- 9 minutes ago
Tim Kawakami of the SF Standard joins Willard and Dibs to break down Brandon Aiyuk's meeting with the 49ers and the Warriors 6-game winning streak.
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00:00Niners Raiders, Brandon Iyuk, Golden State Warriors,
00:05Winstreak, Yaxl, the rest, and actually the perfect guy to talk it out with us
00:09with all of that stuff is one of our favorites.
00:13You got the TK show, obviously part of the Odyssey family,
00:17SF Standard, joining us on the River Islands guest line,
00:20none other than Tim Kawakami.
00:22Hey, Tim, thanks for doing it today. What's up?
00:24Hey, not much.
00:25Just monitoring the local freeways to see where Brandon Iyuk might be.
00:29Right, right, yeah, on a van on the freeway.
00:34So I assume, were you there today, Tim?
00:37Oh, God, no. Oh, Lord, no.
00:38Okay.
00:40So you were one of the smart ones.
00:43I don't do ceremonial stuff, and that was ceremony.
00:47And I get it, people had to cover it, and I was checking it on social media,
00:51but he's not playing for the 49ers.
00:52Like, that's not happening.
00:53So I know that, so I don't care.
00:56Beyond that, it'll happen in some weird and convoluted way,
01:00but he is not going to ever play for the 49ers again.
01:04And I know that.
01:05I think Kyle Shanahan has basically said it.
01:07The whole team knows it, so I don't know how this is going to unfold,
01:10but I know how it's going to end.
01:12He is not going to play with the 49ers anymore.
01:13He's not going to be part of the team.
01:14I totally agree with that notion.
01:16I just wonder about the next steps, because he would need to have a physical,
01:21and he would need to go through a certain amount of things in the rigmarole.
01:25And will this all happen after the deadline, so the move is just to cut him?
01:29What's your gut on what happens next?
01:31I don't think he has any trade value whatsoever,
01:33so I don't think it really matters.
01:35I think the fact that he reported before the deadline does qualify him,
01:39that there was a, you know, just that he can play the season.
01:42If he didn't, they could have just put him on the list the whole time,
01:45no matter what he did.
01:46But I think it was just, I think it's more than symbolic
01:49that they didn't let him on site.
01:51He was not, this was not happening at Levi's Stadium, right?
01:55It was happening at the offices near Levi's Stadium.
01:58He's not coming near the locker room.
02:00He's not coming near the football team.
02:03You can, as I've been saying this whole time, a lot of people,
02:06oh, he's got to do this, he's got to do this, he's got to report.
02:08You can waive all these things.
02:10I think maybe you can take the physical and outside doctors.
02:13That happens all the time.
02:16So just leave it to that.
02:18Just ask yourself, why do they do this not on site at Levi's Stadium?
02:22He's not going to be anywhere near the team.
02:24Or maybe buy a ticket to Sunday and might be the closest hope against the team.
02:28That's it.
02:29You know, this is over.
02:30It's just been played out in the most dramatic possible way.
02:34Foreigners are probably, you know, to blame for this too,
02:36is they want to squeeze every possible dollar they can out of them.
02:38That's probably the biggest delay.
02:40You got some of that signing bonus back,
02:42and it's debatable how much they can get back.
02:45I've been saying for a while, just cut them, get rid of this,
02:48so it's not anything.
02:50I guess they would tell me, oh, yeah, he wasn't even allowed in the headquarters.
02:56So who cares?
02:57You know, it's just something for you guys.
02:59And maybe that's what it is.
03:01It's just weird.
03:02But everybody in that locker room knows what the result is.
03:05He's not a part of this team.
03:06So, Tim, I wonder, especially because I know, you know, you're tapped in.
03:12Like, earlier this week, Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch,
03:17probably both for legal reasons, sort of gave answers that made it sound like,
03:22who knows?
03:23You never say never.
03:25We're with you.
03:26We've been there the whole time.
03:27This ain't happening.
03:28And today, it was just a very different tone from Kyle Shanahan.
03:33And I wonder what your perspective is on where the emotions are.
03:38What kind of feelings do Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch,
03:42and the organization have about the way he's behaved over the last couple of years?
03:47Well, you know, obviously, they made it pretty clear.
03:50They basically feel like he separated himself from the team,
03:53and they don't want anybody who separated himself from the team to be on the team.
03:57And you're right, they can't.
03:58And I think they could have said more.
04:00But I think if, you know, if, let's say Ayuk had not reported
04:04or not done what he did today,
04:07the 49ers could just continue to put him on their reserve list.
04:10And if they say that that's what their intent was all the time,
04:12then maybe there's a legal thing that you can't do that.
04:15And maybe it's, you know, all that stuff.
04:16So that's where the phrasing came in from Kyle, for sure.
04:21But look at his face.
04:22They're done with him.
04:23You know, they're done with somebody who talked about them on social media.
04:26They were pretty close to done with him before a lot of the social media stuff.
04:31And then he didn't show up for rehab.
04:33This is, I mean, I know everyone wants to, people still ask me,
04:37is it possible?
04:38Is it possible?
04:38No, it's not been possible for a long time.
04:41He's not going to, I don't know that he's going to play football again,
04:44but at least he's made the motion to try to get back in.
04:47And he's not going to be on the 49ers for any day longer than he's put back on an active
04:53list
04:53and then he's no longer, he's not going to take a roster spot.
04:55They're not going to pay him any more money.
04:57They got to figure out this take back from the bonus.
05:00And it's not clear cut.
05:01That's one thing.
05:02It's not like, absolutely, they own, you know, $13 million.
05:05You've got to pay them.
05:06I think it's negotiable about when he starts soft reporting,
05:09when they considered him leaving the team, how many games it elapsed.
05:12All those things are going to be in this conversation.
05:16I'll tell you what, he's not going to write a check for $13 million.
05:19That's not happening.
05:20So that has to be dealt with, but that's not the football team.
05:24That's, this is legal stuff.
05:26And that's right.
05:26It would happen at a business park.
05:28It didn't happen at Levi's Stadium.
05:29I cannot under, I cannot emphasize that enough.
05:33There's a reason why this happened at an office park near Levi's Stadium
05:36and not Levi's Stadium.
05:37He is no longer part of the team.
05:39And he's a persona non grata.
05:41And the optics are more than just the optics, Tim.
05:44I think that's a great point.
05:45Tim Kawakami here on 95.7 The Game.
05:47So Ayuk won't be the piece that they need to add at receiver if they do.
05:52And I'll ask you, do they need to add a piece before the deadline at wide receiver?
05:57I think they could.
05:59Obviously, Mike Evans is going to miss this game, going to miss the next one.
06:03You know, you really could use a veteran receiver.
06:06We know it's not going to be Christian Kirk.
06:07It's been an absolute nothing.
06:09He's now hurt again.
06:11But I don't think it's one of those where they can go get a difference maker.
06:15I just don't know that there's a receiver like that who's available.
06:18I mean, you know, Dwan Jennings was going to be something, you know,
06:20that they're interested just because of familiarity and he didn't come.
06:24So it's going to be something like that.
06:26You know, maybe a better version of Christian Kirk, if you ever can imagine that being.
06:31I don't know that that's exactly what they're dying for here.
06:35I still think defensive end might be the thing that they're most looking for.
06:40That's, you know, tends to be kind of game changers are available sometimes at that position,
06:45more so than receivers at midseason.
06:46We'll see.
06:47I don't know that.
06:49Let's just go get a receiver and plug them right in.
06:51That's hard to do.
06:52Like, you know, Shanahan talked to that on Wednesday.
06:55It's like you just, those guys, the guys that they know can fit them on the fly are,
07:01you know, number on one hand, maybe even not one, maybe two fingers.
07:06So, you know, Kendrick Bourne would be the other one.
07:08He's done it before, but he's hurt now.
07:09So, you know, it's not a long list.
07:12You can't just go down the receiving list and go, I want that guy.
07:15He's got 50 catches and six touchdowns.
07:17It has to be somebody that they know will fit into what they do on the fly.
07:22And I don't know who that is.
07:23It may be a veteran who could be, like, a third receiver.
07:27But then what are you giving up for that?
07:29Because if everyone's back, if Debo's back, Mike Evans is back,
07:32this player's probably not going to play very much.
07:33I think that's what Jennings ran into.
07:36Like, what would his role be?
07:38And it would not be as a starter.
07:39Like, Juan Jennings comes back here.
07:41He was the number one for various reasons when he was here before.
07:44He ain't going to be the number one now.
07:46That's Mike Evans.
07:46He's not probably going to be the number two.
07:48That's Debo Samuel.
07:49Then you start going three, four, five.
07:51I know.
07:51I don't know.
07:52Demarcus Robinson's coming back.
07:53Like, that's a receiver that Purdy loves throwing to.
07:56So, I don't know.
07:58It's not – I wouldn't see it being a headliner.
08:00I mean, obviously, I could be surprised.
08:02I think the move they made was DeForest Buckner,
08:05and I think they were looking at defensive ends.
08:07And we'll see if they can make a move for defensive end receivers.
08:10Probably one more line down that in a priority.
08:14And it's just hard for them to get a receiver that they're very comfortable with.
08:19Tim Kawakami, SF Standard, with us here on Willard and Dibbs.
08:23Should we also extract from that, Tim, that they feel relatively comfortable about not just the future health of Mike
08:32Evans and Debo Samuel,
08:33but that they do see Stribling as joining this at some point?
08:37Yeah, that one I don't know about.
08:39It's a little blurry on that one.
08:40Okay.
08:41I just think receivers are a hard thing to add to in the middle of a season.
08:46They did it with Emmanuel Sanders way back in 2019, but they knew Sanders.
08:49They knew he was a total pro, and he fit right in.
08:53There's just not a lot of guys like that.
08:55So, no, I think they're – you know, you're not sure about Mike Evans.
08:59He missed nine games last year, and he's got tweaks this year,
09:03but I think they really feel great about it if they can keep him healthy going into the playoffs.
09:07Well, I just think that's just not a position you go shopping for for anybody.
09:13Defensive end is.
09:15The receiver isn't.
09:16So, it just really, really restricts who they think can come in and be better than even, you know, whoever
09:23they got now.
09:25They want people who they know, okay, on third and 10, he's going to be there.
09:30It's not going to be 27 times, but the one time that Brock Purdy needs him to be there in
09:36a big game,
09:37down the stretch, we need to know he's going to be there.
09:39And there's just not that – again, that's a limited field.
09:43Limited to sometimes players on their own team can't make that play.
09:47And they're certainly not going to just go through anybody.
09:50So, I would not – I don't even know who it would be.
09:53You know, Jawan Jennings was the obvious one, and he wouldn't have fixed a lot,
09:57and it wouldn't have cost them a lot.
09:59But beyond that, I don't know who it would be.
10:01Does being 6-1 give them a little bit more of a cushion in terms of being conservative with Mike
10:06Evans?
10:06I know they've said that they want to win every game.
10:09There's only 17 of these.
10:10But do you sense that they are going to be a little bit more conservative just based on their record?
10:15Yeah, I agree with that.
10:16I think they were conservative in the last game.
10:18And, again, it probably wasn't that conservative.
10:20He's going to miss another week.
10:22But I just think you do play to the record at some point.
10:25You'd be smart.
10:27The Raiders is not the game for to push this also.
10:30That's part of this.
10:32And you want him to be at his best in the final games of the regular season and into the
10:37playoffs.
10:38At this point, you can't guarantee that they're going to make the playoffs,
10:41but I think they feel pretty good about it.
10:43They are okay, you know, at other offensive positions.
10:47They may be pretty thin at receiver right now.
10:49But they can probably win some games without Evans.
10:52It's going to be harder.
10:53And we know it was impossible for them to do it against Atlanta.
10:57But it is definitely a time for them to look around and go, okay, 70% is not good enough
11:04right now.
11:05It's just not.
11:05And I think they made the same decision with Bosa for the Atlanta game.
11:09Now he's ready to go.
11:10But you're right.
11:11They're not going to say it.
11:12They hate saying it.
11:13And you get burned if you start thinking about this too much.
11:16Because then you start losing games that you can't get back.
11:19And all of a sudden, you're not the one seed anymore.
11:21You're the three seed.
11:22And, wait a minute, you're the five seed.
11:23I understand what they're saying.
11:25But also, Mike Evans is too valuable for a second-round game.
11:30You get the Bears coming in or whoever it's going to be.
11:33They want to do the very best they can to make sure Mike Evans is ready to play this.
11:37I think it's the same thing for Bosa, but he's ready now.
11:41Those kinds of players, maybe you're a little bit more apt to say, you know what?
11:47We can go one more week without you.
11:49And I think that's clearly what they're doing with Mike Evans.
11:51And maybe it's another week even after that.
11:53He's just too special.
11:55He's too specialized.
11:57I think he's a big-game matchup player.
12:00That's what he is.
12:00He's already been that for them.
12:03Let's see them get to their next really big game.
12:05Maybe the Mexico City game.
12:06Maybe that's the one.
12:08And, you know, you don't need to jeopardize him being great for you in January by pushing him out there
12:15a little too early in November.
12:17Tim Cowell coming with us.
12:18SF Standard.
12:19Let's switch over to Warriors a little bit here, Tim.
12:21And I'm wondering, the Warriors kind of pull a fast one on the league.
12:25You know the people that lie over at amusement parks and grab a wheelchair and get the front of the
12:31line pass.
12:32I'm wondering if the Warriors did this to the league.
12:35Why is it considered a good thing to draft someone when they're 19 or 20 years old?
12:41If you can get an NBA-ready player for four years at, like, $6 million per year.
12:48Like, this feels like a huge advantage that maybe we weren't really thinking about.
12:54Money ball.
12:54Right?
12:55Money ball.
12:55Well, I really wasn't thinking about it myself, but it does make a lot of sense.
13:00I'm sure Yax Leninborg will not love hearing, oh, yeah, you're not going to get this huge second contract.
13:04I think he probably will.
13:06But, yeah, 24, 25, 26, before he's making the extension that Pizemki, who is younger than him, by the way,
13:14just got.
13:15But, yeah, it's a value.
13:19You still need the good player, right?
13:21It's the good player.
13:22And sometimes, you know, I agree.
13:26I fall into this, too.
13:27Oh, he's 19-year-old, 20 years old.
13:28That's the value.
13:28That's the value.
13:29Even, you know, the Michigan player, his teammate at Michigan, Morris Johnson, goes ahead of him.
13:34And you go, oh, you know what?
13:35He's not doing much, but he's still young.
13:38The Warriors didn't need young.
13:40You know, they just need a player.
13:41It's a little different in different timelines.
13:44All these other things that are happening, they just got a good player.
13:48And that is the important thing, and they are showing us.
13:50That's the most important thing.
13:52Is the player good or not good?
13:54And Jax Lindenberg is good.
13:56And he might not get a lot better.
13:59I don't know.
14:00Or maybe he could because he was a different developing player.
14:03He was on a different timeline than, you know, he certainly wasn't a teenager that was going to be like
14:08AJ DeBance or whoever.
14:10He's just good.
14:11So, yeah, whatever, which way this works out for the Warriors, they'll take it.
14:16The fact that he's, you know, right there on the same timeline as Steph Curry right now, not career-wise,
14:22but he's playing really good basketball for Steph Curry, is the biggest value in the history of the world.
14:27To make Steph Curry feel more energized, to raise the level of the franchise as a rookie in his ninth
14:35game.
14:35They're already counting off.
14:36Just put 17, 8, and 6, right?
14:39Just write it down.
14:42It's immensely valuable.
14:44They haven't gotten it.
14:45And we know, right?
14:45We list rookies have come in who have not done that.
14:49But that's huge.
14:50I don't know that 24 was what they were going for because they're 24-year-olds you don't want to
14:55draft.
14:56I absolutely don't.
14:57F.E. Udo was one of those guys years ago.
14:59I'm from that day about.
15:00You know, and it just isn't the smart way to go.
15:03So, I'm not saying always go this way.
15:05But you're right.
15:06There's a real canniness in saying this guy is ready to go right now.
15:10And Steph Curry is with us right now.
15:13No, let's just do that.
15:15And, you know, they're still going to get extra years out of it.
15:19Again, Lennon-Boer is going to get a good second contract.
15:21Maybe it's going to be slightly compromised by what his age is.
15:24But he's just good.
15:26He's just a good player.
15:27He's a player that affects games every time he's out there.
15:31Not always perfectly.
15:32We've seen that.
15:33He's NBA games.
15:35You know, it's new to him.
15:36But, man, does he do stuff.
15:39And it's been just a dream pick for them.
15:42They love Braden Burries who went to pick before them.
15:46And I would understand that.
15:47And I'm still doing this in my head.
15:48Yeah, he's not doing great, but he's 20.
15:50But it is part of how you factor all this.
15:54They would not want him right now.
15:56I'm going to tell you that.
15:58There's no way.
15:59And I understand exactly what they were thinking.
16:03I didn't always agree with it.
16:05But, man, this is just a brilliant pick that has really changed who they are.
16:08Steve Kerr said this multiple times.
16:10It's changed who they are.
16:11No doubt.
16:12And it pushes everyone down.
16:14So now Pods can be your No. 3 score.
16:16And if Jimmy comes back, he's the No. 4 score.
16:18And I wonder, Tim, what you think about the Kristaps Porzingis piece of this.
16:23If the Warriors continue to be good, maybe not this good all the time,
16:26but you get closer to the deadline,
16:28do you get more motivated as a Warrior team to just get something for Kristaps Porzingis?
16:34Yeah, I think so.
16:35I mean, I think they're probably motivated now.
16:38But things aren't available right now.
16:41I would just – I have not heard this from them.
16:43But I think there would be some caution that you don't – you know,
16:47what you're going to do is probably trade his short-term money for longer-term money
16:50to help that team, the other trading team, come off that money.
16:54You don't want to get stuck with bad money, right?
16:57If you do that, you're not going to be able to offer a max contract to a free agent next
17:02year.
17:02I'm not saying there's one out there for sure who would fit them perfectly
17:06and would want to come.
17:07But don't just do something just to do it if that's going to mess you up for the offseason.
17:14Again, I know the Curry – 100% I know this is a great year for Steph Curry.
17:19You want to maximize it.
17:20And they're 6-3.
17:22It's pretty good maximization as of now.
17:24Well, but if there's somebody – and I keep hinting about it, not that I know it,
17:29but there is a free agent who'd be in Denver right now who doesn't seem very happy there
17:35who might be wonderful to watch playing with Steph Curry.
17:39If you have a 2% chance at him, don't mess it up.
17:44And that's why, like, just don't add somebody to add somebody.
17:46If it's a great player, it's a great opportunity to do it.
17:51Because what they're looking at, it's 20 million Porzingis plus either Draymond's salary
17:57or plus Jimmy's salary or plus Moody.
18:00You know, it's add-on to get that $50 million-a-year player.
18:03That's how you do it.
18:04You match salaries.
18:06Well, if you want to just don't take – you know, is Anthony Davis –
18:10is Anthony Davis for sure the thing?
18:13Maybe.
18:13He's really good.
18:13He gets hurt a lot.
18:14Or do you shave that and try to go gun for the big guy
18:19or somebody who's a superstar available with a max salary?
18:24If they're not quite there right now, but they can get there,
18:27I might hold off for that unless there's something really sweet coming up,
18:31you know, at the trade deadline.
18:32Tim, before you go, maybe you could weigh in on a question
18:35we've been playing with around here all week.
18:38And it's this.
18:39You know, we're so distracted by Yaxo's emergence
18:42and what they could maneuver and do at the deadline.
18:45There's this, like, six-game win streak that no one's really talking about.
18:50Are the Warriors good?
18:52Yeah, pretty good.
18:53Yeah, I've been writing about it.
18:54I've been saying it.
18:56You're right.
18:56So much other stuff's going on.
18:58They're pretty good.
19:00Are they great?
19:01No.
19:01But the West is a little jumbled up.
19:04It's like it's all in context.
19:05We don't know where Denver's going to be.
19:07We see some – there's some other teams kind of not looking great
19:10who were ahead of them and were assumed to be permanently ahead of them.
19:14You know, obviously Minnesota's not doing great without Anthony Edwards.
19:17They'll be great again maybe when they get them.
19:19But the Warriors are just kind of like a decent team that's piling up wins.
19:26And that's how you do it.
19:27That's how you get to 46.
19:28And who would have thought I would even say 46 once the season started.
19:33I do know that I didn't overreact to the 0-3.
19:35That happens sometimes.
19:38And, you know, I should know better, but I was surprised at this.
19:41Oh, my God, it's over, right?
19:42Just look at him.
19:43Look at Seth.
19:43He's depressed.
19:44It's over.
19:44He was just mad because they were losing.
19:46But it doesn't mean they were going to continue to lose.
19:49The Memphis game was a terrible ending, but they actually played pretty well
19:52in that game.
19:52Obviously, you lose.
19:53I understand it.
19:54But my feeling on this team from the beginning of the season was if Steph remains healthy
20:02for most of the season, again, that's to be seen.
20:04But if he does, and we're seeing what he can do when he's healthy, they're not going to
20:08be a bad team.
20:09You can't be a bad team if you've got Steph Curry playing.
20:11You just can't.
20:13I've seen it too much.
20:15And then you add a Leno board to it, and then you know Jimmy's coming back, and you got
20:20George Neang playing really well, and Brandon Williams.
20:23You can see how that could turn into a 46-win team.
20:26You can see it.
20:27I didn't see it all myself at the beginning.
20:29I certainly didn't think they were terrible, and now they're playing a lot better than
20:32that.
20:32Well, they're in that mix.
20:34They're in that nugget.
20:36Maybe the Lakers are a little bit ahead of them, but maybe we'll see how long this
20:39lasts with the Lakers.
20:40We'll see how long Portland, they're just burning up the league right now.
20:43They're playing the Lakers tonight.
20:45They're in that mix.
20:47I don't think they're not as good as the Spurs, or the Thunder maybe even with all these
20:50injuries, but they're in that other tier, whether that's the sixth-best team, the fifth-best
20:56team in the West, seventh, eighth.
20:58It could be anywhere in there, depending on injuries.
21:01That's pretty good.
21:02That's what Steph Curry wants.
21:05And again, I kind of roll my eyes at, oh my God, they're letting Steph down, and Steph
21:09should leave.
21:10This is terrible.
21:11Steph saw this.
21:12He decided it was good enough for him to sign an extension, and he was right.
21:18This is better this than go run off to another team, go try to chase something, continue your
21:23legacy here, and believe that things could get better, and also that he's still freaking
21:29good, and he's still freaking good.
21:31So that's, I think, what we're seeing.
21:34Maybe it's the best of all possibilities, the six-game winning streak.
21:38I certainly don't think they're going to win, you know, 48 of their next 52 or whatever,
21:43but I think they're going to win at least, you know, a little bit of, get to a little
21:47bit above 500 by the time Jimmy comes back.
21:49I try to, a player who's won, they've won a ton of games every time he's dressed up for
21:55them, and see where they can get from there.
21:57That was what Steph saw.
21:59That's what they were hoping for, and even after the loss of Porzingis, and as I wrote
22:03today, they're better off without Porzingis.
22:06And I don't think they thought that.
22:08I don't know that they could have actually set up for that, but it turns out with actually
22:12with the Axel Lenneberg, they are better without Porzingis, and now we see what they do with
22:18the Porzingis salary slot.
22:20Tim, great stuff.
22:21Thank you so much, and congrats on saving on gas money today.
22:25I do appreciate that.
22:27I wasn't in a chopper, none of that.
22:29I wanted to let me in.
22:30No, you nailed it.
22:31You nailed it.
22:32Tim, thanks, man.
22:33We'll do it again soon.
22:34All right, guys.
22:35Thanks, Steve.
22:35Tim Calcami, SF Standard, TK Show, Odyssey Family.