The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Mayfield, Durant, NFL

Episode Date: July 11, 2022

The Cleveland Browns feelings toward Baker Mayfield, and what it says about the former number 1 pick. Why Kevin Durant wasn't happy playing for the Golden State Warriors. Thoughts on the best QBs in the NFL   Guest: Joe VardonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer,

Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. 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 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 which I'm 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 I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's 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. 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard.

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on a Monday, live in Los Angeles. It is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Joy Taylor is back on the show today. We're one hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, there's actually a lot going on. We made chicken salad out of whatever last week, and Joy and I will do it again this week.

We have some really interesting guests, including Trevor Lawrence. Yes, yes. I bumped in, I don't do a lot of Super Bowl parties. You're more social than I am. So when the Super Bowl's in town, you know, Joy is at every party. That's not true. You were out and about this Super Bowl. I went to.

That's a lot for you. It's a lot. And so one of the parties I went to, I saw Trevor Lawrence. And it was the party that had Joe Montana, Russell Wilson, Derek Henry. Oh, yeah. And Sierra said that she liked you. That was that party, right? She said she loved me.

Sorry. That was the show. It's a big difference. But I didn't hear it that way. I heard it that she loved me. But Trevor Lawrence was there. And I remember sitting down after I met him and telling Ann, I'm like, sometimes you just meet young people and you're just like, that kid might as well be 45 years old.

So Trevor's on the show today, a big fan. And Joy's back. She was in the Bahamas and looks like somebody who was just in the Bahamas. Yes. Spent some time in the sun. Yeah. So let's start with this. I'm not going to beat up on Baker Mayfield today.

I'm over it. I want him to do well in Carolina. I got no interest in that. I believe it or not, I may be critical of athletes, but I root for all of them. I really do. I can't root against people that love their sport. I don't care if you're a writer, a politician, an athlete. I can't root against people who care.

And Baker Mayfield really wants to win. And he's had the, you know what, beat out of him physically and emotionally, and now in the press. So right now there's brand protection. Baker took a shot, leaked some stuff. his camp did to bang on Kevin Stefansky, and the Browns now are firing back. And the Browns obviously can leak way more than Baker can. And there's a story out from Jason Lloyd of the athletic that Baker was widely viewed as childish and immature.

His behavior annoyed some teammates, divided the locker room. He was difficult to coach. He had a beef with OBJ. He was miffed about a variety of things that happened last year, including the fact that the in-house radio show dared to criticize him. So I had told you this last year in the middle of the season, I was told, and Joy is my witness, I said on the show, Andrew Barry's over Baker Mayfield. I was told by somebody who knew Andrew, they were done with him.

They were over him. But I'm not here to beat up on Baker because I do think he'll have success in Carolina. And I want him and his wife to have a great life, and he's a young kid, and let's get it going. So I want to make this a macro topic. I'm going to give you a bunch of names, James Winston, Baker Mayfield, Jay Cutler, Drew Locke, Johnny Manzo. all talented enough to play in the NFL, all with major maturity issues. Sometimes when you get the big job in the corner office, it's not what you say.

It's what you don't say. You don't have to win every press conference. The three greatest athletes I've ever seen in my life at this quality are Derek Jeter with the Yankees, Eli Manning with the Giants, and Tom Brady with the Patriots. They never turned down an interview. and they talked and talked and talked and talked and they never said anything. They never said anything. And I know the media goes, oh, eye roll.

That is absolutely a skill. Baker Mayfield, that dog emptied the tank with every press conference. If he lost, he was snarky. If he won, he was cocky. And the entire time, I kept saying, folks, you saw it when you drafted him. And that's the interesting thing about here. It would be easy for me to pick on Cleveland Brown fans, but your fans. You're crazy.

It was remarkable to me to listen, and I've seen this before, where scouts and general managers are like, oh, I love his passion. Well, passion and maturity can coexist. Russell Wilson's passionate. Patrick Mahomes is passionate. Joe Burrell's passionate. Who says you can be passionate and immature? I am here to tell you, another college quarterback will come out this year and the next year and the next year.

And I'll bang on him. and I'll say he's immature. I said it with Drew Locke. I said it with Mansell. I said it before everybody else. Everybody else was, oh, Drew Locke can do this. I said, no, that's not going to work. And I said it with Manzell.

And I said it with Baker. And Jay Cutler had a sensational alarm. He went to Vanderbilt. That's a great school. So we've got to be fairly bright. I watched him once on his reality show. He doesn't lack bright. He doesn't lack smart.

He lacks maturity. He's got to win every argument. Trevor Lawrence will be in our show today. Last year in Jacksonville, in NFL history, may have been one of the biggest circuses, a complete circus. He never threw the owner, the coach, a teammate, the medical staff, or the media under the bus, not one time. And he's younger than Baker Mayfield. All my favorite quarterbacks, Brady, Russell Wilson, Mahomes, Josh Allen, they're mostly your favorite. I love Derek Carr.

Joe Burrow, love Joe Burrow, Justin Hurrah. They all have one thing in common. Some are big, some are small, some have huge arms. Some are mobile. Some are not mobile. There's one common thread. They're adults. I know it's unfair.

It really is unfair. But for quarterbacks, more than any position in any league in America, it's not just about your talent. Are you grown up? That's why I think it's fair to ask questions during the combine, about your mom and your dad and go to your little league coach. and go to your high school coaches and ask really personal questions because you're going to be the face of the franchise where you were jerking a little league did people like you in high school

were you bully did you help others did you do charity work i watched baker grab his stuff in college games and plant flags and i was like they ain't going to work the bruh that ain't going to work Drew Locke, Johnny Mansell, James Winston, Baker Mayfield, Jay Cutler. It's not a talent thing. You've got to be an adult to play that position. I don't demand that from a linebacker, a corner, a receiver, a shooting guard. I really don't. Quarterback is different.

I'm not here to say, I told you so. I'm not here to beat up on Baker Mayfield. All my favorite quarterbacks, all play differently. the great, great talent when you're a leader is not what you say. It's knowing when not to say it. And that's where Baker fails. I do wish him luck. So this weekend, as I think, you know, Joy is on a different continent every two weeks,

so I can't keep up with her travel schedule. The busiest job in America is Uber Driver 1 and Joyce Travel Agent, number two. So I hung out with a buddy this weekend. He's from the San Francisco Bay Area. His name is Eric. And my wife and his wife are friends. And he and I are friends. So I called him like Friday.

And I said, it's going to be really hot in L.A. Let's go to Park City and hike and do some fun stuff. So we did. He's a huge warrior fan. And so if you hang out with Eric, we're going to talk warriors a lot. And he's got way more information than I do. He asks all the questions. He has all the answers.

But you know what we didn't talk about all weekend? Kevin Durant. We talked about Moses Moody and James Woll. Wiseman and Steph Curry and Draymond Green. We talked about Steve Kerr and Bob Myers. He had tons of stories. And this morning I got home and I was or got to work and I was thinking about this. And I'm like, we never once mentioned Kevin Durant.

Warrior fans don't want him. And there was a story out this morning. Steph Curry was asked about Kevin Durant this weekend. And Steph's always classy. He said, you know, I kind of like, I like where we're at right now. that's Steph Curry saying I'm not really interested and Steph Curry is one of the few that got along with him

and this weekend I watched some video on the internet of James Wiseman now we haven't seen much from him he's the raw seven-footer he was the number two pick and I like watching young guys develop and I watched the video of him man he's big he runs a court he can shoot a little and I was thinking about my weekend with Eric and I thought if I told Eric this morning, Katie, for Wiseman,

I don't think he'd like it. Straight swap. Now, we know Durant's better than Wiseman. But something that matters in sports that we in the media do a really, really poor job of talking about. Fans like to wrap their arms around teams. And when Kevin Durant comes to your team, it's less of a team. Draymond Green was on a podcast a couple of years.

years ago. It's called All the Smoke. It's Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. It's really, really good. And when you watched the Warriors this year, we didn't know if they were the most talented team. Many believed the Celtics were more talented. They were fun to watch. They were joyful. And they were a little bit of an underdog. You can't be an underdog if Kevin Durant joins the Warriors. You're a favorite and you'll be asked to win. And winning a championship will be the bottom line. But this year, it's kind of fun for the Warriors. I doubt him. A lot of people doubted him. A lot of talking heads doubted them and they kind of liked it. They could be an underdog. You could be an underdog in Golden State, even with Steph Curry, but you had Kevin Durant and you're not an

underdog. But Draymond Green, going back to him, was on this podcast a couple years ago and he was talking about Kevin Durant how he watches the talking heads and how he watch his opinion shows and he's on his phone. He said, you know, you turn on the TV the next day after we won the title and the blank and headline is LeBron still the best player in the world, question mark, is he? And you got all these people debating it. And that's when I kind of felt like it took a turn. We came back 2017-2018 season and Kevin just wasn't happy despite the fact we won a title and he was the MVP. Kevin wasn't happy. And he goes on to talk about that it wasn't a problem in 2017. But now in 2018, it was always an issue. That was a challenge. Just trying to figure out

How is Kevin going to react to a certain blank that would happen with the team or Steve Kerr would do? It was obviously a much bigger problem just getting the ball. And there was an issue about who got the final shot. And that's the thing. And I've said this about Kevin Durant and Aaron Rogers. They're gifted. God, they're a lot. They're a lot.

We've all had friends like that. We like them. They're smart. They're sensitive. Can I prepare for it? It's going to be a long day. hanging out with her, him. Kevin's a lot.

And these Draymond Green quotes, you know, this Warriors team, as I was hanging out this weekend with Eric, this Warriors team, if Clay, Steph, and Draymond Green have started a playoff series and finished it and not missed any games, they're like 15, 16, and no. They've never lost. And they're having fun. And they play joyfully. and they can be an underdog and people like me doubt them and that's fun it's fun to be

doubted and prove people wrong that's fun it's not fun to be a heavy favorite where you have to win a championship and then all of a sudden grumpy sensitive guy isn't getting shots and steve cur is walking on eggshells and stepf curry is walking on eggshells there was another story this weekend that the market's just not very big for kevin durant and i say that as somebody that loves watching him play. I think he's an all-time player. I've said he's the only player I think would beat Michael Jordan one-on-one ever. He had a one-on-one tournament.

I think Kevin Durant would win it in the entire league's history. But it does matter. Team. Are you part of us? Are you into us? Are you leaning into us? Expectations. Steph Curry said it.

We're good where we're at. We're good where we're at. All right. Westbrook and LeBron are no longer besties. Hmm, it feels like a thing, I don't know. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard 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'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 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 Hard Way 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. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

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

while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions. bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust i want you to just really be a good person join me care gains is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast learn the hard way open your free iHeart radio app search learn the hard way and listen now top of next hour calling right calling wrong um this is interesting so last week i did a top 10 quarterback list and I had my list. And it just so happens that the NFL, NFL executives, coaches, and

some players made their picks for the best passers in the NFL. So the first thing is, our list is almost identical, which is what you'd expect. We all kind of know who the best quarterbacks are. Here's the list. The only difference is they like DAC a little more than I do. I think Dak's fine. I wouldn't put him top 10, but I'd probably put him closer to 13, but that's fine. They don't have Derek Carr in the top 10, which is an outrage. They also don't have Kyler Murray, who I would argue, I think, actually throws the prettiest ball in the league in terms of just how what does it look like aesthetically it's beautiful but i mean it's most of the stuff we almost have in the exact same order but the one thing that blows me away here

is that the NFL isn't baseball which is just like trapped with tradition like baseball is all about yesterday and the NBA tends to really play up glamour and style nothing wrong with that and I was introduced to the NBA mostly by dr. Jay like style matters in basketball nobody gives a ripping football. You win games? Nobody cares. Brady for most of his career has not been stylish. And we don't really care about, I mean, the minute Brady was the goat, we don't even talk about Joe Montana. But it is amazing to me that people that are paid to do this for a living, players and coaches, would put Aaron Rogers above Tom Brady. And Mahomes, and Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen. With a minute 30 left, 75.

yards in you trail, you'd take, you take Aaron over Brady? One NFL offensive coordinator who voted Brady number one, put it best. He said, Brady is the ultimate end of game guy. Last shot in hoops guy. Ball in his hands wouldn't take anybody else. And I think part of this is, because we know Aaron's last 16 playoff games, he shrinks. He's 7 and 9. He completes less than 64% under his throws. And that's often as a home favorite. He's got the better team. But style, which usually is associated with basketball, Aaron is more stylish and he's cooler and more flamboyant and got a little attitude and a little edge. And it does look prettier when he throws the ball, doesn't it? It's prettier. I mean, Philip Rivers does not throw a pretty

football. Peyton Manning did not throw a pretty football. Kyler Murray, Aaron Rogers, is pretty. You know, Dan Marino is pretty. John Elway won Super Bowls. But one thing that's interesting about Tom Brady and Aaron, there are no more secrets. Like from their personalities to their games.

There's no secrets about Derek Jeter at the end or Eli Manning. You know what they do well. You know what they don't. You know their strengths. You know their liabilities. You know their personalities. Aaron's got a lot of wow moments. But in 14 years,

he's got 18 fourth quarter comebacks. Derek Carr has almost double in eight seasons. Derek Carr, the knock on Derek Carr was always, he won't let it go down the field. But what's interesting is late in games when he trails, that finally forces him to and he's really good at it. Aaron's the opposite. Aaron will take big swings early when he leads,

when he's at home, when he's comfortable. But when he trails late, as somebody said during this poll, and I thought this was a very honest and obvious comment by an NFC coach talking about Aaron Rogers. He says, laid in the down with pressure, he doesn't take risks. There are certain plays when he's throwing an easy completion on a smoke route, and it's a critical moment, and you're thinking, is he really trying to win? That's exactly what all of us thought during the Niners game.

What is he doing? is he playing safe? Is he protecting stats? What is he doing? But it is amazing to me that I would argue on Aaron's behalf aesthetically, optically, over all the quarterbacks on this list. Brady is boring. Brady is repetitive. I say this all the time. Somebody once told me this about wealth. Wealth is boring. It's creating something like a computer and selling the same thing over and over and over and over. Art, different painting every time. Aaron's the artist. of the league. But isn't it kind of amazing all these years in in a sport that is solely judged on winning big games? That's why we don't talk Marino and we do talk more

Aikman, and we do talk more Montana, and we do talk more Elway, and we do talk more Brady, and now we talk more Mahomes. The sport is not about history or glamour or flasher style. It's just about do you win big games? That's why Eli Manning is a legend.

he and Philip Rivers, Rivers was the better regular season quarterback. One is a legend. Look at one is coaching high school football when he's done. One is all over the media. One is a legend. Advertisers want him. Media companies want him. Everybody wants one.

Philip was better than Eli during the season. Not in the postseason. And it is amazing to me that still, to this day, the aesthetics with Rogers are number one in football over Brady if you told me minute 25 left trailing in a game Holmes Brady Russell Wilson Joe Burrow Matt Stafford Josh Allen I mean did everybody watch Kansas City Buffalo was that game not available to these scouts did you guys not watch that thing

13 seconds left Mahomes drove them down and they have them two I don't mind fans being goofy fan should be fan is short for fanatic But when people who work for a living, that's the guy? Really? He's talking about retirement? That's the guy?

Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. You saw Aaron got a cool new tattoo. Speaking of aesthetics. Very, very cryptic, which is right up his alley. It is as cryptic as Aaron.

It was quite predictable that it had some meaning that we don't know what it is. It's a beautiful tattoo, though. Yeah, like, that's not a... Yeah, that's not a normal tattoo. Well, that's like a two-day tattoo. You can't do that in an hour and a half. I don't know how long it took. Well, it's not huge, but, like, the detail is insane.

It's, like, the lines are amazing. Whoever, the guy did it is unbelievable. Tattoos, do you pay for ink or length of time it takes to make the tattoo? What do you pay for? I believe it's length. I was going to say, that was like a... I mean, I haven't gotten a tattoo since I was 19 years old, so I'm, I'm probably the wrong person to ask. I have two. But I believe you pay by the hour.

Okay, that was like a 20-hour tattoo, a 15-hour tattoo. I don't know. It's not huge. It doesn't have color also. So, you know, usually when you get color, it has to do like a bunch of shading. It had an eye. It's an unbelievable tattoo. It's the prettiest tattoo. It looks like something that Christopher Columbus used as he was trying to figure out where to land. I mean, it's got nautical themes. Well, due to my research is, I guess, rumored new girlfriend has a piece of work from the same artist. So, uh, Oh, he's got a new girlfriend.

Yeah. Oh, that's right. Yeah, her, I forgot your name. Uh, blue of earth. Her name is blue of earth. I think. Okay. I'm not, I got no comment on people.

I like the tattoo though. It's really cool. So Damian Lillard agreed to a two year extension with the Blazers, keeping him in Portland through 2026, 2027. And he's made it very clear over the years that he wants to stay with Portland. Yes. He's very loyal. and he explained why it's so important for him to stick with his original team.

I feel proud to be that guy because I don't think that you earn something like this just by going out there and scoring a bunch of points. And something that's missing in our league is the character and the fight and the passion and pride about not just the name on the back, but the name on the front and how you impact the people that you come in contact with. And I think because of how much I've embraced that and not, you know, I haven't pretended to embrace it. That's really who I am.

And I think this just, this just shows the power in that. You've got to get behind it. You know, fans are constantly complaining about guys moving around and contract's not meaning anything. Bradley Beale and Dame on the market would fetch a ton. Janus chose his team, Dame. We say this all the time. You look at Oklahoma City and you think,

Look at this league. It's out of control. That is the exception. The Warriors are loyal. The bucks are loyal. Dames loyal. I mean, it really is the exception. Dwayne Wade left for an hour, came back.

Like, the NBA is the one. Baseball players will take every penny. They'll never take a pay cut. Robinson Cano goes to the Mariners to get an extra nickel. And as they should. I never judge people for the choices that they make for their career. If you want to stay in one place and risk maybe, never winning a championship because of the construction of that organization.

And who knows? Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. We've seen that they have struggled to get over that hump as the way that they're currently constructed. Maybe they make a tweak. Maybe somebody comes there. Who knows if one of the draft picks turns out to be a superstar.

But I think the reaction to the NBA and the brand of the NBA isn't actually as accurate as it really is, to your point. Most of these guys. They really want to stay. Steph has been there. Steph could have gotten impatient over the last couple years and won it out. Well, I think because the most prominent player in the league LeBron has moved a lot, and maybe the second most prominent player, KD, has moved a lot.

But there's two ways to do things. Oh, yeah. And I would say a majority of guys. There's multiple ways to do things, actually. And I would argue, if you really look at the championships that have been won over the last decade or so, most of them have been through building and development and good coaching and good cultures. Like the random spikes or ways to put teams together isn't really how it's built.

So he said it wouldn't be as fulfilling winning one that wasn't in Portland. He's played all 10 NBA seasons with the Blazers. I'm okay with it. I mean, he's an unbelievable player to watch. If he doesn't end up winning a championship in his career, it's not going to change his legacy to me. I mean, I'd love to see him win a championship because of the player that he is. Will they do it in Portland? I don't know.

They traded for Jeremy Grant. They've signed Gary Payton the second. drafted Shade on Sharp with a seventh pick. They're always competitive. They're always right there and they're well run. So you can't count them out. So the Nets and Lakers have been in talks for a trade talks for Kari Irving. Brooklyn reportedly wants a first round pick for Kyrie, as they should. And the Lakers also want to move Russell Westbrook in the steel as they should, but the Nets are hesitant to take on his contract. It is a massive cap figure. The $11 million salary gap between the two-point cards would cost Brooklyn over $50 million in luxury taxes.

And that's factored in before considering the implications of the Durant trade, which is obviously holding everything up because Brooklyn is in no rush to move Kevin Durant until they get the deal that they want. So as this sort of ticks closer, like, you know, as we go through the off season and we wait and see what happens with Kevin Durant, it feels like this is the only trade that can be made for Kyrie. Oh, this is it. This is the market.

Right. So this is the market. And Brooklyn knows that. It's a good fit. LeBron plays well with him. He really does. The games work. We've seen it.

They won a championship. Yep. If Kyrie's on the floor, of course. We always have to mention that. Yeah, that's part of it. And if Anthony Davis is on the floor, which you always have to mention that. But, you know, in theory, if they were all playing together healthy on the floor and Kyrie wants to show up to work, then this is a great fit.

But Brooklyn is in complete control here. Duran is under contract with no options. for the next four years. Well, I'm starting to think that they're all coming back because I saw the other story I talked about at the top of the show is the market for Kevin's just not nearly what they think. And Rudy Gobert screwed the market up. Oh, my God.

So now the Brooklyn owner's like, nine guys for Rudy Gobert. You want to give me D'Andre Aiton and a pick? So the market screwed up. And I think Kevin can say what he wants, but... He's not going to sit out. He has four years left. The weird thing is... Even though Kyrie could go to the Lakers and Kevin could go back to Brooklyn, he still has another issue.

Ben Simmons. So he's got two guys. Maybe the win for Kevin is, you know, I'll come publicly and say I'm bummed about Kyrie. But the bottom line here is I'm not giving Kevin Durant away. I'm not giving him away. And the market's not very big. Now, that may change if we get closer to the season. But it is interesting now we have various reports that there's not a lot of takers for Kevin.

Well, you have to consider what you're going to leverage. to get Kevin Durant because you have to move so much to get him. That's right. Will you even be competitive with him? Well, because we know how great he is, but we've also seen that with a light roster like they had in Brooklyn and not a deep bench, he is going to be the only thing that matters. Well, that's not a championship team. Brooklyn fired their coach to get him and gave up their bench and sacrificed chemistry.

Well, we just watched the playoffs where coaching chemistry and bench mattered. You can argue that that is why Golden State won. They had great chemistry, a great coach, and Moody or Peyton off the bench had, you know, really good games. You gave up all that. So it would be one thing if Kevin just showed up to your town and could play. Yeah, like he did in Golden State. Exactly. But when you have to give up all these things for an aging player with some injuries, there's so many negative.

I think to the NBA's credit, these GMs are like, it's kind of a good sign for the NBA when you're seeing all these young stars. and a lot of these teams are like, we kind of like our guys. Well, I don't even know if it's so much that you wouldn't want Kevin Durant. Everyone wants Kevin Durant, but you have to give up so much because of the Gobert trade. And because he was going to demand a lot regardless. But you have to give up so much that you then have to look at what is your roster going to be after that trade. Are we going to actually be competing for a championship? Or are we essentially where we are now with not, you know, paying into the luxury tax and not, you know,

leveraging the bench and everything that we've built. So I'm fascinated to see how it all plays out, but Brooklyn can sit on this for as long as they want because he's under contract. That's right. So you weren't here when the John Wall News happened. You were on vacation. Yeah. When it first happens.

So I got the initial reaction. So I didn't hear your opinion about it. But I know that you can kind of like me, you can sort of slide into the Clippers, into the Clippers hype. I have completely bought into the Clippers hype. I don't know where you stand on those because we haven't discussed this yet. John Wall has not proven to me to be a guy I can trust his judgment or play in the postseason.

Will John Wall make them better during the season? Absolutely. John's going to be. And John can pass. John can make you better. But the Clippers standard now with Steve Ballmer is, okay, I need some, I need some playoff wins. Like, Balmer now is. Yeah, no.

They're in a very, no. Last year, I think he gave them an unbelievable pass. They were so quiet. Now, people are going to get fired if they don't get to the finals. No, I agree. But I really respected how the Clippers did business last year. It was like a complete contrast to what the Lakers did. They were loud and the expectations were insane.

They had all kinds of injuries and everyone expected them to make it back to the championship. Meanwhile, the Clippers had essentially the same situation, more injuries, obviously, but completely quiet. Let's just go out. Let's play well. Let's be competitive. Well, John Wall signed a two-year deal with the Clippers, and he's happy to be committed to a stacked team where he doesn't have to be the number one player each night.

He said, with this team, I probably won't have the ball in my hands as much as I've had in my career, but that's kind of the reason why I made this decision. I don't have to be Batman every night. I can be Robin sometimes, the third guy. Now, see, that love. That's a big, by the way. I love it.

By the way. I think it's, well, when you look at the numbers. Would you and I like Westbrook more if he ever said that? I would love it. I would love it. Westbrook can't come to terms with that. I would love it. So Wall's saying, and he's right, I don't have to be the star of the show.

Then it'll work. Well, yeah, because when he plays, he averages 20 points. His talent's fine. Three rebounds and seven assists the game. No, no. John's got all sorts of talent. And he wasn't injured last year. No, they just didn't play.

They didn't play him. So I wonder how that will help them this year. Obviously, they are going to rely heavily on Kauai and his availability. And if he is going to be able to play. I think he'll always be on some sort of. load management because of his body. Yeah. But you have Paul George. I'm not going to get crazy. I know it's the Clippers, but I am like, I am kind of into this.

No, no, no. I really like it. I like him as a third option. I think it's an amazing. And he's very affordable. If you tell me who matches up with the Warriors out West, player for player depth, wing versatility, it's the Clippers. The Clippers are the one team. And I, none, I was wrong, but I said they couldn't get past the playing games, but I said, if you look at the Warriors roster and you look at the Clippers, when Kauai and Paul George are healthy. Excellent. They have a couple of like Andrew Wig and Wing defenders can drop 20.

They're very deep team. So, well coached team. I don't doubt the Clippers have good ownership, good executives, a good coach. I got no doubts on the Clippers. I do think it's hard for Kauai to be the soul of your franchise

because he's nonverbal. He's an odd guy. Well, so that's my question with them too. Who's the leader? Who's the alpha? But I mean, John has a very strong personality.

Maybe he's that guy. As far as like the emotional leadership, as far as like not having to be that number one guy on the court. We'll see. We'll see. We'll watch it happen. The talent's not the issue with the clippers. And the executive branch is not the issue.

And the coaching's not the issue. That is not it. It's staying healthy. Yes. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news.

Yeah, not all teams that are struggling. I don't like. Like there's a lot of these teams that struggle and you're like, yeah, the quarterback got hurt. Like I love, I think what the Chargers are doing, there's so much I like about them, didn't make the playoffs. But if you're talking about personnel and the quarterback and the front office, I can like it. You don't have to be a great team to like the team.

I said this last year. The Detroit Lions were in 12 of the games and have no pass right. It's a mess defensively. Totally likable. You're like, Dan Campbell's condombs. has really bad moments at a podium, talking about eating kneecaps, but there's something there. You don't have to be great to head in the right direction.

Years ago, Brian Flores didn't make the playoffs. First five weeks, he got crushed, and we're like, that's working. They haven't won a game yet, but it's working. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe. and hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the I-Test, we've got all the bases covered.

New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHart Radio app or wherever you get 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 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.

Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skisker. hits, 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-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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you're not. 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. 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 Hardway with me, your host, and your Facebook.

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

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So the NBA Summer League is in full swing. when Oklahoma City has been fun to watch. Palo Bankero, obviously the kid from Duke. You know, also, if you're a Warriors fan, you're getting a look at James Wiseman yesterday. That's really, really fun if you're a diehard warriors fan. Joe Varden has been at the Summer League, senior NBA writer for the athletic and a great one. We bring him on all the time.

All right, so we talked about the Kevin Durant stuff that's very interesting. I did a segment last week where I said, I know Kevin Durant's great. There's no way in the world I would trade Ant for him, Anthony Edwards. I'm like, the kid's got like two years until he gets to his prime, the 12 more years of his prime. And I said, John Morant. I can't trade Kevin Durant for him. And I'm hearing all these massive deals and I'm like, I just couldn't trade the young star for him.

Jason Tatum I'd sleep on. So let's just talk about that. Kevin Durant trade package. You wrote an article about it. Let's talk Celtics for a second. Do you believe it makes sense? Yes. I do believe that it makes sense because you could.

still pair Kevin with a star. I don't like the situation as much when you start thinking about the heat because of having Ben Simmons on the roster means they can't acquire BAM out of bio in a trade. So now you're actually talking about if the heat you're going to do this, something like a Durant for Butler swap. And that's just hypothetical. There's a number of ways to get three and four teams involved.

But with the Celtics, you're talking about either a Durant and Tatum pairing or a Durant and Jaylon Brown pairing. Marcus Smart is there. That's really good, too. So I think it does make some sense for the Celtics to kick the tires on this. All right. The Kyrie LeBron stuff, you were off obviously Cleveland.com. You covered LeBron in its second stint with Cleveland. So my takeaway is there's no market for Kyrie except maybe the Lakers.

again, this is from the outside. I thought they worked well together. Now, you were in the locker room. How was the personality mesh between the two? Because on the floor, LeBron's a great distributor. Kyrie's a remarkable closer. It was beautiful basketball. How do they work together, though, as people?

Colin, the best way I can answer this is to remind everyone that Kyrie publicly and privately apologized to LeBron after he left. for how he acted while he was there in Cleveland. Kyrie just, he made it difficult for LeBron in terms of how LeBron was trying to lead and reach out to him. And then also LeBron was a little domineering. Yeah.

And, you know, so I think both men have learned from that experience. You know, it's hard to say that Kyrie is going to become a different person or kind of grow from whatever it was that he was dealing with in Cleveland, just because of everything we've seen since. But in terms of a LeBron-Kairie relationship, yes, there were issues to the point where Kyrie had to call him and tell him, I'm sorry for the way I acted. Okay, I got to ask you about Chet Holgren because it's fascinating.

He's kind of a unicorn. I guess he's a little Dirk Novitsky, but when you talk to your people, your sources, what are they saying privately about Chet Hongren, the Gonzaga kid now with OKC? Yeah, I mean, he's offensively, like, he's really fun to watch, and there's a lot that he can do. I mean, you said, Dirk, I mean, geez, some of the mannerisms reminds you of Kevin Durant.

Yeah. It's incredible. I mean, the thing is they're going to probably have to play him down low in the four or five spot, and we've already seen Kenny Lofton Jr. put his shoulder into him and back him up. And it's, I mean, that is the concern is how he holds up night after night against some of these big bodies. Yeah. Anybody else in Summer League you've been impressed with?

Well, I guess I'll plug my hometown a little bit. I like Agbaji, O'Chai Agbaji from Kansas. He's playing for the calves. Yeah. He is 22 years old. So he is as old as Darius Garland. He's older than Evan Mowgli, which is incredible. He runs off screens and shoots.

he catches in shoots. He's got a quick trigger. The Cavs haven't had that really since they had Kyle Corber. And J.R. Smith to a degree there. So, you know, he is a next piece. I mean, we'll see. I mean, rookies, it's hard for them to contribute. But yeah, I've seen him play twice and I really like what I see. Well, Mobley's been sensational. And Garland, they just, I think they just paid Garland. I'd read something about some contract or something the other day. So those are, you know, that's another great example of the Kevin Durant stuff. People in Cleveland, today, there's nothing you could give them to take away Mobley and Darius Garland. I think sometimes, Joe, we don't give fans enough credit. The Cleveland Cavalier ratings this year on television without LeBron were huge. And these towns, these Minneapolis and these Clevelands that may not be glamorous stops for free agents, they fall in love with their young players.

I mean, the Cavs right now are a fascinating team. Maybe they're not as popular as when LeBron was there, but you're a guy from Cleveland. I think they would be outraged if you brought Kevin Durant in and you moved off these young guys there. Yeah. I mean, I think the casual fan wants to find a way to keep Darius in heaven and also bring in Kevin Durant. You know, because we went through this when LeBron was flirting a little bit in the athletic about maybe wanting to come back to Cleveland again. And so that restarts all these discussions. But you're right.

I also think in some of these markets where they were star-dominated, and you went through sort of the drama and the highs and the lows with LeBron to see a new group rise organically really has been a fun thing to see in Cleveland and the fans are out of their minds for the cast. Yeah, it should be. The athletic senior writer Joe Varden got a good article on KD to the Celtics and the heat. A lot of variables, a lot of moving parts. Good stuff as always, Joe. Appreciate it.

It's great to be on things. You bet. You know, the Celtic thing is fascinating because they got to the finals, and through three games, we thought they were the better team. And they did add Malcolm Brogden, very nice piece. And they didn't have to give up any good player to get it. And then they just brought in Golanari, who they've, Chris Mannix told us a week ago, they've been wanting him forever. So like, now would I make the KD deal? I wouldn't in Boston. I wouldn't break it up. No. I mean, what they needed, they need a couple more shooters. They just went and got Gallonari and they got Malcolm Brogden. They got shooters. And so, you know, it's funny. Boston is considered, oh, they got to make the move for Kevin Durant. I couldn't do it now. They were just in the finals. Why would they blow anything up?

This is what everybody's talking about. This is what, oh, Boston's, and I'm like, I wouldn't do it now. Once you got Malcolm Brog that I'm like, yeah, I'm out. I'll bring that back. I'll bring that back for a year. I mean, it's not a question of Kevin would make them better, of course, but you have to give up a bunch of stuff. Yeah. You're not the same team.

I still think Phoenix is the one that works for me. But there's a story today. Andre Aitens go to the Pacer, so that's not going to happen. I think the market for Kevin has gotten like tiny. Kyrie, we knew it was. Kevin, we didn't think it was. Colin right, calling wrong on a Monday 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? some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10. pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm 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 unfills of 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, 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. It 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.