The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Magic Johnson, Anthony Davis, Baker Mayfield, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard

Episode Date: May 29, 2019

Colin explains why he is defending former Los Angeles Lakers President Magic Johnson, what New Orleans Pelican F Anthony Davis needs to do, why Boston Celtic G Kyrie Irving probably wont go to the Lakers, he also responds to Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield, and ranks the top ten athletes that are like Toronto Raptors F Kawhi Leonard. Guests include Nick Wright, Metta World Peace, Ric Bucher, and Damon Stoudamire. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Wednesday. This in Los Angeles is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. No TV for one hour. We're back in an hour on TV on FS1. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio. Serious XM Channel 83 today and we're absolutely packed. By the way, Damon Stottomire, who was in terms. Toronto and left for Portland will be joining us later this hour. He's an interesting case study with Kauai Leonard.

I always heard Damon really liked Toronto, but Portland wanted him badly, and he ended up having a great career with the Blazers. Nick Wright, joining us as well. Joy Taylor's here. Joy, how are you? Great. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. Joy's got an interesting story that is developing in the last 25 minutes, and she'll have that in a half hour on Herdline News before that. So stick around today. We're loaded. And again, we're all over audio today, but we won't be on TV for one hour. then we're on TV one hour from now. So, you know, the big story in the kind of, Magic Johnson's a superstar, right? And he ran the Lakers, then he quit. And there's a massive story. And this story had been rumored for a long time. There was a real negative Magic Johnson story coming.

We talked about this months ago. And so the story broke yesterday right before the show. That Magic is an HR nightmare and he's mean to people and people had panic attacks. And I think you have to be very careful on this because, listen, the truth always comes out. If somebody was vindictive and mean-spirited and an awful person, then Magic Johnson wouldn't have a great reputation for the last 30 years. You cannot hide who you truly are. Now, that's not to say that Magic Johnson is not an American superstar,

and he's walking on clouds the rest of us aren't, and he's got a lot of people around him that are in awe of him, who are saying yes to everything. That's the downside to being really powerful and famous and popular, is that people kind of move out of your way and it's not a real life. And so I think he is, you know, he'll deal with that like every superstar from Arod to Reggie Jackson in the 70s to Tom Brady. It's a different life. It's not always a real life.

You need a wife for a family member to hold you accountable or friends. But Magic Johnson and that big hammer job yesterday, he went back on ESPN and he talked about his management style. Here it is. I've never sat in an HR person's office in 35 years. Two years with the Lakers, no HR parents. Jeannie Buss, do you think Jeannie Buss will allow me to abuse the employees? If that was the case she would have called me in. Joe McCormick would have called me in, the lawyer for the Lakers,

as well as Dan, the other lawyer. It never happened. Now, a lot of Laker employees didn't like that. I held them accountable. That's what my job was. Did I have to fire some people? Yes, because we had to bring about change and get better. When you enter a chaotic mess, you've got to break some eggs.

I mean, look around the country right now. Magic entered an organization in utter chaos for five years. In fact, he admitted in the article, or yesterday on TV, his only regret was not just firing more people and bringing in his own guys, But Magic's a nice guy came in, and instead of just firing everybody, he thought he could change people. But there's a lot of bad habits that are developed at companies that are in chaos, and it's hard to turn them around. But look at the current juggernauts in American business, Amazon. Who runs Amazon?

Jeff Bezos, getting divorced, and his reputation is tough and demanding on employees. Google it. Apple, Steve Jobs, read the books. I did. Not easy on employees. when he was building the empire. Tesla, Elon Musk, beyond intense, tantrums, Rants, Hollywood, James Cameron twice has had the number one movie of all time, Titanic and Avatar, difficult to work with. Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, doesn't even get along with the guys he started

the company with. Microsoft, Clipper owner, Steve Bomer, once threw a chair reportedly at an employee who was leaving for Google. All right, man. Listen, when you're starting American business or up American business, warm and fuzzy is not the way that it generally works. You've got to break some eggs. You've got to fire some, you know, mediocre people. And if an organization is in chaos for five years, you know what that tells me? You've got a lot of average employees and you've got a lot of bad habits. Because to be a bad company, you've got to have bad habits.

Not necessarily bad employees, but they get into bad habits. and this is an organization that's been a mess for years and Magic came in. And now I think his biggest regret, and I think he said it yesterday was he didn't just clean house. He just went, he kind of took a lot of the people that were there and said, okay, I'm going to change these people. And that's really difficult. And let me add this. I'm from the West Coast, but I lived on the East Coast for 11 years. And when I used to work in Portland or Las Vegas or sometimes in.

Los Angeles now, people will say, man, Colin is intense. You know what they said about me on the East Coast? Colin just works a lot. On the East Coast, is this a story? Like L.A.'s chill. L.A.'s laid back. L.A.'s warm. L.A., they don't honk the horns, despite our traffic. It's very laid back.

And magic's like, we can't be laid back. We've got to break some eggs. We've got to fire people. We've got to get after people. We've got to be rough. And yeah, I mean, it's, listen, one of the reasons that I love the East Coast when I lived on it didn't love the weather, but one of the things I loved about the people, they were harsh and they were authentic. If somebody didn't like you out east, they'd just tell you. They'd just tell you.

And I always appreciated it. It's very intense. People work very hard. Maybe it's the weather. You know, maybe it's smaller states with more people packed than them, the density and the competitive nature of the East Coast. But it is intense. And I love that part about the East Coast. Nobody ever called me, you know, intense workaholic.

They're like, yeah, call them puts in the hours. They appreciated it. And it's like, yeah, if you want to be great, you're going to ruffle some feathers. And I just think, I read a story where two people had panic attacks. And I'm like, okay, either I don't know the whole story and there's more to it or Lakers just weren't used to putting in the hours and having a demanding boss. And I don't think, by the way, magic was the perfect fit. But I don't buy that he's lazy. he talked about that subject as well or that claim.

Lazy? I have built a $600 million business. You cannot be lazy going from playing basketball and winning five championships. So I wasn't lazy as a player. And I'm not lazy as a CEO and a business owner. That's never going to happen. I don't think he's lazy either.

I do think Magic picked the wrong job for his current skill set and his current hours that he's available. I just don't think he's available for 65 hours of grinding and minutia as a general manager or a president of a team. So if Magic had any fault, he picked the wrong job for him. Not that he wasn't qualified, but there are different stages in life. 27-year-old Magic had he never played would be perfect maybe 37, 47. Listen, man, he takes summers off.

He goes out and a yacht with his friends. Okay, this is not the time for him to be a lot. a grinder. You know, that's just the reality of magic. He's an American superstar. I think Alex Rodriguez is really smart, but he's got so many side businesses. I don't want him running my baseball team. That's not a knock on them. It's a reality with them. Magic side for this. Let me shift to this. Anthony Davis is meeting with the Pelicans' new GM David Griffin today. They're having a lunch. And this is going to be the most. important lunch in the last decade in the NBA.

This is potentially a breakup lunch because I think Anthony Davis has to do something today that Anthony Davis has never been comfortable doing and that's being confrontational. According to sources, Anthony Davis will meet with the Pelicans Big Shot David Griffin today. The knock on Anthony Davis around the NBA from the executives and the scouts is that he's not confrontational. He's not really a leader. He's a little soft. He's not an alpha.

He's not a guy that's going to carry a team on his back. LeBron can do that. Michael could do that. Kobe could do that. We've had players who can do that. That's not his personality. and I'm very interested today to see if he is capable of going and sitting down at that lunch and making it very uncomfortable and very confrontational and very authentic

and saying, I didn't want to be here two months ago, why would I want to be here now? A new general manager in Zion don't change the realities of New Orleans basketball. Listen, the South is the home of college football. It's got the most good players, the most good coaches, the best fans. But the history of the NBA has never started or ended in Atlanta or Charlotte. Heck, Dallas can't even land top-free agents generally. NBA stars have historically gravitated to some big coastal cities. Now, I'm not saying David Griffin can't win.

He's a really smart guy. And I'm not saying Zion doesn't have just unbelievable Magic Johnson magnetism. I just absolutely love the kid. But it's funny with this lunch, Anthony Davis really controls free agency and we're no longer talking about him. We're talking about Kyrie and KD and Kauai. It actually starts with Anthony Davis. If Anthony Davis sits down at lunch today and does something that he doesn't like to do, confront Alpha, be strong, lead, not back down, head on, be intense and say, what's changing? changed. A 19-year-old kid that played at Duke, this is not the hub of NBA basketball. I wasn't

happy at all six months ago, five, four, three, two. It's not my future. And then if he says to the Pelicans, listen, let's make it amicable, let's make a deal quickly, get the best possible allotment of players and picks you can. Here's the three cities all playing, whatever they are. L.A., New York, you know, Dallas, whoever. Now the Pelicans, he can make it difficult for them and say, I'll just say publicly, I'm not going to go play. Don't trade me to Detroit. You know, don't trade me to somewhere I don't want to go.

But I think it's a very interesting lunch, and we've forgotten about Anthony Davis. If I'm Anthony Davis, and I didn't want to be there six months ago at a company, I'm not changing my opinion just because we got a new GM. I'm looking at the company's history. I'm looking at the personnel. is still a complete rebuilding team with Anthony Davis and with Zion. It's still a rebuilding team. It's the West.

Anthony Davis has been in one playoff, two playoff series in his career. It's still the West. LeBron's coming back next year. I mean, you know, look around the West. Look at where some of these free agents could land. Jimmy Butler could be coming out West. Kauai is coming out West. So this is a fascinating lunch.

It's a massively important lunch. and if Anthony Davis, unless he's just got split personality, is he willing to be what his critics say he isn't? Demanding, confrontational, uncomfortable, alpha, and just say, make a deal. Because, by the way, if he says that, and they trade him to New York, it's going to change free agency. Now Kevin Durant's like, I don't even need Kyrie.

I got Anthony Davis. if he gets traded to Brooklyn. Kyrie can say, I don't need Kevin Durant. I can go Anthony Davis. If he gets traded to the Lakers, wow, that changes the league. So I'll be very interested in what comes from this lunch. And if Anthony Davis does what I think is best for him, because he's made up his mind, then the Pelicans can build around Zion and Drew Holiday.

Those are excellent pieces. And Anthony Davis can kickstart free agency, but he's going to have to sit down. This is a breakup lunch. Anybody watching my show listening to my show? You ever had a breakup lunch? Get a stomachache driving to it? You're like, this can be awful. This can be terrible.

All you managers watching, ever gone to lunch knowing you're going to have to fire somebody? All you women broke up with men. Ever driven to that lunch knowing you're going to have to dump him? I mean, that's what this lunch is if you're Anthony Davis. And you're true to what you want. And I think we all know what he wants. Nick Wright's going to be joining us. So I saw a rumor.

that was actually substantiated. Yesterday, Rick Buecker came on our show and said, Kyrie Irving is down to Brooklyn, the Nets, and Los Angeles, the Lakers. I believe Rick Buecker, and I actually believe him here too,

but I want to create some clarity and what I think what will happen here. That's coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio F.S1 and the I-Hard Radio app. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect.

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

investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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

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The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source. the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions,

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with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, Follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, 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, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

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

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Welcome back. Nick Wright, joining us in 10 minutes. Rick Buecker next hour, Damon Stoddemeier, Meta World Peace. It is great to have you in today. So yesterday on our show, a little bit of a bomb drop made some news. You know, that's what we do here. It's like the New York Times. It's like Walter Cronkite

in the 70s, 60s at CBS is breaking news factory here, just coming off the line every day. And Rick Butaker talked about Kyrie Irving's intentions in free agency. It's between Brooklyn and the Lakers. But I was told in the last 24 hours, Kobe has been busy recruiting Kyrie in particular to try to get him to the Lakers. Now, everything that I've heard, I would still expect that Kyrie is going to go to Brooklyn. He just bought a place in South Orange. Yeah, let me just say this.

never said it was 50-50. Everybody's trying to predict where free agents are going to go. So right here, I'm going to predict where one of them is not going to go. I think Kyrie to the Lakers is a lot of talk. I'm not saying it's not down to two, but I think it's 90 to 10 Brooklyn. Like if my family says, all right, dad, family vacation, it's down to Hawaii or our grandmas in Gary, Indiana. We are literally, down to two, but I know what the family's choosing. They're going to go to Hawaii, and we love Grandma, given the choice. Okay, this kid's from Jersey, but a house in Jersey, and that's just made the playoffs.

He's always played his entire life in the East, Duke, Cleveland, Boston. But he's never owned property out west. It's all out east, not to mention right on the precipice of the NBA free agency period, there is a damning Laker story coming out every 48 hours. Listen, man, when your kid is in high school and they pick a college they want to go to, let's say it's like a fancy great school like Yale. And then they pick the safety school, which is the local state university. Yes, it's down to two choices, but their heart is on Yale.

Like, I just don't see the Lakers being a fit here. I do think because of LeBron, because of the city of Los Angeles, because of the Lakers' history, Jerry West Shack, Kobe Magic, the logo. I think they have 10% shot at everybody, including Kevin Durant. I think there's real pull. I think there's going to be, in 50 years, Ohio State football, Oklahoma football, and Alabama football, even if they're having a down decade, still have resonance. The Yankees were irrelevant in the 80s. They were still the Yankees.

Once they got the owner right, the players right, boom, they dominated the sport. So I think the Lakers will always have, you know, curb appeal to free agents and people with options. But this Kyrie, Brooklyn, Laker thing, to me, it feels 90. 10 Brooklyn. Here's Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So some interesting news just broke this morning concerning the rockets. GM, Daryl Morey has made his entire roster and future draft picks available in trade talks, according to Woj.

What? In calls to front offices, Houston GM, Daryl Morey is showing an aggressive desire to improve the roster with all players and picks available in talks. Hard to imagine James Hardin's scenario, but the rest under contract. perhaps even Chris Paul could be moved in the right deal. I love Daryl Morey. I love general managers, like less need with the Rams. Like there are just some guys that's in their DNA, they like making deals. Howie Roseman, Philadelphia Eagles, he just likes making deals.

Well, I don't think that the Rockets have a choice at this point. They've got to do something. Well, they're getting old in that Chris Paul situation. Well, Chris Paul has three years, $124 million left on his contract. He is 34 years old. So good luck. But the rest of the roster, I mean, Clint Capella is out there. There are some pieces there they can move.

I just don't know what. They're not going to move James Hardin, and I don't see unless they package something what they could do with Chris Paul's contract at 34. So I like the idea of them making some aggressive moves because if they ever want to get over this pump, they're going to have to do something differently. But then again, I mean, does Mike D'Antony get any blame

in this? I mean, like, he's a good coach, but he hasn't gone over the hump either. This was always my question about Houston is Chris Paul and Hardin had not proven to be great, great playoff performers. And Mike Dan Tony, great system, great guy had not proven. Remember, Sean McVeigh with the Rams has a system. Belichick loves facing coaches with systems. You know who Belichick hates facing? Andy Reed, who doesn't have a system and makes it up for his personnel. think Dan Tony, and I like Mike, but these system coaches, I just watched Nick Nurse completely shift a series, like literally changed everything they've seemingly believed in overnight. And it's like what Nick Nurse said to us yesterday.

I mean, he coached in the G League. You don't find out who you're going to be playing against or who might even be on your roster until an hour before the game. Now, obviously, that's a different level of competition, but you have to be able to adapt and you have to be able to put together something that works for the players that you have. they score a lot of points. Everybody gets buckets in that system. I think their biggest issues

the Chris Paul deal. That's just a really, that's a John Wall deal. It's better than the John Wall deal because I like Chris Moore. But it's a lot of money to pay a guy that last time I saw him play outside of that third quarter, he looked tired. He looked like he had,

listen, man, all these guys hit a wall. You get to be mid-30s in pro sports. Most of these guys hit walls. That's a tough contract to move. So, Kauai Leonard has been putting on a show all postseason. Rock Rivers gave him some high praise this morning. He even compared him to the goat.

Oh. He is the most like Jordan that we've seen. Not that he is Jordan or anything like that, but he's the most like him. Big hands, post game, can finish. Great leaper, great defender, in between game. If you beat him to the spot, bumped you off. And then you add his three-point shoot. That's some high praise.

He's very careful not to tamper. Tamper. but just saying nice things about Kauai. Especially since the latest odds show that the clippers are the most likely to sign Kauai. I think that'd be exciting. You know, I feel bad.

If he stays with the Raptors, I'm good. If he goes to the Clippers, I'm good. People think I'm rooting against the Raptors. I'm not. It's really good for the... I love the NBA. It's nice to have a great team in Canada. I have no problem.

I really, at the beginning of the playoffs, I had no inclination that he was going to stay because it was looking like he was going to have to do all of the work. But after watching the way that that city reacted to that win, that's tough to walk away from. Listen, if you're the NBA privately, you're probably rooting for him not to leave. I mean, you're watching that event on TV. Is there any more youthful? I mean, when you watch a Raptor game, how do all those kids afford tickets?

They're all 24. I mean, it's the youngest. It's just a fun, diverse. Yeah, it's wild. It's, yeah, it's a place full of quality. culture. Everyone loves Serranco. I've never heard anyone say one bad thing about Toronto. It may be the coolest. I mean, seriously, it may be the most unique, the youngest, most youthful NBA crowd or professional sports crowd in America today. These are not Packers season ticket holders for 55 years. When you watch a Raptors game, it's kids.

No, and it's just a crazy atmosphere. It's like an MLS crowd. Right. And then you have the Jurassic Park outside. It's fun. All that said, I wouldn't mind him with the Clippers. either because that would be very interesting. Finally, ironically, most people from the United States of America, remember Canada is still in actual America, are rooting for Canada's team,

the Raptors, in the 2019 NBA Finals. According to this map, based on DO tag data from Twitter, 47 of the 50 states are rooting for the Raptors. Now this is not surprising because people hate greatness. Nevada and California and Hawaii

like the Warriors. Right. The Y thing is a bit strange. But, I mean, I don't know, I guess it's very far from Toronto. This does not surprise me at all. You know what it is? Vegas doesn't love them. They all just bet the Warriors in Vegas. They just want to cover their bets.

I think that's what it is. I don't know. I think people are tired of seeing Golden State win. I guess I would say I'm rooting for, yeah, I'm rooting for the Raptors. I would say that. I'm not going to be upset if the Warriors win. Doesn't that look a little bit like the Trump map the night of the election? Coastal cities

Not quite the dramatic response I was expecting there Joy with the news Well that's the news And thanks for stopping by The Hurd Lai News Boy Nick Wright and I First he came on the show

And he just loved That Milwaukee won And he almost mocked me It was very painful But then I haven't talked to him since then And Milwaukee went down the Tuberuski And so both of us

are in great pain, and Joy is the only happy person in the area code. Nick Wright, via the Coward Global Satellite Network calls first things first. You know what? This is why the playoffs are great. It's why you and I love the NBA. It's all sorts of twists and turns. Speaking of that, Magic Johnson yesterday gets hammered by ESPN. The article, mean-spirited, vengeful.

He's a terrible guy. And my takeaway is, so he hits. all that for 30 years. So for 30 years, he was an awful guy, and now it just comes out. I'm not saying it was perfect, but I defended him and I said, when you go into a bad company, you've got to break some eggs. What was your takeaway and all the story in his defense of his reputation? All right. So obviously, there are some major systemic issues with the Los Angeles Lakers. Rob Polinkas seems to have an honesty issue. Magic Johnson maybe had an attendance issue. has a ram by issue.

So like things are not all good in La La Land. We know that. But I think it is very clear where this story and a lot of these stories have been coming from. Who was the one person and the one group of people that totally skated from any and all criticism in this very long piece? Luke Walton and his coaching staff. So who do we think were a lot of the former Laker employees, eviscerating the Los Angeles Lakers, maybe fired bitter coaches? Who knows? And then the other

aspect, who else, other executives and agents, agents around the league, we know didn't always like Rob Polinka, and they hate and fear Rich Paul. They don't like Rich because they think he's skipped the line. He didn't have to do the grunt work that a lot of them feel they did. and league executives having a dislike towards Rich because he and LeBron ushered in the era of player empowerment, which took the power away from the guys that look like them in the suites with the suits, to the guys that look like Rich and LeBron who are actually playing in the games. And then the third group is the people who have just been waiting for the Lakers to be vulnerable for 50 years.

It looked like the Lakers wait. In the 90s, maybe they're going to fall apart. Oh, Shaquille. Neil demands to go there. Oh, wait, Kobe Bryant's era is going to fall flat. Oh, here have Pal Gasol. So there's been a moment where the entire league, I feel like, that had some jealousy and some built up bitterness towards the Lakers exceptionalism is now feasting at the bone. And it is now left on either Linda Rambus to fix it or the gravitational pull of LeBron James to fix it by bringing a Kyrie or.

or someone of his caliber over to stop the bleeding. Speaking of that, I think there's a massive story today, Nick, Anthony Davis having lunch with David Griffin. My sources have always said with Anthony Davis, he's not, he's not confrontational. He's not, he's not the alpha. He's talented, but he's not putting a franchise on my back, and he doesn't have that Kobe, that Michael Jordan, that LeBron thing.

Today's a breakup lunch potentially. And if he goes there and sticks, to his guns and says, listen, I want to play in L.A. or New York, he is going to fundamentally change multiple franchises in this league. Do you think he has the guts to do that? Because I know you like David Griffin, but I think deep down Anthony Davis doesn't want to be there long term, Nick. Oh, listen, I think there is the only way the Pelicans could sell Anthony Davis on Stang is by keeping him into the season, having him play with Zion,

and rolling the dice that he will fall in love with playing with Zion. But David Griffin is too smart for that because the moment you let Anthony Davis play in another game is the moment you put the entire Zion Williamson era at risk, at least the beginning of it, because you risk that Anthony Davis gets hurt and his trade value goes to zero.

Because if he gets hurt, it doesn't have to be a season-ending injury. It has to be an injury that knocks him out to the trade deadline. His trade value then, of course, becomes zero. David Griffin saw the Pelicans butcher the Anthony Davis era by trying to microwave it. He will not do that to Zion Williamson. And don't you think in New Orleans they want a clean start to the Zion era, not have the specter of Anthony Davis hanging over him? So unless they can leave this lunch with Anthony Davis saying, you know what?

I'm sold. Give me the contract, which he won't. They're going to trade Anthony Davis this summer. David Griffin's too smart to do anything else. That's exciting because I think it's a linchpin for some amazing things happening in the NBA. I'm going to get to the Rockets in a second because I would not interview you without bringing that out. But I'm going to throw one more thing at you with KD. It's very interesting.

KD. LeBron is the greatest total athlete in league history. And even LeBron two years ago sort of opted to play defense as a hobby, not an occupation. And I totally give him a pass on that. Kevin Durant now has another injury. And so he's limping to the end of this season. Do you think there's a chance he's thinking, okay, I was playing 26 minutes a night at the end of this season. I only average about 33 during the season.

I can coast in spots with Stefan Clay. Or I'm going to go to New York hobbling or Brooklyn. They're going to need 40 minutes. I don't get a coast because I have Kevin Knox. You know, I'm looking at this injury and I'm thinking if I'm Kevin Durant, Nick, there's an old saying, work harder or not smarter. I don't know if I'd want to hobble into New York and carry a franchise playing 42 minutes because this injury looks worse than any of us initially suspected.

What say you? Yeah, I think that that might be what you would do. I think a lot of people would say, wait, this amazing team in the Bay Area that's about to walk into a brand new arena can pay me the most money and can give me the best chance to win. Why would I leave? So why would Kevin Durant leave? Because this mountain has been climbed and it's turning out wasn't really a mountain. They're minus 280 favorites to win the whole damn thing and he might not play another minute. They haven't lost a game since he went down with this cap injury.

If Kevin Durant, as I think most all-time great athletes do, want to see how great they can actually be. And while, yeah, LeBron, in year 15, when he really had 18 years of tread on the tires and seven and then eight straight trips to the finals started moderating his usage, Katie's not to that point yet. He's supposed to be playing 38-ish minutes a night carrying a team and seeing if he can climb the final mountain. and if he was going to stay in Golden State, we know it. He's not allowed to say yet, I'm leaving. He's been allowed to say all year I'm staying, and he won't because he's not. You, for some inexplicable reason, want him to, even though the league is exponentially more interesting if he leaves. Just why the only, I just think maybe deep down, you're worried he's such an odd guy with the media,

that if everyone's like you've got to leave, you've got to leave, he's going to stay, so you're doing some Princess Bride. I know what you know, what I know what you know. Duplicitous thing here. But everyone wants him to leave. I think deep down you've got to want him to leave. Let him go. Spread your wings in New York City, Kevin Durant, bring somebody with you and go try to win a title. Yeah. Listen, I was rooting for Zion. I try not to root on the air, but I said I was I was rooting for Zion to go to New York because I think New York's an incredible basketball city. And whatever I root for never happened. So, you know, I'm from Seattle. We don't win much there. Finally, Houston Rockets.

One of the reasons I love Daryl Morey, and this is why I love Howie Roseman, who runs the Philadelphia Eagles, and I love Les Need who runs the Rams. They're dealmakers. They like their dealmakers. They like to set up the poker table, and they'll bluff and they'll,

and basically your guy, my guy, I love him. Darryl Morey says today through Woj, I'll move everybody. What do you make of that? Yeah, I mean, I think it's the, and I know Woj's couched it a bit, I would be shell-shocked if he were to trade James Harden. I think it's really everyone,

but harden. But the problem is not many tradable assets. He is a poker player, but he also went all in on this year and next year via that Chris Paul contract. It was keep in mind the only way Chris Paul consents to the trade with the Rockets is knowing he's going to get this contract. So you wouldn't have gotten the year before this unless you would agree to give him the extension. There's kind of a wink and a nod situation there. And they are obsessed with the Warriors and the Warriors slayed them and now they have no flexibility. They're capped out. They have their own draft picks, but those aren't great draft picks because the team's consistently good. I believe for a major franchise changing move, the only real hope they have

is to trick the Lakers into taking Chris Paul. And with the way the Lakers are run, they might be able to trick the Lakers into taking Chris Paul. But three years, $120 million left on guy who at this point, you can't rely on more than one 20-point game a month from. Yeah. That's going to be a tough sell. But I don't know. Maybe you can call up Linda Rambis and convince her, and she's running the operations there. So we'll see.

The new and improved, Nick Wright, I don't know who is doing your hair, but you look spectacular. Look at this. Speaking of hair, if I may, if I may, Joy Taylor, your hair looks fantastic today, as always. I just one quick correction if I may, during herd line news, you said that Doc Rivers

compared Kauai to the goat, but then you talked about Michael Jordan, not LeBron. I hate to point out a factor there, but try to be better in that regard. All right. All right, Nick. I should have seen that coming.

By the way, Danielle, his wife is responsible for his hair and attire. Listen, if he wasn't married to his beautiful wife, he would look like six miles of unpaid road. Instead, look at him. Oh, yeah. And instead of talking to you, right now, I'd be gambling in Atlantic City, living probably my worst or best life.

The road not traveled. We'll never know. Nick Wright, good seeing you, buddy. First things first. He's also every afternoon I listen to him on Sirius XM Radio. So he's doing it not on the station I'm on, but he's over there on the Mad Dog Russo station. All right, good stuff. We'll take a break back in a second.

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

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

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

It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't 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. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard.

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

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

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. It is great to have you. And by the way, I just got this aluminum carry-on luggage from Away Travel.

Go to AwayTravel.com slash Colin. 20 bucks off your first piece of luggage. If you enter the code, Colin, C-O-L-N at checkout, away travel, it's fantastic. You ever have those aluminum? So you'll be in style when TMZ catches you at the airport. So, yeah, I always just had it. beat up one and then these guys started advertising and they sent me a piece

of their luggage and I'm thinking of just getting on a plane this weekend and going to wherever just so I can have the luggage. It's a very impressive luggage. Good to have you in. Meta World Peace. Rick Buecker, Damon Stademeyer will be joining us. We're on television 12 minutes. Baker Mayfield attacked me again yesterday. I swear to God, I'm not engineering any of this stuff.

He went to something called, I have no idea. It's called Complex Sports. No idea. So maybe it's like a blog or something. I'll defend myself at the top of the hour. And the Raiders are also now defending themselves with Richie Incognito. And so Mike Mayock came out yesterday. He's their GM. Gruden's the coach.

Mayok, who's a TV guy. Nice guy, I know, Mike. And he defended getting Richie Uncognito, who's got a litany of, if you go to his Wikipedia page, everybody's, you know, almost every public figure now is controversial for something, you know. But like, he's got seven. Richie Incognino's got more controversy stories than player stories. and Mayock was defending the Raiders getting him. I think at the end of the day, you can't have all Boy Scouts.

And what you have to do is you have to do your homework on each individual case. And we've done our homework. We've talked to an awful lot of people. We brought him in. We talked to Richie. We told Richie what we'd expect both on and off the field. And we expect him to adhere to that. For me, it has nothing to do with anything other than this.

what are you doing? What is your plan? You gave up two great guys, Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, to get draft picks. Okay, that's a, that's a plan. And then you said an hour later, just kidding, we're going to overpay for Trent Brown and get guys with high drama, Vontes Burfect, Antonio Brown. And then you said, our bad. And then you went back before the draft and you said, a character is everything and you reach for several players who are good guys. That was more like the first plan. Get young and get good guys. And plan four is, just kidding again, let's sign Richie Incognito. What is the message you're sending to everybody in that organization? What are you sending to scouts? What is the message? What do we always say about the Lakers? Jeannie Bus isn't talking. So everybody's just swimming around with question marks in the Lakers front office.

Nobody's talking. Like I can remember when this company, Fox, when rumors hit that Disney was going to buy a big chunk of the Fox movie brand. And our management within a day, like released a memo inside the company. Okay, here's what we know. Here's what we can say because everybody was like, oh, what's happening? We're all going to lose our jobs. That's what management's job is. Send messages, comfort, nervous, anxious employees, elevate unconfident employees, or simmer down overly confident employees.

But you've got to have messages. You know, in New England, everybody knows. Three words. Do your job. Secretary, punter, scouting director, coach, quarterback. Do your job. You're not going to be the highest paid in New England. And they're going to have the longest hours in the league, but you're going to win more games than everybody else. And you've got to do your job. Bill Belichick will never ask you to do something you can't. Every player that goes there comes back and says, what I love about New England is they know what you do. They ask you to be great at what you do. They didn't ask Wes Welker to go deep. You're a slot receiver.

They didn't ask him to block much. You're a slot receiver. get open. And so what is the message if I am a Raider scout? Is it character guys or we don't care about character guys? Because in the draft you told you wanted character guys. But then you bring Vontes Burfeck, Richie Incognito, those are not what you call character guys. And then we got rid of Aramari Cooper, who was a great guy, but you got Antonio Brown, who could be a great guy, but he's a dramatic guy. And we're not going to pay anybody, but then you pay Trent Brown more than seven New England Patriot offensive linemen combined. Trent Brown, makes more than seven of the New England Patriot offensive linemen combined.

I think he almost makes more than the entire starting offensive line. He makes a little less. And they've already brought him in, and then they moved him to right tackle, which is the second most important tackle position in the NFL after the left tackle. So he was the highest paid left tackle in football. Now he's an absurdly high paid right tackle. And this is a salary cap league. So I thought you were going to pay stars.

I mean, if you're going to pay stars, just keep Cleo Mac. I mean, after the quarterback, I can argue, the second most valuable guy in football is the pass rusher. So, I mean, it's like we're not going to keep Kaleo Mack. Can you imagine being a scout for the Raiders? And you do all this homework and you go to the Raiders and you say, this kid from Buffalo, the college program you've never seen on television, the best player in the draft is him. And you draft him and he's the best player in the NFL. And then a new coach comes in and says, you know that scouting department, that work and the guts and the courage you had on Kaleo Mac, we're trading him.

Well, isn't that our job to find gems in the draft? He didn't play at Alabama. He didn't play at Oklahoma. He didn't play at Michigan. He didn't play at Texas. He played a Buffalo. Nine people go to their games. And the scouting department, you're not giving a lot of confidence.

So all these guys you're getting there are really great players. That's their job. You're just sent them out of town. But you'll bring in other guys. It's a mess. You've got to send messages. All right, hour or two. We're on TV next.

We're your TV friend coming up next with Meta World. Peace, Rick Buecker and Damon Stodemar. Hour 2. Live in Los Angeles. This is The Heard. One more Heard? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Heard

to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapulted

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

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

From the 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 Ladeke. 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 IHart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed the game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

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

person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Ah, here we go. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. It is great to have you in Sirius XM Channel 83, in fact, Joy. I want to do this really quickly to tell our audience on my Twitter account. We are on TV now. First hour we were on radio only.

We're on TV. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, now on FS1. There was something going on with golf. I couldn't see it because I'm on TV. Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you? I'm great. Good morning.

Good morning, everybody. There's a lot of different stories going on. We talked a lot about Magic Johnson. in the article which tried to kind of clobber him. We kind of defended magic. Let me start, though, with this, is that when you're looking for career possibilities and moving on, I've done this four times in my life. I've moved cross-country.

And what's kind of fascinating about it, this is the world Kevin Durant is in, you don't make up your mind months in advance. Four out of the five times I've moved cross-country, I have not made my mind up months in advance. Only moving here did I. But the reality is things can change. You think you're going to move cross-country and then your wife gets sick. Or you learn something about your family and they need your support and you got to be close to family. So you decide not to take the job in Dallas that you were going to take when you lived in Boston because your grandma gets sick, your mom gets sick, your wife gets sick. You know, anything can change. So when you're going to make a big career move,

it's remarkable how many times in my life you think you have it figured out and 48 hours out you decide something else. So the word is that Kevin Durant is going to go to the next. But I just want you to think about this. That sounded great when we thought the Warriors, Kevin Durant was going to stay healthy. They were going to win another championship and he was going to be finals MVP. And you're like, all right, three for three, did your job, go to New York. Like I got that.

I would move out of a great team like Golden State. But I got that. I got that argument. But can I, we know that Kevin Durant's a thoughtful guy that probably is going back and forth. In fact, last night I was told by somebody I trust in the NBA, Kevin's not made a complete decision yet. I just want to throw this out. Don't you think this injury perhaps?

Just perhaps has made Kevin Durant think about this. Okay. I'm getting older. I've been in the NBA 12 years. This is not my first injury. This one is way worse than I thought and is keeping me out way longer than I thought. Do I really want to go to New York and play 40 minutes a night?

80 games. Really? Okay, this year, he coasted at the end of the year. He only played 26 minutes a night in Golden State at the end. He only averaged 34 minutes all year. When you have Steph and Clay, there are nights, I hate to use the word coast, but there are nights that Clay and Steph have the hot hand and you can observe your teammates win.

There'll be none of that with Kevin Knox. He's 18, 19 years old. There's going to be none of that with Mitchell Robinson, a really talented center for the Knicks. You're going to be playing 42 minutes a night. And bro, emotional, the angst. Ask LeBron what it's like to play with kids. There are no nights off.

I mean, I went to Laker games this year, and literally LeBron would start every game the same, waiting for the young guys to take over the game. And then about nine minutes into it, LeBron's like, all right, we're down 11. I got to take over the game. That's what it's like playing with Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson. And Katie's in his 12th year, going to be his 13th.

He's had injuries. If Kevin was in the league three years, he'd be playing tomorrow night in the finals. This is what happens your 12th year in the league when you play a lot of playoff games. That calf strain? It's not one of those. There's an old saying in the NBA.

When you're a rookie and you're a rookie and you're a rookie and you bang knees with another player, you miss a half. Five years in the league you bang knees with a player. You're out for a game. Ten years in the NBA, you're on the IR. 15 years, you go to a second knee brace. Like, this is a guy that's put a lot of. of time in and a lot of travel, a lot of planes, a lot of overnight, 12 years.

Isn't there a saying in life, work harder, work smarter, not harder? As you get older, pro-golfers, they have more money. They play in fewer tournaments. Tennis stars, Federer picks fewer tournaments. He don't want to be in all the tournaments. He didn't want to have to play. LeBron James this year pretty much acknowledged, I'm done playing defense. That's why picking the Lakers was problematic for him outside of business.

He could have gone to Portland with CJ McCollum, Damien Lillard, Nurkich. They needed a point forward. It had been perfect. They'd have won titles. Portland was actually a perfect spot for him. He wouldn't have to work nearly as hard. He had two guards that could score. Kevin Durant's got two guards on certain nights that can take all the offensive workload.

I'm just saying when you get older, like right now I do this radio show, and I'm done at three Eastern, noon Pacific. And then I go home and I work out. Sometimes I take a nap. I hang out. Yesterday I watched my wife do art for an hour. I played with the cats. That's what you want to do when you get into the,

you know, you hit the turn on your career. I don't want another TV show that's four hours of work a day. And this other thing is, well, well, he'd play with Kyrie. All right, let's look at Kyrie. Gets hurt a lot. not going to help you on the defensive end. And oh, by the way, hasn't Kyrie intimated before he's near the end of his career? So this idea that, oh, Kyrie,

Kyrie not helping you on the defense event. Kyrie, by the way, doesn't like to deal with the press. So he's not going to take that off your plate. It's not like when LeBron went to Miami, Dee Wade and Bosch were great with the media. LeBron could be like, talk to D. Wade tonight. Kyrie doesn't want to talk to the media. So Kevin, play 40 minutes. be a coach on the floor.

You're going to have to deal with all the media questions. I'm just saying, this injury, could I not argue Kevin Durant sitting there thinking, damn, God, it was all laid out. I could win a third title. Third MVP. It was going to be such a clean break. There's a strong possibility. He's not going to play at all the rest of the year.

You can't tell me he doesn't wake up going to treatment for the eighth straight day, thinking, this is the easiest minutes I get. New York could be much harder. All right, I don't want to do this story, but my staff handed it to me, and I do believe at certain times when accusations are made, anybody should defend themselves. Magic Johnson went on the air yesterday and defended himself because Magic Johnson will call a lot of bad things. And Magic said, time out, time out. I'm going to defend myself on this. Magic quit and got really quiet. Magic wasn't talking.

He held a press conference and never heard from him again. But Magic's come out in the last couple days to defend himself. And I'm going to come out and defend myself. Baker Mayfield, I didn't engineer this. I didn't create this. Baker Mayfield came out about a week ago and started making shirts the land versus the herd. I thought it was funny. It was clever.

So I acknowledged it and addressed it. I didn't make the shirts. Now he came out yesterday or the day before to something called complex sports. No idea what it is. No idea. But it was an interview and it got sent to me by a bunch of people. And he goes on and calls me a liar and calls me a lot of things. I'm going to break it down into three sections because it's a lot of accusations.

The first one is, you know, said Baker, there's people like that who really are abusing their position, abusing a platform to a point where people are going to listen to it. He's supposed to bring out facts and he chooses to put out irrational opinions. Well, in fairness, I don't think I would build a 25-year career based on. irrational opinions. Does Charles Barkley have irrational opinions saying he thinks the Portland Trailblazers are going to win the NBA championship?

Or is Charles Barkley a wildly funny, entertaining opinionist on an NBA show? He is, and so am I. That doesn't mean Charles Barkley can't make calls and have contacts, but this is not Big J. journalism. I'm not in

locker rooms like Jackie McMullen a hundred nights a year or Rick Buecker. I do not believe I would build this career on irrational opinions. I think I'm opinionated. Sometimes I'm wrong. That doesn't make it irrational. The second quote from him was,

people can say what they want. They can say, I'm not really supposed to comment on this, but a liar is a liar is a liar. And that guy really just full of it needs to be put in his place. Well, again, I would say, I can be wrong, and I am. In fact, about 10 years ago, I don't know, John, when we started Colin Wright, Colin wrong, I felt it was important because I'm sitting here blabin all day to have a segment

every week where I acknowledge I whiffed on that. I'm in the opinion business. I'm in the strong opinion business. I'm wrong all the time. I've had sources that misled me. I'm not proud of every sentence or every tweet, but you don't build my career on being a liar. You just don't. I think he's confusing wrong with lying. Nothing I've ever said about OBJ is factual. incorrect. OBJ gave me a list of places he wanted to play. Cleveland wasn't one of them. Maybe he changed his mind,

but what he told me, he didn't bring up Cleveland. Here's the third one from Baker Mayfield. I'd be the first one to tell you I'm not always right. I know my flaws. I'd love for people to correct me so I get better. But he can say what he wants. He thinks he's always right. He throws people's names under a bus.

As soon as he starts talking about me, it's fine. But my teammates, that's where I have a problem. Well, Baker, your problem is you're in a fight now with a media person. That's below Tom Brady. That's beneath Russell Wilson. That's beneath NFL quarterbacks like the legendary Bart Star. Brett Farve didn't do this. Peyton Manning didn't do this.

Tom Brady didn't do this. Russell Wilson doesn't do this. Steve Young didn't do this. Joe Montana didn't do this. You're actually, Baker. proving my point. I never questioned you could play. I said I didn't want to deal with your immaturity and judgment. You're in a whizzing match with a member of the media, who by the way isn't engineering any of this stuff. I said, I don't like your police video. I don't like a

grabbing your junk. And I don't like you throwing footballs at people's heads in pregame. I stand by all of those. I'll go to my death. bed saying, I'm never going to draft a quarterback in a police video, grab it as junk, grabbing a steak and jamming it in the midfield. I'm not saying you're not draftable with other people. I said, if I ran a team, that's an undraftable quarterback. Because I just don't want to deal with 15 years of the nonsense. I'll take Sam Darnold, who's not on Twitter.

So this, again, is me responding, like a magic responding to claims. I don't believe I'm irrational. I think the audience is too smart to listen every day to somebody for 25 years they think is irrational. I think I've been wrong, but I don't think I'm a liar. I think my wife and my kids and my associates and my bosses would vouch for me on that. And John Goulet, who can hate me, but I don't think he thinks I'm a liar. And, by the way, I do like the fact that you're willing to defend teammates, but this is what I said, turn me off. not your arm, not your talent, not your confidence.

You're off a 7, 8, 8 and 1 season, and you're getting into this nonsense. It kind of proven my point. Coming up next, Meta World Peace, Rick Buecker, on the Lakers and crossing your fingers and magic defending himself and all that. Coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd

weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. 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 Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. 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 WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards.

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

that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up. even when it's hard.

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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

and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source The athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, 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, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

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

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in nine days,

and all eyes will be on Alex Morgan, Carly Lloyd, Megan Rapino, and the U.S. women's national team as the defending champions had to France looking to win a historic Fourth World Cup. All the matches will be live here on Fox and FS1. We are the favorites to win, but it's in France. It's going to be unbelievable. We're supposed to have a guest here in a couple of days that's going to come the show and talk about this.

It'll be an amazing World Cup. And here's Meta World Peace, almost 17 years in the NBA, won a championship, was an all-star defensive player of the year. You know, it's funny when you watch the Warriors. So you played in the Great Laker team, and you were in the playoffs a lot. The Warriors are different. They're a little finesse. Right now, it's a tiny, tiny basketball team.

Draymonds, they're big. Yes. You're an old school guy. When you broke into the league, there were centers, there were fights. It was physical. Yeah. And the Warriors are none of that. Can you still respect them?

I mean, you can respect them, but I really believe in Biggs. I believe in coaching a 7-foot or 6-11 center, you know, 6-8 to 6-10 power forward. And I do not want to lose against a smaller team. It bothers you. Yes, it will bother me. We cannot lose against a smaller team. It's not saying these guys are not great, but I'm saying as a coach, as a competitive coach, I don't want to lose against a smaller team. Yeah.

They are a very unique team. In fact, the way they play, they take, you know, like how much can Mark Gassol play in the finals? How much can Serge Abatka play in the finals? Well, those guys are smart. So in the last couple of years, they haven't been teaching bigs. And the bigs, they didn't understand tandem big actions. Well, Ibaka and Gassol, this is where it's going to be a problem for Golden State. These guys know how to play.

They know how to go high-low. They know how to swing it, screen, roll, pop, swing all this smart. basketball, these guys know. Well, Toronto's got veterans. Do you think they make it a captivating final? Do you think it's good? I think it comes down to the big three of Clay, Draymond, and Curry. How do you figure that against the big three on the defense, Kauai, Ibaka, and Gassau. Now, I'm not discredited in soccer, but I'm saying these other three guys have been there. And I think whoever plays that, you know, that side of the ball better is going to come out on top. Well, you know, I said this about Kauai Leonard. He

does remind me, not personality-wise. Right. But he's got Jordan's hands. Okay. He's got his leanness. Okay. He's got a mid-range game. There are times I watch him.

Now, if he gave me Kobe's personality and flare... Right. In Kauai's body, because I always felt Kobe was the closest thing to MJ. Right. But Michael, Kauai's got these claws that half the time he goes to the basket, and it's an advantage. It is amazing. Do you see weaknesses with Kauai? Like, do you see a little Michael Jordan with him?

I don't see any weaknesses with Kauai, and I do not see Michael Jordan. I don't know. What do you see? I mean, I see just an amazing player, a better version of Pippin. I don't see Jordan. You know, Jordan has shake, right, left, fade away. He has so much charisma in fashion. Jordan was just, I don't see that in Kauai.

You see a grinder. I see a grinder, efficiency. you know, a Hall of Famer, you know, all that stuff. So I want to move into the Lakers situation because you and Kobe have a good relationship and you Rob Polinka is Kobe's agent for years. So you know, you saw a lot of Palinka when you were a Laker. Of course. He was all over the place.

Of course. Rob's getting clobbered. Yeah, he's getting clobbered by the media. He's getting clobbered worse than Jamie from the Game of Thrones. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't watch that show, but there's some reference there that everybody but me gets. He's going to clobber.

Okay. So I've said this before. He's getting clobbitt worse than me at the bra when the guy hit me with the cup. Oh, that's bad. I love Rob. Okay. So you know Rob. I know, Rob.

Is some of the criticism fair? What do you make of backstabbing magic and he's over his head? When's the last time you text him? I feel bad for Magic, Rob, Janie, because I'm a Laker. Although I play for other teams that I love, you know, I'm a Laker guy, you know. And I feel bad how everything came out. You know, I know magic. I see magic at the gym.

You know, I text with Gene. I used to get breakfast every Sunday with Dr. Bus. You know, when I played, me and Rob talked about offensive, a lot. We talk about offensive sets and things when he first got the job. We talked about basketball, you know, so I feel bad all across the board. Who's running the organization do you think now? Jeannie. She's the boss.

So Gene. It's her team. It's her team. But you do sense a little chaos. I sense that when you make investors. Sometimes those investments don't work. If you look at the biggest VC funds out there, they'll invest in 10 things. That one investment that they made hits, the guys that invested 25 grand in Uber nine years ago.

Now it's $124 million. Right. I know guys invested $200 grand. It worth a billion dollars. You got to give these investments time. Jeannie is making an investment. She's only been the boss for three years. What about the other male owners that's been running teens for 20 years?

She's getting clobbit worse than all these other owners. You know, give her some time to see a return on her investments. How do you think this all sits with LeBron? Because, you know, it's funny. LeBron is on social media having a great time. I was going to say, it's interesting that, you know, I always thought LeBron had his hands and meddled with everything, which I get when you're the best player in the world.

Right, you should. I didn't have a problem if Kobe had opinions with what the Lakers were bringing in. Right. But it does feel like LeBron this year is kind of just let everybody do their thing. He's doing his business. He's kind of distanced himself from this mess. I'll tell you what LeBron is thinking. What?

This is too much chaos, and it's a process. LeBron is not thinking about what's happening in the media. LeBron, I mean, whatever LeBron does today is not going to fast forward the season for next year. LeBron should continue doing what he's doing. This year, they would have been fourth in the playoffs. Right. Next year, they should finish second or third. That's what I think they should do.

If you land a free agent. If they land a free agent, guys get better, they should be second or third, and we'll forget about this. Now, you don't have any responsibility. as a journalist like we do. I don't. So you don't, which is great, which I can bring you on, and I can just say, okay,

what are players in the league saying about who's going to come to the Lakers? I don't care if it's a total innuendo a rumor. I don't care if you're wrong. You text guys all the time. I'll give you a player. What are guys saying about Jimmy Butler? I'm hearing that Jimmy Butler,

when I'm hearing, because I'm not locked in, but I'm hearing Jimmy Butler to L.A. That's what I'm here. That's what I'm here. I'm hearing Butler is the most likely Laker. And I don't know anything. I'm not in the front office.

I don't have these conversations. That's right. That's right. You are free and clear to say anything. I'm free and clear. Okay. I just say anything. Okay, let's talk about Kevin Durant.

What are you hearing? New York. Nicks. Yeah. I'm hearing the same thing. Yeah. I'm hearing. I think that he needs to win away from Golden State.

I'm sorry. Okay. That's fair. Why? Because his legacy is attached to Curry. And I'm not, I'm not sure if he wants to continue that. Why not? Getting five rings.

Or I'm not sure if he's. he wants to show, you, I can win a ring. Right. What are you hearing about Kyrie? I'm hearing, I'm reading the articles, so I'm hearing like, is he Batman? Is he Robin? You know, can he carry a team? I think he's definitely a good player. I think he needs another star next to him. Yes. Like LeBron. He is a winner. He's definitely, he proved that he's a winner with that shot he hit on Curry

in the finals. You know, it's funny. I think Kyrie is the most perplexing, but I could make a argument, Kyrie's personality is the hardest to figure out. He's a different cat. I think he's young. He made some mistakes. He talked about Boston, reached out to LeBron. And I think like when you're a young player, it's never going to be perfect. And that's what we, we can't expect these guys to be perfect. I won't because I know I wasn't a perfect player when I played. How old are you now? I'm 39. Okay. Go back to when you were 28 years old. Where were you? You were in Indiana. I was in Houston. Okay. Yeah. And were you squirly? What were you like?

At that time, I was evolving as a person. I was becoming a better teammate, becoming more of a winner, and I was becoming more level. At that time, you're starting to become a vet, a pro at that age. Were you a good practice player? Did you put the time in? I was always in practice. Okay.

Then you went to Indiana. Now you're 30. No, I was Indiana first. Then went to Houston. Then went to Sacramento for three years. Then Houston, then at Lakers. When you came to the Lakers, your reputation was, boy, META, Ron, Mehta. Boy, he's out there.

Yeah. But you were actually very dependable. You actually won game seven in the championship. Kobe struggled. You were great. It's funny how you evolved. Like your reputation early was, boy, this guy is combustible. He'll get enough.

And you were. I was crazy. But you really grew up. And so to your point, I guess, is we got to remember these are kids in their 20s. These are rich. I'm not going to say brats. Because I guess we didn't grow up with money. Yeah.

But after a while, when you're making that much money over time, it's like, yeah, I am rich. Like, I do what I want. Sure. You know, I'm not saying everybody takes that approach. Look at Kaua Linnah, very humble guy. Yeah. But I'm saying, you know, things might change a little bit. You know, you have, I mean, you're living a great life.

No kidding. I mean, since I started making money here, I don't even talk to people. I don't even have interest talking to Gle over there. Medet's great seeing you. By the way, Quiet Storm. Yeah. The Ron Artest story premieres this Friday night. 10 Eastern Pacific on Showtime, by the way.

I watch Showtime all the time. Billions is a great show. If you ever want to watch a great show, watch Billions. Quiet Storm. This is your story from childhood on. Yeah, you know, Bleacher Report and Johnny Sweet, those guys reached out to me and said they want to do a story. I didn't want to do it, but it turned out amazing. Did it?

I have no arguments. You know, our Test Media Group, we got a production credit on an actual documentary, so I'm happy about that. When you look back at your life and it was. was, from what I've read, it's chaotic early. Yeah. When you look back at your life, are you sad? Are you thankful? How do you view your life?

Looking back on it now with all your success? Well, I just hate the fact that I don't have an MVP. I don't have more all-star appearances and a more defensive player of the years. I was 13 all NBA when I was 23 years old. All these awards I got, I was 23 and 24. You know, so with my dysfunction, and being detrimental in my locker rooms, you know, those basketball awards that we live for,

I don't have, you know, enough. What change? Was there a person that ever came to you and said at the time, Ron, Ron, you're really talented. Like who woke you? Where was the awakening? You know, just getting in trouble a lot. That's what, you know, can say, okay, you got to do something a little bit different. And the key is never try to change overnight.

That's what I realized. let it happen gradually. Because a lot of us are not perfect in this world as athletes or just as regular people. So just let things happen gradually, naturally. Metal world peace. It's great seeing you. You're an easy guy to root for. Thank you. It's good to be on your show. Like I told you,

it's one of my favorite shows. And I really like, is it so comfortable? Yeah, now we got, we used to have a couch, which was uncomfortable. Now we have seats which are comfortable. So we're thinking about you guys. Absolutely. Madda. Good seeing you. Joy with the news. No. No. No.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So we just talked a little bit about Rob Polinka. He's been accused of a lot lately, along with magic. But now he specifically is being accused of something else, fabricating a story about Kobe Bryant and the late Heath Ledger. Here's the recently circulated video of one of the Lakers' March 2018 genius talks featuring the rock where Polinka told this story.

It was one time when Kobe, who I worked with for 18 years, was going back to play Madison Square Garden. And he had just seen the dark night. Obviously, you guys saw that movie. And he's like, hey, hook me up with dinner with Heath Ledger because he got so locked in to that role. I want to know how he mentally went there. And so he had dinner with Heath,

and he talked about how he locks in for a role. And Kobe used some of that in his game against the Knicks. Yeah, the problem is... Well, Heath Ledger passed six months before the movie was released. So is it a timeline thing? Honestly, Colin, I have tossed this situation over so many times.

I have no answers. Maybe he misspoke and he really met Christian Bale and not Heath Ledger. It's possibility, I mean, he's being accused of completely making it up. I don't know what's going on here. It's just, I don't even think this would be a story

if there wasn't so much other Lakers' dysfunction going on here. I mean, it's kind of a weird, thing to say being that it's clearly impossible. But Kyle Kuzma has also appeared to weigh in on all the Lakers drama last night. He tweeted the media making the league look like Jerry Springer. You all got to chill. Well, we are not doing anything.

Well, I guess the media is writing the reports on the Lakers. And the stories about the Lakers, I guess there's that. But not quite Jerry Springer, but there's a lot going on here. the reality is this type of stuff, not particularly this exact story, but this type of dysfunction, goes on lots of places, not specifically just basketball either.

The difference is the Lakers are now an incredible new spotlight with LeBron James being here. And Magic has talked about what has gone on there and he opened the floodgates, really, to discuss what's happening with the Lakers. Because Magic doesn't need another NBA president

position. or GM position. He's not going to do that again. Most people that work in those positions don't want to burn bridges and air all the dirty laundry because they want to move on to something else. So it's a very unique situation

where we're kind of going behind the curtain of a dysfunctional franchise and hearing and seeing all the stuff that's going on. I don't know what to make of that Polinka story, though. It's very odd. And it's kind of weird because now Kobe's kind of dragged into it. So is like, is Kobe going to clear it up? I don't know.

It may just go away, but we'll see. So Kevin Durant is still recovering from a strain right calf and could potentially miss the entire finals series against the Raptors. But even without Durant, the Warriors are still heavy favorites. And many think that Katie's legacy could take a massive hit if they win without him, but not Jeff Van Gundy. He said we're in a time and place where we're just absolutely dying to pick people apart to negate their greatness. Durant's great. He wasn't a part of that group that lost to the Cavs. He's the one who beat them twice.

I'm not sure why we're trying to as a basketball community. nitpick instead of just saying he's an all-time great. Yes, hear, hear on that whole thing. I like that. I mean, I agree. I think that in general we just are in a space in society where we are discussing things at a much higher rate. Everyone has a voice and the ability to give their opinion

through Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and everything else. And also, Kevin, I mean, if Kevin just went to the Warriors and just said, I'm not leaving here for 10 years, we just wouldn't talk about them as much. We tend to talk about people who have the ability to move. And we like talking about. I'm like, Kwai Leonard's not a highly fascinating guy personally, but we talk about Kauai Leonard on the show constantly because he could move.

If Kauai is like, I'm a raptor, we just watch him win in Toronto for nine years. We would never talk about him. So, yeah, I think some of this is, that's right, what Van Gundy's saying. Some of it is Kevin's in the news a lot and Kevin makes news a lot. Well, he also is getting a little bit of the LeBron treatment in Miami where he didn't win in Cleveland. He didn't win in Oklahoma City. And now he has his championships, but, you know, Wade and the,

the Heat had a championship before LeBron got there and Golden State was good before LeBron got, I mean, before KD got there. And obviously the franchises were in different situations when KD joined him and when LeBron and Bosch joined the Heat. But that's what's happening. Now, a lot of people felt like he wasn't validated. LeBron was until he won that championship in Cleveland. And that's sort of the position that Katie's in.

I don't feel that way. Most teams that are great over consistent amount of time have several Hall of Famers on them. That's the way it works. Look at all the Hall of Famers that have played alongside Tom Brady. He's had a Hall of Fame coach. It's a team game. You need pieces around you.

I understand the Down 3-1 critique, but this is the culture now, and eventually we'll just come around to accepting it. And finally, it's become factual that Antonio Brown and Big Ben had a falling out towards the end there. And AB didn't specifically talk about their relationship to the Raiders media yesterday, but he did make it a point to say he wants to have a better relationship with new quarterback Derek Carr. Well, it's true me is important to have a relationship off the field because, you know, playing football, you get mental tired, you get frustrated.

You always want to have that respect for a guy to know way he coming from, know what he stands for, and know what's important to him. So you guys can be on the same page and do what you desire to do and you desire to win. I always think that's tricky. Like Tom Brady's got kids, businesses, wife. If a rookie receiver came in and said, I want a relationship, Tom's busy. Like it is always interesting to me. Veteran players, new players, younger players.

Like, I go home. I got businesses. I got family. I got a lot of stuff. For a 24-year-old, he's like, hey, we're going to go bowling and go to the party tonight. Like, I can't go bowl and go to. Well, I mean, Antonio Brown has kids, too. I think it's different if it's a rookie.

Yeah. And it's Antonio Brown. Like, Antonio Brown wanting to have a relationship with Derek Carr. I feel like you got to chip away some time to make that happen or come over for dinner with the family and bring the kids or something. You got to have to establish. a relationship when it's Antonio Brown and he's proven and you need him to be on the same page with you and if you're going to have success.

I mean, part of the problem with AB and Big Ben, we've got to take a break here. Big Ben had kids and he stopped inviting people to his lakehouse. Like he started like being family guy and I think it turned off a lot of people. And I mean, look, you only got 24 hours in a day. He's improperly. You got to figure out ways to keep relationships. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Rick Buker up next. It's got a juicy update. Kobe, recruiting Kyrie, other stars to the Lakers. That's next, The Herd. Great news, quick and easy way. You could save money, switch to Geico. It takes 15 minutes to see if you can save 15% or more in car insurance. Geico.com. See how much you can save. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

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

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

From the WNBA standout, Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything.

I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart women's sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to SportsClace on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kyr Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

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

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

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. All right, Rick Bueger. Bleacher Report Now FS1, as tied in as any. in this business now joining us here on the couch.

All right, let's start. Story yesterday on the show. You talked about little recruiting, Kobe, Kyrie. Yes. Well, apparently Kobe wasn't totally comfortable with it. What's up? Yeah. Kobe texted me this morning, basically to say,

I know they keep trying to pull me into this, but I'm not part of this. Now, the reason, and he had told me this before, and I actually mentioned it yesterday, that he had indicated to me previously, hey, I'm not involved with the Lakers. I'm not part of this brain trust. But I was hearing from other places,

including one close to Kyrie, that he was sensing competition from Kobe and reached out to Kobe to find out. And Kobe at least insinuated that, yes, I am, I've expressed some interest in Kyrie. So I am here to say Kobe disavals, having any interest, having any involvement, but there are other people that would contest that.

By the way, Kyrie to Brooklyn, you don't love it. Oh, no, not at all. Not by himself. If this is a KD. Kyrie combination, which, by the way, is not beyond the realm of possibility from what I've heard, I can tell you that I believe KD is going to New York, but I am less convinced as to which team he is joining. If it's KD and Kyrie, I need a problem. player who is better. Kyrie can't be my best player. He can't be my undisputed leader. We just saw that

in Boston. Doesn't work. No. But if he's the second guy, if he's going with KD, then I can see that working. Let's talk about KD for a second. This was going to be such a clean break. I went a third championship, finals MVP. Golden State's like, we may not love you as much as Steph, but we love you. And New York's like, all right, let's try the new experience. Now he's hobbling. out of Golden State. Don't you think that he has maybe a little misgiving about it's going to be his 13th year next year? 100%. The injury, I am told, has created a wavering in his resolve to leave.

The question is, how severe is the injury? When am I going to be back? I don't expect him to play in this series. So, okay, that's a serious injury. Exactly. And could it impact next season? if it does, am I better off not having to carry the load to walk into New York or even Brooklyn with the expectations that I've got to play 38, 40 minutes a night?

And 80 games. And I've got to do it every night. I got to carry that load. Or do I let my, do I opt in, do I do another year here where I can take my time? 33 minutes a night. Getting back. We're still going to be competitive. Who knows?

I might be part of a four-peat. Like there's reason to think about it and everything is going to depend upon his recovery from the injury. Like when does that happen? How does he physically feel? But I can tell you from what I've heard. Look, I said it, I said it here. Like when you asked me, you'd heard it from Bill Simmons that it was a done deal. I said, I'm hearing the same thing. I have yet to hear one person say to me, no, he's staying in Golden State.

In the last 48 hours concerning the injury, I've had. somebody say, I think he might stay at Golden State. That's the first time I've heard that since this entire narrative began. I said this almost an hour ago. Joy was sitting here. I said, listen, I've moved four times across country. It's amazing how often Americans, maybe not as wealthy or famous as KD, you're going to move to Dallas and your wife gets sick.

Or there's a situation with a kid and you have a great children's hospital nearby. Stuff changes in people's lives. Yes, exactly. All the time. And that's the challenge, honestly, in. in my role or in our roles in discussing these things. Yes. People want you to make a statement.

This is what's going to happen and that's it. And if it doesn't happen, then you're, and I'm like, everything's fluid. I feel my job is because I talk to a lot of people and I hear a lot, to give you as much as I can of what I am hearing and seeing. In the moment. And allow you to make your decision and follow the story. Exactly.

an evolving thing. Absolutely. Okay. Biggest lunch in the NBA. Anthony Davis is having lunch with David Griffin. I thought you were going to talk about our dinner last night. Well, I got to get to this because Anthony Davis is not confrontational. He's not an alpha. He doesn't like to hurt feelings. Does he have the guts today to tell David

Griffin, I want out. Because if he does, he will change multiple teams in this league in the next 72 hours. The only way he would is because it's already out there. But there's a reason that Rich Paul came out. And Rich Paul told me this. The reason Rich Paul had to come out and say AD wanted to be traded. The trading deadline. At the trading deadline. Because AD wouldn't say that to the Pelicans. That's not who he is. No. Today's a breakup lunch. Yes. We've all driven to a breakup lunch.

Yes. Your stomach's and knots. Hey, when when Denver was contemplating trading Carmelo Anthony to either the Nets or the Nix Masai Jiri went to Carmelo and said Are you staying? Will you re-up? Or do you want out? Carmelo would not answer the question.

He didn't want to offend people. And Maasai took that as You're out. Either tell me you're in. Dwight Howard or you're out. Tell the Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard with Orlando. He was all ready to go on.

He wanted out. They got him into a room. They got a bunch of the sponsors in a room. They just and they isolated him. They did it without his agent. And Dwight caved. And he, because he was going to get on a plane

with his teammates. And then the next thing you see is Instagram. You see a photo of him with the guys on the plane. Yaha! You know? But he'd handed the keys back to Orlando. And he immediately regretted it as soon as he did it. So that's what I'm saying. Today's a breakup lunch. Anthony Davis, his temperament is not confrontational. It's not. Does he have the guts to do

what is the opposite of his DNA, which is, David, I want out and sit there for an hour at lunch and just be completely uncomfortable. And finally, we went to dinner last night. You told me during the break that you had an observation at dinner. We had fish in a dark room. What was your observation? So, Joy, let me share this with Joy. Okay.

I walk in. Okay. And everybody is on the patio. Like everybody. So I walk the length of the restaurant thinking, where's Colin? and then I turn and I look back and it was like Don Corleone of Manhattan Beach he's at a table by himself

the rest of the room is completely empty I mean the inside of the restaurant is completely empty except for Don over in the corner with his own waitress just holding court to a room by itself the only thing that was missing were a bunch of security guys with earpieces talking into their wrist

That was the only thing. And maybe something. It was a Greek restaurant. It should have been an Italian restaurant. Well, you, it's funny because you gave me the weirdest look when you came over, and I couldn't figure it out, but I just thought you... Do you not like to sit on the patio or there were no tables? No, first of all, when I go to a restaurant, I always face the door.

So I want to see that, I want to see who's coming in. So if there is... Is that gangster? That's a gangster? That's a very instinctively criminal thing to door. I literally dated a girl 20 years ago, who said the same thing. Yeah, well, I mean, you always want to face the door. see he was coming in. But back to the

wall, like nothing going on behind him. Everything's out in front of him. And there's no, I mean, literally, there's what, 20 tables? 30. 30 tables. So that's the only table that didn't face the door. That's how Tony Soprano survived. You got to know who's coming in the restaurant so you don't get

whacked. I agree with you. I just, this is news that you are, that's how you roll, Colin. Rick Buecker is awesome. Hour 3, Damon. Stademeyer stops by all sorts of good stuff. head to our third hour in Los Angeles. We had fish. It was good fish. It's the herd. One more herd.

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Don't skip meals. Drink Soylent. Complete meal in a bottle. Plant protein, essential nutrients. Go to Soylent.com. Put in the code, Herd 20. Get 20% off your first case.

Well, when I lived in Portland for seven years, it was a remarkable time because the Portland had loads of talent. And I believe to this day, they were better than the Lakers Shack Kobe team. They would have won the championship. They lost in game seven in Los Angeles and led going into the fourth. It was the craziest series I've ever covered. And they've gone from Damian Lillard, but before that it was Damon Stodomier. And he was the number one high school basketball player.

He was the first pick ever by the Toronto Raptors. And now we have a Raptor situation where they're no longer new. They've been around. they're stable, they win a bunch of games. And Damon, and this is just great, is the head coach at Pacific the last three years. So from one of the first families of Portland,

Damon Stoddemeier, Dame, how are you doing? Colin, man, what's going on? It's been a minute. It has been a minute. And I know, you know, it's funny, when I covered Portland, that team had all sorts of personalities. And half the time all the players hated me,

but you always talked, you always stood up in that locker room. You never ducked interviews. And it's interesting. I'm thinking of you today. You're the first ever Raptor. And a lot of people say, you know, NBA guys don't want to play in Toronto. But I asked you once at your house.

I said, did you like Toronto? And Damon, you told me you loved playing in Toronto. But it's gotten a reputation where guys, maybe they don't want to be there. What did you like about it? Why could it be a good place for Kauai to stay? Diversity of the city. when I got there, and it's still the same now, the diversity of the city, you know,

the one thing that I didn't, I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell you, this is the one thing that I didn't take into consideration. And I don't know why guys don't think about this now. It's one thing to be like a star in the United States, but sometimes we take for granted, you know, you could be the star in two countries. And I'm just telling you, like, what is that? A guy just offered Kauai, a penthouse to say it as penthouse if he stayed or he could add a penthouse.

Like, I mean, you know, we overlook, we start to nickel and dime, but here's the reality of it. You know, when you're talking about taxes, man, once you hit a certain threshold, it don't matter. You're going to get taxed anyway. That's just the game. That's what it is. It's going to happen. Figure it out. But I think that, you know, even me looking at it all over again, like, to be the, I didn't realize what it was.

Like, I had a whole other level of popularity over in Canada, and the endorsements was coming in crazy. And I just think that you're giving up the chance to be a star in two countries. That's like, it's almost like being, being an artist. and when an artist, when they have nothing left over here, in the United States, they always start touring what? Overseas, and their popularity is still what, the same as it was in the height of their career. Yeah. Like, I just think, I just, you know, I look at that alone, and I'm just saying, man, like, you know,

the money's the bread, man, you know, get that money, man, and, you know, be the king of Canada, too. Yeah, I mean, listen, Drake is number one in Canada, and he's near the top in America. That's a lot of albums, man. You are selling, I mean, seriously, it's a really, really good point. You know, it's funny, when you look at Portland, Damien Lillard, like you, represents the city really well. And Damien came out this year, and he goes, I don't want to go anywhere. I want to stay in Portland. I like it here.

And it's funny, David, because we always think all you guys want to go chase money. but, I mean, let's be honest about it. Damien doesn't want to leave. When you look back at your career, if given the choice, what you're basically telling me is you would have stayed in Toronto the whole time that most players, do you think most players do just want to stay with one team? I mean, there's a lot of benefits to it, you know,

and I think deep down, you know, a lot of guys, a lot of guys, they, you know, I think that they do want to leave, but I just think that for me leaving Toronto, back then, I just think that in 1998 compared to 2019, it's two totally different, two totally different perspective. Sure. All we had back then was winning. That's all we had.

It wasn't about endorsements because there was only one guy in the NBA. He was getting all endorsements. And that was Michael George. So it wasn't from that perspective. you know, so all we had was winning. And when the opportunity came to go to Portland in a young up-and-coming team, you know, they just signed Brian Grant and then traded for Rashid. And then I was like that third piece.

Like, you can't, you can't, you couldn't beat that at that time. Right. But when I'm looking at the players now, it's all about their brand. I think that they look at the team just as much as their brand. And like you said, you're talking about Damien, you know, I don't think he needs to go anywhere, you know, and I love the fact that he wants to stay in Portland, you know, being that it's the hometown, but, you know, he's maximized everything he can out there. He needs to just play basketball and do what he does.

And like I tell all players that ask me in the NBA, let the organization figure out the rest. But don't you taint your image and don't you do nothing dumb because you know you, Anthony Davis, for instance. I think that through all the trade demands and all that stuff, and I could be wrong because I don't know Anthony Davis like that. But when I look at Anthony Davis, he looks like he's uncomfortable with being the villain. Like he looks uncomfortable in his skin about the demands of that. And that's hard.

You kind of have to alienate and be a really tough, tough-minded, strong, thick-skinned individual. to basically do what he did. And I'm saying from afar, he looks like a great guy, and I don't know if he's comfortable with that. No, it's a really, really good point. LeBron James came out after he left Cleveland. He said, I don't like being the villain. Like, I'm joyful, man.

Yeah, and these are really, really good points. I want to ask you about a player that's interesting. You are as good as anybody in league history. What was your size? Five, nine and a half, five, ten, right? Yep. Okay. And I've always argued this.

Steph Curry doesn't get the love from a lot of players because he's kind of slight because, I mean, he got those crazy pharmacy nurse shoes. They're not cool. And like, in the league, players don't put their arms around. They put their arms around Westbrook and Harden. But sometimes when you come into this league

and you're a little smaller and you're a little different and you were a small left-handed shooter that would go right into the bigs and score. There was nobody else that looked like you. When I watched Steph, I'm like, he's so different than when I grew up with. How do you see his game? I mean, quite frankly, I just, the way I see him is,

I think that he's as good as advertised. I think that's number one. I think number two, he's tougher than what we give him credit for. I think he's way tougher than what we give him credit for. And then three, I think that we tend. I don't know if this is a it's not a generational thing because I think

I think that it just is what it is at times I think that you know we we tend to not pull our people tend to not pull for him at times now I'm not saying all the time right because it looks like from a far man he just got everything going

he got he got he got he got mom and pops I mean pops play the league uh you you got your brother he's in the league You got your brother-in-law. He married your sister. I mean, he's just he got a lot of stuff going for him, man. But it's like we try to find things to discredit Steph Curry,

but we don't give him the credit that he deserves as a great basketball player and an ambassador of his game because that's what he is. And he's earned it. He's earned that. He's earned that right. Finally, so good to talk to you. it's crazy to me that Kevin Durant would leave a great team and a great organization and go to New York. But you got social media and Twitter and Instagram and you know this now.

You're coaching at Pacific. Your players are on the Instagram and Twitter. And I think sometimes, Damon, some of this stuff gets into players' heads that you got to stay off that phone sometimes. As a coach, when you're coaching your 17, 18, 19-year-old guys at Pacific, Do you see how disruptive Twitter and Instagram and social media can be to a kid's mental health? For time and day. You know, we all, you know, it's funny. You talk about earlier, you talk about how when we were in Portland, you were in Portland.

You know, I remember you had the 1130 show, and it was a love-hay relationship that you had. You did. You had a love-haid relationship with a lot of guys on the team. But that's just what it was. We've seen you. Everybody said their peace. and you moved on. But that wouldn't happen in today.

It would be people building up that negativity right there. And I think what happens is when you got the social media, there's just so much negativity within the social media, and it gives people platforms that otherwise wouldn't have it. And I think the one thing that we don't, you know, everybody, everybody calls, or wants to say to Kevin, Durant is sensitive. No, man, he just cares. Like, he cares with people thinking. There's nothing wrong with that. So if some people say, well, they're better with it, the reality of it is, don't say he's not better without Kevin Durant. They just played this. Yeah. You know, I just, I think that's all it is. But I, but I do feel like, you know, that wears on him a little bit. Sure. You know, but I think that, I think that he's the type of guy. He's going to have a big decision to make. You know, for me, I mean, I would say where I'm at.

I mean, you're in position to try and three-peat, whether you play or don't play, and you're going to get the max contract, whatever you want, whether it's one year or two, you call your deal and you stay there and you keep winning. You know, but that's a decision that he has to make. You know, I, for one, I'm not in the notion that Kevin Durant has to go win one by himself to submit his place in history. I mean, he submitted his place in history. What he did, he had the right to do.

You can respect it or not respected, but he had the right to do that. He wasn't locked in. He did what he did. He went there. He's been MVP of the finals two years in a row, all NBA teams. He's won MVP.

I mean, his credentials are just as good as anybody. We can't take away from what he's done because of the decision that he made. Here, here, totally completely agreed. Damon Stottomire, head coach Pacific past three years. First Raptor ever drafted, 13 years in the league, great years, a rookie of the year, a number seven pick in the mid-90s, and one of the first families, a big, true basketball family from the Rose City, Portland.

Damon, I'm very happy for your success. We may have battled time to time, but I always knew how great you were, and you were always a stand-up guy that would listen to my nonsense. And any question I ask, you'd fire right back, and I always appreciated it. Hey, well, I tell you, I appreciate you, but there's a couple people that are pissed off on your show, well, I wish they could stand up to it too, boy, but hey, I appreciate you, Colin. I watch the show, man. I'm a fan.

Thank you. Thanks for having me. You bet. Damon Stoddemeier, head coach at Pacific past three years. That was good to talk to him. Boy, I'd tell you what, he really thought about this stuff. I'd never thought about that before. When he's first thing, he said, man, if you could be a star of Canada.

Yeah. And I was a college basketball star in America. It's like Drake, Drake's the number one seller in Canada. He's a big seller. I mean, Jake's pretty international regardless. You know, I mean, but to have a home country. It does. That's what I keep saying to you.

It's not just Toronto. Like the entire country is behind the rafters. Yeah, and there's not a ton of stars in Canada. You're like one of six. There's a left winger for Ottawa. There's a guy foot of Ben. Canada loves, it's hockey. Okay.

So that's different. It's on a different level. Discover's going further with Miles rewards. Discover at Miles card limitations. Apply to match all the miles you earn at the end of your first year. Discover.com slash travel. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. So, we are all anticipating this upcoming free agency period and some interesting news broke this morning concerning the rockets. Wow. After being bounced by the Warriors, yet again, GM Darry is ready to do whatever it takes to win at all. And according to Woj, that includes. including any player on his roster, if he wants, even James Hardin and Chris Paul.

Now, I think we all kind of feel like James Hardin is not actually on the market. But Woj reports, Mori has made his entire roster in future draftics available in trade talks, a dramatic initiative with hopes of reshaping the team into a championship contender. The possibility of trading all-MBA guard James Harden is believed to be extremely limited. But the rest of the roster, including Chris Paul and Clint Capella, could be more realistic trade targets. It's now the contract situation with Chris Paul. It's problematic. Being that he is 34 years old is going to make that trade a little bit difficult.

But remember, there was that report by the athletic that Harden and CB3 had that back and forth. Now, I just kind of chalked that up to they lost and emotions tend to be high when you lose again. Anytime anything happens in a game or immediately after, like that's called sports. Tom Brady can yell at a coordinator. Now, if a week later you're fighting with the coordinator, it's different. But, like, in a game, Chris Paul and Hardener fine. I mean, I didn't make anything of that report, but it is something when this comes on the heels of that. I don't know.

I do think the Rock has to have to do something. Obviously, they can't get over the hump. So there has to be some change made. I also think it's not going to happen. But, I mean, De Antony has not gotten over the hump either. And he's kind of just great enough not to move off from. He has a very proficient system that over the long regular season wins you a lot of games. And gets you lots of points.

But situationally, it's not a... Well, that's kind of what winning big games comes down to. That's what Nick nursed it in Toronto. Right. So I don't know what the Rockets have to do. I am for this because they do have to make some kind of dramatic move because they can't seem to get over the hump. But I don't know who's dealing for Chris Carl. in that contract.

So Kauai Leonard has been putting on a show all postseason, and Doc Rivers gave him some high praise this morning. He even compared him to MJ. He is the most like Jordan that we've seen. Not that he is Jordan or anything like that, but he's the most like him. Big hands, post game, can finish. Great Leaper, great defender,

in-between game. If you beat him to the spot, bump you off. And then you add his three-point shoe. You know, everyone gets kind of crazy about comparing people to Jordan, myself included, because I'm Jordan Zellet. I do think he has had some Jordan S elements to his game. The disconnect there is Michael Jordan is an all-time personality and swag and fashion and flair. Michael had a magnetism. And yes.

And Kauai just notoriously doesn't really talk or say anything. But there could be something else to Dr. Rover saying that because the clippers are the most likely. in the latest odds to sign Kauai. They are favored. Can we stop with the tampering? Doc's a legend. He goes on a show. He's asked a question.

He's not tampering. He's not tampering. He's not actually tampering. Listen, can we just call this? What's he supposed to say? It's called flirting. You're allowed to flirt in the NBA. Stop with the stupid tampering.

What's he supposed to say? Okay. Now, if he said, I would love to have Kauai with the clippers. Yeah, Goulaid just said, well, he doesn't have to go on TV. I'm sorry he's cool and hands. handsome and can talk and should be on TV all the time. Don't kid yourself. Doc wants to be relevant.

So when you're invited on TV, go on TV and be relevant. No, of course Doc should go on TV. And if he's asked back why, he should answer honestly. And that's how he feels. And he added a couple extra, you know, sprinkles on there to make it a little bit of a better quote. He knows what he's doing. And finally, ironically, most of the U.S.

is rooting for Canada's team, the Raptors in the 2019 NBA finals. According to this map on Geotagged, from Twitter, 47 of the 50 states are rooting for the Raptors. Only California, Nevada, and Hawaii are rooting for the Warriors. America is rooting for Canada. It'll love that. Well, they're rooting against the Warriors. They don't want to see another Warriors finals.

But it is kind of interesting, isn't it? That our country, America, we're rooting for the Canadian team to beat our team. I love Canada. I don't see anything wrong with this. I also think that people hate greatness and they want to see something different. and I get it. I'm rooting for the Raptors as well. I'm not going to be hurt if the Warriors lose.

I mean, if the Warriors win, but these things are always fun to me. I'll never forget when the heat had LeBron, Bosch, and Wade, and they did one of these maps, and it was literally the entire country. It was no one except for, like, even some of Florida. We're really excited with dynasties to a point. Right.

And then we get tired of them really fast. Well, they're fun to talk about, critique and either very polarizing. But yeah, I mean, it's the hate is almost as good. It's like the cowboys. They're polarizing and that's great for them. When they're good, they're bad. It doesn't matter. They're discussable.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. He's not the only quiet superstar. Coming up next, our top 10 quietest stars. I roll of all time.

Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. Discover's going further with Miles rewards than ever before. Discover it Miles card. Offers unlimited 1.5 miles every purchase automatically match all the miles you earn into your first year. 35,000 miles, becomes 70,000. No blackout dates. Get out there. Discover it. Miles card today. Limitations apply. Learn more. Discover.com slash travel. It's great to have you in. Yeah, Kauai Leonard's been getting heat. He's not a big spotlight guy.

Somebody in our best for last once recently asked him about his personality at a press conference, and here's what Kauai Leonard had to say. Do you prefer to fly under the radar a little? Does it ever bother you that you don't have as much notoriety as some other guys? No, I mean, I'm not playing the game for that reason. I'm all here playing and having fun and trying to be the best player I could be. And, you know, I'm happy with myself and, you know, what I have done in my career. And I'm just going to keep going from there.

It's not about me being famous or want to have more fame than those guys. It's about me playing basketball and having fun on the floor. So we consider him among the quietest top 10 players of all time. Let's go with our list. Number 10. How about Brooks Kepka? He shows so little emotion that people. PGA Championship, this is true.

They actually showed a slow-mo replay of one of his smiles. They did. He wins a major, it feels like a minor. He admitted after pumping his fist, winning his fourth major in the last eight, that fist pump, which lasted

about half a second, was the most excited he'd ever been on a golf course. He is great, but he's kind of low personality. Number nine. Andrew Luck, Now, first of all, he replaced Peyton Manning, who is Mr. Saturday Night Live. One of the funniest pro athletes could probably be an actor and incredibly charismatic,

but Andrew Luck owns a book club. He is quiet. He is cerebral. He's kind of nerdy, kind of. But I love him, but he's number nine. Number eight. How about NASCAR's Jimmy Johnson? He's so friendly.

He turned NASCAR in a nice car. guys used to get into fights. Everybody liked Jimmy Johnson. He was non-polarizing. Jeff Gordon's a great guy, but he was polarizing. NASCAR drivers, you know, love Dale Earnhardt, the late Dale Earnhardt, senior, but he was polarizing. Jimmy Johnson's the opposite in terms of personality. Never got into a fight with anybody.

He won the Cup Series five straight times. I mean, there was a point where he was hurting the sports ratings because he was so dominant, and they were dying for kind of a Tony Stewart, a polar. summarizing Jeff Gordon, and he made an ice car and ASCAR. Number seven. Kauai Leonard. He is fairly allergic to post-game interviews. You know, last year, he's kind of mysterious.

That last year, the Spurs, the classic system where everybody fits, he didn't fit. And eventually they had to trade him, which, of course, they didn't want to because he was finals MVP, and he's one of the great two-way players in the game. But even his injuries are under the rate. radar, quiet, hard to figure out. And right now we're trying to guess where he's going, and I'm going to say this again. I don't think anybody knows. I don't think anybody knows where he's going.

Number six. Paul Tagliabu, the former commissioner of the NFL who makes Roger Goodell look like carrot top. He made Bud Seleuk look charismatic. He was an accountant. He was brilliant. Nobody shun the media. Nobody wanted to talk less than Paul Tagliaboo. super smart, but whenever people criticize Roger Goodell and he's not perfect, I'm always like,

I've sat down and had a glass of wine and a dinner with Roger Goodell. He's all sorts of fun. He's got great stories. He's a great listener. He's really an interesting guy to sit with Tagliabu. Not so much. Number five. Eli Manning.

I mean, think about it. You're the quarterback of the Super Bowl winning New York franchise, and you've never been the most interesting guy in New York. I mean, Strahan, OBJ, a lot of good players, a lot of interesting players. He's got the look.

A wonderful guy from an amazing family. But can you imagine if Peyton Manning would have played in New York? I mean, Peyton Manning's a star now. Can you imagine

if he went from Indianapolis to New York City? I mean, he would be Jordan. I mean, it was, he blew up in Indianapolis. Eli was invisible often in New York. Number four. Pete Sampras. He had the game of Bjorn Borg and the personality of I'm bored. Kind of the opposite of Federer, where Federer is, you know, human LinkedIn gets along with anybody,

talks with everybody, he's very global, and Pete was dominant. You know, you forget because he's sandwiched in between McEnroe and a lot of personality. Boris Becker and Andre Agassi. This guy won 14 Grand Slam titles for a decade. There was nobody close. He was an absolute machine, but he was kind of a private dude. Number three. Bill Belichick, I mean, the ultimate, even his wardrobe's boring. I mean, it's like he's the ultimate NFL workhorse.

Now, privately, apparently he's a jokester, and he's very funny, but there is no Guinness Booker World Records for worst and most boring press conferences, but he's the unofficial holder of any record if there was going to be, Bill Belichick at number three. Number two. Mike Trout. Wonderful kid, but so boring. The most interesting part of him is his contract.

Just paper with words and numbers on it. Listen, Rob Manfred took a lot of heat. But Manfred came out about a year ago and said, you know, it'd be better if he was a little more dynamic personality-wise. And he's just a great player. He's just an incredible player. He's a really good guy. But he, I think the Angels are the perfect franchise.

He can hide down in Orange County and stay away from Los Angeles and let the Dodgers get all the press. And by the way, as I'm doing this order, I'm putting like, the greater your career is, the higher I'm putting you. And number one. Number one. Tim Duncan, half NBA, half CPA. He just had no interest. He let pop talk. Tony Parker had fascinating relationships.

Manu was international. Duncan was just unbelievable. Ten in dominance, zero in flamboyance. You know, it's funny, he came into the league. Even his nickname, the big fundamental. He just had a game that was perfectly sandpapered, perfectly refined, not a lot of flash, play defense, boxed out, rebounded well, terrific team defender, scored. Bank, I mean, his best shot was a bank shot.

but I would say he's the greatest, quietest, co-wietest athlete of all time. I do not believe it's an indictment. I mean, if you look at Tim Duncan's resume, it's the same as Kobe. No, and that's why Tim Duncan gets left out of a lot of those all-time great conversations because he was so quiet. Didn't sell himself. Right. By the way, tomorrow on the show, oh, a kid I love, De Aaron Fox of Sacramento. That kid is a baller.

He is a great kid. He's going to come on the show tomorrow. Urban Meyer will stop by our show tomorrow. We had good stuff today. I hope you enjoyed it. Damon Stoddemeier was wonderful to have on the show. We'll see you tomorrow. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman.

Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,

from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire. World. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment,

and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.