Hour 3: Steve Aschburner, Senior writer, NBA.com

0:00As soccer takes center stage this summer, Comcast helps bring the experience home to America. As the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the U.S., Telemundo is set to present its most expansive coverage ever. 700 hours of programming, live on-site presence at all 104 matches, and with multi-view and real-time 4K, Xfinity will deliver the most innovative and immersive sports viewing experience for fans watching on Telemundo, Peacock, Fox, and FS1. Learn more at ComcastCorporation.com. Fourth of July savings are happening now at the Home Depot with select appliances starting at$398.

0:35Plus, get free delivery on appliance purchases of$398 or more, no membership required. Upgrade your kitchen with a modern and sleek GE profile refrigerator featuring hands-free autofill for the perfect pour every time. And make laundry day easier with two-in-one washer-dryer combo innovation that completes laundry in about 90 minutes. Shop top brand appliances now at the Home Depot. Offer valid June 17th to July at the U.S. only C-Store online for details. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern.

1:14Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Oh my God, you guys are my favorites. 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.

2:00I may not be, but I am in for Rich today and tomorrow. That's right, Dan Swartzman, The Rich Eisen Show. Hour number three on this beautiful Wednesday here, at least in the Northeast. Nice weather, not too hot, sunny, shining. No threat of rain like the last couple of days. Nikola Jokic, one of the greatest big men in the history of basketball. He's done something the last two years which amazes me, and it's not the fact that he's had triple-doubles. The fact that even though a 6 '11 dude has had triple doubles, at least the NBA assists, he has not won an MVP. It's called Jokic fatigue. Nothing against SGA.

2:40Amazing player. 6 '11 dude, triple double impact on his team. Can't win an MVP. Come on. We're taking for granted a 6 '11 guy is averaging 11 assists a game? Come on. Ridiculous. So he has reaffirmed his desire to be a Denver Nugget for life. They drafted him in the second round. They helped develop him into one of the greatest players in the history of the game. But he is delaying signing a contract extension again until next summer. he wants to wait until next offseason and if you are a businessman it does in fact make a lot of sense he's in a deal right now through the next season that will pay him five years 276 million dollars that's the super max deal there is a player option for that final year of 62 or so million dollars now jokic 62.8 million which he can decline but if he waits till next off season he can sign a historic five-year 359 and a half million dollar deal.

4:03Five years,$359.5 million guaranteed dollars. I may not be good at math, but I understand that is right near$72 million a season. $72 million. That is crazy money, but by the economics of the NBA, he is in fact worth it. It would be the largest contract in NBA history, and also, by the way, it could have a no-trade clause. So here's the dilemma for Jokic. He is the greatest nugget. He has led this team to an NBA championship. The accolades are in. He's going to be a Hall of Famer. He should have, like, four MVP trophies in his cabinet, but he only has two. But Nikola Jokic is a man that it would be hard to see him play for another team, right?

4:59Like, I just don't know if I could see him in another jersey. But he's kind of taking a risk, I guess, or is he? If Nikola Jokic goes down after 20 games with, God forbid, a terrible injury, Denver really still has to sign him, right? Could you sell to a Nuggets fan base? Yeah, we're going to let our greatest player ever walk? Yeah, we're not going to pay him the five years$300, and let's just call it. Let's give him a half a mil extra and call it$360 million. Yeah, we're not going to pay him that. We're not going to pay the greatest player in our franchise's history this contract he is entitled to because he qualifies for a super max deal.

5:41You kind of have to give it to him one way or another, right? Like you don't want fans, you don't want to lose the fans by saying, no, we're being cheap and we're not going to pay Nikola Jokic, just money. so it kind of does make sense for him to wait till next offseason and then sign that massive contract and max out every single penny he can and i read that if he does get that deal his career earnings will be about 720 million dollars good for him like i don't begrudge somebody for making the money that they earn or deserve to make and the way the nba salary structures are with supermax deals it's all tied to league revenue and if a supermax deal entitles him to 72 million bucks a year then go do it get that money i just think it makes sense but this is why if you're a denver nugget fan or you're in the front office of the denver nuggets you do have to have a little concern whoever thought that they would see yannis Antetokounmpo in another team's uniform outside of being a Milwaukee Buck.

6:54Did you ever in your mind envision that Antetokounmpo would not finish his career in Milwaukee? And I don't mean, by the way, going back there in a couple years, okay? Like if LeBron signs with Cleveland for one more year, it's okay, he goes back for one year. Finish his career as a Cavalier. It's not what I mean. What I mean is that he will have played his entire career with one team, the way that Kobe did or the way that Derek Jeter did or Mariano Rivera did. Even though Tom Brady won a Super Bowl at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it's still strange to have seen Tom Brady in a Buccaneers uniform, right?

7:33It was kind of weird. There's certain players, even Joe Montana with the Chiefs, there was success there. He went to an AFC Championship game. still kind of weird to see him outside of a 49ers uniform jerry rice wearing a seahawks helmet at the end of his career just didn't make sense like yana santa decumpo with what he did in milwaukee being the face not just of that franchise but of that city right when you thought milwaukee sports who came to mind it wasn't christian yelich it was yana santa decumpo now he's in miami So while I sit here and tell you that there's no way I could ever envision Nikola Jokic ever playing for somebody outside of Denver, it's not unheard of.

8:17It's really not unheard of because Giannis did it. Orchestrated his way out. And if the Denver Nuggets, who, by the way, are kind of in a similar situation that Milwaukee was a few years back, which is they had the success, they won the championship, and then it's like, how do you sustain this? We're getting older. How do we sustain this? Can we bring in a talent to where we don't have a drop-off? Like, they're going to be at a crossroads, right? They're there. Or if they're not, they're going to be next offseason. And if you're Jokic and you're not getting any younger and you still want to win because you've already tasted that ring, you may look around and say, yeah, you know what?

9:00I've already earned, like,$400 million. I've earned enough money. I do want to win one more time, and I'm looking around this roster and this locker room, and I'm not sure I see a championship-caliber team. I can sign elsewhere and sacrifice 100 mil or whatever it is, but it's still a boatload of money I'll make. Does he pull one of those deals like Giannis did? Which is, yeah, I can stay here and sign a massive deal, or do I want to go someplace else and see if I can win another ring before I call it a career? So it's not unheard of. I just don't think I can see Jokic wearing another jersey at this stage in his career.

9:49But, you know, the NBA put this salary structure in because of the fact they wanted top talent to stay in markets such as a Denver. Denver's not, look, it's a big city. I'm not sure I'd call Denver a big market club, right? I don't think I'm going to say it's New York or L.A. or Chicago or a place like that. It's kind of that next tier. So the point is, the reason the NBA did this with Supermax deals and allowing the team that has the player to be able to sign them to a bigger contract than if they go elsewhere was to try to make sure talent stayed in smaller markets. And I think for a large part it's worked.

10:32but even though they may sign a player for more money it's not as if they're going to be in the poorhouse by signing with another team you still make a lot of money sure you're leaving millions upon millions on the table but you're not starving and you wait do i want to make more money or do i want to win another ring so to me this is kind of like the denver nuggets have been put on notice this is them being put on notice they're being told by Jokic I want to be with you guys for the remainder of my career this is where I want to be and sure I'll take your money but he's also kind of hinting make sure you get this roster to a spot where it's a no-brainer that next offseason I'm not shopping myself or telling my agent privately it's time to find me a new home the way Giannis did.

11:31And Milwaukee understood this and they went out and made some moves. And I hate to tell you, the moves didn't exactly work out, right? Like these moves didn't work out that they did to try to get themselves in a better position to not lose Giannis. They brought in some players. They freed up some money. They did some tricky stuff with the salary cap to try to make it work. It didn't work. They were no better. They brought in Miles Turner on a big deal, thinking he could solidify them inside, and maybe that would help Giannis, and it didn't work. And Giannis looked around when he had an opportunity and said, I don't have faith in this roster.

12:14I don't believe this roster is good enough. Why am I going to tie myself to this team for another four or five years when I think we're going in the wrong direction? and Jokic has one year to where he's going to examine this roster and say is it good enough moving forward are the pieces in place are we in a good situation where if I give you five more years which is the last five years of my playing days that I'm going to be confident that we have a team good enough year in and year out in the Western Conference to challenge for a title? Because I want to win again. Or does he go to a place like the Lakers that would gladly take him or any team really?

13:02How many teams need a big man? The Knicks would love to have a big man of that caliber. The Lakers, of course, he's kind of been rumored going there sometimes. So it's not unheard to think of the fact that if Denver doesn't shape the roster up, he will say no to five years and$359.5 million, as crazy as that sounds, and next offseason will be very similar to this offseason, where a superstar player that seemed to be a lifer in their city ends up leaving. It happened with Giannis and Milwaukee. Could this be happening next year with Denver and Jokic? but these contracts are crazy chris canty love chris canty always great stuff from chris he was asked the question about potentially denver having to get this roster up the way that we're talking about right now to where yokich is going to be happy to want to stick around past one more year and does that include potentially making a move to try to bring in the guy who you can consider to be the best free agent out there that of course being lebron james here's chris kantian on sportsman light talking about this the denver nuggets is absolutely intriguing when you consider the fact that nikola yokich is contract extension eligible and has been for a year and still has not signed said extension.

14:37The Nuggets have a clutch client in Peyton Watson, who they are at odds with when it comes to a contract extension. And then, of course, championship DNA within the organization. But you've also had upheaval over the last several years in the organization. We're a year removed from the head coach and the general manager both being ousted. So I do think in a lot of regards, there has to be a lot of urgency for Josh Kroenke and the Denver Nuggets to make a pitch to LeBron James to get him to join their franchise because they're a team that needs to desperately find a way to get back into the mix when it comes to Western Conference supremacy.

15:16Is LeBron James the guy that potentially can do that? But here's the thing. We talked about LeBron James. He is a one-year rental. If LeBron goes to Denver and say they win it all, LeBron probably walks off into the sunset, and Denver is once again trying to find that other piece that Jokic can look at for the next five years, him and Murray and somebody else potentially, and say this is the direction we want to go in, right? This is going to keep me here for five more years. LeBron is a rental for a year. Jokic is there for this year regardless. Does Denver have a shot? Steve Ashburner, NBA.com senior writer.

15:57We're going to talk a little NBA. Find out what he thinks when it comes to LeBron sweepstakes. You got Philly. You got Miami. You got Cleveland. Is Denver potentially a landing spot for LeBron James? We got a lot to get into when it comes to the NBA. That is next. It is Dan Schwartzman. It is a beautiful Wednesday here. Absolutely gorgeous Wednesday. In for Rich Eisen right here on The Rich Eisen Show.

16:53The Rich Eisen Show podcast. by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash eisen. Terms and conditions apply. Rich Eisen Show, ESPN Radio. Dan Schwarzman in for Rich on this Wednesday. I'll be in tomorrow as well. You can also catch it on the ESPN app and SiriusXM Channel 80. The Rich Eisen Show presented by Progressive Insurance. Nikola Jokic looks like he's going to put off that extension until next summer. Five years, 360 mil. Biggest contract in NBA history he would be entitled to. LeBron James, the decision probably coming at some point where he's going to play potentially his final year of basketball.

17:31Jalen Brown goes to the Sixers. A lot to get into. Our buddy Steve Ashburner from NBA.com, senior writer, joining us. And Steve, let us start off with the Nikola Jokic situation. And while he has reaffirmed that he wants to spend his career there, is there the right to be a little concerned as a Nuggets fan that he's putting off the extension, meaning if Denver struggles or the direction that team seems to be going south, could Jokic be next year's Giannis Antetokounmpo, a legend for a team, getting his way and getting out? 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.

18:12Success 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 benefits 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.

18:45Gusto 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. Plus, 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.

19:22Future 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. It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required.

19:58And 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. Hi, Dan. Thanks for having me on. No, I understand that. And you'd say, well, the fewer years that you have a guy locked up, the more there is reason to be concerned. Obviously, if he can become an unrestricted free agent, you have no control at all. And then if he has a year or two, um you know that's when you see guys start to balk and if he were locked in for long term you know then it's sort of like well where are you going you know and and people can get over um being upset with this or that so i get that um i just think that given the nature of of jokic um it doesn't strike me as a a blatant leverage type of move you know and a thing to to hold the Nuggets feet to the fire but if it has that secondary effect um of course the primary being that he can make a lot more money by holding off uh but if if the Nuggets feel pressure um that's a good thing for for Jokic you know because he's got limited shelf life in his career and I think he you know he wants more than one championship ring that's kind of what we saw with with Giannis that one is great and one is a heck of a lot more than none, but two is better than one and more than two is even better still.

21:34So I think Jokic sort of gets the best of both worlds this way. He can qualify for a fatter deal, a fatter extension next year, and in the meantime, keeping your team builders a little nervous. The fans, you know, they're sort of collateral damage, but keeping your bosses on edge generally is a good thing if you're a player determined to win. And, you know, you mentioned it, and Milwaukee had that pressure on them, and they tried to make some moves to enhance that roster to where Giannis could see the vision, right? Miles Turner was brought in. They didn't work, though. The moves didn't work in the sense of making them a better team, and it didn't work because it didn't give him that confidence that they were going in the right direction, and here we are.

22:23He's in Miami. What types of moves do you think Denver has to make over this next year to put them in a position where they're not going to be the Milwaukee Bucks? Well, I think, you know, you can never have too much shooting. You know, Jamal Murray, he was an all-star finally this past year. But I don't think that he has shown, you know, that he's capable on a consistent basis of carrying the load if Jokic is, you know, having an off night. You know, they need somebody to emerge. They've got money committed, though, to, you know, Christian Brown and now Peyton Watson. You know, a lot of their improvement is going to have to come from within.

23:07And those guys developing and flourishing. So, yeah, it's not easy to tweak around the edges. You know, you mentioned Giannis, as I had mentioned Giannis. And, you know, I look at it and say, well, is Giannis going to be better off if he goes to Miami and he doesn't get another ring? Or would he have been better off had he stayed and become the Dirk Nowitzki of Milwaukee, where you're a one-team guy, you win one championship, but you bust a gut to get there. You had sort of an extended post-title segment to your career. You helped usher in Luka Doncic. And the statue for Dirk went up, I think, before the ink was dry on his sign-off.

23:54So if Giannis goes and they don't win, is that better? Will a championship with the Heat mean as much as the one in Milwaukee? I mean, these are all his decisions. My personal view on this sort of thing, and it applies to LeBron, that if a guy gives you 10 years or more and he brings a title to your team he sort of gets to do what he wants at that point um i just i like the one team guys i like the tim duncans and kobe bryants and of course that was easy because not the work was easy but certainly them staying because they got multiple championships right where they were they didn't have to change zip code so um but i just look at somebody like janice and and i guess that would apply to yokich as well that if you were to need to go somewhere, if you tried to turn the screws on the Nuggets front office, would he be a happier guy?

24:46He seems to play mostly for the joy of playing and the money, and he likes being in Denver. So, okay, you're going to start to change that to live up to other people's expectations when you already have your ring, you have your MVPs. It's hard to say. I just, some of these guys are so different. I think when Giannis' case, there should have been a little more acknowledgement on his part that he had fingerprints on a lot of those moves. You know, he wanted changes in that team. He was good with Damian Lillard coming in at the expense of the beloved Drew Holiday and the whole coaching changes from Budenholzer to Griffin to Rivers.

25:26You know, that had Giannis involved certainly signing off on things. So when you're like, well, they're not keeping the winner going around me, they did things at your behest or certainly with your full awareness. And if it doesn't work out, it feels like to me the player ought to absorb some of that as well. Steve Ashburner, NBA.com senior writer, joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich on this Wednesday. LeBron is probably going to play, well, he's probably one and done, but he still has a lot left in the tank and can help a team. It seems Philly, Miami, Cleveland.

26:04We've heard Golden State. Some believe Denver might be an option if he can go there and help them win another championship. Ultimately, is there a frontrunner for where LeBron may end up? It's hard for me to guess him. You know, and don't sell my friends in Minnesota short either. You know, the Timberwolves are convinced they're the best fit for him. um you know i think we just start to handicap this thing and look at you know you have to balance um does he want to be seen as ring chasing you know well maybe not i mean but we haven't heard this from him or not but i mean you think well maybe if he could go and boost the team that hasn't hasn't won or doesn't seem like a favorite you know if he were to jump on board the san antonio spurs for example or even the knicks it's sort of like well it's hard to gain in that situation if they won or got to the finals without you, then anything less becomes slippage and a detriment.

27:06I think the East is a better situation for LeBron just because the West is so deep. So if you were to go to a Denver or a Minnesota, is that going to put them over the top against San Antonio and Oklahoma City? I don't know. That's a heavier lift as I see it. whereas in the east um you know my personal and i guess it's a sentimental favorite if he could go to cleveland he could serve both needs they're a contending type of team certainly in the east um they're the team that you know he made his bones with and delivered a championship too and if he could go back there and get them to a finals again um you know there might be some cleveland people that say well we want to show we can do it without lebron we've never done it without LeBron.

27:53Well, that's fine, but do you want to go to the finals or not? That to me would be where he could serve both needs. He would have that sentimental, you know, last hurrah. And I'm not convinced that he's not going to play beyond this coming season, but, you know, if that were the case, he'd have that farewell tour and he'd be with a pretty terrific team that he could slip then i think pretty easily into their uh their lineup and um you know they could have good things it's just as he does he see the ceiling for the cavaliers now um you know if if james harden and donovan mitchell are there as heavy ball usage guys steve while we're on the cavaliers they give donovan mitchell a big extension he is the man there is he a guy in your mind capable.

28:46He's a great player, you know, but Carmelo is a great player and he never won a championship. Is Donovan Mitchell in your eyes capable of being the best player on a championship team? 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 O 'ReillyAuto.com. 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.

29:23That'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. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com. Terms and conditions apply. I would say yes. I mean, we haven't seen it and we've seen, you know, some failings and injuries and absences and stuff like that. But I think so. I mean, I see leadership in him. By and large, I see accountability in Donovan Mitchell. You know, he's not he's not scapegoating, you know, a lot.

30:07Yeah, I think I think he he's got that there. And I think this commitment solidifying things. He's still got the value to justify this contract extension. Yeah, and if he had, you know, we just talked about LeBron. I mean, if LeBron came in there and, you know, could boost that group, I think Donovan Mitchell would flourish beyond what he has already. I like Donovan Mitchell. I like their bigs. I've not been a huge James Harden fan, though I do grant him that he has adapted his game to both different situations and his advancing years. On the other hand, at playoff time, it's James Harden, and that seems to be an impediment to the teams he's been on in terms of going an extra step or two.

31:03The Rich Eisen Show, Dan Schwartzman in for Rich, chatting with Steve Ashburner, NBA.com senior writer. the Sixers also being mentioned as a potential landing spot they bring in Jalen Brown you pair him with Joel Embiid on paper it seems to be a pretty good team although Embiid only plays about half the time right now there may be chemistry issues to work out between Embiid and Jalen Brown you bring a LeBron in there as well do they become an instant contender possibly favored in the East well to me that would all swing on joelle and bead um you know being available staying healthy getting in shape and those things aren't unrelated i mean you know take them in the other order getting in shape you know keeps you from injuries that keeps you available i don't know that we've ever seen uh mb in you know perfect shape ideal shape and now he's a little older and that's harder to do um he's got his habits his body has changed uh you know To me, the biggest value of LeBron coming in there, he would be a natural for the power forward spot in Philadelphia.

32:09And when you put him with Jalen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, and Vijay Edgecombe, I mean, you got something. But that middle with Embiid still is going to dictate, I think, what the Sixers do. He's eating up so much of their salary cap, and you just can't sort of nudge that to the side and win in spite of him he he has to be a vital player and that means he has to be available um but to me if lebron came in it's sort of could he would he want to i get this but could he inspire mb to take better care of himself you know and that would start yeah obviously even before training that's a great question Lend him his trainers and do whatever else it takes to get him a little bit on more of a LeBron James regiment than whatever it is Joel Embiid has been doing in terms of his body.