Best of NBA Part 1: Pistons v Hornets BRAWL fallout, Doc's HOF DELUSION

10:44Shannon Sharpe:Absolutely. And so, and that's the thing, you know, guys used to like, you tried to break practice up, you get into it. But they was like, uh-uh, nope. All we gonna do is just stay out here longer. Oh my goodness. Come on, God damn. And like you say, Ocho, it's always the lineman.

11:06Joe Johnson:Always, yeah.

11:07Shannon Sharpe:Offensive, defensive line. And just somebody coming over the top with a boom. Hey, Neal Smith and I think it was Neal Smith and Kevin Gogan got into it at the Pro Bowl. In the Pro Bowl? What? About what? I think I talked to Neal about two years ago. Neil said if I see it right now, Sharp, I'll fire on him. I said, come on, man, you tell you're 60, he probably 60 too.

11:35Joe Johnson:Hey, when they were arguing about it at the Pro Bowl, that's a time for, that's a joyous occasion.

11:40Shannon Sharpe:No, it ain't. Hey, go back and look at, man, Neil hit that man so hard in the back of his head. I mean, Neil jumped too. BAM! Oh, yeah.

11:50Chad Johnson:Oh, yeah. It's some plays you'll never forget. No.

11:55Shannon Sharpe:When he say, and he made it too. He was like, oh yeah, if I see it right now, I'll fire on him. I said, come on, Neil, man, bro, you 60. You ain't got no business firing on nobody. We didn't just say that energy to get around, bro. But it might be on the internet, YouTube. Look up Neil Smith and Kevin Goggin at the Pro Bowl. Man, Ocho, Neil jumped so high, hit that man in the back of his damn head.

12:21Shannon Sharpe:It's in the middle of the game? Yeah, it was like a, yeah.

12:27Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, Chad, y 'all pull it up. I know y 'all can pull it up.

12:30Joe Johnson:He must have been going too hard, Dan. He must have been going full speed.

12:35Shannon Sharpe:Suspension will cost him$724 ,138. Miles Bridges, suspension will cost him$689 ,665. And Jalen Duren, suspension will cost him$89 ,423. and Masa would cost him$62 ,641. Mm. That, that, that, Makae,

12:56Joe Johnson:they're not even, they mean the big money boys, huh?

13:00Shannon Sharpe:Ocho, this is what Draymond had to say. Draymond called NBA fans for complaining about the league assault while also wanting players to get suspended for fighting. Pick a side, guys. Mm.

13:13Chad Johnson:Man, we can't, you can't, we, you, it ain't even nowhere in basketball you can have that. No, not that. Like, you, You know, some of these dudes acts out here, man. Like, for real, Ocho, they got to really control their emotions, bro. You can't be out of here. I mean, I can understand in the midst of competition, you know, things get a little heated. It may even be some pushing back and forth, or you may bump into a guy, but come on now. Come on. Yeah.

13:39Shannon Sharpe:Hey, those days are over. The last thing I want to do, Ocho, if I swing somebody, I'm hitting him, he got a helmet on. I break my hand on his face mask. I break my hand on his helmet. Then what? I tear a ligament in my hand. Then what? So who have I helped? Nobody.

13:59Joe Johnson:That's a good thing. That's a good thing. I ain't going to talk about when I was in the woods. Never mind. Never mind. I was able to control my emotions.

14:07Chad Johnson:Hey, look, but I don't understand that neither, Uncle Ocho, especially in football because guys be punching dudes in the helmet. I'm like, what is that?

14:15Joe Johnson:Now you, hey, Joe, you gotta go open hand sometime.

14:18Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, you gotta go like to the neck. Open hand, go to the neck, yeah. What you try to do is grab the face mask, lift, and come up under. Yeah, hey, hey, hey, Joe, hey, Joe, that eight. But these chair straps, they got not Ocho. You got these ones that they slide. They ain't like the snap-ons like what we had.

14:33Joe Johnson:Yeah, they ain't gonna come on, yeah. Hey, Joe, that's how I was finna do the raid, Joe. What?

14:38Chad Johnson:I remember you, oh yeah, you finna get down. I remember you telling me that.

14:42Joe Johnson:Yeah, Joe, hey, Joe. that you waiting by the bus and everything right joe i was waiting on him at the locker room boy joe he got he was gonna have to see me he would have to prove to me that day show you oh he would have to show me joe joe we prayed before the game joe we went over the scripture i prayed he didn't keep it over the scripture that's what he's praying for and he had the nerve to hit me like that in the game so we need to have a conversation because i know the lord ain't tell you to do that you got you got to see me joe yeah and i listen i when My helmet went flying, my helmet went flying by 15 yards, Joe.

15:16Joe Johnson:I ran up on him and I had to think, wait a minute, this ain't the place for that. This ain't the place for that. So I looked at him, I said, I'm going to see you after the game. Hey, Joe, I waited at the locker, I waited at the bus.

15:31Chad Johnson:Yeah. He probably would have got out on you on that field because you ain't had no helmet on. You probably would have swung on and he swung back on you.

15:37Joe Johnson:Right, right, right. Get you up. Hey, listen, the grace of God saved Ray that day, boy.

15:43Shannon Sharpe:Did you see what Miles Garrett did to Mason Rudolph? Wah wah!

15:48Joe Johnson:Hey, yeah, hey, you know what? Hey, you know who lucky too, huh? I ain't seen him in San Francisco. Miles lucky I ain't seen him on Radio Row. Man, he in Italy with his girlfriend. Yeah, he went to support his girl. Hey, Joe, Miles, this sapsucker, didn't give me that goddamn jersey, that 23 sack jersey, Joe. Man, I told you that. But he said he was gonna give it to me. well he lied don't worry about it don't worry about it he gonna he gonna miles garrett i know i hope you see this you're gonna find out where they call me hella hands okay and uh yeah joe you know they call me they joe they call me hella hand joe yeah they like that yeah hey joe it feels like you're fighting two people boy i'll tell you no lie i'm trying to think what that 84

16:34Shannon Sharpe:when the Raiders in Kansas City got into it. The whole team? Man, Sean Jones took that helmet off and was swinging it. Pull it up, Chad. I think it was 84. It might have been 84. It might have been a little later. The whole team are just two people. No, it was a bunch of people. But the Raiders in Kansas City, look, Raiders, Kansas City, and the Broncos, we don't like each other. Chargers, they just happen to be in the division. Seahawks just happened to be in the division. But those three, because those were the original three. Yeah. Man. You had to be careful, Ocho and Joe, back then because they really tried to put you out of the game.

17:17Shannon Sharpe:They would. They trying to hurt you for real. Yeah, for real, yeah.

17:20Chad Johnson:Yeah. And so once I knew that, so you don't care about me feeding my family,

17:25Shannon Sharpe:I get less to the damn about you feeding yours. So we both of them were effed up knees. But I will be the only one.

17:35Joe Johnson:Let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen, or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comforts of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own, but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes, and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, You can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in.

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19:00Joe Johnson:podcast. Individual results may vary. Now medical advice, eligibility required. See site for details. Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter? Right? And the best part? They accept Discover. Accept Discover? In a little place like this? I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah, huh. Discover's accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby. Get with the times.

19:22Chad Johnson:Right. So

19:24Joe Johnson:we shouldn't get the parachute pants? These are making a comeback. I think. Discover is accepted at 99 % of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen Report.

19:41Shannon Sharpe:Doc Rivers believes he deserves to get into the Hall of Fame per Mark J. Spears. Joe, Doc, in the last 15 seasons, zero championships, zero finals appearance, one conference appearance. When did guys start talking about the Hall of Fame, Joe?

20:00Chad Johnson:Go ahead, go ahead, Joe. It's got to be the era we're living in, Uncle Ocho, this social media era, because everything is magnified to the highest at this point. You know what I mean? You see people always talking about the Hall of Fame, and we all know how prestige it is to make it. And the fact that he's won a title, he's coached some greats. Yeah, he probably should have won a few more, But, you know, I think he's done a, you know, an okay job. Now, he's had some teams that we all felt that should have went to the finals. Like this Bucs team with Dame. Obviously, Dame getting hurt. You know, things happen.

20:40Chad Johnson:But I don't know, man. It is. I think he going to get in. I think he going to get in.

20:48Shannon Sharpe:Look, the basketball, because they factor in so much. They take in college. They take in international play. Hell, they taking high school. I don't know, Joe. I don't know. I just...

21:04Shannon Sharpe:I just... I mean, you look at his resume outside of the Celtics. And his resume outside... Let's just say for the sake of argument. If you say, well, take his... If he had won two, three championships with the Celtics, and you say, well, look at his... Okay, well, you're right. He didn't do a whole lot in Orlando. He didn't do a whole lot in Philly. He didn't do anything with the Clippers, and he's not doing a whole lot with the Bucs. But he did get two or three championships with the Celtics. But he didn't get two or three championships with the Celtics. He's blown more 3-1 series leads than any coach in NBA history.

21:40Shannon Sharpe:If I'm not mistaken, he's lost more game sevens in NBA history. I don't know, man. I don't know.

21:49Chad Johnson:Guess it just depends on what the committee feels.

21:55Shannon Sharpe:I just, I mean, I just, I just get uncomfortable when people start talking about the Hall of Fame. That's something that once you're done, unfortunately, there ain't nothing you can do. Once you're done, a committee, panelists, whatever they call themselves, they're going to vote on that. But for you to talk about that now.

22:18Chad Johnson:You be advocating yourself. Yeah, man. That's because we ain't never, you never see that, though. You never see a guy still playing and, you know, him talking about himself or, you know, her talking about himself, talking about the Hall of Fame. That's why I asked y 'all the other night. I'm like, man, I ain't never thought about that when I was playing for real. Like, I just wanted to go out and compete, enjoy the game, have fun with it. and put my talents on display. But it was never to where I entered a game or a season thinking, oh, I need this to go right for me to make the Hall of Fame.

22:56Shannon Sharpe:Joe, as a seventh rounder, what business I got even thinking about the Hall of Fame? I was always just trying to make a team. Yeah, trying to show you belong. Seventh rounders don't make the Hall of Fame. Now, way, way back when, when they had 25, 30 rounds, you get a seventh rounder. But in the modern era, when you only had 12 rounds, and then they cut it down to seven now. Seven routers don't be making no Hall of Fame like that. Nah. So why was I even thinking about something like that? I'm just trying to, hey, if I could just stay on the roster.

23:29Chad Johnson:That's what it takes. Hall of Fame.

23:31Joe Johnson:You got to just fight. Ojo, what round you went, Ojo? Second round. Six picks in the second round, Joe. Oh, you were like that, huh?

23:40Chad Johnson:You were getting money up there, huh?

23:42Joe Johnson:Hey, Joe, I got a little bag. I got a little bag. You was better than me coming out. Huh? You was better than me, huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm still better than you right now. Yeah, it's what I do. It's what I do, you know? Hey, Joe, I was a one for one. I bounced around. I didn't really get an opportunity to blossom at a Division I school, you know, for four years. So, I mean, I got lucky. My back was against the wall, and it was a do or die moment. Either you get it together now with this one year, or you're going to be right back in Liberty City, you know, doing anything. I don't know what I, but I maybe work for FedEx, be an Amazon driver.

24:26Chad Johnson:Hey, hey, hey, that's the best thing. Sometimes, you know, you may not know it because you're in the moment. When you're back against the wall, that's when you're going to perform your best. You just don't know it. You don't have a choice, yo.

24:37Joe Johnson:I ain't had no more eligibility left, so I had no choice but to do it. Okay, you know what? Let me try it my grandma way this one time and see what happens. I'm going to go to class. I'm not going to skip. And I'm going to put football second. And lo and behold, it got damn work. You ought to go back to school and get your degree, Ocho. I'll be so proud of you. I am. I told you I'm going back to fam. I'm not sure how. I don't even know the steps to do it. You're going online? I want to be in school.

25:11Shannon Sharpe:Man, you press your ass online. Nobody want to see your old ass, decrepit ass with them 17, 18, 19-year-olds

25:17Joe Johnson:in class.

25:18Shannon Sharpe:You ain't got the patience to sit there anyway.

25:21Joe Johnson:Yeah, Unc, I got patience, Unc. I sit here and play video games for seven hours and eight hours a day.

25:25Shannon Sharpe:What about all them jobs you got?

25:28Joe Johnson:You right. You right. Hey, so, hey, hold on, Unc, should I do it online? Yeah. I don't think I'm going to do that. But if I do it online and I graduated from fam, can I at least walk? Can I walk?

25:42Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

25:43Joe Johnson:Okay.

25:45Shannon Sharpe:Graduating online doesn't mean you don't get to walk in person. You don't graduate online.

25:50Joe Johnson:Right. Hey, I'm going to do that. I'm going to do that, Joe. I'm going to do that. Yeah.

25:57Chad Johnson:What you thinking about majoring in?

25:58Joe Johnson:Probably the best thing I'm at. I'm good at business. I mean, Joe, I'm good at business and marketing. Marketing, that's me there. Yeah.

26:08Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. that's your grandkids going to beat him out of school.

26:13Joe Johnson:Hold on. My kids done beat me out already. Three of them done beat me out of college already. They got their diplomas. I ain't got mine, Joe.

26:20Shannon Sharpe:French Fry going to beat you out. Hey,

26:24Joe Johnson:we got the show tomorrow? No. What about Saturday? No, no. Saturday? No. Damn. I mean, French Fry going to beat you out. Okay, what about Sunday? Yeah. Okay, okay. French fry gonna be here. My dog gonna get on here, man. I got all my girls coming to the house. We gonna celebrate. How many girls you got, Ocho?

26:49Chad Johnson:Yeah, I'm six. I know you got a big gun over there, Ocho. Huh?

26:55Shannon Sharpe:French fry getting dropped off?

26:57Chad Johnson:Yeah.

26:58Joe Johnson:You're at the dough.

27:00Shannon Sharpe:Man, don't do that. Don't do that, Ocho. Let them come in the house, man.

27:03Joe Johnson:Hey. Oh, no. Angel at the door.

27:13Joe Johnson:Let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comforts of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in.

27:48Joe Johnson:Redfin has over 2 ,200 agents with local expertise. And Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win, not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait. this could actually be home. So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com. When people turn to healthcare for weight loss, they're looking for real support. That's why more people are choosing orderlymeds.com. Orderly Meds connects you with real doctors and access to proven GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and terzepatide.

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28:53Shannon Sharpe:They accept

28:54Joe Johnson:Discover at Renaissance Fairs? Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times. With the times? You're playing the lute. Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right? Discover is accepted at 99 % of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen Report.

29:20Shannon Sharpe:James Harden says loyalty is overrated. Let's take a listen to what James had to say.

29:26Joe Johnson:and the whole quote-unquote loyalty thing is i think it's overrated you know i think um this is a business at the end of the day and it's a lot of money involved and a lot of decisions that has to be made you know i mean so you know like if a player isn't producing or if you if you don't see him in the future or you know front office some of them have to do like a job and want to keep their job you know so they gotta feel like they gotta do what's best for you know to keep their job and they trade players. Or if a guy isn't happy and he wants to be traded to somewhere else, then it's a problem.

30:02Joe Johnson:It's just so many different dynamics that go into it. This is a business at the end of the day. So, like, you know, not even just the NBA, but, like, people that have normal jobs have, you know, have those same problems. It's just not magnified, you know what I mean? So, for me, it's always about, like, I don't lose focus of, you know, trying to compete for a championship and then financially, you know, of making sure that my family is taken care of, you know what I mean? Because I'm very smart and I've sacrificed a lot, you know what I mean? Financially, like, which I don't get credit, I don't get credit, I don't get talked about, but I'm fulfilled and I'm happy with it, you know?

30:38Joe Johnson:But like winning a championship or at least having a chance to and then financially getting paid for, you know, me being available and playing at the highest level for so long. So to answer your question, you know, this is a business at the end of the day. So I feel like players should, you know, ultimately do what's best for them and front office does what's best for them and their owner and their organization. So, you know, it's two sides of a story. I kind of like that. Now, one lie was told. Hey, Joe, you know how the business works, Unc? You've been in it. Joe, I've been in it, you know. And, I mean, loyalty, well, they throw that word around, especially when it's beneficial for them.

31:15Joe Johnson:We talk about ownership, you know. And if you're not playing well or you're not meeting, you're not playing to the standards and width they see fit, what's the first thing they do? Well, we need to take a pay cut. Or you don't even get the decision or the choice to take a pay cut they let you go. They love screaming loyalty when it's beneficial for them. And that's in the sports world. This same thing also goes into other aspects of life in general as well. Most of the time, everybody's goddamn loyal when it's beneficial. It's easy. when everything is going good, when things aren't going well, if you're a basketball player, you know, whether you're a football player, and it's not convenient for said team or owners, yeah, man, we can't do this, man.

32:04Joe Johnson:You know, loyalty is out the window. There is no reward for being loyal. You're right. Loyalty and friendship should be measured when you're down.

32:15Shannon Sharpe:Because everybody's loyal and friendly when you're up. Come on, man. I ain't gonna fit to get in there. I'm not fit to get in there. But I will tell you this. Don Sutton had a quote. I think Don Sutton said this. Don Sutton said, I'm the most loyal man money can buy.

32:35Hey, hey.

32:37Joe Johnson:Hold on. I need to hear that one more time. What you said at the beginning. Not what Don Sutton said, but the one you said, that was a ball.

32:44Shannon Sharpe:Loiter and friendship should be measured when you're down because everybody loyal and friendly when you're up. Man.

32:50Joe Johnson:Hey, Chad, we need to put that on the shirt. Chad, somebody tweet me that. Chad, somebody tweet me that. I don't have my pen and pad in front of me. I'm putting that on the shirt.

32:59Shannon Sharpe:That's how it is. I mean, you find out who you are, but you'll also find out who your friends are. When you're down.

33:13Shannon Sharpe:You want to know who your friends are? Let your car don't work. When you roll it, Ocho, Hey, man, Sharp's way through to pick your boy up. Yeah. Man, what up, Sharp? Man, my car. All right, I'll holler. Well, holler. No problem. Okay. No problem. Yeah.

33:35Chad Johnson:Hey, hey. I think, hey, experience is the best teacher. It is. Fellas. And I think what James has experienced over the past some odd years, whether it was in Philly with Darryl Moore. He took a pay cut. Yep. Obviously, the loyalty thing that he was talking about, Darryl. And then going back home, going to L.A., Uncle Ocho, I don't think he necessarily wanted to leave the Clippers, but I don't think they was willing to pay him no money either. And what he's saying is, man, I'm still playing at this all-star caliber level, and basically he probably never come out and said, but basically saying that the Clippers didn't want to pay me no money to keep me around so they ain't just trading me.

34:18Chad Johnson:You know what I mean? And that's kind of what it is. So he's right. It's not really no loyalty in this. Whatever they tell you, you know, this is a business, man. First and foremost, and the quicker you can get that, you know, through your head, bro, the better off you'll be. So I totally understand everything he was saying.

34:35Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. Yeah. It is. Yo, you hit the nail on the head. Once you accept that, that you are a commodity. Yeah. It's just like, if you're on a farm, Ocho, you can't fall in love with those animals. No. You can't. Those pigs are going to go and chat. Don't get upset. Don't tell Pete Ocho and I. But you know what you're going to do with those pigs. You know what you're going to do with those cattle. You know what happens to those chickens. So as, and that's what, hey, Coach Belichick knew in order for him to be able to do his job effectively. he couldn't get close because I might have to cut a player.

35:19Shannon Sharpe:I might have to trade a player. And the closer I am to said player, the more difficult it is, and it will cloud my judgment. This is why they don't let higher-ups deal with subordinates. It will cloud your judgment because you might have to make a decision where you have to send him or her into battle, into harm's way.

35:42Joe Johnson:That's crazy.

35:44Shannon Sharpe:it's not as complicated it's like your job your job lauded you as long as you're doing it yeah hey I guarantee you they fire people you name a company and they fire people yeah whatever reason he didn't do the job he or she didn't do the job they came late whatever the case may be yeah some people hey we heard some people been on job Oh, he been on this job for 30 years. He been on this job for 40 years. Joker ain't never took a sick day.

36:24Shannon Sharpe:But sports is a different animal. And you just have to, sometimes you have to set emotions aside. You got to set your, you have to leave your feelings at home. Yeah. Check your emotions. You got to. And if you do that, you'll be fine. You'll be fine. it broke my heart that I found out the Broncos was trying to trade me.

36:46Chad Johnson:I'm like, hold on, man.

36:48Shannon Sharpe:Oh, Joe, all these shots I done took in my ankle. Yeah. All these needles I done put in my ass. Oh, yeah. Took in my shoulders.

36:57Joe Johnson:Yeah, hey, they don't care nothing about that. It's inevitable, Joe. When it's time to go, boy, it's time to go. I think the hardest thing is because James is up in age, what is he on?

37:14Chad Johnson:36? Probably 36, yeah. That sounds about right. 36, 37. You know, when you make it to those years in basketball, that's like the cliff. You know, they don't really think you can really play no more. You know what I mean? But you got guys like KD and LeBron who didn't exceed the odds, and now they make it look like you can play in your 40s. That ain't normal, guys. It's not normal.

37:41Shannon Sharpe:And I think the thing is what James saw, he's like, hold on. I'm playing at a higher level than PG, and PG just got four years, two plus. And y 'all won't get me two years at 80?

37:56Chad Johnson:I ain't nobody. Yeah, no, no. Hey, Joe, he going to get that, Joe?

38:00Shannon Sharpe:We all played the sport. So we, hey, secretly, we pocket watch. Man, hey, Joe, you see what that joker got? Man, he averaging 12 points a game. Oh, Joe, man, that joker caught 50 balls last year. They gave that joker 20 million.

38:19Chad Johnson:Yeah. You think, Joe, he going to get what he want? I'm not sure what he trying to get. Is he trying to get a two, three-year deal? I'm sure he probably want a three-year deal. He going to get it, though.

38:30Shannon Sharpe:I think he wanted two years. What did the reports say? Now, I don't know. He didn't say, but the reports like he wanted two for 80.

38:43Chad Johnson:I think Cleveland gave him that. I don't think they would have traded for him. They wouldn't give up Darius Garland. They just brought James over there for the rest of the year. And then get him out of there. That don't make no sense. So I think they'll definitely pay him. So. I think they'll pay him. He'll get his money.

39:03Shannon Sharpe:But all James did was say the quiet part out loud. That's it. Yeah. I mean, you think about all the guys that spent one. I mean, think about the guys. All your greatest players. How many of them really actually stayed with one team?

39:18Joe Johnson:Doesn't happen often. It happens.

39:20Shannon Sharpe:Kobe, you get Magic, you get a Duncan, you get a Dirk, you get a Bird. but for the most part for those fives you get Shaq you get Kareem you get LeBron you get KD you're going to have your step like I said you're going to have outliers but if you go back into the NFL Joe Montana played for two teams Peyton Manning two teams Tom Brady two teams Emmitt Smith two teams Bruce Smith two teams Jerry Rice several teams Time several teams Randy Moss, several teams. T.O., several teams. Warren Moon, several teams. You see how it's going? Every once in a while, you get outliers. You get an Aaron Donald, one team.

40:08Shannon Sharpe:You get an AOT, one team. But for the most part, you get a Marino or an Elway, but a lot of times, man, you're going to have to move it on alone if you want to continue to play. Now, if you want to leave a couple of years earlier than you want to, just so you stay in one jersey, that's your choice. But if you feel – That's the hard decision. Still feel you can play at a high level and you want to keep playing, well, it might be a possibility. It's not there. I'm sure all things being equal, you guys, Joe and Ocho, I guarantee you Mr. Kraft would have preferred Tom Brady to retire. a Patriot but you don't think he wanted him to go to Tampa Bay?

41:01Shannon Sharpe:why you let that happen then? Because he let Coach Belichick talk him into it he did, he trusted Coach Belichick basically and Coach Belichick, when he wanted to do it before he made him get rid of Jimmy G

41:15Chad Johnson:well

41:16Shannon Sharpe:Coach Belichick circled back he's not the same player he's falling off Tom said, I'm going to show you.

41:25Chad Johnson:That's all a player needs. That's all some players need is a little gas.

41:28Shannon Sharpe:A little gas. Yeah. You give them a little gas, boy, they gone. I'm going to fall off into another Super Bowl.

41:38Shannon Sharpe:Jalen Brown posted on IG, 24-25. The record was 39-16. They were the two seed going into the break. Now in 25-26, they're 35-19, two seed. Offensive rating, they were number four in offensive rating. Now they're number two in offensive rating. They were fifth in defensive rating. This time they're ninth in rating. Net rating, they were third. This year, they're third. Yeah, put them facts out there. Hey, can I ask you a question, Joe? You see what he said? He said, hey, one person tweeted, he said, bro, say he better than JT.

42:15Joe Johnson:Hey, Joe, now that we're at the halfway point and it's all-star break, what message is JB trying to send? Outside of we've seen he's improved, you know, he's playing extremely well, even with JT not being in, but is there a reason for doing this or is he trying to send a message to the Celtics?

42:37Chad Johnson:No, he's sending a message to, I think, the people. I think for everybody who counted them out to start the season. Nobody had them coming out the East. Nobody had them in the top of the East. You know what I mean? And they've stayed afloat. And honestly, Ocho, he's in the MVP conversation, rightfully so. He's been balling, bro. He's been balling. But they've had other guys who stepped up. Peyton Pritchard. Helped as well. Hauser. Yeah.

43:01Shannon Sharpe:Hey, the Celtics counted them out. They the one that sold all those pieces. They the one that let their hell forfeit go. They traded Christopher Zingas. They traded Holliday. What you talking about? We, the fans. No, y 'all did that. Right. Yeah. They didn't think you were going to be as good as you are. But J.B., like you said, is averaging 28 points a game. Peyton Pritchard has been Peyton Pritchard, Cole Hauser. They've had Derrick White has played phenomenal. They've had guys to step up. It's surprising that the Boston Celtics considering that J.T. went down and he was not expecting that he may or may not come back this season.

43:37Shannon Sharpe:But when you get rid of Horford, when you get rid of Holiday, when you get rid of Przingis, I don't think nobody thought they would be in the position that they're currently in. And he's just singing their praise. And I don't have a problem with him doing that.

43:49Chad Johnson:Yeah, I don't either. I don't either. But they've had other guys outside the guys that Unk have mentioned. They've had other guys come off that bench. Oh, Simon.

43:58Shannon Sharpe:Remember, Simon was playing well before they traded him. He's on the fine contract.

44:03Chad Johnson:He had a stretch. He was playing well. It's kind of like plug and play, guys. It's like a great system. And guys just kind of go out there and do their thing. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's been fun to watch. They've been competing.

44:16Shannon Sharpe:He talking about the fans. No, no, no, no, no. The Boston Celtics, they didn't think y 'all was going to be that. Because if they thought y 'all was going to be that, they'd have kept them pieces.

44:24Chad Johnson:Right. But J.A., J.B. letting the critics know. He letting everybody know who was like, oh, yeah, Boston ain't going to do X, Y, Z. Yeah, he letting y 'all know we ain't far off from where we was at last year. Like, we really in the same way.

44:35Shannon Sharpe:So, when you got two guys making$300 million, they damn sure better keep better. stay afloat. I'll break this issue up. Yeah.

44:48Joe Johnson:They second in each right now at the break, right? How far do you see them? How far do you see them going? Especially without these teams.

44:57Chad Johnson:I think it's matchups, me. I think if you get the wrong matchup in the first round, you could be. Yeah, I'm serious. You could be. It's some teams. Look, I know we talk a lot of crap, and I don't know how long they can keep it up, but the Hornets, prior to the loss against the Pistons the other night in the LeBron, they had. And the Hornets had won, what, eight and nine games in a row. They won an eight and nine in a row. Yeah, absolutely. Yep. If they end up, if they continue to keep playing well, let's say they do get in the play-in and do get the seventh or the A.C. or, man, they can cause problems.

45:34Chad Johnson:They're a young team. I think Toronto can be a problem also. Toronto. Yeah, Toronto. Hey, them teams gain confidence, bro. It'll be hard to shut them off in the playoffs when they out there playing, just having fun, not really understanding the moment. Just enjoying the game.

45:50Shannon Sharpe:Ever since JB let that hair go, he ain't painted no more.

45:54Chad Johnson:He been, hey, off to the races, ain't it, man?

45:58Shannon Sharpe:He free.

46:02Shannon Sharpe:He's going to get me a cough drop.

46:05Chad Johnson:Yeah, JB look good out there, man. I'm sure they're going to. They're going to try to give for the second half, make a good run, but it's sitting top heavy in their East.

46:15Shannon Sharpe:Nikola Topic made his NBA debut four months after battling testicular cancer. The Serbian guard was the 12th pick in the 2024 NBA draft. He missed all of last season with a torn ACL. He suffered before the draft, and then he received a testicular cancer diagnosis during the preseason. He had a procedure in October, then underwent chemo and worked his way back into shape. He entered Thursday night game against the Milwaukee Bucks late in the first quarter and received a loud ovation. That's really one of the blessings, Ocho and Joe. You guys know this. Is that playing a professional sports? Yes.

46:53Because when you go get the physical, they find out everything.

46:57Joe Johnson:Every little. They find everything.

47:00Shannon Sharpe:They find out if you got diabetes. They find out if you got cancer. They find out if you have certain ailments that probably, probably, a lot of times the general population, it goes undetected until it's too late. So congratulations to the young man that he got treated. I mean, he's had a tough time of it. Tears his ACL. He battles his way back from that. And then coming back into the preseason, oh, yeah, by the way, you have testicular cancer.

47:28Chad Johnson:I've seen that too, man. I've seen him get in the game. I've seen him give him a standing ovation. I mean, that was dope to see, Uncle Ocho. I don't know about y 'all, but, you know, my mother passed away 2019 from cancer. Yeah. So, you know, that's a tough battle, bro. I watched her take this battle for probably over a decade, you know what I mean? Just going in and out of remission. But, you know, when I hear about stories like this, bro, it was good to see that young man back out there. Glad he pulled through.

47:57Shannon Sharpe:My father died from it at 39 from cancer. He had two brothers that barely made it. One of them didn't make it to 50, and the other one was 50. So me and my brother has outlived my dad and my uncles tenfold. Now, we do have the oldest one, Richard, is I think 91, 92. So I'm on the other side, Joe. I go get A. Oh, yeah. I don't meant to deduct, but let me go. What I need, Doc? Yeah. I get everything yeah well you know we don't think yeah I think there's something I need to worry about so go ahead go ahead go ahead and send me to a specialist it's covered yeah so hey they's like well you know there's an abnormality going on I said what does that entail they said well we can numb we can numb your penis up and put a thing I said no y 'all can put me to sleep but y 'all still put that scope down and let me see what's going on yeah yeah hey

48:59Joe Johnson:Hey, Uncle Joe, that's one thing about it. If it runs in your family, if it's hereditary, you know, and other people have had it in the past, you got to go get checked. And even if it doesn't, you know, especially for us fellas, man, when you hit a certain age, it's very important to continue to get those checkups, you know, to make sure you're okay, man. Every six months, I mean, to a year, whatever it may be, or whatever a doctor sees fit for you, especially if it runs in your family, because it does get passed down through the generations, especially if you've had others or uncles and aunts that have passed away from certain cancers.

49:38Joe Johnson:So, I mean, it sucks. It sucks the fact that we've made so much movement in certain areas when it comes to medicine and technology, but it doesn't seem we haven't been able to find a cure for some of these monsters out there. Ain't no money in the cure. The money's in the treatment.

49:57Shannon Sharpe:If I cure you, how do I get more money from you if I cure you?

50:01Joe Johnson:Yeah. I need to treat you. So I need you to bring your ass back. Listen, I didn't want to say that part. You know, the funny thing about it, Joe, it's funny, you know, is we can find a way to do everything else. Hell, we can find a way to get to the goddamn moon. We have cars, Joe, that can drive themselves without us. And when it comes to some of the simple formalities, when it comes to us as humans, I mean, what do you mean? We don't have a, I mean, really? Yeah, we do. Listen, I can tell you. We wiped out polio. We wiped out smallpox. Come on now. You know I know.

50:40Shannon Sharpe:Boobahunty plague. Oh, if they really, if they really. But to your point, Ocho, people that look like you, men that look like me, you, and Joe. Because normally God had to come to the foot of the bed. Yeah. Oh, you know, I saw God last night. Let me go to the doctor. Yes, sir. That was when we absolutely had to go. But we didn't have health care. And my grandfather and my, you know, before us, they didn't want to burden us with those bills.

51:09Joe Johnson:Yeah.

51:10Shannon Sharpe:So, but you know what? Hey, let me go ahead and let this go ahead and take me. because I can't leave my family in debt for forever and forever and forever. So it was a situation. No, they weren't going to the doctors. And considering they weren't trusting the doctors, they're like, oh, no, I get sicker when I go to the doctor.

51:30Chad Johnson:That's what it seemed like.

51:31Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, because they keep waking your ass up every 10 minutes. I say, damn. If I can sleep, I might get better and get the hell up out of here. But y 'all keep waking me up. Mr. Sharp, we got to check your blood. My blood is fine. It's boiling right now. I promise you. They talk about Mr. Sharp, your blood pressure's up. Yeah, because y 'all woke me up.

51:51Chad Johnson:Two o 'clock in a damn morning.

51:53Shannon Sharpe:I finally dozed off. Because hearing that beep, beep, beep, beep. So I'm trying to block that out. As soon as I get to sleep, Mr. Sharp.

52:03Joe Johnson:They wake your ass up. Mr. Sharp. Yeah.

52:06Chad Johnson:Right, right. Hey. I know exactly what you mean I swear

52:14Shannon Sharpe:but I was like but I'm glad the young man got it got diagnosed because I think early detection is one of the best forms of treatment you catch it in the initial stages now they can treat it I'm saying treat it and get you on the road to recovery so congratulations to Nikolai Topic made his NBA debut four months after battling testicular cancer a year after he suffered a pre-draft ACL tear. Still was able to go with the 12th pick in the NBA draft in 2024 and he finally made his NBA debut.

52:59Shannon Sharpe:Joe Ocho of NBA Fin Utah Jazz 500K for what leagues call conduct detrimental to the league. and Indiana Pacers will fine$100K for violating the league's player participation policy. In addition, Adam Silver said in an NBA news release that the league is seeking to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct. Overt behavior like this prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of the NBA competition and will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games. Additionally, we are working with our competition committee and board of governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.

53:43Shannon Sharpe:On February 7th, the Jazz played Orlando Magic. In Orlando, Laurie Markkinen and Jaron Jackson had combined to score 49 points over the first three quarters, helping Utah to a 94-87 lead, entering the fourth quarter. But the Jazz held out Markkinen and Jackson, fellow starters Yusef Nurkic for the entire fourth quarter, and they lost the game 120-117. Two nights later, Jazz carried an 85-82 lead over the Heat in the fourth quarter. And once again, Markkinen, Jackson, Nurkic did not play in the final period. But Utah ended up beating Miami 115-111. Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith responded to the five saying, agree to disagree.

54:27Shannon Sharpe:Also, we won the game in Miami and got fined. That makes no sense. The Jazz owe a protected first-round pick of the 2026 draft.

54:38Joe Johnson:Hey, what the hell are they trying to do, Joe? Man, listen, let me tell y 'all something.

54:44Chad Johnson:Let me tell y 'all something. Okay, Ocho, I'm with Adam on this as far as finding these teams, but if I'm these teams, I'm going to take that little fine. Because, look, let me tell you, as talented as this draft class is going to be, it can put you ahead 15, 20 years. Ocho, you pick the right one. It's going to be some stars in this draft class, bro. And if you got – I really believe even if you got a top five, top seven pick, you're still going to get great value, bro. It's deep. This is a good one. This is a good draft class. I'm going to take the fine, too, if I'm an NBA team. Yeah, I'm going to take that fine, too.

55:27Shannon Sharpe:The problem that Utah have, Ocho, if their pick is eight or down, they have to turn that pick over to OKC. So they want to try to get as many ping pong balls as they possibly can to stay one through seven so we get the key.

55:40Chad Johnson:Right.

55:42Shannon Sharpe:Because the last thing you want to have is a top ten pick that's eight, somewhere eight or below, and I be, damn, we got to turn this thing over to a – they already got an abundance of wealth and now we got it

55:54Joe Johnson:yeah that sucks that sucks for the players that's playing on the jazz though Joe so it's like I mean we going out here playing and I know management they trying to tank they taking us out the game they taking away our minutes we out here you know we got a job to do

56:13Chad Johnson:and that ain't part of our job

56:15Joe Johnson:trying to worry about we'll be drafting that

56:19Chad Johnson:hey look Ocho, you absolutely right. And as a player, you ain't finna go out there point shaving. You trying to get to the money. You want your numbers to look good too at the end of the year when you try to go up there and negotiate your contract. I don't care. That's why they have to sit those guys out because if they don't, they're going to win. They know Lauren Marker and JJ

56:42Shannon Sharpe:Triple J, they trying to win. Yeah, they be balling. Hold on, you messing up our draft pick. Sit y 'all ass down.

56:48Joe Johnson:Hold on, hold on. Hey, hey, hey, Joe. Like, how do the players feel about this, knowing what the team is doing?

56:56Chad Johnson:Man, players go play, bro. Like, they may, like, obviously with those guys, they sending them guys out in the fourth quarter, he probably already told them. But, man, ain't no guys going out there lollygagging, Ocho. Guys really, because they got some nice pieces over there that's having pretty good. That's like, give you the guard. George? George Ball is marketing. He could have been all-star this year.

57:17Shannon Sharpe:They just gave up a boatload of picks to get Triple J.

57:21Joe Johnson:Yeah.

57:22Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. The Cavaliers fired Ty Lue. Yeah. Because they were trying to tank. Ty Lue's like, I ain't trying to tank. I'm playing my guys. I'm playing my best player. You got to go there, bro.

57:32Joe Johnson:Hey, Joe, I wouldn't be that type. You know, if I'm one of the ballers on the Jazz, honestly, I mean, knowing me and my mentality, I don't care about what you're trying to draft, and you definitely ain't taking me out of no game. And I'm definitely –

57:44Shannon Sharpe:Then you'll get fired for conduct detrimental. See how that worked? What? Absolutely. They going, hey, Ocho, Ocho. You going to find me because I don't want to come out of the game? Yes. That's contract detrimental to the team.

57:57Chad Johnson:Ocho, we already ain't won but like 16 games. Ain't like we going to make no play-in and no play-off. Like, we need more ping-pong balls so we can try to get one of these phenoms that's coming out.

58:10Joe Johnson:I got you.

58:11Chad Johnson:Now, the team ain't going to come out and say that, but we know what's going on. Okay, I understand. Come on, now. They get looking like the Spurs.

58:18Shannon Sharpe:They get David Robinson. And then they get Tim Duncan.

58:22Chad Johnson:Duncan, yeah. And now they get Wimby. But look, how did they get Tim Duncan? That's because David Robinson and them had set out pretty much that year before they didn't play. Yeah, he got hurt. They was one of the weakest teams in the league, and they ended up getting the number one pick, and you get Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Together. Now you got a dynasty. That was the start of it. That was your linchpin. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So that's all it takes, man. Man, it takes one more piece that Utah can add to that puzzle over there, and they could be one of the top teams in the West real quick.

58:53Chad Johnson:And you got to get lucky.

58:54Shannon Sharpe:I mean, you look at the Lakers. The Lakers win the NBA championship, and guess what? They get the number one over pick. They get James Worthy. How the hell? Hold on. You need to tell me they got Magic and Kareem. We win the championship, and guess what? The number one overall pick, University of North Carolina, 6 '8", James Worthy. Hey, how did that happen, though? Oh, that ain't no happening. How do you win the championship and get the number one pick? You know, early on, Joe, this was before your time, but you could draft like the Celtics drafted Larry Bird his junior year and kept his rights.

59:25Shannon Sharpe:So you could draft a player and still have his rights. Wait.

59:32Joe Johnson:I'm not even going to ask.

59:35Shannon Sharpe:Oh, because it used to be you drafted territorial.

59:38Joe Johnson:Right.

59:39Shannon Sharpe:So you drafted a player that was in that area.

59:43Chad Johnson:Okay. Yeah. But you could draft a player, draft a player, he go back to school,

59:50Shannon Sharpe:and you still maintained his rights. So that's what happened with the Celtics. And the Celtics did a good thing. They ended up trading Joe Barry Carroll. And guess what? They traded Joe Barry Carroll. They got Robert Perriss. Oh, lo and behold, Kevin McHale. So now you got a big three for him. You go out and you get Nate Archibald. You get rid of Nate Archibald, and then guess what? You get DJ, who had just won the finals. I think he was a finals MVP with Seattle.

1:00:21Chad Johnson:Yeah. Dang. Oh, no. They had a whip. They had a whip. That Boston Celtics team was, oof.

1:00:30Shannon Sharpe:I mean, a lot of the rules back in the – see, like in the free throw, Joe, you used to get three to make two. You got three attempts to make two shots. There was a lot of – like, damn. So, hey, you made one, you missed one, hey, he got one more free throw. But, and I agree with you, Joe. I see what the Jazz is doing. It doesn't look good that you tank. But they going to tank, ain't nothing you can do.

1:01:01Chad Johnson:You going to just eat that fire. At the end of the day, if we get the number one pick or even a number two pick, Ocho, we back in business, baby. yeah

1:01:13Joe Johnson:hopefully those picks turn out Joe you say we got you got a deep class this year

1:01:20Chad Johnson:Ocho I'm talking about for sure them top 4-5 picks Ocho they gonna be special

1:01:27Shannon Sharpe:Orlando got Shaq and then guess what they got the next year Chris Webber they traded Chris Webber for Penny Hardaway yeah it worked out you get the right player all it takes is one yeah

1:01:45Chad Johnson:yeah that's it that's it that was a smart move I wonder why Lando just didn't take Penny one I think cause Chris Webber was so

1:01:58Shannon Sharpe:people don't realize how good C Webb was before his knees gave out on his mouth man C Webb was a monster

1:02:08Chad Johnson:Well, coming out of college, he was a beast, Ocho, in college. But coming into the league, you couldn't see him and Shaq on the same team. I couldn't really see that.

1:02:20Shannon Sharpe:It was perfect because you remember leading up, Penny and Shaq was in blue chips. You remember? Yeah. Yeah, that's one of my favorite basketball moves, bro.

1:02:29Chad Johnson:Ocho don't know nothing about that, though. Blue chips? I ain't see that, Joe, or no? Oh, man. Boy, that's a classic. We might take your black card behind that one. What is on, Joe? I'm sure you can go see it on Netflix. It might be on Amazon or something like that. Amazon, yeah.

1:02:48Joe Johnson:Matter of fact, you know what? I'm going to watch that tonight. Because, you know, I slept another four hours before we started. Yeah, I was knocked out.

1:02:58Shannon Sharpe:Joe, you see up there, we see right now the top ten prospects is Darian Peterson, 6 '6 guard, freshman guard out of Kentucky. Cameron Booze, a 6 '9 freshman. A.J. DeBonza, a 6 '9 freshman. Kingston Flemings, a 6 '4 freshman. Caleb Williams, a 6 '10 freshman. Keaton Wagler, a 6 '6 freshman. Michael Brown Jr., a 6 '5 freshman. Nate Amit, a 6 '10 freshman. LeBron Fillion is a 6 '4 sophomore. And Braylon Mullins is a 6 '6 freshman.

1:03:36Chad Johnson:They got to have a little Darius Acuff in there. He leading the SEC in scoring and assists. Ain't no way he ain't in there. He ranked 14, Joe. Yeah, he getting money over there as a freshman. Ocho, he leading the SEC in scoring and assists, partner.

1:03:50Joe Johnson:You like that? Yeah, yeah. Hey, you know what? At my daughter's school, I think he tore his ACL last year. He was supposed to be, from what I heard, the number one pick at Kentucky. What school? He got the braids a little bit. Tore his ACL last year.

1:04:11Chad Johnson:Oh, I think I seen him. He playing now this year?

1:04:15Joe Johnson:I think he's playing. He was at Arizona State first, I think, if I'm not mistaken.

1:04:19Chad Johnson:Oh, the big fella. Yeah, I mean, Kentucky doing all right, but they ain't like having no, You know what I mean? Hey, and if Gil's son keep playing like this,

1:04:30Shannon Sharpe:he going to throw his damn name in the hat.

1:04:32Chad Johnson:Yeah. See, the thing is. He tall. He like 6 '8", isn't he, Joe? He about 6 '7". He about 6 '7". He got some nice lint on him. But the thing is for him, because he kind of came off late. He's such a late bloomer to the party. But he'll go to like a good team and end up paying it out. He can play. He can get money. he can play I watched him he's been getting to it out there it's a deep draft man hey March Madness is going to be fun we're going to have to do brackets I know I'm going to beat y 'all in that nah you're going to do that Joe yeah in brackets we all fill out a bracket

1:05:07Shannon Sharpe:you're not going to do that Joe

1:05:09Joe Johnson:nah that's definitely not going to happen

1:05:11Shannon Sharpe:man please yeah we're definitely going to do that but you're not winning Joe

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