The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 05/05/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: May 5, 2021

Colin discusses the latest drama in Aaron Rodgers’ campaign to leave the Packers and why this is starting to remind him of the Royal Family. He has an interesting thought on how the 49ers can get the most out of QB Jimmy Garoppolo before transitioning to 1st round pick Trey Lance. He also explains the chain reaction that rippled throughout the NFC after Tom Brady signed with the Buccaneers. Plus, Nick Wright from FS1 joins the show to give his thoughts on the potential Packers-Rodgers break up and his surprise NBA MVP.    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 Clifford 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 IHard 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard 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 herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Live in Los Angeles, this is The Herd, wherever you may be. And however, you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS-Wan, The Herd brought to you by Jersey Mike Subs, be a sub above. It is a pleasure to have you in today. Joy Taylor is joining me. A lot of things on my mind.

Most of them about Aaron Rogers and the Packers. Joy, how are you? I'm great. I am loving this off-season drama. It's crazy. It's amazing. It's good for us. I love it.

You know, I always feel very lucky. I'm kind of a free spirit. I'm very outspoken. I think you're the same way. I did not grow up with a very religious family. My mom and dad kind of let me chose, they let me choose my passion. My dad was a doctor, his brother was a doctor, their dad was a doctor, and my dad was like, this isn't what you want to do, go be a talk show host.

And I always appreciated that. Mom was the same way. There was no pressure. My sister and I were able to choose what we wanted to do. But I've had friends whose fathers have kind of pushed them in directions, and then at 35 years old, they're like, I'm unhappy. and I never want to do that to my kids. And I think about this all the time in pro sports.

You get drafted, if you're really, really good in college, to a crappy franchise. You may come from a very smart family, a loving family, no dysfunction, and then you get drafted to the Cleveland Browns 10 years ago. And then we expect these 23-year-old kids to just, you know, be successful. I mean, you generally, basically what you do as a college athlete, the better you are, the more you're punished in the draft, the more dysfunctional, awful roster you go to. Now, Aaron Rogers was lucky. He went to Green Bay.

He fell in the draft. He was very fortunate. No chaos smartly run. But Green Bay is a little weird, too. It's the smallest sport city in America. 48-year-old men wear cheese hats. There's no owner. They're really bizarrely paralyzed by tradition.

and Aaron wants out. There's a story this morning. Bob McGinn, the athletic, been covering the Packers for a thousand years, says Rogers has mocked Brian Gudenkuntz, the GM in group chats, comparing him to the GM of Jerry Krause, you know, where Michael Jordan used to make fun of Jerry Krause,

Aaron Rogers is rolling his eyes at this general manager. Also, according to McGinn, he talked to a longtime friend of Rogers, and the friend said, once Aaron gets something in his head, he doesn't back down. The friend said 2% chance he plays for Green Bay. You know what this is? It's Prince Harry in the royal family. He's like, I know I was born into the royal family, but I don't want to live in rainy England.

I don't want to deal with the queen. I'm not the heir to the throne anyway. I'm over stuffy and formality and where, a tie seven days a week and weird polo matches with old rich people, the queen. I know it's the royal family, but now I'm married to a beautiful woman. And I am over, stuffy, old, traditional, overly formal, paralyzed by the good old days. Beverly Hills, here I come. And that's Aaron Rogers.

He didn't pick the Packers. They picked him. it was doomed to fail. He's over conservative Green Bay. He's over those brutal winners. He's over the dysfunction of the Packers. They never land free agents. They never even make a bid on JJ Watt.

He's over it. And then they draft a quarterback that is years from playing. He's done with it. And he's got a beautiful actress girlfriend, Jeopardy, Here I Come. I mean, Prince Harry didn't choose the royal family. They chose him. And he looks around and he's like, this isn't who I am. I don't want to live this life.

And there's a freedom. I feel bad for kids who are born into these big traditional families. And they're the black sheep. They never wanted to live in Milwaukee. Or they never wanted to be in front of cameras their whole life, wearing a suit. But Green Bay is great. And the royal family is amazing. For most people, not for everybody.

The Packers are a little bit like the American NFL. Royal Family. They were the Lombardi, the Super Bowls. They were kind of the first. They were the first dynasty in the National Football League. But don't you look at the royal family sometime and go, that's weird. My mom was British. She thought they were weird. I used to watch the BBC and read all those books. They were in our

small rural house. I've been to England several times. I always look at the palace and I think, that's a weird life. Stuffy, Tys, every day, polo matches. Aaron's over Green Bay. He's over it. And by the way, he understands there was a lot of good in it. So does far. But why does every quarterback there end weird?

Because Green Bay is a little off. It's a little different. Literally, they have to go to their board to make trades. And by the way, there's something about my personality where I've got a quirk. And I know I'm a California guy and I'm pretty crazy liberal, but I do find it funny when people that are paralyzed by tradition flail and get stomach cramps because they have to change a little. I mean, I feel like the Packers are Mike Pence's hair and Aaron Rogers is the fly.

They just don't know how to swat it. This was all solvable. It was all solvable. I mean, Russell Wilson was unhappy two times now with Seattle. They just solved it. They gave me a big contract and they went, got a bunch of receivers and tight ends and offensive linemen. Brady was frustrated years ago, and New England, multiple times.

They got rid of Garoppolo. He was tired of Garapolo, and they got rid of Garapolo. I don't think this was ever going to work. I think Aaron's non-traditional. People tell you who they are. Listen, Aaron struggled. This is public. Now, I'm not taking a shot at Aaron.

He struggled with his parents. Why? They're very religious. He's been outspoken about this. He has struggled with his family and their super religious tradition. That's the Prince Harry thing. It's like, yeah, I got drafted by you guys. I appreciated it.

I'm sure Prince Harry at some point appreciated the royal family. But then you're 24 and 25 and 26 and you're not heir to the throne anyway. And I mean, Aaron's not heir to the throne. They drafted Jordan Love. And he's like, I'm over it. I'm going to go live in Beverly Hills. I want to go hang out. He bought a house in Malibu.

I'm over it. And he's not threatened by Jordan Love. That's not it. It's just go look at their draft this year. Three offensive linemen. Go look at it last year, a quarterback and a running back. That's not what they needed. They needed players.

They got rolled last year or the year before twice by San Francisco. Look at what Tom Brady and Kansas City have. They need players. Not developmental players. They need guys who can play now. Not drafting three offensive linemen this year that can't help you this year to win. Aaron's over it. He's Prince Harry.

I got a beautiful girl. I want the son. I want to live my own life. I'm tired of the weird dysfunction that's called royal family. That's what the Packers are in the NFL. They were the first. Mark Schler talked about it yesterday. Jordan loves not the issue.

He is not concerned at all about drafting a quarterback. He understands that there's not a quarterback on the planet that can beat Aaron Rogers out. He is that good. There's only about three or four quarterbacks in the National Football League that can cover warts. And he happens to be one of them. In the last 10 years, the Green Bay Packers have drafted in the first round, nine defensive players and the heir apparent quarterback. And you're looking at this guy going, this dude can't play.

He does, I mean, he does nothing for our team. And I want to win championships here. Like, I'd be irritated with them, too. Listen, I don't always think Aaron's the most relatable or likable guy. I don't. He's not a big fan of me. I like him, but I've called him out. I think like Kevin Durant, he can be hypersensitive and sometimes is difficult.

But I will defend, I've always felt so lucky that I wasn't forced into like really tight tunnels by my parents. I was allowed to just go be a sportscaster. I was terrible when I started. I made no money. I was on my own, and it's the life I wanted to live. Yes, if I'd have grown up in a traditional family that church every Sunday and you're going to take over dad's business, it would have probably been great. I would have had a BMW and I was like 26 years old, instead of driving a car that I drove that caught on fire on a freeway. It would have been pretty cool to be Prince Harry up until about 23.

And it was probably really cool for Aaron Rogers in the first four years and went on the title. But man, Brady's got an all-star team, and Mahomes has an all-star team, and Josh Allen's starting to get an all-star team, and he's over the Packers' lack of communication and dysfunction. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little camp? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're all right, But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed, correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 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, or 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, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. So as we've said, you know, communication is apparently very difficult for people, talk to people, give people a heads up, keep them in the loop. You know, one of the reasons all couples fight is you didn't tell me this and you did that and vice versa and just communicate.

So, you know, here's what San Francisco does with Jimmy Garapolo. They actually communicated and told him weeks in advance, we're going to draft a number three. We're going to move up. We're going to get a quarterback. And so Jimmy Garapolo is very much in line, feels like he's in the loop, he's not caught off guard. Here's Jimmy Garapolo talking about his heir apparent. He's on the way out and he knows it talking about his relationship forthcoming with Trey Lance. It's kind of coming full circle.

You go through this NFL career and you start as a young guy come in. Tom kind of showed me the ropes. The competition between us was awesome. really made me grow as a rookie and a young player. And so that's kind of what me and Trey will mold our relationship into that. By the way, it behooves Jimmy Garoppolo to be a good teammate. Never forget, this league fires about seven coaches a year. I counted this morning, I got to about nine teams minimum that could need a quarterback next year.

If you're a good guy and stay healthy, we all know San Francisco's winning 11, 12, 13 games. I mean, outside of Kansas City and Tampa, if I said, who's the third best team in the league? And I gave you one guarantee. Garopolo is healthy all year. I'd take San Francisco. I mean, I would take them to win 12 games. Bosa's back, kiddles back, Garopolo's back. They went and fortified the offensive line in the running game.

I'd take San Francisco, even though it's a tough division. So you start looking. Miami and Tua, we're going to know by Thanksgiving. Philadelphia, Jalen Hertz. We'll probably know by Thanksgiving. Daniel Jones and the Giants. We'll know by Thanksgiving. Those teams will make their mind up by Thanksgiving.

Saints, what if Taysam Hill doesn't work or James Winston? Washington? I don't know what they're doing. Denver, that could be solved with Aaron Rogers, but we don't know. Steelers, Post-Big Ben, and John Gruden's got a wandering eye, and Jimmy Garoppolo's Mr. Hunko-Rama, so he's going to always be kind of looking around. That's nine.

I'm not even counting teams like Detroit, which will be awful, and they may move off Jared Gough. That could be 10. So just be a good guy. Get along. Be good press. Cross your fingers on the health. And Garapolo, by the way, if Garapolo stays healthy, they're going to move.

You know, this is one of these where this is not a Jordan Love. Tray Lance is a much better prospect than Jordan Love. Jordan Love had like two really bad college years. I mean, I talked to three different general managers, two didn't like him at all. One kind of liked him. Everybody liked Tray Lance. He'd never been in trouble. Jordan Love had a little marijuana thing.

Nobody loved. He was a hot and cold player. He was really a second round pick. Jordan Love was a second round pick. Trey Lance, there wasn't a GM who didn't like him. He's just not, you know, he's not Trevor Lawrence as a prospect. He's not. Nobody is, by the way.

Andrew Lux's the last guy close. Elway after that. Peyton Manning, maybe. So just be a good guy. Garapolo, if he's still. day's healthy, it's going to get a multitude of big offers. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben, host of the fifth hour with Ben Mallor, along with my trusty sidekick, David Gascon,

would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry, in media, sports and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor 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 brother. 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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. Trip 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, our Heart Radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Not a big fate person, not a big coincidence person. I don't think I'm cynical, but I keep my eye out for, you know, I never want to be a sucker. So since Tom Brady has arrived in Tampa,

I don't think this is a coincidence. Look at what has happened to just NFC teams, his conference. Let's start. We'll put up the NFC South and the NFC West. Since Brady arrived in Tampa, Drew Breeze, I'm going to retire. Panthers acquire Sam Darnold, move off Teddy Bridgewater. Falcons contemplate drafting a quarterback. Rams trade Jared Goff.

Niners trade up to get a new quarterback. and Russell Wilson leaked preferred trade destinations. Now let's go to the NFC East and NFC North. The Eagles traded Carson Wentz. Washington moved off to Wayne Haskins. The Lions traded Matt Stafford. The Bears traded up to get Justin Fields. The Vikings contemplated the same move and Aaron Rogers reportedly requests a trade.

You think that's just the NFC? No, Brady is the bar and the gold standard. And you start looking at Teddy Bridgewater. in the division and you're like, they got Brady. We can't win with Teddy Bridgewater. We got to get more dynamic. Atlanta looks at Matt Ryan. All right, we got to fire our coach.

We got to get an offensive coach. We can't compete with Brady. This is the Nick Saban effect in the SEC. Is that teams, he became so quickly the gold standard for the conference that even at the time, now, less Miles' reputation has gone into the tank. but at the time he was winning 10 and a half games a year. He'd won a national title. He'd beaten Sabin twice.

And they got rid of him. Like what? Like LSU was like the third best program in the country. Maybe fourth they fired their coach. This is the Sabin effect. He becomes the bar. You sit there as an athletic department as a booster as an administrator going. Our guy is not as smart as him.

Our guy is too quirky. Our guy is not as good with the media. Let's just move on. This is the LeBron effect in Los Angeles. LeBron comes to the Lakers, and I'm supposed to believe it's a coincidence, that the Dodgers finally start spending money. L-A-F-C, the Rams, the Angels, the everybody, the Clippers. The Clippers said if they didn't land Kauai, they were going to move it to Seattle.

It's the LeBron effect. The Lakers are already popular. You bring LeBron into town. They just suck all the season tickers away. Season ticket holders away. They take all the advertisers away. You've got to compete. You've got to get stars.

And so I don't think it's a coincidence. I think Tom's the standard. I think when somebody walks in the room and they, it's intimidating, everybody starts asking themselves, are we good enough? I think Teddy Bridgewater was always going to be a two-year quarterback kind of. It kind of felt like that, right? And then you watch Tom and Tampa and how quickly he adapts and you watch Bridgewater and you're like, no, this isn't going to work.

He's just, we need to be more dynamic. It's just not. Everybody thought Teddy was a two-year plan. And they're sitting there watching Brady light him up twice, and they're like, we can't compete with that. It just blows up Carolina's plan. I mean, they spent $30 million on Bridgewater for 15 games. That was not the plan.

Those are smart people. Just blew it up. Let's just, this is the standard. We can't compete with this. Les Miles won 10 and a half a game of national title. He's too quirky. We can't, we got to do better. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Aaron Rogers may not be fond of me, but he likes Nick Wright, who now joins us, brought to you by Mercedes Ben's, the best or nothing. First things first. So I've said before it's a personality quirk. I know it's not a good quality. I know it's not one of my best qualities, but when I find very rigid people and they're forced to move

off their rigidity and they flail and they can't do it. I get off on it. I think it's kind of funny because I think, you know, you live in this world, we live in, adapt or die, evolve or get out of the way, and Green Bay just can't communicate. So I'm on Roger's side on this. I don't think he's always the easiest got to deal with, but your takeaway on what you're watching. The story this morning is he's making fun of their general manager calling him Jerry Krause.

Right. And I think the Jerry Krause example is instructive. Because for folks that think, oh, my God, he could never retire, he wouldn't walk away, I would remind you that Michael Jordan wanted to keep playing basketball. You know how we know it? Because three years later, he did keep playing basketball for the Washington Wizards. And why did he leave the Bulls? Because a headstrong GM said, you can't have the coach you want, you can't have the

teammate you want. If you want to come back without Phil Jackson, Scotty Pippen, I guess we'll take you, Michael. So he walked away. I think Aaron Rogers has actually made this incredibly easy for the Packers. You just fire Brian Guttenkunds. It's not that hard. And by the way, oh, Nick, that's unfair. What is he done? I'll tell you exactly what he's done. He took a massive swing and a massive risk to remake the team in his image last year in the draft. Nobody was saying the Packers need to look beyond the Aaron Rogers era. They were coming off a 13 and 3 season, a conference championship game appearance. And Guden Kuntz made a bet, a bet that Rogers would show significant decline in 2020

and that he would look like a genius for being ahead of it. Well, sometimes when you make a big bet, you lose. There has to be a risk to that. Instead of showing a decline, Rogers won the damn MVP, and they're a possession away from going to the Super Bowl that I don't know, literally any draft pick could have possibly helped them other than the one who didn't play a snap all year. When you make a big bet like that,

sometimes all the chips stay on the table and you walk away sad. So I, yeah, of course I'm on Rogers' side in this. Guten Kunst bet on Rogers failing. He was wrong. There should be repercussions for that. You were one of the rare American sports personalities last year that never bought into the clippers. I bought into them. A lot of people bought into them.

You kept saying, nope, they don't have any chemistry. You have been an outspoken critic of Brooklyn and their inability to defend Biggs. They melted down again late last night. And I was a cynic early kind of bought into them when they started winning without Kevin Durant. and I watch them now and I think to myself, so I don't like their chemistry and they can't defend Biggs. So I'll say it now. I don't think they get to the finals.

I really don't. Your thoughts? Well, I think you and I might end up being on the same page that forget the finals. I don't think they get to the conference finals. Because what Brooklyn has done by, if you let's go back a few weeks, they play Philly. It's the game that decides the tiebreaker. It's a second game of back to.

it back. Steve Nash decides to play Kevin Durant against the Timberwolves, sit him against Philly, then when they have a big comeback late in that game against Philly, leave Kyrie on the bench. They lose that game, now they lose the tiebreaker to Philly. Philly stumbles a bit. You have these big two games against Milwaukee. They can't stop Yannis. He scores 49 in the first one. Last night he scored, what, 36, whatever it was. Milwaukee had seven straight layups in the fourth quarter to, take over the game. And now they are guaranteed to play Milwaukee in round two instead of, if they were the one seed, playing either Atlanta or the Knicks. If you can't get it together

to try to prevent having to play these guys for two weeks a month from now, then why do I think you can get it together in the playoffs? Oh, when Hardin comes back, it'll be, Hardin does not stop that. Right. Like, their scoring is not the problem. The problem is that Janice has averaged in three games against them this year, 40, 11, and 5. And Blake Griffin is not the answer. DeAndre Jordan is not the answer. Nick Claxton's not the answer. So I just, we've never seen a team win a championship that never played together. And we've never seen a team win a championship that's below average on defense, much less downright awful on defense. they're trying to do both.

I don't think they get out of round two. For some reason, Nick, the NFL and baseball, even hockey, mostly get it right when it comes to MVP's a very productive player who's very valuable. The team wouldn't be the same without him. But the NBA is different for whatever reasons. They tend to embrace a story, sometimes a statistically significant player who's not terribly valuable like Russell Westbrook. In fact, players generally are better when they leave Westbrook.

And that leads me to Chris Paul. Has anybody taken a deep breath? Does everybody realize I grew up when Phoenix was good? That feels like the 80s, the 70s. I said it, I think Joe and I've been saying this. I would vote Chris Paul number two or one, MVP. I'm interested in your perspective on this. You are a diehard NBA fanatic.

How do you view Chris Paul? Chris Paul should be the 2021 NBA MVP. And it is not a lifetime achievement award, but it is his lifetime of achievement that validates what has happened this season. As a rookie, he gets to New Orleans. They win 20 more games than they won the previous year. He leaves.

They lose 25 more games than they lost. his last year there. He gets to the Clippers. They immediately get to round two of the playoffs. He leaves, and despite having Blake Griffin still on the team, they're a 500 team. He gets to the Rockets. They immediately

win 65 games, have the best record in the NBA, and are up 3-2 on the KD. Steff Clay Warriors before he hurts his hamstring. He gets to the thunder. They are trying to be bad. They want to tank.

He's too good. They make the playoffs and get to game seven. He gets to Phoenix, a Phoenix team that was 26 and 39 last year before the bubble. A Phoenix team that was just hoping he would get them over the hump into the playoffs. The change for them is they got rid of Ubre and Rubio added Chris Paul. Aiton's still there, Booker's still there, and their numbers are the same as last year. And they have the best record in the NBA. if it is about affecting winning,

Chris Paul has been more valuable this year than any player in basketball. Joker has unbelievable numbers, and he has the highest PER in the last six years we've just given it to the guy with the highest PER. That's not the award. Steph's been amazing. He's leading the league in scoring.

There's an award for that. It's called scoring champ. Chris Paul has been the most valuable player in basketball. And I don't know how deniable that is given what the Sons had been, the entire time Booker was there, including last season, and the fact that as we sit here today, they have the best record in the NBA. And let me add one other small thing to this, Colin. It's going to look really bad for the league if Joker wins the award and they have to give it to him in a conference room instead of on a basketball court because the Nuggets have been eliminated from the playoffs before it is announced. That happened to them once before.

They will be signing up for it to happen again. So I think Chris Paul is the MVP. I don't think he's going to win it, but I think he should. Very good stuff today, Nick. I really appreciate this. And you know, I thought of you the other day because LeBron is, he's getting old and he's getting injured. And when you get old and injured, you get re-injured a lot.

I just, how do you reconcile, I mean, the best player you've, ever seen play. He's your unanimous number one. You're not old yet, and you have a beautiful young wife, so she'll keep you young, and you have young kids. How do you reconcile LeBron James is now old, injured, re-injured, and it looks like we can see close to the end? Can you see it in the reflection of the championship ring he won literally eight months ago? Or in the reflection of the finals MVP trophy, that is the most. recent one given out that is sitting on his mantle. I'm not sure if that's where you see the end.

So I, listen, LeBron is almost to the day the exact same age as me. I feel great every morning. It's the best I've ever felt. So I think he's going to be just fine. Play in game, schmay in game. It doesn't matter. In any series they play, they're going to have the best player on the court. So I'll still pick the Lakers.

But I understand you're trying to make me feel old, make LeBron feel old. If only they hadn't just won the title a few months ago. That was a pretty good answer. Nick Wright, my buddy, first things first. Good seeing you. That was funny. See you, bye. See you. Bye. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. I am going to show you Wisconsin. I've always been supportive of the Badgers that I am not turning on your state.

I'll give you an example in the NBA. It's a very odd year. I I there's no there's no favorite anymore once lebron got hurt there's no favorite lebron's like i'm not going to be 100% again right so denver lost their second best player the celtics lacks size and firepower donovan mitchell of the jazz i like them a lot but he's hurt do you trust chris paul i mean kawai's going to miss like 20 games the sixers we still don't know about their chemistry brooklyn no chemistry can't stop bigs sons i i i i I would love for them to get to the finals, but boy, that's a big leap. I think it's Milwaukee's year.

In the last two weeks, I've watched Milwaukee play three times. Not the entire games, fourth quarters. It's Milwaukee's year. We do this all the time. We forget that Michael Jordan won a title in year seven. LeBron won a title, finally in year nine. It's year eight for Janus. We tend to dismiss people if they don't give us what we want when we want it.

They did three things I really like. Number one, they went and got Drew Holiday, Total Pro plays defense, and P.J. Tucker. Total pro playoff games plays defense. So they're a much tougher team. They're a smarter team. They have veteran players. The second thing, and this sometimes just works out this way.

They match up with the most talented team in the league, Brooklyn. They're a perfect matchup. They've got guys like Drew Holiday and PJ Tucker that are annoying to a James Hardin, and Brooklyn can't stop Biggs. And the other thing is Janice is actually having a better year than last year. But we've dismissed him because he didn't win when we thought he should win. And I look at him right now and I'm like, there's no pressure. Last two years, we have been sitting here saying, all right, Milwaukee, let's go.

There's a lot of pressure. Young team, a lot of pressure. No pressure. It's all on Brooklyn. It's on Philadelphia to figure this thing out. It's on Brad Stevens now is getting hit. Brad Stevens now up for college jobs. There's pressure on the Lakers.

There's no pressure on Milwaukee. We've dismissed them. So I got no pressure. Yonis is playing better than ever. They're a smarter, more veteran-laden team with better defenders. They match up fantastically with Brooklyn. And by the way, the bucks are number one in points per game and number two and three-point percentage.

Those sort of matter. So I honestly, watching them three times in the last, you know, several weeks, and I'm like, it's time. But for the record, I think they end up playing the clippers. if LeBron's not healthy. And we dismiss the clippers because they weren't good on our schedule. Last year was the year and I am over them. And then you watch them and you're like,

I don't really trust Paul George in the playoffs, but if LeBron's hurt, I trust them more than Phoenix. I trust them more than Denver without Jamal Murray or a Portland or a Golden State if they sneak in. So I think it's Milwaukee's year. By the way, it may be a Mavericks thing. It may be a one and done.

But that's okay. That's okay. I think it. What will they say? If LeBron doesn't make it. What will they say? Well, you know, LeBron wasn't healthy. Well, I mean, let's be honest about this.

Toronto won because Golden State fell apart. Yeah. Golden State won a title because Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love fell apart. I mean, I'm not going to say that. Health. By the way. People are going to say that. Kansas City Chiefs got boat raced in the Super Bowl.

Why? Because they didn't have their offensive tackles. I don't think you hold it against them. If Milwaukee wins and LeBron's hurt, well, LeBron's old. Being healthy is part of. the game. It's not a fluke injury. LeBron's like 50 now.

I mean, how many years have you been playing? So he's like, an old guy got hurt. Old guys get, believe me, I know. You hit 50 and stuff breaks. Yeah, we've to put you in a bubble. 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.

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