Jacob Goldstein (2:39)

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Nick Wright (3:13)

to the Best of the Week for what's Right with Nick Wright. The best takes and moments from this week on the show. Enjoy. My lifelong team made a trade with my, you know, off again on again NFC team, the Rams. Let's get to it.

Damonte (3:32)

Yeah, the Chiefs traded probably one of their best players or their best player outside of Patrick Mahomes for a nice hall of picks. Last time Kansas City did something like this with Terry Kill. They went on to make three Super Bowls. Do you find this to be a similar move?

Nick Wright (3:48)

So listen, I want to start on McDuffie. McDuffie is an excellent player. I think he is a good sometimes because of his size, struggles on the outside, but a good outside corner and the single best slot corner in football. I think he is the best in football at slot corner. They drafted him as demands. They mentioned they immediately went to the next three Super Bowls. McDuffie had start let's 3432 McDuffie won the first nine playoff games he ever played in his and his rookie year they went 3 and oh his second year they went 44 and oh his third year they went 2 and oh until the super bowl when they got clocked by the Eagles. Obviously he was part of a historic draft class for the Chiefs that set up this era of Chiefs football, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. He was instantly an all pro. He's excellent. He will be very very good for the Rams. Okay, nothing and he's only 25. He was a young player coming out of college so he's played four years. He's only 25. He got a little dinged last year. He's durable, he's an excellent player and I the Rams. Let me add this to it Demons. A I think the Rams are more all in than any team in the league. More than Buffalo, more than Baltimore because their quarterbacks got one, maybe two years left. So I think that the other teams with great quarterbacks have to weigh trying to win the super bowl every year with staying in contention for a long period of time. The Rams don't have to weigh that. The Rams are like, let's go for it right now while we have Matt Stafford and figure out the plan. Post Stafford when we're post Stafford. So I totally get this move from them. And they got an excellent player at the single biggest position of need for them. Makes sense. With that said, I am so glad the Chiefs management still has the stomach to do things like this because this is the only way to stay in perpetual contention. There is only one team ever that has done what the Chiefs are trying to do, which is for 15 plus years be in the mix basically every single year. I understand last year was a disaster, but at week six of last season, the Chiefs were the literal super bowl favorites. So they didn't, they obviously weren't. They didn't end up as contenders last year, but the idea that last year was destined to be a disaster year, they were the favorites to win the whole thing right around Halloween. And so in order, the only blueprint for that long of a contending stretch is the Pats with Belichick and Brady. And Bill Belichick made moves like this. He traded away Richard Seymour. He, he would move on from guys when they got super expensive. He would load up on draft picks and try to restock the talent with young cost controlled players. It's what you have to do. And yes, the Chiefs are in a different position than when they traded Tyreek. When they traded Tyreek, they weren't coming off a six win season. They also though when they traded Tyreek were not. They are as far removed from the three years before leading into the Tyreek trade. They won a Super Bowl. They lost the Super Bowl. They lost in the AFC Championship game the three years leading into this. They won a Super Bowl. They lost a Super Bowl. They had a disaster year. The Tyreek trade netted them the 29th pick, a second rounder, two fourths and a fifth. This trade netted them the 29th pick, a third rounder, one fourth and a fifth. Or as Ian Rapaport would call it, basically fifth round value. Exactly 29th, third, fourth, fifth, basically fifth round value. So they got for Tyreek, they got a second instead of a third and an additional fourth. And you know what, I might have said what they got here wrong. They, I did actually they got the 29th, a third, a fifth and a sixth, not a fourth and a fifth. So my apologies. But the, the, the by the draft charts they got essentially this is maybe a better way to do it for people to understand. By the draft charts they got the equivalent for McDuffie of about the 20th pick of the draft all in and for Tyreek they got the equivalent of about the 14th, 15th pick of the draft. So they got call it 80% of the value for Trent McDuffie they got for Tyree Kill.

Damonte (10:13)

And situation is so much more different though considering like the need of the team like if the defense is already having trouble generating a pressure like trading away your best cornerback, I think is.

Nick Wright (10:27)

I know, I understand this Obviously for week one of 20, 26 doesn't make the Chiefs better. That's obviously true. But this was Trent McDuffie is about to become the single highest paid corner in the NFL because he plays on the end. He's best on the inside instead of on the outside. That already was going to be a bit of a tough pill to swallow. But when you have the highest paid D tackle, the highest paid center, one of the highest paid guards and Mahomes, you can't. You've got to make these choices. And here is the reason where I went from kind of expecting this move for the Chiefs and you know, coming to terms with it to being outright happy about it. Barnwell in his off season predictions column called this trade. He called McDuffie to the Rams. I think a lot of people thought this was possible, but Barnwell put what he thought the trade would be demons A he thought it would be McDuffie plus a fifth from Kansas City for just the 29th pick. Instead it was McDuffie by himself for the 29th pick plus a third of fifth and a sixth.

Damonte (12:06)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (12:07)

So I think they got such intense value that and the free up of cap space of he was going to make 13 million this year. If you wanted to keep him. It was going to be 30 million a year to add other players. I think you just have to make that move. It also gives them real flexibility in the draft. Now I do not think they're going to move off that ninth pick, but they are drafting now 9, 29 and 40 and I would be surprised if they actually draft 29 and 40. It should be noted they used the 29th pick from the Tyree Kill trade to move up to 21 or 22 to draft Trent McDuffie and so I right now the Chiefs have the six best Super bowl odds. That feels about right to me. Where you've got to see the health of Mahomes. But they have the ability to go out in free agency in the draft and address what are significant weaknesses on the team right now. And, and let me also say this because Jalen Watson, their other starting corner seventh round pick is going to hit free agency and get paid a bunch of money by other people, by somebody else. This is the 1 position on the team the Chiefs believe we can just coach up. They had, when they had Marcus Peters, they traded him to the Rams, they had Jas Ward, they let him go sign a huge contract with the Niners. They had Legarius Snead, they traded him to the Titans, they had Marcus Peters, they traded him to the Rams and they're letting Jalen Watson and Jalen Watson kind of is proof of concept. He was a seventh round pick same year as Marcus Peters. He was starting at corner as a seventh round rookie. They are letting him walk. They have Noel Williams who was a third rounder last year and they're going to have to address secondary but they think spags that they can scout secondary players that they can coach them up and what they have to get better at is pass rush, running game and pass catcher. It's a lot I understand but I think the offensive line is mostly set and obviously quarterback set and now you have some cap space and you have a bunch of draft picks to go attack this stuff. Go ahead.

Damonte (14:49)

It's like a little word coming out that Trent McDuffie, his hit would have been about the same as Kenneth Walker next year. Well, about 14 million.

Nick Wright (15:00)

So here's the thing. He was Kenneth Walker's franchise tag. 14 would be 14 million. I think he'll probably sign for around 14 million. Yes, you're right. Trent McDuffie was under contract fifth year option for 13.8 or something.

Damonte (15:17)

Something.

Nick Wright (15:18)

But that wasn't the problem. The problem was he was going to want. And it's not a problem. He's earned it 30 million a year on a new deal. And what. And we'll get to the Bengals in a bit. What immature franchises would do would just be like well, 13 million for McDuffie. That's, that's actually not a bad deal. Let him play out his contract and then either franchise tag him and then let him walk for nothing or after this year let him walk for nothing instead. The Chiefs were proactive, which you have to be if you want to contend over a long stretch of time. Now here's the other piece of it. You have to hit on these draft picks. In 2022, they crushed the draft in 2023, they seem to really. Well, the verdict right now in the 2023 draft is it's a disaster. The only truly productive player they've gotten from that draft is Rasheed Rice, who has a bunch of his own issues. So that happens. But now, in order for the Chiefs to continue to be a list contenders, this draft is going to have a lot to do with it and we'll see what they, you know, what they make of these picks. All right, go ahead. I know you have some follow ups here.

Damonte (16:54)

Go ahead. So just off of what you just said, Kansas City has two first, what can they do with those picks? Let's do a likely maybe. What if it.

Nick Wright (17:02)

So listen, I think it is likely that with their the number 9 pick they address offensive skill position. I think that's likely. I think that whether it's Jeremiah Love, whether it's their favorite receiver, it would be a little rich for me. But maybe the tight end, the number one tight end that everybody loves, that nine, it feels high. I think it is likely they do that at 9 and then at 29 they maybe move around a little up or a little back and take a pass rusher. I am of the belief if Reuben Bain is there at number nine, you've just got to take him. I short arms be damned. And it would be utterly stunning to me if they use either of these first round picks on offensive line or on corner. I think that they are going to go wide receiver, running back, maybe tight end and defensive line. Those are the spots that I think you are going to see the those the first round picks go for. And I think the only running back would be Jeremiah Love and I don't know if he'll be there at nine. All right, I know you want to talk to Mahomes for a second.

Damonte (18:36)

Yeah. So after the deal, Mahomes tweeted, damn, how much are you reading into that? Do you think that was just support for his teammate?

Nick Wright (18:43)

Yeah, listen, I think Patrick understands. I haven't talked to Patrick. I think he understands the business side of this. I also think, you know he's won multiple Super Bowls with McDuffie, likes McDuffie. McDuffie's a good player. You hate to see him go out the door. But I think Patrick also knows whatever, you know, he had, I would imagine a very similar relationship and had won a Super bowl with Tyreek Hill and saw the same regime trade Tyreek in a very similar spot same time a calendar and what it turned into the right right Tyreek has more of a direct impact on do you think that decisions though you've got to make they traded Joe Tuney last year like you've got to find ways to restock and it's why the Chiefs are not a team that's ever going to be like we just traded for Max Crosby. We just traded multiple that you don't have that luxury in my if you want to contend for again 15 plus years which only the Patriots have done. All right before we get to the RA a little more on the Rams side of it and some of the other potential guys who could be traded. Let me remind you today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet. Florida's sportsbook March is here and that means college basketball takes center stage. The stakes are rising, the shots are falling, and now's the time to hit the hardwood with Hard Rock Bet Hoops on Every night. Every night is a shot to build the same game parlay and score a major bucket. And if you ever miss, tip off that big game of that big game. Don't worry. Hard Rock Bet lets you live bet all game long from the first bucket to the final buzzer. So you're never too late to find a winner or grab that player prop you had circled. Still riding high off watching USA Hockey win gold, you can back the stars and stripes in international baseball, too. Hard Rock Bet has you covered for all your baseball bets. Join me by stepping up to the plate and signing up today. You can double your winnings on your first 10 bets. Max $50 that's right. If you would have won a hundred bucks on your same game Parlay, make that 200 plus. Hard Rock bet offers new promos daily, so whenever you're listening, just open the app and check out what they've got. Any day of the week, download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit today. Payable and bonus bets. Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virgin Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida? Call 1833 play wise in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia this is Daniel Cormier from

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Damonte (23:16)

Right?

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Nick Wright (24:39)

Damonte, let's keep going on this trade and then get to the other stuff.

Damonte (24:43)

Yeah, so the Rams just cleared up one of their only needs with that trade and they still have the Falcons pick at number 13. So now they are the lone favorites at plus 7:50 to win the Super Bowl. Do you agree with Vegas there?

Nick Wright (24:57)

I mean it makes a lot of sense.

Damonte (25:00)

Return punts.

Nick Wright (25:02)

The no, he's not going to be a punt returner so maybe they do need to address that. But that 13th pick should be an impact player for them. It they have really struggled on drafting and developing their own corners which is the traded for Marcus Peters, they traded for Jalen Ramsey, they traded for Trent McDuffie. So this is, you know, again, I think they paid a lot. But when you have 38 year old Matt Stafford and you've been banging on the door and he's the defending league mvp, why the hell not? And so I, you know, if I look at the Rams depth chart as we sit here today, let me just pull it up real quick. I wouldn't hate them at 13 demands a considering wide receiver just because I don't think Devonte, you know, has probably many years left. Maybe just one left. I also wouldn't hate them going offensive line to shore up that right side of their offensive line. But in reality the Rams don't have many glaring holes. I mean the, the, the entire secondary needs a lot of work but it doesn't seem like they trust themselves on drafting corners. So I would be I guess a little surprised if they draft a corner at 13. I would not be surprised if they move down if they tried to restock some of the picks they just traded away. You know, by moving down in the draft.

Damonte (26:50)

Seven years after taking him at number one, the Cardinals are splitting ways with Kyler Murray. We all know you aren't the biggest fan of the shorter quarterbacks. Where do you stand at on Tyler or Kyler?

Nick Wright (27:03)

I'm stunned how many people are trying to convince themselves that 7 years and 87 starts into his career Kyler Murray is different than what we know he Is. Which is a below average NFL starting quarterback. And you can say below average. That's. That's harsh. It's not. There's 32 teams in the league. And if right now I were to tell you, stop me when I say a quarterback. Kyler's better than Mahomes. Stafford Allen, Lamar Burrow, Darnold, Caleb May, Trevor Goff Love, Dak Hertz, Baker, Herbert Jaden. That's 16. That's 16.

Damonte (27:56)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (27:57)

I have not mentioned C.J. stroud. I have not mentioned Bo Nix. I have not mentioned Brock Purdy. I have not mentioned, you know, some Cam Ward, some people like Kyle or I'm sorry, Bryce, though, but that's the.

Damonte (28:15)

It starts to get questionable there. But the fact that it's like a debate. Yeah, right.

Nick Wright (28:21)

So he's at best the 20th best quarterback in football.

Damonte (28:25)

At best.

Nick Wright (28:28)

And he is. He does wear down over the course of the season. He does have shaky relationships with teammates and front offices and he does have very questionable work habits at. That's just who he is. And so that the Arizona Cardinals last year, the coaching staff was fighting for its life and Kyler came back healthy from injury and they were like, yeah, Jacoby Brissette runs this offense better. We're sticking with him.

Damonte (29:09)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (29:09)

I don't. If people are trying to convince themselves that Kyler on the Vikings would be dangerous. No, it wouldn't. Would it be an upgrade over J.J. mcCarthy? Sure. Would they be dangerous? No. And again, Darnold got like 35 starts with the Jets. Gino got 30 starts with the Jets. Baker got I think 50 some with the Browns and showed something. Kyler has started 87 games. Kyler has started more games in this league than Joe Burrow. Like, it's not. Oh, he hasn't had the opportunity.

Damonte (29:55)

I mean, people are probably just saying it's the Cardinals, though.

Nick Wright (29:59)

Yeah. But when he got there, people were like, oh, man, Cliff Kingsbury traded for DeAndre Hopkins. People didn't think that was some terrible mess. Now it turned into it, but he was a part of it. And so I do. I think Kyler is a starter in this league. Yes, absolutely. Do I think that he would be an upgrade over what the Browns, the Jets, the Steelers, the Vikings are likely going to go into next season with. If they don't sign him? I do. But do I think that means there's any contending possibilities? I don't. Now, the glass quarter full would be this Damonze quarter. This is the first time in his athletic life he has failed in any way.

Damonte (31:02)

Yeah. Some Adversity.

Nick Wright (31:03)

He is.

Damonte (31:04)

I mean, seven seasons in Arizona.

Nick Wright (31:06)

No, but I'm saying them cutting him. Yeah, cutting him is the adversity. Right. He. He was the greatest player in the history of Texas high school football. The greatest. He also was such a great baseball player. He was a first round pick for the Oakland A's. He then went to college, won the Heisman, went number one in the draft and instantly as early as they could have got paid. And so it was just nothing. But everything I'm doing is working, everything's great. And now it's a real slap in the face of no, they're paying you to go away and you'll probably sign. Make sense. Sign for the minimum because this team's going to be paying you anyway. So maybe that is a come to Jesus moment. But I don't know.

Damonte (32:03)

You think maybe you should switch over to baseball?

Nick Wright (32:07)

I feel like it's probably too late, too late for that. But I think that could have been an option at some point. Listen, it seems like people loved him as a baseball player. Loved him. And he is just a sick.

Damonte (32:19)

He would be elite in baseball.

Nick Wright (32:22)

Yeah.

Damonte (32:23)

I mean the dude, he's fast as hell.

Nick Wright (32:28)

Let me see if I can. He was the eighth overall pick.

Damonte (32:32)

Eighth.

Nick Wright (32:35)

The. Yeah, I mean he was, I mean he, he's a legendary athlete. Yeah. And the. I'm trying to see you guys can ninth overall pick. And I mean God bless him for that. He has, he has been a major disappointment as an NFL quarterback. And I don't think again, he is two months old or two months younger than Darnold. Like, I just don't think he is this unpolished diamond. We'll see. But I, I don't, I, I don't buy it. All right, let's talk Bengals for a moment.

Damonte (33:21)

So the Bengals botched Trey Hendrickson. They failed to tag him. They're not going to tag him. They failed to trade him away, get something for him. How should Bengals fans feel and how should Burrow feel?

Nick Wright (33:33)

So this is just franchise malpractice. Two, you had Trey Hendrickson. He led the league in sacks. He wanted a big long term deal. You didn't want to give it to him. He was pissed. You move some money around a bit to get him to come back in with 17 and a half sacks. The next year he responded with another 17 and a half sacks. And he's like, all right, now you've got to pay me. They're like, nope, we're not doing that. So then he was super. He left training Camp, it was a whole mess. He then begrudgingly comes back. You then have last year, Burrow gets hurt, and he's. And you know you're not resigning him, and you don't even trade him for pennies on the dollar at the deadline. He then never comes back from his injury, and now you let him walk for nothing. It's just such bad business. Just indefensibly bad business. And Burrow should be livid that they either couldn't get a deal done or couldn't accept they weren't going to get a deal done and moved him last off season or the off season before or at the very least at the deadline. And to lose Trey Hendrickson for nothing's outrageous. Now, I do think he will. I think you can make an argument. How old is Hendrickson? 32. That might be old.

Damonte (35:25)

Yeah, I was gonna say he's younger than that.

Nick Wright (35:28)

No, no, he's 31. Oh, the. So he is. And Max Crosby is 28. I should have looked these up beforehand. Bad job on me. I apologize. But I got it right. Max Crosby's 28, turns 29 in August. If I were running a team, Demanza, I would rather sign Trey Hendrickson in free agency for good money rather than trade multiple firsts to get for Max Crosby for and then resign him to huge money. Crosby's a better player, and Crosby's got more years in front of him. But I the. The fact that you can sign one guy and you'd have to trade multiple picks for the other guy.

Damonte (36:30)

He's already good.

Nick Wright (36:32)

And so here is the other question I have about Trey, because Trey, listen, he was underpaid, but it's not like he had never been paid. So Trey Hendrickson up to this point in his career has made 95 million bucks. He was making 20 million a year on this contract with the Bengals. Basically 5 year, 20 million ish dollar deal after his rookie deal. If Trey wants one last huge payday, he has earned it. And God bless him, I do wonder if he might want to stick it to the Bengals. And if he does, I think the Patriots, the Bills, the Ravens.

Damonte (37:25)

Ravens, yes.

Nick Wright (37:28)

Yeah, particularly the Ravens.

Damonte (37:30)

Yes.

Nick Wright (37:31)

Like in the division, all four of those teams desperately need pass rush help and be like, yeah, I'm sticking around and I'm going to write for the Ravens twice a year and for the other teams, maybe if the Bengals ever make the playoffs again. So I. I've said this before. I'll say it again. There is a lot of borough Scentsy that reminds me of Breeze New Orleans, where right after he got there, they make it to a Super Bowl. Breeze won, Burrow didn't. And then those Saints went seven and nine three years in a row. They missed the playoffs a lot. And then at the tail end had it like a three, four year period of super high contention. Again at the tail end of Breeze's time, but never made another super bowl. Where you are wasting big portions of this player's career even though he is super highly productive because you can't get the defensive side of the ball right. And that's a damn shame. All right. Daman's. A couple of my pals have a podcast together. It's called Game Over. Yeah, One is my buddy Rich Paul, who you met and hung out with a couple weeks ago. And the other is Max Kellerman, who I once didn't officially intern for him, but I interned for the radio show before his radio show. And he and I haven't spent much time together since. We've come across each other a couple times. But I really like Max. Like I. I have about as much respect for Max as anybody who does what I do. And Jordan came up on their latest pod. I'll let you take it from there.

Damonte (39:25)

Yeah. So later. Pod. Latest pod with Rich Paul. Max Kellerman said that if MJ played today, he would average a 40 point triple double. For a little bit of context, Wilt is the only player ever to average 40 in a season and only three players ever have averaged a triple double.

Nick Wright (39:41)

So yeah, so listen, I, I don't even care about the triple double piece because Jordan. I do. I think Jordan averaging a triple double today, sure, maybe he almost did it the one year he played point guard for the Bulls. It can be done. Jordan obviously is a demonstrably better player than Ross. Russ has averaged a bunch of triple doubles. I and so no problem. The 40 point a game thing with Jordan in today's game here is the problem. And this is why I'm so stunned Max said it because one of the reasons I have so much respect for Max, it's kind of like arrogant. The reason I have so much respect for Max because you guys have like minded so much of me.

Damonte (40:34)

Yes, exactly.

Nick Wright (40:35)

I'm like, man, that guy's smart. I like how he makes arguments. A lot of it is just he reminds me of myself. So that's kind of a. But regardless, Max very often in his arguments does what you've got to do if you're going to have a sound argument, which is tease it out and realize the full implications of your argument and the full implications of Michael Jordan could average 40 a game are. So then the guys who, when Jordan was averaging 29, averaged 28. They would in today's game be 38, 37 point a game. And the guys today who are the best scorers back then would be in the low 20s. So let's write because it can't only apply to Michael. The, the 90s, deflation and contemporary inflation. So let's, let's just grab some Michael Jordan seasons. So if you're saying Michael Jordan in 92, a lot of people think that is peak Jordan, second Bulls championship, the best team. He's, he's got it all figured. He averaged 30.1 points per game. Dominique Wilkins average and Carl Malone Both averaged exactly 28. So 1992, Dominique Wilkins in today's game, we're giving him 37 a night. I'm not Chris Mullen, excellent player, was at 25 and a half and he was an even better of, you know, a great shooter on, you know, three point shooter. So Chris Mullins 35 a game in today's year, give it to him. Hard for me to, you know, hard for me to wrap my mind around, but that's the implication. 95, Michael was 32 and a half and Dominique was 30, Karl Malone 27. So all those guys, once again they're going to be in the high to mid-30s in today's game. The next year, by the way, when Michael was retired, David Robinson averaged 30 a game. So in today's game, the Admiral is 38 and a half a night. I don't think so. But let's take it a step further and do the best scores of this era. And what, because what you're saying is scoring is so much easier today that those guys in Michael's era, when 30 was the high water mark then and 30 is basically the high water mark now, those guys would struggle. So you're telling me peak OKC, Kevin Durant, who never averaged more than 32 a game, you drop him into the 90s, he's a 24 point per game guy. That's what we're saying. Because if you're saying you're going to give a 25% boost to the scores of the 90s in today, then you've got to take a 25% tax on the scores of today in the 90s. So Pete, Kevin Durant, if he's dropped into 1992, is looking up at Chris Mullen and Clyde Drexler on the scoring list. I don't think so.

Damonte (44:40)

He's probably averaging, Call me crazy. Like he really probably is averaging 40 at that time.

Nick Wright (44:45)

Well, no, I don't think that either because it was, no, just the game was slower, less possessions. It was, it was the, it was harder. But maybe you think it wouldn't matter. But the other thing that happens, and this is what Max said and this is just maddening, and I've talked about this before, people pretend that the one weakness in Michael's game, three point shooting, was a weakness by choice. Like, well, if he wanted to be good, he would be good. As if he was Shaq and never shot him. When in reality there was a brief stretch of time when Jordan was a good three point shooter because of that. He shot a lot of them for the era. And that period was when they moved the line in. And as soon as they move the line back out, he went from 37% shooting for a game, which was a lot for the mid-90s, to 23% shooting one and a half a game. And then after he had three years of retirement, seeing that, oh, guys are shooting more and more threes and my athleticism isn't what it once was, he came back and was a nice crisp 19% three point shooter. Again, he might be the greatest player of all time, there is a strong argument for that. But the idea that he just chose to be bad at something rather than. It was the one thing he wasn't great at. The. The idea that because he, he, he took over 1700 threes in his career and if you. Again, if you. I'm trying to do. I should have done this beforehand, but when in his career, because his career three point numbers don't actually look awful. It's 32.7, that's fine. But if you remove the years where they moved the line in. So the years where they move the line in Michael from 3 was 39% and the years where it was the regular line was 29%. We don't have to make stuff up. I'm not going to sit here and say, you know, if LeBron really wanted to, he'd be a 90% free throw shooter. He just chooses not to be. No, he just, it's not as good as he is, as hard as he works. It's not for him to be a 90% free throw shooter. So. But again, if you believe Michael Jordan would average 40 in today's game, then you must believe Dominique would average 38 and peak. Kevin Durant in the 90s would average like 23. I don't think you actually believe it. Boost Mobile proving you don't have to overpay for great wireless unlock the savings with 25amonth Forever Unlimited plan. It's a permanent price with no contracts and no price hikes. You can keep your phone and your number, but you save up to $600 a year compared to the major carriers. Stop overpaying and switch to a fair price@boost mobile.com today based on average annual single line payment of AT&T Verizon and T Mobile customers, compared to 12 months of the Boost Unlimited plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit boost mobile.com

Daniel Cormier (48:38)

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Jacob Goldstein (50:35)

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Damonte (51:08)

right, so Giannis returned from his five week hiatus and lost to my Celtics with no Jaylen Brown. The Bucks are currently three and a half games out of the play in what is the goal for the Bucks at this point?

Nick Wright (51:20)

All right, first I do want to say this. I've been very high on Jalen Brown and his MVP chances and you know, giving him a lot of respect. I'm now going to say something totally unfair. His first team all NBA slash MVP ballot consideration took a bit of a hit last night. Just a tiny one. Not because he missed the game, because the guy is basically an ironman by today's NBA standards, but because he missed the game. And it was and it was just like Peyton Pritchard's like no problem, I got this Hugo Gonzalez, like watch me throw up. A plus 27 in 35 minutes.

Damonte (52:06)

Always has that in him though. Like if he was

Nick Wright (52:09)

I didn't know Hugo Gonzalez had an 11 and 16 in him. Baylor Shireman with double all the starters were in double figures. I they're 20 of 50 from 3 and they just annihilate the Bucks. And again, I should give a shout out to the weirdest coach in the NBA, Joe Missoula, because he's cooking, the guy's cooking. And so we'll get to more of the Celtics piece in a moment. I do think the end of this season will have at least some impact on whether or not Giannis stays. So I think we can all agree that the Bucks have no even if they were to make the play in, have no shot of doing any damage in the playoffs. And making the play in is going to be hard because they're three and a half back, having lost the last two before Giannis got back and then last night's game and the team they're chasing, Charlotte has been flatly an excellent team for the last like six weeks, maybe close to two months. So I think they are actually more likely if, if they were to get in, I don't think it would be because they catch Charlotte, who's the 10. It's because they catch Atlanta, who's the nine. And that's going to be hard. They've, they've played 60 games, they've got 22 games left and they are three losses behind the Hawks, who are on a little four game winning streak of their own. And so the reason I mention even any of that is Giannis, you know, doesn't, I don't think he wants to leave, but I also don't think he wants to stay. I think that he is, he wants to have something that does not exist, the ability to stay in Milwaukee forever and compete for championships in the remainder of his prime. And that, that is not a world that exists. However, the fact that he has not yet forced himself out of there means I don't think he is dead set 100% on leaving. And if Milwaukee could fight its way into the play in, play good basketball the remainder of the season, then maybe he doesn't force the Bucks hand. Now, there is a very strong argument to be made, he shouldn't have to force their hand, that the Milwaukee Bucks leadership should say the best thing for the franchise is to move on from Giannis this summer to see what? If the spurs have a disappointing postseason, if the Rockets have a disappointing postseason, if the Thunder have a disappointing postseason, what those teams would give us for a guy who is still unequivocally a top five, almost assuredly a top four. Very strong argument for a top three player in the entire world. It seems like neither party here really has the stomach demons a to want to be the one to officially pull the trigger on a breakup. But I do wonder if if in the final 23 games of their season, the first of which was last night, they go 9 and 14 and finish the year 35 and 47 and, you know, tied with or right behind the Bulls for 12th in the Eastern Conference, if they don't say, okay, it's been an amazing run, Giannis is, Giannis has been there a long time. Giannis came into the league in 2013, which remarkably means this is his 13th year with Milwaukee. Thirteen years with Milwaukee, that is like context on that. LeBron played 15 with the Cavs and the Heat combined, both cav stints, plus the Heat stint. 13 years with a team is an unbelievable run. That's as many years as Michael Jordan played with the bulls. 13 years. And so there is no. He won a championship. It's been an unbelievable career. But I do think that if the Bucks go, what would they have to go probably in their final 22? If they go 12 and 8 and get to 38 and 42. No, that wouldn't be it. Hold on.

Damonte (57:59)

How.

Nick Wright (58:00)

What am I. Oh, they have 22 left. Not 20 left. Sorry. If they go 13 and 9 and get to 39 and 43 and catch Atlanta and make the play in, I wonder if they run it back one more year, which I think would just be a mistake for all parties involved.

Damonte (58:27)

Do you think a bad. A bad postseason would be or a bad end of season would be more eye opening for Giannis or the Bucks front off office?

Nick Wright (58:36)

I. I think the Bucks front office has basically decided we're only trading him if he tells us to trade him. I don't think that's necessarily the right thing to way to do it, but I think that's. That's what they've decided. So I guess the answer would be for Giannis. All right, let's talk Celtics on this.

Damonte (58:54)

So, yeah, that Tatum return is looking likely. Looks like it's coming later this week, actually. And he was talking to the doctor and saying he's not coming back to be a role player. How deep are you reading into that or what are you seeing from that?

Nick Wright (59:06)

So that clip, correct me if I'm wrong, is from very early in his rehab. It was just released, but it was from very early in his rehab. So I think what Tatum is saying to the doctor is we need, you know, this process to come when I come back. I don't. So I don't think. I think people are. That's not how I read it. I don't think Jason Tatum is saying the day I come back, I need to be Jason Tatum. That everybody knows. I think what Jason Tatum is saying, I need to rehab in a way so that once I'm all the way back, Rust is off. I've played, you know, once I am back to whatever the peak version of me is, it's the same as the version from before the injury. Do you understand the distinction there?

Damonte (60:04)

No, I get. I get it.

Nick Wright (60:06)

So I think he's saying we need to approach this rehab so that at some point, not immediately, but at some point, it's like Kevin Durant where you, you see no difference in the player pre and post Achilles on a long enough time horizon that we are not, you know, I will, you know, mix metaphors massively here. You tore your Achilles, it was different type of Achilles tear and you actually didn't have surgery. And one of the things they told you flatly was if you don't have surgery, you will never regain 100% of the athleticism you had before. You're not a pro athlete. And you know what I mean. You were, you know, you were like that's fine.

Damonte (60:55)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (60:55)

I think what Jason Jayson Tatum is saying, we need to approach this rehab. So at some point I am 100% of the guy I was before and

Damonte (61:11)

go ahead, say that he like given where the Celtics are right now and when he is going to be coming back, that he is more likely to be a role player than not.

Nick Wright (61:21)

I think he will definitively so. I think he's coming back in the next 10 days, right? The next 10 to 14 days. I think he obviously will be a role player for the first.

Damonte (61:33)

Right.

Nick Wright (61:34)

Months.

Damonte (61:35)

Right?

Nick Wright (61:36)

Yeah. But if he does come back in the next week to 10, you know, week to two weeks and Simmons said he thinks he's coming back Friday and Simmons pretty plugged in with the Celtics, obviously.

Damonte (61:49)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (61:52)

I think that gives him enough of a Runway to where he can be by the time the playoffs start. Not his, not peak Tatum. I, if he comes back in March, I do not think he'll be peak Tatum until the beginning of next season. But there is a big gulf between peak Tatum and role player. Pete Tatum was first team all NBA, you know, six, seventh best player in the league. Right.

Damonte (62:23)

Right.

Nick Wright (62:23)

So I think by the playoffs he could be backed, he could be the 25th best player in the league, you know, like that. And then maybe by midway through the playoffs approaching that top 15, maybe that's too optimistic. But do I, do I think that Jason Tatum, you know, do you look at Derek White as a role player? I don't. I look at him as a little bit somewhere between like a step above role player, step above roll, step below star.

Damonte (63:02)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (63:02)

So like and I guess maybe there's not a name for that. So maybe that is a role player like just a high quality starter. So I think it's like superstar star, high quality starter, role player, bench player, you know, and then on down that's fair. I think when I think the day Tatum comes back, he's a role player. I think within a few weeks he will be high quality starter and I Think his goal would be by round two of the playoffs, be a star and get back to superstar next season. And I think that's realistic.

Jacob Goldstein (63:49)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (63:50)

I think the fact that he had surgery within hours of the injury, that he has been. Everything seemingly has been going great, I think that is realistic. And I just, I've tried to dead this before, but I just want to reiterate it here. I think any discussion about Tatum disrupting what the Celtics have going is utter nonsense. Not because he won't at least temporarily potentially disrupt what they have going. I think he will. But I think what they have going is worth nothing for a team that has championship aspirations. What they have going right now is a really good season and an awesome story that has no chance of resulting in a championship. And so you can disrupt that, and it's fine if at the end of the disruption, so, so Jason Tatum was

Damonte (65:03)

on the Celtics last year and has been on the team. He's also not like a new guy.

Nick Wright (65:07)

Oh, yeah. These guys haven't played with him. That's a, that's. But I would, I would almost. Again, I'll mix metaphors here, and this won't really work, but if midway through NASCAR race. Car is leading and, you know, like, appears just by that snapshot of time or near the front that they could win it.

Damonte (65:44)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (65:45)

But the, the people in the Again, mixing metaphors on shaky ground for me, but just stick with me. The people in the, the pit crew and the spotter are like, oh, man, our front right tire is wobbly. And it's at some point in this race, it's going, we're going to lose it.

Damonte (66:09)

Right.

Nick Wright (66:10)

It does not disrupt your ability to win the race by taking your medicine, pitting, falling a little back in the pack and fixing that, because fixing that is a necessity to have any chance of actually completing the race. That's what I would say. Tatum coming back is, you know, you

Damonte (66:31)

know what your ceiling is with a broken tire.

Nick Wright (66:34)

Right. But analogous.

Damonte (66:35)

You only go so far.

Nick Wright (66:37)

Right. What the Celtics are right now is it's not fake, but it is not championship caliber. And so even if the net the first few weeks with Tatum are rocky, that gives you a chance to become championship caliber. And so I, I, I also think that.

Damonte (67:01)

Does Jason Tatum get to be Jordan love this year?

Nick Wright (67:05)

What does that mean?

Damonte (67:06)

Well, you're just talking about how if Jordan love this year over this season, he had the team, the complete team. As long as he can just be there and not mess up in a huge way, they should be a super bowl team. Michael Parsons obviously got injured and you know, it got a little derailed, but I saw some similarities there.

Nick Wright (67:24)

So I think that's interesting. I'm trying to think if there's another comp that I would have for it because we don't have many examples of a team who all of a sudden is going to drop in this late in the season, a guy who objectively has been and is their best player with hopes of winning the title.

Damonte (67:53)

Right? Already there, yeah.

Nick Wright (67:55)

And so it's very fascinating. This is also where Tatum is a bit of a victim of his own rehab and I've talked about this, so I'll move on after this. If Tatum just had a regular rehab schedule and there was no chance he was coming back this year, I think this Celtics playoff run would have reminded the world how valuable he is to that team. That this Celtics season when if he never came back it end it ended in round two in the playoffs. Now I understand last year it also ended in round two in the playoffs, but in previous years we'd seen the team win the title, make a bunch of conference finals, make an NBA Finals. It would as good as Jalen Brown has been, as good as Missoula has been, as good as the team has been, Remind folks that in order to be able to win 16 playoff games held, win 12 playoff games, there's a requisite talent level that I don't think the Celtics without Jason Tatum have. But it doesn't look like we're going to see a playoff run without Jason Tatum because I think he'll be back by the time I get back from Japan. Again, reminder, no shows next week. We are doing Thursday but no shows next week because I'll be in Japan. I think that Jayson Tatum's back playing ball with the Celtics.

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Nick Wright (72:13)

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