The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - The top 10 Players in the NBA Finals

Episode Date: June 5, 2025

Jason list the top 10 Players in the NBA Finals Are the Knicks players upset with Rick Brunson? Former NBA star Eddie House joins The Herd to talk about the NBA Finals, what went wrong with the Celtics this season, and moreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com, or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox SportsPortes. Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back. Hour number two here on the herd. It's me, Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowher.

We're joined by Alex Curry. Alex, I know you're fired up about game one tonight. There's some good soccer this afternoon. We got Stanley Cup. There is another sporting event this week. Is French Open finals? Something. Yeah.

It's happening. I don't follow tennis as much. more of like if I'm picking one, I'm going to do NBA and hockey. Those are you, and baseball, obviously. By the way, have you played pickleball before? Yeah. It's funny. I, like, everyone was, like, really hot on it.

I'm a big ping pong player. Oh. So I was runner up at Maricosta ping pong tournament. I just throwing it out there. You know, I tried to get a ping pong table on the set. I've been lobbying Kyle. I, like, Kyle, can we get the table? I almost beat my trout.

We were tied. He ended up beating me by two, refused to ever play me again. I'll just throw that out there. Like, I am extremely committed. competitive in anything that I do. Okay. But yeah, it had a similar feel, but I mean, I won the first game I played to pick a ball. Pitchie football is a lot of fun people.

Yes, yes. All right, we got Eddie House coming up in a few minutes. My main man, Eddie House, Boston Celtics legend, Arizona State guy. He just loved talking basketball with him. All right, real quick, before we get to my list of the top 10 players in the NBA finals, real quick, LeBron was on his podcast, Mind the Game. you guys need to listen to what he said about Tyrese Halliborne. You look at what's going on with the patients throughout the regular season

and now throughout the postseason, you get it. You get why they are the team they are. And it starts with the head of the snake. We know that. And that's what Halley. I mean, you know, you can gravitate and bring energy and love and would run through a wall for certain guys. And he's a guy that you would do that for.

just because just because of how he plays the game, Hallie is one and the ones, you know, and, you know, the success is not happening just because it just came out the blue. It's happening because of Hallie and that team. Listen, I really wanted to put Halliburton one on my list of players in the final. I just can't make the case for him over SGA, but I will say this, I'm 99.99% certain.

The only USA basketball player who was on the Olympic team last summer, who's in the NBA finals is Tyrese Halliburton. I mean, Chet Holmgren might have been able to make that team as like a bench former, but Tyrese Halliburton, and he couldn't even get in the game. Remember, it was like, Jason Tatum's getting benched. Halliburton could not get on the court. All right, here we go. My top 10 players in the NBA finals, counting backwards 10 to 1.

Are we ready? Here we go. Number 10. I'm going to Ben Matherin. He's essentially the get-a-bucket guy off the bench. Young kid out of Arizona. score in bunches. He had 20 against the Knicks.

Really a valuable bench player. Now, the problem is he's not a prolific three-point shooter. So my guess is the Thunder sag off and say, Ben, make your threes. He's great at getting to the 10, super athletic. Ben Matherin. Number 10. Number nine. Alex Caruso.

How about it? Former Laker and former Bull. But we never talk about his bull run because he didn't do anything. But on a good team, oh, man, Alex Caruso is awesome. some of these defensive numbers. He has his second best defensive rating of anybody in the playoffs. He's locked down. He guarded Yokic against Edver.

Remember that in game seven? That was like the Trump card that they had to play, and they played it, and Caruso was excellent. Al Truso, number nine. Number eight. Aaron Neesmith, I can guarantee you, you would not know him if he rang your doorbell and delivered your pizza. Not a lot of people do.

He was on the Celtics, and they kind of cut him loose. I'm sure they regret it. He single-handedly brought back the Pacers in game one against the Knicks, hit eight of nine threes. Aaron Neesmith, number eight. Number seven.

Kaysan Wallace might be the guy with the most upside of anybody not named SGA in the finals. I'm telling you, Kaysan Wallace is awesome. He's an excellent defender, and oh, by the way, he has the best defensive rating

of anybody in the playoffs. Caruso's number two, ranks third and steals per game. I mean, Kassau Wallace is a name to watch. I can see him being the third best player on a championship team in like two years. Number six.

This was tough. I want Miles Turner. I like him a lot. Before the playoffs, Laker fans will remember I was on here. Lakers got to go get Miles Turner. Luca, LeBron, call Miles Turner,

ask him to take less. That's not happening, guys. Turner didn't have a great series against the Knicks, looking to bet his three-pointers over in game one or two because he can get open from the corner and O.K.C. concedes those. Moths Turner, great room protector and three-point shooter. Number five. Let's go with Chet Holmgren at five. I really think he's their second best player, but J. Dub just had a really good season. So I went Chet here at five. He's still super young.

Three games with 20 or more points against the wolf, so he's starting to come into his own second in blocks in the playoffs. Chet Holmberg is what he thought he was going to, we thought he was going to be coming out of Gonzaga, the major upside for Chet. Number four. I want Jalem Williams. I know I have not given him his respect or flowers or whatever you guys want to call it.

Much of the season. I don't know if he can be the second best player on a championship team, but he has been this year. And Thunder are 11 and 1 when he scores 17 or more in the playoffs. I almost wonder how the Pacers are going to defend him. Do you put Siakum on him? I don't know, but somebody's got a slow J-dub, because if he goes off, usually OKC wins.

Number three. Pascal Seacom, I know he was the Eastern Conference MVP, and we had a bit of a debate this morning in the meeting. I think Seaccom's a lock at three, but man, he went over 33 times against the Knicks, and maybe some of that had to do with Carl Anthony Towns, guarding him. I mean, I could give Cat 10 at least. But Seacum just torched him.

And he was just up and down the court. He won a title with the Raptors. I went Seaccom in three, but he's got a case for two. Number two. What the Halley, Tyrese Halliburton. This is my guy. I kind of fell in love with his game last year during the in-season tournament. This guy's an excellent basketball player.

Does everything well. He is, you know, kind of struggling from three. but when it's clutch time, who else do you want besides Hallibur? Like he has nailed every big time shot. Go look at the end of the Cab Series. Phenomenal. Takes down the Nixon game one with the buzzer-beater, Tyrese Halliburton, second best player in the finals.

Number one. SGA. MVP, right? Minus 600 to be the finals MVP. Don't love the mid-range. Stop calling him MJ mid-range. Stop calling him Kobe just as he makes red-range shots. He's a really, really good basketball player.

And he's going to be an NBA champion probably at about eight days. SGA, number one. All right, without further ado, and listen, he already told me he's got pushback. Let's bring in Eddie House NBA champ. Probably the only guest we have on regularly, who's a better shooter than I am. Because Paul Pierce doesn't come on the show a lot. Paul Pierce doesn't come on the show a lot, so it's got to be you. Eddie, how are you, man?

Yeah, first off, your stroke. Your stroke ain't like that, man. Your jumper is not like that, so stop putting extras on it. Well, don't put the sauce on it, man. Don't put the sauce on it. I had to. Come on it. What do you hate about this list? Look, I like the top three.

Actually, I like the top four, actually. Because I think Jalen Williams has been bawling out. But Chet Homering has to go down. Miles Turner, go ahead of him. Kaysen Wallace, I will probably put. him down to 10. I probably would take Benedict Matherin off. And I got two guys from Indiana that I think are super important for them to win. And that would be Nimhard and that will be also T.J. McCollum. Those two guys right there are huge because they changed. Actually, think

about though, what they did when they picked up 94 feet, how they changed the tempo of the game, how they put pressure on Jaylon Brunson. They warm down. So I will have to put them on the list. Because if you have Alex Caruso on there, you've got to have McConnell and you also have to have Nimhart on there. Yeah, no, no. T.J. McConnell's good. That's one of the NBA comps that I get a lot, T.J. McConnell. Anyways, Eddie, hey, we got to start with your Celtics, my guy. Listen, I tell the audience, Eddie House loves to watch the show and then text me, J. Mack, what the hell is Colin talking about? Blah, blah, blah.

Listen, the Knicks, I know they were down 20 in the first two games, but that series against the Celtics, I didn't think it was particularly close. the Knicks were better. Are you still shocked that Boston got bouncing in the second round? Yeah, I am shocked because it's two things. It's that, you know, last year when we wanted, we went through a not a gauntlet of teams, but we went through a gauntlet of injuries that we were playing against. Like, guys, Donovan Mitchell was hurt, Halliburton was hurt. And so when you look at it, it's like, okay, it was flipped.

this time. Coming in, who was hurt? Drew Holliday was hurt with his hamstring. Jalen Brown was hurt with his knee. And this is not making no excuse because you're out there, you've got to play. And then Jason Tatum goes down. And then the mysterious illness that poor Zingas has. So those are four of our starters, you know, that something was going on and it wasn't a healthy team. I think the only people that were really healthy was Peyton Pritchard, Derek White, anybody that was coming off the bench. So when you look at it, it's just, I'm surprised because I thought we would be able to galvanize and come together and still win it. But when you have that many injuries and the things that's going on, you know, Jalen Brown getting injections in his knee. And then you come to find out that he has a meniscus tear. You're like, okay, cool. Then Jason Tatum with his Achilles injury, even though I still think we probably would have lost that game. And then like, the KP. He was so big for us, even though in the finals, all he did was play that one game and had the 18 points in that first game.

And that's all it was to propel us. But whatever was going on, and he didn't look good at the end, you know, the end of that that last interview that he had, you could tell that it's something that's going on with him in his face. He didn't look the same. It looked sunk in and his eyes and stuff like that. So with all that going on, I was surprised that we weren't able to come together and still win it because I thought we had a better roster.

But at the same time, when you got four of your best players, you know, sitting down, it's rough. Yeah, it's interesting because I had this rant this week that I like the super teams. Give me super teams or give me death. And I like when players joined forces. I almost wonder, that Celtics team from last year, is that going to be the last one where you added pieces? Drew Holiday, Porzingis, Derek White. And you won? because now it looks like this summer teams want to tear down teams.

Owners don't want to be writing checks for 50, 60 million for that second apron. Are these Celtics going to get torn apart? You know what? To me right now, I just, I don't know which direction they go from here. You got guys under contract for, you know, Drew Holliday's older. He got an extra four years. We know what he brings to the table. But that money is there.

Porzingis hasn't been able to be a steady. guy that you, and just a new ownership. So this new ownership is not the guy that signed the checks to get these guys here. So I mean, I think it's going to be some changes. I believe, I believe

that it will be some changes. Hopefully it's not and he'll be like, hey, I can write that check or whatever. But the way it's looking, I think it might be some changes. So Eddie, do you like super teams? And just to clarify, OKC can never be

a super team. They were a homegrown team. To me, super teams are the Celtics adding KG and Ray Allen, the Warriors adding Kevin Durant. Because when you add a star, everybody gets ticked off, right? The LeBron forming the heatoles.

LeBron bringing Kevin Love with him and Kyrie. Like, those are super teams. And did you like that era more than this whole, hey, we got a new champ every single year? Well, I don't mind whatever it is. You know, why? because the really though if it's homegrown like how okay C has done it or if it's i mean

Indiana is pretty much homegrown as well you know what I mean so if it's homegrown or if it's because the GM is just super smart and is able to make things move move in the right way and make it work I don't I don't mind it I mean you know get your game up basically you know if if you're a GM over here you would get out work by the other GM you better get get it together. So I don't mind either way. I just like watching great basketball. And I think OKC has done it in a different way to where they have drafted. They didn't draft SGA, but he was able to stockpile and get enough assets to get SGA because of Paul George. And then on top of that, they got so many assets right now to where they could go get somebody. Yeah. You know what? Kevin Durant,

going back to OKC, will be a great story. Well, we need the Pacers to win for that to happen. KD ain't joining a team that won the championship, right? He joined the Warriors when they lost. Do you think KD would go there if they win? I mean, why wouldn't he? He on the back end of his career. Why wouldn't he?

Because you know Kevin Duran pays attention to all the outside noise. That would be the ultimate, not ring chase, but like, come on, dude, there's a team that they're probably going to roll the Pacers here. and then add KD? Now, they can because they have assets. But would he? I don't know. I think he's probably a little too sensitive to do that, don't you?

He hears the noise, Eddie. I would go there. I don't care about the noise. Me and myself, I turn off the noise. But let me ask you this. What do you think how this series is going to go? I think Pacers in six or Thunder in four. One of those two.

I don't think there's like an in-between where it's a great series. O. Casey's probably going to beat him down, right? I don't think it's going to be a series. easy as people think. I think the way that the pace, the way that the way that the Pacers play, you know, very fast, very quick. The one thing about okay, see is if they set their defense, if they have a set defense, you take your time bringing the ball up the court and you allow them to get locked in defensively, blocks and elbows, and then they get

handsy, they get physical. But if you were able to push the pace, and I was on a breakfast ball this morning, and I showed a clip of there was a layup, Oji Ananobe laid it up and right after that there was a, they scored. They inbounded one pass, two passes, one pass to Halliburton, one pass to Siakum, one dribble, Euro step layup with Nimhart in the corner. So if they play fast like that and that's the only way I feel like you could compromise the OKC defense is playing fast and playing fast doesn't necessarily mean that. It means getting into the shock, getting up into the front court early, that way you can have multiple actions.

Because if you don't and you allow them to put you and have you on your heels and now you're compromised with your offense because you're down on the shot clock, that is where OKC thrives. Yeah, but can the Pacers even pull that off against these guys? I mean, OKC's Caruso is their oldest guy. Like they move pretty well. I don't think Hartinstein's going to play a lot. then you've got Chet as you're big and you got a bunch of guards out there. I just think it could be tough sledding for the Pacers. I'm rooting Indiana, but I don't know if they can actually put off.

Let me ask you real quick. SGA is sort of becoming a polarizing guy. A, what do you think of the nickname Free Throw Merchant? And B, is he James Harden 2.0 trading threes for the Midi? No, he's SGA 1.0, okay? This dude is cold-blooded. And the one thing about it, and free throw merchant, whatever,

he is, he just knows how to draw fouls. He knows how to get to the basket. He's playing inside, outside. He's such a threat and he's a lot longer than everybody thinks he is. Like, you see him on the core, you see seven footers over there, you see six tens and six nines. But he's a legit six six, six. That's MJ size.

Now, just because he's not jumping out of the gym, like how Michael Jordan was, he just has angles. He knows how to play his angles. He knows where to get. He knows how to use his defender, which tells me that he watches film. It tells me that he understands

exactly what he's going against when he's playing a certain team defensively. And then on top of that, the one thing is, man, have you ever seen a beat of sweat on his face? I've never seen it. I think he's the coldest cat. Just watch his face.

He sweats on his shoulders and his neck. He don't sweat. in his face. What you mean? Oh, God. He cold, I'm telling you. Give me your top five players in the NBA right now. Is he number one? The way you're gassing him up, man. No. No, no. Yokic is number one. Stop it.

Okay, who's two? I ain't gassing him up. I'm just, I'm keeping it real. You want to keep it real, keep it fake. Which one? Okay, keep it. You know you can't shoot better than, yeah, okay. So keep it real. You know, you can't shoot like that. Who's number two? Yok is number one. Would you take Luca over SGA?

No. What? What? A year ago, Luca led the Mavs to the finals. And now he's chopped liver and nobody thinks he's any good. You take SGA? Nobody say he's chop. I'm taking SGA because SGA plays on the other end of the court. SGA led, didn't he leave the league of steals? Great defense behind him, Ed. I could play great defense on that team. Come on. Remember, Luca, look good defensively. There you go again. Luca against your Celtics, where he had lively and gaffling. No, we didn't. On the back line, he was fine. No, we didn't. No, we didn't. We attacked.

The Celtics did. Yeah. Oh, yes. No, listen, so what we did was whoever Luca was guarding because they tried to hide. You can't hide in this league, right? So whoever Luca was guarding last year, and that's what happened this year with Luca in, with L.A., is they took a page out of the Celtics book. It didn't matter who he was guarding. You try to hide him against Derek White.

As soon as Derek White caught it, he attacked. What did that do? Collapse the defense, put him in rotation. Now you're in rotation, you ball movement, and you get an open shot. That's what I'm saying. you can't do that with SGA. SGA plays defense, man. So the Celtics were attacking Carly-Athi Towns,

attacking Brunson. They just missed their threes. Last year they hit them against Luca. All right, let me ask you one more. SGA or Janus. Who are you building around the next five years? How old is Janus? I think he's 31.

30-31 in that range. Oh my gosh. I got to go with the big fella. Okay. I got to go with Yonis. You're scaring me, man. Listen, S-G-I get it. He's awesome.

But like, even you just referenced. MJ 6-6-frame. Can we stop with the Kobe and MJ stuff? Do you really think he's that good in the mid-range? Or is it just that we haven't seen the mid-y in so long? I think he's that good in the mid-range. I'm not comparing him to Jordan or Kobe. Okay, those two guys, let's take them out of there.

He might be, right now, he is one of the most dynamic scores in our league. So right now, today. And so that's what I would say. I'm not going to compare him to Kobe. I'm not going to compare him to MJ. I'm not going to compare him to anybody else like Carmelo Anthony to say, because Carmelo was a hell of a mid-range assassin. So I'm not going to do all of those things,

but I will say right now, he cold. Yeah, all right, two more quick ones. Number one, if OKC wins, as everybody expects, they're minus 700 to win the series, and SGA's finals MVP, who's the greatest player in Thunder history, SGA or KD? Well, it got to be SGA because the fact that the matter is he brought him a championship.

If they don't win the championship, I think KD still has that leverage right there. But then let's not forget how great Russell Westbrook was. Everybody keeps glossing over how, you know, he, like, talking about, okay, what about Russell Westwood? Three years, three out of four years, averaging a triple double. I mean, that's something. That's something that you could speak. on to say, hey, man, that's kind of an argument that you can have if you want to, a good debate

that you could have and say, hey, okay, well, this one did this, this one did this, but if he wins the championship, I think that trumps everything else. So I, gosh, I totally disagree with that. I mean, championship is a team honor. What you mean, you disagree with it? KD lost to the 73 win warriors, the greatest regular season team in NBA history. There's no fault in that. Look who SGA's going through.

Okay, fine, fine. question. Oh, my Knicks. I got to ask about my Knicks. They fired Tibeto. A, did you agree with it? And B, who do you want them to hire? Not who do you think they'll hire? Well, I didn't agree with the Tiv's firing. And early this morning on breakfast ball, I was in my all-black. I was leaving the Knicks repass because they had just, you know, we had went to the funeral. We had got a good plate of food and everything, you know what I mean? So I don't know who. I don't know who. I don't know who they go after. Do they go after Jay Wright because that's Villanova Nix?

You guys are the Villanova Knicks. You know what I mean? I don't. Well, Michael Malone, do you think that's a good fit or is that just Tibbs 2.0? That's exactly, that's what I was going to say. Him and Tibbs are cut from the same cloth, and I'm not sure if that would mix. But, you know, we've been hearing the, what, the Danny Hurley. No, forget that.

The name that we had yesterday, I haven't seen other places doing it, is not. Jason Kidd. Would he want out of the Mavericks? No. No. Didn't seem happy about the Luca thing. He played for the Knicks. Is there a world where Jason J. Kid says, get me out of this Dallas situation? I want to go coach to Knicks and I can get him to the finals. No way. A.D., a healthy Kyrie. Gafford.

But look at Gafford Lively and the number one overall pick Cooper Flag, somebody that you can nurture throughout the whole, throughout his whole career, there's no way that he's leaving Dallas. By the way, obviously you know a lot about college hoops. Your son played, you've got two twins about to go up there. I need to ask, Cooper Flagg,

I think he's going to be, like, transcendent. I'm talking like, I think he's NBA comparison. He's like Kevin Garnett. Other people are like, like a 15 and 7 guy. Where do you fall on what Cooper Flagg will do early in his career with the math? Well, I think early on he's going to have, he's going to learn. He's going to learn, you know, just the way the game is played in the league.

I think he's going to play with more space because it is more space in the league. But I think he's going to be a killer. Like he has a killer mentality. And I'll tell you this. Brian Scaliborini told me this like, what, four years ago, he was like, man, I got this kid, Cooper Flagg. He was like, straight killer, straight dog. And I was like, what? He was like, no, he's from Maine.

Like, I'd be training him. He was like, he picks up on things just like that. Like, it doesn't, if he doesn't know it that day, the next day he's perfected it. So that's the type of player that I think that we're going to be able to see. And I think we'll be able to enjoy. I mean, I'm excited to watch the young man play in the NBA. That's interesting because Carmelo this week was like, yeah, Cooper Flagg doesn't do anything great. He's just a jack of all trades, master of none.

It sounds like you have some intel that Cooper Flag is a killer. which to me is a skill. Yeah, you got, you got to have a mentality. He has that dog mentality in him. And so it can't be on you. It has to be in you. You can't teach somebody to have that. It has to be in them naturally.

And from everything that I've seen, from everything that I've heard, all the information that I gathered about him, that it's in him. And he, you know, he wants to work. He wants to be great. He wants to be the best that he can be. and he's going to try to maximize everything that he can squeeze every little bit of juice that he has in his body to be the best he could be.

Love it. Good stuff. Eddie House, the best shooter at Fox Sports by a mile over me. NBA champion. He's just a good all-around dude. Listen, Eddie, I love your work. Keep up the good stuff, man. Have a great summer. Right on. Take care, bro. All right. Coming up next year on The Herd, Alex has a story in Herd line about how one young NFL wide. receiver is schooling his veteran teammates in OTAs. That's next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

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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. 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 Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen should win. I mean, she went down in three to Rovachina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubberkina is arguably the best player in the world

right now and I actually can win on any surface because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Back here on the herd, great stuff from Eddie House. Good guy. is. I mean, I got to be honest, this is fun. I really enjoy this job. Alex, let's go to you with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Jay Mack, let's start here in L.A. Because the Rams wide receiver room has had a ton of turnover, especially after losing Cooper Cup.

This off season, now Kuka Nakua is the most tenured wide receiver on that offense. And even though Devante Adams has more experience, Puka says he's taking more. of a leadership role in practice. They're asking me questions and I'm like, wait, Coach Rob, do you want me to answer this for real? I'm like, I still have some of these similar questions, but it's been good because it's a teaching moment for me as well. Now, he's been very open about how much Cooper Cup was his mentor and kind of showed him the ropes of everything. So this is going to be a little bit of a learning curve in his third year. As I mentioned, they did pick up a veteran Devante Adams who has more experience, but Puka has.

more experience with the Rams offense. So interesting dynamic, I hope for them, that they can have a similar relationship that he had with Cooper Cup, because that's all he talked about, was how great they were off the field connected-wise. But what do you make of this? Yeah, it's like last year, you know, Cup was good, but he was starting to show his age.

Injuring. And now he deals with injuries. Yes. And he got Devante Adams. Oh, gee, Devonte Adams. he's getting up there in age, but he's still very, very good. I don't know who the one is here. But that's also kind of a good thing because it can throw off defenses, you know.

I think it's good to have two powerhouses like that on offense. I still think the Rams, they look good to win the NFC West. I think it's going to be a closer competition with the 49ers who are going to kind of sneak up on people with the easiest schedule this year. But I'm looking at the Rams schedule early on. There's some potholes. That opener against Houston's going to be good. Yeah. They also have to play at Philly in week three.

That'll be tough. They host the Niners. You know that's always a great rivalry. Always a fun one. And then at Baltimore. So of their first six are tough. They face three playoff teams now. Utah Center rookie quarterback should be a win.

Colt should be a win. Three and three. Can they do that? Yeah. And then week seven, Jags in London, then the buy, then the Saints. And you're right. The second half of that schedule is.

joking. It's just tough because San Francisco is such an easy schedule. Yeah. So, and they're yeah, it's going to be an interesting one. I'm sad that they don't have that second 49ers matchup later on in the season like they used to where they're like playing for

first place in the NFC West. Other thing I'm noticing is schedule-wise, cold weather games. Seattle may be cold and rainy in December, but other than that, like Carolina and November. They got Lions at home, which is always a good one. And then dome falcons, dome cardinals. Yeah, they're going to be okay.

You got Stafford. Because also, we know Stafford isn't great and cold game. And yesterday's guests for him down the stretch. Adam Chernoff, he has Bill's Rams Super Bowl exacto. Ooh. I'll be betting that in Vegas. Wow. Listen, that's not bad.

That one flew right by me when he said that. Okay. Yeah, no, I think the range are going to be good this year. All right, let's move on to Derek Carr's retirement, which was a surprise to many earlier the summer. And he recently shed some light on the reason why he hung it up. Now, Carr told the front office sports that he didn't want to take the Saints money as he rehabbed from a shoulder surgery that would have kept him out the majority of the upcoming season. Now, not many athletes would kind of do the right thing and walk away from close to $20 million. dollars, because he still got $10 million roster bonus out of that $30 million.

This is the one time in an athlete's life that they usually make this kind of money and can set them up and their families up, which is why I never judge an athlete for going for the bag and maybe not the better team and a chance to win a championship, because that's their, that's their choice, right? But he's done well. He's made over, I think it's $195.7 million in his career. So when you hear something like this, that he's okay, walking away from $20 million, You have to imagine he's invested well

and kind of set himself up for success after football. But that, not many athletes would do that. So did you just say he made $195 million? Yeah, $195.7 million in his... How many playoff appearances for Derek Park? Zero. Not one. One? I was going to say, I was like, not in it.

They made it when he was injured against a Colts and they played the vocals. Yeah, okay. And he didn't believe it. Okay. $195 million in a game. Yeah. That's as,

good as it gets. Yeah. He had a good career. And a nice job by him. Yeah. Not just taking the Saints money. That's crazy. You do not hear that from athletes. Because again, this is the one time in their career, like, that they get this kind of money usually. So he's retiring. Would you say he's 32? I didn't say he's a yelling at. You know how old is? Like, he's already retiring with generational wealth. Yeah. You know, I'd say we got it good. Like, this is fun talking about sports every day. 34 he's 34 years old he's 34 years old there are cars retiring at 34 with enough money in the bank that he own houses and multiple continents generational wealth that is this is for your kids he earned it he's a beating too i mean the guy you know he's got this he did not his fault he didn't uh

have you trade four surgeries for a hundred million dollars would i trade four surgeries yes yeah that's what i'm saying like yeah yeah it's fine okay well let's wrap things up on his old team in Vegas. Ashton Genti was the first running back drafted and the Raiders are happy to have him. Some other running backs may be a bit jealous, though, when they see how much guaranteed money he is getting. The rookie isn't about to give any money back, but he can see where other running backs would have an issue. Take a listen. I was like, what? Like, there's no way, but I think also for me, I just feel like, I feel like that just shows like the position, like, guys should be getting paid more.

But also, like, I mean, I put that work in. You know, obviously they've seen something in me, so. But now I would say it's like, I wouldn't say it's added pressure, but obviously everybody's expecting me to come in and play like that. The craziest part of all of this, he has the second most guaranteed money by running back in the NFL and hasn't even played in an NFL game. Just below Seekwon Barker.

Yeah, this is guaranteed money. Saquan's at number one with 36. Ashton Genties at number two with 35. He makes more, like, guaranteed than Jonathan Taylor, Derek Henry and Christian McCaffrey. That is wild. Wild. I guess Henry's getting up there in age. CMAQ is also late 20s.

Yeah. But that is a lot of money. Yeah, these are like the best of the best of the position in the NFL. No pressure, Ashton Genty. This is all the pressure right here. But also like, yes, running backs used to be one of the highest paid positions. They kind of had a little setback. slowly back on the rise

contract-wise. Do you think they're looking at him sideways in the locker room? Some of the guys who maybe are like... I mean, those are insecure guys. Like, you want guys to get paid because then that means, like, there's money to go around. Like, if someone gets paid... Or did they just soak it all up, Alex?

No. I, like, don't get mad at a guy. Don't get mad at a guy for, like, getting paid. Like, everyone wants to do it. He's going to... Let's see how he plays. If he doesn't deliver, then it's like... What? Excuse me? But if he does, like that he's been talking the talk.

He has been talking the talk leading up to the draft, after the draft. Like, I hope he delivered. I like a more. Yeah, he came in and said, I'm going to do for a team what Sequan Barclay did for the Eagles. Like, he's coming in with, like, extreme confidence. Let's see him back it up. He hasn't played an NFL game yet, but he is the second most guaranteed money by an NFL running back. Wild.

Alex with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. All right, coming up next. You're starting to see some leaks trickle out about what went down in New York. Tibido gets fired, and then now Jalen Brunson's dad is getting hammered. We will dive into that 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 IHeart Radio app. Hey, it's Steve Kavino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Kavino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the IHeart Radio app. Why should you listen to Kavino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world?

We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio.

Maybe the most interactive show on Planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino & Rich live on Fox Sports Radio and the IHeart Radio app from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich, wherever you get your podcast and, of course, on social media. That's Covino and Rich. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers. And guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news? 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. 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.

Oh, no. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 SportsSlice 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice 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. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset,

and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Saturday, it's baseball night in America on Fox. Another chapter in America's greatest rivalry unfolds as the Red Sox cake on Aaron Judge and the Yankees. Or if the Congress battle the Brewers, check your local listings for the game in your area. Saturday at 7.30 Eastern on Fox. Let me turn back the clock two weeks, three.

Nix fans eliminate the Boston Celtics in the playoffs, the defending champion Celtics, and they're partying in the streets of 7th Avenue. You guys remember Timothy Chalamei, Lisan al-Gaib, hello, Dune, is like leaning out the window, just going crazy. It was a scene, a party. Knicks fans were like, we back. You know that meme from the wire? Let the streets know we're back up.

The Knicks are back. It came tumbling down pretty quickly. So they lose to the Pacers. Tuesday, yeah, Tuesday in the middle of the show, Tom Tibino gets fired. This guy on Monday had said, Ah, let's just run it back, baby, we're good. Bit of a whiff there.

And now this morning, I wake up to a report from Sam Amico, I believe he's been here on the show, that some people believe Rick Brunson, that's Jalen's dad, has too much of a say in the team's affairs, and he characterized Rick as the person with the most power in the entire organization.

This sounds like youth sports where, like, the best player's father can just call the shots. Anybody who's got a kid in club sports or local, whatever, you know what I'm talking about. Okay. it's it's spiral downhill quickly for the Knicks okay we have from partying the streets to be in the Celtics to what is happening in the organization my first question when i see stuff like this is who is leaking this crap why why are they doing it what's the incentive to throw jalen brunson's

dad under the bus now before my guess let me provide some context so i was i was doing some reading about Rick Brunson. Now, I'm a super big, nerdy basketball guy. Okay? I remember in the 90s, Rick Brunson was a guard on the Temple Owls. Anybody remember them? Eddie Jones, Aaron McKee. I was a sick team, guys. They had some good players. Rick Brunson was like the third wheel on that team. Rick Brunson grew up playing, before he got to college, playing high school basketball with, wait for it. Tom Tibido. They met in a summer.

You could read the story online. And instantly they were both dogs, like hardcore competitors. You got that dog in you, you know? They became friends. So Brunson didn't really happen in the NBA, but Tibido ended up getting jobs. So Tibido coaches the Timberwolves.

Do you want to guess who he had as an assistant coach? Rick Brunson. Tiburdo goes to the Chicago Bulls. Do you want to guess who he had as an assistant coach, Rick Brunson. Tibur goes to the Knicks, Rick Brunson. So Brunson was feeling like,

hey, is my guy. But not only that, Leon Rose, the GM of the Knicks, the power player, calls all the shots. It's Jalen Brunson's godfather. So, yeah, on some level,

I can see Rick Brunson puffing his chest out. Yo, not only was I a hooper, but my kid is a stud. he's bringing you guys back to prominence, and I'm protected by the coach who I've known for 50 years, and the GM, who's my son's godfather? Of course you'd feel bulletproof, wouldn't you?

So on some level, I get this. But now I'm going to come back to the question, who's putting this out there? I thought the Knicks were the Villanova Knicks. They were a real team. They did a commercial together. Come on, national commercial. Carl Anthony Towns was not in the commercial.

He's the new guy. Mikhail Bridges. New guy. Now, he was a Villanova Nick. But you're starting to wonder, wow, is this Tibido leaking? Why would Tibado leak stuff about Brunson, his guy? All signs are pointing to one player, and that player just happened to have kind of a rough series defensively against the Pacers. Pascal Seaccom cooked him. And now we went from celebrating the Knicks best season in 25 years to, oh, jeez. What is it? Game of Thrones happening inside the Knicks. mix organization. I mean, I don't see a world where Jalen Brunson gets traded. It's tough for me to

envision them firing his dad. But we're going to have a new coach here in a minute. Is it going to be Michael Malone? Here's Mitch Lawrence, NBA reporter on the show yesterday on why he likes Michael Malone a lot. I would hire Mike Malone. He knows New York. His father coached in New York. I knew Brendan Malone when he was an assistant in Syracuse when I started out in the newspaper racket in 1980. I go back that far when Michael Malone was running around in basically diapers, but he's a very good coach. And let's not forget, where was he before he landed in Denver and did a great job there, first title ever? He was in Sacramento. He did a great job there. I think Nick fans would actually say, you know what? If we get Mike Malone, yeah, we can go places. So it's starting to get a

Little tenuous. There's a report. Rick Petino came out. Do you want the next job? Absolutely not. Another guest called it a pit of vipers, the garden. Jay Wright, I don't even think he's answering his phone when he sees a New York area code right now. Folks, Knicks, we got to get it together. I don't know. We need a team meeting. Another one. Final hour coming up next. Do the Pacers have a chance? And oh, yeah, Shadur Sanders. He's playing. Hey, guys, it's us and 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 get to ask other 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. 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 where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smith. Michael and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the top of toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs

tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennar Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner, of I-Heart women's sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.