The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - NBA playoffs

Episode Date: May 23, 2023

More on the Lakers being swept and what can be done to improve Will Boston get blown out again tonight?   Guests: Chris Mannix, Eddie HouseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And with that we bring in Sports Illustrated senior writer Chris Mannix covering the league for now 20 years. It's like his 20 year celebration. He entered it about the time LeBron did. You did actually in 2003 you started covering it. That's about LeBron's timeline. Roughly, more or less. Yeah. So when you look at-

I'm not retiring, though, just to be clear. Plenty of years left. So I think it's very hard in the NBA, even if you're a star coach, Kerr and Spoe. got to walk on eggshells around stars it's a players league lebron spoh had their moments kerr kd those guys struggled at times to get buy-in from stars mazula's a kid right he goes he comes to a team that these guys have been compensated they're good they were in a final and he wasn't the first choice it's hard he didn't get buying it's hard to bark like malone when you don't have his career in his resume right so i i read all boston opinion

over the last 48 hours is he's done. I would get it, but I think he's Brad Stevens guy. Is there a chance? They just give him time to bake here a little bit. I think there is a good chance. You make the point that he's Brad Stevens guy. He's probably the closest thing

that Brad Stevens has to a protege. Brad Stevens brought him in when he was a Division III or head coach at Fairmont. He put him on his staff. He made sure E. Mey Udoca retained him on his staff when Brad moved up to the front office. He made sure that Will Hardy and Danny Aange couldn't take him to Utah

when the jazz were after him after Hardy came off that Celtic staff. And then he was the guy handpicked from behind the bench to take the role once Emio Doka was out. So there is a level of loyalty there with Brad Stevens and Joe Missoula. The only thing that makes me pause and say there's a chance they let him go is that this market is robust with championship level coaches. You've got Mike Boodenholzer out there. You've got Frank Vogel out there. You've got Monty Williams now out there. Nick Nurse now out there.

You've got a number of elite proven coaches that are available on the market that weren't available at this time or in September of last year when Joe Missoula was abruptly elevated to that position. That's the only thing, Colin, that makes me wonder if this ends poorly tonight for the Celtics that Brad Stevens might make a move. the other alternative for Brad Stevens and the Celtics is to flesh out that coaching staff. The brain drain in Boston has been real.

Joe Missoula was putting that job, but IMEU doca wasn't replaced. Will Hardy wasn't replaced. Damon Stadamire wasn't replaced. They've got some quality assistance on that staff, but nobody with the gravitas that a Will Hardy or an Imeudoka or even a Damon Stodemeyer possesses. So fleshing out that staff might be an alternative to all this.

By the way, Steve Kerr has got his Kenny Atkinsons. He's had years ago, Ron Adams, Mike Brown. Like, if you don't think assistance, I mean, and you can watch, Kerr will turn to his guys 20 times in the game. Like, he's looking for information. So that's a great point. So I've said this before, is that there are, you can make the argument a lot of things converged.

Jalen Brown's hands messed up. This is, I never think the Tatum Brown vibe is perfect. It's DeWade LeBron, where it's not, aesthetically. it's like it can be clunky, but those guys were so damn talented. They just burrowed through it. They're not that talented. They're not iconic. They're just really, really good.

There is an argument, and I think we have to come to terms with, I love Jason Tatum. Prep school, Duke, great coaching, iconic coaching, Coach K. Brad Stevens was the best young college coach, bro, then IMAODoka. And then he gets a weaker coach, and it feels like he's shrinking a little. He is needed. He's not, his personality reminds me at times a little of Andrew Wiggins. Great kid, but sometimes you're like, seize the moment. Not everybody's MJ.

Not everybody punches teammates, right? Like it's just Embed in Yokic, totally different personalities. Could I not argue that Tatum's here for the long term and Marcus Smart is probably the soul of it and you need a rim protector. But Jalen Brown's a great player, and you could get players that more compliment and elevate Tatum. That you can love Jalen Brown, but acknowledge it's not perfect. Jalen Brown would get you picks and players multiple.

It's worth a call, right? Well, they've made calls like that before. When Kevin Durant was available, that conversation centered around Jalen Brown. If there is a player on the Durant level that becomes available this offseason, I'm sure the Celtics would explore all avenues, but I wouldn't do anything short of a Kevin Durant in exchange for Jalen Brown. I wouldn't trade him for quarters on the dollar.

I wouldn't trade him for some kind of combination of picks and players. Whenever I talk to different executives about how they're building teams, the one thing they say is that we want to build around elite, versatile wing players. And oftentimes, when they talk about those players, they say, like the two guys in Boston. Not the one guy in Boston, the two guys in Boston. Jalen Brown is viewed not on the same level as Jason Tatum, but a cut below. He's all NBA second team. He had a phenomenal year. Now, he hasn't performed in this playoffs like he'd expected. Jason Tatum, his inconsistencies go back to last season. I mean, game seven against Milwaukee's second round last year, Grant Williams doesn't go crazy. They don't

win. Jason Tatum did not show up for that game seven. Game 6 he was great. Game 7 he was not. And the finals, Tatum was awful. Jalen Brown was the best player for the Celtics in that series against Golden State. So as much as it's been puzzling to watch this team struggle and to watch Tatum be so inconsistent, unless you are blown away with the kind of offer you can't say no to and the kind of player you could never turn down, the only action you take with Jalen Brown is to offer him that Supermax contract and then see what happens next season. Let's pivot to the Lakers. LeBron, Kyrie is at the game last night, and we said he does provide what they need with his playmakers. And if you had AD and Kyrie and LeBron, you don't need any of them to play 68 games. It kind of works. Now, we could argue all day and lament Kyrie's personality, which has gotten stranger.

A, do you think LeBron retires and what do you make of Kyrie once again waving high to the franchise? Guys. Last time Kyrie was at a Laker game, DeAngelo Russell went off. I think he had like 31 in that game. Of course he did. And like everybody said, oh, DeAngela Russell is showing Kyrie, we don't need him. In this game, it was the culmination of four bad games for DeAngelaelaussell and made you start to think, do we need Kyrie Irving on this team to be successful? Now, I don't believe LeBron's retiring. Nobody I talked to believe LeBron's retiring. His statements last night were a couple of things, I think. One, there was some authenticity to him. it. He just endured probably the most mentally and physically draining year of his career. Both. Start of the season, the Westbrook drama, that took a lot out of him. Has the most significant injury of his career and then has to play 40 plus minutes in postseason games just to get these guys through. I understand in that moment, LeBron James feeling contemplative, feeling like he has to think about what his future wants to be. So I think this is awesome authenticity to it.

But this was a leverage play too, Colin. We all know that. Like, nobody has leverage. situations through contracts and his career more than LeBron James. In Cleveland, series of one-year contracts, all designed to put maximum pressure on the Cavaliers front office to win now and not worry about the future. So he's looking ahead next season with L.A. And I'm sure in the front office mind with the Lakers, running this back has its appeal. You bring back DeAngelo Russell on a manageable contract. Maybe you have to overpay for Austin Reeves, but this was a great team in the second

half of the season and they made it to the conference finals. That makes some sense. To LeBron, that might not make all the sense. He just watched Russell be a non-factor in these conference finals. All games. All games. And if he can't score, he can't defend, so he's pretty much useless out there. And LeBron's probably thinking, age 39, can I do the same thing over again? Can I survive a DeAngelo Russell flame out in the postseason? Probably not. So I think in his mind, he's saying, look, I have to do one lever I have to pull is me. I can say, I'm not going to come back unless you do exactly what you want me to do. Look, LeBron doesn't care.

I don't think he cares about the future of the Lakers after next season. He doesn't. He's going to do whatever his son's going to do a year from now and go play wherever his son winds up playing. Next year is probably his last year to win a championship. And he's going to find a way through any means necessary to making sure the best possible players are on that roster. He's not going to play for anybody else, though. No, I mean, I never looked at this as, all right, maybe you can trade me somewhere else. Like Golden State, let me go up and play with Dremont or the Knicks.

Let me go play over there. When he went to California to play for the Lakers, this was as much about lifestyle as it was about winning championships. So why would he want to leave Los Angeles when he's going to have a chance to watch his son play 10, 12, 15 games at home next year for USC? That doesn't make any sense to me. This is all about LeBron, in my mind, getting it. what he wants and what he wants might be Kyrie Irving. But if you're the Lakers, are you really going to commit four years and $200 million to Kyrie Irving? Because when LeBron is gone, Kyrie remains, and that could set you back years for your franchise.

What do you make of Yokic? I said this. As good as Shaq was, he didn't shoot pass like that. He didn't take the ball off the rim consistently and lead the break. This league has always been shaped by Big Man. He feels. feels like the latest evolution. You get the European brain, sort of little ego, not super dynamic athletically, but I'm watching, you know, because the European guys play with men much younger. So they mature very quickly. They come in very skilled. They used to be more finesse players. They're not as much now. They've gotten tougher. But they come in, you know, like Lucas game offensively was like a grown man at 20. And I look at Yokic and I think to myself, his ego's

not going to blow it up. I'm going to make the comp. This has a Spurs feel. A selfless star who doesn't want endorsements. He wants his privacy. A second player who's better than he's being recognized, Tony Parker and Jamal Murray, and other players like Manu and Michael Porter, who are for what they do elite. Michael Porter, we waited five years for this. He was the best high school player. I mean, like Michael, I'm from Washington State. Like, they talked about Michael Porter when he was like 14 years old. He's now 610 can defend that we're looking at, and by the way, won't be a ratings titan, but it's got a Spurs culture vibe to it, doesn't it? It's a great comparison, and I think you're right, because Yokic does not want the attention.

All throughout the last couple of months, while the MVP debate was raging, where it wasn't raging was in Denver, at least not in that Nuggets locker room, because frankly, Yokch didn't really care. even though his teammates cared and Michael Malone cared, Yokic was never as obsessed with this MVP debate as frankly, Joel Embed has been as Janice probably was. Yokic just goes about his business. He doesn't want to do any interviews. You try to get with him in an extended setting.

It's not going to happen. He's going to do his NBA mandated media obligations. And that's about it. Well, that's very Tim Duncan. Yeah, it's very Tim Duncan-like. And he is always going to be that selfless type of player. What I liked about Yokic after the game last night was in the moment where it could have been all about him, where he could have said, hey, haters, hey, everyone that said I wasn't a playoff performer, everyone that said I couldn't take a team to this level. Well, I'm going to talk now about the equipment manager on that team.

And he starts rattling off names of guys that have played for the team before and helped this team get to the level that it's at today. All this guy cares about is winning and seeing the guys around him succeed. That way they are very San Antonio-like. Finally, does James Harden really have a market? Or is Darrell Mori trying to create one? Look, I had this conversation with two executives yesterday about this word in the water supply that James Hardin could go back to Houston. Now, I understand why James Hardin would want to go back to Houston.

In Houston, he was a god. He could do whatever he wanted. He likes the city. He likes the city. He likes the lifestyle. And most importantly, he likes that the franchise lets him do whatever he wants. Now, it's not run by the same guy, but it's Raphael Stone, who was Darrell-Morries-L-Tolent, and it's Tillman Fertita, who loves James Harden and let him do whatever he wants from an ownership position.

So I understand why James Harden would want to go back to Houston. For the life of me, I can't understand why Houston would want him back. Like, Houston is in a position where they are in the infancy of a rebuild. They've got some pretty good players. Jalen Green pretty good. Jabari Smith pretty good. Alperin Sangoon pretty good. They're going to get the fourth overall pick. That's probably going to be a pretty good player.

They've got the right coach. Ime Udoca is the right guy for that team because he is going to break them of all their bad habits. What could blow this up and make it an untenable situation is injecting James Hard into that mix. I don't get it. You need veterans on that team, but you need PJ Tucker like veterans. You need guys that are going to show players the right way to play. James Hardin is going back to Houston for James Harden. That's why he's going back.

And I don't mean to pound too much on the guy, but do you really look at James Hardin as being a basketball role model for some of these young guys? No, I mean, you see these old quarterbacks in the NFL that hang around. And the reason is what they say, they're good in the film room. They're good in the quarterback room. You get a Trevor Lawrence and you bring a Josh McCann. or somebody, an older guy, it's like, he's great in the room. Yeah. James ain't great in the room. But can you, I just, I've had so many of these conversations over the last six weeks.

And everyone I talk to says they believe that James Hardin's going back to Houston. Like, they do not believe this is a leverage play from Hardin. They do not believe this is anything coming out of Philadelphia. Philadelphia wants him back. They want to bring him back on a big deal because if they lose him, then they might have an Embeddue problem down the line if they start to struggle a little bit. But for the Houston Rockets to go out there and bring back James Hardin is as nonsensical a move as it would get. If the Rockets go out and do that, I would be in favor of Adam Silver, like doing what David Stern did with the Pelicans or the Hornets at that time.

Taking control of the franchise. Like, what are you guys doing? Don't screw this up. You're bringing James Hardin onto a team with a bunch of 20-somethings. That is not a good basketball move. It just doesn't make any sense. Yeah, it doesn't to me. We talked about it yesterday on the show.

Chris Manix, great stuff, sports illustrated senior writer. Good senior, bud. You too. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app. Sorry, Jay Mack. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all. embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. 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.

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There's a lot, it's a beehive of activity here. Beehive of activity. Okay, I'll take that for a dollar. Navi and tankless water heaters. Go to tankless made simple.com, 15-year warranty. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. I've kind of taken Jamal Marie as like my guy, but Austin Reeves is rapidly rising on the ladder. How good is that guy? What a season he had with the Lakers. He's a restricted free agent and looking for a big payday. However, Austin Rivers, son of Doc Rivers.

has come out and said that Jordan Poole is a much better player than Austin Reeves. Yes. I love Austin Reeves. I love his talent. His best skill is how aggressive he is as a player. He's not the quickest, can't jump the highest, not the greatest shooter, not the most skill.

He can do a little bit of everything here and there. He's aggressive. He attacks. I love it. And he competes. His skill level is not the same as Jordan Pools. It's not even in the same realm. Thank you.

It's not. I don't know if you see the shit that Jordan Poole does. Jordan Poole's crazy. And the range he has, the shot making ability. If you're talking skill level for skill level, they're not even in the same. And again, I say this as an Austin Rees fan. I like his game.

He's nowhere near Jordan Poole. This is not getting it twisted. Yes. Don't get it twisted. He's right, by the way. This smells about it like a debate is about to happen. So just to be clear, he said skill level. Yeah, that kind of matters.

Is Jordan Poole more? skilled than Austin Reeves? Sure. Who's a better team player? Oh, team. What do you mean team? It's Austin Reeves by a mile. Give me a bucket. What, I mean, NBA's a team sport. Rarely do you say I need a bucket. Jordan Pool, go, go. Once I pay big money, I want talent, not team guy. When I'm paying you 100 large, I'm over the team guy. Who do you think LeBron will rather play with? Jordan Pool or Austin Reeves? Oh, ho. See what I did there?

Yeah, who do you think would be a better fit for $100 million on a team that needs scoring every night? Yeah, a 25-win team, yeah, go ahead, pay him money. Who do you think Steph Curry would rather have, Austin Reeves or Jordan Poole? Again, I like Jordan Poole. I've defended him on the show. Austin Reeves is a team player. Defense can run an offense, passes, rebounds. You're making me sound like I don't like Austin Reeves.

I do. But now it's a different Austin Reeves. Now it's not pesky, undrafted fifth guy on the team. Now it's like $125 million. No, no, no. No, the most he could get, I think, is like 97 million or something. I don't think he's going to- A hundred million dollar player.

Well, we just established that Jordan Poole is not a $130 million player or whatever. Well, on the open market, I'm telling you right now, Jordan Poole in game, Steph didn't play. Average 25 a night. He's an electric player. Yeah, in the regular season. What happened in the playoffs when it matters more? Well, he's got a guy in front of him.

Maybe you've heard of him, Steph Curry. He's kind of good. I can't believe. This is a surprising. decision on your part. Jordan Poole drives me nuts. Okay, how about it? Jordan Poole at 30 mil or Austin Reeves at 17 mil?

Depends on the team. First of all, I like Austin Reeves, and Jordan Poole does drive me crazy. But I have defended Jordan Poole, I was brutally critical during the playoffs. He has moments. He's a very immature player. So you're not going to give him the franchise. He's not a number one. You could argue maybe he's just a great three.

but I'm saying in terms of the ability to break people down and get a good look, Jordan Poole's a fan. Austin Reeves could do that. By the way, he was the third best player in the Lakers in these playoffs. So he's established that he's a three. This is a surprising hill for you to die on, Calhurt. The Jordan Poole Hill, after this postseason, and I like Jordan Poole. I'm probably one of the few guys who likes him.

But when you compare to Austin Reeves, it's a no contest for me. I would take Austin Reeves any day of the week. He does so many more things. And don't make me sound like I love Jordan Poolew. He drives me nuts. You think anybody would punch out Austin Reed's on the Lakers? Oh, boy. Now we're judging guys on that.

By the way, Michael... The Warriors only said it ruined their C-Cid. Michael Jordan punched Steve Kerr. Steve Kerr's a pretty redeemable guy. I love this. I love the Jordan references. Next time. All right, this is kind of interesting.

The Mavs, obviously they need to retool their roster. They traded for Kyrie Irving, missed the playoffs. Dallas has a 10th pick. Multiple reports indicate they could deal that. pick and a package to acquire D'Andre Aiton from the Phoenix Sons. Colin, Mark Cuban, all he's done is screw up the last couple years. He butcher Jalen Brunsett badly. The Kyrie deal didn't look great.

If he trades for DeAndre Aiton, will there be a mutiny in Dallas? Well, D'Andre Aiton is a big, but he's not a good defender. So here's where he fits. He doesn't need the ball constantly. he can be a fairly low volume. I mean, is he going to shoot? But he's not happy being a low volume guy. He's happier getting 20, 25 shots a game and getting fed in the post.

I think what happens is between Booker and Durant, you have two guys taking the shots and Chris Paul controlling the ball. He feels lost. In Dallas, he would be a much happier player. He would be a two. Now, I don't think he's a two. I think he's a three. But I understand where he's.

He's sitting there thinking, okay, Booker's the man, KD is now 1A, Chris Paul is the most respected in terms of leading the team. I'm better than a four. Chris Paul has openly been like, I can't ride with this guy's work ethic. Booker and Durant seem out on Aiton, and you're telling me Luca's going to work with him? Well, I don't know. Here's my question. Does Dallas get, like Hardaway?

What do they get? Well, they would get like a poo platter of like Hardaway, Davis Bertons, whatever other guys are on the bench. the kid, I think Josh Green, like these are serviceable guys. They need Ben. Phoenix needs these guys. If Phoenix is a great deal for Phoenix. Yeah.

This is crap for Dallas. Yeah, I think it's a pretty good deal for Phoenix. I like it. Phoenix has their two stars. They need depth. Can you air drop me Mark Cuban's number so I can just text him and tell him, do not do this under any circumstances? I mean, this would be, I feel bad for Luca.

I mean, I'm ready to buy a Luca Dantje's jersey. That's going to be the next jersey I buy. Okay. And I might get an NBA jersey for you. Would you wear it, though? No. Why? I don't wear jerseys.

I am. So like just rolling around the house on a Saturday? No. You're not just rocking like an NBA jersey? No. On Saturday, I have a beautiful wife. I wear a tuxedo almost around the clock at the house. Okay, five, Tuesday.

Two martini night. It's an NBA night. You're wearing an NBA jersey, sipping a couple drinks. That's a no go. No go. You look good in them, though. I saw you on the beach in Miami. That's funny.

You like that. Yeah, you look good in a jersey. I know, obviously. The gun show muscles, baby. You got to show. Anyways, finals still great, the 49ers. They had that quarterback dilemma after Brock Purdy was hurt. Well, according to the NFL, they changed a rule, which allows teams to officially designate an inactive emergency third quarterback who can play if both active quarterbacks are unable to do that.

Yeah. Yeah, I don't understand why they ever, this is very, very smart. I don't understand why. I have a course. This is one of these. I think I brought this up several years. years ago. What are we doing here? You can't. You got it. You got to be, you have nine linebackers on a road trip. You're taking two quarterbacks. It's the most important position on the team. What are you doing?

Remember when McCaffrey was warming up in the NFC championship game? You were like, oh my gosh, it's over. Just like, can I drop a football note to you? Fire away. Per Diana Rusini at Jets practice. More bad news on Rogers? Aaron Rogers tweaked his calf. By the way, I've had a calf injury. Last a long time. Very aggravating, very concerning. Diana Rusini's a real journalist. Tweaked can be interpreted two ways. Did he rupture it or just tweak it?

She's saying tweak. Could be a rupture. Aaron tweaked his can. Let me tell you something. You tweak those puppies down there? You know, I play a lot of hoops. Our men's league team just won our opener by 29. So I had a calf strain.

On Amazon, you can go buy those calf sleeves for super cheap. I'll go order one for Aaron Rogers right now and ship it to the Jets facility. They'll have it tomorrow. Calf sleeves work great. Aaron, this is no big deal. As long as it's not the Achilles, we're good. Starting to fall apart a little physically. A J-Mac for the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Two NBA insiders, podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA Great Buy. All happening in only one. 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. 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 huge. 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 where you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Your podcast. Well, he played for the NBA for over a decade. now he's an analyst for Fox Sports Radio. 11 years, he made the playoffs seven times.

He knows the Celtics he played for him and the heat. He played for them as well. Very, very well. In fact, he won a title with the Celtics. You know Spoe. And I feel a little bad for Joe Missoula because I think Spoh is maybe the best coach in the world. And I mean, Joe's a young guy. He took over a team that got to the finals.

He doesn't have a lot of buy-in yet. And this is a big job. It's like facing Nick Sabin as a first-year coach college every other day. It's hard. What makes Spowe great? What do you remember, Eddie, that really sticks with you on his coaching? Well, what makes him great is that he has the backing of the president, Pat Riley, the owner, Mickey Erison. His job is safe. So his message is going to be conveyed, and either you get with the program or get lost. The other thing is, let's not forget this. Eric's Postrate that he's going to have you prepare, right? The Miami Heat will have you

prepared for any and everything that a team can throw your way. And they're going to mix coverages up as we've seen them. Trap Jason Tatum Brown at time. They run the zone and then they'll switch at time. So they're keeping the Celtics off balance. But back to your Joe Missoula point of being a young coach, let's not forget that it took Eric Spostra. It wasn't his first year when the big three first got together.

When LeBron made the decision to go to Miami, that wasn't his first year as a head coach. It was his first year having stars and understanding how to massage egos, how to make sure that you could get that to work. And to me, that's what Joe Missoula is going through right now. But you've got to get the buy-in from your stars. You know, I like Tatum and Brown. But I always said LeBron and D. Wade weren't the perfect tandem. They were just so darn talented.

They bulldozed their way to titles with Chris Bosch there as well. I don't think Brown and Tatum are a perfect. tandem, but they're so good, they can get you places. Would you consider, if they get swept, would you consider taking a call, you're going to keep Tatum on Jalen Brown if you got picks, a couple players? Would you take a call on Jalen Brown and break him up? Well, first I will have to sign Jalen Brown to that extension. He's due, I think, five years, 296 because he made all NBA. So I would sign him, and then that gives you some flexibility to, if you pick up the phone, you have somebody that's locked in. You have them locked in for X amount of years, and that's a little bit more attractive to other teams than not knowing that if he doesn't sign the extension, that, okay, he might just be here for one year, might just be here on loan.

So I think first order business is taking care of that. And then, yes, of course, you're going to, I'm taking all phone calls on everybody at this point, you know. I know Jason Tatum is probably the untouchable for, but again, he's been inconsistent in these playoffs, a great talent, but I think that's the main thing with Jalen Brown is that he's been in the talks forever. And the Celtics pretty much have wrapped their mind around the fact that Jason Tatum is going to be the face of the franchise. So yeah, I would definitely take calls. So when you look at Jimmy Butler, who's literally 30% better in the playoffs than the regular season, and you're facing better coaching and better players.

Do you ever remember a player in your 11 years in the league that was better in the playoffs and noticeably better? Because I don't. That's tough. I play with some really, really good players. And they raise their level up, but the difference is Jimmy is just a different animal out there.

And then, you know, the playoff Jimmy thing is real. You know, you just rattled off the numbers. He's 30% better than he is in the regular season. But he's playing every game in the playoffs where he took. some games off in the regular season. But I also think that his preparation is they're going to put you in the Miami Heat. They're going to put you in the best position to succeed offensively and defensively. And if you look at what he's doing, how he's leading the team.

He'll go guard Jalen Brown. He'll go guard Jason Tatum. And when you have your leaders out there doing that, it's very easy to fall in line. So I think his leadership is invaluable. That's the number one thing. And he embodies everything with the Miami Heat organization is about, an underdog, a hard worker, a fighter, and is going to fight to the end and play as hard as you can. And he's really disciplined.

He's disciplined in everything that he does, offensively getting to his spots, using pump fakes, and then defensively, not gambling too much, but just staying in the right place, staying and passing lanes. And that's doing due diligence watching film. Yeah. Do you think LeBron retires? I don't think so. I think he has a goal in his mind of. getting to play, have an opportunity to play with his son.

Now, last night, I think, emotions was running high. He just got beat in the playoffs. So you can ask that question. You got a lot of things that are going on in your head at that particular moment. So I think that it was, he answered that with a little bit of frustration, and also just uncertainty on where the team will be next year.

So, but I don't think he'll retire. I think he was going to try to make that goal of playing with his son a reality. Would you take a chance on Kyrie Irving, who was at Crypto Arena. They did play together and played well together. I mean, Kyrie is a baller, man. He could play. And after what DeAngelo Russell did, I mean, yes, I would. Yeah, I mean, here's my thing. I don't need him to be the face of the franchise. In Brooklyn, he had too much power. With AD and LeBron, I don't need him to be a great defender. I don't need him to be a foundational piece. Can he play 60 regular season games? He led the NBA in fourth quarter scoring.

I mean, I know it sounds crazy. If I could get him for two years or three instead of four, if you ran the Lakers, would you give him a two-year deal? No, no doubt. I would. I would because then now you've got three guys that can go get it done, three closers. You know, with Anthony Davis health, that's in question. But at any given night, LeBron could be the one.

Any given night, A year could be the one, and any given night, Kyrie could be the one. So you've got to have that versatility. And I think they all play different styles of basketball. The way LeBron plays is different from high Kauri play. Anthony Davis plays different from those two. So I think that's a great mix. And then you build around that.

That's something that I would look at if I was running the Lakers for sure. By the way, it should be noted in Cleveland when he wasn't the face of the franchise, it worked. In Boston, Kyrie was kind of asked to lead it. It didn't. Brooklyn, he's the one that created that team, right? It didn't. You bring him in Dallas, you know, it's Lucas franchise, but Luke is a kid.

A.D., LeBron, veterans, been there. you know, they've got some buy-in from Kyrie. It's a unique situation where you don't need him to be a great defender and you don't need him to play great every night. What you need him is make shots in big spots. It's kind of what he's been doing for 10 years, right? He's a big shot maker. No doubt, especially in the fourth quarter.

And again, you talk about that Cleveland team. That Cleveland team had LeBron any given night. Well, most of the night, he was the number one. Kyrie plays different than LeBron and then Kevin Love. all those guys play different so those pieces fit perfect together because neither one of them are getting in a way nobody stepping on each other's toes and at any given moment that guy could be the guy for the game and that's all you really look for when you start putting these teams together and start piecing the right players with other players and hoping that it matches I think

Kyrie is unique in that regard because he can play off the ball as well as with yes yes and that is key because Austin Reeves and LeBron can run the offense he can be off ball. Something to think about. Great seeing you as always, my man. Appreciate it, Eddie. All right. Thanks for having me. Groundbreaking runs in the family. Eight new SUV models. Check them out. Mercedes.MBUSA.com.

If you told me I could sign Kyrie to a year deal in one second, two years I'd consider it. For no thanks. But I would, for a year, I mean, you got to move off DeLo. You're going to move off Beasley, DeLo, Vanderbilt. You keep Rui, Austin, LeBron, AD. If you have three old guys or three guys with injury, one's off every night. And by the way, you just communicate that. You're like, guys, we're not going to have you play a ton together over the course until later in the season, but two of you play, one doesn't. Yeah, the problem is

getting to the playoffs. In the playoffs, with those three guys healthy, you've got a great shot. But you've got to get to the playoffs. Can they do that? We saw how that work with Russell Westbrook, Colin. Not very good. Well, I don't think LeBron's retiring. You don't either. Absolutely not. By the way, who you got tonight? Heat are favored by one or one and a half.

Last night I said, take the nuggets. You said take LeBron props. You were right. I said take the nuggets and the points. I'm going to take Miami tonight. I think it's a very spirited effort, especially in the first half by Boston. I think they'll play their butts off. They don't want to be huge.

I think Celtics' first half bet. I think Celtics first half, I take Miami to eventually win. because the longer the game goes, coaching matters, the longer a game goes. I think Boston's energy will probably be great. It can't be worse. I mean, I thought they quit in the second quarter last game. Like second quarter, I'm like, they're not fighting through screens.

Like they're not, say what you want about Boston last year. They were feisty. They were physical. I mean, forget the adjustments. You could see, you could turn the sound down. They were fighting through screens. That team just stopped fighting through anything in the second quarter. So that's when the players are telling you, we don't buy into the coach.

But Miami is not letting up. There is zero let up. They're tenacious right now. All their guys hungry as hell. They got like three or four guys playing for contracts. And they're all playing way above their head. It's incredible. What if they beat Boston by 28 tonight?

Would not surprise me. Nothing would surprise me. All right. Be safe. First things first. In New York, the show with an unlimited budget. We're jelly. See you tomorrow.

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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

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