The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - More NBA rumors

Episode Date: June 28, 2023

Thoughts on some of the worst teams in the NFL Teams who are interested in Draymond Green   Guest: Sam AmickSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. Our number two, live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. I was talking about this before we went to break. Is that if you look at really good NFL teams, what they do is they always beat the bad quarterbacks. And then if you can go 50-50 against top 12 quarterbacks, you end up making the playoffs. And so Philadelphia last year, you know, they beat up on all the bad quarterbacks.

And then they beat at a better roster to solid guys, Kirk and Dack. Then he occasionally lose to a guy that's, you know, an occasional great player. As great as Tony Gwynn was, he struggled to get hits off Oral Hersheiser in his prime, too. Like you get your hits off the three, four, and five starters, the middle guy, the reliever. I mean, I, you know, I'm not a baseball guy, right? like people that study it. But I would say if you take the best hitters in baseball, they're not dominating Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in their prime,

is you're getting your hits off the two, three, four starters, middle guys, relief guys. And so in the NFL, when you have a schedule that has a bunch of elite quarterbacks, go to Philadelphia schedule this year. So last year they won like 13 games, 14 games. They didn't face, they faced some great quarterbacks. But this year, it's Josh Allen. It's Matt Stafford on the road. It's a series of really good.

quarterbacks. And then they have to face the Niners again, who, by the way, if Brock Purdy's healthy, I mean, that's a handful. So they now have a number one schedule. They now face far more good quarterbacks. So there's no way there are a 13 or 14 win team. They're going to be probably a 10 win team, 11 win team and in the NFC. If they have the AFC, they're a 10 win team. Probably an 11 win team in the NFC. But it should be noted that everybody in that division last year, like Philadelphia schedule is harder. The giant schedule is harder. You make a the playoffs and the NFL, this is what they, does not like college, where the coach can have a say on your out of college. The harder, the better the team, the harder the schedule. Philly's schedule

this year, a lot of elite quarterback. And a fan noted that when they beat the Cowboys, it was Cooper Rush starting. I forgot about that. Remember Cooper Rush had a good run and then he started against Philly through picks. So they didn't even be DAC. So yeah, listen, there is something to that. What bad quarterbacks do you face? That's going to help your chances to make a run in playoffs. If you're facing Burrow and Herbert and Lamar Jackson, if you're facing those guys, that's why like everybody loves, suddenly everybody loves Cleveland this year. You got Burrow twice, Lamar twice, and the truth is, the Steelers defense was so good last year. Kenny Pickett on seven of his last nine starts.

You could have a good, it's very possible that if you're not beaten Cincinnati, you split with the Steelers, you cross your fingers, you split with Baltimore. You could be one in five in division. and lose just close games to great coaches and quarterbacks. Well, the team to watch is the Atlanta Falcons. They're taking some money on their win total because of the quarterbacks they face. A lot of bad quarterbacks are young or bad. No, Atlanta, I think I overstated like they're eight and a half win total.

And I'm like, oh, God, bet the under. That's insane. I just blah, blah, blah. Then I look at the quarterbacks they face. It may be the weakest quarterback slate I've ever seen. And another thing, if you see the Arizona Cardinals on someone, schedule first eight weeks. Probably no Kyler-Marie. DeAndre Hopkins

is gone. Buder Baker wants out. That team is going to be bad early in the season. I think we both agree that the best option for Caleb Williams this morning is Arizona. Now, a prime example.

We don't think Houston's good. But new coach, new culture, they are fighting like hell. They've got their quarterback. Carolina, new coach, new culture. We don't think they're going to be world beaters, but everybody's on the same page. At Arizona, you got the Kyler camp, the Bedwell camp,

you got a new coach, you got Buda Baker once out. That is chaos with a weak roster. Very bad roster. So Arizona's very much in play, and you and I know it. If they get the number one pick, they're going to get Caleb Williams. They're moving off, Kyler. And Kyler will have plenty of takers. The other team, to keep your eye on in that,

that plays in the better AFC and in tough divisions, the Raiders. If Josh Jacobs holds out and Garapolo gets banged up early, I could see them just saying, guys, we don't have it. Our backup quarterback left to Denver. Garopolo's not the future because of injuries.

Let's just, you know, you can compete and they let Darren Waller go. Sell high on Devante Adams. Yeah, I mean, that's when you look at it and go. To me, Arizona and the Raiders, because even the teams I don't love, Washington, they've got good players. They've got some nice.

And by the way, Sam Howe's fighting for his job. Likeable kit. Everybody's in unison behind Sam Howe. You don't have chaos. You just have limitations. Well, the ownership and Ron Rivera situation. That owner's out. That's true.

Also the ownership situation in Arizona. Like, hey, if Caleb Williams sees the Raiders at two, does he do an Eli Manning power play? I refuse to go to Arizona. I don't want to go to that franchise. I want to force my way to the Raiders. If I said to you, three teams, because I don't know what the history is, but there's usually three teams that are like five wins or less.

I would guess Raiders, if Josh Jacobs holds out, Arizona, who's your third? There's not a lot of terrible teams in the league, because I think Houston and Carolina are going to play hard. They're going to be competitive in games. I mean, I guess people would say Houston, but I think they're going to be pretty. No, Colts, Colts. Colts are going to be bad, and they just announced a suspension for gambling to one of their special teams guys. who was actually pretty good last year, a cornerback to. So, yeah, Colts are probably third worst team in the league.

That's the, and by the way, all are taking Caleb. Yes, in a heartbeat. In a heartbeat. Even though they just drafted in Anthony Richardson. If Carolina, the question is, if Carolina or Houston, I don't think that'd be that bad. Do you take a quarterback Caleb Williams with Bryce Young? That's why you've got to play. If you're a team like C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young, because you know you're not going to be good.

play your quarterback. Figure out 17 weeks can the dude play. Because not only is Caleb Williams available, so is Drake May at Carolina, and so is Michael Pennix from Washington. So next year's quarterback class is fantastic. So if you have a young guy, get him out there and play him. Because there's no way I'm passing on Caleb or Drake May. If I watch CJ Stroud and I'm like, he's good.

I'll move him. I want great. Those guys have a chance to be great. Sam Amick, the athletic senior NBA writer, is joining us as we've got the Dame and Sodomir situation still percolating. Damian Lillard, did I call him Stodomier again? I told myself yesterday, just call him Dame. So it's just Dame. It was a bit of an eye roll when the GM says we're building around Dame.

There's a lot of talk and what's being put out to us is, oh, Dame loves Portland, the Blazers are going to build around him. And then there's always the truth. Where are you at on Dame and truth this morning? Morning, Colin. I always appreciate you have me on. Dame, for me, and I've been tracking the story for years, like a lot of other national guys,

this is the closest that I can ever remember coming to actually wondering, you know, within days, you know, might he finally tell the Blazers that he wants out? Now, it's one of those, I'll believe it when I see it type of things because of what you alluded to, the history between Dame and the city and the franchise and the roots and the loyalty. And I get all that, but it feels very much like the Blazers are building in the kind of way that they, sure, if Dame wants to stick around and be part of a long-term project, which is what it feels like right now, then he's more than welcome to do that because they love him and what he's done for them. But, you know, in terms of them making deals that will make him happy, make him feel like he's on a contender again.

don't see it right now. People have projected that Miami is the best fit for Dame. I argued yesterday that Milwaukee is. A, Milwaukee is old. They need to get more dynamic, Dame's dynamic. They could also give Portland something they've needed for years, a scoring forward with all their young guards. They could move Drew Holiday. What Portland needs is maturity, wing scoring. Milwaukee's got it. but Milwaukee wants is another great player. Porzing is now with the Celtics makes them better. Miami will be active. Denver's in the way.

Your thoughts, because Milwaukee has to, Sam, they have to reboot. They looked old and slow last year because they were old and slow. They've got to make some moves here. Do you think Milwaukee's in play with Dame? I'm not hearing it right now, Colin. Everything you broke down makes a lot of logical sense. But as you know, when it comes to superstar movement, you know, the player's voice matters a great deal.

And while Dame does not have a no trade clause like Bradley Beal had and which served him well in that trade to Phoenix, he has, in my opinion, something fairly close to it, which is the kind of massive contract, you know, in which a team getting him, you don't want to pursue Damia Lillard if he doesn't want to be part of your program. And right now, I've not heard Milwaukee in terms of, you know, kind of his unofficial list of preferred destinations for me. And I'm not saying this is the end. I'll be all.

but it's Miami and everybody else. I think he would be very comfortable there. And that is where let's go ahead and say he does ask out. Let's go ahead and say the Joe Cronin, the Blazers GM then has to decide how to play this. I have thought all along that the Blazers would try to do right by Damien and put him somewhere he wants to be. But what if that return is so minuscule that the Blazers don't feel like pulling the trigger on it? That's down the road a bit. But Miami to me is on top of the list and I'm not here in Milwaukee right now.

there's the old belief in the NFL that general managers in pro football often are more loyal to the players they draft. So sometimes you have to get rid of the GM who comes in and goes, let's just start over. We've got a bunch of average guys. In the NBA, sometimes GMs are more loyal to stuff they find. Austin Reeves is undrafted. The Lakers feel damn good about it. They love that. They went to a garage sale and got a $300,000,000.

vase and they paid $12 for it. So my takeaway is, if you look at what Austin Reeves is, he's 10 points a game, two and a half assist and not a dead eye shooter. He's not a catch and shoot whiz. He had a good playoff series against Denver, but that's not what he is. And in the end, I read a story this morning, Mark Stein says, you know,

it may cause major camp issues, but they're going to outbid everybody. And I'm like, what kind of market does Austin Reeves have? Are they bidding against themselves? What do you make of that story? I think you're hitting it dead on in terms of the way the Lakers see him, and it strikes me. We always know with Lakerland, it's kind of, you know, there's a LeBron James component, right? So independent of LeBron James, Rob Polenka and that whole front office, I think, has been all in on the idea that from Austin Reeves to Rui Hachamura, these two guys are not getting away, that they liked what they saw in the second half of the season so much and think, you know, so much that it could grow and evolve and get better, that that's what they want to do.

But your point is well taken about Austin. You know, Houston's got a ton of cap room. We have five, six cap teams. But I don't think that, you know, he's going to be looking at a 25, high $20 million deal. I'm curious to see the market, but I don't think they're letting them get away. They have had these guys with the Lakers that they found, you know, kind of diamonds in the rough. Some have gotten away, the Alex Caruso's of the world. It feels like they have put a line in the sand that Austin is not going to be one of those guys.

Sam Amick, the Athletic, joining us. So I have tried to defend J. Max, not a believer, Chris Paul to the Warriors. A, I think they just got smarter, and I always am willing, even if a guy's passed his prime, this is a very smart culture. He's a smart player. I think he'll fit in nice. Wiggins, smart kid, fit in easily. Now, we know he's past his prime, but their second unit led by Jordan Poole could be frenetic,

a little wild, turnover pro. Chris will settle all the. that down. That's my take. They're going to bring in another big. Chris likes the pick and roll. The Warriors don't do that much. So they'll bring in a big that can do a little bit of that with a second unit. I can talk myself into it. Doesn't mean I'm right. There's a lot of people in the NBA are like, he plays slow. They play fast. This is ridiculous. Where do you land, Sam, on this? I think I'm, no offense, Jay Mack. I think I'm on Team Colin here. Yeah. I like it because it's self-awareness, I think, by the Warriors.

Like, let's stop acting like their runway, you know, is just incredibly long. The runway is short. The window is closing. So go ahead and lean into the old guy thing. Chris Paul, two seasons ago, led the league and assist. What you talked about, stylistically, I actually think it's by design. They wanted more variety in their offensive attack with the second unit, you know, to not have just constant action and motion and the type of stuff that honestly would wear Steph Curry out.

They would try to run pick and roll with Steph a lot in different times. And fatigue, I think, was a factor late in the playoffs. Chris Paul, you have a major, major if here. It's the age, the health, all those things. Can they get him to the playoffs feeling pretty good? And can they have him, you know, as some version of himself at that time? I see it. I see the vision.

It is dicey. But to your point, Jordan Poole running that second unit was also dicey. Jordan Poole with that contract was dicey with his chemistry issues for obvious reasons with Draymond Green. You know, all of that was dicey. As a quick final thought here, the idea that they have improved the locker room dynamic by inserting a veteran in Chris Paul who has beef, like, in the past with all of the Warriors' core, cracks me up.

Like the idea that that's an upgrade in relation to Jordan Poole tells you everything you need to know about where they were. Yeah, by the way, Chris Paul worked with Hardin. I mean, he's worked virtually with everybody, right? And Steph talked about that yesterday. So what's interesting with Draymond Green is I, I have defended him forever. Now, I have a little company that he's part of, so people always say, oh, you love him for that.

But I feel validated because according to various reports, the Mavericks are interested, the Blazers are interested, the Kings are interested, is that if you really look at what he does, you don't, and I love this about basketball. I think we don't understand the value of Ben Wallace. We don't understand the value of players who do things extraordinarily well, but are not like wildly twitchy and athletic.

Are you surprised by the market for Draymond, which appears to be really substantial with multiple teams? No. Everything you said is accurate. He's a winning basketball player who is on the back end of his prime, but he's not done yet. He had a very strong year. This is a league where I know the casual, so to speak, think that nobody plays defense in the NBA. That's not the case. Defense matters a great deal.

Just asked the Miami Heat, who made a pretty magical run to the finals with an offense that by and large was pretty anemic, you know, defense matters. And you mentioned Portland, just to kind of pound your point. The idea, like I reported a couple days ago, that, you know, Dremont's not going to Portland, but if he did, and if the Blazers found a way to get Dremont in Portland with Jeremy Grant also resigning, I was told that Dane would stay. He'd be happy. And that's kind of all you got to know. Here's an all-time player in Damia Lillard saying, that guy right there, if you get him on my squad, then I am content. That is Draymond's. reputation. And so I, you know, none of that's going to happen. He's widely expected to resign with

the Warriors and run it back. But, but I think his value was there. Sam Amick, as always. Great chatting. Good seeing you, man. Thank you, Colin. Appreciate you. Um, yeah, a little Draymond. You're a Dremont fan, but you're a little on the fence on Dremont. On the fence about what? Like, would I pay him a lot of money? I mean, ask yourself this, Dame, Simons, Scoot Henderson, Draymond, Jeremy Grant Nerkich. That's a playoff team. That's absolutely a playoff team. You're not top five in the West with that.

I think you can battle. You think Draymond Greenvotes him from out of the playoffs to top five? I think he's the best defensive player arguably in the entire conference. He's not Yonnas, but he's arguably the best defensive player in the West. In that incredible Golden State system, he looked amazing offensively. Well, he was amazing. By the way, he was also amazing at Michigan State. He was a, like, all big, he was a great college player.

Great. You think automatically he becomes great in a new Portland system with multiple non-shooters on the floor? Well, first of all, Nurkich, when healthy is good, Damon healthy's great. Simon's, as you've talked about, is an emerging star. Scoot Henderson will be a star. You'd probably move Shaden Sharp. You'd probably move him to gold. I mean, I don't know, whatever would happen, maybe you have to make some picks disappear.

But if you're telling me, Jeremy Grant, Draymond, Nurkich, Dane, Scoot Henderson. Well, they would, I don't know. They'd have to move some stuff. All those guys. That's right. They'd have to move some stuff. You'd probably have, you know.

But I'm just saying, I think he's that kind of guy. I mean, if you, the year they. It's a culture changer. Absolutely. Right. That we can agree on. Okay. So I'll get a great example.

My favorite Dremont, I always have these stats that I love. Like I, my favorite Dremont stat is the year they won the championship, not this year, last year. And I, I'm fuzzy on this, but it was. when Draymond played in the regular season for the Warriors, that championship year, it was the best defensive rating since the Tim Duncan Spurs. When just Draymond was pulled out of it, they were middle of the pack NBA. So all-time great average.

One guy who averages seven and a half a game. So that was two years ago. Okay, another stat I always use. LeBron's junior year of high school averages 27 a game, senior year 28. That's all you needed to know. He never cared about points, which is remarkable. He's the all-time NBA leading score. He's never been beholden to points.

He's beholden to elevation of others. So that are stats that I just can't unsee with Draymond Green and LeBron James. He's absolutely a culture changer. Would make Portland tougher, more physical. He would hold young guys accountable. Man, let me tell you something. Dame doesn't play any defense. He's small.

Scoot Henderson's going to watch Dame's defense. He's going to be like, well, you know, I'm going to get some shots. And that's not a knock on Dame. Draymond changes. Steph Curry's not a great defensive player. But you have to put the effort in with Draymond Green because Draymond will call Steph out. So you would play Nurkich alongside Draymond and have two non-shooters on the floor. I don't know that you can do that.

The Warriors could barely do that. When they tried Looney and Draymond? I'm not saying you're winning the championship. I'm saying would he make Portland really a pain in the butt for everybody in the last? A pain in the butt, sure. They're not better than the Lakers. They're not better than Austin Reeves, LeBron, and AD. over the Lakers. They're definitely not better than the Nuggets or the Suns.

Well, once you pay Austin Reeves a max and your bench is an end table on that microphone. They're not better than Sacramento Kings. They're not. If Sacramento. If what? I'm not the buyer yet on Sacramento. What's their not to love? They push Curry to game seven and Steph had to drop 50 to win the game. That was with Andrew Wiggins who hadn't played in two and a half months. Okay. I mean, that was a, people are forgetting the Wiggins component with the Warriors. They basically walked into the playoffs with bad chemistry, no Wiggins.

I mean, it was just a weird ensemble. Would you agree with this last point? If you look at the West, it was super competitive last year that Pelicans were first in December. The two teams with the most cap space are in the West, rockets and spurs, so they can spend Dylan Brooks, whoever you

want. There's a case that the West is going to be absolutely loaded and very, very tough to make the playoffs next year. I agree. I mean, we're That's why, by the way. Minnesota ain't really going far down. By the way. Crowling Towns missed like 40 games.

Who wants Dremond? Blazers, kings, mavericks. It's all these Western teams. They're all these GMs are looking around the West going, well, San Antonio is now a player. You know, like, so I mean, if you look at who wants Dremont, it's the people that have to face Draman more often. They're all like, yeah, we know his value.

We see them all the time. You know, that's why the Celtics get Porzingas. He's been an Eastern player. They see more of Porzingis. right so it's like i think that's part of it like i'm not a huge porzingis guy not a great locker room guy gets hurt a lot but he is a bucket guy down low and the in the southics get all jammed up offensively but it's it's i think draymond it's a great compliment the people that see a lot of him out west they're all want him i mean sacramento is a great example

sacramento's like get us that guy mike brown mike brown coached him and was knows him as well as yeah proximity to draymond it's like you have no idea how valuable he is at practice that's what Steve Kerr said he had a quote this year sometime where he's, was it a quote or it was a source that were just saying, I think I said this on the show one time, that I was told that Dremont's value was often off the floor. Practice, road, travel, film sessions. Like he was just savant on how to play defense. Kind of similar like off air, I'm big value to this show. You know, I bond with everybody. I'm trying to get us a ping pong table. You and I are talking about random stuff during the commercial break.

There's a lot of good chemistry here. On the air, I deal with some stuff. Yes, yes. Certainly. You are, you're my dream on. How do you own the day in sports? You make incredible plays. How do you own the day?

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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 can. at your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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.

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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. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

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doubled. Discover.com slash a match. J-Mac with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. Lakers have yet to make any big moves this off season, but other teams, you know, sons grab Bradley Beal,

Warriors I got worse at in Chris Paul, Marcus Smart to Memphis. So the West is shaking up. GM Rob Polinka, the Lakers, says these trades aren't going to sway the Lakers plans for next season. I think we believe in the proof of concept of this group. And we saw defensively what we were able to do to finish the season out. And I think defense and rebounding wins championships. We want to lean into that. I think if there's ways that we can improve the roster, of course, we're going to do that. I think probably less focus of, hey, what is Team X or Team Y doing and more focus on how can we optimize us? There's a lot of parity in the league right now, and everyone smells an opportunity to chase the championship, but we're going to try our best

to stay in that packer at the head of that pack. Defense and rebounding? I love. Hard work and hustle. Oh, geez. That's not optimistic if you're a Lakers fan. But to his point, parody in the league, last five years, five different title winners. I mean, I know the Nuggets are the favorites. You and I like the Suns a lot. It's becoming a lot like as LeBron is aged. It's becoming a lot like the 70s in the NBA, where it was the Sonics and the Blazers and the bullets and the Sixers.

Now, I mean, if you go back for the 70s, everybody, and then all of a sudden the 80s, Bird and Magic arrived for 12 years they dominated the league. But the 70s was like this. You had a lot of really good, I can name starters for the Washington. team, the Sonic team, the Blazer team, Sixers team. That was my formative years falling in love with the NBA. They were all really good teams.

None of them good enough to win three straight. That was Boston in the 60s. Isn't the 70s when they were like smoking cigarettes at halftime and drinking whiskey like after the game? The Sonics were Gus DJ, Lonnie Shelton, John Johnson, Jack, Sigma, Marvin Webster.

And then coming off the bench, did that Sonic's team have some like off-duty firefighters and some, I mean, is that, was that the 60s. I forget the Bill Russell used. Sonics were Walton, Jeff Petrie, Dave Torgick, Steel. What was his name? Something Steel. Sixers had Steve Mix,

Caldwell Jones, Dr. Jay. You want to keep hemorrhaging audience talking 70s basketball? Are you going to move on here? Come on. Come on. All right, let's get to the NFL. Kenny Pickett's rookie season. Hey, start on the bench, but eventually overtook Trebisky. Got

three straight Ws as the starter to end the year. Steelers have high hopes for his improvement. Defensive vet, Cameron Hayward says that he's seen a lot of effort from Pickett to grow this offseason. Going into the second year of our quarterback, you know, the sky's the limit for him. I think Kenny has done a tremendous job to get us to this point. But, you know, I know he's chomping at the bit for more. And, you know, he's a hungry quarterback and to surround him with a lot of moving parts, whether it's another rival, another wide receiver. and Alan Robinson, you know, more depth on the O line.

And I just think solidifying that group can do wonders for him. If he's got time back there and he's able to process a little bit more, I think he's going to have a lot of success going forward. I'm fired up for Kenny Pickett. I mean, I remember last year, Sean McVeigh of the Rams ruined preseason. Because Sean McVeigh refused to play any of his starters, and they went 8-0 to start, and everybody just said, why are we playing starters?

And so now nobody plays. Very few teams play their starters. So last year at this time, Kenny Pickett was one of the few fascinating preseason stories. None of the starters were playing. And there was a bad quarterback draft. So we're all like, is he any good? And I've got to be honest with you, for a rookie,

all those college starts at the end of the year, he was pretty poised. I think he's like 24, 25 years old. Yeah, like he's Austin Reeves with more talent. He's a first round pick. He is poised. He's more refined than your typical rookie. I don't think he's great.

I think he's in that C.J. Stroud. Absolutely a franchise quarterback. Is there a ton of juice? No, but if you surround him with good coach, no chaos, good defense, a couple of weapons, you can win a lot of games. This offense has a lot of dudes. Deonti Johnson and Pickens are a good wide receiver combo. Tight end, Friamuth, and then they got the kid Washington from Georgia.

Their first pick was the left tackle from Georgia, Broderick Jones, who's a mountain. So you got all the pieces in place. I think the big question is the offensive coordinator. Is he going to be creative or is it going to be like Najee Harris dives into the line of scrimmage on first down every freaking play? If you look at the Steelers, let's say the left tackle can play. Let's say Broderick Jones comes.

And most people think he was highly coveted. It's awesome. Yeah. If he can play, where aren't they good? I mean, honestly, they have no holes. If you go to the last two or three years, if tears are a hole, their cornerback situation. Peterson, who's a fossil at cornerback, and their other guys are rookie, Joey Porter Jr. Well, he's good.

That's questionable, but the safety, Minka Fitzpatrick helps out. The pass rush is going to be nasty. The pass rush is great. So there it is. The whole is, by the way, the entire league is looking for corners. Like, nobody's got three corners, like in the league. So Kansas City last year was using rookie corners. So in the end, they're not great at corners.

But if the left tackle can play, I don't have to love Kenny Pickett, it's, in the salary cap era, even good teams. Rams won a Super Bowl. We didn't like their safeties or linebackers. Bingles got to a Super Bowl. We didn't like their linebackers or O'Line. Steelers roster doesn't have a ton of holes if Pickett's B. If he's

Dack, Kirk Cousins. If the left tackle can play, that's up, by the way. Big time roster. Earlier in the show, we talked about the worst teams, we forgot the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so we're going to be very bad. Oh, good call. So I just looked at their roster. They do have two good corners. Deal and Davis, right? Dean, sorry, Dean and Davis. Can you go get one?

Well, that's the thing. You know, if this ship is sinking and they're like three and ten, are they sellers coming near the trade deadline? Todd Bowles knows he's out of a job and, like, they're tanking for a quarterback. This could be a team with some pieces to offload and maybe Pittsburgh goes shopping. So there's a possibility the Steelers can add a cornerback later in the season. I'm with you. I like the Steelers a lot.

Final story. Thanks to a successful NFL experience in Germany last year, there will be two games in Frankfurt. in 2023. The first is between the Dolphins and Chiefs in week nine. Oh, that's going to be an offensive orgy. Tickets went on sale Tuesday. They sold out in 15 minutes.

Call it the Patrick Mahomes reality. Wait, isn't this the Tyreek Hill revenge game? Well, yeah, but you're selling Patrick Mahomes. The best player, if Messi comes over to the States or Ronaldo, you're buying tickets. You're taking the greatest football player in the world overseas. Patrick Mahomes is our version of Messier-Rinaldo. And I think Mike McDaniel is officially a genius now, right? So you're bringing a genius over to Germany.

So let me ask you. Have you been to Frankfurt? I've been in the airport. What does that mean? I've landed there and taken off from there. So the wife has lobbied, oh, we've got to go to Octoberfest. And I'm like, oh, I'd go. How?

How are you going to go to Octoberfest in the football season? You and I, I tell my wife this all the time. She has all these great plans. I'm like, I can't do anything in the fall. September to January is like, Cook. So, is there a good time to go to Frankfurt? I don't know.

Yes. There's a secret two-week time period in the world where Europe is wide open. Kids are still in school. Tell me. No, because that's telling the audience. Oh, gosh. Well, it certainly is in February. I'm not going anywhere.

Nobody knows about it. I think my wife and I are the only ones in the world. There is a two-to-three-week period when you should go to Europe. And I'll tell you during the break. Well, I went to Paris. in May. It was amazing. Perfect weather. It was amazing. What month was that? Memorial Day weekend. May. End of May.

I didn't miss much on the NBA front. Can't miss NFL. You just can't. You can't be traveling internationally during football season. Well, you could if you lived on the East Coast and you got a Friday off. That's the advantage of living out east, which is I had friends. How's that? Well, I mean, my friends that lived in Connecticut, if they got like a Thursday Friday off Wednesday, you can go fly to Rome and hang out for four days. It's a six-hour flight.

You know, here, we can't. It takes us for a row. ever to get there. You're going to Rome for four days? I mean, I know you're a baller, but no, I'm saying if you got a Wednesday off and you lived in Philly or New York and you can get there in six hours and 50 minutes and you're just started dating somebody and you're like, let's head to Rome for four days. Well, I mean, you get on a, you're trying to lock that up, huh? Trying to get on a Vespa and have food tours. Have some fun. But yet to the great advantage of living out east is you got to go to Europe, all these amazing European cities, and it's a six and a half hour flight. Do they have Wi-Fi in Frankfurt? Like, can I set my fantasy football?

lineup over there. They do? Yeah, they have the internet over there. Europe's got lighting and air conditioning and all those things. No way. It's a revolutionary. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. They say good things come to

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Why? Yeah, instead of us doing this. that. Let's just let our millions of fans do the talk. Yeah, play the tape. You don't know crap about sports. I mean, why am I even own this crap? Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's the wrong tape. Wrong tape. Just forget that. Look, listen to the Paul and Tony Fusco show on the IHot Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 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 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 what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clever 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

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 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 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 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. Saturday is baseball night in America on Fox as Randy Arroserena powers the best

Record in the major leagues when the rays take on Julio Rodriguez and the Mariners, or Jose Ramirez and the Guardians take on the Cubs. The action begins at 7 Eastern on Fox. Check for the game in your area. So Steph Curry this week was promoting Capital Ones. The match on TNT airs tomorrow 630 Eastern. And so, you know, you think Chris Paul to the Warriors, Steph and Chris Paul were rivals. Clay and Chris Paul were rivals.

they knocked him off, they won that battle. But a lot of people are like, whoa, whoa, to Warriors fans. We hated that guy. So let's start with Steph Curry talking about the addition of Chris Paul. Every team that CP's been on, you know, they've gotten better. And I think that's the most consistent thing about him and who he is and what he brings to the team. And everybody's going to talk about the age and all that type of stuff.

So someone else to put it all together and figure out how the people, his word. If you really look at what happens to sports, is that everybody builds a team, and we're seeing it now in the NBA, and then you win a championship. And then ego, money, vanity, take precedence. There aren't that many dynasties.

If you look at the greatest, most enduring dynasties, college or pro, Alabama football, Yukon women's basketball, Patriots, Spurs, Montana Walsh Niners, Celtics, Arbach, Russell. If you look at them, winning was the priority, and they were smart teams. That's why they didn't have a ton of flash.

They were just smart, selfless, egosless. Now, that's why the Showtime Lakers lasted 11 years is remarkable because you had major ego and major flash and major vanity. And they lasted. but they lasted because Jerry West was brilliant and Jerry Bus was brilliant. Kareem, you had so much brainpower, Pat Riley. And so despite all the egos, it lasted for 11 years because it endured because of its brain power. The Cowboys should have lasted longer. Ego got in the way.

Shack and Kobe should have lasted longer. Ego got in the way. And so when I look at Chris Paul to the Warriors, the reason it works for me is, he is he just made him smarter. The smartest basketball culture, four titles, nine years, four titles nine years, Wiggins, smart, Draymond, smart, Steph, Clay, CP3, a brilliant head coach. That's what made it for Brady. Brady wins titles, multiple titles, instead of stopping at one or two, winning was the priority,

took less money, had the smartest offensive line coach. mostly what happens. You're seeing it in the NBA now, five years, five different teams. Stuff gets in the way. My takeaway on this is that the warriors look themselves in the mirror. And I think this is a general rule in life is that smart people hire them and they figure stuff out. It doesn't matter if it's media. It doesn't matter if it's law.

It doesn't matter if it's sports, radio. It doesn't really matter. We'll teach you how to be a salesperson. Hire somebody that's smart, has some self-aware. fairness and they'll just figure, they'll figure crap out. And so I think the warriors look at it and you're just adding a super smart guy to a super smart back court with a super smart coach, a brilliant forward, Andrew Wiggins. It's a bunch of brainpower.

And they'll kind of figure it out. I think they have to add some size. But I am not saying fit doesn't matter, but I'm much more keen on fit. By the way, you can look at the warrior, Andreig Wadal. smart guy veteran fit de angelo russell talented but kind of squirley kind of immature they got him out of town in 15 minutes jordan pool talented young immature squirley got him out of town james wiseman very talented but he was a kid you're not ready for this they got him out of town kaminga they like him do they trust him so if you look at their culture they if they just and then the warriors did this i mean one of the one of the things when

they added randy moss that belichick and Brady said, he figured the playbook out in like four days. Like Randy was a bit of a football savant. Like stuff was easy for Randy. Akeb Talib's another guy. Akeb once told me they brought him in second practice. He said, Patriots defense was easy. You had two assignments.

Don't let him beat you deep. Don't do this. So there are players out there that you can bounce them in and out of cultures that are smart because they can figure the sport out. They know the sport. They get the sport. Chris Paul's made everybody better. He made James Harden work.

Like, I, I, I, I, Clay Thompson, he also talked about adding CP3. Anytime you get to play with a player who's one of the best of your generation, it's an honor. And I think he's just going to add such a calming presence and leadership component that we need. And I know Steph and him have a long history together being both from North Carolina. So for me, it's going to be a smooth transition playing with such a great passer and playmaker. And I'm just excited. Again, do you notice the words he used?

Calming presence? Calming presence. Smart veteran player with experience. Who did they let go? Who did they bring in? The words that Clay used. It's a calming presence. We needed that.

Who did they get rid of? Calming, veteran. I know you're very cynical on this. You really are. You and I disagree totally on this. Now, I don't know if they're a championship. They are getting older and smaller, but you can listen to the player.

Words matter. Listen to the words they use. Experience. No chaos. Listen. They're going to miss Jordan Poole. If for nothing else, the comments that he made to Dremont Green, we still haven't talked about him.

Are we allowed to talk about the jokes that he said to him on air? No, we can't. I mean, one of them does not have bad words. Can I just say one of them? it's funny. And like that, the kind of thing, like if Jordan Poole said this to Dremont, yeah, Draymond's going to be his feelings are going to be hurt, but it's not worth sucker punch in your teammate. Is there any swear words in it? No, no, there's not. So Jordan Poole says, allegedly, Draymond, why you got money in your handle for social media? You broke

and he laughed at him. Because Dremont didn't have his new deal and Jordan Poole just got his new deal. How did Dremont react to that? He would have been punched him in his face. Well, that was like the third one that broke the camel's back. Yeah, that was the bad words and stuff. And also, as America's honesty broker, and I may be the best journalist since Walter Cronkite, I want to pat myself in the back. I reported that he had also trash talk Clay and Steph, but they're not as confrontational. Correct. So Draymond, I know one of the things he said to one of those players. Steph's not confrontational.

So Jordan trash talk Steph. He trashed Clay. And then he went after the wrong cat. There's a lot of guys you can trash talk. Ben Wallace, you know, Michael, Jordan. This was not an unprovoked attack. This was alpha males. You're talking, bro.

You're on the same team. And the other one that doesn't have bad words, allegedly, they're running the sprints, and Dremont is coming in last. And Jordan Poole goes, don't worry about it, bro. You'll be in Sacramento next year anyway. You know, before Sacramento was good. Because Dremont, you know, they hadn't given him the contract

and Jordan Poole's taking a dig at him. And Dremont's, like, not happy with. That to me is funny. Like, Dremont, all he does is run his mouth. I know he's your guy. He is also going to be a Hall of Fame. He is going to be a Hall of Famer. We, Jordan Poole might get there one day.

We don't, we don't know. He's like 23. Listen to you. Your takeaway on taking shots, cheap shots at Draymond. You start joking about money and women. Watch out. Yeah, we won't talk about the woman. Yeah.

He made a woman quote. Watch out. He made a money quote. Even the mafia is like, don't mess with family. Right? Like, there's certain things. Don't mess with the media. Don't mess with family.

The NBA, don't talk money and girls. Like, stay out of that space. You think it's funny. I thought it was hilarious. Oh. No? Yeah. You know what Dremont thought was hilarious?

Knocking him out with a punch. That was hilarious. Yeah. I mean, listen, as the kids say, what's the line the kids say? Mess around and find out. Actually, that's close to it. That's a bad word in there. No, again, I'm not advocating violence.

But I've been in locker rooms. There are certain places you stay away from. You don't talk about anybody's girl. You don't mess with the guy's money. Yeah. This guy was chirpy on money and girls. It's like a little, probably a little immature for a veteran team looking to win a title. I get all that.

And Jordan Fool is going to put up 30 a night in Washington. You think a slot receiver, a backup with the Patriots, Talks, Trash to Tom Brady is going to be around long? Fow! Out of town. Is that a thing? What was that? Get on a greyhound. Out of town.

Our number three, 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, S&L'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 Smygle and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to learn the hard weight with your favorite therapist and host, games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Thank you.