The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - HUGE NFL Free Agency Moves, SGA vs. Jokic For MVP? LeBron’s Spat With Stephen A. Smith

Episode Date: March 10, 2025

Colin starts with the flurry of breaking news from NFL free agency and starts with the news that star WR Davante Adams is joining the Rams and why it’s indicative of the Rams going all in to win a Super Bowl in the next two years with Matthew Stafford (3:00). Then, he reacts to Sam Darnold potentially landing with either the Steelers or Seahawks and why he’d be better served landing with the Seahawks (5:45). Colin explains why he would choose Darnold in his prime over an aging Aaron Rodgers if he was the GM in Seattle. He also addresses the rumors that Rodgers and Russell Wilson could end up with the New York Giants, and explains why an aging quarterback WON’T be able to save that franchise (9:00).  Then, he’s joined by Jason Timpf, host of “Hoops Tonight” to break down all things NBA! They start with the Lakers falling on the road to the Celtics and why those teams could end up meeting in the NBA Finals (19:45). They discuss whether Luka Doncic could end up being a defensive liability and whether the move to LA could motivate and rejuvenate him after questions of his physical fitness were a major part of the Mavericks moving him (24:00).   They break down why Jayson Tatum will never be a true “face of the league” due to both his personality and his lack of one true A+ trait on the court (28:00). They debate whether Nikola Jokic or SGA is more deserving of the MVP award and Colin argues that SGA has been more valuable despite Jokic being more productive (34:00).  They marvel at the Warriors resurgence after the Jimmy Butler trade and try to identify who the toughest opponent would be for Golden State in the postseason (45:15). They discuss the recent spat between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith and Colin argues that Bronny is fair game for criticism as a professional athlete (50:30), but also lauds LeBron for the way he’s handled himself in sports, life and business despite being raised without a father (1:02:00).    Click here to get $50 off 2 months of Fubo (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume #Herd #HoopsTonightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 ice. Heart 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. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports

and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume. All right, we have a busy Sunday night podcast, which for some of you will be Monday morning.

But you can always go to the Colin Coward Volume YouTube page to get this stuff. We put it up there as soon as it's done. So let's start with a lot of NFL stuff. This is Free Agency Week, and you're going to start seeing information pour in on free agency stuff. So let's start with a big one. The Rams have signed Devante Adams, the former Packer and Jet with Aaron Rogers. Rams signed him to a two-year deal for pretty hefty money. Well, they're moving off Cooper Cup.

So why go after Devante Adams? Because the Rams, much like the Warriors wanted to get somebody on Steph Curry's timeline, Jimmy Butler, a veteran, who can win now. And the Lakers wanted to do it. You know, they didn't want to give up Anthony Davis for a kid. They want to win now. The Rams, Sean McVeigh, think they can win a Super Bowl. And Devante Adams and Pucanakua will be the one and two wide receivers. Also interesting, they signed two-two Atwell to a one-year deal for $10 million. Why? Because he knows the system. He can run. He can get downfield. They don't want to break anybody in. They feel they got two years with Matt Stafford that he can. play at a Super Bowl winning level. So the Rams have been doing this. I've talked about this at great length. They're spending their money. Chiefs do this.

They're spending their money on offense and trying to keep their defense young, flexible, and less expensive. That doesn't mean Jared Verst isn't going to get a huge deal in a few years for the Rams. You keep your stars. I saw Nick Bolton just got signed to the Chiefs, linebacker, excellent player, super rangy, great linebacker. But you've got Matt Stafford, Kairn Williams, Pooka Nakuwa. Devante Adams, Tyler Higgsby, a very solid B, B plus tight end, 2-2 Atwell, in the system, knows the offense.

They may go draft. They also signed left tackle Jackson to a contract. So they got Havenstein right tackle, Jackson left tackle. They're spending all their money on offense right now. But it's a great defense. You could argue the defense is more talented, but it's very young and doesn't cost as much. So this is just, you know, this is the Rams form. You got a quarterback that can win the Super Bowl for the next two years.

We're going to load them up with guys that know the system or know how to play. And so that's why you get the Devante Adams deal. And I agree with it. I agree with that belief, which is when you have a Super Bowl winning quarterback, don't waste the years. You don't know what happens. Stafford's been dinged up his whole career. So get him ready to go.

This defense last year, which gave Jalen Hertz trouble in the snow or Hertz passed for under 70 yards, this. defense is good enough to win a Super Bowl. But it wasn't offensively good enough to win a Super Bowl. So they're going to move off Cooper Cup. You'll have two number ones in Puka Devante Adams. They'll probably draft another wide receiver. But you've got it all now. You've got both tackles, your quarterback, a star running back, better than average tight end, and now two number ones on offense and a great head coach. So the Rams deal makes sense. Another story, Diana Rusini reporting that the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to make a big run at Sam Darnold.

the most athletic in the prime quarterback available on the market. She said she still believes the Seahawks are the leader in the clubhouse. So I think about this stuff all the time because I've bounced around in my career and what do I consider when you're moving around and you have options? I always consider the management just as much or more than the money. And for Sam Darnold, I'd be very wary of Pittsburgh. I do not think the Pittsburgh Steelers currently possess the ability to get the most out of a quarterback. That doesn't mean Sam Darnold couldn't be a Steeler and be pretty good. But there's about six or seven, maybe a few more, but six or seven teams in this league that I think are uniquely equipped to get the most out of any quarterback, whether it's a star or a B quarterback, Sam Darnold B Plus.

The Rams with McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, Andy Reed, Kansas City, Sean Payton getting the most out of Bo Necks, Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota. There's more. But I'd say there's seven or eight organizations. Philadelphia has done a good job where, you know, the O-line, the coaching, the coordinating, they put a lot of resources around the organization to help the quarterback. I do not consider the Pittsburgh Steelers one of those. We'll see how Ben Johnson works in Chicago. But, you know, historically, even recent last decade, Chicago's not equipped to help a

quarterback be his best. Again, it doesn't mean Mitch Trubisky can't get into the playoffs. but the bears have shown time and time again. They lack a sensibility. They can be tone deaf. It's more of a defense-first organization. Pittsburgh Steelers have led the NFL in defensive spending for, I think, three years guaranteed.

Maybe it's four. So that's just the organization. That's the coach. They can't get the offensive line right. McVeigh has gotten the offensive line right. Andy Reid, Sean Payton, those guys need one-off season to get it right. Steeler's been trying to get it right. They've put draft capital in it.

They've spent money on it. They still can't get the own line right. So I think for Sam Donald, you have to consider that. I'm not saying Seattle is a great offensive organization. Mike McDonald's a defensive coach. But the GM, John Snyder, I mean, he just doesn't miss on wide receivers. You go back to his history. He gets wide receivers right.

He gets running backs right. I like Seattle's offensive personnel. And I'm not absolutely sure Donald would crush it there, but I have more confidence in Seattle than I do. Pittsburgh, which is telling you I have very little in Pittsburgh. little confidence in Pittsburgh offensively to get the best out of any quarterback. Again, I'm not saying if you would have put in Brady in Pittsburgh, he wouldn't have been successful. But there's a reason that he and Bruce Ariens won a Super Bowl.

They're just coaches that are better at this stuff. So that's where we are today. You're going to get more and more information coming out probably by the time this airs. But I think the Darnold story is interesting. I would guess it's probably 65, 35, 65, 6. 60, 40, Seattle over Pittsburgh. They're both very good rosters, both the Seahawks and the Steelers. And Darnold will have in both instances, especially Pittsburgh, you're not going to have to outscore everybody.

But when you're in a division with Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, you know, you need to have an organization that really gets offense. And I don't think the Steelers do. Now, Diana also reported that the Seahawks will come in contact. with Aaron Rogers. So I thought Aaron played really well at the end of the year, but if you're giving me Darnold or you're giving me Aaron Rogers, I would take Darnold, even though I think Aaron has obviously a much more impressive resume and at his best can be better than Sam Darnold, but Sam is at this point in his prime. He's much more athletic. I think he's more coachable. You don't get any baggage. Aaron at this point, and listen, I was told by a source. I said this

three weeks ago, maybe a month ago, and I trust my source, that when Aaron Glenn, the new jet coach, moved off Aaron Rogers, remember Aaron flew out to New York thinking he was going to be a jet, and Aaron Gled said, we're not interested. My source said the Jets told him, we don't want that quarterback, and we just don't want Aaron the guy. It doesn't mean Aaron is Lucifer. But Aaron comes, he's a very moody guy and a very moody player, and I was told that by two people who played with him for the Packers. And so if you've got a young coach and Mike McDonald, do you want to saddle him with Aaron Rogers' personality? Aaron Glenn wanted no part of it because Aaron Glenn from Detroit knows how valuable culture is.

So Seattle is building their culture. And I think Aaron's not a good fit for that. Now, when he went to New York, Robert Sala felt he had the culture built. He needed a life preserver. It didn't work. But that's not what Seattle's looking at. Seattle is saying to themselves, hey, we may draft a quarterback this year. We'll certainly draft a quarterback next year.

It's a much better college quarterback class. But we got a roster here that can win. And we think our staff, we got two good backs, Noah Fant, you know, receivers, John Snyder either drafts them or requires him. He's good at that position. The old line's good enough. Defense is young and talented. We think Sam can keep us going in the direction that we want to build. So I think Aaron's a long shot to Seattle, but he's been so talented.

and he did play well in the last 10 games, I think you talk to him. I mean, if Donald's camp wants $45 million and Aaron's willing to play for less, okay, then you go with Aaron. So Sam's, to me, talented, but his contract should be closer to Baker Mayfield than it should be to what Brock Purdy will get.

Even though I think Donald's is talented, Pretty's going to get about $48 million, probably close to it. I don't think I'd spend it on Sam, especially giving him, you know, I'd give him two, maybe a, team option third I'm not giving him four. He just has one great ear and a lot of questions. Speaking of Aaron Rogers, there's stuff trickling out that Aaron Rogers or Russell Wilson will end up with the New York Giants. Say it out loud. Old quarterbacks going to organizations to be

a savior. It doesn't work. It didn't work with Aaron with the Jets. It didn't work with Russell to the Denver Broncos. You can be an older quarterback and go to a really good roster. Stafford, L.A., Tom to Tampa. But this Aaron Rogers to the New York Giants, wow, I'd consider retirement. That organization, you've got a coach and a GM that could be gone before Thanksgiving. Offensive line has issues. They have one weapon. The running games week.

The division's excellent now that Jaden Daniels appears to be Lamar Jackson of the NFC. You know, it always ends the way it should for quarterbacks, right? What you put into it, you get out of it. And if Aaron Rogers signs with the New York Giants, this is how it should end it. Superstar level quarterback talent, limping to the end, wobbly to the end with the Jets and the Giants without much of the market. And for the record, he was very good in his last 10 games. Don't kid yourself. With a really weak NFL coaching staff, Aaron Rogers did a good job with the Jets last 10 games.

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Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts around there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

And we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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-heartedly. Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Genschen win. I mean, she went down in three to Rovachina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French, me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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. 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, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All right, busy NBA docket, a lot to talk about. Jason Tymph, host of hoops tonight. All right, let's start. LeBron will be fine. He'll be back in a week or two. I thought the bigger issue with the Laker Celtics, and I said this during the week on my show, is Boston's better. You can't come in missing starters. So no Jackson, no Rui, that's length. That is length you can use to get anything near the rim, defend the rim. So when I heard that, I thought, no Jackson Hayes, no Rui Hachamora. This is going to be a tough But I also felt there's two things I want to talk about.

Number one is I thought the Lakers looked tired in the second half. I thought they just gave you everything they had in the first half. One of the best first half of the NBA season. It was a great first half. Lugo didn't play particularly well, but it was a great first half. And then I thought in the second half, the Lakers ran out of gas. And if it was at home, maybe it's different. But I fly a lot.

Flying from L.A. to Boston, I don't care how good the seats are and how comfortable you are. It takes its toll. And the pace the Celtics play at, I thought it wore the Lakers down. So that's my first take. And you can address that before we get into the Luca Tatum stuff. Just the fact that no Jackson Hayes, no Rui on the road, they played a pretty frenetic schedule, I mean, over the last couple of weeks. And I thought they ran out of gas. Yeah, it was one of those things where I think there are some realities about this matchup that

regardless of regular season circumstances need to be factored in. Like, we're going to talk a lot about the top teams in the league today. And I don't think Boston is like separated from everybody in terms of like putting real distance. But I do think they deserve to be favored. And I think they've demonstrated that at several points this season in several different games. That said, within the context of that particular game, it was kind of interesting to me to see the juxtaposition of that one with the first time these two teams played. The first time these two teams played, the Lakers played, the Lakers played an excellent defensive game. And Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum couldn't get anything going.

And the Lakers controlled. This game, the Boston Celtics put together a beautiful defensive game. And LeBron and Luca can't get anything going. And so there's a this, this, these two teams in particular, by the way, I think there's a decent chance we see these two teams in the finals. If these two teams face in the finals, it's going to turn into this like relentless matchup hunting type of game. And it's all about Tatum and Brown going at Austin and Luca. and then on the other end of the floor, LeBron and Luca going against Derek White and Al Horford. And I think there were some mistakes last night.

JJ Redick talked a little bit about it after the game. Al Horford is a big body that slides his feet well. And he has always done well against bully ball players. Even going back to Joel Embed and Janice and Tenacumpo, Al Horford is some of the best reps against those guys that you'll see in the playoff context. LeBron and Luke are bully ball guys. and Al Horford was just having none of it. And he put together just a beautiful defensive game.

In that second half, they were much more deliberate about attacking the Celtics guards. And you got to see how they can have some success. And that's really it. Like both of these teams, I actually think, interestingly enough, these are the only two teams in the NBA that can put together five-man groupings where you really can't leave anybody open. When Rui is healthy and Dorian Finns is healthy.

and when the Celtics have Chrisops, Sforzhenkis and Al Horford healthy, when they're healthy and put together, like even the Knicks, you can help off of Josh Hart. Even like with the thunder, you're going to give late contests to guys like Lou Dort that you're not super worried about. Yeah, these are the two teams that can truly space the floor

and force you to play one-on-one. And if there was one defensive reality from the Lakers in this game, they've guarded really well when they can offer help from behind in their kind of swarming, switching defense. Boston, they really leave you on an island. Because if you help, it's like Luca got caught a bunch of times in the first half of that game,

helping in on drives, easy kickouts, and he was giving up threes. You cannot help with Boston. You cannot help with the Lakers. It turns into a one-on-one contest. And the Celtics just did a much better job of it in this particular matchup. You know, it's funny. I saw a piece of video. So I had said on the Luca trade, I would never have traded him.

But if you gave me three firsts, A.D. and Austin Rivers, I'd sleep on it. And I said that because I've always said Luke is a much better Carmelo. I never think he's in great shape. I don't know. I think he sometimes takes the ball a lot of teammates' hands. And, you know, I don't think, and I love Luca. But I saw when Luca first arrived in Los Angeles, he looked puffy, hadn't played since December. he's never been in great shape, but my take was L.A. Get you in better shape. The lifestyle's different.

And LeBron and the pressure, you know, to kind of impress LeBron. You can see Steph's showing off with Jimmy Butler. LeBron's kind of showing off with Luke. I mean, it's it's ego. It's fun. You finally got your match. And the players, I mean, God, Steph is more efficient. LeBron's playing with an energy of a 27-year-old. So, but somebody pointed this out to me yesterday because I watched the entire game. they said, look at the energy of Jason Tatum on both ends of the floor. And Luca has bad stretches like right now. Like he has these four or five minute or longer moments on the floor and you're like, bro, you're just, you're a negative right now.

Like you're just getting beat off the ball. And do you think this is something Luca, because you're nodding your head, you're seeing it too. Does Luca play himself in a better shape? or did Dallas, with their concerns about these consistent calf injuries, about not being in shape and lifestyle, do you think we're getting 80% in Los Angeles of Luca? That some of the videos on the internet that show him three years ago,

dude, he was tomahawk in it. And you're like, not really quite what I see now. What is your take on where Luca's at and where he'll end up as a Laker? So that's a tough game for under any circumstances to go on the road in, Boston team that's had some disappointing losses at home this year and was kind of itching. They were itching for a signature win. Like the Celtics really wanted that one. I mean, you could tell the level of intensity they brought right from the opening tip. It's a tough game under any circumstances. Luca is not yet back into his peak shape. It's going to take a

little while to get there. I actually think it'll be somewhat, there's a little bit of a blessing in disguise with the LeBron injury because LeBron has been going full bore. since like mid-January. And it was kind of inevitable that there'd be some sort of nagging thing that would arise over the course of this stretch. And I actually think it'll be pretty nice for LeBron to get like a month off here, a couple weeks off here,

just to take a little break before the postseason. That'll get more time for Luca to really lean into usage, to really lean into having the ball in his hands and build his rhythm back. That said, like this goes back to the Dallas series. The Dallas series is a different type of challenge, the Dallas-Boston series in the finals. It was a different type of challenge because Boston had all sorts of dudes that they could help off of.

They were putting Chrisops Porzingis onto PJ Washington and Derek Jones Jr. And leaving him under the basket. The Lakers will be able to create more space for him. But he wasn't even getting past Jalen Brown for the most part last night. Like just one on one, Jalen Brown had him in clamps and was bringing a ton of physicality. And like there's this kind of recurring theme I've seen O.G. And Anobie did a little bit on Thursday night. I don't know if you caught the Knicks game.

It was kind of a little bit similar. in that game all the way back to the second round series with Oklahoma City last year. Lou Dort gave Luca some issues. Lucas struggles with the really big and strong forwards that can guard. And so there's a little mini challenge here. If the Lakers are going to be able to defeat a team like Boston in the finals, Luca's going to have to overcome the Jalen Brown problem. But as far as the big picture goes, he's 25 years old.

He's playing alongside one of the greatest work ethic dudes you're going to meet in the league, one of the greatest take care of your body type of dudes that you see in the league. I think Luca is going to get to a level of better conditioning. That said, I don't think he's going to be the dude who had like 17 dunks in his rookie year. I think that shit might have sailed. Yeah, yeah. You know, it's interesting with the Celtics because Tatum played very well. And, you know, I say this often on the show that there's a real gap in what fans view is hate and what I view is contextualization.

So every time I talk about Jason Tatum, I always say, he's great, he's a great player. He's a top eight player in the league. I'm not, I don't believe he's top three. I trust SGA offensively more. I trust Yokic is all around better. I trust Janus defensively more. I think Luca, at his best, is a better, more natural offensive player. Hell, if you gave me one quarter to win it all, game seven, I'd take LeBron over Jason

Tatum. I actually would. But he's a great player. He's going to have a Hall of Famer. He's a nice kid. But I've said this. There are games where I'm like, where is he? Is he on the floor?

Now, this was not one of them. He was terrific. And I've watched him now play live three or four times. I get to the arena early. He's the first guy on the floor. But it is interesting. People get very upset about this. And I've said this.

In the Olympics, when you're playing with the world's best players, he was a coach's decision, do not play against Serbia. He had two in the gold medal game. And that LeBron and Steph flourished in those games. So there are players that sometimes when are around great players, LeBron was like this very early in his first Olympics. He was like, Finally, it opened up more of LeBron.

And then there are players that actually love playing within a system. I think Jason is one of those players. I think his, God, his DNA is he's a teammate. You know, he likes being part of a collective. He chose Duke so he could play with other great players, right? Like Shashefsky makes you play defense. He was there with, you know, Grayson Allen, Luke Kinnard, if I'm remembering right. Like, so my take is, I think he's a star.

I think the NBA's only ever had three true faces of the league. Magic, Michael, LeBron. I think Byrd was a reluctant because he was conjoined with magic. He was facing the league, but magic was the face of the league. He loved it, you know, French lick Indiana, pimples on the face. Grumpy Larry Bird didn't feel face of the league. But, you know, you join him at the hip with magic. And it's like, okay.

And Shaq and Kobe, I think you could argue. as a pair were face of the league for several years. Duncan never was. Akeem never was. Carl Malone never was. So what do you make of kind of my criticism of Tatum? It's not a criticism. It's more like, listen, at any one time the NBA has two faces or one face of the league, two global stars, and about 15 other stars. Carmelo Anthony guys. Is that unrealistic to say? No, I mean, I heard your rant about Jason Tatum. And frankly, like, there is truth to the fact that Tatum lacks like the traditional NBA aura, right? Like he's a good dunker, but he's not Vince Carter.

He's a good shooter, but he's not Kevin Durant. He's big and strong, but he's not LeBron. He's a good playmaker, but he's not Luca Donchich. He's a good defender, but he's not what Kawhi Leonard was in his prime. And he doesn't really have a very big personality. So like, it's really hard to like put together, you know, something specific about Jason Tatum to like market really well

as far as like face of the league type of stuff. That said like he's really good at all of those things still. Yes. Yes. He's become like just by virtue of him being a jack of all trades, he's become one of the most useful players in the entire NBA. This has kind of been

the interesting trajectory of Jason Tatum's career. If you go back in the early years, like 18, 19, 20, in those years, Tatum was like projected to be one of the best shooting forwards in the league. He had some unbelievable jump shooting seasons during that stretch. Then what happened was is he started to bulk up and he got really big and strong and it greatly improved his defensive versatility. He improved as a playmaker.

But in that stretch, 2021, 2021, 22, 23, 24, his jump shot fell apart and became super unreliable to the point where it was like sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't. They all 50 in a playoff game, he'll have 17. in a playoff game. You know, like it became one of those things where he couldn't rely on the jump shot. Honestly, I think the Team USA situation right off of the heels of last year's playoff run, as he shot very poorly in the playoffs on jump shots, and then he shot, what, Ofer 16 with Team USA? I think he got humiliated and spent the entire summer in the gym. And he's added like a reliable jump shot to the Swiss Army knife that he already was. And now it's one of those things where like,

I agree with you. I think Yokic has been. better. I think Janice is better. I think Shea's better. I think Luke Adonchich is better. I think if you asked like league average role players alongside all those players, I think Tatum is behind those guys. But I do think he's closer to that tier or in that tier at the bottom as opposed to the next set of guys. Like when you look at the next set of guys, like I think Tatum brings more on a night in, night out basis than Anthony Davis does. I think Tatum brings more in a night in night out basis than that next tier of guys, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Steph, I think he deserves credit for being like a foundational, like, reliable, you can count on this dude type of superstar.

But I also think everything you said regarding he does not have a flashpoint in his skill set. There's nothing like that. There's not one. Well, the thing about that. You can close your eyes. I've said this. I can think of like five Michael plays, six LeBron plays, a bunch of magic bird. You close your eyes with Tatum and you're like, it's like Carl Malone.

I don't have a Carl Malone play. I don't have a Duncan play. There is something about the persona, the aura, the imagery that is facing the league. Okay, so I watch most of the Nuggets Thunder game. I missed the first quarter, but Shea went off for 40. Of course, this week, Yolkich had a 30, 20, 20, 20 plus game, right? I think it was the first time ever in league history to somebody to do that. So I love Yokic.

I thought he should have won three straight. Ambide was sort of gifted one. but I'll tell you why I would give it to SGA. I'd give it to Shea. So I've said this on many occasions. Words matter. You can get in trouble for the wrong word, but you have to watch the words.

It's most valuable. Now, production is a huge component to value, right? Like, valuable is, I mean, I always say this. Moms are usually the most valuable person in a house. Dad may make more. The kids may have a brighter future. Mom's the MVP. She's the glue. And she's super productive, right? Like, at least in my house, mom was the most

valuable player. Dad, my dad was the local optometrist. He paid the bills. So, Yokic, you can argue, is more productive, okay? But he's playing with Gordon, Porter, Jamal, Murray, and a coach that's got a ring, thanks to Yokic. SGA, and this is about 15% of it, is a better defender. SGA plays with a roster that is so young, it only averages one year older than the Auburn Tigers roster. So he is playing with kids, and that matters. They're still figuring out how to play basketball, not to mention Chet Hogan, you know, has been out for a while. I mean, you can argue outside of shade, nobody else on that roster, none of their best offensive players have even hit their prime yet. So, and that's one of the reasons I worry about them in the playoffs, winning big,

road games with this young roster. So based on the fact that his production isn't Yokic, but it's damn good. He's a better defender. He's carrying a younger roster and didn't have homeworm for a spell. I would narrowly give Shea the MVP. What say you? So I actually think Shea has a decent size lead. Let's just get to the foundational piece of the case. He's 12 games ahead of Denver and the standings. Twelve. That's an enormous gap between those two teams. And so when you start to make a case for Yokic, it needs to be overwhelming. And there are some things with Yokish that I think are realities.

I think Yokic is a better basketball player than Shagildos Alexander. Same. I think Denver would fall apart more than OKC would fall apart if the two players were removed. But that's never been the way that we've given MVP. It's never been sheer value in a vacuum. It's never been who's the guy that. that we think is the best player for a 16-win playoff run, right? That's never been the way we've done it.

It's always been a combination of a bunch of factors, team success, your individual value, like your reputation in the league. There's always been a narrative element that's regardless of how we want to pretend like it should be factored in, it does get factored in. There's narrative. There's momentum. There's all of that kind of stuff. It's kind of like the Yokic 30-2020 game.

It's like, here we are two-thirds of the way through the season. Yokic puts together a stat line that's never happened in NBA history. hey, let's revisit this thing, even though the Thunder have been consistently a better basketball team this year. I think two things. One, Shea's having a much better offensive season than people are giving him credit for. You mentioned the youth. The youth for the Thunder manifests an inconsistency. J-dub is an incredible player.

He is, what, 22 or he's young. He's super inconsistent. Chet, incredible player. He's young. He's going to make mistakes. he's not a guy that's super dependable night and night out. He shot 20-something percent from three in the series against Dallas last year. Shea is the grown-up in the room.

Shea is the night-to-night guy. So many of these games break down for the thunder against good teams in particular. So many of these games break down where it looks like every single Thunder player is uncomfortable and a little bit like a little bit like kind of shying away from the moment. And Shay has to grab the reins and like control things. And like as Chet's been out of the lineup a bunch this year, as J. Dubb has had a down shooting season and he's coming on as of late, but he's had a down shooting season. Shea's been the guy that has lifted their elite defense to the point where they can win games. And so I think he deserves more credit than that. The second piece of it is a reality with Denver. Denver has lost a lot of games this year because they can't guard. Oh, at all. And Yokic for the record in the 2023 post.

season had a very good playoff run defensively. He is capable of having good moments on defense. However, there's a simple reality with Yokic that causes a lot of problems for Denver's defense. He cannot switch onto perimeter players and he can't play on his heels back at the rim because guys just jump right over him and go around him. That forces Yokic to come out to the level of ball screens and put two on the ball. So Denver, consistently exists in rotation. They persistently exist in four on threes. That's how the Suns score on them so easily. That's how the Lakers scored on them so easily. That is the problem that they consistently run into is Yokic has to come up to the level. When he comes up to the level,

it's a simple pocket pass or a skip pass, and they're playing four on three out of it. And they just haven't been very good defensively this year on the backline rotating out of it. And so they just haven't been as good. Their defense is bad. Yokic is a significant part of that. I think That gets factored into this debate. And so when I really look at it in the big picture, there's not enough for Yokic, even though I think he's having an unbelievable season, arguably. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.

But this one's extra special. So how did we, how do we? we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys. I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis.

And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen Chinchin win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lernerabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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. 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, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

the best offensive season ever. But if you look at it, it's not enough to justify that 12-game gap in the standings. And then to tie things up, She just drop 40 on them today as they got to win. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. No, I think we're on the same page. Well, I've said it before. Fubo is one of my favorite ways to watch sports. College basketball, NBA. It doesn't matter what the sport is. Fubo TV delivers. I watch it constantly on airplanes. If I'm in my car and I'm driving and I want to stay up to date in the game. FubotTV.com slash Colin, you will get $50 off for two months of Fubo TV. And the Masters is going to be on it. Major league baseball is going to be on it. It's just in my life, I can't always be in front of a TV. But I want to stay up to date on what's happening in sports.

FubotTV.com slash Colin, 50 bucks off two months. Fubo. And now for our next segment, Whiskey Business, brought to you by Green River Whiskey, the official whiskey of the Colin Cowherd podcast. If you want to enjoy life's simple pleasures, reach for Green River Whiskey. Whether it's rye whiskey, single-barrel bourbon, you're getting over a century of craftsmanship

packed into every bottle. Hop on over to Greenriverwiskey.com and discover legend in a bottle today. You know, it's, God, I would have, I thought a month before it happened. I said, Warriors, just get Jimmy Butler. I don't care what analytics say. Steph is sleepwalking. And I remember saying Butler's the anti-Wiggins. Like every possession is intentional.

Totally intense. Everything's a street fight. I always thought Wiggins was talented, a little passive. You know, you didn't know possession of possession if he was engaged. I think we talked about this last time. So I thought Butler would be a big help. It is amazing. There were 11 and 2 since Jimmy Butler are arrived. What's interesting now, if you start looking at their playoff position, they could end up against Houston, which I think is the dream scenario for Golden State because Houston can't shoot. That's the team you want to play, a young team that struggles shooting. You can beat Golden State. You know, they don't have a ton of offensive firepower from the perimeter outside of Steph, pods a little bit. But when you watch the Warriors, it's really interesting. Oklahoma

city again. It's a tremendous defensive team, but I don't trust them OKC in a big road playoff game. They're too young. I think Golden State has a lower ceiling, but an incredibly high floor. And I think outside of maybe a Cleveland, Boston, could go seven games with almost anybody. Is there a team, let's just look ahead, is there a team the Warriors would not want to face in the West and the playoffs that you just don't think it's a good matchup at all? Oh, that's an interesting question. Because Dallas, if healthy, would be tough with Gafford, lively, AD. Their center rotations, great.

They're a big team. And I could see that team slowing it down and being just a handful for the Warriors. But I think they're going to go into a soft tank here and just keep everybody out. I don't think it's a terrible idea. So Minnesota, if they had the Twin Towers, you know, if they had Kat and Gobert could be problematic. but I sort of look at the West, I'm like, I don't know. Is there a team? I think they're going to get out of the plan.

It's been really fascinating just how immediately good they've been, and it's been kind of like a kind of a proof of concept for me about roster balance. Just like, no matter what you're doing, if you ever ask somebody to do too much, they're going to be inefficient and they're going to start making mistakes. And there were so many role players for that team that were being asked to do so much more than they're doing now because there was no Jimmy. And Jimmy's come in and just like, crystallize everyone's roles and everyone just has consistent minutes in the rotation now and everything's

coming together for them. They're going to get out of the plane in my opinion. If that's the case, it's the team that I would want to face if I was Golden State is a team that they can load up on defensively. And so I think a team like Denver, if they got the six three matchup against a team like Denver, that'd be good. Memphis is another team like that is a poor spot up team that they could load the pain up on. The other thing I like, we talked about earlier with being able to bring Yokic up to the level. Steph is that guy. Steph is the guy that will consistently get Denver's defense into rotation. And now they have Jimmy Butler to be the guy that kind of helps pay off those sequences as he's been so good in the middle of the floor this year. I think, yeah, I would lean towards

if I was, the problem with the Lakers is LeBron and Luca will just hunt their small guards all day long in space. And I think that that could be a problem for them. And the Laker defense, like we talked about earlier, is keyed up on the ability to help off of people. And there are a couple for Golden State that they feel like they can help off of. So I think Denver, if they got into that sixth spot, I'd be looking at if Denver slipped to the three as a potential matchup that they could upset. Houston and Memphis to me are both getable.

I look at it as, I don't know about how you feel Colin, but I think there's a five team inner circle. I think it's Boston and Cleveland out east. And I think it's OKC, Denver and the Lakers out west. I think those five teams are the, like those five teams are the teams that have substantial chances to win the championship. Behind that, all of those teams, I think, are pretty heavily flawed. Golden State has been

really good since the Jimmy Butler trade, but they've played a relatively light schedule. So I'd like to see a little bit more before I decide where they kind of fit into all of this. Like the Lakers, before they lost to Boston, they beat 14 straight 500 or better teams. That's how good the Lakers were playing before that Celtics game. I'm not going to bail on them because they flew across the country after a brutal schedule and lost game. And missing and missing two of the longest players. Yeah, two vitally important starters. They're vertical spacer and Jackson.

Like, how often did you see Jared Vaynerville catch the ball under the basket yesterday with no idea what to do? Because he can't finish over anybody. But like, that's the thing. Like, I, I kind of have a feeling that the Lakers are one of the inner circle teams because I've just seen them be so good for so long against so many good teams. I want to see a little bit more like from Golden State because I do think they can enter into that group, but I just want to see a little bit more from them.

But I think between Denver and L.A., I'd want to play Denver if I was then. You know, I was thinking about this topic. I didn't do it on TV because I didn't know if it was worthy. Stephen A. Smith, LeBron James had that interaction, right? And, you know, it's funny. I've always been a fan of LeBron. And I know Stephen A. I text him twice recently. I'm former teammate over at ESPN.

And I'm always sensitive. I'm glad my son and daughter did not choose broadcasting. I wouldn't want them to be compared to their dad. And if they got criticized, my take is, well, you got into this business. So, you know, my first reaction is Bronny James is a Laker because Clutch Sports and LeBron James made sure everybody knew we want him to be a Laker. He was not a dominant college player. In fact, his size and skill set is really not that of an NBA player.

He's 6-2, but not a point guard. Not a lot of 6-2 off-guards in NBA history, and right now he's not shooting particularly well. He's athletic. He's a good kid, smart. I think he was draftable. It was one of the weaker drafts. I defended the Lakers drafting him. A great draft, maybe not.

In this draft, which was one of the weaker draft, about every fourth or fifth NBA draft, You know, this draft coming up is very domestic and very, very interesting at the top. There's some really good players from great programs. Last year was an international draft and a lot of projecting. Didn't have a problem being draft. You know, it was a bit of a flex for clutch sports on LeBron to get him in L.A., kind of a power flex. And again, you're making $8 million. You were wedged into an organization that probably, you know, in most years,

wouldn't have drafted a player of your skill level. I tend to defend journalists having the right to opinions. And people say, well, you know, it's, you know, here's one of the things where I think LeBron James in his mind is doing the right thing. Don't bad mouth my son. But I've seen many broadcasters get their kids into broadcasting and their kids aren't very good. Some are.

Some are not. And that's the reality of a public. facing job mayor basketball player sportscaster you know you're not you know you're not uh you know this is not a job that's uh you know you write annuities or you're in waste management like everybody knows his name so my take is listen you have an eight million dollar contract you're fair game right that that's the way it goes but you played basketball no lebron his kind of ideology the way he thinks what was your sort of take on it you know it's interesting I've been thinking so much about this over the course the last couple of weeks because it's a dynamic that I relate to to a certain extent. I remember, like, when I was playing at Arizona Christian, when I was in NAA, I remember, like, watching a broadcast of a game. And I was having a brutal shooting season. When I was in college, this was the one, this was the season that I had my worst three-point shooting season. It was, I was in my head. I was in this, like, small role where I was taking all these catch-and-shoot threes out of the corner. And I was just having a brutal offensive season. And so I was struggling with it. And I heard this.

announcer who was announcing one of the games talking junk about me in the broadcast and I remember getting like super upset about it because I'm like I'm taking 300 shots a day I'm doing everything I can to fix this problem and this like dude who has no idea what I'm doing is criticizing the way that I'm playing

and like I think about that a lot from NBA players where I get it like I me relative to an NBA player even as someone who played me relative to an NBA player I don't have the cash or the or the reputely to be able to criticize the greatest basketball players in the world. And so on a certain level, I sympathize with the plight. But then what you said is the most important context there.

We chose a career that exists in the public view. I have a relatively small platform among the big shots in the media world. I deal with a shit ton of negativity every day. I can't even imagine what you deal with. We won't even go there. But there's just this outrageous amount of negativity. To your point, Colin, like, I'm living the dream. I love my job.

I love the flexibility that I have. I love that I get to talk about the game of basketball. This opportunity that you have given me has changed my life infinitely for the better. And so I would never sit there and hyper focus on this, like, specific part of my job that's a negative because it's just so worth it. And that's really what it comes down to is, like, from the NBA player's perspective, it's just the reality of the predicament that they're in. They have this wonderful life that comes from being a professional basketball player,

but it comes with this criticism. The second piece of it is, to me, the criticism is authentic and necessary. And I was thankful in LeBron's tweet thread that he included in there like, hey, when players fail, we need to discuss it. And I'm so glad he said that because here's the thing. Sports are nasty. They're mean. They're violent.

You talk shit. You step on each other to get to the finish line. It is inherently nasty. And there's a winner and a loser. And in order for us to discuss the winner and the loser, it inherently requires us to be critical from time to time. It is part of the job. If we came on every day and we just only said nice things about players, we'd have no

credibility. There's a certain amount of this to where it makes it mean more when we say a player succeeds if we also criticize them when they fail. My thing with it is like, just make sure you're doing your homework. Like if you're going to criticize someone, make sure it's based in. in the homework, you know what I mean? Because I got a certain point if you're just talking shit to talk shit, now we're entering down a darker path. But I found this really fascinating because on one hand, I relate to players.

But on the other hand, like, this is just the reality of the situation that we're in. Yeah, that's why I asked you. Yeah, because, you know, you played college basketball. And I've tried to never make it personal, although, you know, like I said for years about Carmelo Anthony, I'm like, man, if you're not willing to play defense, James Harden, I felt the same way. you're not a great teammate because defense is effort. Offense is a lot of skill. It's a lot of fun. Playing defense sucks.

It's hard. So what you're basically saying if you won't defend, and I feel this about Luca, is, yeah, I'm kind of above that. Well, the other 10 guys aren't. So I've always thought when players don't commit to the defensive end, I think less of them. And you're kind of, you know, you're kind of sending a message to teammates,

say, you do that. I'll do the fun part. And so that's one of the reasons I've always respected LeBron is in his defense in the last 20 games. Jesus, it doesn't even make sense for a 40-year-old. So, and I've always been a huge LeBron fan, and I actually supported the Lakers drafting Brony. I supported Brony playing in that game so that father's son record could be said. I'm for it. I was a little critical when he had one good, really nice G-League game, and they quickly moved him up to the Lakers.

And I'm like, guys, now you're asking me as a broadcaster to lie to the audience. And I'm not going to do that. Is that he's not an NBA player. He may work himself into a, you know, eighth, ninth guy in a roster. And I'm rooting for that because I really do think Savannah and LeBron have done a wonderful job considering this generational wealth. They're good people. They're grounded as much as you can be if you're Rinaldo, Messi, LeBron, Brady, right? Like, you just kind of bake in some of this shit ain't normal, right?

So it's just interesting. You know, I think the audience wants me to have definitive takes and take aside. But I think Stephen A. Smith does have a right to be honest about brawny. But I also get the dad part. But I do come back to, listen, the minute you made that decision to wedge brawny onto the Lakers, the most sacred part of sports is the uniform. you gave somebody a uniform and many question whether he is uniform worthy at the NBA level. Like you can say what you want that owners do and GMs do.

But that uniform in any sport, that is what makes grown men cry. They work 20 years to wear an NBA uniform. Hell, it can be a 10-day contract, man. If you get 10 days in the NBA for the rest of your life, I was an NBA. player. And so when you get somebody to put that jersey on for the Los Angeles Lakers, there are going to be some animosity. There are people going to say, wait a minute, time out now. Come on now. And so it's one of those. I know I'm supposed to take a side on this. And I've said this to people privately. I don't talk about this, that, you know, the Ukraine,

Putin, Zelensky, Russia, United States, it's way more complicated. I've watched more video on that story in the last six months than everything except sports. There's a lot of complexity with NATO and the history of Russia and us. And sometimes if I'm ever critical of the media, social media has made simplicity the go-to apparatus. And I think Bronny, Stephen A, LeBron, I think it's complicated. I think there's the dad thing, there's the history thing, there's the journalist thing. And I hated to see it because I love LeBron and I really like Stephen A. Smith. I like them both. They're really good at what they do. And I know that's considered a soft pedal, but that's how I feel about it.

You know, it's so fascinating because you're asking people to just bring a little bit of nuance into the discussion with the LeBron Stephen A. Smith thing. And there's just none of that. wants it. There's none of that. There's like this huge anti-Lebron. He's ruining Brony's life kind of angle. And then there's the Stephen A. Smith step to LeBron. And now he's getting, now LeBron's getting in his face and he's paying the price for his actions. And I'm sitting there and I'm like, I'm doing the lip reading when I'm watching LeBron and he's saying like, like keep my son out of this. And to your point, on a very basic level, brawny is an NBA player with a large profile. He's going to get discussed. There's no universe

where he's not going to be criticized. And played at USC and Sierra Canyon. He was a high profile high school player. Exactly. And like, and so like to me, it's like on a very basic level, we have to acknowledge Stephen A's right to discuss Brony.

Like that's just that's, that's very, to me that's a very simple part of it. But then there's another reality, which is like, okay, LeBron probably feels like Stephen A's used him a little bit like a punching bag over the course of the last,

you know, year or two. And I think LeBron's sick of it. And he's lashing out. So on one hand, I'm like, okay, I also support LeBron's right to confront Stephen A and be like, hey, dude, what the heck? But like the specific point he decided to argue regarding his son, it's hypocritical. Because to your point, as soon as you elevate Brony to this level, how could you possibly hope to protect him from that type of criticism?

It's part of the deal. You've dealt with it. LeBron, you're the most polarizing player in NBA history. Like this, you know this. Let me add something else that I think, again, is nuanced. One of the reasons I've always been so impressed with LeBron James, he didn't grow up with a father. Okay. It's pretty understood that both parents can, over the course of time, be very beneficial to any child who then becomes an adult.

LeBron James has stayed out of trouble, and he did not have that guiding, strong hand of a father. and yet you would never know it. He's been a terrific father, a terrific husband, a wonderful businessman. He is such a good friend. I know two of LeBron's friends. LeBron's a great friend. And could I argue that LeBron takes so much pride in being a father because he did not have that at home, that he is going to err on the side of overprotective?

And I'm going to defend the hell out of LeBron for that, right? Like, I'm sorry. Now, again, I, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm too sympathetic. And my dad wasn't always around, but he was around enough that I had a dad. And he was the local town optometrist, and I was very proud. And he gave me multiple moments of wisdom and advice and a spanking or two when I, when I turned the sprinkler on as he was trying. to move it and then twack, quack, quack, quack, click, click, click, hit my dad as he had his white doctor jacket

on heading to work and was soaked and had to go back inside. I got spanked that day. I was laughing hysterically for a while. So I have these moments in my life where my father had a great impact. I mean, I was talking to a friend the other day about a moment that my dad said something when he was like I was 12 years old. It has been with me my entire life. And so maybe I'm just being too overly sympathetic, but LeBron didn't have a father at home. And if he's airing on the side of, hey, man, I protect my family. This is, this is it for me, man. This is a bubble that I am going to, if I, if I'm erring on the side of overprotective, I got LeBron's back on that. And that's the kind of stuff I think of. As somebody that's divorced, six kids are in my life. How do I be a step

parent? I think about all that stuff. Maybe I'm too old and protective. But I just, I think it's more complex than Stephen A's a bad guy and LeBron's a good guy and it's just, that's not the way life is, right? No, I agree. And to your point, like, there's the motivating factor is something that all parents can relate to. It kind of goes back to what we were talking about just an overall player criticism. Just because the player is being unrealistic about the realities of his profession and the fact that criticism comes with that profession,

it doesn't make it. I also relate to that player when he pushes back. And when the player goes, like today, Kevin Durant tweeted at Skip Bayliss. Like, I also understand the reason why he might want to clap back. Even though Kevin Durant should be realistic about the fact that he's one of the

greatest players of all time. What happened? I missed it. Tell me. Tell me. So basically Skip Bayliss said that Kevin Durant looks like he's already mentally retired. And then Katie tweeted. Katie tweeted at him and said, I guess that means both of us are washed.

By the way, I watched that game. Katie had 21, nine and eight. He was pretty good. Katie's been awesome this year. Like the son's issues are like entirely organizational. Katie is, I think if someone gets Katie this, this summer, he's going to walk right in and help a team win a title or at least get him close. Like, he's so good. He's so good. Oh, he's so good.

I would love to sit down and break bread. Kevin Durant. I really love the guy. I think he's such a fun player. I like everything about him. I hated him leaving Golden State, but he's such a unique all-time player. I love Kevin Durant. I love watching him play. I like his quirky personality. Jason Timp, host of Hoops tonight. This was fantastic. I had some NFL news before you, but this was really good. Let me throw this out there, folks. The Steelers are going to sign DK Metcalf to a five-year, $150 million contract. I'm just telling you, I wouldn't do it and I like DK.K. Metcalf.

That is way too much money for a wide receiver, especially for an organization that can't figure out offense. As always, Jason, your money. Thanks, buddy. It was good to see you, Colin. Looking forward to next time. The volume. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers.

I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick.

Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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. 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. 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, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on,

a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Private Jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.