The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 07/02/2021 - HOUR 1 - Kawhi, Lillard, College

Episode Date: July 2, 2021

There are two NBA teams who are rumored to be interested in Kawhi LeonardCould Damian Lillard end up on the Lakers?College sports will be fine, people need to relaxGuest: Chris Broussard 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. 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. 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 and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 here, 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 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. Thanks for listening to The 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. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, what a Friday we suddenly have live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Fireworks a couple of days early today. Joy Taylor is joining me. Cameron Johnson of the Phoenix Sun stops by in an hour.

A team we love on this show. Wow, Joy. There's a bunch of stuff today. There's a lot going on. People are feisty this morning. Everybody's got opinions about everything. I know. It's crazy opinions.

Who needs them? All right. Let's just start with this. According to Kevin O'Connor at the ringer, he's on our show in a couple hours. The Miami Heat Pat Riley, he's like Nick Sabin and the NBA. He's a recruiter.

And the Dallas Mavericks and Mark Cuban are going to make a hard push for Kauai Leonard. Now, Kauai is going to be a free agent. Now remember, first of all, Kauai called Jimmy Butler before he called Paul George. That's a fact. He was interested first in playing with Jimmy Butler. He thought Jimmy was a better player than Paul. George probably is barely. All right. Let's think about this for a second. And I'm going to throw this out because I think it's something. Kawhi Leonard's unique. Miami and Dallas have no state tax.

LA's got 13%. Now that is something with Kawhi. Here's why. Kauai makes $34 million a year. If he stayed with the Clippers the next three years, instead of Dallas or Miami, he'd lose $13.5 million. If he stayed for four, he'd lose $18 million. Why does that matter so much with Kauai? Because unlike Steph or LeBron, California doesn't matter for those guys. They have huge shoe deals. They have big social media deals. Kauai doesn't. He's not a big personality.

He doesn't make anything on social media. He's not a big personality. He didn't drive shoe sales. So a lot of pro athletes come to California. They've already made all their money. Or they can drive shoe deals. They can drive social media deals. LeBron's got his uninterrupted.

He's not worried about. Kauai's different. That's the first thing. He needs that NBA money. Secondly, he is super frugal, legendarily frugal. True stories. When he signed a deal with the Spurs and made $94 million,

he was driving a 20-year-old SUV. When asked about it, he said, it runs and it's paid off. He then had a deal with Game Stop, which is a wing stop. It's a chicken wing chain wing stop. He got some money for it. They gave him coupons. According to an article in sports, illustrated, he panicked when he lost his coupons for free chicken wings.

That's who he is. That's his personality. I know people like that. He's frugal. So with a lot of athletes, like a Steph in LeBron, California is where they need to be. Like that's where they need to be. It doesn't matter. You got shoe money.

They're making so much money. LeBron needed to be in Los Angeles. The taxes don't matter as much to LeBron because he's not going to get these opportunities and these cozy deals and this television network. It's in his backyard. Like, it makes sense for LeBron to be here. Forget, oh, Ohio's cheaper. Exactly.

There's a reason, right? But in Kauai's case, he's not a TV production guy. Not going to make any money on that. He's not a social media star. He's not driving major shoe dollars. His money is NBA money. Four years, he'd looted 18 million in California. Here's another thing to think about.

Health. Kauai didn't have 10 years left. Hell, I'm not sure if he's got four years left. So Kauai's not a guy like LeBron. who was an Ironman for 18 years until he had a minor injury. Kauai's been hurt third year in the league. These rumors are now being confirmed. Miami, Dallas coming after him.

And I think Dallas fits way better. First of all, Luca is a lot better than Jimmy Butler, and I like Jimmy Butler. But Luca is 10 years younger and better than Jimmy Butler. Also, because Dallas is only a three-hour flight from California, you get tax where you make your money. So he'd be in Dallas, but he could still be close enough to keep his fam on the mansion in California that he just bought. You can have the house here.

You know, you know, Kauai, Toronto, he'll live in a condo. He doesn't care. He's a loner anyway. So Lucas also, if he goes to Dallas, he no longer has to guard Luca, who's the biggest nightmare for any great defender. Anytime Luca and Kauai play now, Hey, Kauai, you got to guard Luca.

Wouldn't have to anymore. It's also perfect for Dallas. What does Dallas need? A two. I said, Porzingis is a great three. He's a weak two. Now Porzingis is your three. Luca, Kauai, Porzengis, Hardaway?

That's a championship team. That is an NBA championship team. And by the way, Dallas has cap space. Miami doesn't. That makes a ton of sense. Don't kid yourself on the same. state tax thing. California taxes for Hollywood stars and for big business people, yeah, it's expensive, but there's so much business here that you can make an argument for LeBron. He wouldn't

have these TV network opportunities if he's in Ohio. He didn't have them before. Why suddenly now he have eight of them? Because people want to work with him. It's cool to work with LeBron in Southern California. You move here, he was told. All the billionaires line up, and they did. But Kauai's not that kind of personality. There's no advantage for him here. Dallas, three-hour flight away, family can still stay here. I think this makes a ton of sense. Also, and this needs to be considered as well, he can hide in Dallas. Dallas is a football town. The cowboys run the city. Now, some players may be turned off by that. They want to go to an NBA city, the Lakers, but Dallas is a football city. That's a football town. I think Kauai loves that. Also, he's

He doesn't want to deal with some of the responsibilities of a one and the media and the glare. Luca's already got that. Luca is going to be the star of this franchise for the next 15 years. So Kauai can hide. Kauai can let him deal with all the media stuff. And by the way, you got an owner who talks. You got Luca who talks. So Kauai can just kind of move to the back and be great.

Makes a ton of sense to me. And by the way, the clippers would be fine. Clippers roster is good. They'd find somebody else. Hell, the Clippers gave the sons all they can handle without him. All right, here's another one. I should save it for next segment. And this is how much we have today.

Damien Lillard and LeBron hung out yesterday, WNBA game. They made a point of going public. I just want to give you something to think about. You're driving somewhere in America today. You're watching me. Anthony Davis missed as many games this year as Damien Lillard has in his career. And it's getting worse.

Okay, it solves two issues. Because in order for Portland to think about a trade, they'd have to get something big back. Anthony Davis is pretty big. Anthony Davis is a great player. But the Lakers have a couple of dilemmas here. Frank Vogel loves bigs. Anthony Davis doesn't want to be a big.

He had his lowest year in rebounds, his lowest career in block shots. He's becoming increasingly a finesse player on the outside. So now Vogel and Anthony Davis, it's not ideal. And he's becoming a finesse player. And one of the great advantages with AD is his size. The other issue the Lakers have is Dennis Schrooter. They don't really want to resign him, but they kind of have to. Like if they want to beat as Golden State gets back,

better, and the Clippers get better, and the Mavericks can get better, and Jamal Murray comes back, and Denver is better. They kind of got to have a point. And it ain't Caruso, but they don't want to pay Dennis Schrooter. Well, if you bring in Dame, that issue goes away. You get a true superstar, and the Anthony Davis health issue goes away. Listen, you never want to move off a guy that can come back to burn you. You know, I saw a story this week by John Hollinger, a pretty reliable guy that said Dame to the Warriors.

Portland can't make that deal. You can't have Steph and Dame coming back into your city and dropping 43s on you. It'd be humiliating. But you got draft picks in James Wiseman and Andrew Wiggins. That doesn't work. But if I'm the Lakers this morning, okay, I've had AD two years. I got a title. I got a title.

It worked. The NBA, this is not a five-year league anymore. It is a year-to-year league. We all know that. It's not a five-year league. There are no five-year plans. You go through two coaches and three GMs. It's not a five-year plan league.

It's a year-to-year league. You just make moves to win. This makes a ton of sense. There's three things LeBron James needs for the remainder of his career. One, a guy that can play almost every game. Right? So LeBron can take the foot off the gas, take six to eight, 10 games off a year, play fewer minutes.

Dame never gets hurt. AD always does. He also needs somebody that's as committed as he is. Duane Wade was, Bosch was. AD's not. That stuff doesn't change. Number three is LeBron needs somebody that he can leave the floor and the offense is fine. It's always fine with Dame.

Dame time is a good time. It's always fine with Dame. all the things that LeBron needs going forward. Anthony Davis doesn't run the offense when LeBron's off the floor. He's not as committed as LeBron James. You don't get 95% of the games. That's what LeBron needs going forward. Somebody that's going to be there every night.

Every single night just as committed, comes into the season in shape, can play almost every game, doesn't have a history of getting hurt. I mean, Dame plays every night. and when LeBron wants to play 31 minutes. And by the way, that's a big deal. One of the reasons the sons are so lethal is their backup point cards. Chris Paul can only play 30 minutes. That's all he has to play.

I mean, you've got Kevin Durant playing 45. You've got Paul George playing 45. Those guys are exhausted by the end of the series. Chris Paul? I've got Cameron Payne coming in. I can play 30. LeBron could literally play 30 minutes, another 9, 10 minutes off, and Dame runs the offense. I don't know.

Makes a ton of sense. And by the way, big swing. are winning in this league. Chris Paul to Phoenix. Ooh, that contract. How's it working? Kauai to the Raptors for a year. Big swing.

How'd that work? AD to the Lakers for two years. They got a title. How'd it work? Paul George of the Clippers. It's made them a better franchise. So this is not a five-year league anymore. I mean, come on, man.

They're running out. Guys are getting fired all the time. You don't have a five-year league. Coaches signed contracts. And they're in trouble by the end of the first year. Here, Dame A.D., I would do it tomorrow. I really would. I've said this before.

Indifference is something you can't overcome. Ben Simmons appears to be indifferent to competition. Indifference to improving a shot. Anthony Davis is indifferent to working out. Maybe, maybe not. You can't overcome that. I can overcome, you know, dame's a little small. All right, put a defensive.

guard put, you know, KCP in the floor with him. He's a longer, better defender. But indifference, A.D. Ben Simmons, I'm not interested. It's the J. Cutler syndrome. The quarterback for the Bears. He wanted to win. Kind of. I can't deal with that. I'll deal with your shortcomings. I'll deal with less of an arm, less of an athlete. You got to want to win. You got to be committed. That's what Dame is. every night of the year and of the offseason. Man, those are tasty stories. Who needs to talk about the game last night?

Dallas and Miami after Kauai Leonard. Love it. Also a cowboy story. Joy will have that coming up. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraging. 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, Clifford 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a 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 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 Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Kunky, his best friend, and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA.

Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Discover matches all the cash back you earn in your credit car, any of your first year automatically, with no limits. How great is that? Great because 99% of the places that take credit cards take Discover. Discover.com slash yes. You'll hear yes more often.

I have so many things to talk about today. It just cracks me up some of the stuff going on today in America. The jobs report came out. America's economy is on fire. But wait, I thought. Also, the NIL rules. football name, image likeness. Players are already signing massive deals, and the world didn't end.

I don't know how it's possible. Oklahoma's quarterback's already got a logo. Auburn's quarterback already has a deal with sweet tea in the south, and yet college sports is fine. I don't know how this stuff happens. I don't even want to. I was going to do a segment on, but after the Kauai trade and the Dame and LeBron stuff, I need to take a break.

I'm exhausted. There's big news here. joy with the news. Well, Dallas Cowboys are going to be on this season of HBO's Hard Knocks. Now that's the third time they've done it. Yes, this is the third time they're on the show. The other two appearances were in 2002 and 2008.

So we're going to get to follow America's team through training camp, get a front row seat to Dak Prescott's return from his ankle injury. Of course, I'm sure there will be some Jerry Jones sightings. I have no problem with HBO choosing them. I think it'll be fascinating, but it should be noted five of the last six teams that have been on hard knocks have imploded. Only the 2020 Rams didn't capsize being on the show. Oh yeah. It's never good news. No, it's like a reality show. It always ends in divorce. Like you can't put cameras around me and my wife and think we're going to be authentic and natural.

It's just too much. Well, also, at one point in another, you're going to get used to the cameras being there and default to whatever you do at home, which is not for everybody's consumption. And that's generally what happens. It's very standard that you don't have a great season when you have a bunch of cameras and a huge production, which I've seen the production before. It's massive. There's cameras everywhere. They're interviewing people. It's a whole thing. It's an extra out of distraction during the time of year when you are wanting to completely focus and build your team and find out who's going to make the roster and how your season is going to look or prepare for your season and now you've got HBO there.

Now personally, I love this. I can't wait for this. This is a gift. This is a gift from the sports gods. Thank you, HBO. No, it is great for us. Yes. And it's going to get me to watch it.

There was a year a couple years ago that it was so boring. They had, it was like a Buccaneers team. It was bad. It was like, I didn't even want to watch it. This will get my eyeballs. One of the chargers last year? I don't even remember who was last year. Last year it was the Chargers.

And by the way, they underachieve. So it should be noted. No team that's been in hard knocks has ever gone to the Super Bowl. And I don't think the Cowboys are a Super Bowl team. I think they're going to be a good team. I think they're going to be like every other cowboy team in the last 25 years. At the end of the year, you'll be like, oh, kind of fun to watch, but they're not special. But, you know, this is what frustrates cowboy fans.

So the knock, what cowboy fans, like fans are fan. Fan is short for Fanatic. They all think they're going to win. But the one thing that, you know, fan bases are all cut into two groups. Every fan base in America, football, basketball, baseball. The grown-ups and the pom-pom-pawing kids who just can't handle any bad news. And then half of every fan base could be Seahawks, could be Raiders, could be clippers. They're grown-ups.

You know, often a little more successful people. They've gone through stumbles in life. They know life's not linear. You don't always get what you want. They're the grown-up fan base. 50% of the fan base. They don't get in fights in games. They are frustrated because Jerry treats this more like a business than he does like a football team.

It's a business and this is great for merch. And that's what drives cowboy fans nuts. At least the smart ones get that. That this is not good for winning. It's great for merch. It's great for sales. It's great for content. You are definitely going to talk about it.

There's definitely going to be moments. And there's a lot of interesting things outside of just Dak and Jerry. I mean, you have, you have Zeke, Micah Parsons, what's McCarthy going to look like? Like, there's so many different storylines that it's going on with this team right now, outside of just Dak and Jerry, who are the faces of the organization. So we're definitely going to talk about it. But, yeah, it's not usually the best news for your season. Not usually, no.

So today is the deadline for NFL players to utilize the league's COVID opt-out for the 2021 season. We talked about this, I think, two weeks ago, because this would be one of the first states to pay attention to. in the ongoing Aaron Rogers saga with the Green Bay Packers. So we were going to keep an eye on if he was going to potentially opt out. But according to Jeremy Fowler, he's unlikely to go that way. So it would be too difficult for Rogers to make this decision now with so much time left for the season, which is what we assumed.

This was probably going to be a little too premature to pull right now. We're still pretty far out from training camp and for the start of the season for him to make a decision to opt out right now, unless he was 1,000% dug in and the conversations have gone bad. The Packers have called his bluff. Yes. The Packers have said, because part of this story is people have stopped calling the Packers because they won't take the call.

So the Green Bay Packers won. The Green Bay Packers said, we're not trading you. And essentially they have won. Aaron threw a little bit of an off-season tantrum and did what Aaron does, whatever, which is he has every right to do it. But the Packers won this. The Packers said, all right, don't play. We'll go with Joe.

And we're not going to fold to you. We're not going to set a precedent. And the Packers are going to get their way. Well, they've always said that they weren't going to trade them. So unless he came out very publicly and said, I'm not playing here anymore, they always had the leverage in that situation. Like until he comes out like, I will never play for you again, Jordan Love is your guy. Trade me.

Or I'm going to sit and whatever. And it's going to get really ugly. They were always going to have the leverage in that situation. He had to be that violent. to make something move. We know Aaron's very calculated and he's very measured. The downside to doing what Aaron did, if the team doesn't fold, it just looks like a tantrum. That's all it looks like now is like, I want this and you come begging back to the franchise.

So the downside, there is risk in what Aaron did, which is get all upset. And that's why I think Aaron told a lot of his friends, quote, it's fixable. They kept saying it's fixable. It's fixable. Aaron didn't want to go all the way in saying it was. was unfixable, knowing there was a shot that Green Bay would not budge and they didn't. And Aaron's going to come, not calling back, but come back. There's still time. He could still not come to training camp. That's some money to leave on the table, about $2 million. But he could still

not go to training camp. Now, I don't anticipate that he won't be at training camp because what's, what's the value if you are going to play this year in hurting yourself by not getting those reps and not being around your teammates and not being with the team if you are going to, eventually come back. So I think he'll be a training camp, but there still are a couple dates before that, before we can see if he's going to play this season with them. So Baker Mayfield will be with the Browns at least through 2022 after the team picked up his option. He's also eligible for contract extension with Cleveland. His deal would reportedly be easier to do than those of his draft class counterparts and Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson because they are considered to be a higher

tier quarterback talent, although Browns fans would tell you otherwise. But, but, But Baker is not expected to take any sort of discount. So he said he's in no rush to sign an extension, although I'm sure he would be happy to sign an extension. The Browns have no incentive to sign an extension with him. They can very easily let this play out for the rest of the season. I actually don't have a problem with this situation. Obviously, you know, Baker would like to have a longer extension and get his money.

But this is the year. Just go out and perform well and you'll get your money. You're good your money. It's as simple as that. The Browns are not in a situation where they can just move on from Baker. If he plays well enough, they're going to pay him. And that's what they should do. Joe Flacco bet on himself. Baker, the reality is we will know by the end of the year.

Either the Browns are going to have the leverage that Baker finished second to Baltimore and had some games where he could not elevate or Baker's going to have the leverage. And what's Cleveland going to do? Bail on him if he gets them to the playoffs, wins the division and wins the playoffs. They're not going to bail on Baker. And nor should they? No. So, I mean, this is Baker.

You know, in the end, a lot of people would say, ooh, Baker, and I've said this, he's not going to get his money now. But if he plays as well as he could, I mean, God, he's got the best offensive line and the best running back in the game, the best running game, if you go look at the last 20 years and said this team has the best offensive line and the best running game, Dak went 13 and 3. Dak Prescott as a rookie when he had the best O line and the best running back. It is hard not to be a playoff team. If you have the, Philip Rivers last year had a top O line and a good running game. And Philip Rivers won 11 games.

And now he's out of the league. He was an old man. There's no excuses for, not just Baker, but for the Browns. Like they should be not only, they should win this division. They should be in the playoffs. They should win multiple playoff games. Like there should be high expectations for them. You should do better than you did last year.

Yeah. It's another year into Baker's career in this system. And he's betting on himself. It worked out for DAC. And flacco. Sometimes, yeah, sometimes you have to do that, but it's totally in Baker's hands. If he plays well, he's going to get paid, and they should pay him. Yeah, joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Oh, we got all sorts of stuff today. Chris Broussard now joins us live, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. All right, I got to tell you, I hear a lot of trade rumors, and many don't come to fruition.

But I can make an argument, Kauai to Dallas, is very interesting. Remember, Chris, Kauai doesn't have big shoe money. He doesn't have big social media money. For Stefan LeBron, California taxes are irrelevant. They get so much business here. Kauai is not a 10-year player.

Kauai didn't have 10 years left. His career could be shortened by injuries. He doesn't have big shoe money. He doesn't have social media money. He doesn't want to go to a place with the media all over him. Dallas is a football town. Luke is the star. I don't think it's nuts.

I don't think the Dallas Maverick rumors are nuts, Chris Brouss are. Do you? You left out one thing that Kauai doesn't have. Roots in suburban Dallas. All right, like he's got roots in suburban L.A. He's at home, Colin. Yes, I don't think they make sense. I don't think it makes any sense for Kauai Linder to leave the Clippers.

I think there are only two logical reasons. One, if you are on Skip Bayliss, as reported that he's at odds with the medical staff for the clippers. Okay. If that's true and if they've done something egregious that's really offended him and maybe messed with his health and Steve Balmer won't fix it. Okay, if you leave, we get that. All right. Or he has found out in the last two years, I don't like playing at home. It's too many, too much family, too many friends.

He's got ticket request. I can't just relax and be by myself. Okay. If that was the case, one of those two things, okay, then go. Or even if he's really injured more than we think, and he knows he can't be the same player that he was in the past. Colin, I don't think any of those three things are true. So with that being the case, I don't see a reason to leave.

Yes, Luca Donchich is better than Paul George. but Luca Donchich also dominates the ball and for a guy that can do stuff on his own can handle the ball himself, create off the dribble, that can be frustrated. I think one of the things Jason Kidd needs to do in Dallas is get Luca playing within a system. He can still average 30 and 10 and 9 and all that stuff,

but do it within a system so other stars will enjoy playing with you and you're not creating everything. I think Kauai or a lot of other. stars would be frustrated playing with Luca the way he plays right now, as great as he is. So you've got a great coach in Ty Lou. You've got an owner that's got deep pockets and willing to spend. You're on a contending team and you're at home. If he left the Clippers for anything but the reasons I mentioned earlier, it just says he doesn't want to be the man. I don't like the responsibility of being the face of the franchise. I don't like when the

pressure's on me to lead us to a championship. Remember, that's never been the case for him. Toronto, no expectations. San Antonio, he was one of several stars there. So I don't think Kauai is made of that. I don't think he's to a point where he doesn't want to be the man, where he's willing to go join Lucas team and say I'll be second fiddle to Luca. I don't see him leaving. And Miami, that's been out there too. That's a lateral move. It's not no easier to get through the East than it is the West now. Yeah, they'd have to do a sign and trade like Butler. have cap space either. Okay, so how about this? You know this is not, there are no five-year plans. It's not like the NFL where you draft a quarterback, you have a new coach, and you give it

like three years to work. And the NFL's impatient, but the NBA is absurdly impatient. There are no five-year plans. It's a year-to-year league. Dame LeBron. Clearly LeBron would love to play with Dame. Just listen. You went and got AD. You got a title out of it. AD increasingly, is not as committed as LeBron. Dame is. He's not as dependable physically as Dame. And the other thing is, when LeBron wants to get into a Chris Paul situation,

I want to play 30 minutes, and then I got Cameron Payne can take over the offense, right? Like, oh, I don't have to play 44 minutes. When LeBron steps off the floor, Dame runs the offense. And you say to yourself, well, Portland, Anthony Davis, listen, if Dame wants out and calls you on it, you're going to just try to get the best thing you can.

Ben Simmons and AD it's not close. You deal with 80s injuries over Ben Simmons' indifference. AD is about as good at, well, it's not about. That's as good as you can get in the dame trade, in my opinion. I don't think this is crazy. I don't think Damon and the Lakers is nuts, Chris. Look, if I'm Portland, oh, yes, let's do it now. Okay, I get you there.

It's the other side. who represents Anthony Davis? We both know. Rich Paul. Yeah. So, and right, rich just got him out of New Orleans a few years ago. Unless Anthony Davis has this desire to be in Portland and play in Portland for the next five years, he's not going there. Rich Paul's not sending him to Portland.

So that's not happening. Now, if I, so if you ask me, would I do it if I'm the Lakers? Like if Rich Paul's not in the picture, I would not do it right now. If I were to Lakers, I'd give it one more year with AD. Because we know AD and LeBron can win a title, assuming LeBron's himself. And I get it. Maybe a year from now, LeBron won't be the same.

You know, father time's coming. So, but I would try next year with AD and LeBron. If AD hadn't put into work in the offseason to be healthy throughout the year, gets hurt again. Then I would be willing to do that if I'm the Lakers. but I'd go one more year because let's face it, a lot of people had them favor to win it this year if they stay healthy. So I wouldn't do it. Only way Dame possibly gets to the Lakers,

because like I said, AD deal's not happening, is if he goes to Neil O'Shea, the GM of the Blazers and says, look, I've been a good soldier, I've given you nine years, you know I've been loyal, I want to go to the Lakers.

And I don't need, and Neil O'Shea doesn't have to go along with, it, but if he wanted to be nice, he could do that. I wouldn't do it if I'm new. I'd be like, look, I'll work with you on another deal. We got to do something that works for us too. And so that's where the Ben Simmons situation comes in. But I don't see Dame getting to the Lakers.

And I also don't think Dame will go and demand that they trade him to the Lakers. I don't think Dame is all in on the Super Team thing. I think he's still, you know, he knows he needs to go somewhere and win with better players, but I don't know that he wants to go join a ready for championship super team. I think he still wants to be somewhere where they can add pieces like a New York. They've got the money. It could be dame. You got Julius Randall and then add some more stars to him.

By the way, sons are in the finals. Looks like Milwaukee would probably be the team they would meet. That feels like a great matchup for Phoenix, right? They've got a rim protector with Janus. they're healthier, home court advantage, more dependable, scoring consistently, sons bucks if they matched up. I think I'd like Phoenix quick in that. Well, I don't know about quick, maybe six, but I do think Phoenix is the favorite,

no matter who they face. Obviously, they're favorite over Atlanta. Milwaukee assuming Yonis plays, I hope he plays. because if Yonis plays, then I think this is an intriguing series. Yeah, I'd pick Phoenix, but you got Yonis, you got Chris Paul. Like, it's a really good series. What the Bucs showed last night is not that they're better without Yonis, but they show, look, maybe we can be optimistic that even if Yonis can't come back for the finals,

Milwaukee still could make it interesting, right? I couldn't see them beating Phoenix. But here's the thing, Colin, there's pressure on Chris Paul to win this championship. Because if you lose to a Milwaukee team without Janice, that's not going to look good. All this goodwill he's gotten over this season and these playoffs, that'll look bad. My goodness, if you lose to Atlanta, even with Trey Young, that's not going to look good. Right. Because Trey Young is the same position as you, and he's a young kid.

So Chris has to go ahead and bring this thing home. Good stuff today. So I can't believe you don't give Dame to the Lakers. If I'm LeBron James, if I'm LeBron James, and I'm like... So you would do it for AD? Absolutely. First of all, anytime a big gets injured, Anthony Davis's injuries, he has not had a clean, when's the last time he had a clean year?

The bubble year when he got a four-month hiatus. Like, this stuff never gets better. Now, M. B.'s got a torn meniscus. He's got less market value. I think you wait on injured Bigs, it always gets worse. either it gets worse like Rudy Gobert where you can marginalize him in the playoffs and everybody sees it and goes

we don't want Gobert or guys who have been hurt get hurt more because their bodies are unnatural. It's 300 pounds. It's 270. It's 7 feet tall. I would move now. I think the more you wait, the less leverage you would have with Anthony Davis to move him. And by the way, clutch sports. I hear you, but you know, you know there's the clutch factor.

You think they let that happen? Well, LeBron still very influential. And LeBron's like, I like Dame. I think LeBron could use this excuse. Hey, I gave Anthony two years. The guy came in out of shape. We can't have that.

We can't have that. That's an out to me. And LeBron's got an out. Rich Paul represents AD2 though. I know. He can't kill his business by it. People just saying, oh, he's just going to do what LeBron. You know what I mean?

He's got all his clients that he's got to look out for their best interest. No, I know. But Rich is going to be around a long time. Nobody's going to kill Rich Paul's business. Rich Paul is going to be around for 25 years, making a lot of money and a lot of deals. And sometimes you've got to make an uncomfortable deal. We can argue about this all day. It's fascinating.

I'll tell you that, Chris. Have a great Fourth of July weekend with you and your fam. You too, Colin. See you. All right. It's just interesting. It's just all interesting to me. Okay.

Coming up next, people freak out. And in the end, it always works out. We'll talk about that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVarrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask?

Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that. type of talent on it. Up on game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arington, T.J.

Hushmanzada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast from. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashed. human potential. Either way, the podcast 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. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford 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. 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 a 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 you're just so you. y'all know. I mean, at this point, 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. So, you're finishing that sentence. Yes. 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself about love or relationship. can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself.

We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So a name image likeness, that is the...

new buzz phrase in college sports. Athletes can now be officially paid. And a big chunk of the country is scared. They were scared with cannabis. They were scared with sports gambling. And it's very ironic. The two companies that have benefited most are two companies that just crazy happenstance, yoke, which is a company I almost invested in,

had lunch with them a couple of times a year ago. Great young guys run by a guy who's a walk-on football player at Notre Dame. Neat guys, great company. I'm a dummy. I didn't invest. And Cameo, who I've been talking to for years, the guy that runs that. It's just a weird happen since. Those companies are crushing it.

Yoke signed a bunch of athletes to get paid. And Cameo, which we talked about yesterday, is a great spot for these kids to get paid. But Oklahoma Spencer Rattler already has a logo and a brand. Bo Nicks, the quarterback of Auburns, already got a, Milo's Sweet Tea, promotional money, the Cavender sisters, Fresno State basketball players, they're doing the two women, Hannah and Haley are already crushing it. Olivia Dunn, LSU gymnast is crushing it. I think it can be very good for women.

Men and women in Olympic sports that don't get a lot of publicity by guys like me, shows like us. You know, here's what's going to happen with this. It's going to be like every other gold rush in my life. And we've had a couple of them. In the last two, three years, we've had two of them. Cannabis, a lot of people went in, a lot of Ivy League guys that don't smoke pot got into that business. And then sports gambling, a lot of Ivy League guys who never really bet sports got into that business. And what happened with both?

Four or five people dominated. That's what's going to happen here. Good looking, attractive, pretty successful on the field. Personalable young athletes are going to make good. money. Most of them aren't. But if you're attractive and personable and you're pretty good, you have some success in your man or woman, you're going to make money. That's the way it works. That's the way it works on TikTok and Instagram. Are you kind of attractive? Are you personable? Do you enjoy it? Kauai Leonard was never built to make a lot of money in NIL, name, image like this.

LeBron would have been great. Zion would have been great. Tebow would have been great. Reggie Bush would have been great. Johnny Mansell would have been great. Personalable, good on the field. like the game. Play the game, like the game. So cannabis, prime example. We all knew Pop was going to be legalized. It got legalized. One company in Canada dominates. Here it's a cure leaf is the biggest one I think in America. There's about four companies that have all the money. Sports gambling. Wow, Fandu'll jump to the top. What a shock. We didn't see that coming. I mean, it's even in tech, think how big tech is. The smartest people in America, many of them work in tech. Literally four or five companies run it, run our stock market.

Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook. There's even a term for it. I forget what it is off the top of my head. There's like a term that they essentially run the country. In fact, those four companies right now, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Google are bigger than Canada's economy. All these geniuses, the gold rush of tech, five companies run it. They can literally gobble.

up all the other companies. Four or five cannabis companies run it. Fan dual jumps to the top with sports game. That's the way the game works. Very few people. I mean, I swear to God, you could go to porn when it went to the internet. It's like three companies run it. It's just the way it works.

The smart people sees it. And in this, the smart agents and the smart brands and the big brands and the kids that go to the big schools, it's college football is going to have the most money. made because that's that's where we watch a lot of college football. The ratings are great. So the kids in college football, the quarterbacks, the star receiver, you know, the funny kid, the Jadavian Clowny, the big pass rush guy, or whatever, those guys will make money. It's not going to change who's good in college football. It's not like Alabama in 10 years is going to be below Kentucky football in the SEC. USC is going to benefit. Why? Because of the

biggest brand of the Pac-12. And Oregon's going to benefit. Why? Because they're really good. And Phil Knight, Nike, kind of, is the pioneer of the program. So Oregon and USC will benefit in the West. Mark it down. That's just the way it's going to work. And we're all going to be okay. I slept last night seven hours.

It's amazing. Pot, sports gambling, name image, likeness. We're all going to survive. Toughest guys on Twitter. You ever notice how scared they are of everything? Hour to next. Another podcast from some SNL late night. nominee guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob

Odin Kirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter 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. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway 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 AHA 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 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 Cliford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clivert Show on the I Heart 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. This is an IHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human.