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- [00:01]
Myron Metcalf
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- [00:25]
Matt Jones
This is Matt and Myron, the podcast Sunday morning here on ESPN Radio, the ESP SiriusXM Channel 80 with Matt and Myron. We are presented by Progressive Insurance. I am Matt Jones. Myron Metcalf is not here. What's interesting is he didn't tell me he was not going to be here. So I'm gonna assume he's doing some sort of super secret mission today. And we will miss him, but he'll be back next week. David Dennis, Jr. Good friend of the show, will join us here in just a few minutes. But he's going to be on SportsCenter coming up. So that means you just got me to start. It's like the old days of sports radio when someone would just come on and yell at you for a few minutes. Except I'm going to try not to yell because it is Sunday morning. But when they tell you at the beginning, okay, Matt, you got to do the first segment and you got to talk about something very important. And so I thought to myself, well, you know what? I'm going to look at ESPN's headlines and say, what are the biggest stories in sports? And then I, Matthew Harper Jones, am going to give my opinion on it. So I looked at it. I was not really impressed with the amount of news that exists, but I'm still ready. I went back in the call. And Sunday Morning, which is presented by Progressive Insurance is here. Your cars, home, boat, motorcycles, RV and commercial vehicles at 1-800-progressive and progressive.com let's hit some headlines. What are we thinking about?
- [01:56]
Myron Metcalf
I'm trying to think, but nothing happens.
- [01:57]
Matt Jones
Nothing happens. It's time to find out. This is off the Top. Flash off the Top with Matt Myron. All right, so for off the top, let's just simply do this. Let's look right now at ESPN. James. James, our producer, James. I went to ESPN and said, what are the eight biggest stories on ESPN.com and a couple weeks ago I was telling all of you, you know, June is an underrated time for sports because there's a lot of events every weekend. And here's where that doesn't apply this weekend because I'm gonna read you the eight. These are the eight top stories according to our bosses@espn.com we'll start with last night in UFC, a man named Ilia Toporia KO Charles Oliviera for the vacant title at UFC 3 17. So I looked at this and I said, I've heard of this Ilia Topuria. I don't know who Charles Olivieri is, but I do know this UFC has 317 events. It feels there's one every week or two. And this is the headline story. Topuria is 17 and oh, it says James in the headline. He knocked. I like this ESPN headline. He knocked Oliviera out cold. Didn't just knock him out, he was cold. Not sure what makes him that, but congratulations to Ilya Tapuria. I still really don't know anyone who watches these fights except Myron Metcalf, but I'm sure he was very happy about that. Then the next headline, that's number one. Number two, Jake Paul. Jake Paul, from all of your annoying cousins favorite videos. He topped Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. To go to 12 and 1. So when I see this headline, first again, first thing I think didn't even know there was a Julio Cesar Salvage Jr. I remember that his dad was very big, but I didn't know that he was a big fighter. Here's what I learned. He's 57 and 7 in his career. So Jake Paul beats him. You say, wow, that's impressive. But then you have to read the story. The last time Julio Cesar Chavez Jr fought a non UFC fighter was nine and a half years ago. Nine and a half years ago, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr fought. He fights Jake Paul last night. Jake wins by unanimous decision. And here was Jake's quote when the fight was over. Julio is a tough guy. He's never been stopped. And he's a Mexican warrior. I respect Mexican warriors. I respect Mexico. But I too am a warrior. And I came out on top tonight. I guess my question becomes to Jake Paul. Am I supposed to take Jake Paul seriously or not? Is he a guy that fights real people, or does he fight the sons of famous people? Is he going to fight famous for the rest of his career? People in their 60s beat them and then somehow claim he's the toughest? I don't know the answer to this, James. Has Jake Paul ever fought, like, someone real? I know he fought Mike Tyson at the age of 58. I watched that as much as anybody. But has he ever fought anyone real? No.
- [05:10]
Myron Metcalf
Like he's fought some MMA guys who aren't really boxers.
- [05:13]
Matt Jones
That's his thing. That's not real. Right. A real boxer, Anywhere close to the boxer's prime. One guy I Think and he got whoever beat him.
- [05:26]
David Dennis Jr.
So.
- [05:27]
Matt Jones
So he's owing one against real guy.
- [05:30]
Myron Metcalf
Who'S like a real boxer.
- [05:31]
Matt Jones
Yeah. So. And listen, I. When I see the Paul brothers, Logan's in the wwe. Jake does. I am impressed with their. They are much more than just reality stars. But I still don't know. Jake Paul seems to want everyone to take him seriously. And I still just think he's a. He's like the best sort of clown show boxer that we've had. Maybe, maybe ever. I mean he's basically during the era when Muhammad Ali was fighting sumo wrestlers. That's essentially what this is. Am I right? Yeah, it's.
- [06:05]
Myron Metcalf
It's like a.
- [06:07]
Matt Jones
Every, like people watch it. Like millions of people watch. I know people watch it. When we get it at my. We get it at my bar. We will, we will buy. We did in this one, but we will buy Jake Paul fights. And they're are tons of kids that come. But I sort of don't know whether I'm supposed to treat Jake Paul as Shohei Ohtani or the Savannah Bananas. And I feel like I'm much more confident treating him as a Savannah Banana. But I will say I'm glad to know Julio Cesar Chavez's kid is out there still doing his thing. And I guess the second biggest story in sports was Jake Paul winning the fight.
- [06:42]
Myron Metcalf
He lost to Tommy Fury, who is Tyson Fury.
- [06:45]
Matt Jones
Oh well now I've heard of Tommy Fury's real. So he fought one real person and.
- [06:49]
Myron Metcalf
He lost to him.
- [06:49]
Matt Jones
Yeah, and he lost. Okay. All right. Dave Part third headline. Dave Parker, one of the heroes of my youth, played for the Reds when I was a kid. Was an absolute machine. Two time World Series champ, seven time all star passed away. He is a Pirates and a Reds legend. And you know, sometimes we don't sit and think about people in sports like Dave Parker until they pass away. So I was sad to see the news. He passed away. One of the things that I love about Dave Parker and I didn't realize this until he passed away, his nickname was the Cobra and he is one of the tallest players in Major League baseball history to make it all star team as a hitter. Six. Six as a hitter. Dave Parker passed away, won the NL batting title in two in 77 and 78. One of the very few people in history to win a home run title and a batting title in the same year. Now this is where things James start to get really tough. The top three headlines were the UFC fight. Jake Paul and Dave Parker. Fine with all those. Here's the fourth one. Nicholas Batum ops out and he's interested in returning to the Clippers. Now my question for you is how many people out there in America were sitting there going, please someone tell me what's happening with Nicholas Patu. I get up in the morning, I get on my ESPN ESPN app. What is the big news? Oh, Nicholas Batum has opted out. I'll go so far as to say 95% of you all who are listening could not have told me where Nicholas Batum was opting out from last year. I think most people would not have been able to answer that question. But just so you know, Nicholas Batum is opt out. Now let's go to the fifth story. Some of you may know that the FIFA Club World cup is going on. How many of you out there know that? Probably not a lot. I actually went to one of the batches yesterday and I'll talk about it with David a little later. But the coach of Chelsea has slammed the FIFA Club World cup because quote, it is too hot in America to play soccer. That was his exact quote. He was too hot in America to play soccer. He says the tournament is a joke and that if it's going to be this hot and they have to postpone the games for heat, you can't come to America. So the fifth highest headline is a coach in soccer whining. Sixth headline do you know who won the NASCAR race last night? James? I do not know. Chase Elliott. He passed Bez Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win the NASCAR cup series race in Atlanta. That's the sixth biggest headline. This all There was a fight in the race as well. They that didn't make the headline. And then the seventh one is that last night was also the NHL Draft. The NHL Draft occurred. 263 picks best story to me about the NHL draft the general managers did not want to travel to the draft anymore. They said it was too expensive to go to the draft. I'm not kidding about this. The general managers of the 32 NHL teams said, you know what, it's a long flight from Winnipeg to New York. Let's all just stay home. And so all the various teams stayed home and it led to, if you watch the draft, some of the great awkwardness of all time where they would have the new player talk to the GM by zoom and they had nothing to say to each other and the connection would drop often and it ended up falling apart. And that occurred yesterday. A lot of you probably didn't know. So the seven biggest stories in sports today, a UFC fight, Jake Paul, Dave Parker, Nicholas Batum, it's too hot in America. Chase Elliott and the NHL draft. I say all that to say the show that will be coming up here. We're going to be very NBA and NFL heavy but sometimes people listen to ESPN I, I've been guilty of this too and say, you know what, they should talk about the other sports. Well, America, I challenge you find something within Jake Paul, the NHL draft and Nicholas Batum to get you excited on a June morning. If you can't, then enjoy David and I as we give you the sports that you hear more regularly. Sunday MORNING is presented by Progressive Insurance. Tonight, right here on ESPN Radio, the Tigers will host the Twins. You get school ball. First time the Tigers have been on Sunday Night Baseball at home since 2015. It has been 10 years since they've had a game on Sunday Night Baseball. They are sold out tonight to get ready for it. And coverage begins right here at 6 Eastern on ESPN Radio. We will deal with the NBA draft from this week. One player only reported yesterday and acted like he was happy about it. That's next here on Sunday MORNING with Matt Myers, Matt and Myron. The Podcast does it ever feel like you're a marketing professional just speaking into the void? Well, with LinkedIn ads, you can know you're reaching the right decision makers. You can even target buyers by job title, industry, company seniority, skills. Wait, did I say job title yet? Get started today and see how you can avoid the void and reach the right buyers with LinkedIn ads. We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign. Get started at LinkedIn.com results, terms and conditions apply. Summer's here and Nordstrom has everything you need for your best dress season ever. From beach days and weddings to weekend.
- [12:46]
David Dennis Jr.
Getaways in your everyday wardrobe.
- [12:48]
Matt Jones
Discover stylish options under $100 from tons of your favorite brands like Mango Style, Skims, Princess Polly and Madewell. It's easy, too, with free shipping and free returns in store order, pickup and more. Shop today in stores online@nordstrom.com or download the Nordstrom app. It is Sunday morning, Matt Myron here on ESPN Radio. What are you playing right here? What is this song?
- [13:17]
Myron Metcalf
A little Parker McCollum.
- [13:19]
Matt Jones
Oh, I knew. I knew it was gonna be Parker McCollum. Everybody loves. This is the kind of music just for the record, I cannot stand. But good luck to Parker McCollum who has a new album out, I think put his hat on backwards and bro, country it out 888 say ESPN got a couple people on the line. Here's some stuff from the text machine. 772-77-45254. Clayton says your observation about the headlines is exactly how I felt when I checked ESPN this morning. I felt like I must have missed something. Well, I felt the same way, to be honest with you. But I got number from 314 area code says. Matt, good morning. I watch boxing for 25 years. While I respect Jake Paul for respecting the sport, it's time he fight legitimate boxers and we see how good he is. I'm tired of people just going up to throw. Boo him and throw things at him at the arena. Yeah, I mean he's a wrestling guy. Another person says he's like Butterbean but in shape. I actually think that's a pretty good. Pretty good analogy. Butterbean but in shape. David Dennis Jr. Is now joining me. Do you like that analogy for Jake Paul? Butterbean but in shape.
- [14:28]
David Dennis Jr.
I don't even know what that. You know, what I know about Butterbean is when he would remember when he did what is that tough enough? Tough?
- [14:35]
Matt Jones
Oh, yeah. When he did the. When they made. So they had an event in the WWE where the boxing was real.
- [14:40]
David Dennis Jr.
Yeah.
- [14:41]
Matt Jones
Like it was. And what was it? Bart Gunn won. Is that right?
- [14:44]
David Dennis Jr.
Yeah, Bart Gunn won. He went against Butterbean and got his head taken off. And you realize the difference between scripted and people actually hit.
- [14:53]
Matt Jones
We don't have to go all the way into this, but we had. At my wrestling company, we had. JBL came and visited once and he told the story of that and he basically said that JBL and Al Snow and a couple other people told the wwe, don't do this. Like, don't do this. And they did it. Bart Gunn won. And then in the back they thought Bart Gunn was dead. When.
- [15:15]
David Dennis Jr.
But it looked like. It looked like. It looked like his. It looked like he punched. They punched his head into the third row. I was a kid when I saw that and I, I thought that I'd. Yeah, I thought that I'd seen some actually tragic happen.
- [15:27]
Matt Jones
There's kind of a rule in wrestling. Don't ever do anything that's not a work.
- [15:32]
David Dennis Jr.
Right, right.
- [15:32]
Matt Jones
Did that one time. Then they learned what happened. We got wildlife. You're getting settled after your sports center. Hip Jim is in Chicago. Go ahead, Jim.
- [15:43]
Myron Metcalf
Yeah, you know, I don't know where you miss this headline. Shohei is back. He hit 100 miles an hour twice yesterday on the gun. And I don't.
- [15:51]
Matt Jones
I was Reading you the headline. Well, I will. Hang on. Jim, I was reading you the headlines on ESPN.com. did you read. Do you have your own set of headlines? The gym headlines?
- [16:02]
Myron Metcalf
No. When sportsteiner leads off with the Dodgers like usual, isn't that a headline?
- [16:08]
Matt Jones
Well, I didn't see the Sports Center. I'm reading the headlines, but that's okay. But, you know, show. Hey, David did his 102 miles an hour. That's. He is the best athlete in baseball. He may be one of the best athletes, period. But 102 miles an hour is a pretty impressive. You know, guys don't throw like that anymore. And to do it as a starter is a pretty impressive ability.
- [16:30]
David Dennis Jr.
Shohei Ohtani's good.
- [16:32]
Matt Jones
I mean, it's not. It's not a secret. We're breaking news here. Do you enjoy watching him play? Like, do you. I find myself turning it on just to see him.
- [16:40]
David Dennis Jr.
Yeah, he is. Must see. He is. I've compared him often to Beyonce, and that's what I feel like he is the sport. Like, it is a superstar. Until Beyonce walks in the room. Like, I just cannot get over.
- [16:52]
Matt Jones
You've compared him to Beyonce. When. When does that come up?
- [16:55]
David Dennis Jr.
I'll tell you exactly. This is a couple years ago when I was. When he did the All Star Game, right? When he was. And everybody was coming up to him and. And wanted to meet him and shake his hand. And the. The analogy, the saying is, you think you're a celebrity until Beyonce walks in the room. Beyonce's the celebrity to the celebrity. Shohei Ohtani is the celebrity to the MLB players. Like, he is the guy that when he walks in, everybody wants to get a piece of him and get to know him, even his peers. So there you go. That's how he's compared to Beyonce. Thank you very much.
- [17:25]
Matt Jones
I used to say the same thing about Obama. If you've ever been in a room when he walks in, there's a different kind of thing. I can accept that with Beyonce. I don't know that I felt the same way about Shohei Ohtani to where when he walks in, you stop everything. But David. Now, I may look at it differently. Although, to be fair, none of those people come to Kentucky often. So I'm not in a lot of room with those three. Let's go.
- [17:50]
David Dennis Jr.
You hung out with Beyonce, Obama and Ohtani together?
- [17:54]
Matt Jones
I actually. Well, it's a different conversation. I met Obama in 2003, but that was a long time ago. Tom in Kentucky. Go ahead.
- [18:01]
Myron Metcalf
How you doing, my man?
- [18:03]
Matt Jones
What's Going on. Tom, man, I'm on the train with the previous caller.
- [18:09]
Myron Metcalf
Otani is doing things I've never seen before. He's throwing first pitch strikes.
- [18:16]
Matt Jones
I've seen that.
- [18:17]
Myron Metcalf
It's unbelievable.
- [18:20]
Matt Jones
He is unbelievable. And we probably will never see someone do them both at the pitch and hit at this level again. Tom, appreciate the call. And when he's in a room, David Dennis will ignore Beyonce in order to see him. Let me ask you, Dave, about, about the NBA draft that just occurred.
- [18:37]
David Dennis Jr.
Okay.
- [18:38]
Matt Jones
Did you, first of all, did you watch it when it happened earlier this.
- [18:41]
David Dennis Jr.
Week, I was, I was in and out. I mean, Love island was happening during the time, so I had to my attention.
- [18:47]
Matt Jones
You do like a podcast on Love Island?
- [18:49]
David Dennis Jr.
Yeah, Mina Kimes and I do podcast viewer discretion. Anybody on YouTube or the pot, wherever you get your podcast, check it out. We do a very in depth podcast about Love Island. So while I am grinding tape about the, the draft picks, who's going where, what the finals is looking like, what next season gonna look like, I am also grinding very important tape about Love Island.
- [19:11]
Matt Jones
Well, explain to me for a second when you say explain to me Love island as a concept, is it every night?
- [19:18]
David Dennis Jr.
I feel like every night, Every night. Well, except for Wednesdays and then Saturday is a recap show. So I was off last night. Got to take it.
- [19:25]
Matt Jones
You know, every night now is like, is it, I know it's not live, but is it like, are they on the island now or is it probably.
- [19:34]
David Dennis Jr.
So they, they tape in Fiji and they use utilize time differences and the gap in the day and stuff like that to really crank out their stuff, you know, so they're probably, we're probably like a day or two behind. But there's, there's times where there's live voting. Like we vote and then the next day they get the results.
- [19:51]
Matt Jones
You vote. What do you vote about?
- [19:52]
David Dennis Jr.
Favorite couples. People we like the most. People we like the least. Who do you want to see make out? All kinds of fun stuff.
- [19:58]
Matt Jones
Oh, you get to vote on who makes out.
- [20:01]
David Dennis Jr.
We haven't done that, but I think, you know, it should. We should.
- [20:04]
Matt Jones
So, okay, so I know this is a phenomenon. How many weeks does this run and do people get voted off?
- [20:10]
David Dennis Jr.
People absolutely get voted off, usually by their peers. Basically. It's a, it's a bunch of impossibly hot people go to an island and they try to find love. They kiss 12 times an episode, new bombshells show up. They get to leave. They can leave their partner. Go with the bombshell. We are in the part we're in, the part of Casa Amore right now where you go live in a house with other hot people who may try to lure you away from your partner. It's great.
- [20:40]
Matt Jones
It sounds like it. So the only thing I've read about it, except I know that there are friends of mine that watch it every night, is that there were people that were saying these people weren't hot enough. You disagree with that sentence, right?
- [20:53]
David Dennis Jr.
No, I think so. The problem is the. The original cast was too hot and the bombshells who were supposed to take people away were not necessarily hot enough to. The original cast was too hot. It's basically like when you have like a 14 win team, like a 13 win team that didn't win the division and now they're the sixth seed in the NFL playoffs and now they got to play, you know, they got to play a.
- [21:20]
Matt Jones
Much rather you much rather go on a blind date where somebody looks at you and says you're hotter than your pictures than if you went and they said you're uglier than your picture. So you want the bombshells to be hotter than the original because they got.
- [21:33]
David Dennis Jr.
To be a threat. They got to be a threat to take them away. And right now they're just too. The cast was. They just overshot what they thought. The original cast is way too hot for anybody to be.
- [21:43]
Matt Jones
Well, thank you. Because I have. I try to follow cultural trends and I consider you and Mina very smart. And the fact that you all are in on it shows me it's. This is not Jake Paul. This is actually scientific. Scientific work there. We'll do more actual MBA next on Matt Myron. Matt and Myron the podcast. Savor every last drop of summer with Starbucks.
- [22:19]
David Dennis Jr.
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- [22:24]
Matt Jones
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- [22:32]
Myron Metcalf
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 Bancorp bank and a pursuant to license.
- [22:57]
Matt Jones
My Mastercard International Incorporated card may be used everywhere.
- [22:59]
Myron Metcalf
Mastercard is accepted. Venmo purchase restrictions apply.
- [23:04]
Matt Jones
Sunday morning Matt Myron on ESPN Radio. Going Crazy presented by Progressive Insurance. The agent frenzy on ESPN radio. Today at 5 Eastern, a special show hosted by Evan Cohen and Tim Bontemps. We will give you all the scoop on free agency starting tomorrow. Before we move to free agency. David, David Dennis Jr. Filling in from Iron Metcalf. Let's talk a little bit about what just happened with the draft. You know, to me, well actually Tim is here, so you know what, nevermind, let's go to Tim. David, nobody wanted to hear what you had to say anyway, so let's go to Tim Bond. Tim see as well, ESPN's senior NBA writer. Tim, I'm seeing at 5:00 you are hosting Free Agent Frenzy with unsportsmanlikes Evan Cohen. So let's start with this. What kind of frenzy am I looking for? What are the headlines of frenzy you're expecting? Tim?
- [23:58]
Myron Metcalf
Well, I mean, obviously we've got to see what happens with LeBron James's player option, which he has until 5pm today to the side. On top of that, the Lakers have some interesting stuff to do to try to fill out their roster to be more competitive in the Western Conference this season after losing in the first round. We'll see what happens with Nikhil Alexander Walker, who is probably among guys who are likely to change teams, at least in the non max division. Probably the most intriguing free agent available. A lot of interest in him around the league. And then, you know, let's see what happens with the Milwaukee Bucks. There's been a lot of talk about the future Giannis, Tede Kounmpo. The Bucs obviously have lost in the first round three straight years. They want to try to, you know, take advantage of the unfortunate injuries to other teams in the East. Obviously they're also missing Damian Lillard, but they've got to find a way to try to be back in the mix in the Eastern Conference next year. They're expected to be very aggressive over the next couple of weeks and let's see what they can do.
- [25:01]
David Dennis Jr.
Yeah, let's stick with Milwaukee here because I, I just am struggling to see the pathway for them making the moves to make themselves competitive. I mean, what are you seeing in terms of what their, what their targets are to try to keep Giannis?
- [25:14]
Myron Metcalf
Yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm with you, David. I think it's going to be difficult for them to make the kind of moves necessary. I mean, they don't, they have hardly any salary cap flexibility. It's unclear if they're able to go into the luxury tax or not, they have very limited draft assets to trade. You know, there's just not a lot of stuff that they have at their disposal to make moves. And they got a lot of things they got to fix. I mean, they're. They've got a lot of problems as far as it goes towards being a competitive team in the playoffs. I mean, remember, they lost in five games in the first round, right, to the Pacers. So for them to be better than that, they've got to make a lot of moves and they don't have a lot of ways to do it. So, yeah, that's for many reasons, obviously, pertaining to Giannis's future. There's a lot to watch for there and a lot to see what they're going to try to do.
- [26:05]
Matt Jones
Tim? I always try to look at teams that are maybe one move away or two moves away from really being able to contend for a title. And this year I sort of put four. One was Cleveland. They made the move with Lonzo, but then my others were Minnesota, Denver and the Knicks. If Minnesota, Denver and the Knicks, if they. They. To me, they both showed last year they got to do something else. Is there anything for them to do? And if so, what do you think are some of their possibilities?
- [26:34]
Myron Metcalf
I mean, for Minnesota and Denver, there's not a lot they can do. They're both pretty tapped out from an asset standpoint. You know, the Wolves, again, they signed Nas Reed to a big deal the other day. They're probably going to lose to kill Alexander Walker in free agency, which is going to hurt them a lot. They have to figure out what's going on with Julius Randle. He's got a player option also for next season. Let's see what happens with him. He's. He's another interesting guy to watch. Denver.
- [26:58]
Matt Jones
What do you expect to happen with him? With Randall, I mean, I'm not sure.
- [27:03]
Myron Metcalf
I mean, he could. He could opt out and look for a new deal. He could opt in and extend. He could opt in and just play out next year. I mean, that's the thing. There's not a lot of free agent money anywhere. The only team with real cap space, you know, I mean, the Detroit Pistons could maybe clear space the other. And then the Nets have space, so. And I don't think Randall makes a ton of sense for either of those teams. So from that standpoint, you know, the only way he'd go anywhere is if there's a trade and Minnesota's over the second apron. So they're pretty limited in what they can do trade wise. So all that's to say I would expect Julius Randall to wind up in Minnesota, but we'll see what the number looks like for him. You know, Denver's kind of in a similar boat. They're another team that's pretty impacted from a draft pick and money standpoint. They don't have a lot of options. And then there's the Knicks who don't have a coach. Obviously they got to get that sorted out. And then they also have to figure out what they're going to do with their roster. They don't have a lot of trade opportunities they can do, but they do likely have the taxpayers mid level exception to add a real depth piece to their roster. And you know, they can probably go get, you know, as good a player as you can get for that number this summer. I mean they're, they're going to be an intriguing option for, for people given the chance they'll have in the east and given the fact that they are playing in New York and there's going to be playing time for them. And the only thing I'd say about the Cavs is the Lonzo move I liked for them. I don't really get what the Bulls were doing taking on Isaacoro who the Cavs were, you know, looking around to try to move to shed some money for a better player in Lonzo. They are going to lose Ty Jerome though in free agency most likely after getting Lonzo and signing Sam Merrill. Re signing Sam Merrill and you know, they're obviously probably right there with the Knicks the top to east right now. But I would say they probably need to try to do some other stuff. But again, we keep talking about the second apron. All these teams are really stuck because of these new CBA rules and they're very limited in moves they can make and the things they can do. And it's going to make it hard for a lot of them to make the kind of moves you're talking about to catch up to the defending champs who you know, rightly are going to start out looking at, looking backwards at everybody next season.
- [29:12]
Matt Jones
Tim, give it. Because we always say the second apron and I have a vague understanding of what it is, but I think the average fan hears that term a lot and probably has no idea what what that means. So give people the simplest version you can of the second apron because it's a huge hindrance to a lot of these teams.
- [29:29]
Myron Metcalf
I'm trying to come up, Matt, in all seriousness with a term for these aprons that I'm going to try to write about, to explain it to people because I. I've had several people outside of the business say to me, what the hell are these aprons? Like, this jargon is too confusing, and I think it is too confusing. I do think the league got a little carried away with this stuff, and I think it's hard for fans to follow along. The shortest way I can explain it is if you get over this certain number from a salary standpoint, which is about $207 million, you can't trade multiple players together. You can't trade for a player making more than the player you trade, and you can't sign anybody for more than the minimum salary. So in other words, if you get over that number, you. You have an incredibly hard time doing anything to improve your team, which is.
- [30:20]
Matt Jones
What, how many teams are over it right now?
- [30:25]
Myron Metcalf
So, I mean, you're putting me a little bit on the spot, so.
- [30:28]
Matt Jones
Okay, I'm sorry.
- [30:29]
Myron Metcalf
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's fine. I'm just thinking. I'm just thinking Phoenix, Cleveland, Minnesota are all over it for sure. I think that might be it. Boston was over it last year. They got under. There's a lot of teams that are flirting with it and aren't over it, but that's really the line. It's not a hard cap like the NFL per se, but it's sort of a de facto one in a lot of ways where you can go over it for a little while, but eventually teams are going to have to come back down and teams are going to have to make hard decisions on players. And we've seen Minnesota is going to lose to kill Alexander Walker because of it. A good player, Ty Jerome, is going to likely leave Cleveland a good player. It's going to redistribute some talent around the league, and it's going to make choices, difficult choices for teams. And to your point, you've got this young ascending Thunder team that everybody, if you're going to win, probably has to improve to catch. And for a lot of these teams you asked about, like, all four of those teams are very limited in the things they can do. And it's why there's a real chance this Thunder team's got a chance to be sitting atop the league for quite a while.
- [31:36]
David Dennis Jr.
So you just explained a very complicated thing in the second apron. We spent a lot of time in the offseason talking about the second apron teams, as you mentioned, not being able to improve and good teams are losing players because the second apron do you think this is good for the league and are how soon and when can we revisit this in terms of how this is going in the NBA?
- [31:58]
Myron Metcalf
Well, you're not going to revisit it until the new CBA negotiations, excuse me, which are at the end of the decade. So this, this is going to be around for a while and I think it just depends on what your viewpoint is on this stuff. You know, there's an argument to be made certainly that by putting in these rules, it's going to be very difficult for high spending teams to just spend their way to a championship. But that also wasn't really happening before, in my opinion. So, you know, it does redistribute talent across the league. It does make teams have to have hard choices as far as what they're, you know, what they're going to do with their rosters. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. You know, I do think it rewards smart management of teams. I do think that's a good thing. But we're still a little bit early in this new reality and we also are now going to enter a period with this new television deal where the sour cap is going to go up a lot and after not going up several years because of COVID predominantly. And once that happens, a lot of these conditions the league are currently in are going to shift again and then we're going to have to see what it looks like again. So that's a, that's a long winded answer. I know and this is a complicated topic, but I just don't think it's clear yet whether things are good or bad. And it's going to take a while, I think, to really see what the league looks like over the next couple years and whether this does wind up being something good that creates a wide open league or something that, you know, creates, you know, sort of the opposite situation and people are just frustrated with what it's done to teams ability to improve.
- [33:40]
Matt Jones
Yeah, I feel like the NBA had a really good balance between baseball's the same teams win every year and football. You get a good team, you have to throw it away. And I don't, I wonder if that's gotten off a little bit with this. But is the lesson going to be, Tim, that whether it's good or bad, the new system is going to say you really got to build through the draft, that that ultimately is the thunder built most there through the draft allows to keep the players longer. You don't have to sign these huge deals at Least initially. Do you think that will be the lesson from it?
- [34:13]
Myron Metcalf
I think the biggest lesson from it, Matt, is going to be that you have to negotiate every single deal on ever in every single dollar. Like I it the thing that we've already seen is if you overpay a player, even one player, it's going to have a massive impact on your roster in future years. And it makes it very difficult to keep your team together and very difficult to navigate these aprons and the things you have to do to try to build as good a team as you can. And we've seen a lot of teams just kind of cavalierly sign guys to either, you know, big rookie extensions or you know, even the Nas Reid deal the other day like, you know, Minnesota spent a lot of Money on Jade McDaniels and Nas Reed and Rudy Gobert and like they probably could have negotiated those deals a little harder and did not. And as a result of that, they're going to lose to kill Alexander Walker at a minimum and maybe other players in the future. So you know that that's the stuff. I think that as time goes by, you look at a team like Orlando after trading for Desmond Bain, they're going to have a salary crunch in the next year or two. And then you look at a team say like Houston, they got out Parachingu to take less than the max, they got Fred Van Vuitt to take a very friendly team, friendly deal the other day, signing a two year, 50 million dollar deal with a player option on the second year to bring his salary down a lot. I think you see that when you see teams that really navigate the cap well and navigate their books well. I think over time those teams are going to see huge advantages from that. And I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of years from now that is the main thing that we take away from this period that if you the teams that mine their money better and really make sure they get bargain deals and they don't overspend on players, they're going to be the ones that make out in the long run because they're not going to have to make as many difficult choices about letting good players walk or having to trade good players away in order to make sure the money situation is what it needs to be.
- [36:17]
Matt Jones
ESPN Radio's free agency frenzy Tim Bontemps and Evan Cohen, that's today at 5:00 clock on this here station. Tim, thank you very much for your time.
- [36:27]
Myron Metcalf
No problem guys. Thanks for having me.
- [36:30]
Matt Jones
You earlier this week, my man David Dennis Jr. Had some well, nice things to say about Utah, which most people would not, including me. Would you actually want to live in Utah? If you were Ace Bailey, would you want to go sit in Salt Lake City? That's next here on Sunday Morning with Matt Meyer, Matt and Myron. The podcast my day kicks off with a refreshing Celsius energy drink. Then straight to the gym, pre K pickup back home to meal prep time for my fire station shift. One more Celsius. Gotta keep the lights on when the three alarm hits. I'm ready.
- [37:16]
David Dennis Jr.
Celsius Live fit.
- [37:18]
Matt Jones
Go grab a cold refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate now@celsius.com 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 a 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. Matt Myron, ESPN radio he's David Dennis Jr filling in for Myron. I'm Matt Jones. Shams has just reported that the Oklahoma City Thunders Jalen Williams, this is the other Jalen Williams is signing a new three year $24 million extension with the Thunder Thunder declined. Williams 2.1 million dollar team option negotiated the new raise. I'm not going to say the names of his agents because I don't think that's relevant. But nevertheless, Jalen Williams is, is resigned. I think it would be bad, honestly David, to be the other Jalen Williams. Cause when I first saw this I was like that's not much money for Jalen Williams. And then you're like oh, it's the other Jalen Williams. I wouldn't want to be the other Jalen Williams. I just wouldn't.
- [38:42]
David Dennis Jr.
Yeah, I don't. I've lost track of which Jalen Williams are talking about. I, I would actually want to be either one because I see M's at the end of the paycheck. So that that's not a bad idea.
- [38:49]
Matt Jones
Well, that is true. The 20i. I shouldn't act like a three year $24 million extension is beneath me. I just think being the other Jay Jalen Williams would be. But I'm used to being the other Matt Jones. In life there are about 15 of them that are more famous.
- [39:03]
David Dennis Jr.
24 million. I mean it's not Matt Jones money we're talking about here, but it's you know, it's not bad.
- [39:09]
Matt Jones
It's not, it's, it's not bad. Okay, so I, you, you, I, you came up on my timeline. Anytime someone comes up on my timeline, I'm like, hey, I know them. I get excited. You came up on my timeline with your comments about Ace Bailey. So rather than play a clip of what you said, give me the short version of your comments to Ace Bailey about him seemingly not wanting to go to Utah.
- [39:33]
David Dennis Jr.
Well, this is just sort of a bad start to a career, right, where you have a situation where everybody is now kind of looking at you like, what, what was the big deal? Why are you doing this? Because you now have said you don't want to go theoretically to Utah, saying you're not going to show up. And other players are like, yo, what, what is, what's this dude? Who does this dude think he is? People in the locker room looking like that. The fans are looking like that. So now you have a higher expectation of if you start off slow, people are going to say, oh, this is the dude who was trying to make all of these demands in the draft. And then if you, you know, like it, it just sets yourself up in an uphill battle to start your career.
- [40:15]
Matt Jones
Do you. Okay, so I, I, there's a couple different things you mentioned there. And in the other comments you said first of all that you thought his teammates in Utah might not like that. He said all this like he's better than going to Utah. I have found, David, in my interaction with players that generally speaking, when it comes to a dispute between players and management or even players in the league that players tend to take up for other players, they rarely, that it's, they rarely take management side or in this case, I guess, the draft processes side. What makes you think this would be different? That actually players in Utah would be a offended that he didn't want to come to Utah?
- [40:58]
David Dennis Jr.
Yeah, players take other player side, teammate sides player in the league. This dude ain't in the league yet. This dude is still a rookie. This guy is still somebody who, you know, who is not, you know, players do often take, I'm working on my second contract. I've been in this situation. This dude is coming out into the league from college.
- [41:16]
Matt Jones
So you think it's like earned it yet? Yeah, sort of a different situation.
- [41:20]
David Dennis Jr.
And because also players also look at people and say, what have I been through versus what have you been through? Every player in that locker room has been drafted some somewhere, right? Every player in that locker room has been take put On a team that they may or may not have wanted to go with, they just gone with the draft process because that's generally how the NBA works, right? Like if you have, like in the NFL, for instance, taking your. Your point about this, players are not going to be upset if somebody sits out for the first, you know, Mrs. Training Camera sits out in that dispute because that's. That they're just trying to get their money and they're trying to understand. They understand that that's part of the game, right? A rookie doing something that's kind of not what players generally do, especially nobody in that locker room has done or does, is a sort of a different dynamic.
- [42:02]
Matt Jones
So they haven't really earned the ability to do that yet. All right, so Jeff. Jeff Teague. I like Jeff Teague's podcast. You can't play clips from it because.
- [42:10]
David Dennis Jr.
Yes, I love Jeff Teague podcast.
- [42:12]
Matt Jones
You could only get three or four seconds in before there'd be a cuss word. But I like Jeff Teague's podcast. And he had this point. He was like, look, man, here's what I would say to Ace Bailey. Utah is actually a great place because A, you're only going to be there six or seven months of the year. B, those people are going to love you. Like, they're not going to like you. They're going to love you. And then he said, because they can't get free agents as long as you're decent, they're going to give you a ton of money because they can't. Nobody else will take their money. And he was like, dude, this is perfect for you. Don't fight it. It'll be great. Do you agree with that?
- [42:48]
David Dennis Jr.
Yeah, I agree. I mean, you. Because also, let's look at.
- [42:52]
Matt Jones
Let's look at what he.
- [42:52]
David Dennis Jr.
What he was also doing here. He's saying, I want to go to Utah. Look who else was at the top of that draft, right? Like you. You can't tell me that you want to go to Washington over Utah. Like, what? Like, I mean, if he comes out and says, hey, I don't want to be in Utah, Utah is not a state I want to live in, that's a whole different discussion. That has not necessarily been what him and his team have said, but, like, there's not. If you're looking at the organizations and the management there, you could do much worse than being Utah. Especially we look at the top of that draft.
- [43:24]
Matt Jones
I agree. It's interesting, though. I can see why someone wouldn't want to live in Utah. Although I will take up for Utah. It's better than people act like people act like. It's, it's, you know, back at the way it was in the 90s. It's better. But I can also see why it wouldn't. But I'm with your point, dude. You got to earn the right to pick your place. And in the NBA, I think that's tough. I also would say, though, as someone who lives in Kentucky, when you're in a place like that, ask DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall, guys who come back now years later, even though I bet they were like, I'm living in Kentucky. That's odd. You become a star in a place like Utah, you're a star for life. Whereas in Washington, they'll move on to somebody else because they got other things going on. So maybe Ace Bailey will realize that apparently he is going to finally report. And with him and Walter Clayton Jr. That could be a sneaky, really good draft that the Jazz ended up with. Now, one team that didn't end up with the best draft, at least in my opinion, are the Pelicans. What were they doing? And how good does David think Kubrick Flagg is going to be? That's next on Sunday MORNING with Matt Myron. Matt and Myron. The pod.
- [44:39]
Myron Metcalf
In 1979, the first words spoken on ESPN weren't just an announcement. If you're a fan, they were a sports prophecy.
- [44:48]
David Dennis Jr.
What you'll see in the next minutes, hours and days to follow.
- [44:52]
Matt Jones
Glad you're with us tonight.
- [44:53]
Myron Metcalf
May convince you you've gone to sports heaven.
- [44:58]
Matt Jones
And right now, you're standing on the edge of tomorrow.
- [45:02]
Myron Metcalf
This fall, the next era of ESPN begins. Sports forever.