The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Cowboys, Mayfield, NBA

Episode Date: April 14, 2022

Jerry Jones spent too much on Dak Prescott Seattle seems like the only market for Baker Mayfield Colin's new NBA awards   Guest: Lance ZierleinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Hurd. You're listening to Foxxport's. Sports Radio. Welcome in our two on a Thursday, live in Los Angeles. It's the herd.

Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. High Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, Faker Mayfield's birthday today, happy birthday. As you well know, happy birthday. Always welcome back. I've got my occasional issues, but I'm wishing young people to be. birthdays all across America. Uncle Colin has love in his heart, even for those he's been critical of.

I thought that interview was a very interesting tactic. 90-minute rambling interviews. Not what I would have done. But hey, whatever. This was interesting. So,

you know, sometimes you overpay for something and you get a little criticism for overpaying for something. And then you want to make sure everybody knows, hey, you know, it's a, you look what happening everywhere else. We've got quite a deal on this used car. I mean, a lot of people are paying a lot more. Well, that doesn't mean you should have paid what you paid for the used car, right?

In the NFL or in the NBA, it's a salary cap sport. Everything is a value proposition. Everything. There is no money to waste. None. You have to pay just the right people. You pay your quarterback. You pay a star.

receiver. You pay a dominant defensive lineman. You pay a top corner. That's what you pay. You may even pay a second receiver. Can't be paying guards of fortune, linebackers of fortune, safeties of fortune, Seahawks. So Jerry Jones overpaid for Dak Prescott. And he is telling you he feels lucky in the deal he got. When I look at what has happened since we've done the contract. I'm proud that we have it. DeShan's contract was a big one. It just reinforces. It just takes one or two teams to really covet a player,

and they really get those numbers on up there. DAC currently makes the same as Matt Stafford and more than Russell Wilson or Tom Brady. It's not a good contract. And we're seeing the effects of it. They couldn't keep Amari Cooper. Dax's not the same quarterback without him, and they couldn't keep right tackle Lyle Collins. So the Cowboys now have to draft a tackle, maybe two.

For the record, here's the other danger. Dax's only under contract for two more years. So he'll be 31 at the end of this contract. He's going to soak you again. The downside to overpaying for anything is that when you start to renegotiate the next contract, the starting point is going to be the last year. the previous contract. So the last year of Dax's contract as a cowboy is $52 million.

Brough, think he's taking a pay cut? That will be the starting point for the next contract. They don't go backwards. Quarterback salaries don't go backwards. If you paid them what you should have paid him, the starting point would be $36 million. $34 million. The starting point for the next contract with that is $52 million. And don't listen to all these people.

Well, the gambling money's coming in. the salary cap goes up. Yeah, about 10 million a year. There's never a time to overpay in a salary cap league. You can just keep kicking this thing down the road. You will pay for it. And I give you an example of this. Let's say the Cowboys in two years said, we've got to get out of this thing. 52 million a year is our starting point. We're out. Yeah, well, you'll have to pay the following year with DAC off your roster, $22 million cap hit. He won't even be there. So You can just keep kicking the can down the road. Eventually, you know, you see these reverse mortgages on television all the time.

These actors, oh, reverse mortgages. Look into those. Grandma's going to have to pay for that house eventually or her kids are. So you can say what you want about this, but it does ensure this. I will tell you that the one good thing that could, because of Dax contract, here's the one good thing. You got to make it work. And Mike McCarthy is going to get blamed when it doesn't.

They're not going to win a Super Bowl. And they're going to hire Sean Payton. Because to make this contract work or at least be like doesn't give you like stomach cramps, you've got to find the best offensive coach in the world to get the most out of DAC. Make him at least like B plus A minus. That's Sean Payton. He'll be on the market. You don't have to hire a coordinator.

He has a house in Dallas. So when I look at Dak's contract, my take is you're already seeing the effects of it. You overpaid for him. You paid him an A plus contract, and he's a B plus quarterback to a B quarterback. He really depends on like Tyron Smith, Amari Cooper, great protection, big 100 plus yards rushing. But it will get Mike McCarthy whacked. And you're going to have to go on the market and say, as Jerry gets older, I'm not going to roll the dice on a coordinator. I got to get a guy that can coach.

Sean Payton is going to be the next cowboy coach. My guess in one year. From now, he'll be the Cowboys coach. Because somebody's got to make this contract work. And Sean is good enough and brilliant enough where he would get the most out of that contract. But you're trapped on that thing. You can kick that thing down the road all you want. You're trapped.

Your starting point for Dax next contract. Starting point is $52 million. Yeah. I don't care how much the cap goes up. That's a lot. That's over Aaron Rogers right now. And I know it'll go up. Not going to go up that much.

That $52 million starting point, you're going to be like, easy, breezy. Easy, pesey, breezy. No problem. 50. Let's go to 58. We're fine. It's a lot of money. Lance Zerline works at NFL.com. Covered the draft for over 20 years. Dad was a coach. He has written over 4,000 scouting profiles in 20 years. Eight years at NFL.com as a draft analyst. Our draft is two weeks away. Lance, okay, I bring you on a couple times a year for this because you know I love the draft. Let's start with this. Aidan Hutchison is perceived as the number one pick.

You do not believe so. Who will be number one and why? Aiden Hutchinson is my second rated prospect in this draft, and I think he should be the first pick. But the guy who I am hearing is going to be the first pick is Trayvon Walker. And I think what you see here, Colin, is the idea of swinging for the fences, looking for a home run with a guy with great traits. You know, he's got the measurables.

He's got the arm length and Trayvon Walker. He tested great at the combine. And I think there's an idea of what you don't know. about him, right? Can he rush the quarterback and projecting him as an outside rusher because he wasn't really asked to do that at Georgia? They kicked him inside. And so now I think there's an idea that you're going to cut him loose outside. And I think teams are generally more excited about betting on, you know, the potential home run as opposed to playing the stand-up double like Aiden Hutchinson. And I love Aiden Hutchinson. I think he's going to be a solid NFL player. But honestly, I don't see any home

runs in this draft. And that, you know, whether it's defensive ends, whether it's quarterbacks, there's not a home run in this draft. Yeah, by the way, what's the grading scale? Tell our audience the grading scale again. What is it? Yeah, I think to make it real simple, a 7.0 is a is a pro bow type player. A 6.7, 6.8 is a very good NFL starter right away, which I have for Aidan Hutchinson. And Trayvon Walker, I have in a 6-4s, which is will be a good NFL starter. So I actually have Trayvon Walker, Colin, 15th in my own personal rankings, because I struggle to project the pass rush that other people and guys I really respect like Daniel Jeremiah that they're able to see. So he's a bit of a polarizing prospect in some circles. All right. I would take Malik Willis

over Kenny Pickett because I think there's a certain physical attributes, the thick, big arm, downfield. You know, I don't have a problem if he goes to, you know, some organization, whatever it is. If he sits behind Drew Locke for a year, good. I know Liberty is a big leap to the NFL. How do you, give me the two quarterbacks. How do you view both? Who would you pick first?

Yeah, I think it really depends on who you are and what you want to do. If you're a team that doesn't have a whole lot, to me, Malik Willis is the guy that you look for. Because one thing that we know about quarterbacks who have rare ability to run with the football and make things happen with their legs is they can make up for a lot of sins along the offensive line. We've seen that with Russell Wilson, you know, for years. And then the other thing they can do is even when they're not throwing the ball well, they can have a big impact on winning the football, you know, winning a football game. The problem I have with Willis is his tape just wasn't good. I mean, made some really bad decisions

and he needs work. He needs, he needs to get more comfortable as a quarterback, I think, with a year under his belt. And I think, frankly, he needs more of a levels pass and attack, more of a West Coast style than what we saw him use at Liberty. But Kenny Pickett, I think you can plug him in now. I mean, he's a today player as opposed to Willis being a tomorrow player. But I think the upside's a little limited. And I'll be honest, Colin.

The productivity look great, 42 touchdown, seven interceptions. But on tape, the issues with poise at times when he's in the pocket was really concerning to me because that doesn't always just, get coached out of you. When you have poise issues, when the pocket gets a little noisy, and sometimes you imagine pressure, that is something that doesn't always go away in the NFL. Okay, so my steal of the draft, he's not going to go top 10, is the center, Tyler Linderbaum from Iowa. So tell me if I'm out of my rocker. What do you see when you see him? He's my seventh-ranked player in this draft. I had him falling out of the first round,

but the only reason is because he's his own scheme center. He's got short arms. not big, but listen, this is why you invented the phrase, or why the phrase pound the table was invented. Because sometimes you have to go in there and raise your voice and say, I don't care about what he can't do. Let's talk about what he can do. He is an incredible athlete. He's incredibly tenacious. He is a bulldog once he latches on. He is an all state wrestling champ. So he has great leverage and core power. And he just has the ability, I think, to play a consistent pro bowl caliber level of football. And I'm with you, Colin. I just think he has to get to the right scheme. But once again, you better focus more on what this guy's able to do, which is a lot, as opposed

to some of the physical measurables that aren't going to fall into the categories that you want them to because he is an excellent player. You came up with a good one there. All right. So the other player I have a question with, and I just don't know, Drake London, USC wide receiver. I watched every snap in college. He was, you know, it was not a good coaching staff, blah, blah, blah. It's a bad conference. He dominated pack 12 corners. Those are not SEC corners. Those are not Big Ten corners. He doesn't separate. What do you make of him? You stick him in the 2021 draft and he is a second round pick all day, every day. I mean, listen, I love the ball skills like everyone else. You and I probably see him the same. I don't see

the separation. I don't see the speed. I think there's a reason he didn't run at any of the events that he had. You know, he didn't run in his pro day. I think the reason is simple. He's a buildup speed runner. He doesn't separate. He's not sudden. I don't think he's the same as DeAndre Hopkins, which some people are trying to make that comparison. I think what he is, the guy you throw it to him, and he's going to make plays on the ball on 50-50s. But I'm worried about the JJ Arcego Whiteside comparison. I think that you have to be concerned with. And I see him the same way as you. Listen, people are talking about this being this great wide receiver draft. 21 was a great wide receiver draft. 22 is not a great wide receiver draft.

And I think what you have here, Colin is a possession receiver. I think that's who he is. He's a solid possession receiver. Personally, I couldn't put a first round grade on him. Wow. By the way, who is, I'm looking at your mock draft, Lance Erlind's mock draft. Who is your best player? Who is your highest-grated player?

I've got Kyle Hamilton, but I will tell you that some of the testing bothered me a little bit. But I think with Kyle Hamilton, what you're going to get is whoever takes him, they're going to have a plan for him. And if you play him the way that he's supposed to be played and you play him to his strengths, I think he is going to be a high impact safety. I would not to take a safety with the first pick of the draft. But for me, Kyle Hamilton, Aidan Hutchinson, are the first two off the board in terms of, you know, my personal grading scale. And then below that, you know, I'm looking at Evan Neal and Sauce Gardner, Ikea Kew,

and then you get down to Kvon, Tibon. So Kyle Hamilton is the Notre Dame safety, a long story, but he was at my house about a month ago. And the one thing I'll say about him, that dude carries weight. Because I asked him how much he weighed and he said 220 and he looked like he weighed 1.95. And I was like that guy, he just, he is way bigger than you'd think in a t-shirt. Like some guys, scouts. Yeah. He carries weight well. I was going to say scouts say he can take he can carry 230, Colin. He can carry another. You saw it on his frame. He can carry another 10 pounds. No problem. And he looks thin. And he'll probably carry 230. So smart kid. Can I just. Can I just

say something to you before we go. My house has been in disarray. My 15-year-old son, Mason, ever since your all-MBA team came out and you had Julius Randall on the second team, my house has been in complete disarray because Mason is furious, and he demanded that I challenge you on why Julius Randall would be on second team, all-MBA. So I want you to know, I got enough on my plate with NFL draft stuff, and now I'm dealing with all-NBA second-team selections. Well, tell your son, it's a long story. It was theoretical in nature and I apologize for ruining your house. Good to see anybody. I'll let it know.

I'll let him know. Lance Arline. There you go. That was kind of name dropping, that Kyle Hamilton was at my house. You've done that twice today. What was the other one? David Spade. Well, he wasn't at my house. He just... Oh, David Spade just email me. Okay, you know what?

That's not who I am. Well, mostly not who I am. Sometimes it's who I am. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes

for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. 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 all 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. Then you're 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. 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.

see far, far away, such as the biology of taun 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 boil your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Easter Sunday night on Fox, it's the most unpredictable race of the year when Bristol meets 20,000 truckloads of dirt and chaos rains under the lights. The NASCAR Bristol dirt race Easter Sunday night at 7 Eastern on Fox and Fox Sports app. Fox Bet Super 6 is spiking the jackpot this Sunday for the Bristol Dirt Race. Scan the QR code, download the Super 6 app, and enter your six picks into the NASCAR stage 2 contests for your free chance to win $25,000 of Clint's cash.

I tell my kids, try to be ready at 22 or 23 years old out of college because that may be one of the better jobs opportunities you get. and it was interesting listening to Baker Mayfield yesterday. He did it a month ago or so, and he kind of had a rambling, shoot from the hip, sort of 90-minute discussion. I would have had it much more, 20 minutes max, maybe 30, get in, get out, make your point. But it's interesting. There's a story out of Seattle today. The Seahawks reportedly are not going to give up much for Baker Mayfield, if anything, and that does appear to be his market, Seattle.

So, and this is a prime example. This is why, so if Seattle just took us on as an affiliate, and so what I'm about to say is a general theme, I say all the time. It's unfair what we ask of our quarterbacks, but you have to be a man, not a boy at 22. Got to be a grownup. You're the face of the franchise. You don't have to be a grownup at linebacker, wide receiver, running back, tight end. Got to be a grownup. That's why I rip Johnny Mansell.

I rip Baker. I rip Cam Newton, James Winston. they were kids still. You can't be. Sorry, I've got to be the mean teacher. And because I don't think Baker's ever going to get a situation nearly as good as Cleveland. That was his best shot. He will never have an offensive line that good, ever again.

Is he going to get coach of the year at the next place? Offensive guy? Seattle's got a defensive coach, 70 years old, battle line. Will he ever get Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt again? David and Joku, Austin. Hooper, Jarvis Landry, OBJ. Don't kid yourself. Cleveland was a stacked roster.

And because Baker came in on a rookie contract, you could stack the roster. That's what they do with Kyler Murray right now in Arizona. That's what they did, Jared Gough with the Rams. You stack the roster because you're not paying him anything. Well, Baker's going to be a $20 million quarterback. So you can't get that second pass roster. You can't get that second great corner or that second expensive wide receiver.

So that is why I'm so hypercritical of quarter. Now, this year's quarterbacks, I think, are both mature enough. Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, I don't worry about it. That's not my issue with him. I think Kenny Pickett's got a low ceiling, and Malik Willis isn't quite ready to play. He played at a small, you know, college level. But I'll be, there'll be another quarterback, maybe next year, and I'm going to light him up and be really hard on him. And I'm going to get tons of pushback, and I'm going to say, I've been right every time. I was right in Johnny, right in Baker, right on Cam, James, is that it's a unique position in America. There are very few positions where at 23,

23, 24 years old, you have to be a grown-up. Pilot, doctor, quarterback. I'm sorry, I don't make the rules up, but you got to be ready to go. You're the face of a $4 billion franchise. And so when I hear there's not much of a market for Baker, there's a market. It's going to be a bad market. I mean, if you look at right now, all the really well-run teams in the NFL, New England, got a quarterback, L.A., got a quarterback. Kansas City, got a quarterback. Colts have a quarterback for at least two years and weren't interested in Baker, San Francisco. Got an old guy and a young guy. The places that aren't sure at quarterback, check him out this morning.

You wouldn't want to play for them. The New York Giants will need a quarterback in a year. Good luck with that one. That old line isn't the Cleveland O line. Those running backs aren't the Cleveland running backs. So you got to be, I know I sound harsh on this, but my criticism with Baker wasn't a talent thing. It was like, dude, are you ready to be the face of a franchise? because when you are ready and come in like Russell Wilson,

and then I can go out and sign Cliff Averill and Percy Harvin and guys that you couldn't afford with a veteran quarterback. I mean, Percy Harvin didn't play until like the playoffs in the Super Bowl. But you can do that when you don't pay your quarterback anything. So when you do come in like that, and you're Russell Wilson or your Jared Goff, Jared Goff has limitations. Maturity is not the issue. You can stack it.

So that moment is, I mean, say what you want about Deshawn Watson. He's really good. The problem is he's paid so much money. They're not going to be able to have nearly as good a roster. Deshawn's roster will not be as good as Baker's roster. I'm not saying it'll be bad, but it won't be as good. Also, Big Ben was aging and eroding in your division, and Lamar was young and hurt. Now, Burroughs a star.

Tribeschi will be better than Big Ben. He will for this year. And here comes Lamar. So, like, like now this division now, if you were back in it and still in Cleveland, The easy route's over. Those days are over. That division got, went from shaky and opportunistic to, ugh, I mean, that thing now, I got Deshawn Watson, Joe Burrow,

Pittsburgh's got the best pass rush in the NFL, Lamar Jackson, that's the division. Three or four years ago, it was there for the taking. Lamar was a kid, Ben was aging, Burrow wasn't in the league. Way late. This league moves fast. You've got to have your act together because it moves fast. Joy with the news.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Devonce Adams and Tyree Kill both got traded, the trades they wanted this off season, and they signed massive extensions with their new teams. But they also left two pretty good quarterbacks and Aaron Rogers and Patrick Mahomes, and Michael Irvin wonders if they will regret making those decisions. He said they had some great quarterbacks. I'm interested in seeing how it works with Tua and Carr,

but surely not Mahomes and Rogers. If you ever make that move, you shorten the time you're making $30 million a year because all of a sudden, you know, I'm making the same impact. This is a meritocracy. It would have been hard for me to make a business decision on leaving those quarterbacks. I think it is something that was initially discussed when they left. I mean, it is a reliant position. Obviously, the position is changing. The money for the wide receiver position is changing because the money for quarterbacks is changing.

And we've seen what kind of success you can have when you have a number one wide receiver. I mean, I think the Bengals and the Rams in the Super Bowl exhibited that extensively with Cooper Cup and Jamar Chase. So I just based off of the amount of evidence that we have, I would say Devonte Adams is in a better situation offensively than Tyree Kill initially, because we do know what Derek Carr is capable of. We're still, we still have some questions about Tua. I mean, Derek R just got paid. So that's not just my opinion. That's the NFL's opinion as well. I'm going to throw out, people will be surprised by this.

Quarterbacks and head coaches take a little less to be surrounded by great. Wide receiver, running back, corner, just take the money. I'll give you an example. Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, T.O. And Calvin Johnson are for the best receivers I've ever seen. Their legacies are not hurt at all for the fact they have no Super Bowls. Dan Marino is arguably the best quarterback talent I've ever seen. And we talk about Eli Manning far more, who is the second best manning.

quarterback in his family. And if his arch as good as they say, he may be the third best. Quarterbacks' legacies are built on Super Bowls, and so are coaches. Wide receivers, just get the money. Just take the money. Well, yeah, people always argue with me that when loss

is not a quarterback stat. And overall, no, it isn't. But we judge quarterbacks off of the amount of winning that they do. Winning big games. And they produce. And certainly in the postseason, which is why I think if this continues to be a trend, for Aaron Rogers over the next couple years.

It's going to hurt his legacy. You're awesome in the regular season. You crush a weak division and you don't do anything in the postseason. Where Tom Brady did that, he also did it in the postseason. There's the separation. There's no question. So I don't know that this is going to hurt either Tyree Kill or Devonte Adams' legacy, certainly in the next couple years.

I think two is going to be a lot better this year. Yeah. He's way better pieces around him, better offensive line, new offensive coach, Tyree Kill. If he's not better this year, it should be concerning. So I don't think maybe a little bit of the production will be hurt for the two of them initially. But Devanti Adams also has a relationship with Derek Carr. So I'm with you. If you are a dependent position or you're a position like this,

which, by the way, doesn't get protected the way that quarterbacks are protected, take all the money. Yep, take the money. Always. I am for most everybody take the money. Now, quarterback, Mahomes, Derek Carr, Russell Wilson, Brady, they've taken less money. Well, I also think the quarterback should take the money when they get their first deal. I'm okay with that because you've likely been playing with great pieces around you

and hopefully if you're getting that money, you've had some success while not making all that crazy money. So your first deal, I'm okay with quarterbacks taking all the money. You're still young. Get the money. But once you start getting into later parts of your career, taking a little bit less to reach the legacy points that you want to reach, if that's what you're interested in, that makes sense. to me. I take less money because I want this unit to be intact. That is my game plan. We do not have a salary cap. I don't know about that. So Baker Mayfield did a interview that we've

been talking about for the past two days. Bold strategy. But he's still a member of the Browns and he's hoping to get a fresh start on another team next season. I believe he will. I think the Browns will probably hold on to him until after training camp when inevitably someone will have an injury issue and there will be more of a market for him. But he spoke about having an approach to the new locker room that will be around him. I'm not going to force it. I'm going to be myself because I feel like I tried to force it when things on the field weren't going well in the past couple of years. I feel like I'm going to go in there and be myself because that's worked for me in the past. If I'm worried about getting them to like me, what am I doing? They don't care if I,

if I like them either. They want their quarterback to win. They're trying to get a paycheck. If their team wins, they get paid. So the guys that don't really personally like me, that's fine. But I have to have the respect. And the way I do that is just working my ass off me and myself. Because you can get sniffed out in a heartbeat if you're fake. I don't necessarily agree with that.

That's not what I would have said. But, you know, it's his birthday today, so no reason to get. Look, where do I even begin? I bought into the Baker hype with, Cleveland. He had a nice rookie season. I thought his personality fit the city. Yeah. And obviously they were able to put it together for one year and he won a playoff game. Overall, everything that happened in Cleveland was not his fault. He does not make roster decisions. That's true. They had a very extensive history of dysfunction and failures before he got there.

Certainly true. He made them relevance and did produce some level of winning. Yes. And boosted their confidence enough that they felt like they needed to level up. So I can give him credit for that. Yeah, absolutely. But he is not a victim in any sense of the word. No, he's not. Nobody feels overly bad for Trevor Lawrence, who is the number one overall pick. That's right.

For going to Jacksonville, who has just as long of an extensive history of failures as Cleveland. Yeah. If you are a top pick in the draft, you're likely going somewhere that's not great. It's not often you're Tray Lance and you get Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers, which was because of the injuries that they had. Generally, you're going to have to go somewhere where you're going to have to. to overcome some things. And the idea that this has worked for you in the past, where? Where has that worked? In college? Wonderful. This is the pros. And having your teammates like you as the face of the organization, the voice of the organization actually is important. Look, I was once young

and rebellious. I get it. It's way more hot. But eventually, you get the big checks. And then you have to conduct yourself appropriately. I think there's a lot of guys out there. This is really a guy thing. they just don't they're not willing to be conciliatory and and by that I mean um sometimes fall in the sword like and he said you know if a guy doesn't like me who cares well as a quarterback I'd care I want my you have to care Tom Brady introduces himself to the rookies I want everybody on our staff to like me I'm not saying they do but it does matter to me you know and and like what does it mean to like you like every you don't have to get beers with every single one of your co-workers but having a basic level of respect, taking the time to speak to someone and look them in the eye.

Yeah, when he said, I don't care if they like me. Well, you should care. Tom Brady cares they like him. Russell Wilson cares they like it. You don't have to love me. Or you can't control everybody. There are people that just are, they're just prone to not like everybody. Right, but you have to, it should matter. It should matter. Yeah, you should, but it should matter. And I totally agree with you. I think it's just a leadership thing. And it's fine. And mouth breathers are going to be like, blah blah blah blah cool I'm not into cool guy when it comes to the big decisions I've told you this behind so over cool guy I am it's great yeah wonderful I'm so happy for you that you're so cool yeah like keep that over there I'm out on cool guy I'm into like press iron steamed shirt guy you know

like reliable guy dependable does what he says he's going to do guy emotionally stable guy that's what I'm into. Yes. The therapy guy. That's the new wave. The whole like, I'm just going to do whatever I want. Everyone has to deal with the guy. I am not interested in. And guess what? Neither are people that have billions of dollars that they're going to essentially put you as a face of. Yes. That's not how this works. And the reason why I know that we're both right is there's no market for him. There's no market. By the way. There's no big reveal here. By the league, the businesses will tell you what your market is. And if it's on non-existent, there's a reason for it. Well, Cam had no market.

Why? Because Cam was into Cam, and Cam's like, I'm going to be who I'm going to be. And it's like, you got to kind of be who the teams want you to be too. And your talent has to match the tolerance for what's going on. Because if you're looking at what Cleveland did, obviously, that was a massive risk. And we still don't know how everything's going to play out with Deshawn Watson. But the talent level, they were willing to risk that. I wouldn't have done that. But that's what the market is telling you.

So Kyrie Irving will be facing his former team when the Nets take on the Celtics in the first round. Obviously, things didn't end so well for him in Boston. but he did have an influence on Jason Tatum while they were teammates. And Tatum spoke about what he learned from Kyrie during their time together. I got to see him every day, you know, see how he worked, worked on his body and prepare it for games and things like that and, you know, learn what to do, learn some things what not to do. And, you know, he'll be the first to tell me that, and obviously we've talked and some

things that he probably, you know, he told me he could do what have done differently, but I think that's just part of life. you know, nobody's perfect. And you just got to move on from it as you get older. That's right. I mean, you're young and you make mistakes and just own it. Yeah, I mean, I think Kyrie is obviously a very interesting personality. Yeah.

There's a lot of things that Kyrie has done that I very much disagree with, including this year. And Boston was an interesting time for Kyrie because I was really on Kyrie's side for a lot of it. Like, I felt like they were very rigid. with Kyrie and if you bring in a personality like Kyrie and when you're in the league and you bring somebody in and things fall apart, it's kind of like with Westbrook, it's kind of like, I don't have a lot of sympathy for you.

Everyone knows the scout on these guys after a while. Like young, one or two, three years, okay, cool. But once you've been in the league for a while and you still think you can figure these players out. There was a book on Kyrie Irving. Yes, just like there was a book on Westbrook. So I don't have a lot of sympathy for teams when they take these risks and then they're not flexible with these kind of personalities and players.

but the more we heard about Boston, it obviously was not a good fit and things fell apart. I think it will be interesting, though, because Boston fans obviously still harbor a bit of hostility. They're going to make this series as uncomfortable for the Nets as possible.

And I just can't wait for this matchup. I think it's going to be... All these first round series are interesting, but this one is going to be fun. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd line news.

Okay, I'm going to hand out my NBA awards. As we get ready, the playoffs start Saturday. The playing games almost wrapped up, so very exciting times. I've been with CarShield for years, why they make it easy and affordable to protect my car from expensive repairs. Go to CarShield.com slash herd. We call 800-391-888-8-8-8-8-8-8. Save 10%. Car Shield, a deductible may apply.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. I'm George Reister, host of the Reister or Wrong podcast. This is the intersection where sports, business, society, and pop culture meet the truth. Absolute fire on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Facts only. Make sure you check your feelings at the door because no BS is allowed.

We keep it 100. This is where real conversations happen. Listen to the Rights or Wrong podcast on the IHeart Radio Apple, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand-new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

This is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. 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 all 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. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 blow your mind on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. CFOs that get it, get it, CFOs that don't, don't. For those who get it, one-of-a-kind financing netseweed.com slash herd, h-e-r-d. So a couple more playing games than the playoffs start Saturday. So I'm going to give my awards. They're atypical.

These are not your usual like MVP stuff awards. So Joy Taylor is going to ask the question. I'm going to present the hurdies, my annual NBA awards. Who wins the hurdy for the most exciting player? The choices are John Morant, Janice, or Joel Embed. I'm going to go with John Morant. He has the third most points in the league in the paint. Now, what does that mean?

When little guys attack the rim and dunk over big guys, it's awesome. And it doesn't happen much. You know, I said coming into the league, he's Westbrook with a better jumper and more self-awareness. So his ability to attack the rim at his size, he's 175 pounds, and jam over bigger defenders, makes him the most exciting player in the league. Who wins the hurdy for most surprising team, the Grizzlies, Celtics, or the Lakers? I'm going to say Grizzlies again. Okay, they finished with the second best record in the league.

We're very good against the Sons and Warriors. And have the youngest roster in the league at 24 years of age. So, and when John Morant got hurt, I think they went like 19 and 2. Their offensive net rating got better when their star was hurt. I don't think anybody saw that coming. Who wins the award for most dramatic team? The Nets, 76ers, or the league? Lakers. The envelope, please, I'm going to say the Nets. They had an anti-vaxxer. They had a player quit on

their team. I mean, the Lakers were dysfunctional. It wasn't that dramatic. We knew they were bad week one. The Nets had to make a massive trade at the trading deadline. I will say this, though. I will say this. Despite having the most lineups in the NBA, 43 starting lineups, I like them to beat the Celtics. So who wins the award for sleeping giants, Clippers, nets, or nuggets? I'm going to say nuggets. So they have the best shooting team in the league since the All-Star break.

They shoot over 51%. Yokic is the best passing big man since either Arvita Sabonis or maybe Bill Walton. Jamal Murray could return for the playoffs. And they're one or two teams, the bucks or the other, to reach the conference semis each of the last three years. So the question is, is this year a break? through year for them. If they were healthy, I think we think they could. So a lot like Dallas depends on the health. Keep your eye on the nuggets. Who wins the award for biggest pretender,

the heat, the Celtics, or the Warriors? I've been on this for a couple of weeks. I think it's the Celtics. First of all, in clutch time statistics, they were the second worst team in the league. They're incredibly reliant on Jason Tatum. And I like that. He's a good player, but he's not Janice, and the Bucks aren't as relying on him. They were an interesting road team. They often played better on the road than at home. But round one against the Nets, the Nets will have the two best closers in the series, and historically, you win that series.

So I think they won a lot of games on intensity, coaching, and effort. But in the playoffs, everybody plays hard for every game. They lose that advantage. They'll be out in the first round. wins the hurdy for least improved player, Ben Simmons, Anthony Davis, or Russell Westbrook. I gave this a great deal of thought. This is like best picture at the Oscars. You can't just, you know, just write it down, check a box. Got to watch all of them. I'm going to say Russell Westbrook, fourth highest paid player in the league at $44 million. That's ahead of LeBron and

Kevin Durant. It wasn't, listen, Simmons can drive us nuts. But he didn't really play. With Westbrook, he did virtually the impossible. The Lakers were better when he was off the floor. And he's the only player I can think of that didn't work with K.D. or LeBron. They both had to move off him. So I said when they made the move, I didn't love it, but I thought it was okay because 80s hurt a lot and LeBron's older.

So if those guys are ever off, you've got to have somebody that can score 27 points. He got to have points. They don't have enough offensive players. It was a disaster. And according to reports in the LA Times, he and Vogel, like, one of the first practices, meetings, never worked. Who wins the award for a player I missed the most? Zion William Lillard or Kauai Leonard? It's tough.

I'm going to say Zion for this reason. I know what Dame and Kauai are. I don't know what Zion is. And if you go back and look at his rookie year, he's the last. last player to average 20 plus points in his rookie year. Like, he was dominant. He had wilt efficiency numbers. First player to go 25 points a game before turning 21 in league history. So, what is the ceiling resigned? Like, I don't even know what the ceiling is. Was he going to be like a smaller, more, a stronger wilt? I don't know. Still don't know. Can't wait to see him back on the floor.

Who wins the hurdy for most valuable players? Nicola Yokic, Joelle Embedd, or Janice Ante Coupo. I don't think this is that difficult. I'm not outraged if you take any of them, but I'm going to give it to Janus. Here's all you need to know about Janus. So Milwaukee's got a championship level team. They got good players, right? Multiple good players.

When he's on the floor, they outscored opponents by 400 points. When he was off the floor this year, they were outscored by 122 points. you're talking of 400 500 500 you're talking of almost a 5 no 525 point swing when he's on the floor and off the floor unlike he's a better defender than

Yokic I don't think he does as much as Mb'd offensively maybe he does but I think just his ability to stay healthy his game's evolved he's a better shooter now he can put it on the deck get his own shot

never worry about health total team guy very patient incredibly loyal mostly stays off the social media nonsense I think he's becoming Michael Jordan and LeBron James that we're just he's become a victim of himself like he's so good he's being measured against himself

yeah he's being measured against himself and these were the second third fourth or fifth annual hurdies like the Oscars shrinking in importance every single year. So good to have you in today. Oh, we got Chris Broussard, Jason McIntyre final hour. You know, I'm flying to Chicago this weekend. You know, I love that city. Great city. Forgot my coat. Dogs this morning pooped on the floor. So the house was in mayhem at 5.40 in the

morning. And I'm trying to pack and forgot my coat. You didn't pack last night? Well, I did, but not the coat part. And if I said there's one city in America, you've got to bring a It's going to be Chicago. And I don't have a coat. If I was going to Phoenix, I'd be fine. Minneapolis. Minneapolis. So the dogs, you know, did their thing.

And the whole house was chaos. So I love my dogs. Not this morning. It was just not down with my dogs at all this morning. For endless hot water, never runs out. They only heat it when you need it. It's Navian. Go to tankless made simple.com.

Tankless made simple.com. Save hundreds on new Navian tankless water heaters. with local available rebates. All right, show is flying by on a Thursday. One hour left. Nick Sabins complaining about name image likeness. I got us back on this one. In L.A., it's 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that experience. excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors, like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. Before it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.