The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 05/28/2019

Episode Date: May 28, 2019

Colin says the "Basketball Gods" are pushing Kevin Durant to New York and making the split with the Warriors easier for both sides. He thinks the Lakers dysfunction will force them to trade for a star because nobody will choose to sign there. FS1 NBA Insider Ric Bucher tells Colin that both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have purchased homes in the New York area. Plus, Raptors Head Coach Nick Nurse talks with Colin about his long journey to the NBA and why Drake might have the world's softest hands. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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, Ferrari's 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 I Heart 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 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 SportsSlic.

On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs, banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to the best of herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every

weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching heard. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. This on a Tuesday is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Nick Nurse, coach of the Toronto Raptors, will stop by Rick Buecker, Matt Barnes, Reggie Bush, Chris Brousard, It is great to have you, and Joy Taylor is joining me as we start. Yesterday, we were absolutely packed on Memorial Day.

Joy, how are you? I'm great. How was your Memorial Day? It was nice. Went home, hung out with a family. A wife had been gone, came back. So it was nice. Good family day for everybody, and thanks so much for joining us.

Many of you, the holiday weekend, we were here, but glad to be here because there was a lot of basketball. I'm not an overly religious guy, but I do get a chuckle when LeBron James talks about basketball guys. He says, don't tempt them. Don't mess with the basketball gods. And, you know, I'm not overly superstitious, but I've met people and I know people who are superstitious. And, you know, it's like the placebo effect. If you think something could happen and there are basketball gods, maybe it gets into your head and maybe it does work. But when I look at Kevin Durant's injury, where the basketball gods talking, not only did Kevin Durant get injured, he got injured, you know, against that team, Houston.

And that would be the perfect time for the basketball God to step in and say, all right, KD, I'm going to send you a message. You're going to be fine without the Warriors, and they're going to be fine without you. You've missed a bunch of games, but I'm going to make this injury right at the time Golden State absolutely thinks they need you. I mean, wasn't this the series that last year Houston controlled until Chris Paul got hurt? This year, they needed all hands on deck. and the basketball God said, we're going to tweak that calf. We're not going to make it too serious.

The gods are always pro basketball, but we're going to give you about a two-week tweak on this thing, and you'll step out, and the Warriors will win without you against the team that they thought they needed everybody. And I think about this half seriously, but Austin, Texas is in Texas. It's not of Texas. I ski a lot in Park City, Utah.

It's in Utah. It's not of Utah. Kevin Durant is on the Warriors. He's never really been of the Warriors. Steph and Claire are the heart of the team. Low maintenance, low drama, early investors. Kevin Durant's high drama. All sorts of maintenance.

We're not sure. He's a great fit. He's so talented he's good, but it's an arguable fit. They're 31 and of their last 32 games without it. him, Steph playing in KD. Not. This has always been more of a fling than a marriage. I would love to see KD. stay because I think he's smart and I think he's great and I say it all the time. Don't chase money. Chase good management. There's a sea of money. There's not a ton of great management. But let's be honest about this. KD knows it's not a perfect fit. He can feel it.

And the Warrior fans know it's not a perfect fit. They can feel it. And Draymond argued and yell at Katie earlier this year because he doesn't think it's a perfect fit. We're all dancing around this thing. And the basketball God stepped in and said, Kevin, we're going to nudge you to New York. And Warriors, we're going to nudge you to not feel guilty about this.

Because, folks, any time somebody great joined something already really really good, you can feel when it's a perfect fit. Dion Sanders to the Dallas Cowboys was perfect. It was perfect. Glammer player, glamour owner, glamour franchise. It was perfect. By the second day, Jerry and Dion were doing commercials together. When the Rock Action Star joined the Fast and Furious franchise, I mean, that thing felt

five minutes after they named it, you're like, oh, yeah, the Rock, Fast and the Furious. That's perfect. Reggie Jackson, Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees. Big stars, controversial. Baseball in the Yankees was the perfect fit. And you also know when the fit may work briefly but doesn't feel quite right. Chip Kelly to the Philadelphia Eagles. They went 10 and 6, 10 and 6, but in a cheese steak blue collar town,

here was this Oregon guy with a new way to play football. It didn't really ever feel perfect. Bobby Valentine, quirky guy, to the tradition-laden Boston Red Sox. That just didn't feel right from day one, even in spring training. You ever see a couple? You just know, oh, that'll work. And then you see Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts, and you're like, yeah, they may be married for a year, but that's not going to work. Kevin Durant is a warrior.

He's not of the warriors. He is a little maintenance. He is a little drama. He's a late investor. It's fine. It works. And I'm not a religious guy, but it's almost like the basketball gods injury again. And what a bizarre injury?

Nobody around him against Houston. Kind of nudging, Kevin. Dude, you're a little tight. Move to New York. Warriors, you can win this series against your arch rival without him. Be strong. Move on. Even Durant last week talked about it.

He gets it. He feels it. it it's not a perfect fit. How have you thought about their play? Our play? Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that. I think we've been playing great.

Do you feel like there is that, you almost split where it's like you and them? Most definitely. I mean, it's been that way since I got here is the Warriors and KD, you know what I'm saying? And I understand that. And I felt like my teammates and the organization know exactly what I've done. But I also know that a lot of people on the outside, you know, don't like to see us together. And, you know, I get it. He can feel it.

The city can feel it. The fans can feel it. And deep down, Draymond Green voiced an opinion that a lot of people felt on the roster. We like you, but we can feel it too. It's never been a perfect fit. Fling more than marriage. Let me shift to this. This sort of fell in our lap this morning.

Big, big article. I took a lot of reading this morning. A lot of reading. Place I used to work has a massive 20,000. page article on the dysfunction of the Lakers. ESPN.com, massive article, a damning look at the Lakers. It's just bad all the way around. According to nearly two dozen current and former staffers,

Magic and Polinka fraught with this function on and off the court. As one ex-Laker star privately told confidence, it's effing crazy over there. They talked about how they built the roster. after LeBron arrived. We all had the same reaction that the basketball world did. Like what the blank is going on? Not only when we're not getting shooting,

we're also getting every basket case left on the market. That from a coaching staff member for Luke Walton. Current and former team staffers told ESPN that Magic, who has many business interests outside the Lakers, was frequently absent. he comes off to the fan base, Big Love and a Smile, said an ex-Laker athletic training official

who interacted directly with Magic, but he's not, he's a fearmonger. Rob Polinkas also quoted here that, and this is very irregular for an NBA GM, he would sit in on pregame and halftime coaching meetings. Front office executives, including GM, said that's not the way it works on the GM

in the NBA. There's also this story. in November. So this was early in the season. Rich Paul LeBron's agent was having lunch with Adam Silver, Maverick Carter, and basically saying this Luke Walton thing doesn't work. I want Ty Loo.

So LeBron's agent in November was looking for another coach. So I've been saying for months on the air, and I get this a lot when I walk around Los Angeles, man, you're hard on the Lakers. I'm saying, no, it's worse than you think. It's worse than you think. But I'm not in the facility or around. around it, and I don't have stuff double and triple sourced, but this is essentially proof of

what I've been saying for four months. It's worse than you think. And this article is validation of that. But what is also clear from this article, it's not one person's fault. Magic, you know, everybody knew coming in, he's a busy, well-traveled guy that's got a lot of interest. Polinka was an agent. He wasn't a GM. That wasn't a perfect Fed. This is not just on Rob Polinka. It's not just on Magic Johnson. It's not just on G. bus. It's not just on LeBron and Rich Paul. This is on everybody. It's just dysfunctional. But what this article tells me, and my wife always says this, be a great example or a horrible warning. Both actually work for kids. You'd rather be a great example, but the horrible

warning thing could work too. Oh, dad did this. I'll never do that. And you know what this tells the Lakers? There's a clear message here. make a trade. Do not wait for free agents to land. There's no way an agent's going to read this article and push his player to you. That would be a dereliction of duties. If my agent sent me to a company and there were articles like this about the company, I'd be like, no, I'm not going to that place.

That place is a mess. No agent can send a player into this mess. So this article, if you're in the Laker building, don't view it negatively. This is great. The sea just opened. You have to make a trade to get somebody. And you've got two forwards who averaged 18 a game, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Young.

You can sell that as 18 could be 23. You have Lonzo Ball and you have the number four draft pick, which appears to be fourth best player, a kid named Garland from Vanderbilt, a point guard. A bunch of teams need point guards. Phoenix could use one. Chicago could use one. Washington with John Wall out for a year could use one.

People will view this negatively. But what it does, the translation of this article is, Lakers, they'll mess around here. You need to make a trade as soon as you can make a trade, change the narrative, give up draft picks, get players, because there's no agent in the world that can, this comes out today, can say to a player, yes, I represent you, that's a perfect landing spot. No, that's when you fire an agent.

So to me, you've got some assets, two young forwards average 18 a game. Lonzo, depending on how people value him, is a very unique point guard. You've got a number four pick, which appears to be fourth best player out of college, is a really good point guard. So you've got a couple of point guard options. You've got a couple of forward options. Engineer something. Make a deal here.

It's clear. You're in the deal-making business, not the crossing your fingers and hoping a free agent lands in your lap business. You've got to make something happen here. And again, great example or horrible warning. This article clearly sends you off the interstate to the exit, engineer a deal. No more crossing fingers and praying for free agents. That's done. Engineer a deal.

If a deal then changes the narrative and can get a free agent to go, okay, the article's bad, but now I got LeBron, now I got Anthony Davis, now I got maybe a Bradley Beale. Okay, I'll join that. Those are highly functional guys. But the article's out. It is damning. It is validation of what we've said is going on for the last several months. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

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 catapulted 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 went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me, what you know.

Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 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 Ladeke. 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, like, 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. A page. 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 Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. 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, Keir Gaines, as 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. Some stories are just hard to believe there's this one this morning fell into our lap. The Raiders signed, I kid you not, controversial guard Richie Incognito to a one-year deal.

I believe at this point, they're just cast. for hard knocks. That's all they're doing. They just want to be the best television show in the league. Richie Incognito has a very troubled past. It was out of football last year. He's come on my show before and was on his best behavior. But last year was an odd year where he told people he had a gym incident. He was at a funeral home and said he would shoot people. He had a rough year. Some mental evaluations. And you feel bad for people that go through that. But this is now the Raiders fourth plan in a year. What's the message to your fans, your front office, your players? Remember the first plan? The Raiders first plan was we're not going to have stars. We're going to acquire

draft picks. It feels very New England. We'll pay the quarterback. We're not paying anybody else. Let's get young. Let's get inexpensive. Let's pay the quarterback. And let's be nimble. That was plan one. I was like, all right, I wouldn't have traded Khalil Mack. I like Amari Cooper. But okay, that's a plan. That was their. That was their first plan. That was the message to everybody, right? Their second plan was, just kidding. We're going to get Vontes-Berfect.

Trouble. We're going to overpay for Trent Brown. We're going to get Antonio Brown, who is a lot of drama. We're going to overpay for virtually everybody. Okay. And then their third plan was our bad chemistry matters. They go into the draft, and they reach for several picks because they're chemistry guys,

which I was like, okay, that's kind of the initial plan. Okay, maybe the second plan was just, somebody had too much gin one night or something. And now there's their fourth plan, which is just kidding again. You have a locker room now with Vantes Burfect, Antonio Brown and Ritchie Incognito. I mean, what's next? Are you going to sign Gary Busey as a punter?

I'm going to sign Charlie Sheen as a Sam linebacker? I mean, come on here. What's the plan? Where are you going? Accumulate draft picks, no stars. Just kidding. We're overpaying for everybody. We want good guys.

Just kidding again. The Raiders logo, they should just put a penalty flag next to the pirate. That should be the Raiders new logo. Or if not, give the pirate. Two eyepatches, blinded everything, because I can't figure out, like, the good teams in this league, you can see the plan, New England. We'll pay Brady under market. It's not that we won't pay anybody, but we don't want the highest paid anybody in the league at any position. The Colts, we're creating a culture, quiet, good dudes, leaders.

Like the Rams, we're going to go for big free. agents. We're in a glamour city. We're going to go for some big free agents, sometimes one-year contracts like Indomacan Sioux. Whether I agree with your direction, those teams, Rams have a direction. Patriots have a direction. Colts have a direction. I don't know what direction. I don't know what the messaging is saying here. It's just very confusing. Character guys? Wasn't that the whole plan of the draft? Character guys? I don't know. I'm lost. and this division's no day at the beach. Good luck.

Kansas City's loaded. Chargers are loaded. Denver's got now the big strong flacko. I think they'll potentially be better. Good luck, Raiders. 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. I like analytics. Basically analytics are if you're playing the long game in life, use analytics for the most reliable way to win games. I also think analytics matter. And I've told Darrell Moria the Rockets this over lunch. I like analytics, but sometimes I just need a bucket. And I don't care about threes.

I don't care about season averages. I got two minutes left in the fourth quarter. I need the best athlete in the floor to get a bucket. I don't care if it's a mid-range jumper. And the analytics crowd, they get very defensive if you're not all in on analytics all the time. But once the playoffs start, and I'm a big believer in analytics with baseball and the NBA, you have these long, long seasons where if you play the averages over time, it is best served to use them.

But who are the two really talented teams, one in baseball and one in the NBA, that are really good in the regular season, very analytic driven, but come up short in the playoffs? The Dodgers and the Houston Rockets, they can never deviate from the math. They can never deviate from the calculator. They're going to just. Here's the thing. I get, it's like a 401k. The 401k is the most reliable and safest method

over the course of 40 years for you to be a millionaire. Pay off your house and invest the maximum in your 401k. But the richest people in the world didn't save their way to wealth. You can't, that's an old saying in finance. You can't save yourself to wealth. You can save yourself to successful and comfortable and content. But Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, they got wealthy because they put everything, all the chips in Amazon, all the chips in Microsoft. They went for it.

401Ks don't make you wealthy. They make you successful and content and comfortable. It's the same with cars. The Prius is the most reliable. It is the most efficient. And for Monday through Friday driving, you'll get the most efficiency. But the NBA playoffs, my friends, are not a paved road. You've got to go four-wheeling.

There's obstacles and detours and crashes and bumps and strife and drama. You need a V8. You need a four-wheel drive. It's not a paved road. The Dodgers and the rockets are analytic mavens, but they do. do at times struggle to put down the calculator. What I've noticed in these NBA playoffs, and I know all the mathy people and geometry whizzes will hate this, but Kauai Leonard won the East off a mid-range jumper.

That's what he wanted off. He wanted off the mid-range jumper. And the warriors, who you are absolutely sure, led the world in three-point shots of the 16. Now listen to this. of the 16 NBA playoff teams. Three-pointers, Warriors were 10th, and that's with the world's two best shooters, Steph Curry and Clay Thompson.

What I've really loved about these playoffs, analytic people, put down the calculator. When it comes to baseball playoffs, I don't give a rip about analytics. I need an out. I want Justin Verlander. I don't care if he pitch yesterday. He's a horse.

I don't care if he's a star. It's the seventh inning. It's game seven. Get Justin Verlander on the mound. I don't care what analytics say. I don't care. It's not his position. He'll get me an out. I don't care about any math. There are just guys I want at the plate, and there's guys I want on the mound to get an out.

And I don't care what the math says about mid-range. Kauai Leonard is like a 55% mid-range jump shooter. We're tied two minutes left fourth quarter. I don't give a rip about season averages. We're not in the regular season. I don't need a Tesla. I got to go off road. I'm getting chased by a mountain lion.

Tesla's doing me no good. I did a four-wheel drive. And I know, I know all the analytic mavens are just beside themselves. But the NBA playoffs have really shown us that what works for the season average, and that's not to say analytics don't work. They do. The 401K works. The Prius is the most reliable.

But NBA playoffs are completely different. I get a face the same people over and over and over. I know all your plays. I know all your tricks. There are no surprises. We'll make shifts over the course of a series. But bottom line is you know my best moves. I know yours.

Who's the alpha? Who gets the bucket? Everybody's equally rested. Everybody knows everybody else's plays. I'm not into season averages when the season's got two and a half minutes left. By the way, all the analytics for the Milwaukee Bucks went out the window when they're trailing 9792 against the Toronto Raptors and they had back-to-back possessions and looked scared.

Do the analytics have the fear percentage in there? Because Milwaukee looked petrified. Nobody wanted to take a shot. I mean, seriously. And there were moments early in these playoffs. when the Toronto Raptors were playing hot potato with a ball. Is that analytics? Heart, soul, fear, confidence.

Does that show up in analytics? I mean, Kauai Leonard stole Janus's confidence. That doesn't show up in regular season analytics. But I'm watching that game. I'm watching game six and I'm like, Yonis has lost confidence. Kauai feels like he's the next version of MJ and that didn't show up in regular season analytics.

Not at all. Be sure to catch live editions of the Hurdice. 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 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 Layla Edwards. a boy can do it. I don't see why a girl can't.

Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile,

that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world, like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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 people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, We get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real. conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Rick Buker's our guest, senior writer Bleacher Report, a friend of the show, now FS1 employee as well. You've seen this. Yes, I saw an early showing in San Francisco at the Castro Theater. It is impressive. Really well done. It's interesting.

So I know Alcatraz. Is San Quentin the one? North. Okay. Yes. It's not that far from... No, it's not that far from San Francisco. Isn't that amazing? Yeah, it is. It is. Interesting story. So watch that. All right, so

by the way, during the break, we got real estate icon here. So you just dropped this casually. Like, this just says nothing, and you didn't take much from it, maybe, but you know, it's all us talk about KAD, and he's

leaving, he's going here. All right, let's talk real estate. What's going on with his house in the Bay Area? So the house in the Bay Area is up for sale. And he has purchased a place in New York. And I believe it's New York City. They just said, I was told New York. But keep in mind, when it comes to selling the place in the Bay Area,

everybody is selling their place in the Bay area because they need to move from the East Bay to the peninsula. Steph is selling his house and actually moving close to someone I know. So with a golf simulator. Because the arena is moving. People don't want a 55-minute drive. Yes. No, it's just too challenging.

So I've been to a number of their practices this past week. Every practice I go to, assistant coaches, people are coming up to me saying, now where do you live and where do you think I should live? And so they're all, and it is one of those elements that people don't take into account. Like when an arena moves, it changes everything for everybody's involved. And that's the case. Now, it is interesting timing that KD is not only putting his house up for sale in the Bay Area, but that he's also purchasing a place in New York.

The reason I don't immediately jump to, oh, that's it. It's done is because when you have the wherewithal and the money that KD has and you're from the East Coast, it is reasonable to think that he might be buying a place in New York just to have a place in New York. Yes. The Europeans, rich Europeans. They all have a place in New York. Yes. So that doesn't.

Yes. I think it that, I think it's the timing. It is the timing. Now, now, there's been a lot of Kevin Durant, Kyrie talk. Yes. You have any insight on Kyrie? Because two months ago, if I said KD, yes. You'd say Kyrie KD.

Yes. Okay. So they're both having weird endings to the season. What's the latest on Kyrie? The latest that I've heard is that it's between Brooklyn and the Lakers. Wow. And I've heard that the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, now Kobe told me or indicated to me that he was not involved,

that he was, hey, that's their deal. I'm not part of it. But I was told in the last 24 hours, Kobe has been busy recruiting Kyrie in particular. to try to get him to the Lakers. Now, everything that I've heard, I would still expect that Kyrie is going to go to Brooklyn. That's the odds on favorite. Because he grew up in Jersey, like the Nets.

And if we're going to continue our real estate, he just bought a place in South Orange. Okay. How do you, where do you find out? Who's your realtor? It's not, it's not realtors. It's people that know what they're doing business. wise. So I'm not even, because we're going to go out to dinner tonight, I'm not even going to give you, I'm not even going to give you my address. Just find it. Okay. I don't care about where you're living. I want to know where you're going. All right. So let me, let me move into the, before we get into the final stuff, because you cover the Warriors and the NBA. You live in the Bay Area. I theorize this. Yeah. That we, I have an agent and I've had it not because I just need it because I'm negotiating against massive companies and lawyers. I need somebody to represent. me. If my agent ever said, hey, he's a company, I know it's getting terrible press and it's

completely dysfunctional, but that's where I'm going to send you, I'd be like to my agent, I need a new agent. The Lakers story comes out today on ESPN.com. It's a circus. My takeaway is you have to engineer a trade to take back the narrative. If you can engineer a trade and get a Bradley Beale, LeBron Bradley Beale, then the narrative is it's a little circus in the front office, but they got two guys because I think right now I would be the idea that that article's out and an agent's going to say oh it's a terrific landing spot yeah I don't know Rick no I'm with you and they do need to change the narrative and getting a player to pair with LeBron would help change that narrative yes a good player but the ability to get that player because even if you're

trading, you need to work with other agents. You need to, and you need to know that the players coming in want to be there and want to be part of this. And that's what they're fighting right now. And for me, this is, for all of us who

respect and appreciate what Jeannie Bus has done, this is from us to you, Jeannie. You need to step up and take charge of this franchise. Right now, there is nobody who is demonstrating who's in charge. Who's in charge? Who's making the decision? She was not

quoted in the piece that just came out. She hasn't addressed any of this. And so you have a dumpster fire and you're looking at it saying, when is somebody going to take charge and say, yes, all this has happened or this is what's being said, but this is how I'm going to lead you out of the fire. This is where we're going to go. There's none of that happening. So everybody looking at this summer who's making their plans on where they want to play and what they want to do, are looking at this saying, I don't want any part of that. Like, what are my other choices? Exactly, as you said at the very beginning.

Why would I want to go to the Lakers? So don't you have to engineer a trait? Like, let's say, I'll throw this. I love Bradley Beale. And I made the argument earlier. There's a lot of people in America who are really talented, but there's some sort of duress or chaos in an organization. Eric Ebron for the Lions, dysfunctional lions, goes to the high.

functioning Colts and becomes a pro bowler. Victor Oladipo, Westbrook's hard to deal with, put him in Indiana, make him the guy, he flourishes. I think Beal's numbers are good. I think John Wall can be difficult to play with, kind of an immature player initially. I'm not sure if he's the world's greatest backcourt tandem, talented. I think Beal, with a highly functioning LeBron would be a much better player. He's a really good player.

Could he become Clay Thompson, where we're in the conversation of top 12, 13 guy in the league? Washington would jump out to a team that would like a draft pick number four. They kind of want to rebuild. If I said to you, what is a trade that just in the Rick Buecker mind of basketball you could make with this Laker team? You got two young forwards, both score 18. Lonzo on the four pick. What worked?

That's not enough to get Anthony Davis, in my opinion. No, it's not. You wouldn't have to give as much up. Again, I keep coming back to Chris Paul. and apparently LeBron and Chris Paul have gotten together recently. They already have a connection. You wouldn't have to give quite as much up to get him

because the feeling is that Houston has to hit the reset button. Well, you asked what's realistic. That to me is realistic. If I'm the Wizards with a player like Bradley Beale, I'm not only trying to get off of that, I'm trying to get off of John Wall's contract. Now, how much money can you take back? and what can the Lakers give me?

Because Bradley Beal is an established star in this league who whatever I'm getting at the number four pick, I don't know that. Yeah, but if you give me Kyle Kuzma a four, Kyle averaged 18, number four pick. You're trying to talk. See, you're trying to talk me into this. Lonzo, Kyle Kuzma, and the four.

That's not worth Bradley Beal for a team that wants to rebuild. That by number four pick is that point guard from Vandy for as good as Bradley. Bradley Beale is, I would be, I would, I would think that I could do better. Wow. He's, look, this is the biggest thing is that when you have a guy who is established that he's capable of doing what Bradley Beal is doing and you know that he's been in this kind of, I want to, don't want to say toxic, but in this difficult circumstance, everybody's seeing that too. If I pair him or I get him out of this situation, man, he's going to blossom. So everybody sees it.

So everybody's looking at that saying, Bradley Beal would be a great get. And, As the great Don Nelson once said, all I'm looking for is a rich man in trouble. Ted Leonesis right now is a rich man and he's in trouble. He needs to make a decisive move largely because of that John Wall contract and the possibility that he's all done. Rick Buecker, Senior Writer Bleacher Report. All right, two things. Katie's traveling with a team.

What's that mean? He's going with him to Toronto. So there's two ways to look at this. One, either it means that he's close because normally you would stay home and you would continue to rehab. Yeah. So this was almost like, well, wow, if he's going, maybe he's almost ready and he could play in game two.

So game one's Thursday, game two Saturday or Sunday? Saturday. Saturday. Okay, so, I mean, if he left today. Right. But the other is he's so far away, it doesn't matter. There's no rehab to be done because there's no rehab that's going to get him ready for this series. From everything I've heard, I'm inclined to believe the latter.

He's going just to be there and to, and to, be present and be part of it, not because he's ready to play. I do not expect to see him play in this series. Oh, and none of it. Oh, I don't expect. Wait, look, when this originally happened, I was told and said that it was going to be three to six weeks. Then the Warriors came out and said it's more serious than we originally thought, which leads me to believe it's closer to the six weeks than it is the three weeks.

Three weeks is tomorrow from the date of the injury. So now we're talking another two weeks. The series is going to be over. Game six is in two weeks from Thursday. So I just don't see a way in which he's going to be able to get back and play in this series. And I would think the same with DeMarcus cousins. I don't think either one of those guys are going to play in the series. So this is small ball for 10 days, two weeks.

Yes. Which I believe is going to make the series more interesting than people. So let's go to your prediction. I'm saying the Warriors in six. but I would love seven and I think it's going to be I'm hoping, I mean this might be wishful thinking but I believe it can be

a competitive six games. By the way, the Maverick team that beat the favorite heat with three stars had a good coach, crafty veterans, go-to star, no indecision, end the possession, in the game, and they'd beaten him twice in the regular season.

And they faced a team in Miami that had some drama. Isn't that the Warriors now? three stars oh no no drama you don't think this katie thing's a little drama no drama no drama i've been around them i've talked to them they are as locked in and by the way step curry step kary step kary on his left hand has two little pieces of black tape and i saw him shooting the other day he was in a zone he was shooting left handed 12 foot floaters and dropping them with his damaged his injured injured hand i think he's dialed in i think they see the finish line

How's Iggy's health? Iggy's physical health is great. He's had a lot to carry as far as keeping this team together. For example, the whole Clay Thompson thing, not being named all NBA. He's not upset with the $30 million. He's upset over the idea that you're saying that there's six guards in the league better than me? A little chip on the shoulder.

And so what happens is that can kind of veer a guy in one, to prove something. This is not time to prove anything individually. And Andre has been one of those guys in the locker room, has always made sure that everybody stays on the same page. Livingston, Iggy, are going to, just nine days helped Golden State more than Toronto. Oh my goodness. I mean, it's, and starting on the road. Steph pointed this out to me the other day. He goes, this is the first time. We'll go to the finals. We'll start on the road. We've got to get on a plane to start. And we're not playing in Cleveland. And they were so used to, this is our hotel. These are the restaurants. This is how long it takes to get to the arena. This is what

the arena feels like. I mean, it was a second home for them. This is going to be completely different. That said, I believe it's exactly what they need. Because I think if they were starting an Oracle and they're looking at the Raptors, they'd give away a game. They would. It's just been their tendency all year long. I think having to start on the road, they're going to be more dialed in than they normally would. Good see, you. Tonight, we've got to go get some fish.

Sounds good. Rick Buecker and I. Seattle Kid, Bay Area. Fish night. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays and noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. A great story. Not only the Raptors, but Nick Nurse, first season as coach of the Raptors, after 30 years as a coach or an assistant in college, the British Basketball League and the G League. This is really a remarkable story that, you know, most of us don't know who Nick Nurse is, and now he's on our TV all the time, and he is joining us live in Toronto. First of all, Nick, thanks for coming on. I imagine the travel is a little higher

great in the NBA. This is a great life for you in your family right now. Just a smidgen higher, Colin. A little better than the Don Hall guesthouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You know, it's funny. When I look at you, you are the Raptors. Who is Nick Nurse? And you fight

and you grind. And listen, chip on the shoulder? I mean, isn't there a little bit of you thinking, why did it take me so long to get here? Not really, Colin. I used to get that question a lot when I was coaching in the G League, which was the D League when I was coaching in it. You know, we were having the best record in the league and getting a lot of players called up,

and people would constantly be saying, how come you're not in the NBA? And I never really worried about it. I just wanted the head coaching experience. I knew it was going to pay off someday and be valuable. And, you know, I loved those jobs. I had two jobs, one in my home state in Iowa, and one. one on the Mexican border down there at the Rio Grande Valley, and I loved them both. You know, load management became a term this year.

Kauai and LeBron took some time off, and I was one of those guys. I'm like, I don't even know what that means. It sounds like an accounting term, but I could make an argument this morning that it helped Kauai. He looks fresh. You asked him to push up against Janus. I mean, you know, you look at it. Could I make the argument, Nick, that for a star player that knows he's going to go through

the playoffs, Missing 10, 12 games is not the end of the world. Yeah, I mean, I think you could make that argument. I think we were in a situation where he didn't play a lot the year before because of the injury. And I just think we wanted to, you know, slow play it a little bit. You know, we didn't really know him that well. We wanted to see what we had. We wanted to make sure he was healthy.

And, you know, like the early conversations that I'd have with him were never about, like, become an MVP or whatever. He's just like, listen, I want to play a long, healthy career, and I'm all about winning. You know, that's all he ever talked about. And the gear that he's thrown it in here in the playoffs has been really fun to watch. You know, it's also what I love about Kauai is not only low drama, but I love the mid-range jumper. I'm one of those guys. I love it. I don't want just guys chucking up threes.

I like a guy working like a playground for a good shot off a screen. I like analytics. I do. I respect analytics. but I like something called man-aliletics. I need a man to get a bucket. What do you make of the postseason where the mid-range jumpers had a little bit of a comeback? Yeah, I think, you know, there's certainly the argument, you know,

there's still the pulse of the guy and the heart inside the guy, right, that's probably outweighs the analytics. And when you got a guy like Kauai that hits them at that rate, you're analytically okay. You know, you still as well, you know what I mean? And I just, again, you got to, most important thing is that you get a shot. You know, the turnover is what really kills you in the analytic world. And you get it to a guy that gets a shot and he clears some space and feels pretty good.

Most of the time when it comes off his hand, you're shocked when it doesn't go in. You know, that's a good feeling for a team to have. You know, Nick Nurse, Coach of the Raptors, actually, people think you have an advantage because Katie won't play. I think it's weird. You're preparing for two different teams. You don't know if boogie's going to play. You don't know if Katie's going to play. I think that's hard.

That's a little bit of a... I'd kind of like to know what I have. How do you prepare for the Warriors with KD or without him? That's exactly how it is every night in the D league, Colin. You know who's going to be on the floor about an hour before the game. So you put your game plans out there. You assume both of them are going to play until somebody tells you officially that they're not. And then when they're not, you don't...

It just doesn't bother. It doesn't move your meat or too much, man. you pull up your socks and get ready to go at it, man, you know. You guys, one of the reasons I'm shocked you're here, I said, you know, I've been watching the NBA for 40 years. I was an old Seattle Sonics fan with downtown Freddie Brown and Gus Williams. And I'm like, I'm like, they don't have a second score, and I don't know if they can make it. And Seacom's post-all-Star break has really blossomed.

But did you worry early in the season? Who's getting us buckets after Kauai? I mean, it's a great, you know, question. and it really becomes to bear in the playoffs, right? Like, who's your number two? Who's your third guy, really? But we had a lot of games without Kauai, something like 22. We had something like 20, some without Kyle.

And we just kind of tried to play a little bit of a, you know, move the ball, get a good shot, move it to the open man, you know, like I say, here's what we're trying to do. We're trying to play defense and hit the open man, you know, and it's like, I know that sounds simple, it's a good thing we were trying to do. And I think it gave a lot of guys on different night confidence from, you know, Seacum especially.

We really let him have some freedom and take the ball and run with it. Danny Green can hit some threes. Freddie, Norm, Surge. And then we pick up Gasol. And Gasol, after we got Gasol, we became the number one three-point shooting team in the NBA. Yeah. Because we were moving it even more to the open man. So I don't know.

And we had, that was probably what excited me the most. We had some great moments when Kauai was in his rest periods, against Milwaukee. Yeah. By the way, I like Drake. I don't like guys touching coaches. What did you make of that? It became like an international story.

What did you make of it? Well, yeah, I'm like you. I really like him. First of all, he's really nice to me all the time. And he's a huge fan. He's almost like a little kid. And, you know, when he's around our team, it's great. I really, I didn't feel it in the game.

I said, I didn't know until the next morning. Somebody sent me a picture. and I said, geez, I didn't even remember that happened, and I said either A, I was really, really focused, which I probably was, or B, he has really soft hands. That was my answer. Well, you're a great story. I'm shocked. I pick Milwaukee.

Joy, my counterpart here, loved y'all year, and you deserve. Good job, Joy. Yeah, good job, Joy. Congratulations, Coach. Yeah, congratulations. Hey, Joe, I feel like I know you better. Nate Bjorkren's on my staff and was up with me in the minor leagues, and he worked for your fiancé Earl.

I feel like I know you and Earl a little more than I actually do, but thanks for picking us. I appreciate that. Yeah, well, you know, we support you and shout out to Nate. Nick, great story, great, great North American city. We think it's going to be a fascinating series, and congratulations to you and everybody with the Raptors. Hey, thanks a lot, Colin. I'm a big fan. I just wanted you to know that.

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