The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 3 - NFL, Lakers

Episode Date: April 5, 2022

Top prospects for the upcoming NFL draftWho is to blame for the Lakers disappointing season?Guest: Bruce Feldman Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to the Clifford show on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 put on 10,

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences,

having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. and just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHartRadio app by searching Hurd. Or listening to Fox Sports Radio. The CFOs that get it, get it, and the CFOs that do use NetSuite.com slash heard, one of a kind financing. Bruce Feldman, writer, the athletic covering college football for almost 30 years. New York Times bestselling offer. Fox Sports College Football sideline reporter and reporter in general.

So you did a story on the athletic where you went and you did your mock top 10. And what you did is you went and talked to rival coaches of all the players because they're the most honest. Yeah. college coaches are always trying to sell their guys. I totally get it for their program. The rival will tell you the truth. So let's start. Let's show people.

Bruce has his mock draft. So I was told by scouts I trust that Aiden Hutchison was the safest pick. It's a position that has rare talent. You get about one great pass rusher, maybe to a draft. He plays really hard. He was well coached. What are the coaches that faced Michigan's Aidan Hutchison in college? What are they saying about it?

They say he's even more impressive when you see him in the games as opposed to what they watch on film. They said he plays strong, plays violent. He's a really good athlete. He has a lot of flexibility in terms of what you can do scheme-wise. They love, and this is something that's come up a lot around the Michigan program, about how committed to football he is, just to being the best he can. There's a drive there, but really good change of direction. He pretty much checks off every box.

And so when people say safest pick, I think they know they're going to get a guy who's probably going to go to a bunch of pro bowls. Now, he is he going to be J.J. Watt. He's not 290 pounds, but who else is J.J. Watt? But he can be a big time player. And as the league becomes more quarterback driven, edge rusher has become massively important. So he's a position of need. Now, conversely, Kavon Thibodeau from Oregon is an edge rusher. So I talked to a GM about a week ago who likes him. and thinks he is a top 10 pick closer to 10, but there are concerns about him. What did the rival coaches say about the Oregon Pashrushar? The big concerns are that he plays in spurts and he disappears in some games. People really like his physical tools in terms of great getoff.

Now, he's not that big. He's 254 pounds. You can see that. If we show video, he's not huge. No, we're not talking about Miles Garrett's size. We're not talking about Chase Young, Jadavian Clowny. the bosses. He's not that. He's smaller. He does have really good get-off, but there are concerns about he disappears in games. There's also some concerns about how committed to football.

I've heard the same thing from somebody I trust. He's got a little star power. He does. Now, remember, as you know, he was the top, he was the number one recruit in the country, and he has been anointed for a long time. And I don't think anybody thinks he's a bad kid at all. It's just terms of, I think there's some things that maybe give people concern about the commitment and the dedication is football the most important thing to him. There are some times where some comments he's made probably rankle people in combination with him disappearing in games and like, hey, how come he didn't dominate against this opponent? They weren't very good. So I don't want to say he's the boom or bust guy. It may be a really good thing. I have him

going eight to the Falcons. It may be a good thing for him long term if he falls. out of the top five and then is like in the mood of I'm going to show everybody they were wrong and I'm going to play with a with a passion and practice and work with a passion in terms of my preparation to prove everybody wrong. I was told it's a very good receiver draft. It's not a great receiver draft. You have Drake London at USC going number one. He's off an injury. He's a basketball player. So you'll see it when he plays. He's like He boxes out, big catching radius, doesn't blow past anybody. What do the rivals say about him?

First of all, as you said, he was an elite basketball player. By the way, he won't turn 21 until late July, so he's still pretty young. He's 6-4-220. They said football functional speed is really good. He may not time great, but he really can move well when you see him in pads. The other thing that I heard was he reminds people of Mike Evans, who was also a high-level basketball. ball player coming out of high school. Not quite as big as Mike Evans, but close. Mike Evans ran really well, probably better than people realized until he got through the draft process.

People were like, whoa, he's surprised some people with his speed. I think there's a lot of parallels there. His ball skills are so good that unlike, you know, you have the two Ohio state receivers who were both really good, but neither one, while they have good ball skills are as big or close to as big as what we're talking about, Drake London. And keep in mind, as you well know, that was a disaster of a program last year at USC. And he was the one thing they had going. And he played hard. And I think you have to give him a lot of respect

for what he did on a dreadful team. When everything else was falling apart around him, he was going 100 miles an hour. And by the way, don't consider basketball to soften him up. You're not bringing him down with a small corner. That dude runs hard. And look who he learned under. By the way, Michael Pittman was a really,

he was like a linebacker playing receiver. And that's who he kind of was. behind early on in his career. So I think he had a good example of a guy who had a linebacker mentality playing receiver, similar-sized guy, and probably the ball skills are even better in this kid's case. So Soss Gardner played for Cincinnati. He's a corner. He was so good in college, nobody threw to his side. Is there an argument to be made that Aidan Hutchison plays a more valuable position, but Soss Gardner is the best player in the draft? Yeah, I think a lot of people may think that. I mean, you're talking about a really long corner who runs well. The coaches I

talked to who, like, one of them said, you know, we were going to try to go at him. And then we realized on the first series, this will be a disaster. You know, he's baiting our quarterback. He's going to, you know, all of a sudden it's going to be a pick six on this play. They said he is really savvy, recognizes concepts. Like, he's checking off every box. And by the way, the other corner on the other side, a kid named Kobe Bryant was a really, really good corner, too. He got the work because nobody wanted to mess with sauce gardener okay so you have um the panthers i think they're going to take malik willis but you're more tied in than me you have them taking kenny picket the two picks in your top ten i worry about derrick stingley at ls u i think has and kenny picket if you told me things

didn't work i wouldn't be shocked let's talk picket why do you why do you have him going before malik willis what are his rival coaches saying all right so start with the fit here. So Matt Ruhle's obviously his seat is getting warm. They have struggled. So Matt Ruhle actually, back when he was before he was at Baylor was the coach at Temple, Kenny Pickett was actually committed to him at one point in high school. So there is familiarity. I think Matt Ruhl and his staff knows that you have a guy who is a very mature quarterback, has played a lot of football. He came from a pro-style West Coast offense. He has done a lot of the things in terms of scheme-wise that can translate to the NFL.

Yeah. He's a good athlete. I don't know if people give him enough credit for it. He does move well. And if you look at the Clemson game, he did make big time throws. Does he have Josh Allen's arm? Does he have Malik's arm? Probably not to that caliber, but he has a good enough arm. And I think when you talk to people who face them, they're like, he's a really, really good college quarterback. And they think he will translate well. And I think he's more ready to come in, whereas Malik, who has a cannon for an arm, but came from Hugh Freeze's system, which is RPO heavy.

There's some consistency concerns a little bit, and I think there is, is he going to be ready to jump into an NFL system immediately and hit the ground running? So I think in terms of if you're the Panthers and you need to get it going a little sooner, he may be the safer pick. Yeah, and by the way, most of these coaches don't have Kyle Shanahan

or Matt Lafleur's luxury with Aaron Rogers or eight years left on their contract, most coaches want to play guys. Right? So, you know, whenever the draft hits, it's never as good as they say a great draft is. It's never as bad as a bad draft. So this doesn't have much star power. It's good O-line, wide receiver. There's plenty.

And that seems to be kind of a trend. Everybody's passing. It used to be college football would give you these offensive line. who could road grade but couldn't pass block. Now they can pass block. So there's a bunch of good offensive linemen. You got a bunch of athletes on the defensive side from Georgia. And because they were on a loaded team,

you're going to see a bunch of guys in the front seven go. You have Trayvon Walker going second. Second. People rave about his physical potential. He's a long 270, 275-pound guy, runs exceptionally well, plays the run really well. And I think people sometimes get lost in the stats, and they overlooked the fact that that defense was so deep.

There were so many guys that were rotating guys in. People know about Nkobi Dean, who was, you know, the leader of the defense, was one the buttkiss. They know about Jordan Davis because he's 340 pounds and ran on the four-sevenths. The other guys, the two walkers are long and really dynamic athletes. You have just a bunch of dudes that I think maybe there's not the star neck recognition name, you know, probably the best defensive player in the SEC is still in the SEC, Will Anderson, because he can't come out.

That's the linebacker at Alabama. But the Georgia guys do not undersell how impressive that group is going to be. Well, when I watch Georgia and Alabama play, Georgia's defense, and this hasn't happened much in 15 years, was better than Alabama's defense. Like way faster and way deeper. Bruce Feldman's joining us. So I've got to ask you about this, not just because I'm a homer, but I have tried, I have a lot of USC friends.

I've heard, yes. Yeah, yeah. And sometimes I'm marginalized as a fight on Homer. All right, whatever. So here's my, I tell everybody at USC, that's why I tell them. Just be fun to watch this year. You're not going to be great because you don't have two guys that could start defensively for Ohio State. Now, offensively, I think you'll be pretty interesting, way better coached.

So you give me a two-minute spiel on. if you're a USC fan, oh, Lincoln Riley's here, the transfer portal. Listen, the transfer portal, you're not getting five-star guys that everybody, they're leaving for a reason, right? Like, Shane Lee, the linebacker from Alabama's leaving because they wasn't playing. So what is realistic Lincoln Riley USC first year? I think nine wins is realistic. Whoa.

Because everything went wrong for them and they won four games. The Pac-12 is not the SEC. It's not even the Big Ten, right? So that is there for the taking. You inherit a quarter, you bring in a quarterback in Caleb Williams, who's very talented. He's played some. He hasn't played a ton, but he had more good than bad last year. He knows Lincoln Riley's system.

Yeah, he knows a system. That's key. That's big. You get a running back who I don't know if people outside the West Coast realized just how productive Travis Dye was. Travis Dye is a Southern California kid, went up to Oregon, crushed. Put up huge numbers in Joe Morehead's offense.

I think he will have similar impact in. Lincoln Riley's offense. Because of the transfer portal, you can upgrade faster, right? But the defense, to me, that's the biggest issue is they are so, we're so bad on defense personnel-wise that I think it's going to take time to upgrade that. But I do think, again, you're not facing, even Oregon, which I think has the most talent in the conference, they have a new coaching staff. They're going to play Georgia in week one.

they're missing a bunch of dudes too, right? So I look at the league and say, you know, you're going to be in every game. They're going to probably have to be outscored, and it's going to feel a lot like the big 12 from five years ago. But now, and this is to me the biggest thing, they have an identity. When was the last time USC had an identity?

Lincoln Riley will bring that, and don't underestimate what a really good quarterback could do, because remember, when they won the Rose Bowl, when they beat Saquan Barclay, Donald was fantastic. And Donald didn't have, now he had some good players around him, but it wasn't like he had what Matt had around him

when he was, you know, at USC. There was no, there was no guys on the D-line of that caliber. There was no guys in the back end. And so I think if you have a big-time quarterback, and they do,

and you have a great offensive system, which they do, and they have some pieces. I think they can win nine. I wouldn't be shocked if they won more than that. But I wouldn't, I would not bank on. it because look at the schedule. They're not opening up with Alabama, you know, like they were

going to a couple years ago. So I think they can get a little momentum, but I do think a bunch of games are going to be toss-up games. Utah will be more physical than them because they always are. UCLA last year, you know, kicked their tails because they're more physical. So those games are going to be tough games. But when you look at it, I think they have a chance to get some momentum. And I think nine wins to me feels realistic. Bruce Feldman, the athletic. Sign up. Great seeing you. Great seeing you.

Again, this was journalism on USC. I asked a journalist. I didn't lead him in anything. I was surprised you went nine. I feel like I sat on Gavin in this chair when I came in here. Oh, man. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you'll say. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your problem. podcast. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me. Not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

your podcasts. All right, Joey Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. This is the first you're hearing, Bruce, of course, of Collins' admiration for USC, right? Yeah, this is the first time. Did you see the practice?

It was called the greatest practice. I know, I read the tweet when I was out there. Well, let's stick with the draft. Malik Willis is seen as one of the top quarterbacks in this year's draft, and he'll be spending some time with a couple of teams who are picking early in the first round. Adam Schaefter reported that he is set for visits with the Panthers and the Falcons next week. And he has also met with the Steelers, Giants, Titans, and Saints as a part of the pre-draft process. He transferred from Auburn and spent the last two seasons as the starter at Liberty.

The Panthers currently have the number six overall pick and the Falcons have the number eighth overall pick. So if we are looking at the top 20 picks in this year's draft. So this feels like Carolina's move. my takeaway on this is Darnold's style, there's a little Malik Willis, which is he moves well. He's a good, you know, Sam can wing him. He's not a big arm guy. But listen, you could bring him in, and Sam Darnold isn't good enough to push back. You could say, hey, listen, we're going to give Malik real snaps every game. Oh, yeah. I mean, I don't even think you need to start Sam.

I think you can just give the job to Malik Willis. and if he doesn't happen to win it this year, then you have him. But Sam is in no way earned the starter position at that organization. I think the Panthers, if they don't go with Kenny Pickett, they would go with Malik Willis. I think Malik Willis would also be a great pick for the Falcons. And it would actually probably be a better situation for Malik to go to the Falcons because. But Marietti's also got a little Malik in that Marcus can move. He's got great feet.

And Marcus is a great locker room guy. So even though he is right now. to be the starter. If they do take Malik, it's not going to be a quarterback controversy. It's not going to be a whole issue. Here's the good news if you're Malik Willis or Kenny Pickett. If you go to Carolina or Atlanta, they've got offensive coaches, young, smart, offensive coaches. My thing is, why I worry about Justin Fields, he has a rookie defensive coach. I mean, I think it's changed so much. I'm far more concerned for Justin Fields. Not about him. I do think he has potential to be a star. I'm concerned for what Chicago has put around him and is saying they're going

to continue to put around him by not leaning into the offense in the draft or having some sort of concern about whether they should do that as well. But it could be interesting. You know, there has been talks that the Lions are open to moving off of number two and moving down. See, I don't. Yeah, yeah, no, no, no, I get that. I don't think Detroit's issue is Jared Goff. They can't stop anybody. I don't think they're going to move off of Jared Goff.

I'm saying if someone falls in love with Malik Willis or Kenny Pickett, do they make that move? Yeah. That might be an overdraft, as many would consider. But if you got to get the guy, you got to get the guy. And I think particularly in Carolina, there's a little bit of a hot seat situation that's not going on in Atlanta as of yet. So the Cowboys have lost some key pieces this offseason. And Michael Irvin thinks there is a way that they can improve next season. He said, they're not a better team talent-wise.

This game doesn't require skill. It requires will. If a team loses a little bit of skill, but gains greater will, they can still do great things. if the Cowboys can take the disappointment of that defeat against San Francisco, beating you at home if they can take that and internalize it in the off season and come with less skill and more will and have a better season. I think they're going to need more skill. Yeah, that whole will thing, it sounds like Hoosiers.

You need players. I mean, I think, yeah, like, I mean, Michael obviously had great success, but he is also one of the most talented players who ever play the game. So I don't like what they lost this year. They lost Randy Gregory. Amari Cooper. Cedric Wilson and Lyle Collins. And as our guest said earlier today, Moose Johnson, Cedric Wilson became a really good player. Like Miami sneakily got Tyreek Hill with Jalen Waddle.

And it's like, time out. Cedricle's now you're three. That's why you're getting rid of Devonte Parker. Yeah, the receiving chorus set in Miami. And the tight ends great. They are good to go in the weapons departments. The problem with the Cowboys is not only do I like, not like the pieces that they lost. I hated the way that the season ended. And I just don't feel like that they have improved in any area. I felt like the end of the season was a coaching error. That didn't change.

So if you want to keep with the same regime, that's fine. But where are you improving? Now, the draft hasn't happened yet. They have done a pretty good job of drafting over the past couple years. So as my friends who are Cowboys fans like to remind me, let's wait until after the draft before we completely persecute the Cowboys. but they're kind of in a win-now situation. So I don't know that I love them building heavily through the draft at this point in their organization's situation either.

Like they're not a particularly young team in that regard. Oh, Lakers. Well, they're trying to fight for a playoff spot. They have been trying to fight since most of their season has been derailed by injuries, which will continue tonight as LeBron will not be playing again against the Sons with an ankle injury. And Anthony Davis said he thinks about what could have been. if they were all healthy. Kind of feel like, okay, what could have we had been if I was healthy all year?

Brian was healthy, you know. K-9 is healthy. Like, you think about those things. You know, we put this team together. Look really good on paper, but we haven't had a chance to reach that potential with guys being, you know, in and out of the lineup. So the most frustrating part about, you know, this season is just not being sure of what we could have been. Well, the loss tonight plus the spurs win against the Nuggets.

they would be officially ineligible for the play-in tournament. We played the Sound for Magic yesterday on ESPN talking about LeBron pushing for Westbrook. They could have had DeMar de Rosen. They could have had Buddy Healed.

I think it would have been neat. DeMar played at USC. He's had a great year. It's funny. He was in the MVP conversation for a lot of the year. So, DeMar de Rosen has become a better three-point shooter,

but he was basically a mid-range guy. He had an old-school game. And as the league became very three-ball-oriented, people kind of cast Demar de Rosen aside. And it's like, no, no, no, timeout. 25 points a game in the NBA. He's a very reliable player. Yeah. Very consistent.

Super athletic, plays hard. Yeah. So it's interesting. You get cast aside in this league if you can't hit a three. And it's like, you know, Janice has value. And Chris Paul's got value. And DeMarre Rosen, I just take a deep breath. There are guys that aren't three-point assassins that are,

wildly important in this. I would argue Chris Paul is as important to any roster and Janus as anybody in the league. There's a lot of guys jacking up threes that can't play on the defensive end. Well, yes. I mean, obviously Lakers fans didn't like to hear that from Magic, but I think looking at where and why Magic would say that you're starting to kind of see the picture of what is to come for the Lakers and the organization as everyone is sort of positioning themselves and trying to take slices out of the blame pie for what's happened this year. But to me, it's just two fundamental things that happen with the Lakers. One, Anthony Davis is not healthy.

You can't have your number two star that inconsistent. You can't build your team around him. Yes, they win a championship. I don't care how great he is when he's healthy. He is unavailable consistently. That is the book on Anthony Davis now. You're not going to win a championship with your star in LeBron James in his 20th year with a guy in their number two who,

is unreliable. That is just fundamentally not how it's going to go down in this league with the talent. With respect to the other talent on the other teams in this league, that's not how you're going to win. The other main issue with the Lakers is who is in charge of the Lakers? Who? Who is making the basketball decisions? Who is the buck stopped with? Every week is it Kurt Rambis? Is it Rob Polinka? Is it a genie? Now it's now apparently it's LeBron? Who's in charge? There's no accountability in no face. At the Sixers organization, who makes the decisions for the Sixers organization?

Daryl Morey. Who makes the decisions for the Miami Heat? Pat Riley. Correct. I can go on and on and on with all well-run organizations. The Golden State Warriors. We know who makes the decisions at well-run organizations because there is responsibility and accountability when things go wrong. Everyone's trying to plant their flag on, I

didn't make this call, and I'm not responsible for this, and this roster decision was this guy, and now we're going to move on from Frank Vogel, as if he didn't win a championship two years ago for somebody else who probably didn't win a championship or hasn't won a championship in the last 10 years. What is the solution? How about somebody step up and take some accountability for what's happened this year? Just anybody, just someone.

Someone needs to. And then moving forward, establish who is actually making the decisions. You can't put it on LeBron James for this entire roster. No, no, no. No, no. I didn't say that. But I do think he has. I think he had more influence.

I think... Oh, I think he had more influence... On the Westbrook. Yes. I mean, the buddy-heeled move was done. Okay, but... But you also made the decision to give LeBron James that power.

That's a fair argument that in the end, Pat Riley would have said, no, I'm doing this. He did say no. That's why LeBron went to Cleveland. Yeah. And you can't also say that LeBron's always made the wrong decisions. He made it work in Miami with Chris Bosch and

Dway and a Ross that was changing around. I'm not anti-Lebron guy, but I do feel like the vibe this year has been very much like everybody's it's been like listen LeBron you guys wanted Westbrook here I just be honest about it and you showed some influence and you can you can move away from it I think I think the reason magic came out is the Lakers feel like we're in this together and we're taking all the hits I agree with you there that's where that's why I that's why I firmly believe that if the Lakers want to change course for

the trajectory that they're on right now. The number one thing that has to happen is accountability. Who is in charge? Because if it's Rob Polinka, then he has to take responsibility for the Westbrook decision. So Rob Polinka's not in charge, so LeBron's in charge? Well, then you have to take responsibility for turning this over to LeBron. It is hard because, for instance, Green Bay did not want to bring Randall Cobb back. But you have this star, they have leverage, they threaten to leave, they start grumbling,

and you kind of feel like all right, LeBron's going to be happier with Westbrook, Aaron's going to be happier with Randall Cobb. By the way, Randall Cobb's fine, but there's a reason they're not in on any other wide receiver right now that's available. Right, and I don't like it the way that Green Bay does business overall, but that's also why I would probably defer to

Aaron Rogers. They haven't been aggressive throughout their entire history. They had Brett Farve and Aaron Rogers for the last 30 years, they have two championships and so forth. Can't say that about the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have a base. They have a standard and they have a brand that is international. It is the, however you feel about it, the Lakers is still the biggest brand in basketball.

You know the Lakers' biggest problem is that the show on HBO winning time is more entertaining than the current team. That juxtaposed. I watch that HBO series. I'm like, I miss that. And then I watch this and I'm like, I'm over that. I imagine if we were going through what was actually happening in that show, we might not feel that way. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben. Host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Maller, along with my trusty sidekick, David Gascon, would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mather show,

a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world, when we chat with cats. Captains of Industry, in media, sports and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to The Fifth Hour with Ben Mather on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to? do a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tanklessmadesimple.com. Tankless made simple.com. Endless hot water. You know, I look at cities like right now where you have like New York where their sports teams are

a mess. Their NFL teams are a mess. The Knicks are a mess. The Mets are falling apart again. And, you know, I want to embrace, I live in a city right now where the teams are all good. You could argue the Rams are the best team and the best culture. They're just smart. The Dodgers are the best team in baseball and the best culture. That's really rare. Historically, it was the Lakers were the Mavericks, great brand. The stars wanted to play here. And they've had a really rough decade, really rough. They've been awful for the better part of decade. Now, they had Kobe and they had LeBron and AD, and they got themselves a title, but, you know, it was the bubble year, so, you know, nobody in town really enjoyed it. There was no

home games. So they're imploding. And now it's protect the brand. LeBron's people are not happy. Magic came out yesterday and hammered the organization. Mark Medina has been covering the NBA for a long time. He came on today, and I asked him, you know, I think LeBron has skirted the criticism. I think the Lakers have taken a ton of heat by our show and other shows. Mark Medina said, here's how he sizes up all the blame. Looking at the percentage of the blame pie here for why the Lakers are in this mess, I put number one, the front office with the roster construction. I put number two. I put Russell Westbrook, even though we knew his strengths and weaknesses, the bottom line,

there was at least this expectation that he could be the number one guy and carry the team in the event that LeBron and AD are out. because of injuries are just rest. Russell hasn't been able to check the box on a consistent basis as a number one, number two, number three option, on off ball. Number three is the injuries. There's been a lot of them to AD, LeBron, role players. That's obviously complicated.

But I think the two main things that explain why the Lakers are, where they're in is roster construction and Russell Westbrook and his inability to make the best of what he's inherited. So that's his worldview on that. Joy's more lined up on that side. My side is, hey, you got to own some of it. There's a lot, multiple sources said, you know, clutch sports and just say clutch sports, wanted John Wall here, not Westbrook, not me, like multiple NBA sources said that.

That's, that's been confirmed. The buddy healed deal was done. That I know from my own source. The buddy healed deal was done. DeRosen has come out and said, I was going to be a Laker and all of a sudden, you know, clock strikes midnight and I don't get a call. back. There's a lot of blame here. It is fascinating. It is a soap opera. When the Lakers were purchased by Jerry Buss, it was a soap opera. When they were winning with magic, it was a soap opera.

Kobe and Shaq was a soap opera. I mean, it's part and parcel. This is a glamour league. It's a star league. The Lakers have always been fascinating, bad, good, or indifferent. And right now, there is no easy escape from what appears to be a non-playoff team. And again, this is a market where people will bail on you. You know, people forget when Pete Carroll was here, there was no NFL teams, no LAAFC, and the Clippers were a joke. Everybody's good now. Everybody.

Maybe it's time to do our patented herd blame pie. Blame pie. Blame pie. It's a favorite pie at this diner. We haven't done a Lakers blame pie yet. This was fun today. This was, Rick Bueger's going to be on our show tomorrow. He's on SFI.

I showed up at the elevator at 5.45 this morning. Buker's coming off the set. He's putting in a full day. Goes to the hotel, takes an app. Nice. No kidding. All right. Ryan, Joy, good stuff today. I want to thank everybody for stopping by.

A lot of good arguments. As the Lakers world turns, if nothing else, interesting. SFI, around the corner. 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 headwriter 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. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators,

and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifference. and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 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.

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Keer Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor?

It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.