The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Durant, Notre Dame, Zion

Episode Date: July 5, 2022

Kevin Durant leaving the Nets doesn't guarantee him a title Player mobility can be a bad thing Notre Dame is the last big school not in the SEC or Big 10 Colin's thoughts on Zion Williamson's new contract   Guest: Antonio DanielsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. I hope you had a great holiday weekend. Many people take this week off in America. They hang out with their fans. They go do their boat thing. Alex Curry, of course, is joining me. And it was good.

It was so good last night. I didn't even have to partake in beers. I just sat there and ate great food, hung out and talked to the family, had the dogs. Dogs a little spooked last night with the fireworks. Got through it, though. How about you? Yeah, it was wild. It was wild down at the beach.

It was like, you can tell people have been wanting to let loose for a couple years down in Hermosa Beach. Sure. But, yeah, fireworks were a little crazy. I too had to hold my two dogs for a couple of hours. But, yeah, all in all, it was a great day, great night. So I wanted to start with this today. Kevin Durant, as you know, is great. Everybody knows that.

And there are a lot of stories out there today about the one team that could actually furnish the nets with the pieces to get him is the Warriors. And, you know, I was thinking about this this morning. Player empowerment in the NBA sounds great, doesn't it? You have mobility. Do what you want to do. You have leverage over the franchise. It sounds great. But two things to remember.

number one, the fans don't really like it. According to television ratings in the NBA, the lowest rated team this year was Brooklyn. You know who had big ratings? Cleveland. LeBron's gone. Cleveland. A young team that's building into something special. Mowgli, Darius Garland, Milwaukee had big ratings.

Boston, Phoenix had big ratings. And the Warriors, the cast that's been together for years. So fans don't necessarily, according to TV ratings, they don't love it. The second thing is, are we sure it's great for the star players? Right? I went and looked at the last like 7-8, massive star player mobility in the NBA. Here's what I saw this morning. Jimmy Butler moved, T-Wolves to the Sixers.

That didn't work. Miami kind of works. Anthony Davis, Durant, Paul George, James Hart. Garden, Kyrie to the Cavs, to the Celtics, to the Nets, LeBron, Kauai Leonard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbro. I won't read all of them for the radio audience. I apologize, but on TV you can see it. You know what you find when you look at all those trades? There's one title, five disasters, and four to five, yeah, I thought it would be a lot better. And by the way, the one that got your title, LeBron and Anthony Davis, doesn't feel like it works anymore.

because Anthony Davis isn't the leader the Lakers thought they were getting and the Broad only plays 55 games a year. And what you find with mobility, all mobility, not just NBA mobility, and I've been somebody that's moved a lot for my career, it's hard to build friendships. You always feel like an outsider. There is really no perfect job. The grass is not always greener.

And frankly, it's exhausting. It's a lot of work. A lot of work. I saw a study a year ago. And it was actually data and not a study. That fewer Americans now move. 25 years ago, 14% of people were looking to move, get a new home. And then a decade ago, it went down to 11%.

Now it's at 8 a year ago. That people want to stay put. People want to build friendships. It's exhausting. Life's tough as you get older, your kid's age. Why keep bouncing around in new homes and new cities? Mobility is really, really hard. And if you look at the NBA's, let's say, top 5%, Celtics are in that top 5%,

bucks are in the top 5%, Warriors are in the top 5%, this year regular season, the sons were in it. It's all homegrown, it's all drafted and developed. And maybe you bring in a Chris Paul or you're bringing a Drew holiday, but it's drafted, patience developed. And here's the thing with KD as we circle back to KD. he changes the temperature in any room. He just does. He's a lot.

And chemistry is so hard to build once you have it, why screw it up, right? I mean, Katie to Golden State, think about that. It was perfect. You had the selfless star in Steph Curry, easiest dude in the league to get along with. You had the chill wingman who bikes to work, Clay Thompson. The coach is academic, cerebral, very pro player,

Steve Kerr played in the NBA. It's the happiest, most lighthearted culture in the league. It's fun. The Warriors are having fun. And it was just just one little thing, one semi-polarizing personality, Draymond Green. And with all the good and with all the ease, Kevin Durant couldn't handle Draymond. You're going to move to a team now? It's perfect.

The point is, there is no. Golden State on the market for Kevin Durant. It does not exist. And everybody works in Golden State. Andre Aguadala works. Andrew Wiggins works. Everybody they bring in works. They brought in Kevin Durant.

They were squabbled in by year two. Year three, they couldn't stand each other. Mobility is just one of those things that sounds great. Let's move. Let's upgrade. You know what? Start looking at that chart of all the big moves in the NBA in the last seven, eight years.

One title, five disasters, five, like the Clippers, shouldn't it be better than this? And look at the top five percent of the NBA. Drafted, developed, don't mess up, very difficult to create chemistry. So, you know I love college football, and I've talked a lot about this over the last several days, whether on a podcast or here on the show. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are officially this morning the last great college football brand that is not in the Big Ten or the SEC.

They're it. And both would take them, though I think academically and geographically, big ten fits. They are the last great brand. I know Miami, Miami, yet. The you, you have been irrelevant for 20 years. You're not a great football brand. Nobody goes to your games. You could be again. You're fun. You're glamorous. You're fantastically flashy. But the you, you have been

irrelevant for 20 years. Clemson is not a national brand. It's great, but it's regional. Nobody really Big Ten Territory West knows it, cares about it. Florida State, same thing. Notre Dame is the last great brand in college football, not in one of the two conferences. I know, I know. It's just outrageous. But I was thinking about this this morning, is that if Notre Dame joins the Big Ten, college football has a big game problem. There's not enough good big games for TV. And it also has a situation where so many Saturdays were sitting around sort of waiting for the big games.

game at night. But the Big Ten airs its games early. If Notre Dame was included in the Big Ten tomorrow, I just put up nine or ten games that you would get on an average weekend. Think about this. These are the rivalries, and college football is the last

sport with great rivalries. Ohio State Michigan game. That would be Big Ten. USC Notre Dame, Big Ten. Michigan, Notre Dame, Big Ten. Penn State, Ohio State. USC, Ohio State. USC Michigan, Michigan, Michigan State. Penn State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Ohio State. That's just nine off the top.

None of those feel small. None of those feel regional. And college football has, for the last decade, become incredibly insular and regional. I know, I know people say this all the time. Oh, there's nothing to fix. College football is great. No, that's not true. It's on a seven-year attendance and ratings decline.

It needs a testosterone shot in the arm. USC and UCLA to the Big Ten help. Notre Dame to the Big Ten would be B12 times 10. College football is not perfect. People love tradition. You know what the tradition has been the last 10 years in college football? Do you know what the dominant tradition is in college football last decade? That an SEC team will get to the national championship game and two at a three years win it.

That's great for one conference. That's great for one region. and I got nothing against that region, but you can't build a sport on one region and one conference. I don't know if Notre Dame going to the Big Ten can solve the SEC dominant issue, but I know it can solve the more big games during the regular season issue. Just look at a Big Ten schedule. And I just put nine or ten interesting games up.

Those would all be the game of the week. There's two problems in college football, big problems. One conference dominates it. I don't think you can solve that for now. And we just don't have enough great games. Go look at Labor Day weekend. 95 college football games. Two you have to watch.

Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia. Two. That you could put on television and get a legitimate rating as a network. And yeah, that's where the money comes from. You're going to have to get over that. The following weekend, there's over 95 college football games. One game is going to get a rating. Alabama, Texas.

So I don't think you can solve the SEC dominance issue. They're going to be great. They love it. It matters a lot to them. That's awesome. But you can absolutely solve too many boring Saturdays with too many ugly mismatches and not enough marquee games issue with Notre Dame to the Big Ten.

There is a team. that does look like if Kevin Durant finds a home, it's probably going to be the home. Talk about that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific

on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. 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

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 what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clever 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

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this is right where 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-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 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 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. 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Good to have you in today. Really good guest, Ethan Strauss, Gotham Chopra, Dan Wetzel. today, Antonio Daniels. Good stuff today. Alex Curry is joining me. Joy's on vacation back next week. So there's a lot of talk because Kevin Durant's a star and the Warriors just won the championship and they're the best basketball culture in the world globally right now. The Golden State Warriors, be it college, pro, international. They just do it right. They draft and develop. And there's talk Kevin Durant, the veterans of the Warriors, Clay and Draymond and Steph, have been notified and they'd be like,

yeah, we'd consider it. You know, the downside, as I talked about to mobility now is Kevin Durant is viewed by some, and I think it's fairly, is impulsive and maybe a little flaky. Impulsive sounds better than flaky, that you're not sure quite what you get with him. We talked about this yesterday, and I think it's true. I think Kevin Durant with this move has become Kauai Leonard and Anthony Davis. Talented, productive, you can't have him lead your franchise. He's not capable of it. It's not what he does.

Can he enhance your franchise and win a title like Kauai, Anthony Davis? Yes. He can't lead it. Chris Broussard talked about this. and Katie's personality yesterday on our show. Kevin Durant is obviously not a leader. He said that himself in 2017 in an interview with GQ magazine,

but also that he doesn't have the intangibles to lead a team to the championship. If he were to go back to Golden State and win championships, sure, it's great. Three championships, four championships, he's got, whatever would end up being. People are always, though, going to kind of under-rate him

a bit because now we know he's not like Steph. He's not like Tim Duncan. He's not like LeBron or Kobe or Matt. Like those guys not only had the ability, he's got the ability, but they had the intangibles. And I think that's incredibly fair. I think he's now with this impulsive move, I think he's becoming Kauai Leonard and Anthony Davis, which is wildly talented. About three years ago, I kept saying on the air, I thought Kauai was the best get

bucket, get a stop guy in the league better than LeBron. You're not going to build your franchise around Kauai. And that's what's interesting. Anthony Davis, Lakers thought he was a leader. Yeah, that's backfired. He's an enhancer. Kauai Leonard, he was great to Toronto and the Spurs. They already had a culture.

As the Clippers have found out, you can't build a culture around Kauai. Can't depend on him. And I think this is why Phoenix is the place for KD. First of all, they've got a leader. It's Chris Paul. Your leader doesn't have to be your best player. Steph Curry always led the Warriors. People view KD as a more talented player.

Whether that's true or not, you don't have to be the most talented player to be the leader. Chris Paul is the leader of the Phoenix Suns. They don't need a leader. Chris Paul, Booker, KD can do the scoring. Chris Paul can do the leading. Phoenix is also a very good regular season team. They need a mercenary. They need a guy that if they play a Milwaukee or a boss,

or a Golden State or a Clippers, they can say, cherry on top, we got the best player on the floor. Phoenix has a good roster, a good coach, a good culture. When you get in trouble with Kauai, AD, and Kevin Durant is when you expect them to be more than a great enhancer to your basketball portfolio. They're great basketball players. First Ballot Hall of Fame stuff. And the sons have never won a title.

They've been close a couple of times. So I think they'd be a little more willing. than other franchises to sell off the future to win now. Again, Yankees may not do that. Mets would. Giants may not do that. Jets would. If you don't have the titles recently or ever,

Phoenix to me works. DeAndre Aiton, McHale Bridges, two to three first round picks. Chris Paul gets Booker and KD next three years to get buckets. That feels like close to a championship level team, and you don't need Katie to be what he's proven. He's not the franchise guy.

He's the enhancer, not the guy you build around. Alex for the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, the Packers lost a lot of production on the offensive side of the ball with Devante Adams leaving, but Aaron Rogers will have the challenge of re-looting the offense

without his star receiver, and while he is realistic about their situation without Devonte, he's also confident in the players he still has on the team. He said, we have some production. We have a lot of potential. We need to temper expectations and heightened accountability. Excited about Randall, excited about Sammy, excited about Alan Lazzard. He's been our dirty work guy for most of his career now.

Now he's getting the opportunity to be a number one receiver, so I'm not worried about him at all stepping into the role. But can we just be honest here? Aaron lost the divorce in the Devante Adams situation. He lost his number one and his number one. and his number three receiver. And if you look at the numbers, the amount of receptions and targets that Devante got compared to the next three receivers,

Devante got 123. The other three combined only got 94. Yeah, I mean, Alan has been in this league now four or five years. He does because he's a talented kid. He'll get to the end zone. Yeah. But you got 40 catches. And so you're not going to go from 40 to 110, 1205.

That's just not who Alan Lazard is. No. That's why I've said in this, half the teams that made the playoffs last year will not make the playoffs this year. I think the Minnesota Vikings will be the most improved team in the league with an offensive head coach. And I think Devante Adams is going to flourish with the Raiders. I think Green Bay is going to struggle offensively. I think they're going to become a one-trick pony of running with Aaron Jones. They're going to be a run team first.

And the problem with that, it's really hard to play from behind that way. You've got to be able to play from behind and we're going to be able to play from behind. with a lead in this league. That's why Baltimore and Lamar Jackson have had issues. They're not as good behind. Kansas City's great. Buffalo's great. Tampa Bay, Rams, Cincinnati.

Green Bay is not going to be able to play from behind if Alan Lazzard is your number one. Can't do it. And Aaron did this to himself. He talked about retirement. Devante Adams wants to know that he's going to be in a place where you know your quarterback's going to be there for a while. And Aaron's, he's 38. Derek Carr is 31.

That's a big difference in football years. Aaron's a sneaky 38 because he didn't play for three years. So, you know, and he stayed in college. He didn't bounce out of college quickly. He went to junior college, then Cal. So the time Aaron started playing, it was like a little bit like Jimmy Garoppolo. He was a lot older than we thought. Still a big age difference.

And once you mention retirement, that never leaves the mind. It's there. All right. Moving on, Tua has gotten plenty of criticism in his NFL career. And the addition of Tyree Kill hasn't. slowed that down. Tyreek also has been one of two his biggest supporters since he joined the team and on Hill's podcast.

The two poked fun at the doubters and said they're confident, their chemistry will be strong once the season starts. I don't think it's good enough. I've been underthrown him so many times that... Don't say that on here. Don't say that on here.

You know, I've been throwing him so many times, you know. I ain't going to get into that, man. Don't say that on here. You know, that he got people talking, talking about, you know, how I can't throw the deep ball. I'm like, man, this. It's all good, man.

It's all good. I just feel like our chemistry will get there, man. It's going to be, look, it's going to be about 2 a.m. one night, and you're going to wake up. You're going to walk in your kitchen. I'm going to be washing your dishes. That's how good. Our chemistry is going to be, dog. You're going to be like, Rick, what you doing in here?

I'm going to be like, man, look, I'm trying to get that chemistry and that bun together, dogs. Our chemistry are going to be on point, man. Just believe that. We'll see. Buffalo is going to win the division. New England, Miami. Jets will fight for the wild card, and I think it's probably Miami.

I will say this. I think Miami pivoted to an offensive team and an offensive organization over a defensive one. That's the future. That's what the league is. If you look at all these defensive coaches, even the ones I like, Belichick, Tomlin, Pete Carroll, Mike Zimmer, Fangio, the young ones, Robert Sala. There's one defensive coach right now in the NFL that's ascending. Sean McDermott. Doesn't have a title, but he's ascending.

Why? Because he has a great quarterback. It's just the NFL has changed. The Dolphins decided we're going to the offensive side of the ball. I think it's the right move to make. Nothing against Brian Flores. But if you look around analytically of what is working in the NFL, defensive coaches with conservative game plans are not working, even if you're Belichick. And I think Miami's going to be a really good watch.

Not only did they get Tyreek Hill, they got Cedric Wilson from Dallas, who's a great number three receiver with Jalen Waddle, Mike Keseki, good backs. O-line's still okay, but I think Miami is going to be, of nothing else, a really competitive team and a great watch. Yeah, they're going to be a must watch now. And I'm going to say that banter is promising. Chemistry takes time, but if you can see that and you can feel that off of the field, that's helpful. I mean, Tyree Kill is going from one of the best quarterbacks in the league who has proved himself to now a quarterback in Tuwa who needs to prove himself. This is his prove it year. So we heard it with Matthew Stafford and Cooper Cup, their first year together.

They spent every waking moment together to create that chemistry. Yeah. I like to see that they're hanging out. They're talking all the time. They're building that off the field. And that's all you can do right now at this moment. So we'll see. It should be a fun watch this year.

Well, moving to another top quarterback. Russell Wilson has been busy this off this football field this season. He's thrown at the first pitch at the Rockies game and celebrated the avalanches Stanley Cup win. He gave the commencement speech at Dartmouth and traveled to Monaco for the Grand Prix. But even with all these extra. activities. His team says he's still been a good leader as they had hoped for. Now, running back, Melvin Gordon said he's all about football. He's locked in. He's really trying to change the feel around here. And his head coach, Nathaniel Hackett, said he does such a great job of surrounding

himself with great people that help him so he can do all of the things and still focus solely on football every single second that he has. He is nonstop working. If he's on a plane, if he's watching, he's watching film, if he's studying. He's calling people. He's calling me. The thing is, he's a superstar. And this is what superstars do. He's an A-list celebrity who's married to an A-list celebrity. We know he puts in the work on and off the field. And his travel, it's probably on a private jet, probably in private cars. Everything's set up for him as he goes. He's promoting the Broncos every place that he goes. And the bottom line is he gets production on the field. This is nothing new for Russ. He's just out there. And if you do, if you get the production that you want on the

field, it's okay to do these kind of things on the off season. Yeah. Alex for the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. So we all know in baseball, the Yankees are a great example. The sport has changed. Home run hitters and aces. Dodgers.

Get power. Get aces. That's where you got to spend your money. The Mets went out and got Scherzer. They got some power and they got aces. You don't have to be great everywhere. That's the reality. We know this.

And the NBA is that you got it right now, the big thing in the NBA is going to have versatile wing defenders. You don't need a big. You really don't need a big. Golden State doesn't have a big. Kvon Looney's they're big. Over the course of time, football is now changing as well. And I saw a pro football focus listed their best rosters, you know, one through 15, one through 16. And, you know, there's nothing wrong with these rankings.

These are their rankings. It was bills and bucks and chargers over the Rams, interestingly. Packers, Browns, Eagles, Bengals, Chiefs, Dolphins. But what really is happening? And the Rams have taken the lead on this. The Rams no longer pay tight ends or safeties or guards. Linebackers, Bobby Wagner's not making that much. The Bengals and the Rams got to the Super Bowl.

What were they great at? Quarterback, weapons, an edge rusher, supported the quarterback and they had pretty good corners. The Colts, by the way, who are on this list, the Colts have a pretty good quarterback, need more weapons. Their two best players are a guard and a linebacker. Quentin Nelson, a run-blocking guard primarily, and Darius Leonard. The Rams will not pay those positions.

They're in a tight spot. So I think when you look at football and where it's going, and the Rams have really shown you this, They've shown you the way, is that we should have, rosters should be viewed like they are in baseball, weighted rosters. To me, when I judge your roster, this is why I could never have Green Bay in it. They don't have any weapons. 50% of your roster should be weighted on quarterback.

How good is your quarterback? Then I would say 11% on weapons, pass protection, edge rush, corners. Packers have great corners. Rest of your roster about 6%. If you don't have a great quarterback, you're not getting to a Super Bowl. It's really, really hard. Maybe I'm low-balling weapons here, but you do not have to be great at linebacker.

You do not have to be great at tight end. You do not have to be great at safety. By the way, the Seahawks pay their safeties. The Bears pay their safeties. The Seahawks and the Bears got their money in the wrong spot. Seahawks historically like to pay their linebackers. Bears historically like to pay their linebackers. And so I think the Rams have given.

us a real good sense of this. And I don't know if Cincinnati was trying to do it, but when the Rams played the Bengals last year in the Super Bowl, those were bad linebacking cores. Those were considered kind of average linebacking cores. They were not great interior offensive lines. Okay, not great. And they got there. And the Bengals came within a player two of beating the Rams. And so when I see best roster, Green Bay does not have enough weapons to win the Super Bowl. Just don't have them. They also let one of their better pass rushers go. That's not good. That's not a Super Bowl team to me. So I think we just have to look at it from a difference perspective. And I, you know,

I'm not saying this because I live in Los Angeles. I think Buffalo has kind of figured this out. They got Josh Allen and they've tried to continually upgrade weapons for him. They've got a really good corner. They probably pay safeties more than I would want to pay safeties. But most fans outside of Buffalo can't name their linebackers, can't name their interior offensive linemen, but you can name Stefan Diggs. They paid for Vaughn Miller. They went out and paid for a pass rusher. Buffalo looks like the team that's figured it out.

Got the quarterback, Stefan Diggged, Vaughn Miller, good corner. You can't name their interior alignment or the linebackers. Now, they do have great safeties. I'll give them credit for that. I believe they drafted and developed both. I mean, that is what it is. But when I just see, like, who are the best rosters? I mean, for the record, this is what the Chargers did this offseason.

What did they do? They went and got the best corner, arguably, Jackson from the Patriots on the roster, and they went and get Khalil Mack. Because they had their left tackle. They had their quarterback. They have their weapons. They let the Chargers let a really good linebacker go. They let a linebacker go.

They drafted, I believe they dragged. I could be wrong on this. Did they draft an interior office? offensive linemen? No, the Rams did. Rams drafted an interior offensive lineman. They don't want to pay them. They're going to draft them. And the minute they have to pay them, they'll probably draft another. So I don't really buy into the who has the, I know this about the Yankees. Power pitchers, power hitters. That's baseball. I know the Celtics and the warriors, multiple wing defenders. You know, Philadelphia's got the best center. Joel M. B.'s the best center.

Nuggets, Yokic. He's a great center. It's not about that. that anymore. I think sports has gotten smarter. You have to pay the right positions. And I think Buffalo and the Rams have completely figured it out. Star quarterback, weapons, good enough pass protection, give me an edge rusher and pay for a good corner. Outside of that, if I'm B-minus, I'm fine. Do I like my coach, Sean McDermott, Sean McVeigh? That's why I have the Rams and the bills to me should be Super Bowl favorites. It's not just the personnel. It's the right personnel, paying them the right money at the right spots. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Mike check. Do you want exclusive insight from the biggest names in the sports game? What's good? This is national champion and former pro baller Chris Johnson. Let me tell you a little bit about my new series, KJ Live. KJ Live is the only show featuring me going one-on-one with the brightest basketball minds on the planet to get the real. And when I say real, I mean that real. I got legendary Hall of Famers, elite coaches, and the top basketball insiders bringing you a unique perspective on all things hoops culture that you will not find anywhere else. To make your next move, your best move, and tap in with me on KJ Live, wherever you get your podcast from.

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, 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 both. 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 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 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 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 So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite

therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth?

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Well, I admit I was wrong yesterday. Zion Williamson, $230 billion from the Pelicans. I didn't think he'd commit to it. I didn't know if they could commit to him. Antonio Daniels, 13 years in the league now as an analyst for the Pelicans

on the Bally Sports Network. So, pardon me, I said this yesterday. I said, Anthony Davis did this. Forever and ever and ever, LeBron signed one-year deals. And that is easy to do when you're a rock and you're never hurt. But when you have a couple injuries,

and you haven't gotten a big contract yet. In a weird way, I look at those injuries and I think it actually benefited the Pelicans because if he has one more big injury, there's going to have this league's going to be like, I don't want to deal with it. So I understand Zion saying, I'm going to go all in.

I've been hurt. Oh, Colin. I'm going to go all in. What? Colin. So I'm going to tell you what you're doing right now, okay? What am I doing? I'm going to tell you exactly what you're doing.

What you're doing is you're covering both ends. So you're talking out of both sides. So what you said before is you didn't think he was signed a deal. So if he didn't sign the deal, you can say, I told you he wouldn't sign the deal. And now he's signing the deal. And the only reason he signed the deal is because, no, Colin, there is nothing wrong with being wrong. That's okay. That's cool.

It's okay. You were wrong. Zion wants to be in New Orleans. I can tell you this, though, you are not the only one that was wrong. There were numerous people out there that were wrong about Zion's commitment and want to to stay in New Orleans. now that he signed the extension, it's okay. It's okay to come out now and say, you know what? I was wrong.

It's nice to see Zion Williamson commit to the New Orleans Pelicans, and the New Orleans Pelicans commit to Zion Williams. Are you concerned that he's only played 38% of his games, though? That's a big commitment. Concerned with what? They're going to get hurt again, that his body's not built to play 75 games a year. You know what, Colin? Like, we'll find that out.

We'll find that out. It's simple. Like tomorrow's not promised for any of us. I would be a fool to sit here and project what I feel like the future is for Zion Williamson. I know what the Pelicans think the future is for Zion Williamson. He's a generational talent and a fantastic young man. He is a cornerstone piece.

He is someone that is worth building around. He is someone that is worth taking this chance on it. And we can all, we can all agree on that. People can have their opinions on all the way. He's not this and he's not that. what he is. Number one, he's a fantastic young man, and number two, he is a generational talent. He's a franchise changer and a culture builder. Anytime you have an opportunity to come upon young man like this on and off the floor, you reward them, you take advantage of it.

You know, we were talking about KD. Is that Tim Duncan, Kobe, Michael, Magic, Steph, Yonis, being a guy I'd build around is not just your talent. The NBA's got, I mean, to make the NBA, you have to be so talented. Then there's these guys, and I think KD feels so impulsive to me. He's falling into the Anthony Davis, Kauai Leonard KD, where I'm not going to build around him, but I'll take him, and I can win a title with him. And I always said this about Kauai. In San Antonio in Toronto, the culture was already built.

He's the cherry on top. He goes to the clippers. They have to build around him. It's not been the same. is that I look at Kevin Durant and I'm like, I can win with him. But Antonio, he's impulsive. He left a perfect situation in Golden State. But see, hold on, hold on, Colin.

A perfect situation for whom? This is where I feel like sometimes us on the outside have our opinions on the inside. It may have been a perfect situation for you. It may have been a perfect situation for me. But just because it's a perfect situation for us doesn't mean I guess a perfect situation for him. And that's where I think we're wrong a lot of the time Because we see things on the outside Oh man, that's a great situation for Kevin Durant

But we don't know what Kevin Durant's situation was on the inside We don't know how he messed with this team We don't know how he felt about the way that he was treated by the national media And the local media and the fan base and how that made him feel It's one thing if we're involved If we're involved with Kevin Durant and we can speak directly to it When we're not and we say it looked and feel Think about how many perfect situations

that we feel like are great. There's no perfect anything, Colin. I think we know that. You may seem like you have a great job on the outside looking in, but to you, this is wrong and that's wrong and this is wrong and that's wrong. So I don't think it's fair for us to say it was a perfect situation for Kevin Durant from our perspective.

When from his perspective, he obviously felt like there was a situation that was better and he chose to move on. Now he acknowledges it's not working. So I say, Phoenix to me feels like for Kevin Durant. Well, in fact, I'll ask you this. According to a report from somebody I trust Marcus Thompson, he said that Steph, Clay, and Draymond had been notified about KD. Now, I said yesterday, if I could steal him, you know, if it was like a Wiseman and Wiggins,

I'd probably do it. But I wouldn't do Wiseman. That would be stealing. Yeah, I mean, I think it's stealing. But Wiseman, Wiggins, draft picks, pool, I'm not blowing my chemistry up. I just won without him. I have the best block. What chemistry?

No, no, hold on now. But what you're saying, Colin, is the chemistry that you had. I'll tell you the one thing I learned in 1999 with the San Antonio Spurs. I got to the championship in 99. I never made it back again. You know why? Because there are so many different things that happened throughout the course of the season. This Golden State team, the chemistry and the camaraderie that you are referencing is not the

same as it was last year. Yep. You're going to have clay. You're going to have Steph. You're going to have Draymond. Gary Payton's gone. Otto Porter's gone. Damian Lee's gone.

So you have so many different guys that have moved on. So to think that just because it worked last year without Kevin Doreen, and Golden State was great last year, just because you feel like it is going to work last year, that it can now work again, you have to understand. There are certain teams that are going to be better because of the injuries, because of addition by subtraction.

You know, New Orleans getting Zion back. You know, the clippers are getting Kauai back. Minnesota now has added Rudy Gobert. So there are different teams in the Western Conference. Maybe John Morant will be healthy this time during the playoff run. So I don't think it's fair to say if you have an opportunity with Kevin Durant to add to that unit that he already won two championships with that you will be worried about the chemistry. I'm not rocking with that one.

I think if I was Phoenix, I'd give up Bridges, Aiton, and a couple first round picks. And then it would just be because Chris Paul could be the leader, the vocal, leader and then Booker and Katie get me buckets. Agreed. Okay, so that that one works for me. You. Me too. Yeah. Me too. Because for me, Colin, if I'm going after Kevin Durant, I don't want spare parts.

And you heard Brooklyn reference this earlier. They don't want spare parts. They want a centerpiece. And to me, DeAndre Aiton has the potential to be a centerpiece. He has the potential to be someone that you can build around. He's young. He can play with it back to the basket. He can face up. He has a nice. floater game. He has a really nice game for a big in today's NBA. But I think what we've seen in

today's NBA is centers are like running backs in the NFL. People don't want to pay them all that money. They feel like they can do it by committee. You know, so I'm with you there. I don't mind that one. If you talk about DeAndre Aiton and you pair him alongside Ben Simmons and Mikhail Bridges, now you are talking about a young nucleus and core that has the potential to be something special moving forward and not just spare parts being thrown in. By the way, Kyrie Irving Lakers to me works because you've got to be able to play off ball with LeBron.

Westbrook's not as good a off ball player because LeBron is still an absolutely remarkable all-time passer. Somebody's got to hit those buckets. So they're trying to get younger, more athletic, and more shooters. That's why they want Curry and Kyrie Irving from the Nets. If you were the Lakers, what do you make of Kyrie, some feel he's toxic? What would you make of that? You know, the thing, if I'm the Lakers, I do this deal because we saw what it looked like last year.

As you know, Colin, I've come on this show numerous times and advocated for Russell Westbrook. Yeah. Huge Russell Westbrook fan. But for me, when you are talking about NBA trades in free agency, it has nothing to do with the name. It's all about the fit and the skill set. So with your stars, how does that guy or guys that you are bringing in skill set complement those that he's playing with. Russell Westbrook, you know the way he plays.

How does his skill set compliment LeBron, James, and Anthony Davis? Okay, we saw that last year. Kyrie Irving, on the other hand, is a different player. He has chemistry with LeBron already. So people can sit here and doubt and say, oh, but he asked out. He didn't want to play with LeBron. Yep, but when you leave, you mature and you learn. And now Kyrie Irving wants to go back and be a part of a LeBron James-led basketball team

alongside Anthony Davis. I think any of us on the outside looking in at this Los Angeles Lakers situation wouldn't doubt that Kyrie Irving will be a great fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis because of how his skill set complements exactly what those stars need. So Anthony Daniel, Antonio Daniels in a great mood, by the way, because Zion signed with the Pelicans. He's in a very good mood, feeling himself today. Well, you should. It's great for the city.

It's great for Zion. Brandon Ingram, they played well. they've got chemistry. Can you say something for me, though? Can you say something for me, Colin? Say the narrative is changing in New Orleans. Well, I think today the narrative is changing. I think it is.

I think they were exciting. I think they gave Phoenix a real battle. I thought they played Phoenix really well. And that's without their generational talent. I tell you, I have all the faith and trust in Willie Green. Coaching talent is hard, man. Coaching talent is hard. But when you add Zion next to Brandon Enger,

C.J. McCullum, Herb Jones, Jose Auberado, Yonis Valanchunist, Trey Murphy, and this young core, it's going to be special down there for years to come, Colin. That's for sure. The narrative is changing, brother. Coaching talent is hard. Ask my bosses. It's really, really difficult. Humble, too, huh? Nice and humble. Antonio, great seeing you again. You too, brother.

All right. So they got it going there. They gave Phoenix a real tussle. Yeah, the Phoenix thing looks like it just works. Phoenix and KD. That one works. They get two young. young players. They can build around. They get a bunch of picks. I do that. And again, Phoenix hasn't won a title. So to me, teams that haven't won a title are a little more willing to give up some future to win now. I get it. If Phoenix has been a really good basket in the 70s, they had Paul Westfall. They got to a final against the Celtics. We saw a couple years ago, they got to the finals with the bucks. They've held a lot of good teams for a lot of years. No titles. That's the

kind of team that would give up just a few more picks to get it with KD. Hour two coming up next. 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 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. 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, Cliver 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 sell. 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.