Hour 2: Knicks HC Vacancy

Summary

Podcast Summary: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 2: Knicks HC Vacancy

Podcast Information:

• Title: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg
• Hosts: Don LaGreca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
• Episode: Hour 2: Knicks HC Vacancy
• Release Date: June 26, 2025
• Description: Hosted by ESPN New York’s Don LaGreca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg, the podcast delves into New York sports, with a focus on the Knicks' recent coaching changes.

---

Introduction

The episode kicks off with a humorous and energetic introduction, quickly transitioning into the main topic: the vacant head coach (HC) position of the New York Knicks following the recent departure of Tom Thibodeau.

---

Main Discussion: The Knicks' Coaching Vacancy

Firing of Tom Thibodeau

• Don LaGreca opens the discussion by addressing the recent firing of Tom Thibodeau, highlighting the abruptness and timing of the decision ([00:38]).

  Don LaGreca [00:38]: "Further cementing the fact, Peter, that Jason Kidd is not going to be the Knicks head coach."

Jason Kidd Rumors and Reality

• Peter Rosenberg expresses skepticism about the persistent rumors linking Jason Kidd to the Knicks' coach position, emphasizing that Kidd is unlikely to leave the Dallas Mavericks ([01:25]-[02:14]).

  Peter Rosenberg [02:01]: "It's over."

• Don counters by questioning whether Kidd was ever genuinely considered as part of a strategic plan, suggesting that such rumors might have been unfounded.

  Don LaGreca [02:02]: "Was Jason Kidd the plan and now the plan fell through?"

Impact on Knicks' Free Agency and Team Building

• Don shifts focus to the implications of the coaching vacancy on the Knicks' upcoming free agency period, stressing the urgency to secure a new coach before key players become available ([02:51]-[04:52]).

  Don LaGreca [03:35]: "They are probably going to keep the coach as is, and that's why there's no sense of urgency."

• Peter adds that free agency dynamics might delay the hiring process, indicating that the Knicks may not prioritize aggressive moves due to limited financial flexibility ([05:54]-[06:36]).

  Peter Rosenberg [06:29]: "With a different coach that they don't hire until August."

Ownership and Management Critique

• Don and Peter delve into criticism of the Knicks' ownership, particularly James Dolan, suggesting that overzealous or poorly thought-out decisions are harming the team's prospects ([11:20]-[13:09]).

  Peter Rosenberg [12:35]: "This reeks of loose ownership."

• Don speculates on Leon Rose's role, questioning his complicity or powerlessness in the decision to fire Thibodeau without a clear replacement ([20:53]-[22:29]).

  Don LaGreca [20:53]: "You can't tell me that he went rogue."

Potential Coaching Candidates

• The hosts discuss various potential candidates for the Knicks' head coach position, including Mike Brown, Taylor Jenkins, and Michael Malone, questioning why prominent names like Malone haven't been approached yet ([37:03]-[38:05]).

  Don LaGreca [37:03]: "And I asked the caller and he's like, I don't know."

Player Relations and Team Morale

• Alan Hahn, a recurring guest, provides a counterpoint by defending Thibodeau, arguing that player dissatisfaction was a significant factor leading to his dismissal ([33:17]-[35:33]).

  Alan Hahn [33:17]: "All right. The team regressed during the year."

• He emphasizes that player happiness is crucial for team success, suggesting that Thibodeau's coaching style may have hindered the team's performance ([35:03]).

  Alan Hahn [34:03]: "When the players start to disrespect or not respect the coach, you're not going to get the best out of them."

Fan and Caller Perspectives

• Listeners and callers contribute their frustrations and opinions, drawing analogies that portray the Knicks' coaching search as awkward and poorly managed ([13:48]-[21:06], [33:13]-[37:33]).

  Caller [14:21]: "That's where the Knicks are right now."

• Criticisms include the perception of arrogance from the Knicks' front office and ineffective communication strategies ([14:26]-[16:44]).

---

Speculative Scenarios: “What If” Analysis

If Thibodeau Had Stayed

• In a segment titled “The Thursday Rewrite,” the hosts explore a hypothetical scenario where Thibodeau remains the Knicks' coach ([26:59]-[31:28]).

  Don LaGreca [27:03]: "I think that question truly emphasizes how bad a move this was."

• Don and Peter agree that retaining Thibodeau could have maintained team morale and momentum, potentially leading to greater excitement among fans and continued success on the court.

  Peter Rosenberg [27:52]: "It should be a time for Knick fans to luxuriate and be excited about the upcoming season."

---

Conclusion: Current State and Future Outlook

• The episode concludes with a consensus that the Knicks' current lack of a head coach is detrimental to team spirit and future prospects. The uncertainty surrounding the hiring process and ownership's decision-making is portrayed as a significant setback ([28:26]-[38:05]).

  Don LaGreca [28:26]: "The coaching situation is vacant."

• The hosts express concern that without decisive and strategic leadership, the Knicks may struggle to capitalize on their recent playoff success and navigate the upcoming free agency effectively.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Don LaGreca [02:02]: "Was Jason Kidd the plan and now the plan fell through? Or was the plan all along anybody but Tibbs?"
• Peter Rosenberg [06:29]: "With a different coach that they don't hire until August."
• Alan Hahn [33:17]: "All right. The team regressed during the year."
• Don LaGreca [27:03]: "I think that question truly emphasizes how bad a move this was."

---

Final Thoughts

This episode of "Don, Hahn & Rosenberg" provides an in-depth analysis of the New York Knicks’ recent coaching turmoil, dissecting the implications of Tom Thibodeau’s dismissal, the skepticism around Jason Kidd’s potential involvement, and the broader impact of ownership decisions on team dynamics and future prospects. The hosts, enriched by caller inputs and their expertise, present a critical view of the Knicks' management strategies, highlighting the urgency and challenges ahead for the franchise.

Transcript

[Alan Hahn]

Close your eyes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Exhale.

[Don LaGreca]

Feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-contacts.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don LaGreca]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3.

[Don LaGreca]

On 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New.

[Anthony Pusick]

York app and your smart speakers.

[Don LaGreca]

402 in the big city. Don Han in Rosenberg with you. It'll 6:30, then it's Mets baseball Allen off because he's got day two of the NBA draft. And you can hear it on 1050, I believe at 7:30. As they continue to monitor that what came out of the draft yesterday basically is that it? Further cementing the fact, Peter, that Jason Kidd is not going to be the Knicks head coach. And this was all fueled by their gm Nico Harrison, when asked by a reporter after they made the first selection in the draft last night about Kidd's future as the Mavs head coach. Since it keeps being asked, since the rumors are still out there, just wanted.

[Caller]

To see if you can conclusively say that J Kid is good to be.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The head coach next season.

[Don LaGreca]

Are there rumors still out there about J Kid?

[Caller]

Apparently.

[Anthony Pusick]

I thought I shut him down.

[Don LaGreca]

Yes, he will be the. He will be the coach next year. So I don't know, other than a contract extension, how much more has to happen to tell you that Jason Kidd is not going to be the next head coach of the New York Knicks? That's it, right?

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's over.

[Don LaGreca]

No, I think they'll probably give him a contract at some point, or maybe they don't have to. I don't know. They just gave him a contract extension in May, so it's not my money. So here is the question.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Go ahead.

[Don LaGreca]

Was Jason Kidd the plan and now the plan fell through? Or was the plan all along anybody but Tibbs? And it really doesn't matter. That Kid's not gonna leave Dallas.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I respect. I respect this team too much to believe there could have been a plan. Because if there was a plan and this is what was happening, it would mean you were the just the world's biggest doofuses. So I'm going to go with there really wasn't. A plan. We are firing a head coach, and we're going to find someone new. And we love who we have here. We love our front office. We're going to figure out what's next. We're going to build the team. We don't even need the coach here to build the team. And then we're going to find someone. It's just not going to be Tibbs, because if there was a plan done, think about how sloppy this would be.

[Don LaGreca]

Every bit of thing that would be very, very sloppy. Hey, they fired Tibbs because they think they can do better. Jason Kidd is better. He took a Dallas team to the NBA Finals. He played here, and maybe he'll be able to attract Giannis, and that's going to be the plan. And Giannis wouldn't come here if Tibbs were the coach. And Giannis loves Kid, and that was the plan. I think that was what everybody was fantasizing about. All right, I can live with them firing Tibbs if that's the plan, but it doesn't sound like that was the plan. There was no guarantee they were going to pry Kid away from the Dallas Mavericks. Now, Bobby Marks was on Barton Carlin earlier and talking about the Knicks coaching search, and he says, you know, needs some urgency. My concern, where you are with New York right now is that we're basically four days from free agency, and if I am trying to go out and get free agents, and I know they don't have much money to spend, but, you know, guys, to build your bench and add to your bench, I would want to have a coach in place by then. Free agency starts on, on Monday the 30th here. So time is running out a little bit here with, with New York, and maybe we'll see some movement over the next few days. There's no movement now. But. But here's the thing. Now, I can ask you this question as it pertains to the next coach. Free agency begins on July 1, and as we know, these guys go quick. By July 3, all the big free agents are gone. That's usually how it ends up working out. So do we look at this and say we'll have a coach before free agency starts, or they really don't have much money to spend. They're probably going to keep the team as is, and that's why there's no sense of urgency, because they'll probably have the coach after July 1st because they're not going to be that busy anyway. So which is the answer there? I don't do you see them having a coach before July 1st.

[Peter Rosenberg]

July 1st is Tuesday, bro.

[Don LaGreca]

That's what I'm saying.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, no, I don't.

[Don LaGreca]

So then we're led to believe that they are not going to be that active in free agency. You heard, you know, Bobby say that there's not a lot of money. But the idea was, hey, maybe they can move bridges. You know, maybe there's a, there's an appetite to make some sort of a trade that could free up some cap space. Nope, doesn't look like that's gonna happen. I mean, time's starting to run out. Today's the 26th. There's only 30 days in June, so that's odd. Now we go to the other part of the whole thing and that's Giannis. Now Shams was on get up on Giannis future with the Bucs. I reported during draft combine and lottery week that he was open minded about seeing are there best possible fits outside of Milwaukee. And that is a due diligence process that he has undertaken. Everyone around him has undertaken as well. But again he's been there for 12 years. So there's a level of equity in seeing what can the Bucs do at the draft? What can they do during free agency? How can they improve the team? He has set on record? He wants to compete for a second NBA championship.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They've got free agents in Bobby Portis.

[Don LaGreca]

Brady, Brooke Lopez, Kevin Porter Jr. And so he's going to remain open minded. I don't think his future is necessarily tied to this week, to free agency week. It's going to be a process where you see how this team looks into July, well into July potentially. And then ultimately he will see how the Bucs look, how the chess pieces look across the league and ultimately have some form of resolution. So we don't know. But I don't think anybody is going to come here with the Knicks not having a coach. So we are looking at the possibility of them running it back but with a different coach.

[Peter Rosenberg]

With a different coach that they don't hire until August.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, I don't think it'll take that long. You wouldn't think.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why are you, why are you rushing at that point? I mean, it seems like now they're going to really take their time and try to find the right person, especially if they're not able to get any of the big names that are obvious. So then you're going with like a project. You're going with like, well, this is our.

[Don LaGreca]

But there might not be big splashes, Peter, to make for them in free agency. But they're still going to have to bring players in. They've got to redo their bench. Like, even if they run it back, there's still signings, there's still acquisitions to be made. How do you do that without a coach? So is it going to be Mike Brown? Is it going to be Norrie, the Minnesota assistant? It's just odd.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is. This is a very. And I go back to this, too. I understand the players clearly went into meetings at the end of the year, Don and at least a couple of notable players were not pleased with Tibbs. I recognize that.

[Don LaGreca]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I still don't understand why it had to be done three days later, which.

[Don LaGreca]

Implied we've got our guy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Because you're telling me these, these players hated Tibbs so much that even if nothing great was available, you wouldn't have been. Humor me. Let's. Let's say it was Mikhail Bridges and who else do we really think it was? No one thinks it was Brunson, Carl, Anthony Towns, it possible Cat. Let's say it's Cat and Bridges and they're the main ones. You're telling me you're not able to say, hey, guys, we hear you. We would love to bring someone else in here. We're going to see what happens. And then you get to where we are right now or a couple of weeks from now, go. Guys. We exhausted everybody we wanted. Jay Kidd couldn't do. We're going to run it back with Tibbs. We really think you guys can make it work. He was so bad, Don, that they're going to be better off bringing anyone in.

[Don LaGreca]

I believe anybody but Tibbs was on the table, but because they fired him so quick suggests that they did have a plan on it being somebody. And I think it was Jason Kidd. Now, did Kidd tell them? Did they have a conversation with Kidd? You have to talk to Kidd. Right. You just can't go on spec. Guy just signed an extension in May. So did they reach out the Kidd. And Kidd said, yeah, I'd be interested. Talk to Dallas, work something out. I want to coach the Knicks. Is that enough to go on when he's still technically under contract with Dallas and Dallas could tell you to go scratch. Like, is that a plan? And think about it. The first three, and correct me if I'm wrong, the first three coaches they reached out to were all under contract. So you don't know. Even if those coaches tell you I'm interested, you still have to work it out with the teams. And if the Teams say no, then there's nothing they can do. As long as they're happy with a coach that might have wanderlust, then there's nothing you could do. If you're the Knicks about it, so they could be left holding the bag here. I really thought it was going to be Kid all along. Kind of made sense. But it looks like these teams are like, no, man, I like my coach. And even if I don't, I'm not really in that. In the market of trying to make things better for Dolan and the Knicks, is that also on the table? What kind of arrogance do you have? Start calling teams about the coach. Go find your own coach.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I have heard a couple of people say, what about rehiring Tibs?

[Don LaGreca]

That's, that's kind of like a George Steinbrenner thing with just pretend Showalter.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, it was a, it was a restructuring. No, he can't do it. You can't. It's not an option. That. And, and, and by the way, that is why I hate that they did it because now you look foolish. Couldn't you have just sat on it, Don? Why did they have to rush? Let the finals play out. Let some. Why. Why was it like, we're gonna make this emphatic decision. We're gonna show everybody what we're about, lay it all on the line. We're getting a new coach. We don't have one. You look stupid now.

[Don LaGreca]

It's hard. It's hard to argue with you. It's really hard to argue with you that we're sitting here, day two of the draft, June 26th, the only team in the NBA without a coach. Oh, and by the way, you did go to the conference final last year, right? So it's not like you were a 30 win team and everybody knew your coach was going to get fired and you're just doing your due diligence. You fired him three days after being eliminated in the conference final. A conference final you were in for the first time in 25 years.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's right.

[Don LaGreca]

And now you still don't have a coach. Now, since I'm questioning you, I'll throw another question out.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm here to answer.

[Don LaGreca]

If Kid told Dolan and Rose, I'm interested, was he really interested or was he using the Knicks to get another contract from Dallas?

[Peter Rosenberg]

If Kidd told Dolan and Rose, I'm interested, it's still not enough. In the words of Kendrick Lamar, it's not enough.

[Don LaGreca]

Right, but that's another topic. I'm just saying is Kid the type of guy that would just use the Knicks to get another contract.

[Peter Rosenberg]

How do I know? How do we know? How does anyone know? You can't take the risk that someone.

[Don LaGreca]

Could be the work it out with Dallas.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And why would Dallas, who's done well with Jason Kidd, who needs stability, they already let go of their franchise player last year. It's new ownership. It's relatively everything. There's a lot of change. They have a new marquee player coming in. There's a lot happening with Dallas. Why would you want to let go of the coach? You're happy with him, so you couldn't go in assuming. Why would you assume you could get the coach? None of it makes sense to me. I just. And by the way, it's just me and you, right? No one's listening.

[Don LaGreca]

Wow.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is why I kept saying early on, I think Dolan's meddling again. Because this reeks to me, Don. This reeks of loose ownership. Just rushing. It reeks of it. It mess. How often does mess come from an overzealous owner? It's just so common with. And I'm sorry, the benefit of the doubt is not on the side of the Knicks. This is their history.

[Don LaGreca]

But if Dolan got fat hands and listened to the players and said, we got to get rid of Tibbs, I don't think he's going to do that without having some sort of an idea who his next coach is going to be. Unless Kidd talked to Dolan and said, I am going to coach you, man. Don't worry about it. We'll work it out. But even if you're Dolan and you hear that from kid, you can't listen to it because Dallas can just say, no, you just can't do it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, it's a very, very odd thing. This whole thing to me stinks to high heaven.

[Don LaGreca]

Marcus and Piscataway, you're on. Don Hahn and Rosenberg.

[Caller]

Hey, guys, thank you for taking the call. Peter, I want to give you a lot of respect for. When Alan was trying to explain away why the Knicks were doing what they were doing and that it was a plan, I kind of saw you just sort of back down. You're like, you know what? I really disagree, but I back down. If you go home to your mom and she says, hey, Billy, when are you going to bring a. When are you going to bring a girlfriend home? And he says, you know what, Mom? My plan is, I have a few friends that are married. I'm going to go check their wives out. That's not a plan.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, no. And you know what?

[Caller]

You know what's going to happen. All of those teams, the same way they ran to the media and said, can you believe the Knicks did? Your friends are going to say, do you know? Can you believe that Billy tried to hit on my wife? And they're going to tell each other and you're going to look crazy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's such a great point.

[Caller]

That's. That's where the Knicks are right now.

[Don LaGreca]

Look crazy.

[Caller]

How is it a plan for you to go to coaches that are already employed to see if they want to coach you?

[Don LaGreca]

Well, here, here. And again, I'm not defending the Knicks, but I'm just throwing this out as a possibility of a plan. Anybody but Tibbs, We've got to let Tibs go. These players don't want to play for him anymore. We're just going to cast a wide net, and eventually we're going to hire a coach. And it might look like it's our 12th option, but it'll still be better than what we had. Is that possible?

[Caller]

That is possible. That is absolutely possible. However, if you tell me that, hey, we have a full net, we have Taylor Jenkins, we have James Borrego, we have Mike Brown, and we also have these other coaches.

[Alan Hahn]

Fine.

[Caller]

How it looked to me and to everybody, and I think you guys, too, it seemed as if their plan A, B and C were, hey, we're going to go after coaches. IME Udoka, who just took his team, has improved his team exponentially. Jason Kinn as the number one overall pick. And you have all these other coaches that are in great situations. That's your plan then to me, and then now you're sort of pivoting to now. Coaches that are available coaches don't get hired away from other teams as often as we think to make it a plan. This is just a shot in the dark. And to me, it makes zero sense. And to me, it reeks of arrogance. That in there, from the front office's perspective, they're like, you know what? Who wouldn't want to coach the Knicks?

[Don LaGreca]

No. You know, you hit on something very interesting there. Marcus, thank you for the phone call. There does be. There does seem to be this error of, well, we're the Knicks. Look how wide open the Eastern Conference is. We just went to the conference, wouldn't want this job. All I'll say to those people is this. Cleveland is still there. Detroit pushed you to six games last year. The Magic are going to be better. There's always another Team, we never. This time last year, Peter, how many people said, look out for Cleveland? It was all, we just got to be Boston. That's it. That's all the standing our way. Boston.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Don LaGreca]

I said the same thing about the Rangers last year. Remember, Anthony, all the Rangers have to concern themselves with is being better than the Panthers. Guess what? There were eight, nine teams better than them in the Eastern Conference. They didn't even make the playoffs. Don't ever have the arrogance to think, oh, smooth sailing, man. Halliburton's out there in Indiana. He's gone. The Boston's blowing it up. Well, you know, Atlanta just got Porzingis. And by the way, that was always a pesky team that beat the Knicks not too long ago in the first round of the playoffs. Remember, Detroit could be better. Orlando could be better. Cleveland is still Cleveland. So this idea, oh, we're the Knicks, we're the Garden, we're the Mecca. We got a wide open Eastern Conference. Why would anybody, Peter, want to go to the West? There's so many good teams in the West. Well, looks like Kidd's gonna stay in Dallas. Udoka is gonna stand in Houston. Now people say they might be the champion next year with kd. They might be running it back under the spec of, oh, look at the Eastern Conference. It's wide open. Why do I have a feeling that next year there's gonna be a team sitting on top of the Eastern Conference or go, wow, I forgot about them. That's what I thought about Cleveland. What if Orlando takes the next step? Peter, they weren't that bad last year.

[Peter Rosenberg]

In fact, they played the Celtics pretty tough. There's no reason to think they couldn't.

[Don LaGreca]

Javi and Queens are on. Don, Han and Rosenberg.

[Caller]

Hey, how's it going, fellas?

[Don LaGreca]

It's all going. How are you, man?

[Caller]

Great, man. So listen, with the Knicks talk, I hate to agree with Peter, but I have. Well, because he's a Celtics fan, even.

[Don LaGreca]

Though you guys say that he's a.

[Caller]

Celtics fan kind of in passing sometimes, I just. Well, because he's a Celtics fan, I don't want to agree with him. But I have thought from the onset of this that it seems like Dolan is involved based on not waiting for the finals to end and just like how you feel me, how rushed it seems. I do, I do. But the most important thing that I want to bring up is Don. I saw the Instagram post. My vote is for Rhythm of the Night by DeBarge. I say Rhythm of the Night 1, 1000% is the song for you. Would you be willing to sing that song? I know you have the chops. I know you can do it. But, like, would you do it if that was the one that gets voted on?

[Don LaGreca]

But that. That's a female singer, isn't it?

[Peter Rosenberg]

So it's Gloria Esteban.

[Don LaGreca]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, no, it's Eldebarge.

[Don LaGreca]

Sorry. I'm good. Why would you want me singing that? Peter, look at me. Other than to laugh at me and make fun of me?

[Peter Rosenberg]

But that's a big reason.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, that's not nice.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Not necessarily. But here's.

[Don LaGreca]

Here's the other thing about Dolan being involved. Leon Rose was close to Tibbs. If Dolan pulled the rug out of. Out from under Tibbs and leaving Leon in the situation that he's in, if you're Leon Rose, why would you stay? Why would you want to be an executive of the New York Knicks and you don't have a say? Your coach, the guy that you hired, gets fired by your owner, leaving you nowhere to turn for a head coach, making you look like a laughingstock. Why would Leon Rose hang. I gotta believe Leon Rose was involved in this. Peter, I'm not absolving Dolan of some of this responsibility. But you can't tell me that he went rogue. Why would Leon Rose stay?

[Peter Rosenberg]

But at the same time, I could push back and go, why would Leon Rose, all of a sudden, after a great year where this team really exceeded expectations or came close to it, be ready to get rid of his former client and dear friend? I mean, I guess it's possible. We don't know what they're thinking because the man never talks.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, the idea was the players don't want to play for him. So Tibbs would be like. Or Leon Rose could be. All right, you know, I get it. Maybe I need to find another coach. But can we find another coach first before we pull the plug? And now here we are on, you know, on the eve of the draft and free agency, and we don't have a coach.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's what I'm saying. Why would someone who, since he's gotten here, has been clean and buttoned up do something that is so not buttoned up?

[Don LaGreca]

So if it happened behind Rose's back, why would Rose stay?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Rose is too far into this, right? He's there with Brunson. He's there with Brunson's dad. These. They.

[Don LaGreca]

All.

[Peter Rosenberg]

These guys all wanted to do this thing. The team's going well. He's built the team in his likeness. He can't leave now, well, you know what, then?

[Don LaGreca]

The only thing I can think of, Peter, is that this wasn't a few players suggesting that Tibbs isn't the guy. This isn't rumblings going back to two years ago that maybe Tibbs isn't the guy to get us there. Maybe it was just a flat out revolt. We're not playing for him. We want Tibs gone. Think about the people that are Tibbs. Guys who didn't do anything to support him. Rose, Brunson, Nobody. Nobody came to his defense that we've heard of. He's out the door. Three days later, so am I led to believe that maybe the people that were on his side weren't necessarily on his side? That Brunson maybe loved Tibbs as a person, but not as a coach? It's sounding to me, if this is where we're at right now, that what clearly is on the table is this team flat out did not want to play for Tom Thibodeau anymore, like I said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Or Don, if the. If the owner goes rogue, Brunson can't do anything. If the owner. The owner straight up is like, I'm doing this. Brunson could say, hey, I really don't like this decision. But ultimately, his deals done, he's here.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, but he's also a guy that took a discount to stay with the.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Get it.

[Don LaGreca]

So what's Dolan gonna do if he decided to go rogue and say, I'm not on board with this? You think Dolan is dumb enough to go against his cash cow? Like, if you're telling me he wanted to go rogue. If Brunson said, boss, you can't do this, I took a discount to stay here. This is my guy. Don't fire him. And Dolan does it anyway. How does that benefit his team?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Peter, but you're going so black and white. It may have not been that black and white.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, that's what I'm saying, that maybe it was a case of that there were a lot more players than we think, that maybe Dolan made the final decision, but maybe he had no choice. And maybe that's why Rose supported it, because, again, he had no choice. How do you keep a coach that nobody wants to play for? Now, we could talk about the timing and all that, but at the end of the day, maybe they had no choice but to get rid of him. It's the Thursday rewrite. And we've got one next on Don Han and Rosenberg on ESPN New York.

[Anthony Pusick]

My friends at Bath Fitter, they remodeled the Bath in My house. My wife Stephanie is absolutely thrilled by it because we had to update this old bathroom that we really didn't use much by a new pool that we put in. And we converted this tub that was disgusting into a gorgeous shower. So now we can use it for the summer guests when they use the pool, wash off that chlorine. And when the kids have sleepovers, it's a perfect area for them to sleep and just have a bathroom to themselves. A Bath Fitter consultant took us through the process with their free in home consultation to pick style and color and all the specifics and accessories to update the bath customized just the way Stephanie wanted it. She really does love it, by the way. Loves it so much. Guess what I get to do this summer on my first vacation? I get to renovate the rest of the bathroom. Bath Fitter worked fast, delivered the highest quality work without delay. It took two days. That's all it took. Bathfitter is a permanent solution, by the way. A one piece seamless wall for a watertight fit and a lifetime guarantee. You can trust the Bath Fitter team like we did. They've been in business for 40 years with millions of happy customers. Right now you can get no interest, no payments until 2027. So start designing your bath like we did. Visit bathfitter.com for more details. There is only one.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is an ad by BetterHelp. It's okay to struggle. Real strength comes from opening up about what you're carrying and doing something about it so you can be at your best for yourself and everyone in your life. June is mental health awareness month. And men today face immense pressure to perform, to provide, to keep it all together. So it's no wonder that 6 million men in the US suffer from depression every year. And it's often undiagnosed. With over 35,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an App store rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on over 1.7 million client reviews. As the largest online provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with BetterHelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com timeout. That's betterhelp.com timeout.

[Don LaGreca]

After Zumi's @ the dog park, it's time for Drive up at Target. In goes a big bag of kibble and one squeaky chicken toy for the good boy. Drive up that's ready when you are. Only in the Target app, just tap Target. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for the things you really want is a great feeling. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts, and savings and eligibility vary by state.

[Anthony Pusick]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said. Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Don LaGreca]

The time continuum has been disrupted, creating an alternate 1985. This is hey Doc, are you telling me you built a time machine? The Thursday Rewrite. It's Thursday. It's the Thursday rewrite. So, Anthony Pusick, what do you got? Well, with Allen not here, guys, and the topic at hand, I figured I'd pose a question to you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Go ahead. We're here to listen to you and then we will say what we think.

[Don LaGreca]

Yes, what if the Knicks did not fire Tom Thibodeau on this day, a day after the draft, Tom Thibodeau is still the Knicks head coach. How differently do you feel about the Knicks outlook? This Knicks team, the future, everything? Well, I think not to speak for everybody, Peter, and certainly not you, is that right now at this moment, Nick Nation would be going nuts. Eastern Conference is wide open, just went to the conference final last year. There'd be no reason to be negative, zero reason. Now there are those that didn't like Tibbs, but not enough where they would feel like I think we should fire him and we should, we need another coach. I think they'd even rally around the fact that it's wide open. I think people would be genuinely excited about this Knicks team.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I am with Don 100% and I think pointing that out with the brilliant and pointed question asked by super producer who will be with us at the.

[Don LaGreca]

Beach Bash tomorrow, Anthony Busick, much to his chagrin.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I think that question truly emphasizes how bad a move this was. And I get it, you had to do it apparently, because I guess players wanted it. But think about what we're saying here. If Tibbs was still here, granted, what if the Knicks only have one pick, right? One second round pick.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I still think people would have been locked, locked in and excited. Whereas right now, tell me if I'm wrong. There's it's dead around The Knicks, it's dead. There's no energy around a team that was that close to the Finals. It's dead because the coaches.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm telling you, we have tried. Allen has tried. You have tried to talk up the fact that, well, Halliburton's out, Tatum's hurt. No, Lillard in Milwaukee. Boston just traded Porzingis. Look how wide open the Eastern Conference is. And yet the conversation still circles back to, well, nobody's coaching the team. I understand it's not the NFL. We. Where the coach, I think is as important as the players and certainly the quarterback and the NBA. It's not so much that, but it's hard for me to say the Knicks are the team to beat when they don't have a coach. I'm sorry. The coach has to be somebody. And who the coach is is going to determine how excited you are about this team moving forward. If Jason Kidd was the coach, I think the fans would be genuinely excited and we'd go back to what you felt while they were playing in the Eastern Conference final. But right now it should be a time for Knick fans to luxuriate and be excited about the upcoming season. All the conversation is, it's June 26th and they don't have a coach. And by the way, they let go of the coach. Peter, that turned the entire organization around. They have a championship team because of Tibbs. The work that Tibbs did is a hundred times harder than the coach that comes in to try to win the championship. This team was nowhere. Nobody wanted to play here. Nobody cared. Except the die hard Knick fans. Next thing you know, they're partering on 7th Avenue because Tom Thibodeau made this team relevant, made it a destination to come and play. Yes, there were other factors. Brunson's play, certainly, Maine among them. But Tom Thibodeau took a team that was going nowhere and made them a contender. And now he's gone. Because you think you could do better or whether the players think it. Dolan thinks it, Rose thinks it. Collectively think it. Peter, how am I supposed to wrap my mind around something that doesn't exist right now? The coaching situation is vacant.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's. This is a bad situation. I'm sorry. And this should be an off season where we were excited to talk Knicks. It's like two days after this Tibbs thing happened on, it died out. We don't listen. We're still hearing from people. But you shouldn't be in an off season after an incredible year when your best players are locked up and you can be fantasizing about Giannis Antetokounmpo, and instead, it just feels like the, oh, what are we doing? What's the plan? Where are we going? Another one said, no, this one's not interested. Another one said, no, Another team denied us. It's like, all bad news. Now, granted, none of it's really that bad news, so I'll be the first to point out it's not really bad news. But it all feels like bad news. It all feels negative.

[Don LaGreca]

The Knicks aren't being rejected by the coach. They're being rejected by the team that has the contract.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But the way it feels because it's.

[Don LaGreca]

Been spun, like, nobody wants to coach the Knicks, but that's their fault. But.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But that's their fault because they're the ones walking around the bar going, I'm just curious, anyone single? Oh, you're not single. I didn't ask you out. Just curious if anyone's single. Oh, you're not. She's not single. Who's the loser walking around the bar trying to find out if any of these girls are single?

[Don LaGreca]

I think Marcus's analogy in the last hour was a good one when he said, it's like going in and hitting up your best friends and talk about their wives. So it'd be like you going to Ballard, to Ballard and saying, ballard, any chance that you might possibly separate from your wife, get divorced? Because I'm thinking of maybe marrying her. And he goes, no. Well, she didn't reject you. She might be interested.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But it still doesn't feel good and doesn't feel good for anyone. It's still a no, and it's still a no. And nobody likes it.

[Don LaGreca]

Nobody likes it. And Ballard's not gonna stay your friend. I wouldn't think Ballard. I think that would close the door in any possible friendship continuing. Right. The availability of his wife.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I think it's an.

[Don LaGreca]

Or does he take it as a compliment?

[Peter Rosenberg]

I would think it's the end, but.

[Don LaGreca]

Both could be true. You could still take it as a compliment. It's just. You're a bad guy. I don't want to be friends with you anymore. But I appreciate the compliment that you think my wife is somebody that you want to marry.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don LaGreca]

Very awkward conversation. Very, very, very awkward. 1-800-919-3776 Good one, Anthony. I think people would be in a better headspace now as far as their chances of winning being better than with Tibbs. Well, I need to find out what that looks like. 1, 800-919 3, 7, 7, 6. Let's go to Al, he's in the Bronx. You're on. Don Hanna, Rosenberg.

[Alan Hahn]

Hey, hey, gentlemen, give me, give me a little moment here.

[Caller]

All right?

[Alan Hahn]

First and foremost, I was a Tibbs defender for most of the year.

[Don LaGreca]

Okay.

[Alan Hahn]

But let me bring up some points for you guys so you can put it in perspective.

[Don LaGreca]

Sure.

[Alan Hahn]

All right. The team regressed during the year. When they started off, the offense was flowing great. It looked good. And as they went along, all of a sudden they went backwards. They couldn't score at times, they couldn't run the pick and roll. Tibbs wouldn't play the bench. Tibbs is consistently voted the worst coach, one of the worst coaches to play for in the league by the players. Right. And this every single year he's in the top three. So there are flaws to having Tibbs there. And I think that the upper. The front office thought that they would regress this year because the players weren't happy. They didn't. I don't believe they thought that they would get to that same point. Some of the wins that we had were not even due to tibs. Those coming back from 20 points is not a coaching thing. He didn't coach them back from 20 points points. They also had to bring this guy to the end of the bench to communicate with the players. What's his name? It's a slipping my mind now. Come, come, come on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, the guy to get two years.

[Alan Hahn]

To from Milwaukee, he played in Milwaukee, won the championship. Anyway, the point is.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, he didn't even know.

[Alan Hahn]

We can't get it. The point is there's a lot more that the, that that the team understand that knows about that we don't like. We're fans, we want. We look good. Everything look good. I don't think they were going to make it to the point that they would have that they did this year if they. We kept tips. I just don't.

[Don LaGreca]

All right, let me ask you this then. All right, fine. You're not. It's not all right. But. So anybody would be better.

[Alan Hahn]

So here's the deal. You know how NBA players are, right? You're not going to have success if the players are not happy. And the conversations that were being had with the players when Mikhail Bridges came out and he made the comment he made, it's because they play with those players in practice every single day. They might see something in Kolik or in Daddier that, you know, players respect and Tibbs wouldn't play him. So when you get that, when it Goes to that point where the players start to disrespect or not respect the coach, you're not going to get the best out of them. They wouldn't have gotten back to the Eastern Conference finals this year if they kept Thibodeau. I don't believe that.

[Don LaGreca]

But I need to know who is going to be the coach, though. Like, I think everything that you're saying isn't wrong. I do think the players were kind of done with Tibbs and that unless they went all the way to the final or one, that he was probably going to be gone. But here we are on June 26, and they don't have a coach. So what you're suggesting is that anybody would have been better than Tibbs, and I just can't believe that. So anybody would have been better.

[Alan Hahn]

One more thing. They're the only team that's looking for a coach so that all the options are open. I mean, if they wanted to, they could go get Mike Brown and they could duplicate.

[Don LaGreca]

So you're telling me Mike Brown is definitely better?

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, no. I'm not saying that he's definitely better. What I'm saying is, is that I think. Honestly, I think the team was a little bit in autopilot a lot of times. Do you realize how many times they were down by 20? They almost lost it.

[Don LaGreca]

I get it. But for the first time in 25 years, they went to the conference final. I can't over be just the players, and their best player supposedly loves them in Brunson. But I'm not going to deny that the players had something, if not everything, to do with this. But think about the net that they've cast, Peter. They talk to coaches that are under contract. They've talked to coaches that aren't under contract. They've talked to coaches that are experienced. They've talked to assistant coaches with other organizations. They've talked to everybody. So what they're saying is everybody would be better than Tibbs. Really? Really.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's the thing you telling me right now, you guys find out it's Mike Brown, you have movement, you're gonna tell me?

[Don LaGreca]

And I asked the caller and he's like, I don't know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No movement.

[Don LaGreca]

No movement.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's going inside out. I'm just being honest.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm just saying, is that gonna guarantee.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. And, you know, here's the interesting thing. We really haven't heard Michael Malone's name in a real way. He's a New York guy with a championship pedigree. That's the only Name. And by the way, that must mean they don't want him because if they had any interest in Malone, Don, it would be done. He'd be the head coach. What's Michael Malone doing right now?

[Don LaGreca]

Nothing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So you're telling me there's a championship pedigree coach who's out there and they haven't talked to him yet? No. I guess that means they're not interested, which is just odd. So who are you? You're interviewing this shmagegy, this flotsam and jetsam, this. This assistant here, this one there. I'm supposed to get so excited about Mike Annori, but no one wants to talk to him alone. It's weird.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What the hell's going on with the search?

[Don LaGreca]

Rod and Bethlehem, you're on. Don, Han and Rosenberg.

[Alan Hahn]

Hey, guys. How's it going?

[Don LaGreca]

What's up?

[Alan Hahn]

I like to think that as far as Leon Rose is concerned, it's a comparison. Like when Donnie Walsh. Dolan came out of the office and traded for Carmelo and Donnie Walsh kind of went to the background. I don't think Leon Rose, even if this was Dolan's move, I don't think Leon Rose is just going to up and quit and get out of here. He's owed money on the contract, but what he would do is kind of go into these other coaches that aren't other teams, that kind of lackadaisical, do a job, so to speak. I think what happened with Tibbs is that the next half in recent years pumped up that analytics department, okay? And with that analytics department, I could say with kids, you know, playing guys, 40 minutes, having guys a second unit at two and a half, you know, guys is not a full second unit. And the analytics department is going to come down and say, okay, you need to play these guys 30 minutes, these guys 30. And these guys need to get some time. And he wasn't doing that. They're going to look for some guy like Aaron Boone for the Yankees who just gets the lineup and puts it out there.

[Don LaGreca]

Let me ask you this.

[Alan Hahn]

We're going to get.

[Don LaGreca]

Let me ask you this. You might not be wrong, but they didn't know this last summer when they gave him an extension.

[Alan Hahn]

I think Leon Rose gave him the extension. The analytics department wasn't that prominent in a voice with some of the players right now.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, I just think you might be right, but that's embarrassing to not being on the same page. Last August, they gave him a contract extension and all of a sudden, a year later, he's not analytic enough. So we're going to eat $30 million and find an analytic guy. It's very odd. 1-800-919-3776 more on this. We got baseball to talk about as well. Don Allen Rosenberg till 6:30 here on.

[Anthony Pusick]

ESPN New York, Alan Hahn here, everybody to tell you about my friends at Bath Fitter. They remodeled the bath in my house. My wife Stephanie is absolutely thrilled by it because we had to update this old bathroom that we really didn't use much by a new pool that we put in. And we converted this tub that was disgusting into a gorgeous shower. So now we can use it for the summer guests when they use the pool, wash off that chlorine. And when the kids have sleepovers, it's a perfect area for them to sleep and just have a bathroom to themselves. A Bath Fitter consultant took us through the process with their free at home consultation to pick style and color and all the specifics and accessories to update the bath customized just the way Stephanie wanted it. She really does love it, by the way. Loves it so much. Guess what I get to do this summer on my first vacation? I get to renovate the rest of the bathroom. Bath Fitter worked fast, delivered the highest quality work without delay. It took two days. That's all it took. Bath Fit is a permanent solution, by the way. A one piece seamless wall for a watertight fit and a lifetime guarantee. You can trust the Bath Fitter team like we did. They've been in business for 40 years with millions of happy customers. Right now you can get no interest, no payments until 2027. So start designing your bath like we did. Visit bathfitter.com for more details. There is only one Bath Fitter.

[Don LaGreca]

Summer's here. And Nordstrom has everything you need for your best dress season ever. From beach days and weddings to weekend getaways in your everyday wardrobe. Discover stylish options under $100 from tons of your favorite brands like Mango Skims.

[Alan Hahn]

Princess Polly and Madewell.

[Don LaGreca]

It's easy too, with free shipping and free returns in store order pickup and more. Shop today in stores [e-mail] or download the Nordstrom app. Savor every last drop of summer with Starbucks. From bold refreshers to rich cold brews.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The sunniest season only gets better with.

[Don LaGreca]

A handcrafted ice beverage in your hand, available for a limited time.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Your summer favorites are ready at Stock.

[Don LaGreca]

Starbucks with a Venmo debit card. You can Venmo more than just your friends. You can use your balance in so many ways. You can Venmo everything. Need gas? You can Venmo this. How about snacks? You can Venmo that. Your favorite band's merch. You can Venmo this. Or their next show. You can Venmo that. Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Banco bank and a pursuant to license. My Mastercard International Incorporated card may be used everywhere. MasterCard is accepted. Venmo purchase restrictions apply.

[Anthony Pusick]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Anthony Pusick]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. You were right, Don. The caller was wrong.

[Don LaGreca]

Because.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Because that song is by DeBarge, right? It's not by El DeBarge. That song is by DeBarge.

[Don LaGreca]

Okay?

[Peter Rosenberg]

The vocalist on that song has to be Bunny. That is not a man singing.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm sorry, I think that was Jose. He's making fun of me. That's all right. I'll remember Rhythm of the Night.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I just want to be clear here. Rhythm of the night is the fourth studio album on DeBarge. Okay. Oh, so this is about the album, though.

[Don LaGreca]

But it's not me, man. That's not me. Unless you want to make fun of me now. Justin Tucker, suspended 10 games by the NFL for his off field shenanigans. So that's why he's no longer a Raven. Wow, what a fall off. Probably on his way to the hall of fame, too.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It says, El DeBarge lead vocals.

[Don LaGreca]

So what does that mean? Even if it's a guy, it's not my voice range.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But can you play it again? El DeBarge is the lead vocals on that song. I mean, obviously I'm no expert on on the Barge. That's very clear at this point. But I still. That always felt like a woman to me. Now, it was written by Diane Warren.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. Who wrote everything.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It says lead vocals, El DeBarge, background vocals, DeBarge, the rest of the band.

[Don LaGreca]

All right. But it's not my vocal range. It's not anything that would sound it. Now, are there women in the background?

[Peter Rosenberg]

There could be some additional vocals. So maybe that gives us the extra.

[Don LaGreca]

But I'm not singing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It would be. I gotta. I'm just telling you.

[Don LaGreca]

And no one that likes me or cares about me or my reputation would want me to sing it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The caller isn't wrong, though, about how entertaining that would be. Like that. That is good producing by the caller in terms of. Let's think of Don, with all due respect, no one's going. We want to come up with a song for Don that has a chance of getting him in the Rock and.

[Don LaGreca]

Roll hall of Fame. No, I think that's what makes it fun. But I think it has to be a song that people like. Like, fit into my range. But.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But. No, no, but hold on. No one expected you to do LL Cool J.

[Don LaGreca]

It's a song that I'm passionate about, that I love and that I could get into. Now, that song's fine, but I'm not gonna get into that. That's not me. Every song that I have sung has been some version of me.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right, but can. Can't you understand why, from a per. You know.

[Don LaGreca]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

An entertainment standpoint, having you sing one that's not a version of you would be entertaining.

[Don LaGreca]

No, that might be entertaining to people the way it would be entertaining for maybe somebody to shoot me from afar and kill me. You know what the show is, Anthony?

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know what we're learning here, this is the real information, is that on some level, and we should know this by the way, he immediately rebuffed Allen when Alan was like, what about a duet? But this conversation just has to remind.

[Don LaGreca]

Me, I gotta be honest.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Alan takes this serious. I mean, Don takes this seriously. The performance isn't a joke to him.

[Don LaGreca]

But. But that's part of the whole thing. I'm impressed that it took up until today for Don to suggest something that might harm him during the Beach Bash. Somebody shooting him. We finally got there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He always is right on the cusp.

[Don LaGreca]

Chauncey and Westwood, you're on. Donna Roosevelt. What's up, Chauncey?

[Caller]

Hey, what's up, guys? Just about the whole Thibodeau thing. Yeah. You know, the optics of it are bad right now. You know, this is. The Knicks are denied this guy. The Knicks are denied that guy. But it was time for him to go. And, you know, you'll say it's their most successful season in 25 years. But his decision making just drove me mad as a fan, and I don't like to view myself as a curmudgeon fan, but, you know, when. When you're playing Mikhail Ridges, 40 minutes a game in December, he did average that much. He averaged 41 minutes in December.

[Don LaGreca]

All right, well, he wasn't perfect, but. But we don't know. So anybody's better.

[Caller]

Well, I won't say anyone's better, but you're going to bring in a Mike Brown or a Taylor Jenkins. I'd rather if we're not going to win a championship at all. I'd rather it not be with Tibbs. That I just can't stand because.

[Alan Hahn]

Because.

[Caller]

And what drives the fans insane is we clamor to extend the rotation, play the bench more. When he ends up doing it, it works. And it drives us mad that you could have did this in January and you waited to the Eastern Conference final.

[Don LaGreca]

I just thought. I just find it. I find it somewhat funny that a guy that took you somewhere that you have not been in 25 years can't. You can't win a championship with. Can't do it. But meanwhile, the team that beat you went seven games with the Thunder and maybe win game seven if Halliburton doesn't get hurt. Like, it's almost to the point, Peter. It's like, who the hell are you? You've never been close, and now you're closer. You're sitting there going, I don't. I don't. I don't think he's good enough. You wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. Am I saying he's perfect? No, but really, you're the Lakers, you're the Celtics, where you can look and go, well, I know how to win a championship. And he can't win no championship, man. But meanwhile, a year ago, you gave him a contract extension. Hmm. Fishy. 1-800-919-3776. We got baseball to talk about. There is somebody that. It's hotter than the temperature was yesterday. We'll get into that on Don Hanna Rosenberg on ESPN New York.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I have to talk to you. And I have an ad brought to you by BetterHelp. It's okay to struggle, all right? Real strength comes from opening up about what you're carrying, all right? And doing something about it so you can be at your best for yourself and everyone in your life. June is Men's Mental Health Awareness Month. And how about this? Men today face immense pressure, man. I'm talking about performing, providing, keeping it all together. So no wonder that 6 million men in the US suffer from depression every year. And it's often undiagnosed. With over 35,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works. Has an App Store rating of over 4.9 out of 5 based on over 1.7 million client reviews. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals. And how about this? They have an incredibly diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with BetterHelp. All right. Our listeners get 10% off their first [e-mail] timeout. That's BetterHelp. Better H E L P.com timeout thanks.

[Anthony Pusick]

For listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made made, but I just want to know it's good.

[Don LaGreca]

Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8.

[Peter Rosenberg]

80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app.

[Anthony Pusick]

And your smart speakers.