The Wingo Network

The Pick That Got Away — Sean Payton on Almost Drafting Patrick Mahomes

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In the 2017 NFL Draft the New Orleans Saints had two players circled at their pick. Two names. Two possibilities. And when the pick before Buffalo came off the board Sean Payton and his staff knew immediately — they were getting one of them.

One of them was Marshon Lattimore.

The other was Patrick Mahomes.

What happened next is one of the most extraordinary stories in NFL draft history. And Sean Payton is telling it in full for the first time.

Here is the scene. The Saints are in their draft room. Drew Brees is there — the first time he has ever been in a draft room — taking a group on a tour, planning to stay for the first round. Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer are there with their caddies and their yardage books because the golf tournament was in town. The first round is moving. Kansas City is picking at twenty-seven. The Saints are sitting with two names in the circle waiting to see which one falls to them.

And then Buffalo makes a trade.

The moment Kansas City traded up Sean Payton knew. He did not need reports. He did not need a tip. He looked at the trade and he knew immediately what a move like that meant. A team does not trade up like that for a running back. A team does not trade up like that for a linebacker. A team trades up like that for a quarterback.

Three words. Said out loud in the Saints draft room.

There goes Mahomes.

Drew Brees was standing right there. Payton pulled him aside. Told him this thing could go in a direction. Brees understood. It was 2017 — it was not going to impact him immediately. But everyone in that room understood what had just happened. Kansas City had just changed the NFL.

The Saints ended up with Lattimore. And Alvin Kamara in the third round. And Trey Hendrickson. And Alex Anzalone. Lattimore won Defensive Rookie of the Year. Kamara won Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Saints could not pay all of them. It was one of the greatest drafts in franchise history. By the time 2017 arrived the Super Bowl roster from 2009 had been almost completely turned over — Drew Brees and maybe one or two others were the only holdovers. The 2017 draft rebuilt the Saints the same way the 2006 draft had built them the first time.

But the Mahomes question will always be there.

What if Kansas City had not traded up? What if Payton had gotten to make that decision — Mahomes or Lattimore with Drew Brees still in the building? What does the NFL look like if Patrick Mahomes spends his career in New Orleans? What does it look like for Buffalo — the team that made the trade with Kansas City — who has watched Mahomes eliminate them from the playoffs more times than any fan base wants to count?

These are the questions that never get answered. The picks that got away never do. But now at least the full story of how close it actually was — two names in the circle, one trade, three words said out loud in a room with Drew Brees and Jordan Spieth watching — is on the record.

There goes Mahomes.

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Jordan. Kobe. LeBron. Who Is Next? Tim Legler on Cooper Flagg Wemby and Luka.

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Every era of the NBA has had a face. A player so dominant, so compelling, so must-watch that the whole league rises around them. When that player is at their peak the Finals ratings set records. The casual fan tunes in. The cultural conversation follows.

Jordan gave the league six championships and a global brand that still prints money thirty years later. Kobe gave it obsession and Mamba mentality and a Los Angeles dynasty that defined a generation of basketball fans. LeBron gave it two decades of dominance across four franchises and a level of sustained excellence that may never be replicated.

And then — since 2018 — the throne has been empty.

The Warriors run was extraordinary but it was a team story not a face story. The bubble Finals happened in a vacuum. The ratings dipped. The casual fan drifted. The NBA has been searching for its next face ever since.

Right now there are three candidates. And Tim Legler — one of the most respected analysts in the business — breaks down the case for each one. Where they are. What they have done. What they still have to prove. And which one he thinks gets there.

Cooper Flagg

Only the second player since Michael Jordan to lead his team in points rebounds assists and steals as a rookie. That stat alone tells you everything about the completeness of his game. Legler says everything you need to be the face of the NBA is already there — the competitive nature, the all-around game, the media presence. He is built for the moment.

The challenge is circumstance. He is on a team in complete transition. New coach. Roster questions. He is not going to walk into a situation where winning is easy or immediate. The face of the NBA needs to win. It is going to take time to build the right team around him. But the talent and the intangibles are not in question. Cooper Flagg has everything.

Victor Wembanyama

Every game Legler watched Wemby play last year there was at least one moment where he thought — that is the only person on earth who could have done what he just did. Seven feet five. Handles like a guard. Shoots from anywhere. Blocks shots from angles that should be physically impossible. The intrigue is unlike anything the NBA has had since Shaquille O'Neal walked into the league — and even that comparison undersells how unique Wemby actually is.

The challenge is comfort. He is twenty-two. He is foreign-born. He is introspective and thoughtful and takes ten seconds before answering a question because he wants to give you something real. That quality is admirable. But the face of the NBA has to connect with a national audience that does not yet feel like it knows him. That trust and openness will come. Legler believes it comes in the next two to three years as he gets more comfortable and more accessible. When it does — and the talent is already there — this thing could be over very quickly. Wemby becomes the face and nobody debates it.

Luka Doncic

He has been to a Finals. He has done extraordinary things in Los Angeles. He is one of the most skilled offensive players the league has ever produced. The case for Luka is real and it has been real for several years now.

The challenge is winning. Oklahoma City is not going anywhere. San Antonio is not going anywhere. The Western Conference is loaded with young talent that is only going to get better. The Lakers are navigating the post-LeBron era and nobody knows exactly what that team looks like in two or three years. Luka needs to win big. Win deep into the playoffs. Win a championship. The face of the NBA cannot just be a great player — it has to be a great player who wins. And that chapter for Luka is still being written.

The bigger picture

The NBA is in a fascinating moment. The ratings for these Finals are up ninety percent from last year. The next generation is arriving in real time — Wemby in his first Finals, Flagg finishing a historic rookie season, Luka entering his prime. The casual fan is coming back. The cultural conversation is shifting back toward basketball.

But the league is always better — always more must-watch, always more culturally relevant — when there is one name above all the others. One face on the poster. One player that even someone who does not follow basketball closely knows and cares about.

Jordan had it for a decade. Kobe had it for a decade. LeBron had it for two decades.

The throne is ready. Three players are standing right next to it. Tim Legler on which one sits down first. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Patrick Mahomes Just Became the First Half Billion Dollar Player in NFL History

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On June 9th the Kansas City Chiefs reset the NFL landscape. Again.

Patrick Mahomes signed a new contract extension that adds two years to his deal — keeping him in Kansas City through 2033 — and brings the total value of his contract to $504.75 million. With incentives, he can earn up to $522 million. The new money in this deal is $239 million, and the average annual value comes out to $64 million per year, a new record for the highest annual salary in NFL history.

He is now, officially, the first half billion dollar player the NFL has ever had.

This is the third time the Chiefs and Mahomes have reset the quarterback market — and all three times have come under GM Brett Veach. Since 2022, Kansas City has now committed $689 million in new money to Patrick Mahomes.

Why It Is Still a Bargain

Half a billion dollars sounds absurd until you put it next to the other number the Chiefs just signed off on — a $3.3 billion stadium deal, including a new $300 million practice facility, on what has been described as a team-friendly arrangement with the state of Kansas.

That stadium deal does not happen without Patrick Mahomes. Five Super Bowl appearances. Three championships. Three-time Super Bowl MVP. Two-time regular season MVP. The Chiefs went from one Super Bowl win in 1970 to a fifty-year drought before Mahomes arrived and changed everything. Compare half a billion dollars to $3.3 billion and the math works out fine for Kansas City.

What This Means for the Roster

Contract extensions like this are not just about paying the quarterback — they are roster construction tools. By extending Mahomes further into the future, the Chiefs create salary cap flexibility right now. This is the same approach that allowed them to completely rebuild their offensive line after the Super Bowl LV loss to Tampa Bay — trading for Joe Thuney, drafting Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, and turning a weakness into a strength.

Expect a similar response now. The Chiefs have been connected to a potential trade for Jawaan Taylor given their depth at tackle, and the front office’s entire approach is built around keeping Mahomes healthy and surrounding him with talent. All indications are that he will be ready for Week One — Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos.

The Second Wave

Trey draws the comparison directly to the New England Patriots dynasty — which was really two separate runs held together by Brady, Belichick, and Robert Kraft. The first wave of this Chiefs dynasty was Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill. The second wave is being built right now — Mahomes, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and a young core of defensive talent including this year’s draft picks out of Clemson and the cornerback room.

This past season was the first time since Mahomes became the starter in 2018 that the Chiefs did not reach the AFC Championship Game — derailed by the knee injury he suffered in December at Arrowhead. Every other year, at minimum the AFC title game. The Chiefs are betting half a billion dollars that this was a blip, not the end of an era.

The Competition:

The AFC is loaded. Bo Nix and the Broncos won the AFC West last season. Justin Herbert and the Chargers are knocking on the door. Josh Allen and the Bills are still chasing their first breakthrough past Mahomes. Joe Burrow and the Bengals remain dangerous. And now Drake May and the Patriots — fresh off acquiring AJ Brown — are entering the conversation as well.

The Chiefs know exactly what they are up against. And their answer is to make sure the foundation of everything — Patrick Mahomes — is locked in, motivated, and set up for as long as possible to keep this dynasty’s second chapter alive. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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The NCAA Cannot Stop a Player Who Bet on His Own Team From Playing. That Tells You Everything.

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Brendan Sorsby is a quarterback at Texas Tech. He was caught betting on his own team and other teams. The NCAA banned him. That should be the end of the story. Betting on your own team is not a gray area. It is the one rule that every sport — college, professional, every level — treats as completely non-negotiable. The NFL has been crystal clear about this. Players have been banned for life in other sports for exactly this.

The NCAA did the right thing. They enforced the rule.

And then a judge in Lubbock, Texas — the city where Texas Tech is located — granted an injunction and said Sorsby can play anyway. He will serve a two game suspension against Abilene Christian and Oregon State, both non-conference games, and then he is back under center in week three.

The NCAA banned him. A judge overruled them. And the NCAA could do nothing about it.

Trey and David Rumsey of Front Office Sports break down what this actually means — and why this is not really about Brendan Sorsby at all.

This Is the NCAA's Fault

Five years ago NIL arrived and the NCAA wanted no part of governing it. They stepped back and let schools, conferences, and players figure it out on their own. Coaches — including Nick Saban, someone many people believe could have been an effective commissioner for college football — have been saying for years that it is the wild wild west out there and nobody is in charge of anything.

Now that lack of governance has metastasized into something even more serious. The NCAA cannot enforce a gambling ban — the most fundamental integrity rule in all of sports — because a single judge in the same city as the school in question can simply override it. There is no clear chain of authority. There is no consistent process. There is just whatever court happens to hear the appeal and whatever that judge decides.

The Reaction Has Been Universal

David Rumsey was at the Big 12 spring meetings just weeks before this ruling came down. At the time, almost nobody was talking about the Sorsby case. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech's head coach, addressed it briefly and expressed support for his player — but the broader sentiment across the conference was that Sorsby was simply out of luck. He would serve his ban, head to the NFL supplemental draft, and that would be that. Nobody felt like his future was being ruined. He has the talent to play professionally regardless.

Then the ruling came down and the reaction across the Big 12, the SEC, and the Big Ten was immediate and universal. Athletic directors, coaches, presidents — all expressing the same stunned reaction. And now there is real discussion about other Big 12 schools refusing to play Texas Tech in any sport if this ruling stands.

Could Schools Actually Boycott Texas Tech

David Rumsey thinks the odds are high — at least within the Big 12. Texas Tech's non-conference schedule this year is Abilene Christian and Oregon State, so SEC and Big Ten schools have limited direct leverage in the short term. But within the Big 12, where Texas Tech needs conference opponents to function, a boycott would be a real and serious problem.

The NCAA has already filed an appeal of the injunction. Nobody seems to know how many times an appeal can be appealed. But given the universal reaction across college athletics, it seems unlikely this ruling stands as is.

The Self-Reporting Problem

Here is the part that should make every athletic director in the country furious. For decades, programs that self-reported violations to the NCAA did so because they believed in a system of accountability — even when self-reporting hurt them competitively. Schools voluntarily took hits to their programs because they trusted the process.

If a school can simply find a sympathetic judge and get an NCAA ruling overturned through the court system, every school that ever self-reported anything looks, in retrospect, like they made a unilateral decision to disadvantage themselves for nothing. The NCAA's authority depended on schools believing the rules applied equally to everyone. That belief is now in serious question.

The Bigger Picture

This is not really a story about one quarterback at Texas Tech. It is a story about an organization that abdicated its responsibility to govern college athletics during the NIL transition, and is now discovering that the consequences of that abdication extend far beyond name image and likeness deals. If the NCAA cannot enforce a gambling ban — arguably the single most important integrity rule in all of sports — what exactly can it enforce?

College administrators have been asking Congress for help for five years. David Rumsey does not believe federal legislation is coming, regardless of where the current bill stands. Which means college athletics may simply continue operating with no real governing authority — case by case, court by court, with outcomes determined less by rules and more by which judge happens to be assigned and where they went to school.

The NCAA does plenty of fine work in lacrosse, swimming, and other Olympic sports. But in the two sports that actually generate the money — football and basketball — there is, in Trey's words, nobody running the ship. The Brendan Sorsby case is just the latest and most alarming proof of that. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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PIF Said They Would Fund LIV Golf Through the Season. That May No Longer Be True.

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We told you this was coming.

Back in April, right before the Mexico City event, the Wingo Network reported that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was pulling its funding from LIV Golf. State-run media denied it. Then their feed went dark for three hours. Then everything we said came true.

PIF issued a statement saying they would fund LIV Golf through the remainder of the season. That was the reassurance. That was the floor. The commitment that gave LIV Golf its runway to find new investors, finish the season, and figure out what comes next.

Now Front Office Sports is reporting that even that floor may be gone.

David Rumsey — one of the best reporters covering the business of golf — joins Trey to break down everything Front Office Sports is hearing. The PIF funding may not last through the end of the season. The final four events are not guaranteed. And the 47-day gap in LIV's schedule — originally explained away as avoiding the summer heat and the crowded calendar — is starting to look like something much more serious.

The 47-Day Silence

LIV Golf canceled its late June New Orleans event back in April. At the time the explanation was scheduling and weather. Nobody believed it then and the silence since has made it harder to believe now. There are 47 days between LIV's last event in Spain and their next scheduled event. During that window — agents, players, team partners, and sponsors are all asking the same question. Is the money actually going to be there?

Scott O'Neill, LIV Golf's president, went on CNBC and was asked directly — can you guarantee the final four events will be played? His answer was not yes. It was something closer to — I can guarantee a great investment opportunity if you come join us. That is not a guarantee. That is a pivot. And everyone watching understood exactly what it meant.

The Funding Structure

Here is the detail that changes everything. One LIV source told Front Office Sports that PIF's funding payments are on a monthly basis — not one large chunk paid upfront. If that is accurate it means the money is not sitting in an account waiting to be spent. It is coming in month by month. And if PIF decides to stop sending it — the lights go out.

Three events in August alone carry thirty million dollar purses at the first two and a forty million dollar team championship at the end. That is one hundred million dollars in prize money for three events. Before operational costs. Before travel. Before anything else. The math does not work without PIF and it may not work with them if the payments stop early.

What Is LIV Actually Selling?

Scott O'Neill has said LIV Golf needs approximately three hundred million dollars in outside investment to survive. David Rumsey breaks down exactly what they are pitching — a LIV 2.0 model built around a ten event season, a team-based structure, reduced prize money, and player equity stakes. The idea is that players become owners. That the team concept creates long-term value that replaces the guaranteed money that lured everyone there in the first place.

The problem is that the pitch to investors and the pitch to players are in direct conflict. You cannot tell investors this is a lean efficient operation while also telling players they will be paid enough to leave the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour behind. Cam Smith said it publicly — the prize money is going down. If it goes down far enough the question becomes why would any player choose LIV 2.0 over the alternatives that are available to them.

Jon Rahm has already made his position clear. He will be a player if they can pay him. He will not be a business partner. Bryson DeChambeau has been held up as the face of LIV's future — the crossover creator who transcends the tour. But Bryson has now missed the cut at two straight majors and publicly said he does not know whether he wants to compete professionally anymore. That is not the pitch you want your flagship player making while you are trying to raise three hundred million dollars.

The Australian Open — LIV's Best Market Under Threat

One more development that did not get enough attention. The PGA Tour and DP World Tour just announced a significant investment in the Australian Open — effectively moving to reclaim the market where LIV had its greatest success. The Adelaide event where Anthony Kim came back from five shots down to beat Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau was arguably the greatest story in LIV's history. Now the establishment tours are moving in with money and player commitments of their own.

LIV has said they have a contract for the Adelaide event running well into the 2030s. But contracts require funding to honor. And if the PIF money stops early everything becomes uncertain.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic

And one more data point from the broader golf business landscape. The Rocket Mortgage Classic — a PGA Tour event in Detroit — is not returning in 2028 under the new model. The sponsor looked at the price tag for a first track event and decided it was not worth it. It is the first sign of what could become a significant sponsor pressure problem for the PGA Tour as the new system takes shape. Brian Rolap is expected to address this at a press conference at the Travelers Championship — the Wingo Network will be there for that coverage.

The 47 days of silence. The funding that may stop early. The investors who have not shown up. The players who are asking questions nobody can answer. David Rumsey of Front Office Sports on what he is hearing — and what happens next. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Golf's Longest Day, the US Women's Open and Everything You Need to Know Before Shinnecock | GOLF LIVE

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The two biggest weeks in golf are here. The US Women's Open at Riviera is underway. The US Open at Shinnecock Hills is two weeks away. The major season is at its peak and Golf Live has everything you need to know heading into the most compelling stretch of the golf calendar.

Trey Wingo and Justin Ray break it all down.

Golf's Longest Day

The summer solstice and the US Open week arriving simultaneously is not a coincidence — it is one of golf's great annual traditions. The longest day of the year and the hardest test in golf colliding at exactly the same moment. Shinnecock Hills in Southampton New York is one of the most historic and demanding venues in the history of the game. The USGA wants to identify the best player in the world by making everyone else uncomfortable. Long rough. Firm greens. Narrow fairways. Unforgiving conditions. The US Open is the one major where par feels like a victory.

Nelly Korda and the US Women's Open at Riviera

On the women's side the US Women's Open at Riviera is the biggest stage of the season. Nelly Korda is the dominant player in women's golf right now — the standard against which everyone else is being measured. Charley Hull and Gaby Lopez are among the names worth watching. The conversation around who is in the mix and who has the game to win at Riviera is one of the most compelling in women's golf in years.

Justin Ray — the Tiger Woods of golf research — brings the data and the historical context that puts every name and every number in the proper perspective.

Rory and Scottie Ahead of Shinnecock

On the men's side the conversation heading into the US Open starts and ends with two names. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. Rory is riding one of the great stretches of his career — Masters champion, runner-up at the PGA Championship, and now heading to Shinnecock with the kind of momentum that makes every golf fan believe this could be the year he completes something historic. Scottie Scheffler is the number one player in the world and the standard of consistency that nobody else in the game can match right now.

What does Shinnecock demand from both of them? What does the course favor? What does the history of this venue tell us about who wins and who struggles? Trey and Justin get into all of it.

Fan Questions

The Golf Live community brings their biggest questions heading into the two biggest weeks of the golf season. Katrina pulls from the channel and the audience gets answers directly from Trey and Justin in real time.

The bottom line

Two weeks. Two majors. The US Women's Open at Riviera and the US Open at Shinnecock Hills. The most compelling stretch of the golf calendar is here and Golf Live has everything you need to follow every shot of it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Sean Payton on Why Dan Campbell's Success in Detroit Was Never a Surprise

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Sean Payton coached Dan Campbell three times as a player. At the Giants when they drafted him. At the Cowboys in free agency. At the Saints on the 2009 Super Bowl team — where Campbell got hurt in training camp and missed the entire season.

And every single time Payton was around him he saw exactly the same thing. Refreshingly honest. Players gravitating to him. A personality so consistent and so authentic that you always knew exactly what you were getting.

Dan Campbell's success in Detroit has not surprised Sean Payton for a single second.

In this breakout from their full conversation Trey and Payton go deep on Campbell — the player the assistant coach and now the head coach who has become one of the most beloved figures in the NFL. Where did it all start. What did Payton see that made him so certain. And what is the story from the 2009 Super Bowl training room that tells you everything you need to know about who Dan Campbell really is.

Here is that story. Campbell gets hurt in training camp and misses the entire season. The Saints go on to win Super Bowl XLIV. And at some point after the championship — exact timing unclear but the image is burned into Payton's memory — Campbell storms into the training room, looks around at everyone, and says: what a grind of a season.

A grind. The man missed the whole thing with an injury. His team won the Super Bowl without him on the field. And his takeaway is that it was a grind.

That chuckle. That sense of humor. That complete and total commitment to the team over himself. That is Dan Campbell. That has always been Dan Campbell. The coffee black double red eye no-nonsense guy who never tried to be anything other than exactly what he was — in the locker room as a player, in the meeting rooms as an assistant coach, and now on the sideline as a head coach in front of the entire NFL.

Payton tried to hire him away from Miami when Campbell was under contract there. Could not get it done. When Campbell eventually joined Payton's staff as an assistant it took about five minutes to confirm what Payton already believed. This man was going to be an NFL head coach. Not maybe. Not if everything broke right. Absolutely.

The lesson Trey and Payton keep coming back to — for coaches for quarterbacks for anyone in a leadership position — is that authenticity is not optional. It is the job. Players detect fake immediately. They always have. Eli Manning was quiet because that is who Eli Manning is. Dan Campbell is the coffee black double red eye because that is who Dan Campbell is. The moment you try to be something you are not the locker room knows.

Detroit did not just get a head coach when they hired Dan Campbell. They got exactly the coach they saw in every press conference and every sideline moment and every sound bite that went viral. The real version. The only version. The one Sean Payton has known for twenty-plus years.

That is Dan Campbell. And none of this has been a surprise. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Tim Legler on Jalen Brunson Wemby and Why the NBA Finals Are Delivering Everything the League Needed

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The NBA Finals are here. And for the first time in a long time the league has exactly what it needed — the biggest media market in the country, a generational talent making his finals debut, a point guard built for the biggest stage, and two games that have already delivered the kind of finishes that make casual fans into obsessives.

Tim Legler — one of the most respected analysts in the business and someone who has seen every version of this league over three decades — joins Trey to break down everything happening in the NBA Finals. Jalen Brunson. Victor Wembanyama. The Knicks as a buzzsaw. The Spurs' path back. The face of the league question. The new media deal. The ticket prices at MSG. All of it.

Jalen Brunson — The Quality Nobody Could Evaluate

Tim Legler will be the first one to admit it. He missed on Jalen Brunson's ceiling as much as any player he has ever evaluated. He knew Brunson was going to be an NBA player. He thought the ceiling was a starting point guard on a mid-level team or a backup on an elite one — which is exactly what Brunson was in Dallas.

What Legler missed — what almost everyone missed — is the quality that is almost impossible to put on a scouting report. What Brunson does under extreme pressure is genuinely different from most players in the league. Most players speed up. They overthink. They get sped up and out of rhythm at the worst possible moments. Brunson slows down. He compartmentalizes. He processes the game at a pace that is completely disconnected from the pressure around him. That is the quality that does not show up in a physical profile. That is why he went in the second round. And that is why the Knicks believe — no matter the situation, no matter the deficit — if they can get the ball in his hands in the final five minutes they have a great chance to win.

The Atlanta series — down two to one — was the turning point. The Knicks tweaked their offense by running more actions through Carl Anthony Towns as a passer and facilitator rather than just a scorer. Towns bought in immediately despite seeing his scoring numbers drop. Mikhail Bridges found his cutting lanes. And the belief that now runs through this entire roster started in that moment and has never left.

The Knicks have not lost a game since April 23rd. They have been a buzzsaw — a wood chipper as Legler puts it — destroying everything in front of them. And at the center of all of it is a second-round pick who was supposed to be a backup on an elite team and has become the most clutch player in the postseason.

Victor Wembanyama — Overthinking the Moment

The other side of this series is equally fascinating. Victor Wembanyama is twenty-two years old in his first NBA Finals. And through two games he has not been himself.

Legler's diagnosis is direct. Paralysis by analysis. The shots are there — pull-up mid-range jumpers, deeper shots off the catch, the short roll after ball screens. He is not taking them. The Knicks are getting into his driving lanes with big physical wings that can contest his path to the rim. The move that works against most defenders in the regular season — pump fake, get in the gap, use the length to finish — is not available against this defense.

The fix is simple to identify if harder to execute. Attack early. Get shots up. Shoot yourself into rhythm and confidence. Once Wemby gets going the entire Spurs team relaxes — a star getting rolling early calms every role player on the floor because they can stay within themselves instead of expanding to compensate. Right now he is doing the opposite — setting screens and going immediately to the rim without reading what is there, or popping out to twenty-eight feet without really threatening. Neither is optimal.

He has everything you could want in a player. Seven-five wingspan. A high release nobody can contest. A mid-range game that is automatic when he is in rhythm. The shot is there. He just has to take it.

The League Needed This

The NBA regular season was genuinely difficult. Injuries dominated the conversation from October through April. Stars missed games. Marquee matchups fell apart before they started. And there were legitimate questions about whether the league's momentum was real or fragile heading into the playoffs.

Then the playoffs happened. Two months of the best basketball on earth. Stars healthy. Matchups delivering. Finishes that kept people watching until the final buzzer. And now a Finals with the biggest media market in the country on one side and the most unique player anyone has ever seen on the other.

The ratings say everything. Up approximately ninety percent from the previous year — a year when every Finals game except game seven was outrated by the NFL's Hall of Fame preseason game where no starters play. The combination of New York and Wembanyama is what the league has been building toward and it has delivered immediately.

The Knicks have not won a championship in fifty-three years. The franchise. The city. The fan base. All of it has been waiting for exactly this moment. And Madison Square Garden — already the most famous arena in sports — has become something entirely different in these playoffs. The energy is unlike anything the postseason has produced in years.

The Face of the League Question

Wemby. Cooper Flagg. Luka. The question of who carries the NBA into its next era is real and Legler addresses each directly.

Wemby has the intrigue, the uniqueness, and the talent. The challenge right now is comfort level with the media — he is still developing that trust and openness. He is young and foreign-born and takes his time before answering questions because he wants to give you something substantive. That quality — as a person and as a player — will only grow. When it does the complete package will be there for the entire country to fall in love with.

Cooper Flagg has everything on the court — the competitive nature, the all-around game, the natural media presence. But he is on a team in full transition with roster and coaching questions. It will take time to stack wins and get deep into playoffs.

Luka has been to a Finals. But the Lakers are navigating the post-LeBron era in a Western Conference where Oklahoma City and San Antonio are not going anywhere. Whether Luka can build a championship contender in that environment remains the central question of his career.

The Business — Media Deals and Ticket Prices

The new NBA media landscape brought in Amazon and NBC while Turner moved out. The result in year one — fans confused about where to find the games they want to watch. Legler is sympathetic but not alarmed. The landscape of entertainment has changed across the board and year two will be smoother. The content is there. You just have to work a little harder to find it.

The ticket prices are a separate conversation. Eight thousand dollars for the cheapest seat at Madison Square Garden for a Finals game. Six figures for the lower bowl. Josh Hart said publicly it is unfortunate for the die-hard fans who have waited fifty-three years. Legler's response — supply and demand. One hundred and one. Unfortunate for fans going through third-party sellers but when the market commands those prices for a fifty-three-year wait and a series this compelling that is simply what it is.

Tim Legler on His Golf Game

One more thing — the cobwebs on the clubs in the garage, the four-and-a-half-year-old son who changed the equation, the plan to get the little guy into golf before any other sport, and the shared Halloween obsession that has the new neighborhood on notice.

This is Tim Legler. One of the best analysts in the business. On the best Finals in years. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Sean Payton on Jalen Waddle and Why Denver Is Built Differently This Year

One half away from the Super Bowl last year. Fifteen wins. A defense that dominated the line of scrimmage. A quarterback finding his footing. A city that believed again.

And Sean Payton is the first one to tell you — none of that means anything if Denver does not do the work to be better in 2026.

This is not a team that is resting on what happened last season. This is a team that has been shown the data, told the truth, and challenged to fall on the right side of history. Sean Payton sits down with Trey for the most honest and forward-looking conversation about the Denver Broncos heading into 2026 — the one score game warning, the Jalen Waddle addition, the Super Bowl goal, and what it actually takes to go from one half away to all the way.

The One Score Game Warning

Here is the stat Sean Payton showed his team this offseason. Over the last twenty years teams that won ten or more one score games in a playoff season followed that up with a playoff season approximately thirty-five percent of the time. One in three. The Kansas City Chiefs went from an NFL record seventeen straight one score wins including the postseason to not winning a single one score game the following year. Zero.

Payton is not panicking about this. But he is not ignoring it either. He showed the team the data. Named the examples. Told them exactly where Denver is vulnerable — the two minute drill, the takeaway margin, the run game consistency in the second half of the season. The goal is not to keep winning one score games. The goal is to get so much better in the areas that keep you in those games that you start winning games that are not that close.

Nothing is promised. That is the message inside the Broncos building right now. You do not just pick up where you left off. You earn it again.

The Jalen Waddle Addition

The AJ Brown trade to New England has dominated the offseason conversation and the Waddle move has gotten somewhat lost in the noise. Sean Payton wants to talk about it. He is excited about it. He watched Waddle at the first OTA practice and says he wishes he had clips to share right now because it was that impressive.

What made Waddle the right fit? The makeup. The competitive nature. The grit. Payton consulted people who had been around Waddle — who know him from his time with Nick Saban and his time as Patrick Mahomes' college teammate. The reports came back the same way every time. This is a guy who loves football. Who shows up with a bright smile and a chip on his shoulder and a skill set that fits exactly what Denver needs around Bo Nix.

Denver was picking in a spot where they believed they could find a similar player in the draft. When the trade with Miami became available George Paton and Payton moved quickly. The vision was clear. The move made sense. And now Jalen Waddle is a Bronco.

The Super Bowl Goal

Trey asks the question directly. One half away from the Super Bowl last year. What would constitute a successful 2026 season?

Payton does not hedge. He does not qualify. He does not talk about the process or the growth or the journey. He says it plainly.

He thinks Denver is good enough to play in that final game.

Not hoping. Not maybe. Good enough. And then he says the five words that tell you everything about where this team's head is going into 2026.

Let's go make a run.

The schedule is challenging early — the AFC West, the Chiefs on opening night at Arrowhead on Monday Night Football, Miles Garrett and Cleveland in the mix. Payton knows. He has looked at the calendar. He has done the exercises. And his approach is the same one that got Denver fifteen wins last year — microdose it. Keep it to the next game. Keep it to the next opponent. Do not look at the whole mountain. Just take the next step.

The chapter for the 2026-27 Broncos has not been written yet. Sean Payton is anxious to pick up the pen.

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Sean Payton on Why Drafting Bo Nix Was the Right Call

When the Denver Broncos selected Bo Nix in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft a lot of people were surprised. Trey Wingo was surprised. The consensus was surprised. Six quarterbacks went in the first twelve picks that year and Bo Nix was not the one most people had circled as the franchise-defining choice for Denver.

Sean Payton was not surprised at all.

Three years later Payton sits down with Trey and gives the most detailed and honest explanation of the Bo Nix decision that has ever been made public. The analytics. The arm. The reps. The intangibles. The draft room moment when it came back Nix Nix Nix from coaches who have worked with Payton for years. And the conversation with owner Greg Penner where Payton said — let's not worry about winning draft day. Let's worry about three years from now.

Three years from now is now. And Payton's answer when asked if Denver will be happy about this vision and this player is two words.

Definitely yes.

Here is exactly how Denver got there.

The Analytics — What the Numbers Actually Said

The first thing Denver did when evaluating the 2024 quarterback class was remove the quick throws from the statistics. Strip out the easy completions that inflate accuracy numbers in certain systems. What is left when you do that is the real picture of how a quarterback performs under pressure — third downs, fourth quarters, second half comebacks, red zone, and sack percentage.

Bo Nix was the most accurate passer in college football history. Not one of the most accurate. The most accurate. And when Payton's staff looked at his negative play differential — turnovers, fumbles, interceptions, sacks per play combined — the number was historically rare. Going back twenty-five years of data the instances of a quarterback coming out of college with that profile were extraordinarily limited.

The numbers were saying yes before the eye test even started.

The Arm — A Plus Not a Neutral

Then Denver got to campus. And the arm changed the conversation.

Payton is direct about this. Bo Nix's arm strength is a plus. Not a neutral. Not acceptable. A genuine plus. The ball speed and velocity down the field are exceptional. In a draft class where several quarterbacks were operating in systems that threw underneath and created an artificial perception of what they could do at the next level Nix's profile was different. The throws he was asked to make demanded arm talent. He had it.

The Reps — Why College Football Volume Matters

Nobody played more college football than Bo Nix. Trey makes the point and Payton builds on it. Bill Parcells always wanted to know about reps. When it was south of two years of significant starting experience he had questions. The transfer portal and early entry have changed some of the math but the principle remains — you want to know who is starting ahead of a guy if he is not playing. And you want to know how many times he has been in pressure situations before he gets to the NFL.

Bo Nix had been in more of those situations than almost anyone in recent memory. The maturity process at quarterback is real. CJ Stroud looked like a franchise player in year one and Bryce Young looked like a disaster. Now the picture is more complicated for both. Jaden Daniels played a lot of college football. Sam Darnold just won a championship on his fourth team. Baker Mayfield established himself. The lesson Payton keeps coming back to is that the evaluation process takes time and the players with the most reps tend to be more ready than anyone expects.

The Intangibles — Son of a Coach

Bo Nix is the son of a football coach. He grew up understanding the schedule. The workload. The film sessions. What Monday looks like after a game. How you prepare for the week. Payton values that. He has seen it with Drew Brees in the meeting room and what it meant for younger quarterbacks to watch an elite player go through the routine at the highest level. That learning curve is invaluable and Bo Nix arrived with a version of it already built in.

The Draft Room — Nix Nix Nix

At the end of the process Payton matched his grades with the coaches. Joe Lombardi. Pete Carmichael. Coaches who have been with him for years and who he trusts completely. He was curious whether their evaluation would match his.

It came back Nix. Nix. Nix.

When you arrive at something independently and the people around you arrive at the same place without being told where to go — that is when you act on it. Denver avoided what Payton calls the NFL bus — the first round consensus machine that moves without anyone actually knowing who is driving it. They did their own work. They trusted their own process. And they made the call.

Three Years Later

Bo Nix is healthy. He will be a full participant in minicamp by week three. He will be fully ready before June ends. Training camp will have no hiccups. And the Broncos are building around a quarterback that Sean Payton believes has not yet hit his ceiling.

Three years after a pick that surprised the league Payton is not hedging. He is not qualifying. He is not saying we hope so or we think so.

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