The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - "The JMac 6 Pack"

Episode Date: July 10, 2025

Jason shares his "JMac 6 Pack" listing the top contenders in the NBA after free agency Brett Veach calls out Travis Kelce Thoughts on Kirk Cousins issues with the Atlanta Falcons   Guest: Albert BreerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's me, Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd. He's enjoying an extended July 4th holiday. Boy, that guy's living the dream, baby. So it's me and Alex Curry in the salt mines. Alex, how we doing, holding up? By the way, how was your July 4th? Any firework activity or not real? Yeah, I mean, I did the standard.

I think I talked about it when we were on the show last week. The Strand is just like a massive. Firmosa in Manhattan. And I have a couple friends with Strand houses. So just, yeah, just like, just like, did the walk down the strand, like seeing, seeing everybody else rage and have a good time and just waving from afar because I've officially been pregnant for every holiday since Thanksgiving. Wow.

So that's been great. All right. Well, that's exciting. You know, you got a big summer ahead. Big summer. We're in the red zone. We're feeling good. We're feeling happy.

Just hopefully she cooks for another week or two. All right. All right, we got Albert Breer coming up in five minutes. He's jet-setting as well. All these guys taking summer vacations. We're just work. We grind. All right, let me quickly go.

So a lot of NBA free agency has been decided. Not everything Bradley Beale could still move. You've got big got Jonathan Cumminga. I don't know if he's adjusting the odds of anybody. But we decided to come up with a J-MAC six-pack. As of now, the six-pack of NBA teams that can win the championship next year. Now, as I was reminded this morning, if we had done this last year at this time, it would have been Boston Celtics 1 through 6. Everybody thought they were going to repeat.

They had a loaded team. They just won the chip. I mean, they were absolutely stacked and didn't get out of the second round. So keep that in mind. No defending champ has gotten out of the second round since the KD. Curry Warriors. Let's have the six-pack. Let's get started with, I think we're starting with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East. mostly because they retain almost everyone on their team.

They did lose tied Jerome. Rotational guy had a good season. But when you keep the core, Garland coming off the toe injury in the playoffs, Mowbly, Allen, Mitchell, is a good team. DeAndre Hunter's now had, we'll have a full season.

Listen, I know Cleveland, it's tough to think of them winning a chip without LeBron. But guys, the pieces are there for sure. I think the Cleveland Cavaliers are one or two in the east. Let's go to the next team. And that is the New York Knickerbockers. Yep.

Do they still call them the Knickerbockers? Either way. So last year, the Knicks added two new starters in towns and bridges. Obviously, very difficult to dominate right out of the gate with two new starters. Well, now this year, the Knicks will have a new head coach. But it looks like they're going to retain everyone else in the starting lineup, added two guys to the bench. I, you know, listen, Mike Brown, I like him. If he plays his cards right and uses more bench and keeps his guys.

fresh for the postseason. I don't see why this isn't a 55-6 win team, 60-win team, and I think they're top two in the east, maybe number one. And the garden home court advantage would be sick in the postseason. All right, let's go to the west, because nobody else is good in the east, and we're going to go Lakers. I know, I know. Got J-Mack, you're crazy. What are you doing? Well, let's see. If they add Bradley Biel, they're for sure in the six-pack, and I'm going to put them here out of respect to, I don't know, two of the five best players in the league in Luca and LeBron. Oh, Jay. what happened against Minnesota?

Well, I don't know. They had like 20 games together to work out the kinks. They had no center? Can we just take a deep breath and say like they lost to the Timberwolves and nobody really saw it coming? They're going to be fine. The Lakers are certainly one of the six best teams in league. Next up, Denver Nuggets.

I like the offseason they've had. They're putting all their chips in for now. Cam Johnson for Michael Porter Jr. feels like a slight upgrade, not a huge one. because MPJ is a much better score. But I think Cam Johnson will be good. I like Bruce Brown coming back, getting off Russell Westbrook.

I think they added Tim Hardaway. Yeah, Tim Hardaway. They've done a good job. And remember, Aaron Gordon was hurt in game seven with the ankle. Or maybe they beat OKC. Next up, the Houston Rockets. I think they've won the offseason more than anybody. I mean, they added Kevin Durant.

Look at this. They added Climp Capella, and they added Dorian Finney Smith. Essentially, the Rockets got better than anybody, and they lost like nothing. Dylan Brooks and Jalen Green and a first round pick. I think you can look for guys like Reed Shepard to step up big time. I would not be surprised at all if Shen Gung is an all-star once again.

Jabari Smith, less pressure. Amman Thompson, rising star. Houston's good. I think there's a team to beat in the West. Houston Rockets in the J-Mack six-pack. And I know you're waiting on one last team. OKC Thunder. I'm not going to lie, I had, for a moment, Orlando in this spot over OKC.

Yeah, that's real. I can see Alex looking at me like, Jemak, what's wrong with you? I'm just going to remind you guys, SGA got paid. Chad Holman got paid. It's a different mentality and mindset among the players, and history bears this out. If you haven't won the chip, haven't gotten paid, it's front of office. That's a top priority. That's everything.

Well, now they got the title. SGA's got all the accolades. He's got all the money. That hunger desire's not quite there. Yes, they're young. Yes, they're probably going to win 50 to 60 gains, maybe 62. I don't know that they're going to win the championship again. You guys can bet them.

Go for it. I'm not doing that. So there's the JMA six-pack heading in the next season. Oh, my gosh. Who is doing these graphics? For everyone listening, you guys, there is a photo of J-Mack on the screen that is so on brand. I'm in a tank top. And your sunglasses.

Yes, yes. That's a good job. I think that's Tish or Scott. Shout out to those guys. All right. Let's go to Albert Breer live from Nantucket. Yes, that is a thing. Look at that tan on this guy.

Oh, my gosh. What are you doing this summer? Is it on a lobster boat? What's going on? No, no, no, no lobster boat for me. But, yeah, this is a couple weeks I shut it down. and one of my few strengths, J-MAC is my ability to chance

so everybody can see that on the screen now. Yes, yes, yes. Up close and personal. All right, before we get to NFL, I know you're a huge college football guy, and Dion Sanders came out this week and essentially said, we need a salary cap in college football.

So, Brewer, we went from, like, players can't get paid five years ago to NIL to salary. Like, it's exploding at a pace that I don't think anybody could have foreseen. Your Buckeyes are always, big spenders. But when you hear salary cap in college football, that just, it just doesn't seem to make a ton of sense, does it? I mean, I think, I understand what Dion's saying. And I think what Deon's saying is a small version of a bigger topic that college coaches have been discussing for

years now, which is we need guardrails. We need some sort of system that'll put rules in place that everybody has to play by that, you know, maybe isn't apples to apples from program to program based on what program you're at, but gives everybody a fighting chance. And, you know, I think if you're at a place like Colorado, which is not, you know, a blue blood at the level of Alabama or an Ohio state or a Texas, then it really does behave you to have those sorts of guardrails in place and have some limits on how much you can spend. And so what'll be interesting about this to me at least is two things. The first thing I think would be, you know, what this looks like with the NIL piece because even though there is that, Pete, the revenue share that goes

up to 20 million, you do have like the other piece of it, which is NIL. And are our school is going to be able to spend above the 20 million in NIL? How do you classify NIL versus money that's coming from the school? I think all of that needs clarification. You know, and then I think the other one that's really obvious is whether or not they unionize. And, you know, forever and ever and ever, the NCAAA has push back against any sort of thought that these guys would be classified as employees. But if you're going to put a salary cap in place, it would pretty much necessitate a collective bargaining agreement, which would necessitate unionization and making these guys' employees. So when you listen to Dion, it almost sounds like he's maybe losing out on recruits to, I don't

know, the Texas text of the world. Here is audio of Dion talking about a salary cap need, Albert. I wish it was a cap, you know, like the top of the line player makes this. And if you're not that type of guy, you know you're not going to make that. This is what the NFL does. So the problem is you got a guy that's not that darn good, but he could go to another school and they give him a half a million dollars. You can't compete with that. It don't make sense.

All you have to do is look at the playoffs and see what those teams spent. And you understand darn their wide end playoffs. It's kind of hard to compete with somebody who's given $25, $30 million, down during freshman class. Right. It's crazy. It seems to pays the more. Pays the most is going to be that in it.

So again, just wrapping up on college football, do you think we will see one here in the next like five years or is there just too much layer? Like you mentioned the word union. That's insane for college football. Come on. Yeah, and I don't know how you solve it. And, you know, once the genie got out of the bottle,

I don't think there was any putting it back in. but I also don't know how you put enough rules in place to make it fair for everybody unless you turn the guys into employees. And then if you're going to put a cap on what employees can make, well, that needs to be negotiated with the employees, which would require the employees being in a union. So there's no easy answers here, JMAQ. I mean, it just sort of is what it is.

And, you know, I think there was an opportunity over the last 20 years for the NCAA, for the conferences to get a hold of this early and get in early and try to fix this early and create some sort of order and rules and guardrails and all of that stuff. And unfortunately, there wasn't the leadership in the NCAA level with guys like Mark Emerit to do that. Those guys were more concerned with just collecting every check until the money train stopped rolling. And so now everybody else has left to pick up the pieces.

And I think it's, you know, again, it's sort of unpredictable. which way that's all going to go. All right, let's pivot to the NFL. The new quarterback show on Netflix debuted, and it seems like Kirk Cousins is, I don't want to say a sympathetic figure, but, I mean, you're laughing. I think a lot of people are like,

who cares about this guy, he's made a lot of money. I keep going back to this. When it first happened that they traded up for Pennix, six weeks after signing Cousins to $100 million guaranteed, it felt like, whoa, that's kind of dirty. Kirk Cousins, I feel like he was misled by Atlanta? Like if they had told him, we're drafting pennics, he probably would not assign there, right? Yeah, and I think on the quarterback show, he laid it out, like, as clearly as he's

laid it out, or I think anybody's laid it out, which is more or less that the Vikings wanted him to go year to year. And I think a lot of us knew this at the time. And there was some reporting out there on this that he was looking for a multi-year commitment from a team that beyond just the money, beyond just the guarantees, you know, a statement like, this guy's going to be our quarterback for the foreseeable future, and that's reflected in the contract that we negotiated with him. And again, like the Vikings were going through this process of resetting their roster of getting some of the older players out of there, getting younger at key spots.

You saw at the edge rusher position, for example, was a really good, a really good, really good example of that, like where they move out to Neil Hunter, and they bring in Andrew Van Ginkl and Jonathan Gernard and they draft Alice Turner. And so, like, the idea there was, well, yeah, Kirk, we're willing to bring you back. We're willing to pay you market value. But that does not mean we're not going to draft a quarterback.

We're picking higher than we plan to pick for some time. And, you know, if the quarterback is there that we like, we're going to take them. And that means we can't guarantee that you're going to be the quarterback in 2025 and going forward. We'll give you the job in 24, but that's really it. And the Falcons contract reflected that they were going to do more than that, that they were going to give him at least a couple of years of runway and that it was going to be his show.

And so, you know, I think, you know, looking at that from an apple to apples perspective, you know, Kirk looked at it and said, okay, on one end, I'm going to get at least two years. And if I play well more than that, on the other end, this team is probably going to take a quarterback in the first round. And I may be out after a year and looking for a new home again in 2025. So, of course, he took the first option, not knowing the two options, the two teams will wind up in very similar situations at the end. And I think the other thing you notice, just listening to him talk, and this is pretty obvious, is like he felt like the Vikings were very honest with him. And because of that, the Vikings lost the quarterback, right? Whereas if you go back and you look at it, like he felt like the Falcons were wound up being a little bit.

dishonest might be strong, but maybe misled him a little bit in the way they were going to handle the position. Let's go on to another story that just popped up. And, you know, Jared Goff, a super nice guy, doesn't really rattle cages or say stuff. He kind of called the Rams. I don't know if it was McVeigh or the Rams organization, immature for the way they handled his departure a couple years ago. I'm looking back, you know, with Jared Goff as a starter, he and McVeigh were doing awesome. They made the playoffs in three or four years. years. Like it was a good run.

And they got to a Super Bowl. And then to kind of not give him more of like more than a one minute heads up that we're trading you. I don't know. Did he deserve that? What's your read on how that kind of shook out? Yeah. I mean, I think, I think you know, if you listen to a lot of the stuff that Sean himself

has said in the time since, he has a lot of regret from that. You know, he did go back and clear some of that stuff up. And they have been able to reestablish a relationship. I don't think it is what it was. before and probably never will be. But I mean, it was to the point where, you know, a year after the trade, one of the first texts that Sean got was from Jared congratulating him on winning the Super Bowl. So, you know, I think there was a lot of regret in the Rams organization on the

way things were handled down the stretch in 2020 and into early 2021, what Jared got off and they wish they would have handled it better than they did. I also don't think that they anticipated that the opportunity to replace Jared Gough was going to come along as quickly as it did. If you remember, that happened, that trade was agreed to. Now, it couldn't be consummated until March, but that trade was agreed to at the end of January. And so it was, I mean, I believe less than two weeks after the Rams season ended. So everything kind of moved fast, and I do think the Rams have some regret over the way that they handled that.

And as much as they, I think, have worked out their differences, I think you can see, you know, in the way that Jared's talking in the documentary that he still feels a little stung by what went on. Yeah, clearly, anytime you get bounced that way, it's brutal. Now, I mean, he's done well in Detroit. I don't know if they backs up. Are you on board with the Lions probably backsliding a little bit this year? Yeah, there's a lot that there's a lot that they have to replace. Yeah. Yeah, I think Frank Ragnow is a really big boss. Like I, I know the amount they put on him to to help run the show on offense and really help their young linemen. And from a leadership perspective, from a play perspective, he's really good.

Now, they have some answers at the position, Graham Glasgow, they draftate Ratledge out of Georgia. But to think that they won't take a little bit of a step back in what's been a massive strength for them along that offensive line, yeah, I think you'd be fooling yourself at least a little bit, not to think that they're, that they, that there's going to be at least some effects to losing Ragnow up front. Then the other obvious part is the coordinators, right? So can Kelvin Shepard be what Aaron Glenn was? Can John Morton be what Ben Johnson was? Those are high bars to clear for those coaches.

On the flip side, though, I think everybody needs to remember what the lines were at the end of the year. That was an incredibly banged-up team. They were playing at an exceptionally high level when they were healthy, and they were able to withstand losses of guys like, Aidan Hutchinson and Alian McNeil on the defensive side of the ball. They were down to, I think, only three or four, like, full-time starters, like the guys they had planned to be their starters out there on that side.

You know, so I think if you look at that and you figure they're not going to have as bad injury luck, and they've still got so many young players that are ascending. You know, your guys like Jamison Williams and Jamir Gibbs and Brian Branch, you know, Aidan Hutchinson himself coming back off the injury, that those guys are still on the way up. they still should be really good, even if they do take a step back. I got to ask you about the Kansas City Chiefs. I think when you do TV hits, you automatically have to talk Chiefs at some point. But Brett Veach made a curious comment about Travis Kelsey,

and I think he was just being honest, but it kind of sounded like maybe he can see the end for Travis Kelsey and, like, you could see him wear down. But he was just being honest. I don't think it was a dig. But I'm curious just to your thoughts. on Vitch's comments on Kelsey? Well, I mean, he's turning 36.

Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, so I think if you're, if you're being honest about it, like he's already, that position, by the way, like, it's amazing he's made it as long as he has. More tight ends where the tag of injury prone than I think at any other position. And the reason why is because of how difficult that position is on your body. So the fact that he's made it this far is really, really remarkable. But yeah, they do have to plan for what's next year.

They did give Noah Gray a contract extension, who's been his backup, but they drafted out of Duke a couple of years ago. And the offense is going to look a little bit different. I mean, the weird thing is, Jay Mack, like, I look at it. Like, I think Travis Kelsey could take a step back, and they still could be significantly better on offense than they were a year ago. How? And it's for a few reasons.

I think their tackle situation will be better. I don't know what combination of Jalen Moore, Joanne Taylor, and Josh Simmons will be out there tackle, but it should be better than what they had at the end of the year last year. And then Matt Nagy had this vision for the offense last summer that never came to life. And it was Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy on the outside with Travis Kelsey and Rashi Rice running through the space vacated underneath. Hollywood Brown got hurt start of the year. He wasn't available until December. Rashi Rice went down for the year, about a month in.

So you never got to see all of that all together. Well, now you are going to get the chance to see it all together. And they think Rashi Rice has a chance to be one of the 10 best receivers in football. And Xavier Worthy's coming back in his second year. And Pacheco's healthy. So if you're better at tackle and you had this vision that you had drawn out last year that comes to life this year, I think they actually have a chance to be better on offense than they were a year ago. with the X factor, of course, being Kelsey's age the same way.

I think the defense is going to be really good with the X factor being Chris Jones's age on that side of the ball. Now, listen, I'm glad you saved that hot take for that moment, because I'm shocked right now. I haven't heard anybody say that. Everybody seems to think regression is coming. You know, the age. You're all prisoners the last thing you saw.

Not me, but other people probably. So that's interesting. A world where the chief's offense is better with everybody healthy. And the offensive line maybe, well, you're an Ohio State guy, right? You know the guy that they drafted, right? Yeah, I mean, like Simmons is like, that's a devastating injury for like a big man. Like that's worse than a torn ACL, what he wants for the torn battler attended. And I don't think it was perfect at first.

But since the chiefs have had him, he's checked all the boxes, and physically he's a freak. So the beauty of it for the chiefs is they don't need him to start day one. If he wins the job, great. But they brought in Jalen Moore to play that position from the Niners, who had been a fill in for Trent Williams. They have Juan Taylor there, who has been up and down, but still has ability. So, like, they can kind of bring Josh Simmons along at his own pace. And, you know, he's got the ability to be a top shelf tackle.

Somebody there compared to Trent Williams, maybe that's a little bit over the top, but he does have a lot of ability. All right, we'll wrap up with this. Is there any update on T.J. There's reports out there that like the fan base is starting to get divided over what to do with their beloved T.J. Watt. There's a report about someone, family member of someone in the organization, venting. We can't pay him. What are you hearing out there? I just think there's too much mutual interest in getting something done for them not to be, for them not to get something done.

The reason the Steelers went and got Aaron Rogers is because, is with the core that they've built, the core that they've been highly competitive with, but not at the top level with over the last four or five years, there may be a one or two year window left. And that's T.J. Watt, Minka Fitzpatrick, when he was still there before he got traded for Jalen Ramsey, which made them two years older.

Cam Hayward's at the end. With this group of players, it's about 2025. And I think that's part of what appealed about the situation to Aaron Rogers is that he looks at it and says, everybody else is on my timetable here. These are my peers. We're going to go chase a championship together. So if that's where the Steelers are,

and T.J. Watt is at a point in his career where he has to go chase a team. Like he knows the clock's ticking a little bit. He has leverage over the Steelers and that they need him to be part of that vision, but it also behooves him to be part of that team. You know? And so I just think there's too much mutual

interest for them not to get something done. I do think the contracts for Miles Garrett and Daniel Hunter and Max Crosby done this offseason do complicate things a little bit, but at the end of the day, you know, the way I see it at least, like the two parties involved here have too much mutual interest not to find a way to get something done. I don't know if it'll be at the beginning of camp or right before week one, but I would think that they'll find some sort of way to work this out. All right, Albert Breyer, thanks a lot for taking time.

out of your vacation and your family to talk football. Oh my gosh. What a good guy. All right, Albert, enjoy. All right, thanks, guys. All right, coming up next here on the herd. Wait a minute. Am I reading this right? Janus making a definitive decision about his future in Milwaukee. Alex says that for the next, in the next segment here on the hurt. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, what's up everybody. It's me three-time Pro Bowl of LeVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a podcast called Up on Game.

What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me. LeVar Earrington, T.J. Hushmanzada, and Plexico Burrits on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast from.

Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas, we invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.

Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas. and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kier 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. Trip 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. Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's just. different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman, catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. to tell me what you know.

Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. End of this month, it gets really exciting. But for now, let's go to Alex Curry with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. And J-Mack, we're going to start in the NBA because there's been a ton of rumors trade rumors surrounding Janus' offseason, but he hasn't addressed anything until recently in a live stream on YouTube. Janice was asked if he'll play for the bucks this season, to which he said, probably, I love Milwaukee. Now, he also said taxes are better in Florida and added that a lot of people have tried to convince me to play in New York.

So there's a lot, there wasn't anything definitive in this. Things too know, the East is weaker with Jason Tatum and Halliburton out for the year. But right now, Janice is enjoying his offseason. We've seen him dancing on yachts, on vacation. But for Buck fans, this is a good sign because it's the first time we've actually heard anything directly from Janus saying, probably, I love Milwaukee. He also didn't completely close the door on the option of potentially getting traded somewhere else. And he's always been a good guy, right? He's always said the right things.

he has been so incredibly loyal to the Bucks for giving him the opportunity that he has. He's brought them a championship. And the Bucks made moves. They recently released Damien Lillard. We had heard he wasn't happy with that. But then they signed Miles Turner. I'm probably happy about that. But they've been knocked out of the first round three seasons in a row.

Like, it's not working. Whatever they have right now is not working. And I believe that Yonah should see. what the options are. And if he has a better opportunity, why wouldn't you take it? Yeah. I mean, you said they're not,

they've been knocked out three years in a row. Yeah. So in the first round, three straights in this. So they're starting backcourt is one of the five worst in the east. There's no path to getting better. They have no first round picks

for the rest of this decade. I know you said Miles Turner, like that's a good get. It's a good get. Because of what happened with Dame, you're basically paying Miles Turner 50 minutes. million because they waved and stretched in.

There's no way they're going to get good. So that's why. And I know this is tough to stomach if you're a Bucks fan, but is the move to trade Janice and start over, or do you want to be mediocre for the next four years? And maybe get to the playoffs. They're not a lock. They're definitely not a lock. I mean, they're getting there.

They're just getting knocked out in the first round. But it's also like when you say mediocre, you still have one of the best players in the league on your team and Janice, a superstar. You just, you don't have the pieces you need around him to get back to being a championship team. And sometimes it's hard, but you got to move on. Yeah, if you have the stomach to look at this as purely a business decision, then you're shipping Janus out of town for parts and things. This is the time that you can get a lot for us.

Price is going to go down. And I know it's tough. Hey, hey, we don't want to lose Janus. We'll be irrelevant. We're not going to be on TV. We're not going to have a full arena. Everybody's got to go through. that. Like, do you want to talk about the team who made the biggest mistake of not trading high

was when the Angels had Otani? And then they literally got nothing for him. They're like, no, no, no, we're going to keep them and we're going to try to win this year. It's like, what are you doing? No, you're not. This is when you trade is when the stock is high. And you get the most that you can from them. It's, that's going to be a tough one. And remember, OKC with Kevin Durant. They get far and then KD's like, I'm out. You know, like, that could happen with Yonnas in a couple years. He literally could come back from vacation and be like, let's, it's time for, it's time for me to go. In the ownership group. So like, you know, like, I'm sure those guys are like, we can't lose our moneymaker. He's the only reason we're relevant.

He is. But you could also be relevant if you start winning. And in order to do that, something bigger needs to change. And that might be a full repo. Yeah. That's okay. Okay, you mentioned OKC. We're going to stick with the NBA.

The thunder are fresh off of bringing OKC their first NBA title and are looking to be the league. next dynasty. They already locked up SGA with a long-term deal and now reportedly given Chet Holmgren, a five-year rookie max extension worth up to $250 million. Now, the Thunder also expected to lock up Jalen Williams this summer. Now, just to put this into perspective, Chet's salary will jump from $13.7 million to 41.3 next season. Now, I personally think it's too early to talk Dynasty, mentioned Dynasty after one chip, but if you're going to

do it, you've got to keep your core together and this is a stacked young team, but you also have to remember this season, everyone was on rookie deals, so it made it easier to build, and you just paid your MVP, SGA, the biggest yearly

contract in American sports history. He is making $71.25 million dollars a year that's more than Shohei Otani, Joelle and B, Dak Prescott, Jason Tatum, I'm like, things change once you start

paying your stars. It's a different mentality. You don't have as much wiggle room. And again, like these guys are young. You hope that they stay hungry. It was weird that we didn't see them. There wasn't, how do I explain this? They said when they won the championship,

it's like, act like you've been here before. It's like, no, but you haven't. celebrate, get excited, and show some emotions that like this is something really big that you accomplish. So that could be a positive that like maybe they stick with that mentality and they could get back to another championship. But again, like you're you're, you are now having to pay your guys when you didn't have to pay anybody last year.

So can we get that graphic on the screen about the highest paid players in sports? So Otani Wan-O world series. Yes. Joel and B. Never been to a conference championship game. Jason Tatum lost in the second round out for the year. Dak Prescott's not sniffing the Super Bowl. No.

Anthony Davis always hurt. I don't think the Mavs are ready to compete. And Yonnas and the bucks, no shot. Like, you know, once you start paying these guys, and by the way, Devin Booker's going to make this list. Also, by the way, Shohay Otani deferred. Deferred a lot of his money. Deferred most of his money.

Yeah. But he's also making like $100 million a year on like ads, probably more back in Japan. So, yeah, this is a difference. situation. And Devin Booker's going to be at 72 mil with the sons with his new deal. And they're probably not top eight or nine in the West. So, and I get it. These guys are worth it. But it don't tell me. It's what the market's doing. Like you have to, you have to follow the market if you want to keep your top guy. So you tell me, Jay, you got to go get the bag. Fine. I'll get the bag. But we're not winning anything. Do I want to win or get paid? I think you get paid. Well, I can't speak for everybody. But I would love to get paid. Get me my money. And then I want championships. That's all I wanted to do.

not a wrong answer for an athlete. The athlete window is so much smaller than any other industry out there of your chance to make big money. So if you want to go and make that generational wealth money, all on you. No judgment. Go do that. But you're limiting your team to be able to build around you. And that's a real, real thing. All right, let's move to the NFL where Brock Purdy landed a long-term extension this offseason, putting him among the top 10 highest paid quarterbacks in the league, and many have tried to discredit what Pretty has done

in his three seasons with San Francisco, but former NFL quarterback Matt Ryan believes he's actually underrated. I think his ability to throw the football over the middle of the field. I think that's huge for them, fits within the scheme and what they do. He's a really good athlete. I think underrated in terms

of mobility, but also accuracy on the run. The ability to be accurate in the intermediate passing game, moving around. I think that fits without Kyle wants to run the football. So, you know, I think he can identify that pretty quickly. I think the unknown is

or the unknown was with Brock early on. Is he going to be able to make good decisions? Is it going to be poised in two-minute situations in critical third downs? And he's shown to be that in his short career. I will preach this from the rooftops. Put some respect on Brock Curtis's name.

I think people have a hard time getting over the fact that he was the very last pick in the draft, Mr. Irrelevant. But when you look at what this man has done in his first few seasons in the league, starting with his rookie season, taking the team to the NFC championship game, then he got injured, which is why I think they lost. Then he took his team to the Super Bowl the next season. Last year is a bit of a wash because of so many injuries on every part of that 49ers team.

But they believe he's the guy. They just paid him like he's the guy. I don't think they're going to win the NFC West this year, even though they have an easier schedule because they have... I have the Rams winning the NFC West. I think they definitely have a bounce back season. They should. They have an easier schedule than everybody else.

It would be a little shocking if they didn't. Hopefully McCaffrey is back. They need McAfee. And he stays healthy. He's about to be a new dad too. So hopefully he has that new dad energy. Oh, he married some kind of celebrity person. Uh-huh.

Yeah, yeah. I think I saw a picture. They're also in the red zone. Oh, really? Okay. Yeah, yeah. I remember those days. Uh-huh.

Alex with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. All right, coming up next, did the GM of the Kansas City Chiefs? Did he just take a shot at Travis Kelsey? That's next year on The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m.

Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I Hard Radio app. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are

trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across.

When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tuesday, it's the midsummer classic as Judge Otani in baseball's biggest stars head to Atlanta for the MLB All-Star game.

Coverage begins at 7 Eastern 4 Pacific, only on Fox. Back here on the herd. As I said earlier, NFL's going to start to get a little bit more on the front burner, if you will, as we head into late July. NBA starting to peter out. Big Summer League game tonight, though. But let's go to the Kansas City Chiefs for a moment, shall we? I know Kansas City Chiefs fans hold their breath when I start talking about the Chiefs. But you guys need to look at one of your own.

Because earlier, I think it was this week, Brett Veach, architect, mastermind, whatever you want to call him, came out in the media and was talking about Travis Kelsey and his, shall we say, struggle. So I looked it up. So three years ago, Travis Kelsey, 1,300 yards, 12 touchdowns. I think you could argue he's the best tight end in the league. Two years ago, those numbers dipped to 984 yards and five touchdowns. So 400 fewer yards, seven fewer touchdowns. Last year, Travis Kelsey down to 823 yards, three touchdowns.

Career lows across the board. Now, the guy's turning 36 soon. What are we to make of that? Now, you and I can look at this and see whatever we want. Okay, I look at this and see a former superstar in decline as it happens to everybody, right? That's just normal. Everybody starts to decline in their mid-30s and whatever professional sport they play, unless your name is LeBron or Tom Brady, who are just freaks.

But Chiefs fans look at this and say, well, he's just slow playing it, saving it for the playoffs. Okay, fine, he had a great game against the Texans and did nothing in the other two games. Go look at the Super Bowl clips. if you can clip off every route he ran in the Super Bowl, he was useless. Travis Kelsey did absolutely nothing against the Eagles. And look at his drop right here. That's just brutal.

And that's against the Texas when he actually played halfway decent. But he's just, he's not the same guy he was. And that's not a knock. So Brett Veach came out, and this is an actual quote. This is not made up. This is not fake news. This might be it. Now, that was part of a larger quote,

but when you're watching Kelsey in the Super Bowl, again, go call it up on YouTube. You look at that and you're like, this might be it. So when the GM is saying that, now is that a motivational ploy to get Kelsey fired up and locked in? You can only do so much. Now, Kelsey may come out in the first two weeks and have, you know, 15 catches for 300 yards. Oh, he's back. He's back. He's coming off like a seven-month rest, guys.

Okay? So I asked Albert Breer about this earlier in the show. Here's Breer on Veitch's comments about his tight end. Well, I mean, he's turning 36. You know what I mean? I think if you're being honest about it, like he's already that position, by the way, like it's amazing he's made it as long as he has. More tight ends wear the tag of injury prone than I think at any other position.

And the reason why is because of how difficult that. position is on your body. So the fact that he's made it this far is really, really remarkable. 100%. I agree. Listen, Kelsey's a Hall of Famer. He's on the short list of best tight ends in NFL history. What is it like? Shannon Sharp and Gronkowski. I'm sure I'm missing some guys. But Kelsey is certainly, without question, in there. It's just he's older now. Now, Breer did go on to say that there's a world where a healthy chiefs receiving court with Hollywood Brown, Rishi Weissie Weiss, Xavier Worthy, that opens up the field and maybe Kelsey's starting to eat more. But I think it's safe to say the chiefs could look a little different this year.

Kelsey may just not be featured as much in an effort to save him for the postseason. So I would just keep an eye on Kansas City. I'm on record saying they'll miss the playoffs. I know that sounds like a hot take, but if you look at the landscape, their schedules brutal, especially compared to some of the other teams in the AFC, and several teams got a lot better, including in their division. I think clearly the Broncos improved. I don't know if the Chiefs improved. Seriously, the Raiders are better. I don't know how much better. And then you've got the Chargers along with the Broncos who are charging and looking for that division.

So just let's keep an eye on Travis Kelsey and the Chiefs this offseason. I'll wrap up this hour with this one is this Kirk Cousins story, this Netflix show quarterback season two and Kirk Cousins is prominently featured and he's like basically the big takeaway is did he get screwed or are the Falcons just a really dense organization who either made a grave mistake giving Kirk Cousins 100 million guaranteed off an Achilles or are the Falcons also smart for after giving cousins $100 million drafting a quarterback in the top 10. And did it screw cousins? Because honestly, Cousins comes off like very upset.

He says he was misled. And maybe it's a soft spot in me. Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age. But I actually felt bad for Kirk Cousins. And I asked the morning meeting about, does anybody else feel bad for Cousins? People were like pulling money out of their pockets and being like, yeah, Kirk Cousins is extremely rich, Scrooge McDuck Rich.

how can you feel bad for that guy? And it's like, well, I'm sure he didn't want it to end this way. Like Kirk Cousins, undeniably goes into this training camp as the best backup quarterback in the league. He would kill to be a starter anywhere else. And he's stuck in Atlanta, and I know making a lot of money, but you don't want to be doing that at his age in your mid-30s. You want to be contending here at the end of your career. And meanwhile, Cousins is looking up at a rookie. and by the way, Cousins is playing it like the true pro,

saying all the good luck to Michael Pennix and being, you know, he's just being the leader that you'd expect him to be. It feels a little fake, but on some level, I just, I get it. Kirk Cousins was drafted in the fourth route. Wasn't expected much when they took RG3 first in Washington. Hey man, you're going to be a developmental guy. You're a backup at a Michigan state. And then RG3 gets hurt.

Kirk Cousins against his chance. And boom, he's in. So do you think on some level Michael Pennex is seeing, oh, Cousins had his chance. Now it's my time to shine. You know Pennix all off seasons. Like, I can't lose this starting job. It's mine.

And so that leaves Cousins in kind of a crap spot. And there's no way that he wanted it to end this way. I saw a report that his wife and he were married in Atlanta. They named their kid Turner after Ted Turner, obviously with the Braves and TBS. And it's like, he's got an affection to that city. He wanted this to be his last go round. And he ends up kind of on the outside looking in. Can't be fun.

I don't know if I could hold it together the way he is as a professional. But on the other side of the coin, you're like, dude, you're getting paid a lot of money. And I can hear these people. He's getting paid. Who cares? Competitors want to be on the field. They don't want to just take checks. All right.

Coming up in the final hour, the Lakers are one piece from a title and an amazing college football story that you're going to love. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care. you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

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Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever or you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Kunky, his best friend, and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner,

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