The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Lakers dysfunction, and the Raiders

Episode Date: May 28, 2019

Colin talks about the Basketball Gods pushing Golden State Warriors F Kevin Durant to New York, Warriors G Steph Curry not respected by his peers, the dysfunction of the Los Angeles Lakers, and more proof the Oakland Raiders don't have a plan. Guests include Chris Broussard, Matt Barnes, Ric Bucher, Reggie Bush, and Nick Nurse, Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist, and an Armenian businessman.

Multi-million dollar house, Ferrari's and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion-dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud

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

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

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs, banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3

Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. This on a Tuesday is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Nick Nurse, coach of the Toronto Raptors, will stop by Rick Buecker, Matt Barnes, Reggie Bush, Chris Brousard. It is great to have you, and Joy Taylor is joining me as we start.

Yesterday we were absolutely packed on Memorial Day. Joy, how are you? I'm great. How was your Memorial Day? It was nice. Went home, hung out with a family. A wife had been gone, came back. So it was nice. Good family day for everybody, and thanks so much for joining us. Many of you, the holiday weekend, we were here, but glad to be here because there was a lot of basketball.

I'm not an overly religious guy, but I do get a chuckle when LeBron James talks about basketball gods. He says, don't tempt them. Don't mess with the basketball gods. And, you know, I'm not overly superstitious, but I've met people and I know people who are superstitious. And, you know, it's like the placebo effect. If you think something could happen and there are basketball gods, maybe it gets into your head and maybe it does work. But when I look at Kevin Durant's injury, where the basketball God's talking, not only did Kevin Durant get injured, he got injured, you know, against that team, Houston. And that would be the perfect time for the basketball God to step in and say,

All right, KD, I'm going to send you a message. You're going to be fine without the Warriors, and they're going to be fine without you. You've missed a bunch of games, but I'm going to make this injury right at the time Golden State absolutely thinks they need you. I mean, wasn't this the series that last year Houston controlled until Chris Paul got hurt? This year, they needed all hands on deck. And the basketball God said, we're going to tweak that calf. We're not going to make it too serious. The Godgerow is pro basketball, but we're going to give you about a two-week tweak on this thing, and you'll step out, and the Warriors will win without you against the team that they thought they needed everybody.

And I think about this half seriously, but Austin, Texas is in Texas. It's not of Texas. I ski a lot in Park City, Utah. It's in Utah. It's not of Utah. Kevin Durant is on the Warriors. he's never really been of the Warriors. Steph and Claire are the heart of the team.

Low maintenance, low drama, early investors, Kevin Durant's high drama, all sorts of maintenance. We're not sure he's a great fit. He's so talented he's good, but it's an arguable fit. They're 31 and of their last 32 games without him. Steph playing in KD. Not. This has always been more of a fling. than a marriage.

I would love to see KD stay because I think he's smart and I think he's great and I say it all the time. Don't chase money. Chase good management. There's a sea of money. There's not a ton of great management. But let's be honest about this. KD. knows it's not a perfect fit.

He can feel it. And the warrior fans know it's not a perfect fit. They can feel it. And Draymond argued and yell at KD earlier this year because he doesn't think it's a perfect fit. We're all dancing around this thing. And the basketball God stepped in and said, Kevin, we're going to nudge you to New York.

And warriors, we're going to nudge you to not feel guilty about this. Because, folks, any time somebody great joins something already really, really good, you can feel when it's a perfect fit. Dion Sanders to the Dallas Cowboys was perfect. It was perfect. Glammer player, glamour owner, glamour franchise. It was perfect. By the second day, Jerry and Deion were doing commercials together.

When the Rock, Action Star, joined the Fast and Furious franchise, I mean, that thing felt five minutes after they named it, you're like, oh, yeah. The Rock, Fast and the Furious, that's perfect. Reggie Jackson, Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees, big stars, controversial. Baseball and the Yankees was the perfect fit. And you also know when the fit may work briefly but doesn't feel quite right. Chip Kelly to the Philadelphia Eagles. They went 10 and 6, 10 and 6, but in a cheese steak blue collar town, here was this Oregon guy with a new way to play football.

It didn't really ever feel perfect. Bobby Valentine, quirky guy, to the tradition-laden Boston Red Sox. That just didn't feel right from day one, even in spring training. You ever see a couple? You just know, oh, that'll work. And then you see Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts, and you're like, yeah, they may be married for a year, but that's not going to work. Kevin Durant is a warrior. He's not of the warriors.

He is a little maintenance. He is a little drama. He's a late investor. It's fine. It works. And I'm not a religious guy, but it's almost like the basketball. God's injury again and what a bizarre injury. Nobody

around him against Houston. Kind of nudging Kevin. Dude You're a little tight. Move to New York. Warriors You can win this series against your arch rival without him. Be strong. Move on.

Even Durant last week talked about it. He gets it. He feels it. It's not a perfect fit. How have you thought about their play? Our play? Yeah, yeah. I think we've been playing great. Do you feel like there is that, almost split where it's like you and them?

Most definitely. I mean, it's been that way since I got here is the Warriors and KD. You know what I'm saying? And I understand that. And I felt like my teammates and the organization know exactly what I've done. But I also know that a lot of people on the outside, you know, don't like to see us together. And I get it. He can feel it.

The city can feel it. The fans can feel it. and deep down Draymond Green voiced an opinion that a lot of people felt on the roster. We like you, but we can feel it too. It's never been a perfect fit, fling more than marriage. Let me shift to this. This sort of fell in our lap this morning. Big, big article.

I took a lot of reading this morning. A lot of reading. Place I used to work has a massive 20-page article on the dysfunction of the Lakers. massive article, a damning look at the Lakers. It's just bad all the way around. According to nearly two dozen current and former staffers, Magic and Polinka fraught with this function on and off the court. As one ex-Laker star privately told confidence,

it's effing crazy over there. They talked about how they built the roster after LeBron arrived. We all had the same reaction that the basketball world did. like what the blank is going on. Not only when we're not getting shooting, we're also getting every basket case left on the market. That from a coaching staff member for Luke Walton. Current and former team staffers told ESPN that Magic,

who has many business interests outside the Lakers, was frequently absent. He comes off to the fan base, Big Love and a Smile, said an ex-Laker athletic training official who interacted. directly with magic. But he's not. He's a fearmonger. Rob Polinkas also quoted here that, and this is very irregular for an NBA GM.

He would sit in on pregame and halftime coaching meetings. Front office executives, including GM, said that's not the way it works on the GM in the NBA. There's also this story in November, so this was early in the season. Rich Paul LeBron's agent was having lunch with Adam Silver, Maverick Carter, and basically saying this Luke Walton thing doesn't work. I want Ty Loo. So LeBron's agent in November was looking for another coach. So I've been saying for months on the air, and I get this a lot when I walk around Los Angeles, man, you're hard on the Lakers. I'm saying, no, it's worse than you think. It's worse than you think, but I'm not in the facility or around it, and I don't have stuff double and triple-sourced,

but this is essentially proof of what I've been saying for four months. It's worse than you think. and this article is validation of that. But what is also clear from this article, it's not one person's fault. Magic, you know, everybody knew coming in, he's a busy, well-traveled guy that's got a lot of interest. Polinka was an agent. He wasn't a GM. That wasn't a perfect Fed. This is not just on Rob Polinka.

It's not just on Magic Johnson. It's not just on Jeannie Bus. It's not just on LeBron and Rich Paul. This is on everybody. It's just dysfunctional. But what this article tells me, and my wife always says this, be a great example or a horrible warning. Both actually work for kids. You'd rather be a great example, but the horrible warning thing could work too.

Oh, dad did this. I'll never do that. And you know what this tells the Lakers? There's a clear message here. Make a trade. Do not wait for free agents to land. there's no way an agent's going to read this article and push his player to you. That would be a dereliction of duties.

If my agent sent me to a company and there were articles like this about the company, I'd be like, no, I'm not going to that place. That place is a mess. No agent can send a player into this mess. So this article, if you're in the Laker building, don't view it negatively. This is great. The sea just opened. You have to make a trade to get somebody.

And you've got two forwards who averaged 18 a game, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, young. You can sell that as 18 could be 23. You have Lonzo Ball and you have the number four draft pick, which appears to be fourth best player, a kid named Garland from Vanderbilt, a point guard. A bunch of teams need point guards. Phoenix could use one.

Chicago could use one. Washington with John Wall out for a year could use one. People will view this negatively. But what it does, the translation of this article is, Lakers, don't mess around here. You need to make a trade as soon as you can, make a trade, change the narrative, give up draft picks, get players, because there's no agent in the world that this comes out today can say to a player, yes, I represent you, that's a perfect landing spot. No, that's when you fire an agent.

So to me, you've got some assets. Two young forwards average 18 a game. Lonzo, depending on how people value him, is a very unique point guard. You've got a number four pick, which appears to be fourth best player out of college, is a really good point guard. So you got a couple of point guard options. You got a couple of forward options. Engineer something.

Make a deal here. It's clear. You're in the deal-making business, not the crossing your fingers and hoping a free agent lands in your lap business. You've got to make something happen here. And again, great example or horrible warning. This article clearly sends you off the interstate

to the exit, engineer a deal. no more crossing fingers in praying for free agents. That's done. Engineer a deal. If a deal then changes the narrative and can get a free agent to go, okay, the article's bad, but now I got LeBron, now I got Anthony Davis, now I got maybe a Bradley Beal. Okay, I'll join that.

Those are highly functional guys. But the article's out. It is damning. It is validation of what we've said is. going on for the last several months. Nick Nurse of the Raptors around today. Coming up next, I mean, there are stories. This is not The Onion.

The story I'm going to give you next is not coming from that website, the comedy website, the humor website, the onion. But it sounds like it. I mean, we literally this morning had to double check. Is this real? Is it authentic? Or is this like a comedy website? That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app.

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

The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,

professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WMBA standout, Kate Martin, and rising hockey star, Layla Edwards. a boy can do it. I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world, like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning.

It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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 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, Keir 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. Some stories are just hard to believe there's this one this morning fell into our lap. The Raiders signed, I kid you not, controversial guard Richie Incognito to a one-year deal. I believe at this point they're just casting for hard knocks. That's all they're doing. They just want to be the best television show in the league.

Richie Incognito has a very troubled past. It was out of football last year. He's come on my show before and was on his best behavior. But last year was an odd year where he told people he had a gym incident. He was at a funeral home and said he would shoot people. He had a rough year. Some mental evaluations. And you feel bad for people that go through that.

But this is now the Raiders' fourth plan. in a year. What's the message to your fans, your front office, your players? Remember the first plan? The Raiders first plan was we're not going to have stars. We're going to acquire draft picks. It feels very New England. We'll pay the quarterback. We're not paying anybody else. Let's get young. Let's get inexpensive. Let's pay the quarterback. And let's be nimble. That was plan one. I was like, all right, I wouldn't have traded Khalil Mack. I like Amari Cooper. But okay, that's a plan. That was their first plan. That's what That was the message to everybody, right?

Their second plan was, just kidding. We're going to get Vontes-Berfect trouble. We're going to overpay for Trent Brown. We're going to get Antonio Brown, who is a lot of drama. We're going to overpay for virtually everybody. Okay. And then their third plan was our bad chemistry matters. They go into the draft and they reach for several picks.

because they're chemistry guys, which I was like, okay, that's kind of the initial plan. Okay, maybe the second plan was just, somebody had too much gin one night or something. And now there's their fourth plan, which is just kidding again. You have a locker room now with Vantes Burfect, Antonio Brown, and Richie Incognito. I mean, what's next?

Are you going to sign Gary Busey as a punter? I'm going to sign Charlie Sheen as a Sam linebacker? I mean, come on here. What's the plan? Where are you going? Accumulate draft picks, no stars. Just kidding. We're overpaying for everybody.

We want good guys. Just kidding again. The Raiders logo, they should just put a penalty flag next to the pirate. That should be the Raiders new logo. Or if not, give the pirate. Two eye patches, blinded everything, because I can't figure out, like, the good teams in this league, you can see the plan, New England. We'll pay Brady under market. It's not that we won't pay anybody, but we don't want the highest paid anybody in the league at any position.

The Colts, we're creating a culture, quiet, good dudes, leaders. Like the Rams, we're going to go for big friends. agents. We're in a glamour city. We're going to go for some big free agents, sometimes one-year contracts like Indomacan Sioux. Whether I agree with your direction, those teams, Rams have a direction, patriots have a direction, Colts have a direction. I don't know what direction. I don't know what the messaging is saying here. It's just very confusing. Character guys? Wasn't that the whole plan of the draft? Character guys? I don't know. I'm lost. and this division's no day at the beach.

Good luck. Kansas City's loaded. Chargers are loaded. Denver's got now the big strong flacco. I think they'll potentially be better. Good luck, Raiders. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the Herdline News. Another day, another report about the dysfunctional Lakers. Their front office is probably as dysfunctional has ever been in its 72-year history. And a new ESPN report from this morning revealed that the hiring of Magic and Rob Polinka made it a bit more dysfunctional. So

sources who feared reprisal described Palinca and Johnson as managers who made unilateral free agent acquisitions, triggered a spate of tampering investigations and fines, berated staffers including Walton, and created an in-house culture that many say

marginalized their colleagues, inspired fear, and led to feelings of anxiety severe enough that two staffers suffered an attacks. Yikes. Yikes, yikes, yikes, yikes. There's a mass. Not the best working environment. No, not great. Look, I feel like if you take anything from this report, like whatever you believe, you believe some of it, you've got to believe all of it, because you can't really go through, like, well, I think, you know, I'm going to pick this side of this story of mass dysfunction.

The bottom line for me, the biggest takeaway is, magic saw this coming and removed himself from the situation. So for whatever you feel about how this environment was, how negative it was, he was aware that this was either coming or he felt like he had had enough of the dysfunction himself. My issue is, well, I agree with you about they need to do a trade as soon as possible. Palinka is still there. So what's changed? Well, nothing. I mean, nothing's really changed. It remains dysfunctional. But if you trade for people, at least don't give the opportunity for people to choose you. You go choose them and bring them in because you got, after this article, you've got to now change the public narrative on that market.

And the only way you can do it is get a good guy like Bradley Beal or you get an Anthony Davis, considered good guys. We know LeBron's good dude. And then at least, because my takeaway now is no agent could send any player to this mess. The bottom line for me with the Lakers is if you look across any organization, but let's just stick with sports. If you talk more about the owner and the front office than you do about the action. product that is on the court of the field, you have a dysfunctional

franchise. The best run franchises never talk about their owners other than saying, this is a good owner. The end, that's the full sentence. This is a good owner that spends a lot of money. The end, that's the full sentence. There is no but or and after that. You don't talk about the owner and you don't talk about the front office. They're anonymous or just irrelevant other than just being

giving the proper people the resources that they need to do their jobs. All we talk about is the front office and the ownership with the Lakers. Any organization we do that with, it's a problem. If we talk about the coach a lot, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're a bad team. And if we talk about the team, it doesn't mean that they're a bad team. We should not be talking about the people running the show. I can't tell you who own.

I mean, seriously, could you tell me what the Spurs owner looks like? No. Or the Cardinals owner through the years? It's like, to be honest with you, I, I, Steve Balmer and Mark Cuban are fairly visible, but if you go through the history of the league. And when we're talking about Cuban, is it necessarily a good thing? No. No, not necessarily.

And what do we say about Steve Palmer? He's cheers a lot. We don't talk anything about the goings-on of the organization. He's hired people to run the organization. There's plenty of visible owners. But when we're having discussions about them, it's a problem. It has to stop. That's the number one problem for me.

So Clay Thompson didn't make the all-MBA team this season, which means no supermax contract for him when he has. hits free agency this summer. But his father Michael says, okay, he told the athletic, yeah, it's a lot of money. But when you're talking about the astronomical numbers that the best NBA players make, you can't quibble over it because you're still making generational changing money. Too many people out there are struggling in the world to make ends meet for anyone to be whining about not making $30 million more.

No, no, perspective. He also said he's very happy in Golden State. You should be. That's a great spot for him. This is perspective, and it is his father. and Clay Thompson is going to make around $190 million. There's a lot of money. That said, I still would be irritated over losing $30 million

of not making the all-MBA team if Clay Thompson. I'm going to give him a pass. It's still $30 million. It's not like he's worth $58 billion. There's a difference between annoyed and consumed. You can be annoyed by stuff. Yeah. But I don't think he is consumed by it.

I mean, I don't know. But first of all, he found out in a press conference, which is not the way you find out that you dismiss. down on $30 million. But it is perspective. For me, I just feel like that's not really, I don't know if I like that that rule even exists. Obviously, it's in the CBA.

I have a higher regard for Clay Thompson. If you told me, I'm going to give you a player. A plus shooter in 2019, A plus defender, no drama. I'd be like, there's like four of those in the league. Kauai Leonard's the other. Honestly, I could make an argument. The closest thing to Kauai in terms of can shoot, can play defense, no drama.

I could argue it's Clay. He's very consistent. Physically, they can match up with small forwards, Clay, or guards. Clay and Kauai. We always talk about, well, now Katie and then Steph and Dremon or with Steph

and then Dremon and it's always Clay last in this group of the elite in Golden State. And he is just as important to their success as all of them, if not the most. Because when he is not consistent, it's a problem. So finally, five-star prospect and consensus top five pick in the 2020 NBA mock drafts,

R.J. Hampton, is skipping college basketball to play professionally for the New Zealand breakers in the NBL. This is a surprising decision that comes after he reclassified his high school, graduating year from 2020 to 2019 earlier this spring. He believes playing in New Zealand will best prepare him for the NBA. And he told ESBM, my number one goal is to play in the NBA. I wanted to be an NBA player before I ever wanted to be a college player. getting ready for the next level faster and more efficiently. You can always go back to college, but there's only a short window as an athlete where you can play professional basketball.

And I want to take advantage of that. I think that challenging yourself on a daily basis is the best way to improve. As long as players have options, I love it. A kid can go G-League. You can go to Duke. I don't think Duke hurt Zion. You can go to G-League.

You can go overseas. I had options coming out. Like, all I want for kids coming out of high school, trade school, junior college, major college, private college, this kid has options. He chose the international option. I'm all good with it. I think that's what the NBA wants the G League to essentially be is this option.

Right. And they have a lot of development to do before it gets to that level. I'm with you. I have no problem with kids having the ability to make their choice. What I don't like is that they have to go to college, and that's the only way that they get to the NBA. By the way, lots of people in society, I mean, I've gone to high school with people like this. They're not college people.

want to do college. You meet an artist. They're like, why don't I want to go to a four-year state school? Everything is not for everybody. And this is not saying that you shouldn't get an education. And he mentioned that both of his parents are highly educated. Yes, his mom is a master's degree. They're very serious about school. But he's right. You can go back to school. It's college will always be there. It will always be available for you. If you want to be a chef, my stepson's a chef, and he wanted to be a chef when he was 16,

why go to Ohio State for four years? He went to a culinary institute in Napa. Then he went to one to New York. That's what he wanted to do. And he's having a great career. Like, it's not going to college isn't for everybody. And he wants to play basketball. So if you look at that, if you look at a trade school education like that, him playing in New Zealand is essentially his school. That's what he's doing.

Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. Voice of the NBA on this network, Chris Broussard. Let's bring him in. We have all sorts of stuff.

Okay, my theory, Chris Brousard, when you read that article at ESPN about the dysfunction, my first takeaway, it's not just magic, it's not just polenka, it's just holistically, it's a bunch of... It's everybody. It's everybody, so I'm not going to blame. Except LeBron, actually. LeBron was getting all the criticism a few months ago. And he's the guy that was on the sidelines in his pool. You guys call me when it's over.

Let me just say this, though. There is something about this article that I would like if I was the Lakers. It gives us a clear path. I'm not crossing my fingers for free agents. Do you know what it tells me? I got Lonzo in number four pick. I got two young forwards average in 18. I'm going to change the narrative.

I'm going to bring somebody in. I'm not going to sit there and wait for somebody to read that article and have to choose me over the Celtics. If I'm the Lakers, I'm like, okay, this article's so bad, let's be aggressive, change the narrative, make a trade. If you're sitting there now crossing your fingers on Jimmy Butler, if I'm his agent, I'm not sending him into that. Well, everything you said sounds rational,

but everything we read in that article says they're not going to do the rational thing. I mean, I get what you're saying, because here's the thing. First of all, this shows you. I said it on this couch. This is what Jeannie Bus, when Magic stepped away, she had an opportunity. Clean it up. The first call should have been Messiah, U.Jiri. Call David Griffin. Bring in a legitimate basketball executive to rerun things. Like at this point right now, what are we, a month before, free agency, essentially. Your front office should have been revanked. set with a real basketball person. Your coaching, hiring shouldn't have been the drama that it was.

Like, all that should have been taken care of. And this story would have been irrelevant. It would have been nice reading all the drama, but it wouldn't have been relevant anymore. That's what they should have done. Obviously, they didn't. You made a good point about agents. The Rich Paul, you know, trying to run the organization.

I look at that, like, as a report, like, he's doing what a lot of agents would love to do. Sure. Get that power, right? And if I'm a reporter, and I'm like the quote about rich and players know he's trying to trade you and coaches know he wants you fire, that was from another agent, a competitor. Like if I'm a reporter and another reporter has this great access, he's breaking all the stories that I don't have access to, I'm going to be upset about that too. So other agents, I don't blame Rich Paul for trying to do that. I blame the Lakers for allowing him on the plane and all that stuff.

but other agents to the degree that they can influence their players, they're going to say, number one, they obviously don't trust Rob Polinka. They obviously used to compete with Rob Polinka. So when they break their presentation to their place, because they're going to break down, here's what the Lakers can offer, you know, money, everything else, here's what the Raptors have, here's what the Clippers have,

so on and so forth, they're going to say, you got a president, you can't believe a word he says. He says Kobe Bryant had did. with somebody who's deceased. You know, so... That was in the article, too, yeah. That Kobe Bryant had dinner with Heath Ledger, who was dead at the time, you know? So you got that.

Are you going to be able to believe him when you say he says he's not going to trade you? Then they will not want them because if Rich has got that much juice and on the plane and everything, the players are going to be like, this is the guy. Like, it's tempting. Agents are always stealing other. players from people. So that's where an agent will feel like I don't want him there. So you make a good point about...

You engineer the deal. Right. Don't wait for Jimmy Butler to maybe land. Now, I do think you could get Butler. Look, I think you're not getting KD anyway, Kevin Durant. I don't think you were getting Kauai. Clay's going to stay in Golden State. Kyrie, he's one who I don't think he was coming anyway,

but a lot of what he didn't, like he wanted to get away from with LeBron was just the circus atmosphere. And this is worse. Right. And whether it's LeBron's fault or just the atmosphere around LeBron because he's so big, at least in Cleveland you had a competent GM and David Griffin who could, you would think control it to some degree. Now Kyrie may look.

LeBron's so big, the circus is still there. And now there's no front office to even control it. Yeah, I think I think Kyrie's a, I think it's a pipe dream. I think it's a, I've been saying this for months. I think it's a Hail Mary for Jimmy Butler. But I do. I think Butler they could, because I do think he would love to be in Hollywood in the big city. Let me just throw this out there.

I said a couple of months. I said this several months ago and many laughed. I said the guy that I think fits is Bradley Beale. Is that we see this all the time in sports. If you have a guy in sports, I'll take Eric Ebro on the tight end for the lions. He's in a dysfunctional organization lions. You put him in a more functional organization, the Colts with Andrew Locke. Eric Ebron goes from bus to star, Victor Oladipo.

Little dysfunction with Russell Westbrook in the back court. You put him in the highly functional pacer's, and he flourishes. Bradley Beale is a 20-point-of-game guy. Wall gets hurt. John Wall, who can be dysfunctional. He ever just 27 without him. I think we're looking at a Victorola Depot more talented. I was going to say it.

He's better than know. I think we're looking at an Eric Ebron situation where you have a very talented guy, but in a dysfunctional environment, he is somewhat suppressed below his market value. I think Bradley Beal, only 25, very high basketball IQ, completely committed. Did have some injuries earlier in his career, but I think, so I just throw it out to you,

they need a guard. Bill would be perfect. They need Lonzo Ball. They need guards and draft picks and young players. Well, here's the problem. We don't know what, like, who's running the Wizards right now? They don't have a front office yet. So I don't know where the, they want Lonzo for Bill came from because who's the jeet?

They don't have a president yet. Ernie Grunfell stepped away or he got fired. So until we know who's running them, we can't be certain that they're going to give up Bradley Bill or that they even like Lonzo Ball. Let's see who the new guy is, you know? So that's the first challenge. But that being said, look, if they could get Bradley Bill for Lonzo ball, you fit perfectly.

You do that in a heartbeat. Bradley Bill had an argument to be on that third team all NBA. I actually had Clay on mine instead of Kimba, but Bill was in that conversation. He'd be great with LeBron, can shoot the basketball, can make plays. And just say, hey, we'll give you Lonzo, have your pick, Coosma Ingram, and give you the draft pick. No, I agree.

Now, obviously that takes you out of the Anthony Davis. Okay, but that's by, I contend that the better fit in 2019 is not a big, but it's a shooting guard. LeBron has proven. He plays great with guards. He struggles at times with Biggs. I've been on this Bradley Beale thing for months. I think he's a perfect fit. LeBron plays with shooters and high IQ guys.

This past year, the Lakers had no shooters and crazy guys. It was the exact opposite of what LeBron works with. Wasn't it? No, look, I like Bill. I still would try to make a push for Anthony Davis, but I like Bradley. bill a lot. And we'll see who runs the Wizards if they like Lonzo that much. Because Alvin

Gentry likes Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. And if they like that fourth pick as much as that third. Did this article surprise you? 40 seconds. That is surprise you. No, it really just kind of confirmed everything that we were hearing and surmised from all that's going to. Genies

kind of lost with the way things are going. Mom and Pop Operation. Linda Rambus has an inordinate amount of power. Rob, that's That's his rep, true or not, that he's, you know, a serial liar. How about this? Coaching staff member said about the Lakers off season. We all had the same reaction the basketball world did. Like, what the blank are we doing?

Not only we're not getting shooting, we're also getting every basket case left on the market. That's the way we're all saying. Right. That was the feeling of the basketball world. It was like, what in the world is going on? Chris Broussard. Great stuff. Matt Barnes.

Good seeing you, bud. Thanks. Coming up next. I'm analytics, but I like my analytics, and something's happened in the NBA playoffs that I really appreciate. That's next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd

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I like analytics. Basically analytics are, if you're playing the long game in life, use analytics for the most reliable way to win games. I also think analytics matter. And I've told Darrell Moria the Rockets this over lunch. I like analytics, but sometimes I just need a bucket. And I don't care about threes.

I don't care about season averages. I got two minutes left in the fourth quarter. I need the best athlete in the floor to get a bucket. I don't care if it's a mid-range jumper. And the analytics crowd, they get very defensive if you're not all in on analytics all the time. But once the playoffs start, and I'm a big believer in analytics with baseball and the NBA, you have these long, long seasons where if you play the averages over time, it is best served to use them.

But who are the two really talented teams, one in baseball and one in the NBA, that are really good in the regular season, very analytic driven, but come up short in the playoffs? The Dodgers and the Houston Rockets, they can never deviate from the math. They can never deviate from the calculator. They're going to just. Here's the thing. I get, it's like a 401K.

The 401k is the most reliable and safest method over the course of 40 years for you to be a millionaire. Pay off your house and invest the maximum in your 401k. But the richest people in the world didn't save their way to wealth. You can't, that's an old saying in finance. You can't save yourself to wealth. You can save yourself to successful and comfortable and content. But Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, they got wealthy because they put everything, all the chips in Amazon, all the chips in Microsoft.

They went for it. 401Ks don't make you wealthy. They make you successful and content and comfortable. It's the same with cars. The Prius is the most reliable. It is the most efficient. And for Monday through Friday driving, you'll get the most efficiency. But the NBA playoffs, my friends, are not a paved road.

You've got to go four-wheeling. There's obstacles and detours and crashes and bumps and strife and drama. You need a V8. You need a four-wheel drive. It's not a paved road. The Dodgers and the rockets are analytic mavens, but they do. do at times struggle to put down the calculator. What I've noticed in these NBA playoffs, and I know all the mathy people and geometry

whizzes will hate this, but Kauai Leonard won the East off a mid-range jumper. That's what he wanted off. He wanted off the mid-range jumper. And the warriors, who you are absolutely sure, led the world in three-point shots of the 16. Now listen to this. of the 16 NBA playoff teams. Three-pointers, Warriors were 10th,

and that's with the world's two best shooters, Steph Curry and Clay Thompson. What I've really loved about these playoffs, analytic people, put down the calculator. When it comes to baseball playoffs, I don't give a rip about analytics. I need an out. I want Justin Verlander.

I don't care if he pitch yesterday. He's a horse. I don't care if he's a star. It's the seventh inning. It's game seven. Get Justin Verlander on the mound. I don't care what analytics say. I don't care it's not his position. He'll get me an out.

I don't care about any math. They're just guys I want at the plate, and there's guys I want on the mound to get an out. And I don't care what the math says about mid-range. Kauai Leonard is like a 55% mid-range jump shooter. We're tied two minutes left fourth quarter. I don't give a rip about season averages. We're not in the regular season.

I don't need a Tesla. I got to go off road. I'm getting chased by a mountain lion. Tesla's doing me no good. I did a four-wheel drive. And I know, I know all the analytic mavens are just beside themselves. But the NBA playoffs have really shown us that what works for the season average. And that's not to say analytics don't work.

They do. The 401K works. The Prius is the most reliable. But NBA playoffs are completely different. I get a face the same people over and over and over. I know all your plays. I know all your tricks. There are no surprises.

We'll make shifts over the course of a series. But bottom line is you know my best moves. I know yours. Who's the alpha? Who gets the bucket? Everybody's equally rested. Everybody knows everybody else's plays. I'm not into season averages when the season's got two and a half minutes left.

By the way, all the analytics for the Milwaukee Bucks went out the window when they're trailing 9792 against the Toronto Raptors and they had back-to-back possessions and looked scared. Do the analytics have the fear percentage in there? Because Milwaukee looked petrified. Nobody wanted to take a shot. I mean, seriously. And there were moments early in these playoffs

when the Toronto Raptors were playing hot potato with a ball. Is that analytics? Heart, soul, fear, confidence. Does that show up in analytics? I mean, Kauai Leonard stole Janus's confidence. That doesn't show up in regular season analytics. But I'm watching that game.

I'm watching game six and I'm like, Yonis has lost confidence. Kauai feels like he's the next version of MJ and that didn't show up in regular season analytics. Not at all. By the way, don't skip meals. Use Soylent, a complete meal in a bottle. Designed with plant protein, essential nutrients.

Go to Soylent.com. Code Herd 20, Herd 2O. Get 20% off your first case. You know, it's funny about Steph Curry. Steph Curry is better than D-Wade, but why do we like D-Wade more than Steph Curry? Yeah, I said it, and yeah, I believe it, and I can back it up.

Why is that? I'll explain that coming up. Hour 2. Matt Barnes, Reggie Bush, Rick Bueker, Nick Nurse, Toronto Raptor head coach, all coming up. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week,

within the I-Heart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering

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

Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness. professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going.

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

up and smile. That means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can, like, I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart women's sports. 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. 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 SportsCise 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 middle 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 home. 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 keer gains is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast learn the hard way open your free our heart radio app search learn the hard way and listen now this is the herd wherever you may be however you may be listening Angeles on a Tuesday. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me for hour two. Hour one flew by. Joy, how are you? I'm great. Good morning. Chris Haynes just reported. Kevin Durant will travel with the Warriors to Toronto for games one and two. Now, now you say to yourself, well, of course, but he did not travel to Houston for game six after the injury.

He did not travel to Portland at any time with the injury. He is traveling to Toronto, which means he's getting close to playing, which means he'll probably play in the series at some point. I still contend, I know this sounds very manipulative. I still contend if you're Kevin Durant, is it okay for me ethically to root for us to lose game one, but you want your team to win the series? Because I still contend the best thing for Golden State and for, Kevin Durant legacy is for the Warriors to lose game one of the Raptors,

Durant feel much more needed and necessary. He puts on the Cape, swoops in, they win the series, they win the next four games, and people go, oh, Casey, we really were better. It's good for Katie's brand. He can win a third title. Everybody will be satisfied. He can go to New York or stay. And it's just good for his brand.

It's good for everybody. Wouldn't you like to see a nicer ending than, KD pulls a calf muscle and doesn't play the rest of the year. It's too slight. It's a good movie with a bad ending. I'd like to see us have a little better ending for Kevin Durr. I like Kevin Durand. I think he's the best basketball player this morning in the world.

So I think ideally, Warriors lose game one. KD now seen as needed swoops in and they win the next four or four out of five. It certainly would be a better ending than him walking off the court with a cap strain. but I don't think he's going to come back this series at all. I'm going to say he is. I don't know. That's a tough injury to rush back from. All right.

So there's the story anyway. Chris Haynes reporting, he is coming and traveling with the team to Toronto. I want to talk about this for a second. People, and I think this is, I've probably been like this in my life, I think we're all threatened by new and different. We're all like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

I mean, isn't it crazy? we only have really two political parties. Like, shouldn't we have a bunch? I mean, in Europe, they just added a third and at one. I mean, it's like, we just don't like new. People don't like new. I'm not going to, I couldn't remember the first day. I worked in a newsroom in Las Vegas, and they brought computers in, and I had the

typewriter. I'm like, these are stupid. I would like to be a dinosaur. And then about two days later, I'm like, wow, these things are fast. These typewriters are relics. But my initial reaction was, I like my typewriter. I don't like my new computer. it makes me learn new stuff.

And Steph Curry is unique and different. I mean, it's just different. We never have a superstar that weighed 175 pounds, that you could just push around. And Steph Curry's resume is amazing. He's got three rings, two MVPs in the regular season, one unanimous, six-time All-Star, most threes ever in a season, part of the greatest team ever, the 73-win season,

most playoff threes ever. The only thing really missing on his resume is a, finals MVP, and he did have one great finals. He could have won it, but they give it to Andre Aguadala. But that's kind of the icing on the cake. MJ's got six, Magic's got three, Shaq's got three, LeBron's got three, KD's got two, Kobe's got a couple. He doesn't have one. And he is favored this morning, I see that he is the favorite to win the MVP. And I'd love to see it because I think he's just a wonderful kid and a wonderful player. But it's funny about this. KD and Steph have something in common.

KD. is not embraced by the fans because he joined a great team and Steph is not embraced by many of the players because they feel he needed to recruit another star. So there's this layer of disrespect both feel.

And you can argue there are two of the top three players in the game. KD is not respected by fans he had to join somebody to win a title. And Steph, a lot of players push back on Steph. There's more respect for Westbrook in the league than staff, although Steph's a much better player because, you know, he had to go recruit somebody. That's not what I do. Derek Rose said, I don't have to recruit Westbrook.

I'm not going to recruit, John Wall. I'm not going to recruit. Steph's like, oh, I'm all for recruiting. I watch LeBron do it. I'm for recruiting. And this is funny. It just goes to show you how threatened people are by new. Dwayne Wade is much more respected by players.

than Steph Curry. And Steph Curry is better than D. Wade. Steph Curry won a title and didn't have another star. D. Wade had Shaq for the first and then LeBron for the next two. D. Wade's never been the best player on a championship team. Now, he did win finals MVP, but Shaq was the better player at the time. D. Wade was young and really talented. We also know that D. Wade, you don't think he helped recruit LeBron and Chris Bosch?

Of course he did. But that doesn't stick to him like Steph Curry inviting KD in, even though it was Draymond, who sent the original text to KD saying, come on over. But D. Wade never changed this game. He was just great. Steph Curry is like human automation. He's eliminating jobs.

He's like those robotics going around the world. He's eliminating positions and jobs. But Steph is unique. He's not an alpha. He's new school, not old school. He wears those shoes that look like a pharmacist would wear them. He grew up with some money. He didn't have the struggle a lot of kids had.

He's non-physical. He's got a game that bordered on initially weird. Who can shoot from 34 feet? Whereas D. Wade is your classic, tough Chicago, tough neighborhood, old school, hit the deck, get in your face, almost inartistic. But Wade, we've seen Wade before. Wade is old school. And by the way, first ballot Hall of Fame or love him. But we've seen his personal narrative.

Grew up in a tough Chicago neighborhood, overcame it. We've seen that story. We like that story. He's tough. He's alpha. We like alpha. Steph's just so different and so unique. Players struggle to quite get their arms around it.

That's why people love Westbrook. Westbrook's got a lot of old school. I'm not recruiting anybody. I'm not friends with anybody. I hate my rivals. That is very old school. Steph's like, I don't hate anybody. I like everybody.

I'll go recruit other people. And so just know if you choose in life to be unique and to be a little different and they have kind of contrarian views of the world, regardless if you have three rings, two MVP, six All-Star Games, greatest team ever, most threes ever, there will be people that are threatened by you. Steph's resume, and he's got five, six years left, minimum, he could shoot until he's 50.

His resume is just absurd. It's in a very unique class, and still he gets pushback. KD gets it because fans don't respect him. Steph gets it because the players don't all respect him. I will say this again. there are a lot of people listening to my show and there are a lot of people watching this show

or we'll hear it on podcast or digital Sirius XM83. You're really, really talented. Your boss doesn't get you. I'm not speaking personally. I feel great. But I've been in situations where I'll just tell you, I worked in Vegas, Tampa, Portland, ESPN, and Fox.

bosses got me in all but one place. And that place was Tampa. It was an old CBS. It turned into a fox. They brought in some new outspoken people. I was one of them. And everybody else was 60 and 70. And I was this outspoken, edgy kid, kind of cocky guy.

I just didn't fit. And I was like, guys, it's just not working. And there's a lot of people out there. Most of my career, it's been great. That was a rough couple years. Good people, but a rough couple years with management. There's a lot of people listening to the show that feel like, God, I just, my boss doesn't get me, I'm a little suppressed. If you're the Lakers, a story came out today, very damning about the front office, Polinka, Magic Genie, all that stuff, is that I believe that you occasionally find these great athletes and they're in a bad organization, West Welker in Miami.

They just didn't get him. Patriots are like, oh, God, he's perfect. he'll be a Hall of Famer. Miami was too dysfunctional. The coaches didn't get him. By the way, Victorola Depot, it just didn't work with Westbrook. You move him to Indiana?

He's an all-star in the east. Eric Ebron, Detroit, chaotic, new coach, new coordinator, Matt Stafford, inconsistent. You take Ebron, who was a bust, you put him with the highly functional Andrew Luck, Frank Wright, Chris Ballard. He was a pro bowler. He had 13 TDs last year.

He had 11 in 4 years. This speaks to what's happening all over America, where you have these people who are super talented, but maybe they work in a company they don't fit. They have co-workers that don't get them. They have a boss or management that doesn't understand their value. And they just need a better fit. I believe Bradley Beale, this is my opinion. Bradley Beale.

There's a story out today, the Lakers and the Lakers and the... The Wizards could make a Bradley Beal deal happen. The Wizards like Bradley Beal, the Lakers are considering it. Now, this has been the guy, Joy, you've been on the show. This has been the guy I've been talking about for six months. You love him. I love Bradley Beal. He is perfect for LeBron.

LeBron's one of the smartest guys that's ever played this game. Very intuitive. Bradley Beal's super smart. Totally committed. Not out screwing around off in nightclubs. He's a grown-up. He's only 25. He takes care of his body.

But like Victor Oladipo. Like Wes Welker, like Eric Ebron, John Wall, albeit very talented, is a tougher guy to play with. John has had some maturity issues, not a classic leader, has had some injury issues. And Bradley Beal, though his career averages, you know, 20, 22 a game, Wall got hurt and his average went closer to 28. and that I don't think Beal and Wall have ever been as good as they should be together. Individually, I think they're both really good. Bradley Beal, this would be, and he's not like Ebron, we think a bust. He's not like Ola Depot, nobody's heard of him.

But I think Bradley Beal's the guy in the league that if you inserted him, there's some Ray Allen. He reminds me a little of Ray Allen that he is, Ray Allen was perfect with LeBron, just perfect with LeBron. Shane Badeer, perfect for LeBron. Bradley Beale's only 25, and I believe after this article today, that you go get Bradley Beale, a high-functioning, smart-driven focus kid who can shoot, sort of matters now, and you put in with LeBron and whatever it is Washington needs,

as long as you can keep one of your forwards, Coosma or Ingram, what you do is change the narrative. Because the narrative this morning after that article on ESPN is, Lakers are a grease fire, you can't send a player there. So you got to change that narrative. You got to land Beal in the next 72 hours, and everybody's like, hey, you see what's going on out there? Yeah, it's a little dysfunctional. I got LeBron and Bradley Beal and I got Kyle Kuzma.

Then, then just wait. Then just wait. Because that team will make the All-Star. That team will make the playoffs. LeBron, Bradley Beal, and one of those forwards, Frank Vogel, Jason, that team will make the playoffs. then you just wait. Maybe the Anthony Davis thing, you wait until 2020. You say,

Anthony Davis, I'll stick around for you. You wait to 2020. But I don't believe you wake up this morning and cross your fingers and go, oh my God, Kyrie, Irving, Kyrie, Jimmy, Butler, Jimmy. That's not a game plan. That's hope. That's not a plan. That's just praying.

I got nothing against religion, but that's not a plan. A plan is, let's get Beal over here, give up a four pick, maybe give up Brandon Ingram, give up what we've got to get, change the narrative. but I think this kid is special. I'll put my reputation on it. This is the guy, I think. And I said this six months ago, that's the kid I'd want with LeBron. Biggs, Bosch, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, haven't always worked, Anthony Davis.

They haven't always worked with LeBron. And the times they've worked, they've been weird. Bosch, LeBron. I mean, Chris Bosch had to give up 60% of his game. Kevin Love had to give up a lot of his game. Bradley Beals game, you're not giving up any of it. It will flourish with LeBron. All right.

I got who we got. We got Matt Barnes around the corner. I got Rick Bueker today flying in. Nick Nurse, Reggie Bush. Don't go anywhere. 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.

Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering our moment, Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world. He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come

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

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

Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't feel like. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face like, up and smile. That means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like,

I can do anything. I can, like, I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClace 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Sleep, cool, and comfortable. Casper.com, code heard, special offer. breathable foams Casper.com code H-E-R-D. Played for a decade and a half in the NBA

including that championship Warriors team and I'll get to that in a second with Matt Barnes. I want to start Matt with something that I just wouldn't know because I've never been

on a team plane. It used to be NBA teams traveled. They got on a plane at 6 in the morning with regular folks and then about 15 years ago

they moved into team planes. So there's a story today about the Lakers dysfunction. And a lot of it is you know, it's, we all knew it was mostly confirmed a chaotic situation.

There is a point in the article where they talk about Rich Paul LeBron's agent being on the team plane. So let me start with this. Have you ever seen an agent on a plane? I don't recall an agent being on a, I mean, I could be wrong, you know, because they sit in a completely separate area than we sit, but I don't recall it. That would, here's my problem would be, okay, if I'm a player and I tell, you, you know, Yeah, LeBron's agents on the plane.

I'm thinking as an agent, oh, you're recruiting my guys on the plane. That's access to my players and my clients. I don't think it would sit well. I mean, what do you make of it? I mean, you open the door to situations where, you know, if it's him, why can't someone else's agent come? But then at the same time, you know, Rich was the center of the AD noise and trying to trade, you know, be a part of that, you know,

the Lakers trading three or four or five young pieces to get AD there. So it's kind of a, it's a slippery slope. You know what I mean? You open the door to situations like that. But at the end of the day, it's not something, it's just another distraction. You know, I'm not mad at Rich Paul. If they're going to open the door to the plane and let him come on and go, you know what I mean. But I think that says more about management than it does about, you know, what he's doing or moving around in there.

When you were on the Warriors team, the championship team, just give me a list of who was on the team plane? Team coaches, trainers. Owners, important players, players. But see, the Warriors are a little looser from a standpoint of the one thing I did love about the Warriors is as far as family, like our family could travel whenever we wanted. So I had the twins flying with me sitting up where the players sit during the finals and practicing. Wow. So they're very, their main thing is you handle basketball, we handle absolutely everything else. So it makes our focus singular.

And, you know, they help put them in hotels and they can travel with us. And there's always buses to the games and buses to practice. Like team family dinners after games is incredible. Well, they feed you and whoever else you want to bring with you. You know, they'll close a restaurant down after the game. And so it's second to none. You know what I mean? But you don't hear.

Agents are different. You don't hear agents around and that close. But like I said, I could be wrong. I just was never really paying attention to it. Let's talk and move off the Lakers dysfunction. I want you to take my audience, our viewers and our listeners. When you're with the Warriors, I was saying in the break, it's like traveling with a great successful band, like the Eagles.

in their prime are you too. It's going to be sold out. You're very successful. There's a certain confidence you had so much success on stage before. Of all your travels, Clippers, Lakers, Kings, Magic, Gris, son, Nick, Nick's, tell me about traveling with the Warriors during the playoffs, knowing how great you were, knowing the success you'd had, just traveling on it, and mostly about the players. What was it like?

I just never seen anything like it. It was, you know, obviously a situation with the team they've acquired and the superstars and the personalities, but the fanfare was incredible, you know, but at the same time, it was always, you know, focused on what we had to do or the team had to focus on business. You know, it was, it was never distraction off the court going out before a game, like they knew that they were in the finals to win a championship. That's the only thing that matter. So going on the road, I know for a fact, doesn't matter to this team. They understand, you know, Toronto's a tough place to play. It's a young crowd, you know, people are still talking about Drake, whatever the situation may be, but they know

they're going in there to win two games. You know, most teams think we're going to go win one game. Golden State's going in there talking about we're going to win both games in Toronto. And it's a confidence. It's not a cockiness. They've been there. They've done that even though they're short-handed is the next man-up mentality. And these guys will be ready to play on Thursday.

It's weird. Sometimes I noticed this year with the Warriors, they had some ugly losses at home. I almost wonder if playing on the road in a weird way doesn't galvanize you. Just more focused. You know, you got everyone against you. You're not as comfortable. You know, you have to come out. and know that you're the warriors and you're getting everyone's the best shot.

And the crowd is always, you know, the opposing crowd is always going to get on you. So I think it's just the process, you know, that they've had a couple, you know, 30 point losses and streaks of losing during the season. Oh, this is not the same team. This is not these people have just, they've been, they know they're going to be playing until June every single year. So it's a, it's a marathon, not a sprint. And they know now is what they've been waiting for all season. You know, it's funny. Now that the playoffs, we have the finals.

I like Anthony Davis. Unlike most Biggs, he's great at the free throw line. He's a great free throw shooter. Great touch. But like great touch. But like most Biggs, he's not a ball handler. He's not controlling tempo. And I don't trust him shooting outside.

And I watch Janus get marginalized. And I watch him go, and I've seen this with Duncan. I've seen it with Shaq. I've seen it with all the greats. Yet in these postseason free throw moments, I just don't trust them. And it's not that I'm anti-Bigs. but could I make the argument? Carl Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert,

Anthony Davis, Yonis. There's a little shine off it when you watch Yonis get kind of pushed around by Kauai. Kauai be so trustable late. Yonis really erode the line. I'm not anti-Bigs, but I wonder if when you look at Anthony Davis today, do I say to myself, I've seen that act in the playoffs.

That thing's not getting past the second round. Like, do you still, would you still want a Bradley Beal or an Anthony Davis given a choice if you were the Lakers. See, I'm a Beal guy. That's a tough call. That's a real tough call because Bill's really come into itself, you know, since Wall's been down and shown that he's really been able to almost carry that team. Yes.

You know, he's definitely show. But I'm still, I like Anthony Davis if you can stay healthy because I think that, you know, the things you mentioned, you don't trust him with his ball handling. I know he works very hard on that in shooting. And I know that's something he works very hard on. To me, he can hurt you in several different ways, you know, attacking similar to Yonis, being able to throw the ball down. down on the block to him, pick and pop, and like I said, he's working on his three-point shot.

And I think that's what hurt Yonis down the stretch is. Once they clogged that pain up and put Kauai made it, you know, elbows and shoulders for the defense, he didn't have anywhere to go. You know, he didn't have a mid-range, one dribble pull-up to go to or pick and pop three. Although he hit a couple threes, you can tell he's not very confident with it. You know, he wants to get to the basket every time if he can. He's still a piece, even though he was dominant. Oh, yeah, he's still a work in progress.

He's going to be tremendous. And when I said the other day, like last time I was on Fox, I think I said he's a star becoming a superstar. And people are like, what do you talk about? He's the MVP. But he's still not to where he's going to be. When he's there where he's going to be, he'll be a superstar, probably the best player on the planet when it happens. But when he develops the rest of his game, that's what I meant, not taking anything from him because he's probably going to be the MVP this year. He's still a work in progress.

And it's scary how good he's going to be. I think this is actually, I said the other day, this reminds me of a little Dallas Mavericks against the, heat. Toronto does have some ingredients that work. Good coach, a bunch of crafty veterans, they're not going to be intimidated by the moment, and a superstar. So there's no indecision. All right, who's

taking the shots? That's a lot of Dallas, Dirk, Rick Carlisle. Now, I still don't think you can win a title without a dependable number two score. But I think it's an interesting finals. I do think they win a game in Toronto. What do you foresee? I think it's going to be interesting. I think

the fact that the Warriors have just been there and guys are ready for these moments. This is, this is new to some or most of Toronto. You know, Kauai has been there. You need to see a lot from Danny Green. I think he's going to be keen this. He struggled in the last month. He struggled last series, but he's going to be guarding Stefan Clay a lot. And then he's also probably going to have Steph on him a lot. So he's going to have to make Steph work on the defensive end. It would be interesting to see how effective Mark Gassal is or if they go to Sergei Baca because, you know, Dremont is going to be playing the five a lot. They're going to be picking and popping and can Mark stay up in the picking

rolls and, you know, be back or whatever their coverage are can mark handle all that. So I think there's some interesting matchups, but I think Toronto, for everyone's going to have to play really well for Toronto to be able to keep up with what Golden State is doing. But I wouldn't be surprised if Toronto got a game. I think you brought up an interesting point that nobody's talked about, but this is true. Toronto's crowd is young. Young people are louder. Is that when you get to these classic, like when I go to a Laker game, it's a lot of 50-year-old people who have had tickets forever. It's like going to a Michigan

football game. Michigan's been good for 100 years. It's not a very loud stadium. When you go to Oregon, which got good about 20 years ago, Oregon's rowdy and they're lubricated. I remember even in college. Oregon, when we play the ducks, was one of the loudest places we ever played.

Because they weren't good in the 50s, 70s, 70s, 80s. So the season ticket holder base is younger, more youthful. Toronto's a real home. I love Toronto. And the fact that they get people to stand outside in that little mezzanine area when it's freezing outside, going crazy. I love what Toronto's doing. I love the fact that, you know, Drake has really got behind them and rallied the city.

I think it's what basketball needs. You know what I mean? Everyone talks about Golden State's dominant, but everyone's really excited for Toronto. It'll be interesting to see what happens. And what's more interesting to see is if they have success or will win or lose, what does Kauai do next year? Is getting to the finals enough or is he coming home to L.A. regardless? So I think it's going to be, you know, a fun situation to watch. Good stuff.

Matt Barnes. Good seeing you, bud. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So Shaq played in six NBA finals during his 19-year career with six different teams, and he's had a lot of teammates along the way.

But Shaq also has a pretty incredible street going that was continued by Danny Green. He has 36 straight NBA finals that have featured players who were once Shaq's teammates. What? Now come again. 36 straight NBA finals have featured players who were once Shaq's teammate. we have the list of them here. We're going to put up in any second now. Is Shaq 60? It started in 1984.

So from 1984 to 2019, every NBA finals has had a player that played alongside Shaq. Okay, so some of those guys in 84 eventually landed on a Shaq team. Yeah, it's pretty incredible, including Matt. Oh, you were. You were. Yeah, I'm a Shaq in Phoenix. He's a character boy.

Character. character. It's kind of incredible, though, like the reach that Shaq has had in his career. Phoenix was an interesting stop for him because he worked, but he wasn't what we thought. Right. But he actually, that was the last time, that was the last bit of good Shaq. Yeah. And then he kind of fell apart physically.

He still played well for us out there. Just not his style of team, obviously. That's right. Nash and Amari and all those guys. Yeah. And he's still having an effect on the NBA. So this morning, I stumbled across a list by the Action Network of the Most Important players in the 2019 NBA finals, which raises an important question who are the most important

players in this series by their ability to impact and win or lose a series for their team. So their list is Steph, followed by Katie, Kauai, Clay, Seacum, Dramon, Kyle, Marcosal, and then Andrea Godala. I switched it around a little bit. I actually think it's Steph and Kawhi. I have KD way down because I don't think Katie is going to play in the series. I don't think he's going to be healthy. to play in the series. I think it's big time

wishful thinking. By the way, Andre Aguadala, you both have Andre Aguadol about nine. What's fascinating is he's such a good situational player. I'm not saying you're wrong, but to show you the depth of just Golden State's talent, Andre Aguadala is that

classic baseball player who's a 270 hitter, but he always is great in the postseason. Edgar Renteria used to be that guy. You're like, how's Edgar Renteria so good now? Iggy is going to be a Hall of Fame player. And I think you're right. See, I would put Andre Gwadala ahead of most of the Raptors outside of Kauai.

Well, for me, it's both sides, right? Like, it's not just, if you're just assuming that Golden State's going to win the series, then you would put all of them higher. But I think that Kyle Lowry is hugely important to the Raptors having a chance in this series. Kyle Lowry has to have a huge series for them to have a chance. I don't trust them as well. Well, all I'm saying is this is what has to happen in order for it to be a competitive series

and go to game seven if we're thinking that's going to happen. But it's interesting how you rank everybody. I do think that nine-day break for the Warriors, that for Andre Guadala was massive because he will end up. Steph too. Oh, big.

I'm sure everyone needs a break at that point, but, you know, Steph's been playing injured as well. Finally, LeBron James Jr. officially has his own Instagram account. King James has a warning for all. you trolls out there. Yesterday, LeBron welcomed his son Brani to Instagram, saying everyone welcomed the heir to the throne to Instagram, Real Brani.

Told him three years ago, the summer of 2019, I bet you let him get one. Damn time flies. Anyways, let's get it, Brani. P.S. Keep y'all, hey, nasses, off his comments. Are we pulling up? That's funny. It's a nice warning.

Unfortunately, the trolls do not discriminate on age or anything else. but it's crazy that he is he's going to be the next James that we follow like we're already following his career He's 14? Yes, yes he's 14.

Boy, he's got a nice left hand there. Hold on. Him and Wade's son. Is he a lefte or a righte? No, he's a righty. Wow, he's got a good left hand. Yeah, I love it. I guarantee you that's LeBron.

Did you have to have the Instagram? conversation with your kids yet? My son is not interested. He likes the information of Twitter. He thinks Instagram is silly and celebrities and my daughter loves Instagram. She thinks Twitter's vile, mean, and awful

and vulgar. Well, she's not wrong about that. And my son thinks Twitter's funny. He's a little more acerbic and thinks it's full of information. He loves that, that he can learn stuff on Twitter and read stuff, but he thinks Instagram's for girls and stuff. It's weird. It's like that was the conversation

that I have when I got my first cell phone at 16. Would you imagine telling a kid he's getting a cell phone at 16 now? I know. Like that's crazy. Actually, I got my kids a cell phone like at 12 to 13 that would have three numbers on it, like emergency. Right. Mine, moms.

You have the watches and stuff. Yeah, yeah. Good stuff, Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. I will give you this is one of the rumors today. I want to throw this at you.

rumor that Brooklyn Nets are very interested in trading for Anthony Davis. My two, I think, I'll just say this. I think Brooklyn is a fascinating landing spot that nobody's talking about. Everybody's talking about the Knicks. Everybody's talking about clippers. Keep your eye on Brooklyn. I'll just leave it at that. But it is interesting with Anthony Davis.

And I'm not anti-big. I think Anthony, unlike most bigs, I trust him late at the free throw line. and that was always my knock on Shaq. What do you do with Shaq with four minutes in the game, the best closure in the game? Uh-oh. And that's why teams devised Hackashack. But if you look at the postseason and you look at this past year,

just think about Biggs when everybody talks about Anthony Davis. So you had Joel Embed. Injured, inconsistent, a lot of drama. And then you had Yokic in Denver. Good player, but Denver went seven and seven in the playoffs. Denver. Rudy Gobert can't get out of the first round. Carl Anthony Towns can't get into the first round.

Janice was a free-throw liability late and shrunk to some degree in the playoffs. I'll just say this. I'm not giving up the farm on Anthony Davis. I'm not so sure if you're a Laker fan. I'm not so sure the best way to go about this. Engineer a trade to get Bradley Beale. And if you can have LeBron Bradley Beale and one of your young forwards, because Washington will want one in a trade.

and then you just wait for Anthony Davis. If I wait for Anthony Davis and don't have to give stuff up, I'm comfortable with Anthony Davis and LeBron. But if I have to give up four guys and nine draft picks, I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. I like Anthony Davis. But I think you can have him in a year. I think you can have them in a year.

You have to engineer a trade for Bradley Beal. Change the narrative. Get LeBron a shooter. You know it's 2019. I'm not anti-big. And Anthony can shoot a free throw at an 80% clip. I love that about him. But when I see all these stories about Anthony Davis,

if you're going to bring in Anthony Davis, I'm not giving up the farm on him because you better have shooters and ball handlers around him because I've seen these bigs when they don't have it, and it's just not as special as you think. Reggie Bush, around the corner on the Raiders, what in God's name are they? Be sure to catch live editions of the herd.

at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come

cross. When Jacob met Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,

professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star, Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel. I feel like you don't feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile. That means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning.

It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

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

Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Played for over a decade in the NFL, five for the Saints, couple dolphins, Lions, Bills Niners, Super Bowl champ back in 2009,

number two, Pucketta, USC, one of the most dynamic college football players of all time as part of our new Fox Saturday college football broadcast. Yes. With Urban Meyer, Maddie Liner, Brady Quinn,

Rob Stone, and Reggie Bush. I need that picture, by the way. I keep saying it every time I come up here. That's nice. I try to Google it. I couldn't even find it. Look at that. That is tight.

So I got a couple running back questions. Number one, Zeke, Las Vegas. There's nobody around him. He's by himself. There's no security. What do you make of the trouble and what do you make of him? Well, that was what you just said because I watched the video and I'm like, wait, who was with him? Like he's just wandering around at EDC and he's by himself.

And listen, my boys would never allow me to be. in an event, like as big as EDC, wandering by myself. And, you know, clearly, you know, him and the girl he was with got into it, and he kind of pushes the guy down. And it's not like, you know, he barely touched the guy, but it's the spectacle of it, right? And it's the spectacle of him having to get handcuffed after that. Did you, when you went to events like this at the peak of your stardom, did you? I was always with a group of people.

Always. Always with a group of people. Security? Security sometimes, too, depending on where we were at. I've been to EDC before with a group of people. I would never go to something that big like that, especially where he is right now. I just read an article that said they wanted to make them

the highest-paid running back in the history of NFL. And you think about that. Think about all the great running backs that have come before you. Just think about the one that came before you in Dallas, right? DeMarco Murray. I thought DeMarco Murray was playing great football and Jerry Jones got rid of him, right? Emmett Smith, Walter Payton, Marshall Fogg, Barry Sanders.

The list goes on. and they want to make you the highest paid ever. And this is now what we turn on and we see. So to me, he needs help because I've always, for the last couple years, I said that Zique is the best running back in the NFL because the guy doesn't get hurt. And it's not because of lack of touches or carries. He is extremely durable. And I've been through injuries after injuries with way less touches than him.

And so finding a running back like Zique, to be able to produce like he does, as consistent as he does, and not get injured and still be great. And now they want to make you the highest paid, and this is what we see. To me, he needs an OG in his ear. And he needs Irv. He needs Michael Irvin.

He needs a guy who's been through a lot and who still has been able to beat the odds and still has been able to do well with life after football. To me, he needs a guy like Michael Irvin in his ear. And I'm not saying Michael Lervin is not. in his ear because I've had a pleasure working with Irv last couple of years and I know he is a voice for that team for a lot of times for guys when they go through things and so I think he just needs the OG in his ear to set him straight and make him understand and listen it's a privilege to play in this game and if you mess up this opportunity it's not coming back to you right when the

NFL is done with you it's gone right and I remember when I got cut the first time I got cut that was that was that woke me up I was like wait you guys are cutting me like when I was in Detroit because I still felt like I had good years to play. And, you know, when teams stopped calling, it's a tough pill to swallow, man. You also had an interesting perspective on Todd Gurley. A story Jay Glazer confirmed this week, he's, Gurley's got some arthritis in his knee and the Rams are concerned. How did that land for you?

Everybody has arthritis in the NFL. Every running back, every player, nobody goes to this game without arthritis. I had micro fracture surgery after my third year in the league. and people, writers would say that he's probably got another two or three years left. I end up playing another seven years, seven years, you know? And so to me, it's just a matter of Todd Gurley, you know, where is his pain tolerance? Because you are not going to escape this game without pain, without any kind of having to play through torture or whatever it is. And Todd Gurley, he gets a lot of carries.

He sees a lot of touches. I love what they did by bringing in C.J. Anderson last year because that took some pressure off of him. I think if that can be a good route to go, find another back to accomplish. him so he doesn't have to take the bulk of the carries, right? And so that you can keep him relatively fresh for the postseason. And that's where you want to, that's the ultimate goal, I think, for most coaches is how do I keep my best guys healthy for the postseason? Yeah, I mean, New England basically, if you watch New England, September's experiment time post- Thanksgiving when they lock it all in. So, no, I agree. They use four running backs. No, they're, yeah. I mean,

I'm always reluctant to pay running backs a ton. I do think if you have a rookie quarterback, like a Sam Darnold or a Baker Mayfield. And you can give a guy a weapon for like two years. But the time Lavian Bell's contract's done, you've got to pay Darnold. Jared Gough. I think I would pay the money for Gurley why Gough is young. But at some point you've got to pay Gough and I don't want my backfield having the two biggest contracts. And that's the same situation for the Cowboys.

Absolutely. Same thing. Yeah. So let's go to this. Richie Incognito, who have had on the show. We confronted him about some of this stuff. You know what? It was like T.O.

I confronted him. He pushed back. At the end, I liked him. It's like Baker. I confront him, he pushes back. I'm not looking to win stuff. I'm like, here's what I said. Hammer on me.

Let's be adults, and I'm not going to hide from it. So Richie came out and I thought he did well for himself. He had a very rough year last year mentally. He got signed by the Raiders. I don't know what the Raiders' plan is. This is a, there's some real young players. There are Vontes Burfack disruptive players. Like when you heard the signing, you've played with Richie.

I played with Richie. and, you know, just seeing that combination of B. A.B., Ritchie, and at the end of the day, you know, you want, like, Ritchie's a great player on the football field. Great player. He's as mean as, mean as hell. I love running behind him when I was in Miami. I played with him for two years.

I had my two most productive years of my career running behind Ritchie Incognito. So I think he's a great player on the football field. And obviously, you know, but just having that combination with B., and then A.B. and I don't know if A, B, and Burfordick still have B from the hit where he almost took his head off. Yes. And then you had Richie in there. And all I can think of is, man, I hope Hard Knocks has the Raiders this year. Like, I hope it has to be the Raiders this year.

Like, I don't want to see no other team on the Hard Knocks other than the Raiders. I think my biggest problem with the Raiders is I tend to like teams that have a plan and I can see it. Like New England. It doesn't seem like to have a plan. New England. Everybody's taking a cut. We're not making any. Even Tom Brady takes a cut.

Colts. It's all about we're not going to bring in Lavian Bell. Anybody with a little wiggle that we don't like its team. Rams, by the way, are all into free agency and big personalities. I'm okay with that if that's your culture. Exactly, exactly. It just seems like there is no direction or culture right now because they let go of one of the best defensive players of all time. And then overpaid for Trent Brown.

I don't get it. Reggie Bush, college football on Fox. That'll be starting up in September. Good seeing you, bud. Yes, sir. Thank you. All right. Lively last hour.

Rick Buecker, Nickner's Toronto Raptor head coach. Good stuff. Reggie Bush played golf a tiger this weekend. I'll get to that next time. We'll see you next time. 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. Welcome to the same point. Some of the toughest, meanest guys on the yard, they'll tell you I'm never going to a self-help group. But I'll play some basketball. Inside, one of the most notorious prisons in the world. Some of these guys missed they call it. They should have been on a Division I basketball team.

Basketball gives a small ray of hope to the otherwise hopeless. It gives us a sense of purpose. It is well free. Q ball, May 28th on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Q ball is the story of the San Quentin Prison Basketball team, part of Fox Sports Emmy nominated Magnify documentary series by executive producer Kevin Durantz tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on FS1. By the way, Rick Bukers, our guest, senior writer-bleacher report, a friend of the show,

now FS1 employee as well. You've seen this. Yes, I saw an early showing in San Francisco at the Castro Theater. It is impressive. Really well done. It's interesting. So I know Alcatraz. Is San Quentin the one?

North. Okay. Yes. It's not that far from... No, it's not that far from San Francisco. Isn't that amazing? Yeah, it is. It is. Interesting story. So watch that. All right. So by the way, during the break, we got real estate icon here. So you just drop this casually. Like this just says nothing. And you didn't take much from it maybe. But, you know, it's always talking about KAD. And he's leaving. He's going here. All right. Let's talk real estate. What's going on with his house in the Bay Area?

So the house in the Bay Area is up for sale. And he has purchased a place in New York. And I believe it's New York City. They just said, I was told New York. But keep in mind, when it comes to selling the place in the Bay Area, everybody is selling their place in the Bay Area because they need to move from the East Bay to the peninsula. Steph is selling his house and actually moving close to someone I know. with a golf simulator.

Because the arena is moving, people don't want a 55-minute drive. Yes, no, it's just too challenging. I've been a number of their practices this past week. Every practice I go to, assistant coaches, people are coming up to me saying, now where do you live and where do you think I should live? And so they're all, and it is one of those elements that people don't take into account. Like when an arena moves, it changes everything. for everybody's involved.

And that's the case. Now, it is interesting timing that KD is not only putting his house up for sale in the Bay Area, but that he's also purchasing a place in New York. The reason I don't immediately jump to, oh, that's it. It's done is because when you have the wherewithal and the money that KD has and you're from the East Coast, it is reasonable to think that he might be buying a place in New York just to have a place in New York. Yes, the Europeans, rich. Europeans. They all have a place in New York.

Yes. So that doesn't... Yes. I think that... But it's the timing. It is the timing. Now, now, there's been a lot of Kevin Durant Kyrie talk. Yes. You have any insight on Kyrie? Because two months

ago, if I said KD, you'd say Kyrie KD. Yes. Okay. So they're both having weird endings to the season. What's the latest on Kyrie? The latest that I've heard is that it's between Brooklyn and the Lakers. Wow!

And I've heard that the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, now Kobe told me or indicated to me that he was not involved, that he was, hey, that's their deal, I'm not part of it. But I was told in the last 24 hours, Kobe has been busy recruiting Kyrie in particular to try to get him to the Lakers.

Now, everything that I've heard, I would still expect that Kyrie is going to go to Brooklyn. That's the odds on favorite. Because he grew up in Jersey like the Nets. And if we're going to continue our real estate, he just bought a place in South Orange. Okay.

How do you, where do you find out? Who's your, who's your realtor? It's not, it's not, it's not realtors. It's people that know what they're doing business-wise. So I'm not even, because we're going to go out to dinner tonight, I'm not even going to give you, I'm not even going to give you my address. Just find it.

Okay. I don't care about where you're living. I want to know where you're going. All right. So let me move into the, before we get into the final stuff, because you cover the Warriors and the NBA. You live in the Bay Area. I theorize this.

That I have an agent and I've had it not because I just need it because I'm negotiating against massive companies and lawyers. I need somebody to represent me. If my agent ever said, hey, is a company, I know it's getting terrible press and it's completely dysfunctional, but that's from going to send you, I'd be like to my agent. I need a new agent. The Laker story comes out today on ESPN.com. It's a circus. My takeaway is you have to engineer a trade to take back the narrative. If you can engineer a trade and get a Bradley Beale, LeBron Bradley Beale, then the narrative is it's a little circus in

the front office, but they got two guys because I think right now I would be the idea that that article's out. Yeah. And an agent's going to say, say, oh, it's a terrific landing spot. I don't know, Rick. No, I'm with you. And they do need to change the narrative. And getting a player to pair with LeBron would help change that narrative. Yes, a good player.

But the ability to get that player, because even if you're trading, you need to work with other agents. You need to, and you need to know that the players coming in want to be there and want to be part of this. And that's what they're fighting right now. And for me, this is for all of us who respect and appreciate what Jeannie Bus has done, this is from us to you, Jeannie. You need to step up and take charge of this franchise. Right now, there is nobody who is demonstrating who's in charge. Who's in charge? Who's making the decision?

She was not quoted in the piece that just came out. She hasn't addressed any of this. And so you have a dumpster fire and you're looking at it saying, when is somebody going to take charge and say, yes, all this has happened or this is what's being said, but this is how I'm going to lead you out of the fire. This is where we're going to go. There's none of that happening. So everybody looking at this summer who's making their plans on where they want to play and what they want to do are looking at this saying, I don't want any part of that. What are my other choices? Exactly, as you said at the very beginning. Why would I want to go to the lake? So don't you have to engineer a trait? Like let's say, I'll throw this. I love Bradley Beal. And I made the argument earlier. There's a lot of people in America who are really talented,

but there's some sort of duress or chaos in an organization. Eric Ebron for the Lions, dysfunctional lions, goes to the highly functioning Colts and becomes a pro bowler. Sure. Victor Oladipo, Westbrook's hard to deal with. Put him in Indiana, make him the guy. He flourishes. Sure.

I think Beal's numbers are good. I think John Wall can be difficult to play. play with kind of an immature player initially. I'm not sure if he's the world's greatest backcourt tandem talented. I think Beal, with a highly functioning LeBron, would be a much better player. He's a really good player. Could he become Clay Thompson, where we're in the conversation of top 12, 13 guy in the league? Washington would jump out to a team that would like a draft pick number four.

They kind of want to rebuild. If I said to you, what is a trade that just in the Rick Buecker mind of basketball, You could make with this Laker team. You got two young forwards, both score 18, Lonzo on the four pick. What worked? That's not enough to get Anthony Davis, in my opinion. No, it's not.

You wouldn't have to give as much up. Again, I keep coming back to Chris Paul. And apparently LeBron and Chris Paul have gotten together recently. They already have a connection. You wouldn't have to give quite as much up to get him because his feeling is that Houston has to hit the reset. You think Chris Paul. Well, you asked what's realistic.

That to me is realistic. If I'm the Wizards with a player like Bradley Beal, I'm not only trying to get off of that, I'm trying to get off of John Wall's contract. Now, how much money can you take back? And what can the Lakers give me? Because Bradley Beale is an established star in this league, who whatever I'm getting at the number four pick,

I don't know that. Yeah, but if you give me Kyle Kuzma of four, Kyle averaged 18, number four pick. See, you're trying to talk me into this. Lonzo, Kyle Kuzma, and the four. That's not worth Bradley Beal. For a team that wants to rebuild, that by number four pick is that point guard from Vandy

for as good as Bradley Beal is, I would think that I could do better. Wow. Look, this is the biggest thing, is that when you have a guy who is established that he's capable of doing what Bradley Beal is doing, and you know that he's been in this kind of, I don't want to say toxic,

but in this difficult circumstance, everybody's seeing that too. If I pair him or I get him out of this situation, man, he's going to blossom. So everybody sees it. So everybody's looking at that saying, Bradley Beale would be a great get. And as the great Don Nelson once said,

all I'm looking for is a rich man in trouble. Ted Leonesis right now is a rich man and he's in trouble. He needs to make a decisive move, largely because of that John Wall contract and the possibility that he's all done. Rick Buecker, Senior Writer Bleacher Report. All right, two things. Katie's traveling with a team.

What's that mean? He's going with him to Toronto. So there's two ways to look at this. One, either it means that he's close because normally you would stay home and you would continue to rehab. Yeah. So this was almost like, well, wow,

if he's going, maybe he's almost ready and he could play in game two. So game one's Thursday, game two Saturday or Sunday? Saturday. Saturday. Okay, so, I mean, If he left today. Right.

But the other is he's so far away, it doesn't matter. There's no rehab to be done because there's no rehab that's going to get him ready for this series. From everything I've heard, I'm inclined to believe the latter. He's going just to be there and to be present and be part of it, not because he's ready to play. I do not expect to see him play in this series. Oh, and none of it. Oh, I don't expect. Wait, look, when this originally happened, I was, when this originally happened, I would,

told and said that it was going to be three to six weeks. Then the Warriors came out and said it's more serious than we originally thought, which leads me to believe it's closer to the six weeks than it is the three weeks. Three weeks is tomorrow from the date of the injury. So now we're talking another two weeks. The series is going to be over. Game six is in two weeks from Thursday. So I just don't see a way in which he's going to be able to get back and play in this.

series and I would think the same with DeMarcus cousins. I don't think either one of those guys are going to play in the series. So this is small ball for 10 days, two weeks. Yes. Which I believe is going to make the series more interesting than people. So let's go to your prediction. I'm saying the Warriors in six, but I'm, I would love seven and I think it's going to be, I'm hoping, I mean, this might be wishful thinking, but I believe it can be a competitive six games. By the way, the Maverick team that beat the favored heat with three stars. Yes. Had a good coach, crafty veterans, go-to star, no indecision,

end the possession, in the game, and they'd beaten them twice in the regular season. And they faced a team in Miami that had some drama. Isn't that the Warriors now? Three stars? Oh, no, no drama. You don't think this Katie thing's a little drama? No drama.

No drama. I've been around them. I've talked to them. They are as locked in. And by the way, Steph Curry, Steph Curry on his left hand has two little pieces of black tape. And I saw him shooting the other day. He was in a zone. He was shooting left-handed 12-foot floaters and dropping them with his damaged, his injured hand.

I think he's dialed in. I think they see the finish line. How's Iggy's health? Iggy's physical health is great. His, like, he's had a lot to carry as far as keeping this team. together. Like, for example, the whole Clay Thompson thing, not being named all NBA. He's not upset with the 30 million. He's upset over the idea that you're saying that there's six guards in the league better than me. A little chip on the shoulder. And so what happens is

that can kind of veer a guy and wanting to prove something. This is not time to prove anything individually. And Andre has been one of those guys in the locker room, has always made sure that everybody stays on the same page. Livingston, Iggy, you're going to, just nine days helped Golden State more than Toronto. Oh my goodness. I mean, it's, and starting on the road. Steph pointed this out to me the other day. He goes, this is the first time. We'll go to the finals. We'll start on the road. We've got to get on a plane to start. And we're not playing in Cleveland. And they were so used to, this is our hotel. These are the restaurants. This is how long it takes to get to the arena. This is what the arena feels like. I mean, it was, it was a second home for them. This is

going to be completely different. That said, I believe it's exactly what they need. because I think if they were starting an Oracle and they're looking at the Raptors, they'd give away a game. They would. It's just been their tendency all year long. I think having to start on the road, they're going to be more dialed in than they normally would. Good see, anybody. Good see you.

Tonight, we've got to go get some fish. Sounds good. Rick Buecker and I. Seattle Kid, Bay Area. Fish night. Joy with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

You're a lobster guy or? No, I'm not. I'm kind of a white fish. guy. Salmon or white fish? Cevice, sometimes a little. I got my... I can do cod. I can do sea baths. I can do snapper. Love oysters.

Loisters. I grew up next to Oysterville. Well, there you go. There's a little town next to my hometown. So another day, another report about the dysfunctional Lakers. Their front office is probably as dysfunctional as it's ever been in their 72-year history. And a new ESPN report this morning revealed a lot of things and talked a lot about Magic and Rob Polinka. it said sources who feared reprisal described Polinka and Johnson as managers who made unilateral free agent acquisitions

triggered a spate of tampering investigations and fines berated staffers including Walton and created an in-house culture that many said marginalized their colleagues, inspired fear and led to feelings of anxiety severe enough that two staffers suffered panic attacks. Now everyone pretty much has an opinion about this story.

at this point and kind of sides are being taken. Now there's another part of the report talking about Rob Polinka making up a story about Kobe and Heath Ledger and Heath Ledger was deceased at the time that this alleged dinner happened. It's all bad. But the bottom line is there's no direction with this. And a lot of times when you put people into positions of power who don't necessarily have the experience, there can be some overstepping. But in general, that's why, you need good ownership. And I'm not saying that this is all Jeannie Bus's fault, but Jeannie Bus has the power to clear all of this out of the way. She can snap her fingers and everyone can be gone and you can put people in place that have this experience and can run the organization.

We should not be talking about the owner and the front office of the Lakers. Anytime you talk more about the ownership and the front office of an organization and you do the actual team, no matter what sport it is, it means there's this function. think about the franchises that are that are out there that are consistently competitive and excellent. We never talk about the ownership, ever. And very rarely do we mention the front office, if not just to say they have a good owner and a good front office. It's a mess. Just read the article.

I'm not even picking sides. It isn't one person. It's just a mess. No, I don't think there's a side to take anymore because Rob Polinka is still there. You can't just pick and choose what parts of the article you want to believe. Eve. It's, it just, it just needs to be fixed or make a major trade because if I'm a free agent, I am not getting involved in that. So five-star prospect and consensus top five pick in the 2020 MBA mock drafts is RJ Hampton. And he is foregoing college basketball to play for the New Zealand

breakers in the NBA. This decision comes after he reclassified his high school graduating year from 2020 to 2019 earlier this spring. He believes playing in New Zealand will best prepare him for the NBA. He told ESBM, my number one goal is to play in the NBA. I wanted to be an NBA player before I ever wanted to be a college player. This is about getting ready for the next level faster and more efficiently. You can always go back to college, but there's only a short window as an athlete where you can play professional basketball. And I wanted to take advantage of that. I think that challenging yourself on a daily basis is the best way to improve. We just had a baseball player do the same thing, essentially. Say, I'm going to go to Japan,

and I'll be a free agent by 25 instead of like 29. So we have a baseball player. We have a baseball player and a basketball player say, hey, I know what I want to do. I'm going to skip steps and be a professional sooner and I'm for it. Well, it's not necessarily skipping steps. It's just a different route. I mean, we have European players come over all the time that didn't play college basketball and assimilate right into the NBA culture. You're going to play professional basketball so that you can then play professional

basketball. It actually makes perfect sense. I know people are freaking out. You know, that college basketball is going to disappear. It's not. It's not going anywhere. Everyone is not going to take the same path to get to the NBA. This is what he feels like is best for him.

He wants to start playing professionally right away. And he's a one and done player. And one and done players, it's not like he's foregoing this great academic experience. These one and done guys are taking eight classes, six classes, and they're gone. Right. Miss me with the academic experience anyway. If you want to go to college and have a college experience before you go to the NBA, all for it. But you're not going to finish school anyway if you're a one and done. You're always going back to school.

So whatever path you want to take to get there. I'm fine with. And he comes from a family that believes in education. So I'm sure he will finish it eventually when he's done playing. Finally, Shaquille and he all played in six NBA finals during his 19-year career

in six different teams. And he had a lot of teammates along the way. But there's a pretty interesting streak that Shaq has going on here. And it's been continued by Danny Green. 36 straight NBA finals have featured players who were once Shaq's teammates.

Crazy. Going back to 1984. And so most recently, Danny Green. The list is really incredible. Yeah. And it's kind of bizarre. Well, we were talking about this yesterday. It's five men in this league have been involved in 80% of the finals since the 60s.

Red Arbach, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Greg Popovich, and Steve Kerr have been in 87% of the last 62 finals. It is amazing. It's like any industry. You go to Silicon Valley. there's probably six investors that are tied to almost every one of these companies. That's just the way the world works. It's really bizarre. It is.

It's great list. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Coach of the Raptors, Nick Nurse, around the corner. That's coming up.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Let's not waste any time. A great story. not only the Raptors, but Nick Nurse, first season as coach of the Raptors, after 30 years as a coach or an assistant in college, the British Basketball League and the G League. This is really a remarkable story that, you know, most of us don't know who Nick Nurse is, and now he's on our TV all the time, and he is joining us live in Toronto. First of all, Nick, thanks for coming on. I imagine the travel is a little higher grade in the NBA.

This is a great life for you and your family right now. Hi, Colin. A little better than the Don Hall guest house in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You know, it's funny. When I look at you, you are the Raptors. Who is Nick Nurse? And you fight and you grind. And listen, chip on the shoulder.

I mean, isn't there a little bit of you thinking, why did it take me so long to get here? Not really, Colin. And I think, you know, I used to get that question a lot when I was coaching in the G League, which was the D League when I was coaching in it. You know, we were having the best record in the league and getting a lot of players called up and people would constantly be saying, how come you're not in the NBA? And I never really worried about it.

I just wanted the head coaching experience. I knew it was going to pay off someday and be valuable. And, you know, I loved those jobs. I had two jobs, one in my home state in Iowa and one on the Mexican-based. border down there at the Rio Grande Valley, and I loved them both. You know, load management became a term this year. Kauai and LeBron took some time off, and I was one of those guys. I'm like, I don't even know what that means.

It sounds like an accounting term, but I could make an argument this morning that it helped Kauai. He looks fresh. You asked him to push up against Janus. I mean, you know, you look at it. Could I make the argument, Nick, that for a star player that knows he's going to go through the playoffs, missing 10, 12 games is not the end of the world. Yeah, I mean, I think you could make that argument.

I think we were in a situation where he didn't play a lot, you know, the year before because of the injury. And I just think we wanted to, you know, slow play it a little bit. You know, just we didn't really know him that well. We wanted to see what we had. We wanted to make sure he was healthy. And, you know, like the early conversations that I'd have with him were never about, like, become an MVP or whatever. He's just like, listen, I want to play a lot. long, healthy career, and I'm all about winning. You know, that's, that's all he ever talked about,

and the gear that he's thrown it in here in the playoffs has been really fun to watch. You know, it's also what I love about Kauai is not only low drama, but I love the mid-range jumper. I'm one of those guys. I love it. I don't want just guys chucking up threes. I like a guy working like a playground for a good shot off a screen. I like analytics. I do. I respect analytics, but I like something called man analytics. I need a man to get a buck What do you make of the postseason where the mid-range jumpers had a little bit of a comeback? Yeah, I think, you know, there's certainly the argument, you know, there's still the pulse of the guy and the heart inside the guy, right,

that's probably outweighs the analytics. And when you got a guy like Kauai that hits them at that rate, you're analytically okay. You know, you still as well, you know what I mean? And I just, again, you got to get the most important thing is that you get a shot. You know, the turnover is what really kills you in the analytic world. And you get it to a guy that gets a shot and he clears some space and feels pretty good. Most of the time when it comes off his hand, you're shocked when it doesn't go in. You know, that's a good feeling for a team to have.

You know, Nick Nurse, Coach of the Raptors, actually, people think you have an advantage because Katie won't play. I think it's weird. You're preparing for two different teams. You don't know if boogie's going to play. You don't know if Katie's going to play. I think that that's hard. That's a little bit of a, I'd kind of like to know what I have. How do you prepare for the Warriors with KD or without him?

Every night in the D league, Colin. You know who's going to be on the floor about an hour before the game. So you put your game plans out there. You assume both of them are going to play until somebody tells you officially that they're not. And then when they're not, you don't, it just doesn't bother. It doesn't move your meat or too much, man. You pull up your socks and get ready to go at it, man, you know. You guys, one of the reasons I'm shocked you're here, I said, I've been watching the NBA for 40 years.

I was an old Seattle Sonics fan with downtown Freddie Brown and Gus Williams. And I'm like, I'm like, they don't have a second score. And I don't know if they can make it. And Siakam's post-all-Star break has really blossomed. But did you worry early in the season? Who's getting us buckets after Kauai? Not really. I mean, it's a great, you know, question.

and it really becomes to bear in the playoffs, right? Like, who's your number two? Who's your third guy, really? But we had a lot of games without Kauai, something like 22. We had something like 20, some without Kyle. And we just kind of tried to play a little bit of a, you know, move the ball, get a good shot, move it to the open man, you know, like I say, here's what we're trying to do. We're trying to play defense and hit the open man, you know, and it's like, I know that sounds simple,

It's a good thing we were trying to do. And I think it gave a lot of guys on different night confidence from, you know, Seacom especially. We really let him have some freedom and take the ball and run with it. Danny Green can hit some threes. Freddie, Norm, Surge. And then we pick up Gasol. After we got Gasol, we became the number one three-point shooting team in the NBA.

Yeah. Because we were moving it even more to the open man. So I don't know. And we had, that was probably what excited me the most. We had some great moments when Kauai was in his rest periods, against Milwaukee. Yeah. By the way, I like Drake.

I don't like guys touching coaches. What did you make of that? It became like an international story. What did you make of it? Well, yeah, I'm like you. I really like him. First of all, he's really nice to me all the time. And he's a huge fan.

He's almost like a little kid. And, you know, when he's around our team, it's great. I really, I didn't feel it in the game. I said, I didn't know until the next morning. somebody sent me a picture and I said, geez, I didn't even remember that happened. And I said either, I said either A, I was really, really focused, which I probably was, or B, he has really soft hands. That was my answer.

Well, you're a great story. I'm shocked. I pick Milwaukee. Joy, my counterpart here, loved y'all year. And you deserve. Good job, Joy. Yeah, good job, Joy. Congratulations.

Yeah, congratulations. Hey, hey, Joe, I feel like I know you better. Nate Bjorkren's on my staff and was up with me in the minor leagues and he worked for your fiance Earl. So I feel like I know you and Earl a little more than I actually do. But thanks for picking us. I appreciate that. Yeah. Well, you know, we support you and shout out to Nate. Nick, great story. Great, great North American City. We think it's going to be a fascinating series. And congratulations to you and everybody with the Raptors. Hey, thanks a lot, Colin. I'm a big fan. I just wanted you to know that.

Oh, thank you so much. Thank you very much. See, even this year when I doubted them all year, he understood. Well, you know, he's a grinder. He's a, he's a big. By the the way we had Fred Van Bleed on and Nick Nurse. It's not that I don't love Canada. I went last year to Vancouver. It's just, after five years in a row, they kept disappointing me.

I'm like, I'm done with it. I told you. It's just, is a different team this year. I'm over it. And now they delivered in, they do have a little Dallas Mavericks feel to them.

They got a little Dallas Mavericks feel. Good coach, a lot of veterans, one star, low drama, facing a favorite where there's a little uncertainty going on. I think it is weird. Do you prep for Durant? Do you not? It's going to be a fascinating series.

Hey, Discover's going further with Miles rewards than they've ever gone before. Discover at Miles' card automatically matches all the miles you earn at the end of your first year. Limitations apply. Discover match for new card members only. Learn more at Discover.com slash travel. So Chris Brousard, Matt Barnes, Reggie Bush, Rick Buecker, Nick Nurse. I got to go.

I got to go. I'm not got to go. I'm going to dinner with Rick Buecker tonight. So we're going to have a big piece of fish. And just talk about all his real estate knowledge. He's breaking stories. A lot of real estate stories. Kyrie's buying a place in Brooklyn.

Katie's got a place in New York. Katie's selling his place in the Bay Area. Let's go to Zillow. That's my new site. I've got to hang out. Third. I'm Michelle McPhee. And I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported

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So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspirational. women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. mind and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicle Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.