The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Antonio Brown, Steelers, Raiders, and LeBron James

Episode Date: March 11, 2019

Colin discusses the Pittsburgh Steelers dysfunction and them trading WR Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders, the latest NFL news, and why the Los Angeles Lakers should consider trading F LeBron James. Guests include Jay Glazer, Chris Broussard, Brian Scalabrine, and Dahntay Jones. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Find your local station for The Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Herd. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, the Monday, this is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles on IHeart, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me in a Monday one hour from now where Colin was right, where

Colin was wrong, plenty. Plenty of both. Jay Glazers joining us in 25 minutes. Excited to hear that Wednesday. Free agency starts in the NFL. Joy, how are you? I'm great. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. So Antonio Brown, we were sort of waiting for this to happen on Friday. Right. And then it happened on, like, Sunday, Saturday. Antonio Brown is now a Raider. And, you know, everybody is saying the Raiders won. They got the Star, poor Steelers. So let me just talk about the Raiders situation. First of all, this entire NFL, there's a salary cap. This is not baseball. It's a salary cap. So everything comes down to value. The current dynasty in the NFL is the Patriots.

They get value out of everybody, including their greatest of all-time quarterback Tom Brady. He's about the 18th highest paid, 12th highest paid quarterback in the NFL somewhere in the middle of the league. So even with their star player, they get value. There is no chance for the Raiders to get value with this contract. I'm not saying it's a disaster, but this is like buying a Bentley. You may say it's worth every penny, but there's no value with it. You're not getting a deal on a Bentley. This contract is a massive deal for a perimeter player. This deal only works for the Raiders because they gave up draft picks and they're a rebuilding team. Rebuilding teams don't give up draft picks. This only works for the Raiders. If Antonio Brown, for what they paid him, is great for three straight years,

elevates not only himself but Derek Carr in the offense, stays healthy and happy and is never disgruntled. A lot of big ifs. By the way, he's leaving a locker room that's averaged 10 and a half wins since he's been there, and he's entering a locker room that's average six and a half wins since he entered the league. You think he's going to be happy?

You don't ever think he'll be frustrated? Let me ask any of you listening or watching today. You ever worked at a good company? then you make a little more money and go to a bad company, gets frustrating, doesn't it? People around you aren't as better. Bosses aren't as smart. Co-workers aren't as talented.

There's no value on this deal for the Raiders. They got a super talented guy and they paid dearly for it. Teams that pay wide receivers that kind of money don't go far in the playoffs. Vocal star-wide receivers are very similar to home run hitters in baseball. They're expensive. They're popular. they're wildly fun and they don't do much in the postseason because you become dependent on both. You have a big home run hitter and a baseball team just sits back and continues to wait for a three-run home run.

Then you get to the postseason and people pitch around him. That's why the big home run kings never end up winning the World Series. Same with superstar wide receivers. Even Randy Moss in New England didn't do squat in the playoffs with Tom Brady. You become dependent on the star receiver for your offense. then the postseason comes, gets windier and colder, not as much a vertical passing league, and teams roll their coverage over, take him away, and you're sitting there as an offense going, uh-oh, Tyree kill, Kansas City Chiefs. Didn't he kind of disappear against New England?

This is what I don't understand, is that you had Amari Cooper, and now you have Antonio Brown. Let's equate them to sports cars. Flashy fun, not as good in the winter. So Amari Cooper had less miles on him, was cheaper, and had no previous injuries with the transmission, with the engine. Antonio Brown is older, had more miles on the car, way more expensive, and got into a crash recently. Why wouldn't I just keep the cheaper, younger sports car? I mean, there's like a salary cap in the NFL, there's a speed limit, 65 miles an hour.

If Antonio Brown can get to 65 faster than Amari Cooper can get to 65, congrats. but they both get open and they're both fast and they're both flashy and they both get first downs. This feels like the Raiders are just making stuff up to me. This was not a long-term plan. This feels like they're trying to sell tickets. This is not some well-thought-out plan. Antonio Brown wasn't on the market three months ago. They got rid of Khalil Mack.

They got rid of Amari Cooper. They looked like they were adopting the New England Patriot style of football. Pay your quarterback, although don't pay him top five salaries. get rid of stars, accumulate draft picks, and have a really solid roster. And then all of a sudden this weekend, maybe the ticket sales aren't going well in Vegas. Maybe John Gruden's trying to win the locker room. Let's pay for a 31-year-old wide receiver who's got a lot of miles, who's got a lot of ego, and doesn't really fit the plan we kept selling to our locker room a year ago.

I'm happy for Antonio Brown. I'm happy for all athletes who make money. This is not an anti-Antonio Brown thing. But this only works for the Raiders if for all three years he's just unbelievable. And there's no complaints. And he elevates Derek Carr. And he stays healthy. And good luck.

He's 31. Derek Carr's not Big Ben, though I like him. Their offensive lines not nearly as good as the Steelers. They don't have a dependable running game. Antonio Brown's going to get double-teamed every good team they play. and my gut feeling is they become highly dependent on him because John's paying him so much. He's going to want 13 targets and nine catches and two touchdowns a Sunday, which over the course of time you become dependent on the home run hitter,

the star wide receiver, and it doesn't help you at the end of seasons. So, you know, you can say what you want about the Pittsburgh Steelers. They paid nothing for Antonio Brown for three to four years. They got him in the sixth round. And then when they had to pay him, they still didn't pay him great. Antonio Brown was underpaid his entire time in Pittsburgh. Then they got rid of him and got two picks. Now, for this year, a little bit of a, you know, capital gains tax, if you will, on that stock.

They got to pay a big chunk of a salary for a year. But, you know, this morning, everybody's poo-poo and the Pittsburgh Steelers. And my takeaway is, folks, the dream of every general manager in this league is to find a six-round player who becomes a Hall of Famer. and then when you actually do have to sign him, you still don't make him a top 15, top 20 paid wide receiver. All the Steelers did on Antonio Brown is get, get, get, and they didn't give much. I get why he's frustrated. I get why Antonio Brown was frustrated.

He'd been the best wide receiver in the league arguably for three years and you're not getting paid like it. And they got him on the cheap coming out of college. And they just got two picks for him. The Steelers have a history of working that was third and fifth round picks into players. I put it up here on the board for our FS1 viewers. Since he came into the league, they've found seven or eight guys after the third round. Third round or later that can play. That's not the Steelers issue.

And I'm happy for Antonio Brown, and I think he'll be a nice player for the Raiders. But this deal only works for the Raiders if he is just absolutely happy and healthy and hits a home run for three straight years. There's no value in the NFL paying a wide receiver $16, $17 million. It's like a Bentley. there is no value. They may be worth it after three years owning it, but you're not getting a deal on the Bentley.

The Steelers got a complete deal on Antonio Brown breaking into the league. They still got a good deal with his first big contract, and they let him go, and they get two more picks. I'm on that side. Let me shift to this. One of the great things about sports is that it gives us the impossible and the improbable.

things that would seem ludicrous become reality. If I would have told you a month before it happened, hey, Michael Jordan's the best basketball player in the world. He's going to quit and go play minor league baseball. Hot take, click bait, you're just trying to get big. No, it happened. If I was going to tell you, so listen, Tiger Woods is 32 in his prime, in like a week, he's never going to.

I'm going to win another major. Going to have like 30 affairs. Hot take, that is exactly what happened. Sports gives us the impossible. Hey, George Foreman, he's fat now. He's going to come back into boxing and become heavyweight champion of the world. Oh, that happened. That's why we love sports.

That's why we love it. So there's this guard. He's a skinny kid. His dad was a decent NBA player. he plays at Davidson. He's going to come into the NBA and he's going to revolutionize the sport. Yeah, that happened, Steph Curry. That's why I love sports.

So Jeff Van Gundy is on TV this weekend. And he says something, and I love his courage to say something, which I agree with him, but it's going to get pushback and people are going to rip him and they're going to roll their eyes. But MJ played minor league baseball. The little kid from Davidson revolutionized basketball. George Foreman came out of retirement to become heavyweight champ, and Tiger Woods at 32, unraveled and never won another major. So here's what Jeff Van Gundy said during a Laker broadcast.

They have to rebuild this roster, right? And to me, it could be a trade for an Anthony Davis, or I think they need to explore trading LeBron for getting as much as they can. What are you doing? Seriously, what are you doing? No, you've got to get on the right timeline. I'm going to say, if I could trade him for the Clippers into cab space, which would give me a better chance to get Durant or Kauai Leonard, would I not do that?

Okay, LeBron James is not getting traded. Okay. You've got to put everything on the table. No, you can't. Mike, why are we even entertaining this, man? Why? I don't understand how you would, why would you take anything off the table? You'd have to get a home run deal, but if you go to a contender and you can get a home run,

you do whatever you have to do to get better. You need a day off. Okay, by the way, what does CEO say when the company is struggling? And they invite all the vice president in the room, men, women, old, young. Here's what CEOs say. Everything's on the table. Give me ideas. Folks, I don't know if you notice this weekend, but Brandon Ingram, talented, not great, but good young player has a medical condition that was discovered.

he is no longer a trade piece. I talked to somebody inside the LeBron Circle, and they realize he is now a Laker. He is not a trade asset. He's got a serious medical condition. Lonzo Ball, by the way, it was announced this weekend. It's out for the rest of the year, meaning he is now missed as many games as he's played

in his first two years in the NBA. They cannot trade. for Anthony Davis. It's over. They don't have the assets. The number one asset they have is LeBron. The number two asset they have is Kyle Kuzma shot 31% from threes. Their number three

asset is cross your fingers, maybe a lottery draft pick. You've got to consider everything. When the news came down this weekend about Brandon Ingram's medical condition,

and Lonzo Ball sitting out the rest of the year, they do not have the assets to land Anthony Davis. It's now about crossing fingers. Hoping. Kyrie Irving befriends LeBron again. Not going to happen. Hoping Kevin Durant leaves and decides to go to the lousy Lakers from the great warriors. Not going to happen.

Kauai Leonard. No, put an end to that. story this weekend again, another source saying he's not going to be a Laker. Clay Thompson, oh please, pipe dream. Folks, once the Brandon Ingram news came down, once Lonzo's out for the year, those are no longer assets. People are not clamoring for a C-minus Lonzo ball with a daddy issue who can't stay healthy, and many people suspect is more bust than brilliant.

And Brandon Ingram, very good kid, has a serious medical condition. No teams trading for that. You've got to consider everything. And LeBron is by far and away the one piece that could land you multiple draft picks and multiple players. Hell, there could be a team out there that would just want him for the merchandising, for the brand. But Jeff Van Gundy, tip of the cap for having the guts to say something that will get pushed back on. But Steph Curry, George Foreman, Tiger Woods never winning again, miracle on ice. That's why we love sports.

Crazy stuff not only happens, it happens frequently. Crazy. By the way, here we go. Oh, we got something happening in the NFL. Back in a second. Oh, crazy town. One of the things I love about Dollar Shave Club, they've got everything I need. I want to look, feel, smell my best. Okay, I never have to go to the store. That's because, one, Dollar Shave Club delivers everything I need to my door.

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After that, the restock box shipped regular size products at a regular price. So what are you waiting for? Get your starter set. Right now, five bucks. That's it. At dollar shave club.com slash Colin. Dollar Shave Club products. Look, feel, smell your best. Dollar Shave Club.com slash Colin special offer, handsome discount. More you save the more you buy or vice versa. Okay, this is being reported by Adam Schaefter. The former Patriot left tackle Trent Brown is going to sign a four-year,

$66 million deal with the Oakland Raiders. Highest paid offensive linemen in NFL history. First of all, this is very dangerous by the Raiders because the Patriots Offensive Line coach is probably the best position coach in the NFL, Dante Scarnacia. Everybody that leaves the Patriots offensive line, they come in average, they become great, they leave and they go back to being average. Nate sold her New York Giants. We thought he was great for years and years at left tackle, went to the Giants. One very good. The best offensive linemen they have right now is Shaq Mason in New England. Second best was David Andrews,

and to prove my point, he was undrafted, and he's become a very good player. Trent Brown was a nineer. They bailed on him. They bailed on him. There was questions whether New England could get him to protect Brady, but Brady gets rid of the ball so quickly. You don't need a world-class left tackle. So the Patriots let him walk.

The Niners let him walk. Good luck. You don't think Kyle Shanahan's smart? Let him walk. Don't think Belichick smart? Let him walk. I mean, this is a, and here's the other thing. I understand the Raiders wanting to upgrade it left tackle,

because once you bring Antonio Brown into the fold, he's a deep threat. And Derek Carr is going to need somebody to protect him because he's going to be going for five and seven step drops. The Patriots, Trent Brown, never hurt them because they get rid of the ball so quickly. Don't have a deep threat. Brady never gets hit. But if you bring Antonio Brown into the fold, you're going to be sitting back in the pocket waiting for him to break free. So you need a left tackle. Last year, the Raiders in the first round went and drafted a tackle from UCLA.

They overdrafted him. They're going to move him over to right tackle because he can't play left tackle. So they didn't evaluate tackles very good last year. And now they're spending a fortune on Trent Brown, who Kyle Shanahan and Bill Belichick have said, no thanks. All right. I don't know. I got to be honest with you. So Khalil Mack let him go.

Amari Cooper very reasonably paid young wide receiver let him go. And now you just paid $66 million. 37 of it guaranteed for Trent Brown, who I don't think anybody in the league thinks is a top 10 left tackle. I'm not saying he's a disaster, but that's going to make him the highest paid offensive lineman in league history. Lord. Lord, that is something.

Jay Glazer around the corner, Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So LeBron's first season with the Lakers has been interesting, to say the least. And throughout the season, he's placed some of the blame on his teammates, mainly targeting the younger players and questioning their desires. Let's listen to LeBron on February 23rd after a loss.

Basketball, is that the most important thing? Why are we doing this? It's just the most important thing in your life at this time. You know, you give it all into that game, and then you feel like you put it all into it, been you have nothing to kind of look back on. How do you know what's at stake if you've never been there before? Well, now an anonymous Western Conference executive is calling LeBron out for this. He said, all of a sudden, I'm seeing a different LeBron.

He's throwing people under the bus, deferring and putting blame on somebody else, instead of being like an old school guy and saying, I've got to do a better job, I've got to make my teammates better. Great players and great leaders, that's what they do. That's what Kobe would have done. That's what Michael Jordan would have done. Now, to be fair, I don't know that Michael always had the best relationship with all of his teammates.

There have been some stories where things may have gotten physical. Yeah, we're romanticizing Kobe and Michael's great leadership. Well, I mean, they were both great leaders, but they both certainly had their moments with teammates. So they don't have flawless reputations in that department. So to be fair, LeBron, I don't know if that's the best way to put things into context. I don't think it's been a great leadership year for LeBron. No, it hasn't. But I could make a really good argument until this year.

He's been a very good teammate. He's been, you know, put your arms around everybody. He's never really been big on young guys. And I think that's because he doesn't, maybe he's just in a different place mentally where he finds the monotony of teaching to be draining on him when he needs to focus on other things. So he likes to have a lot of veterans around to work with the young guys. Historically, Joy, great place. don't want to be teachers.

They want to join other great players. That's why they join the Olympic team, even though it's the offseason. I never blame a star player for losing patience. That's what a coaching staff is for. Yeah, exactly. There's difference between being a leader and being a teacher.

And very rarely you have both at the highest, highest level. So I don't think this has been a great year for LeBron in that regard, but I don't know if that's like the most fair comparisons of Jordan and Kobe. So the Antonio Brown saga is over. he will officially be a Oakland Raider on Wednesday

and the Steelers are getting a third and fifth round pick for him. Antonio Brown also gets a new contract, the one he's been seeking with the Raiders, agreeing to pay him $54.1 million over the next three years, with $30 million guaranteed, making him the highest paid wide receiver in the league. And according to Adam Schaefter, Antonio Brown's new contract,

big raise, more guaranteed money, no new year's added to it, has NFL teams distraught. Which makes sense. Well, my takeaway, It's like people say, well, Atlanta now they're going to have to pay Julio Jones. No, you don't. You could move Julio Jones.

You're not getting to the Super Bowl. You're not winning your division regularly. I don't, you, how you treat and pay players is up to you. Well, it's a copycat league. And players definitely look at what other players are making in every single league. I get it. I feel like they are on the same level and they deserve the same or more. But you're not forced to pay anybody.

No, but it does set the bar for the highest level of talent and what they should be paid. and this was part of what Antonio Brown was pushing for this entire time, was he wants his contract, he wants to do things his way, and the Oakland Raiders obliged. And this is going to set the tone moving forward for contract negotiations, such as how it works with every single position, whenever someone gets paid, if they're on that level, and then obviously the next person will get paid more.

Like, everyone freaks out about the biggest contract, and then the next contract is bigger, and then eventually you're not the highest paid wide receiver in the league. I don't think it was necessarily about being the highest paid wide receiver in the league for Antonio Brown and as much as it was the guaranteed money and being in a situation where he was happy. But I do understand why Adam Hill teams would be freaking out,

especially because, I mean, this is the league where they try to suppress personalities and it's a solid cap league, and you look at what happens with the Patriots and Tom Brady taking less money. Makes sense. Finally, sticking with the Raiders, they have already acquired Antonio Brown, but they could land Levian Bell too. According to Ian Rappaport, the Raiders are a sleeper team

and the bell sweepstakes and are willing to keep spending, as obviously we just saw. I just, you know, I just, you know, I like Lavian Bell. It's just, man, when you take a year off from a sport, I've not seen him. So the reports are he's 265. Now, the other thing about Lavian Bell, and I like him a lot, I think he's a good kid and a good player, a terrific football player. You know, he's like one of those pitchers that's had 270 innings, like four years in a row, like Clayton Kershaw, and all of a sudden you wake up one day in Clayton Kershaw,

isn't the same pitcher. Labian Bill has been a 250 carry guy, 80 catch guy. There are a lot of miles on those legs. And now, reportedly, he's put on like 40 pounds. I would love him if I could see him. If you'd show me, Labian, if you gave me a tape and he's 228 and I'm like, okay, I'm ready to go. All I would say is this. There's a risk with him, the miles, the weight, the disappearance. but I like him. I mean, I don't buy into running backs don't matter. When Todd Gurley, now we find out had arthritic knee, when Todd Gurley sort of dissolved in the offense for the Rams

and was never the same offense. I love CJ Anderson, but it was never the same offense. No, he was clearly missed, and Levyon Bell is an incredible talent. He does have a year off from those miles, but like you said, what kind of shape is he in? To me, I don't know that it's so much. of a problem of him being in shape, but just being away from football in general, there's a difference between just being in gym shape and being in football shape.

And I just don't know if he's going to get the money that he was looking for, but somebody is going to sign Levi-on-Bell, and it would be very interesting to see him with the Raiders and Antonio Brown. Good stuff, Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. 30 minutes from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Jay Glazer is going to join us in 10 minutes from.

now. The Raiders have made another move. They're bringing Trent Brown, a left tackle from the Patriots over. I think it's a dangerous move because New England, I think I've said this before, throughout New England's dynasty, there is one thing they've always done elite level besides Brady. Brady's good. Their offensive line play has never been bad. They've had average defensive fronts, average secondaries, no deep threats. winning game hit and miss, the Patriots offensive line has been unbelievable for 18 years. Brady doesn't, it's why Brady's playing at 41. It's why a lot of guys, Cam, Big Ben are much bigger athletes that are beat up.

So this is a interesting move. I don't like doing business with a team New England that usually wins their deals. You know, if I'm the Raiders, if Belichick calls, it's like, hey, sorry Bill, I can't hear. you, you're breaking up. I'm not a big fan of doing that, and I don't love the idea of doing, let's bring on Jay Glazer. Jay, let's get in here. I got question. Jay Glazer, NFL Insider. Unbreakable performance center. I got to unbutton this. Straight hand all he yells at me, but I'm going to knock your eye out with my button. No, that's okay. You're ripped. Okay. So it's interesting. Let's start with a year ago. I sort of, I sort of saw what Gruden was doing. All right, I'm not going to

pay for stars outside of my quarterback, accumulate draft picks, almost a New England feel to it. And now, in the last 48 hours, Antonio Brown, Trent Brown, is he, it feels like they're, they've, making it up as they go. It kind of looks like, because you look at it and go, well, do they really have this plan in place when they got rid of

Kalil Mac? No, absolutely not. But also Antonio Brown fell into their laps. Right. And Antonio Brown deal where, you know, they look at it and go, you know, the Steelers, their ego got in the way here, because this was not enough for Antonio Brown. A three and a five was not enough for an Antonio Brown. So they all of a sudden get Antonio Brown. Then they go and they get a left tackle who, you know,

to make him the highest paid left tackle in the NFL, when we saw what happened last year and Nate Solder left when he didn't have Tom Brady make him look a lot better. You have to say, oh, okay, well, they're kind of using money over there. And then you talked about already, I think, with Levi-on-Bell. They're in the Levy-on-Bell market here. They have all these number-one picks. They could use the dangle to get other high-price free agents as well or, you know, go trade for somebody.

But I agree with you. I think Mike Mayak will have a plan. I don't think John Gruen never had a plan, no. Yeah, this doesn't feel like a plan. This feels like, hey, this just fell in our last. Let's do it. Fantastic. It's happy Hanukkah for the Raiders.

Yeah, it's interesting. You know, let me, John Grun is an interesting guy. If I was a cynic, and I just said, listen. If you were a cynic? Okay, I'm a cynic. lame duck stadium. They've got to sell tickets in Vegas that now has a wildly popular hockey team. They got to step on him.

This is not a high revenue team. Could I make the argument that Antonio Brown is as much about selling tickets as he is about football? I mean, by the way, Caliomax's great. I'm not sure he sells a bunch of tickets. Antonio Brown sells tickets. Yeah, I think they do have to look at it business-wise. And they have, look, in the past. When they got Marshaw and Lynch, they got him because we still need to sell tickets while we're still in Oakland.

even though we're a lame duck team here. Same type of thing, yeah. But no, Antonio Brown, here's the bottom line. Talent-wise, he is one of the top three in the NFL. Oh, yeah. He is incredibly talented. I will say that. Some people forget this.

When Antonio Brown did his Instagram live or Facebook live, whatever it was, from their locker room, the team find them. But at that time, and we said it on Fox NFL Sunday, that the Steelers said, hey, this is making his rope here a lot shorter. Like we're not going to handle, we're not going to put up for a lot more. And he knows that. But at the time, I think he looked at like, I don't want to ever want to leave

the Steelers. It's placed in my home. I don't want, so they had a little bit more swagger, if you will, with that. Eventually it became, okay, then get rid of me. I'm good. What this does, it does a couple things. One, all the other receivers right now, they're going, oh, yes, thank you.

Thank you for the money. But it also can mess things up as far as, look, Cowboys traded one for Marry Cooper. Now, these guys traded three and a five for Antonio Brown. So teams, I think, that were going to try and hope to get a much bigger bounty, this could bring that down and almost temper what teams are now going to go and try and get. It used to be, Jay, it was kind of foolish man's territory to spend a lot of money in free agency and trades. Eagles did it on a Super Bowl.

We talked about that last year. All of a sudden it's going to be. Rams did it? Yeah, it's going to be copycat. Absolutely. And it does feel like in the last two to three years, it feels a little like the NBA free agency where it's like, hey, it's working. I mean, this is say what you want.

I'm actually shocked. Levian Bell hasn't signed somewhere. Yeah, I think, well, I'm not shocked he hasn't signed anywhere yet because they, for them, Levian Bell, they're going to have to get the best financial deal possible to show everybody. It made sense for us to sit out. They've got to get that. Even if the way they structure it on the surface, it has to look like we made it. up that money from last year.

So Levian's people are not going to take a discount deal. Oh my God. If they do, they'll look terrible. Oh, my God. Because they already gave up $12,000,000. They should be hit for malpractice. Yeah. That's ridiculous.

Do you have a sense? I just read a story this morning that there's people inside the Jets building. They just feel. Yeah. What do you make a Labian? I think a lot of teams are afraid. Look, there's a couple things. Number one, no one's seen Levy on Bell.

So they do got to look at them also. They got to make sure, okay, this guy's got to. just hasn't been down there in South Beach and hanging out doing whatever. Talent-wise, he's a different weapon. He's a difference maker in this league. Absolute difference maker in the NFL. So I do think that teams are going to be in, they're going to want them, but their fear is, man, they're really going to want this huge deal that shows everybody,

this is why we sat out, and it's going to be a ridiculous deal. But, you know, it only takes one. It all takes. It just takes one to give you that kind of money. Okay, we got to, don't go anywhere, Jay. We got a Kyler Murray situation. We got the O'Dell Beckham situation. By the way, I was in Utah a couple of weeks ago and talked him for 20 minutes on the phone.

Really, who's you talking to? Odell Beckham. It was a wonderful conversation. He was very thoughtful, asked a bunch of questions. I asked more. I want to hear about this, yeah. Yeah, no, no, he was a really, really enlightening conversation. I really liked him.

I'm not going to tell everybody what we talked about, but I was really impressed by him. He's incredibly likable. Oh, you can't. He was sitting in his holiday. Hollywood Hills home talking and I'm listening about stuff and I was like, you can't not root for him. I mean, his heart is in the right place. So Jay Glazer, other way, other side, don't go anywhere. We got a lot of stuff here developing also. What's up with the Steelers culture? Talk about a circus. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports

Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. All right, Raiders made a huge deal today. Trent Brown, Patriot left tackle is now the highest paid offensive linemen in NFL history. The Raiders bring him over. I thought he was the third best offensive lineman for the Patriots this year. Shaq Mason was terrific. David Andrews, undrafted, became a great center for them.

Dante Scarnacia. Beware of acquiring Patriot offensive linemen. They tend to erode the minute they leave Foxborough because they have the best offensive line coach, perhaps in NFL history. And the best quarterback in NFL history who gets rid of the ball

real fast. Yep. So Jay Glazer joining us. of things here. So I said this last week, when you break a story or when you have a strong opinion, I always believe it. I can't say that for everybody in this business, NBA or NFL or baseball reporters. But you have said, the Giants have said, you know, Odell Beckham's not on the trade block and you will not back down. You have said exactly what? I was asked to make a bold prediction for the off season. I said, my bold prediction would be that the Giants will trade Odell Beckham this off season. And you won't back down from it. Well, it's my prediction.

And then Dave Gettleman, obviously he's come out and he said, I didn't sign him to trade him. That's correct. He didn't sign him to trade him. But things change, right? Now, where they are with Odo Beckham, they're not going to go, and that's where I said, like the Antonio Brown thing could screw things up there,

because they're not going to get rid of them for three and a five. Absolutely not. And the talks they have had with other teams. And yes, teams have absolutely called and talked to the Giants. And they'll take the calls. And they've taken the calls. calls and they've had conversations. It's not been, no, he's not on the block click. It's not been that at all. Okay, so just for everybody out there saying that, oh, they're not going to do it.

They're certainly listening. But they're asking price right now is ridiculous for him. And I think they'll look at the AB and go, well, that's a ridiculous price as well. You got to see if, you know, if things kind of calm down on both of what they're asking prices and what, you know, the AB price was so low, I think. They've got to see. They've got to find something else there. But sometimes it's just good for it's just a change of scenery is good for both sides. It's very

possible when I talked to Odell Beckham about a month ago, very engaging, good listener. You said you're in Utah. Are you guys like skiing together? No, I was skiing and I got a call. You guys are on the fire. You're having some hot co-go-go. I got a text said, Odell Beckham wants to talk to you about something you'd said. We had a great conversation. And, you know, he told me

his frustrations. And I after I hung the phone up or what do you call that when you can see him, It's the... FaceTime. Sorry, Dan. You're not educating them here on technology? I try.

This is your job. I try. So it's FaceTime, and after we hung up, my takeaway was he could really do with a new team. It wasn't anti-Giants or anti-Odell. It was emotionally he could really use a new start. I think all sides. That's what it is.

There's no animosity. There's no hate. Right. Sometimes it's just time for a change. You know, remember now last year, they were talking about moving on last year from him, right? When he wanted the new deal. And there was a lot that John Marr was saying,

Pat Schumer was the one who went in there and said, no, no, I want him. Let's salvage us. Let's save him. I want him here. And there were a lot of teams. The Rams were interested. The Patriots were interested.

There were teams they were talking to and they were looking at, but Pat Schumer was like, just let me have them. I know I could do this. And it just didn't arise. What happened at the end of last year, Jay? He didn't play. Didn't play. And what happened?

Giants played well. Giants played very well. I just think it's an energy thing that, look, he's a incredible talent. Oh, God. Oh, my God. Athletically, look, we've had a lot of players come in and out of Unbreakable over the years, our gym. There's nothing like this cat ever.

I've never seen anything like. It's unreal what he does. As a dude, phenomenal. Great person. Incredible. There's nothing wrong with him. He's great. Just sometimes, you know,

The energy changes, and it's just time for a change. I think that's where all sides are. By the way, good people get divorced. It's okay. It happens. Okay, Kyler Murray, Arizona. I never thought initially this would happen. Steve Kime had picked a quarterback last year.

Generally, general managers don't want to acknowledge. I don't like that pick. I'm going to move him. The more I read, the more I feel, I get the Cliff Kingsbury thing, Jay. If Kingsbury doesn't work, everybody in that building is getting fired. Do you think it's going to happen? Well, here's the thing. I know people want answers right now.

But the honest truth is, A, he has his pro day this week. Let's see what happens there. But B, everything really comes down to when you sit and you have these personal meetings with these kids, right? They're going to go down now. And the GM and the head coach, the owner, they'll go and they'll spend an entire day

and sometimes night with these players, right? Bears did a couple years ago with Mitch Tribiskey. Nobody knew they fell in love with Mitch Tribesky. That's it. Oh, my God, that's our guy. There are other times you sit with the quarterback. there were teams where they loved Deschon Kaiser sat down and had the meeting with them like, we're off it, okay? Patrick Mahomes was a couple years ago. Remember this time, a few years ago,

nobody had Patrick Mahomes in the top 15. He wasn't there. That's right. But he went in. One team told me that they sat with Patrick Mahon and was a team with a very established quarterback, who you never think they'd move on from. And they were ready to take Mahomes, and that's one of the reasons the chiefs moved up. But he said he came into our meeting. And what happens is you'll give these players plays, right? Hey, go memorize some of our plays, and then you're going to come back and we'll see what your retention is. They said, Patrick Mahomes came back and literally said to him, you want me to regurgitate a right-hand or the left-handed?

What? Are you serious? Dead set. Like, he is, oh, my God. So now, Kyler Murray goes in there. It absolutely wowes him. Then yes, you take that. Look, John Snyder, the Seattle Seahawks, he's the blueprint. Years ago, he goes out and trades for Matt Flynn from the from the Green Bay Packers, right? But then there's Russell Wilson sitting there.

He's like, I don't care. This is the guy. I'm going to get Russell Wilson. I'm drafting him. We're moving on. If you find that guy, you think is going to be it. You go get him. Even if you drafted another quarterback the year before, but it's really going to go down.

I can't stress this enough. Everybody who says they know what they're going to do, it's going to go down that meeting because he could go in there and go meet with Arizona, and they can come where and go, let's just, we don't feel it. It's getting that feeling, that energy. It does feel like Patriots 12 picks,

they could, if Rosen is higher graded than anybody in this class, Tom's 41. I'm not saying this. I don't know where they have him or what they... Okay. Do you think there's a landing spot for Josh? I don't know because you have to look at it. Look, the thing with Josh,

one, where do they have him graded last year? But two, he did play this year and they were awful this year. Right. So I don't know where they could look at it and go on a bad team. He did certain things. well or they can look and go, man, bullets were flying, he just, he wasn't what we were hoping. I don't know the answer to that because every team is going to have a different view of Josh

Rosen. Jay Glazer joining us. Finally, listen, you can blame Antonio Brown and you can blame Lavian Bell, but Big Ben's a circus. Lavian was a mess. A. B. didn't end well. Todd Haley, a coach, was disruptive. That, to me, is on the culture. I'm not going to start blaming players.

Big Ben's got his issues. A. B's got his. Lavian's got his. Todd Haley has his. You know, Terry Bradshaw talked heat a year ago for saying Tomlin sometimes is more cheerleader than coach. I would argue Pittsburgh's got a cultural issue here. Again, I think certain things they just kind of, you know, the cycle runs its course. This one kind of looks like it's run its course a little bit.

Mike Tomlin's a phenomenal culture. To have those personalities. And you said it. Like Ben's getting a free pass here. Ben has like 19 personalities. Yeah, passive aggressive in the press. Oh, my God, every day, every week is like, oh, Ben's head's going to fall off. Ben's playing without three arms.

I mean, you know, there's a lot of personalities. They go and they draft these people with huge personalities. And they have for an awful long time got them to work and fit well. And I think right now it just looks like the dam is starting to burst open. And, you know, it's... That's what happens. You know, they're going to get guys. We want these kind of renegade players.

We want these guys with that personality. And, yeah, Mike Tomlin can rein those guys in. But all of a sudden, there has just been. There's so much drama there. It's going to be interesting, though, because Seattle went to the same thing. Same thing last year. We thought it was done it over, and all of a sudden, look what they did. Yeah, Pete, got a couple guys out of the room.

Recalibrated, been success. Jay Glazer, everybody. Thank you, guys. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Ah, here we go, start of hour two. This is the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles, Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me.

Lively first hour in the middle of the first hour. The Raiders made another deal. They have acquired Trent Brown offensive lineman left tackle. $66 million, $37 guaranteed, highest paid offensive. lineman in NFL history. You cannot convince me this is a good deal. He goes from Dante Scarnacki, the best offensive line coach, perhaps in NFL history, to Tom Cable, who left Seattle and the Seahawks offensive line got better and went to the Raiders and their offensive lines gotten worse. So you can't convince me this is a good deal. Joy Taylor is joining us. How are

you, Joy? I'm great. Good morning. Good morning. So the Raiders are all in making all sorts of deals. This doesn't feel like it was part of the plan. They're kind of making it up as they go. Every Monday at this time, we just don't feel that people admit in our business they're wrong. And everybody's wrong all the time. And so we call it where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. My missteps in the last week, here we go. Where Colin was right. Danny Amandola, after a one touchdown season with the dolphins, has been released by the dolphins. when New England bails on an aging player,

always early, never late, they're almost always right. By the way, Amandola was on the show. He's a good guy. He was perfect in their system. But he just signed on with Detroit. This was one of the moves where people said, oh boy, Danny Amandola. And he had a couple of really nice moments in New England.

I would not suggest he didn't. One touchdown, Dolphins had him paid a lot for a year, and he's gone. Patriots right again. Where Colin was wrong. I said last couple of years that the Western Conference of the NBA was a little overstated. It's better than the East, but let's not make it into the SEC and football where it's just so dominant. But Portland's better.

Oklahoma City appears better, and Denver got way better. San Antonio is shockingly good, and the Lakers are now an 11th seed, potentially a 13th seed, a 14th seed by the end of the season. in last 10 games, they're 2 and 8. And LeBron with a bunch of young guys, never even threatened to make it interesting after the All-Star break. The West is simply better than I gave it credit for most of this year. Where Colin was right?

Everybody bailed on the Celtics. Oh, my God. Man overboard, and I said, time out. They'll get it together. Best coach in the East, best roster in the East, most playoff experience in the East, Most playoff success, not connected to LeBron.

Last several years in the East, they're going to be fine. Well, what do you know? They're playing great basketball. They've won 4.05. They crushed the Warriors at Oracle. And for the record, Gordon Hayward's playing very well. Last three games, averaging almost 20 and shooting 70%. Kyrie Irving seems to be better balanced since they had that little flight west and he got to sit down with the coaches.

Don't always buy into the... every little drama in the regular season. For stars and good teams, the regular season can be a drain not only physically but emotionally, and the Celtics are fine. Where Colin was wrong. I thought Rajan Rondo was actually one of the pickups the Lakers made that would really work, high IQ, tough, he'd be exactly what the doctor ordered. He's never worked with the Lakers.

Optically, it's been a disaster. He's disengaged with his teammates and his coaching staff. He got into that fight with Chris Paul. He's rarely healthy. He's not in the least bit elevated Lonzo ball. There's generally a reason why certain guys in the NBA bounce from team to team to team. And Rondo, there's a reason. By the way, he struggled to get along with Doc Rivers, one of the nicest guys in pro sports.

He struggled to get along with Rick Carlisle. They bailed on him. And Rick Carlisle's a pretty easy guy to get along with, highly respected. The Rondo deals. I thought it made sense. It's never worked. Where Colin was right? A couple years ago I got in trouble at the old place

because I called out James Dolan of the New York Knicks. I called him a meatball. I said he was the most insecure owner in the NBA, the most incompetent, and I felt bad for Nick fans. Well, he took it to another level of insecurity this weekend having this confrontation with a fan. Sell the team. Do you guys sell the team?

You want to not come to any more games? Why? That's rude. It's your opinion. I know, it's not an opinion. And you know what? Enjoy watching them on TV. Really?

Because a fan didn't throw anything, didn't make any threats. A fan yelled sell the team. And you're going to now kick him out of the arena. I mean, Adam Silver is to a point. Is he not sitting in his office thinking, I got to find a buyer for the New York Knicks? I mean, Dolan is just, remarkably insecure for a billionaire.

It's just, it's hard to get your arms around how insecure he is. Where Colin was wrong. I laughed at my staff last week when they theorized a conspiracy theory. They said, LeBron went to watch Zion Williamson, saw how physically dominant he was, and thought to himself, hey, magic, it's time to tank. Well, the Lakers are two and nine since then. Lonzo Ball suddenly can't play for the rest of the year. LeBron's minutes have been reduced.

He won't play back-to-backs. And oh, by the way, Kyle Kuzma now with a slight sprain may also miss significant time. Clearly, the Lakers are in tanking mode. That's not to say Lanzo Ball wasn't injured, but rest of the season, Kyle Kuzma, LeBron's never once limited time off the floor. Now, Brandon Ingram has a serious medical condition. I will not include him. But it is more than interesting that since LeBron visited Zion,

they're not even competitive now. I mean, this is like a bad, subtle tank job. I mean, they're all in on it. Maybe I was wrong. Where Colin was right? I had my doubts about Russell Westbrook being restrained. New and improved Russell Westbrook, limiting his shots. Well, what do you know?

Oklahoma City is in their last 10, 3 and 7, since he started shooting again, shooting 24 shots a game. He is incapable of being a great teammate long term. I kept saying, I'll believe it when I see it in the playoffs. He's not capable of being a 16-point shot a game guy. He is now shooting in the last 10 games, 25 shots a game, shooting nine and a half three is a game. His plus minus over the 10 game stretch is minus 47.

And OKC was in solid position a third is now tied for fourth. In the end, people are what they are. As Chris Broussard says, your game is your game. And Paul George is not benefiting from this. Where Colin was wrong. Because I had Paul George as the MVP two weeks ago, his last three games he's shooting 31% as Westbrook is shooting more

his stock is plummeting he's now a distant third in the MVP race he's missing open looks he's frustrated and suddenly he is struggling and I said two weeks ago and last week he's the best two-way player in the league kawai's great but is often not available and yonis is great but doesn't control games

late because he doesn't shoot threes Paul George as Westbrook, the old Westbrook has emerged, Paul George is no longer an MVP leading candidate. Where Colin was right? The new football league, the AAF. I've said spring football will work and watch it get elevated. Well, what do you know? TNT announced they're going to televise two extra games.

They've watched the product. They want to put it on. By the way, the NFL is considering a rule being used by the AAF, an onside kick rule. And people are paying attention to this league. Sports networks are absolutely, when Vince McMahon did his football thing years ago, you didn't have 32 sports networks all clamoring for live sports programming. But live sports programming is now the only thing that gets a rating on television. It's Netflix or live sports.

And so this league, a spring football league for eight to ten weeks, it's got everybody's attention. The NFL is going to borrow one of its kickoff rules, and TNT is now going to add games this year. Where Colin was wrong. When those Kyler Murray number one rumors came out, I thought he's tiny. They just drafted a quarterback. I think they like Josh Rosen. But last week, it appears that it's more than a 50-50 proposition that Kyler Murray, the little guy, 5-9, 5-10.

This is kind of the new standard in the NFL. If a guy's that athletic, you're not going to worry about his height. You're just going to go with it. Big 12 quarterbacks, people used to wince. Now between Mahomes and Baker-Mayfield, they're the hot quarterbacks because more of the Big 12 offense is coming to the NFL. I never thought Arizona would bail on Rosen, mostly because they just picked him in the top 10.

and they had whiffed on many of their first round picks. And if they moved off Rosen, I thought it was suggesting they whiffed on that one too. But they got Cliff Kingsbury, he's got a worker. Everybody's getting flushed out and fired in Arizona. And it looks like this is more now than a 50-50 proposition. Coming up next, Chris Broussard joins me. The suggestion to trade LeBron may sound foolish. I'm not sure it is.

And what do we make of Lonzo Ballin? Brandon Ingram no longer key or attractive trade pieces. That's coming up. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action, with stories told by the people who live there. them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of

my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch

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Join me, Keir 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. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions. To talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that can't. keeps them going. From the WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that.

Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs, Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything.

I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion-dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, Just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know.

Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In five days, two of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet put their perfect records on the line at AT&T Stadium. as Errol Spence Jr. takes on Mikey Garcia for the World Welterweight Championship Saturday 9 p.m. Eastern 6th Pacific live on pay-per-view. Order now. Where's that at? Dallas? That big Jerry Jones Stadium? Well, he's made that thing into him. You know, used to be Vegas and New York got all the big

fights and it's now like Dallas. That's a great point. You're right. That's going to be a good fight too. Yeah. Chris Broussard joining us. So Jeff Van Gundy said this weekend, he suggested that, you know, they trade LeBron. you have to put it on the table. I'm for hearing anything. I thought the big story of the weekend, though, Chris, and it didn't get a lot of publicity. Brandon Ingram, it has been discovered,

has a medical issue, which is the same Chris Bosch had, which I believe takes Brandon off the trade market. No general manager, I think, is going to trade for him. So that's an asset. Lonzo Ball is now same day announced, out for the year. He's missed as many games as he's played in two years. We thought at the trading deadline that Lonzo was starting to play well and Ingram were assets. I would argue today,

one is off the trading market and the other with another serious injury is a C to C minus player who I'm not sure can stay healthy. That leads me to believe this, Chris. You can't trade for Anthony Davis. They don't have enough assets. You still can and hear is why. From what I've been told, New Orleans is really looking at Boston's offer. Like, that's what they're waiting for, even more so than Zion, if, like, if New York gets the number one pick, they're more in on what can we get from Boston. But if Kyrie leaves the Celtics, I think Danny Ains would be out of his mind to give up Jason Tatum and picks and, you know, Jalen Brown, whoever their package would be around Tatum for Anthony Davis and what's likely a one-year-

year rental. Like if they have Kyrie, then yeah, you could probably keep Anthony Davis for the long haul. But if you don't, if you don't have Kyrie, I'm not giving up because I'm still going to be good without Kyrie. I may not be a championship contender, but I'll still be

a really good team that can go deep in the east and, you know, who knows what can happen with that. Anthony Davis said he would listen to anybody. Are we sure that it's only Boston and the Lakers? What if somebody? No, the Knicks would be in there. And he's not going to all 20, like he's not open to all 29 teams.

Is he open to 6, 7? I think it's still Lakers, Knicks, and Celtics aren't, I don't know how open he is to them if Kyrie's not there. So I, look, if Bors, if Kairi leaves and Boston doesn't offer a great package, if the Knicks don't get the number one pick and don't offer, therefore don't offer Zion, then who's giving up a better deal than the Lakers for what likely may be? be a one-year rental. And don't think Rich Paul and company

won't tell teams, look, he's not staying. Because they're already saying they're not going to tell anybody he's definitely staying long term. He's going to be a free agent wherever he goes. Now, if he goes to the Lakers, he'll likely he would stay. But that's the challenge for teams. So I

don't think they're out of it. Look, Kuzma, whatever this lottery pick is, Lonzo. That's not, I mean, that's not bad. You throwing more than that too. For Anthony Davis? Hey.

Look, the Brandon Ingram, first of all, obviously we're prayerful for its health and all that because that's a terrible situation. But it does kill his trade value. Okay, yeah. That does. Chris Bosch came back and played. But it doesn't mean. And then it happened again.

And so no team wants that possibility of recurrence. So we just hope it's not as bad as, as it. it possibly could be. So I'm a believer in connecting the dots. So four months ago, Draymond Dreen had a public spat. Dremont's an average player, had a public spat with a legend and called him out. Legends keep score. Michael did, Kobe did, LeBron does. So if an average player publicly outs me... You think he's only average? This year. Dremont's become an average player. This year he's been down. So an average player talks track. and gets personal with KD.

About three weeks later, you just start hearing all these KD rumors. KD's interested here. KD's interested. My belief is it's a power play that Kevin Durant is letting it known I'm not totally happy here. Then a video surfaces this weekend of Steve Kerr,

and I'm not a lip reader, but it wasn't hard to figure out what he was saying. He said, I'm so blanking sick of Dremon. I think Dremon's the odd man out. Stars, connect with stars, relate to stars, and support stars. You know, we were talking about the old entourage thing. You know, there's after a while an entourage, you know, Turtle was still a big deal. And then there was that, who was the guy that became kind of the, the odd man out? He was drama. Johnny drama became kind of like, you know, Dramon's becoming Johnny drama where

I think Kerr's tired of him. I know KD's tired of him. And frankly, he's an average place. player. Look, of the four stars, and not including DeMarcus, right, he's certainly the most expendable. And if KD goes to the front office, or his agent does, and says, look, he'll stay if you get rid of Draymond. Oh, there's no doubt you choose KD over Draymond. That said, I'm not necessarily looking to get rid of Draymond. Like if KD doesn't say that and he's leaving regardless or staying regardless,

I'm not looking to get rid of Draymond. I understand his value. Now look, his body may be breaking down a little bit. Obviously, he's got a, his temperament is what it is. But Draymond is important to that team defensively, and he's not what he used to be. That's part of their problems defensively is he's a little bit on the decline. His shooting has been down. It's been terrible from three-point range.

Terrible. And that's why Steph hasn't played as well lately because teams are just sagging off of Draymond giving him the three and you can focus on the other shooters. But it's not to a point where I don't think Draymond can kind of get back or some of that and shoot the ball better in the future. If KD leaves, then I'm not trying to get rid of Draymond. You know. But if he doesn't.

If he doesn't leave, if he's, again, if KD makes it a point, then I'm choosing KD any day of the week. I can find somebody who can defend, maybe not as good as Draymond, but who can be a good defensive player. Now, it's going to be tough to replace his playmaking and his passing and running offense, but Steph is a great passer. KD. can pass the ball. I could do it. So I'm with you. It seems to me these rumors of KD started about two weeks after that public outing. Well, but remember, there was a lot of talk even before the season that this could be his last year there. There was talk about him maybe wanting to go to New York. Here's what I hope happens.

If a double A shortstop walked up to Arod in his prime and talked trash, legend. Now he's just a double A shortstop. He's probably going to be, he might be a Hall of Famer. Now let me tell you what I hope, what needs to happen this summer. The best case scenarios this summer for the NBA. Kyrie and KD go to New York. New York gets the first pick and keep Zion.

Okay. Okay, then it's fascinating. AD goes to the Lakers, okay, Anthony Davis. Clay stays in Golden State. Kauai either stays in Toronto or goes to the Clippers. My point is, can you imagine now all of a sudden you probably got seven teams on the same level. Philadelphia, Milwaukee, New York, then Boston and Indiana still, Toronto still in the east. I don't disagree.

I would be awesome for the league. But I don't think it's going to happen, but I do think it's a great. You don't think Katie's going to New York now? I've said up before. I'll believe it when I see it. I've been told that I'm not saying Kyrie and KD aren't going to New York because they very well may. But I have been told that they are looking closely at the media hike.

Obviously, they're sensitive. They got rabbit ears. And they're looking at the media attention that you get when you play in New York. Just taking it into consideration. By the way, the ping pong lottery, which is a lot of times, it's always good TV. I think it's fascinating that you pick literally. It's one of my favorite.

four minutes in American sports. It's the shortest great sports TV in America, the ping pong lottery, and you find it where everybody drafts, and you have a bunch of executive sweating and laughing. This is the best ping pong lottery since Patrick Ewing. It's like 25 years.

Better than LeBron James? And that was a great draft. Second best. In my lifetime, there have been three ping pong lotteries. Ewing, LeBron, and this. You're literally, if Zion Williamson goes to New York, It is the lead story in the world.

It is a massive story. And I think if he went there with K.D. and Kyrie. Oh, then you got a real team. Then you have a real team. Because I wouldn't trade him for AD. I'm not saying that'd be a terrible. No, I wouldn't either. Because that third guy is going to need to be able to thrive without the ball in his hands.

By the way, and that's what Zion does. And that's what Zion does. So even if he's not as good as AD and I think he has a chance to, he'll sell more tickets. Oh, yeah, no question. Especially early on. Oh, I mean, he's... And with all the attention, KD and Kai Redraw,

he'd be running the floor, alley-oops, I mean, back doors. Yeah, it'd be nice. That'd be great for the league. Good seeing you. You're trading LeBron, I heard. I'm not trading it. I would take calls.

Hey, listen, I said two years ago on this show, the Jimmy Garoppolo Tom Brady thing, I'm like, listen, I'm taking calls on it. If somebody came to me and said two, first for Tom Brady and I got Garoppolo. I'm taking calls. Are they winning the Super Bowl if Garapolo was a quarterback this year? Nobody knows.

I take calls all the time. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So, speaking of trading LeBron, Colin and Jeff Van Gundy, I think it's a possibility. Yes.

He's ready, Jeff Van Gundy is ready to cut the LeBron. And Lakers experiment short during their loss to the Celtics on Saturday. Van Gundy suggested the Lakers should be considering trading LeBron in order to create cap space. Sickleason. They have to rebuild this roster, right? And to me, it could be a trade for an Anthony Davis, or I think they need to explore trading LeBron for getting as much as they can. What are you doing?

Seriously. No, seriously, what are you doing? No, you've got to get on the right timeline. I'm going to say, if I could trade him for the Clippers into cab space, which would give me a better chance to get Durant or Kauai Leonard, would I not do that? Okay, LeBron James is not getting traded. Okay. You've got to put everything on the table.

No, you can. I'm going to need everyone to calm down. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but we didn't think George Foreman was going to be heavyweight champ when the old fat George Foreman came back to box. You got everything. Sports is improbable and impossible, and that's why we love sports. I think you have to take a call. But if somebody came to me and said back-to-back first round picks, an all-star guard, and a promising young player, I'd take a call.

Can we all kind of acknowledge LeBron was really good this year? But he wasn't the best player in the league. He wasn't the top two or three players in the league. He was like eight straight players. Colin, this is not happening. They're not trading LeBron Jones. All right, fine. Pooh-pooh my great idea.

It's not going to happen. Of all the things that are not happening, this is not going to happen. And I hear you. Crazy things have happened. But LeBron James getting traded is not going to happen, I think. So Kyrie has toned down his use of social media to try and void the constant criticism. Maybe he was listening to you, Colin. Not so much of trading LeBron idea, but the cutting back on the social media thing,

he also reiterated that he is about the team and won't allow negativity to affect his approach. I don't try to read any more of that. I'm disneyed completely from that social media hub. said before, which has helped me, but at the same time, it's what makes me great as well. It's really just coming to work every single day and doing my job at a very high level and putting on the show for people. I'm an entertainer out there, but I'm a winner first and foremost. Part of growing in this business and understanding how to find a balance between the work

environment and your personal life. It's very level-headed of Kyrie. Well, I think everybody could benefit from social media attachment. I mean, I told you. Yeah, I totally agree. is my New Year's resolution. I'm down to like an hour 40 a day. I'm smoking.

And an hour of that's just prep. Well, an hour 40 of just phone time? Phone time. Okay, so that's pretty good. Hour 40 a day of phone time. I find it to be a big relief when I can just put my phone down and not chuck it at all. Well, next weekend I'm going skiing. I will not pick my phone up for, you know, two days.

I mean, you have to. It gets to a point where it's just ridiculous. You feel drained. But we talked a lot about Kyrie and talking about Adam Silver saying, that a lot of the players are unhappy and you know, you discuss that if you're a young guy in the league who's dealing with a ton of criticism, just back

away from social media a little bit. I don't think that you have to just detach from your phone and not communicate with anybody, but checking your mentions and getting in the comments and then like YouTube comments, it just never ends. It's endless, the amount of criticism that you're getting on top of just the coverage from the media that you get.

So I do think especially, I mean, LeBron would always do this, would go into zero dark 30 in the in the playoffs and just get off of social media. I don't feel like everyone should do that because it just... daunting. Yeah, it's overwhelming at times. Finally, in a league where stars rarely win contract disputes and rarely choose their teams,

Antonio Brown did both and other players are noticing. Shortly after Brown got his wish of a trade out of Pittsburgh and a new contract, Chiefs offensive lineman Jeff Allen tweeted, A.B. just disrupted a system that's designed for us to contractually lose in. If you hate it, then hate with it. the other side does every day. This is also partially why teams are

afraid of what happened with the Antonio Brown contract. I fully support it. I think both of us are on the same page. As far as players making money in general, I don't get paid less money if a player makes more money. It is irrelevant to me how much someone makes. I like players to win.

Yes. I'm always rooting for people to make more money. It doesn't matter. It doesn't affect me in any way. Now, if you're a team guy and you're thinking that your team needs to not pay one player any particular amount because you need other pieces or something that's understandable. But I've always said the situation with the Raiders made the most sense to me for Antonio Brown. One, because I think that their car needs a deep threat and a big playmaker. Two, because I think John Gruden is a coach that has shown he can deal with big personalities

and manage them and he's a big personality himself. And three, they're moving to Las Vegas, which is a city that needs a star. We've seen what happens when NFL teams relocate. Having a star like Antonio Brown, who, no matter what you say, Antonio Brown is a superstar. Oh, no, he sells tickets. He does. He's box office, and you can't just manufacture that.

So having someone like him on the team when you move to Las Vegas and do that big launch is going to be crucial. So there's a lot of elements to it that I think make this a perfect fit. People are paying attention. Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The herd line. You know, it is interesting and, you know, it's funny about this whole Steelers thing is that, you know, obviously we're all paying attention to the Antonio Brown thing. But what's really happening with the Steelers is that when you used to say the Steelers, I've been watching the NFL since the 70s, the three words that I always thought of were consistent, clutch, and championships. That was the Steelers. The three words now to describe them are loose, loud, and underachieving. This is not on Antonio Brown. Big Ben, passive aggressive, Levian Bell, Bermuda Triangle disappeared. Antonio Brown, muddied it up to get out.

This has become the most underachieving NFL franchise. They've become the Washington Nationals of baseball, the Toronto Raptors of the NBA, where you look at the talent and you're like, you can't get out of the first round? What's wrong? This is not Antonio Brown. I mean, good God.

Their coordinator was. a circus a year ago. Mike Tomlin, this is way too loose. He has enabled all these players. The first time Big Ben would have gone passive-aggressive about six years ago, I'd have called him into my office and said, hey, get out of

the papers. You don't do that crap. Brady doesn't do it. Breeze doesn't do it. Russell Wilson doesn't do it. That's why I've said the Steelers remind me of the Seahawks. They empowered players and then woke up one morning and went, we got to get some of these guys out of here. This is not about Antonio Brown. This is about a culture. Folks, in the last eight years, they have three playoff wins.

And they have Hall of Fame level pro bowl players everywhere. They are a circus. So Antonio Brown did not create this dysfunction. He's a symptom of it. It's what people say about Trump. He didn't create the circus. We've got a divided country. He's a symptom of it.

He's not making it better. But you can blame Antonio Brown for all this. this stuff. Big Ben has been taking shot to this coaching staff for about six years. Lavian Bell disappeared. And don't tell me that New England's in a division where, you know, New England, they're in a bad division. Pittsburgh should own this division. Disfunctional Cincinnati, dysfunctional Cleveland and Joe Flacco. That's your barriers? That's it? Give me a break. You should be dominating this division. Cleveland's been the worst team in the league for 20 years. Cincinnati's been bottom five, and Baltimore's hit and miss.

Flacco's not nearly the quarterback he was for that one great MVP Super Bowl year. So this is really, it goes much deeper than Antonio Brown. He's just a symptom of their problems. A lot of this is on Ben. I think more of it's on Tomlin. It's just a mess. They have become the underachieving NFL franchise. They're the Washington Nationals.

You look at all the talent, you're like, how? They got Bryce Harper? and they got Max Scherzer and they got great relievers and they got well how come they can't it's at some point there's a problem in a building it's not the water in Washington DC or Pittsburgh there's something wrong in the building to have this much talent and not be able to beat Lamar Jackson down the stretch think of how they lost the division a rookie quarterback who wasn't designated to play this year took the reins in Baltimore down the road and captured the division What?

Pittsburgh is right now a circus. 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. By the way, we're going to have the greatest story ever told in five minutes on this show by Brian Scalibini. Don't give it away. What a tease.

That's unbelievable. So we're going to get to the NBA stuff. Then you're going to tell the story. All right. Okay. So yesterday, Jeff Van Gundy, you got to take a phone call trading LeBron. Everybody laughed.

Mark Jackson said you're nuts. Would you take a phone call if you're the Lakers? 100%. I mean, what is your roster right now moving forward? I do like the young guys in their team, but what Jeff was saying is your timeline has to match up. You can't have a guy, even if the Lakers get Zion Williamson, and he's 19 or 20 years old, and LeBron is 35.

Your timeline has to match up. if you want to win championships. And it seems to me, the more you talk to Laker fans, the more you start seeing Lakers out of the playoffs, they're not just happy LeBron's here. They want to win. I'm not sure that you can win with a timeline that looks like that. I think if they get the number one pick,

I'm not saying they are. Obviously, they have a long shot to get that. But if they did, they'd be looking hard to trade that for Anthony Davis. By the way, I thought the story of the weekend that got no publicity was the story that Brandon Ingram has a disorder. It is a serious medical condition with blood clotting like Chris Bosch. I think that takes him off the trade market. Therefore, they don't have the pieces to get Anthony Davis.

This didn't even make headlines. And I thought, time out. It's a huge story. Yeah, it's huge because I don't think that New Orleans could even make that move now, where you would think Brandon Ingram would be in that trade no matter what. That's the number one asset you'd have. And you were trying to tank to get a better pick so you could send your pick over with a Brandon Ingram. And Kyle Coosman and Lanzo.

Sure. But now all of a sudden, without having Ingram, I don't know if that exists unless they hit the home run of all home runs and get the number one pick. Yeah, I thought it was a massive story. By the way, you, this whole year's absolutely, and I know people get a number one. us get tired of us talking about it. It's been an absolute disaster. When you're doing your NBA stuff, are people kind of snickering at LeBron

now? It's a disaster. Finally, finally, he hit a wall. But I think, I don't know if you talked about this last week or today, but I was watching the show earlier. I think it's strictly him going to the west. Like all this drama, it's a disaster

in L.A. I think it all has to do with just, if it was the top 16 teams, Silver has talked about just making it, all right, we're going to take the top 16. We're not going to have the Eastern Conference or Western Conference. Like, if you're LeBron and you're, if it was top 16 and you're the 14th seed in the playoffs, and you're looking ahead, you're like, I like my odds with that. And I think because they're out of the playoffs, it's a big deal.

He did the same thing in Cleveland. He didn't play any defense in Cleveland last year, but he could flip the switch when he gets there and you're not battling these teams in the Western Conference. and now you make it, and then you go to the finals because of it. But the West, and I said this at the beginning of the year, the West is so much harder than the Eastern Conference. First, the players are better, and two, the teams are better. And if you're holding guys accountable, because that seems-

And the coaches are often better. Well, I don't know about all that. Brad Stevens is great. Yeah, yeah, but there's a lot of good coaches around the league. I just think the talent, the talent is better. Oh, there's no question. And especially with LeBron leaving, if just if you look at, if they made the playoffs,

and they were a low seat. No one would think they have a problem. But now it's like doomsday for the Lakers right now because they're out of the playoffs because those teams are better than them. I mean, those teams play hard. The Clippers play hard every night. They play every possession.

And there's teams that are like, in teams like Portland, they have bodies, multiple bodies to throw out LeBron when he gets to the rim. So it's a big problem because the West is so heavily weighted versus the east. By the way, Celtics playing well. Gordon Hayward now shooting seven. 70% last three games.

You're a Celtic broadcaster. Feels good, right? I still think they have a long ways to go because I'm only looking at it like, you have to beat Milwaukee on the road, and you have to beat Toronto on the road. Now you have to go through both of them. So to me, I'm happy that they won those games.

I thought the Warriors had a do not compete clause. I thought the Sacramento Kings played hard, and then the Lakers, it looked like a preseason game. Tonight, if they win this game tonight against the hard playing clippers, that I would say they're back on track. But I'm only using it. Tonight is to me the benchmark.

All right, John, let's have sound effects because I do believe in the Celtics. This is, I love stories like this. This is fascinating. You traveled in the NBA and now do as a broadcaster. So you've been traveling in the NBA for 15 years. And I've asked people this off the air many times. But now I want it on the air. I ask people before we go on the air,

and I'm going to write a book about this someday, did you ever or have you ever? Earl would know this too. Have you ever had a terrible NBA flight? And I said that to you and you said, oh, oh God, we almost died one night. So John, if we could have a music to heighten the moment. Let's have music. Tell people about the flight.

All right. So we're in Houston and Mark Cuban was kind enough to let us borrow his plane. So we're thinking, oh, this is great. We're on this Dallas Maverick plane. And there's thunderstorms going. on between, you know, typical Texas, and it's between Houston and Dallas. Okay, so you're on the Celtic team with Doc Rivers, Kevin Darnett. Yeah, the team.

It's a really good championship level team. High level. You just played in Houston. And Mark Cuban said, hey, you can use my plane. Sure. And so we had a choice. We can go around the storm. It'll take two and a half hours. We can fly out of the way.

Or we can go right through it, 20 minutes. So Doc Rivers says, all right, man, 20 minutes. We're going right through it. We asked the pilot, how's it going to go? He's like, I wouldn't need anything, and you better stay buckled up. And I think the plane got hit by lightning five times. And what it sounded like, if Thor hit the plane with his hammer, the whole plane would shake, boom. I mean, I was fully expecting to go out at the end of the flight, look at the plane and see a bunch of dents.

But everything worked out. Smooth landing. But that flight, everyone on the plane thought they were going to die. By the way, you said there was something about a card game. Oh, yeah. NBA players never stopped playing cards for any turbulence for anything. I mean, the flight attendant is a pilot. This game, everyone went to their seat,

buckled up, and you can hear a pin drop on that plane. I think everyone was just like getting right with their maker before we were about to go. You know, I got some things to repent for. I had, by the way, Mike Breen's a friend of mine, does the NBA. I asked him the same question years ago, and he said, oh, we flew into Cleveland one night, and the plane started diving. Yeah. He said it was one of those Rosary Beed moments, and then it straightened out, and it was all good. By the way, a minute left, back to the Celtics.

It is interesting. Kyrie Irving, Terry Rozier came out this week, and he said, you know, listen, Kyrie's our leader. He's been in a great mood. He's feeling good. We're harder to beat. It's contagious. It rubs off on everybody. It is remarkable in the NBA.

If the star's happy, the room's happy. So I think that a guy like Rozier should look at it. Like, if Kyrie is in one of those moods, this is your chance to shine. It's your chance to make the difference between making $10 million a year and $17 million a year next year. So I just, I think the whole idea of like you've got to pick your brother up. I do think nowadays, and it's funny how in the last four weeks, everyone has blamed social media for every problem in the NBA. But I think nowadays, nowadays, When things are down, guys can't just fabricate their own energy,

which I think the only reason why I even made it in the NBA was four times like that when a guy didn't have energy or he had an injury. I would have to raise my level for that one night. And that kind of kept me around. Yeah, good seeing you, bud. All right. Brian Scalibrini, we do appreciate that near-death story. Good job with the sound effects.

Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Doc Scalabrini, our three next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hour three, we're live in L.A. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening live. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, Joy Taylor. By the way, cold and flu season, try Vixinex nasal spray. A couple of squirts up there at 12 hours. Congestion strikes, Vix Sinex, Nasal Spray. pray. All sorts of stuff going on. I, Jay Glazer was on earlier, Joey. And Jay Glazer believes

Odell Beckham Jr. will be moved. My gut feeling is on this Odell Beckham thing. I'm just, I'm reading things online right now from people I trust. The New York Giants are taking calls on Odell Beckham. I talked to Odell Beckham for 20 minutes, two weeks ago. He's not anti-giants, he would not say no to a new environment. I think that's fair for me to say. He's not looking to move, but he would embrace a move. Jay Glazer came on earlier and said, Odell Beckham, Jr., divorce seems very real. Just keep your eye on that, because I think it's happening. By the way, the herd is also on Channel 83 Series XM, so check it out. 15 minutes, Dante Jones joins us. Talk some NBA. Well, so, and,

Antonio Brown, we thought he was going to get traded last week, but he wasn't. Then he ended up getting traded to the Raiders over the weekend, and everyone sees it as a win. But I'm not so sure. First of all, this entire NFL is a salary cap. This is not baseball. It's a salary cap. So everything comes down to value. The current dynasty in the NFL is the Patriots.

They get value out of everybody, including their greatest of all-time quarterback Tom Brady. He's about the 18th highest paid, $12. 12th highest paid quarterback in the NFL somewhere in the middle of the league. So even with their star player, they get value. There is no chance for the Raiders to get value with this contract. I'm not saying it's a disaster, but this is like buying a Bentley. You may say it's worth every penny, but there's no value with it. You're not getting a deal on a Bentley.

This contract is a massive deal for a perimeter player. This deal only works for the Raiders because they gave up draft picks and they're a rebuilding team. rebuilding teams don't give up draft picks. This only works for the Raiders. If Antonio Brown, for what they paid him, is great for three straight years, elevates not only himself but Derek Carr on the offense, stays healthy and happy and is never disgruntled. A lot of big ifs.

By the way, he's leaving a locker room that's averaged 10.5 wins since he's been there, and he's entering a locker room that's average six and a half wins since he entered the league. You think he's going to be happy? You don't ever think he'll be frustrated? Let me ask any of you listening or watching today. You ever worked at a good company? Then you make a little more money and go to a bad company. Gets frustrating, doesn't it?

People around you aren't as better. Bosses aren't as smart. Co-workers aren't as talented. This is what I don't understand. Is that you had Amari Cooper and now you have Antonio Brown. Let's equate them to sports cars. Flashy fun, not as good in the winter. So Amari Cooper had less miles on him, was cheaper, and had no previous injuries with the transmission, with the engine.

Antonio Brown is older, had more miles on the car, way more expensive, and got into a crash recently. Why wouldn't I just keep the cheaper, younger sports car? I mean, there's like a salary cap in the NFL. There's a speed limit, 65 miles an hour. If Antonio Brown can get to 65 faster than Amari Cooper can get to 65, congrats. But they both get open and they're both fast and they're both flashy and they both get first downs. This feels like the Raiders are just making stuff up to me. This was not a long-term plan.

This feels like they're trying to sell tickets. This is not some well-thought-out plan. Antonio Brown wasn't on the market three months ago. They got rid of Khalil Mack. They got rid of Amari Cooper. They looked like they were adopting the New England Patriot style of football. Pay your quarterback, although don't pay them top five salary, get rid of stars, accumulate draft picks, and have a really solid roster.

And then all of a sudden this weekend, maybe the ticket sales aren't going well in Vegas, maybe John Gruden's trying to win the locker room. Let's pay for a 31-year-old wide receiver who's got a lot of miles, who's got a lot of ego, and doesn't really fit the plan we kept selling to our locker room. a year ago. I'm happy for Antonio Brown. I'm happy for all athletes who make money. This is not an anti-Antonio Brown thing. But this only works for the Raiders if for all three years he's just unbelievable. And there's no complaints. And he elevates Derek Carr. And he stays healthy. And good luck. So, you know, you can say what you want about the Pittsburgh Steelers. They paid nothing

for Antonio Brown for three to four years. They got him in the sixth round. And then when they had to pay him, they still didn't pay him great. Antonio Brown was underpaid his entire time in Pittsburgh. Then they got rid of him and got two picks. Now for this year, a little bit of a, you know, capital gains tax, if you will, on that stock.

They got to pay a big chunk of his salary for a year. But, you know, this morning, everybody's poo-poo and the Pittsburgh Steelers. And my takeaway is, folks, the dream of every general manager in this league is to find a six-round player who becomes a Hall of Famer and then when you actually do have to sign him,

you still don't make him a top 15, top 20 paid wide receiver. All the Steelers did on Antonio Brown is get, get, get, and they didn't give much. I get why he's frustrated. I get why Antonio Brown was frustrated. They've been the best wide receiver in the league arguably for three years and you're not getting paid like it. And they got him on the cheap.

coming out of college and they just got two picks for him. The Steelers have a history of working that was third and fifth round picks into players. I put it up here on the board for our FS1 viewers. Since he came into the league, they've found seven or eight guys after the third round, third round or later that can play. That's not the Steelers issue. And I'm not, I'm happy for Antonio Brown and I think he'll be a nice player for the Raiders. But this deal only works for the Raiders if he is just absolutely happy and healthy.

and hits a home run for three straight years. There's no value in the NFL paying a wide receiver $16, $17 million. The Steelers got a complete deal on Antonio Brown breaking into the league. They still got a good deal with his first big contract, and they let him go, and they get two more picks. I'm on that side. Let me shift to this. One of the great things about sports is that it gives us the impossible and the improbable.

things that would seem ludicrous become reality. If I would have told you a month before it happened, hey, Michael Jordan's the best basketball player in the world. He's going to quit and go play minor league baseball. Hot take, click bait, you're just trying to get big. No, it happened. If I was going to tell you, so listen, Tiger Woods is 32 in his prime, in like a week, he's never going to win another major.

going to have like 30 affairs. Hot take, that is exactly what happened. Sports gives us the impossible. Hey, George Foreman, he's fat now. He's going to come back into boxing and become heavyweight champion of the world. Oh, that happened. That's why we love sports. That's why we love it.

So there's this guard. He's a skinny kid. His dad was a decent NBA player. He plays at Davidson. he's going to come into the NBA and he's going to revolutionize the sport. Yeah, that happens, Steph Curry. That's why I love sports.

So Jeff Van Gundy is on TV this weekend. And he says something, and I love his courage to say something, which I agree with him, but it's going to get pushback and people are going to rip him and they're going to roll their eyes. But MJ played minor league baseball.

The little kid from Davidson revolutionized basketball. George Foreman came out of retirement to become heavyweight champ. And Tiger Woods at 32, unraveled and never won another major. So here's what Jeff Van Gundy said during a Laker broadcast. They have to rebuild this roster, right? And to me, it could be a trade for an Anthony Davis, or I think they need to explore trading LeBron for getting as much as they can.

What are you doing? Seriously, what are you doing? No, you've got to get on the right timeline. I'm going to say, if I could trade him for the Clippers and to come, cap space, which would give me a better chance to get Durant or Kauai Leonard, would I not do that? Okay, LeBron James is not getting traded. Okay. You got to put everything on the table.

No, you can't. Mike, why are we even entertaining this, man? Why? I don't understand how you would, why would you take anything off the table? You'd have to get a home run deal, but if you go to a contender and you can get a home run, you do whatever you have to do to get better. You need a day off. Okay, by the way.

What does CEOs say when the company is struggling and they invite all the vice president in the room, men, women, old young? Here's what CEOs say. Everything's on the table. Give me ideas. Folks, I don't know if you notice this weekend, but Brandon Ingram, talented, not great, but good young player has a medical condition that was discovered. He is no longer a trade piece. Lonzo Ball, by the way, it was announced this weekend. It's out for the rest of the year, meaning he is now missed as many games as he's played in his first two years in the NBA.

They cannot trade for Anthony Davis. It's over. They don't have the assets. The number one asset they have is LeBron. The number two asset they have is Kyle Kuzma shot 31% from threes. Their number three asset is, cross your fingers, maybe a lottery draft pick. You've got to consider everything. It's now about crossing fingers.

Hoping Kyrie Irving befriends LeBron again, not going to happen. Hoping Kevin Durant leaves and decides to go to the lousy Lakers from the great warriors. It's not going to happen. Kauai Leonard. No, put an end to that story this weekend. Again, another source saying he's not going to be a Laker. Clay Thompson, oh, please, pipe dream. You've got to consider everything.

And LeBron is by far and away the one piece that could land you multiple draft picks and multiple players. Hell, there could be a team out there that would just want him for the merchandising, for the brand. But Jeff Van Gundy, tip of the cap for having the guts to say something that will get pushed back on. But Steph Curry, George Foreman, Tiger Woods never winning again,

miracle on ice. That's why we love sports. Crazy stuff. Not only happens, it happens frequently. And by the way, I just saw my phone. I got a little alert.

This is huge. NFL news. Malique Jackson, Jaguars, three years, $30 million with the Philadelphia Eagles. Lord, that's a good get. So now that, lining up next to Fletcher Cox, so now

the Philadelphia Eagles have Malik Jackson, who's a 29-year-old kid, can really play, been a pro bowler, next to Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett. And by the way, reportedly, they're going to draft another defensive lineman in the draft.

the richest defensive line draft in 25 years. God. By the way, it was down to Philadelphia and Green Bay. Once again, Packers came up short. Lord, Philadelphia is going to have the best defensive line in the NFL. Good Lord. Fletcher Cox, Malique Jackson, Brandon Graham, and Derek Barnett. Chris Long's a backup?

Man, you talk about, that is a great pickup. 29-year-old kid, got three years left. you know, Howie Roseman knows what he's doing running the Philadelphia Eagles. That defensive line is a nightmare. You don't want anything to do. People last year freaked out over

Indomac and Sue and Aaron Donald. That defensive line in L.A. doesn't even compare to the Eagles defensive line. Wow. And they're going to draft another one. Man, it's hard not to like Philadelphia. If you got four teams next year you like, and everybody likes Kansas City, and I don't disagree,

and I think New England will be good and I don't disagree. You've got to put Philadelphia right up next to him. Man, that is an incredible defensive line. It's like pro bowlers everywhere. Fletcher Cox is one of the best 15 players in the league. Now you can't double him. That's why they got Malik Jackson. Now you can't double him.

Wow. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite. therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month,

I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in 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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,

professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong.

Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything.

Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app. podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee in the... And this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant, this went to a billion-dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Tomorrow, Reggie Bush is on our show. A new college football pregame show here on Fox. Rob Stone, Urban Meyer, Reggie, Matt Leinert and Brady Quinn.

Urban and Reggie are now full-time additions to Fox Sports. We've done very well on this network when we've created pre-game shows with well-known people. The football shows, obviously, in the baseball. shows with A-Rod. So that's going to air Saturdays on Fox going in, hour-long show, going into our biggest game of the day. So, you know, you're a Michigan, Ohio state-level game. So Reggie's on our show tomorrow, asking him some questions about all sorts of stuff. So that's a big deal for us. Yeah, exciting stuff. Big deal. Other announcements coming. I'm not going to get into it. Hey, we just, all we do is throw. We love to do that. We throw haymakers at this company.

We don't jab. You'll just throw stuff out there. We're big. Dangle it. It's a haymaker company. That's your haymaker. I'm not saying I can throw one. With that, we bring on 13 NBA seasons. He won a championship with the 2016 LeBron James Led Cavs. Dante Jones, stopping by our show today. You know, so during the break, you brought up something very interesting. And, you know, people have said DeAngelo Russell left the Lakers.

He got better. Julius Randall left the Lakers. He got better. better. Jordan Clarkson looked distracted in town. It's a very young Laker team and you said L.A. is not great for rebuilding young teams. Why? Because you have to build a team according to your personal market period and what's going on in your market. So I think about like my rookie year, I would have, I would have been I would have been lost in L.A. with all the resources, with all the things to do on and off the court. Like it's a lot of distractions. It's a city built for a veteran presence or

a veteran team, guys who know their role, but also guys who know what it takes for them to be successful on and off the court. You know, it's funny in the NFL, they call them port cities, New Orleans, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, where you have these big ports, generally means better nightlife. You know what I mean? So right, even I posed that to you. Like, if you were 20, if you were 19. I was very mature for my age, but go ahead. But you'd have to have a rookie wise beyond his years, like a Kobe Bryant, a guy who's ultra-focused, who comes from a basketball lineage, who knows what it takes to be successful, and it's just all basketball. And that's his personality. There's nothing wrong with a kid who's

social and likes to have fun. But L.A. gobbles you up. L.A. could gobble you up, regardless of what industry you're in. You know, it's interesting. Jeff Van Gundy said, listen, with Brandon Ingram, the disclosure that Brandon Ingram has a medical condition, which probably takes him off the market for a lot of teams. They're going to be teams that are concerned a little. He's got the Chris Bosch, They'll monitor his health going forward. Like they'll monitor the situation. And if he gets cleared and has a clear bill of health, yeah, they'll be fine with that. That's the issue on the second time, not the first time.

Don't you think, though, the quality of their assets beyond LeBron, that if somebody called and offered a ton for LeBron, wouldn't you have to listen? Not at all. You know why? Why? Because the stigma that comes with you trading LeBron after year one. See, the Clippers are, yeah, they have two max. slots but what they're going to be fighting in off season is what they did to blake you promised him the jersey's going to be hanging in the rafters and look what you did to him so what makes me

different now they may they're going to be a final way to possibly get out of that and still keep the conversation going but it's going to be at the back of people's minds the selfics going forward what what makes me different than isaiah he gave you the best career best best best years of his career MVP can yeah but his hip fell apart yeah but he played for you he played because his loyalty to your organization. He wanted to help you guys. So he was, he ball all the way in, and then you guys moved them. So the Celtics and the clippers among players have a so-so reputation.

They have to deal with a stigma associated with how the organization moved. Then you have to answer that question going forth. You have to answer why would it be a possibility if I don't do what I'm supposed to in year one? And it's like kind of running from the challenge. If the Lakers move LeBron James because of year one was not what we expected, then you don't just try and get better. You don't try to do better as an organization and build the roster route. You just say, just scrap the whole idea.

No, it's a journey. If you fail at something one time, you don't just give up. It's not a dead end street. The guy just had a 30-point triple double in 27 minutes. I don't see too many people doing this against the Celtics who are a very good defensive team and have guys to guard him, a 30-point triple-double. And we're talking about trade him. So yesterday, a piece of video services was Steve Kerr.

And Steve Kerr, who I see as a very tolerant coach. Very patient, man. Seems like him. Very patient. And listen, dynasties have egos and entitlement. That's okay. I mean, they've all had it. These are, so you read his lips, and he said,

I'm so blank and tired of Draymond's blank. and I have this theory that Draymond and KD had a very personal public spat. And it got personal. And when a secondary player gets personal with a legend, legends don't forget it. True. It's one thing if Michael Jordan and Cipin argued, they need each other, they're stars, they respect it.

But Judd Bousler goes up to Michael. It's time, you got to pack your stuff, Jade. Pack yourself. Okay, Draymond calls out KD. who's kind of thin-skinned anyway, a little bit. But three weeks later, the rumors all started. KD was not totally happy in it. And my takeaway is this is a power play and that Dremont is leaving and KD's not.

And when I see Steve Kerr say that, I'm tired of Draymond's blank. That means something happened in that game that's happening over and over and Kerr, highly tolerant and patient. it feels like to me I still struggle with the idea I think Kevin Durant smart I think he knows he plays in a great organization I think he's going to power play Draymond out of town am I nuts he holds the the cards to Draymond's future in Golda state I've always thought that because of that riff that riff was not just a surface level little name call and you get past it it seemed way deeper than what it could what we

were perceiving in the media. It felt personal. Right. It felt very, very personal. And it was public. It wasn't in a locker room. He had to answer... In front of millions of people.

And Kevin Durant, by the way, had to answer multiple questions about it. Right. And it kept lingering. And it kept like... And you have to see this man every day. And he said, like, sometimes in the argument with your wife, like, you got to be like, listen, just don't say something we can't pull back. Like, just let's let our emotions die down a little bit.

And just don't say something that I'll remember forever. We have to watch our words sometimes. And that, and you could... You can't dial someone. that stuff back, unfortunately. So he holds his future in his hands, basically. Because if KD's like, listen, I don't want to come back. If Dremont's here, then what do you do?

And Dremont's, I mean, he's played great defense for years. You don't look like the same. But if Katie leaves, then you're stuck with him. No, you're not stuck with him. Dremont has all the leverage and the negotiation power because you kind of need me. You need me on. So you need Dremont before all the stuff that Steve Kerr doesn't, like right now. His stuff.

That bravado that Draymond brings to the team is toughness. It's something that they need in times of turmoil. When things get bad, Draymond is there and he's there to pick up the pieces, but it can rub you the wrong way sometimes. And that's Steve and

Draymond's relationship. That's just what they go through at times. They love each other and then they hate each other and they're back. I don't take that for too much being that they're done with each other, no by no means. What could I say to you as a player So you're the star and I'm a solid role player. What could I say to you and you'd be okay with?

Dante, you're mailing it in defensively. Depends on the individual. One reason I hold Bron in such high esteem, right? Because he really takes that challenge. And I have not seen that over my tenure in an NBA when a high-level player, when you're at the end of the bench, when you're a role player, when you're a guy that doesn't have as much effect on the game as he does,

when you criticize and try to hold them accountable, they kind of get sensitive and in their feelings, right? But that turns him the other way. He's the first to be like, you know what? You're right. I got it. Things can snowball if you don't say it to him or if he doesn't have anybody on his bench to say it to him

or has that type of personality to be able to hold him accountable. But if you do hold him accountable as his teammate, as his peer, he will look himself in the mirror and fix it. He won't make excuses. He'll fix it. And some people, most people won't when they get that high on the totem pole. They'll just make excuses or

you don't understand or who you're talking to or tune you out or get rid of you or find a way to make it him or me. Yeah. By the way, Kyrie's a different dude. He gets in his feeling. Celtics playing well. Gordon Hayward. Do you buy Boston's quick

turnaround here in the last week? I buy it. So do I. I buy it because of his personality. His personality, he's a great guy, mind you. Kyrie. Yeah.

But when he's down, he's down and when he's up, he's up. And your goal is to keep him up as long as possible. And they seem like they're genuinely up. They seem like they're cheering for each other. Like if you watch the bench,

they figured it out a little bit. And it doesn't take much. Shack made a great point on, on T&T saying that like sometimes it needs to blow up and needs to get the worst as possible. And then it can restart again. And relationships can grow and you can find a love for each other. And once it clicks, then you've got to watch out for that team.

I think they're in a position right now for if they keep that energy going on amongst themselves. It's nothing Brad Stevens can do. It's all them. It's all their relationship. It's all stepping outside of themselves and trying to be better for each other as teammates, first and foremost. Because if you do that and you have people cheering for you, your talent can speak and grow and you can overachieve. Good senior, Dante Jones. 13 NBA seasons.

Thanks for coming on, bud. Appreciate you having me. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So, LeBron's had an interesting first season with the Lakers. Throughout the season.

He's put some blame on some of his teammates, some of them being the younger teammates. And now a Western Conference executive is calling LeBron out for this. He said, all of a sudden, I'm seeing a different LeBron. He's throwing people under the bus, deferring and putting blame on somebody else, instead of being like an old-school guy and saying, I've got to do a better job.

I've got to make my teammates better. Great players and great leaders. That's what they do. That's what Kobe would have done. That's what Michael Jordan would have done. I think that's a little much. I think Kobe called out Smush Parker legendarily. Well, yeah.

And Michael Jordan had some pretty legendary interactions with teammates as well. I think that's a little bit of romanticizing the past as far as the relationships and calling out teammates goes with Michael Jordan and Kobe, but I do think it's fair to be critical of LeBron this year when it comes to embracing a team. There's a lot of factors that went into why the Lakers are the way that they are the state that they're in at this point in the season. But LeBron didn't do the best job of wrapping his arms around the youth team. I mean, really, when you look back on it, even looking at that fight that they had early in the season with the Rockets, and his first move is to go and grab Chris Paul and not jump in with his teammates. No, LeBron's not really a fighter, but that's just not the look that you want at the beginning of the season.

And that's kind of just the theme that's carried out. Listen, it's the first year he's taken a major step backwards in 15. I mean, it's Michael Jordan early in his career broke a leg, then he retired after three titles, then he came back, then he retired again. You know, Kobe's had four or five different stages with the Lakers. This is kind of LeBron's first year of like, oh, wow, he stepped into a pothole and turn an ankle. And we're not quite sure what to do with it. But I can assure you this next year will be better than this year. I'm almost sure of it.

Because this year, everything's gone wrong. Health, acquisitions. Everything has gone wrong. Optically, disaster. But let's not trade him. Maybe just pump the brakes on that. All right. So the Antonio Brown saga is officially over, at least in Pittsburgh.

He will officially be an Oakland Raider come Wednesday, and the Steelers are getting a third and a fifth round pick for him. He also gets the new contract he wanted with the first. Raiders paying him $54.1 million over the next three years with $30 million guaranteed, which makes him the highest paid wide receiver in the league. And according to Adam Shepter, Antonio Brown's new contract, big raise, more guaranteed money, no years added to it, has NFL teams distraught. And they're paying a ton for a wide receiver.

Well, and also, you know, there's a thing going around the NFL, but to get out of a deal, you got to muddy it up. That's what Albert Breer said this weekend. Will this? Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack, Antonio. Yeah, will it, listen, the NFL's never made more money. You've got to pay some of these players. The Raiders are a bad team needing a splash.

I don't see this as new. I see this as, listen, Philadelphia two years ago went into free agency and trades and the Rams did and the Raiders. This is kind of the new NFL. You got to pay for stars. You got to pay for stars. And stars more and more want guaranteed money because we know these contracts in the NFL are very, very flexible. They're very team friendly. they're very weirdly set up.

Guys won't guaranteed money. Anything can happen in the league at any moment. I mean, look at Alex Smith's situation. You may never play again. It's not unfair for him to want that new contract. And sometimes you have to force your way out, which is what he did. And he's been very unapologetic about it.

I ever want him a supporter of it because whatever you think of Antonio Brown and his antics on the sideline, which I think are way overblown. And his, you know, whatever goes on with him off the field. he is the top receiver in the NFL. It's him, Odell, Julio Jones, based off of your personal feelings, really. Like, they are the top receivers in the NFL.

He deserve to be paid that. He deserves guaranteed money. And the Raiders need him. Like, above all else, he is a position that they needed. Derrick-car needs a number one receiver. They traded Amari Cooper. And they're moving to Las Vegas. They need a star on their team.

So all of this aligned and made perfect sense. So teams being distraught about it, that's, you have to pay people. That's how this works. and you have to pay your stars. It's just the way the world is. And there's going to be more and more of this as we go on. So we should probably get used to it. Sticking with the Raiders, they have gotten Antonio Brown.

They could also land Levyon Bell. According to Ian Rappaport, the Raiders are a sleeper team in the Bell sweepstakes and are willing to keep spending. We were talking about this last week. The Levy on Bell conversation kind of just evaporated. After the Trent Brown signing earlier today. If they have as much money as they did before that, he wants obviously money is a moment.

important thing to Levy on Bell at this point. I'm holding out a year. The purpose of it was to get money. I think they're out of this. I am interested that the New York Jets have got to at some point. This is not a great running back draft. It's a very good receiver draft. I love him for the Jets. Yeah, I would like to see him before I sign him. Is he 260 or 230? I'd like to see him. I mean, yes. He's also not going to be in football shape, no matter what shape he's in because he hasn't played for a year. Remember that term mail order bride?

Remember you've heard that term before? Yeah. There is a mail order bride feeling to him. It's like, I'd like more than a picture. Well, I mean, whoever's going to sign him is going to do their research on him because they're going to have to pay him an incredible amount of money or he's not going to go there. That's the whole point of him holding out. I don't know if he's going to get the money that he wanted based off of the way that teams are moving now and the draft coming up.

But Levin Bell is a great running back again, top running back in the league. He's definitely going to be on his squad. year and he's going to be productive. Like he's had a year off. So all those miles, his body is healed. Whether he's put on weight or not, that can fluctuate during training camp. So, I mean, I think he'd be a great addition for the Jets and Sam Darnold. He's going to be somewhere pretty quick.

That's for sure. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. It is funny with the Raiders. Gruden did have sort of a diva wide receiver in Tampa. Kishon Johnson.

They famously clashed. It unraveled the buccaneers and they sort of never recovered. So he's got Antonio Brown now, who I think is more talented than Kishon, more highly compensated. We'll see how it works. But all sorts of stuff happening today. The Philadelphia Eagles signed a very, very strong interior defensive lineman Malik Jackson to play next to Fletcher Cox. That's a great deal for Philadelphia. He's a pro bowler.

He's a motivated player now on the best defensive line in football. Brandon Graham re-signed. that's why they got rid of Michael Bennett. Philadelphia's defensive front is, I mean, it is fantastic after today's signing. And once again, the team that lost out to Malik Jackson, Philadelphia got him, the Green Bay Packers came up short. Aaron Rogers has to be sitting here watching, thinking we could have given up a third and a fifth rounder and I could have gotten Antonio Brown. At some point with Aaron Rogers, you got me a 35-year-old guy who's been a coordinator one year. that's my coach. At some point, he's got to be frustrated. Coming up,

there's an old term, it was called the Fat Elvis stage, where Elvis Presley, the biggest star in the world, moved to Las Vegas and became crazy, weird, fat Elvis. Some would suggest LeBron James has multiple signs. Could he be becoming the Fat Elvis? We will inspect this theory. And the connections are fascinating. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Men and women across the era upgrading their tattered multi-pec underword of Tommy John. Tommy John.com right now. Code Herd 20% off your first order. Good to have you in. Best for last today. So this morning, a lot of times we sit down, I get in in the morning meeting. And then Joy comes in about a half hour later and she's doing her stuff because she needs her sleep.

I'm a raccoon. I'm up pillaging the garbage all night long. But we have a morning meeting we're both part of. And the staff will pitch ideas. And some of them I'm like, that's nonsense and some I think are good. You've been in this meeting. You can confirm this. Yes.

I come to the meeting every day. Every single day you don't just walk in and do the news. You are in this meeting. So this morning, the staff pitched an idea, and I initially rolled my eyes at the idea and said, guys, that's stupid. But it does have some connectivity. So obviously, Lakers season went really south for LeBron. Restrictions on minutes for LeBron. They're out of the playoffs.

Ball, Ingram out for the year. Kuzma could be right around the corner. And our staff said, you know, a couple of people. people and our staff are real music aficionados. They said, it feels like the Elvis moved to Vegas, the LeBron moved to Los Angeles. And I said, prove it to me. So here's five steps. Number one, the king losing his throne. So Elvis Presley, biggest star in the world, lost his throne to the Beatles, the group of four guys who changed music. And LeBron James, a couple years ago, lost his throne to the Warriors, a group of four guys who changed basketball. I thought that

was pretty good. Sign number two, relocating to the entertainment capital. So as Elvis lost his throne, he wanted to shake things up, moved to Vegas. Many people said it changed him, partied more, less focus on music, ran with celebrities like Dean Martin. LeBron, by the way, moved to Los Angeles in Entertainment Capital. Many people said it is. has changed him, becoming a little more egotistical, much more self-involved. It's not a bad second connecting point. It's close. Third one.

They both pursued a movie career. Elvis originally took his focus when he moved to Vegas off movies, started doing more off music, more and more movies, girls, girls, girls, King Creole, fans didn't love it. LeBron now set the star in Space Jam, too, a bunch of other. TV projects over a dozen. Okay, you're right. They did move to an entertainment capital and took their focus off a little bit their primary.

Sign number four, both have well-known and aggressive management. Colonel Tom Parker virtually controlled LeBron's career. Rich Paul Maverick Carter, two of the most well-known figures in the business of sports. All right. Both aggressive, full of smart guys that make big, bold moods. And finally, Elvis and LeBron acting a little bit like bizarro images of themselves. Elvis Presley had a gun and was shooting things in his home at the end. He became like heavy set, bizarre version of Elvis.

People close to him said something's not all buttoned up. And LeBron trash talking, image. imagery optics, not with his team. Like he's playing, doing things that just are not LeBron off the backboard in Phoenix. So five signs is LeBron becoming the fat Elvis, the Vegas Fat Elvis? Joy, what do you make of this theory? It's a theory. There's some things that align there with how the careers are going.

I think there were some other circumstances. involved in Elvis's Yeah, drugs. Yeah, which are not the case, obviously, in this situation with LeBron. But there's something going on with, I mean, it's Los Angeles. Like, it's a different place.

Do you look at the team that he has here in Los Angeles and you look at the teams that he had in Cleveland and this wasn't the case? I mean, it's a bit strange. LeBron has been able to carry teams and rally teams together and he's had major injuries and controversies. By the way, I thought of this. How about this Michael,

I was thinking about this Michael Jordan thing this morning. You know how when Michael Jordan went to Washington? We understood that it was a business move. He wanted to own the Wizards. Abe Poland eventually didn't work out. But nobody's ever held it against MJ that he went to the Wizards. They were a bad team.

And it's never digging his legacy. But it's funny this morning. I was sitting there driving into work and I'm thinking, let's be honest about, this though. LeBron to the Lakers has a lot more in common to MJ to the Wizards than people think. Just think about this. The difference is Staples has banners and we think the Lakers are great. The previous four years before Michael Jordan went to the Wizards, they won 36% of their games, had no playoff appearances. The Lakers have won 30% of their games with no playoff appearances.

Michael inherited Rip Hamilton, a skinny forward, who immediately started averaging 20 points a game. LeBron inherited Brandon Ingram, a skinny forward, often hurt, who in the last month, before his medical condition was disclosed, averaged over 20 a game. The difference is the Wizards are considered dysfunctional and a losing franchise. The Lakers are considered elite and a winning franchise. guys, but the truth is, LeBron joined a dysfunctional organization with no momentum and the perception of one top forward. And I would say Rip Hamilton's better than Brandon Ingram. And I'm not saying, you know, obviously that Wizards team never competed, but the Eastern Conference that Michael

came back to was far worse than the Western Conference LeBron entered. The difference is the Wizards are considered losers and the Lakers are considered winners, but the truth is they're both dysfunctional. Magic Johnson has a job. He's never had before. Rob Polinka has a job. He's never had before. In a shooting era, they've got no shooters on the roster. I think sometimes we just forget this. Jordan went to the Wizards. We viewed it as impossible to win. Let me ask you this morning. How possible was this roster was it for LeBron to win? I don't think it was that easy. I think there's parallels there that you've got to be. honest, can't deny. Reggie Bush on the show tomorrow. Tonight, Discover Card Key Matchup.

Get your free credit scorecard today, even if you're not a Discover customer. Learn more, Discover.com slash credit scorecard limitations apply. Good to have you in. Speak for yourself. Was off Friday. They are back and ready to go coming up next. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlyce comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves,

their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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. What's up, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the I-heartedly. radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come into you, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the I, Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.