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

Episode Date: June 14, 2023

MLB analyst Tom Verducci joins the show to tell Colin why the Yankees have struggled this season despite their high payroll Colin gives some NBA predictions for next seasonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford 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's podcast network on TikTok. 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 in the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's hour three. We're on FS2 and radio now.

We're going to be like that for the next four or five shows. We'll do the first two hours, regular. Third hours, mostly radio and FS2. It's the herd. So I was thinking about this, Jay Mack. You know what drives me nuts? And I really realized this. Tell me.

Nobody returns my calls in text. Okay. Well, nobody calls. calls back anybody at all. I text people that even that work with me at the volume. They never return my calls in text. Nobody does. You got a personal phone on your hands.

Forget my bosses. I never get anything back from them. Nobody would, you know what? You find out how important you are. I mean, if Patrick Mahomes texted me, I text back right away. Instantly, then you look thirsty. You look hard up to respond to Patrick Mahomes. So you don't text.

I told you how I met my wife, right? like I met her on a Thursday and I got her number at a bar. And then I was like, oh, it's Thursday. When do I call her? Because I don't want to look hard up if I call Friday. Hey, what do you got this weekend? So what did you do? Well, it's a longer story.

But I did not call or text. Gosh, this is so many. I can't believe I'm admitting this. This was way back in like the early 2000. No, but how long? Have you ever been on Craigslist? Would you tell me how? I'm telling you.

Have you ever been on Craigslist? To buy a sofa. Right. So I went on Craigslist. list missed connections and I wrote, you know, to the girl I met and the Yankees had at the bar and her and her roommates were looking for Yankees tickets. They saw what I wrote and she responded. So I never called her text. She responded to my misconnection online. It seems like you're game playing. No, I was just nervous. Like she's way too attractive to call or text the next day.

Like Patrick Mahomes text me. I'm going to play cool. Hey, Pat, that's okay. I got a good. I'm texting a lot of players and GMs. I met my wife. We went out instant chemistry. got home that night and texted her. Were you like 28 or like 39? I was like six weeks ago. And I literally was, I texted her. There's a difference between in your 20s. No, I literally got home and said,

that was one of my favorite nights, blah, blah, blah. Haven't you seen swingers? Vince Vaughn? Yeah, it's a great movie. Yeah. You got to watch it. I mean, Mikey comes home, calls a girl. Oh, no, I messed up the voicemail.

Keeps calling her and is like a stalker instantly. You got to play. And this is when you're in your 20s, you kind of got to play a cool i'm not i'm not a game player i can't do all that stuff like if i if i if i it's just brutal honesty yeah and that's why you know that's why nobody calls me back i'm harsh that that that's probably the answer that i when i so my my my wife even my kids make fun of me i will call somebody okay you pretend you answer the phone now usually people exchange because a caller ID? So usually you exchange pleasantries when you talk to somebody. So I am really bad at this.

I don't, I don't waste time at all. I'm there. I don't do how's the weather. Hey, how are you? What's going on? So let's do it. Ring, ring, ring. Hey, Colin, how are you, buddy? Hey, tomorrow, could you get a guest on the show? So that's what I do. Like, there's no reason to say, how are you doing. You're not on fire. You're fine. So let's just get to the point. So my kids are always like, my wife gets, she's like, you have to say, hi, how are you? Yeah. And I'm like, well, he answered the phone. I know he's fine.

I mean, he's not, literally, he's not getting his leg amputated. Yeah, but what was he was driving or in the middle of making dinner or just answering the doorbell? Then he wouldn't answer the phone. No, people do that. They're like, oh, I'm getting the door right now. Hang on. So when you answer the phone with me, you are acknowledging we're getting busy right there. There's no time to waste.

You don't get, by the way, you don't mess around on email. You don't like on email. You don't, how are you? return email. Cool. Super duper. How are you? You don't write what's up? Long time, no talk, none of that stuff? No. Hey. First of all, you know it's me because I'm sending you the email. You see the header. So I get right to the business. And maybe that's why I people don't like me. That's why. I mean, this is why people don't return because I'm very brusk and very, very to the point. I don't like small talk. So I, you know, for the podcast, I reach out to guests to see if they want to come on. And someone reached out to a pretty famous person and they called me instantly and like we're one of you were got to the point right out of the way get i was like no hi how are you and none of that stuff is just like hey so uh

right into it and that throws me off a little bit i need the hey how are you so the other day j jay watt texting me for something yeah should i have waited to not look thirsty yeah give it some thought come back with so anytime somebody important hits you up about something i want to have some juice some kernel to offer them that's cool maybe they have hadn't heard. So I'll give it some thought, give it some time, and let something bake and marinate in my head. Jay J.J. Watts. He probably sent out 30 texts. I'm going to sit there and play hard to get. I'm like, hey, JJ, what's up? Well, well, I'm going to waste his time. All right. So when I call you, you're like, I see Collins calling. I'm a fourth ring kind of guy.

I was just waded out. Is this happening in America? Is everybody doing this? Like 200 million people out of the 300. So I'm the only person that literally doesn't like small talk and literally waits to pick the phone up. Probably. Wow. You are, I mean, you're. I see the phone ring, I pick it up. Instantly.

First ring. Why would I wait? Do you listen to voicemails? I've never listened to a voicemail in my life. I don't even, I don't, do you leave voicemails? No. No, because everybody has caller ID. They know you called.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I'm with you on that. Yeah, I don't do that. This whole thing is set me off. I, you know what? I know I'm kind of lactose intolerant. intolerant. I'm also happy talk intolerant. I'm not capable of making small talk. But isn't that kind of selfish of me? You're not capable of small talk? All you do during the commercials with us is small talk.

But it's not small talk. It's big talk. We talk about business. Can we do the question that I asked you during the break? Yeah. Okay. So I went up to Colin. I said, Colin, you know, Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sejax leaving. If they came to you and said, Colin, do you want to host one day? We're doing celebrity guest host week. Would you do one? And you said, no. It's not my skill set. Flavagastered. Now, Bill Moore called me because I like politics and said, would you fill in on Club Random, his podcast? I say, sure, I'll do that. So you're not a Wheel of Fortune fan? No, no, no, no. I think Pat Sejax's remarkable. I think the show deserves all its credit. It's not what I do. I'm not desperate. Years ago, I worked at another company, and I don't know what happened to them.

And four letters. And one of the guys came up and they said, hey, I want to put you on a college. football game. And I said, Sean McDermott was the play-by-play guy. I forget who the number two was. McDona. McDonough. Sean McDonough. I'm sorry. Sean McDonough. And I said, well, I don't want to get in the way of Sean McDonough. And so they put me on a game. It was Washington and Syracuse. And it was fun, but I didn't understand why I was on it. And they're like, well, we want to introduce you to people. We think you love college football. I said yes and yes, but this is not the place for it. So I got in the way of the broadcast. Now, I mean, McDonough is great. He made it. He makes everything work. but the point, you know, it may have been in blackledge, him, but I felt like I'm just in the way of these guys.

Is it a quarter or the whole game? No, it was the whole game. Wow. And by the way, it was fun. But my takeaway was it wasn't built for me. Why am I doing this? Don't get in the way of Sean McDonough and Todd Blacklidge. Like they need a knucklehead like me in a game.

Feels like when Kornheiser tried to do Monday night football. Well, I don't doubt. Hey, Tony got a bunch of money and I thought he got better and better. But it was, it didn't. I guess what I'm saying. saying is I know where I work and I know where I don't. And at this point in my career, I don't need to be where I don't belong. I'm fine. How do you know you don't belong there? I know what I do you know. But if you haven't been there, how do you know? Because I know.

I've been in the business for 30 years. I know what I can do well and what I'm average. I haven't been in the business as long. Yeah. For you, you should take more chances. Yeah. So if they called me and said, Jason, uh, Vikings Jets game, can you pop in for a quarter? I mean, I would abandon my family in a heartbeat. And I'd be like, guys, I'm out. This would be the most fun thing ever. You want to energize the broad? Like, I just think that would be exciting. Don't you like new experiences? Yes. I love them, not with my career. Oh. Yeah. Like, I know things I do well and I know and I took me a while to figure it out. But I, you know, when I started, I thought I was a journalist and a play-by-play guy and I could do opinion. And then I realized what I do very well and contextualize sports and

what I don't care about. How do you, what do you do well with the Bill Marthing? I can do some politics. I can interview. I can be funny. I can be quick. You can write. I've had work with writers before. I could do an, I mean, again, if I, I could fill in for somebody like that. But I, but I, that show, now, would I be as good as Bill? Of course not. Bill's great. I'm saying is that kind of show, I pitched it to ESPN, eight minute opening monologue with a dozen comedy writers, funny interview, do some sort of culture, political stuff. I could, you know. That sounds like a cool show. No, I could, that kind of thing I could do. I think I could, I think I would be better at it than people think, but on a game show, I'm not a game show guy. That's just not me.

I don't do silly well. I don't do pithy well. I can't fake it. Like the job I could never do is like Jimmy Kimmel does great at this. Jimmy's so likable that he tolerates, you know, transparent, fake Hollywood people smiles and laughs at their jokes. I could never do that. Yeah. I would literally be on the set and be like, I'm not going to watch anything you you're not that funny you're not that interesting and uh get me christian bail or i'm off the network but but there is an art to faking interest for all these late night hosts you have to fake that you jimmy phallon has to pretend that was hysterical very little is hysterical yeah so i don't know why we're rambling about this it all came down and nobody calls and text me back it's very discouraging

you work your whole life that you want to be impactful i don't want to be josh hart i want to be de-earn fox. I want to be I want to be Marcus smart and I get nobody calls me back. Yeah. Very sad.

Stuff. That's what my life's been reduced to. Have you done the double call where you'll call somebody they don't call you back and then the next day you call them again? Yeah, of course.

Okay. Somebody called me they wanted to talk to me. That's real thirst. I think it's respectful if somebody calls or text to get right back to them. I just respect, you know, I know that it bothers me if I call you and you don't call me back.

I wouldn't, I would never waste your time. I don't call you. If I don't call you, it's because I've got a nugget. I want you to know. You're the guy who doesn't do meetings unless it's actionable. Oh, I'm going to tell you something. I, the last thing in the world I would ever want to do, you couldn't pay me to be the president of Fox Sports. Eric Shanks is in meetings all day. Grab a fork and jam it in my retina. There's nothing. I want to do less than meetings. And listen to your department's problems. Oh, my God. The patient.

people have? Yeah. You don't have patience, huh? Well, just for meetings. We have a staff meeting every morning, but we're creating content. So we're moving the football. We're moving forward. We're creating stuff.

We're just not listening to, well, we've got a budget issue. I can't do it. Okay. Wow. It's like solid 11 minutes of randomness. I like it. I don't know how solid it was, but. See, this is what it would be, Tom Breducci's next.

If we just did radio, this is what it is. Just a, it's club random. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 I'm 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 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 J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 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 for. 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. The two writers who have covered baseball in my life on a daily basis that take me to places, make me think about stuff more than any other, Peter Gammons and Tom Verducci. We love having Tom on, four-time Emmy winner, Fox Sports Baseball analyst covered the sport for more than 30 years, which is impossible because he looks 32 years old. He must have covered it when he was an infant. Okay, let's start with this. I watched some Yankees last night and the Mets.

And the Mets last year were fun, but as the course extended, they didn't have enough sticks. It was Pete Alonzo and a lot of nothing, right? So they go spend money, and they're still struggling. And Buck Showalter was a genius last year. Now it's nothing but grumbling. He looked, he looked exhausted as I've watched him over the last. couple weeks. What is wrong with the Mets? Because payroll to wins and momentum, it's not working. What's the issue? Yeah, to me, you mentioned the payroll. That's why the Mets are the most

disappointing team in baseball. To be almost 40% of the way through the season, and they're what, five, six games under 500? The biggest thing, among many problems, but I think the biggest thing, Colin, is their starting pitching. This team is built to win on starting pitching. The investments in Scherzer and Verlander. The offense, I think they knew wasn't going to be an offense. that's going to slug a lot, it should be better than it is. But there's not a lot of slug in the lineup. There's not a lot of left-headed power. But getting back to the pitching here, it just has not been as good as the Mets expected.

And it's interesting, Colin, when you look around the game and the new rule changes with the pitch timer, you know, the bases that encourage more stolen bases, the lack of shifts on defense, all those things are designed to play up speed and athleticism. The Mets are not that kind of team. Yeah. If you look at the teams that have really popped this year, whether it's Baltimore, whether it's Arizona, whether it's Tampa Bay, younger, speedier, more athletic, older teams, Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets, Padres, haven't adjusted to the new game as much.

So I think kind of a combination of just the pitching hasn't been good enough and some of the new rules, that this is not a, it's not a very good team right now. I'm not sure how they pull out of it because their pitching is older. You can't run Verlander and Scherzer out there every fifth day. They need recovery days. Senga, same thing. He's transitioning from Japan. He pitched once a week there.

He can't pitch every fifth day. And they just don't have any young pitchers coming up to really provide depth. So listen, the Yankees have a certain standards, and they haven't won a World Series in a while, so people grumble. But that doesn't mean fans are wrong. And I saw, I was, I don't even know whose Twitter feed I was reading, but a Yankee fan brought up a good point on social media. And it really made me think. He said, when's the last time the Yankees drafted and devised? developed a high-end starting pitcher.

And I was sitting there on Twitter and I'm thinking, I'm not going to Google this. I'm just going to guess. And I asked you during the break and you nailed it, Andy Petit. But so when I think of that, I see the Braves develop. I see the Dodgers. Walker Bueller got hurt, but he was very good. I've seen, I've seen a lot of teams do this. Is it a fair critique of the Yankees?

Is that with the excess money, they've been sloppy? impatient and have not developed enough of their own great pitching. Well, I don't know about sloppy, but definitely impatient. So when you want to fold in some young pitching, you have to be patient sometimes. Guys don't hit right away. Like Clark Schmidt could be a good major league pitcher. He's not there yet. But as you know, it's always win now in the Yankee universe.

But you know, you mentioned that Braves and the Dodgers, I think those are good examples, Colin, because the Yankee defense is, hey, we're not drafting at the top of the draft every year. Well, near are the Dodgers and the Braves, and they just seem to have an assembly line of young pitchers coming up to do well. So, you know, they've done well with Severino on the international market. He's an impact pitcher when he's been healthy. But, yeah, I think it's a fair criticism that they haven't been able to pop those real, even the number two or three starter that's homegrown out of the draft. So the surprise, as I looked at the standings, the other day, J. Mack and I were talking about the standings. Why is Arizona good?

I mean, now the Padre spent money. The Dodgers spend money. Why is Arizona so viable? Corbyn Carroll is just an amazing impact player right out of the gate here. He's probably going to be the National League rookie of the year. He's the runaway leader at this point. He's a difference maker. A speed player with a lot more power than some people thought. He's just a joy to watch. When he gets on base, it's just exciting. He's an extra base machine. He's got kind of an old school swing where he puts the ball. ball and play, runs things down in center field. A lot of energy. When you watch Arizona play, Colin, that's the word that fits them. A lot of energy, they put the ball in play. They don't strike out a lot. And the biggest difference, kind of an inside baseball here, is their bullpen.

They had a historically bad bullpen the last couple of years. They didn't spend a lot of money, Colin. Guys like Miguel Castro have stepped in, Andrew Chaffin. They're not big-time names, but they've popped a lot of bullpen guys now. So that's been a difference between last year's diamondbacks who gave away a lot of games late. And this year, where they're holding on to the wins they should have. So Mike Troutes in a slump, Angel's still okay. Otani, many believe the Dodgers pulled back a little on salary this year.

They let a couple guys go. Kershaw one-year deal. They're going to go get a Tani. When I look at the Dodgers, I feel like Kershaw still, it's amazing to me that Kershaw is still good. Like he's still, the dude has been, it's forever. You know, it's funny because the comps to him initially were Kofax, who was brilliant briefly. Kershaw is just good seemingly forever, like Verlander, just keeps churning out. But when you look at the Dodgers, they pulled back a little this year.

Again, keep money in the coffers for Otani. Are they a championship level team in the bullpen starting pitching? Not there yet, Colin. This is going to be a grind for the Dodgers. It's going to be a fight to the finish with Arizona. I truly believe that. Neither team is going to run away. The Dodgers have the better schedule at the end of the year if you want to look that far down the line.

But part of it, yes, you're right, was pulling back on the payroll, make sure there's room for Otani. They've wanted to sign Shoah since he was in high school. And they thought they actually had him coming out of high school. But obviously he chose to stay there in Japan and play professionally for a while. But the Dodgers have a lot of young players that are folding into the mix here. And if you've seen Bobby Miller pitched the last few starts for the Dodgers, he can be an impact pitcher. They really need Julio O'Reyes to get back off the IL. He's been out a little bit longer than they thought with the hamstring.

But they're kind of mixing and matching and figuring out how the bullpen works, whether Miller is going to be that guy for the rest of the year, the rotation, to solidify things. So it's a work in progress is the best way to put it. Talent level is still enormous. I still think this team is going to be at a championship level, but they're still figuring out who they are as a team. I wouldn't bet against them.

One thing to keep in mind, Colin, with so many teams in the race this year, there's going to be a small inventory of difference makers on the trade market. So I think a lot of your answers might have to come from the minor leagues. Because there's not going to be a lot out there, and the prices are going to be really, really high next month. Finally, Tom Broducci joining us. So I sat next to a minor league GM before the season started for, what did I tell you that was, Jay Mack? It was the squirrels. It was like the Richmond squirrels or something. A very interesting guy.

And we talked about minor league baseball had used the pitch clock. And he said it speeds us up 15 minutes a game. Well, baseball, I think the average game is like 235. It's sped it up like 25 minutes a game, which is kind of surprising to me, Tom, because I thought there'd be a lot of pushback. But I haven't seen players pushing back. So explain to me, are you surprised that guys have

kind of embraced it. I am really surprised, especially I thought there'd be a transition. You know, if you think back to when they changed the no collision rule at home plate or the slide rule at second base, there was like a month or two, a player is just carping about the, oh, I can't play this way. I thought the same thing was going to happen with the pitch timer. And it hasn't happened. Now, they did have spring training to sort of get used to it, but we all, that's the dress

rehearsal. That's not, you know, under the Broadway lights. But in real time, I think they've really grown to love. it very quickly. I think a big part of it is there's the recovery time for players. They're on their feet, you know, a half hour less per night times 162 games a year. So as a fan, you got to love it. I think it's the best thing to happen since, you know those soft serve ice cream and a plastic souvenir batting cup at the ballpark? Whoever came up with that should be in the Hall of Fame. I think it's the best thing to happen since then. That's a good point. Everybody likes that.

Tom Verducci, Fox Sports, co-authored with Joe Torre, the New York Time bestseller of the Yankee Years. Listen to the book of Joe IHeart podcast with Joe Madden and Tom Verducci as always my friend. He says he's covered baseball more than 30 years. I'm going to ask this. I don't care if it's embarrassing. How old are you? How old are you? It's actually been, this is, I can remember right, 41 years covering.

So I'm 62 now. You're not 62 years old. You're 62 years old. I am. I'll be 63. that is the most discouraging thing I've ever heard. I am, look, I can never, look at Tom Verducci. You and Bob Costas, it's just discouraging. You never age.

Tom, it's great seeing you. Hey man, always a pleasure. Enjoyed it. All right. So good at what he does, Tom Verducci. That guy he's got, he'll write one or two, those opus columns. Like once a year, twice a year, he'll write a column that literally jars the way you think about baseball. He really kind of changes sometimes.

the way you think. It's a great point. Because I thought baseball players would totally push back. Minor league guys, what are you going to say? So I thought, you know, they'd fight with it. But that's a great point. If I know in the summer, I'm off my feet for 30 minutes, I get back to the hotel. I can make a late dinner reservation.

I get back to the hotel at 9, not 945. It's like, yeah, that's right. Interesting. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the her. Third line news.

Do you think I embarrassed him by asking his age? Yeah, I would not appreciate that question. It was a little out of balance by you. But you don't, you look your age. I'm not telling you my age. Not that it really happens. You look kind of young. Anyway, so, O'Dell Beckham has returned to the NFL field for the first time in 16 months.

Complete his first practice with the Ravens, marking his return from a torn ACL. Remember he had that in the Super Bowl. Yesterday after practice, Odell talked about his first practice with Baltimore. It feels good to be able to get out of bed and not feel. you know, pain. It feels good to feel like if I need to take off running right now, I could take off running. You know, it's been a long journey. How do you think he's going to be?

How about 64 catches and six touchdowns? If he was that, would you be happy with it? I would. Extremely. Yeah, you've got to take that. Give me 65 catches, six touchdowns. Because they have a deep receiving group. They got Andrews the tight end.

The real question is how much. will the OC want to throw versus the last guy who was primarily run first? And if you're reading some stuff coming out of Baltimore, it's like this is going to be a pass-happy offense. If you are in Vegas this weekend, you want to put some bucks on Lamar to win the MVP, might not be the worst bet in the world. I don't think he's...

Are you going to Vegas this weekend? I'm not. Do you go to Vegas before the NFL season? I do, and I enter a high-stakes gambling contest. Oh, that's the Hilton one? It's not Hilton, but it's one of those. And you enter it? I do.

I've been fringe, money twice. Now, meaning you almost got money. Almost cashed. Yeah, it's, it's like, I cashed that, and then the next day I handed my resignation here. No, I'm not as a joke. She doesn't know the buy-in. You wouldn't quit if you won Powerball. I love sport. Excuse me? Would you quit if you won Powerball? I don't know. I don't think I would. I like this. I mean, I have to dial back the hours. Maybe I can do this for my home. Oh, yeah, because it's so heavy lifting now. You're barely here. The staff makes fun of him. He's barely here now. I'm missing my kids beach day today, second and last day of school, so they go to the beach.

Nor nearly I'd be there with the dads. Maybe having a white claw at like 11 a.m. You drink those things? Occasionally. You're not a white claw guy? I'm in my 50s. So? Well, I mean, it's a very, it's a college 20-year-old drink. I mean, it's very popular.

Low calories. I've had kids in my family, yeah. I'm a kid at heart. Next up. Let's go to Victor Wonder. Wembe Nama, he will be in the green room for the draft next Thursday. God, look at those moves. I can't get enough of Wembenyama.

His highlights are insane. So is he going to, like, is he going to jam like this on Yokic and company? Like, I cannot wait to see him. No, he's going to score, though. That part is he's going to score 20 a game very quick, maybe year two. You're not going to stop him from scoring. The question is, is he going to get bullied? Can he defend?

I mean, he's going to, he's going to block some shots and he's going to score. but he doesn't have and by the way again European player so he's played against older guys I think he's going to be very good very quickly but I do think he'll get

I think guys will test him oh yeah everybody's going to want to dunk on him yeah I do I wish we had seen Chet Holmgren last year just to see what the body type does against the

Wemnon Yama is a better prospect certainly but body frame wise they're similar their toothpicks I mean I'll never forget your rant I was a young blogger at the time about Kevin Durant could not bench press at the, remember that the NBA Combine?

Well, I was right. You were right. But I was wrong on that he was going to be great. But I was right, and he couldn't bench for him. He couldn't. He wasn't strong enough. He came into the league and was a jump shooter. Wembeiyama, like, I just, I'm curious if this stuff works.

Yes, it's going to work. It's going to work. But instantly, is he going to come in and be doing this stuff to NBA guys? He will score. Remember, Zion was scoring, like, at a wilt level. Zion has had probably like 90 pounds on him, dude. Yeah, but it was much shorter, wasn't as long. Wasn't as gifted.

Couldn't shoot a jumper like this. Let's say PJ Tucker is assigned to Wembeiyama. Do not let him in the post. Can Wembe Niamma back him down or can he just go over him with that? P.J. Tucker is not going to be assigned to Wembeni Miam. He guards NBA centers. What are you talking about? You're not guarding Wemba.

I don't think so. I'm fascinated. By the way, will the NBA put Wemba Niyama opening night island game and against two? Because I will definitely, you have to watch that. Can you put him up against like? the Lakers or the Knicks? It's got to be a marquee franchise that's going to drop. I'm actually excited for what the Knicks do this offseason.

Because I think they finally, for the first time and forever, found a legitimate franchise guy. I'm not talking Mello can score. I'm talking about a facilitator of others and himself. Jaylon Brunson now has as many playoff series wins in New York as Carmelo and ended. Yeah, thank you. I think we both agree on it. So Wembe DiMas in the green room, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson,

a bunch of guys, a kid from Michigan. a couple guys from Duke. Pretty decent list. The Thompson Twins. How many of those guys will be impactful in the NBA? What kind of time frame are you given? Because a lot of these guys are like 19 years old.

Ever. Ever? Victor and Scoot will be. I think Brandon Miller will be a nice player. I'm not sure it'll be impactful. He'll be a nice player. So is all NBA the barrier? Because if it's all NBA, that's harder than impactful.

Well, if you're all NBA, you're impactful. Yes, obviously. Carl Anthony Towns. Keep an eye on this kid, Taylor Hendrix. He's very hit. Explosive. I know nobody knows about him. He wasn't even great.

UCF. The guy is... And a lot of these guys... What do we know about Kobe Buffkin? A kid out of Michigan. Good. Upside. A lot of these guys are like 19.

Why know? They're kids. They're high school superstars. Then they go to college and they have to fit in a role and they're only like a 14-point-of-game guy. So is he that good? But a lot of these Kentucky guys. Sheigilders-Hallikinder, Kentucky.

Devin Booker. Jamal Murray. They didn't... They weren't superstars at Kentucky. And five years later, they're impact players in the league. Well, they only stay at Kentucky for, you know. True. And they're not getting the shots.

Anyway, Kaysan Wallace is Kentucky guys. Final story. Here we go. We talked about this during the break earlier. ESPN's Jonathan Gavoni is reporting. The Warriors are pursuing a trade of, wait for it, Jonathan Cumminga. You're not playing him. Why not?

In exchange for a high draft pick. Golden State picked Cumminga seventh overall. In 2021, he barely played in the playoffs. Now, Colin, Bob Myers was the GM when he drafted Wiseman and Coominga. Bob Myers clearly whiffed on Wiseman. And this, to me, is an omission today. The Wiseman draft was not good. There were like three dudes in that draft.

It's been four years, right? Well, I mean, I'll look it up. That draft was not a good. That was like a three-player draft, wasn't it? That was, I think, the COVID draft. I'll look it up. But, like, Cumminga is a very twitchy, six-sexual. 2-20-ish can defend very vertical.

I don't think he works in their Steph's system. So what I've been told about Golden State is everybody on the roster next year is on Steph's timeline. If you can't play now with Steph, you can't play the style intellectually. If you don't work with Steph, you don't work. And I think Kaming is a weird fit. I think he's, they just didn't trust him in the postseason. Is he a weird fit or is he just not fitting their timeline? He's not fitting their timeline.

They thought that they would be able to transition from these superstars to the young guys that would be seamless. And that ain't working. What they're telling you is, we're going to move him not for a player, for a draft pick. So they want youth, but what they're looking for is a different kind of player. Maybe they're looking for more size. Or do they want to package said draft pick? What can you get for Cominga? Like 15 maybe?

I don't know. Higher? You're not getting a top 10 pick for Jonathan Cominga. So let's say you get 12. Can you then package Jordan Poole plus the 12th pick and parlay that into something that's going to help immediately? Because to me, it's like we're out with Wiseman. Cominga's gone. Next Dominoa Falls, Jordan Poole.

If I'm Golden State, I don't want a draft pick. Young guys don't work in this system. Christian Brown just won a title with Denver as like the seventh guy. That's a different system. This Steph, Clay, Drayman, Loney, took Loney years. to find his space here. It just, it's hard. You know Marcus Thompson, who covers the word.

You've got to get it on because I'm wondering if internally the young guys are just crestfallen that they're not playing. And the old guys are like, sorry, y'all ain't ready yet. Instead of welcoming them in and making the mess. Well, Moses Moody played, and I think he's getting minutes, and Jordan Poole is playing. So they'll let you play, but you've got to be the right guy. Do they like Jordan Poole if? Dremont their leader punched him out?

I think they like, I mean, you better, you can't give that dude away. That's the problem. Like, it's just not happening. And anyway, you mentioned the Wiseman draft. Anthony Edwards went one. He's impactful. Yeah. Then it was Wiseman.

Mulelema. Well, three. Good player. Wiseman. Who else? Wiseman, too. A lot of non-factors. Tyrese Halliburton.

Yeah, nice player. Impactful? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, nice player. Sadiq Bay. I like him a lot more than a lot of other people. He would not qualify as impactful. So the whole draft. Tyrese, you love him.

Come on. I think Tyrese Maxie is ascending. Yes, I do like him. Quickly with the Knicks. Desmond Bain. Yeah, he's a nice player. Second or third best player on Memphis, man. He's a nice player.

Impactful. It's only been three years. Tough to be impactful right out of the gate. I mean, not everybody can be me on this. You used to have a radio only, right? So, that's a joke. J. Mack, with the news. Well, that's the news.

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Just messing around. Jay Mack, the season's over in the NBA. Let's hand out some superlatives. Best of, most this, least that. Let's hand out our end of the NBA. season superlatives. All right. We'll start with which player do you consider the regular season MVP? Yokic, everything scoring rebounds points, only player in league history to lead in all three of those points rebound assists in a single postseason. I've never understood given the

MVP before the playoffs. I mean, if you're really an MVP candidate, you have to make the playoffs, so everybody's going to be in. But I thought Yokic really separated from the league. I thought Yokic really separate from the league this year. This is a weird one. Which coach will have the most success with their new team? I think it's Frank Vogel. Remember, the sons were 8 and 0 when KD started and 6 and 5 in the playoffs. He's won 57% of his games as a Laker.

He always did well in Indiana. And here's the other thing. What he'll do if they get Chris Paul to sign at a lower number, he'll make DeAndre 8 and the best he can be. That's a pretty good basketball. team a full season of KD. I would have gone Nick Nurse. But nevertheless, which NBA team surprised you the most this season?

Denver. I just thought they were young. Let me see you do something. But they beat the sons, Katie and Booker, Lakers, LeBron A.D. Did a good job of shrinking Jimmy Butler, not bam. But I think we have to admit, nobody saw them going 16 and 4 and vanquishing the entire league. Vanquished. Today's like SAT vocabulary.

Vanquished. Between your son beating you and chess. this show. Which team is most likely to improve next season? Keep your eye in Oklahoma City. Chew Hongren will be healthy. Another draft. Youngest roster in the league at 23. SGA's 24, averaged over 30. So my guess is that a lot of energy, they were surprisingly good this year and they get homegrown back. That's a good point. Which player is most likely to change teams next season? I think Dame, I mean, you know, he's only 32 and has said the heat in the nets work. Do you know he averaged over 30 this year?

He's a scoring this year. I didn't know that until I looked it up. He had a hell of a year. He had a 60-point game, 62 maybe? I didn't. I thought, I don't follow like night-to-night averages. He had a big year. Which player needs to focus more next season?

Class clown? John Moran. Oh, okay. Come on. I mean, in the end, after being suspended eight games, like you'd shake you a little bit. Now, I don't think he has the great support. system, so some of this is the people around him, could help him as a kid.

His dad? Yeah, among others. Which team turned heads this year, but is it quite a contender? The flirt, biggest flirt? Oh, I like that. 76ers. You got the MVP, first ballot hall up, Famer Hardin, ascending player in Maxie. Now you're going to have your third coach for Joel Embed.

They're always blaming the coach. They've got good players. They can't win a second series. How did Doc Rivers gag game six at home? Oh, come on. It would be nice if Embed was elevating somebody else. He doesn't do that. They're a flirt.

Yeah. I think this is Drama King. Which player caused the most drama in the NBA this season? Well, it's a player that's still really good, Kyrie Irving. Oh. I mean, Kyrie Irving is average 25 plus points a game for straight years. So the reason there's so much drama is there's interest. How many guys in this league can get you a bucket?

Either hand. I mean, as much as I bang on, Kyrie, it's a spectacular talent. Best NBA duo this season. Well, I don't think we knew it until late, but I think Yokic and Murray, I would have guessed going into the playoffs, it would have been Booker and KD. But they averaged 56 points a game in the finals behind only Shaq and Kobe and KD and staff. So it's like, and they were playmakers. So it wasn't just the points. So, I mean, they're really

pretty remarkable what they did. If you add their assist to it, like they, that's a lot of points between those two. Which player was the most fun to watch this year? I will tell you. Oh, here we go. Deere and Fox is really a good watch. He was the best fourth quarter score in the league.

They had the number one offense at 121 a game and he was their leading score. I remember they were given the Warriors' fits and he heard his hand. Yeah. So I got to be honest We knew he was good Like he popped this year

Was Zion runner up? When he plays He did not Which playoff team is least likely To make the postseason next year Well I hate to say it because I like so much about him But the Clippers And here's a fact

There were 11 and 22 without Kauai And 13 and 18 without Paul George So they can't win Without their stars And their stars simply aren't available enough I mean, Kauai now is a 50-game of year guy. Maybe. Maybe.

That's what he is. He won't play back to bat. Which player improved the most during the 2023 season? It has to be Jalen Brunson. Did you know he was that good? 24 points a game? I mean, you knew he could play. That's why when I look at Luca, I'm like, is Luca suffocating teammates?

Like Porzinius had a pretty good year. Brunson was insane. You know, you and I believe this, and we may be the only two people on the planet that believe this, that Jalen Brunson will be a better star for the Knicks than Mello. Yeah. I totally believe it. I don't think that's a hot take. It's not a hot take.

There's two people on the planet that believe it, you and I. Nick fans will defend Carmelo. It's like, you can't tell me you're a sophisticated basketball fan, and you bought into that Mello thing. Was he ever a leader? And again, really, we know he's a talent. Was he a leader on the Knicks? No defensive effort.

Jeremy Lynn pops and he's salty. I know it's not like I'm bashing and I'm a hater. I'm not. The guy went to Syracuse. Syracuse was my favorite basketball team growing up, college youth when I was a young kid in Biggie's country. And I love Mello at Syracuse. I liked him in the NBA.

He got to my team and I didn't see it. I know. I always, for years and years, people were always like, I can't, you know, because when I worked at ESPN, you live back there. Everybody that goes to ESPN, half the place is from Syracuse. And I'm like, if you score, 29 and give up 24, what do you want from me? You got to defend people on the other end.

You have to at least be a willing defender. You have to be great. You got to try. Steph is a willing defender. Luka, not really a willing defender. Not yet, but skinny Luca will see. Yeah. Yes, boy, he is. He's losing weight. So the draft is next Thursday. Yeah, wait, last question. Do you think Luca's on OZempec? You know what that is, right? I think that would be likely. I know a lot of people doing Ozempec right now. A lot. What do you mean?

I'm not. Guys, yeah. You want to lose 10 pounds? Just do that quickly. I don't know that it's safe. I'm not going to advocate. I know a lot of dudes doing it. So where do you get it?

You want to get it? Not really. Where do you get Osempe? It's not healthy not to eat. You should eat. This just, yeah, anyways. We can't eat blueberries and, a peanut. Some people can. Some of our ancestors did way back. They just had blueberries

and they lived to be 34 years old. You should probably eat an occasional baked potato. Mix it. So, oh, Zempack is what everybody's trying. Well, I don't know everybody. I know some people are doing it to lose weight. So I'm wondering if Lucas do it because he's shedding some pounds. Oh, no, it looked like. Maybe Zion, hey. Zion, get, dude, he's got to lose some weight, man. You just see him at the baby reveal thing? No. Well, what was it? I mean, it looked like he just walked out like a steakhouse. He's ballooned up, man. I'm worried about Zion. I was

such a big defender of him. Well, I like his game. He's just big. It remember, he doesn't remind me this player. Oliver Miller was a guy that struggled. Oh, he ate his way out of the MDA. Yeah, he was a really nice talent. Arkansas, I believe. Yeah, yeah. The big O? Yeah, no, he's a really good player. And he just some guys, you know, it's, you know, it's food's good. It's a reason I Eat all day. Yeah. Hey, what are you doing for Father's Day?

Anything special? I'll be with my wife. My kids want nothing to do with me. That's harsh. No, I'll be with my wife having breakfast in Park City. Oh, wow. Ski? Maybe you ride a horse.

Oh, there's no. I put the cowboy hat. I want to go to Utah. Oh, geez. I'm like Costner and Yellowstone. I am running the ranch, baby. Running the ranch. I'll see you tomorrow.

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. 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. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Cliford Show

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