The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 03/08/2019

Episode Date: March 8, 2019

Colin thinks Antonio Brown wants to be treated like an NBA player and that just doesn't work in the NFL.  He thinks the Los Angeles lifestyle corrupted LeBron and that's why he has made so many bad decisions this year.  Plus, The MMQB's Albert Breer gives Colin the latest on where Antonio brown could land and why the Patriots are a perfect landing spot for Josh Rosen when the Cardinals draft Kyler Murray  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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 Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts 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.

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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 harmed. you just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs.

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or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. On a Friday, we're in L.A., we're live. This is the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, we're on Fox Sports Radio. We're on FS1. It is great to have you in today.

The very latest on Antonio Brown, Albert Breer, in 25 minutes. Joy Taylor is joining me. How are you, Joy? I'm doing great. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. We are packed today on a Friday. It is great to be here. It's a very busy March. We expected Antonio Brown to be traded today. Late last night, the Buffalo bills got close, but backed off because Antonio Brown told his agent, I'm not going to Buffalo. It just seemed so sad of your Buffalo. But I wanted to talk about something that is, yesterday I spoke to some radio executives and the week before I spoke to some radio and TV executives. And I always have the same message. Do not run your business through Twitter and social media. It is overwhelmingly nonsense.

It is politically far left than most people in America. And the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle, Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles, oh, they are just great on Twitter and stars and politics and everybody's gassing them up. You do realize Antonio Brown would not exist in New England. He didn't come into the league like this. He was enabled. That's why it's important when you're a parent to set the tone, set a culture in the house.

Antonio Brown was a six-round pick. He was known as the hardest working Pittsburgh Steeler. He does not exist in New England. They don't enable stars. They don't empower the individual. It is team. It is us. Antonio Brown did not enter the league.

league. Outspoken, demanding. I'm not saying it's perfect there, but I don't think Big Ben has been always aided by the culture. I've been saying this for years. Pete Carroll in Seattle and Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh are really good coaches. But they are pro player to a fault, almost an NBA field, be loud, speak out, anonymous sources, talking after games, Facebook life, and both have blown up.

Steelers are trapped now because now nobody's going to give you a first or a second round pick for Antonio Brown. Everybody in the league's going to wait until you drop your demands to about a fifth rounder, and then somebody's going to come in. But nobody's giving you a first or second for that. By the way, we've got nine teams now that have been reported that are out of it. Green Bay was never in it. Some suggested they were. I was hoping they were.

They were not. But now Denver's out. Jets are out. Oakland's still in, we think, kind of. But now Buffalo is out. But I go back to this. The Philadelphia Eagles won a Super Bowl, and they kept saying, remember when they won the Super Bowl?

Yeah, fun! We don't do it like New England! And they blew up. And halfway through the year, players for the Eagles came out and said, you know, we're not buttoned up. Multiple players. This is not the NBA. This is a completely different business model.

players in the NFL just don't matter as much. Outside of about six to eight quarterbacks in this league, no player is worth a point. A point in a game. In the NBA, Antonio Brown is so gifted, people wouldn't care. He'd be worse seven wins. 24 points a game.

Nine assists. I mean, Westbrook's got all sorts of issues. Plenty of people want Westbrook. James Hardin doesn't always play anything. other than Iso ball. A bunch of people would want it. You can be outspoken. When you go into a business, they're not all the same.

You have to understand the business you're going into. And the NBA is about promoting and marketing stars. The basketball culture in America is find the talent and get him paid, get him elevated. We'll work about the maturity and the emotional and physical development later. That's what it is in basketball. Not saying it's right or wrong. That's the American basketball culture. Find him, pay him, develop him emotionally, physically later.

Let's get him, get him locked in, he's ours, let's pay him and let's go. And if you don't do that, then I'll pushback. Baseball and football are different. Find, develop, teach, practice, second contract, we'll pay you. And we can still cut you with very little guaranteed money. So this goes back to something I believe forever. You can keep getting gassed up, never run your business through Twitter, get your players mostly off social media. The NFL's never going to be the NBA.

The NFL is not beholden to one player like LeBron James or one team like the Warriors to get ratings. It's not about the individual. It's about the whole. Antonio Brown has put the Steelers who have enabled their stars in a bad spot. You think it's a coincidence that Lavian Bell and Antonio Brown and Big Ben are three of the most outspoken temperamental guys in the league? That's just a coincidence? They would not be enabled in New England. I want to shift gears to this.

It's a huge discussion point in L.A. And around the country as well, the Lakers season was a disaster. But it's more than that. LeBron James, who was always really good at PR for almost all of his first 15 years in the league this year was completely tone deaf. Optics are terrible, disengaged, doing projects during the season, going to Instagram after personal achievements. And I got into this discussion yesterday with a friend and I said, what happened to LeBron in a year? Did he get dumb? No.

He doesn't play defense. Did he get lazy? No. Did he forget how to play team basketball? No. What happened to LeBron is what happens to a lot of executives and people, high-powered people. He got caught up in the L.A. thing. Kobe Bryant, for people that don't live in Los Angeles, never lived in Los Angeles County.

He helicopters in from Orange County. So does Mike Trout isn't in L.A. County. LeBron James, I know exactly where he lives, lives in the heart of agents, industry insiders, producers, directors, and heavyweights. Lives right around the corner from Beverly Hills. LeBron's a nine-minute drive depending on the time of day to lunch with Leonardo DiCaprio. Kobe Bryant to two-hour drive. Kobe Bryant never, ever, ever allowed himself to be distracted by the LA thing.

Shaq did, and that's why when the Lakers had to make a choice, Shaq and Kobe, they chose Kobe. Shaq was too often distracted. You know, there's more choices than ever in this country. The economy is better than ever. Health care is better than ever. Poverty numbers down. hunger down. But yet depression statistics indicate we've never been sadder.

And that's because choices for a lot of people create anxiety. And they also create distractions. I don't think it's a coincidence that virtually all the New York teams, despite their power and leverage, Mets, Knicks, Nets, Jets, Jets, giants, are poorly run. There's too many options, too much money, too many distractions. actions. And I don't think it's a coincidence that LeBron was completely tone deaf this year. Colin, come on. He's always had TV projects. Yes. And you can gamble in a lot of places. But when you move to Las Vegas, it's different. LeBron got caught up in the L.A. thing.

I've seen guys blow their marriages up, guys end their careers this way. L.A.'s got lots of options. It's one of the reasons Kobe Bryant helicoptered in for games and then helicoptered out. He never got sucked into L.A. I was told, as LeBron moved here, the first week by a high-powered agent, not mine, although mine's good too,

but I was told by an agent that LeBron already had four billionaires lined up who wanted to do business with him. LeBron's a 34-year-old kid from Akron, Ohio. How do you say no to that? Of course you don't say no to that. People get sucked into the L.A. thing. Shack did, and in the end, the Lakers had to make a choice,

and they went with a less distracted player, the kid living down in Orange County, Kobe Bryant. LeBron didn't get dumb. LeBron didn't get lazy. LeBron didn't become a bad teammate. Those go against everything I believe to be true. But he did get sucked in. He's got his house.

right in the middle of agents an eight, nine minute drive to meeting the biggest stars around the corner from the guy that runs, my former company, I know exactly where he lives. It's just too easy to get sucked in and gassed up and distracted. It happens to a lot of people. It even happened to LeBron. He didn't suddenly become a bad teammate. He didn't suddenly get terrible on defense. LeBron looks like this year he's aged eight years.

He looks tired. He doesn't look in great shape. He looks distracted. And he's not the first person to deal with that in Los Angeles. 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. The story today on Kyler Murray, increasingly people think he's going to go number one, Arizona or somebody. on March 13th, about five days from now, he's going to get remeasured. He's going to weigh in again for all the doubters.

I think this is a good decision by him. The story's out yesterday in the day before. He was a bad interview, not great at the whiteboard. Some of that I was told is true. I never thought it was going to affect, listen, if you need a playmaker at quarterback, he's the only one really in the draft, you're going to go get him. I do think he throws a great football, a little tiny for me. There's been some weird Dan Patrick interview stuff I don't love.

But here's the two things to remember about Kyler Murray. First of all, there's going to be a difference of opinion. Talent evaluation is hard. Kobe Bryant went 13th. 12 NBA teams passed. Then the team that drafted him, Charlotte traded him. Kobe Bryant. Kauai Leonard went 15th.

Yannis went 15th. Tom Brady went to the sixth round. Russell Wilson third. Steph Curry 7th. The Minnesota Timberwolves picked two point guards over Steph Curry in the same draft. Talent evaluation's hard. You can argue about it all day. Just think about that. Twelve teams passed on Kobe. And the one that drafted him, traded him. And they were looking for a star. And they traded him to the Lakers. Okay, so that's the first thing.

Talent evaluation, we're going to argue over it. Outside of Andrew Luck, I couldn't tell you the last quarterback that came into the NFL that didn't really have a red flag. They'll have red flags. The second thing is, he's just a really unique player. He's uniquely small, uniquely athletic. He could play baseball or NFL and be near a first round pick in both. He's a very unique NFL prospect. I don't even know if he's a great prospect, but he's unique. And my takeaway is he just fits, you know,

the best football culture in the NFL is New England. They once drafted a rugby player. They consider kickers to be really important. The bottom line is, aren't they the franchise where it's all about fit? They pass up on a lot of guys. They do analytics. What fits? Kyler Murray's a really good fit for Arizona.

He is, and they have the first pick. First of all, it's a division where they feel further from the top than they've ever felt. They could use a jolt. They have a bad offensive line. wouldn't hurt to have some mobility back there to solve that issue. Cliff Kingsbury is the coach. He tried to recruit him in college. There's just a lot of places and a lot of reasons he fits on this one franchise.

And we just got to come to terms with this. Talent evaluation is an argument business to begin with. It's not an exact science. It's not math. There's no right answer. Steph, Kauai, Janus, Brady. Russell Wilson, Montana, Dak, Breeze, these are first round guys. And when you have a player this unique, that's just going to double on the arguments.

So as Peter Schrager said, Arizona makes a lot of sense. I talk to every team just about. And I know two teams for sure that have top 15 picks that spoke with Kyler Murray in their 15-minute interviews with the combine and absolutely love the kid. Came out saying this kid was lights out. He was awesome. They put the film on. He was able to dissect what was going. on in the film and it was tremendous.

This is a kid who's been a leader. He was the best player in high school football. He was the best player in college football and he will be the top draft pick if all of the rumors that we are hearing are true and all the insight that I have is true. I believe Kyle Murray aced his combine experience. The next step is the pro day. I wouldn't acknowledge any of those ridiculous stories. And by the way, here's the other thing about interviews.

I'll just tell you a personal story. So years ago, I worked in Tampa and then I got a job interview in the Pacific northwest at a station. And so the day I was supposed to interview, I flew from Tampa to New Orleans and then New Orleans to Salt Lake and Salt Lake to Portland. By the time I got to the station, I was cast. I interviewed with the news director. I hit it out of the park. Then the general manager went really well. So I knew I had the job. I had to sit around an hour and wait, getting really sleepy in the lobby, waiting for the human resources director. She came in, we interviewed. I was terrible. I knew I had the job. I was exhausted. I didn't really want to deal

with it. And I walked out knowing that's a worst interview I've ever had. But my point is, not all interviews are the same. You're not in the same mood. You don't have the same interest. You can be tired. The questions can be weird. On one day, I had two great interviews and the worst interview I've ever had. I remember at one point saying during the interview, you know, between newscasts sometimes. I like to go out sometimes and drink wine. She did not like that answer. But to be honest with you, I thought it was funny because I was so tired, I was getting loopy, and I wanted a glass of wine because it was almost time to go have dinner. So the interviews to me, yeah, I heard it wasn't all great, but I just don't think it matters. Be sure to catch live

editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. So one of the guys we really depend on is Albert Breyer. lead content strategist at the Monday morning quarterback. And let's go right now to Albert Burr via the Coward Global Satellite Network. So, okay, let's, let's, Pittsburgh today. Joy just had the story. People are looking for the Steelers to move off a first round pick. You know, I still go back to Albert.

He's a six-rounder. You got 74 touchdowns and 11,000 yards. Pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered. If you gave me a second or a third, I'd move off him. What are you hearing what the Steelers are? demanding. Well, if the Steelers had a first-round pick, I think he'd already be gone. That's the sense I get at least, and what the bills were working with the Steelers on over the last few days was just a little bit less than that. I also don't think that the Steelers are going to give them

away. And I think it goes beyond the compensation, Colin. Part of this for the Steelers is about setting precedent. They've always been one of the more player-friendly teams in the league. They've always been willing to accept big personalities in their building. And this is the first time a while, that's really boiled over, both with Levion Bel and with Antonio Brown. And so I think part of this is about setting the right tone going forward for the Steelers, too. And that means not giving him away. If they were going to give him away for, say, a fourth or a fifth round pick, let's just say that hypothetically. What sort of message does that send to the rest of the locker room? Yeah. He's under contract for the next three years. Like, he raises a stink, and then they give him

away, and they let him sort of dictate where he wants to go. I just think for the Steelers, a big piece of this isn't just about getting the right kind of compensation back. It's also about saying the right sort of tone going forward because the way they've set up their organization over the last four or five decades has always been a place where they can take on big personalities where players can be themselves. And part of this, again, is going to be about drawing lines. That's why I think they're being very, very careful about where they go in these talks. By the way, the Raiders name surfaced. And it was interesting. It was interesting. I said, you know, you could have kept a younger Amari Cooper.

He's not as good as Antonio Brown, but he's younger and cheaper. I feel like if the Raiders went out and got him, it would feel like they're just kind of making it up as they go. At this point, there is a New England feel to them where they'll pay their quarterback Derek Carr, but outside of that, they're not paying for a gigantic star. They want draft picks and younger, cheaper labor. So when I look at them and the Gruden rumors with Brown,

I think, okay, if you go get him then, then you're just making it up. as you go. You don't really have a plan because you had a younger, cheaper receiver. Do you buy the Gruden Rumors with A-B? Well, I'll tell you what. I'll take you back to last week. You know, twice last week, I was given a set of three teams that are interested or that were talking with Pittsburgh. And in both cases, I was able to rule two of those teams out. It was four teams across the board. And the one team, in both cases, that I wasn't able to rule out was the Raiders. So, look, I think that they'd be interested in Antonio Brown. I think,

the price tag, as is the case with a lot of other teams, is the issue here. And maybe not just the draft pick compensation, but also the contractual price. And I think that that's something that's worth looking at here because that came into play with Buffalo. The bills were given permission, I'm told, to talk to Agent Drew Rosenhouse, and they balked at the idea of giving him a new contract. I'm told there was another team that was deep involved in this that backed out after they discussed a new deal with the agent. My understanding is Antonio Brown wants a completely new contract wants to be the highest paid receiver in the league once again. And that's what's making this even more difficult. Not only do you have to take on Brown the person, not only do you

have to give up the draft pick compensation to get him, but you're also probably going to have to give him a brand new contract on his terms. And that's a lot to ask, Colin. Not only are you taking the risk of, again, everything that Brown brings with him, but you're also giving up draft picks and a new contract. That's a big part of the issue here. And so I think the Raiders are one of the teams it's genuinely interested, it's just going to take the price coming down a little bit for them to really, really be at the point where they'd be comfortable going forward. Listen, generally when I hear rumors, there are things, I connect the dots. And there is one connect the dot scenario I just, I keep thinking about.

And so just hear me out, it'll take 40 seconds. Arizona absolutely has a connection to Kyler Murray through Cliff Kingsbury. They have a bad offensive line. it wouldn't hurt to get a jolt playmaking quarterback back there to at least momentarily solve it as you rebuild the O line and don't get Rosen hurt. Josh Rosen now, Arizona's paid him the guaranteed stuff. He is cheap. And New England needs a backup. And I bet you he grades higher than every quarterback in this draft.

They have 12 draft picks. Albert, this seems so obvious that New England would give up a second or a third to get Rosen who costs you nothing. for three years. He's got a Brady intellect capability. This Josh Rosen thing of all the teams, where do you think now that Washington's out, what do you think? I think you're going down the right path. Now, I think part of the issue here might be just sort of who Josh Rosen was coming out of UCLA, and the Patriots would have to wrap their heads around that.

Remember, Josh McDaniels worked with Jay Cutler in Denver, and a lot of the comparisons from a personality standpoint that Rosen is drawn, have been right to Cutler. But I think you're thinking the right way here, Colin, if you're one of these teams, if you're a New England or a Green Bay or a Pittsburgh or the Chargers, you're one of these teams that has an older, experienced franchise quarterback and isn't going to be drafting high enough to get his replacement. You're going to have to think creatively sometime soon about getting the next one because you're probably not going to be able to do it the conventional way and spending a top 10 pick to get one. This is an answer for all of those teams. If you're the Los Angeles

chargers, why wouldn't you look at the idea of dealing off the 28th overall pick to bring Josh Rosen home to Los Angeles and sit for a year or two behind Phillip Rivers? Wow. I think for all of those teams, it actually does make some sense because you're looking at it, again, you won't be in a position where you're going to be able to draft the next one because you're too good for that. So, like, if I'm one of those teams, I very seriously look at that at the worst, at the worst. What this will get you is a very, very competent backup with starting experience at a cheap

rate over the next three years. And the upside is that you have the answer for the next 10 to 15. Finally, Jay Glazer, you know him, I know him. He's a guy I trust. He puts something out there. It's almost, you know, it's valid, right? And he has said, this OBJ thing, when the Giants say we're not trading him, he doesn't necessarily buy it. Odell Beckham, Jr., to me, is not Antonio Brown disruptive. Now, I do have concerns physically. He's missed 20, 21 games over his career. That concerns me. Do you believe the Giants who are rebuilding, regardless of what they want to admit to their fan base, do you think Odell Beckham could be pulled away for the right picks from New York? Okay. My understanding is the Giants aren't going to shop him, but they will listen if other teams

call them. Okay. And it's exactly what you're talking about, Colin. It's where they are as a franchise. and quietly in the middle of last season, they took a turn. For the last two years, for most of the last two years, they'd really been chasing 2016, which, you know, they win 11 games that year. They get in the playoffs. They'd been operating as if they were close. When a lot of things went right for them that season,

you know, they sign Olivier Vernon and Janoris Jenkins and Snacks Harrison, and Eli Manning has a good year. Odell Beckham breaks out. A lot of things went right for them that year. They've been chasing that season for two years. At the end of the season last year, they made a turn. And you even heard John Maris say it. This might not be a quick fix.

So everything in that organization now is about turning things over, taking the long view, and building it the right way. And the question becomes, is O'Dell Beckham going to be there for all of that? When you get good again, is O'Dell Beckham still going to be the same player? Do you want O'Dell Beckham around the young guys? Is O'Dell Beckham the kind of guy that you want all the younger players looking towards for guidance? All of those questions have been asked in the Giants. organization. And so I think that they are okay with the idea of going forward with O'Dell Beckham,

but if another team calls and blows them away, I think they'd be all ears. Great stuff. That's a, that's a great way to put it. They're not shopping him, but they'll take your call. Albert Breer, Monday morning quarterback. Have a great weekend. Nice stuff. Thanks, man. All right. Thanks, Colin. You know, who else is lost in this? That's kind of fascinating. You know, you've got Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham, but lost in all of this is we have a running and Lavian Bell, who caught 80 passes and carried 250 times. He's a machine. He's a machine.

He's out there for anybody that wants him. I'm sorry, but Lavian Bell can play football. I am, I'm not shocked that people aren't backing it up for A, B, and O'Dell Beckham. I don't tell me running backs don't matter. Don't tell me. And Levy on Bell is not just any running back. James White, a rookie for New England, was a difference maker. Todd Gurley, the Rams went from one offense to another without him.

The fact that Levian Bell, I look for stories every day in Levian, Bill, I don't see any. I don't get it. There is incredible. And I don't think Levian's a bad guy at all. I don't think he's a bad guy. I just think, you know, the culture in Pittsburgh, these players get enabled and empowered. They go a little sideways. I just think he wants a lot of money.

Yeah. But I, yeah, that's probably the big part of it. Coming up next, the top 10 scoring list in the NBA. It's amazing when you look. LeBron just became the fourth all-time leading score, surpassing Michael Jordan. We'll look at the list. And it's amazing how specialized each player is.

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. By the way, a story came out last night. Lakers are going to scale back on LeBron James Minutes. He will also have a minute restriction in the playoffs. None.

I think it's ironic that LeBron got hurt on Christmas Day, because Christmas Day has always been seen as the first official day of the NBA. They put three or four games on television. LeBron got hurt on Christmas Day. So essentially, this season was over on the unofficial first day of the NBA season and his season was over. It's a disaster. Any way to look at it optically.

I communicated with a couple of different people in and around LeBron's camp yesterday. And their pushback was, listen, this year wasn't great, we admit it, but it did create clarity. We know who we can roll with and who we can't. They wouldn't give specifics. I also think it created clarity, not the good kind. I don't think Anthony Davis solves this roster. He makes them better and more interesting. The Lakers have a problem.

them. They don't have any shooters. It is now a shooters league, Golden State in Houston and Boston. It's a shooters league. They don't have any. And you don't go from not having any to having a roster full of them next year. They don't have any shooters. Anthony Davis doesn't solve that. They were 29th and three-point shooting. In fact, who do I trust shooting threes? LeBron. And he's hit and miss. Kuzma shoots him, doesn't hit him. Josh Hart had him early, not late. not his specialty. Lonzo Ball, cross your fingers. Listen, LeBron

was ahead of the curve on three-point shooting. LeBron has acknowledged that late in his first seven-year stint in Cleveland, he started improving his three-point shooting game. And that Miami team was full of three-point shooters.

Badiere, Miller, Ray Allen, Bosch, LeBron, but as the league has become more about shooting and less about everything else, LeBron's never been in a team with fewer shooters. And everybody in the league is looking for more except maybe Golden State and maybe even Golden State.

So this year created clarity to me. I don't know if this is the front office capable of turning things around quickly, but I don't think even if it was a perfect front office, you can go from no three-point shooters to a bunch of them. And I don't think Anthony Davis solves any of their primary issues. LeBron's never worked particularly well with Biggs. He marginalized Chris Bosch, did the same for Kevin Love. That's not really his forte.

His forte is, give me the ball. I'm going to shoot a three, score at the rack, or I'm going to find somebody and dish it. He's very good at all three. But the person you dish it to has to hit a three because mid-range jumpers are out and have been for about seven. years in the league. So, you know, I'm not trying to be overly cynical or doomsday or hyperbolic, but the clarity I see is that this front office is not going to be able to give LeBron the asset he has worked particularly well with throughout his career. Dudes who can spot up, create, or hit threes. They don't have any. He's the best they've done. He's the best they've

got, and I don't think LeBron's all that elite at it. Many more in the league, much better. 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. With that, we bring in Stephen Jackson,

a decade and a half in the NBA, NBA chant with the Spurs. So the Lakers announced last night, minutes restriction. I'm driving to work thinking this morning, I could make an argument, just sit him. get up into the lottery.

It's a lost season. What would you do if you ran the Lakers? I'm not even going as far as the lottery. I'm just thinking of next year and what you're building. Like if it ain't beneficial, it's artificial. Why play him now? You're not playing for anything. You know what LeBron's going to do.

The most important thing for this team now is to find out what the other piece is going to do. So you have guys on the team right now that you're going to either use his trade pieces or guys that's going to be a part of your bench next year. Let these guys play. Let these young guys play so you can see who's going to be professional, who's going to finish the year on the right note, who's going to play the right way and see what guys that you can bring back next year

that can help you build for a championship. You know what LeBron going to bring. Whoever you trade for you, know what they're going to bring. Use these young guys, give them a time to get experience and be professional and see what you're going to bring back next year. Do you think your regrets coming to Los Angeles? Not at all. You don't break records and all of a sudden have regrets.

That just don't happen. You know, I'm pretty sure he knew. The only thing that he's saying that, okay, now I realize what it is, he sees the wrestling conference. It's not a joke. He was dominant. He can have a bad season and make it to the Eastern Conference finals.

You can't do that in the West. You can't do it by yourself. So that's the only thing that's probably surprising him, but everything else, he knew it was going to be harder to get a championship. You know, I said, Stephen, Kobe Bryant always lived down in Orange County, helicoptered in. He never got sucked into the L.A. thing.

The L.A. Ram players, many of them live up Thousand Oaks. That's like an hour, you know, 45 minutes away. LeBron lives right in the heart of agents, producers. and when he moved to town, I had somebody kind of around the Laker circle said, listen, billionaires are lining up to have lunch with him. We saw him with Al Pacino, Leonardo DiCaprio,

that he got sucked in a little. Like, listen, if you're a gambler, it's one thing to be a gambler, and then move to Vegas and be a gambler. When you're into the Hollywood thing, which LeBron has tipped his toe in the pool, then you move to Beverly Hills, could I argue that he kind of got sucked into the L.A. thing a little bit?

because I think he looks like a distracted player this year. Well, a lot has went on that he didn't take credit for, you know, with the players and the young guys kind of turning their back and not knowing if they're going to coming and they're playing, giving up on the team. You know, at the end of the day, you can't fault a man for building stuff for after basketball. I mean, who wouldn't?

I applaud him. I don't think everything he's doing off the card is knocking off his focus from basketball. He's still the best player in the game, him and KD, the best players in the game, a Greek freak now. I think everything he's doing is great, man. I don't think he's losing focus at all. What do you make? Adam Silver came out this week and said at a Sloan MIT conference, a bunch of smart people.

My players are unhappy, social media. Charles Barkley came out and said, Kyrie Irving is the most miserable human being I've ever seen. What do you make of the unhappy guys social media, the new millennial DNA? Well, a lot of guys in the NBA now, and I see it, you know, a lot. are more into what the game can do for them than loving to play the game. Kyrie loves to play basketball, you know, and we are, guys like Kyrie, yeah, we know the money is great and the money's changed our lives, but the game of basketball is the reason.

So I played this game, and I show up here to play this game and be the best at this game. You got some guys, all they care about is walking through the tunnel on IG and being seen on the cameras, so the girls can see them on IG. You know, you got those type of guys. Then you got those guys that come in the game. get the contract, I don't even want to play. I don't even care as long as I can stack this money up. See, that sounds crazy to me. But it's the truth. You played with guys who didn't love the game. What? Every team has at least two guys that don't love the game. And I've heard this from

guys that's playing now and me being on outside the league and I'm hearing guys say this now. They got young guys that come in that don't even work. Show up to practice late. You know, don't even approach the game. And I blame that on a lot of the veterans. Because when I was in the league and I didn't work. I had guys like Steve, Steve Nash, Steve Smith, Danny Ferry, Steve Kerr, Jack, you got to get him and work. Tim Duncan, you got to get in him work. I don't care. You're young, you got to get in him work. They forced us. I couldn't show up late. I wouldn't play. I wouldn't even get a chance to get on the court

if I showed up late. These days, these kids can do what they want. Like Donnie Wash call them, they're bonus babies. They're getting bonuses and I can like babies. We got a lot of money. I'm happy they're getting their money. I'm happy they're getting that. You got to credit that to LeBron too. LeBron is a big reason why a lot of these guys are getting paid. Guys that's a six, seven man on the bench making $10 million a year because of LeBron. So, you know, he's done a lot for the game. And the reason why I give him so much props because he didn't care, it wasn't just about him.

He did it for all the guys in the league. I want to go to the top 10 all-time scoring list. LeBron is now four. And I'm going to go through the list and I'm going to ask you about some of the individual players. So the all-time greatest score in NBA history is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I'm older. I grew up watching him. The most unstoppable shot ever.

The sky hook between his size, the way he shot it and his left hand. It really was an indefensible shot. About 75 to 80 percent of his points came from that shot. If I say Carl Malone number two score, were you a Carl Malone fan? Not at all. Why not? We never got Utah games on our feed in Texas. Utah wasn't a big team that nobody wasn't buying Utah.

jerseys. You didn't see nobody with a Carmelon or John Stockton Jersey on the rap videos. Nobody knew nothing about Utah. No, I was not a car Malone fan. Really? No. His game didn't do anything for you? No. It wasn't above the rim. I like Barclay, but I think Barclay was better in Carmelon. So do I. Kobe Bryant. What do you make of Kobe Bryant? Did you love him? The best scorer ever.

Huh? Huh? He had so much in this game. Most moves ever. The best scorer ever to me. You guarded him a lot? Yes. How'd it go? I had some good nights again, but he never gave me 50. And he probably gave me 40 a couple times.

But LeBron is the only player. I feel like if he had the attitude of Kobe had, he could have gave me 50 every night. And I've never been giving 50 in my career. But if LeBron had Kobe attitude, he could have destroyed me every time. So Kobe's attitude was a big part of it. Relentless. I'm coming at you all game on both ends of the court. If I need to guard you, I will. But I'm coming at you all night every night.

night. Let's go to five Michael Jordan. You didn't face a ton of him. I played him once one time when he was with the Wizards. And he was not nearly his vertical then. But he wasn't that vertical, but he still was getting a shot off. He still was Michael Jordan. Every time he got to buy, everybody. You know, he's still Michael Jordan. You know what I mean? I mean, Mike is my favorite man. I mean, if I had to put players now, I go Kareem Jordan, Kobe, but Mike is my favorite player of all time. Turk Novitsky, number seven, what do you make of him? I say he's the best ever and the first seven-footer who was an elite shooter? Well, he's, he's one of, he's probably the best euro ever, but you got to think, go back

to Jersey, the number three, Petrovich, he was a problem. Did you, Dirk didn't do much for you? Well, I look at it different, I guarded Dirk. I locked Dirk up a lot of times. We beat them when they was the number one seed as the eight seed. So I don't, I look at stuff different when I played against these guys. You see what I'm saying? Dirk is great.

Don't get me wrong. But I, I stopped Dirk a lot. And I served him a lot. So I look at it different. Dirk's a great player, but he wasn't a problem to me. By the way, you played with Tim Duncan, not on this list. It always surprises me that Duncan, but Duncan also played within a system. Like a Tom Brady, he played within a system.

It wasn't reliant simply on Duncan, although he was a remarkable player. See, the best teammate you ever had? I think as far as careers, I think Tim Duncan had the best career of anybody I've played with. He's the best player I've ever played with by far. the best player I've ever played with. How much was attitude? How much was game? It was everything. Leadership, teammate, leading by example, being a brother on and off the court.

Tim, he did everything. He did everything. And he gave me a title that I hold on to rest of my life being an ultimate teammate. Finally, I talked to somebody inside of LeBron's circle yesterday, and they said this year gave them clarity. and that they know who they can depend on and who they can't. It gave them clarity, even though they acknowledged it was a really bad season, injury, optics, all that. It gave me clarity, too, and here's what it showed me.

LeBron's always played well with shooters. This is a shooters league, and the Lakers don't have any. And I don't think you can go from no shooters on a roster to several in one year because everybody in the league is trying to get shooters. I don't see Anthony Davis as solving their biggest. problem. They're 29th in threes. That's not the game anymore. I always say that. If they

traded Anthony Davis, that still is not guaranteeing the championship. Oh, God, no. Not even close. You got to make other moves. And even though we all knew that Brown wanted shooters here, what shooters did they bring in? They didn't bring in no shooters. They brought in some guys that were veterans. They didn't bring in no shooters. They had Brooke Lopez,

let him go. And I don't even consider him a shooter. I mean, he can knock down shots, but I'm talking about Kyle Calvers. I'm talking about guys, that's the guys that LeBron need around him because he brings, he takes in so much attention, guys have wide open shots. If you can't make a wide open shot playing with LeBron, you don't need to be on the court. Good to seeing you, bud. Thanks for having me. 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

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