The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 07/03/2019

Episode Date: July 3, 2019

LeBron James starting this era of player mobility has actually created more parity in the NBA and Colin explains why. He thinks Kawhi Leonard taking meetings with the Lakers and Clippers means leaving Toronto is very likely. Plus, Jared Dudley is the newest player to join the Lakers and he tells Colin why he thinks Kawhi will be next and why people have the wrong idea about D'Angelo Russell. 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. 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 Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hiring.

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

This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to the Best of Heard 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 SportsRadio.com

or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a potentially explosive Wednesday. I think you know what I'm talking about. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles on Hiaherr Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1.

Joy Taylor is joining me. me. It is a great day. We are on the eve of the 4th of July in America. Very, very fun. I'm wearing a little red, white, and blue today. And I'll probably wear it tomorrow as well. It's my favorite holiday, Joy. I've said that for years.

My favorite holiday. It is your favorite holiday. Stuff gets blown up. I love it. It's beer. Do you participate in the fireworks? Oh, absolutely. I love fireworks. Like you actually set off fireworks. Oh, yes. In my driveway, I've done horribly inappropriate things.

with explosives. I don't do well with fire. I set my hair on fire once, so I felt like that was a sign. All fire-related activities. Well, it's great to have you in a Wednesday. Folks, sometimes, and I'm guilty of this, there's a topic, and I find myself, I'll use this term. Oh, I'm looking through the wrong end of the telescope. I want to give you a fact, and I think even though you know it, I want to remind you of it. Since 2010, what year is it? 2019. Since 2010, seven different teams have won an NBA title.

Just let that soak in as you drive around the country, or as you're watching. Seven. Lakers, Mavs, heat, spurs, warriors, calves, raptors. Folks, player of movement creates parity. You're looking through the wrong end of the telescope. We have players now, multiple players, star players, playing with championship rosters who leave them. Kewin Leonard is playing for maybe the best GM and the best roster in the league. I am out of here.

What? Kevin Durant with a dynasty. I'm going to take less. I'm out of here. What? Jimmy Butler with a championship contending team in Philadelphia. I'm going to go to Miami and play for a seventh seed. What are they doing?

The mobility ends the possibility in this instance of repeat champions and dynasties. This is the most different champions we've had since the 70s. And the critics of the NBA are simply looking, as I would call it, through the wrong end of the telescope. Now, I want you to think about mobility. We have all these stars leaving championship teams and leaving contenders for less qualified teams, less proven front offices, less proven owners. Because this is who we are in America. This is our DNA.

We don't demand that you have milk in our grocery stores of the 208 countries. A third of them just people go into the grocery store hoping for milk. We demand we have soy and 1% and skim and whole and almond and oat. In fact, I am so needy. I have refused to go to grocery stores that don't have the kind of milks, plural, that I have, that I want. Things in this country that are taboo. You give us choices, they'll become norms. Dating online.

Ooh, yeah, you're going to meet a guy you just met online. It is now an industry. Getting into a stranger's car. That's what your mom warned you about. Stranger drove up to my house last night. Get in. All right. Match and license plate on Uber matches.

I just get into a stranger's car. Taboo! It's the only way I travel. Because in America, we demand choices. And when you give them to talented people, oh, my friends, they take them. Even for less money, even leaving better coworkers, even leaving better management and ownership. Kauai Leonard's going to probably leave Toronto. That's the best GM of the sport.

Kevin Durant just left Golden State. That's the dynasty in the sport. Jimmy Butler just left the Philadelphia team that's got like seven good players. I mean, Joy and I last year were like, I think Philadelphia has the most good players after Golden State. He's like, well, I'm going to go play for a seventh seed. They have nice water down there and no attacks. This is what we are.

Let me take you now, you fearmongers, to a time in America when we did not have mobility. And players did not have options. The Boston Celtics, Bill Russell, didn't have the option to leave. They won 11 titles in 13 years. In college basketball, UCLA, players couldn't transfer. They won 10 titles in 12 years, an 88 game winning streak.

The transfer portal creates parity. Kentucky's landing all the good players. Yes, and they leave after one year, ready or not. Duke got the three best players in high school basketball and didn't win a title because they weren't quite ready to dominate college basketball. It's all fearmongering. People are looking through the wrong end of the telescope. The Montreal Canadiens dominated hockey in the 60s 70s. Nobody dominates it now.

Eight seeds beat one seeds. Canadian teams struggle with American teams. There are no seven. Celtics. There is no UCLA basketball. It's nonsense. When I go to a grocery store in America, I not only look and seek for the kind of milk I like. I demand it or I don't go to the grocery store. And when you give people options in America, they will take them. We fight so hard for these freedoms. We fight so hard for these options. That's stuff that's taboo. These are now societal norms. Kevin Durant, one year into the Warriors, all the fearmongering.

One year in, he was already restless. He was already, Kyrie Irving, hit the game winning shot, play with her blonde. Two months later, he was already restless. Kauai, Toronto, one year, already restless. Take a deep breath. Kauai to the Lakers. It ain't going to last nine years. Six, four, I don't know if it will last two.

Player movement creates parity. And for an individual, you and I, Kevin Durant, went from Mr. Underreliable to the game's best player because of movement. In three weeks, look at how interesting the Pelicans have become. Look at the Utah Jazz in five days. You see it as a negative. I see it as an absolute defining positive. Since 2010, the NBA has seven different changes. champions. The Celtics without mobility, 11 titles, 13 years. All right, here's a headline this

morning. Lakers think they're leading on Kauai Leonard. I said yesterday, that's not what I'm hearing. I'm hearing everybody's got a shot, but Toronto and the Lakers have the lead and it's slight. Now, this is something, and Kauai is different, but I want to remind you, everybody that takes meetings almost always leaves. Chris Bosch had a meeting with Miami. LeBron, Gordon Hayward had a meeting with Boston. Dwight Howard had a meeting. DeMarcus Aldridge had a meeting with the Spurs. Jimmy Butler went down, flew himself to Miami.

Kemble Walker was in Boston. Kauai Leonard is taking meetings. That's essentially aggressively flirting. Paul George did not take a meeting. Stayed in OKC. Clay Thompson did not have a meeting. Stayed in San Francisco. Chris Paul last year, player option, did not have a meeting.

He stayed. You do not sign up for Match.com when you're in a happy marriage. That doesn't mean you're miserable. That doesn't mean your life is awful. But what would Kauai Leonard learn from a call to Magic Johnson and a steak dinner with Jerry West that his own people couldn't decipher. I looked in my life this morning as I drove to work,

and I thought to myself, oh, I'm four for four. Every time I took a meeting, I left. Tampa, Portland, a meeting with ESPN, at a meeting with FS1. And in all four cases, I was offered significantly more money, except FS1, I'm not leaving here. But in the other ones,

I was offered jobs to stay and I wasn't miserable and I was offered more money. But I took a meeting. And when you take a meeting that generally means just something is missing. Bryce Harper took a meeting. He left. Mani Machado and baseball took a meeting. He left. You know who didn't take a meeting?

Mike Trout. He's got everything he wants in Anaheim. I don't think there's a ton missing in Toronto. I really don't. Owner, GM, players, culture, scouting. But it is, let's be honest,

the one team in the NBA in another country. Now, the country's close. We can see it from here. And it's smart, and it's diverse, and it's kind of wealthy, and it's global.

But you turn on the TV and you see their shows and not our shows, and we've had several, players say that it is a little different when you play in Canada. Steve Nash, by the way, Canadian once turned down the rafters. Vancouver, one of my favorite cities. In fact, probably my favorite city in North America kept the Grizzlies for about an hour. So I'm just saying when you have a meeting, it doesn't mean you're miserable. But it generally means, A, there is something missing.

and B, you generally leave. 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 truth. 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic 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, 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, or 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 Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, man. It's Parker.

Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.

And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night bases on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball, like, After you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. This is the way it is, I remember reading something about this. America builds up celebrities and loves to tear them down. You know, you've heard that cliche before.

We love to build up celebrities and then poke holes in him. We love LeBron early. Then he got great and now he want to poke holes in him. We want to bury the New England Patriots. But they just, as long as they've got Brady, who's a great player willing to take a pay cut and is totally committed to winning, they're fine. The Warriors have Steph Curry, who is a great teammate, totally committed to winning. I'll recruit a guy who's better than me.

it's a huge advantage. Remember, players don't always choose winning as their top priority. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were winning. They chose being the man. Carmelo Anthony was winning in Denver. He wanted to play in New York. He chose another city. Jimmy Butler was winning in Philadelphia.

He just chose Miami. Not all great players prioritized winning. Tim Duncan did in San Antonio, allowing the spurs to get more good players. He took pay cuts. Tom Brady is prioritized winning. Pay cuts. Curry is prioritized winning. I'll go put my arms around and recruit Kevin Durant.

Most guys wouldn't recruit a guy that's better than them. Okay? So this is a big advantage for New England. That's why I keep saying, don't bury the dynasty yet. When your top player is your culture builder and he has prioritized winning. A lot of people prioritize a city, a teammate, a coast, money. I get it. Those are important things too.

But I'll just say this about the Warriors. You're all burying them. And you know what they've done in the last three days? They got Willie Colley Stein, a young big who runs the court well, 12 points, eight rebounds, who'll be on his best behavior for nothing. They signed Kvon Lutie, a young big, for nothing. They got DeAngelo Russell in essentially a swap sign and trade for Andre Iguodala. Nothing.

They added three young, talented pieces and went to tariff. and got target discount prices for it. I'm watching all these teams overpay for average players. DeAngelo Russell was an all-star in a number two pick. Willie Colley Stein's a 12-8 guy in a number six pick. Add that the Steph, Clay, Draymond, and a great head coach and Kvon Looney, they're not going anywhere. If Kauai doesn't choose the Lakers, I'm taking Golden State to win it again next year.

They got Willie Colley Stein and Kvon Looney, they're two bigs for nothing to go along. And by the way, I read a story this morning on Clay. He got his surgery yet two days ago. They say it's five to seven months. So I'll pick the middle number, six. That means he'll be ready January 1st. So January 1st, he's back. And let's give him four weeks after that to get into game shape.

February 3rd. The trading deadline. So they could move DeAngelo or, by the way, have three guards, three all-star level guards. We're all looking. And the other thing to remember here is that, you know, Kevin Durant is a very restless soul. That's fine. He's a little bit of a wanderer. We had people tell us that, like his second year in. The advantage to that,

that the Warriors knew he was a wanderer, they didn't open the door one day and the husband left. Where did my wife go? She left you. No heads up. We had a party last night. He was restless, and so they were kind of ready for this. This is Bob Myers. This is Steve Kerr. If you were asking them privately, in fact, I remember about four months, Once ago, I'm doing a show, and I brought on Marcus Thompson, and he's like, oh, yeah, they think he's leaving. And I'm like, well, I don't. And he's like, oh, they've come to terms with it. So when you're with a flirter and you're with somebody that's restless, it doesn't really catch you off guard.

Just think three days ago Kevin Durant left, three days ago, walked out the door. And in three days, if you don't think they didn't have a plan, they've signed an all-star guard, a very young, productive big, and got Kavon Luney wedged. into a contract that's about 70% his value. If Kauai doesn't sign with the Lakers, this team's winning the championship. This team's 38 and 5 without Kevin Durant.

They just upgraded at center. So, you know, it's when Kevin Durant's restless, wandering nature kind of actually was a bit of an advantage. As long as the Spurs had Duncan, Patriots had,

Brady, Warriors have Steph, a star that is prioritized winning, you can sell that stock. I'll still buy it. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

You know, I've said for years, don't try to get happier than happy. Like if you said to somebody, you know, when you're about to die, how was your life? I was happy all the time. That's good. If you can be happy, don't try to get happier. The other thing, and I try to,

to live by that. Like don't, if I have a good day, I don't have to have a great day every day. That's not realistic. The other thing I kind of live by is I'm not trying to find perfect people. Like when you get into a relationship, nobody's perfect. I know when you date somebody for six months, everybody thinks everybody's perfect, but everybody's got liabilities. Don't try to change them. Just kind of try to compliment the ying for the yank. Find what you do well, what they don't do well. You're not going to find a perfect partner. So Ben Simmons plays for the the Sixers and I love his game. The kid's 22 years old. It gives you 17 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and 55% from the floor. He's unbelievable.

At 22 years old and he's a very good defender. He's got vision like I've never seen. He's a six, ten point. But you're all trying to make him a perfect player. What about his jumper? He's never going to be a great shooter. So stop it. Surround him with great shooters. take the gifts God gave him or whoever gives you those gifts. Take the gifts and stop trying to create the perfect partner. This is why I don't get the contract yesterday. He got a five-year $170 million deal. I would love that except for the fact he's top three in the NBA getting the ball to shooters.

And you've given up eight of them in two years. In the last two and a half years, the Sixers have had eight shooters. You've given them all up. Marco Bellanelli, Landry Schammett, J.J. Reddick, Dario Sarich, Wilson Chandler, Robert Covington, Elia Sova, and Jimmy Butler. All guys he would work perfectly with. And instead, you got Al Horford, who clogs the lane, which is the one problem, and you sign him to a long-term deal. So you got this player who's got the ball all the time, like the quarterback of your team, he's the James Hardin. He's got the ball all the time.

He works great getting the ball with shooters. and you've gotten rid of all your shooters. And he also is fantastic if you keep the lane clear because he finishes at the rim. Oh, no, you just went and got more guys that clog up the middle. Like the Lakers with Magic Johnson figured it out. Magic's the second third best player I've ever seen.

But Magic was an average defender and was never a great shooter. Magic's most famous shot was a hook shot against the Celtics down the lane. So what do the Lakers do? they surrounded Magic with shooters. And they always had a rim protector because guys got past Magic. He was such a massively big point guard.

These tiny guys could get around Magic. They were quicker. He was never a quick guy. He ran the court, but Magic was never super quick. So little guys would get around him. That was okay. And it had a rim protector. And then Magic could get the rebound.

Kareem outlet to Magic. And Magic was off to the races. Byron Scott, that side. James Worthy to the left. The Lakers didn't try. try to make magic perfect. They took his gifts, six, nine and a half, giving, could see the court better than anybody ever. Like the Wayne Gretzky in hockey just saw things nobody else saw. And the Lakers are like, okay, he's imperfect. He's not a great defender. So we will make sure

that we get Michael Cooper on the team. Why? Because Michael Cooper was a great defender who could shoot. So magic doesn't have the best player. So this is what the Warriors did with Steph Curry. The Warriors are like, Steph's kind of a bad defender. So we're going to make sure that we get a very tall 6-7-2 guard named Clay Thompson, who's a great defender, and add Draymond Green, and add Andre Iguodala. Why? Because they're not trying to make Steph a great defender. They love his offense.

It's a gift from God. He shoots from the parking lot, and they're not trying to make him perfect. And so they're like, okay, we'll surround him with good defenders so we can concentrate in his offense. By the way, the New England Patriots don't go out very often, especially in the last four years as Tom Brady has aged and get speed receivers. They get slot guys. they're not demanding Tom

throw the ball deep better it's like nah he doesn't really do that Tom's great on intermediates and in so they get him tight ends and they get him slot receivers and they get him running backs who can catch New England takes what Tom gives them

senses what he doesn't do well his liabilities and they don't try to perfect it they just build around it the warriors build around Steph's bad defense Philadelphia hey listen We got eight shooters and you're great getting him to ball, but you know what?

No, we're going to trade all of them, clog the middle of the lane up. You better get better at that shooting thing. You're going to sign him to that contract. You better figure out what he does well. Because what he does well, he's great at. He's absolutely unbelievable. This kid is an all-time talent. Get it and build around what he doesn't do instead of trying to perfect your partner.

There are no perfect players and there are no perfect spouses and mates. It doesn't work that way. There's no perfect friends. All right. My soapbox. Lord. You know, it's funny. This morning I was sitting down.

I'm like, God, they've given up like three shooters. I started writing down all the shooters on a piece of paper. And I'm like, hell. They've given up eight guys who can shoot. It is admittedly a strange strategy. It's odd. Let's just get taller. By the way, what are they doing the draft?

They went and got the best defensive player in the draft who can't shoot. So they've gotten bigger and let the shooters all go. When you have one of the great, you have the Magic Johnson of my lifetime, really a very a 610 point guard. This is not the one. The man upstairs who creates us, he doesn't, he literally, this is what the man upstairs says with basketball players. It's 6.5, that's as tall as I'm going to allow you to be to be a point guard.

And then a couple guys slip through. Magic and Ben Simmons like slip through and they're like, oh, they're like centers. No, they're point guards. All right. Take that and just like thank the heavens. Thank you, thank you, 610 guard. And just build around that. 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 SportsSlice 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo 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. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it,

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

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear 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. What's up, guys?

This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows, without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because,

when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. After you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. Oh. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. There have been a lot of rumors going on in the NBA. The one I never bought, and I said it during the time, I didn't buy Kyrie to the Lakers for like a million reasons. He's from New Jersey. I was told very early by an NBA player.

He's going to New Jersey. So I never bought the Kyrie LeBron thing. A story came out yesterday, Joy. it's interesting. LeBron never recruited him. They spoke, but LeBron never recruited him. And people would say, well, why? They don't like each other. No, no, no.

This is where LeBron's very smart. And Michael Jordan would do this. I remember most of you didn't watch Michael Jordan. You just read about him or you see the YouTube, especially if you're under 33 years old. You didn't watch a lot of Jordan. Michael Jordan was very good at picking his spots. Michael Jordan's head would steam twice a game.

Like Michael would give you like seven minutes of relentless. But Michael would also sit back, let Scottie take over, pick his spots. He was very, very smart about that. And LeBron's gotten very smart about this. Why? I'll make a prediction. My first prediction was Kyrie will not be a Laker. My second prediction is Kyle Corver will not be a Laker.

They're defensive liabilities. You get to the playoffs, matchup, six-game series, seven-game series. They're liabilities. Who is LeBron actively recruiting that we know? Anthony Davis, great defender. Reportedly, according to a story this morning, Kauai Leonard. By the way, who did he want the Lakers to keep?

Kyle Kuzma. By the way, who did he befriend last year? Rondo. Because LeBron knows he's only got so many minutes on these legs. So if you've got Javelle McGee, who I believe is going to come back, and Anthony Davis, LeBron never has to protect the rim. if he has Kyle Kuzma and Kauai Leonard great wing defenders, he never has to take the best wing.

If he's got Rondo at the point guard, he never has to guard the best guard. LeBron is befriending and recruiting guys who can play both ends. I don't think Kyle Kover's going to land here. I've heard stories about I don't think he will. And my takeaway is because LeBron doesn't, he's been in this league long enough. He's only got so many minutes on these legs. he wants to use those minutes on the offensive end. That's where he wants to control it.

And so I never bought the Kyrie Irving situation. And I think from what I hear, Rondo and Javail McGee and Kuzma will be the only three Lakers back. Do you think it's a coincidence? They're all very good defenders. One a rim defender, one a wing defender, and one a back court defender. And I think it's very smart. I think LeBron is picking his spots. anybody that is a defensive liability

do not buy the story that LeBron is really interested in him. He called Kyrie. He didn't recruit him. He wanted to be good with Kyrie. He didn't want to have any enemies. LeBron's not that kind of guy. He didn't want to have league enemies.

He didn't recruit him. By the way, he went to De Wade, elite defender. LeBron figured this out halfway through his career. I want to be around guys who can defend. So I think it's quite funny. For some reason, It's okay if men are provado.

We love Muhammad Ali. I am the greatest. We like Michael Jordan who punched the teammate. We love when our guys have a little machismo. But man, if a woman is a little one second sip a tea cocky. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Alex Morgan against England yesterday. Watch this.

Horan, setting it in there. Oh, she's sipped tea. And English soccer star Leanne Sanderson was not. not happy about this at all. I expected Alex to grab a goal, but I'm not that happy with that celebration. You can celebrate however you want, but that for me is a bit distasteful, and I don't think she needs to do that. She can celebrate however she wants, and I'm a big believer in the Americans and how they

celebrate, but for me, this was a little bit disrespectful. I could be wrong, but it's based upon playing against England, and we love our tea and England. I'm not a tea drinker, but, you know, that's what we're connected with. So I'm a little bit, I think it's a little bit distasteful. So England thinks we're a little over the top. Canadian broadcasters, after we beat Thailand 13-0, remember this, it almost sounds like a Saturday night live skit.

If you were going to blow away a team, do it with humility, and they did not. Megan Rapino has scored countless goals on the international stage. She was celebrating like she had her first. When you're Alex Morgan 2 and you're counting out your goals, it was just unacceptable. Well, I understand there's a goal differential. race in this tournament. I understand they're nervous about drawing Sweden later in the tournament, but this was disgraceful from the United

States. I would have hoped they could have won with humility and grace, but celebrating goals 8, 9, 10, the way they were doing is really unnecessary. Oh, Lord. Oh, stop. And you know what? This doesn't bother me, because I don't care what people think about America. We've got to stop worrying

what everybody thinks about it. Canada cares so deeply what people think about them. England cares what their allies think about him. We don't. We're the rich, handsome, talented person that walks into a room. There's just built-in hate. And then when you move here, people criticize us, but boy, Canadians spend a lot of money here and vacation here and live here.

And kind of like us. Let's stop worrying about how this lands. Who cares? It doesn't matter. Tony Blair is a former prime minister of England. And he went on a Charlie Rose show about five years ago, and I was sitting at home watching it. That's how bored I am. And Charlie Rose said, Obama was our president.

And he said, you know, don't you worry about, what do you make of these comments that the ugly American? And Tony Blair said, I wouldn't worry about it. You're America. Like there's a built-in jealousy, our agriculture, our geographic location, our mountains, our seas, our democracy, our power, our economy, our military. A lot of this stuff is built in. You can't stop apologizing. Don't worry about it. There are people, I mean, I've heard this before.

Tom Brady is arrogant. Show me the singular clip in 18 years where he's arrogant. Well, he yelled at Josh McDaniel. That's called sports. Kobe, Michael Jordan yell. You don't call Michael Jordan arrogant. He punched a teammate. He got coaches fired.

Show me the clip where Tom Brady's arrogant. Find the piece of video. Josh McDaniels yelling for a second is arrogance, then what's Michael Jordan? What's LeBron used to bump into Eric Spolstra? I don't consider LeBron arrogant or Michael arrogant or Tom Brady arrogant. I consider them to be competitors. And during games, people get lathered up and worked up and alpha and ego. This is just nonsense.

Soccer scoring is rare. World Cups are even rarer. We let our guys be bravado and women get hammered because this. Half a second? Steph Curry pretended to poop on a floor in the NBA, and half the country thought it was hysterical. But Colin, it's representing the country. So is our president.

The same people criticize on this or probably defending him. I'd worry more about that than I would about this. By the way, teams in the World Cup, on average, and again, every four years, twice a decade, on average score 1.4 goals a match. Nick Wright earlier, rarely do we agree we did on this. This is great. And by the way, the targeted needle celebration, I love even more.

I wish more NFL teams would bring this out where you're going after your specific opponent, not just your own little dance move. And I love that we did it to England. And I know, Colin, your wonderful late mother is British, so I hope you don't take this the wrong way. But England, you've had to hold this L for 240 years. Tomorrow's July 4th in this country, we've been whooping you via sea, via land, and now in your sport, your sport, you got to hold this L, England. Thank you, Alex Morgan.

Loved it. Absolutely loved it. It's global gamesmanship. It's fun. For the record, you do get in soccer. Landon Donovan, our greatest score, once scored a goal against somebody, and I think like a slip-in slide, he went in a 40-foot slide. Josie Altador scored a goal a year ago, took his shirt off.

I mean, I could see if this was outside of the culture of soccer, but they literally celebrate this way for every goal. Even the announcers drag it out. There's like 15 seconds of screaming the word goal. It makes no sense. The most iconic picture in American soccer history is a young lady after scoring a goal against China. Brandy Chessane. Pulling a shirt off.

That's soccer. This is the culture of it. You don't score much. And in World Cup play, you know, people, People celebrate in soccer when you score in division play. It would be like someone getting upset that someone from the U.S. men's national basketball team did a tomahawk dunk during a game. It's the equivalent. This is literally what they do after every single celebrate, every single goal.

Our dream team beat Angola by 60 and that we were elbowing players and laughing at them. We were all good with that and celebrated it. Half a second sip and tea drove people nuts. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours. hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard Radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Jared Dudley, friend of the show, 12 years in the NBA.

It was years ago, the ACC player of the year, just signed a one-year deal with the Lakers, 2.6 large. And Jared Dudley is joining us as the newest Lakers. So let's Jared start with this. What were the factors that led to you to your decision to come to the Lakers? Well, you know, first it teams got to want you. It was basically a three-team race to Detroit. Brooklyn and the Lakers.

And for me, it's opportunity. I know, obviously, Kevin Durant's time with Brooklyn. I just saw the opportunity starting first. You know, people tell about LeBron James, but it was huge with Anthony Davis. That was a huge one of my decisions because I think people forget, you know, kind of like Kauai last year when he was, when he was, and through the trade rumors, man, at one point in time, they were talking about Anthony Davis being the best, if not the second best player in the league.

And I think people have forgotten. I think this year's going to remind him. So definitely humbled and thank you. for him to want me to be a teammate. I know that his influence is huge, and I'm definitely happy. Well, it's interesting. LeBron's played with Bosch and Kevin Love, and he's always played well with shooters. You're a big guard or a small forward.

You're a shooter. And so you'll work with him fine. His career is shooters work with LeBron. Bigs have not always been a perfect fit. How do you think LeBron and AD fit together? I think very well because you have to think about this. The game has changed. since LeBron was in Miami.

Obviously, Kevin Luff had it because this is the different big he's ever had. I mean, let's be honest. Anthony Davis has guard skills. He can shoot the three. He can score one-on-one dominant. In my mind, he's the first option. Anthony Davis is going to be the future of the NBA's next four or five years. Yes, you have yonet.

But I'm telling you how big of the season. So I think LeBron, I'm not going to say take a step back, but you reflect them what this team needs. And this team needs Anthony Davis to be the number one scoring option. Kauai comes in 1-8. A 1B when it comes to that, but when you hit your later part of the career, you know, Colin, you've been all over it. You kind of reflect and know what you have to do to finish it up.

Now, Kauai could be added to this. That's a lot of mouse to feed. You know, you've been on a lot of teams and talented teams. Could I just say this? The team will be top heavy because of all the money on the top players, and there won't be enough to fortify the bench. I mean, does that worry you at all? It doesn't worry me because that's when you get veterans out like myself.

you heard rumors about Ingridala, possibly. But guys will buyouts, guys that want to sacrifice. You still have guards out like Rajan Rondo, guys that have been an elite level. So, yeah, if you want to use the word top head to the day, you can do that because obviously any of these times you have three guys that have probably arguably top five in the NBA. But, I mean, trust me, it's going to be easy to find guys that shoot.

It's finding guys that right high IQ, making the right play for these three guys, potentially. Obviously, you don't know, even if it's not. those two top guys, let them be able to work and give them space to operate. You know, you were in Brooklyn, and, you know, they just landed DeAndre Jordan, Karee, and Kevin Durant. I don't know if you'll be comfortable saying this, but did you know before everybody else they were coming? A couple of days before.

I wasn't like weeks before I knew they were contemplating it. It was a three-packaged deal of all three of them. You know, obviously they had their conversations of that. I know obviously the Knicks were somewhat involved. to actually Dianjali played for them and got their voice his experience of that front office and that his excitement and then obviously I had conversations with him but you know they've been working on it for a while man I mean everyone knows just like how we talked about a year before players talk about it man this is a talking communication league and these guys want to team up

and guys want to play with each other do you think it'll work there I mean you played in Brooklyn they don't get the press that the Knicks do they the New York media tends to leave you a little more alone in Brooklyn. Is that a help for this potential group? I think that's definitely a help. I mean, I think with Kyrie and the Duran's personality, I think it only could be a positive. I think that the notion that the Nix will have the headline

compared to like the Lakers and Clippers, I think it's going to be false, especially when Durant comes back. I think it could be 50-50, even while Kyrie's there, but once Durant comes, it's going to be on fire there. Kind of like the Miami Heat when they had got together. I just think that the potential Kenny Eckerson's a, nominal coach, Sean Marks, as you talk on your show,

well, he's done having no first round draft for two or three years, accumulating talent and getting to the playoffs. They're definitely on the up, and I expect him to take over New York here the next two to three years. DeAngelo, you played with him, and by the way, he had a bad rep, and then this year in Brooklyn, everybody liked him. Has he grown up? What did you make of the transformation? Oh, man, for sure.

Just think about it, Colin. I mean, how many things would you take back that you did stupid in college? I mean, I know I could take two or three. I mean, let's be honest. I mean, I know we live in the social media. People make mistakes. Some are stupider than others. Let's be honest.

And have a Baker-Mayfield when he was, the DUI he had, remember drinking he had? He made a mistake. And I think that you see not only his maturity, man, his hard work. That boy busted his butt all summer. He stayed in New York the whole time, working out with the team, worked on his individuals. When I got there, you heard about his reputation. It was totally false.

He worked on his butt. He got into the film rule. He just wanted to get better. It's going to be interesting to see the fit. I'm just happy he got the max contract. You know, you're a student of basketball. You'll probably transfer into broadcasting after it. You certainly could.

And when you look at Kawhi Leonard, I see he's in Toronto today, and the Canadian TV's got his jet and his suburban and his meeting. It's all televised. And, you know, he's such a unique individual. Would you be shocked if he stayed in Toronto? No. History shows you when you win a championship, you stay. I know that we're different now. The times have changed and being from L.A. and you have two L.A. teams are both good, both on the uprise and both here in your home that you could choose from. So I know it's a tough decision, but at the day, they won a championship. He grew up a Laker fan, the history. Now you have two future Hall of Famers right here that he could play with. You have, you know, arguably, I said last night, the best, most loyal fans, you know, since I've been a Laker. I mean, my social media has been blowing up like it's never had before in my whole 11 years of my career. So what is he looking for? I wouldn't be shocked, but I also wouldn't

be shocked if he chose purple and gold. Do you think like LeBron and Anthony Davis are actively recruiting him? Like some guys don't want to recruit, right? Like I've heard like certain guys in the NBA are not recruiters. You tend to be a very communicative verbal guy. You'd probably be a great recruiter. Do you think LeBron? I'd be top five. I'd be top five recruiter. No, I mean, I can't speak for LeBron, but I would hope so. I mean, I would hope so. I mean, would you, if you're joining a franchise and you're changing your life, moving your family somewhere, wouldn't you want the players, the organization owner, GM,

to make a phone call, reach out, and let's talk about it? I mean, I would think it's a very important decision. It's like any person that changes jobs. You're going to talk about it with your wife, your kids. You're going to talk about it, maybe with your father. They're going to make a phone call. So for LeBron, you would think some sort of communication has been made. Anthony Davis is being involved, man.

I mean, I think people tend to forget about. him on that. This man has got a voice. See how he wanted to change his legacy and being more vocal of where you want to be, man. The power of Anthony Davis is going to have, man. It's going to be hugely. You know, it's funny. K.D. is going to take

a little less money that he could have made. Jimmy Butler's going to take an extra year. In Philadelphia, he could have made more. A lot of these NBA stars, I mean, if Kauai left, he'd leave 50 million guaranteed on the table. I would have a hard time leaving 50 million guaranteed. But I keep watching all these

Stars make little financial sacrifices. Explain that to me. Now, now, now here's the thing. Like, how much of a financial sacrifice if you get it up in the back end? So Kauai signed a one-in-one, and they got his 10 years of service, and ended up signing a five-year deal. Is it really 50 million? It ended up being 15 million. So I'm with you on that. When you look at your, you know, we all have financial advisors. You look at your portfolio and you see, hey, someone like, you know, a superstar have two, three hundred million. He's made a hundred million possibly in the bank. Are you going to look back in life and say, yeah, I could have had $140.

But overall, I added a couple of championships. My legacy, I went to a franchise that for the rest of my life. You see what James Worthy's done, Magic Johnson. Come on, we talk about Magic Johnson, 30, 40 years from him playing. You talk about Kareem O'Doja Barr, Shaquille O'Neal. History goes with guys. And guys that don't have history, they will fade out. All set and done.

You think Kauai is choosing the Lakers? Do you have any inside information? I just think that, I think that, you know, when it comes to being from L.A. and wanting to be home, and when you're a kid growing up, no one thought about the Clippers. No disrespect to them. Great organization. Everyone's a Laker fan.

San Diego, all the way up to Northern California, people are Lakers fans, and this is the opportunity to build your legacy in history. It'll be a different legacy, but it's something that, you know, Lakers not making the playoffs, you can build something here. And you've done something in San Antonio, you've done something in Toronto and now can to come home. When do you think he makes his mind up? I'm hoping at the Fourth of July, man,

everybody's trying to have a little fun. I'm trying to be on my fault, Fourth of July, like Durant a couple years ago. I'm hoping, I'm hoping to meet with Toronto, give himself, you know, into tonight. Let's hopefully have some fireworks tonight. Yeah. All right. So I follow you on Twitter.

You follow me. Would you slide into my DMs if you hear anything? That'd be nice. No, no, no, man. I'm on Laker, man. We got strictly business. Jared Dudley. It's great talking to you, buddy.

Appreciate you, man. 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

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And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42.

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Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.