a lot of people think is really good, um, as a defensive coach.

And I think there's some numbers that would back that up going back to last year's unit with a team that wasn't exactly stacked. I don't know if the coach and waiting thing makes any sense anymore. That was all the rage in college football there for years. Will must champ Texas, Joker Phillips, Kentucky, James Franklin, Maryland. We don't hear about the coach and

waiting all that, but here's how coach and waiting works, you have to retire and have everything be awesome. And then everybody think that the coach and waiting is an awesome recruiter. So, um, look, does build a college football mean, this is another one too. Does build a college football mean that the college football transition in the

NFL means the college football is not dead because we had a lot of people claiming that last year, but Jeff Haffley left as head coach of Austin college to go to green Bay, becomes defensive coordinator. Liam Cohen deciding to leave Kentucky after just one year in college as the OC there to become the OC of Tampa Bay. Remember that? So maybe this is with Belichick, the greatest of all time going to college. An argument that college football is not at death's door.

Uh, but it's a win. This is an all time introductory press conference win. Everybody's smiling. If you're North Carolina, if you're running that athletic department and Bill Belichick is telling you this is how he wants to do it, and he wants to do it here with the family history going back to his father in the 50s, then that is a no brainer hire. You could do it a different way. You could worry about his age. You could

worry about him being a little outdated. You can even worry about the personality and what that's going to be like with college media, but it's an all time win and an impossible thing. It's an impossible option to probably say no to. And I am going to be looking forward to seeing how he handles it. Because if they win, does he become more like Foxboro Bill? Or if he loses, they become more like Foxborough Bill. Because Chapel Hill Bill is gonna be fun in the beginning.

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it is Tom Curran has covered the Patriots for a long time from of of course, NBC Boston and Tom Curren's Patriots Talk podcast. What's going on, man? Good to see you. Hey, could not be happier to see you. Just I could not be happier for your success over the 20 plus years from when I knew you initially to now. So really, really happy to see the success and have a chance to talk to you. Thanks, man. All right. So Belichick to North Carolina, are you surprised? Adamus On the face of it, you'd be a liar to say that you're not surprised. But when you look back at it, Ryan, and you look at all the details, it makes a hell of a lot of sense. Seth Wickersham

wrote a story and a confidant of Belichick's said that, can we swear on this? Adamus Sure can. Steve Said that this was from Bill to the NFL, a fuck you. And I think more accurately, I would say to that confidant, it's actually closer to, oh, you know what? Fuck me, fuck you. Fuck you and all your little minions and all your owner sons and half-wit executives and guys who I'm supposed to stand hat in hand in front of and make a case to come back to your league, the league that I helped build.

Fuck you. I'm all set with you. I've accomplished too much to have to wonder. And you know what? You're not even the NFL that I helped build so fuck you too. Fuck me because you said fuck me last year that's what you did last year blank and the crafts and the whole league giving me the high hat that was a fuck you to me. Fuck you too, you pricks. That might've been overboard. How real, like when last year in the hiring cycle was happening, and in Bill's case, not happening,

and I mentioned in the open too, like I thought Atlanta, I thought blank would just go, hey, I can bring in Bill Belichick, like who cares? And I've already been over the draft record. All of us have talked about it, GM job and everything, but is there truth to say the craft side of this poisoning the waters for Bill's opportunities? I think that if you're friends with a fellow owner, you have to tell them if they're buying something, what they're purchasing. What are you purchasing? If you're friends with a fellow owner, you have to tell them if they're buying

something, what they're purchasing. What are you purchasing if you're an NFL team? You're purchasing a genius in-game coach, a guy who will have an incredibly disciplined team, one who can be difficult to deal with, who's not going to be incredibly forthcoming on the decisions that he makes, who has, as you can tell Arthur, not been the greatest drafter in the past few years. He's not easy to work with, but if you get the right structure around him and he's in

a better mood, then it might work fine. I mean, you can't really lie. If you came to me and were asking to hire somebody that I had moved on from, which isn't going to happen, but if that did happen, and I said, no, he's awesome. It was all me. He's great to work. You're going to love him. And then he got there and he was just exactly as you expected. Then you go, what are you, an idiot? But again, when you look at the crafts, what's their motivation to poison the water when they're probably spending money on at least a portion of his contract for this year. What's the motivation to make him look stupid? I just don't think that they

wanted it to be as messy as it got. I think the craft has been constantly trying to thread the needle on, let's keep our foot in the past with Bill and the dynasty and move forward with Gerard and we'll see how it goes. What's the worst that can happen? Let's try and fire Bill, but he's not gonna be mad about it. We're just gonna move on with dignity. They're trying to thread the needle of an impossible needle to thread with the greatest coach in pro sports history. So that's a long's a long winded ass answer. Sorry. No, but that's, I think helps us kind of understand all of it a little bit better. I mean, because I feel like we're doing some of the topics that we just did a year ago and I didn't mean to just, you know, I don't mean to rehash all of it, but I,

I guess they clearly this man loves coaching in a way that, you know, you could say, Hey, anybody that's passionate about their field and reaches the tops, but like this is, this is really what he's all about. Like these, this group of people that he's with, whether it was Lombardi or Patricia, you know, the Wickersham talks about this, this group that would get together on a zoom and talk about like, Hey, did you see what this team is doing? And it's this guy. I mean, it's basically these guys had their own football podcast for a year and they never released any of the episodes. So this is somebody that was either so motivated by being dismissed by the NFL or just that he can't fathom having another year where he's not walking around a field with a whistle, which I admire. Like that part of it, I can totally like having that taken away from you when you

don't like have his resume and then to have that taken away from you where you're waiting for somebody else to give you that chance. There had to be some really weird moments for somebody like Phil going, I wait, I'm not doing this again. Are you fucking kidding me? So, um, I like this. I like this for him, even though I understand the rest of it. Like, I don't know what your relationship is with him now, but maybe I'll ask you to guess, or if you do get the chance to talk to him, like, what do

you think it is about this for Belichick to be doing it in college football? I think that he, for Belichick to be doing it in college football? I think that he, again, I don't think that he probably thinks about me much, but if he did think about me, he'd go, yeah, I'm all set with him. I look at that group on the Zoom meeting, and you'll appreciate this, It reminds me of a virtual or online advanced version of the guys who sit at Dunkin Donuts in there. They gather around on us at 10 o'clock every morning and bitch about the world. That's probably what it's felt like. And yeah, Bill, they don't want Bill anymore and Bill doesn't want them anymore. So Bill's going to get his guys because he trusts his guys.

And there's the hive mind of Belichick that is going to go to college and dominate because how hard can it be? Look at these guys, look at these slappies who dominate down here. And it can have the altruistic aspect of it's the wild, wild west in college. I'm going to infuse this frontier land with some stability. I'm going to instill discipline into young men because I believe the service aspect of it and the developing of individuals does matter to him. I really do. Growing up at the Naval Academy, having impact on really wonderful people like a, you know, a Matt

Slater or a Nate Ebner or any other of the dozens of guys who've gone through this program that weren't great players, but were actually contributing members of society. Bill, I think, believes in that. So he'll have the opportunity to do that. And we look at, you know, young men are at a crossroads in society, globally. And I think the more that you can get young men off their phones and giving them purpose, and they can then help other people with the next generation that comes up, I would imagine that appeals to him. But it also has to appeal to him that nobody's going to get their frigging hands in the soup. And I think that Lombardi articulated it perfectly on his podcast last week when he said,

hey, this isn't about control. After having spent three minutes and 45 seconds talking about how much it's changed in the NFL and everybody gets their hands in the soup. So it is about control and Bill having it on his terms. And if it has to be in college, fine, I'll do it nice, sunny Chapel Hill. You if it has to be in college, fine, I'll do it. Nice, sunny Chapel Hill. You think it's gonna work? No. I think it'll be a nice cruise into the sunset on

the horizon. I think he'll win eight games here. I think he'll win nine games there. I think he'll win seven games. I think he'll win 11 games, but he won't create a top five program, I don't think. I just... Because look at it this way, Ryan. Why were the Patriots not good anymore? Well, first of all, because they lost the greatest quarterback of all time. But secondly, because they had a tiny frigging coaching staff. Why did they have a tiny coaching staff? Well, first, because Bill made $25 million a year, but also because Bill didn't trust anybody who was not vetted by him or Steven or Michael Lombardi or somebody within his circle. And that circle shrinks and shrinks and shrinks.

Cornerbacks coach, he's turned out to be a good coach. This kid named Mike Pellegrino been here for a few years. He was a lot cross-player and coach, and Bill said, well, let's make you into a football coach. It's worked. But if Bill can't mold you, he's not interested in having you. So I don't know if this collection of guys between Bill Lombardi, Patricia, Freddie Kitchens, are going to have the hive mind to just staff and the innovation and stuff. Do you, what do you think of that notion? I could see it.

They're having a real pop early. Yes. Right. Because there's excitement, there's people signing with them, the NIL part of it, like nothing, all the NILs, like the DPS, they're just like, you know, they're just like, you know, they're just like, you know, they're them, the NIL part of it, like nothing, all the NILs, like they're most pumped up in the beginning, right? In the beginning of like, okay, so let's get behind this.

There'll be all this momentum now, you know, we'll see what happens at the most important positions. And, you know, I don't think is the draft didn't go well that now he's going to be a bad recruiter. I think that'd be a stupid assumption. And, you know, for the most part, like you look at the recruiting rankings, you have like, which guys are close to us. Let's try to get them. Right.

I don't know that you're going, Oh, I don't know if this guy's a three technique the way he would be with the way he would, you know, really want to hone down and like who, who fits his system or not. Yeah. I just thought to me, what's going to be funny is how does he cut guys that he doesn't like? You give a kid a freaking scholarship and it turns out you don't like them. Can't really cut them. Can you? I mean, like certainly, and this absolutely happened here, and Brady would talk about this in his final year here. He's like, I've

seen how guys get ostracized when Bill wants to move on from them. I've seen it a million times and I'm getting it now too. It just doesn't communicate with them. So how is he going to do it to these 18 and 19 year olds when they show up and they can't be a three technique? You can't cut college players. Can you know but you cannot play them and then hope they hit the portal That's that's kind of the benefit of the portal is if you make it miserable enough for a guy that you gave a scholarship to Then just make it that bad. I mean this was happening before the portal. I remember there was a player where I mean, I I'm not gonna I. I remember there was a player where, I mean, I, I'm not going to, I think everybody kind of knows this story, but there was a player Harbaugh had at one

point was basically like trying to make his life miserable and Harbaugh was just wrong about the player, but like he was, he was hoping maybe the sky would get out of here and Harbaugh, it was one of the rare cases of Harbaugh kind of getting something wrong. Um, because you know, Harbaugh's won every single place he's gone. Look, if Bill wins 11 games at Chapel Hill, that is a win. But I understand what you're saying. Like if you're bringing in Belichick, you're starting to wonder what's our ceiling? Like, could we be competing for national championships? I mean, how can you win? I mean, North Carolina football, you could argue is, is one of these weird deals.

Yeah. It's like the Baltimore Orioles for years and years being like, how can the Orioles not be good with what you would think would be a lot of resources, but there were just other things that they were in their way. And maybe I'm thinking back too much to my AL East baseball days of that, but North Carolina should be more competitive than they've been. It is kind of funny if they go from Mac to Bill, who's actually older than Mac Brown. Um, the other part that I think is kind of interesting, and again, this is

something I've always talked about with Bill is it's going to be funny to see a friendlier version of him in the beginning because he'll know that he has to do it. And I can't tell like, this is kind of where I close the oven. Will he revert back to Foxboro bill with losses or with wins? You know, there are certainly plenty of precedent for him to be a dink at the college level because Nick Saban was, I don't know, I didn't see all the, you know, warm and fuzzy Nick Saban press conferences, but is he going to chew on some kid from the Chapel Hill Bugle?

You know, the way, and he doesn't really chew on guys. He just pisses on their foreheads. So I mean, is that what you're looking for? It will be interesting. I think what's more challenging, I just talked to Billy O'Brien from Boston College about this on my pod. My pod was that, how is Bill gonna deal with the cocktail parties after a 21 to 20 lost of Virginia?

And the, ha ha ha ha ha, we brought all your boys down here, we're putting a lot of money on you guys, now we getting some wins, we getting some wins Bill, you're not. Like, I think he's not the Texas. Did he take the Texas tech job? Was that a Texas thing? I don't give a shit. I don't know.

But you know, there's a sensibility in Massachusetts and certainly on Nantucket that's not as back slapping and har har har gladiating. And I wonder how much he's going to enjoy that aspect. Right. He'll he'll do everything that you're supposed to do in the beginning. And then he's not going to do those things. Yeah. Early bill is going to be very cooperative.

He's going to be friendly, but once he gets that thing rolling, he's not. And I mean, rolling in like the day to day, Hey, this is the job. And I don't know if rolling is, is eight wins. I don't know if it's 11 words, but here's the thing is like. He wanted to do it and they wanted to do it. So good for all of them. Like I would not sit here and criticize it. Like you could, you get the next hot 38 year old offensive coordinator and fuck it up just as bad. So if the greatest coach perhaps of all time in the history of the NFL wants to come down and do this and try

his approach to this whole thing and you're North Carolina, good for everybody. Do you feel shortchanged that you're not going to be able to watch Bill's second iteration or third iteration as a head coach in the NFL and to watch him chase the Schuyler record? I don't. I think that'd be, I would have thought that mattered to him a ton because I think there's such a huge, I mean, you know about, certainly way better than I, I don't even know. So I've just an observer here for this long. Um, I think that you, a thing would mean a ton to him because of how much he appreciates just the history of the game, which he's told us numerous times. Now he's always been, Oh, no, he's not going to want to do this. But if he felt like there was something that was going to chronicle where he is at historically, he was in favor of the access for it.

Um, just because the NFL has done the best job of all the sports of, you know, their, their history is going to be incredible and how accessible it is. And it's, you know, there's less games, so it makes it a little bit easier there with all that NFL film stuff, but I think he recognized and appreciated all those things. And I think that he probably expected at some point the sideline shot of him looking up to the scoreboard and seeing a final win and surpassing Shula. And now that that's been denied of him, I do feel bad for him a little bit, but I'm, it's just a football fan. I'm, I don't feel like,

I'm never going to have a moment, Tom, where I'm like, you know, what sucks? Like, yeah, this is a good week 15 and 2028, but you know what? It'd been awesome is like, I've done it. Yeah. I'll have forgotten. So, and that's the funny thing. There, there is no conversation where people are saying, well, Don Schuller is the greatest coach ever. He, I mean, Belichick is established as such. It doesn't matter what the wins record is necessarily. I mean,

Don Schuhle, I hate to do this, but he lost the Super Bowl, the New York Jets, 1969, that created the friggin merger. He lost 24 to 3 in another Super Bowl to the Dallas Cowboys. And the next year, they were really friggin good and they went undefeated but they combined winning percentage of the teams they beat was like 350. So he was great but he never went to another Super Bowl and he was a longevity thing. So whatever. Bill was established as the greatest coach of all time and I think it would have been sad in a way if he went to Chicago and won six games this upcoming year., he's got nine to go, wins seven, oh, it's two to go. And he's just holding on for that record with somebody like Ryan Poles looking over his shoulder and going, Bill, we need wins here, buddy.

Like, he would have had to sacrifice a great deal of dignity to return to the NFL on the terms that were necessary, whether it be with Jerry Jones having to put his nuts in a little purse and hand them to Jerry and say, give me these back when I'm done or wherever else. As Lombardi said last week, where's the great job that was opening up? What is a great job anymore in the NFL? There aren't really any, it's, it's all collaboration and Bill can't stay in collaboration. After I read education and coach, um, which Halberstam did a, you know, really good job on that and watching some more of the stuff with Bill

and being friendly with some people that really love playing for Bill, you know, because I'd be like, Hey, explain it to me, explain it to me. Like, look, if the little dumb shit's going to bother you, then you're not going to love it. But if, if you love football, if you want a coach, it's going to prepare you. Um, you know, it's, it's not going to get caught up in all the bullshit. Like this is the guy.

Like if you're, if you're, if you're at your core, a football guy, there's nobody better to be paired with. And that, that means a lot to me. When you think about all the stupid stuff that people prioritize and just like, now, man, we're going to come out of the tunnel and we're going to be ready. We're going to be more ready. It's just the problem was his teams weren't good enough anymore there towards the end.

So I'm not shocked by the UNC thing. I feel like, hey, you know what? This actually makes a lot of sense for all the same things that we're talking about, whether it's your access or the Wicker Sheen piece and all that stuff. I always thought the Navy thing was like, I thought that was like my big educated guess

that I'd said years ago. Like I could see him at the end just going, you know what, this is what I'm doing instead. And look, maybe he had a nice season. So I'm not saying that Brian Newberry in his second year was in any kind of trouble. And so then you start waiting out all these scenarios, but I actually think it would have been even more fitting for Belichick to just go, I love all these dudes. I love drafting these guys because they care about the right things and with this background. And now I actually don't have to win the ACC.

I don't have to worry about my playoff seating. I don't have to worry about the NIM and all this stuff. It can just be about football. So I don't know if that opportunity would ever present itself to him here. But maybe, do you think with the way that contract structure, that there's a buyout after June 1st to 2025 that that tell is that a lean? Cause when I saw the contract and then the bio, I'm like, why would the bio only be a million dollars halfway through next year before they've even played the season?

Like that's weird, but granted the NFL would already have all of its ducks in a row, so I, I guess I'm keeping the window open for a possibility of anything here. Yeah. And it seems like he is too. I mean, like he is 72. And I had speculated maybe he's never going to leave the media because it's a hell of a lot easier. Everyone genuflects all the time.

He does dispense, I think, a lot of good stuff. Some of the anecdotes I've heard nine times already, and he's already starting to recycle some of them. But he's still compelling, especially when he speaks frankly about the quality of a player when he starts breaking down film. What are we doing here? I love it. You love it. So, I thought that he might stay there in the media and we'll see when that bio comes because he said, you know what, this kind of sucked. You know what, I'm 73. I just want to go back to Nantucket.

We'll see my grandkids. I'll play golf. I'll go to Jupiter. I'll just do my thing and I'll go back to the media. Maybe he wants to leave open the opportunity to simplify his life as opposed to go back to the NFL. I just don't think I'm going to feel that way at 73, man. It's crazy. I just don't think I'm going to be as energized to say, what mountain do I need to go conquer today? It's wild. Whether it, the owners themselves, the Craft or Belichick or Logan Roy or whoever else, not Logan. What's the dad's name? Logan. Yeah, L to the OG. These

guys who just remain unbelievably motivated to the threshold of 80 years old, I'm like, just get me to the golf course and show me which way to hit. I don't get it. I don't think most of us do, but I think anybody that's accomplished that kind of stuff to not be allowed to try to accomplish it again is probably hell to those guys. I think it would have been sad to watch. It would have been sad to watch him go hat in hand to Kevin Warren and Ryan Pohl's in Chicago with the cons in Jacksonville and say, hey, please hire me and then go, yeah, we got some bad news. We're not doing it. It would have been, there's no Shad... You got all the Shad and Fry you needed last year

if you wanted to see Bill get snubbed. Do you think if Dable wasn't with the Giants, that's what would have happened? I don't know if anybody would hire him. I really don't. I don't think anybody would hire him. I just, he brings so much luggage. He's 72. You want to be by the end of the decade, you want to be a perennial playoff team, whoever you are. You really want to stay that way. If you're the Chiefs, you want to become that way. If you're the New York Giants or the New England Patriots. And there's very little to indicate that Bill Belichick is going to beat a path to the playoffs based upon what's happened in this franchise since 2019.

The midpoint of 2019, they were 8-0. And since then, it's not a pretty record. And Bill was involved with most of it. And the roster right now is of his making. You can just look back at the production. You can look back at what happened with Mac Jones and say, do I want to have this guy in charge of finding the next quarterback and then bringing him along?

Because wherever Bill's gone, he's flushed the quarterback, whether it was Bernie Kozar or Drew Bledsoe or ultimately with Brady or finally with Mack, he hates quarterbacks, hates them. Trevor Lawrence would have ended up with his head on a platter probably if he went to Jacksonville. So, I just think it's hard to look at Bill and say, this is gonna stabilize things. Always great seeing you, man. I know you have a ton going on. Oh, that's great.

Friday's my quiet day. All right, well, make sure you check out Tom Kern and his Patriots Talk podcast. I'm gonna go shoot jumpers right now, actually. Get some shots up. Celtics might have put you in last night. So I know. I know I get I used to be have a little Peyton Pritchett.

Do you still play at all? Yeah, I'm still screwing around with that. A boy. Yeah. That a boy. You probably now have developed the Caldwell Jones jump hook. No, you know what I learned? I kept watching Luca and I was like, I've noticed that Luca Luca doesn't want to avoid

the defensive player. He always want to avoid the defensive player. He always wants to have the defensive players body on him and he's enormous and he's strong and he's not fast. So I've been toying with instead of trying to drive past people or around them. I'm trying to go through them and It's not being there's not many guys that appreciate it so far in this pivot in my game But if you just lower the shoulder at an angle then keep the ball on the other side away from shoulder You just start keep you just keep going and if you're if you're strong it helps Yeah, that's a lot of fun for 57 year olds when a guy decides he's gonna do that

Well, I'm not playing against 57 year olds, but a couple guys Yeah, a couple guys have been like what is what is this new thing that you're doing? And I was like, it's working. And it does work. It does work if you create the contact and create the space. But it's just just here we go. Here's one of these guys. Yeah. Brought this guy still has eligibility left.

And you have to do this. The first thing you have to do when you see that prick coming, you have to do this and that. So you're going to protect the sternum and you have the thought of the little stiff arm out there so that when you start coming, at least there's some cushion. Yeah. Yeah. No, but I'm only, I'm only doing it against younger guys. They hate it more. Actually.

You can do it to me. I don't want to do it to you because I know, I know you, I know the way you're wired. I can see it against younger guys. They hate it more actually. You can do it to me. I don't want to do it to you. I know the way you're wired. I can see it in your eyes. I can be a big baby. All right. Big baby. Well, thanks buddy.

It's always good to see you. With Uber Reserve, good things come to those who plan ahead. Family vacay? Reserve your ride as soon as you book your flights. To all the planners, now you can reserve your Uber ride up to 90 days in advance. See Uber app for details. Okay, before we get to Norm and Powell,

as we pivot to hoops here, a couple different things from the games this week, the four games that matter. By the way, if Milwaukee had lost that game to Orlando with no Frans and Pao, that's a problem. Jalen sucks. A lot of shots up. Didn't love the second to last three point attempt, but at that point, like

Jane was trying to get it going. He went a little hard and ISO, ISO cross, cross, cross, cross pull up. Then he had a second one a little bit later, which he had to have taken. The point is, it's like this Yana stuff, man, like look at his shot chart and where he started to hit these mid ranges from. I think the left elbow, like if you look at over the years, hey, this was a good shot. This was a good shot. This was a good shot.

Um, him, him showing this so far, two thirds of the way into the season is a huge development, his off ball cutting the way they're making him just as dangerous without necessarily having to initiate everything with the ball from 30 plus feet away, which still works because it's just so physically imposing. But this is some real stuff and I still think it's the best I've ever seen Giannis as far as his handle. So there isn't like necessarily a ton. We know Middleton's back in the mix and it'll start with Jackson. You know, Brooke Lopez getting brought way out on the perimeter against a pretty good ball handler who's going to drive.

That is alarming. And I know what the Lopez rim protection stuff has always been in the past, but. When he gets brought out, man, I think Bucks fans would agree that it's, I mean, it's a lot to ask any of the centers to do this kind of stuff. I know I talk about it a lot. It's like, well, you know, this seven footer and a switch 33 to wait 30 feet away, having a handle, you know, against Damien Lillard, like that's not going to be fun. Well,

it's not fun for any of these guys, but it's certainly something that I'm seeing more and more teams like look to do and try to bring him out there. So I don't have a ton necessarily on that game. I don't have as much on the Houston win by Golden State. The call at the end was kind of brutal, even though I liked Houston going into that game there a little bit. So I want to focus on Oklahoma city and Atlanta.

Oklahoma city takes care of Dallas a couple of nights ago. And there are actually only eighth in offense right now. There's a couple of scary things with how good Oklahoma city is at 19 and five where there's 16th and true shooting percentage, they're 19 on threes. Last year, they were the number three overall shooting team and they were number one from three point. It's basically all the same guys. So they're going to be better shooting the basketball. The defensive numbers are incredible. There's actually a significant gap there between them and number two Houston overall defensively. They're number one defensively at the rim.

them and number two Houston overall defensively. They're number one defensively at the rim. Um, they're 11th against the three. Sometimes the defensive numbers against three pointers can be just sort of a little weird, maybe even luckish on some misses. The rebounding is still a problem. Rebounding rate, 28th last year, 28th this year. The point of it is, it's like, none of it. I don't know that anything like the shooting is definitely going to be better.

The rebounding thing will be better once they have the Chet part of it back in the lineup and they decide how they want to play Chet and Hartenstein because Chet's only played 10 games. And what they could do defensively in some of these games that I've seen, like even going back to the fifth game of the year against Wimbenyama, they just hounded him. It was like the worst game he'd had all season. Luka started one and nine, two nights ago. Five and 15 overall, his first free throw attempts were in the third quarter. And it's like, okay, we're going to start Dort on you. And if you switch, you're going to switch into another athletic, athletic

active guy, and when we take Dort out, we're putting Alex Caruso on. So we haven't even seen the fully formed version of the Oklahoma city thunder and I just, I love them. I mean, I know they had that loss to Houston, but they didn't have Chet. And if they decide that you want to go Chet instead of Hardenstein, who I'm going to say his name differently, I guess a bunch this year, um, then they can put Chet out there and then pull a defense, whether it's Shen Goon or maybe Houston wants to go small cause they keep experimenting all the time, which I actually kind of love about them, but just telling you like in

this packed West going into the year, like, Hey, this team can be really good. And some of it's a little injury based here or there. And Dallas has actually been a lot better. I mean, Luke had been on a tear in the four games back prior to this one on Tuesday, putting up huge numbers. I mean, 36, 37, 21 and 30 before this game against the Thunder. So Dallas is kind of figured it out and Dallas should just be better than the team that went to the NBA Finals last year. They may not get to the NBA Finals again, but I like the rotation pieces better and lively another year.

You know, you get the whole pro Dallas part of this, but, um, it was, it was kind of like, Hey, it's this packed West. It's like, well, no, it's, it's a packed West. I'm trying to figure out who's even going to compete with the Thunder. At least that's the way it feels right now. Atlanta's win against New York. Um, that's now two and O for the Hawks against the Knicks. And it's official.

Like I, I've always liked the Hawks talent, but now I like the team. The Jalen Johnson part of this, I mean, we've been talking about him, like the, the ceiling part of it, but the way they can use him. I remember when I was talking about the Jokic touches part of it, Jalen Johnson was number two in the NBA and just actual touches per game. Now I think he's down to like fifth, but you can just use them in a million different ways and kind of based on the thunder model of all these switchable, huge athletic guys that are comfortable with the ball in their hands.

The Hawks have a little of that as Deontre Hunter in the rare year six leap. The year six leap is happening. Hunter's lightened it up and he's coming off the bench score 20 game in like 27 minutes, he only started two games for this team. I mean, I think you could argue that he could start over reshushey, but maybe that's better for Hunter to be away from some of the other guys taking shots from the starting group and then Hunter helps with Bogdanovich give you real nice scoring options for a second unit in the NBA, because I mean, that's the thing

about like when you watch Boston, you'll watch them go through the rotations and you go, when did for a second unit in the NBA. Because I mean, that's the thing about like when you watch Boston, you'll watch them go through the rotations and you go, when do the bad players get in? Like, oh, they don't have any. There's never this massive gap. And Thunder have a little of that. And Atlanta kind of has it too. Because of again, that depth that we've talked about, maybe that was kind of a research draft pick where it's like, Hey, if we're going to be wrong, be wrong big

and be wrong with somebody who's who at least profiles at like six, nine to be a really nice outside shooter with that, you know, not crazy athleticism, but enough athleticism to kind of get where he needs to get on the floor. Even though right now I think strength is probably likely and predictably an issue for him. I think he gets run off of his driving lanes a little bit too much there. But I think the other part of the Hawks conversation that is very real has been happening all year

is that Trey Young's dialing it back. He's taking 16.9 shots a game. I think I'd probably like it around 14. I'd love to see the hero ball shots be gone, but hell, like Boston's still, I think, the best team in the NBA. Maybe it's the Thunder. Love Boston's offense, I think the best team in the NBA, maybe it's the Thunder. Love Boston's offense.

Love all their options. I still think they take seven to 10 threes a game where I'm like, what the fuck are you doing there? How much better would the offense be without a, or is the aggression from the outside, is that part of the tax that you pay a little bit? It's like, well, you want everybody taking a million threes and getting those shots up quick and just cranking the math up. There's going to be at least five, maybe 10 that you don't necessarily love, but you still have, you have to do that to have this overall philosophy and approach the basketball. Yeah. All right. That's fine. That's fine. And with Trey Young, like, look, there's

still going to be a few shots, like the one at the end of regulation, when they won it over time against the Lakers, they get the ball in. I think it was maybe 14, 17 seconds left. Nobody else touches the basketball, not a ton of movement. He's just waiting to kind of take his hero shot. I would love if he would remove all that stuff. That's probably never going to happen, but the fact that he's now a more willing passer, and I don't know if it's him understanding the talent around him. Some could argue, hey, it's the talent in him acknowledging,

well, this team's better than those other teams. Maybe those other teams weren't bad. Maybe it's that it's always acknowledging, well, this team's better than those other teams. Maybe those other teams weren't bad. Maybe it's that it's always his, or maybe he gets along better with Jane LaJohnson than he did De'John De'Murray. I don't know. I mean, De'John De'Murray and him just seem to be on the court at the same time, not necessarily playing basketball. Now I feel like they're playing basketball together.

But you know, you go back and look at Trey, he's now 31st in field goal attempts per game in the NBA. Five years ago, he was fourth. You know, it's, it's been something that's been declining a little bit here at ninth and 14th and 20th and now 31st. The deep threes for high volume guys, the 30 most likely players to take those deep threes, he has the second worst three point percentage on those shots, but I don't know that he's this bad of a shooter, even though he struggled this year.

It's kind of like the thunder thing in the beginning. Like I don't think Trey's going to have it. I think the overall win for all the Trey stuff and you've know that I've talked about it for years is a, a hint at a willingness and maybe the actual real willingness of, I don't need to do all of this stuff all of the time. I don't need to get 30. I need to have more guys. Because there's some players where I go, okay, you're good enough that everything should be yours.

And it would be nice if you also have the wins to go with it, which Trey didn't have other than the 21 conference finals appearance. But this feels like a real thing. And I think it's just going to be a win for the Atlanta Hawks if he he's just dialed down a little, even though we know some of those deep ones are just never, maybe that's just like the Celtics thing. You want all the other stuff. Well, you're going to get two or three of these 30 plus footers that are just part of it. But they also could throw Dyson Daniels at Brunson.

Brunson was miserable in that game. And there was just a lot of moments with the Knicks. Like once that second half clicked, Atlanta just looked like a better, I don't think they're better than the Knicks, but they looked like the better team in the way that they were so confident and they looked faster. They looked younger. And there was just a couple of checked out plays from the Knicks that I didn't really love. Who knows? You know, I think that's honestly,

the way I want to present that whole thing, that recap there just a couple of days removed from it is that I just feel a lot better about the Hawks. It's not like I'm sitting there the next day going, the Knicks have all of these problems, although the Dyson Jalen thing didn't seem like it was a lot of fun for the Knicks point guard. He's the leading scorer for the Clippers. He's third in the NBA in three point shooting. And I think one of the most underrated scores in the league from the Clippers, Norman Powell.

What's up, man? Thanks for doing this. Thanks for having me. Okay. So we knew the deal that there would be opportunities. You've been lightening it up. Um, your, your top 25 and scoring now too, as well. Uh, what is this role been like for you this year with the Clippers team?

The role has been a lot of fun. You know, I've had a good vision. You know, this dream of being a go-to guy for a very long time. And it's been a lot of fun being in this ring with this opportunity, being able to take advantage of it and learning. I've always wanted to see if I was capable of doing this and have the opportunity to. Believing in myself, but then actually being able to step into the role and see what it's actually like.

It's been fun being able to be one of the guys leading the team on the floor, off the floor, and looking at the organization and coaches looking for me to go out there and produce and them asking me questions and really trying to get me going each and every night, what I feel comfortable with, some different plays and things like that, just having more responsibility. It's been a long time to me. I'm happy that it's going the way I envisioned.

I know that, I understood what you were saying when you were asked, I think it was media day, it was like, okay, Kawhi's not playing, Russ is gone, of course Paul George leaves, and you were like, it might just be addition by subtraction and then that line gets taken and it's like, Oh my God, like. Norm really, really let those guys have it. I thought Paul George was incredibly cool.

Like when the way he talked about it, he was like, look, it just makes basketball sense, like what he said is, is actually very true because there's just going to be more opportunities. So was that a little weird for you though, at that moment when it's like, man, this is getting turned into something as if I'm like dogging all these guys for leaving. Yeah, for sure. Um, because like it wasn't, it wasn't taken that way. It was taken exactly the way like PG explained it later on. Um,

when they, he addressed it, you know, just about the opportunity, you know, um, everybody knows that, um, I've been a fan of PG and like I've talked about it. Um, especially when I was going to begin was going against him when I was younger, my first two years, playing against him in the playoffs and everything like that and getting his respect. But it wasn't like a shot or jam with those guys. It was just all about the opportunity, you know, at the mindset and going into the season, you know,

we lose these guys. But the addition is that, you know, I get more opportunity, these guys that's been, you know, under their wings and playing a role gets more opportunity. And we're all looking to step up and fill that role in a different way. Everybody sees the superstars and think that you can't win without them.

And it was just a mindset that there's an addition by hit by a subtraction because guys get to step up in that role we've got. We brought in guys that fill the voids that we're missing in different ways and that the style of basketball is going to change. But it's all about the opportunity to actually go out there and show what you can pull up now that you know, you're not playing behind, um, these superstar guys. Do you think because you're not necessarily a smiler that it could be taken more seriously?

Cause like when you're out on the court, I don't know that I ever see you smile. Yeah, probably. I think these are the only times that I do smile. I just be so focused on the game and, you know, trying to win. I mean, one of the nicknames that I got when I was playing in Toronto was Mr. Serious, because I never smile.

But, you know, it's just, I'm focused, you know, I'm locked in. There's nothing funny out there, but Ty's trying to get a win. Yeah, but then when you'll say something, you'll be like, oh, well, you know, he means business. It's just something with you that I noticed early on. I was like, is he miserable?

And I was like, I don't think he's miserable. Like, it seems like he's having a good time, but look, as a non-smiler, I just think people need to leave us alone. Man, man, seriously, thanks. Yeah, right. When did it, you know, your second round pick, I think the knock on you out of UCLA is you couldn't shoot right.

31% from three for your career in the four years there, you get drafted in the second round and you know, it takes a little while for you to get the minutes. It takes even longer to get the stats. Right. So you, you, I could sit here and look at your stat page and go, okay, the fifth years when it clicked because the stats reflect that for you as a player was there, Hey, I'm not sure. Oh, I'm totally sure.

I'm just not getting that opportunity. What was that like in the beginning for you? Um, I think that the, the moment of not being sure was probably happened in college, um, going through, you know, the coach and change players come in and certain promises being made that weren't fulfilled. I think that was a moment of uncertainty.

Going through college, that college grind, it was four years, but once I was able to refocus and things started to click, after that, there was no doubt in my mind. I think when I was in Toronto and they were sending me down to the D-League at the time, it was more like motivation. I see some of my peers in my draft class that I've been up against and played against,

doing really well to start off. And being on a championship contending team as a young guy, like you're not going to get instant opportunity. But it was more so like, like I've seen this up close, I know I can be a factor in this league. It was just all about the opportunity. I think I shown that early on. That's why I got the opportunity when, you know, DeMauricaro wasn't playing back to back, not going and short-framed and play really well and just Being one of those guys that they could go to was just not getting that full opportunity that full exposure to be like, okay Right. This is what you're gonna do every single night, right?

It was all about filling a role and building trust within the coaches and you know, don't be out there when they needed me but I say like my fifth year and when they needed me. Um, but I say like my fifth year, um, and, uh, the fourth year when we won the championship, you know, I was being able to play well and stance. And then the fifth year is when I got more opportunity to start, um, and have longer stretches of show that I could actually produce every single night. How important is that run in 19 to like the foundation of your understanding of what it takes to not only just be

a player, but what it takes for a team because you've had stops after that. But like how much does that run in 19 influence who you've been as a player? It was a lot just from a confidence standpoint, you know, to get to that mountaintop and achieve it, especially during it, an organization that was fighting and crawling and scratching for so long but then just seeing the buy-in that it takes for a full team to be able to do that for a full season the ups and downs you know not having to point the finger you know really coming together in tough moments and then the buy-in you know the sacrifice you know your individual stuff for the benefit of the team you know in a championship takes all know, your individual stuff for the benefit of the team, you know,

winning the championship takes all of that plus a little bit of luck. But I think it shaped me just going forward, you know, I want to get there again. I've been fortunate to be on playoff contending championship contending teams. Every single year I've been in the league. So it just has filled like a lot of hunger and motivation. You know, I try to, you know, relay that down to the teams that I've been on and like what it takes to win a championship. If we're really about, I'm trying to get there and win one, how hard it was

and the commitment that it takes. You had mentioned just a moment ago, and I know, cause I, I've read the interview this week about the doubt part of it. Um, and how serious that got. And I guess you're telling us that it was more around UCLA, but I mean, how, how bad was it? Was it so bad that you didn't want to play basketball anymore? Yeah.

Like, um, well, I've had a couple of, and that it was more like this, like my throughout my journey, like the moments that you hit, uh, when you know, you're, you hit those like rock bottom moments, so I'm feeling like everything was against you and you're like, you can't get yourself out the hole that you're in. You know, it happened when my uncle passed away in high school, then when I thought I was gonna have the opportunity to be a player,

my sophomore year going, coming out of my freshman year. And then seeing your name, you know, not be on the draft boards and a fallout, fall out, you always kept up with that in college, like where are you at in the mock drafts and things like that. But seeing like freshman year, you're in the mid to late first round, and it's late first round and it's early second, it's mid second, and it's not even on the draft boards and things like that. You kind of feel like your dreams

are like slipping out of your hands and you're trying to grasp it. But it was tough, you know, being an 18, 19 year old, you know, not getting the results or the awards that you felt like you deserve with all the hard work you're putting in, and then getting drafted and, you know, starting from the bottom again,

you know, and like seeing guys ahead of you that you probably outplayed in the summer league or whatever it is that you're trying to figure out how come you're not getting that opportunity. How come these guys are getting more pub than you? Um, so those tough moments in your inner country all by yourself, you know, you don't know anybody, you don't know anything. Um, and you're just trying to find a way, you know, trying to hold onto this dream of, you know, breaking through at this league, in this league. So it was a lot of tough times, a lot of tough moments and tough conversations with myself,

even talking to my family and everything. Eventually getting a therapist, kind of just to, like, let it all out because you're carrying so much on your shoulders. But yeah, it was a battle. Look, I can't imagine what it's like to be looking at myself on draft boards because at that age I would be looking at it all the time. And then, you know, the nasty part of it is all the conversation leading up to it. And whether it's an agent or whether it's teams and you're just rounding yourself up. Right. I imagine like I've talked to enough you guys that you're never thinking like,

oh, I might be on the low side of the projections. You're probably sitting there watching the first round go through. Was draft night miserable for you then? Not a celebration? Yeah, it was, it was tough. I don't think I really, really told that story. Like I was getting ready to leave my draft party because I was pissed. Like I seen, I was like, because I had like seen some friends that like knew some people in the league and like whether it was player development guys or like computer analytics guys from the teams. You know, they all like mid to late first round, early second, like did a great job in pre-drive, this, that,

and the other. And I'm looking at all the guys that I went up against and we had a list of like who we're going to go at, who we're going to try to find in these workouts, you know, outperform and even some of the guys that were in my position that, you know, went one through 20, you know, playing against them and like competing against them and have really good like draft workouts against them to where it's like, you know, we were one, one, two best players during that workout, you know, seeing these guys go on and like, okay, like I did a great job against this player, this player, this player.

And then like some of the guys that I totally killed and out, out shod and outwork went ahead of me. And then just like not hearing your name going the first round. So, okay, then not hearing your name going to first ten picks in the second it's like what are we doing here and I think I don't want to throw no shots at nobody I think the Clarion Johnson went like 38 or something like that and I was like nah this is crazy and I got. And I was like, no, this is crazy. And I got up and I was like, almost in tears, like getting ready to leave my

draft party and Tyus Edney from UCLA and my high school coach, and I had to literally like stop me and was like, like, no, you can't leave. Like everybody's here for you no matter what. Like trying to give me like all the options and avenues. I don't get drafted. And then within that moment, my head my, my head coach, uh, from my high school team, like told me to look at the TV and I see my name coming across the board being drafted at 46.

Yeah. I think you were so traumatized that Dakari went two spots after you. So was it, was it, was it after me? Yeah. I'm, I'm wondering if it was Juan Pablo Vale who went 39th to Charlotte. Was he the one with the Cleveland? No. Um, cause I'm wondering if it was Juan Pablo Valle who went 39 to Charlotte. Was he the one with the Cleveland?

No. Cleveland, see some of this will be messed up because it'll say who took who. Like San Antonio took Milutinov who never played in the first round. I always imagine the American guys like when there was some duty really, I can't pronounce that guy's name. Like what the hell's going on? And this guy just went ahead of me, but you know, sometimes that's a size thing. So if I look through this, um, but what at 38, uh, Darren Hilliard from Nova, maybe that Sean, Sean Holmes or keen Christmas went ahead of you, Josh Richardson went ahead of you went ahead of me.

Yep. Yep. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David. From David Christmas went ahead of you. Josh Richards went ahead of you. Yeah. Yep. From BC, Joe Young, mighty Joe Young from Oregon, two spots, Andrew Harrison, and then Marcus Thornton, who lit it up at William and Mary. Yeah.

Once we got Hilliard and the card mixed up with somebody with a D and I was like, nah, this thing, this ain't it. Yeah, look, I mean, you guys, you guys are all really competitive dudes and it makes sense. But like, if you think about this dream, this childhood dream and it's draft night and you're actually sitting there completely miserable wanting to leave your own party. But like, look where we're at now.

So I've been curious about this because like, Kawhi's fascinating to those of us that like, I stopped we're at now. So, uh, I've, I've been curious about this because like, Kwai is fascinating to those of us that like, I stopped trying to figure them out a long time ago. I'll never forget the smartest information I ever got in Kwai when he was leaving Toronto was a team was like, we have no idea. And if anybody tells you they know, don't listen to them because that means they're lying to you.

Like if a team tells you like, Hey, we think he might do this. That means they absolutely are full of shit because that's they're lying to you. Like if a team tells you like, hey, we think he might do this, that means they absolutely are full of shit because that's just not how he operates. Since you were his teammate in 19 and like last year he played 68 games, he was really good again. And it was incredibly, I can imagine how frustrating it was for you, but just as a basketball fan,

so frustrating just seeing him in the Dallas series, you're like, he's not right, he's not right again. Are you tasked with being the Ka the, the Kawhi whispered away just because you guys have had the background and history? Yeah. I mean, people always ask me like questions about Kawhi, but honestly, like, I'm doing it to you right now, by the way, too. So I'm guilty of it.

He's normal. You know what I mean? Like, like I've known him for, for years, even before, you know, teaming up with him in Toronto. And I mean, like you said, like we thought as teammates, I mean, what a championship. There's no way this dude leaves. Like, he has to stay. Like it's the perfect setup.

The team's good. Like we have another chance to run it back with the way everything is situated. But I feel like people think I am just because, you know, I've had, you know, sharing connections with him, like off the court, or moms are friends, been friends for a long time. So I think people just know like I have like inside scoop on Kawhi. But I know just as much as everybody else knows, maybe a little bit more because there's conversations, but those conversations won't ever come out or anything for me. You know, it's the same thing that's being put out. I'm

gonna tell people because that's not my situation to tell. But I can speak from a standpoint of being a teammate and just sharing the floor with them and like his daily routines and stuff like that. Yeah. Cause I don't, I'm not trying to put you like in a tough spot to get the answer I can't get from anyone else. I do think it's kind of funny too, that like none of you guys knew in Toronto. Like he didn't, you just, you would sought out ESPN like everybody else, right?

Yeah, literally. Literally there was no like, Hey guys, I'm thinking about coming back. Hey guys, appreciate the year. You know what I'm saying? But I'm going to take my family and everything that LA, this is where I want to be. And then at Arizona is all we're waiting to see just like everybody else. Was it different with Paul George when he wasn't getting the fourth year? Like, would you guys talk about it?

I think it was more so just talking about like, every player, every team like talks about like, where the team's at, you know, like the same thing. Kind of like after that Cleveland series, where it's like, okay, like there's a change coming. We don't know what it is, but like, it kind of hit that wall where like, something has to change

and like go a different direction and build a certain way. And I think that's where we're at with it, especially with Hawaii getting its extension early on that season. It kind of like set the standard of like, this is what the max is gonna be. You know, I don't think in, for me as a team, you're the player looking at basketball,

business side of it, like you're for franchise players, you're getting this certain amount. And like the reason why your team has built certain ways for this player, and he gets his max, and this is what the max is. Like I don't think anybody else is gonna get paid higher than him. You know, so that was like kind of what the conversations

were like, okay, this is kind of like the max and what this team is gonna to look forward going forward? Yeah. I have Kauai followups in my head, but I know that are all a waste of time. So I don't even think I'm going to ask and be like, Hey, what, what's, what's the plan because, um, I think I think I can already guess that no one's quite sure. Uh, Tai Lu I love, I I've really liked him for a long time. Um, I love the Van Gundys on the staff.

I get to work with him at ESPN. What kind of perspective, let's start with Jeff actually. You know, you watched him on TV all these years. I mean, he goes all the way back to those Nick's MJ series. Give me something on like learning about having Jeff being on the staff that's kind of funny to you. Learning how, uh, the question is, and like, you always like, honestly, uh, honestly, the funniest thing I have in his passion is his random dad jokes

that he throws those out there. It's like the most out of nowhere, like, like it doesn't even make sense. And, and like like it catches everybody off guard like because he goes from like super serious and then like he'll just throw like a random like one liner in there that like nobody is expecting uh but it is great having him on the staff have him as the defensive coach too just like his attention to detail i think he kind of Coach to just like his attention to detail. I think he kind of re-energized the defensive side of the game for us as a team, you know, really buying in and being the aggressors and attackers and

the play style that we have. I've said it before, like, he irritates some of the guys and just how detail oriented he is and like how precise he is and how he wants us to guard. But you know, everybody's bought in and you can kind of see that, you know, when we're playing defense, like we're focused on that guys are getting up and sharing on defensive stops. I don't think you really get that too often in the game. You know, you get more, you know, celebrations when somebody gets dunked on our big threes made, but everybody's really communicating and talking on the defense side of the ball.

And I all started with Jeff Engendie at the start of the training camp and leading up to it. Yeah. This is more of like a philosophical question I have about defenses, right? Cause I think all coaches feel like there's some way to prevent something that's happening to them offensively. And like, I'm going to ask you a hardening question here in a second, but like when I think of like prime James in Houston and how good he was at the high pick and roll and it's like, okay, he can stop and pull up from three.

He can drive and throw it to Capella if you come up to help and Capella is behind it. But then if you don't challenge, you can hit you with the floater and then he's probably going to get the free throw. So like I'll see different actions, um, in behind it, but then if you don't challenge, you can hit you with the floater and then he's probably gonna get the free throw. So like I'll see different actions. We saw it a little bit this week in some of the in-season tournament games where it was just, they kept going to the same thing.

Like I'll see it sometimes with Rudy, right? Like Rudy is so good at showing on the ball at that size, but then he still keeps the roller like in his concept defensively as he's retreating. But sometimes it's just impossible, right? It's like, is you as the ball handler, you'll just know like as great as he might be defensively, you're asking a lot of this guy. So whether you guys want to go small, which I think teams are closing

smaller a little bit more, but then zoo is really good. So he provides all this rim resistance. How will you go into a timeout with Tai Lu and the staff of like, okay, is it, is it solving the problem or is it just giving a different look when you're trying to stop something that's happening to you? You're trying to put out the first fire, you know, like you're trying to take away the biggest strength of, of the opposing player and force them to do something that they're uncomfortable with.

A lot of it is playing now with the game being so analytical, numbers-based, playing the numbers. This player's not that good of a passer going to his left. His numbers show that he's not a great pull-up jump shooter as he is going left and he is right. If he goes right, he has everything he wants. He has the drive, he has the pull-up, he has the three, he has even like the passing angles that he can make with going left, you know, he might not be as good.

So it's really just trying to make the opposing offensive player as uncomfortable as possible and trying to make other guys be in areas that, you know, they're not as good as well. But like you said, that James Harden, like right in Houston, was so areas that you know they're not as good as well but like you said that like that James Harden like running Houston was so crazy that you had guys like teams guarding him like basically like giving him the runway you know like I think it was a Utah was Milwaukee hands back remember on the side of them remember when Budenholzer like I think there was a Milwaukee game where they basically decided to play him on his left side. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I thought it was Utah. Was it Utah? I, well, there may be a couple of teams that tried it and I remember watching it going,

this was like the most unconventional way of playing defense I've ever seen. Like it was like literally just like, he's not going left hand at all. Like sit on like literally like, I don't care if you give him the straight line drive, it's always like square him up, you know, play him, play him even ball, ball, uh, man, you basket, like none of that. Like they're literally just trying to cut off his left hand. And I've never seen defenses do that, but it was just like, he's so good going to his left that like we have to force him to his offhand, even if it's

giving him a straight run right to go at the big, like we're going to take away his pull up three and things like that. Yeah. I remember watching it. Cause I think a few teams may have tried to do it. So I think, I think it was, it was like a couple of weeks. And I remember thinking, well, first of all, he's too smart. Like if you're just going to tell him every time what the coverage is going to be then.

And it, by the way, it stopped fairly soon because he's just, he's just too smart. He's too skilled to kind of figure it out. Now look, full transparency. I know he's a hall of famer and he's put up huge, huge numbers, full transparency in the audience listening to this. He hasn't always been my favorite. And I will, maybe it's the, the off arm grab that he still gets away with. I could not believe Ben Taylor on the review against Denver. Like I think it happened to Aaron Gordon twice in the same week against two different off arm grab that he still gets away with. I could not believe Ben Taylor on the review against Denver.

Like I think it happened to Aaron Gordon twice in the same week against two different teams. And I remember watching the second game, like Aaron Gordon's gonna retire right now if he doesn't get this one a second time. So look, good for James, it works. But when I look back at last year, you were the last team in the NBA

a number of passes per game. Okay. But that's not just on James, because James is actually passing as many times per game this year as he was last year. You're not last in passes per game now, you're 19th as a team. And I think it makes a lot of sense, like Kawhi's terrific on ball.

Like if he's gonna get the ball, get you to the elbow and work, that's a really good possession. PG is really good on the ball. Russ is somebody that is just better with the basketball as opposed to off the ball. So it made sense collectively that you weren't going to pass a lot as a basketball fan. I don't like that because I like passing. I like movement.

I like a second movement. I like attacking from different angles. I like having a defense have to think. I like attacking from different angles. I like having a defense, have to think. Where James is so good that he can stop the possession. He can dissect what's going to happen. He's been much better this year, but what does it mean for you in those possessions where James is stopping it and everybody's kind of waiting?

Like how, how different is that for you as a scorer, knowing that you're going to like, granted you've already played them. So this isn't necessarily new this year, but it is asking you to kind of, I don't know if weight's the best way to describe it, but clearly it's a little bit different than some of the other offenses you see with just more movement. Yeah. Um, I mean, like you said last year, like we didn't, we weren't passing that much. I mean, you have four guys who in their career, like teams have been built around them.

So they have the ball in their hands, literally the whole game. And they're the ones deciding like what goes on, reading defenses. So like when you get those four on a team, it's kind of how do you make it work? You know, and a lot of it comes from the sacrifice from the other guys, knowing that, you know, PGY, they're going to get their plays. James is going to get their plays. James is going to get their plays, Russ is going to get their plays and it's kind of playing around with them. This year, it's a little different.

We got more guys that can get up and down the floor, do different things, a lot of different movements and James is really the only ISO player for me. I like getting my plays out of actions and transition in the flow, occasionally being able to go one on one here and there. But playing off James is a lot of fun for me because I like catching shoot threes. So it's just when it does get to those moments of him slowing down and you know taking his defender one on one. I'm just trying to find the outlet to where he's going to be. And you know we kind of have like a setup scheme to where he has his isos and me being

the outlet and being such a great catch and shoot shooter and just finding a window for him if he doesn't have a shot. But I don't mind it at all because I like catching shooters with the simple looks and I have to create my own all the time. So it's easier, especially now because it's only one player going into the Isos really. But then Shkoob has the opportunity coming off the bench. But the pressure is on James to create and I know he does a great job in that one. It's just, uh, playing off of him and finding where he likes to have his outlets to be

ready to make the next play. One of the things I just always loved about you is like, and I like this in basketball is even off of a make, you know, especially after miss, we're not talking about layups and fast breaks. We're talking about the team defensively scrambling for their matchups. Like, I just think there's so many points in a game that are waiting there for you if you can get the ball up the court while they're still scrambling for their defensive assignments. And I can picture in my head, I think of you, you get it from the side and people aren't

really ready and then you're just off and you're attacking. And look, and you're just attacking too're just off and you're attacking. Um, and look, and you're just attacking too. And you're right about that space. Like James is just going to give you space. I mean, look at all those Houston guys and all the numbers, like post hardened, I'd be, I'd be reluctant to trade for the, some of those guys. Cause it's like, okay, I know what he's shot in Houston, but I don't know that this is going to translate here because it's bringing all this attention. Yeah.

Right. Um, so the other thing with Ty Lue, cause I feel like I didn't give him enough love here. Cause I don't, I shouldn't talk about Jeff more than the head coach. Uh, he is, he is considered somebody like game to game. You know, I think it's hard in basketball. We play 82 of these to have a football mentality of like the matchup and what we're going to do, but it feels

like Ty Lue does a little bit more than that. Then, then a lot of the coaches, um, what, what is it like specifically like game planning for you against more than that than a lot of the coaches. What is it like specifically like game planning for you against an opponent with ties as compared to like other coaches? Well, it's a lot of fun for me. Like I said, like this year,

I'm even actually when I got here, him asking me specific questions about what I like, the different plays I like, what side of the floor I like to have the ball, how do I like to attack, what's the different plays I like what side of the floor I like to have the ball How do I like the tech? What's my best play of like shooting? What's my favorite play that I've had? You know and having those that dialogue, you know with him You know where it makes me feel comfortable to be able to come and share what I see on the floor

And then him, you know being so bought in Who I am as a player, you know before I knew T Lou was before I got here. I knew to who I am as a player. You know, before I knew T-Liu, before I got here, I knew T-Liu was a fan of me. They'd been back to him, we were in a bubble, and I'm walking by him and he's asking me questions about my previous game and stuff like that. And I would talk to him to the assistant coaches that worked with me in Toronto, like,

oh man, T-Liu was always asking you this, that, and the other. And he's like, man, you never know, man. You might end up there, T-Liu might be a fan of you. Which every time you see him, he's asking you this, that, and the other. And he's like, man, you never know, man. You might end up there, T-Lew might be a fan of you. With you, every time you see him, he's asking you questions. And then to get here and hear him say, you know, he's been a fan of me for a long time. You know, but just to have that dialogue with them, you know, it makes you feel really comfortable

on the floor as a player that you have a coach that's confident in your abilities. Unless it seems you can be successful and put you at the spots and areas on the floor where you can be the best version of yourself. What was that day like when you found out you're being traded to Los Angeles? I didn't think it was real I thought I was being pranked. Yeah I didn't believe it because I was getting ready for a game I was just got done working with my massage therapist after my morning workout and I had no service.

And then I come back up and I got two missed calls from my agent, two missed calls from the general manager of Portland and everything. And I'm like, aw snap, what did I do? Must've missed something, got in trouble. I called my agent back first cause I wasn't gonna call the GM. And he basically told me that,

what do you think about LA? And I'm like, well, it depends on what LA we talking that, what do you think about LA? And I'm like, well, it depends on what LA we talking about. Like, what do you mean? And he said, uh, the Clippers, I was like, no, you, you mess with it. There's no way. He's like, no, they're thinking about trading for you hasn't came out yet, but, um, I think you're going to be a Clipper. And I was like, works for me, man.

Give me a bad, let's go. Wait, would you have felt different about the Lakers? Uh, no, uh, probably a little bit more excited, not in a bad way, just because Kobe was my favorite player growing up. And, um, you know, having that dream of, you know, wearing that jersey, especially, uh, with him, uh, his last year was going to be my rookie year. So I really wanted to be a Laker. Just to share that, that, that team in that,

that moment that jersey with them. Um, I think that had been the only difference is that, that childhood dream of being a Laker because of Kobe. But, um, my first game in the NBA going to NBA game was the Clippers. So there's still a full circle moment there too. Yeah. I mean, you're from San Diego. I don't know that anybody, I don't think any Clipper fan can be upset about anyone from California, uh, loving Kobe as much as so many of you guys do.

Before we let you go, I have to ask you this, cause I think it's so funny. Chris Wallace, who works with the team I've known for a bunch of years and he reached out and. The scar on the forehead, you know, I was, I was watching it and I'm like, man, that thing's not healing and you wanted it on the forehead, you know, I was, I was watching it and I'm like, man, that thing's not healing and you wanted it on the bobblehead. Yeah. I thought, I thought it was going to be a perfect touch, you know, um, you're kind of leaning into it. Cause like everybody, like as soon as it happened and like the next game,

like I didn't miss any game, but I had this like big like yeah silicone patch on it and I couldn't see it was messing up my vision and then when I took it off and like after the game I come back to my phone you know social like doesn't miss a heartbeat again. Like the first thing I see is like a 21 Savage gift everybody's like calling me 24 Savage and this that and the other. Then I had that really good game to close out the Golden State Warriors a few games after and like just had all of that pub around it. So I just like leaned into it, you know, and I had that one liner, like I'm not a tough shot taker, I'm a tough shot maker.

Everybody went crazy about that. So I was like, you know, I like to embrace those things, you know, it is what it is. You know, you can't shy away from it. It's healing pretty well. But I thought it was going to be like a good, like little like signature moment for me as a footballer. It does look better now that I'm looking at it than it did last season. Cause after it had happened, I was like, man, I don't know what kind of available ointments you would have as a pro athlete.

I imagine you guys get some high level stuff. I was like, you know, but you know what, like you said have as a pro athlete. I imagine you guys get some high level stuff. I was like, you know, but you know what, like you said, you've embraced it now it's on the bobblehead. You're having the best season of your career. And I hope a lot of people are paying attention. So thanks man, thanks so much for the time. No, thanks for having me.

Okay, we're going to keep couch money research going, even if the Alliance is TBD. Maybe we'll pick it back up for the both thing, but I think McShane, I might be doing something with FanDuel here. So oddly enough, couch money research, a three and O. We can, we'll keep it going here right now. One of the sharp picks was San Francisco minus two and a half, but we did not tape prior to the Thursday game, San Francisco. Not a huge part of the podcast today. It looks like they're done.

Um, so that means these other picks are just spicy. They love the Colts. They always do. So research plus three and a half. Let's go Colts at Denver plus three and a half. Um, my couch play is actually the fading, the public play. So I think I'm going to take it. Um, the heavy money so far, the public money side is Pittsburgh

plus five and a half at Philadelphia. So Philadelphia would be the play fading the public, but I'm going to take it for my couch one. So let's go minus five and a half there. So let's find another five and a half there. So let's find another public play here and check out where the action network has it. So a lot of people on the Bucks, second most popular public game here,

Bucks plus three at Chargers. That means Fading the Public could be Chargers minus three. You want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you can possibly imagine. And best of all kids, I am liquid. So now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required. Our email address, liveadviceRR at gmail.com. Kyle Sruti-Organ.

What's up? Did we have anything that we needed to clear up? I feel like these moments have turned more into, was there any follow-up that we needed? Nothing on my end. Everything's good? Dolphin today, Kyle? Yeah, it might.

Hell yeah. We're seeing it might come together. All right. I like hearing that. How are the clubs? We haven't really followed up on that. Have you used them yet? Dude, doing so well.

My buddy's characterizing is like, you know what? You're bad is still pretty bad, but your good's getting better. So that's the type of stuff I like to hear. Love that. Okay. That's great. Both sets of clubs? Is one better than the other one.

The blades are blades are not for me yet. I was going to say that. That's the answer. Are they actual blades? Yeah. I gave you blades. Why do I have blades? I don't know.

Maybe that's why I think that was probably the second one, right? I think you always knew you were going to give me the burners, but I think the blades was probably the, the throw in those I think you always knew you were gonna give me the burners, but I think the blades was probably the throw-in. Those are tough, man, the margin of error there. Yeah, but it's good to have a way for something. Why did I have? I don't even know that I knew. Those already be yours,

something just left them at your place. That'd be so good. No, I remember buying them because like a weird thing happened where Dick's Sporting Good sporting goods sent something got messed up. So I just basically like sent nothing was, was happening. And so I kind of just sent him a tweet, but I think it wasn't, I don't know if it was. Yeah. And then I remember somebody from real last resort situation. Yeah. Yeah. I don't really like to say for

like flights that have gone wrong. I don't understand that one. I mean, I get, you know, if the airport thing doesn't go right and it's kind of like a last resort, but just the, I have been at fill in the blank. Yeah. We, we don't know what that's about though. Come on. I mean, it's literally just like, Hey, look at me. And then I'm going to get some free stuff. Cause like, cool. The social media guys like, Oh man, now I got it. The structures got a blue check mark. Now I got to send them like a free flight or

make this right online. Spill out some miles. It's everyone wins. It's lame. It's very lame. I can understand being desperate there, but what I can't understand is when people fly and sometimes it doesn't work out. Yeah, exactly.

Sometimes it just doesn't, doesn't go your way. And I know it sucks. But yeah, the thing about the golf clubs was I can't believe I bought blades. That doesn't even make any sense. Well, actually you have like an awesome week and you're like, I think I'm ready to challenge myself. It actually does seem like a very Rossello thing to do though. You buy the hardest piece of equipment and like you'd be like, no, I'm going to make

this work. This is what the, this is what the people use. The hardest piece of equipment. And like, you'd be like, no, I'm going to make this work. This is what the pro, this is what the people use. Iron sharp anxiety. I'll be using this. Yeah. What I've learned about the blades thing is that basically people that are really, really good at golf,

like below professional golfers will tell you that like, having blades is the first telling on yourself moment of like, oh, you're one of those guys. And that the people that have the blades are probably not good enough. Whereas the really good golfer that's like, I don't, I'm still just not going to benefit from blades enough and I'll still hit something that's a little bit more forgiving that they're smarter and they're the better golfers. But, um, I don't, I don't remember those being like straight up, straight up blades and now that it says it right on them, it says, and they look newer too. So, you know, I still take the burners out, but they look newer.

I'm like, man, one day, one day. Yeah. Cause when I played at rib with caddies and he was looking at my clubs, he was like, no, no, these are great. These are great. And it's three hours. Cause I was like, I don't know if I should have these, they're not blades, but they're there. You know, I was like, I just figured I would figure it out pretty quickly and be really good. Cause golf is so easy. And, uh, towards the end, he was like, you might want to find something a little bit player, more player friendly. Oh no. Ouch.

I was like, you know, I go, you were, I go, we were talking in the beginning of the round. You were totally on my side. You said my swing was fine for these and I would figure it out. And I was like, now three hours later you've abandoned all hope. So I don't know. Yeah. I'm gonna have to, I'm gonna have to research the ones that I gave you. Anyway, the point of the whole tweet thing was, is then somebody at work who was not somebody at work

that should have told me what I could or could not do, told me what I should or should not do. And I like that even less. It's like, you know, I don't think you should be doing that based on partnerships to be happy. And I was like, what do you do here again? All right. Saruti's SC banner. Five banner 58185 used to bench 250

but stopped lifting anything above 40 pound dumbbells during the pandemic. Lots of aches and pains went away and I never look back. All right, our guys going like, you know, I don't need it. I don't need I don't need the pain. Anyway, I don't need any advice. I don't even know I read this one I noticed on the YouTube sir Rudy has a salt what is it a st. Louis city SC banner in the background yeah what's up with that is the only question yeah simple answer I'll just I'll just go

here you know I've had some people you know make comments about my background I like soccer I like to collect scarves I don't really have any place to put them I'm working on a basement situation where I can get like a nice wall to hang them up all. But right now I'm just hanging them over my messy Xbox poster. Um, but I have a St Louis city FC when I have an Everton one, cause I'm an Everton fan. I have a Roma one. Uh, I actually have a, that is what it's a pinehurst, something I got that DSP in, uh, the USA one.

I got a NYC FC and I got an IACS one, the St Louis city one. I got that from smallman. She's like IACS one the st. Louis City one. I got that from small man She's like part of the crew, you know over there. She was doing I think some media stuff for them And obviously she's miss st. Louis. So she got me a scarf. So I figured I'd she really is miss st. Louis now Yeah, so I figured I'd support Michelle small, you know, I don't really know much about I don't watch there a ton of their games I don't really have an MLS team to be honest with you, but I like the scarf and I like small. So there you go. Okay. Really nice combo.

I like that. Seems like it's cooler to be from St. Louis these days. Is there like an air about that? I don't know. Smallman. I remember, I won't say who the anchor was, but they were filling in on a radio show that smallman I think was producing with me and somehow St. Louis came up and basically the guy was just like, Oh, that place is a dump.

Didn't know smallman was from there. She doesn't want to hear that. No, and she was really bummed about it. Really bummed about it. Um, was the host a good villain or a bad villain? A bad film. I love the good feeling, bad feeling stuff. Oh, that would be funny. I can't do that, but, uh, it would be an awesome, man. I love the good fill in bad filling stuff.

Oh, that would be funny. I can't do that, but it would be an awesome. So man, it would be great. I know just the dude, Randy Scott, great film. It's not Randy Scott. No, he was a great film. I used to love the people who would fill in and this is my show today. I'm the captain now.

And you would just go, no, it's actually called this show. And you're filling in. We could just do who's a good fill in. And then people could fill in the blanks, but I got a lot. I like, there's a lot of great villains, L Duncan, great villain. Loved her. She's one of the most fun people to be around. Uh, she was great for radio. I mean, not to say that she's not great on TV, but I just, she had whatever the radio thing you have to have to transfer over from TV to radio, she has a great personality. That's pretty much, yeah.

Yeah, that's what I'm gonna say. So yeah, there would always be some villains that would just be like, this is day one of the new order. You're like, is it? Why don't you get that fucking Keystone Light read in there, buddy? Yeah. Look at the screen. I wrote the tease out. Just read the screen. I remember one guy, this goes back years,

but he was asked to fill in on a not optimal slot. He did not want to do it. He, and he's such a dick, I don't even care. So I'm just doing it. I'm not going to say his name, but he, he was like, I don't want to do that. I'll do like Mike and Mike or the herd. I don't want to do this slot. It wasn't my slot either. All right.

And so he was just thought he was going to be able to say no. And they're like, you have a million radio days, which was this other sneaky thing that our TV people would get like 50 radio days and they would never have to do them. Um, and he decided he would just turn the whole fill in week of like a reunion because it was, he felt it was beneath him to be filling in on the slot. So he just decided what I'm gonna do is just craft it out to be like,

hey, it's great to be back with the gang. And you were like, what is he doing? Like you're just, you're filling in this other show. Hey, what up? You're turning his appearance into the segment. Yeah. He turned the whole week into it. you're filling in this other show. Hey, what are turning his appearance into the segment? He turned the whole week into it. I remember like, until also how the segment is that I'm here. He's like, you know, this is a lot of fun. This is a lot of fun.

He just wrote a book or something. Yeah. I was like, it wasn't a lot of fun. Like everybody knew you didn't want to do it. They made you do it. So you were like, okay, since I think this is beneath me, I am now just going to pretend it was, you know, what we need to do is bring them back like homecoming week it's been a while and that'll be the whole thing. It's like, no, actually, you know, pre-season week three, you know, in any interesting cuts coming up next, do the Panthers have what it takes to be competitive with this secondary?

All right. Statue limitations on Friends X. Don't know why it took so long to get to all that stuff. Maybe it's because it's Friday. Just freewheeling. Let's go. Baseball guy working on my pickup game. Player compass Poku, you wish. 6 three, lanky, so high level pick up basketball minds are willing to use a mid first round on me and unfortunately comedy ensues. Poku could pass, bro. All right, we're all 25 or 26. Pretty straightforward.

Is a good friend's ex off limits forever. Forever's a long time. More context for my specific situation with names change. We're all 25, 26. I already read that. One of my best friends from high school. I hope we change the names here, buddy. I don't know. Change them. 25, 26. He can't be sure they're thinking that far ahead. No. I mean, it happens so often and then somebody would be like, Oh, you know, I shouldn't have done that. I'm like, all right. So, um, best friend from high school, Bocefus dated a girl from our friend group, everybody was close with, let's call her a cricket. Um, they dated our senior year of high school, then went to different colleges.

One hour apart, dated for two and a half more years. They broke up four years ago. One year later, Bocefus started dating a woman. We just married three months ago. Beautiful wedding, enthusiastic. He actually mentions the nationality of the family. You really do want to give all of this away. You've already decided. Yeah.

So they're from a different part of the world, beautiful family, very positive reviews. And Bocefus is extremely happy with the entire deal. Cricket now lives in a different city but remains friendly with our group. She and I have always been close. Don't talk often, but catch up on everything every few months. Saw all my good friends in the rest of our high school on Blackout Wednesday.

Yes. Before Thanksgiving. What a night. What a night. Blackout Wednesday. If there's a time to hook up with your friends ex, it is definitely on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Cricket was a little touchy and flirty with me and I reciprocated a bit because

frankly I do find her very attractive. I also made sure to stick with the group. Nothing happened between us. We all had a fun night. Since then, Cricket has made it clear to me that she's down in a pretty casual capacity. Maybe this guy is like Poku because Poku has this level of confidence. casual capacity. Maybe this guy is like Poku because Poku has this level of confidence.

My decisions now are one, whether or not to do it. Yep. Two, if I decide to go for it, whether or not to tell Bocephus either before or after. Probably not before, buddy. Yeah. Hey, been thinking, been kicking this around. What do you want to buy, Insult? Actually, I'm going to sleep with your ex. You think I should know? That's cool, we're cool, right? We're cool, that's cool. Get any advice? Has anyone ever told their buddy before?

Yeah. That would be great. That'd be a great comeback. You know, I really busted up about this. Don't know how it happened, but you, but you already did it, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yep. All right, I'm aware that some people would just go for it,

especially because my friend is now married, but I think others would say a friend's ex is just off limits for good. Personally, I'm leaning toward it would be fine, but obviously there's a tinge of bias there. That's why I'm curious what the group thinks. If it matters, this would not be a long-term thing as Cricket and I are both well aware we're not compatible for marriage. I'm confident she and I will remain friends whether this happens or not.

I'm not particularly worried about, uh, uh, Bosephus. He's an easygoing guy and happily married, but if this jeopardized the friendship, I'd have no problem forgetting it happened and just staying where I'm currently at that said, dot, dot, dot. She's really hot. This is a gray area. Important. What it is.

I flip flop both times and I'm leaning towards you could do it, but the, when he said we're 26, I'm like, all right. So no matter what happens, not enough time has passed. That's w that was my first thought. It's like, if you all right, so no matter what happens, not enough time has passed. That was my first thought. It's like if you guys are all in the same area, probably not enough time has passed. But they said they broke up four years ago, plus you add a marriage. It's kind of like, you know, I thought, I thought, you know, I understand.

And if you're talking about keeping this under wraps. I think I think you could do it. The marriage is the big thing that pushes it over but without a marriage I don't think statute limitations is up. Which means this is what we call a gray area and I think there aren't any completely wrong answers. Totally there's no right answer there's no wrong answer I think. The fact that. You know. The fact that you know, it's kind of weird that you're both like, yeah, we both realized that this is not going anywhere long-term, it's just kind of like a thing we're both attracted to each other.

That makes me think, you know, do you trust her to just like not tell anyone or like not have this get back to your buddy? Then I think it's kind of fun. Um, it's probably super exciting to think about too. Like, you know, he's not hung. It, you know, if it was one of those things where like she broke up with him and then he was really hung up on her and then he married this girl that didn't like because he wanted to get one over on her

or something like if there's this whole backstory about how he's like still kind of into where I'd be like, yeah, he's asked you for advice in the past. Yeah. But like if he, but if he's moved on, I mean, I know, you know, I don't know. I plenty of people like they date high school into college and they just kind of grow apart. And they're like, I'm sure many of those people would be happy with whatever life their ex-partner lived. And I don't know, I think that's kind of unfair to be like, no, you can never do this. Even though I understand like it is complicated.

I think it's fine. Try to keep it under wraps. And, you know, even if it gets back to your buddy, hopefully he's kind of understanding. There are some guys out there, like we read an email not too long ago about that guy who's getting married and tried to like back channel through the grapevine to get this old fling to be at the wedding. So there are guys that like,

we'll look at that girl possessively forever. There are, but you know, you'll probably be able to tell which one of those guys are not. Like those guys can't hide it amongst their friends forever if that's how they are. So you would know one way or the other for that. But if it's not that, I think just shut the fuck up about it and you know, enjoy the excitement and then move on if you're leaning towards doing.

Every guy is different. And I think possessive is definitely part of the makeup for a lot of dudes out there. Where if he finds out and it's like, well, if you marry, you're fine. But if you don't, that's fucked up. Right. And you're already saying that you're not going to do that. There's a ton of pressure on you there to be like the only way we can justify this is if we spend the rest of our lives together.

So, um, I don't know that getting of a rom-com too. It's like, we can't, we can't, we can't get married. This is just a hookup. And then it's like, wait a second. You got a family vacation. It's like, we can't, we can't, we can't get married. This is just a hookup. And then it's like, wait a second. You got a family vacation. It's like, hmm. Yeah, I don't, I mean, guys are all over the spectrum on this one, right?

Just absolutely all over the spectrum where, and really my only experience is being a guy. So I don't, I can't offer up, yeah, guesses on how the other side sees this. But I think sometimes when it comes to relationships and sex, that kind of stuff, we're probably a little bit more aligned. Uh, there's probably some more commonalities than maybe we'd want to admit or realize because, you know, there can be so many things that are

different about men and women. But yeah, like I had guy friends that are incredibly possessive. Like the second they've ever hooked up with anybody, then it's like some weird, like land grant thing that they think is like passed on to generations. And you just go, I don't think that's necessarily the way it works. However, I don't know that it should ever be

like a free for all either. And guys will tell you different things than they actually think to their friends too. So it makes it even more money. Right. Because when you're married and you're going to start a family and you start telling your buddy like, Hey, can you not do this now? Is it, are you saying you can't do it with like anybody or is it this one specific one? And then there's the other side of it that I think is always like kind of fascinating and I don't know if it's like a, just a pure sign of maturity or if

it's some weird like desensitized, like I'll never forget like one time, one of my friends from college, he, I was like, you know, what, what did you do this, the summer or something? I don't know how it came up. Like it wasn't, Hey, hello man. How, how was your summer? And then he told me some weird escapade story, but he was like, basically talking about he and his uncle like went on this rampage during wedding season. And I was kind of like,

you're that close with your uncle. It's like, I never want to be. And sometimes like the uncle age thing. Yeah. Sometimes it's like a three year gap and it's just like, it makes sense if you explain it, but it's still weird. But this uncle was older than him. So like significantly older than him is from a part of the country where I think if I said, but I'm not going to say the state, we'd all go, ah, that kind of

checks out a little bit. But where there can be some dudes that are just like, yeah, you know, I, I used to hang out, you should do it too, man. Cross all sorts of lines, man. Right. And I don't know that I love that one either. So then there's the other part too, where I feel like what's your, and I'm talking to the emailer here, like what's your deal?

Have you pulled off any transaction on your own or are you simply just a guy that seems to get credit for a merger that's at the table? You know, and that's a great, I don't, I just don't like that guy. Like there's certain people that I know specifically Billy, you would have never gotten here if there weren't a buddy already hacking away with a machete. OK, and a lurker. Right. You your in is association has nothing to do with your personality.

Your accomplishments. You have no fucking game whatsoever. Your only game is that of a deer tick. You are a parasite. And if it weren't for the host, you wouldn't talk to a girl the rest of your life. And I hate those fucking guys. Does it sound a little pointed?

Yes, I'm thinking about two people in particular. So I'm not getting that sense from you at all. I'm not saying those things about you. But ultimately we already know what you're gonna do. You're going to do this and hope you get away with it. And you probably are, because he's got a wife and kids and, you know, the stuff you start worrying about that you used to worry about before that happens, I would imagine, as I'm talking to my two married buddies

here, you just don't have enough room to care about this anymore. When you start getting kids in the equation. Also, if it comes out later, you know what I mean? There is a time that the statute of limitations on that would be up. And if it doesn't come out for a while, then it's all in the wash. Like, who knows what date it was if he finds out four years from now, you know, whatever. At that point, that's the other good math. Good.

Right. It's not like he's going to get a bulletin the next Tuesday. Right. Exactly. Town crier bell Bell running through. Alert on his phone, yep. I think we covered that one. All right. Good luck.

Okay, last one here. Do I go to a live podcast with my girlfriend on Valentine's Day? First time emailing her love of the pod, gym set, six foot, 210, 505 deadlift, 285 bench, 455 squat, 385 zir oh five deadlift 285 bench 455 squat 385 Zurcher deadlift I think so. Well, all right, there we go.

College rugby athlete play pickup hoops every few weeks player comp is Smith with the athleticism of Spencer Hawes. Dude, Spencer's our buddy. He's down the street. Ish Smith, a lot of teams though, a lot of friends. So maybe a really popular guy. My girlfriend and I have been dating for a year currently long distance as I finish up school. She's back home as I graduated early. We have no issues, hardly ever fight. Not with stats like those, brother.

She shows you off. Here's the thing, we're going to a really fun city for Valentine's Day and spending four days together. She wants to go to a live podcast of her favorite pod. Think Call Her Daddy type of content, but a bit less sex oriented, okay? The podcast is on Valentine's Day. It's gonna be a single girls' fest and I will stick out like a sore thumb.

You, sir, will be the thumb and you will be sore. That's like, I feel bad when women are at my live pods. It's like, man came to this. You must really like them. I've yet. I don't, I don't think there's ever been a woman that's like, has gone to my live pod at the meet and greet after we take pictures, shake hands. She's like, I'm really psyched. We did this.

Right. You think this actually ran a little longer than we thought. That's not true. You met one, did you, Saruti? Yeah. Well, maybe a couple, but there was definitely one at the, uh, the Vegas show who was really, uh, was really into the, who you could tell, like this wasn't like just there because her boyfriend was there or whoever. I think that might be it though.

So yeah, one. Okay. So we got one thanks to her. We'll do one. Yeah. All right. So, um, normally I would be fine going to something like this, but I think since it's on Valentine's day, we should just spend that day together and have a nice

dinner. I don't really want to go to the podcast and I know I won't like it but I know she really wants to go. Do I suck it up and go with her or do I tell her no? This is a big ask of her to have you do this. Yes it is. Valentine's Day isn't about the dude. Just go. Grow up. Go to that? Who cares? What if your wife was like I'm joining a crochet club and it starts on Valentine's. Bring your partner day. I don't know man, Valentine's Day is not about the guy. If she wants to do this and it's gonna make her happy, just go, dude.

It's not what's the end of it. Normally, you're right, it isn't about the guy, it's about the dinner, it's about the flowers, it's about all the other setup, it's about doing something nice, it's about showing the other person you care. To go to a Taylor Swift Fest with no music. Well, let's settle down, I had a good time with Taylor Swift concert.

Did she sit there and talk about relationships for three hours? It was, right? She played some mints. In some ways, there were a lot of relationships. To be honest, yeah, good counterpoint. But she had a fucking guitar. This is not going to have a guitar.

There's a couple things here. I think you're right. Definitely it is not about the dude, unless it's a dude-dude situation that I'm not really sure what it's about. But that's not the point of this email. The fact that this is a long term, the fact that this is a long distance relationship, I think has like, maybe you should do the traditional preset menu. I was thinking like, if you've been together for a while, like maybe you start getting

a little creative on Valentine's day. This could be, this is probably your second one, right? You've been together a year. That must mean that you've had one Valentine's day already. You haven't seen each other in a while. I think you could maybe be like, you know, we're, we're long distance here. I'd kind of like to be able to spend it with you and not kind of staring at someone else talk at us.

Maybe there's a way you can do that. Or you'd be like, you know, I really just, I wanted to do like a nice, you know, the good prefix menu, not the okay one. Like the thing where you'd be happy to have that prefix menu. I think maybe you can just be like, I- Do it like the next day.

Yeah, I guess so. I don't, I just, it's just not worth it. Yeah, what does Valentine's Day mean to you? Like is there magic in the air that- Celebration of love? That the nice dinner could be the next day. I celebrate love 365 days a year, dude, so. Yeah, I bet you do.

Hmm. Yeah, I think you're right. I guess just cave, like if it's not really about you anyway. But I don't know, I could see the thing of you saying- I don't need big flowers telling me which day. I love my wife. Yeah. I could see you saying, like, I wanted to do a nice traditional Valentine's Day.

Haven't seen you in a while, babe. You know, here's the deal. You're going to be comfortable. This is a terrible idea. I'm on our guy's side. It's a bullshit request. Bullshit request. If you do it, I imagine you're going to be stacking up some chips of equity here. Which is kind of what the day is all about.

What if she's like, okay, you did that. You're the best. What do you want to do for your day tomorrow? And be like, pouch a red man, call a duty 4 a.m. Let's go. You owe me this. So two out of three votes, dude, go to the podcast. Just be a nice guy. I think it's a ridiculous request. I think you're right. I think Valentine's Day is a little ridiculous all around. Yeah, but Jesus, you imagine like, can you imagine me at a Caller Daddy

live show in general? No. And I mean, look, Alex is awesome. So it's, it's not about like me, but I've seen the videos. Like me just in the back being like, yes, I'm unwell. You don't have to like have the greatest time ever. You just have to. Oh, that is promised. No problem. Shout out to league pass with AirPods. That's what you've been up to.

When is she going to do the Lamello segment? Okay. That'll do it for us today. Thanks to Kyle. No, there's a war gone free zone. No, we're not making pics today, so you know. Yeah, there's no, I just, couch money research.

Yeah. Poor guys, like I dominated this season. I'll just be back here, rubbing some coconut oil on this beast of a left arm tat. Yeah, I think it's left arm. All right. Uh, thanks for checking out the show. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

And as always, you can hear us on ringer Spotify. Must be 21 and older, present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in DC gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org forward slash chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24-7 support Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.