The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - BREAKING NEWS: Nuggets Fire HC Mike Malone

Episode Date: April 8, 2025

Jason ranks his top 5 NBA title contenders with a surprising Western Conference team at number 2. Also some SHOCKING breaking news out of the NBA with the Nuggets firing head coach Michael Malone despite the team being 4th in the standings just days before the playoffs begin   Guest: Ryan HollinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back. Hour number two here on the herd, Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd. I did text with him yesterday. The fishing excursions are going great. He's just catching stuff left and right. I'm joined today by Alex Curry. Alex, you're a big fisher person?

So I was in Fiji in December and I caught my very first fish. What a flex. And I caught a barracuda. I'm not kidding, you guys. This was the most thrilling and terrifying. experience of my life. Wow. And it like it has like crazy teeth. Yeah. Comes right at you. Oh, wild. It's a, did you swim in the water in Fiji after that? Or were you like, hell? Oh yeah. There's sharks. There's everything. Yeah. If you're with the locals, I stayed on like a private

surfing island, Nomoto. It's like the most magical place in the world. So you wake up every morning and you go fishing or surfing or snorkeling like wherever. Sounds good, but I hear your raccoon sharks. I'm like it's a bit of a pass for me. We got Ryan Hollins, NBA veteran. He's a tall. He's a tall guy. I was just trying to recruit him by my men's league team. He's very tall. He played center. We could use him as a rim protector, but he's like, I'm in Houston. Damn it. All right, we're going to start here real quick. I'm going to

buzz through my five favorites to win the NBA championship. You're going to vehemently disagree. Fan bases are going to be irked. Let's get started. At number five, the Cleveland Cavaliers. I wanted to put the Knicks here so badly. I just, I can't do

it. Because the Knicks are going to probably play the Celtics in the second round. The Cavs Path will be easier since they are the number one seed. Dame Willard, unlikely to play the rest of the way due to blood clots. I think things just line up for Cleveland to have their best season since LeBron left. Donovan Mitchell's great. I know they've slid a little bit lately here down the strike, but they got nothing to play for. They got the number one seed locked up.

Mitchell, Mobley, Allen, Garland. Love everything about this team. Cavs fifth on my list of title contenders. Number four, let's go with the Oklahoma City Thunder. What? But, Jason, they're the favorites. They are the favorites, according to Vegas. I'm just not a believer.

I know, I know it's too out of a take. Ryan Hollins, I can see him shaking his head over here. He's not happy with me already. Folks, OKC got fat and happy beaten up on the east, blowing out the Orlando Magic and the Wizards by like 50. I know. And listen, some of the numbers, they are nine and nine against the top teams in the West versus the Lakers, Warriors, Nuggets, Rockets, and Wolves.

It ain't going to be easy. And again, I saw them against Luca in the playoffs last year. He owned them. You can have your Ludo and your J-dub and Chet Holmgren. They're not winning in the finals. I have them number four on my list. Number three, ahead of the Thunder, Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors. What's not to love, man?

One bad game against the Rockets? They're fine. If Podzems can hit eight threes against the Lakers, they're fine. That won't happen again. I like what I've seen from Cumminga. I like the depth. But most of all, I like Steph Curry. As long as you're not allowed to grab him and hold him and foul him and chuck him and bury him like the Rockets did,

Warriors should be fine. I don't want the Lakers to play them in the first round. I know the sheet here says the Lakers were three and one against the Warriors. Those wins were before the Anthony Davis trade. It's not a great matchup for the Lakers, but I do like the Warriors as my third favorite to win the title. Check it in at number two. It's the Lakers. LeBron and Luca.

Go ahead, hate it all you want. I'm telling you guys, Luca LeBrona reads is the best big three in the league, period, end of story. I don't think the Celtics have as good of a big three. They have more depth, of course, and they're better four or five, six. But the Lakers big three will take them to the finals. All of a sudden, Denver's looking vulnerable, folks. No Jamal Murray, there's some quotes from Michael Malone,

making it sound like Jamal Murray may play in the playoffs. So now you're looking at a Russell Westbrook, Christian, Brown backcourt? Are you kidding me? Those guys have no chance against Luca. Austin Reeves is just a superhero right now. And oh, by the way, LeBron's taking his foot off the gas because Luca's ready to take over. I just love this Laker team. Second best chance to win the title. And checking in at number one on the top, it's got to be the defending champion Celtics. They are the number two favorites plus 215 plus money for the Celtics to win the title. I don't know how you don't take that, although the odds were probably better earlier this season.

They won't have home court advantage against the calves. I don't think they'll need it. Cleveland did play them well at moments at times last year, but when fully healthy, Horsingis, Horford, Holiday, White, Brown, Tatum, I mean, Peyton Pritcher, by the way, is going to be six men of the year. That is a nasty, nasty top seven.

I think Boston's got to be the team to beat. Lakers 2, Warriors 3. The OKC Thunder, everybody loves SGA and the free throw merchant. At number five, the Cleveland Cavs. Apologies to my Knicks. The Clippers also just missed out. Keep an eye on them.

They're hot. And the Houston Rockets narrowly missed. Speaking of the Rockets, let's bring in my main man, Ryan Hollins. I've done some radio with him. He played for nine different NBA teams in 10 seasons. He's not happy with some of my takes. He's also extremely tall. He played for Doc Rivers, Ty Lou.

He's on Fox Sports Radio 9 a.m. on Sundays. How you doing, Ryan? What's up, brother? How you doing? I'm excellent. And I know you love my top five NBA title favorites, right? You know, here's the reality. This is what I'm a role with you.

I can accept that, but when the Rockets have success, you make sure you hop on a bandwagon. That's all I'm saying. Don't make it. So you're the master of excuses. This didn't happen. That's all I asked from you. Don't put us in your top five

because there have been sweeps against some of those teams. The rockets are up and coming. Would you put the rockets in the top five? Easily. Who would you take out? Who would I take out? Beat the Cavalers twice. I think they're having a heck of a year.

But I think Houston matches up extremely well with them. Obviously, in the playoff scenario, Houston still has to come out and prove themselves. I think the disrespect to the thunder is crazy. Like, you're wild for that. Like, yes, Houston beat them. That's still a really good ball club. You have to understand it this time of year. they're trying to stay healthy.

Mark Dagnall is looking at it schematically and saying, hey, I'm not going to show my schemes. I'm not going to show my game plans right now. We get the playoffs, then I'm going to lock in. But from seeing them from last year to this year, they're a much better team, and that starts with SGA. Too much Lakers for you at two there? Go ahead.

You can give them props or bash them. Here's the reality, especially in the Western Conference. If the Lakers get a favorable matchup, they have a chance. If they can play a team that has a fourth or fifth option that is not involved in the offense, I like their odds. But if they have to play OKC or a team with five guys that are involved,

now Luca's got to chase. LeBron's got to fight through pick and rolls. You can't just switch every action. You got to get back on defense. A team that can challenge them, I think I would have problems with them. If they get a proper matchup, you could be on to something. You're just pairing them against everybody.

I don't know if I agree to that, but they are really good this year. You're in Houston. Let's talk about the Rockets. 15 and 2 in their last 17. The big win over Golden State. I'm just one of these guys. I got to see it. Like last year, I didn't buy OKC, and they lost with home court advantage.

I need to see it in the playoffs from Houston. Because, again, when the game bogs down into a half court, it's 100 to 98, 2 minutes. minutes left. Who's the go-to guy? Is it Jalen Green? I know he took over against Golden State the other day, but can you, do you dump into the post to Shengoon? Do you trust Van Vleet late? I don't know. Here's the truth when it comes to Houston. You're going to have to see Jailen Green and Alprin Shungoon play both at all-star levels. When they don't, the team is going to struggle. It is hard to get wins. The bread and butter here for Houston is their defense. That's what Emais hung his hat on the physicality. Shout out to the Houston Cougars. They end up coming up

short in the national championship, but Houston as a whole is defending as a city. The physicality has changed things. And one thing that EMA has done really special, I'll give you this nugget. When everybody ziggs and shoots three-pointers and wants to be all versatile, he made decided to zag. He plays a double big lineup. Stephen Adams, Shingoon, Jabari plays a three. Tarisan might be at the two, a men Thompson at the one. He plays this monster lineup that has really hit the boards. It's defended well. And it's throwing people off. So what Houston's making you have to do with EMA is saying is, you got adjust to our size.

Then he comes in with some speed. You got adjust to the speed also. So he's doing a great job coaching. But what it's done is it's freed up Jalen Green to be the best version of himself coming off screens from two bigs. He's got a roller and Alprin Shungoon who's excellent. And then again, on the other side, Alprin Shungoon gets matched up with your foreman. So now he's not going against the center. He's not getting the same double teams because he's got Stephen Adams on the glass.

So it's been good for Houston. We'll see how it rose over into the playoffs. This might be unfair, but do you remember that Memphis team that was the number two seat a couple years ago? Yes. And the Lakers faced them and kind of smashed them. Is there a similarity? Hey, we've got a lot of good young players, but they're so young, we need to kind of walk before you run. And that would be my concern.

Now, if they face the Grizzlies first round, I like Houston. I think for Houston, the key is defense. You know, they're going to have to win it on that side. And obviously, if you can get Jalen Greenhot, you get him going, that's a big key. So seeing Houston in transition, seeing the offensive rebounds, trading two for threes. But you got guys that you talk about experience. Fred Van Fleet's a world champ. I haven't heard you mention his name one time.

And he's a guy who can do anything you want. Fred's a glue guy. He's scoring. He can give you a 30 ball. He's proven that already at the highest level. If you need defense, if you need assist, he can do that. He makes sure the other guy's going, Dylan Brooks is playing. Don't do that.

Don't you do that. Dylan Brooks is playing at an all-world level. He's shooting the three ball at a clip that is just out of this world. And the question with Houston earlier in the year was, can they shoot? Can they space the floor? They struggle to shoot the three. Dylan Brooks has provided that. Jabari Smith Jr. shooting the theory at a high clip.

So again, the question was the spacing. Was it just hustle? Was it just the effort? And take a good look at those guys, man. They have been red hot. And then you got a group that can defend the Lucas, defend the LeBron, defend the shades, and you're not going to stop those guys, but make them have to work and defend the curries.

They're built well, no doubt about that. So would you call Dylan Brooks a goon or a punk? Or like, what word do you? Don't call him a. Don't you do that. He leads the league in technicals. But you can't call him a punk. What did he do to LeBron when he was in Memphis?

Do you remember that? LeBron before the game was like, you better shut your mouth. And I bet you bet you want him on your team. Well, maybe to defend it. Yeah, that's not a bad idea. But you've got to be honest. He's built a representation. He's a winner.

He owns the villain card. When the opposing arenas start booing, he loves it. And here's the thing about Houston and Dylan and Eme and the rest of our guys. They are dogs. And when you, the game gets chippy, the game gets physical, that was one thing that Houston didn't have. And Emey's brought an edge. Dylan Brooks has brought an edge to the city and to the team where you can go out and

compete against the league's best because I've had playoff experience. I've had long runs, and it's a different level of physicality. So EMA's been preparing our young guys and teaching that physicality to them before they've gotten there. All right, we played video earlier of Rick Bueger talking about the Rockets potentially trading for KD. If things don't work out these players, if they lose in the first round, maybe they mix it up. Do you think KD would work on this team? Man, I think Kevin Durant will work anywhere. Kevin Doret's unbelievable. And if you haven't seen them lately, I know that the sons have not had the success that you've thought, but he's my height. Sorry, KD. I'm going to out you. He's my height

or taller. Okay. He ain't no 6-11 or 6-9. He's all the 7-1. He has a high release, and he's so efficient when his game where he doesn't need to bounce the bar. He can take one dribble, and he moves extremely well. It's a nice part being thin. He's aged well. So here's the beauty of Houston that I want to give you. And this is not from front office information or anything like this is my assumption. These are two routes that is beautiful for Houston. Like you said it if the young guys develop they play at a high level pay your young guys you move forward what you have you have you are good enough to win and you have seen the leaps and bounds this season that should make you feel comfortable if not and you have a slam dunk move that could be

kevin or at possibly moving forward you can make that move but you're not pressed and the problem with a lot of organizations they get pressed to jump out and make a move they feel like they have to win and they salvage, you know, their young pieces, and they go all in on their championship. It doesn't always work out like how it worked out with the Toronto Raptors. It doesn't always work out like it's worked with a number of teams, and sometimes those teams that made the trade end up a lot better off.

So Houston could end up having the best of both worlds, and they're not pressed to make any moves. Okay, so to drill down on what you said about KD, you played a lot in the league, 10 seasons with 9 teams. You've seen a lot of leaders. A, tell me some of the best leaders you've ever played, with in the NBA. And how you define leader of the new party.

Kevin Garnett jumps out to mine. Kevin Garnett doesn't, he needs to be in one of those, not maybe the greatest, but the greatest at what he did. Kevin Garnett is culture. And we talk about winning a lot of times. Culture, culture, culture, culture. You hear that word. Kevin Garnett brings culture to whatever he is.

He develops their young guys. I probably, I'm going to be straight up. I appreciate you, KG. Love you if you hear this. I wouldn't be playing. probably another four or five years if it wasn't running into Kevin Durant, the effect that he had on myself as a young player, leadership-wise. Dirk Novitsky was a leader.

When we needed a shot, you could get him the ball down the stretch. He took everything on the chin and shoot. Even that Boston team had a number of leaders, you know, in their own rights. Shout up Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rondo, still a leader. He's going to be a heck of a head coach in the NBA one day. Let me think who else. Chris was excellent. So I ask that because Kevin Durant constantly asked his question, and he's like, I don't want to be a leader.

I just want to, what do you make of that when you just wax philosophic about KG and Dirk Novitsky being great leaders? Like, Kevin Durant doesn't want to be a leader, but he's the highest paid player. He's probably the best player on any TV he goes to. Does that work? You really think Kevin Durant's not a leader? Of course, Kevin Durant's a leader in the locker room. Kevin Durant just realizes outside of his Twitter, everything is not for public. public consumption. You know, so the things he wants to say, the narratives, he wants to put out

the fun that he wants to be with people. And by the way, I just love the energy that Kevin Durant puts out. He's so unapologetic about his messages. He is who he is. But I think he's in a point in this game where he's being appreciated. And I'll tell you one thing, our young guys appreciate him. Jalen Green's been in the summer in the gym with him in the summertime. Your Bryce Smith Jr.'s been in the gym with his summertime. So Katie has a gravitational effect. guys flock to him. You see his work ethic. You see his Tyler's times in the gym. So he's absolutely a leader. But, you know, for us to sit here on these shows and speak about him, he don't care about that. He cares about his guys in the locker room and what he brings to

the table. We could wrap up NCAA tournament just completed. Cooper Flagg. Everybody watched him be a superstar. A, what have you heard from your people about Cooper Flag and B, what have you seen from him? Obviously, he's going to go one. But, you know, there's some comparisons for him to young Kevin Garnett. There's some people who aresons to Tatum, Dirk Novitsky. There's a lot of them. Your thoughts? I think it's

kind of frustrating because they're grossly unfair to him. Cooper Flagg is a unique player and I believe in the right system Cooper Flag can flourish. If you ask him to be a one right now, a playmaker, a guy,

I don't think that's putting him in the best scenario to be successful. I think if you run him off ball, you let him be athletic, run the lanes. He's an excellent knockdown shooter, and someone's setting him up, I think he can thrive. But if you put him in a situation where you're asking him to have the ball at his hands and doing a lot of things, I don't think that fits his game best right now. But I think he's a mega athlete. I think he's got great size.

And you look at him when you see him talk, he's so young. So there's so much growing to be done with Cooper Flagg. So I think he's a megastar in the building. But I think if you put a lot on his shoulder before he's ready, I don't think that's going to be fair to Cooper flag. That's good. So I probably shouldn't have brought up the whole over under one and a half career NBA MVP. Did you go the whole like, did you go like Larry Bird and Curry and LeBron?

They might have been mentioned. I don't recall Ryan Holland's great career, great stuff and, you know, success in your media career. You're having fun, right? I'm having a blast, man. I mean, come on, dude. I look at it like this. I have played basketball for free somewhere. So I never had a job in my life

And I'd be somewhere of running my mouth Texting you are calling you about about hoops So you know, we've done that before So good distance I was gonna wedge into LeBron Jordan Because remember we did radio together And I think we went on it for like an hour On LeBron versus Jordan

I just know you're gonna say some ridiculous Like I don't even know if he believes the stuff he's saying Like I don't even know he believes I swear it's all backed up with facts and data That's how I roll What you got new for what you got new for I mean I don't know He's in what is he's in

what is he, 40 years old, he's in your like 37 in the NBA. I mean, he's totally dominant. He wins everywhere he goes. How was he not the goat? I just, I don't understand what people say. He's not. Like, it just doesn't make sense. When it comes down to the LeBron Jordan debate, it's just so personal.

People can't see their feelings for LeBron or their feelings for Michael Jordan and just look directly at basketball. And the biggest trick that we have when it comes down to the goat debate is it's subjective. So if you're talking, And I'm a LeBron guy. If you're talking dominance in his time, fear, respect amongst others, peers. Michael Jordan is that guy. There's no question. If you're talking impact on the game, you're talking size, you're talking longevity, you're talking LeBron James.

You see his impact. You see what he's had to work with. You've got to understand Michael Jordan had Phil Jackson. He had Dean Smith at North Carolina. LeBron James didn't have those things. So he's had to figure out the closest thing to learning how to winning for LeBron James was Duane Wade, Pat Riley, and the Miami Heat. Once he figured it out, he said, I'm going to take my talents elsewhere, and you saw the success that he had. So I would challenge people as they bring up their goat debate, know what your categories are, because LeBron was not as dominant as Michael.

But I don't know if Michael in today's era would be sharing the basketball, scoring at the clip that LeBron does. So you've got to establish, hey, what are my goat categories? then we can have the conversation. That's probably McIntyre while we have so much fun with it. I guess that was really measured. Well done, Ryan. Oh, my goodness. All right, Ryan Hollins, congrats and thank you for everything.

Coming up next in Herdline News, Alex Curry will tell us the hottest spots where Jalen Milro could land on draft night. That's my guy. That's next. One more Herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app.

Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.

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

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an

a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Genshin win.

I mean, she went down at three to Rovachina, but I'm delighted. Yeah, she's an outsider to win the French. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennarabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Back here on the herd. Good stuff from Ryan Hollins. What a fun guy. I like him a lot. Let's go to Alex Curry with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. You can tell when you worked with someone before, because I feel like you guys could have just, like, gone off for hours. Yeah, yeah. On every topic. Well, we got a guy coming up next hour who I've never met before,

so I'm a little nervous. I can't play it as loose and just say stuff. Yes, you can. Well, we'll see. Yes, you can. Be yourself. Okay, let's start with some draft talk, because Alabama quarterback,

Jalen Milrow had private workouts this week for the Saints and the Browns for Fox Sports. row is reportedly going to attend the draft in Green Bay and most scouts have him as a borderline first round pick. Now, I personally love this confident move because it takes a confident person to do this to show up and be there with probably what, like a 50% chance of getting drafted in the first round. Like we saw this with Will Levitts there for the first round and he didn't go last year and then threw a little hissy fit and didn't show up. day too. But if there is a chance that you could go in the first round and be there and be a part

of that celebration, why would you miss that? It's interesting you reference Levis. I don't know him personally. Yeah. But the vibe here is he loves him some Will Levis. Yeah. And he wanted to be there and bring the influencer girlfriend. I don't think Jalen Millroads in that same category of I Love Me Samed. No, not at all. Not at all. I'm saying, don't do what he did. Where he like through the hissy fit the next day if you don't go in the first round. Like you have to go in knowing it's a 50-50 shot. I don't. So it was a 50-50 shot, I probably wouldn't go.

I would be like, no, those aren't good enough odds for me to potentially embarrass myself. It's not embarrassed. That's what I'm saying it takes a confident person, a secure person to be like, if there is a chance, I want to be there. I want to walk up on stage. Do you want to, where's the track, Green Bay? I would also maybe want to just hang with my friends and family at home. That's fun too. That's a personal decision, but he's choosing to do.

this. I think that's cool. So maybe you could say, Jason, you're being small-minded, but I'm sticking with my initial plan. I think Mill Row is a first-round lock. I know people don't love him. I know the pun, what did you say? The scouts think he's borderline first round? Yeah, borderline. Yeah. What was Brock Purdy? What the scouts say about him? He's like a top 10 quarterback in the league already. Like, I, listen, I know we we love to think we know and the scouts think they know. Yeah. Nobody knows anything. No. Russell?

Dack Prescott. Which is why I let go. Alex. Imagine if I would like, I know. Alex, imagine if I had said to you before the draft, hey, that guy, Dak Prescott, who's a mid-round pick, he's in a decade going to be the highest-paid quarterback in the league. You would have laughed at me and thrown trash at me. Or maybe worse. Rock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant.

He's about to get. These guys don't know. Paid. Yeah. I think, from what I've seen, I think Milro is going to go top 20 or somebody trades into the first to get him, huh? Yeah. So do you think he should be there for the first round? He should show up in Green Day?

I don't know him personally, but all signs, point to he's confident I say you go. Yeah, be secure, confident and don't let your ego get hurt if it doesn't. What's the weather like in Green Bay and April? I don't know. That would be a factor for me. I don't know.

Probably not bad, right? I don't know. Okay, let's switch gears to another cold place. The Lions lost a lot of coaching firepower with both coordinators getting hired his head coaches. But Dan Campbell isn't worried. Take a listen to why he thinks his offense will be successful without Ben Johnson calling the plays. This is a Detroit line offense is what it is.

This offense is Jared Golf, St. Brown, Gibbs, Montgomery, it's Frank, it's Sewell, it's Decker, it's, I can keep Gus, J-Mo. That's what we are. We can say, well, this is our scheme, this is what we run. This is, no, no, no, they're the ones who make it what it is. So that's our playbook, is those guys. I mean, he's not wrong, but you can't deny that there's going to be adjustments and growing pains. There always is when you have a new leader, a new offensive coordinator here. But I mean, Ben Johnson was within the organization when they promoted him to offensive coordinator.

And the guy they're bringing in John Morton, former player, wide receiver, but he also worked for Dan Campbell back in 2022. So he's familiar with the lines. He's familiar with the system. So it should be an easy transition, but I don't know. The last two years have been like the best years, the Lions have been in franchise history, but they still can't make it over the hump. Okay. In the NFC championship game, losing in the divisional round last year.

So it's can you get over that hump? Can you get to the Super Bowl? Because that's what the goal is, Super Bowl or bust with this team right now. So I'm trying to think of an analogy. Nothing's going to be perfect here. But let me ask you, so you played college soccer, right? When you went to the program, let's just assume they were a pretty good team. They had their core group of seniors, right?

Yeah. They couldn't get over the hump. Then they graduate and move on. Yeah. Then it's the new regime coming up. Can they get you back to where you were with the old regime? Because these new coaches, I don't know if it's going to be as seamless as everybody thinks. I think there's a big drop-off coming for Detroit.

It can go one or two ways. It's either the change that you need that gets you over the hump. or you're trying too hard to stay in your old ways and you can't mimic that with someone new and then you get stuck trying to copy it. So it can really go one or two ways. It's the change that you need to get over that hump and get to the Super Bowl because that's the goal with this team.

They were the favorite one or two last year, right? Yeah. So it's, again, you don't want to try to replicate exactly. what Ben Johnson was doing. Yeah, but like a similar system to make it work because you have the same players in place. Yeah.

So it's going to be interesting. Like they... There's a lot of sports people who do what we do. Yeah. Whether it's podcast, TV, radio, whatever. And I get asked sometimes, hey, what did you think of the take from so-and-so? And often I'm like,

I don't listen to other stuff. I don't want other people's influence on my takes. Because I want mine to be authentic and original. Maybe some guys will think of some stuff that I didn't think of and that I missed that, whatever. But I wonder if on a football team, you need to keep doing what Ben Johnson was doing. Or do you just change everything? But when Ben Johnson came in, was it already Dan Campbell's idea?

So is it just kind of sticking with what he has in place and putting your own spin and twist on it? The only problem was before Dan Campbell, they weren't winning it. No. They weren't winning his first two years. Yeah. He turned this team around in year three. With a lot of help from Ben Johnson. A lot of help from Ben Johnson. So there's going to be growing pains.

Like your two main guys are gone now. That's a big deal. So those were his two lieutenants. Yes. And now they just moved on. They're gone. Pull their head coaches. Yeah.

Because they did a great job. I think they go from what? What, they have 14 or 15 wins? Something like that. They were up there. They're going to probably slide backslide to like 8, 9, 10. Okay. That would be my guess.

Okay. I mean, but also like, Vikings. We're going to do Vegas over unders tomorrow. Vikings still don't like what you're going for JJ. They haven't fully committed, like, who their quarterback's going to be. Like, Green Bay was also great. Jordan Love's been great. And then now you have Ben Johnson in the same division with the Bears,

with Caleb Williams. And this is kind of his first big year to prove it. And he knows your team better than anybody. So it's, they're still the favorite in the division, the Lions. So you're a belief they should retain the culture that Johnson, Glenn, and Campbell. put together. Oh, yes, retain the grit culture. That's who they are.

That's their identity. Right. That's the line's identity. But then, so the new guys don't get to do them, they have to do with the previous regime did. It depends. Well, he's, the guy coming in is one of Dan Campbell's guys. Yeah.

So he's already going to be a part of that and understand the culture. Yeah. So that's going to work. That's going to be helpful, but it's going to be interesting. You hope it works. Well, I don't. I don't. I don't know.

I'm not a lot. We're skipping the last. Alex Curry with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Whoa. Holy cow.

All right, they're showing me a tweet of huge breaking news that the Nuggets have fired head coach Michael Malone. Denver's on a four-game losing streak right now. What is happening in the NBA? So last week, the Grizzlies fired their coach out of the blue. And now Michael Ballone, who won a title with the Nuggets just a few years ago, a couple years ago? He's fired? Holy cow. All right.

So breaking news, we're going to have to tear up the show. I'm going to have to do some hard work during the commercial break to find out what the hell happened. My goodness, Michael Malone fired as Coach of the Nuggets. We'll be back with some updates on that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Hey, it's Steve Kavino. And I'm Rich David. And together we're Kavino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio.

You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and, of course, the Iheart Radio app. Why should you listen to Kavino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world? We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved too.

Take your phone calls, chop it up as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio. Maybe the most interactive show on Planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino & Rich live on Fox Sports Radio and the IHeart Radio app from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich, wherever you get your podcast and, of course, on social media. That's Kavino and Rich.

Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, nice? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.

We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down?

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests. in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all. embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Road to the Indy 500 hits the streets of Long Beach where the 50th running of the Long Beach Grand Prix,

the fastest racing on Earth continues Sunday at 4.30 Eastern on Fox. Boy, dude, never a dull moment in the NBA breaking news. the Denver Nuggets who won the NBA championship in 2023 have fired their head coach Michael Malone and their GM Calvin Booth. Ladies and gentlemen, the playoffs start in like 10 days in the NBA. What is happening? Now, I was scurrying during the break to get some information.

It's so weird because I think yesterday I alluded to Denver being a bit of a mess, and this morning I saw that Jamal Murray's hurt. and the way Michael Malone is talking lately, he's just talking kind of wild. But that has historically been his MO. He's a Queens guy, grew up in the Northeast. He's a tough talker. He's a little combative.

Do you remember when the Lakers beat Denver one game in that series in the playoffs, and he came back in, oh, the Lakers won one game? He's just basically, you guys are talking trash about us? I can't believe it. We're going to destroy them. He said, like, put it in your pipe and smoke it. He was really just aggressive, and this is his nature. And there are reports I'm reading that maybe he was kind of sort of losing the locker room in Denver.

Again, he is a mouthy individual. There's nothing wrong with that. As a coach, you know, that can work for so long. But when you're not winning, the staff here found some numbers for Yokic in April. Okay, this is real. He's averaging 45 points, 12 boards, and 10 assists. in the month of April. They're 0 and 3.

Like, how are you not winning in crunch on? They were looking at being the three seed. They could potentially fall to the 6, 7, 8, maybe into the playing. They don't have any wins with Yukets putting up huge stats. Now, obviously, the Jamal Marie injury, and Jamal Marie always seems to be hurt, that's kind of damaging. You do have who I believe is the best player in the league who I would have as MVP in Nicola Yochich putting up historic great numbers, but it just doesn't seem to be working.

Now, early in the season, and Murray hasn't played in the last two weeks because he's so banged up. And obviously, that hurts. You know, Christian Brown and Russell Westbrook, that's not a back court that scares anybody. But one of the interesting things about Denver is that Malone historically doesn't like playing young guys. They don't always know how to play. There's a steep learning curve. You've got to deal with a lot of dumb turnovers and bad shots. He likes to lean on veterans.

So the GM of the Nuggets gave this big fat contract to Zeke Naji, who was one of these Combine Warriors, one of these workout dudes who's like measurements through the roof, checks all the boxes. He gets on the court, he can't play. And the GM still gives him a big extension, which was a blunder. They paid Michael Porter, Jr. I don't know that he could guard half the guys in my men's basketball league.

I like Aaron Gordon a lot. I think he's a good piece. I think Yokic is obviously a superstar. I didn't like the Wester Westbrook move, but it speaks to Malone having influence on the GM. Hey man, go get me a veteran who's going to try hard and hustle. Michael Malone loves a good try hard. But the narrative of Denver trying hard is not there because they're not stopping anybody now.

So you got MPJ doesn't play defense. Russ is a bit of a train wrecking out of control. Yokic is dominating, but looking around like, where's my help? And Jamal Murray is in street clothes again. So Denver is slip sliding badly in the West. And as the staff pointed out to me, Taylor Jenkins was fired by Memphis last week. They were in the top five in the West. And Ryan, who, you know, a longtime producer, he was actually my first radio show producer when I had a weekend show, said something smart.

He's like, you know what? It kind of sort of feels like these teams don't think they can compete to win a title this year. So they're getting ahead of the coaching cycle for this summer. Hey, man, we ain't going to win. Let's just see if the assistant can be promoted. Let's see what he can do. If we could change some of the voices in the locker room. And let's think about the summer.

So Memphis fires their coach two weeks before the playoffs. Denver fires their coach a week before the playoffs. The problem is, Malone just won a title. He's the winningest coach in franchise history. He's been there for 10 years, and you fire him a week before the playoffs? Now, the staff is sending me some good stuff here. according to Ramona Shelburne, the situation in Denver has been tense and pressurized since the beginning of the year. Malone and Booth had big ideas and strong wills.

Both are now gone. Again, this was a weird mix in the locker room. Apparently Booth and Malone didn't really like each other and get along. They did not talk and they spoke behind each other's backs. That's toxic. Man, when are we going to start reading about? Are the Denver Nuggets wasting Yokic's prime? I mean, that's probably got to come next.

Now, I did see one of my buddies who's a huge Knicks fan. I mean, the body's not even cold in Denver. And Nix fans are like, can we get Michael Malone for Tibbs? Can we do that trade? Can we run up, move off Tibbs? Tibbs, by the way, in New York is running his players into the ground. I think four like the top 30 players minutes-wise are on the Knicks. And you know what's going to happen when they get to the playoffs.

They're going to be broken. Same thing happened in Tibbs in Chicago. could Michael Malone, who instantly is going to vault to the top of every wish list around the league? Hey, man, I would not be surprised if there's NBA teams right now looking, do we love our guy? Should we go after Michael Malone? I mean, I don't know that the Phoenix Suns would do it,

but remember, they ran off Frank Vogel, who I saw at an event a couple weeks ago. Very nice guy, does watch the herd. Shout out to Frank. They fired him after one year. Well, Boonth & Holzer comes in. he beefs with Kevin Durant. The videos are out there.

Now, KD has downplayed it. But would the sons move off another coach to one and duns and bring in Michael Malone? I don't know. It's possible. But oh my gosh. Alex, any, I know it's just breaking and we're trying to get our bearings here, but it's just kind of fascinating. Fire you're a coach 10 days before the playoffs.

It feels weak. It feels weak to your fan base. It feels weak to the organization. you're still in a playoff position. You are in fourth in the West right now and you are throwing in the towel saying, I don't think we can do it. I don't think we can win a championship.

It's not the mentality you want from a franchise and organization at the most important stretch of the regular season when you're in a playoff position. You suck. Like you, oh, man, like you tough it out. You tough it out. Like, what are you going to do? Someone's not going to come in and make it.

it better right now the last week of the regular season and into the postseason. But it also, because we were talking about Russell Westbrook's body language yesterday when he was talking to the media. And now it all kind of makes sense. Like, oh, things were like not good behind closed doors. And you might have thought that might have been the case. And he was kind of giving that energy and vibe off. And this is just, whew, it just, I don't agree with when you are in a position, position to win and you are in a playoff position, a high playoff position. Like, why would you do this? Something weird going on.

There's something more that we don't know. I've been waiting for the Memphis story to come out on Taylor Jenkins and nothing's come out. It's been a week. Maybe they're still waiting to do the TikTok, but, and not TikTok the app, like the story of day to day, hour to hour. Got it. So we're still wait, we'll wait for that on Malone. But here's another interesting note.

So the owner of the Denver Nuggets is Stan Cronky and he also owns the Rams. What do the Rams have? A really unified front with McVeigh and Sneed. They're like a tandem. They go everywhere together. They seem to get along great. They have a shared unified vision. It doesn't appear, and I again, I don't know 100%

if there is a shared unified vision between Booth and Malone, but it sounds like Booth wanted to mix in some young guys. And Malone was like, eh, no thanks, I want veterans. Remember, he was reluctant to play Christian Brown at all. And I watched a video clip during the commercial about Brown meeting the media, and he just, he looks young, okay? He's playing with Yokic, Westbrook, Aaron Gordon. These guys have been around, a lot of playoffs. And Brown looks still kind of wide-eyed and kind of shook and rattled. And I don't know if you're coaching the GM are not on the same page. It ain't

going to work. Listen, if Alex and I are not getting along or we totally disagree, this is going to look awkward. And I think the audience is going to tell. Yeah, but again, like, Like, then let the GM go right now. Fire the GM, but keep your head coach. Yeah, Malone has won so much. Like, you know, what's a 20, 23, you won an NBA championship. He is your winning as coach in franchise history. He's been with the team for 10 years.

His story coming from the Kings where he got runoff. Yeah. Again, he is a combative guy. And listen, you can only battle with management long enough. When you're winning, right? Hey, I'm going to say what I want. I'm going to do what I want. We're on top.

I don't give up, you know. Now you're suddenly losing, sliding in the standings, and all of a sudden maybe the locker room, then it's easy to move off of them, and you just make it a package deal that's get both of them the hell out of here. But not right now. Right now, you're in fourth place. You still have a winning record.

There was video of Malone talking about Jamal Murray and talking about his team, and I think there was a loss to the Pacers. That was what it was on Monday. And he came out and is basically like, yeah, nobody watches their minutes on film. Nobody watches film. He's like taking shots at his players.

Like, I try to teach his guy to watch film. They don't want to watch film. Hey, listen, it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks. I'm sure it's difficult to tell veteran Russell Westbrook, who's been in a league for like 15 years. Hey, man, let's watch some film together. Hey, I'm a MVP. I'm a triple double machine.

I'm going to the Hall of Fame. I'm good on the film. Carmelo Anthony ran into some of this at the end of his career when he's bouncing around. It's tough to teach old dogs new tricks. and it's like, I don't know, I'm not, I'm not ready to side with Michael Malone yet. Obviously, more information is going to come out. This literally just broke eight minutes ago.

But the Denver Nuggets have fired their head coach who won a championship. Must it was like 20, two months ago? Yeah, 20203. Yeah, within the last two years. Yeah. Unbelievable. So we'll obviously talk about this next hour. We got NFL running back in studio.

That should be fun. Got a love when breaking news hits, right? I'm going to go get another coffee. Get ready for the power hour. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin.

And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. Nice. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We get to ask other people to do podcasts.

We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an

a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know.

I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennar Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.