The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Moneyline Monaco - Harden/Kyrie landing spots + Cowboys, Ravens & Jets UNDERVALUED?

Episode Date: July 1, 2023

Alex Monaco shares where he thinks James Harden and Kyrie Irving are most likely to land next NBA season. Later, he discusses why the Cowboys, Ravens, and Jets are all undervalued on sportsbooks and who he’s most confident placing his money on. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. And we're live another episode of sports gambling with Moneyline Monaco, Alex Monaco, with you on a wonderful Friday, June 30th, getting ready to turn the page to July, baby. And we are on the eve of NBA free agency. What a time. We kind of have two free agencies. going on at once.

I'm waking up to an ESPN article of a Jeff Van Gundy, a Jalen Rose, a Max Kellerman, not coming back to ESPN. They're rivaling the NBA free agency headlines. But all things aside, tonight and this weekend, we're going to watch some chess pieces in the NBA start to fall.

Everything's going to, finally move as we enter the moment where offers and all things free agency can legally by all things NBA dance. Here's the interesting thing with this new CBA though. And I haven't done all the research I need, but I do have the highlight pinpoint. I'll let you know briefly, it's not player friendly. All right? It basically has these tiny little punitive measures in place to where if you are overspending,

on the second apron of the luxury tax, it's costing almost seven times per dollar every time you go over. And that absolutely affects all of these things in the weeds, mid-level exceptions, buyouts, mid-season for guys that are on the move. It's a little seedy, but the reality is guys like an Eric Gordon, a Jordan pool. you're starting to see overly paid contracts for these lads getting pulled back.

And it's unfortunate. But James Hardin, which we're going to get into right now, is a guy on the board who does have one more time. I feel the hand as a star, superstar, whatever you want to call him, to be able to kind of craft a wish list. And I've crafted a wish list of three players, excuse me, three teams. a couple of players in specifics that he's going to work well with that no one's talking about. And I'm also going to dance a little bit with Kyrie here as he, in a much different scenario, albeit a free agent, still kind of has a similar James Harden sign and trade thing going on. He's pretty much James let Philly know.

He ain't coming back. And then I'm at the end going to talk about three teams in the NFL that are simply undervalued at the sports book, and I got to be honest, I'm blown away by it. So let's get into James Hardin here. Now, we're hearing rumors to the Clippers. We'll win horse today, Friday, June 30th, debunked Paul George to Philly for all things hard. There is no Steve Balmer world where he's going to part with Pauly George for James Harden.

Now, it doesn't rule out the Clippers. They have pieces. Norman Powell just got pretty much. sent into the Twitterverse for a couple, per a couple of sources, he's on the block. You got Covington, you got Batum,

Zubosh, if necessary. So there's pieces on the clippers. I don't know if it moves the needle with Philly, but here's what I do want to point out in L.A. And it's not a clipper landing destination. And it's ironic because this team, the Los Angeles, Lakers have danced and battled with the clippers on a couple of players over the last decade

and how sweet it would be to swoop James Hardin at the last second, at the 11th hour. Now, I'm a Laker fan. I've talked to three Laker fans this morning before I came on the mic just to talk it out, feel it out. How would you feel about X, Y, and Z hypothetical? let me take a step back before I drop the players that are going to be needed to pull this off in all things La La Land. Ask yourself this.

As a Laker fan, LeBron James, entering, we would like to think his last season in L.A. Unless something shape-shifting happens, him and AD, in somewhat of a last hurrah in L.A. you have to put that in your noggin as we start this little hypothetical. The other thing is everyone tells me Polinka has done a superb job. At the end of the day, we have a Mickey Mouse bubble championship that was a piece together NBA playoffs as the only thing to hang our hat on with what people were calling the greatest player in the history of the game, LeBron James. So there's two ways to look at the painting as I often tee you up.

Do you want to look at the Lakers painting for next year and prepare for the future, i.e. the Austin Reeves, Rui Hachamura future? Or do you want to go chips all in with King James one last time, with one eyebrow, one last time, however it needs to happen. Now I've been griping all week, chirping on my amp, all my Moneyline Monaco pages, that Polinka is just somewhere in Italy,

eating bolognais, doing the bare minimum, just going to re-sign DiAngelo Russell and think he's going to get away with it. He's out of his tensile town mind. If he thinks DeAngelo Russell is an adequate off-season, it doesn't seem like Kyrie Irving is coming to the Lakers.

If it was going to happen, it would have already had momentum. Matter of fact, with this new CBA, it just puts them in such a financial pinch that you wouldn't be able to do it because it's not a trade. Now, if he goes into the sign and trade mode with Dallas, maybe that opens up some more options exploratorily. But ultimately, James Hardin here

and Philly are looking for suitors. And there's really not a lot of suitors out there. But interestingly enough, on the Lakers roster, let's say Dennis the Menace comes back, DeLo comes back, they're going to figure out what they're doing with Rui and Reeves. Would the Sixers not entertain a package deal that would include,

and look, I hate the six. I'm saying, I got to say. I don't see a world where the Lakers take, they let go a Hardin, but they take Rui, D. Lowe, and a pack of Skittles here and a pack of Skittles there. I think it's going to have to be Austin Reeves. Now, in a perfect negotiation world, yes, I'll sit here and say, how do we retain Reeves as a restricted FAA, match offer sheets, still figure out a way to afford Harden. I don't know if through the numbers,

and obviously I've played on the ESPN trade machine, you can't do it all when you have sign and trades and you got Reeves on a million dollar deal, et cetera. It's tricky on there. I'm playing hypotheticals out. But if you go tit for tat here and then you say to yourself, James Hardin, LeBron James, Anthony Davis out loud, do you not get a little bit excited now?

There could be a world where you could retain Rui and Reeves goes, Now you have obviously a starting five, and you would have to go figure out at the point guard position what you're going to do. But interestingly enough, James Hardin becomes your point guard. He is a prolific. Now, we get confused because he's such a prolific passer when he's all in. He was a top two assist man this year.

The guy is a shooting guard by nature. Remember, he came off the bench when he started his. career in Oklahoma City as the as the as the sixth man and the backup shooting guard in short it's riveting it's absolutely a Lakers team that would then become chips all in for next year and they make something new happen I don't want to run back this the same exact team with the Angelo Russell if we can get James Harden Now, that may sound asinine, but I know who DeAngelo Russell is. I've watched him on how many teams now.

He's not a closer. He cannot come up with clutch baskets. And I work on MSG with a couple of professional athletes. My guy Hansen being one of them. I have these discussions. Can you stat stuff in the regular season? And then it doesn't move the needle in the playoffs. The answer is yes, yes, yes on the Scantron every single time.

DeAngelo Russell, yes, when he was great. in the playoffs, they cooked. When he fell off a cliff, they looked like another team. He's still shooting in the gym. If I can get James Hardin for DeAngelo Russell, find a way to save Reeves, I'm smitten.

If I have to trade DeAngelo Russell and Reeves for Hardin, maybe they get a PJ Tucker in return as well, just to fill out the roster, I got to do it. I have to do it. It's LeBron James. last season. In purple and gold.

What are we waiting for? Another team that Hardin could be interesting on. Obviously, the Rockets, yada, yada. I'm not sitting here talking about the easy cupcake, go back, hang out with Gerald Green, Jabari, win 37 games and nobody cares and you're back in your Houston mode. I want to push the needle here with Hardin. Hardin, I thought. Again, two 40-point games in the Celtic series

did have the ability to turn the corner. We look at James Harder and we go back and forth. He's a me guy, but he does have a little dog. He gets a bad rap for no D, for mail-ed-it-in. Look, he wouldn't be this prolific statistically at this phase in his career if he wasn't somewhat committed to the game. It's back to the Paul George DeRosen podcast, if you saw it. The two old-timers said most people in this league do not take the sports seriously.

Although James Hardin has proven on paper, he might be about the club. He might be about hanging out with his boys. He might be about James Hardin. I think there's a small amount in him that wants a ring and what is he going to need to do to get a ring. It's Eastern Western. It's different conferences. That's a beautiful thing there. The Clippers aren't willing to give Paul George.

So now that opens up options for Philly. And Austin Reeves could be a top seven, top eight small forward in two seasons. So it's selling high on Reeves. But LeBron James makes everybody look prolific when you're rocking with them. I'm not saying Reeves doesn't have the ability to be special. I don't even necessarily love everything about James Hardin. But I want to see LeBron motivated next season, and I want to see Polinka make a serious move.

And if it ain't going to be Kyrie, we're running out of options. Give me the beard. Now, James to the heat, it's not going to happen, but just spending a second on it, it would be somewhat interesting. Now, I've sat here for a week and a half yelling at Damien Lillard. Shout out my guy, Paul, piece him together a gentleman clip for me. I compared him to the wedding crassers.

Am I interested? I'm not that interested. Should I play? I'm interested, but the girl's not interested. So all of a sudden, I'm starting to get interested situation. Damien Lillard cannot make up his mind. He is Seinfeld. He has a show about nothing.

I'm over it. I don't want to talk him anymore. But the heat, who as of this morning, or only offering Gabe Vincent $8 million per Wendy. That to me is something. That's their point guard. Kyle Lowry's two cups of coffee away from Sizzler

at 4.30 in the afternoon. He's damn near 40. It's over for the point guard spot in Miami if Gabe is gone. They're going to have to do something. So I'm talking out Kyrie in a second. But James Hardin, to the heat, is that not something that could

maybe be fascinating just from an interesting 2K for a second standpoint. They do need, again, in the heat culture, as we'll segue to Kyriek here, a closer. Heat culture has gotten them to two NBA finals in the last four seasons, but they can't get over the hump.

They need a clutch shot maker. The interesting thing about Hardin is that Hardin has been asked to be the guy. He's been asked to be the closer. He goes to the Lakers. He goes to the heat. He ain't the closer. He ain't the guy you got to bank on.

If you're putting your lifeline or your livelihood on James Hardin, you screw. If James Hardin shifts into, let's say where Carmelo Anthony was too little too late and accepts a six-man role, which is not where he's out by any means. but if he accepts a, I'm a two or I could be a three and he would be a three on the Lakers option and he embraced that, we are seeing something that could be incredible. But we have to have these guys, Kyrie, James, ultimately me guys,

turn into a new version of themselves. And you hear it all day like clockwork. When people show you who they are, believe them. So on the Kyrie, I think he's a, a different sitch, but I do feel like he could be a guy that if he did go somewhere like Miami and he probably won't because Miami is a very specific kind of landing destination. But again, you have those meetings, you sit down, you say you want to come, you want to turn in to so and so 2.0, maybe a Kyrie Irving in Miami could be something of interest.

Say it out loud. You would trade a Caleb Martin. You would trade a Struce. You would, maybe you would send a Tyler Hero. Maybe you wouldn't. I don't think you would need to do away with three necessarily starters. You could potentially go with two starters and a guy up the bench. Again, you can mix and mingle a little.

We'll see what happens with Gabe Vincent. Gabe Vincent could be an interesting swap for a Dallas team that otherwise needs pieces around Luca. You take three Miami heat culture pieces to Dallas in a sign and trade. If he signs with Dallas and then they trade for cap purposes, is that not something that could be relatively intriguing? Again, everyone's a little over Kyrie. A lot of people are a little over James.

We don't have any other stars here to talk about this NBA offseason. If everyone's just going to settle in their camps and we're going to look at the sportsbook odds, based off these teams as they are, I mean, we're back to me to who's going to beat the nuggets. And I'm going to sit here and wait on the Warriors to pull a rabbit out of a Brooke Lopez hat or whatever they got to do to add another piece or two in Golden State. After this, if Kyrie and James don't go somewhere compelling, it's going to be Denver to beat in the West.

And it's going to be the same old story in the East. honest with not enough support, but we'll probably get there. As far as the top of the Eastern Conference standings, it's Boston again, and it's everybody else. So I'm looking at a couple of these teams, Miami, the Lakers, to see if they can maybe go for it. And again, I said the same thing to Damien yesterday. You cannot play it safe. The Lakers have LeBron James for one more year.

if it goes great, maybe he stays. If it goes mediocre, forget about it. But that to me would make, I feel, James and James, and it just sounds great too. It's James and James, baby, Jay and Shea. And we ain't talking Johnson and Johnson. It is a strange pairing, but I think a very fitting one.

So if it happens, and it probably won't, but if it does, you want to jump on the Lakers on the futures beforehand, because I do think that moves the needle from 15, 14 to 1 down. Now, as we get into a couple of NFL teams, and I see my guy Colin talking about the reason why he will not buy into the Cowboys, I'm actually looking at a couple of undervalued NFL teams. And I'm going to start with the Dallas Cowboys here for next season.

I am not a Dallas Cowboys guy. I hate the Dallas Cowboys, starting from the movie The Little Giants. It took me a long time to even like Ed Bundy and Modern Family because of how much I hated him as a coach in the movie for the Cowboys. But over 9.5 wins. At minus 154 on Fandul, I did the shopping, minus 165 on DK, you got a fan duel for this purchase. Nine and a half wins is criminally love for a team.

team that has won 12 games in the last two years and has so many foundational pillar pieces on this team. I don't get it. Now, no one has won the NFC East, interestingly enough, back to back years going on a decade. I don't know why. It's a topsy-turvy beat each other up the vision. It was the Eagles last year. They have a first-place schedule.

Here comes Mike McCarthy, who in his. third year, three separate runs of 10 plus wins in three straight seasons in his career, 10 seasons of 10 plus wins. The number we would need to cash this ticket. And in his fourth year in Green Bay, he went 11 and 5 in his fifth year. They won the Super Bowl. Here's the thing. Everyone's looking at the turnover.

Zeke is gone. Kellyn Moore is in L.A., almost said San Diego. A couple of other corner. stones of this team? Are we looking at wide receiver and feeling the same as last year? Still are we over Amari? Dalton Schultz now went

across town to Houston. A couple of elements here that maybe give you cause of concern for the Cowboys. But what do we know about the NFL to compete every Pacino Sunday? You got to have defense. You have to have

a coach who has a relatively good idea of how to game manage. And I'm looking at Brandon Staley specifically who blew a 27-0-0 lead for the Chargers at halftime against the Jags. Typically McCarthy in his career has managed games decently enough to where if you look at DAC leading the league in picks last year

as something that will absolutely not happen again and them going back to a little more of possession and situationally fundamentally sound offense, you have to wrap your arms around the Dallas Cowboys next year. Number one in takeaways, people, on defense, almost two per game. What did they go out and do? They added a lockdown former Bill Belichick handpicked in a trade. Stefan Gilmore

product. You put now Trayvon Diggs with Stefan Gilmore. You still have pieces on that defensive line. You have Michael Parsons who finished second in the defensive player in the year voting. Two years in a row.

Coming off 13 and a half sacks. 13 tackles for loss. This team was sixth in points allowed. There's only six teams under 20 points per game last year. This was one of them. They also had Brandon Cooks.

Brandon Cooks has been passed around the league. I don't get it. I really don't get it. Because Brandon Cooks is a plug-and-play guy that can work at all NFL offenses with his speed, his route running, and I would say he's got decent hands. But this Dallas Cowboys team next year

in a lackluster NFC is not going against top tier competition within the conference. This team has been the best team in the division head to head the last two seasons and they will continue that. DAC will take better care of the football. Now, they're also coming off being the number one team in the red zone at 71% conversion. rate of a touchdown. So these elements of concern can Tony Pollard carry the workload? Look, I think Bonn, I think they have subtly picked up some pieces and drafted well

to the point where I'm not really that worried. I think Deuce Vaughn's going to take that Tony Pollard role. Also, kid of a coach, by the way. and he's going to be a perfect one-two for Tony Pollard, who again had a rough break, you know, broke a bone to end his season. And I am shockingly, shockingly going to wrap my arms around this team. So I'm going to take the Cowboys over nine and a half wins with no hesitation.

And another team on nine and a half wins that I think is an absolute slam dunk is the Baltimore Ravens at minus 170. Pending where you shop, it's a little bit of an expensive price and you don't love it. But I've also seen it moved to 10 and a half on Fandall. So this is a team.

Ten wins last year. So it would have cashed if you kept the same situation last year in a Lamar season where he played 12 games. Eight and four, the Ravens were in Lamar's 12 games. Final five games went two and three, still made the wild card lost. 1714 with Tyrod with with a unbelievable backup and situation in Baltimore. Look, this is a plug and play team, a culture team where if Lamar went down,

you would still find a way to be productive. Tyler Huntley is a serviceable backup in this league to the point where if you go on records in the NFL, this is the longest preseason winning record for the Ravens we've ever seen in the history of the sport. Part of it is because the backups on this team are great. This team allowed 315 points defensively. Only the bills were better in the AFC.

Only the bills gave up less. Humphrey drafted our guys. Kyle Hamilton on the volume. You have Patrick Queen. You have Roquine Smith that was traded for. Then they finally go a little offensive sound. They add in say flowers. They bring in Odell Beckham.

Huge. Huge. What will happen with Marcus Peters, Justin Houston, Jason, Pierre, Paul, all three come back. I will be smitten. But this team is poised for a deep run. And there's something to be said about locking in your quarterback. for years to come.

It's been push back, this, that. What happened with Dak in Dallas? It was a song and dance for three seasons too long. It was just as long in Baltimore. They have their guy for years to come. I think he's going to bring an extra ethos path, those logos. They were plus 35 in point differential. This team was beat up on by the division.

Everyone in the AFC North last year went three and three. The division is the hardest part of their schedule. Because the AFC North outside of the AFC East is the best. division in the NFL. But I got to take Ravens over nine and a half wins. I got to put a significant amount of money on it because they have all three elements. They have a top seven quarterback, a top five coach, a top five defense. Are we joking?

Are we overthinking the room? And last but not least, I've talked the jets out a ton this week. So I'll be even brief, more brief with them. But let's just stop over. thinking that Aaron Rogers is cooked. Aaron Rogers is 365 days removed from back to back. MVP's people. 475 dogs, four-time MVP or Super Bowl champ, Super Bowl MVP,

who's getting continuity in New York like you couldn't believe an 18, 19 year vet in the league would get. And Manning said it on the McAfee's show. earlier this week, and I brought it up. I'll bring it up again. To quote the great Peyton Manning, let me tell you why I think it's going to work. Having to learn a new offense in your 18, 19 years,

almost impossible because you have to unlearn your old offense. The fact that Aaron doesn't have to learn new offense, a new snap count, a new formation, is going to play fast. I see him playing well next year, and it should be fun to watch, end quote, because he's got Nathaniel Hackett. And Nathaniel Hackett was embarrassed and left out of the Russell Wilson,

no office in Denver room. And now he's coming motivated back with his guy to do it again what they've done before. This is a top four Jets defense, returning the offensive and defensive rookie of the year. Sauce and Garrett Wilson. You have the Williams brothers, led by Quinn in on the defensive line. C.J. Mosley, top five, I would say,

inside linebacker in this league leader of men on that side of the football. You have a quarterback that has no choice but to no longer hide from his true self, from who he is in the media. I love Aaron Rogers in the media. I think he's a breath of fresh air. I got to be honest because he challenges everyone that challenges him. He speaks his mind a lot more than a Derek Jeter and a Tom. Brady and Eli Manning and they just go and they answer and less is more and they cookie cutter this.

Aaron Rogers gives it to you on the Pat McAfee show every single Tuesday. Look, last thing I'll say on it is he's in a great mood and he's doing what he didn't do in New York already. I didn't do what he did in Green Bay in New York already. Going out with his teammates. I'm going to show on MSG. I saw him at the garden six times in his first two weeks. He's going a Broadway place. He's galavanting around.

He's ingratiating himself like I did as a San Diego kid in New York when I got my TV show here 18 months ago. It is everything you would want to see. Even Brady said the word invigorated when it came to Aaron Rogers going to the Jets. They're not even done. They could add Dalvin and DeAndre still because the Patriots are fumbling all kinds of contracts. To me, top five, quarter. I still believe in this league next year. I mean, I genuinely believe he is still the fifth best quarterback in this league.

I genuinely believe that. He will have a defense like he hasn't had in years. He will have the support like he hasn't had in years. I know it sounds like Green Bay gave him everything. Green Bay didn't sign a free agent his entire time there. That ain't all in support. look at the teams that really give their quarterbacks everything. They're doing more than what Aaron Rogers did in Green Bay,

all I got to say. So I think the Cowboys, the Ravens, and the Jets criminally undervalued nine and a half wins. You have to take all of them. And James Arndt to the Lakers just sleep on it because it could be something. And will the heat do,

another move at the point guard position until Dane makes up his wedding crashers mind, we're not sure but gosh darned we're going to sit here and talk out scenarios. Happy NBA free agency and happy July. You as always hug your mothers and we'll see you next time on the Moneyline Monaco show.