Hour 1: Trade Away

from 30 for 30 podcasts Brian Pada senior defensive lineman from Miami gunned down An hour before he died he was on the phone This might be a hit you want the truth they just want a conviction being placed in your rest We had a killer amongst us murder at the you listen now There is a debate Luca Donchich shake butter is a top candidate for league MVP No one's ever seen anyone Damn it he done changed my mind. I am convinced. I'm the only one left. It's still doing that's an MVP right there Listen to the bait Hello, good morning everyone welcome to first take Victor women yama doing Victor women yama things last night. Hi everyone Good morning Brian Windhorst even a Smith. What's good? What's going on shade what up Wendy? How y'all doing? We're good. We're hanging L.A. Stephen. Hey, it misses you We'll be back. I'm coming back. Don't you worry. That's right. I'll be back Let's go to the West let's go to what Victor women yama did last night One of the seven spurs that scored in double figures last night a very depleted Warriors team is who they were playing against Wemby still gave the Golden State crowd those something to cheer for three blocks 18 rebounds 41 points now for the second game in a row. In fact, Wemby had six points before the entire Warriors team had any Okay, he continues to make history Victor women yama has had consecutive games with 40 points As I said 15 rebounds and three blocks joining Bob McAdoo is the only players to do that since blocks became official in 1973 1974 in that year McAdoo was the runner-up for MVP speaking of MVP. Here's Wemby last night. Oh Yeah, I do care deeply about it and I think that all the greats, you know that are in the Hall of Fame or that are in our mind the best of all time They have fought and grabbed everything they could grab early on in their career, you know and if I want to make my spot among the graves, I gotta Try to not miss any occasion I have To put my name up there So when we now this is the second ish time we've heard him kind of advocating for himself for MVP How do we feel about that? We're not usually accustomed. We heard Shay Gilter Salazar the other day say, you know I'll let my game feet speak for itself. Wendy. How do you feel about when be advocating for himself an MVP? I'm having a difficult time understanding why anybody Doesn't love this We spend a name here. We spend months on end talking about who's gonna win the MVP I got people coming up to me in the airport on the street who you voting for the MVP Oh, I got so it's I got so it's what the fans clearly care about this people bet on this for months on end We're constantly constantly constantly updating the odds and saying, you know, we talk about historically this guy won this may this guy won this many It's clearly something that it the people who follow basketball love to engage with and it's supposed to be a bad thing from some people I got guys in the NBA people have been around for years who I you know Trust and believe in and look up to you know looking down their nose And so we're supposed to have a negative reaction to somebody who says I deeply care about it That's supposed to be a character flaw like fine if Shay Gilter Salazar doesn't want to like publicly campaign Of course, that's fine. I'm not saying you have to but why would why would anybody not be engaged by somebody saying he cares? You know what he else he said last night Stephen A, you know he every day He sets some sort of crazy record like I got to go through six paragraphs after every game that he's done something and last night He did something that hasn't been done by the spurs since Dennis Rodman I think it was consecutive games of 15 points and 15 rebounds and Victor goes. Oh, man. I love that He's totally lights up when he hears that I've watched a bunch of Rodman clips. I love Dennis Rodman Are we supposed to say that a that a 20-20 year old in 2026 you don't like you're not engaged by the idea that he's not watching Dennis Rodman clips From the 80s and 90s like like if somebody's taking a position Against this that this is a problem. They're just being crotchety and if they're a crotchety person go ahead But I just don't see how anybody can't be refreshed by his attitude and wanting to win this Well, I'm here for you Wendy. I understand, you know, it's befuddling to you I'm gonna make it very very much the person Yeah, I'm gonna make it very very easy for you number one You got a lot of people in this world to like the bitch and moe. Let's get that out the way first All right, they ain't happy unless there's something they ain't happy unless there's something a bitch and moan about right? But in the age of YouTube the advent of YouTube click bait and all of this other stuff, you know What's become more popular? Pretending that you have something to bitch and moan about when you really really don't mean it That is the answer to the question when you ask about Victor Wimpy Yama Because you know how you know folks are lying when they act like Victor Wimpy Yama and him caring deeply about an NBA MVP award And what have you now, you know, they're lying when they act like they have a problem with it because It's the same people that are mentioned tanking the same people that are mentioned low management You have a player out here that knows you have to play and you have to play it in the league level in order to win this award And he's telling you ahead of time no matter who he's going against. He's coming for it So imagine what that does for the paying customer what it does is enable you to go to an arena, right? Not just look forward to his greatness But look forward to him attempting to be even more great than you thought he was because he wants to impact you Psychologically in an effort to get the MVP award He doesn't want just voters voting for him for the league MVP He wants the audience out there the paying customer out there to look at him and see him as an MVP Because you know he's something special compared to everybody else around him who he absolutely knows and believes is special He did this during all-star weekend. He's done this since he came to the league He was going win the MVP award The defensive player the war last year if it wasn't for the deep vein Thrombosis that he ended up suffering from otherwise he would have been defensive player last year Okay, he's clearly going to win it this year. There's no suspense there We look at all of these things and what he's bringing to the table. It's a testament to him It's to the benefit of all of us who get to watch him But also anticipate what he's going to do on a night-in night-out basis You don't go to a game in San Antonio or a game anywhere where the San Antonio Spurs are and Worried about whether or not Wimby wants to play whether or not he's going to play Whether or not he's going to strive to play on an elite level This is what greatness is made of and so we see him and we think he's great already But we're fantasizing about the potential down the road because we know he wants to be that special He wants to be the marquee and all the great ones that we've seen throughout the years the obvious ones with MJ and Magic and bird and even LeBron and Kobe and all of that stuff But you can look at other great players Even the guys like the way way one of the greatest off-guards in the history of the game and others Being the marquee they wanted it. They wanted that on their shoulders That's Victor Wimby Yammer and that's going to influence a lot of people to pay attention to every little thing That he does are the very positive level I'm talking about in terms of his greatness and what he puts on display on a night-in night-out basis Because the number one thing and I've said this on many occasions the number one thing you want from great great Great players is you want to look at them and know they're not cheating you When you can look at them on a night-in-night-out basis and say they giving me all they got That it that there's no greater tribute to folks who are great than that because you're already great And you don't have to give all you got in order to still display greatness and pull off being better than 90% of the people You go up against but when you're committed to being that great anyway That is the kind of stuff that we look at. That's what we're seeing from Shea It's what we're seeing from Wimby Yammer and if we're being fair We're seeing it from Jaylen Brown and we're seeing it from Luca Donchich That's what we're seeing right now and that's why this NBA season feels so special Mama say something though. Shea. Shea I I do think that you know, you're never gonna see the the thunder really talk talk trash That is there, you know, they're franchise MO, you know, they always take the high road Well, most of the time they take the high road most when a guilty South Alexander said when shea said two nights ago I let my game do the talking Yeah, that was him talking trash at Victor Wimby Yammer like let's be clear And I got a whole bunch of other people who I talked to on a daily basis who say it much more pointedly when they're on the phone Or on text so what you're making a case even it but I'm telling you in the NBA, you know that people don't all feel that way Yeah, of course, of course they don't but that's part of it because everybody's personalities are different LeBron wasn't Kobe You know Kobe was a was one of one MJ was one of one bird was different than magic, etc It comes in all shapes and sizes What was they doing when they was when they were talking about, you know, the dream team and all of that Larry birds sitting up there Looking for a backdoor entrance trying to avoid the crowd everything. They said where's magic? And they went right to bird bird, so you know magic going through the front door That's what he's going through. He want to walk through the crowd. He's showtime. That wasn't bird That's what made it special the dichotomy that exists You understand the different personalities going up against one another you got us looking forward to okc versus San Antonio It's we watch a San Antonio NBA best 26 and 2 Since February 1st, right and a 14 15 game winning streak with women Yama on the floor Winning 15 of their last 16 or whatever it was and with all of that being said Going off the way that they actually went in 26 of their last 28 with all of that being said There's still two games behind okc and Shay is chilling out showing up to every press conference Entering every arena flossing outfit looking. I mean looking spectacular Putting I'm putting everybody on notice. He ain't just trying to win another MVP in another championship He want to get invited to fashion week in Paris too and New York City. He's he's flossing like that Okay, in the meantime winning Sitting up there saying no matter what you do when be you still chasing me That's what Shay is really really saying because he has been a model of Consistency throughout when bees run Shay hasn't faded one bit. It's really special to watch right now Yeah, I felt like when he said I'm good. I'm good multiple times like I'll let my game do in the talking I agreed with Wendy. It was the first thing I thought about also. Are we still using flossing? I don't know if we're still using that word, but we can talk about we can I can I do oh, okay All right, got it Wendy will talk to you a little bit later on in the meantime We go to some breaking news out of the NFL Kirk Cousins is signing with the Raiders They hold the number one overall pick in the NFL draft which is presumed to be Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza And with that news we say good morning to one Adam Schefter who has been busy this morning. Good morning. Chef D Come on great. Why are we doing? Hello, Stephen? Hey, how does the time cousins impact how the Raiders are gonna handle Mendoza? Well, you got a situation here where Clint Kubiak the new Raiders head coach has said that in his perfect world He brings in a veteran to hold down the fort and play the position early on while they get Fernando Mendoza Up to speed and so now that he's brought in Kirk Cousins whom he worked with for three years in Minnesota together Kirk Cousins knows what to expect from Clint Kubiak Clint Kubiak knows what to expect in Kirk Cousins these two have worked together before they'll do it together again now in Las Vegas and so this is really an ideal Bridge quarterback situation where they can bring in cousins it forces them to take the pressure off Mendoza They don't have to rush him out there if they don't feel like he's ready Kirk Cousins is a great quarterback for Mendoza to be around to learn from he becomes an ideal tutor And if we think of Kirk Cousins in Atlanta, he did not choose to work with Michael Pennix The team chose Michael Pennix in this particular case Kirk Cousins willingly voluntarily signed on to work with Fernando Mendoza That's the key there. Steve, go ahead. Definitely a key point That's definitely a key point that Adam brings up because he didn't pick the situation in the scenario in Atlanta That was thrust it upon him after he had signed you never know how a player feels like Kirk Cousins is class personified They are times that we've been critical of him in terms of his performance periodically He has had good performances. He's had bad performances We all know that but the one thing you've never questioned about him is his character He's always been considered a really really good guy And so when the situation presented itself in Atlanta Whereas you may have heard some people complaining about it or whatever you never heard that from Kirk Cousins That's not who he is and so when you're in Vegas and you're trying to rebuild retool Get yourself together and you're bringing in a number one overall pick Who's clearly the future your franchise and Fernando Mendoza Surrounding him with somebody like a Kirk Cousins to play the role of mentor to start for a few games before Fernando Mendoza is ready to go and stuff like that that's going to go a long way But you hear a lot about Fernando Mendoza's character as well And it's the kind of things that you've heard about him in terms of his religion is his religious beliefs his approach to life as well As the game itself the people he surround himself with you hear similarities between that and Kirk Cousins So I wasn't surprised when I saw the news that Kirk Cousins had elected to go to Las Vegas because I have no doubt He's heard about Fernando Mendoza himself And he wants to lend a helping hand to a guy like that and I think that's a beautiful thing And I think that you could draw some parallels between the type of people that they are both very likeable both very quirky In a in a nice fun way But I think that there are people there are scouts out there in the NFL community who say that Fernando Mendoza is a bigger version Of Kirk Cousins that they play in a similar fashion So you now have these two quarterbacks with similar skill traits Similar skill sets and again Mendoza is bigger not as experienced He'll get to learn an awful lot from being around Kirk Cousins and Clint Kubiak gets exactly what he wants a Quarterback to hold down the fort until Fernando Mendoza is ready. So let's clarify that a little bit really quick here chef D Do you anticipate there will be some sort of quarterback competition? Or do you think that Kirk Cousins will go in as the starter right away? I think that men I think cousins will start right away They're not gonna say it's a competition. I think they're gonna want to bring along Mendoza at whatever pace it is And by the way, if he's ready to start week one then they could always go to him But now there's zero pressure. They don't have to rush him. They don't have to stick him out there before he's ready They've got a seasoned veteran to go up against the AFC West division that includes quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes Justin Herbert and bonex. This is one of the toughest divisions in football Are you ready to throw a rookie quarterback right into that? Maybe not and so they don't have to do that anymore by signing Kirk Cousins this particular country They could take their time with Mendoza and not have to rush him along Well, well, here's the difference. I mean Adam Schefter didn't say a word He didn't say a syllable that was wrong, but here's the difference between Adam Schefter and me He's far far nicer than me. Okay, the Las Vegas Raiders have no expectations You talk about a team in the national football league that's playing with house money It is the Las Vegas Raiders. They were not a very good team Actually, they were pretty damn horrible in a lot of people's eyes, okay? And you're talking about them being in the AFC West with the Denver Broncos Who was the number one seed and by the way, I thought would have been in the Super Bowl had bow nicks not gone down Okay, then you've got the Chargers who've improved their roster and we know what Jim Harbaugh is as a coach We know what Justin Herbert is as a quarterback We know some of the pieces that they have and they are formidable team and then of course you've got Patrick Mahomes highly motivated along with Travis Kelsey highly motivated added Andy Reed Eric B. Enemy returning as an offensive coordinator a Kansas City Chiefs team that not only missed the playoffs But didn't even have a winning record that is not going to stand for this organization Led by the great Patrick Mahomes. They are going to come back highly highly motivated Who's the distant fourth in all of that? It's the Las Vegas Raiders So you're playing with house money right now Which is another reason why I was very very wise of them to bring in somebody like a Kirk cousins who knows the situation Who's an adult in the room Understands what he's walking into and Fernando Mendoza has nothing to worry about but his own growth and development And so all of that combined with the minimal Expectations that should exist for the Las Vegas Raiders. They're in a good situation right now Don't worry about losing games Las Vegas. Just continue to improve and get better Nobody's expecting you to win any damn way. Just go out there be competitive and show improvement every single week That's what people are looking for anybody looking for them to win any games You know what else they have Steven A? The former Baltimore Raven Max Crosby former bolt more Raven for five minutes If you are seeing the bottom of your screen right now, maybe you're confused But it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that Fernando Mendoza is gonna go number one overall to the Raiders So we're keeping that in mind here But really quick chef the last question I have for you here Is there a scenario and I know this is all kind of new information where Mendoza perhaps sits the entire year Listen if Kirk Cousins steps in and he's playing well and they're winning games then yeah, there's that scenario It's hard to say exactly how the season is going to go and going into the season You'd have to look at the Raiders as the team in that division with the lowest odds of winning the AFC West title But look there are surprise teams every year And I think the Raiders have a chance to be better than people thought and if they're rolling along and they're winning And they could buy time for Fernando Mendoza to sit on the bench Learn and groom him until he's ready to play whenever that is then yeah, the Leaf Cousins out there as long as they possibly can Okay, what you're watching right now. This is Fernando Mendoza's pro day that happened yesterday at Indiana, which I heard he put on quite the show So we'll see where it goes from here again Fernando Mendoza Projected to be the number one overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft which takes place on April 23rd Chef D something tells me you'll have a lot more info for us as time ticks along three weeks from tonight Shay three weeks from tonight tonight. All right coming up here on first take Paul George went off last night in a 76ers win But my guy out Joe. Well, I'm beat PG3 is your guy on my fancy basketball team is the caramelo championship Thank you PG3 you're psychotic that you're even doing that the reasoning behind his absence is something Stephen I can't wait to discuss what's the Celtics looking for a force as their playoffs are about to begin Are they proving that they are the team to beat in the East? The take you don't want to miss next If you want to save a few quid British gas have a way you get half price lecky and it's called peak save on Every Sunday, it's the smart thing to do if you're regular folk or furry and blue 11 till 4 let the good times begin you could charge up the car or take the dryer for a spin Half price electricity what joy that brings with British gas peak save We're taking care of things T's and C's apply eligible tariffs and smart meter required Sports fans the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events ESPN shows and originals across every ESPN network in service And now you can check if you already have ESPN unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls visit activate ESPN comm to learn how to access your account or sign up then start streaming in the ESPN app It's all the ESPN all in one place sign up or activate now Mine one one where's the emergency? It's the middle of the night in a small town on the Jersey Shore Someone reports an abandoned car on a bridge a search gets underway for the missing driver 19 year old Sarah Stern. Is it a missing person? Is it a suicide at this point? Nobody knows old friendships Buried cash and a sinister plot that was once pitched as a movie plays out in real life I'm juju Chang from 2020 and ABC audio Listen now to bridge of lies wherever you get your podcasts First take is brought to you by Mira fast for faster constipation relief Welcome back to first take in the East Jason Tatum at his first triple double of the season in a strong performance by the Celtics against the Miami Heat last night Tatum finished with 25 18 and 11 while Jaylen Brown added in a cool 43 points of his own in total The seas dropped 147 points on Miami on Wednesday Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown became the third Celtics duo with a 40-point game and a 25-point triple double Franchise history joining Kevin McHale and Larry Bird in 1985 Don Nelson and John Hamlin in 1970 my goodness they continue to make history So now the question is is Boston the clear team to beat in the eastern fun in the Eastern Conference? What do you think Steven a I? Believe so I believe so when you think about Jaylen Brown who is playing like an MVP We need to keep saying that it's not just Shay. It's not just Wimby. It's not just Luca. It's Jaylen Brown He is playing like an MVP drop 43 last night had 20 in the first quarter the brother special Ain't no question about it any plays on both ends because he defends as well as scores You've got that going on. You got a guy adjacent Tatum They're like 10 and 2 since he's been back this guy is shooting still struggling to find his shot Just got back, but still one Eastern Conference player the week. I mean, I'm just looking at that I'm looking at a team when Wendy that You know Dave struggle we expected coming into the season that they were going to struggle particularly with rebounding But Zingas is going Horford is going they're like the Percentage wise they're like the third leading rebounding team in the NBA. All right, they're best in the last 17 years This is what the Boston Celtics are doing. You got a cat and paint preacher that comes off the bench and gives it to you You got Derek white who can ball okay, and you know, he's experiencing. He's a reliable commodity for them You look at everything that's flowing with the Boston Celtics right now You can't say enough now, of course with Detroit even though There's still a number one seed and they've been winning games without Kate cutting hand, which is a testament to them We know they're better with him We know this too was an MVP candidate the way that he was playing before he ended up going down with the partial lung Collapse we get all of that right but the thing about Detroit that you question particularly in the event that they end up going against Boston even though they beat Boston like three or four times they faced them this year is that you're wondering about Detroit and that Secondary offensive option who's that guy other than Kate cutting him that you can rely upon to put the ball in the hole That is not a problem that the Boston Celtics have and that's exactly up not a problem that you need come playoff time One guy scoring for you rarely does it for you You usually need two dudes and Detroit does it definitively have that person? But Boston does and so as a result of that you have to look at Boston and then you're thinking about okay a first round team Sure They should win the first round considering that they are to see they go against the seventh But then you have to think into account that the likelihood is that they go against the Knicks in the second round a team They want badly because they got knocked out by the Knicks last year and they're still salty about that Which has me excited because I want to see how the New York Knicks are going to respond to that challenge You know me Shay. I'm gonna get back to my Knicks now. You know, I'm not gonna forget doing that I want to see how they respond to that challenge that Boston is absolutely positively going to pose but at this particular moment in time I don't think there's any question when we look at the Eastern Conference when we scour it especially over the last few weeks Boston looks like the most formidable team in the Eastern Conference Because of Jason Tatum's ascension put forth a triple double last night Doing what he's done and the supplementary parts around these two guys seems to have gelled a hell of a lot quicker Than any of us had ever anticipated. They are the team to be in the Eastern Conference. I think everybody knows that All right right now in the NBA We have three teams that are very serious about about their business you have San Antonio You have Oklahoma City and you have Boston the Lakers are sitting right there on the edge Check with me in 12 hours because we got a big game tonight with the Lakers. Okay, that's right. That's right Celtics have separated themselves the Celtics have separated themselves coming out of the All-Star Break Shay I could look at these four teams in the East and I could spend a long time talking about why each of them would or wouldn't Win the win the win the East and I actually thought we are headed for Really interesting down the stretch of the regular season and we're really interesting to see who's gonna be able to win 12 games That and we obviously still have to play it out But right now the Celtics are cut above everybody if you look at what's happened over the last four to six weeks With Tatum coming back. I just want to point out as a quick aside You guys realize he's averaging 21 and 10 21 and 10 He's playing on one and a half legs. I mean everybody I mean even Bam out of bio last night Who's known him since he was 12 years old. He was saying I love the way he's playing I'm really happy for him, but you can tell he's still getting in shape and he had 18 rebounds last night or whatever He had okay, so he's averaging 21 but what we've seen happen over the last month Is that the Celtics have announced to everybody that they are the team to be reckoned with now Detroit? I actually have been very impressed with because when Kate Cunningham went down I was like man. I am not sure what this team is going to do and instead They have raised their level they have raised their defense and Stephen a you say they don't have a second score I think you're you're right. They have to have a proven second score, but Jayland during is having a Best friend of his career putting up 30 points. He's gonna win most improved player. That's great Then I look at the Knicks and the Cavs. I see the Cavs can't defend. I see the Knicks are all over the place I don't know what I'm gonna get from them one night to the next I they can't be the quality team in weeks and I how I see an Eastern Conference that's very divided Shay very divide Boston Some space Detroit with like watch out when Kate comes back and then a gap and the Knicks and Cavs that as we've gone on here I've separated out and the Celtics have risen to the top and there's no doubt They're gonna be the two-seat they they're not gonna lose three more times the Knicks can forget about home court in the second round That's over and next Thursday Stephen a I know it's your regular season game in April And you're never gonna hear me say a regular season game in April has super extra meaning But the Knicks play the Celtics next Thursday and this is going to be a real test about are the Knicks serious about this You know are they gonna be able to beat this team four out of seven? Because right now you look at these two teams and they're they're an ocean apart and I only think that the Celtics are gonna get stronger Because Tatum is gonna get stronger and I can't verify to you either the Knicks or the Cavs are gonna get stronger They have the potential to do it. They have the talent to do it just like we thought six weeks ago Absolutely, they could win 12 games and win these playoffs But you can't look at these right now and say any team but Boston is in your favorite seat So now I Went to some notes because this mattered to me Wendy because I'm looking right and If you remember because you you see me throughout the years Wendy You know, you know how I can get when it comes to my New York Knicks, okay? You know this you know that I'm not I get in a very sour mood Shay you haven't been around me enough Wendy hats. You're saying they know how sour I get okay The only thing that's worse is when the Yankees is when the Yankees are struggling with Shay because Tim Kirchin all right Tim Kirchin all right Jeff Passon Buster on your date they and Jessica Mendoza. Let's not forget that they literally come on first take just to laugh at me to Give me bad news about my Yankees. This is what they do. Okay. It's what they do and it drives me nuts Okay, and Wendy and Perk Tend to bring me bad news about my New York Knicks They know I know it because I watch them all the time But in the same breath they tend to bring me bad news well, here's what happened one time I pulled over on the New Jersey turnpike because I almost cried at the rest stop because damn it The ping pong balls came in and all I needed was the Knicks to get a top-2 pick Okay, so they could get Zion a job Marin and damn it. They ended up with the third pick Okay years before that all I needed was them to get you know They were they had the seventh pick in the draft was Steph Curry New York Knicks had eighth pick This is the kind of stuff that goes on the right. Why do I bring that up? Because Jalen Durham for the Detroit Pistons was drafted in 2022 13th overall The New York Knicks had the 11th pick and I'm begging them to take them and they pass and sure enough They get this guy dangie. I don't even know where the hell he is now. Okay, but but Jalen Durham balling Okay, see this is the kind of stuff that hurts my heart because the opportunities are there and it just misses like it's like the It's like the good Lord is just torturing us. Okay, it's right there. Just teasing us the stuff It's like a tiger that was starving and you put pounds of steak in front of them, but he can't reach it That's that's a New York Nick fan. All right. That's what we go through. So I say all of that to say I'm looking at Boston right now and Jason Tatum by the way is Making you love and respect him even more than you did before Because as good as he was a 27 point for game scorer of first team all NBA player Let's keep it a buck Wendy. He hasn't been appreciated Not nearly as a when he goes and plays in the Olympics and he gets benched for both games against Serbia And you got the coach coming up to you beforehand and telling you I don't know if I'm gonna find minutes for you and afford I know you and I disagreed about that because Olympic competition is different than the NBA and I get that part But remember what I was going off about it wasn't even that he didn't play is that you walked up 10 before the game I said, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to find any time for you and a 40 minute contest and the brother of all NBA player That just won a championship. Okay, we forget Jason Tatum we look at him and we're thinking about a scorer You brought up what other stuff that he's doing. How about his passing last night? How about the fact that over three games? He's got like 83 points over the last we get like 83 points like 48 rebounds like 34 assists That's what he has over the last three games on one and a half legs He's showing you he is a basketball player not just a scorer So these kind of things Happening now Now this is a guy that came on first take Wendy and I basically said to him, you know, you don't need to come back It takes time and don't rush back to stay hold to stay the whole season off You said just come because I'm thinking about my Nixon We got a chance because he's got this damn Achilles tear and this brother comes back 200 plus days earlier There's somebody like Kevin Durant and others have come back from in Achilles tear and on one and a half legs He's doing this you you just can't make it up. It's like the Knicks I'm gonna stop saying as a black cat running around the Cowboys franchise if this keeps up and Say it's one running around the Knicks franchise too because I can't catch a break. I just can't okay Shay, I'm about to choose violence. You ready for this Shay. Okay, Wendy Thursday, even though you know that the Knicks actually had Jalen Durant's rights for a few minutes They were a pass through they did they they passed through from Charlotte from Charlotte to Detroit Yes, and they got and they got some draft picks Shay that they used to trade for Mikhail Bridges And it all comes full circle he's gonna leave And it all comes full circle to go back to Jason Tatum really quick It's his second career game not just this year second career game with 25 points 15 boards and 10 dimes What he did last night with Jalen Brown playing and him just coming off an Achilles tear. Okay, let's point that out Wendy we'll see you a little bit later. We're gonna turn to the NFL now because Ram star wide receiver Puka Nakua is entering rehab according to his attorney in an attempt to quote improve his overall behavior in every aspect of his life Nakua was seen making inappropriate gestures on a live stream a few months ago and was involved in an incident on New Year's Eve in Which he was accused of biting a woman on her shoulder. Here's Adam Schefter earlier on get up Everybody believes that Puka is going to get paid But the Rams obviously want him to get the help and treatment he needs first before they move on to the Contractual element of this and when teams are doing contracts they look at the entire picture They need that person to be a leader on and off the field They need to be an example and you're gonna make him one of the highest paid players in the league give him 40 plus million dollars You need to make sure that that person is gonna be handling himself the right way Okay, so Nakua's attorney says that he will Complete the program and plenty of time to be involved of all of the Rams OTAs So that goes back to Adam Schefter's point in terms of him being a whole version of himself If they're gonna pay him the big bucks your reaction to this Steven A Well, I'm happy he's getting the help that he needs it doesn't escape me that He was getting rehab before Before if I remember correctly before the lawsuit Was filed if you remember Shay The lawsuit that ultimately was alleged against him, you know alleged that he bit two women Not just one he bit two women And so you have that going on then you have other things where the Rams have even stepped in and were urging him to get that You know get some kind of help. I'm just reading from here just days before a game against The Seahawks he attempted to bring streamers into the team facility without permission He later appeared on a live stream criticizing NFL referees and participating in a touchdown dance That carried anti-Semitic undertones even though he says and I'll take him at his word that he had no idea That it had anti-Semitic or undertones and stuff like that He apologized for that and fairness to him at the end of the day Here's the deal and this is what people need to understand particularly professional athletes There are morals clauses and everything when you do things that are detrimental To the brand that you are supposed to represent There are ways for people to get out of commitments that they've made to you if you are in violation of those moral causes and More and more when you see incidences coming down the pike You're going to see teams adding and implementing Stipulations in the contract of Shay just to make sure they protect themselves because new Naku is an all-world receiver And when you see Jackson Smith and jigber and the money that he just got you know Obviously Naku is gonna want something in that ballpark. You saw Justin Jefferson get paid You saw Jamal chasing T Higgins get paid more so Jamal Higgins Jamal Chase rather we all know that and It's gonna be Pooka Naku is turn You can't deny that he deserves the money as a football player But what you can say is that your behavior is jeopardizing Your availability because if we don't step in who's to say that the NFL won't and as a result We're gonna have to make sure to protect ourselves And so that's what they have to do They have to make sure that you implement in contract negotiations some stipulations That's with language that's going to protect you from the event That he transgresses again in hopes that that will be the determined needed in order for him to get things straight He doesn't seem to be a bad guy or anything like that But when you hear allegations like this obviously that's troublesome. That's not behavior that can never be explained away Tolerated in any way so you'll go around biting people tell wrong with you You don't see can't do that. All right And so in the end that kind of stuff has to be addressed the NFL is gonna address it if the Los Angeles Rams have not The Los Angeles Rams appear to be on top of the situation I can't think of a better coach to play for than Sean McVeigh I think he's one of if not the best in the business in a highly intelligent and a great really good decent guy He really really is there has a lot of love for Pukin the core and I thought handled this stuff with the reporters The way a coach should handle it He wanted to collect more facts and stuff like that But acknowledge that there were issues that there was troubles that the Los Angeles Rams is an organization are aware of And are in the process of dealing with and I don't think you can ask for more than that So I understand it and I just wish Pukin the cool of the best get yourself straight You got a really really bright future ahead of you my man Keep yourself out of trouble and whatever issues you have do what you can to rectify them That's all we can say the problem with a lot of the stuff with the coup is a lot of it was on social media or on a live Stream or if there's video of it, which I think raised a lot of eyebrows this offseason obviously also him in a contract Years we pointed out but as you said Sean well He says he believes in this kid and then he's gonna hope that he gets the healthy needs and can come out on Well, Shay, go ahead Shay, I want to know what you think about this because here's what I would tell you I Would ask Shay. I want to ask you this question I think it's good that it happened on social media some of it and the reason why is because There's no plausible deniability right it's right there You see when when nobody sees it and it's just that he said she said but there's some incriminating evidence against you You can find a way to explain it away in certain situations Which is something that we've lamented but the more stuff is out on the open or front street The less plausible deniability there is and as a result you and the people you work for and with are Compelled to address it as opposed to finding an escape route. That's my belief. What about yours? Yeah, I agree It holds you accountable, right? Okay. Well, there's video of it There's no denying this is what happens. So we got to get help or this looks similar to this or whatever it may be I agree. I'll take the I'll take it. It just lives forever, which sometimes can be problematic Coming up here on first take Wemby is having a year for the ages But does he need to lead this first to a deep playoff run to validate the first success this season? Someone here actually says no and the 76ers they're getting healthy at just the right time But comments from MB who did not play last night Thought our attention don't miss our reactions next We are live on hockey Island inside Riley's mind to bring you the first ever inside out classic as joy sadness Anxiety and the rest of Riley's emotions team up with the Washington capitals and the New York Rangers for an NHL game unlike Anything you've ever seen before look at this place. It's so magnificent. I'm about to cry Don't get too emotional yet Kevin the inside out classic April 5th That's seven on Disney plus Disney XD Disney Channel and the ESPN app After averaging 30 points over his last three games Joelle and bead was absent from the 76ers lineup last night due to an illness Paul George more than made up for him with the season high 39 points in a 153-131 victory over the Wizards go back to MB though and him being out prior to the game and be quote tweeted a Reporter saying must be an April Fool's joke played against Miami in the same conditions and I'm playing tonight He followed that up a few hours later with the tweet of his own saying guess they won't let me play basketball Okay, with a lot of exclamation points there So now obviously in beat has had some issues with being out. Okay. Go ahead. Yes, Stephen a Before you ask your question we get into the subject. I love me some Joellen bead not just as a player, but a person really good guy Stop Clapping back and paying attention to reporters Especially says every time you do something like that you end up getting hurt again Injuries is the only thing we can question about Joellen bead his Availability the brother is a stud a superstar and a preeminent big man one of the best that we've ever seen in this game When he's 80% let alone a hundred percent, but your health is an issue Throughout your entire career stop clapping back at guys when it comes to your availability Because you don't even know when you're going to be available half the time because of your injuries That's all Joel stop doing that. Just stop. So go ahead in terms of that him not even knowing when he's gonna be available That's basically what he was saying yesterday when the Sixer said he was not gonna play against the wizard So the question now is should we not only blame players, but maybe? Organizations in terms of load management that they're doing the organizing of the load management not necessarily the individual Wendy Okay, well, this is two different conversations because one conversation is what you're asking about Load management and one is about Joel indeed and I have to say right if I was Joel and beat I would be upset I wasn't playing too because they were playing the wizards last night and Right now you're an offensive player in the NBA and you see a game with the wizards You see a chance to set records and Congrats Paul George. He had 39 last night They shot 62% and they were probably upset. They didn't shoot 70% so I'm just gonna say right off the bat I don't blame Joel and be being like I don't get to play against the wizards. Everybody's setting records In this particular case What Darryl more he told the Philly Enquirer was that Joel didn't come to shoot around Because he was ill and so they just said well, you're not gonna play This is a game against the wizards. We're not gonna mess around and that's why they ruled them out and also The NBA has all these rules right now Shay about talking about player availability and they've been fined before so they have to just make sure that They want they say that and beat is out because they don't want any shenanigans with the betting market So I think they were just doing what was right. Okay now big red line Now you want to talk about the overall about about player health The most interesting one of the most interesting things going on in the league at this time of the year is the inactive list the inactive list is the daily piece of drama because One of the big things that overhangs the NBA right now is tanking And I think maybe the average person doesn't understand what tanking means tanking is done Largely on the inactive list it or largely on putting a player on the bench. It's not done on the court Nobody is saying that a player is out there purposely not playing hard even though that's insinuation It's done by the inactive list. Okay, and in some cases I will not call anybody out because I think these are good people doing things they have to do Every single night. There's laughable things that happen in the NBA guys like who what who make like 10 straight shots Who are pulled out of the game? Okay, but the end when you talk about load management It very rarely is the player who comes shea and says My knee is sore or I'm feeling a little bit tired. Don't play that doesn't happen But most of the time load management is done by the sports science groups and the trainers It is not done by the player. So that is absolutely the case especially with Joellen beat When he's absolutely right the players get a bad rap a lot of times when it comes to load management because it's not them It's the teams. It's the owners trying to protect the investment You know hiring guys that are analytics that that are heavy on analytics and and that data and that all all that kind of stuff and Did deducing that this is the best way to protect the investment and the validated They're speaking the language of the owners making the owners think they know more basketball than they actually do the owners love it They hire them they hire their teams and this is how it goes exactly how Wendy are not, you know, you know, just just Knocked it down. Just let us let us know having said all of that Let's say this about the Philadelphia 76 is before we end some interesting stats number one You got a guy like Tyrese Maxey since the all-star, you know It's all star starter ranks for the season ranks first in the NBA in minutes per game Fourth and scoring third in steals Joellen beat interesting stat. Are you ready for this this guy? Since Christmas Day Joellen beat ranks third in the NBA in scoring 29.8 points per game or 52% shooting from the field and 40% from three only behind Luca and SGA and Paul George in the four games since his 25 game suspension the four games that he's been back is averaging 28 points on 52% shooting and 43% from three the Philadelphia 76ers could be a threat if only for one thing that these three guys that I just mentioned had an only played 19 games together That's the issue in Philadelphia. It ain't their talent. It's their durability and their availability Which is damn near non-existent. Hopefully they'll get that together Yeah, and maybe the rest last night will help Joellen beat get better because he's been sick now for a couple of days and a couple of games Okay, why does someone here feel that the Spurs don't need a deep playoff run to validate their season? We'll have a heated debate as we always do next this first take goes alone