The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Straight Fire - KD's Twitter Fingers Are At It Again + The Dark Side of Sports Gambling

Episode Date: June 26, 2023

Jason tells us whether or not Kevin Durant is still a top-5 player in the NBA and explains why KD's insistence on engaging with the 'unwashed masses' on Twitter is such a bad idea. Later, J-Mac discusses why so many sports gamblers seem to have a problem with NBA insider Shams Charania being employed by FanDuel.  Follow Jason on Twitter and Instagram. Click here to subscribe, rate and review all of the latest Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre podcasts! #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away,

such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What is up Straight Fire? Bam! It's me, Jason McIntyre, Straight Fire.

For Monday, June 26th, folks, I got to be honest, this was. was one of those rare weekends where I had no kids sports to shuttle them around to. So I got to play a lot of hoops on Saturday, two straight hours of basketball, followed of course by the league game on Sunday. Didn't have to shuttle the kids to any sports. And also did not have to be wedded to a television to watch NBA playoffs. Obviously, no NFL. It was like, it was kind of a heavenly weekend.

I had no obligations whatsoever. So I took a bike ride on the beach with my kids. I did watch USA Jamaica soccer. I have some deep thoughts on that, but it's an opening game of pool play at the Gold Cup. So I'm not going to go deep. Not a great showing from the U.S., although they did not have all their stars.

Wouldn't you know it that the biggest sports story of the weekend came from someone who didn't make the NBA finals, is not a free agent, and there was like no news that it was backed by. Essentially, Durant, Mr. Rabbit Ears, saw that a bunch of guys had opened something called Twitter Spaces and, you know, a lot of NBA nerdy dudes who think they know the league went on this Twitter spaces thing and had a topic called Kevin Durant is not a top five player in the league.

And I guess Kevin Durant saw that because, you know, Kevin Durant, as I've said many times, does not have a family. Okay, Kevin Durant is not married. He does not have any kids. I don't even know if he has an animal, like a pet, a dog, a cat. He's got no obligations. So Kevin Durant's jet-setting around the country, doing his thing, having fun. And he's like, oh, guys are talking trash about me on Twitter saying I'm not a top-five player.

So what does Kevin Durant do? Kevin Durant jumps into, yes, this is a real thing, jumped into Twitter spaces and went off on these guys. I tried to write down some of his comments. So he essentially says that the dumb way to look at things is team success. He actually said, like, how are you judging players on team success? Like, that doesn't matter. I mean, Kevin Durant essentially wants to build his argument on, are you good or not?

Well, this is a newsflash for Kevin Durant. If you're in the NBA, right? NBA has 30 teams, rosters are tiny, fewer than 500 players make the league. 500 players globally have made the NBA currently, 500, maybe less. Are you good or not? If you're in the NBA, you're good at basketball. I mean, that's just the reality. You're good at basketball.

So if you're in the NBA, you're good, Kevin Durant. Check what's next. And that's where he gets all, like, vague about everything. It's like, well, I'm Kevin Durant. I've played at a high level. I've won titles. I've won MVPs. I've won finals MVP's.

I know what's good and I know what doesn't. And this is, Durant continues to lose me. And it's kind of a bummer because, you know, last week it was, well, you know, who's influential that nobody talks about. and Hardin and Kyrie, they're influential. They change the game. And now he's saying, you know, he's definitely a top five player in the league right now. Well, let me first shoot that down.

And Rob, I'm sure you'll push back on this. But when I look at top five players in the league right now, I think before I just list the guy's names, what are the criteria? Obviously, you've got to be great right now. I don't care what you did three years ago. It is irrelevant. It's not. To right now are you a top five player in the league?

So, for instance, let's go with Joel Embed. He was the MVP of the league last year. He was very good last season. I don't have him in my top five. Now, does that mean I don't think individually he's one of the five best? Correct. Would I have him on my team above the guys I do have in the top five? No.

Is Joel Embedin an awesome basketball player? Hell yeah. But he's not a top five player for me right now. Just because MVP criteria is one thing. That doesn't make them a top five player. Let's be real, guys. We saw Joel and B. Stink up the Joint in Game 6 at home and in game 7 on the road in Boston in a

playoff series and they lose. Does a top 5 player do that? I don't know. You know, one of the guys in my top 5 is Steph Curry. And people will say, oh, he's not the guy he used to be. Okay. But game 7 on the road in Sacramento, who dropped 50? Steph Curry.

It was the first 50-point game 7 in the history of battle. basketball. 50. He's in my top five. That's clutch. Now, a guy I'm sure will be controversial is Jason Tatum, also in my top five. And I know Rob G. I'm sure he's rolling his eyes already. But Rob, Jason Tatum had, I believe, 51 in game seven at home. Jason Tatum is an awesome basketball player. Did he struggle against the heat at times? Certainly. But when it mattered most, game seven, elimination game. Tatum showed up. Now, I know Cowher is not the biggest Jason Tatum. guy and that's fine. I'll push back against him all the time.

Jason Tatum is 25. He's still ascending. But if you told me right now, oh, by the way, just for the Kevin Durant fans out there, the last time they met head-to-head in the playoffs, Tatum and Durant, do you guys remember what happened?

Yeah, Tatum swept him. It was Brooklyn Nets final year. It was, I think, and Rob can check me, KD and Kairi, and Kyrie, and Jalen Brown, Tatum, and company smoked him. It was an eviseration.

four-game suite. And then, of course, that was when Durant's like, I think I'm done here. Kyrie Irving, get me out of here. And it's the beginning of the end. Now, Durant, the last time I thought he was like transcendent and prime Kevin Durant, superstar, one of the top players in the league, was the year before that series against Milwaukee where the Bucks ended up beating him and up winning the title. Kevin Durant was unbelievable in that series.

But since then, listen, the injuries are mounting. And if I'm having a draft, Jason, who, again, top five player in the end, NBA best player. You want them on your team. Force to the franchise. I just, I have Durant behind Tatum. So for now, for me, the guys I have Tatum and Curry. Yokic, obviously, I'm going to have Janus in there. You guys know I'm not the hugest Janus fan of all time. They did get dumped in the first round four one, blowing two fourth quarter double digit leads in the last two games, bad. But you can't judge a player by just two games,

just as the Tatum 50 point game seven isn't at the end all be all. But again, a game seven elimination game is massive for Curry and Tatum. That's a huge win. By the way, where was Kevin Durant in the Denver game six? At home, no less. He wasn't doing anything. You know, awful first half and they lose by 50. And then the last guy I have, which I'm sure people will not like,

is Luca Donchich, because I don't believe anyone in the league makes their teammates better than Luca. Yokic has risen up, and I think he's number two now. LeBron was number two for a while in terms of making your teammates better. Luca Donchich, I know they didn't make the playoffs, and I'll take a big fat out on that one. I'll blame Kyrie for that, obviously. But if you're just talking about best players in the league, top five,

those are my five. Luca, Janice, Yokic, Curry, Tatum. Right on the outside would be Joelle Embed, Kevin Durant. I would put Kevin Durant ahead of Embed but Rob I guess my big question is first of all to spend your weekend

jumping into a Twitter space is arguing with essentially randoms from around the country what are you trying to do Kevin Durant are you trying to sway the masses because it's not going to work you can't win against you're fighting a losing battle

it's like when Kyrie Irving said he was going to play the guy who rates pizzas on barstool one-on-one. Like, there's zero win for Kyrie. You win 21-0. Okay, you were supposed to. You know, you win 21-2. Oh, that guy scored on you? Like, there's a zero win.

Kevin Durant can win nothing by going on an internet spaces place and arguing with people about who's top five. You know, we're at a stage, Rob, in America where we can't change people's minds. I think politics has crept into sports a little bit,

and people are hunker down in their camp. Michael Jordan's the best player in the league. He's the best player of all time. That's the guy. Well, what about this, that and that from LeBron James? Well, no, no, Michael Jordan's stone number one. Really? What about this knock on Jordan and this knock and this stuff?

No, no, Jordan's to. Like, people just don't want to hear it. They're like, I'm in this tribe or I'm in this tribe. And when it comes to Kevin Durant, I feel like he's kind of a man without a tribe because he's bounced around the league, some of which I've defended, and because he's admitted I'm not a leader. and because he beefs with people on the internet. I just don't know where he's going with this, Rob.

Like, what is the end game? And it, frankly, it's a little bit sad. Kevin Durant, Rob, is turning 35 in September. Like, he ain't getting better. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life,

mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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

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Open your free, our Heart Radio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. It's funny when you put in that perspective because I'll be turning 35 in August. So to think that Kevin Duran and I are the same age, you would never know based on our career successes and anything like that. But I'm, I feel, my wife says I'm on Twitter too much, right? I'm on my phone too much. Like five hours a day. Well, it's part of my job.

Yeah, and that's part of my job. And even then, I feel like, well, I'm distracted by the misses, stuff at home. You know, having a little girl makes a big deal, you know, a lot of things. And she says, I'm on it too much. So I can only imagine if I didn't have those other commitments to keep me busy, you know, would I be Kevin Duran? Would I be reading all the comments and feeling the urge to respond? The only thing that I will defend, Katie, if you want to call it defending, is he's always been like this, right?

Like, this isn't a new thing where it's just ever since he got to Phoenix or ever since he got to Brooklyn that he's started to, you know, engage the trolls, the unwashed masses, as you call them. This is just who he is, right? And he's said it, you know, numerous times that he enjoys the discourse or, the debate or the back and forth of people. I personally don't understand why, you know, just from a bird's eye view situation. But as long as it doesn't impact him in his day job, which is playing in the NBA, then I guess you're free to do whatever you want. It's just to your point, I don't see what he's trying to gain from engaging like this. Yeah.

Is there any world where Michael Jordan is in the comment section, debate? his greatness. That's just, that's not something that would happen. Now, I will defend KD on one part. It seems that what really irks Kevin Durant is the narrative about rings. And if you don't have a ring or you don't have many rings, like you're a loser. And I think that's real weird. Now, Rob, I don't totally get this. In the NFL, Dan Marino doesn't have a ring. He went to the Super Bowl, I think in year two, never got back. Did not get a ring. He's considered one of the the best quarterbacks in the history of the sport. He's considered better than

Ben Rothlisberger, who has zero wings. He's considered better than Troy Aitman, who has three rings. He's considered better than... I don't know if he's considered better than Rogers, but basically Dan Marino is considered one of the top five all-time quarterbacks, and he has no rings. In the NBA, nobody without a ring is sniffing the top ten.

You're just not. You're just not getting up there. And I've tried to think about why this is. And again, football I know is 11 on offense, 11 on defense, and then you got special teams. And in the NBA, it's really just five and five. So Dan Marino, a lot of it was out of his control. And somebody, when I talked about the Dan Marino stuff earlier, months ago, somebody sent me the DVOA defense for the Miami Dolphins during the Dan

Marino tenure. And basically he had garbage defenses, like bottom 12 in the league. 20 to 32 for almost his entire career. So, like, he was like fighting with one arm tied behind his back. And there isn't really an equivalent in the NBA unless you say the front office, which LeBron ran into in Cleveland his first time around. But I guess that would be the only argument why not having a ring in the NFL is not as cumbersome as it is in the NBA.

And I guess, you know, NBA, listen, it's, if you're one of the top. five players in the league, a number one, as I like to say, then you should be getting rings. You know, we can go into Charles Barkley not having a ring and Tracy McGrady not having a ring and Patrick Ewing not having a ring. Some of my guys that I like, I love me, some T-Mac back in the day. But the problem is, is Kevin Durant has two rings. So him pushing back against rings culture, I know people say, well, he was on a stack team. Well, okay, who has a ring that wasn't on a loaded team. Any team, essentially this century,

looks like they were loaded. Like, what did Kobe do without check? Nothing. And then Pal Gasol shows up, and all of a sudden, the Lakers are winning more titles. And it's like, well, who was Pal Gasol? Well, Palisot was really good in Memphis.

Well, he wasn't an all-N-B-A guy. No, because he was in Memphis, and he was the man. So then he became number two to Kobe, and it was like, oh, these two together are a major tandem. And it's like, okay, well, let me try that with Kevin. Durant.

Well, Rob, he had Russ and Hardin, and they got to the finals. Then the GM traded Hardin. And then KD and Russ got pretty far. They made some runs. Didn't get back to the finals. Then KD had Kyrie Irving. Then KD had James Hardin and Kyrie Irving. Then KD had Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving, although I don't know how many games they actually

played together. And then KD had Devin Booker and Chris Paul. and it's like, oh, he's had a lot of teammates. Why is he not have as many titles as some of the other guys? And that's where KD's title argument falls apart, Rob. Now, we've done 15 rounds on this before. I'm not a believer that championships are the end-all-be-all. You know, Brady is the goat in the NFL, not just because of the rings,

but he played forever and was just utterly dominant. I mean, he had, like, what, three Super Bowl comeback victories? Although, as a big favorite, he did lose twice to the Giants. I don't know. I don't love the Rings argument, but Katie, it doesn't really apply to him, so I don't know why he even brings it up. Does that make, you get what I'm saying?

Yeah. And I think you're getting to a bigger conversation with Kevin Durant because I believe, I think even two years ago, I think I may have said it on this podcast and got some blowback from you and, you know, the unwashed masses in the comment section.

But I think it was during that Milwaukee Net series, when I said that Kevin Durant, for my money, is a top 10 player all time. And that was based on his skills and his, you know, there's no flaw in his game. You could really point out he's just, he's a freak. He's awesome. He's one of the most talented basketball players I think we've ever seen, regardless of position. I think he's that good.

And I think Kevin Durant likes to focus on that aspect of, of it because you really can't point out flaws in his game. Like there's really nothing he can't do. What you can point out, though, and this is what separates the elites of the elites in NBA history is all of those guys that you mentioned won leading teams to championships. You know, pick your favorite guy in the top 10. If it's Jordan, Kareem, LeBron, Magic, Duncan, Shaq, whoever, Steph, you know, Steph's your guy. You have in the top 10, I don't, but you do.

The thing that separates them and other guys is that they were able to be the captain of the ship on teams that won championships. And that, like it or not, is going to be the separation between two players who are similar in skill sets. I'll give you an example. There was a long stretch of time. People don't remember this, but there was a good three or four year window where it was a legitimate debate. who's better, Kobe or T-MAC. Tracy McGrady, I don't think ever got out of the first round until he got to San Antonio and he was kind of ring chasing there at the end.

And that's the difference. You know that. Yeah, but that's the difference between Kobe being a top five-ish player in NBA history and Tracy McGrady, like, it's debatable whether or not he deserved to get in the Hall of Fame. If you just looked at their skill sets, Tracy McGrady could do basically everything that Kobe could do. He just, he was bigger. He was like two inches taller and he could but he could score just as well. He could pass just as well. He may be not as good of a defender, but he was probably a, I think a more creative creator like as far as running the show when

Kobe was. But those intangibles, those things that you can't quantify, those things that don't show up in a statute, the things that happen behind closed doors in the locker room on the sidelines, that's what separates the great talents from the all-time great players. And Kevin Durant, as great as he is as a talent, the knock on him is going to be he's never been the guy to lead a group of players to a championship, even though he was the best player with the Warriors, in my opinion. It was viewed as Steph's team, not his. He was the finals MVP twice.

They lost the year before he got there. And then he shows up and he's the finals MVP twice. Like, it's tough to say he didn't lead them. I don't know. Like, then you get into like who's leading the huddle and blah, blah, blah. Right. But to point out, it's interesting, you said that Nets Buck series. So KD averaged, and he was unbelievable in the series.

He was 32 years old. He averaged 35, 10, 5 shot 49%, 35% from 3. He had a couple games that were just unbelievable. Ultimately, what hurt him in the seven game series was Kyrie Irving played for the seven games. James Harden played four of the seven games. Like, he was by himself all alone, and it's not fair. It's interesting. I guess if you're looking to sum it up, to put this politely as possible,

Kevin Durant needs to get a life. He does. He needs to go out and have fun and forget about what the gibronies are saying on social media. Kevin Durant, get a life. You think you're helping your cause by debating this with random dudes on the internet? you're hurting it. That's what you're doing. Michael Jordan doesn't jump in the comment section.

Okay? Steph Curry doesn't give a rat's ass with these guys on the internet are saying about whether or not he's a top 10 guy or not. Kevin Durant, let your resume speak for itself. You've got a phenomenal resume. You won in the Olympics. You won in the NBA. You've finals MVP.

NBA MVP. I mean, you're one of the seminal 15 guys in the history of the sport. Why are you debating it with a bunch of knuckleheads on the internet? This is a no-win situation. KD, why don't you go out and focus on what you can control, which is basketball, working with Devin Booker, working with the new coach, working with Bradley Beale. Like, you got a lot on your plate, man.

The last thing on your mind should be whether or not you're a top five player. You know what you can do to shut these guys up? Go out and get to the finals and win the damn thing. Then nobody's going to talk about you is your top five player. Then you know what the discussion will be, obviously, right, Rob? Well, whose team is it? Bradley Beale? or Kevin Duran?

Is that next? Is that what's next? Because that's coming. Yeah. I mean, well, I guess the difference is that, you know, the Phoenix versus the Golden State is because Golden State had already won before, it was always going to be viewed as Steph's team. Phoenix, their best season ever was losing four to, right, to Milwaukee in the finals. So in that regard, maybe Kevin Durant gets a pass. They wouldn't have ordinarily gotten because he could be.

seen as the guy who got them over the hump when they had never gotten there before. That's fair. I should point out, as we wrap up this topic, Devin Booker was kind of Kyrie before Chris Paul showed up. They didn't win anything. Now, they did win more than like 30 games, but they didn't win anything of consequence.

Then Chris Paul shows up, and now they're winning and they're in the finals. Now, Chris Paul's gone. I know it's Devin Booker's team, and Bradley Beal's got to find his way in, but at some point, Kevin DeRay is going to have to be like, yo, I want this title. He's going to have to stop him and be a leader. I know he said it's not him, but at some point you've got to be. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human

potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what we. went down and tried to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack,

so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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 hard way.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Rob, I quickly want to touch on this. We had mentioned it last week after the draft that there was this weird story percolating about how on Thursday morning like, I don't know, eight hours before the draft or whatever, Shams Sharania put out a tweet saying there is serious momentum. toward Scoot Henderson going number two to Charlotte. And ESPN did not touch it.

It was just a Shams report. Of course, number two pick comes up. It's Brandon Miller. And then the Woj tweet about how all along it was Brandon Miller. There was no doubt about it. And a lot of people pointed out, well, wait a minute. As soon as Shams tweeted that, a bunch of the gambling odds shifted. Well, Shams is employed by Fandool.

They pay him money. I'm not nefarious enough to think that there was something between those two in terms of this report. It was probably more likely, hey, Shams, it's Joe over here in Charlotte. Can you do me a solid? We're trying to just see if we can get any trade bait out. We're wondering maybe if we can get Zion, maybe we can get somebody. We're really looking at scoot at number two, you know. but they weren't really looking.

They were just put that out there as like a flag. Like if anybody wants the number two pick, hey, it's possible. And Shams took the bait, maybe doing a favor for one of his guys. And then the gambling odds shifted. So the Wall Street Journal picked up this story. And the Wall Street Journal was able to find some random dude who said, I trust Shams. He's so good.

I put $500 on it. I called my sister and my girlfriend's brother or whoever it was. And I told them to bet on this because Shams is a short thing. And they lost a ton of money. And Rob, when we start talking about the Wall Street Journal writing about this, I don't necessarily think this story is going to go away. No, it's definitely not. We are in a seminal moment in sports as it relates to the relationship between the actual on-field-on-court product and the gambling space.

The minute we started having sports books inside NFL, stadiums, we're in an uneasy place because all of these relationships are so incestuous that it's very difficult for people to separate the actual integrity of the sport and the news information or entertainment aspect of it. So Sharm Sharania, who does a great job, I wish we you can get him on the show one time, but he doesn't for whatever reason, is one of the best newsbreakers in sports, period. Not even just NBA, just period.

And is it his fault that he also works for Fandul and that him doing his job, you know, as reporting whatever he's hearing, whatever he's being told leads to a shift in the gambling markets? I don't think that's his fault. But unfortunately, that's going to be the situation.

moving forward. Like if the Washington commanders put out a injury report that says downgrades the guy to questionable two hours for kickoff and it leads to some kind of action in fantasy football or at the betting markets or whatever and the guy ends up playing, it's like, well, is that they're, you know, what do they do wrong? They're doing what they've always done. Shams is doing what he's always done. It just so happens now that because, because, you know, because.

because he works for Fanduil, that's considered a problem. And it's just a weird time to be alive right now, I think, in sports. Well, you probably remember last draft. Everybody had Jabari, uh, Jabari Smith going number one to Orlando. Historically, Orlando had drafted long wings. The wingspan was huge. Everyone and every reporter had Jabari Smith going one. And then people were looking at it like, wait a minute, Palo Benkerro is better.

And a lot of people bet Paolo Bankero, despite what the reporters were saying. And a lot of people cleaned up and won, like, good six-figure sums off of Paulo Bankero going first. Sportsbook got their clock cleaned at the 2022 NBA draft. I'm not saying that they want to payback, but I crunch some of the numbers quickly. You guys know how many states gambling is legal in over half the country. And, you know, you look at the populations of those states. all you needed was 15,000 people across 20-some-odd states betting 50 bucks on who's going one or thereabouts.

And you've got a near seven-figure swing to other sports books. So these reporters, I know they're in a spot and some are paid by gambler, some are not, or gambling companies and some are not, but we're in a position now where that stuff's going to be heavily scrutinized when you've got reporters. Now, there's a difference between an opinion guy versus. a reporter. I'm not out there reporting what front offices are doing. I'm having takes and opinions. My hot scorching takes. My straight fire takes. And yes, I will give gambling advice on games and events, but I'm not using my insider tag and then being paid by gambling companies. As of now,

I'm not paid by a gambling company. That could change. But at the same time, like, I think that the Wall Street Journal latched onto this. We're going to see some oversight for sure. Something new will come of it. All right, guys, that's a lot. lengthy Monday pod will be back the rest of the week, obviously with podcasts leading into NBA free agency, NFL, who knows what. Maybe we'll dabble in college football.

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