The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Victor Wembanyama

Episode Date: July 10, 2023

Colin looks at NBA star rookie Victor Wembanyama bouncing back from his sluggish debut at the Summer League Andrew Luck should be considered for the Pro Football Hall of FameSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. One hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. As you know, there's always plenty of both. Jay Mack and I both busy this weekend, hung out at UFC. Great, great event. May have been the second best UFC card I've ever been to. Unbelievable.

Five hours of just. wild crazy knockouts. And watched some Wemby last night. The United States Men's national team last night. Yesterday was a great TV day. Yeah. They should have put my men's rec league game on TV too. We lost at the buzzer on a three-pointer.

Crazy game. Yeah, you miss them open looks. Who'd you hang more with, Jamal Murray or Donald Trump? I did not see Donald Trump. He was in the arena. I didn't see him. He was over by the famous people. But Jamal Murray sat three seats from me.

And that was pretty cool. So Victor Wembenyama was the story of the weekend in the NBA. the next great player, right? The best prospect since LeBron. Some scouts are saying he's the best prospect ever. I know you think you know more on social media, but every scout I know, and I've known a lot for a long time,

say he's as good as any player ever, barring injury because of his unique size and length. My three takes over the weekend were, he needs to get stronger. Hopefully he will. Not all skinny bigs get stronger. He needs to get stronger. Second thing is San Antonio has a history,

developing Biggs. So he landed in a really good spot. And he was a little jittery game one, and that saps your energy. Yeah, it's okay to be nervous at 19 years old for your first job interview, your first big meeting, speaking in front of 500 people for the first time, or your first NBA event that's official. He was nervous, he was jittery, and that saps your energy. But by game two, he gave you 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.

he is already disruptive on the defensive end. And that's really important. I always say this about running quarterbacks. As they're trying to figure out the league, their legs can get them wins. As Wemby is trying to refine his offensive game and get stronger, his defense will be disruptive and a force in the NBA. I've been saying this for years about running quarterbacks. I like a little ability to move because it takes you about three years to figure out the league.

Folks, he played against men in Europe and crushed. And European basketball is better than our college basketball, and it's not particularly close. Those teams would blow our college teams out by 40, and he was dominant. He also played, his European team played against G-League teams a few months ago, twice. He scored 37 and 36 at 19. He's come from a significantly better basketball league. then our college league, and he dominated. And oh, by the way, he was jittery in game one.

Of course he is. I've seen Greg Norman on a golf course disintegrate. I've seen Kirk Cousins in primetime games as a grown man disintegrate. It's okay for a 19-year-old in the United States coming to this country, being a little nervous in game one. But his defense will be disruptive. It was in both games. It's going to be his rookie year.

His size is unique. He's smart. He's thoughtful. You guys love all these dynamic point guards. Scoot Henderson. He can't shoot. He can score one way. He's big, strong, fast.

He's Westbrook. Can he shoot? Maybe he becomes one. But you love John Wall. You all love Tebow and you had film and game and game and game for a guy that couldn't throw. But you had convinced yourself that Tebow is going to be great. Some of you still believe it.

Tebow is not an NFL quarterback. I got like 45 games to show you. either starting or in reserve. Can't make the throws. Wemby has a jittery game one and some of you are selling his stock. Listen, it's going to hurt your feelings. Your dynamic point guards that can't shoot, don't win titles. Scoot Henderson, it's not going to lead you to titles.

He's just going to be really fun to watch. It's going to make some All-Star teams. It's going to get rich. I can't wait to watch him. Wemby's going to lead you to titles, sort of like Janus and Yokic. M.B. hasn't won titles, but the last five MVP's are all from abroad. out of the country, foreign-born. Here's a reality, and some of you don't like it,

and why you're rooting against him. European bigs are taking over the league. They come in more mature, they come in more skilled, they play against men, their culture is actually better in developing players sooner than ours. Steve Kerr's already ripped AAU. Greg Popovich probably doesn't love it either. European basketball develops players against men early.

This kid's going to win titles. by game two in the summer league dominant. And his defense is already disruptive, and that will be the key as he tries to get stronger. He needs to put on 10 pounds. It's probably going to take him a year. I've talked about this. If I had Wemby and the Spurs know what they're doing far more than I do. But if I was the Spurs, I'd play him about 58 games, most of the home games.

But when they go on two and three game road trips, I'd keep him home. I'd let him sleep, lift weights, and eat. I'd do that four or five different quick two-game roadies out of San Antonio. They're playing Houston. They're playing the Mavs. Stay home. Reward your home fans. Put weight on.

Sit in the wait room for three hours a day on those trips. Play him 58 games. Who gives a rip about rookie of the year? It doesn't mean anything. I was reading over the weekend like LeBron James first summer league. It was in Boston. He didn't win the MVP. I never heard of the guy that did.

Who cares? But he's going to be really good. And some of you don't like it. And you fall in love with the shooting guards out there, and I'm not taking shots at him. I would vote a lot of these point guards that can't shoot. I'd put them in the Hall of Fame. But they don't win titles.

Can't trust them in May and June. This kid's going to be great. Here's Wemby after. Personally, I'm just, you know, it's normal to get better every game. Two days ago was my first game. In the past month, I think basketball wasn't even 50% of basketball.

I can't stand it. I know it's a special moment in my life, but it's, I'm glad it's all. Honestly, I just want to hope. I just want to work out, lift, because this is my life. Listen, this is my life. He was nervous and honestly watching him. I was kind of nervous for game one. I was nervous for the kid watching it.

I thought, man, this kid's got to be keyed up. And he was. And when you're nervous, saps your energy. There's a lot of people out there. don't want to see Europe take over our basketball. By the way, United States Men's National Soccer team, we're getting better. We're going to be disruptive in the World Cup.

It's the way globalization works. Sometimes people do stuff better than us. Our young players have to learn how to shoot and grow up and quit being bothered by Twitter. Wemby's the future, baby. So is Yokic. So is Yonis for the time being. I'm totally comfortable with it.

You need to get comfortable with it. All right. So I saw this one over the weekend. an interesting story. A question was asked. Do you know Andrew Luck is just about eligible for the Hall of Fame next year? Andrew Luck. You know I love me some Andrew Luck. And I know what you're saying. I mean, Colin, come on. You only played for about six years. Brevity of career does not eliminate you. Gail Sayers, four great years. Made it. Then he had knee injuries.

Torell Davis, four great years. Well, Super Bowls, yeah, well, Elway had a lot to do with those two. If you're going to let compilers into all these Hall of Fame, people who were very good and played for a long time, that I'm going to fight for great briefly. You love, a lot of you love compilers, your favorite local player who led the league in doubles four times and hit. by pitches and played 19 years and was never the best player on his team. Andrew Luck did something I don't think Brady or Patrick Mahomes far Bradshaw Aikman could do. He took a horrible roster and went 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5.

In fact, four Pro Bowls in five years, they never had a losing season when he was healthy, which is remarkable because according to PFF, the Andrew Luck era had the 20, 28 best defense, the 24th best rushing game, and a bottom six offensive line. And he got to the AFC championship. I don't think Mahomes could do that. And I think Mahomes is amazing. But here's my thing. If we're going to keep fighting for compilers, every time I hear about the Hall of Fame,

there's guys and I'm like, they didn't win a game. They weren't worth a point. And not just football. I mean, in baseball, you see it all the time. 26 years of this and not. Sandy Kofax. had six great years. Three phenomenal.

Nobody has a problem calling him the best pitcher ever. It's not the hall of really good for a really long time. It's the hall of fame. Fame, famous. Fame being great. That's who's famous. Fame, all-time stuff. Andrew Luck was impulsive when he retired.

People said, I mean, he was banged up, but right before the season, and that didn't sit right. but isn't his owner arguably as impulsive as any owner in the league? I've seen impulsive GMs that play the game what we call it ready, fire, aim, do things without thinking them through. I've seen coaches be impulsive. I've seen owners be impulsive. And at least he had an excuse. He got the hell beat out of him. I would have preferred he didn't retire right before a season. I don't think the Colts have ever really recovered. They've been scrambling since.

But basically, if you look at those Colts teams, they're the opposite of today's San Francisco 49ers. They were awful everywhere except quarterback. 11 and 5. 11 and 5. 4 Pro Bowls. 11 and 5. 5 straight years when he was healthy of winning seasons.

Yes, when he retired, tick people off. Yes, it was very short. but you got to understand. You got to understand. Gail Sayers, Trell Davis, Sandy Kofax. I mean, Gail Sayers was a running back. And I know it was more of a running back league. But if you're going to all let compilers in,

and I do think in this soft time that, you know, we want to be nicer and we want to, you know, include more people and stuff, which I'm all for, if you're going to do that, because I see it happening all the time in Hall of Fames, well, why can't I fight for great? I don't think Brady goes 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5 with one of the worst defenses, O lines, and no run game? I don't think he does.

By the way, his coach, Andrew Luck's coach who got fired who he had has never been given a second job, never really hot in the market. So we didn't have a great coach either. I'm telling you, what Andrew Luck did is remarkable. Never seen anything like it. Just think of how good Trevor Lawrence is. And you're like, well, his first coach. Yeah, Andrew Luck won 11 and 5 with that kind of stuff.

I mean, just think of, you know, as good as Justin Herbert was, well, he didn't win games. Yeah. But the Chargers had talent. Luck didn't have any. And he went 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5. Right in the middle of, it should be noted, like, you know, the Tom Brady era. Big Ben was still closer to his prime. So, yeah, I'd fight for Andrew Luck for the Hall of Fame.

I think it's hard to tell the history of the NFL without Gale Sayers, without Terrell Davis, without Andrew Luck. I think you can tell the story of all these sports leagues without compilers. If you're not the best player on your team, if you didn't elevate others, you're not really a Hall of Famer. And I would argue a quarter of Hall of Famers. Now, I understand if it's the 27 Yankees, but a quarter of Hall of Famers often weren't the best player on their own team

for a duration of their prime. I see it all the time in all sports. all right i've already spilled my coffee and i'm already eight minutes into the show i mean that's that's where we are today good to have you in as always a lot playing rich eric jeter will be on the show today the baseball all-star game is up in seattle so i help you know even though i've been out of the pacific northwest for a long time whenever and i guess you probably don't think this way if you're from l a new york or chicago because you've got a lot of big events all the time but when you're from any other city in america like a seattle or a pacific northwest and an all-star

or the world comes to your doorstep, I'm like hoping Seattle gives everybody good weather. Because when you grow up in the Pacific Northwest, it's like the PGA. Seattle has the best summer weather in America. I mean, it's like the French Riviera. It's like perfect. And like the PGA in the summer will hold events all over places. It's like Seattle doesn't exist. So when you grow up in the Pacific Northwest, like nobody pays attention to you.

We have great summer weather. The NBA's never had an all-star game in Portland. They never put PGA events up in the Pacific Northwest. So when you finally get something, you want to show everybody, hey, it's nice up here. We have grocery stores and gas stations and everything. So I'm rooting for a great All-Star game. Yeah. I don't want to go back to this Andrew Luck topic, but holy cow, that is just an awesome discussion to have.

The Andrew Lowe, is he a Hall of Famer? I started thinking of like, Philip Rivers. Can you tell the story of the NFL without Philip Rivers? Yes. Can't tell it without Eli Manning. I skipped over Eli Manning. I knew that he's in because of the Super Bowls. But that luck one is very, very good.

Andrew Luck, I always argued for Jose Konseko. He brought steroids in and got steroids out. And I remember watching Jose Konseko. I just got out of college. I sat next to Jose Konseko's daughter at the fight. She sat right next to me. And I was telling her this. I said, I remember I was a young kid out of college.

It was my first job. And I was doing one inning of play-by-play. and the Tacoma Tigers came in. They were the A's AAA affiliate. And they had these two kids, Mark McGuire and Jose Konseko. And McGuire played third base and was kind of stiff. But Konseko was the talk. Everybody was talk.

And it's like, you don't have to love Jose Konseko. But he was the first to bring him in, and you can't tell the story of the sport without it. The Bash Brothers. I had a picture of them on my wall growing up. They were like amazing. I loved watching those guys. But the Andrew Luck one is tough because a lot of people are going to

say, no way, shouldn't be in, but what he accomplished with so little? Like, Philip Rivers had Lidane and Tomlinson and some major stars on that team. Luck didn't have much. I just look at the rosters. I'm like, I think we need to back up. What is your criteria for the NFL Hall of Fame? Where do you start? Are you great?

Are you an all-time great talent? Too, general. I need something more specific than, are you great? Because you might think someone's great, I might not. Well, I mean, there's a lot of data and numbers. we know that he played for a horrible team, GM fired, coach fired, they were bottom in everything,

running defense O line, stuff that's sort of important. 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5. I don't think, I mean, and basically he retired because of lacerated kidneys. I mean, just say that to yourself. Does it sound like you should be playing football

with a lacerated kidney, internal bleeding. So I just, I look at all these Hall of Fames and, you know, we're in a time now where, you know, if you say no to anybody, it's like you're mean, you're aater. I look at half these Hall of Fame inductees, and I don't talk about it a lot because I don't think half are worthy of the Hall of Fame. I mean, some of these athletes, Dion Sanders has been a guy that's been outspoken about, we've got to create a different hall to the Hall of Fame. But Andrew Luck is one of the best, in fact, in my years of doing this, because I wasn't doing Sport Talk Radio with John Elway.

The single best quarterback talent I've ever seen is Andrew Luck. It didn't work out. Impulsive owner, bad people around him, horrible roster. But, I mean, again, Mahomes got Brett Veach, the Hunts, Andy Reid. I mean, he got, and I'm not saying Mahomes wouldn't be great. I'm not sure Mahomes could go 11 and 5, 11, 1, 1, 1, 5, with that nonsense. He couldn't. And by the way, that was the time when Brady was in his heyday and Big Ben was close to his prime.

And, well, Peyton was gone because Peyton was over in Denver. Yeah, that's right. But he went to Denver and still won a Super Bowl. So, I mean, it was all, I mean, think about that. Think of all the great quarterbacks, the old veteran. in the AFC and he got to an AFC championship. With that roster, it's like, what? It's insane.

It really is. It's incredible. So I'm going to fight for Andrew Luck forever. And I always, you know, it's people, just like Wemby, Tebow couldn't play in the NFL. I mean, it literally, it just didn't work, right? Nice kid didn't work. People fought for years for him because they liked the story. The Andrew Luck thing was a lot of hype, and there's a lot of.

of jealous and haters out there that don't like the hype, but it was like, good God, if you'd have given Andrew Luck the Tebow, Denver roster, my God, it was stacked. The kicker was good. Even the kicker was good. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. 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, 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 a little camp? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket 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 on day, but just so you're just saying, I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. They're 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Former NFL GM Mike Lombardi said last week, on YouTube, Pat McAfee show that the Rams tried to trade Matt Stafford this offseason. Now, what I was told is that the Rams tried to feverishly rework his contract. Stafford didn't have a great deal of interest in that.

He got him a Super Bowl. He wasn't going to pay for some of their drafting mistakes. So Matt Stafford said, I got you all a ring. You got me a ring. Part of the deal was I get paid the way I get paid. I moved to a very expensive city, and I don't feel like reworking my deal. So the Rams, because of that, wanted to make some moves this offseason, and they couldn't. My hunch is the Rams will draft a quarterback next season.

It's a great quarterback draft. They'll probably be middle of the first round, somewhere between like 12 and 18. That's my guess. I see them as an 8-9-win team. Most people see them as a 6-7-win team. That would put them about 12-13. The Rams roster is very, very young. Now, they do have great players at key positions.

Quarterback, Stafford's still top 10. Aaron Donald, first or second best defensive lineman. Cooper Cup Unhealthy, a monster. Also a great coach. And they've got probably the first or second richest owner. It matters. He can write a lot of checks. But even if they traded Matt Stafford,

I think the move to get Matt Stafford was absolutely unequivocally. I'm equivocally, inarguably worth it. Los Angeles, for better or worse, and I think it's for better, is the most distracted city in America. Perfect weather. Mountains within a couple hours. Beaches. 31 music venues. 10 pro teams, two major universities.

Think about how big New York is. Sometimes, though, they don't have our beaches nearby. Ours are connected to the city. They don't have our mountains. They got to go to Vermont and ski or come out west. they don't have two major universities and college football programs in their city. Do they have 31 music venues around New York? Probably, but I doubt it.

The reality is our weather and our proximity to things to do, Vegas is a 40-minute flight away, we're very distracted. The Rams were building a new stadium, and they needed to get noticed. And they did, and they got everybody a ring. And you can say what you want about the Niners' dominance, Kyle Shanahan, would trade all those regular season wins over McVeigh for a ring yesterday. So the Rams are not in a terrible place. If you look at their schedule, and this is why I tend to be higher on the Rams than everybody else,

they only face three great elite quarterbacks. Week three, they're at Joe Burrow. He's great. Then, as you can see on the schedule, they face Jalen Hertz at home week five. He's great. And then they face Lamar Jackson, week 14. He's great. Then it's a lot of Daniel Jones and Gino Smith and Kenny Pickett and Jordan Love.

Sam Howell, Derek Carr at home. It's a very workable schedule. They're over under a six and a half. I think they're eight and nine or nine and eight. I think they fight with Seattle for a wild card spot the final weekend of the year. Almost nobody else likes them as much as I do. But again, they're great at coach. They're great at quarterback.

They've got a great defensive linemen. They have a great weapon. And they've got several good players. They also last year had an offensive line injury bug that I believe set a record for the most starting units on an offensive line in league history. I could be wrong. I think I'm right. So I think they bounce back. But their defense is young, fast, and without a lot of experience, and they'll have to win in shootouts.

And I think they will about eight times. J-Mac with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right. We'll get to the story in a second. Colin, you just mentioned the Rams and you love them.

Okay. Love them. I don't love them. I like them. Yeah, the overrunner, six and a half. I think eight's a very reasonable. So I just pulled up their schedule. I know our audience loves gambling.

So first nine weeks, the Rams are a favorite one time against Arizona. They're favored by three and a half. Look at the schedule. Yeah. The Colts are in week four. That game's a pick them. The market has the Colts and Rams as they pick them. What does that tell you, man?

It tells you the market is undervaluing a healthy Stafford and McVeigh. At home against the Steelers, week seven, pick them. Rams. All right, I said enough. I mean, they are six-point dogs in the opener in Seattle. Six-point underdogs. I'll take the Rams.

This is going to be fascinating. You've pushed all your tips in the middle. Don't tell me I love them. No, I just think it's six. and a half, most of the time, I think you bet the under on over-unders. Because I think the over-unders, fans are all optimistic. They bet overs. I am bet the unders almost always.

Agreed. The Rams are one of the few. I bet the over. I think, if you look at that schedule and you can't tell me facing, and this is if guys, Hal, Daniel Jones, maybe Arizona without Kyler Murray, potentially twice. I didn't even look at the back half of the schedule. Jordan Love, Kenny Pickett. It's tough to let's leave out the last couple weeks.

But, I mean, Colin, I mean, first nine weeks are favored once against arguably the worst team in the league. There's no question. They have a chance to start 1 and 2 or 0 and 3. I think they win at Seattle, and then I think they get clubbed the next two weeks. I think the toughest stretch for them all year is weeks two and three. Niners, Bengals is the toughest stretch. But if you start looking at the rest of the schedule, ooh, they face Philly, but they get the Colts in Arizona in front and back.

But that's the thing about that Arizona game. It's sandwich between Eagles and Steelers, two of the best defensive lines in the league. What did you just say was the Rams primary issue last year? Offensive line. There's a scenario where Stafford, and I like Stafford, a lot. There's a scenario where he's on his back and hurt a lot. Okay, all right, let's get to sports.

He's another one of those guys you tell me you love and rip all day in the show. No, no, no. I like Stafford. I don't want to get into why, but I'm a fan of Stafford's work. He won a Super Bowl. He was great in Detroit. He is a Hall of Fame. I don't want to hear anything otherwise.

He's 100% hall of favor. Yeah, Matt Stafford is a hall of favor. All right, let's get to the NBA. James Harden. We know he wants out of Philly. Still waiting for that trade to develop. Joel Embed is holding out hope that Hardin's mind can be changed. And he spoke with Showtime basketball about his initial reaction to Hardin's trade request.

Disappointed. But then again, I also understand, you know, it's business. You know, people make decisions. And I'm more appreciative. of the way he's handled the whole situation. You know, we're going to be boys forever. Want him to come back, obviously, so we can go out and accomplish what we want,

which is to win a championship. So hopefully that, you know, his mindset can be changed. But other than that, you know, I'm just so happy to be, you know, it's fine. A lot there. You don't want to overreact, Colin, but like his situation, Like, from Hardin's point of view, you guys screwed me. I took less money last year so we could sign PJ Tucker and I forget whoever the other guy was. And now you don't want a pony up?

I'm out. Not good. I'm fine with him. Yeah. I'm fine with James Hardin not being a sixer. I've told you. Well, Joel Embedd, I don't think he is. I said this about Kyrie Irving and I'll say it about James Hardin.

I don't need a star back. Give me rotational players. I got Maxie, Embeddead, Harris. Give me two really, really good rotational guys. I'm good. So you're good with that. Darry, the GM, historically, wants stars. He builds around two stars.

I love Darrell. No championships. Maybe rotational players are the answer sometimes. You've got two stars, an ascending one and an established one. You don't need another star. You need guys to support the stars. They got enough stars. They got a star center and an ascending star in Maxi.

Those are stars. How many do you need? So you keep saying Maxi's ascending. I like him. Apparently the Sixers are saying they will not trade him for anything. So do you think he can be as good in the next year or two as Jamal Murray, who you saw this weekend? Like, you know, Jamal Murray, I'm all in. Can he be that good to be?

Well, there are different players, and Jamal's a bigger player. But I think they can, I think, I think, uh, Maxie's a 23 point a game player who's dynamic. I think Jamal Murray's probably going to be a better distributor. Jamal is a very natural score. He's very, he's very Booker in Phoenix. It's like 24 points. and it's just easy. Maxis are more dynamic. He's a smaller athlete. He probably won't last as long. But y'all love Scoot Henderson. Well, I'm watching Scoot Henderson. His name is Maxie, and he can shoot.

The kid's a great shooter. All these dynamic guards that I always sell stock on that everybody loves, none can shoot. This is a small dynamic guard that can shoot. Wait a minute. Whoa, interesting. He's got a little Steph Curry where he can actually hit three. You love Maxie? Oh my gosh. Steph and Scoot? I'm not, no, no, but Scoot. if you watch him play. Big physical dynamic. Can't shoot. I've seen that act before, like 12 times.

I like it. And I like Scoot. Yeah. Well, we'll talk about Scoot in the next story. Let's just get to the next one. The Blazers had trade offers on the table around the NBA draft that would have satisfied Dame Lillard. At least some of those would have required Portland a trade, Shaden Sharp, Anthony Simons, Nurkich, and the 2023 pick that became Scoot Henderson.

However, GM Joe Cronin did not want to potentially mortgage the team's future to make Dame happy and decided not to pursue those moves. Now, in light of what Scoot Henderson did in three quarters of one game in the Summer League, I know. He did get hurt, shoulder. Little guy got hurt. Colin, he was dominant in three quarters. He makes Brandon Miller look like a total. What the hell did Charlotte do? Scoot was...

Remember, we do this all the time. Little men without the hand check. are fascinating to watch. They're all fascinating to watch. By the way, this is going to sound weird. They don't win in the playoffs. Better body right now, like to handle the NBA. Scoot Henderson or Tyrese Maxie.

Yeah. Scoots. Yeah. He's a teenager. I think he's still 19. I like him a lot. But I'm just, what is the end game being dynamic or winning in May and June? Well, let's see.

He's going to win in May and June. Yeah, of course he is. There's a world where Scoot is Derek Rose-ish. can he stay healthy? I'm telling you, some of the things he was doing in summer league are like, how old is this guy? I don't want to be marginalized as they don't like Scoot. I think he's going to be a blast to watch.

But he got hurt in his first summer league game. So this led me to the question. Based on what Portland saw from Scoot, do you accelerate the Dame trade talks? Listen, we got to get Dame out of here. We want to get Scoot in because guess what? With Dame, Simons, and Sharp. By the way, Sharp looked very good. He's ready to control it.

Sharp is an excellent prospect. How do you play Scoot with those three guys? Do you start exploring other day? No, remember, Sharp is a wing. So Simons is a guard. Scoot's an injured guard. Sharp could probably play somebody's a wing, Grant's a wing,

Nurk at you big, get three to four draft picks from Miami, get a couple of rotational guys. Scoot's going to be your star. Like he's going to be your star. I don't need another star. Get me veteran rotational guys to elevate Scoot

and protect Scoot from his weakness, which is he can't shoot. So go get shooters around him. Dame has said he wants Miami. At this point, if you're Portland, do you say, sorry, Dame, we're going to do what's best for us. We want to see Scoot starting opening night, or we want to see him coming off the bench as a six-man. Dame, we're taking the best offer.

If that means you're going to... Yeah, that's what I would do. That's what I would do. I know that's cold-hearted and people might not want to hear that. It's not. It's not. It's not cold-hearted. It's the economics. It's the reality.

Portland has a responsibility to, their season ticket holders to not mortgage the future to make somebody they paid $233,3 million happy. That's not their job. Their job is to get the most. Now, I do think they would like to be kind to Damon and send him where he wants to go. But I don't care. If Damon wants to quit and be a villain, he can.

But my responsibility is to my fans and corporate sponsors, not a player leaving the organization. Sorry. That's how I feel if I ran a team. Dame's agent saying respectfully he only wants Miami. All right. Well, respectfully, I'm not going to use any of your clients ever again, lose my number. Yeah. I'm kind of with you.

At this point, you got to say, you know what, Dame, if you don't want to go play with Tatum and Brown, you don't want to play with Embed, that's your problem, right? We're shipping you on for our best deal. Quit, pout, be a villain. Not my responsibility. Final story. This one's fascinating. Anthony Davis has two years left on his contract and is eligible for an extension next month.

I believe August 4th is the day. Okay. This is where it gets interesting. The Lakers are really. reluctant to give him that new deal. The team is taking a weight and see approach. If he could stay healthy and have this

perform. All you Laker fans out there, you do get, this is the right move. Why do I have to give him an extension? He's got to get your left on his deal. Well, what's the hurry? I'm not giving him an extension. I think this is,

Lakers have really, since the trade deadline until today in that story, Lakers have made no mistakes. They got Austin Reeves for a good number. They kept Ruey and Reeves. They moved off Dennis Schrooter, bounce around the league guy. They got D-Lo for two reasonable years.

They're not extending AD. I think D-D. I think Darvin-Ham has proven the players play hard for him. I like D-Han, more than I think the narratives out there. The Lakers sends the trade deadline. I sign off on every move they made. I would have gotten rid of D-Lo, but they got a shooter for two years. I'm okay with that.

is where it gets fascinating. So LeBron has this season. If you're the Lakers, you say AD, sorry, no extension. Next summer, LeBron goes wherever Brani goes. He gets drafted by, I don't know, Orlando. All of a sudden, you can walk away from Anthony Davis and now you've got max

spots to open up. So I know Anthony Davis isn't going to want to hear this. The Lakers have taken the franchise back as they should. Again, their responsibility is to Los Angeles, their shareholders, their season ticket holders, they're advertisers. It's not to aging players who struggle to stay healthy and legacies.

That's not the Lakers responsibility. It's not the Blazers' responsibility. Sorry, I run a franchise. I have an owner. His bottom line isn't to get you better shoe deals down the road. It's to make sure that when the Blazers lose Dame, and Dame's going to crush it, right? He goes to Miami's going to crush it.

You're going to be better immediately. I'm going to be protected down the road. And Anthony Davis is pointing. of you, his guy is clutch where LeBron's rep. Hey, we've had an injury history. We need that extension. Come on, Rob, step it up. What if Palinca holds the line, AD is going to be ticked off all season. All right. And then maybe at the trade deadline when he plays well, we'll get ticked off too and send you to New Orleans for Brandon Ingram. We need to bring him back. They're not bringing up. Zion. No, but this AD thing bears watching. August is going to be

fascinating. By the way, let me ask you a final question here. Darvinham came from where Well, he played for the Pistons. No, but where was he before this as a coach? He was an assistant. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks. They just... Yannis is up for an extension as well.

I'm just saying, just putting it out there. Janus doesn't like what he sees in Milwaukee. You know who I ran into this weekend? I'm not signing the extension. You know who I ran into this weekend in Vegas? Brad Stevens. Oh, yeah. Walk right over to him.

We talked NBA trade swaps. Oh, wait. No, we didn't. But you want to know my theory on what Boston's doing? Please. One year from now. Porzingis, Jalen Brown for Janus. Porzingis was a very interesting signing.

He may crush it this year. I know people are down on him because of the injuries and the locker room stuff you talk about. Well, he's not a culture guy. 23 and 8 in Washington. Listen, Brad Stevens. I love how you. What's the deal with you and all these Boston trades, huh? You got a lot of good ones cooking up.

Listen, we're doing Sports Talk Radio, or not the New York Times. I'm just telling you, when I watch all their moves in the Boston Globe reports last week, they are getting ready for a seismic move. What's seismic? Seismic is Janus for Jalen Brown and another player. And we'll give you nine second round picks or however many they have. They've got a lot. Forzingas, Jalen Brown, and picks.

Then Jason Tatum becomes the two. That's special. See, people get upset with this. If you look at the history of the Celtics, the Russell teams were special, the bird teams were special. The Garnett team got to a couple finals. They were special. If you won with Jason Tatum as your one, it would be like a Raptors Dallas team. You'd be like, as a championship team, it's not special.

Janus Tatum for four years? Okay, that's Boston standard. Maverick standard is we won a title, and they celebrated it for five years. The Celtic standard is our great teams are all-time talked about great teams. That's the Lakers standard. That's the Yankee standard. That's Alabama football. standard. That's Kentucky basketball, Kansas

basketball standard. It's not like getting a one-off. Tatum, as a one, you could win a championship. Tatum behind Janus, that's the best team in the league. That becomes, for five years in the argument of, you know, Denver, Milwaukee, Boston,

just sharing titles. Although Milwaukee had a weird off-saint. They did. I didn't love it. I didn't love it either. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line. Be sure to Live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben.

Host to The Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor. It would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry, in media, sports and more every week.

Explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben, with Ben Mather on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 IHart Radio. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what 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 Cliverts Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or we're 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 a 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you 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. Tomorrow, Betz, Otani, and baseball's biggest headliners take center stage in Seattle for the midsummer classic. It's the 2020-all-Star game. Coverage begins tomorrow at 7 Eastern on Fox. All right, Derek Jeter, last hour.

So I got a story handed to me this morning. Dak Prescott 29 and there's a talk about how he 1,000 percent says turning 30, there's a real sense of urgency. Dak has urgency the next two years. It doesn't have anything to do with his age. The NFC is the weakest it's been in like 30 years. And in one year, in one draft, less than a year away, Caleb Williams, Drake May and Michael Pennix Jr., all A prospects.

all end up in the NFC. Because almost all the really awful teams like Arizona, potentially really bad, Tampa, potentially really bad, really bad, they're mostly in the NFC. So the landscape in the NFL changes very quickly. It was not long ago. It was Peyton Manning, Brady, and Big Ben in the AFC. And now it's Mahomesboro, Josh Allen, and Lamar, and others, and Justin Herbert. So DAC is not young nor cheap.

and nor is he a superstar talent. And those are the two ways you win Super Bowls. Young and cheap, nope. Superstar, nope. He's a reflection of his roster more than he elevates it. He is the longest tenure quarterback for any one team in the league. And I know exactly what he is. It's why I said last week it is ridiculous to think he's going to pop this year.

You don't think Kirk Cousins is going to pop this year. Because you know what Kirk Cousins is? They're the same guy. Look at their numbers. So his urgency is seizing the NFC in the next two years because it'll change. By the time Caleb Williams or a Drake May is in year two, we saw Burrow in year two. We saw Mahomes in year two. We saw Lamar in year two.

It's different. Think about this. Dak used to compete against Russell Wilson in his prime. He's gone replaced by Gino Smith. He used to compete against Aaron. Rogers in his prime. He's gone. It's Jordan Love. He used to compete against Tom Brady.

He's gone. Same team now has Baker Mayfield. Russell, Wilson, Tom, Brady, Aaron Rogers. Gone, gone, gone. Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield, Gino Smith. Outside of Jalen Hertz, you kind of feel like Dax's as good as everybody else in the NFC. Stafford, no. But, we worry about health. So DAC does need to be urgent, two years. Because there's only one way

that you win in Super Bowls. We see it. Young, talented, cheap quarterback, he's not that, or superstar talent. He's not that. So you got this two-year window. It happens a lot. You got a one or a two-year window. I think he's got two. Colin right, Colin wrong, on a Monday, hour two, live in Los Angeles. Next. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. 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 podcast. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.