The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Lakers, Tom Brady, 76ers, conspiracy theories, and the Warriors

Episode Date: May 3, 2019

Colin discusses the Los Angeles Lakers coaching search, why New England Patriots QB Tom Brady is special, why he enjoys watching the Philadelphia 76ers, conspiracy theories, and the Warriors-Rockets series. Guests include Chris Broussard, Albert Breer, Rob Parker, Chris Haynes, and Jason McIntyre. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Friday loaded show. This is The Herd in beautiful Los Angeles, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, on FS1, and Joy Taylor is joining me in a Friday, and we have a little breaking news. Monty Williams is the new coach of the Phoenix Suns, which means what many believe was the Lakers' top choice, chose one of the losing his franchises in the world,

the Phoenix Suns, in chaos. They run through coaches. I mean, it's a Phoenix a mess. And Monty Williams chose that over the Lakers. Joy will have more of this coming up in a half hour. So it does appear now. Ty Lou is not only a front runner, but it for the Lakers. It would appear so, but it is the Lakers.

We're all just watching and finding out at the same time. Yeah, just started. So Monty Williams, who the Lakers, according to various reports, kind of wanted to hire because they're worried about giving the franchise to Ty Lou. And it looks like optically, it's Ty Lou and LeBron's franchise. Well, they don't have a choice now. Tai Lu is going to be the guy. Monty Williams, the guy in Phoenix. Again, Joy Taylor has more on that in 30 minutes.

I want to start with what I think is the most enjoyable team to watch on the NBA, not the Warriors, Philadelphia. Because when you talk about what makes a great TV show in sports is a television show, basically, I need, I need excellence. I need talent. There's nothing wrong with something being a little bit of a hot mess. I like a bunch of stuff. Philadelphia gives me everything. I got the next version of Shaq.

I got Jimmy Butler's attitude. I got social media stars. I got a coach that can get fired. Philadelphia gives me everything I want in sports. Hope, drama, talent. And by the way, they're four best players. All want Max Deals. And they all come with qualifiers.

Joel Ambide, health issue. Jimmy Butler attitude issue. Tobias Harris, not that great. Jim, Ben Simmons can't shoot. And they all want to be stars and they all have star potential. And I'm watching this series. And I'm not going to be mean here, Toronto. But let's be honest, Toronto. Coi Leonard's leaving. And that is not being mean. That's being honest. This is your entertainment reality. Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Justin Bieber, Kauai Leonard, Sean Mendez, Wayne Gretzky, I'm not being mean, Canada. This is your entertainment reality.

Maple syrup industry, donut industry, lumber industry, people stay in Canada. Entertainment, they come down here. We have a conversion rate, you know, right now I look this morning. A dollar in Canada is 74 cents in America, and that's about what the Raptors are. They're about 74% of the Sixers talent. That's about what they are. Nothing against Fred Van Vleet. 17 to the 19 ESPN basketball experts pick the raptors because it feels smart and we like Canada

and they're awesome people and Toronto's global and Vancouver's amazing everybody likes Canada I like Canada I go to Canada every other year but the conversion rate you're about 74% of the Sixers talent all the talent in this series it's on Philadelphia some of it's crazy some of it's nuts some of it can't stay healthy some of it can't shoot some of it thinks it's way better than it is is, I mean, Philadelphia is all what makes sports great. Seven best players in this series, five or sixers. Embed, Butler, Simmons, Harris, and JJ Reddick played really well last night. I like Kauai.

I like Pascal Seacum, but, you know, Seacom's gotten better. There's a ceiling. He's a nice kid, and Kauai's leaving, and I'm not being mean. This is your reality, Toronto. So this team is so one-sided in the playoffs. When Kauai Leonard's on the floor, the Raptors are plus 113. When he's off the floor, they're minus 54. I feel bad.

This feels Gretzky. It feels Mike Myers. It feels Ryan Gosling. It feels San Mendes. It feels Ronald Reynolds. Kauai's out of there. He knows it. He's the whole team.

All year long. We want to say nice stuff about. Canada and Toronto, they're awesome neighbors. It's amazing country. They're good people. They don't have the eagle like America. But if you walked into a YMCA and you saw Toronto and you saw Philadelphia, you'd be like, I'm picking those dudes. M.B.

looks like a baby shack. Simmons is a six, ten and a half point guard. Butler is all attitude and talent. J.J. Reddick, scrappy guy flying around the court hitting threes. He's what Toronto wishes Fred Van Vleet was. I got to be honest with you. This series, I know, I know everybody picked Toronto, and I know their chemistry is great. Yesterday, Joe L.M.B had a quote.

He said, chemistry's overrated. I just want to play with good players. And the Raptors shoot 39% when Kauai is off the floor. We love you. Baby dinosaurs. And it used to be the LeBron Meteor that ended your life. made you extinct. It's going to be Philadelphia.

And I know they're kind of a crazy, nutty, ego, crazy, messy, four guys all want to get paid Max. Philadelphia is America. A lot of ego, a lot of talent, a lot of crazy, a lot of nuts, probably break up, get divorced. God, I love watching the Sixers play. I love watching them play. That's the most entertaining team in the NBA.

Golden States too buttoned up. I mean, golden states like, you know, IBM in the 80s. They put their money away. They invest in a 401K. Philadelphia is like, I'm leasing a private jet. I can't afford it.

I'm getting a sweet at the wind for a month. I can't afford it. I make a lot. I spend every penny. Let's buy some more jet skis. That's Philadelphia. And I got to be honest, love watching them play.

Absolutely love watching them play. I want to show you. shift to this. And again, Joy, in 15 minutes, we'll have more Monty Williams to the Sons. That would I think mean tie Lou to the Lakers. So Tom Brady was on Jimmy Kimball last night. Tom Brady has a house used to out here. He works out a lot here at UCLA, which is about 15 feet from where I'm sitting. And Brady was talking, you know, kind of about, you know, does he mind being the 18th highest paid quarterback in the NFL? And here's what Brady said. I think the thing I've always felt for me in my life, you know, winning is been a priority, and my wife makes a lot of money.

I see. Oh, good. That's good. That works out of life. I'm a little smarter than you think. Absolutely, it's a salary cap. Everyone, you know, you can only spend so much and the more that, you know, one guy gets is less for others. And I think for a competitive advantage standpoint, I'd like to, you know, get a lot of good players around me. I hope the Patriots appreciate that you do that. You know, think about this. This is not discussed enough. We talk about PEDs.

This is Brady's PED, performance enhancing deal. There are four quarterbacks in the NFL that currently make double Tom Brady. Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rogers, Big Ben. Do you know that Tom Brady makes less money? In fact, the least money of any NFL quarterback, not on a rookie deal? Do you realize, I want to say this again, let it soak in. for you driving around America. He's the lowest paid quarterback, not on a rookie deal.

Tom Brady. This is what I've said separates Brady from LeBron, Bryce Harper, Aaron Rogers, Kobe Bryant, Russell Wilson, that there's this equation that lives in all the other guy's heads. Money equals respect. And it doesn't with Brady. it doesn't exist with Tom. LeBron makes $35 million a year in basketball,

30 million a year in shoes, but when LeBron wakes up in the morning, money equals respect. I mean, Aaron Rogers is a really smart guy, really smart, maybe as smart as any NFL player. He knows the more he takes, the fewer guys around him. But Aaron could certainly rationalize taking that money. Hey, I live in Green Bay, okay?

I stay here. I say nice things about Green Bay. Hey, you've never given me an elite defense like Brady gets. Aaron's really smart, but he probably gets up and rationalizes it. I think Russell Wilson's really smart. But Russell gets up in the morning and he can rationalize, I won a Super Bowl. I was a third round pick.

I was for free. By the way, I never get credit here. It's always Pete. It's always the defense. The bottom line is Brady. A lot of smart guys in sports. Kobe. Russell, Wilson, Aaron Rogers,

LeBron James, there's this equation that lives in their head. You don't pay me. You don't respect me. And Brady of all the American superstars, it's not a thing. He's not bothered in the least by it. Like this is the PED of the Patriots, the performance-enhancing deal, makes the least money of any NFL quarterback not in a rookie deal. Four current quarterbacks make double.

What Tom Brady makes. And one of them is Matt Ryan. You know, we talk about a few months ago, players always say this. Oh, wife makes a lot of money and debats a lot of money and this is my money. That's all good. But you can rationalize things any way you want. Aaron Rogers and Russell Wilson are smart dudes, but they rationalize it knowing Matt Ryan's smart dude. They all rationalize it knowing it hurts the quality of their offensive line.

It hurts the quality of their defense. It does every time. What was it last year? The top six highest paid quarterbacks? None made the playoffs. It's the great PED with Brady and the Patriots, performance enhancing deal. Good to have you in. We'll update you on the very latest.

on the Lakers coaching search because a story, two of them last night broke. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

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

and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. News. Save money. Switch to Geico. Takes 15 minutes. See if you can save 15%. Geico.com. See how much you could save. It's a Friday. Great to have you on. I never wear black shirts. But I'm going to Vegas tomorrow, so, you know, I'm trying to look really outwash.

I'm going to watch the Canello fight. That's exciting. I'm going to wear it till tomorrow. Maybe I'll just wear it throughout the fight. Get the joy in just one second. Good to have you back. Here's a story that was out. Two stories yesterday came out.

So I want to just address these. Number one is Adrian Ward Janowski is saying that LeBron would prefer Ty Lou. But the story says the king, quote, has stayed out of the conversation. That's the first thing. LeBron wants Tyloo. The second thing, the other story. story that came out, according to the athletic. They got a bunch of good people there.

I'm a subscriber. They said the Lakers are hesitant to hire Tailu because they're sensitive to the notion that LeBron's calling the shots. I do think it's a real thing among players in the NBA. It is. Whether we like it or not, it's real. Here's where I keep coming back to. And I know I

feel, I sound, people in L.A. think I'm being very negative. The last two teams that have had, well, the only two teams that have had LeBron, Cleveland twice in Miami. Cleveland is kind of seen by the Lakers. The Lakers look at Cleveland and think pathetic. Nobody wants to go there. They've never won titles.

Then there's Miami. And the Lakers look at Miami and they respect Miami. They're like Pat Riley. It's a destination. People want to go there. The Lakers see themselves in Miami. And Miami pushed back on LeBron. Miami wouldn't give them the keys to the city, right?

Pat Riley would not. Whereas Cleveland was like, we'll give you everything. So the Lakers see themselves as more Miami than Cleveland. And my argument has been, they're way closer to Cleveland now, is that the last six years they have the worst record in the NBA. They did give the franchise to Kobe Bryant, to stunt the growth of players.

It's a revolving door of coaches. It's mostly 35 win seasons. It's a front office in tumult and chaos. The Lakers see themselves as Miami, a better version of Miami. We will not give LeBron the power. They don't see themselves as Cleveland. Pathetic.

Who wants to go there? Of course they gave LeBron the keys to the city. But I think they're closer to Cleveland. I'll say it again. I think the Lakers have big issues. And I mean another 10 years of a mess. First of all, LeBron's going to ensure they're generally not a lottery team if he stays for two or three years. Because they'll win a bunch of games when he's healthy.

Secondly, their assets are Lonzo Ball that can't stay healthy plus a dad issue, and Brandon Ingram, who now has a blood-cris boss issue and is off the trade block. Kyle Kuzma is their asset, and you're not getting Anthony Davis in a trade. So the only way the Lakers can get another two stars, and if you're watching the playoffs, Philadelphia's got three, Golden State's got three, you know, Houston's got two, Milwaukee's got two really good players. Boston's got four really good players. L.A. needs two more players. And they don't have the assets to trade for him. And if Ty Loo's the coach with LeBron,

there are going to be people in this league. It's a I want to be the man league who won't come to L.A. I'm not blaming LeBron. I'm not blaming Ty Lou. He's the best choice out there. But this is a real thing. The Lakers view themselves as a better version of Miami. And what they are is a better version of Cleveland.

In my opinion, Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. All right, so that breaking news, Monty Williams is a head coach again. He has agreed to a five-year deal with the Suns being reported. And in the wake of this news, the Lakers are now expected to hire Ty Lou. That is according to Woj.

Now, William, Monty Williams is currently an assistant for the Sixers. He was the San Antonio Spurs Vice President of Basketball Operations prior to joining Philadelphia and before that he was the associate head coach at Oklahoma City and he was also with Pelican. So he does have a big resume and he's going to the Sons which

was something that we all kind of felt was being delayed with the Lakers until after the Sixers series. So that's no longer happening. So Tailu. Now I've always maintained that Tailu was the right person for this job. You were just talking about how people feel like they're turning the franchise over to the

Which my question would, of course, be, didn't you do that when you brought LeBron here? And, let's be fair, they gave Kobe the franchise the last two years for the detriment of the growth of players. Well, so that's the last part is the important part. They did give it to Kobe, but many feel that was a mistake, and it was detriment to the organization in the long run. And it's why they are in the situation that they are in now in reality. However, you brought LeBron here on a four-year deal. it's LeBron James, you know what that comes with. Why would you not want to put everything around him

that you could possibly put around him to make him successful? It's not like LeBron's getting any younger. We've already seen that this year with his first major injury. This whole idea that you don't want LeBron to control the franchise, like you just said, they're better Cleveland. It makes sense why Miami wouldn't do that. Miami's not in a good place right now either. And Miami has always been no state tax, aqua water.

It's the only Eastern team that's a real. free age and destination. We don't know New York is. We don't know NBA players love Boston or D.C. I would say today, with California's taxes, the LeBron dominates the franchise and the chaos, I'm not sure they're that far removed

from Cleveland. I don't see all these guys lining up to want to play with the Lakers. No, you don't have to play for the Lakers. You don't have to go to New York. You don't have to go to Miami to get a major contract and then get shoe deals and endorsements. It doesn't work that way anymore. So that whole appeal of the Lakers

in Los Angeles, everyone comes here and trains in the off-season anyway. And you're traveling anyway. So what does it really matter? I understand, like, you know, it's nicer to be in a place like Miami, obviously. It's nicer to be in a place like Los Angeles. But that's not the biggest factor anymore. To me, the Lakers should, of course, go all in with LeBron. That's what you were doing when you brought LeBron here.

And for that matter, all of that talk about going all in the LeBron. Tyloo won a championship in Cleveland. He beat the best regular season NBA team of all time. on their home court. LeBron didn't do that by himself. And don't get me, Kyrie. LeBron's not going to win a championship here without someone else. And you're not going to get Anthony Davis.

So, Tailu is the right person for this job. He always has been. Congrats to Moni Williams. That's what it is. So we'll see what happens in the next few days, but that's what's being reported. So Kauai was sensational last night in the game three loss to the Sixers. Seacom was pretty good too.

But the rest of the Raptors, not so much. Kyle Lowry and Marcusol combined for 14 points on four of 16 shooting. and have been pretty quiet all series, and after the game, Lowry said the team needs to help Kauai. As good as Kauai has been, are you guys relying on him? We've got to help them.

We've got to help myself, especially me. I got to help him. Score more. I got to help him on the floor. We all got to help him. He's playing unbelievable right now, but we're not giving him any help. Me.

I'm not giving him any help him. Got to help him. This series has been all Hawaii and Siakam. I mean, this franchise, when Kauai is not on the floor, they hit 39% of their field goals. Three points way worse. Like, I know the media loves Toronto. It makes the immediate feel smart if you choose Toronto because they're analytical and we like Canada. This is a one-man team.

This is a, Philadelphia, by the way, there were, Mbid had a great night last night, Joey, but there were a couple of runs when Reddick was hot and Butler was hot. I mean, Philadelphia threw everything at you and everything worked last. night and you're sitting there and basically Kawhi's got a cape on. Well it's kind of the Raptors and Portland are kind of similar to me and that's really kind of what you felt like this great regular season team and now you have

Kawhi this is the piece that you needed to put you over the edge but you still need everybody else to contribute and you saw what happened the other night when everyone contributes even if Damian Lillard didn't go off he only had 14 points the rest of the team contributed so they were able to get the win this is Toronto's guys aren't contributing it's all Siakam and Kauai.

Finally, James Harden suffered an eye injury in game two, but is not in any danger of sitting out game three. He said he's still experiencing some pain, but the vision in his left eye is improving, and he had this response when he was asked if he, the picture's really bad, if he plans to play in game three. Pain gone away? No, I still there. Still tough, especially when bright lights, but I can see you're all a little bit better, so that matters. Will you practice today?

Oh yeah And as far as the next game You're good to go I mean if I could if I play Barely seen last game which would make you think I'm gonna set up Game three His eyes still looks really bad Yeah

But this is the look I don't know how well he's seeing Obviously you anticipate this would be a problem Considering the fact that you know You need to see the basket in order to shoot But he's saying he is right though He did play through in game too Yeah

I mean, listen, Steph had a dislocated finger. You get to playoffs and all these professional sports. Nobody's healthy. Everybody's worn down. Yeah. I mean, people play through dislocated fingers pretty often. I would say you probably need to see. God, the NBA needs Houston to win tomorrow night so badly.

I'm so glad you're coming around to conspiracy theories. It's great. When I talk about that, top of next hour, joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly news. Former New York Times sports writer now. show the odd couple Fox Sports Radio,

the voice of NBA at our network, Chris Broussard. Let's bring him on. Okay, let me just start with this. This, what makes a good TV show is personality, talent, and a little bit of a hot mess. Philadelphia is so much fun to watch. I know the rest of the country.

They're not a national topic for a lot of shows. I love watching them play. They got dysfunction. They got baby shack. They got Butler's ego. But when I watch this series, Toronto's a nice story. They got one stud.

Doesn't it feel like Philadelphia's got significantly longer, more athletic, more talented guys? There's, well, a couple things. One, somebody asked me just earlier today, who would be my pick for the finals, you know, just the most exciting finals, the most fun. And I said Golden State in Philadelphia. No question. It would be fun to watch. I don't think Philadelphia could beat them, but it would be exciting and fun.

Philadelphia is a less refined, less mature, less buttoned-up Golden State. Yeah, and you mentioned the maturity. That's the one question I had about the Sixers coming into the playoffs. Are Embed and Simmons mature enough yet to win a big series? M.B. is showing me a lot. I mean, obviously, playing-wise, but just mental toughness to play through this injury. So I'm with you. Look, their starting five is arguably the second most talented in the league behind Golden State.

I think it is. Yeah. So they should beat Toronto if they play to their potential. I question Brett Brown's coaching, but credit him, he's made some great adjustments. He put Tobias Harris on Mark Gassau. They haven't figured out how to exploit that. Toronto hasn't figured out how to exploit, you know, Ben Simmons in the half court not being an offensive threat. So I think if they face Boston, Philadelphia down the road, that'll be an issue for them.

But look, here's the thing. about Toronto. Number one, let's just face it, they're soft and it's not Kauai Leonard. I don't, they were soft before Kauai got there and they're still soft. He's not soft, but what is going on? I mean, this, this is a soft team. It's been that way for the last five or six years. Thank you. And I, by the way, I love Canada. Canada is soft. They're nice. I like visiting too, but it's soft. All right. Drake is a soft. Drake is a lot. Drake is a lot. I love Canada. Canada. Canada is soft. I'm soft. I'm not. I'm dope rapper. He's a little soft. All right? He's a great rapper and one of the best, but I'm just saying.

Hey, listen, they have, they shrink and they do. First of all, LeBron was the meteor that led to their extinction in the playoffs. And now Joel Ambide is just intimidating them. It's, it's, look, and here's the thing. They're making it so easy for Kawhi Leonard to go to the clippers or wherever he wants to go. And here's the thing too, Colin. Shame on Jeannie Bus. If she's not on the phone,

calling Maasai Ujiri right now. Now tell our audience who that is. That's the president of the Toronto Rapids. Very respected guy. One of the best executives in the NBA. Smart dude. She needs to be talking to him. Forget going to dinner with magic.

Call Maasai Ujiri. And I know he loves Toronto, but I also know he wants to win at a high level. And you got to be sitting there looking at, this life. Fred Van Vleet? Listen. My boys are shrieking.

And they keep shrinking year after year. No, I think they're just, I think also what when for years and years, the Boston Red Sox would shrink in the postseason. And then all of a sudden you got Manny and Kurt Schilling. And these two sort of transformative personalities put the franchise on their backs and said, Schilling and Manny are like, no, no, no, no. We're better than the Yankees. And sometimes it takes a transformative personality in the locker room. Well, Kauai is not a transformative personality.

He's just a really good player. Right. So the reality is Toronto's not a free agent destination. There's about six of them in the NBA. Maybe four to six. That's what. They were so fortunate to get DeMarie de Rose in the stay. Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Chris Bosch.

Look, they will, and I'm joking about Canada and Drake and all that, but they will have a hard time getting American free agents to go there. Of course. It's just as simple as that. It's not, it's a great city, but it's not American. When you're there, you feel it. Yeah, and it's also cold and it's isolated and it's expensive and that's the reality. Vancouver had a franchise.

I think Vancouver is the most beautiful city in North America. Agreed. I go there like every other year and that players didn't want to play there. You're like food, city, sites, money, facilities, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, but didn't want to play there. Let me say this about Embed though. And I've said Philadelphia just loves me as a city, Cleveland and Philadelphia, but I've said this. I can feel with the Sixers a lot of Oklahoma. City. And they had choices. They had Hardin. They had Westbrook and they had Durant. And they chose

Westbrook over Hardin. Mistake as it was becoming a shooters league. They didn't actively choose Westbrook over Durant, but Durant felt that way. They made the wrong choice and now they're a one-and-done franchise. Philadelphia's got four guys. They all want Max money. Tobias isn't good enough to get it. Butler's got an attitude, I'd be worried. M. Bede's got a health issue. And Ben, I'd give it to him, but he's got to be able to shoot. Philadelphia keeps thinking they got this huge window. Chris, I don't think they do. I think these guys are going to start peeling off.

Well, we know the window definitely is about two or three years. Now, if MB gets his health in order, it could be much longer. Hopefully he will for the sake of us as NBA fans. What about Butler? Look, Butler is great. He is great. He solved their problems down to stretch, their execution problems, but I still would be hesitant to turn the franchise over to him.

And you have to let this play out. If they get to the NBA finals, then I feel better about bringing back this team as it is. What if they beat Toronto and then lose to either Milwaukee or Boston? What would you do? Well, I'm not trading and beat. I know you've been on the trade and beat this summer thing. There's no way.

I'm riding with him as long as I can. Now, next year, health-wise, he falls apart, and it looks like, man, we just can't count on him. That's another story. But after this, I'm not trading it. What I'm doing is I am getting him, and I know it's not only their decision, he's got to be involved with it, but getting him on a better nutrition program, getting that weight down, because a lot of people there feel like his knee problems are related to he's overweight, not of shape. Well, that was Shaq's issue in L.A.

They just felt he was too heavy. Yeah, and Shaq wasn't, I don't know that Shaq was this big when he, was younger at this age because he was a little, he wasn't slim ever, but he wasn't the shack we remember in L.A. at a young age. So I'm working with M.B. on his body, on his work ethic. You know, if he keeps working on his jump shot, as I'm sure he will, his three-pointer, sky's the limit for that guy. So there's no way I'm trading him right now, especially in this league where there's no, he has no peer. He has no peer. I love Nicole Yolkich. He's a great center, but he has no peer at the center position when he's healthy.

So I'm not trading that guy. That gives me a difference maker in this league of a bunch of shooting. Okay, so I had this conversation with my wife last night. She didn't like sports. She used to be in HR. And so we're sitting there talking and we're watching this game and I said, this guy's unbelievable. But I think they should trade him.

And again, my wife's not a sports fan, so she's not emotionally connected to this stuff. It's just all common sense to her. and I said, what if you had an employee when you were in HR, you hired him, and for two years he couldn't show up for work? She'd be like, well, he's a liability. And I said, M.B. And she said, well, did he get healthier? I said, yeah, kind of, but he just missed 14 of 24 games after the All-Star break.

He missed playoff games last year this year, and he needs six treatment today to get on the floor. And she said, well, yeah, that's, you can't build around that as an employee base. If you just take the emotion out of it, this guy's- What you're seeing right now. For what you saw last night, you're ready to trade him? Okay. After what I saw with Westbrook winning the MVP, I was like stocks high, get him out. But here's the thing.

You keep saying, and I agree, I would rather have James Hardin than Russell Westbrook. But you keep saying they made the mistake. They made the mistake. Really? Is it definitive that they made him say James Harden, how far is he going in the playoffs? Has he been to the finals? without, you know, Westbrook and Duran? Has he led a team?

Well, you don't think Hardin's better than... I think Hardin, like I said, I would take Hardin right now over Westbrook, but what I know about Hardin is the same thing I know about Westbrook. Both of their numbers go down in the playoffs. Well, one guy gets out of the first round. He's got Chris Paul with him, and he's got a coach who's offense is perfect. Oh, wait, time out. Perfect for Hardin.

That's got Paul, too. That's something that's on Paul, too. Look, I'm just saying you acting like Hardin's winning championships. No. Let's see them do that. I'm not, and let me tell you this about the Houston Rockets. I like the Rockets. Colin, they're going to go down, and I'm not just talking about this year,

they're going to go down like Steve Nash's sons and Chris Weber's kings. We're going to remember, and they were really good, really close, but they'll never get over the hump and win that championship. Hot take. It wasn't a hot take. Calling Drake softs a little bit of a hot take. Drake, you know, light-skinned love, man. It's all love, you know.

He's a dope rapper, too. I'm just playing off the Canadian thing. The hell's happening to this show. All right, stick around. I just stick around. We got a lot of stuff to talk about. Chris Brousard. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd

weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise.

Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the 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 Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant, this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know.

Is somebody coming? after me. Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, 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 in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we

are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them?

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

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Chris Brouss are joining us. Let me button this up here. I'm looking a little too risque today. Hold on, Joy. You're not in Vegas yet. I know. I'm looking a little, it's too much for the audience to handle. Showing that chest hair.

Not much. There is none there. Let me start with this. Warriors Rockets. For a TV rating standpoint, nobody cares except us. Toronto, Milwaukee is a death sentence for a network, and so is a sweet, the Warriors over the Rockets and the Warriors face Denver.

But this is not the NFL where everybody watches a Super Bowl, regardless of who's in it. Baseball in the NBA tend to need certain teams, Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, dynasties in the NBA, LeBron James, are big. But I look at this rocket series and I look at it against the Warriors. And I firmly believe this, that Golden State is so in Houston's head that they came into this series,

believing they were going to win the free throw battle. They were going to shoot free throws to get to the finals. And now that it didn't work in the first two games, I wonder if Houston can recover. Well, I think it definitely had an affecting game too. I think to your point, and Darry has said, literally, I'm obsessed with beating the Warriors. Players talk all the time about the culture of an organization

and how it filters down. That's the culture he's setting. We're obsessed with this team. So to your point, I do think they planned on going there, getting game one, taking control the series. Yeah, they had the numbers. And they were so distraught by the refereeing in their minds, how bad it was and everything. I think they lost focus heading in the game too. Agree.

And the first quarter, when they had nine of their 17 turnovers in the first quarter, at one point they were just giving the ball up on every possession. That, to me, was a sign of a lack of focus. They weren't focused on the right things. And I'm not going to say that's where totally the game was lost. But they were in a hole and they never got out of it. No. And I think they win game three because I do think their focus will be better.

I think all that's kind of died down. They handled themselves better at the post-game press conference, even though they weren't totally honest. Because Chris, for Chris Paul and James Harden act like, what bickering? What criticizing other referees? When Chris is jumping up and down when Hardin gets a call on the three, come on. So, but I think for the most part it's died down and now they've focused in on, okay, let's just play basketball on the court.

So I think they'll come out with a better effort in game three and win. I do think there's a fundamental problem for Houston. When Golden State does their Hampton's five lineup, which is their small lineup, it reduces the effectiveness of Capella. And I think it's a problem. Okay, you want to talk numbers and free throws? Here's my numbers. the Hampton's five.

Capella's a, he's probably our third best player. Right. He's not as valuable when they go small. Well, and they haven't been able to exploit Houston, Golden State, when they go small. They're not, they're getting killed on the offensive glass. You know, they're, Capella's not getting shots. He's got nine total shots in this entire series, whereas he gets, he averaged like 11 a game in the regular season. They don't, they don't have anything else to go to.

That's the problem with Houston. And that's been the problem with Mike Dantone teams once they get to the playoffs. They're predictable. I don't think Mike makes many adjustments. It's kind of like we do what we do. It's a little bit like the L.A. Rams. We love Sean McVeigh's system and we love Mike Dantone's system. But when you watch the Super Bowl, you're like, Rams, they figured out your system.

By the way, I just read Belichick's book. Belichick loves facing teams that have a system. Belichick hates facing Andy Reid. who comes in with all sorts of new stuff every year and doesn't really have a dependable system. I think Dan Tony, Popovich is much more willing. No question. Game to game, Belichick change. Dan Tony's like, this is what I do, beat us.

Houston is taking nine mid-range shots in the two games, which is right on pace with what they did during the regular season. They're not changing. There's nothing new for them to go to. Whereas Golden State, everybody thinks of them as just three-point shooting team, and they are, but they were second in the league in mid-reaching. range attempts in the regular season. That's right. And they get backdoor layups and cuts and things. They're versatile whereas Houston's not and that's a big difference in this series.

Okay, Kevin Love was on first things first this morning talking about the Lakers situation. Joy from day one has said, let's go Tailu. I get the optics of Tailu, LeBron, Rich Paul, running the Lakers, but I think the Lakers are closer to Cleveland than Miami. They're bad and they just have to give LeBron the franchise. Here's Kevin Love on first things first talking about Ty Loo this morning. If he's not their first pick, he should be right there at the top because he's an unbelievable X's and O's guy, a player's coach, a guy that's very approachable that you can talk to, and I think with the personnel that they have, he would be great, as well as feeling familiar and being familiar with LeBron and having that not only friendship, but being able to

coach LeBron and getting his ear because Ty really knows the game. Ty also doesn't let LeBron push him around from what I've heard. No, he doesn't. I mean, Ty, you know, there are times that would shoot around in Cleveland, LeBron, while we're doing this, and Ty would say, no, we're going to do this, and LeBron would do it. During film sessions, he would jump on LeBron. So obviously, LeBron is a superstar.

You treat him a certain way, but he didn't back down. He would go at LeBron, and that's important for the other players to see. Look, it makes all the sense in the world. A lot of us have said it from day one. Ty Lou should get the job. It's not just like you're hiring LeBron's guy. It's a guy that's won a championship. It's a former Laker.

We know they're a mom and pop shop, so he's a former Laker. He's tied to the Shaq Kobe team and era and won a championship. What's the holdup? The other thing is Kevin Love, the first thing Kevin Love said was he's a good ex and O's guy.

There is a certain, if not a stigma, a stereotype that a former player You know, he's just one of the guys. Like Brad Stevens, he's an ex-as-and-Os guy. There is a stigma for former players that they can't be an ex-as-and-Os guy. No question. And I always hear this, and I'm like, I don't know. Kevin Love, first thing he said is he's excellent with X's and O's.

I'm like, that's what I always worry about former players as coaches. Have they committed to the strategy of the sport? Love says he does. Look who did one of the greatest jobs in the league this year coaching Doc Rivers, former player. That's who Tailu's come up under. That's kind of his mentor. And so I think Tailu is, look, if it was a Greg Popovich available, a Rick Carlis, somebody like that, that's one thing. But at this point, it should definitely be Tai Liu and not just for LeBron, but he'll be good for the other players as well.

By the way, KD, top 10 player ever. Why won't you put him in your top 10? There still is, and KD is phenomenal. First of all, the top 10 is, that's hard to put somebody in there. And I think he's going to probably bump somebody. But if you look at the top 10 and I've seen your list, every guy on the top 10 list at one point, all those guys, at one point, they led their own team, their own team to a championship. Michael LeBron, Magic, Wilk, Kareem, Bird, Bryant, Kobe, Bill Ross. Russell Shack Duncan.

Every one of them. Now, Durant, if he goes to New York, and this is why I say he should go to New York, or the Clippers or the Nets, but I think it should be New York and wins the championship. He is getting in there. Why don't you want him in New York?

You're talking about storylines and all that. I still haven't recovered from you calling Drake Soft. I haven't recovered from that. I think you want to get Drake on the show. That's why you keep bringing that up. Friday, our 10. to Chris Broussard on couple Fox Sports Radio.

One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

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 Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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

But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast.

or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field

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

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

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn a hard way and listen now life throws hurdles big and small the question is how do you conquer them on hurdle with emily abody we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness professional athletes coaches and olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going from the wmba standout kate martin and rising hockey star leila edwards if a boy can do it i don't see why a girl can't like i've never understood that like it didn't make sense in like brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't

belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world, like, I can do anything. Like, I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

Here we go on a Friday hour two. We are live in Los Angeles. This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, we're on Fox Sports Radio. We're on FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. For hour two, we got into a very interesting discussion yesterday. I have never been a believer in conspiracy theories.

I just don't believe them. Joy, on the other hand, is a fully vetted and verified conspiracy believer. I have many tinfoil hats. Okay, you have many tinfoil hats. I don't. For whatever reasons, I think, I don't even know why. I couldn't tell you why. I don't have any, I just don't.

Maybe it's because, and I've thought about this before when I was driving home yesterday. I don't like, I tend to like habit. And so conspiracy theories disrupt habit, disrupt what I believe to be the truth. And it comes off to me as nonsense and you're just, you're, you're wasting time. And I am very stingy with my time. I don't think you should lose any sleep over it. I don't have anxiety over the conspiracies that I think might be true. So I'm with you on that.

Like I don't think you should sit in your house and start putting newspaper clippings on your wall. Right. But, you know, you should question some things from time to time. Okay. So I don't believe in conspiracies, but I will say this. I do have a belief in life that you don't have to tell people something important for them to know something's important. I don't have to tell my kids that my wife's birthday is important. They know my wife's birthday is coming up and it's important.

You don't have to tell people, hey, do this. Most smart people can figure out, treat our boss nice, treat your wife nice, take care of stuff. There's a game tomorrow between Houston, the Rockets, down love to the Warriors. And a bunch of things are converging. And I have defended the NBA forever. But the ratings are down.

Golden State's hurt parity. LeBron's not in the playoffs. And there is a potential for a nightmarish Eastern Conference Final and Western Conference Final. Denver Golden State would be a sweep. And Milwaukee and Toronto would be the lowest rated Eastern Conference Finals in 20 years. So we got a lot of converging.

And I don't think you have to tell the NBA refs. A couple quick early fouls on the Warriors, putting them in a little foul trouble. I don't think you have to, there's no memo. It's unwritten. It's understood. Now, so I was thinking about conspiracy theories that I do not believe in. And here's the big four in sports. And I can shoot holes in all of them.

The first time I heard about conspiracy theories was the frozen envelope. David Stern was a young commissioner. And the Knicks won the lottery. got the number one pick and Patrick Ewing. The reason it's garbage is David Stern was a highly respected, smart young commissioner. You're going to tell me he's going to blow his career up and roll the dice. When the years he had put in being a legal counsel for the NBA, a young commissioner is going to get embedded in the biggest controversy of his career and blow his career up. David Stern was thought of as the next brilliant commissioner in American sports, and he was for 30

years. Also, Cleveland's won the lottery two or three times. Orlando's won it multiple times. You can't tell me New York doesn't have the right to occasionally win a lottery, folks. If the Lakers, by the way, if the Knicks win the lottery this year, well, they have the highest percentage along with Phoenix to win the lottery this year. This was a bunch of hooey. The second one was Michael Jordan was forced out of the NBA because of gambling issues. Michael Jordan gambled before this, gambled during his departure, and he gambled now. Michael Jordan's a gambler. He's a cigar smoker, a wine drinker, a late night card playing gambler. Michael's always been that. He gambles on the golf course. He's got four or five of his guys

he hangs out with. Michael Jordan's dad was murdered. Michael Jordan emotionally went to a different place. His dad loved baseball. And Michael Jordan was such a rock star in America. He couldn't go out in public. Michael said, I want to go to a different place. Then he came back. I don't buy into this at all. The idea that playing minor league baseball for two years would suppress a story. If there was a story to publicize, people would have publicized it. We've heard everything else about Jordan. Why wouldn't we talk about that? That was a bunch of hooey.

The third one, the rigged Western Conference Finals 15 years, 17 years ago, May 31st, 2002, when the Kings at home, no call went their way. Lakers came back, forced to game seven and won the series. Nobody talks about game seven. Sacramento could not throw a... basketball into a battleship. They couldn't hit anything. This game with a veteran officiating crew, the reality was Sacramento had a hard time defending

Shaq. Chris Weber and Vladay DeVots were in the post and they couldn't defend him. And Shaq ended up getting 17 free throws and it was a weird game in which Shaq hit 13 to 17 three throws. Generally putting Shaq at the line meant misses and you win. But this time they put Shaq at the line and Shaq had one of his best free throw shooting games. And so everybody blames the refs.

There were a couple of bad calls late. Folks, it's the NBA. It's the hardest league to officiate. Nobody discusses. It was Shaq getting to the line and doing what Shaq never did. He hit his free throws. And it drove Sacramento crazy. The final one, lights turned out in the Super Bowl four or five years ago.

Baltimore led big. The lights went out. And then San Francisco came roaring back and made a game out of it. And people in Baltimore think, oh, my God, it was a conspiracy. It was meant to make the game close. The NFL doesn't care. you do get the NFL's already made their money. The only thing that would hurt would be the NFL and the networks

because rain delays in baseball and blackouts in football, 10% of your audience never comes back. They just leave after 30 minutes. We've had 50 Super Bowls. We've had 15 of them have been awful games. The league's already got their money. What the league doesn't want is a bad rating so the next year the networks don't have the leverage with advertisers

to get the greatest dollar. Because advertisers could say, well, you're rating last year and the Super Bowl wasn't very good. Blackouts are, again, not good for sports. Rain delays are not good for a World Series. It's just a bunch of hooey. It doesn't make any sense. And the way I look at it, you don't think we have power outages

occasionally in America? Cities have lost power, an arena lost power. It happens. But Saturday night, a potential Raptor Millwall, Lockheed Eastern Conference Final. Denver, Portland, small markets or less glamorous markets, if you get a sweep, if Golden State sweeps this series, what was supposed to be the Great Western Conference final,

ratings are down. LeBron's out of the playoffs. It's a disaster for the NBA. And all I'm saying is you don't have to say something for people to know something. And I want to watch the first seven minutes of the world. Warriors at Houston. If it goes heavy, ticky, tacky against Golden State,

I'm just going to say I'll be a little suspicious. Do I have a right to do that? No, it's totally fair. I mean, it's a little inside baseball that, you know, with the ratings and everything, because people think that that doesn't matter, but it does. Oh, yeah, you can lose $150 million

if you have six sweeps. That's a lot of money. Yeah. It's a lot of money. Don't you, you buy into the DB Cooper. Disp. Cooper's a guy hijacked a plane in Seattle, and then he jumped out of the plane into the woods in Oregon, and I think they know who it is.

My guess is the guy that they think it is, is the guy down in San Diego. That's not a conspiracy, though. That did actually happen. Yeah, that happened. But there's conspiracies around it. Who it is and who it isn't, and there is, you know, there's a guy in San Diego they think it is.

And... So it's one that you have at least an interest in. Oh, no, I have a complete interest in it. my gut feeling deep down, a guy jumped out of a plane, hit a pine tree, it's over. I mean, that's my gut feeling is you jump out of a plane. It had a parachute. An airliner.

It's going 450 miles an hour. It's not like jumping out of a, you know, 200, 2,000 feet in the air at a parachute school. It's an airliner. See, aren't conspiracy is fun. They're just fun to debate. That guy jumped out literally three seconds after it went, hell am I doing here?

This was a terrible idea. It's 29 degrees below. earned a sports coat and hit a pine tree and it was over. That's what happened. He did drown in the water. So you don't think they found it. Wait, there's pine trees in the water? Well, a lot of people think there's this guy,

rack straw down in San Diego. But my takeaway on this is he's too obtuse. He's too obvious. He doesn't look, he doesn't sound like the guy. I want to talk about this. It's stupid. All right. Can I do another thing?

Yes. Albert Breer is coming up next. So I'm listening to Steve Kime. There was a sound bite the staff got for me this morning. Steve Kine was on a radio show, Rich Eisen, and he was talking about Kyler Murray. They asked, Rich I asked him about, is Kyler Murray going to play? And here's his bite.

This may be a silly question, but I've got to ask it. Kyla Murray, week one starter against the Lions, Steve? Yes. You did not stutter? No. We didn't draft one overall to ride the pine. So I know it's a lot to put on his back, But, you know, that's why we drafted him.

He's a fierce competitor, and that's what he did at Oklahoma this year. First of all, he adds juice to a boring franchise. Second of all, the league is moving in the direction of mobile quarterbacks. Third of all, they're a mile behind L.A., Seattle, and I think San Francisco, and if he hits, he closes the gap rather quickly. One, two, and three. I get it. I would rather stick with a quarterback I gave up picks to have last year

and just go get two great players, but I get it. I will say just a warning sign, though. Here's something nobody talks about except my sources. In the last 10 years, if a rookie quarterback starts at least eight games, the coach gets fired 68%. The guy that's in trouble here is Cliff Kingsbury. By the way, Josh Rosen started more than eight games, coach fired. Baker started more than eight games, coach fired.

Darnold started more than eight games, coach fired. Trubisky's first year started more than eight games. games coach fired. James Winston's first year started more than eight games, coach fired. Marcus Marioita, first year. By the second year, I think his coach got fired. David Carr started more than eight games. Coach fired. There is a stat in the NFL, which is only talked about, not in the media, but among coaches and executives. If you start a rookie quarterback, eight or more games, you're done. It's man overboard. And that's what I worry about with Arizona is that he's going to start 12, 13, 14 games, and it just does not end well for coaches.

Even when Baker Mayfield has been better than most people fought, coach still gets run out. Even when Darnold at the end of the year was playing well and the Jets had a little mojo, coach gets fired. Start to make games. Usually it's bad news for the coach. Albert Breer. Rob Parker, Jason McIntyre today. We're loaded.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

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

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

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

Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

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

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't.

Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but. Don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me.

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

Come back, NFL draft is complete. A lot of different stories out there. So I thought we'd bring on Albert Breer to kind of wrap up the past week. We had the draft this past weekend. A lot of different stories via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Albert Brear, Monday Morning Quarterback Lead Content Strategist. First of all, I saw Kyler Murray. Steve Kime, you wrote an article this week.

And if you go a year ago, a Kyler Murray, it was kind of like, we were all like, that's not a good year for quarterbacks. And then suddenly, Arizona was willing to bail on a quarterback they'd given up picks for. So in your article, like what changed perceptions in six months? Well, I think there's always the supply and demand thing. I still believe that the consensus across the league was that the 2018, class was way stronger than the 2019 class, Sam Donald, Baker, Mayfield, Josh Rose, and Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. I think this class was a lot like 2014, and I got that comparison from a

bunch of different evaluators. And the point they made was 2014, you really didn't know what order the guys were going to fall in, and it was really based on taste. And that's what this year was. Kylo Murray has real high-end potential, but you have to be comfortable with taking a 5-foot-10 quarterback who's got a smallish frame, and you have to be comfortable, playing a certain way. And I think the fact that there were differing opinions on every quarterback in this class was reflected in how unpredictable it was the way they were going to come off the board. I don't think very many people expected Drew Locke to fall into the second round,

but there he is for the Denver Broncos. And so now going forward, I think, you know, you evaluate each of these guys based on their situations. And obviously, Kyler Murray is going to one where the head coach has a relationship with him going back to when he was 15 years old. and really to me, you know, for the Cardinals, this is about taking a big swing on a head coach who just gotten fired at Texas Tech and that head coach saying,

this is the guy who can make my offense fly. Tom Brady on Jimmy Kimmel last night talked about, you know, his contract. He has the least, he is the lowest paid NFL quarterback not on a rookie deal, meaning anybody that's on a second or a third contract's making more than Tom. I call it the PED, the performance. Enhancing deal with Tom Brady. Do you think, though, deep down there is a tad bit of animosity

because he doesn't appear to show any of it? We're going to find out soon. I mean, we're absolutely going to find out soon because we already know what his franchise tag number is for next year, because his cap number is $27 million. That means his tag number for 2020 is over $32 million. What that means, Colin, is if he wants that $32 million, he doesn't need to do anything. He can just sit if he plays well. They're going to have to tag him. They didn't draft a quarterback high enough.

I don't think Jared Stidim's got potential, but they didn't draft one high enough to think that they're going to be moving on from him next year. I mean, if he just sits there, plays well, goes into 2020, he can more than double what he's been making the last few years. And so if there's any sort of animosity, all he's got to do is sit and wait because the Patriots are going to have to pay him

a market value contract in 2020. And the fact that they got past the point where they've done a deal in the past, I think does at least tell you that maybe this one's going to be a little bit more difficult. If you look at those last two contracts, they were done right around the time of the combine. And this year, that point in the calendar came and went. The Patriots could have used some salary cap relief at that point. They didn't get it. And so I think it's certainly something that bears watching from here on out.

And really, you know, this is the way Brady's been willing to do his contracts in the past has enabled so many things in doing on. So it's certainly going to be an interesting one to track. I talked to an NFL executive this week and he said, listen, Daniel Jones was my fourth best quarterback. I do think eventually he is an NFL starter, but he's not an elite talent. Did you find anybody of all your sources that looked at the Giants taking Daniel Jones six and said, I'm okay with it? Yeah, I did, actually. And I can tell you the Giants had, I'll tell you this for a fact, the Giants had Daniel Jones as their number one quarterback over Kyler Murray. If both those players have been available, they would have taken Daniel Jones over Kyler Murray. I talked to some other

coaches that had Daniel Jones as the number one quarterback who really believed in his high end potential. And then there were other people that you talked to who said he's a third or fourth round pick and a career backup. And like I said, that was the nature of this year's class. I don't think there was a single quarterback calling in the class that had first round picks across the board. I think you could go across the league and find teams that had second and third round grades on Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Drew Locke, all of these guys. And so it's sort of the nature of the class. I would say that more than anyone else, though, Daniel Jones was extremely polarizing. And so you had some people who felt like going into a place where, you know, he'll have talent around him and he didn't have great talent around him in Duke,

he'll be able to flourish. There were other people that said, based on what they saw on tape, this is a career backup. I'm just reading a stat. It's been eight years since a first round quarterback failed to start a game as a rookie. So that means, yeah, Dwayne Haskins, Daniel Jones, Kyler Murray, are all going to probably start at least one game. Finally, I just, this isn't a huge story, but there was a story that came out this week that Kyle Shanahan, who's intense, so was his dad, has friction with John Lynch, who was a standard. a player and a broadcaster, but never a personnel guy. It doesn't shock me if it's true.

What do you make of it? I can tell you, just, and I know those guys pretty well, I don't think that there's tension directly between John and Kyle, between John and Jed, between Jed and Kyle, Jed, of course, being Jed, York, the owner. If there's tension, other places in the building, that wouldn't shock me, but I don't think it's between the principles. And remember, John Lynch is charged and going into. San Francisco was to calm the waters. After all the friction they'd had between Trent Balkie

and Chip Kelly, Trent Balkie and Jim Harbaugh, the reason why Jed York hired John Lynch was to set the organizational course and to set a tone in the building where everybody could work collaboratively. And I do think John Lynch has been able to set that course. Is there some friction over the way the first two years have gone? Sure. And I think if you if you open the doors that building and you were able to see what's really going on in there, maybe you'd be able to find that. But I don't think it's by the principals and the 49ers organization. By the way, we get into this discussion yesterday, it's interesting. So the Cowboys, and they're kind of a victim of their own success, they have drafted so well over the last three or four

years. They paid DeMarcus Lawrence. They're going to have to pay Amari Cooper. They're going to have to pay Zeke. They're going to have to pay Dak. They have two unbelievably gifted linebackers, Van deresh and the kid at Notre Dame. Jaylen Smith. Jalen Smith. Okay, they can't pay six guys big money. Who's not going to get paid in that group? Don't forget Byron Jones either. Byron Jones had a breakout year at Corner last year.

You know, and this is a great problem for them to have. I think one thing that I would pay attention to here, Colin, they drafted two offensive linemen fairly high last weekend, right? I think one of the ways that they're going to start to change the salary structure here. You might see some of the older offensive linemen start to get cycled out of there. Obviously, Travis Frederick's got the health issue. Lyle Collins is up after next year. And so maybe some of those offensive line contracts start to come off the books. But you're right, they can't pay every single one of those guys. So if I had to drop the list

of priorities right now, I think that gets done. I think Zeeke gets done. I think Amari gets done. Jalen Smith's going to be a little iffy. And Byron Jones might be the one that's a really good player that they have to let go and hope that somebody like Chiodobee Ouzi develops into an elite corner. It's a great problem to have. It's a tribute to how well they've drafted the last few years, but there are going to be some tough decisions to make no question about it, and it might involve some of the players that are older now in the roster, like some of those offensive linemen. Albert Brear, Monday morning quarterback. Great seeing. You have a great weekend, bud. You too, Colin. All right. Exciting stuff. Exciting stuff. I tell you, I love Rob Parker later this

I just loved that Sixer game last night. That was, I don't know if you have Sixers in Herdline News. If, you know, it's funny about sports is that there are these teams. I've always thought that there's a very fine line between dynasty and disappointment. If the warriors don't choose Steph over Monta Ellis, it never happens. That was literally guys in a room and you raised your hands. hands. Who likes Monta? Who likes Steph? And there was one extra hand in the room for Steph Curry. Like, don't kid yourself. Hardin Westbrook, I think, turns out differently if they let the

relentless Westbrook go and choose Hardin, who I think is easier to play with. I mean, let's base it. Hardin worked with Chris Paul instantly. I think Hardin would have worked very well with KD long term. Philadelphia's got all this talent. They're going to have to sit in a room and raise hands and choose the guys they're going to keep. Because all these guys, guys want max money and Tobias Harris is not a max money guy and Jimmy Butler's a hard guy to give your franchise to and Ben Simmons coachable doesn't shoot doesn't

necessarily play perfectly with Embed the Sixers may not be the best team in the league I think there's going to be the most fascinating for the next 12 months. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, speaking of those Sixers, they are two games away from the Eastern Conference finals and fresh off

a blowout win in front of their home crowd Blow out. Usually after that kind of game, the norm is to hear how everyone is jelling well. Yeah. They're fitting perfectly, and the chemistry is excellent. Well, here's Joelle and Bede's explanation

for the Sixers' success. I still feel that we have so much potential, especially with Tobias, Ben, JJ. We, just like you say, chemistry is overrated. When you have, you know, great basketball players on the floor,

it's easy. Just, it's not that complicated. Well, that's easy to say after a big win. Yeah, it does mean something. I like how he's still rocking the process hoodie. It does mean something. And this was our concern with them all year. And when you're playing well and everything's going perfectly,

you know, you feel good. And you can say that it's because of talent and all of that and it's not really because of chemistry. They looked good. Like, I can't argue with it. That said, Toronto did not look good. So when Toronto was playing great, this is not the conversation that we were having about the six years.

Let's be honest about this. If Toronto wins, when do they play their next game Sunday? If Toronto wins Sunday, none of this win matters for Philadelphia. This is NBA playoffs. Whoever just won has all the momentum, and we've seen so many sleeps over the past couple years, we're like in a panic. We've seen so many teams like Toronto

look amazing in the regular season and completely flame out. This is why we're worried about Milwaukee, right? It's why we're worried about Toronto right now. This is what we do. We react to every single game in the playoffs. That's why it's fun. I'm not discrediting what the Sixers are doing here, and they did look great. I just would like to wait until the series is over before we make our full evaluation of what's going on with them.

So Jeannie Buss and Magic Johnson's relationship seems to be intact, and both made a point of proving that last night. Because, you know, if you do something and you don't post it on social media, it did not happen. That's right. So they shared photos on Twitter from a dinner that they had together. Magic posted had some great quality time with my sister Jeannie at dinner tonight. hashtag family forever. Then Jeannie posted the same picture, but she added a little extra to it. Tonight had a wonderful dinner catching up with Magic Johnson.

Hashtag Lakers Forever. Hashtag Lakers for Life. And she added a little breaking news sticker on there. So I don't know if they're being funny or if they're being literal. But nobody was really questioning Magic Johnson and Jeannie Bus's relationship, right? I mean, I never had a feeling like they weren't going to end up in a good space again. if they were ever even in a bad space. I think it's very difficult.

When you have great success, I've seen this happen in college sports. Like when Mike Shoshchevsky leaves Duke, you do realize they're going to hire somebody close to Mike Shoshchewski. Right. When you, Magic made the Lakers for 11 to 12 years the most important franchise in America, more than NFL teams.

The Lakers were the biggest. It's very hard not to look in the rearview mirror. It's very difficult. That's why these, that's why when USC loses Pete Carroll, USC made USC feel so important. They hire a bunch of Pete Carroll assistance. And by the way, when Bear Bryant passed away in Alabama, they kept hiring anybody who ever had a cup of copy with Bear Bryant.

You want to continue that culture. And you imagine that people that are under the tree of whatever that leader is, whether it's a coach or a player, they're going to be cut from that same cloth or at least buy into that ideology. Right. So that's why so many Sean McVeigh friends, got hired this year. That's why Bill Belich coaches always get jobs.

Right. And Popovich, there's a tree from that. The problem with the Lakers is everyone's available to have a part in this situation, even if they don't have any actual tangible resume qualifications to make those decisions or be in the room, which isn't necessarily a bad thing

because they probably have your best interest at heart, but you've got to have the credibility behind it too. And finally, Tom Brady, greatest of all time. I think we all agree on that now, but he's never been the highest paid player. And during an appearance with Jimmy Kim alive, Brady gave his explanation

for his relatively discounted salaries. I think the thing I've always felt for me in my life, you know, winning is been a priority and my wife makes a lot of money. I see. Oh, good. That's good. That works out of life.

I'm a little smarter than you think. Absolutely. It's a salary cap. Everyone, you know, you can only spend so much and the more that, you know, one guy gets is less for others. I think for a competitive advantage standpoint, I'd like to, you know, get a lot of good players around me. I hope the Patriots appreciate that you do that.

I really do. Yeah. Here's the thing. And I appreciate that Brady has taken these discounts because he doesn't have to. And he should get credit for that. However, you can't just say the fact that Giselle is worth $400 million means nothing. It means everything. If you go into a negotiation and you've got a trust fund and the place you work at,

squabbling with you over $2 million, you're going to be a little more lenient with them. You'd think. You'd think if you are a smart, long-term type of person. Could I say this? The NBA players may not have rich wives. So Tom has a wife who's a second income stream. But NBA players, unlike every other pro athlete, have shoe deals that are a second revenue. Right.

But I would put NBA players in a different category because of that. Like, I'm speaking specifically to NFL players in NFL quarter. I get that. But like an NBA player, if you're going to use Giselle against Tom, I could say as an owner, well, you do have a wife. It's called Nike. And she's paying you double what I'm paying you. Right, but NFL players don't have those. No, no, no. No,

you don't. What I'm saying is I think NBA players should take less like Tom does because it's like you do have a second revenue. Right. And they have. Like LeBron, Wade, and Bosch all took less to fit and make that situation work. Yeah, they did. And they don't really get the credit for that either. With Brady, though, I feel like immediately everyone's like, well, don't, don't mention his wife.

That's not right, you know. It is everything. It's like saying, bro, I walked across a lake today. Like, yeah, it was frozen, though. It's a minor detail. It's not a minor detail. They're worth $500 million combined together, estimated.

That's a lot of money. So even though if you look at the last 10 years, when they've been married, he basically left $60 million on the table. That's a lot of money. But it's much easier to do that when you're in that situation. Not to mention the fact, he has Belichick and Bob Kraft.

So he's in a stable situation. He won early in his career. career. Like his entire situation is completely different than these other guys. It's like people comparing this to Dak Prescott. How can you compare this to Dak Prescott? Dak Prescott's been on a fourth round rookie deal for the past three years and they haven't put championship quality players around him because they haven't won a championship, obviously. So what's his motivation to take less money? Well, he's also never made any money. I mean, he's a fourth round pick. He's making like,

there's linebackers. Yeah. So for Dak, good luck getting a discount with Dak. Dad's going to say, time out. I saved your friend. Right. And it's not realistic on the field either. Because he's been on a discounted contract and they haven't been able to put it around it. Well, and also he's won a bunch of games. I mean, Dax not taking a pay cut. Does he want to win?

But if I'm Dax agent, I have so much ammo to get him paid. Yeah. It's not even realistic. He was making $400,000 a couple years ago. He was making nothing. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurdline news. I was going to get Baker Mayfield a compliment, but I don't have time. Rob Parker's coming up. Maybe next week. I was going to say very nice things about Baker Mayfield. I just read an article about him. I just don't have time. Maybe I'll squeeze it in last hour. I think you should find space for it.

I'll try to find space for it last hour. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. 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 Slico Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kear Games. 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, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions. To talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them.

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

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

It's time to yell at me. Uh-oh. You're in trouble. It's great to have you. I love when you come on Fridays. Let me start with this. I said yesterday or this morning, excuse me, that I think Philadelphia is the most entertaining team in the NBA.

They're the messier, less refined version of the warriors, talented with all sorts of egos and goofiness. I love Philadelphia. Do you? I'm not. I'm not a big fan. I mean, they are good and they got a lot of good players. But I think the Embed part of it, as talented as he is,

he rubs me the wrong way. And I'm more about Toronto. Kauai Leonard is the reason why. When I look at this guy, you could argue, Colin, that he's had as good of a postseason as KD. KD's been unbelievable, but so has Kauai. Yeah, Kauai has been absolutely unbelievable. And he's that kind of player. That's why I gave Toronto a lot of credit.

Remember, they had won 50 or almost 60 games the last couple of years, got swept by LeBron two years in a row. But this guy's been there, done that, been an MVP of a final. one of finals, you add them to the mix. I still think people get caught up in the NBA with being a prisoner of the moment. So whoever wins the night, last night is going to win a series. I'm not buying that. I still have Toronto, still have Kauai. Game 7, they win it all.

By the way, long term, I told my wife this last night, Mbide's first two years at his company, he couldn't work. I think that makes him a liability. People think I'm crazy when I say, I know M.beed's great. But if I had to move one of these guys to get a bunch of pieces, I'd move M.B. I think you're right from the standpoint of it's going to be touch and go his entire career. And you've seen guys like that where they're so talented you say, man, if he could have stayed healthy,

that's what you're going to attach to the end of his name. Back issue, feet issue, and weight issue. That is like the big man bingo. Like that's the kryptonite for bigs. Weight issue, more than they want. feet back, hips, it just never goes away. And you don't want to wait too late until you can't get rid of them. So you got to take a look.

It's hard for a GM. Yes. I get it. Yes. But sometimes you've got to make those moves a year or too early than a year or too late when you can't make it. It takes courage. I said when Westbrook won the MVP, now is the time to move him. He's an over vet.

Now you can't trade Westbrook. Now like nobody wants Westbrook. Often Belichick's greatest strength is moving off guys at the perfect time. People love Dorel Rivas. He moved off him, Jets Overpaid. Speaking of the Patriots, you see Tom Brady's contract. He's on Jimmy Kimmel last night.

Don't you love the fact that he takes pay cuts? Don't you love that about Tom Brady? This is the most false narrative going in sports. And here it is. Tom Brady's going to brag about everybody. Oh, well, he takes paid cuts to help the organization. Why don't other quarterbacks and teams get that? because that'll help you out.

But then the narrative is always, but Tom Brady doesn't have anybody. So he's taking pay cuts and we're the players that they're delivering because Tom Brady's helping out. Now, come on, Colin. That has been the funniest thing about them. It's like if your dad said we're saving money and we're not going to go on vacation, but then you had a beater car and you knew your dad had a good job anyway,

the knock I've had on New England is, who are they paying? That's what I'm saying. But Tom Brady gets credit for this like, oh, it allows them to build a team in other ways. And I keep saying, everybody says, Tom Brady, look, his receivers, he doesn't have any receivers. He does more with less. How could you have less if you're taking less money? And Tom Brady's crazy anyway.

I would never take less money. You are worth what you should get what you're worth. Even if you were married to a 500 million? It doesn't matter. You know why? Why are you giving a billionaire or these owners a discount? Why are you helping them? It doesn't make any sense.

sense to help them because they have to do they run their business you should get what you're worth to be paid i just don't understand this and guys who guys who do this i frown on that by the way this is what colby brian said Kobe's like i'm not taking a penny less is the owner taking a penny less no he's not and fans i don't get it either if they if the if tom brady takes less are your tickets at jolette stadium less is your beer less but there is none of it is less you know it is funny It's like bosses always want to make you feel like loyalty matters. I had a boss to me one time say, hey, loyalty matters two weeks later. He took a job in Boston.

He walked out on you, right? Right, right. Nice guy, by the way. Tom Baker, I love him. Great guy. But he kept selling me on loyalty. An hour later, I'm like, where's Tom? Oh, he's on a bus to Boston.

That's what I'm saying. So, no, I think you make a good point. Okay. We're talking about conspiracy theories. So Joy tends to be more of a tinfoil hat. She'll give them a chance. She doesn't believe in all of them, but Joy is open to interpretation of a conspiracy theory. I think that there's some things you should question out there.

Okay, I am Iron Man. I've got a suit on and it's impenetrable. And you don't believe in any of them. I don't believe in any of them. I'm told you have a conspiracy theory. I do. When you left ESPN and came over here to Fox Sports One, I do remember your hair being, was your hair first purple or whatever? And then you had it dot? And I think the conspiracy was that you thought,

this was going to help with the ratings once you came over here. So you had to attract younger people. What is that? Do you know what happened? I can tell you exactly what happened. So I had six weeks off and I moved to the beach in California. And when you move to a beach, you go to the beach every day, right? I don't go to the beach every day now.

So for six weeks I went to the beach every day, my hair got all yellow. And the company sent me an email. We're taking pictures in three days. And my wife said, you look like Spicoli. You got to get your hair. You know, my wife's like, you got to get all the yellow out of your hair because my hair gets real light. And I went and got a hair dye job. I don't mind my hair being gray.

Right. And it made it black. And then I tried to wash it out for like four days before the picture and that made it worse. So I since it took like a year for that. Before that stuff to get out? Oh, it took forever. Yeah, no, you're better off with the gray. Yeah, I got a bunch of gray. I don't give a rip. I'm old. Same with me. Like my hair got a little bit of gray on the top, but I don't do anything to my hair and I refuse to do anything.

But I know that that time you were trying to attract somebody younger viewers. You're bringing that up. Sorry about that. Okay, let's talk about Tailu and the Lakers. Joy's belief is, he's the best coach hiring. My belief has been, I get the optics. I'd want to go to Kauai Leonard, and I'd just ask him, what do you make if we hired?

I would want to go. I mean, Paul George chose OKC as a Californian over the Lakers. So I get the optics. Where do you land on Tailu? I think the Lakers have no choice but to hire Tailu for his number of reasons. Number one, he's worked well with LeBron. He's won a championship.

He's a former Laker. I mean, those are three marks right there that all makes sense. And the other part is you got three years left with LeBron, an aging superstar. You can't bring in some coach who doesn't have a track record. Because if that thing works blows up, then you got to hire another coach. Well, your theory was always if LeBron didn't win a title in year two in L.A., it's over. He's not winning one. you don't have another year or two to play around with with getting somebody.

And obviously, Monty Williams took the job with the sons. You know, I thought there was a huge story with the Lakers about a month ago, and nobody talked about it. That obviously to get, forget the free agents. You could get Anthony Davis if you just gave everybody up. Brandon Ingram has a blood issue, like Chris Bosch. Blood clot. Now, it's not as serious as Bosch, but I talked to an NBA scout, and he said it mostly takes Brandon Ingram off the trading block. No GM's going to want that player.

So essentially now, you have Kyle Kuzma as an asset, who's about a fifth best starter on a good team, maybe fourth, and Lonzo Ball with a dad issue and an injury issue. I don't think they can get Anthony Davis. They cannot get Anthony Davis. So that's my takeaway. So now that's why the whole optic thing becomes more important to me. I get it.

But I'm saying if you're just looking at it, from strictly the best guy available, he fits and checks all the boxes. I get that. So I think that you have to take a look at that, and you've got to play towards LeBron because he's the one you know you're going to have. If you disillusioned him with three years left, and he's with a coach, he wanted Luke Walt now, right? You get him a coach that he doesn't want to play for.

Now is he really playing defense? Now the whole thing becomes where this becomes like a total mess and a waste of four years with LeBron. That's why I think they have to play to LeBron because you don't know who else you're going to get and the odds are you're not getting anybody. Good seeing you, buddy. Always. Rob Parker, odd couple, Chris Brousard. By the way, 1-800 Flowers.com. Put in the code Herd, 24 multicolored, $1.800.com, code her. Thank you, Rob. Our 3 and a good one next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hart Radio app.

Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, here we go. Live. We're live. L.A. Hour 3 on a Friday. This is The Herd, wherever you may be in, however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio on FS1. Good to be in.

Joy Taylor is joining me. We've been rolling today. Show is flying on a Friday. We're going to have Chris Haynes, Yahoo Sports, 15 minutes. Lakers may have a coach by the end of the hour. We're also on Sirius XM Channel 83. I'd love to listen to us on that channel, but, you know, I'm on. So we can't.

Joy, I can actually. What are you doing for the weekend, by the way, Joy? It is Earl's father's birthday. Oh, wow. In town here? No, in Kansas City. Are you going? Yeah.

And there's Mother's Day, so we're kind of doing like a lot of thing. Does L.A. have a direct flight to Kansas City? Yeah. Okay. You know, it's the only city in the country I've never been to? Kansas City? The only one. Kansas City's great.

Kansas City reminds me a lot of Pittsburgh in some ways. Except in the summer, it is a furnace. Yes. It gets incredibly hot in San Francisco. I had a buddy who lived there. He's like, you have no idea how hot it gets in Kansas City in the summer. It really does. It's the only American city I've never been to.

They truly have every single season. Yes. To the fullest. Yeah. So you're going to be going there this weekend. I'm going to Vegas just to watch the Canelo fights. So it'll be fun. By the way, Jason McIntyre, one of my favorite segments.

Tomorrow's headlines today. Tonight's a good NBA night, by the way. Boston now at home against Milwaukee. Portland now at home against Denver. So I'm going to go home tonight. I'm opening up a Corona. I'm watching some NBA basketball. So all sorts of stuff this weekend.

Let me start with my favorite team to watch in the NBA. No, no, no. It's not the Warriors. Believe it or not, Philly, it's your Sixers. When you talk about what makes a great TV show in sports as a television show, basically, I need excellence, I need talent. There's nothing wrong with something being a little bit of a hot mess. I like a bunch of stuff. Philadelphia gives me everything.

I got the next version of Shaq. I got Jimmy Butler's attitude. I got social media stars. I got a coach that can get fired. Philadelphia gives me everything I want in sports. Hope, drama, talent. And by the way, they're four best players. All want Max Steels, and they all come with qualifiers.

Joel Ambide, health issue. Jimmy Butler, attitude issue. Tobias Harris, not that great. Ben Simmons can't shoot. And they all want to be stars, and they all have star potential. And I'm watching this series. And I'm not going to be mean here, Toronto. but let's be honest, Toronto.

Kauai Leonard's leaving, and that is not being mean. That's being honest. This is your entertainment reality. Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Justin Bieber, Kauai Leonard, Sean Mendez, Wayne Gretzky. I'm not being mean, Canada. This is your entertainment reality.

Maple syrup industry, donut industry, lumber industry, people stay in Canada. Entertainment, they come down here. We have a conversion rate. right now I look this morning. A dollar in Canada is 74 cents in America, and that's about what the Raptors are.

They're about 74% of the Sixers' talent. That's about what they are. Nothing against Fred Van Vleet. 17 to the 19 ESPN basketball experts pick the Raptors, because it feels smart, and we like Canada, and they're awesome people, and Toronto's global, and Vancouver's amazing. Everybody likes Canada.

I like Canada. I go to Canada every other year. But the conversion rate, you're about 74% of the Sixers' talent. All the talent in this series, it's on Philadelphia. Some of it's crazy. Some of it's nuts. Some of it can't stay healthy.

Some of it can't shoot. Some of it thinks it's way better than it is. I mean, Philadelphia is all what makes sports great. Seven best players in this series, five or Sixers. Mbid, Butler, Simmons, Harris, and JJ Reddick played really well last night. I like Kawhi. I like Pascal Seacum. But, you know, Siakum's gotten better.

There's a ceiling. He's a nice kid, and Kauai's leaving, and I'm not being mean. This is your reality, Toronto. This team is so one-sided in the playoffs. When Kauai Leonard's on the floor, the Raptors are plus 113. When he's off the floor, they're minus 54. I feel bad. This feels Gretzky.

It feels Mike Myers. It feels Ryan Gosling. It feels Sean Menas. It feels Ronald Reynolds. Kauai's out of there. He knows it. He's the whole team. All year long.

We want to say nice stuff about Canada and Toronto. They're awesome neighbors. It's amazing country. They're good people. They don't have the eagle like America. But if you walked into a YMCA and you saw Toronto and you saw Philadelphia, you'd be like, I'm picking those dudes. M.B.

looks like a baby shack. Simmons is a six, ten and a half point guard. Butler is all attitude and talent. J.J. Reddick, scrappy guy flying around the court, hitting threes. He's what Toronto wishes Fred Van Vleet was. I got to be honest with you. This series, I know, I know everybody picked Toronto, and I know their chemistry is great.

Yesterday, Joe L.M.B. had a quote. He said, chemistry's overrated. I just want to play with good players. and the Raptors shoot 39% when Kauai is off the floor. We love you, baby dinosaurs. And it used to be the LeBron Meteor that ended your life, made you extinct. It's going to be Philadelphia. And I know they're kind of a crazy, nutty, ego, crazy, messy, four guys all want to get paid max.

Philadelphia is America. A lot of ego, a lot of talent. A lot of crazy, a lot of nuts, probably break up, get divorced. God, I love watching the Sixers play. I love watching them play. That's the most entertaining team in the NBA. Golden States, too, buttoned up. I mean, Golden States like, you know, IBM in the 80s.

They put their money away. They invest in a 401K. Philadelphia is like, I'm leasing a private jet. I can't afford it. I'm getting a sweet at the wind for a month. I can't afford it. I make a lot. I spend every penny.

Let's buy some more jet skis. That's Philadelphia. And I got to be honest, love watching them play. Absolutely love watching them play. I want to shift to this. And again, Joy, in 15 minutes, we'll have more. Monty Williams to the Sons. That would I think mean tie Lou to the Lakers.

So Tom Brady was on Jimmy Kimmel last night. Tom Brady has a house used to out here. He works out a lot here at UCLA, which is about 50s. 15 feet from where I'm sitting. And Brady was talking, you know, kind of about, you know, does he mind being the 18th highest paid quarterback in the NFL? And here's what Brady said. I think the thing I've always felt for me in my life, you know, winning is been a priority.

And my wife makes a lot of money. I see. Oh, good. I'm a little smarter than you think. It's a salary cap. everyone, you know, you can only spend so much and the more that, you know, one guy gets is less for others. And I think

for a competitive advantage standpoint, I'd like to, you know, get a lot of good players around me. I hope the Patriots appreciate that you do that. I really do. Yeah. You know, think about this. This is not discussed enough. We talk about PEDs. This is Brady's PED.

Performance Enhancing Deal. There are four quarterbacks in the NFL that currently make double Tom Brady. Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rogers, Big Ben. Do you know that Tom Brady makes less money? In fact, the least money of any NFL quarterback, not on a rookie deal? Do you realize, I want to say this again, let it soak in for you driving around America? He's the lowest paid quarterback, not on a rookie deal.

Tom Brady. This is what I've said separates Brady from LeBron, Bryce Harper, Aaron Rogers, Kobe Bryant, Russell Wilson, that there's this equation that lives in all the other guy's heads. Money equals respect. And it doesn't with Brady. It doesn't exist with Tom. LeBron makes $35 million a year in basketball,

$30 million a year in shoes. But when LeBron wakes up in the morning, money equals respect. I mean, Aaron Rogers is a really smart guy, really smart, maybe as smart as any NFL player. He knows the more he takes, the fewer guys around him. But Aaron could certainly rationalize taking that money. Hey, I live in Green Bay, okay? I stay here, I say nice things about Green Bay. Hey, you've never given me an elite defense like Brady gets.

Aaron's really smart, but he probably gets up and rationalizes it. I think Russell Wilson's really smart. But Russell gets up in the morning and he can rationalize, I won a Super Bowl. I was a third round pick. I was for free. By the way, I never get credit here. It's always Pete.

It's always the defense. The bottom line is Brady. A lot of smart guys in sports. Kobe. Russell Wilson. Aaron Rogers. LeBron James. There's this equation that lives in their head.

You don't pay me. You don't respect me. And Brady of all the American superstars. It's not a thing. He's not bothered in the least by it. Like this is the PED of the Patriots, the performance enhancing deal, makes the least money of any NFL quarterback not in a rookie deal. Four current quarterbacks make double.

What Tom Brady makes. And one of them is Matt Ryan. You know, we talk about. A few months ago, players always say this. Oh, wife makes a lot of money and debes a mal of money and this. That's all good. But you can rationalize things any way you want. Aaron Rogers and Russell Wilson are smart dudes,

but they rationalize it knowing Matt Ryan's smart dude. They all rationalize it knowing it hurts the quality of their offensive line. It hurts the quality of their defense. It does every time. What was it last year? The top six highest paid quarterback. none made the playoffs. It's the great PED with Brady and the Patriots,

performance enhancing deal. Chris Haynes, very latest on the Lakers situation. Joel will have that as well. Ty Loo, you know Jason Kidd is still out there. Tyloos consider the better the coach, though. I think people around the league think Tyloo is the better coach than Jason Kidd. And Ties also, I think, had more success. And, yeah, so this could happen.

rather soon because Monty Williams got the job in Phoenix. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Tomorrow we've got a great doubleheader for you on FS1. First, the Cardinals battle Chris Bryant and the Cubs as they renew their historic rivalry. Then Chris Davis leads the A's against the Pirates. It all starts at 4 Eastern on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Chris Bryant called St. Louis Boring. Remember that this offseason?

And then the Cardinals catcher, Molina, called him, stupid and a loser. It's the first time they've met since that. Don't skip me old Soylent. Go to Soylent.com. 20% off your first case. If you put in the code, Heard 20. Heard 20.

All right, let's go. I want to go to Chris Haynes if he had the Coward Global Satellite Network. He's leaving in about an hour to get in a flight. And his suit perfectly matches the art behind him. Chris really can tie everything together, even his suit and the art. I want to start with this. You're going to go to Houston in about an hour. This is the series.

I kind of feel like it's over. I don't want to overreact and be hyperbolic. Do you think it's over? I don't think it's over, Colin. Houston, that's a prideful team over there. They've been circling the Warriors for the last three years trying to top them. They have one of the best home court advantages in the NBA. I don't think it's over.

I actually think they're probably going to hit the Golden State Warriors in the mouth early on in game three. I really do think still, as everything stands, that this series has. the potential to still go to distance. So I'm not counting it out as a right now. It is interesting. We would both acknowledge that Westbrook tends to as a playoff performer, his numbers erode. He's less efficient. You can make an argument.

The last couple of years against the Warriors, Hardens numbers are not quite efficient. Is that a trend? What do you make of that? No, I definitely think it's a trend because, look, go-in-state warriors, they have a roster that's set up to primarily switch everything to when they can put the deaf line up out there and kind of disrupt things. And so when James Harden in the regular season, when he's, you know, he's a ball-dominant player, when he has the ball in his hands a lot, he can make those plays.

A lot of teams don't have the personnel the Golden State has. So Golden State, they have that personnel. Andre Eudalek could switch on him. He's been doing a phenomenal job. Clay Thompson, Draymond, Ging, Kevin Durant, the list goes on and on. And so that's why his numbers suffer when he plays against the Golden State War. So it is a trend. That's why it's very important, Colin, for James Hart and the Rockas to get contribution

from other guys. Chris Paul is going to have to take a more direct approach offensively, knowing that James Hart is going to see the best of the best as far as what the defensive Brunel has to offer from the Warriors. Okay, Monty Williams hired by Phoenix. He was a front runner for the Laker job. Does that mean Tailu is now L.A.'s next coach, Chris? Yeah, it looks that way.

And really, Colin, he should have been the coach weeks ago. And I know there was a perception of optics and things of that nature as to why Lakers didn't want to make that move early on. But look, man, this is the team that needs to make a move ASAP. And they should have did a long time ago. Tyrone Loo is the best man for the job. One with LeBron James and Cleveland. He's the only one of the few coaches that LeBron James respects. It makes all the sense in the world.

Listen, there's a lot of rumors about players leaving teams and going to different places. Kauai Leonard's having an amazing series for the Raptors, but when he's not on the court, they're awful. Does it feel like if they lose to the Sixers, he's coming west to L.A.? Well, I will say this. I will say this. The clippers are definitely in play. There have been that way for the last year or so.

I can say this. We don't know necessarily how significant decision is going to be as it pertains to if the Raptors lose in the second round. But I will say this, if I'm a Raptors fan, if you're bounced prematurely in the second round, you can't feel too good about your chances of retaining him. Because Kauai wants to win. And if you can't win the East and get to the finals,

I mean, that just doesn't bode well. But I still don't, look, it's going to be between the clippers and staying in Toronto. And if Toronto wants to bolster up their chances of keeping him, they need to go pretty far. Joel M. Bede signed for the next three or four years in Philadelphia, even though his back is a concern, his feet are a concern. The one player that could leave tomorrow, Jimmy Butler. Where do you think he plays? Where do you think he is by late July?

That's tough. That's tough to answer right now. But look, he's having a phenomenal playoff series. And a lot of the decision-making process from a lot of players, a lot of it depends on how they fare in the postseason. And right now he's playing a big part. You know, him and Tobias Harris, they're both up, you know, this summer. And so it's going to be tough. And the way that they're playing right now, Philly and win these last two games, and Brett Brown, he received a lot of criticism over the regular season about his exes and O and in-game adjustments.

He's been playing, he's been coaching phenomenal. He's been making the right calls, making the right plays, the right adjustments at the right time. So I think Jimmy Butler right now, I like his chances. If we're talking now, if the season ended now, I'm liking the Sixers' chances at keeping him because he's showing that he can do a lot of what nobody else can do on that on that floor. And that's being a two-way player. And he's showing that he's a playmaker as well.

He's second and assist of Ben Simmons right now. So he's doing this thing for sure. All right, Chris, get on that plane. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk soon, bud. Thanks, Colin. All right. He's going to jump on a plane to go to the Rocket Series.

My guess is the line is now, what is the line? it's almost a nine-point swing from playing an Oracle in the Bay to playing in Houston. So it was Golden State was about a five, four and a half, five, five and a half point favorite at home. They're an underdog in Houston tomorrow night. Tonight I'll take Boston to beat Milwaukee close

and I'll take Portland to beat Denver not that close. And I think Boston and Portland are going to win those series eventually. Do we have a number on that yet, John? What is it? What are the rockets favored by? Still three and a half. Three and a half. All right.

Joy, with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So Monty Williams is a head coach again. He has agreed to a five-year deal with the Phoenix Suns. This is the first time that Phoenix has committed to a coach for longer than three years. Five-year deal.

Robert Sarver's ownership. That is a big deal because they've gone through a lot of coaches in the time that Sarver has been there. So it seemed that Monty Williams favored Phoenix's situation over the uncertainty with LeBron and the Lakers. could be some other factors involved in there as well. But now that this particular piece of the puzzle has been put there, it's looking like Tailu and is being reported that Tailu will likely be the next head coach of the Lakers. Is that what's being said on the interweb? Well, Woj is tweeting that that's probably what's going to happen.

So I've been saying from the beginning that Lush is the right person for this job. We showed the clip earlier of Kevin Love on with First Things First, and we're talking about the former player thing. Monty Williams is a former player. Steve Kerr is a former player. Doc Rivers is a former player. Bill Jackson is a former player. And it's funny, Doc always got the reputation.

People always said, X's and O's with Doc. If you watched the Clippers this year, a starless team give the Warriors fits, don't tell me Doc isn't good schematically. Because they gave Golden State all sorts of issues and had no matchup advantage. Right, absolutely.

Well, you were talking about it, I think, with Chris Broussard, that there is this stigma that players, former players, are not good with X's and O's. Right. They're just players that get along with their guys. Eight of the last 10 head coaches that have won championships in the NBA are coaches that were former players. Right. Well, Phil Jackson's the best ever, and he played for the Knicks. Eighth just had for the last 10 years. Only two coaches were not former players.

Who are those? Popovich and Van Gundy. Popovich never played. I know he did military. He played in college. I was going to say he played in college. He didn't play in the NBA. Like not former NBA players. Yeah, because Popperich is like 6'6 in person.

Right. But former NBA players. The last 10 championships, eight of them have been former players. Yeah. It doesn't even make sense to me. Wouldn't a former player know how to execute the X's and O's? Now I understand writing up an X's and O's and writing up a play and changing schemes is a different situation. But the stigma is ridiculous.

It doesn't even make sense. The statistics go against it. Lose the right person for this job. He won a championship. When you brought LeBron here on a four-year deal, you gave the, you gave the organization to LeBron anyway. Football coaches generally don't play. Sean Payton Belichick, but basketball

coaches, coaches usually have some connection to the game directly. I mean, you don't have to. In either situation, it doesn't have to be a thing. But the stigma that if you are a former player, you don't understand X's and O's is just silly. So Kauai was sensational last night in the Raptors game,

three loss of the Sixers. The Aukham was good, too, but the rest of the Raptors did not really contribute. In fact, Kyle Lowry and Markisal combined for 14 points, four of 16 shooting and have been pretty quiet all series. And after the game, Lowry said the team needs to help Kauai. As good as Kauai has been, are you guys relying on him? We got to help him. We got to help myself, especially me. I got to help him. Score more. I got to help him on the floor. You know, we all got to help him. He's playing unbelievable right now, but we're not giving him any help.

Me. I'm not giving him any help. I got to help him. Kyle's not been a very good playoff guy in recent years. Good regular season dude. He does not perform in the playoffs. He doesn't. You know, it's tough to argue against it. They just did not look good. And we were just talking about game to game, you know, in the NBA playoffs, we react.

Like the momentum just seems to go and we forget that these are long series. But I feel like the anxiety with the Raptors just triggers immediately because it's like we've seen this. before. Yeah, like when you have a reputation as shrinking, the minute you have a bad eight-minute stretch, you start shrinking. And it feels weird because Kauai has felt like he's not really a part of this, like this is a temporary situation. And the team that is a part of this is playing into that narrative. So, I mean, it's a big deal for the Raptors either way. By the way, and now it's contagious because Fred Van Fleet, who played pretty well for them in a regular season, back-to-back games without a basket. So like, he was one of the guys they really,

really liked and he's shrinking. It's contagious. It really is. Finally, James Harden suffered an eye injury in game two, but it is not in any danger of sitting out in game three. He says he's still experiencing some pain, but said the vision in his left eye is improving. And he had this response when he asked if he plans, when he was asked if he plans to play in game three. The next game, you're good to go? I mean, if I could, if I play barely seen last game, which would make you think I'm going to sit at game three. It looks really bad. I mean, you talked about Steph Curry playing with the

dislocated finger, dislocated finger. That happens a lot. I mean, even Barclay was like he's going to be all right. I mean, I'm sure it's very painful. I'm sure faint, but they pop it back in place and put some tape on it. It's sore and it's worse the next day. Getting your eye mess with is pretty serious, especially if you're in a shooter situation.

Anything above the head? Like, you know, I had a bad cavity. I'd rather have a broken wrist for a month than a cavity for an hour. All of your focus is on that. you can't you can't think about anything else so hopefully he's better because any narrative where it's like you're not 100% and they won because he's not 100% or the injuries or the reps it just takes away from the series and you know focus on basketball so hopefully he's good to go a joy with the news well that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd line a lot of people think i don't like baker mayfield uh it's not true he's always

welcome on the couch uh when i brought him on uh cleveland fans are like man he owned you actually we got 2 million hits on Facebook, which is a very good monetizable platform for us. We love having Baker on. I take Baker on again. I've talked for 30 minutes live with Odell Beckham. I think the two of them will be very good. As I've said before, the three NFL teams I know had Sam Darnel above Baker-Mayfield on their draft board. But Baker's, he works.

And we said he would never be a bust. I wouldn't draft him if I was a GM. I don't like the nonsense of police video. But there's a great story in the athletic. watched yesterday, or Red, excuse me, yesterday. The Athletic, you subscribe to it. I'm a subscriber. It's really good. And they were talking about the seven-month flirtation began before the Browns hired John Dorsey as a general manager. And when they met, Dorsey actually attacked the police video and joke with Baker Mayfield. He said, I hear you like

food trucks because there was a food truck nearby. Baker had too much to drink. He wanted to get some food in him. And the story was kind of endearing on a lot of levels. But what I like about it is, listen, John Dorsey got fired by Kansas City. Baker Mayfield is a walk-on twice, and Cleveland's been the laughing stock of the league. They're all three peas in a pod. They work together, is that, you know,

Dorsey gets maligned for taking high-risk guys and getting whacked, and Baker got looked past twice by college programs, and he's got a chip on his shoulder, and Cleveland, I mean, let's be honest. You know, I mean, for years it was known as the mistake by the lake. the city gets whacked. In the end, these three just work together. And it's a really good story, how Dorsey and Baker kind of connected early.

Andrew Luck doesn't feel like Cleveland. Russell Wilson doesn't feel like Cleveland. Tom Brady doesn't feel like Cleveland. Peyton Manning doesn't feel like Cleveland. Aaron Rogers doesn't feel like Cleveland. Baker Mayfield, it works. It works. He's got a chip.

Cleveland's got a chip. Dorsey's got a chip. Do I think Cleveland's out of their gourd thinking Super Bowl? Yes. They finished 7, 8, and 1 last year, third place in their own division. We're 1 in 5 against playoff teams. I don't think Odell Beckham changes the world. I do think they're a 9-win team.

I do think they flirt with the playoffs. I think their schedule early is brutal, filled with unbelievably tough road games. So I think they wake up early in November, and they're about a game above 500 as a new rookie head coach. And I also think Freddie Kitchens will get fired within two years, and Baker will be on his third coach in four years, because I don't think Freddie can handle this group of dues. I may be wrong. But you should read the article. It makes you like Baker more.

It makes you like Dorsey more. It makes you like the Browns more. And you get it. You kind of get it. Everybody's got a little chip on their shoulder. They want to prove the world wrong. Cleveland does. Baker does.

Dorsey does. And none of them care what anybody thinks. And they're wildly in love with Baker. And Baker likes Dorsey and Dorsey likes Baker. And it kind of tells you the flirtation and all the stuff they went through, finding Baker Mayfield. And it's a good read. It's a very good read on Baker Mayfield, who is fun.

I said this last year. Kyler Murray is going to become Baker Mayfield this year. Cleveland's unwatchable for 20 years. Baker shows up and the Browns were one of the best watches in the league. They were all over the map, but they were fun. Arizona's been a snooze for about five years since Kurt Warner left. They're going to be fascinating with Kyler Murray. So I think one of the things that's really, really helping the NFL over the NBA or baseball.

In baseball, if you get drafted, you disappear into the minor league system for four years and we don't see you. And in the NBA, if you get drafted, unless you're Zion, you go into the NBA, eh, you don't really do anything in the playoffs for like six years. In the NFL, it used to be you get drafted as a quarterback, sit for a year, then play. Now you get drafted, you play, and you have success with all this spread offense stuff coming to the NFL. It's a big, big bonus to the NFL. College kids who we follow go into the NFL and they take it over. And Baker's a fascinating watch.

Murray's a fascinating watching. Go to the athletic, subscribe and read the article. It's really, really good. That's a very nice thing you said about Baker-Biclin. I think they were a little crazy. Super Bowl talk, but it was a... Goulet, was that positive?

Joy said that was positive. That's as positive as you're going to get on Baker and Cleveland. Don't qualify it. Was I positive there? It's a very positive. It was fun. You read the article and you're like, they all love each other. I don't think it's bad to aim for the Super Bowl either.

I mean, to guarantee a Super Bowl is a little bit of a stretch, but... You're not to aim high. I don't have anything against Baker. I mean, you could summarize that as Cleveland and Baker deserve each other? No, I didn't. Which in your tone sounds bad, but it's not really how you meant it. No, what I'm saying is Cleveland's got a chip.

Baker's got a chip. Dorsey's got a chip. And you're like, they're pretty easy to root for. That fits. It does fit. They all kind of fit together. Andrew Luck is too humble and Russell's too slick and Tom's Tom. And it's like, it's just, John said he's just too good.

Baker works there. I'm happy for him. Very positive. Thank you. I feel very good about that. I'm glad you found a spaceboard in the show. I know. See, I got a lot of love in my heart, even for Cleveland. Coming up tomorrow's headlines today with Jason McIntyre, I always love that. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports

Radio, FS1, and the I Heart Radio app. I talked him into coming to Fox. I talked to Manila living in Manhattan Beach. Why are you giving out my address on National Television? Well, I live there, too. Jason McIntyre, who founded the big lead and now does Fox Sports Radio on the weekends, and he comes on our show every Friday. What's going on, my friend?

What do you got plan for the weekend? Big plans, you know, a couple soccer games, some rock climbing with the kids. Oh. Birthday party, the usual dad life stuff. Hashtag dad life. I totally get it. Hey, Colin, wait, wait, we talked earlier this week off air about the demise of newspapers and magazines.

And we think websites are probably next, right? Newspapers died 20 years ago. Magazines 10 and websites now are dying. They don't make the revenue. Now, that doesn't mean there's not outliers. Bleacher report will succeed. Yeah, they got TV money with me. Yeah, and I mean, by the way, New York Times is in Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.

There's always outliers. But we, I don't know what it is about, maybe because we have birthdays close to each other. But we seem to be ahead of the curve on some stuff. Yes. There's a big thing coming. We've been touching on it over the last six months on air. Let's not give it away. Let's not give it away.

There's a big thing coming in our industry. Big things coming. You may hear about it in a week. I'm not going to give out that date. I don't want to get called into a glass office. Yes. You may hear something. Look at Joy's like a couple of weirdos.

What are these weirdos talking about? That's exactly how I'm looking at about it. All right. We call it tomorrow's headlines today. Jason McHach. Okay, let's start with this. Any chance the Rockets come back from an O2 deficit. Tomorrow's headlines today.

Well, I know you got a big. Houston fan here producing the show. I got some good news for him. We know the Warriors are going to win a trophy, right? But the Rockets are also going to win one, Colin. The headline is, Rockets win O'Cryan trophy. Not the O'Brien, which goes to the winners, but those whiny Houston Rockets, when are they going to realize that the regular season and the playoffs are like two

different animals in sports? It's just unbelievable how the Rockets, and I'm not going to overdo what happened in game one, but you could see it in game two. they were holding back, holding back, at home, it's going to come out again. You know it's going to happen down 02. Chris Paul is the ringleader of this. And I feel a little bad for him. He's never won anything, right?

There's a guy who's one of the best point guards ever in league history. And he just whines about everything because he's not getting his way. I don't know. I mean, I hear some people talking about a sweep maybe, a gentleman sweep before one. You know, Houston Rockets fans better be prepared for a lot of crying this weekend. Well, and also, I find this. players are getting worn out from like Houston's analytic mantras. Like players don't want to be reduced to a spreadsheet.

And I love Darrell Mori. But it feels like Houston came into this series and said, we're going to get to the free throw line more and win the series. It should be noted. Harden in game one shot 14 free throws, that was almost double his average on the season. So it's like, folks, you're not going to put a guy at the free throw line 27 times. The league doesn't want that.

I think I heard this on a radio show, TV, podcast, something. But the Rockets' analytics say we would rather have deception on a three-point shot, kicking out the legs, three free throws rather than a wide-open dunk. They would rather go to the foul line for three hardened free throws than anything else because he's like 90% from the line. And don't forget this. Leagues have the right to change at their discretion. In the NFL Super Bowl, Joy and I talked this about the other day. The NFL did not give the Eagles and the Patriot to head up.

Heads up. And before they changed the rule, in the Super Bowl, they changed the rule. That's right. Yeah, the touchdown catch, right? Two of them. Any bobbling catch were counting it. They had not officially changed the rule, but they had heard people like me Monday talking about your catch-no-catch.

And the NFL is like, we're not going to have the world talking about catch-no-catch after the Super Bowl, the Eagles and the Patriots. So the NBA has decided that landing space, we're going to make it up as we go. and we don't give a rip because we don't want to, we don't want the rocket to the line 47 times. By the way, if they get swept here, oh, boy. Will the Bucks beat the Celtics make their first Easter Eastern Conference finals since 01? Tomorrow's headlines today. I mean, shocking, Colin, the Milwaukee Bucks don't look ready for prime time.

The headline will be deer in headlights. We know everybody says, fear the deer. There's nothing to fear here, Colin. I mean, there's a Bucks team. People are talking about Janus as potentially the face of the NBA. Can the guy get out of the second round first? I know. Maybe.

In the East. Listen, he's having a nice series, as you said, Chris Middleton, not really a number two. And again, all these people predicted the Bucks. I have some money on them to win the East. I don't think it's happening. But you've got to trust the good coaching in Brad Stevens and the great closer in Kyrie Irving.

Do you think he is going to bounce back from 4 for 18 in game two? Of course he is. The Bucks make 23-pointers in game two. And everybody thinks, oh, Milwaukee's got this series. I just totally disagree. This feels to me like the Celtics this weekend take both in Boston. By the way, Buck fans are sensitive about Chris Middleton because I've said, and everybody I know in the league, every scout says the same thing.

He should be your third best player on a finals team, right? He's the second best player for them. But the Celtics have elected to let him score. He's shooting 70% on threes. Boston has said, we just don't want Janus controlling the pace. So Middleton may have a great series, but if Chris Middleton's your leading score, you're probably not winning a series. It's not a shot. I love Clay Thompson. But Clay Thompson, who is a three on the Warriors, would easily be the two

on the box. Could Middleton be the number two to LeBron on the Lakers? No, that's not a... They still wouldn't win anything. That wouldn't win anything. No, I mean, if Chris, if you got Anthony Davis and then Chris is your third, then you got a real team. That's deadly. Yeah. And remember, this is the Celtics team. Jason Tatum, I think, has nine points in the series. been awful. He's done nothing. And they're, I mean, Boston's going to be fine. I don't know. I still think that Boston versus the Warriors for the title. That's my guess. All right. Tomorrow's headlines today. What will be the biggest takeaway from Raptors, Sixers? Geez, I don't want to hammer Rachel Benetta, her Toronto Raptors too hard. I think the headline

without question is, Kauai Leonard now actually kind of somewhat interesting. This is a guy who doesn't talk. People have joked he's got the personality of a librarian. Yeah. But he's been dying. dominant in this series. He looks like... He really has been fantastic. Top five player. But what's interesting is, how come nobody's asking where he's going this summer? Is the Clippers definitely happening? Because I'll tell you right now, if I'm a team out there, I'm taking a chance, throwing everything at Kauai Leonard. He looks like a number one who can lead

a team maybe to the conference finals. You know, he has something that Michael had. He's got enormous hands. Oh, geez. So it allows him, and Michael had this, to jump and be undecided. Like when Kobe, Kobe didn't, he would be, when you can just jump in the air and palm the ball. And Joy and I joke about this. Palming the ball means you can run, you could jump, you could sprint, and the ball stays in your hand. Kauai yesterday, this is the one we're showing. He just kind of left his feet and thought, I can use either hand. He's a remarkable player around the basket.

He looks great. Now when he's sitting there on the bench, this team looks like the calves with LeBron on the bench. I mean, it's awful. It's like Jeff Green and those guys on the calves last year. This Raptors team, I mean, Drake is going to have to find another new team to back because this team when Kauai leaves is going to the lottery. Minus 54 in the playoffs. Pascal Siakum is a nice player.

He's a nice player. Again, he should be a three on a good playoff team. And by the way, he's also a baby. He's a kid. Give him two more years and he's going to be a better player. There you go. All right. Tyron Lou, will he be the Lakers next coach?

Tomorrow's headlines today. Oh, boy, did you see the Lakers say that maybe LeBron's going to be in Vegas to weekend with Tyloo watching a boxing. I'm going to be at the Canelify. Oh, thanks for the invite, Calhurt. You have. Jeez, the headline will be in lieu of a better option. Oh, that seems harsh.

Oh, yeah, I knew you're not going to love that one. This just feels like settling, Colin. When LeBron came to the Lakers last summer, it's pretty clear. You hand him the keys to the franchise, right? That's what happened in Miami. He got to say, I'll bring Chris Bosch. Pat Riley did push back a little. He goes back to Cleveland.

LeBron says, let's trade the whole team. When the guy goes to the final. eight years in a row. You've got to respect that. I think it's pretty clear. LeBron's picking his guy, Ty, Lou. Lakers can't do anything about it. I don't know who else is on the market. I don't know if there are better. I remember asking, years ago, he did some coaching with the Clippers, and I asked a scout with the Clippers. I said, hey, what, and he's like, oh, Ty can coach. Like, they thought he was going to be a really good head coach. And this was before he became the head coach. So they liked Ty a lot.

Okay. Do you trust Jeannie Buss and Kurt Rambus's wife to pick a better call? That's what I'm reading. Okay, but that's a separate option. That part I don't. I trust, I talk to Tai Lu about this because he called and yelled at me. I believe what I've heard about Tai Lu is Ty won't back down from LeBron. He'll push back on LeBron. He'll bark at LeBron.

And, you know, let's be honest. Sometimes LeBron needs that. Okay, but spin that forward, right? The Lakers get Ty Lou as the head coach. If you're Kyrie Irving or other free agents. Well, are you looking at, it's LeBron's show. It's his coach. It's LeBron.

It's Rich Paul. And that's not, listen, it's been. It's been successful. But I don't think Kyrie Irving is in play if they land Tyloo. I think that's fair to say. I don't know that to be true. I think it's a fair assumption. But I've got to be honest.

If you want to make LeBron happy, then at this point, it's not like there's... Well, it's a bit of a problem. Now, they are way more relevant than last year. At this time, we were talking about the Lakers. It was Lonzo Ball's dad. That was what was interesting. at least with LeBron James, like the prospect of Anthony Davis, they're more interesting now for sure.

And you love interesting all the time. That's what I'm, Joy and I root for, nobody gets hurt, minor car wrecks on the freeway. So in Vegas, do you have seats near LeBron and Tyloo? I have no idea of my seats, I am a very important person. You know, and there's a big wig from around the corner, the Death Star? Well, no, no longer likes me. He does not follow me anymore on social media.

Oh, he unfollowed you. By the way, Steph Curry still follows me on Twitter. He doesn't. He's a good guy. He likes me. Oh, boy. What? He doesn't like it.

He gave you the unfollowed me. He followed me for years. Maverick Carter won't return my texts. They don't like me. I know it'll be I see them. I'll tell him to his face. I'll say, I thought you had a bad year of leadership. Why don't you put one of the Lakers on your shows?

Lonso balls on the shop. Lanzo balls on the new shop episode. Is Lanzo on a show? All right, there he goes. Let's start. That's why I like it to start. I'm very confrontational. Progress, not perfection, Colin.

That's true. All right, everybody. Great job, Joy. J-Matt, great seeing you to everybody. Thanks for watching. See you Monday. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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