The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Under LeBron's watch

Episode Date: February 20, 2024

Doug Gottlieb in for Colin Thoughts on the NBA under LeBron James' watch and if it's his fault There are two different NBAs   Guest: Dan Woike   #douggottliebshowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. What up? Welcome in. This is The Herd, wherever you may be. However you may be listening to the show. Thanks so much for making this part of your day. I'm Doug Gottlie. In for Colin Cowherd. And for the next couple of hours, I want to talk sports with you. It's a rainy, ugly, late winter day in Southern California, wherever you. are. It's one of the few days where your weather might be better than Southern California, right? Unless you're waterfowl. Waterfowl have to be enjoying this day in Los Angeles.

Welcome in. We got a lot to get to. I think we got a pretty good show. But then that's because I crafted it. And so, yeah, I mean, who's going to tell me that it's not a good show? Justin Fields did the old unfollow of his current team. What's that mean?

We'll talk with Rainy Mueller, of course, was the executive of the year. He's been a GM in the National Football League. He'll join us. We'll talk some NFL. Olden, Paul, and he's O. P. will join us?

How will the Clippers handle being what feels like the favorite or the quasi-favorite? Oh, and we had a little basketball all last night. I got, I want to discuss some Damien Lillard stuff and the two different NBA's that we have.

But let's start. Frankly, let's start with the NBA, because a lot of people continue to talk about the debacle that was the All-Star game. Now, the reality is the ratings were actually up. They were up. Now, can we draw a conclusion that no Daytona 500? Can we draw a conclusion that, again, I don't know what drives 5.5 million viewers to watch that, but the numbers were I think up 14% is what I saw. Part of that is what TNT does a great job.

They've taken the ESPN full circle model and done a great job of it. What's that mean? Well, so they had, I guess on all their networks, they had some sort of different programming. Do you know what this is? Like they had, Barclay was on one, right, where they were just chatting. I guess they had a bunch of, you know, they have true TV. They have TNT, they got TBS.

Is there one more? USA? Was it on USA as well? and what they do, and this is kind of clever genius programming, is they pool all those ratings together. Now again, I don't traditionally watch the All-Star game. I mistakenly turned the channel on when I was looking for something

when a rerun of Yellowstone went to commercial and I was like, ugh! And then I just didn't change for maybe a minute. But there is that clever accounting of, like, how'd the game rate? well, if you pool all the numbers together, there were actually more impressions and more people watched. I don't know what the reality to it is. But anyone can watch and go like, that was bad. Even LeBron when he came off the court thought that was bad.

Adam Silver kind of pumped it up as it would be better and then you could hear from the deflation in his voice. It was bad. No one watched and said this is a great representation of the four. 450 best basketball players on earth. Did anybody watch that? Not the representation that you want. But I do think that there's a certain amount of, that's the word I'm looking for, credit, blame,

um, look, look, we do this all the time with presidents, right? What did the market do when the president was in office? What did the market do? It doesn't necessarily mean supposedly presidents don't really have anything to do with the market, right? The Fed is not supposed to be influenced politically. And the only thing that seems to, we think, help the markets, one would think a Republican would help the markets, although the last four years have been spectacular if you play the market, right?

then there was COVID, then the post-COVID explosion, then the inflation because of all the money we dumped in, we dumped all the money in because it was COVID. Like there's a lot of stuff going on. But generally, when we elect or choose not to elect people, we say, are we better off now four years later than we were before? And the president, whether it really is their fault or whether it really is something that they did to help it, they get the blame or they get the credit, right? So what if we did the same thing for LeBron James?

What if, again, just stick with me for a second. Okay, what if we did the same things for LeBron James? And I would say LeBron, the LeBron era, it's obviously been longer than four years. And part of it is the longevity of his career. But LeBron James in the LeBron James takeover of the NBA. When did that start? because you can't be the guy in the league until you win the league, correct? And really, it's probably until you win the league a couple times.

So if we're fair about it, and I don't know if he truly took it from Kobe, because one of the things we do now is we misremember Kobe Bryant. Like, it wasn't Kobe's NBA. It just never really was. it doesn't mean he wasn't the best and most dynamic and frankly most hated player but the reverence that people have for Kobe Bryant now especially NBA players now and the mama mentality those aren't his contemporaries those aren't guys who played with him they respected him but they didn't like him right um I would say Michael Jordan was revered

feared and respected I think for Kobe it was more respected I think for LeBron James, there's a reverence to his talent, his longevity, and I definitely think that he wants to be liked. Whether they all really like him or not, he wants to be liked. Like he's forced this Steph Curry friendship. It's the perfect example of it. Like people are like, well, is Steph kind of creeping up on the legacy of LeBron James? And remember, they didn't like each other.

Or at least Steph didn't really like LeBron. never really engaged in any of the LeBron talk, even when Steph won a unanimous MVP, and I thought LeBron was right for what he said. He just probably was the wrong guy to say it. Or he's like, look, Steph does historic things. He's incredible when you talk about unanimous MVP, you know, there's a lot of things that make up the MVP.

In other words, what he was saying is like, I do way more to carry your team than that guy does. So I don't think that it's a real friend. friendship. I just don't. It's like we're trying to figure out if Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey are real. I can tell you that LeBron James and Steph Curry, that's not a real friendship. It ain't like every time Steph comes to town, he's like texting LeBron like, let's get dinner. That's not happening. Not happening. But if we look at LeBron James and his career, like when did the LeBron era take over? We okay with somewhere in the 2009.

2010 variety right he won his first MVP in 09 he got to Miami in 2010 he won a championship in 2012 that was the 2011 2012 season that's about when the era took over that's what it became

kind of his league his league and so I think the thing that is the thing that most of us see through with LeBron is he never takes ownership of anything unless it's seen as a good thing, which is very normal for most of us, right? Only give me credit, don't give me blame. But that's not leadership.

Right? Leadership is my bad. Leadership is, you know, I said something and people took it and ran with it and I should have stepped in and said something. Coaches hire, coach is fired. LeBron, I've never had anything to do with it. Players are moved. LeBron, I've never had anything to do with it. His name mentioned in a trade. I just found out about it on Twitter like everybody else. I just can't believe that that happened. And he does the same thing with the NBA. Like, look, now, heck, now he's 39 years old. Now he's, and if we want to say, well, like, no, it's never been, he doesn't have that much power and control. And like, dude, his nickname is the king. the chosen one across his back.

He's a four-time MVP's won four NBA championships, and you have a substantial number of players in the NBA. Granted, they don't have the depth of knowledge. Some of them weren't alive when Michael Jordan played. But they'll say, like, he's the greatest full-time. If you're that guy and you're that revered and respected by your contemporaries, well, then you're like E.F. Hutton. Oh, God, am I dating myself?

Probably a little bit. Okay, so just side note. Doug Gottlie been for Collins or heard on Fox Sports Radio. E.F. Hutton was a financial advisor company, right? They did and they had a famous commercial series that said, when E.F. Hutton speaks,

people listen. Great ad campaign, right? Amazing ad campaign. Like, I love Mad Men, the show, but, like, felt like 80s, maybe late 70s and 80s. And early 90s with jingles, where's the beef? The double-bin twins?

That was when marketing was at its absolute apex. Brilliant stuff. Anyway, if we're going to sit here and say, all right, his tenure is coming to an end, his reign, if he's the king, or his, what do they call it when you're a president, when your four years are up, when you're, what was the word I'm looking for? God, I'm just blanking on the word. Is it tenure? Yes.

Tenure. When your tenure is up, we look back and say, all right, what happened? Whose fault is it? And you take the blame and you get the credit. It's like bird in magic, for example. They get credit because under their reign, during their tenure of the 1980s, the league exploded. The rivalry between the

Lakers and the Celtics was reformed. And the league went from on tape delay for the NBA finals to, frankly, the most popular professional sport. Whether it's all of them, whether it's the timing, the proliferation of cable television, okay?

Whatever it is, Magic and Bird get credit for that. Jordan gets credit for the globalization of the game. Because he was the guy with the dream team. He did international stuff, and it's when people want to be like Mike, and he made people believe he could, he could fly. If we want to look at causes for the All-Star game debacle, for the things that we don't like, doesn't LeBron James get some of that blame? He absolutely does. Even when he

walked off the floor Sunday, he was like, man, it was basically like saying, like, yeah, it was bad. We got to do something about it. What are you got to do something? You're the leader. You like to say this is your league and this has progressively gotten worse, not gotten better. I didn't, the truth is that the spurs were the first to tap into the, why do we have to play our guys all the time? If it's not a good idea for us, why do we have to, remember Greg Popovich had guys listed as old? That's why Tim Duncan missed games. He wasn't BS in anybody.

He's like, look, they're old. I ain't going to play them every night. But it is during LeBron James. rain. And I know injuries and age play a factor. But can we point out with the LA Lakers, he's played 55, 67, 45, 56, 55, 49 games? Right. And look, somebody says like, well, he's finally gotten smart, right? Not being putting yourself out there every night. But again, it's a different set of rules when you're the king, when it's your league. That's the league that you got to show up to every night. Sorry, dude. You know, you got to. You got to.

to kiss babies and shake hands. You got to do all these little things you don't want to do. Why? Because you're the president. Why? Because it's your league. The globalization of the NBA which started under Jordan right? It has gone full kind of, it's

fully into bloom now. I mean, the league is frankly dominated at the top by the internationally born star. Janus, Yokic, Ambide, Luca.

right all of this during lebron james rain during his tenure and i got to be honest with you i think he should deserve some of the blame how does he play downhill bully ball now look some of the other things that people copy which is great which is he does he is willing to make the great pass right he's more magic than jordan in that he would rather make the right play and the pass to somebody else making the shot, oftentimes than making it himself. So some of that is good, and a lot of that is replicated by young stars, college stars, professional players as well. But he doesn't play like Yokic.

He doesn't play like Luca, right? Probably more like Mb, to be totally honest, right? And my point is that when we're looking at things to blame, how do we get here? It's completely fair to say, well, there's some definite good things that have happened. happened in LeBron James tenure. He took the bullet for other people and leaving his hometown team in his prime to go win a championship and try something else. That's a like it's a brave thing.

It's a brave thing. No one will ever compare to that. Just like Durant, like Durant left the team that draft team. It wasn't his hometown team, but it was the team that was just beaten by Golden State to join Golden State. But it was never Durant's league. LeBron did it before that. LeBron caught a lot of the heat.

He wore the black cap for a year and then showed he could figure it out and won some championships as they added Ray Allen as another piece. But I just think it's interesting. Like when we take stock of the NBA, and I would gladly tell you that the NBA is more talented, more skilled, has an un, I think more imaginative offensively than at any other time. go back and watch 90s even Jordan basketball or whatever it's a lot more imaginative bait and switch and ball movement and all kinds of different dolled up stuff there are good things that have happened while LeBron has been the king and if we're going to give him the blame

when things go bad we got to give him the credit when things go good okay taking care of your body that's become cool with LeBron that's definitely that's a great thing His longevity is amazing. His desire to play defense to be a two-way champion. Big thing. His desire to pass to make the right play.

Huge. They are good things. But if we're going to blame guys just they don't have any sort of allegiance to their club, that's LeBron. If we're going to blame the debacle that is the All-Star game, that's LeBron. And even though LeBron played mostly mid-to-high 70s in games in his career, when it's become a major issue, okay,

when resting players has become the bane of the TV world's existence, in the last six years, he has only played more than 60 games once. And granted, there was the groin injury, there's been a myriad of little injuries here or there, and there's been major injuries. And then last year, of course, we remembered Somehow heroically, he played through injury that would have to require surgery.

It never did. But that's, it was heroic. Being king of the NBA is like being president of the United States. All the good, all the bad, you catch all the blame. And LeBron is trying to duck and dodge from the blame. Rightfully so. But the all-star game debacle is only part and has to be part of his legacy. All right.

Let's get to some other stuff going on in sports. Doug Gottliebint, for Colin. It's the herd on Fox Sports Radio and the IHeart Radio app. 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'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.

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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. Doug Gottlieman for Collins, I heard on Foxport portray the IHeart Radio app. I do want to, I shouldn't do it, but I'm going to go to Twitter for a second. Ad Gottlieb shows my Twitter handle. and Pandolci

42, some lady named Judy this is why old people shouldn't use young people's expressions because they get them confused. I'll explain the second. First, let me read you the tweet, word for word, and then if you don't understand

the contradiction in the tweet because she's using a term that she clearly doesn't know what it means. You ready? Okay. At Gottlieb Show. That's the Twitter. Can I still say Twitter

or do I have to say X? It's Twitter. I love listening to you. Thank you. Listen to you right now on Coward. Thank you. I just hate when you meat ride LeBron. You don't like him.

I get it. Just stop already. Do we understand the contradiction in terms there? Okay. Meat riding, I think you can know what it means. That means when you like a kiss. That's the new term for brown-nosing. Remember we tell he's a brown-noseder?

Now he's a meat rider. Good? Okay, that's the opposite of when you don't like somebody. Correct? Like I am, I have teenage kids. It's the greatest thing ever. They tell you all the terms and they go like, oh, you can't say it yourself. Right? You can't say suss or something's mid. Like, no, we used to say suspect all the time. That's fine. You can't say suss. Hey. So, Judy, I appreciate the feedback. I know you think I don't like LeBron.

it has nothing to do with it. All I do is give the fair, honest, straight down the middle. There's a lot of great things that he's done. Like I said, taking care of your body. It has become all or nothing about winning championships. I think that's honestly where Jay Williams went wrong with his

assessment of Caitlin Clark because he's been on a hot take, I mean first take so much that he just thought like all of a sudden he had those flashbacks to first take and was like, she's not great. She hasn't won a chance. We judge people by championships. Skip, skip, skip, skip.

No, that's like, that's not how it works. But, Judy, the big thing is, you need to go Urban Dictionary and understand that you're contradicting yourself saying, I'm meat riding LeBron, and I don't like LeBron. With that, we welcome in, Dan Wojki, he joins us. He covers the Lakers and the NBA for the L.A. Times. Dan, I'm not going to make you comment on Urban Dictionary. but I guess look my thing on LeBron is

if we all agree it's been his league for over a decade how much blame should he take for the fact that they have zero desire to put any effort towards playing in an all-star game yeah it's a tough one it's hard to know if it's just sort of if it's LeBron

if it's like the greater sort of basketball culture at large if it is you know the impact of medical people on the game as a whole, right? I mean, a general fear of injury that really exists throughout the league when it comes to these types of things. And I do think that's sincere.

You know, I generally tell people, and I said this earlier about the Lakers this season, and I kind of feel it's probably true about the All-Stra game, too. Like, complex problems usually don't have simple solutions. Like, there's probably, like, six or seven things we can point. to. It is sort of, I think, a, um, like a gumbo of the problem's stuck for lack of a better term. It's not just a singular ingredient. Yeah. I mean, I think there's a world in which, you know, LeBron could, like, you know, in year 20, set some sort of tone. Do I think LeBron could get, you know, Yolkich and Anthony Edwards to play harder? Probably not. You don't think so?

I don't. You don't like this. This is like, it's like the chef that comes out of the kitchen. I think, you're like operating on their own planes. Totally. Actually. Like, I mean, I think, you know, like LeBron's sort of like touch on the officer game this year, right? It's like pretty minimum.

You know, he was there for, like, 10 minutes he played, something like that. Like, I just think, like, I think there's five or six issues at play here, Doug. Like, I mean, I will throw this one out there, too. I thought there was, you know, at least early in that game, better effort. and guys just made everything. And there is an element, too, of sort of like, cool, all right, it's going to be that kind of game. Like, it's sort of, you know,

and I think LeBron for this post game, too. Like, I mean, the league is also moving in this direction, you know, as well. I just don't think it's one thing. I understand, but the league is moving in the same direction for so many of these things, which turn off fans, even though when it's at its best, I think the product is way better than it's ever been.

I mean, that's my personal. There's more talent. There's more talent in skill in the league today than I can ever think of. No question. No, like, in our life, I'm like, do people understand how big Luca is and how, like, if we were kids, he'd be a power forward. He's a point guard who does everything, right? Like, these guys are amazingly skilled.

But the perception is, and the perception is created by the fact that you don't play hard at all in the All-Star game. You don't play close to 82 games. You're complaining about a 65 game cutoff for awards. you know, even Jalen Brown who's got a gigantic new contract waiting for him. It's like, ah, 58's probably better, right? Like, it's like, what's the least?

And I do think this, and this is no fault to their own, but I do think it's like a snapshot of a societal push to do as little as possible and get paid as much as possible, right? Turn on your Instagram, be like, ooh, all I got to do is click on this thing and then all of a sudden I can sell products on Amazon and make money. How can I do as little as... Sure, sure. So it's a little bit of a society.

thing, but like, that's the way the league is viewed by older people. Okay? They're making more money. They're working less and they have no desire to show us any sort of reverence when they get the honor of being an all-star. And it's, LeBron is the biggest name in the league.

And he's like, yeah, it sucks what's happening in the league. Can you do anything about it? I mean, what am I going to do? Well, Doug, here, let me throw this. And I do it at the risk of sounding like some sort of derogatory or an dictionary term. Look, LeBron gave everything in the in season tournament, right?

Sure. Like, he did compete at a level that helped legitimize, you know, what this league is trying to do you know, in other ways, right? And now, look, whether or not that was for pride of basketball, if it was for $500,000,

which is less noble, certainly. You know, regardless, like, like, they played art. The Lakers played really, really hard at that point. I think one of the things, Doug, that I look at this as, and I look at the off stream, that this is probably my biggest all-ster game issue, is that, right, like NFL is king, right, in the sports landscape.

Every Sunday is an event. The games all matter. It is, and then they only escalate from there, right? Like, I think we've seen this other sports, baseball struggles with this. hockey tried it with the stadium series in addition to the All-SER games and all these different things. You need to event-tize these events

the regular season in certain ways. So the NBA has the same-season tournament. Their only other real event that they have is also a weekend. You know, before we get to the playoffs. And the NBA playoffs are excellent. The playing tournament has been a total success. To your point, you know,

I mean, you flip on the TV on a Thursday night, you're going to see, there's a pretty good chance you're seeing some level of, of transcendence in a player, right? Like you're going to see somebody who's doing things we've never seen before in the league, whether it's someone like Kevin Durant, who is unparalleled size and skill, Lukut Dachich, who's just like a bulldozer point guard,

Nikola Yokic, who's like a combination of virtually every great player. Whatever, you're going to get something like that, but like it needs to feel special. And to me, like the Ulster game is an opportunity for that. And as the league is looking for things to sell, as it comes, to these TV deals, these rights deals, they only have so many products. If one of their big products is consistently a dud, to me,

like, this is the issue for players. This is, you know, a combination of, like, big picture financial worries and sort of shame

are the two weapons of the NBA has to get this product better. Now, I will say, and I spoke to Anthony Davis about this after the All-Star game, and I thought it was really kind of an interesting thing to say, half trying is like a hard speed for players to get to. You know, like it is just like it's an uncomfortable place. Like, you know, these are guys that play at a very particular pace

throughout the regular season. They ratchet it up in the playoffs, you know, to kind of find like this sort of like, he basically said like you can't sort of compete. But that's like the antithesis of like what it takes to actually compete as a pro athlete. And I think there's something to that. I think it's an uncomfortable pace. Yeah. I don't think maybe, maybe, but I would tell you that I think a lot of this is layered into this is how guys have handled all-star games throughout AAU in high school.

And, you know, very few of them did anything this college. And also we operate under this sports-wide narrative that, oh, you could get hurt. Well, the fear of injury, the fear of injury is like a real factor in this. I know it is, but no, it's. And I just don't think it's that big of a... It's not. It's not, but that's it... Yeah, I think it's overblown.

I would agree. Dan Wakey joins us. Covers the Lakers and the NBA for the L.A. Times. Okay. How much of the Bucks' issues are in coaching? How much of it is in personnel? I mean, I think, right, like, this was a team that was built around a very, a very sound defensive core and principle.

and they swapped one of the best defensive guards for one of the best offensive guards. I mean, just think, like, on surface, right? And, like, that's a huge adjustment. And that causes you to completely alter the way you play basketball. And if you're a team that is, especially if you have big guys that are used to, like, playing a certain style of defensive basketball, who now have to scramble more, who have to help more,

who now are being put out of position more, and aren't as productive on that side of the basketball. That can cause frustrations and stuff like that. You get frustrated with systems. And I think if there's not a belief, especially with like a first-time head coach, a first-year head coach, like Adrian Griffin is, like your runway for credibility is short.

And if it's not working right away, it's hard to buy into it, right? And the Adrian Griffin Whispers, Doug, were out there pretty, pretty long before he, you know, ultimately was replaced. I think You know Look I mean they're not playing

It's great with the new coach I mean I mean but like But like look at at some point Everybody loves him He won the three point shooting contest You won the MVP of the All-Star game Like at some point

Don't we sit there and go like You know It's like you said You swapped out one for the other I get it Other guys have aged Maybe not as good It's a different style

but at some point do we go like, you know, maybe Damien Lurd was a leading score on a bad team, and the reason they were a bad team was he's just, he's not a guy who elevates others. The best players in basketball elevate others, and he's not able to do that at this level. Yeah. Yeah, Doug. I mean, I think, right, like, I mean, I'm hard pressed to find one-way players who are like championship level players. And like some people would throw Nicole Yolokic at me and say, Nicole Yolkich is a one-word player.

And I would just push back on that. I just think that his sort of his presence, obviously is incredible hands. But, like, he's a guy that on the block, like, you can't move. Like, I mean, I watched Anthony Davis struggle with him in the Western Conference finals a year ago. It was really impressed with him on that side of the basketball. Steph Curry is a guy who is, you know, really worked very hard to become a much more credible defender than he was, you know, earlier in his career. you know but but like even those guys like let's just mention those two guys those two guys are are on teams with tremendous continuity you know and if you're not

going to be a good individual defender Doug like you need to know the other four players on the court you need to like players say on the string all the time but really what that is like you need to know that if you get beat where you're rotating to next and that comes with time that comes with continuity that comes with feel and you know this is a team that's you know, basically had its core shook up at the start of the season, and it's had his core reshook up now here halfway through, that's going to be tough to find. Sure. I really do think that's going to be a real issue for them.

They had a very, like I said, they had a very, very defined style of play defensively. Now, whether or not, you know, their level of drop coverage and three-pointers allowed was going to continue to play moving forward to its own conversation, but at least they knew what they were doing. Sure. And now I think they're kind of guessing and they're searching. Real, real quick. I mean, Clippers are a championship caliber team. Yeah.

Lakers do not, they're not a championship caliber team, right? Adding Spencer Dimwitty makes it so that they got some viability. They have another point guard that they haven't had all season for whatever playoff run. But it does feel like they're standing pat because they expect to land another star in the offseason. Who is it? I think it's a combination of that. I also think that it was just like really a seller's market. You know, you add each conference adds two more teams into the postseason mix with the planterment.

They're just fewer sellers. You know, when you start hearing things that like Brooklyn is looking for multiple first-round picks for Dorian, Finney Smith, that the Bulls are seeking, you know, two good picks and a player for Alex Caruso. If that's the role player cost, I think when the Lakers only had one first-round pick to really put to play. That didn't make sense. And then I think you add in the fact that, you know, that on draft night, they can put three into play.

And, you know, whether that's Trey Young or Donovan Mitchell, you know, maybe it's a more, you know, two-way focused player. Maybe it's a McKell Bridges, if he's available. You know, to me, I think that's the places they'll search. They're a team that always chase the stars. But, you know, it is an interesting conversation when you look at kind of what the cost has been to get into these business. know, I don't know that they've got enough to get on the Donovan Mitchell, like Chase.

You know, there are plenty of teams that are interested in him. Trey Young is a player that certainly has his critics around the league. You know what I mean? Like, it's not like that's a slam dunk decision. Doug, they said this a lot two years ago when they didn't trade Russell Westbrook at the trade deadline. This was sort of the kind of part of the rationale was, if we don't do it today, we can trade three on draft night. They didn't make a trade. So I think they'll look, but they are in this.

sort of weird in-between thing. And to your point about the Clippers, I mean, yeah, I think the Clippers have proven to be a team that has all the ingredients. The Lakers, to me, feel like more of a team that's like a scary matchup than it is, like, a team that you view as, like, they can win 16 games. They seem more like a team that can win eight. Yep. But, but look, I still think, and I see it, you see the LeBron James Anthony Davis fastball every so often, and when you see it, it's a good one. Awesome stuff, man. Dan, totally appreciate you. join us. I hope you stay dry in the rain. Thanks for being our guest

on Foxport Trayette. Thanks for having me. Dan Wakey from the LA Times covering the NBA. Owning a Mercedes-Benz EV isn't just extraordinary, it's extra easy. With full remote access to your vehicle from your phone via Mercedes-Benz-Meet Connect app, the vehicles are all electric, the feeling

all Mercedes. The choice is all yours. Limbore MbUSA.com slash EQ. I'm Doug Gottlieb in for Colin. Coming up on the herd. Wow. Another member of the Pat's dynasty calls it quits. Who is it? Find out next in The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the HARD weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, we're Kavino and Rich. Fox Sports Radio every day, 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern.

But here's the thing. We never have enough time to get to everything we want to get to. And that's why we have a brand new podcast called Overpromised. You see, we're having so much fun in our two-hour show. We never get to everything. Honestly, because this guy is overpromising things we never have time for. Yeah, you blubberlips. Blame and me. Well, you know what? It's called over-promise.

You should be good at it because you've been over-promising women for years. Well, it's a Kavino and Rich after show, and we want you to be a part of it. We're going to be talking sports, of course. But we're also going to talk life and relationships. And if Rich and I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time, it will continue on our after show called over-promised. Well, if you don't get enough, Kavino and Rich, make sure you check out over-promised. And also uncensored, by the way. Maybe we'll go at it even a little harder.

It's going to be the best after-show podcast of all time. There you go. Over-promising. And remember, you could see it on YouTube, but definitely join us. Listen to Overpromised with Kavino and Rich on the IHeartRadio 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 which 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 of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right

what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to 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 you 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 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. Doug Ghali and for Collins, this is The Hurt, Fox Sports Radio, IHeart Radio app. Let's get to Jason Stewart with the news. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Hello, Jason. Well, hello, Doug. You know, this is one of my favorite thing used in the media nowadays. Antonio Pierce has raised some eyebrows, Doug, with the comments he made on Max Crosby's podcast. Can you do the, can you raise one eyebrow and not the other? No, I'm not that talented.

I can wink. But this is an audio medium. Can you whistle? A little bit, not with a whole lot of melody. How do people do the finger whistle thing? Do you have to be taught at a very young age? It's an amazing coaching trait. You should have this.

You should have developed it. I don't have that. But Antonio Pierce is a coach. Maybe he could do the whistle. He's raised some eyebrows, Doug, when he went on Max Crosby's podcast, and he said this about Patrick Mahomes. To me, I keep talking about just being consistent of winning. We've got to win the division first.

Man, we got knock off the team of ring. Yeah. They've been dominated for seven years. Yeah. We got to knock off the head of the snake. Yeah. Yep. We got to do that first.

Yep. Now, knocking off the head of the snake. Yeah. Number 15. Mike Florio, always kind of quick to stir stuff up, says that maybe Antonio should watch what he says publicly. These things are said behind closed doors. Ooh.

Are your eyebrows raised, Doug? No. That's because Mike Florio. So he's either disingenuous, probably not. An idiot, no. Or never actually played sports? Aha! Because cutting off the head of a snake is what you do in sports.

You do it in basketball. It doesn't mean take him out, right? It means you don't let that guy get the basketball. You don't think he means literally take his head off? That cut it off? No, no. Because hitting somebody in the helmet, is a penalty.

And Antonio Pierce is not an idiot. No. News out of the NFL today, Matthew Slater, many-time pro-bowler, all-pro, special teams guy. I think Bill Belichick's favorite player, if I'm not mistaken, he has officially retired. Great Patriot, several rings. How is Matthew Slater going to be considered?

Just one of those guys that, like, not sure he plays in the NFL on any team. and yet he was a star or a known commodity with the Patriots. It's like Troy Brown actually had some statistically great years, but again, known as a guy who played two ways with the Patriots, right? Played on both sides of the football. They created these guys' role that fit them perfectly, and they may not have had much any role on another team in the NFL.

It's part of the lure to the Patriots. They were great dumpster divers. That's what they were. They dumpster dive. I like that. Now, if you read all the stuff today that's been written about the guy, you'd think he's a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer. Do you put a special teamer in the Hall of Fame?

Is he a Hall of Famer? Well, I think you just did, right, with a kick returner. So why not? Why not? If you changed football games, you just put a guy who wasn't good enough as a defensive back or a wide receiver, but was an elite kick returner, punt returner, into the Hall of Fame.

Okay, does that open Pandora's box? Why shouldn't it? For like an all-time kick coverage guy. Huh? Let's Jason Stewart with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news.

Okay, so if you didn't hear Rick Petino had a rant going back two days ago when his team lost. And what I think is going on here is something that's gone on in the car business and in other businesses where we're speeding up the normal process,

where college athletics becoming pro athletics has gone awry. That's next time. I'm Doug Gottlie. This is The Hurt. 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far far away, such as the biology of ton-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.