Transcript of Dabo Swinney Called His Team "Nobodies"? | Hour 2 New

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I loved that you guys paid tribute to Russell Westbrook yesterday. He had one of my favorite NBA careers to watch ever. Like, I remember he came down with Oklahoma City right after Kevin Durant had left. To the Caseya Center and played against the Heat. And it was one of those games where I think he had 37, 17, and 13. And it was just— he was all over the court. He completely controlled the game. But it was also really cool to see Kevin Durant pay tribute to him yesterday. And I want to read you what he wrote. He wrote, I remember asking assistant coach Mo Cheeks, what's harder to do, work out after practice or before? I only asked because by the time I would get to the gym, Russ was already done in the morning, and I usually got mine in after practice. Mo He was like, "Coming in before practice is probably harder." Since then, it's been my routine. A lot of people looked at the emotions on the court and thought Russ was loud. Nah, to me, he was quiet and methodical. He led by example, and once the lights were bright, he let everything out and experienced pure freedom.

It was inspiring as his teammate, and everywhere I went, I've seen it inspire people from all walks of life. Crazy thing is, he didn't say much. He just showed up for 18 years. This basketball life is sacred to us as professionals. What we put into that court means everything. Some of us wish we could go back and do things with a little more intent, and some can just wipe their hands and be satisfied with the time they spent. Who are you going to be? We know what zero was on. Keep inspiring in the next phase of life, champ. I don't care what happens. Can't erase what it was. The first YNs.

Uh-oh.

Finals run in our early 20s.

Oop.

All-Star Games. Seeing each other get injured and bounce back. The bus rides, plane rides, card games, jokes and arguments. The whole thing.

Memorable.

To the whole Westbrook family. Nina, the kids, Mama Westbrook, Big Russ, Ray, Donald, Everybody from Losing Our High and UCLA and UCLA and many more that I'm forgetting.

Young naysayer.

Much love and congratulations on an iconic career. And I just want to say, like, I think it's so cool when a teammate pays tribute to another. We all saw, like, what we thought was friction on the court. I'm just going to power through. We all thought we saw what was friction on the court. I hope one day when I'm done, I have a teammate that pays tribute to me and all the other ones in the exact same way.

And you know what?

I think that's worth a toast.

Yeah, worth a toast.

Is presented by Cuervo.

Keep it fun.

I'm so happy that happened. Keep it fun. It's great.

The first—

here, here, Cuervo!

All right, played yourself with that one, pal.

Just thought you guys would let me power through it.

What show you working on?

Maybe going to skip it.

At least there wasn't a pause.

You know, I was going to mention this yesterday and I guess it just slipped my mind, but I don't know if you guys remember Russell Westbrook. He was playing those first— what was it, like 11 years for Oklahoma City? And then he was traded to Houston in 2019. It was between Miami and Houston. Those were the teams. And the idea was, it just shows you how he really was in trade rumors every offseason. The Heat were going to trade the draft rights to Tyler Herro for, you know, and whatever other salary to make it work, of course. But they were going to trade the kid they just drafted, Tyler Herro, in a package for Russell Westbrook. And ultimately it ended up being Houston.

In retrospect, would you have rather have done that or gotten Giannis now?

Wow. I mean, that was a lot of years that went by and I feel like they could have gotten another asset that could have gotten them into that game.

He was still really awesome in Houston that first year.

Yeah, he was an All-Star. And Tyler made it to the All-Star Game as well.

And Tyler was great in the playoffs that year.

But for what that team needed, I don't know. Maybe you revisit that one. And that's another missed opportunity in that like 5-year span where they just could not land the big acquisition.

Until they landed the big acquisition.

That's right.

No, no, no doubt. But that doesn't make like the, the whiffs go away. It makes it feel better.

Should Giannis' new nickname be the Big Acquisition?

No.

The Big Shaquisition?

Jeremy, he famously has a great one.

It's fair. I think it's a good one.

I mean, do you remember, you know, it was very much like Frank Gore at the U. This guy has all the talent in the world. Unfortunately, he has two bum knees, so he's never going to make it. And then he has one— he proves to be one of the most durable running backs in pro football history. I mean, it's been at least a decade, you know, as Derrick Rose, who played a very similar brand of ball with the same, um, you know, skinny build, broke down. Russell Westbrook, it was decreed, like I say, what, 8, 10 years ago, like, his shelf life is, is not great based on the way he attacks the rim endlessly. He's gonna break sooner rather than later. This is a remarkable run for a guy given his style of play, right?

Yeah, like, I mean, you don't think that his athleticism dropped off all that much, right?

I mean, it's dropped off, obviously. I mean, he's in the 18th year.

But he wasn't broken.

No, but like, his body didn't break down. Like, he didn't have— to use Dave's thing— he didn't have a Derrick Rose kind of, my body has failed me because my style of play is too aggressive and explosive. That didn't happen. But what did happen, the part that didn't age well, is like, hey, the guy doesn't learn how to shoot. As the drop-off, even a small drop-off, is going to greatly diminish his impact. And that's kind of what happened. He never really acquired the skills to give him the longevity to continue to be at a high level in the way that, say, LeBron, another great athlete, has added the outside game to him.

I also feel like he was, he was defiant toward that.

Super. That's, that's a, that's a word that kind of perfectly describes his career.

He didn't think he needed to change.

He didn't think so. But I do think a cool part of his career was finishing top 10 3 different times for Sixth Man of the Year. I know he wasn't the same Russ, and I know he never found the shot in ways that he didn't want to evolve his game, even ways that Dwyane Wade, a player that he was compared to, found ways to kind of age a little bit more gracefully. This guy did take two roles and he did thrive in those roles.

Wade, the biggest adjustment of Wade, and Wade was in many ways in retrospect lucky that when the Big Three happened, he was still a great player, but it forced him to think about the game differently. Before the Big Three, Wade was, give me the ball and we're going to pick and roll and everything is going to be rolled about me having the ball. And then that first year, Miami with LeBron and Bosh didn't work quite as well as they wanted to. And they realized he's gotta be off ball. LeBron has to have the ball, and Wade has to learn how to cut and do all these extra other things off ball. But it made him a more complete player. I think if Russell Westbrook had had the opportunity, or maybe had been forced upon him the opportunity, you need to change your game some, even if it doesn't mean learning how to shoot, because Wade never really learned how to shoot other than that one month when Gabby Union had tried to tell us, like, oh, I thought you guys said Duh duh duh duh. Like, yeah, it's December. But other than that time, Wade never learned how to shoot.

If Westbrook, without learning how to shoot, just learned how to play off-ball, to be in motion off the ball, back screening, cuts and all that, I think it would have helped his career tremendously. But again, we're talking about a guy, one of the top 75 players ever.

Helped his Hall of Fame career.

Yeah, he had a weird career because I keep harping back on, for a player who was going to be first-ballot Hall of Famer, and well-deserved first ballot Hall of Famer, played for 7 different teams, and I think only one fan base really enjoyed him playing for their team. And that's, that's strange to say that.

I still say the Wizards. He was there a year, but like, he made an impact on an organization that typically doesn't have positive impacts, right? So I think Wizards fans think of him fondly for sure. I think Rockets fans, there might be some who remember him fondly.

The Lakers, the Lakers stop really hurt him.

It hurt him for all, like, the worst reasons because it's like, number one, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't his fault, right? And number two, they're the most obnoxious, like, group of people who are most prone to groupthink, I think. Like, they're all like, we all think like this, and if we feel like this dude was bad for us, and we all do.

Yeah, so I don't know if you guys saw this.

There you go.

Dan Levitar, the first Jeremy Tatché.

YN's.

Uh-oh. This is the Dan Levitar Show.

I have a question I want to ask Zazzla to go back to last segment, but by the way, are you saying, Zazz, that OKC is the fan base that—

Of course. Oh, he's beloved there. Absolutely beloved.

Well, I know he is, but I do wonder now as you look back and probably the, the harsh feelings about that era probably soften because you got the title a year ago with the, with the, uh, the new OKC group. But man, when you look back on that one, they are sort of a cautionary tale. You had KD and James Harden and Russell Westbrook, and they— and it added up to ultimately nothing. I wonder if you do look back as an OKC guy and sort of feel like there was meat left on the bone, not something that you look back.

Well, yeah, but not Not anymore though. Like, I think when they won the title 2 years ago, it's like, all right, I could let that one go. But until then, yeah, of course.

Yeah. But Zazz, Tashay opened this segment by whispering his toast. And I was thinking too, with the Field of Dreams thing that we were talking about in the game that went on last night and everything, what if instead of Kevin Costner, what if it was Jonathan Zaslow? And instead of being an accomplished broadcaster, you were a farmer in Iowa, and one day you were out in the field, and all of a sudden you heard a ghost voice say, "If you build it, he will come." What, what's, what's Zazz's reaction to that?

I don't like ghosts. I don't know if you know that. There's two things everybody knows about me. One, one, I'll never be a cuck. And number two, I don't like ghosts. I am not interested in that. If, if, if I heard something that I thought would be a ghost, that'd be a big problem. I'd be scared. I don't like ghosts.

So you don't listen to the ghost? You like ignore it? You go about your day?

No, I'm not about ghosts.

What was that?

Sounds like the ghost.

If you build it, it will come. Who's that? Who's that? Who are you doing there? I don't know what you're doing there.

And then he says All right then.

All right.

All right.

Okay, there you go.

There you go. Is Clemson football going to suck this year?

Uh, they seem to continue being headed down that path.

I'm going to see Clemson week 1. I'm going to Clemson LSU, the Battle of Death Valleys. All right, uh, is Clemson going to suck?

Well, let's play this audio from Dabo and you tell me. Just to name early on field work, has anybody maybe popped out or surprised you in a way, just in terms of their progression from the spring to the summer?

No.

No, everybody's just working.

There's a bunch of nobodies.

We'll see. We'll see if anybody becomes somebody as we play some games.

It's inspiring. Our coach wants to see if we're a bunch of nobodies. He wants to see if any of us are going to become somebody.

I like the silent, for the audio audience, before he even answers, just like a dismissive, like, nah, nope, not even close.

So let's try to analyze what he's going for here. I can understand if they had a very successful season last year. Mario Cristobal's trying to do that right now. Hey, half this roster wasn't here.

They didn't accomplish anything.

Anything, you downplay it, but they didn't accomplish much. So I think he's actually being honest. But I look, all the things that worked for Dabo initially, and there were a lot of questions about Dabo. He's one of the great coaching stories ever and built some really tremendous teams that went against Alabama at prime Alabama time. But all the things that were working now seem goofy. And we were talking to Jay Lucas and we invoked Mario Cristobal about how those guys are so perfect. For this day and age, this changing landscape. It was like pulling teeth to get Dabo to understand the whole concept of the portal. Get out there, get aggressive about talent acquisition. Just not built for this evolution in college football.

I do appreciate how secure Dabo seems to be with this. He's just— he has the attitude of like, I can do nothing to lose this job.

He's starting to change his ways, I guess, with adding a few more for the first time ever, right?

Yeah, it's been forced on him, but there you go. But that— no, that's— I don't want to— I want to be careful here because it's a tricky game at Death Valley for the Miami Hurricanes. I don't want to give them bulletin board material, but I would say headed into this season, it is a pivotal season for Dabo because it seems to be— now, they did make the CFP 2 years ago.

It doesn't feel that long ago that they were the big bad.

He was— he was defiant, and there were a lot of questions about Dabo, they won the ACC. They actually gave— I think they played Texas and they gave them a game. They didn't look so bad. And then last year, you know, confirmed a lot of the suspicions that maybe he's not really built for this. Now, I think Dabo's going to get another opportunity if he doesn't end his career in Clemson. It's kind of weird that we're having that discussion. He's synonymous with it, that sweatshirt that he wears. It'd be weird, but Reported on the, the, the Florida job, and he was a name that was being kicked around when they whiffed on Lane Kiffin. So I— he's a national championship winner. There are not many active national championship winners in that sport. It's a, it's a tough club to get into.

He's the blue blood. He is the face of new blood college football. And but I do think in the last couple of years that's diminished to the point that they're almost irrelevant in the ACC conversation, which is crazy. Which brings me to this. Let's talk to a couple couple of ACC wonks here. Mike Ryan, Chris Cody, it's time for Mr. Lister. Oh wow, as basic as we can possibly get here. It's not just the players that need to get ready for the regular season, it's the fans too. Here we go, Mr. Lister, you're gonna trade back and forth with this category until you cannot name a name on this list here. Here we go. You're first, Chris Cody.

Chris, you understand the rules?

Kind of. Can Jeremy and I play together? No thanks.

Okay.

No, no, no. You're good.

Cody's eating my Brian.

Here we go. Here we go. Ready? Straightforward. ACC teams. Go.

Oh, Miami.

Oh wow. Good. Good for you.

He said it with a question mark.

Good eye.

Florida State.

NC State.

North Carolina.

Damn, that was gonna be my next one.

Duke.

Wake Forest.

Doing better than— doing better than I thought.

Thank you for picking this topic. I feel very— Virginia Tech.

Virginia.

Able to run the table here.

All right, now we're getting into the, uh—

eyes over here, pal.

All right, this is only hard because I feel the pressure. I clearly could think of You don't need to vamp around.

No one cares.

What's been said already? Has Wake Forest been said?

Yes, it has.

Syracuse.

We're not doing—

That's right.

Louisville.

Good thing you were just thinking that whole time.

All right, well, you took long enough.

Ah, how many more are there?

A few.

That's not available.

Current day or all time?

All right, shut up.

SMU.

Cal.

Cal. Oh shit. All right, um, that was a correct answer, Chris Cody.

I feel like I've already— I already feel good about how I've performed here, so at this point, um, just trying to look at the standings.

Maybe look to your right.

Look at the Georgia Tech, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Calvin engineer.

There's one that we haven't gone to. That's pretty obvious.

Yeah, yeah, you guys all know it?

Yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. I know, I know.

Have we done all the Florida teams?

Yeah.

Yes.

Okay, um, anyone want to look at me?

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Are we going football members? No, only Notre Dame. No, shut up.

We—

I don't think we said Clemson.

We did not.

Yeah, I thought I said Clemson. Oh, I was because I thought that one was gone. I just thought of that one too.

Mike Ryan is our winner. And I'm upset with you, Chris. See if there's another team you can—

I thought you were going to go ACC quarterback.

Yeah, Dave, when you're looking at the list of ACC teams, it's real easy.

This is what—

oh yeah, I forgot Pitt.

This is what we say to Ethan every single week on the Pitch Clock. It's like, stop being so cocky about this.

You have the list in front of you.

That's true.

With Dave, in this though. I should have thought of Pitt. That's a good one.

Yeah, you should have thought of Pitt in this conversation.

I got like 7. I feel good.

Good job, Mike.

I know the ACC. That's pretty impressive for a guy that's only been to Charlotte once.

Uh, if anybody wants more, you just say the word and Mr. List—

I was ready to go with quarterbacks. I was licking my chops. Down levitar.

I don't like the word blue, but I do have at least one pal that I can think of who has He actually, he says he fell asleep in coitus.

Dave Dimachik.

You may look at me and be surprised to hear this. I happen to be a vigorous lovemaker, so that would never happen to me.

This is the Dan Levitan Show. All right, guys, it's Friday. You know what that means. Got a lot of people out there, they're like, yo, I got things going on. There's a lot happening. Gotta spend some time with my family. That's why, Zaslo, I need you to tell me, is it a big game? Was it not a big game? Howdy folks, welcome to Big Game or Not a Big Game with Jonathan Zaslo. Big game or not a big game. We will go around the room. We'll do it together. We'll figure this out if it's a big game or it's not a big game. Chris, we'll start with you. How about that?

Tonight, 6:10, might be 6:40. I don't have the time right. Marlins at Reds. Battle of aces. Sandy Alcantara. First, a guy named Chase Burns.

He's, he's really good.

He's their ace apparently.

He's amazing.

Marlins, Reds. Marlins looking to get back in the win column. Best home record in the National League, the Miami Marlins. Your ace is supposed to be the guy who gets you back on track. Marlins, Reds. Not a big game. Not a big game. Reds aren't any good, and, and football has started, so come on. Marlins are not a big game anymore.

It doesn't matter that Chase Burns has a 2.60 ERA, he's 13-2. It doesn't matter that Sandy Alcantara is riding a 20-inning scoreless streak.

I made my decision with prejudice. Mike Ryan, big game and not a big game.

Wow, so many games.

I know.

So many games going on right now.

I know.

Commanders.

Wow.

Dolphins.

Wow.

Big game or not a big game?

Commanders first preseason game. Dolphins first preseason game. Jayden Daniels hates LSU. You know about that? Brandon Aiyuk thinks he plays for the Commanders. Likely not available tonight. The Dolphins, we're going to get our first glimpse at Malik Willis. The game's in Northwest Stadium. You ever been Northwest Stadium? Place is a dump. Commanders, Dolphins. That's not a big game.

I mean, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with but a step. And that step tonight, the Harbaugh era begins in New York. The Giants, lot of expectations, great defense. Jackson Dart.

The New York Giants.

The New York football Giants.

Say that one more time. Can you? I'm getting jacked up. We are the New York Giants.

New York football Giants.

This guy works hard.

Yeah, I do.

You know who they're taking on?

Who?

They're taking on another journey of 1,000 miles that begins with but a step. Kyler Murray. New digs, new environment. And he's gonna go there and he's like, you know what?

Hicks isn't there.

I'm going to rule over this. Guess what, J.J. McCarthy? Don't even think about me stumbling out here and you could take my spot. So Vikings at Giants, big game or not a big game?

Now when is this game?

Tonight.

It's tomorrow.

Same shit. A journey of a thousand steps takes a little bit longer for Kyler Murray.

It's tomorrow.

Vikings-Giants. Saturday afternoon. Like Amin said, you have Kyler Murray.

Murray.

You have Jackson Dart. Dart. The game is on ESPN Unlimited.

That's your Russell Wilson.

Vikings-Giants. Not a big game. Somebody give me a big game already. Dave Dameshek. Big game in our game.

Well, I was thinking about Red Sox and Pirates, but thankfully, like you said, it's football season just in time for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Instead, I'll go with this one. It is come time now in our home.

What?

Replace our existing couch.

What time is it right now?

Couch, new couch shopping. I don't know what time.

I graduated some cum laude.

Yeah. You said it's cum time now.

I, I, I, I'm not here to work.

You're working blue, cut it up, put it in the club.

You go an R-rated, X-rated—

new couch shopping because the other one—

you literally said it's cum time now.

New couch shopping because the old one has a lot of cum on it.

Jesus.

Oh, I guess, uh, Amin was spending time with, uh, Jaden Daniel's mom around the couch or something like that.

Now some decoro.

Come on, what is this?

Hey man, Zaslo Ghost, do I need— is, is going to get a new sectional couch a big game this weekend?

Well, it's funny that you're at— who, who's that you do impression of?

Zaslo Ghost. He asked Zaslo Ghost.

I don't know who that's supposed to be. It's funny that you said that because the Zaslo family We are in search of a new sectional for the Zaslo Mansion family room as well. This is a very big conundrum that I've been in for this entire summer. Matter of fact, been trying to get a sponsor. That's right, a furniture sponsor.

What are you saying?

Hit me up if you want to sponsor the Zaslo Mansion family room couch. So Dave, I of all people know how important that is. Looking for a new couch? That's a big game.

Big game.

Jeremy Tashay, big game or not a big game?

Visiting my in-laws this weekend up in St. Augustine. Big game, not a big game?

Jeremy's such a guy that will bring his like mother-in-law flowers.

Wow.

St. Augustine, how far is that?

It's a little over a 4-hour drive.

Holy moly. You call her Mommy?

Yeah, do you call her Mommy?

Hey Mom!

No.

Do you call her Ma?

Hey Ma.

No.

Strange.

Hey, man.

But you do do the flowers.

Do you stay overnight?

Yep.

Oh, it's getting worse and worse.

Wow. I'll, I'll, I'll empty your garbage for you. Don't worry about that. I got that. What else you need done around the house?

Do you have to sleep in separate rooms from your wife? No. Okay. That's important to note.

We have naughty time there?

No.

Is it her child's house?

Is it a family joke that, that the mom likes you better than her own daughter? Uh, yeah, it's like she cares more about, about, about my husband than she does about me. Am I right, everybody?

Jeremy going to spend the weekend at his in-laws at St. Augustine. That is not a big game. That is a, that's a brutal game.

Oh, all right.

Tough road matchup.

There you go.

Who, who's that supposed to be? Roy, big game or not a big game?

Padres at Guardians. The Guardians are a game and a half behind Detroit. Padres are a, uh, half game ahead of Philadelphia for the second in a wildcard spot. We're giving our game—

well, as Roy just mentioned, the Padres, they're fighting for a playoff spot. The Guardians, they're also fighting for a playoff spot. That's a big game. That's how it's a swerve right there. You didn't know I was gonna go in that direction. Good job, Roy! That's a big game right there. Everybody knows when the Padres meet the Guardians, everybody knows that's a big game.

Oh, Quinton Tarantino!

And that right there is another edition of Big Game or Not a Big Game. How about that?

You know about going the distance.

I'm gonna let you guys go here on a Friday. With the latest viral video on Twitter. Yesterday was all over the place. If you haven't seen it yet, prepare to have a good laugh. All right, let me give you dude tripping while holding a beer.

That's some butt crack.

Oh no.

Oh, it's blurred.

Okay.

Daddy, what's that? That's what the kid said.

Goddamn, Jun, what the fuck?