The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 08/03/2021 - HOUR 1 - Brady, Colts, Rodgers

Episode Date: August 3, 2021

Tom Brady's career is too unbelievable to be a movieThe Colts should consider going after Nick FolesPackers GM Brian Gutekunst responds to Aaron RodgersGuest: Ric Bucher Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Yep, that's me, 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, 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 Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The 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 Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Sports Radio. Ah, it is a Tuesday. I am rambunctious and well-rested. There is a lot happening today live in Los Angeles. Sunny all week. Sunny all year. What am I talking about? It's the herd wherever you may be.

However you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Justin Herbert, quarterback for the Chargers. You may have heard he likes me. We'll be on the show today. Dwight Freeney next hour joins me to. Alex Curry is here. Joy Taylor is vacationing in Italy. Her pictures are amazing, by the way.

Oh, yeah, they are. Well, vicariously live through her photos. By the way, the Fox family, they're all down in Arizona at a really fancy hotel, and they have these weekends every year where they make all the announcements for the NFL team and the NFL family and we announce all our broadcasting teams. I got to be honest, we got good people on the NFL. This network's got, uh, we got Gus Johnson and Akim Talib out there going to be doing games. Buck, Aikman, Burkart, we got Sanchez and Schlerath and we got so many good broadcasting teams.

I've just watching some of the announcements this morning. We have so many talented people out there. Speaking of talent, let's start with this. It's Tom Brady's 44. birthday today. What do you get a quarterback that has everything? And all the rings. If you wrote a movie using Tom Brady's real life, it would be rejected. It doesn't make any sense. It's fake. This is not the way it works. He doesn't drink a beer during the season. Think about Tom Brady's life. Tom Brady, great family.

Supportive family, close with his sisters still, goes to college. Great brand. And the coach doesn't believe in him and he can't start. The coach likes the other quarterback more than Brady, who occasionally sneaks in and gets starts and shows a resilience to come from behind in the fourth quarter at Michigan. That'll get him drafted. Yeah, it did. A 199th player, six round.

Seven, eight other quarterbacks got picked. almost all of them utter busts. He then goes to New England. He's backing up a great player, Drew Bledsoe. And he gets his first break, although it's odd, Bletssoe gets hurt. Weird injury, knocked out of bounds. He wins a Super Bowl in his first year as a starter. The hell?

He then goes on to a 20-year dynasty that include the two greatest comeback wins in Super Bowl history. Along the way, he marries a supermodel and raises a beautiful family. Then, after 20 years of dominating, and the team still believes in him, but like any team player relationship, he moves on. And he goes to a losing franchise that has had a lot of good players, but they've never been able to get the quarterback right.

and he goes to Tampa. I covered him years ago. They were a laughing stock at the time. And he wins a Super Bowl in his first year. Wait, the story's not finished. Let's see. Let's make it even more dramatic. Let's throw a pandemic into the year.

He wins a Super Bowl. So he can't practice. What? No, we reject that script. That is not a believable script. Nobody will believe that. He's also six, four and a half, handsome, apolitical, aging in reverse, humble, funny, joins social media, and he's hysterical.

All right, here's the script. I mean, what about LeBron? Oh, come on. LeBron was the chosen one. What about Tiger Woods? He was on television at three, putting it on the Mike Douglas show. This story is hard to wrap your arms around. Just consider this.

The Michael Jordan documentary was great for a lot of reasons. But I thought what really made it great is there was so much conflict. Michael was fighting with his owner and his GM and coaches were fired. And there was Dennis Rodman and players bailing on the team. There was constant conflict. How? Michael Jordan was the best player, the most fashionable, the best looking, the coolest. And he had to battle the whole time.

He retires. There's a tragedy in his family. Tom Brady's documentary? There'd be no conflict. Episode four, Belichick sort of seems to like Jimmy Garoppolo a little more than Tom. That's not going to get you 10 episodes. I mean, Deflate Gate, yeah, actually Tom's been better since Deflate Gate. That was a con.

That story's ridiculous. Tom Brady is so far ahead of any other quarterback, think about this. You can go look at his numbers. in his 20s, just Tom Brady in his 20s, the number say he's a Hall of Famer. Tom Brady as a quarterback in his 30s is a Hall of Famer. Tom Brady celebrating his 44th birthday now in his 40s would be a Hall of Famer. In his 40s, he's 47 and 14, two Super Bowl rings, averages 31 touchdown, nine picks, and has nine playoff wins in his 40s.

That's more than Drew Breeze. his entire career. That's how many playoffs wins like Breeze and Russell Wilson have in their careers. And did I say, and add, he's aging in reverse. I can't explain it either. There's literally memes and pictures all over the internet of Tom Brady. He looks now about the same age as Zach Wilson, the rookie quarterback for the New York Jets. Is it avocado ice cream, lack of alcohol, good naps?

I can't explain it. But happy birthday to the greatest football player in the history of America's most popular sport. A life well-lived that would be rejected as a movie script. So this is interesting. As I'm prone to do, I was driving home yesterday. And a lot of times I just turn on music. I try to escape a little bit from the day-to-day pressures of being America's honesty broker. So I'm listening to some Tom Petty driving home.

And I'm thinking about the Nick Folls situation and the Carson Wentz situation. And I'm thinking, you know, you don't want to bring Nick Foles back into Indianapolis now that Carson Wentz is hurt. And I'm thinking to myself, the psychological stuff. And then I don't know. Maybe it was the Tom Petty. maybe it was the drive. And I thought to myself, wait a minute. With Simone Biles, I will defend the anxiety and the stress of an Olympic athlete at 24,

representing America, who's already highly decorated, the pressure of one routine. Four years, eight years. You heard me all last week. I'll defend athletes, many of them, for the psychological pressure and battles they face. but Carson Wentz is almost 30, closer to 30 than 20. He's been in this NFL now six years. And everybody in the NFL knows the game. Next man up.

I think I'd call Nick Foles. The more I thought about it and listened to Tom Petty, the more I thought I would just, if I was the Colts, called Nick Foles, who's currently the third-string quarterback for the Chicago Bears. And if you've not heard Nick Foles, he was asked a question about this yesterday. I have never heard a quarterback publicly lobby for a job on another team like Nick Foles. Frank Reich is one of my favorite, if not favorite coaches of all time.

He understands me as a player. He understands me as a person. But, you know, I haven't had any talks with them. I don't know. I'm a Chicago bear right now. but I think he knows me. He understands. I mean, y'all watched the 2017 season in the playoffs

where he changed the offense and built it around me and y'all saw what happened. But that being said, they have Carson. And Carson and I have a lot of history. I have a lot of respect for Carson. He's a tremendous player. He's going through adversity once again, but he'll bounce back.

And you know what? He might miss a few games, but I know he'll be back out there, but we haven't had any talks. So right now I'm a Chicago bear, and I'm going to keep slinging with these third stringers and we're going to dice him up. He wants that cold.

job. Howie Long once told me the NFL is a league of desperate people. That should include general managers and coaches. These are America's best jobs for executives and coaches. There's not many and you get fired quickly. The Colts have to do what's good for the Colts. Jim Ursay has to do what's good for the Colts. So does Chris Ballard and Frank Wright. I'd feel bad for Carson Wence, but let's be honest. The Colts got him out of an unseemly situation. They did him a solid. Now maybe Carson Wentz needs to do them a solid.

Carson's close to 30. He knows the game. The Colts have a Super Bowl roster. They owe themselves a shot at the best quarterback on the market. This locker room, in my opinion, does not buy into Jacob Eason. A marginal college quarterback with zero NFL starts. And Nick Foles, by the way, has a winning record, which is remarkable considering he's a backup quarterback.

Quick, off the top of your head, how many backups have a winning record? Nick Foles, I watched him in college live once at USC, he carved him up for four touchdowns and 420 yards at the Coliseum, has always been as good as his environment. Remember the year in Philadelphia with Andy Reed, 27 touchdowns, two picks? Remember the Super Bowl where he beat Brady and was the MVP? He's not a superstar talent, but he's coachable, and he's always been really good

when the coaching is really good. He has glimpses of great, but he's not great unless he has the right mix of support. And that's exactly what the Colts have. Listen, I understand as a sportscaster, feelings matter, anxiety is real, the pressure is intense in sports. But in the National Football League, the Colts have done everything right for years, and they got Carson Wentz out of an unseemly situation. They need to do what's best for them. And what's best for them may be Nick Foles. And again, here's Nick Foles.

lobbying for the opportunity to be a cult. I'm 32. I feel great. The version of me right now is much better than the version that played in the Super Bowl. I'll tell you that. And I'm confident in that. So put that through your mind. I know that.

I know what this game's about. You have to have the whole package as a team. Like you have to have everyone in there. You have top down has to be great. If it's not great, you're going to be mediocre. I've seen it. I've been a part of it. And unfortunately, when you're a quarterback,

you've got to go through a lot of the, you know, baloney. It's go time for the Colts. By the way, breaking news, Quentin Nelson, the best guard in football plays for the Colts too. He's got the same foot injury as Carson Wentz this morning. He'll have surgery and like Wentz be out five to 12 weeks. Jacob Eason, without Quentin Nelson, no NFL starts. Ram's first five games are brutal or Nick Foles. I think this morning, maybe it's the Tom Petty.

in me, I'd go with the latter. 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 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 life. 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 podcast, 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 Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. 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's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. 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, Ryan, 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.

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Yesterday, NBA free agency. A lot of average players got a lot of big money, a lot of good contracts. So for those thinking the NBA is in danger, I think they're doing fine economically. They're doing just fine. A lot of average guys made a lot of money. Some of it like head shaking. But good for them. I thought one team absolutely, unequivocally got better, the Miami Heat.

The Miami Heat got veteran Kyle Lowry, who's good for. friends with Jimmy Butler. They added PJ Tucker, stealing him from Milwaukee, weakening the bucks. If you look at the top seven guys right now who would play for them, Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson, PJ Tucker, Bamadabayu, Tyler Hero, Kendrick Nunn, I think. That's a pretty good roster. That's a viable Eastern Conference Finals contender with a great coach Eric Spolster. So that team got better, and they weakened the bucks. A lot of people think the Lakers got better. say they got older and stranger. They now have six guys over 34.

I'm fine with LeBron and A.D. and Westbrook's not my ideal player, but I'm fine with it. But the rest of it, it's an antique store. You know, you can say what you want about Alex Caruso and Dennis Schrooter and KCP and Kyle Kuzma. But any Laker fan who looks in the mirror and his honest knows, those guys made a lot of shots. And those are young legs. And they can play a lot of minutes. All right, Wayne Ellington and Dwight Howard can't. They lost four athletic young guys.

Caruso's athletic. Schrooter's athletic. Kyle Kuzma drives you nuts, but he can make shots. So can KCP. They're all gone. I mean, you start looking at these guys the Lakers have. Swear to God. Let me read this.

Dwight Howard, seven different teams. Wayne Ellington, nine teams. Trevor Erezat, 10. Kent Baysmore, 5. Westbrook fourth team four years. It's like, where's Francis McDormant? This is Nomadland. And once again, a basketball team is saying, well, we'll just let LeBron figure it out.

No, LeBron's in his 19th year, not his ninth. LeBron's at the point in his career where he should be building around a team that he can help make it work, not have to singularly make it work. You take LeBron off this roster. It's not a playoff team. A.D. and Westbrook and Trevor Areza and the antique store is not a playoff team. So I think the Lakers here went a little too far and getting rid of all the young guys and getting a bunch of old guys.

And everybody on Twitter is like, yeah, old guys work in the playoffs. Yeah, they do. But Drew Holiday for Milwaukee ain't that old. and Yannis ain't that old, and Chris Middleton wasn't that old. Milwaukee also had some youth. Okay? Like, let's not kid ourselves. That Laker team that won in the bubble.

Yeah, they had LeBron and they had AD, but they had Coosma, and they had Caruso, and they had KCP, who played very well in the bubble. I think the Lakers swung too far into Nomadland, too far into the antique store of the NBA. is that I understand LeBron is just tired of teaching guys how to play. But you cannot deny that Coosma and Schrooter and Caruso and KCP, they may have been inconsistent. They made a lot of baskets and they played a lot of minutes. And young players, when they get injured, they get back on the floor quickly.

You bang knees now with Trevor Reza and Wayne Ellington. They're on the injured list for a long time. There's a lot of miles on those tires. So the Miami Heat absolutely got better. The Lakers got older and stranger, and I thought they swung a little too far into the, hey, LeBron will just figure it out. No, no, that's not fair anymore. You can't ask LeBron to be super glue in year 19 and make everything stick together.

That's not fair anymore. He's got to be part of what makes it work. a big part, a large component. You start looking up and down that roster, though. He is going to have to run the offense. There are nights he's going to have to guard the best guy. He's going to have to play 40 minutes. And I'm talking regular season.

Forget playoffs. Because you know AD's not playing 82 games. You know that, right? And Westbrook's now had multiple knee surgeries. He's not giving you 82, although he'll play his butt off when he's on the floor. I thought they got too old, too creaky. Alex for the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, sticking with some free agency, Chris Paul is staying with the Sons after opting out of his player option. He reportedly agreed to a huge four-year deal worth up to $120 million. Now, the deal will keep the 11-time All-Star in Phoenix until he is 40 years old. He's coming off a season where he averaged 16.4 points, 8.9 assists per game, and led the Sons to their first final appearance since 1993.

So it seems like he got what he wanted. He has a young team that now has finals experience around him. They have an opportunity to get back if they learn from everything they went through last year. And it's a good deal for Chris. Yeah. I mean, now, it should be noted. The fourth year is not guaranteed. And the third year is a partial.

So it's more 90 million than 120 million. He'd have to stay healthy and play a lot of games. But we said this yesterday on the show. it's a good fit. He's needed. He's valuable. He's bounced around this league for a long time. He makes everybody better. I think this is a great place. His maturity, his intelligence. Devin Booker is still refining his game. So is DeAndre Aiton. I think they went and got Javail McGee yesterday, so they added some much-needed size to this team. So I, you know, like in life, fit matters. I know we all just think you can just go anywhere. But as Nick Foles talks, about 10 minutes ago, the right system, the right support. I mean, don't keep yourself. I love Brady, but it helps that Tampa's got a great GM and coach, and New England had a great coach and always a great defense. So I think Chris Paul fits perfectly with a mostly young Phoenix roster. Yeah, he's a great leader over there. Let's move on to the Olympics because

Simone Biles made her return to Olympic competition in the balance beam final, and she took home a bronze medal. Now, this is her seventh career Olympic medal, tying the record for most won by an American gymnast after the event. She said it meant the world to her to be back out there competing and doing it for herself. And what I loved about this was how happy she looked. Just to get back out there and compete again after everything she dealt with with her mental health, coming out publicly with the world watching and following to be able to come back, compete, metal, be this happy.

She's an icon. She's a role model. and she's just everything you hope a top athlete could be. Well, she got what they call the twisties, which in gymnastics means you lose yourself. And it can be dangerous. And golf, there's a saying called the yips when you can't chip. Like a great player, it's happened multiple times, can't chip. Yeah.

And it's like a led, you know, it's happened to David Duval and Ian Baker. It's like great Greg Norman. And so when you get that in gymnastics, it's dangerous. You could risk your life if you go out there. So congratulations to Simone Biles. Team USA is one step closer to winning gold in men's basketball. They started slow and were down by 10 in the first half of their matchup against Spain. But Kevin Durant was the difference maker once again, scoring a team high 29 points to help his team overcome the sluggish start.

Now, the United States wins on to win 95 to 81. Next, they will face Australia in the semifinals on Thursday. I don't like to criticize other networks, but NBC, you're making it hard to watch this. team. Yeah. Like you're just like nine channels. I got to sign up for some of your streaming services. It's like, can I just watch my, I just watch the men's basketball team and swimming?

That's the stuff I want to watch. Occasional boxing. No, listen, they're, at this point, they haven't really put it all together against the quality team. Australia is another quality team. Yeah. But they're winning on talent. They are better now than they were a week ago. So that's what you can hope for.

And as you said, it's all about the momentum. And their momentum is trending up. So hopefully they win gold. Yep. Alex for the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. We got a lot of football stuff today.

Dwight Freeney's joining us, Justin Herbert of the Chargers as well. But yesterday was free agency in the NBA, and I thought the Miami Heat got better and the Lakers got older. And Rick Buecker now, Fox Sports Analyst, is joining us live covering the NBA since the early 90s, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. I actually supported the Lakers with Westbrook. I said, you know, not every pitcher that eats innings in the regular season, you want starting game six or game seven in the postseason. I do think he plays with passion. He plays a lot of minutes.

He plays hard. You know, in the postseason, you may have to, you know, marginalize his shots. The Westbrook thing I got, but I looked at the rest of the Laker moves yesterday, and Lakerlands tell me how great they are. And Rick, I thought, you know, you can say what you want about Kuzma and Schroeder and KCP and Caruso. But most of them played defense. They gave you an effort. They made shots.

I thought the Lakers got too old yesterday. That was just my initial take, yours. Yeah, no, certainly. The hallmark of last year's team was their defense. Number one in defense. And even though that Anthony Davis missed half of the year and LeBron missed extended time, they were still number one. And that's due to KCP and Dennis Schroeder and Alex Caruso,

all of whom received all NBA defense. votes. And all of those guys are out the door and they're replaced by players who maybe once upon a time like Trevor Areza were good defensive players, but certainly at this vintage age are not. The most troubling part for me is that Russ Westbrook, you mentioned, plays with energy, plays with effort, all of that. He also plays really fast. And that's when he's at his best. playing in transition. And you're not going to be able to do that with this team. It kind of reminds me of Team USA beating Spain.

Like Spain had two 36-year-olds in Marcosol and Rudy Fernandez in the starting lineup, both of whom went scoreless. That was an older Spain team that got beat by a younger Slovenia team and then a younger team USA that was just playing up-tempo. And it's all well and good to say, well, we're going to play a more controlled, poised game with the veteran experience. But that's not the way the game is played during the regular season. And yes, it slows down a little bit in the postseason. But you have to get there first.

And these bodies being able to survive the tempo at which the game is played with this geriatric, you know, I hate to be insulting, but this is a, they were already the oldest team on opening day last year. Yeah. And they just got older. And what did we see with that oldest team? They weren't able to get to the finish line in one piece. So look, I understand why the Lakers would do it. Two years ago, they had the Dwight Howard's and they had all these guys come in who had been Lakers before and they understood what the legacy of the franchise was, and they wanted to make good on it, and they had experience,

and those are the best kind of players for LeBron to play with experienced role players. I get the magic that they're trying to recapture in bringing the Kent Baysmore's and the Trevor O'Reases and the Dwight Howard's, guys who've already been Lakers and understand what it means to play under that brand. But that said, all of these guys are not at a place where they're trying, trying to prove something. They've already proved something. Two years ago, you had all these guys that wanted to show, hey, you know what, I've been kicked to the curb. I'm still better than that. And that was a, that was something that brought them together. And I just don't,

I understand why they're doing what they're doing. And it's the best shot they've got. But if you're asking me, is it ultimately going to work? I can't stamp that. Let me, you know, it's interesting. So there was kind of a narrative yesterday where Lonzo Ball got traded to the Bulls and everybody said, oh, the pelicans are blowing it. And I looked at it differently. I looked at the pelicans who were saying, no, Zion's going to be the point guard. And he's going to have the ball a lot. And so that's what we're going to do. And it's easy to go, oh, that doesn't make sense.

And I'll get into this later in the show today. But things have changed. Quarterback now, if you have the best athlete in high school and the kid can throw, you just put him at quarterback. That was not the case my entire life. But if the kid's fast and he can run and he can throw, all right, you're the quarterback. In the NBA, it used to be point guards. Is that why you were a quarterback? Well, I wasn't in the era.

No, that was another era. Used to be point guard. 6-2, distribute, mature, don't score. We're getting into a world now with Luca. Yonis has the ball. LeBron has the ball. Yokic has the ball. Best player on the team.

Can you dribble the ball? Control the tempo. I look at Zion and they're saying, hey, he's our best player. When he has the ball on the break going downhill, nobody can stop him. It's nothing against Lonzo, but basketball's changing, Rick. The labels are gone increasingly and they just want Zion to have the ball in his hands more. I'm okay trading Lonzo ball. That was my takeaway.

Sure. Oh, yeah, I have no problem with that. And I like it from the other end, too. I like what the Bulls did in terms of making themselves a solid playoff team by adding Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso. That's exactly what they needed. And you're right. The point forward has now become the or a big, a passing big, if you're going to throw

Yokic into it. But I think more so, this applies to the whole point forward concept where I'm going to get a guy who, and Zion isn't there yet, but a guy who's just a matchup nightmare. And again, not to reference Team USA, but the difficulty is with us is that that's how we're used to playing. And if you watch the way Dotsich plays in international play, it's not the same. We've become ball dominant with a single great player and play everything off of that. So I fully agree with you. It is smart to put the ball in Zion's hands and allow him to do what he does because he is unstoppable.

attacking the rim. He is a better passer than he was given credit for. And then you just need to surround him with shooters that are going to create that space for him to operate. Now, there are a number of things that he has to get better at in order for this to work. But I have no problem doing that. And, you know, they could have kept Lonzo Ball because he has become enough of a three-point shooter and he is a good defensive player. They could have made that work, but not for the money that they were going to have to pay him to keep him. So it does make a certain degree of sense.

And we'll just see ultimately, this is the thing for me is that everybody is, and we often do this, like we look at the surrounding cast and we look at the coach and the GM and we say, well, they have to get better because you have this great talent. It's a lot like what we saw with Janus in Milwaukee. Yeah. Yes, you're right. He's the great talent. But he has to get better too. He has to get better at utilizing all those pieces around him and understanding his strengths and weaknesses. And Zion Williamson has to go through that same growth curve before the New Orleans Pelicans are going to be as good as they can be. Rick Puker joining us. You know, it's interesting. I look to the contracts yesterday. I don't begrudge anybody for mobility, making money.

God love all these guys. They put their lives out there. They work their butts off. Some guys are overpaid. You know, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were underpaid for most of their career. So to me, get what you can get. Chris Paul is going to make $440 million. God love him, okay? It's interesting, though, and maybe this is just the reality of the NBA, that the L.A. clippers are going to pay $36 million to Kauai, who's not going to play next year.

There's no reason to risk it, even if he's ready to play with 30 games to go. He won't play. For the right to sign another country. contract with him on a nonverbal player who doesn't really communicate, criticizes your training staff, has a cousin as an agent. And I look at this and I know this is against the grain on this. I couldn't do it. Like I could not pay an employee more than anybody else and just for the right to be in your good graces a year from now. Do you think anybody in Clipperland is saying, what the hell are we doing? We're being held high.

hostage by this thing. If they are, they're not speaking very loudly because there are enough people in the room that would look at them and say, what are you talking about? And I understand your trepidation, but they're all in on this. And Ballmore is all in on getting this done. And I believe that the way that the clippers have formed themselves without Kauai is the best thing that could have happened. Because when Kauai came in and he was paid everything and he was the guy that had built the team and I am the cat's meow, I am everything that this team needs, it was too much. He was trying to do too much. He was trying to be too much. They have enough talent around him.

I just need him when the game is on the line to give me that midpost, which only he can do. That's where he is unique and exclusive. And so it's a matter of, yes, there are a lot of things that he doesn't give you, but he gives you a couple things that you simply can't get from anybody else. And now they're in position where Kauai recognizes, I don't have to do all these things. I don't have to be a playmaker. I don't have to dominate the ball. I just need to provide these certain things.

So I think it's worth the risk. And let's face it, for where the clippers are, never having won a ring. I mean, look at what it does from Milwaukee. And they kept adding pieces and spending money. And they're going to be spending money for the next couple of years. I mean, they borrowed on their future in order to win that ring. If you ask them, was it worth it? They would say without question.

And I think that's the same thing that the clippers are gunning for. So whether it works or it doesn't, I understand why they're going for it. All right. Rick Buecker, Fox Sports NBA analyst, free agency yesterday. A lot of the economy of the NBA appears to be just fine. A lot of money handed out. Good seeing you, bud. Same.

You bet. So yesterday, it's the back and forth, the C-Sod. of the Packers. Aaron talks, the GM talks. Aaron talks, the GM talks. Aaron has opinions. The GM defends himself. Yesterday, the GM talks some more about the Jordan Love, Aaron Rogers situation, and that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, straight fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat

every day. Straightfire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me.

Cliver Taylor the fourth. 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 J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we picket 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. 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, 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 hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app,

Search learn the hard way and listen now. One of the downsides to being a tough guy with a big temper is you will be lied to your entire life. All you tough guys out there listening on radio, you have a big temper, you yell, you get loud when you argue. Because most people statistically don't want conflict. So they just won't tell you things that would make you erupt. The downside, that's why the great CEOs in America, it's not where they went to college. It's their temperament. Can they accept bad news and not go off the rails?

Whenever I see loud guy or loud woman and whenever things escalate, it's volume you are being lied to every day of your life. Because people do not want to get into arguments. We know that. We know the things that people don't like. People don't like to speak publicly. A lot of people don't like to fly. They're scared of heights. Most people don't like conflict.

They don't like to get into arguments. And Aaron Rogers is not volcanic, but he's needy and never truly content. And so when Brian Gudenkoons, the general manager of the Green Bay Packers, didn't tell Aaron Rogers he was drafting Jordan Love. Do you think it's possible he thought, well, what the hell if I did? He still wouldn't be happy. It's Aaron. He's not happy with anything.

You think that crossed his mind? You ever been in a relationship like that? You're married, your husband, your wife, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a boyfriend. Not going to be happy if you tell him. Not going to be happy if you don't. I just think I'll pass on it. Hopefully they don't find out. Aaron creates these little landmines and minefields because he's constantly, and this is well documented, a little bit of a grudge holder.

It can be a little manipulative. That's not a criticism. That's a reality. And Packer fans would acknowledge that. And so Guden Coontz yesterday was talking about drafting Jordan Love. And he came out and said to Sports Illustrated basically that, hey, if it was even a possibility to tell him, I would have love to. but we didn't go into that draft thinking, hey, we're going to target this guy and do this. If that was the case, we probably would have done it.

But, you know, I don't know if we'd have done it differently. But as a player like Aaron in a situation like that, you'd love to give him a heads up, but it wasn't part of our plan to draft Jordan Love. And it should be noted several wide receivers were picked right before the Packers picked, and so they could use that as an argument. But let's say Aaron did get a heads up. Really? you think he'd be happy with it?

Aaron Rogers and Fav didn't get along for years. And I've never met a player who didn't love Brett Favv. That was strained. And then Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rogers, well documented, was strained because Mike didn't draft him when he was a coordinator with San Francisco. And then a week ago, Aaron listed 12 different players

that were treated poorly by the Packers through the year. It's funny he didn't mention Jermichael Finley or Greg Jennings because they'd called him out before publicly. Petty, petty, petty, petty. I wasn't the only person who noticed that. He went on to say, Brian Guden Coons, he went on to say, you know, Aaron wants to be given a heads up. But I'll read this to you for our radio audience. He says, well, what if I do give Aaron Rogers a heads up? What's your definition of input, said Guntkundt.

Are you listened to? If you're listened to and a different decision is made, do you still feel listened to? It's a great point, by the way. Or is it just doing what you want? I think there's a difference there. But I do think those guys that have put so much into the organization, it's important to have a little bit of a voice. And I'll ask you again, if you give Aaron a say and you don't do exactly what he wants, you think you'll be cool with it?

come on man the loud guy or woman you lie to him all the time because who wants to get into an argument over stupid crap Aaron Rogers thinks he's winning but a lot of times this organization

may not bring stuff to Aaron because he's so damn needy it's just another passive aggressive shot at the organization through the media and his surrogates that's the downside to being high maintenance It's the downside to be in the grudge holder. It's a downside to being the tough guy.

People lie to you. They're just not going to tell you the truth because you can't have a reasonable opinion with America guy. Can't have a reasonable opinion. You can't talk to him like a grownup. Everything escalates. And so the Packers, Brian Guden Coons, maybe have just thought, I can give him a heads up. What's the point? I don't want to argue with him over the phone.

This thing's live. I got seven minutes to draft. this thing's Aaron, we're going to draft Jordan Love. You're going to get into an argument? It's draft night. It's your pick. And if you do tell him stuff, and you don't listen exactly,

he's going to take a shot on 96.5 Milwaukee's Best Rock, or he'll take a shot to a surrogate or a media buddy. It's the downside folks to being high maintenance. Don't be. Or you'll be lied to. You'll be avoided. people that are difficult the studies show

most Americans are afraid to fly many Americans have a deathly fear of public speaking and almost all Americans don't like conflict so if you're high maintenance very emotional get loud in arguments need to be heard people just avoid you or lie to you or manipulate you

talk less Listen more Lower your voice Be agreeable Don't be a guy who's always got to get his way or I'm disrespected It's an exhausting personality trait The Packers

I'll defend them here Maybe they're just tired of arguing over crap And just they're going to do what they're going to do And deal with the ramifications later 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, 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. On the Look Back at a podcast. That was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. 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 is a win. 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, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to The Cliford 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 TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes

for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.