The Big Suey: The "Palpable Dread" Around Jimmy Butler

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Big Suey: The "Palpable Dread" Around Jimmy Butler

Episode Details:

• Title: The Big Suey: The "Palpable Dread" Around Jimmy Butler
• Podcast: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
• Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Billy Corben, Amin Elhassan, Chris Cote, Jeremy Tashay, Mike Ryan, Hawk, and guest Kevin Love
• Release Date: January 17, 2025
• Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

---

Introduction

In this episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, the hosts delve deep into the emerging tensions surrounding Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler. Titled "The Big Suey: The 'Palpable Dread' Around Jimmy Butler," the discussion explores the complexities of Butler's relationship with the team, management, and teammates, highlighting a potential fracture within the franchise.

---

Background on Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat

The conversation begins with a brief overview of Jimmy Butler's pivotal role in the Miami Heat's success over the past six years. Butler has been instrumental in leading the team to multiple Finals appearances, becoming the face of the franchise and a fan favorite.

Notable Quote:

• Dan LeBatard [12:41]: "While Heat sources say they expect Butler to return Friday against the Nuggets and are fully prepared for him to play, there remains a palpable dread at what he might do and the environment the ongoing chaos might create."

---

Recent Tensions and Reports

A significant portion of the episode focuses on recent reports of strained relations between Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat organization. Hosts reference an article by Ramona Shelburne, which details Butler's alleged actions during the 2023 Finals, including staying 30 miles away from the team and the subsequent weariness expressed by teammates and staff.

Notable Quotes:

• Dan LeBatard [12:41]: "I don't know how he can come back to this locker room, one source close to the team said."
• Chris Cote [13:21]: "Jimmy Buckets ain't just gonna stand there in the corner and y'all, he's 35 no, he ain't getting any younger."

---

Team Dynamics and Management

The hosts explore the dynamics between Butler and the Miami Heat's management, particularly focusing on Pat Riley's leadership style. They compare the current situation to past team unity efforts led by veterans like Kevin Love, who have played roles in maintaining harmony within the locker room.

Notable Quotes:

• Amin Elhassan [16:29]: "Riley is Belichick, the whole thing. Patriot way, Heat Way. Fifteen years of LeBron. You come here to learn."
• Billy Corben [14:29]: "Earlier, when the Cavs added Richard Jefferson via trade, those guys sent memes and lightened the mood, which helped the team bond."

---

Kevin Love’s Role in Mediating Tensions

Kevin Love is highlighted as a key figure attempting to bridge gaps between veterans and younger players. His efforts to keep the locker room cohesive are contrasted with Butler's purported disruptions.

Notable Quote:

• Dan LeBatard [13:21]: "This is what I'm talking about. Because in another era, those guys would have picked up the phone and told him, 'Yo, go after yourself.'"

---

The Palpable Dread and Potential Implications

The term "palpable dread" is used repeatedly to describe the atmosphere within the team due to the Butler situation. The hosts speculate on the potential fallout, including Butler's impact on upcoming games and the overall morale of the Miami Heat.

Notable Quotes:

• Chris Cote [15:02]: "If you've got a guy coming in and we're arguing about money and shots and minutes, and he's willing to embarrass your franchise."
• Amin Elhassan [30:41]: "The guy who's not afraid of conflict, and now he's walking into Bam. Adebayo and Tyler Herro's locker room."

---

The Suspension and Butler’s Response

Discussion turns to Butler's recent suspension and his response to it. While the Miami Heat and the NBA have taken definitive stances, Butler's reactions—or lack thereof—are scrutinized, suggesting a hardened position rather than contrition.

Notable Quotes:

• Dan LeBatard [34:07]: "Butler, source sources close to him said he was furious at the length of the suspension."
• Billy Corben [34:24]: "But that's Jimmy, right? That's also Jimmy. Like, oh, you think this is gonna hurt me. I'm gonna serve coffee and have fun."

---

The Future of the Miami Heat

As the episode progresses, hosts ponder the future trajectory of the Miami Heat in light of the Butler controversy. They discuss the potential for organizational change, the role of management, and how this may affect the team's performance and reputation.

Notable Quotes:

• Amin Elhassan [16:29]: "Organizations win championships. Jerry Krause, that stuff."
• Jeremy Tashay [27:52]: "What do you mean? You break my heart. Like, I will say, that's the weakest I've ever seen Pat Riley embarrass like that in public."

---

Theoretical Scenarios and Speculations

The hosts engage in speculative scenarios about how the tensions might escalate, including potential trades, internal conflicts, and the broader implications for player empowerment within the NBA.

Notable Quotes:

• Amin Elhassan [25:45]: "Jimmy Butler, if he's going to escalate things now, I mean, has the possibility of making a real giant mess."
• Chris Cote [27:25]: "The starting point is the three guys on a stage marching around."

---

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In wrapping up the discussion, the hosts reflect on the historical context of player-management relationships within the NBA and the unique challenges posed by the Butler situation. They emphasize the significance of leadership and the delicate balance required to maintain team unity amidst individual conflicts.

Notable Quotes:

• Billy Corben [29:22]: "Jimmy Butler is a throwback to a time when guys just, like, were just assholes to each other, and everyone just dealt with it."
• Amin Elhassan [31:27]: "If you have crossroads of conflict, the guy who's not afraid of conflict is walking into a military complex of 'It's us against them.'"

---

Key Takeaways

• Jimmy Butler's Strained Relationship: Reports indicate significant tensions between Butler and the Miami Heat organization, raising concerns about team cohesion.
• Leadership Challenges: Pat Riley's management style is under scrutiny as the team grapples with internal conflicts.
• Role of Veterans: Kevin Love is highlighted as a mediator attempting to maintain harmony within the locker room.
• Potential Fallout: The situation could have far-reaching implications for the Miami Heat's future performance and organizational stability.
• Player Empowerment Dynamics: Butler's actions reflect the evolving dynamics of player empowerment and its impact on traditional team structures.

---

This episode provides an in-depth analysis of the precarious situation surrounding Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, offering listeners a comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved and the potential ramifications for one of the NBA's prominent franchises.

Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network.

[Stugotz]

Stugach. I want to tell you a story. I'm serious here. My wife and my two daughters, they begged me to buy a peloton. So I bought a peloton and then I watched that peloton sit in my office and stare at me. So you know what I did one day? I looked at it and so I decided to get off my ass and I jumped on the peloton because no one else was using it and I paid for it. I mean, so why not? Then I realized eventually that they bought it for me. And I got to tell you, way more challenging than I could have ever imagined. Peloton coaches are walking the walk. I love the coaches. I do the Grateful Dead one. It's fantastic. They have a sub three hour marathon runner, military trained athlete, a former college basketball player, and so many other well rounded coaches on their team. All this experience really shows in their classes, which are never short of challenging, especially for me. So I jumped on it that first time. It was challenging, more challenging than I thought. And then I wanted to beat the bike and so I kept jumping on it. And I absolutely love it. I mean I'm the only one who uses it, but again, they got it for me. I mean I had no idea. That's a little passive aggressive that you think. Find your push, Find your power with [e-mail].

[Mike Ryan]

Folks, the playoff season is here and the only thing better than the game day predictions are the foods that come with them. Introducing Tom's Fantasy Food Ball Pool brought to you by Tums, America's number one anti asset brand and DraftKings each week leading up to the big game, turn football into football by building your best game day plate for a shot at winning a share of $40,000 in cash prizes. Inspired by game day bites and tailgate treats. Join the Tums foodball action during this playoff season's most heartburn inducing times. Visit draftkings.com tumspoodball between January 6th and February 9th to enter for free and and select your game day plate before the start of each playoff round. Age and eligibility restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. See [e-mail] tumsfoodball when you feel the heat of the game, don't let the heartburn keep you on the sidelines. Try Tum's Chewy Bites with a tasty outer shell and soft center for fast relief of heartburn, acid indigestion and upset stomach. Check out Tums Gummy Bites Featuring a soft and easy to chew format for fast relief of occasional heartburn, acid indigestion, sour stomach and upset stomach. Both available at Amazon, Target and other major retailers nationwide. And for more heartburn relief fun, be sure to follow Tums at Tums official on Instagram and TikTok.

[Dan LeBatard]

Welcome to the Big Sui presented by DraftKings.

[Amin Elhassan]

Why are you listening to this show?

[Stugotz]

The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBatard podcast? I'm sorry, I'm not going to apologize for that. In fact, the the only difference seems.

[Amin Elhassan]

To be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys.

[Stugotz]

I've done it.

[Billy Corben]

And now here's the marching man to nowhere, Fat face and the Habitual Liar.

[Amin Elhassan]

Can you get your joy back here on the court?

[Billy Corben]

Probably not.

[Hawk]

Jimmy Butler's got a treat he's demanding doesn't want to play for his foe for seven games now he's out, he's suspended Vibes are at an all time low so we can't forget when Jimmy made the Heat of finals team he's become a menace Riley's gotten way too up for his shit Jimmy Buckets ain't just gonna stand there in the corner and y'all, he's 35 no, he ain't getting any younger he's lost a couple steps no longer alpha or a killer Best review the situation that you caught up in he's done this almost everywhere else that he's been how can we be surprised that he's doing it again? Now we can test the market for an old malcontent to wanna talk or think about all of the money that we spend in says he'd pay for Atlanta just not the heat maybe even for Toronto just not the heat Send his ass to Indiana just not the heat could even trade him to Utah just not the heat get his joy back in Denver just not the heat could sell his coffee as a clipper just not the heat maybe a buck or a blazer just not the heat says he'll play anywhere just not the.

[Stugotz]

Heat.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Wow, I'm a big fan of spoof music. Always have been, always will be if I didn't have to make money it probably would would be what I would do on a daily basis. There was some cultural appropriation there.

[Billy Corben]

Oh, man, Andrew Streeter, look at me.

[Jeremy Tashay]

It's all, it's all good.

[Billy Corben]

Look at me, Andrew. You get the Lewis Pinnock Award. That's A cinephone thing. You get the Lewis Pinnock Award. A plus 100. Don't let him tell you otherwise, man. You know what?

[Jeremy Tashay]

It reminded me, you know what's the song? Who sings the song? Informer.

[Billy Corben]

Snow. Snow.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Snow. I was 34 when I realized that was a white dude.

[Billy Corben]

His name is Snow.

[Chris Cote]

What a comedian.

[Jeremy Tashay]

So is Young Jeezies. I thought he was selling cocaine.

[Amin Elhassan]

Amin. Did any of us know Amin had an amazingly nasally fake Snow in his repertoire?

[Billy Corben]

We're not gonna just steamroll past this.

[Jeremy Tashay]

What?

[Chris Cote]

It was literal Snow. Cuz he's from Canada.

[Billy Corben]

He's from Canada. That's the other one.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Yeah. So I was supposed to hear.

[Amin Elhassan]

And.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Think that this dude was a white person from Canada doing Jamaican dance hall music? That was the through line I was supposed to take. Yes, because he listening on the radio as an 11 year old snow.

[Billy Corben]

That's why they called him Snow. Look, marketing in the 90s was this incredibly direct. They weren't trying to be subtle or anything. He's from Canada, he's white.

[Jeremy Tashay]

No, I disagree. I disagree because I think back then it's like in the, you know, in my neighborhood, Tiny, the homie tiny was 66285.

[Chris Cote]

But not for white guys. You know, Vanilla Ice was on the nose.

[Billy Corben]

Vanilla Ice?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Vanilla Ice was twice. But I think they were playing into the fact that you would hear the music and not just think, oh, that is a. That's ironic. You know what I'm saying? There was a rap group. And I only know this because I went back to my mom's house in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and in this old box, she had this box of trading cards of MTV Raps trading cards.

[Stugotz]

Oh, wow.

[Billy Corben]

Okay.

[Jeremy Tashay]

And on this, this card there was a young rap group named Teenage. Young Black Teenagers.

[Chris Cote]

Yes. Wasn't TJ Scribble in that?

[Billy Corben]

Yes.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Three white dudes called Young Black Teenagers. So if you hear the music and the group name is Young Black Teenagers.

[Billy Corben]

Right.

[Jeremy Tashay]

You're not gonna be like, oh, it must be three white guys. So when I hear Snow and I hear Caribbean music. Canadian white dude.

[Amin Elhassan]

Look, I will admit right here next to you, as someone who's 18 years older than you, I think that I also, the first time I heard that song and Snow and Informer, I also thought originally when I heard the voice that it was a black person who was singing.

[Chris Cote]

I, I think I'm a bit cynical.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Here, but I wouldn't believe that a.

[Jorge Sedano]

Black group would call themselves Young Black.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Teenagers in the 90s. 92. No, I mean now. Yeah. We get it now. In 92. Not now.

[Billy Corben]

Not in 92.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Not in 83, not in 74.

[Chris Cote]

Tap the bottle and twist the cap was an absolute banger, though.

[Billy Corben]

I just want to be clear to both of you, right, Hawk, you're here. Age wise. Dan, you're here. I'm sort of in the middle, but bridging the two generations together. Hawk, you grew up in Pennsylvania.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Yeah, yeah, Pennsylvania.

[Billy Corben]

You right, South Florida. I was in Sudan, and I knew snow was white. I was in a country where power being on for consecutive days for 24 hours was like, oh, my God, what happened? Who messed up?

[Jeremy Tashay]

How did you know he was white.

[Billy Corben]

From the very first hour? Because his name was Snow. His name.

[Jeremy Tashay]

That was your culture. It was very literal where you're at.

[Chris Cote]

I was introduced.

[Jeremy Tashay]

That's not how we are here.

[Billy Corben]

It is a very one.

[Chris Cote]

MTV was still breaking music, so the music video kind of introduced. I'm like, wow, this is crazy.

[Billy Corben]

It'd be fun. Except for the fact we did get music videos.

[Chris Cote]

Yeah, I understand.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Exactly.

[Amin Elhassan]

What's his real name?

[Dan LeBatard]

Darren Kenneth O'Brien.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Oh, my God.

[Billy Corben]

You know what's funny?

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, that's perfect.

[Billy Corben]

But if you look at him, he looks like a Darren Kenneth O'Brien.

[Dan LeBatard]

He does.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Like, that's.

[Chris Cote]

He looks Irish. He also looks like Snow.

[Billy Corben]

You look.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Yeah, but if you call. If I'm like, yo, meet the homie Dko, you'd be like, oh, okay.

[Billy Corben]

No, I'm saying dko.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Oh, yeah. Dko performer.

[Billy Corben]

DraftKings originator.

[Amin Elhassan]

Well, look. Yeah, you do that again. Or was that a one time only performance? Because it really was him as Snow insulted that a white person is impersonating a black person. I mean, okay, whatever.

[Chris Cote]

It was a very good impersonation track bangs.

[Billy Corben]

Look at him. Look. First of all, look at him. Like, it's not like a regular white guy in rap where you see him.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, it's. It is infuriating cultural appropriation.

[Billy Corben]

No, it's not. And Farmer.

[Jeremy Tashay]

He wasn't.

[Kevin Love]

He.

[Billy Corben]

No, no. Can we not.

[Chris Cote]

We can't play you know what the song is about? Like, it's just a ridiculous thing for my man Dko to be rapping about.

[Amin Elhassan]

Andrew, why do you and I feel like idio. Like, why does Amin get to be the one who's right on this 20 years later?

[Jeremy Tashay]

I don't let amines takes. I'm just inform how I feel about myself.

[Billy Corben]

Informer.

[Kevin Love]

Okay.

[Jeremy Tashay]

You know how I found out he was white? Looking at an old Jim Carrey sketch for the Living Color. Can we play that. Do we have the rights to play that?

[Chris Cote]

Did we purchase the rights of Living Color?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Can we search it on a tweet?

[Amin Elhassan]

Get right on that.

[Billy Corben]

Let me hit up.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I mean, I don't want to give us any lawsuits here.

[Amin Elhassan]

Skipper's in town, A part of Unrivaled, A giant league that's now in town.

[Billy Corben]

I do believe I am here.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, we're buying giant properties. So I don't think we've done it this morning, but get on that.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Wait, tell me this. Why can we play the Shabba Shabba Ranks instrumental song?

[Billy Corben]

Could we.

[Chris Cote]

It was Shopper Ranks adjacent.

[Billy Corben]

Okay, wait, what Shopper song did we play?

[Chris Cote]

We had a royalty free song to open things.

[Billy Corben]

Oh.

[Amin Elhassan]

So let me. Let me backtrack for just a second here, because we have actual Jimmy Butler. I'm gonna put it in quotes. News. Okay? And the reason I'm putting it in quotes is the following. Okay, I just had an email chain with the company where they're like, 1-800-Flowers is ready to go. And I'm like, all right, I'm ready to threaten America that they gotta buy flowers. And what Stugat's put on the email chain was just tell them you're gonna talk more about Jimmy Butler. Because our audience is done with all of the conversation around this. But then a morsel trickles in and Jeremy and Mike Ryan get engaged. Mike Ryan hasn't wanted to have a Heat conversation. Mike, look, listen to me. Heat fans. Spoiled, spoiled, entitled Heat fans. All the obnoxious things that Mike Ryan is. Is a hurricane earned and burned through fire. Living enslaving at the knee of LeBron Wade and Bosh will beat you all. I'll show you. I'll show you. And then all the basketball after that is less interesting because, of course, because the starting point is the three guys on a stage marching around. You get all the free agents. Yes. Miami against the world. Miami against the world.

[Chris Cote]

Went to two finals after those guys left.

[Amin Elhassan]

Understood. That obnoxious guy is entitled to put the titles in. Entitled. I beat the Celtics all the time. Don't embarrass me in front of the Celtics. And when you do. Okay, I'm out. I'm not interested anymore. Not interested in the conversations. You failed.

[Hawk]

Bam.

[Amin Elhassan]

And hero. Not enough. And now Jimmy Butler's at the middle of a mess. And what's the latest reporting? Because when Ramona Shelburne gets in the game, everybody get out of the way. Get out of the way. Because the details, for some reason, when she investigates them, are a little bit spicier than they are anywhere else.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm going to read you a passage from the article that she put out just 15 minutes ago that included details like Jimmy staying 30 miles away from the heat during the 2023 finals and all sorts of discontent. But it says teammates, coaches and staffers have already grown weary, sources said. While Heat sources say they expect Butler to return Friday against the Nuggets and are fully prepared for him to play, there remains a palpable dread at what he might do and the environment the ongoing chaos might create. Quote, I don't know how he can come back to this locker room, one source close to the team said. Said another, quote, we don't want him back, unquote. And then a source close to Butler says Jimmy hasn't even really started.

[Chris Cote]

Are you guys just that jaded? We had palpable dread, chaos. Jimmy hasn't even begun to make shit uncomfortable. He's teased what color he's dyed his hair for tonight. That's a mystery in itself. This is a guy that every franchise in which he's willed his way out of, say for maybe Philadelphia, he has burned it to the ground and it's usually been behind closed doors. Now he is ending his suspension in the regular season and reportedly teammates don't want him back. And we may have a Timberwolves practice play out in front of the nation on on court in a Finals rematch.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is actually fascinating and Kevin Love's Instagram has been like the best TV show in 2025 because he has been posting all the way through it, trolling everybody in the process. There was a Boyz II Men, Photoshop, and then yesterday this one, right? He posts this, which is the I'm not bleeping going from the Wolf of Wall street. And it says live look Jimmy after his meeting with Mickey, hashtag get my joy back. And Jimmy Butler liked it. So this is what Kevin Love's role has been throughout all of this, which is trying to kind of keep everything mended where he's trolling Jimmy online. He really has been kind of the connector between the veterans and the young players on this team for a few years. A lot of people give him credit for saving that locker room a couple years ago when they were the eight seed that went to the Finals because Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler were sort of a separ entity from the rest of those young players. And when he came out at the buyout window and signed with the Heat, it changed a lot of what was going on there. He has been this guy, he's still trying to be this guy. And the Heat gave him credit for speaking up in meetings on this road trip to kind of help them get back together.

[Billy Corben]

So the irony of all that is, way back when, when the Cavs added Richard Jefferson via trade and I think Channing Fry, those guys arrived to a Cavs team that they felt was fractured cliquish, all too serious. And the first thing those two guys did was they said, everybody's getting on this text, this group text, and they would just send memes and they lighten the mood, and that's how that team got close. And so to see Kevin Love take that lesson from earlier, this is why you have vets, because they go through things earlier and then they know how to play it forward in the future.

[Chris Cote]

I understand the Jimmy Butler fatigue. I feel it, too. But if you told me, hey, there is palpable dread and fear of chaos going around Oklahoma City and Milwaukee tonight. I'm tuning into that game to see palpable dread, chaos, and this guy hasn't even begun to make stuff uncomfortable.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I'm there for sure. I don't even really know what the hell is going on with Jimmy Butler. I've been on this show for three weeks and you guys mentioned it, and I kind of just try to stay quiet because I don't want anybody to know that I have no idea what the hell is going on, but I've slowly caught up.

[Amin Elhassan]

Okay, but so let me put in front of you the power dynamics at play, because I suspect that you will find the entirety of this story interesting. Let's begin with Kevin Love's part in it, because Kevin Love has been through the fire, had panic attacks, went public with the idea of, man, the pressure. When you're the third guy traded next to LeBron to win the championship, it's kind of disorienting. So Kevin Love went from leading the league in rebounding a couple of times, being the number one guy on an eight seed Timberwolves team, to. Do we trade him for Klay Thompson?

[Chris Cote]

No, you're getting the whole thing right now.

[Mike Ryan]

Hawk going way back.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Hold on real quick. You guys didn't want to give too much?

[Chris Cote]

No. Yeah.

[Jeremy Tashay]

So now we've rewinded the whole thing.

[Chris Cote]

Klay Thompson trade.

[Dan LeBatard]

Here we go.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, I don't have to do it.

[Jeremy Tashay]

So now we're in 2013. Continue, Dan. I'm listening.

[Amin Elhassan]

Okay.

[Chris Cote]

Related to a Beach Boys.

[Billy Corben]

I'm with you.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I like it.

[Billy Corben]

You're in 2003, he's in 2003, I'm always in 2003.

[Chris Cote]

John Murder, member of the Beach Boys Neither here nor there, but we continue.

[Amin Elhassan]

Jimmy Butler, if he's going to escalate things now, I mean, has the possibility of making a real giant mess, which is an interesting way to end things. At the 15 years of player empowerment, where it goes from Miami has LeBron, and at the end, the wheels fall off the thing because a player has gotten so much power that he can nuke your franchise if he's willing to make it messy enough.

[Billy Corben]

I'm sorry, let me ask this question. I know you guys don't like that when I do that, but do we have the sound of Dwyane Wade on his podcast talking about? If we can cue that up? Because it's a real interesting window into exactly what you're talking about, Dan. The thing that is interesting to me is everyone, like Mike said, palpable dread, right? Palpable dread. And what's gonna happen in chaos, right?

[Chris Cote]

This is so great.

[Billy Corben]

It reminds me of when I went, oh, you know what? We got the Dwyane Wade thing. This is more important. I was just filibustering. Go.

[Jorge Sedano]

So in this space with the Heat, man, I don't know what's going to happen, and I don't have no comment on the trade, but I know what Jimmy Butler has done for the Miami Heat, and it shouldn't have to be as ugly as it is right now. And I don't like this stain on our own organization. I don't like the fact that people feel that they can comment and talk about, like, that whole notion that people saying people that because of the Jimmy Butler situation and how Pat Riley has handled things, that guys are not going to come to Miami. Y'all can quit that right now. It ain't gonna be a day that a basketball player. It ain't. Ain't gonna make $300 million to play in Miami. It will not be a day that you ain't gonna raise your hand and go make 300 million to be the star in Miami. So let's quit that narrative. Let's quit that narrative right now. Sign me up. I'll go deal with some structure. Before to give Jimmy credit, man, Jimmy came in when they was losing the face of their franchise and became the face of the franchise. That's hard to do. He became the person that those kids wanted to buy his jersey, wear his jersey, you know what I'm saying? And so the relationship was. The Heat was a soft landing spot for Jimmy, and Jimmy was exactly the star that the Heat needed for six years Finals. Big moments that they've had together. It should not end ugly. It's ended tragically. This is tragic. This is a tragic way to end a relationship. And so as a former player, it's ugly on our franchise. It's a stain on our franchise that we continue to have these. The way that the relationships break up, but also too on the other side, you don't run that organization as a player. So you get to that space sometime where you want to do things your way. It's Pat Rowley way.

[Mike Ryan]

Minor penalty, two minutes.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Spreading propaganda.

[Amin Elhassan]

Dwayne Wade propaganda. Penalty box. Mike Ryan's back there nodding his head, loving the vigorous defense of all.

[Chris Cote]

He thinks that was great stuff. And I think what warmed the cockles in my heart was him saying us.

[Stugotz]

That's true.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is a message from sponsor Intuit TurboTax guys. Taxes was waiting and wondering and worrying if you're going to get any money back whatsoever. And then waiting, wondering and worrying some more. Now Taxes is matching with a TurboTax expert who can do your taxes as soon as today. An expert who gives your taxes their undivided attention as they work on your return while you get real time updates on their progress so you can focus on your day. An expert will find your every deduction possible and file every form, every investment, Every everything with 100% accuracy. All so you can get the most money back. Guaranteed. No waiting, no wondering, no worries. Now this is Taxes. Get an Expert now on TurboTax.com only available with TurboTax Live full service real time updates only on iOS mobile app. See guarantee [e-mail] guarantees.

[Billy Corben]

Wow.

[Chris Cote]

What's up?

[Amin Elhassan]

I just bought and financed a car.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Through Carvana in minutes.

[Amin Elhassan]

You?

[Billy Corben]

The person who agonized four wheels weeks.

[Mike Ryan]

Over whether to paint your wall's eggshell.

[Amin Elhassan]

Or off white bought and financed a car in minutes. They made it easy. Transparent terms, customizable, down and monthly. Didn't even have to do any paperwork.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Wow.

[Dan LeBatard]

Hey, have you checked out that spreadsheet.

[Amin Elhassan]

I sent you for our dinner?

[Billy Corben]

Options finance your car with Carvana and.

[Dan LeBatard]

Experience total control financing subject to credit approval.

[Stugotz]

Billy?

[Kevin Love]

Yes?

[Stugotz]

You know what we've been talking about all season long?

[Kevin Love]

Smirnoff?

[Stugotz]

Yeah. How'd you guess?

[Kevin Love]

I knew it. I'm a good gu.

[Stugotz]

You are. They are the official sponsor of the Dan Lepentard show with Stu Got. So you already know that it's an official vodka partner of the NFL and Super Bowl 59. We're going to be there.

[Kevin Love]

Oh, yes. I can't believe we're by 59 already.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Kevin Love]

Time flies.

[Stugotz]

It does.

[Hawk]

Yes.

[Kevin Love]

We're old.

[Billy Corben]

I'm old.

[Kevin Love]

Hey, you know what, you guys, I was thinking.

[Stugotz]

Yes.

[Kevin Love]

Since football season's winding down, super bowl is coming up. Super Bowl 59. We've been celebrating football all year. I have an idea.

[Billy Corben]

What?

[Kevin Love]

Let's do a toast.

[Stugotz]

Okay.

[Kevin Love]

Wow. To football.

[Stugotz]

Really?

[Kevin Love]

Yeah. Me and you. Let's toast football.

[Stugotz]

So just a toast. So we're raising our glasses of Smirnoff vodka.

[Kevin Love]

Glasses up. Yeah. All right.

[Stugotz]

And we are toasting to football.

[Kevin Love]

To football.

[Stugotz]

To football, everyone. What we love about Smirnoff is that you can get the world's number one vodka without breaking the bank. This feeling is what the good folks over at Smirnoff call. Billy, you want to take a stab at this?

[Kevin Love]

Yes. Smirnoff Strawdinary.

[Billy Corben]

Nailed it.

[Kevin Love]

I told you. I'm a good guesser.

[Stugotz]

Oh. And right now, Smirnoff has partnered with Complex, letting fans get their hands on some amazing items handpicked by celebrities including NFL legend and super bowl champion Vernon Davis, for the unbelievable price of $12.99. Just like a bottle of Smirnoff. So head on over to smirnoffdrops.com to check out upcoming drops. And check out. Oh, Billy, you want to take a guess again?

[Kevin Love]

These Smirnoff Strordinary items.

[Mike Ryan]

Look at us.

[Kevin Love]

What's the website?

[Stugotz]

It is Smirnoff drop.com Smirnoff. We do game days. Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff number 21 vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer and may vary by state. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age.

[Amin Elhassan]

Don LeBatard.

[Dan LeBatard]

It sounds to me like everybody could use a hug because a hog is always the right size st. All I have put in my body today is three cups of coffee and an entire.

[Amin Elhassan]

Cup of go to the pedal.

[Mike Ryan]

Don't let him fool you. He said in the break that he's jittery.

[Jeremy Tashay]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugach.

[Mike Ryan]

He also said it's a stain on the organization that every star leaves here. Like they, even him, felt like he.

[Dan LeBatard]

Had the most balanced shake I've seen.

[Mike Ryan]

Everyone out at some point.

[Billy Corben]

So, yeah, so that I thought the sound that you guys had was the sound that really went viral. You didn't. You had a different sound. Which was good and informative.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, great. But not what.

[Jeremy Tashay]

That wasn't even the right podcast, to be honest. It was.

[Amin Elhassan]

You're now the guy who's just going to throw it to the video room without telling anybody. Let's put that in Amin's hands. That seems safe.

[Chris Cote]

That was a great video.

[Billy Corben]

So it was a great video. It was informative. It wasn't the point I was trying to make, because the one I was trying to make when he said LeBron came here. And I said, but it's not LeBron's way, it's Pat Riley's way. It's not Dwyane Wade's way, it's Pat Riley's way. And so it's their organization. You're just gonna have to accept that at some point they're gonna do it how they want to do it. And so for Jimmy Butler, who I see a lot of people, I do have a question. I see everyone has been repeating this. They let Jimmy Butler do way more than they let LeBron, Wade and Zoe and Shaq do. I've heard that repeated exact same way, same phrasing, multiple places, multiple people, but everyone dances around it. What exactly did they let him do that they didn't let the other guys?

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, I can tell you from. From my experience what that means, which is he controls when he speaks to the media in a way that no player has ever. With the Heat during the Big Three era. Those guys during every practice, every shoot, around every game. That's just one minuscule example.

[Amin Elhassan]

Let me. Let me. So, Hawk, let me explain just the history. This part of the history has to be in front of people so they understand what has been begotten over the last 15 years. Riley is Belichick, the whole thing. Patriot way, Heat Way. Fifteen years of LeBron. You come here to learn. And once you've learned, you can take it with you. But you learned it here, Jimmy. You learned it here. Like, you can take it with you. But we build that, not you. Organizations win championships. Jerry Krause, that stuff. So LeBron comes with the power. And then at the end of 2014. No, I got it. I'm gonna go now. Build a league. $5 billion with Maverick Carter. Cuz. I got it. I got it. I got it. I'm gonna go to Hollywood. Do what you did during Showtime. I got it. Me and my crew are gonna make leagues and buy Hollywood. I don't need you anymore. What do you mean, you don't need me anymore? What do you mean? You break my heart Like, I will say, that's the weakest I've ever seen Pat Riley embarrassed like that in public. And this cannot feel good either. Like this, this. And so what might it. Might it escalate to when last year they had you done us on the bench. And when he went at spo, Udonis was there. Jimmy will make this a mess and the player will win on the. At the end if he's willing to be shameless. Like, that's how Damian Lillard didn't get here. And. And one of the things you see happening now is Pat Riley burned by the Frankenstein monster that he birthed.

[Billy Corben]

But, Dan, there's a couple of things, right? Yeah, Number one, by the way, you done this was two years ago. That wasn't last year. But number one is the part about this. Chris Haynes talked to you guys the other day, and I was shocked that not only no one on this show, but nobody outside of this show reacted to this thing. The part where they said, jimmy Butler and Pat Riley have not spoken, have not texted, have not met face to face, had not, excuse me, from at least the end of the season, which was in April, to the January 2nd meeting where they were like, you're not giving us enough. That is staggering. I remember speaking to Ramona Shelburne years ago. I was on the jump. Ramona Shelburne broke a story at the top of the show that Magic Johnson, president of the Lakers, had not spoken to Luke Walton, head coach of the Lakers, for two weeks. And I was like, what? How is that possible? And I said, man, Luke, better get your resume ready when that happens. This is a massive fracture. That was two weeks. Now Chris Haynes is telling me six months these guys haven't communicated.

[Amin Elhassan]

So this is what I'm telling you. When Jeremy says that when that LeBron and Wade met several times a day. When LeBron came to Miami at 25, Wade's team, Wade's rules. Wade was doing Riley's work. We meet with the press, OK? LeBron would say Shaq had to conform to Shaq didn't want that.

[Chris Cote]

Shaq didn't want to, but he had.

[Amin Elhassan]

Shaq didn't like it. Shaq would get into fights about it. Shaq is the first one to test. Is Riley in charge? Yes, he's in charge. At the end, Shaq, you're going to be outside with your stuff and that bald guy, security is going to be walking you out. You can't go get your stuff. Like, we're going to kick you out of the building.

[Mike Ryan]

Shaq had Wade Here too, though. At least to be like this. I know Shaq was bigger than Wade. Wade's still there doing it, whereas Butler, he's the guy.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I'm trying to follow. I think I'm more confused now than at the beginning, so I'm sure it'll crystallize at some point, but we're in a bunch. We went even. We did go back to 03 a couple times there and I almost got stuck. So I'm just trying to make sure. It sounds like Jimmy Butler and Pat Riley have a riff.

[Chris Cote]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Going on.

[Chris Cote]

Palpable dread.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Okay. Fear, chaos. I would tune in. Haven't watched. We'll watch if that's going to be on the docket. And then I will also say, from a Jimmy Butler perspective, how did he come to Miami? Was this known information? Does he typically behave like this?

[Billy Corben]

Yes.

[Chris Cote]

Yes, always.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Okay, so when you play stupid games, do you win stupid prizes? Is my question. And again, I'm still getting the information, Dan, so I apologize. I'm like trying to put it together. But in that example you said of you don't get to go. What do you mean? You don't need me. If. If that was the case prior to. And you sign up for it, or his fourth marriage, it feels like he shouldn't be surprised by a duck being a duck.

[Chris Cote]

Man, you're getting it.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I don't know.

[Chris Cote]

We could change him. And for a long time we felt like we did.

[Mike Ryan]

First few years.

[Chris Cote]

The fourth marriage was the best marriage.

[Billy Corben]

That's not what happened. What happened is you guys thought or the organization thought. Yeah. The reason he broke up with all those other people is the stuff that we love. Right. We love that he's demanding. We love that he goes out there and gives it his all. We love those things that he challenges the other players, that he's not afraid of confrontation. Which Dan, in today's league more than ever, having people who are not confrontation averse is such a. Like, it's such a game changer because everyone's like passive aggressive and in their.

[Amin Elhassan]

I love that. Let's do. Let's do least. Least conflict averse people in the NBA.

[Chris Cote]

I wanted him to finish. I wanted him to finish his point because, I don't know, like the modern makeup of an NBA baller and how Jimmy Butler is just so different than that. When Jimmy Butler. I mean, I love basketball at a time where everyone was kind of more built like Jimmy Butler from an intensity and approach to the game type of thing. And there were way more fights in the Locker room now everything seems to be a little bit more Harmon.

[Amin Elhassan]

It is.

[Billy Corben]

I mean, it's like, I've had players tell me, I mean, you couldn't work in the league anymore. I said, why not? It's like, because you can't talk to the kids the way you talk to. Used to talk to people. What do you mean? It's like, no, if you say something, the kid will go sulk for two weeks and be in his feelings about it rather than, like, take the challenge or even just tell you to go after yourself or whatever. Right? And so Jimmy Butler is a throwback in that way. He is a throwback to a time when guys just, like, were just assholes to each other, and everyone just dealt with it. When I hear the Ramona Shelburne story about people like, no, he's coming back, it's like, that's what I'm talking about. Because in another era, those guys would have picked up the phone and told him, yo, go after yourself. You're not in this locker room anymore. Right? If you felt like that for real, like, hey, you turned your back on us and we're gonna move on with.

[Amin Elhassan]

Well, but this is.

[Billy Corben]

The players would see that.

[Amin Elhassan]

Okay, but look. So, Hawk, seriously, though, what are we in for here? I know people are tired of this, but if you have crossroads of conflict. The guy who's not afraid of conflict, and now he's walking into Bam. Adebayo and Tyler Herro's locker room. Tyler Herro, when he has to get into a fight, he's taken Jimmy's team, he's taken his shots, going to take his spot in the All Star Game. It is now Tyler's team, and they're going to be, like, a little bit worse, but he'll get his. He'll get what Jimmy Butler was getting, and they'll try to make him more of a star, what is that locker room going to be like? If you've got a guy coming in and we're arguing about money and shots and minutes, and he's willing to embarrass your franchise, A franchise that's a military complex of. It's us against them.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Are you the guy or not? And that is the Pat Riley. Are you the dude that can continue to rebuild or not? It's going to be uncomfortable. Change always is. But when you have two big dogs and one says, I'm the guy, which means I should call the shots, and the other one says, I'm the guy and I should call the shots, and they want to leave if I'm with that person, or we're, like, tied to the hip. Then go do your thing. Because I have no, absolutely any fear that I'm not gonna still be the guy. I'm not gonna be who I say I am, which is the person who can continue to reload with D. Wade, LeBron, Jimmy Butler, Hero. They'll be somebody else. Go do your thing.

[Billy Corben]

We're not having the fun conversation. The fun conversation here is, who's the person who said we don't want him back?

[Chris Cote]

I have a theory. Well, every time there's a leak, you ask, who benefits from this leak? Now, I don't believe this to actually be the leak, but the person that benefits most from this leak. If the palpable dread subsides and there isn't chaos and there isn't fear and, hell, they may go out and be galvanized and win this game.

[Billy Corben]

Kevin Love, White Wolves.

[Chris Cote]

He benefits the most. He benefits the most from it. Okay, now, it's a source. It's not a source on the team. It's a source near the team. Maybe that's a way to protect your source that might be an actual player. But if I'm Kevin Levin, what I bring to the table the most is my ability to bring those folks together in the locker room. Why don't I establish that this locker room is a total mess until Uncle Kev gets involved.

[Billy Corben]

Oh, so. So he makes it a mess, and then when Jimmy walks in, he's like, guys, guys, I'm Kevin Love. I know how to. I heard it. I'm gonna bring everybody together. I'm gonna inform. And then we're like, boom, boom, down. And everyone's like, oh, yeah, yeah, we should looky. Boom, boom, now.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Hey, yo, that's crazy, fam. Hey, yo, murder. You wilding, fam. That's crazy. Hey, yo, Cammy. Yo, he's wilder, fam.

[Chris Cote]

We have covered this story a bunch, but one thing that we didn't actually touch on was the NBA PA's involvement. Because, remember, the suspension came down. It's like, okay, you can suspend somebody for that. The NBA came out immediately with a state. Yeah, the union came out with a statement. And then it was reported that the Heat were ready for this. Delivered pages and video citing examples of why they were justified in their actions to suspend Jimmy Butler. And not a peep since then. Jimmy Butler hasn't publicly objected to the suspension. He fulfilled the suspension. He's done his time.

[Billy Corben]

But that's Jimmy, right? That's also Jimmy. Like, oh, you think this is gonna hurt me.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Nope.

[Billy Corben]

I'm gonna serve coffee and have fun.

[Chris Cote]

But, but, but what was in the.

[Dan LeBatard]

Video, also from Ramona's piece. Butler, source sources close to him said was furious at the length of the suspension. There had been a possibility that the meeting could have resulted in a reduced suspension in fine, sources said, but Butler would have had to show, quote, a lot more contrition. Instead, he doubled down.

[Mike Ryan]

I can just see Hawk's head just continuing to spin. So I'm going to give you a little second here to breathe. This episode of the Dan Lebatard show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings.

[Amin Elhassan]

The Crown is yours, Amin. I'm gonna give you the floor to give us your best 15 Jimmy Butler seconds and be done with this topic because we're actively annoying America with this topic. At this point, with every last morsel. Don't want to keep talking about it. And then a morsel comes in and everyone starts talking about it. The thing I wanted to play for Hawk because he did the thing where he's. You're not a guy. That guy. The guy. A guy. And it made me think what our football analysis would be of this.

[Hawk]

I'm saying quarterback y. If I'm that guy, I won't be taking sacks.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah.

[Hawk]

I'm making special throws behind my back.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah.

[Hawk]

Cause I'm that guy. So I pick up your slack.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah.

[Hawk]

But what about this? If I'm just a guy? Won't recognize a blitz when it's disguised. I'm throwing pics when we're in overtime. That's just what happens if I'm just a guy.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I got some questions.

[Dan LeBatard]

Sam Donald act.

[Hawk]

You.

[Dan LeBatard]

Let me see what you got.

[Hawk]

Bonix.

[Dan LeBatard]

Michael Panick, CJ Stroud. I'll ask a loud. Are you that guy?

[Mike Ryan]

Are you that guy? Are you that guy?

[Dan LeBatard]

Are you that guy? Are you that guy? Are you that guy?

[Billy Corben]

Are you that guy?

[Dan LeBatard]

Are you that guy?

[Billy Corben]

Jeremy Tashay as Timbaland. Lewis Pinnock.

[Amin Elhassan]

That guy. Guy. You got C.J. stroud in there as a guy. Brock Purdy as a guy. Sam Darnold as a guy.

[Dan LeBatard]

I was just trying to make names right.

[Mike Ryan]

He was asking questions.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, but I'm asking all of you.

[Jeremy Tashay]

When you talk about Jeremy like that was you.

[Dan LeBatard]

That was me. Yeah, that was me. Thanks, man.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Incredible spoof music.

[Dan LeBatard]

Thank you very much.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I don't understand why you guys aren't scared of Justin Timberlake's lawyers, but somehow the Ball brothers lawyers have shaken this whole establishment.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, this is. This is proper parody. Whereas if you Play a clip of a song. Spoof.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Music is more.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well spoof. All right, so this is proper.

[Amin Elhassan]

Thank you for that correction, Jeremy. You really took all the life out of it.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I always a damn copyright lawyer.

[Amin Elhassan]

That's explanation the difference between a guy and the guy. Okay. You've got two MVPs playing in a football game and it's going to be in the snow and they're both MVP worthy and Lamar Jackson has changed the entirety of the position. Please explain to me when we talk about a guy and the guy in that sport.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassan]

There are what, five the guys at that position by your identification are there six?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Maybe four.

[Billy Corben]

Maybe.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Maybe four in a possible. I would say Mahomes, Lamar Allen and Burrow are bona fide guys.

[Billy Corben]

Bonafide 5.

[Jeremy Tashay]

The closest is probably Stafford.

[Billy Corben]

What?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Matt Stafford. He has an ability and over time he's like. He just knows it.

[Mike Ryan]

He's an older that guy.

[Jeremy Tashay]

He's an older that guy. But in this age he might be that guy. Do you have somebody else you think should be in there?

[Billy Corben]

The kid for Washington?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Well, he's. He's a guy. He's great.

[Amin Elhassan]

Young. Here's what is it the guy.

[Jeremy Tashay]

The guy and I this this week will tell us a lot about Jaden Daniels. I'm a huge Jaden Daniels believer as I am a CJ Stroud. He took a step back this year that's undeniable. And if you ask me, this time last year CJ Stroud was a guy. I still think he is the guy. But there's going to be growing pains and I think next year for Jaden Daniels will determine that. I can't make you a the guy in the first two years.

[Mike Ryan]

I feel like I have the best quarterback that just has the debate of is he a guy or the guy Jared Goff.

[Chris Cote]

But Jared Goff has the second most touchdown passes in the league when you include regular season and postseason since 2023. Ironically enough, the guy that is first by a gulf of six is Baker Mayfield, who is also a guy that has that debate.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Look, I think there's four the guys in the league that any given year they will they have an ability to take their team to the Super Bowl.

[Amin Elhassan]

The thing that you're doing though and please because these are the teams that are left right now, unsurprisingly, the quarterbacks you're mentioning other than Burrow.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Burrow's not there. Burrow wasn't even in the dance.

[Amin Elhassan]

Not this time. But I'm just curious when you do that to C.J. stroud. Because everyone comes to an agreement on. C.J. stroud has been worse. Nico Collins missed a part of the season. He's an important piece for them.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Tanks out.

[Amin Elhassan]

But another one, by the way. We just forget that he looked like that when he had a one and a two. That played like a one and a two. But also you as the football player. At some point, like week 11, they said they had 25 sacks allowed by their guards and center.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassan]

And that's worse than anyone in the league. Like nobody. None of the quarterbacks you mentioned can play quarterback that way. Not.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Not at their best.

[Amin Elhassan]

Maybe. Maybe Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson could get away from it.

[Jeremy Tashay]

But what I'm saying is terrible offensive line play. But that's why I was Panay Sewell over Jamar Chase. But it was still. When you watch Burrow, he's not. He. He was a. He was a dude and CJ Strout is a dude. I don't want to make it seem like he's not going to be.

[Amin Elhassan]

Or the dude.

[Jeremy Tashay]

He's not the dude yet.

[Billy Corben]

There's. There's a step between a guy and the guy and the guy.

[Jeremy Tashay]

It's not like a direct. You don't just step over a thin line between.

[Amin Elhassan]

You're not respecting this. You keep saying a guy and a guy is insulting. It's insulting.

[Jeremy Tashay]

No, it's a.

[Billy Corben]

He's right.

[Jeremy Tashay]

It's a dude. Okay.

[Billy Corben]

He's right. You need something?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Okay, I got it. There's just a guy. There is a dude.

[Billy Corben]

A dude. Uh huh.

[Jeremy Tashay]

And then there's the guy.

[Billy Corben]

Okay. Okay. Are you going with that?

[Jeremy Tashay]

C.J. stroud, Jaden Daniels are a dude.

[Billy Corben]

Dudes.

[Jeremy Tashay]

They're dudes.

[Mike Ryan]

Baker Mayfield.

[Jeremy Tashay]

They're dudes. Baker Mayfield is.

[Chris Cote]

He's not a Jazz.

[Jeremy Tashay]

He's a. He's a dude. He's a low level dude.

[Chris Cote]

I just said he had the most touchdown passes over the last two years.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Look, there's only 13 people in NFL history. Jackson passed for more than 40 touchdowns in a season. Baker Mayfield is one of them. A special.

[Billy Corben]

What about. What about. Hold on. What about tua?

[Chris Cote]

What about Jag?

[Mike Ryan]

Be careful here.

[Billy Corben]

Where's tua?

[Jeremy Tashay]

In the.

[Billy Corben]

In the guy.

[Chris Cote]

Jag.

[Billy Corben]

The guy or dude?

[Jeremy Tashay]

I think he's a dude.

[Billy Corben]

Okay.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I have two in the dude.

[Billy Corben]

Two is in the dude category. That's good.

[Jeremy Tashay]

I think he's a. I think again, you. A dude has to have certain circumstances.

[Mike Ryan]

Can we find him for this to.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Get over the hoops?

[Amin Elhassan]

Is Brock Purdy a dude?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Brock Purdy is A dude.

[Billy Corben]

Brock Purdy's a dude.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Yeah. I think Brock Purdy is way more special than people give him credit for.

[Billy Corben]

Jalen Hurts.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Dude category.

[Amin Elhassan]

Dude.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Okay, so we got a lot of upper end of the dude. Yeah, there's a lot of dudes. That 5 to like 12 era. Bunch of dudes is dudes.

[Kevin Love]

Dudes.

[Chris Cote]

Justin Herbert.

[Jeremy Tashay]

And look, even the guys that are in the the guy category, which again, I have four right now.

[Chris Cote]

So did he slide out of dude?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Herbert. He's the dude. There's certain abilities you gotta have. Like, you gotta have an ability to be like, yo, I can't find that on the street. Okay, that's not anywhere in the draft. That's not anywhere in free agency. Herbert is a dude. All those guys have potentials to be the guy coming. Whatever their maturation time and their development time is to get there changes.

[Chris Cote]

Even a good football team with a Jag, Huh? Can you be a good football team with a Jag? Who are the good football teams with a position?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Lamar jacket.

[Amin Elhassan]

Can you be good with Lamar Jaggin?

[Mike Ryan]

We should have fined Dan for that mistake. And if we did, it would be with the Venmo.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Patrick Mahomes.

[Amin Elhassan]

Chris. I have a new sponsor. You were wounded up there. You were gonna read it.

[Chris Cote]

Have you been doing this? Have you been paying?

[Amin Elhassan]

I have to pay. How much do I owe? I was looking for a telephone number. I didn't know where to send it.

[Stugotz]

A telephone?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Use this phone.

[Mike Ryan]

You can send it to the Venmo Find Bucket, which is of course presented by Venmo.

[Billy Corben]

How much for the show?

[Chris Cote]

We will give you the QR code and then we'll explain what a QR code is.

[Amin Elhassan]

I've never used Venmo before, so I had. Valerie was putting it in my phone yesterday so I wouldn't be embarrassed this way.

[Chris Cote]

Well, I'm so happy that because of our show, you have decided to download Venmo and I implore it.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's going to make your life so much easier.

[Amin Elhassan]

Thank you.

[Chris Cote]

To do what Dan just did?

[Amin Elhassan]

Yes. I just did that because I support the people who support us. And so Valerie would handle all of our transactions because I like to pay cash.

[Mike Ryan]

$10.

[Billy Corben]

You owe Venmo's better four.

[Amin Elhassan]

What do I owe? $10?

[Mike Ryan]

Just all the mistakes you made.

[Billy Corben]

A lot.

[Amin Elhassan]

All right, so I'll take care of that off air. I can't believe this guy was insulting to those guys. You're a former professional football player. These people deserve your respect. If I gave any of Those quarterbacks the McCaffrey, Debo Samuel, Trent Williams. Healthy. Ayuk. If Kittle any of those quarterbacks would be the guy. Any of them.

[Billy Corben]

So I guess I'm not getting my 15 seconds on Jimmy Butler.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, sure thing.

[Billy Corben]

Hey, you sold that car yet?

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, sold it to Carvana.

[Amin Elhassan]

Oh. I thought you were selling to that guy. The guy who wanted to pay me in foreign currency.

[Mike Ryan]

No interest over 36 months.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Tashay]

No.

[Mike Ryan]

Carvana gave me an offer in minutes.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Picked it up and paid me on the spot. It was so convenient.

[Billy Corben]

Just like that?

[Jeremy Tashay]

Yep.

[Amin Elhassan]

No hassle.

[Stugotz]

None.

[Billy Corben]

That is super convenient.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Sell your car to Carvana and swap.

[Billy Corben]

Hassle for convenience. Pickup fees may apply.

[Stugotz]

Billy.

[Kevin Love]

Yes?

[Stugotz]

You know what we've been talking about all season long?

[Kevin Love]

Smeared off. Yeah.

[Stugotz]

How'd you guess?

[Kevin Love]

I knew it. I'm a good guesser.

[Stugotz]

You are. They are the official sponsor of the Dan LeBatard show with Stugat Soap. You already know that. It's an official vodka partner of the NFL. And Super Bowl 59. We're gonna be there.

[Kevin Love]

Oh, yes. I can't believe we're by 59 already. Yeah, time flies.

[Stugotz]

It does.

[Hawk]

Yes.

[Kevin Love]

We're old.

[Billy Corben]

I'm old.

[Kevin Love]

Hey, you know what let's do, guys? I was thinking.

[Stugotz]

Yes?

[Kevin Love]

Since football season's winding down, super bowl is coming up. Super Bowl 59. We've been celebrating football all year. I have an idea.

[Billy Corben]

What?

[Kevin Love]

Let's do a toast.

[Jeremy Tashay]

Okay.

[Stugotz]

Oh, wow.

[Kevin Love]

To football.

[Stugotz]

Really?

[Kevin Love]

Yeah. Me and you. Let's toast football.

[Stugotz]

So just to toast. So we're. We're raising our glasses up.

[Kevin Love]

Yeah. All right.

[Stugotz]

And we are toasting.

[Amin Elhassan]

To football.

[Kevin Love]

To football.

[Stugotz]

To football, everyone. What we love about Smirnoff is that you can get the world's number one vodka without breaking the bank. This feeling is what the good folks over at Smirnoff call. Billy, you want to take a stab at this?

[Kevin Love]

Yes. Smirnoff Strawdinary.

[Billy Corben]

Nailed it.

[Kevin Love]

I told you I'm a good guesser.

[Stugotz]

And right now, Smirnoff has partnered with Complex, letting fans get their hands on some amazing items handpicked by celebrities including NFL legend and super bowl champion Vernon Davis for the unbelievable price of $12.99. Just like a bottle of Smirnoff. So head on over to smirnoffdrops.com to check out upcoming drops. And check out. Oh, Billy, you want to take a guess again?

[Kevin Love]

These Smirnoff straw or items. Oh, look at us. What's the website?

[Stugotz]

It is smirnoffdrop.com. smirnoff. We do game days. Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff number 21, vodka, distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer and may vary by state. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age.