The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - NBA

Episode Date: July 1, 2022

Possible trade destinations for Kevin Durant More on NBA free agency   Guest: Kevin O'ConnorSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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,

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Welcome back to the herd, Joy Taylor, in for Colin Cowherd. He is finishing up his vacation. He will be back on Monday. I don't think that's a show you will want to miss. No. Alex Curry will be with him. I will be here. I am heading on vacation later, and I will be out next week, but Alex Curry will be in

with Colin next week. It's been a wild week. I anticipate next week will also be a wild week, as we are now on. Kevin Durant watch as he has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Mets. I ironically was saying all week I hadn't allowed my mind to travel to a place of what if where Katie would go because I had gotten to the place of what if Katie was going to leave and Kyrie opting in seemed like an indication that they were going to run it back, but we now know not the case so there's been some reports Windhorst reported that the Lakers have a package that they are in discussions with the Nets to acquire both Kevin Durant and Kyrie.

There are reports that they are only going to be able to acquire Kyrie, and they're trying to do that. Obviously, the Lakers are not a team that has a lot of assets to put out there. And Brooklyn, at least in regards to Kevin Durant, has a lot of leverage because he has a four-year deal with no player option and no team option. And I think this will, well, who knows? here I am about to say Kevin Durant's going to spend the rest of his career wherever he ends up. I don't know.

I think he should do that, so I guess I'm projecting. But let's talk about the teams that A can possibly get Kevin Durant and where I think he should end up going. Now, if you guessed, knowing me, obviously, the heat is the number one destination for me for Kevin Durant. Now, obviously, I would love to see Kevin Durant go to the Miami Heat because I'm selfish and I would be insufferable if this happens. Big surprise. Insufferable. If you think you hate me now, forget it. Forget it.

Unfollow me on everything. You're going to hate me. But I also think this would make sense. And I don't just think that. There's reports that he wants to go to the heat or the suns. Now, trades. How would this work? They have assets.

Kyle Lowry, Tyler Hero, Duncan Robinson, Max Trues, gave Vincent Victor Lodipo, and the first round pick, Nikola Yovich, not Yokic. You can't trade BAM at a bottom. It can kind of happen. I would need a third team in order to do it, but he's likely off limits, and so is Jimmy Butler. So they are plus 300 favorites to lands Kevin Durant, according to Fox Bet. They can also offer up to three future first round picks, which would likely be included in this. And they have the greatest negotiator in NBA history, the godfather Pat Riley.

The other part of this that I think would be great for Kevin Durant outside of the city of Miami, which is a wonderful place to live, is they have a standard. They have a culture. They have won. They were one Jimmy Butler three away from going back to the finals. So this is not a situation where it's a bunch of players thrown together. They don't have an history of being able to make things work, elevate stars. Clearly the big three is the best example of that.

So this would be a great destination for Kevin Durant. Number two is the Sons. This is the other team that he is reportedly interested in going to. Now, they have some trade assets as well. DeAndre Aon, it would require a sign-in trade. McCau Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jay Crowder, and Dario Sarich. Now, Devin Booker and Chris Paul are likely off limits. Also, you can't move Devin Booker because he signed a four-year, $214 million supermax extension yesterday. So he's not going anywhere. But obviously, you would want Booker there if you're going to bring in Kevin Durant. Now, the issue here with these trades, obviously, is you don't want to give up all of your depth.

completely empty your bench. You want to be able to have some pieces around. The suns have been building momentum and culture. They still don't have an owner that is entirely functional, but to his credit, he's been staying away. He's been letting Monty Williams do his thing. So I don't love this destination, but I do think they would be able to build on what they've already established there in Phoenix, and he would be able to elevate that organization. Now, number three, Mavs. I really, really love if he doesn't end up at these first two destinations. I really love the Mabs for Kevin Durant. Now, they have trade assets and Spencer Dittwoody, Tim Hardaway Jr., Javale McGee, Davis-Burtains, and Dwight Powell. Obviously,

Luca's not going anywhere and not Christian Wood isn't either. They can also offer up to three future first-round picks. The Mavs are building something. It's very exciting. Now, Luca and KD, how do they play together? I don't know. KD. obviously adds a bit of more defensive elements than Luca does. I don't know if that usage fits. but it would be very exciting and very interesting. Now, we saw a little tease of this last week in the Blazers with Damien Lillard. So D.M would love to have K.D. there. He would love to make this work. They have a few options. Shaden Sharp, their first round pick, Eric Bledsoe, and

Anthony Simmons. That would also require a sign and trade. They can offer up to three future first round picks. I don't love this destination for KD, but playing alongside Damien Lillard and giving Damien Lillard an opportunity to win a championship, I do love. So that part is very interesting. The next four years with Dame and KD, that would be something. Portland is a place that does have a good culture. They are very well run.

So I don't love it, but this would work. And then lastly, the Warriors. Now, the thing about the Warriors is they really actually have a bunch of trade assets to make this work. They can offer up to three future first round picks, and they have a bunch of trade assets. Now, would they do this? Would KD want to go back there? it would be anarchy, but I don't see this happening. I'm not against it, though.

It's really hard to get me upset these days. I'm going on vacation soon. But I'm not against it. You love anarchy. Well, I just, you know, I, whenever these moves start to be put out there, I like to imagine, I like to imagine what the stories would be, right? What are the media is going to, what's the media going to say? What are the writers going to say?

what is my opinion going to be? I like to see things play out, right? Like obviously we make projections, we make predictions, and we give our initial response to things. But I also like to see what happens. And I mean, I wonder what the fans' reaction would be. Well, fans are never going to be happy. A, you're losing a player that you love or new team.

No, not Brooklyn Nets fans. Warriors fans, I wonder what their reaction would be. and fans around the NBA about him going back to a situation that they didn't think he should go to in the first place. Let's ask Kevin O'Connor of the Ringer NBA analysts. Kevin, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Thank you for having me on. Happy NBA Free Agency.

I am fired up. It's been a fun last 24-ish hours or so. It's going to get even more fun with all this stuff. We still have Linger in here. Well, let's start with what I was just discussing in a possible return to the Warriors. I don't think it's going to happen. but they do have the assets to make it happen. Is that one that is completely off the board?

I'd probably take the Warriors off the board. I don't see them getting back together anytime soon, but I think those other four teams you had on your list all very interesting, though. So let's talk about my heat them. I have them at number one, but I also, outside of very much wanting this to happen, I do think that is the best destination for him. Yeah, I think with Miami, it's a little complicated in that situation.

They have picks they can give. Bam out of bio would be a great piece for Brooklyn to acquire. The problem is that they can't acquire BAM unless they move Ben Simmons because of some NBA cap rules involving rookie max extension. So Miami makes a lot of sense. They should go on in for Kevin Durant, but there's some complications with getting in there. What about the Sons? So with Phoenix, it's pretty clear cut. You can do a sign and trade involving Aiton for Kevin Durant.

You can send McKell Bridges in a separate deal for maybe a Joe Harris, in addition to future draft picks from the first round, first round pick swaps, which is basically going to be the format for any team here. Like, I think that Phoenix offer, though, Bridges in 8, and that's really good. But if Boston wanted to offer a Jalen Brown, if a team like that really wanted to step up, if New Orleans wanted to give a Brandon Ingram with a whole bunch of draft picks, a team like the Suns, their offer would end up getting beat here. So I think they make a lot of sense.

They should be at the top of the list, but they can be surpassed in terms of the best offer. But Kevin, how much leverage does Kevin Durant have here? Because like, I can't picture him playing in Boston. He's friends with Kyrie. Kyrie is not on good terms with Boston. I can't imagine him, you know, going to Boston. So how, but he does have four years left on his deal. So how much leverage does Kevin Durant actually have in saying where he wants to go? Well, I mean, this is the, the crazy part about it all, because Katie demanding a trade with four years left, on one hand, And any of the 29 other teams could make an acceptable offer to Brooklyn for him. And Brooklyn has the right to say yes or no.

They could drag this into the season if they really wanted to to wait for better offers. Maybe Kevin Durant decides, you know what, I want to stay here if the only team that's willing to make an acceptable offer is, as you're saying, a team he doesn't want to go to, whether that's a Boston or whether it's a team like Oklahoma City, for that matter, if they wanted to get a reunion together. We're talking to Golden State reunions if they did. So there's some leverage here for Katie, but ultimately Brooklyn can train him wherever they want to. It's just a matter of if those offers come that they deem worth doing.

What do you make of the notion of Katie and Kyrie going somewhere together? That gets complicated. I mean, as has been widely reported, the Lakers seem to be the only team with any real interest in Kevin Durant. The problem is, is if you're trading for Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, what's the best you can do? You can do Russell Westbrook with Anthony Davis, a 27 and a 29 first. That's probably the maximum offer the Lakers can put together before you get to the Austin Reeves of the world being included as trade assets. And like we just said with the Sons, if their offer could be beat by somebody else,

then I would imagine a Lakers offer for both Kyrie and Kevin O'Rant could be defeated as well. Yeah. We're talking to Kevin O'Connor of the Ringer. Are you surprised? I don't know if it's surprise is the right word. But all week long I've been talking about how I hadn't allowed myself to imagine where KD could end up because I didn't think he was going to leave. So I'm not surprised by this because it's Kevin Durand. He's a bit of a rolling stone.

But, you know, I didn't see this coming. Did you? A little bit. I mean, it seemed like there's a lot of, you know, breadcrumbs about the possibility of this. But the fact he actually went ahead and did it. I mean, maybe it wasn't surprised that I felt as much as still shocked. because it actually happened, and that we're actually in a position where a guy who joined the Nets with

Kyrie Irving and got James Hardin, they're now in this position where they don't have Hardin. They have Ben Simmons who does not play, and now they're in a spotter. After Kyrie Opson, he still wants out the fact we're actually at this point, after everything that's transpired, and how close they were to beating the bucks, how little Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving actually played together.

It just blows my mind that we're actually here, And it goes to show that with the NBA, you have to expect the unexpected. You have to. It's happened time and time again. So in some ways, maybe we should have be surprised or shocked by any of it. How much do you put on Brooklyn? Because there were reports that Katie wasn't happy with how the front office tried to understand Kyrie. No, I don't understand Kyrie.

I don't know how many people do understand Kyrie. but I would also lend to the idea that if you're going to bring in a player like Kyrie, you're going to have to try to understand Kyrie. So that's with then flip-flopping on letting him play, you know, allowing him to do practices after Steve Nash's practice. I mean, we've heard lots of really uncharacteristic things coming out of Brooklyn, uncharacteristic of a good culture, well-run organization. How much do you put on Brooklyn in this situation?

I mean, I'm sure they deserve some percentage of the blame. No one person or entity is not at fault here. Kevin Durant's included by attaching himself to Carrie Irving, insisting on DeAndre Jordan be part of the players that they sign in the first place, taking away minutes from a young grid center in Jared Allen, who now is a $100 million player with the Cavaliers. So mistakes have been made by everybody every step of the way, including the front office, the organization,

but ultimately this comes down to Kyrie Irving, him playing half the games last year after not getting vaccinated. Obviously that's his choice to do that, but the detriment to the team and the chemistry that they had last year, one year after being so close against the Bucks. Hardin, understandably wanted to leave, wanted to get out of there. Kevin Durant now in a spot where you kind of get it. I mean, I understand, you know, maybe at this point he realizes the mistake that was made and it's time for him to jump ship and get to a situation where in the middle of his third, after he's ruptured in Achilles.

He knows time is running out. So for him, he's in a spot with Brooklyn now. I wonder if this actually has nothing to do with the front office, nothing to do with Kyrie and only do with the fact that, hey, there's better situations out there for me to win. I wonder if that's what Kevin Durant's thinking here, because there are, and there are teams that will make acceptable offers. Are you surprised with the Zion Pelicans extension?

No, I'm not surprised there. From what I understand, they have trust in him to be able to stay healthy and get it Right. I think the Pelicans winning games this past year under Willie Green has helped really start to begin shaping that culture. Now Zion Williamson is going to grow and be part of lights. They are really good. I mean, with Zion, if he stays healthy and is anywhere close to the guy, we saw what he was last on the floor, 30 points per game, six assists, just an excellent two-way presence, they're going to be a team that could be a sleeper to make a deep run of the playoffs next year with him added to that great roster we saw last year. Can you say something nice about the Knicks, Kevin O'Connor?

I mean, yeah, sure. Jailor Brunson is their best point guard they've had probably since six weeks of Jeremy Lynn, Linsanity. It's going to be excellent for them to have Brunson. He's a stabilizer, somebody who can make R.J. Barrett make their life easier, those young guys and that Knicks team. I like the signing personally. I think it's gotten way too much criticism. He's a good basketball player. Well, I mean, the criticism is probably more because nobody trusts anything the Knicks do, which, you know, it has been earned. We're talking to Kevin O'Connor of the ringer.

What was your reaction to Nicola Yokic's contract? 264 million Supermax extension five years. The richest agreement in NBA history is back-to-back MVP. I don't get crazy about the money. It's what the market is. It goes up. I'm not paying him. It's not changing my life.

But who's your reaction to that deal? My reaction is, how is it that this guy who was drafted during a Taco Bell commercial is now going to pay? It's my favorite draft moment of all time. Isn't it the best that this guy is a two-time MVP that's going to be a future Hall of Papers drafted during a Taco Bell commercial? It blows my mind that this is his story for the Nuggets now. I mean, I guess my first thought with it was, well, what's next? What are they going to do here? They signed Bruce Brown and Free Agency, really good fit at a next to the Yoker.

Those guys are going to have great chemistry together. But Michael Porter, Jr., needs to prove he can get back to being the guy he was before. And Jamal Murray following the torn ACL that he had, he needs to be a better version of the guy we saw prior, more consistent. So for the Nuggets, they have this megastar future Hall of Famer who rightfully is getting paid this money, but they need a lot else to change around him to win a championship.

Has he ever had a real Taco Bell commercial? I don't know, but that should have. I feel like Taco Bell is missing the boat on that. It doesn't seem like an easy, it's an easy sponsorship dub for Yokic and the Taco Bell side. I'm not sure Yokic wants to do anything, though. He does, no commercials, no interviews.

I mean, that feels like a no braided. man like you get a you know talk about for life card and uh that that seems like that's a easy uh easy pitch in the uh advertising room so what should the lakers do uh we talked earlier about the you know the possibility of them trying to get katie and karee which you know feels like a big stretch to me but we've heard the kairi thing a lot over the past couple weeks so does kairi fit here if they make this move does it make any sense like obviously we've seen karee and lebron together and they won a championship but that was six years ago

I think they should be going for Kyrie Irving here. I mean, look, Kyrie, say what you want about, you know, off court, personality, everything else. He's a better player than Russell Westbrook. And the Lakers have, anytime you have LeBron James and Anthony Davis on your roster, you need to be doing what you can to maximize the time you have with those guys. And so Kyrie Irving is an upgrade over Russ. If they're giving up one of their future first-round draft picks to get Irving, I'd be all over that if I'm the Lakers.

As long as the Nets were willing to do that deal, they might not want to take the Rust contract. They might be looking for a three-way, which complicates things. But ultimately, the Lakers should be going for Kyrie Irving and going hard at them. What do you make of the James Hardin negotiations that he's going to be flexible with them and leave some money on the table? I mean, it's interesting there because they bring back some guys from the Rockets, PJ Tucker and Daniel House with Hardin. Shorter-term deal, if it's a three-year deal, he'll still be able to sign a potential max if he makes the most of the

this next two, three years. I'm buying hard in stock, Joy, because I think with him, last year to not go well, he comes into camp out of shape, he never gets in great shape, he's injured with the hamstring. This summer for him, this is the summer to prove it. When you're playing with Joel Embed, Hardin doesn't need to be the best player on that team anymore. He just needs to be a consistent, great third option when Maxi's on. And then other times he can be the number two behind Abed. He's in a situation now, where he doesn't have to be the alpha, the guy average of 35 points per game. So I look forward to seeing Hardin adapt and evolve his game with Embed and Maxie,

but all he really just needs to do is stay in shape. That might be a lot to ask, you know, but for James Hardin, that that's the number one objective here next to Embed and Maxie. I think it can work. I really do. Kevin O'Connor of the ringer. So where does Katie end up? What does your gut tell you?

Let's go with Phoenix. They're currently the betting odds favorite. I think they can put together the best combination of young players and picks, at least the teams that would be willing to. And they're the team that is at the top of Katie's list. So that's more incentive for them to go all the way in, rather, other teams than who might have to worry about him doing this again in a year. Well, it's the summer of Kevin Durant and Beyonce.

That's what we've dubbed it this year on the herd. Thank you so much for joining us, Kevin O'Connor of the ring. I really appreciate it. Have a great holiday weekend. Thank you, you too. Joy Taylor in for Colin Cowherd all week as he has been on vacation. He will be back from holiday on Monday. I'm sure he's going to go off.

Lots of takes that he needs to get in, especially with this USC UCLA news, Kevin Durant. I'm sure he's going to have some thoughts on Zion, so you don't miss that show on Monday. We'll talk to Matt Linerd in studio later in the show, a big noon kickoff, former NFL quarterback, and of course USC star about what he thinks about them leaving. the PAC 12 and gets Alex Curry with the news on the other side and discuss why culture is so

important when it comes to bringing in stars. It's Joy Taylor on the herd. Want 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. 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, Podcasts Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space.

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

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 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 blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush

didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking What the hell does George Bush Got to do a little kill Well you can find out On the Look Back at it podcast I'm Sam Jett And I'm Alex English

Each episode we pick it here unpack what went down And try to make sense of how we survived it Including a recent episode With Mark Lamont Hill Waxing all about crack in the 80s To be clear 84 is big to me

Not just because of crack I'm down to talk about crack on day But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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. It's the first ever USFL championship game live from the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton,

the Birmingham Stallions and Philadelphia stars go head to head in a quest to take home the historic first title Sunday at 730 Eastern on Fox. Join Taylor in for Colin Cowher. Thank you so much for joining us this week. It's been a fun crazy, crazy week, ending, of course, with the USFL championship on Sunday

on Fox 730 Eastern. Thank you so much to Kevin O'Connor. Great updates on NBA Free Agency. A lot going on right now. Let's get to Alex Curry with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Let's keep talking about this beautiful chaos that is the NBA off season

because Annette's former superstar team continues to fall apart after Kevin Durant requested a trade yesterday. And with that huge news, it's apparent that Kyrie Irving will most likely play with another team next season. Will that be the Lakers? We'll see. But L.A. has reengaged with Brooklyn on Trade Talk, centered around Kyrie and Russell Westbrook.

And here's Woj on where the... things stand with the Nets. Everybody's in play in Brooklyn, certainly. And I think it's very likely that not only Kevin Durant, but Kyrie Irving, have played their last games for the Nets. They've wanted to play together. They want to continue to play together. But the sense is they don't want to do it together in Brooklyn anymore.

That was the final kicker that we got yesterday. It was like, they still want to play together. They just don't want to do it in Brooklyn. Now, I don't personally see it happening than playing somewhere else. That's a big package deal that a lot of teams can't necessarily make. You're going to have to basically give away everything just to get them. And remember, both Katie and Kyrie are in the win now part of their careers. They want to win now.

Katie deserves to win now. But it didn't work out in Brooklyn. I just say, cut your losses, move on. Separate, find a new team, let's go. So let's talk about the Lakers angle here, right? for Kyrie. I see it working because LeBron, again, one of the few people that knows how to play with Kyrie, he's won a championship with Kyrie.

I think he can be a person who can rein him in and make it work there. But again, the Lakers are also in a win now situation. You have LeBron, you have A.D. They have to figure. L.A. has to figure out a way. You're relevant with LeBron, obviously. But last year was a dumpster fire. It all like happened right in front of our eyes.

Well, I mean, there's a couple things going on here. From the Kevin Durant angle, I don't see K.D. and Kyrie playing together again. I don't even know how much for all the reports that they want to play together again. If it's true. That's true. Because Brooklyn essentially did everything that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving asked outside of giving Kyrie a multi-year deal this year, which no one wanted to do. So unless they're just both.

living in some fantasy world where you know that's Brooklyn's fault it ain't it's Kyrie's fault and the rest of the league said the same so with the Lakers being the only team it's interested it's because of LeBron James now would it work in theory Kyrie

LeBron AD sure if everyone's healthy and everyone's available and everyone shows up to work but you have the rest of the team as well you have to have some depth I mean you saw in the championship in the finals this year a huge part of what happened in that finals was the bench scoring with the Warriors. You can't just have a no depth.

Stars are going to do what stars do if they're available. Where's the depth? Who are the role players that are going to step up? That's the issue with the Lakers. So do I think that the three of them work? Sure, I think it works better than Russell Westbrook. Tyree's a better player than Russell Westbrook when he's on the floor. Russell Westbrook plays basketball, though.

Like he's on the floor. Yeah, that's kind of a big deal. You got to be there. You got to show up to work. You've got to play the game. So, yeah, it's going to be. Like you said, it's the summer of KD. We are on KD watch for the rest of the summer.

And also now, Kyrie. Because regardless of your feelings and his situation last year, he's still a great player. No, he is a great player, but his market is not what he thinks it is. No, not at all. He has shown time and time again that he's not reliable. Yeah. So. Yeah.

Lakers grab him. Go for it. All right. Let's talk about the other big news yesterday. In a shocking move, Pact 12 flagship members, USC and UCLA decided to leave the conference for the Big Ten. Now, starting in the 2024 season, the move will include all sports except beach volleyball, men's volleyball, and men

and women's water polo. It's also expected to enhance the NIL opportunity with greater exposure across the country, but the Big Ten isn't stopping there as Adam Rittenberg reports. Lots of talk about additional Pact-12 schools possibly being on the Big Ten's radar, not ruling that out, but one school they want, the one they've been always wanting is Notre Dame. That's where the energy will likely be placed. But this was a huge power move by the two power schools in that conference yesterday. And again, a lot of big business

decisions are usually based around money. This one as well, based around money. You mentioned it earlier. The PAC 12 kind of lagged in their distributions. They distributed 334 million amongst schools in the 2021 year. Big Ten handed out 680 million. So if you don't listen to your all-stars that you have in your little circle and your little group, you can't be mad when they decide to leave. I know it's not the normal. This is a very new thing that we're seeing in college.

Well, it's not that the PAC 12 was like hoarding money. They just weren't generating the money. So, you know, what can you, it's not so much about listening. I mean, there were some issues within the PAC 12, but it's about what are the opportunities for UCLA and USC in the PAC 12 as compared to the Big Ten. That's where the money comes into play. The Big Ten is a massive revenue generator, just like the SEC, and you're going to see more and more of this within college football.

No one likes to talk about money. It's very icky. We don't want to talk about money. But that's what makes the world go around. And that's a part of what this is. Money provides opportunities. Opportunities provides visibility. Visibility provides more opportunities.

It's a ladder of things that you're going to, offer to your student athletes. Now, it's not obviously just about college football, as you mentioned, all of the other sports minus volleyball, beach volleyball and water polo are joining the Big Ten conference. I do think other schools will do this as well.

It is unfortunate that the, we're going to see more of a separation between the halves and have-nots in college sports, but my argument with that would be what it's always been, which is, they've never been close. You're not,

going to jump from a small school to a massive school. You're not going to jump from a perennial blue blood. Like you're from no one to that. That's not how this works. Can you have moments? Can you have blips where you're able to put things together and have a star that emerges? Sure. But that's the argument with NIL is like, oh, the little schools won't be able to compete. They were never able to compete. They were never able to compete. It doesn't, that that was, that was never the situation. Like, when you look at these top recruits, look at the schools that are in their final selection. You're not seeing a lot of Panera Bread State in there.

It's a lot of LSU. It's a lot of Ole Miss. It's a lot of Alabama. It's a lot of Georgia. Okay. There's a reason for that. A lot of Clemson, a lot of Miami, a lot of USC. Those are traditional powerhouses.

They weren't throwing those extra little schools like, oh, well, you know, they, there's a really good pitch. No, they were never in the running to begin with. So I get it. It does make a big separation. It's a big change. I do think that for the next couple years, college sports in general is just going to be a little rocky.

There's going to be a lot of changes, a lot of sweeping over corrections, and people are going to continue to freak out about NIL, which until everyone just calms down a little bit and has real conversations about it, this is what's going to be. People forget about everything. But you mentioned the visibility, and I think another big thing to note is when you're on the West Coast, the later coast, as we were talking about, when you're playing games, they have a later start time.

So by the time you're at halftime or a third quarter, fourth quarter, on the East Coast, middle of America, everyone's asleep. No one's getting to watch you. So now they're going to get also better time slots for their games, which is huge. The matchups are going to be incredible. It's going to be incredible.

Now we're going to get new rivalries. Everyone loves a good rivalry. I just, I mean, I'm excited for this. As an L.A. native, I had family that went to both UCLA and USC. I love it. Let's go. Let's have some excitement. Well, it's great for USC.

and UCLA. I get it from the other schools why they would be frustrated and why this could make things difficult for them and the visibility that they're going to lose from not playing USC and UCLA. But this is how it goes. When you're a big dog, you have the opportunity to make, you know, changes like this. You have to do it. You got to do it. All right.

Well, the USFL's first ever season comes down to Sunday's championship game between the Philadelphia stars and the Birmingham Stallions. After a 10-week regular season in Birmingham, the semifinals and Sunday's championship game, were moved to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Now, the Stallions have seemed to be the team to beat all season after starting 8 and 0. But they'll be going against the Stars team that has led the league in scoring at 26.2 points per game. The Stallions and Stars met once during the regular season and week five. The Stallions won 30 to 17.

I'm going to go out on a limb here. Can I pick a team? Should we pick a team? I'm going to pick. Yeah, I'm going with the stallions. They're the first team that will finish the only team that will finish the USFL with 10 plus wins. Yeah.

They, as you mentioned, beats the stars. The stars allowed a season high 30 points in their week five loss. So the stallions, the signs have had a lot of consistency and been great all season long. I love that this was seen all the way through. And I think it was a great product. visually we talked to Brock Heward about it, all the different angles. I want to see them use the helmet cam and the NFL. I think that would be a great extra, just an extra look.

You know, not every play. You know, we need our traditional, you know, down and distance shots. But, you know, to mix some things in, the drone shots were amazing as well. And overall, I love the opportunities that it gives these players. And the championship will be 7.30 Eastern Sunday on Fox, Birmingham, Stallions, and Philadelphia Stars. That's Alex Curry with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Herd Lye News. If Brooklyn really had a culture, I don't know that they'd be in this situation. We'll talk about that next on the herd. Joy Taylor in for Colin Cowherd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire, with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat

every day. Straightfire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced game. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast, 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. of the fourth. 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. 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 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 Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your part. podcast. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me. Not

just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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. Fox Bet Super 6 is giving baseball fans a free chance to win $10,000 of Big Poppies money. Scan the QR code, download the Super 6 app, and enter your picks into the MLB contest for your free shot at the jackpot. Welcome back to the herd. Joy Taylor in for Colin Cowherd all week.

He is back from his vacation on Monday. I'm heading off on mine. Alex just got back from hers. It is that time of year. It's also the time of year for chaos in the NBA. Free agency was wild yesterday, the start of free agency. Not just all the deals that were signed, but of course, Kevin Durant informed the owner of the Nets that he would like to be traded. That would be the professional way to go about things, by the way, is to tell the owner, not just to tweet something or leak something.

But that's what Kevin Durant is. He is a professional. Whatever you think of Kevin Durant's career or his choices is up to you. I don't have a problem with them. I don't have a problem with him leaving Brooklyn. him, but I've never really thought of Kevin Durant as a particular team guy. Once he left Oklahoma City, he's, you know, been a Rolling Stone ever since. I do think his next destination needs to be his last destination because at this point it is about legacy. It is about putting yourself in a different

category of players, of all-time players. And a lot of the critiques that he has received over his career or that he, you know, has commitment issues and that he leaves when things get hard. I don't think that's true. I think he very much earned the right to go to the Warriors. He spent his his time, nine years of his career with Seattle and OKC. And he had an absolute right to go and win a championship and multiple championships. And he was the best player on those championship teams and finals MVP twice. But what happened in Brooklyn when you take a step back and admittedly, I thought it could work. I thought they might have success.

And I've kind of taken a step back from this style of doing things and this way of doing things. I very much think that culture matters. So we talk about heat culture all the time. People roll their eyes and how things are done and how much it matters. Well, it does. And when you saw the postseason this year and particularly the NBA finals, I think it's very obvious how much coaching matters. How much culture matters. How much ownership matters.

How much front office matters. How much depth matters. How much developing players matters. All of it matters. it plays a role in winning championships. Everything is important when you're talking about winning cultures. And Brooklyn never had that. And from the beginning, you could see that there was going to be some issues there. We played the clip earlier talking about Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant and Kyrie talking about how anyone could be the coach. Steve Nash could be the coach one day. K.D. could be the coach one day.

Kare could be the coach one day. No, the coach is the coach. Her reports this year that Kyrie Irving was holding practices after Steve Nash's practices. That's not normal. That's disrespectful. There does need to be some hierarchy. There does need to be some structure to organizations. The Nets never had that. Now, they signed up for it in this situation.

And, you know, maybe any of us would if you had the opportunity to get Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the building. But you have to have standards. You've got to have boundaries. And we're seeing time and time again that the organizations that do that, The organizations that take care of their stars, but also set a hierarchy of decision makers that put people in place that the players respect, they're having success. Look at the Boston Celtics. They forever couldn't get over the hump.

They were just so talented. Why isn't it work? Why can't Brad Stevens put together? You bring in EMA O'Doka. He changes the team around and now they're in the NBA finals. Look at the Golden State Warriors. had the worst record in the league and just won a championship without Kevin Durant. Just retooled, were patience, took care of the players that were there, didn't panic, didn't freak out, didn't blow it up.

It's not that hard to make a good culture. It's really not that complicated. People make it complicated because people are the worst. People are impatient. People are egotistical. They want all the credit. people want power and influence. You see it everywhere all the time.

We're always confused. Why can't this person make it work? Why can't we figure it out? Why is this not building anything? How is everyone treating each other in the building? What are the standards? What's the culture? When you walk in the building, do you know this is my job?

I'm going to do it to the highest level. And if I continue to do it at the highest level, I'm going to be rewarded for that, that it's going to play a role in everyone's success. And I feel good about that. Or are you going into a Game of Thrones situation, which I use all the time, Everyone's whispering and there's leaks and, well, if I do this, will I be able to get that job?

And there's backstabbing and all this constant chaos. It's not that hard. Put people in positions of power who are qualified and then hire other qualified people. Treat people good. Empower people. Reward people. I just don't think of any sort of cultural pillar when I think of the Brooklyn Nets. And it's just not that hard to create.

creates a good culture. It just isn't. And, you know, we saw through some of these reports this week about how Kevin Durant felt about what was going on in Brooklyn, namely that he felt that the front office didn't try to understand Kyrie. Now, in the front office's defense, I don't know who understands Kyrie Irving outside of Kevin Durant. And this one, I don't even know if Kevin Durant understands Kyrie Irving. But if you are going to bring in a player like Kyrie Irving, who has a history of things blowing up, who has a history of not being reliable, and you can get the entire scope of how he behaves, because the NBA is a small circle, you can get a full scout on Kyrie Irving. Then you need to act accordingly. You need to make sure that you're in constant communication with

him. You need to make sure that you're on good terms with the people in his circle. You have to do that as an organization. You have to know to do that as an organization. This is an example of this is what happen with Green Bay and Aaron Rogers. That's why I was 100% on Aaron Rogers side when he was mad about the Jordan Love pick. You have to know who Aaron Rogers is. You have to know he's going to be upset if you don't tell him that you're going to draft Jordan Love. How can you have someone in the building for that long and not know how they're going to react to that? And not have the wherewithal to have that conversation. So I don't know how things fell apart in Brooklyn. I don't know exactly why. I'm sure we'll find out over the next couple weeks

once all this plays out. But this is an opportunity for Brooklyn to really build something. Be patience. Create something that is lasting. That's what's being rewarded in today's MBA. The Milwaukee Bucks. The Miami Heat.

The Boston Celtics. The Golden State Warriors. You're seeing it now with the Mavs. You've seen it with the Sons. Be patience. Build. Develop. Make smart free agency moves. Put pieces around.

that are qualified. That's what makes sense. That's what works in today's MBA. Pushing a bunch of stars together and giving everybody free reign to do whatever it is that they want doesn't work. You just saw it happen. It's all falling apart.

Who knows what's going to happen with Ben Simmons now? You don't know if Kyrie's going to be there. It's this chaos and not the good kind. So if you want to correct things, you've got to build a culture, and it's not really that hard to build. I gave my list earlier of where I think Kevin Durant should end up.

My top five, the heat, the suns, the Mavs, the Blazers, and the Warriors, all of these teams have trade assets to be able to make this happen. Obviously, my heat are the number one choice for me. I also think it's the most interesting. I think it's the most win-now situation for Kevin Durantz. The heats are that team that I just mentioned that has a good culture, that has a hierarchy. Pat Riley is not turning this organization over to anybody. He didn't do it for LeBron James. He's not going to do it for Kevin Durant.

That's just not how they do things. They have the trade assets to be able to do it. They're plus 500 favorites, according to Fox bet right now, to land Kevin Durant. And obviously, Pat Riley is an all-time recruiter. That said, the sons are also on the list. They also have a lot of trade assets that they could use to get him, including up to four future first round picks, which is the maximum. They're not going to move Devin Booker.

He just signed a four-year, $214 million, super. Max extension, so he's not going anywhere. Also, you wouldn't want to bring in Kevin Durant without Devin Booker. Like, that doesn't even make any sense. I love the Mavs. I love what the Mavs are building. I don't know how it works with Luca and KD, but I think if Luca is going to have big time success in the NBA, he is going to need to play alongside another star. So I think they could make it work. Obviously, Damian Lillard wants Katie in Portland with the Blazers. He posted that. That was this week. He posted that Instagram story. So Dame, Dame was on to something. Shoot your shot, we said.

Yeah, but he was early. He was early on this. Maybe he knew something. Yeah. Who knows? Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Dame, did you know? I mean, he was the only one who was on this. Remember when we talked about it? I was like, I don't know. Like, I don't think KD's going anywhere. This seems kind of like out of left field. Well, here we are. And I said, three days later. Yeah. Every team take notice. Shoot your shot for KD. Well, but I'm saying we did not see this really coming that KD was going to to ask out of Brooklyn. No.

And Dame posting that may make, you know, might be an inclination that he knew that this was happening. Or he just knew like he maybe has a relationship with Katie. We're going to find out more about all of this as the week goes on. We may get some news on Deshawn Watson today or early next week as those hearings have wrapped as well. Thank you so much for joining us, Joy Taylor and for Colin Coward. It's been a fun week alongside Alex Curry.

Thank you to Brock Heward and Kevin O'Connor for joining us. Matt Liner is in studio next hour to talk about the USC, UCLA transition into the Big Ten. And coming up, we'll talk more about Kevin Durant's wanting out of Brooklyn. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, 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 it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.