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[00:00]
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[00:30]
Dan Le Batard
You are listening to the Dan Lebatar show in partnership with the DraftKings Sports App. Now live in all 50 states.
[00:42]
Chris Cote
This episode of the Dan Lebatard show is presented by DraftKings Sports. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.
[00:53]
Dan Le Batard
Exactly how they imagined it being red. So we have a new segment with which is debuting today, a brand new segment and it is called Roy, you will hit the music. It's called NFL. NFL. That's right. This segment is called NFL. Chris, what do you got first for us for this new segment called NFL?
[01:26]
Chris Cote
Ah, training camp has started. Travis Kelce has shown up to chief's training camp and I want to ask the question, is he looking a little hefty? Oh yeah, looking like, looks like Joy is off season. Looks like out there. Looks like Tony out there. And I, I know I'm the last person that should be gut shaming but he's a, he's a professional athlete and I'm not.
[01:49]
Dave Demichele
So it's always the fallback whenever oh what do you look like? Like I'm not playing. If you compare me to someone who is playing, we're in trouble.
[01:57]
Chris Cote
And I'm very pro Taylor and Travis. I'm very pro Travis. Like I don't I but I'm being a jerk right now. But he does look a little thick.
[02:05]
Dan Le Batard
Dave, you would probably know best. Like you feel like he's looking a little, little heavy. A little heavy there.
[02:12]
Zazie Todd
I bet he would rationalize and say I'm a bet I'll be ready to go in time for week one. But I do wonder if after all of the success and how essential he's been in their super bowl run here, will Chiefs fans or some percentage of Chiefs fans turn against him if in his final chapter he gets fat and happy and is maybe disinterested or at least a non factor in the offense.
[02:39]
Dan Le Batard
I mean look, it's not very common that you start talking about retirement and then two years later you're still playing. Like normally when we start to have the retirement talk it's like maybe, like it might, it might be time to hang it up. But two years later, he's still out there playing. All right, so good start. Good start. NFL to the new segment. NFL. Amin, what do you got for us?
[03:03]
Dave Demichele
Well, this may not be news to anyone else, but it was news to me. Hard Knocks this year is with the Seattle Seahawks. Meaning for the first time I think ever, we're getting Hard Knocks with the reigning super bowl champs.
[03:16]
Dan Le Batard
Really?
[03:17]
Dave Demichele
I can't wait.
[03:18]
Dan Le Batard
Really? First time ever, Hard Knocks with the champs. Okay, well, what's like, what's the interesting angle? I mean, look, forget about a coming back off the super bowl, but is there, are there players you think that we look at where it's like, ooh, it's gonna be a juicy angle, Zaz.
[03:33]
Dave Demichele
This is the beauty of Hard Knocks. You go in, I don't know what, I don't know who these people are, but then I get introduced to people. The guy who's trying to make the roster as a 30 year old rookie. And like all these guys and we get invested in them week by week. It's a great drama and like all great dramas, it's character driven. But you don't. It's not like the Hollywood of today where it's like, well, who are the big stars in this one? Like, no, no, let me just walk in and discover people.
[03:59]
Dan Le Batard
I was out on Hard Knocks for a few years. I think recently I've gotten back in like may, like maybe I just needed a break.
[04:07]
Dave Demichele
Sometimes, even when it's an interesting person or big name person, but it's an interesting storyline. You didn't know. Like for instance, remember when Carson Palmer could tell what Gatorade it was just by tasting it. Remember that one where he's like, I could definitely do. Carson Palmer was like a, a Gatorade like savant. He was like, you got to mix a little bit more water in this one. Oh, this one needs a little more powder. He was doing all this stuff. I'm like, I didn't know Carson Barman knew so much about Gatorade.
[04:30]
Dan Le Batard
Tony, what do you have? For our brand new segment, NFL called NFL.
[04:35]
Tony Reali
We're heading over to Las Vegas, boys. In one of the more intriguing quarterback rooms on the planet, we have Kirk Cousins who's already in mid season form, rolled the tape. We just got tape of him running through some gassers, through some sprints here. Look at the boy. Ah, we'll get.
[04:50]
Chris Cote
Oh, Zazzle would look like running.
[04:51]
Tony Reali
Yes, sir. Got a little, a little faster there. All right, they're not catching up the other way.
[04:56]
Chris Cote
Not even close to touching the ground.
[04:57]
Tony Reali
He is, he is in full mid season form and I want to go over to his other one where he was working on some rollout drills. Take a look at the pass here. Getting around the corner there.
[05:09]
Zazie Todd
It's getting there. Okay.
[05:11]
Dave Demichele
He woke up with a bad.
[05:12]
Tony Reali
Let's see Fernando throw. Okay, Fernando, good, good move. Got around the corner. Nice zip on that ball. So Kirk Cousins.
[05:19]
Zazie Todd
Oh, too soon for you guys down there at the U, right? To see Fernando out there. You remember his last game, right?
[05:25]
Tony Reali
All right, we're talking about Kurt Cousins here, not Fernando. You can.
[05:29]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, we're okay.
[05:30]
Tony Reali
Keep it quiet over there.
[05:30]
Dave Demichele
And woke up with a bad big toe.
[05:32]
Dan Le Batard
Dave Damage. What do you have now for. For this new segment? NFL.
[05:38]
Zazie Todd
I used to love Hard Knocks, by the way. And, and I was all the way and I. The, the, the greatest part of Hard Knocks was always the cuts and seeing how different teams cut got. They gave them their dignity. All that was the best. The other thing I'm a curmudgeon about and always have been is as much as I love football, the declaration that's going around all over the place right now. We made it. It's football season, everybody. Preseason games kick off and specifically next Thursday night, Panthers Cardinals, the Hall of Fame game. And everybody will be swooning. I can't believe football's on my tv. No, it is not football. It is a Civil War reenactment. It is the same thing. It only looks like the real thing. It's the same thing as when you go to be ever have walked Gettysburg. You walk around those grounds and you're like, whoa, there's a reenactment going on over here. This looks like the Union soldiers over there. The Confederates. Wait a minute. That Confederate general's drinking a Mountain Dew. Something stuck. Stinks here. Same thing. You'll be watching that Panthers Cardinals game and you'll be like, wait a second, this looks like. Wait, the running backs white. Come on, everybody. You know it's not. There are little details that are off and so I am going to hold my powder and keep it dry until actual meaningful football games.
[06:53]
Dan Le Batard
NFL. Chris, you have another one for us.
[06:56]
Chris Cote
I have another great one. Plexco Burris has compared playing with the jets to prison.
[07:00]
Dan Le Batard
Oh, I saw this.
[07:01]
Chris Cote
He said, quote, they're both kind of similar because when I walked into prison for the first time, I was like, damn, I'm a bleeping loser. I had the same exact feeling every Day I walked through the doors with the Jets.
[07:11]
Dan Le Batard
I got to tell you, like, it's obviously a funny anecdote, but it's, it, it's also really, I feel like it's endearing where he's, Prison's not that bad. No, that's not at all how I
[07:23]
Tony Reali
heard the jets are that bad.
[07:25]
Dan Le Batard
The way that I heard it, like, it just felt very self aware where he's looking back and he'd wake up in the morning in prison and just say, man, like, I'm a real loser for being here.
[07:36]
Dave Demichele
Look down and he's like, he's wearing green. I'm like, damn.
[07:40]
Zazie Todd
I'll say, I've said it before, I'll say it again. Thank Jesus, everybody, for Woody Johnson and Brown's ownership, because without their ongoing incompetence, it would all be laid bare that the NFL is just straight up a communist league with a salary cap and everything being pushed towards parity. Every team's number would eventually come up were it not for just the devastating incompetence of ownership of a couple of NFL teams.
[08:11]
Dave Demichele
Guys, I'm surrounded by a wealth of NFL knowledge here with you guys.
[08:16]
Dan Le Batard
NFL.
[08:17]
Dave Demichele
This is a segment called NFL NFL segment. I have an NFL question. So Max Crosby traded to the Ravens, trade rescinded.
[08:27]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, right.
[08:28]
Dave Demichele
They say, oh, something in the physical comes back to the, the Raiders. We never find out what was the part that made him feel the physical. And now he's a trade rumors to the Cowboys. They're like, wait, what was wrong with Max Crosby?
[08:39]
Dan Le Batard
Nothing. I, I, I, I think the Ravens got super cold feet because the reaction. And you could find anything in a physical, you know that, I mean, you're like, ah, I'm not comfortable with this. And they resented the trade.
[08:49]
Zazie Todd
That's right.
[08:50]
Dave Demichele
Wow. So they just thought it was a bad deal that they did.
[08:54]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, they had buyer's remorse and they, and they had, they had a way out of it. And that's always going to be the physical. Yeah. Tony, you got another one for us?
[09:01]
Tony Reali
I got another one. The Saints just inked Cuban, by the way. Chris Olave, wide receiver to a four year extension worth up to 132 million. 90 million guaranteed. Dave Damasc, last time I checked, he's missed a lot of games. Two concussions. Are you worried about that NFL?
[09:19]
Zazie Todd
Yes, that was my reaction to it was really Chris Olave for that level of bank, given the number of games he's missed. How undependable. And the other thing is too, of course, these teams, Mickey Loomis who has run the Saints forever, surely has considered the Michael Thomas situation, which isn't that far in the rear view mirror. And yet he still rolled the dice on another high end wide receiver who's injury pro.
[09:43]
Dan Le Batard
Roy, you got one for us? This is a new segment that we're doing here. It is called NFL.
[09:50]
Tony Reali
Yeah, Browns captured Door Sanders and DeSean Watson alternated first team reps and it did not look good for Cleveland. Dave, what do you got over there in Browns camp?
[09:59]
Dan Le Batard
NFL.
[10:02]
Zazie Todd
That's what I have. The Browns are still the Browns. What did I just say? Thank goodness for Woody Johnson with the jets and Jimmy, Jimmy Hasm with the Browns. Were it not for their terrible, enduring decision making, we wouldn't be able to laugh like this and feel better about ourselves. And you know, when I was growing up, I was never the first pick. You'll be surprised to learn and pick up anything. My goal then quickly became just don't be the last guy picked in anything. And so the Browns exist for us to laugh at and point at and say, at least we're not them. And now they're down to Deshaun Watson or Shador Sanders as their starting quarterback. Sad times. Sad times to be a Cleveland Browns fan. But then again, it's always a sad time to be a Browns.
[10:47]
Mike Ryan
Howdy folks. It's Mike Ryan. You know the Levitard show and Miller Lite go way back. Pretty much. I want to say like 95% of our existence we've been partnered with Miller Lite and we believe in Miller Lite. They believe in us. It's great to have a partner with a product you truly love. That's me with Miller Lite. I love Miller Lite. Always have. In fact, I consider myself a bit of a Miller Time mvp. The friend who says they've got it. I'll pick the spot. I'll throw the cooler in the trunk, bring some Miller Lite and suddenly what was supposed to be a couple of hours turns into a whole afternoon. That's me, the Miller Time mvp. And it's great for summer. Hangs cools the body down that beautiful white can. Not much better than an ice cold Miller Lite because it's brewed for taste with simple ingredients. Clean, refreshing and easy to drink in the Miami heat in all American summer spirit. Starts with an all American beer, Miller lite. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.
[11:54]
Dan Le Batard
Dan Levitar.
[11:55]
Dave Demichele
Hey, Demichek, you know about that?
[11:57]
Dan Le Batard
Jadakiss, Dave Demichek.
[11:58]
Zazie Todd
No, I don't.
[11:59]
Dan Le Batard
Okay, I figured this is the Dan Levatar show, so I'll put a bow on this brand new segment here called NFL Yesterday, Baker Mayfield. This was the big story in the league yesterday. Baker Mayfield met with the media. He wants a contract extension.
[12:19]
Zazie Todd
All right.
[12:19]
Dan Le Batard
He's coming up on the last year of the deal. He wants a big extension. They're apparently not close. And here is a very emotional and, you know, disrespected Baker Mayfield.
[12:32]
Baker Mayfield
Yeah, I mean, obviously, I've. I've told you guys, I've been pretty upfront and honest about my feelings about Tampa, it being home for now. Our family, raising kids here, we love it here. I wanted the deal done and set the deadline and told them it was going to be all ball after that, and I did mean that. And I don't know if they thought I was just going to take some of the offers that they gave, but I'm at the point of my career and understanding what I've brought to this franchise. One, I'm very, very thankful for the chance they gave me. Do not get me wrong on that. But I've also know I really know what I've brought to this franchise, leadership wise, even play wise. It's been some of the best years of my career, and I think it's only going to trend upwards just being comfortable and feeling that. So disappointing in that regard to not have, you know, to feel disrespect a little bit. And that's really the disappointing part, to feel undervalued after, you know, thinking you've earned it.
[13:28]
Dan Le Batard
Dave, can you set a deadline and tell the team that passed this deadline it's going to be all about ball? And then you get up in front of the microphone and you talk about how disrespected you've been.
[13:39]
Mike Ryan
It.
[13:39]
Zazie Todd
It is great. And the thing with Baker Mayfield that striking is. Is he definitely that guy? Is he. Is he getting over his skis about who Baker Mayfield is in the quarterback league and where he ranks among those quarterbacks. Yeah. You know, it's usually a thing you hear from the team side is we got to go all ball here. It's all about team, and it's about the season. And that's why we cut off. Some teams do that. In fact, like, once we get the camp or once we get close enough to the regular season, no more negotiating. So it's funny that the player would. Would do that. And now the team is sort of like, sorry, Bake, we wish we could continue negotiations, but you don't want to.
[14:17]
Dan Le Batard
I mean, he wants to be paid over 50, $55 million a year. He wants to be paid like one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. And I would say he's not one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. He's good. But that's where you're in this weird spot, man, where all these quarterbacks, they want to be paid in the top seven, eight, nine, whatever it is in the league. And if the team doesn't feel that you're in that elite tier, they offer you likely whatever the Bucks offered him. Because here's the thing. The Bucks apparently made a couple of different offers. And the weird thing is, it's not like. Like Baker is disrespected. He feels disrespected. He doesn't like the deal that the team has given him. And it comes off to me, Dave, where it's like, unless the team gives you, there's no negotiation, because if the team doesn't give you what you want, then it's disrespectful. Anything less than exactly what you want is disrespectful. And I say that because it's not like the Buccaneers came into the negotiating table like, we're offering you 10 million a year. I'm sure that's not what they were offering him. I'm sure they were offering him a respectable contract, which is definitely below what he wants. But it's like anytime it's. It's. It's not the contract that you want, apparently, it's disrespectful. It's like the player. It's always business, right? And when the team looks at and says, hey, this is business here. These guys are paid what they're paid because they're at this level.
[15:49]
Dave Demichele
We.
[15:50]
Dan Le Batard
We think you're at this level. Oh, no, you're disrespecting me. No, no, no. We're doing business here. And any time that the player doesn't get what he wants, it's always personal. It's disrespectful.
[16:00]
Zazie Todd
I hear you, and I think in my head, it goes to where the Buccaneers may perceive him to rank among his peer group. But, of course, what Baker Mayfield understands is, what are you going to do if. If I disappear?
[16:16]
Tony Reali
He.
[16:16]
Zazie Todd
You cannot. Whether or not you can pick apart. Well, Bake, as a franchise, we're looking at you versus the very best or where you stand among the very best. And do we see you among that? That's not really the conversation. If you're Baker Mayfield side of this sort of thing. You want to go out into the abyss without me. Do you remember what was going on before me? You had to go and scrape around and then you got the old man, Tom Brady. And then after that, where would you be without Bake? All Bake here. Don't you think that there is some sort of. Some sort of payout for how I've transitioned us out of the Brady into where we are? We're relevant in the playoff chase going into 2026.
[16:55]
Dan Le Batard
I mean, they win eight, nine games every year. They're not a great team. They win the. It's the worst division in football and they're routinely winning it with nine wins. I don't know. It's not that. And by the way, he wasn't great last year. Like the, the amazing year he had was two years ago. Wasn't great last year.
[17:12]
Zazie Todd
Well, and, and then that points to Mike Evans, who Mike Evans has for whatever attributes you would place with any other pass catcher in the league. Mike Evans has a pretty consistent sort of track record going back to Johnny Football at A and M. He's one of those cats who makes quarterbacks better than they otherwise might be. And so maybe I bet the Bucks are kind of looking at this. Can we get through this season and consider tagging bake for $50 million in the off season? Because we want to see what he looks like without the hall of Fame wide receiver named Mike Evans.
[17:48]
Tony Reali
I still feel like He's a top 12 quarterback in the league. Is that fair to say? 12?
[17:54]
Zazie Todd
I don't know. It's always a great game to play of, like, oh, he's Obviously a top 10 QB. Go ahead and start listing them. Where does he come down?
[18:01]
Dan Le Batard
I mean, I'd rather look up. I'd rather look up this. I'd rather look up the top 12 salaries for quarterbacks in the league and see where he fits there.
[18:08]
Dave Demichele
You know, the interesting.
[18:09]
Zazie Todd
Wouldn't it be interesting. Wouldn't it be interesting to see in the same way that contracts are now structured for first round picks that, you know, it's a, it's a, a grading, you know, from 1 down to 32 based on your draft slot. It would be if there were some universal evaluation of quarterbacks and you ranked them 1 through 32. It's like, well, you're the 11th best quarterback, ergo, we're going to pay you $31 million this year.
[18:33]
Dave Demichele
Well, I think kind of when you talk about this, it comes down to tiers, right? There's a tier of like, these are the elite quarterbacks, right? Okay, they're worth whatever. And then there's another tier of like, they're not elite, but they're. They're pretty, pretty freaking good. And then there's a tier of like, yo, this ranking is very fluid. One year it might be him, and then the next year it's someone else. And it's like, that's where I think Baker Mayfield falls, and that's where the evaluation is harder. As far as how much do I pay you? If you are, in a sense, you interchangeable with like X amount of other guys. Whereas those higher tiers, you can say, hey, I can't get another Justin Herbert, right? I can't get another Josh Allen. Right? Whereas where Baker Mayfield is like, good quarterback, I feel good if he's my quarterback, but I also feel like there are other guys.
[19:17]
Zazie Todd
I'm still looking disagree. I think that the, you know, 10, 12 years ago, I posed the question, how in a world of 7 billion people can we not find 32 humans to play competent quarterback in pro football? It really is mind bending. So, okay, so let's eliminate half that based on gender. So 3.5 billion people, but still, there should be plenty of arms available to succeed to some degree in the NFL. And yet we can't get there. You know, if you draft a guy and you develop him and for five years on his rookie deal, the Rams did this before they had to trade for Matthew Stafford. But I understand where the Rams were with Jared Goff. They bring him in. Sean McVay obviously likes him enough to, to draft him. They develop him, and then they get to the critical moment where, okay, is he really our franchise qb? Because now we have to pay him like that with his second contract. And the decision then is we don't think he's the best quarterback in the league. But also, we don't want to go into the abyss. So we're going to retain him because of the time spent with this guy. And we've had relative success. They did the one year they, they. They do it. And then Sean McVay realizes we've taken this as far as we can go. Let's flip him for Matthew Stafford. But the Bucks are in the same spot. You can criticize Baker Mayfield, and that will be the PR game that they play as they attempt to arrive at a contract that is satiating to the quarterback as well. But the, but, but the Buccaneers side of things is you ain't that guy. And Baker Mayfield's response is I'm better than the great unknown, which is what you're about to go into if you don't retain me.
[20:57]
Tony Reali
And you look at stats across the league, right? Like there's some stats where Baker superior and there's some, we're talking about surface level QB stats just on touchdowns, completions, completion percentage, all that stuff. And Baker has an interesting, interesting thing where touchdown wise he's in the upper echelon. Yards wise he's in the upper echelon. But then sacks, completion percentage, stuff like that QB rating, qbr, all that stuff is kind of low.
[21:18]
Dan Le Batard
Not a lot of winning going on there either and not a lot of winning.
[21:20]
Tony Reali
But obviously we talk about winning not be being a QB stat. It just feels like Baker. All right, I'm going to pose a couple of quarterbacks to you, Dave and I want to see if you're, you think Baker or this person.
[21:31]
Zazie Todd
Oh, I like first Tony, stipulate this, stipulate this. The only guys to a means point a couple minutes ago. We want to convince ourselves franchises want to convince themselves that they have the right guy in house and how do we bring him along and win a championship with him. But in fact there are only three to six guys total who are the real deal. Can drag any roster into the playoffs or at least make them relevant around the playoffs in late December. And those guys are who, I mean we know who they are. They're Mahomes. Alan, right. Burrow is sort of on the cut line. There is Jalen hurts even that guy. I don't think a lot of Eagles fans. Lamar definitely is. So it all fought. Yeah. And Josh Allen and like that's about your list there. Matthew Stafford's old now, but he probably is in that legit top five tier still at this point. But yeah, after that you're sort of blurring your eyes to convince yourself that this guy is definitely capable of dragging us to a Super Bowl. Tony's game sounds fun.
[22:31]
Tony Reali
NFL Dave, would you take Baker Mayfield or Trevor Lawrence?
[22:42]
Zazie Todd
Boy, you're you're betting on the future. If you go Trevor Lawrence and again you're talking about Bake who was a first overall pick. So the pedigree is high there. I gotta go with the results that we've already seen. I, I, I. It's hard for me to, to say this out loud, but give me Bake over Trevor Lawrence and Trevor got the
[22:59]
Tony Reali
250 million dollar deals Trevor Lawrence makes
[23:02]
Dan Le Batard
on average per year, he makes 55 million.
[23:04]
Zazie Todd
Yeah.
[23:05]
Tony Reali
All right. Baker Mayfield, team.
[23:08]
Zazie Todd
Right, Right.
[23:09]
Tony Reali
I like that. Drag team. Baker Mayfield or Caleb Williams?
[23:16]
Dan Le Batard
Caleb Williams.
[23:17]
Dave Demichele
You got to.
[23:17]
Home Depot Announcer
That one.
[23:18]
Zazie Todd
You got to get easy.
[23:19]
Dave Demichele
You got to.
[23:20]
Dan Le Batard
It is easy.
[23:21]
Tony Reali
After one decent year. Not even one great year. One decent year from Caleb.
[23:24]
Dan Le Batard
It's easy. It's very easy.
[23:26]
Zazie Todd
Yeah. There's no question.
[23:27]
Mike Ryan
And.
[23:28]
Zazie Todd
And by the way, it's not as though you're. I mean, Trevor Lawrence hasn't had playoff success. Caleb Williams has, you know, kind of sort of all the electricity around how they got to the playoffs this year. Yeah. The future feels bright.
[23:41]
Dan Le Batard
I think they both won one playoff game, and obviously, Lawrence has been in the league a lot longer.
[23:46]
Zazie Todd
And Bake. Bake is accurate, but also throws a fair amount of picks here and there. He can spray the ball a little bit. He can be gunslinger, but he is the final gunslinger. Yeah. Who, Caleb or Bake?
[23:57]
Tony Reali
No, Baker. He is the final gunslinger. I think the final evolution, because we have the great one, is Matthew Stafford, but I feel like all the other quarterbacks after him are now getting taught to not be the gunslinger of old.
[24:08]
Dave Demichele
The others, they didn't learn from me.
[24:12]
Zazie Todd
Caleb is definitely the. Is a gunslinger. He's never. I mean, the idea that, well, Josh Allen got more accurate, so. So therefore Caleb will, too, is. Is some fuzzy math.
[24:22]
Dan Le Batard
All right. Give another Tony.
[24:24]
Tony Reali
Give another Baker Mayfield or Bo Nix.
[24:29]
Chris Cote
This one's tough.
[24:32]
Dan Le Batard
It's a good question. You go Baker.
[24:36]
Zazie Todd
Yeah. Bo is circumstantial. Right. Sean Payton likes him in his offense. It doesn't mean that Bo Nix's powers are transferable.
[24:44]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, I think. You go, Baker.
[24:45]
Zazie Todd
Football American.
[24:45]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, Go one more, Tony.
[24:47]
Tony Reali
Baker Mayfield or C.J. stroud.
[24:54]
Dan Le Batard
It's a good one, too.
[24:54]
Chris Cote
After you.
[24:55]
Baker Mayfield
Yesterday.
[24:55]
Dan Le Batard
It's going to.
[24:58]
Zazie Todd
I'm going. CJ Stroud.
[25:00]
Dan Le Batard
Really?
[25:00]
Zazie Todd
Betting on. I'm betting on the X and O, guys. I had Nate Tice on Football America a couple of weeks ago, and I was stunned to learn that he was more enthusiastic. I like the Texans this year. He loves them. In fact, he said, if I have to pick an AFC representative for the super bowl, right now, I'm going Houston, Texas. My jaw nearly hit the floor. That.
[25:21]
Dan Le Batard
All right. And that wraps up another.
[25:24]
Tony Reali
You guys want one more? I got a good one.
[25:25]
Dan Le Batard
All right, fine.
[25:27]
Tony Reali
Baker Mayfield or Brock Purdy?
[25:30]
Chris Cote
Whoa.
[25:32]
Zazie Todd
What? What?
[25:34]
Tony Reali
Dave
[25:37]
Zazie Todd
Fake would be better on more teams if you just traded him away today and then, hey, he had to play a game tomorrow. I'll take Bake, but Brock Purdy with Shanny, I'll take that situation.
[25:47]
Dan Le Batard
And Purdy makes 52 million a year. All right, there you go. Dan Levitar. The packers win or the Bear lose. Bears lose. Jonathan Saslow. Shitty. You want to know how that. What were the kids doing? This is the Dan Levatare show. Amin, I want to get your thoughts here, Amin, on something we spoke about earlier in the week, but you weren't here earlier in the week. Week. You've been with us the last few days. So since Giannis has been traded, Giannis has been the guy the last couple of years that the media is all over. Oh, you gotta get out. You gotta ask out. All right? You gotta.
[26:28]
Zazie Todd
You.
[26:28]
Dan Le Batard
You need a trade. And the media, the NBA media always has to have a guy that they talk about. He's the next guy who needs to ask for a trade. He needs to get out and get to a better situation. And I think one of those guys that it could be now is Steph Curry. I think Steph Curry could be the guy that is at the forefront of. He needs to ask for a trade. He needs to get to a better situation. And I want to get your thoughts here, Amin. Because if the warriors were to trade Steph Curry, they could still get a lot for him. A lot. And. And there are rumors out there about Charlotte. Like, Charlotte, apparently, Del Curry, they just put up his jersey. It's where he's from. You know, that Charlotte, that could be a fun story that Steph Curry would finish his career there. What do you make of what's going on there? Because they're apparently just running it back. The warriors, they're running it back with a team that has Jimmy Butler shelved for at least half the season. That was their big move two seasons ago. It's a team that wasn't that good this past year. It's a team that I don't believe is even a playoff team this year, but they are just content on running it back because the owner, Joe Laka, he said they are focused on what the future looks like after Steph Curry. And I would say, okay, that's a fine tack to take. But if you're focused on what the future looks like after Steph Curry, then you should trade Steph Curry because that helps your future. After Steph Curry, it's like you're stuck in this. In between, where you're saying that you're focused on the future, but you're not actually doing the thing that's going to set you up for the future.
[28:05]
Dave Demichele
Yeah, we talked about it briefly earlier in the week. I was on my hit on Monday, but I didn't have a whole lot of detail. I just told you guys, hey, a story about, like, this is the insane stuff that they have in this arena. It's all because people come to play. I have some more details. So you guys know about those jersey patches?
[28:24]
Mike Ryan
Yeah.
[28:25]
Dave Demichele
They sell the sponsorships, right? And, you know, you get a couple million off of that. That's a good deal. They're saying, you know, Philly's jersey patch is about to come up in 2027. Like, if LeBron's still on the team, what value is that going to have for it? You know what the number one jersey patch in the NBA is?
[28:43]
Dan Le Batard
Like, what the sponsor is?
[28:44]
Dave Demichele
No. Like, which team has the best deal?
[28:47]
Dan Le Batard
I don't know who?
[28:48]
Dave Demichele
It's the Golden State warriors. They make $50 million a year off their jersey patch. That's not because, oh, we got some great up and coming guys. Our future's bright. It's about that dude.
[29:01]
Dan Le Batard
All right, but that. That day, Prince money come one day,
[29:03]
Dave Demichele
and so let that day come. That's. The day's gonna come. Cool. Why are we fast forwarding that day? Hey, you know what? Let me give up all these millions right now, because that day's coming one day.
[29:13]
Dan Le Batard
But then my counter to that, though, Amin would be, if. If you're going to keep Steph Curry, isn't it f them picks, like, do whatever it takes to win as much as possible with Steph Curry. So that doing what they're doing right now, which is literally nothing, how is that.
[29:28]
Dave Demichele
Now you're doing the Mike Ryan thing that. Because the absence of activity means, like, they're not doing anything. No, they're doing. Sometimes it just doesn't work. They try to get Anthony Davis. It didn't work. Right. So Draymond opted out because they were trying to do something, not because they just wanted, hey, what would it be like for a few months if Draymond wasn't a Warrior? Like, that's not what they did. They were trying to make things happen. It just didn't work out. But I do agree with you. When you. When you've got a superstar who's at that age and who has done so much for your franchise, I believe you owe it to him to exhaust every opportunity to give him the best possible roster to try to win a championship. You can't be like, oh, what's tomorrow going to be like? No, you got to go now. For every. Every way. But again, like, what does now mean? Is getting Daniel Gafford a move for now? Not really. Because we know that doesn't move the needle. The warriors need a needle moving transaction in order to take that leap.
[30:22]
Chris Cote
Or.
[30:22]
Dave Demichele
Or a genie that makes everybody healthy and a little bit younger than they were a couple, you know, right now. Yeah, those. Those ones a little bit harder to get than a game changer. But to me, you say, Steph Curry's that next guy. I've got a list for you guys.
[30:36]
Dan Le Batard
Oh, all right. Top five.
[30:39]
Dave Demichele
It could be a top five. I didn't rank them, but yeah, it could be a top five.
[30:41]
Dan Le Batard
You're very big on giving us like five guys, but not actually giving an order.
[30:46]
Dave Demichele
Okay, well, usually you take an order at 5 guys give an order. Anthony Edwards. If this Minnesota lamelo ball experiment does not work, everybody is salivating, chomping at the bit at Anthony Edwards, man, you need to get. You need to get somewhere where they gonna get. Treat you right and get you some. And you know the number one place, that's Anthony Edwards. Like, hey, man, you could really look good here. Yeah. Your former head coach, Tom Crean, you know, he coached another guy that played here.
[31:17]
Mike Ryan
Yep.
[31:18]
Dave Demichele
Right.
[31:18]
Dan Le Batard
I like how you're thinking, okay, here's
[31:21]
Dave Demichele
another name for you. I just name him Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis. Like, everyone thinks this Washington thing is. Is a hoax. So it's like there are people telling me he's not.
[31:29]
Dan Le Batard
He's not like the Wizards are trying to trick everyone.
[31:31]
Dave Demichele
He's not. Like, there are people tell me he's not going to play a second for the Wizards. I'm like, I think it's kind of late in the game to have that conversation. But the reality is if the Wizards do not pony up, and because he's extension eligible coming up in August, they don't pony up, then it's like, all right, get me out of here. So Anthony Davis. All the Anthony's. Anthony Davis is a guy who's absolutely a needle mover, a game changer. The risk, of course, is he gets hurt a lot. Want another name?
[31:58]
Mike Ryan
Yeah.
[31:58]
Dave Demichele
Also based off if things don't go right, how about a guy named Joel Embiid? Right? Like it's.
[32:06]
Dan Le Batard
Why are you saying it like that?
[32:08]
Dave Demichele
Yeah, you know, like, hey, you know, Maxi's all in, right? BJ Edgecombe. Everyone's excited about LeBron is LeBron, right? Jaylen Brown, man, that guy puts in work.
[32:17]
Dan Le Batard
You can't, though. You're. You're. That's like, you're sounding the alarms in the middle of the season if you do that.
[32:22]
Dave Demichele
I'm not saying the middle season. I'm just saying who's. Who might be the guy that's on the move. Like again, if Embiid is not committed in the way that everyone else on that team seems to be committed to their bodies and their health and their diet and all that stuff, then maybe it's that this is finally the time. And remember Mike Ganzi? I didn't draft this dude. I got nothing to do. It's just a guy on my roster. And if someone gives me a great deal, I might have to explore it. Wow.
[32:52]
Mike Ryan
Wow.
[32:53]
Dave Demichele
I thought they were going to be a bigger reaction than that. Just a couple, couple wows.
[32:56]
Tony Reali
I mean, you know, trading, trading Joel Embiid is the mark that like. All right, yeah. This experiment, this era of the Sixers is done. Like we're building. This is Maxi's team now.
[33:06]
Zazie Todd
The process may not end up working out as it turns out. So are you saying, I mean these are just guys who could be on the move, you're not saying that specifically should be moved to Golden State or the Golden State should be chasing one of or some of these guys to benefit Steph Curry? Because I think zaz, I hear you completely and it's super unsatisfying, especially if you're a fan base and a, a town that has grown accustomed because of Steph Curry's greatness to championship level basketball. But I think the answer might be you have to straddle the two eras, which is allow the Steph Curry and you understanding you're not going to win a title with Steph Curry. Because if you give away the future, man, you're really going into the abyss when Steph Curry hangs it up. It's sort of like, you know, I know maybe hockey is people don't care about Pittsburgh Penguin stuff, but this is exactly where they are with Sidney Crosby and those guys as they are 40 years old. Like what are you supposed to do? Try to give away all the future for right now and then the next decade or 20 years is going to be just bum teams. I. It's a, it's an interesting question you
[34:10]
Dave Demichele
pose as got one more name for you. Kevin Durant. Yeah, he's all. He's always on the move, baby. Come on now. And he's still great. 25 points a game, great percentages from the field. He's still an excellent scorer.
[34:26]
Dan Le Batard
Let me ask you something. Kevin Durant over under the remainder of his career, one and a Half more teams played for.
[34:33]
Home Depot Announcer
Oh,
[34:36]
Zazie Todd
that's a great line.
[34:37]
Dave Demichele
I'm gonna say over, because I think his career is going to last for a while. I think he's going to play like. It's not like one or two more years. I think he's going to go, keep going, and so he's going to play for another team after the Rockets. You're asking me, is he going to play for. Is that going to be his last team? I'm going to say no.
[34:51]
Dan Le Batard
How many has he played for now? Oklahoma City, Golden State, Brooklyn, Phoenix, Houston. This is 15.
[34:56]
Tony Reali
Seattle. Don't forget Seattle.
[34:57]
Dan Le Batard
That counts. Oklahoma.
[34:59]
Tony Reali
Franchise, though.
[35:00]
Dan Le Batard
City. Don't be as.
[35:01]
Zazie Todd
But which would you be, though? Would you rather be Kevin Durant? Forget the titles and all of that, but just who would you rather be? Kevin Durant, sort of a mercenary trying to fill in spots with championship contenders to get another ring, or would you rather be Steph Curry? My entire career has been here. I know we're not going to win a title in my final days here, but of course I don't want to move here. I want to be the legend of this franchise for all of time.
[35:27]
Dan Le Batard
Curry.
[35:28]
Dave Demichele
You know what's funny? This is how I know these are all old cliches, right? They feel like modern constructs of sports talk, but, like, they're old cliches because Moses Malone played for 8 billion teams and we never said anything about that, right? Just like when people are like, oh, what kind of guy would go to a team with the best record? I'm like, yeah, that's right. What kind of guy would win MVP and then that very next year go to a team that lost in the finals, in the conference finals and won 57 games? Oh, that's right. Moses Malone did that. And they won the title in 83. But nobody said about it because we're all a bunch of babies that think that. You know what? I like to propose a toast to all the babies out there. All the babies.
[36:12]
Dan Le Batard
The babies getting a toast.
[36:14]
Dave Demichele
The babies are getting a toast. You know what? Give me a. Give me a beverage here.
[36:18]
Dan Le Batard
Wow.
[36:19]
Dave Demichele
Give me some Cuervo, please.
[36:20]
Dan Le Batard
Toast in the babies.
[36:21]
Chris Cote
And let me remind people, worth a toast presented by Cuervo. Keep it fun. Keep it Cuervo.
[36:26]
Mike Ryan
Wow.
[36:27]
Dave Demichele
To all you babies that think, like, everything that happens in the NBA is brand new and we've never had this before. Guess what we've had? Just like we've had these drinks to you. Cheers. Keep it.
[36:37]
Chris Cote
Keep it, Cuervo.
[36:38]
Dan Le Batard
I would say to be. To answer your question though Dave? I would rather be Curry because I want there to be a team that a fan base that loves me. Is there a fan base that loves Kevin Durant?
[36:52]
Zazie Todd
I know, and that's exactly right. I mean it's sort of like if I were an 18 year old blue chip running running back, would I rather go to USC and be the next in a long lineage of great running backs or would I rather go to Oregon State where if I succeed they will make us, they'll build a big statue of me and I will be the one of one for that program for the next 50 years. That the latter is more appealing to me as well.
[37:17]
Dan Le Batard
Zaz Can I just tell you by
[37:19]
Zazie Todd
the way, no matter what, just mercenary behavior.
[37:22]
Dan Le Batard
Can I just tell you by the way, Moses Malone was so good. Oh my God. Yeah, we should give a toast to Moses Malone. I mean, the baby's got a toast. I mean, Moses Malone was so good.
[37:32]
Dave Demichele
Yeah, he was amazing. You know who else is amazing? Kevin Durant.
[37:36]
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Summary8 min read

Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show

Episode: "NFL! + 5 NBA Stars That Could Be On The Move Next" – Hour 1

Date: July 31, 2026
Location: Live from The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

Episode Overview

This lively episode of The Dan Le Batard Show features Dan and his regular crew rolling out a brand new segment simply (and redundantly) titled "NFL. NFL." The gang playfully riffs on training camp storylines, trades, and league drama, pivoting midway to a spirited breakdown of which NBA superstars could be the next to demand a move. Layered with signature humor, self-deprecation, and sharp insights, this episode offers a humorous yet heartfelt take on the narratives dominating the NFL and NBA offseason.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. "NFL. NFL." Segment: Training Camp & League Headlines

[00:53 – 18:32]

a. Travis Kelce: Is He "Looking a Little Hefty"?

Chris Cote opens with playful speculation about Chiefs star Travis Kelce’s off-season weight gain.
“He’s a professional athlete and I’m not. …but he does look a little thick.” — Chris Cote [01:57]
Zazie Todd wonders if Kelce’s late-career success and happiness will turn sour with the Chiefs’ fanbase if his impact fades:
- “Will Chiefs fans…turn against him if in his final chapter he gets fat and happy?” [02:11]
Dan notes: "It's not very common that you start talking about retirement and then two years later you're still playing." [02:39]

b. Hard Knocks with the Seahawks — First for Defending Champs

Dave Demichele is excited for this season of Hard Knocks:
- “First time ever, Hard Knocks with the reigning super bowl champs.” [03:16]
They're drawn to the character-based drama, with Dave reflecting:
- “You go in, I don’t know who these people are, but then I get introduced to people...it’s great drama.” [03:32]
Anecdotes about Hard Knocks, like Carson Palmer’s Gatorade expertise, reinforce the segment's unique appeal.

c. Quarterback Rooms & Training Camp Chatter

Tony Reali spotlights Kirk Cousins’ mid-season form with tongue-in-cheek analysis of running sprints at Raiders camp. [04:35]
The crew jokes about throwback QBs, toe injuries, and Fernando, mixing sports minutiae and in-jokes.
Dave Demichele and Zaz discuss preseason football:
- Zaz: “Preseason games...are a Civil War reenactment. It only looks like the real thing.” [06:15]

d. Plexico Burress’ Brutal Jets Comparison

Chris Cote shares Burress’ quote comparing playing for the Jets to being in prison:
- "They're both kind of similar because when I walked into prison for the first time, I was like, damn, I'm a bleeping loser. I had the same exact feeling every Day I walked through the doors with the Jets." [07:01]
Dan: “It's obviously a funny anecdote, but it's…self-aware. He'd wake up in prison and just say, man, I'm a real loser for being here.” [07:25]
Zazie Todd: "Thank Jesus, everybody, for Woody Johnson and Brown's ownership, because without their ongoing incompetence, it would all be laid bare that the NFL is just straight up a communist league..." [07:39]

e. NFL Trades, Buyer’s Remorse & Big Contracts

Max Crosby’s rescinded trade to the Ravens sparks debate about vague injury disclosures and teams using physicals as exit strategies. [08:15]
Saints reportedly give Chris Olave a huge new deal—panel questions injury risk:
- “For that level of bank, given the number of games he’s missed….” [09:18]

f. The Perpetual Sadness of Browns Fans

The gang pities Browns fans stuck with a QB battle between Watson and Shador Sanders:
- Zazie: “The Browns exist for us to laugh at…at least we’re not them.” [10:02]

g. Baker Mayfield’s Contract Saga

[11:53 – 21:20]

Dan tees up Baker’s desire for an extension; Baker's heartfelt press conference is played:
- "I've also…really know what I’ve brought to this franchise, leadership wise, even play wise. …I think it’s only going to trend upwards…So disappointing in that regard to not have, you know, to feel disrespect a little bit." — Baker Mayfield [12:32]
Dan and Zaz dissect the QB contract market and the chasm between “elite” pay and Mayfield’s mixed resume:
- Dan: “Anytime it’s not the contract that you want, apparently, it’s disrespectful.” [15:49]
Lively roundtable on the NFL’s “quarterback tier” problem, with a game of "Would You Rather: Baker or...?"
- “There are only three to six guys…who are the real deal, can drag any roster into the playoffs...” — Zazie [21:31]
- [Sample QB choices debated: Trevor Lawrence vs. Mayfield, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, CJ Stroud, Brock Purdy][22:31–25:47]

2. NBA: Who Could Be On the Move Next?

[26:27 – 37:35]

a. The Next NBA Star to Demand a Trade

Dan: “The NBA media always has to have a guy that they talk about. …He needs to get out and get to a better situation. I think one of those guys that it could be now is Steph Curry.” [26:28]
Dan floats the possibility of Curry being moved, given the Warriors’ mediocrity and the tension between “running it back” and building for the post-Curry future.

b. Golden State’s Dilemma: Now or Later?

Dave Demichele reveals the Warriors have the NBA’s most valuable jersey patch ($50 million/year):
- “That’s not because we got some great up and coming guys. …It’s about that dude.” — on Steph’s business impact [28:47]
The hosts debate:
- “If you’re going to keep Steph Curry, isn’t it ‘f them picks’, like do whatever it takes to win as much as possible with Steph Curry?” — Dan [29:13]
- Dave: “I believe you owe it to him to exhaust every opportunity…But…a needle moving transaction…doesn’t just mean getting Daniel Gafford.” [29:27–30:21]

c. Five NBA Stars That Could Move

Dave’s list (unordered):
1. Anthony Edwards – Especially if the Minnesota/LaMelo Ball experiment fails
2. Anthony Davis – Uncertainty on the Wizards; contract drama looms
3. Joel Embiid – If he’s not as committed as Maxi & co, could Philly finally blow it up?
4. Kevin Durant – “He’s always on the move…Still great.” [34:10]
5. (Implied) Steph Curry – If the Warriors pivot to full rebuild (from the prior discussion)
“Trading Joel Embiid is the mark that like…this era of the Sixers is done. … This is Maxey’s team now.” — Tony Reali [32:56]

d. Career Legacy Choices: Steph vs. KD

Engaging debate: Is it better to be a franchise lifer (Curry) or a mercenary ring-chaser (Durant)?
- “Would you rather be Kevin Durant…or would you rather be Steph Curry?” [35:00]
- Dave: “These are old cliches…Moses Malone played for 8 billion teams and we never said anything about that.” [35:27]
- Dan: “I would rather be Curry because I want there to be a fan base that loves me. Is there a fan base that loves Kevin Durant?” [36:37]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Preseason games…are a Civil War reenactment. It only looks like the real thing.” — Zazie Todd [06:15]
“It's obviously a funny anecdote, but it's…self-aware. He'd wake up in prison and just say, man, I'm a real loser for being here.” — Dan Le Batard on Plexico Burress [07:25]
“Anytime it’s not the contract that you want, apparently, it’s disrespectful.” — Dan Le Batard on player-team negotiations [15:49]
“There are only three to six guys...who are the real deal, can drag any roster into the playoffs or at least make them relevant around the playoffs in late December. And those guys are...Mahomes, Allen, Burrow...” — Zazie Todd, drawing NFL-NBA star parallels [21:31–21:59]
“That’s not because we got some great up and coming guys. …It’s about that dude [Steph Curry].” — Dave Demichele [28:47]
“Would you rather be Curry because I want there to be a fan base that loves me. Is there a fan base that loves Kevin Durant?” — Dan Le Batard [36:37]
“A toast to all you babies that think everything that happens in the NBA is brand new… Guess what? We’ve had this before.” — Dave Demichele (raising a glass to NBA “babies”) [36:26]

Segment Timestamps for Reference

[00:53] – Launch of new “NFL. NFL.” segment
[01:25] – Travis Kelce at training camp
[03:02] – Hard Knocks: Seahawks as first reigning champs on show
[04:35] – Kirk Cousins, Raiders QB room banter
[06:15] – Preseason games compared to Civil War reenactments
[07:01] – Plexico Burress’ Jets/prison analogy
[08:15] – Max Crosby’s trade drama
[09:00] – Saints extend Chris Olave – is it wise?
[10:02] – Browns camp update, enduring NFL sadness
[12:32] – Baker Mayfield, contract and self-worth
[21:31–25:47] – “Would you take Baker Mayfield or…?” game
[26:27] – NBA Transition: Next superstars to demand a trade
[28:47] – Golden State’s $50M jersey patch and Steph’s value
[30:36–34:51] – Dave’s list: Five NBA stars who may be on the move
[35:00–36:56] – Curry/KD legacy debate; toast to the “babies”

Tone & Style

Playful, irreverent, self-aware: The hosts frequently poke fun at themselves, each other, and the larger machinery of sports media.
Conversational but informed: takes are sharp but couched in banter, with recurring callbacks and inside jokes.
A mix of nostalgia (Moses Malone references), current events (contracts, training camp), and speculation (NBA “who’s next?” game).

Summary Takeaways

NFL preseason is exciting, but often not "real" football—don’t get fooled by the spectacle.
Quarterback value in the NFL is about tiers and leverage, not just stats or wins.
The NBA’s “who’s next to move?” carousel never ends; Steph Curry, Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Kevin Durant are stars whose futures are most closely watched.
The career legacy choice between franchise loyalty vs. portable greatness is a deeply personal—but recurrent—debate in modern sports.

Perfect for listeners who want to keep up with summer sports headlines and laugh hard along the way, this episode captures the intersection of blind fandom, money-driven decisions, and the enduring weirdness of American sports culture.

Loading summary

Transcript201 lines

[00:00]
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[00:30]
Dan Le Batard
You are listening to the Dan Lebatar show in partnership with the DraftKings Sports App. Now live in all 50 states.
[00:42]
Chris Cote
This episode of the Dan Lebatard show is presented by DraftKings Sports. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.
[00:53]
Dan Le Batard
Exactly how they imagined it being red. So we have a new segment with which is debuting today, a brand new segment and it is called Roy, you will hit the music. It's called NFL. NFL. That's right. This segment is called NFL. Chris, what do you got first for us for this new segment called NFL?
[01:26]
Chris Cote
Ah, training camp has started. Travis Kelce has shown up to chief's training camp and I want to ask the question, is he looking a little hefty? Oh yeah, looking like, looks like Joy is off season. Looks like out there. Looks like Tony out there. And I, I know I'm the last person that should be gut shaming but he's a, he's a professional athlete and I'm not.
[01:49]
Dave Demichele
So it's always the fallback whenever oh what do you look like? Like I'm not playing. If you compare me to someone who is playing, we're in trouble.
[01:57]
Chris Cote
And I'm very pro Taylor and Travis. I'm very pro Travis. Like I don't I but I'm being a jerk right now. But he does look a little thick.
[02:05]
Dan Le Batard
Dave, you would probably know best. Like you feel like he's looking a little, little heavy. A little heavy there.
[02:12]
Zazie Todd
I bet he would rationalize and say I'm a bet I'll be ready to go in time for week one. But I do wonder if after all of the success and how essential he's been in their super bowl run here, will Chiefs fans or some percentage of Chiefs fans turn against him if in his final chapter he gets fat and happy and is maybe disinterested or at least a non factor in the offense.
[02:39]
Dan Le Batard
I mean look, it's not very common that you start talking about retirement and then two years later you're still playing. Like normally when we start to have the retirement talk it's like maybe, like it might, it might be time to hang it up. But two years later, he's still out there playing. All right, so good start. Good start. NFL to the new segment. NFL. Amin, what do you got for us?
[03:03]
Dave Demichele
Well, this may not be news to anyone else, but it was news to me. Hard Knocks this year is with the Seattle Seahawks. Meaning for the first time I think ever, we're getting Hard Knocks with the reigning super bowl champs.
[03:16]
Dan Le Batard
Really?
[03:17]
Dave Demichele
I can't wait.
[03:18]
Dan Le Batard
Really? First time ever, Hard Knocks with the champs. Okay, well, what's like, what's the interesting angle? I mean, look, forget about a coming back off the super bowl, but is there, are there players you think that we look at where it's like, ooh, it's gonna be a juicy angle, Zaz.
[03:33]
Dave Demichele
This is the beauty of Hard Knocks. You go in, I don't know what, I don't know who these people are, but then I get introduced to people. The guy who's trying to make the roster as a 30 year old rookie. And like all these guys and we get invested in them week by week. It's a great drama and like all great dramas, it's character driven. But you don't. It's not like the Hollywood of today where it's like, well, who are the big stars in this one? Like, no, no, let me just walk in and discover people.
[03:59]
Dan Le Batard
I was out on Hard Knocks for a few years. I think recently I've gotten back in like may, like maybe I just needed a break.
[04:07]
Dave Demichele
Sometimes, even when it's an interesting person or big name person, but it's an interesting storyline. You didn't know. Like for instance, remember when Carson Palmer could tell what Gatorade it was just by tasting it. Remember that one where he's like, I could definitely do. Carson Palmer was like a, a Gatorade like savant. He was like, you got to mix a little bit more water in this one. Oh, this one needs a little more powder. He was doing all this stuff. I'm like, I didn't know Carson Barman knew so much about Gatorade.
[04:30]
Dan Le Batard
Tony, what do you have? For our brand new segment, NFL called NFL.
[04:35]
Tony Reali
We're heading over to Las Vegas, boys. In one of the more intriguing quarterback rooms on the planet, we have Kirk Cousins who's already in mid season form, rolled the tape. We just got tape of him running through some gassers, through some sprints here. Look at the boy. Ah, we'll get.
[04:50]
Chris Cote
Oh, Zazzle would look like running.
[04:51]
Tony Reali
Yes, sir. Got a little, a little faster there. All right, they're not catching up the other way.
[04:56]
Chris Cote
Not even close to touching the ground.
[04:57]
Tony Reali
He is, he is in full mid season form and I want to go over to his other one where he was working on some rollout drills. Take a look at the pass here. Getting around the corner there.
[05:09]
Zazie Todd
It's getting there. Okay.
[05:11]
Dave Demichele
He woke up with a bad.
[05:12]
Tony Reali
Let's see Fernando throw. Okay, Fernando, good, good move. Got around the corner. Nice zip on that ball. So Kirk Cousins.
[05:19]
Zazie Todd
Oh, too soon for you guys down there at the U, right? To see Fernando out there. You remember his last game, right?
[05:25]
Tony Reali
All right, we're talking about Kurt Cousins here, not Fernando. You can.
[05:29]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, we're okay.
[05:30]
Tony Reali
Keep it quiet over there.
[05:30]
Dave Demichele
And woke up with a bad big toe.
[05:32]
Dan Le Batard
Dave Damage. What do you have now for. For this new segment? NFL.
[05:38]
Zazie Todd
I used to love Hard Knocks, by the way. And, and I was all the way and I. The, the, the greatest part of Hard Knocks was always the cuts and seeing how different teams cut got. They gave them their dignity. All that was the best. The other thing I'm a curmudgeon about and always have been is as much as I love football, the declaration that's going around all over the place right now. We made it. It's football season, everybody. Preseason games kick off and specifically next Thursday night, Panthers Cardinals, the Hall of Fame game. And everybody will be swooning. I can't believe football's on my tv. No, it is not football. It is a Civil War reenactment. It is the same thing. It only looks like the real thing. It's the same thing as when you go to be ever have walked Gettysburg. You walk around those grounds and you're like, whoa, there's a reenactment going on over here. This looks like the Union soldiers over there. The Confederates. Wait a minute. That Confederate general's drinking a Mountain Dew. Something stuck. Stinks here. Same thing. You'll be watching that Panthers Cardinals game and you'll be like, wait a second, this looks like. Wait, the running backs white. Come on, everybody. You know it's not. There are little details that are off and so I am going to hold my powder and keep it dry until actual meaningful football games.
[06:53]
Dan Le Batard
NFL. Chris, you have another one for us.
[06:56]
Chris Cote
I have another great one. Plexco Burris has compared playing with the jets to prison.
[07:00]
Dan Le Batard
Oh, I saw this.
[07:01]
Chris Cote
He said, quote, they're both kind of similar because when I walked into prison for the first time, I was like, damn, I'm a bleeping loser. I had the same exact feeling every Day I walked through the doors with the Jets.
[07:11]
Dan Le Batard
I got to tell you, like, it's obviously a funny anecdote, but it's, it, it's also really, I feel like it's endearing where he's, Prison's not that bad. No, that's not at all how I
[07:23]
Tony Reali
heard the jets are that bad.
[07:25]
Dan Le Batard
The way that I heard it, like, it just felt very self aware where he's looking back and he'd wake up in the morning in prison and just say, man, like, I'm a real loser for being here.
[07:36]
Dave Demichele
Look down and he's like, he's wearing green. I'm like, damn.
[07:40]
Zazie Todd
I'll say, I've said it before, I'll say it again. Thank Jesus, everybody, for Woody Johnson and Brown's ownership, because without their ongoing incompetence, it would all be laid bare that the NFL is just straight up a communist league with a salary cap and everything being pushed towards parity. Every team's number would eventually come up were it not for just the devastating incompetence of ownership of a couple of NFL teams.
[08:11]
Dave Demichele
Guys, I'm surrounded by a wealth of NFL knowledge here with you guys.
[08:16]
Dan Le Batard
NFL.
[08:17]
Dave Demichele
This is a segment called NFL NFL segment. I have an NFL question. So Max Crosby traded to the Ravens, trade rescinded.
[08:27]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, right.
[08:28]
Dave Demichele
They say, oh, something in the physical comes back to the, the Raiders. We never find out what was the part that made him feel the physical. And now he's a trade rumors to the Cowboys. They're like, wait, what was wrong with Max Crosby?
[08:39]
Dan Le Batard
Nothing. I, I, I, I think the Ravens got super cold feet because the reaction. And you could find anything in a physical, you know that, I mean, you're like, ah, I'm not comfortable with this. And they resented the trade.
[08:49]
Zazie Todd
That's right.
[08:50]
Dave Demichele
Wow. So they just thought it was a bad deal that they did.
[08:54]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, they had buyer's remorse and they, and they had, they had a way out of it. And that's always going to be the physical. Yeah. Tony, you got another one for us?
[09:01]
Tony Reali
I got another one. The Saints just inked Cuban, by the way. Chris Olave, wide receiver to a four year extension worth up to 132 million. 90 million guaranteed. Dave Damasc, last time I checked, he's missed a lot of games. Two concussions. Are you worried about that NFL?
[09:19]
Zazie Todd
Yes, that was my reaction to it was really Chris Olave for that level of bank, given the number of games he's missed. How undependable. And the other thing is too, of course, these teams, Mickey Loomis who has run the Saints forever, surely has considered the Michael Thomas situation, which isn't that far in the rear view mirror. And yet he still rolled the dice on another high end wide receiver who's injury pro.
[09:43]
Dan Le Batard
Roy, you got one for us? This is a new segment that we're doing here. It is called NFL.
[09:50]
Tony Reali
Yeah, Browns captured Door Sanders and DeSean Watson alternated first team reps and it did not look good for Cleveland. Dave, what do you got over there in Browns camp?
[09:59]
Dan Le Batard
NFL.
[10:02]
Zazie Todd
That's what I have. The Browns are still the Browns. What did I just say? Thank goodness for Woody Johnson with the jets and Jimmy, Jimmy Hasm with the Browns. Were it not for their terrible, enduring decision making, we wouldn't be able to laugh like this and feel better about ourselves. And you know, when I was growing up, I was never the first pick. You'll be surprised to learn and pick up anything. My goal then quickly became just don't be the last guy picked in anything. And so the Browns exist for us to laugh at and point at and say, at least we're not them. And now they're down to Deshaun Watson or Shador Sanders as their starting quarterback. Sad times. Sad times to be a Cleveland Browns fan. But then again, it's always a sad time to be a Browns.
[10:47]
Mike Ryan
Howdy folks. It's Mike Ryan. You know the Levitard show and Miller Lite go way back. Pretty much. I want to say like 95% of our existence we've been partnered with Miller Lite and we believe in Miller Lite. They believe in us. It's great to have a partner with a product you truly love. That's me with Miller Lite. I love Miller Lite. Always have. In fact, I consider myself a bit of a Miller Time mvp. The friend who says they've got it. I'll pick the spot. I'll throw the cooler in the trunk, bring some Miller Lite and suddenly what was supposed to be a couple of hours turns into a whole afternoon. That's me, the Miller Time mvp. And it's great for summer. Hangs cools the body down that beautiful white can. Not much better than an ice cold Miller Lite because it's brewed for taste with simple ingredients. Clean, refreshing and easy to drink in the Miami heat in all American summer spirit. Starts with an all American beer, Miller lite. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.
[11:54]
Dan Le Batard
Dan Levitar.
[11:55]
Dave Demichele
Hey, Demichek, you know about that?
[11:57]
Dan Le Batard
Jadakiss, Dave Demichek.
[11:58]
Zazie Todd
No, I don't.
[11:59]
Dan Le Batard
Okay, I figured this is the Dan Levatar show, so I'll put a bow on this brand new segment here called NFL Yesterday, Baker Mayfield. This was the big story in the league yesterday. Baker Mayfield met with the media. He wants a contract extension.
[12:19]
Zazie Todd
All right.
[12:19]
Dan Le Batard
He's coming up on the last year of the deal. He wants a big extension. They're apparently not close. And here is a very emotional and, you know, disrespected Baker Mayfield.
[12:32]
Baker Mayfield
Yeah, I mean, obviously, I've. I've told you guys, I've been pretty upfront and honest about my feelings about Tampa, it being home for now. Our family, raising kids here, we love it here. I wanted the deal done and set the deadline and told them it was going to be all ball after that, and I did mean that. And I don't know if they thought I was just going to take some of the offers that they gave, but I'm at the point of my career and understanding what I've brought to this franchise. One, I'm very, very thankful for the chance they gave me. Do not get me wrong on that. But I've also know I really know what I've brought to this franchise, leadership wise, even play wise. It's been some of the best years of my career, and I think it's only going to trend upwards just being comfortable and feeling that. So disappointing in that regard to not have, you know, to feel disrespect a little bit. And that's really the disappointing part, to feel undervalued after, you know, thinking you've earned it.
[13:28]
Dan Le Batard
Dave, can you set a deadline and tell the team that passed this deadline it's going to be all about ball? And then you get up in front of the microphone and you talk about how disrespected you've been.
[13:39]
Mike Ryan
It.
[13:39]
Zazie Todd
It is great. And the thing with Baker Mayfield that striking is. Is he definitely that guy? Is he. Is he getting over his skis about who Baker Mayfield is in the quarterback league and where he ranks among those quarterbacks. Yeah. You know, it's usually a thing you hear from the team side is we got to go all ball here. It's all about team, and it's about the season. And that's why we cut off. Some teams do that. In fact, like, once we get the camp or once we get close enough to the regular season, no more negotiating. So it's funny that the player would. Would do that. And now the team is sort of like, sorry, Bake, we wish we could continue negotiations, but you don't want to.
[14:17]
Dan Le Batard
I mean, he wants to be paid over 50, $55 million a year. He wants to be paid like one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. And I would say he's not one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. He's good. But that's where you're in this weird spot, man, where all these quarterbacks, they want to be paid in the top seven, eight, nine, whatever it is in the league. And if the team doesn't feel that you're in that elite tier, they offer you likely whatever the Bucks offered him. Because here's the thing. The Bucks apparently made a couple of different offers. And the weird thing is, it's not like. Like Baker is disrespected. He feels disrespected. He doesn't like the deal that the team has given him. And it comes off to me, Dave, where it's like, unless the team gives you, there's no negotiation, because if the team doesn't give you what you want, then it's disrespectful. Anything less than exactly what you want is disrespectful. And I say that because it's not like the Buccaneers came into the negotiating table like, we're offering you 10 million a year. I'm sure that's not what they were offering him. I'm sure they were offering him a respectable contract, which is definitely below what he wants. But it's like anytime it's. It's. It's not the contract that you want, apparently, it's disrespectful. It's like the player. It's always business, right? And when the team looks at and says, hey, this is business here. These guys are paid what they're paid because they're at this level.
[15:49]
Dave Demichele
We.
[15:50]
Dan Le Batard
We think you're at this level. Oh, no, you're disrespecting me. No, no, no. We're doing business here. And any time that the player doesn't get what he wants, it's always personal. It's disrespectful.
[16:00]
Zazie Todd
I hear you, and I think in my head, it goes to where the Buccaneers may perceive him to rank among his peer group. But, of course, what Baker Mayfield understands is, what are you going to do if. If I disappear?
[16:16]
Tony Reali
He.
[16:16]
Zazie Todd
You cannot. Whether or not you can pick apart. Well, Bake, as a franchise, we're looking at you versus the very best or where you stand among the very best. And do we see you among that? That's not really the conversation. If you're Baker Mayfield side of this sort of thing. You want to go out into the abyss without me. Do you remember what was going on before me? You had to go and scrape around and then you got the old man, Tom Brady. And then after that, where would you be without Bake? All Bake here. Don't you think that there is some sort of. Some sort of payout for how I've transitioned us out of the Brady into where we are? We're relevant in the playoff chase going into 2026.
[16:55]
Dan Le Batard
I mean, they win eight, nine games every year. They're not a great team. They win the. It's the worst division in football and they're routinely winning it with nine wins. I don't know. It's not that. And by the way, he wasn't great last year. Like the, the amazing year he had was two years ago. Wasn't great last year.
[17:12]
Zazie Todd
Well, and, and then that points to Mike Evans, who Mike Evans has for whatever attributes you would place with any other pass catcher in the league. Mike Evans has a pretty consistent sort of track record going back to Johnny Football at A and M. He's one of those cats who makes quarterbacks better than they otherwise might be. And so maybe I bet the Bucks are kind of looking at this. Can we get through this season and consider tagging bake for $50 million in the off season? Because we want to see what he looks like without the hall of Fame wide receiver named Mike Evans.
[17:48]
Tony Reali
I still feel like He's a top 12 quarterback in the league. Is that fair to say? 12?
[17:54]
Zazie Todd
I don't know. It's always a great game to play of, like, oh, he's Obviously a top 10 QB. Go ahead and start listing them. Where does he come down?
[18:01]
Dan Le Batard
I mean, I'd rather look up. I'd rather look up this. I'd rather look up the top 12 salaries for quarterbacks in the league and see where he fits there.
[18:08]
Dave Demichele
You know, the interesting.
[18:09]
Zazie Todd
Wouldn't it be interesting. Wouldn't it be interesting to see in the same way that contracts are now structured for first round picks that, you know, it's a, it's a, a grading, you know, from 1 down to 32 based on your draft slot. It would be if there were some universal evaluation of quarterbacks and you ranked them 1 through 32. It's like, well, you're the 11th best quarterback, ergo, we're going to pay you $31 million this year.
[18:33]
Dave Demichele
Well, I think kind of when you talk about this, it comes down to tiers, right? There's a tier of like, these are the elite quarterbacks, right? Okay, they're worth whatever. And then there's another tier of like, they're not elite, but they're. They're pretty, pretty freaking good. And then there's a tier of like, yo, this ranking is very fluid. One year it might be him, and then the next year it's someone else. And it's like, that's where I think Baker Mayfield falls, and that's where the evaluation is harder. As far as how much do I pay you? If you are, in a sense, you interchangeable with like X amount of other guys. Whereas those higher tiers, you can say, hey, I can't get another Justin Herbert, right? I can't get another Josh Allen. Right? Whereas where Baker Mayfield is like, good quarterback, I feel good if he's my quarterback, but I also feel like there are other guys.
[19:17]
Zazie Todd
I'm still looking disagree. I think that the, you know, 10, 12 years ago, I posed the question, how in a world of 7 billion people can we not find 32 humans to play competent quarterback in pro football? It really is mind bending. So, okay, so let's eliminate half that based on gender. So 3.5 billion people, but still, there should be plenty of arms available to succeed to some degree in the NFL. And yet we can't get there. You know, if you draft a guy and you develop him and for five years on his rookie deal, the Rams did this before they had to trade for Matthew Stafford. But I understand where the Rams were with Jared Goff. They bring him in. Sean McVay obviously likes him enough to, to draft him. They develop him, and then they get to the critical moment where, okay, is he really our franchise qb? Because now we have to pay him like that with his second contract. And the decision then is we don't think he's the best quarterback in the league. But also, we don't want to go into the abyss. So we're going to retain him because of the time spent with this guy. And we've had relative success. They did the one year they, they. They do it. And then Sean McVay realizes we've taken this as far as we can go. Let's flip him for Matthew Stafford. But the Bucks are in the same spot. You can criticize Baker Mayfield, and that will be the PR game that they play as they attempt to arrive at a contract that is satiating to the quarterback as well. But the, but, but the Buccaneers side of things is you ain't that guy. And Baker Mayfield's response is I'm better than the great unknown, which is what you're about to go into if you don't retain me.
[20:57]
Tony Reali
And you look at stats across the league, right? Like there's some stats where Baker superior and there's some, we're talking about surface level QB stats just on touchdowns, completions, completion percentage, all that stuff. And Baker has an interesting, interesting thing where touchdown wise he's in the upper echelon. Yards wise he's in the upper echelon. But then sacks, completion percentage, stuff like that QB rating, qbr, all that stuff is kind of low.
[21:18]
Dan Le Batard
Not a lot of winning going on there either and not a lot of winning.
[21:20]
Tony Reali
But obviously we talk about winning not be being a QB stat. It just feels like Baker. All right, I'm going to pose a couple of quarterbacks to you, Dave and I want to see if you're, you think Baker or this person.
[21:31]
Zazie Todd
Oh, I like first Tony, stipulate this, stipulate this. The only guys to a means point a couple minutes ago. We want to convince ourselves franchises want to convince themselves that they have the right guy in house and how do we bring him along and win a championship with him. But in fact there are only three to six guys total who are the real deal. Can drag any roster into the playoffs or at least make them relevant around the playoffs in late December. And those guys are who, I mean we know who they are. They're Mahomes. Alan, right. Burrow is sort of on the cut line. There is Jalen hurts even that guy. I don't think a lot of Eagles fans. Lamar definitely is. So it all fought. Yeah. And Josh Allen and like that's about your list there. Matthew Stafford's old now, but he probably is in that legit top five tier still at this point. But yeah, after that you're sort of blurring your eyes to convince yourself that this guy is definitely capable of dragging us to a Super Bowl. Tony's game sounds fun.
[22:31]
Tony Reali
NFL Dave, would you take Baker Mayfield or Trevor Lawrence?
[22:42]
Zazie Todd
Boy, you're you're betting on the future. If you go Trevor Lawrence and again you're talking about Bake who was a first overall pick. So the pedigree is high there. I gotta go with the results that we've already seen. I, I, I. It's hard for me to, to say this out loud, but give me Bake over Trevor Lawrence and Trevor got the
[22:59]
Tony Reali
250 million dollar deals Trevor Lawrence makes
[23:02]
Dan Le Batard
on average per year, he makes 55 million.
[23:04]
Zazie Todd
Yeah.
[23:05]
Tony Reali
All right. Baker Mayfield, team.
[23:08]
Zazie Todd
Right, Right.
[23:09]
Tony Reali
I like that. Drag team. Baker Mayfield or Caleb Williams?
[23:16]
Dan Le Batard
Caleb Williams.
[23:17]
Dave Demichele
You got to.
[23:17]
Home Depot Announcer
That one.
[23:18]
Zazie Todd
You got to get easy.
[23:19]
Dave Demichele
You got to.
[23:20]
Dan Le Batard
It is easy.
[23:21]
Tony Reali
After one decent year. Not even one great year. One decent year from Caleb.
[23:24]
Dan Le Batard
It's easy. It's very easy.
[23:26]
Zazie Todd
Yeah. There's no question.
[23:27]
Mike Ryan
And.
[23:28]
Zazie Todd
And by the way, it's not as though you're. I mean, Trevor Lawrence hasn't had playoff success. Caleb Williams has, you know, kind of sort of all the electricity around how they got to the playoffs this year. Yeah. The future feels bright.
[23:41]
Dan Le Batard
I think they both won one playoff game, and obviously, Lawrence has been in the league a lot longer.
[23:46]
Zazie Todd
And Bake. Bake is accurate, but also throws a fair amount of picks here and there. He can spray the ball a little bit. He can be gunslinger, but he is the final gunslinger. Yeah. Who, Caleb or Bake?
[23:57]
Tony Reali
No, Baker. He is the final gunslinger. I think the final evolution, because we have the great one, is Matthew Stafford, but I feel like all the other quarterbacks after him are now getting taught to not be the gunslinger of old.
[24:08]
Dave Demichele
The others, they didn't learn from me.
[24:12]
Zazie Todd
Caleb is definitely the. Is a gunslinger. He's never. I mean, the idea that, well, Josh Allen got more accurate, so. So therefore Caleb will, too, is. Is some fuzzy math.
[24:22]
Dan Le Batard
All right. Give another Tony.
[24:24]
Tony Reali
Give another Baker Mayfield or Bo Nix.
[24:29]
Chris Cote
This one's tough.
[24:32]
Dan Le Batard
It's a good question. You go Baker.
[24:36]
Zazie Todd
Yeah. Bo is circumstantial. Right. Sean Payton likes him in his offense. It doesn't mean that Bo Nix's powers are transferable.
[24:44]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, I think. You go, Baker.
[24:45]
Zazie Todd
Football American.
[24:45]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, Go one more, Tony.
[24:47]
Tony Reali
Baker Mayfield or C.J. stroud.
[24:54]
Dan Le Batard
It's a good one, too.
[24:54]
Chris Cote
After you.
[24:55]
Baker Mayfield
Yesterday.
[24:55]
Dan Le Batard
It's going to.
[24:58]
Zazie Todd
I'm going. CJ Stroud.
[25:00]
Dan Le Batard
Really?
[25:00]
Zazie Todd
Betting on. I'm betting on the X and O, guys. I had Nate Tice on Football America a couple of weeks ago, and I was stunned to learn that he was more enthusiastic. I like the Texans this year. He loves them. In fact, he said, if I have to pick an AFC representative for the super bowl, right now, I'm going Houston, Texas. My jaw nearly hit the floor. That.
[25:21]
Dan Le Batard
All right. And that wraps up another.
[25:24]
Tony Reali
You guys want one more? I got a good one.
[25:25]
Dan Le Batard
All right, fine.
[25:27]
Tony Reali
Baker Mayfield or Brock Purdy?
[25:30]
Chris Cote
Whoa.
[25:32]
Zazie Todd
What? What?
[25:34]
Tony Reali
Dave
[25:37]
Zazie Todd
Fake would be better on more teams if you just traded him away today and then, hey, he had to play a game tomorrow. I'll take Bake, but Brock Purdy with Shanny, I'll take that situation.
[25:47]
Dan Le Batard
And Purdy makes 52 million a year. All right, there you go. Dan Levitar. The packers win or the Bear lose. Bears lose. Jonathan Saslow. Shitty. You want to know how that. What were the kids doing? This is the Dan Levatare show. Amin, I want to get your thoughts here, Amin, on something we spoke about earlier in the week, but you weren't here earlier in the week. Week. You've been with us the last few days. So since Giannis has been traded, Giannis has been the guy the last couple of years that the media is all over. Oh, you gotta get out. You gotta ask out. All right? You gotta.
[26:28]
Zazie Todd
You.
[26:28]
Dan Le Batard
You need a trade. And the media, the NBA media always has to have a guy that they talk about. He's the next guy who needs to ask for a trade. He needs to get out and get to a better situation. And I think one of those guys that it could be now is Steph Curry. I think Steph Curry could be the guy that is at the forefront of. He needs to ask for a trade. He needs to get to a better situation. And I want to get your thoughts here, Amin. Because if the warriors were to trade Steph Curry, they could still get a lot for him. A lot. And. And there are rumors out there about Charlotte. Like, Charlotte, apparently, Del Curry, they just put up his jersey. It's where he's from. You know, that Charlotte, that could be a fun story that Steph Curry would finish his career there. What do you make of what's going on there? Because they're apparently just running it back. The warriors, they're running it back with a team that has Jimmy Butler shelved for at least half the season. That was their big move two seasons ago. It's a team that wasn't that good this past year. It's a team that I don't believe is even a playoff team this year, but they are just content on running it back because the owner, Joe Laka, he said they are focused on what the future looks like after Steph Curry. And I would say, okay, that's a fine tack to take. But if you're focused on what the future looks like after Steph Curry, then you should trade Steph Curry because that helps your future. After Steph Curry, it's like you're stuck in this. In between, where you're saying that you're focused on the future, but you're not actually doing the thing that's going to set you up for the future.
[28:05]
Dave Demichele
Yeah, we talked about it briefly earlier in the week. I was on my hit on Monday, but I didn't have a whole lot of detail. I just told you guys, hey, a story about, like, this is the insane stuff that they have in this arena. It's all because people come to play. I have some more details. So you guys know about those jersey patches?
[28:24]
Mike Ryan
Yeah.
[28:25]
Dave Demichele
They sell the sponsorships, right? And, you know, you get a couple million off of that. That's a good deal. They're saying, you know, Philly's jersey patch is about to come up in 2027. Like, if LeBron's still on the team, what value is that going to have for it? You know what the number one jersey patch in the NBA is?
[28:43]
Dan Le Batard
Like, what the sponsor is?
[28:44]
Dave Demichele
No. Like, which team has the best deal?
[28:47]
Dan Le Batard
I don't know who?
[28:48]
Dave Demichele
It's the Golden State warriors. They make $50 million a year off their jersey patch. That's not because, oh, we got some great up and coming guys. Our future's bright. It's about that dude.
[29:01]
Dan Le Batard
All right, but that. That day, Prince money come one day,
[29:03]
Dave Demichele
and so let that day come. That's. The day's gonna come. Cool. Why are we fast forwarding that day? Hey, you know what? Let me give up all these millions right now, because that day's coming one day.
[29:13]
Dan Le Batard
But then my counter to that, though, Amin would be, if. If you're going to keep Steph Curry, isn't it f them picks, like, do whatever it takes to win as much as possible with Steph Curry. So that doing what they're doing right now, which is literally nothing, how is that.
[29:28]
Dave Demichele
Now you're doing the Mike Ryan thing that. Because the absence of activity means, like, they're not doing anything. No, they're doing. Sometimes it just doesn't work. They try to get Anthony Davis. It didn't work. Right. So Draymond opted out because they were trying to do something, not because they just wanted, hey, what would it be like for a few months if Draymond wasn't a Warrior? Like, that's not what they did. They were trying to make things happen. It just didn't work out. But I do agree with you. When you. When you've got a superstar who's at that age and who has done so much for your franchise, I believe you owe it to him to exhaust every opportunity to give him the best possible roster to try to win a championship. You can't be like, oh, what's tomorrow going to be like? No, you got to go now. For every. Every way. But again, like, what does now mean? Is getting Daniel Gafford a move for now? Not really. Because we know that doesn't move the needle. The warriors need a needle moving transaction in order to take that leap.
[30:22]
Chris Cote
Or.
[30:22]
Dave Demichele
Or a genie that makes everybody healthy and a little bit younger than they were a couple, you know, right now. Yeah, those. Those ones a little bit harder to get than a game changer. But to me, you say, Steph Curry's that next guy. I've got a list for you guys.
[30:36]
Dan Le Batard
Oh, all right. Top five.
[30:39]
Dave Demichele
It could be a top five. I didn't rank them, but yeah, it could be a top five.
[30:41]
Dan Le Batard
You're very big on giving us like five guys, but not actually giving an order.
[30:46]
Dave Demichele
Okay, well, usually you take an order at 5 guys give an order. Anthony Edwards. If this Minnesota lamelo ball experiment does not work, everybody is salivating, chomping at the bit at Anthony Edwards, man, you need to get. You need to get somewhere where they gonna get. Treat you right and get you some. And you know the number one place, that's Anthony Edwards. Like, hey, man, you could really look good here. Yeah. Your former head coach, Tom Crean, you know, he coached another guy that played here.
[31:17]
Mike Ryan
Yep.
[31:18]
Dave Demichele
Right.
[31:18]
Dan Le Batard
I like how you're thinking, okay, here's
[31:21]
Dave Demichele
another name for you. I just name him Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis. Like, everyone thinks this Washington thing is. Is a hoax. So it's like there are people telling me he's not.
[31:29]
Dan Le Batard
He's not like the Wizards are trying to trick everyone.
[31:31]
Dave Demichele
He's not. Like, there are people tell me he's not going to play a second for the Wizards. I'm like, I think it's kind of late in the game to have that conversation. But the reality is if the Wizards do not pony up, and because he's extension eligible coming up in August, they don't pony up, then it's like, all right, get me out of here. So Anthony Davis. All the Anthony's. Anthony Davis is a guy who's absolutely a needle mover, a game changer. The risk, of course, is he gets hurt a lot. Want another name?
[31:58]
Mike Ryan
Yeah.
[31:58]
Dave Demichele
Also based off if things don't go right, how about a guy named Joel Embiid? Right? Like it's.
[32:06]
Dan Le Batard
Why are you saying it like that?
[32:08]
Dave Demichele
Yeah, you know, like, hey, you know, Maxi's all in, right? BJ Edgecombe. Everyone's excited about LeBron is LeBron, right? Jaylen Brown, man, that guy puts in work.
[32:17]
Dan Le Batard
You can't, though. You're. You're. That's like, you're sounding the alarms in the middle of the season if you do that.
[32:22]
Dave Demichele
I'm not saying the middle season. I'm just saying who's. Who might be the guy that's on the move. Like again, if Embiid is not committed in the way that everyone else on that team seems to be committed to their bodies and their health and their diet and all that stuff, then maybe it's that this is finally the time. And remember Mike Ganzi? I didn't draft this dude. I got nothing to do. It's just a guy on my roster. And if someone gives me a great deal, I might have to explore it. Wow.
[32:52]
Mike Ryan
Wow.
[32:53]
Dave Demichele
I thought they were going to be a bigger reaction than that. Just a couple, couple wows.
[32:56]
Tony Reali
I mean, you know, trading, trading Joel Embiid is the mark that like. All right, yeah. This experiment, this era of the Sixers is done. Like we're building. This is Maxi's team now.
[33:06]
Zazie Todd
The process may not end up working out as it turns out. So are you saying, I mean these are just guys who could be on the move, you're not saying that specifically should be moved to Golden State or the Golden State should be chasing one of or some of these guys to benefit Steph Curry? Because I think zaz, I hear you completely and it's super unsatisfying, especially if you're a fan base and a, a town that has grown accustomed because of Steph Curry's greatness to championship level basketball. But I think the answer might be you have to straddle the two eras, which is allow the Steph Curry and you understanding you're not going to win a title with Steph Curry. Because if you give away the future, man, you're really going into the abyss when Steph Curry hangs it up. It's sort of like, you know, I know maybe hockey is people don't care about Pittsburgh Penguin stuff, but this is exactly where they are with Sidney Crosby and those guys as they are 40 years old. Like what are you supposed to do? Try to give away all the future for right now and then the next decade or 20 years is going to be just bum teams. I. It's a, it's an interesting question you
[34:10]
Dave Demichele
pose as got one more name for you. Kevin Durant. Yeah, he's all. He's always on the move, baby. Come on now. And he's still great. 25 points a game, great percentages from the field. He's still an excellent scorer.
[34:26]
Dan Le Batard
Let me ask you something. Kevin Durant over under the remainder of his career, one and a Half more teams played for.
[34:33]
Home Depot Announcer
Oh,
[34:36]
Zazie Todd
that's a great line.
[34:37]
Dave Demichele
I'm gonna say over, because I think his career is going to last for a while. I think he's going to play like. It's not like one or two more years. I think he's going to go, keep going, and so he's going to play for another team after the Rockets. You're asking me, is he going to play for. Is that going to be his last team? I'm going to say no.
[34:51]
Dan Le Batard
How many has he played for now? Oklahoma City, Golden State, Brooklyn, Phoenix, Houston. This is 15.
[34:56]
Tony Reali
Seattle. Don't forget Seattle.
[34:57]
Dan Le Batard
That counts. Oklahoma.
[34:59]
Tony Reali
Franchise, though.
[35:00]
Dan Le Batard
City. Don't be as.
[35:01]
Zazie Todd
But which would you be, though? Would you rather be Kevin Durant? Forget the titles and all of that, but just who would you rather be? Kevin Durant, sort of a mercenary trying to fill in spots with championship contenders to get another ring, or would you rather be Steph Curry? My entire career has been here. I know we're not going to win a title in my final days here, but of course I don't want to move here. I want to be the legend of this franchise for all of time.
[35:27]
Dan Le Batard
Curry.
[35:28]
Dave Demichele
You know what's funny? This is how I know these are all old cliches, right? They feel like modern constructs of sports talk, but, like, they're old cliches because Moses Malone played for 8 billion teams and we never said anything about that, right? Just like when people are like, oh, what kind of guy would go to a team with the best record? I'm like, yeah, that's right. What kind of guy would win MVP and then that very next year go to a team that lost in the finals, in the conference finals and won 57 games? Oh, that's right. Moses Malone did that. And they won the title in 83. But nobody said about it because we're all a bunch of babies that think that. You know what? I like to propose a toast to all the babies out there. All the babies.
[36:12]
Dan Le Batard
The babies getting a toast.
[36:14]
Dave Demichele
The babies are getting a toast. You know what? Give me a. Give me a beverage here.
[36:18]
Dan Le Batard
Wow.
[36:19]
Dave Demichele
Give me some Cuervo, please.
[36:20]
Dan Le Batard
Toast in the babies.
[36:21]
Chris Cote
And let me remind people, worth a toast presented by Cuervo. Keep it fun. Keep it Cuervo.
[36:26]
Mike Ryan
Wow.
[36:27]
Dave Demichele
To all you babies that think, like, everything that happens in the NBA is brand new and we've never had this before. Guess what we've had? Just like we've had these drinks to you. Cheers. Keep it.
[36:37]
Chris Cote
Keep it, Cuervo.
[36:38]
Dan Le Batard
I would say to be. To answer your question though Dave? I would rather be Curry because I want there to be a team that a fan base that loves me. Is there a fan base that loves Kevin Durant?
[36:52]
Zazie Todd
I know, and that's exactly right. I mean it's sort of like if I were an 18 year old blue chip running running back, would I rather go to USC and be the next in a long lineage of great running backs or would I rather go to Oregon State where if I succeed they will make us, they'll build a big statue of me and I will be the one of one for that program for the next 50 years. That the latter is more appealing to me as well.
[37:17]
Dan Le Batard
Zaz Can I just tell you by
[37:19]
Zazie Todd
the way, no matter what, just mercenary behavior.
[37:22]
Dan Le Batard
Can I just tell you by the way, Moses Malone was so good. Oh my God. Yeah, we should give a toast to Moses Malone. I mean, the baby's got a toast. I mean, Moses Malone was so good.
[37:32]
Dave Demichele
Yeah, he was amazing. You know who else is amazing? Kevin Durant.
[37:36]
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