The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Baker Eyeroll, Pulling Kershaw and Chris Webber on NBA Playoffs, Lakers

Episode Date: April 14, 2022

First, (3:00), Colin gives his take on Baker Mayfield's recent podcast appearance slamming the Browns and critical fans, and if Dodgers were right to yank Clayton Kershaw during a perfect game after 8...0 pitches. Then, NBA Hall of Famer and 5-time All-Star Chris Webber joins Colin to discuss how Patrick Beverley gets under the skin of opponents (15:00), if he would rather face the Celtics or Nets in the playoffs (18:00), the biggest difference between regular season and playoff basketball (21:00), why it's not going to be easy for the Warriors to move off Klay for Jordan Poole (23:00), why Anthony Davis can only be  Robin, but never Batman (27:00), if he was a Magic Johnson fan despite being a Pistons fan (31:00), and why he's worried about the widespread trend of NBA players sitting out regular season games (35:00).  Make sure you follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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.
Starting point is 00:00:23 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.
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Starting point is 00:01:39 Get started now. Sign up promo code Colin so they know we and I sent you. The Colin Coward podcast presented by the Fandall Sportsbook. Hi, everybody. Welcome in to the Thursday morning podcast. Chris Weber, C. Webb will join us. His thoughts on the NBA playoffs and the playoff. and the playing game so far. So Baker Mayfield
Starting point is 00:02:12 did an interview on a podcast, and he just sort of let it rip, let it fly. At one point, he said, on the field, I'm a dickhead. That's never changed. He admits he's got a Napoleon syndrome. He says he felt disrespected by the Browns,
Starting point is 00:02:31 and he says he'd like to go into somebody's office and boo them to see how they crumble. He admitted his critics also got to him. You know, Marshall McLuhan is a famous scholar of communications. He famously said, the medium is the message, meaning not so much what you say, but how you say it and where you choose to say it. Baker was Lakehouse with a bunch of buddies,
Starting point is 00:03:02 host is there, camo hat, drinking a beer, very casual. It's very let it rip. This is where I think Baker Mayfield's personality has never been right to be a quarterback. My wife's an artist. I'm more the compartmentalizer, the observer. We have different personalities. We make it work.
Starting point is 00:03:23 But I will never be able to paint like her. And she won't be able to do certain things I can do. I think the greatest quarterbacks have talent, but their personalities match the position. Tom Brady obviously is a great example. So is Peyton Manning. Very calculated, obsessed with preparation, from the podium to a podcast, to preparation, to preparation, to the sidelines, to pre-snap. You'll see very brief emotional outbursts, a fist pump by Brady. Peyton Manning will occasionally bark at his center, but they're very much under control. Baker's personality is much more comedian, surfer, artist, highly emotional, let her rip.
Starting point is 00:04:20 That, of course, is a big advantage in surfing or a comedian. You lean into your talent, don't overthink it, and just let it go. But the Russell Wilson's, the Peyton Mannings, the Tom Brady's, they understand being a franchise quarterback, everything has to be planned. It's not a letter rip position. Jay Cutler, Cam Newton, Baker Mayfield, sort of letter rip personalities. Don't think before they speak. Often way too casual. It's one of my knocks on Drew Locke, the now Seahawk quarterback.
Starting point is 00:04:58 I don't need to know Baker's got a Napoleon problem. Right now he's interviewing for a job with every other GM in the league. Do you think they want a quarterback with a short guy complex? Do you think they want a quarterback who says he was bothered by the criticism
Starting point is 00:05:18 and had to get off social? A quarterback who said, I'd like to go into fans' cubicles and boo them. He's showing weakness. He's showing an inability to control his emotions, that he doesn't have control of them. They control him. Again, there's a reason certain people flourish in certain jobs. I talk to myself all day.
Starting point is 00:05:42 I was meant to talk. It's what I do. I could never have been an artist. There are certain positions I just don't have the right emotional state for. I think Baker's talented, but he almost has a linebacker's personality. A wide receiver's personality, highly emotional, very casual, says the first thing that comes into his mind. There are a lot of great jobs for that. Quarterback, in my opinion, it's not perfect.
Starting point is 00:06:14 So there was a baseball situation yesterday that got people really worked up. Clayton Kershaw, perfect game. After 80 pitches, he was pulled. And this is something. that's important. First of all, he's six months off surgery. He's an older pitcher. He's very valuable to their World Series chances. It was under 40 degrees. Under 40 degrees. And this is an older pitcher now. Managing that arm in his health becomes really important. We know this in all sports. I totally understood why the Dodgers did it. Folks, sports are not just there. Athletes are not
Starting point is 00:06:59 just there for your personal enjoyment. Colin, there's only been 23 perfect games, and Clayton Kershaw only has one left arm. This franchise, the Dodgers, are favorites to win the World Series. The perfect game is like an award. It's cute. Kershaw's a Hall of Famer, first ballot, his legacy is set, got one World Series, would like to more over $100 million in the bank. Okay.
Starting point is 00:07:33 To win an award, throw a no hitter perfect game is wonderful. But Clayton Kershaw totally understood the situation. Sports is not just there for your enjoyment. Big picture. If Clayton Kershaw is 24 and plays for the Mariners or A's with no shot to win a world championship, the Royals or the Pirates, and he's a kid not coming off. surgery and it's game two. You go for it.
Starting point is 00:08:03 But the bigger picture for the Dodgers is we're not risking an injury. I'll give you an example. Kevin Durant. Remember years ago he got hurt. He came back in for the Warriors in the playoffs. And there were going to be minute limitations. But he came back and he was on fire. And they stretched how many minutes he played.
Starting point is 00:08:27 And he got hurt. Big picture should have pulled them out earlier. You can't just go with an older, somewhat brittle athlete. You can't just go on current momentum. You have to go into games or series with pitch counts or minute limits. So yes, it drives you crazy. Kershah agreed to it, understood it. They have bigger goals here than perfect games or no hitters.
Starting point is 00:08:58 It's 38 degrees. He's just off surgery. And he's an older pitcher. In the NBA playing tournament, there are no sure things. Except one. Bet at least $20 in same game parlayers on Fandall's sports book. You'll get an instant bonus, win or lose. 20 bucks.
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Starting point is 00:10:29 1877 H-O-P-E-N-Y, or text H-O-P-E-N-Y-4-6-7-369 in New York, Tennessee. Redline, 1-800-8-9-9-Tennessee. Visit 1-800-Gambler.net in West Virginia. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,
Starting point is 00:10:53 embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on it. on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:11:10 A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,
Starting point is 00:11:21 or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brain. new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.
Starting point is 00:11:39 One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app,
Starting point is 00:12:04 Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics
Starting point is 00:12:25 from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.
Starting point is 00:12:51 What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know.
Starting point is 00:13:17 I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:13:32 For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, let's bring in Chris Weber, the Hall of Famer, Fab Five, five, five-time All-Star, number one pick, rookie of the year, one of my favorite people. I get them about once a year, and I love it. So I want to talk to you about Patrick Beverly. And I know it's a weird place to start. But, but, you know, Bill Lambere tackled people. Dennis Rodman was a pain in the ass.
Starting point is 00:14:10 And, you know, as a Fab Five guy, as a Michigan guy, is that there is absolutely, in my opinion, room for Patrick Beverly. But what is the line, Chris, between. being physical and screwing with guys' knees, hurting them. Like, as a pro athlete, I don't know what the line is. What is it with Patrick Beverly? What does he do that bothers you? And what are you okay with? Man, that's a great question.
Starting point is 00:14:39 Thanks for having me along. I think, first, I think everybody would want to play with them and a quick, Bill Ambier story, one of my favorite players ever growing up in Detroit. And I used to love it. He's one of the reasons why I love playing on the road and would do like this, the booze, the antics. He really taught us to embrace you're going to get hated anyway.
Starting point is 00:14:57 However, when I played against some true story, my first time in the NBA, going home, I knew the guy. I go up and get a rebound, tap it against the backboard to show how high it could jump and go down the court. You know, it's like old trick,
Starting point is 00:15:09 you catch and tap it. The next time I go up and I see him, he sticks his leg out, and I twist my ankle. I think maybe 17 seconds or two minutes into the game, something like that. And I was out probably six games.
Starting point is 00:15:22 my rookie year. And so even though he's one of my favorite players, this is one of the dirtiest things that I've seen. So I did the game, I believe. I kind of take the game when he had Westbrook bump knees, like after a late timeout. I don't think that was dirty because I've seen players do that their whole careers.
Starting point is 00:15:41 Right. However, I think the answer is not saying anything and maybe taking one technical with a quick elbow. It's really easy. if you don't get caught up in the antics, especially in a two, three game series. It's really easy to shut them down because then they start looking like a little clownish.
Starting point is 00:15:59 The only way they don't look like a clown is when they bring you into the argument and you have to try to figure out who's really, you know, who's the bad actor in this. Yeah, no, that's what he did with Morris. He got him worked up, he got into his head. Was there ever a guy in the league that was a talker with you and tried to reel you in?
Starting point is 00:16:17 Not a talker because you couldn't get me that way. So if you wanted to slide under, the Collins brothers, I hated playing them, Nahara, Mattson, any guy then that would flop smartly use their brain, get in front of you. But I hated those guys because they got the benefit of the doubt. They're beating you up just as much and they're getting the benefit of doubt. And to me, those guys were, I'm going to say just as effective. They don't have the winning record of a Rodman. But in games, they're just as effective as a Beverly as well.
Starting point is 00:16:50 So, yeah, those guys, I used to hate planning this, those guys. So I'm not going to ask you necessarily to pick a series, but I want to talk kind of fundamentally, holistically about the league. So I don't buy the Celtics and I don't buy the heat. And my reason is, and I do buy Brooklyn. Because my theory is when the playoffs start, refs swallow the whistle. They get out of the way. And this is when stars can really manipulate marginal players and average players.
Starting point is 00:17:26 And outside of Jason Tatum, Celtics don't have a closer. I don't think Miami does have a closer. I think Jimmy's just a great athlete. Same with Bam. And so Brooklyn's got so many things I don't like. They're size. They're bench. The lack of chemistry.
Starting point is 00:17:44 They're so KD. Kyrie-centric. Would you rather play? a Boston who grinds your ass on the defensive end who has they they don't have the star power but every time down the floor or would you rather play you know that kind of team but they don't have stars or a Brooklyn who's got two guys that are unstoppable
Starting point is 00:18:09 but all sorts of holes all over the team I remember playing against Dallas who at the time had the fastest pace it was Finley Nash and Durr oh I remember those teams You don't want to play them. You just don't because you just have no rest of thought. Because when those three on the court, you really have to be engaged every single play. Because every play is a threat.
Starting point is 00:18:31 I really thought Cleveland could have come back. I told someone, I called him early in the second half. I said Cleveland's going to come back to win this game. But I didn't take into the fact that Durand is one of the best shooters ever to play. Right. But, yeah, I could definitely, you know, I'm like you, I would take them, but I would rather, you know, play a team that doesn't have those options in the ball. Boston in that as well. I agree.
Starting point is 00:18:53 Yeah. So you're basically, what you're saying Brooklyn does is they put such immense pressure on you because if you're not alert, they will score it well. I mean, the shots that KD was hitting into media in basketball, the hardest shot in the game, the Jordan Master, KD Master, Curry's master every shot. Kobe Master was two dribble pull-up going baseline. because you really don't know how to check the guy. If you pump fakes, can he continue to go? And the shots that KD was hitting, you know, it was terrible.
Starting point is 00:19:27 It was great defense, and he pulls up and shoots that tough shot. That really, if you're another team, if anybody else, but those two, I'm taking my chances with that shot, making the guy take a shot off the dribble fading, right, too. And so I just, yeah, I just, it gets so deflating. It's almost like a dunk used to be worth more than two points because it would take the air out of your team. Yeah. I agree. It's the same way as a bomb. It's seven points, but, you know, it hurts more than a one-yard run. So, you know, I totally agree with you on that theory. And I think a lot of people, you know, are over, they have two high expectations on Boston. I feel you that way. I think people don't take for granted. You need a couple closures in the playoffs. And, you know, one of those guys get cold. You can go to another. And that's why Brooklyn and me has, you know, definitely an advantage. What, tell me the difference between regular season and playoff basketball.
Starting point is 00:20:18 Like last night, they don't count the playing game as the playoffs. And I said on the air, I said, that's playoff basketball. You can call it whatever you want. But even the officiating, they were letting guys bump. You know, I felt watching and I'm like, oh, that's playoff basketball. You can call it whatever. So you tell me, go back to your career. Like, where could you really tell?
Starting point is 00:20:40 Because you notice rookies getting tighter, young guys getting tighter. I think two things for me. how loud the fans were like, everything was just over-exaggerated. Like, now's the time you become a star. Like, the guy off the bench that gets one minute and one steal, it's 100 people outside waiting for
Starting point is 00:21:00 if you get the win. So just that you feel, you know, WWF, you know, you can cut the intensity with a knife. You really feel that. I always used to really notice that. And then second, how tired you would get in the first quarter. Like, I can't explain. I don't know what that is.
Starting point is 00:21:17 Is that nerves and jitter? is that how you've worn up is and everything, but it was almost like, you know, you have no more excuses and you've been waiting even emotionally to put everything into this moment. And so I think it really is the energy and how do you make sure you give your all at times but still can serve at times when you don't need to waste it pumping up the crowd, you know? So, you know, the crowd and then kind of how your body reacted to the moment, you know, is kind of special for me. So when you go over to the western side, um, A team that I find really interesting.
Starting point is 00:21:54 Golden State. So Jordan Poole is now emerging as a star. Clay Thompson's not quite what he was off injury. And when Clay plays a lot of minutes, I think it hinders Jordan Poole. And I think everybody knows that on the roster. But Clay's your guy. Clay's your dude.
Starting point is 00:22:15 You travel with him. You've probably gone to weddings. You get into a weird situation where everybody in the damn room is like, should do Jordan Poole needs to play 42 minutes. Tell me how difficult that is when one of your guys, you know, he's eroding, he's not ascending, and here comes the young buck. Can it screw with chemistry? So I heard you today.
Starting point is 00:22:40 And I hope that for fans sake, you know, I love it when you go off on tangents or rabbit holes. And I hope that you really go down the rabbit hole of the draft pick does not mean as much in big cities anymore. And you're so right. You need to really go down that rabbit hole. I'm sure your researchers can get you a lot of. L.A. didn't get shocked. You know, they didn't draft shack. So I totally, you know, agree with you on that.
Starting point is 00:23:04 However, I don't know if I can answer this question and not be sentimental, and I think that's the problem that Clay gives. They are a dynasty. They were a dynasty. You're right in every way, but I'm just adding the motion, which you're going to have to take an effect
Starting point is 00:23:20 for fans and other things, especially if you don't win one and you're betting on pool, who is going to be great. But, you know, you would do that to Clay and he's not yet a full year in. You know, he, this dynasty never got a chance to win once we saw a team get hurt or Katie get hurt. You know, this unfinished business. He's, you know, of course, Draymond was the last, you know, vestiges of that. So if you are right, I would not want to be part of that. was in Detroit again,
Starting point is 00:23:52 a Pistons fan, when we had a parade. And I think the next day, and Rick Morris said, oh, thank you for helping me lose all this weight. I love you. And like three days later, he was traded for,
Starting point is 00:24:04 I believe Mark McGuire. And I mean, as a Pistice fan, and we won, but I was just hurting that. And I would not want to be the man that trading played Thompson. Because if it, what works?
Starting point is 00:24:14 Like, does anything but a championship works? And if not, I think keeping him around still trying to win a championship may be the best, but I do think that makes sense. Yeah, I mean, listen, this is all, it's a relationship business. I mean, the truth is, Steph Curry has made the owner a billion dollars easily. In value of franchise, in marketing sales, you do sometimes have to go to your star and say,
Starting point is 00:24:43 hey, man, this is a go either way decision. You know, I mean, I think. I got to get more for him, though. I got to get more. And I think you said Anthony Davis earlier, I'm not taking him. I don't, you know, I'm not taking him for play, for the community, because it is relationship. So if we're going to do that, we got to go, we got to go get maybe Bill and someone else and give up our picks because I really believe you on that. But I just don't think, you know, we're going to have to go for a super, superstar because that's who I believe he would.
Starting point is 00:25:17 I still believe he has two years left of that. So let's go to that. Let's pivot to the Lakers. That I'm, I think people tell you who they are. I think it was Maya Angelou who said that. People tell you who they are. Believe them. So when AD came in out of shape off the bubble championship, I mean, LeBron is sitting there thinking timeout.
Starting point is 00:25:40 I'm obsessed with this sport. Dude, I just need you to be in shape as a pro athlete. I would have moved off him there by low, sell high. Now, with the injuries, this is who he is. He's showing you who he is. He's not a workout fiend. He's not really a leader. He's he's he's he's hurt increasingly more.
Starting point is 00:26:04 What was your feeling when you were in the game about athletes that get hurt? Is it bad form to move off them? Or did you always feel like, hey, man, some dudes, they just can't give you 82. too. I mean, how to, as a pro athlete, how do you view that? Yeah, and I was plagued by injuries or like ankle injuries, things like that. So AD's last injury, you can tell like it wasn't as far, you know, like Curry suffered injuries. But I think, you know, if you're going to get injured, I want to know what guy will work is, you know, tail off to come back the fastest. So then I have to take your work ethic into a copy.
Starting point is 00:26:46 And so I do think some guys is unfair. And then I do think as an athlete, you work out a lot so that you can feel confident that you won't have those breakdowns. And then you look at guys that don't work out and you say, see, that's why. And so it's not even the injuries. You know, I just go back to the previous memory of anybody playing with the bar. That's how I just play. Because I know it's a different day. and you can win championships,
Starting point is 00:27:17 and I think, you know, my generation should kind of admire the fact that you can go play with friends and free agency. But at the same time, you know, watching a guy like Dirk, even though he won a championship, but you knew he was a winner even before
Starting point is 00:27:35 if he would have never won one because of how you knew he put Dallas on his back, and you could trust that. He just needed help. I never felt that way with AD that he just needed help. I felt that he could be that missing piece for someone else, but that no one else could be that. And I don't know when he's proven that.
Starting point is 00:27:53 He's a wonderful talent, but, you know, I'm just looking, you know, and he hit some big shots with the Bron. I get that, but, you know, we're talking about him being an alpha, and I don't know when that's worked. So I'm not as high on injury or not being the number, being the number one guy if LeBron's not on the team. The Brian's on the team, he could be number one and two, but if not, I'm not. The Clippers, I had a good source inside the Clippers that told me when AD was on the market,
Starting point is 00:28:26 they didn't think he was A, a leader or be tough. They thought he was gifted. And they didn't think he would play through injuries. They didn't think he worked out enough. Now, they've had their own troubles with Paul, George, and Kauai Leonard staying healthy. But they, the idea was everybody loved AD. and the Clippers have a very shrewd, very deep roster, very shrewd front office. They didn't love him.
Starting point is 00:28:47 And their takeaway was, he has to be led. He can't lead. I mean, listen, Chris, all years you played, how many guys were great leaders, truthfully? Not maybe, maybe, well. To a roster? Maybe. And maybe, and sometimes the best player when I was younger, Maybe he didn't want to be the leader because he was figuring out some other things and was like, I'll let you guys kind of figure it out.
Starting point is 00:29:16 I don't want to, you know, or maybe they just led individually saying, hey, this is how you stay in shape. But, you know, I'm not going to the team signings and things like that. So when you find a guy like that, when you find someone that you admire, they have game. And that is very rare. And usually it's a star player and a guy that has been through everything and doesn't want you to waste your chances. So, no, it's, you really have to learn that as well because every guy, no matter how confident they are, you know, we're the most confident in sports. But, again, we're still fans of the game. And therefore, there's that insecurity.
Starting point is 00:29:47 You follow sport a long time, whether it leaks out of interviews, whether it leaks out in the way you treat people, whether it leaks out on something after the game, you know, you can kind of see those areas. So to say great leaders, man, yeah, maybe, maybe, yeah, yeah, maybe two or three a team. Okay, HBO winning time, not sure if you've seen it. It's the Jeff Pearlman book on the championship Lakers. Speaking to leadership, Magic Johnson, you had prickly stoic Kareem. You had a crazy owner, Norm Nixon, and here came Magic, big personality, budding heads, a lot of pushback, obviously a great leader. As a Michigan kid, as a Pistons fan, how did you view, he went to Michigan State, he was on the other team, Lakers. Did you hate Magic as a player? I remember
Starting point is 00:30:37 I remember Michael Jackson coming out in 1984 and I remember screaming to my mom like please do Billy Jean. I remember that I think it was Motown 25th. I remember where I was. I remember where I was when Magic got out of a limo and saw Bird and I ran around the house screaming. I remember it like oh what's going on like I was the biggest Magic Johnson fan in the world. His father worked in a factory. He was from Lansing, Michigan. I got to meet him in seventh grade. His smile, he was tall and a point guard. He got to push the ball. He was in a video with
Starting point is 00:31:14 new addition. I think it was secret. Like video, this is my favorite. You know, he was cool. And he was like a man of the people. And so I loved him. I, you know, and growing up, you know, I grew up loving Michigan and Michigan State. So I knew, you know, who he was. As a Pistons fan, it was like the only situation where you could like the Lakers in their fake Hollywood ways because you knew they had sincerity from Michigan there. But when we beat them, I wanted to beat them more than anything and I wanted Isaiah to get off. I wanted to beat them. But, you know, he has to be him, Byrd, a couple of other guys, has to be my favorite players of all times. So he was our Dr. Jay. He was the world of basketball. And I mean, you know, I love LA. I remember like, you know,
Starting point is 00:32:00 putting in the BCR watching tapes. watching tapes in the VCR of just the opening scene of we beat LA, beat LA from the screams in Boston and those type of things. So, yeah, magic was, you know, he always pointed. I used to tape my fingers like him because I don't know. I thought maybe that could make you dribble. But yeah, he was, he's magic, man. So yeah, I haven't seen a series that I'm trying to wait so I can binge watch it all.
Starting point is 00:32:27 I can't wait. But yeah, man. And, you know, to have leadership like that as well, from getting in the seat to, and And also, if I could say one more thing, the best leaders to me are the ones that, like, shut up when it's time to work. And from what I know about magic, the practices were legendary because as hard as Riley and others were on him, he was always ready in his shape. Some people just had a motor like that, like Jordan, stay able to do all that.
Starting point is 00:32:52 And part of that leadership is not just being able to be a rah-rah guy, but them trusting that you're going to get on the line with them after a rough night and runs some spress as well. So the other day I had a former meta world piece. I think his name is Meta Sandertharthes now. I hope I got that right. And I said to him, I said, man, we can't normalize all these stars missing games. Like I'm a kid from a small town. I went to a Sonics game every three years.
Starting point is 00:33:20 If downtown Freddie Brown and Gus Williams and Jack Smithman didn't play, it was bad, man. It was sad for me. And he said something very interesting, Chris. he said, listen, man, these guys now in the last three or four years are making $30, $40 million. They're young people. Like, it's a lot. And they're, they are hanging out with Hollywood A-listers. They're making more than movie stars.
Starting point is 00:33:46 And he said, I think over time, they'll get adjusted to it. A lot thrown at them. They've never made more money. He's like, I mean, he goes, it was six, seven years ago. A guy could make nine. million and that was money. Now it's 35. And the new CBA benefits the star players. They make more than ever. And it was an interesting takeaway. And I thought to myself, you know what? I remember my first big contract. That was like 32. 32, not 22. You get ahead of yourself a little bit.
Starting point is 00:34:15 You start thinking you're really, you know, a little bit greater than you are. Your takeaway on the missing of games by stars. Do you think some of it is we're just transitioning? A lot of money. last four years, guys are, you know what I mean, feeling themselves a little, or are you genuinely long-term worried about it? I'm a little worried about it because it's part of the culture. So it starts with the team. You know, it starts with the team going from when I played, we would be in practice after getting hurt in the game,
Starting point is 00:34:54 a Wednesday that doesn't matter in Milwaukee. I'm talking about doesn't matter. but because the culture is to eat a steak and yell at a guy and feel good about yourself through that, not getting any better through practice, but running lines and things that have nothing to do with getting in shape. That mentality, remember the jokes, he takes years off of guys' careers. It was a joke, but it wasn't a joke. Guys were not joking about it. And so kind of that over-exaggerated sense of man-up and all that stuff,
Starting point is 00:35:23 when really it should have been like, hey, guys, we just had a six game and seven nights. You all need a day off, but it was always a big war. So one, that really messed it up. So two, teams trying to fix it. And then validating rest is what opened the flood days, my friend. When you have a team saying, you know, hey, guys, just let me know how you're feeling. Then, you know, my loyalty is to my feeling, not to getting through it. I don't want to walk the treadmill and get up every morning.
Starting point is 00:35:51 But if I don't think about my feelings, I'll get through it. And overall, it helps my body. So I think the team gave a way out. Third, you know, when you did that at 32 or I did that in my 20s, we were like going against the grain, kind of like you knew there were better stories of don't do this, don't do that. Well, now it's the culture of, you know, why not? You know, you should be doing this right. You know, and so I think anytime you're going, anytime the culture seems to be going in the way of rest or, you know, when I play with AI, this is so true. and so many things are over-exaggerated.
Starting point is 00:36:30 But he really played every game. And you can say ego, you can say pride, but he always thought it was somebody in the arena that never saw it. And maybe you have to be that good sometimes to realize, like, I'm going to make this kid's life. Maybe it has to be that, because sick men, those guys knew it
Starting point is 00:36:48 because the game didn't come on TV, it was late to late, you know, maybe it was more special. You know what I mean? Sure. Yeah, I get a little worried about that, but I do believe, you know, in the optimism of meta. You know, I do think it can't come back, but we used to be like we make the money, money don't make us. Now, we might do something stupid with the money and, you know, lose our mind. But the principle was, you know, we play the game.
Starting point is 00:37:11 Money doesn't make you good. My paycheck, matter of fact, you make more of me, I'm going to show you. You know, so that worries me that the spirit of the spirit of it has changed as opposed to what guys are really doing. Yeah, no, I think there's been a lot of cultural changes. It's harder to hard coach a player. I mean, Chuck Daly had Hall of Famers. He coached them hard. Pat Riley, hard.
Starting point is 00:37:39 Yes. It's hard. That hard coaching thing, Chris, it doesn't really exist anymore. No, no, no. Thank you for coming to work today. Take him to sit. Hey, it's great seeing you, my man. I appreciate it.
Starting point is 00:37:53 Hey, thanks for having me. All right. C-Web. The Volume. Make sure to check out the Dramon Green Show. I brought Dramon Green into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices in sports, unique perspective, understands behind the rope. Also chops up with guests like Gary Payton, Zach Levine, Tracy McGrady. Make sure download the Dramon Green Show wherever you get your podcast, only on the Volume podcast network.
Starting point is 00:38:37 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.
Starting point is 00:39:02 Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.
Starting point is 00:39:26 Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app. or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J.
Starting point is 00:39:45 And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.
Starting point is 00:40:03 Listen to Look Back at it on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.
Starting point is 00:40:21 Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Cliford Show on the I. IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast.
Starting point is 00:40:47 Guaranteed human.

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