The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Cowboys, and QB rankings

Episode Date: May 8, 2019

Colin proves why he was right about Philadelphia 76ers C Joel Embiid, why he doesn't believe the latest rumor about Toronto Raptors F Kawhi Leonard, his thoughts on Golden State Warriors G Klay Thompson possibly being unhappy, possible cap drama for the Dallas Cowboys, and his NFL QB rankings. Guests include Nick Wright, Mike Missanelli, and Jim Jackson. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you're. know is somebody coming after me listen to kingdom of fraud on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts wife is full of hurdles so how do you keep going on hurdle with emily abody we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes coaches

and olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward at our level at this scale being able to fail in front of the entire world like i can do anything I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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 acapella band with their Between Songs Band. 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart

radio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sportsport. Radio. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles and IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. I am so fired up for today's show. There is so much about today's show. I absolutely love. Joy, how are you? I'm great. Today would be a good day for Cullen was right, Colin was wrong, huh? It would be. Today would be a good day. I don't like to, I don't, you know, when I was ultimately right on Westbrook, I said this is not the day to bring out the hammer.

Because I do think Russell Westbrook's a good human being. And I'm glad Joy brought that up. I'll start with that. Generally, there is one or maybe two stars in the NBA that the fans love, the media loves, and people think I pick on them. Carmelo Anthony's been this guy. Blake Griffin's been this guy. John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Derek Rose.

Where I just don't like him like everybody else does. And so for two to three to four to five years, I get nothing but hate mail, nothing but vitriol about Derek Rose in Chicago. I kept saying it's not going to last. He's not going to last. He can't shoot. He's going to get hurt. I said with Westbrook, he can't shoot.

Hyperathletic, not going to age well. Too rigid. I said about Blake Griffin. He's the best volleyball player, Spiker in the league. I'm not building around Blake Griffin. I've said this about Carmelo Anthony. Doesn't play defense, doesn't play well with others. And I get nothing but hate mail.

But I'm proven right eventually. I got league. pass, I watch this league, I know basketball. I'm good. Doesn't mean I'm perfect on basketball. Doesn't mean I can pick every series. I thought Boston would beat Milwaukee. But so when I go after a star that's really popular, it is just nothing but hate mail

and hate tweets for years until I'm proven right. Westbrook's the last one where you all kind of went, yeah, Colin got that one right. So my latest target, if you will, is a Joe L.M.B. I said last couple of weeks, I'm not building around him, I'm trading him. It was relentless. I've got some of the nastiest emails, tweets, whatever you get on social media from Philly fans. I said, I'm not riding that roller coaster. Number one, he's beyond high maintenance.

Number two, he's always hurt. And number three, he vaporizes Ben Simmons game. And Ben Simmons has to work. Or the legendary process is an abject failure. Simmons can't play with him because Simmons needs the lane wide open because he can't shoot and he scores at the rim. Well, this morning, I think Philadelphia, this time it only took joy a week. It didn't take four years of your hate mail. It took a week, Philadelphia.

You know this morning. I was right. You can't build around that. You can't build around that. Forget the six treatments to get him on the floor. He hurt you on the floor last night. Listen, 95% of the general managers in this league are petrified to trade a popular player. And that popular player, like Westbrook, is often your best player.

And they don't like do it. They're petrified. But two teams in this league have been willing. Two GMs in this league have guts. Darry of Houston doesn't give a rip what I say and doesn't give a rip what you think. He'll just go for it. And the other, the guys in Golden State. because they moved off their best player,

Monta Ellis, an All-Star, hyper-athletic, fun to watch, and they moved off him. And they said, no, we're going to go with this kid from Davidson who has an ankle problem, Steph Curry. And do you remember the night that Rick Berry, a warrior legend, introduced Joe Lakeb,

the new owner who had the guts to move off the star? Remember how ugly that got? I do. Show a little bit of class. This is a man that I've spent some time, talking to. He is going to change this franchise. Come on. You're doing yourself

at this service. All of the wonderful accolades being said to you for you to treat this man who is spending his money to do the best that he can to turn this franchise around and I know he's going to do it. So given the respect he deserves. It's hard.

General managers don't like that stuff. Owners don't like that stuff. But the Bulls should have moved off D.Rowe's sooner. You saw the injuries. OKC picked the wrong guy. Philadelphia. M. Bede still has value. It's time to move him. A week ago, you were saying, Colin, why would you trade any of these guys? And I said, because they don't work, because they're underachieving, because they have the second best talent in the league to the Golden State Warriors. They do. I got four guys that can play. Three potential stars. Choices. Life's all about choices. Make the right ones. Ben Simmons, a great

player. Doesn't work with M. Bede. Jimmy Butler's a great player. I'd keep him. Not a lot of Jimmy Butler's. Tobias Harris. Numbers right. Big can shoot. I'd keep him. J.J. Reddick, I'm not letting go of a shooter. M. Bede's got value, but man, high maintenance, can't stay healthy

and doesn't work with Simmons. I'm not saying that M. B.D. isn't better than Simmons today. Westbrook was better than Harden in Oklahoma City. But the difference between the haves and the have-not. the winners and the losers.

The rich and the poor in sports is mostly two things. A, and the Patriots are masters of this. The ability to move off talented, popular players who are either a pain in the butt or aging poorly. The second thing that separates the rich from the poor in sports, the haves and the have-nots, the winners, and the losers. The ability to spot talent in coaching, free agency, and players before everybody else does.

Warriors knew Curry before he was Curry. The late Steve Jobs knew you needed the iPhone before there was the iPhone. He knew you would be staring at it all day. That's what separates millionaires from billionaires, the ability to move off things that have served their purpose, and the ability to spot things that will serve their purpose, but nobody but you can see it. Philadelphia choices

Oklahoma City made the wrong ones you got four dudes going to be able to keep about two of them and Bean and Simmons don't work here was Charles and Shaq afterwards Mark Jackson said Joel and B you're one of the greatest big men so can you step up to the challenge

he's not doing it today I don't want to hear no excuse if you step on the court your dog meat your barbecue chicken layer I don't care about no respiratory I don't care about no boiler I don't care about none of that you want to get to the championship If you want people to remember the process forever, you've got to step up. Five points is unacceptable. During the regularacies, he's averaging 28.

He's now averaging 18. He's not stepping up to the challenge. They showed him walking into the game today. He's walking by himself like he's got, like he's on his deathbed. As a star player, you can never show weakness. You've got to keep the other guys involved in the game. That's what he does. He complains so much about being sick.

He drains the energy out the room. I got some icey hot. I got cough drop for you. Man up. And, you know, those guys are funny guys, so they say that stuff, and we don't think it's mean. Often, when I went after, Wall, Rose,

Blake, Mello, Westbrook, but you've got to be able to see things before other people can, Warriors Montaella staff, and you've got to be able to move off popular players. The Patriots have done this. The Warriors did that. You just

have to. I mean, remember the old game operation? Remember the old game as a kid you played operation? M. B. has had a stress fracture in his back, a broken right foot, a broken right foot again, a torn meniscus, a right hand injury, a broken eye socket, a sore left knee, a stomach flu, upper respiratory infection. Folks,

it's a lot of stuff. And I like him. And I know you're saying, Colin, you're brutal. He can play. Somebody will take him. But you've got to make choices. And again, the separator in sports, can you move off popular players when you see trouble ahead? And can you

spot talent before everybody else does. The knuckleheads think Simmons can't play. The have-nots think Simmons can't play. Ben Simmons is unbelievably talented. He just can't play with Embed. So you're going to have to make a choice. Make the right one. By the way, there's a reporter who's very respected.

I like him and know him and have talked to him recently. His name is Wojj, Adrian Orgenowski. When he drops stories, he usually beats his competition. They call them Woj bombs. I always believe them. Although this one, I'm not so sure. Woe says, Kauai Leonard seriously considering re-signing with the Raptors over L.A. teams. With all due respect to my very respected NBA writer,

Kauai doesn't talk. How do I know that? Wasn't San Antonio the perfect fit? Tim Duncan hid in San Antonio for 20 years. They had a system. Popovich was loud, talked a lot, takes away all the glamour from the franchise. I thought San Antonio was perfect.

And actually, couldn't I argue you can hide in Toronto? The most northernmost franchise in another country? I mean, Canada or Hollywood? What's a better place to hide? Halifax or Hollywood? aliens could land in 88% of Canada and nobody would spot it. Lindsay Lohan pokes her head out of her condo and TMZ's there in 15 minutes. I love Loge, but how can anybody know what Kauai Leonard's thinking?

He doesn't talk. By the way, you could stay in Toronto and you'd be the second most popular player or the second most well-known person in the arena to Drake. I thought San Antonio was perfect. a very, very compelling argument for Toronto. I can make, if I ran the Toronto Raptors, I can make an unbelievably compelling argument. My first argument is we win, we're a good organization, we're stable, and oh, by the way, you're only here three and a half months a year.

People forget, the first day you show up is late September for pictures. Last day is mid-May, but four months is the off-season. Three months, you're actually not in the city during the regular season. You get a week off for the All-Star break and one more month of pre-and-posts are not in Toronto. You're actually only in your NBA city for three and a half months. Toronto, by the way, is wildly diverse and sophisticated. It'd be the third biggest city in America. It's not Sacramento.

Sacramento's a hard pull. That's a hard marketing push. come for the taxes without any of the beach or glamour. That's Sacramento. That's a hard sales pitch. Really. California's taxes without the perks. That's a tough one.

Toronto's beautiful. Toronto's smart. Toronto's diverse. Toronto wins. Toronto is well run. You're only there for three and a half months. I got to be honest. As much as I love all these NBA reporters,

I don't think anybody knows about Kauai Leonard. I mean, he basically doesn't even have a powerful agent. He's got like a relative. I think we're all guessing on Kauai Leonard. Also, throw this out. Wojh mentions this. Toronto can pay more than anybody else. He's already got a house in California.

Toronto can pay more. You can hide there. They win. They're stable. The GM's smart. Seems to be a likable team. the Eastern Conference is generally weaker than the Western Conference. By the way, it's not like their taxes are that much worse than California.

You're not going to the Dallas Mavericks or the Houston Rockets or the San Antonio Spurs where there are no state taxes. California and Canada, pretty darn close. The only difference is, in America, you can write off your house. You count in Canada. But you can only write off 700,000 of that so it doesn't matter because Kauai owns a $13 million house in California. you. So I will say as much as I respect all the NBA writers, woes and all of you, I don't know how anybody can figure out Kauai Leonard. He doesn't really communicate.

As a player, he doesn't really pass. He doesn't really talk. He's got big hands in an interesting laugh. I thought San Antonio was perfect. Tim Duncan hid there for two decades. I mean, I think that's Kauai Leonard laughing at all of us who think we know what Kauai Leonard's thinking. I don't have any idea what he's going to do. think it's L.A., but I've never been less sure in my life. I don't even know what team in L.A. They tell me he doesn't like LeBron. All right. Then I keep reading stories. Maybe he likes him a little. Seriously. That's Kauai laughing at all of us, suggesting he's made up his mind. I don't know. I think he's, I, every sports always has that guy that you just can't quite,

we could never figure out J. Cutler. Was he really that permanently grumpy? Was Jay was Jay Cutler? Was Jay Cutler? I can never quite figure out Jay Cutler. And there's been NBA stars like that. There's been baseball stars. The great Steve Carlton didn't talk to anybody. He only used one catcher, Tim McCarver. He didn't like anybody. There's always been like the athlete. We can't quite figure out. They're private. They're covert. I got no idea on Kauai. And I'd be the first to tell you. I got no idea. My sources don't even know his sources. My people don't even know his people. Good stuff today. Clay Thompson of the war. Warriors. Unhappy? I think we've got a ploy going on by one Clay Thompson. That's coming up.

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. 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. Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

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

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that that we don't realize that. we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a

good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me care games is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small.

The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout, Kate Martin,

and rising hockey star, Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki.

The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world, Like, I can do anything. I can do anything.

Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Great stuff. Nick Wright in 10 minutes. Rick Bueker today, Mike Missinelli and Philadelphia, a big radio host there. We'll probably argue back and forth.

Philadelphia should apologize to me today, Joey, don't you think? It's been very mean-spirited to me last week. because it was very hurtful. Well, you know, you said some pretty extreme things at the time. Trade Embed. Now considering and knowing their reactionary nature of the Philadelphia fan base, they may agree with you today. But who knows?

Maybe there's some change. Even Barclay and Shaq agree with me last night. But Nick Wright's coming up in 10 minutes. So I saw this story. I talk about this a lot in sports. There's the story, and then there's the story behind the story. and I'm often manipulated. When I lived out in the northeast part of the country in Connecticut near New York,

I would listen to New York radio, and clearly teams would float rumors to radio hosts. Radio hosts would talk about it, and the general managers, the owners, and the presidents would listen to the reaction of fans. Stuff gets floated in the NFL draft. Don't kid yourself. Teams are, they're curious about what their fan bases think and what they'll have to deal with, the blowback or the positives.

So stuff is leaked all the time. So this story came out. Clay Thompson unhappy with his role in the Warriors, according to Stephen A. Smith, listen, I always hear Clay Thompson has no ego. Of course he does. He's got an ego. They all have an ego. Kauai Leonard's got no ego.

Do you see that whizzing match with Greg Popovich? You don't think that was pride and ego and vanity? They've all got egos. You can't make the NBA. You can't be a partner in a law firm if you don't have some sense of great pride, confidence to overcome obstacles and blowback and pushback and, you know, all the barriers to being great at anything. Everybody's got an ego.

Some just have enormous unmanageable egos. Some just have smaller, easier to manage egos. But I'll tell you, I would pay for Clay Thompson. I'd pay him max. He's a shooter. That means he's going to age well. He's always healthy. He's low maintenance mostly.

He plays both ends of the floor, and he's been a warrior since day one. Do I think he's a max player? No, I think KD's a max player. and LeBron's a max player. But in today's world, you're going to have to pay Max for occasional guys like Clay Thompson who are B plus to A minus, but they're hell of valuable. And he's a good dude, and he's always healthy, and he's really low maintenance, and he plays both ends, and I like him a lot.

Like his dad, Noah's day, he's a good kid. But I will tell you what this feels like to me, the Russell Wilson story. Is it Clay Thompson don't want to go anywhere? He don't want to go to a bad team and be the star. He wants to get paid. And so you kind of push that story out there, and all of a sudden, Warriors are like, oh, boy, we got to pay him. He just wants to make it. No, I want a little sugar over here.

I want a little lettuce. Don't forget about me, even though you got KD and the staff and it hardened. I'm over here, one of the best shooters in the world. This is like the Russell Wilson story. How in the world did I have a source down in Los Angeles in the entertainment business, who just happened to tell me Russell Wilson, New York Giants interested? And then about after you push back on that, about a week later, two weeks later, well, a bunch of people had that story.

Why? Russell wanted to get paid. I'm not saying Russell and his wife weren't interested potentially in a bigger city like a New York. But stuff leaks for a reason. I mean, I always said this. I don't believe in conspiracy theories because stories, nobody can keep a secret. Like, you know, the JFK story. Like we'd have the leak.

You think that thing would be hidden for 55 years? Somebody would talk. Somebody always talks. And so this feels like Clay wants to get a little love, little lettuce, little sugar, wants to get paid a little bit. Just don't forget about him. His complaint is, according to the story, that he averaged 22 points a game during the regular season

and about 15, 16 during the postseason. And that is true. We're seeing this all over the playoffs. Have you noticed this about the playoffs? The stars are dominating. I mean, Joker was always good. He's dominating. Damian Lillard's an all-star, he's dominating.

Kauai was good, he's stupendous. Harden, are you noticing kind of what happens in the playoffs? The stars become even more valuable. And the B-plus guys get pushed down just a little bit. But Clay will get his. I'd pay him. It's all good. Here's Joy with the News.

Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. So the Nuggets are one-win away from their first Western Conference finals in 10 years after last night's 124-98 win over Portland. It felt like first minute of the game. They just kind of had the mojo. It was a domination. Damian Lillard did what he could for the Blazers, finished with 22, 6, and 4, but Yokage,

Jamal Murray, and Milsap were too much for the Blazers. And after the game, Lillard said he was still waiting for his team to play its best game. We don't feel like we played our best basketball yet. And with our backs against the wall. You know, we don't really have a choice. So our mindset is just to get the next one, take care of home and make it back here. I think they played as good as they could play, and we probably played as worse a game that we could play. Whether you lose by one or you lose by 25 is one game.

And, you know, we're going back home to try to force a game seven and just make it back here. You know, what really sticks out to me, join this series, we all knew Kauai was really, really special. I mean, he won a finals MVP. He's played better than even Kauai plays. Janice was an MVP candidate. The one guy in this playoff, who I think America's now, myself included seeing on a nightly basis

and going, holy crap, is Jokic. He is the best passing big man since a bonus. They run their offense through him. He is an unbelievable player. I'm not sure this is a playoff team without him. The Raptors were 17 and 5 without Kauai this year. He is dominating the series.

He has definitely had a complete and utter presence on the court. The one thing about him that I think that the Blazers could use their advantage is he is a slower player. So if they could play fast-paced, I think they would neutralize him a little bit more. But you've got to get the shooting. Cedricle McCollum, 5 of 16 had 12 points. It's not going to work. There's not enough scoring from the Blazers. Now, the Blazers didn't even play in the fourth quarter.

So they're arrested going home. Right. He is right about overreacting to this loss. It is a really bad loss. But as bad as I feel about the Sixers loss, I don't feel that way about the Blazers' loss. Well, remember this. If you go back, some of the Warriors' losses in the playoffs through the years have been just 30-point losses.

You can, generally in this sport, in the playoffs, it's much tougher to overcome an overtime loss than a blowout. You can put the blowout behind you by the time you get on the plane. Right. An emotional loss or a loss that came down to a car. Call. Remember the cabs of the finals last year? Game one, series was over. Right. Absolutely. So something like that, I feel like, is more impactful than just a blowout loss. You just put this behind you and win the next game. I still think this goes seven.

So for the 2019-2020 Knicks, everything is on the table, especially if they signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But if they also win the lottery and draft signed Williamson with the number one overall pick, could trading him help them contend immediately. I would not trade him in New York. Oh, Joy, I would not trade him. Well, this is a conversation people are having about if you keep Zion, because if you do have Kyrie and Kevin Durant, are you in a situation, say, like, Cleveland's, where they had Andrew Wiggins and they traded him for Kevin Love to try and contend immediately.

I feel like if they get the number one of all pick, I'm with you, you got to pick Zion. The enormous just energy and following around Zion is to. too much. You just, you have to risk it. Who knows what he's going to become, but you've got to risk it with Zion. Now, if they get the second overall pick and they have Kyrie and Kevin Durant, then it's different. I think that they do trade. You take John Moran. I do think you trade him and get a piece of compliments and better because Kyrie and

John Moran kind of cancel each other out. And John Moran is a young player so you don't know what you're going to get from him. So you'd have Katie, Kyrie, Kevin Knox, and then you trade the two pick and you probably get an all-star and a pick. Right. And then you can take that pick and get another player. Katie and Kyrie by themselves and a lottery pick are not winning a championship. And Katie and Kyrie aren't going there to make the playoffs.

No. They want to be special. They're going there to win a championship. That is a championship team you're putting together. So I don't think if you get Zion that you trade the pick, but if you don't get the number one overall pick, there are some moves you could make there if you're getting Kevin Durant and Kyrie. Finally, the Cowboys front office might not get much of a break this off season. according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Negotiations with Amari Cooper got off to a slow start because his demands were deemed shockingly high by the team. And as for DAC, it sounds that the Cowboys are expected to give him at least $30 million per year.

Jerry Jones had this to say on The Rich Eisen Show. I think that we're sold on DAC and we do want to have him for the long term. We think he's worthy of investing in for the long term that he's going in. into his fourth year now in the NFL. When you look at the snaps he's had, when you look at the situations he's been in, when you look at, first of all, how he got here, and then you see really how he has performed, we see, real upside in debt. If that happens, he will join an exclusive club of quarterbacks at the $30 million a year mark,

which includes Russell Wilson, Rothesberger, Rogers, and Ryan. That's a lot of money for Dak. It is, but what's the argument against it? What arguments do you have against it? You're not going to, the six teams are the highest paid quarterbacks didn't make the playoffs left. The argument against it is Brady's contracts. Tim Duncan's contract. Well, Dak is not married to a woman that is worth $400 million.

This is bad. And, and Dak's been on a fourth round rookie contract for four years. I get it. And they haven't put the pieces around him with that. flexibility. His agents got great arguments. They're going to have to pay them. They have no choice.

This is the market. But the Amari Cooper thing is interesting because they were expected to give him $16 million and he is demanding a lot more than that. Even that for Amari like him, that's a lot. I don't want to have now $46 million in two guys. Yeah. They're going to have to work that out. A joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lai News. Last week was one of my favorite. spots ever with Nick, right? He had to acknowledge I was right on Westbrook. If you didn't see it, it was a glorious segment. It was some of the best TV

I've ever seen, and that includes gun smoke an American Idol. This week, it's not so great for me. Let's go to the Carraglobal satellite network. I'm going to have to acknowledge the Celtic thing is not going to work with Kyrie. Milwaukee's really good.

Hi, Nick. We can brush past that quickly. Go ahead. Hey, buddy. Yeah. whatever. Well, I mean, if you'd like to, I mean, I would rather not. I'd rather sit here and marinate it in it like a good stew for a moment. I mean, there's the Milwaukee part of things, which is this team's a juggernaut. I don't know when people want to acknowledge it. They have 51 wins by double digits. Every team that has ever reached a number like that wins the title. Top three offense, number one defense, and oh yeah, the best player currently playing basketball in Yanisandinigumpo. I know that you're.

big on Kevin Rand's the best player in the world, but you're also big on Kevin Grant and Kyrie, though, couldn't win a title. Well, why if Kevin Rand's the best player in the world? I'm so confused because Janus is about to make the NBA finals. And then there's Kyrie, and you love the smart GM, you love the transaction, you love Danny Ains fleacing the Brooklyn Nets. Yeah. I'm just curious, when Kyrie walks out the door and the Celtics have nothing to show for it, and we then look at the Nets and the Celtics, Boston and Brooklyn moving forward. Who's in the better position?

The Nets with DeAngelo Russell and probably a max free agent this summer, or the Celtics building around the core of Jason Tatum, who took all of Kobe Bryant's worst traits with none of Kobe Bryant's best traits and turned himself into an incredibly inefficient basketball player, $64 million wrapped up in Gordon Hayward, like, and Jalen Brown, a homeless man's Kauai Leonard. I'm just curious who's in a better position. position moving forward and what the process really was for Boston because the best year they

ever had involved the little Isaiah Thomas, not the actual Kyrie Irving. And that's kind of tough for Celtics fans to swallow. But not if they've been listening to me, who's been telling them this was going to happen for six months. But that's all. We don't have to say. No, I mean, it's, you know, I was wrong on this one. I'd like to move to the next topic, but I thought it was certainly well smartly articulated by

you. I do think it doesn't feel great this morning and Kyrie's leaving and that's guaranteed and I don't know exactly what they are and I think you're right. All right, let's go to something I really like. It is hard to move off popular players. Warriors did it with Monta Ellis, decided we're going to go with this kit from Davidson with bad ankles and it paid off. The Patriots have mastered the art of moving off popular players.

It is hard. Oklahoma City failed. Joel M. Bid, Nick, you know how I feel. he's popular and great and cool and fun and social. I can't build around that. He vaporizes Ben Simmons game. What do you make of Embeded? I mean, what are you going forward with this team?

Let me ask you something real quick because I'm curious because I listen to the open. I thought it was really interesting. You clearly have the opinion, Joel and Ben Simmons. You got to pick one of them. I'm just curious and there's no judgment here. Legitimate question. Yeah. Why are you saying trade Embedd rather than trade Simmons?

Because Embed is going to be expensive and play 58 games a year. And back-to-back gears in the playoffs, he's not healthy. Simmons is uniquely large for his position, only magic this size, great court vision. Don't worry about his injury. Can't shoot, but his top three in the league getting ball two shooters. You trade Embed to get a guy who can shoot. I think going forward, you know, listen, there was Hardin and Westbrook. OKC chose the wrong guy, even though Westbrook was.

better in the moment. That's my takeaway. All right. So I think it's actually not a crazy take. I think people will react to it like it's a crazy take. I understand where you're coming from. To me, right now Simmons and Embed both have one massive weakness because you and I were both the captains of the Ben Simmons hype train last year. Yeah. And I think we both assumed that this summer he'd be in the gym instead of in the club with the Kardashian and would come out with a nine-foot jump shot, a 10-foot jump shot. His shot is so bad that the great writer from the ringer, Kevin O'Connor, he's been postulating for three years. He is literally shooting with the wrong hand. I don't know that he's going to get better at that because I don't

know if he's going to work to get better at that. If he doesn't get better at that, he has a defined ceiling as a player. Embed's issues totally different. Embedde, fully healthy and fully functional plays like an MVP. Because the league has gone so small, there's no one in the league to match up with him. He's a bad matchup for everyone. But you're not allowed to miss playoff games, man. This is just a rule. Like if you're injured all year and you miss a season, so be it.

But if you play through the season, the only reason you're supposed to miss playoff games is a season-ending injury if you're a superstar. That's the, I didn't make the rules, but I know what the rules are. And for Embed to, I thought this was it. ever made this in the great FS1 graphics part. This is beautiful, Operation, great game, a little buzzer, the whole thing. But it's real. Yeah.

And it's a concern. And now we don't just have to worry about structural injuries. Hey, man. Colin, how long did you go when you first became Colin Coward, everyone knew? How long you go without a sick day? Oh, my first year at the other place, I didn't take one for a year and a half. I wanted to prove to people I'd be there every day. And I, exactly right.

And guess how many, since you've never. know me. You know how many sick days I've taken? Zero. You know how many times I've been sick? Plenty. But I don't treat myself that well. But you got to show up, man. I don't, I don't, I don't want to hear about an upper respiratory infection. And I think Chuck and Shaq nailed it. Even if you know you're compromised, you can't exude the, oh, man, because energy is infectious in a good and bad way. Yes, it is. It can be infectious positively or negatively. So I would be hesitant to trade and bead because if he stays healthy, he is so transcendent. But I get the point that you're making and I don't think it's crazy.

A minute left, Kauai Leonard, give me your best guess where he goes. It's a guess, but what's your guess? Los Angeles. And I don't know which team, but I do not buy for one second the idea that he's anti-Lebron. If you notice this, a lot of these anonymously sourced reports about Kauai, about Clay, about coaches. All of them seem to have one slant. Everybody hates LeBron James.

That's what it turns out. I mean, to ignore all those guys showing up on his TV show or the people that have teamed with clutch sports, everyone hates LeBron. I think if the Raptors make the finals, I think they've got a real shot at keeping him. Otherwise, I think Kauai is going to Los Angeles. And if I may, your note on Clay Thompson,

I think you nailed it. Clay, if the Warriors give him five years, $200 million, on the first minute of free agency, he will stay. If not, he might go to Los Angeles, and he actually would be the perfect teammate for LeBron. Yeah, no, he would be. And I think the Warriors, by the way,

know that he would be the perfect teammate. I've argued this for years. Outside LeBron, he may fit on every roster in the league. A two-way player, not much ego. He may be the perfect fit for virtually every team in the NBA. And I just, and I know we're late just quickly. I think what Clay's concern is, and the reason this is out there, is no one expects Durant to make his decision hour one of free agency. Right.

And if the Warriors screw around and wait to make Clay's offer until Durant officially makes his decision, they could lose him. The Warriors need to make, lock Clay up the first moment they can. You know Durant's leaving anyway. Don't fool yourself into thinking, maybe we keep Durant, you don't need Clay. You can't disrespect one of the original Splash Brothers like that. that. By the way, Nick Wright crushed me today. He's been on this Celtic thing and Milwaukee thing all year. Not a great day for me. So we're 1-1. That's right. One-one. Absolutely. We'll talk more later about when we have the tiebreaker. Good to see you,

brother. Good to see it, brother. Nick Wright, first things first. Coming up next, an NFL quarterback pyramid like Shaq's basketball pyramid. Where is DAC in the pyramid of NFL quarterbacks? Because you're going to have to pay him 30, and I don't think that's where he should be. That's next. Watch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 trend. 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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever

come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entire. entirely different worlds. Just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

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and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals.

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Welcome back. Good to have you in. So there's a story out in Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys and that they're going to have to pay him now $30 million. And Amari Cooper wants over $16 million, $46 million for two guys. I like Amari Cooper, but he's not Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, O'Dell Beckham Special. He's really good. So I'd much rather pay him 14 than I would 16. but if you've got to overpay a little.

Dak Prescott is, he's the line of demarcation. Right below him on the best quarterbacks in the league is Mariotta, who I'm out on, Winston, pretty much out on, Case Keenham, Andy Dalton, you're going to have to overpay for him. And it was funny, I was saying today, if I could have my ideal pyramid, what ideally I would pay quarterbacks. My ideal pyramid. The top of the pyramid would only be five guys.

I would pay them what the market bears, $28 to $30 million. Aaron Rogers, Andrew Luck, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady. I'm just going to pay them what I have to pay them. I'm not going to have to love it. Aaron's a little brittle. Andrew Luck's been hurt. Russell's a little small. Patrick Mahomes is a little young.

Brady a little old. They're not perfect, but I'd pay them with the market bears. Then the guys, I'd push back on a little, and I'd pay about 23 million. million a year tops are guys like Philip Rivers, Drew Breeze, Matt Ryan, Big Ben, Carson, Wentz, and Watson. Now, Carson Wentz and Watson have been, there's some injury concerns here, but I think they're transformative talents. I think Wentz is better than Watson.

Watson's doing it behind an awful offensive line. Those guys also have flaws. Many of you think, why not Drew Breeze Tier 1? Because at the end of last year, I thought Drew Breeze looked tired. I thought his arm, he doesn't throw the ball vertically down the field anymore. Those are the guys I'd pay in my ideal pyramid. They're tier two, $23 million. The third tier, I'd try to pay somewhere in the $18 to $20 million zone.

That is, you know, that's guys that are grown-ups. They can run a team. Garoppelo, Cousins, Stafford, Gough, DAC, Cam. I'd even put Andy Dalton in there and Kirk Cousins in there. They're grown-ups. I can trust them. That's only 18 quarterbacks. So that tells you, I'm out on Mariotta, who isn't healthy enough or good enough,

and I'm out on Winston, who's not grown-up enough. and available enough because he gets suspended. I didn't count the bakers, the Sams, the Joshes, the Lamar's, Trubisky, I need more. By the way, I would put Jared Goff in Tier 3. The only young quarterbacks I would put in any of these tiers. Mahomes in Tier 1. I think he's an absolute transformative talent. Deshawn Watson in, you know, in Wentz in Tier 2.

Again, I think they're different. Now, there's a little injury concern, but I like them both. And then in Tier 3, I'd put Goff because I think he's. He works perfectly with Sean McVeigh's system. He's a grown-up. He's coachable. He literally is the opposite of our Kardashian. I never see him in Los Angeles.

Quarterback of the Rams, I've never seen him here. But this is the ideal pyramid. Now, again, I'm nothing against Baker. I'm not counting any of the young guys yet. The only young guys I'd make an exception for, Mahomes is absurd. Golf's a real grown-up. I've got multiple years now. And I think Watch and Deshawn have shown me it just don't make a lot of guys.

like that. That don't make a lot of Carson Wences. I mean, Deshawn Watson's doing it with maybe the worst offensive line in the NFL in years. And the kid's still running around and making plays. Give him a decent old line. I think he takes a 30% step up. He's still making the playoffs. And he played all the 16 games last year, I believe.

I don't think he missed a game, even though he's getting kidney almost exploded during the season, but he played. So, yeah, he played through a punctured lung. I mean, there you go. So this is the ideal pyramid. Dak wants more than I would pay for Rogers, Luck, and the Holmes, Wilson, Brady.

Now I say more than I'd pay. I'd pay whatever the top of the market is. But there's only about 18 guys in the league right now. Again, not counting the young guys. That tells you there's a lot of franchises out there. Like this whole Nick Foles thing, you do get he's going to go 6 and 10 this year. You've been fooled into believing because the Eagles have a great owner, a great GM, a very good coach, unbelievable offensive long.

line. I mean, the defensive line, you've been fooled into thinking fools, watch him go six and ten. There's not a lot of guys I want to pay big money for. They're just not. And if I'm paying you 30 million like Dak, then I shouldn't have to pay 16 million for a wide receiver and eventually 24 million for a running back and be petrified if there's an injury on the offensive line. If I'm paying you 30, listen, Aaron Rogers got to a Super Bowl and won it, and he's never had a great defense. Andrew Luck went 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5 with no O-Liner running game. Russell Wilson, I mean, honestly, offensive line running backs receivers, how many stars has he had? Tom Brady? Edelman's his go-to guy. Patrick Mal Holmes is a baby. So there's,

Dax getting into a territory where I think, I think Dax's a tier three guy and he wants to be paid tier one money, that's trouble. That's not a great ending. That could be a franchise sinking deal. And as a joy said earlier, I think you're trapped. Because if I'm Dax agent, I'm like, you think I'm taking a haircut? You think I'm taking a pay cut? I saved your franchise.

I watched the year that Tony Romo was hurt. I watched your backups. You're the biggest brand in the NFL. I made you $150 million the last three years in merchandise, in ticket sales, in relevance. I mean, the Tony Romo Cowboys, even networks didn't want the Cowboys on that year. I mean, Dax kept them on television for three years. He's going to get it. He is going to get a Tier 1 contract.

Watch out. Coming up next. I don't buy it. I never did. Ever. Never bought the process. Next. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the iHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. 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 Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

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

Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth?

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose

on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going.

From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me.

And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Ah, this is the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, we're live in beautiful Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Rick Buecker later this hour, Mike Misses, Senelli, very popular Philadelphia radio host, going to be very angry with me, Joy. Taylor. Joy, I need to read this, Joy.

You know, Mother's Day, Sunday, Joy. It is. 1-800 Flowers.com. Code Her. Get 24 roses, multicolored, plus a base, $29, $29.99. 1,800flowers.com. We have very lively first hour. Very lively first hour.

Joy, I, you have said you believe in conspiracies more than I do. I tend to be, I have a battle within my brain all the time. I want to be somebody that evolves. I've been an investor, you know, in the market for years. I'm always looking for the new company, the Amazon, the next Netflix, the next Uber. But I also think 99% of the next great idea is a bunch of hooey. I didn't buy into the Atkins diet. It made no sense to me.

People that are overweight suddenly lecturing all of us who are in shape to eat T-bone steaks for breakfast. Now, I'm going to go with fruit. I don't think grain bread is evil. I'm not eating bacon and cheese all day. I didn't buy into the Atkins diet. I didn't buy into Bitcoin. Really, no centralized bank in the world accepted Bitcoin.

Bitcoin. That's not really the kind of currency I trust. Never bought into the Segway. Oh, we were all going to ride Segways to work. Now I just go to YouTube and there's loops of people falling off them, riding around their house. I never bought into the wildcats. offense? Really? Let's not hike the ball to quarterbacks. Hike it to a halfback. I didn't buy it. I don't

buy into a lot of new stuff. Self-driving cars is the new one. Oh, really? I'm going to be on the interstate in Los Angeles. Look over and I'm the only guy in his car. Really? We have self-driving cars. They're called Uber. Somebody drives me around town. I mean, I think that's coming. Well, not in the world in which I live. I'm not leaving my house if the world is nobody's in a car. I'm never, I'm never leaving my house. Okay. And this is why I never bought into the triangle offense in the NBA with Phil Jackson. Why?

Because nobody copied it. Everybody copies everything. I mean, football, the NFL, we call it the copycat league. In television, which I work, American Idol and the Survivor have spawned 400 shows. Networks. I mean, everybody's copying everybody. Silicon Valley, everybody's copying everybody. If something's successful, everybody's copying it.

Nobody copied the triangle offense. It was Kobe and MJ. And without him, it's known as the inverted triangle offense that doesn't make the playoffs. Let me tell you about the process in Philadelphia. It's a bunch of hooey. You're basically giving up your franchise for half a decade. Oh, by the way, still charging your fans $800 to sit in the 18th row. So the fans get hosed on the process, which is just take and then just get great draft picks.

Oh, by the way, Sam Hinky was the GM of that. he's been fired since. Oh, somebody else hired him because, yeah, they did. He's a consultant for an NFL team of Denver Broncos. Why isn't he getting gobbled up for the brilliance? Yeah, by the way, Darryl Morey, he didn't completely tank. He actually went to the Clippers and took their best player. This league is about veterans who can score, not about kids.

None of these kids are winning in this league now. It's about veteran guys. Al Horford. Janus is no kid, by the way. What is he in his fifth year? You know, he's considered a kid. He's not a kid. He's been developing his game forever.

He's now in his fifth year. Kauai Leonard, not a kid. Fifth, sixth year. Took him about four to be able to play. So this whole Philadelphia thing, I never bought into the process. I don't believe any brilliant architectural plan whiffs on four top picks.

Michael Carter Williams, Jale O'Cafour, Markell Fould's, Nearland's Noel. was that part of the process? Bombing on picks? By the way, Ben Simmons and Embed, that's part of the process. It's also part of, I don't know, occasionally hitting on a draft pick.

You don't have to be called anything to occasionally hit on a draft pick. The Blazers hit on Damian Lillard and C.J. McCulloch. Is that need a nickname? I mean, the Warriors hit on Clay Thompson and Steph. Does it need a nickname? I don't buy in tanking. The Phoenix Sun is the only team that have copied that. How's that working out?

What are they on their 14th coach in seven months? I mean, I just am a, and I battle it because I don't want to be an old guy that doesn't buy into anything new. Like I am a believer. I'm always looking for the next thing. My entire career has been built off. Okay, I did local TV. Okay, that's not as popular. Let's go to radio.

And then syndicated radio. And I'm a mover. I'll move around trying to avoid, you know, the sheriff. Well, you believe in the process, but not a fad. So the idea behind the process is this is something innovative that we're doing that's going to take time, except for no one else is doing it, and it requires the complete demolition of our team for, like you said, half of a decade. Minimum half a decade while you're charging fans $1,600 for a, you know, a nice couple in Philadelphia to go get a stake and watch a game, it's $1,600 and the team loses by $48. Right. Things that truly revolutionize a sport or society or technology develop over time. It might burst on the scene, but that was 10, 20 years in the making. It didn't just become a thing and then everyone copies it and then it disappears. It's a process behind that thing. It's saying, oh, you know, this is an overnight star. No, that overnight star has been going to auditions for the last 20 years. They finally just hit. Tom Hanks was not an overnight success.

Yeah, that's not how it works. So I just, nothing against Philadelphia because I love their talent. But I've always, you know, everybody's always like, well, no, the process got them all these great draft picks. Yeah, it got them Simmons and Embed. Embed, I'm ready to move off of. And Simmons, half of Philadelphia is ready to move off of. Because you hit in a couple of picks, mostly hit. That doesn't make it anything special.

I don't buy into tanking. The Celtics didn't tank. The Spurs never tank. The Clippers, by the way. Look how good they are after losing their guys. They didn't tank. into this tanking thing. Unless you're going to give fans free tickets, I don't buy into tanking. And I don't think getting a bunch of young guys matters because the NBA has always been a

veteran's league. You can't win with 20-year-old guys. I mean, Jason Tatum's a great young player. He disappeared for most of this series against Milwaukee. So I saw this. That's self-driving cars. I'm off the freeway if that happens. I'll tell you right now, I am off the- It's so much safer. With literally nobody in the car. If all the, no, I mean, we're in the car, but if all the cars communicated with each other, Oh, great. It would be like, I robot. They're going to, like, dolphins.

And that's how much more you'd get done. What do you mean? They're communicating with each other. We have a Tesla, and it has the cameras all around the car. Yeah, but you and Earl are in it. Well, yeah, but I mean, if all the other cars were, we're doing the same thing, it'd be much safer. All right. You're going to feel good about a freeway.

When you look over and you're the only person in a car, a bunch of robots driving around. No, there's no robots. The car drives itself. Not comfortable. at all of that. Also, to all the robot people, I did not say that. That was Colin Cowherd. So when you take over the world, I am very pro-Robot. I'm not. I'm anti-robot.

I am not into robots. So Russell, Westbrook and Paul George have undergone off-season surgeries. Westbrook torn ligament left hand, plays 100 miles an hour, plays hard, and he had a surgically repaired right knee. It was a minor procedure.

There are certain things, and we know this in life that don't go well together. like no exercise and bad diet, you'll die sooner than me. Statistically, no exercise, bad diet, you don't last as long. On the NBA, two things that make sure you don't age well. Hyper athleticism and can't shoot. It means you're going to have to go to the basket and score, get knocked down, go into the trees. It shortens careers.

Derek Rose, John Wall, Westbrook, they're not aging well. hyper athletic, super fast, get by people, but that means you go into the forest with 6 foot 8, 6 foot 9, 300 pound guys. Here's what age as well, and I'm not anti-Westbrook, here's what ages well in the NBA. Now, I told you, hyper-athleticism and can't shoot doesn't age well. Bad diet, don't exercise, doesn't age well. Here are the two things that age well in the NBA.

Shooters and self-awareness. Vince Carter used to dunk. Now he just shoots threes. Kobe scored at the rim. Last five years, jumpers. Ray Allen came into this league as a dynamic athlete. Last nine years, I'll stay out of here.

I'll shoot jumpers. Jamal Crawford, shooter, 20 years. Reggie Miller, 18 years. Dirk Nevitzky, 21 years. Kobe, 20 years. What ages well in the NBA, and I think if I ran a franchise, I'd really pay attention to this.

Fine guys who can shoot, obvious, but the underrated thing is self-awareness. The guys in this league who age, Vince Carter, Kobe, Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford, Dirk. They have this understanding. I don't want to get, I don't want to bang around the rim. I don't want to get knocked down. So you see it as this gift, this hyper-athleticism. But Rose John Wall and Westbrook, now Westbrook's the best of the. those three, I think easily, but they're not aging well, is I've always thought Russell needs a little

more self-awareness. Dude, I'm not interested in you scoring at the rim as much. I'm not interested in you getting rebounds. I want you half court. Let the bigs get the rebounds. They get the ball to you. You don't have to grab the rebound, go 96 feet. Russell needs to alter his game. I want to see more jumpers. I don't want to see you near the glass. I want you getting outlet passes. Self-awareness has always been massively undervalued in this league. Rick Bukers around the corner, Warriors tonight. It's tonight. No, yes. Yeah, Warriors Houston tonight. Game 5, Buker around the corner. Mike Misenelli in Philadelphia, where they don't like me, but this morning are having to acknowledge this Embed thing is a real dilemma.

Life's about making choices. OKC made the wrong ones. Philadelphia. You got four guys. They don't mesh. You should probably keep about two of them. It's judgment time coming up real soon. 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.

Last night, a blown call changed the 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 athletes 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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect.

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

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small.

The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that.

Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their. Face light up and smile. That means the world to me.

And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in 30 days, and all eyes will be on Alex Morgan, Carly Lloyd, and Megan Rapino as the U.S. Women's National Team as the defending champions head to France looking to win a historic Fourth World Cup. All the matches will be live here on Fox and FS1. It's a fascinating World Cup because the best two teams are the United States and France. France is loaded but young. The United States is loaded and veteran teams. That's the likely final. You love soccer. Rick Buecker is. joining us. You played college soccer. I have fallen in love with the sport, so I cannot wait for that day. It knocks me off the air for a couple weeks, but I'll sit home and watch the Women's World Cup.

So Rick Buecker is joining us. So, you know, I was talking about Philadelphia is a fascinating team, and I've been saying for a couple of weeks, you're going to have to move these parts to which Philadelphia fans say, why? And I'm like, are you watching? It doesn't work. And Beiden Simmons don't work. Tobias Harris is good, not great. Jimmy Butler doesn't get along with people, though I love him as a player. he's been their most consistent player.

So if you ran the Sixers today, I never bought into the process, but you're going to have to make choices because this doesn't work perfectly. Let's say I say you can keep two. I'm Butler and Simmons. I think Simmons game is vaporized by Ambide and he's an easy guy to clobber today.

I think Simmons is an easy guy to bail on today. But I'm going Simmons-Butler. I'm not Pan Tobias what he wants and I don't trust the health of Ambid. and I think he has value on the market. Who would be your two? Do you not care about chemistry? I'm going to the exact opposite direction.

I'm going Joelle M. Bid, and I'm going Tobias Harris. You're going to pay him huge money. I will pay Tobias Harris huge money. The Warriors are about to pay Clay Thompson huge money. Clay Thompson is better than Tobias Harris. He is... Better two-way player, and when he's hot, he's one of the best shooters in the history of the world. But Tobias Harris can athletically and size-wise can do it.

a little bit more. I still believe that Tobias is on the way up. And you're going to give you trust Embed's personality, his maintenance, his knees, his back. His personality, I trust. His leadership, his want to go get it. I trust

all of that. And I love his game. Look, it's very rare when you can get a guy that you consider the best at his position. And he is that. He's the best center in the game. He's built in spite of his size, he can play the inside outside game. I agree with you

100% that Ben Simmons and Joelle M.B. do not work together. And I do have concerns about M.B.'s health. But Ben Simmons right now is the family station. He's the Volvo. Yes, he's there all the time. But is he going to win you any races? He can't shoot the ball. And his game is limited. And I don't like his, I prefer M. B.'s personality and leadership. to Simmons. So I don't know if M.B. can stay healthy, but if he can, he can get me all the way there.

That's a big if. It is. It is. But the contract is written so that I'm protected from that end. And if you're talking about moving pieces, Ben Simmons is probably going to get you more on the market right now because of the questions of M.B. I feel like I'm on an island with Ben Simmons.

I just think there have been times... You are. I think this happens all the time in life. that we built this network, FS1, on people that had been ignored, overlooked, released by another network. This whole world's about, I always think the NBA is about two things. Pro sports is, college sports is, bailing on talented people that are popular, but you see trouble lying ahead. Okay. And finding talent before everybody else sees it, coaching, free agent, high school, college. That's the difference between the Warriors bailing on Monta Ellis for Steph.

Most teams don't want to do that. No. And the Oklahoma City Thunder grabbing Westbrook when four years ago the questions were he can't shoot as a guard and he's really rigid. I think people are bailing on Simmons. I think he's an unbelievable talent. Okay, first of all, with Oklahoma City, you have to consider your Oklahoma City, your ability to get a star of Westbrook's magnitude

changes the dynamic. You need to keep him because you're not going to get another one like that. And the fact that they got Paul George is largely because they had Westbrook. You don't get a Paul George without Westbrook. When it comes to Ben Simmons, for me, it's the position as much as anything else. Like the fit when it comes to FS1 or wherever it is. It's a matter of, yes, you can find talent,

but is it the talent for the role that you want them to play? And Ben Simmons as a point guard has to be able to shoot from range and ideally has to be a floor leader. What do people in the NBA tell you about Simmons? They don't, they question the work ethic because the shot has not changed over all these years. That worries me. That's a fair. He had an entire year where he was off.

Like he wasn't playing because he was injured. And the shot did not change. Then he had a year in which he was limited and they got knocked out essentially because he couldn't shoot from range. He came back, still no change. So a guy who is stubborn enough to say, now, I don't need that. I'm going to be who I am is not what I want from a guy the way Ben Simmons is built. I want to throw this at you. Vegas now has Kyrie leaving going to Brooklyn.

Yes. And when stars leave, the feeling is, oh, Lord, it's over. The big three broke up in Boston, and they still made the playoffs all but one year. Kyrie left the calves. They went to the finals. Kauai left the spurs. They're still good. The Clippers lost three stars and Tobias Harris.

And this was the best clippers I've seen in several years. MJ left the Bulls in 94, made the second round. Blazers lost Lamarckitz-Aulridge. They've never missed the playoffs. The Jazz lost Gordon Hayward. I think they're better today. Katie left Oklahoma City, not as good, but relevant. Boston without Kyrie, are they going to fall off the face of the earth?

No, they would not fall off the face of the earth. Are they going to be better? Are they going to be title contenders? I mean, assuming that this is where the road ends for them in this series, then could they do the same thing in the Eastern Conference? Could they get back to the second round? Sure, they could. What you lose in Kyrie, though, is something that you don't have any place else on that team.

He is a premier closer. On the biggest stage in the biggest games, he can go get it. I liken him to Carmelo Anthony. I need to have the right players around him. But Carmelo Anthony, when you had a Chauncey Billups next to him, when you had a group around him that could handle the leadership and the setting the pace and setting the ten, and setting the level of effort and energy,

you got the best out of Carmelo Anthony. That's what you need with Kyrie Irving. You can't ask him to be the leader. He's not that. People don't talk about his work at it. He's like Alan Iverson. Loves to play. Plays hard.

But all of the little things that you do in the locker room, in the weight room, in preparation, he's not doing that. And that's what I need out of my leader and my best player. That's always been the difficult dynamic. You're only winning championships if your best player is your hardest worker. I have yet to see a team that wins a title that didn't have its best player as its hardest worker. That's a great point.

That was the knock on Mello. Yep. Yeah. And that's why he would always get to a certain point. That's why the Lakers chose Kobe over Shaq. Kobe was early to practice. Shaq was late. Absolutely.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Rick Buecker joining us. So tonight is the Warriors and it is the Rockets. Couple stories. Clay Thompson now, story leaks. He wants to leave the Warriors. I think that's Russell Wilson right before he signed to the Seahawks.

Just leaking something. So you buy that. It's kind of a leak to make sure I get my sugar too. Yeah. Look, for all the conversations that I've had with Clay, he loves the fact that he's one of the originals. He loves the fact that he was with the Warriors when they were not good. and that he and Steph are a combination.

He's not looking for stardom. He doesn't want to do media. He loves the role that he has. I just get to play. What do you ask me to do? You want me to defend? I get shots. I'm good.

So I believe this is just, this is leveraging by his agent to make sure, hey, don't take us for granted. We do want to get paid. I'm going to throw this at you. There is an assumption Kevin Durant leaves the Warriors. Mm-hmm. Let me look through the other end of the telescope.

Okay. Warriors win tonight, win the series. What's Houston do? Darryl Morey is not overly patient. Yeah. Darryl Morey is a dealmaker. Darryl Morey doesn't give a rip what the media says. Darryl Morey's got the confidence of his owner, for Titas.

Darryl more he's not sitting there if they lose to the Warriors. He's not. Or is he because Katie left. Clint Capella now hasn't been used in the postseason. Yeah. Warriors aren't sitting there if Katie leaves. They'll go get somebody else. What do you think happens to Houston?

The only possible thing that would make a demonstrable difference with them is that if they do something with Chris Paul. Because Clint Capella at this stage with his contract, nobody's jumping on that wagon. James Harden, you can't move. He's an institution with the Houston Rockets. Chris Paul is the only meaningful piece. The rest of it, you're rearranging deck chairs. It's not, you're not going to make a significant change. If you want to really make a change, you look at is there a market for Chris Paul because that's been the most alarming thing that I've seen in this series.

And I don't know whether he simply doesn't have it anymore or because he got hurt before he could get to the finish line last year, he's being careful in how he approaches the game. But he is not attacking with the same abandon that I've seen in the past. I think that's clear. Yeah.

So I'm going to throw this at you. there are often stories that we don't give a ton of attention to and for different reasons. Yeah. Maybe sometimes a story will break and there's a bigger story that gets massive media coverage and we just kind of ignore something. That happens sometimes. That's why the White House releases stories on Friday night. We're heading into the weekend.

6 p.m. Yeah. So there's news dumps, they call them, right? It's Dave McMinneman on a podcast that I'd spoken to people within the Pelicans organization. They admitted the package the Lakers offered was really attractive, but it looks a lot different now when considering Brandon Ingram and the blood clot issue. Yep. This story is getting no attention.

I think that story, the Chris Bosch blood clot issue, takes Ingram off the market. I do not believe they have the pieces to get Anthony Davis, who the warriors could go after if they wanted to have KD left, who Boston will go after. If they have to beat Yonis, you could make an argument. they're like the neutralizer is Anthony Davis. I think Houston, Chris Paul Capella, a lot of teams have interest if they don't win.

This is why I go back to, what are the Lakers asset? I think they're in Hail Mary space with Jimmy Butler. No, I agree with you. I agree with you. I've had GMs tell me definitively. The worst thing that happened was that the young players on the Lakers got exposed this past season because it was just determined oh, so they're that.

They have LeBron James. If you can't win as a young player with LeBron James, and we're not talking about the young players in Cleveland because at least they got to the finals with that young group. They didn't perform well. That was on the biggest stage. These guys couldn't get it done during the regular season. So the market is completely off.

Brandon Ingram's health issues aside. He's off the market. And as you pointed out, look, the number one thing is if New Orleans can move AD to the Eastern Conference, They're going to do that for the same reason that San Antonio moved Kauai Leonard to the, you only want to see that guy once or twice. You don't want him standing in your way if and when you're able to compete. Or humiliating you.

Yes. You don't want him in your building as little as possible. Once a year, how do we make that happen? And as you pointed out, with Boston, if Kyrie leaves, Boston's going to be in the market to rework their team. And they've got a ton of assets for a rebuild. situation like New Orleans. New York, I would imagine, would have the same thing. If KD. goes there, they end up with the number one pick. I have no doubt that if KD said, I want AD, the number one pick is going to New Orleans for AD. The Lakers can't offer anything close to that.

One minute, Kauai Leonard, where's he end up? Story today, he's considering Toronto, which is a great city. It's a good organization. It's one or the other. But to say that he's, decided. I don't, I don't, how does anybody know? I thought San Antonio was perfect. Yeah, well, but you're in the bloom of, it's rolling right now for Toronto. The fact of the matter is, the Clippers are going to have a very enticing offer to make. They have a team that made the playoffs. They have a lot of the worker bees that you need. Being able to play with Montrez-Harrell, any star would want to do that. You see the respect that the stars give him. And then they're

able to get a second guy. So that's going to be the real litmus test. is who can the clippers add to the package to draw Kauai Leonard there? But I am not convinced at this stage that he's made his mind up either way. Toronto was always a possibility, but it was they've got to get to the finals for them to be a serious consideration. I don't think they can beat Milwaukee. I just don't. I think Milwaukee's deeper. They have a better bench.

That takes us back to Boston because I feel like Boston hasn't really – Milwaukee is better than I thought, but they haven't tested Milwaukee. to the level that I think Philadelphia has tested Toronto. Good to seeing you. Good to see you. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. So we were just discussing this. The Warriors are keeping in close eye or ear and all the rumors about Kevin Durant, but they might need to shift some of their attention to their other star player, who's set to become a free agent this summer. So there's speculation going that Clay wants nothing less than a max contract. And now Stephen A. Smith is reported, quote, I'm told Clay Thompson isn't happy.

His number hasn't been called nearly enough. He's tired of sitting around and getting, and this is a quote, the crumbs left behind by other people. Well, nobody likes crumbs. Well, I mean, mice like crumbs. Well, you're right. Outside of mice, nobody likes crumbs. But Clay Thompson deserves a max contract.

He's going to get it. And he is going to get it. Yes. And it's going to be interesting what happens when they do hit the offseason because if they don't handle this properly, they could end up losing both of them. That's not great. I think they're too smart for that to happen.

I think they're just too smart. I mean, hopefully not. I think that that leans more towards what Clay wants than it is them being smart. From all accounts, Clay Thompson is not an overly egotistical player. I think he shows that on the court as well. Very low maintenance. Very low maintenance.

But at some point or another, you want to be paid what you're worth and you want the respect that the organization should give you. Now, who knows what's going on behind the scenes? Maybe they are having open conversations with him. And I don't think anyone's really considering and going into a deep dive on this besides agents at this point. Everyone else is focusing on making it through the playoffs. I mean, they do have a pretty serious series on their hands right now that could affect a lot. But can you imagine the Warriors without Kevin Durant and Clay Thompson? No.

And I don't think Steve Kerr can either or Bob Myers. World would be different. So if Joelle Embed was looking for some sympathy for his illness, he's trying to play through, he's not going to get it from the TNT crew. During halftime of the Sixers blowout, loss to the Raptors, Shaq gave the Sixers big man zero leeway for his poor play. I don't want to hear no excuse me. You want to get to the championship and you want people to remember the process forever,

you've got to step up. Five points is unacceptable. Doing the regular season, he's averaging 28. he's not averaging 18. He's not stepping up to the challenge. He's right. And by the way, his body's not either. Some of this is just he's not healthy. I mean, by the way, guys do get sick. The other night they were banging on him because he got sick. People get sick. That happens in life. You're around the same guys. It takes one little flu and virus to, you know, the whole team's sick. You know, I do have some sympathy for him because of what you just said. But there's also the mentality of if you're going to be on the court, you've got to play.

You can't be, like if you're too sick to play, then you're too sick to play. And you're just, you're not on the court. Because sometimes you can be more of a detriment because he really did look sick. Yeah, last night he was a detriment. And like Nick Wright said earlier, energy is contagious. And if you are mopey and you're, oh, it'll feel good. And it affects everyone. And Jimmy Butler even said he's been trying to stay away from him, not in a negative way,

but just like he is literally sick. He's not trying to get sick. So there's a, there's a separation. it's clearly affected the team. And I do have some sympathy forum, obviously, because we're not doctors. We don't know what anyone else is feeling and going through. But if you're on the court, I mean, this is crunch time.

Like, this is what you do. Yep. So, and I mean, I don't want to compare us doing shows to not taking any sick days. But, yeah, it's a thing. Like, we don't take sick days. Right. It's got to be.

Especially in the football season. Right. You better literally be sick. You just don't. You just don't take days off in the football season. Finally, Brown has become an invaluable member, or became an invaluable member of the Patriots offensive line last season, protecting Tom Brady in his way to the Super Bowl, and then he

became the highest paid offensive tackle in the league, four-year, $66 million deal with the Raiders, which you hate. But even without Brown, the Patriots' offensive line is deep and talented, but they're also cheap. They will pay their full commitment to nine separate players with just $12.4 million more than what the Raiders will be giving Brown over the next four. seasons. He's the most overpaid player in the league. By the way, I've heard they've moved him to right tackle. So not only have they overpaid for him, now they've moved him to the least valuable tackle position. This is a, this is what bad teams do. They massively overpay for marginal players. Trent Brown makes almost as much as the entire O-line of the Patriots.

It's actually incredible when you look at it. And they look at the numbers. I think I'm about destroyed the other day, Joy. They moved him to the right side. So they don't even think he's their best tackle. I mean, it's really a reflection of the level of genius that the Patriots are with how they manage their money and players. It might not be the flashiest, but smartest. You were talking earlier about moving off of players with Joel and B. The Patriots are the cornerstone for doing this. They always do

this. They always move out players a year before people think that they should. It's why I would always be hesitant to trade with the Patriots because it's like why? Why? Amari Cooper is going to make over two times what Julian Edelman makes, and Edelman was easily the best player on the field during the Super Bowl. Well, I think that has, I see what you're saying. I think they, I don't think he would be that with another team. Yes. But that's to your point, you put the right pieces in the right place. Build a team, not a collection of talent. Yeah, Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Line News. Mike Missonelli, Philadelphia radio host, probably not happy with me like the rest of

the city. We'll talk about that coming up. He'll join us. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across.

When Jacob met Levin this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

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

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

growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learning a hard way and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them

and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Lela Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki.

The ability to show gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Welcome back. Philadelphia is one of the great sports towns in America. Many believe it's the greatest sports town in America, and they've got a lot of topics to talk about. Bryce Harper's already getting booed. Carson Wentz, what to do with him and his injuries, and apparently not well-liked by teammates.

Let's start by going to one of the real seminal voices in Philadelphia, one of the most talented talk show guys in the country, Mike Misenelli, via the Coward Global Satellite Network. We disagree often, but there's three things I want to hit on, Mike. By the way, you look fantastic in those hipster blue glasses. Thank you very much. I'm going to say, you're consistent. You're like a shark that circles bloody meat.

I knew I could count on you today. And Joel Ambide. Okay. Yes. This morning. What is the city saying? What do you do with him? The city is flabbergasted, disappointed, and it's bordering on disgust, frankly. And I know he's got this illness excuse, but everybody who's a great player never uses illness as an excuse.

He comes in to the building yesterday with this hang dong attitude like he's on his deathbed. And that Colin rubs off on teammates. They obviously need, there were two things they needed to do yesterday. Ben Simmons and Joel Embed had to show up and play their capabilities, and neither one did. So, I mean, I don't know what's left for the Sixers at this point. If those two guys aren't going to play, they're dead. What do I make? It's very easy, because I don't think Embed and Simmons games work together.

It's very easy to sell Simmons today, but I've never seen since Magic a six, ten and a half point that can finish at the rim that can defend that has amazing court vision. This morning in Philadelphia, people want him out of town. Does this kid, is he here in a year? Yeah, I think they're both here. I think that's a typical overreaction when you lose a game like that. You want to get rid of them both. Let's not forget, they won more than 50 games two years in a row with these two guys. So it's not like they can't play together.

They have to keep the core together. It's just befuddling to me how he's lost his game and his confidence. He has not attacked. You watch Giannis, who has that kind of ability and that length and that speed and that strength to get to the basket. Ben Simmons is similar to that, and yet he won't. engage. We all know he won't shoot. That's going to have to change if he wants to be a great player. But for him not to engage and get only five shots in yesterday's game is just mind boggling to me. That's a guy who's miscast, he's lost his confidence. They've taken the ball

out of his hands because they think they're better with Jimmy Butler with the ball in his hands. And he just stands around and doesn't do anything for him. And they're not going to win if he does not attack the basket. Three quarterbacks in the NFL have come into it in the last seven or eight years, and I think they're just different. Andrew Luck, Patrick Mahomes, and Carson Wentz. Wentz, though, has injury issues. Reportedly, some people, he can be a little standoffish, a little ego. I think the kid's spectacular. I think Nick Foles is going to come back to Earth and go 6 and 10 in Jacksonville. Do you, I, could I make the argument that you have a little leverage with Carson Wentz today because of his injury and that you should actually re-sign him now going forward?

I agree with you on every point, which is hard to believe. I agree with your point on falls, first of all, and I believe that right now they need to, and this has been the Eagles, M.O., Colin, they usually get in early so they can get a little bargain. Yes, he has the injury problems, but you can't look at it negatively like he's always going to be injured. You've got to look at it the most positive way possible, which he is the franchise quarterback, and you can get him at a little less of a price. If you wait a year and he has a great year, well, then you're going to pay him up with the top three quarterbacks in the league. So I think the Eagles, know that. I think they will strike. I think he's going to be okay. His back is still not healed yet. But there's a long time between now and the regular season. I think he's going to have a good year. And most people pick the Eagles to win 11 games with this schedule. So I think it's going to go well for him. This next topic, I'm not picking on Philadelphia. I hate 13-year baseball contracts. The Dodgers, by the way, have spurned all these big contracts. And they win their division every year where the Padres, the Angels, and the Phillies and Bryce Harper. So this is not anti-Filly, and I love Bryce. He's from Vegas. I've met his dad.

I love the kid. But you guys are booing him and now we're into his contract. Booing Bryce Harper, who I think had a grand slam yesterday, this feels like to me, Mike, it could go sideways if he had a prolonged slump in June. To use the generalization, you guys, you know, there's always idiots that will take that cue and boo. I hate it. In fact, I ripped the fan base. for doing that. To me, he's got immunity from being booed for at least the first year because he chose Philadelphia. That means a lot to Philadelphia people. So those Yahoo's that booed him in April were totally out of line. We know Bryce Harper's going to produce. We know he's going to get close to 40 home runs in his ballpark, drive in 100 of more runs. So, you know, it's ridiculous.

And last night he gets the slam. It's just people that react. That guy right there over the dugout with his cup. You know, I ripped him personally. I'm bladed him to come on the air and I couldn't find So I'm battling in for the same principles. There are unfair things and there are fair things in Philadelphia, and it was way unfair to boo him in April. Mike Misenelli's really talented. 97.5, the fanatic. In fact, I think he's the only show on that station that wins the city.

That's not a knock on your city. It's an acknowledgement of your town. We win in general, Colin. We just win in general. We're winners. By the way, I may have to go to Philadelphia at some point in my career, need bodyguards and you to gain acceptance. And I do appreciate you coming on my show occasionally, Mike. I've already got you hooked up for that. I'm anticipating that. I'll be the front man for you.

I'll ward them all. All right, Mike. Good talking to you, bud. All right, buddy. Take care. Philadelphia's got a lot of stuff. They got the Bryce Harper thing. Boeings ridiculous. They got the Carson Wentz thing. I'd sign him, and they got the Embed Simmons thing where we disagree. I don't think they work together. And by the way, that's happened before. There are players, and it's real simple. Embedeed clogs the lane. Mbid clogs the lane. You don't want Mbid outside because he thinks he's Clay Thompson. So if he's in the lane, Simmons can't score in the lane where he's very effective. But as long as M. Beds are around the basket and the bigs are around Mbid, Simmons doesn't score. So right now Simmons looks like an awful player.

If you put Simmons in Mike Dan Tony's system in Houston or a Brad Stevens system where he can run the floor, run the point, surrounding with shooters, he'd look great. I think everybody's selling the Ben Simmons talk. listen, I got a little high on him. I got one of a little upstairs too fast to the attic on him, but folks, they just don't make six, ten point guards who defend, finish at the rim, have amazing court vision. The shooting thing I don't have an answer for.

That's not great. He can't shoot. I like people who can shoot. In my NBA world, shooters are good. He can't. That's bad. By the way, Mother's Day is next Sunday. Go to 1,800 Flowers.com, put in the code herd, get a 24 multicolored roses, a vase 299.

99, 1-800 Flowers.com, code H-E-R-D. I saw a Jim Jackson last hour, saw a very interesting story. Sean McVeigh, acknowledging the Rams Head coach, I watched too much film and didn't enjoy the Super Bowl. Paralysis by analysis. He said, I watched every game from New England. You watch so much film, you lose perspective. I even watched the Philly and Atlanta Super Bowls closely.

Got to give the Patriots credit. Best team when it timed a manate. Personally, I wasn't good enough. I want to address that about watching too much film and what the Patriots present now to the league that's a real dilemma. Hour 3 next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week,

within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, hour three, we're live. In L.A., it's the Hurd. wherever you may be. However, you may be listening. I Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. You know, I wish, I'm thinking about doing something on the show.

I don't want to shave anymore. I made a decision last night. I don't want to shave anymore. I'm done shaving. Like, I think I've shaved the maximum amount of times I want to and that I can tolerate it. I don't want to shave anymore. What do you make of that? Joy Taylor's joining me.

That sounds like a decision for your wife. I don't, and it'd be all gray. I'd be like an old man by the sea. Right, which is why I said it's really not your decision. See, that's the thing about marriage that's troubling. Is that my face I can't even control. Well, it's for your own good. Why is that?

Because who know, you said you can't grow a beard. So who knows what Colin looks like without shaving? Not great. But I don't have to shave. I'm happier. If you're going to do a beard, you have to be able to do. do it right. You can't have a patchy mess on your face. So my

wife controls my face. See, I'll tell you guys right now, that that's the problem with marriage. There's two ways of looking at that. She controls your face or she's protecting you from your own demise. Yeah, you could yeah, that, yeah.

She's mostly has good advice. She mostly does. I'm sure of it. Yeah, all right. Serious XM Channel 83. We're on that today. Jim Jackson joins in 15 minutes. And best for last, I don't even know if I'm going to do this. Some people, the last two weeks, Twitter has just been attacking me for my thoughts on Philadelphia. So we'll give you some of the Twitter meanness and not so meanness and the funniness that Twitter has delivered. Oh, we're diving into the vortex of insanity. That's fun. Yeah, we're going to do that. Plus, I got some thoughts on the Sean McVe Patriot story. But I got a lot of pushback. I'm critical about a star player. I certainly did about Westbrook.

But it looks like I'm already right about Joe L. M.B. I said last couple of weeks, I'm not building around him. I'm trading him. It was relentless. I've got some of the nastiest emails, tweets, whatever you get on social media from Philly fans. I said, I'm not riding that roller coaster. Number one, he's beyond high maintenance.

Number two, he's always hurt. And number three, he vaporizes Ben's. Simmons game. And Ben Simmons has to work. Or the legendary process is an abject failure. Simmons can't play with him because Simmons needs the lane wide open because he can't shoot and he scores at the rim. Well, this morning,

I think Philadelphia, this time it only took joy a week. It didn't take four years of your hate mail. It took a week, Philadelphia. You know this morning, I was right. You can't build around that. You can't build around that. Forget the six treatments to get him on the floor. He hurt you on the floor last night.

Listen, 95% of the general managers in this league are petrified to trade a popular player. And that popular player, like Westbrook, is often your best player. And they don't like do it. They're petrified. But two teams in this league have been willing. Two GMs in this league have guts. Darry of Houston doesn't give a rip what I say and doesn't. and give a rip what you think.

He'll just go for it. And the other, the guy's in Golden State. Because they moved off their best player, Monta Ellis, an All-Star, hyper-athletic, fun to watch. And they moved off him. And they said, no, we're going to go with this kid from Davidson who has an ankle problem, Steph Curry. And do you remember the night that Rick Berry, a warrior legend, introduced Joe Lacob, the new owner who had the guts to move off the star?

Remember how ugly that got? I do. Show a little bit of class. This is a man that I've spent some time talking to. He is going to change this franchise. Come on. You're doing yourself a disservice. All of the wonderful accolades being said to you for you to treat this man who is spending

his money to do the best that he can to turn this franchise around. And I know he's going to do it. So given the respect he deserves. It's hard. General managers don't like that stuff. Owners don't like that stuff. But the Bulls should have moved off D-Rose sooner. You saw the injuries.

OKC picked the wrong guy, Philadelphia. M. Bid still has value. It's time to move him. A week ago, you were saying, Colin, why would you trade any of these guys? And I said, because they don't work, because they're underachieving, because they have the second best talent in the league to the Golden State Warriors. They do. I got four guys that can play.

Three potential stars. choices. Life's all about choices. Make the right ones. Ben Simmons a great player. Doesn't work with Embed. Jimmy Butler's a great player. I'd keep him. Not a lot of Jimmy Butler's. Tobias Harris, numbers right. Big can shoot. I'd keep him. JJ Reddick, I'm not letting go of a shooter. M. Beed's got value, but man, high maintenance, can't stay healthy and doesn't work with Simmons. I'm not saying that M. B.D. isn't better than Simmons today. Westbrook was better than hardened in Oklahoma City. But the difference between the haves and the have-nots,

the winners and the losers, the rich and the poor in sports is mostly two things. A, and the patriots are masters of this, the ability to move off talented, popular players who are either a pain in the butt or aging poorly. The second thing that separates the rich from the poor in sports, the haves and the have-nots, the winners, and the losers. The ability to spot talent in coaching, free agency, and players before everybody else does.

Warriors knew Curry before he was Curry. The ability to move off things that have served their purpose. And the ability to spot things that will serve their purpose, but nobody but you can see it. Philadelphia choices. Oklahoma City made the wrong ones. You got four dudes. You're going to be able to keep about two of them and be able to keep. two of them and Bean and Simmons don't work.

Here was Charles and Shaq afterwards. Mark Jackson said, Joel and B, you're one of the greatest big men, so can you step up to the challenge? He's not doing it there. I don't want to hear no excuse. If you step on the court, your dog meat, your barbecue chicken or not. I don't care about no respiratory. I don't care about no boiler. I don't care about

none of that. You want to get to the championship. If you want people to remember the process forever, you've got to step up. Five points is unacceptable. During the regularacies, he's averaging 28. He's now averaging 18. He's not stepping up to the challenge. showed him walking into the game today. He's walking by himself

like he's got, like he's on his deathbed. As a star player, you can never show weakness. You got to keep the other guys involved in the game. That's what he does. He complains so much about being sick. He drains the energy out the room. I got some icey hot

cough drops for you. Man up. I mean, remember the old game, Operation? Remember the old game as a kid you played Operation? M. Bid has had a stress fracture in his back, a broken right foot, a broken right foot again, a torn meniscus, a right hand injury, a broken eye socket, a sore left knee, a stomach flu, upper respiratory infection. Folks, it's a lot of stuff.

And I like him. And I know you're saying, Colin, you're brutal. He can play. Somebody will take him. But you've got to make choices. Ben Simmons is unbelievably talented. He just can't play with Embed. So you're going to have to make a choice.

Make the right one. By the way, there's a reporter who's very respected. I like him and know him and have talked to him recently. his name is Woj, Adrian Orgynowski. When he drops stories, he usually beats his competition. They call him Wojj bombs. I always believe them. Although this one, I'm not so sure.

Woe says Kauai Leonard seriously considering resigning with the Raptors over L.A. teams. With all due respect to by a very respected NBA writer, Kauai doesn't talk. How do I know that? wasn't San Antonio the perfect fit?

Tim Duncan hid in San Antonio for 20 years. They had a system. Popovich was loud, talked a lot, takes away all the glamour from the franchise. I thought San Antonio was perfect. And actually, couldn't I argue you can hide in Toronto? The most northernmost franchise in another country? I mean, Canada or? Hollywood. What's a better place to hide?

Halifax or Hollywood? Aliens could land in 88% of Canada and nobody would spot it. Lindsay Lohan pokes her head out of her condo and TMZs there in 15 minutes. I love Wojh, but how can anybody know what Kauai Leonard's thinking? He doesn't talk. By the way, you could stay in Toronto and you'd be the second most popular player or the second most well-known person in the arena to Drake. I thought San Antonio was perfect.

I can make a very, very compelling argument for Toronto. I can make, if I ran the Toronto Raptors, I can make an unbelievably compelling argument. My first argument is we win, we're a good organization,

we're stable, and oh, by the way, you're only here three and a half months a year. People forget. The first day you show up is late September for pictures. The last day is mid-May. But four months is the off-season. Three months, you're actually not in the city during the regular season.

You get a week off for the All-Star break and one more month of pre-and-posts are not in Toronto. You're actually only in your NBA city for three and a half months. Toronto, by the way, is wildly diverse and sophisticated. It'd be the third biggest city in America. It's not Sacramento. Sacramento is a hard pull. That's a hard marketing push. Come for the taxes without any of the beach or glamour.

That's Sacramento. That's a hard sales pitch. Really. California's taxes without the perks. That's a tough one. Toronto's beautiful. Toronto's smart. Toronto's diverse.

Toronto wins. Toronto is well run. You're only there for three and a half months. So I will say as much as I respect all the NBA writers, woes and all of you. I don't know how anybody can figure out Kauai Leonard. He doesn't really communicate.

As a player, he doesn't really pass. He doesn't really talk. He's got big hands in an interesting laugh. I thought San Antonio was perfect. Tim Duncan hid there for two decades. I mean, I think that's Kauai Leonard laughing at all of us who think we know what Kauai Leonard's thinking. I don't have any idea what he's going to do.

I think it's L.A., but I've never been less sure in my life. I don't even know what team in L.A. They tell me he doesn't like LeBron. All right. Then I keep reading stories. Maybe he likes him a little. Seriously. That's Kauai laughing at all of us, suggesting he's made up his mind.

I don't know. I think he's, I, every sports always has that guy that you just can't quite, we can never figure out Jay Cutler. Was he really that permanently grumpy? Was Jay Cutler, was Jay Cutler just mad at everybody? I can never quite figure out Jay Cutler. And there's been NBA stars like that. There's been baseball stars.

The great Steve Carlton didn't talk to anybody. He only used one catcher, Tim McCarver. He didn't like anybody. There's always been like the athlete. We can't quite figure out. They're private. They're covert. I got no idea on Kauai.

Jim Jackson's around the corner. And my thoughts on the story that has hit the wires today, where Sean McVeigh of the Rams is acknowledging, he watched too much film for the Super Bowl. Belichick got in his head. We'll talk about that. 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.

Don't skip meals anymore. Drink Soylent. A complete meal in a bottle. Plant protein, essential nutrients. Want 20% off your first case? First type of customers go to Soylent.com put in code Herd 2. Herd 20. By the way, interesting story.

Sean McVeigh is out saying regarding the Super Bowl in which Sean McVe acknowledged he was out coached by Belichick. He goes, I watched every game. You can watch so much film. You lose perspective. I even watched the Philly and Atlanta Super Bowls closely. But you have to give the Patriots credit. They were best when the best was demanded.

Personally, I wasn't good enough. McVeigh acknowledging paralysis by analysis, Belichick got in his head. He watched too much film. They call it like the fog of war. He was just inundated with so much that he overthought the room and didn't concentrate on the two or three things that the Rams were really good at.

You know, it's funny. I live in a world now where everybody's looking for the new hot thing, and I'm pro-millennial. Joy, you're a millennial, right? Or just outside of the millennial space. Yes, I am technically a millennial. But the only time Belichick coaches now,

and I think he faces a contemporary, a peer, is Andy Reid. A little bit Pete Carroll. That's it. Now, Doug Peterson, older, and an Andy Reid, disciple had a hell of a game against him. But this idea, we want

to rush people in their 20s and early 30s into these positions of power and life experience, you can't get that at Cornell. You can't get that at Harvard. You can't get it at Yale. I want to see a divorce. I want to see a vulnerable. I want to see somebody that's dealt with

all sorts of stuff. Belichick's been fired. Belichick and Barcells didn't get along. Belichick has battled and owner, battled with Tom. You cannot get experience at an Ivy League prep school, right? You can't. And when McVeigh, the smartest young coach, acknowledges,

I got completely worked outside of Andy Reid. Andy Reid's in his 60s. I don't feel, he's given, by the way, Belichick, they know Andy Reid is his kryptonite. Andy Reid gives Bill Fitz. And by the way, Pete Carroll, I always feel when he faces Belichie. check. It's a little bit of a chess match. Seattle's one in New England. Seattle, that Super Bowl, you feel like when Pete Carroll

faces him, by the way, Pete Carroll's about 65, 66, 66, 67. Those are two chess masters playing. I mean, I tell people all the time, gray hair is not a terrible thing. When you watch MSNBC or you watch Fox News, I don't want to watch a 20-year-old.

I want somebody who's dealt with the White House like 17 different elections. That's what I want. I like experience. When Sean McVeigh gets worked, and Sean McVeigh's the guy that's so talented that if you've had a cup of coffee from him, you get a job in this league. McVe acknowledging, I didn't, I watched too much, I got out coached. It just gray hair. I'm all for, say it all the time. I get on a plane. I want to see gray hair on my pilot. I want him to have been through turbulence. I want that plane to have been hit by lightning 40 times. I want to have more than a

handful of times. He took off birds in the engines. He had to circle back and land immediately. I'm not interested in a hipster 28-year-old pilot. I want somebody who's been in that plane and it got hit twice and three minutes by lightning. And that's Belichick. I mean, that Belichick took McVeigh to school. McVeigh acknowledging it. I just wasn't, didn't know how to quite do and really didn't coach terribly well. Gray hair matters everywhere. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Is that why you're trying to grow your beard out? It's one of them. I want to be like Hemingway. I want to be the old man in the sea, gray hair everywhere. And people will believe me more. They'll say he has to know stuff.

But you can't grow a beard. That's the problem. Maybe you should grow like a sophisticated mustache. What about it, No. I'm going to go no on that one. That was a sigh, I think. That's not for you. All right. So the Nuggets are one win away from their first Western Conference finals in 10 years after last night's blowout win, 124.98 over Portland. Lillard did what he could for the Blazers, 22.6 rebounds and four assists. But Yokic, Jamal Murray, and Paul Millsap were too much for the Blazers. And after the game, Lillard said he was still waiting for his team to play its best game. We don't feel like we played our best basketball yet. And with our backs against the wall, you know, we don't really have a choice. So our mindset is just to get the next one, take care of home, and make it back here.

I think they played as good as they could play, and we probably played as worse a game that we could play. Whether you lose by one or you lose by 25 is one game. And, you know, we're going back home to try to force a game seven and just make it back here. I still like Portland in this series, and I think it goes. So you like him to win the series? I do. I mean, he's right. Like, they need everybody to contribute. The Blazers are not one of those teams where Damian Lillard can just go for 40 and it's cool.

Everyone needs to have a great game, especially when you're dealing with Yokic and Jamal Murray. Yokic can be neutralized if they play a faster game. That's, that we've seen that. But, you know, you can't have 12 points from CJ McCullum. And CJ has been good throughout the series. He was great in the four overtime game. but everybody needs to contribute and they'll have they're they are right up they're back against the wall so everyone better play well or they're going home yeah joe kitsch is a matchup problem

god they're really they've played their butts off bunch of kids with no experience yes they've been really impressive but i will say i do agree with him though the the blowout loss like to me that doesn't make a difference it's it's the next game you're going to forget all about that the the games that linger to me are the losses that are super emotional at the very end the long overtime when there's a bad call or something like that's the one that carries over in the series. You've seen bad losses like this before

and teams come back from it. So from the, well, the Knicks this year, everything is on the table. And if they signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and they could also win the lottery and draft sign Williamson's the number one overall pick. So people are discussing if they do that,

should they trade Williamson's rights to help them contends immediately? Remember Cleveland did this in 2000. in 2014, they traded Andrew Wiggins as part of a package for Kevin Love after signing LeBron. So it's not unheard of, although I would say Zion is coming into the league with a little bit more hype than Andrew Wiggins. Okay, let's just forget basketball. We know that when you put popular people in big cities, you know, Harbott, Michigan, Sabin at Bama, A-Rod with the Yankees, you know, shack with the Lakers, it explodes. Zion Williamson in New York

is not Zion in Memphis or Sacramento. You could probably raise ticket prices in New York by a third and sell the place out. I think Zion in New York is, it's A-Rod to the Yankees. I don't even think there's a dollar figure you can put on it. Yeah, you can't pass up on Zion Williamson. If you have the number one overall pick, you have to take Zion Williamson for all the reasons you just mentioned alone.

Nobody really knows what he's going to become in the league. I'm an owner. I'm not a step in your, I'm not a meddling owner. If I own the Knicks and you were my general manager, and I'm not a meddler, you do what you do, you're an expert. I would say, Joy, meet me in my office. I'm the owner. I would say, for the only time in my ownership, we're not trading Zion. Right. I think from an owner, Joy, he is a hundred fifty. It's a must. There's no way around it.

Could I make an argument? When LeBron went to the Cavs, he elevated the Cavs net worth as a franchise 500 million. Zion makes the Knicks 500 million more valuable as a franchise. And in this scenario you're saying that would make sense but the Knicks have a meddling owner so you know that's going to happen. Now if they

don't get the number one overall pick and they get say the second pick and they're landing with John Morant and they have Kyrie and Kevin Grant. Now you can move it. Now we're talking some moves here and I still think that John Morant's going to be a transcendent but maybe just not the right fit you have Kyrie. Finally, the Cowboys front

office might not get much of a break this off season. according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram negotiations with Amari Cooper have gone off to a slow start because his demands were shockingly high. And as for Dak, it sounds like the Cowboys are expecting to give him at least $30 million a year. And Jerry Jones had this to say on The Rich Eisen Show. I think that we're sold on Dak and we do want to have him for the long term. We think he's worthy of investing in for the long term. he's going into his fourth year now in the NFL. When you look at the snaps he's had,

when you look at the situations he's been in, when you look at, first of all, how he got here, and then you see really how he has performed, we see, real upside in Dak. The reality is the Cowboys don't have a choice. They have to pay Jack Prescott. Jack Prescott has all the leverage right now. There's really nothing that they can say.

All of it. He saved the franchise. They've been competitive every year. The only upside is next year's a good year for quarterbacks in the NFL, but Dallas will probably be too good to have a top 10 pick. And nobody that needs a quarterback. I mean, this is happening. Just let it wash over you.

He's getting all of his money. He deserves it. He's been playing on a fourth round rookie contract playing at that level. You can't make the argument that he should do what Tom Brady does. Tom Brady's been playing for 20 years and he has a wife that's worth $400 million. It's not the same situation. And he's been on this fourth-round rookie contract and they haven't been able to put the pieces around him

to get them to a championship. So he has no motivation to take a pay cut anyway. He's going to get paid this now. Amarke Cooper, I don't know. They're going to have to figure that out because that's a lot of money to have up in two players. It's a lot of money. It's 46 mil on two guys.

When you have a lot of young stars who need to get fed. It's not just like this isn't New England. You have to pay. You have two of the best line-back. Backers, Best Corner. They don't have Zeke's contract. Zeke. Oh, yo.

A joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. We bring in Jim Jackson, 14 years in the NBA, first round draft pick. You know, I'm going to throw this at you.

What? Go tee. I think next Tuesday is one of the most important days in the NBA in the last 20 years. Ping-pong lottery. So I just want you to throw this out there.

Okay. You run the Knicks. Do we both agree that Zion and John Morant are really game-altering talents, elite players and ticket sellers? Yes. One looks like Westbrook with better shot. The other one looks like Charles Barkley, but stronger. Okay. So let's say you don't get the number one pick because if you get Zion, would you agree if you own the Knicks?

just from a merchandising standpoint, you can't trade him. Well, you can't trade him for this. In this draft, like, you mentioned LeBron, okay? When LeBron went to Cleveland, how many times were they on national TV before he went there? Never.

Never. That's the effect that LeBron gave you. Marketing, ticket sales, on national TV, global status in regards to people watching. Same thing you're going to get from Zion. You're not going to get that from any of the draft hit, okay?

The immediate, pack to sell season tickets to get on national TV merchandising. No matter how good John Moran is, you're not getting that same effect. So you and I both, if we ran the Knicks, you can't move off Zion. No. He's literally, I as an owner, and I wouldn't be a meddling one, I'd say, we're not moving it. Here's what's interesting.

If you get the number two pick, John Morant. First of all, his game is electric. Again, I think it's a better version of Westbrook. I think he's better now at this point than Westbrook was at this point. I mean, he is a 49-inch vertical, 360 in the lane. The question becomes I get the two-pick. Why do I go after Kyrie Irving? I take this kid.

Kyrie, I got a lot of stuff here. I'm not sure. He doesn't like to practice. Right. Doesn't work with others. Outside of LeBron, he's been difficult to work with. This idea of Katie and Kyrie, Tuesday, I mean, If the New York Knicks get one of the two picks, I'm not in on Kyrie.

That's the beauty of the draft and understanding where you're at. You have like plan A, plan B, and plan C. Okay, if we get this player Nolato, these are the free agents we're going to go after. Okay. If we get this player, this who we're going to go after. So with the John Morant, you think about it from this. And you said that he's ahead of Westbrook. He's ahead of him because he played point guard his whole life.

That's who he's been. Okay. That's the difference with John Moran. He's a willing passer. He understands what it takes to win a basketball game. He's a true point guard. He's a true point guard that can score but is willing to pass. So if you're the Knicks, okay, you get job.

You don't necessarily need Kyrie. You can utilize that other cap space to be able to go out another free agent, another shooter. Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler or something like, hey, what if Tobias Harris doesn't want to go back? I mean, I'm just saying I'm just throwing names out there. But you have cap room in order to go out to get a third player. not necessarily maybe a chyrie or somebody like that if you can get Kevin Durant. So there's a lot of things in the air, but scenarios are going on in the boardroom,

in the meeting room of what can happen if we get A, B, C, and D. I think Tuesday is a revolutionary. It is an incredible, it's like Magic Johnson to the Lakers potentially. I mean, it's that kind of day in the NBA. The New York Knicks. Now, it'll probably work out. The Knicks get the ninth pick and it doesn't matter. Right.

But then they have to go full on board. How about this? Phoenix gets the number one pick. I take John Morant. Well, see, here's the problem, though. Here's the issue. They need a point guard. And I'm with you on that. They got a big.

But you can't, it's hard to really turn down Zinewood because of the intangibles that he brings. It really is. It will, it will, it's like passing on LeBron. That will be your legacy as a GM forever. And if it, here's the thing. If it does, say Phoenix drafts him and it doesn't pan out, you're not. going to be looked at like you were just stupid because it was a no-brainer that you go get Zion Williams. So you think the upside, the downside's horrible. The bottom line is if you take

Zion, everybody in the league will understand why you did it. Exactly. If you take Jai, they'd be like, okay, and if it doesn't work out, you're like, well, you could have had him, okay? I mean, even though you do, a lot of times you got to look at it like, what do we really need? They need a point guard. Yes. Okay. They need a point guard. Way more than Zion. Way more than Zion. But conventional wisdom is going to tell you in that boardroom, in the draft room, bro, we can't pass up on this. You know, it's funny about this. This is why the Colts moved off Peyton Manning because they had seen as a sophomore or a junior.

They saw Andrew Luck. And the Colt knew, and everybody in the league that I talked to was like Lux Elway. Like he is going to, kid won 11 games as a rookie with no running game, the wrong coach, and the worst offensive line in football. Brady couldn't do that. So, yeah, I think it's fascinating. Let me shift to this. M. Bede. Right.

You watched last night. You watched the body language. Yeah. What do I do with him? Here's the challenge. M. B. in his short tenure there. He's played 410 games.

Well, he's been there for 410 games only played 158. That's only 30% of the games. Okay. Jim, that's brutal. Think about that. 158 games. Now, in some injuries you can't control. Joy, you've been around with your brother.

some injuries you just but to me my biggest thing with mbid great personality i love him the debt but when are you going to really take it serious to come in in the best shape okay the best shape that you can be and i still don't think mb is in shape no everybody says he has a bad diet okay and so a lot of that is on mb so now philly i don't think it's i think it's too early to give up on okay you you do but but but is there a trade scenario if somebody called you on the phone because i would because i think he has value by the way he's got less value you this morning than two weeks ago because of the injuries. So it was there.

Well, what you say that? But when a lot of teams are presented with the opportunity to get them, they kind of, well, if we get them here, we can do this. What if, what if right now you're in New Orleans, you say, okay, we need to get off this Drew Holiday contract and we'll straight up do Drew Holiday and Anthony Davis for Embed and Ben Simmons. Okay, just hold on. No, let me think about it.

What would you do? So I'm Philadelphia. Uh-huh. I get Anthony Davis. Davis and Drew Holliday for M. Bied and Simmons. I can't do that.

Can't do that. I can't do it. Scenario. Can you give me something better? You want to keep Ben, right? You want to keep Ben? I think there's, they don't, he does not get delivered to the NBA.

Six, ten and a half point. But a lot of it is on Ben's improvement because if I'm Brett Brown and I'm the coach, he's getting whacked. How do I, okay, he's gone. But if I'm a coach, how do I play Ben if he doesn't improve? prove, okay?

I can put him in the post, but he doesn't want to be aggressive. I want to put him at the point guard, but yet and still, he's not aggressive, okay? Even if Ben can't shoot free throws, put the other team at bay and get him in the penalty for your teammates, okay? First quarter, second quarter, third quarter. Now you're picking up foul trouble. Be aggressive. My thing with Ben Simmons is we compare him a lot to Magic, right?

Magic first couple years, I think he's 19.7. Rebounds. He only shot 20% from the three-point line. Yeah, Magic couldn't shoot her. But Magic was 79% from the free throw line. Now, this is a big point. If Simmons was a great free throw shooter, you'd give up a lot of the, it wouldn't bother you nearly as much. Because, you know what?

Again, it's called being unselfish because he would put the opposing team in the penalty a lot sooner. That means that your teammates benefit from you being aggressive. When Ben is not aggressive, he's just out there. What do you need them for? Defensively, he's pretty good, but he has to figure out, he's like this, Colin, because he can't shoot. I've seen a lot of guys in the gym. Shoot, I mean, knock down shots, knock down 10, 15 in a row.

Guys who can't shoot free throws 15 in a row. They get to the game because they're not mentally strong enough. As soon as they missed the first shot really bad, all that you were doing in the gym and shooting goes out the window. He has to get over that, okay, and develop who he's going to be as a player. because he's so, I think, phenomenal and what he can do, multi-dimensional, when he puts his mind to it, but a lot of times he coweres back a little bit

of fear of failure. And you can't be like that. I want, okay, finally, I want you to be as honest as you can as a former player. Kauai Leonard, rich, single, in Toronto, beautiful women. A lot of them, you can make more money in Toronto,

good organization, sophisticated, diverse city, good food. East is easier than the West. He's got a house in L.A. Moving to L.A. wouldn't save him on taxes because L.A. taxes are as bad as Canada. What would you do if you're Kauai? Had his game, you're single, you got his game,

you're his age, you got the California house. What would you do? Think as a player. Okay, here's the issue. Not the smart businessman. Here's the issue because Kauai is, The thing I love about Kauai is the thing you hate because you don't know what the hell he's thinking, at all,

because he doesn't say anything. Anything. And now I know some guys who coach him through AAU. He was the same way, okay? So his mindset from the very beginning, he's not caught up in a lot of stuff. If I'm Kauai, I'm looking at, okay, where are we at in the Eastern Conference, hierarchy?

So that's what you're looking at. Where are we at? And me as an all-star, too. Okay? like Jimmy Butler in the East, I can be a proennial all-star every year. Not to say that he can't do it in the West. Easier in the East.

But it's a lot easier to East. Now, the East, from a competitive perspective, has gotten better, okay? If I'm Kawai, it's so hard to say because right now Toronto has a great situation. If you come to the Clippers, you have to rebuild that thing. Now, the culture, and if you want to play for Doc Rivers. But you're still the second biggest franchise in your city.

Right. But you're number one in Toronto. Whatever you do, eat, sleep, drink, you know, you're right there with the Raptors. Okay. You know, hockey is, of course, huge there in Canada. But they love the Raptors, okay? And you've got to want to live in Canada. So you have to make a choice.

You have to make a choice. What was your choice, I was saying? I would. I mean, because I'm going to run everything. Personally, I'm going to run everything. I'm going to get anything I want. I'm a carte blanche. It's like Howard Stern was Sirius XM.

It's kind of my channel, although it's not my channel. channel and I can just give contracts to. There's value in that. It really is value. Now, again, I mean, you put into the taxes and everything else. He's from L.A. He's going to live here in the summertime anyway. I mean, so he's going to be back.

We figured it out this morning. You only spend three and a half months in the city you play in. That's it. You play four months off season. Pre-imposed is a month out of town. Week for the All-Star break. You're not there all the time. I mean, in Toronto's a great.

I mean, it's cold. Don't get me wrong. I mean, the wintertime, if you don't want to deal with the winter, I get it. But you're going to be traveling anyway. Yeah. So, I mean, you're going to deal with some kind of elements in some cities when you go back East Sydney. We're just not going to live there every day.

Jim Jackson, good senior. Coming up and best for last, Twitter attacked me this week. I'll actually, so I'm going to respond to all their measured and thoughtful messages coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. By the way, speaking of a tweet, somebody tweeted me today. Colin, why haven't you talked about the no hitter last night? in Oakland because there were 742 people at the game.

People in Oakland don't care about the Oakland A's. That's why I don't talk about it. It's not a topic. It's a moment. Nobody in Oakland cares about the A's. A national show, why am I going to talk about something nobody cares about in the city? It happened. Well, they got their wish.

You talked about it. There you go right there. All right, best for last today. We're doing a new segment first and last time. I don't like it. Staff thinks it's funny. Because this week was about the Sixers, and Philadelphia is very passionate.

Cleveland always hates me. Philadelphia is hit and miss. They hated me the last week because of all this stuff. And Toronto hates me with Kauai Leonard and Cleveland and Baker-Mayfield. There's a lot of hate coming at me on Twitter. So the staff thought we'd create a game called We Heard You. All right. I don't know if it needs music or anything.

I like that. All right. We heard you on Twitter. Joy, you're going to read me actual tweets from the audience. Yes. So these are tweets replying to you saying the 76ers should keep Simmons. not MB. This one is from Michael, said, bro, you would take Simmons over Embed. He literally will never be a playoff performer. You're the only one who would take him over Embedde in the world.

His game is so predictable. He isn't even aggressive. Oh, really? In his second year, let's make a definitive statement. He'll never be good. Do you ever know they called Magic Johnson tragic Johnson after one of his early playoff failures? Simmons doesn't work with Embeded. That's why he appears not to work. But the difference is, M. Bede's played in 38% of his game since he's drafted. Simmons has played in over 75%. Bro. All right.

This next one is from John. He says, I will take a slightly injury prone Mbid over any other player in the NBA. He lives and thrives in big games. He's great for Philly and the NBA. Hashtag trust the process. Hashtag go Eagles. Slightly injury prone? That's like saying Phoenix is.

sort of hot. Slightly injury prone? He's played in 38% of the games. And for the record, he's young. How do you think he's going to age as a 335 pound seven footer? He's not slightly injured. He's always injured. Next.

This one of these tweets are responding to, well, this tweet is responding to your prediction for the Raptors. This is from someone named Cobb Wes. I think they're a Kobe Bryant and Westbrook fan. You said, quote, Toronto is only for the regular season. Little off on that one. I tried to warn you about that, though. You did.

Okay, listen, historically, they have only been for the regular season. That's correct. So I said, I had trust issues. I mean, listen, if you were in a relationship and you got burned seven times, by the eighth time, you'd be a little cautious, right? You don't go to a restaurant a second time if they butcher a restaurant. meal. I'm supposed to be all in on Toronto after six years of underachievement. I'm cautious,

a little cynical, and let's not go crazy. They haven't wrapped it up yet. Okay. This tweet is responding to you wanting the Warriors in the finals. David said, I'm just sick of the warriors. They have enough rings. Ditto with the Patriots. Sick of them too. They're both good. All-time greats. We get it. Enough already. So do you get sick of eating great food? Do you get sick of your favorite TV show. Doesn't it bother you when your best favorite TV show jumps the shark and gets bad like

Game of Thrones did the last year? I never get sick of excellence. What I'm sick of is Andy Dalton. I never get sick of Drew Brees. I don't get sick of Russell Wilson. I don't get sick of great. I get tired of average and there's a ton of that in sports. Well, you are not a fan.

So I would agree with you there if you're not a fan. Now, if you're a fan, it would be like me being sad about Game of Thrones going off the air and you being like, okay, I see you're sad, but I really don't care because I don't watch Game of Thrones, right? Or you constantly eating at a great restaurant and I can't go to because it's in another state. I tend to be a little more indifferent than other people. Yes, right, because they can't enjoy it too. All right. And now this tweet is for on you tampering down the Brown Super Bowl hype. Justin said, don't know why people hate Colin Coward.

I mean, even he's probably the most consistent dude on the air and also has the ability to admit when he's wrong. Thank you. Even as a Browns fan, I have to admit, we have a weak argument. They finish third. Check your Cleveland Sports Pride. That's pretty complimentary tweet. Yeah, I have no comment other than Twitter has one genius.

There's one smart guy in the whole internet. All right. And this last one is from Clay. I would arm wrestle Colin Cowherd given the opportunity. Okay. You must like losing. I won, I swear to God, I won my high school arm wrestling championship. I beat Lauren Perry.

He was furious. You had an arm wrestling championship? In my high school. I beat Lauren Perry. He was so mad because he was much bigger and stronger. And I'm like, brains. One and on brains. Check the tape, bro.

Game 7, Avalent Sharks tonight. How about that? Discover Alert. If you find your social security number on one of those risky websites, the dark web, free for car members, sign up online, discover.com slash free alerts. Limitations apply. Good stuff.

Joy, we'll be back tomorrow. It's the herd. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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