The Herd with Colin Cowherd - NBA Finals, DeMarcus Cousins, Kawhi Leonard, & where Colin was right and wrong

Episode Date: June 3, 2019

Colin discusses game 2 of the NBA Finals, why it was great for Golden State Warriors C DeMarcus Cousins, why the Toronto Raptors will have a hard time keeping F Kawhi Leonard, and where he was right and wrong over the weekend. Guests include Chris Broussard, Jim Jackson, and Ric Bucher.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Heard. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go, loaded on a Monday. Live in Los Angeles, this is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, we're on Fox Sports Radio, and we are right here, firmly planted. On FS1, Love Mondays during the NBA Finals, one hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, Got some crazy ones this week. It was a wild weekend in sports.

Not just NBA. Joy Taylor is joining me. You'll have some stuff in about 25 minutes. It was a bordered on bizarre weekend for a lot of reasons. Some might call it an all-timer. Yes. Of a weekend. I would, for a lot of reasons.

Let's start with a basketball. It has been established. This morning, Golden State's the better team. Kevin Durant's out. Clay Thompson didn't finish the game. Kavon Luni, who's been. become a very reliable big for them did not finish the game. Iggy is hobbled.

Boogie Cousins is not fully healthy. He has no lateral quickness. I mean, can't move. By the way, Steph Curry was sick. They didn't score for five and a half minutes on the road and won. Golden State's the better team. Okay, reverse these injuries. Kauai couldn't play.

Mark Gassal. Lowry don't finish the game. You think it would be close? last night established the best team in the NBA. One team has far more talent. One team can withstand the most bizarre series of injuries I've ever seen before a finals into the finals. This series is no longer Toronto against Golden State. This series now is the Raptors versus an MRI.

Can guys play? If Clay Thompson doesn't play in game three, Toronto's going to win the game. You can't possibly win a game with Kevin Durant and Clayton Thompson out and relying on an Australian center late who wasn't in the league a couple of months ago. We have an asterisk's final. I don't remember the last one, but that's what we have. And that's what it is. And that's just what it is.

It's an older, hobbled, injury-plagued, legendary dynasty against a cool story. and you see this one of them is going to be in the history books one of them is memorable one of them's the eagles one of them's you two one of them's the beetles one of them's the who the other one is the machina it was really catchy for a summer and i don't remember what happened to it and then i have a story that comes out this morning kawai leonard rumors he's all but gone the kid wants to live in california so now we're potentially nine days away from a complete rebuild for the raptors And that's okay. It's not a shot at Toronto. This is the way it works. You almost never have concurrent dynasties in basketball. You can't, right?

Because if I'm a dynasty, you can't be a dynasty. Works that way in golf, works that way in the NFL. We did have the Lakers and Celtics in the 80s, both dynasties in their prime at the same time. And they played volleyball back and forth. Magic wins, Mikhail Bird wins, Magic wins, Bird wins, Magic wins, bird wins, magic wins, magic wins. Then a kid named Michael Jordan showed up and knocked them both off.

But the truth is, this is the way it usually works. MJ's Bulls beat a series of forgettable teams. Right? They beat Utah a couple times. They beat Seattle. They beat Phoenix. They beat Portland. The teams they beat never won a title.

Shaq and Kobe's Lakers. Remember that? They beat the Sixers. They beat the Nets. They beat the Pacers. None of those team ever won finals. And they're not in the record books. And they're completely forgettable.

That wasn't even the best Sixers team. That wasn't even the best Pacers team. That wasn't even the best Nets team. So the point being is you don't get concurrent dynasties. You get one and that one is memorable. But as those dynasties get older, this happened to magic and this happens to all the great teams. You play these 20 extra playoff games. They're very intense.

I mean, the Warriors got blown out eight times during the regular season when they were healthy. What does that tell you? They can't wait to get to the playoffs. The problem is they're now in the playoffs and they're falling apart. Golden State's the better team. Reverse these injuries. For Golden State to go on the road and withstand what happened last night. Clay starts the game can't finish.

Looney starts the game can't finish. They got big baskets late from Andrew Bogot. I mean, it is a testament to how deep Golden State is. It is a testament that they can go eight guys. to the bench and still win a road game while not scoring for five and a half minutes. And Steph Curry didn't score in the fourth quarter. We have established the best team in the NBA this year. And they were the best team last year and the best team the year before that.

But the difference is this year, it's now just Toronto against an MRI. Let me transition to this. Boogie Cousins was unbelievable last night. I think Boogie Cousins got himself a contract. No, no, not with the Warriors. I think Boogie Cousins got himself a contract with a team like the Lakers. Let me explain. Bad teams, poorly run organizations like the Lakers,

will give big contracts to people who have a good moment or have a good series. Well-run teams, you know, like the Patriots, bail on players, realizing after one great year, that's an outlier, we can't depend on that said athlete. Let me give you four examples. The 1995 Super Bowl. There was a cornerback for the Cowboys named Larry Brown. He was fine. He wasn't elite, but he had two interceptions and got named the Super Bowl MVP.

One right there I'm showing our FS1 viewers was thrown right at him. So Larry Brown, a good solid corner, not spectacular. was the Super Bowl MVP. What happened? A franchise the Raiders that was becoming increasingly dysfunctional drove the Brinks truck up to his house and paid him a fortune. And he was never, ever, ever worth half of his contract. Let me go to baseball, 2004 National League playoffs.

A very solid player named Carlos Beltran. He had a monster playoff run. Eight home runs, 12 games. He batted over 400. Carlos Beltran in 2004 owned the National League playoffs. He put up numbers that were way beyond. He got hot. Way beyond him.

What happened? The dysfunctional New York Mets paid him a fortune, and Beltron went to New York, where he had a couple decent seasons. He was a good solid player, but he wasn't worth the 120 million they paid him. How about Daryl Revin? he'd bounced around the NFL. The Patriots brought him in for a year. And with Crowder on the other side, he had a Pro Bowl season.

He was very, very valuable. Bill Belichick knows his corners and loves his corners. And he brought Dorello Rivas in for a season. He had a great year. But Bill realized, you know what? Man-to-man coverage, he's eroding. We're going to let him go. What happened?

The New York Jets came in and paid him $70 million. I don't believe he even finished. the contract. And finally, the fourth example is Timofa Mawsgoff, who I saw recently at a restaurant I like. He had a decent championship finals series with the Cavaliers. Not great but decent. We suddenly all heard of Timof A. Mosgoff. He was a big.

He was powerful. He was sort of reliable in small doses. And guess what? The Lakers went out and paid him a fortune. They couldn't get out of that contract eight months later fast enough and they found another sucker to buy it off. Four examples of poorly run dysfunctional teams

always overpay for somebody who has a good moment or a good series. And last night, Boogie Cousins was terrific. He was terrific. But Boogie Cousins is hard on locker rooms. Golden State's always seen him as a guy long-term that really doesn't fit their style of offense or defense. In fact, he's a defensive liability at this point. But he gave you as an incredibly skilled big a wonderful night of basketball. And you could make the argument, and I think it's a good one, he actually won the game for him.

He was incredibly valuable last night. And I think he got himself a contract. But the Warriors are simply too well-rored. to be the team that gives it to him. Keep your eye on the Lakers, as I've said. So dysfunctional. They can't land a top free agent. They don't have the assets to trade for Anthony Davis,

and they're going to have to settle. Watch them pony up the big dough for Boogie Cousins. Good stuff today. Absolutely packed. Rick Buecker, Jim Jackson, among others, Chris Broussard, stopping by. Coming up next. Another story breaking on Kauai Leonard. And this is sort of a fluid story that seems to change day to day.

But this has some cement shoes to it and feels more realistic. Kauai Leonard, a clipper very soon. We'll talk about that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. 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 podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspirational. 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.

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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 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 truth. 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, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. By the way, Joy, do you need some new luggage? I would love new luggage. Would you really?

Okay, I'm going to get, let's get Joy, because I have awaytravel.com slash Colin, 20 bucks off when you enter the promo code calling it, check out this away luggage, the aluminum kind. Yeah, you wanted to go and show it off the TMZ at the airport. Yeah, and you travel more than I do now. That's true. You travel more than I do. So let's get that. John, let's get after that.

Remind me. Let's get her some of that away luggage. I'm going to remind you to get me some luggage. Yeah. Well, John, you don't travel much. This is a world global traveler. So I want to say this. There's a story out from somebody.

I trust Ramona Shelburne. I know her. I trust her. If she says something, she knows what she's doing. So I'm going to put this up. She said, she had a quote about Kauai Leonard. And I think we all know that it's a, you know, he's leaning to coming back to California. She said, listen, I just think the guy has made it pretty clear.

He wants to come back home to California. He has a house there. He always wanted the entire time. He wanted that before anything went south with the Spurs. It's pretty consistent desire. It's not like Paul George. George, where Paul George, he's from Palmdale, but he likes fishing in that kind of lifestyle. That's very Oklahoma.

Here's the thing that, and I keep going back to when you do make a big move, I've done this three or four times in my life, Joy has done this. You know, people think you know miles out when you make these moves, but it comes down to a day, a car ride, an epiphany, a conversation. Here's something to consider with Kauai Leonard. His field goal percentage has gone down significantly in every series. He shot 55% against the magic, 53 against the Sixers, 44 against the bucks,

38 against the Warriors, and that's a beat-up Warriors with until last night no size. Dude is shot. He's a shot fighter. He is incredibly tired. Last night he had 34 points and 14 rebounds, and I don't remember much. He was a minus 14 plus minus.

I don't remember a lot of the shots. He's just playing minutes. He's getting points, but he's not elevating. He's not the same level. He's finding spots to rest. and I don't blame him. And here's the thing about Kauai Leonard is he makes this decision. The best case scenario for Toronto is they're stuck with this roster for a year

because Kyle Lowry's contract and Sir Jabaka's contract have one year left. Well, they're not going to get rid of them at the trading deadline, even though they could because they'll be if Kauai stayed in a playoff run. You're not going to get rid of those two veterans. You've got to keep those guys if you're in the middle. you're a third seed, which they would be a second or a third or a first seat in the East. So you can't bail on those contracts at the trading deadline, though you could because they're expiring contracts and teams would line up for them.

Everybody's looking for expiring contracts. But they can't. Then at the end of next year, those contracts for Lowry and Abatka, they're up and you got big money for free agency. But as Kauai Leonard's sitting there in this series thinking, my knee hurts, I'm tired. The old guys are just going to be a year older. Pascal Seaccombe, he'll keep growing,

but he's a wildly inconsistent player. Of course he is. He's a kid. He's a kid. And so, like two or three things we know about Kauai Leonard. One, his knee is not healthy. And two, he's being doubled and tripled by the Warriors. And even though he had good numbers last night, he looks tired.

He looks, and the numbers don't lie. Kauai Leonard's field goal percentage has gone down in four straight series. And so I think next year, you know, Toronto's got to sell him on, old guys past his prime, and a really talented long number two that's inconsistent. And next year will be better, but still inconsistent. Now, the clippers are a lot of the same thing. But the difference is L.A. is more attractive to most free agents, and they have the money now, now for a second guy beyond Kauai.

The Clippers right now are the Raptors, a bunch of role players. Solid guys, one really good young player, a lot of role guys. A lot of smart KG veterans. Good chemistry in the locker room. Well coached, well run. But the difference is he can make a move in two weeks. Go to the Clippers and they have more money to offer another guy now. Because next year, Toronto, they don't have a first round draft pick, I don't think.

and they don't have any cap space, so they're not going to land a free agent, and you've got to sell them on this. And what this is is four straight series, field goal percentage dropping, knee isn't healthy. And he looks, in every series, he is getting doubled,

and last night at times, tripled. I think that's a hard sell for Toronto. Here's Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So every team has a saying, you know, the Raptors, are we the North?

Yes. You know. Gold State's mantra for the past five seasons has been strength in numbers. Yes. And last night, that proved to be

more than a marketing slogan because health and injuries are testing the Warriors' depth, which was a big question for them this season, and they're making everybody look silly for questioning that. They're game two ailments. Let's see.

Kevin Durant, obviously out. Stefan Curry, dehydration, Clay Thompson, hamstring, Andrea Godala, leg injury, DeMarcus Cousins, leg injury, and Kevin Luni with 8. chest injury. Well, DeMarcus played 28 points, as we know, and Quinn Cook tied a playoff career

high with three threes. Yeah, Quinn Cook was big last night. Big, big. All 13 warriors got into the game. Now, Clay had a pretty scary injury on an aggressive flopping move. Yeah. He said he'll be all right for game three, but he was clearly, I mean, he didn't come back in the game. They have an MRI today. Did they do an MRI last night or today? I think they're doing an MRI. It's today. So we'll find out by the end of the day. He said he'll be back. But, I mean, obviously we're going to see what the MRI says. Dramon Green had 17 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists. Huge game for Boogie, as we know.

And Iggy hit the big shot at the end of the game there. I'm with you. That was all Kauai yesterday. For as amazing as everyone was in game one, you got to just, you don't have to be that amazing, but you've got, you have to give them some help. And unfortunately, after the Warriors went on that ridiculous third quarter run, which they're known to do, they got so many stops. in the fourth quarter, like make some shots.

It wasn't really that far away of a game, despite that run. You have to make the shots. They were stopping the Warriors every single time in the fourth quarter. Their defense wasn't great for most of the game yesterday, but they had an opportunity to get back in the game. And it's kind of sat there. I got to be honest with you. I mean, Golden State's obviously great.

I was kind of in all of them last night. I sat there and I was like, man, this system, it had a Patriots feel. You're like, gronks out. Edelman's hurt. And you're like, they got Chris Hogan making catches in the AFC championship. Danny Amandola. I was blown away by Golden State last night. It's a very next man-up mentality and it worked for them last night.

So the Clippers got fined $50,000 for tampering on Friday because Doc Rivers compared Kauai to Michael Jordan. He was asked about him, actually. Can he not talk about him? Well, apparently not. His comments seemed pretty tame, especially since he said them while working as a TV analyst. and he was asked about Kauai, he said. But according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN, the Raptors have reached out to the league

multiple times this season when they felt the clippers have crossed the line and they're not so subtle pursuit of Leonard, I'm told. Would imagine today's $50,000 anti-tampering fine had as much to do with those incidents as Doc's comments. And Adam Silver explained the reasoning for the fine. He said, I understand the competing interest of the media, hearing a coach's view about a current NBA player,

but it's something that there's a bright line in this league and you're not allowed to do it. coaches or teams, executives in those positions need to say, I'm not permitted by the league to respond to that question. It's a balance of interest. I understand that, but unfortunately, he crossed a bright line. You know what I feel like this is? This is a PR move.

Everybody knows there's tampering. Everybody has everybody's number. You are, Earl, your guy, has everybody's number. Yes. Everybody's got everybody's number in the NBA. I'll bring guests on. They're like, yeah, I got Katie's number right here. There's tampering 24-7.

It's called texting and DM and talking on. phone calls for hours, but this makes it look like to the public, me, the masses, there is no tampering. Well, you are going to get married to a former NBA player and a coach. How many phone numbers does he have from NBA stars on his phone? All of them. Yeah, most of them. And the ones he doesn't have, he can easily get.

In one second. Tyloo's calling me at my house. He's mad at me. This is one of these PR moves that satiates the public, but it's like, can we stop with a tampering? stuff. It's ridiculous. Does it even satiate the public? I feel like it's just petty wars with executives because everyone in the public knows that. We all have each other's

phone numbers. It's the information age. It's not that hard to get a hold of somebody. So this idea that there's not any tampering going on, but also it's very anti-MBA culture to be like, oh, this a stern, bright, there's no bright line. He's working as an analyst. If that's the

case, say they can't be analysts. Because really, if he's talking about any player he's technically tampering, is he not? So he should just not be allowed to work as an analyst. It's petty wars with the executives. I get it. But it doesn't mean anything. And Kauai, if anything, it just made it worse because then Kauai got asked about it.

And he felt bad that Doc Rivers got fine. So they really just made it worse. It's just silly. Finally, big weekend. So Andy Ruiz Jr. Unbelievable. Shocked the world Saturday. We knocked out the heavily favored Anthony Joshua in the seventh round on the zone.

Ruiz now has the dead. WBA and IBF heavyweight titles, and Deonté Wilder is the WBC champ. So that's great news because all the belts are in the PBC family. And this fight was also great news for Ruiz, who professed his love for Snickers on our inside BBC boxing in late April. Oh, yeah. Matter of fact, I got my thing right here on the road. How we carry him. Gets me through the day, so. You always carry one in you?

My idea always carry one, you know? Production didn't give you that? No. Actually, my dad would always... My dad would always give me these when I was a little kid. Very nice. Maybe that's why I'm a little chubby, too. What, first of all, what a great story.

Joey, he wasn't... He got injected into this fight as the third option. He shouldn't even have been in the ring and he crushed Joshua. Well, we were talking about it earlier. Anybody can slip up and get a bad hit and the fight's over. We know that. but he crushed him. He dominated the champ.

And don't let his, I mean, everyone's obviously talking about the Snickers and like his body and all that. Don't let that fool you. Guys that are built like that, that are athletes, are incredibly strong, incredibly strong. Charles Barkley didn't have a perfect body. He's maybe as good as anybody I've ever seen an NBA history. He could score low. He could shoot jumpers and score in transition. Don't get caught up in body image.

No. This guy is a... First of all, when you... Joshua's the champ, right? And this new guy gets inserted into the fight. The last thing you want to do is get into a street brawl. Like, you stay away, you score your points, you get home... And keep it moving.

And he got into a bar fight with him. What are you doing? It was incredible. He shocked the world and good for him. And I like Snickers, too, by the way. So who doesn't? It's basically like a meal. Freeze them.

Then cut him up out of the freezer? Have you ever heard Snickers ice cream? Oh, I've had it all. Unbelievable. I'd be shaped like that if I did that too much. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Ly News. Chris Broussard likes him some boxing, too. We're going to talk NBA. I know, Chris, you're a fight fan. That was just crazy. That was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. One of the craziest things I've ever seen. I've never seen a heavyweight champion built like that.

Yeah, first time in my life, I have better abs than the current heavyweight champion in the world. But I'll tell you what? great kid. He's a great story. He is a great story. First Mexican heavyweight champion. Amazing. Mexico, obviously, a great fight fans. Look for boxing to try to give him a few defenses

that he can win. Yeah. Because it's great to have, you know, the Mexican fan base following the heavyweight champion. Yeah, I mean it was just great. And he had a great, he was just great after the fight. All right, so let's talk about this. I said this. This is not a shot at the Raptors. Okay, this is not a shot at the Raptors. But this

series now is Toronto against an MRI. That's what it is. Like last night to me, Chris, we established who the better team is. If you reverse the injuries, Kauai can't play, Siakum leaves in the third quarter. Like, if you reverse these injuries,

these games aren't even competitive. There's really not another team in the NBA you could take away their best player, Kevin Durant. And then have their third and their fourth. Everybody's hobbled. Here's the thing, though. If Toronto goes on to win this championship, say Clay campaign, it'll be terrible for.

us as fans, but say Clay can't play, KD doesn't come back and Toronto wins it. There are no asterisk by championship. I know, but it's... Detroit's first title, the bad boys. 1989, Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars. Magic Johnson played 75

minutes in that series. Byron Scott was out the entire series. We don't even remember that. They're champions, right? Golden State's first championship with Kyrie and Kevin Love. Got hurt. Right. Dreyne getting suspended in 2016 for game five.

So there are no asteris in championships. Yeah, it wouldn't be, it would be bad for us as fans to watch. It's not great for the league. But this is an argument, and they'll never do it because of the money, before like a 605 game season. Because we see this quite a bit,

whether it's just the playoffs or the finals where sometimes better players are out with injury. Ambide was hurt this year. Paul George was not healthy in the playoffs. Chris Paul last year fell apart physically. These guys are gasped by the end. Remember, the first round at one point was like best of three. Then it went to five.

Now it's seven. I mean, and we're asking the stars to play in the Olympics. Like, at some point, you got to give these guys rest. And this is what happens when these guys overload their bodies. I mean, you can make the argument. If Clay Thompson plays in game three, I think the Warriors win the series. I think they win both games. If he plays.

If he doesn't, I'll take Toronto in game three if Clay's not out. I mean, you're not going to beat Toronto. Toronto's a real team. You're not going to have no KD, no Clay Thompson. That would be incredible if they can. I don't think you can't. I can't see that either. But here's my thing.

Did Toronto blow their chance last night in the beginning of the second half in that 18-0 run? Was that the finals? Well, look, I want to give Golden State all the credit for last night. Obviously, there were some missed opportunities by Toronto. But Golden State was the epitome of next man up. You know, Boogie Cousins comes in. He was great. I was skeptical.

When I saw they were starting him, I was like, what in the world is Steve Kerr doing? I thought that was the end of the ball movement. Defensively, I thought he'd be exploited. He was tremendous. His passing, his rebounding, even hit a big three. Like, Boogie Cousins was great. However, when you consider Clay Thompson misses the last eight,

minutes. You're only down seven when Clay Thompson goes out. You've got eight minutes to catch that up. As you said, everybody in basketball knows the Warriors come out with a third quarter surge. Yeah. And you're not prepared for it. They go 18-0. That's the biggest finals run since the merger in in 1976. It was 20-0 considering the second quarter. So, yeah, I mean, they did miss a big opportunity. Now, if they were up 2-0, I would not say this series is over, unless Clay and Katie are never coming back.

And Iguidal has hurt too. Because remember, this is the same team, the Warriors, that was down 3-1 to Oklahoma City, which had Katie and Westbrook. So I still wouldn't have written off the Warriors, but yeah, you're up 2-0, you're feeling much better about

yourself. I just throw this out in regards to Kauai Leonard. His field goal percentage has gone down in every series. His knee is not good. And, you know, you've made some moves. Joy has, I have. When you make a move cross-country or to a different company, people tend to think you know a year out what you're going to do.

And it just doesn't work that way. It doesn't. You get out the yellow notepad, pro, con. And I keep coming back to Kauai Leonard, if the Raptors lose this series, Kauai Leonard's reality is it's the same guys back next year, and we couldn't beat the warrior. who are a hobbled mess, and I can't rely on a single player.

And we don't have any, you know, until Lowry and Abacca's contracts come off the books. Which is 2020. 2020. And it's like, I look at Kauai and I think, Kauai is looking at his numbers. He's, he gave you points last night, but he's shot.

He looks exhausted. I think when the season ends, and Kauai goes back to his apartment for a couple days, before he goes back to L.A., his reality is like this is a one-man show on most nights. Well, look, I would say there are a lot of basketball reasons for him to stay. Because if you go to the Clippers, you're likely to be the only superstar they get. Only superstar, but they can't afford another star.

Yeah, they'll have extra money, but will they get somebody else? My thing is, if he goes to the Clippers, that's like Toronto West. They'll be great. They've got great role players around him. to me it's a very similar situation. So I think there are a lot of basketball reasons for him to stay. You mentioned Ibaca, Gassau. They come off the books in 2020.

Right. So, I mean, granted, we know they're not a free agent destination. Does he want to do this, though, again next year? Well, here's the thing. Here's the thing. A lot of people now are talking about maybe he takes a short-term deal. There's been reports even. He stays in Toronto in a short-term deal.

We saw LeBron do it, and you could say, oh, LeBron finally accepted a long-term deal with the Lakers and now he's stuck. So maybe he wishes he had done the short-term deal. Kauai's different. As physically tough, strong, imposing as he is, his body is fragile. We see it now. He does not look. As good as he's playing, he does not look like he has the explosiveness that he had early

in the playoffs. And so his body, he's never played more than 74 games in his eight years. Good point. He's only played more than 66 games twice. Thank you. Okay, so he's already given up 30 million to leave San Antonio. He needs to secure the bag. Thank you.

He needs to get, whether staying in Toronto and getting all the money or going elsewhere long term to get those four years, 140, 150, whatever it is, he needs to do it because who knows how long. We're not looking at Iron Man here, Carl Malone or LeBron. By the way, those numbers you point out are true. I didn't mention them, and it's a really smart point by you. You know, the old saying, people will tell you who they are, believe them. Kauai is going to give you about 70 games a year. He doesn't have LeBron's Superman body. He just doesn't.

Colin, this is after 22 games of load management rest. Right. This is after playing only nine games a year ago. So, no, we don't know how, as great as he is, We don't know that he's going to, five years from now, he's going to be ready for another max deal. Age-wise, you would think that, but his body looks like it's frail. Okay, so let's, in fact, let me take a break and bring it back. Because I got a couple of questions here.

I'm going to throw some stuff at you. I'm not throwing like a 74-mile-an-hour slitty. I'm not throwing some big heat with Chris Broussard. Don't forget, top of the hour. We're calling is right. Where calling is wrong. Don't go anywhere. 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 shorthy. shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion dollar fraud.

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

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 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 belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki.

The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the 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. 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.

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Automatically matches the miles you earn at the end of your first year. 35,000 miles becomes 70,000. Discover.com slash travel. Chris Brousard is joining us here on a Monday. Top of next hour where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. I want to throw a couple of things at you. First of all, I do not believe Golden State can win game three without Kevin Durant and without Clay. Let's say Clay returns.

I think for everybody involved, the NBA, Kevin Durant's brand, the Warriors need Kevin Durant. I'm told you don't believe that. No, I mean, look, I would love to see Kevin Durant play just for his health. You hate to see anybody be out with injury. But I actually feel like it's a more intriguing series without KD. As long as Clay's healthy and Iguodal are healthy.

Like, you take away either one of those guys, and then I think Golden State is just undermanned. But the great intrigue in this series is I want to see can they win it without Kevin Durant? Or can they not? One or the other, do they need him or do they not need him? That to me is the biggest story. If Durant doesn't get hurt, comes into this series healthy, it's a four or five game series. It's what we've had the past few years against Cleveland.

I certainly feel that after last night. Right. So I actually, now, if Clay is out, we desperately need KD to come back because then the series has no juice. But if Clay is healthy and Iguodala stays healthy, again, I hate to see a player be injured. But I just, this is so intriguing. The storyline of can they win without Kevin Durant is just incredible to me. Let's move to Boogie Cousins.

So Boogie's always been one of the most skilled big guys. and the game. He was a great high school player. He was a top recruit at Kentucky. Even when he came out of Kentucky, it was he's a little bit of luggage he carries around, but the dude can flat out skilled. So last night I'm watching him and I think, it reminds me of when a guy has a great final four

and a bad NBA team reaches on a guy because he has a great final four. Go to his seasons at, you know, Vanderbilt or wherever. And I like Boogie. But I think Boogie's reputation's been sealed in this league. But I watched him last night and I thought he got. He got himself a contract somewhere. And I kind of think the Lakers aren't going to get any of these free agents. Don't have the assets to get A-D.

I think you'll end up a Lakers. From what I hear, the Lakers are not interested in him. That's what they say today. That's what I'm hearing right now. Yeah. So we'll see. However, here's the deal, too. This is a series.

This may be four to seven or five to seven games. Okay. He's still coming off the Achilles injury and a quad injury, a torn quad. So I don't think, I don't see a team saying we're going to give him a big contract. Now, maybe somebody will give him one year, 20 million. He'd have to take that. I get it, you need the money. But I think the best situation for Boogie is to go back to Golden State.

Unless somebody gives him a great offer, because look, other teams also, Colin, boogie's on his best behavior. Attitude, no problem, all about the team. He just wants to win this championship, all that. because he behaves in Golden State doesn't mean other teams are going to feel he's going to behave where they're at. And I've talked to executives about that. Oh, you've got to be on your best behavior in Golden State. You can't go

there and disrupt that. But does that mean that if he's with us, he's not those old things that baggage you talked about, the attitude, the selfishness, that that's not going to creep back up? So that's an issue. But I say, win or lose this series. If Kevin Durant leaves Golden State, I could definitely see Boogie return into the Warriors. Because here's the deal. They'll only have the mid-level exception offering.

Okay, a little over $6, $7 million, whatever. But if he doesn't get the big offer elsewhere, and I'm skeptical that he will, he can go to gold and say he'll either be the second or third option. He's going to average close to 20 points, if not 20 or more points. They will have a chance to win a championship. give him all of next year, that's when he can restore his reputation. It'll still be maybe 30, 31 years old next summer,

and then he can maybe get the big contract. By the way, just... I sold you. I know that. Well, no, it's just I find him interesting because I sat there and watched last night. He was great. He was great. Bogot delivered. I was kind of in awe of Golden State.

I'm like, this had a patriot feel to it. It's like just find a slot receiver who Tom trusts. He can't run. It doesn't matter. I mean, Gronks on one leg. Right. And I'm just, I'm always sort of blown away by these aging dynasties. You know, I went and saw the Eagles, you know, when they were all like, you know, in their 50s.

And they rock a house for two hours and you're like, it's just amazing. Kobe Bryant, 60 points in his last game. Brett Farve can have these games. When you know, Brett Farv's an hour from retiring. When you watch Steve Kerr in this series, I thought this was interesting. It was not a great night for analytics. Steph didn't score in the fourth. The Warriors didn't get a three from Claire Steph in the fourth.

Biggs. Right. Biggs dominated the outcome. Oh, by the way, Dramon Green, who's a good player in the regular season, 777, is a completely different analytic player in the playoffs. I will say this about the finals. I'm seeing Biggs. I'm seeing guys like junkyard dogs like Dramon.

it's not been a great finals for analytic mavens, has it? I'm seeing Biggs matter last night. Well, look, I mean, Houston is the poster child for analytics. All they want to do is shoot threes or get paint shots. And the Warriors and the Bucks are similar to that. You know, they take a ton of threes and paint shots with Yonis as well. But these two teams, the Raptors and the Warriors who beat those Toronto or Milwaukee and Houston.

They use the mid-range. That's the difference. You see a little bit of post-play, too, but these teams use the mid-range. They get off the calculator when they- Yes, yes. And that's what, that opens up the three, or the three opens up the mid-range,

one or the other. But that's the difference in these teams and those that go extreme analytics. And the extreme analytics have not been able to get over the hump in the playoffs. And, of course, there's better game planning. You're seeing a team night in, night out versus, you know, who knows when you're seeing them in the regular season.

Are you on the back-to-back, all that stuff? So you prepare, you know what they're doing. And so that's where you're better off utilizing the entire game and not just the analytics. By way, just throw this at you. We had video earlier. Kevin Durant was not on the bench. He was, it didn't bother me at all.

Kevin Durant was kind of in sweats. You know, when LeBron doesn't play, you know, he's usually on the bench. You know, you can see LeBron. He's had a nice suit and everything. And you see a lot of stars don't play. Kevin's not out there. Do you make anything of that or is that just, I'm long? I don't want to take up a spot in my leg hurts.

Yeah, I don't want to make too much out of it. I mean, you're watching him, he almost looks gingerly still the way he's moved. Well, they say Steve Kerr, Steve Kerr said he would consider playing him after only one practice. What are you here? Yeah, I mean, obviously, Kerr said that publicly, but that if they, you saw with Boogie Cousins, by them starting him, that showed you that they want that all, all-star starting five back, right? Like, they're not buying in like everybody else said, oh, boogie comes back, the ball movement changes. They want that, the most talented team they can put out there. So that means if Kevin Durant gets the go ahead and wants

to play, they're going to put him out there as soon as they can. I don't think they're going to wait. They're going to, what's the series look like? They will bring him back ASAP. He's just got to consider going in the free agency, how healthy am I can, you know, look, he was in flip-flops at the workout. That, you know, makes you wonder why wasn't he in sneakers? Why isn't he even shooting around?

Good stuff. But, yeah, we just got to have to wait and see on KD. Clay MRI today. More later. Colin Wright. Colin wrong next. Thanks, Chris. One more heard.

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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey,

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

Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On 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 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 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. though. 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 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, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the

pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses steve burns dustin ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust i want you to just really be a good person join me keir gains is we have real conference conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Ah, hour two in L.A., this is The Hurd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on iHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio, on FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. By the way, I just got this thing on this boxing match. Anthony Joshua, who just got

this brains beat in, will invoke his immediate rematch clause with Ruiz. They'll fight in the fall. How's that? I want some out. Let's do it again. Every Monday at this time, hey, I make mistakes. I hold myself accountable. So when people say, Colin, you never admit you're wrong.

What you're telling me is you don't watch the show. We do it every Monday at this time. Where Colin was right. Where Colin was wrong. Where Colin was right? I said Cleveland's got a lot of talent, but I question whether Freddie Kitchens, a rookie head coach, can get his arm around it and manage it from, you know, July when camp opens, you know, until like late December, January when his season ends. So this week, he had to go out and take a shot at OBJ, which he didn't want to do. You know, OBJ has a history of, you know, being a little fragile, a little high maintenance.

But this is my question with Cleveland. They're an interesting mix of talent, ego, and youth. Now, talent, ego, and youth can win a bunch of games. But talent, ego, and youth are really hard on coaches. That's why New England teams tend to be veteran teams. It's why, like, Andy Reid generally likes some secure veterans on his team. Cleveland doesn't have any. They're like young.

And Freddie Kitchens last week came out. And, by the way, you don't think O'Dell Beckham heard that stuff? That Freddy's like, yeah, we miss him. because, you know, the offense and stuff, this is my concern. It's not their talent, but it's the youth, the talent, the egos, and a rookie head coach. This would be for Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin, Belichick. It would be a lot to get your arms around. Where Colin was wrong.

The Warriors' depth, I thought, was their biggest liability. Last night was, like, incredible. They had 25 bench points last night, and that doesn't count Booky Cousins because he started. Quinn Cook had three huge threes. Sean Livingston was vital. Boogie Cousins did not count as a bench guy, but we kind of feel like at this point he's a bench guy. Andrew Bogot had six points in seven minutes.

I really thought this was the one way to beat them. You know, Katie's out and they can't depend on their bench. It was magnificent last night. It was a showcase of Next Man Up. Where Colin was right? Hate these big contracts in baseball. And I said Bryce Harper Phillies, that thing ain't last in 12 years. He had a miserable weekend.

He was two for 12. The Phillies got sweat by the Dodgers. He had a really bad air, which led to a seven-run inning. And by the way, did you see what the Phillies had over the weekend? And I like Bryce Harper. And I think the Phillies have a lot of talent. Do you see what happened this weekend? The Phillies made a trade for Jay Bruce, who is a,

left-handed power-hitting outfielder that plays right field. Oh, wait, that's exactly what Bryce Harper plays. So they went and got a cheaper Bryce Harper. Yeah, this is not working, and I love Bryce Harper, but if you think this thing's going to last 12 years, by the way, the Dodgers completely passed on this, and they are running away seven games up on the rest of the National League. Big, long, 12-year deals for home-run hitters.

It gets in their head. Fan expectations are Babe Ruth. And you've got a guy right now. Bryce Harper just isn't right, too much pressure, and bad weekend. Where Colin was wrong. Boogie Cousins. I'm just not a boogie guy. I don't believe in the NBA.

When you got about seven guys who play and 12 men on a team, you're in that metal tube called an airplane all year. One corrosive guy can just, you know, the whole locker room implod. he was great last night. And, you know, he's always been a little selfish, in my opinion. He was selfless last night. Not a boogie guy, but I honestly think this morning he's why they won. I think Boogie Cousins won the game for him. I really do.

I mean, they didn't have Steph didn't have a field going to the fourth. Clay was gone with seven minutes to go in the fourth. I mean, Quinn Cook had a couple of jumpers, but Boogie's passing was unbelievable. You know, he came in and just set screens, got guys open. He actually was generally a terrible defensive player. Considering he's about 75%, he was not a liability defensively either. He altered shots. Huge night for boogie.

Where Colin was right. But Pascal Seyakum. Okay, I kept saying he's a nice young player. He's a baby. So game one, he was unbelievable. He was wilt. It was like 14 of 17 in game one. Last night he's 5 for 18.

Okay, and this is the reality of what he is as a player. I think you could make the argument he would come off the bench for the Warriors. If they were fully healthy, he would be a bench player for the Warriors. He's the Raptor's second best player. And this is what I said about Chris Middleton. Chris Middleton, I do not believe, necessarily starts for Golden State. The NBA, when you get to the playoffs, it's not about your star. Because everybody's got one.

Once you get to the conference finals, who can you depend on as your second score? And Sey Occam's a nice player. I'd love to have him on my roster, but he's not a legit two for a championship level team. Where Colin was wrong. I said for the last several years, I thought boxing was dead. For sports that are not weekly like the NFL or daily like baseball, hockey, or the NBA, you need headlines. And for the last seven, eight years, UFC has dominated the headlines. But they feel like they've run out of gas to some point.

is getting headline after headline and headline. Saturday night was a win for boxing, a win for the zone, a win for anybody connected with that fight. Doesn't matter the champion loss. He's going to come back and give him a rematch in the fall. And I kind of thought boxing, listen, boxing will always have a diehard element that watches every fight. But when you are a sport that lives off, quote, events,

like daredevil jumping, like boxing, like UFC, You got to win headlines. Boxing didn't get them for about seven years. I just read this morning that between ESPN Fox and DeZone, they have put $400 million into boxing. Okay, that is a win for the sport, which I thought felt like seven, eight years ago, was dead. Where Colin was right?

The NFL rules competition committee chairman Rich McKay wants to insulate Hail Mary play. from past interference. Finally, they're coming to our side. These past interference rules, you can't count Hail Marys. We've been saying this for years. A Hail Mary in football

is what Black Friday is to shopping. You change all the rules for Black Friday. You open the store at midnight, you load up things for people to rush in and buy stuff. It's almost like the mosh pit of concerts. When you have a concert, you do realize there are going to be about 80 people to 200 people in a mosh pit.

and you let the security back off a little and you let them have fun in the mosh pit. But you can't have a mosh pit in the upper deck in 100,000 people at MetLife Stadium. The Hail Mary is a infrequently used jump ball in the NFL. And if you are to use pass interference regulations, you would call a pass interference on every one of these. And remember in the NFL, pass interference is spotted

where the interference happened, not like college where it's a 15-yard penalty. It could be a 60-yard penalty. So the NFL's finally coming to our side. It has to be viewed as a different play. Where Colin was wrong. I said when Gronk retired, I said, come on, man. Brady loves this guy. He was so good in the Super Bowl. He was so good

in the AFC championship. He is now a great situational player, and the Patriots are a great situational football team. Don't kid yourself. he's going to think about coming back. Gronk said this weekend, I'm not coming back. I'm 30.

I'm retired. I'm on TV shows. I'm having a blast. My body feels great. I really did think, you know, you go to Gronk. It's November.

He's done some wrestling shows. He's bored out of his mind and somebody offers him $5 million. He was so valuable on like two or three plays in the Super Bowl. And two or three plays against the Chiefs, I figure Brady could talk him back into it, but he says he's done, he's having a blast. He'll still make the Hall of Fame.

Gronk is not coming back, he says. Where Colin was right? When Drake grabbed a coach his shoulders a couple of weeks ago, people freaked out. And I said, Drake is the NBA. He is the NBA. Okay, he's hip-hop, he's youthful, he's fun, he's trash talking. To love a sport, you first have to be comfortable with the culture of the sport. and I got to be honest.

With Kevin Durant out and Clay may be out, Drake's become a talking point for a Canadian team whose star is on a constant mute button. And you can say what you want. The NHL would die to have the biggest star in the country getting into kind of faux squabbles with NBA stars.

Listen, he did make me mad last week when he was trash talking Draymond. But yesterday he wore the home alone hoodie. For Canada's second sport basketball to have its biggest stars embrace it has been a win, a huge win, for the NBA and for the Raptors. We've got a lot of stuff here.

By the way, I may have to ban a member of the Fox family from our show. It's just not good. I'll tell you who that is. That's around the corner. And why Kevin Durant has to come back. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app.

Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this 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 podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness.

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

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

Sports. a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

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

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

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is 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. The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in four days, in all eyes will be on Alex Morgan, Carly Lloyd, Megan Rapino,

and the U.S. Women's National Team is the defending champions head to France. Looking to win a historic Fourth World Cup. All matches will be live on Fox, FS1, and streaming on the Fox Sports app. So it starts Friday, France, the co-favorites with the United States. Do they play South Korea on Friday on FS1? So it knocks off the last 20 minutes of our show, which I'm glad to do, because I'm going to watch a ton of the Women's World Cup here on Fox. So it starts Friday on FS1.

You watch our show Friday. I'll be talking. Then boom, they'll go to France. I'll be right in mid-sentence. Boom, they'll go to foie gras and breachies and soccer in France and Eiffel Tower and it'll be amazing. There you go. Let me just say this. I often defend the NBA because it's going to get four times a Stanley Cup ratings.

It's getting double-digit NBA finals ratings. But this isn't an ideal final, right? Right, right. A Canadian team with one star who's basically a walking mute button. He doesn't talk. And a dynasty whose superstar Kevin Durant is not playing. It's not ideal. It's going to get three to four times a Stanley Cup.

It's getting a double-digit number. But it is down big. Like game two was down like 20%. This finals needs more juice. And the juice is Kevin Durant. And if Clay Thompson and Durant don't play in game three, I mean, here's the Warriors rotation. If Clay Thompson doesn't play in game three,

Steph Curry, Sean Livingston, Iggy, Draymond Green, Quinn Cook, Alfonzo McKinney, and DeMarcus cousins. By the way, three of those guys aren't completely healthy. Okay. And that's the dynasty. That'd be like taken Michael Jordan and Steve Kerr and Tony Koo Coach and Horace Grant off the Bulls. I love Scotty Pippen, but it's not the same team. If you look at the Raptors against the Warriors, if you look at their lineup, it is Kauai Leonard. Again, not 100%.

Fred Van Vleet, a kid, Pascal Seyakum, greater story than a greater player. Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Norman Powell. Again, NBA finals, you know, this league was resurrected by Kareem, Magic, Bird, McHale. It's always been a star-driven league. So you got a Canadian star that doesn't talk, and you got the NBA star, Kevin Durant, who actually congratulates the team in warm-ups as they come off the floor. the finals needs juice.

And by the way, I didn't think the Super Bowl this year had any juice. I thought it was a Rams team that many people felt got a great call to get in against a Patriot team. And I love Tom Brady, but I do feel New England fatigue is setting in around the league. I didn't feel the Super Bowl had a ton of juice. And I do think there is a worst case scenario for the NBA. And because I think the league could use some change. If Zion gets drafted by the Pelicans over the Knicks, oops, that's. that already happened. Kevin Durant stays in Golden State. LeBron doesn't land a marquee free agent.

The Pelicans decide for at least a year, we're not trading Anthony Davis anywhere, and Kyrie goes to Brooklyn by himself off this kind of finals that doesn't have a ton of juice. That's a bad month stretch for the NBA. So, you know, now I don't think this is all going to happen, but I do feel that Kevin Durant's a superstar, and the World Cup needs Messi and Ronaldo. It's just the reality of my life. Superstars matter. And the NBA is a business very much. Doesn't bother me at all.

Soccer the same thing. Boxing the same thing. Built around the individual superstar and dynasties. So when the dynasty is falling apart, I mean, they're just falling apart. And a Canadian team with a star who is not really, really very social, the ratings are not going to be good for the finals. That is sort of a getting. Don't skip meals.

Go to Soylent. Soylent.com, limited time, 20% off your first case, plant protein, essential nutrients, drink it myself. Soylent.com code Herd 2O, herd 20 to get 20% off your first case. Here's Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So for the second straight game, Drake used his fashion choice to take a little shot at the Warriors.

He wore a Del Curry Raptors jersey to game one. And last night, he wore a hoodie with a picket. picture of McCauley Culkin, who played Kevin McAllister and Home Alone, and it was a picture of his face and above the word Kevin with all the question marks and exclamation marks from the movie, like, where is Kevin Durant? Well, after the win, Clay and KD make sure to let Drake hear about it. See him, the Bay Auburn. You're only talking tonight, were you? Oh, man. That was my head.

You're going to be all right. That was light work too. Look at my pot, my head. Well, as I told you before, this is all just part of the culture. It's a little trash talking. It's not that serious. It's not that deep. In fact, according to NBC Sports Bay Area's Logan Murdoch,

Drake and Draymond had dinner on Friday night. Friday night. So there you go. You predicted that. I don't know that I predicted it in that as much that it's not really that serious. Like this is basketball culture. You go out and you talk a little trash and it's all in love. Like it's just, that's what it is. It's

really not that deep. If it was that deep, something would have happened. And it didn't. So they allegedly went to dinner. Whether they did or they didn't, they're all going to be friends once the series over. It's all in good fun. It's just, it's all part of the meal. So don't get too caught up in it. And I do like that Drake is trolling them still. It's funny. So we've talked a lot about how the

Moyers role players stepped up last night. A wide open Andre Agadalla three-pointer cap the 109-104 win. And after the game, Steph Curry called out the Raptors' fourth quarter defense specifically on that final possession. The whole fourth quarter there playing some janky defense just trying to send bodies to me everywhere. And our whole roster just took advantage of it. Like over the course of the game, that's kind of disrespectful to leave Andreo O'Donle

open like that. You know, with the game on the line, he's made big shots. like that before and he got it done tonight. It's a little exaggerated quote from Steph Curry. See, Akam just kind of missed sliding down there. Kauai was one centimeter away from stealing that ball, so it's not like their defense was horrible. There's nothing really you can do.

Like you either make the decision to foul on that player, you don't. And they decided to go for the steal. Kauai didn't quite get it. Andrea Godala is the finals MVP. He made a big shot. If you're a Raptor fan, you feel like the score was 106, 98 forever and you had your chances. And if you're a Raptor fan, you feel like, man, we played good enough defense to win and you did.

Steph didn't score in the fourth. And if you're a warrior fan, you're like, the score was 10698 forever and we kept missing shots. Both teams can come out of that game feeling like... We could have won that game. But I do think there's an overriding truth. One team is healthy and has all its ammo. The other is doesn't. And they went on the road to Canada and won.

that leaves a mark. No, it's a really good win for the Warriors, but it's not one of those wins on the road where you feel like it's devastating. Because while they did go on a third quarter run, that's what the Warriors do. And they were right there and at the end. Like I said, Kauai gets that seal.

Who knows what happens in that game. It was right there at the end. That's really all you can ask for. Warriors are a great team. They're supposed to win on the road. They're the champions, so you come back and win the next game. You're going to have to win on the road, too, if you're the Raptors.

So I don't feel like that was a devastating loss for them. They definitely could have played better defense than the first three quarters, but it is what it is. And finally, after skipping most offseason training sessions, the Browns have held this year. Odell is going to show up for practice in Cleveland this week. He revealed this on Instagram after one of his followers commented, cut out the crap and get to camp.

Who said that to him? Some person on the internet. Odell responded, I'll be there on the third. Are you coming? Well, that's today, which is the Brown's, Players are due to report for minicamp and a three-day session begins tomorrow. So this is mandatory, so he will be there. But he's just letting everyone know he's going to show up.

How outrageous of me to consider this a story. How outrageous of me. A Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. So Jake Glazer has this NFL mail bag on the athletic. That's the pay website, which has good sports writing.

So the NFL season's fewer than 100 days away, and he had a mailbag and people ask Glazer a bunch of questions. And I think he's now officially banned from our show because this is one of his answers. Somebody asked him about you have the keys to an NFL franchise. How many quarterbacks are you taking over Baker Mayfield? Give me your top five list in order. And he said, listen, I'm going to put Brady up there. And then Aaron Rogers, Patrick Mahomes, Andrew Luck, Deshawn Watson. But honestly, I think I'd put Baker right in the middle of that list, even over Russell Wilson.

Listen, the hell? Okay. That's like blasphemy to you. Okay, listen. I am going to state some facts. Let's just talk about Baker Mayfield for a second. This is not a shot at him. These are only going to be facts.

Baker Mayfield last year with excellent running backs, above average receivers, and what pro football focus thought was a top five offensive line. against winning teams was 1 in 5, completed 59% of his throws, 10 touchdowns, 11 picks, and a pass a rating of 77. I'm not saying playing winning teams is easy. But now I'm a hater if I don't acknowledge that Baker Mayfield, who, by the way, will be quarterbacking the youngest team in the NFL. Do you realize the three youngest teams in the NFL last year were Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Minnesota? Minnesota and they finished 21, 25, and 2.

He's got a rookie head coach. Okay, Sam Darnold, who played, and this is a fact, with a significantly worse O-line, running back, and wide receiver set. Sam Darnold's record against winning teams, not as bad one and three, completed slightly less, but had a better touchdown interception ratio and a better passer rating. with significantly less talent around him. And I'm not saying, I told you before, Darnold over 12 years, I'll take him over Baker. Big Ben, and again, it's hard if you're not Tom Brady to beat winning teams.

Here's Ben Rathesberger last year against winning teams. By the way, most of this with a ton of drama in the locker room, completed 63% of his throws, 13 touchdowns, four picks, and a passer reading in 92, with a defensive head coach. Okay. So nobody's saying Baker can't play. That is not the point. Cleveland was one, six, and one against winning teams. Baker was one in five and completed 59 percent of his throws. That is with an excellent set of running backs. Excellent. Not good.

Excellent. That's with very good receivers, a star tied-in, probably the best young tied-in in football. I would say probably the best time in football in an offensive line that had a good grade. Sam Darnold playing with basically a garage sale of parts that the jets are trying to move off of had actually better numbers passer rating, better numbers TD interception ratio. Are we crazy on this? Can we slow down a little?

Not to mention most people, facts. Cleveland's going to be the youngest team in the league. Fact. They have a rookie head coach. Opinion. Most believe their offensive line is. the liability of their team and won't be quite as good as last year, not very good at the tackles. That's an opinion. That's not a fact. But that has to be considered.

Good Lord, better than Russell Wilson. What? What? Come on. Russell Wilson. He gets disrespecting quite a bit. It's incredible to me. I don't know if it's disrespect. It's just he doesn't. Jake Glazer already put him ahead of Russell Wilson. He just doesn't get acknowledged as much for for what he has actually accomplished. It's like the people that criticize Steph Curry, is my TV giving me, is my television emitting a different video

than your TV at home is? How do people watch Steph Curry and not go, oh my God. The hater shades make it very difficult. How are people watching Russell Wilson with the worst line in the NFL two years ago, led the NFL in touchdowns? He took Doug Baldwin undrafted,

a running back you've never heard of, never watched on college football, and led the NFL and touchdown passes with Pete Carroll as his head coach as his head coach, not like they had Sean McVey or Kyle Shanahan or one of these offensive gurus, Andy Reid. Maybe is he saying like projecting forward? I think Jake Laser said he's better right now or something. I'm not comfortable with that opinion. And I don't think I'm a hater. Lord.

I mean, I think that Baker is going to be a great quarterback in this league. Oh, God. Can we slow down on great? How about let's just give him another year. He was a 59% completion with 10 touchdowns, 11 picks with good people around him. Can we slow down a little? Better than Russell Wilson? The hell.

It's like these people, Steph Curry. Steph Curry is, I don't know, greatest shooter in the history of the world. Let me shift to this. I am not anti-analysis. I think fundamentally baseball, basketball, hockey, I get analytics. They are basically averages over the course of a season. And I think over the course of a season, you play to the percentages. I am pro-analytics.

They're perfect for freeway driving. But as I said last week, analytics don't necessarily work as well in the playoffs because the playoffs are not freeway driving. The playoffs are not a paved road. It's off road. It's four-wheeling. And what is amazing about the NBA playoffs, they're about situations,

they're about moments, and they're about adapting. Draymond Green is the greatest example of why you can't trust analytics in the playoffs. Draymond Green, as a regular season player with analytics, seven points, seven rebound, seven assists, and sometimes annoying and non-dependable.

He's a good player in the NBA. Analytically, he's a nice player in the NBA. In the playoffs, he averages 13.5, 10, and 8 and is at times the Warriors MVP in the playoffs. Okay, analytics don't, in a season like the NBA, analytics cannot measure how much harder players play in the postseason. When you have $80 million net worth and you have a game like Draymond Green,

which is physical and energy sapping, Draymond saves a lot of his best stuff for the playoffs. And that's why when I look Janus in the regular season, oh my God, I get to play Yonis seven times. in two weeks. Yeah, it's, oh my God, we've marginalized him. So I'm not anti-analytics. Draymond Green is a prime example. Last night, the three-point shooting Marvel called the Warriors. The MVPs were Boogie Cousins, Andrew Bogot, and I can argue, Draymond Green. What about that three by Iggy? Yes, ill-advised, he hit it great. Toronto shot 28 of them, maybe 30,

I lost count. It was a blur of misses. But this is where people, they get upset the math people, the geometry people, if you ever question analytics, they are perfect for regular seasons, but it's dicey to completely depend on them in the postseason. Draymond's a great example. He is twice the player in the playoffs as he is the regular season. And he's just incredible. He is so needed for this team. And there are times, remember the video of Steve Kerr in the regular season?

season. We had the video where Steve Kirst saying, I am so tired at Draymond's blank. He ain't saying that in the playoffs. You know what he's saying if we could catch him? Good Lord. Give him a max deal. We'd get, we'd get swept without him. That's where I push back on analytics. It's not a paved road. Playoffs are not freeway driving. It is four-wheel drive. It's situational. It's adapting. And Draymond's a great example of that. Jim Jackson is right around the corner. 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 McPherson. 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 Levin, 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 and the mindset that keeps them going.

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

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 people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the iHeartRadio 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,

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

because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns, Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that's two different levels of trust

I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Jim Jackson not only played for 14 years in the NBA, you were in the playoffs with the trailblazers, Kings Rockets, Sons, and the Lakers. Western Conference Final, by the way, with the Sons. So you've been in these big games before, and I did think there was a moment last night when the Warriors came out in the third quarter, had an 18-0 run. as they're hobbling using parts they're not used to. And I did feel like, man, if I'm, if I'm Golden State, I'm feeling pretty good right now

that I know I'm not even at full boat here. And I am running them out of the building in Canada. Go back to your playoff series, maybe perhaps the Suns, it didn't decide the series. But man, if I was Golden State, I'd feel great knowing I can go to Canada. I'm not fully equipped and do 18-0 run on those guys. guys. I always felt that the game two to me was the most critical game.

And period. Just because you figure the first game that Golden State would come out, they would be rusty, Toronto be well rested, the advantage goes to the home team. Toronto wins that game. And it was loud. It was loud and crazy. But to me, for Toronto's psyche, think about this. If you can win game two,

now from a confidence perspective, you say, you know, we held on the home court, we can beat this team. You give that game up. Now, Golden State sits in prime position, not only getting home court advantage, but they told you that we can come into your building and win. Okay, now Toronto has to do the same. I thought that, you know, this series would be a tough series with or without Kevin Durant,

but the advantage is that Golden State could go on the road and win. I'm not quite sure that Toronto can go into Golden State and take a game. You know, again, regular season, yes. Yep. Playoffs. It's a different thing. And remember, the Golden State. fans. Think about this. Because Portland was a sweep,

much like Toronto, they're just sitting there waiting the last week for a game. So game three is going to be as loud as Oracle gets. And that's, you need Seyakum to be big. You need Gasol to be big. I actually could, do you think Golden State without Clay or KD could beat Toronto though in that length? You know what? It's a little bit more challenging than that because without having clay, you shrinks to court. I mean, I think that's something that Bogey gave them that Andrew Bogot can't.

You insert Boogie into the lineup. Now you spread him out on the wing. You have to honor that he can knock down that shot. He can. Okay? And if you leave him open, he can make plays with the ball, which is different than Bogot. That gives you a different option. He's very skilled. He's very skilled. Okay. So now if you don't have clay, now

you can shrink in and help a lot more on who? Steph. You can take away a lot of his driving lanes. He didn't score on the fourth last night. He did. Toronto did a great job. in regards to taking him off of his comfort zone, but they didn't do a great job of converting that on the opposite and the court and give Golden State a lot of credit defensively. And I say, Bucky Cousins, he gave you a different presence if you're Golden State inside

because now some of those layups, the Alcum God and also Van Bleet and guys getting to the basket, Boogie was there. You know, it's interesting with Kauai. I want you to take me into this. So let me defend Kauai on this. I don't know what happened medically in San Antonio. I trust an athlete with his body more than a doctor. Okay, I've gone to a doctor a lot in my life.

And I'm like, nah, I remember I had a stomach issue one time 10 years ago. They couldn't figure it out. And I'm like, this is the problem. They didn't believe me. And by the end of the day, they're like, you know, people know their own body, especially athletes who have, you know, the great bodies. So I'm sitting there with Kauai. And I'm like, he doesn't play 70 games a year.

Okay, he is in the last four series, Jim. his field goal percentage has come down. We have the numbers up here in each series. Kauai's knee isn't perfect. Like if I'm Kauai and I'm playing, I gave up a lot of money. Canada's taxes aren't great. Like, this is where I would defend a player to be selfish.

I haven't gotten paid yet. Again, I'm not talking to the average plumber in America. By the standards of how great he is. Like, do you stay in Toronto an extra year and get that money? And just say, I don't care. Where do you think his head's at? It's so tough with Kauai because he's never really communicated. Collin, you can never get a bead or read on him.

Even when he was going through all the stuff in San Antonio, you still didn't get it because he just wasn't as vocal, even body language-wise. You know, sometimes you've been around this enough. You can read somebody's body language, how they interact with the team coaches. Kauai had none of that. Now, what I am hearing is that people closer

and want to relocate and get back closer to the West Coast. You know, with Kauai, everybody thinks that, okay, if he loses, and I was with somebody, I can't say who it is, but hoping that they would lose in order for him to make a move somewhere else. Right. Okay. That's what a lot of people want. Yeah. I think he's in a great situation in Toronto in regards to what they're trying to do. I think the management is great.

But if he went to the Clippers, Doc Rivers and what they're doing with Steve Baller. They also, next year, have the ability, like next year, start of the year, to get a next year. to get another really high. Exactly. They have cap space. They have cap space. And maybe it's somebody that's complimentary to him. I don't know if they'll get the other big time, big time pre-agent.

But if you get somebody else to feel that boy, you're in a great culture. Now, it's not always great being back home. Okay. Everybody can't handle that. Now, Kauai, again, is a different kind of cat. He's not the Hollywood type. He's not out in L.A. I'm out in the limelight.

He's not built that way. So I can see it working for him if he chooses to come back here. I'm not asking you to be a reporter, but you did. You played in a lot of teams, okay, and tied for the most in NBA history with 12. You know, we talk about money and we talk about fit. Like Kevin Durant, I struggle with him leaving a great owner, a great GM, a great coach, and mostly good dudes. I mean, Draymond and him battled, but I think they like each other. It looks like when I see him together, they like each other.

could you leave you know oh but he has to prove himself i'm like really he's great i don't know what he has to prove could you leave all that money and all that goodness in san francisco could you what the money no i mean first of all but it's so different because he's he's accomplished so much i wasn't fortunate enough to to be in a situation where kevin durand has been i mean in regards to two-time you know finals MVP you know multiple all-stars multiple first-teenths team NBA. I mean, probably considered the best player in the world, all of these things. And it's funny how with some people you're still not satisfied.

And I'm not saying this is Kevin Durant, but because you still feel like you have to prove something for whatever reason to everybody else, you overreach sometimes. And sometimes overreaching puts you in the situation where now you step backwards. Now, if this is a challenge he wants to take on and say, you know what, I haven't been in a situation where it's been my team. He kind of had it in OKC. Well, kind of, but remember, you think he had it in OKC, but I think his complaint was the organization gave more love to Westbrook.

So I don't think psychologically maybe he didn't feel like that was his team. Well, that's true. But, you know, in Golden State, if he chooses to go to Brooklyn or... That's his team. That's his team. Okay, but a lot of stuff comes with that. Okay, a lot of stuff comes with... Here's the thing.

I guess as I got older, I was like winning was so important to me. Now, again, I wasn't, I didn't have the decision. I didn't have to worry about my legacy in regards to Kevin Durant and what people thought. Here's my thing is that right now we're living in the moment where because he chose to go to Golden State, it's all this like, oh, well, he chose to do this and his legacy is being tainted. But 10, 15 years from now, the young people who are writing these articles are going to have a different point of view because free agency is different today. Guys join teams. So when they're writing the narrative, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're,

their storylines are a lot different in the head than us as older cats. It says, well, you shouldn't do that. The young generation that's growing up now is seeing free agency guys join, and that's going to be accepted to them. And that's what they're going to write 15, 20 years from now. And his legacy is going to look totally different than it is now. Yeah, I've said this as a cliche a million times on this show, but chase great management, don't chase money because there's a sea of money.

Kevin Durant's going to make a lot of money. when he gets out of basketball. He'll be, I mean, Magic's done very well out of basketball. Jerry West, players do well. I just, I look at it and I think, man, be careful. Golden State's well run. But here's my thing. And I can't, it's so hard for us, Colin,

because I think as we get older, we understand the value of what you just talked about. Well, you like winning. And I love winning, but I love great people and I love stability. I know what I'm going to get if I'm at Golden State. I know what I'm getting every day. The unknown is something that sometimes, a lot of guys have fear of it.

But here's what I will say. If this is the thing that drives Kevin Durant, okay, to say I need to prove, not to everybody, but to myself, I can do A, B, C, and D, and I can do it here. And if I fail, I'm comfortable with failing, but I'm probably not as comfortable of not trying. I applaud him for that. Yeah.

Because that's something he has to do and something he has to carry along with him and live with. I can't tell them what through. What I would do would be, hey, listen, I love winning and I love how we win. By the way, what's the most fun you ever had in the NBA? When I was in Sacramento, I swear to, when I went and went to play for Sacramento, and Phoenix was great, too. Because you won a bunch of Phoenix.

Because we won a bunch. But I didn't like playing as much before I got to Sacramento in 2002, okay? Just because when I was in Atlanta and Cleveland, it just wasn't. It wasn't, oh, yeah. We weren't winning, and we didn't have really great chemistry, organizationally why. When I went to Sacramento, it was Vladi DeVox. He was Bobby Jackson, Mike Bibby, Chris Weber. It was Pajja Soakovich.

That's fun. I mean, we had so, Scott Pollard, Doug Christie, we had so much fun. And to me, it gave me that sense of this is what the game is all about. Winning chemistry. Winning with the right people. Yeah. Unbelievable. No, no, it's a great point.

It doesn't matter if it's Fox Sports One, Fox Sports NBA. winning with the right people. Just easier drive to the arena. Better believe it, baby. Easier to get on that plane. Wake up and more to smile on your face. Hour at three next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd.

Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Tomorrow on the show, Levar Ball is live. Labar Ball, by the way, told us before it happened, the Lakers were going to can Luke Walton. That Magic didn't like Luke Walton and that magic had no real power. So I will, last time he was here, I talked basketball. I'll say this about LaVar Ball. I can ask him anything.

I can make him uncomfortable. He doesn't care. Same with Rick Buecker, who apparently is mad at me. So you disagree with what I said today? Man, every take you've had has just annoyed me to no end. Let's start with the asterisks. This final is an asterisk's final. What championship is not affected by injury in some way, shape, or form?

The Super Bowl last year. Well, I guess Gurley was hurt. Thank you very much. That's the example I was going to make. What about the finals last year? That's so long ago. It's not the final. You mean the Western Conference finals because that was the real finals.

So you don't think I'm supposed to look at this and Clay won't play and Katie is out and Steph has hurt and Biggie. How do I not think about that? Kauai Leonard is clearly not 100%. Kyle Lowry is playing with a bad thumb. It is a battle of attrition. There are always going to be, and probably, your stars when it comes to basketball, carrying the load, you're going to have guys that are compromised. And it really becomes a survival of the fittest or the deepest. And so I just,

it's part and parcel with what happens. And I feel as if we are advertising everything that's going on with the Warriors, which is, by the way, understandable because this is their fifth straight finals. This is the way physiology normally works outside of LeBron James is that bodies break down when you play this many games this many times in a row. That said, the raptors are not, are far from 100%. You could say, you could make the argument that their two best players are not anywhere close to 100%. And yet we haven't talked about that at all. You don't think the series is over. Golden Stick. No. Not any. The Raptors had open shot after open shot watching the Warriors. I do not believe that they can stop the Raptors. The Raptors can stop the Raptors, but they have the opportunity

to take wide open shots, and I would fully expect that they're going to make more than they're going to miss. Okay, let's talk about Clay Thompson. What's your gut feeling, your info this morning? Because I don't think they can beat Toronto of Katie and Clay don't play. When's the next game? Wednesday is the next game. I would expect that Clay will play. It wasn't a, because he continued to play after the initial injury, which tells me that the leg locked up more than there was a tear. Okay. And so I would expect that they can get him right. But they are playing a high-risk game with the long-term health of any number of players.

Andre Aguadala, he said it himself, it's not smart that he's playing. DeMarcus cousins, 28 minutes, not smart. If KD actually comes back, I can tell you there's people close to KD who has said he should not play. This is not a smart move by him. Now, KD is a gamer. I'm sure it's killing him. But if you were planning on playing him in game three and four, then why are you sending him across the country and back again with a soft tissue injury?

It makes no sense. You would keep him at home, allow him to rehab, save him that trip on a flight with everything that goes along with that, and allow him to get ready. So I don't know, and I'm not disputing, I believe that Chris Haynes is tied into the KD net, work what he says, I believe, but I believe this is KD pushing the envelope because he wants to be part of this. And Steve Kerr playing on that to let the warriors know, hey, the cavalry's coming. Just hold on. If we can get one in Toronto. To the most psychology. Absolutely. Makes Toronto prepare for KD and tells the team,

we don't have to win this all by ourselves. KD. is going to get here eventually, just keep playing. That's interesting. You bring Katie to Toronto just so. Raptors have to prepare for him. Yes, absolutely. And you have to. Even though he never got, I don't know that he ever got out of his shower sandals. I don't think he did. And he has shot to this point. I've talked to a couple of people with this who have had this injury and they said,

there is a high risk. You know, depending on where you are in the recovery period, there's a high risk of redoing it if you get out there and you're not right. You know, it's the Kauai story is interesting. The last four series, his field goal percentage has gone down every series. Do you think he's aware of that? And that plays a part in him leaving Toronto the sense that this is all I got. We can't make it.

We can't make a move for a year. Now, in a year, Lowry's contract, Abaka's contract. But he's hurt. His knee isn't 100%. His numbers are going down. You know how it is when you leave and make one of these big moves, married, divorce, whatever it is, pros, cons. What do you make of his body,

his fatigue, and how it plays in his future? I can only go by what I know of Alex McKechny, who works for the Raptors, worked for the Lakers once upon a time. A lot of faith in him. And Kauai has a lot of faith in him. So that would be actually a plus in the Raptors' favor. You also have some younger players like Pascal Seacom,

who you would expect are going to get better and are on the rise. and you are in the Eastern Conference, which is infinitely easier to get through than the West. So as far as his shooting percentage, Kauai doesn't, I think he's oblivious to that. I think he has the Derek Rose mentality of, it's my job to bring us home,

and I am going to try to do that. What's been disappointing for me is that Nick Nurse was hired to be an offensive guru. That was his label. That's what the Raptors were supposed to get out of him. He's done a tremendous job in, setting them up defensively, but offensively, they get very predictable at times. And part of it's Kauai gets it.

He feels the responsibility. I have to go get something and everything bogs down. Let me defend Nick Nurse. Defense's effort, okay, if you get guys to play hard, most of these guys are athletic, offensive skill. Yes. Toronto's limited skill-wise, regardless of his great coaching. But they lost game two, not because they missed shots, but because they allowed the

missed shots to affect them getting back. The Warriors are great, but they got so much in transition. You talked about how physically hampered they are. I think you would agree with me. Toronto is the better athletic team. Yeah, they're longer for sure. Right, right. There's no excuse. It wasn't where the turnovers were, the length of the missed shots. There weren't enough of those for me to say, you know, the reason that the Warriors got everything they got in transition was, because the turnovers at the top of the key or the long three missed threes created long rebounds. The Raptors were missing shots, open shots, and did not play with the same energy getting back. And that to me is how they lost this game. What do you do with Boogie Cousins,

highly skilled, can be a little temperamental, massively vital last night. What do they do with them? You can bring him back. it's not I mean you're limited in terms of how much you can pay well Bogot's probably done if Kevin Durant left you have no size I mean you have no size eventually you're going to have to play

a Clint Capella a Janus Toronto again this is what's interesting about boogie situation so I've talked to both him and Kavana Looney about where they want to play where they would continue their careers Right

Kavana indicated that he would all things being equal, he'd rather stay with the Warriors. In fact, kind of insinuated, he might even give him a little hometown discount to stay. Boogie made no such commitment. So I don't know where he is. I also don't believe that the market is going to be that great for him. The GMs that I've talked to have said, nobody's given him a long-term deal. Somebody might load up on him for one year. And the question is then going to be, does Boogie want to get, say, eight figures when he can't get that with the Warriors. Is that going to prompt

him to go someplace else? Or does he look at this situation and say, let me get one more year with these guys and really rehab my image and physically show everybody I can play a full season? I thought last night, I mean, I would make this argument. If Kevin Durant doesn't come back, Boogie becomes an

essential size. I mean, because Toronto's about as long as the league gets. I would make an argument, Kevin Durant doesn't come back. Boogie's going to have a nice series. He's going to be crucial. He will, if I am Toronto, I'm making Boogie Cousins beat me. I'm saying, you want to post him up, you want to give him multiple runs at the rim, have at it. He's not going to be able to sustain

that energy, and that's going to slow everything down. They didn't really do that. And as a result, he was able to, as soon as the double team came, he's passing it and finding the open cutters. Again, there were so many cuts and plays made at the basket that was a, a lack of effort and execution defensively by the Raptors. All right. A couple quick questions. Will Kevin Durant play in this series? Yes, because I believe it's going to be a long series now.

So do I think he's going to play game three? I don't think he's going to play in game three. My guess is game five. That sounds about right. Again, part of this, what I'm wrestling with is what I've heard from people who don't think he should play, but knowing that KD wants to play, and we'll probably

push the envelope. By the way, Joy, if you could look at this up quickly, game five is when? So game three is Wednesday. Game four is Friday. Yes. It would be Sunday. Is it Sunday or Monday? It would be Sunday. Okay, so we got six days for KD's calf.

No, game five is Monday. Okay, so game five is Monday. Okay, so we're a week away. See, I believe Kevin Durant plays in a week. That's six days, seven days of treatment. So Thursday is four weeks. You're almost getting to five. Game three is on Wednesday. Game four is Friday. And game five is on Monday. Right. They're screwing with the schedule this year. Yeah, I'm okay with it. It used to be. I mean, they want game seven to be on Sunday night. Generally, I thought it was. Oh, I see what you're saying. So it's spaced out. Yeah. All right. Anything else you're mad at me about? No, you know what? Thank you for

me clear the air. Hey, listen, you know, I'm just gospel up here. Occasionally, there's some dissenters. There are some dissenters for my gospel. For the record, I said, Just put the asterisk away. Just, it is... I got to tell you,

I'm on Rick's eye with this. You guys don't think it's an asterisk? No, I don't, because there's injuries all the time. I mean, we don't talk about Golden States championships that way. Kyrie was out. Yeah, exactly. Their first one. Their first one? There's no asterisk there. Or the calves when they got one in Cleveland. Is anybody saying the LeBron's championship

in Cleveland was an asterisk? Can you imagine Wednesday? Kevin Durant and Clay don't play. Yeah. I mean, it's a long season. That's the breaks. That's what, and that's what's kind of making this really intriguing is that you're one of those series. Even if Katie doesn't play, like the speculation of whether he's going to play or not has added some spice to this. See, because I think the series needs

KD for juice. I think it needs juice. Like I want the Willis Reed moment. I want the Paul Pierce on a stretcher. moment. I want Kevin, what Iguadoll was it enough? Clay if he comes out in place. No, I want Kevin Durant to come back. I think it adds to the juice of the series. Some finals don't have as much juice. You could have

Demarcus, Clay, Iggy, and KD. None of them healthy. All stumping out there. I know. And with a Willis Reed. Rick Buecker, good stuff. Thanks, buddy. Enjoy with the news. No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, let's stick with those injuries. Golden State's mantra for the past five seasons

has been strength in numbers. Last night it proved to be more than a marketing slogan. Plenty of injuries tested the Warriors' depth. You obviously have Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, Andrea Goodala, DeMarcus cousins, and Kevin Looney. Kvonne Looney, all with ailments. Is Looney okay, by the way, Bukes? What's the story on Looney?

It was a chest, what did they call it, Joy, a chest contusion or something? Yeah, I would expect. A contusion is like a bruise. Yeah. Okay, so like a chest plate bruise or something? I'd be more worried about Clay than I would have about come on. Because I saw that injury and they said chest. All right.

Well, Boogie played 28 minutes and Quinn Cook tied a playoff career high with three threes. And all 13 Warriors got in the game. Clay said he doesn't see himself missing game three. And Curr said Clay will be fine. Clay could be half dead and he would say he'd be fine. So we'll see. I have a question. Do you remember Quinn Cook at Duke?

I just don't. Why don't I remember Quinn Cook at Duke? It's like his college career. It's weird with you. I can't remember him at Duke. I mean, isn't that the Warriors style? Yeah. That's what they do.

I watched Duke basketball. This year I watched 15, 20 games with Zion. I don't remember. I mean, not that I don't remember. Like, you say Duke, I'm like, yeah. And I'm thinking, yeah, I don't remember any. Or Kavanaugh-O-LUNY. Was that the year that Carolina won the title, maybe his big year?

I just don't remember him at Duke. I just don't think. that the injuries, I mean, obviously, injuries are a part of sport. So this is a big story for the finals, how many injuries they have. And it makes it even more interesting because the biggest question with the Warriors was, do they have the depth to make it through the playoffs? Like, this is the question with their team. So they have been impressive. But I don't think it's a knock on Toronto. This is part of what it is. It's like, you hold it against LeBron that he's always healthy? No. It's very impressive. It's impressive that Toronto is healthy. I've always had the

second chapter in the LeBron book is his health. It's unbelievable. It's literally unbelievable. Yeah, he's always available. So the Clippers got fined $50,000 for tampering on Friday because Doc Rivers compared Kauai to Michael Jordan. Rivers' comments seemed pretty tame, especially since he said them while working as a TV analyst and he was asked about Kauai. And Adam Silver explained the reasoning for the fine. He said, I understand the competing interest of the media hearing a coach's view about a current NBA player. but it's something there that there's a bright line in this league and you're not allowed to do it. Coaches or team executives in those positions need to say, I'm not permitted by the league to respond to that question. It's a balance of interest. I understand that, but unfortunately crossed a bright line.

I think this tampering rule is stupid. I think that this is petty wars with the executives because I don't really think that fans really care about this because everyone's aware that everyone knows everybody and you're not going to be able to police people's text messages and phone calls. That's just silly. So they have to do something to talk about, to try and act like they're regulating, tampering. But the reality is if you can't talk about any other players, they can't work as analysts because you're literally talking about other players.

It doesn't make sense. Was that high praise? Sure. But either that's how he feels or he's giving an opportunity to give Kauai a compliment. Like, it actually ended up backbiring because Kauai was asked about it, and he said he didn't even know about it. And wouldn't you feel bad if he got fine because of that? That was Kauai's response.

So Kauai is not even happy that he got fine about it. So it actually just brought extra attention to what was really just a high praise. It's about 12 billionaires in the NBA who have low self-esteem because they own teams in unglamorous cities. And they don't like stars and big market owners who get, remember, nobody invites the Memphis Grizzlies owner to TV or the Grizzlies coach. But Doc Rivers is a star. He gets invited to TV. And so this is all these owners of places like Memphis and Phoenix are like, I don't like. that stars go on TV and laugh at recruiting players because my players don't get invited on TV,

so it's a huge fundamental, you know. I get it. It's supposed to be fair, but it's just one of those situations like, what's the doc supposed to do? Finally, Andy Ruiz Jr. shocked the world Saturday when he knocked out the heavily favored Anthony Joshua in the seventh round on his own. Ruiz now has the WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight titles, and Deonté Wilder is the WBC champ, so that's good news because all the belts are in the PBC family. And this fight was also great news for Ruiz, who professed his love for Snickers on our inside BBC boxing in late April. Oh, yeah. Matter of fact, I got my thing right here on the road.

He gets me through the day. So you always carry one in you? I do always carry one, you know? Production didn't give you that? No. Actually, my dad would always give me these when I was a little kid. Very nice. Maybe that's why I'm a little chubby too.

He's so likable. Snickers gave him some love on Twitter, too. Congrats on that satisfying fight last night. Crazy strategy by the champ who got into a barroom fight, which you would never do as a champ when somebody... Very strange strategy. threw you, if you're a fighter and there's a late add to a car, a guy leaves, what you do is

you get the points, you get out of the arena, you take your check. Instead, he said, you know, I'm going to go toe to toe with this big thick guy and got his butt kicked. And don't let that big guy fool you. That's strength right now. Those punches, they hurt.

Look at this right here. There's a reason that he's in that ring with Joshua. It's not an accident. What a night for him, though. Now, Ruiz is going to be on our show in a couple days. Here's the thing. He's a tough guy. The champion is a more skilled fighter.

I mean, Joshua is a very skilled fighter. He doesn't fight with a lot of passion and urgency to me. And even in this fight, he just kind of like, it is remarkable that his corner did not say to Joshua. Okay, we don't know a ton about this guy. He's not highly skilled. Just don't be stupid and walk into right hands. And that's what they did for the next 20 minutes. Walked right into these overhand.

rights. They were brutal. I think it was the I forget what round. People forget to Joshua knocked him out too. So it wasn't like it was completely one-sided. It was just a bar room brawl. Oh, he's throwing cement blocks. They're going to fight again. Let me read this again.

They're going to fight again. Yeah, they're going to fight in the fall. They're going to fight in the fall. Yeah, there is going to be a rematch. Oh, crazy. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News.

Kevin Durant and LeBron. James may have just created a nightmare scenario for the NBA. I will explain next and best for last. Want 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. The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in four 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 head to France looking to win a historic fourth World Cup. All matches will be live on Fox, FS1, and streaming on the Fox Sports app. I wish our United States men's national team were as functional as our United States women's national team. There's so much, so little drama with the U.S. women's team. You know, they're champions. I know, but there's just no drama.

They like each other. They're well run. Their stability. Men's team will get there. No, no, I've been waiting for 40 years. I've been a season ticket holder emotionally for four decades. I'd like to get a little payoff eventually on my team. By the way, Mike Shosheshefsky was watching the show, Coach K. Duke.

And I said last segment, I'm like, why don't I remember? What is it about Quinn Cook last night was just fantastic for Golden State, little guy? And I'm like, why? Just blur coaches like, he played international championship team. We moved him over to play with Tyos Jones. He was a great leader. It was a great back corner. I'm like, okay, now I remember.

sometimes, you know, some fuzzy, some stuff lands. And sometimes you need Coach Tito let you know. Well, it's like I don't remember Carmelo Anthony at Syracuse. He was great. But what I really remember is Jerry McNamara, who played for 13 years at Syracuse. At some point, I think he was there for the hot lunch program. He just stuck around. I mean, it was like there forever.

Some guys, to me, just stick. And some guys are just talent in, out. I just forget him. All right. There are injuries in the NBA final. It has been, this is no shot at Toronto, but it's just nobody can stay healthy. I've said for years, I think the NBA should be 68 games, not 82. I don't like asking a college kid to come to the NBA and have to play three times the games.

You have a preseason, you have postseason, half the league makes it. So it's already bad enough Zion did not go to the Pelicans. How about a worst case scenario for the NBA? It's time for the segment where we're going to be. we show you what could go horribly wrong in the NBA. Even worse than having to watch the Raptors in the finals. Oh, that sounds good. Prepare yourself for worst-case scenario.

Listen, don't kid yourself as sometimes you get breaks in the league. Remember a couple years ago in the NFL when seven starting quarterbacks got hurt? And it hurt the league. It was pretty bad. It was bad. Like all the guys we like to watch Carson, Wendonzener and Rodgers, and all the good quarterbacks got hurt. Worst case scenario for the NBA. Kevin Durant.

and Clay Thompson, MRI today, we're waiting on Clay, miss the rest of the finals. That's not great. Scary. I still wonder, I have my questions of Kevin Durant plays. Clay, do you play him or do you try to play without him, dress him, and see what happens in game three? How about this? Kevin Durant stays with the Warriors. Okay, he doesn't come back and play in this series.

because he doesn't want to risk injuries, and his handlers talk him out of it. And nobody else, you know, nobody else goes to New York. And Kevin Durant thinks, do I really want to go start over, have to play 80 games, don't have bench, don't have a depth. I'm not going to be able to do load management 15 times a year. How about number three? The Pelicans don't trade Anthony Davis. Listen, Gail Benson's the owner.

reports from people I trust, they don't want to trade them to the Lakers, and it's not like the Lakers or the NICs have a ton of valuable assets. New York has the draft picks. The Lakers have good, not great young players. What if the Pelicans say, we're just going to go to the trading deadline, we're getting into bidding more, we're not going to trade him here, we're not going to make a move in June or July? How about LeBron and the Lakers don't land a big free agent?

I don't think this is crazy. Joey and I, I think, agree with this. The press has, first of all, they don't have a ton of assets. They don't have a ton of assets to land a Bradley Beal, to land that Anthony Davis. They have some, but Lonzo Ball has an injury issue. Brandon Ingram has a blood issue. Kyle Kuzma's good, not great. Their pick, it's a watered down draft.

They got the fourth pick. It's a good pick. It's not a special pick. And I also think because of the bad PR, it's going to be a little bit of a Hail Mary on Jimmy Butler who does hang out in L.A. How about this? Kyrie joins the mostly uninteresting Brooklyn Nets and kind of plays by himself. Listen, Kyrie's a different cat.

Kyrie grew up loving the Nets. From what I hear from people I trust in the league, and I've got pretty good NBA sources, Kevin Durant's hit and miss on Kyrie Irving, likes him, respect his game, thinks he's a tad flaky. Kyrie Irving goes to the Brooklyn Nets by themselves, by himself. they're just slightly more interesting than last year's Brooklyn Nets that made the playoffs without him. How about the Knicks don't land any good free agents? I don't think this one's crazy.

I don't think Kevin Durant's going there by himself. If Kevin Durant doesn't come back and play in the finals, he's going to limp to New York. I don't think the Knicks have the pieces to land Anthony Davis unless David Griffin, who runs the Pelicans, says, you know what? we're starting over. I just want all the draft picks

because the Knicks do have draft picks. The problem is they gave Porzingis up. They don't have player assets. And finally, the Raptors lose Kauai. And because the Claw logo no longer makes sense, they return to their old corny jerseys. Joy Taylor's the only person I know who loves these. These do not work for me.

I mean, those are classic throwbacks. Those are classic throwups. They're not. I'm glad that they changed the logo, though. It was time. By the way, do we have our Cole Tucker jersey? By the way, where did that go? We had a, we don't do props on this show.

Oh, we don't? Well, we don't generally do props on this show you this. Cole Tucker plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He came, how long ago was that? About three weeks ago? Yeah. So he's this just good-looking, fun kid. He decides, hey, I want to, he found out that he liked the show.

So we brought Cole Tucker of the Pirates on the show. He just was great 10 minutes of time. television. He was funny. And so he sent us a pirate jersey, which is they have a classic jersey. But Colin, thanks for giving me and my fam, the memory of a lifetime, heard for life, Cole Tucker. How great is that? That puppy's getting framed. That puppy's getting framed. If you send me, if you're a star or something and you send me a framed, if you send me a jersey that's signed, I'm going to frame it and put it in there forever. Even Baker? Absolutely Baker. Baker's gave you a hoodie. You haven't worn it on the show yet. Didn't he

leave you a hoodie? He gave me a t-shirt. He gave me a t-shirt. shirt. Can I clear the air on this? I got nothing against Baker Mayfield. Jay Glazer came out this weekend. I love Jay. And Jay Glazer said his top five quarterbacks in the league. He goes, Brady, Aaron Rogers, luck. And I'm going to throw Baker Mayfield right into that group. And I'm like, timeout. Then Jay Glazer says, even over Russell Wilson, I'm like, timeout. So this is what Jay Glazer said on the athletic. We may have to ban him from the show. He said, actually, I'm still going put Brady at the top until he shows me otherwise. Aaron Rogers, Mahomes, Locke, Deshawn Watson's a stud. But I think I'd put Baker right in the middle of that list, even over

Russell Wilson. I don't even know what to say with that. That's like heard blasphemy. Isn't Russell Wilson in your bore for? Russell Wilson is my Steve Young, the most underrated quarterback of a generation that because Steve Young was left-handed and ran, we couldn't put him in our like quarterback box he didn't fit because Russell Wilson's smaller and is basically plays a different style game. He doesn't fit into our six four stand in the pocket. Don't run around. Steve Young and Russell Wilson are game changers.

They're to a large degree. They're Steph Curry. They just play the, they look different. They're smaller. They play the game differently. You know, Young was left handed. He replaced the popular Montana. Steve ran around and then developed into a pocket quarterback.

Russell Wilson's first two years, he ran a lot. Year three for Russell, like all quarterbacks. But Russell Wilson goes into what I call my bore four, my four favorite quarterbacks in the NFL, Brady, Breeze, Andrew Luck, and Russell Wilson. They're my four superheroes. I call them the bore four because they're boring. And they go home to their families. And I don't like a lot of chaos and nonsense and cockiness and Instagram stuff.

I'm not into that. I like Baker, but I'll say this again. We're going crazy on Baker. last year with a terrific set of running backs, a superstar in the making it tied in, excellent receivers and an above average O-line, which pro football focus put top 10, Baker Mayfield against winning teams was one for five,

completed 59% of his throws, had a 77 quarterback rating, and had more picks than touchdowns. I like him. Can we slow down a little? I mean, they won one game in like 10 years before you got there. I'm not an, no, I get Cleveland fan being excited. That I get.

But better than Russell Wilson? No, he's not better than Russell Wilson right now. I agree with that. Russell Wilson doesn't get the credit that he deserves. But maybe he's projecting forward what Baker's going to be. Well, I'm projecting. You better clean that act up if you want to get in the chair again, Jay. I'm projecting.

Tomorrow on the show, LeVar Ball, you think he's nuts. Last time he came on was all business, answer basketball questions, and was overwhelmingly. Spot on. He'll join us 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 IHart 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. 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.

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