The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 03/23/2021 - HOUR 3 - Bucs, Warriors

Episode Date: March 23, 2021

The Buccaneers are bringing everyone back for another runThe behind the scenes drama between Steve Kerr and Kevin DurantGuests: Lavonte David, Ethan Strauss Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I put on 10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Separate the men from the boys with Tommy John's hammock pouch underwear. Right now, 20% off sitewide. Tommyjohn.com slash heard.

See their site for details. I was given out grades yesterday on free agency, and Tampa Bay gets the highest grade because they brought the key players back. Key players being Chris Godwin, Levanti David, Shaq Barrett. Leonard Furnett right now and Antonio Brown, we don't know. But the reality is Levanti David has been the voice, the team captain for years and years, and he is now joining us live from Florida.

Just signed a two-year deal, contract extension, a lot of money. You know, was there ever a moment that, because obviously if you'd have gone to market, somebody would have grabbed you up. You're a great player. Was there a moment you were concerned that you wouldn't come back to Tampa? I don't think concerned, but it was just, you know, me and my age is just talking about other things that could possibly happen. but at the end of the day I knew in my heart that, you know, we was going to get something worked out because throughout the whole process,

it was good transparency, you know, good back and forth conversations, communicating between both parties. So, you know, all in all, you know, I want to be back. You know, I have, I built a lot of relationships in Tampa, man. And, you know, I definitely don't want to play no, play nowhere else. So I'm happy that we got a guy everything situated and we was able to get this thing moving forward. So I think it's something's really important that you're not just a good football player, but you've been the captain.

So that tells me that the organization trusts you. They see you as a leader. You're not just a great player. And I think, do you believe that part of them wanting you back is not just you make a lot of tackles, but you're seen as a communicator and a team guy and that being a good guy and dependable

is also a huge part of wanting you on the team? Yeah, that's real big. And I can say that played a major part in it, not only for them, but for myself. You know, I built a relationship with a lot of those guys on that team. And it's a lot of young guys on that team who, you know, kind of look at, look at me for advice. So I definitely want to be around them and continue to see those guys growing, man. You know, I just showed the respect that the organization has to me and respect to my peers.

So I'm definitely trying to try to be that guy, try to be that leader, try to be that extra of those guys need to talk to and things like that across the locker room. And I feel like I took on that role really well, man. And it's something that just don't happen overnight, you know, just something that I had to really work on. And I really just try to understand my teammates to help us, you know, get to where we need to be. You know, it's interesting. It wasn't easy last year. There was that ugly loss in Chicago.

I mean, you could look back at the schedule and there were some moments, Levanti, that were ugly, that lost to the Saints. And when was the moment for you? The defense was always talented, but you had a very young secondary. You had a rookie safety. You had some different players. Was there a moment in this season for you that you kind of felt like, you know what? It's all kind of coming together. That moment would probably be when everything started coming together was probably

after the bobby and during the bow week, you know, a lot of guys got together. We communicated. We talked and we kind of just went over a lot of different things that, you know, kind of hurt us, you know, in an early part of the season. And we had our bow week late in the season. So that kind of help guys get back healthy and to help guys, you know, really like focus and get their mind right for this stress that we're about to have that we were about to have. And I think it really hit right then and there. You know, we sat down, you know, we had a goal.

We had a goal in mind. And we was able to reach that goal. We wanted to win out. We went to the playoffs strong and then go from there. You know, Patrick Mahomes did not score a touchdown. That may never happen in the rest of his career. When you were going through that two weeks of film preparation and you're looking at Kansas City's offense, I mean, you probably were confident. But did you ever think we're going to really make this a nightmare for Mahomes?

Were you more successful than you may have even imagined? I feel like we knew it was going to be a battle. We knew it was going to be a tough football game. But us, you know, defensively, I know mentally we were, it was like every time we had. out there, we're going to put our best foot forward and we're going to try to dominate the best way we can. And, you know, kind of in the show, in the show of that game. You know, I think our preparation that week was a little, was more than what we ever prepared for, obviously, because it's the Super Bowl. And, you know, our attention and detail was really

on point. And, you know, guys were just out there communicating and guys was doing what they were supposed to do. And that's what it took. Everybody to do that job. And for us to be successful, we need everybody on the same page. And we was able to do that. So we, We executed our game pan, and we was able to hold one of the best officers scoring football teams to, you know, no touchdown. So you got to take your hat off the coach Bowles and the staff for what they put together and then also comes down to us with going out there and execute it. You know, it's NFL, you've stayed pretty healthy. I mean, you're one of these guys that you get 1,000 tackles, 100 plus tackles for loss, 20 sacks since you entered the league. You've got to play a lot of snaps to do that.

When you look at Brady's age, are you a little surprised at 43 that he doesn't play old? I mean, you look at him, think of yourself at 43. I mean, are there times you're like, I don't know how he does it, but are you surprised he's still playing? I mean, at first, I was when he wasn't on my team. I was surprised like how he was doing it. Like, what is he doing? What is his regimen? How he's taking care of himself.

and then actually being around him and see how he takes take care of his body, how he, you know, he prepared himself, you know, throughout the week and how he take care of himself. You can see why he still's playing at his high level. And, you know, that type of stuff don't happen often. But for a guy like him to go in and, you know, go in a week after week and just play at a high level at the edge that he is, you know, he has to be doing something right off the field and taking care of taking care of himself.

So, you know, I'm sure if somebody wants to play that, play to where he's at right now. I'm sure they're going to have to hit him up and ask him some questions about it. So the NFL drafts in about four or five weeks. I want you to go back to your rookie year. If you could talk to young players and say, okay, let me give you one piece of advice going from college to the pros. If you were talking to yourself all these years, 10 years later, what would be the advice you would give college guys going to the pros? My advice would be, man, you just got to be prepared physically. You know, the mental, I feel like the mental is going to take care of itself when you

that as a rookie. You know, most times, rookies come in, you know, just go out there and just play football. Play football the best way you can. But physically, you got to be able to take care of your body, man, because it's a beating throughout the whole year. You know, lucky for me, I had some events who could help me from, you know, from time and help me keep my body going for a long season. But, you know, for the rookies that's coming out, man, just got to be able to take it.

take care of your body, you know, eat what you're supposed to eat, you know, and put that bad stuff in your body, get massages, you know, you know, daily, man, get some rest, main thing, get some sleep, man, and, you know, have fun whenever the season's over, but, you know, get some sleep, going to sleep at the right time, and, and everything else to take care of itself. I think that was the, you know, my main issue. I was just, you know, a young kid, you know, just out there not getting enough sleep, going to bed, 12, 1, you know, and then it was.

waking up, got to get up at 6 o'clock, thinking I could go, but man, it catches up to you. So it's going to be, it's a long year. But, you know, I feel like getting some rest and, you know, taking some, you know, wearing tear off your legs throughout the season, really will help you out. By the way, he has Levante legend. It's a foundation, works to assist college-bound students who are succeeding academically, but are financially challenged. I don't know your background financially. You've obviously done incredibly well for yourself, but you really put stuff. back in. I love guys like you that are defensive captains. You give back to the community. You went to

Northwest High School in Miami and you live in Miami now. And you help kids on a regular basis, I take it. The high school kids right now in your life, you put your arms around him and help them a little bit. Yeah, from time to time, kids who I can reach, kids who I can get in contact with. You know, it's kind of hard right now with COVID and everything still going on. So, you know, whenever I can, whatever I can, you know, kids kind of like reach out to me via social media and stuff like that. So whenever they reach out or whenever I could get a chance to touch them, I kind of spit a little knowledge, you know, just try to, you know, give them a little game. Levante, you're a class guy. Wish of the best. Congratulations on the new contract. You've earned

every single penny of it. And thanks again. No problem. Appreciate it. Thanks for having, Colin. You bet. Great football player. I love that. Seven year captain. Seven years, calls the plays. That's why when Cleveland went out and got John Johnson, like he was the Rams, he's calling all the secondary plays. Like that to me is so important. That's the guy the coaches are like, you run that unit. Those guys, and when you go into contract negotiations, those are the guys I keep. The talkers, the communicators, the lubricators, there's a lot of talent out there. Not a lot of guys in the football locker room.

You're going to say, seven years, you call all the plays. Those guys are in value. There are maybe 10 guys, 15 guys. and the whole damn draft in the first three rounds, you could give that responsibility to. What's up, everyone? It's me, three-time NFL All-Pro Sean Marrily. And I have a new sports podcast called The Lights Out Podcast with Sean Mariner.

This podcast is special to me as I get a chance to talk to some of the best who've ever done it on the field or the track. So whether it's talking to a Super Bowl champion or a NASCAR Cup Series champion, the Lights Out podcast will bring it to you the only way I know how to. I'm giving you the best insight from the best who's ever done it. Listen to Lights Out with Sean Merriman or the IHartRadial app or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, CliverTaylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in,

in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Hey, everyone. It's Ryder Strong and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the Podmeets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough.

Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of, ha, ooh, ha, ha, who. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune it at Pod Meet, Twirl, for all our Survivor 50 takes.

Listen to PodMeets Twirl on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, D. Ford is very valuable, and the 49ers restructured his contract this offseason, so he will now cost San Francisco $8.9 million in 2021, with $4 million guaranteed. that move freed up $11.2 million in cap space.

So now the team is projected to have around $20 million in cap space for 2021. Now that final cap number doesn't include the most recent signings of safeties, Tart and Wilson. So that will go down a little bit, but they do have a lot more space, and they have a lot of free agency moves that they've already done. By the way, they could save even more money if they acquired Sam Darnold and moved Jimmy Groplo. I don't know. I think I don't see them moving forward Jimmy Garoppel after this season.

Oh, they just know why they're going to do that. So, you know, it's kind of for different reasons, obviously, but it's kind of similar to what the Steelers are doing, where it's like, okay, this is a one more year thing. Yeah. But what are you doing actively in this season

to prepare for when that's no longer the case? Now, obviously, Ben Robertsberger's way further down in his career, and it's a different situation. But, I mean, we've seen what Jimmy Garoppolo is capable of and not capable of in his injury history. So are they going to bring in a Sam Darnold? Are they going to draft somebody? Because if you move off of Jimmy Garapolo next year, what's your plan? It's really interesting.

New England and San Francisco, they're run by very smart people. There is a bad draft class next year. So to me, the Niners and Patriots have got to get up, and they both should take quarterbacks. and I just think the advantage San Francisco has is Miami and the Jets would be willing to do them a solid to move up. They're not doing New England as solid. So my guess is San Francisco is going to have a much easier time moving up in the draft than a New England would, not to mention New England beat Atlanta.

So it's not like Atlanta's looking to do Belichick any favors either. I don't know outside of Houston, one team is interested in doing any favors for the Patriots. But the Patriots were very active in free agency this year. And many of their newest additions noted that Bill Belichick was a big reason why they chose the team. Hunter Henry said his trust in Belichick and what they're building in New England was a big part of his free agency decision. Safety Jalen Mills also said being coached by Belichick was a huge factor. And defensive lineman Henry Anderson said he's really excited to be coached by one of the best defensive minds in the league. So Belichick still has a little clout around the NFL.

A little clout. Yeah, just Matt Stafford said they don't have any, they don't have any receipts. receivers. I'm going to pass. Also, let's be honest. If you look at the ram skill people and the Patriots, that's a real gap. Well, I think that, I think Matt Stafford went to an excellent situation for him. Yeah. But I also think that the New England situation with Matthew Stafford, I think the Tom Brady Musk still lurking in the halls played a major role in him not wanting to go there. Totally get it. Because obviously Bill Belichick is one of the greatest, if not the greatest coaches in NFL history. And, don't know. as we just heard, there's many players who still hold him in very high regard,

despite the idea that New England is a very tough place to play, which I'm sure it is. I think Belichick and Camus talked about this too. I think Belichick in some ways is kind of misunderstood because he is a little grumpy and, you know, they have a very serious way about them in New England's, and some people want to have a little more fun and be a little more loose and, you know, ride around in boats and the intercoastal and know the Lombardi trophy from boat to boat. So there's something different style for everybody. But I think of the Matthew Stafford thing was more about not wanting to follow up Tom Brady.

Because Cam does still feel like a temporary situation in New England. So here's kind of a weird story. Mike Tyson reportedly turned down $25 million to fight in Vanderholy Field in a fight this bay in Miami. The two sides have been negotiating a potential fight following Tyson's exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr. Which was a total letdown. That fight? Well, I mean, I watched it and felt worse about myself, but they never really, I mean, it was, I felt they never, it was not a real fight. It was like a. Well, it kind of felt like. They told them to not hurt each other. Yeah, like, don't make this too bad. But Holyfield's manager released a statement saying we thought this was a done deal, but it quickly fell apart when Tyson's people declined all offers. We were negotiating good faith all along and appears we ended up just wasting our time. I mean, Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. were guaranteed one million each for their exhibition fights.

And they were also supposed to get an equal share of the pay-per-view money. So $25 million is a big jump from a $1 million exhibition fight. But maybe Mike's like, I don't, it's not worth it. Well, he's got, I mean, Mike's made a lot of money. I don't know his financial state. But I just thought the Roy Jones Jr. Tyson thing after I bought it, five minutes in, I'm like, oh, I just, this is just stealing my money. I enjoyed that evening. Well, it was a spectacle.

So I did not turn it off. But it was obvious the rules were don't hit in the face. And the ring was very small. Like it was like it was not what we're used to seeing, especially someone like Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. Or we would be seeing with Holyfield. But it's just, it seems a bit odd knowing the numbers. Like $25 million is a lot of money,

no matter how much money you've made. So, but it's different when you're making $25 million, stepping into a ring with a Vanderholyfield. So I enjoy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lie News. Ethan Strauss wrote the book about the last couple of years with the Golden State Warriors,

Victory Machine, the making and unmaking of the Warriors dynasty. And we thought on a day where Steve Kerr was frustrated and visibly and verbally angry that somebody took his podcast and pointed out that, Kerr actually said the KD team was harder to deal with and less fun than last year's losing team. I don't know why Kerr's getting all worked up. He got dumped by KD. We all knew it was turbulent. It's not like a new story.

But Ethan Strauss will update us on this. I'm interested. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. What's up, everyone? It's me three-time NFL All-Pro Sean Murray. And I have a new sports podcast called The Lights Out Podcast. with Sean Murrayman. This podcast is special to me

as I get a chance to talk to some of the best who've ever done it on the field or the track. So whether it's talking to a Super Bowl champion or a NASCAR Cup Series champion, the Lights Out podcast

will bring it to you the only way I know how to. I'm giving you the best insight from the best who's ever done it. Listen to Lights Out with Sean Merriman on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics

where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me. Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skit.

the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it

and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Hey, everyone.

It's Ryder Strong and Will Friedel from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge.

That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season, from the final attempts at gameplay,

to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha-hoo. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into Pod Meets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to Pod Meets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Second government person in two days that has come out and shared their thoughts on aliens and UFOs. You notice that Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida today, was stopped, said he is worried about UFOs flying near United States military bases. He said, quote, there's stuff flying over our military installations, and nobody knows what it is, and it isn't ours. Yes, we do.

What? I mean, they're finally coming. They see we're vulnerable. We're fighting with each other. We are very vulnerable. We're a very vulnerable country right now. Well, I mean, I guess they could be coming for the rest of the world, too, but I guess they're just targeting us. He said, we don't know what the stuff is. It's flying over the top of our installation.

So let's find out. Maybe it's another country that would have, that would be bad news, too. It would be bad news if another country had alien technology. I just think it would be very fascinating. I would watch TV that day. If they're just, we had breaking news. Well, if the breaking news was, hey, aliens, they're here. Wouldn't that be a big news story? I would leave the news. dominate the headlines. I wouldn't even care about the stock market that day.

Spoil alert. It'd probably be down. He's an NBA writer and a great one for The Athletic. His name is Ethan Strauss, author of the Victory Machine, The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty. And he joins us today live. So Steve Kerr got all worked up. Holy moly. Ethan, he got all worked up. And then I went and listened to the tape and the podcast. And he did say, that he had more fun with a team. And I think to myself, the story isn't the podcast. The story is, why is Kerr getting so worked up over a seemingly harmless comment?

So you tell me why. That's what's fascinating now, isn't it? Right? Because Steve gets criticized a bunch of different ways. He's an NBA coach. I know him. I know Drew Schiller. This is what's going to happen.

But what's interesting is that this is what provokes the response. This is what gets a guy called out by name. and it's about a player who's not on the team anymore. And I think it shows the Warriors do, you know, regardless of whatever Steve's issues are, with aggregation or being misquoted, the Warriors have a certain sensitivity when it comes to Kevin Durant, that the NBA superstar is so powerful that even when he leaves, there's a sensitivity to placation.

You saw it immediately when Kevin Durant left. Joe Lekhov immediately said that he was going to retire his jersey, not even waiting for a moment, even though he did, as you say, dump them. So that's what's fascinating about the whole thing. It's that in the modern NBA, the superstar doesn't just have tremendous power over a franchise. He has tremendous power over a franchise after he leaves.

That's crazy. What was Kerr and Durant's relationship like? Well, I think it started off very positive. There was a honeymoon period. The way it began was at that All-Star game in New York, a half decade ago, when Steve had really molded the warriors into something free and easy and fun and Kevin Durant knocked on the door of the coach's room and they were all drinking beers and he said to them, oh, so this is what you're all about, huh? And they said, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And that was the beginning and it was loose and it was relaxed in the beginning along the for the Durant warriors.

They were all drinking beers in the locker room. I know Kevin Durant would chug a course and then belch and then he would do his interviews and he would thank God that he was in such a, free and easy environment like he wasn't in buttoned down Oklahoma City. But eventually, the experience of the Warriors did not do for Kevin Durant what he wanted it to do emotionally. And towards the end, things got very heavy once he knew that he would never be satiated. And that, I think, began the breakup and it manifested itself in these spats where he was taking shots at Kerr, where he was on the press podium stage saying that, oh, we're supposed to play with joy and he was meaning it sarcastically as an obvious shot at Kerr. And they damn near won a championship

through it all. I mean, they came close, if not for injuries, with them really at loggerheads, with Kerr and Durant almost going at each other in the media. They almost pulled it off, but for a few injuries. But man, it was a heavy season. It was rocky. And if you read my book, the drama was fantastic, but it was a lot to go through for the people involved. Yeah, there you go. We appreciate that. The, you know, know, it's funny. I look at, if you said Steve Kerr, I'd say smart and intense. Kevin Durant, I'd say talented and sensitive. Clay Thompson, I'd say stoic. Steph Curry, I'd say joyful and leadership. Everybody can be kind of described, right? And when I do think of Kerr, I do think

smart, but I do think intense. And I'm not blaming anybody, but is it that intensity? Because I always thought that Steph Curry kind of tried to play, not peacemaker with Kerr and Dremont or Kerr, but is some of this that Steve Kerr is just highly intense, and Michael Jordan got after him. It's Kerr's intensity sometimes too much for people. Yeah, you know, this is why I like talking with you, Colin, is that you really probe the personalities of the people involved and look deeper into it, because I do think that there's an element of that, that what makes Steve ultimately successful in the NBA is that intensity. And I wish I could give you an origin story. I tried to write about it. I talked to everybody in his life that where did

this competitive street come from? Why is he breaking clipboards apart? Why is he sick after losing? Because you talk to his teammates at Arizona, they said that he was just sick the next day. And it was just always in him. You know, his parents were intellectuals, professors. They didn't get why Steve and Little League was throwing his glove and cursing when he went out. They didn't understand it. They never wanted him to do that. They didn't really think that highly of sports, but this has just always been in Steve Kerr. And it results, I think, sometimes in this fire that's expressed at his players where he's not going to back down. And that's why you have situations like him and Dremont, for instance, Oklahoma City, screaming at each other and being separated in the locker

You know, Clay comes back next year. I guess you could say the championship window is closed. I mean, you cover this team daily. Does it need a reboot? Are they one player away? If I said next two years, what are the Warriors going to look like? What would be your answer, Ethan? I think they just have to hang around the game, kind of like the San Antonio Spurs did,

where you have enough organizational intelligence and enough people know what they're doing, and you're not going to get to that 60 plus win level maybe, right? You're never going to be the favorites alone, I mean, you're never going to be the prohibitive favorites, alone the favorites. But you can get within striking distance. And I do think they have an opportunity to do that just in how Steph has played, how he looks, how shooters tend to age really well. Steve Nash, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, they all aged well.

Yeah. Extends the window. And there's a guy by the name of Jordan Poole. And I don't know if everybody, casual NBA fans have been following what he's doing. He has broken out at age 21 as this scoring combo guard who has a lot of talent. He was terrible as a rookie, but he's been fantastic this season. And he's the guy to maybe spell Steph when he's on the bench. This out of nowhere, Jordan Poole phenomenon, might be the thing that allows them the bridge to get within striking distance.

By the way, circling back to KD, what is his legacy with the Warriors? How do you look at it? He was part of the greatest team ever in terms of talent, maybe just the greatest team ever, and he wasn't all that happy with being a part of it in the end. It's this strange, almost Greek tragedy. It's Shakespeare. It's fascinating. How did that happen?

Why did that happen? How did a guy elevate a situation beyond what anybody could have ever thought it was and not love the process? So he's a paradox. It's hard to digest. it, but in the end, we are drawn to that in the NBA. For whatever reason, we want to watch the last dance. We don't want to watch necessarily and see people dwell on the beginning of the Bulls championship.

We're interested in, why did these egos clash? Why did it break up? We don't talk about the beginning of Shaq and Kobe, do we? We talk about how, why couldn't Shaq and Kobe keep it going? Why was ultimate success as a tandem not enough? And I think that this is just part of the NBA and part of that legacy where in the NFL, dynasties break up due to injury or age. In the NBA, dynasties break up due to egos.

So it's all part of that grand tradition. Ethan Strauss, you're such an interesting guy, the athletic. Put that book up again. Let's sell you some more copies here. The victory machine, you're always thoughtful, and you've got a podcast called The House of Strauss. Love having you on late notice. Thank you so much. Of course. Any time, Colin.

All right, Ethan Strauss. It is. We've talked about that before, is that it's a star-driven league. So when it's a little, NBA's got a lot of tech to it. Like you know people who run tech companies. I couldn't tell you a single guy that runs an insurance company. I can tell you everybody that runs Google and Facebook.

And the NBA is a little like tech in where it is star-driven. And when it's everybody, as you've seen with men, grabbing control. I mean, I watched the Lakers. Pat Riley wanted credit. Jerry West,

Shaq, Kobe, and Phil, and it blows up. where in the NFL, generally, it's a salary cap issue and guys get hurt. But the NBA is different. It is, NBA is a lot also like international soccer. It is going to be combustible because of the power and relevance and celebrity of the stars. It's an exhaust.

Michael Jordan quit twice. It was exhausting. I think all of that plays a part in it. But I also think that the NBA is unique in that the positions are more fluid now. You're never going to have a running back in the NFL. Like, I need more kickoffs. Like, you play a role. You play a position.

There's not a whole lot of flexibility in that. You might have a receiver who wants more catches or things like that. But there's really specific roles in the NFL. So everyone can contribute and know what their contribution is. Whereas in the NBA, am I the guy? Is he the star? Is it my team? Is it your team?

Is it Steph's team? Is it Wade's team? Is it a LeBron's team? It's also a positionless league now. That's what I mean. So the role and who is the star and who is the alpha can be a little flexible. Good stuff. Black Rifle Coffee.

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Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Side. help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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