The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts- Tua Gets PAID, GM’s In College Football, Team USA Basketball

Episode Date: August 3, 2024

Colin’s top takes of the week! First, Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to discuss the emergence of GM’s in college football (4:00), debate whether giving Tua the bag was the right move for the Dolphins (11:30), whether Russell Wilson could lose the rocker room and starting job for the Steelers (24:00) and which teams could overperform their win total expectations (27:45) Then Colin Cowherd & Jason Timpf, host of “Hoops Tonight” react to Team USA’s win over South Sudan in Olympic basketball. Colin & Jason discuss Joel Embiid’s benching (31:00), Steph Curry's struggles with FIBA rules (40:00), Victor Wembanyama's growth (42:45) and LeBron still being the alpha for Team USA (46:30).  (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers 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 Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. 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. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. All right, forget what the calendar says. The football season, actually, to me, starts Saturday.

The Baltimore Ravens opened their camp for the rookies. Draft Kings has a best ball millionaire contest. It is the biggest fantasy contest ever. talking 15 million guaranteed dollars in the prize pool, 15 million from Draft Kings. That's a big number. With two, two millionaires being crowned for first and second place, that is life-changing. If you're a set-it-and-for-it-tiepe, then best ball is for you. No waiver wires, no roster management, bigger roster, so injuries won't end your season, only the draft, and that's it. You are set for the season. I like that, right? So you can play it and have a life to.

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John or I may miss one Sunday, but this is kind of the official start as we move into August very quickly. John, former NFL scout three and out. What's going to happen in college football in the next year? This is really a thing that's happening. So I've talked to two different athletic directions. is these college programs are going to hire general managers.

Because right now, these guys don't know how to work their cap. So let's say, I'll just take USC. They're making somewhere between 13 and 15 million NIO. That's what I've been told. You're saying that's their budget to pay players? That's their annual budget. They're building new facilities. That money's always easy to get.

Boosters love facilities that they can feel like. Put their name on it. Yeah, right. NIL are getting about 13 million a year in that ballpark. they don't know how to spend it. They don't know. They just don't understand quite. They need a general manager.

So I think what's going to happen in college football in the next 18 months? A guy like a Chris Peterson who works at Fox. A guy like a Chris Peter, you hire Chris Peterson, you give him a good salary and see Chris. You just run the cap. You organizationally kind of run our personnel. You don't get the heat of the coach. And I think guys like Chris Peterson are going to have schools throw seven. figures at them and say, can you run from a personnel standpoint, organize our football program,

because these guys, these schools now are paying high schoolers, not seniors. They're paying juniors to announce they're going to the schools. So I think there's a massive shift going on. UCLA can't compete at all. Thank God they're moving to the Big Ten because the home attendance will buoy their revenue, but they have a debt service every year. They're in big trouble. Did you see the highlight of Deshawn Foster talking about the big, which is crazy because he was a high-level college player, a good NFL player. It's not like he's never been in front of the media. He's not some lifetime coach. It was pretty, it felt very UCLA right now and kind of Mickey Mouse, and they're going to be terrible.

Jake Rosenberg, who I was DMing with this weekend, who I used to work with with the Eagles, who was one of Howie's right-hand men with the cap, who worked in finance before he got hired with the Eagles. left the Eagles and created a company and is now working with Oklahoma. He's literally signed contracts and worked with these contracts. And his business will only grow exponentially quick. Because, again, obviously 13 million is less than 200 million NFL salary cap. But it's still, these guys aren't used to. And philosophically, you know, Kirby Smart I've heard is very uncomfortable getting to a certain number with a high school kid. Yeah.

He will pay his own guy once he gets established or pay a transfer portal guy. But in terms of a high school kid, I mean, Nebraska, Dominic Riola, who I think is the dad. I forget the kid's name, who's the quarterback, you know, there are rumors he got $4 million. And you fall college recruiting probably closer than I do. We have seen a million, number one, number two overall guys. The guys that turn into Andrew Luck and Trevor Lawrence and Caleb Williams, those guys are actually the minority. The majority bounce around, become average, get benched. that's a very risky proposition.

Like you said, you don't have 50 million to deal with. So if you're going to allocate several million, wasn't the thing a couple years ago with USC? I guess it would have been two years ago when they had Jordan Addison and Caleb. Weren't those guys taking like 80% of their NIL money to the two players? Yeah. Now, they were worth it, but still, I mean, you better get it right. It's a much bigger mess than anybody in the sports media is talking about. It is a shit show.

It is, these schools are paid. paying juniors in high school. Some of these guys take the money and then they flip their senior year to the school that comes to Lincoln, and pays more money. So it's a mess. So general managers are coming. I think venture capitalists could own chunks of college football programs, but it is, it's pro football. And the other thing, you know, the other thing athletic directors are going to have to go through

over the next couple of years, John, all these sports are. driven by football. Basketball makes money for men and women at a lot of colleges. After that, they all lose money. A lot of money. A lot. I mean, so, but it's hard because if, let's say you have a swimming program or a golf program and it loses a million a year, but your third biggest booster in the athletic department supports their kid who's on the swimming team. So it's very, you get, you have to be very judicious with your decisions because a lot of times the biggest boosters. Their kids, you know, they got a scholarship in golf or swimming or water polo or fencing

out east. Hockey. And it's like the sport loses us $3 million, but the guy gave us $8 million. I think if you really privately asked athletic directors what they could do, they would all shave off 20 programs, 25 programs. You can't make money. And so I said years ago, you should privatize football. But a lot of the biggest boosters at these.

schools are not football boosters. And so, but I'm here to tell you those, there's guys out there, the Chris Peterson's, Bob Stoops, those guys now, people are going to start calling them and say, do you want to run the program? You're the GM. Here's a million a year. Just organize this stuff. Run our cap.

Or XGMs at 55 who are just burn out from crazy owners. there's a new industry starting in college football. General managers are a year away from being hired everywhere. Well, that's why you're going to see it this year and it's only going to grow the next five years is the wiping out of all the random colleges when it comes to football. I was at the gym today, and this guy who looked like he played football was decked out in Washington State football gear. It kind of made me sad. I mean, we grew up on that program playing in big games.

They're going to turn in closer to UC Davis in the next five years. years than they are back to Washington because the money the SEC has made. I mean, look at the SEC the amount they pay college basketball coaches now. I mean, they're a college basketball conference now. I fall college golf because a lot of the top guys go on the PJ tour. All the college golf programs in the SEC, they fly private because like you say, they have big boosters, they have the football money behind it, and the Big Ten is not going to be far behind as they start making gobs of cash now that they've got in Oregon and USC. And it's inevitable.

It feels like Notre Dame. You know, and those programs go and the SEC gets Florida State and Clemson over the next decade. It's going to wipe out the little guy. And I started at Fresno State. They don't have a snowball's chance in hell to survive. And it's just, it's going to become the NFL light.

Because I get a lot of questions. Like, why doesn't the NFL invest in minor league football? I said, why would they? College football produces all their talent. and they don't have to spend a penny. So why would they spend any expense on developing players, besides once they have them in their own building, when college football is doing it for them?

Right? They're spending all the. And football, like you said, makes all the money in college sports. It's also the most expensive program to run. It's why, you know, where I grew up in Northern California, St. Mary, Santa Clara. When I worked for Pat Hill, he played at Riverside. Those programs back in the 70s, Pete Carroll played at, you know,

Pacific. They all cut football after a while because they couldn't afford it. And that's back. I mean, they were bare bones. So it just becomes how does Washington State or Fresno State or New Mexico, whose programs forever? I mean, they were playing real football. How do they survive moving forward? And the answer is they just don't.

That's just the way kind of business works, right? So I'm looking at all these new contracts. And you know, it really is interesting. I'm totally comfortable with Jordan Loves. and some of it's just this, because I fashion myself as a poor man scout. He's bigger than Tua. He's faster than Tua. He's got a better arm than Tua. And Green Bay almost always gets offense right. I really, that's my bias, whereas Tua is smaller, don't love his arm, not his athletic, and Miami screw stuff up. The Tua, $212 million, I'm a little uncomfortable with it. I don't think I would have gone there.

But I think to myself all the time what Jay Glazer once said, the worst great job in America is being a football coach driving to the stadium knowing you're going to win six games. And if two is upright, you have a chance to win 11. So I just think I trust the Packers, Jordan's bigger, stronger, faster, better whip. Where are you on Tua? 212 over four years. Would you have gone there? And $170 million guaranteed is insane to me. I think there's two ways to look at it.

That contract to me is jaw dropping. I think most people that have watched them play go, that's crazy. That's insane. Because you have no shot to beat any of the top quarterbacks who are all in your conference. And we just saw last year, you were like, what were they, eight and one or nine and two, and the other bills were six and six, and they still ended up winning the division. Why? Because Josh Allen translates in November, December, and January, and your guy doesn't.

but there is value in just being relevant and competing to make the wildcard. Yes. So why can't we find some middle ground of like Alex Smith never made Peyton Manning, Aaron Rogers, or Tom Brady money? But like he was getting Harbaugh and Andy Reid to the playoffs. And there was value in it. And now we've got to the point of like, well, you just got to make this much. Why?

Why couldn't you just offer him Daniel Jones money? Like $90 million guaranteed. Cut that guarantee in half. Who are you bidding against? The thing with Dak, you know if he hit the open market, other people would be interested. The Raiders would take him in a heartbeat. And he's proven, like, every single year you can win 12 games. It still feels like, is he even that good?

But he clearly, you could win with him. You have a good offensive coordinator. He's a good guy, like for the character stuff. But his physical flaws, one, he's a relic. He's a true pocket quarterback, bad athlete relative. And I heard you, what was your analogy about the furniture, with your quarterback. I like my, I like my quarterbacks, like my furniture, big and hard to move.

Okay. So the old school quarterbacks, anyone that's ever met one of these guys, Carson Palmer, Eli or Peyton. Did you see the pictures of Peyton at Team USA practice standing next to all these guys that are 6-7 to 610? He does not look that much smaller than any of them. I know. The mannings are huge.

Carson Palmer is a giant. Philip Rivers is huge. Well, that's out to a place. The problem is he's. six feet tall. And he's got a weak arm. So he doesn't translate to the winter. Well, he plays in a division with cold weather teams. So I just, I get investing in him. And if you would have said, hey, they signed him to a three year, $100 million deal. And they guaranteed every penny. I kind of get it. But to pay him enormous money, I think is insane. I just don't know.

Like, when it comes to Jordan Love, if you and I pulled every GM we know. And so, said, who would you take for this next five years, Jordan Love or Tua? They'd all take Jordan. It'd be unanimous. Yes. It would be 100%. So Jordan Love technically signed for less. That's what I just think.

Listen, I don't get it. I'm short in the dolphins for the next three or four years. I'll tell you that. And here's the other issue. In 32 years since Brett Farve arrived, it's been 32 years since he stepped foot. He was a Packer. The Packers have the number one rated offense in the league. second winning his team to New England and have never in 32 years that I recall have a bad

offensive line. So if you look at the ancillary reality of Green Bay, Jordan Love will get better protection on average and better coaching on average. So Jordan Love got paid less and has much better support system. So I mean, Stephen Ross is one of the richer owners, but do you really trust him? He's He's always been a distracted owner. And Miami hasn't had a great offensive line since Don Shula. So my take is not only don't I love the two of a contract, but let's just be honest over five years of it. He'll have middle of the Pac-O lines. And there's the possibility that they won't draft terribly well.

I mean, Green Bay is, I said this the other day, like there's certain people, if Spielberg makes a movie or is in involved in something. If you go to his, like, movie page, it's almost always good. He doesn't, he has B projects. He doesn't have any C's. Like, Green Bay, if they had a bad season, it's because a quarterback got hurt. I mean, there are B to A minus virtually B plus to A minus every year of my life. So the other thing I don't like about Tua is Marino had Shula.

I don't think Mike McDaniels, I guess the way I would say it's, there are about four organizations and four ownership groups I just trust implicitly and Miami's not one of them. No. I think people often ask why have the Ravens say it's so consistent over now two and a half decades. They've had the same people there forever. So Eric Dacosta, who's now in charge, worked for Ozzie Newsom for 20 years. Well, when you look at the Packers, it's kind of similar. Maybe coaches, you know, they go from a Carthie to the floor. But Goudicans worked for Ted Thompson, who worked for Ron Wolf. I mean, the carryover of the philosophical beliefs of the organization have not changed. The non-negotiables of what you look for in players, the way you develop. Obviously, 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. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care which 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, 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 brand 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. 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 what you

need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped 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. What the hell does George Bush got to? to do a little kill. 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's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, yeah. But just so y'all know.

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 age. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

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. In Green Bay, they love offensive coaches. And I think when you look at Jordan Love, I don't think they get enough credit because we just, the way our society works, we're always on in the next. for when they pulled the trigger on drafting them. I mean, it was pretty ugly. They got destroyed.

You know, Charlie Munger says, if you can't handle, you know, the 50% downturns, you deserve the mediocre returns. Well, that was ugly. I mean, it created this weird dynamic with Rogers. It was crazy. Even though Rogers remember was coming off that kind of weird season their first year, but when they did it, well, three, four years later, it's paying off big dividends. Now, there's still risk involved.

But there's still some unknown with this player. he's only had eight good games. But I don't know if you have watched any of just, I watched a little bit of his press conference, I think yesterday, and I saw a clip today with NFL networkers there. Just because he's been the backup, you haven't really hurt.

He's pretty impressive. Yes. Just as a guy and just his maturity, I was like, damn, this is, this has a Mahomes, Josh Allen, the way he carries himself. And obviously, like you said,

first off, you have to have the physical, Alex Smith checked every box except weak arm. Yeah. You know, he had a great arm. He would have been Aaron Rogers or something. You know, and that's what this guy has. He has these physical characteristics. He has the infrastructure around him.

And then he has the maturity. I think you just, I don't know if he's going to be that Aaron Rogers 2.0, but how's he not going to be pretty damn good? You know, and that's, it's, listen, that my life, Joe Montana was a little bit before me. I remember as a kid, he was more on the chiefs than Steve Young. And then Jeff Garcia, who was, nowhere near as good as those two,

but he was still damn good going to the Pro Bowl. I think this guy has a chance to be like their version of Jeff Garcia, but actually closer to Rogers or Farth, and that's why I think they are, they feel really good. Now, he got 75 million dollar signing bonus.

He will get $75 million. I think it's $3.25 million direct deposits between now and like mid-December. I mean, they're pushing all their chips in the middle of the table on this, but I think you ask people around the league, any person that watch them, if you're a fan of the Packers, you go, yeah, I get it. I would do it.

Or it's the opposite reaction of Tua. Like, did you need to do this? That's my question. Did you need to do this? Well, the other thing is. You know when NBA teams just max out guys? Like, you're a 40-win team. You have to pay this guy $200 million?

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This is the truth. When Russell Wilson gets married, he doesn't have 10 players at the wedding with Ciara. He's never been wildly popular inside of his locker rooms. And he's been good. It's generally good-looking, rich guys. beautiful wife. You'd be just by, you know, just the way the world works, you'd be kind of popular. He's not really. We've seen players in Denver. We've seen players in Seattle, coaches take shots at Russell. I like him, but he comes off to a lot of people as inauthentic. So, and I don't think

he's changed. In fact, he's befriended, I've been told, Mike Tomlin more than any teammate. Like he's, because Tomlin, by the way, is like Russell wealthy, you know, worth seven to $25 to $100 million or more. So he's befriended, you know, Tomlin, not a teammate. And then here comes Justin Fields, who to the last day in Chicago, despite being the worst fourth quarterback in like a decade, players loved him. He's young. He's a nice guy.

He's supportive. He's securing himself. He just doesn't, he's got a Zach Wilson thing. He struggles post-snap to read a defense. He just struggles with it. He doesn't identify certain things. Zach and Justin, I see everything. except that.

And but now Russell's banged up and Justin's guarantee as a great practice player. And here's my thing. You look at that Pittsburgh schedule. There are a lot of two-game losing streaks in it. I mean, if they don't get that old line right, there's a lot of two-game losing streaks. And you tell me, having worked for the Eagles, Russell has a two-game losing streak. And like right now, Justin's crushing it at practice. it's a young roster, players like Justin.

Like, I think that's a fascinating potential mess. Do you think they replace Russ, or do you think he's been guaranteed a starting spot this year? I think it's already getting weird. I mean, he's already injured. It's late July, pulled calf. He feels like a weathered guy that's 34, 35 years old. And partly is the way he's looked the last couple years. I've said forever if I was a Steeler fan, I would want no part of Russell.

Wilson starting because we hire Arthur Smith, who we've seen resurrect Ryan Taney Hill's career. Now, I would say Tanny Hill, then a little more accurate. This guy's a better athlete. Can you get anything out of this player? The other thing in Pittsburgh, what's that territory? Like right by Ohio State, a lot of those fans watched Justin Fields succeed. Remember the game he had against Clemson's in the playoff game?

I think he threw six touchdowns. There's stuff there. I would just want to see that guy. When I think the Steelers, going back even before I was born, to throughout my youth to this team now. They just have guys guys. Like when you think football players like TJ Wat, feels like everyone likes.

Cam Hayward's the man of the year. Mick of Fitzpatrick's like one of Sabin's favorite players. And it doesn't feel like those guys are going to be into this at all. I know. I mean at all. And the other thing is, let's face it, Russell's more of a dink and dunk guy now.

And they have explosive players on that roster. My guess is, I think we, now who knows, we'll see if he can. And by the time, within a week at Padsar on, if he's back at the starter, it would not shock me if Justin Fields is a starter very early on. I wouldn't even put week one out of the realm possibility.

They're not invested into this player. I mean, they're in for a million dollars. So it means you can't get a player of his status any cheaper. I love future bet. So two years ago, Minnesota was at like eight and a half. And I just sold the farm. I said, that is a terrible mistake by Vegas. They won 13, I think.

last year, I said, do you realize the Rams were at six and a half in Vegas? I said, time out. They're just an older chiefs, great offensive coach, great quarterback, one great defensive lineman, outside of Cooper Cup, we don't know what they're, but pretty good protection, and kind of young on the defensive side. I said, now, Mahomes is better than Stafford. I said, but they kind of line up with Kansas City a weaker version. They're winning eight, nine games.

So the team this year, listen, I don't think they're great. Denver's over under is five and a half. Left tackle, excellent. Oline was rated seventh by PFF. One of their guards is top four in the league. Excellent offensive coach. Two solid NFL running backs. An elite corner in safety.

Linebackers move well. One good defensive linemen. They drafted an edge rusher. That's a weakness. Mims could be an excellent two. Cortland's sort of a weak one, but two dependable receivers, service little tied ends. If Bo Nix just runs the plays, and I do think there's a Drew Breeze thing here, they can't go seven and ten?

Yeah, to me, that'd be a pretty easy overhammer. There are some, can they make the playoffs or whatever with a rookie quarterback? That's different. Five and a half feels insanely low. Way low. I was looking on our friends at Draft Kings. I usually don't do over-unders because for me to get the juices flowing, you know, the number's got to be like $5 or $10,000.

And I don't want to just have it sitting there. But I saw something that I'm like, I'm all in. The chargers to make the playoffs are plus 110. So you're not even having to pay a Vick. You're getting plus one odds on this. This is the best quarterback he's ever had. They invested in another offensive lineman. They're going to be able to run the ball.

We know wherever he's gone, they've been good on defense. wherever they, and let's face it, you get to 10 wins with that quarterback, you're probably the 7th seed. I like them a lot more than the dolphins this year. I think that was my favorite, just long term. I think the charges are in the playoffs. I mean, Jim Harbaugh has a long history. The other thing is I've watched a lot of just charger content. Jim, and I was around him for a couple years when I kind of got into radio, when he was with the Niners,

and I think early on Stanford, he had this huge chip on his shoulder. was just hard to be around, I think. Yeah. I don't know if it's the championship for the last couple years of Michigan. He feels a lot lighter. I know you know the Spanos says he feels a lot easier to be around. And there's a looseness, like a, I don't know if it was insecurity, but he just, he just tried to beat his bull in the China shot nonstop.

And it feels looser, but he clearly is better at his craft now than he's ever been in his entire life. And he's been good at it since he started coaching. How are they not really good? I actually think if you just go, well, I can see the chiefs kind of just cruised I don't know. They just won the last two Super Bowls. Is it out of the wrong possibility? They win the division? Well, they were favored to win gold, but there's been a lot of storylines with Team USA at the Olympics in France. Jason Timp. Hoops tonight. So let's talk Embed, who, you know, when he comes into the league, there was a sign early. First couple years, can't play it. Unhealthy. So it's like, uh-oh, bigs get hurt early. Biggs usually get hurt often. So he's always had an injury history.

But most bigs eventually do, right? Like almost all of them. Yao Ming, Shaq, you can just Greg Oden. Sam Bowie couldn't get on the floor. Like, it's the position people probably aren't built to last at 7-2, you know, or Shaq's size with those feet back, it wears out. Like, I get it. But Embed presents something else beyond the injuries.

And because he is more dynamic and more fun to watch than Yokic or a Janus, and there is a Shaq component with better ball handling skills, There is also something that I find, my eyes keep telling me this when I watch the Sixers, is that, and the Olympics just heightened this, is that they can keep running coaches through Philly and teammates through Philly. I mean, even Ben Simmons for a while, he was an All-Star like his first year, right? Like, Ben did have promise. They were good. Is that, yeah, Embeded really needs to stay closer to the basket.

So coaches kind of pushed AD out for a couple years. It was like fashionable. And AD didn't, it went good shooting from out there. AD said, I want to go back. And he has been for two years a monster. To me, the most underrated player in the Olympics and the league right now is AD. He is just phenomenal. Turn the sound down, watch.

You can't, if he's on the floor, it's like LeBron. You can't take your eyes off him. He's dominant. Embed to me, somebody has to just acknowledge. fella, get away from the perimeter. He fashions himself or is told that he is such an important part sometimes of perimeter basketball. He's big. He's aging.

He's not as quick. I thought he literally got in the way of this offense. I'd seen it in Philly, but it was so profound with this team. It bothered me. I'm screaming at the TV. Get him out of the game. Your thoughts on Embed, and... Are any of these valid that I watch him offensively?

I know the numbers probably say he's great, but he can, he stops. I just feel like he can stop offenses too often. So it's both. It's the jump shot and it's the ball movement piece. The jump shot piece, this has been a consistent story in Embed's career, especially over the previous couple of years. This last year he actually shot the ball okay against the Knicks, but like in the previous couple of seasons,

he would shoot like 50% on these like mid-range pull-up jump shots in the regular season, but then he'd get in front of Al Horford and he couldn't make him. Like he would struggle to knock him down in the postseason. That was a consistent theme. And be able to get to the postseason, his jump shot would go away. And one of the biggest things that he never built out the way Yokic did is those short-range shots, the hooks, the floaters, all that stuff that's within like six, seven feet of the rate. Exactly. And those are way more dependable in this kind of setting.

The second piece of it is learning how to play basketball with other people. This is an epidemic around the league with certain guys. and we see this, it's kind of like this with Luca a little bit, with more of a perimeter sense, but we see it with Embed where it's like, as long as everything is flowing through him, and he's deciding every single possession, he has this otherworldly value as almost like a force of nature. So for instance, if you took AD or BAM and you put them on last year's Sixers team with Tyrese-M Maxi, they're not as good because you can't just give the ball to AD and BAM like every single possession and ask them to determine outcomes they're not good enough on the offensive end of the

floor. But when you're actually playing with people, other good basketball players, and this will be really interesting this year with Paul George now in the equation, when you actually need to keep everybody in rhythm and there's ball and player movement, and Bid, for lack of a better term, sucks at that style of basketball. He doesn't know how to play quick decision-making, flowing from side to side, and especially at the center position, in modern NBA basketball when you play five out, the center is the bridge between the two sides of the floor.

He's the guy who has to catch and turn and go to the other guard and flow on the other side. So when you're trying to keep Booker and Steph and LeBron and all these guys in rhythm at the same time, it's better to have a guy like AD who his entire life has been a screen and roll big. He's going to pitch the ball to the other side, set a screen, roll hard to the rim.

run up and down the floor and transition. It's a foot speed thing. It's a decision-making thing. You put him in this setting, and it's just a completely different kind of basketball than what he was doing for the Sixers last year. And quite frankly, he has years of needing to learn how to play that style if he's ever going to play

in more of a five-out read-and-reacts type of system. Hey, what's up, everybody? John Middilcock here from Three-N-Out podcast. The NFL season is right around the corner. And if you want some of the best football content out there, I got you covered. training camp through the preseason throughout the entire season. Subscribe and follow the 3 and Out podcast with me,

John Middilkoff on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcast. 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. 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, 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 brand 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. 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, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

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. 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 Jay 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

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 So Thank you for finishing that. sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. 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. So during COPA, Team USA struggled, and not to make an excuse or defend Greg Burhalt or the coach at the time, but our style is more European. We have more players now, soccer players in America, playing in Europe and flourishing. So Copa is a smaller, shorter field. It didn't play to our strength, which is speed and spacing. So as we've become more skilled and more European, which is the Golden World Cup, Copa has become a bad tournament for us, which is a grittier, lower-ranked teams, more physical soccer. Similarly, Steph with Fiba. Three-point shooting is almost the place with your head.

It's closer. It's more physical. You don't get the whistle. More physicality allowed. And as I watch Steph struggle, it's not like Tatum struggling. It's not a confidence issue. It's a, is it possible that Fiba Olympic basketball isn't really, it's not really built necessarily for Steph all the time?

I mean, LeBron's good everywhere. But as Steph struggles, How do I reconcile that? He's a great shooter. It's closer. He should be shooting the lights out. He's not. Why?

So Sudan in particular, and I think their reputation, obviously that them as an organization within FIBA don't have the reputation of the other great European teams or South American teams that we faced over the years, like even back in the old days when it was like Argentina, you know, or France that was given its issues. They don't have that history. But I think South Sudan is the most athletic team in this field by far. like they have just an enormous amount of fast dudes with really long wingspans. They're athletic by NBA standards, let alone by Feeba standards.

And so if you remember last year when Golden State needed to get some big wins down the stretch of the season, the two teams that were giving them a lot of trouble were Sacramento and New Orleans, two teams that were really fast and really long on the perimeter. And that's like kind of one of those things

where as Steph has aged, he's become a little bit susceptible to specific types of matchups, particularly teams that are closing those guys. gaps on him. And then the piece you mentioned about spacing is real. Like the lack of the defensive three seconds is a real thing that people aren't factoring in. So to put it simply, the vast majority of teams when they're spacing will put their big man on the opposite block from where the ball is. And so with defensive three seconds, that defender has to step

in and out of the lane on the far end of the court. Whereas in Fiba, he can park his ass right underneath the basket. And he doesn't have to move at all whatsoever. And so this, by the way, is why I'm far more concerned about teams like Germany and France or even Serbia against USA than a team like Canada who just doesn't have the bigs to deal with USA underneath the basket. Teams that can park big bodies under the rim can force you to make jump shots. And as soon as you force a team to make jump shots, they can go cold, they can have issues, which is what happening in South Sudan last time. But yeah, as far as Steph goes, like, he, I mean, we, let's put it, let's put straight up, Colin, he struggled most of the tail end of the season last year, too. So this is an

extension of that. And I'm really hoping as a basketball fan that this is just a blip and he's going to figure it out because I really want the Warriors to be interesting next year. You know, when you have a bunch of kids, I have six in my life. The early years can be frustrating and a lot of work. But what's fascinating about the early years is kids make giant social and emotional and physical leaps in nine months. I mean, my son had a biting stage. He had a coughing stage where he would make coughing noises. And I always told my wife, I'm like, it's just, just nine-year-old boys go through weird, weird, you know, cycles. Yeah, they just do. And I want to use that as sort of a pivot to watching young NBA players, is that when they're 18,

19, 20, players just come back off and off season, and you're like, damn, he got a jumper. So I'm watching Wembe, and I feel like I'm watching a kid grow. Like, I'm watching him in some of these games, and I'm like, oh, this is terrifying

for the league. Like, he, you go to his first month in the league, and now, Jason, offensively, he plays with so much more confidence. Defensively, he's blocking stuff with his elbow. He is now way more aggressive and asserting himself. And I'm watching this and I'm like, I said by the

trade deadline, I said this on our previous podcast, by the trade deadline, he and aunt will be the faces of the league. I'm not sure it's going to take that long. Like, Yokic is still the best player, his ability to not only dominate, but compliment other players and elevate them. It kind of separates LeBron's magic. Certain guys, I always say, Michael didn't make everybody better, not every teammate. LeBron Magic Yokich, Chris Paul, every teammate's better. You play your best with him. And now we get Chris Ball with Wemby. But I'm watching him and maybe it's, maybe I don't see him as much as you do. I'm seeing major jumps from Wembe, even in these Olympics. No, absolutely. They've been running a lot more offense through him than you would expect. And a big part of that is France

doesn't have an amazing guard core. Like Evan Fournier is their best guard, a guy who couldn't crack the rotation for the mix last year. Right. So like, but what, but what? But what? What? what they're doing in a lot of cases is they're feeding him at the elbow and they're like running literally ball screens like the way you would typically with a point guard in a center, they're running with him and Gobert at the foul line and they're letting him determine the outcome of possessions. They're throwing it to him down on the block. He's the, he's become a lot quicker at like reading the floor and making reads than I would expect a player at his age. And part of this I think has a lot to do with him playing professionally as opposed to

coming up through the college system. Like he's just been around a lot of really smart basketball minds in his development. The big one to me that stands out is the dude is just a savage competitor and is not scared of the moment. Like he was kind of on the back burner for a good portion of that second half against Japan. And then it went to OT and he just took over. Immediately was demanding the ball in the block, got an and one. He missed a three on the right wing and then immediately called for the ball back and knocked one down at

the top of the key. he's got like just incredible scoring polish all over the floor he's handling physicality really really well obviously you mentioned the defensive stuff it's hard to even it's hard to even describe it doesn't even look like other NBA players that have come before him I'm with you I think I think we got to think long and hard about him being a top 10 player right now and then I think right now I think by the deadline next year we could be talking about a guy who's who's second team all NBA like this is a real a real potential outcome for him in the short term you put a bunch of alphas together and some alphas will shrink and some alphas will rise.

LeBron is now the best player on this team. It's like now it's gone past, but what's interesting is that Nick Wright said this to me today on the show in FS1. He said, deep down LeBron may realize these are the last games of his career that people are really going to watch, like have a huge audience and are going to matter. And listen, you and I have been critical of the executive wing of the Lakers. A.D. and LeBron on any given game that I've watched Team USA are the two best players. And they're struggling to win a playoff game. It's really frustrating. There's Jeremy Grant may come to town. He would be a solid three, a better, a four on a really, really good team. He's probably a four, not a three, but be that as it may.

But as I watched LeBron, what it tells me is he's not having to fight to be the alpha. He is so respected that other young players are like, hey, big fella, you run the offense. I mean, like, Magic and Michael, when they went together, they were fighting. Magic didn't want to give up the baton. Michael grabbed it. Like, even Ann, all these guys. It's like, no, no, this is LeBron's, this is LeBron's world. And I know you're not surprised by it, but it does jump out of the TV, does it not?

I'm glad everyone's seeing it too. First of all, to what Nick said, I agree. I think LeBron has always been very aware of the narrative surrounding him. And I think that he saw an opportunity here to be like, if I am the best player on Team USA, it will resonate with people for a long time. And for the record, I think LeBron came right out of the time. the season started prepping for it. He looks like he's in great shape. He is flexing every other time down the floor. I know. Like he's, he clearly prepped for this as though it was an NBA

playoff run. Like that is abundantly clear. And he and he's, and he's playing at that crazy high level. I'm glad you mentioned the Lakers because like so many people are like, oh, they're, they're a playing team. They're this, there are that. It's like, guys, the reason they're a playing team is they don't have a single player on the roster other than LeBron and AD who can play both ends of the floor. That's literally why they've struggled. It is a personnel issue. It is not a LeBron, James, and Anthony Davis issue. Those two pull their weight, they pulled their weight in a major way last season, and the organization is what let them down. And so I don't really see it that way. As far as, as far as LeBron with this team USA context, what's been super fascinating from a basketball perspective

is what you're seeing is what it would look like to run five out offense with all the ball and player movement, Steph lying off of screens with the best playmaker of this era kind of orchestrating it at the top of the key. He's not taking a ton of shots. He's seeing his openings and he's shooting the gap and he's attacking the basket. But they're ducking under all those picks at the top at the top of the key. He's not jacking up threes and hijacking possessions. He's just reading the floor as Steph is running around and as Devin Booker's running around and waiting for guys to make mistakes. One of the most classic decisions that you'll see from that part of the floor is Steph runs off a screen and the guy screens for him.

If those defenders make a mistake, that guy can slip it. And LeBron is just making reads based on what the mistake the defense has made. And so it's kind of like a juiced up version of Draymond with the Warriors, but surrounded by all of these, you know, world-class types of players. And it's been the perfect role for him. And then quite frankly, to your point, and this is where it gets really scary, Colin. I would argue KD and LeBron and Steph have been the only consistent offensive forces on this and we've been disappointed by Jason Tatum.

Anthony Edwards has given us some mixed results. There's been good games. There's been bad games. I think it's just a bad look that here in the year 2024, Steph, LeBron and KD, are playing the way they are and the younger generation is struggling to keep up. It's like, thank God for AD and BAM being as good as they've been because it's just been, it's been a disappointing performance

from some of the younger American players. The volume. Thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment, rate and review. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam J. 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.

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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but,

celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.