The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Right & wrong, USC

Episode Date: April 25, 2022

Where Colin was right and wrong USC is going to be very good quickly Guest: Kevin ClarkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go, live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. I sat in front of a television all weekend.

Saturday I got a Tyson Fury fight. USC Spring game. A couple of great NBA games. My wife got a booster shot, so she was down Sunday. So I watched more television. What's happened to me? I used to be outdoor guy, go for walk guy, go hike guy. I mean, there's time for that. It's a NBA playoffs. It's acceptable to be on the couch all day.

It is. There's great stuff. And I know I think who's going to win most of these series, but the games are compelling. The storylines are fun. The games have been really close for the most part. Teams are stealing games when we think it's going to be a sweep. It's been a great first round. It has been. All right.

Every Monday we do it. Colin right, Colin wrong. Let's not waste any time. Here we go. Where Colin was right? Well, I said when Kevin Durant left the warrior, Steve Kerr, Steph Curry for the Nets, it was a massive, massive mistake. Kairi's not physically dependable or emotionally reliable. And in three years, there's now two first round exits. One could be a sweep and a second round exit. I called it. I said it with absolute conviction. This was going to do. detour, a great basketball player's career, and it's done just that for KD. Where Colin was wrong. But I thought the Nets were going to beat the Celtics in seven games, because when you go into a series and have the two best closers, you usually win.

And I also thought the Celtics defense was suffocating in the regular season, but come on, that's the regular season. They just play harder than everybody else. Yeah, I was wrong. Tatum's outplayed KD, and the defense has been absolutely next-level spectacular. and Boston right now is the only team. I don't know. Can they shut down Janice? Maybe so, but I undersold the Celtics. Where Colin was right?

When Kyler Murray got drafted, and for the last several years, as much as I love his talent, and I would sign him if I was Arizona, I said he's going to be a holdout guy, he's going to have some turbulence, he's going to be a handful, his dad is a major presence, he's got some baseball love,

and I said his size, would be a factor at some point. Well, it is because the reason he wants the money early is the injuries. Kid's not dumb. He sees the future of quarterbacks who move around a lot. They get hit. So with Kyler Murray, I can like you, but we called it on this one. It was going to be noisy, and it has been.

Where Colin was raw. I thought when Chris Middleton left for the box, they would beat Chicago, but I thought the games would be really competitive. You take away Milwaukee's second best shotmaker. yeah, he's wrong. They've won by 30 and 24 and Janus has totally taken over. Listen, we've got to be honest now. Jan is the best player in the league.

I'm not saying he has to be the MVP. That's a separate argument. But in terms of offensive, defensive, distribution, coachability, Janus has moved into that kind of LeBron in his prime stage where he's just so versatile. He can beat you on both ends. He can beat you everywhere. Facilitating, scoring, defending.

is now the best player in the league. Where Colin was right? When Ben Simmons got swapped to the Nets, I said, the Sixers have just fleeced the Brooklyn Nets. I don't think Ben Simmons likes basketball. In fact, I went back the day the trade was made, I went back to the college scouting report on Ben Simmons, and they said, he's indifferent.

He doesn't really, he doesn't like to compete. And I said, I can coach up a lot of flaws in sports. Indifference is the one I can't. can complain all you want about James Harden. I know he loves hooping. I know, listen, Kyrie loves hooping, and he drives me crazy. I just don't think Ben Simmons, no player,

hadn't played in a year, and he's still not healthy. Is he practicing? Story today, the Nets quote, are totally exasperated with the Ben Simmons situation. Where Colin was wrong. When the Lakers traded Brandon Ingram for AD, I said at the time, Ingram's, I don't think he's a one. he's a two, maybe a three.

Slam dunk win for the Lakers. I'm not sure. Brandon Ingram's average in last three games, almost 34 points. His efficiencies through the roof. He's loved always a great teammate. But I never saw him as a dominant one that could take over a playoff series. I thought he'd be a great two. I thought in a championship team that was an argument to me made, he was a three.

Yeah, well, not in this series. Without Zion, he has been a dominant go-to score. putting the ball in the deck. You can see here he can drive, he can pull up, fall away, dunk over you, and good for him. Guy has worked really, really hard. Where Colin was wrong. A couple of weeks ago,

um, oh, my wrong. Yeah, I thought Chris Paul was the leader of the Phoenix Suns, right? Like, Devin Booker's injury wouldn't be great, but they'd be a, okay. Well, not really. Devin Booker's 27 points a game have disappeared and Phoenix is in a dog fight. Listen, Chris Paul, because of his age, what is he 37? He's not going to give you an A plus performance every night. Devin bookers easy points are sorely missed. Listen, there are not a lot of guys in this

league that scored 27 and Devin gets you a lot of easy buckets that you don't have to scheme for and screen for and they sorely miss him. Where Colin was right? A couple of weeks ago, I threw out a possibility. I said, if I was the Lakers, I would trade AD to the Warriors for Clay Thompson. Why? Because the emergence of Jordan Poole. And you guys said, I was crazy. Jordan Poole's now like an all-star.

Jordan Poole in the playoffs is averaging 24 points, 50% on threes, over 50% from the floor, and he's the league's best free throw shooter. And he's an aggressive attack the basket player. Listen, he's not going to be the next step because there'll never be another step. but he's a every bit the athlete clay Thompson is he's going to be healthier long term than step is if you're looking for size and the wiseman deal doesn't work they're crazier things than moving clay for anthony Davis that's all I'm saying where Colin was right well in four and a half months USC football literally looks and feels different biggest spring game crowd I remember at USC this is not the

sticks. They don't get 80,000 for a spring game. Caleb Williams, I texted multiple NFL execs this weekend. They all came out with the same answer. Caleb Williams would be the number one pick in the draft this year. Not the biggest quarterback, easy thrower, accurate, home run talent in space. Literally, no penalties for the first 15 minutes of this thing. They were a disorganized mess for the last seven years with Clay Helton. The transfer portal has, has changed everything. You don't have to recruit a high schooler and hope in two years he can play.

You bring in college guys that are already performing at a high level. They've already brought in 13 transfers. Nine will start and I'm told they've got three other silent commits they'll announce within the next week. Where Colin was right? Finally, we always say, be aggressive in sports,

worry about the mistakes later. The two biggest spenders in baseball were the Dodgers and the Mets. They have the two best records in baseball. The Mets went out and got Max Scherzer and others. Dodgers went out and got Freddie Freeman from the Braves and others, two best records in baseball. The A's sold pieces.

They're getting 2,500 people to games. The Reds sold off pieces. Three and 13. Worst team in baseball. Spend the money. There are no perfect players and there are no perfect contracts. But baseball continues to reward the analytically driven and the hyperaggressive. Way to go Mets and way to go Dodgers.

Colin right, calling wrong. All right. Let's bring in our buddy. Okay, so the draft, there may not be a lot of stars. Aidan Hutchison probably goes number one, Michigan guy. But nonetheless, there's Debo talk. There's Kyler Murray stuff. Can you imagine the NFL, NBA has always been a trade league, and that was always kind of part of the fun.

Like NFL, free agency, trade talk. It's nuts. We had the craziest march ever this year because of that. Kevin Clark, the ringer, slow newsday video cast. So what is your takeaway? I didn't love Kyler's agent putting stuff out there public, but I also said not everybody's going to be DAC. You're going to get Aaron Rogers.

You're going to get Kyler Murray. You know, some guys are more dramatic, whatever. Not everybody's DAC or, you know, they're going to play through a, you know, a negotiation. So what do you make of the whole Kyler, public, Instagram? How's it laying for you? I'm okay with it. And by the way, Colin, I'm going to start a new negotiation with The Ringer by taking the ringer out of my handle, deleting all of the social media that references it and just see how it goes. See if somebody wants to give me $30 million in the minute I take my team name out of my Instagram handle.

But no, I think this is the modern negotiation for a guy who's on a rookie contract. There is probably no bigger disparity in sports right now than what you make as a fourth-year first-round quarterback, Colin, and what you make as a top-tier, six-year guy when you're making $40 to $50 million. There was a report last week that within a couple of years, there might be a $100 million quarterback per year because of the way the cap is going on the TV deals. I think Kyler Murray is going to be due, I think five this year, and then his fifth-year option kicks in and starts making what I would consider veteran starter money for elite quarterbacks. But this is how you have to operate now if you want to change the timeline. I think the Cardinals were going to take a more patient approach to this thing. Kyler doesn't want that. As you said earlier, I mean,

quarterbacks, they need to maximize their revenue as soon as they can. I mean, Lamar Jackson seems to want to get to pre-agency. We'll see how that goes. But most quarterbacks want the financial security of having a $40 to $45 million deal, which is the going rate for a top starter. I'm okay with this sort of urgency to reset the timeline as Kyler is doing right now. Okay. So Debo Samuel in the 49ers, I saw some nightclub video. I don't go to nightclubs, but I can watch the video. And he's going.

He's not. You know, I said this. In a lot of instances, it's obvious to me. You know, sign a guy or let him go. Debo is tricky. So George Kittle gets injured. If I sign Debo, I'm like, my two guys are physical with a coach that leans into physicality. And the Rams stars don't get hurt.

And I'm like, I don't know if I'd pay him here. What is next to you for Debo and the 49ers? I've never seen a stranger conversation in the NFL right now than the ones front offices are having with wide receiver value because the Packers, smart team, moved off Devante Adams for first round picks for value. The Chiefs, really smart team, moved off Tyree Kill because they get value for them and didn't want to pay them that kind of money. The Niners are an interesting position. What do they not have that those two teams have? They don't have an elite quarterback.

There's a huge question mark. I mean, Jimmy Groppo is still on the roster, but it's going to be Trey Lance. That is the succession plan. But if you're the Niners right now, you have a much bigger decision to make than those two teams. You can trust Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rogers to create offense. And in the Matt Lafleur offense, in some cases, it doesn't even need a top receiver. Just because Devonthe Adams got open, the offense changed a little bit in that regard. Obviously, you want to have Devonti Adams, but they can do without him.

The Niners, for me, are an interesting case study in where this goes. I've heard people say to me, Colin, in the NFL, that there are so many guys. good wide receivers in the market. And at some point, in the draft, and for agency, it almost becomes like a junior version of the running back position where you start to pay these guys less. On the other hand, nobody's acting like that. They're paying any receiver who comes on the open market, $25, $30 million. Christian Kirk is getting paid like Larry Fitzgerald.

All of a sudden, it's ridiculous. So I don't know where this goes. I do know that what the Niners do with Depot is a really fascinating test case and litmus test for how smart teams view the wide receiver position going forward. So, you know, Joey and I had talked about this six months ago. I said, I love the draft. I said, but this is offensive linemen. It's, you know, it's rush ends.

I'm like, there is no Chase Young. So the quarterback situation, I had a general manager with a Super Bowl ring tell me, Kenny Pickett was a third round. That was their grade, third round. And he said, oh, he'll go first because that's just the position. your guess if you could give me a team or two who's in the quarterback market I guess in the first round

I mean at this rate the Panthers would be in the mix there potentially the Falcon depending on what they wanted to do I don't know how this shakes out are the lions in the mix probably not at two if they moved down there was a report this morning I'm sure you saw it that everybody wants to move down nobody wants to move up so what do you do if you're the Panthers Do you panic and take a quarterback at six?

I think there's a lot of teams you say, you know, in theory, if this guy, if Malik Willis drops to us in the second half of the first round, or Kenny Pickett drops to us, or Sam Howell, even, you know, in the 20s at some point, there was a report that there's maybe going to be a late run on quarterback to the end of the first. I think there's a situation like that. The problem is moving backwards in this draft is going to be really hard to do. If the Jaguars could have done it, they would. Nobody wants to move up in this draft.

So I think there's some sort of abstract quarterback market that hasn't fully developed. We'll see how that shakes out. But I think that it's going to be incredibly unpredictable from that perspective because I don't think anyone knows. I think if the Panthers can't move back, then yes, they might over-draft a quarterback by 20 spots at 6th because they have to, because they can't get anything close to value for the 6-pick. It would be embarrassing to drop back. So that's a thing to watch. What happens if you want to take a quarterback in the mid-teens, but you can't because you can't even get in the mid-teens?

Yeah. What do you make – Joy and I have gone back and forth on this. I feel like if you believed in Trey Lance, you'd move Garoppolo, save money on the cap. And by the way, maybe go get a wide receiver on the market if you're going to lose Debo. What does it tell you? First of all, there's not a huge market for Jimmy Garapolo. What does it tell you they're keeping him? Isn't that odd?

Or is there no market for him? There's no market. I mean, the surgery changes the timeline, and I understand that. I think they thought they were going to get a second round. pick. I thought that they, I think they think it was almost going to be, even though Alex Smith was a better quarterback, almost like Alex Smith a couple of years ago, where they let him play for one year, they do right by him, they trade him to a team that's going to maximize his money, his potential, where he wants to go wherever it is. Jimmy Garapolo is not that quarterback.

And obviously the health question adds an extra layer to that. But I think that they misread the market on this. And now they could clear $25 million in cap space pretty easily, and they will at some point, but maybe they go into training camp. Maybe they go into the season, September and see what happens. But I think they've, they've mishandled this a little bit. And I don't know where it goes from here, because I don't know after the draft, who's still going to want a veteran quarterback? Baker Mayfield's got the same problem. And if you really want to just take a flyer on a guy, I don't know, is that that much difference in taking Baker versus Gropolo right now? I think that the veteran quarterback market has been unpredictable, but I really think that teams thinking

they're going to get valued, that's a little bit misguided because there's just too many guys Good stuff. Kevin Clark. The ringer, he will, he just threatened to scrub all his social media, which good luck to bill on that. I'm taking it at $25 million a year as soon as I remove it, right, Colin? You know, Joy and I are going to give that strong consideration during the break. Kevin, good seeing you. Joy, what do we have tonight, by the way, on the tube? So let me guess. Tonight I get, do I get Sixers tonight? You get Celtics Nets. Okay, that series is going to be all watch that. What else do I get? And then you have Sixers, Raptors. Okay, got to watch that.

So two series wrap up tonight. Yes, and Jazz Mavs. That's fun. Luca, they, you know, do you see, Rudy Gober got passed the ball? That was big for him. You know, Donovan didn't pass to him much. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week,

within the IHard 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 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me. 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.

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I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little camp? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode

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New Orleans is undefeated. There's only a couple teams that are undefeated. They have the best offense. New Orleans is my, they don't have a Super Bowl, right? They don't have a Super Bowl. So what is their bowl called? I'm trying to figure out USFL as we go here. I'm trying to.

Oh, what is the USFL's bowl? Whatever the champion. There's been a Super Bowl in New Orleans. New Orleans is the best team I've seen so far. They had the best offense. The stallions are also undefeated. Mahler's not looking so good. Joy, with the news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Ben Simmons saga continues. Yeah, sure does. It was reported last week that Ben Simmons would make his debut with the Nets tonight against the Celtics, He has been ruled out for game four.

He reportedly told it seemed his back soreness returned yesterday. He had 10 days of pain-free practice leading up to the decision, but it took a turn yesterday. They were hoping they could use him in this series. Obviously, Boston is up 3-0. And the reaction has been less than positive to Ben Simmons not being available for game four. Reggie Miller tweeted about Simmons continuing to sit out, saying, come on, man, out for game four when it was rumored.

We're going to make your debut. This dude has zero competitive fire. Use the fire emoji. As a small chances, the Nets have to come back in this series, you still have Katie and Kyrie. All you need is to win one game and take it from there. Hashtag, man up. I do think there's fear-based here.

I think Simmons sees the hostility, and I don't think he wants any part of this. I really don't. Colin, I said this last week on the show. I think this is a very unfair position to put Ben Simmons in. I understand that Ben Simmons is a professional. He gets paid a lot of money.

I understand he hasn't played in a year. Some of it was mental and now it is physical. And there's a lot of uncertainty about where he is. And I, of all people, am not a fan of this whole situation. But why put that out there? There is no win. Zero. Zero win in this situation. He hasn't played basketball in a year.

I know. He's never played with this team. he's not a minute of basketball with this team, with these teammates in this system. And you're going to insert him in an elimination game in the playoffs. Yes, I would. With this kind of pressure, why? Well, because I'm paying him $100 million. That's the pressure is part of the deal when you make $100.

You know, what you're paying it when you brought him in? Yeah, but the money, the money to me is, the money to me, I get it. Like you get paid like a superstar. I understand it. Yeah. And I am not saying that Ben Simmons is without a fault here. So don't get crazy. Like, you are.

you have a responsibility as a professional to do everything that you can to be available to do your job. Right. But there was no win to whoever put this out there. That's fine. To do that. Yeah, but the excuse can never be pressure. Like if it's back soreness, that's totally different. But if the reason I'm not playing you is pressure, get over it.

But they're saying it's back soreness. Okay, that's fine. So like are we to believe that it's that or are we to believe that it's the pressure? Whatever it is. with you, I believe it's a combination of both. But that's why, if I'm the Nets, I am not saying anything about if Ben Simmons can play or not. Once you're at $100

million, pressure can never be an excuse. Backsorn is a totally different ballgame. I wouldn't have brought him in for the first place. Well, yeah, I didn't like, I think he is a roster and chemistry killer. So I thought, I said the first day of the deal. Philly,

fleeced Brooklyn. I also just don't think for everything that comes with him being available. with how things fell apart in Philadelphia. He's a good player. He's not a great player. No, no. In this league, you've got to score some to be a great.

Marcus Smart's a good player. He's terrified to shoot. We know that. How has that changed in the last year? He's in play basketball. Right. So, I mean, all I'm saying is, I don't know why you would put this out there to begin with.

What did you expect the reaction to be if he couldn't play? Which was entirely on the board. Like, number one thing on the board is he's probably not going to play. So why would you put it out? out there. It makes no sense to me. Manage the situation properly. I had zero expectations of seeing Vincent's the I don't think you can ever use in pro sports the is a lot of pressure here. It's like maybe for a rookie like you wouldn't want to put a rookie quarterback in a Super Bowl and just roll with it like Justin Fields. It's like I defend the first year quarterback. I'm like can we

get him some can we get them in exhibition games but when you've been in the league like six five years and you're making a hundred million it's like bro, if it's sorness a back I'm with you. But I If I was as agent now at this point, Rich Paul, if you're clutch sports, like, I'm not sure if this is good for my agency. Like, this is like, it's a bad look to represent him, I think. Maybe I'm wrong. It's a bad situation. And I think this, I think putting out there that he might make his debut just made it worse. I didn't expect to see Ben Simmons in this series. Well, it's funny. So when he first got traded, it was 10 days. And it was called. And it was, when he first got traded, it was mental. And we were all respectful of that.

And then the mental went away and then it went into back soreness. So like, remember, they sold us on, he'll play early, he's just got to get mentally right. Okay, that was like 10 days. So now it isn't mental because now it's a backsorness issue. So that better be what it is because I'm not giving you a third out, which is there's a lot of pressure here. I'm not giving you the pressure out. No, I don't think pressure should be an excuse if you are 100% healthy to play. but my side of it is you

pitch something that you had no guarantee that he was going to do. So why would you even put it out there? And even if he was to play, what's he playing? Eight minutes a half? Now it's Ben Simmons's fault that they didn't move on? He's not played it all this season. I don't know. I just think it's a silly thing to do.

It does not make any sense. Even if it's out there. All right, it's out there. You can't control anything. Everything leaks. I mean, good God, the White House has leaks. There's a difference between something gets out there and Steve Nash coming out and saying,

Absolutely, we're not even exploring this. Shut it down. Like, you can shut something down. You can absolutely say, like, don't know where that came from, but it's not true. I don't want anybody to be a victim in this. I don't want to blame anybody but Ben Simmons. I don't want to blame Nash, the media. I'm not passing victimhood.

I'm just saying I didn't expect to see Ben Simmons' series. And even if he did come out there, he's playing eight minutes. What is he going to do? He's like going to be the savior of this situation. Which, by the way, the Nets shouldn't be in the first place. You have Kevin Durant and Kyrie. Well, his first two games in Boston, if he played eight minutes a half, I'd argue they'd win. Kevin Durant wouldn't be completely exhausted, just like eight minutes.

I don't know. Game four is tonight. Nets are currently favored by one, according to Fox Bet, but the Celtics could close it out tonight. So the NFL draft starts Thursday night. It does. It has arrived. And according to Tony Paulino, the Pro Football Network, the Saints and the Steelers look like a sure bet to select a quarterback in the first round. So Saints have the number 16 pick. Steelers have number 20. They both signed veteran quarterbacks this off season, James Winston and Mitchell Trubisky. And both of the guys look like placeholders, but neither of these quarterbacks,

Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis, who are rumored to be, you know, going at the top of the draft, are really sure bets to perform in the league. I would have no problem if the Saints took Willis. These two teams make sense to me. They have really good cultures. both have an answer for this year, Trubisky and James. Neither one thinks they're a Super Bowl team this year.

But they, you know, the bottom line is these two teams will vie for a wild card spot. Like I, these teams, Steelers Saints to me, if you're telling me those two teams by Thursday night, have Willis and Kenny Pickett, I'd be like, that makes sense.

Yeah, I don't have a problem with either of these teams taking quarterbacks. I also think if you get it wrong, take a quarterback again in the first round. It doesn't, they do that all kinds of positions. It's the most important position. I don't have a problem with you moving on if it doesn't work. Now the Seahawks also might take a quarterback at number nine

and then you also have Carolina who's been rumored to be in that spot. I think that's mostly because Matt Ruhle is sort of in the hot seat. But I mean, we just talked about it. There's not going to be trades up. No one wants to move up. Detroit is also a possibility. I'm very curious to see where these

quarterbacks go. I'm excited to see how they develop also. If they end up going to these two teams, now obviously, the Saints are a different team without Sean Payton. Whoever ends up with the Steelers, I think, we'll have some success. Malik Willis, obviously Kenny Pitt is a pit guy, but I like Malik Willis in Pittsburgh as well. But it's not a star-driven draft, so the buzz isn't the same that it usually is. But it's still fun.

And I'm curious to see what teams do what. We still have Baker and Jimmy G. out there as well. So there are some moves to be made. The Debo-Samuel situation with the Niners is turning into some social media drama. There was a reported text message chain with Jamal Adams of the Seahawks. The Debo has since claimed his fake. He tweeted, LOL, false, I don't even got to his number or nothing. You got to be careful with these screenshots.

People can manipulate those. There's also a video at a nightclub with a sign that says Debo is staying with the Niners. And then the camera pans to Debo. And Debo's like, no, it is not me. doing that. So I don't know. There's a lot going on with this situation. Ian Rappaport reported last week that Debo wants to be used as more of a traditional wide out. We know money is also a factor in this. Multiple reports emerged Friday that the Jets, Packers, and Lions have shown interest in making a trade. Now, the Niners have said that they are not going to trade him, but it doesn't seem like

it's a fixable situation. Now, Tyree Kill sort of set the market for the top level receiver with five picks. I don't know how you're going to go higher than five picks, and that was with the first and a second round pick. But the interesting thing with the Debo situation to me is that he doesn't want to be used how he was used with the Niners. So if I want to bring Debo in and pay him that kind of money, I'd want to use him the way that he was used with the Niners. I wouldn't want him to be exclusively a traditional wideout because he's so effective in being a hybrid player. But I just, I don't know how, I mean, the Niners have control of the situation. Obviously, they have the leverage here, but how long can they hold out and how much drama are they going to deal with.

Good stuff, Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. So, by the way, we were talking about this earlier, is that there was this time when we all liked Janice. Like four years ago, he kind of popped. 60 minutes was doing pieces on him.

But there was always this feeling like, yeah, Kauai pushed him around in a series. and KD's a better get a bucket guy. And what is his leadership? And LeBron, I'll take LeBron late. Like when you watch the Bucks lose Chris Middleton, what Janus is becoming is LeBron versatile. And that's what really in basketball, that's what takes you from good to great.

He can beat you a facilitator. It puts the ball in the deck. He can beat you at the rim. He can beat you defensively. The fact they've lost Middleton, the ball movement's better and he's even more dominant. he's really, we've moved to a new era. It's Janice's league.

And as long as his pieces like LeBron are healthy in the postseason, they should probably be favorites. You know, who are the best players in the league? I don't know. But if let's be honest, if you told me there's five young guys, 25 or under, I could bet on, I would go Janus, Luca, M.B., Yokic, and Jason Tatum. I don't know if they're MVP's. I don't know if the, Yonis is a lot of. Janus is one.

You can throw around the other guys, but these guys all look like to me eight more prime years, maybe seven in Embed's case. Those are my guys. Are they the Devin Booker's close? I think Anthony Edwards and John Morant in a year, maybe we can make arguments. But if you're telling me I can build around guys,

I'm a GM, I've got a long contract, I got like seven years to go. I think Janus's versatility is really incredible. And he's, that was always, that was always, I mean, like Michael Jordan was a great score and a great defender. Wasn't a great distributor. He didn't necessarily elevate everybody. He took shots from other people. But like Magic and LeBron and Janus, they've moved into that sort of, you know, like Kareem. Did Kareem make teammates better? No, he just had the skyhook. Yonis isn't a special place now. And I think he's my MVP, it's the best player in the league.

we always have, there is almost always been a guy in the league. Like a guy. Forever, it was Michael. First, it was magic and bird. Then it, sometimes it shared. Then it was Michael. And then it was like Shaq and Kobe was close. And then it was kind of Duncan.

And then it was LeBron for a spell. And it's Janus. Like physically, always there. Coachable, loyal, offense, defense, distribute. He's the guy. And the fact that they've just hammered Chicago, a feisty well-coached team with a lot of shopmakers, is another illustration. It's his league now.

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. 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 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'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

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

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

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Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. 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 So 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 podcast Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tript Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing,

growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. Hustler Turf, the brand lawn care professionals have trusted for years when it comes to premium zero turn mowers. Go to hustlerturf.com, 1,400 dealers nationwide. You know, I always joke about this is that there's a lot of great cities in the country. I was just in Chicago.

Joy was up in the Bay Area. It was beautiful. I've been to 48 states. I've had places in Florida. I love Connecticut, Rhode Island. What two states haven't you been to? I've never been to South Carolina. Really?

Odd. And, no, I've been in Nebraska. I think there's one of those states around that whole... Been to Maine? Yeah. Maine's beautiful. Yeah. Never been to Maine?

I've done a couple speeches there before. Yeah, I'm beloved up there. I saw Stephen King's house, which is creepy and crazy, just like it should be. I mean, I think I've been all the sudden... Oh, no, I've been to West Virginia once. Arkansas? That could be it. A lot of those southern states.

I was, you know... I've never been to Arkansas. I have a bunch of states in my list, though. Little Rock's supposed to be a good time. So, you know, but I do defend, everybody will do, it's okay for everybody to defend their hometown. But if I defend Los Angeles, which is the fifth biggest economy, California, in the world. Because the reason I defend it is because conservative broadcast networks are always telling you nobody wants to live here. And I'm like, I don't know. L.A. County's got 10 million people. That's bigger than 41 states.

I think people want to live here. Stars want to live here. So I find it interesting that like USC basically went to Oklahoma and said, yeah, we're going to take your coach. And everybody's like, well, why would he do that? Because it's California. We have the Olympics. There's stuff to do with your family. There's beaches. There's massive economic advantages.

Caleb Williams now is making more at USC because of the NIL than probably seven quarterbacks. At least 20 backup quarterbacks in the league. It's like it's a huge economy. And so I was watching them play this weekend. And it's just going to drive people nuts. But USC is going to be really, really good, really, really fast. Now, they're not going to win a national championship this year. Because, now, the coach is good enough to win it, and Caleb Williams is good enough.

But there's a reason they left Oklahoma. The state of Oklahoma only has about 7 to 10 high school football players a year you can recruit. California's got 90 to 120. And so as Oklahoma moves into the SEC, they don't have nearly the high school players in their state that Georgia does, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and those programs are going to recruit in those states forever. So you're going to look up in five years, and Oklahoma is not going to be nearly as good as USC. USC is going to be winning 12 games in the PAC 12, and Oklahoma is going to winning nine

games and getting their brains beat in by Georgia and LSU and Alabama if Nick Saban still there in the SEC. And it's just, it's not hard to figure out. But I was watching them this weekend, and they're just, it's like night and day, four and a half months. If somebody can make something work in four and a half months, like LeBron and D. Wade had a rocky first month. But the second month, you're like, yeah, it's the best team in the league.

If you can look this good, this fast, and I know it's just like spring game, folks, this is going to be gigantic. USC is going to be really good, really fast. Now, this year, they'll probably win nine games. They inherited an absolute mess. Oklahoma will be better than USC this year. That's not disputable. Oklahoma inherited, their coach inherited Lincoln Riley's 11-win team.

basically Lincoln Riley inherited Clayhleton's four-win program. It is a mess. It's a tire fire. But in four and a half months, it's unbelievable the transformation. Like grown-ups, organized, nine starters transfer portal, six other kids that could start. And I'm told I've got multiple other commits that they're going to be rolling out here in the next month. But it's not like, well, you're a USC homer. No, when you live in California, you feel like you're always defending it against crazy town people who have never actually been to the state.

It's good here. Our teams win here. People like living here. Athletes love it here. It's going to get good at USC really fast. And I never want to hear what USC is in college football town. It isn't? Because years ago, I used to go to the Coliseum and there were 90,000 people and like 200 famous people on the sidelines.

You ever go to the Rose Bowl? A lot of people that game, USC home games. LA is a sports town. They get 40,000 people for volleyball tournaments. L.A. sells out their soccer games. They sell out college football games when they're good. But you can't be average here. There's too many options.

You can be average in Auburn, Alabama. You can be average in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Not that they are, but you could be. What is you going to do? I mean, in a lot of places in America, a state fair is like an awesome option. I've been to state fairs. In my state, it was a big deal. not so big here. A lot of options.

All right. Antoine Walker's been in the NBA for, was for like 12 years, won a championship All-Star. And we were talking about, I think the Brooklyn Nets were in a really, really bad space. What do you do with Kyrie Irving? I mean, I don't even know. What do you do? He can opt out. I would not pay him $240 million for four or five years. I wouldn't. I just wouldn't do it. Now, in fairness, I said, Kyrie Irving is the only superstar player that I can never remember, and I said this six months ago, I would trade for role players. Like, I think there are certain guys you want out of the locker room. And I don't think KD and Kyrie mesh.

I don't think they play well together necessarily. And they're both prone to durability issues. But I asked Antoine Walker, what do you do with this? Because you got the Ben Simmons contract, the KD contract, the Kyrie deal, but at least Kyrie, because he is great, you could move. him. Here was Antoine Walker's answer. If I'm the ownership group, I'm basically starting Nova up top and working my way down. I'm the GM, the head coach, they got to go. You don't trade for a marquee player like Ben Simmons and come up with zero like this.

And I actually thought just like the rest of us, at least most of us, that they got the better of the trade. And for this guy not to play and not seeming like he doesn't want to play, somebody dropped the ball. When you trade for a guy like this, you do your research, you figure out everything about him, you call around the lead, you ask his college coaches, you ask Philly,

you find out to try to find out the truth. And they didn't do their due diligence. I think he's scared of not being able to perform at the level that he needs to perform at. By the way, I've said this often. The only thing I can't put my arms around is indifference. I can coach a lot of stuff out.

out of you. But I mean, I think Charles Barkley and Shaq this weekend said, like, like, you're Brooklyn, you're trapped. What can you do? In the hood, we call this a punk move. You know, when things are going good, yeah, I'm playing in game four. Chuck said, if you could play on Saturday, you could play on Monday. Now that they lost my back hurt, well, if your back hurt, get some icy hot-out sanity. Ben is getting to the point now where your teammates are like, you know, man, this dude want to play basketball? It, clearly, it has to have. happening in Philly, and now it's happening like, you know, man, we need something. We need something.

Because remember they were saying, like, we're going to give us 20 minutes. Remember that? Last week, he's going to give us 20, like, yo man, try to give me 20 minutes. And if you go out there and you can't play, we're like, hey man, thanks for trying. Yeah, listen, both answers are terrible. Either he is really prone to injuries or he's indifferent. Those are bad answers. These are bad answers. And again, when we first heard it was mental, everybody backed off in the media. We're like, hey, man, that stuff happens. I totally get it.

These are young athletes. But at some point, I just think you have to make an effort. I mean, this is hard. Pro sports is hard. There's a lot of pressure. I know they get paid well. A lot of pressure. I'd figure out ways to play.

It feels like he's bailing on his teammates. Barkley thinks it, Shaq thinks it, I got to agree with them. All right, third hour coming up on a Monday. A lot of stuff around the corner, Rich the Hurd. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way

with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with, And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot. or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.