The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Mar 31, 2020

Episode Date: March 31, 2020

Michael Jordan's Bulls reached a level of popularity no dynasty could ever matchRoger Goodell is doing the right thing but creating a unified message Colin disputes a story that he is being controlled by the Chargers Guest: Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant's Manger and Business Partner  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 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played. with and just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to listen to learn the hard way on the iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast what's up guys

this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert 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 a ref my mom wants you to wave at her what Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart radio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go live in Los Angeles.

This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, Sirius XM Channel 83. loaded today. Peter Schrager in 30 minutes. Kevin Durant's agent, Rich Climann in an hour from now. The great Urban Meyer is going to be joining us today as well. And Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you this morning on a Tuesday? I'm doing good. How are you calling? I'm feeling great. And I wanted to take people down memory lane. A lot of times you go to YouTube and you watch something and you, it's from the 60s or the 70s and the 80s.

and you feel like you know it because you watched it. But that's not really the way it is. There's real time, and then there's going back and watching something. And I saw yesterday my former employer, ESPN, is going to expedite their Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls 10-part series and move it up here in the next couple of weeks. And I think it's a good move because I'm a talk show host and I need content. But I want to talk about those Chicago Bulls, and I believe they're the most beloved team in the history of my life.

and perhaps the history of the country. Really? We don't all love the Yankees when they're winning. Most people are now tired of Alabama. We really never got tired of the Bulls. We never did. And there's two or three reasons why. Let me start with this.

They were based right in the middle of the country, not way down south or out west or in that rich area in the northeast. Blue-collar Chicago, right in the middle of it. And they were built mostly through the draft. Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen drafted, right? It wasn't just, although they had some pieces,

it was not just a mobility story. That's the first part. I tend to think being in the middle of the country, Ohio State football, Green Bay Packers, Jordan's Bulls, you don't feel like you're down there or up there or over there, smack dab in the heartland. The second thing, and I think this is a really big deal, why they're the most beloved team easily of my life. We were fascinated with the Healds.

We resented mostly the Warriors. People loved the Bulls. People loved the Bulls. I mean, after they beat you, they may have hated them in New York, but you were kind of fascinated. It wasn't even envy. It was sort of like, I like watching them as much or more than my favorite team. And here's the second part of that, is that they played to each part of the country. The Northeast, and I've lived there for 10 years before I left, is tougher.

Smaller states, lots of people, you take the subway, it's vertical living, it's multi-generational living, it's cold weather, it's tough. It's tough, brutal winters. And New Yorkers and Philadelphia guy likes to be known, Boston guy. is tough, and they are tougher. Out west is different. We have big states, lots of land, fewer people, it's sunny all the time. It's already 70 out here. Not as much vertical living. We don't do subways. We get into our cars. We have backyards and space. We're not as tough. In the east, much of the money is built on tradition. Law firms. Wall Street, buying and selling real estate. Those have been

around forever. Out West, it's about making stuff. We make movies. Silicon Valley. We create software and apps. It's out here, in my opinion, much easier than living out there. Although I really did like it out there. I love the tradition. I like the prep schools. I like the old universities. I like the old churches. Out here, we just bulldoze and build a new one. So the sensibility of the East, tough and tradition, oh, the bulls were all about tradition. They were tough. They go right into your face, hard foul, long, physical. They love playing in New York.

They love the winner. They put the jackets on and they'd go right after you and they'd foul twice as hard as you did. That played in the Northeast. But they also played as an Eastern Conference team out west. We think we're cooler out here. Our weather's better. Silicon Valley, beaches, Kardashians. The West is about glamour.

Showtime Lakers. People come out here and they make movies. They're stars. The Western conferences had more stars than the Eastern Conference for the last 25 years in the NBA. We're about creating more space, warmer weather, easier life, not jammed in elevators. It's just the way it is out here.

I always made the joke about the East Coast. Out west, when you really make money, you no longer have to wear a tie. Out east, you just buy a nicer tie. But the Bulls play to the West because they had the coolest player. And he was the most fashionable. And he may have been the most handsome. Everybody liked Michael. So the Bulls could give you lunch pale Midwest, where they were from, the grinders.

They could give you tough and physical, like the Eastern Conference in the Northeast. and then they could come out west, kick our butts, and be glamorous and cool, and a rock tour. They were like you, too, except they were long, could jump, and slash and dunk. They were cool, and that matters out west, where people, fair or not think they're cooler. The other thing about this team, they could beat you so many ways. It's the longest team I've ever seen. It's the best defensive team I've ever seen. They had the best coach in Phil Jackson.

They had the best player in Michael. They had the best slasher in Pippin. They had the best duo in Pippin and Michael. They had the best European player in Tony Coochooch. They had the best rebounder in Dennis Rodman. They had the best defender off the bench in Ron Harper. The centers, it was sort of a merry-go-round. This guy, that guy, the other guy.

It didn't really matter. Luke Longley, Will Purdue. It didn't really matter. Bill Cartwright, nothing wrong. They're part of the team, gave them length. this team could beat you so many ways. If you could use the 1990 rules, they would destroy the heedles who were just too small. They would destroy the warriors who are too finesse.

Think about this. Golden State was derailed by 6'5 PJ Tucker of Houston. Think Pippin, MJ, and Rodman would have their way with the warriors if you're able to hand check. There's never been a team like Chicago. Heartland, middle of the country, so they obviously. played there. But they had the toughness and the traditional gravitas to play in the northeast. Where people out east, they really, and I'm a West Coast guy. I love living for 10 years in Connecticut. The churches, the people were principled, they're into tradition. You know, I've said

before that people out east chase their fathers and grandfather's dreams. Out west, you chase your own. You probably fail more often, but it's more entrepreneurial out west. It's more about tradition out east, and they played to the old school traditionalist out east, and they played to the cool glamour of the Western Conference. Best coach, best player, best duo, best rebounder, best shooter, Steve Kerr, best European player. They could beat you. Listen, I loved Kobe Shaq, but it felt very L. Shaq was doing movies. Showtime Lakers, maybe the second best team I've ever seen, but again, they felt Western. I mean, forum, magic, the intellect, the aloof, Korean, Abdul-Jabbar. It felt very western. And oh, by the way, I like the

Healds, but that felt like it was built solely on mobility. The Bulls had some of that, but it wasn't their, it wasn't their nature. It wasn't their DNA. They would occasionally go get somebody to fill a gap, but it was built on Jordan and Pippin. And so I can't wait for it. I think it's going to be fantastic. They'll never be a 10-part series. As much as I enjoyed the Warriors, I never resented them. As much as I love the Healds. I don't think they're worthy of a 10-part series. The most beloved team in my life as a sportscaster, I was a local sportscaster in Tampa, Florida, nobody else in the department like the

NBA, so I would go cover the Bulls every time they played Shaq and the Orlando Magic. It was like no other game. It was like no other series. They were a rock band. Then I moved to Portland. And Michael Jordan spent a lot of time in Portland because of his Nike relationship and he is based in Beaverton, Oregon. And they would come to Portland, and they weren't the lead sports story for me. They were an A-block story. They were the lead story. They'll never be another team that relates to all three sections of the country.

The glamour of the West, lunch pail of the Midwest, and the toughness and the angst of the Northeast. Check, check, check. And they had the best coach in my lifetime. Phil Jackson, that didn't hurt either. 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. from viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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, 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 Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliver 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? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clipper Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives' show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King. Recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about.

As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever, you get your podcast. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. So I saw this story. It's interesting. Whenever I see a story in sports, Joy Taylor's joining me, I always try to revert back to, I've said this before. If I was an athlete, how would I act? Like Kevin Durant's agent comes on in 40 minutes. I would not have left. I'm not saying I'm

Kevin Durant, so that's not analogous, but I wouldn't have left a great coach, a great roster, a great teammate. I think that's a bad call as a professional, but yeah, do what you want to do. I don't care. But here's a prime example. So an NFL executive is complaining to Peter King, two of them, that they're mad that Roger Goodell will hand out punishment if anybody badmouse the idea of a draft. Says the executive, the anonymous executive to Peter King, why on earth would you ever threaten an opinion? Whatever happened to freedom of speech? It's freedom of consequences, chief. You got to figure that out, Mr. Executive. Let me ask you this, Mr. Executive, who complained to Peter King.

Do you want 26 different people in your organization? Calling up columnists and talk show hosts before the draft, or would you like to have one message to the public? Oh, wait, my bad. Yeah, the NBA had a general manager that just went out on his own on a China democracy topic. The League lost $600 million. Listen, all you people. people that seek addaboys on Twitter. We're going into 15% unemployment. Your newspaper. People are no longer doing ads. LA Times, advertisers. Done. Stay off Twitter. Support your company. Stay employed. Support your family. Companies are going to have to make really tough choices. Roger Goodell is seeking what Belichick seeks and what every CEO seeks in a crisis.

Alignment. We think long and hard. We hold. meetings about stuff, and then we decide as a company, this is what we're doing. If you want to be a lone ranger, move on to a different industry or a different company. But the NBA, Adam Silver, let everybody have an opinion on China. The hell happened. LeBron got ripped. Steve Kerr talked and then backed out. He got ripped, and I love Steve Kerr. And I love LeBron. And Darrell Mori talked and lost $500 million for the league. You're not selling out if in crisis, you align right behind your leader and say, you know what, we'll get pushed back on this

because there's a lot of people on Twitter, although 22% of the country is all that uses it, and 6 to 8% of that 22% actually are active users. There's enough people out there that are PC, that are drama kings, trying to get attention. They'll make something out of nothing. The draft is a phone call business. So is free agency.

So is releasing the schedule. Of course you go with it. Roger Goodell is saying, we're in crisis. And when Facebook is in crisis, Mark Zuckerberg's doing most of the talking. And Bill Belichick doesn't let his assistants talk. And now Adam Silver made a big mistake not calling everybody, owners, GMs, players, and saying, listen, this is tough.

This is a situation where I'm protecting you from yourself. Here's what we're going to say on the Chinese democracy issue. Nothing. We don't want to lose $700 million. We don't live there. It's not our form of government. And I know a lot of you are like, you're just selling out. All right.

Okay. My shows are mostly sold out. I can live with that. But this idea that the NFL execs are, a couple of them are mad and now whining to media people, ask yourself this, executives. Before the draft, do you want people having opinions all over media platforms about who you guys are taking? Oh, wait, you don't. You don't want that.

You want to keep it really, really quiet. In fact, I would be shocked if Howie Roseman of the Eagles and Tom Telesco of the Chargers and Chris Ballard of the Colts have meetings regularly on, hey, this is what we're saying and this is what we're doing. You think anybody's giving away their secrets to Mel Kuyper or me? God, no. I know. I know GMs.

I've had dinner with them, lunch with them. Anytime I ask about their first round pick, they get vague. They can't make eye contact with me. Yeah, we like everybody. I swear to God. Because I know they've got a company policy about the draft and they're not going to give it out. So Roger Goodell is just saying, we don't want the NBA China mess. I watched it.

It was bad. They lost hundreds of millions. Stay behind it. Let's keep our TV partners at NBC happy and CBS happy and Fox happy and ESPN and Disney happy. That's who pays the bills, not Twitter. alignment behind us. It's not selling out. It's selling. It's selling your business to your broadcast partners. Call me a sellout. But I got news for you. We're going into tough economic times. You want to be a lone ranger. Knock yourself out. I'm behind my company. They're going through a

crisis. That means I'm going through a crisis and I'm here for them. You go get the out of boys on Twitter. At Roger Goodell, not interested. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. So I've always had a theory. I say things and then people react to things I say. I don't react to your reaction of my reaction. There are occasional exceptions when members of the media

print something inaccurately about me. Fans, I don't care. Fans are fanatics. They love me. They hate me. Doesn't matter. What does matter, though, is that you know the truth about stories that I break, which are infrequent because I don't consider myself really a reporter or a slash journalist, but I do talk to GMs all the time and coaches all the time and scouts all the time in all sports. And that's why I occasionally break a story.

Like a couple of weeks ago when Tom Brady chose the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we broke it nationally. We beat all of them. We beat the Schifters. We beat everybody. And there's a lot of great NFL reporters. I beat him by about six hours. That's not my business, but I did it. It's reported today by Mike Florio, and he's got a website.

I don't have it in front of me, but a website, a football website, and has a radio TV show. He said, Cowherd has a relationship with a team that dates back, the Chargers, that dates back to the time they let him in his war room. And the Chargers are spreading the word. They don't want Cam Newton. And so Coward had little choice, but to play ball. And he's talking about here, Newton. a much better pick than Tyrod Taylor, which I don't think today he necessarily is.

It says the Chargers, by all appearances, handed him the news that Tom Brady had picked Tampa over L.A. Well, let me protect not me, but the Chargers. No, they did not. No, they did not. And that's why I'm going to comment on this inaccuracy. Let me tell you, the Chargers did not tell me who it was. In fact, I texted the General Manager of the Chargers, the second I got the news.

And I said, Tom chose Tampa. I'm sorry. I know you wanted him badly. Or something thereabouts. The general manager, Tom Telesco, sent me something that I'm not going to repeat and was a little shocked by it. Later that day, to show you the class of Telesco, he didn't have to do this. I was surprised he did.

I was at home taking a nap. The phone rang. I picked it up. It was him. He called to call. congratulate me on breaking the story. Nobody handed me this in the NFL. It was the only time in my career that I broke an NFL story with a non-NFL source.

In fact, that non-NFL source is tickled, thinks it's hysterically funny that the biggest story of the NFL was broken by him, who happens to be a friend of Tom Brady and an acquaintance and a friend of mine. So let me just clear the air to protect the chargers. They did not hand me that story. They didn't. You know, I'm not religious, but I swear in a stack of pseudo-bibles. That's not where I got it. In fact, I told them.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you, exactly what happened. 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 athletes themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio 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, 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, Keir Games, as 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, A, ref. want you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, Brett. My mama want you to wave at her. What?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Kunky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports.

And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Rich Climans, Kevin Durant's business partner, co-founder of 35 Ventures, founded with KD. They're doing this thing called Q Ball. It's a documentary. Chronicles the lives of incarcerated basketball players,

San Quentin State Prison. It's remarkable stuff. It's on Fox Sports. What I'm hearing, it's unbelievably well done. And Rich is joining us. Let me start with this. So I want to talk about Kevin. He tested positive for COVID-19.

So let's just address that first, Rich. How is Kevin? Fortunately, feeling great. He is getting used to with nothing. more than what we're dealing with now and is out of the kind of skiing and he's feeling pretty good. This was always going to be a difficult year. Kevin is verbal. He likes to talk. He likes social media. And lots of people do. I have friends that are on their phones all day, my kids. And so when he got shut down for the year, he's an artist and he couldn't do his artistry.

He couldn't play basketball where he's probably first or second best player in the world. I always thought Joy and I said, it's going to be tougher, Kevin, because Kevin likes to perform. has it been difficult, not just the virus, but for a great performer to not perform. If I was a great artist and I couldn't sing for a year, that takes away a big chunk of me. How tough has this all been for Kevin? Artists, by the way, and if they took away your show, you'd be miserable, right? So I think there's a, I think there's the obvious that, you know, when your true love and your life, passion, the exact feeling, the literal feeling of like this thing I love more than anything in the

world I can't do. I can't play basketball. But I think incredibly mentally strong, I think some people, I think one clearly has nothing to do with the other. And he's incredibly mentally strong. And I think he was quick before anyone around him, before all his friends and family, to see this as some sort of blessing and know that that was the able to kind of matter the game, to take a nine, ten years old. I think he really looked at it. Understand and learn the organization within the organization, his meetings to be at the he was on the bench this year.

And, you know, I think he had to see it. You were, you know, it's funny. You were in sports, and then there's, you work in music and you're back to sports. And I think more than any sport, every sport has a different sensibility. Rich Climond joining us, partner with KD. And I think basketball and music

have always been connected at the hip for years. And I grew up loving the NBA in the 70s. And I've always felt there's kind of a music NBA thing, now more than ever. You worked with Jay-Z. So you were sports, you worked with Jay-Z, or you were in music, and now you're back to sports. Are there similarities? I mean, kind of take me through that tunnel of, you know, celebrities, stars, music, and sports, and how they're conjoined. It's been well-documented and pretty obvious for, I think for me, I was always sports. And

I had such a gauge on my own ability, which I think is rare. A lot of times with kids that like play so much and try so hard to make it to certain levels. I knew pretty early on like I I would be in the right gyms in New York to quickly know that I would be in the right rooms with the right can't even like imagine moving at that speed. But I didn't want to be out of the gym like I just wanted to be around it. And when I would go to Nick Games side seats to just that were in the arena and just how incredible all of that was. And for me it was like if I can be close to the game in that way in any way, that I got to pursue that. And I saw so many similarities with inherent cool that people in the NBA had to me when I was a kid and to these like music

impresarios and to these guys that were kind of creating their business and their enterprise. Oh, people like Jay-Z and people like Puff Daddy and people like happening. And for me, like I started in sports. I was trying any way to get into it so much so that like I was a bookie in college. But we'll show that for a second. I want to have everything to do with sports. So when I had an opportunity to work on this show The Life on ESPN, I felt like I was as close to sports at that point in my life that I was going to get. But the only real job they had for me was the music.

And they told me they had a music budget. I'm not spending any of it then. And I went and found all these unsigned artists and producers and young labels in New York. And I started saying to them, if we get your own ESPN's The Life, you know, I can't pay you, but it's show them that you made it. I journey through music. I was able to meet Jay-Z. Had an opportunity to work for him for years and Rami-nominated artists. I managed artists that I knew that sports was my life's passion.

And when I had the opportunity to get back into it, I really just never looked back on music. And it was odd for a lot of people around me because I had put so much into it. But I studied collective bargaining agreements when I was younger because I thought it was cool. I memorized box scores. I knew every college in the 80s and 90s. I just jumped into it. And I think all the different principles that I'd learned in the entertainment business and all the different kind of dealmaking strategies and the personalities and just understanding how to communicate with talent, I was able to take that, add to that what I knew so well.

And then for me, it just felt natural from that point forward. You know, I've compared Kevin to Aaron Rogers. Great, transcendent, generationally relevant, smart on and on the court, smart with business. Both have some. Silicon Valley ties. And both are sensitive. And I've said repeatedly on this show, it's okay to be sensitive. I have people in my family that can't take criticism. And then, you know, for me, I've been getting it all my life doing this.

It's no big deal. I'm numb to it. Kevin, when he left the Warriors, I said, I think he's making a mistake. I think this is the perfect place for him. I think they're incredibly human at Golden State. I think he has great support system. And I think Steph's the easiest superstar to play with perhaps in the league. And I stand by that.

I didn't like seeing him leave. Was there any point during it as his business partner that you guys talked about it, that you wrestled with it? Or did Kevin make up his mind? And, you know, as somebody as his business partner, you just say, all right, that's your decision. I respect it. I'm going to support you. Was there any wrestling with it?

Well, yes, we talk about it. Yes, we wrestle with it. And yes, it's his decision ultimately. And I never challenge it. I think that a transition into being his agent, and then we kind of took all and turned it into this business has changed. So, yes, obviously, just like any decision we met, but what we're not business partners in is his job in the MBA. In that job, I'm his manager, I'm his friend, I listen, and nobody can make a more educated decision. Nobody on where they're going to play.

A tricky thing at times, because it's like if you would ask me what job you should take at a certain network, I'd give you my opinion, but I don't know. the ins and out to what goes on every day. I don't know who you see when you walk through the hallway, how human resources deals with you, where you want to live, what kind of temperature and climate you want to live in. Those decisions he has to make, and he has to stand by and who he wants to play with.

And I think from that standpoint, I get frustrated when I hear certain people say, like, that agents, how could they let a player make that decision? How could they ever allow him to go there? Like, that representation should be fired. Like, that's all stereotype, because the reality

is NBA players and athletes in general to me are some of the most astute business minds you'll find, especially at young ages. So I give my opinion for sure. It's like Kevin, everyone knew I was a Nick fan. Kevin knew that. But at the same time, like, we talk and then he makes his decision. Yeah. Let's get back to the sensitive part. You don't like me using that word. Well, I think it's, I sometimes look, and I'm not even saying this with Kevin. I think like sensitive, emotional, okay, so does a day to go back and forth with somebody that, that disagrees or makes some blanket statement or some inaccuracy, yes. Does that usually represent somebody that's like in agony over the statement or so pissed off

that they have to somehow defend themselves? Yeah, that usually is of someone being sensitive. I think that Kevin honestly, like, enjoys the banter, the phone and enjoy the conversation. Coquently, like, why everybody love the Bulls. You enjoy that. Kevin enjoys that banter where people on social media, and that's honestly why these platforms are created. Because I think when he started it, everybody thought he was nuts and sensitive and everyone wanted to know why he would ever stoop to this level. And then you see everybody doing it.

I mean, it's just kind of the way of the world and he grew up in this generation. I don't think it reflects how he's feeling. It's like when he puts the phone down, you don't see him walk to the kitchen. Like, I can't believe this kid just said, you know what I mean? He doesn't think about it like that. Yeah, no, some of this stuff, Rich is generational. Joy and I sometimes, Joy will do stuff. and I'm like, my daughter's constantly trying to talk me and going on TikTok. And I'm like, I'm not going on TikTok. And but you know what? I'm like, but she just loves it.

And I'm like, I should be a better dad. So I think your answer is very. On TikTok with my kids, by the way. No, I mean, your answer is real. As I'm in my 50s, Kevin's in his, I think, early 30s or late 20s. How old is Kevin right now? 31. Okay.

And he's got a lot of years left. By the way, the NBA is dealing with a virus. It's really unfortunate. that it comes right in the heart of what I thought was a fascinating season. I would like to see the league. I think this is too good of a year to let it go, especially for some older star players, and I don't know how many years they have left.

But this is also a very fluid situation globally. I don't want you to speak for Kevin, but where do you land and maybe your business with KD land on the return of the NBA this year in the next 45 days, maybe? Got it. Well, I definitely will not speak for Kevin, and I don't think it has any effect on our business. I know it doesn't. But I can speak to you as just a fan of the NBA and with somebody, CDC, get potentially hundreds of thousands. You know, when 9-11 happened, as tragic as that was, there was an obvious need for some sense of getting people together, some sense of patriotism. And it was an isolated event, while so tragic and scary, as the days continued to go, we were ready. to see something to distract us. The reality is, is while we do want to be distracted and, let's say, quote, unquote, entertained now,

and it would be so nice to see. The idea of trying to salvage something that may just not be salvageable is the reality. Like, this is so fluid. I'm in the middle of New York right now. To think that players are going to be so quarantined for 14 days, go to some isolated venue, play basketball, and empty arenas. Well, I don't think that's necessarily true,

And I don't think that that's necessarily the right thing to do. And I know there's a lot of money at stake. I don't want to speak to that. I think that this is one of those situations where the reality is it may just not be salvageable. And maybe it will be in a month because I think a month ago we never could have imagined where we are now. But I just think it's much dialogue on how we can rescue the season when in reality it's like smack in the middle of this tragedy in the world. And I can't even imagine like emotionally. why would players be any different than us?

Why are they not going to react the same way we would going back on? I just don't know. I know there's an economic part to it that I won't get into the minutia on that. And that's real because that has to do with the economy and everything. But, you know, there's so much to take into account and to think that, like, putting a season so we can get like an empty arena, bucks Pacers game on a Friday. Is that really going to get everybody back in the swing of things? Like, no.

No, I think that's a really honest answer. Rich Clyman, co-founder, 35 Ventures, founded with KD. I like that you answer all the questions. A lot of people don't. You do, I like that. You know, Kevin's not going to do our show. Because I think sometimes, it's funny, I saw Draymond Green in a fight, and he came up and he said, I really like you.

You defend me. And then I think to myself, I have Rich Climmon on today. That probably means rich things I don't like KD, which I do. And I always, Kevin's a very complex person. and I don't always agree with what he does, but he's incredibly human. He's raw. He's open.

And I've got to be honest, he's unique. A lot of athletes follow in step. He doesn't, and I like that about him. He's a very, very unique person. I get his emotions. I see him crying. I see him mad. I see him arguing.

And, you know, as a sportscaster, Rich, I like that. He gives me a lot of different stuff. And I like that. I appreciate that. I never really thought, and I do watch your show, I'm kind of just like consume so much, too much. But I feel like in order to build our business, I have to get such a gauge in the temperature of the world and arts in general that I do.

And I enjoy watching your show. I don't think you dislike him. I think you're honest as well. And I think that like you give your different feelings on him, but I never once felt that your overriding sentiment. I don't think you have a stance one way or the other. And I know you respect his game. And I think to Kevin, that's really what I mean.

You guys don't all have to like him. And I think you also speak in a sophisticated way about the game. And I know for me, I can tell, like, look, I'm not, I don't think that every or a game the same way others can. And just because they didn't play doesn't mean they don't have an incredible knowledge of it. And I think you fall in that category. I love it. Yeah, I love it. And by the way, I love the, Joy and I both.

I grew up with the Sonics and the Blazers. I'm one of those guys, what you like at 9 you like, and I love the NBA. I mean, the NBA, you know what's funny, rich about the NBA, and I appreciate this. I tell people this all the time. You know, like baseball is like Disneyland. It's not cool or hip, but you feel better when you take your kids to a game. The NBA is fashion and music. People love it or they don't, but it's style matters.

I mean, Dr. Jay got me into the league because he was cool and he was different. Style matters. The NFL is just a cold business, and I read the Wall Street Journal. So I like business. And it's okay. It's okay, Rich, for all three sports to be different. Soccer's international. Baseball is very much traditional.

The NBA is hip-hop, cool, young, progressive, and stylish. And the NFL's pro-business and Wall Street. And God, I love the NFL and the NBA. And their sensibilities are totally different. One is very much about the star. One's very much about the shield. And I think that's what's great about sports. I mean, that's what's great about music.

I do, too. If baseball is taking your kids at Disney World, soccer is like that one summer where you tell your kids you're going to go to Europe because you want to do something a little bit more cultural. That is so true. Hey, Rich, thanks for coming on the show. It's my pleasure. It's my honor. I will say one last thing. Sure.

The only reason why everybody loved the Bulls, even though that whole thing you said was. Well, he was, you know what, the best player, the most fashionable player, arguably the most handsome player. He was the coolest player. and he was winning all the titles. And by the way, Bob Costa said this yesterday, Rich. Jordan did get one break. He got the Nike money before anybody else, and they built a protective shield around him, Rich.

So even the criticism of him that he could be a bad teammate and selfish, he was almost like Ronald Reagan as a president. We liked Reagan so much. We loved Reagan. I mean, Reagan was like everybody's cool, handsome grandpa. We liked Reagan so much. his mistakes he once joked about bombing Russia we're like oh that's Reagan

you know if Obama does that he gets crushed there are Michael but also Alton said that and they didn't and he said it in between the 11 o'clock news and the morning news it wouldn't be a big deal I mean it was just a different era you know he played one national TV game there was the exposure we got to him was just him at his peak performance doing what he did best

nowadays you get exposed Jordan I mean there's it's like a recipe People will never understand, but everybody loved them. Even New Yorkers loved them. Rich Climond. Thanks, bud. Thanks, man. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

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