Hour 3: Will Arodge return? NBA Playoff breakdown, World Wide Webber

0:00For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include a lot more people than ourselves. Loved ones, neighbours, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, we help plan your financial picture with the bigger picture in mind. Because even though our business is helping guide your finances, our ambition is to make it mean so much more. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com. Spring Black Friday is on at the Home Depot. Save on grills and patio sets that will be sure to bring your hosting game up a notch. Fire up your feasts with help from the Home Depot and save on grills.

0:39Like the next grill four-burner propane gas grill was$249, now in special buy for$199. Or give everyone the best seat in the yard with the Hampton Bay Mayfield Park four-piece conversation set for only$399. Save on grills and patio sets with low prices guaranteed during Spring Black Friday, only at the Home Depot. Now through April 22nd, while supplies last. Exclusion supplies to Home Depot dot com slash price match 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 dot 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. The one and only. Rich Eisen. I know what I'm talking about. That's the headline. The Rich Eisen Show. With guest host, Brian Weber. I mean, honestly, he's brilliant. Brian Weber. I've got a long resume. Google me. It saves time. From The Rich Eisen Show's studio in Los Angeles. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Brian Weber.

1:59Don't know how much brilliance has been on display today, but hopefully a workmanlike effort. Powering our way into the final hour of the program. I read the phone number beyond being a carnival barker to invite you to weigh in 844-204-RICH, 844-204-7424. If you are not a fan, and I understand as my late mother used to say, Brian, you're a lot. I'm an acquired taste. I got great news for you. Rich is back tomorrow. Rich and the fellas making their way to Pittsburgh. Show back on the air on the simulcast on Disney Plus tomorrow. Getting fully lined up for the NFL draft, which we're going to talk more draft presently to start this last hour of the program.

2:45And a reminder, everything gets underway on Thursday, two days from now, 8 Eastern. ESPN, ABC, Rich and his team on NFL Network and, of course, here on ESPN Radio. In 20 minutes, we'll return to the NBA. I'm trying my best to be even-handed with the distribution of content today because as we get this close to the draft, we got to hit the NFL hard. But the NBA postseason suddenly got interesting after all of the dominance by home teams heading into the conclusion of Sunday. You saw the Magic not only beat the Pistons, but totally control that game. Detroit never led at home. And then last night, depending on how you want to view things, and of course, we always go positive in sports talk radio.

3:40No negativity in these streets. You either had a pair of amazing comebacks put together by the Hawks and Timberwolves or two colossal collapses by the Knicks blowing another 14-point lead in the playoffs at home for the second straight year, and then by the Nuggets. We were getting into some granular detail to wrap up the last hour of the program. We'll get back to the hoops in 20 minutes when we're joined by Mike Vorkanoff of The Athletic. Used to be their Knicks beat writer. Now he covers the national scene. So we'll get thoughts on where the Knicks go from here. In addition to the headline that emerged just before we went on the air, I mentioned it in passing, but I know the audience always changes, especially when you have a guest host.

4:30It's three, two, that's not rich. Goodbye. And thank you for staying with me. One sentence, one paragraph, one dissertation at a time. Billy Donovan steps down as head coach of the Bulls. It's not a shock given their massive overhaul that is underway. Plus, they had the front office shakeup a couple weeks ago. It's interesting to me that, according to reports, he could have had the North Carolina job if he wanted it. We'll talk about Billy's future and where the Bulls might be looking to hire a new head coach when we check in with Mike Vorkanoff coming up. And then in 45 minutes, it's a return of something that might qualify as the longest relationship that I've had in my adult life.

5:18A segment's very sad commentary. We call World Wide Webber. It is a challenge to be a solo host. That's why I try to give you a lot of topics, a lot of strong opinions and a lot of entertainment as well. Those are the goals, at least. But occasionally I overlook some stuff. We will rectify that when super producer James Steele joins me to log on to the World Wide Webber. Let us get back to the NFL. Aaron Rodgers is a quirky dude, right? I don't have to do a whole long Aaron Rodgers rant, but you are what you consistently do. You might have heard me say that more than once in this program. That, along with your best ability is availability, are a couple of my favorite bromides.

6:08Not cliches, but time-honored turns of phrase. Is anybody surprised that Aaron Rodgers is holding the Steelers hostage again? Haven't we seen this movie before, over and over and over again? And I realized I should make sure my range of references is no deeper than a year ago. And that's even pushing the envelope. I shouldn't go back two weeks ago because people just don't care about history anymore. And the audience is never wrong. So if you just want to go old timey, you're going to be on your own in this business. But a year ago, we had all the conversation about will he or won't he? And what do you know?

6:49Rogers came back. He played effectively. I won't overhype things, but he was the starting quarterback for a team that limped into the postseason with a lot of help from the Ravens' new kicker. But again, that is ancient history. So we're going through this again. Even though Steelers owner Art Rooney said last month his expectation would be this, paraphrasing the owner of the Steelers, we're going to have clarity on Aaron this year one way or the other prior to the draft. draft this Thursday. Today is Tuesday. Dan Orlovsky, of course, you see him everywhere on ESPN, weighed in on NFL Live addressing if the Steelers should hedge things and draft a quarterback while they wait for Aaron to make his decision.

7:35I don't think Aaron's decision should impact what the Steelers do in the draft. I do believe the Steelers should be in the quarterback conversation in this draft. I also believe that Aaron Rodgers is going to be their starting quarterback. At some point, we have to get younger at the position and take a shot at a younger player and see if they could potentially be the future. Now this is also a team that was slow last year. And so if you're the Pittsburgh Steelers and you don't like Ty Simpson, the young man out of Alabama, then go get more athletic at the safety position. Improve the interior of your offensive line.

8:07But I don't think Rodgers' decision should determine whether they take a quarterback in any round, let alone in the first round. and remember if you've been paying attention dan who always has strong analysis because of all the tape that he watches is very high on ty simpson higher than a lot of folks who are in the chattering class steelers are sitting at number 21 in the first round doesn't feel like every year they're number 21 because in the mike tomwin era and there's news about the former head coach of the Steelers feels odd to say that it's official. He is joining our business. Well, not my business.

8:48I'm a guest host going to be an analyst for NBC's NFL coverage. And they certainly had the opening with Tony Dungy stepping aside. So Tomlin feels like he's can't miss in our business. Interesting in advance. I'll produce on the fly, how he's going to be used. I think he'll be better in short doses like we see in his post-game press conferences, his media sessions. I'm not sure. And maybe Mike has a different side of his personality that he's been withholding. But based on everything we've seen for the eon that he served as head coach of the Steelers, quick, strong opinions. Plus, he's out of central casting in terms of the optics.

9:33Guy looks like a football coach. with everything going on with his facial mannerism. So I think he's going to be a star in our business. The question that becomes, how long does he want to do TV? Is this a Bill Cowher situation? I know that's the obvious comp, former Steeler head coach, who's been on CBS now for decades. Or is this more like the Sean Payton slide in, pick up the checks and get back into coaching? Time will tell. As for the Steelers coming up this week, is there a possibility that Aaron is just playing all of us for maximum attention is there a chance he shows up on draft night you talk about a pop like Wrestlemania over the weekend I guess I don't think he's going to drop in like crow sting back in the day but with Aaron who knows now here's what we do know he's 42 years old I said he played adequately last year better than with the Jets, but that's understandable.

10:34Even with the Steelers' offensive challenges, better supporting cast, and a year removed from coming back from the Achilles. But at 42, really, it comes down to motivation. Why does he want to continue playing? Well, never gravitate too far from following the money. And I didn't look it up. He's made hundreds of millions of dollars. Not Matthew Stafford money, but certainly right there, because Stafford had the powerball impact of being a number one overall pick. And according to reports, he's going to get paid again by the Rams. And this time he'll show up at OTAs coming off their near run to the Super Bowl and falling just short in the NFC title game.

11:14Here in Southern California, that loss was in Seattle. Of course, I'm Brian Weber. And for Rich, appreciate you spending time with us on this Tuesday edition of the program. Coming up in less than 15 minutes, more NBA playoff conversation when we're joined by Mike Vorkanoff of The Athletic. But even though he's got generational wealth on an exponential level, if you have a lot of money, seems like a lot of these guys want more. And Aaron Rodgers, according to reports, wasn't thrilled. He only made 13 million bucks last year, which was roughly 21 22 among starting quarterbacks in terms of their annual salary according to his reports he wants in the neighborhood of 30 million that's a good neighborhood to be in so is this slow playing again all about money if so he's doing the right thing by staying away let's say the Steelers shock us all and take Ty Simpson with the 21st pick look How many people thought they were going to take Kenny Pickett?

12:22And we know how that worked out. So the draft is king because of its unpredictability. But wherever that possibility were to come into focus, whether it's in the first round, whether it happens in the second round, if they take Simpson or somebody else, is that a signal to Aaron that I don't want to be part of this mentoring process? I don't want to be there because he's made hundreds of million dollars and he's 42 years old. Would he view that as a development that tells him I'm good? Either I just won't announce anything, not resign with the Steelers or wait things out. And inevitably, because we know that the injury rate in this league is 100 percent, A contending team sees their starter go down, and then Aaron decides to come back in November, December, whenever it happens.

13:17A ton of options, as always. But however it develops, we're in the exact same situation as a year ago, and I don't think it's a coincidence. I was an enormous Aaron Rodgers fan. He lost me as he became either more vocal or quirkier. I don't know if he's always had these opinions or just decided he was more comfortable in expressing them. But that's just my reaction. Some people like strawberry ice cream, others like vanilla. But before the end of his run in Green Bay and everything that's happened since, I put him right there with John Elway as the two most skilled quarterbacks, not the best, skilled quarterbacks in my lifetime, and I'm older than my energetic delivery would suggest.

14:06now at the end of his career does he have the motivation to come back for one more year i don't think mike mccarthy has anything to do with that decision nor do i think the steelers hired him under the notion that this will be the catalyst to get iron back for one more year i think as far as i can tell they hired him because he's a yinzer and his old man owned a bar I mean, why else are you hiring Mike McCarthy at this stage of his career? What did he do? And I realize he had double digit wins in multiple seasons in Dallas, but that's Dallas. I don't have to get back to their postseason history.

14:43Was he done since that Super Bowl? He won with Aaron Rodgers, but I'm getting off the expressway here. All told, one more reason to keep it dialed in heading into round one of the draft. Will there be the big reveal? Will Aaron come out to hundreds of thousands of people cheering his name? Or is he going to wait and see what the Steelers do if they draft his successor? Does he even want to be a part of that situation? Another reason why the NFL is king. There are so many things to dissect. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich. Last call for phone calls, 844-204-RICH, 844-204-7424. conversation never stops on the x platform my handle is bwweber weberwood2b is up next more nba now that billy donovan has stepped down where the bulls looking in terms of who will be their next head coach and how do the knicks try to compartmentalize and bounce back from that debacle last night at home against the hawks we will cover it all when we're joined by I'm Mike Vorkanoff of The Athletic.

15:53I'm Brian Weber as we continue on this Tuesday edition of The Rich Eisen Show.

16:05For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include a lot more people than ourselves. Loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, we help plan your financial picture with the bigger picture in mind. Because even though our business is helping guide your finances, our ambition is to make it mean so much more. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com. Rich Eisen here. I've traveled all over for some of the biggest NFL moments you can imagine. Conference championships, Super Bowls, draft weekends, and everywhere I go, the city just feels different.

16:46It's buzzing, packed, electric. Now, take that energy and multiply it by the entire world. That's what's coming this summer with the FIFA World Cup. Fans from every corner of the globe are going to be traveling to experience it live. And when that many people come to town, they're all looking for a place to stay. That got me thinking. If you live in or near a host city, this is one of those rare moments. You already have a space. This summer, you could list your space on Airbnb while fans are in town for the FIFA World Cup. not as a full-time thing, not as some huge lifestyle change, just during an event when demand is naturally high.

17:24When I travel for big games, I just want a comfortable place in a real neighborhood, and that's exactly what so many visiting fans will be looking for. If you've ever thought about listing your space, this summer is a great time as we welcome FIFA World Cup fans. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. Need parts fast? O 'Reilly Auto Parts as fast. Need them now? We've got now. No matter what you need, we have thousands of professional parts people doing their part to make sure you have it. We're O 'Reilly Fast. Just one part that makes O 'Reilly stand apart.

18:06The professional parts people. O, O, O, O 'Reilly Auto Parts.

18:27the rich isen show podcast weber back with you always a blast whenever i'm lucky enough to sit in for rich and the guys it's the rich isen show they're on their way to pittsburgh back with you tomorrow to get you fully lined up for the draft which of course gets underway with round one on Thursday, but the NBA playoffs are heating up. So for analysis, always a pleasure to talk hoops with Mike Vorkanoff, former Knicks beat writer, now a national basketball reporter for The Athletic. Mike, how are you? I'm great. How are you doing? I am doing well. Let me ask you to help me out with today's news.

19:07Not a stunner, but it's official. Billy Donovan stepping down as Bulls head coach. Your reaction, and what do you think the Bulls do now? What names could they target to take that job? My reaction is I think I was just kind of, I don't want to say surprised, just the timing of it more so than anything else. That had been some thought that Billy Donovan could leave the Bulls at some point this offseason. Maybe it seemed a little less likely after that press conference by the Bulls' CEO, Michael Reinsdorf, a few weeks ago. But now he gets to go find a new start, and maybe he gets to coach a winning team or a team with a chance of contention or the playoffs.

19:50And the Bulls get to start over again and hire a GM or team president or whatever, and then he gets to hire head coach, and everyone gets a clean start. So it's good for them. Starting over again, a familiar pattern in Chicago. All right, let's talk about the Knicks. Now, two things can be equally true. We can say, what a comeback put together by the Hawks. CJ McCollum turning back the clock. Unstoppable. Or, my goodness, the Knicks did it again. An unbelievable collapse. How did you see what happened last night at MSG? I mean, I saw it as more of a collapse. They had a pretty, I think, a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

20:34They're at home. The Hawks are the lower seed. And I think the Knicks are the clear favorites. And so to blow that game and to go to Atlanta tied 1-1 instead of 2-0, that's the type of thing that could potentially swing a series. I'm not saying it will, but if things go the wrong way, that's what people remember, right? It's like, oh, they lost game two, and that's what changed what happened in the series. And they've got to figure that out. They've got to figure out how to close out the game. And that's been an issue for them over the last few postseasons. Mike, if Mike Brown got hired to replace Tom Thibodeau, who got that team, as you know, to the conference finals last year, first time the Knicks getting that done in a quarter century, let's say that they restore order, beat Atlanta.

21:18I think they'll lose the Boston in the second round. If they're out that early in the postseason, what kind of changes would you expect for this team heading into the offseason? Yeah, I mean, look, that's a great question. And I think the expectations for the Knicks are clear. James Dolan said they're a championship team, and that's the guy who owns and runs the team ultimately. So you go from there. Now, I don't know. Can you fire Mike Brown after just a year? You know, the roster is the same as it was last year. It's hard. You know, does that fall more in the front office? I think that's an interesting guessing game for some around the league right now, and I don't have the answer to that.

22:00But if the Knicks fall short of the conference finals, let alone the finals, then what happens? That's a good question. Well, I'm here in L.A., and Laker fans remember that Mike did not have a long tenure as he took over for Phil Jackson. So he's experienced there. I don't want to bury him yet. There's still plenty of time to come back. But given the level of expectations and what this team did last year, going to be worth monitoring. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen. talking hoops with Mike Vorkanoff of The Athletic. Mike, I don't expect you, although I know you love basketball, to have stayed up to the end of that game last night on the East Coast.

22:37As Denver, to me, it was shades of Game 7 against Minnesota a couple years ago in the playoffs when they couldn't hang on to a 20-point lead. Last night, 19-point comeback put together by Ant-Man and the Timberwolves. How do you see the rest of this series? yeah but i mean denver ran out of gas again at home again right so that's you know not the first time they've done that against the wolves like you said um i i think the nuggets are still the favorites i think they're the better team they have the best player uh i see that more as like a bit of a blip uh for them and uh you know it's it's not the i think this is obviously much closer of a toss-up series than Knicks Hawks are.

23:22But it's going to hurt Denver. And at a very minimum, it means that they'll have to play another game in this series and they need all their rest going forward. But this could also be the type of thing that, to kind of echo myself, can flip a series. I think it's going to be interesting. You know, Denver is, I think, probably the third best team in the West. And, you know, they're going to need to have every ounce of energy to take on the Spurs in the second round if both of them get there. And so every game they do or do not play in this first round really matters, and that might be a costly one for them.

23:58And Denver, the three seeds. So, yeah, the standings reflect your pecking order of the hierarchy in the Western Conference. I'm Brian Weber sitting here for Rich Eisen. We're taking you across the NBA postseason with Mike Vorkanoff of The Athletic. Mike, because this is a national platform, I'm trying to be comprehensive, and I didn't do my job, although I had more pressing things to talk about. I have not mentioned the Cavs and the Raptors at all. Now, back in the day, that feels like it would have been an NBA TV series. We know that's no longer in play. But Cleveland, after being in the top seed last year, settling for the four seeds still, they handled their business, grabbed the 2-0 series lead over Toronto last night as the Raptors got nothing out of Brandon Ingram, who's had a real good year north of the border.

24:45How far do you think the duo of Mitchell and Harden can take the Cavs this year? We need to have another phrase to call the old NBA TV series. Is this just the Peacock series? Is that what we're calling it now? I'm going to tread lately because I work for a lot of platforms, so that's why I went after one that's now defunct with postseason coverage. But yeah, that's probably spot on as well. Yeah, look, I think the Cavs have been true to form. And, you know, I'm still a little skeptical of what any James Harden-led team can do in the playoffs. History is on my side in that situation. But, you know, if Donovan Mitchell is scoring 30 points a night and Harden is playing well, right, the question is always can he sustain that level of play the deeper he goes into the playoffs, Cleveland's got a shot.

25:38You know, the top of the East is a little murky right now. The Knicks, top of the East, having trouble. The Pistons, number one seed in the East, already have some troubles. Boston's the only one that's really kind of been good so far, and they've only played one game. But I could see any of those four teams coming out of the East. And so if James Harden plays well, Cleveland certainly has a chance. I think more importantly, it's Evan Mobley who has to play well and really give them a frontcourt force more so even than Harden does. And like Harden and Spider, Mobley chimed in with double digits last night.

26:13Mike Vorkanoff, national basketball reporter for The Athletic, is our guest on The Rich Eisen Show. You mentioned Boston. Forget about the particulars of what's going to happen against the Sixers without Joel Embiid. Mike, I'll give you a nugget. I can't remember where I stole this from, but somewhere on the X platform. The Sixers have only beaten the Celtics in the postseason if they've had Will Chamberlain or Dr. J on the roster. So it's been a minute, not going to happen this year. But from a larger standpoint, who do you want to give the most credit for in terms of how Boston was able to navigate what most people thought was going to be a lost season with Jason Tatum having to come back from the Achilles injury?

26:56They lost four of their top nine scores from last year, and here they are now, not only the betting favorite, but I think just the perception favorite to come out of the East. Well, first of all, I think there's a solution there for the 76ers. They should sign Dr. J to a contract. Yes. Yes. And I think he could still probably get you 12 good minutes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you just, if you want, you know, if history is repeating itself. Yeah. I mean, Boston is just a really good team. Like they're a really good franchise rather, you know, they have a great coach in Joe Missoula. They have a good front office and they know what works for them.

27:29and they're just able to do it even if they lose their stars like Tatum for a long period of time or trade Drew Holiday or Christoph Porzingis or whatever it is. And now that everyone's healthy, they're probably the prohibitive favorite to get out of the East. And so I was a little skeptical of the Tatum comeback early, but it seems like that's not a problem for him. Rather, I was always kind of concerned about the re-injury or long-term effects, but they obviously know a lot more than I do. I'm kind of curious to me. The question of the postseason is, can anyone topple Boston the rest of the way?

28:04And then finally, as mentioned, I'm here in Southern California. How do you see Game 2, all dependent on the availability of Kevin Durant tonight here in downtown L.A. after the Lakers took advantage of his absence to take Game 1 in that series? Yeah, that's the big question. I don't know which way that's going to go, obviously, whether Durant comes back or not. But, you know, it's really interesting. The Lakers have lost Luka and they've lost Austin Reeves, and yet LeBron is able to step in and drive that offense and create enough offense to survive. And Houston, even with Durant, I think there's still questions about if they can score enough, if they can be efficient enough on offense.