The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Lakers-Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, parity, Russell Westbook, and duos

Episode Date: July 8, 2019

Colin talks about the NBA having great parity, Kawhi Leonard choosing the Clippers over the Lakers, and more proof stars don't want to play with Russell Westbrook. Also, Colin lists his favorite duos in the NBA. Guests include Chris Broussard, David Griffin, Alex Rodriguez, and Bill Oram. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Live in Los Angeles, this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. One hour from now, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, plenty of both. Joy Taylor is joining me

a Monday when we had amazing soccer, amazing NBA. It was actually an incredible sports weekend. Unbelievable. It is a marvelous Monday. You're right about that. Let's just start rhyming all our days. So let me start with the obvious thing. Kauai Leonard chose the Clippers along with Paul George. Well, well, well, well, well, player movement didn't kill the NBA now, did it all you fearmongers? This morning, I've got the Clippers, the Lakers, the Jazz, the Bucks, the Celtics, the Sixers, the Nuggets, the Blazers, the Rockets and the Warriors, 10 loaded, legitimate NBA playoff teams, and I think about 8 to 9 of those could win the NBA championship.

Maybe all 10, I love Denver. All the fear mongers. Killing the NBA, super teams. Nah, didn't work. Leagues never had more parity. Seven to the last 10 years, a new champion, and I've got no idea who's winning next year. A, salary cap league, they can't all go to the same place.

B, the market corrected itself. Toronto won with one star. C, I do think LeBron was the soul of the NBA for about a decade. He's no longer the Pied Piper. People don't follow his every move. Folks, we live in a country now where everybody is in such a rush to race to Twitter and social media, to win the argument. we never let anything bake. Player movement.

Let it bake for a few years. Yes, LeBron comes in. Player empowerment. You had the Miami Big Three. And KD goes to the Warriors, kind of copies him. You got the Warrior Dynasty. But then players started looking around going, well, Miami was lucky to win a second title in four years,

probably outside of Ray Allen. Shot should have won one. And a KD thing, it ended quickly. And everybody was ripping K. and Rippin LeBron, and it baked a little bit. And then Toronto with one star one, and everybody was like, yeah, you just team up with one other good guy. And you don't need to really go with the super team.

You can just team up with one star and then a bunch of good players. And Toronto corrected the market. And it was allowed to bake a little. This is what we do now. Colin Kaepernick signs with Nike. Let's run to Twitter. Get my phone. And Nike stock is going down.

The company's dead. And nobody likes it. And yeah. four days later the Nike stock is up. Let stuff bake. Politics, sports, business. Everybody rushes to their phone. They've got to win the argument.

And everything comes out a hot opinion and like a microwave. The first time you touch the tea, the coffee, whatever you put in the microwave, it's a little hot. Ooh, let it cool down a little bit. Folks, look at sports in America today. You want to know who has a competitive balance problem? You want to know who's got a dynasty problem? It's not stars in big cities.

It's college football. Hey, Joy, guess who will play for the national title again this year? Hmm. What it might be, maybe, is it Clemson and Alabama? Well, they played last year. The year, Fart, yeah, Fart, yeah, Fart, yeah, Fart, rural America. It's just like American wealth today. We're all scared that New York and L.A. and Silicon Valley has all the money.

The leading economy in America this morning, the fastest growing economy in America today is Salt Lake City. A lot of people making money in small towns too. Listen, look around the NBA. Let it bake a little bit. There's no competitive balance issue. We had player mobility and guys lined up. The big three in Boston won once. Miami won twice.

Thanks to Ray Allen, should have won once. Two years into the warrior situation, it was already restless. That's blown up. And this morning, I got players everywhere. I got two good players, three good players in Utah, in Denver and Portland. By the way, Portland's got three centers. They'll probably make a huge deal at the trading deadline to get better. Golden State may trade, DeAngelo Russell, get another good play that fits back.

We got all sorts of movement. This league has always been controlled for the record by trades. That's how Paul George got to the Clippers, which allowed Kauai to then choose the Clippers, right? Kauai told the Clippers, you got to get another start. are. So an 81-year-old executive engineered a trade and then Kauai said, okay, now come. So as much as we get concerned about free agent, it's trade engineered this whole puppy. We're all good. The NBA is fine. Just like the rest of us in America. We should have a right to be mobile, change coast, change bosses, change brands, change companies. NBA players do. There is no

competitive balance issue. Last 10 years, NBA has seven different champions, and you go ahead and bet on the Clippers and Lakers. I have no idea who's winning the NBA title next year. Let me shift to this. A lot of people are saying this morning, whoo-wee, Kawai Leonard Dis-Lebron. LeBron is a very unique American athlete.

I would put him in the Muhammad Ali class. We've seen Megan Rapino, although most of us didn't know her that well a month ago. But let's just say Megan Rapino, Muhammad Ali, LeBron James. They are athletes. They're disruptors. They're outspoken. They're political. They're dissenters.

And they are incredibly rare. Most women's soccer stars just want to play soccer. locker. They don't want the blowback. Most NBA guys don't want to be more than an athlete. They like being an athlete. And Muhammad Ali, he was not typical. When you look at LeBron, Megan Rapina, when you look at Muhammad Ali, these are unique athletes in America. Look at who's dominating sports today. Brooks Kepka doesn't talk. Mike Trout doesn't talk. Christian Pulisic doesn't talk. Kauai Leonard doesn't talk. Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, mostly avoid politics. In fact, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are the two biggest stars in the last probably 30 years in sports. I mean, literally, they left their sport and the ratings died. Michael Jordan and Tiger got ripped because they didn't want anything to do with politics.

Michael Jordan today gets ripped. Republicans buy shoes. Tiger gets ripped. Why won't you talk about social change? Because I don't want to. Politics are messy. But LeBron's different. LeBron's worldview is, I'm going to do more than just play basketball.

I'm going to be a disruptor. I'm going to change player mobility. Kauai Leonard didn't choose today to diss LeBron. Kauai Leonard's worldview just isn't the same as LeBron's. As KD said, LeBron comes to your team. It's a little bit of a circus. By the way, I've gone to the circus. I like the circus.

But the circus is noise and its narratives. its stories and its media and its press. And Kevin Durant said, it's a circus. Well, not many players actually want to go play with Ringling Brothers. The reality is Kauai, according to stories this morning, didn't choose the Lakers for two reasons. He was concerned about the Super Team label, probably because he watched Durant and LeBron get ripped. And he also didn't like the Lakers. dysfunction, which LeBron has added to. When you add superstar, disruptor, political, dissenter, Muhammad Ali, Megan Rapino and LeBron are very comfortable in that space.

LeBron's brand is more than an athlete. But in my lifetime, most great superstars, would rather just be a great athlete. And that's okay, too. LeBron's worldview is the stuff we'll write about, but it's rare, and it always has been. All right, Colin Wright, Colin wrong in 50 minutes. You knew today.

I know what you were thinking, because I know what I was thinking. Another star bails on Westbrook. So I will at least acknowledge that coming up. Happy Monday, marvelous Monday. Terrific Tuesday scheduled for tomorrow. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

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It's great to have you in on a Monday. Arod, later in the show, Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, and of course, Joy Taylor heard news coming up around the corner. Yesterday was a great American soccer day, by the way. In the morning, I got the United States, States women. Then at night, I even flew after that game, landed in LA, watched the men. It was an incredible day of soccer. One, one lost one, but both fun to watch. So the Raptors, by the way, had a chance to get Russell Westbrook this weekend. And the best GM in the NBA, some say,

said, no thank you. And Sam Presti, by the way, couldn't keep Paul George. He couldn't keep Kevin Durant. Both Kevin Durant and Paul George, while playing with Westbrook, we're calling other teams. I said this, the triple double and the embrace of it and the pursuit of it would come back to haunt Westbrook. It now defines him. For all you young broadcasters and you young athletes, be careful of the brand you embrace. Magic Johnson and LeBron James have the record for most playoff triple doubles, but they've never embraced it. They never wanted to be defined by it. It's a stat. they're not stat guys. Magic Johnson triple doubles. Never talks about that. LeBron James triple doubles. No interest in embracing that. Carmelo Anthony acknowledged in OKC they were

goosing Westbrook's rebounding stats. He embraced it. He put his arms around it. And it shifted his brand. When Russell Westbrook came into the NBA, his brand, go back, his first seven, eight years in the league. It was, oh my God, crazy hops, crazy fun, unbelievably hyper athletic, unbelievably dynamic. Have you seen this Westbrook guy? In the last three years, his brand has become triple double, triple double. And the NBA has never been more about playing well with others, and his brand has never been more about an individual stat.

I said it at the time. The triple double, the media pushed it, promoted it, market it, sell it. Hurt him. He's a stat guy now. He's a stat guy. And the NBA players are not only more about winning than stats. Good God.

How many of the NBA players gave up 190 million guaranteed over the last week? I count like six of them. Five of them. And not about the money. It's not about the individual stats. It's about joining another star and winning a bunch of games. Be careful. embracing the brand you think is great.

He put his arms around it. It's about the number. His brand now is an individual stat. Not what it was years ago, which is, oh, I'd love to play with that guy, I'd love to watch that guy, I'd love to see that guy. By the way, Hardin's better without him.

Durant's better without him. Sabona's better without him. Ola Depot better without him. Want to bet Paul George is better without him? Triple double. Turn off. NBA today is not about getting your number. It's not even, by the way, load management.

It's not even about getting your minutes. It's not even about getting cash. Stars are giving up millions. I would never do it. It's about winning and playing well with others. His brand now is triple double and exhausted by the time the playoffs get here. Remember this piece of videotape? Westwood, got the screen, the switch on D.

It's a three-over-haden, and it's no good. He is one of nine shooting in the fourth. Again, he's got it. Again, he'll challenge. This time a two. Another miss. He's tired. He's got nothing in the tank.

Nothing. Nothing. He's played 40 excruciating heavily leaned on minutes. You got to play 40 minutes to get triple doubles. Winning January means exhausted in May. He embraced the wrong brand. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. What a soccer weekend, huh? Crazy. I had so much fun yesterday. Great games. Well, UNS women's national team accomplished defeat that even Mia Hamm couldn't pull off. They won back-to-back women's World Cups.

They defended their titles yesterday, defeating the Netherlands to nothing. Megan Rapido scored the first goal from the penalty spot, and Rose Lavel sealed the game in the 69th minute. to give them their fourth world cup. Amazing stuff. You know, I went yesterday, and I went and looked up Mega Rapido's life story. It's really incredible.

I mean, her family's had, by the way, it's not all been rainbows and sunshine. No, no, of course not. She's had, you know, a brother that's been incarcerated. But, you know, when that penalty kick was so chill, you're watching somebody that she has been better in the biggest moments. This is somebody, when you read her life story, you get why she's not bothered by anything.

Well, and also, I mean, that's really when it comes down to it. When you watch champions in the biggest moments, they look like they were meant to be there, like they were made to be there. Whereas, you know, you or I might be sitting there shaking and shivering and sweating and nervous. It's like this is what they've prepared for their entire life. And it's just like combing your hair.

It's just something that you do every day. They were incredible yesterday. They really, it really makes you so proud to watch them play. One of the things I said last week, and I think you were here for that, it was Thursday, and I said, I wish our men played with the aggressiveness of our women. The two stars yesterday that scored goals for us were both injured. So this wasn't a perfect World Cup. We had injuries. Megan Rapino missed a game.

Rose scored a goal. LeBelle was hurt. So, you know, this idea that it was all rainbow and sunshine, there were injuries. there was a lot of noise and controversy. And, I mean, to me, I wish our men played with this kind of brisbado and this kind of confidence and this kind of attacking style. Well, that's kind of where it comes from, right? Like the ability to play through those injuries and not allow the outside noise or the controversy or, I don't know, you know, the president of the country that you're representing talking about you is being a team and having confidence. And when you have that belief in yourself, you're able to overcome all of those things.

They were incredible. And just as a minor note, the entire stadium was shanding for equal pay afterwards. So I think it's probably time we just take care of that. So Magic Johnson says he's disappointed that Kauai chose the clippers. Before the news was made public, the Lakers were allegedly amongst the frontrunners, Sleian Kauai. And Magic himself reportedly spoke to Kauai one-on-one. He told the L.A. Times, for the Lakers, there's disappointment.

But joy, too, in a perfect world. You'd love to have Kau. but hey the Lakers ain't going anywhere Everybody tried, that's all you can do I'm a Laker man I was hoping all day But for the league it turned out great And for this town It's the king of basketball

You know this really was the If you were somebody who was Not into the Super teams And you know The whatever we've been dealing with With Golden State for the past couple years And Miami before that

And you know you're against all that This is the perfect case scenario for you So you can't have any complaints because Kauai did not join up with LeBron and Anthony Davis. And yes, he did join another superstar in Paul George. But the league is so balanced now. You can't make any arguments for it. So if they have issues now, you just want to have issues.

You know, it's funny. I'm listening to all the shows. The team that's getting, nobody's talking about is Denver. So Denver last year, the best record, right, for a long time. And it was the Joker, who is one of the most skilled big men of our lives. And all these young guys, Jamal Murray, became a. star. Denver didn't make any news. Denver's like, we like our team. We just got to bake this thing a little bit. Watch Denver. Lakers going to get talked about. Warriors are going to get talked about.

Jazz going to get talked about. Denver finished with the second best record in the West and they're just all back. Their coach was arguably the best coach in the league. They've got one of the best bigs, bad NBA body, but one of the best bigs. Denver is the, by the way, the Clippers, the quiet team just got Kauai. I've never seen a great pro team. Nobody's talking about Denver. Watch out. Yeah, they're just laying there creeping. They'll let everybody else get the attention.

They'll be there in the end. And finally, we're just talking about Russell Westbrook. Will he be in OKC at the start of the season? There's some rumblings about the heat being interested. After the Thunder traded Paul George, some more speculation has been coming up about where he's going to go. And the Rockets, weirdly enough, could be a potential destination. According to Sam Amick of the athletic, rival execs have also pinpointed the Rockets as a likely suitor, which would come as no surprise considering the way

Darry has prioritized the pursuit of stars. The notion of Westbrook sharing the floor with two other ball dominant guards is unorthodox, but Mori has long held the belief that landing as many elite players as possible is the path to championship glory. Okay, time out. So he's an analytics guy. Okay, he liked Mello. Mello doesn't shoot threes. It was a mess. And Westbrook doesn't shoot threes. Like, he's an analytic. If you're an analytics guy,

if you were into fashion and you dressed like, me, I'd be like, you know, you're off brand a little. I thought he was the analytics guy. An analytic people like threes. Mello and Westbrook don't shoot threes. Well, I don't get it. I don't get it. I mean, a lot of people were against the Butler move,

which I didn't think wasn't necessarily a bad mood move, but still held some question marks as far as what the chemistry was going to be. But inserting Westbrook into the situation makes no sense whatsoever. Now, Westbrook and Miami, to me, makes them more sense. Yes. But I don't think that they have the pieces to make that happen. That being said, was even considering Butler going to Miami

and then poof, he's there. So you never count Pat Riley out what he's able to maneuver. However, Houston, I mean, I just think that this is just Houston trying to figure something out because everybody else is making moves and they're there every year and they can never get over the hamps. It's like we've got to do something, but this, I mean, this makes

no sense to me. It just isn't a fit with what you have. Another ball-centric guard. Isn't that the knock on Chris Paul? Isn't that the knock on Hardin? So you'd have three ball. Actually, I will say this about Westbrook's personality, even fits Miami. He's a fashion guy. Oh, no, he'd be perfect. Yeah. And I think that Butler

and him would actually play well together. Like, that that's a fit to me. This isn't, this is not. Joey with the news on our marvelous Monday. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. All right, Chris Broussard. What ain't God's day? It's going on. It's crazy in the NBA. Chris Broussard.

All right. So I go to, you know, I was with my kids all weekend and I took Friday off and then nothing happened. And then I went to bed and I woke up Saturday morning. I'm like, oh, we got a little movement. I'm on radio shows everywhere. So a lot of people were saying, well, Chris, you had the, you had the clippers out of it. And your response to that was Thursday morning, they were essentially out of it. Because Kauai was not going to the Clippers unless they had a second star. And the Clippers understood this. I'm told his latest Friday afternoon, Doc Rivers thought Kauai was going to

the Lakers. But they were trying to get Paul George, but it was obviously going to be difficult within a few days to get that type of trade done. But once the clippers got the second star, and Kauai was giving them time, that's obviously what the delay was for. Yes. But he was giving them time. Once they got that, it made all the sense in the world. Yeah, Kauai took its time. You know, this morning, a lot of people are going to say, you know, another guy didn't choose LeBron. As I said to start the show, I don't see it as that. LeBron is Muhammad Ali. He is a disruptor. He is a dissenter. He's a unique in that he's not apolitical but very political. Most athletes don't want to be.

Michael Jordan didn't want anything to do with politics. Tiger didn't want anything to do. Kauai chose not anti-Lebron, but anti-drama. LeBron's teams are dramatic. They're noisy. They're political. And I think a lot of that with Kauai looked at it and he just thought, man, I got magic.

I got LeBron. I got the L.A. media. It clearly L.A. didn't bother him. Well, he wanted L.A. I mean, he wanted Southern California. I think the narrative that nobody wants to play with LeBron is overstated. Because obviously Anthony Davis moved heaven and earth to play with him. And risked put his image on the line to play with him.

So some players want to play with it. Role players have never been a problem. You had guys waiting around to see what Kauai did to play with the Lakers and LeBron. So role players have never been a problem. And some stars may want to. But other stars don't. I don't think it's because he's political. I think it's because other stars want their own team.

Before I began reporting this out and finding out that Kauai really was serious about going to the Lakers, I was thinking why in the world he just won a championship with no other star, why would he go to someone else's team? Because even if LeBron would have done exactly what he said to Kauai and AD, I'm going to step back, I'm going to be the point guard, I'm going to defer to you guys. And let's say LeBron's the third leading score. Average is 21 points, 11 assists. It's still LeBron James' team.

And many stars want their own team, which I like. I respect that. So that's one of the reasons. And then I think, like you said, the drama. I don't think he has anything with LeBron's politics and all that he's doing. I think, though, he brings drama. I can't remember the last season. There wasn't drama around LeBron.

Katie called it a circus. His teams are just noisy. And I'm wondering, like, now this year with Boogie Cousins and Rondo, now there are, there's a lot of drama that can happen. But before they did that, when they got the AD trade, I was just like, okay, what drama is there going to be to stir up? There really shouldn't be any. But I think that's another thing players want to avoid. But look, these guys respect LeBron and they're following in his footsteps. What Kauai did, I said LeBron is a boss, and he is, right?

this was the biggest boss move I've ever seen by a player in the NBA. My 25 years are covering. To get another star who has three years left on his deal, just signed the deal last year, spurned LeBron, spurned the Lakers, spurned his home area, to get him a year later to demand a trade and get it done all within a week? That's incredible.

Also, Kauai was a parent. a recruiter. And now, you know how I feel about that. When John Wall and Derek Rose and Westbrook are like, I don't recruit, I'm like, uh, social media is all about salesmanship. The whole world now is projecting my image, my brand. Westbrook's very much about style. So he's projecting self and he's selling himself.

Like, apparently Kauai was a very good recruiter on the phone. One of my favorite rappers of all time, Keras won, had a lyric. bad, real bad boys move in silence. And I can't think of a better description of Kauai Leonard. Like he had the entire NBA stumped, Colin. Like you mentioned me, I thought he was going to the Lakers. So many other people were saying he was going to the Lakers. Then you have people saying he's definitely going to the clip or to the Raptors.

Like, he had the entire league stumped and to keep that quiet. It was amazing. And so people underestimate Kauai because he's so quiet. But if you look at the past few years, he's gotten exactly what he wanted. He got out of San Antonio. He wins the championship in Toronto. He gets back to Southern California. He gets his second star.

He is a – he's something else. What are they called, gangsta? He's a gangster. He's gang – we got another – now we got another gangster in L.A. Okay. So I look at all these teams. We have parity. I've said before, I'm not sure parity gets better ratings because I don't think the Denver

Nuggets against the Clippers. How about a Milwaukee, Utah final? You want that? Well, again, I, everybody is just loving it today. And I get it because everybody feels like in the big land grab, everybody got an acre. And I get it. But at the end of the year, the NFL dominates when they get the Packers and the Eagles and the Patriots and the Steelers, Jacksonville was everybody's nightmare.

Right? Like, oh, Jacksonville and Super Bowl. I like watching the NBA. I'm a diehard. So I'll watch Utah, Denver, anything. I mean, this year, Joey and I kept saying, well, I love the Eastern Conference playoffs. But to get the casual fan, 30% of them moved in, a lot of them don't. I will tell you this, though, is this idea that the Clippers now are a home run. I think it fits. I'm not sure if the Lakers stuff fits.

I mean, this morning, I look at the Lakers and Rondo appears shot. Boogie's had two major injuries, and he's only making 3.5 large. Danny Green's making four and a half times more. Boogie's going to look at that and think, really? Danny Green, I like, but what if you got to play him 30 minutes tonight? Jared Dudley's a good shooter, high IQ, but kind of can't defend. The Lakers roster's odd. Look, I think the Lakers did the best they could do.

Once Kauai went to the Clippers, what was left, they did the best they could do. And Boogie, first of all, Boogie should understand that part of the reason he's not getting big money. is obviously the injuries and obviously his style of play in today's game. But it's also the attitude problems. And because he was a good soldier in Golden State doesn't make people think, oh, he's changed. You're going to be a good soldier here. No, they understand the culture they had in Golden State.

Randy Moss for two years was perfect in New England, not before or after. So Boogie should understand if I want to get that big bag in a year or two, I've got to be a good soldier. If he starts acting up, I don't think he will, but if he starts acting up has an attitude, the Lakers need to get rid of him pronto. Do you like this Laker team? Well, first of all, they still have LeBron and AD. I know, but you mentioned everybody but LeBron and AD.

They're shooting improved. Danny Green can shoot. Quinn Cook can shoot. They got shooters. I will say this. There's some dysfunction like last year, but I will give the Lakers. I thought Quinn Cook was a sneaky good move. That was a sneaky good move.

move. My only hesitation is we've seen a lot of guys play well in Golden State and then they go elsewhere and they can't do it. But that said, I do like Quinn Cook. I like the Lakers, but I'm with you that the West is just stacked. I think the eight playoff teams are set in my view and there is this much difference between them. The Clippers, I slightly favor over the Lakers as the best team in the West. By the way, there was a popular sports opinionist who once shared these thoughts, the triple double will hurt Westbrook. Hurt? How is it hurting?

His brand now is a stat. By the way, Magic LeBron lead the NBA all time in triple double playoffs. Neither one talks about it. Neither one wants to be defined by it. They're both about the process, the team, the community. Nobody wants to play with the rest book. It has nothing to do with the triple double, though. If he averaged 25, 10, and 7, would the narrative be any different?

No, but the triple double became all we talked about for three years. Look, I've stood by Russell Westbrook. I respect what he's done. I think that's his legacy. He's going to be a legend, Colin. He's a legend for the triple double. He won't win a championship, not as the main guy. Maybe, you know, later in his career, if he becomes a role player somewhere,

he could win it like a Gary Payton did. but he's not going to lead a team to a championship. Thus, a trade for him, right? If you trade for Russell Westbrook and most GMs around the league know it, you're trading for relevancy, significance to put fans in the stands. That's what you're trade for. And maybe a second round, maybe a third round playoff appearance. That's it.

You're not trading to win a championship because you know he's not leading you there. Great. I'm a legend. basically I'm a Alan Iverson's a legend okay I'd much rather be magic and staff but Russ Brooks not that he's not that he's not that type of player but you guys are on that level you guys told me for years

this is the face this guy is amazing so this is all about you I'm just saying nothing against the guy but I'm like in the end it's like we another there are many players Charles Barkley when he was playing everybody oh he doesn't play defense he doesn't want to win Charles Barkley played very well with others in Phoenix. Very well. How about in Houston?

Did he play well with others? And in Phoenix, his others were Kevin Johnson, was banged up a lot, great, but banged up all the time. Damn, Marley, they were significantly lower than Barclay. Well, you blame him because he's more talented? No, I'm just saying. Look, here's the, this is where Westbrook needs to go. Where?

I don't, Miami, it'd be a hellmare. I mean, they're not going anywhere. They're lower run playoff team. Well, it's a hell Mary. New York, from what I'm told, not interested. Houston, that's just ridiculous. I mean, like you see, come on, stop it. Detroit, that's where you should go.

That's the, because Detroit tried the typical, let's tear it down and get lottery picks and rebuild. They missed the playoffs eight out of nine years. And then they decide, let's flip the script, let's try to be relevant and good now, so they trade for Blake Griffin. Blake's not leading you to a championship. They got in the eighth seat of the playoffs. Go get Westbrook. Is he going to win you a championship? No.

But you get Westbrook in the east. You make the second round of the playoffs. You maybe if things, maybe you get to the conference finals. I'm just saying like you're relevant. If you're the Detroit Pistons, you need it. You're the one team I see where it fits. Would Blake and him work together? I don't know, but at least one's a guard and ones are forward.

Try it. I would never go to Detroit again. because the two players in the NBA that hate me most are Westbrook and Blake Griffin. You put them on the same team? I'm not even going to land in Detroit's airport. I'd be like, Captain, just keep flying. I am not loved. My wife may be from this state.

Nobody likes me here. Chris Brousard, good seeing you, bud. David Griffin, Pelicans GM, holy moly. He had a great month joining us next hour. A rod as well, Colin Wright, Colin wrong. Coming up next, speaking a gangstice, speaking a boss, did you notice who came out, not just Kauai, The big winner this week.

That's next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices 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, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee.

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

Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity,

peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. All-Star game will be on Fox. Listen to Rob Manfred. You interviewed on First Things First this

morning, all sorts of stuff. That London game, by the way, Red Sox Yankees apparently made a fortune. And they're going to send the Cubs and Cardinals over there next year. So aluminum carry-on from away luggage, best, best luggage I've ever had. These luggage, Joy's got one, I've got one. I use it all weekend. I love it. Awaytravel.com slash Colin. Awaytravel.com slash Colin. 20 bucks off.

Enter the promo code call. To you use yours all weekend. It's the best. Best luggage in the country. And it's incredible. So, you know, it just, Jerry West is the logo. Like the logo in the NBA is Jerry West. And I saw Jerry West play for a year.

I started watching sports back in 1972. I was born in 64, 1974, 1972, I'm eight, and that was the year the Miami Dolphins won a Super Bowl for the Washington Redskins, and Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and the Wilton, the Lakers were good. And that's the first year in a little black and white TV in my rural hometown of Washington State. That's the first year I remember watching sports. It was 1972. So I watched the Super Bowl. It's the first game I ever remember watching. And then I can remember after that watching some, it was like Wilt and Jerry and Gets.

Dale Goodrich, and Jerry became the logo. And we know he was a great player, but he's been an unbelievable executive. So after this weekend, he helped build the Lakers Dynasty in the 80s. He traded for Kobe on draft day. He convinced Shaq, scary moment, gave up a lot to get him to Los Angeles. He demanded the Warriors do not trade Clay Thompson for Kevin Love, threatened to quit the Warriors if they made the move. He oversaw Durant to the Warriors. now he's signed Paul George and Kauai Leonard.

There's really, I mean, Pat Riley's second, but I will tell you this. I love millennials. I'm pro-millennial. I'm into what my kids like, I get it. But man, do we want to bury the oil barons? Bill Belichick runs the NFL, he's 67. Nick Saban runs college sports. He's 67.

Jerry West, this weekend ran the NBA. He's 81. Kauai Leonard got a phone call from Cool Magic, not interested. Got a phone call from LeBron, not interested. Yet he went to dinner with 81-year-old Jerry West at a steakhouse, sat across from him and said, I like you. Just get me another player. And so Jerry did.

By the way, one of the reasons, according to reports this morning, that Jerry West got him, and for our FS1 viewers, we're showing LeBron over there with Jerry West at the Summer League, because Jerry West at 81 didn't rush to Twitter to get credit. Unlike Magic, he didn't call the LA Times to get credit. Jerry West did not seek credit. Paul George's name was not uttered once in free agency. Like the rest of you, my jaw hit the floor when I heard the story.

By the way, Chris Paul Blake Griffin. Remember those trades? You didn't hear a thing. They didn't hear anything. They traded everybody. You didn't hear them a second before. this is one of the things I love about Jerry West. I love Darrell Morey, but the Houston Rockets average a leak per week.

The last 12 years, the New York Knicks, 9,000 promises, 10,000 leaks, none of it transpires. The Lakers, magic. Stop calling newspapers after you get off the phone with Kauai Leonard. Jerry West, Belichick, Saban, not great on social media, but they're grownups. And I do believe Kawhi Leonard does not. trust many people. I do believe from all the stories I've read on Kauai, there's an old saying, love many, trust few. I was told that years ago by an older woman and it's always stuck with me. Love many, trust few. Kauai doesn't trust a lot of people, but I think he sits in that

steakhouse with Jerry West and he's not the coolest and he's not the hippest, but I think Kauai Leonard trusts him. And Jerry keeps it quiet. And listen, I think Pat Riley does the same. Should be noted. The Jimmy Butler move, I didn't hear much about that. But I know there is a lot of people in sports curry favor by leaking information. And I live on it. So I love it.

But, you know, Kauai Leonard made a choice this weekend, and it was a choice of trust. And you didn't hear anything. I mean, I'm reading these stories on Kauai Leonard and Paul George, and this thing was going on for like 48 hours. and not a peep, not a peep. Colin right, calling wrong, top of the hour. I'm seeing all these odds this morning about all these shifting odds. You know, my takeaway on this stuff is in the moment, it feels like a big win for the NBA.

Because Utah and Denver, Dallas is good, Milwaukee. Obviously, Toronto's got to rebuild. so it's not a huge win for them. But you go to the Vegas board. It's the Clippers won, the Bucks, the Lakers, the Warriors, Sixers, Warriors, Rockets, Jazz, Denver, Boston, Portland. I want to throw this out. Do not forget this. This is one of these things that was not talked about this weekend.

The Portland Trailblazers acquired us on Whiteside last year of his contract. They also have two other centers they like, Nurkich, bringing back slowly off an injury, and Zach Collins. At the trading deadline, the Portland Trailblazers are going to have a massive expiring contract from Hassan Whiteside.

They're going to play them until the trading deadline because Nurkich is hurt. The Portland Trailblazers who have maybe the best back court after Stefan Klan in the league, Rodney Hood, Nurkich, Jack Collins, they will be able to move that Hassan Whiteside contract

and teams are going to line up for that baby, because it's 25 million and it's expiring. Do not be shocked if a team maybe in the east is willing to give them a really nice piece for Hassan Whiteside's expiring contract. So nobody's talking about Portland. Keep your eye on the Blazers. This is a time, and I don't remember, I think we've seen it in college football where the South just feels better.

There's just more good high school football players in the South. The West and the East, I mean, who's the third best team? fourth best team in the east. There's going to be a team like a Dallas that's not going to make the playoffs. I mean, there's going to be a good NBA team. So right now, I don't agree with this. NBA championship odds.

They have it in Vegas, Clippers, Bucks, Lakers, Sixers, Warriors, Rockets. I have the Rockets lower. I have the Jazz higher. I have Denver higher. I'd say Clippers won, Warriors 1A. And then I'm just going to wait and see on the Lakers. I'm not rushing to a judgment. There's just a...

The Lakers make a great movie poster. The Clippers make a great movie. I want to see if the poster becomes the movie. I'm not sure. Next, Colin Wright, Colin Wrong in L.A. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hard radio app.

Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, 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 Slicelife Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier 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, Keer Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my back. behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected.

We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Ah, here we go, hour two. This is The Hurd. wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me.

A trade just got made, and it's not insignificant, actually. Free agent signing, my bad. Avery Bradley is now going to the Lakers. He's a point guard. They didn't have one, really. Rondo's a backup at this point in his career. So Avery Bradley, remember him a couple years ago, played for the Celtics,

and then he ended up going to, like, Detroit, and then he'd go to the Clippers and a Blake Griffin trade, I think it was. So the Lakers basically went into this weekend with a lot of needs and they answered them. They got some shooting. They got more size. Javelle McGee, Boogie Cousins. And they also just landed a starting point guard, Avery Bradley, who struggles with injuries. But so does Rondo at this point.

So the Lakers will not be one of the more dynamic back courts in the NBA, but their front court and their wings are exceptional. And they do have shooters. So this doesn't sound that significant. But Avery Bradley, if he gets 65 games out of him, is a starting. point guard in the NBA. He's not high end, but he's serviceable. They were struggling with a serviceable part. I was driving to work this morning. I kept thinking, Lakers don't have a point guard. That kind of matters in the NBA. So they now, they've signed Avery Bradley. There you go. He's got a clear waivers. Two years, about 10 million bucks for the Lakers. Wow. All right,

Joy is joining us. Crazy weekend. A-Rod later this hour. You spent time down in the Bahamas. So you were on the other side of the world. Yeah, literally. I don't know if I could be further away. But I didn't miss all the fun, the action here in L.A. No, nor the great soccer yesterday. All right. All right.

Where Colin was right. Five of the ten all-stars are on new teams. Player movement's okay. Don't be afraid of it. It actually created great parody. Super teams was a blip. It happened, but they never win as many titles as everybody thinks. I think you just have to remember,

Unlike baseball, this is a salary cap league. And eventually there's too many great players and there's too many teams and there's not enough money for one team. I don't think the clippers are a dominant team. I do think they should be favored to win the title. But we kept saying this over and over. Stop fearing player movement. It will sort itself out, just give it time. Where Colin was wrong.

I like Zion Williamson a lot. I have said, I think he has a chance by the end of his first year to be kind of a borderline all-star. Well, he played nine minutes in Summer League and got hurt, which is one of the things I've been told by scouts they worry about. He plays with such volume and intensity and torque. He's out nine minutes into it. By the way, Charles Barkley told me to simmer down last week. He said, settle down on telling everybody calling that Zion Williams is going to be an all-star. Got to get better as a basketball player because, you know, guys in the NBA,

on the state, Clifton. He's going to be playing. against Anthony Davis, Blake, Draman, so he's basketball player. He's big and strong. I'm like, yeah, we call it at the NBA. Everybody's got some big... Yeah, and his jumper definitely need some work,

but I do love him now. Where Colin was right? Listen, I'm not going to go on and on about it, but the Westbrook situation. We've had two stars in their prime flirting actively with rival teams when they're with Westbrook. I think he's become too much about stats,

And I also think there are just certain players in the history of me watching the NBA that are great talents. They're not necessarily winning basketball players. I always felt less about Steph Marbury. I'd pay to watch him play. I never thought he was really a winning basketball player. I grew up with a guy named World Be Free. 90% of you have never heard of him. He was unbelievable.

I love World Be Free. Wasn't really a winning basketball player. You know, and I would say this, I get why Westbrook is popular. He's fun. You know, it was like a Michael Vic component. When Michael Vick played for Atlanta, you couldn't turn the television off. I'd never seen a player play quarterback like Michael Vick. But over time, we looked at Michael Vick and went, you know, he wasn't necessarily a great winning quarterback,

but he was good for the league and he was fun. And he did kind of create a new group of players getting the opportunity to play quarterback, the best athlete. But I feel that about Westbrook. Great athlete? Absolutely. Winning basketball player? Not really.

Where Colin was wrong. I don't understand. five NBA stars turn down max money. You guys fight so hard on this collective bargaining and then you don't take advantage of it. Can you imagine me arguing with my bosses, almost going on strike to get vacation time and then refusing to take it?

Guys, it's $190 million. You fight in these labor agreements and the NBA is a labor-driven league, unlike other sports. You fight for the money and then you're all willing to give it up. up. Like, I know you make shoe deals. I know, but the reason billionaires are billionaires, they don't give up $50 million guaranteed. I think agents give up more money than bad poker players. I would love to see players be a little more patient, but I do get the current culture where you want to join under dudes. Where Colin was right? NBA draft picks are increasingly irrelevant. Again, they're not in the NFL.

They're not in maybe baseball or hockey. But the current basketball culture is find talent regardless of age and get him paid. And I think it actually can often hurt the player. They get hurt earlier. They get hurt more. There's more busts. Jerry West gave up five picks, two draft swaps. I mean, you saw what the Lakers gave up to get stars.

In college football, a player is able to build a brand in college, come to the NFL physically at 22, capable of dominating, and just lead the NFL. NFL and jersey sales and and contribute in the NBA Zion's rare you start kind of creating a brand in college because I know who you are and then you move into the NBA and you can be an all-star level player I think we're in such a rush to pay basketball talent when it's like what about their emotional growth 19 years old throwing me in rich Carlton's by myself with a bunch of 28 year old veterans also these young guys that come into the league at 18 they break down they're not physically ready. Who at 18's ready to be a pro athlete outside of maybe a golfer? So, you know, the basketball

culture now is draft picks are not, they're just all there are, they're just pieces to get you better players. I mean, when you get an 18 year old, how long in most instances do you have to wait till he can help you in May and June? Seven years, eight? Where Colin was wrong. I never bought into Tom Brady playing until he's 45. I never have. I've said he's going to retire here. over the weekend Tom Brady ran a 40-yard dash. Okay, it was 517. That beats his 40 time when Tom Brady came out of college. I'm not joking.

Tom Brady at 41 years old, take such good care of himself. It's the power of diet, lifestyle, physical discipline. He's still the best clutch quarterback in the NFL. But I've never really bought into this whole play to 45 thing. But there is video now of him. running this weekend of 40, beating his time 18 years ago. He'd not retire any time soon. Where Colin was right?

We sort of mocked the Lakers last week when Magic rushed to the L.A. Times and leaked information. Can we just, any time you see a business and there's a bunch of leaks coming out of closed doors, what that tells you is it's a political business. and there's a lot of people protecting themselves. You know, Rob Polinka made sure he didn't look too bad. There were leaks on that side. Magic going to newspapers. And I don't know, Polinka.

I know Magic a little, and I like him. But it's always a bad sign. You never hear anything leaking much from, like, you know, New England. You don't hear a lot of leaks from well-run organizations. And I think in the end, it was a little bit of the undoing that Kauai didn't want to be part. There's a story this morning where he just thought it was too combustible in the front office for Los Angeles, too many leaks. Where Colin was right? Christian Pulisic, don't let anybody tell you just because you haven't loved soccer for 30 years.

You can't figure it out. This kid is by so far and away, the best American soccer talent on the planet now. Three goals, three assists in the Gold Cup. Last night he was the first half. It was one of the best halves I've ever seen him play. One of the best first half I've ever seen an American soccer player play. He won the award for the Gold Cup, despite the United States losing to Mexico as the best young talent. He had three opportunities in the first half to score or help somebody else score.

We just don't have the finishers beyond him to wrap up the present that he wraps nicely. Soccer fans tend to be a little defensive because they've been mocked forever. And they shout down from the rooftops that you don't get the sport. It doesn't take a genius to watch. Christian Pulisic for 30 minutes and go, oh God, he's way better than anybody I've ever seen wear our jersey. Where Colin was wrong. I thought the first time in Los Angeles that I would see and face an earthquake, I would be

courageous and glib and smart. And I would essentially save America. Instead, for five seconds, I didn't know it was an earthquake. And then I just froze and I didn't say anything. and here's the videotape from Thursday. They were one in six against winning teams last year and suddenly they think OBJ and Olivier Vernum. We are having an earthquake right now.

Yeah, we are having an earthquake in Los Angeles. Yeah. That was a big one. That was about 10 seconds of an earthquake in Los Angeles. I honestly, I thought somebody was grabbing my desk. I've never been in an earthquake. Certainly not on the air. We'll take a break.

We just had a little earthquake. Not that little. Yeah, I thought I was going to be more courageous. You know what? That's unfortunate because that is a revealing moment when you're in crisis and you freeze. Now I know what situation. I don't want to be with you. This is why I should never.

You didn't panic. I didn't panic, but I didn't do anything. Well, I mean, what are you supposed to do? You're supposed to climb under your desk or something? Save America. I didn't do anything. I mean, did anyone need saving? I mean, look at that face.

That is something. That is a face of fear, of true fear. That is so funny. I'm sorry you had to experience that. I missed that. You weren't here. Yeah, I felt earthquakes here before, though. That was a very serious earthquake, obviously.

The ones I've felt before were much sure. And there were a couple of local L.A. newscasters who, during it, jumped under their desk. And you didn't want to do that. I didn't think that. No, it's a good look that you didn't do that. That's what I'm saying. You didn't panic.

you just, you know, you just, a little frozen a little bit. I'm not dependable in crisis, but I'm not. But you're not going to make a situation worse. There you go. Thank you. David Griffin has had one of the great months in the history of the NBA front office running the Pelicans. He gets Zion big, big trade with the Lakers. He's at Summer League. He's going to join us next. And to talk about what we're seeing in the National Basketball Association, which is the kind of parody I've never seen before, he's next.

Plus, around the corner not long from here, Arod will be joining us from the baseball all-star game. Star break. Mike Trout's still great, and the Dodgers and Lakers are on fire. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, 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 beaders to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games.

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

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines,

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. learn the hard way. Open your free Our Heart Radio app search Learn the Hard Way and listen now. What's up guys?

This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast The Cliverts show I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me he goes, A ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office

Blue 42. A rep. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection.

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

whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Great news. Quick and easy way. Can save money. Go to geico.com. 15 minutes can save you 15%. Well, you know, it's weird when you are running an NBA franchise, the personnel part, and a star comes to you and says, hey, I don't want to play here. You can get angry, you can get mad, or you can just trade him and get the most pieces possible. David Griffin's, the executive vice president of basketball operations, worked for the Clippers for seven, or sons, excuse me, for 17 years, was GM in Cleveland.

They won that title. So Anthony Davis says, I want out, and they have engineered a deal. I don't think I've ever seen an NBA team make more moves. From Derek Favors to J.J. Reddick, to the draft picks, to Zion, to my sleeper in the NBA draft, Jackson Hayes, who I think is the sleeper in the NBA draft within about two years. It's also Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram. In a football city, it will be impossible to keep your eyes off the NBA franchise. And joining us from the Summer League, it's our pleasure of you, the Coward Global Satellite Network, to David Griffin.

David, first of all, congratulations. It's been remarkable. It's been fun. Listen, when a star comes to you and says, I don't want to play here. Again, it's brutal. But you made it work. When you knew Anthony wanted out,

what were the next 48 hours like for you? Yeah, I think we were in a situation, and we said from the beginning when we held our press conference, you're either all the way in or you're all the way out. It was very clear that he was not all the way in, basically throughout the summer. We had very good conversations. Anthony asked really good questions.

But it was clear he wasn't with us, Mrs. Benson and our ownership group and myself and our basketball team. We recognized that it was time to move on and we tried to create the best opportunity for ourselves we could and we're very, very pleased with the way everything unfolded. Yeah, you have a very nice mix of veterans. I know what I get with JJ, Drew Holiday, Derek Favors.

Now, it's interesting. I love Zion. I think he's magnetic. He has a Magic Johnson appeal where I think veterans will embrace him immediately. There's no resent here. He's a wonderful kid. But the current culture of basketball, is you draft guys, they're 18 years old.

They got a lot of room to grow emotionally. What do you like about Zion and where is the growth for him in your opinion? Well, I think going back to Alvin Gentry and I, the night of the lottery, the NBA had arranged for us to sit with Zion that night. So 9.30 following the lottery, we had a chance to sit with Zion. And we were so taken with him as a kid in probably the first 20 minutes of the conversation that we asked if his parents were there. And he had his parents come down.

and we sat together as a group for about an hour and a half. And it was really striking to us that his family has raised him to be all about team, to be all about others, and to be all about the right things. This is a great kid. He's a warm kid who cares about his teammates. He recognizes this isn't about him. He wanted to be part of a family. And so we told him that night, when you choose us, we choose you.

And we're going to raise a family that loves each other enough to tell each other what they need to hear. And he wanted that. why he went to Duke. It's what he appreciated about Coach Kay's leadership. It's who we wanted to be natively. So we feel like it's a really good fit. Well, I can't wait to watch him play. Now, here's the downside.

Everybody in the West apparently got better. You could have a very good basketball team, but could still end up ninth or eighth. Listen, Dallas is loaded. I don't know if they stack up. What is the timeline? How do you sell patience? How long do you think this thing takes to really pop?

David? Yeah, in terms of timing, we're not going to put a timeline on it. I don't think we want to limit ourselves either. You know, what we wanted to do with the veterans that we brought in, who were all extremely selfless, all about winning first from JJ's standpoint, a very vocal leader who's going to model all of the right things professionally. It lines up very well with who Drew Holiday is. Drew's the face of this franchise, and we're going to go as far as Drew and our veterans take us.

Zion's going to be contributing to that as are all our young kids. But this is not something where we expect him to be the one leading us there. We expect our leaders to lead us there, if that makes sense. And I think when you look at what we have the potential to be, coming into free agency, we looked around the West and we said, tell me who's clearly better than we are. And then everybody started making their moves, and you can start to see that it's going to be a tough road to hoe. But you can't raise young players in our opinion in an environment where winning doesn't match. matter. We want to be playing meaningful games in April and May, and we hope to put ourselves

in that position. By the way, you have worked with LeBron. He trusts you. He likes you. A rich Paul we know as well. You know, LeBron is in the Muhammad Ali class. I said this earlier, Megan Rapino, where he's not just a star, he's political, he's a disruptor, he's a dissenter, he is global, he sees the world differently. And there are those who have said, listen, not everybody wants to get into that space. It's just noisy and it's dramatic. When you were with LeBron, obviously you want a title with him. You got a big ring. Are there challenges to being with a modern day superstar who is also more than just an athlete?

Yeah, I think so. And it's because of the noise around him. It's not noise that he generates. It's because you have embedded national media with his team always. There's always going to be more coverage. There's more interest. There's more social media. obviously the things he does that get taken as cryptic tweets

and people claim he's passive aggressive. LeBron's not that. He's aggressive aggressive. And you always know where you stand with LeBron. So his teammates, if you're able to help them ignore the noise, all are in a space where they feel pretty good around it. Where the lack of comfort comes in is from people like me who want to try to control more of that noise.

And frankly, you just have to get comfortable in your lack of comfort because you're never going to control the noise. You just have to be appreciative of the fact that he's about all the right things. And at the end of the day, he wants to win. And I think the reason we had a good relationship was he understood that our recognition of our role really is caretaking for that legacy. You know, 100 years from now, everybody knows Babe Ruth. They don't know who cost them World Series. You're going to know who cost LeBron championships, and we didn't want to be that group.

Finally, when you executive types walk around and you see Jerry West, who at 81, just pulled, off another shocker. How is Jerry viewed among executives? Well, I mean, he's he's the gold standard, obviously. I think we all have a very keen awareness of the fact that if you can ever model any of the things he's done in his career, you would want to. I think having had the opportunity at one time to meet Jerry and actually have him offer me the job to replace him in Memphis, he holds a really special place in my heart personally. But everyone who does what we do in this business, look at ourselves and hope that one day we can achieve anything that he has because there's just no better than Jerry. Yeah, by the way, we've got video of you.

I went through my first earthquake last Thursday and I've got video of you. You had a very similar reaction. What Lord's name is going on? Was it your first earthquake experience, David? No, that's the thing. It's why my reaction was so profound was because the day before during our film session, we were interrupted in the film session by the chandeliers swang and light bulbs falling out of them at the conference room we were in. So we had to all run for the doorway.

So I was actually, when that happened, I started looking up thinking, oh boy, which one of these fixtures is coming down. Congratulations. You've done a remarkable job. You've got my favorite young player on the earth and Zion. Good for you, David Griffin. Congrats. Thank you so much, Colin. Appreciate it. Yeah.

What a job he's done. Just a tremendous job. Pelicans are, again, I don't know if they're a playoff team because you start looking around the West right now. If they played in the East, I'd ticket him for a six, seven seed. But, wow. So he was shocked like I was. Both of us a little.

He looked more under control than me during the earthquake, though. I look frightened. Well, I can see what he's talking about if he knew that stuff could fall. I mean, obviously you're looking up. I was looking for help. I mean, I don't understand why you thought someone was moving your desk. Well, I've moved a lot in my career. I figured another company wanted to get rid

of me. I mean, someone's just going to come up on set while you're doing a show and just like, you've got to go. You're out of here. Joy Tabor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Yeah, I wasn't

was not Clint East with dirty hair. You were not, no. But like I said, at least you didn't make a situation worse. It's always the people that panic that make the situation worse. So when you think of NBA coaches, Historically known for their relentless defense, Tom Thibodeau is somebody that comes to mind, and he is a buyer in the New Look Clippers defense featuring Kauai Leonard and Paul George. He told The Athletic, I think this team has the capability to be just as good as the 2008 Celtics.

When you look at it, I think it'll be seamless. You're talking about two elite defenders that guard multiple positions, multiple effort guys, never quit on plays. Even if you can get by them, they'll come from behind and get the ball. It'll be very hard to score against them. The 2018 championship Celtics featured the defensive player of the year, Kevin Garnett, on that team. Obviously, you know, you have guys like Patrick Beverly on the Clippers already. Kauai Leonard is a two-time defensive player of the year.

Paul George is a six-time all-star, former most improved player, and four-time all-defensive team honorary. And he finished third this year and defensive player of the year voting. So, yes, this is a perfect edition and perfect collection of what the Clippers had already built on, which is a smart, gritty team that will play defense. It's not scared to play defense. I know nobody wants to make any picks yet, and it's all seems very even, and it's a little tricky and a lack of happen.

They're pretty good. They're really good. Yeah. They're really good. And, you know, it's just crazy this came out of nowhere. I would never think, wow, yeah, Paul George and Kauai Leonard would be great together. And now it's like, why didn't we all think of this from the beginning? I mean, obviously it wasn't something that you thought was on the table,

But they are, this is a, the Clippers were fun to watch last year. And I do think a part of the reason that Kauai is there is because they built their team on winning and being functional and not being about the noise and being about basketball. And that's what Kauai Leonard is about. It actually is, is the perfect fit. Kauai never felt like a fit with the Lakers. It just was like they're going to be incredible and who doesn't want to play on a team. It's incredible. Right.

That's fun. It's fun to win like that. But that's also really not Kauai's brand. But I think they're going to be from a defense event. And pretty unstoppable. They should be favored. I'm not saying they'll win, but they should be favored to win the championship. That coach, roster, yes.

Yes. So sticking with Kauai, the Raptors were always aware he could leave this offseason, even if they won an NBA championship, which they did. And Nick Nurse says he understood Kauai's decision. You can't blame a guy for wanting to go home, right? That's what he texts me today. I'm going home, you know. And, you know, I just said you've changed a lot of lives, man.

by what you accomplished in Toronto, mine especially, and thanked him for what he did, and we'll look to the future and we'll look to do it again. What a healthy way to think in life. That's a really healthy way for a human being to think. Well, that's not the Raptor's style, the Raptor's brand, to be vengeful or write a letter in comic sands, like, complaining. They were lucky to have him, first of all.

I mean, they made the right moves to get him, and they deserve credit for that for sure. but this was always a we don't know what's going to happen situation. They risked it all, and they're the winners. Listen, Toronto's handling this with grace. I never understood why, like, Manny Ramirez left Boston and everybody's angry. It's like, Manny took you to a place, Boston, that you'd never been better than the Yankees. Like, if you live in a city and a guy comes to your city and gives you something as a child you've been,

if somebody goes to Chicago and you're a Cub fan and you get a World Series, and he leaves an hour later, thank him. Right. Like Toronto's doing this with total dignity. As they should, there's no space for them to ever be angry at why. It wouldn't make sense. And everyone would just think it's comical that they would be angry. By the way, when LeBron left Cleveland the second time to Cleveland's credit and Dan Gilbert's credit. Yes. They handled it how they should have handled it the first time.

You know, thank you. Yes. I mean, listen, when people take you to places you can't get without them, even if you're not married forever. Say thank you. And he doesn't owe them anything. No. He was credited there. said, you know, they're looking towards building for the future, Toronto is, you were just talking

about how we don't really know who's going to end up where in the West and the Pelicans are interesting and fun, but are they even going to make the playoffs? The East is very even too now. And even though the Raptors still have their core there, you know, they have Kyle Lowry, they have Seacom, they have Serge Abaka. I mean, you look around the East, the Bucks, the Celtics, I think, are going to be a lot better than people think they are. Sixers Celtics bucks feel like. I know you're not big on Kyrie, but they're going to. going to be good. There's, the east is still just as interesting as it was last year.

It's still very even. Finally, Kevin Durant, speaking of the Nets, joins LeBron and making a number change this off season. He announced he will now wear number seven for the Nets. I don't. Switching from number 35. It's his first career jersey number change. And he says he's starting a new chapter in his life.

Oh, okay. That's the, is it an O. DeCapernick or something? Um, I think there were some discussions about that. I don't know if it is or if it isn't or if that's just the number that he picked. Number seven's supposed to be the perfect number, so maybe there's something with that. I don't know. I have no idea.

For the record, I'm a huge fan of single-digit athletes, like Jeter 2. Right. Kobe, I liked eight, LeBron 6. I like single digits. 35 to me feels like a spring training pitcher. I don't like the number. Yeah, I mean, it doesn't feel as iconic as number seven would feel,

I guess, if he was to do it that way. I mean, 23, obviously, is to me is the number of the six out of any jersey of all time because of Jordan. But, and then LeBron also gave, officially gave his number to Anthony Davis. So he's going to be wearing number six this year. I think it's actually kind of symbolic. There's a lot of major changes that happened in the NBA this off season. And we're now going to get to see a league where we really, for the first time in a long

time, nobody can really go out there and say without question, this is the team that's going to be in the finals. So it's, you know, it all kind of metaphorically makes sense. Keep your eye on. Denver. Nobody watched them last year. And then we looked up and thought, oh, man, they're deep. They're going to do the same thing again. They're really good. Joy with the

news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Avery Bradley, by the way, did sign with the Lakers, got a clear waiver. So the Lakers now have a point guard. You're going to have Avery Bradley, LeBron, A.D., Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green. And then you got Javail and Boogie Off the bench. It's a lot of talent.

here's the thing. In my life, I've seen what the Clippers just did work, which is good front office, great owner, nice chemistry, veteran head coach, add two really good pieces. I've seen that work a lot. Now, what the Lakers did, I have not seen become championships, which is new head coach, shaky front office, a lot of disparate parts, didn't have great chemistry last year, add some guys who can be tough to get along with and make it work. The Clippers feel like to me, I've seen this model. Smart front office, veteran coach, already good, great momentum, terrific culture. Just add a little, just out a little.

Lakers is a lot of moving parts and a lot of stuff. Again, I think the Lakers are a great movie poster. There's a lot of stars. I think the Clippers will be a great movie. I don't know how the Lakers work. I would make the Clippers the favorite. I still contend I'll, everybody's bearing in Golden State. I'd put the Warriors second.

Then I think there are about six teams. Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Lakers, Denver, Utah. I think there's a bunch of stuff out there. I'm not as high on the Rockets. I think their window closed. I'm not as high on the Celtics. They're good. I don't think they're a legitimate championship team.

I think Portland is a dark horse because the Hassan Whiteside contract. They can move with the trading deadline. I think with the clippers, I get a lot of answers and very few ifs. With the Lakers, I get a lot of ifs. If Anthony Davis, like three years ago, can stay healthy, if Boogie Cousins, despite only making $3.5 million, is engaged for the next year. If Rondo can play 17 minutes, not 27. If Danny Green gives me 22 minutes a night, I don't want to play him for 29 to 32.

I just get a lot of ifs with the Lakers. I don't feel like I get a lot of ifs with the clippers. So that's kind of where I stand. I also think you are asking a ton of LeBron James. Listen, there's a TV show. It's one of these food shows. It's called Chopped. You ever seen the show Chopped?

I love Chops. Okay. It's ridiculous. And Chopped Jr. is awesome, too. So they give you like hamhawks, some licorice, cotton candy, lima beans, and pumpkin pie sauce and say, make a souffle. And very few people can do it. Now, LeBron, you're giving LeBron a lot of disparate

parts that I don't think necessarily fit. As Joey and I have said, he doesn't necessarily always fit with bigs, even though Anthony Davis is probably the best big in the game. You're asking LeBron in his 17th year with a new coach and all new players to just wrap it up and give you souffle. That's asking a lot of Frank Vogel. Jason Kids got his eyes on Frank Vogel. I got LeBron James. I don't feel like you're asking Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to do anything other than what they do. Play hard on both ends. They will. I think you're asking a lot of LeBron James to make this puppy all work, and I don't know if he can do it. I just don't know if he can do it. A. Rod's around the corner. Don't go anywhere. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in

noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're kind of 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 SportsSlic 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 rapid. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

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

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about. All healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys?

This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month,

tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and social.

connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The stars shine bright as the best in the majors celebrate the midsummer classic, the MLB All-Star Game tomorrow at 730 Eastern. 430 Pacific only on Fox. By the way, Dodgers, Yankees' best records, Cody Ballinger,

who's also great defensively, is having another monster year offensively. Between Mike Trout and Cody Ballinger, stars in L.A. Let's go via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Alex Rodriguez, Fox Baseball analyst, three-time MVP, 14-time All-Star. You know, let's talk about the Dodgers. The Dodgers, Alex, did not spend big money outside of Kirschaw a few years ago. They've said no to Machado, no to Harper. Now, the young talent's wonderful, but this is May and,

June and early July. Do you think the teams that say no to the big stars pay a price later, or do you like what the Dodgers have done? I love what the Dodgers have done. I mean, their front office has been incredible. Obviously, Doc Roberts has done a fantastic job circling that roster. And they're not 25 men deep. They're really 40 men deep.

And the one issue they're going to have to deal with is they still have to praise Brandon Morrow from a couple of years ago, who was a lot of. locked down seventh and eighth inning guy. Kenley Janssen is a couple of years older, so you have to help him fill in that gap. He needs more help, not less help. Yeah. You know, it's funny, we're watching these NBA guys team up.

Now, Philadelphia did add a bunch of veteran star players, but it's interesting. Do baseball players call in the off season? Do they talk about joining each other, or is that just an NBA thing? I think there's some of that that goes on, not as much as the NBA. Of course, Colin,

with Major League Baseball, you need to have six full years of Major League Baseball service before becoming a free agent. So free agency becomes kind of your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the big bucks. So not as much as the NBA. Bryce Harper is one of my favorite players in baseball, but I've always been a little reluctant to give a power hitter a 10-year deal because he comes into a city and the fans in the media want 45 jacks, and if you don't deliver it, it's a failure.

And I think sometimes there's pressure on Joey Votto and Joe Mower and now Bryce Harper, where are the home runs. And I think hitting home runs can be very psychological. Did you love the Harper deal for the Phillies? Would you have made that move? I mean, home runs a high risk, high reward. I do like the deal for the Philly. So yes, I would have done that deal. But understanding the gift and the curse of the Philadelphia Philly fans, they're smart, they're passionate.

They show up every day. That's also the curse for Bryce. Harper, he has to show up. You're not going to trick them. You're not going to fool them. They're too smart. But Bryce Harper, he's too young, too good, not to work out. The only thing I caution is the 13 years without a divorce option, an opt-out could be challenging. And right now, it looks like potentially it could be a long 12 and a half years left. Okay, NBA, everybody freaks out. All the stars going to the same place. But we've got a bunch of teams that could win. Right now, Big Market, New York, Big Market, L.A., appear to have the best teams.

But going forward, again, this is summer baseball. You tighten the rotations, a lot more pressure. When you look at the Dodgers and the Yankees, if I said today, pick one that plays and is built for October. Which one would it be for you? I think right now they're both the best teams in baseball for a macro, a marathon. I think both of them still have a challenge when it comes down winning 11 games in October. And in order to do that, I have one concern, and it applies to both teams. In a short series, the Dodgers can run into a team that's feisty, that's young, that has great pitching, where 90 feet actually means something.

That's the San Diego Padres. They just got swept at home. When you look at the Yankees, at a Macko, they're going to home run you to death. High risk, high reward. The Yankees, when they score two runs or less are 0 and 13. Wow. Both examples for the Dodgers and. and the Yankees scream postseason baseball.

If you're Cashman and you're the Dodgers front office, you have to address who pitches game one, four, and seven for the Yankees, and for the Dodgers, who's going to be the Fernando Valenzuela, who's going to be the Bob Welch of 1981, the Hershizer of 88. Until those two questions are answered, I think the Dodgers and Yankees still have a lot of questions to answer. Listen, we all, we have what they, you know, everybody now, because of analytics, I've heard a million times in my life.

Oh, the baseball's juiced, blah, blah, blah. And my always takeaway is, no, analytics have changed. The game changes. To me, athletes are bigger and stronger. Everybody throws 96. You know, because of analytics, everybody's got that upgrade, the launch angle on the swing. I don't think it's the baseball. I'm seeing all these big, strong athletes and guys throw in 96.

That's why we're setting records for home runs. I mean, what do you see? I mean, look, Commissioner Rob Manfred has been on the record that he's going to look at the ball. I think we just have to wait and see. We don't have enough of a large sample size. I just wish that I stuck in there for four more home runs the way the balls are flying out of here. Look, I think home runs are good for baseball. They're fun.

We're always trying to make the game better. We just came back from London. The Yankees and Red Sox absolutely killed it. It was a global thing. We had the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Royals. We had Prince Harry, Megan. It was fantastic. And now we're here at the All-Star game with some of the best youngest players.

it's really what we should be talking about and leading with our greatest stories. By the way, there is a wave of great young players. And it seems to me that it's quicker. It used to be, you get drafted, even if you were like a Wade Boggs. You go to the minor leagues, you disappear for a few years. Then you reemerge a September call-up, then you play. It feels like baseball players are getting drafted and getting to the big sooner. Am I missing something or is that happening?

100%. I mean, in Sabremetrics, Big Data is suggesting that the way to go is younger is better. And that's not always the case because you have a guy like Justin Verlander who's going to start here tomorrow night. He's 36 years old. He's never been better. And he's already said, Colin, that he wants to play into his 40s,

like Tom Brady, like I did, Jeter, Mariano. So if you take care of yourself, you can still play into your 40s, but you're just more of an anomaly. Big Data is telling you that earlier is better and they're double and triple downing on kids that are in their young 20s and the early 30s. You know, Mike Trout, when the Angels signed him,

they're a good revenue team, they're not the Yankees. You sign Mike Trout, and by the way, the twins did this with Joe Mauer, the Reds with Joey Votto, it does limit some other moves. If you ran a baseball team, and I'm not sure if that's an aspiration for you over time, but if you had a Mike Trout talent

where you know you could move him and get an all-star shortstop, four draft picks, a reliever. What is your take on a Mike Trout talent? You develop him. You're not a huge major market revenue team. Maybe you're like eighth in baseball. Would you keep Trout and sign him? Would you move Trout and get a boatload of picks?

What would you do if you got an all-time talent like Trout? First of all-time, Mareno, the owner of the Angels, is one of the smartest owners in our game. And the only Hispanic, which I'm very proud of him. The thing you got to think about is Mike Trout is the easiest decision in baseball. So is Clayton Kirshall. So is Derek Jeter. So is LeBron James. When you have the best, you pay up and you just forget about it in the long term.

There's going to be no better investment the angels have than Mike Trout. The reason why is when you go sit down with Fox and you go negotiate that contract, the executive is Fox are going to start and end with Mike Trout. And that is your anchor tenant. Think of Mike Trout like Walmart. It starts and ends. The things you have to worry about is a secondary and tertiary moves. after Mike Trout, is the Albert Pujos, is the guys that you bring in after that can make you

or kill you. By the way, finally, speaking of London, it was an amazing TV event. Were you shocked how much positive reception, you know, England, the UK gave to baseball? Like, I was shocked by, they were, they wrapped their arms around it. What was it like to be there? Colin, I got to tell you, I was there on the ground and I went down. for Commissioner Manfred in November to promote, did about 55 interviews in a couple of days.

I heard from many Brits on the ground that they were more excited about baseball, Yankee Red Sox than they were about the NBA and the NFL. Now, those were just the people on the streets talking. The next day I went to Wimbledon and did a little tennis with McEnroe. I counted tens and tens and tens of different hats, Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals.

And what it is, baseball has an opportunity to be huge in international. We had over 700 media members, 120,000 people watching live, 30,000 in the lawn watching outside. And the league has, the commissioner's office has many, many dozens of cities in Europe calling to say, when is Major League Baseball coming to our city next?

So it was a huge, huge success for Major League Baseball. Alex Rodriguez, Fox has the All-Star game. He is our analyst. Obviously, you know A-Rod, great talking to you. And when you're in L.A., stop by, coming to the couch, we want to talk again. Next time we talk Lakers, University of Miami, and anything you want to talk about.

All right, thanks, Rayrod. Appreciate it. All right, Colin. Good stuff. So the All-Star game on Fox. We had great soccer. It's been really an amazing month. The U.S. Open, the Women's World Cup, the Gold Cup, the All-Star game in baseball. Great. Last month. Back, hour three next.

One more, Herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hard Radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Car shopping can be confusing, a lot of terms. Dealer price, list price, invoice. Truecar shows you what other people paid for the car you want, new or used, truecar.com.

Let's go. By the way, the Lakers have picked up Avery Bradley. Man, Frank Vogel's got a lot of new people. This is going to be, they're talented. You can't deny the Lakers' talent. I think the Clippers will fit more seamlessly early. But let's go to Bill Orham from this. the athletic Laker writer since

2013. Also covered the jazz, by the way, Salt Lake City Tribune. All right, Bill, here we go. First of all, Avery Bradley signing. What do you make of it? I mean, I think it's a good move at this point. I mean, obviously the free agent market is dried up at this point. The Lakers

had a lot of money to spend and a whole lot of roster spots to fill it on. So Avery Bradley's a guy who just a couple years ago in Boston was still shooting 46% from the field, averaging 16 points, obviously fell off once he got moved from Detroit to the Clippers, had a resurgence with Memphis. You don't know which guy you're getting, but when you're talking about the 14th move on the roster, that's probably okay. It's okay to have

a little uncertainty about what you're getting if you're getting such a value. It looks like the Lakers got him using their room exception, which is about $4 million. Nothing really to lose there and a chance that he could be pretty good. And it's obviously a championship caliber player. This puts enormous pressure on Frank Vogel to make it work. Unlike the Clippers who had a good year, good chemistry, veteran coach, you slide Kauai in. Boy, there's a lot of moving disparate parts here. How does Frank Vogel do it? What does his history tell us about this group?

Well, I've said since they hired him that there's almost no pressure on Frank Vogel, considering the way he came into this job. Obviously, he was not, the phone wasn't ringing for head coaching positions before the Lakers came calling. So, I mean, he's in a great position where, you know, go from the unemployment line to potentially having a run in a championship here. but when you really get into the meat and potatoes of the roster, like you said, Colin, I do think it's a tough job. I mean, you have a player who becomes the true leader of the team,

no matter who the coach is in LeBron. You have a second superstar to try to keep happy. And then you have all these pieces, and some of them are back from last year, but there's no continuity from last year's roster. And you have some tough decisions to make in terms of lineups. Rajan Rondo is obviously a champion point guard, you know, highly regarded in the locker room. a legend in a sense, but at the same time, his numbers last year defensively were not good

next to LeBron James. And beyond that, his numbers next to Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins in the year they were together in New Orleans were even worse. So you may think, okay, fine, start DeMarcus, Anthony Davis, and Rajan Rondo, because those are the biggest names. But is that what's actually going to gel the best on the court? I don't know. I mean, there's probably a case that Alex Caruso, who just got his first real NBA contract, tough-nosed, doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Winning player makes more sense as a starter with that lineup. And that is not necessarily the Laker way

when you have a big name that you can throw out there. So it's going to be really interesting to see how he manages that. And then also the depth behind Danny Green at shooting guard. They have a lot of twos all of a sudden, including Avery Bradley, who you mentioned, and Contagius Caldwell Pope, who they brought back on a pretty big commitment as well. So there's just a lot of players who are kind of in the same range of caliber player

that are going to want a lot of minutes. I just think there's going to be a lot to sort out for Frank Vogel. You know, Kauai got on the phone with Paul George, reportedly Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler. It leads me to believe, Bill, that he always kind of wanted the Clippers. He really did, and he just didn't know if it could work. Am I reaching there? But, I mean, it sounds like he was on a two, three-week process of calling stars to join him with the Clippers.

Yeah, I mean, it sure seems that way. And it then leads you to the question. of whether the Lakers got a little bit duped into staying in the Kauai Leonard game for as long as they did. And obviously, we know what that cost them on the front end of free agency. So, you know, Kauai was linked to the Lakers or excuse me, to the Clippers throughout the year. That was seen as the logical move for him. And we heard it, we heard it, we heard it, we heard it. And then the Lakers kind of were late to the game where it became, they thought they had a real shot.

And they moved mountains to create the cap space for him. They held off on making any other moves. and then ultimately Kawhi did exactly what everyone thought he was going to do. So, you know, it's kind of a, you know, fool me once, fool me twice sort of thing. But I think, you know, the Lakers felt like they had to go all the way in. Once they had thought they had a single shred of a chance of getting him. You know, I've read every bit of, every bit of copy I can over the last 48 hours on this. it kind of sounds like magic going public with his Kauai phone call wasn't great.

Do you think it was a definitive deal breaker or is that overstated? I have a hard time believing that was the deal breaker, the thing that would keep Kauai from doing what he wanted to do if, in fact, the Lakers were the team that he wanted to play with. If he wanted to do the LeBron and Anthony Davis thing, I think that that would have risen above Magic doing his thing off to the side. But I think it's impossible to ignore the fact that Magic Johnson continuing to have a role, having a loud voice, speaking to reporters, divulging information from his conversation. That does not project the Lakers as a button-down organization as a team that has its house in order.

Magic Johnson no longer obviously part of the organization, but continues to be one of the biggest faces in the history of the organization and one of its primary voices still. And so to have him out there, certainly I don't think it helped. Yeah. You know, there was, you know, some of the things I've read is that LeBron would have stepped back for Kauai and Anthony Davis and really been the facilitator and pulled back his numbers, which I think would be great. Do you believe next year's team is LeBron's or Anthony Davis's?

I think it's still LeBron's team, Colin. I mean, he did the right, I don't know if it's the right thing. but he did a nice thing by giving the number 23 over to Anthony Davis, trying to facilitate some goodwill there, try to set this up to be a longer partnership than just one year. I mean, I don't think anyone thinks Anthony Davis is leaving the Lakers after one year, but we can't ignore the fact that he is a free agent, and if things were to go really off the rails,

that's something the Lakers have to live in fear of. So having LeBron doing the work early to make Anthony Davis feel like there's some buy-in, I think is really important. But for the time being, I mean, LeBron James, I know he's going to be 35. I know he's coming off the injury. I know he played the fewest games. But he is still the kind of the godfather of the NBA right now.

He is still, if not the best player, he is its biggest star still. He's still the primary driver of the NBA brand. And so for him to step back and not be the leader of his own team would probably be the wrong move at this point. But as we see him move a little bit deeper into this contract, see if he plays beyond this contract as Anthony Davis moves deeper into his prime. I do think you'll start to see a shift, but it won't be in year one. Yeah, good stuff. Bill Orham, the athletic, covered the Lakers for several years.

It's fun, if nothing else. Bill, thank you so much. That's a word for it. Thanks, Colin. Yeah, yeah. It is Avery Bradley got signed today. He's a real player. So, I mean, I will say this.

The Lakers may have some dysfunction, but one thing they did get that they didn't have last year, which to me was inexcusable, they have shooters. A, that's the league, and B. LeBron plays well with shooters. Drive and dish. Quinn Cook, sneaky good pickup. Danny Green. Jared Dudley can hit a jumper.

Avery Bradley can hit a jumper. I mean, last year, I got a lot of dysfunction and no shooters. I may have a little dysfunction. But LeBron's history is, I'll drive, get me guys who can finish it off from the perimeter if I don't at the tin. So I kind of like that part. I mean, Avery Bradley's out there. you know, he can shoot. Anthony Davis, actually, for a big, can occasionally pop a three.

It's not his game. So that part, the Lakers should be much more dynamic from the perimeter, which was a huge issue last year. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, here it is. According to Sham Sharania of the athletic, OKC is now receptive for the first time

toward trade calls for Russell Westbrook. So Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, and Thunder GM, Sam Presidy are now collaborating together and examining alternative solutions. Now, the timing is a little challenging because it's late in the summer due to free agency craziness. Right. And it's locked a lot of teams into some tight payroll spots. But Vegas has released their odds on what team Russ will play for next season. Oh, they have. Yeah.

So Thunder have the best odds. Okay. The Knicks, two to one odds. The heat have four to one odds. The pistons and the rocket six to one. And the Timberwolves have seven to one odds. of landing Russell Westbrook. Neither one of us like the Houston thing, right?

I don't like the Houston thing, and then I just don't see how it fits. Of course, Russell Westbrook is a superstar, but we've seen how he plays. We know how he plays. We've seen this. He is very much set in his ways. He's not going to get down there and then all of a sudden just mesh into some new kind of system. And quite frankly, I really don't know that Houston has a system that produces any success. I mean, have they won anything?

Like, they definitely get numbers. They're definitely in the playoffs every single year. They produce MVP's, but it's not translated into actual rings yet. So I don't think that's the fit there. Obviously, I love him with the heat. I do think he would be great with Jimmy Butler. The Knicks is very interesting, too, though. The Knicks would be very interesting.

Now, you could admit that would be fun. Aren't you and I supposed to root for interesting? Well, yes. When I'm being fan-girl, then I'd root for the heat. But if I'm rooting for the most, which I do think that Jimmy Butler and Russell Westbrook in Miami would be very interesting. Houston would be. Houston would be very interesting. I mean, I would say if we're doing an interesting meter,

I'd put Houston at the top felled very closely by the Nix, just because everything with Durant and Kyrie and also just being the Nix. Do the Nix have anything to give? Do the NICs have come after that? I mean, I don't know. I mean, look at some of the moves that have been made. Even the Jimmy Butler move, nobody was even talking about that possibly happening. So I don't know what the rockets would have to get up to get him.

I'm imagining whatever the thunder are going to ask for him is going to be astronomical, uncle, but we've already seen a big move there. And how much more do they really need after, you know, what they got for Paul George? So Magic Johnson says he's disappointed that Kauai chose the Clippers, obviously. But before the news was made public, the Lakers were supposed to be the frontrunners to land him. And Magic himself reportedly spoke to Kauai. So you told the L.A. Times, for the Lakers, there's disappointment, but joy, too. In a perfect world, you'd love to have Kauai.

But, hey, the Lakers aren't going anywhere. Everybody tried. That's all you can do. I'm a Laker man. I was hoping all day. But for the league, it turned out great. and for this town, it's the king of basketball. He is right.

L.A. is the center of the basketball universe currently. How about the state of California? I mean, just think of the state of California. I'll start up north. Deerran Fox, Steph, Clay, Dray, Drayman, LeBron A.D., Boogie Cousins, DeAngelo Russell, Kauai, Paul George, like 12 all-star level guys. It's another level.

I'm kind of, I am so torn about this, because I talked myself into it being a really fun and villainous situation with Kauai going to the Lakers, but it also just doesn't fit Kauai, LeBron, or AD. LeBron the most since he's already been through it, but they're just, those guys aren't villains. Okay, so Anthony Davis is not a big talker. Nobody discussed this. If Kauai goes to the Lakers, I've seen what happens to the third wheel with LeBron when he's a big. Kauai and LeBron would be great together.

Right. Anthony Davis privately is way better off being the second and often first option. Because I felt Kawhi goes, Kawhi and LeBron will work. Those games work together. Anthony Davis would become Chris Bosch. Hello! I'm over here. Yeah.

And who knows how that works moving forward. Like this is a win now situation. There isn't time to sort that out. Finally, our women did it again. The U.S. Women's National Team are back-to-back World Cup champs. They defended their title yesterday, beating the Netherlands to nothing. Yes. Megan Rapino scored the first goal from the penalty spot,

and Rose Lavelle sealed the game in the 69th minute to win their fourth World Cup. Not easy. Those games were tight. They were tight. It was fun. It was great soccer. By the way, have you seen the ratings? Massive.

They'll get 10. Yeah. I mean, it was great soccer. If you're a soccer fan, you can't not watch that. And if you're an American, I mean, how can you not love this team? They're everything that you want. want. They're gritty. They fought through injuries. As you said earlier, Rapino and

Roosevelt were both injured. They're the ones that scored to win the World Cup. It's controversy. Let me read this. Sorry, I'm doing this live in the air. This is not an earthquake. You do this once a show, so it's okay. The women's World Cup final, outrated last year's men's World Cup final by 20%.

Now, obviously, you know, American team in it, but it shows you the popularity of the American women's team. Because the men's World Cup gets a fat number. This thing yesterday got a 10 overnight raining. Does everybody understand how big that is? I certainly do. Let's listen to Megan Rapino after the game real quick. I mean, the run that we had was ridiculous. Going through all the Titans of Europe was just so

difficult and this group is just amazing. I mean, I think that we've been questioned and wondering if we can get through everyone, but we've had so much support as well along the way. And to be able to make everyone happy and smile and be able to have this moment for not only group, but for the country. It's just incredible. I like her in purple hair. I've got to be honest. I see purple hair a lot and I'm like, not a great look. No, she pulls it off. She really looks good in purple hair.

Her girlfriend Sue Bird actually wrote an article about her and said that she originally had dyed it pink and then it kind of because she's so blonde, it kind of morphed into purple. But it all worked out because the purple is awesome too. I've done the hair dye thing once. I wouldn't recommend it for sportscasters. Yeah, it's not really... For her, though. It's not your love. You have to be a little edgier.

Earthquakes and hair dye. I don't do well with either. First, I'm going to agree with you there. Congrats to the women's team. Yeah, congrats to them, U.S. women's national team. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Herd Lie News. You know, I will say this. I am very pro players moving. I just think it's, I would be a complete hypocrite. You know, this whole thing about recruiting, Damien Lillard talked about this, is that it's one thing like Jerry West and Doc Rivers, I guess we're at Doc Rivers,

Malibu House, having steak dinner and everything, you know, and Jerry West, and they all decided, you know, get me in their player and all work. It does feel like Kauai was kind of on the Clippers mostly. He basically made a bunch of calls and told Jerry West, I'll come if you get the other guy. So it does feel like, actually,

the clippers were in the driver's seat, but there were stipulations with it. My takeaway this morning is Toronto never had a chance. That's nothing against Toronto, but Toronto never had a chance. The Lakers did have a chance, but his heart was with the clippers. That's what it feels like this morning

by telling Jerry, you win, just get me another player. I don't want to do like Toronto again and have to play all those games. But Damien Lillard talked about over the weekend how, listen, man, you got to get on the phone now if you're an NBA star. I think you see it a lot more now, whereas just players recruiting players is more powerful.

than a pitch meeting with the team. You know, that's just what it is now. So, I mean, it's a huge part of, it's a huge part of the game now. Now, I would also say this is that I know there's often a lot of pushback on stars joining stars. For the record, Janice has said, I'm not interested. Damien Lillard has said, I'm not interested. Jimmy Butler left other stars to go to Miami.

Not everybody wants to join forces. Kevin Durant did. And by the way, after a year, he sounded restless. LeBron did it in Miami, and after a year said, I don't like being a villain. So I hope the current trend is two stars per team. I think that's really healthy.

And then put pressure on your front office to get a bunch of good bench guys and create chemistry. So, all right, coming up, the dust is settled. We got like 15 duos in the NBA. Who are the top 10? I'll give you mine and best for last. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd, weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app.

Great to have you in. Chris Broussard, David Griffin, who has assembled quite a roster, including Zion Williamson. Summer League's kind of been a bummer. Zion got hurt. RJ Barrett's not ready quite to go. It's John Morant's not playing. Summer League's been a disappointment. I was so jazzed up to see Zion, and the nine minutes in it ended. So that is what it is. I mean, none of those guys outside of John Morant and Zion, maybe R.J. Barrett, I think it'll make a huge impact, wins and losses, but I was excited to watch them play. Alex Rodriguez showed up baseball all-star game next few days. Bill Orham just stopped by in Vegas.

We've had so many moves. Free agency, trade, Lakers just acquired Avery Bradley. We've got a lot of these duos now. And I don't recall a time in my life where we had this many duos. A few years ago, it felt like it was groups of three. You know, it was like Rondo, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, a Bosch, D. LeBron, now it's duo, so I thought best for last, my top

10 current duos in the NBA. Number one. I think it's Kauai and Paul George. They average 55 a game last year. Most by any current duo. Paul George at the All-Star break was the MVP leader. Kauai won the finals MVP. They're both terrific

two-way players. I think they're both in their prime, though Paul George is getting close to getting out of his prime. They've both had some injuries, but these are great two-way wing players. And if you look at the personalities, Kauai is mostly about basketball. Paul George, I think it's very comfortable being a 1A to him. I think it's the best duo in the league. Number two. I think it's Stefan Clay. It's the best back court in my life. Clay's out until probably

January or February. But folks, it's all about shooting threes. These guys won a title without KD. the only back court in my life that's close to it is Jerry West and Gail Goodrich back in the 70s. Can we not forget about the reigning dynasty? We want to bury these great teams like the Patriots and the Warriors. It's not just talent. It's brains. Patriots and Warriors got a lot of brain power in that building.

Steph and Clay are still the best back court of my, mostly my life. Number three. LeBron and Anthony Davis. Now, again, two of the top five or six players, but I don't know how they work together. Anthony Davis last two years has had nagging injuries. He's an all-star, he's terrific. He can defend the pick and roll. You can move him outside, but I've also seen in my life

that LeBron always works great with guards and shooters, even when they're kind of dysfunctional. He's never been great with Biggs, so I'm not denying the talent, but I don't think this feels like Kauai Paul and Steph Clay. Number four. Go ahead and ignore the Denver Nuggets at your own peril. Jamal Murray and Nicola Yochich, by the way, both players' points per game have gone up every year they've played together. This is the beginning of this group last year that combined for 54 wins.

They are just, these guys are not in their prime yet. These guys are moving into their prime. They are sensational and they have a great coach. Number five. Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum. Now, C.J. is a little spottier than Damon, but last year, Damon average. 26 and CJ Ever, 21. The thing I like about them, too, not a lot of big egos here.

You know, it's not easy to make two guards your best two shooters and scores. You know, usually a perfect combination is a big, a wing, a guard. The fact that these guys are pretty selfless and egoless, I've got them at number five. Number six. Now, we've never seen this before, but if Chris stops, Porzingas can stay healthy, he's a 7-foot-4 slasher. Luca Donzich was the best European player at 18, came over to the States, one rookie of the year.

These guys could be absolutely lethal. One's a wing, one's a big, they both run the floor, they can both shoot. I don't sure if Dallas makes the playoffs, but as a duo, these guys, as long as health isn't an issue, could be sensational. Number seven.

Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell. Folks, I know you didn't watch Mike Conley play for the last several years. He's been in the league 12 years. Last year he avered, 21 a game. And Donovan Mitchell, and these guys, by the way, both play defense. So you're talking about high IQ, play both ends, both can shoot. This is the perfect back court in Utah.

All they needed was a shooter and a point guard. Ricky Rubio, love him, can't shoot. Conley and Mitchell, again, maybe it's because they play in Utah, are perfect together. Number eight. Campbell Walker and Jason Tatum. Jason Tatum last year plateaued. actually think he's really good. I just don't think he and Kyrie meshed. I don't know if this is championship pedigree stuff, but let's not kid ourselves. Kemba fits. Kemba can score. Kemba's low maintenance,

and Tatum's a very good young talent. Number nine. Janice and Chris Middleton, one's a remarkable player. Now, I put them lower because I think Middleton's not an all-star in the West. I think he's an all-star in the East. It paid him a lot of money, but this is mostly an A plus and a B. Number 10. Russell Westbrook and the ball. Listen, he said the ball was his best friend. He obviously struggles with other star players. This seems a little harsh. He's going to end up making a lot of money somewhere else. Russell Westbrook and the ball is still one of the best watches in the NBA. It's one of the best television shows. Oh, so you're just putting a little spin on it, so it's not, it's not exactly.

Exactly a jab. It's kind of a jab. Now, I didn't put in a couple. Yeah, you're missing a few on there. And I have some issues with the order as well. But Simmons and Embed are not on there. Okay, they don't get along. They don't work.

I like their talent individually. Obviously, James Hardin and Chris Paul. Okay. They have a fight right now. They don't like each other either. There were conflicting reports on that. I think they had some issues with losing, which everyone does. I trust the blog's rumors.

All right. And I'm not saying that the reports were incorrect that they fought. I'm just saying I think it's being overblown. And then Duran and Irving. Well, I can understand that because Katie's not playing. Katie isn't playing. Now, if Katie and Irving were healthy, I would put them four, maybe three. I put them pretty high.

But I can't because Katie's out for a year. Yeah, I mean, that's understandable. But I am surprised that you don't have Simmons and Embed down there. I don't think Simmons and Embed worked. I love them both individually. I don't think it works. Now, Elton Brand runs the team super smart guy. He's like, you know, he's signed Simmons early.

So they think it works. I also think CJ and Dame are a little low. Where would you put them? I mean, I would just move them up one spot. You know, it's funny. The mountain, you know, I go to Utah a lot, but when you're in the mountain range, the mountain time zone's different.

It's not west and it's not east and it's not Midwest we kind of forget we have a other time zone. So the two teams in this league that nobody pays attention to are Denver and Utah. I'm not saying they're not great. I'm just saying I think Dame and CJ have more experience. So that's why I would put them above. Boy, Tia. Marion Yokic, who I think are great.

How good is the West? It's like the SEC and football. I think the six best team could generally compete for second in any other conference. How good is the West? I don't even think Dallas gets in. The West is so good. and no one knows who's going to really be on top, even though I do agree that the Clippers

should probably be favored at this point, but the East is really even, too. I don't think that they would be able to compete in the same level as the West. You don't think Philadelphia and Milwaukee? You just said you don't like Simmons and B together. But they got a bunch of guys. They got Hartford now.

I mean, I still think they're going to be good. I think the Celtics are going to be a lot better than people think. Man. Well, Toronto's in a rebuild. Hey, by the way, two things. Congratulations to Toronto, handling Kauai's departure with dignity and class.

Yes. I just love how Toronto handled it. Love it. Congratulations to the United States Women's National team. Yes. People forget their two goal scores yesterday were injured. I mean, this was like the NBA finals. They were putting injured players in.

They got a massive TV rating. What else? Congratulations. The All-Star game, hold on. Okay, here's another one. Sort of God. Chris Haynes, Yahoo. the Lakers intend to move LeBron James to the starting point guard position. So it'll go LeBron 1, probably Danny Green 2, Kuzma 3, Anthony Davis 4, Boogie 5, Javail backup center, KCP backup 2, Avery backup to backup 2, Quinn Cook off the bench, Jared Dudley off the bench.

That's interesting. By the way, I mean, seriously, we had a. breaking story to the last minute of the show. Only thing we're missing is an earth. Forget it. I had one last week. No more of those. All right. For joining everybody here, David Griffin, Alex Rodriguez, Bill Orham, Chris Brousard, LeBrona point guard. John Smoltz, All-Star Game. One of the smart guys in the

sport will join us tomorrow. That's obviously from Cleveland, where A-Rod joined us today. Good stuff. I'm exhausted. We'll see you tomorrow. What's the hurt? Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves,

their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, Follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe

to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, guys? This is Cliver Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. A rep, mom.

I'm going to want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.