Pat Riley's Retirement Press Conference? | Local Hour

Summary

Podcast Summary:

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Pat Riley's Retirement Press Conference? | Local Hour

Date: April 27, 2026
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Episode Theme

This "Local Hour" episode centers on major recent and upcoming events affecting South Florida sports, with a strong focus on Miami Heat President Pat Riley’s looming end-of-season press conference and debates on the NBA and NFL drafts. The crew reflects on sports fandom, playoff narratives, Heat front office dynamics, and whether this could be Pat Riley’s swan song.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. NBA Playoff Narratives & Fan Reactions (02:32 – 06:21)

• Summary: Dan admits he judged the NBA playoffs too quickly, calling them “a dud” after two days but now finds them very compelling (“I was dead wrong about these playoffs.” — Dan, 03:15).
• Contrast with NHL: Hockey fans seem more measured and less reactionary after singular wins or losses, whereas NBA fans (especially Knicks fans) swing wildly after every game.
• Casual vs. Hardcore Fanbase: Discussion on how basketball attracts more casual viewers—many of whom approach best-of-seven series with single-elimination mindsets (“Basketball invites a bunch of casuals...” — Greg, 04:32).

2. Hope and Hype: Sabres’ Playoff Run & NFL Draft Spectacle (05:03 – 11:15)

• Sabres as Underdog Darlings: Ira and Amin talk about rooting for the long-suffering Buffalo Sabres and how unlikely stories (ex: Sabres possibly winning before the Bills) capture hearts.

• NFL Draft as ‘Hope Funnel’: The group marvels at the size and pageantry of the NFL Draft event (over 800,000 attendees), and the universal sense of hope it brings to fans of all teams.

  • Quote: “The draft involves every team and it’s the hope funnel.” — Ira, 10:45

• Draft Production Comparison (NBA vs. NFL): The NFL deftly handles draft-day trades live, while the NBA is hamstrung by legalities, leading to farcical interviews with draftees donning hats of teams they’ll never play for (“I think my favorite part is that the NFL just pushes that shit right through…” — Dan, 09:07).

• NFL’s Geo-Event Strategy: They note how the NFL successfully leverages locations for major events, rotating draft cities to less glamorous locales in spring.

3. Dolphins’ Draft Reactions & Heat in the Offseason (11:26 – 25:03)

• Dolphins’ First-Round Pick Scrutiny: The hosts debate whether they overreacted to the team’s selection of Kaden Proctor, an offensive lineman with questions about his work ethic.
  • Dan: “I don’t want that guy [first pick under new regime] to have any questions... I definitely don’t want the overriding question to be, does he have good work ethic?” (14:13)
  • Ira’s Apology: “I basically apologized because I overreacted...” (12:30)
• Mock Drafts & Mel Kiper Validation: Ira references Mel Kiper rating the pick well, giving the Dolphins a draft grade of ‘B’.
• Draft Analysis: The group jokes extensively about the physical proportions of draft picks (notably linebacker Jacob Rodriguez’s “all-time neck” — 23:45–24:32).

4. Anticipation & Rumors: Pat Riley's Press Conference (25:03 – 30:05)

• Possibility of Retirement: Greg candidly admits the main reason he’ll attend is to witness if Riley retires on the spot (“If this is the day he retires…” — Greg, 27:26).
• Online Rumors: Dan addresses misleading stories online about “who is in charge of the Heat” and clarifies that Nick Arison, not Riley, is the organization’s actual boss (“He is the boss, and he's been the boss for a rather long time now...” — Dan, 29:57).

5. Pat Riley’s Succession & Front Office Culture (33:08 – 36:24)

• Legacy of a Straight Shooter: There’s concern over a future NBA landscape without blunt, charismatic executives like Riley. The league is full of “kid gloves” front offices while Riley remains “the last of the Mohicans”.
• Succession Speculation: Dan and Ira agree that, eventually, Erik Spoelstra may transition to the front office but not in the immediate future.

6. Critique of Heat Roster Building & Tanking Philosophy (36:24 – 42:18)

• Stubborn Trade Philosophy: The Heat rarely “lose” trades; their offers are firm, possibly too rigid (“Sometimes maybe it’s okay for both teams to feel good about the trade...” — Dan, 38:33).
• Anti-Tanking Stance: Both the Heat and Dolphins are cited as teams stuck in the middle due to philosophical refusals to tank for high draft picks (“Whatever Heat Culture means... part of that is, ‘We ain’t gonna tank.’” — Ira, 39:23).
• Fan Debate: Heated exchanges about whether they should “hit the red button” (panic/nuclear blow-it-up mode), with Greg and Dan noting the limits of this argument — most blockbusters require another team to cooperate.

7. This Offseason’s Imperative: Go Big or Run it Back? (42:44 – end)

• Central Question for Riley: What will be the Heat’s approach to landing a superstar this offseason? Will they finally “swing for the fences” after years of stalled efforts?
  • Quote: “What is the imperative this summer to get Giannis or whomever?” — Ira, 42:56
• Avoiding Familiar Clichés: Dan laments the idea of hearing, “We like our team” again and wants admission that things must change.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “I was dead wrong about these playoffs.” — Dan Le Batard (03:15)
• “The draft involves every team and it’s the hope funnel.” — Ira Winderman (10:45)
• “I basically apologized because I overreacted…” — Ira Winderman on the Dolphins pick (12:30)
• “I don’t want that guy to have any questions... does he have good work ethic?” — Dan (14:13)
• “If this is the day he retires...” — Greg Cote, on why he’ll attend the Riley press conference (27:26)
• “He is the boss and he's been the boss for a rather long time now.” — Dan on Nick Arison (29:57)
• “Pat’s the last of the Mohicans in that way.” — Amin (33:08)
• “What is the imperative this summer to get Giannis or whomever?” — Ira (42:56)
• “I just don’t want to hear we like our team again.” — Dan (43:27)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | Topic | |---------|-----------|-------| | NBA Playoff Fan Reactions | 02:32–06:21 | Casual vs. hardcore fans; Knicks drama | | NFL Draft as Spectacle | 06:49–11:15 | Hope, attendance, spectacle vs. NBA | | Dolphins Draft Reactions | 11:26–14:23 | Kaden Proctor debate; Saban clip | | Nick Saban on Proctor | 19:29–21:25 | Motivation & work ethic conversation | | Dolphins Draft Humor | 23:45–24:32 | Jacob Rodriguez’s “all-time neck” | | Anticipating Riley’s Presser | 27:04–29:23 | Will he retire? Media speculation | | Front Office Culture/Legacy | 33:08–36:24 | Riley's bluntness, Spoelstra's future | | Heat Philosophy, Tanking Debate | 36:24–42:18 | Roster-building, making (or not making) trades | | One Question for Riley | 42:44–43:29 | “What is the imperative this summer...” |

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Tone & Language

The discussion remains rooted in the show’s signature blend of irreverence, banter, and genuine sports insight. Dan is self-deprecating, Greg and Ira bring local gravitas, while Amin supplies both humor and sharp front office analysis. The tone is conversational and lightly combative—in the spirit of close sports-fan friends trading takes.

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Conclusion

This Local Hour captures the unique crossroads facing Miami sports: fans processing the NFL draft, weighing the maturity (or hysteria) of NBA/NHL fandom, and awaiting Pat Riley’s press conference, which looms as both a potential moment of dramatic transition and a litmus test for the Miami Heat’s self-image. Listeners are left with unresolved questions: Will Riley shock the city and retire? Will the Heat finally break out of NBA purgatory? For now, it’s all anticipation, inside baseball, and the urgent hope that something big—maybe historic—is right around the corner.

Transcript

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[Dan Le Batard]

Star wars is

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Ira Winderman]

I'll take out every bad guy in

[Dan Le Batard]

your deck of cards on May 22.

[Ira Winderman]

Feel the force on the biggest screen possible. The old protect the young, and the young protect the old. This is the way. Buckle up.

[Dan Le Batard]

Always wear your seatbelt.

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[Greg Cote]

Get tickets now.

[Stugats]

This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats podcast.

[Dan Le Batard]

No one wants to work today.

[Ira Winderman]

What is it?

[Dan Le Batard]

Look at this crew. What is this crew today?

[Greg Cote]

Light.

[Amin Elhassan]

I mean, thank you.

[Dan Le Batard]

Scoops never worked together yet.

[Amin Elhassan]

This one's true.

[Dan Le Batard]

We got Amin and Greg here, and on the other side, it's Chris and Roy and Jeremy.

[Ira Winderman]

Hey, good morning.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, that's right. Jeremy's very excited because he feels like it's going to be a lot more opportunities for him to talk about the things he wants to talk about that nobody else wants to hear about Glee. Right? He's been. There's something Glee related. We're not. Don't. Don't even.

[Commercial Voice]

You're not going to leave with Glee.

[Dan Le Batard]

We're not. But there's something Glee related he's been trying to get to for, like a week now.

[Guest or Contributor]

It's true.

[Dan Le Batard]

It ain't right now. All right. It ain't right now.

[Greg Cote]

I just threw that one out.

[Amin Elhassan]

What did my dad just write down is what I'm wondering.

[Greg Cote]

Notes.

[Ira Winderman]

Notes, man.

[Amin Elhassan]

About Glee. Like, Jeremy, I'm doing prep work.

[Ira Winderman]

Oh, wow.

[Amin Elhassan]

Prepping it.

[Ira Winderman]

That's damn right, prepping it. That kind of thing.

[Dan Le Batard]

So, look, I knockley, then I got to start by telling you, a week ago today, I sat in your chair right there. I mean, and I said, these NBA playoffs are dud, you fool. A week ago today. All right? And so now I gotta be fair, I gotta be honest. NBA playoffs have been very, very good.

[Ira Winderman]

Slow start.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now, you know, the, the Western Conference, you know, you have one that's on the verge of a sweep and the others can all end in five. So they may actually all be short series out west, but we got a lot of stories and we, we, we got series that are upside down, like Orlando, Detroit, New York, Atlanta. I got to be the first one to put my hands up. I was dead wrong about these playoffs.

[Greg Cote]

You said it. And I was like, what are you talking about? Even last week, I was like, what are you talking about? We had a couple of blowouts, but we had a couple of good games.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, I said it after two days. And after the first two days, seven of eight games were double figures.

[Greg Cote]

I mean, it was, it was, but

[Dan Le Batard]

I judged too early.

[Greg Cote]

It was, it was good games. And that's what happens. By the way, the playoffs is all this. It's an ebb and flow of like you. Everyone always thinks you win, you're never going to lose again, and you lose, you're never going to win another game.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, that's my favorite part about the, like, I don't think, I don't think the Stanley cup playoffs are like that. It really feels like the hockey fan knows it's a war of attrition. And in the NBA, I feel like one team wins and it's a total disaster. I mean, after the Knicks lost, was it game one that the Knicks lost?

[Greg Cote]

No, they lost two and three.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay. After the Knicks lost game two, Nick Fan was already talking about, you got trade car, Anthony Town. It's, it's one game and now that series is tied to too, and it's like, yeah, the Knicks are going to win the series, you know, because winning the, winning the playoff series is hard and you're going to lose games. I feel like it doesn't happen in the Stanley cup playoffs. Feel like the fan is a lot more mature or at least able to handle the swings of a playoff series.

[Greg Cote]

I have a different answer. You don't have as many casuals in hockey because there are not that many casuals.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, maybe you're right.

[Greg Cote]

Like basketball invites a bunch of casuals who watch. And also there are a lot of people who watch basketball as if they're watching football or as if they're Watching college basketball, meaning single elimination. So that one game means everything. Yeah, that's how they're programmed. Whereas, like, NBA basketball is the best of seven series. Hockey. If you watch hockey, you watch the NHL. What else are you watching? You're not watching.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right. If you're a huge hockey fan, hockey is usually your favorite sport.

[Ira Winderman]

Absolutely.

[Dan Le Batard]

You could be a huge basketball fan and it could definitely not be your favorite sport.

[Ira Winderman]

I look for interesting storylines in both. In hockey, I love that the Buffalo Sabres are kicking Boston's ass. Buffalo could win a championship in Hockey finally, after 55 years before the Buffalo Bills win a Super bowl, which I think would be delightful. And in basketball, I know LeBron had a tough game, a terrible game Sunday, but LeBron James for me won the first week of the playoffs. The way he played, the way he lifted the Lakers to a three nothing lead, I think was the story of the early playoffs and Wemby getting concussed and then finally coming back. That's something that even the casual fan pays attention to because Wemby is just outrageous to watch. I love watching him.

[Amin Elhassan]

So you mentioned the Buffalo Sabres. I don't know what I'm doing with this Buffalo team. Whereas usually, like, I have cities that I hate, like New York, Boston. I've always hated the Bills, but I like the Buffalo Sabers. I mean, obviously it's because they've stunk for so long, but I don't know, like, I feel weird enjoying something happening in Buffalo, but I am.

[Ira Winderman]

I totally agree with you. I think the Sabers are the feel good story of the playoffs, even encompassing basketball. I mean, not only have they never won a Stanley cup, they've only been to the final twice, in 1975 and 1999.

[Dan Le Batard]

And they lost 99 in a heartbreaking fashion.

[Ira Winderman]

Right. No goal. So every quarter century they're due to make the final and this could be their quarter century.

[Greg Cote]

Is Dominic Koschik still playing for the Sabres?

[Stugats]

He is.

[Dan Le Batard]

I didn't think you knew, but he is. I wasn't sure you were going to remember that. He's their goalie. We got a lot of NBA to get to today. All right. A lot of fun stuff happening. We'll do a little. We'll get Cody's thoughts on the draft. All right. The NFL draft is in the books. That's right. He watched all seven rounds. Every single pick.

[Ira Winderman]

Every single pick.

[Greg Cote]

Can I say something about the NFL? The one thing that they get right, they have two tent pole events. One's in February, one's in April, the February event. They have said, hey, New Orleans, Miami, Phoenix, L.A. houston, maybe San Francisco. Right. If you're not one of those places, you need not apply. Now, the April event, everyone, let's go to Pittsburgh. Let's go to all these corny cities

[Dan Le Batard]

that they were in Green Bay last year.

[Greg Cote]

Absolutely. Because the weather's awesome now. And that's how you do it. And I look at the NBA and say, why can't we do this? Why can't we have our all star weekend in the fun places? And then Detroit wants to host something. Give them the draft. Give Minnesota the draft. Yo, like all. You get to have your, your, your whole event. But the other thing that struck me as amazing about the NFL draft, which I did not watch a single second of, not even, not even on accident.

[Dan Le Batard]

You didn't watch our, our draft watch on Thursday night. We did a great show. I didn't watch either.

[Ira Winderman]

I was watching the Sabres game.

[Dan Le Batard]

We did a good show here, Roy.

[Ira Winderman]

I was literally watching the Sabres game on my laptop.

[Greg Cote]

The. It's staggering to me that that many people would come out to stand in a massive park.

[Dan Le Batard]

They said there were 300,000 people.

[Greg Cote]

I believe it. I believe that. But like, they look like Lollapalooza. But to listen, the names just get read.

[Dan Le Batard]

I know.

[Ira Winderman]

Crazy.

[Greg Cote]

That's.

[Dan Le Batard]

It seems miserable to just stand there, just stand there. And then next, by the, and by the way, you know, it's a sausage party. All right. So squeezed up against a bunch of other dudes.

[Ira Winderman]

And they were there for all three days. The three day attendance supposedly was 805,000 people watching, names being called, names they've never heard of. After the first round, if you're cheering for the guy that your team picked with a, you know, 214th pick in the sixth round, you're, you're lying. You're. You're giving your team the benefit of that. You've never heard of that guy, never seen him play.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can I tell you my favorite part? You know you're saying what the NFL does, right. Compared to what the NBA does, right. I'm going to give you another part that the NFL does, right. That the NBA can't seem to get right. And I think I know the answer why the NBA can't get it right.

[Ira Winderman]

Players.

[Greg Cote]

What?

[Dan Le Batard]

So at the NBA draft, you got trades that are made.

[Greg Cote]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

And the players, like the trades can't become official. So all the players are wearing the hat of a team that had them like three trades ago. And in the NFL, they make a trade, they push that shit Right through a trade happens. All right, we got a trade. This team now has this pick. This team has this big. Everybody puts on the right hat. Why can't the NBA get that right?

[Greg Cote]

Because they're lawyers, man. Lawyers say, oh, it's a hat. It's not consummated. You can't do it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Why is it okay for the NFL?

[Greg Cote]

I don't know. They don't have lawyers, I guess two

[Dan Le Batard]

teams get together, they say, we're trading picks. The commissioner says, all right, done deal in the NBA takes three weeks.

[Greg Cote]

Because a lot of times it's, hey, this deal is contingent on July 1st happening and the new salaries kicking in. Because you're not just trading players. You got to make salaries match. So the trade cannot be official. But here's a little secret. They will often have the kid wear the hat and take the picture behind the scenes. So even though you see him when he's walking around on tv, he's wearing the wrong hat.

[Dan Le Batard]

But it's like we all know that the pick was traded and then Malika Andrews is interviewing him. Talk about the team you were just drafted by who you know you're not going to play for, Right?

[Greg Cote]

Yeah. Well, hey, man, lawyers.

[Dan Le Batard]

What can I say that the NFL gets right? That's my favorite part of the NFL draft.

[Ira Winderman]

Are you kidding me?

[Amin Elhassan]

The.

[Ira Winderman]

The. The draft has, has. Is the off season Super Bowl. I mean, it's in. In its way. The first round of the draft to me is as big as the super bowl because the super bowl in intimately involves two franchises, but the Super Bowl's

[Dan Le Batard]

a little bit bigger.

[Ira Winderman]

Yeah, but think about it this way. The super bowl involves two franchises. Really. The draft involves every team and it's the hope funnel.

[Greg Cote]

There you go. Because we're all undefeated and this is going to be the guy or group of guys that are going to change our fortune. And that happens a lot more often in NFL where you have a good draft and then you become a really good team the very next year.

[Ira Winderman]

Imagine being a Raiders fan right now. A downtrodden Raiders fan.

[Greg Cote]

Is there another?

[Ira Winderman]

Tom Brady is one of our owners now we have the number one pick. Mendoza is going to make us win. I mean, you know, it's traffic's in hope, which is what all fans want. And only once a year do they really get that. And that's in the draft.

[Amin Elhassan]

I'm picturing at the draft, like a drug dealer esque guy, like walking around

[Greg Cote]

like, hey, I got some. I got hope that hope. I got that good hope Trench coat is he wearing a trench coat? Does he open it up like. I got that?

[Dan Le Batard]

Hope has. Has everyone calm down about the Dolphins first round?

[Ira Winderman]

Yes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Ira Winderman]

Oh, yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Because I haven't.

[Ira Winderman]

I have.

[Amin Elhassan]

I feel like our show was way too extreme on that.

[Ira Winderman]

Yeah, I know. I was a part of that.

[Amin Elhassan]

We had our expert. I feel like our expert, Brooks Austin, like just saying before the draft that this is the one guy I'm out on. I feel like that just gave us the on ramp. I'm not saying that some people aren't criticizing the pick. There were some offensive linemen still available.

[Dan Le Batard]

Saban contributed, too.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yes. But even in that Saban clip, he's saying it's manageable. I don't know. I just think talking to other Dolphins fans, leaving our bubble, I do feel like we were a little hard on the pick.

[Ira Winderman]

I could not agree more. I think LeBatard went overboard. I went overboard because I wanted them to take Reuben Bane. And I still think, even though Bane didn't go until 15, I still think Reuben Bain would have been a good pick for the Dolphins. But, yeah, I. In a column I wrote online yesterday, in today's print for the Miami Herald, I basically apologized. I basically said, what? No, I.

[Greg Cote]

You apologized?

[Ira Winderman]

Yeah. And I do that occasionally in print.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Ira Winderman]

I still think, you know, they should have traded Marino back in 90, whatever. But for this, I apologize because I overreacted, like most fans against Proctor because he wasn't Bane. And when I look at it now, anecdotal evidence, Mel Kuiper Jr. Mr. Mock had him going 12th, exactly where he went. So Kuiper thought it was a good pick. He graded the Dolphins draft a B as an above average. I think Kayden Proctor is going to be a great offensive lineman. And whether it's at right tackle or right guard, I think he's going to be a real pillar for that offensive line.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't take back the way that I felt on Thursday night about the pick because I think my. Now, look, I have no idea if Kayden Proctor is going to be any good. I hope he is good, but I still think my overall point stands. Where this say pick, it seems very boom or bust. Like he. He may be incredible because he has the talent, but it's the work ethic. You know, it's those questions, it's the weight, that kind of deal. I mean, Nick Saban called him a guy who does not motivate himself. And my overall point is not whether or not he's going to be a great player or not, but it's if you're a brand new regime, I don't want the very first draft pick you make, which. Which we want to look back and say, this guy was the foundation. This was the first guy that we said, hey, you are our very first building block. I don't want that guy to have any questions.

[Amin Elhassan]

And the way the Lions took Penn A. Sewell a few years ago was like the first pick for that or like that regime, and they turn like that.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's a no brainer. He was a no brainer. I don't want that guy to have questions, and I definitely don't want the overriding question to be, does he have good work ethic?

[Commercial Voice]

Hey, Roy, buddy.

[Ira Winderman]

Yo.

[Commercial Voice]

You know that energy shift when the game gets good and everybody all together in unison knows to stand up on their feet?

[Ira Winderman]

Oh, absolutely.

[Commercial Voice]

Mike.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Commercial Voice]

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[Ira Winderman]

Oh, delicious.

[Commercial Voice]

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[Amin Elhassan]

Ah, folks, listen up. Let's talk about moms. Our madres. Could be your mom, could be a grandma, could be a stepmom. Whoever filled that role for you, what's the one thing that she does that nobody else does? Like the oddly specific way she texts and how she knows you're lying before you even finish that sentence. That's the good stuff. That's the she deserves way more than this type stuff. And yeah, flowers are the go to on Mother's Day, but not all flowers hit the same. That's why I like 1, 800 flowers. They've been doing it for over 50 years, so they've got it down pat. The bouquet shows up fresh, full, not sad, and half alive, like some of these last minute gas station situations. And right now, this is big. You order one dozen roses, they double it to two dozen for free, which makes it seem like you planned ahead when you probably didn't. And trust me, I've used them before. The box shows up, you open it, it smells legit. Looks great. It's one of those pat yourself on the back. I Did a good job here. Type situations. Mother's day is Sunday, May 10, and the bouquets are selling out fast. Trust me. Do not wait to claim your double roses offer before they're gone. Visit 1-800-flowers.com dan that's 1-800-flowers.Com dan 1-800flowers.com dan hello friends.

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[Dan Le Batard]

Don LeBatard all right, we gotta go back out there.

[Amin Elhassan]

That was big.

[Ira Winderman]

Wake him up.

[Greg Cote]

Uh oh, he doesn't want. He doesn't want to be bothered anymore. Now it's getting tense because he didn't need to that as a result, he needs something. That happens.

[Amin Elhassan]

You can see Mother effing. Can we bother? Are we bothering you right now.

[Ira Winderman]

Turn on your microphone. My microphone's on st.

[Amin Elhassan]

Paint the scene.

[Ira Winderman]

The paint the scene is. I gotta go to work. Good night.

[Stugats]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats.

[Ira Winderman]

I know, but. But here's the thing. Everybody has a question, and that starts at the top. You know, a lot of people think that Mendoza is just the best quarterback in a bad quarterback draft. I don't think anybody thinks he's going to be the next Brady. Ruben Bane has the whole short arm thing where in the NFL this matters a lot. His arm span is 2, 3 inches shorter than average. And that's a big deal to some people. So I think whoever you draft, no matter where, there's going to be some questions about him. Caden Proctor is a physical specimen who's quick for his size. He's quick coming out of his stance, which is huge. And to me, you can, you can teach motivation a little bit. You know, if he was overweight in college or whatever. If I'm the new Dolphin regime, if I'm Jeff Halfley, I'm like, I'm going to coach that out of him. This guy's going to be a worker. And that's the way you have to think. If he's perfect, he probably goes top 5 instead of 12.

[Dan Le Batard]

If you didn't see the clip that I'm referencing from Thursday, this was Nick Saban. Here is Saban talking about Kaden Proctor. Of course, he recruited and coached his freshman year.

[Nick Saban (clip)]

Now, the issue with him is he's not a bad person. He'll do whatever you ask him to do once you get him in the building, but when he's not in the building, he might get a little overweight, he might not come in in the best shape. And those are the kind of things you got to manage with him, but I think they're manageable. In other words, he's not really a self starter that's going to go out there and, you know, get in great shape and come to camp like you want him. But if you can get him to come to camp, if you got him there and get him ready to go.

[Amin Elhassan]

I feel like it's worth noting that Saban only had this guy for one year when he was 18 years old,

[Greg Cote]

not even 18, because he's still 20.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, but I'd also like to point out to that effect because I saw that, you know, being said over the weekend and obviously that's a fair point. Let's not pretend like Saban is not around there in Tuscaloosa. Still lives there. He's there. He's still really connected to the program.

[Greg Cote]

So to Greg's point of can you teach motivation? A lot of times when you go to pre draft, you're asking these questions. You want to know what kind of player the guy is. Not so much like, oh, we only want guys like this. It's just I need to know how. How do I need to coach you? There's some guys that, that are self start or self motivated. I don't have to say much. There are other guys, I got to be on their ass. But I know that if I'm on his ass and he performs, then that's fine. I just need to know that going in. And I think that's what a lot of this is about. But I do want to point out something else from that video. The guys in the background. If we play that video again of Saban talking, take a look at the guys in the background over there. These guys right here. MVPs.

[Nick Saban (clip)]

Now, the issue with him is he's not a bad person. He'll do whatever you.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, is he doing the Ronaldo?

[Nick Saban (clip)]

Get him in the building. But when he's not in the building, he might get a little overweight. He might.

[Greg Cote]

They know where they are.

[Nick Saban (clip)]

Kind of things you got to manage with him. But I think they're manageable.

[Greg Cote]

Keep looking, keep looking. I know it's a little smaller now

[Dan Le Batard]

for the, for the audio audience, the construction workers over Nick Saban's shoulder here, it looked like one of them did the Ronaldo soccer celebration and the other one is doing some type of celebration.

[Greg Cote]

They're putting on a show, baby. They know there's a TV on and there's a tv, TV camera on. And they're like, hey, man, we gotta perform. This is our one chance.

[Dan Le Batard]

So you now seeing Greg, the entire Dolphins draft. I will tell. And I'll tell you, by the way, I didn't like what happened in the first round. I didn't even like the way they went about acquiring Chris Johnson at the end of the first round. Like, I didn't like the idea of giving up a third round pick to move up those three spots. I will tell you the other picks, like, as far as positions that they addressed, I thought they did a really nice job.

[Ira Winderman]

They did. They. They had 13 picks, the most in the league. They covered eight different positions of need. And believe me, the Dolphins had led the league in positions of need. And they did that with eight different positions taken care of, or at least with two or three picks in Each. So Chris Johnson I think is, is a great lower first round pick. He would have been a first round pick without question if he wasn't coming off ACL surgery, which you have to figure the Dolphins vetted that and think he's fully recovered or will be by camp. One more thing about Kaden Proctor, you alluded to it, I mean, 20 years old, he's going to be 21 and 2.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's really young to the NFL.

[Ira Winderman]

That's a plus though.

[Dan Le Batard]

Really young.

[Ira Winderman]

That's a plus because nowadays sometimes you're drafting a 24 year old. I think it's a real plus that he's still so young, but which means he's more of a gigantic piece of clay that you can shape a little bit mentally and physically. I just think. And you know, Kuiper had him 12th. I had picked Francis Mauinoa to go 11th to the dolphins. So I wanted them to draft an offensive lineman. And I think if Mauinoa was there at 12, maybe they would have taken him instead of traded down one to get Proctor. I don't know. I'm giving myself the benefit of the doubt on that.

[Amin Elhassan]

The only head scratcher outside of Proctor, which I in hindsight, I'm not calling it a head scratcher. I'm calling it slightly questionable, not a head scratcher. The only other head scratcher was in the third round taking a tight end that they're like, this guy only blocks like Julian Hill 2.0. Outside of that, I love like the linebackers. They got Jacob, Jacob Rodriguez. If we could throw that photo.

[Dan Le Batard]

I like that dude. I, I just, I don't know. I look at him. That guy looks like he's gonna be a good player.

[Greg Cote]

That's not a current photo.

[Amin Elhassan]

That's an all time neck right there. Look at that thing.

[Dan Le Batard]

Great stash. Thomas is a mentor of his. I'm in.

[Guest or Contributor]

That's a great linebacker. Just based off the photo. Just based off the width of his

[Dan Le Batard]

neck, he's going to be good.

[Amin Elhassan]

I could look at that neck all day. But that was not a need for the Dolphins. If the Dolphins had any strength going into this draft, it was kind of linebacker. They had two solid ones.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassan]

So I just like best player available as opposed to let me take a corner because we need corners. What are you laughing at?

[Guest or Contributor]

I could look at that neck all day.

[Amin Elhassan]

Oh, that's it.

[Greg Cote]

I mean I could.

[Amin Elhassan]

I stand by that.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a good neck.

[Amin Elhassan]

Put that neck up there again, the Audi neck. Let him mean see that. Let him drink it in.

[Ira Winderman]

Yeah, it's a Pro bowl neck.

[Greg Cote]

It's. It's not just wide.

[Dan Le Batard]

And we don't get a lot of Rodriguez's either. I like it.

[Greg Cote]

It's also long, dude.

[Amin Elhassan]

Thank you.

[Greg Cote]

His head is so much higher than his shoulder.

[Amin Elhassan]

I know, so is mine.

[Greg Cote]

Are you.

[Amin Elhassan]

I'm excited.

[Ira Winderman]

He does have a long neck. Yeah, man, like a bottle of beer, that guy.

[Greg Cote]

It's a little trubisky esque.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, that's a strong neck right there. Like that guy can sustain a hit. He's going to be all right. So that was the Dolphins draft this weekend. Got kind of a big day today, or at least maybe an interesting day here.

[Greg Cote]

Still going?

[Dan Le Batard]

No, no, no, no, no. That's done with. All right. But we're looking ahead to another draft now. Right across the street at 1pm Eastern time today is Pat Riley's annual season ending press conference. Amin, you're going to walk on over there or will you Uber? You'll walk.

[Greg Cote]

You know what, I believe in the environment, so I'm going to. Way more over there.

[Ira Winderman]

Steps in.

[Dan Le Batard]

So Amin is going to Waymo across the street to Kaseya Center, 1pm Eastern today, Pat Riley's season ending press conference. Are you the type, like, will you ask any questions?

[Greg Cote]

No, I'm a listener. Like it's got to be something egregious or I've got to be working on something. So I asked Adam Silver a question in a press conference at All Star Weekend this past.

[Dan Le Batard]

All Star?

[Greg Cote]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

What'd he ask?

[Greg Cote]

I asked him. Well, cuz I knew if I said if I kind of said anything with aspiration or clippers. And he said, well, the investigation's still going on. So what I asked was how to what degree are you beholden to the collective bargaining agreement in terms of meting out punishment? Meaning are there any tools that you can use that allow you to go above and beyond. And he was like, no, strictly the collective bargain agreement. But then a bunch of people told me afterwards that's not totally true.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, he can do more.

[Greg Cote]

He can absolutely do more. But yeah, so like, obviously it depends on what Pat says. Like if he says something that is salacious in some way, I might have to ask a question. But for the most point, the questions are the questions everyone knows. What are the main questions everyone wants to ask. So someone's got the Greg Cody's of the world, Ira Winderman's, they're going to ask the question. I don't need to ask the question.

[Dan Le Batard]

If, if you. Now you're still debating whether or not you're going to go, right, Greg?

[Ira Winderman]

Yeah, yeah, I think I will.

[Amin Elhassan]

I mean, whether that you sounded like you weren't before the show debating.

[Ira Winderman]

I didn't know. Sometimes we don't get out of here until see how he feels.

[Amin Elhassan]

If I can let people in behind the curtain. Greg basically was like, I'll go if I feel like he might retire.

[Ira Winderman]

Well, no, no, here's the thing. If it's okay, I'm not scheduled to write a column today. If news comes out of this, I would write it. God knows if. If he suddenly retires, obviously I'm going to write it. If he says something newsworthy, I might write a column that I'm not scheduled to write. But if it's just, oh, we got to be better. If that's the whole theme, it's. It's not newsworthy to me.

[Greg Cote]

Greg, can I be completely honest? The reason I'm going to. Is if this is the day he retires.

[Dan Le Batard]

You think that's actually possible?

[Guest or Contributor]

I'm sorry, what?

[Dan Le Batard]

That's not gonna happen.

[Guest or Contributor]

I hadn't considered this at all.

[Greg Cote]

I'm just saying.

[Guest or Contributor]

You're telling me that in less than four hours, my entire life could change?

[Greg Cote]

I mean, pretty much it could. I'm not saying he is now. I don't know anything. I haven't thought that anybody. I don't know anything. But I'm just saying, like, by way of example, two weeks ago, I'm at the Suns warriors playing game. And that's the game. Remember I said on the show, I said it was like the 27 Yankees of reporters there. Marcus Thompson and Kawagami and Wright, Thompson and Jay Adande. And Wright's there because he's doing, I believe, a profile on Steve Kerr, Marcus and Tim Kawakami. Although big deals, they're still kind of warriors guys, as is Slater and all these other guys. So I asked Adante, why are you here? And Jay said, if this is the end, I wanted to. I wanted to be in that room and hear those guys talk. And by the way, they all absolutely spoke like, this is the end. So I walked away from that press conference thinking to myself, oh, my God, first of all, Raymond Ritter let him talk. Each guy went about 20, 25 minutes, which you never see in a postgame presser. So with that in mind, you want

[Dan Le Batard]

to put a percentage on it?

[Greg Cote]

No, I don't, because it's not. It's not my prediction. It's just there's a chance it could happen, and if that. That Chance happens and I'm in town, I want to be in that room.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, you know, with you saying that and I, I think it's an incredibly slim chance that it happens.

[Greg Cote]

Sure.

[Dan Le Batard]

But it is a little bit weird that it's been kind of a story on online over the last couple of days. Who's in charge of the Miami Heat.

[Greg Cote]

That's not real.

[Dan Le Batard]

What's not real?

[Greg Cote]

That story that you're saying that's not real.

[Dan Le Batard]

What do you mean?

[Greg Cote]

Like that was someone basically either misquoted or just fabricated.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, I understand. But, but, but for whatever the reason is because it was misquoted or fabricated or whatever, it's been like a thing that's been talked about over the last couple of days. Who is actually in charge of the Miami Heat?

[Greg Cote]

I don't think there's any question who's in charge. But the idea. Yeah, Nick Harrison.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think the part that people are confused about or some people didn't realize over these last couple of days and is that Nick Arison is the boss. Okay, he is the boss and he's been the boss for a rather long time now. But because the Arisons never talk.

[Greg Cote]

Right.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's something. Wait, what are you talking. Pat Riley is not in charge? No. Like the CEO of the team is in charge.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Dan Le Batard]

people are searching for exactly what you've got.

[Ira Winderman]

You once paid a small fortune for

[Commercial Voice]

them at merch stands. Now a teenager who calls them vintage

[Dan Le Batard]

will offer that same small fortune back.

[Commercial Voice]

Sell them easily on Depop. Just snap a few photos and we'll

[Ira Winderman]

take care of the rest.

[Amin Elhassan]

Who knew your questionable music taste would

[Commercial Voice]

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[Ira Winderman]

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[Amin Elhassan]

Start selling on Depop where taste recognizes taste.

[Stugats]

Don LeBatard all these high paid analysts, I don't want to mention names. Tnt, espn, you know, oh yeah, they are dead. They cannot, they're not going to make it. You know, even if they're winning, if they lose in Miami, I need to calm you down. That's right, they lose in Miami, they don't get a chance in Boston or they are going to have their ass. You know what, in Boston, you know, Stugats, they were wrong. Are they going to lose their job?

[Greg Cote]

No.

[Stugats]

Are they going to get a cutting page? No. What are they going to do? Keep predicting what is the obvious. They are going to say, oh, the Nuggets are going to win. Oh, Denver, the attitude. And you know what? The Heat are going to win it all. This is the Dan lebatar show with the Stugats.

[Greg Cote]

So to that point though, about Pat Riley and Pat Riley, Pat always been a very blunt, direct guy. Right. We'll tell people what it is. Players will have these press conferences. You guys remember, you want to tweet something, tweet that and hit the table. That was in one of these season ending press conferences. I was having this conversation actually last night. When Pat Riley leaves, whether it's today or 10 years from now, who is remaining in the front office level that tells it like it is? We've got some straight shooter coaches for sure. We've got some owners that will just blab away, usually out of ignorance. But in terms of front office people, it's all these kid gloves kind of guys all across the league like Pat's the last of the Mohicans in that way. And I was just trying to Think like, who is it? Who's that guy? I don't know.

[Dan Le Batard]

And for people who think Eric Spalster is going to be that guy. Eric Spoelser is not transitioning the only front office the way Brad Stevens did it. Certainly not while he's head coach of USA Basketball.

[Greg Cote]

Right. I mean, I. Look, I think that's the eventual succession

[Dan Le Batard]

plan, but it's not soon.

[Greg Cote]

But it's not yet.

[Ira Winderman]

I could see that happening, though.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I think it will happen, but it's not soon.

[Ira Winderman]

Right. I hope Riley, and I do give him credit for being blunt and honest. I hope he sets a tone that I'm embarrassed by four straight years in the play in we're not good enough. We have to make significant improvement. If that means significant change, we're going to swing for the fences.

[Dan Le Batard]

Here's the problem that I would add real quick with that, like, and I would like Riley to say that also that I'm embarrassed with four straight playing appearances. But if he feels that way and he is embarrassed by four straight playoff appearance playing appearances, he wasn't embarrassed after three straight playing appearances, like, because he didn't. He didn't have that attitude a year ago.

[Guest or Contributor]

I can tell you what that was in the press conference, like, what their arguments were. Their argument was the first year they made the finals, the second year Jimmy got hurt in the play in and their entire team was hurt. And then last year, Jimmy tanked the season. So this year you're.

[Dan Le Batard]

So we're going to go the excuse route.

[Guest or Contributor]

Well, I'm telling you what the press conferences were the last three years. Each of those years, one of them, they went to the Finals. The other two they found legitimate in their minds, legitimate excuses for why that was the case. Now going into this year, they revamped so much of what they were doing offensively. They thought things were going to go a certain direction. I think they thought they were going to get Giannis at the deadline. And now we end up in this situation and you're looking at a conglomerate of four years that looking back, look different in that rear view.

[Ira Winderman]

When you look at the way the last playoffs ended for Miami, I don't think there's any excuse for being blown up by 40 and 50 points in a playoff game. If that doesn't slap you in the face and say we're not good enough to compete in an improved east, we need to make significant change. That's why they swung hard for Giannis and might still get him this summer, who knows? But they need to, you know, they have some nice pieces. They have a couple of all stars. Bam's great. But collectively, they're not good enough. And they got so much better on offense at the expense of defense. They weren't a complete team.

[Greg Cote]

I think we got doing this argument again where the assumption when you say that is that they had a chance to get better and they're like, no, no, we're fine. The only argument to be made is, do you press the red button? That's the only legitimate fan argument there is. Hey, it's time to hit the red button. Blow it all up. Win 12 games next year, build all the way up.

[Amin Elhassan]

The same as the panic button.

[Greg Cote]

For those wondering, yeah, yeah, the red button. It's the red button.

[Dan Le Batard]

The red button is never a positive. Everyone understands that nuclear option.

[Amin Elhassan]

But I just feel like I thought more commonly said is the panic button.

[Greg Cote]

No, it's the red button, but the

[Ira Winderman]

panic button's always red.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think panic is everyone knows. Put it on the poll, Juju. Does everyone know that the red button is the panic button?

[Greg Cote]

So that's the only argument. But whenever people say, I can't believe they didn't get a superstar, but yeah, no, they. Of course they wanted to. They tried. But there's this thing called a trade, meaning there's another party, right?

[Dan Le Batard]

You're not turning off computer assistance on NBA 2K. Here is my problem, though, with that, okay? And in general, I agree with you, Amin. Okay? Because Pat Riley's greatest strength over the years when it came to improving this team was being able to get in a room with the free agent and talk to them about the Miami Heat and convince them this is where you should go. But now, because the way the league operates and the way team building goes, free agency is every single year. Trades are how to acquire players. Big stars don't hit free agency anymore. And so now being able to convince a player to come to Miami is not everything. It's one thing. The other thing is convincing the team they currently play for to trade him to you. So that's been a huge detriment to what always worked for Pat rally over the years. But my main problem with the Heat and not being able to pull off trades over the last few years, and this has essentially always been the Heat's attitude, they're really stubborn when it comes to stuff like this. And what I mean by that is they don't make trades unless it's on their terms. It's like, this is what we're willing to offer. We will not go any further all right. Like, it's almost like they don't want. It can only hurt you, the trade. It will not hurt us. Like, sometimes it's okay for both teams to feel good about the trade. And I feel like the Heater always, no, no, no. This is, this is the price. We're not giving anything else. And sometimes I think maybe it has

[Greg Cote]

to hurt a little example of that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Any of these deals that, that haven't happened over the, over the last years. This is the offer. You know, I, and, and you see these other smaller moves that are being made. I know we always like to go back to the Pacers and Pascal Siakam and, and those kind of smaller moves, you know, But I, I just, and maybe, maybe I'm wrong with this assumption. Assumption. Maybe I am. But it does strike me as, this is our offer. This is what we think the player is worth. We're not going above this. And I think sometimes maybe it's okay to go above that if you really want to get the guy.

[Ira Winderman]

I think a large reality that everybody has to deal with is that whatever Heat culture means, part of that is we ain't going to tank. We're not going to join the Tank battalion. We're going to be as good as we can be. Whether that's three games over.500 or four under. We're going to be stuck right in the middle. We're going to play hard, we're not going to tank and we're going to, come what may in the draft, we're going to pick 13th, you know, and if they tank and the Dolphins have the same problem across town, the Dolphins are always stuck in the middle, you know, getting that mid round pick. And this is what happens. I'm not a Tanking fan, but if you want to get a Wimby or a flag or anybody else who's a difference maker, you pretty much have to like, right? They're stuck.

[Greg Cote]

That's been my, you know, a few weeks ago when I got in a shouting match with Mike, it was like, that's my point. It's like Mike's idea is, oh, they could have gotten so and so, and they didn't because they thought their team was going to. No, Mike, that's never the case. They don't have a superstar here. It's because they could not acquire him because you are dealing with another team. Talk about Damian Lillard a few years back, like the Blazers, literally, to spite, out of spite, they didn't send them here. So there's, there's a level of not now.

[Dan Le Batard]

Hold on, I'll. I'll get. I'll use that as an example, too. Yes, of course. Like, Joe Cronin was being a total dickhead and wouldn't work with the Miami Heat.

[Greg Cote]

Right.

[Dan Le Batard]

And. And true or false, as a result of that, the Heat essentially were sitting back and, and waiting instead of maybe being aggressive and reaching out like, hey, we'll do this, we'll do this. It was like, he doesn't want to talk to us. I guess there's nothing we could do.

[Greg Cote]

But, I mean, I think they did that. And he wouldn't talk to him.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay.

[Greg Cote]

Because whether it was ownership or him or whoever was the case, they felt that there was some sort of manipulation happening to get Dame here, and as a result, they wouldn't even entertain it. And they just search high and low for any other deal. But absent something like that, like I said, just they don't. These deals just don't happen. Like, there's zillions of trades.

[Dan Le Batard]

I know it's hard.

[Greg Cote]

Discussed every season that never go anywhere and never get leaked or anything, because that's this. That's this game. The only thing you can criticize them for is not hitting the red button. That, that, that and that. It's a red button. And then that is because they philosophically refuse to tame. Right. Which is, by the way, they're not the only ones. Indiana's like that. It just so happened everybody got hurt, and so the only logical play for them. But this idea that somehow Anthony Edwards was available in the heat, we're like, I don't know. I really like Khalil Ware. That's not happening. You don't think they want Giannis? And that's the other part. If they end up getting Giannis after all of this, is everything forgiven? Then all you guys have been yelling with pitchforks. Now all of a sudden, oh, they got Yanis. Never mind.

[Ira Winderman]

Well, the trades and the whale hunting and Giannis. Now, that's only because they know they can't fix it in the draft. I mean, they have no choice but to be big in the summer in free agency, right? They have no choice because they know they're going to be too good to get a high draft pick. So the only alternative is for Pat Riley to go whale hunting again and to try to make a big splash. And that's tough to do. As we've seen the past five, six

[Dan Le Batard]

years, you have splash. One question above all others that you're able to ask Pat Riley today, it's what? One question the one question you need answered from Pat Riley today.

[Ira Winderman]

What is the imperative this summer to get Giannis or whomever?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, he's not going to comment about a specific player.

[Ira Winderman]

No, no, you're right. But it's to ask the question. It's obvious who we mean. A difference making superstar, you know, how willing are you to really break up this entire team and do what you need to get the superstar you've missed? I always questioned whether Jimmy Butler was a superstar. I always thought he was a second level superstar. Giannis, even as his age is not second level. He's still top level.

[Dan Le Batard]

I just don't want to hear we like our team again.

[Ira Winderman]

I know, exactly.

[Greg Cote]

We hate our team.

[Dan Le Batard]

Never said that.

[Commercial Voice]

Sports fans. All the sports are coming together. It's a great time to just sit on your couch, text your friend, hey, come over, let's watch the games. And when I do that to my friends, guess what? They text me back. I got the Miller Lights. That's right. They pick up Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer and they come over to my place, we take that first sip and we realize, man, we just made a regular old fashioned night into a special night. Thank you, Miller Light. And shortly thereafter, we got multiple screens on. Everybody's dialed into something different and the whole night just keeps building and building and building. That's why I reached for Miller Light. It can take an ordinary night and take it to an extraordinary place. It's clean, refreshing, easy to drink, brewed for taste, with simple ingredients, just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original light beer since 1975 and still hittin different cheers to legendary moments where with Miller Lite great taste. 96 calories. 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 Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.