Hour 2: Mike Lupica

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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This is The Michael Kay Show Podcast.

**Michael Kay** (0:34)
I gotta get more Kay.

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**Michael Kay** (0:41)
Welcome back to the show, everybody. 2.01 in New York City. So the draft was last night, and the Knicks had the 24th pick. Now the 24th pick in the draft, you have to pay that player, guaranteed 3.5 million dollars. And the fact that the Knicks traded off and on selected players, traded them, ended up moving out of the first round and picked up five additional second round picks. So in today's second round, they have the 31st pick, 47th pick, 55th pick, tells you that they are indeed intent in staying out of the second apron. They just are. Because why would you not select a player there?
The Knicks are really good at evaluating talent. They're pretty good at getting second rounders as well. And maybe that's their thinking, because they don't have to guarantee that money. And they could stash them in the G League in the first round. You have to guarantee that money. So the way they're looking at it, with the money that they have remaining before they get into the second apron, they don't want to risk having to guarantee $3.5 million for a player who would be a project. A player that would probably be the 11th guy, 12th guy on the team, way down on the bench, would probably never play. But the fact they did that yesterday tells you that they are indeed trying to stay out of the second apron. So people could say, and I've said it too, going into the second apron for the first year, it's not suicide the way Dolan speaks of it. But if you go into the second apron three out of five years, then it is suicide. There are some really, really terrible penalties that are thrown on a team.
But one year to keep your team together to defend the championship, I don't think it's that terrible. But obviously they do. There's no way that Dolan went on FAM and said what he said without speaking to his cat people.
And Drew Aller, that's a quarterback, but the guy Aller who's the capologist, he is pretty smart. So that being said, he probably wants to stay out of the second apron as well.
And I just think, unless he takes a huge discount, a big haircut, I don't think you're going to get Mitchell Robinson back on the team. I just don't. I don't see how that works.
Because when all is said and done, let's say Alvarado exercises is opt in and gets 4.5, and all the other costs that you have, there will be about 13 million dollars remaining, and you've got to sign Mitchell Robinson, Landry Schammet, Jordan Clarkson, Jeremy Sohan, Ariel Huckporty. You're not going to do it. I mean, I think that Mitchell Robinson is going to get about 15 million a year, and he's the longest tenured Nick. He was there during the bad times and celebrated a championship. You think he's going to take 10 million dollars? When Scott Perry out in Sacramento probably gives him closer to 20? I just don't see it happening. I don't see it happening. So Nick fans have to gird themselves for the fact that Mitchell Robinson probably not going to be on this team. We'll see what they do with the three second round picks that they have in the draft tonight. The Nets with the sixth pick, they took Mikel Brown Jr. from Louisville, a guard. He's had some back issues. He's got an upside, but obviously the injury issues are a concern. And then with the extra pick they got for taking on Julius Randall's contract, they selected Joshua Jefferson, six foot nine inches from Iowa State. So, the Nets trying to be competitive because they don't have a first round draft pick next year. So, there's no use for them to even try to get a high first round draft pick and tanking is going to be really, really looked down upon. So, the Nets going to try to be competitive this year. Let's see if they can do it. Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randall and we'll see if they can piece together a team that could at least get into the playing tournament. There's one thing that I've taken note of that bothers me and you know, Becky Hammon is coaching the WNBA. She was the one who came out a couple of years ago and said, there's no way you could win a championship with a small 1A player. And that the exceptions were Isaiah Thomas and Steph Curry. And that Jalen Brunson wasn't the exception. She was working for ESPN at the time and she was giving her opinion. Now it turned out that she was wrong. But now people, because people always want blood, let there be blood. I want blood. I want the blood of that person. That's what I need. They're demanding that she apologize. And I give her a lot of credit. Don't apologize. You have to apologize for an opinion. They want her to apologize. For what? And I give her credit for saying, I'm not apologizing. Was I wrong? Yeah, I was wrong. And he defied the odds. And now he's one of the 1A small cards that actually could win a championship. But what's there to apologize about? So Nick fans are demanding that she apologize. People in the media are demanding that she apologize. We are, as a society, might I say, completely out of control, completely out of control. I mean, what are we doing? She needs to apologize for an opinion?