The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 07/30/2021 - HOUR 1 - Russell Westbrook, NBA Draft, Kurt Helin

Episode Date: July 30, 2021

In this hour of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Doug Gottlieb--in for Colin--sees a few issues with former Washington Wizard Russell Westbrook joining the Los Angeles Lakers after a blockbuster trade Thursday night. Plus, Doug dissects the differences between home-grown professional basketball prospects and international talents--and how they'll impact the NBA. Also, we finally hear from maligned Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst and Doug reacts. Lastly, Kurt Helin--lead writer and managing editor of ProBasketballTalk--joins The Herd to discuss the NBA Draft and other hoops topics.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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.

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This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening to the show. Thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlie. In for Colin Cowherd. And man, do we have an outstanding show for it? We were, um, it felt like, it felt like one tweet away from the Padres winning the World Series. until Max Scherz was like, yeah, I don't know. And of course, we had the NBA draft last night.

We had the U.S. women's national soccer team win in a shootout in PKs earlier today. We got it. We got a litany of things. Simone Biles posted on her TikTok and then it became on Twitter that she has the Twisties, which is a gymnastics form of the yips. So we got a lot to get to here. Okay. Let's start with the most obvious because Colin tweeted about it.

And yes, these jokes do write themselves that he's going in for, he's going in for a colonoscopy. You know, Colin, this whole idea of sharing everything with your audience. Like, but okay. So he doesn't get a chance on his show to, I would guess, eviscerate this plan between LeBron, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. So article in the LA Times out today that apparently the three, A.D., LeBron, Westbrook, got together a couple weeks ago and hashed out this plan. Hey, man, how about we make one last run for a championship? And I've always wanted to do it in L.A., of course, Russell Westbrook, much like Kauai Leonard, much like Paul George. Should be pointed out that PG and Kauai Leonard are not technically from even Los Angeles County, whereas Russell Westbrook is.

but still, you grew up in Southern California, you always want to play for the Lakers, or you always want to play in Staples. Like, it's inarguable. Everybody wants to play close to home, especially when close to home gives you a chance to win a championship and 75 and Sunny every single freaking day, right?

Okay. But here's the problem with it. Here's the problem with it. I understand that this gives you a point guard and it can move LeBron James back to the power. power forward. And the worst kept secret in the NBA is the fact that through searching and searching and searching for a replacement to Dwight Howard and Javelle McGee, they came up with a worst plan and a Marcus Saul that the Lakers want to start and finish with Anthony Davis at the five, right? That's what

they want. That gives them the greatest chance to win. That gives them the greatest mismatch. And it opens up the lane potentially for LeBron James when he's playing downhill. What they want is. want to do their goal, their dream is to LeBron James is like the fourth quarter point guard and they need somebody else to run eight quarters one through three. And Dennis Schrooter is not the guy. The next story you hear out of the Lakers is going to be Dennis Schroeder is signed and traded to whomever. They don't dislike Dennis Schroeder.

They despise Dennis Schroeder for a litany of reasons. But the move yesterday makes sense, right? LeBron's ankle, he's unable to carry a team the way he wants to carry a team. And Russell Westbrook, with all of his flaws, still average a damn triple double, still super competitive, and has honestly played his best basketball when he's off the ball in the fourth quarter going back to his days in Oklahoma City. The problem with that is that LeBron, the Lakers, and everybody else in the league seems to know that Russell Westbrook can't shoot other than Russell Westbrook.

so they didn't even guard him in the playoffs two years ago. Russell Busbrook's this curious case. Most guys, just most ask yourself as an afternoon weekend warrior, right? The older you get, the worse you move, the better you shoot. Like, I can even shoot now. I can even shoot now. But the bigger part is, yes, LeBron's not the Iron Man. AD was never, ever an Iron Man, ever.

right and I don't think that I don't think that in the postseason Russell Westbrook is the Ironman but look at the games played in the regular season and he clearly will give you everything he's got every day he's called upon and playing in L.A. and playing for LeBron they'll both be mutually motivated to give everything they possibly have everything they possibly have in the regular season but this comes down to a couple of basketball things and a business thing, right? From a basketball perspective, what have the Lakers sorely missed both the past two years outside shooting? So you bring in the highest volume, lowest percentage three-point shooter at point guard in the NBA?

Is that what you do? Does that make any sense to anybody? Like when they were thinking about Buddy Healed, everybody was like, wow, that's a, that's a good move. That's a good move. Now, Buddy Hill was not moved last night. It doesn't mean he still can't be moved. I don't know why the Sacramento Kings would want another point guard unless they can find a suitor for Dennis Schrooter. On the other hand, they drafted a point guard last night.

So no one knows what Sacramento Kings are doing. There's a reason they had the longest playoff drought in the NBA. But the bigger issue is this. It sounds great to go into business with your friends, doesn't it? I got an idea. He's gotten the idea. Like minds, we grew up together. This is the best, right?

Until you actually get to working together. One, you have Chris Paulson out there going, hey, you know, I'm a point guard, I'm available, and I went to the finals, and Russell can't get out of the first. round, but besides that, there's the reality to working together with friends and with family sounds like an awesome idea. Have you ever talked to anybody who's worked with a longtime dear friend or with a family member? They hate each other. They do. Because your expectations of each other are far higher than your likely output. Additionally, these guys, LeBron and Russell Westbrook,

are at the end of illustrious careers. Not at the start. There's expectations of, hey, you've been here before. You can do this. Like, yeah, your body's not really willing to do it. And Russell's kind of always dominate the ball. LeBron dominates the ball. And Anthony Davis doesn't seem to want to dominate at times,

but needs to dominate the ball. This is one of those in practice. It feels awesome. Hey, man, they're all friends. They're all together. They're all about L.A. They all want to win a championship. They're all aggressive, defensive.

the win on defense. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's awesome. But last I checked, he only played with one basketball. Last I checked, LeBron James needs space in the lane. He needs shooting and

no one respects Russell Westbrook as a shooter. And then late in the season, what happened this year is what happens normally. Older players break down. Have you ever owned a car that's really well made?

an SUV incredibly well made family loved it we took it everywhere we had the extended life warranty it was i'm not going to give away the name because i know there's certain sponsorships deals i can only tell you that if you looked at at quality of build you know check any sort of box any sort of box for um for you know consumer reports of what you it was great but once you hit like 75, 80,000 miles on any car. No matter how much people, I drove that thing and I overturned the odometer. We had no troubles at all. Our extended warranty ran out on the drive train at 75,000 miles.

At 80,000 miles, one of the lights went on. I'm like, yeah, your transmission is. And then there was something else. And then there was something else. And then there was something. This is the way I know LeBron James, it's just a sprained ankle. And it was a groin two years ago. But you don't get less.

you get more injured as time goes on. So maybe Anthony Davis decides, okay, now I'm going to work on my body in the offseason. He did just buy a palatial estate that does, unlike Ben Simmons, have a basketball court. Maybe Russell Westbrook is super motivated and works on his jumper and figures it out a little bit in this offseason.

And LeBron James, who finds a way to motivate everybody around him, he himself comes back, his longest offseason to date, takes a breath, gets ready, and just starts killing. And as flawed as Rob Polinka's team and LeBron James' team was last year, they still felt really good about the matchup with the Sons. And I don't think Denver was beating them anyway.

And obviously you couldn't plan for Kauai Leonard to tear his ACL. I think that's where it would have come to an end, but I don't know it. and neither do you. The point is that they were flawed last year. They Montrez Harold didn't fit. Nobody liked Dennis Schrooter. They got nothing out of West Matthews.

Contavius Caldwell Pope came back to reality. Kyle Coosman was frustrated by his lack of minutes. Marcus Salls washed up. Like all of those things did in fact happen. And yet the Lakers still had a shot to win the title. So I'm willing to say, hey, let's wait a second. Let's catch our breath. Let's let Rob Polinka finish this and see what else he puts around these guys.

But LeBron James chose to work with family. For his one last run, he's going to get all of his guys, less Chris Paul, who actually just went to the NBA finals together and try and make one more run at it. What makes us believe that working with friends actually works? When does it work in the NBA? I guess you can say with the Miami Heat four finals, four years to NBA championship, but it didn't in the first year. I mean, the Boston Celtics, when they got their big three together,

they didn't even like Rondo. They don't like Ray Allen now. And yet somehow, they found a way to make it work. Shaq and Kobe were teammates. They were never really, boys. They won three titles. Kobe Bryant wasn't best friends with anybody on the team. He lives an hour and a half away from the facility

and an hour and 15 from the arena. It sounds like a good idea to work with friends, to work with family, but tell me when it actually works. And then you bring up the actual basketball flaws and the lack of shooting and the age. Look, we're only halfway through this process of remaking last year's NBA champion,

but there's just as many questions as there are answers with the move yesterday. All right, coming up next. Speaking of GMs, Brian Gunnkundkunds, who's the GM under fire with the Green Bay Packers, Two days ago, we heard from Aaron Rogers. Aaron Rogers was as forthcoming as anyone has ever been at a preseason press conference. Yesterday, we heard from Brian Gunnickens.

What's our takeaway? I'll tell you next in the herd. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, But encouraged, it's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. 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 all day, but just so 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. Thank you 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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, Tript 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.

Doug Gottlieb in for Colin. This is the hurt. We will catch up with Kurt Heelan, lead writer and managing editor for pro basketball talk. Get his thoughts on last night's NBA draft. I thought the Houston Rockets actually did really, really well. But the bigger takeaway on the NBA draft is like, you don't know any of them. You don't know any of them. I'll play for what Brian Gunnaker and said in a moment.

Like, I understand fully that there is a European system of having their junior teams. And players become professionals at a young age. They train the professional team or they go to these academies like in Australia, the Australian Institute of Sport. And they learn and they grow and they become better and better players. Okay. but I have to implore you like everything about different countries basketball is different than ours okay the the whole system and nowhere is it more obvious than the Olympics right

their style of play is different the style of play in America is very much about not just the best players but entertainment value our system all kind of collectively works together right they don't have a draft in Europe. They don't make money off of just name picking guys out of line for the, that's not how they, they don't do it. How they make money and what, completely different than how American teams make money. Completely different. And so you're trying to compare like, well, they do it in Spain this way with their young

players. Why don't we do it? Because it's different. One, their educational system. their young kids is better than ours. Secondly, secondly, their junior system is different than ours. And the truth be told,

it's not like guys are making a killing when they're, or they're a junior, the value of what you're making on one of these young teams, one of these teams when you're a young player 14, 15 years old, you're not making much. If you compare it to the actual value of when you do go to college, it's actually pales in comparison. But we want, like,

look, what was missed last night? Kate Cunningham, many of you had seen or heard of because he played college basketball. He played in the Big 12. He played on some made for TV events. And he played two games in the NCAA tournament. Jalen Green is a spectacular talent. He's an absolute freak of nature.

But unless you follow these guys on social media, you never seen him play. You never seen him play. When half the guys in the first round, you haven't seen play. And even if you have, it's for one year and more. one game. There's no buildup. There's no, I can't wait to see this guy in an NBA uniform. It's all based upon somebody else's hearsay.

You know, somebody else's opinion. So I just think it's what we're doing while it compensates younger players sooner, does not make the product better and does not grow the audience. Has anybody ever asked themselves like why the NBA? audience is shrinking? The players are better than they used to be. You can tell me they're not. They are. They're incredibly skilled. They're taller, they're bigger. They're better. Why wouldn't well, the product's not great. Do you think the product was ever great in the regular season? No, come on. Too many games. They're 82 games for a long time. I think a good portion of it is we don't,

one, we don't know the stars and where they're playing. And two, the younger players, it takes them a year or two of playing. in the NBA before we figure out who they are for the most part. All right, let's get to, we'll get to Kurt Heel in a second with a NBA draft, even if some teams really did a good job of fixing themselves for starting the process of fixing themselves for the future. And then you had the Lakers move bringing Russell Westbrook aboard. What do Lakers do next? Is there a Brooklyn Nets problem?

Because there's some weird stuff. There's always weird stuff with Kyrie Irving, but really weird stuff this week. Get all that upcoming in about seven minutes. Brian Goodenkins has been under fire. He's the general manager of the Packers. All he's done during his tenure of Packers General Manager moving up the totem pole is put guys around Aaron Rogers, hire a new coach, and they've been to two straight NFC championship games. But because of his lack of, I guess, bedside manner, Aaron Rogers called him out for the entire organization, but really the front office for how they've handled departing players in the past. not integrating his opinion into their opinion on personnel.

It was Goody's chance to rebut. How would he do it? Would he do the old NFL thing, which is, you know, you have a couple choices. You can do the Bill Belichick or on to Cincinnati. Or you could do what most guys do, which is like, hey, man, A Rod's back. Everything is great. We're great. Love you.

Never a problem. Just completely act as though nothing went wrong. or option C, tell the truth, like when he was asked about acquiring Randall Cobb. You guys made the decision after the 18th season not to bring him back in free agency. Is he really just here to make Aaron happy? Is that primarily the...

I think that's a big part of it. I think it's a big, you know, obviously without Aaron, I don't think we would probably be pursuing that. Randall's still a really good player. And seeing him last night just kind of reminded me, you know, what an impact he'll have in our locker room for our football team. but, you know, this is a very important thing for Aaron, and that's why we did it.

Yeah, listen, there's, there's, there's nuance to every comment, right, as there should be. There's nuance to it. Why would you let him go? I didn't necessarily let him go just because Aaron liked him. They probably let him go because he came too expensive. But somebody else paid for a guy at the end of his career and overpay for him. Like that, that's smart. And he's been hurt the past two years, which only proves that Brian going to kind of right in

their evaluation of his inability to be healthy, right? Big part of ability is availability. But we wouldn't, we wouldn't have done it if not for Aaron. It's very important to Aaron, right? He said two things in this press conference. One, I'm still in control. And two, we made Aaron, we gave Aaron a lollipop. That lollipop is Randall Cobb.

Aaron Rogers said he never wanted to be a lame duck quarterback. That's why he wanted a contract extension. here was Brian Gunnkin's response to that. I don't necessarily, I've never looked at it like that. Obviously, at the moment, he's got three years left on his contract, so we certainly don't look at it as a lame duck. We may alter that, but even at that stage, it's not going to be a one-year contract.

So I never looked at it like that. As you guys know in this business, everything's year-to-year, but I've never looked at it as a lame duck situation with any player. Yeah, I've never looked at it as a lame duck situation. And by the way, that is the old, stick out my chest, We got him under contract for three. Yesterday was reported that they signed the deal to make it more like two.

But he's not a free agent at the end of this season. He's still under contract. Brian Goodikus was very honest. And if you like Darren Rogers' honesty and his perspective, then why wouldn't she like it if it's Brian Gunnickens? I was listening to Dan Patrick earlier today. He had Dan Orlovsky on.

And Dan O'Lovsky said, hey, when I was in Detroit, they ran some stuff by Matt Stafford. How'd that work out for Detroit? Right? Tom Brady has been the most successful quarterback in our lifetime. Do they run things by him when he was in New England? You know?

Now, he pitched to fit. He got them to get rid of his backup quarterback, his potential replacement. And that very well may happen with Aaron Rogers. But the takeaway from yesterday was Brian Gunnickin saying, Rayo Cobb is only here because of Aaron Rogers. and he's still very much under contract after this year. Nothing has really changed. This is not the NBA where this player empowerment thing.

Anyone who says things have changed, look around. Let's get to lead to lap with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, the NBA draft last night, Doug, something to watch. And, of course, we got to see something that moved us all. They paid tribute to 19-year-old Terrence Clark from the star,

the former star of University of Kentucky, who of course tragically lost his life in a car accident back in April. Here's a little sound from Adam Silver last night at the NBA draft. It is my honor to now announce that with the next pick in the 2021 NBA draft, the NBA selects Terence Clark from the University of Kentucky. Of course, his mother, brother, and sister were in attendance last night at Barclay Center, and Adam Silver added his extraordinary talent commitment and dedication to the game deserved to be recognized on this stage.

What did you think, Doug? I mean, I thought it was an incredibly classy move by the NBA. You know, the Terrence Clark accidents to tragedy. You know, here's a kid who has his future in front of him. He hops in a brand new car. He's driving too fast, and he crashes and dies after a workout. Like, that's, it's awful. And it's a cautionary tale.

right? Like, you know, I'm old enough, like during my lifetime, when I, when Len Bias died, that was my never-do drugs moment, right? When Magic Johnson contracted HIV, that was my always-practice safe sex moment. And for the, for young players, the Terrence Clark story should be one in which, you know, you go like, man, life can be taken from you so quickly, but too, it's like, You have to understand that, like, the fast, fancy cars, that's not who you are and what you do, you know.

But I thought the NBA just exuded class. You could not have handled a really, really difficult situation any better than how they chose to do it last night. By drafting Terrence Clark into the NBA at that spot, Adam, so it didn't take away the shine from any of the players who were drafted. it just gave him and his family, you know, a quality moment or two and showed, I do think there's a difference. Do I think the NBA goes at times too far in the favor of the players? Yes. But in this particular moment, that was about as classily done

as you can possibly hope to accomplish. Little news from the Olympics today. United States women's national team advanced to the Olympic semifinals on penalty kicks. Goalkeeper, Alyssa, A listener made two. incredible saves. And here's a little sound from Megan Rapino, courtesy of NBC Sports, the deciding penalty kick. Megan Rapino to send the United States to the semifinal of Tokyo 2020. It doesn't get much more comprehensive than that. Megan Rapino into the top corner and the USA win four two on penalty. So the United States advances. They're going to face Canada on August 2nd. That's Monday in the

semi-finals for a trip for a chance to face off for Olympic gold on August 5th. Yeah, they kind of survived today. Like, it's not the same. We're not the same, it's a little bit like USA basketball. Like, we're not the same dominant team we used to be. But, Rupino, corner pocket, ends up with the win. Lastly, a week of formalities here yesterday. The 14 SEC presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to extend that invitation to the Big 12

co-founders, Oklahoma and Texas. Today, the Board of Regents for Texas unanimously voted to formally accept that invitation to join the SEC. Oklahoma is also meeting today, expected to join suit there with Texas. And this could make the SEC the first

16-team super conference come 2025. What Oklahoma's done is awful. Awful. They've been in the same league as Oklahoma State since 1920. 1920. You do the math. That's all. 101 years.

And they chased the dollar. And look, it's one thing to go like, hey, listen, our athletic department, we've been really good. And we lost a bunch of money last year like anybody else. And this is a way to stabilize ourselves for our long-term future. Understood. There's a dollars and cents to anything you do in universities, right? They don't necessarily have to make a ton of money, but they can't lose money.

And with Texas likely leaving the conference, they're like, we got to take this lifeboat. The problem is that they were in meetings with the Big 12 and they never said anything to Oklahoma State and they left Oklahoma State in the lurch. That's weak. That's awful. And what's ironic about it is a good group of these same people are Thunder fans

and they still to this day, you know, the cupcake thing with Kevin Durant. Like, what do you think Oklahoma just did? You know? You can't beat the SEC. They haven't won a college football playoff game. I didn't win a BCS game since they won the National Championship 21 years ago.

So you join them to collect the bigger checks. It becomes easier to get in the college while playoff and expands. That's the same thing. Turn to your back on your brother university in a same small state is awful. It's a joke. It's the Benedict Arnold of college athletics. And I have friends that have gone there, that work there. They all know it.

And the only response is, yeah, is the money. Like, okay, if it's about. the money, then it's greed. It's not the right thing to do. The right thing to do would have been preferably, hey, we'll go. We're taking Oklahoma State with us. Let's make it a 20-team Super Conference. Or two,

at least, and this is the least you would ask for them. Like, hey, Chad Weiberg, you just got the job as AD of Oklahoma State. Your alma mater, your dream job. A little heads up. In a couple months we're leaving, you need to set your... They're completely blindsided.

And I don't think people understand what that does. What that does to the university, what that does the athletic department. The prospects are hopefully the PAC 12 reaches out. Maybe the ACC reaches out. Big Ten, I don't think is reaching it. Like, that's not what they're getting. I don't, the future does not appear to be nearly as bright as it used to be. And Oklahoma, not Oklahoma State is the cause, doing that to your brother institution in the same small state

where you'd been bonded together for 101 years, playing in football since 1910, uninterrupted through the dust bowl, through the oil bust? That's a joke. They should be ashamed of themselves. And that's lead to lap of the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. All right, last night was the NBA draft, but what's more interesting in the NBA draft is the movement in the NBA. Kurt Eline joins us. Of course, if you go to NBC Sports and their cover.

of the NBA. He's the managing editor. He knows everything that's going on in the league. Let me get your reaction to Russell Westbrook with the Lakers. Will it work? I think it'll work in the regular season. Russell Westbrook plays hard. Russell Westbrook will put up numbers,

and the Lakers have been desperate for someone to be a secondary shot creator, right? I mean, that's what Dennis Schroeder was supposed to be. It didn't really pan out that way. Russell Westbrook, I mean, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo did it in the bubble. in the playoffs, and so they've got a ring, but they haven't had anybody who could do it consistently. Westbrook certainly is that.

Like, he is going to give them more shot creation. He's going to play hard, and especially if LeBron or AD miss any time during the regular season, he can step in. Doug, playoffs? Like, I watched this. Laker fans are kind of like, oh, are you getting me?

I'm like, yeah, think back to two years ago. Lakers versus Rockets in the bubble, in the playoffs. What was the defensive strategy? We're going to get the ball out of heart. Not guard him. We're going to not guard him. We had to play four on five and off. Yeah.

And it worked. The Lakers won in five. Like, it is just not a – I mean, they've got to round out the roster, so it's, you know, too early to say, you know, for definitively. But I just don't think – I don't think this helps them when they need it second round and beyond, which is when the Lakers expect to be great. I mean, they still have LeBron and Anthony Davis. They're still a threat. but this is a hole for them in the playoffs. Okay, what else can they do, though?

Okay, so I'm willing to not close the door and go like, all right, you got non-shooting. You got three dudes who are bounded together and they're going to play together, whatever. There's got to be more moves because they don't want shrewder back and they don't have enough players. How they round out this roster is everything. They've got to get better defenders, you know, some athletic wing defense. and they need shooting. They just flat out need shooting right now. Anthony Davis and LeBron can hit some, but they're not true shooters. The problem is there's 29 other teams looking for shooting. It's like shooting gets expensive. The Lakers, LeBron, Davis, and Westbrook alone are worth

will be paid over $120 million next year. They're over the cap with those three guys. And that just limits the money they can spend, you know, just because of the CBA. It limits the money they can spend to go get other guys. The one real opportunity they have if they can pull it off is a sign and trade of Dennis Schrooter somewhere for a shooter. Four or shooters are some depth. I don't know where that'll be because some of the

teams he's looking at like Chicago and New York can just flat out sign him and the Lakers just lose him. So it'll be interesting to see where it goes, but that's their big hope. That's, I think, the big card they have left. Doug Gottliebint for calling this is the herd car healing join us from a pro basketball talk. Okay, let's, the Kyrie Irving stuff is kind of under the radar.

But people inside the league have talked about it. First, he comes out critical of his next Kyrie Irving eight, right? Yeah. Called the shoes trash. His shoe, his signature shoe, he called the shoe trash. Fires his agent. And then there's kind of weird text, tweet exchange with him and

Kevin Durant gets in there as well. Are we totally sure that Kyrie Irving is in Brooklyn next year. If you're asking me to get in the head of Kyrie Irving, I can't help you. I don't know. I mean, not to be glib about it, but he is an unpredictable guy who kind of works to his own beat. And I am not 100% sure of that in any way. I don't, I'm not, there's clearly some frustration there.

And I don't know if it's because he realizes, I thought this when it happened, you know, they say, hey, they hardened seated, you know, he seated. the ball handling and the point guard duties to James Hart, and he was clearly going to be the number three option. I'm like, you know what? That sounds great when you make your first playoff run and it's winning and everybody's happy. What happens the middle of next season?

We just may have gotten there earlier. There's a lot of ego and a lot of guys who want the ball and want their numbers on one team. And let's be honest, I mean, with all due respect to how good a shot creator and the handles and everything Tyree Irving can do, it's Durant one, Harden, too, right? You are the third option on that team, and I'm not sure. I'm not sure he's happy with that.

He's clearly not happy with a few things, including the shoes, and whatever is going on there is absolutely possible. I know, look, let's just say I know that the nets have at least gauged the market. I don't think putting – I don't want to say they have tried to trade him, but I think if you're a smart GM like Sean Marks, they'll tell you. Like, hey, if we put Kyrie out there, what's coming back? And that they've checked.

But who would want him? Like, I look, and for the right, Kurt, I think he's an incredible talent. I think everybody does. But you know, you got to cut off like half the teams in the league he wouldn't want to play for it because they can't compete for championship. And the teams that could compete for championship, you just, you don't even know if he's going to show up to work. Or you don't know if he's going to show up if you trade him. Like, it, I mean, it's almost an impossible. situation for Sean Marks where you're, they do, they control, completely control their own destiny.

The players do. Yep. And I mean, you think about the teams where Tyree has been the number one option. They've been very good, man. I generally think he's got to be, you know, look, he won a title as a number two in, you know, next to LeBron James in Cleveland. That just may ultimately be what he has to do if he wants to play at the level he's, you know, going to. I'm just not sure that he sees it

that way. And if he doesn't see it that way, and he's unhappy, and he seems to be constantly, it seems just, I don't know, it seems hard to predict and a little bit, I don't know, I think we've all, we've all been in a relationship with the person where we're like,

what that, where did that come from? I feel like there's a lot of that, like, it's just a lot of, every day it's new drama, and at some point, for a lot of teams, it's not worth it. For the Nets right now because as long as Durant wants him there, it's worth it. But we'll see. How surprised are you, the Warriors weren't able to make a move last night? By the end, not that surprised. Everybody was trying to trade down out to get veteran help.

The problem was there just really isn't that much on the table. There's a lot of teams that think they can win next year. There's a lot of teams that looked at what Phoenix did and said, hey, man, their young players came around. They got Chris Paul. They went and got Jay Crowder. suddenly they're in the finals, and why can't that be us? And it's becoming really hard to find your Jay Crowder, for lack of a better word. Like your veteran, you can, hey, I can trade a couple of guys and bring in somebody who can help right now. They shopped the 7-14 in combination with Wiseman, without Wiseman, in virtually every conceivable configuration.

There just wasn't anything out there. In the end of the day, by the way, Kaminga could be good. I just don't think it's the timeline is a problem. Like, Wiseman and Cominka could be really interesting together in a few years. They just, that's not the timeline they're on with Steph Curry. And I don't know what they do about it unless there's some team out there that really wants those guys. Damien Liller, does he play for the Trailblazer start next season? Yes, start of next season.

Quiland? I still think, I still think he stays. I think he's worked too hard to get to Los Angeles. He's going to sign a max extension and stay. Now, whether that's a one-year deal or a, you know, max deal is, you know, like three, five years or something is another question. I don't, I wouldn't feel real stable that he's going to be a Clipper for a long, long time. But I think he resigns and takes the money right now. Any sense that Quyne Leonard would look elsewhere?

Eventually. I think he wants to win. He wants to get a title. And I'm not sure that I'm not sure how should I put this. Right now, like the Clippers just made the conference finals without him. They kind of have to like the roster. You've certainly got an owner who's willing to, who's competitive, is built really nice facilities. They've become a very team friendly.

People don't realize this. Clippers are really considered team friendly around the league. Yes. The Lakers are not. The Clippers are. It's crazy. The Lakers are not the Clippers are. Yeah, they're considered really player friendly.

Really, it's really worked a lot of things. And, you know, the owner can, the pocket change left in his couch can fund that team. incredible level for years and years and years. So, like, they're set, I just, if he doesn't feel that they, in a year or so, can win a title, I think he'd be more than willing to move on and jump again. I'm also just, and like I said, right now in the short term with the ACL, he takes the money. And by the way, I don't know that you're getting a whole lot closer than the Clippers right now. Like, that's still a team that's a contender, if things just break their way a little bit.

Last thing. Who impressed you most of the NBA draft last night? The easy one is to say Detroit because they got the number one pick and then they took the guy who should be the number one pick. But I'll tell you, I like Orlando. I like what Orlando's got some nice young pieces down there already with – Cole Anthony? Obama, yeah, exactly. Well, that, but now they – Jalen Suggs falls to them.

And what I liked was, hey, Jalen Suggs is going to be ideally a lead point guard, right? I don't care if I have Cole Anthony. I don't care if I have Markell Fultz. I'm going to take the best guy on the board and the guy who – could turn out to be electric at the NBA level and see if it works. And if I've got too many point guards, well, then I'll trade one of them. Like, go get the best player on the board and figure it out later. Don't give me the we don't need Luca Donchage because we have Deer and Fox.

Like, go get the best player. They did it. And I still, I think they're becoming an interesting team. They've just the way they put that roster together. They go get Franz Wagner. They've got some other guys there. I just think that they're an interesting team as they start to develop Houston. It's the same thing.

I think they get Jalen Green. They've got some, they picked three other guys in the first round. They're just kind of, they're developing, but they're interesting. I like Houston more than I like Orlando. Orlando's got a lot of stuff. Yeah. But forever rebut, forever rebo mode, it does feel like down there. Kurt, great stuff.

Thanks so much for joining us. Hey, take care, Doug. Be good. All right. Kurt Healing, pro basketball talk. Follow him at basketball talk on Twitter. Max Scherzer was a Padre for like five minutes. Turns out he's a Dodger.

That's next. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22 minutes of piping hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the eye test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday. So do yourself a favor.

and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which 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 what 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 Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. 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 all day, but just so you 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. 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 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, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Doug Gottliebend for Colin. This is the herd. So something weird happening yesterday in baseball. Trade deadline is today. and the Dodgers needed front line pitching that because one of their pitchers is on suspension, basically,

and you need arms. It's an arms race. The Padres thought they had, thought they had Max Scherzer. Scherzorzor, of course, has won an American and National League's Young Award. He's in the last year of his deal, and the nationals are selling all their parts and going to kind of rebuild mode. And something strange happened. The Scherzer deal was done, only, hey, we hadn't actually asked Scher if he waived his no trade clause. He wouldn't.

And instead became a Dodger. He and Trey Turner are now members of the Dodgers. That's a wow. That's a wow. There's still questions about the back end of their bullpen. And what do you do with Kenley once you get to October? But it's, there's at least some similarity to Justin Verlander who, Remember a couple years ago when the Astros bang their trash cans on the way to winning a world series,

Verlander changed his mind. First, wasn't going to go to the Astros, and then Dallas Keikl talked him into it. Fells like the Dodgers may not have won a World Series, but the Padres lost one yesterday. Why Aaron Rogers was 100% wrong. That's next time Doug Gottlie, this is the herd. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite, on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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. On the Look Back at a podcast. For 1979, there 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 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 A win A win is a win A win

I don't care what you're saying Yep, that's me, Clifford 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, unfilled 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 Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at Tickford. Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.