The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - Caution on Peterson, Nick Wright

Episode Date: March 24, 2026

Colin is joined by host of FS1's First Things First Nick Wright to talk about the Lakers loss against the Pistons, what we can draw from their 9 game win streak that was snapped last night, the NBA MVP race, and more! Plus, thoughts on whether or not Kansas' Darryn Peterson should get consideration as the first overall pick in the NBA Draft!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Here we go, Hour 2, Nick, right in a few minutes. We're live in Chicago. It's The Herd. warming up here. They wear a tank top on the show tomorrow. It was so nice out. A couple days.

You see the flowers start blooming. So beautiful. The Friday night is going to be great. Dan Hurley and Yukon face Tom Izzo and Michigan State. And I'm one of these. If you want to play for Dan Hurley, or if you want to play for Tom Izzo, you have to adapt to their style. Their job is to not make you comfortable.

These guys bark. So is Rick Patino and John Calapari and Coach Kay did. Now, not every coach has to bark. Hurley really gets after officials and Patino can really get after players and so can Izzo. But my take is I know that Hurley and Izzo and Patino's teams are going to be excellent. I don't know if you as a player are going to be excellent. You need to adapt to them.

They work. Those have made the tournament 28 straight years. His style works. Your game, there's no guarantee it works. You adapt to them. The media, especially the print media, has always been uncomfortable with like volume, but they called a 30-second time out.

There's no time for paragraphs in diplomacy and nuance. The arena is loud. This is not the NBA where you get seven. game playoff series. It's sudden death basketball. I got to make a point quickly, move on. And it can be one bad call by an official or one defensive mistake by you as a college player. The season's over. In the NBA, it's different. You know, you see Andy Reid barked at players. One bad snap, you lose the game. You start getting a multi, you know, three, five, seven game series until you get to like a game six or a seven how much is urgent right so when i look at it

and all these coaches that bark you also find the players love them players love is oh and love coach k and calipari totally loyal to these guys i'm not saying j right didn't do it that way mark few doesn't do it that way i'm comfortable hurley yells at officials more than players coach k yelled at Both. But my take is, guys, it's March. We got eight minutes left. One bad defensive possession, you know, one bad defensive stand, seasons over. So I don't, I don't think there's a lot of time for diplomacy in March and basketball. So I don't have a problem with it. I talked to Tom Izzo. I said with a transfer portal now, players can leave at any time. Has it changed the way you coach? I'm at the point in my career where I don't need to worry about it,

but, you know, I've had the privilege of being, you know, around guys like Magic Johnson or, you know, watching the NBA. I've had some chances to go there. And I think they all think the same thing, you know, the great players want to be coached. Everybody's got to be pushed. I mean, everybody pushes people. That's the way it should be.

That's the way it needs to be if you're really going to be successful. If it was easy, as they say, everybody would do it. I would argue the three best coaches in college basketball now are Petino, Izzo, Hurley, Calipari, they all bark. They're all loud. I'm okay with it. And I always said this. Peyton Manning would bark during a game. Andy Reed and Mahomes bark at each other during games. Tom Brady, Josh McDaniels. Nuance is for the film room. Nuance is for practice.

In game, I'm okay with intensity and volume. I mean, there's a line between intensity and insanity, and the late Bobby Knight crossed that about four times a season. That's different. And with that, first things first, I got to get to this. I don't know if Nick's going to like this. Nick Wright is now joining us live. So I said, I used the,

The 6-foot-6-290-pound bouncer to nightclub doesn't get into a lot of fights because nobody challenges him. If I was a bouncer, J-MAC, you get into people would challenge us. And I said the reason- I mean, J-MAC's always showing off the guns. You're like 6-2. Like, I mean, me, I think people would be intimidated by both you fellows. But go ahead, your point taken. My point is with Wemby, stats do not tell the story.

He literally changes the geometry. He leads the NBA by 40 blocks, has missed multiple games. Literally teams don't attack them. And so Luca's so bad defensively, I know it's an offensively. Wembe is so historically. Do you know it's an offensive league? Do you? Because you're telling me about it.

So, I mean, is it, though? Is it an offensive league and is it an offensive award? And are we changing the rules because everyone loves Wembe and nobody likes Luca. Just tell me. You can't be the worst defensive star in the league and win MVP when the greatest historical defensive player is also B++

on offense. Okay. So hold on. So here's my problem. I agree that the stats don't tell the story fully on Wimby's defense. Wimby is the best defensive player in the league and one of already the highest defensive ceilings ever, maybe en route to being the best defensive player ever. That is all objectively true. I do think for Wimby, the stats do tell the story

on his offense. He's not Steph Curry in 2015 where his gravity is getting people open. He's 24 points, three assists a night on offense. He is a good, but not yet great offensive player. I don't think he is yet one of the 10 best offensive players in the sport. Now, one can argue being the 12th best offensive player and far and away the best defensive player makes you the best player in the sport. Like, that is a legitimate argument. What is not a legitimate argument is that MVP has always weighed offense and defense. Well, defense is half the game. Guys, Colin, at the end of the year, we vote on the all-N-B-A team, the 15 best players, and then as a sidebar, the all-defense team. You know what? There's not the all-offense team. You know why? Because they're like,

yeah, that's the all-MBA team. We have MVP, and we have defensive player of the year. You know, we don't have offensive player of the year. You know why? Because that's the NBA. That's what we can't all of a sudden say, Luca who creates 55 points a game via points and assists, and Wimby who creates 32 points per game via points and assists, that's a wash when it comes to the MVP race. When Steve Nash has two, Dirk has one, Steph has two, Joker has three, James Harden has won, Russ has won.

The MVP has never been 50% offense, 50% defense, and I know you were out of town, luckily, when Luca was lighting the league on fire. Yeah. But at some point, you're going to have to come to terms with your Luca take is just, what's the word? Wrong. It's just wrong. He's a great, great, great, great, great, great player. Okay. I'm not disputing that.

Let me say this. I said this last hour that be very careful of late. season NBA winning streaks. Because nine teams are tanking and we kind of know the seeds. People know who can. So by the way, last year, Bucks went on an eight gamer late in the season. Bounce first

round. Lakers went in an eight gamer late in the season. Knocked off their shoes by Minnesota. Is that late season NBA winning streaks, be careful. Because ultimately it's the only pro league of all of our pro

leagues that's literally officiated differently in the playoffs is that what Detroit did last night, Detroit hasn't lost the Lakers in two years. Detroit's not going to be able to beat the really good teams without Kate Huntingham. But they did give a blueprint why the Lakers will struggle. Teams that get physical with the Lakers, even if they're totally limited offensively, give L.A. big trouble. L.A. is pretty. They're finesse. They're gifted offensively. you push them around a little. A G-Leger dropped 30 on the Lakers last night.

Well, listen, they are, they, and this is a precarious spot to be in, but they are wildly reliant on Marcus Smart defensively. And a player, his age, and his injury history, that is a precarious spot. But the idea that the way you're going to beat a team led by Lucanacic, who is a tank, and LeBron James, who is still one of the most physically imposing athletes in the league, is by pushing them around, I just flatly disagree with you. I do agree all winning streaks are not created equal, but when there are four teams in the West fighting for the three seed, and Houston's one of them, and you won back-to-back games in their building,

Denver's one of them, you beat them on the winning streak, you beat the Knicks. They played high-quality opponents and beat them. The Lakers this year, Colin, have the best record in the league when leading entering the fourth. They are undefeated. This is courtesy. Shout out Brian Windhorst for came up with this stat. 30 times this year they have had a big lead up 14 or more. They're 30 and 0.

So they haven't blown a big lead all year. They have the best record in clutch situations and the best record in one score games. I'm sorry, in single-digit games. Games decided by between one and nine. That is a recipe of a real contender. Now, do I have them on the same level as OKC? Absolutely not. Have the Spurs been better, clearly?

But the Spurs starting lineup has Victor Wendman Yamma, zero playoff games, Castle, zero playoff games, Dylan Harper, zero playoff games, Deeran Fox, seven, and then they're one vet. Deerrin Fox has 71. The Lakers starting five, every single one of the guys has been to, what, the NBA finals, except for Austin Reeves. Marcus Smart's been to the finals, Aiton's been to the finals, Luke has been to the finals, LeBron's played 300 games. They're in the playoffs. There is a path for the Lakers to upsetting everyone's beloved, precocious San Antonio Spurs, and then we'll see what happens.

I know everyone wants to give the title to OKC. we're on six years in a row, Colin, of the defending champion looking unbeatable and the defending champion not even making the conference finals. Six champs in a row have lost in round one or round two. The Lakers are live. They're not my pick. I think Boston's going to win it. And I think OKC is the best team. But the Lakers, much to your and Charles Berkeley's chagrin are live.

And you just got to accept it. You just have to accept it. Okay, all right. So I defended the Travis Kelsey contract yesterday because you can't trust Rishi Rice maturity. Worthy's a gadget guy. McCall Hardman, if he's still around, forget it. No, he's gone. Yeah. Okay. So the reality is, Reed, Mahomes, Travis Kelsey, there's a lot of trust. And I do think he's very good situationally. I'm over. He's not a 90 catch guy. and 12 touchdowns. But he's good on 30.

He's good in the red zone. He's good situationally. There's a connective tissue. He and Mahomes. He has connective tissue. But you got to, let's be honest here. Like the Warriors, it is hard to let go of dynasties and the feeling. And he makes Mahomes comfortable.

I don't know if he makes them. an elite team in a division would be Chargers roster. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, the terrifying chargers. The Chargers are the last one of playoff game with Philip Rivers. I got to bow at the altar of your silly chargers, who every year either miss the playoffs in embarrassing fashion or make the playoffs and lose in even more embarrassing fashion.

I don't want to hear about the Chargers. Now, the Broncos, they were the one seed. They won 14 games. Bo Nix played his ass off in that playoff game against Josh. Allen, they got unlucky, broke his ankle. And I like the Jalen Wattle edition. I didn't believe in the Broncos last year. Give them respect. They actually earned it, unlike your Chargers, which were born on third base, think they hit a triple. Like, you hate you. Everything about the Chargers is not something you would like. For some reason, the Southern California Air is infatuated

you with them for a decade. Now to the, to the Chiefs, who listen, last year was a down year, and now they've only been to five of the last eight Super Bowls instead of five of the the last seven the way it was. The Kelsey deal, and this is not your guy's fault, this is, honestly, NFL reportage fault. Three years, $54 million is not the deal. This is a one-year, $12 million deal. After next season, the fifth day of the league year, he is owed a $40 million check. You know what? I don't think he's going to get that check. It just called this so his agents can be like, we got him 18 million a year, and the chiefs can spread the money out. Is Travis Kelsey, even in a down year, last year and the year before, by any metric was a top five tight end.

At $12 million, he is obviously worth it. Yes, he makes Patrick more comfortable. Yes, he is still a legitimate third down and red zone threat. And yes, the chiefs need to do a lot of work to make sure last year. was a blip rather than a trend. I know a lot of folks have been praying on the downfall of the Chiefs, including your beloved co-host, who four years in a row have said they're cooked, and finally he was right once, and now he's taking a victory lap for six months.

But hey, they won six games. Such as life, Chiefs fans got to eat it. But Vegas gives them the fourth best chance to win the Super Bowl and favors them to win the division. There's a reason for that. Patrick should be back at the beginning of the year. finally have a running game. They have the ninth pick of the draft. I think that Kelsey coming back is a bonus and the downfall of the Chiefs has been a little over exaggerated by some in my opinion.

So I want to circle back. I want to end it with LeBron. So LeBron hears everything. I, you know, he does. You know, it's the phone generation. Any criticism, you know, LeBron about a week ago during the winning streak is like, oh yeah, I heard the Lakers are better without me. I'm like, you know, my guy. Yeah. Yeah, he was talking to you. Did you apologize? guys. I know you have a, did you reach out to Maverick and say, tell LeBron, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it. Let's wait to the playoffs. I do think there's a reality in the postseason that if you have Luca and Austin Reeves, that it, LeBron last night didn't score in the first half. There are situations for, you know, at this point in his career, he's not as consistent. And I do think in the playoffs, Luca's going to get hunted, Austin's going to get hunted.

That's what Detroit did last night with Luca. And LeBron in his prime, could protect him more. It's not who he is. You are the GM of the Lakers. You can build him a statue. What do you do? What do you? Knowing right now that defensively,

Luca is what he is, and Austin is completely limited. The roster outside of Marcus Smart is actually in dire need of youth, three and D, catch and shoot. What do you do with LeBron? Well, listen, I don't think it's going to be up to the GM. I think it's going to be up to LeBron. I think LeBron, I believe this is his last year with the Lakers.

Now, if they were to make the finals, which I'm not picking them to, I think they can. If they were to win the championship, obviously, then you probably just like, screw it, run it back. I don't think either of those is the likely outcome. And I think LeBron, I have believed he's going to go. to Cleveland. The James Hardin thing might really throw a wrench in that. New York has always been attractive to him. And a lot of folks seem to believe Golden State for him and Steph won Swan Song at the end that it could be there. I don't think he'll be on the Lakers next year.

But LeBron was absolutely unequivocally correct in getting mad at you and your ilk for implying they're worse with him. Is it a clumsy fit? Sure. Is the fact that Luca modeled his game after LeBron James and now he is on a team with LeBron James? Does that make them a little redundant? Obviously, is it utterly remarkable to see LeBron in year 23, a year off being sixth in MVP voting, totally change his role in a way no other all-time great perimeter player ever has. has. I agree. Okay, I will go to third option. I will be Swiss Army knife LeBron.

I will expend more of my energy cutting to the basket and defending because Luke and Austin need the ball. Yeah, it's remarkable. But when you're the smartest player ever, the best leader ever, and one of the best connectors ever, you make things work as best as you can. So yeah, I do think that there are better fits for him elsewhere and there are better. are players that could be playing that role for the Lakers. But the idea that, you know, what would be good for the Lakers, if LeBron pulled his hamstring

and missed the playoffs, then they'd have to worry about it, that's always been ridiculous. Of course, they're better with them than without him, and they're showing it by being the best team in the West for a month, which is what they've been with respect to O'KC. All right. Well, I hope they can get past the Pacers. That's on deck. I mean, yeah, I mean, they're about to win three. straight. Again, they have Pacers, Nets, Wizards. By the way, bonus take. Luca, one more tech,

he gets a suspension. At the tail end of tonight's blowout against the pacer, or tomorrow's blowout, he should intentionally get a tech. So he misses one of these tankers, and then he can reset the clock. They're going to be the three seed. They're going to get Houston in round one. When they're up three, one, you're going to lead your show killing Kevin Durant. We're going to get ready for a LeBron Wimby round two. I can't. wait i missed you i haven't talked to in a while um it's great to see you buddy as always yeah you're right first things first after our show yeah the um you know i i know it's an offensive league but it is hard to give the MVP to somebody who the pestons g leakers were hunting last night

it's like you know it's it's it's kind of a hole defensively but hey you know and maybe i'm a little favorable to the Chargers, but you know, the Harba Herbert thing. It's hard to argue about it. Live in Chicago, 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 IHard Radio app. Hi, this is Jay. I'm the producer of the Pauli and Tony Fuscoe show. Usually in these promos, they ask you to listen to the show. I'm here to ask you, please don't listen to the show. The host are two absolute morons who have the dumbest takes. on sports imaginable.

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And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a house.

We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty well. wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, hey Jonas.

and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and Headwere writer Street or 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 podcasts. 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,

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Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen Chinchin win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lernerabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck.

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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. I'll tell you, I'm going to address it at the end of this hour. That Darren Peterson going number one when you have red flags. I'm going to go to basketball and football.

If you're going to be a number one pick and there's a major red flag, I think there's an argument you should not be a number one pick. You know, Ben Simmons, James Winston, Bryce Young. You can go back to number one picks. Maturity, size, not a great athlete. We'll talk about that coming up. Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the. The herd line news. All right, Colin, we got to talk about LeBron briefly. He had a rough first half last night. He looked tired. For the first time in a while, he looked his age, 41, didn't score in the first half, came on strong in the second half, and the Lakers ultimately lost.

But of course, because it's LeBron, the Lakers are hot. We've got a report. There is report no way that LeBron returns to the Lakers next season, and the Cavs and Warriors are the most likely landing spots for him. That's according to the same. Sam Amick. Read into that what you will. Amick's been around for a long time.

He has. He is basically reporting there's no way he's a Laker, which I believe with a new Lakers ownership, I believe that to be true. How can you say no way? Like other things could happen. LeBron takes less money. The Lakers get Yannis.

They don't give up Boston Reeves. A million things here. LeBron's history has told you he's not taking less money. People's resume tells you that LeBron's not taking a massive pay cut. That's not what he's going to do. You think he's going to try to get $50 million a year? Kobe Bryant never going to take.

He never took a big pay cut. Well, financially, he can't go to the cabs then or the Warriors. They can't afford them. That's right. So he's going to retire? That's why this stuff, it's a little annoying to have to read this. But, you know, we're talking about on the show. It's on all the radio, social media, TV.

It's interesting. I don't see if LeBron wants to, to play, Colin. His only path is taking a major pay cut. And that's not bad. He's going to be 42 years old. I'm just telling you this new Laker ownership group, they let go

of Scott Seeger and Cody Bellinger. Those guys are not LeBron James. They're not even close. Corey Seeger, excuse me, trade Turner. I'm not saying they are, but what I'm saying is they let go of elite all-star level players

in their prime. LeBron is 41. He is the third best offensive option on the team. They're not going to pay him a fortune. They're not going to do it. No, definitely not. Yeah, well, we'll see. It's going to be a fun off season.

Listen, man, this summer, Colin, with the LeBron, World Cup, you know, NBA finals with the Spurs, Knicks, if they get there. I cannot wait. All right, let's move on to the NFL, Colin. And that JSN record-setting contract, you took the pick-ins angle, How about this one? What's going on with Puka Nakua and the Rams? You could argue Puka is the best wide receiver in the league.

Reports indicate Rams are in no rush to get a deal done with Puka. Yeah. With Mike Garifolo of the NFL network reporting, he expects it to be a while before there's an extension. Yes. Garifolo added it's a different situation than JSN. Yep. Because of how many players the Rams need to pay.

That's part of it. and also the Rams have been disappointed by sometimes his lack of maturity. He gets banged up. He steps in it. I mean, if Devonte Adams was in his prime, it would be different because Devante is, what, 33? So they're going to address their wide receiver needs very early. But JSN's different than Fuka. He doesn't get banged up.

And you have no questions about maturity, gets along great with coaches, doesn't step in it. Listen, the wide receiver position, we have a history of, you know, can be more difficult personalities. I think Pooka's a great player, and I don't think he's a bad guy. But he got into some trouble this season, and the Rams like their players to hide from the media. They'll promote them and market them. I mean, they really marketed and promoted Stafford this year, and Stafford would pound the table for him. But they're going to watch and monitor Puka physically and a moment. emotionally this year, in my opinion, before they write the check.

Yeah, so he is, let's see here, he's only 24, turns 25 next month. And, you know, I know you said he stepped in it a little this year. He also had a career high in receptions, 1,700 yards. I mean, he led the league in receptions. I'm sorry. He's a great player. I mean, the Seahawks could not stop him. Do you remember that Thursday night game?

Well, nobody did. He might have had 200 yards. Nobody did. But, like, you're right. Something's going on now as a, let's see, Here's a fifth round pick, I believe. Yeah. I mean, there's an argument.

There's never been a skill player in league history that provided more production and got paid less than Pukinakua. His value was unbelievable as a fifth round pick. Is he at $40 million a year as valuable? I mean, we went through the wide receivers, the highest paid, Colin. I think none of those guys made the playoffs or something like that or didn't win a game or something. It's ugly.

and again, paying these guys a lot. I would not be shocked. Yeah, let's go down the list real quick. Jamar Chase, no. Jefferson, no, Lamb, no. Metcalf. They did make the playoffs. Garrett Wilson clearly did not.

Scary Terry, no. A.J. Brown did. Did the Lions make the playoffs? I don't know. Spacing. No, they did not. N. IUC was injured. So you go ahead and pay the guy.

He's awesome. But just know that you could end up on this list next year with a high paid receiver and not even in the postseason. Now, the good news for the Rams, they have hit on so many defensive players that they can go out and pay Trent McDuffy. Their offense, they've got one tied-in that's expensive. You know, the running back, Kyron Williams now makes real money.

Devante Adams makes money. Stafford makes a fortune. So, you know, it's one of these things. If you draft well, then the Puka contract is, they're more amenable to it. So that's part of it, too. It definitely feels like a last dance situation for the Rams. The final story, Colin, is Max Crosby is back in Vegas after the quick trip to Baltimore where he thought he was going to be a Raven.

And multiple reports claim Max is no longer trying to get out of Vegas. He obviously put that on social media. However, it's now come out that the Ravens backed out of the Crosby deal, allegedly due to a degenerative issue in Max's knee. Now, Mark Slariff was on the show last week, and he's, said everybody who's played in the trenches in the NFL has degenerative knee issues. Like it's normal. This is really an interesting situation, Colin.

Do you still try to move Max? No. Because he initially wanted out or do you say screw it? They have so many draft picks. They've got a whole new staff. They're going to be the youngest team in the league over the next two years. They have so many draft picks. Who are their veteran leaders?

One, Max Crosby. Like I said from the beginning, I would, wouldn't move him. Again, it'd be one thing if you had so many mouths to feed. If they hit on, I mean, they've got literally, I mean, they've got so many picks. I mean, I think like three or four fours and threes and twos and they don't, they don't have any better in leadership. Colton Miller, who was hurt last year left tackle Max Crosby and a bunch of kids. So to me, I would not move him. So is Max going to sit in front of the team and be like, I'm the leader? Yeah. Well, you just said you want you demanded a trade two months.

demand demand. He did what he talking about? Glazer reported it. Multiple people. And then he's like, get me out of here. I mean, is that leadership?

I think Max's view as a leader. Was. They have 10 draft picks. They're going to get young real fast. They need a leader. Fernando Mendoza is a leader. Yeah, he is. And he's also 23.

Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. You know, everybody's a friend. to say this. Maybe Darren Peterson of Kansas shouldn't go number one.

I got to be honest with you. So I went back, we went back to number one picks. We're going to do this next. NFL and NBA. Number one picks that had a major red flag. You shouldn't draft Aaron Peterson number one.

We'll talk about that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news.

We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, Jonas, guys?

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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. Listen, I've said with the NFL, don't nitpick Fernando Mendoza. There are no red flags. Fernando Mendoza, size, arm, competitiveness, gratitude, humility, commitment, no red flags. In the NBA, there was no red flags for AD, Wembe, LeBron, Cooper flag, Tim Duncan.

There's no red flags. But Darren Peterson at Kansas, Kansas was better winning percentage-wise when he didn't play. Kansas was 9 and 2 when he didn't play. They were 15 and 9 when he did. That worries me. He plays in a silo. And he kind of plays for himself. He doesn't, you know, he doesn't elevate anybody else.

He has no assists. The other thing is major durability issues. And I mean like ankle, miss games because of cramps, ankle, hammy. He missed it for a multitude of reasons. So he's got, to me, multiple red flags. If you're getting hurt in college basketball, what happens when you triple your games and go NBA basketball? And the guys are just bigger and stronger.

They're older men. So the durability stuff worries me. And again, he, you're going to find that basketball players who elevate others are usually social animals. LeBron gets along with everybody. I mean, Luke Conard and LeBron. LeBron is playful. Steph Curry is playful. It's that Magic Johnson was playful.

You know, Darren Peterson's like, yeah, I'm a loner. I don't love that. I want you to be a guy's guy and everybody kind of gravitates around you. You know, a lot of the great players who elevate other, Kauai Leonard, odd, loner, doesn't average many assists. Why? I mean, Luca, by the way, is a good time. Guys like Luca.

Luke is funny. Luca's ready to hoist a beer at any one point. Open a pack of smokes. But Luke is also a great passer that elevates other. By the way, Kobe could be a little. little bit of a loner was difficult. Kobe didn't necessarily elevate others. Michael Jordan, you know, he's just the greatest offensive player ever seen, so maybe that doesn't count. But a lot of the guys that elevate others, it starts with the personality. It starts with they just ingratiate

themselves. This kid's like, I'm a loner. They were nine and two without him, worst winning percentage with him. There's durability issues. That's a lot of red flags. And I'll just give it, now, You can have red flags. But if you're a number one in a loaded draft, it worries me. I said this yesterday. It would keep me up at night as a GM. So let's go to the NFL. Bryce Young, number one pick, major red flag.

He's undersized. James Winston, reckless. Sam Bradford, college injuries. Jamarcus Russell, immature. In fact, the Lions basically called Matt Millen called Al Davis and said, don't pick of number one. A David Carr didn't play

elite competition in only one huge year. Tim Couch, kind of a gunslinger, not real mobile, limited athletically. Cajonna Carter, medical issues, Jeff George, maturity. Well, they all, all of those have been true.

You go to basketball, number one picks. Zachariah, Risa Shea, Atlanta. What did they say? Not really an elite athlete. Well, he's not deondre aiton at ari arizona they were like not engaged at all defensively a lobsided player well not a leader markelle fultz where do i start ben simmons can't shoot anthony bennett you know undersized power forward played crappy competition greg odin not a polished offensive game quami brown he's a high schooler michael olowacandi again you know bad competition he went to

Pacific. Well, they all, they all became that they all played themselves out. So, I mean, again, I'm not saying Darren Peterson won't be a good NBA player. But if you're a number one pick, LeBron, A.D. Wemby, there's no red flags. I mean, my concern about Wemby is he's so tall. Like, honestly, it's a body built to be seven, four, could he stay healthy? You fall to the floor when you're seven, four. It's a little different than six four. But I mean, Peterson, I got durability these stuff. He kind of plays in a silo. He's kind of a loner. I don't know. It seems like a decent guy and Bill Self likes him, but the red flags almost always bear themselves out. You know, Peyton Manning, number one pick. There weren't a lot of red flags? You know, wasn't Aiden Hutchison

a number one pick? If I recall, was he or no, he wasn't? He's been great for Detroit. I don't, I don't remember, I guess Aiden wasn't a number one pick. Colin, can I bring up a player to compare to Darren Peterson? So I don't know if you remember the Anthony Edwards draft. It was like lamello ball, James Wiseman, Anthony Edwards. And there was this Anthony Edwards doesn't love basketball. Yeah, I remember that. He went to Georgia, put up some empty stats, not like 29% from three, but he loved football.

That was his love. Yeah. And people shied off Anthony Edwards and he fell to Minnesota. Five years later, is Anthony Edwards like going to be the face? the NBA. Like, I think we need to chill a little bit. Well, time out. No, no, Aunt Edwards, nobody questioned his durability, his talent,

his town. There were no red flags. There were, I thought it was kind of a weak red flag. He may like football more than basketball. That wasn't what you call saying the right things at the time to the draft. 18, 19 year old kids don't always say to life. I agree. I totally agree.

Ann Edwards didn't have major red flag. Not major. That was a terrible draft. And by the way, The guy with red flags, Lanzo ball, wasn't it Loneso Ball? Well, it was a Lamello Ball. Lamello Ball. Lamello was a little goofy.

He was not going to play defense, a showboat. Six years later, he's awesome. And they're going to the playoffs. Six years later, he's not the best player on his team. The rookie from Duke is. That's true. That's true. But I mean, this Peterson stuff,

are we calling the major red flags or just red flag? Major is like, hey, man, he did trouble with the law. He missed 11 games. He did. Yeah, he had some problem. He had some cramping issues that I think his camp was nervous about. And they were like, hey, slow down. We got the NBA out of us. I think there's, I think there are, I think durability issues. So how far do you think he falls? Like I understand not number one. I would agree. I would go DeBos and Acuff is unbelievable explosive. Now people say, well, Darius Acuff doesn't play defense. That's not a huge concern for a six two guy. When DeAndre Aiden came out, DeAndre Aiton was at Arizona. He's a big.

Yeah. He should be a rim protected. People like, he didn't even like defense. He's moody. Those are red flags. A six-two guard that doesn't defend well, that's not a red flag. That's a six-two guys in the NBA, Chris Paul's an exception, generally aren't great defensive players. It's a big man's game. So to me, what do I consider?

I guess what you're asking, what is a red flag? Okay. Durability, huge red flag. How do we know durability for a 19-year-old? Like, he was, after the issues early in the season, he was healthy the last month and changed, two months or whatever, and put up good numbers. He was outstanding against St. John's, brought him back. He did not take over the game against St. John's.

Well, he kind of brought, they were down seven, and then he ended up tying it up. He was good. He was really good. And he was a one-man show because the rest of that team was putrid. I don't know. You're making it sound like, I don't know if you take him, top five. Are you saying, no, no, I'm just saying, I just gave you NFL college. Number one pick,

if you get red flags, Chris, listen, Chris Broussard, who's talking to NBA people, Rosillo, Ryan Rosillo basically had talked to a GM's like, I'm not taking him number one. Durability is a huge red flag. They were better nine and two when he didn't play. Did not play, yeah. Time out. That's not the way it should work. That's why I say when Yokich doesn't play for Denver, like they're not good like there are there are players who kind of play in a silo

play for themselves um he's there's there's an he's got a little bit of a kawai thing where like kawai kind of a loner doesn't necessarily elevate others but is a great shopmaker and get a get a stop guy so kawai is a great player but kawai there was some

he was a little you know he was a kind of he's kind of an odd guy and I think so I think Kauai is great, but I think all the concerns early about you can't really, he's not a franchise guy, he didn't have the personality, you can't depend on him, there's durability issues. I mean, Kauai Leonard's a great example. If Kauai didn't have a durability issue, even with his odd personality, we'd be talking about one of the 10 best players we've ever seen. You just don't know when he's going to play.

Yeah. He's an un, he is, in my opinion, the closest thing to kind of Jordan in terms of hand-sized, defensive man pressure, the ability to get a mid-range jumper. Kauai is an insane talent. Right. But personality, off-putting, durability, major red flag. Yeah. And they bear themselves out.

Here's Bruce Sard on Darren Peterson. Peterson's obviously got a bright future, but the red flags are glaring, Colin, like just missing so many games for bizarre or hidden reasons. I hesitate to overreact to one tournament game, but he'll be a top five pick without question and he should. But there are some other guys that I don't have the same reservations about. He did not have a single assist against St. John. That is a, that's a, he doesn't. He doesn't play with others.

He plays for himself. Yeah. And I, you know, there's a, I'm telling you, man, this, this A-Cuff kid is special. Yeah. Hey guys, it's us The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas.

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