The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Rockets, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, and where Colin was right & wrong

Episode Date: July 15, 2019

Colin talks about the Houston Rockets game plan for Russell Westbrook and why it will fail, his excitement to see Anthony Davis on the Lakers, Ben Simmons new deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, and where he was right and wrong over the weekend. Guests include Doug Gottlieb, Cuttino Mobley, and Cameron Jordan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming till. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Doug Gottlieb stopped by today. The Saints four-time Pro Bowler Cameron Jordan stops by one hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, and Joy Taylor joining me in a Monday. where apparently where you live, it was sunny. And where I live, it was breezy and cool all weekend. The valley was supposed to be scorching hot. It was, as reported. Yes.

It's a different temperature in different parts of Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, it's very weird to say. When the show the news, you get three temperatures. You get the beach. You get the valley. Then you get the desert. I didn't see the sun all weekend. Everybody's like...

It's so crazy. It's nuts. It looked like Seattle the whole weekend, which, by the way, I prefer. I've told you. I don't love heat. And so... Yes, see, I like the heat. You do.

I got a custom to it in Miami, so I like it. You like it. It got to a point this winter. I mean, we were complaining about it. We had so much rain. It just poured. Yes. So we lived in two different cities this weekend, apparently, from the life experience.

So one of the stories that happened, the free agency thing in the NBA is over. And now the players are holding press conferences. And Anthony Davis held a press conference for the Lakers. You know, and I was thinking about this. My daughter just got back. We sent her on a leadership council thing with college students. for five weeks in Cape Town, South Africa. And she's been to Italy.

Her mom's Italian, so she's been to Italy before. She loves to travel. In our family, she's like the adventure, bungee jump, skydive, that kind of stuff, right? That's what she likes to do. And she went to Cape Town, and she's like, oh, this is way prettier than Italy. And it's not the first person I've met. I've met probably a half dozen people in my life are like, you know, everybody goes to Italy and sees Italy, but you've got to go to Cape Town.

You cannot believe how beautiful Cape Town is. And so the last month I've been fiddling around with all this stuff, looking at all Cape Town pictures. She brought a book home. And the difference is you've just seen a lot of Italy. It's been in movies. We talk about Italy, Italian food, Italian culture in America. We see it all the time.

We talk about it all the time. It's the easiest place to get to if you live in the eastern seaboard. It's a six, seven hour flight, right? And so that reminds me of Anthony Davis. He's the best player in American sports you haven't seen. Nobody really knows. 95% of fans have never seen him. Oh, you see him in an All-Star game?

Oh, please. Nobody plays defense. Pelicans ratings in New Orleans were atrocious, and nobody puts them on national TV. And you can say you watch that Portland series, but you probably didn't because I looked at the ratings of that series this morning, and they weren't huge. The bottom line is, this happens from time to time.

We have a guy in baseball named Mike Trout. There was a wide receiver in Detroit named Calvin Johnson, who I contends the first or second most talented wide receiver in the NFL, but he didn't go to playoff games a lot, and he didn't go to Super Bowls. and Anthony Davis is an unbelievable player. He's 26 years old. The scouts I talk to think this will be the first or second year of his prime.

He is top three in blocks and top eight in rebounding and the best free throw shooting big and the best defender of the pick and roll. He's got a very laid-back personality like Calvin Johnson and Mike Trout. And because of that, you just don't know much about him. By the way, you never watch Grunk play at the University of Arizona. If he'd have played at the University of Miami or Alabama or Texas or Oklahoma, you'd have known Gronk. But he played at a basketball school, the University of Arizona. And then he went to New England and you're like, oh, Gronk's amazing. What if Arizona to Jacksonville was his route?

No Super Bowls, no Thursday night football, you don't see him on national TV, no Monday night football, maybe not even Pro Bowls. What's the difference with Gronk? He's buried. You don't see him. And so I think Anthony Davis is a fascinating player. I can't wait to watch him play. He's got a very laid-back personality. He's the best big in the game.

He does more good things than any big in the game. Most believe within a year he will be the best player on the Lakers playing with LeBron James. He talked a little bit about this weekend about sort of the empowerment of players about moving from team to team. And here was his thoughts. I just wanted to take control of my career. You know, it was always, you know, people kind of telling me, no, we need to do this, we need to do that. You need to do this. And I just kind of like go with it.

You know, I was young and I was like, okay, you know, I feel like this person has the best interest for me, whatever. And then as I start getting older, start getting more experience, I'm like, I don't want to do that. You know, I want to do it this way. By the way, he averaged 25, 26 a game. again, most believe he's just now going into his prime. Won't be able to be double team because of LeBron James and because the Lakers have enough good shooters. So this happens from time to time where we have a great player

and this kid's going to be a 27 point a game player, top three in blocks, top five in rebounds, best free throw shooting big in the game, never have to take him out, unbelievable defender, maybe the best defensive player in the NBA, and most of you haven't watched him. You say you do. You've watched YouTube highlights.

You're not watching Pelicans games. They're not watching them in New Orleans. We've got to playoff one time. So it's going to be kind of, I kind of feel like, oh, I got to watch Anthony Davis play now. By the way, Joel Embed, like Italy over Cape Town, Joe L.M.B. He doesn't stop talking. He plays for a good team, the Sixers. You get that early TV game with the Sixers last year because LeBron's now in the West.

I've seen a ton of Joel Embed. I've seen him play a hundred times. How many Anthony Davis games have I watched in all these years? and he's the best young player his position in the NBA. He's mostly what, no big massive scary injury history. He's had nagging injuries, free throws, blocks, defense, pick and roll. Does it all. Can't wait to watch him play.

So Charles Barclay was talking this weekend. And last week, it was just kind of a crazy, crazy story. Russell Westbrook gets traded, obviously, to the Houston Rockets. I don't think it's going to work, at least long term. You can make any relationship work initially. There's the new, fresh car smell. of any relationship and it works. But Charles Barclay was talking about the biggest issue with Westbrook playing with James Harden.

About two or three years ago, I suggested that Russell Westbrook switched to the two position. I think that's the only way this team can work. But Russell's got to buy into being the two guard and not try to be the poor guard because the ball's going to be in James' hands a lot. So if Russ would dedicate himself to be the shooting guard, I think this thing got a chance of working, but it all depends on if Ruff's going to buy in and be a two guard. This is exactly right. Charles is right. James Harden is going to control the ball because James Hardin is the better player.

James Harden averages 35 a game. James Harden, this is his city and his team and his franchise and his offense. He's not changing, nor should he. Kobe in his prime. When Shaq left, that was Kobe's team. team. It was up to Powell Gasol to figure out and Powell was an all-star, how are you going to play with Kobe? James Harden analytically is the best player in the NBA offensively.

Aknowing to watch, drives you nuts. He's not changing. This is his franchise, his offense, his team, and his city. And he ran Chris Paul out of town. So that's the first thing. Second thing is, Westbrook's game is his game. He's not a pure shooter. But one of the things I hear talked about a lot, and I can only speak for men. I will not speak for women. I will just speak for how

guy's brains work. If you're the best in the world at something and you have a rigid personality, you will not get flexible. This is not a basketball question. It's a personality question. Let me ask everybody watching. Anybody in your life, rigid, brother, dad,

sister, friend, boss, if I gave them $150 million, would they become less rigid? No, they wouldn't, would they? Again, I'm speaking for guys, can't speak for women. The whole they get along their best friends, it doesn't matter with guys. Because guys' careers, generally speaking, are really important to their ego and their vanity. And when we get into the sweet spot in our careers and you're paying us a lot of money, we're not making a lot of sacrifices even for our best friend.

And I don't know if these guys are best friend, but the word is they want to play with each other. Never forget this. Paul George and Westbrook were friends. George bailed on him. Carmelo and Chris Paul were friends. Chris Paul didn't like him. Hardin and Chris Paul weren't best friends, but all the stories, I went back yesterday and read him, said they got along. They couldn't stand each other. So the whole friend's argument to me is fun. I just read a story this morning about how Houston wants to make it work from the Houston Chronicle. Coach Mike Don Tony is going to stagger his stars, so Hardin and Westbrook will likely share the court for less than half the game. Okay. So your game plan going in is we hope they don't play together that much. It also says later in this story, this is all going to require Hardin to be agreeable to being off the ball more often.

He is not going to allow his game, 36 a game. to change dramatically. His team, his offense, his city, his ego, his check. He's not, friends can accommodate other friends, but the way guys work when they're in the prime

of their professional career, I'll give you solid, but don't get in the way of my game, and I'm not sacrificing for you. Find me an All-Star in his prime, one in NBA history, that came into a team as the second best player

and forced the one to change his game. Now you'll say, well, Steph and KD. Steph didn't change his game. Steph just shot less. Steph didn't play a different position. Steph said, I'll take two and a half shots less a game. Give Kevin Durant two of my shots a game. Didn't change his game. We're asking Westbrook, go play another position. Now, LeBron in his 17th year, stacks of money, stacks a ring, legacy solved.

None of those, you know, Westbrook doesn't have the legacy in the rings. LeBron will probably acquiesce a little and do some point guard stuff this year. But LeBron's always been an incredible ball handler outside of Magic Johnson, probably the best ball handler for his size I've ever seen. You're asking Westbrook to do something he does poorly. LeBron doesn't do anything poorly. Maybe not a very good defender now. You're asking Westbrook, hey, stack some money.

Off guard. I just don't see it working. I do think when you acquire DeAngelo Russell, Russell Westbrook, I like to have talented players because I think Westbrook will score a bunch of points and you'll eventually be able to move him. And I do like the fact they do like each other. I think you're more willing to put your head down and ignore strife if it is a buddy. But this is not a basketball question. It is a personality question.

find rigid people give them $150 million. They don't get less rigid, even if they're playing with their friends. Oh, so I saw a quote. You know how you ever go to like, I don't go on Instagram much, although it's real popular. I'm more of a, you know, Twitter guy. It's simpler for me. It's more news stuff. So I'm not a big Instagram person.

But from what I see on Instagram, it is a lot of, A little bit like Facebook. Like, my life's perfect. It's awesome. Nobody puts a frown on Instagram. Nobody puts a bad meal. You know, so what that's called in psychology is projecting. You're trying to project a great life.

Well, none of us have a perfect life. Not many of us have a great life. We all have lives, right? Good, bad days, cry, sad, joy, whatever. We have lives. They're pretty balanced. Good, bad. I lost my cat yesterday.

It wasn't a good day in our house for us. It was a sad day, yeah. Hope to find her. I haven't found her. You haven't found her. You got a bell in it all over the neighborhood. Yeah, it's just been a bad weekend for us. We lost a cat.

So, you know, I didn't go to Instagram and say, my life is great. If I'd have gone to Instagram, I'd have had a picture of the cat and said, anybody find the cat. It was a tough weekend in the house, right? A lot of sadness. So the point being, I saw a football story where a team is projecting. And when people tend to project, they're hiding something. And there's an NFL team either hiding something or trying too hard to tell me how great something is.

And I'll talk about that coming up. Doug Gottlieb, Cameron Jordan. I've never had Cameron Jordan on the show before. Cameron Jordan's all sorts of personality. It's just all sorts of personality, Cotino Mobley, too. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

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

from buzzer 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 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, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, is we have real. conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

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

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

The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. By the way, breaking news later in the show. We have not told that I'm transfixed with Joy Taylor today. She looks so summary. Oh, thank you. You look so stunning. Can I say that or is that?

Yeah, that's okay. All right. This is so summary. Thank you. I'm breaking news later today. I don't protest. I don't protest. I'm not a picket sign guy. Okay. And I also, if I get bad service at a restaurant, I don't yell and scream at help. I've been a bus boy before. It's not my fault of your meal stinks. I'm not, I mean on Yelp. On Yelp. Yeah, I don't, I'm not going to rip a business on Yelp. I just don't think it's fair. No, I have stuff to do today. So I just won't go back.

There you go. So I'm going to break news later on the show. I made a life-changing decision yesterday based on an experience I had. Uh-oh. We're going to put the breaking news bar. Okay. And I don't know. I just had a moment and I'm going to get to it and it's a thing.

Well, you know what? It's important to always evolve. So. And I evolved right out of this business. Okay. All right. I will say this. David and Yoku is a tight end for the Cleveland Browns.

He's unbelievable. He's probably the best young tight end in football. He's a great player. But he was talking about Odell. Beckham this weekend. And David's going to have a great year and a great career. He's a, like the kid at Kansas City, Travis Kelsey. He's just, he's just better. He's just better than all the young guys out there. And he's talking about Odell Beckham. And he said, that guy's, he's phenomenal fit with Cleveland. It's phenomenal. It's like the fourth guy on that team

that has been quoted to say, Odell Beckham's going to be a phenomenal fit. It's July. Everybody fits in July. The Cleveland organization and the Cleveland organization and the Cleveland players have become a teenage girl on on on Instagram they keep projecting how great it's going to be the truth is Cleveland's the easiest team in the league to figure out this year there's two facts about Cleveland they're the youngest roster in the NFL they are super talented they are and a new head coach they're going to be like jacksonville they're going to be young and dynamic and intimidate people and blow some people out and then like a young team They're going to talk a lot and they're going to play through injuries and they don't have an elite coach and they have a young quarterback who's prone to mistakes but also very talented.

And here's what's going to happen to them. They're going to struggle early because their schedule with a new system is brutal. My guess is they could lose the home opener with Tennessee at Jets, Rams, at Ravens, at Niners, Seahawks, at Patriots, at Denver. They're going to struggle a little bit in the first two months. Let's say four and four. then they're going to get red hot. And they may win seven straight games. It's a bunch of Buffaloes, Miami, Cincinnati's,

Arizona's, Cincinnati again. They'll split with Pittsburgh. They're going to get smoking hot. And then the playoffs come. And young teams do not win the AFC. They don't. Peyton Manning did. Tom Brady did.

They don't win the AFC. And they're going to crash hard. And what's interesting about the game. the whole Oldell Beckham situation. It's very predictable. Odell Beckham and Baker Mayfield are on different watches. Baker Mayfield's got 15 years to play. Odell Beckham's five years in.

He wants to be a global star. He's already been hurt. And receivers have the second shortest NFL careers. And he's small. He's small and at times a little spindly. He wants to win, get numbers, and be a superstar for the next three years. He didn't buy house in Cleveland. He is there to win and get big numbers.

He wants to be a global superstar. And unlike all the other young Browns players who play tight end and will last 12 years, quarterback last 15, pass rush or last 11, dude's got about four years left to hit it. And when this team is three in five or four and he's not getting a look and he's getting doubled, is he the calming, soothing voice that a young locker room needs? Because on his good days, he's dramatic. So I think Cleveland, there's a lot of projecting here. Oh, Dell's great.

He's phenomenal. It's going to be amazing. Everybody's good in July. I think Cleveland's incredibly predictable. A lot of energy, a lot of talent, youngest roster, implementing a new offense, struggle a little early, some losses you think are wins like the opener hosting Tennessee, then smoking hot, starting somewhere in early November.

November 3 to November 10, you're going to reel off about. seven wins in eight weeks, and you're going to be the talk of the league, and O'Dell's going to be making catches, and then you're going to crash hard in the playoffs if you get there. Wildcard team, if you get there. Go on the road, like a New England at Kansas City, at Indianapolis, and crash hard. But it's going to be funny because this whole O'Dell Beckham thing, his watch isn't set to the same time as everybody else's watch. All these young players on this team, they have 10-year careers coming up.

Injoku, Baker-Mayfield, Miles Garrett, these guys are going to play for 10 years. OBJ, been hurt, five in, no time to waste. He got about four to make this puppy work. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So there's only three players in NBA history with the career PER, that's player efficiency rating, above 27.

And the Lakers have two of those three players on their roster right now in LeBron and Anthony Davis. So in an interview with CBS Sports's Jim Hill, AD said that neither he nor LeBron have played with a player this high caliber before. He said, I think I'm a very special player. I feel like I can do it all. Shoot a three. I can shoot the midrange. I take pride in defense. I talk on defense and I can lead.

I haven't played with a player like LeBron. And LeBron hasn't played with a player like me before. That's true. Well, I'm not going to take that as a slight at Dwayne Wade because he is a very different player. Right. But Magic also thinks that AD is going to elevate LeBron's game a lot too because he tweeted, I think King James will be the league's MVP next season. I think he'll have, I don't think that's crazy.

I think he'll have a great year. I think he's going to have a great year. I don't think it's crazy, but I do think it's kind of interesting if they are going to be in that space that the warriors have been in for the past couple years, that even though they are having amazing seasons, do they kind of cannibalize each other in the MVP race? The last time the MVP was in the 2012-2013 year with the heat. They were 66 and 16, and in 76 games, he averaged 27 points, 8 boards, 7 assists, and 38 minutes. So pretty decent year. He's been MVP four times.

It just kind of seems like everyone got a little bit of a fatigue with it in general. But when you look at the league, though, who does stick out as someone who would be the obvious MVP frontrunner? Usually when we look at the way the teams are assembled, we can say, okay, you know, if this team has a great year, this guy would be a likely MVP candidate. You know, the NBA MVP has often almost been a little bit of a romantic, I would say, a sentimental vote. It's become a bit of that, yeah. Right, right. Anthony Davis, oh, he finally gets to play with a good player. I think most people will root for Anthony Davis to have a great year. Like, he cannot be moved out.

So, yeah, I'm actually excited. I be the first one. I'm a sportscaster. I have not watched the ton of Anthony Davis be on All-Star Games and NBA TV highlights. No, I think you're right. I think a lot of people happen, and that's part of the reason why I'm a little hesitant about Anthony Davis.

Not that he's not an incredible player, that he's a top-10 player in the league, but this is all new territory for both LeBron and Anthony Davis. And, you know, the rest of the team adjusting to it as well. So the question on everyone's minds is how James Hardin and Russell Westbrook will fit together. Hardin obviously needs some help, but maybe in the form of Westbrook to finally get over the hump and make it back to the NBA finals.

Well, one rival executive chimed in and told Bleacher Report, the problem is they both need the ball in their hands. So it's the same problem they had before. But to me, Russ is an upgrade over Chris. You have a triple double guy who's younger and who can rebound better. The only difference is Chris shoots the three ball better. Well, he is in his prime. And Chris's contract now. If Chris was healthy, I wouldn't think Chris's contract's terrible.

I would just think it's expensive. Westbrook's contract is expensive. I don't think it's a terrible contract. I don't even think that the contracts matter so much anymore because they are putting other pieces around them anyway. And they have a lot of X-factor pieces there anyway in Houston. It always felt like Houston was chasing Golden State, and they couldn't just couldn't get past that hump. Now, Golden State isn't the ones that they're chasing anymore, obviously, because the entire NBA landscape has changed. But this exact does make a point.

Westbrook is an incredible rebounder. I know a lot of people think that the whole team clears out and lets Westbrook rebound, but he does have that kind of motor to rebound that Chris Paul doesn't. He is younger. He is in better shape. He doesn't have the injury fear, at least not to me, that Chris Paul has, especially late in the season. The shooting thing will be interesting, though. But I mean, to me, Westbrook was never a traditional point guard anyway.

So this adjustment is, in my mind, going to be more natural than people think. They just have to assign roles to the rest of the team. The two of them are aware of what their games are. It's not like they're completely oblivious to how they play basketball. They know they're both high usage, high motor players. So if they're going to play together, they both have to adjust. The problem is with a shot clock, Hardin's going to have the ball a ton, and Westbrook's going to end up having to be a viewer instead of an initiator,

which I think it's hard. I would think it would work if Westbrook was a pure shooter. He's got a Derek Rose thing where, in a John Wall thing, the ball doesn't come off his hands naturally. Your shot is what your shot is. You know, listen, Chris Paul's contract, I am, when the Lakers got Mosgolf off the books, because the Nets took it for, I was just like,

I remember the day I was driving and I'm like, how did they get out of that contract? The fact that Sam Presti took the Chris Paul contract, if I'm Daryl this morning, I can live with Westbrook. I'll figure the Westbrook thing out. One thing we learned is no contract is impossible to get out. I'll tell you, Chris Paul's is not easy.

It's not impossible, but John Wall and Chris Pauls, those are hard contracts. They figured it out, a lot of pieces. And finally, Lonza says he is ready for a fresh start in New Orleans. The news of his trade apparently happened in a car ride to his brother Lamello's Drew League game. And Lonzo told ESPN, I was kind of excited, honestly. I kind of figured someone was going to get moved soon enough. Anytime you can get a guy like Anthony Davis, you're going to have to do what you have to do to get him. So I was kind of already just waiting for it, honestly.

and I was happy to go with two guys I'm comfortable with, and B.I and J. Hart, I'm excited to see what we can do. That's a good perspective. He also kind of basically said, like, if this had happened earlier in his career, he might have been more hurt because, you know, he's from L.A. and his whole family is here, and now he understands the business of the NBA a bit more,

so it didn't bother him as much. I also think it probably eased the pain of the trade that you're going to play with Zion, and you have a completely new front office that has all their stuff together. And there's a renewed excitement about the team in New Orleans. Actually, you know what I honestly feel?

I feel like actually the Pelicans are all in on Lonzo. I never quite felt like, isn't it weird? I never felt everybody was in. In fact, somebody who I trust said the Laker front office was split on Lanzo. A lot of guys wanted Deerrin Fox, but they felt Lanzo was, you know, Lonzo Ball, Lakers, Los Angeles.

A lot of it, yeah, and it's an entertainment business. So a lot of that also matters. I mean, it does. He was at UCLA. He has a huge brand coming into the NBA already. Like that stuff puts butts in the seats, and it most certainly did. So the Lakers got what they needed out of Lonson. Obviously, his injuries kept him from being at his full potential with them.

But yeah, I agree with you. It never really felt like it was fully embraced. And I'm excited to see what Lanzo does, especially with Zion. Yeah. It's a young team. How old Drew? holiday about 26 years old. What's true? About 20. It's mostly a young team. Derek Favors

isn't that old either. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Rid News. Is Drew 29 years old? Yeah. J.J. Reddick and him are the old guys. Doug Gott got lead the Dugger. Fox Sports Radio after our show is joining us on a summer day. What is the date today, by the way? I'm

going to do a breaking news. It's July 15. I have breaking news later in the show for a personal issue. Do you go get coffee? I do. All right. I heard. I heard. this thing and I'm not going to actually I'm I'm not going to waste your segment on it no you can waste my segment not now the second part of it okay I'll break news so breaking news coming next segment I'm going to break the news and I'm not a protester I don't yell at help I've been a bus boy I've seen

but I made conscious decision and it's changed my life let's before we get to that that's a good tease okay so so I want to throw this theory at you Doug you like theories too you like theories too Yes. Hypotheses more than theories. Theories have to be proven, right? That's right. Hypothesis. So Zion Williamson was out of shape and never should have played in the summer league coach, K. I don't know that to be true, but I've thought about something, and I've talked about this on the show before.

We don't ask teenagers to walk into the NFL and star. We don't ask hockey players go to juniors and the minors. Even baseball players, good ones. Generally, Bryce Harper, an exception, go four years to the minors. Their bodies are bigger. They're emotionally ready to go. you have a young son. The gap, the difference in your son now and two years later as they grow is substantial. We ask teenagers to go from 36 college games to 82, play defense. By the way, carry the team.

When I, Zion came into the league, I had an executive tell me, he goes, I'd play him 26 minute tonight, and I'd play him 64 games with that body. Let that body grow. We asked these kids, so a story came out this weekend, where injuries among young NBA players are going through the roof more than any sport up 125%. Is it crazy to think that we are simply, the upside of being 18 and rich in the NBA is that it's a star-driven league? We are asking way too much of teenagers. Yes. Yes, it's in addition to the part that wasn't discussed, Baxter Holmes, I believe, authored that article. It's an outstanding article.

Baxter. There was, it's funny, Kobe Bryant kind of echoed that sentiment. On the other hand, I think his daughter's AAU team actually practices five days a week. And he's like, they're playing too much basketball, but his daughter's team, it's one of the best in the country. Praxis five days a week. But look, there's an emotional arrested development that I think guys are missing. I think there's a, in terms of their skill set, there's an arrested development where look at Dwight Howard. He never truly dominated at the college.

He never got to play in college, so he didn't dominate that level in the low post. He never really had a low post game. Granted, we don't want low post skills now, but there were some finer things about his game. Even LeBron James, as magnificent as he's been, he doesn't know how to play without the basketball. Like this, the old idea of him being a point guard. It's like, look, end of the day, he has the ball in his hands. Right. And since he got into league, which is great.

But you look at how the Warriors have been. able to play with the fewest number of ball screens, the most ball movement. So I do think there's some other social skills that are developed. I think there's some basketball skills. But this is the part that everyone's missing. You're asking just too much, right? We're asking too much. And is there the one body?

LeBron James is the outlier. His body has not broken down until last year. But everybody else has. Yes. Because in addition to the fact that you're playing against men, you're playing more games, you're having more travel, your body still changes. Like, I don't know how you were at 19 years old. Oh, my God.

I was, I stayed back, I was held back in eighth grade for sports. I was tiny, and I grew like nine and a half inches in one year. Right, right. So I graduated high school at 155 or so. I get to Notre Dame at 160. I play my first game three months later, 177. So just the idea that your body's not used to. Joey, this is how it works for guys.

I grew seven inches my junior year of high school. Right. And so you're now asked, you're going to ask guys who are still developing and evolving to play, and we're judging you based upon how you play immediately when you're 18, 19 years old. Absolutely. Like, look, college has a lot of values that so many people can't see because all they see is the dollar signs of the NBA. And I would guess that there are plenty of players that if you went back and tracked the

second, third, four-year college player, they probably break down less than guys that come straight at a high school or the one in Dunsdown. Well, I heard this from somebody inside the Lakers. Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma walked into the league and they said, not only were they physically, they've been in wait rooms, they were better leaders.

Because they were men. They were 23. It's a big difference asking an 18-year-old to walk into an NBA locker room. Go tell the veteran play. But when he's 22, you feel like, okay, I was a college captain for three years. It's different.

Here's something interesting. Obviously, we're all being critical at some level of Sam Presti and the fact that he's traded away or lost all of these stars. What people so quickly forget is that when they traded James Harden, one it was because James Harden kept going out to strip clubs

during the NBA finals. He performed terribly. And they said, like, look, do that in the offseason. We got the NBA finals, and he was awful. I remember that. And then Rob Polinko was his agent. He was asking for a ton of money. And they had to choose between Sir Jabaca or James Hardin

if they didn't want to go over the tax. And the reason they chose Serge Abaka wasn't they thought Serja Baca was a better player. But back then, you go back seven years ago. And you had to have two big guys because the Lakers had Andrew Bynum, and because the Spurs were playing with two big guys back then as well. Andrew Bynum's a perfect example.

Socially, emotionally, was not ready for the NBA, and his body broke down consistently, and he's been out of league for five years or so now. I mean, it does in fact happen. The thing was Zion that I was told by people in the Summer League, one, his body is going to either be the

limiting factor or the reason that he succeeds, and then two, I think people have come around, people are now looking at him, go like, man, he's a lot smaller, than I thought. He's six, five, and three quarters and bare feet. So remember, I think he has a chance to be a tremendous small ball five. Yeah.

But small ball fives, you're guarding Anthony Davis when they go small. No. There are some limitations to his size, and he better buy a body guy. He better buy a guy who a million dollars a year, whatever it costs, follow him around, keep him in shape, have a chef because he has to

lose weight. Otherwise, he runs the risk of those premature injuries. By the way, Andre Agassi, long story, I don't want to bore you with. Andre Agassi was best friends with a person who owned the TV station I first worked at. So Andre Agassiz used to come into my office. Hey, Dodgers went last night before the internet, right? It was on the AP wire. Andre Agassiz was legendary, Taco Bell.

And all of a sudden he hit like 29. And Andre's like, oh, I can't eat like that anymore. Yeah. Like young athletes burned through so many calories, they tend to be bad eaters because they can get away with it. Zion's one of those guys, has to come into this league and get that thing worked on fast. To your point, spend some money. go anywhere. I may break news. We have more stuff to talk about. It's Doug Gottlieb, it's the herd.

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

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo SlicLife 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, Tript Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

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

growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff,

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

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

in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back. Everybody's laugh. I only have one rule in my marriage, no check bags.

It was like one of my proudest moments was my wife flew cross country and back and she did not check bags. And I was like, this is. Well, I love that away luggage. It's perfect for not checking. Thanks for rubbing it in. I've heard you read the ads, and it's got, I mean, I'm traveling today. No one gets from be away luggage. I don't like checking bags either.

I don't do it. Because I feel bad. It's not like it's not the person's fault in the room that the baggage, the luggage was lost. But they just have to deal with everyone being upset all day. That's the worst room in America is the room off of baggage claim where, you know, every different airline has that room. Lost luggage. Lost luggage room. Awful.

Right? And they have all these, they have these like, they have these, uh, basic numbers by different types of bag come in identify. Imagine being that person all day where no one comes in and goes like, hey man, how you doing? Great job today. They got my bags. They only come in and they take all the heat and they had nothing to do.

They never checked their bags. They don't know you. They've never met you. No one ever says, I always try to be nice to those people and I'm very nice to people at the DMV because I know that that's what they deal with all day. So I'll tell you, I'm not going to get into my protest. I'll do that later. I want to talk.

I have a huge life-altering protest. later in the show. I'll do it at the top of next hour. I just want to point out that when you talk about that protest, I'm calling BS because I believe that it's a lot like people who complain about airlines that say, I'm never flying that airline again. And then they got to book a trip and they get online. They're like, wait, it's $20 cheaper to fly that one? I'll never bad mouth airlines. They get ripped by the media on the internet and I hate it. It makes us look so out of touch and unrelatable. Everybody in America has gotten delayed media people. Stop whining about your, I've flown Delta for 40 years. I love Delta. I've had one bad flight because

world came crashing down. There was a blizzard. And it was the only time I had a bad flight. Other than that, Delta has been amazing. It wasn't their fault. It was God or whoever controls the weather. NASA or whatever. Weather Channel. All right, Doug Gottlieb's here. Listen, the Westbrook thing, it's a basketball thing. Westbrook is not a off-ball shooter. Hardin's unbelievable with the ball. I don't think he's going to relinquish it. If I was James Hardin, I wouldn't relinquish it. It's the reason you and I both do solo shows. Because we wouldn't relinquish the mic enough. why we do good locals. We do good solo shows. We probably wouldn't work great outside of

segments. I don't think it's going to work. What do you make of Westbrook the player today? Well, it's a very interesting point because earlier in their career, it did work. When they were together on the thunder in the fourth quarter, as Charles Barkley said, should happen.

James Harden was the point guard, and Russell Westbrook was the off guard. And Russell Westbrook's a very good cutter. He's obviously crazy athletic. And he didn't, he doesn't, it's weird. You look at a assist totals and people are like, whoa, he's a great pastor. Like, no, not really. He doesn't create shots for other people nearly as well as he could.

It's not a bad passer. But you move him off the basketball and he has a chance to be fantastic. But that was how many years ago? You know, how many MVP awards for both of them? And they've grown and evolved into different people. It would be like if we did a two-person show seven or eight years ago. When we were both coming into our careers, we would have been much more willing to do it. Yes.

But now we're really difficult. Yes. Correct. And now we go on rants about coffee and how expensive coffee is. Right, right. So it's not going to work. Look, Russell Esbrook is, what's not discussed enough, it's not just that he's a high-volume shooter and high-volume misser.

Like, you're talking below 30% from three. As much as you might not love the Lakers roster, they don't have a player on their roster that shot outside of a Javeldin shoot. threes below 30% from three. Like that's, and you have a team that collectively takes a ton of threes. Right. Takes the most threes in the NBA. Houston shoots threes are dumb. So wait,

you put a guy who's on a team that shoots a ton of threes and that's not a good shooter and you're going to tell him to shoot less. But you know what? And then by the way, he doesn't play defense anymore. And he's also not a good finisher at the rim. He's crazy athletic, but he's not a great finisher. If you look at the analytics, he doesn't finish

well, and he's had three knee surgeries. And as much as you guys are right, the Chris Paul contract's bad. It's one year shorter than the Russell Westbrook contract. The last year that contract is $47 million. Okay, $47 million. He's 34 years old. He'd be making $47 million.

Good luck. Good luck with this deal. I think it probably had to be done. That's where I think, listen, not all deals are, there are people called owners in the NFL and some owners. I've had coaches tell me stories about owners. You can't believe. I would tell you the story and you're like, that didn't happen.

owners are crazy. Owners own is the expression. Why does this make sense? Owners own. And by the way, the Fertita family, they're watching the West get improved. And all of a sudden they're like, we were the talk of the league,

merchandise sales, don't kid yourself. I don't know if this is for Tita as much as Chris Paul and James Harden clearly needed to be broken up from each other. I think that's, they weren't getting along. They didn't see.

But think about Russell Westbrook. You're going to, a guy who's a high volume misser going on a team that shoots the highest volume of three. Yeah, by the way, you got a lame duck head coach that doesn't coach defense and Jeff Bezdelik, his defense coordinator got fired this year. Right? Like, how do you think that's going to work?

It's going to, I think they're in the short term better because he's more athletic. Yeah. He's got a little bit more in the tank than Chris Paul, but long term, that's not an NBA championship team anymore. By the way, I'll just throw this out there so we can put it on tape. It's up to me and I ran the team. I like Mike Dan Tony. I'd remove input in Ty Lou. Why?

Tie is confrontational. Ty's a former player. Ty gets after guys. Ty Lou to me would be the coach I would hire. I think you have Mike Dantone's a wonderful guy, works with certain young players, not confrontational, acknowledges on tape. Dan Tony acknowledges, I'm not really confrontational.

You're going to need a little confrontation about 45 games into this thing to sit down with the fellas and say, listen, this is the way it's got to work, so I don't think it'll work. I only got a minute left. It is interesting, Houston, though, right? How many times they've tried to rework this thing? I know. Right?

Like, and I almost feel bad. And it doesn't matter ownership or whatever. Like, they had Zhao Ming, and let's add Tracy McGradian, then Yao kept getting hurt. And then they find they make this move and they get James Harden. And they've tried Dwight Howard. That didn't work. Jeremy Lynn once upon a time was supposed to be his point guard. That didn't work.

Then the Chris Paul trade. That didn't work. And now it's, it's not for lack of trying. No. They try really hard. Yeah. And James Hardin's a great player. So when you get one of these great players, you're like, okay, we get like five years left

of great James Harden, four. Now we're probably in the four to five. But you do, I think there's a clock on James Hardin and they're saying, we've got the best analytic score in the history of the league. We've got to figure this out here. He's got four prime years left. But then you go anti-analytics with this move. I know. It doesn't. There's a reason that most people, like the analytic people,

are all over the internet going, I don't understand it. Again, I think it, like you say, Chris Paul. It was a personality conflict that led to a divorce, but because of the length of the contract and Russell Westbrook's success, with the averaging a triple double and the ego of having the basketball, you married the rebound check. That's what you end up doing, and you married her for four years. All right, Colin, right, Colin wrong next hour.

Doug Gottlieb, my major life-altering breaking news change next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

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 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. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clifford Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This line. You know these kids. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships, can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown

and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Here we go, hour two and a Monday. This is The Herd, wherever you may be. and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Porch, Radio, FS1. In 15 minutes, I will have breaking news. I've made a personal life choice that needs to be discussed at some length. It's, I'm very excited for this discussion. Very excited. Yeah, because I think a lot of people will relate to it. All right.

Because I'm not a, I never treat people bad at restaurants. I don't, I don't protest. You don't go on Yelp. I don't do Yelp reviews. I'm not going to hurt restaurant employees. Not even like with a burner account, not even like hiding. But I made a decision yesterday. And I may be wrong.

And if I'm wrong, let's do one of those stupid polls. Other shows do every day. We do like twice a year. I'm going to have a poll. I'll tell you in 10 minutes. And the audience can react to my madness. All right. That's Joy Taylor's voice you're hearing.

All right. Every Monday, there are a lot of shows have opinions. And we do too. and I think we need to be, I do, need to be held accountable when I whiff on stuff. And so we call it Colin right, Colin wrong. Here we go to Monday. Where Colin was right. I've been saying for 20 years, if you listen to this show, that the NBA is not necessarily controlled by players. It's controlled by shoe companies and agents.

And LeBron and Anthony Davis were going to swap numbers. And then LeBron was told, you can't do that. By who? Nike. So the commissioner, Adam Silver, walks on eggshells around LeBron. Nike doesn't. They said, LeBron, you're not swapping that number. We'd lose tens of millions of dollars. You're not doing that, even after they'd announce it. I've been saying this. Everybody says basketball players play in the Olympics because of patriotism. That's certainly part of it. You know who else tells them to play in the Olympics? Shoe companies. You know who tells them to

go visit China in the offseason? Shoe companies. I'm paying to $30 million a year to wear my shoes. Minimum. You're going to play here. You're going to go there and you're not swapping numbers. shoe companies and agents have massive control. It's not a bad thing, by the way. It's just, listen, it's the culture of basketball. I'm not complaining, but here it was on display again this weekend. The number swapped got turned down by Nike. Where Colin was raw.

I don't know Rob Palenka, but I've banged on him a lot. I got to be honest. It's very easy for me to sit up here and bring out the anvil on the Lakers in the last year because they've been dysfunctional. But I will say this. You can't blame Rob Palenka because they didn't land Kauai Leonard. They actually did a pretty good job. They got a bunch of guys who can shoot.

My complaint for the last year is if you have LeBron James, surround him with shooters. He's really good with shooters. Danny Green they got. Quinn Cook they got. Avery Bradley they got. They threw in Boogie Cousins. Don't love the Rondo signing. I'm just going to say that right out front.

But all told, the Lakers are interesting. They're talented. And they did the bench. It's pretty good. It's not a terrible bench. It's a little older. But Kuzma's young. Quinn Cook is young.

Avery Bradley still got some, you know, some legs left. All told, Vegas agrees. Lakers roster. I don't think it's as chemistry-wise the fit the Clippers is. But Rob Polinka deserves some credit here. He found cap space. We didn't think he would do that. He found shooters and tip of the cap.

Where Colin was right? Well, Westbrooks reigns over in Oklahoma City. I didn't think he'd end his career there. I've always felt more than most people. A lot of empty numbers and stats and a very rigid playing style. But in the end, more than anything, I think what last week signified is once again, Paul George, another star player, says publicly they love him, but he was conspiring to leave. Maybe that's Oklahoma City and Los Angeles.

But it sounded like all the stories I read. It was Paul George tired of playing with him and wanting to play with Kauai Leonard, who, by the way, Kauai Leonard's great. Westbrook is kind of a little bit like Carmelo Anthony. Good numbers, Hall of Famer, first ballot. Don't think he's a bad guy at all, by the way. I know people that know Mello. They like him.

I know people that know Westbrook. They like him. But there is a rigid style. I think he's difficult to play with. And the evidence proves that a lot of his numbers are kind of empty. Triple double sounds great, but it can at times be a very empty stat. Where Colin was wrong. Listen, like the rest of you, I thought Kauai Leonard was a little off, a little aw.

too quiet. It ends up. He's calculated and cunning and manipulated the NBA. I saw a story this weekend. I think Ramona Shelburne give her credit that basically he was waiting to announce the Clipper move, forcing the Lakers to sit around for 36, 48 hours, so they couldn't fill out their roster because he didn't want to play in the same arena with a better roster.

He's a very sharp guy. Is he quirky? Is he quiet? But, you know, I shouldn't even use the word quirky. Is Mike Trout quirky? Or just quiet? Is Brooks Caput, Christian Pulisic? You know what?

Most people aren't super, super verbal and outspoken. So it figures that many of our star athletes, Tim Duncan didn't talk a lot, aren't outspoken. All told, he was the puppet master, a very calculated, cunning puppet master for the NBA duo trend. I think it's, I'm not sure if it'll, I don't know if people want to watch Denver, in the Western Conference Finals or Utah, I do.

But all told, I think I underestimated the calculated the calculated nature of Kauai's personality. Where Colin was right? A dynasty's equal ratings. They just do. Ratings equal interest. Wimbledon's final yesterday for the men was up 190%. Why?

Because it gave us a dynasty. The Federer dynasty? By the way, Serena gets massive numbers. She's a personal dynasty. Federer's a dynasty. Djokovic is a dynasty. Nadal's a dynasty. Last year, Wimbledon final, the number wasn't nearly as big

because you didn't have two dynasties. You keep telling me you like parity. Because parity feels, everybody's got a chance. But remember, dynasties we connect to. We love them or we hate them. We fear them or we jump on the bandwagon. So we've got this natural, visceral connection to these superstars. By the way, if Federer's been around, I don't even know.

I think he won his first major in 2003. It was a remarkable match. I thought Federer had it and hate using choke. I thought he kind of gagged a little. But in the end, the Wimbledon final, this is what sports is at its best. Legends, icons, you root for one. Everybody in the stadium appeared to be rooting for Federer. But you were pulling for and against somebody and they'll always be the ratings champs.

Where Colin was raw. Man, I apologize for Chris Paul for a long time. I blamed all the rest of the Clippers when he demanded, you know, trades out of L.A. And I blamed everybody but Chris Paul. But in the end, nobody in the world, myself included, is a victim of their own reputation. What people say is, you know, generally what the consensus says is true. The consensus is now saying, Chris is difficult. And listen, Chris had to understand when he went into Houston.

It's James Harden City. It's his offense. It's his team. It's his coach. You were a visitor. My first year when I worked at Fox. I was a visitor. I may have been an employee,

but I was surrounded by people who'd been there 15, 18, 20 years. You act accordingly. Chris walked in and kind of wanted it even. He wanted the scales of basketball justice to be even. And this is Hardin's franchise.

And you've got to acquiesce. And frankly, right now Hardin's a much better basketball player. Chris could have made this work. This is not unhardened. Chris could have made this work. When you're the second best player of two, it's your job to make it work.

He didn't, and I have been given Chris Paul a pass for years. Where Colin was right. Steph Curry came out last week to once again compliment Kevin Durant. By the way, Kevin Durant hasn't said anything nice about Steph Curry. Curry has gone out several times to say nice things about Durant. This goes to my belief on Steph Curry that he is the most, and it's hard to even embrace this because it sounds crazy. He's the most underappreciated superstar of my life. Everybody love Michael.

Everybody understood Bird. everybody like magic, everybody gets LeBron, everybody gets all these stars. Steph Curry is nearly on equal footing and nobody wants to give him credit. Players don't love him. Does everybody understand this warrior dynasty? They won without Kevin Durant. They recruited Durant because of Curry and were 38 and 5 when Kevin Durant didn't play and Curry did. That's nothing against Kevin Durant.

I think he's a very talented at times flaky player. But Steph Curry watching him act as Kevin. Kevin Durant leaves embodies everything I've always believed about Steph Curry. He is the soul of the last great basketball dynasty. I don't know if we'll ever have a team that dominant. We may, we may not, but he was the soul of it. Where Colin was raw. You know, I do say wide receivers are icing,

quarterbacks and offensive lines of the cake, but DeAndre Hopkins, receiver for the Texans, is the only offensive player. The Madden game gave a 99 rating to, and they're generally pretty accurate. They gave Khalil Mack one, Aaron Donald one, Bobby Wagner one, and D'Andre Hopkins one. No Zeke, no Aaron Rogers, no Russell Wilson, no Patrick Mahalms.

I got to give Madden credit. He's the only guy that got a 99, and they don't hand those puppies out much, and generally who they rate, they rate the good guys. He is a phenomenal talent. He is a phenomenal talent. He's not as flashy as OBJ. He hadn't been around doing it as long. as Julio Jones. He's not as talked about as Antonio Brown. He is a filthy talent. 99 from the Madden

game. Where Colin was right. Dak Prescott said last week, for somebody to say, you can only take so much because of the salary cap with gambling, everything going into the league, everybody's going to keep going up. I'm not taking a pay cut. I've said this about that. Should he take 27? You can make that argument. Will he? Absolutely not. Dak Prescott, kept the Dallas Cowboys the last three years on television. Thursday night football, Monday night football, Thursday early, Fox game of the week. He kept every single network they were on. They were the highest rated.

They weren't when Tony Romo got hurt. Don't kid yourself. The Lakers moved off TV before LeBron got the town. Just because you're a big brand, they're not going to put you on. Before Jim Harbaugh was at Michigan, the Brady-Hoke years, Michigan was not on TV as much. By the way, Alabama wasn't on TV nearly as much 10 years ago pre-Sabin. Dak Prescott made the Cowboys viable on TV for a three-year stretch. He is not taking a dime less.

And regardless of what I think, I don't love my quarterback's making 33 large. I think part of the Patriot's strength, honestly, is Brady's the 15th highest paid quarterback that allows him to get two or three more players. But Brady didn't save the franchise. He took him to a cool place. Dak saved it. They didn't have a quarterback. they were, you watched that year Romo got hurt pre-Dak. They were absolutely not television quality.

And Dax, not taking a pay cut, made it very clear last week. All right. Okay, I think I'll break my news in about five. I'll take a break and I'll break my news. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it because I just don't think that's appropriate because I'm a sports host and I think I need to stay in the fairway, not out in the weeds, but I will spend a couple of minutes. Well, every once in a while, you know, you get stuck out there.

It's okay. Do we have a big font for my breaking news? Because I think this qualifies as big font breaking news. It's a personal choice. All right. And you guys can react to it, how you want to react to it. I don't care if you agree or not. You can rip me if you want.

I don't have, I don't have a problem. 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 I-Hard Radio app. All right, welcome back. It's nice to have you in. By the way, car shopping is confusing. a lot of terms dealer price list price invoice true car shows you what other people paid for the car

you want newer used true car so just give me like three minutes on this so this weekend my daughter's in town and my uh you know college kid and then she comes back and uh she's over hanging at the house and we go buy a coffee let's go have a talk she wants just talk and hang out the weather in manhattan beach was nice and overcast perfect day to hang out so i go to my coffee shop and i'm not gonna name the coffee shop because i don't want to rip a business because that's not my thing and i'm not telling you what to do i'm telling you what i'm doing and you can call me on it if you want. So I go to this coffee shop. It's the one I go to in my little town, right? And I order a small ice coffee. That's it. So just coffee and like cream and sugar.

And then I order just black coffee, small black coffee. Okay. 756. And I've been doing coffee my whole life. I grew up in Seattle. You drink coffee. Starbucks, right? And I just froze. I was like, it was almost $8. And the cups were like this big. And then we went outside and my daughter's done. with hers, 45 seconds. You know, it tastes delicious. And I'm not with mine in 10 minutes. And I'm thinking myself, 8 times 7, 45. I'm spending $400 a year. My wife gets a large coffee at least once a day, my stepdaughter. And I'm like, I'm spending $450, $500 a month. I can make this stuff at home. And I said, that's it. I'm done. I'm never buying coffee at a coffee shop again. And then I started to do it in my head. I'm going to spend $30,000 if I live a normal life drinking coffee I can

make at home. That's a new car. What am I doing with my life? I'm no, you can hold me accountable. I'm never going to a coffee shop again. It's outrageous. $8 for two small coffees. They are robbing us. And we don't care because it's a routine. And so when you get into a routine, you just blindly put your car down and it just hit me. Maybe the way she said it, the angle, the noise, the echo is $8. And I'm just, you know, and I'm just, you're just, you're just, you're just, just like, the hell am I doing with my life here? I can't, I'm done. Okay, well, so this is the breaking news.

This is breaking new air breaking. Massive. I'm not done, I'll drink coffee. I'm making my own coffee. That was an appropriate sounder. This is massive. Well, one, I think you sound a little bit like get off my lawn guy, so that could be part of it.

All right. And we know what those people tend to be in the twilight years. So you may be careful. All right. because I don't think that you're in that space yet. But I will say that it's very smart. It's very frugal of you. You want to make your own coffee.

But where does it ends? So are you going to not have coffee in restaurants? That's different. Because you're already there spending money? Well, I'm spending money anyway, and it's $2. And I don't feel like they gouge you. I look at the check. They don't gouge you.

Yeah, they really don't ever-priced coffee in restaurants. They don't. Okay, but what if you're traveling? I'm allowing myself at major international airports. have coffee? To have a small coffee. That's the only exception. Okay. Now what about cafes? Like if you, you know, you guys are having a nice walk and you're like, oh, let's sit and have, you know, a croissant and a coffee. Nope. Nope. They hose you. So you'll get just a water and a croissant. You just won't get the coffee. I'll just say, honey, you go and get your little thing. I'm just going to keep walking. So at a principle, you're not going to do it. I'm not doing it. Those places. Does the rest of your family have to stop buying coffee or just you?

Yeah, that's a good question. I have to, that'll be a confrontation later this afternoon. Because coffee drinkers are very territorial by their coffee. Listen, I'll get a headache. If I don't drink coffee, I'll get a headache. I drink coffee every morning, but I also don't pay for it. Where do you go? It's right here. They're very gracious. They bring it for us, yes.

How long do you think this lasts? Rush to my life? No, I definitely, there's no chance that happens. But I believe you. Okay. Hold me accountable. America, if you see me in a coffee shop, hold me accountable. I'm serious.

Okay, but this is the Goulet asked the perfect question. What if your daughter wants coffee so she can get the coffee, but you're just out of principle not going to buy the coffee? Because you're not going to tell your daughter she can't have coffee. I'm going to sit her down and talk about finances and let her know going forward. This is an egregious financial decision that could create any ability to commerce. When you break it down, the amount of money that you would save is going to be staggering. It's incredible.

It's very expensive for two regular coffees. What might be more alarming is you just learned that they overcharge you for coffee. This is also true. Yeah, I was kind of blinded by it for like my life. it's a little late for me to get so freaked out because I've been doing it for 25 years, but it just hit me wrong. I'm not a huge coffee snob. I get the same coffee every day.

Right, so am I. But if it wasn't from the company that we get it from, I would just get a regular coffee with cream and sugar. It doesn't bother me. It's more for the caffeine than the taste. And I wasted everybody's life on that, but I... No, I think actually a lot of people would have an opinion about that because it's coffee. It's unbelievable what it costs now.

And I think we've gotten into this thing where we just put our card down because it's part of our life. We all need to step back. Yeah, we have become coffee zombies. Complete. We're not even being smart about this. You break loose, Colin. Fight back against the man. I am.

Make your own coffee. I'm going to hashtag this thing. Pretty soon. Joy with the news. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Massive.

So now with the Lakers have Anthony Davis, they know they have a season long job to convince him to stay during free agency. So we all are just now coming down from the free agency. Buzz, we get to go through all this again next year, although I think we kind of all feel like Anthony Davis is probably going to stay with the Lakers. GM Rob Blinka started quite early checking in with AD and LeBron for confirmation on free agent signings. Rob will call, AD, what do you think about him? All right, cool.

Right back. This is what happened going on with him. All right, cool. I had to tell him, like, Rob, I'm in the movies, you know? Like, you're like, all right, well, come soon as you get out. But, you know, that's why we're trying to put the, best team around us, you know, and I think he did a great job of doing that. By the way, he came off really good in his presser.

I thought Anthony came off really good. He was chill. He was smart. He was thoughtful. It's very, very, we talked about it's before. It's very hard to be your team, your city superstar, and leave. Like, it's hard. I saw how Mello do it. The White Howard do it. Shack do it. LeBron do it twice. People don't like it. Especially when you're the drafted star, fans feel like, oh, he's ours. Like, he's our guy. I do think that, but also I think Anthony Davis is kind of in a unique space where, you know, we've already seen this with LeBron, you know, moving and going to Miami. So that initial anger and outrage over a hometown hero leaving is not as exaggerated anymore. And also, nobody felt like he was going to ever be able to reach his full potential with New Orleans.

And certainly not with the setup that they had there. Now, now people may have felt differently, but that's now. So he's not going to get the backlash ever that LeBron or Mello or, you know, those guys would have gotten from leaving. That said, I do think this is interesting. And Rob Blinkett does deserve some credit because it was looking like a complete disaster there for a little while, that he is at the very least communicating with LeBron NAD, which is super important. So the Wizards have some questions surrounding the future of their franchise, longtime president.

Ernie Grunfeld was fired at the end of the regular season. and then obviously they offered Masay Ujuri a ridiculous, audacious offer. And Tim Connolly also turned on an offer from the owner this summer. The biggest question is Bradley Beale's future, though. So according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post, around the league, the extension is not viewed as a done deal. There's a growing belief that Beal will not remain in Washington for his entire career, quotes, he's out of here, one well-placed person within the NBA predicted.

You know I love Bradley Beale. You do love Bradley Beale. I think he is the best player in the league that nobody acknowledges as a great player. We all admit these guys are great. When we mention great players, we never bring up Bradley Beale. He just averaged 25 a game. He's just now. Joey, he's just now coming into his prime.

Yes, he averaged a career high 25.6 points on 47.5% from the field this season. That's incredible. And by the way, what John heard, he faces the best defender. This is a great player. He takes care of himself. He shoots. He's got a great personality. People like him. This is when I feel really bad for pro athletes.

This is when I feel bad for pro athletes. You get drafted to a team, and then you stay to the second contract because you can make your generational money. I would do it. Anybody would do it. And then your co-star gets hurt. So now John Wall is not who you want to play with. And you don't want to be a bad guy, but now money's not the most important thing because nobody talks about you and you.

know you can play with everybody. That's why Damien Lillard, everybody's like, oh, Damien can play. Damien's been great for like six years. We're now just seeing him. Yeah. And also, but Damien's also, he's in a great position within that organization. And so, well run, well coached. And he has pieces around him. And they are constantly trying to add more pieces around him. So Bradley Biel still has two years left on his current contract. And by July 26th, the Wizards can offer him a three-year, $11 million contract extension to remember. with the team. I think we all are kind of in the same boat except for

Wizards fans, obviously, that we'd like to see him play in a more functional situation. Yes, that's a good word. It's more functional. That's when I feel bad for athletes when they get drafted into dysfunction. Yeah. So speaking of all that generational money, finally, the initial idea of the Supermax

was to help teams keep their superstars by enticing them to make more money by staying. Obviously, it worked out well for Stuff Curry and James Hardin. Right. And then there's the case of Anthony Davis who said, no, thanks to a Supermax, so why give up that much money? Well, Shaq recently spoke to Yahoo Finance and said O'Neal said he's made more money through his investments than playing basketball. I heard Jeff Faso say one time that he makes his investments based on if it's going to change people's lives.

Once I started doing that strategy, I think I probably quadrupled what I'm worth. Shaq was an early investor in Google and also has money in Apple, 24-hour fitness, and a couple of Las Vegas nightclubs, among others. He earned nearly $300 million. during his 19-year basketball career, but he now makes more each year than the $30 million salary that he played when he was active in the NBA. Well, I think you could do that then.

I think players make more now. I think between shoes and playing salary. Sure, but I also think, like, this speaks to the changing environment around all of professional sports. I think, you know, obviously there was the 30-for-30 broke and we've heard so many stories about, you know, the tragedy around athletes that have made hundreds of millions of dollars and lost it.

I think the entire environment has changed, especially because of guys like Shaq, because of guys like Magic and LeBron. And you see that you can have businesses outside of sports and you can invest and create a line of revenue for yourself that doesn't, isn't just attached to sports. I mean, the amazing thing about baseball players make a lot of money, they make none in endorsements. I mean, that's, I mean, you would think America's pastime for my entire childhood was baseball. NBA guys are on video games. They're on... Well, that's what comes with elevating your stars and letting people know the stories and the personalities.

I mean, you see baseball players' faces. It's not that you can't... They're not recognizable, but you need to know the story. You need to know the personality and have a personal attachment to them. Some of that's on the baseball players themselves. Some, yeah, but it's also the environment around baseball. It's not that kind of culture. No, no, it's not in the...

They don't want you promoting your home runs. Forget your face and your games. Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. You know, I saw something this weekend.

Adam Silver was very happy after this weekend, and many of the owners were. Steph Curry was talking about load management, and he was joking about it this weekend. He's like, I want to play games. Anthony Davis came out, and here's a bite from Anthony Davis, talked about taking time off this year.

I was wondering with the way the league is heading teams and medical staffs and players are very concerned about their health and load management has kind of become this thing. What do you think as a young star about load management? How do you think it will apply to you? I'm playing. I'm 26 years old. I love the game of basketball.

I'm ready to play. You have no idea. Privately, there's been a lot of hand-wringing. I've been told over the last nine months to a year in the NBA about this load management thing. Listen, I love going to NBA games. Tickets are expensive. Family of four can run you $800, parking, blah, blah, blah. LeBron, as he is age, kind of kickstarted the load management,

and then Kauai took the baton and took it the 22 games. Let me tell you something. Owners don't like this, and the commissioner doesn't like it, and he's trapped. The commissioner came out a couple of weeks ago and said, you know what, we should play 56 games. They're not going to reduce it to 56 games. That is 66. That's like 25 fewer games. You're going to tell me every owner's going to give you 12 home games?

That's not going to happen. that's not going to happen. And now you've got all these duo teams in the league. People want stars cycling through their arenas, the owner slash governor of the league. And so this is one of these situations where Steph came out and said, I'm going to play, and AD came out and said, I'm going to play. LeBron James, as he's gotten older, by the way,

LeBron used to play every game. LeBron James, as he is aged, took a few days off and called it load management. But in the end, it's bad for business and it's bad optics. Football players play hurt. Hockey players play. hurt. Soccer players generally, by the way, baseball players generally want to play. Pitchers sometimes go to the IR, but baseball players' numbers are often based on totals, so they don't want to give

up games. Mike Trout got hurt yesterday. He wants to finish the game. They want to get their totals, their RBI, their home run, the runs batted and all that stuff. So this doesn't seem like a big deal by Anthony Davis saying, I want to play, and Steph Curry is saying I want to play. It is a big deal behind the scenes. It's bad optics. I'm, you know, Adam Silver, listen to LeBron, LeBron said, give us a longer All-Star break. I'm okay with that. Fewer back-to-backs. I'm okay with that. I think this league is incredibly

demanding on players. But the load management thing is just not good business at all. And so when Anthony Davis comes out and says, now I'm going to play the games, that is a massive sigh of relief for Adam Silver. By the way, in

terms of my coffee, I've made a decision not to drink coffee from a coffee anymore. John, are you monitoring my social media accounts? How is that playing with America? You sound like a true man of the people. What are the people saying?

I think everyone knew that coffee was expensive. Until I said it's really expensive. And now I've galvanized America. Starbucks might actually go into foreclosure because if you're going to lead this revolt against them. I'm not against coffee. I'm against getting

hosed for eight bucks on two thimbles of caffeine. And he's say specifically which coffee house is overpriced. I did not say specifically, no. Although the answer is all of them. The answer is all of them. But I didn't, I'm not calling out an individual. You should just get your coffee to go from a diner.

Diner's a great coffee. I love diner coffee. Where are diners? Everywhere. In the 70s. I don't have a diner in my area code. A diner? I'm sure you do.

Where's there a diner? Where are you living? I love diners. The best food and the best coffee. Do you live in New Jersey? Where are there diners? Everywhere. Just type in the deli. I guarantee you have one close to you.

Katino Mowgli coming up next. I literally, I just got pushed back to 1974. I feel like De Niro before he got whacked in the phone booth. I was at a dinah. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending.

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

the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to 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. 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 iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior,

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

but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Five days, one of the greatest fighters of our generation puts his legacy on the line as Manny Packyow battles undefeated world champion Keith Thurman in the Can't Miss fight of the summer, Saturday at 9 Eastern live on pay-per-view or order on the Fox Sports app. I'll take Keith Thurman undefeated 29-0. Every year we get one or two great fights. This is going to be an incredibly historic night.

I'll be watching a couple of weeks in Vegas. All right, Catino Mobley, over a decade in the NBA, a couple of things to talk about. Number one, Mike Shashefsky said, I want you to take us back in your career. Mike Shishvsky said that Zion should not have been playing in the summer league. He wasn't in shape. He was doing all the awards.

He's not in shape. So he plays about five, ten minutes, gets hurt. And Shishovsky's like, listen, this kid's body's valuable. What are we jamming him into a summer league he's not ready? Your thoughts about him getting hurt very quickly and about his body overall? You know, I kind of look at his body and he's really heavy. He's really heavy. And it seems like, okay, he's born thick.

He's born thick kid. But the thing is, the way he plays, which, so much power and tenacity and things like that, that's not going to last long, especially how his diet is, because you're not supposed to be gaining weight when you're playing. He's supposed to be trimming up, you know, losing weight, kind of stay in certain fit.

So I would, you know, I would just recommend for him, you know, when you're young, you can get away with certain things like that, but he's had a problem with his knee a couple of different times. You don't want to be catastrophic where he's done for a long, really long time or maybe forever. So, I mean, if I was him, I would take some of that money

and get on that LeBron James kind of thing. thing to get you new nutritionists and figure it out from there because you can't just keep eating McDonald's or whatever else you're eating. By the way, that's what young guys eat, even young pro athletes. I tell the story of Andre Agassi early in his career and he was eating Taco Bell. I mean, it's crazy. Now, but I don't blame him because at that point, Andre is probably burning 9,000 calories a day and his body doesn't care.

Well, the funny thing is you've got to think about this, right? When you're younger, no matter what you do in life, not just a sport, but when you're younger, you can get away with those things. You can stay up late. you get out the next day. Now, fool's gold. Because if I go, I'm in Miami and I'm young, and I'm partying until four or five in the morning,

and then I go and I play the next day, and I get like 20-something, 30 points. I'm like, oh, I'm cool. I can do this again somewhere else. It becomes repetitive. So you have to really step back outside of your body and say this stuff, you know what? How long can I do this?

Right? Oh, I can't do that long. You have to, like, kind of foresee the future to figure it out. When you broke into this league in the NBA, where you'd go out and drink night before a game? No. We never were a big drinker.

No, no, no. First of all, I never went out night before a game. I'm staying in the house. I'm watching tapes. I'm watching three or four. I will usually watch my opponent four of their games before I played them. So I will watch the tendencies, different things like that, how I can get open, you know, what their weaknesses is on defense. That's what I would do.

And you didn't drink at all? No, I couldn't do that. I couldn't do it. Didn't party at all? Not me, I parted. I have fun with people. Girls and stuff and handsome guy. Yeah, we have fun.

We all have fun. Well, I'm a journalist. I have to ask these kind of questions. These are the questions the people want answers to. It's legitimate, right? I'm honest. I get, you know, I didn't actually drink until I was in my 20s, right? Like mid-20s.

I didn't drink for 16 years. Yeah. Then I turned 17. Sorry, that was a terrible joke. That's a good one. I defended Chris Paul forever. Yeah. Forever.

He played defense. I thought he was smart. He held people accountable. Yeah. But you can do that in football. Maybe I look at that and I think I like my quarterbacks to do that. No passive aggressive, all aggressive. Man, he didn't get along with Hardin.

You didn't get along with Blake. You didn't get along with DeAndre. At some point, and I'm just wrong on this. Like, to me, if you're the second best player, you got to make it work. Right. If I go to Houston, I'm Chris Paul. It's my job to make it work. Right.

Okay? Like, it's not an even relationship. This is not a marriage where I'd say, no, no, no. James Hardin is the best offensive player in the league. I got to go and make it work. I kind of blame Chris Paul for the Houston stuff. Well, the funny thing is, I'm not going to point fingers at anyone, but it goes back to what I was saying before.

When you're doing something throughout your life and you're successful at doing it, you'll keep doing it. There's no backlash. So the most important person for the Clippers, even though DeAndre Jordan was the anchor of the defense and Blake Griffin was the highlight film, the most important person to keep everybody together was kind of Chris Paul-ish, right? So Chris Paul came from New Orleans. He goes to the Clippers.

It seems like you have the star-studded point guard. He's very aggressive. And now the older you get, now it's like, oh, no, it's not cute anymore. You can't keep doing this to different people. And you're not staying healthy all year. So you cussing us out and wanting 100% out of us. Well, we want that from you, too, kind of thing. And he's not available.

And he's not available. So when you're not available and you're getting back on the court and cussing people out or being the aggressive, which is not a bad thing, they're looking at you like, yo, bro, we don't, I don't need this. We don't need this. When you, as you aged, did you, your personality change as a leader? Well, I mean, for the better, right? I became more patient.

And for me, I'm a very family-oriented. I love my family. I love my friends. And I try to stick with that, right? Because I'm more a spiritual person. Like, I love the way the universe delivers to me. I try to give it back or whatever. So, you know, the older I got is like, I don't have to

be the guy. I can be a part of something amazing. Because in high school A, you were the guy. I was the guy. Right? So the older you get, you have to understand the circumstances and situations. It's like, do I want to be the guy and have miserable situations or do I want to fit into an amazing part of 12 people? I would rather do that. Good for you. So Ben Simmons got a massive extension today, five years, $100 zillion. I heard that. It's like 150 million or 175 years. It's just a massive deal. I love him. You don't love him. You don't love his game. No, no, let me, let me correct this. That's okay. I like it. If you did you don't.

It's not, no, it's not that I don't love him. I just want guys to respect the game more, right? It's comments throughout your career. It's more so I don't have to shoot. I don't have to work on my shot. Those type of things. Now, again, he's young. When you're young, you say certain things you may regret or whatever it is. Then you go back in the mirror and say, you know what, I do need to become better. Whether it's basketball, whatever in life. I do need to become a better person, better man. a better woman, a better whatever. So at the end of the day, he's only in his fourth year.

He's going into his 50 year or whatever. Hopefully he's working on his jumper where he can help his team prevail further into a playoffs. Do you like his game? I mean, I'm not in love with it, but I like it. I like it. It's not like, ooh, wow. Yeah, it's not ooh, wow. You know, he's not like an ooh wow.

I mean, I don't see, you're a point. I don't see, like, you know, crazy, fancy passes. I just see that you're big. You're bigger than everybody else. and you can dribble. Like that's, I mean, it's not like a Magic Johnson,

right? It's not like a magic Jason Kiddish kind of thing. It's just like you can dribble and you're big and, you know, it does point out something interesting. The man upstairs,

and by no means of mind saying Ben Simmons hasn't worked hard to become this. You can't get as good as Ben without it. Right. But we know this to be true is that certain players work harder than other players. Some people are gifted too, Colin.

Like they're just, the DNA of them, they just gift. and they can watch it and become it, but they, they haven't worked as hard as other people. Like Kobe Bryant, he was, his DNA, he inherited DNA, but his will and his effort and his, that's something totally different, right?

I don't think a lot of the young guys have that. Whereas like, I'm 16 or I'm 680 or I'm 6, 6, or I'm 6, and my DNA is basketball, and I'm gifted because I've watched it, right? It's like a creature of habit. It's kind of like a, you know, if I watch something a lot when I'm younger, I can do a little bit of that.

Now I'm 16, I'm dribbling the ball. Oh, I'm pretty good. It is worrisome if you're a sixer fan that Simmons didn't even work on his game in the offseason. My point is, the man upstairs gave him his 610 and a half. He's clearly worked at his game or he wouldn't be this good. But it does signal something that he did not, he has a huge hole in his game and didn't work on it.

If you were a coach and he came back and didn't work on it, like, is that, like, it's hard to make people that aren't willful, willful. Yeah. Like, guys are grinders or they're not. Yeah. Like, my daughter and I were talking about this yesterday, and she asked me, she's like, what's your favorite quality for you, dad?

And I said, what do you like about you? And I said, I'm a grinder, I'm willful. I put my mind to stuff. I want to be a good skier. I'm just going to be obsessed about it for two years. Whether that's a good quality or not. It's a great quality. It's my quality.

So the point being is, nobody taught me that. I've been like that since I was seven. It does worry me about Ben Simmons is, brother, brother, you can't shoot in the shooter's league. I don't even care if you're never a great shooter. It doesn't appear he put any effort into it. That would worry me. It would worry me too.

But see, the thing is, the reason why we can see so much of his flaws on his outside is because he has Joel and B. Joel M. B's packing the paint. So if he had, if Ben Simmons had all shooters around him, you wouldn't really worry about his shot so much because just like the Brooklyn series, when Joel M. was out, he was great.

He was so good. Lanes, and that's my. The lanes are open. So they add Al Horford. And when I look at the construction of Philadelphia, I'm like, this doesn't, it's like Westbrook and Hardin. I can say Hall of Famer. I don't think it works together.

This is part of it. Like when Magic broke into the league, he had Kareem. Well, Magic, it was great because Magic could start the fast break. Kareem could be the trailer. Right. So Kareem ensured they were a great half court team. Magic made sure they were a great transition team. Exactly.

Magic didn't need Kareem to run with him. Right. So it worked both ends. The Lakers were the best. half court team and with magic they were the best transition team. In the NBA today, Embed can run the floor but Embed clogging the lane really

inhibits what Simmons can do. Right, right. That's my point. He would be great on a small team of shooters. There you go. If you can spread him, if you can put shooters around him you wouldn't really see his flaw. But because he has Joel M. B., because he

has Al Horford, now is a spot up now which is great for him. So he can kind of open up the lane a little bit for Ben. But I just want him to really take this person because he could be one of the greatest of all time if he get at least a 15 footer in a consistent one. By the way, we don't have much time. Did you watch the tennis match yesterday? I love it. I love tennis.

Do you play tennis? I do poorly. We got to play a little bit. Are you a great player? I'm not great. Love playing tennis. I'll be both of you, though. I'm sure of that.

Really? Okay. It was an incredible tennis match. It would be like having a very competitive. You said not consistently, but you'll beat both of us. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Did you play college tennis?

No. You're kind of nervous. You said that. I thought it so convincingly. Yeah, don't. Hour three next. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

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

stories behind the headlines. 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're get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica 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 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 Keer games is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast Learn the hard way. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up guys?

This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, the Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue 42.

Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to The Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown, and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself.

We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become home, whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart

radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. College football camps are around the corner. Just got an amazing stat. 14 teams in the ACC, 14 teams in the SEC. Two have winning records the last three years against top 25 teams, Bam and Clemson. Nobody beats good teams. That was Chris Lowe who gave me that. he's a reporter. By the way, so I saw a story this morning that, oh, oh, look at this. The Oklahoma City is more than okay with keeping Chris Paul.

They don't have to trade him. They're fine keeping him. No, they're not. Not that against the guy who broke this story for Bleacher Report. They want to get rid of this contract. You've got to be kidding. There's three horrible contracts in the NBA. Chris Paul, John Wall, and Russell Westbrook.

Now, Westbrooks is the best of the three because he can still play. I can still get 27 a night from Russell Westbrook, and he's still, I don't think he's in his prime. He's had some knee surgeries, but I think he's still, you know, I can move Russell Westbrook. John Wall isn't as good as Westbrook, and his surgeries are worse, and he won't play this year. That's an unmovable contract. Chris Paul's is shorter. It's one year shorter, but he can't play for long stretches, period. I do think Wall will come back and still be solid.

The Chris Paul contract is hard, hard to move. The one thing Oklahoma City has, a zillion draft picks, 17 over the next seven years or 15 over the next seven. You'd have to give a team like Philadelphia four or five first round picks if they'd swallow the contract. And I'll give you, you know, Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, something like that. But in the NBA, you know, I read that story this morning, Oklahoma City, you know, they'll keep Chris Paul if they have to. this idea they want to keep Chris Paul, it's a horrible contract. And all have a player option last year of their contract, and they're not giving that money up, right? So there's no way Westbrook's giving up $47 million a year at the end of it, same with John Wall.

These are, you can almost move every bad contract, the Chris Paul one's rough. I don't know how they got rid of it. Oklahoma City rolled the dice on it, got a bunch of draft picks to swallow it. and I don't know. That's, I think, listen, Oklahoma City, they're gambling that somebody, they've got so many draft picks that somebody will eat it.

I look at these three teams, Houston, Washington, and Oklahoma City, and I think there's a ceiling on how good you can get based on those contracts. Cameron Jordan, can't wait to talk to him. Great pass rusher in the NFL, great player, four-time Pro Bowl. He's a top 15 guy in the NFL.

He's around the corner. Joy Taylor with the News. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. Think about this. Think how old Chris Paul is. You know how you think Andrew Bogot's like a dinosaur?

Chris Paul and Andrew Bogot came out the same year. That shows you how Chris Paul's been around a long time. He has been around a long time. So he's old, expensive, hurt, and hard to play with. I do think you'd be very valuable with the right team. but I just wouldn't put him in a position where like he has to be If I had an old team and I'm like

I need draft picks and you just go to Oklahoma City and say listen I see your draft picks I want five first round pick there's got to be a team out there in the league that's hey listen to get it off the books by the way you'd still enjoy you'd still have you still have 10

Yeah they do have a lot They have a lot So Melvin Gordon might not be the only running back holding out for a new deal. According to pro football talk, Ezekio Elliott might join him. Per a league source, Elliot has privately said that he will hold out of training camp unless

he gets a new contract. The Cowboys haven't focused on giving Elliot a new contract largely because they don't have to. They have instead focused on players with more immediate pass to free agency from DeMarcus Lawrence who has signed to Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, who haven't.

Wow. Dak and Amari are due to become free agents next year. Zeke still has two years remaining on his rookie deal and first round selections are subject to a fifth year option. So he's due to make a salary of $3.85 million this year and $9.09 million in 2020. So he's most likely looking for $10 million a year. Wow. But this could make things very interesting for the Cowboys this year if this ends up happening. This is not great for them.

This is not great for them. Especially considering that you're kind of trying to figure out what you're going to do with Dak. If you pay Zeke early, what's the message to do? DAC. You pay the running back early, but not DAC? Well, I mean, I think... Yikes. It's just, it's very interesting that Zieg is, if this happens, that Zieg is doing it at this point, especially considering Zeeq's history.

And he's been in trouble recently. You think he'd cool it, right? Right. I don't know. Wow, that is not... You know, I talked to an NFL general manager in the last three days. he said there are analytics in this league and there are teams that believe in this league

you never give a running back a second contract it's just a position that's just you give them the first contract for four years then you move them instead of pay them there are there are analytics some subscribe to that that's outside and and this GM said to me there's about two exceptions

and he was probably talking about Melvin Gordon and Zeeke Well, yeah, I mean, Zeke is that exception. Zeke is the best or top three running backs in the league. Regardless of his history, you have to pay him. It's just interesting and it's happening right now, especially and unfortunate, really, considering the fact that you want to pay DAC, whatever you want to pay him, whether you want to pay him the most money

or work out of deal with him, and he has to pay him R. So it could be trouble ahead for the Cowboys. So there's only three players in NBA history with a career PR player efficiency rating above 27. The Lakers have two of three of those players on the roster right now on LeBron and Anthony Davis. And in an interview with CBS sports is Jim Hill. AD said neither him or LeBron have played with a caliber of a player that's high before. This comes from K-CBS, Los Angeles. I think that I'm a very special player. You know, I feel like I can do it all.

Shoot the three. I can shoot at mid-range. You know, defend. I take pride in defense. You know, I like the tall on defense, like the lead. And I think that I haven't played with a player like LeBron. LeBron, I haven't played with a player like me before. It's kind of interesting situation with AD and LeBron because as we've talked about many times, there's kind of an inevitable thing that happens when LeBron plays with Biggs. At least we've seen it with Chris Bosch and Kevin Love.

Where'd you go? But in those situations, LeBron played with a dominant two in Wade and Kyrie Irving. He doesn't really have that with the Lakers. Now, we all think that Kuzma is going to take a step up and he was good and solid last year and has shown growth. But neither one of us think he's on the level of Wade or Kyrie when LeBron was on those teams. I think Anthony is better. But I'm saying, yes, Anthony Davis is better than Chris Bosch and Kevin Love.

But he's also not in the same situation and the same team set up. as LeBron was with the heat, where it was LeBron, Wade, then Bosch, and then LeBron, Kyrie, then Kevin Love. It's LeBron, A.D., and then Kuzma. So how is that dynamic going to change? I think LeBron will make it work. I think it'll be really spectacular.

My guess is it'll work really well for that reason. LeBron's older. Well, yeah, and LeBron is, I mean, it'll be interesting to see how he adjusts his game as well because he is older and he's coming off his first major injury. I don't know. They're going to be fun to watch this year. So finally, everyone is trying to figure out how James Hardin and Russell Westbrook are going to fit together.

Speaking of fit, Hardin obviously needs help. They both need a championship. How are they going to make it work? One rival executive chimed in and told Bleacher report. The problem is they both need the ball in their hands. So it's the same problem they had before. But to me, Russ is an upgrade over Chris. You have a triple double guy who's younger and who can rebound better.

The only difference is Chris shoots the three ball better. Which in Houston is everything, right? That's all they do. Well, how's that worked out for you, Houston? I really want to see what kind of roles and adjustments DeAnne makes to make this all work. Now, I know everyone's going to say it's on Hardin and Chris and Russell Westbrook to adjust their game. And it is. But I think they are also both aware of their game.

They don't have to work on their relationship because they obviously are already friends and have maintained a relationship and want to play together and know what's at stake. But all of the other X-Factor players and the we shoot the three ball and all the analytics, that's gotten you to the playoffs and had an exciting regular season, and it's not won you a championship. So there are going to be some adjustments that need to be made by everyone, not just Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Agree.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. It's one of the great players in the NFL entering his ninth season with the Saints, a four-time Pro Bowl. I don't think he's ever missed a start, not for a long time. He's played in 128 NFL games.

His name is Cameron Jordan, and he is joining us for the first time in the herd. All pro Saints' defensive end, big-time personality, outspoken. What is going on? It's a pleasure to have you on. We've never had you on the show before. Right? Slide in. Many times I'm in L.A.

And you're in L.A. all the time? I feel like I am. You're a big personality. You're big. I'm a big person. You jump through the TV screen. You've got a rivalry with Cam Newton, which I think is great. I have a rival with anybody in my division, but, yes, any quarterback is definitely my fixation.

Do they, does it, is it serious question, although it won't sound serious. Is there, does every quarterback feel different to sack? Are there different sounds? Are there different fields? Are there different strategies? I mean, yeah, of course. There's always going to be different strategies. When you're facing somebody like, you know, we have in our division, you face a, you face

Matt Ryan, you know, as soon as you get a hold of him, you know he's going down. You know, it's not like he can just sort of shrug you off. I mean, that can't happen. You get a hold of Cam Newton. He can shrug you off. He can outrun you. He can then as he's fallen, sling a 60-yard accurate ball. I mean, he's probably the greatest sack you're going to try and get after just because he's

strongest Ben Rothera. He's got, you know, accuracy like any other, anybody other top-tier quarterback. and then of course he can outrun you more than, you know, Russell Wilson can. Do you talk to him when you've stopped? Oh, I talk a lot. All quarterbacks don't talk back, man. Like, they don't care about us. No, I don't think it's that.

I think they, that's not why they don't talk back because you can hit a quarterback. And if a guy could hit me, I would make sure I'd be like, Cameron, that was a great sack. You're a fine player. Oh, you're on Andrew Luckett? Oh, totally. That would be so, it's just overly aggravating. In fact, that's not helping your case because now I just want to hit you. you more. You tell me

good job. I'm just like, all right, it wasn't good enough. I'll give you this next one. When you're a great pass rusher, you're in a very interesting spot. By and large, I want my players to play defensively in the system, but you're unique. You're one of four or five guys in the league that I kind of want you to go

go get the quarterback. How much are you in a saint system and how much do they allow you to be Cam Jordan and kind of do your thing on the edge? Cammer's on for this? All right, perfect. I mean, when you talk about the mentality of our defense, about how we want to get after the quarterback, we've had pieces.

You know, now I've got Marcus Davenport. I had Shelter Rankins, who just got injured last year. So he'll come back sometime this year. You've got David on Yamada. When you're attacking a quarterback, it's because of these other pieces that you can go ahead and go after the quarterback relentlessly. So at this point, I've gone through four different coordinators on the Saints team. so I feel like it can't be just scheme, right? When you come into the league, everybody wants a pass rusher.

You have become the most valuable defensive piece. I talk to college coaches. They're like, just give me an edge rusher. Right. So it's funny, you walked into this league and you were a guy. There wasn't a lot of, there wasn't no question. By the end of your first year, started your second year, it was like, okay, he's going to be a pro bowler. There may be edge rushers that are a bit faster.

a little bigger. What separates you? Why are you and Khalil Mack? Like, what is it? It can't just be 40-time and combine stuff. There's got to be something innate cam in you that you have a sense, your intuition. What is it that separates you?

I mean, I feel like I'm more physical than most edge rushers, simply because when I got drafted, I got drafted to play the four technique. I didn't get drafted to play the edge. I didn't get drafted to play at nine to hold the edge and keep everything focused inside. I play it primarily. came in my rookie year and I was a four technique.

I was lined up inside of a tackle. I was lined up on a guard. So I came in for all hands. I was there for all aggression. I was there for all run-stopping abilities. And you hands were everything. Hands, everything. So hand placement, the mentality of attacking a person

in terms of instead of just holding the edge and keeping my outside nine or you know, whatever it is. So my mentality I feel like is different because I'm, I tell guys all the time, I'm here for the hands. I'm here to reset the line of scrimmage. I'm here to try and dominate my opponent, whereas, you know, guys like Khalil and your vans have our elite steps, two-point stance, and they set an edge, and that's what they're great at.

When you, we talked about you've been well compensated and deservedly so. So, Dak Prescott goes in the fourth round. Doesn't make anything for three years. Sells a ton of jerseys, keeps the Cowboys on TV. And there is a sentiment among some, like, listen, you're the Cowboy quarterback, no state tax, little hometown discount. We can't pay the quarterback 32 large. Where do you fall on that?

Like I tend to be take the money. I can't believe so many NBA players take less to go play because they like the weather in California. I'm like, you've seen the taxes here? You think Canada's bad. What do you, how much is salary to you? Do you worry that a quarterback salary? Do you think about that?

Are you just like, dude, I'm good, pay me? Yeah, I'm probably probably following. I mean, if you watch my contracts go, I'm probably with the I'm good pay me situation. I like where I'm at. I like the scheme that I am. I love the foundation we have in the facility. It's important to me to not only stay with one team, but stay at base home.

I mean, New Orleans has been home for me. So to talk on another person's money or another person's aspect, I can't do it. I would simply say if he loves Dallas, if he loves where he's at, if he loves his opportunity, then you make it work. And at the same time, he's also a quarterback. So he is the face of that franchise. He is, you know, if he says he's unhappy, it's the franchise, it's the franchise, a situation to make it right. So, I mean,

yeah, that's a whole different position. You talk about edge rusher to quarterback. Well, no, I would say edge rusher, don't sell yourself short. No doubt. But our highest paid edge rusher is making, what, 24? The highest paid quarterback is making 35. That's a lot of lettuce. Yeah.

24 is a lot of lettuce. No doubt, no doubt. By the way, when you practice with Drew Breeze every day, if I'd never seen Drew Breeze play, and I said, Cameron, There's this great quarterback, Drew Brees, games run on TV. What makes him great? Your first practice you ever went, you'd see how great he is.

And it's not in the throws he's making. It's in his preparation. It's in the walkthroughs. I mean, if you watch him walkthroughs, he's making all the reads, he's making all the throws, and it's all mental, and that's without even throwing the ball. So you just see this guy warmed up, and Drew's back here doing one of these,

and he's here, here, and he's talking to his receivers, and he's got open dialogue with all the receivers, with all the running backs. He's talking to the center, especially since we have a new center. He's talking to the office alignment. He's talking to everybody saying exactly where his offense is going to go. Communicator. Exactly. So that open dialogue already separates you from most quarterbacks.

Is he a barker? Does he get after guys occasionally? I mean, he's a competitor. Okay, that's fine. I mean, when you're an ultimate competitor, you want things to go exactly how we are. But, again, you have guys like Alvin Kamara who has his feel, and you guys, we have a top receiver, probably the best receiver in the game right now,

Michael Thomas, who, you know, is going to have that open banter. And that's what you hope for, constructive criticism. You've had two wild finishes. You won one, you lost one last couple of years, you know, right? Like you have the, let's say, the Minnesota one was, no, Stefan Diggs was that, that's right. So you lost both, my bad.

Top of mind. Minnesota Miracle. Yeah, Minnesota Miracle. Yeah, okay. So you, it'd be, and I said this, I said, I don't know if New Orleans can rebound from back to back, gut-wrenching, gut-kicking losses. And Drew Brees, after the game, said something I thought was really important.

He goes, I don't want to hear about the officials. And his takeaway was, we better get over this fast. Are you concerned, Cam, or how concerned are you about when you lose the way you lose, there's a stench to it, there's a stick to it, and it goes into camp. I mean, absolutely there is definitely a stick to it. We talk about losing the way you did. But as long as you take it into a positive mindset that everything has to come from you. I mean, last year, we lost to Minnesota.

It was like, if we never let them get that close to us, then we'd be so much further ahead. I mean, we hate to put it on somebody. Like we say, you can put it on the referees. Like, if you weren't, you know, you're supposed to be the top of your position. If you make the right call, we'd be so much further. But if honestly, we were up by two touchdowns. So if we kept that lead, then we'd never been in the best. position that we were in. So you've got to take it on us. You got to put it on the team. You got to put it on

the defense. And our defense is young enough for us like, hey, we want to go beyond expectations. So last season was last season. How do we get better from here? We've got DeMario Davis, who's entering his second year with the team who was a force for us last year. Shelton Rankin's had one of the, you know, his best season to date last year. David on Yamada was balding last year. Marcus Davenport is headed into a second season. And you know that first year to second You look at our secondary, the whole Ohio State secondary. Plus, you know, our Utah. I mean, these are all guys going from their second year to the third year.

How much better can they get? You know, you've got, you added in Eli Apple. You got Patrick Robertson, who should be healthy this year. I mean, coming in as a nickel corner, there's so much promise to our defense. It's now living up to expectation exceeding our own. Your dad was a Pro Bowl tight end for the Vikings. Living legend. Yeah.

Oh, okay. No, I mean, he's great, great player. If there's one thing dad taught son about the NFL, what was it? He taught me a lot headed into my rookie year. It was trying to absorb everything from the greats that you're around. So at the time I was around, you know, Roman Harper, Malcolm Jenkins, Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith. And it was like, what separated them from everybody else? Was it their mental prep for JV?

It was like all the mental film work that he did. It was, you know, for Roman Harper, he used to have, you know, Guns Friday. He used to work on his arms religiously. So it's just like taking little things away for Will is about just, you know, the constant ability to have that grind, that gritty mentality. Like, if anything, I'm going to go get it. And it's not about what everybody else is doing. It's about how much can I get better the next day. So it was all just taking a little bit of something from each and every grade I could find.

When the season ends, how much time do you give your body? Just go have a bad meal and a big piece of cake. I live great in the off season for that first month and a half. I'm like living, traveling, eating, drinking whatever I want at all times of the day. Like, it's gelatinous. I get, I get hefty quick. And then I'm just like, all right, time to be an athlete again, you know? You know, that's it.

They say for marijuana donors, they say if you want to stay healthy, you run, don't run for a month and a half and go eat. Right. Like just reward your body. Don't go run another marathon. They tell you for a month, go eat. I'm a firm believer in that one. Go travel, eat, enjoy. You know, I went around the world from L.A. to L.A.

Favorite country you've ever been to in the world? Hong Kong was awesome. As much as I love the UAE, as much as I love France. You ever been to Croatia? No. Heard it's amazing. Prague? No. Finland.

Finland's amazing. Finland is surprisingly awesome. My daughter just went to Cape Town. Okay. Since the most beautiful city she's ever been to. See, I think I was headed to Cape Town a couple years ago, and then they had like a newspaper article like three weeks before I was supposed to go, had like a cheater run through a hotel and I was like, so no longer Cape Town.

That was just like, you know, we went to the Bahamas a couple weeks ago. Three days later, there was a shark attack. Had that happened three days before I would have a Bahamas, would have nixed the Bahamas, would have been known to South. You're well-read and prepared in your travels. No doubt. Anytime you're here, you want to come on the show, talk about anything, promote anything. Come on the show.

We love to have you. Just whenever you're in town, just you want to hang out. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Cam Jordan's great to meet you. I appreciate you guys having me on. We didn't even get to say him. Hi.

That's Joe Taylor. I know. The elite pass rusher, legend. Who had perfect skin, Neutragina model. Is that true? Best skin in league history. And you're a handsome maid, the best skin in league history. Not that that means anything.

That was an odd segue. Jaguars running through hotels and Neutrogena commercials. Cheetah. Cheetahs, my bad. Is your Jaguars? It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeartRadio app.

Go to awaytravel.com slash Colin. 20 bucks off when you enter the promo code calling at checkout. Awaytravel.com slash Colin. Great luggage. Joe and I both use it. Cam Jordan's just going to stay here for the next five minutes for the show ends. By the way, Zion's now a member of the Pelicans. You just bought season tickets for the Pelicans. I did. I did. He will... I'm in the second row, though. I'm not like in the wood front and center but I'm like feet on the wood one row back it's perfectly fine it hurts now new Orleans is there's a lot to do there's beautiful people there's great food when you first got there did it lures you in there's a party scene there when I first got there CP3 was our point guard see how that turned um is it is it a party city I mean yeah but it's it's a festive city it's I mean

we have parades and floats for any and every reason second lining can go down at any given time. So you don't worry that Zion, it's a very young team. Did you get caught up in any of the party time when you got there? Yes, but I mean, there's a difference. Basketball, there's only 15 guys on the team. The facers are out. You know, you know, he's going to be low-key.

He's going to enjoy his city. But at the same time, you know, he's got to be low-key. Everybody knows his face. My first year in the league, it was like, you know, everybody just knows a face mask. It wasn't until, you know, year two, year three that you start to be like, all right, well, this is the man behind the face mask. What's it like for Drew Brees there? Man, he lives in, yeah, I'll say he's definitely in New Orleans. But the thing about New Orleans, like, they don't really fan out all the way.

Like, you know, they respect who you are. Because there's celebrities in town every day. Exactly. I mean, it's New Orleans. So, I mean, you're going to catch random actors, actresses. You're going to catch football players, basketball players. You know, they say hi and they sort of let you keep pushing. I mean, it's a phenomenal city for that.

I want to get back to your relationship and your division's very interesting with Cam Newton. So Cam is a megastar in the league. We've gone back and forth on Cam, Jordan. And Cam Newton. Okay. You just left Cam. I feel like there's only one Cam in the league. So I always say Cam Newton's Westbrook.

You're kind of in awe of him, but he's not a great precision thrower. Like when you face Cam, what is generally your game? game plan? Hit them early and often. I mean, you got to try and unsettle this monster. Look at it right there. He's talking trash to you. Yeah, that didn't end well.

That got real ugly real quick. I mean, I feel like there's a rivalry, like there's a real sense of a rivalry in our division versus everybody. They're like, yeah, there's New Orleans versus Saints, but player-wise, it's like New Orleans versus the Panthers, New Orleans versus, you know, the Falcons, the New Orleans verse.

everybody in that division. I mean, and you feel like that sense of rivalry. Like, we could play the Vikings, and we could play the Rams, and we can play the Chargers or whoever we're going to play. And it's a game, and, of course, you're going to be intense about it. But it's like that heightened sense of us versus them when it comes to our rivalry. But you told me Cam Newton doesn't talk trash. He doesn't.

Us versus them is the office of line. Us versus them is them as a team. I mean, their whole offensive line definitely does. And, I mean, that's what you look for. I mean, that live... This video is intense. I mean, that was a couple years ago. That was young.

That was young, Cam. See, when you say Cam, I automatically think me. Everybody says Cam Newton. That was no disrespect. No, no, not at all. It's just like saying Russ Westbrook, like everybody's going to drop the whole name, you know? For me, I'm just Cam.

And you sort of sometimes get after it. And I think the Panthers rivalry really started probably a year or two before that when, what was it, Roman Harper smacked Steve Smith I remember that And then like That's really when you felt It was a very

Me because of them When's camp start? We got 10 seconds When's camp starts the 25th? You guys have the hardest Or do you go to you go up You go up North? No we started in New Orleans

Oh it's supposed to be Most Camp in the Lee Yeah absolutely Supposed to be You got to die to be Reborn to Phoenix Look You got to go through hell

To know what you're going through Saints camps Legendarily bad All right Cam Jordan Thanks bud See you tomorrow Absolutely Last night, a blown call changed a game.

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This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

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