The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Kawhi Leonard, championships, Lakers, NBA rankings, & running backs

Episode Date: July 11, 2019

Colin explains how huge it would be if Kawhi Leonard wins a championship for the Los Angeles Clippers, why he feels the Los Angeles Lakers aren't as good as some people think, his NBA rankings, and why it's tough for RBs in the NFL. Guests include Nick Wright, Rob Parker, Bill Plaschke, and LaVar Arrington. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

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this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert show i'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee we're in the middle of a game this linebacker this linebacker walks up to me he goes a ref my mom wants you to wave at her what Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. On a Thursday, this is the herd.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on Eye Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Looking at my guest list. Just got in the chair a little late today. Joy Taylor is joining me in a Thursday. Joy, how are you? I'm great. Good morning.

Well, we've got the dust has settled in all this free agency stuff. We also have some good NFL stories. We have a breaking NFL story I'll get to in about five minutes here. We've got some football stuff seeping in, and we'll kind of segue into football here in the next couple of weeks when camps open. But the dust has settled with all these free agents, and everybody now is, you know, making lists and who's good and who's not. And, you know, Buky Cousin said yesterday, this team on paper is unbelievable. This is a great. Now, remember how players see basketball.

Players love Russell Westbrook. He doesn't play winning basketball. Players love Ile Iverson. He doesn't play winning basketball. Players love talent. You know, they like guys in the gym. Players never brag about Kiki Vandeway or Alex English. You know, players just like talent.

Coaches like fit. That's what coach is like. Coaches like stuff that fits together. It's a big crossword puzzle. Bill Belichick isn't enamored with talent. Bill Belichick's enamored with what fits with Tom Brady. players love just talent guys who can play even if they're way past their prime as i've said the lakers are a movie poster i'm not sure if it's going to be a good movie but it's interesting frank

vogel yesterday is talking about the lakers roster i'm just not as high on it as everybody else is i think the clippers are better the warriors are better i think the jazz pieces fit better i think denver could be better i think the lakers again i'll it's a i would say strange if the lakers were a movie they would have two stars and seven Christopher Walkins. That's what it would be. It's a lot of strange. You ever go to a circus as a kid? And there was a trapeze and there was the giraffe.

They don't know in the corner they had the tent where the guy with seven fingers and the bearded lady. There's a lot of that with this Lakers. You have guards that can't shoot Rajan Rondo. You have a two guard in KCP two years ago that had somebody personal problems. He wore an ankle bracelet. Javelle McGee is fun but quirky. Boogie Cousins struggles to get along with people. You have a great defensive big in AD, an atrocious one in Boogie Cousins.

You have Danny Green, who by the way can shoot but can't create anything. It's a roster full of size and shooters. But the juice is all LeBron James. He's the juice. He hopefully makes it all work. But if you just start looking at this thing, there's a lot of weird. And because they waited for Kauai Leonard, they got a lot of used parts. A guy's past their prime, got to overpay for guy, weird body guy, Jared Dudley,

Quinn Cook, too small guy, KCP, too much drama guy, boogie can't defend guy. It's an odd part with two stars. It reminds me a lot, to be honest with you, of that Seattle Seahawk team a couple years ago that didn't have an offensive line, didn't really have a go-to running back, didn't have a respectable tight end, had a couple of decent receivers, and it was Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner on each side of the football and then a bunch of strange. And Russell Wilson was the only guy that had any juice. And the whole season, he led the team in rushing.

He let it in touchdowns. Russell Wilson let it in everything. And he was just trying to make all these weird disparate parts work. And by the way, they were nine and seven because Russell Wilson's amazing. He's unbelievable. He's one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL, not just at his position in the league. And he got to nine and seven, but it's the only year he didn't make the playoffs.

It's the only year. Because he was the only guy that already had any. juice. And then Bobby Wagner was the one guy in the defensive end that had juice. Then it was a lot of guys you were hoping. You just lost Richard Sherman. And he was at the end of his career and they were injured. It didn't work. And that's what reminds me of. Like I'm not, I'm not, I think it's a great movie poster. Utah's pieces fit. Clippers pieces fit. Philadelphia pieces fit. I think Boston pieces fit. Even DeAngelo Russell, I think,'s fit. I was thinking about this this morning. You have so many strange pieces. They're just too small, too old, can't defend, defends great, defends atrociously, shoots but can't create. Your best ball handler, Rondo, can't shoot. Your best shooter isn't really a great ball handler or creator, Danny Green. So remember, players love Westbrook,

because players love guys who can ball. They go into a gym, they sit down, they watch and they're like, look at that guy. Michael Jordan loves Westbrook. Michael Jordan's a horrible general manager. Remember that? It's terrible. Players like one thing, coaches like, fit. That's what coaches like. They like fit. That's why Brad Stevens is obviously a great coach,

but the Kyrie thing didn't work because Kyrie didn't fit the other pieces, though Kyrie was easily the most talented. And in the end, it didn't work for either person. So I never, how many great players in NBA history have been great GMs? Larry Bird, that's about it. So what players see is the movie poster. I get it. I like movie posters. I like movie trailers. What the coach see, what the GM see is usually, can these pieces work? And when you waited for Kauai for ever, you know, you ended up kind of taking some odd players. You overpay for Danny Green and Warriors didn't really want to pay Quinn Cook. And Jared Dudley's kind of shot, but he's a good guy and a good leader, but he can't

defend. And either can boogie cousins and there's injuries and boogie's not getting a lot of offers. I was told and then suddenly became a Laker. And Javelle McGee, I like actually. I think he's funny and quirky. But he's a little different. And as one NBA executive said about this team, it's LeBron Hey, he's. D and a bunch of, I think Joy said this, specialists.

There's a lot of specialists. Specialists work for Russell Wilson in Russell's prime because he's filthy good. LeBron's not in his prime. LeBron's in his 17th year. So once again, yesterday was funny because Frank Vogel, I had her story three days ago. LeBron is the point guard. Frank Vogel's like, no, he's not. Here's Frank Vogel.

Very positive. It became very clear that I was going to have the support of my best player in LeBron. There is no decisions made on our starting lineup, no imminent plan to start LeBron at the point guard spot. A lot of different lineups and combinations have been discussed, but it's really way too early for any of that. He'll be a primary ball handler in our system the same way he has been his entire

career, but we're certainly not going to ask him to do anything that he hasn't done his entire career. So this is interesting. So it would be like saying with Russell Wilson, well, he's going to be the, he's going to be not going to be a running back for us, but Russell Wilson led the Seahawks in rushing. So what you're saying is, well, we're not going to ask LeBron to be a true point guard, but he's going to handle the ball all the time. Well, hell, he better.

He's the only guy with juice on this offense. I mean, Anthony Davis, he doesn't create shots for others. Danny Green doesn't create shots for others. Rondo's passed his prime and can't shoot. Jared Dudley, similarly, Quinn Cook, too small. There's one guy. This is Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. he's the juice.

And Russell and his prime made it happen. But even that team had a low ceiling. So I just see the Lakers as odd, disparate parts that make a great movie poster, but I don't think it clicks. Maybe it does over time. They make moves at the trading deadline. But don't be confused. I read on Twitter about a week ago, it was a funny line.

They said, God, this team would have been great four years ago. Four years ago, Boogie didn't have two injuries. And LeBron was in his prime. And four years ago, Danny, Green's young and you're like, okay, now, this is not. This is old in weird spots and can't shoot in weird spots and shoot and can't do anything else in weird spots. So I like four or five teams better than the Lakers.

Even though I do think they're really talented. We'll see how it plays out. Now, we're getting to a point now where some NFL news will start breaking here. And here's a story. And the world is changing in the NFL for one position. Actually, the world's changing for every position except one position, running back. If you look at what's happening in football in the National Football League, everything's safer, right? There's less hitting in practice. There's less practice.

You can't hit quarterbacks. You can't hit wide receivers and tight ends above the shoulders. They're thinking about taking away the kickoff. If you talk to coaches inside the league, the Rams barely hit during the regular season. I was talking to a USC coach last journey. He's like by September, we stop hitting at practice. Okay, the game is getting safer, obviously because it needs to get safer. New rules, new equipment, less hitting, less practice. Melvin Gordon running back for the Chargers one year left in his deal said, I'm not showing up.

I want a new contract. Now, I don't like guys breaking contracts, but here's what's interesting about the running back position. It is the last inevitably violent position in football. Everybody's getting hit less, less hitting at practice, except running back. And Melvin Gordon's entering the last. last year of his deal. He's a two-time pro bowler. He's very, very good. And he's sort of saying what Lavian Bell did. I'm getting up to be like 28. And I don't want to practice as much.

And I don't want to get hit in the offseason. And if you don't get the right pieces around me and I don't get the right money, I don't want to play. Running backs in the NFL are the only position no longer protected by rules. They're no longer protected by the culture of the game. Quarterbacks now, bubble screens, three steps, get it out. out, don't get hit. Those don't get hit as much. Wide receivers. I mean, there are so many rules now about when you can hit a wide receiver, and the answer

is almost rarely. Tight ends don't get banged up as much. Offensive linemen don't grind like they used to. It's more of a passing league than a running league. It's just holding your block for a second and letting a guy go. So here you have a running back. It's the one position in the NFL running back with a timer on it. And Melvin Gordon played four years of college and got hit for four years.

I mean, he was the guy at Wisconsin, right? And they run the football. Then he goes to the Chargers, and he's the guy for four years that gets banged on. So he's now a couple years away from the cliff year in the NFL for running backs, 28 years old. He's one year away from the cliff. This is the position with a timer. Even Todd Gurley, you watch him. Uh-oh.

Uh-oh, it's getting close. Watch out. We thought he was in his prime. So running backs have become the brake pads of the NFL. You can buy the very best. There is a timer on brake pads. And you're seeing it now with Ezekiel Elliott. You're seeing it with running backs around the league.

They want to get paid and they want to get paid early. And if they have a year left on their contract, they're looking around the league. Everybody's taking shots now. Everybody's getting hit less. Everybody's protected more. Everybody practices less, except my position. I don't like it. And I got to tell you, I'm going to tell you,

I don't like breaking contracts, but we have a little culture trend here in football happening right now. And running backs, they're the brake pads. And the league is absolutely going. And by the way, the football, NFL football has never had less hitting, especially dangerous hitting. I mean, there's just never been less. Practices, fewer, practices less hitting, quarterbacks. Offensive guys, you can't tag anymore except running backs. So Chargers have a little dilemma on their hands.

Listen, he's a great player, and I would love for the next three years, front-load the contract. I'd love to have Melvin Gordon, and I'd love to pay him. But I think you're going to see more and more of this. And though I don't love breaking contracts, we talked about this yesterday. Sometimes professions move toward you. Sometimes your profession moves away from you. And running backs are in a very strange position right now.

Coming up next, why do we think he's strange? He actually is a brilliant businessman. 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 IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

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Yes, I think the Lakers roster is full of Christopher Walkins. Doesn't mean it won't be a great movie, but I got to wait to see it. There's a lot of quirky and only two seasons. stars and only one guy that really has any big time juice, and that's LeBron. And my other take today is Melvin Gordon wants a deal a year early. I don't believe in breaking contracts, but I get it with star running backs in the NFL. I want to transition into this.

Kauai Leonard's contract came out yesterday, new Clipper, three years, two clippers than a player option. A lot of a C, I said this yesterday and got some pushback. I said, folks, if Kauai Leonard wins next year. Like he's in the LeBron Michael class, right? Like you, well, I mean, he's only scored 8,000 points. Well, so what? If points mattered, we'd talk about Carl Malone on the show all the time.

I'm talking about Carl Malone. It doesn't matter. We talk about titles. At 27, he's ahead of LeBron and Michael. Okay, at 27, Michael Jordan, and LeBron combined had a title. He's got two. Been the MVP of both. If he wins this next year with the Clippers and I think they should be favorites,

what are you going to say the next morning? Three titles, three different teams, MVP of each. How is he not in that class? And you're like, well, he's good. The problem with Kauai is the narrative that he's a weird guy. And we think that his path has been like circumvented and odd. No, it's not. Let's take a deep breath and go back and look at Michael Jordan's path to greatness.

First four or five years, fired coaches, got teammates traded, impossible to play with. then he breaks his foot, then he wins titles, then he quits to play minor league baseball. There's gambling stuff surfaces, then he wins again, and then he quits again. That's linear? That's traditional? Well, what about Magic Johnson? What about Magic Johnson? Maybe the second best player I've ever seen.

Magic Johnson gets drafted into one of the great rosters in the league. That's rare, and they win immediately. And then it starts to get bumpy, and he gets Paul West head fired. and then there's the tragic Johnson finals and people sell their stock on magic and then he comes back and he's dominant and then all of a sudden at 32 years old he's got to retire early.

What? That's not usual. Look at LeBron James. Out of high school, he's unbelievable. But for seven years, Cleveland can't get him anything resembling an All-Star. So he holds a press conference to announce it gets crushed and even though he's the best young player

becomes the league's villain, goes into a final against Dallas and appears afraid to post up J.J. Berea. Goes mental. Then comes back, tweaks his game, and for the next five years, six years, best guy in the league easily. Then his superstar, Kyrie Bales on him.

He ends up in Los Angeles on a terrible roster. That's traditional. But the difference is this. Magic got a coach run. Michael got coaches run. LeBron got coaches run. Kauai couldn't. His coach was a legend.

Popovich. So he couldn't just get a coach fired. Instead, he kind of had to engineer a way out and go through Canada. He's ahead of LeBron. If we're talking about titles here, and you folks are obsessive on this stuff, I'm not.

I think Dan Marino is one of the best quarterbacks I've ever seen, never won a title. I think Charles Barclay is one of the ten best basketball has ever seen, never won a title. I'm not obsessed with titles. You are. And if you're obsessed with titles, you can't now say they don't matter.

Kauai wins a title next year. Third title, third team, MVP. Is LeBron done that? Did Michael done that? Did Bill do that? Did Magic do that? Did Will do that? Did Kareem do that?

Did Kobe do that? No. You're obsessed with titles. Third team, MVP. He'll be 28. Six peak years left. He's not as strange as you think. His path isn't as weird as you think.

By the way, he's not that weird. He's just quiet. You do get Megan Rapino taking controversial stances, or LeBron or Muhammad Ali are unique. Most athletes are quiet. Mike Trout's quiet. Pulisic's quiet. Brooks Kevka's quiet. Tom Brady doesn't want to do politics.

Like, I don't think Kauai's that crazy. I read a story yesterday in the ringer. He's the most powerful guy in the NBA. This idea that he's a weirdo, I don't know. Looks like he's pretty smart to me. engineered his way out of San Antonio, then engineered his way to the clippers with Paul George was on the phone,

and nobody knew it in the league. He's quiet. Aren't most business people quiet? Belichick's quiet. Belichick doesn't leak stories before they come out. You don't hear anything about Belichick. I don't think his path is that zany. I think if you go look at magic and LeBron and Michael,

there's all sorts of crashes, controversies, messes, unpredictability. It's never a traditional white. picket fence, go to a prep school, then go to college, then get a great job at IBM and get a watch 40 years later. It's not the way it works for NBA stars. They get a lot of pushback. Some are villains, some overcome it, some had bad coaches, some guys got to run out. You find me the star. I mean, by the way, you want to know the two stars where it was just perfect Utah. They never won a title. Same coach, same arena, same teammate, same guys, no controversy. Couldn't win.

You want that? I'll take Kauai. Joy with the news. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So New Lakers coach Frank Vogel has his work cut out for him. And while in Vegas for the summer league, Vogel opened up about his interactions with his two stars, LeBron and Anthony Davis.

What have your interactions been like so far with LeBron James and Anthony Davis? Very, very positive. You know, it became very clear that, you know, I was going to have the support of my best player in LeBron. You know, once I took the job, and, you know, since Anthony has come aboard, it's felt the same way. You know, we're very aligned in, you know, the vision of how we're going to play, what we're going to be able to get accomplished on the basketball court. You know, there's a mutual respect there, and I can't wait to get started. I do think this is a very interesting experiment for LeBron because we know how first year coaches, tend to fare with LeBron James.

How's that? Not well. Not well. It's usually a struggle. And you usually have to have the severe backing of the front office to survive it. Yes. But LeBron's at a different place in his career. And for whatever reason, they didn't manage to put the guy that everyone felt like should be there in Tailu.

And that's no longer an option. So you really don't have time to. go through the process of not getting along with Frank Vogel or not being on the same page and then either firing him and everyone who feels like, you know, Jason Kitt is lurking there in the shadows, just kind of like the guy that they kind of wanted, they couldn't really hire. Your first word was interesting, okay? There's a gap between great and interesting. Like, your take on this is mine, which is, oh, I think it's fascinating movie poster.

Yeah, it's going to be, it's going to be interesting to watch. Because we know how LeBron usually handles the first year with. the coach, but he's at a different phase in his career. There's a much more serious sense of urgency to win a championship than we originally thought with the Lakers. And there's more pressure now. And you have Anthony Davis, so you really don't have any more excuses built in. Last year, I think we all kind of have reached the point where we're just going to watch

that as just an overall disaster. Just there's blame enough to go around to everyone. What do we know always true with LeBron? First year with the coach is bumpy and he's not great with Biggs. Those are facts. He's got a new coach and a really good big. So it can't be great for a while. It's going to be very interesting from day one.

But I think that it's all going to fall on the brawn because we do know that those things are a pattern in his career. So Westbrook is probably heading to 305. He is now reporting that people around the league think it is inevitable that he will wind up there at this point, especially since the heat could be the only team willing to take on both Westbrook's money and personality. and Chris Bosch says he would have two of the fiercest competitors in the league if they make this happen.

I would say definitely top three. And, you know, that's no disrespect to other teams. But, you know, if we're talking talent and a big-time game ability and just the hunger, both those guys haven't won a championship, so they're very hungry. You know, they're obviously very good, some of the top talent in the NBA. I mean, hey, if I could build around those guys for the next four years, I would as well. That's interesting. In general, I look at this mostly as a relevancy move for the heat to get Westbrook.

I totally agree. But it is interesting because he is right. They are two of the most high motor guys in the league, two very big personalities, but also both have a lot to prove yet left in their career. And I do think Westbrook and Miami is interesting because Miami, despite the, you know, big shiny lights and South Beach and all that, organization is very stable, great ownership, and Pat Riley is known for bringing in guys who don't have the best reputation and stabilizing them. Look at Hassan White's eye. Okay. We think the Warriors and the Heat are well run, right? Right. Okay. So, and I agree with you. I think the Warriors and Heat have really smart people. Both of them, one's going to take

Westbrook, one DeAngelo Russell. The theory in the NBA, Pat Riley's done this a long time, and the Warriors know what they're doing. It's better to take a wildly talented star try to make it work than have nine auto porters. And so what Pat Riley is saying is we're playing on a championship team. But you know, if Westbrook and Butler

have some success, you can move players like that. Right, and you can put a few pieces around them. You can stabilize the situation. And I'm not in any way comparing Westbrook to Hassan Whiteside. Westbrook is obviously way better. Way better and does not have any off the core issues or anything of the sword.

But all of that is true. You can completely turn around a situation. Everyone thought the boogie was going to be a disaster with the Warriors. Disaster. It was not that case. It was all injuries that kept Boogie from having the success that he was going to have with the Warriors. Westbrook and Butler, if they're on television and you're an NBA fan, you will watch. You would not have watched that team on TV last year.

No, and in the East, it's kind of interesting. Yep. Finally, Dak Prescott could be the next quarterback to receive a massive contract extension, but a lot of questioned if he should be in the same conversation as recently extended Carson Wentz or Russell Wilson. Pro football focus is among the group that has questioned paying DAC top quarterback money. They say if it were us, it would be a tough sell to keep Dak for anywhere near

the top end's quarterback market. While it would be difficult to cut bait on one of the better stories at the position in recent seasons, it is likely the best decision for the boys to make. And DAC has actually responded to that. He told USA Today, for somebody to say that you can only make so much because of the salary cap or you can only do this or that. I don't know how fair that is to say. Because with gambling and everything going into this league,

everything is going to continue to keep going up. It's important for all these guys to get every bit of their worth. I want to see myself up there, and I don't think any of that is too far-fetched. It's a really good article if you're a football fan to read because pro football focus is unemotional and analytic, and there's a couple of petrifying statistics. If you're a cowboy fan, there's a couple of stats in this article.

You're like, oh, God, Lord. There are some stats that would scare you about Dak. He also has led the Cowboys to a 32 and 16 record. That's right. He is 1 and 3 in the playoffs and after three seasons and two division titles. Also, there's 21 teammates that currently account for more of the Cowboys' 2019 salary cap than Dak. 21. 32 and 16.

I look. I'm your agent. I'm 32 and 16. I've been saying this from the beginning with Dak. I really don't understand what the Cowboys have up their sleeve. They must know something that I don't know. because it's very hard to find a franchise quarterback. Has everyone forgotten what happens when Tony Romo went down before Dak got there?

I don't get it. He's paying what he's worth and he's right. Eventually, it's going to go up and then the next guy is going to get more than him. He's not going to be the highest paid quarterback in the league forever. You've had all these years with him on an incredible contract and you haven't been able to put the pieces around him to get to a Super Bowl. Why would he give you a discount? Yeah, he won't.

There'll be no discount. There'll be no discount from his age of. Who else? have. I'm so confused. I don't get it. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News.

Well, Joy and I agree on the Lakers that it's fascinating. It's interesting, but it's a first-year coach. LeBron's overwhelmingly the juice. It's two movie stars and a bunch of Christopher Walkins, who, by the way, I love his movies. But there's a lot of guys past their prime, can't defend, can't create, can't shoot

but not much else, and Rondo can create, but can't shoot. Nick Wright, via the Cower Global Satellite Network, Hall's first things first. Let's start with my Laker rant because you like them more than I do, and what am I saying that you don't agree with? Well, I don't know, two movie stars and some Christopher Watkins and some Bing Rames and some, oh, that's Pulp Fiction, maybe the greatest movie ever. So a couple movie stars and Chris Walken and some other odd of these can actually turn out okay, Hollywood, L.A. Colin Coward. But this, you just threw out there, LeBron's never played well with Biggs.

Well, when the best big you've ever had is Zedrunas Ilgousis when you're 23, maybe that has to do with it. It's not a perfect roster, obviously. But Danny Green is a great addition. And if Kyle Kuzma can get back to rookie Kyle Kuzma from 3 Pointland, 37% instead of inexplicably 31% last year, then they have adequate shooting. I don't love Rondo at all.

Boogie, I think you have to just basically say anything you get from him is a bonus. But this team, it's not about getting the 58 wins and the one or two seed in the West. Take the clippers out of it for a moment. Go through the West. You tell me a playoff series where someone can go toe to toe with LeBron or AD. Utah's got a great starting five. They do. I want to see Boyan Bogdanovich against LeBron. Oh, I saw that in a playoff series a couple years ago. Donovan Mitchell. Okay, see him go toe to toe. The Rockets. I like the Rockets a lot, but Hardin and Chris Paul against LeBron and AD. Denver, Yokic is a great story, and they lost in the second round last year. Yokic in a series against AD and LeBron. Clippers and

Lakers are clearly the two best teams in the conference because they have the best duo is in the conference, and in the playoffs, that's what will matter. They might end up being the third and fourth seed respectively, but that will not matter. I think you're overselling how much discord there is on the roster. Now, real quick, all of that assumes LeBron plays at an MVP level. All of that assumes that he has the best year 17 anyone has ever had. Yes. I will bet on that and we'll see what happens. I was saying about Kauai Leonard is we like our stories to work perfectly.

I read the first chapter, the second chapter, the third chapter. There's a little conflict, the fifth, six, the book's over, and the good guy wins. We like our books to be like that. And we watch Magic's career and we watch Michael and LeBron and we see them be really good. and really talented, then great, then amazing, then dominant, then mogul. And then Quay Leonard comes out. And we didn't watch him in college. And he won early in San Antonio and didn't get along with the coach, goes to Canada,

and it's weird feeling. And I'm sitting there looking, dudes 27, two titles, best player in both, could win a third. And I don't have a problem if he does saying, okay, he's in the magic Michael LeBron conversation, best two-way player in the game. His path is sooner and weirder. But is it that strange? He just didn't want to be with a heavy-handed coach, and he engineered a trade, hung out in Canada for a year.

I think Kauai could be an all-time great in a year. Okay, pump the brakes. Like, listen, I got no problem with, I got no problem with the path, and I think your point that what is the traditional path? There are even Larry Bird, one team, great or, man, they drafted him a year when he had a year left in college, sat on his rights. That's not a traditional path. So I understand the lack of a traditional path part of it. But all time, great. Just calm down. I saw, I heard you. I was listening. You already are giving him next year's title, which is very kind of you.

It can go right alongside the third straight finals MVP. You gave Kevin Durant a few months ago. Yeah. And the third straight title he won in Golden State that never happened. But like he was the unquestioned best player in the playoffs this year. That first finals MVP, he was not the best player on the Spurs that year. He might have been the best player in the finals for the Spurs. It's arguable, but someone had to win the finals MVP. He's been the unquestioned best player on a team two years in his career, the year two seasons ago when that Spurs team looked awesome, and then Zaza Petulia maimed him,

and then this season with the Raptors. LeBron, meanwhile, in 16 straight years, has led his team in points and assists. Let's give Kauai a little more time before we put him with LeBron and Magic and Larry, assuming we're not just going, we could assign him the next three straight titles, in which case he's already there, but I'm not ready to do that yet. I want to a segue to something because two big NBA topics we touched on, but I want to talk about DAC because there's this thing about the NFL. I always say don't try to get happier than happy.

If you die happy, you've done a great job. It's hard to be happy, right? Kids, job, profession, bosses. And I look at Dak, he's good enough. He wins divisions, 32 and 16, good enough to win the locker room, gain the trust of his owner. But Andy Reid had a quarterback that was good enough. He rolled the dice, got Patrick Mahomes, and they're going to win Super Bowls. So I'm kind of going against the grain here.

What I say is, don't try to get happier than happy. Good enough. Dak checks about nine out of the ten good enough boxes, does he not? Yeah, he's good enough. He's good enough to get you beat if you pay him $30 million a year. You can't pay him $30 million a year. I want everyone to get paid and if he gets it good for him. But I heard Joy's point earlier, which was you had him on this very cheap.

contract and you couldn't put the pieces around him. Well, maybe, or despite having an all-pro running back, the best offensive line in football, an all-pro D-tackle, this year an all-pro wide receiver at the deadline, the quarterback wasn't good enough. He's played 48 games for the Dallas Cowboys. The first 16 and the last eight were very good. The middle 24 were not very good. And if you want to bet on the come and pay him like he's a franchise quarterback, okay, I feel like he's more likely going to be in the Matt Stafford ilk, which is, yeah, he is pretty good and we're scared to let him go. But the moment you pay him, your team has a hard ceiling.

There's three ways to win Super Bowls in this league. Have a superstar quarterback that's paid, have a cheap quarterback on a rookie contract, or the one way that the Patriots get to a Super Bowl every other year, a superstar quarterback that's not paid that well. The one way to absolutely guarantee yourself your drawing dead is to pay a good, not great quarterback, great quarterback money. I'd make Dak play this year out. You can hold the franchise tag over him, and I would make him prove it to me because I'd be afraid to commit myself to him for the next five years. By the way, quickly, Russell Westbrook to the heat, you like it. It's interesting. I'd rather him go to the Spurs. I think the Spurs can create an interesting package to Marta Rosen.

It's an expiring deal. The Thunder want to get off money. I think Russ would work there. But yeah, listen, earlier today on the show, I said the Nets could be a team that could win the title. That's only if Kevin Durant comes back way early. If he doesn't, there's only two title contenders out east, the Bucks and the Sixers. If the heat got Russ, they could immediately be the third best team in the conference. Now, can you win a title with him as your best player? No.

But in the last 25 years, only Michael, Kobe, and Steph. have been a guard as the unquestioned best player on a champion. If you're under 6-6, 6, 6, you really can't be the best, and Kobe and MJ were 6-6. Be the best player on a champion in today's NBA. You've got to be a wing. So Russ can be the co-star, but that would need Jimmy Butler to take a major, major leap, but it would make them interesting, and Pat Riley is always about the team being interesting,

and then you see if you can develop a young player or bring someone else in. By the way, I just want to put this up, best teams in the NBA, first thing's first coho. So put it up on the board. We don't have a ton of time, but he's got Bucks, Lakers, clippers, Sixers, Rockets, Jazz, Nets. I don't see Denver anywhere. I don't see the Warriors anywhere. Your Lakers are way too high. Outside of that, I'm good with it. Okay. Okay, so real quick, listen, again, the Nets should have an asterisk.

That's, if Kevin Durant comes back on the timeline, Kobe did, 240 days, he'd be back Super Bowl weekend. But so just remove them if Katie's not there. The Nuggets would be the next team. That's fine. but the nuggets are not going to beat the Lakers or the Clippers in a playoff series. And then the Warriors, what Warriors? What defense?

They were a bad defense last year and their defense is going to get worse. Steve Kerr is beside himself, that Iggy and Sean Livingston are gone. You really think DeAngelo Russell making $27 million a year is going to go over well when Draymond Green's making 18 and they have not given him a contract extension? we don't know when Clay's coming back. The Warriors can be interesting. They cannot win a title. No, they shouldn't be on that list.

That's why they're not on that list. You, of course, I would imagine, have the Pacers and Lakers neck to neck and neck. But that's your thing. Okay, I got to go. Something different about you. It looks fantastic. I can't figure out what it is, but there's something has changed recently and it looks very, very. Thank you so much.

And congrats to your wonderful daughter about her trip to South Africa. It's a really, really cool thing. Congrats to you and your family. Thank you very much. Travel's an amazing thing. Encourage it if you can. All right, back in a second. Great stuff.

Nick Wright's the herd. 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.

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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. 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, is 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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref, my mom, I want you. to weigh better. What?

Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown

and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black

Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Joy Taylor just found out that I love Gwen Stefani. Well, you said that you sat around and listened to music for two hours last night, last night, which is a nice thing. I think if you, I think if I had 40 guesses of the artists that you were listening to for two hours, I would not pick Gwen Stefani now. You don't think she's talented? I love Gwen Stefani. She's amazing. But that does not change. I think she's so talented. I would not peg you for a Gwen Stefani fan. I watched carriokies with James Corden. I sat there and watched that for an hour. And then I watched the Gwen Stefani one. And I'm like, I just want to listen to Gwen Stefani for an hour. I don't know. I was just thinking like

Beatles. I'm a little old for me. I'm not a beat. They're the best band of all. They're the best band of all time. Mickey Mantle, maybe the most talented baseball player. I didn't watch him play. Maybe like Hooty and the Blowfish. I'm never into it. Nice guys. Never come my kind of music. I was into you two. I liked rock and roll. I never was into punk. By the way, I got

into kind of the hip-hop thing. You wouldn't think I would, but I like all, you know, like, my wife likes like hip-hop. We think it's fun. So my kids all like it. So you'd be amazed. I never was a country guy. Nirvana? Oh, I love Nirvana. I love all that grungy stuff. I like Pearl Jam.

Nirvana, Soundgarden. That's your part of the country, too. Yeah, but Gwen Stefani, Anaheim girl, unbelievable town. I love Gwen Stefani. You learn new things every day. By the way, the Dak Prescott story is funny, because there are pro football focus is something I rely on. They are unemotional and analytic.

It's not a bunch of commentary. Nonsense. I don't believe in opinion from anybody. But a pro football focus has a couple of numbers that are frightening. Last year, Prescott, with a great running back, good receivers, amazing offensive line and an offensive-minded coach through for 3,800 yards and 22 TDs. Those ranked 15th and 16th, respectively among quarterbacks.

That's with a lot of help offensively. Here's the other one. In the most predictive aspect of quarterback play, meaning this will tell you what your quarterback is. Pro Football Focus says the ability to avoid throws graded negatively by pro football focus, he was 25th among qualifying quarterbacks a season ago. And meaning he's got a lot of negative throws. He leaves a lot on the table. But DAC is the ultimate NFL dilemma.

He's good enough at quarterback. He's good enough to win a division. He's done it twice. He's good enough to go 32 and 16. He's good enough to win the locker room. He's always available. He never gets hurt. He's good enough to unseat Tony Romo.

And that's a dangerous place to be. Now, Kansas City had a quarterback. Good enough, Alex Smith. Good enough to win a playoff game. Good enough to win the division. Good enough to win games. Good enough to get everybody a contract extension on the coaching staff. Nobody gets fired with Alex Smith.

And then they rolled the dice and they went to Patrick Mahomes. And that's good. And so, by the way, the Raptors were good enough with Dwayne, Casey, and DeMarta Rosen. They were good enough. They were a number one seed. And then they fired the coach and they got rid of the player and they won a title. And the Warriors won 73 games without KD. They were good enough.

And they went and got KD and became a dynasty. It's a really, there's also an ethical thing. And this is, this is, you wouldn't think billion. care about this. But there is a little ethical thing with Dak. When somebody comes to your business and you feel like, I mean, Dak Prescott increased the value of the cowboys, and this is a reasonable thing, $200 million.

When Tony Romo got hurt and they went into the tank, people started taking the Cowboys off television. They started taking the Cowboys. Listen, the Lakers for the last four years until LeBron showed up were off television. like networks didn't fight for the Lakers until last year with LeBron. So LeBron brings more than just excitement. LeBron gets you on television. You sell more jerseys.

You sell more tickets. Dak Prescott, there's an ethical thing here. Does Jerry Jones feel like, okay, I got him in the fourth round. He saved our franchise $100, $200 million. He kept us on television. I can see, if I owned a team, I'd be like, I'm going to pay them more than the market suggests. Cross my fingers, the salary cap goes up. That's why I'm not a billionaire.

Because ethically, I would feel somehow I owe him a little bit. Like things are too good for us. He saved the franchise. They're sort of a saved the business fee that's unspoken and not negotiated that I would feel I owe him. See, I'm not even looking at it from that perspective. Well, that's fair. I think there's things that you can help him with off the field. Those are the endorsements that you get him and the business adventures and introducing him to people for the future.

I just don't, are you planning on drafting in other Patrick Mahomes? You feel like that's what you're capable of doing? I like my scouting department. Very talented. I mean, you must love them. Almost as much as Gwen Stefani. All right, hour two is coming up. Bill Plashky, Rob Parker, LaVar Erington.

It's the herd. 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. Last night, a blown call changed. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you

exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the 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 controversy, 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 SportsClice 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. 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, is 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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Come on out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching a little, season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know, there's a lot

to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King,

I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team. everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with

the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Ah, this is The Hurt, Hour 2, wherever you may be and however you may be, and however you may be listening live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Bill Plashky in 15 minutes, award-winning L.A. Times columnist, Rob Parker, LeVar Arrington. Joy Taylor is joining me. I've been talking about the last couple of weeks. We've had a very good month at Fox. The Women's World Cup was amazing, broke all sorts of records.

The U.S. Open was amazing broke all sorts of records for us. We had the All-Star game a couple nights ago. We have a Pachiao, Keith Thurman fight, July 20th, pay-per-view, which is like every year in boxing, you get about, or UFC combined, you get about one fight or two fights that are really interested. Pachiao Keith Thurman is probably, Thurman's never lost. He's 29-0-0. Pachio's at the end, but highly skilled. We've had a very good month at Fox Sports and FS1. And now the NBA stuff is kind of, the dust is settled. And everybody's, you know, kind of, all right, here's what the teams are. I'll give you my top 10 teams dust settle in a second.

But we're getting close into football. We've got some very good football stories today. I will say this on, you know, I've read everything, every company, you know, the ringer, this company, you know, every blog. I'm reading all this stuff on Kauai Leonard and Kevin Durant. And, you know, it's funny. Don't confuse quiet with odd. Mike Trout's quiet. Don't confuse late bloomer with Strange.

That's Brooks Kepka. Don't confuse, love your sport, and don't want to talk about a lot else with weirdo. That's Tom Brady. You know, if you look on paper at what Kauai Leonard's done, it doesn't sound like a weird guy. He's cunning. He engineer his way out of San Antonio. By the way, Magic LeBron and MJ just got coaches fired. Kauai couldn't, so he engineered his way out of there.

He didn't like the system. He didn't like it. So he couldn't get the coach fired, so he's like, get me out of. here. I'm going to have a mysterious injury. It wasn't that mysterious. He wanted out of San Antonio. They ship him to punish him to Canada. He wins a title. And then he's got this incredibly cunning, smart move with Paul George to go to the Clippers. None of that sounds strange to me. That sounds like a really good businessman. But when you push back on authority in America, oh, especially successful authority. Whoa, you're a weirdo. You're difficult. You're strange.

You're needy. I don't think he's any of those. If you look on paper what he's done, He's cunning. He's strategic. He's shrewd. And he's signed with a legendary Jerry West and a Hall of Famer Doc Rivers. That doesn't sound strange to me. Nothing strange about that. That's very cunning. By the way, Kevin Durant, we never say strange, but he had a burner account on social media. Mostly Kauai avoids social media.

Kevin Durant left a Hall of Fame coach and a Hall of Fame team and a dynasty and a Hall of Fame GM. And then when he signed with a new team, He didn't even talk to him. He just talked to a player. He didn't talk to the owner. He didn't talk to the GM. He didn't talk to the coach. That sounds weird to me.

Kevin Durant stuff, I'm like, that's odd. That's not, that's not, I wouldn't do that. If a strange guy would leave a great situation, enter a new situation, and not communicate with anybody except one player in the process. That sounds strange to me. Colli Leonard was on the phone with everybody. And he went to dinner with Jerry West. They went to Doc Rivers House.

They met Steve Balmer. It was very strategic. And then, by the way, when he went back to Toronto, he put up all these demands, and he met with the owner, and he met with the GM, and he met with the coach, and he put all these demands up. That doesn't sound strange at all to me. That's how Bruce Springsteen runs his music. That's how Bill Gates runs his company. You sit down with people, you communicate, here's my demands, can you meet them?

I don't think Kauai is strange at all. He's a late bloomer. He's quiet. He's got a tight social circle. I don't know. that doesn't sound strange at all. The Durant stuff, some of that stuff you put it on paper, leaving Steve Kerr, leaving Steph Curry,

leaving Clay Thompson, leaving that team, leaving a dynasty, you're the best guy, burner account, seeking constant validation, even though you're the best basketball player in the world. That seems odd. Kauai's not seeking anything like that. You're not seeking validation. Very comfortable with who he is.

So, you know, I'm going to just, the dust is settled. the draft's over, summer league's going on, free agents are done, so I'm just going to put mine on record, just so if I'm wrong, you can rip me. So I'm just going to tell you who I think the best 10 teams in the league are as of today, and you can hold me accountable to it. Here we go. Number 10.

I think Boston's about number 10. I don't think they can win a championship. I think they lost too much offense. They lost Al Horford, very good playoff guy. They lost Kyrie Irving, their most talented guy. They lost Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris. I think they lost too much offense. So I think they're good.

And I think they'll get to the playoffs. I think their chemistry will be better. But chemistry gets you so far. Toronto had great chemistry for years. Then they got Kauai Leonard and won a title. You need a guy. And so I think Boston's not a championship team. And they're a good team.

They're number 10. Number nine. I don't think the Rockets are a championship team. You know, they kept Gerald Green and Austin Rivers. But in the end, we've got a coach who had to fire all of his coaching staff. We've got an impatient owner. I'm hearing a lot of rumors to keep the team relevant, but we now have a pattern where James Hardin is great in January

and looks exhausted by May. I don't think it's a championship team. I think the West has gotten better. I think it's a very good team that could win a playoff series, Houston, 9. Number eight. Portland Trailblazers. I think they could be a championship team. They're not today.

I think they'd have to move Hassan White side at the trading deadline and get like a Kevin Love player, a four that can hit a jumper. Again, they lost a lot of offense. They lost Seth Curry. They lost Cantor, Aminu, Harkless, Myers-Lennar. They lost a lot of points. They still have a great backcord, and they got a bunch of bigs, but I think they have to move one right now,

and I love their coach, and I love Nilo Shay, their GM. I think Portland's really good, but they got to make a move at the trading deadline to get more points. That could be trading Hassan Whiteside's expiring deal for Kevin Love, something like that to me. Okay, now I think you're going to move up in that top five be a championship team. Right now I have Portland at 8. Number seven.

Denver Nuggets. Again, I don't think they're a championship team, but I think they're very, very good, and they're getting very, very close. The Joker is, you know what he is? If Arvita Sabonis would have played in America in his prime, that's what he is.

He can dribble it. He can, he's the best passing big man in the game easily. The best passing guy in his team by a mile can shoot it. Jamal Murray, he's a very good number two. Deep, excellent chemistry. Probably need one more guy, Denver at number seven. Number six. Philadelphia, six.

I don't think they're a championship team, but I think they're pretty darn close. They're going to be great to fendom. They're massive. But again, it's a shooters league. Like Boston, they let too many points go. I got JJ Redick. Those are gone.

I got Dori Arsaric a couple years ago. He's gone. I got Jimmy Butler's points. He's gone. Now I got Ben Simmons who doesn't shoot. They drafted a kid out of the University of Washington who can't score. And beats fantastic. Cross your fingers on his health.

And I like Al Horford. They built a team to beat Milwaukee and Janus. They're huge. They're tall. They're physical. I don't think they have enough shooters. I have them at six. Number five.

Now I get into teams that I think can compete for a championship. I think Utah is pretty good. I thought Utah was good last year, and I go to Utah a lot, and I talk to Quinn Snyder about this. They needed two things. They needed an offensive-minded point guard. They got Mike Conley,

maybe the most underrated guy in the NBA. And they needed shooters, and they got a guy, Bogdanovich and Conley. They also, Derek Favors was getting expensive, and they went and got Ed Davis, who's sort of a 90% of it cheaper version. I love their chemistry. I like their bench.

I like their coach. I love their back court. Donovan Mitchell gets better. They got enough shooters now. I think Utah is a championship team. Again, they'd need a break. They'd need the Lakers to be a little dysfunctional. They'd need somebody for the clippers to not quite play as well as you think.

Number four. This is where I think Joy and I, this is where the Lakers are interesting, a great movie poster. I don't know if they're a good movie. Yes, they have LeBron and yes, they have AD. So they're going to be a really good championship level, capable team. but there's a lot of guys that can't create. A couple of guys that can't shoot. Two or three guys that are great defenders.

Two or three that can't defend. Several guys that are too old. I think Rondo's shot. Boogie Cousins, you cross your fingers. KCP's never been dependable. Quinn Cook's too small, but I kind of like him. Danny Green's good, but not if you're paying him 27 minutes tonight. I'd like him at 19.

They're good. They got LeBron and AD. New coach. Who's the point guard? There's a lot of interesting there. I don't see a lot of great. Number three. Warriors.

Listen, they got to the finals. They were 38 and 5 last couple of years without Kevin Durant. Yes, Willie Colley Stein. They got their big. They got Looney and Willie Colley Stein. They got their bigs. They'll get Clay. They already have Steph and DiAngelo.

They've got their guards. They're not great at wing. Their bench won't be as good. But I'm sorry. New arena, new energy, Draymon, Looney, Steph, Clay, DeAngelo, Willie Colley, Stein. I'm sorry.

That, to me, is a championship team. and I don't buy into DeAngelo Russell's not going to work. Why does everybody think Westbrook's great in Miami, but DeAngelo doesn't work with this system? DeAngelo Russell's an all-star level player. Maybe not an all-star in the West, but he's good, and he can make plays. And Steph Curry works with everybody.

I like the Warriors. Number two. Milwaukee. Now, I don't think they're going to be, I don't love losing Malkin Brogden. And Wesley Matthews is good, but never been the same player post-ACL-L-Tare. But they're young and getting better. So Janus is just going to get better.

Middleton is just going to get better. They have now Lopez brothers. One of them is a good shooter. They have a very good coach. They have a very good culture. And I think in the East, to be honest with you, they're going to win a lot of games by 15, and they're not going to have to play Yonis 82 games.

I think Milwaukee has got everything I like. I would like one more shooter. But the East is easier than the West, and I think they can stay healthy. They can rest people and win 55 games. Number one. Clippers, not overwhelming, but it looks like everything fits. I get a great coach.

I get a great bench. I get depth. I get Lou Williams can shoot. Patrick Beverly can defend. I get two of the top three, two-way players in the league. To me, this just feels like everything kind of fits. Unlike a lot of people, I don't think they should be an overwhelming favorite. Lou Williams is old.

Patrick Beverly's got a lot of wear on those tires. Paul George has a history of getting banged up, not being great in great spots. But if you're talking about owner, GM, bench, culture, coach, stars, depth, That's the best team in the NBA, the LA Clippers. There you go. By the way, I only think about five teams can win a title. Utah's the last Clippers are first. So I'm just putting that on record.

I don't have a major problem with this. I do think Boston is going to be better than people think, but I agree. I think you need a guy. Yeah. By the way, a lot of teams are good. But that doesn't mean, like in the NFL next year, I think there's a lot of good teams.

Like Baltimore is going to be good. I don't think that our championship team. We're both higher on the Clippers than most people, though. I don't know how you would not be. I don't understand what's the pushback? What don't they have? They have size, shooters, age, youth. By the way, the Clippers have the perfect.

Unlike the Lakers, they've got two or three really good young players. They've got a young center, a young forward, a young guard. They've got, see, that's what worries has been about the Lakers. And they're coming in with momentum, winning momentum. Yeah. By the way, all you Laker fans that wanted to give away Kyle Kuzma, take away Kyle Kuzma. Look at the age of your teams. Somebody's got to play 77 games.

Somebody's got to be in their 20s, early 20s. So I think Clippers have everything. Age, wisdom, size, shooters, smart, team glue, SARS. I think it's a really good basketball. I think it could be if it all comes together. It could be one of the better basketball teams in the NBA in a long time. I really do. I think you go back to the Miami Heat teams with LeBron.

They were small and Mario Chalmers drove me crazy at point. They really were. One of the worst rebounding teams. There's nothing the Clippers won't be good at. They'll be a top five defensive team. For sure. A top five bench team. There'll be a top five offensive team.

They'll be a very efficient team. There's nothing they won't do well. I think they have an identity and the Lakers don't. And that's why I'm higher on the Clippers. Boom. Boom. That's it. They've got an identity.

Tell me what the Clippers won't do well. I can tell you some things. The Lakers, if LeBron sits the night out, who creates offense? They just got random shooters and specialists. Clippers have more good players. All right. I love balance. I'll explain what that means. And a list came out on the best NFL teams last decade. It was mostly horrific, but they got one thing right. Don't want to pick on any writers, but that's coming up. Plus Bill Plashky, Rob Parker, LeBar Errington. 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 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 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 Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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

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What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a guy. game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real House Watcher, of Atlanta, you already know, there's a lot to break down.

Georgia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a married man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama,

the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. We've got a full slate of baseball heading your way Saturday on Fox in a World Series rematch. Cody Bellinger and the Dodgers take on mooky bets in the podcast.

The Red Sox and other regional action, the Giants Battle the Brewers or the Nationals face the Phillies. It all starts at 7 Eastern on Fox and the Fox Sports app. Check local listings for the game in your area. Sorry for apologize. Sorry or I apologize for being interrupting you there. Sorry. It wasn't very good journalism. No, that would be goal K journalism.

You'd be broadcasting. Yeah, that's okay. I just jumped right in. Just got to get the last little bit in. We were very excited. What was, what were you about to say? I'm excited now because we're past the All-Star game, and I live in Los Angeles and the baseball team in my area is the baseball team. is very good.

And so now, to me, the baseball, it's like after the NBA trading deadline, I kind of gear up to the, I don't watch a ton of the NBA early. It's like nonsense. And then after the trading deadline, I'm like, okay, I'm in. Now baseball is like, okay, games matter now. Now games matter. Now everybody suddenly isn't hurt. Now people are trying to get playoff position.

Good All-Star game. Is Billy ready? Oh, he's a seven-time national sports writer of the year by the Associated Press, author of five books, legendary columnist since the mid-90s at the L.A. Times. a friend of mine panelist around the horn. That's a show on some other network I've never heard of. All right, Bill Plasky's joining us. All right, Billy, let's start with this.

This morning, L.A. is the epicenter of basketball in the country. Joy and I, like the momentum, the culture, the coach, the front office of the Clippers, and we think Kauai and Paul George work. We think the Lakers are a great movie poster. We're not sure it's a good movie. Where do you land on the Laker Clipper rivalry? Who do you prefer after the dust settles? Yeah, I land just where you guys.

land. I think the Clippers have a deeper team. They have a better organization. I think their coaches are known quantity. We're not sure how Frank Vogel's going to work with it with the Lakers. I think a lot of this has to do with how much is LeBron going to be in now? And how much, how can he really play point

guard? Can he play defense for the point guard position? Can he, you know, how's he going to hold up physically? How's AD going to hold up physically? There's not a lot of young legs on that team on that Laker team. No. So they, you know, so they they made the big move for Anthony Davis.

And it's interesting. Everybody's saying, well, they filled so many great holes around him compared to last year. Well, last year was a nightmare. So of anybody they got this year would be better. Danny Green, I mean, Avery Bradley, Queen Cook, I think they're good, some good three-and-d guys. But I don't know. You know, I see the Lakers as a fourth seed or maybe a five-seat. I don't see them.

I don't see them, you know, blowing everybody's doors off. And you know what? This is, I don't know how you all thought for this for the show. But it's a question that people in L.A. have increasingly been asking, Is this a greater, the Kauai, Paul George thing? Is it a greater triumph for the Clippers or a greater defeat for the Lakers? Because remember the Lakers could have both these guys. They could have Paul George last year and he wouldn't take a meeting with him.

And Kauai Leonard wanted to come there. I mean, you know, and I'm convinced, if not for the front office stability, Kaui Lender would be a Laker. I'm convinced to that. I think the Clippers have a chance to be an all-time great team. I think they have bench, youth, age, coaching, smart execs. everything I want in an NBA team they have. And you don't have to be perfect when an NBA championship.

Warriors haven't had much of a bench last three years. Miami Heat didn't have size. You don't have to be perfect. I think the Clippers, I look up and down and I see, God, I see everything I want. I got size, shooters, young, old, stars, defense, offense. I don't think I'm being hyperbolic. I think the Clippers could be a great basketball team. And I'm talking, we haven't had a lot of great NBA teams.

I think Kevin Durant Warriors was really great. Shack Kobe Lakers were really great. Am I being a little over the top saying, if the Clippers click, this is all-time stuff here. No, I think you may be a little over the top because here's my issue. Lou William, great sixth man. You can't overstate his importance of that team last year.

He led, he's a team leader. He was their MVP last year. How is he going to do coming off the bench when there's another score on the floor? He's always been the only guy. When he comes off the bench, the ball's in his hands all the time. and when he doesn't, he has a tendency to disappear when there's other scores around. So let's just see, I'm going to hold my breath and see if Blue Williams can be the same great.

You know, again, he was, a bench or not, he's their best player last year, how he will adjust to all what's going on. But I think you're right. I think they have all. And also, they have the desperation. The fact that Kauai signed a two-year deal means they've got to get it done now. They have to get it done now. They could lose him to the Lakers in two years.

They've got to get it done now. And I think they all know that over there. And, of course, we're trying to get the arena built down inglewood. So this is, yeah, they have all the ingredients for it. But I just want to see how last year's team, how Montrez and Lou mesh with the new guys. And I want to see how that works, how that dynamic works. You know, I got a lot of heat from LeBron fans last year and even those close to LeBron because I said I felt the optics were bad.

I thought he was distracted. And my thing, yeah. And my takeaway was Los Angeles can eat people up. I'd been coming to L.A. I'm a West Coast kid. So by the time I moved to L.A., I'm not starstruck. Like, I go and do my thing, and I go to work, and I have my family. But I've seen executives and athletes come to Los Angeles and just it overwhelms you. The beach, the mountains, the people, the shopping, the stuff, the distractions.

I thought LeBron looked distracted last year. Do you believe this morning that basketball rules his world, that he is willing to play 40 minutes, that winning a title in his legacy, or are we moved to the mogul stage where he's into it, but he doesn't have the hunger? Well, that's the question the whole acre of his is based on.

Part of me thinks he feels snubbed by Kauai. Kauai didn't want to play with him. Could have come play with him. Doors open didn't want it. Part of me feels like he's been embarrassed, and part of me feels like he feels like he's on a mission with he's got his guy, AD now with him. Another part of me wonders if you're right,

maybe last year was this was of new LeBron. They're distracted. I mean, I can't tell you, Colin, how frustrating it was to be in the press room before a game. And the big news about LeBron is the latest star on the shop, or Space Jam 2 is getting made. I mean, it's coming up.

This is before tip-off. I saw anybody's talking about, and he's out there and he's not playing defense. I mean, he did. And any LeBron fan was, if they look in the mirror, they got to tell themselves, this guy was not all in last year. He was not invested.

He was not emotionally engaged. Will he be this year? It could go one or two ways. Part of me thinks he does feel snubb. He has to feel like, again, a great player could have come and brought him a championship and chose not to. He has to, and that player now dresses two doors down the hallway. He has to feel snubb. He has to feel like people are doubting him because they are, because I'm doubting him.

A lot of L.A., most of L.A. is doubting the loss right now. I think that's a real, I mean, you saw when he passed Michael Jordan. He's got a tep an ovation for the only all-time story list. And the fans didn't recognize him, and he didn't recognize them. I don't know if that's changed. He's got to change that. If he changes that, the Lakers can be a contender. If he doesn't, there'll be, like I said, a fourth or fifth seed at best.

It will be a fun little story, a lot of drama, a lot of Hollywood. Not much substance. Bill Plashky. Do you think Sun, Jerry West, or Doc Rivers, one of those three had the most pull to get Kauai to the Clippers? The Sun, Jerry West, or Doc? which was it? The sun. Yeah.

No, no, I'm asking you. What do you mean? Like the sun, like it's sunny here. It's L.A. Oh, no. You know, the weather. No, no, no, because he could have gone to the Lakers for the weather. I think Doc, well, my understanding is Doc closed the deal.

Jerry was, you know, Jerry was there with Ballmer, and he's Balmer's right-hand man. But I think Doc closed a deal. I think they really wanted to play for Doc. Players love him. Of course, so does the media. of Doc. He's perfect. Why would you agree, Colin?

He's perfect for this town. Oh, I, Doc Williams is, first of all, Doc is social. He's funny. He's easy. He's intense. He's got just enough of an ego to not get overwhelmed in this city. He looks and feels and sounds and talks and he is L.A. Like he really, you know what he reminds me a little bit?

There's a little Pat Riley with Doc Rivers. When Pat was here, you're like, oh, that's what a Laker coach should. That's what a Laker coach should look like. Doc is what an NBA basketball coach in Los Angeles. Yes, that's exactly right. That's exactly right. And I think, from what I understand he was, he closed the deal. He got it done.

They met his Malibu home. Isn't it interesting? They met Doc at his Malibu home. They met the Lakers in a several hotel in Westlake-Sillard. You know, that's it was, and that was a big difference in the organization. That's the organization. That's the, you know, these guys were joining his family, but they feel like his family. So I think Doc.

I think Doc closed the deal. And whereas the Lakers didn't even bring Volval into the meeting. Frank Vogel wasn't even in on the pitch meeting because I don't think they don't, they aren't even sure if he's going to end up being the coach by the end of the year. I mean, poor Frank Vogel, are already on the hot seat. But yes, I think Doc, those three things, I think Doc holds a deal. Seven-time AP Sports columnist of the year, five books, Bill Plashky at the L.A. Times. Good talking about.

Thanks, Colin. Have a good one. You bet. Doc really does. It really does. You know, when Joe Torrey managed the Yankees, I always said, you know what Joe Torrey was, this is how it fell for me because I had a stepdad. And my stepdad remind me of Joe Tori. You could joke with him, but don't get him mad. Like Joe Tori's one of those guys.

He just physical presence was big enough. You didn't mess with Joe Tori. Joe Tori looked like, because he had a little bit of a temper as a player and a manager. Joe Tori looked like one of those guys like, you could joke with Joe, but there was a line with Joe. And when Joe walked into the room, you had to be a grown-up. Like, same thing with Doc. Doc's funny, glass of wine, see him at dinner. but Doc will chew you. Pat Riley's got a little bit of that. You've been in Miami.

Pat is fun. He's got a beautiful wife, a great life, but behind the scenes, you don't want to mess with Pat Riley. Yeah, in general, you let those kind of people tell the jokes. That's what you mean when you can joke. Like, they tell a joke, and then you laugh. Right. And that's the end of the jokey time. Yeah. There are people, and I think when you're in Miami, New York, L.A., Philadelphia, I think presence matters. I mean, that's kind of been the knock, hasn't it, on Jason Garrett with Dallas? He's a pretty good coat. Does he have a presence? I mean, shouldn't the Cowboys have Jimmy Johnson?

Bill Parcells, Tom Landry. I don't think you necessarily have to be, have to have a tough presence, but you have to have a some sort, like, even, like, no one describes Tony Dungey as having, like, an aggressive presence, but he is widely respected because he has a, he has a different type of presence. Yes. Tony Dungey, I've been around him. I covered him in Tampa. Tony's got a presence.

Tony's got a kind of an no non-s, again, you can joke with Tony Dungy, but when Tony comes in, it's business. Tony's got a kind of a conservative life. This is how we do it. Don't screw around. By the way, Mike Tomlin I've been critical of.

Mike's got a presence. Pete Carroll, I've been critical of. Pete's got a presence. Doc, when you're in, I've been in the room several times with Doc or at a restaurant. He feels like an NBA coach in Los Angeles. Does Vogel have that?

I don't know. And we'll see. That's not an easy team. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Mark Cuban recently shared his thoughts on the big signings in 2019,

free agency, and he said he's happy with the player movements and formation of new super teams. In terms of the movement, I think it's great for the NBA. Now, instead of having one super team that everybody's trying to beat and then the broads in attraction, now we've got a bunch of super teams. And even though super teams only have two superstars, right? None of them really have three that I've been able to count. And so, you know, it takes a little bit of luck and it takes building the team. Yes, I mean, Kauai kind of did this.

Kauai, Durant started it, I suppose, by going to the Nets. But Kauai kind of finished it. He sort of Thanos, the NBA, with the super teams. Because it really isn't super teams anymore. It's a great player and another good player. By the way, you said something last couple of weeks. We forgot how good Kauai was because he disappeared. here. Right. We'll do the same with Durant. By the way, do not forget how good Porzingus was.

Yeah. Like the Knicks have been a grease fire for a decade. Porzingus didn't play last year, right? Injury. Okay, the guy's unbelievable. He's a 7-4 slasher. You cannot stop in transition. We are very much a what have you done from me lately, society. And we need to be constantly reminded of what those players are. And that's exactly what happened with Kauai. It's what's going to happen with Durant. You're right. It's what's going to happen with Porzingis. And the super team is kind of, it's kind of dead for the moment. Like, it's very even.

Nobody can really say without, I mean, unless they just want to, that they know what everyone's going to be. It doesn't have the same feeling it has for the past couple years of the Warriors. It's a duo league, not a super team league. And by the way, if you count Jimmy Butler and Westbrook, if they come together, that's like 12 duos, maybe 13. So it's really going to matter. And they're all very, very good.

I mean, obviously, we feel like Kauai Leonard and Paul George are on a different level, and LeBron and AD are on a different level, but, I mean, Damon, CJ are also on a different level, so it's really become what are the pieces around them, and that's why the Clippers more than the Laker situation right now. Speaking of that, Anthony Davis is not shying away from the spotlight. Now that he is in Los Angeles, he's putting out a very clear message when it comes to his place in the league and what he brings to the table. He told Sports Illustrated, obviously you have players like Kauai, KD, LeBron, Steph, all of those guys who are the same way. I'm the best in the world.

I think I can do a lot of things that a lot of players can't do as far as a complete game. I can play on the block, play on the perimeter, play defense on both ends, switch one through five, guard, score the basketball. I want to be the most dominant player in the game, and I'm going to continue to do that. I like that confidence. I wish you did that more often. I wish he was a little cocky. It doesn't fit him at all.

I'm very confused by this quote. obviously I very much disagree. I do not think he is the best player in the world. He's very good. I don't think he's the best player in the world with KD not playing for a year. I still think that he may not be the best player in his own team. He's better. Who, Anthony Davis?

No, he's not. I think LeBron is better. I mean, at some point, and I have no problem with saying you're the best in the world. You have to have extreme confidence. That's not what I'm picking apart here. It's just that he's not the best player in the world. Like LeBron is better than you. He's on your team.

And then Katie is better. I think Kauai is better. And then you can get into the conversation. of is Anthony Davis in the top five. To me, my, I guess, lack of confidence in Anthony Davis lies in that he had a team and he wasn't able to get them where they needed to go by himself. And now he needed another talent around him, as everyone does. But in fairness, one year of college, 19-year-old kid, again, LeBron, first four years

in this league didn't do anything and he's the best high school player of all time. I think some of the Anthony Davis stuff is, let's be honest, He did get a team to the playoffs and they did sweep Portland. That may have been all at 24 years old he was capable of. Right. But still also, you're not the best player in the world, though. Like, there's both sides of that argument because LeBron did eventually get over that hump. It'll be interesting to see, though, now because Anthony Davis is going to have some talent around him to see what he truly is.

And finally, Josh Norman is known for making headlines, and this is a different type of headline. He went running with the Bulls and Pamplona, Spain. I don't, I've never had a desire to do that. Josh Norman there running and running past the bowl. Five people have been gored by bulls in this nine-day event so far, which started on Sunday. I'm surprised that this is actually a off-season activity that is approved on his contract.

Well, basketball players generally can't ski or do stuff like that. Yeah. I have, well, I have found. this tradition to always be very interesting. I have never had a desire to try and escape a bull. Yeah, I don't like pain. I can't, I don't, I really don't enjoy physical pain. Well, I don't know that I don't, that's not really the kind of, that's death. So there's pain and then there's death. And this is like one of those things where you, where you could die. I don't enjoy activities. I'm not a thrill seeker. I think life is. Yeah, that's fair. Is enough. My daughter is.

I'm not interested in jumping out of a plane or running with the Bulls. I'll go watch other people do it. That's fun. Have you ever gone skydiving? Oh, that won't happen. No. Not one time. I just have no desire to do it.

I have a piece of video of my daughter in South Africa. I'm not going to put it on the internet, but it's unbelievable what she did. Have I showed you the video? No. Okay. I'll show you in the break and we'll talk about it after. Okay. You won't believe it.

You will not believe it. I can't believe this. This is great. All right, Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. Rob Parker's going to argue with me next, the Herd.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. I have a piece of video. My daughter's an adventure, what she did in Africa. South Africa, you will not believe it. I'm not going to show it to the... Right, but you want to show it out. Speaking of adventure.

Yes. You once again, you're on an island. You think LeBron getting Anthony Davis is a miss, and your takeaway is opposite of what everybody else thinks that it's a great day to be a Laker. Right, not at all. I mean, people can talk themselves into it now, but the bottom line is that LeBron James

has been left at the altar twice now. And this one really, really hurts. If you don't want to believe that players don't want to play with him, go back to remember the Rachel Nichols interview he did, where LeBron kind of blamed Cleveland. well, you know, I couldn't get anybody to come to Cleveland. That wasn't a case in Miami and L.A. wait and see. So two years in a row, Paul George had a chance to come.

Both years. He talked about it for two years about coming to L.A. and being with the Lakers. LeBron came, wouldn't even take a meeting with Magic Johnson. Then this year, Kauai, you want to talk about having it on a platter. That's why everybody ran with the, oh, yeah, 95% chance he's coming. It's a done deal, almost, all that. because everything lined up. Kauai's from Southern California.

He grew up as a Laker fan. The money, they had the money to pay him. He didn't have to give like a hometown discount. And all of that, plus he was going to be a part of a big three, Colin, which would have been the big three of the ages, right? Yeah. Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Kauai Leonard, who's coming off for championship. And he goes, stall, stall, stall, until the clippers can make something happen.

and they make something happen. You can look now and say, oh, it's great. And, you know, that narrative that nobody wants to play with him, AD's playing with him. He's a part of the same agent. You know, he has the same agent. So he's with clutch sports. So I don't look at it like a guy who comes from another camp

who says, I want to be with LeBron James. Look at all the guys who were available and nobody wanted to come. Well, it's certainly an argument that AD came here because he had a house here. He liked L.A. it was chill and his agent thought it was good for business. That's fair. That's why. I think LeBron is, I think, and I think the one criticism, it's not really a criticism.

I think it's fair to say about LeBron. LeBron says I want to be more than an athlete. I'm okay with that. In fact, they kind of like it. But with that comes a bunch of noise. KD said it's a circus. Some players are turned off by it. Paul George was like it's too much.

So I do think it's not a criticism of a LeBron It's the reality of LeBron. It's that it just comes with a bunch of noise, and a lot of guys don't want noise. Exactly. And KD. used the term toxic. It's a toxic environment. And here's the other thing, too. I think this is the other part.

LeBron, and rightfully so, he's one of the greatest players who ever play. If he wins, Colin, it's all about LeBron. He gets all the credit. Fair. If he doesn't win, AD, you're the scapegoat. LeBron's the goat and you're the scapegoat. So you don't really wind up winning. How do you win?

I heard an agent told me that about a year ago. He said that he goes, LeBron has created a business that if he wins, he gets the love and if he loses, you got to fire the coach. There is, now, whether that's fair or not, it does live. It's a living organism in the NBA that some players feel like,

if I don't win with LeBron, I get crushed. If we win, you get all the love. In fact, I've heard Kauai thought about that. that like listen if we win it's just going to be all lebron talk and i and i do think for some players it's not that they want their own team they just don't want to be overwhelmed by lebron's brand and that's what would have happened and kawai let's just face it he's in a better spot he got everything that he wanted without the noise without the toxicity he got everything he's in l a playing at the staples

center right yeah and he has a chance to elevate himself because if he takes the clippers and wins a championship. No other players won three championships with three different teams, so that would put him on a level by himself. And then you would go, this guy's got to be one of the greatest players who ever played because he just took two teams that had never won championships, Toronto, and now the clippers who have been basically laughing stocks

for most of the existence in the NBA. No, I think it's very fair, and they should be favors. I want to shift to football. So pro football focus is a website I trust. There's a lot of goofy bloggers, but they're analytical, they're unemotional, and when they say something, their grades are usually very accurate. They're not perfect, but they're not wildly inaccurate, and I think they're consistent in their analytics. They had a couple of stats on Dak Prescott that are frightening. They have two stats on Dak Prescott, one of them, in the most predictive aspect of quarterback play.

The ability to avoid throws graded negatively by pro football focus, Prescott was the 25th best. quarterback in the NFL. That's a real stat for them. But we get to a point where he did save the franchise. He's won the division twice. He's won a playoff game against Seattle. He won the locker room. Why don't Japan beg? Because everything has to be right for him to win. And you're talking about having a running back. We saw when he didn't have the running back there. He didn't nearly look like the quarterback he's been. And I get that. We struggle. He struggled. And the offensive line, remember, was a jugger not? It wasn't as good, I think, the last year. But But before that, the offensive line was great.

And defensively, they were good. So a lot of stuff has to. I'm just waiting. I don't feel like he's a guy who can win you a game on his own. Like he can, okay, we don't have the running game today. The defense has given up a lot of points. You know what I mean? And that's stopping anybody.

But I can still go out there and win that game. What about the fact that he saved your franchise, kept you on TV, won two divisions, won a playoff game, and you paid nothing. You're still paying nothing for him. that ethically you owe him something. You do owe him something. I'm not saying he shouldn't get paid at all.

I just don't know if you back up the Brinks truck because this is one of those contracts to me that could turn the other way like really quickly. I agree. If some pieces don't work out or things don't mesh with the Cowboys, they'll be in trouble saying, how in the world did you pay Dak Prescott all that money? Melvin Gordon Chargers,

year left on his contract, says, I want to be paid. And he's a great running back, by the way. In L.A., what football people say in L.A. is Gordon's better than Todd Gurley. Todd Gurley just gets all the press, but Gordon's the better running back. Whether that's true or not, he's certainly the healthier running back. He was a workhorse at Wisconsin for four years, being a workhorse for the Chargers for four years.

He's 26 years old. He's about two years from hitting the running back cliff where they just do this. Would you pay him? Would you pay him early? Would you let him break out of his contract? He said today, I'm not playing. You don't pay me. I would pay him, but they don't do that.

They devalue running backs. That's why when everybody bashed, Lavian Bell, Colin, he had 400 touches with the Steelers, and they're just waiting for something, oh, we can't pay you, look, you're hurt, you're this, you're that. And I don't think that's fair because you have such a short life as a running back. So Melvin Gordon, more power to him. I applaud a guy who wants to get paid. He's done nothing but produced for you. Paid the guy, but they string these guys along.

until they're burnt out, then they say, ah, we can't give you that kind of deal? Well, you know what happens? In the NFL, it's less violent than ever. There's less practice. There's less hitting. You can't hit a tight end, a wide receiver, a quarterback. The one position in football that you can't protect is running back. Right. You just can't.

It is the inevitably violent position in football where it's the only position in football now. You can hit a guy pretty much anywhere and he's not ready for it and it's okay. Because wide receivers. Right. You can't be defenseless, right. You can't be defenseless, a tight end, a wide receiver, quarterbacks. The one guy in football you can hit is the running back defenseless high. You know, they never call it for hitting a running back too high.

They don't. Running back put their head down. So I get his, now, he hasn't overperformed his contract. He was a first round pick. He's been very good. He hasn't overperformed it. But I got to tell you, they're not the same team without him. Nope.

And you have to know your wealth and your worth and be willing to stand up for yourself. The problem is if you don't do it and you don't get paid and God forbid he gets hurt or his numbers are good, then you never get paid and you never get paid and you put in four hard years in the NFL. Well, he did get. He was a first round pick. So he not broke. No, no, no, I got that. But still, you just said it.

Girl, he got paid. He wants to get paid like these other guys. Levion got paid. You know what I think Levian Bell started a little bit of a trend where Lavian's like, okay, by the way, I'll go work out in Florida. I'm not taking a beating against Baltimore. I'm not taking a beating against Cincinnati and Cleveland twice a year. Sometimes you get these tipping point moments and tipping point athletes.

Lavin Bell showed a lot of running backs. Oh, you'll get paid the next year. Take a year off if you don't get it. Rob Parker. By the way, inside the Parker podcast, the Hurt Podcast Network, Odd Couple Radio with Chris Broussard. Best New Show in American Sports Radio. Hour 3 next. One more HARD?

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Quick and easy way you can save money. Go to Geico, 15,000. minute, say 15% Geico.com. By the way, the nice thing about Baker Mayfield, somebody came to me yesterday and said, you know, Baker Mayfield, you don't like him. I said, no, no, no, no, no. I talked about him all the time. I said he's great for the league. I wouldn't make him my quarterback. I like balance. I love Andrew Luck. I don't want 32 Andrew Lux. I like a crotch-grabbing, taunting quarterback. I just don't want him to be my quarterback. But do I think Baker Mayfield's good for the NFL? Oh, God, absolutely. I can't have 32 Andrew Lux. That'd be

boring. You got to have Patrick Mahomes throwing behind the back passes and have Tom Brady, who is very by the book. I like everything. In fact, right now in sports, the stuff that drives people crazy makes me very happy. My wife's vegan. It's too drastic for me. I don't like drastic. I'm not a drastic person. I like moderate. I like balance politically. I'm socially left, fiscally right. I'm in the middle. I'm not interested in chaos. I like some of my athletes to be political. LeBron, Megan Rapino, Serena, they're political. I like Mike Trout, Brooks Kebka, and Kauai and Tom Brady not to be. I don't want all my athletes to be non-political. I like to have some disruptors. So I got LeBron, I'm more than an athlete, Megan Rapino's swearing,

Serena's got strong opinions. I like disruptors. I like an occasional Uber, but I also like taxis. I like tradition, but I like it occasionally disrupted. That's what makes America. I don't care if you're whacking the president. I don't care if you whack on any president. That's what separates us from a lot of countries you're allowed to. You're uncomfortable with it. I'm totally comfortable having disruptors, liberals, conservatives, Dems, Republican, outspoken, mute, quiet, political, apolitical. I like all the balance. Now, I don't want Baker as my quarterback. There's too much chaos, but I like him in the league. I think he's very valuable for the league. I like an outspoken,

He grabs his stuff, taunts, throw. That's incredible for business. You can't have 32 Andrew Locke's. You can't have 32 guys like Tom Brady to drink kale milkshakes all day. You got to have a guy that drinks too much beer. Joe Namath. Joe Namath was good for the league. He was a playboy.

Brett Farv was good for the league. He was a little crazy. Aaron Rogers, good for the league. I don't want all my athletes to be the same. I like Megan Rapino. And by the way, our men's soccer team is boring. I think our women's soccer team is fascinating. I can't have two teams.

like the men, rudderless, passive, no controversy, boring. I can't have two national teams like that. I want one. Now, generally, the guys are the cocky, obnoxious ones. This time, the women are like, no, we're going to swear and stuff. I'm good with it. I like balance. I like a little of both.

All right, so this morning, my staff gave me this. Top 10 NFL teams of the decade, some writer for the NFL.com. I hate the list. First of all, it was 10. Only three won the Super Bowl. How can you be the best team? Couldn't he won the Super Bowl? and he's got a bunch of qualifiers.

Like no franchise can be used more than once. Why? Why can I do? Well, entertainment value considered. What is this? A circus? It's a football team. I don't care about that stuff.

What do you mean you can only use every team once? That's like saying, you know what? Top 10 movie studio list, but one per city. Well, like eight are in Los Angeles. Your list doesn't make any sense if you have a qualifier. Ten best beats is in America. Well, six are in Florida. a three are in California.

If you have four, if you have to have one in every state, best cheese. Wisconsin's going to have most of it. I don't like qualifiers to my list. Best places to retire. Okay. Then don't say with this income. Best places to retire.

Just give me the list. I don't need the cheapest town or the richest town. So my point is this list puts a bunch of qualifiers. It makes no sense. But I will say this. They got one thing right. They have the Seattle Seahawks number one. Because I honestly believe I've been watching the NFL since the early 70s, 1972.

And that's like over 50 years. There have been five great teams for one season. The five best teams I've ever seen, Seattle is one of them. And all of them were for a season, although most won a Super Bowl or two. The first great team I ever saw was the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1976. I just started watching football. They had three shutouts in a row. Even back then, you didn't do that.

They had seven pro bowlers on defense. They overwhelmed teams. Terry Bradshaw was a star, big, strong. Lynn Swan, John Stallworth, best offensive line, best defensive line, arguably best quarterback, arguably best coach. They just look different than everybody else, the 76 Steelers.

They shut out opponents five times in an eight-game stretch. That would be unbelievable if Alabama did that. The second team I saw that I thought was just absurd was the 1985 Chicago Bears. That's the one with Ditka and Jim McMahon. They look different. They looked like Mike Tyson early in his career. People were afraid of them. They won 15 games by double digits, including the playoffs. That Chicago Bear team was, they were absurd. They allowed 10 points in three playoff games. They shut out the Giants and the Rams and gave up 10 to the Patriots

in the Super Bowl. That was the second unbelievable team I ever saw. The third team was the 2013 Seattle Seahawks, and they're as good as any of them. First of all, they held the number one scoring offense in NFL history to eight points in the Super Bowl, Peyton Manning. Literally overwhelmed Peyton Manning. They won seven games in the NFL, the Parity League by 20 points, including 35.1 in the Super Bowl. They only allowed one team 400 yards all year.

And by the way, this is a league now which all the rules go offense. All of them go offense. You couldn't move the ball on the Seahawks. They were the hardest team to get three straight first down on in a row in succession probably in the last 25 years, the 2013 Seattle Seahawks. Another team I want to throw out there is the 1992 Dallas Cowboys. That was the Troy Aitman Cowboys, arguably the best defensive line, the best offensive line.

Emmett Smith was a running back. Michael Irvin, you had the best coach, arguably, in Jimmy Johnson. The only way I can sum it up is 16 games, 12 by double digits. and that was a time the NFC had all sorts of good teams. They had deep threats. They had a tight end. They had a running game. They had power.

They had finesse. Aikman was accurate. Threw over the top. They had a great staff. They had pass rushers. It was hard to run against them. They had hitters. They had pure corner covers.

They had good special teams. Won the Super Bowl by 35 points over the bills. And one of the last teams is the 2007 Patriots. That was the first and only team that's ever gone 16 and 0 in the regular season. outscored opponents. This doesn't even make sense. They outscored opponents by 315 points. Again, Alabama doesn't do that.

They crushed everybody except the Eagles and the Ravens in the regular season, and they lost in the Super Bowl. But to me, the five best teams I've ever seen in terms of chronological order, 76 Steelers, 85 bears, 92 Cowboys, 2,07 Patriots, 2013 C-Ox. By the way, I don't have any 49ers in here. those teams were great, but I never felt they had the greatest team. Now, I did think they're arguably the greatest dynasty after the Patriots. But the teams I'm mentioning here all have one thing in common.

They literally felt like they intimidated other professional athletes. Like Mike Tyson intimidated other big boxers. Like that's when you're dominant, when you look like, oh, you're playing. with an extra man defensively. Seattle looked like they were playing with an extra man defensively. You could not get back-to-back first downs on them. They were faster than everybody. In fact, Bill Belichick faced him the following year in the playoffs. And Belichick's theory on beating them was, when you catch the ball against the Seahawks, just go down. Don't try to get extra yards because they'll hit you and strip the ball.

He was literally, catch it and just go to the turf. That's when you're good. Enjoy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I have never rooted harder for a team that I did not care about than I did in that 2008 Super Bowl with the Giants and Patriots. You were rooting for the Giants. Oh, I mean, what a glorious moment. I can't have them go undefeated. Oh, that's right.

You're a Miami girl. The 72 dolphins. It's the last thing we got. I can't have that. The Patriots, forget it. Thank you, Eli Manning. I always defend you because of that. So new coach, Frank Vogel, has his work cut out for him with the new look Lakers.

And while he was in Vegas for the summer league, he opened up. about his interactions with his two stars, LeBron and Anthony Davis. What have your interactions been like so far with LeBron, James, and Anthony Davis? Very, very positive. You know, it became very clear that, you know, I was going to have the support of my best player in LeBron. You know, once I took the job, and, you know, since Anthony has come aboard, it's about the same way.

You know, we're very aligned in, you know, the vision of how we're going to play, what we're going to be able to get accomplished on the basketball court. you know, there's a mutual respect there, and I can't wait to get started. So interested in this storyline with the Lakers this year. Because it's just, with LeBron, it always seems like nothing is ever really that simple, you know? But I do also think he's coming off his first major injury. There's a sense of urgency for the end of his career. He has Anthony Davis.

It's the piece that he wanted. But history will tell you he struggles with the coach in the first year. Is it possible that he's easier to coach now than ever because I'm easier to manage now that I was in my 20s and 30s? Like as you age, you mature, you become easier to coach. You know, when you get to the end and you're a professional athlete, you're like, listen, man, I don't want to practice quite as much, but I'm pretty coachable. I still want to get the checks. I don't want to hit as much in practice. We may get a LeBron who's more coachable.

I'm not saying for sure, but he may be in that stage where, listen, I want to win games. give me about nine days off. I'll skip a few practices, but I'll be more of a distributor now. I don't want to put in 44 minutes. No, I agree. That's why I think it's so interesting because I think he has passed into a different point in his career.

Like, he's going to have to relent a little bit of control, it seems. But the season is so long. Like if stuff starts to fall apart and there starts to be drama and, you know, one bad injury and things start to take a turn, I don't know what happens. But we're all going to be watching, that's for sure. So Westbrook is probably heading to the 305. ESPN is now reporting that people around the league think it's inevitable that he will wind up there at this point,

especially since the Heat could be the only team willing to take on his money and personality. And Chris Bosch says the Heat would have two of the fiercest competitors in the league if they make this happen. I would say definitely top three. And, you know, that's no disrespect to other teams. But, you know, if we're talking talent and a big-time game ability and just the hunger, both those guys haven't won a championship, so they're very hungry. You know, they're obviously very good, some of the top talent in the NBA. I mean, hey, if I could build around those guys for the next four years, I would as well.

So Westbrook's owed at least $38 million each of the next four years, including a $47.1 million player option for 2022-23. It's not a great contract. It's not a terrible contract because here's the thing. John Wall is a terrible contract. Russell plays. Russell fills the stadium and Russell gets you to the playoffs. Right.

It's not a terrible contract. He's being paid that for a reason. Yeah. There are bad contracts in the league. Average guys making a fortune. I can live with Westbrook's contract. If I own a team, you can put people in the butts. By the way, my franchise is going to get on TV all the time.

I'm going to sell more merchandise. There are bad contracts. Westbrook, you can't put the top five. I've heard this before. Chris Paul's contract now is bad. He's hurt. Don't put Westbrook top five bad contract. It's expensive.

You get about 30% back in, I believe, with Westbrook in image, relevant, talking points. His contract is worth it, and you have Butler. So it's not like you're bringing him in to be the only guy. Now, it's going to make it tight, of course, and they're going to need

another team to be involved to make it happen, but it's looking like it is going to happen. If nothing else, it makes them extremely relevant and interesting, but I do think that in the East, you can have some things happen throughout the season and they could emerge if that happens. So finally, we've talked about this a lot today.

got could be the next quarterback to receive a massive contract extension, but a lot of people have questioned if he's in the same conversation as Carson Wentz or Russell Wilson and pro football focuses among the group that's questioned paying him top money. They said if it were us, it would be a tough sell to keep Dak for anywhere near the top end of the quarterback market, but it would be difficult to cut bait on one of the better stories of the position in recent seasons. It's likely the best decision for the boys to make. And Dak actually responded, he told USA Today, for somebody to say you can only take so much because of the salary cap or you can only do this or that. I don't know how fair that is to say because with gambling with everything going

into this league, everything is going to continue going up. It's important for all these guys to get every bit of their worth. I want to see myself up there and I don't think any of that is too far-fetched. Now, I've been on the bandwagon of paying DAC for a while now and mostly that's because I just don't think that franchise quarterbacks are that easy to come by. Like Nick Wright mentioned Matthew Steck. Stafford earlier in the show, what else are they going to do? Is there another quarterback out there that's of Matthew Stafford's level? Their only thing the Cowboys have going for, it's a very strong quarterback draft next year.

There's like three guys everybody love. George's got a kid. Oregon's got a kid. Bamma's got a kid. So there's three potential stars. But Dow's going to be too good to be up there. So they'd have to trade a fortune to get the top three in the draft. Right.

So you're in a position. This is the fear, though. You're going to be too good to ever get a high-draffic quarterback or too bad to make it all the way for the money that you're paying him. But I also think that there is value in having consistency, and he has won in big spots. And he's available. Like you paid Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz has said how many major injuries now? No, no.

He's not taking a peck. I'm not saying he's more talented than Carson Wentz, but what's talent if you can't play? No. Dack doesn't get hurt. Didn't get hurt in college. He got beat up in college, too. That got smoked in college a lot. Joy of the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Eight NFL seasons, a three-time Pro Bowl. Let's get LaVar Erington here on all these different topics. The Pro Bowl linebacker, Washington, New York Giants. Come on in, LeVar. All right, let's bring him in.

We had you on about three or four months ago, and we told you to get it back over here, and you're back over here. How's everything? By the way, so we have a weird thing going on. in the NFL where running backs is the last inevitably violent position. Can't hit a tied in, can't hit a quarterback, can't hit a receiver, offensive linemen, less practice, fewer pads. Rams don't hit after September.

If I'm Melvin Gordon, I'm like, I've played four years at Wisconsin, four years in the NFL. I don't like breaking contracts, but LeVar, I get it, right? Like we all get what Melvin Gordon's saying, right? Business is business. and if you represent yourself for business, you certainly want to make sure that you're handling your worth, your self-worth, your brand, what it means. You know, I think, you know,

the question that continues to float around is, was this a smart decision for him to basically issue an ultimatum, right? I would say, handle your business. If you want to issue something as strong as an ultimatum, colon, do it behind closed doors. From the other side of it, someone who has been a part of a contract situation that went awry because you tried to do. And in that moment, I was doing what I felt was best for the franchise, not even for myself. I was, you know, doing a last second contract to help us get under the salary cap because one of the other players that was on the team was not willing to do so.

and it went bad. Business went bad. So it is not a bad idea for Melvin Gordon to represent his best interest here and say that I believe based upon my production, this is my worth, and you need to pay me what's fair market value for what I bring to the table.

What's fair market value for DAC? I mean, whatever someone's willing to pay him. I mean, I go back to this. There is, I can make a compelling argument. When the brand is as big as the Cowboys, when Romo got hurt, networks didn't want to put him on the air. He kept the Cowboys on the air for three years.

That's a lot of jerseys you sold. All right, so let's do this, because I think this is an interesting conversation based upon the defining of a franchise quarterback. When I played a franchise quarterback, quarterback was even if they came out of obscurity like a Kurt Warner, he became a franchise quarterback. Why? Because of his results. You look at guys like Tom Brady, franchise quarterback. Drew Breeze, franchise quarterback. What is a franchise quarterback these days? Because I've heard,

and I know this might not be popular, but the debate of franchise quarterback and then you're throwing around names like Tony Romo. See, to me, I played against Troy Aikman. That is a franchise quarterback. Did you think Romo was initially? I do not think that Troy, oh, I do not think that

Tony Romo should go down in the annals of what the historical context and dictionary term of franchise quarterback should be Tony Romo. I don't see him as historically a franchise quarterback. So

is Dak Prescott a franchise quarterback? I believe that that answer is yet to be answered, has yet to been defined. Is Andy Dalton, was he won? No. And he'd been paid like one. Kirk Cousins. And that's why my first initial answer was what they're willing to pay you.

Because I think, well, I don't think it's very certain that you're going to pay a quarterback that you believe can win you games. but you cannot make the discussion point. Is he a franchise quarterback? Should he be paid as a franchise quarterback? Or should he get paid because of the value that he brings to your team? It's two different things. All right?

So if you're looking at Dak Prescott as someone who brings a value to your team, it's America's team, he generates. He stabilizes your franchise. He gives you a lot of positives, something that you have not seen since Tony Romo. and maybe people did not believe that they would see a quarterback be able to transition into the position that DAC has, and there's a lot of value to that. But I don't think you have to place the pressure of, and I've heard, okay, Carson Wentz just got paid. Well, you know, Carson Wentz, whether they are talent-wise the same or not, he's got a Super Bowl.

And people will say, well, Nick Foles played in the Super Bowl. Wentz did the heavy lifting during that season. If you're getting a quarterback franchise contract from the Philadelphia Eagles, it would be very warranted to say that this man that did the heavy lifting for the most historical season connected to the franchise and franchise history would give you grounds to give. I mean, I'm from Western Pennsylvania. They nicknamed Pennsylvania, Winstlvania. I think that speaks for itself. No, listen.

I think it speaks for itself. I don't think it's ridiculous to say what I'm about to say. Okay. We know the Lakers signed Kobe the last two years for business. It stunted the growth of their young players. So we know a big, iconic brand in America, the Lakers, sign Kobe's last deal because Time Warner said, we're not giving you money for DeAngelo Russell. We want Kobe on the game.

So big historical franchises are different. Okay. Because there's so much money involved. I can make an argument strictly on value with that that Dak kept the Cowboys on TV instead of a rudderless revolving door of quarterbacks. He kept the Dallas Cowboy brand on TV for three years, won two divisions.

He got Monday night games. Thursday night. Nobody wanted them on when Romo got hurt. That is worth $30 million a year. Because when it comes to, this is not Purdue football. This is Ohio State. This is not the Mets. It's the Yankees.

I'm his agent. I walk in and say, forget football. The value of revenue I have increased the franchise is worth you over paying us. And I think that's a very legitimate argument. That's how Kobe got paid. Well, I'll say this. I'm a big Kobe fan. And I'm also a fan of wisdom and knowledge.

So I'll respect your opinion, but I will respectfully disagree that he stunted the young guy's growth by his presence. because I think the value of a Kobe Bryant is his wisdom and his knowledge. He's not a guy that doesn't teach the younger guys and guide the younger guys. He is certainly, I mean, he trains now. He opened up Mamba Academy. I mean, he does training now. I don't think he's stunned at them. But there was a value to having Kobe Bryant on the court.

I'll 100% agree with you on that. Time Warner's like, okay, we'll give you this massive amount, which, by the way, elevates the brand of the Lakers. Okay, stick around. I got a bunch of stuff on talking about. Lavar Arrington, take a break back in a second to her. 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.

LeVar Arrington, number two, pick overall by Washington 18, 19 years ago. One of the most dominant college football players I've ever seen played for the Redskins and the New York Giants in the NFL. We were just talking about a variety of things. First of all, there was a story last week. We were just talking during the break about underrated players in your life. And it's funny to listen to a pro athlete, and you're like, Fred Taylor's the best player I ever played against, never got love. Mark Brunel's the best quarterback never got love. Now I'm going to talk about somebody that gets all sorts of love, Tom Brady. Tom Brady a week ago is playing

cash with Grunk. Does that mean anything to you? Gronks retired. Does that mean, Tom throws with everybody. You know, he's been, his report, he's been at UCLA throwing with Tony Gonzalez at times, which, I mean, I was there at one of those practices where he was throwing the ball. He just loves being on the field. He just loves working. I think I could be wrong, but he's always doing something on the field. So I wouldn't be, and Grunk is the same way. Oh, is he? He's the same way, man.

He's a workaholic. He works hard. He is a hard worker. Yeah, he doesn't body. West PA guy, you know, I mean, not originally from there, but went to Woodland Hill. Shout out the West PA football. Yeah, I went to Sanchez. What's that?

I went to Woody High. Did you really? Come on. Get out of here. What? Look at that. Yeah. That was random.

That was random. And I did not know that fact. You went. I went to North. Hills high. Yes. Yes. So you we were rivals. We weren't rivals. No, not rivals. But we played against each other. Yes. Who was the historically better? I mean, we are

better at football. No, no, no. You had more players. So we were better. No, no, no, no. Did you pay players? We don't. We beat all-time great coach. We beat us. We were a better football team. They had better players. What does that mean? That's just make-belief stuff. No, no, no, you can have a better football team. We played a team one year out of Philadelphia, PA from a school called Glenn Mills. Yeah.

You heard of it? It's like the movie with The Rock, right? You know, gridiron gang. Right. So you go there. It's a reform school. You're in jail. Call it?

You're in jail. They had better players than everybody. They just weren't well coached. All right. That's fair. We whipped them pretty good like we did. Willing Hills. You had a better coach. You had a better player. I ran for almost 300 yards one time against Woodland Hills. It depends on the years. You were a running. I was. A lot better years. That's why I was

so good at linebacker. You were running back. That's correct. I ran a 439 at one point in my life. Lord. Yes. You were a 2.20. You were a big high school running back. Yes. Speaking of getting hit. So Carl Lawson came out with the Bengals last week. He's a good player. and Carl said, Aaron Rogers is easy to hit. He's running around. He's ad libid. Now, it should be noted with Aaron Rogers. He has had a lot of injuries, concussions,

two shoulders, calf sprain, blah, blah, blah. He's missed more time. Do you buy that? Do you buy that Aaron's ad-libbing, holding the ball makes him an easier target? He has a ton of success on the field. So whatever you want to call it, at-living.

One of the best ad-livers I recall playing was by the name of Michael V. Was that his name? Oh, okay. How did his at-lives work out for him? You know, so are you a target to get hit when you're buying time for your receivers? It is one of the most difficult jobs that someone will ever have to do in the sport of football is to cover somebody for over two to three seconds.

So if you have a quarterback that can buy you that type of time, those are the worst guys you got to play against. I'd rather have a statu-esque guy that stands in the pocket. I know the ball is coming out, one, two, three is coming out. If you don't have that type of setup and a guy like a Rufflesburger or Aaron Rogers or someone that could actually pull it down, maybe run, but maybe not run, maybe throw it, maybe not throw it. There's so many moving factors in that small period of time that when you have a guy like

Aaron Rogers out there, if he's good at at living, is that a takeaway? Is that a detracting statement? Aaron Rogers has done it as well as any quarterback. in the history of the game. We got about five guys who move really well. Russell Wilson, Aaron Rogers. I actually think Lamar and Trubisky are both movers. Sam Darnold will be eventually a pocket guy.

He's kind of a mover. By and large, the league's prototype is don't run. But we got about six guys. Ben doesn't run as much as he used to. Aaron doesn't run as much, I feel like, as he used to. I think Trubisky and Lamar Jackson are limited throwers. they'll end up being big runners. But I can live it.

I think what happens with the NFL now, I like some mobility. Like if Brady was available again today, there's a part to me that think Brady would be overlooked in the draft still a little bit today. Because he's not very athletic. I think Eli Manning, by the way, and Brady today are they first round guys. They're not very athletic. I don't think that it's still, I think it's still a position where they don't value athleticism as much. I've always said

it's funny because people make the I tend to compare quarterbacks to like race car drivers pretty much right you know you got to be in physical

condition to be able to drive the car but you don't have to be fast you don't it's not it's not one of those type of deals where you say is it a sport right and I always say as a quarterback an athlete

and most people oh Peyton can throw the ball down that's mechanics you got a little strength look at the body these are some of these guys. Man, if you compare the quarterback's body to the linebacker's body or the safety's body, it's very different.

It's very different more often than not. That's why when you get a David Carr that comes around every once in a while, you get some of these physical specimens, everybody's blown away by it because that's not what you look for in a quarterback. Yeah, Eli, with his shirt off, doesn't blow your way. I was in the locker room with him. I looked away. That makes me laugh.

All right. LeVar Erington, pro-bowl linebacker, all-time guy. Who knew they went to rival high schools? How about that? It's great. Rob Parker, Bill Plashky, Nick Wright, Levar Arrington. We'll see you tomorrow. Is tomorrow Friday? It is. Wow, this week has flown by NFL seasons getting closer, LeVar.

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