“3-17”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show – “3-17”

Episode Date: July 27, 2026
Main Guests: Michael Wilbon, Alan Buis, Brian Windhorst
Theme: Sports, friendship, and the seismic shift in the NBA with LeBron James signing with the Philadelphia 76ers

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Tony Kornheiser is joined by frequent show friends Michael Wilbon, Alan Buis, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst for a deep-dive discussion on LeBron James’ high-profile decision to join the Philadelphia 76ers. The episode also covers the Washington Nationals’ recent performance, trade deadline strategy, and a celebration of golf’s newest star, Jackson Koivan, winner of the 3M Open. The banter is fast, insightful, and rooted in longtime relationships among the panel.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Tony’s High School Weekend & Golf Tales

• Tony recounts his annual golf outing with high school friends, including the camaraderie, his stubbornness with keeping his golf score under 100, and how tradition brings joy and a touch of nostalgia.
  • “I shot 99.99. And when I shoot 99, it's over 100. I'm just putting in 99. I can't put in over 100.” (06:01, Tony)
• The group jokes about grill mishaps, grilling safety, and “lighting the grill with matches.”
  • “Is there anything in my life with you that indicates to you that I can do that?” (05:15, Tony to Wilbon re: fixing the grill)
• Reflection on cherished routines and the meaning of gathering with longstanding friends.

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2. Nationals Update: Hope, Trades, and Emotional Investment

• The panel discusses the Nationals’ recent series victory over Arizona, which has playoff implications given the teams’ similar wildcard standings.
  • “Their playoff chances has gone… Have gone up to about 10%. That's huge.” (10:34, Wilbon)
• Breakdown of the bullpen’s high-wire act, especially Crook’s struggles and Beater’s rescue.
• Trade analysis: Curtis Mead dealt for a left-handed pitcher; the guys debate if this signals buyer/seller status for the team at the deadline.
  • “Everyone who analyzes this trade objectively says it's a win for the Nats.” (14:14, Tony)
• Reluctance to trade key young players like James Wood, C.J. Abrams, and Garcia—underscoring the emotional fabric of the locker room and fans’ attachments.
  • “I can't even imagine trading Wood. He gets up there and hits at 450ft.” (16:30, Tony)
• Awareness that business decisions sometimes outweigh sentiment but that team chemistry and “clubhouse glue guys” like Garcia matter.

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3. LeBron James Signs with Philadelphia: Massive NBA Fallout

Segment with Michael Wilbon (20:09–34:44)

• Wilbon outlines the logic of LeBron’s choice: Philly is “the place you want to go if you’re really trying to chase a title.”
  • “If you were going to play and want to try to go after it, Philadelphia would be the place because of trading for Jaylen Brown, the maturation of Tyrese Maxey…” (20:40, Wilbon)
• Tony and Wilbon agree that moving to Philly is about legacy (“winning for a fourth franchise”) and chasing the only credential Jordan can’t claim.
  • “I've won in four different franchises. Nobody else has ever done that. That's the credential, right?” (26:32, Tony)
• Wilbon tempers expectations: the Eastern Conference is stronger than ever, and Philly should not expect instant chemistry or a 70-win season.
  • “People who are crowning them already and handing them just add water and hand them the Larry O'Brien trophy. I think that's foolish, but I can't wait to see this.” (23:09, Wilbon)
• Wilbon’s warning: “Philadelphia is a tough place to play. LeBron's never been booed…He's never had people who live there not even use their tickets to go see a playoff game he was in…It's the most hostile, most difficult place to play, in my opinion, in the country.” (25:42)

Segment with Brian Windhorst (37:32–52:16)

• Windhorst, LeBron’s longtime beat reporter, gives behind-the-scenes perspective on LeBron’s process.
  • “Only LeBron truly knows. So anybody can claim whatever they want and I can't prove them wrong.” (38:30, Windhorst)
• Final contenders were Miami and Philly—not Cleveland or Golden State.
• LeBron’s statement about ignoring money and family for this basketball opportunity is “a complete one-off in the history of the sport.” (39:12, Windhorst)
  • “He said he didn't care about money and didn't care about family. Now just think of that sentence...” (39:04, Windhorst)
• Windhorst suggests LeBron may never actually live in Philly full-time, possibly preferring New York.
• Discussion about the impact of Bob Myers (Sixers exec) and the always “think big” warrior philosophy that helped recruit LeBron and Jaylen Brown.
• Tony: “Paul seems to get bent out of shape when someone suggests that LeBron is chasing rings. He is chasing rings. There's nothing wrong with chasing rings. That's what he's doing.” (44:02)
  • Windhorst: “Ring chasing is deemed to be sort of dirty. But he…said he wants to win the championship now.”
• Fallout for the Celtics and Brad Stevens after trading Jaylen Brown within the division and missing on LeBron: “To trade him within your division and then it boomerang and enabled them to get LeBron and definitely knock you down a peg.” (45:03–47:24, Windhorst)
• Managing roles in Philly: The tougher challenge may be getting Jaylen Brown invested in a role he didn’t choose, not LeBron’s presence itself.
  • “Jaylen Brown has to play a bigger role than LeBron. Let's just be honest.” (49:09, Windhorst)

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4. The Emergence of Jackson Koivan: A New Star in Golf

• Wilbon and Tony marvel at the rise of 21-year-old Koivan, who wins the 3M Open in his third PGA Tour start, already a 3-time SEC Player of the Year.
  • “And it's not just that he's 20, 21, he's three times the SEC golfer of the year.” (28:58, Wilbon)
• Comparison to Tiger Woods’ early dominance and the challenge facing current stars like Scottie Scheffler.
  • “If you are Scottie Scheffler and you finish 63 on Sunday and you are minus 22, you can't ever think you're not going to win. Right?...But that's not my thought...my thought is Scottie Shepler better hope this is not 1997 and there's some 21 year old dude…” (29:57, Tony/Wilbon)
• Contemplation of what true greatness looks like—the test is sustainability over a decade, not a single season.
  • “If you want to chase Tiger, it's a 10 year process of winning. Not three years, maybe more…” (32:22, Tony)

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5. Classic TK Show Community and Ephemera

• Updates from listeners—touching notes about the power of small community events and show traditions (autograph sessions after band concerts, charity children's books, homemade notepads).
• Callbacks to show lore (email jingles, Bethesda Bagels, “potato farming,” etc.).
• Multiple show in-jokes and segments evoking a strong sense of community.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On LeBron in Philly:
  “If you think they're going to change because he's LeBron James, sorry, they're not. It's Philly. And so I...It's the most hostile, most difficult place to play, in my opinion, in the country.” (25:42, Wilbon)

• Legacy and Chasing Jordan:
  “That's the credential, right? ...I've won in four different franchises. Nobody else has ever done that.” (26:32, Tony)

• On the Nationals’ Trade:
  “Everyone who analyzes this trade objectively says it's a win for the Nats.” (14:14, Tony)

• Windhorst on LeBron’s Priorities:
  “He said he didn't care about money and didn't care about family. Now just think of that sentence...” (39:04, Windhorst)

• On Clubhouse Chemistry:
  “He is a fabulous team guy. He's the...When someone hits a home run, Garcia hugs him. He's the last one they go to. And that is the obvious tradition in that...clubhouse area, dugout area.” (17:03, Tony)

• On Jaylen Brown’s New Role:
  “Jaylen Brown goes from a year where he declared himself...the best two way player in the league and thought he was the MVP to like trying to find this out.” (48:08, Windhorst)

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Notable Segment Timestamps

• [03:42] – Start of main show, Tony recaps golf weekend with friends
• [09:09] – Nationals bullpen blunder and debate on relievers
• [12:44] – Nationals trade analysis and deadline strategy
• [20:09] – Wilbon on LeBron’s motives for Philadelphia, strength of Eastern Conference
• [25:42] – Wilbon’s strong take on Philly as a “tough place to play”
• [28:38] – Wilbon & Tony discuss Jackson Koivan’s win and SEC golf
• [37:32] – Windhorst joins for a deep dive on LeBron’s decision process, impact on NBA
• [45:03] – Windhorst on Boston’s predicament after losing Jaylen Brown and missing out on LeBron
• [48:06] – Conversation on managing team roles with LeBron, Brown, Embiid, and Maxey

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Episode Tone & Style

Tony’s trademark self-effacing humor, long-standing rapport with guests, and blend of serious sports analysis with playful banter. The tone moves seamlessly from nostalgia and appreciation for tradition, to deep-dives into sports business and locker-room dynamics, to friendly teasing and wistfulness about aging, legacy, and sports community.

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For New Listeners

This episode is an excellent entry point: you’ll get high-level NBA trade talk, granular Nationals fandom, the joy of new sports heroes, and the irreplaceable chemistry of Kornheiser’s friend group. The conversations are accessible, full of rich perspective and personal stories, with plenty of memorable one-liners and honest takes.

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Closing Remark

A rich episode perfect for NBA fans eager to untangle LeBron’s latest move, Nationals followers dreaming of October, and anyone who enjoys the warmth of sports radio’s best community.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we will talk to Michael Wilbon about LeBron signing with Philly and also about Jackson koivan winning the 3M open. We'll talk more about LeBron with Brian Windhorse. The socialite is with us. We're very thrilled about that. But first, commerce.

[Show Announcer]

This is the Tony Korneiser show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Show Announcer]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. The Tony Kornheiser show.

[Michael Wilbon]

The other night I was browsing the Vistaprint website. Normally I wait till there's about two outs, two strikes in the Nats game just to be sure. Just thinking little ways to make our podcast feel even more organized and professional. I completely lost track of time because there's so many options. We use Vistaprint, order our show's custom notepads. We really do. And what's great is that I have orders from eight, nine years ago that are still saved. So it's as easy as going and logging into my account and they're ready to send out again. So I know Nigel uses some of the notepads, the spiral notepads, which is great. And I use some of the notepads that have our logo sort of in a shadow in the background. We actually send those out every year. Handwritten notes to our, to our winners from the March Madness tournament bracket.

[Doug]

That's lovely.

[Michael Wilbon]

I realized how useful it would be to have show branded notepads for episode prep. Just like Nigel interview questions. Tony just uses a legal pad. But we're working to get them into our own show. Branded 1 production notes and all those ideas that pop into your head right before you hit record. Instead of scribbling notes on random pieces of paper, everything stays in one place and it looks great too. And you know what? They have recommendations. So once you're part of their system and your logo's in there, they will say, hey, would you like a deck of cards? And you know what you're sitting there considering.

[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Show Announcer]

Previously on the Tony Korniser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You and Alan know everybody. And you know Alan and he knows you. It's by the way, Alan Buis.

[Brian Windhorst]

I love Alan, Ben.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I want to be Alan Beavis.

[Guest Analyst]

What did you say?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Two questions last time he has to answer. You gave me a great line.

[Guest Analyst]

That's what it was.

[Brian Windhorst]

What is it?

[Tony Kornheiser]

He has to answer two questions every day. Where am I playing? And what's for dinner? And that's it.

[Gary]

That's all.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's it.

[Show Announcer]

The Tony Kornizer show is on now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And as if sans had magic, the socialite is with us today. Alan is here. Alan and I and Gary and Tom Williams, not related to Gary, played golf yesterday. I was bad, but I got better on the back. I got better on the back. You have to talk into the microphone. You have to.

[Alan Buis]

I don't. Be like George.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, right. Like George or nobody will hear you. You know where George is?

[Alan Buis]

Ireland.

[Tony Kornheiser]

George is in Ireland. He's on a trip to Ireland with apparently some very good players like Jay Whitby, who's a very good player.

[Alan Buis]

A lot of guys that's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I hope it's nice in Ireland. I hope so. So I had my eulit high school weekend over Thursday, Friday, Saturday. These are people I went to high school with in.

[Michael Wilbon]

Do you finally get the grill lit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I have a grill problem. We had to light it with matches. The electric starter on the grill doesn't work, so I was gonna try. There's a couple of things I need from a handyman service called Clever Craft. I saw a sign for it, but. But Steven Pearsall said to me, if this doesn't start, it's very dangerous to light it by hand with matches. Did you have any problem with it when you were lighting?

[Michael Wilbon]

No, because I. I told you this. I replaced the battery, so there might be an issue with the. The terminal there. So if you unscrew it, you can see if it looks like there's some, you know, battery acid that might be leaking out of it or if it just looks like it needs to be cleaned up a little bit, because, again, the grill had not been used in years. But were you. Were you press the igniter. That is where you can screw it out and check to see if the battery's still in good shape.

[Guest Analyst]

Do you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is there anything in my life with you that indicates to you that I can do that?

[Michael Wilbon]

You handed the phone. Your friend the phone just so I could help him get the grill lit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. Right. Because I couldn't do it. And I don't. If I'm not going near battery acid. That doesn't sound good. That sounds like the end of my fingertips.

[Michael Wilbon]

Sounds like this sounds like you should just get a new grill.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I don't want battery acid anyway. So these. There were five guys that I went to high school with. One of them, I went to grade school.

[Michael Wilbon]

Season fries. Five guys.

[Guest Analyst]

I'm sorry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, no, we didn't go. We didn't go to five guys. I mean, we got. I only went once to five guys. I've told this story. I didn't get any fries. And then I found out that's the greatest thing in the world. And it's endless.

[Doug]

Endless. Yeah, it's an.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't get any. Yeah, I didn't get any. But I paid $14 for a junior cheeseburger, which seemed like a lot of money to me. Anyway, so these guys, Steven Pierce all. And Eddie Plutzer and Steven Sheinberg, who later became a dentist. Bobby Kandel and Richard Pollitt. And I go back longer with Richie than anybody because we went to elementary school together. They were here. We played three rounds of golf at the end, even though. And I was not good. I shot 99.99. And when I shoot 99, it's over 100. I'm just putting in 99. I can't put in over 100. But then in the. In the last nine, I shot 43. So I. I played well in the last nine and I made money. You know that there is an accounting. Everybody plays each other head to head. Everybody shifts carts throughout the entire thing. And there's an accounting. And at the end, I had won 75, but it all went to the lunch. The lunch was like a hundred and thirty dollars at Casapoulis. Do you know Casa Pulas?

[Alan Buis]

I do. It's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's really nice.

[Guest Analyst]

And then.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Eddie just said, well, just throw all the money into the lunch. So I didn't get any money.

[Doug]

It's easy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, I didn't lose any money, which is okay, but I didn't win any money. But I had a wonderful time. I mean, I look forward to this every year. The. You know, it's wonderful to be with them. And, you know, you just. I mean, we've lost some people already. We've. We've. Some people have passed on. So you always hope that the solid core group is there.

[Michael Wilbon]

You've been doing this for, like, 10, 15 years.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think it's about 15 years. I do. What a great tradition. Yeah. And everybody looks forward to it, but nobody. It's like nobody wears a ulit hat like. Or anything like that. There's nothing.

[Doug]

Sing the school fight song.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. We don't even know if we had a fight song when we were there.

[Guest Analyst]

Our nickname school.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, that. When we were there, that song was out. But when we were there, the nickname of our school was the Blue Jackets. Hewlett. Is he W L E T T? It's named for George W. Hewlett, who was a famous general with the British army during the Revolution.

[Doug]

He knew it's side to be on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, it's named for him. But we were the Blue Jackets and then we became the Bulldogs. I don't know why. I mean, nobody sent me a note saying, this is why we're the Bulldog. Yes. And Michael, in Michael's house, it is a great day to be a Bulldog, but in my house, it's. It's a little bit.

[Doug]

Anyway, had Bearcats wasn't available?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I had a really good time. Bearcats would have been in this group.

[Alan Buis]

Luck enough to get into Binghamton?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, it depends on what you mean by lucky enough. Two of them went to Williams, so I don't think they were looking at Binghamton. I don't think Binghamton was part of it. And. No, nobody else went to Binghamton. And in fact, I'm sure they spit on Binghamton, but I love Binghamton. I mean, I got my bag. I got the Binghamton Bearcats bag. I wish the clubs in it were better or that I was better. I tried. I demoed two putters, couldn't put with either of them. It's not the putter, it's me. It's not the too much movement. All right, so let's talk about the gnats. Allen has now joined the text chain. So this is good. Did you. I thought they were going to lose last night. I thought the relievers were going to

[Alan Buis]

lose because everybody was saying what an important game this was and we had to win this game. And then all of a sudden you said, oh, no, not again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This guy, Crook K r O. Okay. You have to dfa him.

[Alan Buis]

You cannot walk the first three batters in the bottom of the ninth. No, no, that's impossible.

[Doug]

That's. Yeah, that's a good rule.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So he walks the first three in the bottom of the ninth.

[Michael Wilbon]

Captain Hook.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's 10:4. It's 10:4. When the third one gets walked, I get on the texting, I said, get, get this guy out of here. Dfa him immediately tonight, because now you know your base is loaded, nobody out, and you are one pitch away from a 10, nine game. And then they bring in beater. I don't have a lot of confidence in beater because people will say, oh, well, the night before, he threw a perfect inning. Three outs, each ball was hit hard. Jacob Young almost had to go out of the ballpark to catch the first out in the ninth. Am I right, Michael? Right.

[Gary]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, but then he, he, he saved the game. Well, is that technically just another series win?

[Alan Buis]

They said it was a save because

[Tony Kornheiser]

the people on base.

[Alan Buis]

No, the on deck hitter, it would be the tying runs.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Alan Buis]

Candidates is so safe.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. So that was. Yeah, just another series win, but a series win at home, which they have not done very big. And Arizona is pretty much even with them in the wild card race.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. By the way, their playoff chances has gone. Have gone up to about 10%. That's huge.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, the Marlins have lost 12 games in a row. I didn't expect that. Right. And, and by the way, we're getting

[Michael Wilbon]

these first nine games back out of the, out of the break were huge. Particularly when you think about how they start August where they have, I think eight in a row against the Braves and Phillies.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's tough. Yeah, that is tough.

[Alan Buis]

Big series at home, but you have the warrior God Tonight pitching.

[Musician]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. You know, so it is, by the way, it is Max Scherzer's birthday today. I think he's like 42. He hasn't pitched in a while.

[Guest Analyst]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And he's the only person ever who, in order to get healthy, started playing the piano. I never, I mean, what is he? What are you, Ludwig van Beethoven? I love Max Scherzer.

[Alan Buis]

Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But I can't. I, I want him to do. Well, you're in a game the other

[Michael Wilbon]

night and we're looking out into, you know, one of the parking lots where he used to have the Scherzer eyes, and you're like, you know, we miss Scherzer.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Yeah. I sort of thought he might come back for one year, but I mean, Verlander has gone back to Detroit. Right. For the last year.

[Doug]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Scherzer is, I think second most active in wins behind Verlander.

[Doug]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But nobody's getting 300 again.

[Doug]

No, I think shows this and I could be wrong. I think it's like 235, 245, something like that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Doug]

But not gonna even get close to 300.

[Show Announcer]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, he doesn't pitch.

[Michael Wilbon]

Going back to these first three series, back from the break, you just think about what that does for their interest in selling or, you know, keeping players. When you think about yesterday's performance by one James Wood and C.J. abrams, two home runs each.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Now those names are mentioned. I would, I would never trade Wood. You could convince me on some level to trade Abrams. If you convince me that the kid they drafted number one last year, a shortstop can walk in and play that position. But C.J. abrams is having the best year of his career. And, and I don't know that you want to trade him now. They just traded Alan. What did you think they traded Curtis Mead. They picked up a potentially a very, very good left handed pitcher who was unfortunately on the injured list at the moment.

[Alan Buis]

Yeah, I mean, I think this is the first time in a few years that they traded for someone who will actually be on the major league roster now and ready to pitch if Sumany's healthy. But when you think about being able to get. I don't think he's an ace, but a second or third starter for Curtis Mead. I think you got to take it. It's a good trade even for this year, and I think it's a great trade for the future.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If you look at it, if you say to yourself, curtis Mead has bounced around. He's never been a starter, he's hitting Great right now. But maybe he's Joey Menesis. Maybe he has this one spike and then he doesn't give it to you again so you can get rid of him. Although, Michael, you lose the home run call. What is the home run call at Coco? That's the first time we got a

[Michael Wilbon]

text from Dan Coke. We sent him the video of the boys doing their call. You know what's amazing about kids? They're still going to do it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah. They'll say, see you later, Mike. They'll do that. Sure. So maybe it's a good thing. Unless I'll give you the magic name. Josiah Gray. He hasn't pitched in three years. You know, he was a very promising pitcher who made the All Star team and hasn't pitched since. That's like. That makes Strasberg look like a workhorse. But he hasn't pitched.

[Doug]

But see, which is the guy that used to work for the Red Sox with your organization? Is it the General Manager to BoNY?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Doug]

So he knows he drafted. He helped draft this guy. So, yes, he sort of got the inside hand on these. On these blokes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Everyone who analyzes this trade objectively says it's a win for the Nats.

[Doug]

Oh, yeah.

[Guest Analyst]

So.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. But it also.

[Michael Wilbon]

But then you were. You were very happy to see Brady House get, like, an RBI double yesterday late in the game, just to, you know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Because I don't want Tanya or Vivas at third base on a regular basis. What me did for you was give you a first baseman and a third baseman. So she puts for. Didn't have to get out there all the time, and Tanya and Vivas didn't have to get out there all the time, you know, but now. Now, now it's all on Brady House. And he. How many times have they sent him down already, Michael? Two or three.

[Alan Buis]

I only think it's a couple.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Alan Buis]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you know. And he was. He was promising. Hassle. Was promising. They dfa'd hassle about a month ago. You don't know. Dylan Cruz was the overall number two pick in the draft. And every time he gets a hit, you go, oh, well, maybe now. And then he, you know, strikes out or something. He's batting like 220. But you hope.

[Alan Buis]

But maybe now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Maybe now.

[Doug]

Maybe.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So what you're saying about something one time, just once. Okay.

[Alan Buis]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What you're saying, Alan, about the bringing in somebody who can be on the active roster right now, is that an indication to you that the team is either A, willing to spend money or B, not going to unload because they think they have a chance at the playoffs.

[Alan Buis]

You know, I think they're not sure. I think that's a great question. This happened to be a unique trade of being able to get a guy like this. So I. If I had a bet, I still think they're probably sellers for the right for the future. Because even if you make the playoffs and you lose two straight, you know, but it's only, like we said, a 10% chance. So if I had a bet, there's still sellers, you know, for the right, right price. You're not going to get anybody if they don't think they're standouts. And I think these guys, especially if it was Abrams or Garcia, you're going to get people ready to play.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I can see trading Garcia. Garcia is a very good professional hitter who's not the greatest defensive guy at first base, but can help a team in need of hitting. He's a very good hitter. I would be tremendously disappointed if they traded Abrams.

[Alan Buis]

Agree.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I can't even imagine trading Wood. I can't even imagine it. He gets up there and hits at 450ft.

[Alan Buis]

I haven't heard anything about Wood being traded.

[Guest Analyst]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, and he's local. He's local. Didn't he go to Bullis for a while, something like that? Didn't Michael. Didn't what?

[Brian Windhorst]

Didn't.

[Michael Wilbon]

I do know he's from. I do know he's from. Only because that made the telecast the other day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I. That's what I think. I think he went to.

[Michael Wilbon]

You mentioned Garcia. I could see that happening as well. But you. If you watch the dugout, he seems to have a big role in that far corner of just keeping everyone happy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He is a fabulous team guy. He's the. When someone hits a home run, Garcia hugs him. He's the last one they go to. And that is the obvious tradition in that lock, you know, clubhouse area, dugout area. Yes. I think you miss a lot if you get rid of him, but he can bring you something because he's gotten hot at the right time anyway.

[Alan Buis]

Your issue with Wood is he's a Boris client. Abrams.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, he is, yes.

[Alan Buis]

So. Oh, so it's not gonna be this year, but who knows two or three years from now or how many years he has under control.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Scott Boris is the devil.

[Doug]

I'm sure he'll be reasonable to deal with.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, he's never reasonable. He's the devil that the next CBA should say. You have to go to the NBA or the NFL. No, you can't do this anymore. All right, we will take a break. When we come back, Michael Wilbon will tell us, you know why the going to LeBron, going to Philadelphia is not good. Because now the Eastern Conference is too good. This is his new position, I believe, although it could change. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Show Announcer]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Whether you're on the go or at the ballpark, T mobile is built to keep you connected wherever the game takes you. With America's best network, you know your phone is going to work, even in a crowded stadium. For instance, if you lose track of your friends after a long seventh inning stretch, one quick message and a shared location later, you'll find each other without missing the next pitch. And you can upload the video of the game winning hit and share it before you even leave your seat. And on the days you can't make it to the ballpark, streaming the game on the go feels just as electric. No buffering, no interruptions, just every moment as it happens. Find out how baseball hits different with T mobile@t mobile.com MLB fastest based on analysis by OOKLA of speed test intelligence data of national speed score Results for the second half of 2025. Best based on analysis by OOKLA of the speed test intelligence Data for the second half of 2025. Queen Carvania stood haloed by the morning sun. An army hung on her every word.

[Show Announcer]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

The other day we played two songs by Philip Martin. Very intriguing titles if I recall correctly. They had to do with baseball.

[Alan Buis]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wes Parker in Paris and Richie Allen Weeps. This one is. I would never ever have conceived of a song entitled this is another song about Sylvia Plath. Okay. You know, I mean, Sylvia Plath, really, that's. But he's very good singer.

[Doug]

He's outstanding.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Martin is really.

[Doug]

And working on a novel now.

[Guest Analyst]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And this is plays in Michael Wilbon. And let us get to the thing. We were off. We had no show on Friday when LeBron James in the morning announced that he was going to go to the Philadelphia 76. So he could not comment on it. We will obviously comment on it today. What were your thoughts? I mean, you know, that I had said on the air I thought he would go to Philadelphia. I don't know that you thought that. What were your thoughts when you heard he had signed with the Sixers?

[Guest Analyst]

You know, Tony, I didn't have really any idea where I thought he would go. You know, Philadelphia certainly became the place that if you were going to play and want to try to go after it, Philadelphia would be the place because of trading for Jaylen Brown, that you would go in the maturation of Tyrese Maxey, that, I mean, that's where you're going to go. And so that's what LeBron wants to do. It didn't have anything to do with just personal happiness or, you know, any of that. He wanted to play on this, with this kind of outfit, and they're giving him that opportunity. That's not the case in Miami, where that roster would not have been as formidable as this one. And it wasn't the case at Golden State, where it had been what I wanted to see, but not, you know, not a real chance to win. Philadelphia gives them a chance to win. So it was a while. This is what LeBron does. I mean, he has, you know, had these. These hookups with people that, you know, with great players, and, you know, they've been able to, at least in Miami, to certainly win. We went back to Cleveland. He was the driving force there, and Kyrie Irving was certainly capable, but this is more in the line of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And look, do I think that the favors in the East. No, that would be the New York Knicks. Do I think they're going to be able to rattle off 70 wins? No, because teams like bottom feeders the last few years, like Washington and Chicago, you're not going to be able to just go in and beat them anymore. And just. You got four games against them in the east, you're going to win three automatically or all four. No. And then Detroit and Cleveland and Atlanta, you know, the east has changed. It changed now. And so even though LeBron went there, and certainly that avoids San Antonio and Oklahoma City, the two best teams in the league other than the Knicks, the east is like 10 teams deep. I didn't mention Orlando. You know, there are 10 teams that you're going to have to beat them. And so I don't believe that Philadelphia is going to be great instantly. Even the teams with LeBron, with LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, those guys played. Each one of Those guys played 76 games the first season they got together. And LeBron was of course at his physical best then and none of these guys is Dwyane Wade and they still couldn't win that first year. So I think that, you know, people who are crowning them already and handing them just add water and hand them the Larry o' Brien trophy. I think that's foolish, but I can't wait to see this. I think it's going to provide just great fodder for stories all year long in the Eastern Conference. I didn't mention Boston, but there's a lot of teams in the East. But they're going to be right there with the Knicks at the top of that, top of that conference.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You believe the Eastern Conference is now tougher than the Western Conference? Correct.

[Guest Analyst]

Yeah, because who's the third team in the, in the West?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Denver. Minnesota.

[Guest Analyst]

No, no, Minnesota is a play in team. Minnesota traded their second most important player. And I don't believe in lamelo ball. I mean, I know Minnesota must. I don't. And Denver, no, Denver's been falling. Denver was like a six seed last year. Their roster hadn't gotten any better. And so no, no Denver, Denver's not a threat. Minnesota's not a threat. There's no, there's two threats in the West. They happen to be the two best teams. But after that, I mean, Houston, Phoenix could be the third best team in the West. The Lakers, every one of those teams got worse. So I understand avoiding golden, avoiding San Antonio and Oklahoma. Ok, but, but the Knicks, not those two. The Knicks are the champions. And I think if you anything, I'm looking at the Knicks thinking, okay, I mean this is a direct challenge to you and so let's go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Where did you think he would go?

[Guest Analyst]

I had no idea. I had no idea. I've been talking to people who had no idea. There were people as late as, I don't know, late in the week who thought he could still go to Golden State. There were people who thought he could go back to Miami because of Pat Riley and he's been there already. You know, I had no idea. I knew it wouldn't be Minnesota. That didn't make any sense. But okay, the other three places seemed pretty, oh, Cleveland, you can go back home. So you could have. And, but I don't, I didn't, you know, in talking to people, I realized that nobody had really any idea where he was going.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you see any particular drawback in going to Philadelphia or do you look at and say, yes, this makes all the sense in the world now?

[Guest Analyst]

It makes all the sense in the World. Now, the thing is, Philadelphia is a tough place to play. LeBron's never been booed. He's never been gone after locally by the people who live there. He's never had people who live there not even use their tickets to go see a playoff game he was in. He didn't know anything about playing in a place like Philadelphia. He didn't know about what South Philly's like, whether people like him or not, for whatever reasons they may or not handle jack about that. And so if you. If he thinks. And I don't know what he thinks, but if he thinks they're going to change because he's LeBron James, sorry, they're not. It's Philly. And so I. It's the most hostile, most difficult place to play, in my opinion, in the country.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's chasing Jordan. Right. I mean, my feeling is he goes to Philadelphia because if he goes back to Miami and wins there, he's already won there. One of the things he can say that differentiates him from Jordan if he wins is, I've won in four different franchises. Nobody else has ever done that. That's the credential, right?

[Guest Analyst]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, yes, that would be. I mean, that's what he's looking at. When you uproot and go for a couple of years to Philly, across the country to a place you've never been, a place that's particularly difficult to play and be accepted, and you do that at 42 years old. I mean, that. Yeah, that's. That's what you're doing. And so there's no secret in this to me, that's what LeBron has done. He's already done it. He did it when he went to the Lakers eight years ago. So, yeah, this is what. This is what he does. He's got, you know, I don't know if the crew of people around him functioned as largely in amen chorus. That might have been the case when he was younger, maybe not now. I don't know how much pushback he might have gotten from doing this and doing something else. But there's no question, Tony, that of the four situations that he apparently could have walked into, Philadelphia was the one that presents the best opportunity to win.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Has he been in Los Angeles for eight years?

[Guest Analyst]

19 was his first.

[Musician]

Wow.

[Guest Analyst]

Season there he was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's not very productive at all. One championship in the bubble.

[Michael Wilbon]

Wow. Yeah.

[Guest Analyst]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't realize that.

[Guest Analyst]

I mean, people counting this as a championship year already, which I hear a lot of on our network and others they need to just pay attention actually to history, whether it's the league's history or LeBron's, only it's hard to win the title.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's get off this and go to the most exciting thing that actually happened yesterday. Jackson koivan winning the 3M. Tell people who he is because, you

[Guest Analyst]

know, no, I don't know. I spent some time just going, who the hell is this kid on Friday or Saturday or both. And he's a, he's a 21 year old kid from Auburn who turned professional I think 24 days ago. And he's, he's not just a. What's that?

[Michael Wilbon]

It was his third start on tour.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Third start on tour.

[Guest Analyst]

Okay. Yeah. And it's not just that he's 20, 21, he's three times the SEC golfer of the year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's a big deal. That's the best golf at Auburn.

[Guest Analyst]

And so he's a great young player. You know, I'd heard his name before, somebody who pays attention to NCAA golf because I pay attention to the whole thing through my team, through Northwestern. And there's a threat to, you know, to be in the tournament, you know, certainly multiple Big Ten championships. But we're not the sec. But, you know, so you hear, I'm aware of the names and I was aware of this kid, but I didn't, you know, and I saw him have a great round Friday. I was like, who is this kid? Let me remind myself of who he is. And he won all the awards, as in all of them. As in the only person I've heard of to win this many awards as a college golfer were Eldrick Woods.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, he, he had no bogeys yesterday. He finished it off with a 14 foot putt. He's going to win anyway. A 14 foot putt that goes in you and I talked about this yesterday and I'm going to ask you the question on the air. If you are Scottish Scheffler and you finish 63 on Sunday and you are minus 22, you can't ever think you're not going to win. Right. You have to assume, oh, I'm going to win that one. Right?

[Guest Analyst]

Yeah, yeah. And that's, but that's not my thought. Yes, yes, you and I talked about this in live time. But my thought is Scotty Shepler better hope this is not 1997 and there's some 21 year old dude who, who's the guy from Georgia Tech who was so great at the time and hurt him back and is on TV now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And David Duvall. David Duval.

[Guest Analyst]

You better hope you're not David Duvall. That's my thought, okay? Because this kid, to me, if you. If. If I'm looking at Scotty Scheffler's swing and athleticism, all the things that make up a great athlete and great golfer, and I'm looking at Koivu. I'm sorry, it ain't Scotty Scheffler. And I know Scotty Scheffler is proven. So is David Duvall. Now, David Duvall hadn't proven himself to the extent that Shepler has, but David Duvall was one. He'd won. He won a major. And he and all the other dudes out there in 97 wound up looking up the leaderboard for the rest of their lives.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. That's right.

[Guest Analyst]

So Scottie Scheffler, who I really have come to like, because Scottie Scheffler says to people, when they get crazy and overhyped, as all golf talk does, Scottie Scheffler says right away, stop, Please stop. I really come to respect Scotty Scheffler. But here's what Scotty Scheffler also is. He is way overstated. It's overstated how great Scottie Scheffler is. I mean, you know, every few years, somebody comes along and they're hot for two or three years, and then they're not Tiger. The question is, is this kid gonna be that good? It's gonna take some time to find out. We're not gonna find out. You know, even in April or May.

[Tony Kornheiser]

10 years. It's 10 years.

[Guest Analyst]

No, you want to get along to find out if he's got greatness in him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. But if you want to chase Tiger, it's a 10 year process of winning. Not three years, maybe more chasing.

[Guest Analyst]

I'm not talking about him chasing Tiger. I'm talking about them chasing him. Right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Guest Analyst]

That's not talking about him chasing Tiger. I'm saying that if I gotta go with a young gun and then there's a lot of young players coming out right now in the sec, has got a few of them, Big Ten's got a few of them. But if I got to look at a player right now, just looking at it, just trying to play scout, I'll take this kid. Let's see everybody. Let's see if they can hold him off. That's what I'm talking about.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was nice to see his father there and nice to later learn that he started out on a nine Hole golf course and just fell in love with golf at a, at a local

[Guest Analyst]

in San Jose, not private. And in California it's harder unless if you're not a rich person.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Guest Analyst]

You know, it's harder to join a private club and, and afford the kinds of lessons that people do in most of these, in most of these cases. And they moved across the country. I don't know if that is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did you ever, did they ever explain to do with that he's in Chapel Hill, the family lives in Chapel Hill. Was that ever explained?

[Guest Analyst]

I mean, they don't move to Chapel Hill. They didn't explain whether or not the father had a job there and needed to go there or not. But they moved to Chapel Hill and from Chapel Hill he started being recruited by the world and winds up in

[Tony Kornheiser]

Auburn where, by the way, the SEC schools are really good at golf. Georgia is usually the best, but Auburn is certainly LSU in Auburn, Florida. They're there all the time.

[Guest Analyst]

Yeah, yeah. Vandy, they're all good. They're all good. They're, they're, they're the best. And this kid's the best of that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Guest Analyst]

So again, I'm not going to get overhyped. I just want to see it. But, but just in. Look, Tony, there are times you and I have watched athletes at 15 and 16 and 18 years old and you're just like, oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah, this kid, this kid's got it. Now let's see if he can cash it in. That kid, to me has the potential for that. Now let's see if he can follow up that college career with anything remotely resembling that in the pros.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, he just, he got to 70th so he would qualify right now for the Tour Championship. Now he'd have to, he'd have to do great. Yeah, he's, that's, it's a cut is at 70 and if you're at 70, you're going to have to finish like top 10 to go to the next week. But we'll see. All right, I'll talk to you later. All right, so Michael Wilbon, boys and girls. We will take a break and Brian Windhorst will join us. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. What is Toyota Affordability? It's Buying smart right now. Your local Toyota dealer has great deals available on some of the most reliable trucks on the market like the off road Ready Tacoma, the rugged full size Tundra and the legendary 4Runner, all with the space tech and features to handle it all, from the work site to the trails. It also means driving for less with efficient hybrid options available, extending your overall driving range and delivering great mpgs, meaning bigger savings at the pump without sacrificing power. And it means trading for more. The Tacoma and Tundra are ranked number one and number two in resale value over all vehicles according to Kelley Blue Book, which can mean thousands more than average right back in your pocket when it's time to trade in. That's Toyota affordability. Buy smart, drive for less and trade for more. Shop toyota.com or your local dealer for deals and details. Vehicles Projected resale value is specific to the 2026 model year. For more information, visit Kelley Blue Books kbb.com Toyota Brand Average resale is 53% versus the average vehicle at 45%. Toyota let's go places.

[Gary]

You know, recommendations can be great. Maybe someone recommended this podcast and here you are. But home projects are different. If a podcast isn't your thing, you lose a few minutes. If you hire your cousin's neighbor to mount your tv, you might end up with a lopsided screen and wall damage. Maybe I know a guy just isn't enough for your home. That's why thumbtack works. It matches you with top rated local pros with photos, reviews and credentials all in one place. For your next home project, try thumbtack. Hire the right pro.

[Show Announcer]

Today you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is a band called Anhedonia. A N H E D O N I A no, it's flip.

[Doug]

It's. They're called the Morning Line, aren't they?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, okay. That's the song. Yes, the Morning Line is the band.

[Doug]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Morning Line is something I understand because it's a horse racing term. Right. Anhedonia, when I was in college was a very popular word for English majors. We'll get to it later. Yes, the Morning Line is playing this this is our friends at Big Sur Records.

[Doug]

Send us another great song.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, Michael, if bands like the Morning Line want to get on the show, how do they do it?

[Michael Wilbon]

Send us your music by emailing it to Jingles Tony CornwallShow.com and they play

[Tony Kornheiser]

in Brian Brian Windhorst, who is in tremendous demand by every talk show in the world right now because somebody whose high school he attended though earlier than LeBron. Right. You're older than LeBron by a little bit, aren't you?

[Guest Analyst]

Or were you?

[Brian Windhorst]

I feel like I have less gray.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, right. But did you were never you never Crossed paths in high school. You were earlier than him.

[Brian Windhorst]

No, seven years older. my senior year, our basketball team was three and seven. It was slightly different. LeBron's year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, but you, you.

[Brian Windhorst]

There was a bit of a turnaround that took place.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You followed him your whole reporting life. You know all about him. You know more than anyone else about him. I'm going to ask the questions that I think any curious person would ask, in no particular order, but they're curiosity questions. In your opinion, who were the last two or three teams that he was looking at when he ultimately chose Philadelphia?

[Brian Windhorst]

In my opinion, based on my conversations, and let's just say that only LeBron truly knows. So anybody can claim whatever they want and I can't prove them wrong. Okay, right. In my opinion, it was between Miami

[Tony Kornheiser]

and Philadelphia, not Cleveland, not Golden State. In your opinion?

[Brian Windhorst]

Not in my opinion. And, you know, I think if you looked at the way Pat Riley conducted himself last week, he thought he was getting him. And I don't say that critically. You know, Pat was doing those interviews, went on LeBatard. He was seething the ground or whatever you want to call it.

[Guest Analyst]

Right.

[Brian Windhorst]

He thought. He thought. He thought he was a really good chance LeBron was coming.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Why do you think ultimately he chose Philadelphia?

[Brian Windhorst]

Only he can answer that question. But I think let's look at what his statement said. And by the way, I just want to say, and this, again, this is not critical. This is just. This is an outrageous situation. You know, just the concept of a player in this stage of his life, in his career, being willing to do this, it's really a complete one off in the history of the sport. Okay, let's just have that as the ground understanding. He said he didn't care about money and didn't care about family. Now just think of that sentence like he said that he posted that. I saw it read 100 times on various outlets, and people just move past it like pro forma. But just think about that. Think of any decision that you would ever make in your life. And you were like, yeah, it's not about money. It's not about family. Oh, okay. You know, it sort of just changes all the ground rules. And so when you understand that someone makes a decision based on that, and not only that, it seems. And I don't want to get ahead of myself because LeBron has not said this thing, but I don't think he even really intends to live full time in Philadelphia. I think I heard New York.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I heard he was going to live in New York.

[Gary]

Yeah.

[Brian Windhorst]

So again, just, again, just think of the one off nature of this. I know everybody's been like gripping so hard and saying, where is it going to be? Where is it going to be? Just take a step back and realize the inanity of the way this is playing out. And really, if you're a Knicks fan, think of how bizarre this is. That for a good. What. What do you want to say, Tony? 15 years the Knicks fans dreamed of having LeBron James.

[Musician]

Sure.

[Brian Windhorst]

Right. Dreamed of having him. And now LeBron actually wants to live in New York and the Knicks are not interested. Rich Paul said. This is not a. Sources said Rich Paul said on the record that he called the Knicks. He said that like 20 something teams called him. The Knicks apparently were not one of them. He called the Knicks his old boss, Leon Rose, who he had a big breakup with. That's why he started his agency and said, hey, what do you think about LeBron? And the Knicks passed. It's a pretty crazy set of circumstances.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I wouldn't have bet on that. The one thing I would have bet on is if he was interested in Philadelphia, that he, not Rich Paul, not anyone else, he would have had to have a conversation with Joel Embiid.

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, he did. He had multiple.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. Saying he had to become convinced that Joel Embiid would play at least 50 to 60 games. Don't you think you agree with that?

[Brian Windhorst]

How could you say, like, who convinces him? Joel Embiid. Like, you know how, Tony, how can he promise that he's played less than 40 games for three straight years.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. I'm just saying they had to have these conversations. And LeBron.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Optimistic.

[Doug]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, optimistic. How long do you think.

[Brian Windhorst]

Why would he be optimistic?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's crazy because you delude yourself into thinking that even though it's never happened in the past five years, suddenly Joel Embiid will be good with.

[Brian Windhorst]

These are not stupid people. So that's why it's just outrageous.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How long do you think he knew he wanted to go to Philadelphia?

[Brian Windhorst]

Only he can answer that. It would just be a sheer guess. But the fact that he waited 25 days illustrates that he didn't really know how this was going to go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How much of an influence do you think Bob Myers was?

[Brian Windhorst]

I think he helped. I think on the pie chart, he definitely was a. Was a. It was an influencer. And I think one of the things that you have with Bob is Bob is from the warriors school of always thinking big. The warriors always think big. And that's how you land Kevin Durant when You've already got three hall of Famers on your roster. That's how you refit your team from one of the worst teams in the league back to champion in three years. That's why the warriors are still going after Giannis and Jaylen Brown and LeBron, even at this stage of Steph Curry's career, they always think big. Six weeks ago, the, the Sixers were, you know, and also ran and they had no cap space and, you know, a couple of assets, but not really what you would consider. Consider attractive tradable contracts when they're not trading BJ Edgecombe and they land Jalen Brown and LeBron James. And so Bob Myers is part of that. Always think big mentality, Rich.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Paul seems to get bent out of shape when someone suggests that LeBron is chasing rings. He is chasing rings. There's nothing wrong with chasing rings. That's what he's doing. I mean, if he wasn't chasing rings, he could say, I want to play in Sacramento. He doesn't say that he goes to a contender.

[Guest Analyst]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's. Is he not chasing rings?

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, because ring chasing is deemed to be sort of dirty. But he. Again, let's look at LeBron's own words. He said he wants to win the championship now.

[Guest Analyst]

Yeah.

[Brian Windhorst]

So, yeah, I think that's one of the things that was a bit against Miami in this, is that I don't think Miami, they could disagree with this and I could be wrong, but I don't think Miami had a team that you could look at and say, I think there's a real good shot at winning it this year. Philly has a lot of variables, sure. But you could look at that team and say they have a real shot of winning it this year. And clearly that was a factor for LeBron.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What do you think Brad Stevens is thinking right now? Well, I mean, it feels like the Celtics took themselves out of everything with this trade for this overrated, nonproductive Paul George, who's 80 years old and costs a lot of money. What are they thinking now? This is the same conference, the same division, probably.

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, I don't know what they're thinking, but I believe they still think they can probably win the East. And the big thing that undercuts the Celtics move this summer, because you can defend it from various analytical views. And I'm not taking that position, Tony. I want to be clear. I am not defending the Celtics decision here, but there is a analytics, as you know, there is an analytics based argument for not paying Jaylen Brown 57 million like that. Is not indefensible. It is unpopular and it is controversial, but is not indefensible. But the argument loses its edge when you compute that Paul George is not a $50 million player in the, in the least, Jalen Brown. It's somewhat of an argument, debate, philosophical thing. Paul George is clearly a vastly overplayed, high level role player at this point in his career. And the Celtics contention is that our style of play plus the draft capital that we got is going to ultimately win in the long run. And I think they probably still believe that. But there's an irony here. When the Milwaukee Bucks traded for Damian Lillard, there was a hellacious boomerang effect that they, that they could not have predicted, or if they did, they thought it was a low chance. And that's that when they traded Jrue Holiday to get him, that he was going to end up on the team that they had to play against in the playoffs, that the guy that they acquired, Dame Lillard, they provided their biggest rival with the antidote to, to deal with him. And this isn't exactly a replica situation. But the, but the controversial decision to trade Jaylen Brown is one thing. To trade Jaylen Brown within your division, I know divisions don't matter, but clearly there's historic rivalry there. To trade him within your division and then it boomerang and enabled them to get LeBron and definitely knock you down a peg. Maybe you believe you can beat him 4 out of 7, maybe you believe your style can, can outwit them or whatever, but it definitely knocked them down a peg. And you know, they are now going to have to try to win this one likely in the long run as opposed to the short run.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you think LeBron will try to fire Nick Nurse?

[Brian Windhorst]

I don't think so because Nick Nurse is represented by Clutch Sports.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, okay.

[Brian Windhorst]

And, and that's a factor in this, but I do not believe that LeBron is the challenge here. I believe the challenge is, is Jaylen Brown. Because we've got, we've got Joel Embiid and Tyrese maxey openly recruiting LeBron. Multiple conversations where they're talking, you know, it was their team. They're basically saying, I want to give this share to LeBron. Let's figure this out. Jaylen Brown did not choose this.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He was traded. Yeah, he was.

[Brian Windhorst]

And not only that, but he's, you know, it's not like Tyrese Maxey is going to say, okay, to make this all work. I'm going to play center. He's going to be the point guard. I mean, the ball, you know, maybe in his hands a little bit less or whatever. He's going to be the point guard. Joel Embiid is going to be the center. You know, LeBron will have to maneuver, but LeBron accepted that he comes in maneuvering. Jaylen Brown goes from a year where he declared himself, himself the best two way player in the league and thought he was the MVP to like trying to find this out. So. And like he's the guy with $150 million or 170, whatever it is over the next three years that the Sixers are hugely, heavily invested. The Sixers don't have an investment in LeBron. It's, it's a, it's a minimum salary. It's a pittance. So what Nick Nurse is going to have to figure out here and what's going to be vital for the kids, like, look, Jaylen Brown has to play a bigger role than LeBron. Let's just, let's just be honest. If the Sixers are going to go where they need to go, Jaylen Brown's got to be this two way force. This is really a question of how to get the most out of Jay. I don't see anybody talking about that, but to me, that's the, that's the challenge. How do you get Jalen Brown into a role that he's comfortable with and invested in in a situation he did not choose?

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's very interesting because he made it very clear that his best year was the year when Jayson Tatum wasn't on the court, which is him saying, really,

[Brian Windhorst]

you like everybody ahead of me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What he said, his favorite.

[Guest Analyst]

Whatever it is.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, where he didn't have to do anything. I'll get you out on this. And it's, it's because of Kawhi Leonard. Do you think there's any possibility of something shady happening in the future with LeBron and the Sixers, like buying a piece of the team at a discounted rate? Do you think there are any promises made beyond, we're going to put you on the court in this year and maybe next?

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, all I can say to that, first off, I have no idea what LeBron's conversations are outside what I've been able to glean, like, how can I possibly know? But I will say we like you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We like to ask you questions that.

[Brian Windhorst]

Appreciate that. Let me just say, Let me just say two things about that. Number one, I honestly believe. And they could all be lying to me, Tony, and I can't prove it different I honestly believe the Sixers did not see this coming up to 24 hours. I shouldn't say didn't see it coming. Didn't think they were winning this sweepstake. They thought they were going to finish on the outside. And by the way, I talked to them and their folks throughout the process. I was in Vegas several days before, saw Nick Nurse in Vegas, saw Bob Myers in Vegas. They did not think they were getting him. So if they had some, like, secret backroom deal to buy 5% of the, of the Commanders for a million dollars in five years, like, they certainly did not see it coming. All right, that's number one. So this would have had to have been a hell of a deal that was negotiated in the final hours. The second thing is, I don't know what's going to happen with the Clippers, but I know that going forward, especially in the short term here, there's going to be a very heightened awareness focused on these types of any sort of side deal. So. And by the way, you can't secretly sell a share of an NDA of an NFL team. You know, you can. You may be able to give somebody a secret share of a coffee house or some other thing, but you know, you know, all of the teams that Josh Harris owns, everybody. You can't do a deal without anybody else knowing. So the chances of there being like some sort of equity deal with a team, I think are unlikely. That said, it is not a bad idea to be in business with Josh Harris. If you want to be in the sports business when your career is over, it's not a bad idea to foster that relationship. But do I think there was a quid pro quo? I think that's unlikely. I, of course, cannot prove it, but I think it's unlikely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. You have to do about 14 hours of television, so go do it. Thank you, Brian. We'll see you later on ptr.

[Brian Windhorst]

Have a great day, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Bye Bye, Brian Windhorse, boys and girls. We will come back, email and jingle, right?

[Doug]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Show Announcer]

This is the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Certain flavors instantly transport you back in time, like those classic refreshing freezer pops everyone lived on as kids. That's why you want to try the new Firework Freeze five hour energy shot. It will completely blow you away. They have officially taken a beloved freezer pop classic and reimagined it into a delicious, convenient energy shot. It's a serious flavor explosion from the very first sip, perfectly blending juicy cherry, citrusy lime, and that sweet candy like blue raspberry. Honestly, it tastes exactly like the real thing but with a major upgrade. You get that iconic freezer pop flavor flavor you crave with absolutely none of the sugar. It's the ultimate zero sugar portable summer companion that sparks a tasty flavor sensation and keeps you moving. Whether you're headed to the beach, working late or traveling, you need to stock up on this flavor immediately. Ignite your taste buds with a firework freeze flavored 5 hour energy shot. Now available online at Fiveourenergy.com or find it on Amazon. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. Here comes Sony's mail back. Got your email status and your notes. Here comes Tony's mailbag. For all of you, That is the Cane Bay, South Carolina High School choir.

[Doug]

Yes, I would think that everyone that's sang in that has now graduated from college as well.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I would think so. We've had it for a while. You want to do the Bethesda Bagel ad?

[Doug]

Oh yes, Bethesda Bagels. We love them. You will as well just go to Bethesda Bagels.com for the location in the DC area nearest you. Then pop on in and you'll be thrilled. I want to say a quick word. Neil Airvase has reached out to us. I want to let people know that the Denver area Littles in Colorado Summer of Littles event is this Saturday, August 1st, starting at 3pm at the Golden Mill. That's 1012 Ford street and Golden, Colorado.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We like Neil. Neil writes all. Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say I saw her today at the reception, a glass of wine in her hand. I knew she was going to meet her connection at her feet was a footloose man. You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need. That was sung famously by Michael Philip Jagger. I need some water. And Michael Philip jagger yesterday turned 83 years old. 83 still going strong seems to be thanks to our guests today, Michael Wilbon and Brian Windhorst. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember you can listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify and all to see if you get show through Apple. Please leave us a review. We have a. What is this thing here? A birthday present.

[Guest Analyst]

Oh yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me thank Sean Bachelor from Jenny's. From Jenny's who delivered a whole bunch of ice cream and it's mostly from Michael's children. Yeah, because there's no coffee or chocolate and it's schmutz but kids love that stuff.

[Doug]

Kids love it. They love Jenny's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They've been so nice. Michael's got a whole bunch of ice cream, right?

[Michael Wilbon]

Love it. Yes. Boys are happy as always to try the different flavors. And we set aside your special ice cream, the coffee and the darkest chocolate.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I thought they said they didn't do that. They didn't bring it.

[Michael Wilbon]

No, no. There. There is they. There is some for you as well. I just want to point it out.

[Doug]

Oh, look at that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

A haiku from Chad. Dearest Nationals, please no trade deadline selling for Kornheiser's sake. P.J. donnelly, Springfield, Virginia. I was very happy to hear Steve Sands is going to start getting residual checks for his appearance on the Hawk. He can finally fix the damage to his garage brought on by all of his son's driving adventures. From Paulie Coconuts, Dear doctor Potato Farmer and music Aficionado. The link between the two bands Strawberry Lawn Club Clock and Lynyrd Skynyrd is Ed King. Ed was a founding member and lead guitarist of Strawberry Alarm Clock. He co wrote the music for the number one hit Incense and Peppermints. He later became famous as a member of southern rock legends. Lynyrd Skinner joined the band as a bassist, then moved to lead guitar to create Skinner's famous three guitar attack. Ed played on their first three albums, co writing many iconic tracks, including one you may have heard of a little song we like to call Sweet Sweet Home Alabama.

[Doug]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Roxy. This is more for Amy Boyd, an emailer from last Monday show. No offense, but let me get this straight. You get to sip wine with David Spector, Episode 13 Travel to New places, use discount codes for Johnny O and you want a divorce? Get in line sister. Try doing a podcast for 400 plus episodes with him about these people's obsessions with Tony and then we can talk. Love Roxy. Isn't that nice? That's great. Who is this? This is from Dylan Garon. Yes, Steve the Sycophant wrote in on Tuesday show promoting a free summer concert by the Main Street Community band of Fairfax, Virginia. I spontaneously drove my two daughters and myself 25 minutes from rest and it turned into one of the most wholesome and enjoyable nights my family has had all seat all summer. Community center was packed with the appropriate Tony Kornasher demographic. The band was awesome, playing everything from the Beach Boys to Led Zeppelin and Paul Simon. Even a piece featuring rubber chickens. After the rubber chicken piece I thought it would be appropriate to yell Lecheserie. My wife was mortified after the concert I thanked the conductor and told him Tony Kornhuise was the reason we were there. He looked confused until Steve the Sycophant stepped in, laughed and said he appreciated Lecheserie. We talked, we took a selfie. I got to thank him for the recommendation. And there are yes, there are photos attached to the unexpected highlight came afterward. My 7 year old and 5 year old daughters took their concert programs and walked around asking every member of the band, from musicians in their mid-20s to those in their 80s for an autograph. The musicians were a little confused, mostly flattered. Couldn't have been nicer. My favorite John Prine song is hello in There about taking the time to see and appreciate older generations. Watching my daughter spend the evening with applauding and asking for autographs from people 50, 60 and 70, 70 years older than they are, I couldn't help but think it was a scene straight out of that song. So thanks to Steve the Sycophant and tell Brian and Doug to eat it. They're Northern Virginia natives and should have been there. Which is nice.

[Doug]

That's lovely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tony Beeson the journey of Flush the Mouse continues to be rewarding and fulfilling. Today, the woman to whom I'm related by marriage and I were able to donate copies of the children's book to children, Cincinnati Children's Hospital and the adjacent Ronald McDonald House of this little book brings a smile to the face of even one sick child. It will truly be worth it. Isn't that nice?

[Doug]

That's just great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That nice. From Tony Beeson From Mike Davis in Charlotte, North Carolina. The woman to whom I related by marriage brought home some potatoes from Publix on the bag. It said they were good for baking, mashing and frying. Thought you'd like to know in case you needed ideas for your upcoming harvest. No, I thought I would use them to play Wiffle Ball. That's what I thought. Kyle Caldwell is Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. I agree that the Knickerbocker Theater collapse was the biggest collapse in D.C. history. That is until one fateful night in May of 2017. Absolutely only a few days after the king of game six stood atop the scorers table celebrating his three pointer to extend the series. The same king showed himself to be truly a fool as he went scoreless shot over 11 over the final 19 minutes. Now that is a collapse.

[Doug]

That is a yes it is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Brett Hobbs, who is presently in Yellowstone National Park. I made it to Yellowstone. Started my first week of work. Many, many tourists. But so far it is Fluffy Cows, AKA Bison one And Tourist Zero. I will send you score updates as

[Doug]

they don't get anywhere near the bison.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And from Steve Gilmore, now in Rising Star, Texas. Dear Potato man, we had leftover bacon this morning. I was going to mail it to you. However, my two masculine golden retrievers wanted it more. Maybe next time, get out on your bike. Tonight, everyone, as always, do wear white.

[Guest Analyst]

See ya later.

[Musician]

This is another song about Sylvia Platt. Well, I saw her name in a boy book I saw photographs she was dirty but I give this regular pretty too I feel bad about what happened to her, you know, I truly do this is another song about the rainbow to show you how much I can't guess and how little I know he disappeared in Africa and emerged bourgeois Put on his daddy's fascist boots and move dark and soft. Everybody's got to die that's what they say if I gotta die I guess I'm gonna die someday But I'm too old to burn out so I guess I'll fight the slow decay

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm not

[Musician]

fade away I'll not fade away. This is another song about Frank Stanford Another dumb, dashing cad who lived by the sword when they asked him the one he loved best he stapled a rose to his chest and went to his reward this is another song about Kurt Cobain Put a toe on a trigger Held a vigil in rain his mama said not to Joe and that's too much Bit club But life is just fear and pain Baby, that's a rub Life is just fear and pain Baby, that's a rub. Everybody's got to die that's what what they say if I gotta die I guess I'm gonna die someday But I'm too old to burn out so I guess I'll fight a slow decay I'm not fade away I'm not fade away I'm not fading lo.

I've lived in California I've lived in the South I've kept quiet for too long yeah, I've run off at the mouth I seen fortunes fall in sunrise I've passed a few bucks I've had figures of every size and the smaller ones you, luck so what I'm trying to say, you see Is I've been around the block so when you told me you're leaving me it didn't come in such a shot Start again after failure Move back to California Revisit anedonia I can't handle losing you I start again. I've lost my mind for a week or two and I've been solid as a rock I've been the one to let things go to say we need to talk it could have been the look in your eyes or you're feeling better but you haven't been disguising that the drill is dead Start again after failure move back to California Revisit and the don't eat up I can't handle losing you I start again Happy failure I move back to California Revisit Anonia I can't handle losing you I start

again

I start again start again.