Latest / The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views / TABLE TALK: Philly Councilman Isaiah Thomas Talks NIL, Youth Sports, Sixers, and Eagles

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TABLE TALK: Philly Councilman Isaiah Thomas Talks NIL, Youth Sports, Sixers, and Eagles · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

0:29
Speaker 1: Welcome to Table Talk here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
0:32
Speaker 1: podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
0:35
Speaker 1: in the world. We got a great table talk interview
0:38
Speaker 1: show coming your way this week.
0:40
Speaker 2: We are going to be.
0:41
Speaker 1: Diving into a ton of not only six Ers talk,
0:44
Speaker 1: Eagles talk, but really what's been going on in the
0:46
Speaker 1: city of Philadelphia concerning their NIL initiative as well as
0:52
Speaker 1: some youth sports activities, camps, things like that We've got
0:56
Speaker 1: with us. He is the majority whip of the Philadelphia
1:01
Speaker 1: City Council. We have councilmen Isaiah Thomas with us this week.
1:05
Speaker 2: My friend, it is.
1:06
Speaker 1: Good to see you again. You've been on the show before.
1:09
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for taking the time to join us
1:10
Speaker 1: this week.
1:11
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me. Happy to be here.
1:13
Speaker 4: What a time to be a Philadelphia Yes man, I'm
1:18
Speaker 4: ready to jump into it.
1:20
Speaker 1: I am ready to talk not only about the Sixers
1:23
Speaker 1: and the Birds with you counselmen, But first I want
1:27
Speaker 1: to go back to some conversations that we've had in
1:30
Speaker 1: the past, because, like I said, you know, you've been
1:33
Speaker 1: on the show before and we specifically talked about the
1:36
Speaker 1: NIL initiatives that you have undertaken on Philadelphia City Council,
1:41
Speaker 1: and you've been very focused as well on higher education
1:46
Speaker 1: and college athletics as well within the city of Philadelphia,
1:49
Speaker 1: and I was hoping you might be able to talk
1:52
Speaker 1: about how the NIL initiative is coming along, what you
1:55
Speaker 1: had actually implemented in the city, what that's looking like
1:59
Speaker 1: right now at the particular point in time.
2:02
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think from my seat, the NIL initiative is
2:05
Speaker 4: pretty slow, and it's actually because number one, we wanted
2:09
Speaker 4: to jump out in front of it before it became
2:12
Speaker 4: something that's really prominent. At the same time, you haven't
2:15
Speaker 4: been seeing a significant amount of investment in Philadelphia businesses
2:20
Speaker 4: in both the collegiate level as well as at the
2:23
Speaker 4: high school level.
2:24
Speaker 3: So for us as a region, what we've been trying.
2:28
Speaker 4: To do is figure out how do we create some
2:30
Speaker 4: type of energy around businesses offering young people in IL deals.
2:35
Speaker 4: And we've been trying to bridge the gap to figure
2:37
Speaker 4: out what does it what do businesses need to hear
2:42
Speaker 4: in order to encourage them to invest in our student athletes.
2:45
Speaker 4: So it's going to be a journey, definitely a little
2:49
Speaker 4: more difficult than I thought it would be. But at
2:51
Speaker 4: the same time, we want to make sure that we're
2:54
Speaker 4: attractive as a region both on a higher academia level
2:58
Speaker 4: as well as on a high school level. So it's
3:00
Speaker 4: still in the works. It's still a dialogue. The protections
3:03
Speaker 4: are there and that's what's most important, but we just
3:06
Speaker 4: haven't seen a heavy appetite for NIL deals for high
3:10
Speaker 4: school students as well as since the NCAA shifted away
3:15
Speaker 4: from NIL and more direct pay, that kind of created
3:20
Speaker 4: some I guess you could say, opportunities for other folks
3:24
Speaker 4: to step in and be able to offer some support
3:27
Speaker 4: in partnerships with collegiate level athletes. I think we just
3:30
Speaker 4: got to figure out how do we bridge the athlete
3:32
Speaker 4: with the business, and that's what we're working on.
3:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, and what I think is interesting too is an
3:37
Speaker 1: aspect of the NIL initiative when we initially spoke about this,
3:42
Speaker 1: and I believe we had spoke last year as well,
3:44
Speaker 1: about how you had some partnerships with attorneys as well
3:48
Speaker 1: that wanted to come on board to help these young
3:50
Speaker 1: athletes and students so that one they wouldn't be taken
3:54
Speaker 1: advantage of two to give them a little bit more
3:56
Speaker 1: direction with regard to what the NIL and should have
4:00
Speaker 1: maybe in the future, is that all still manifesting itself
4:04
Speaker 1: as well.
4:05
Speaker 4: So the legal support is there, right, yeah, yeah, but
4:08
Speaker 4: what good is the legal support if the young people
4:10
Speaker 4: don't have the deals in that that's a great event
4:12
Speaker 4: that we're in the midst of right now. So again,
4:14
Speaker 4: we appreciate the legal community stepping up to the plate
4:17
Speaker 4: and saying we're going to make sure young people, We're
4:19
Speaker 4: going to make sure student athletes are protected. Right now,
4:23
Speaker 4: there's not a volume of folks who are jumping in
4:27
Speaker 4: line to to forge these partnerships, and I think that's
4:31
Speaker 4: where that's the gap that we see, and that is
4:33
Speaker 4: the bridge that we are trying to build between the
4:36
Speaker 4: student athletes and the businesses. I got you, I got you.
4:38
Speaker 1: Well, look, I wanted to move along here with our
4:41
Speaker 1: conversation Councilman about a particular subject matter that my co
4:46
Speaker 1: host and I on the podcast talked about this past week,
4:49
Speaker 1: which was the high cost of youth athletics and youth
4:53
Speaker 1: sports in this day and age. I mean, we were
4:56
Speaker 1: referencing a podcast recently that Jeff Passan was on about
5:00
Speaker 1: how youth sports has not only become huge for corporations
5:05
Speaker 1: and them making money hand over this, but how it's
5:09
Speaker 1: really taken over much of our family lives in terms
5:12
Speaker 1: of money, in terms of time. I'm wondering, what are
5:15
Speaker 1: your thoughts on this phenomenon, how we can kind of
5:18
Speaker 1: take back youth sports and athletics within our communities. I
5:22
Speaker 1: know that you do so many camps throughout the city
5:25
Speaker 1: of Philadelphia.
5:27
Speaker 2: What are your thoughts on this subject matter overall?
5:30
Speaker 4: So I see it through multiple lenses, and for me,
5:35
Speaker 4: I think I'll start with my experience. And for me,
5:39
Speaker 4: growing up, the idea of having to pay to play
5:42
Speaker 4: sports was just not a thing right. There were plenty
5:45
Speaker 4: of programs and leagues and opportunities.
5:47
Speaker 3: There were plenty of people willing to get back.
5:49
Speaker 4: I remember being in a gym with some of the
5:51
Speaker 4: best basketball players in the entire city, which helps because
5:55
Speaker 4: it put things into perspective.
5:57
Speaker 3: So you've got an idea of how good you are
5:58
Speaker 3: or not.
6:00
Speaker 4: And so philosophically, because I had those experiences, I try
6:05
Speaker 4: to adhere to what mentors and elders did for me,
6:08
Speaker 4: which is free programming. So even today right now, got
6:11
Speaker 4: my camp shirt on camp had on. We had camp
6:14
Speaker 4: today at the six Man Center.
6:16
Speaker 3: My camp is free. Last week we were at Mass
6:19
Speaker 3: is free.
6:19
Speaker 4: This week at the six Man Center is free, and
6:21
Speaker 4: there are other people across the city who do it
6:23
Speaker 4: the way I do. What I also recognize is that
6:29
Speaker 4: our schools, in collaboration with the affordability crisis that we
6:33
Speaker 4: are facing right now, put people in a position where
6:36
Speaker 4: they have to use the skill sets that they have
6:39
Speaker 4: to try to generate revenue to take care of themselves
6:42
Speaker 4: and their family. And I know a lot of the guys,
6:44
Speaker 4: at least in the basketball community, who really use basketball
6:51
Speaker 4: in the different aspects of the game as a way
6:54
Speaker 4: to generate revenue for themselves. So on the one hand,
6:58
Speaker 4: when you talk about the individual entrepreneur, I get it,
7:01
Speaker 4: you know, from a philosophical perspective, I always want to
7:05
Speaker 4: offer the alternative. But then when you look at how
7:10
Speaker 4: the Lakers just got sold, right, yeah, and it starts
7:13
Speaker 4: all the way up there, and there's so many questions
7:15
Speaker 4: around when you look at you know, the business of
7:20
Speaker 4: ownership in the NBA and the NFL and the trickle
7:24
Speaker 4: down effect that has. Then when you look at the
7:28
Speaker 4: new laws around the NCAA and you know amateur sports,
7:33
Speaker 4: you know, what's the definition of amateur sports now? Right?
7:36
Speaker 4: We have to clearly rethink everything around amateur sports.
7:40
Speaker 3: It's so many different.
7:41
Speaker 4: Aspects of athletics that's turning corporate, even more corporate than
7:45
Speaker 4: what we've ever seen before. That that's the part that
7:49
Speaker 4: worries me. So it's not the guy or the guy
7:52
Speaker 4: who you know, is struggling with today's economy and they're
7:56
Speaker 4: charging one hundred and fifty dollars for their camp.
7:59
Speaker 3: You know that.
8:00
Speaker 4: You know, let's just make sure we have alternatives for
8:03
Speaker 4: people who can't afford that one hundred and fifty dollars.
8:05
Speaker 4: Let's make sure we have those free programs at our
8:07
Speaker 4: rec centers and those leagues and neighborhood teams where we
8:11
Speaker 4: try to subsidize some of the dollars that they need.
8:14
Speaker 4: I think the bigger decisions are the more alarming part
8:18
Speaker 4: when we're talking about like money in sports and the
8:21
Speaker 4: impacts is having as it relates to the time commitment
8:24
Speaker 4: for parents, I think that I think we are getting
8:27
Speaker 4: too caught up in the traveling side of it.
8:30
Speaker 1: That's a great point, man, Yes, it's like that with
8:33
Speaker 1: my daughters. Do to be honest with you, and.
8:35
Speaker 4: So I just you know, it's hard for me to
8:38
Speaker 4: believe that my fourteen year old son has to drive
8:42
Speaker 4: two hours to play against another group of fourteen year
8:46
Speaker 4: olds when we have fourteen year olds a couple minutes away. Now,
8:50
Speaker 4: if my son was one of the best basketball players
8:56
Speaker 4: in the state of Pennsylvania and I was trying to
8:58
Speaker 4: measure him up against one of the best basketball players
9:01
Speaker 4: in Ohio, yeah I would take that two hour drive.
9:03
Speaker 4: That would make sense. But that's not you know, that's
9:07
Speaker 4: not the massive majority of us. So for me, that's
9:09
Speaker 4: always a choice. When people choose to step into those
9:12
Speaker 4: spaces where you're traveling all over the place spending money,
9:16
Speaker 4: I get it, and I know that those are opportunities
9:20
Speaker 4: to create memories that will last a lifetime with your children.
9:22
Speaker 4: Hopefully that's the perspective that you have, and hopefully it's
9:25
Speaker 4: not about like making this person go pro, because sem
9:28
Speaker 4: pro will tell you that that child is better off
9:31
Speaker 4: spending those two hours, you know, skill building and drugs
9:35
Speaker 4: for whatever sport it is they want, not traveling two
9:38
Speaker 4: hours to play you know, twelve minutes in a thirty
9:41
Speaker 4: two minute game.
9:42
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, bro, we make a great point there.
9:45
Speaker 1: And you know, I was recently talking to a podcast
9:48
Speaker 1: guest former Philadelphia, Philly and MLB analyst Doug Glanville, and
9:52
Speaker 1: we didn't talk about it on the show.
9:54
Speaker 2: Doug's awesome.
9:55
Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, he and I have texted and he
9:58
Speaker 1: is his daughter is going to West Front Junior University
10:00
Speaker 1: for gymnastics. My daughter's a gymnast at the junior Olympic level.
10:04
Speaker 1: So we're trading stories back and forth and not only
10:07
Speaker 1: talking about the financial commitments of when you get to
10:10
Speaker 1: a certain level, but like you were just talking about
10:13
Speaker 1: the time commitments of the travel. And we want to
10:15
Speaker 1: make sure that we're giving our kids the best opportunities
10:18
Speaker 1: available to them. But you know, when you get to
10:21
Speaker 1: a certain echelon and you see the talent that's there
10:25
Speaker 1: and you see that, Okay, there really could be something
10:28
Speaker 1: with this individual getting to that next level and that
10:31
Speaker 1: next echelon, you make that investment as a parent, you know,
10:36
Speaker 1: And it's something that is continuing to persist. And I
10:39
Speaker 1: do think a lot of companies, businesses and corporations are
10:44
Speaker 1: seizing upon that, that that realm that so many of
10:49
Speaker 1: us are in. And I just think it's an interesting
10:50
Speaker 1: conversation because there are certain kids who have talent, real
10:55
Speaker 1: raw talent, and then other kids whose parents think that
10:59
Speaker 1: they have the raw talent when they really don't at times. Right,
11:02
Speaker 1: not to be unkind to anybody, but corporations and businesses
11:06
Speaker 1: are making money because of those individuals too.
11:09
Speaker 4: And that's the real conversation you have to have if
11:11
Speaker 4: we're going to be honest about the business rule in it.
11:14
Speaker 4: And so when you think of sports like gymnastics, golf, swimming, right,
11:20
Speaker 4: I can name a couple other sports. When you have
11:23
Speaker 4: elite young people in those type of sports, you have
11:26
Speaker 4: to travel, right because the competition unfortunately won't be here
11:32
Speaker 4: because we don't invest in those sports the way we
11:34
Speaker 4: might invest in your local soccer program, your local field
11:37
Speaker 4: hockey program, right, like we do good with baseball and football,
11:43
Speaker 4: and so, yeah, those sports make sense. But when you're
11:46
Speaker 4: talking about those sports where it's rare opportunities to participate
11:51
Speaker 4: with high level competition locally, then you don't have a choice.
11:55
Speaker 4: So I think those situations are more the exception to
11:59
Speaker 4: the rule because of the capacity of the sport, not
12:01
Speaker 4: necessarily because of the appetite of the parent, because I'm
12:03
Speaker 4: sure if you can get it fifteen minutes away from
12:07
Speaker 4: the house, we'll all.
12:07
Speaker 2: Take Oh yes, absolutely.
12:10
Speaker 4: You know Unfortunately, you know, those sports are not sports
12:14
Speaker 4: that are easily accessible to young people in the city. Therefore, again,
12:19
Speaker 4: when you get to a certain level, to travel is
12:21
Speaker 4: just a built in part of the journey with the
12:23
Speaker 4: young people, you have no other choice.
12:25
Speaker 1: Absolutely again, folks, we're talking to councilmen Isaiah Thomas down
12:29
Speaker 1: in the city of Philadelphia.
12:31
Speaker 2: Love talking to him.
12:32
Speaker 1: And before we go to break here, councilmen, where where
12:35
Speaker 1: can folks find you on the interwebs out there? If
12:37
Speaker 1: they want to connect with you, they want to follow
12:38
Speaker 1: you on social media?
12:40
Speaker 2: Where can they find you out there?
12:41
Speaker 4: Sure, I try to be active on all platforms, so
12:44
Speaker 4: you can find me as it relates to my website.
12:47
Speaker 4: As you know Isaiah Thomas at PHL Council dot com.
12:52
Speaker 4: So easily on a PHL Council website you can find
12:55
Speaker 4: me there. You can also find me on Facebook under
12:57
Speaker 4: Isaiah Thomas. Probably not the easiest name is search, but
13:01
Speaker 4: type in Philadelphia City Council and that will help. And
13:04
Speaker 4: then on Twitter and Instagram and TikTok and on most
13:08
Speaker 4: platforms is CM Thomas PHL Councilman. CM Thomas PHL on
13:16
Speaker 4: almost every platform and you can find me there, and
13:19
Speaker 4: I try to be as interactive and engaging as possible,
13:22
Speaker 4: especially if you want to talk six ers on Twitter.
13:25
Speaker 3: There you catch me trolling in the question.
13:29
Speaker 1: About it nice speaking of the Philadelphia seventy six ers.
13:32
Speaker 2: We're going to be getting into that team in just
13:34
Speaker 2: a bit.
13:35
Speaker 1: But folks, we're going to take a break. We get
13:37
Speaker 1: back more sixer We're gonna get into sixers talk.
13:39
Speaker 2: And some Eagles talk.
13:40
Speaker 1: Stick with us, all right, we got to get into
13:45
Speaker 1: this Philadelphia seventy six ers team. With Councilman Isaiah Thomas
13:49
Speaker 1: in the City of Philadelphia Councilman, I gotta tell you,
13:52
Speaker 1: when I first saw the notification come on over my
13:56
Speaker 1: phone from CBS Sports that Lebron James was coming to
13:58
Speaker 1: the City of Philadelphia and Theladelphia seventy six.
14:00
Speaker 2: Ers, I thought that somebody hacked into CBS Sports. I
14:03
Speaker 2: really did structure and I was like, there's no way.
14:06
Speaker 1: And then other notifications started coming in and I was like,
14:09
Speaker 1: you have got to be kidding me that this is
14:12
Speaker 1: actually happening. So of course, it's the biggest bombshell to
14:16
Speaker 1: hit the city this summer in terms of professional athletics,
14:20
Speaker 1: and you know, it's taken some time to digest this
14:25
Speaker 1: and what it's going to mean for the Sixers this
14:27
Speaker 1: season even next season. But I'm wondering what would what
14:29
Speaker 1: your level of excitement when you heard the of Lebron
14:33
Speaker 1: coming to Philly and why Yeah.
14:35
Speaker 4: I mean if you checked my social media, I went
14:38
Speaker 4: live right away on Instagram. N I was on vacation.
14:42
Speaker 4: I was in vacation with my family and we were
14:45
Speaker 4: visiting my parents, my mother and father in law law
14:49
Speaker 4: as well as my niece.
14:50
Speaker 3: And I'll never.
14:51
Speaker 4: Forget it was I got the same phone call I
14:54
Speaker 4: got when we traded for Jalen Brown from my brother, Yes,
14:56
Speaker 4: who called me to tell me that it happened. So
14:59
Speaker 4: I didn't. I immediately believed it because you know, we
15:02
Speaker 4: don't play that way in my family. Right, It's a
15:05
Speaker 4: serious business. So I was excited. Oh my goodness, I
15:10
Speaker 4: was so excited. And the reason I was excited, well,
15:15
Speaker 4: my position on the Lebron James free agency was if
15:18
Speaker 4: the decision was about basketball and winning, right, the best
15:22
Speaker 4: place for him to go if he wanted to stay
15:24
Speaker 4: in the West would have been San Antonio. He would
15:26
Speaker 4: have been a perfect fit there. They just went to
15:29
Speaker 4: the championship. You know, drop him right in there there
15:32
Speaker 4: the favorite, and I felt like the best place for
15:35
Speaker 4: him to go in the East would be the Sixers.
15:38
Speaker 4: You knew he wouldn't go to New York.
15:39
Speaker 3: They just won.
15:40
Speaker 4: Uh. They even said that on the podcast. And you know,
15:43
Speaker 4: for us, not only do we give him a chance
15:46
Speaker 4: to win, but we offer an opportunity to.
15:48
Speaker 3: Not have to guard the wing.
15:50
Speaker 4: Right, You've got a lot of different guys you could
15:52
Speaker 4: put on top players, perimeter players, so Leron could be
15:56
Speaker 4: more of a guarded Josh hart right be a rim protector.
16:01
Speaker 4: He doesn't have to be the primary defender at all.
16:04
Speaker 4: And unlike seeing Antonio or any other team, you know,
16:08
Speaker 4: we really do need like a true facilitator. I do
16:11
Speaker 4: think Maxi is a phenomenal point guard in today's era
16:15
Speaker 4: of what it means to be.
16:16
Speaker 3: A point guard.
16:18
Speaker 4: But I do think there are better facilitators and game managers, right,
16:23
Speaker 4: I think, pound for pound, skill for skill, I think
16:26
Speaker 4: Maxi is more skilled than somebody like Jalen Brunson. But
16:30
Speaker 4: I think Jalen Brunson is just a much better game manager,
16:34
Speaker 4: and his ability to manage the game kind of puts
16:38
Speaker 4: him a little bit above Tarrese's skill, athleticism and explosion
16:43
Speaker 4: because he has all those things. But now when you
16:47
Speaker 4: add Lebron, he doesn't have to think about game management. Right.
16:50
Speaker 4: He can be a scorer, he can be the theater
16:52
Speaker 4: in the locker room, he can be one of the
16:55
Speaker 4: best shot blocking guards in the NBA along with VJ. Right,
16:59
Speaker 4: all of those things are more than enough when you
17:02
Speaker 4: add a guy like Lebron, and so I was. It's
17:05
Speaker 4: still surreal to me. I still can't believe it. I
17:08
Speaker 4: won't believe it until the ball go in the air.
17:10
Speaker 4: But I can't say that I'm like super surprised because
17:16
Speaker 4: I felt like it was the best basketball fit for
17:20
Speaker 4: Lebron in his game and where he is right now.
17:24
Speaker 4: You know, Miami and Cleveland would have been great stories, right, Minnesota,
17:28
Speaker 4: in my mind, was never an option. I didn't understand
17:30
Speaker 4: why why would he even contemplate doing that that, you know,
17:35
Speaker 4: you know, off the record, when I off the record,
17:37
Speaker 4: off the court, thinking about you know, the look some
17:40
Speaker 4: of the things LaVar Ball has said in the past.
17:43
Speaker 4: You know, I don't see that ever being an option
17:45
Speaker 4: and still having to go through Okac and San Antonio,
17:49
Speaker 4: So that one never made sense to me, Cleveland playing
17:54
Speaker 4: with James Harten.
17:55
Speaker 3: I don't you know, we see that really we know.
17:59
Speaker 2: How we know how that ends, you know.
18:03
Speaker 4: So and then Miami, I think, you know, Lebron can
18:07
Speaker 4: fit anywhere in my opinion, but I don't think that story.
18:13
Speaker 3: Has a happy ending, right.
18:15
Speaker 4: I think it's hard in today's game to have you know,
18:20
Speaker 4: Jannis and Bam on the same team.
18:22
Speaker 3: And then if you ask.
18:24
Speaker 4: Now Lebron comes, he is a facilitator, but he also
18:27
Speaker 4: has to be a set three point shooter.
18:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
18:31
Speaker 1: Look I think now of course, like it's like where
18:34
Speaker 1: the expectation goes with the with the seventy six Ers.
18:38
Speaker 1: I mean at the end of this past season and
18:42
Speaker 1: this front office, I mean, it's amazing to know that
18:47
Speaker 1: we end the season with we feel like we all
18:49
Speaker 1: have crap in our shoes, and now all of a sudden,
18:52
Speaker 1: this is a team that has a real shot and
18:55
Speaker 1: not only making the Eastern Conference Finals, but also making
18:58
Speaker 1: the NBA Final overall. So with both Lebron and Jalen
19:03
Speaker 1: Brown coming to Philly, it really puts this Sixers team
19:07
Speaker 1: counselman at another level in terms of destinations that other
19:11
Speaker 1: NBA stars where they want to go, possibly come into
19:14
Speaker 1: Philadelphia here and the Sixers front office. I really think
19:17
Speaker 1: they need to ride this out for years to come.
19:20
Speaker 2: I think it's possible.
19:22
Speaker 1: How do you see this upcoming six Er season playing
19:24
Speaker 1: out itself? And what could we see from this team
19:27
Speaker 1: and organization in the years to come. Like I said,
19:29
Speaker 1: they need to ride this out as long as possible.
19:32
Speaker 4: So I listened to a lot of sports talk and
19:33
Speaker 4: people talk about who has the most pressure on them.
19:37
Speaker 4: The most pressure, hands down, is on Nick Nurse. Nick
19:40
Speaker 4: Nurse has to find a way to make this work.
19:42
Speaker 4: He has a reputation for being a very good coach.
19:45
Speaker 4: I was upset with Nick Nurse throughout the course of
19:47
Speaker 4: the season last year. I thought he coached a hell
19:49
Speaker 4: of a series in the first round against the Boston Celtics.
19:53
Speaker 4: I just thought that the schedule didn't favor us in
19:55
Speaker 4: the next series. Right, we didn't get much rest. We
19:58
Speaker 4: had to play every what every other day, every forty
20:01
Speaker 4: eight hours. And when you look at the makeup of
20:03
Speaker 4: that team last year, you know you lost the first
20:06
Speaker 4: game just because of Game seven against Boston. Right, you
20:09
Speaker 4: come back to second game, you give it your best,
20:12
Speaker 4: give it a good shot. Game two, Game three, by
20:14
Speaker 4: game four is already over. So I wasn't too disappointed
20:19
Speaker 4: in Nick Nurse's performance as a coach in the second round,
20:21
Speaker 4: even though we got swept, especially when the Knicks went
20:23
Speaker 4: on to win a championship, because it just showed it
20:26
Speaker 4: was their year. Yep, what I expect if Nick Nurse
20:30
Speaker 4: can make it work, you know, I personally would slow
20:34
Speaker 4: walk and be you know, embid. Healthy in the playoffs
20:38
Speaker 4: is the most important variable. Lebron does a good job
20:42
Speaker 4: of managing hisself and his body throughout the course of
20:44
Speaker 4: the year. So you have a roster that's built for
20:47
Speaker 4: Lebron to be able to not have to play certain nights.
20:51
Speaker 4: Love that, and that also will do well for you know,
20:56
Speaker 4: guys to be able to have certain games where you
20:58
Speaker 4: could take twenty five shots. Right, So that part I'm
21:02
Speaker 4: optimistic about. If I had the guests right now, I
21:07
Speaker 4: think we are at least a fifty win season, a
21:09
Speaker 4: fifty win team season this year. I think we can
21:13
Speaker 4: get closer to the sixty wins depending on how we
21:16
Speaker 4: start the first twenty. So I think if we can
21:19
Speaker 4: start the first twenty on a roll, right, not many
21:23
Speaker 4: you know, I know that the team is working out
21:25
Speaker 4: together often now, so that's good the bill chemistry. I
21:28
Speaker 4: think if we can, you know, start the first twenty
21:31
Speaker 4: out the gate with you know, seventeen and three, you know,
21:35
Speaker 4: sixteen and four, I think that will put us in
21:38
Speaker 4: a position to be able to take some lumps throughout
21:40
Speaker 4: the course of the season and hopefully finish close to
21:43
Speaker 4: sixty wins. One or two seeds. One or two seed
21:46
Speaker 4: is really important for a path to the NBA Finals,
21:50
Speaker 4: Eastern Conference Finals, especially knowing what we know as Sixers fans,
21:54
Speaker 4: because you got to make it as easy as possible
21:56
Speaker 4: for it to beat in the first round. Yep, We've
21:58
Speaker 4: seen him break his face against Toronto. We've seen so
22:02
Speaker 4: many different things happen. We want to have a first
22:04
Speaker 4: round opponent whereas though you know, four games, five games, right,
22:10
Speaker 4: get it over with. The second round will always be
22:13
Speaker 4: what it is, and hopefully we can get over the
22:15
Speaker 4: monkey that's been on our back since the Iverson era
22:18
Speaker 4: where we can get out the second round. So I
22:21
Speaker 4: anticipate between fifty and sixty wins, depending on how we
22:24
Speaker 4: get off. I see Nick Nurse having a good gear.
22:28
Speaker 4: I see us making it at least to the Eastern
22:30
Speaker 4: Conference Finals and I anticipate and be playing maybe forty
22:38
Speaker 4: five games.
22:39
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, look, you're right.
22:41
Speaker 1: I meant were all talking about load management with regard
22:44
Speaker 1: to EMBIID for how long?
22:46
Speaker 2: How many years?
22:47
Speaker 1: But I mean it has to be strategic this coming season.
22:50
Speaker 2: So counselman, before I let you go, buddy, gotta get.
22:54
Speaker 1: Into some Eagles talk really quick here. Want to get
22:57
Speaker 1: your thoughts on the Eagles this coming sea and what
23:00
Speaker 1: we should expect from this team. And I'm wondering, is
23:03
Speaker 1: there a specific storyline that you're really going to be
23:06
Speaker 1: following for this upcoming season?
23:08
Speaker 3: Here.
23:09
Speaker 4: I'm excited about the Eagles season. I cannot wait for
23:11
Speaker 4: it to start. And the topic of discussion all the
23:15
Speaker 4: way through and through for me is jailing hurts right, Yeah,
23:18
Speaker 4: I love I love the wide receiven core he has.
23:21
Speaker 4: Hopefully the offensive line can stay healthy and Saint Kwon
23:24
Speaker 4: Barkley could have the year he deserves because I don't
23:27
Speaker 4: really blame him for last year. I actually commend him
23:31
Speaker 4: for being positive throughout all of the stuff he had
23:33
Speaker 4: to deal with between the between injuries and drama with
23:36
Speaker 4: his teammates. You know, he was the ultimate professional all year,
23:39
Speaker 4: so I commend him for that. But for me, I
23:41
Speaker 4: think the defense is going to be top five again.
23:44
Speaker 4: You know, this quarterback we have, along with some of
23:47
Speaker 4: the draft picks that we made, not just this year,
23:49
Speaker 4: but some of the other draft picks I think starting
23:51
Speaker 4: to come into their own. I think we'll have a
23:53
Speaker 4: top five defense. But I'm excited because I believe in
23:57
Speaker 4: Jalen Hurts as a person who coaching loves sports. I
24:00
Speaker 4: don't know when we got away from winning winning, I
24:04
Speaker 4: don't know. I just that's what matters to me. And
24:07
Speaker 4: I've been a Philadelphia sports fan my entire life. This
24:10
Speaker 4: is the most winning atmosphere I've ever seen for Philadelphia sports.
24:16
Speaker 4: I've gone years with no championship. Yeah yeah, you know
24:22
Speaker 4: that my whole my whole childhood and an adult life
24:26
Speaker 4: Haerians no championship. So you know, the Phillies got it
24:29
Speaker 4: started for me. You know, the Eagles have been amazing.
24:32
Speaker 4: Looking at the energy that the Sixers have right now
24:34
Speaker 4: as well, too is phenomenal. So I think this is
24:36
Speaker 4: going to be a phenomenal year for the Eagles. My
24:39
Speaker 4: god to watch is Jail and Hurts. I love what
24:41
Speaker 4: we did in the draft. On the wide receiver side.
24:43
Speaker 4: I think Smith is going to have a great year
24:44
Speaker 4: as well too. And I think that the Eagles, I
24:47
Speaker 4: think they're gonna win eleven games.
24:49
Speaker 2: Oh man, you know what I'm running around there.
24:51
Speaker 1: I'm thinking they could actually win twelve too. To be honest, Yeah,
24:55
Speaker 1: we're going to do our Eagles predictions at some point
24:58
Speaker 1: on this podcast show. But uh yeah, it's I think
25:00
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a good Eagle season for sure.
25:03
Speaker 2: Again.
25:03
Speaker 4: But you got me on the record for eleven games,
25:06
Speaker 4: that's my prediction. I think that we'll I think we'll
25:11
Speaker 4: win the NFC East again. I actually when I look
25:16
Speaker 4: at the NFC East, you know, it seems like it's
25:18
Speaker 4: gonna be the same story I hear every year. The
25:20
Speaker 4: Cowboys are supposed to be competitive. I don't see it.
25:24
Speaker 4: I think the Giants might take a step forward. Well,
25:28
Speaker 4: it depending on the health of the running there running
25:30
Speaker 4: back in their quarterback. They took some bad injuries last year.
25:35
Speaker 4: The Redskins, I don't see it. I just don't. I
25:39
Speaker 4: do think they have a great quarterback.
25:40
Speaker 2: But in today's yes.
25:42
Speaker 4: Oh, the Commanders, you're right, Oh my goodness, watch the Commanders.
25:46
Speaker 2: Yes, counselmen. They're very forgettable, right.
25:51
Speaker 4: And you got the podcast. You canna edit that one
25:54
Speaker 4: out for me.
25:55
Speaker 1: We may need to keep that one in because they
25:58
Speaker 1: are a forgettable team in so many different ways.
26:01
Speaker 2: Look, yes, they went to the NFC Championship.
26:04
Speaker 1: A couple of years ago face the Philadelphia Eagles, but
26:07
Speaker 1: this team, I cannot see them doing much of anything.
26:10
Speaker 1: The Cowboys defense, holy cow, not great. They're probably gonna
26:14
Speaker 1: improve because you can't fall out of a basement window.
26:17
Speaker 1: I would see some improvement from the Dallas Cowboys defense.
26:20
Speaker 1: And like you said, with the Giants, it all is
26:23
Speaker 1: going to depend on health, especially with their offensive line.
26:25
Speaker 2: If they're gonna be able to protect Jackson Dart.
26:27
Speaker 1: I can see him being a scrambling type of quarterback
26:31
Speaker 1: trying to do some of the things that Jalen Hurts does,
26:33
Speaker 1: but I don't think he's that talent, that caliber talent
26:36
Speaker 1: at all.
26:38
Speaker 4: And you know, when you start to get more film
26:41
Speaker 4: and more tape and the ability to scout godsmore, that's
26:44
Speaker 4: where you kind of start to find out who they are.
26:45
Speaker 4: So we'll see that with both Washington as well as
26:48
Speaker 4: as well as with New York. And I'm not optimistic.
26:51
Speaker 4: I wouldn't bet on either one of those teams, and
26:53
Speaker 4: I wouldn't better on the Cowboys as well, So you know,
26:56
Speaker 4: have an opportunity to play those three teams six times.
26:59
Speaker 4: We know they division rivals. But I think, you know,
27:03
Speaker 4: I don't think you're going to have a strong NFC
27:05
Speaker 4: East this year. I know other folks disagree. I listen
27:08
Speaker 4: to Sports Center, I listen to podcasts all the time.
27:10
Speaker 4: I just I don't believe. I look at other teams
27:14
Speaker 4: in the NFC and I just think they have.
27:16
Speaker 3: To play those teams too, and those teams are strong.
27:19
Speaker 4: And you know, once players start realizing their season is
27:23
Speaker 4: going to end Week eighteen, they play very different around
27:27
Speaker 4: Week twelve.
27:28
Speaker 2: Absolutely absolutely, folks.
27:30
Speaker 1: He is counselman Isaiah Thomas from the city of Philadelphia.
27:33
Speaker 2: My friend, it was great talking to you.
27:35
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for jumping on love talking about youth sports,
27:38
Speaker 1: the Sixers, the Birds. I'd love to have you on
27:41
Speaker 1: at some other point down the road, come back and
27:43
Speaker 1: join us.
27:44
Speaker 3: I would love to thank you for having me.
27:45
Speaker 4: I appreciate it, and you know, go Philly Sports.
27:50
Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for us here on table Talk
27:52
Speaker 1: this week. Please share our podcast with your friends and
27:55
Speaker 1: family members who are Philly sports fans or sports fans
27:58
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28:02
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28:05
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28:12
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28:21
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