The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - The next great prospect in the NBA

Episode Date: July 11, 2023

More on the MLB All-Star game tonight Looking at the Warriors next season with Chris Paul More on Northwestern firing HC Pat Fitzgerald   Guest: Nick WrightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

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Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FS. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in our number two live in Los Angeles. It is the herd wherever you may be. And however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. Nick Wright in a few minutes stops by All-Star Game tonight in Seattle. I will be watching.

Very excited. Seattle is beautiful. especially in the summer when the sun's out, guns out. It's a beautiful city. Boats everywhere. Lake Union. Just so many nice parts of the city. Mount Rainier will be in the backdrop.

I grew up in that. Went to, you know, camping with the parents. A little camper up there, my sister Marlene, bicycles around the campfire. Whenever I smell a campfire, it's the first thing I think of, Mount Rainier. Is this going to segue into another 1970s rant? You love those. We're averaging now one every other day for the, you know, 60 and up crowd. Listen.

Hey, those people love me. They do. Now, none of them were at the UFC card, but he was young people. Yeah. But I saw Mark Wolberg and I shook his hand. Oh, Marky Mark. He was, Marky Marky went out of his way. Such a nice guy.

Always has been to me. And Guy Fieri, talk with him. Marky Mark went out of his way to what? Some guy was walking through the crowd and I looked at him and it was Mark Wilberg. He's always thoughtful. Pretty jacked, huh? He is jacked. Nice guy. And Guy Fieri and I were in line. Okay. I love Guy. I don't really know his work. He's like a...

He does a lot of charities. He's a very nice guy. That's great. Yeah. Is he a chef? He's a very popular chef in restaurant tour. I mean, I consider myself a foodie, but I don't watch... I never watched a second of any food cooking show or none of that stuff. I watched Bobby Flay. All those guys? Late Anthony Bourdain. Read one of his books. I'd rather watch Vanilla Sky for the 17th time, you know? I would not. So I, that's not my, that's not my jam. I like the food guys. So it was a lot of celebrities there. A lot of people, uh, upset that people shook Trump's hand. Dana White walked in with him. Trump was walking around. Other side of the ring, I didn't really see him. But, uh,

you know, people. Colin, I think I saw you drop a name out of your pocket there. You might want to pick it up before Nick Wright checks in. I am really name dropping. I'm going to go to a UFC card in a couple weeks as well. I'm very excited for that. That's in Utah. Yeah, I would, I would like to be at the All-Star game, but just scheduling and things going on. I've got to do this show and stuff. Am I going to get an invite to the next UFC or another snub? You want to go? You can go. It's fun. If you've never got, you got a lot of kids. I got a lot going on. We're trying to get Taylor Swift tickets still. We've got a trip coming up. Yeah. See, that's what happens in the summer. Life. Life. So show Hey O'Hontani, best player in baseball, does not have Major League

baseball's top-selling jersey. It's found out today I discovered today. It's number two. He also got fewer All-Star votes than Ronald O'Cunia Jr. for the Atlanta Braves, and that's okay because Ronald O'Cunia Jr. is great, and the Braves have an enormous fan base. If you have not followed baseball so far in the season, here's an update. Atlanta is easily the best team in baseball at the All-Star break. Well-run, likely will win their seventh division title in 11 years. They're in the same division as the perpetually underachieving Mets. And I was thinking about this this morning is the Braves once again have a dominant great team. They've won the last five division titles. They've got a World Series. They're 27 and

6th since the start of June. And the Mets are desperate to be relevant, perpetually underwhelming, and mostly poorly run my entire life. Since moving to Atlanta in 1966, the Braves have more wins over the Mets than any other team. And that sums it up. The last 10 times they've played, the Braves of 1-9. That's because they always dominate the Mets. I know, get defensive Mets, but this is what culture is all about. The Wilpons couldn't create it.

Steve Cohen tried to buy it. It doesn't work that way. The Braves have a great farm system. They're very good with international players. You know, they occasionally do not want to get into bidding war. Freddie Freeman leaves, go to the Dodgers. They've usually got a viable replacement, a young emerging ascending star. That's the way the Braves do business.

If you've ever been to the South or live there, it is shocking how popular the Braves are. They own seven or eight states. When you go to the South, you see SEC football hats and Braves hats everywhere. You go to New York, you see Yankee hats everywhere. So Mets have three of the top ten paid players. players in baseball. They're 18 and a half games back. They're completely reliant to Alonzo to get power hitting or they don't have much. So it's not a surprise if you've not watched the baseball season so far. The Braves are once again, well-run, dominant, on fire, hottest team. And right now the

favorite to win another world series. And if you ever go to the south, if you're in Atlanta's airport, even if it's not baseball season, you either see Masters, Hats, SEC football hats or brave hats, impeccably run business. Occasionally, they'll lose a bidding war, and it seems like they've always got a good young, ascending player through their farm system. They'll go out and occasionally buy guys, smart guys. What do they got a former Oakland A? That's a good team to buy a player off of.

A's or O or shopping anybody that's good. With that, Nick right now joining us live. Calls first things first. Okay, so I said this yesterday. 19-year-olds have a right to be nervous. The first time they speak in public, their first job interview, or their first game of magnitude in the United States when they're the most talked about player. I thought Wembe was anxious, and when you're nervous, it sucks your energy.

I thought by game two, he settled down. But my takeaway was, yeah, he's really, really good and really. disruptive defensively? What was your take? Yeah, very similar. I just think the American sports viewing public is almost being primed to be disappointed by this kid no matter what he does because

it is being, he is being labeled, has been labeled on draft lottery night, the greatest prospect not in the history of the NBA, in the history of the NBA, in the history of North American sports. Colin, you were old enough to remember. That includes Tiger Woods, who was four years old on national TV draining butts.

That includes Serena Williams, who I don't think ever lost an amateur match. That includes, yes, of course, LeBron, but also Kareem, who won a combined seven state or national titles and lost three total games in high school and college. We're not being fair to what this young man will be. I do think he will instantly be a top flight defensive player, and I think offensively it will be a lot of what we saw this weekend, meaning a night where he looks out of his depth, gets pushed around, is sloppy with the ball, and a night where his shot is falling, and he looks confident.

But the hiccup, even if you assume health for him, which is very tricky because the history of the league guys over 7-3, almost all of them dealt with injuries, but assume health for him. The tricky thing will be this. He does not yet have a good jump shot. He has a good-looking jump shot, but he does not have a good jump shot. Until he develops that, his easiest buckets are going to be coming at the basket, and it does not seem like right now that's where he's comfortable playing. So my concern with Wimby is the same. It's been for the last three months, which is a decade into his career, he could be a one-time league MVP, a one-time champion, and already a Hall of Famer, and people will be like, well, that was disappointing. If that's the expectation level, I think we're being a little unfair to him.

By the way, I said earlier, not a coincidence that Popovich signed a massive deal. They pulled him out of Summer League. I've been told the Spurs. are going to control him, minutes, games played. They're going to empower Popovich. They're going to do it their way. And they don't care what Nike or the NBA or agents think. They're going to control him, the minutes, the games, which I, by the way, I'm totally for that. To your point, bigs get hurt, especially when they're young, they're thin, Janus Embed early.

So I love it. Now, Boston has a history. Often African-American athletes have struggled with it. Like, it's historic, it's discussed. I live near Boston. Beyond that, for me, it's just different. They say fences make good neighbors. They don't say that about New York.

They say it about New England. It is different. It is provincial. It is sort of, you know, they live in their own, like, reality. That's fine. But it is interesting that Damon's like, no interest at all in Boston. It's a pretty good organization. Do you think Dame and his agent now have reached a point where they're not being realistic

that if that was the second place, that's a pretty good opportunity with Tatum and Porzingas and others. And Jalen Brown potentially, if you moved him or not. Yeah, well, I mean, sure, but Miami's a better team in a better city with the best coach as opposed to a guy who might be closer to the worst coach. So why would he not want Miami over that? Like, here's the thing on that. Now, Boston, you're right, has a long,

well-earned reputation on being very difficult for black athletes. But listen, Boston does not have a monopoly on racism in this country. Any place you can find it. So I am not going to lay that entirely at their doorstep, but it does appear to hurt their ability, whether it's fair or not, to be a destination for NBA stars in free agency or in this version of trade-free agency. Also, Boston, it looks like, does not want to trade Jalen Brown. If they don't, for Damian Lillard, if they don't want to trade Jalen Brown, then Miami has the better offer.

My issue with so much of the kind of reporting and speculation around the Damian Lillard trade is, there is almost unanimity that Miami's offer sucks. Now, I don't think it does. I think it's okay. I don't think it's great, but I don't think it's a terrible offer. But here's what I do know. It's the only offer right now. People are like, well, Boston can make a better one.

Well, they haven't. Philly reportedly is not offering up Tyrese Maxi, which means they don't have an offer. The Clippers want to get involved without offering choir Paul George, so they don't have an offer. So there is no other offer. Now, could a team like Minnesota, as I talked about last week, offer Carl Anthony Towns? Could a team like New Orleans? Offer Brandon Ingram. could, but they haven't. And until that happens, right now what we have is the only team

in the game is Miami. It's also where Dame wants to go. And I think Portland is trying to drum up a market, but Dame's agent has done, I think, a good job of making it clear. He only wants to go to Miami. And if you're another organization, and he's about to be 33 years old with $210 million left on his deal. I think that's going to cool the marketplace a bit. He's going to end up in Miami. It might take some time, but I would be shocked if he ends up anywhere else. And also basketball-wise, Colin, it does fit perfectly.

Game, Jimmy, and Bam. You might find a more talented top three players, but you won't find three that cover up each other's weaknesses and fill in the blanks better than those three would. So yesterday or the day before Chris Paul was interviewed by somebody, and it was a tough situation where somebody goes, are you coming off the bench? I'm not sure what you're supposed to say as an athlete. I don't know what I would have said, you know, as a perennial All-Star and the guy that literally took Phoenix from bad to championship viable, that took Harden and made him a team that should have beaten the Warriors.

What is he supposed to say? It wasn't like Mello, who never won, didn't elevate teammates, was clearly not the same player. Chris, in his worst year last year on many nights was still very, very good. Do you see, though, do you see a little bit, he's an alpha, a little bit of pushback on the chemistry here if he doesn't start or will he? Well, I don't think he can start because here's the thing. So Steph, Clay, Wiggins, Dray, Loney. who you send into the bench? The answer would be Clay.

They're not doing that. So he can't start, right? Like this is, you're going to send Wiggins to the bench and play super small? No, you're not going to do that. Draymond obviously isn't coming off the bench. And you're not having Draymond as your starting center and putting Looney to the bench. So I do think CB3, from a basketball perspective, has to come off the bench. And on NBA 2K, I think this is a perfect fit.

having played 20 minutes a game, keep him fresh, run the offense when Steph is on the bench, and hopefully he is healthy for a playoff run because his usage has been so low in the regular season. In real life, that is tricky. Not only because, so Chris Paul three years ago led the sons to the finals, two years ago led the league and assists and they were the one seed, and last year was top three in the league and assists, and people, thought they were a fringe contender even before they brought in Kevin Durant. Now you're saying play two-thirds of the minutes and you are backing up a guy that you once considered your rival, a guy that you have a real history with. So I think it's going to be one of Kerr's toughest juggling

acts. And I do not think it is out of the question that the reason they made this trade was we had to move off Jordan because the history with Dremont, it was not going to work. And now with Chris, we can try it out. But it ultimately, he is an expiring contract that if we then wanted to move him, along with one of the young guys like Jonathan Cominga, maybe mid-season we can acquire a player that fits better or acquire someone over 6 foot 9 inches because Dario Sarich right now is the only person. on the roster that fills that bill.

So I think it is going to be a experiment that might not last the entire season. I got to throw something, Matt, yet. Jay Mack and I had a disagreement earlier. So Justin Jefferson was asked about the best quarterbacks in the league, and he gave a list of the five best quarterbacks in the league. And Kirk Cousins was not on the list. I presume he was sixth. So of the five best quarterbacks he mentioned, they were Mahalms, Rogers, Burrell, Hertz, Allen, great list.

Don't need to argue about it. Should he have lied for the relationship? That's interesting. Gosh, that's an interesting question. It is. Because if he's asked who is the best quarterback, he can't say Kirk. Because then it's just like, okay, that's ridiculous. That's like the Tyree kills stuff with Tua.

He throws the prettiest ball I've ever seen. He's the most accurate. It's like, okay, now no one will take you seriously on anything. Top five is you have enough wiggle room that you could kick out Rogers and include Kirk. Yeah. I respect it. I respect the fact that he was just like, nah, man, these rankings matter. This is my word on this.

I'm giving it. I, gosh, that is such a fact. fascinating thing. I didn't hear. Did you think he should have lied, Colin? No, I backed Justin Jefferson. It invalidates the list if he just started, like if he said, okay, I think it's Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, Jalen Hertz, Kirk Cousins. We're like, okay, that's, that would be like naming the five best restaurants and then you get to, you know, you name these Zaget rated restaurants, and then you get to five and go, five guys. It's like, well, it's a burger joint. It's not really, you don't consider it that. So, J. Mack thinks he says,

says he teaches his children to occasionally lie. Sometimes, you know, the white lies. I'm not a huge fan of that. But I, so I, well, listen, you know, I do agree that a case, listen, it can't, as you would say, Colin, lying can't be your fastball, but it's nice to have access to it. It's nice to have that in your bag. And I agree with Jemak that part of good parenting is making sure your children understand.

it's available to you when needed. I do agree with that. On the specific quarterback rankings, I think it's okay because I don't think Kurt Cousins considers himself top five. Thank you. I think that is more of the issue. I think if it were a top 10 and he left him out. Yes.

I think that if someone says to you, Colin, who do you think take yourself out of it is the best sportscaster in the world. If you don't say me, I'm not bothered at all. But if they were like, hey, give me your top 10. And I don't make it, I'm wounded. Because I do think I'm in that list. So

now my big issue, of course, is that he has Josh Allen on it over the prince that was promised Trevor Lawrence. But that's an issue I'll talk to Justin about privately. But I think leaving Kirk out is fine. Yeah. For the record, the knock on Kirk Cousins is lack

of confidence in big games. So to Nick's point, I don't think he thinks he's top five. That's the knock on him. It's like, I'd rather have a guy that Baker thought he was like second. You know, I didn't love Baker, but I appreciate the confidence. Like Kirk could be like nine. He thinks he's 13. That's why he shrinks in big games, maybe.

Oh, that's a good take. That's a good take. So then I guess that might actually, though, and not to go too far down this rabbit hole, but you might have just argued yourself into J-Mack being right, that if Justin Jefferson really wants to win, the only way to get over the next hop is for Kurt Cousins' confidence to go up. So he maybe should have just said it's five Kirk Cousins. I'll take that over everything and just walked away.

I don't know. But I like that topic. That is a great July topic. It really is. We might do that on the show. We might have to throw out our rundown. You have my blessing. There you go.

Nick Wright, first things first. Thank you. Yeah. By the way, I was talking to Nick. I lived near Boston for 10 years. And there's been this racial component. and players not feeling, you know, like to respect. The Jalen Brown's reportedly never been happy there.

I can't speak to that. But I will tell you is that when I live there, my wife and I love going to New York and didn't like going to Boston. Now, I think the Boston area, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, the Rhode Island area, New England's best place in America in the summer. June, July, August, 30 September, prettiest place I've ever been. Perfect weather.

Nice breeze off the Atlantic. It's amazing. But it's not overly friendly. And one of the reasons I wrote about this in my first book is Boston people vacation in Boston. They don't even leave for vacation. Cape Nantucket, the vineyards, Boston people stay in Boston to get educated. The kids don't leave. Great prep schools, 51 universities in the Boston metro area or something like that.

So it's a highly provincial area. When I used to work at ESPN, they would give us research on the cities and the markets how much they watched syndicated radio, listen to syndicated radio or watch TV. Boston was always the lowest, is that Boston sort of lives for Boston. They love their Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox, Patriots, they don't give a rip about anybody.

They educate in Boston, they summer in Boston. You go down to Miami, it's New Yorkers everywhere. A lot of Boston guys. So for whatever reason, we never found it to be a friendly city, although I love it in the summers. So some of it is just Damian Lillard is against playing for the Celtics, considering how legendary the brand is and how they've got really smart people running it. You know, it's surprising to me he wouldn't go,

I can play with Tatum, Porzingas. I mean, you'd have to give up Jalen Brown. I don't know. I just, and I am in no way limiting the discussion on issues for black players. That's been the reputation forever. But I can tell you, it's a place. If you go into Boston, there's an old saying, fences make good neighbors. It's not really friendly to outsiders.

It's never been. I never felt welcome. New York, first time I drove in, I got lost. I pulled over. I went to the sidewalk. They talked very fast. They're in a hurry. Couldn't have been nicer.

It was just different. New York always feels like they love visitors. They love to show off their city. Boston, not so much. It's like a private. club. I always felt that way. Now, you're a Philadelphia guy. I am absolutely not a Philadelphia just because we lived outside of Philly for seven years. But am I wrong on the feeling about Boston? I mean, there literally is a saying, fences make good neighbors in New England. I'm not a guy to ask

about Boston. I don't like the city. I've been there a few times. I don't like any of the teams. It just doesn't do it. I have a couple friends who are from Boston who are nice guys. Yeah. But they're out of Boston now. You know, they're not still there. Yeah. To go back to Kirk Cousins for a quick second. Yeah. So you made some reference to, oh, if I'm naming restaurants and then I threw in five guys. Is five guys throwing you touchdown passes? By the way, I looked it up during the break. Kirk Cousins versus Aaron Rogers last year.

Kirk Cousins hasn't beat in every single statistical category. That's the question. Well, that was Aaron's worst year. Maybe he's on his way down, big guy? I don't know. Maybe he is. Hopefully not in New York. But the Kirk Cousins thing.

You think he should have put him five. You got to put him top five. You have to. He's your quarterback. Yeah. You think a Jaguars receiver would not list Trevor Lawrence top five? Yeah, but Trevor Lawrence is great. You can argue he should be in the top five.

You can't argue. Jack Prescott's receiver. You think he's going to put him top five? Of course. By the way, Kurt Couss is 13 and 4 last year. Quarterback records. They matter. Want more herd?

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I don't care what you're 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.

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Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what 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. Show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

Therapy, 10% off. If you sign up today, it's online, private, built for your convenience, online therapy. First month, 10% off. Go to B-E-T-T-E-R-HELP.com. BetterHelp. com. J-Mack with the news. No.

Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. Let's talk about the Chiefs and Bengals, that great quarterback rivalry between Burrow and Mahomes. A lot of trash. hash talk this offseason. It seems like it's mostly fun. But Burrow has stopped. He said, you know, the best thing about it is it's all settled on the field,

so we'll see them in December. I kind of like that. I like the NFL needs to lean totally into this the way the NBA has all this, like, online chatter among players. Like, that's good for the sport. Gets the young guys involved, you know, young people who are living online all day. I like this Burrow Mahomes stuff. Well, Burrow and Mahomes, both, though,

have their fun, but they're really all about football when football season starts. Like, I'm okay doing whatever you want to do in the offseason, but I think what makes them very Brady and Manning is, it's all about winning once the season starts. It's not about getting the biggest contract. It's never been the deal. It's not about getting the most money. It's about getting a good deal and being able, also good friends with their best players. T. Higgins, Jamar Chase, Joe Burrow, Travis Kelsey, Patrick Mahomes.

So here's the thing. Structurally, historically, historically, the chiefs are better run than the Bengals. But I would say coach, quarterback chemistry, chiefs, bingles, really strong. I still don't trust the Brown family as much as the Hunt family. And I think Brett Veach may be the best general manager currently in the NFL. So I still think the top of the chiefs at the very top is better than the top of the Bengals. And I think over time, that produces more success, more wins, better drafts. Feels like the new Brady Manning a little bit.

Absolutely. All right. Next up, the Colts, Anthony Richardson was the fourth overall pick and that he would be their QB of the future. But, you know, their owner loved to meddle. And Jim Ursay made it clear that he would like to see Richardson get to start right away. As you guys know, Peyton's year, we were 3 and 13. That's a guy who played a lot of college games and was really prepared as much

as he could be for the league. So for Anthony Richardson, it's going to be tough. We know that. But he has to play to get better. I mean, there's no question. Gardner-Minshu could come out and play better early on, him just being a veteran. But we have to get Anthony on the field.

And that's Shane Steichen's call when he decides to do it. Doesn't sound like his call, does it? Well, listen, they're not going to be a great team. So to me, I'd play him pretty soon. I'd just put him out there and let him go. Also, we look at him as a great athlete. This is what he is so far. The proof so far in his football career is a great athlete, playmaker,

not going to be brilliant in the pocket because he hasn't done it enough. He only played 13 games. So it takes even guys that come out of college with two or three years starting, it takes him two or three years to get everything down to really see the field, the audibles at a layered level. So let's just get out. Let's be honest about what he is. He's a great athlete so far.

And the way to learn on the job, that's how you got to play. If this was a playoff team, it'd be different. I think he can athletically win games right now. I don't think he's going to win any games sitting and watching. Mahomes was a two or three year starter in college. He had a sat for a year. That's right. And still, why aren't you okay with Richardson City?

Well, Mahomes also admitted it took him two full years of starting. And Mahomes is a sharp kid. He admitted year three, the game slowed down. So why don't we sit Richardson? Because Kansas City was a playoff team and there was value in the building of a veteran I mean, this is a young kid and a bad team. Get him out there and let him... But don't you think there is a little concern that, hey, man, he's in over his head.

He looks like Zach Wilson. But there's no question he's over his head. There's no question he is. Lamar, probably a little. Year one, week 11. Baby Trey Lance when he came to the Niners. I think it's different. I think if you are...

I mean, like Anthony Richardson is insanely wrong. Like, almost... He's the office of Kenny Pickett. So what did I argue last year for Kenny Pickett? Just get him out there and let him play. He's got so many, he's going to be a little over his skis for the first year. But by the end of year one, Pickett was kind of decent. Not great, but he was decent.

With Anthony Richardson, when you know what his strength is and you know what the weakness of the team is, which is playmakers, he's your best playmaker. Get him out there. The final point I would make is the Colts have a brand new head coach. Like the Chiefs with Alex Smith had Andy Reid. Yeah. They got Shane Strykeith. It's not just a brand new head coach.

He's never been a head coach in his life. Yeah, I know. Like, isn't that a little too much to put on his plate, like babying a young quarterback who doesn't have, what does he, have 15 college starts? This was a team with an elite receiving tight-end core. Now, they have a great back. And it was a team that could score, stay in games. This is a team that needs playmakers. This kid's their best playmaker.

Put him out there and let them create stuff. I think Anthony Richardson is going to be a unique. playmaker. He's just not ready because of his lack of college experience to sit there and command the huddle and audible in and out of eight plays. That's hard for Kenny Pickett who started for four years. So to me what he brings to the table, it's great now. Let him be great now at what he does now, which is playmaking. All right, final story. To someone who's not great at something, so the Lakers, they made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last year with that revamp roster.

Keeping the core together, which is, you know, one of the team's goals. Darvin Ham thinks his group has what it takes to win it all? Oh, nice. Hell yeah, without question. That's what we're in it for. We're about winning around here and winning big. It's not just about, hey, we made the playoffs. We're trying to get to that pinnacle and conquer it.

Colin, what? You said earlier in the show how, I forget who it was, but should just stop talking. Cronin of the glazers. What is Darwinham doing? Well, this is what coaches have to do. I will say this. My favorite Lakers story is the one that came out yesterday that you talked about where the Lakers are not going to give Anthony Davis a contract extension right now. And I thought, wow, the Lakers are growing up.

You ever have a friend who makes good money, but he's more interested in, like, owning watches or having a cool car? And then after a while, he grows up and starts a 401k, and you're like, oh, okay, he finally gets it. Like the Lakers have been for so many years here, star-obsessed, star-driven, caving. I like what the Lakers are doing now. I think they understand that the Clippers are figuring this out. If you go look in Los Angeles between Paul George Kauai, Anthony Davis-Lebron, those, not one of those players has given you 60 games since the pandemic. Since the pandemic.

And so the Clippers, Steve Ballmer, I'm told, is not going to give those guys extensive. so why should the Lakers? That's the story. Dharvanham's a nice guy. I think he's actually not getting the credit he deserves. Made some good adjustments late in the season. I thought so. But I think as the league, as the, and by the way, Anthony Davis played Yokic.

Yokic was better, but Anthony put up good numbers too. He shot 50% 27 a game. Well, but he had 27 and 13 rebounds. He was very good. Yokic is the best player in the world. I think Anthony Davis has value. I'm not saying that. But what I am saying is the Lakers, I like this sort of Rob Polinkagini bus.

This is a franchise that's been a mess for a lot of the last 10 years. You can't get a ticket. They don't need to be beholden to extending players who can't give them 75 games a year. To your point, you love to do a championship bubble. Are the Lakers in the bubble or outside or on like the bubble? It's a weird bubble. To win the title. Well, if Dame goes to Miami, they're in.

If he doesn't, are they? They were an eight seed last year, and they just got rid of Vincent and Struis and shooters. Okay. So, I mean, like, what is Miami this morning? Without Dame, they wouldn't be in my top five. With him, they would arguably be won. So a lot of... So they'd be on the bubble.

I mean, I don't even know what to do with Boston. Oh. They don't have a point guard. They let go one of their better bench players. They don't have a point guard. Porzingis has been a guy that's historically gotten hurt. And Tatum and Jalen Brown, situationally, are hot and cold. So today, do you have Boston better than the Lakers?

I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I got two guys, LeBron and Austin Reeves that can generate, initiate offense. Boston doesn't have one. Brogden's injury is supposed to be serious. And Marcus Smart's gone. And I don't know. So Austin Reeves can initiate offense, but not Jason Tatum?

By the way, that's not what you want, though. You don't want Jason Tatum having to get us into our offense, like the Clippers, having Kauai get us into the offense. That's not what you want. You want your Steph Curry, your Jalen Brunson, you know, you want your guard getting you into the offense. Dame, if he goes to Miami, he's going to get them into their offense. The NBA bubble, Dame changes it.

This is a weird heel turn for you toward, this Tatum just, I don't know what he's got to do to get respect from you. My gosh. Jason Tatum. He's a good player. Very good player. Is he special? You know what? He is special. All NBA first team two years in a row is he special. No, he is. He is. By the way, you can win a championship with Jason Tatum as your number one player. Absolutely. I don't think you're going to be all-time special, which the two great Boston teams, the Bird Team and the Russell team, were all-time special. That's their standard. That is their standard, all-time special. Winning a title, Mavs, Raptors, that special.

Is that even possible anymore now? Being those all-time teams who created dynasties? Five years, last five years, five different champions. The NBA is adjusting the salary cap so they don't have these dynasties and these like three-headed superstar teams. They don't want that anymore. I think it's a mistake, but that's just me. J-Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd-line news. I can think two things. I don't think NBA veteran players need to play 82 games. I would probably play my guys 68. But when you have four stars in L.A., LeBron A.D., Paul George Kauai, and none of them have given you more than 60 games since 2018.

And that was a pandemic year when everybody got a mid-season rest. And those guys are getting older, not younger. So are we going to get to a point where you don't get 50? 50 games from them. Yeah, it's an issue. I don't think you should extend. I think panic Barry's franchises. I just, I said last week, I thought it was great that the Nick said, we like Paul George.

We're not extending him. We're not extending Paul George. I like Paul George, too. I'm not getting four and five years. He can't stay healthy. That's his reality. So the Lakers not extending AD is what we've been saying is, why do I got to give you a contract early?

I would never give a contract early to a player who increasingly can't stay healthy. That's not even a smart tank. It's like business one-on-one. If you had a quarterback that played 11 games, he played 12, then last year 11, are you going to extend him? He's going the opposite direction. It just doesn't make any sense to me. 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. 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 Mather show, a cult hit overnight 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 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 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, 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 a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

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

This summer, it's the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup for the defending champs. USA chasing a historic third winner in a row. Don't miss the action when the tournament kicks off July 20th on the networks of Fox Sports. Love World Cups. You and I both love World Cups. You know, it's so funny for soccer for years and years. There's meatheads everywhere. And some people just never evolved.

It's like the hazing scandal at Northwestern. I'm not a big fan of hazing. I think there's mild hazing that goes on all over stuff. It could be military. It could be high school football. There's mild stuff. Some of the stuff at Northwestern feels degrading and gross. But, you know, there's going to be guys out there that are like, well, I dealt with it.

So the world changes, right? Like things change. A lot of people, 40% of people never leave their area code. They don't want change. They like what they like. like. They go to the same school, same bar, same, they just don't like change. Some of this stuff, mild hazing, you're never going to avoid it's silly stuff. I grew up in a very wet part of the country. We didn't do a lot of hazing, but, you know, guys, quarterback, I was a quarterback. I

never got hit. You know, if the guys all jumped on you in a rainy day and, and you got soaking wet, you understood it. Some of the stuff here just sounds like, guys, it's 2023. Like, come on, do better. And then all of a sudden you get cover-ups. and you got higher attorneys and multiple players talk. You and I can go back on hazing. I'm not a fan of it. I think some of it's unavoidable. But what I will say about coaches, you can't make $8, 9, $10 million a year,

whatever these coaches make, like a Rick Patino when he was at Louisville or a Pat Fitzgerald. And he can't give me this song and dance of, well, I didn't know anything about it. Nothing you're supposed to know. They're 18-year-old kids. If I entrust my son or daughter to you and we're 12 states away and there's stuff going on, I want to know about it. Again, I'm not precious here. I know not everybody knows everything.

There's a lot of players. But I just, when I read the Northwestern stuff, my takeaway, some of this stuff is degrading, kind of gross. It can't go on for years and years. You've got to know something. If the student newspaper knows about it, then the football players know about it. And if the student newspaper knows about it, they're talking.

And the football players know about it. They're talking. Not a single coach knew anything about it. I find it really, really hard to believe. And it's always where all. these coaches go. I got nothing against Pat Fitzgerald, but this is always where all the coaches go. Whenever there's a problem, I had no idea. That's not a legitimate excuse. There's a reasonable accountability a college coach has to have. Now, an NFL coach, it's not the same. They're paid,

their employees, they're grownups, they're married. It's not the same for a Bill Belichick. It's not the same for an Andy Reid. These are grownups. It's a whole different ballgame. But if I'm a parent sending my kid to you nine states away, you know, and you're selling it. me on, we'll take care of your daughter, we'll take care of your son. My kids up there, you know, he eats school. Northwestern's a hard school. My kids are from Arizona. You know, I want some accountability in the program. And I'm not saying these kids, I mean, nobody died. I'm not saying that. But there is a reasonable responsibility, reasonable, that coaches know about this stuff. And by the way, these college coaching staffs, basketball and football are large.

there's a lot of eyes, trainers, assistants, position coaches. Nobody knew anything for a decade, nothing? You know, that's like the old saying, don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. Like, you gotta know something. You had to hear something. You didn't take a senior aside and say, hey, let's monitor this stuff.

Peyton Manning hated hazing on rookies, hated it. Hour 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 Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey,

or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clippert Show on the IHeard 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. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to Look Back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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