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

Episode Date: July 12, 2022

Baker Mayfield spoke to the media today as a Panther NBA trade rumors and why the market is weird right now Anthony Davis is still trying to show he's committed to staying healthy   Guest: Dwight FreeneySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the herd wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Nice to have you in today. Dwight Freeney is going to be joining us. Andrew Luck. There's a new six podcast episode of Andrew Luck's career. I'm deep diving it in tonight. And starting in tonight, I'm going to listen to one of them.

on the way home. And I'm going to bring on Dwight Freeney. He played only one year with Andrew Luck, his rookie year, which he won, I think he won 11 games as a rookie with a mostly bad roster. Joy Taylor is joining me, Joy Howard Things. I'm a little shook. I feel like I saw the hostile side of Colin a few moments ago.

What was that? You were talking about your grudge. You got very serious. The tone and your voice changed. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I've got one grudge in in broadcasting. I will win, and I am lining up the pieces for a victory lap it will happen in about two and a half years. I love that you're a slow kill.

Oh, yeah. It's the best way to be. Oh, so satisfying. I don't get reactionary people. I just just absorb it and then make plans. And then it's just, oh, it's the best. It's the best way to be, I agree. My plans are very devious.

Never going to, wife doesn't know, agent doesn't know. Oh, it's a personal one. Oh, no, lining up all the pieces. Anyway, so I'm going to start with this. So I saw this story today. that the Denver Broncos are tailoring their offense around Russell Wilson. Whatever Russell does well, they're building the offense around him. What a novel approach.

Keep the quarterback happy. There's two teams in the NFL this year that I believe, one in the NFC, Minnesota, and one in the AFC, Denver, that I think will make the biggest improvements. Last year, Minnesota was a eight-win team. I think they go 14 and 3. Colin, that's outrageous. Green Bay is weaker. Detroit, Chicago, still not elite.

Vikings have always played Green Bay and Aaron Rogers well. Even when they were great, they're not going to be great this year. Their schedule works out outside of a Buffalo game. They get all the go-either-way games at home. And nobody lost more close one-bossession games in the NFL than Minnesota. Minnesota is going to be a 14 and 3 team. Denver was 7 and 10. I think they're going to be a 12 and 5 team, maybe 13 and 4.

And in both cases, there's a singular thread. Why? I like the teams. Because they have a new, innovative, offensive coach. Daniel Hackett and the tall Sean McVey in Minnesota. And I believe this to be true. The longer Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson were together, the less trust they had a new.

each other. The longer Mike Zimmer and Kirk cousins were together, the less trust they had in each other. The longer Belichick and Brady were together, the less capable they were of getting along. Is that offensive coaches are significantly more relatable? They talk the same language. They're more progressive. I've been around offensive coaches and defensive coaches in my life. The defensive guys, even the one I like, Dave Wonstadt, they talk a different language. They're more progressive. language. It's about managing the quarterback. LeBron doesn't want to be managed. Aaron Rogers doesn't want to be managed. Kevin Durant doesn't want to be managed. Steph Curry is coachable. He doesn't want to be managed. Russell Wilson doesn't want to be

managed. He wants to be coached, hard. He wants to be marketed, elevated, surrounded with talent. And I think that both Minnesota, and to me, these are obvious ones. Like everybody, the best over, over under bet in the league, the best over is Minnesota. It's the easiest over bet in the league. Now, Denver's different because everybody subscribes to the theory that Denver's going to be really good. So that's not as easy. But even the defensive coaches I like, the Tomlins, the Belichicks, the Pete Carrolls, the Zimmer's are really good coach. The longer there with their quarterback, the more agitated the quarterback gets because it's a certain language they talk and the way they view the world. They want to run on first down. They want to run to set up the

pass. They're not as innovative or creative offensively. It's not how they're. It's not how they spend their time. Offensive coaches, and I've known enough in my career, they sit around with a notepad during games stealing plays from other coaches. That's what they do. That's how Andy Reid's mind works. He's going back and looking at YouTube clips of the 1958 Rolls Bowl to find plays. That's his id. That's his ego. That's his fun. Play design. McVeigh is the same way. Shanahan's the same way. So I think Minnesota is going to be fantastic. And I think the Vikings are going to be a 13 to a 14-win team. And I think Denver's going to be fantastic. and I can't wait for it.

By the way, grudges, you know, I don't think they're healthy all the time. I think in my case, it's going to be so gratifying when I bury this person and it's going to happen in a couple years. But I am not, by the way, all you kids watching, Uncle Colin is not advocating for anger and grudges. If you're going to have one, have one.

But, you know, it's not the end of the world. If you can use it to elevate and motivate you. Well, Auntie Joy is very petty. You're a petty. I think it's a lifestyle choice. actually it's not. I've always been this way, but you just have to manage them. You know, don't let them become toxic. Right. So

Nick said, like, I think a little grudge is healthy, you know, keeps you a little chip on your shoulder. So do you have a grudge right now? I have a list. I'm Steve Bishemi with the lipstick. Yes. I have the list. Yeah, it's fine. It's this building blocks like you. You know, over time, eventually, we win. I'm very patient. It's not bothering me. It's not

changing my day. Okay. I'm fast. I hope I'm not on that list. I try to stay in your good side. Good Lord. You're not my grudge just for the I feel good about that yeah so Baker Mayfield did hold uh he's holding a press conference the grudge talk is from Baker Mayfield yesterday uh oh so is this Baker today sound oh okay here we go so Baker's a Carolina Panther uh he is not my grudge by the way I do not know Emily or Baker I've met Baker one time I am rooting for him I hope he does well and backs up Sam Darnold appropriately so here's Baker Carolina press conference go

it's just an exciting time for myself and my family and just this new chapter no animosity towards Cleveland it's a good football town that you know gave me the first four years in my career and thankful for those those you know trials and tribulations all the challenges a lot to learn from and look back on and reflect but just really focused on right now and being a Carolina Panther and you know pumped up to do so that's got like that that's exactly what you say Cleveland's a great football town. I learned a lot. I'm moving on. That's good. That's a plus plus right there. And I think I thought he was funny. We were talking about grudges. I thought it was funny. I saw the, I didn't see the sound. I'm reading it. But this morning that, you know, the team

threw me this and it said, asked if he was the kind of person who holds grudges, Mayfield grinned and said, I try not to. That's a perfect answer because it's hard not to hold grudges. I am not a grudge holder. To me, it's chain smoking hate. But for my personality, I wouldn't be very healthy if I was a grudge holder. I do have one and I'm going to win convincingly. And I can't wait. With that, Dwight Frini played in the NFL a long time, seven-time

pro bowler. So Dwight just got done playing some golf out there and did pretty well for himself, finished right behind Justin Timberlake and Jerry Rice. By the way, I can admit, even though I'm at my age, I love Justin Timberlake and listen to him often on YouTube. There you go. I said it. All right, here we go.

He's awesome. Dwight, you played one year with Andrew Luck. And there's a new six episode podcast about Andrew Luck. And it's supposed to be spectacular. Zach Kiefer did it. And just go back to that year, the first meeting, the first practice. You're a smart guy. What did you observe?

What did you see initially? Well, I seen a guy who loved the game of football. And his ego wasn't bigger than the building. He was a guy that just wanted to go out there, perform, win, and kind of do it the way if you're supposed to do it. And that means you put the time in off the field. And then when you get on the field, you're, you know, you kind of just embrace the team and you be part of that team. And he was a rookie, obviously, first round draft pick and all of that, all the hype. But it wasn't, he wasn't too big for, for anything. He was just one of the guys. And that's what we really loved

about it. You know, as you watched his early career and his, it was your last year, I think, and it was his first year, he was getting beat up by the offensive line. Did you have a sense very early in his career. Fellas, this is not going to end well. This kid's just kid is hurt constantly. Well, you know, it's kind of hard to tell. You know, the truth is, the way that he plays, he's such a competitive player.

He's going to try to get that first down no matter what. Right. All right. And he wasn't like, you know, Payton. All right. If you get close to Payton, Payton's probably going to, you know, take a fall before he goes out there and tries to get concussed trying to get a first down.

All right. But that wasn't Andrew. Andrew was one of those guys that he put himself always in these situations to where as though you're like, man, I hope he gets up from that. And I think it just took us tall. Yeah. So, you know, as we embark on a new season that you overwhelmingly stayed healthy for a majority of your career, Jimmy Garoppolo is an interesting player.

I don't know how great he is, but he's got a lot of dude qualities. He's got a lot of guy qualities where guys like him. He goes to Lambo. He doesn't love cold weather. He outplays, you know what I mean, Aaron Rogers. Some guys are talented, but they don't feel like part of the group. Jimmy always feels like he'd be a great guy to go to Vegas with. He'd be a great guy to go.

You know what I mean? Like, he's a guy's guy. But I worry about, I do worry about some of the physicality because, as you know, having played Dwight, some guys just get hurt more. Would you sign Garoplo for two or three years with his history? I would. I mean, there's something has to be said for winning football games in the national football league. And he has won a bunch of them in the playoff especially.

You know, maybe he didn't win the big one. But it's not all on him. And this is a team sport, you know, so it's not all about the quarterback. It's about putting everything together and performing at the perfect time, which would be during those big moments, big games. I would say the one thing Jimmy needs to learn is, look, you have to let the game come to him a little. bit more and stop forcing the ball. Kind of like how Tom plays. They both were at the Patriots, right? So he should understand that a little bit more because I think the turnover touchdown

ratio isn't great. But I think for him, as long as he continues to compete like he does, I think he'll be fine. Yeah. So Matt Ryan is now quarterback for the Colts. You know, I never thought the Falcons were poorly run. I thought they drafted well and were pretty smart, but I do feel like sometimes for athletes, it's just time for a change. I want to see Matt Ryan in another uniform. How do you think he'll perform in Indy? What works for you? I think it's an awesome fit, to be quite honestly, he reminds me so much about like Peyton. Payton was similar to Ryan. Obviously, I play with both of those guys. He's going to control that offense. He's going to get that offense in the perfect positions to make plays. All right? It's not

always going to be throw the ball down the field and hit the 40 yard receiver down. He's going to be throwing the right pass. So when you check down when it's happened, getting the offense in the perfect run so Jonathan Taylor can do his thing. That is what he's going to do the best. And I think that's what we've been missing, you know, in last few years, is just having that quarterback to always putting us in the perfect play and then executing it. And it's not always about throwing for 5,000 yards.

It's just about not turning the ball over in those key moments. You know, Dwight, it's interesting. You play a really valuable position, and you look at a team like the Rams. They give up first round picks. They're not going to pay safeties. They're not going to be tight ends. They're not going to pay interior linemen. They'll pay a fortune for an edge rusher, a quarterback, a weapon, and maybe an elite corner.

And now you did very well for yourself financially, and you were credited with being a very valuable person. But the game, it seems to me that there was a time when we looked at the moment. middle of the field and the Mike linebacker. And I find that the NFL with their rules, the perimeter players now, corners, edge rushers, further away from the ball players. I feel like in the last five years, that's where the league is gone. I was told forever you draft closer to the ball.

Forever. Quarterback, you know, Mike linebacker, nose tackle. The current NFL, do you wish you would have played in, it's a little more finessex, you would probably have even more value. When you watch the game today, do you ever think to yourself, man, I am built for today's game. Get after the quarterback. You know, that's a great question. I haven't really thought about it.

I think that obviously, you know, they're paying guys a lot more money right now for doing a whole lot less. I see that. And that's a credit to the game and how popular it is. I know when I played, you know, you can hit a game. quarterback pretty much as hard you kind of wanted to and that's not an issue so if I'm playing now do I get injected I don't know right fine I don't know but I love the error that I played and I think it was a perfect era for me um but I do see the other side of how they're paying guys and they're paying those edge rushers those guys on that outside interior or even more money so if I would play now

I probably would make a little bit more money but I did welcome us Dwight freeney who just You finish tied for 41st out of 87. Most defensive big guys aren't great golfers. So it's mostly quarterbacks and punters and guys that never get hit. So congratulations. I didn't watch you play, but apparently you got a pretty good stick there. Yeah, you know what? I have too much time on my hands right now.

So, you know, we'll see what happens next year. Maybe that goes up or down. Maybe that'd be a good thing or bad thing. I don't know. Dwight, good seeing you again. Thanks for checking in with us. All right. Thank you for having me.

Take care. Yeah. So Baker Mayfield has talked to the media. It was a Zoom call, as you can see. And I'm not, I'm okay with it. Like I feel like the Baker-Sam thing, neither is going to lead you to a Super Bowl. Let's root for both. Let's root for Sam if he gets beat out to go to a team and play.

And let's root for Baker if he beats him out, go play. I really don't. I don't. Athletes can frustrate me. It frustrates me with a young quarterback is snarky. It frustrates me that Westbrook doesn't. understand that he has to play a different style of game. It can frustrate me, but there's also limitations.

Baker's not 6-4. He doesn't play like Lamar or Josh Allen. Russell Westbrook's not a great shooter. He's a better athlete than a shooter. That's his reality. But by and large, I find it hard to root against pro athletes. I think it's, there are guys that drive me nuts. Like Cam drove me nuts.

But then he got to New England and I was like, he's kind of coachable. It was kind of fun for a year. Let's see him under Belichick. It was a fun story. He wasn't great. but he became totally adaptable. He changed kind of the way he played.

And I was never a cam guy, but I was like, I kind of like the new cam. That was okay. I do think that this is an interesting quarterback competition, though. Yeah, it's, I mean, I don't think. Because I, they're not paying him anything, so they don't have to start him. Correct. So it's one of those, like, if you watch practices, and I am, I am the coach Matt Rule, I got to win games where I'm getting fired.

So I'm just going with the best guy. Yeah, it's a very straightforward quarterback competition. Who's better now? Who's better now? Who looks better in camp? And that's it. You don't really often have those. There's usually some kind of lean like, well, he's been here longer.

There's some loyalty here. We gave up so much to get him or we're paying him so much. This is a very straightforward competition. May the best man win. Yeah. 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. Next Tuesday, Judge Otani, Machado, and the game's biggest names are coming to the City of Stars for the Midsummer Classic. It's the 2022 MLB All-Star Game from Dodgers Stadium. Coverage begins next Tuesday at 7 Eastern on Fox. The CFOs that get it, get it, the CFOs that don't, don't go to netsuite.com slash herds, special one-of-a-kind financing netsuite.com slash h-E-R-D. This is really the heart of the baseball season for the next eight weeks. You figure out who can play, who can't. top heavy, but a lot of the brands that are at the top are compelling. It's the Braves.

It's the Dodgers. It's the Mets. It's the Yankees. It's a lot of good teams. So then you've got some teams beneath that like a Milwaukee. Do they make a big deal at the trade deadline? We'll see. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, we've been speculating and waiting, and now we have the answer on where Baker Mayfield will play next year. It is the Carolina Panthers. And the team introduced him today. Yeah.

So he now enters a quarterback competition with Sam Darnold to become the starting quarterback and add a little intrigue to the situation. The Panthers are playing the Browns week one. Interesting. So that sets up a potential revenge game. If Baker is named the starter, of course. If he's not, then the Browns are going to have a little extra sauce leading into the game. But before his presser, Baker was asked about the matchup.

He said, I'm not going to sit here and be a robot and tell you that it's not one I've marked on the calendar already. One, that's not who I am. To me, it's about winning games. Whoever we have marked on the schedule, I'm going to try and win. Obviously, this one has a little more history and personal meaning. But for me, it's about winning and setting the tone for the rest of the year. And then today at the presser, Baker went a little further.

Anytime you get to put the pads on, you know, for the first time, you know, it's live fire. It's always a great time. Obviously, it's going to be a special one. It's going to be a home game and playing against the former team. a similar situation of what I've gone through in the past when transferring from college to college. So I've got to handle it the best way possible. And my job is to put our team,

best fishing to win. And however I can help do that, that's what I'm going to do. It's fine. I'm not opposed to it. I'm not here to have a definitive judgment. I'm fine. I think the darn old Baker,

I think it's going to be interesting. Look, I think we've seen the best of what Baker Mayfield is. I'll say this. He is now going to have to perform behind an offensive line. There are no easy snaps. When you watch the Baker highlights, look at how much time he has. That old line in Cleveland was special. Yes, I'm saying.

I think we've seen the best of what Baker is. I think we've seen the ceiling with Baker Mayfield, and it's fine. It's good. You beat the Steelers, and that was that. That's a pretty big accomplishment for the Cleveland Browns. But, I mean, I just don't have any expectations for the situation. Do you know the last team to win a playoff game in Heinz field is the Cleveland Browns? Because now it's got a cruddy new name.

I mean, why do you got to do that to me, Colin? Did you see the new name? I did. It's embarrassing. I can tell you they are displeased in Pittsburgh. Welcome to Accruisher Stadium. What is that? It does not have quite the same zing.

Well, Heinz also feels like Pittsburgh ketchup for a sandwich in front. Like, Heinz feels like what Green Bay. No, it was very on brand. It was very Pittsburgh. Yeah. It was very on brand. It was very, you know, it was solid. You know, it's a condiment.

Everyone uses. It's very American. It's American. It's very Heinz feels. Like when the Lakers, it's ironic, the Lakers are crypto.com arena because they're both crashing. Bitcoin, crypto and the Lakers. So that's on brand.

But Heinz is so Pittsburgh. It's painful. And now it's some, is that an insurance? company? Acrecher, I think yes, isn't an insurance company. For sure, nobody's going to call it Acrecher. No, it's in behinds. I mean, people so call crypto arena.

Staples. Staples, yes. And it'll be that way for a while. And, you know, these naming rights, they know, that one in Pittsburgh is, I think, a 15-year deal. So they're going to be there for a while. But, yeah, that's pretty brutal. So Baker can put that on his, you know, this little checkmark off the list.

Yeah. He got the last one there. So, ever Since the Nets drama started, the Lakers have been linked to Kyrie Irving. Yeah. But the cost of trading for Kyrie Irving seems to be stopping L.A. from making the move. And with reports that there's little interest on the market for Irving, the Lakers won't negotiate against themselves, which is smart. This is, I don't understand this. So, okay, I'm going to ask a question.

What year is it? It's 2022. And they don't want to give up a 2027 first round pick, which is five years from now. And by the way, it'll be a 19-year-old. that's who they'll draft. A 19-year-old out of Duke. You know how I feel about draft picks. So that means even if he's good, he can be a bust.

Yeah. If he's good, he's not going to really hit it till 2030. So are you telling me, as LeBron, you got two years of LeBron left, you're worried about a 19-year-old in five years who won't pop for eight. I don't under it. That's holding, I get not wanting to move like a really good valuable bench player or a glue guy. Like, I get that. A guy that's not a starter, but like he's the second guy off the bench.

I get like with the Warriors, Peyton. They traded Peyton. Or he moved off and took a better deal. Like, that hurts because he was such a valuable, multiple defender. Like, you can say, ah, that hurts. But a draft pick, you don't know if he can play. You don't know where the pick is. He's not going to play for three years, big minutes.

What are you waiting for? Yeah, I think it's, I don't get it. It feels like you're worried about how it's going to be judged by the marketplace. Yes. A lot of these trades get evaluated in that way, which I think is silly. Pay what you need to pay to get what you need to get. Sometimes you're going to overpay for things that you need because you need them. When you don't overpay for things you want, but you sometimes have to overpay for things you need.

Now, and the other thing, Joy, is, and your market matters. Like in New York, people have money and things to do. Rebuilding is hard. Yes. Win games. In Los Angeles, the Rams are great. The Dodgers are great. The Clippers are going to be great. LAFC is great. The economy's good. USC's got Lincoln Riley. Okay, nobody cares about draft picks. You cannot be unwatchable again this year. Yeah, this is not Oklahoma City. I do understand the hesitation. Well, there's multiple layers to this.

One, obviously, you don't know what version of Kyrie you're going to get. You're assuming you're going to get a motivated Kyrie Irving who's going into a free agency next year. That's another element of it. Does he end up leaving? You gave up the draft pick and then he ends up leaving next year. You could get into that space. And because Kyrie is Kyrie, you really have no guarantees

on how it's going to play out. However, I don't care about any of that. You have LeBron James. No team is in a more win-now situation than the Los Angeles Lakers. You have LeBron James at the end of his career. And, and this may be the only year that Anthony Davis is available and good.

And motivated. Right. Like he hasn't been the most. Not good. Obviously, Anthony Davis is a great player. That's not what I'm saying. But he's motivated. Available, motivated in the gym. This is it.

Go for it. You got to go for it. You have to go all in. Now, people think because we're in L.A., no, I always root for big brands. I wanted Harbott of Michigan. Like, yes, it's better if the biggest, like the Boston Celtics being good is good for my business. I like talking about the Celtics. It's harder when the Minnesota T-Wolves end up in the finals against the Denver Nuggets.

Well, also, we can be. more critical and it's absorbed with the big brands. Yeah. Like the Packers are a big brand, but can't talk about how the way that the season ended or everyone will freak out. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like Aaron's still got to be the best quarterback in the league. We can't win a home game against a wildcard team. Well, Chris Manick said there's not a huge appetite in L.A. at this point to take on all the money.

They're going to have to take on and be deeper into the luxury tax team and fork over a first round pick and return. So as long as the asking, that is the asking price. The Lakers are not going to get their hands. on Kyrie Urban. I think the Lakers have some leverage here. They don't have it with KD, but it feels like there's no market for Kyrie. We all know that.

Yeah. There is no market for him. We're just saying, we'll trade different. Hey, we'll give you Westbrook expiring contract. Well, the Nets don't want to take that on.

Well, it's, that's part of the deal. We're not taking Kuki-Maduki here and not giving up a contract. I'm not taking Kiree. I don't think the Nets are going to do that. The Nets have all the leverage in the space. They don't have to do anything. Well, I guess, but...

I mean, with Kyrie, like, Kyrie's going into free agency next year, so they don't have to do anything with Kyrie. If he doesn't play, he doesn't play anyway. So what's the first time? He played 29 games last year. And then Kevin Durrano's four years left on his deal. He's not going to sit out. He's in the middle of his prime.

So they have the most leverage. But again, the Gober trade, mess everything up, is giving everyone anxiety about giving up too much. We have a lot more to play out in this particular offseason with the NBA. So last night should have been our first look at matches. between the NBA's top two picks, but the magic have made the decision that they've seen enough from Paulo Bencaro in the previous two games, and he will be shut down for the rest of Summer League. Meanwhile, Chet Holmgram did suit up, and the Thunder won 84-81 over the Magic in his fourth

Summer League game. He showed some creativity and aggression, 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting, including two threes, with 10 rebounds and two blocks. I think Chet Holmgren is exactly what everybody thought. Real concerns about the body. It's so funny when people push back on that. Yes, there's some Sean Bradley here. He doesn't look like he'll put on weight easily and a really highly skilled player who's got a little dog in him. He and Josh Giddy together will be fun to watch. So I mean, he's exactly what we thought. Sometimes the media cracks me up. I was saying this today in the makeup room. When Joe Biden was running for president, many people, myself included, a Joe Rogan came out, You don't have to like Joe Rogan, whatever.

I don't care. But Rogan's like, there's some cognitive decline that we should be aware of. He got nothing but negative feedback. And now the New York Times is doing stories arguing, yeah, Biden's probably not fit for another run. There are certain things that are obvious and the media gets worked up when they're stated. I don't want 80-year-old presidents. I think you know who I'm talking about running. Like, I think it's over, right?

It's obvious that everybody acknowledges it in the media through a temper tantrum when you suggest this with Biden. Now, maybe it was because they wanted Trump out. Be that as it may. When you suggested that Chet Holmgren, the body's an issue, there were people pushing back. Folks, you're watching the Summer League. He's getting pushed around. He looks like Sean Bradley. Now, he's more skilled, and I think he'll be a better player, and I don't see him as a bust. I think the game's moving into what Chen Holmgren does. Yes. Yeah, I mean, certain times sports, really basketball is becoming Chet Holmgren. It's positionless. Can you shoot? get a shot. If you can shoot, you have enormous value.

The media drives me crazy. When people state obvious, visual, these are aesthetically obvious. You state them and the media is like, that's unfair, that's ages. If you're watching Chet Holmgren and you don't think the body's a little bit of an issue, you're being completely disingenuous. No, it definitely will be an issue in his early years. The question I have with Chet Holmgram is how is his body going to change? is his frame capable of adding more weight. And if he doesn't add more weight, how will his game adjust so that he can mitigate some of the issues of not being able to take that wear and tear,

take those NBA man bodies? Here's the other thing. And I believe you have to put him on a minutes limit and a game limit. Why? Because here's the way it works in the NBA. If you college basketball is 36 games, NBA's 82 minimum. him. If you play him 80 games and you play him 30 minutes, there's no way he can put weight on. Right. Yeah, yeah. I mean, the cardio is just, you're putting 7,000 calories. But also his age isn't

the, you can do that when you're a certain age. That's right. But he because he's still so young, his body is just going to eat through that. Once he hits, once he gets to whatever, I don't know, man body, then that doesn't affect him as much. But that's what, that's what I'm saying. Like, how is he going to develop his body to maintain that? And if he, doesn't. If could he gain 20 pounds, if he doesn't gain 20 pounds in two years, you've got concerns. And the only way you can do that is to play him 50 games, limited minutes, let him grow. Because if you're playing him 80, the way his young body flies through calories and the cardio you need to play at both ends in the NBA, you'll never put on 25 pounds with that frame.

I think he's a fascinating player, though. Oh, of course. Yeah. These kind of guys, anytime you have an outlier. Zion's fascinating. And what I love about Chet is that you can see it in his play, but also it's the scout on him that he has a little edge to him. Oh yeah. And I like that because he's hearing all this talk about his body and players like that that have those sort of attitudes work on their game. He's supposedly someone who loves being in the gym. Those are all good qualities for somebody who you need to see develop over, you know, the early part of their career in any sport, particularly in the NBA, because they are so young. Got me in politics. Joe Biden. What the hell's going on? Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd live news. Yeah, if I can see stuff with a politician, I'm going to say stuff, and it's okay to report it. Everybody's reporting it now. It was outrageous a year ago. Give me a break. Colin, everything is outrageous. You can't say anything. It's... You get into that outrage, blender. Watch out. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker.

Check out my weekly MLB podcast Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and hot baseball talk, featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the I-Test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. All right. I haven't even gotten to some of my good stuff today.

Maybe I just save it for tomorrow. Talking about my grudges and stuff just eats up time. So Baker Mayfield held a presser today. Now it's different. He says it's a Zoom thing. So it doesn't feel as big and as special. But I'm just going to give you three bites. Baker from the Browns to Carolina,

he talked about the transition about an hour ago. If I'm focused in the past, that I'm not doing my job and, you know, being a Carolina Panther now. So like I said, I'm grateful for my time there. Yeah, shocked. I'd say it was, you know, pretty much the only way to describe it. But you roll with the punches and you've got to move forward. You know, this is a test of adversity and how I'm going to handle it

and how I can move forward and be the best teammate possible with our new home. And I'm looking forward to it. That's an A, a report card A. Like it a lot. Okay, here's Baker on his relationship with the great Sam Darnel. Sam and I, we've known each other for a few years now. A great guy and just, you know, welcome me in, had tips where to start looking for houses and all that. Just, you know, Sam's a great guy and looking forward to being in that locker room and that quarterback room with him and competing and challenging each other.

And it's going to be special. You know, I think we're going to help each other out quite a bit. And no, not shocked at all. That's just who he is. Great guy. You can write whatever story you want about him, but he's a good guy that wants to help his team win and loves football. A, very strong. Grown up.

All right, here's Scott Fitter, who's he's the GM. He made the deal and talking about the Baker-Sam quarterback group. This is an open competition. You know, the reason why we had in Baker was to make the group better as a whole. Our whole philosophy is to add competition, not just in the quarterback room, but every position. So if we see an opportunity where we can get back. better working out a player that it makes sense for us as a team makes sense for us financially makes sense for us for just from an addition standpoint we're going to do that and uh you know with baker

being out there uh having the conversations that made sense for us yeah i got no problem with any of that stuff that's an a so there you go see non-judgmental uncle Colin optimistic uncle Colin no grudge is there you know that's not the grudge i've told you before i think it's going to be hard in a limited time for Baker to beat out Sam. My guess is, I'm just a total guess, no insight. Sam wins it initially, gets a little reckless. He's prone to do. They go in a little losing streak.

Here comes Baker to save the day. And by the end of the year, probably because if you look at the numbers, they're both gone and they drafted a quarterback. That's my guess. Well, Baker's also coming up of an injury. That's right. There's a lot. He hasn't been able to work out as much.

So he's a little behind the eight ball here. So Sam's healthier, ready to go. He's dealt with Ben McAdoo and the OTAs. Sam's liked. It's an impossible guy not to like. Sam is impossible not to like. Baker's had moments when he's possible to dislike. So I think Sam's got a little leg up on him physically, mentally knowing the playbook.

So we'll see how it goes. But, you know, Carolina is not generally 27 years in the NFL, seven winning seasons. They're always kind of a mess. The construct of the team is always under question. We'll see how it works. I saw this story. This is interesting. So Rudy Gobert screwed up the market.

Brooklyn wants a load for Kevin Durant and like people are looking around going, Kevin's bailing on you. He may bail on us. So the market for Kevin Durant's just not very robust. And another reason you know it's not robust is because Phoenix, now maybe they're doing this to put pressure on KD to put pressure on his owner. Maybe it's just a con, grift, I don't think it is. Phoenix is thinking of moving D'Andre Aiton, who Brooklyn would want.

want in a trade to get KD, moving him to the Pacers. Why I think this is interesting, and I don't think DeAndre Aiton's a great player, he's a good player, is this is the classic example of same player, different value for the teams. Now, we all know a winner code is more valuable in Anchorage than Tampa. An umbrella is more valuable in Seattle than Phoenix. DeAndre Aiton to the Pacers in a sign and trade would be really valuable for them, and here's why, is because nobody goes Indiana. and the Pacers are not a free agent destination.

So for them to get a 23-year-old player, good player, in their prime, a former number one pick, he has tremendous value for the Pacers. I would absolutely do it if I was the Pacers. DeAndre Aiton's in his prime, 10 years left, he's a solid offensive player, he's averaged defensively. The other thing to remember, in the east, you need a center, you need a big, Embedeed, Janus, bam in a bayou. In the East, my belief is you're going to have to at some point be in a series and you're going to need a big on the floor.

Robert Williams isn't a great offensive player for the Celtics, but he's a big. He can match up with Embed. He gives you a shot. That was the downside to Brooklyn a couple years ago when Kevin Durant had to be on the floor for 40 minutes, and he was the only big Brooklyn could rely on against Milwaukee, wore him out. So now, now, here's why it makes sense for Phoenix. Same guy, different value. Phoenix doesn't need a leader.

It's also a more attractive free agent market. Chris Paul's their leader and Devin Booker's their score. So they don't need Aiton. They also have a very good defensive wing and Mikhail Bridges. So for them, they could get free agents. The other thing about it is, in the West, you don't necessarily need a big. To get to the NBA finals, you got to get through Golden State. They play small ball.

And that D'Andre Aiton, sometimes you could argue, could get in the away that we don't want him on the floor because the Warriors have gone small. If you let in the game late, the Warriors would foul Ait. He's not a terrible free throw shooter, but he didn't give you a lot of offense. If you trail late in the game, it's hard to have D'Andre Aiton on the floor because he hits twos and you need threes. So you got to get through Golden State in the West to get to the finals, and Aiton has some limitations in the postseason.

Whereas in Indiana, you need a big to match up with a Yonis or an M. Bid or a BAM, and he provides that. And so to me, I think Phoenix has squeezed a lot of value out of this guy. They haven't paid a big money yet. So if you pay him big money, you're not going to get, he's not, but in Indiana, I would pay the big money. In Phoenix, I wouldn't. I'm going to pay Booker and Chris Paul the big money.

So the West and the East, you know, there's a little difference in conference style. Stylistically, they're a little difference. But it's the same player. But I think for the Pacers to get like a number one pick, 23 in its prime, it's great. great get for the Pacers. Tremendous get. I don't know who you have to give up. Somebody said yesterday, Miles Turner, whoever it is. But I would do it in a second for the Pacers. Phoenix, I'd probably let him go. He also can be a little temperamental. He and Monty Williams did not get along great. And it's pretty obvious in Phoenix. You got to get along with Chris Paul

and you got to get along with Monty Williams. And there's arguments to be made. He didn't get along with either perfectly at the end of the year. So it's time to move him. So I thought that was interesting. One more thing before the end of the show, Rob Polinka does say that Anthony Davis is really working hard this offseason. So I want to play, do we have the Rob Polinka bite? Here's Rob Polinka. He's bought in and I think he's quietly putting together, you know, one of the biggest off seasons of his career. You can just tell he's got a very serious tone about them and you know last year it didn't unfold the way any of us wanted and and I think everyone's going to come back with a chip on our on our shoulder and AD's going to lead us with that I think

he's working hard I know he's working really hard on his body it hasn't he hasn't quietly put in a great offseason he verbalized that he hadn't picked up a ball for two months it showed up on Twitter that he was showing up at four in the morning and now Rob Polinkas saying he's quietly putting together an unbelievable offseason. It hasn't been that quiet. It's been the opposite. They want you to know how Hardy's been working this off season because that is not his habitual tendency.

So I don't buy into, he's quietly putting in quite an off season. No, we've heard all about it. This is the third time. Hour three around the corner, live in Los Angeles. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not.

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. A win is a win. which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford, and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On The Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

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

It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to Look Back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.