Vince Goodwill says the Knicks are on a 'GENERATIONAL RUN!' 🤯 | The Rich Eisen Show

0:00 joining us here uh from Philadelphia,

0:02 Pennsylvania uh after the Knicks completed the sweep of the Sixers.

0:06 But I do want to start with your your two cents, what you may know,

0:09 not know about how the NBA is viewing Victor Wanyama's elbow as you

0:13 and I are chatting here just afternoon on the Monday uh in the aftermath.

0:18 What do you got?

0:20 Well, I I know some people might be clamoring.

0:22 I've seen on some of our uh ESPN shows

0:25 uh one Kendrick Perkins has been clamoring for a suspension.

0:29 I don't think that's going to happen.

0:30 I think honestly the best thing for Victor

0:33 Winmenyama was that he was thrown out last night.

0:35 I think had he not been thrown out, had that been a flagrant one,

0:38 the league probably would have come back and assessed

0:40 it as a flagrant two plus a suspension.

0:43 When you miss the last 30 something minutes of a playoff

0:46 game that's almost like a full game suspension already.

0:49 The league doesn't want to come in and assess another one.

0:51 He's not a repeat offender.

0:53 I know it didn't look necessarily like the best play,

0:56 but Victor Wimyama doesn't have a history of such a thing.

0:59 We know that also he's a star.

1:01 You know, that plays a part in it, too.

1:03 But I I don't think it meets the criteria of ejection plus

1:07 next game suspension in game five of a hotly contested semi-final series.

1:12 Okay.

1:12 So, um but the conversation is being had right now.

1:15 League offices, anything like that?

1:17 Oh, yeah.

1:17 Yeah, the conversation is being had.

1:19 It's it's always going to be under review from James Jones,

1:21 from Adam Silver, from the entire league office.

1:23 But I haven't gotten any indication as of 12:25

1:27 right now cuz anything can happen in the NBA.

1:29 You never know.

1:30 I'm sure you know as the Nick fans, um,

1:32 some of the suspensions that have been handed down

1:34 to you guys over the course of the past 30 years.

1:37 Anything can happen that can alter the course of a series.

1:41 I'm just not sure that I see that happening in this case.

1:43 Well, I mean, Mitch Johnson was definitely making

1:45 his case for Webanyama being uh the wronged party

1:50 uh in every second of the game with the exception

1:53 of him throwing his elbow at Nas Reed.

1:56 Where where does that conversation stand, do you think, Vincent?

1:59 Well, I think Rich, you have to protect your player

2:02 and I think Mitch Johnson as a this is, you know, a younger coach.

2:06 He's in his early 40s.

2:08 He's going to have a very long relationship with Victor Winyama.

2:11 This is their first time going through the playoffs and Victor

2:14 is experiencing a level of physicality that you know he's not initiating.

2:19 Vic uh Rudy Goar and Nas Reed and Julius Randall,

2:22 they're putting paws on him and that's the book on him so far.

2:26 So unless you have a goon and last I checked there's no Charles Oakley,

2:31 there's no Anthony Mason,

2:32 there's no Xavier McDaniel, Rick Mahorn, Bill Lamir, you know,

2:36 lying around anywhere that they can add to their roster.

2:39 he's going to have to be the guy at this point to protect himself.

2:42 I think it was more of a a macro conversation that he

2:45 was having yesterday as opposed to exactly what was happening in that moment.

2:49 And I don't have a problem with it because what better

2:52 time is there to talk about protecting your player because you

2:55 know what's going to happen in the first couple of minutes

2:56 of game five in San Antonio if Victor is allowed to play.

3:00 The Minnesota Timberwolves are going to go

3:01 at him and try to provoke him even more.

3:04 Yeah.

3:04 I mean, uh, to have anything on top of that, Johnson said,

3:08 in terms of a suspension, I think that would be ridiculous.

3:11 End quote.

3:11 Are you saying, uh, that Luke Cornet is not going to throw his weight around?

3:16 Is that what you're saying, Vincent?

3:18 I am not saying that Luke Cornet is soft.

3:21 I am merely saying that.

3:24 Okay.

3:23 That's There's only two guys who are really tough

3:26 guys in today's league that I can really think of.

3:28 One is Draymond Green and the other is Isaiah Stewart.

3:31 Last I checked, the San Antonio Spurs

3:33 can't make any trades between now and then.

3:36 And we would have all called the Spurs

3:38 foolish if they would have gotten a designated goon,

3:41 so to speak, before the start of the season.

3:43 They hadn't won a playoff series.

3:45 They hadn't even gotten to the playoffs.

3:46 So, for them to use a roster spot as a designated victor protector,

3:51 we all would have laughed at them and said

3:52 that they had gotten ahead of their skis.

3:54 It's just now I for one, Rich,

3:57 am happy that there is a level of contentiousness in the playoffs.

4:01 I'm not happy that Victor threw the elbow,

4:03 but I'm happy that we are able to see some real

4:06 hatred and physicality competitively that would

4:09 even prompt a discussion like this.

4:12 Yeah.

4:12 I mean, and so, uh, you hear what Mitch Johnson

4:15 is saying about the lack of whistles for his big guy.

4:17 Chris Finch also calling Tony brothers

4:20 quote completely unprofessional behavior from Friday night.

4:23 Is there there was nothing no push back

4:26 from the association on this or where does that stand?

4:28 Vincent?

4:29 Uh the league kind of chuckles at such things because they know

4:32 Chris Finch likes to work the officials in and out of the game

4:35 like like these guys are actual normal human beings and then when it's

4:40 48 minutes they all turn into maniacs that are unhinged and super competitive.

4:46 when you consider the stakes and everything else and Tony Brothers is not a guy

4:50 who's going to take a whole lot of guff from today's coaches, it doesn't look,

4:54 you know, like like sonically correct and everything else to see a coach sort

4:58 of walking or an official walk towards

5:00 a coach and look like he initiates something.

5:03 But I'm sure Tony brothers have been hearing it

5:05 all night from Chris Finch and decided to say,

5:07 "Hey, I've had enough these things." Well,

5:10 luckily you don't have the same officials for every game,

5:12 so the relationships don't carry over from game to game.

5:15 But once again, I don't mind that at all

5:17 and I don't think the league minds it either.

5:19 And then uh before we get to more of the playoffs,

5:21 u the uh draft lottery, Vincent Goodwill,

5:25 um the conversation was uh all about the body language of uh a AJ

5:32 Debansa um sitting there not seeming like uh his life has just been made,

5:37 no tears, uh as the Washington Wizards won it all.

5:40 What's your take on all of that, Vincent?

5:43 Well, Rich, these guys are trained, media trained.

5:47 They know all the cameras are going to be on them.

5:49 They are trained to be frozen.

5:51 Even if it's, you know, Cleveland and LeBron James,

5:54 if something like that were to happen where the hometown kid knew he

5:58 was going number one and knew he wanted to go to the hometown team,

6:01 and that's what wound up happening.

6:02 You're still going to keep a straight face.

6:04 No longer is going to be the day where uh who I

6:07 can't remember the executive's name for the uh New York Knicks went

6:10 in the in the blue uh suit when Patrick Yuing was going

6:13 to be announced as the New York Knicks number one draft pick in 1985.

6:17 Dave Busher that was old that was the old school Nick Dave de Busher man.

6:20 He was Dave Busher.

6:21 Yeah, I couldn't remember which Nick it was.

6:23 But yeah, that type of reaction isn't going to happen.

6:26 These guys are so sophisticated.

6:28 I don't think it was a mark of, man,

6:29 I don't want to go to Washington DC because when you look at all four teams,

6:34 is there a better situation than the Wizards?

6:36 A team that has not won 50 games since with John Wall.

6:40 They haven't won 50 games since Michael Jackson put out off the wall.

6:43 Like there's no better place if you're AJ Debons that you want

6:46 to turn around a franchise cuz what the hell do they know about winning?

6:52 I agree.

6:52 And plus, the Mid-Atlantic, I mean,

6:54 is is eager for a superstar to just um to just circle the wagons around.

7:01 I mean, just ask Jaden Daniels how much love he feels walking around that town.

7:05 I'm sure whenever he does.

7:07 Um so, here here comes this kid from BYU.

7:11 Let's get ready to roll.

7:13 I'm with you, Vincent.

7:14 Yeah, I think DC is one of those basketball

7:16 starved places like we all know from a sports perspective.

7:20 You just talked about Washington and how

7:21 that that whole community rallies around that football team.

7:25 The Wizards have never given their franchise much

7:29 to care about short of maybe a short stint

7:31 with Michael Jordan on the back end that that didn't

7:34 turn out to be much of a playoff experience.

7:36 Gilbert Arenas gave them a couple of years.

7:38 Like they've had splotches, but they've never had anything consistent.

7:42 And now you have a potential young piece healthy that you can build around.

7:46 They've already started the rebuild process.

7:48 Maybe they figure out what they're going to do with the Trey

7:51 Youngs of the world and Anthony Davis's and everything else,

7:53 but as Detroit has shown, as other teams have shown,

7:57 the days of the five-year rebuild is over.

8:00 You can turn around an NBA franchise in two

8:02 to three years if you get the draft right, if you get the coach right.

8:06 Like as as much as we talk about there's a lack of dynasties

8:09 in the NBA and a lack of teams having staying power at the top.

8:13 That means teams at the bottom, if you do things right,

8:16 you're not going to stay at the bottom very long either.

8:19 Vincent Goodwill here on the Rich Eisen Show.

8:21 Okay.

8:22 What was it like in that arena in Philadelphia this weekend?

8:25 You mean Vincent?

8:26 You mean Nick South?

8:28 MSG South.

8:29 I think that's what I think it's southwest of.

8:31 Got to work on that.

8:34 Manhattan.

8:33 Got to work on that geotagging.

8:35 Got to work on it.

8:37 It was It was weird cuz you know, Rich,

8:41 this is my first year covering the Eastern Conference in full.

8:44 Like the past few years when I was at Yahoo Sports,

8:45 I did a lot of Western Conference stuff

8:47 with Stephen Curry being over there and LeBron James.

8:49 I was always sent to the number one story.

8:51 I've always seen these Knicks 76ers playoff series,

8:55 but TV doesn't do it justice.

8:57 When you're in there and Joel Embiid is

9:00 at the line and he's getting booed and Tyrese

9:02 Maxi's at the line and he's getting booed

9:04 and every time a Nick does something right,

9:06 the crowd just erupts.

9:07 Or what's worse, Rich,

9:10 76er fans leaving the building at some point in the third quarter.

9:15 Nick fans waving them out as if they're saying,

9:19 "Thank you for leaving this place that you've squatted for a while.

9:23 Uh, we're taking this over." And it was great that that they had

9:27 white towels cuz that's what exactly what it looked like with the 76ers.

9:30 It looked like they waved the white

9:32 towel for two consecutive games and yielding that.

9:35 I think for as much as the Knicks

9:38 have played well and they played excellent basketball.

9:40 But when you hit 10 of 11 threes in the first quarter,

9:42 11 of 13 or whatever it was, you're playing a high level of basketball.

9:46 But the Philadelphia 76ers played the part of the Washington

9:48 Generals for the better part of four games in this series.

9:51 Yeah.

9:51 Uh, and I don't know, uh, we talked about it with, uh, our colleague, uh,

9:56 Brian Winhorst that putting Cat in the role of point center has

10:03 kind of cracked a code here offensively for the Knicks from, you know,

10:10 being down in the series to one to Atlanta.

10:14 Since then, pedal to the metal,

10:15 they're just blowing the doors off of everybody right now.

10:19 and they get to sit back and rest for a full week um

10:24 and root for the Cavs and the Pistons to beat each other up.

10:27 What What are What's the deal with OG Anobi?

10:29 Best you can tell for the next series, Vincent?

10:33 Well, Rich Rich Eisen, do you believe that the New York Knicks would be

10:37 very forthcoming about what they would say about Ojan Nobi's health?

10:41 If that hamstring was falling off the bone, we wouldn't know about it, right?

10:45 Like that's just the way it goes with the Knicks.

10:47 Okay.

10:47 But I do think that the nine day potential nine additional days

10:52 of rest uh the Eastern Conference finals may not start until May 19th

10:56 that will give OG and Obi almost two weeks to come back

10:59 from this two years ago during the same semi-finals of the Eastern Conference.

11:03 He had a similar injury on his left hamstring.

11:06 He missed games two through six of that series against the Pacers.

11:09 Tried to come back in game seven.

11:11 It did not work.

11:12 Now, to your point about what the Knicks have done in their eight playoff wins,

11:18 they have averaged a point differential of 24.5 points per game.

11:23 None of these games have been competitive.

11:25 They've lost two games by a total of two points

11:28 and they've won these games by a total of 196.

11:32 This is a generational run that the New York Knicks are playing right now.

11:36 You said it, Carl Anthony Towns in the Draymond

11:39 Green sort of Arvda Sabonis position of point forward.

11:44 It's almost Golden Stateesque like Mike Brown spent

11:47 a lot of years with Steve Curry and Golden State.

11:49 He picked up on some things offensively

11:51 with the cutting and the three-point shooting and it looks

11:54 like it's bearing and maybe it took a lot of things for the Knicks to get here.

11:57 Had to change their offense at mid-season.

11:59 They had to change it again after game three of the Atlanta series.

12:02 Similar to the way that Golden State had to change how they were playing

12:05 in the lineups that they were using

12:06 in their first championship season with David

12:08 Lee and bringing in Draymond Green and then again in the finals going

12:11 to that small death lineup against LeBron

12:13 James and it yielded championships after that.

12:16 You couldn't explain it.

12:18 You just have to be in a desperate situation where boom

12:21 you in case of emergency this is what we're going to do.

12:23 I'm not saying the Knicks are going to win a championship,

12:26 but I'm saying they have unlocked something that nobody could have expected.

12:30 They could have obliterated the three-point record of threes

12:32 in a game had that game been competitive.

12:34 Instead, they had to settle for a tie at 25.

12:37 Well, and then the Philadelphia 76ers, Vincent, I mean,

12:43 you you they they came up with that um big

12:46 time comeback to eliminate the Celtics feeling good about themselves.

12:50 then they get the doors blown off of them.

12:52 And Joel Embiid um had this to say uh after the game and the series ended.

13:00 I'm excited about you know next season.

13:03 Um I think VJ is going I know you know and you know I'm going to talk to him.

13:08 He's going to be better.

13:09 Uh and he was amazing for his first year.

13:12 Tyrese is going to be better and he's taken a step every single year.

13:16 PG that we saw the last couple weeks.

13:19 Um, you know, he still got it.

13:21 Um, and then everybody else, I I don't know who's going to be here.

13:25 I don't even know if I'm going to be here,

13:27 but you know, whatever happens happens.

13:29 Um, and, uh, but, you know, for me, uh,

13:33 I'm excited about, you know, really getting back to myself.

13:37 What does he mean by that, Vincent?

13:39 Well, first things first.

13:41 I just got a couple of texts from league

13:43 officials who said no further action on Victor Womenyama.

13:47 No suspension, no fine.

13:48 That is official.

13:49 So, he'll be available for game five.

13:51 Thank you.

13:52 Uh the second point to Joel Embiid, let me assure you,

13:56 he has a three-year extension that is kicking

13:58 in next year where he will be making, I think, an average of$ 58 million.

14:03 He's going nowhere.

14:05 He doesn't have anything to worry about on that front.

14:07 But I do think for one, the fact that he was able to end the series

14:12 on his feet rather than being the next game of operation

14:15 where his knees is getting worked on and and it's

14:18 buzzing and his hip is getting worked on and it's buzzing.

14:20 Like maybe maybe Rich, I'm old enough where I remember the game of operation.

14:25 Maybe you guys don't remember the game of operation, you young guys,

14:28 but I remember the game of operation and that's what

14:30 Joel Embiid looked like for the better part of his career.

14:33 Now to the 76ers.

14:35 Is Daryl My still going to be the guy heading up that operation?

14:39 He gave Paul George a really big contract when I'm

14:43 not sure he warranted that at this stage of his career.

14:45 He gave Joel Embiid this extension when Embiid was yes

14:49 coming off of NVP but also has been a health issue

14:53 and now you have two long-term contracts that you know you

14:56 can't get off of and I'm not sure if there's any hope.

14:59 So, I wonder if that organization,

15:01 which has Bob Meyers as an adviser to the Harris group,

15:04 is going to make significant changes in the offseason or will

15:08 at least entertain it because there's not a lot of hope in Philadelphia.

15:11 There's a lot of ifs and may.

15:13 And those ifs and may only amounted to a game

15:16 seven win and an impressive comeback over the Boston Celtics.

15:19 But we look at that Celtics team now.

15:21 They say that's a who's a team full of who.

15:24 Yeah, I'm I'm with you.

15:26 Uh I'm with you.

15:27 and the the Eastern Conference appears to be uh cracking open

15:31 for the Knicks to to you know make a move here.

15:34 Obviously the Pistons would be a very difficult team for them

15:37 to handle since they were handled by Detroit this year and obviously Cleveland.

15:41 Who knows what they would look like in the next round with uh

15:44 a resurgent certainly after the first two games did not go James Harden's way.

15:49 Uh the beard had a big time finish right there.

15:51 So, uh, before I let you go, the, um,

15:54 the Thunder just and I mean that's just one way to put it, right?

15:59 I just say the Thunder, you go, you know, um, 74 second half points and then

16:04 this whole conversation about flopping this, flopping that.

16:07 The Lakers had 15 more free throw attempts than the Thunder in game three.

16:11 15.

16:11 They had 25 to the Thunder's 10.

16:13 And they just I I don't know.

16:16 They I I don't know who beats them.

16:17 I I don't know what happens.

16:19 What is the conversation on that front uh leaguewide watching the Thunder do

16:23 what they're doing is it appears they'll be closing out the Lakers tonight.

16:26 Vincent, hold on.

16:27 My phone is ringing.

16:28 I think the 2002 Sacramento Kings are calling

16:31 asking about the Lakers complaining about free throw calls.

16:34 Um yeah, there's that.

16:35 Look at how phone you have.

16:38 That's some great reception you have there.

16:40 Thank you, Rich.

16:41 Um, but no, I think Oklahoma City,

16:43 what what people are saying about them is the only

16:47 way this team doesn't wind up holding up the trophy,

16:50 A is if San Antonio, who has had their number this year, takes them out.

16:54 Or B, health catches them.

16:55 Jaylen Williams, JD Dub, the all-star JDub,

16:58 uh, he's been out with a hamstring injury.

17:00 He's only played less than 30 games this season and he's out right now.

17:04 You're hoping from the standpoint of competitiveness that he

17:07 gets back on the floor and that he's healthy.

17:09 Shay Gilas Alexander.

17:10 They're doing all this work against the Lakers

17:13 and the presumptive MVP hasn't had one MVP like game.

17:18 They are an absolute machine right now.

17:21 I'm very much looking forward to seeing

17:22 the Western Conference Finals because I think Minnesota,

17:24 if they get there, this will be their third straight trip.

17:27 A little bit of desperation will kick in.

17:29 A little bit of this Anthony Edwards will will start to kick in.

17:32 I wonder if they'll that'll be a tougher out in San Antonio.

17:36 As I mentioned before,

17:37 Victor Wmanyama learns really quickly and he despises the Oklahoma City

17:42 Thunder in ways that a young player should not despise another team.

17:46 So I once again throughout the tone of our conversation,

17:49 Rich, in addition to Detroit and Cleveland not liking each other,

17:53 in addition to Detroit and New York hating

17:55 each other if we wind up getting that matchup, hatred is good for the NBA.

18:00 Hatred sells and so does physicality.

18:03 Let the boys play.

18:04 Vincent Goodwill, everybody.

18:07 Hey, man.

18:07 Love it.

18:08 I'm glad you did this because we couldn't do

18:10 this if you were sitting in the quiet car.

18:12 You know what I mean?

18:13 Oh, no.

18:13 I'm not sitting in no damn quiet car.

18:15 Don't you worry about that.

18:17 Nobody puts Vincent in the quiet car.

18:19 Uh, thanks again.

18:19 Uh, look for more of my texts and calls, Vincent.

18:21 I really appreciate it.

18:22 Thank you, sir.

18:23 Appreciate you, Rich.

18:24 That's Vincent Goodwill, everybody, right here on the Rich Eson Show.