The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - Kyrie Irving

Episode Date: February 3, 2023

Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the Nets and why the Lakers are the best fit Chris Broussard from First Things First joins the show to give his thoughts on Irving's trade requestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the herd wherever you may be. However you may be listening. Iheart Radio. Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Well, we've got a doozy. One of the most offensively gifted players in a decade in the NBA. The best small closer in the NBA. Left hand, right hand.

Not easy. Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets by the deadline. That's the ninth. Now, J. Mack joining. So the first thing is this. So Kevin Durant comes back. He's going to get checked up again. So whenever KD comes back.

So KD tends to say nice things about teammates, but he had troubles with Draymond. I think he's had troubles with Kyrie. But KD tends to be kind of publicly a nice guy. He picks on median fans, but people like KD's nice guy. I wonder if like Katie went to Vaughn and just said, whatever. I don't know. But my take away, my first takeaway on this is when Kevin Durant left Steph Curry, I said, this is Mahomes going to play for the Jets because he has a friend.

What are you doing? You're trading, you're not going from Golden State to Brooklyn. You're trading Steph for Kuki Kiree. That is nuts. And Durant did it. So I, I'm not in the backseat driver here. I thought it was a horrible career move. I think it's Rich Climans as agent.

You know, sometimes the agent, the player drives the transaction. I thought it was a terrible move by KD, and I've been proven right. This is another part of the disaster. So, I mean, classic Kyrie bails. Don't go into business with unstable business partners. I mean, I'm sorry. That's just bottom line. I've got, he was a busting Cleveland pre-Lebrant.

He blew up Boston. Now, you know, the vaccination stuff, we can agree to disagree. But who you go in business with years ago, I asked Mark Cuban for advice on a business I was starting. He said, ideas. Everybody's got ideas. Get good people. Brooklyn sounded like a good idea. You got the wrong people, Kyrie Irving.

So, but here's what's interesting. So that's the first part. But the second part is this. Kyrie did admit six months ago, year ago, whenever it was, he was to blame for the LeBron Cleveland situation. And I've been told that LeBron and Kyrie talk is that they play together. And LeBron's also getting old. He doesn't need this marriage with Kyrie to work for 10 years.

He needs it to work for a year and a half. The rest of this year and the following year, LeBron made, you know, he didn't need this to work forever. KD thought this was a marriage for seven years. LeBron needs this thing to work for a year and a half. so do you trade Westbrook because there's other stories this morning that Chris Haynes so here's my takeaway Chris Haynes breaks a story this morning that or last night Lakers are looking to move Westbrook Jason McIntyre submitted to all of you did LeBron leak it to Chris Haynes we don't know the answer

then this morning or this afternoon depending on what part of the country you live in two o'clock Eastern 11 Pacific whatever time it is in the mountains now there's another story story connected that LeBron could have gotten in the ear of Kyrie Irving. So is LeBron connected to both these? We know LeBron and Kyrie were very good together. We know Kyrie is acknowledged. It was my fault. We know Kyrie's not happy.

And there were rumors in the offseason he wanted to go to the Lakers. We know the Lakers want to get rid of Westbrook. Now, Westbrook Kyrie Irving contracts, I think the Brooklyn Nets would have to give you Kyrie and something else, Westbrook gets paid a lot. Good for him. So it feels like this stuff is tied, in my opinion, tie to LeBron James. Chris Haynes, LeBron James, hey, put it out there. Westbrook's, something's going on. And then I'll get a hold of Kyrie. Kyrie now makes it public. So you've got two things public. Westbrook's on the trade block. Kyrie wants out. LeBron wants to swap him. Now, Kyrie is a much better player than Westbrook because he's a great

shooter. Neither one plays a lick of defense, but in terms of ball handling, handles Kyrie by a mile, shooting Kyrie by eight miles. So when it comes to LeBron James, if you can catch it and shoot it, LeBron is the best teammate in the last 15 years in this league, and Kyrie can flat shoot it. He can also finish. So a lot of people have said, how can LeBron, Westbrook, and AD not be better together? Because Westbrook screws it up. He's bad in the half court, he won't defend, he can't hit jumpers. Kyrie, LeBron, and AD, regardless of what you think of Kyrie, those games fit together. LeBron with a ball in his hands a lot.

Kyrie can also, LeBron's aging. LeBron hits the bench. Kyrie can run the offense. Okay? So, by the way, what's interesting is Pat Beverly is a pretty good defender. Kyrie's a bad defender. So when Kyrie's in the game, do you put Pat Beverly with him to defend? in the back court because Kyrie's a bad defender.

So whereas you couldn't really put Westbrook and Beverly together are, this is interesting. Fit is huge. LeBron and Kyrie, despite all the issues, LeBron was crestfallen when they broke up because their games worked. Their games were great. It's like Steph and Clay. Steph's the ball handler, Clay Thompson, the catch and shoot guy.

Their games are unbelievable together. And also Clay's a great defender in his prime. Steph was bad. So it's all fit here. It's not just that Kyrie's better than Westbrook. The fit is a million times better. Now, what you're saying is calling? He's crazy.

He's crazy. LeBron's not in year four. He's in year 20. LeBron's saying, hey, A.D., who last night was dominant in the big moments, LeBron's still playing top five player in the league, and Kyrie's absolutely a top five shooter. And now you got Rui, you got a wing defender on the end, on the wing, a wing defender from the wizard.

now all of a sudden, now you say, would Durant want to play with Westbrook? Well, they're starting over and blowing things up. So Westbrook is an expiring contract. Durant, we don't know about his health. So you don't worry about Brooklyn. I never bought into this nonsense. That team's not going to win playoff games.

Give me a break. So what they're doing probably is just starting over and seeing what they could do. If you inherit the Westbrook contract, you're just trying to have it expire. I mean, you could just write it off and say you don't have to play. if you want to do. So, at Westbrook and Kevin Durant get along fine. It was not acrimonious. They moved off, but they got along

fine when they were together. So this is all happening, Colin, in the last like 10 minutes. And Chris Haynes of Bleacher and TNT just provided some context saying the reason Kyrie's demanding this is because they were negotiating an extension because he's a free agent this offseason.

And apparently the Nets, we're not willing to extend Kyrie Irving, understandably. So Kyrie says, trade me now. or I'm walking at the end of the season. So the net, the ball is in the net's court. They can trade Kyrie to the Laker or someone else, or they'll lose him at the end of the season. I don't know who's paying him after the season.

But I do want to go back to your analogy about Mark Cuban telling you going to business with the right people. So we all know Kyrie's history, leaving LeBron in Cleveland, lying in Boston and then stomping and then leaving and now going to Brooklyn, recruiting Kevin Durant with him,

and then ditching. Duran. Why on earth if you're LeBron? Would you want to go into business with this guy at the end of your career? Okay. Because there's no other option. Well, wait a minute. Don't tell me Zach Levine. You've got to give me a break on that.

That guy's never won anything. He's played four playoff games in his career. But you know he's going to be a good soldier and the third option. Now, Colin, let me ask you. You got Anthony Davis, LeBron, and Kyrie Irving. How's that working offensively for you? Who's not getting the touches? Because everywhere Lebron's been with three guys. Hold on.

he's added. Kevin Love is the fall guy in the scapegoat. Chris Bosch, you're the scapegoat. Who's that guy right now in L.A.? If Kyrie Irving goes to the Lakers. LeBron and Kyrie would take a lot of shots. Anthony Davis would get his manufactured by effort and be their best defender. So he's a garbage man. Pick up the rebounds, go score on the offensive class. Because, you know, we got to showcase Kyrie. He demands it because guess what? He's playing for a contract. Durant, Steph, and Clay played together. They were all younger. I would argue younger players want their points and want their legacy.

These guys are all rich in its form. Steph and Clay, their DNA is not. I got to get mine. You don't think Kyrie, LeBron, and AD work together? Listen, they're going to be damn good. I mean, if I could get to a gambling website here, I put some money on Lakers to win the title. Just to be safe.

That being said, yeah, it would be a spectacular... Listen, in terms of content, you said you love a good tire fire. Kyrie, and LeBron, and AD, the potential for tire fire is great there. So the Lakers' apprehension is, okay, the Nets won't sign you to a long term. Nobody's going to sign, you know, there's always a sucker. I mean, in any business, there's a teeny bust. No, I mean, listen, Bitcoin and FT. I mean, all you need to know, there's a sucker everywhere.

And smart people, some smart people got into that. So my point is, what would the Lakers have to give Kyrie in terms of a new contract? I'm not giving you five years. I don't think you're giving them any contract right. now. You're saying this is a rental. We'll see how it works. Kyra will be on his best behavior. Maybe you win. Who's Kyrie's agent? Because, you know, you always have stuff agreed upon. I would not be surprised if it was a family member. His stepmom's his agent? Yeah, there you go.

Well, let's see. Lamar's got his mom. Kyrie's stay. That mom thing, stepmom, I don't know. Doesn't quite work out. It's almost like you want a professional who has a lot of experience dealing with these NBA teams. I guess what I'm saying is, I think LeBron is like, listen, guys, you can have the draft picks. This is what LeBron's the Jeannie Boss. Jeannie, I'm healthy, I'm playing, you're only getting about a year and a half left of this. He just said earlier this week, I want to play a few more years. Okay, so let's say a few is two and a half from now. So this year and two more, that's what you sign Kyrie for. And then Anthony Davis's deal, I think he signed a four or five year deal.

So the bottom line is LeBron doesn't like to play with young guys anyway. So LeBron's always going to go for a little bit of a needy veteran player. He okayed the Westbrook deal. Well, that was a really bad mistake. But many of his other movies. So here's the other thing. Are you giving up those two future picks? Oh, who gives a rip about those?

Well, here, what's the, so you get Kyrie for six months, and then what if he signed somewhere else? You gave up two picks for a six-month renter? Where is he going to sign? The market's going to be big? If he blows up with LeBroni has no market. Who cares about picks? It's not Cincinnati.

We've got to win. It's L.A. There's mountains and beach and teams and hockey and football. I'm on record that Zach Lovon. would be a way better. It's not even close. He will play third banana great. Kyrie Irving is not going to settle for being second or third anywhere.

Colin, you know this guy's history. Come on. How do you want him here in L.A.? Hey, I like difficult people. Is that a shot at me? Come on. In all seriousness, do you think this is going to work Kyrie, LeBron, and Anthony Davis?

Do I think he's going to work on the court? Absolutely. absolutely. A hundred percent absolutely. Now again, I tend to be... Oh, Glass Half Full Call of Friday. When he can get Kyrie Irving. I know you what you want it. We could open the show for a month straight. First of all, sports is great. This is unbelievable. This is great. This is fun. This is exciting. My phone is going off the charts right now. I may not even cover the Super Bowl. If Fox didn't have the Super Bowl, I wouldn't even talk about it next week. Would you like it if... I like exciting and new and fresh and fun and wild and crazy. You know what's wild and crazy? Kyrie coming here and on the night LeBron's going to break the record of Jabar. Kyrie makes it all about him somehow.

He wouldn't do that. The guy who tried to squash the entire bubble a couple years ago, remember that? He wasn't even healthy. And he's like, players, we should not go to the bubble. Him and LeBron got into a huge fight over that. Apparently they've buried the hatchet. But I'm just telling you, do you remember the Heath Ledger Joker in the Batman movie? That's what Kyrie Irving is.

He just wants everything to burn. He does not care about anyone except Kyrie Irving. Well, there's some... Have I told you the stories about him and Steve Nash? Because you know Nash is a guy from out here. So everybody knows Nash. And when he went to Brooklyn, they didn't get along well. I told you the stories about practice.

About Kyrie and KD showing up, not in the right state of mind. Yeah. And calling the shots. And Nash backing off. And then Kyrie forgetting what he called two minutes ago and everybody being like, what's going on with... This is not a guy you want to hit your wagon to.

LeBron, come on, dude. Don't do it, Lerbong. Don't listen to know. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the fourth. 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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waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, literally. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. So. Thank you for finishing that sentence. 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. Co-hosts First, Chris Broussard. What a day to book Chris Broussard. Latest story, Kyrie Irving, demanding a trade. On the same day, there are stories about Westbrook. being shopped. I don't know.

It feels like LeBron's using some influence here. So, Chris, first of all, your first reaction. Now, if I was a cynic, I'd say Kyrie's just trying to get more money in Brooklyn. Is that possible? Well, I think this is obviously related to the contract. And the fact that the Nets won't give him a long-term deal. That's what he wants. So now he's trying to either force their hand or get out of there.

I think it's a horrible move because Kyrie, I mean, what was it, just a few months ago where he had the issues, you know, with the documentary and the book and all of that stuff. And he had been a good soldier for a few months. And everybody was just waiting.

Okay, is he going to actually be able to play straight for the whole season? Or is he going to cause another distraction? And sure enough, here he is. And if he thinks there's a market for him, outside of the Lakers, then he's off his rocker. There is no other team that's going to sign him for a long-term deal or promise him that other than possibly the Lakers.

And I don't even know if the Lakers will commit to it. I'm sure they'd love to have him, Colin, for a year. So could that work for Westbrook? We can get into that in the moment. But I think it's a bad move because it just furthers the notion that he's going to destroy your season with some off-the-court shenanigans. And there's no other team that's going to be out there that wants him. So just a bad move by Kyrie.

How about this? How about this? I'm going to think like LeBron. You get in Kyrie's ear. Listen, your team's not going anywhere. KD's hurt. Simmons, you can't trust. A.D. and I need you.

We need you. The West is wide open. The Warriors aren't playing well. You got the bucks. You got the Celtics. You're not getting through there. We got nobody. We got an old Warriors team.

Come out here. play the rest of the year, crush it. I will rekindle your market. LeBron gets viability in the playoffs. Kyrie literally changes the narrative on Kyrie, and the Lakers want to get rid of Westbrook anyway, so LeBron wins all the way around, and even Kyrie. If Kyrie's great in the playoffs, people have short memories in this league.

Look, I think if Kyrie's great in the playoffs, like let's say he does go to the Lakers, they win the championship, he's great to 12th. I think there's still no market for him other than the Lakers. But that's fine because the Lakers probably would sign him. And I'm with you. I love Kyrie to the Lakers. I know J. Mack didn't like it.

I heard him before I came on, but his opinion about this is as bad as his haircut. So don't worry about that, Kyle. Just keep it moving. All right. Jay Max's my man. I love you. And the cut's nice. But anyway, Kyrie, Colin.

You say, Kyrie, A.D. and LeBron? They're the favorites in the West. Yes. They are the favorites in the West. And I do think Kyrie will be fine being a third banana. He's been the second banana to LeBron. And AD, he's recognized his AD's greatness. So Kyrie will be able to do what he does, score the ball.

He gives him shooting. It would be perfect. Here's the question. Would the Nets do it? I know in the offseason, they had absolutely. zero interest in Russell Westbrook. Now, if you're the Nets, what you have to do, because here's the net. Look, the Nets have been good this season, Colin.

Yeah. But their problem is they're a bit soft. They're a finesse team. And they can't beat Boston because Boston's a hard hat. But Westbrook, look, he and Durant had success. Westbrook would make them a tougher team. Colin, I do believe if Westbrook had his own team or was with another team, he could put up great numbers.

They wouldn't win much, but he put up great numbers. You go to Kevin Durand if you're the Nets and say, look, Kyrie wants out, would you be open to a Westbrook reunion for a year? Give it a shot. If he's cool with it, maybe you do it. If he's not, then if he's not, I probably would just let Kyrie sit. And I would just either he plays for us or I would just sit him. Because nobody else is going to want him.

And I wouldn't want to reward him by sending him. by sending him somewhere else. So, yeah, it's going to be interesting, but Durant, to me, should hold a lot of the keys to how this works out. Now, does Durant and Kyrie get along, or is he tiring of him, do you think? Do you think he's fighting for him,

pounding on the table for him? I think as friends, I mean, I think they're fine as friends. But I think when it comes to the business, I think they just, you know, they just let each other do what they do. I think when Durant had his, you know, requested his trade. It was like what he wanted to do.

I don't think it messed up his relationship with Kyrie. I don't think it was because he can't play with Kyrie. But he's just looking at it like, man, we got too many distractions. Obviously Nash was an issue too. And I think Kyrie's looking out for himself too. I don't think he's thinking much, which is maybe part of the problem. He's not thinking about Durant. He's just looking at, I got to get this deal.

And look, I try to give Kyrie the benefit of the doubt, because I understand a young black man trying to find his way, trying to learn his history and all that in this society. So I try to give him the benefit of the doubt. But sometimes his lack of self-awareness is mind-boggling. And this is complete lack of self-awareness

to demand this trade. And it's just a bad move. Colin, I think they're a good team when Durrance there. Boston would be tough for. but I think they're a contender in the East. But this just kind of may ruin the entire season, even if he doesn't get traded. Let me throw this one at you. So LeBron was frustrated with the Lakers front office not making moves.

So LeBron says, well, trade deadline's coming up. I'm going to do my own work. So he leaks to Chris Haynes, says, hey, get that Westbrook thing out there. And then he calls Kyrie because the Lakers aren't doing anything, all these stupid draft picks they worry about. And LeBron's saying, screw that. I got, I'm great right now and I probably got two more years, two and a half more years. So LeBron gets on the phone with Kyrie and says, demand a trade.

And then I can go to my people and say, people, you want out of Westbrook, I'm tough. Look, it makes, Colin, it makes all the sense in the world for LeBron and the Lakers. Because if the one guy that we know, and I don't want to say control Kyrie, but the guy who Kyrie has been kept under wraps and been great, you know, with, in terms of winning, is LeBron. Yeah. Not Durant, LeBron. Okay, LeBron is a strong enough leader.

And Kyrie obviously has done a 180 from what he did in 2017 when he wanted to leave LeBron. Now he's fine, obviously, with playing with LeBron. He's learned in that regard. And I think it would be fantastic for the Lakers. But again, the Nets would have to play. play ball and they haven't played ball with Kyrie in a long time. Remember he thought he thought he had them over the, you know, the barrel once or two times before and they stood their ground. They

didn't give him the long-term deal last year. They won't give it to him now. They're doing the right thing. So I'm not sure they'll play ball with the Lakers, but it certainly makes sense for L. Well, I mean, one's east, one's west. That helps a little bit, right? You don't have to fade. Lakers Lakers, Lakers, no, you're not going to come back. We're not going to face you in the playoffs. Wow, wow, wow. You know, it is, I'm a sucker for talent because I know Kyrie and I know his history and he drives me nuts. But I just keep going back to the key in all of this is LeBron James.

LeBron's playing great. He's healthy. They got Rui on the wing. So they needed a wing. They needed a wing. They got one. Westbrook in the half court setting, which is playoff basketball. ball is a liability.

Kyrie in the half-court set can be unbelievable. I mean, he is a hard matchup. I think I think, Laker, I do it. What the Lakers need is shooting. They need, AD can dominate inside. LeBron is now playing more like

a traditional small forward, and that's why he's scoring at will. And then you got a Rui, who is a pretty good three-point shooter. And then you add Kyrie to that, who's a great shooter like it makes sense and I think Kyrie would work out with LeBron just like he did in Cleveland so again from the Laker side no-brainer in my opinion wow all right Chris Bruce look at J-Mac Jack Mack J-Mack is beside himself he's going to lose more hair than he already

lost he's getting all anxiety written here all right brouss art first things first Nick Wright Bruce Ard Kevin Wilde it is a great show it's on right after ours so nice he to stop by. We booked him this morning. Some premonition. Way to go. I appreciate you dropping by. All right, Colin.

J. Mack. Peace. Listen, LeBron's engineering this thing. So LeBron has been frustrated for months. The Lakers will make a move and they're all caught up in these draft picks in 2029. By the way, those draft picks, whenever they are, you're drafting a 19-year-old kid so they don't pan out. for an earth three years. So if I have a draft pick in two years, you might as well say five.

A guy can't play. And LeBron doesn't like young kids. He's not going to play from some kid from the ACC. So the bottom line is LeBron is, get me, in Miami, get me dudes. Went back to Cleveland. He didn't want Wiggins. He wanted Kevin Love. Get me dudes. Get me smart veteran guys. Kyrie, playoff games. Is there a world, Colin, where the net say, you want a trade? You ain't getting a trade. We're keeping you. We're keeping you to the end of the year. I don't care. We're not giving you to a contender. You get nothing?

I'd better have an expiring contract than some pieces. Nothing. I would want to play hardball with Kyrie, but I have a good team better than the Lakers for you later in the show. Okay. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. We'd probably do three hours on this, right? You just extend the show, just talk Kyrie forever. I mean, listen, it's an easy, fun topic. If LeBron was broken down and playing poorly, he's not. But LeBron cannot carry the scoring last night. A.D. was big. LeBron needs another scoring component.

They got Austin Reeves coming back from injury shortly. Now while Austin Reeves off the bench? He's nice. All right, let's go to the NFL real quick. All four quarterbacks who took the field for the Niners this year ended up injured. At his final press conference of the season, Kyle Shanahan was asked about this. unlikely situation and pushed back at any suggestion that coaching or the team's game plan was to blame.

When you go through a season and you have four quarterbacks get hurt, does it cause you as a coach? Any hesitation? I think if you looked at the injuries, common sense would answer that question. I mean, how have they gotten hurt? I mean, I'm sorry Josh got a concussion when he hit the ground. So that's the fourth one you're talking about. I'm sorry, our quarterback got his elbow bent backwards on a normal dropback pass. I'm sorry on a drop back pass.

Someone rolled up on Jimmy's ankle. And then we have a dual threat quarterback who got her running the ball. So to throw all those four in that category, no quarterback's got hurt when we had to hand it off the whole second half. So we can look into that. Feisty, Kyle shit. I like it. By the way, let me add this. He's not happy.

They've lost the NFC championship back-to-back years. I know I said, Durant, don't go into business with unstable partners. I just want to say this. Durant went to Brooklyn to finish his career. That's a horrible move. LeBron, he wants Kyrie for three months. That's what he wants with Kyrie. Lakers don't see it. Well, what I'm saying is the KD Kyrie marriage was going to be their friends. Let's end our career here. LeBron's thinking, if you give me Kyrie in the West, I can win the championship. That is not a long-term.

Have you ever got into business with somebody for a brief amount of time? You had questions about them, but they can help you in the short term. And they're a problem child. Yeah, but in the short term. Nuke internal anything. They could just cause strife throughout. I have not personally done that. I'm not that kind of guy.

I would not want to bring on a problem child. We'll figure it out ourselves. All right. Or we'll get Zach Levine. All right. Next up, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Colin, in the market for a new quarterback. How's this? Your guy, Baker Mayfield, could be a target of the Tampa Bay Bucks, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Baker is absolutely on the buck's

quarterback list of options. Obviously, they still need an offensive coordinator. What do you think? Well, Baker Mayfield in Tampa? Well, he would be the best quarterback in the division, wouldn't he? Well, let's see, he's been dumped by Carolina. So they clearly view Sam Darnold as better. Well, let's not. Andy Dalton or Baker-Mayfield? I'm going to take Baker. James Winston or Baker, Baker. Tasum Hill or Baker?

Desmond Ritter or Baker, Desmond Ritter, obviously. Now, I think Derek Carr could go to Charlotte, and I'd take Derek Carr. But Baker would be the best in that division. You're still, I like that you're riding with Baker, you know? He's really getting a lot of chances, huh? I'm not riding with Baker. You said he's the best quarterback in the division. Tampa should go get him.

I said an hour ago, it's the worst quarterback division in league history. I'm not riding with him, but I... So he's the tallest midget. I just think, I've said this before about Baker. With time to throw and reasonable protection, I think he's one of the 32 best quarterbacks in the world. I mean, now, now, there's a couple of college guys that are better, or Drake May and Caleb are a completely different level.

But, I mean, I think he is. I think it's near the bottom. But when Baker has time to throw in a run game, he got Cleveland into the playoffs. I don't. You can say that about any quarterback. Give me time to throw. Give me skill position guys.

You know, like, I'm sure Baker will get another chance. was the number one overall pick. Final story. Back to the NBA. I don't know if you saw any of this late last night. But goodness gracious, Janus eviscerated the paper clips. 54 points, Colin. And they had a stirring fourth quarter comeback.

Clippers, I don't want to give away anything, but boy, they... Middle ten now. Look like they could have used a point guard down the stretch. Not a lot of stability in the back court. I like Terrence Mann a lot. Do not say it. I know what you're thinking. Don't say it.

Just to give Janus his due. he has scored 50 points in three of the last 11 games, led the comeback. They were down as many as 21 in the second half, Colin. Buck's starting to peak. And I mean, look at this. Five Clippers around Yonis as he drives to the hoop here. Clippers have needed a point guard for two or three years.

Let's make this about Yonis. I think we'll talk about Clippers' Port Guard. How about move Kauai Leonard out east? They're not moving off Kauai Leonard. Absolutely. Really? That thing's working? Doesn't talk?

I think we're going to talk a little bit about this shortly. But real quick, Janice, hey, is he back in the MVP mix? Yokic had 16 assists. 16 assists against the Warriors last night. Yonis is the MVP. No, Luca Donchichlov? My brother saw him live last night. It was like, this guy isn't it?

How many points you give up? Luca had 23 points in 31 minutes. They're one by 30. How many give up on the other end? I don't know. A couple. A couple buckets. In my household, we talk about defensive intensity.

In my house, we take the chair position. get stability. Some wall sits, maybe, yeah. Yeah. You can't come into the coward house, so I'll drop in 48, no defense. Not if you're an MVP. Harsh. Well, I am harsh. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Herd Live News. Yeah, how do we know the Clippers aren't interested? I have a premonition that we'll talk about that in the next segment. All right, I'm interested. 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. Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA great vibe. All happening in only one place.

This League Uncut. The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haines. And me, Mark Stein. Join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haines and Mark Stein. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard 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, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for Raw, filtered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So,

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

I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you 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, so... Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black. black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

get your podcasts. ConsumerSider.com slash the herd. 25 bucks off. New wireless plan. Don't have to change your number or phone. All right. Got 10 minutes left on a Friday. Jason McIntyre, the former newspaper guy. We've got NFL breaking NBA news. So we've got a lot of headlines. It's crazy. Wild Friday. I mean, big stuff going on. My favorite segment of the week, here we go. Tomorrow's headlines today. Let's predict them.

Kellyn Moore, new offensive coordinator to Justin Herbert and the Chargers. You got to wonder, is it going to work with Kellynne Moore? First time I'll see some pressure. We know Staley's under pressure. The headline will be no more. Mr. Nice Guy! Chargers coming for the AFCE. That was not my best singing voice, but they demanded that I do.

do it. I do love the pairing. Kellam Moore and Justin Herbert. Now, Colin, chargers are up against the salary cap and they got to create some room. So as I've alluded to, Khalil Mack, probably going, keep an eye on Keenan Allen. I've been doing some research. It looks like Keenan Allen could have to renegotiate his contract or cap casualty. There's a lot of talk about what the charges are going to do to help Herbert. I think the offensive line is the key. Slater comes back from the injury. You look at the numbers of salaries that were on IR this year. Chargers were like 12th in the league due to injuries. Aside, Eagles and the Chiefs had the least amount of salary cap on IR.

They were the healthiest teams of the league. They were in the Super Bowl. Chargers get healthy. I think they can win the AFC next year. I think it's a good bet to place a little early, but I love the Chargers next year. We like Kellynne Moore. Tomorrow's headlines today, Aaron Rogers reports today they want to move off. And what's the headline?

You're pushing the Jets, huh? That'd be great for this show. However, the headline will be, sweet dreams are made of cheese. Aaron Rogers stays in the NFC. I think he stays with the Packers. You had a 51% on your pie earlier. It's just the most logical move. It's fun to speculate about Jordan Love and Tennessee gets Aaron Rogers or Miami or the Jets.

I think eventually cooler heads will prevail. Rogers has a right to be ticked off. Final game of the season, they were not particularly sharp. Loss of the Lions missed the playoffs. I think he's just venting some steam. Let's get the cooling off period over. Roger stays, and I think they got to open as the favorites in the division. Them are the Lions next year, right?

Yeah, yeah. Not the Vikings. No, not the Vikings. Certainly. All right. Tomorrow's headlines today. Okay, Derek Carr's leaving. Who's the next Raider quarterback?

I whiffed on this one. I had Brady. A lot of people were piggybacking that. It was wrong. Who's the backup? The headline will be. Who wants to G a millionaire. Vegas rolls.

dice on Jimmy G. Look at that. A little pit boss, Jimmy G. This makes sense. They spent time together McDaniels and Jimmy G. It does make sense. In New England. I think he's going to have a big market, but I think he's going to go with familiarity. And oh, by the way, we know off the field, Jimmy Garoppolo likes to hang out with a certain sect of women. And I think he'll fit right in in Las Vegas. And obviously, Darren Waller, Devante Adams. Like, they're going to have a squad. And that division's very tough. But I think it's a good mix, Jimmy G. and McDaniels in Vegas. Yeah, they have good weapons. Absolutely. The offensive line needs a little bit of help. But it's not a disaster. It's top half of the league.

Just got to keep Jimmy G. health. All right. NBA, LeBron James, 63 points away from beating Kareem's all-time record. What's the headline for LeBron James. I got some buddies out here who are just scouring the ticket market for the Oaks game, the Bucs game. Ticket prices are rising. I'm going to say hold the phone. The headline will be James of Thrones. LeBron crowned while dawning beads. I think he'll set the record. Now, this is a little crazy. They play New Orleans. next. New Orleans is reeling. They've lost 10 straight. They're not even putting up any resistance at all. Colin, what if LeBron went for 63 points in New Orleans, in Nola, to

break Jabar's record? Could he pull it off? This is a team in New Orleans. I said they're reeling. No Zion, no rim protection. There's a lot of talk about the pelicans blowing it up here, making some moves at the deadline to supplement help. Like Brandon Ingram, is he on the block? I think LeBron could go off and do it. Now, of course,

he probably wants to do it at home. But don't be surprised by a monster LeBron game in the Bayou this weekend. Okay, so Golden State only playing about seven guys, right? James Wiseman was the number two pick, number one or two pick. What was he? One or two, I don't know. I think he was second overall. Yeah, yeah.

They don't know what to do with him. He doesn't fit. Tomorrow's headlines today, trading deadline. What do you do with the James Wiseman? The lanky seven-footer runs the floor well? But you know their defense is kind of cratered. I know Draymond Green's calling card is defense, and he's not playing great defense. They didn't have him last night, gave up a buck 34 to the nuggets.

The headline, Will B. I love it when you call me Big Popovich. Biggie, James Wiseman, headed to the Spurs. I do think they move him. I know some Warriors fans would hold on to him. Cling to the future. The future is now. Steph Curry, Drayman, Clay, Pool.

They need help. And Jacob Pertil is the guy. I've talked about it here on the show this week, Colin. He's a good rim protector in San Francisco. Antonio. He's a very strong passer, seven-footer, 12 and nine, modest averages. But you know what you need in this offense. A guy who's going to understand it quickly and who's going to contribute and be in the top seven. Pertl will get in the top seven instantly. Wiseman's not even in the rotation right now. He's not helping you in a playoff series against Yokic. He's not helping you against Anthony Davis.

They need to make a move. And they got to, as you like to say, you make a mistake. You move on. Yeah. I don't even know if he's a mistake. When I've seen him, rarely play. He doesn't fit. Yeah, it looks a little awkward. Yeah. Finally, tomorrow's headlines today. Kyrie's requested a trade. By the trade deadline, the ninth, what say you? This has been like, what, a 45-minute just chaos with the Kyrie Irving stuff?

You go online, all you see is Lakers, Lakers, some Miami Heat. The headline will be. Kyrie Koyote. Loonie Clippers changed the tune. Now listen, if you want to stick it to your cross-town Lakers, we know the paper clips are, they're second-class citizens here in L.A. It's all Lakers, everything. Easy to get tickets to Clippers games. Lower Bowl cheap. Kauai Leonard and Paul George, this is year four, Colin. Would you call it underwhelming? Zero final strips?

Well, so far, yes. And Balmer has all the money. I think he, by one account, he's the richest or second-richest owner in the league. They don't have a point guard either. They don't have a point guard. You start to look at packages they could put together. I'm not talking about a poo-poo platter, but like Luke Kinnard is pretty good. They don't want to part with Terrence Mann, but if you can get Kyrie Irving, Colin, Paul George, Kauai Leonard, you've got a really dynamic offense. And, you know, I don't love Kyrie as a teammate, but I think going into the Clippers,

they need some leadership. Kauai Leonard is not the guy in the huddle, get your act together, cleaning up. Paul George, never done anything in the playoffs. Who is the leader on that team? Oklahoma is not getting anything nearly as good. as a Paul, George, or a Kauai Leonard. You take it. You take that deal.

You have to do that. I mean, and if you're Kyrie Irving, you've worked with Tyloo. Now, it didn't end pretty there with Kyrie, Tyloo, and LeBron in Cleveland. But I think that this team needs some leadership, and I know it's crazy to put Kyrie Irving and leadership in the same vein. But he did win a title with LeBron. Well, the other thing is, I think one of the criticisms of the Clippers has been offensively, sometimes they're kind of rudderless. Well, they don't have a point. and so I think they're very good on the wing.

You can package Reggie Jackson, who I think is an expiring, Terrence Mann, throwing a couple picks, whatever, Luke Kinard salaries match. And, you know, LeBron gets a couple guys who can, I'm sorry, Kevin Durant gets a couple guys in Brooklyn who could help him. I don't think they're really going anywhere. But Kyrie Irving and the Clippers,

if you are the L.A. Clippers, and you want to make noise in this market, you talk about it all the time. It's a crowded market. You go for Kyrie Irving. You know, Bomer's building a new facility here out here in L.A. They need all the good news they can get. Well, here's the other thing, is that the Clippers could give you far better players, far better than the Lakers could.

Russell Westbrook, you're probably not even playing him in Brooklyn. Yeah, I mean, if the one thing the Clippers have, they don't have a point guard and you worry about their culture. They got dudes. What is their culture, by the way? Well, it's, it's, my feeling's always been. Kauai entered a great culture. was the finisher. They want a title.

Toronto had a very good culture. He was the finisher. It was Kyle Lowry, right? The Clippers, they asked him to build the culture. He's nonverbal. He's not that guy. If you have a culture built, you can put him in, get a bucket, get a stop. He's great.

He won a title, San Antonio, Toronto. Those were cultures that were already built. He's not a buildaround guy. That's not what, like, you know, like different players, but like Randy Moss to New England was great. great because the culture was built. And it's like, Randy, get us touchdowns. Now, in Oakland, let's build around Randy.

That's not kind of sort of what, but Randy was great. Strong culture. Give him a quarterback. Greatness. And I think Kauai, now it's, I mean, it's Kevin Durant's team. You think he wants that team? I mean, listen, I don't want to go overboard. But there are people speculating, like, listen, if the Lakers or Clippers are

annying up with Kyrie. Why aren't teams going after Kevin Durant? What's tying Kevin Durant to Brooklyn? If you're Brooklyn, tear the whole thing down. Get picks. Somebody make a move for KD. Now he's hurt. Tougher to trade for him.

He's hurt a lot now. Kyrie Irving is going to make you have a busy weekend, huh? You're going to be all over this. Super Bowl week, NBA trades. Next week's popping. It's lit. We'll see you Monday. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy.

Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

That was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. 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.

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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.