The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Kevin Durant, NBA Finals, Nick Nurse, free agency

Episode Date: June 11, 2019

Colin talks about game 5 of the NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors F Kevin Durant's injury, and what he should do next. Also, Colin defends Toronto Raptors HC Nick Nurse and breaks down free agency and possible trades. Guests include Chris Broussard, Rashad Phillips, Ric Bucher, and BJ Armstrong. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It is great to have you, no TV at all this week. We will have a game six of the NBA finals. Taylor is joining me, B.J. Armstrong, Chris Broussard, Rick Buker. Rashad Phillips, who last year, he's a draft guy, came on and told us Trey Young was going to be a star in the NBA. He'll be joining us next hour. Joy, how are you? I'm great. What a night, huh? It's crazy. This whole series has had so many, I mean, from an owner shoving a player to

four straight road wins. I don't remember a finals, where home court means nothing in this series. I think Toronto's going to come out in game six and crush the Warriors Oracle. I really do. I think they're going to crush. him. So let's talk about the KD injury. They're doing an MRI. They think it's an Achilles tear. So this is going to be the blame game. This is the way social media works. It's the pile on culture. It's just going to blame everybody today. So let me start with this. Katie wanted to play. I was told this morning by a source in the Bay Area that KD had tuned

out people that told him don't play. There's plenty of people in KD's circle within the warriors and outside of the warriors that had told KD, dude, you could re-injure this thing. KD. heard what he wanted to hear. And we've all done that. You know, folks, it's part of the alpha male of Americans. American workers take fewer vacation days than the rest of the world. We go to work sick more than the rest of the world. And Katie wanted to play. I also texted a pro athlete last night. And he said to me, a friend of mine said, listen, man, when you are sitting out during a championship game. You feel completely detached.

You don't feel like you're part of the team. We're not China dolls here, man. We're men. We're alphas. We got $150 million net worth. We want to play. We want to be part of the group. We want to be guys. And that's part of what makes pro athletes, pro athletes. The obstacles they overcome.

The guts, the moxie, the metal. Katie wanted to play. Secondly, everybody plays hurt. Boogie's hurt. Did you watch Kvon Looney last night? What if he re-injured his chest? Would you want to sue the Warriors then? What have Boogie's muscle popped out of his skin last night?

Clay Thompson popped a hammy. You don't think he could have repop to hammy? I mean, everybody in this series is hurt. I mean, Kauai Leonard, until that two-minute burst was shot. He was literally a boxer running from punches. He, like, didn't want any part of the game. The other thing is the warrior doctors cannot predict an Achilles tear. Okay?

And then finally, he wasn't limping around. Durant look great. In fact, my argument, I was watching them early and I'm like, dude, slow it down. Ease yourself into the game. You had like 12 points and 11 minutes. So Kevin Durant was like chomping at the big. Get me out there. Give me the ball.

Want to score. And listen, when you get injured, I've been injured three or four times in my life. I'm not a pro athlete, but I work out every day. Every single time I've been injured, I come back early. Why? Because I'm a guy. And I'm stupid. And I want to do stuff.

And I want to, I want to ski. I want to lift weights. I want to run. I want to go to the beach and play volleyball. I've come back early every time. And you know what happens? I re-aggravate something. I pulled my groin on the right side years ago.

I wanted to jog. Doctor said I'd wait another week. I jogged. Left side pulled it. You often tear the opposite side of your body because these are professional athletes. They're not like us. I mean, good God, look at the wear and tear in this series. San Francisco, five and a half hour flight, Toronto, five and a half hour flight, San Francisco, five and a half hour.

I did that once. I'd need two now and a half hour flight in a half hour. These guys are pro athletes. They're burning 7,000 calories a night. They're all hurt. I'm not a doctor, but bodies tend to punish you when you're impatient. And Kevin Durant is an alpha, and he was impatient. And the other thing, let's be totally honest about this.

Circumstances dictate action. If this wasn't the finals, he wouldn't be playing. It's the finals. In fact, if they were leading 3 to 1, he wouldn't be playing. Kevin Durant would be like, I'm going to take a high. And they wouldn't let him play. I mean, they'd be like, we're not giving you a uniform. We're leading three to one.

This was one of these alpha, everybody's hurt, dynasty in the making, KD's legacy, the team needed him. The doctors are like, well, you're not going to make a calf strain worse than a calf strain. But, you know, so listen, Bob Myers, this is how emotional it was. If you think everybody here is just callous for the Warriors, here's the guy that runs their basketball operations after the game last night. I don't believe there's anybody to blame, but I understand this world. And if you have to, you can blame me. And let me tell you something about Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant loves to play basketball.

And the people that questioned whether he wanted to get back to this team were wrong. Okay, there was honesty, there was transparency, everybody knew there was a risk. It stinks, it's lousy, and it happens. By the way, Durant's been hurt before. He's a seven-foot body that was not 100% came back early with an incredible desire to help his team, and he torn Achilles. It stinks.

It's awful. It's terrible. But he wasn't limping around when he came back. This was not Willis Reed. He was a best player on the floor for 12 minutes. And it happens, and it's called sports. That's called American sports. Folks, Joy Taylor's brother played in the NFL.

Well, if you're in a Super Bowl or a conference championship at halftime, there's a reason they've got needles and pills back in that locker room. You play. Gronk, you just wrap stuff up and you play. Now, the good news is most Americans who go to work sick, reagravate it and get sicker, don't get $135 million contract. And that's where I want to segue to now. Listen, what's next?

The chances are he could miss next year. Okay. Remember, Brady missed a year, Stockton missed a year, Michael missed a year, David Robinson missed a year, Tony Romo, Cam, Garoppolo, Manning. It's sports. This happens. If I'm KD, I would opt in with Golden State either for a year at $31 million, because he can do that, or I'd opt out, and I believe Golden State law from a five-year max, and then Draymond's gone in one year.

Listen, many teams, the rest of the market, may have questioned about KD's health. But I learned something years ago. I read a lot about this that in divorces, the dumper feels guilty. The dump-e can benefit. And the Warriors feel guilty this morning. And they're going to pay Kevin Durant and Max. If he opts out, they're going to pay him a five-year max. And they will.

And I would if I was Kevin Durant's day. First of all, he's a good guy. second of all, he's taken several team-friendly deals with a warrior, so Iggy gets paid and Livingston gets paid. He's taking team-friendly deals. He's a two-time finals MVP. There's a guilt factor, and he's the best player in the world. Opt out. They'll sign him to a five-year deal, even if it costs just $700 million, which it will when it's all done for going over the salary cap.

good guy help create the dynasty you'll get at least one more title with him and here's another thing and this I've seen this my entire life the last time this country felt like we were all on the same team

not Democrats not Republicans not red not blue when was it remember think about this for a second when's the last time America was on the same team Didn't last long, but we were. Crisis. George Bush, arm around a fireman.

Remember that? Crisis brings people together, folks. Katie feels like a warrior today. He feels like family. He needs help. You don't bail on family members. It's weird about crisis. Crisis brings enemies together,

politics together, Americans together, countries together, people together, teams together, stars together, free agents together. This is a crisis. Kevin Durant needs love. He needs help. Do you see Steph and Iggy taking him into the locker room? You know, Kevin Durant to me always felt like a little bit like a hired gun.

He was almost like an independent contractor. We're signing Kevin Durant. He's going to come on, make a bunch of baskets, and he's going to leave. He doesn't feel like that today. He feels like family. Kevin Durant today is family. You don't bail on family. Either you ask him to opt out, let us.

signed you to a five-year deal. You've been taking pay cuts for years. You need us. For the first time in this relationship, you need us. We needed you. Today, Kevin, we need, you need us a little bit. You gave us a bunch of deals. You took us to another level. I know in the moment, this seems awful. I get it. But it's weird how crisis works. And it brings people together and teams together and families together. I mean, I'm sure there's people listening. You've had estranged members of your family and you don't, a brother doesn't talk to a sister, doesn't talk to a cousin, and somebody dies, the patriarch, the mom passes away in the family. And for at least a while, it brings everybody together. And

Stefan Iggy walking him to the locker room last night, that was an incredible emotional moment. And I don't think Durant until last night ever felt like truly a warrior. He felt like a hired gun. Come in do your job, independent contractor. But Clay Thompson afterwards talked about the need and just the relationship with KD. I got nothing. And as every NBA fan should have nothing about respect for Kevin Durant. For him to come out here, put his health on the line to try and help us win a championship, shows you what kind of competitor he is. And it was very deflating after the game just because we're going to miss him. And it's not the same not being out there competing with him.

I think anyone would be happy to have him on their team. But running out on the floor tonight, we had a new sense of confidence getting a guy back. So it hurt to see him go down because we know how much he cares and how much he wants to be out here. First of all, KD had the best plus minus of any player last night. Second of all, did you see the energy when KD came back? Do you see how much energy the Warriors had? Everybody. Steph had an incredible first quarter.

Kevin Durant. And I felt like at the end of the game, they were kind of. kind of playing for Kevin Durant. So I know people are going to blame today. They're going to pile on. That's what Twitter does. That's what social media does. But there's no real blame here today.

I don't believe there is. And secondly, crisis creates a bond strangely. Unfortunately, sometimes it's the only thing that brings us together. And I think the warriors, for the first time, Kevin Durant needs them. And I think he should opt out. Then they'll sign him to a max.

I just don't understand why he would hobble out to the Knicks. I just don't get it. Like this is the time more than ever. You re-signed with the family. Last game at Oracle tonight. You don't get to play it. You play for the next four or five years. You know, and it's just so strange how it works.

You know, Kevin Durant's different. He's got a little bit of an aloof personality. He's sensitive. He's complex. But he's aloof at the same time. time. Like he's distant, but uniquely concerned about what you think about him. And it's amazing to me how I felt this morning driving in for all the oddities. I mean, he grew up, you know, I'm sure he was like six, eight in like the ninth grade. You know, it's a different world to live in when you're

Wilk, Kareem, you're a seven-footer. And he's a little detached sometimes and a little aloof, but he's uniquely concerned about how you think. And, you know, even Bob Myers said he's just just wildly misunderstood. Last night was the first time you like, I got him. I was like, oh, Jesus, that poor kid. Just wanted to matter. Just wanted to be important. Just wanted the city to put his arm around him.

Felt a little bit detached and guilty that he wasn't there for his team. He wanted to change the narrative. He put his body on the line and it broke. And it just, it broke. And I just sat there and I'm like, oh, this poor kid. kid. In San Francisco, the ovation he will get, just entering the arena for game six, is worth watching the finals for how they treat KD when he stands and waves. Still think Toronto wins big, game six. Coming up next, Nick Nurse is getting clobbered.

I'm not sure if I'll defend him, but I'll try to add some context to that. Plus, Lakers, be very careful about Anthony Davis. Make a deal, but don't be desperate. I'll add something to that, too. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo 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 rapidly. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good

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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 with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass, but get that thing.

That man, hell get the flying. He running the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. By the way, to sleep really cool and comfortable. Get rid of your heat-trapping mattress. Get a Casper. Breatthable Foams.

Caspur.com. Code her to H-E-R-D for special offer. By the way, I do like Toronto to win game six in the Bay by a lot. Kevin Durant and the Warriors, together are 9 and 1 in the finals, and I'm counting last night as a win. So he's played 10 finals games. KD has played with the Warriors, and they're 9 and 1, and they're 8 and 9 without KD in the finals. So that kind of tells you they're way better with him in the finals than without him. and I don't think, I've said it before.

The one thing I said before the series, I had Golden State in six, and that was thinking Kevin Durant would play is Golden State is small without Kevin Durant. They're tiny. They're just, you're going to pray that Boogie Cousins gives you six minutes here, six minutes there. Toronto is big and long.

Sir Jabotka. I mean, good God, Pascal Seacom, for his size, is absurdly athletic. I mean, for a seven-footer, that kid runs the floor. My entire life I grew up watching seven footers lumber up the floor. He runs like a two guard. He's seven feet tall.

Mark Gassal can play the perimeter or low. Toronto is long and the warriors have a cluster injury. All their bigs are hurt. Looney's probably not going to play. Katie's out. I think Golden State gets throttled in game six. I don't think Oracle means anything. Road teams won four straight games.

The other thing is Nick Nurse is the coach for the Raptors. He's getting killed today because they have. had this run, like a 10-0-0 run, and then he called a timeout and then Golden State played really well. First of all, these are two totally exhausted teams. And both these teams are having these little micro-bursts, 8-0-0-run, 8-2 run. Kauai gave you nothing all night. And then he had a 10-point burst that lasted two minutes.

And Nick Nurse said, this is not a raptor burst. This is a Kauai Leonard burst, and he shot and he called a timeout. I'm hearing everybody go, oh, a Raptors run, an amazing run. No, they weren't. Kauai Leonard was on an amazing run for two and a half minutes. And then before it and after it, he gave you nothing. And Nick Nurse is like, okay, we just had a great run. Timeout, sit Kauai down.

He had four straight shots. This wasn't a Raptors run. It was a Kauai run. He played 41 minutes. Everybody else in that team averaged about 29 to 31. By the way, if you take away Kauai's 10 points in the fourth, Toronto at home had 17. and Kauai didn't score in the last 328, and the Raptors made one basket in that.

It wasn't like everybody last night was giving them anything. It was, they were struggling to get offense. He carried a team gasping for air. Kauai did for two and a half minutes. And they turned a three-point deficit into a six-point lead because of one guy taking four shots. And by the way, I think we've all acknowledged that Nick Nurses had a very good series as a coach.

I tend to believe coaches know their roster better than I do. I thought Golden State won the game because they played very good offense late. I thought they passed the ball beautifully. And, you know, Steve Kerr rested his starters, by the way, at the beginning of the fourth for about three minutes. Remember that weird lineup they put in? He rested Steph. Well, Steph had legs late in the game. And remember that awful lineup they put in that the announcers, Mark Jackson and Van Gundy were making fun.

up at the beginning of the fourth? This Golden State lineup, it is offensively challenged. It's mighty nice of you. I give Steve Farrell a lot of credit. This lineup is not a lineup I would go with my championship life on the line. It was just too small and weird and odd. But that three-minute break gave Steph and Clay some legs, gave Steph some legs, and Steph was very good late, hit a big three.

So I get it. We're all smarter than the coach. but this idea that it was a great Raptor run, no, it was maybe the best player in the world. Just like, Kauai looked like a fighter. You know, I've covered enough boxing that was just like nothing left. And then in the ninth round, with about 18 seconds left,

just gives you everything he's got, lays it on the line. Bell rings, you're done. Time out. You go to the corner. Nick Nurse knows what he's doing. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

So Anthony Davis is still hoping to find a new NBA home this summer. While it was initially believed he was considering four places for his long-term future, Sham Sharania reports he has cut that list to two, the Lakers and the NICS. And that hasn't prevented teams like the Southland's and Clippers from making a run, but his desire to sign a long-term extension with the Lakers or the NICS makes that very risky. He's got all the power. Yeah. But now S&Y reports that some within the NICS organization are uncomfortable with the idea

of parting ways with so many pieces. in exchange for a singular high-profile player like Davis, probably because we already did this once with Carmelo Anthony, and you see how that worked out for them. So looking like things are playing into the Lakers' hand at this point. Joy, there's an old saying in negotiations. Never negotiate against yourself. I mean, the clips, the nets, by the way, were in the running,

but they gave up the pieces to clear space so they don't have the draft picks. The Lakers have the draft picks and the pieces. they don't have a star, but they have two forwards that average 18 and Lonzo. Lakers, this is falling into your lap. Do not give away Lonzo, Ingram, and Kuzma, and the fourth pick. You do not need to. It's too much. It was always too much and they don't need to, like you said.

Now, the Pelicans want an all-star, a potential all-star, and two first-round picks, which to me for Anthony Davis is absurd. That's something I would give up for Kevin Durant or Steph Curry. And not that Anthony Davis isn't a premier player, but he hasn't shown the ability to carry a team. Ask yourself this. Why did that story leak? Because that's David Gripping telling you,

he's giving all the teams. This is what I want. Well, there's two teams in the running, and one of them, the Knicks don't have any players. I think the Lakers now are negotiating against themselves. I think it's falling right into their lap. You know how many players the Pelicans could have had in January on this deal?

It's looking more and more like that was a disaster for the Pelicans and the Lakers, lucked out that that didn't happen. So sticking with the Knicks, though, R.J. Barrett appears to be locked in on New York being his preferred landing spot in the draft. He is a projected top five pick and will only be meeting and working out with the Knicks,

which he did yesterday. And after the workout, he very bluntly made his wish known. No, I do not. I won't be being with any other team. So, yeah, it's this and then the draft. So you'll be back to next to taking that. Hey, man, you know, if that ends up and I'm still there at three,

Yeah, for sure, I would love to film to pick me. And this was it, like since Chicago, this has been the only workout. Yeah, for sure, you know, this is the place I want to be, so, you know, I hope they'd draft me. So, RJ Barrett said he's only working out for the Knicks. Obviously, Zion is expected to go number one to the Pelicans. John Morant is expected to go to the Grizzlies, and RJ Barrett is next up, which is the next pick. So unless something outrageous happens and the Grizzlies feel like they don't want John Moran and they want R.J. Barrett, that's probably where he's going to end up, which I like for the Knicks.

I mean, RJ Barrett is going to be a good player. And I mean, that's just, that's how the ping pong balls bounce. And that works out great for RJ Barrett, good for him. So finally, one of the most shocking moments last night after Katie went down was some of the Toronto crowd's reaction. There were fans cheering and waving goodbye. And then obviously Warriors fans were getting, or Warriors players were getting upset. And then Raptors players immediately tried to silence the fans that were cheering and acting out. And after the game, Steve Kerr, thank them for that.

The Raptors players were telling the crowd to be quiet out of respect, which I appreciated. Some of the fans were cheering when it happened. And I think the Raptors players understood how serious it was. And they sort of quieted the crowd. And there was just a couple minutes there where it all seemed. so heary and strange. It was a very odd reaction out of Raptors fans, not just because, you know, obviously the jokes are there,

that they're Canadian and Canadians are nice. I really never seen fans react like that to a player injury, and I'm sure that it's happened, but not that I can readily recollect. I remember Michael Irvin getting hurt, I think, one time in Philadelphia fans. Listen. Well, I mean, okay. Fans are drunk.

I mean, they're all drinking. Molson's very popular in Canada. it was classless, but we overturned cars and light couches on fire. So it's like... Yeah, I don't want to overreact it. And I also don't want... I don't like when people paint entire fan bases with one broad brush. Yes, of course, there were a few fans that were cheering, and that's completely wrong, and there's no excuse for it.

And they ruined a lot of goodwill that the rest of their fan base had. But just moments later, they're all cheering and clapping for KD and chanting for KD as he went off. And I think everyone kind of understood the moment and the severity. of it right away. I don't want to overreact to the drama of it. I will say though, once that happened, I was like, there's no way the Raptors are winning this game. Because the Warriors are just going to

emotion it up. They're going to find a way to get this game and basketball gods are not going to reward that. But I'm with you. I think they win game six. Last night just kind of felt like one of those moments in basketball history that we're all going to look back on and be like that was a shifting

moment for the future. As much as we were talking about how Katie was almost a lock to go to New York and this is the, you know, the end of a dynasty and all this. That could have all shifted last night with Katie's injury and the way that that game played out. Yeah, I don't want to be too

anti-Kinnock because I've just seen Americans do just, you know, it's funny, I've been in a lot of sporting events where something happens. I mean, I've even been at parties where somebody falls down the stairs or something and everybody's laughing and then like four seconds later you're like, oh, I think they broke an ankle. Like,

yes, they were classless, but We just lubricate fans in all these events with just so much alcohol, and we get all lathered up. Yeah, I don't think there's a need to overreact or say, like, you know, the entire Toronto fan base is classless. Like, it was an initial reaction. It was completely wrong. There's no excuse for it, but there's no need to be overdramatic about it or act like fans don't, like you said, ride in the streets over stuff. Like, there's plenty of to go around. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. Let's bring in Chris Brousard, former New York Times sports writer, Cavs Beat Rider, odd couple with Rob Parker weekdays, 7 to 10, Eastern Fox Sports Radio. All right, I watched KD last night, and my takeaway is how do you take that body

and limp to New York and play for the Knicks next to Kevin Knox and no talent? Like, I'm sorry, but he's family now. That feels like he is family. That's a great way to put it, because I, look, Part of the reason, if not the main reason, he was going to leave, was the narrative that they didn't need you. And you went and got easy rings and so on and so forth.

Even if Golden State comes back and wins this series, I think that narrative is dying. Like, even if they went it without him, it feels like this episode will make him more a part of that organization. There's always been this feeling. And Durant even admitted it in an interview a few weeks ago. It's kind of been the Warriors and KD, like separate. It's real.

But now when you saw, I mean, and I'm not even talking about Bob Myers crying and stuff, but just this whole, like how much these players want him back. Steph Curry during the game and Iguidala were walking him to the locker room. I know Steph wasn't in at that point, but still, it's during the game. And it just feels like they're talking about winning it for KD. Like this could make him more a part of the. franchise than he's ever been. And now he'll feel like,

it won't be like, oh, he wasn't there for the whole thing. He wasn't there for the start. It'll feel like he's an integral part. And if they lose, of course, then obviously you need him. I think Toronto's going to just clobber Golden State in game six. I don't think they match up. They're nine, they're

eight and nine without Katie in the finals. That's what this night and stay is. They're nine and one with Katie in the finals. I don't think they're length. We got Looney may not play. Katie out. And boogie at 70%. I think length is a huge factor here. And I think Toronto's going to go, I just, here's my thing. If Toronto just smokes them, that is more of a, wow, we need Kevin Durant. And again, even if they come back and win it, which I think is a possibility, obviously

Toronto has the edge. And to your point, the Raptors, Nick Nurse cast, all he has to say to his team is, look, they hit 23-pointers. That's the second most in finals history. We hit eight, all right? We didn't shoot well from the foul line. We had been shooting 90% from the foul line in the first four games. We shot 78 last night. If we just, we didn't get anything from Kauai outside of that two minutes burst. Pascal Seacom didn't play well.

And we lost by a point. So he can say that. However, I do think Golden State has a shot now to win this. I'm sticking with my pick of them in six. So I give it. I'll go seven now. I'm giving them a chance to win. But my point is, Kevin Durant is going to feel more like a part of that fabric of that franchise now.

And here's the deal, too, for Durant. It was always going to be a risk for him to leave. Leave a place where you could win two or three more championships, or even if it's just one more championship, for a place where you may not win any. Even at his best, and he's arguably the best player in the world, there's still a big question mark as to whether or not he can lead a team to a championship. He might just be an all-time great player that can't lead his own team to a title

because he wasn't playing with clowns in Oklahoma City. I mean, Russell Westbrook is what he is, a great player. Stephen Adams was there. Surgeon Baca was there. I know they had injuries, but they never got over the hump. And now if he comes back not quite what he used to be, maybe he will be. I think there's a great chance he's as good as he used because of his build, his skills, you know, all that. But what if he's just, instead of a prime KD, he's a prime Carmelo Anthony and he can't lead a team to a championship?

You're risking all of that to leave a team where you know you can win. So I think now, if I'm Kevin Durant, I really have to rethink. If I was that close to leaving, I really have to rethink Stan. I'll throw this at you. So I'm watching that KD injury. And the second thing that comes to my mind, first is, oh, this is heartbreaking. The second thing is Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Kauai Leonard. This guy just got hurt.

I'm taking my max money, bro. Kauai Leonard, I'm sitting there thinking, I am gassed. I'm about 80%. I'm taking my max money. I think that resonates around the league from stars who say, Oh, I'm done, a one-year contract. I'm not giving up 40 large. I think his injury makes these stars say,

I'm sticking and putt and taking my max in Philly if I'm Jimmy Butler or Kauai in Toronto. Well, a few things with Kauai. There's been talk, there was actually a report that he's leaning toward a short-term deal with the Raptors, one or two years, whatever that may be. He's already fragile, physically. Like, he's as tough and strong as he is physically, his body is fragile. He took 22 games off. And you can see he's worn down in these playoffs.

So I think he needs to look at it like, let me get a four or five term deal, year deal. Let me lock up wherever he goes. If he stays, if he goes, get the long-term deal just in case you break down in a couple years. As far as Kyrie, if Kyrie, and you mentioned Brooklyn, I know they're going to try to get Anthony Davis if they can get Kyrie, but they gave up some of their assets. So if you're Kyrie Irving and you want to go to Brooklyn,

but you can't get AD, you can't get KD. Because if the Lakers make a move on AD, it could be by the weekend, by the way, because people want to do it before the draft. So to your point, suddenly in three days, Lakers have AD, Raptors win in a couple. The next day, AD is a Laker. If I'm Kyrie, I'm going to Brooklyn by myself?

There's no, that's my point. Like, don't leave, I would say stay in Boston. If you're in a great, now, look, I always say this for players. Personal reasons, that's you. I will never criticize a player for making personal moves. But I'm talking about from a basketball standpoint, why would you leave the Celtics to go to Celtics light, which is what Brooklyn is?

You're similar coach, but not quite Brad Stevens, from what we think, players, a bunch of, you know, little engines that could, that overachieve. That's what you got in Boston. And if AD doesn't end up with the Lakers, Boston could make, if they got Kyrie, they can make a great deal for AD. So I think Kyrie has to rethink.

All the players he had that weren't happy with him being there and all that, you can trade them out of there. And build around Kyrie, get you another star. So I think he has to really look at it staying in Boston rather than going to Brooklyn with no other star. All right. And it's funny how this stuff plays out. But I look at Kauai Leonard today.

And we were talking about this when we were prepping this morning. Kauai Leonard stays in Canada. So I get an – I'll be the GM of the Raptors. Right. I'm going to give you 35 you can't get elsewhere. Your body's breaking down. I'll give you 24 games off a year. You do get if you go to the Clippers, you're on billboards.

There'll be no 24 games off a year. Okay. And by the way, Katie just got hurt. Maybe, like we said, that could become a trend. But I'm just saying the Clippers' whole mantra and culture right now play hard. It's all chemistry. How's that work with a third of the games I'm not playing? I think that Kauai Toronto thing, free condo, free food for you and your. Right. He's got it. It's going to just be a personal decision for him. There's no basketball reason.

to leave Toronto. None. Not any at all. Clippers are a slightly less talented version of the Raptors. That's what they are. That's what the roster is. I don't know if they're slightly less talented. It's close. I think if he goes to the Clippers, their Clippers wet, or they're Toronto West.

Very similar, and that's what can be attractive to Kauai about them. But it's just going to come down to does he want to live in Canada or does he want to come back to Southern California? That's really what it's going to know. Canada is very nice. No, it is. It is. It's cold.

I mean, look, he could set it up where he doesn't even have to go outside. Like, look, have somebody pick me up. The car is warm for practice and all. Like, that's what I do if I was him. I talked to a college football coach years ago that used to coach at Iowa State. He said, we'd bring the recruits in. We'd have a heated van. Before they got out of the airport, we put jackets on them into the heated van, drove into the athletic department.

We always made sure it was heated. Right. Our van was heated. So when they go to Ames, Iowa, in January for recruiting, they're like, it's balmy there. We never let them outside. They just went classroom to athletic to hot van to meal. So 12 degree doesn't feel bad when you're just looking at it, not living it. And I think that's a point.

Chris Broussard, good stuff, good seeing you. Odd couple later, Fox Sports Radio, back in a second, 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 the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo 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 intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever 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 game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, Brett, 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. What's up, fam? This Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid.

He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers

while he got the ball. After you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Go further than ever with the Discover at Miles card automatically matches the miles you earn

at the end of your first year. 35,000 could end up being 70. Learn more at Discover.com slash travel. All sorts of hot takers today on the internet. Oh, Lord. Kevin Durand, outrageous doctors file lawsuits. Oh, Lord. By the way, again, I said this to Joy earlier. You never want to negotiate against yourself. The Lakers may very well be negotiating right now with nobody else except the Pelicans, because I'm not sure the Nets have the picks to furnish the Pelicans with enough to get AD, and the NICs don't have any players. And I do think the Lakers, Rich Paul, is LeBron's agent and Anthony Davis's. I think ideally they would like LeBron, a great asset in their agency, to go and have another star. So I think Rich Paul wants Anthony Davis to be a Laker. I think Anthony Davis,

wants to be a Laker. I think LeBron wants Anthony Davis to be a Laker. I think the Lakers want Anthony Davis to be a Laker. You have all the power. Lakers, LeBron, Rich Paul, Anthony. You have all the power here. Do not give up the farm for Anthony Davis. Just think about math. So the three best teams in the NBA this year, I can make an argument, Milwaukee, Toronto Warriors. They all averaged 118 a game. Toronto averaged a little less. But in that 115, to 117 to 118 a game. So LeBron averages, let's say, 27 next year, 27 and a half. AD comes in and averages 26, 26.5.

That's 54 points. All right, where are you getting the other 70? You can't give up Lonzo. You can't give up Coosma. You can't give up Ingram. You can't give up Josh Hart. Lonzo, Ingram and Coosma averaged 18. Lonzo averaged 10.

That's 46, 47 points. Right there. You can't give that up. Okay, AD and LeBron giving you 54 a night, 55. You're driving to the arena every night. We got 55. You got to keep at least Kuzma. Because now I drive to the arena knowing I can get 74.

I got 74 in the bank as we drive to the arena. Then I can figure out how to cobble together 12 here, 10 there. But it's just math. The teams that are the best in this league can score every night you drive to the arena getting 116. That's what you got to score in the end. NBA now in the regular season to get to the playoffs and to get a home court advantage. You got to get to about 116, 115 if you're Toronto and play really great defense, 114.

Okay, LeBron and Anthony Davis, there's 54. He needs 70 more points. And I think they're negotiating against themselves. I really do. Anthony Davis is only interested, he says, in two teams. Remember, the Pelicans came out. and announced, okay, we want an all-star, a potential all-star, and two draft picks. Why did they announce that?

Because the Pelicans want the Lakers and the Knicks to feel, uh-oh, a little fear, a little, uh-oh, it's slipping away. But remember, for the teams trading for Anthony Davis, they're looking to compete for a championship quickly. You can't do that if you give up three good players. you can't do it. So I think the Lakers are completely in the catbird seat. I mean, Joy and I talked about this 10 minutes ago.

I think at the trading deadline, the Pelicans had all the power and screwed it up. Because they got emotional and Dell Dembs and everybody freaked out. They could have had six guys. I'm the Lakers. I say, Kuzma, Ingram, take your choice. You pit, we'll, we'll, I think they like Ingram. I think Ingram has a higher ceiling. So I go to the Pelicans.

I say, you could have my number four pick. You can have Brandon Ingram. And I would negotiate hard to get them another player, and I can keep Lonzo. So I give you a four and a Brandon Ingram and play hardball. And who else going to? I mean, again, Rich Paul and Anthony Davis now have the power. And that's what negotiations in my lifetime have always been about. Where's the power?

Does my company need me? Do they not need me? What's the urgency? What's the economy like? You know, it's Pelicans have Zion. They have, they want to get one of those other picks. They got Drew Holiday.

They'd like to add an element to it. But I don't think the Nets have the draft picks. They have the All-Star, but not the potential all-star in the draft picks. The Lakers have the draft picks and potential All-Sty. stars, but not the star. The next don't have anything. I mean, the Knicks have draft picks. It seems to me, if I'm David Griffin, you've got to give me more than just draft

picks. You've got to give me players. I'm not going to have Zion playing with 18-year-old. You've got to give me something there. So I think the Lakers are a very, very interesting situation. There are reports now that Anthony Davis only wants the NICs or the Lakers. And there are other reports. The NICs, if they do it, want to get it done 48 hours. So if the next don't get what they want in 48 hours, they may move off to other stuff. But remember, the finals could end in a couple days. The teams want to get the AD done deal done a couple days. And the draft is next, what, Thursday?

So a lot of people want to get stuff wrapped up. The league wants to get stuff wrapped up. Players want to get agents want to get it wrapped up before the draft. This is going to be a good week. Good next four or five days. All right, hour number two is coming up. Rashad Phillips, NBA draft analyst. Boy, he was great last year.

predicted everything plus Rick Bueker and B.J. Armstrong. Hour two coming up in L.A. 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 a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs,

the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me care games is we have real conversations about healing growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the 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 with 42. Hey, Brett. My mama want you to weigh better.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano,

and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player. to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson,

we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is The Herd.

Hour 2 in L.A. wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio. This week we're off TV. Team USA, United States Women National Team plays at noon today. I'll be watching. Very fine. Very excited.

Massid numbers. 15 minutes, Rashad Phillips. He's a draft analyst. He came on the show. I didn't know him last year. I brought him on the show. They were a very funny guy. Great energy.

And he really nailed the draft. He was like, hey, Trey Young is going to light this league up. And I was like, ah, come on. He looks. He's a size of a animal cracker. He spins an ounce. He's tiny. He's a little.

He's like, no, Trey Young's going to light it up. Ah, come on. And Trey Young ate it up. I thought Trey Young was just too small. He was just tiny. It was a little. Leaks changing.

I know. I didn't see it. He did. Bringing it back on. So a lot of hot takers today. And I hate that saying because hot take is just an opinion. But, oh, people are freaking out about Katie's injury. And oh, my God, the Warriors, I can't believe the doctors, folks.

If Clay Thompson. pulled a hamstring last night. Are you mad at the doctor? Because he came back with a popped hammy, and Boogie Cousins' muscle popped out of his leg. The whole, everybody's hurt. Golden State, I'm watching Kvon Luni last night. The announcers were like, God, he's true courage. What if his chest... He was supposed to be out for the rest of the series. The whole team is playing banged up. By the way, Paul George missed a season. Kauai Leonard missed mostly a season. KD. next year will miss a season. M.B. missed two seasons. Ben Simmons missed a season. Blake Griffin missed his rookie season.

Steph had a year where he played 26 games. Katie had a season. He played only 27 games. Oh, by the way, Michael Jordan missed a season, John Stockton, Larry Bird, Kobe, and David Robinson. LeBron's the outlier. One injury, 16 years. LeBron, like, you know, LeBron, if they write the book on LeBron, Chapter 1, Go, Chapter 2, durability. He is a complete outlier. Even last year, he played 55 games and could have come back and played another five or six. Last year was LeBron's injured year, he got to 55 games and could have easily gotten to 60. By the end, he was just like, I'm going to take a year off. He could have played 60.

Tom Brady missed a season. Jimmy Garoppolo missed a season. Aaron Rogers has missed chunks of two seasons. Andrew Luck, Carson Wentz, Peyton Manning, Cam Newton, Tony Romo. KD's injury? This is what it's about. He's a seven-footer. He's had multiple injuries.

This is, I mean, this is the way sports is. I've never met an NFL player, and I got a lot of friends who play in the NFL. I've never, I don't have one that didn't have at least six shoulder surgeries, four-knee surgeries. Pro sports is the biggest, fastest, strongest people in the world jamming into each other. I mean, you think NBA is not a contact sport? You try traveling 55, 65 times a year at 30,000 feet. Toronto, San Francisco, Toronto, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, hotel, three in the morning, get up, quick, shoot around.

It's a beat down on your body. These guys are losing 6,000 calories a night, jumping on a plane, having a smoothie and a roast beef sandwich. It's not a healthy lifestyle. They're working out nonstop. They don't even have off-seasons anymore, and half these kids feel so guilty, they go play because the shoe companies pressure them to go play in the Olympics,

so they don't let their bodies rest. These kids go and play. I've always said if you're a basketball star, go to the Olympics once and then let somebody else have the baton. You're just beating your body up. They don't even take off seasons off anymore. Very few guys in my favorite baseball player of all time was George Brett. George Brett played in Kansas City.

He was just a tough ass. He just run into people and yell at umpires and played hard. 20 years in baseball. 15 or 20? He missed like 35 games minimum. He was hurt all the time. This is just pro sports. Katie's a seven footer.

He's been hurt multiple times. Stop blaming the doctors. Games, workouts, travel, stress, back and forth, Canada, San Francisco. Listen, I'm not a religious person. I'm not religious. I'm kind of agnostic, right? I don't know what's up there. I'm not going to say it doesn't exist, but I don't think it does.

But I'm not going to say it because if I get up there and it does exist, I don't want the guy slap me around, let me in, right? I want a key to the gate. But my thing is, very few athletes in my life got like the perfect body. John Lynch was a headhunter, never had a concussion in the NFL. That's God's work.

John Lynch led with his helmet for 18 years as a safety, running into bigger people, never had a concussion. That's the guy upstairs. That's mom and dad. That's absurd DNA. Michael Jordan played outside of the broken leg year, 82 a year. The stories of him in minor league baseball,

He would go in the summer in Birmingham. He would wear one of those sweat jackets and do batting practice for four hours. Blisters all over his hands. Then he would play the games. That's God's work. LeBron James, 16 years, one injury. That's the man upstairs. Almost all these guys, they get hurt all the time.

Pro athletes leave their sport. they've got ankle issues, back issues. I'm not just talking football. Hockey guys have had seven concussions. Hockey guys are missing teeth. I live in Manhattan Beach, California. It's L.A. Kings everywhere. Scar here, bad knee, limping around.

So, you know, everybody this morning, go look around the NBA. Everybody's had a year where they missed it or played 28 games, just the reality of it. Let me segue to this. I, um, I, it's funny. We do live now in a time of affirmation, not information. Nobody really wants new stuff. Liberals go to MSNBC, conservatives go to Fox. If you had a channel, it was called the moderate channel.

Nobody would watch. It would be out of business in five minutes. You got to take a side. So there's either the pro-NBA side, a lot of fanboys cover in the NBA, or there's the anti-NBA side. to me NBA is good business. 60% of my show is football, 28% is NBA,

and I'm up double digits again this year for the fourth year in a row. It's good business for me. It's why I don't talk PGA. It's why I don't talk much lacrosse. It's why I don't talk regular season baseball. NBA basketball is just good for my business. It sells all my platforms.

I'm up 32% in May. I talk nothing but NBA. So last night's rating got a 13.4. And everybody is saying, oh, my, and I do think it's been a clunky series. Last night was real drama. But for the sky as falling crowd ripping the NBA, it got a 13.4 rating last night. That's not counting 11 million Canadians watching. This is a really watched final.

It's been crazy. The Drake nonsense. The owner pushing the player. The KD drama storyline. Four straight road wins. Golden State went from favorites to underdogs. Canada, and adorably wrapping their arms around Kauai Leonard, don't go, don't go. Market size doesn't give you ratings.

Stories do. The Mets and the Yankees met in the World Series, and it was the lowest-rated world series at the time with two New York teams. Nobody else cared west of the Hudson. Nobody cared. Utah, Chicago, there was fear that small market Utah would kill the ratings was the highest rated NBA story. Jordan got sick. it was unbelievable drama. People watch television when there's urgency and their stories.

And this series has all sorts of stories. By the way, right now the NBA finals, and I'm not counting Toronto, which would be our third biggest American city. 10 million Canadians are watching. I'm not counting it. So it's getting a 10-8. And I think Toronto's going to win game six,

and it'll get about a 12. And that means this series will average about an 11-5 to 11-8. Without counting Toronto, that's fantastic. Do you know, last night got a 13-5. You know who would die to get a 13-5 in the playoffs? The NHL, the MLS, Major League Baseball, any NASCAR event, any tennis event, any PGA event, any college baseball event. Outside of the championship game, one championship game in March Madness and one championship game,

in college football, just the championship game. This is just game five of a potential seven-game series. For the record, Carl and the league is built solely on LeBron. So let's go back to when LeBron trailed 3 to 1 in the series, and he was facing Golden State. What was the rating? An 11.8.

LeBron's 3-1 trailing game, counting two American cities in the domestic ratings got a significantly lower rating than one American city trailing 3-1. The NBA is not beholden solely to LeBron. Now, does LeBron matter? Yes. But I believe like the New England Patriots,

Alabama football, and the Warriors, there is a little fatigue with the dynasty that appears to have either a coaching, star quarterback advantage. I think people are fatigued with Alabama Clemson. I think people are a little fatigue with Durant dominating last night. There was a sense they could lose and we all turned in. And I do think this year's Super Bowl.

I think New England taking a year off from the Super Bowl would be good for Fox this year with the Super Bowl. I think Kansas City facing New Orleans, somebody else, Philadelphia, Green Bay, Aaron Rogers would be a nice change of pace. But my show is 60% football and 28% NBA. That's 88% of my show. I monitor my segments. And I'm up double digits again this year for the fourth year in a row. Why?

Because the NBA is a good business to be involved in. Globally, it's up 8%. And last night, you got a monster number not counting. Weren't allowed to count the 10 to 11 million Canadians also watching. If you count North America, this is a wildly watched series. They're getting real numbers. Okay, coming up next, Rashad Phillips, draft analysts, good dude, a lot of energy. This is what he does for a living.

He just watches college hoops, goes to the combine, and tries to tell us who's going to be great and who's not, and who's going to be a sleeper and who's not, and he's joining us next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies,

and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced 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. 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 Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys?

This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliver 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?

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano

and our podcast point game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and

Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court licking his fingers while he got the ball. After you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back. Rashad Phillips.

Kobe Bryant called him the best player never drafted, a two-time Horizon League player. You played in eight countries. You hold three scoring titles, MVP amongst other records in Italy, Latvia, and Saudi Arabia. You are a well-traveled man. College roommate was Barron Davis at UCLA, who's a crazy cat. Rashad Phillips, NBA analyst. We brought you on last year. you have the Voice of the Unheard Athlete YouTube channel.

Yeah. And you went out and you said, Trey Young's going to be money. And you kind of nailed everybody down the draft. And I had questions on. So let me start with this. And this breaks my heart, but you don't love Zion. I actually do.

He's not in my, he's not my number one prospect. Who's your number one prospect? John Morant, Murray State. He's dynamic. He's fantastic. And he'll come in and be a 1810 guy right out of the shoot. That's possible because he possesses. some things, like we talked about Tray Young

last year. I talked about magnetism and I got you a T-shirt because you have the magnetism. No question. Yeah, so I brought you a t-shirt today. But you don't think Zion has magnetism? He does, but as a point guard, let's look at it like football. Let's talk

NFL terms because you're a football guy, right? Point guards are like superstar quarterbacks, okay? The Trey Young's, the Jiamer, the Rants. Those guys are like Patrick Mahomes. When you take the bigs like Zion Williamson and DeAndre 8, and they're like, they're like defensive ends. So do you want a guy that can throw 50 touchdown passes or a guy that maybe can get you 15 sacks? Well, John Morant's going to have, he's going to control tempo,

he's going to control the ball, he's going to control largely judgment for the offense. Yeah, a lot of usage rate as well. He touched the ball a lot. Now, but you're not saying Zion's a nine point of game guy. Oh no, no, no, no, no. What is he going to look like as an NBA player? Now, is he going to run the floor like Barclay or be more physically daunting like Carl Malone? I think more Carl Malone. I think he has to be. has that Julius Randall, but he's a super version of Julius Randall. Okay. Very left-hand dominant, terrific athlete, can get up and down, can run.

He's a better defender than what people give him credit for, too. So I think he's actually a pretty good pastor. So is he a 24-8 guy? I see 19 and 7. That's it. 19 and 7. That's nothing. It's going to be predicated on who his point guard is.

Remember, Patrick Mahones, it's about people who can get you the ball. And I don't think right now the Pelicans has a point guard in play. that can be able to serve him and get on the ball in right situations. Drew Holliday is not a true point. Exactly. He's not a true point. He's a great player. Great player.

But you need a guy like a John Morant or a Trey Young, a guy that can really dish up that ball. Okay. So who's your shocker? Now, the draft is next, what, Thursday? Yeah. So who's your shocker in the draft? Now, I'll throw one at you. The Jackson kid from Texas.

Yeah. Yeah. I like Jackson Hayes. He's terrific. Now he's not refined, but my scouts are. like two years you're going to wake up and he's battling for an all-star spot. I like Jackson Hayes, but I also like Daniel

Gaffert from Arkansas, who's the same archetype, 6-11, 7-foot rim protector, a lot like Jared Allen. We don't value these defensive guys enough in the NBA draft. These guys make teams go. You need those rim protectors, and we're watching that in the playoffs with Abaca

and Mark Gassau. You need guys that can protect the basket. Daniel Gaffert and Jackson Hayes will be able to provide that. So John Morant, I'll all have a statement on these guys. John Morant is Westbrook, but a more natural passer and better peer shooter. I like that. I actually compared him to John Wall. I think he's more John Wall because he's left-hand dominant.

If you watch, I've studied John's tape, he's so left-hand dominant. He makes passes with his left-hand. He gets to the basket. He even dunks it with his left-hand a lot like John Wall. But he's a better shooter than John. He's a better shooter, but he's left-hand dominant. he's not as rough and rugged as Westbrook and he has a better IQ. And I think John Wall and John Morant are more alike.

Okay, fair enough. I think Zion is a more engaged Blake Griffin where people will want to play with Zion. Magnetism. And I don't think Blake, I don't think guys love playing with him. Is that fair? Yes, that's very fair. I think Zion is going to be terrific as soon as he touched down because of his markability, but the athletic prowess that he brings, like I said before, he's a better defensive player than what we give him.

He's a great helpside defender. And the kid loves to win and he loves to compete. RJ Barrett is going to be a better shooting, more confident version of Rodney Hood, meaning Rodney Hood, same little bit at game, but Rodney is streaky. Rodney loses confidence fast. He does. And if you gave Rodney, RJ Barrett's confidence, because RJ is going to walk into the gym and think it's my gym. I'm the man. So I think, and I say this, I think he's a 22 and a half, 24 point game.

Rodney Hood's a 15 point guy? It's a 15 point guy. And I think it's a 25 point guy. He has the mentality. He has a lot of dog in him. I remember we talked about this last year. RJ has dog in him. There are some skills that he lacked, but a lot of times when you don't have the skills, you make it up in dog and heroic.

Yes. And RJ possesses that. but I really love Cam Reddish, Colin. I love Cam Reddish. He's the guy on YouTube. See, I paid so much attention to Zion and Barrett that I think a lot of us sort of, plus they have Trey Jones, the young guard.

Yeah, he's fantastic. Fantastic. Yeah. But I didn't, Reddish to you is what? Look, I'm going to go football again, Colin. Cam Reddish is the Randy Moss of this draft. I think a lot of his red flags are media-based. Like what?

Well, he doesn't have a motor. He's not tough. tough enough. And I see a lot of Tracy McGrady and Cam Reddish. So he's that kind of vertical player. Man, this kid is tremendous. He is the Randy Moss of this draft. I think 16 teams passed up on Randy Moss. My Detroit Lions, we drafted Terry Fair, a 5-9 cornerback out of Tennessee before Randy Moss. Cam Reddish is that guy. All right, let's move to the other stuff. In January, you and Joy Taylor, you said Raptor's getting to the finals. Why did you say that? Well, I got a chance to spend some time with the Raptors.

I was covering them back in December when they came to Orlando, and I was in a locker room with those guys. And I was, you know, as a player, when you're in the locker room, you feel a certain aura. And Kauai has this stoic leadership about him when I was able to speak to him. And right then, I said on Twitter the following day after I covered the Raptors, I said, this team is going to the finals and you can book it. And they've taken on his leadership, the way he goes about his business,

never satisfied. And even when they win, they walk off the court, get to the locker room, get back dress, and they're ready to play again. So I just think the Raptors, they've been destined to win since day one. And I called it out because of those reasons. I do think there's a Michael Jordan comparison.

I don't think he has kind of, I mean, Michael was the dress, the handsome, the ear rings. Michael and Kobe very similar. And the fact, they both had a flare for marketing. Yes. And Kauai doesn't. But I see some MJ in him. Yes.

Look, he gets to his spots when he wants to. The over the right fade away, the over the left fade away, two dribble pull up, large hands, terrific defender, the stoic demeanor. He's always even killed. And last night, he turned into MJ for a quick five minutes. He ran off 10 in a row. Yeah. So he has that clutch about him.

But not the flare. Doesn't have the flare or the athleticism, but the style. He plays the MJ Kobe style. I'm going to get to this spot on the floor. I'm going to get there. I'm going to shut you down. I'm going to take the pull up. That's how he plays the same style.

Rashad Phillips has the voice of the unheard athlete YouTube channel. He was a Horizon player of the year two times. Room with the Baron Davis, good friend of Kobe Bryant, who's, by the way, had a remarkable pivot into his post-basketball career. It's funny about free agents. I'm watching Kevin Durant get hurt last night. And I'm thinking to myself, I'm not given a year back if I'm Kauai. Paul George is like, I'll go live and eat at Applebee's in Oklahoma City.

You can have Los Angeles. I see a lot of these guys staying with their team and taking the guaranteed money. And I got to tell you, if my son played in the NBA, I tell my son, what's wrong with Toronto? Just go play in Toronto and make the money and be a good Canadian. I don't get these guys giving up $30 million. I don't get it. I don't get it either. I think now the situation is that I think Kevin Durant may be forced to stay.

but the person who benefits from this, I don't think nobody has said this yet, is Clay Thompson. I think Clay walks into the office now and tells Bob, I need $200 million now. And I think they're forced to give them $200. Oh, we want to give you $196. No, no, no, no, no.

I need $200 because now you need me. I sat out game three. We lost. Kevin's probably going to sit out next season. So the guy that's going to benefit from all of this is Clay Thompson. Now, if I'm Kevin Durant, the word is, Are you, do you think players in the NBA are mad at the Warriors doctors? I said earlier Clay's hurt, boogie's hurt, Kvonne Looney's hurt.

This could have happened to anybody. By the way, Clay Tom's going to rip his hamstring up last night. Do I think the doctors don't care? I think it's hard to keep alpha males off the floor. Yeah, as an athlete, you always want to go and compete. I mean, the doctors only can do so much. You know, as a competitor, you're like, I need to get out there and play. You feel detached.

You're watching your team, essentially in the Super Bowl of basketball. I want to play. Yeah, so I don't blame Kevin, to rent for going out there playing because that's the competitor in him. When he was on the floor, he was the best player on the floor. By far. So, I mean, when you watch guys like that and they go down, it's hurtful for the game. And hopefully he'll have a speedy recovery.

But again, the game is to be played. Golden State played 100 games a year. So eventually the injury bug was going to hit them, Colin. They've been playing for four or five years straight. 100 games. They're going to start dropping like flies. We see this, by the way. We don't see it in the NFL as much.

because the Patriots get a by week. They play mostly at home. Then you get two weeks. So the sport that has the most violence, actually, it's like Alabama gets through, then they have a month off and a big game. But in baseball, you see this all the time. Like pitchers give you two good post seasons.

They're done. You just cannot keep throwing Clayton Kershaw. Like my arm's just, I'm done. I can't throw 98 anymore. Rashad Phillips. By the way, you're friends with Kobe. Yeah. You know, we have a lot of time in July and August,

Joy and I do that were lonely. And if Kobe came here and sat in the couch, we give him a whole half hour. I'm sure. Well, you could send a text to him today. We would certainly appreciate that. Now, where do you want people to watch your stuff? The draft is next Thursday.

Yes, it is. Yes, you can find me on, you can find me on Twitter, RP3 Natural, and you can subscribe to my YouTube channel, Sports Talk 2319, and I will be hosted my own NBA draft coverage with SUTV, and you can live stream that. Let me see that shirt, a magnetism shirt. This is magnetism. This is what you are, Colin.

This is big time. I like to think of myself as just magnetic. See that? That's you. And you think John Morant's better than Zion. I'm not going to doubt you because last year I told you, I said, Trey Young is this big. There's no way.

Yeah, I tried to tell you. I know. I told you he was dynamic. It was Patrick Mahomes. He was second in the NBA and total assists. That's the equivalent to 50 touchdown passes. No, that's a good point. He's dynamic matters.

It matters. By the way, you can say this too. One of the reasons I think Zion's going to work is the college basketball. is so cluttered in the middle. And like Zion, like the NBA is wide open. It's a bunch of 245-pound European seven-footers. Zion can finish. Rashad Phillips, NBA analyst.

Great seeing you, bud. You too. I appreciate you. Talk soon. Talk soon. Joy with the news. No. No.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So yesterday, Woj detailed what David Griffin expects in return for Anthony Davis. The request is substantial. an all-star, a young player with all-star potential, and two first-round picks. If you recall, the Lakers' previous trade deadline offer centered around their entire young core, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart, and two first. That's kind of crazy to even read that.

A few months later, all things have changed, and the Lakers have even more assets to work with now after being awarded the number four pick in the draft. So, as we discussed earlier, this kind of seems like it's playing, right into the Lakers' hands because it seems like it's been narrowed down to the Lakers and the Nicks. And I can't even believe the Lakers offered that. It's incredible. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and two firsts. In my life, this is crazy.

Here's a rule you've had, I'm sure, you've owned a home before you sold or own a condo sold. The first offer, Joy, is always the best offer. Years ago, I had a house in Portland. I got a great offer. And I was like, no way, I can do way better at house sat there for two years. It's crazy in real estate. Because what happens in real estate, there's generally somebody hovering around your neighborhood looking for a house. Yours comes open and you're like, well, God, come on.

The first guy walks in an hour later, like, no, that's the best buyer. He's been hovering around your neighborhood. The Lakers who gave you the farm and you're going to get one quarter of that hall now. Yeah, maybe. I mean, it's going to come. The Pelicans have to move Anthony Davis, and they want to get the best offer, obviously, but the Knicks have already done that.

The Knicks have already given away the farm to get one singular star in Carmel and Anthony, and that did not work out for them. They're not going to do that again, even though it's a new front office still. That residue of how that all worked out is there. So that is outrageous for Anthony Davis. But you better not give up the farm because Anthony Davis and LeBron are 54 points.

You need another 65 to be a top team in the league. And you got to keep Kuzma or Brandon. You got to keep one of those forwards. No, it's ridiculous. You can't give all that up. It's crazy. So the Raptors had a chance to win it all last night with a basket on the final possession of game five. But the Warriors played lockdown defense.

And Draymond Green actually blocked a Kyle Lowry game winning attempt from the corner after the game Lowry walked through what happened on that final play. We tried to get Kauai to his right side. They doubled off of him. He swung it to Freddy. and Freddie had a look and he threw it to me in the corner and Draymond got a piece of it he blocked him and I'm not going to miss it behind it

he got a little piece of it. If Draymond doesn't get it, did it feel good under your hands? Yeah, I mean it felt great out of my hands here. He got a piece of it so, you know, great defenders do. People were sort of roasting Lowry for taking that final shot and Kauai for passing it. I would have liked to see Kauai go for it and even if he had gotten the shot blocked or lost it,

At least it was in Kauai's hands in the final seconds. I know it was the right play to pass it because he was doubled. I will always support right play. I will not because I think in those moments it comes down to superstars and superstar moments. And I would rather see the superstar give it all his effort and it not work out. I can't even concentrate because Rashad Phillips said Zion's not very good. I can't even. I'm looting of fog.

He said he was terrible if I recall. He did not. He did not say he wasn't good. He just said that John Miranda's top prospect. And a lot more people are being critical of Zion's game than you think. And it's not because he's not. That's not terrible. Earl could leave that your house tonight scored 19.

Yeah, I'm sure he could. He's 40. I'm sure he could. Well, he'll be 40 tomorrow. But yes, I'm sure he could. But Zion's not, Zion has to develop a skill. How about I'm going to dunk on your skill? Yeah, that is.

That works for a long time. but then eventually you age, as we all do. And athleticism is not a skill. And that's not me being critical of Zion. I think Zion is going to be great. But I understand what he's saying. John Morant is a dynamic player, and he will be the quarterback of the Grizzlies.

We'll see. You're such an exaggerator. Finally, Katie was seen leaving the arena before the game ended in the walking boots and crutches. Very sad scene. But immediately after the Warriors won, he took to Instagram with an emotional message following his team's late heroics.

He wrote, I'm hurting deep in the soul right now. I can't lie, but seeing my brothers get this win was like taking a shot at tequila. I got New Life, L.O.L. hashtag Dougs. He also made a prediction for game six at Oracle Arena on Thursday.

Deb Nation is going to be loud as bleep for game six. He is right about that. That is going to be the wine cheese crowd is going to be turnt. I know you learn what that meant last week. It is going to be a good scene there for game six. But I just think that the emotion is drained from the Warriors. Once 80 went down and the Raptors fans were cheering, I felt like they were going to win that game. Yes, yes. But I don't think that they have enough left to get game six. I think it's going to be an interesting first quarter and I think Toronto is going to hammer them. I think Toronto's going to drop the wrecking ball on the Warriors and then two hours later, there'll be a wrecking ball in Oracle and the arena's over. I think it's going to be a really ugly. I think the Warriors are going to be flat. I think there's going to be this massive cheer for Kevin Durrower.

rant from the crowd, and then the building's going to go flat after about nine minutes, and Toronto's depth and size is just going to suffocate the Warriors. I don't know that it's going to be as big of a margin of win as you do, but I just think it comes down to in the ends that Toronto should have won that game last night, and it was just an extra emotional push, and they are champions. It's not forget who the Warriors are just because they're down. They are champions, but I just think that they take game six, and really the Raptors can't afford go to a game seven with the Warriors.

No, enjoy it with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Live News. Rick Buker's got good info. FS1 analyst next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced 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 rapidly. 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 All healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway 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 with 42.

Hey, Wreck. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.

Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, IZAD, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, it's funny. Rick Buechers joining us, Senior Writer, Bleacher Report, here now, FS1 NBA analyst and family. So I'm watching Katie get hurt last night Before we get to the blame thing And I'm thinking

I'm Kauai Leonard and I'm Jimmy Butler And I'm all these NBA guys And I'm thinking, you think I'm giving up a guaranteed money year? I'm watching the best player in the game Get hurt again And I'm boogies hurt And Clay's hurt To me that thing resonated last night

I'm not giving up 30 I would never tell my son As an NBA athlete You know you'll make the 30 million up. I see him travel. I see his work. I see his stress. I see the hate. I see the It depends on the injury. And it depends on the injury history. With Clay and his hamstring, pushing the envelope a little bit, he hasn't had issues, right? And so I believe that's in a different place. And if it's above the waist, if it's elbow, if it's a wrist, what Kyle

Lowry's dealing with, you can go with that. But for KD. who has had recurring calf issues with that particular leg, to think that there wasn't going to be something potentially catastrophic. I mean, ultimately, that's the thing. I couldn't erase from my mind all the people that are close to KD, who I knew were telling him, dude, it's a bad bet. Don't play. It's not worth the risk.

Why didn't he listen? because he wanted to prove that he's not a cupcake. He is a tough guy. He doesn't leave his teammates in the lurch. He shut out all the people that were saying do the prudent thing, and he wanted to do the heroic thing. And ultimately, he needed somebody who had the veto power to say, KD, we know where your heart is.

You have nothing to prove to us. You're not going to play. Not you don't have to play, you're not going to play. And that didn't happen. Who do you blame? Warriors had the veto power. Obviously, you know, Bob Myers took it upon himself. He was getting advice, obviously, from the medical staff and the training staff, etc.

But I put a little bit of this on the players, collectively on the team. First of all, they were never clear on what the injury was or where he was. was there was a lot of gray area and a lot of uncertainty. And as a result, all of that flipped back on KD. Like, why isn't he playing? Tim Kawakami from the Athletic wrote about the frustration in the locker room. You don't think KD felt that and was responding to that. Okay, you know what?

I'm going to go out there. I'm going to try to make it happen. So across the board, the warriors had the ability, much like they sat clay in game three, there was no need. But I feel the desire to three-peat. you're in a close you're facing a closeout game and ultimately you don't know whether KD is going to stay or not so let's just let's throw everything in the middle

and see if we can get away with it and KD paid the ultimate price it feels like Joy and I said this I could see when's the next game is it Wednesday? Thursday I could see Golden State coming in last game at Oracle.

Durant stands. The crowd gives them an ovation. They play for six great minutes and then are flat. And the Warriors just don't have the length. They don't have the health. They don't have the depth. I don't think Looney's going to play. I could see Thursday being the last game at Oracle.

Looney not playing once again would be as, I don't want to say, as big a blow as KD. But I thought that the Raptors had the capability of winning game five with or without KD. because the issue is not at the offensive end. Yes, they got it going, and yes, they were lighting it up when KD was out there. But defensively, Toronto can still get whatever they want. They may not shoot the three quite as well, but they get everything at the rim, and they're getting second chance points.

And unless the Warriors are red hot from long range, that eventually wears you down, especially with how well Toronto can defend. The reality is the Raptors have been the better. team from far more minutes throughout this series. And I just don't know that how that I don't know how that's going to change. And as you and I have talked about, Oracle doesn't carry the same mystique and intimidation factor. They lost these last two games.

And everybody said after the Raptors lost game two. Oh, the big psychological hurdle. Now it's going to be a five game series. They blew their best shot. Toronto rolled in there and won games three and four. I see no reason why they couldn't do that in game six. By the way, Kauai looked like, it was a weird game. He had like three great minutes.

He looked shot, doesn't he? Well, he's having to work really hard. He is still compromised physically. And this is where the Raptors are a little bit of a disadvantage because you can tell with their team, everybody is like, oh, here we go, here we go. Oh, closeout game for the finals. Who's done that here?

Oh, Kauai has. Let's see if he can bring us home because nobody else knows exactly how to operate or execute. They had one basket last 328. Yeah. And I thought the Warriors actually were offensively. The passing was great. I thought they were really good in the last three minutes. Tremend.

Well, they know exactly what they want. They know exactly what they want to go to. Steph's not going to hesitate taking the shot. Clay is not going to, they know what their A, B, and C plan is and what they're looking to get. With the Raptors, it's Kauai, can you get us something? Oh, you can't? Okay, what are we going to next? There wasn't a concise plan.

Some of that I put on Nick Nurse, but some of it is simply they've never been in this situation before. But I didn't like the last shot and the last play at all because it didn't look like they really had a formulated plan other than get the ball to Kauai and see what it. he can do. How does this not change the Kevin Durant free agent move? He's family now. Walking him into the locker room, you don't give up on family. Just have him max out, give him a new five-year deal guaranteed. Well, I have no doubt that they would do that. Right. And the last thing I see him doing is opting in for just one year. Well, why would I, I wouldn't do that. Yeah. No, get the long-term security, whatever it may be. But that said, if the medical staff and the pressure from the warriors, if KD sits for this little bit for a bit and says, I'm in this position because I gave

in to what they wanted as opposed to what was best for me. You think he'd do that? I don't know. Why don't I, Bob Myers call today? And I call Rich Climman. And I say, listen, this is awful. Have him opt out. We'll max him for five. Let's make this family. We're not letting him go. I think I would, if I'm Kevin Durant, there's no way I'm turning that down. Five years, 250 million. It's hard to turn down. It is, but money is not the sole driving force with Kevin Durant. For the same reason he left Oklahoma City and he wanted the experience of someplace else. He's a, I don't want to get too mystical here. He's kind of a seeker. Like we, we said it. in terms of, hey, it's money, it's championships, it's all that.

KD, I get the sense, is more about experiences and testing himself in a variety of ways. And that's going to lead. That sounds very oh high, California. It might be, it sounds kind of Ouija board, but I honestly, being around KD and having conversations with them. I can seek more lettuce, too. There's nothing wrong with being a wander. I can wander over the bank and take out more money.

This whole thing about giving up $40 million It's like athletes, you're 30 You're going to be lived to be 90 Okay, but there are a select few KD's one of them Where what they're able to do off the court Dwarfs what they're getting as a salary So it's just the 40 million

Is not enough of an enticement The look is if I go to New York and I'm the bomb I will make that up in a heartbeat. I hear a lot of this if I'm not a big if guy you know why I came to Fox over, you know, Bravo? Because Fox had proven. Yeah.

Simpsons, Fox News, Fox Business, NFL. I, you know, this network over here, if things go right, the Vice News will, I'm not a big if guy when it goes up against guarantee guy. I like guarantees in my life. You know, if she stops smoking and starts treating you well, the relationship could be great. I'll go over. She doesn't smoke and she doesn't smoke.

treats me nice. But I think there's a sweet spot here for you in that there's there was the challenge, but there was also the vehicle that you said, this is the best, I can challenge myself, and this is the best vehicle to get me there. I believe Kevin Durant is looking at the same thing. If I can win New York, I can win in New York. Why are you so, why are you so down on New York? Just like, do you really want him to stay with Golden State? Yes, I do. But that's the, that is the safe choice, is it not? Yeah. I like safe.

Go to the bank, get my money out. It's safe. Hour three next. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, here we go. Hour number three.

This is the herd. Live in L.A. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, We're on iHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, all over Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, that's her stuff. We're not on FS1 because the Women's World Cup. By the way, United States Women's National Team plays in one hour from now. So we're off TV all this week, and then next week is well,

but next week, Joy and I are on vacation. I have no idea. People always come up. Who's filling in for you? No idea. I'll be inter tubing on a lake in Utah with my son. It's really not one of those things. Has Gottlie been?

Gotting been who? Do we know who? Is Gottlieb and veteran newsman John Goulet? All right. My son loves intertubing on the water. Loves it. You're also going white water rafting, right? Going to go whitewater rafting.

Have you done that before? Oh, yeah. I've gotten thrown off a boat before. Into the wild, the wilderness. I'm just sitting there with an otter arm wrestling him. Yeah, I'm quite the outdoorsman. It's very dangerous. Oh, I am.

Listen. Do you think you could survive? Like, if you got tossed from the boat and we're just stuck in the middle of Well, you don't get stuck because a rapids flush you down the river. And so I'd eventually hit a rock and, you know, bounce into the bank and be okay. You're a good swimmer? Yeah, good swimmer. Then I go up to, you know, Robert Redford owns that place called Sundance in Utah.

It's a small ski resort. There's way better places to ski. But in the summer, they have these unbelievable zip lines where you're like 2,000 feet in the air. Oh, it's zany crazy. It is nuts. my son did those last year. I was just like, he's brave. Little boys. My son doesn't have any fear of anything. No, little boys are not afraid of anything.

They don't feel any pain. They just fall and live snakes. They just don't care. They just don't care. The kids are just crazy. So my son literally all he talks about all week. I cannot wait to go. Are you going to do the zip lining too? I'll do it too. Yeah, it's crazy. I may not return. I mean, I'm zip lining. I'm doing whitewater. rafting. He did get a little scared a couple years ago. I got a dune buggy and we went up in the

mountains and he's like, Dad, we're lost. And I'm like, we are. And he didn't like that at all. He's like, turn around. I'm like, well, there's a dad, there's bears here. And I wanted to say, yeah, it's worse than that. It's called the wilderness. There's everything up here. So, you know, you do what you do. Summers are, summers are the best, right? Baseball hat, shorts. Summers are the best. Although it was scorching hot here yesterday. Yeah. So there you go. BJ Armstrong is going to show up 10, 15 minutes. Listen, I've said if KD didn't get hurt last night, we have a game seven,

because I think they'd go back to Oracle and win. But I think the series is over. Golden State shot 48% on threes and won by a point. I think Toronto's deeper, longer, healthier. KD is out. Kvon Looney won't play. The road teams won four games in the series, so I don't think Oracle means anything.

I don't think Stefan Clay can shoot that well. Boogie's not good when you need him. He's kind of the, you know, he's the off speed pitch when you don't need him. He's great. The series feels over. I don't think Golden State, despite Clay and Steph in the back court, has the scoring, the depth, the size, the length. You know, I just, I don't see it. I said coming into the series, I thought it was going to be a good series.

Pascal Saiocham, it's hard to defend him. in the NFL they call these cluster injuries where you go into a game and you're missing three offensive linemen it's cluster injuries it's all the bigs Toronto's greatest asset beyond Kauai is length and size and all golden states bigs are hurt KD's size like last night when KD showed up it wasn't just his shooting it was his energy and his length on defense event

he's out Kvon Looney 6-9 out boogie you know he's playing it whatever he's playing at he's not in shape they don't clearly want to put Andrew Bogot on the floor. So I think the series is over. The line is surprisingly, Golden States favored. I'm taking Toronto on the points all day. I'm not going to make any guarantees because last time I did that, I lost.

We also have been talking a lot about superstars moving. And, you know, the NBA is fine. The business is humming. But we thought Zion was going to go to New York. It never happened. We thought KD was for sure going to New York. I don't think this morning that's happening. And I think what's going to happen of all these free agents,

I think Jimmy Butler is going to stay in Philly. I think Clay is going to stay with the Warriors. I think KD is staying in San Francisco. I think Kauai, there's a strong case to stay in Toronto where they're very comfortable with him, missing 23 games. By the way, they are the clippers, but he can hide in Canada. He still bought his home in California. That's way down in San Diego.

That's not where he's going to live. I think you can make an argument. You're going to get taxed in California. Toronto. Toronto is going to bring back the exact same players next year. Then the following year, they're going to lose a bunch of guys and have the ability to go just buy the best player available. And I think they're going to be winning a lot of games.

You know what? It's funny about the NBA. Two years ago, we thought, you know what? LeBron's going to win the East forever. He left. And then we thought a year ago, Boston, once LeBron leaves, they're going to own this thing forever. Oh, no, that didn't work.

And then we're like, Milwaukee, this is there. No, there's Toronto. And now we think Toronto's going to, Cole, I may leave. The East is just, you just don't know. I mean, in the NBA, we've had one certainty. You know, Golden State's going to be good. Everything else is up for grabs.

And I've said this, the big moves in the NBA historically are not free agent moves. They're trades. And I think the biggest move and the move that will have the most profound effect will be Anthony Davis to the Lakers, who if they don't have to give up both coups, and Ingram, I think Anthony Davis, LeBron, and Kyle Kuzma is the NBA's best front court. And I think they're going to be, now, if I was the Lakers, I would try, I'd say, listen, Kuzma Ingram, take it.

Fourth pick, take it. First pick, take it. Get another team involved. I wouldn't want to give up Lonzo. And one of the forwards, I think they're going to have to because I think the Pelicans look at it and say, Lonzo, the dealer to Zion, is really magic. And I think Lonzo has got some swag. I think he's got, by the way, I think he can play.

But the second thing is, I think he's pretty marketable. I think Lonzo is pretty marketable. USC or UCLA, Dad, Lakers, play with Zion. I got to be honest. If I lived in New Orleans and I had Lonzo ball, Drew Holiday, and Zion, I'd buy a season ticket. And the third or fourth pick. So I think, you know, we're talking about all these players moving. The most impactful move could very well be a trade.

and that's what history in the NBA tells you. The big three was a trade. You know, getting Kevin Love to LeBron, James and Kairi, that was a trade. Trades run this league, not free agency and not the draft. So I think the Lakers are in the catbird seat. I think in January, the Pelicans had all the leverage, and they blew it. They got overly emotional. Don't get emotional.

Like your sports, love your life. I think the Pelicans got way too emotional and blew it. I think now LeBron, Rich Paul, and Anthony Davis and the Lakers have all the leverage. Anthony Davis has said, I only want to play in New York and L.A. And L.A. has got more assets than New York. New York doesn't have any players. Nobody wants Dennis Smith Jr. He's a headcase. Kevin Knox is good, not special.

I think Brandon Ingram's a better player. So if I'm the Lakers, I feel great. I wake up this morning. I got the leverage. I would not give up both forwards. I would prefer not to give up Lonzo. I'd give up the number four picking a heartbeat. and I'd give up one of the forwards.

I'd rather keep Brandon Ingram has a higher ceiling. And I think with that blood issue, David Griffin may be a little reluctant. Also, Zion's a forward. Do you need? I think they want Lonzo. I think that's the big argument. I think the Lakers would like to retain Lonso.

LeBron likes him. And LeBron and Lanzo, when they were on the floor last year, the plus minus was really good. The Lakers were at their best when Lanzo and LeBron were on the floor together. So maybe you give up both forwards and you keep Lanzo. And the next year you have Lonzo at the point, LeBron, Anthony Davis, and maybe you just say to yourself, Anthony's, we don't need our forwards.

But I have a feeling the big move of all these moves could very well be Anthony Davis to the Lakers. Could very well. I'd love to be listening in on those phone calls with David Griffin and Rob Polink, I think. I think it'd be fascinating phone calls. You have to think about it. I don't even know who. Linda Rambos, I have no idea. think those are, you know, if I'm the Lakers this morning, my takeaway is listen.

Okay, Anthony Davis is our big. Okay, so Anthony's are big. I'm getting 25 and 13. So I got my big. I got my center and my power forward. LeBron's, my small forward, my point forward, my ball handler, and can hit a three. Maybe I say to myself, I don't need Brandon or Kuzma. You can have 36 points, but then again, New Orleans is saying, we got Zion, we got

forward. So I don't think they want two forwards. So I think they want one forward because Julius Randall will leave and you take, you know, I think they like Brandon Ingram more. And I think the Lakers like Brandon Ingram more than Kyle Kuzma. I think Lanzo's the tipping point in this. I think the Lakers want him and the Pelicans want him. And they both have a really good argument.

Lonzo was Zion as magic. And LeBron and Lanzo had the best plus minus of all the combinations on the floor. So Lanzo ball here becomes, as much as we kind of roll our eyes at the ball family sometimes, Lonzo Ball is a big deal in this move. He can hit a three. He had about eight to 12 games before he got hurt. He was playing great basketball. Finishing at the rim, more aggressive, taking more threes, playing well with LeBron.

Pretty good ball on ball defender. Not great, but not terrible either. BJ Armstrong's around the corner. 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. I'll be J Armstrong now an agent three-time champ and an all-star over a decade in the NBA you remember a course those seven eight years with the Chicago Bulls teammates with Steve Kerr in Chicago for two years you represent by the way Derek Rose we just talked about this off the air so Kevin

Durant's a man he's heard the narrative it's Steph's team you're not there there's just personal guilt you feel detached I totally sympathize with Kevin Durant saying I'm getting out there I'm giving you 25 minutes You know, you represent Derek Rose. He went through this. Yes. Brutal. It really is.

It's such a dilemma for these young men. And, you know, that was one of the reasons I got into the business is because I, you know, to a lesser degree, had to go through this in my own personal playing days. You know, I went through like six surgeries. I had six surgeries as a player. And I wish I would have had someone to speak with that had the institutional knowledge of the. effects of what this is going to happen to you once you're done playing. And what I mean by that is, you know, as a player, the player BJ wanted to play. There was no doubt about it. But Benjamin, you know, that's my name. Benjamin, the person, you know, you have to have a way to think about

this. Like, wait a minute. If I go out there and play, am I really respecting the game? Because once you have a lower extremity injury, you never feel on balance. So what do you think what do you think Rich Clyman, his agent was telling KD? I have no idea.

But what I do know is when I went with this with Derek, when he was injured, D-Rose that character, the MVP, this explosive guard, averaging 25, 26 points a game, D. Rose was ready to come back.

But at a certain point, I had to talk to Derek and say, Derek, let's think about this because you not only have now, you have to think about your career and what you're going to do and think about the big picture here. And that is the dilemma for all of these athletes, right? If the person isn't developed, the player will never develop. And right now, I would hope that whoever Kevin confides in with his inner circle, that he's able to say, Kevin has to come to. the front now because KD is injured. Because all athletes to some degree are Superman. They were a cape. Absolutely. But you can go Clark can't. Yes. So now with this injury, you're faced with, okay, what am I going to do? The person now has to come to the fore. And you have to be able

to wait to take this information because the athlete in all of us, I can do this. Right. And once an athlete turns the light off, it's off. It's off. So as an athlete, You have to keep the light on, but at some point, the person has to be able to say, you know what, out of respect to the game, I can't play the game because physically I'm not ready or maybe I'm just not ready to perform at the way I need to perform at this time. I watch Kevin get hurt and my take-a-we is I'm Jimmy Butler, I'm Co-I Leonard, I'm Clay Thompson, I'm Kyrie Irving. I'm not giving up guaranteed money.

I'm amazed at this as an agent. I'm Co-I-Leonard, you're my agent. Yes. Okay, I'll reverse it. You're Kauai. I'm the agent. Okay. So are you sure Kauai when you go to L.A.,

they're going to give you 24 games off load management? Because there are going to be billboards up all over the town about the culture of the clippers. You don't have to worry about that here. You've got 25 games off. That's a real thing to me. Well, I think the work environment and being able to understand what's real and what's not real, you know, many times with this money, and we're talking about, talking about these max players, right?

The Kauai Leonard's and the players of that magnitude, of that level, comes a responsibility. And the responsibility is now that you've been paid, now you've got to perform. That's the X factor. And with that comes the expectations of, we did our part. Now it's time for you to do your part. The owner, the GM, the fans, the media. We're all like, we know 24 load management games. Yes.

So with that comes a responsibility. And I think, again, those are the things that you have to think it all the way through. You can't just continue to say, well, I did it there because every situation, every environment is different. And if you find something that works for you, stick with it. And that would be my advice to Kauai. If you found something that works for you. Toronto. You know, funny story calling, when Michael went and when he went to Washington,

Yeah. And I had saw him over the summer and we were working out. And he comes back to me and he said, you know what? I had to go and play with the Washington Wizards to have an appreciation for what all of you guys did for me playing in Chicago. And he had an appreciation that we understood what he needed to be Michael Jordan. And we understood and he understood what he needed to do so that we can be a great team. And once you find that chemistry, you stick with it. BJ, I have a saying in life, I tell my kids this.

Don't try to get happier than happy. It's hard to be happy. I want to be super happy if you start taking exits off the interstate that are bad decisions. And I was so appreciative of that because I knew he always appreciated what we did for him as the role players playing with the great player. But the fact that he acknowledged it and saw that, you know what, it was a great fit. It was, you know, playing with the BJ Armstrongs, the Scotty Pippins, the Steve Kerr's, and all of the role players who allowed him to be what he needed to be. And then he understood what we needed from him.

And it was just a great fit. And it took for him to go play somewhere else to go, God, that was, it was a right thing for me at that time. And you've got to, and you have to learn those lessons. And hopefully, Kauai and all these other players, when it fits, it fits. You don't know why, but it just fits. There's an old saying in baseball. Nobody loves you like the team that drafts you because they got to put you in the minors for five years. Right.

They have to groom you. By the time you get to the majors, you're their baby. Yes. And then you get traded and make a lot of money in another team, but they didn't put the work in. They didn't put the time. So Michael finally figured out, you know, he had to leave to go, God, everybody got me. Everybody got it. But what about this whole thing about guys that leave to go home again?

Like Kauai, I'm from L.A. DeRosen, I'm from L.A. Kevin Durant doesn't seem to have any interest in D.C. I think going home again can be a trap. Yeah, it's tough. And, you know, every player that I've worked with and every client that I've had to have to go home because there's so many other distractions, you have family, you're from there, friends, and there's more expectations when you come home.

When the band comes home, they've got to get tickets for everybody. Yes. And so that's tough. Playing at home, it takes a special personality to be able to manage that because you need a team of people around you to really help you navigate all of the things that, you know, when I got drafted in Chicago, I was a kid from Detroit. So I was just getting adjusted, didn't really know anyone. And it was an easy transition. You could be selfish and do your own thing. Absolutely.

But if I played in Detroit, I got to get my aunts and my uncles and my friends and my parents and high school coaches. God, that seems like a pain of the butt. Yeah, it is. Because the one thing, Colin, that young people, when you come into this league, and I had to learn it the hard way as well, saying you have to learn how to say no. And if you're playing at home, how do you say no to people who grew up and really know you? And so I think that's the most difficult thing, is learning how to say no, especially when you're younger, when you first come in this league. B.J. Armstrong, an NBA champ three times with MJ's Bulls, a teammates with Steve Kerr.

a couple of different years, NBA All-Star as well, and now an agent for the Wasserman group. You know, I said when I watched these finals, Kauai is running out of gas, but he's not hurt. I could make the argument that players around the league are looking at that load management business decision, Kauai made, and I'm thinking if I'm James Harden, I'm taking 22 games off. I mean, seriously, I mean, James looked tired. do you think it's possible? And I don't think it's great for the league, but that a lot of people are looking at Kauai and thinking,

you know what? Load management is a new term, and 18, 20 games off is how you stay fresh and not die by the end of the first round. I watch Westbrook, pour his heart on the floor every game and looked exhausted in the last two years. By the end of the first round, he's shot, he's frazzled, he's emotionally drained.

Load management, here to stay? Well, you know, I grew up in an era in this league where there was no Sustina's load management. I know. Okay. I grew up in a league where for the entire month of November, or October, I should say, when we started the season, you did two a days and you didn't miss a day. Okay. So it's really hard for me to get into this load management theme without having. Now, I think what's different about today's game is the pace in which they're playing.

Oh, my God. Track meat. Yes, they're playing the game differently than we play. So I acknowledge that. But I also acknowledge that the cultures that we've set today, when every hour here, coach, for the most part, I'm not saying all, but majority of coaches, what is the first thing they say when they lose a game? I have to look at the tape and we've got to work harder.

Working harder can't be the solution to every single thing. Right. Okay, these guys are professionals. and they have to learn how to make not only physical adjustments, which you have to go out there and do, but you have to learn how to make mental adjustments during the game. You have to learn how to become a professional in this league, which is changing your diet,

changing your habits how you travel, changing your sleep patterns, and all of those little things as you transition from a amateur player to a professional player will actually have an impact on what you're doing when you're performing in the game, because performance is the X factor. So the one thing that I always encourage all of my clients is how quickly can you become a pro? How quickly can you become a true professional?

Tom Brady is a professional. I heard I won't mention the player. I don't want to dog him. But I heard there's a player on the East Coast. He's a star player and he's still clubbing and he's been in the league six years. Okay. And it's like, dude, got to get over that. Like you're an entity.

Yes, absolutely. So, you know, I remember when Pat Riley first got down there to Miami, Pat Riley had the hardest training camps. It was like legendary. Every player knew that everyone loves to go to Miami, but if you played for the Miami Heat, you had to make a choice. And am I going to go to the club or am I going to get ready for you couldn't do both? You couldn't do both.

And to me, that's what being a professional is all about. Now, when you have the self-discipline to say, I don't need those extracurricular things and you take your job with a certain level of consistency that you need to perform up here. Now, I don't think all of the load management, all the things plays into it that much big of effect. And I'm not saying Kauai is doing that.

But what I am saying is that the game is different and you have to manage the way you play and perform in today's athlete because it's a different game. B.J. Armstrong, I want to go back to Michael Jordan on this. So you guys were really a rock tour. You were like the Eagles or you two You were a rock tour So you see your stories about Michael

And there's cigars and the wine And all the wildness But when you traveled With that team You were also a dynasty twice Right Was there a lot of time in the season? Did the team eat right?

Was it what were the parties as wild Because you always hear about cards playing And staying up late What was it like with the Bulls? Because those were pros The key is we have professionals. Like, you know, Michael gets all of the credit, as he should, because he was our best player. He was, he was just truly gifted.

Yeah. But we had professionals, true professional. Bill Cartwright was a pro's pro. Like, I learned how to play in the NBA from Bill Carwright. Like, I learned how to dress. I learned how to eat. I learned how to sleep. I learned how to travel.

So Bill was one of those. Bill was a pro. He was a pro. He was what we prefer. We referred to him as the teacher. He was the teacher. Like, when you came into our team... Even Michael listened to him?

Absolutely. Without question, he was the teacher. Bill Carwright was our pulse of our team. Isn't that funny? He was our... He was our guru. Like, Bill didn't say much. He had that raspy voice.

He didn't say much. But when he did speak, everyone listened. Because he was the teacher. What would he say to you, BJ? When I first came in, he said, look, young man, first of all, I just want you to listen. And if you listen,

you'll be okay in this league. Because you're coming into a team that we're not expecting you to play. You have to perform. So I didn't come into this league as a... I didn't get an opportunity to find my way around this league. I came into a team that was ready to perform.

Screw off, let's get thrown to the side. And I didn't have a chance to find out whether I was going to be a 15-point score or 18-point score or whether I was going to be a point guard or two guard. I had to come in and figure out how to perform with this group because I had a player who was already an all-star, already, you know, 30 points a game. And then I had this young kid, Scottie Pippen, who was up and coming. So I had to learn how to perform and play my role. So the great players have to play great. And the role players have to play their role great.

So I came in with the idea of Bill Cartwright was like, we got to get you caught up to speed ASAP. We don't have a half a year for you to figure out who you are. And that was like, like for anyone to take that type of interest in you was like, B-12 shot, man. It was like, it was incredible. And like, he would teach me like how to get up and eat. Like at that time, we were traveling commercial and Bill would teach me how to get up and go and eat, how to get myself ready for the game, how to get ice for myself, how to travel. At that time, we had to wash our uniforms. Bill, did all of those things for us.

Take two pair of shoes. Take three pairs of shoes. When you travel, because if one messes up, you got to. So those were like little things that I, I'm forever grateful because he showed me how to be a pro in this league. That's why you need vets on a team. I mean, you can have Zion and all these kids in New Orleans. You've got to have a Drew Holiday.

You've got to have a grown-up. Bill Cartwood was the best. Bill Carverick got me to change my diet. I ate a lot of meat and I did things. And he was like, no, you can't do that. you know he just showed me how to get myself ready to perform and he was a sinner he wasn't a point it was just like like you know adult in the room yeah like you know bill would be like okay you know what let's warm up and when you warm up I want you to sign all the autographs as you're

walking off the floor I was like why it was like because you know what it's the respectful thing to do for all of these people here that respect what we do I love hearing stories like that and he was I mean Bill is like one of the greatest team I've ever had. And I've had some great teammates, but he taught me how to be in the person that I became and the player I became in this league. NBA agent with a loss from an agency, BJ Armstrong. Love having you on the show, man.

It's always a pleasure. Thank you for having me. You bet. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. So the Rafters had a chance to win it all last night with a basket on the final

possession, but the Warriors played lockdown defense and J. on Green blocked a Kyle Lowry game winning attempt from the corner. And after the game, Lowry walked through what happened on that final play. We tried to get Kawhi to his right side. They doubled off of him. He swung it to Freddie. And Freddie had a look and he threw it to me in the corner. And Dreimann got a piece of it.

He blocked him. And I'm not going to miss it behind it. He got a little piece of it. If Dreemann doesn't get it, did it feel good out of your hands? Yeah, I mean, it felt great out of my hands. He got a piece of it. So, you know, great defenders do. it looks like

Lowry took just a horrible shot but you know obviously we have replaced we got to see that Draymond get a piece of it I really don't like that Kauai didn't do more that couldn't have been the play right like didn't drop the play for Kyle

Lowry like whatever they had planned clearly fell apart right I feel like you have to anticipate that Kauai is going to get double teams in that spot as well but I just I know it was the right basketball play to pass it out but

I don't know. Even when LeBron did that in the infamous game, when we pass up the final shot for Kyle Corver, I just feel like you're the superstar. You have to make it happen. You and I disagree on that. I am for the proper basketball play. I think it comes down to superstars in big moments in these games,

and that's just what you've got to do. Maybe that's unrealistic of me, and they probably would have blocked his shot, and then everyone would have said, well, someone else was open. But I would have rather seen that happen than Kyle Lauer getting his shot blocked in them. for the corner three. It was not a great last time.

To win the series and the championship. So another shocking moment from last night. When Katie went down, some of the Toronto crowd started cheering and they were like waving goodbye. Raptors, obviously, the Warriors players reacted and telling everyone that they needed to be quiet. But the Raptors players also tried to silence the cheering fans. And they did.

And then fans started clapping for Katie when he walked off and then started a Katie chant. but after the game, Steve Kerr thanked Raptors players for doing that. The Raptors players were telling the crowd to be quiet out of respect, which I appreciated. Some of the fans were cheering when it happened, and I think the Raptors players understood, you know, how serious it was, and they sort of quieted the crowd, and there was just a couple minutes there where it all seemed so eerie and strange. That game did feel very strange at the end. of it. It was like it ended and everyone was kind of like, wow, what just happens? Not that Toronto should have won what just happened, but okay, the Warriors won, they go back to Oracle,

but what happens now? We've had so many weird. I mean, we had an owner push and drop F-bombs to a player. We had the KD returns drama. We had the K-Gets, Clay gets hurt game. We had, I mean, last night, Steph and Clay, she'll like 50% on threes. It was just a crazy night. By the way, the road teams won four straight games. Yeah, they're down 3-1. It's ridiculous. I push back on that this hasn't been an interesting series. I think it's been great, and we thought that this whole thing was going to be a dud.

Even before last night, I thought that the series was interesting. LeBron's not in the finals, and it's fully engaging, and we have multiple levels of storylines to it. I think it's been great, and I don't like the idea that the Raptors should have some sort of asterisk because Katie was out. you can't control injuries. Everyone is injured at this point. Obviously, it's super unfortunate, but they've still been playing against unanimous multiple MVP's and the rest of the Warriors are not pushovers. It's just Raptors are a good team.

They deserve some credit for it. That situation with the fans was very unfortunate, but, you know, we've seen bad fan reactions before. It's not, it was classless, but it's not the end of the world. Finally, Anthony Davis is still hoping to find a new NBA home this summer. It was initially believed that he was considering four clubs for his long-term future. Well, Sean Strahania reports that he has to cut that list to just two.

The Lakers and, well, he has cut the list to two, the Lakers and the NICs. I don't know how the NICs win that trade now. They don't have any players. They have draft picks only. Well, S&Y is reporting that some within the NICs organization are uncomfortable with the idea of parting ways with so many pieces for one high-profile player like Davis. They did it. Because they did it for Carmelo Anthony, and that did not work out so well.

the residue from that move is still kind of lingering over New York. I think it's looking more and more like the Lakers can get this done. I don't think they should do their initial trade offer, which was, let me find. Let's see. Lanzo ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and two first round picks. That's too much. You have to have a guaranteed championship to give that much. Here's what I'd ideal, if I'm the Lakers, have the four pick.

I'll give you future one. I'll give you Brandon Ingram. And I'll give you Josh Hart. And I get to keep Kuzma. I think that's pretty good. I'm giving you Brandon, Josh Hart, the number four pick, and a one. And I even give you a future one. I don't want to give up.

I don't want to give up. I am not giving up Lonzo. I don't want to give up Lonzo or Kuzma. You can take one of them because now I'm going to have Anthony Davis. So that's the easiest thing to give away. The four pick this year and one of my forwards. That I'll do gladly. Then we're arguing.

I don't, I mean, I think they're. they're negotiating against themselves at this point. I think so too. Because I don't think in New York is going to do that. I don't. It seems like the other teams have kind of fallen out of it. I just, that initial, whatever you were offering before, it looks like the Pelicans should have took that because.

Should have. It's the biggest. You're not going to get that deal again. No way. The first offer on your house is usually the best offer. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The herd line. I'll show you why the finals is the most bizarre championship series we've ever seen. We'll give you some numbers. It's bizarre next and best for last. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome back. This has been a crazy series. Just crazy.

The finals, it's one of the most bizarre finals we've seen. Certainly could be very memorable. We want to do best for last today just to give you a sense of how crazy this series has been. right so let's um you want to do a best for last open make this feel special and unique let's do the best for last open after almost three hours Colin apparently hasn't gotten to the point yet quit holding out on us cowherd it's the best for last so before the finals even began you had the first Canadian team in the finals with their ambassador drake their coach had been hired after they fired the NBA coach of the year, and their new star player was replacing the most popular

player that ever had and was potentially a one-year rental. And the Warriors had swept Portland, and everybody was arguing they're better without Kevin Durant. That's before the series started. Then we get to game one. Warriors come in with the third best record all time in game one. Raptors had the second worst record all time in game one. And the Raptors win game one. and the player of the game is Pascal Seacum, 32 points. A little odd. Game two. DeMarcus Cousins, who we think is pretty much a shot fighter for the year,

11 points, 10 rebound, 6 assists, and was unbelievable. Kauai sets an odd NBA record. 16 for 16 at the free throw line. Never happened in an NBA finals. The Warriors scrape out a victory, but lose Clay Thompson and Caban looting injury. that was odd. Game three. Series shifts to Oracle.

The Warriors don't have KD. Clay and Kvon Looney. Warriors investor Mark Stevens pushes Kyle Lowry after he dives for a ball in the NBA finals. The Raptors drop 123 on the Warriors. Most the Warriors have surrendered in a home finals game under Steve Kerr. Raptors win. That was sort of odd. Game four. Clay Thompson, come on, Loney.

Come back. The Warriors still favored. But now their underdog suddenly the current dynasty to win the title. First time it's happened in three years. The Raptors win again, marking the third straight game won by a road team. That's pretty odd. Game five, series back to Canada. Raptors actually now favor to win game five.

Katie's done. No, he's not. He's back in and plays. And there is a report, of course, that KD is now going to play in the series, the Warriors go back to being favored. Now this is before Game 5. So now Game 5 happens.

KD lights out, 12 minutes in. Injury. Canadian fans, known as the world's most polite, cheer the injury briefly. The Warriors win, marking the fourth straight game that a road team has won. Odd game.

These are still More bizarre angles left in the series. Game 6 will be the Warriors' final home game in the oldest arena in the NBA. They've been playing there since the mid-60s. It's now called Oracle. So the last game in the oldest NBA building. The Warriors are the only team to blow a 3-1 lead in the finals. Now they're trying to come back from a 3-1 deficit.

They're now 3-2 trailing. And next year, the best player on each team, possibly isn't playing on either team. KD moves, Kauai leaves. So summary, in a span of 10 days, this has gone from kind of a forgettable matchup to one of the most bizarre matchups, one of the most injury riddled.

It's very complex. It's a complex, weird, odd series. Game 6 coming up at Oracle Thursday, and I like Toronto to win, I'd say handsomely, but I would say Toronto to win comfortably. in that series. I just think they're deeper, longer, ready to go. KD. out, Kvonne Luni out, and Boogie Cousins.

Your Biggs, cluster injury. I don't think they match up. I think Toronto gets too many easy baskets. And after the initial wave of emotion to celebrate KD and congratulate them and doff the cap, I think they just go flat. And I think the last hour of that game is a blowout. So the United States women's national team is playing soccer today. that's at least a pregame show starts in about eight or nine minutes you'll be watching joy i will be i'm very excited yeah they're they're much more um organized than the united states men's national team which is just a barnyard musical they got crushed by venezuela this weekend three nothing in Cincinnati just a mess disheartening we don't have that many national teams we don't have a national baseball team or a national

football team or we've got a national soccer team and we just are our our women's side is elegant and beautifully run, and our men's side is a garage sale that just caught fire. We just can't get it. We always blame the coach. It's never the coach. Bruce Arena can coach, Juergen could coach, new guy can coach, and we keep being bad. Is anybody ever thought maybe it's above the coaching? It's in the people that are running the organization. Everybody's always banging on the U.S. men's national coach. How come the women's coach, you know, outside of Hope Solo, nobody criticizes the women's national coach because women don't have the ego and the alpha and the constant neediness and they just go out and play soccer and kick bud.

And we can't believe that we don't have better players than the rest of the world. And we don't. So it's always blamed the coach. Bruce Arena, he's suddenly an idiot. Jurg and Cleansman is a bum. Nobody can coach. Bob Bradley, get him out of here. And the new guy who I don't know much about yet, he's now terrible.

I just read a story yesterday. He's terrible. Get him out of here. I mean, it never ends. I'm over it. That's why I drink, the United States Men's National Team. That is literally why I go home and have cocktails. Nick Wright, Cotino Mobley, will join us tomorrow on the show.

And we're officially in summer. It's going to be hot out there today. So speak for yourselves on FS2. Go check that out. We'll see you tomorrow. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear.

Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman,

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents,

So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips.

This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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