The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 05/03/2019

Episode Date: May 3, 2019

Colin takes a shot at the Raptors and Canada in general for never stepping up in the playoffs.  Most athletes think that more money equals more respect but Colin says Tom Brady figured out that isn't true.  Plus, FS1 NBA Analyst Chris Broussard comes in studio to take shots at Canada and talk about Colin's belief that the 76ers should trade Joel Embiid.  Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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This is the best of the herd. with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Friday loaded show. This is The Herd in beautiful Los Angeles, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, on FS1, and Joy Taylor is joining me in a Friday, and we have a little breaking news.

Monty Williams is the new coach of the Phoenix Suns, which means what many believe was the Lakers' top choice chose one of the losing his franchises in the world, the Phoenix Suns, in chaos. They run through coaches. I mean, it's a Phoenix a mess. And Monty Williams chose that over the Lakers. Joy will have more of this coming up in a half hour.

So it does appear now. Ty Lou is not only a frontrunner, but it for the Lakers. It would appear so, but it is the Lakers. We're all just watching and finding out at the same time. Yeah, just started. So Monty Williams, who the Lakers, according to various reports, kind of wanted to hire because they're worried about giving the franchise to Ty Lou. And it looks like optically, it's Ty Lou and LeBron's franchise. Well, they don't have a choice now.

Tai Lu is going to be the guy. Monty Williams, the guy in Phoenix. Again, Joy Taylor has more on that in 30 minutes. I want to start with what I think is the most enjoyable team to watch on the NBA, not the Warriors, Philadelphia. Because when you talk about what makes a great TV show and sports is a television show, basically, I need, I need excellence. I need talent. There's nothing wrong with something being a little bit of a hot mess.

I like a bunch of stuff. Philadelphia gives me everything. I got the next version of Shaq. I got Jimmy Butler's attitude. I got social media stars. I got a coach that can get fired. Philadelphia gives me everything I want in sports. Hope, drama, talent.

And by the way, they're four best players. All want Max Steele's and they all come with qualifiers. Joel M. Bede, health issue. Jimmy Butler attitude issue. Tobias Harris, not that great. Jimi, Ben Simmons can't shoot. And they all want to be stars and they all have star potential. And I'm watching this series. And I'm not going to be mean here, Toronto. But let's be honest, Toronto. Coi Leonard's leaving. And that is not being mean. That's being honest. This is your entertainment reality. Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds,

Justin Bieber, Coi Leonard, Sean Mendez, Wayne Gretz. I'm not being mean, Canada. This is your entertainment reality. Maple syrup industry, donut industry, lumber industry, people stay in Canada. Entertainment, they come down here. We have a conversion rate.

You know, right now I look this morning, a dollar in Canada is 74 cents in America, and that's about what the Raptors are. They're about 74% of the Sixers' talent. That's about what they are. Nothing against Fred Van Vleet. 17 to the 19 ESPN basketball experts pick the raptors because it feels smart and we like Canada and they're awesome people and Toronto's global and Vancouver's amazing everybody likes Canada

I like Canada I go to Canada every other year but the conversion rate you're about 74% of the Sixers talent all the talent in this series it's on Philadelphia some of it's crazy some of it's nuts some of it can't stay healthy some of it can't shoot some of it thinks it's way better than it is. I mean, Philadelphia is all what makes sports great. Seven best players in this series, five or sixers. Embed, Butler, Simmons, Harris, and JJ Redick played really well last night. I like Kauai. I like Pascal Seacum. But, you know, Seacom's gotten better. There's a ceiling. He's a nice kid. And Kauai's leaving. And I'm not being mean. This is your reality, Toronto. So this team is so one-sided in the playoffs.

When Kauai Leonard's on the floor, the Raptors are plus 113. When he's off the floor, they're minus 54. I feel bad. This feels Gretzky. It feels Mike Myers. It feels Ryan Gosling. It feels Sean Menas. It feels Ronald Reynolds.

Kauai's out of there. He knows it. He's the whole team. All year long. We want to say nice stuff about. Canada and Toronto, they're awesome neighbors. It's amazing country. They're good people.

They don't have the eagle like America. But if you walked into a YMCA and you saw Toronto and you saw Philadelphia, you'd be like, I'm picking those dudes. M. B. looks like a baby shack. Simmons is a six, ten and a half point guard. Butler is all attitude and talent. J.J. Reddick, scrappy guy flying around the court hitting threes.

He's what Toronto wishes Fred Van Vleet was. I got to be honest with you. This series, I know. I know everybody picked Toronto, and I know their chemistry is great. Yesterday, Joe L.M.B had a quote. He said, chemistry's overrated. I just want to play with good players. And the Raptors shoot 39% when Kauai is off the floor.

We love you. Baby dinosaurs. And it used to be the LeBron Meteor that ended your life. made you extinct. It's going to be Philadelphia. And I know they're kind of a crazy, nutty, ego, crazy, messy, four guys all want to get paid Max. Philadelphia is America.

A lot of ego, a lot of talent, a lot of crazy, a lot of nuts, probably break up, get divorced. God, I love watching the Sixers play. I love watching them play. That's the most entertaining team in the NBA. Golden States too buttoned up. I mean, Golden States like, you know, IBM in the 80s. They put their money away.

They invest in a 401K. Philadelphia is like, I'm leasing a private jet. I can't afford it. I'm getting a sweet at the wind for a month. I can't afford it. I make a lot. I spend every penny. Let's buy some more jet skis.

That's Philadelphia. And I got to be honest, love watching them play. Absolutely love watching them play. I want to show you. shift to this. And again, Joy, in 15 minutes, we'll have more Monty Williams to the Sons. That would I think mean tie Lou to the Lakers. So Tom Brady was on Jimmy Kimball last night. Tom Brady has a house used to out here. He works out a lot here at UCLA, which is about 15 feet from where I'm sitting. And Brady was talking, you know, kind of about, you know,

does he mind being the 18th highest paid quarterback in the NFL? And here's what Brady said. I think the thing I've always felt for me in my life, you know, winning is been a priority and my wife makes a lot of money. I see. Oh, good. That's good. That works. I'm a little smarter than you think. Actually, it's a salary cap. Everyone, you know, you can only spend so much and the more that, you know, one guy gets is less for others. And I think for a competitive advantage standpoint, I'd like to, you know, get a lot of good players around me. I hope the Patriots appreciate that you do that. I really do. Yeah. You know, think about this. This is not discussed enough.

We talk about PEDs. This is Brady's PED, performance enhancing deal. There are four quarterbacks in the NFL that currently make double Tom Brady. Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rogers, Big Ben. Do you know that Tom Brady makes less money? In fact, the least money of any NFL quarterback, not on a rookie deal? Do you realize, I want to say this again, let it soak in for you driving around America? He's the lowest paid quarterback, not on a rookie deal.

Tom Brady. This is what I've said separates Brady from LeBron, Bryce Harper, Aaron Rogers, Kobe Bryant, Russell Wilson, that there's this equation that lives in all the other guy's heads. Money equals respect. And it doesn't with Brady. It doesn't exist with Tom. LeBron makes $35 million a year in basketball, $30 million a year in shoes.

But when LeBron wakes up in the morning, money equals respect. I mean, Aaron Rogers is a really smart guy, really smart, maybe as smart as any NFL player. He knows the more he takes, the fewer guys around him. But Aaron could certainly rationalize taking that money. Hey, I live in Green Bay, okay? I stay here. I say nice things about Green Bay. Hey, you've never given me an elite defense like Brady gets. Aaron's really smart, but he probably gets up and rationalizes it.

I think Russell Wilson's really smart. But Russell gets up in the morning and he can rationalize, I won a Super Bowl. I was a third round pick. I was for free. By the way, I never get credit here. It's always Pete. It's always the defense.

The bottom line is Brady. A lot of smart guys in sports. Kobe. Russell Wilson, Aaron Rogers, LeBron James, there's this equation that lives in their head. You don't pay me. You don't respect me. And Brady of all the American superstars, it's not a thing.

He's not bothered in the least by it. Like this is the PED of the Patriots, the performance enhancing deal, makes the least money of any NFL quarterback not in a rookie deal. Four current quarterbacks make double. What Tom Brady makes. And one of them is Matt Ryan. You know, we talk about a few months ago, players always say this. Oh, wife makes a lot of money and deba and my money and this is my money.

That's all good. But you can rationalize things any way you want. Aaron Rogers and Russell Wilson are smart dudes, but they rationalize it knowing Matt Ryan's smart dude. They all rationalize it knowing it hurts the quality of their offensive line. It hurts the quality of their defense. It does every time. What was it last year? The top six highest paid quarterbacks?

None made the playoffs. It's the great PED with Brady and the Patriots, performance enhancing deal. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9-8. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard 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.

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Here's a story that was out. Two stories yesterday came out, so I want to just address these. Number one is Adrian Ward Janowski is saying that LeBron would prefer Tailu, but the story says the king, quote, has stayed out of the conversation. That's the first thing. LeBron wants Tailu. The second thing, the other story that came out, according to the athletic, they got a bunch of good people there. I'm a subscriber. They said the Lakers are hesitant to hire Tailu because they're sensitive to the notion that LeBron's calling the shots.

I do think it's a real thing among players in the NBA. It is. Whether we like it or not, it's real. Here's where I keep coming back to. And I know I feel, I sound, people in L.A. think I'm being very negative. The last two teams that have had, well, the only two teams that have had LeBron, Cleveland twice in Miami. Cleveland is kind of seen by the Lakers. The Lakers look at Cleveland and think pathetic.

Nobody wants to go there. They've never won titles. Then there's Miami. And the Lakers look at Miami and they respect Miami. They're like Pat Riley. It's a destination. People want to go there. The Lakers see themselves in Miami.

And Miami pushed back on LeBron. Miami wouldn't give them the keys to the city, right? Pat Riley would not. Whereas Cleveland was like, we'll give you everything. So the Lakers see themselves as more Miami than Cleveland. And my argument has been, they're way closer to Cleveland now, is that the last six years they have the worst record in the NBA.

They did give the franchise to Kobe Bryant, to stunt the growth of players. It's a revolving door of coaches. It's mostly 35 win seasons. It's a front office in tumult and chaos. The Lakers see themselves as Miami, a better version of Miami. We will not give LeBron the power.

They don't see themselves as Cleveland. Pathetic. Who wants to go there? Of course they gave LeBron the keys to the city. But I think they're closer to Cleveland. I'll say it again. I think the Lakers have big issues. And I mean another 10 years of a mess.

First of all, LeBron's going to ensure they're generally not a lottery team if he stays for two or three years. Because they'll win a bunch of games when he's healthy. Secondly, their assets are Lonzo Ball that can't stay healthy plus a dad issue, and Brandon Ingru, who now has a blood-chris boss issue and is off the trade block. Kyle Kuzma is their asset, and you're not getting Anthony Davis in a trade. So the only way the Lakers can get another two stars. And if you're watching the playoffs, Philadelphia's got three, Golden State's got three, you know, Houston's got two, Milwaukee's got two really good players. Boston's got four really good players.

L.A. needs two more players. And they don't have the assets to trade for them. And if Ty Loo's the coach with LeBron, there are going to be people in this league. It's a I want to be the man league who won't come to L.A. I'm not blaming LeBron. I'm not blaming Ty Lou. He's the best choice out there.

But this is a real thing. The Lakers view themselves as a better version of Miami. And what they are is a better version of Cleveland. In my opinion. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Former New York Times sports writer now radio show, the odd couple, Fox Sports Radio, the voice of NBA at our network, Chris Broussard. Let's bring him on.

Okay, let me just start with this. This, what makes a good TV show is personality, talent, and a little bit of a hot mess. Philadelphia is so much fun to watch. I know the rest of the country. They're not a national topic for a lot of shows. I love watching them play. They got dysfunction, they got baby shack, they got Butler's ego. But when I watch this series, Toronto's a nice story.

They got one stud. Doesn't it feel like Philadelphia's got significantly longer, more athletic, more talented guys? Well, a couple things. One, somebody asked me just earlier today, who would be my pick for the finals? you know, just the most exciting finals. The most fun. And I said Golden State in Philadelphia. No question.

It would be fun to watch. I don't think Philadelphia could beat them, but it would be exciting and fun. Philadelphia is a less refined, less mature, less buttoned up Golden State. Yeah, and you mentioned the maturity. That's the one question I had about the Sixers coming into the playoffs. Are MBD and Simmons mature enough yet to win a big series? Embed is showing me a lot, I mean, obviously, playing-wise, but just mental toughness to play through this injury.

So I'm with you. Look, their starting five is arguably the second most talented in the league behind Golden State. I think it is. Yeah. So they should beat Toronto if they play to their potential. I questioned Brett Brown's coaching, but credit him, he's made some great adjustments. He put Tobias Harris on Mark Gassau. They haven't figured out how to exploit that.

Toronto hasn't figured out how to exploit, you know, Ben Simmons in the half court not being an offensive threat. So I think if they face Boston, Philadelphia down the road, that'll be an issue for them. But look, here's the thing about Toronto. Number one, let's just face it, they're soft. And it's not Kauai Leonard. I don't, it would, they were soft before Kauai got there and they're still soft. He's not soft. But what is going on?

I mean, this, this is a soft. team. It's been that way for the last five or six years. Thank you. And I, by the way, I love Canada. Canada's soft. They're nice. I like visiting too, but it's soft. All right? Drake, Drake is a dope rapper. He's a little soft. All right? He's a great rapper at one of the best, but I'm just saying. Hey, listen, they have, they shrink and they do. First of all, LeBron was the meteor that led to their extinction in the playoffs. And now Joel Embed is just intimidating them.

It's, look, and here's the thing. They're making it so easy for Kawhi Leonard to go to the clippers or wherever he wants to go. And here's the thing, too, Colin. Shame on Jeannie Bus. If she's not on the phone,

calling Maasai Ujiri right now. Now tell our audience who that is. That's the president of the Toronto Raptors. Very respected guy. One of the best executives in the NBA. Smart dude. She needs to be talking to him. Forget going to dinner with magic.

Call Maasai, you jiri. And I know he loves Toronto, but I also know he wants to win at a high level. And you got to be sitting there looking at this life. Fred Van Vleap? Listen. My boys are shrieking. And they keep shrinking year after year. You know, I think they're just, I think also when for years and years,

the Boston Red Sox would shrink in the postseason. And then all of a sudden you got Manny and Kurt Schilling. And these two sort of transformative personalities put the franchise on their backs and said, Schilling and Manny are like, no, no, no, no, we're better than the Yankees. And sometimes it takes a transformative personality in a locker room. Well, Kauai is not a transformative personality, just a really good player. Right. So the reality is Toronto's not a free agent destination.

There's about six of them in the NBA, maybe four to six. That's what. They were so fortunate to get DeMar de Rose. to stay. Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Chris Bosh. Look, they will, and I'm joking about Canada and Drake and all that, but they will have a hard time getting

American free agents to go to it. It's just as simple as that. It's not, it's a great city, but it's not American. When you're there, you feel it. Yeah, and it's also cold and it's, it's isolated and it's expensive, and that's the reality. Vancouver had a franchise. I think Vancouver's the most beautiful city in North America.

I go there like every other year and players didn't want to play there. You're like, food, city, sites, money, facilities. Great, great, great, great, great, great, great. They didn't want to play there. Let me say this about M.B. And I've said, Philadelphia just loves me as a city, Cleveland and Philadelphia. But I've said this.

I can feel with the Sixers a lot of Oklahoma City. And they had choices. They had Harden. They had Westbrook and they had Durant. And they chose Westbrook over Hardin. Mistake is it was becoming a Shooter's League. They didn't actively choose Westbrook over Durant, but Durant felt that way. They made the wrong choice, and now they're a one-and-done franchise.

Philadelphia's got four guys. They all want Max money. Tobias isn't good enough to get it. Butler's got an attitude, I'd be worried. M. B'd got a health issue. And Ben, I'd give it to him, but he's got to be able to shoot. Philadelphia keeps thinking they got this huge window. Chris, I don't think they do.

I think these guys are going to start peeling off. Well, we know the window definitely is about two or three years. Now, if NB gets his health in order, it could be much longer. Hopefully he will for the sake of us as NBA fans. What about Butler? Look, Butler is great. He is great. He solved their problems down the stretch, their execution problems,

but I still would be hesitant to turn the franchise over to him. And you have to let this play out. If they get to the NBA finals, then I feel better about bringing. back this team as it is. What if they beat Toronto and then lose to either Milwaukee or Boston? What would you do? Well, I'm not trading and beat. I know you've been on the trade and beat this summer thing.

There's no way. I'm riding with him as long as I can. Now, next year, health-wise, he falls apart and it looks like, man, we just can't count on him. That's another story. But after this, I'm not trading. What I'm doing is I am getting him, and I'm, I know it's not only their decision, he's got to be involved with it, but getting him on a

better nutrition program, getting that weight down, because a lot of people there feel like his knee problems are related to he's overweight now to shape. Well, that was Shaq's issue in L.A. They just felt he was too heavy. Yeah, and Shaq wasn't, I don't know that Shaq was this big when he was younger at this age because he was a little, he wasn't slim ever, but he wasn't the Shaq we remember in L.A. at a young age. So I'm working with MB on his body, on his work ethic. You know, if he keeps working on his jump shot, as I'm sure he will,

his three-pointer, sky's the limit for that guy. So there's no way I'm trading him right now, especially in this league where he has no peer. He has no peer. I love Nicole Yokic. He's a great center, but he has no peer at the center position when he's healthy. So I'm not trading that guy. That gives me a difference maker in this league of a bunch of shooting.

Okay, so I had this conversation with my wife last night. She didn't like sports. She used to be in HR. And so we're sitting there talking and we're watching this game and I said, this guy's unbelievable, but I think they should trade him. And again, my wife's not a sports fan, so she's not emotionally connected to this stuff. It's just all common sense to her. And I said, what if you had an employee when you were in HR, you hired him?

And for two years, he couldn't show up for work. she'd be like, well, he's a liability. And I said, M.B. And she said, well, did he get healthier? I said, yeah, kind of, but he just missed 14 of 24 games after the All-Star break. He missed playoff games last year this year, and he needs six treatments a day to get on the floor. And she said, well, yeah, that's, you can't build around that as an employee base. I, if you just take the emotion out of it.

After what you're seeing right now, for what you saw last night, you're ready to trading? Okay. After what I saw with Westbrook winning the MVP, I was like, stocks high, get it. him out. But here's the thing. You keep saying, and I agree, I would rather have James Hardin than Russell Westbrook, but you keep saying they made the mistake. They made the mistake.

Really? Have, is it definitive that they made him say, James Hardin, how far is he going in the playoffs? Has he been to the finals? Without, you know, Westbrook and Duran? You don't think Hardens. Has he led a team? Well, you don't think Hardin is better than.

I think Hardin, like I said, I would take Hardin right now over Westbrook, but What I know about Hardin is the same thing I know about Westwood. Both of their numbers go down in the playoffs. Well, one guy gets out of the first round. He's got Chris Paul with him, and he's got a coach who's offense is perfect. Oh, wait, time out. Perfect for Hardin. That's got Paul George.

That's something of that's on Paul, too. Look, I'm just saying you acting like Hardin's winning championships. Let's see him do that. I'm not, and let me tell you this about the Houston Rockets. I like the Rockets. Colin, they're going to go down, and I'm not just talking about this year, they're going to go down like Steve Nash's sons and Chris Weber's kings. We're going to remember, and they were really good, really close,

but they'll never get over the hump and win that championship. Hot take. It wasn't a hot take. Colin Drake's soft, a little bit of a hot take. Drake, you know, light-skinned love, man. It's all love, you know. He's a dope rapper, too. I'm just playing off the Canadian thing.

Tells happening to this show. Chris Broussard is joining us. Let me button this up here. I'm looking a little too risque today. Hold on, Joy. You're not in Vegas yet. I know. I'm just, I'm looking a little,

it's too much for the audience to handle. Showing that chest hair. Not much. There is none there. Let me start with this. Warriors Rockets. For a TV rating standpoint, nobody cares except us.

Toronto, Milwaukee is a death sentence for a network, and so is a sweep by the Warriors over the rocket, and the Warriors face Denver. But that's, you know, This is not the NFL where everybody watches a Super Bowl, regardless of who's in it. Baseball in the NBA tend to need certain teams, Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, dynasties in the NBA, LeBron James are big. But I look at this rocket series and I look at it against the Warriors.

And I firmly believe this, that Golden State is so in Houston's head that they came into this series believing they were going to win the free throw battle. They were going to shoot free throws to get to the finals. And now that it didn't work in the first two games, I wonder if Houston can recover. Well, I think it definitely had an affecting game too. I think to your point, and Darryor Mory has said, literally, I'm obsessed with beating the Warriors. Players talk all the time about the culture of an organization

and how it filters down. That's the culture he's setting. We're obsessed with this team. So to your point, I do think they planned on going there. getting game one, taking control the series, they had the numbers, and they were so distraught by the refereeing in their minds, how bad it was and everything,

I think they lost focus heading in the game too. Agree. And the first quarter, when they had nine of their 17 turnovers in the first quarter, at one point they were just giving the ball up on every possession. That, to me, was a sign of a lack of focus. They weren't focused on the right things. And I'm not going to say that's where totally the game was lost.

But they were in a hole and they never got out of it. No. And I think they win game three because I do think their focus will be better. I think all that's kind of died down. They handled themselves better at the post-game press conference, even though they weren't totally honest. Because Chris, for Chris Paul and James Hardin act like, what bickering? What criticizing other referees?

When Chris is jumping up and down when Hardin gets a call on the three, come on. But I think for the most part it's died down and now they've focused in on, okay, let's just play basketball on the court. So I think they'll come out with a better effort in game three and win. I do think there's a fundamental problem for Houston. When Golden State does their Hampton's 5 lineup, which is their small lineup, it reduces the effectiveness of Capella. And I think it's a problem. Okay, you want to talk numbers and free throws? Here's my numbers.

The Hampton's five. Capella's a, he's probably our third best player. Right. as valuable when they go small. Well, and they haven't been able to exploit Houston Golden State when they go small. They're getting killed on the offensive glass. You know, Capella's not getting shots. He's got nine total shots in this entire series,

whereas he average like 11 a game in the regular season. They don't have anything else to go to. That's the problem with Houston. And that's been the problem with Mike Dantonie teams once they get to the playoffs. They're predictable. I don't think Mike makes many adjustments. No. It's kind of like we do what we do.

No, it's a little bit like the L.A. Rams. We love Sean McVeigh's system, and we love Mike Dantone's system. But when you watch the Super Bowl, you're like, Rams, they figured out your system. By the way, I just read Belichick's book. Belichick loves facing teams that have a system. Belichick hates facing Andy Reid, who comes in with all sorts of new stuff every year and doesn't really have a dependable system. I think Dan Tony, Popovich is much more willing.

No question. Game to game, Belichick change. Dan Tony's like, this is what I do, beat us. Houston is taking nine mid-range shots in the two games, which is right on pace with what they did during the regular season. They're not changing. There's nothing new for them to go to. Whereas Golden State, everybody thinks of them as this three-point shooting team,

and they are, but they were second in the league in mid-range attempts in the regular season. That's right. And they get backdoor layups and cuts and things. They're versatile, whereas Houston's not, and that's a big difference in this series. Okay, Kevin Love was on First Things First this morning, talking about the Lakers situation. Joy from day one has said, let's go Tailu. I get the optics of Tailu, LeBron, Rich Paul, running the Lakers, but I think the Lakers are closer to Cleveland than Miami. They're bad, and they just have to give LeBron the franchise.

Here's Kevin Love on first things first talking about Tileu this morning. If he's not their first pick, he should be right there at the first. top because he's an unbelievable X's and O's guy, a players coach, a guy that's very approachable that you can talk to, and I think with the personnel that they have, he would be great. As well as feeling familiar and being familiar with LeBron and having that not only friendship, but being able to coach LeBron and get in his ear because Ty really knows the game. Ty also doesn't let LeBron push him around from what I've heard. No, he doesn't.

I mean, Ty, you know, there are times that would shoot around in Cleveland, and LeBron, why are we doing this? And Ty would say, no, we're going to do this. And LeBron would do it. Or in film sessions, he would jump on LeBron. So obviously, LeBron is a superstar. You treat him a certain way. But he didn't back down.

He would go at LeBron. And that's important for the other players to see. Look, it makes all the sense in the world. A lot of us have said it from day one. Ty Lou should get the job. It's not just like you're hiring LeBron's guy. It's a guy that's won a championship. It's a former Laker.

we know they're a mom and pop shop, so he's a former Laker. He's tied to the Shaq Kobe team and era and won a championship. What's the holdup? The other thing Kevin Love, the first thing Kevin Love said was he's a good ex-as-and-Os guy. There is a certain, if not a stigma, a stereotype that a former player, you know, he's just one of the guys. Like Brad Stevens, he's an ex-as-and-Os guy. Right. There is a stigma for former players that,

they can't be an X as and O's guy. No question. And I always hear this. And I'm like, I don't know. Kevin Love, first thing he said is, he's excellent with X's and O's. I'm like, that's what I always worry about former players as coaches. Have they committed to the strategy of the sport? Love says he does. Look who did one of the greatest jobs in the league this year coaching Doc Rivers, former player.

That's who Tai Loo's come up under. That's kind of his mentor. And so I think Ty Loo, Look, if it was a Greg Popovich available, a Rick Carlis, somebody like that, that's one thing. But at this point, it should definitely be Ty Lou and not just for LeBron, but he'll be good for the other players as well. By the way, KD, top 10 player ever. Why won't you put him in your top 10? There still is, and KD is phenomenal.

First of all, the top 10 is, that's hard to put somebody in there. And I think he's going to probably bump somebody. but if you look at the top 10 and I've seen your list, every guy on the top 10 list, at one point, all those guys, at one point they led their own team, their own team to a championship. Michael LeBron, Magic, Wilk, Kareem, Bird, Bryant, Kobe, Bill Roslo, Shaq, Duncan.

Every one of them. Now, Durant, if he goes to New York, and this is why I say he should go to New York, or the Clippers, or they, nets, but I think it should be New York and wins the championship. He is getting in there. Why don't you want him in New York? You're talking about storylines and all that.

I still haven't recovered from you calling Drake Soft. I haven't recovered from that. I think you want to get Drake on the show. That's why you keep bringing that 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 athletes 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 beaders 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 Levin 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. 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, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them?

them. On hurdle 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 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 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, Apple Podcast. Podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. I have never been a believer in conspiracy theories. I just don't believe them. Joy, on the other hand, is a fully vetted and verified conspiracy believer. I have many tinfoil hats. Okay, you have many tinfoil hats. I don't. For whatever reasons, I think, I don't even know why.

I couldn't tell you why. I don't have any. I just don't. Maybe it's because, and I've thought about this before when I was driving home yesterday. I don't like, I tend to like habit. And so conspiracy theories disrupt habit, disrupt what I believe to be the truth. And it comes off to me as nonsense and you're just, you're, you're wasting time. And I am very stingy with.

my time. I don't think you should lose any sleep over it. I don't have anxiety over the conspiracies that I think might be true. So I'm with you on that. Like I don't, I don't think you should sit in your house and start putting newspaper clippings on your wall. Right. But, you know, you should question some things from time to time. Okay. So I don't believe in conspiracies, but I will say this. I do have a belief in life that you don't have to tell people something important for them to know something's important. Um, I don't have to, have to tell my kids that my wife's birthday is important. They know my wife's birthday's coming up and it's important. You don't have to tell people, hey, pst, do this. Most smart people can figure

out, uh, treat our boss nice, treat your, treat your wife nice, take care of stuff. There's a game tomorrow between Houston, the Rockets, down love to, to the Warriors. and a bunch of things are converging. And I have defended the NBA forever. But the ratings are down. Golden State's hurt parity. LeBron's not in the playoffs. And there is a potential for a nightmarish

Eastern Conference Final and Western Conference Final. Denver Golden State would be a sweep. And Milwaukee and Toronto would be the lowest red at Eastern Conference Finals in 20 years. So we got a lot of converging. and I don't think you have to tell the NBA refs. A couple quick early fouls on the Warriors, putting them in a little foul trouble. I don't think you have to, there's no memo.

It's unwritten. It's understood. Now, so I was thinking about conspiracy theories that I do not believe in. And here's the big four in sports. And I can shoot holes in all of them. The first time I heard about conspiracy theories was the frozen envelope.

David Stern was a young commissioner and the Knicks won the lottery and got the number one pick and Patrick Ewing. The reason it's garbage is David Stern was a highly respected, smart young commissioner. You're going to tell me he's going to blow his career up and roll the dice. When the years he had put in being a legal counsel for the NBA, a young commissioner is going to get embedded in the biggest controversy of his career and blow his career up. David Stern was thought of as the next brilliant commissioner in American sports, and he was for 30 years. Also, Cleveland's won the lottery two or three times.

Orlando's won it multiple times. You can't tell me New York doesn't have the right to occasionally win a lottery, folks. If the Lakers, by the way, if the Knicks win the lottery this year, well, they have the highest percentage along with Phoenix to win the lottery this year. This was a bunch of hooey. The second one was Michael Jordan was forced out of the NBA because of gambling issues. Michael Jordan gambled before this, gambled during his departure, and he gambles now. Michael Jordan's a gambler.

He's a cigar smoker, a wine drinker, a late night card playing gambler. Michael's always been that. He gambles on the golf course. He's got four or five of his guys he hangs out with. Michael Jordan's dad was murdered. Michael Jordan emotionally went to a different place. His dad loved baseball. And Michael Jordan was such a rock star in America.

He couldn't go out in public. Michael said, I want to go to a different place. Then he came back. I don't buy into this at all. The idea that playing minor league baseball for two years would suppress a story. If there was a story to publicize, people would have publicized it. We've heard everything else about Jordan. Why wouldn't we talk about that?

That was a bunch of hooey. The third one, the rigged Western Conference Finals 15 years, 17 years ago, May 31, 2002, when the Kings at home, no call went their way. Lakers came back, forced to game seven and won the series. Nobody talks about game seven. Sacramento could not throw a... basketball into a battleship. They couldn't hit anything.

This game with a veteran officiating crew, the reality was Sacramento had a hard time defending Shaq. Chris Weber and Vladay DeVots were in the post and they couldn't defend him. And Shaq ended up getting 17 free throws and it was a weird game in which Shaq hit 13 to 17 three throws. Generally putting Shaq at the line

meant misses and you win. But this time they put Shaq at the line and Shaq had one of his best free throw shooting games. And so everybody blames the refs. There were a couple of bad calls late. Folks, it's the NBA. It's the hardest league to officiate. Nobody discusses.

It was Shaq getting to the line and doing what Shaq never did. He hit his free throws. And it drove Sacramento crazy. The final one, lights turned out in the Super Bowl four or five years ago. Baltimore led big. The lights went out. And then San Francisco came roaring back and made a game out of it. And people in Baltimore think, oh, my God, it was a conspiracy.

It was meant to make the game close. The NFL doesn't care. you do get the NFL's already made their money. The only thing that would hurt would be the NFL and the networks because rain delays in baseball and blackouts in football, 10% of your audience never comes back. They just leave after 30 minutes. We've had 50 Super Bowls.

We've had 15 of them have been awful games. The league's already got their money. What the league doesn't want is a bad rating so the next year the networks don't have the leverage with advertisers to get the greatest dollar. Because advertisers could say, well, you're rating last year and the Super Bowl wasn't very good. Blackouts are, again, not good for sports.

Rain delays are not good for a World Series. It's just a bunch of hooey. It doesn't make any sense. And the way I look at it, you don't think we have power outages occasionally in America? Cities have lost power, an arena lost power. It happens. But Saturday night,

a potential Raptor Millwallis, hockey Eastern Conference Final, Denver, Portland, small markets or less glamorous markets, if you get a sweep, if Golden State sweeps this series, what was supposed to be the Great Western Conference Final, ratings are down, LeBron's out of the playoffs, it's a disaster for the NBA. And all I'm saying is you don't have to say something for people to know something. and I want to watch the first seven minutes of the Warriors at Houston. If it goes heavy, ticky, tacky against Golden State,

I'm just going to say I'll be a little suspicious. Do I have a right to do that? No, it's totally fair. I mean, it's a little inside baseball that, you know, with the ratings and everything, because people think that that doesn't matter, but it does. Oh, yeah, you can lose $150 million if you have six sweeps. That's a lot of money. Yeah.

It's a lot of money. Don't you, you buy into the DB Cooper conspiracy, right? DB Cooper's a guy hijacked a plane in Seattle and then he jumped out of the plane into the woods in Oregon and I think they know who it is. My guess is the guy that they think it is

is the guy down in San Diego. That's not a conspiracy though. That did actually happen. Yeah, that happened. But there's conspiracies around it. Who it is and who it isn't. And there is, you know, there's a guy in San Diego they think it is.

So it's one that you have at least an interest in. Oh, no, I have a complete interest in it. My gut feeling deep down, guy jumped out of a plane, hit a pine tree, it's over. I mean, that's my gut feeling is you jump out of a plane. It had a parachute. An airliner. It's going 450 miles an hour. It's not like jumping out of a, you know, 200, 2,000 feet in the air at a parachute school.

It's an airliner. See, aren't conspiracy is fun. They're just fun to debate. That guy jumped out literally. Three seconds after went, hell am I doing here? This was a terrible idea. It's 29 degrees below. I'm wearing a sports coat and hit a pine tree and it was over.

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 sports slice 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance

I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist, and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world.

Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. 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 IHart Women's Sports. 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 helped 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.