Hour 1: Clippers & Kawhi Part Ways, plus TNF’s Ryan Fitzpatrick Talks Rams, Kyler, Bills & More

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1:54Rich Eisen:This is The Rich Eisen Show. There is LeBron James news. He will play elsewhere. This is the Rich Eisen Show. What if LeBron goes to Golden State? Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. What a weird ending to your movie, dude. Don't do that. Today's guests, Prime Video TNF analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Ringer NFL draft analyst Todd McShay, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, And now, it's Rich Eisen. Well, hey, everybody. It's time for the first July 2026 edition of the Rich Eisen Show. We have made it to the month of training camps. We have made it to the month of the baseball all-star game, the ESPYs.

2:41Rich Eisen:We've made it to the month of July. Welcome to this program. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial whether you're watching on Disney Plus or the ESPN app or listening on ESPN Radio or Sirius XM Channel 80. The Three Lions, England, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's not Dr. Congo. They have just started their knockout round match. And we will keep an eye on it. it's as epic as it gets right and all of our friends across the pond which you're allowed to say uh they're either nice and calm and chill at wimbledon right and everybody else has their hair on fire yeah um because as we know in this world cup the european nations have not fared very well i mean france did uh norway did yesterday was a good day for europe yeah uh prior to that and It's been 60 years since England won the World Cup.

3:47Rich Eisen:Not so much. Not so much. And we'll find out if it's going to be Europeans like yesterday advancing or Europeans like before stepping on their Grady, you know what. Well done. Which, by the way, I do believe it is England's brand to do such a thing in the World Cup. That's what's at play right now. We're going to keep an eye on all of that. Don't they have spotted? While we talk about American football with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Hey. First up, we've got Tom Pellicero in our three. And then we've got Todd McShay as well. We kind of had him on to talk about a Brandon Soresby supplemental draft that's not happening.

4:36Rich Eisen:But Brandon Soresby news actually did break yesterday. We'll talk about all of it throughout the show. We also have a What's More Likely Today. Normally that's on Friday, but we're off Friday as a show in its entirety. I'm taking off after today's program. Seth Rollins sits in this chair with you guys tomorrow. And so it's a What's More Likely Wednesday. I've got a Power Rankings as well. We Power Rank the best sports tournaments in the world. And inspired by the World Cup, obviously. there's so much going on here good to see you chris brock hey good to see you you know good to see you tj happy birthday month it's your birthday month it's your birthday but you guys are share a birthday we have the same birth july 23rd yeah very uh which is also the birthday of felma yeah right right good to see you over there jason fell how are you hey listen stand up a little bit and show off your shirt i kind of like this this is a max crosby um uh fernando mendoza no No, is that Bowers?

5:41Rich Eisen:Oh, Brock Bowers. A stepbrother shirt. I kind of did. I was worried I wouldn't get to wear this. The silver and black Argyle. That may not be potentially functional by the end of August. Yeah, hold on to that. But you put that evil on me. Hold on to that. Jay Jefferson, you're wearing flannel? Well, you know, on the East Coast, it's 100 degrees right now, and you're wearing flannel in this studio? Well, we're not in the East Coast. We're on the West Coast. And on Wednesdays, we wear pink. You know how I used to do. There you go. And we got Seth Rollins, Lamar Ritchie, and Roman Reigns are about to have a banger match at SummerSlam.

6:10Rich Eisen:What a time. And you've got the contest wrestling later today with O'Shea Jackson Jr. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So O'Shea's going to be joining us in hour number three to celebrate the arrival of a new Los Angeles Laker, huh? Yeah, that's right. Had to pay big money. Walker Kessler? Walker Kessler. Hey, welcome to Los Angeles, Walker Kessler. Big trade. It's a trade for him. Yeah, a trade for Walker. So with LeBron freeing up money, the Lakers did not waste time. LeBron James. And gave it to somebody who is most certainly not LeBron. No. Will not be mistaken for him. A tall man. Unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 33.

6:52Rich Eisen:And then some first-round swaps in 28 and 30. Four years,$130 million deal with a full trade picker and a player option in the fourth season. So it's Luka, Austin Reeves, Walker Kessler. as Macca Smat is now on the Houston Rockets. So the Lakers are breaking up. Went back to E-May. It is Luka's team. And what do you call him? This is the new Snowtime Lakers. Ladies and gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen. The Snowtime Lakers. Ladies and gentlemen. Put your hands together for the Snowtime. Los Angeles Lakers. Used to mean something different in the 80s. Well, they don't play the four of your champions anymore, sir.

7:42Rich Eisen:They don't play an angle. Listen, how's it going to work? Best of luck. Best of luck. I can't believe I'm saying this. Best of luck chasing down the New York Knickerbockers. The Lakers also just signed someone I can't pronounce. Sandro Mamascuda. Okay. That guy. What? Good news update. I can't pronounce his name. This guy's Sandro Mamakoulashvili. And how the hell is Tim Horton? Four years, 52 million. Clip that, feller. Oh, and Quentin Grimes was signed, too. Another snowtime Laker. Quentin Grimes. Snowtime. But Quentin Grimes is coming to Los Angeles as well. So they're reloading. There you go.

8:26Rich Eisen:But hey, and Quentin Grimes, former Nick, who did very well in Philadelphia, is now coming to Los Angeles. So this is how the Lakers are filling in the gaps without LeBron, you know. And the Knicks just lost their first member of their championship team. They kept Alvarado and Schammett. But they could not afford to keep Mitchell Robinson. And it's a three-year,$47.4 million deal for the most tenured New York Knick. Oh, my gosh. Congo just scored. And Mitchell Robinson just took care of his own business there. He's a Celtic. Congratulations, Chris. You got yourself a rim protector. Absolutely.

9:14Rich Eisen:Needed one, needed a rebounder, needed someone in the paint. There you go. And you got yourself a bona fide rim protector. He is outstanding at rebounding and blocking shots and being a general nuisance underneath the rim in a way that the Celtics have not had. So you got that going for you. The question is, is he going to be protecting the rim, you know, on behalf of Tatum or Tatum and Jalen Brown? Because we had Windhorst here on Monday, and he's basically like, Jalen Brown's being offered to anybody who's going to listen. Yeah, Shams today was on first take and said they're aggressively shopping eight to ten teams.

10:04Rich Eisen:So there you have it. That's the latest in terms of what's going on in the last few minutes of a new league year that's cooking with gas. Meanwhile, it's kind of wild. Alan Sexton just signed with the Lakers. There you go. I mean, and it's kind of wild to see how, you know, LeBron at this very moment yesterday, let it be known through Rich Paul and Shams that he had told the Lakers were done here. About a half an hour later, Jeannie Buss sends out a farewell on Instagram. Fifteen minutes after that, LeBron says, thank you. And now, 24 hours later, there's four new human beings signed by the Los Angeles Lakers.

10:53Rich Eisen:They're going fast while LeBron is going to take his time. And LeBron's arrival here with Anthony Davis is what sparked the Clippers to say, we need our own guy. And after Kawhi Leonard crushed it for the Toronto Raptors to win the 2019 NBA championship, averaging 28 and a half points for the Raptors and was outstanding, along with now two-time champion OG Ananobi. Two-time. It caused the Clippers to say, we got to do our own thing. And Kawhi's like, if I'm even going to consider this, you need to get Paul George for me. And they move heaven and earth for Paul George, yada, yada, yada. There's a two-time NBA MVP that used to be on the Clippers in Shea Gilgis-Alexander.

11:47Rich Eisen:And all these draft choices that the Oklahoma City Thunder from that trade turned into a bunch of other terrific NBA players. And the Clippers now send Kawhi back to Toronto with Paul George having already left for Philadelphia. And you want the good or the bad? What do you want first, TJ Jefferson? What do you want first, the good or the bad? I have my own theories, but give me the bad. The bad. New bad. Okay. Here's the bad. I always, by the way, want the bad first. So we can end on a high note. Is that what would you get Kawhi for at the end of the day? You got as far as the Western Conference Finals in Ty Lue's first season with the team.

12:36Rich Eisen:To lose four games to two to the Phoenix Suns. That's as far as you got in the Kawhi era. A lot of injuries for Kawhi, sometimes in the playoffs, sometimes not. A lot of load management. Paul George departs. You got a new arena. That's kind of with the good. I don't know if Kawhi is what brought the arena because Steve Ballmer was still going to be insanely wealthy whether he got Kawhi or not. You got a scandal about no-show jobs, whether it's true or not. um you know and uh i guess the bad news also on that front is you know pablo tory won emmys and a peabody off of it right um um good news for for pablo but uh what what'd you get at the end of the day just a whole bunch of the same old same old you took a home run swing and you watched the Oklahoma City Thunder take advantage of it.

13:38Rich Eisen:You got hammered in that trade. You gave up too much for it. End of the Doc Rivers era. And now here we are in 2026. What'd you get? Right now you insert the Cardi B video of her yelling, what was the reason? What was the reason? So, yeah. Now here's the good. Here's the good though. You put up the trade. I mean, Kawhi's in his mid-30s. He just had a really good season. I mean, and you heard on Monday's show, Brian Wynor say he's had a nice year and a half run of health. Yeah. And you could see the result of it. Okay. But Brandon Ingram, Grady Dick, two unprotected first round picks, a pick swap in two seconds.

14:24Rich Eisen:That is a heck of a haul. Yeah. That's my first thought. Or the Clippers. Fact. A heck of a haul. Right now, there's five kids. We don't know where they are, how old they are, what level of basketball they're playing. They could be in high school now. They could be in college now. They could be playing in the Adriatic now. I have no idea. They're at a camp right now at this moment. Right now. Getting better for the Clippers to turn these picks into them or parlay these picks into more picks into them. Brandon Ingram and Grady Dick are good basketball players if not terrific. And you're now done with the Kawhi era.

15:06Rich Eisen:And we're not talking about it anymore. After a whole load of nothing. You know what I see when I see that, Rick? What do you see? When I see that trade, I look at Brandon Ingram, one of those first-round picks, to the Celtics for a J.B., and then we sign DeMar DeRozan after he gets cut, because he's going to get cut. And then here you go. That's how the Clippers get out. How about Lawrence Frank Jefferson in the corner? Wow. I like it. I was in the group chat yesterday, and we were— Jalen Brown coming here would be pretty exciting. I'll take Ingram in both picks. Well, you can have both. All right.

15:43Rich Eisen:That's the price. So we've got Lawrence Frank Jefferson and Brad Stevens Brockman talking right here. Negotiating. I like it. I'll give you a two, but I'm not going to give you two ones. No. Two ones. That's the deal. What if Jalen Brown doesn't want any part of you anymore? Which, by the way, we can relate sometimes that we don't want any part of you. Me personally. You know, there are times where we're like, really? Jalen Brown seems to be deep in the really portion of his relationship with the Celtics. It's not going well. Even though it's like, hey, you were offered for Giannis. But now it seems like he's being offered for what you're interested in.

16:26Rich Eisen:You interested in Brandon Ingram? Because that sounds like something you might be interested in. That's a conversation of where does LeBron go. We'll handle that later on. I already told you. If he wants to be tough, he comes to the Clippers. We've got a what's more likely. We've got Tom Pelissero. We've got Todd McShay. We've got my power rankings of the best sports tournaments in the world. And yes, like I said, England has had a history of stepping on their King George's when it comes to the World Cup. Big Ben's. They're Big Ben's. That is a real problem. And the Democratic Republic of Congo has struck first.

17:05Rich Eisen:Where is this match being played? In Atlanta. Atlanta, yeah. Okay, but hey, comebacks can happen there, right? You can talk about that, Chris. You know what I'm saying? Very true. Comebacks happen. Very true. Comebacks happen. Right now, the English are screaming for Jimmy G right now. Like Super Bowl 51. Yeah. All right. Come on, bruv. Ryan Fitzpatrick's going to join us one of our delightful friends we'll talk some ball with him and some golf next time I see him in person we'll be at the American Century Championship we need you in a group together what do you mean? oh I'd love to, are you kidding me?

17:38Rich Eisen:I'd love to play with him 100 % I don't know if he'd feel the same way after a few rounds after a few holes, my god alright, Ryan Fitzpatrick of course also a prime video Thursday Night Football next on the Rich Eisen Show here on the first day of July

17:59Rich Eisen:The Rich Isis Show Podcast.

18:24Rich Eisen:need help, we could recommend a shop for you. Ask for O 'Reilly Veriscan today. Oh, oh, oh, O 'Reilly. Auto Parts.

18:40Rich Eisen:While the world watches the stars at the FIFA World Cup this summer, Hyundai has its eyes on the next generation of talent, future stars who are already turning heads at age 14. Because Next doesn't wait for an invitation, and neither do we. Hyundai has always moved the future within reach. We did it when we made advanced safety standard on every vehicle and engineered EVs with ultra-fast charging capability. Because the future isn't some far-off concept, it's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Rich Eisen here with some advice. If high-interest credit card debt is grinding you down, it might be time to call an Audible with a SoFi personal loan.

19:18Rich Eisen:It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required. And with as soon as the same day funding, you can make the right play fast. Call an audible on your debt today at SoFi.com slash debt play. Loans originated by SoFi Bank N.A. Member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891. Fast funds terms apply at SoFi.com slash debt play. Ryan Fitzpatrick here on the Rich Eisen Show. Our radio audience has just returned Thursday Night Football on Prime Video. And, of course, Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to be in the field once again of the American Century Championship, airing on Peacock and NBC next week from July 10th through 12th.

20:01Rich Eisen:Galleries of over 70 ,000 expected. I did it last year for the first time in forever. Ryan, how many years is it going to be now for you there? I'm getting up there like six or seven, maybe. And for me, it's bring the family. My son now caddies for me. And it's the same group of guys. It's a lot of the same fans. And so there's also just such a brotherhood with everybody. Like, I can't wait. Me and you will be in Lake Tahoe in the cold water, maybe chicken fighting with our wives. But it's just there's so many good things about this tournament and the people that are involved. American Century, Jonathan Thomas, NBC does a great job with it.

20:41And then just getting out there with the fans, too, is so much fun.

20:43Rich Eisen:Yeah, Jonathan's the best man. And he, you know, he puts on a hell of a party in the rest of American Century Championship and a great tournament as well that I have no chance of winning whatsoever. I'm trying to just improve my standing last year of being DFL adjacent. He texted me this morning, by the way, because he saw I was coming on to your show. and he was telling me, do you know Rascal Flatts wrote a song, Tahoe Nights, for the... Yeah, I heard it. He sent that one. I saw that one today as well. You know, it's like he turns Edgewood into Radiator Springs, man. It sounds like it's a total Rascal Flatts song.

21:20Rich Eisen:And Jay also and the band, Rascal Flatts, play on Thursday night for the karaoke.

21:29Rich Eisen:It's not a karaoke machine. They learn the music or they know the song. Are you singing this year or are you top out of that? You know what? My brother, funny enough, sang last year with George Kittle because it was Creed and it's always been my brother. He sings Creed without anybody asking. So I just remember it's been so cool, just the family-type atmosphere, the Romano brothers. Ray Romano's sons got up there and gave a hell of a performance. But they've been coming since they were little and they've been Jets fans forever. So it's been cool to see them grow up and now be competing in these things.

22:02the karaoke stuff with their dad.

22:04Rich Eisen:Yeah, I know. We talked about it with Ray on the show last month and how those kids stole my karaoke championship after I mic dropped on New York, New York, and Ray comes up. I'm like, Ray's like, how do I follow that? Then he brings his sons up like total ringers. You know, it's not right. But anyway, I have a chance to rectify this coming up next Thursday. It's tough, though, too. Marcus Allen's got a beautiful voice. Obviously, Alfonso Ribeiro's got a beautiful voice. So it's tough. It's tough. It's a tough room. Before we cycle back to the American Century Championship right now, let's just, now that we're at the top of July here, if the Rams don't win it all, right?

22:50Rich Eisen:I mean, is that fair? You know how difficult it is, but is that fair? Because that's going to be the conversation going into the National Football League season if everybody remains healthy throughout training camp 100%. on that first game for they and the 49ers in Australia. It's like if they don't win at all, certainly if Aaron Donald even returns between now and then, Ryan, am I wrong? I do just think the NFL is awesome. It's so much different than the NBA and the super teams because it is so much about the team. Yeah, that's about the health, but it's about guys playing together and it's about the schemes and the coaches.

23:25And so I think it's very hard to go, you know, to be the favorite in preseason and to take that all the way through the season. I mean, we still have to remember, I know they've made their improvements, but, you know, Seattle won the whole thing last year. So, yes, I think they should be the favorites. Does that mean they're going to win the whole thing? I think that's a very, very difficult thing to do because it isn't just five guys out there, you know, passing the ball around and shooting threes. and this is a whole team special teams we saw last year was a downfall for them so how do they improve their special teams um it's it's a team game and it's a very tough thing to do to go wire

24:05Rich Eisen:to wire yeah okay so you're not putting that you're not putting that ziggy on them huh is that basically i mean i i think part of it too is like well the health of matthew stafford right that was a big question mark going into last season you never want to put that out into the ether but But, I mean, that's a huge deal. Can Matthew, now a year older, continue to play at the level that he's played? I think so. But can he stay healthy? I mean, that's going to be a big question mark, and their season is going to be riding on that. If he gets hurt, they obviously have no shot. Okay. Best team in the AFC.

24:35Rich Eisen:And I know I'm asking July 1, but everything's – that hay is pretty much in the barn here. Well, I'm just so biased. I'm so biased with this question always, and I try to – I played on a bunch of different AFC teams, and my answer is four years in a row now is the Buffalo Bills. And I'm really excited to see DJ Moore and what that means to this offense. It's funny watching him when he was in Chicago. The only things I heard about him, because watching him sometimes, you weren't sure with his body language and his attitude sometimes, but from coaches and players, it was like this dude is the hardest working guy.

25:14He never misses a practice. He's a great team guy. And so to now plug him into Buffalo, and you've already heard Josh Allen glowing about him, what is it going to look like with Joe Brady? We knew what it was with McDermott for so long. They were so successful with him. Are they more of a loose team with a better vibe? Does that help them? Can we get the ball down the field a little bit more as an offense? But I just think with Josh Allen at quarterback, you have to go in as the favorite in the AFC if you're the Buffalo Bills.