Hour 3: Jason Jones, The Athletic

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0:44We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash richeisenshow and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Oh my God, you guys are my favorite. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Rich Eisen. I know what I'm talking about. That's the headline. The Rich Eisen Show. With guest host, Dan Schwartzman. I mean, honestly, he's brilliant. He's a poet. Dan Schwartzman. Oh my gosh. Live from The Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Dan Schwartzman.

1:29It is hour number three. And Schwarzman in for a Giza, in for a Giza. Show us in radio, the ESPN app. Series XM channel 80. On a Thursday. This afternoon, baseball world cup. France, Morocco today. Interesting matchup. Five members of Morocco's team were actually born in France. Well, Patrick Mahomes is, you know, tough to not say he's the top quarterback in the NFL, even if there's a down year here and there. Patrick Mahomes is one of the best players in this league. And it's come up, and on Sportsman Like in the Morning, you know, talking about Patrick Mahomes and where he ranks amongst NFL players.

2:15And that's always a fun debate, right? Because I think at times defensive players aren't getting the notoriety they deserve. I think people are always enamored by sexy statistics, right? Passing yards, touchdown passes, receiving yards, how many rushing yards. A lot tougher to have sexy numbers when you play on defense. Now, Myles Garrett, obviously, with sacks, it's a completely different story. You know, 23 sacks last year sets an NFL record. He's got, you know, what is he, 29, 30 years old? He's got 120-some-odd sacks already. you know you talk about most dominant dominant players in the history of the nfl to me lawrence taylor is number one reggie white's probably number two you know miles garrett is going to be in this conversation when it's all said and done i'm not saying he's lt but miles garrett is as dominant a player as we've seen aaron donald's in that conversation but miles garrett is you know and look playing in cleveland maybe hurt him for those years in terms of getting the respect because a lot of people weren't watching cleveland browns because they were never really a good team to watch meanwhile he's just putting up stat after stat after stat averaging what like 15 sacks a year the numbers are just stunning what he's done in his career and now going to la he will be put on a bigger pedestal the lights are brighter it's a different situation he's a ram when it comes to patrick mahomes i think there is something occurring with him that we see with other great players and that is the fatigue factor right we know patrick mahomes is great everybody knows patrick mahomes is the you know you know right now in football if you're going to start a team you say well who's the quarterback you take number one you probably want to take him he's probably the guy that you want to take but i think to a point the expectations have gotten so high to where we continue to put different heights as to what we expect from him that at some point it's unreachable it's unreach you know unreachable in basketball we do it do it with jokic you know the guy's won what three mvps meanwhile he's the first big man in history to give you a triple double last year at six foot eleven he's averaging he's leading the league in rebounds and assists that's flat-out ridiculous and scoring 28 points.

4:41He's not winning MVPs anymore. SGA won the last two, and as great as he is, to me, Jokic is the best because he's doing something that you've never seen before and may never see again. But there's the factor of fatigue of continuously giving that guy the same trophy year in and year out. It's like, okay, give it to somebody else rather than to say, okay, I don't care if he's won it 10 years in a row. If he deserves it, give it to him. last year people thought bobby witt jr would win the mvp or somebody not named aaron judge might win it because well you know or excuse me cal raleigh last year you know give it to raleigh it's 60 home runs plus judge already has won a few does he need another one well they ended up giving it to him anyway now the worry for your show a otani is well you've won four in five years and while you probably deserve it again doing having another ridiculous season that otani is on the mound and at the plate if kyle schwarber gets to 60 home runs we'll give it to schwarber otani's got enough on his mantle and when patrick mahomes on a list is what number five not number one or number two he plays the hardest position in sports which is quarterback you could say it's the most important position in sports how many teams are either a true contender or a pretender based on the fact they have a good quarterback or not unless you have a really dominant running back and a really dominant world-class all-time great defense if you don't have a good player quarterback you're probably not going to win a super bowl right and we've seen it a couple of times the bears in 85 and the ravens in 01 those were great legendary defenses and they could run the football it's a great combination and yeah you needed a decent quarterback that at least could manage a game and that's what you had with jim mcmahon and that's what you had with uh it was a trent dilfer so patrick mahomes not number one or number two and that led to a discussion on unsportsmanlike and evan cohen talked about the fact that you can't put mahomes anywhere but number one or two take a listen i mean look it's a legit argument tom brady for certain tom brady is the greatest like honestly you cannot argue against tom brady and i understand eras are kind of important too and i was always a big john elway fan and to me john elway was the best quarterback that i saw i know i listen i saw marino i saw montana i always loved watching elway you know the army had i just there's something about john elway that i loved and but statistically when you look at a guy like that they threw a lot of picks back then it was a different type of game you know offenses weren't run the way they are run today it was a much different nfl so it's hard to take errors and say this guy is greater than that guy when he played at a different time now marino you can make an argument because he was putting up numbers at quarterback that you're seeing today, right?

7:56Like you're seeing ridiculous passing yards. People throw for 5 ,000 yards routinely now. Back when Marino threw for 5 ,000 yards, he was the only guy doing it. Throwing for 4 ,000 yards was a big deal. I remember when Don Michalski threw for 4 ,000-plus yards at the Packers. And it was like, wow, 4 ,000 yards. That's unbelievable. Whoa. Now it's like, wow, 16 guys, 15 guys throw for 4 ,000 yards. Half the NFL is throwing for 4 ,000 yards. Three guys throwing for 5 ,000 yards. So it's different. But you also have to take into effect the winning, right? The greatness about Patrick Mahomes that I think, when I look at it, is the success he's had his entire career.

8:39He sat that first year, played that final game when Alex Smith, you know, they had drafted Patrick Mahomes, sat him for that first year through 15 games, came into that 16th game i think he threw no touchdowns and two interceptions and then the next year they handed him the starting reins and the rest is history they've won super bowls and they've made it to the afc championship game i think it was like every year until last year tom brady obviously is the greatest of all time he's number one because of the fact that he is the greatest not just the super bowl wins but also statistically and while other people have put up great numbers right Aaron Rodgers has great numbers but he's only won one ring Drew Brees has great numbers he only won once and Patrick Mahomes his career is far from over I mean statistically when it's all said and done Patrick Mahomes will have the most ridiculous statistics you're going to see it's astonishing what he's already accomplished in his career it's absolutely astonishing what he's done and I think when you break it down it's just incredible that here's a guy that's still young i mean it's not like patrick mahomes isn't going to play another 10 years the only thing that'll stop patrick mahomes is he decides that he's had enough right because guys are making so much money today that at some point you say okay i've made enough do i really need to do anything else he's 30 years old at the start of next season he's going to be 31 years old that gives him at least 10 years quarterbacks in the nfl today played a you know early 40s.

10:12Heck, I'm going to mid-40s. But he's already accomplished incredible things, 36 ,000 yards. This year, he's probably going to reach 300 touchdowns. He doesn't throw a ton of picks. His interceptions to touchdown ratio is very impressive, three to one or so. He's won the Super Bowls. His completion percentage is through the roof, 66 % for his career he's proven himself and sure the numbers the last couple years look he's had the 50 touchdowns he's thrown for 5 000 yards a couple of times in his career last couple years he hasn't reached 4 000 look i don't think the guy's getting old i don't think that's the issue here but i think it is hard to not put him right there now is he one or two you know i think no question he's not one because brady's one but then where do you rank you got like patrick mahomes who has played probably half his career at this point he's not going to have a fall from grace to where you look at patrick mahomes and say what happened right i don't think there's going to be a russell wilson moment for patrick mahomes and one of the reasons for that is him and Andy Reid are tied at the hip and Andy Reid's a lifer like honestly Andy Reid could retire tomorrow and he's our first ballot hall of fame head coach there's not much more Andy Reid actually needs to do in his career and if Andy Reid just keeps coaching and Patrick Mahomes is his quarterback and the average 10 to 12 wins a season Andy Reid's going to be the all-time winningest you know head coach in football history he's going to get there he's won you know multiple rings now and he's probably gonna add to that and as long as Patrick Mahomes is there in Kansas City with him there's no reason for Andy Reid to retire and as long as Andy Reid's there for Patrick Mahomes he's going to always put him in the best position to succeed why is Andy Reid a great coach because he puts his players in the best position to succeed you know quarterbacks have always flourished for the most part under Andy Reid Donovan McNabb was a heck of a quarterback, six Pro Bowls.

12:23Michael Vick came back, went to the Eagles, and what happened? Had a tremendous season. Remember, he was up there for MVP one year. My whole point is, I just think when you look at the situation Patrick Mahomes is in, as long as he's got Andy Reid there, there's no reason Reid's not going to be there for a while longer, he's going to keep putting up unbelievable statistics. And we're going to be talking about 70 ,000 passing yards, 500 touchdowns but it's not going to just be stats right look matt stafford has put up ridiculous statistics in his career matt stafford's still going strong and he's a very good quarterback and you know matt stafford has won himself a super bowl but when matt stafford retires you know the numbers are going to be there as well but this just highlights he's at 64 000 yards and 420 touchdowns and matt stafford at you know 38 years old probably can play another three years and he's going to add to those totals but when the homes gets to this point in his career eight years from now when when he's 38 years old there may be another one or two super bowls he may be filling out most figures on one hand because as long as you have patrick mahomes as your quarterback one thing is free agents want to go play with him you're never going to be a bad team per se because you have the quarterback position locked down it's you know he's going to make guys around him better you just have to make sure to give him pieces here and there but as long as you have Mahomes you're always going to be competing so the numbers will be there the rings will be there and I do think when it's all said and done Patrick Mahomes will be right there in that top three all time because statistically he will be and you'll have the rings to prove it you know i'm not saying that i'm not saying matt stafford is a stack compiler he's been much better than that but if you're going to look at a stafford for instance with the numbers because they are going to be very comparable to what mahomes is going to have the difference is mahomes will have more rings unless well i mean stafford could win a couple more in the raider you know and the rams are going to be clearly up there i mean it's going to be the rams are getting a very good team you look at that roster and the addition of miles garrett on that defense and whatever Aaron Donald decides to do the reality is the Rams are going to be right up there as well and maybe Stafford gets up further on lists because the fact that he potentially could have another ring and become a multiple Super Bowl winning quarterback plus all the numbers that he's put up in his career so is it a disrespect with Patrick Mahomes or is it maybe the fatigue factor where you see it every day with him and when he doesn't accomplish fully what you expect because he's done ridiculous numbers in the past and he throws for 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions at 4 ,000 yards, you say that's good, but from the Holmes we expect more.

15:09I think that's where sometimes this happens, where people kind of downplay him a bit. And maybe when you're putting together a list of top quarterbacks, that's kind of what may happen. Potentially. And I think it kind of makes sense, and I get it, and I don't like it, and you see it in other sports as well because, you know, I mentioned it with Jokic. It's a situation, Jokic, where there is a fatigue factor with him when it comes to MVP, and you may see it again with Otani as well. And, again, it didn't hurt Judge and it didn't hurt Otani, but these guys will continue to be in the conversation, possibly more, you know, when it comes down to, you know, the situation with, you know, giving MVPs to a guy that's going to continuously be in that conversation.

15:57All right, NBA offseason rolls along, and since we started the show, No news on LeBron going anywhere, so he's still out there. So where is he going to end up? What's the latest? We're going to find out a bit more about this hectic NBA offseason. That continues. Jason Jones with The Athletic will join us next. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich. It's the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app, and Sirius XM Channel 80. The Rich Eisen Show podcast. 22 past the hour, hour three on the Thursday. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich Eisen, the Rich Eisen Show, ESPN Radio, ESPN Apps, Sirius XM Channel 80. Remember, a SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible, overcoming high-interest credit card debt.

16:44Walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed-rate monthly payment, no fees required, and as soon as the same-day funding. That's right, pull off your own debt-defying stunt with a SoFi personal loan. Visit SoFi.com slash trick to learn more. Loans originated by SoFi Bank and a member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891. NBA offseason, that's been a pretty wacky one. Star player Jalen Brown got traded. And by the way, from one team to a rival, from Boston to Philly, helping an Eastern Conference team get better, that's usually unheard of. LeBron James available, says his goodbyes to the Lakers.

17:26He is available. we're hearing teams now be narrowed down sixers cleveland miami golden state potentially minnesota so there's options there a lot of teams can use lebron james yannis already moved from the bucks to the heat it's been a very very eventful off season in the nba to say the least jason jones writer at the athletic joining us and jason when we talk nba we have to of course Talk LeBron James available. A bunch of suitors for LeBron. I'm not going to ask you where you think he ends up. I'm going to ask you where you think he has the best chance to win a ring amongst the teams that we are hearing are considered finalists for his service.

18:10That's a good question. I think the best chance would be to go back east, and I think the best chance would be Philly. That's just me. I think that he would be a good addition for them for what they already have. I think avoiding OKC, avoiding San Antonio, avoiding potentially having to deal with Joker and having to deal with Minnesota and if the Lakers figure something out, I think just the path toward the championship might be a little easier to navigate back east. here's the thing though jason because i think philly does make sense and he's got connections and friendships with that organization but you got one guy averaging what 29 points a game in brown 28 points a game in maxi you had you know and beat averaging 27 points when he played as much as lebron to me is an unselfish player and would consider taking some sort of a back seat i don't think lebron james wants to go to a place where he's playing 20 minutes and scoring 12 points a game what's the point then right this is lebron james potentially the greatest of all time is there enough basketball and do you think those three names i just mentioned are willing to give up a bit to incorporate lebron to where lebron is a factor and not just some big names sitting on a bench or playing minimal minutes where kids go this guy is considered the greatest of all time you know what i'm saying yeah i think that's kind of the kind of the thing now where lebron is in his career, as good as he was last season, is there a place where he goes where he's the number one guy or the number two guy?

19:47I mean, maybe he goes to Cleveland. Still got Donovan Mitchell. If you're going to re-sign James Harden, you know, he's still got, you know, I don't know if there's an ideal fit where he's going to be, you know, kind of just that one or one A guy. You know, maybe Minnesota because maybe he could say, you know, You'd say Anthony Edwards, him, and then Lomelo. Right. But it's a weird spot to be in because as good as he was, I think people said he's 41. And I think that's playing a factor in that when you've got a bunch of young guys, one thing, if you've been around the league long enough, a lot of times young guys want to prove themselves even at the expense of the team.

20:30And if you're Philly, Maxie, if you're Vijay Edgecombe, You know, how much of a backseat do you want to take to LeBron? And does ego get involved? I mean, there's a lot of factors that can come into play with that. So I do believe LeBron's smart enough to make something work. It's just a matter of figuring out exactly what makes sense. And I don't know what, I mean, I think Philly, I think the two teams that make the most sense are Philly and Minnesota. But, yeah, it's one of those just wait and see type deals. But I think that is a legitimate thing to wonder, is that I think the one thing about Philly as well is that, I mean, with Joel, he's not a guy who's probably going to play 75 games, you know.

21:13Right. So maybe that will kind of alleviate some of that as well. But, you know, I think, you know, I don't know what Jalen's going to do, but I think Jalen's going to be on a tear next season. So, yeah, it's going to be tricky wherever he lands. And oddly enough to me, kind of like the best place for him to land would have been the Lakers. 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. 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.

21:50Call 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. nmls696891 fast funds terms apply at sofi.com slash debt play rich eisen here running a small business means every hire matters a bad hire costs time and money but the right one helps your business grow the challenge finding that person without sorting through resumes that's where linkedin hiring pro comes in it screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent with hiring pro you can hire with confidence and build the team you need Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire.

22:28Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash eisen. Terms and conditions apply. Save$2 when you buy two cans of Superior Products Coverall tire dressing. Plus receive four times O rewards points now at O 'Reilly Auto Parts. Coverall delivers long-lasting shine. Visit your O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or oreillyauto.com. Yeah, no, that's a great point you bring up. It probably made the most sense for him to just stay there rather than now put himself out there. But, you know, he's talked about it to start the interview. The Eastern Conference probably makes the most sense in terms of a path to get to the finals in what's probably going to be his last year.

23:04Jason Jones, writer at The Athletic, joining us here on The Rich Eisen Show. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich. But here's the thing, you know, we talk about how you incorporate LeBron James into Philly. Let's talk about how do you incorporate Jalen Brown. if he's going to be on a tear next year that means others aren't going to get the ball as much maxi then beat if he does play even 60 games and they'd be lucky to get that out of him and edgecombe obviously is going to make strides in year two after a very very solid rookie year so how do you envision jalen brown fitting forget lebron how do you envision jalen brown being able to fit in when there are other really solid players on that team that may not want to give up the basketball jason no i think that's going to be yeah that's good luck coach that's going to be i think that's going to be a situation where they're going to have to just really play fast which i think is you know just maximize possessions get up and down the court i mean max he can run edgecombe great athlete i think jaylen will fit in that i think open the floor up and just try to just run try to just generate a lot of possessions you know because they don't have that quintessential point guard who's going to go out there and play and get eight points, 12, 15 assists.

24:18Those guys are all scorers, which is why I think someone like LeBron could fit just because LeBron could then be kind of the de facto point guard and pick his spots on offense. And so I think that's, I think, and I also do think with, you know, with that, the experience with the Lakers last year would help LeBron because he did kind of play that third role a lot. And I think that would allow him to allow Jalen to kind of do his thing and give him a bit of a break. So I think they would, you know, but it's going to be an interesting fit. I think they have some, you know, kind of a little runway because not that Paul George had the same type of season as Jalen.

25:00Paul George has been a scorer in his career. So maybe they can lean on some of that, how they figured that out. But either way, it's going to be some grown pants. It's going to be tricky. yeah jason and while all these teams are beefing up their roster for this upcoming season the knicks are the champions of the nba they're still in the eastern conference they re-signed jordan clarkson today they've brought back a bunch of really good role players that were essential for them being able to get through the postseason and ultimately you know win the trophy that said though mitchell robinson stays in the east goes to the rival boston celtics the knicks go to well rival Philly and they bring in Andre Drummond.

25:40Now, is that a big drop off in your mind or the Knicks do a good job of addressing the loss of Robinson by bringing in Drummond? I think, I mean, especially for what you're paying Andre Drummond, it's a good, it's a good pickup for them. I think Drummond can still play, you know, some decent, some decent minutes for you in a backup role. Their only, the only time that becomes a concern is that if you, you know, if Kat's in a lot of foul trouble, or if he has to miss some time, it does really alter that. But that was the same case with Mitchell. It's not like you're going to, you know, it's not like swapping those two guys out.

26:16It's going to really affect how that role works for them, I don't think. I think Drummond's smart enough to figure it out. I think that was a, you know, given the kind of the thin landscape at center, you know, once you got past Kessler and Duren, it was not like there was a whole lot of bigs out there. So I think to get him, unless you're going to say go with somebody like a loony, you know, I think to get to get drumming a guy who knows that conference guys, you know, they know well from, you know, just the last couple of seasons being in Philly. I think that was a real solid pickup for them.

26:48I like what the Knicks have done. They're, you know, they're, they've, they've got the ability to kind of pretty much run the same team back. They've got some continuity because the core group has been together now. It's been their third year together. Yeah. So I like them. I like them not trying to disrupt it. you know not trying to break everything up what's the kind of role we had you know build on the chemistry that we showed during the playoffs and seeking you you know go back to back you know what for the first time in almost almost a decade no one's gone back to back chatting with the athletics jason jones here on the rich eisen show dan schwartzman in for rich on this thursday you know jaylen brown goes from boston to philly really a surprise that they kept him in you know the east like that traded him to a rival like philadelphia but what does it mean to you in terms we know he's a great player okay and statistically the numbers are there but does he take somewhat of a shot does he get dinged up a bit because clearly there was something there with him and tatum right if everything was kumbaya he doesn't get moved did we learn something about jaylen brown this offseason that we didn't know before in terms of who he is because of the fact that Boston got rid of him in his prime coming off a big season and, frankly, probably didn't get good value in terms of an older Paul George and four draft picks because if everything was great, he doesn't get moved.

28:05He does get moved. What does that mean about him? I don't – I'm not really sure what it means about him just because this hasn't been the weirdest trade in the last year – last, you know, year and a half or so. And I think what it says is that teams are signing – part of it is they're signing guys to extensions knowing that within a year or two they're going to try to move them before they have to – you know, I think even though they won't say it, I think this is definitely partly financial. Right. I do think that part of it is that Jalen is – you know, it's kind of the discourse about him, you know, was he too – to me that all kind of just doesn't really matter and it's not really relevant.

28:47I just think that to me there's definitely other things at work here that we'll probably understand, you know, in three, four months when there's some in-depth, unnamed source story breaking down the behind-the-scenes stuff. But it's still on its head. Until there's more known, it's kind of hard for me to say that this reflects on Jalen so much. because there still hasn't been anything that I've heard or read or seen that says he was like a bad person or he was ruining the locker room. And that's why I kind of lean toward the – I think a lot of this is financial. I think they did not want to have to be in a situation where he's eligible for about$70 million a year, and they're in a position now where they don't really want to pay him that.

29:34No, I think you bring up a great point there. Yeah. Yeah, I think that has a lot to do with it as well. No one wants to say that because, you know, Boston's a team that has money. This is not some small market team without tradition, you know. But, I mean, it goes back to the CBA, I think. This is probably an unintended result of the CBA. You're going to see more trades like this down the road, as long as the CBA is in effect. I think the trade of Luka was in part the CBA. If I have any doubt, do I want to pay that guy$70 million? Let's get rid of him now so then the next team that gets him, he can sign a new deal, but he can't sign for that.

30:18So I really want to see what else comes out of this Boston situation. But right now, to me, it doesn't reflect bad on Jalen at all yet. That's a great point you bring up about how much this is due to the CBA and the economics of basketball now. That brings up my last question here is the Bucs were on a show me for Giannis, right? Show me that we're going to keep competing. Show me that we're going to make the moves and we're going to go back to being competitive, that I feel comfortable signing an extension here and finishing my career in Milwaukee. And the Bucs failed that and he's now in Miami.

30:50Is Denver in a situation similar with a show me to Nikola Jokic this season where he's got to see that they can kind of keep this string going of being a very good team that has a shot every year because he's not signing that extension and he says it's going to be next offseason. But if this team struggles and they take a step back, he could go elsewhere. Is it a prove-it year for the Nuggets to Jokic to show that they're in the right direction? I think so because they're kind of in the similar situation that Boston was a couple of years ago. And some of the other teams that have won, you know, you get that championship team together, You know, you commit to an Aaron Gordon.

31:30You commit to Jamal Murray. But because of the way things are financially, there's not a whole lot you can do around the edges anymore. They've committed to Christian Brown. You know, so their team is kind of their team now. And so you have to see what can you do to, you know, move some of that salary. Can you make some changes? Because it's the way the NBA is now. You know, you win a championship with a group. You pretty much have a year or two. And then it's like, okay, decision time. Do we still believe in this group or not? And I think he's the next guy to watch because if they, you know, have another first round exit, I think there's going to be some people wondering, okay, where, you know, could he be the next guy to get moved?

32:13So, yeah, I think that's definitely one to watch, especially with Jamal Murray's, you know, on a big contract, Christian, you know, maybe Christian Brown's the guy that gets moved. Maybe Aaron Gordon. I mean, they're going to have to probably do something to try to shake things up but i just think the way the finances are around the league we're going to see a lot of this now where teams are looking to probably break up groups much sooner than we're used to i think the lakers are going to be watching that situation closely they have always had well everybody wants a yokich type player obviously but the lakers have always kind of yeah there's a landing spot for him if he was ever going to leave denver jason jones of the athletic jason appreciate the time my friend no problem thanks anytime awesome stuff there i love talking nba it's a great time but uh the lakers are going to be watching that nugget season very very closely there's always been that inkling or the thought that if yokich was to ever leave denver the landing spot would be los angeles you put him and luca together for a few years what's left of Jokic's prime.

33:22That could be a very, very interesting European combination of success, keeping the Lakers right there in terms of relevance and being a top organization. So that would be an interesting pairing if it happened. And by the way, I think it's the case. Denver is on a show-me deal here. Jokic is telling them, show me. Look, he's going to make money wherever he goes. Yeah, he'd have to leave money on the table because the money's not going to be as much if he goes elsewhere and signs an extension than if he stays and signs a supermax with Denver. Five years,$360 million in Denver. He would give that up for a lower max deal if he went elsewhere in a trade and then signed an extension.

34:04But you're still talking hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars. He's not going to be begging for cash on the side of a highway. If he wants to win again, he doesn't think Denver's giving him that avenue, you and that's why it's a show me season for the nuggets organization rich eisen here for gusto after all these years talking to athletes coaches entertainers and people at the top of what they do one thing is pretty clear success usually depends on getting the details right for small business owners that includes payroll hiring onboarding benefits you know the work that keeps everything moving even if it's not the reason you started the business in the first place that's why there's gusto gusto is online payroll and benefit software built for small businesses it's all-in-one remote friendly and incredibly easy to use so you can pay hire onboard and support your team from anywhere automatic payroll tax filing simple direct deposits health benefits commuter benefits workers comp 401k you name it gusto makes it simple and has options for nearly every budget and it's all built to save you time with built-in automated tools for offer letters onboarding docs direct deposit and more.

35:11Plus, you get unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price. No hidden fees, no surprises. Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash rich and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash rich. One more time, gusto.com slash rich. 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 what's to say he doesn't bolt and go elsewhere Giannis did it and I think most of us believed that Giannis Antetokounmpo would be a Milwaukee buck for life he'd be one of those guys like Kobe or Jeter or Rivera right one of these guys that has played his entire career Dirk Nowitzki for one organization and that's the only jersey you'll ever remember them wearing I mean Tom Brady in a Tampa Bay uniform even though he won a Super Bowl is still awkward to think because if you're going to envision Tom Brady it's always He's going to be in a Patriots uniform.

36:37But I think for Jokic, he's going to be watching that organization and seeing what they do because they better make the right moves here. Every move better hit because if they don't stay competitive against the Spurs, against the OKC Thunder, against the Timberwolves, if they don't stay competitive against the big boys of the West, there's a good shot Jokic bounces, and he takes his talents elsewhere, potentially, to L.A. All right, speaking of L.A., UCLA, a big move in college hoops. But what gets me about it isn't exactly that a kid decided to go play college somewhere. It's the language used in terms of how you talk about a kid picking a college these days in the day and age of NILs.

37:20That's next here on The Rich Eisen Show. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Get into the Hyundai Getaway sales event and get away with the deal so right it almost feels wrong. Right now you can get great deals on our most popular models, including our adventure-ready SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Santa Fe Hybrid and the Tucson or Tucson Hybrid. Plus, there's our bold and stylish Elantra loaded with the latest tech or go all-electric, the Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 9. So get down to your local Hyundai dealer and get away with the deal you'll love during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event.

38:02Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. We're wrapping things up on a Thursday. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich, the Rich Eisen show on ESPN Radio powered by Progressive Insurance. And I go on ESPN.com a lot. I love to read the articles. and one kind of intrigued me, and UCLA has just signed this really impressive 17-year-old basketball protege. He's from Serbia. And this is how it's written. This is what NIL has done to college sports. It used to be you pick a college because, well, nice campus, best opportunity for playing time, good-looking co-eds whatever your motivation is to go to college it was not money now maybe there's a little booster under the table money here and there but that was hush hush but you went to college because you had a chance to play what made you a better player to where you potentially could be a professional in your respective sport but i love this first line okay i'm gonna read you this It's FafiSPN.com.

39:13Serbian forward Nikola Kusturica has reached a multi-year agreement to play for UCLA. That's all I have to read. And that was a stunning line to me because, sadly, it's incredibly accurate. because now even deciding where you want to go to college is a business decision when you are a top high school or international recruit. He reached a multi-year agreement. Now, it's a multi-year agreement because this kid is just 17 years old. He turned 17 in April. And to enter the NBA draft, I believe you have to be at least 19 years old. So it's multi-year because he can't go and be a one-and-done player at UCLA.

40:02He's got to stay in college for two years unless he wants to go for one year, then go play in another league, and then enter the draft. But it's all about the money now. So when a kid's playing or picking a college, what's in essence happening is he is legitimately getting offers financially. It's not we have a great business school here at UCLA or, you know, we have this amazing journalism program at Syracuse or we have an amazing pre-med program at Miami. That doesn't even factor really into the equation. Or, you know what, a four-year degree from this university will really help you in the future, right?