The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 05/15/2019

Episode Date: May 15, 2019

Colin says Zion Williamson should tell the Pelicans to trade the number 1 pick or he will pull his name out of the draft and sit out next season.  He thinks the Lakers didn't really win last night despite what everyone is saying.  Plus FS1's Nick Wright explains why Steph Curry is the most important Warrior and they don't need Kevin Durant. 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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on the IHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, this is the herd. Wherever you may be in, however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and right here on the magic of FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me on an unbelievable day today. The Jets just blew up their front office. Right thing to do.

Joy will have that in 25 minutes. Yep. So the Jets finally figured out. Their GM doesn't know what he's doing. I'll have strong opinions on that because I think it's the right thing to do going forward. Joy, how are you? I'm great. Well, I have some opinions, but I'm good.

Okay, let's start with this. Zion Williamson. Going to the Pelicans. Man, it's a disappointment. Well, not for New Orleans, right? I am going to propose something this morning that is going to upset lots of people. But actually, everybody wins. Zion Williamson has not been drafted yet.

He does not have an agent. There's a reason for it. He can go back to Duke. I would not suggest that, but I have a plan. If I'm Zion Williamson, I do not go to New Orleans. I have not been drafted yet. I can take my name out of the draft. Oh, this has happened multiple times.

I'll give you an example coming up. I would call the Pelicans and say, I'm taking my name out of the draft. So trade me. If they do not elect to do that, takes his name out of the draft. He's the number one pick next year. He calls Greg Popovich and says, can I play for the national team for a year? This happened in hockey. Eric Lindross was Zion.

They were calling him the great. greatest young hockey prospect ever. He was a Canadian, and he said, no, I'm not playing for Quebec. I don't like their management. I'm not playing. He played for the national team in Canada. They won a silver, I believe, and everybody still sort of liked him. Then he ended up leaving the country and playing for Philadelphia. And it was the right move, by the way. Zion Williamson can go play for the national team. You will not hold it against him. By the way, New Orleans, this ends up good for you. I'll get to that in a second. is what John Elway and Eli Manning did. The NFL has never been the individual star league. The NFL's about the flag in America, the military and patriotism and the shield and it's all about us.

And yet Elway and Eli Manning said, no, we're individuals. We're not going to our teams. Four Super Bowls and everybody got over it and we don't talk about it. The NBA, my friends, is the player empowerment league. You don't think we'd get over it? We understand when guys leave now, In fact, Kevin Durant not leaving a great team. People are like, you got to go to New York. What? People now have you leaving from great organizations to band one, great owners to band one, great rosters to bad ones.

Folks, we live in a time where college athletes, they have a transfer portal. Players transfer, they decommit. It's their right. That's the new era we grow up. And I've seen coaches in the last year in college sports take a job. And then four weeks later, take another job. They transfer before they've got. their office finished.

It's the era we grow up in. Zion Williamson. Did he look happy? Do you think Nike's happy? He's seen this. It's called Anthony Davis. Seven years in New Orleans is what you want. Take your name out of the draft.

You're number one next year. You're not going to hold it against him after one monster dunk for the USA national team. I love that guy. I love that guy my team. Or, now I know New Orleans right now is like, this is outrageous. You hate our city. I don't hate the Saints. Packers, Saints, Oklahoma City, small market's not the issue.

It's your issue is you're a bad organization. If Zion goes to the Pelicans and David Griffin and says, okay, I'm not playing here, what team in the NBA now has four really good players and they don't fit? Philadelphia. Philadelphia goes, give us Zion. Take who you want. Zion goes to Philadelphia. New Orleans gets Simmons.

Where did Ben Simmons play college, Joy? LSU. Louisiana. Ben Simmons, I'll argue all day, is a 22 and 10 guy for the rest of his career. As long as you don't have a big fella in the middle clog in the lane. Then you have Anthony Davis in New Orleans and you go to whoever gives you the highest and you get a bunch of picks and a bunch of players. And yeah, you don't get Zion, but we've seen Zion.

It's called Anthony Davis. It didn't do anything for you. He's got a better personality, but many would say he won't be as good as Anthony Davis. It didn't do anything for you in the West. But if you could get a Ben Simmons and picks, and then you could already have Drew Holiday, and then you go with Anthony Davis and you trade it and you get more picks and more players, you are battling for a playoff next year with Benzsche.

multiple picks, a star guard, a two guard, Biggs, maybe a Coosma, maybe an Ingram. New Orleans doesn't lose here. They're actually better. You just have to get over it. Kiki Van DeWa did this in the NBA, by the way. Dominique Wilkins did this in the NBA. Dominique Wilkins said, I'm not playing for the Utah Jazz. Forced their hand. You know where he ended up? Right next to where he played college basketball of Georgia, the Atlanta Hawks. Nike'd support it. The league privately likes it. Griffin, who's a deal maker, could end up with eight new players for Zion and Anthony Davis. He's, we live in the empowerment culture.

Take your name out of the draft. You haven't been drafted yet. You haven't put on a jersey yet. Teams just have the right to pick you. The kid could go back to Duke. He didn't have an agent. Now, he does love college basketball, but I think that's a step backwards, right? That's a step backwards.

I wouldn't do that. But overseas, work out for a year. Reenter is a number one. pick, call Greg Popovich. This is what Eric Lindross did. I'll play for the national team. I'm not going to a bad organization. And Lindross left the country to play for Philadelphia. We got over it. This makes so much sense to me. You could get an LSU kid Ben Simmons and more. Maybe you get Embed. But the bottom line is, if I wake up this morning, let me ask you, you watched the draft last night. Did Zion seem happy to?

to you. There's reports he wanted to play for New York. Here was the interview. When you saw New Orleans got the number one pick, you didn't think for a second, oh, I could be in New Orleans? It's definitely a possibility, but, I mean, it's not sure until it actually happens. Elway and Eli Manning did it. Dominique did it. Kiki did it. Lindross did it. And those were in leagues. Hockey's about the team, not the guy. football's about the team not the guy NBA is about the guy

We don't hold it against guys very long If the superstar of a generation goes I'm out You guys all hated LeBron for an hour Miami didn't hate him TV ratings didn't hate him LeBron was not a villain for very long in Miami They went back to Cleveland now he's in Los Angeles

We're still talking LeBron KD that is outrageous I don't know he keeps holding trophies at the end of the year His finals MVP these players, Elway, Eli, KD, LeBron, Lindross, they're right, Dominique, Atlanta. He's still an icon in the South. And it's not a loss for New Orleans, and it's not anything against small markets. Green Bay's well run.

The Saints are well run. Oklahoma City's relevant. Portland's in the Western Conference Finals. It's a small market combined with, this is an organization. It just isn't well run. They got NFL guys in the NBA front office. It's not the way you do. it. But if I'm Zion this morning, I've seen what seven years looks like. It's not good. I'm not

doing it. I'm a generational talent. I'm not doing it. And this kid is incredibly likable. Eric Lindross wasn't as likable. Eli didn't have a big personality. Elway was never likable. He was a cocky Stanford kid. This kid is lovable. The smile, the game, the passion, the love. you'll be mad at him for one minute. And then you'll see him for the USA national team. You'll see him training overseas or you'll see him in Phoenix or Dallas training, getting ready for the... And you'll be like,

you think a team's not going to pick him number one because he didn't want to go play for the Pelicans? You've got to be kidding me. You don't think you're going to be number one next year. I don't think this is an option. I think it's the only option that makes sense. New Orleans is a playoff challenging team next year by moving Zion and A.D. I've got to get six picks and three players.

And you could have a Ben Simmons, a Kyle Kuzma, a Brandon Ingram. You could have four picks. You could maybe get better than that. But I'm not going to New Orleans if I'm Zion. Nope. Kids have a right. I'm a broadcaster. I can do this for 50 years.

This kid's got nine years of peak talent. He's trained his whole life for this. he gets an opinion too. Elway got one. Eli got one. Lindros got one. He doesn't get one. And you know privately,

Nike, be all in on this. New Orleans, you think my idea is a negative. Is Ben Simmons, Kyle Kuzman, seven picks a negative? And that's just one of my ideas.

David Griffin's a sharp cat. He could get a tonnage for AD and Zion. 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. 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. 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 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 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Life throws hurdles big and small.

The question is, how do you conquer 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 WNBA standout, Kate Martin and rising hockey star Lela 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.

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Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Remember this about the NBA draft. We went and looked it up last night. At the last 20 NBA drafts, the draft every other year gives you one great transformational player. Durant, LeBron, D. Wade, I count Westbrook in that. The NBA draft on average gives you five All-Stars. And when I say All-Star, I mean like one-time All-Star, Kyle Corver, Mo Williams.

That's all the draft gives you. In fact, it looks like it's trending that it's giving you less than that. So don't kid yourself about this draft. All my NBA scouts have said the same thing. There's two stars in this draft. Zion and John Morant. There's a third kid, R.J. Barrett at Duke, who's really, going to score a lot of points. He may not have the Zion or John Morant, but the kid average

22 at Duke with a bunch of NBA guys and sharing the ball. R.J. Barrett, the gap after three to four is a silhouette. It is a crap shoot. And that's not my opinion. Never forget what this draft gives you. This is not the NFL draft where you can find Tom Brady in the sixth. You got two rounds. Historically, there's almost nothing after about the 16th pick. I went and looked the last 20 drafts. Every other year you get a game changer. Okay. Then you get about five, one, two-time All-Stars every draft. And so everybody this morning is like, oh, the Knicks lost. The Lakers won because the Lakers went from 11 to 4.

The gap between the third pick, R.J. Barrett, the Knicks could get that. And the fourth pick, the Lakers, is a silhouette. Rob Polinkin's saying yesterday's quote, he said, oh, my God, we went from 11 to four. That sounds good on Twitter. But guys in the NBA know that the gap from 4 to 11, you may get a better player at 10 than you do at 4. It's just a crapshoot. A crap shoot means you don't know exactly what you're getting. A lot of guys like, two of my scouts love the center, the late developing center, Jackson Hayes at Texas. Everybody says he's going to go 11th. I got scouts saying that's the sleeper in the draft. That's the Clay Thompson. That's the guy

that's going to pop. And he's going 11th. So the Knicks third pick is of much greater value than the Lakers' fourth pick. And both of them won Anthony Davis. And Anthony Davis will go to New York or L.A. And Rich Paul would take either one of those, although he'd probably prefer L.A. Because LeBron's there. But the Knicks, if I'm the Pelicans, and I get Zion, and Zion elects to play for the Pelicans.

And I look from a marketing standpoint, New Orleans is a party in football city. It's one of the great college football cities in the country. It's probably the number one party city in America. It's one of the best NFL cities. Bra, not an NBA town. Marketing matters. They can't sell tickets with Anthony Davis. They can't sell tickets the year they made the playoffs.

If you could give me Zion and RJ Barrett best friends at Duke, Duke's the number one program. And then you throw in a couple picks, Kevin Knox. I take that over a number four pick, which is a crapshoot. Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, and his dad. Now, the Lakers do have a better roster. than the Knicks currently have. But R.J. Barrett, if you ask any scout in this league, has a much higher ceiling than Kyle Kuzma and many, mostly Brandon Ingram.

So if I'm David Griffin and Zion did elect to play for me in a city that's a party city, a college football city, an NFL city where I can't sell tickets with Anthony Davis, the New York third player, third pick, is infinitely more captivating from a marketing standpoint than the Lakers' fourth and a bunch of guys that LeBron doesn't want to play with. I mean, there's a reason all those Laker names came out during the trading deadline because LeBron told Magic can't win big with these guys. LeBron's not into these guys. Why should the Pelicans be?

So, you know, this idea the Lakers won last night, the gap between three and four in this draft is a mile wide. and never forget what the NBA draft is. I went back and looked at the last 20. You get a difference maker every other draft won. And then you average about five all-stars, and I'm talking it is a lot of Kyle Corver all-stars, not Steph Curry all-stars. So the idea of the Lakers won,

people inside the league are not going, ooh, the fourth pick. Everybody in the league knew last night, top three picks, those are guarantees. after that, there's a lot of finger crossing. And I'm not saying there won't be another five guys that make it, but it's a crapshoot. That's what I'm hearing from my scouts all over the league.

After three, it's a crapshoot. Could, Wood, depends on the system, the coach, the attitude, the injuries, crapshoot. What's going on, everybody, John Middlecock, three and out podcast, brought you by the Colin Coward Podcast Network. I'm talking football, football, and more football. Why the Patriots and the Golden State Warriors have a lot in common why Levy on Bell is already validating the Pittsburgh Steelers decision

and why Jerry Jones should be in no rush to pay DAC all coming up on this week's three and out podcast with me John Middlecup I'm not sure if Nick Wright heard my open but I do believe the NBA and basketball in general from AAU to college to the NBA as the player empowerment league I have no problem with that I don't think the NFL is that and I've seen Elway and Eli say nah bra I'm going elsewhere hockey is very much about the team, not about the individual. And I saw Eric Lindrauss say, no, I'm not playing here. I'm Zion.

I say, trade me, or I'm sitting out, and I don't think we'd hold it against him for a minute. Vee the Coward Global Satellite Network, my buddy Nick Wright. So let's start with that. I do not think my idea is crazy and loony. I was disappointed for the kid. What do you make of my idea? Yeah, I think it's pretty crazy and pretty loony. So if he were to re-enter, go back to Duke, re-enter the draft,

he is assured of what, that he now has the opportunity to be drafted by the sons, to be drafted by the Kings, to be drafted by a team that does not all of a sudden have a really good general manager like David Griffin is. Zion Williamson was light, was, once we heard who had the first four picks were going to be, the Knicks or Lakers likely would have then traded him to New Orleans.

The New Orleans would draft him. If he's been following this at all, he's known even if the Knicks get the pick, they might then trade me. Because they got the pick, they can now surround him with talent by trading Anthony Davis. I don't understand this take. Now, I do agree that you can make the argument the entire draft system is unfair. If you're a prodigy in anything else, you get to pick your city, you get to pick who you work for. We can go down that road.

But this specific instance, to be young, rich, and single, and live in New Orleans, and play for a good GM, have Drew Holiday. And whatever you get for Anthony Davis doesn't seem bad to me. He didn't get drafted by the Kings. Like, I don't, I just, I don't know why he would do it. And I don't know that it would guarantee anything other than him potentially having to give up a year of earning potential to roll the dice that a worst team could get him. Well, first of all, I don't think Sacramento is bad at all anymore. And by the way, New Orleans can't sell tickets.

It's an NFL city. And by the way, Zion would not go unpaid. I'm sure Nike would find an internship that paid $15 million a year and he could go do whatever he wanted to do. Okay, so a couple things on that. You're absolutely right. Deerrin, Fox and Buddy Heald are excellent young players. I love Fox.

I watched him in high school when I was living in Houston, but my point when I brought them up was they are the worst run organization in the NBA. Vladay DeVots will never get the hang of this and still has not gotten the hang of this. But Nike wants Zion on the court. You act like Nike wasn't paying Anthony Davis. They were. They want Zion to continue the buzz he built up at Duke. And playing for the national team does not accomplish that.

He's not going to go back and play another season at Duke where Nike couldn't be paying him. I just, I understand the sentiment of what you're saying, but I don't think he's in a bad spot. I think David Griffin's great, and I think they are going to be able to surround him with young blue chip talent once they trade Anthony Davis. So now let's say, by the way, a lot of people thought the Lakers won last night with the four pick. And all my scouts are saying there's a gap from three to four. and that four on is there's players, but there's some crapshoot, whereas there's not a crapshoot with Zion, John Morant, and Barrett. Barrett averaged 22 at Duke, and that was sharing the ball in the spotlight with Zion.

The kid's going to be a score. Some have said he's hard-and-esque, so that's a little much, but he can score. I mean, I don't know. Like, what do the Lakers give you? Nobody wants Lonzo. He can't stay healthy in the dad. Brandon Ingram has a clot blood issue. Kyle Kuzma and a silhouette four pick.

Anthony Davis is not Dale Davis. Hold on. Hold on. Let's talk about this for a second. Because I heard you saying the Lakers, you know, going from 11 to 4, he's not winning. I know you almost assuredly, you don't play Powerball, you don't play the lottery, you already have hit the Powerball, so why would you play it? But so someone that does occasionally play it, let me tell you how it works. If you get all five numbers and the Powerball, you get like 200 million. dollars, whatever it is. If you get all five numbers, but not the power ball, you get one million

dollars. If you do that, you won the lottery that day. You hit the lottery. You didn't win everything, but you won a lot. Going from 11, which is an absolute crapshoot, there are no blue chippers. If you get a blue chipper there, it's dumb luck. Up to four is an enormous upgrade. So now let's just look at the Knicks versus Lakers, the two teams really in this Anthony Davis thing because Boston, they don't have the Memphis pick now. Their best picked off for his nine. Obviously, three is better than four. And we can talk more about RJ in a moment.

But now let's go player for player. No matter what you say about Brandon Ingram, no matter your questions about his health, he's a better asset than Kevin Knox. No matter what you think Alonzo Ball, he's a better asset than Dennis Smith, Jr. No matter what you think of Kyle Kuzma, he's a better asset than Mitchell Robinson. I don't know if they are enough better to overcome three versus 11. They are definitely enough to overcome three versus four. And David Griffin was hired and empowered to make the best deal out there.

I think this is a superstar draft with Zion, a perennial all-star draft in John Morant, and then a bunch of unknown quantities. In RJ, in Cam, in Darius Garland, the kid that played five games for Vanderbilt, bowl bowl, the son of Manute Bowl is going to go somewhere in the late tens early teens. He's interesting to me. He won't go number four.

But of course, the Lakers are in such a better position. Now, Colin, they do not have to make it to where Brandon Ingram with his health history is the centerpiece of your trade. The centerpiece that you say to New Orleans, we will give you the fourth pick and two former number two overall picks. There is your rebuild. there is your young core to go forward with Zion. The Knicks would have to be totally in love with R.J. Barrett to take the Knicks offer, which does not have a player as good as Ingram or Lonzo over the Lakers offer, but maybe they are. But Gail Benson does not like the Lakers.

They badmouthed her franchise. She'd rather send Anthony Davis East, not West, and watch him in the playoffs with LeBron. That's a real. That's a real. But I was told, just to be fair, I was told David Griffin was told under no uncertain terms by Mickey Loomis, if we do trade Anthony Davis, we are empowering you to make the best trade, that they are not going to put handcuffs on him or else he wasn't going to take that job. Now, maybe they'll renege on that at the last minute, but I've been told David Griffin is empowered to make the best deal available. Okay, you know, nobody wants to say this because Kevin,

DeRant's great and the media has a lot of people that are on the fence and they're safe takers. You have strong opinions. I have strong opinions. I think it explains why we've had some success, right? Like, nobody wants to say this, but I'm watching the Warriors without Kevin Durant and I'm going to say it. They're going to be fine without Kevin Durant. Clay and Steph, am I crazy? I mean, I'm not saying better.

I'm not saying better, but they look good to me. The 31 and 4 when Steph plays in. Katie does in the last three years. I said this in one of my very first times ever filling in for you. In fact, the very first time I think I was filling in for you was the day Katie went to Golden State. And I said the Warriors, it was a mistake,

that the Warriors should have just run back the 73 win team. They've since then won two titles. Probably going to win a third. So it wasn't a mistake, obviously. I was wrong about that. But they don't need him. The most important warrior is Steph.

You can say Katie's better. You can say Katie's the best player in the league. Don't care. Steph is the guy they cannot do without. When Katie plays and Steph doesn't, they win 60% of their games. When Steph plays and Katie doesn't, they win 90% of their games. The results are in. Katie's going to leave, and they are going to be the favorites in the West next year.

Yes. He is an insurance policy. He is a luxury. He is a Maserati when you already have a couple Porsches. It's nice to have, but you never needed it. And so Kevin Durant. Now, I've also heard you say, Kevin Durant, Plus Kyrie, you need more out east.

Not if you're right and Kevin or it's the best player in the world. We have seen the best player in the world plus Kyrie. What have we seen them do? Oh, yeah, win a title against the 73 win warriors. So we'll get to see if Kevin Arant's the best player in the world or the third or fourth or fifth best player in the world when he goes out on his own, when he goes east to try to do something without these guys. But of course the Warriors will be fine without him.

They've always been fine without him. They were fine before he got there. They're going to be the favorites once he left. leaves and they would be the favorites. I think Milwaukee's great. I think they'll have trouble with Milwaukee no matter what. But they'll be the favorites or the co-favorants with or without him. By the way, you're right.

And I've talked to somebody in Vegas about this ironically, about a week ago, and he said, no, the Golden State would be favored to win the championship with or without KD. So we're not saying better. They're different, but this idea they're going to fall off a cliff is nonsense. Nick Wright firing stuff today.

You have anything else? And you know who is better? Steph Curry's better without him. Steph Curry, the team might not be, but we get original Splash Brother Steph when Katie's not there. The ball is moving. It runs through him. We get MVP Steph when Katie's not there. It is a testament to Steph's selflessness. He knew we would start to forget how absolutely amazing he is.

Once Katie came, he did it anyway to help win championships. He's reminding us now and he'll remind us next year. He was the guy that was supposed to take the torch from LeBron before Katie got there. He had that opportunity kind of taken from him. He'll have the opportunity again next season. Nick, good seeing you, buddy. First things first co-host. Thanks, bud.

Later in, see you. 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. 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, catapult's Jacob's, 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. 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 them. Listen to Sports Slice. 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. 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 Leila 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 Ledecky. 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 IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and confidence. 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, Keer Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Can't believe the Jets fire their GM. I think it's the right move. I'll get to that in a second. You want to know who lost last night. It's not the New York Knicks. They're going to get Kevin Durant.

Durant's sitting watching the Warriors win big without him. Finish on. off Houston, take a 1-0 lead, and they're more fun to watch. And you can go to the internet, which Kevin Durant lives on. Everybody's saying it this morning, I like this Warriors, more than the old Warriors, and they're going to win the West and get to the finals. And if Kevin Durant comes back and they lose to Milwaukee, that's just not going to play well. So, I mean, and I told you yesterday, I had a player currently in the NBA, who I'm close to and who I respect tell me, KD to New York has done, and he's recruiting players.

So New York didn't lose. They're going to get probably KD. They'll be fine. I wouldn't do it if I was KD, but I'm telling you that's what's going to happen. I'd stay in Golden State and win a fourth, but that be that as it may. The loser last night in the NBA was tanking. New York tanked dropped a third, and then Phoenix, calves in Chicago all fell in the draft and they were tanking.

I don't buy tanking. I don't like it. And I never have. And I'd said that ad nauseum. Number one, it's totally unfair to fans. Half a decade, I've got to spend $600 a night and I get nothing. Number two is players now come out after one year of college. They're 19.

They're not ready. You're not building around Patrick Ewing or Tim Duncan. We're a guy's 23, physically and emotionally, ready to be an NBAer and be a playoff player now. Trey Young is a baby. You know, these guys are babies. So by the time they do develop, C, you have such a losing culture that the top free agents are like, I don't want to play for a losing franchise. So there's six teams on average last.

several years that have been tanking, Adam Silver smartly saw this as a major problem. And every league has an issue. Baseball's pace of play. Hockey's not great on TV. Football's got injury concerns. And the NBA has a tanking issue and a parody issue. But the parity thing, it's always been around. The NBA is fine. The tanking was a problem. NFL doesn't have tanking. What about Miami? What about him? They went out and got Josh Rosen. That's not tanking. You can win games with Josh Rosen. They went out and got their future. quarterback. But last night, Adam Silver wakes up this morning. Nobody's mad at him. New York's not mad at him. They got the three pick and they'll get Kevin Durant. You know who's been mad at Adam Silver

since he became commissioner? The bottom owners in the league. We can't get stars. Players are leaving. Well, Memphis and New Orleans are like, you know, bottom of the league in revenue, bottom of the league in attendance, bottom of the league in local TV ratings, they both just got stars, Zion and John Morant. So Adam Silver wakes up this morning and tanking doesn't work and you'll be punished for doing it because the draft only gives you a handful of great players a year. And by the time you get to the six pick, this year, the fourth pick, it's just a crapshoot. And so good for Adam Silver. By the way, Rudy Gobert went to Twitter last night and just said, we witnessed the end of tanking. We should be happy about it.

Absolutely. Don't buy into it. Adam Silver doesn't make any more money if the Lakers or the Knicks win. He doesn't. That's not how commissioners get paid. But he does wake up every morning and the bottom four owners in the league are complaining, I can't get a star. Two of those guys taken care of last night.

Good for Adam Silver and good for the league. Tanking, lost. I don't buy into it. Unfair to fans. you're getting 19-year-olds who take years to develop, and by the time they develop, you have such a losing crappy culture like Phoenix, none of the good players want to play for you anyway.

Let me go to this. The Jets have fired their general manager and should have. The general manager of the Jets is not terrible at players in the league. He has a good sense if he was a former scout. He's not a good drafter. He's not. To be a general manager, you've got to have a lot of different relationships.

around the league. Nobody knows this guy. All my sources in the league are like, yeah, I don't know much about him. He's really, his personality was not built to be a general manager. And you could tell he had no confidence in his ability to run this team because after the first pick,

he kept butchering drafts. And he went and spent a bunch of money on Lavian Bell. I liked it in terms of, it gives Sam Darnold help. But Lavian Bell doesn't love football. Lavian Bell's not showing up to OTAs. Lavian Bell took a year off and Adam Gase reportedly didn't want Labian Bell. Adam Gase went to the owner and Mike McCagman and said, you watch on the Patriots?

You don't pay money for a running back. You don't pay $50 million for a running back. I can find a running back all through this draft. You don't draft them in the first round. You just don't pay that kind of money for him. So there was a report about a month ago that Gaste and this GM didn't get along and Gase said, ah, it's a bunch of hooey. Now we find out it's not hooey.

Lavian Bell was at the crux of it. And Adam Gase is like, ah, we can spend money in a lot of places. Don't spend it on a running back. And I'll tell you, with very few exceptions, Zecchio Elliott, Todd Gurley before last year, I totally agree. I don't believe you build around running backs. There are occasionally outliers. I've said this. Calvin Johnson out of college, out of drafted him.

Number one is a wide receiver. Just unbelievable. In a running program, he was unbelievable at Georgia Tech. In running back, Zeke, I wouldn't get number one. Zeeks can block, he can catch, he can run. He looks like he's going to last for 20 years. I mean, that is very, very rare. Zeks is good a college running back prospect as I've seen,

and I'm counting Adrian Peterson, Herschel Walker, ever. But there was a riff. They got rid of the right guy. So Sam Darnold, you got your quarterback. Got a new coach, getting a new GM. Let's not waste time and let's not waste Sam Darnold's first 10 years. Love what the Jets did. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd.

days in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, the Warriors won. I think the series will get more interesting, but it was not that competitive last night. And I think Portland was gassed. But I think game two will be fun. Could go either way. I think Golden State's going to win the series with or without KD.

But when you're watching Golden State like last night, it takes you back to like three years ago. And you're like, I forgot how much fun they were. We kind of fell in love with the Warriors, right? Little guys, little Steph and Clay, where do Clay play play? and this tough guy, Draymond, and it was kind of like you kind of found yourself rooting for him, beating LeBron, whoa, and now you don't root for it as much.

But they are 31 and 4 with Steph and no KD. May not be better, but the different isn't much worse. Nobody in the media will say this, but they're going to be fine without KD. They're going to be favored to win the West without KD. Houston's old, Chris Paul's out of his prime. Steph isn't. Drayman's not.

Clay's not. I thought Drayman was, then I watched the playoffs. He's not. They're fine. Boogie Cousins, by the way. And here's the thing. When Kevin Durant leaves, Boogie Cousins just had another injury.

It's not like he can ban a lot of money. Not like Boogie Cousins can go to the Warriors and demand a lot of money. They may just say, here's what you get. Then I got Steph, Clay, Drayman, and size. By the way, mid-level exemptions. You don't think guys around the league will play with these guys, don't want to play with Steph? You don't think guys around this league want to play with Steph,

Clay, Steve Kerr. we've seen it with New England once you got the coach once you got the stars and once you have the system you can get C plus guys and elevate them briefly. New England does this. Wes Welker

Chris Hogan Dion Branch when they were you were like oh that's a B player West Walker was an A they leave generally not the same so you can put, once you have the coach, the system, and the stars, warriors, Kerr, Clay, Steph, the system, never forget this. Festus Azeli got paid because he played in the system.

Left, where'd he go? Most spates got paid because he looked really good in their system. Harrison Barnes got paid. Watched him lately. This is the Patriots. this idea KD is going to leave and oh, I don't know what we're going to You got two stars, two best shooters in the league

You got a guy that always delivers in the playoffs Drayvon Green you got a great coach You got a great system You ever notice this with the Warriors Mo Spates Zeely Harrison Barnes You ever notice this

Guys playing the system Then go get paid Malcolm Butler with the Patriots Dion Lewis with the Patriots Dionne Branch for the Patriots Danny Amandola with the Patriots. They sure look a lot better when they got Belichick Brady in the system, don't they? Most states look a lot better when he had Kerr, Clay, Steph, Drayman.

Yeah, it's funny how it works. They're going to be fine. Nobody's saying they're better without KD. They're a different team. And that different, I'd still argue, is the best in the league. Now, we'll see it against Milwaukee. I do think they could use Durant's size with Milwaukee. So much good stuff.

I will say this. A lot of people, I was bummed out last night. It's nothing against New Orleans because small markets work all over the, you know, OKC is relevant, Portland's relevant, Green Bay Packers are relevant, Saints relevant. There's all sorts of relevant small markets, especially in the NBA. It's about the, you know, market size, Knicks and Lakers bad, league still doing fine. Milwaukee right now, Denver right now. It's not about New Orleans.

I was bummed out for the kid. I'm rooting for the kid. Now, I've been doing this now 30 years. And so I said this yesterday. I'm looking for juice. I don't care about regular season baseball. Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers playoffs, I'm in. I don't care about regular season stuff.

I want juice. That's why I'm a football guy. Saturdays feel big. Every Saturday. Sundays feel big. It's hard for me to get jacked up for January NBA. I'm not going to lie to you. It just, I've seen James Harden and Westbrook dominate in December. Doesn't do a ton for me. The other thing, so I'm looking for juice all the time to stay interested, right? I want the big stuff. I love World Cups. I love the U.S. Open. I love the Masters.

I may not talk golf. I love the majors. I may not talk a ton of soccer. I love the World Cup. I don't talk boxing, but I go to fights. I don't talk UFC, but I go to the fights. I like big juice. The second thing I've noticed in my career is I find myself rooting more. for individuals over teams. I just want to see what's best for Zion. Because I'm very lucky. I grew up in an era that outside of Sandy Kofax, I grew up in the perfect era,

I didn't see Sandy Kofx pitch, and there's not a lot of video of him. His career was really short. Outside of that, I've seen everybody. I got Bo Jackson. I got Wilt. I got Jerry West. I got everybody.

I got Mark Fidrich. I got Reggie Jackson. I get Mike Trout. I get Bryce Harper. You know, the only great player that I really wish I could have seen as Sandy Kofax, who was so good. I mean, there's an old joke in baseball. You talk about all these great pitchers, Bob Gibson, all these pitchers. And you ask great hitters. And they're like, yeah, you could hit his curve.

And you ask great hitters about Sandy Kofax. They're like, oh, nobody could hit Sandy Kofx. Like, nobody could hit Sandy Kofx for three years. I was like a no hitter every time he went out. Chance for a no hitter. I didn't see him. I've seen everybody else. So the teams, the owners, I don't care. But the stars, I want to see, I want to see Tiger flourish.

I'm bummed out when his life curtailed. I'm crying when he's winning it to Masters. I felt bad for Zion because I thought New York was magic. And I've seen Star go to the Pelicans. I'm not a Saints fan. I'm a Breeze fan. By the way, if Tom Brady retired tomorrow, I couldn't give a rip about the page. I didn't care about him with Tony Eason and Steve Rogan. I'm a Brady fan.

I don't care about the Lakers. I like watching LeBron win with the Lakers. So I felt bad for Zion. Good for the NBA, bad for the NBA. That's not my problem. But I'll tell you what is my solution. Great young players flourishing in well-run organizations. 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 IHart 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 woman 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 IHeart Women's Sports.

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 SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. In 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 SportsSlic 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. 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 head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.