Minnesota Timberwolves NBA Draft Targets — Should They Take Bronny James? | The Ron Johnson Show
hey everybody it’s Ron Johnson and this is the Ron Johnson show on locked on Sports Minnesota I’m kind of happy to talk about the NBA draft right now because this Brony I know Sam’s not a fan of bronnie but I am and so this Brony where he goes in the draft I think is one of the most anticipated drafts not the players there’s a couple great players out there we know that maybe a handful but where Brony goes JJ reck is now a coach in the NBA Chris Finch Kurt Cousins in hockey we’ll talk about all that much more coming up on the Ryan Johnson show locked on Sports Minnesota podcast it’s endless Minnesota Vikings talk with the diverse voices of your local experts now the Ron Johnson show on the field in the broadcast Booth Ron Johnson is Minnesota sports he’s played with them hung out with them and grown up with all the big names in Minnesota sports they’re hanging out with Ron Johnson it’s the Ron Johnson show on the lock on Sports Minnesota podcast and it starts now hey everybody it’s a beautiful Tuesday in Minneapolis no rain has been rain forever and this looks like we’re gonna have Sun all day couldn’t ask for much more in the state of Minnesota but I don’t know where you guys are watching from thank you for joining me on the Ryan Johnson show for those watching on Amazon Fire Roku those that are listening on the sxm app and for those that are just on the platform that we all love which is YouTube and you’re you’re you’re consuming this on YouTube just make sure you download YouTube on your phone you can subscribe using your email address and then you’ll get all the updates of all our shows but I want to thank you everybody for joining me today on the Ron Johnson show today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more as the playoffs wind down the Sports Stop sporting like we want them to I mean come on think about it it’s it’s not what it used to be without playoff sports but this is Summer and fanduels up all the customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s no there’s something for everyone every day all summer long just visit fanduel.com lockon to get started I mean who wouldn’t want a boost or a bonus every day just check out fanduel.com again that’s fanduel.com backlogged on to get started well like I said we’re going to talk about the Vikings as I bring my producer to the show uh we’re going to talk about the Vikings a little bit we’re going to talk about the NBA draft and where bronnie is going to go we’re going to talk about hockey because it’s over it’s over I thought and and I’ll talk about this too Sam I thought that the Oilers were GNA pull it off because of and this is the only reason I know about the Oilers and I’m sorry I hate to say it I don’t know if you saw this Sam but the gal at the game um that that’s a Super Fan let’s just call her that she’s a superan and uh she was good luck because they were down three well they got there first they were down three 0 and you know she she wanted to make sure that she knew how much she loved their team and uh it was good luck they were down three 0 they came back and forced a game seven and I’ll talk about this in the in the daily three s but she made the card I don’t know I don’t know if you seen her newest video Sam but she she she kind of Jinxed the team is what people are saying I didn’t know some of the things she did were a jinx but when she did it everybody start commenting oh Panthers all the way now Florida and seven like they’re they’re going to win this and so Sam I don’t know if you you probably haven’t seen the video Sam not the original haven’t seen the original I I saw her response to the original under the bridge I I think so yeah she was she has a new response now Sam she has a second response in her house and I’ll explain that coming up in the Daily 3 but we got to get into this uh wolves talk Sam so the Draft starts uh tomorrow the NBA so this is the first I’m gonna go with this the NBA trying to do multiple day drafts like the NFL Sam what are your thoughts on that I don’t personally don’t like it I think that it’s it’s hard enough to watch the first round of the NBA nowadays because you don’t know half the people and you think you’re going to get us for a second day I mean but what are your thoughts on it well they’ve buried the second day in the afternoon I think they’re putting it on like Thursday afternoon so I don’t know who’s watching that I don’t know more than one or two players that will get drafted in the second round the only reason that this year it might be interesting is bronnie but any ordinary year you don’t know anybody in the second round of the NBA Draft so I think they’re trying a little too hard I’m not sure what the purpose was of it maybe they’re trying to sell more advertising might be a money grab I don’t know but I don’t love it I I’d like to just knock it out all in one night yeah I I really don’t get it I don’t understand the whole thought process behind it I understand the money and where the NFL did it um but it’s a different Beast like the NFL the way they’re doing it it’s a totally different beast and when you look at some of these draft names like some guys I will say uh and I’m going to say his name wrong I think it’s I think it’s neck or connect um but the kid out of Tennessee Dalton connect I don’t know if you watched the tournament but he made himself some money in the tournament like he played lights out he was a beast I even said it I was like oh man this would be a perfect fit because he’s not a scorer per se he’s a hustle guy um he can score at the small four position but he’s a hustle guy 66 212 pounds in the NBA the problem is I don’t know if he’s a power forward in the MBA um but he feels like a guy that could play in that small ball system of the west where you think about if you were to put uh Anthony Edwards Dalton connect and Mike Conley on the floor at the same time going against let’s say the Warriors that gives you a guy that can you can you know you can put on that third guard with the Warriors you know like if you put Anthony Edwards on on um on Steph let’s just say he wants Steph and he wants to chase Steph a little bit to shut him down now you can put Dalton on uh what’s his name on Clay I mean you still have Jade McDaniels and Nas Reed which I think go to The Bigs and then you would have Carl towns and my opinion at the five now we’ve talked about this I don’t know how it’s gonna happen if they trade him um but you know guys like that did make themselves some money in the in the NCAA tournament but these other names Sam like I mean the first pick I mean what is it uh Zachary rasher you know I don’t even know how to say his last name right but Alex SAR out of both out of France um you know these are two of the names they’re saying are supposed to be you know guys you want to go after um you know Reed Shepard out of Kentucky the shooting guard uh it’s it’s it’s just like you look at these names Sam and I don’t know if you’ve done it but nothing jumps off the screen to me like I mean Jared McCain we just know the name like we know the name from duke but he’s down at the 15th potential pick you know he’s the 15th best Prospect right now Zack edat Purdue like I’m looking at guys that are lower round picks but we know their names from the NCAA tournament so for me to have it on day two you know two days of this I’m not sticking around for I mean because if I go to the third page and it’s GNA give me you know the 50s you know bronny James is the 55th right now by ESPN he’s the 55th ranked Prospect right now this is best available on the board regardless of position Brony James is 55th when you look at Jaylen Bri uh Bridges Antonio Reeves out of Kentucky um you know it’s the the name team that’s why I see teams saying like look why would I go get let’s for instance KJ Simpson out of Colorado point guard when I can get Brony James who’s the 55th Prospect like one he brings way more marketing dollars he brings a lot of attention to our team for summer league why why wouldn’t I do that but Sam I don’t know what are your thoughts on this with Brony James again we we’ve gone back and forth with this uh with this NBA draft what are your thoughts on today and are you still on the the like don’t take Bry in the first round or yeah where you at yeah so if I’m the Wolves uh they pick 27 and 37 yep the the Wolves my argument that I made on the round table is is that the Wolves need to add Talent that’s ready now to complement the roster because they’re super expensive they need cheap talent that can contribute early not a project someone that can come in and play and I I think Tris Finch has even said this they’re looking at the older guys they want someone who’s mature physic Al and mentally 23 24 year olds the fiveyear college players that can come in and they can hold their own on an NBA court true there’s a lot of those type of guys I just don’t think that at the stage of of like the championship window the wolves are in I don’t think you want to add projects I think bronnie is a project now is your goal to lure LeBron is your goal to get marketing dollars if that’s the goal you know or to have the chance to lure LeBron um yeah maybe maybe that’s the play but I think the wolves are more interested in adding some some talent that can help them win right now and I I just don’t see that with bronnie I think that 55 you mentioned he’s he’s ranked that’s perfect that’s where the Lakers pick number 55 in the second round that’s how convenient that he’d be ranked 55th I think that’s a good a good landing spot for him with d ESP has set that up on purpose I do I do I think that that they’ve they’ve you know coales with the Lakers on this but um I I look at the back end of the first round and that’s actually where it’s way more intriguing to me because these are some guys that we watched in the tournament with the cam Christie of the golfers is in there uh teren shanon from Illinois Kyle filipowski of Duke I mean those are some some dudes that had pretty good college careers that we watched and and could go in and help an NBA team right away I think Tyler KCK of Marquette someone that I really like so I I’m actually more interested in the second half of the first round than the first half because the those early 12 picks a lot of foreign guys a lot of G leag guys who I’ve never seen play so that that to me is much less interesting yeah that’s I mean other than donov like out the Yukon Donovan kingan you know that’s the only one the center where you’re like oh yeah I kind of saw that guy play you know like you know I mean because again you’re right you got some G League guys in here you got you know well Stephen you know Stephen castle out of Yukon as well but like I said Dalton Dalton uh connect when you think about his tournament and maybe I was just watching a ton of Tennessee because they were you know I picked them to go a little bit bit further in my bracket but they were they were actually like he looked like a dog when it came to that game and that’s that’s what I’m going but yeah you got another guy of France uh Nikolai topic out of Serbia you know not a center so you’re not getting jokic uh but you you are getting a point guard out of Serbia uh you know you you got Devin Carter out of Providence I don’t know how much Providence you watch you got Ron Holland out of the g-league as well um yeah and then you get down to 15 and six so that’s when you start to see the guys like the back and you’re right the back half of the first round you’re starting to see guys like you got Zack Edy jerem McCain uh Kyle filipowski which is so weird and Sam and and and and let’s talk about this real quick filipowski when you think about that at 21 would you be opposed if somehow the Timberwolves could pull that off to jump up and get him and go to 21 or you know depends on where he falls maybe Falls lower but to get him and then trade cat trade cat oh trade cat curveball I was a big curveball I didn’t know you were going to go there I mean because he’s a power forward so I don’t know if like what is your value for trading Rudy do you know what I mean like do you get now now again I if in a perfect world this is what I would want in a perfect world I would say trade Rudy take whatever you can get dump that salary but then you have to pick you I mean you told me those rules you have to pick up guys to kind of fill up that salary fill it up with whatever you might cut those guys you might do whatever you might take some cap hits by doing it but you can get Kyle filipowski uh in that spot or maybe you trade with a team who’s up there that says look we’ll give you this pick and you give us Rudy and we’ll take Kyle you know because they did that with uh what’s his name Utah did that they the timberos got Rudy and they took what’s his name um uh Kessler Walker Kesler you know so again Kyle filipowski we’ve seen him play now he did get exposed a little bit in the tournament but not like a bad way it was just more like well he’s not what we thought he was like he was he was I mean originally remember coming into it they were saying like oh the potential top five pick you know he’s a you know he’s and then slowly but surely uh I don’t know if he is but would you be opposed to adding him as a piece to that puzzle to maybe come off the bench as another power forward option so Philip palski as a player like him would take him um I I don’t know if a like apples for apples replacement for cat I I don’t think I think you’re the kler go bear thing is rare it’s rare you trade Diggs and get Jefferson in the NBA usually you gota when you trade a player of cat’s caliber you got to get a player back in the trade a veteran who can fill that spot usually you can’t fill those kind of gaps with rookies it just the NBA is harder it’s a harder and that’s why I took that’s why I took cat out of that because I’m like that wouldn’t work with cat looking at these draft picks but I think like and and again Rudy’s defense is unprecedented but today’s NBA doesn’t drive to the Lane like they used to you know like that was a big thing he needs to be we need a rim protector we need you’re not having guys like try to dunk on people all the time anymore like it’s it’s become a perimeter game where everybody’s like hanging out around the I mean even the forwards are hanging out around the three-point line and so like I feel like Philip palsky he’s a kid that can hang out around the three-point line he’s a kid that can defend the three-point line you know when you look at you know even though he says he’s a power forward he’s 611 230 pounds and he’s still a kid so again that’s that’s that’s the only thing I thought about is you like in the NBA even though he’s 611 he could be your Center like he could play with cat on the floor at the same time and he spreads the floor out as well can hit the three um you know they’re call him a skilled seven-footer uh who can shoot that’s that’s the only thing I look at like if you get him and get rid of Rudy you add another shooter because Rudy can’t shoot like he clogs the lane for Anthony Edwards and in the way this team plays if you add filipowski you get rid of Rudy so trade Rudy for Philip not say straight up but you know you can find a way to say hey we want this pick we’ll give you Rudy and whatever you get filipowski now you added a stretch F of five that’s a stretch and now you got cat who can shoot out wide you got filipowski who shoot I filipowski though other than unlike cat is willing to get in the post and we’ve seen that during the tournament he will put his back to the basket he will back a guy down but if he has a guy on him that’s bigger he can pull him out to the top and now he’s put you in a mismatch up top and he can shoot he can dribble um they you know they say his weaknesses um in the ACCC oest his consistency as a shooter and lack of physicality that’s the thing like he’s not a rim protector and but do you need that anymore in the NBA like are you getting guys that’s that’s the other reason why I said like you know if it was the Zack Randall one that’s why I like Zack Randall um because of physicality you know like he adds that physical atmosphere to the Timberwolves that they don’t have right now but if you’re going to be a true spread guys out let let Anthony Edwards be because think about this with the with the t-wolves when they realize Steph and Clay were the guys they took all the bigs out they took Java McGee and all those guys out like they went and got Andrew Wiggins and they went you know like they were like let’s spread this out let’s let’s let these guys create if they drive nobody’s down there to stop them if you crash we got guys that can shoot if they crashing Anthony Edwards you got filipowski that can knock down a shot you got Nas Reed that can knock down a shot you got Jak mcdel that can knock down a shot you got Kat that can knock down a shot you got Mike connley Rudy gobear doesn’t give you that now he does give you the dribble Drive pass and lay it up but I’m pretty sure a lot of bigs can give you that like he’s not what he used to be where he’s catching alley oops and dunking on everybody like Joker creates I don’t know I mean this might be a stretch but I just think the timberwol was like again this is just a name I know I know there’s other Prospect these guys would be looking at but to be down in the 21s and you pick 27th I mean I don’t know I don’t know why why not cuz like in your opinion and this is me do you think Rudy gobear cuz like his weaknesses are physicality and consistent shooting but he’s a they call him a shooter a skill big man shooter that can handle the ball but his weakness is he doesn’t consistently take the shot so maybe one is that Duke not telling him to take the shot is that him being worried about it but he’s not physical is Rudy I mean in your mind is Rudy goar still that physical guy like I don’t know I don’t seey as a physical guy I see him playing down there but I don’t know I I think I think the visual of watching Rudy gobe can be frustrating but the numbers don’t lie like what’s your line Ron you know men men lie women lie numbers don’t lie yeah yeah the the JayZ line by the way yeah I I’ll give it to to RJ um the the impact he has statistically can’t be questioned when he’s on the floor he reduces other teams output by you know 10% 20% and he does it more with I think his movement and his length than his physicality if he’s one-on-one against like Joker he’s getting bullied but the way that he intercepts those slashing Wingers and gets his arms up and affects the shot uh the way that he can drop and you know make multiple motions in a single defensive sequence that’s the real secret SAU with Rudy it’s not the physicality you’re absolutely right it’s not he’s not sha whatsoever um it’s more I think about a head game with him and knowing when to use his length correctly um filipowski I I don’t think he replaces that impact defensively but but also the wolves are the wolves are probably better offensively without Rudy so I think you have to weigh the two options are you willing to give up more on the defensive end and I don’t know if the wolves are built that way right now I think they really like being the top defensive team in the league true true and and the thing like I’m never going to Def uh um doubt that defense wins champ ships like we we go back to the you know back when Scotty Pippen cuz everybody keeps like I’ve seen all these posts now about Michael Jordan versus LeBron and Scotti Pippen and adding you know adding all these pieces and Jordan never won until he got Scotti Pippen Jordan never won without uh Phil Jackson you know all that kind of stuff um all that’s true and what did Scottie Pippen bring he brought a defensive mindset a physicality a you know like uh we’re better than you now again when you’re playing with Michael Jordan you probably feel better like you know Scotty without Jordan wasn’t the same guy either Scotty and and Portland definitely wasn’t the same guy but like playing with Michael Jordan gives you that and that’s that’s what I think like Kevin Durant Kevin Durant playing with Steph Curry was lights out like he became an MVP of the league he became an MVP of the of the the the the finals with with Steph Curry but without Steph Curry KD is questionable at times like he doesn’t always take the right shot he doesn’t always like to pass the ball when he should and I think that’s the the key is Steph Curry gives you that like we got a chance to win any game with this kid on the floor when he was younger and healthier now he’s getting a little bit older he’s getting a little bit slower but that’s that’s what the Warriors had in that that run with Steph Curry who knows if it’s over for them or not because everybody’s saying that’s over but with the Timberwolves I don’t know being defens ofed I just I just question it but going back to the to the a topic of this and we’ll get out of here with this and we’ll get over to the next topic and and talk a little little uh um football and hockey and everything else in the daily three but would you be opposed to them taking bronnie at 37 Sam if bry’s there would you be opposed to taking that’s a backup to Mike connley marketing dollars for for for for Minnesota the Bron family is gonna show up to some games whenever like if LeBron’s not playing and Bron’s playing LeBron might if that happens LeBron probably would make sure the League schedules the Lakers games and the timberwol games opposite each other but also the Lakers would come to Minnesota to play more and I’m pretty sure the timber hols would go to the Lakers play a little bit more because they would want to see LeBron on the floor with his son like would you would you be opposed to 37 taking bronny um I mean I think I I think I would be I think that you can get a more productive player with 37 and let bronnie you know when you bring in bronnie you’re bringing in a lot of a lot of attention for someone who probably won’t contribute a lot right away true and um yeah I just don’t know if I don’t know if I necessarily want that I I also so I’m not sure like where bronnie fits exactly he’s kind of undersized can defend a little bit that that’s that’s probably the best part of his game right now uh he’s gonna have to get a lot better as a shooter for me to really Buy in to to Bron as a three and D kind of player he’s not GNA be his dad and that’s G be like he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders and that uh that would be a tough environment for any for any kid to be in so I i’ I’d rather stay away um I wish him the all the success in the world but I think that because of his lineage I just think that he’s going to get drafted probably higher than than most guys would with his resume but we would have sports center coverage nonstop all summer I’m not in it for the attention Ron I’m in it for the for the Championships I don’t need the media and Bry might come on the basketball party I mean his PR team is gonna be looking for like how do we set stuff up to get Brony acclimated to Minnesota hey bring him on a basketball party let’s let’s pick that brain his dad’s got a podcast come on our podcast Ronnie well hey his dad podcast co-host now that JJ reck’s gone so how about bronnie bronnie braon and Ron a three-way conversation I think that sounds pretty good three the hard way I like that I like that but we got to talk about the Wolves they kept Chris Finch and also JJ reck speaking of needing a new podcast co-host JJ and there’s some there’s some tweets and stuff going out now about JJ reck’s resume I guess you want to call it people aren’t happy people are not happy with the fact that he got a job after coaching a team in summer league but they buried the lead we’ll talk about all that much more coming up next after work from our sponsors brought to you today by FanDuel sports book I love sports Ron loves sports but now that hockey’s done the NBA is done we get less Sports the sports aren’t sportsing quite like we want them to fortunately we still got WNBA fortunately we still got MLB and FanDuel is keeping the sports alive on the FanDuel Sportsbook app I’m looking at the links line right now they are underdogs tonight against the New York Liberty A Clash of the Titans plus 5 and a half plus uh 198 on the money line you can bet the Red Hot Links at FanDuel and you might be able to do it with a booster bonus because this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a booster bonus daily that’s right something for everyone every day all summer long head to FanDuel / lockon start making the most out of your summer fanduel.com lockon FanDuel an official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball well Chris Finch stayed with the Timberwolves also the GM Tim connley stayed with the Timberwolves now we don’t know what the long-term ramifications are we don’t have the ownership stuff done yet um but JJ reick becomes a coach like Chris Finch extended now JJ reick becomes a coach now was this is what’s crazy is if Chris Finch was just extended and nothing else happened with JJ reick Chris Finch would probably be one of the top stories with uh because people say like oh well if he’s extended and maybe that means like Tim Conley’s kind of gave him an idea of what he thinks uh maybe he has an understanding of what the ownership’s gonna look like but then JJ R gets a job so first let’s go with the the extension Sam Chris Finch is extended uh what what what are the terms how long is it and and what does that look like for for Minnesota yeah the terms are not public yet we probably have to wait for a w bomb to tell us but he’s extended through 2027 28 so a 4-year deal I don’t think this was terribly unexpected I think that we always assumed Chris Finch would be back after what he’s done the last three years hopefully next year he’s got his leg brace off and can walk the sidelines again we wish him the best in that recovery but um I I just think contrast is interesting Ron right you’ve got one side here for the in the wolves that is valuing continuity and consistency and they’re trying to keep the coach and the GM and and the players kind of intact and then you got the Lakers who are changing out coaches every couple years any what’s the longest that LeBron has had a head coach in the last decade I’d like to look that up because they’ve now switched again I think spola it would have been the Miami probably probably the four years with SPO you’re right yeah it every other team he’s gone to he’s blown it up at somehow like getting tyo uh getting Darin ham now Darin Ham’s out of there like he’s blown it up every year just about every year or two with every other team when you look at Cleveland um who is it Cleveland La Miami right those are the three and Miami is the only team where he didn’t have blow it up yep he did not blow it up so SPO might have been the only one which was that four years yep four years yep so that’s it yeah yeah that’s um and and and you’ve got the Lakers that just can’t figure out any kind of continuity at that position so I I think that’s interesting um but good for Chris Finch and and I think that he’s the right guy for the job it seems like the guys’s really respect him he’s steady um might have gotten out coached in the Western Conference Finals but I thought he did a great job in the previous two rounds so we’ll uh we’ll keep rolling with our guy finchy and and we’ll see what the Lakers can do with JJ reck which is going to be one of the most scrutinized coach player relationships ever with with JJ and LeBron right I mean how is he going to coach his podcasting buddy like how is he gonna tell him that he’s he’s not doing the right thing I feel like that’s going to be a tough Dynamic true true because when you when you think about the way it’s GNA like and and so again I don’t know if you saw the press conference when the first question was what did LeBron what advice did LeBron give you and he said oh me and LeBron like didn’t talk we didn’t talk until like 30 minutes after the Lakers offered me the job I didn’t want to talk to them beforehand because I didn’t want to have any like Edge into getting the job and then I don’t know if you heard the Press somebody in the back is like oh like you know like somebody in the back says like yeah right or something like that like you got to watch the press her back it’s on Twitter It’s the funniest thing somebody in the back is like man it’s almost like they thought they were so far back that you wouldn’t be able hear them but I don’t know what type of mic the Lakers were using or whoever picked that audio up somebody picked that because it’s not from the main mic it’s from somebody else’s audio so whoever posted it was must have been near that guy because it it’s not like a d and JJ or the Lakers don’t react so my guess is they didn’t hear it so it it’s probably far back enough they didn’t hear it but it got picked up by somebody else’s mic that’s why I’ve always been told at pressers be careful what you say because you never know whose mic is hot like you might not be close enough to the team or the play but somebody’s recording close to you and so yeah so that guy got recorded in the back saying like and then somebody tweeted it like this reporter is is all of us right now because like yeah right there’s no way you didn’t call LeBron or Lebron didn’t call you guys are sitting there about to record a podcast and he’s like man it’d be so cool for you to be my coach man like think about think about all the plays and and and this is the thing too somebody was like LeBron’s rubbing off on JJ because they call him La cap on the internet uh which he always lies and because he he said he said like I could flip a play which I like half the basketball talk sometimes LeBron they try to use it’s like too smart like I I get what they’re trying to get because they’re trying to be like really like this is this is basketball talk man and and I want you to drop your best play and the stuff they’re doing is great because I my guess is they’re trying to get YouTube and Instagram and you know it doesn’t work for audio because what they’re doing is not audio driven like they’re not talking out the play they’re drawing it up on like a board they’re like well look if you do this and you do this instead of doing this why not drop a guy down you know and they’re doing this and instead of you know instead of doing this instead of dropping the guy down why not do this and then go this way and you go down and then this guy instead of this guy being the passer this guy becomes a passer and then JJ’s like I don’t know I don’t know why people don’t do that you know and it’s like he said he was able to flip a play which I’m guessing means run the play but then reverse it I don’t know he said he was able to flip a play at nine years old nine to 10 years old and he said when he did it one of his coaches which you’re normally it’s a parent so stop lying um one of his coaches was like oh man how are you how are you able to do that like you’re so smart 910 right literally goes on another interview and they ask him a question about basketball and you know his kids and blah blah he’s like you know I didn’t I didn’t really I didn’t really start playing basketball until I was like fifth sixth grade it’s like wait a minute you just said you were in a competitive league at nine and you were flipping plays and now you’re over here and you never played before until you were like you know so it’s just like dude stop lying so much and so JJ reic that’s what they’re saying they saying it rubbed off on JJ reic now because he’s just lying for no reason like it’s okay to say yeah I ask LeBron and he was like Hey do what your heart tells you like don’t be like me and LeBron didn’t talk about coaching at all like we’ve never talked about it and then 30 minutes when I after I got offered then I called him and then he told me you know and that’s why I accepted the job like shut up stop lying but the one thing I do want to bring up is JJ reck fourth grade he was a coach for summer league fourth grade that’s his only coaching experience and people are like pissed off about that now I don’t know if there’s other stuff in there but that’s the stuff they’re putting on this resume right now is a joke that he’s never coached he coached fourth grade summer league and now he’s an NBA coach for the Lakers I don’t know if it’s a dog and pony show I don’t know if they’re just doing what LeBron wanted and let’s get somebody in here that can handle LeBron’s eag because maybe LeBron has so much respect this’s the thing LeBron’s never really had respect for some of these coaches like SPO he respected Eric sposta uh I don’t think he ever respected tyou at first like now he does but I don’t think he really expect respected him at first you think about some of the coaches he had and the lack of respect he probably had for them for whatever reason I think JJ rck has a different friendship with LeBron one they work together so if you screw that up our podcast is done our friendship is done you disrespect me it’s done like I’m not going for that I can get on TV and I can go back to ESPN and get paid a lot of money I don’t need this um so I don’t know maybe they they’re thinking JJ reck is the perfect match because LeBron won’t disrespect him because they do have a friendship and maybe that part of it at LeBron’s age right now uh what 39 almost or 38 something like that or 37 I can’t remember what how old he is um yeah like maybe there’s a respecting there like he is as old as some of these Co younger coaches coming to the league uh he played against some of these coaches like they’re showing games now where LeBron played against a coach and now that coach is coaching for a team so I mean maybe the JJ reic thing is a respect thing but when you when you look at the Chris Finch lead being buried and extension and all that stuff it’s just because this is JJ reic piece is gonna take over the internet I don’t know what do you do you think JJ reic deserves his job or what were your thoughts on that one um I I the rule book seems to get thrown out a little bit when LeBron is on the team because LeBron pulls the strings true he’s he certainly is not he’s he’s not as qualified as a lot of other coaches but I think he’s got a pretty good basketball mind and I think some some young guys might look up to him but the this this comes down to can he does LeBron have enough respect for him um and I think the answer is yes but maybe they’re a little too friendly you know there has to be a little bit of of Coach player um you know respect and they’re not because I think LeBron probably viewed them as peers right but it also comes down to can JJ get the most out of LeBron’s Supporting Cast can he coach them up and give him more than they’ve given him the past couple years because I mean that that Lakers team from last year lasted five games in the playoffs um so there there’s a lot of work to be done with that Lakers roster I don’t think it’s getting a lot better either so JJ’s got to get to DLo right he’s got to get to Anthony Davis it’s not just about LeBron it’s about the other guys too yeah that’s I mean and that’s the thing I I wonder like I mean because we’ve seen like LeBron break records we’ve seen LeBron have tributes in the middle of games and we’ve seen like teammates react different ways like Anthony Davis was more mad about the fact they weren’t winning and it wasn’t like he was dis respecting LeBron breaking the record he was just like man we’re we’re out here losing and y’all out here celebrating this man getting whatever it was I I think it was the points maybe he made that free throw to get the points um and they like stopped the whole game had a whole like press conference in the Middle with a microphone and lights came down and Bill Russell I think is that bill R was it Bill Russell’s record is that who it was alltime point or was it Kare Kareem yeah so Kareem because Kareem was there with his jacket on and Kareem came out there and you know like his family was there and it was just a lot you know and so all of that type of stuff too some of these play it probably wears on them over time like dude like what else do we have to do for this man like what else do we and they did win the Mickey Mouse championship in the bubble but they haven’t done anything since like that was the modified year that was the year where if you’re built like an A Team you can win uh because you’re all stuck in a in a hotel you’re playing in in like a I mean you’re practicing in the lobby of a hotel pretty much I mean they had a Convention Center type setup for practices um yeah like I I I just don’t know like I don’t know if this LeBron has it the way the rosters construct it now um because Anthony Davis doesn’t take healthy long enough like for LeBron to be his age and never really miss games and Anthony Davis to be younger and constantly like every time he goes up for a layup and he comes down or a rebound you have to wonder is he gonna like is his back going to go out is his leg Gonna Hurt um because somebody bought this up too about seven-footers that are athletic like that over time their joints and muscles just is just a lot for them to hold you know to take care of like and Anthony Davis is that he’s not super strong like he’s not Zack Randle or he’s not built like a Zach Edy and he’s super you know bigger and compacted like cat cat’s a bigger six11 guy um Anthony Davis is a is a is a is a skinnier guy and so is this roster set up the right way but I don’t know I don’t know but going back to Chris Finch I mean we’ll see what happens with JJ RIT going back to fish Chris Finch real quick if he’s extended through 2028 Sam do you feel like there was some promises maybe told to him because we haven’t seen the language the terms and all that kind of stuff but do you feel like there were some things maybe told to him that makes him want to be a part of this organization longer and and maybe even you know with with Tim kly or do you think it’s just like hey I’m a NBA head coach is hard to get anyway I don’t care who’s the owner I don’t care who’s the GM I think that’s it I think that he just wants to be a coach I think that he’ll coach for Glenn he’s he’s obviously coached for Glenn the last three years so he’s okay with that um he’ll coach for for A-Rod and Lori he’s probably just appreciative to have the job and now he’s got the security but but also coaches get fired mid-contract all the time so he still has to perform it doesn’t give him the ultimate um job security but it does you know lock him into a certain dollar amount now through for the next four years you know what the uh the Pistons coach right like he signed that big deal got fired he still gets that money so now even if Chris inch falters in in the next two years he still gets that money so he’s got personal security uh financially and that’s that’s just that’s a win for him one more segment coming up we’re going to talk about the Daily 3 Stanley Cup Vikings question of the day and Triple A baseball is doing something I think the whole world might want to start doing we’ll talk about that all that much more coming up next uh but I want everybody to know sirusxm is a proud partner of lock on Sports Minnesota just go to the sxm app search sxm on whatever app market you’re using download it and then search lock on Sports Minnesota and you can get all of our shows and our content well Sam it’s time for the daily three that’s three questions three minutes each take it away all right Ron uh question number one let’s go to game seven Stanley Cup Final last night Edmonton trying to come back from 3oh down in the series and Florida fends them off with a dramatic 21 win for their first Stanley Cup your reaction to the big game last night oh well I didn’t watch much of it to be honest uh I did cuz I start seeing the tweets about the gal and this is where this goes Sam so the first video we know she was at the game she lifted her her t-shirt up and uh yeah her Jersey and nothing was under there and so that was the first video she got super famous we know girls now are getting famous people are getting famous like the dude that did the dance um at all those stadiums now I mean everybody’s trying to figure out some Tik tock or some way to get famous I don’t think she meant to do it to get famous I think she just was doing it um and she got famous uh all of a sudden the Oilers power back I’m pretty sure maybe a couple hockey dudes hit her up hey thanks for your support whatever she said her DM because she said her DMS have been both both both positive and also negative well her most recent video Sam she’s in her house in her shower so of course you know shower outfit which you would shower in uh but she’s wearing a baseball cap and she has a beer in the shower with her or some kind of drink and so people are applauding her for the shower beer but then everybody said a hat in the shower is Ultimate bad luck and so she wore the hat in the shower uh she was talking about her she’s gonna have something on her page or a link on her page or something she’s trying to you know she’s trying to cash in now she’s like oh shoot I didn’t realize I was gonna get this much you know publicity from this so she’s trying to cash in she has some kind of link where you can go to her page and see something but the Hat she wore the hat in the shower and that’s what people are saying that’s the a back I don’t I’ve never heard that have you heard that before the shower hat yeah like wearing a baseball cap in a house Behavior yeah that’s that’s strange have but you have you ever heard that was bad luck like have you ever heard of that correlation no no I haven’t I think people are just making it up as they go along they’re just seeing that and saying all right that’s a little crazy now it’s bad luck they’ve decided it was bad luck after seeing it because when she did it she was like doubling down some people were saying like oh she’s spiraling out of control some people were like oh let me go to FanDuel right now and put everything on the Florida Panthers to win um and of course they lost the Oilers lost she jinxed it but Conor McDavid wins the MVP and so the conversation became now is like is he still the best uh or can he be consider the can he be consider the Michael Jordan of the NHL uh without winning and Charles Barkley said no right away you gotta win um what are your thoughts on that can Conor mcdavis still be considered the best or the greatest of all time without actually winning a ring or a a cup um he hockey is maybe the Ultimate Team game even more than football whereas you know football I think is is very quarterback driven hockey Stars need to be surrounded by by Talent they themselves cannot do it alone Alexander oetkin might be the greatest goal scorer ever and it took him well over a decade to win a cup and he got one and he’s probably only going to get one um Conor McDavid is doing things that nobody’s ever done before in the sport of hockey and he might never get another chance like this because it does require all four lines to be cohesive you need to have a good coach and a good goalie there’s just a lot of elements and when you’re when you’re a top hockey player on you know at most you’re playing half the game there’s half the game where you’re not on the ice maybe two thirds of the game where you’re not on the ice because it’s like 90 second lines right they quick shifts you’re taking with your teammates so I don’t think it’s really a strong I don’t think you can say that really it’s not the same sport basketball there’s Five Guys on the floor in hockey there’s 18 skaters in a given game 19 skaters in a given game that that you have to rely on so I think it’s different I think you still got to give Conor McDavid all the credit in the world he’s incredible and um I wouldn’t I don’t I wouldn’t detract to the the teams that win a lot of Stanley Cups they’re usually super deep teams and they might have a couple like couple stars but not necessarily Superstars I think yeah I I think that McDavid still deserves a lot of credit so when you think about this because I know this comes up a lot quarterbacks in the NFL because you just say Ultimate Team game it depends on their offensive line it depends on their coach and plays they’re calling it depends on what type of offense they’re in depends on if their receivers are going to catch the ball I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at this but do you know where Kurt Cousins falls on the NFL all-time leading passers by yards all time leading all time what number he’s at yeah so just quick math he’s started nine years I think fulltime nine years times he’s probably got about 35 thou probably about 35,000 yards um I mean he’s is he top 20 39,000 yards 39,000 yards he’s 600 yards away from actually 530 yards away from 40,000 yards so where do you think he falls yeah I mean I got to be there’s got to be a couple dozen quarterbacks that have done that I’m I’m gonna say he’s 22nd close good job Joe Montana though is 22nd which is crazy to even think Kurt Cousins this season if the Eagles Eagles Falcons same Birds um if he goes for let’s say 3,000 yards Sam he will pass Johnny Unitus Joe Montana Dan FS now Russell Wilson’s still playing so he’s going to have to like catch Russell at some point Joe flacko he’ll probably pass him and then he need 4,000 almost 5,000 yards to pass Drew bledo that’s crazy when you think about that now the one person I don’t think he’ll ever catch which I didn’t realize this is nuts Tom Brady do you know how many yards Tom Brady has Sam Tom Brady did it for 20 20 21 years um missed one season 20 years I bet he’s got 80 80,000 885,000 this regular season almost 990,000 yards 89 214 that’s nuts and so when I look at this with Kurt Cousins and that’s why I go with this Sam you look at these stats Tom Brady we can always say he’s the goat Drew Brees Peyton Manning Brett Favre Ben rothberger but Philip Rivers is up there at 63,000 will we say and he’s six he’s six on the list he’s to 10 Matt Ryan top 10 Dan Marino eighth top 10 Aaron Rogers ninth he has a ring Eli Manning has two rings he’s 10th Matthew Stafford’s 11th he has a ring John El has rings Warren Moon I don’t think he ever had one Fran Target never won one so if we look at those top 10 Philip Rivers is in the top 10 though but but he never won same thing with Dan Marino but D Marino is kind of like a legend but do you think Philip Rivers has like Hall of Fame do you think he’ll be in the Hall of Fame and would be considered one of the greatest just because of the Yards no I hall of fame maybe but he’s not going to have the same reputation so you think Eli Manning’s reputation will always be better than Philip Rivers because he won yeah because they’re tied together in the draft I do I think I do think the quarterback Legacy is built around Rings yep but hockey is not see that’s why and that’s where I go with that like I was looking at Kurt Cousins and I’m like well if Kurt Cousins keeps playing let’s just say he’s stays healthy the kiles he comes back fine he comes back like Adrien Peterson in gang busters or whatever and he can play to get to the like let’s say 5,000 4,000 3,000 yards a season five more seasons he gets up into that 60,000 group all of a sudden because he’s you know 20,000 yards he need 20,000 yards to get up there maybe he has a couple gang gang Buster seasons and he’s in that 60,000 Group which is top 10 if Kurt Cousins doesn’t win a ring but he’s in 60,000 yard territory you say he makes the Hall of Fame but he won’t be considered one of the greatest without a ring this without a ring 60,000 top 10 without a ring yeah however you view Rivers Ryan that’s where cousin fall that’s where he’ll fall so how do you view those guys yeah no that’s that’s good to know well we read out of time on this one because we we kind of jumped into the other ones and and I think that was a good topic though to to to maybe hit on uh Vikings confidence to day we had Garrett Bradberry at Center we’ll talk about that um but you know let’s let’s really quick let’s do quick last two what’s the next two what’s the next one because I forgot um yeah was next yeah Vikes question of the day just 30 seconds each uh what’s your confidence level one through 10 in Garrett Bradberry back at Center this year I’d give him an eight like I think he’s been good I think uh with Kevin okon’s offense he wants to run the ball a little bit more which might help gett brry out a little bit more too um we didn’t run it as much when you think about the running backs I think he I I have an eight what I don’t know about you yeah I would say about a six and a half seven um he’s got to stay healthy too he’s had a few more injuries lately yep um third one Triple A baseball is now using a challenge system for balls and Strikes so it’s not straight computer but you can challenge balls and Strikes I believe you get minimum three if you’re have a success in the challenge you get the challenge back so basically it’s three missed challenges um that you get should MLB adopt that system yes 100% yes when you look at some of these highlights now of like they say one up missed 22 balls and strike calls in a game um I’m not going to say the name because I’m not going to bash any umps right now at least uh and I don’t want to get the name wrong because I can EAS say Angel Hernandez and everybody’s be like yep that was him I don’t think it was him but I did see one where they said 22 Miss balls and Strikes within like four Innings which I’m like that’s kind of nuts like I get over an entire game but in four Innings which either means you’re just not paying attention or you’re ready to get out of there and so either way I think they should also think college softball because we see that all the time where girls are throwing rise balls now girls are throwing different pitches and and some girls like that’s not a strike like that was at my knees or that was at my neck I think that they should adopt it too what’s what’s wrong with a challenge you already challenge other stuff anyway you can challenge if a girl left early you can challenge h a safer out call why not just challenge a couple pitches if they don’t get them they don’t get them they’re done with them I think the MLB for sure should do it because it probably it probably balances out some of the mistakes these umps are going to make anyway they’re human too that’s the thing I mean these guys are human they’re going to make mistake the game is going fast but I I definitely think that that should be something that’s added in there I don’t know what do you think I I just don’t know if three I mean even if you can keep challenging if you get it right I don’t know if it’s going to be enough if if guys are missing 20 calls in a game that’s rare though but yeah 22 in an inning or in a game yeah at some point you you might just need to go straight computer have computer make all the decisions because if you’re if that’s the amount that’s getting missed there’s still going to be a lot of bad calls so I think maybe this is a starting point and you may have to expand it to to become even more accurate as time goes by I’m not a fan of computers just because it takes human jobs out of it but also I’m not a fan of computers because computers also take angles and everything into account that sometimes you take the human element out of baseball when you do that because now guys aren’t going to swing at the close ones and you’re going to make it way too easy on batters like I think pitchers still need the benefit of the doubt with the corners I think that you know some of that stuff the eye test like don’t don’t just think that I’m gonna give you this ball because it’s clo like swing like I don’t want to take that out of it uh because then where do we go from there and the same thing with football like I don’t like I I do not want them because everybody’s like let’s put a microchip in the football and that tell us where the ball was no let’s leave the human element in it because that’s what makes games great and that’s what makes them fun uh and and and then you know as far as the betting side of it that’s what sometimes hey like if that guy makes that call you lose if that guy made that call you win basketball same thing don’t don’t make everything reviewable stick let these guys be humans if you missed the call you missed the call hit them on the arm hit them on the arm like it is what it is Challen if you want to but I’m Ron Johnson that’s Sam xum it was this was the Ron Johnson show lock on Sports Minnesota I want to thank everybody and also make sure you find locked on Sports Minnesota 24/7 on our YouTube live stream for your favorite Minnesota sports shows around the clock it’s Vikings wild wolves twins gophers and Links at all hours of the day and we have multiple shows the basketball party the football parties and as well as the Friday round table I’m Ron Johnson again that’s Sam xra want to thank you guys have a great week
The Minnesota Timberwolves have two picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. Ron Johnson discusses whether they should draft Bronny James and what some good targets would be with picks 27 and 37. Then he delves into the Timberwolves’ extension of head coach Chris Finch. In the Daily 3, Ron talks Game 7 of the Stanley Cup and Garrett Bradbury’s 2024 season.
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