The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Zion Williamson, NBA injuries, Raiders, NFL rules, and Conor McGregor

Episode Date: March 26, 2019

Colin talks about why Duke F Zion Williamson would already be a top 20 player in the NBA, the gruesome reality of NBA injuries, the personalty of Oakland Raiders HC Jon Gruden, the retirement of UFC fighter Conor McGregor, and why certain NFL rules don't need to be changed. Guests include Chris Broussard and Reggie Bush. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played. with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Michelle McPhee,

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Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on a Tuesday loaded show. This is The HARD, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. So many good football stories today. So many good stories today. Joy Taylor is joining me.

Chris Broussard later this hour. Joy, how are you? Great. Good morning. Good morning. You know, here's the way it works. I was with my daughter this weekend. college. And when you're young, you have so much growth, right? I mean, you're just figuring out

the world. And it's the same for athletes. Tom Brady, you know, when Tom Brady's 22 years old, to Tom Brady being 26 years old, he improves a lot. But by the time Tom Brady was about 33 years old, this is now what he is. Drew Breeze is not improving. Same with LeBron James. He came into the NBA, and LeBron, by about his seventh or eighth year in the NBA, you can make granular. changes to your low post game. But it's established. Your ability to grow massively is over. So yesterday

Paul Pierce, a broadcaster, came out and he goes, ready for my hot take. By the way, sportscasters, stop worrying about if you have a hot take. Have an opinion, three hours to fill. Our comments don't matter anyway. We're just sportscasters. He says, Zion Williamson is already a top 50 current basketball player in the world, Paul Pierce.

Folks, that's not even a spicy take. That's not even a tempid take. That's baby food. Top 50, of course he's a top 50 player. The question is, is he a top 20 basketball player in the world? Okay, all you need to know is this. USA Today, before the season started, came out with a list. They came out with a list of the top 50 NBA players.

Gordon Hayward was 31 and Brandon Ingram was 33. Stephen Adams, T.J. Warren, Kyle Lowry, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green. You don't think NBA teams tomorrow would trade those players for Zion? I mean, you really think today, Gordon Hayward, Zion Williamson, who's better? Really? Zion Williamson is 285 pounds. Gordon Hayward could play with dumbbells in his shorts.

he's a super quick, super athletic, 285 pounds. By the way, you keep telling me he's overweight. I've never seen a guy in my life carry 285 pounds at 6-6 and look that ripped. This is an all-time talent. USA Today's top 50 list. There are guys on that list I wouldn't want if you gave them to me. This kid's averaging 22 and a half points and eight rebounds this year. Less than 13 shots.

Under 30 minutes a game in a strict college system with lots of mouse to feed at Duke. He's also, like I said, with LeBron or Tom Brady or Drew Breeze, he is massively improving month to month. Do you know what he's averaging since he got hurt? 28 points, 9 rebounds, and shooting 70% from the floor. In this one season alone, and college basketball seasons are short, they're like 40 games, he's already a different player from pre-injury to post-injury. He's giving you 30 a game now under 30 minutes, shooting 70%. He's shooting 47% on threes since he got hurt.

Top 50 player, Toronto Raptors tomorrow could trade Kyle Lowry for Zion. Are you kidding me? They couldn't pick up the phone fast enough. And Kyle Lowry's a nice player. He was one of the USA Today's top. 50 players. Folks, when you're seeing a young player like this, for the next four to five years, Zion Williamson, like Tiger Woods when he was 17, is going to make massive jumps.

LeBron James, year one to year four in the NBA, made a massive jump. He went from a bad defender to an excellent one. He went from couldn't shoot a three to starting to be able to hit a three. Zion Williamson within this season has gone from a 22 point-of-game guy who couldn't really shoot to a 29-point-a-game guy, 13 shots a game, who's shooting 70% from the floor. Here's the night. So I started listing players this morning. Here's who he will not be better than next year.

And for the record, my gut feeling is he's going to be better than most of these guys in three years. but he will not be as good as LeBron, James Harden, Paul George, Kauai Leonard, Joel M. Bede, Steph Curry, Janice, Kevin Durant, Damian Liller, Devin, Bevan Booker, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul, Luca Dantich, Nicola Yokic, Denver, Kyrie Irving, Clay Thompson, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker. He will not be better than those players next year. That's 19.

That's it. I know he won't be as good as those players. after that, you're giving me a lot of guys, Draymond Green, really? Have you watched Draymond play this year? Kind of peaked, right? This kid is getting better. He would be, I looked this morning,

the best player on 14 NBA teams. I could argue 17, I'll say 14. And he, like Tiger Woods when he was a teenager, is making these incredible leaps every six months. This is an all-timer. Folks, when the college basketball season started, legitimate people were arguing R.J. Barrett was a better player. Legitimate people.

I talked to scouts. They're like, oh, no, no, no, he's number one. And so Paul Pierce saying top 50 player, Paul, bruh, that is not a hot take. That's not even a spicy take. He's absolutely one of the top 50 players in the world. For the record, look it up. When LeBron James out of high school did not play college, walked into the NBA, go back to the top 50 reported players in the NBA that year.

LeBron out of high school was one of the 50 best players. Do you remember LeBron James' first game in the NBA? I do. 20 points, eight rebounds. LeBron was one of the 50 best basketball players in the world as a high schooler. Basketball is not football where you have to redshirt and you have to get big and you have to get strong and you have to memorize a playbook. Basketball is in baseball where even if you're a great high school player, ooh, can you hit a 96 mile an hour slider? Like basketball, you get great fast and there are gifts.

Janice's length. He's been that long for a long time. Zion Williamson is 285 pounds, great passer, excellent touch, absurdly transcendent speed for his size. Top 50, obviously. All right. Camera back on me, I don't like those gruesome injuries. I don't like watching them. I've never seen outside of the first time I saw it, Joe Thaisman's injury.

We've had multiple injuries in basketball and football last couple of years. I won't watch. I believe for the context of the story I'm going to tell, I'm going to show something, not yet, one time. That's it. There was a gruesome injury last night to the center for the Portland Trailblazers, Nurkich. He's a great player. And it was a gruesome injury, and I'm going to show it if you don't want to watch it, because I'm not going to watch it. I don't know if Joy is going to watch it.

I don't know if John and Greg are going to watch it. I am not going to watch it. I have already seen it, so I'm not going to watch it again. Okay. So I'm going to turn away, roll the tape one time. It's gruesome. I'm not going to watch it. And then we're not going to show it again.

For anybody in my ear in the control room, tell me it's on. It's on. He's jumping up. No. Okay. You're good. Okay. You can watch our show again.

For you people on radio, congratulations. You didn't have to endure that. Okay. here's what's so incredible and sad. First of all, it just shatters the Blazers season with this and the C.J. McCullough injury. It's a bummer because Portland had a really fun team. And this, you can look at the players' reactions. Here's what's amazing.

We think of the NFL injuries, right? I mean, we all like go into a season knowing going to have five guys hurt. But basketball, because it's so star-driven and driven on one or two, players or roster has a much bigger injury problem. Gordon Hayward, first game last year, season over. Paul George Indy breaks leg. Nurkits last night, playoffs done. Remember last year, Chris Paul injured? Houston up on Golden State 3 to 2 completely alters the series. Kyrie Irving broke his kneecap, game one of the finals as a member of the Cavs. They matched up brilliantly with the Warriors, Kevin Love, Hurt, Kyrie Hurt, LeBron lost his finals.

We also saw Andrew Brogott and Steph Curry get hurt, and the Warriors lose their won finals. Two years ago, Kauai Leonard, up on the Warriors, game one, Western Conference Finals, great matchup, gets hurt. Warriors roll through them. Victor Oladipo this year, Indianapolis, the Pacers, one of the surprising teams last year, Ola Depot, star player, really emerged out of nowhere season over. In the last five years, I can argue with absolute conviction that the NBA conference championship and finals have been significantly, been more significantly altered due to

injuries than the Super Bowl and the AFC and the NFC championships. And this is all because of the business model. The NFL business model is not beholden other than a star quarterback. The other 21 starters, the 25, 28, 36, 42 guys are mostly replaceable. But basketball is very star-driven. By the way, you are rewarded when the stars are likable and awesome. Steph Curry, LeBron James. But what is interesting to me?

is we think just sort of just kind of intrinsically it's the way we think of basketball. You can always depend on your stars. You have star basketball players. It's not a violent sport. In football, you get roughed up. Go look at the NBA the last five years.

Finals, conference championships, seasons completely altered, multiple teams because of injuries. Super Bowls? Not really. Conference championships? Not really. When you are driven by individuals, the upside is LeBron James can carry the league. The downside is LeBron James got hurt this year and the NBA ratings are down across the board. It is remarkable how often these star basketball players, and I was thinking about this this morning,

you know, we don't think basketball is physical. It is 6 feet 9, 6 feet 11, 7 feet 1 basketball players sprinting and jumping. in crowds, landing sometimes on other players. Let's be honest, people aren't really meant to be 6 foot 11. This is obviously an awful injury, but it is remarkable how often we are seeing seasons, playoffs, finals, championships altered in the non-contact sport, the NBA, more than the contact sport, the NFL. Speaking of the NFL, coming up next, I don't think the National Football League did one of their most popular teams any favors with their new schedule.

It actually, I think, borders on unfair for an NFL team that really helps the league when they're good. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. F-S-1 and the I-Hard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

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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. Trip 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, Destin,

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Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sex. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across.

When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings, from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards.

If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals.

At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast. Podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

Switch to Geico, 15 minutes to see if you could save 15% or more in your car insurance. Geico.com. See how much at Geico you could save. Obviously, the NFL is not really beholden to one player. Brett Farr of retired ratings were fine. Peyton Manning retired ratings were fine. I mean, the NFL is not beholden to one guy. Tom Brady will leave and everybody will be okay. college quarterback

Mayfield last year was as seriously was impossible not to watch there's a bunch of good young quarterbacks but that doesn't mean that Aaron Rogers still isn't important and the Green Bay Packers are not important for the league at Fox we have the NFC games Green Bay is in the NFC they're really

really popular and Aaron Rogers is wildly talented and really really popular that's why it's on a million commercials so you you would think the NFL does a great job with its schedule a lot of people don't most people don't know this Most people listening to my show do not know what I'm about to say. The NFL has been using computers for its schedule for years.

They're meticulous. They care about it. You think, well, duh. No, no. Baseball until this year did their schedule on cards. I'm not joking. It was so completely unsophisticated that baseball would run many of their biggest series Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Until some smart people finally said,

hmm, shouldn't we put our biggest games like the Red Sox Yankees always on front? Friday, Saturday, Sunday? Cubs Cardinals, always on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. You never put a big series midweek. And so baseball is, you know, coming out of the Stone Ages, finally figuring out schedules. NFL's been great at it forever. They know exactly where to put Brady, where to put Farve in his prime, where to put everybody. They just figure out this is what they do better than any league that's ever been created. But I don't like their opening game this year, the Bears and the Packers start the season in Chicago. All right.

You want to elevate Aaron Rogers, right? You want Aaron Rogers to be 1 in 0 and healthy, right? So Green Bay has got a brand new baby-faced coach, a bunch of new free agents, and will draft three or four guys that will start because they have spots for it. And you're going to throw them to the reigning number one NFL defense. to the team that just won your division. And Kalee Mack was the guy that essentially in game one last year helped really reduce Aaron Rogers season last year. Like, I want Green Bay to be good.

And I think Green Bay next year could be good. But they're not going to be great in September. They got a brand new coach and a brand new offense and a bunch of new free agents. And the new collective bargaining agreement does not allow the practice time it used to for offensive linemen. and they've got a new star offensive lineman, and they're going to draft another offensive lineman. And I would not have Green Bay and Aaron Rogers in the crosshairs of a healthy, rested, Kaleel Mack game one. This makes it hard for Green Bay, which is one of the top four brands in this sport. Cowboys Steelers.

Packers? I mean, they're way up there. I can argue they're third. This is a rough place for Aaron Rogers and the Green Bay Packers. Remember, last year against Chicago, lowest pass rating of the season. It's the best defensive front easily in the NFL. It's the only game without a touchdown pass. He played more than a quarter.

And good luck. Chicago's young defense is getting better. Green Bay has got a new coach and a bunch of new kids, a new offensive lineman, some new coaches. Oh, I forgot an entirely new staff. They're not going to be good in September. They can be good. they're not going to be good in September.

This is a rough spot for Green Bay. I would not have put Green Bay in Chicago against that team. I would have started them in a couple of teams that didn't have great pass rushes where they could get a little momentum, put them at home, make it a little comfortable. Wow. I mean, this just feels like 0-1 to start the season. New coach, new staff, new players, new free agents. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the. The herd line news. So, Connor announced his UFC retirement last night. Posting this news on Twitter.

He wrote, hey guys, quick announcements. I've decided to retire from the sport formerly known as mixed martial arts today. I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition. I now join my former partners on this venture already in retirement. Proper peanut-coladas on me, fellas.

You didn't last long, right? Two and a half, three years are great, and then he's gone. It does feel like a little bit of an incomplete career, despite the fact that he is the superstar and the level that he is and just the impact that he had, not only on the sports, but just on the sports world. Let me ask you this, though.

Isn't this really, every sport has a problem. NFL's got a violence thing they have to work on. NBA's sometimes beholden to one or two stars. Baseball's got a pace of play problem. Hockey, most of us don't skate. It's expensive. Every sport has this thing you battle. The UFC thing they battle is, stars appear and disappear fast.

Rousey, McGregor, Lesnar, Haley Holm. Roger Fedder and Nadal been dominant for 15 years. Well, not only do stars appear and disappear quickly, everyone loses. It's just the fact. You're going to lose at some point in your career. There's too many ways to lose. In boxing, you can go undefeated. It's not unheard of.

Think about this, Joy. In boxing, like Mayweather rarely took a punch for eight, ten years. In boxing, it's called the sweet science. You can really avoid getting mulled in boxing. If you're a smart guy, clever, Lennox Lewis didn't get whacked a lot. You can be the world's greatest UFC fighter. Kicking, gouging, punching, wrestling, you're going to come out of that thing a winner and bloody. It is a rough sport on even.

the winners. Yeah, there's no escape. There's no escape. That's why Rhonda was so staggering because she just, and fights so quickly. It was like, is anyone ever going to beat her? And then someone beat her. It just, you're always going to lose at one point or another. There's no escaping it and stars

come and go. But that being said, we thought that, you know, UFC was going to be over when George St. Pierre was gone. Every time the big star goes away, it's like, what are they going to do? I'll still watch UFC. I still think it's viable. But I do think this is Is there dilemma?

And I don't think, like, the football dilemma is not solvable either. You can modify the rules, but it's a physical sport. Well, yeah, no, I don't think it's solvable because of everything I just said. Like, you're going to lose, and there's no escaping the violence of it. So it's inevitable. So there's been a lot of criticism of Ben Rathesberger's leadership this off season. But one current Steeler is giving Big Ben some praise. One might say some over-the-top praise.

Juju Smith-Suster posted a picture of himself hugging. Of course he did. Ben and added the message. I was so blessed to end of the league and play with the Hall of Fame quarterback as a 20-year-old. Ben has taught me so much. He's a true leader,

and I can't wait to rock with my guy this season. By the way, Ju-Ju played at USC. And I had Clay Hilton told me the coach at USC. He's the hardest working great player he's ever had at USC, and he said he's as good a kid

as we've ever had. Juju Smith-Schuster gets it. Now, you don't have to agree with him, but what he's doing right there And we talked about this. So Big Ben is going to feed him the football. I have no problem with this at all. And I'm not saying it's not genuine.

The timing of it is interesting. But I'm not saying it's not genuine. And it also can be genuine and also smart at the same time. But we can be two things. But we've given Ben a lot of criticism. And just like anyone that you're critical of, there are going to be people who don't feel that way about them. I mean, Aaron Rogers gets a lot of criticism.

and there's guys that come out in support of Aaron Rogers and say that that's not true. Everyone's experience with each individual person is not the same. And two things can be true. Ben can be a good leader for some people and an awful leader for others. The other thing is, I don't play fantasy sports.

But if you play fantasy football, let me make one guarantee this year. Big Ben is going to feed Juju Smith-Schuster the ball a hundred times. Yeah, that's a good pick. He's going to make sure that he takes care of Juju and nobody remembers Antonio Brown. Well, I don't know if it,

It'll go that far. I think they'll have to do some significant winning for everyone to forget Antonio Brown. But I do think it this year is a prove-it year in a weird way for Ben Rothesberger. Because so much of the criticism has now spun his way, despite the criticism that Antonio Brown and Levi-on-Bel have gotten. They've talked so much about the leadership issues in Pittsburgh that this is a year where everyone's going to be paying attention to that. Finally, Jason's kid name, Jason Kidd's name has been mentioned recently in the conversation with the Lakers and said everyone was assuming they're going to move. off of Luke Walton. And apparently if they come calling,

kid will apparently be ready for the opportunity. He had this to say about it on the jump yesterday. We'll see what happens. You know, I would love to get back to coaching at any level, college or the NBA. And so right now, it's nice to be wanted. I think when you look at the Lakers as a whole, it's a franchise that is one of the best in the world,

not just, you know, in the NBA, but the world. And so if you ever have the opportunity to wear the purple and gold, you can't turn that down. As a coach, as a player, because they're all about championships. Yeah, but they also need shooters, and Jason Kidd isn't playing anymore, and he wasn't much of a shooter, so I don't think this is the right answer. I just don't get it. I think if the Lakers stick with the L.A. formula of hiring names, then this is a good move.

I'm not saying Jason Kidd won't be successful if he's here. I just don't understand it. It doesn't seem like it's a massive upgrade from Luke Walton. It doesn't seem like this is a direction change that propels them into the future. I don't see how they don't do what is the most comfortable and logical thing for LeBron James. You have to, this is win now. This is it. This is the moment.

Like, everything that you do in the next couple months is going to determine the next four years, three to four years of your franchise in a very dramatic way. What if LeBron wants Jason Kidd? Well, if he wants Jason Kidd, then I guess you guys. all get in a room together and see if that's what actually works. Because it's not going to work if LeBron James is not in on the coach. We know that. I think without any shadow of a doubt, everyone can agree. But if LeBron James is not in on the coach, it's not going to work.

This is why I just don't. I don't see the Lakers flipping a switch in free agency and landing a bunch of players. I don't see it. I can't wait for NBA free agency because I think the Lakers problems are much deeper than other people. They have no shooters in the shooters league. LeBron is now mortal. They don't have a coach. And if you do, you have to get somebody that LeBron loves.

That doesn't mean it's the best coach. LeBron loves him. And the other thing is, we don't know if this front office knows what they're doing. They couldn't land Paul George, who was a gimmie. I think they have a – you know, I'm in L.A., so people think I'm a Laker Homer. Maybe I'm too cynical because I'm in Los Angeles. But I don't think all these issues they have are solvable. I think they have some obstacles.

They can't overcome. I really do. We've got the next few months to figure that out. Yeah. Joy with the news. That's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. Okay, I got to bring in Chris Broussard for this topic.

I started my show today, NBA voice for us, Chris Broussard, saying when Paul Pierce said Zion's a top 50 player, I'm like, that's not even a spicy take. Forget hot. It's not even a, you know, I mean, it's like serial take. When LeBron came into the league out of high school, he was absolutely one of the 50 best players in the league. You can go back and look at about the 30th best player. LeBron was probably about the 30th best player. And by the way, at that point in his career, he was making gigantic leaps every month or two. He scored 20 his first game.

A couple weeks in he had 42. By the end of his first year, he was a top 20 player in the league. If you go back and look at the guys in the league. He's the only player to come straight out of high school and immediately do damage. He average 20. Garnett average 10. Kobe average 7. LeBron was better, though, coming out of high school than Zion is now.

Yes. Zion Williamson. You don't like that. Hold on. LeBron James, his rookie year was better than Zion now. Or LeBron coming out of high school was better than Zion. He could do more. Zion Williamson, because he's making these massive jumps, since the injury,

28 and 8 shooting 70%, 47% on 3s. Zion's a better three-point shooter than Ron was. Yes. He is 285 pounds. I think we're looking at a superstar. I think you can make an argument. Here are the 19 guys. He will not be better than in the NBA as a rookie.

He will not be better than the list. LeBron, Harden, George, Kauai, M. B, Curry, Yonis, Durant, Damien, Booker, A.D., Chris Paul, Luca, Donchich, Jokic, Kairi, Clay, Ben, Butler, Kemba. I am seeing a kid that in this Duke season has made a massive 25% jump within a strict college system. I think he's going to be one of these guys that when the floor opens up in the NBA. Yeah, look, I like him. When I first heard Pierce's comment, I thought it seemed crazy. Because the first thing that came to my mind was top 50 players of all time and all that. And it just seemed crazy.

But then when you sit down and think about it, yeah, he certainly would be in the top 50. The question is how high. Now, I love virtually everything about him. Obviously, he's got to continue to work on his jump shot, which isn't broken. That's the thing. It's just something he's going to have to work on. Doesn't have to change his form or anything like that. It's not broken.

He'll get better. Look at Blake Griffin. Blake Griffin's shooting five or six three-pointers a game now. Couldn't shoot a lick when he came in. Couldn't shoot a lick for about four years. Right. Yeah, a good part of his career. Now, you made a great point.

The floor is more spread. It's easier to get to the basket than it's ever been in NBA history. College basketball congested because of the. The paint's all congested in college basketball, and the guy's dropping 28 in less than 30 minutes. With his explosiveness, his strength, his leaping ability, his size, he'll be able to finish over most. There's only a handful of guys you can name that will be able to give him problems

like Taco Fall did at the rim. But in the NBA, you can't just plan a guy under the basket like they did with Taco Fall. He can handle the ball. Yes. He saw those great, really nice passes and some of these bounce passes. is in transition. I'm telling you. I've said, look, and a lot of, we've talked a lot about Kyrie and KD going to New York, perhaps.

If New York gets the number one pick, the question has been, and they get those two free agents, should they trade the number one pick Zion for Anthony Davis? No. About a month ago, I felt yes. Now, a month ago, I started feeling like, no, you know what, keep Zion. Here's why. Beyond all the other things we just mentioned, beyond him having great intent. tangible. You watch it. He is the rare young player today who can be effective without dominating

the basketball. Great point. And if you have Kyrie and K.D., that third guy is going to have to be able to be effective without the ball in his hands. And that's on. Can you imagine running the floor, the alley-oops with K.D. and Kyrie drawing attention how many easy buckets he'll get. With AD, now, look, AD, Kyrie and Durant would be tremendous too. But you know, But who's stepping back? But the other thing is, I'll tell you what an NBA scout who I trust said about Anthony Davis. And this is a great NBA scout who's been in this league for 10 years. And I don't think he has a whiff on his resume.

And he told me, Anthony Davis, not what you would consider a tough player. Won't play through a ton of injuries. No, no question about that. You can't kind of rely on him in big spots. Talented Zion Williamson. Let me tell you something. That kid is a physical player. That kid is a tough player.

That kid loves contact. No, I agree. And like you say, those are intangibles. He's defending. Very few guys defend at his age, especially when they're offensively big time scores. Yeah, there's a lot to love about him. And I think if I get the number one pick,

I'm keeping him rather than trading for Anthony. Oh, God, there's no way I could trade him. I would get sick to my, if I was a GM and the owner came to me and say, trade the pick. I'm not joking. I'd resign and I'd say, I'm going to save my reputation. I'm not trading this kid. I got news for you. M.B. didn't play for two years. He got hurt again this year. He's a new age. And I've said it's like Luca's a new age, Larry Bird. New age, I mean, their games are, you know, their games make sense today. Look at that past. He's a new age Charles Barkley. Thank you. Yet he has intangibles that Barclay did not have.

He's Markley never defended, and I think Zion obviously is a defender. So, yeah, I like the kid. No question. He gets so overlooked at Duke, though. That's the downside. He's just so overlooked and ignored. Coming up, you are going to have to deal with a reality with Westbrook. Oh, here we go.

And it happened again last night, and we'll talk about that coming up. You've been waiting all week. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. I've always had this belief that when you get into a relationship, what you want is consistency. If you get into a relationship and your husband or your wife is an arguer, as long as they're an arguer every day, you know what to expect when you walk through the door. What unravels relationships is you don't know what you're getting when you walk through the door.

Are they sloppy? Are they a saver? Are they a spender? Are they a temper? Are they just give me the same thing. I want to walk into a door knowing what I get. I don't want to have to guess. Years ago, there was a player named Rashid Wallace. His career was lined up with Tim Duncan. They were both unbelievably talented. But Duncan brought the same personality every day. Rashid on some nights was better than Duncan and then would disappear.

You never knew what you were getting with Rashid Wallace. Go ask Tim Duncan how good Rashid Wallace is. Rashid gave him fits. Rashid is Westbrook. He's a human roller coaster. Steph Curry, I know the personality I get. get every day. Westbrook, sometimes he's moody, sometimes he's going to unhinge, sometimes he's in a great

mood. He's joyful. He's a teammate. So last night, the human roller coaster, he was awful. He couldn't shoot. He was plus minus minus 20. Oklahoma City lost to Memphis. Now they're in eighth place. This, whenever Westbrook has a good game, people rush to Twitter. And I'm always like, why the next game he won't play well? The difference between Steph and Westbrook, I get the Same guy with Curry. That doesn't mean every game, Steph, is great. But Westbrook has become, you don't even know what you're getting night tonight. There's a, you make a little bit of sense on this.

I know you've been waiting all week since our Tet Aete-Tet last week on Westbrook, but he's not as inconsistent as you're saying. I mean, he's not up and down all the time. The problem is he can't shoot. And when you can't shoot, you're going to have nights where your scoring is not there. He does tend to make up with it in other ways, like rebounding, assist when he's not dropping buckets. But he is somewhat inconsistent. I've said he's not going to win you a championship.

Here's what happened with them. They've lost 12 of their last 18. And four of their last five or five of their last six. If you go back and look, in those 18 games, Westbrook is averaging about 23 shots a game. Before that, when they were playing well most of the year, he was averaging 19. He needs to, to your point, be a little steadier. I don't know why he started shooting so much. It's almost like he's not deferring as much to Paul George as he was earlier in the season.

This is what I've argued with Westbrook. He is a rigid personality. By the way, half of America is, right? Rigid personalities when things are going well and things are well-oiled and the weather good and life is good, fine. But when you add pressure to rigid personalities, they struggle to stay even keel. It's not that he blows up early. He starts every season very steady. He unravels post-all-Star break as there's trades, as there's pressure, as we watch more, as there's more media ads. This has become what he, this is now not just Colin picking on Westbrook.

this is who he is. Well, a little bit. He has become the guy. He's the one star in the NBA that is consistently last three years now, unraveled post-all-star break. I mean, they're eighth in the West. He's averaged a triple-double the last three years. I mean, seriously, like...

Triple-double. You're right. He's a little bit up and down. But if you look at his... He's generally scoring above 20 points every now. Okay, great. He doesn't have a 17-point-8 and 18-point game here or there. He's shooting because his shooting has gone south.

He's never, everybody acts like all of a sudden he can't shoot. He's a career 43% shooter. This year was he at 41, 42, something like. Like, so he's just a little bit down. But this is what you get from, look, the majority of superstars, they can't lead you to a championship. How many superstars, how many players in the league right now that we know for a fact can lead you to a championship?

I have never picked. LeBron, K.D. No, I don't. I don't hold that against him. Kauai Leonard could never win a title. But I know what I get with Kauai. My knock on Westbrook is a self-awareness. He unravels.

Like, why is he shooting so much? I don't think he unravel. That's just, look, this is who he is. You're right. He's a flawed player. He's spectacular. I've told you he's iconic. He's a superstar.

But he's flawed. And he's, this is who he is. This is what you. did with. With Charles Barkley, you knew he wasn't going to play any defense. I mean, you know, with different, most superstars, you mentioned Rashid. They have something that's lacking. And the next level above Westbrook are those guys that really don't lack much. Jason Kidd, Laker coach, going to get it? What do you make of it? I think it'll be Ty Lou. He's going to have to get a hefty salary.

Because even though he and LeBron obviously like each other and have respect for each other, knows LeBron's a lot to deal with. Magic will be a lot to deal with. So Ty Lou wants to be compensated fairly, you know, nicely for it. If it's not Ty Lou, it could be Jason Kidd. Obviously, Doc Rivers is out. I think Mark Jackson should be in it. I've always like Mark. I don't think he's going to get a fair, a really legitimate look. And that's where Jason Kitt, look, the list of candidates is small because it has to be somebody that LeBron respects. And he's, and he's, and he's, is Jason Kidd the greatest coach in the world? No, but he is somebody

LeBron respects, has respected him for long times as a player, knew him, likes him, and that's the key for the next Laker coach. Does LeBron respect him and buy in? By the way, can you imagine that Aaron

Rogers isn't picking his coach? Don't you think that's somewhat problematic? Shouldn't you just hire the best coach? Well, at this point you feel like, look, we're all in on LeBron. I get it. You know, I mean, we have to try to do, if we're going to win a championship, he's going to lead us there, and we have to get a coach that he's going to buy into completely.

And J-Kid is the guy. Again, I think it'll be Ty Lou, but Jay Kidd, who else is on that list? No, I mean, I'm not. And there's no young prodigies. Like, yeah, if you could bring in a Greg Popovich or somebody like that, that'd be great. By the way, Milwaukee. You can't tell me there's no great coaches out there because Sean McVeigh got hired by the Rams

and the Denver Nuggets went and got Malone and the Milwaukee Bucks. I've seen three NBA teams go hire young guys. They're kicking butt. Brad Stevens was a college coach. There are great coaches out there. I agree, but is LeBron going to buy into one of them? That's the problem.

I mean, I don't think he's going to buy. Luke Walton is a good coach. I don't think he's been spectacular. Look, let's not a bad coach. We talked about this on Undisputed. before LeBron got hurt, we know they were to foresee it, 20 and 14. There were eight games that they could have won.

Or more than that, there were like several games that they didn't close, that, yeah, you can look at some of Luke because he's the coach. I can look at LeBron. Why didn't he close them? You can look at some of the other guys. If LeBron gave them opportunities, they didn't get it done. They were one of the top defenses in the league earlier in the season. Under Luke Walton, when they were healthy.

saying it's unjust to fire Luke after this season because if you're starting by in, that's it. What I'm saying is Luke will get another NBA job in short order. Maybe not this next year, but in a couple years, he'll definitely get another NBA job if he's not coaching in college. Chris Broussard, great having you. Ryan Leif next hour. Good seeing you, bud.

Back in L.A. in a second. It's The Herd. One more Herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, here we go, hour two. This is The Hurd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're live in Los Angeles. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. Hour 2. It's flying by Ryan Leif in 15 minutes. Joy, how are you? Doing good. I will portray.

I don't do imitations much on this show. You're doing agents. A little while back. Whose agent were you? I forget. It was not a good role by me. I'm not an impersonator. So I'm going to do a John Gruden impersonation in five minutes because I think John Gruden could do himself a massive favor very simply. I'll put on the visor.

I'll talk like Gruden in five minutes. It will be horrible. I want to start with this, though. The New Orleans Saints feel like they got robbed last year. They played the L.A. despite the fact they couldn't make any stops on the Rams and overtime of the last drive. The Saints didn't like a call. It was a bad call.

The NFL missed a call. It does all the time. That's what happens in the NFL in fast-moving sports. You miss calls. I've seen it in the World Series. I've seen it in the World Cup. I've seen it in the Stanley Cup finals. Yes, I watched that in hockey.

And I've seen it in the NBA and the NFL. And every sport referees miss calls. But Sean Payton, who, of course, we know as a member of the NFL's competition committee, has multiple proposals. They want to change the replay rules, and I want to have a replay on stuff like this, and here's Sean Peyton. A handful of things that we've got to be better at right now,

and our best at playing and our best at coaching are spending 20 hours, 18 hours a day. Our best at officiating, it's their second job. You know, it's the only sport that has to change. You know, with all the technology we have available to us, our fans are closer to the game. Our fans are way more in-tuned and educated as to the... Correct calls in the game, and we just need to be better.

By the way, NBA officials are full-time, and you're constantly complaining about them. Major de Gumpires are full-time, and you're constantly complaining about them. Full-time doesn't guarantee perfect officiating. You're constantly complaining that stars get the call in the NBA. Those guys make $300,000 a year in their full-time. We rarely get caught up in NFL officiating. This was the rare instance. missed call. As I've said for years, late in games, refs swallow whistles. Be advised. If you remember that

Rams Saints game, the Rams defensive backs were so hyper aggressive in the second half because they were coached up because that's what happens in the NFL. Get aggressive late, refs swallow whistles. Be that as it may, are the Saints absolutely sure that a rule change that calls more pass interference is good? Because what is the weakness of the New Orleans Saints? their corners. Late in games, less talented players often have to grab, pull, hold to stay close to better players. I would argue in one year, unless the Saints nail the draft in corners, their weakness

will again be corners. And their corners have to grab a little more and reach a little more and pull a little more to stay with elite receivers on their schedule. Secondly, the Saints were the last team to benefit from the sudden death overtime in 2009. They got the benefit of an overtime. Every year I pick two teams in the NFL. Every year I pick two teams that I call them pullback teams, teams that like made the playoffs and they won't. And by the way, statistically, this is the way it works in the NFL more than any sport.

Last becomes first, playoffs become duds, Super Bowl loser becomes loser. or period. Last year, you remember the teams I picked? Jacksonville was in the AFC championship. I said they're too loud, too cocky, too emotional. They'll pull back. They were awful. Minnesota got to the NFC championship. I said, series of breaks, abnormally healthy, change quarterbacks, coordinators, they'll pull back. They did. It's two and oh last year. I could go back four years. I'm basically perfect on this one thing I predict the two pullback teams. Saints are going to be a pullback team. Back-to-back years, overly emotional, endings to season. Drew Breeze, at the end of last year, I thought

physically didn't look the same. They don't really throw the ball down the field. You lose a Mark Ingram. You got a guy retire on your offensive line. I think this team is so caught up, the city, the team, the organization on this blown call, it will affect them going to into next year. Don't give me full-time refs solve everything. They don't. If they did, you'd never complain about an umpire, a soccer ref, a hockey ref, or an NBA official.

All right. I want to talk about the Raiders. So we've kind of looked at the Raiders and mostly said, they're kind of making it up as they go. We don't know that for sure. We don't know it for sure. but it kind of feels like it. And John Gruden's a great talker. He and Mike Tomlin are the best coaches in the NFL at the podium.

Tomlin could be a TV star. No question. Gruden was a TV star. So John's good at talking. My theory is, as much as I look at the Raiders as sort of making it up as they go, they have acquired Antonio Brown, Trent Brown, and Terrell Williams, and Vontes Burfect. All can play. They have more talent today, more talent today than they did last year.

By the way, they have four of the first 35 picks. I went to several mock drafts this morning, and this is what I believe is the greatest prediction of what they will draft. Kenan Williams with a fourth pick. I've been told by two NFL GMs, the Alabama defensive linemen is the best player in the draft. The Jets will pass on him, go for an edge rusher, which they need more. Their first pick will be the best player in the draft. Their second pick will be Josh Jacobs,

told by an NFL general manager last week, he's the best running back in the draft from Bama. The most talented wide receiver in the draft, arguably Marquise Brown, cousins with Antonio Brown goes 27th, according to a mock draft, and then they get a safety which they need from Delaware second round. If you combine those with Antonio Brown,

Trent Brown, Terrell Williams, Vantes Burfect. Raiders got players. Raiders got a lot of players. My knock on Gruden, Gruden talks every time he steps in front of a microphone, talks too much. But he's never said the one thing

that would validate that he actually has a plan and isn't making it up. When he traded Khalil-Mack, we're all like, you're out of your guard. But the Raiders just won the Sloan MIT award for the best analytic move of the NFL season. They got two first round picks.

Bill Belichick gave up Chandler Jones. Chandler led the NFL in Sachs next year. They got a second round pick and a guard they cut. So what I'm going to do is what I rarely do because I'm awful at it. But the next three minutes, I'm going to do a John Gruden impersonation. And this is what I wish

John Gruden. Oh, wait. Hold on one second, Joy. Hold on. This is not great. It's not going well initially. I'm putting on a visor. Okay. There you go. So first of all, he says the Raiders. A lot. The Raiders. He moves his head a lot.

That's what he does. Let's have some press conference sound, John. Hey, Chucky. Time out. Stop. What? That's disrespectful. Okay. Nobody at a press conference yells, hey, Chucky.

That's ridiculous. Let's make this profession. All right, so first of all, hey. Coach Gruden, why did you trade Khalil Mack to the Bears? Listen, I love Khalil Mack. Guys, unbelievable. Khalil Mack's a once-in-a-lifetime talent, okay? But at $23 million, that's a once-in-a-lifetime contract.

And I believe if you look at the history of this league last 20 years, you can pay your quarterback that. And the Raiders, we're about building the culture. We've got a lot of mouse to feed here, okay? Okay. This is the best defensive draft in the last 25 years. We've got four elite pass rushers in this draft, okay? Get nine top defensive tackles. Okay.

We looked at the Saber metrics and the analytics here. Okay. I love Khalil Mack. But I got the best defensive draft in 20 years. I got a lot of mouse to feed the Raiders. Okay, you look at the history of $23 million for defensive players. You don't win Super Bowls. Okay, the Raiders here, we're winning Super Bowls, okay?

Any more questions? Is that the first time you've used the word Saber Metrics before? I don't know what the hell I was talking about there. Kind of missed on that one, okay? It's the bottom line. So my point is... I thought that was very good, actually. Here's my point.

That was not as horrible as I hoped it would be. Much worse. Here's the thing. You can make an analytic argument that in the best defensive draft, in 20 years, he's got four of the top 35 picks. They've upgraded it wide receiver substantially.

But it made sense not to pay a defensive end $23 million. That's what you pay quarterbacks to. That's not really Gruden's style to come out and do what you just did, though. He never shuts up in a phrase. conference. He says he's the most glib guy ever. Could he not just say, if he said, you know, if he said that, Joey, here's what I would do. Okay, he's got a plan.

I got nothing to say. He's got a plan. If Chris Ballard said that, Howie Roseman, Bill Belichick, Sean McVe, all he has to say is, it's the best defensive draft in 20 years. We got 12 guys who are game changers, and I don't feel like paying a guy 23 million. Okay, let me go back to the group. One more second. Just one more, John. One more quick second. I can put the thing on. Okay, here's the thing. Hey.

Okay, listen. At the Raiders, you don't think we want to win? Anything I'm not trying to win here? We got a salary cap. This isn't baseball. That's why I said Sabremetrix. I got lost for a second. We got a salary cap here, okay?

You can't pay JJ Watt everything. Okay? Got to get your quarterback to Sean Watson. Got to pay him everything. Okay. Derek Carr's been in this league now, all right? All right, with the Raiders for like seven years. I'm not getting them on a discount now.

He's not on a rookie contract now. Okay. You get that? Derek Carr's not in a rookie contract. We're not talking about DAC here. Okay. Not talking about DAC here. We're not talking about DAC here.

We're talking about, I got a veteran quarterback. Got to pay him $27 million a year. You get that? Okay, baby, Antonio Brown, passing league. Got to pay him $27 million. I can't do, I can't have three guys making all my money. Okay, got it. I'm done with that.

That's stupid. It still wasn't bad. I don't have a problem with the. the Kaleo Mac trade. I think it just was very dramatic because it was the first thing that he did and it's a big move and Kaleo Mac's a big name, their biggest name. I don't think he just went in like,

let's get rid of Kaleo Mac. I think, I think Gruden had a plan. All he has to do to shut everybody up is say I have a plan. Two, three things. Because he talks constantly. Just come out and just say, hey, boom, boom, Derek Kars down on a rookie contract. I can't pay Kaleel Mac 23. Derek 28. I'm out of

money. That's all you got to say. Great draft. All of it makes sense. And I'd be like, yeah, you got me on that one. I can't do anything. I'm not going to do any more press conferences for a while. I'm going to retire officially my press conference. Are you emotionally exhausted from that acting performance? First of all, Goulet almost ruined it with it. Goulau came out there. Hey, Chucky. I'm sorry I didn't take this more seriously. Talking about a, Joe and I are a couple of pros here, a couple of journalists. You think that Gruden would get angry if one of the reporters started the question off with Chuckie?

Yes. Yes, he would be like... I don't know. I think he has a sense of humor. I think he's funny. I don't think he's... I don't think it's that good when they're losing. I think it's sense of...

They're not losing yet. All right. Coming up, Ryan Leif. Some thoughts on the Arizona Cardinals, Kyler Murray. Man, the rumors are flying down in Arizona. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, Keir 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 Hardway and listen now.

Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across.

When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entire. entirely different worlds. Just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards.

If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me.

And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast. Podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Saturday, the season's biggest free agents hit the field with their new teams. First, Bryce Harper and the Phillies take on Freddie Freeman and the Braves, and the Giants face off against Mani Machado and the Padres. It all starts with four Eastern One Pacific on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Bryce Harper is going to be great for the Phillies. I'm not doubting that. My only takeaway on these long contracts halfway through them,

the players out of his prime, you're stuck six years paying a guy. mega money, almost like the Washington Wizards with John Wall is, it's not that John Wall's not worth a lot of money and John Wall is out of his prime. Now he's been hurt for the second time badly, and you owe him $200 million for the next four to five years. You're trapped as a franchise. By the way, Connor McGregor retired yesterday. I watched the UFC. I love McGregor. My wife isn't really into sports, certainly not UFC. She loved Connor McGregor and she loved the fights. We went to watch Mayweather. UFC is always going to have diehard fans. But if you look at the pay-per-view buys and the viability of the sport, it's when casual people come in. That's why the NFL is wildly

popular in this country. It's not just diehards like me. My sister doesn't like sports. She'll watch Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. The difference between an entertainer, a musician, a band, or an artist or an athlete or a sport is not just diehards. Baseball's better when they can bring casual fans in. They just don't. You love baseball or it bores you to death. Football, you don't have to love sports, but you kind of like it because your boyfriend or your husband bets it

or maybe you bet it and you have a fantasy league and you're emotionally connected. UFC's biggest issue isn't the quality of their fights or their press conferences. They're very good. But Connor McGregor lasted two and a half years of really. really being a mega star and now he's gone. Brock Lesner, Ronda Rousey, Holly Home. It's a bummer because I loved watching Connor McGregor, and I'll still watch the UFC,

and I still think their fights are well-run and wildly entertaining. But every sport has something they have to overcome. Brady's been playing 18 years. Quarterbacks now last a decade and a half. Kevin Durantle play till he's 40. Phil Mickelson, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Nadal. I mean, how many World Cups was Clint Dempsey in? How many years did he play in soccer?

UFC stars shine bright and then disappear, and it's a bummer because I loved watching Connor McGregor fight. The last two times I watched him, he lost, and I still loved watching him fight. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So the O'Dell trade kind of came as a shock to many, especially because he was going to the Browns. But Larry Fitzgerald thinks that leaving the spotlight of New York will actually be helpful for O'Dell. I think it could be rare from getting to a smaller city where there's just not as many distractions.

You can focus on ball and really let his talents do to speak for him. His back group would Landry again. They went to college together, I think. So that could be a great combination with a, you know, up and rising quarterback. I actually agree. Yeah. Well, listen, it's Mike Lombardi is a former NFL exec. He wrote that book, Gridiron Genius.

Great book, by the way. And he talked about this one time. He said, listen, he called it if you're in a port city, Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York. He goes, there's more restaurants, there's more nightlife. He goes, we would look at that when you draft players. Some players are better served not because they're 23-year-old millionaires. Not being, I mean, I'll be honest with you. I'm kind of a recluse.

So I would be fine going to a city with a nightlife because I go to bed at 845 anyway. You went to bed at 845 when you were 23? Oh, God, I went to bed in college really early. There were three people on campus that were always at breakfast at 5.30. I was one of them. It's just the way my body clock works. But there are guys I've been out with. They're just late-night dudes.

They like to be out late. And let's be honest, certain cities like New Orleans and Miami, lubricate your social life. For sure. I mean, it's much easier when the availability is in abundance as it is in the cities. Like Miami? Sure. Sure.

It's a complete, and not even just the nightlife. I mean, you have restaurants, you have shows, you have, you know, house parties. It's just, it's a buzz in those cities. Miami is the easiest city in America to get in trouble in Miami. There's just. Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't argue that. But I'm, but I also think that the culture of the teams in those cities matter. And if the culture in New York with the giants is not what it was, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

So there's been plenty of successful people in those giant cities. I mean, Boston is a city you can easily get in trouble in. Pretty sure they do some drinking and party in there. And they've managed to keep the Patriots to float for the past two decades very successfully. So I don't think it's so much the city where you actually, I think in those cities, you have more opportunity to wear yourself out with all the nightlife and everything more quickly and then want to stay home. Whereas in a place where there's nothing to do, you kind of have the urge to do it more. Like it can work either way depending on your personality. Yeah, Indianapolis, the Colts and the Pacers had about a 10-year run.

Their players got more trouble than anybody. Because you're bored. So, yeah, I mean, I don't think it's so much as that. Like, he's had the experience in New York. He's going to come to the Browns. They are going to have some expectations because of him, because of Baker, because of Jarvis, because of all the pieces that they've added around them. And because they were must-watch last year,

and they were more successful despite all the dysfunction. So it's going to be interesting, but I do actually think they're going to have a successful season. So speaking of the Giants, there's been a lot. said about the Giants choosing to stick with Eli Manning over the last two years, and Giants co-owner John Mara objects to the idea that it's been out of loyalty. He said at the NFL league meetings, I've read that I have, and I have to tell you, that it really gets under my skin because that's absolutely nonsense. Do I feel a certain amount of sentimentality towards Eli? Of course I do. Would I ever let that get in the way of making a football decision? Absolutely not. And I

cannot believe some of you would write that. Okay, I got a question. If you're a New York Giant fan, that's terrifying. I would much rather the giant's owner in GM say, listen, last couple of years, we just liked Eli so much. He won us Super Bowls. But what they're saying is, not that at all,

we watch him and think he's great. Yeah, instead, you think that 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, the 5 and 11 record, and 66% completion percentages. I would much rather the Giants just come out and say, listen, you won two Super Bowls for us. It's hard.

We love him. I think it's starting to become this thing where there's this idea that everyone hates Eli. Everybody loves Eli. Everyone loves Eli. No one has anything against Eli. There just comes a time where, and Eli's had a lot of criticism over his career, despite the fact that I think he's had an incredibly successful career. Born and a Hall of Fame.

How many quarterback can say they have two Super Bowls against Tom Brady and his prime? I just think it's down to the wire where it's like make a decision or don't. And if you're saying that you're making a decision for purely football, like you said, this is not a purely football decision. Just be clear and honest about it. If I'm in New York, and by the way, outside of the Yankees, is there any New York sports team right now that's well run? It's just amazing.

But what worries me is the Giants are saying it's not about sentimental value. It's that we just think he's a really good quarterback. And it's like Andy Reid moved off Alex Smith. when Alex was winning the division and getting to the playoffs. Right. And who's to say that they're not going to make a decision come draft time or make some moves? You know, Josh Rosen is still out there. There's still some moves that can be made that can show that they are still looking towards the future.

But that's, I agree, kind of disheartening. Finally, LeBron missed the playoffs, and it's obviously been one of the biggest shocks of the year. And in the middle of his farewell tour, Wade offered some of his thoughts. In a recent interview with Sham Sharania of the Athletic, Wade said, LeBron's not a guy that is accustomed to losing and not making the playoffs. Those 18 games that he was out hurt with them. It's kind of a wash. You can't even really talk about him

not making the playoffs because of that. It's unfortunate. People are trying to attack him a lot from the standpoint of age. It's no secret that he's getting older. It's no doubt that you're not the same person you were, but he's still great. I don't think anybody denies he's still great. I think what people have been turned off with LeBron, he looks completely distracted and disengaged.

And I think the optics. It's been a bad optic year for him. Yeah, and that matters. I think that a lot of the, the projects and things that he was involved in probably got set into motion well before the season. So they're all kind of coming out now when they came out during the season. And it was all kind of bad timing because the season wasn't going the way that he expected. The idea that he was busy doing all of these different projects while they're losing or while he was injured, I mean, that's just not the way the production works.

I mean, I'm sure some of the stuff he was working on during the season, but a lot of it wasn't. So hindsight, obviously, I'm sure he would say, let's not do any of this stuff and let's just focus on basketball. And then I think the whole tone of the entire season would have felt different. So I agree with you there. But also, it just comes down to the injuries. They had so many injuries this year. And it's not a sexy storyline. And there's nothing you can do about it because it's injuries.

So it's not like, you can change this. Nothing you can do. You have LeBron out. You have Lanzo out. You have Rondo out. You have Ingram out. You have Kuzma out. It's just who.

it's impossible. It's literally impossible. What team in the NBA could survive that? So weird to not have him in the playoffs. It is. It's just so, it's like Alabama going six and six. Like, what? I mean, it would be stranger if Duke didn't make the tournament. You could say, well, they had a star player hurt.

Like, if Alabama just didn't show up this year, you'd be like, what? LeBron this year was on one of the worst NBA teams. You're like, that doesn't make any sense. My eyes have not seen that in 15 years. And we haven't really even seen it yet because we haven't started the playoffs. Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Heard Lie News. You know, it is funny. I have always tried to have super strong opinions on stars. And by and large, almost all stars I like. You know I'm into LeBron, Steph Curry, Tom Brady. You know, there's a couple stars that I've been tough on. Aaron Rogers, though I think I've been fair, and I think I've been overwhelmingly right. Russell Westbrook falls into that category.

I don't think I've ever been wrong on Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook is super talented, relentless, plays his ass off, and if I had to spend money to watch an NBA player, I said this last year, he's top of the list. But can the Russell Westbrook fans at least acknowledge a truth? He's the magic eight ball of the NBA. You shake him up and you have no idea what the answer is going to be. Last night, dreadful.

Six of 20, one for six, minus, minus. Two years ago, he was the MVP. On a nightly basis in the NBA, you have no idea what you're getting from it. Not just shooting emotionally. He just came unhinged against the Warriors. He got suspended 16 techs. That's why I say he reminds me a lot of Rashid Wallace.

Rashid Wallace and Tim Duncan were very similar in talent. In fact, I could argue Rashid was the better athlete. I covered Rashid Wallace. You just never knew what you were getting in the arena that night.

You didn't know the mood he was in. You didn't know his aspiration level. Did he want to dominate? Did he not want to dominate? You never knew what you were getting with Rashid Wallace. Tim Duncan, I got the same guy every night.

Not just statistically. Tim Duncan, I got the same emotional player every night. Kevin Garnett. The three forwards of note for about 10 years in the NBA were Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Sheed. I can make an argument. Sheed's more talented than all of them. I just never knew what I was getting from him. That's Russell Westbrook. I know what I'm getting from James Harden every night. I know what I'm getting from Steph Curry. I'm not just talking stats. I get the same personality, the same guy, the same leader, the same strengths, the same weaknesses. Westbrook's become the human roller coaster. I'm not denying he's a great talent.

I'm not denying he's an all-time iconic player. But why are the Westbrook fans denying he's all over the map game to game? Emotionally, physically, shooting, leadership, you don't know what you're getting. Some night he overshoot. Some nights he disappears. Some night he's an easy teammate. Some nights he's impossible. Some nights you can coach him. Some nights he's uncoach. Some nights he's uncoachable. That's the issue. It's not a talent issue. There's always been a player in the NFL that I think is great. Cam Newton's a great talent. It's been my knock on Cam. I'm not sure what I get emotionally with Cam week to week. Never had back-to-back winning seasons. That's impossible for Cam Newton's talent. Matt Ryan's not as talented, but I know what I

get when I come in the door. Russell Wilson, probably less talented than Cam, but I know exactly what I'm getting. That matters. That's a huge thing. when you're building a franchise. You go ask GMs and you go ask scouts. When I watch Zion Williamson play, Duke, I get intensity, I get passion, his body doesn't shrink, he's got the same touch,

he's got the same energy, every single game. Like consistency is a huge thing when you build a business. My employees, am I getting the same general manager? Is he in a good mood? Or twice a week? Is he come in head down?

Doesn't want to work. I don't know why the Westbrook fans can't acknowledge the simple truth. Yes, I tell you all the time. He's an all-time iconic player. But you're telling me there's not an issue with his magic eight-ball personality, his magic eight-ball game, shake it and you don't know what you get. You're just not being intellectually honest. Last night he was terrible.

Last night he was out of control. Last night he couldn't hit anything. Last night he was relentless. Just admit it. I'm admitting it, you admit it. It's not hating a player, just sort of hating his inconsistency in his game. By the way, they're eighth now in the Western Conference.

That's not great. That means you match out with Golden State. That means you're out in the first round, third straight year, for an MVP-level player. Simply not good enough. Ryan Leafs around the corner, live. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Casper, spring cleaning time.

Also a good time to get a new mattress. Casper.com code heard, 100 bucks off, purchase of a mattress. Additional fees may apply. I'll ask you why. You know, one of the things about sports is as a fan, doesn't matter for me for the media because I don't pay for tickets. Either does Joy, if we want tickets, we call, we get tickets, right? But if you're a fan, I've never understood this. You should want as a fan for teams to control players. What you don't want is a player, most of them are 25-year-old kids to get fickle and be beholden to one player. Because, by the way, you would not have wanted to be beholden to me at 25 years old, okay? You would not have wanted me running your franchise.

I would have been all over the map. So we all know that people mature as they get older. So the NFL doesn't give any player that much power. It's really the strength of the NFL. Outside of quarterbacks, which, by the way, they study quarterbacks before they draft them to make sure they're mature. Outside of quarterback, no NFL player really has that much leverage. It doesn't mean they don't get rich. Labian Bell got rich.

Antonio Brown got rich. But the NFL is not interested in you controlling the franchise. We know in the NBA, the player can control the franchise. So I never understood why fans are rooting for players to get rich and have power. Why? Time out. That doesn't benefit you the franchise. fan. What you want is a great GM and a great coach and a mature star like a Tim Duncan.

Go look at the last couple dynasties. Tim Duncan, mature grown-up, Tom Brady. That's what you want. Steph Curry. But the idea that I'm rooting for players to get rich and have control, the Pittsburgh Steelers basically said, listen, we got these guys that are really good. Antonio Brown's really good, but he's kind of needy. And we draft receivers well. And Lavian, Bell's really good, but he just decided he didn't want to play for a year. And we're like, yeah, we're going to move off him. That's what you'd want your franchise to do. I'm not saying Big Ben's perfect.

But we all know the game here. Quarterback, Russell Wilson, Big Ben, players snipe at him, get players out of town. That's the game here. That's why Aaron Rogers can be a pain in the butt and they fire the coach. Big Ben can be a pain in the butt and they move away the star player. Russell Wilson doesn't get along with Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett. they moved him out of town. That's the game here.

So Mike Tomlin was talking about Big Ben and leadership. And the bottom line is, sounded like he was okay with all the movement and Big Ben resigning. I have no problem with his play or his leadership. I've heard some of the scuttlebutton, which you mentioned. I'm focusing on the guys within our group and on our team. I think that's what's appropriate for me. I have no reaction to former Steelers and things of that nature. You know, we were a nine, six, and one football team last year.

We all need to look in the mirror in terms of what we do and how we do it. It's starting with me. I just want you to hear what he's saying. He's saying we were nine, six and one last year. This is not a man overboard situation. What the Pittsburgh Steelers did is what New England does. They just do it sooner and they don't fester. They move off guys.

When they get too expensive, they get too old, they get too. hurt they get to, in their eyes, needy, they move off guys. Randy Moss was great for a year and a half, two years, New England. Then all of a sudden, one Monday night football game in Miami, they didn't target him. And you're like, hmm, something's going on. Why is it Randy Moss? Remember that game in Miami? He got one target.

I went on the air at the other place and I said, something not right. You don't target Randy Moss once. Best receiver in the game with the best quarterback. And did you know what happened a week later? Randy Moss was gone. This is what New England does. The difference is New England doesn't draft star receivers as good as Pittsburgh, and New England's

quarterback is way better at just internalizing stuff and not being passive aggressive to the press, which Ben is and it drives me crazy. It's not without blame here. But this idea that Pittsburgh Steelers don't know what they're doing and they're making folks, owners, the Rooney Rules, they know what they're doing, Colbert, Ben, Tomlin. I'm critical of Mike Tomlin. but I mean a bad year for him's nine six and one we're just this this we know the way it works in the NFL if the owner the GM the coach and the quarterback are a to a minus you're good they're going to be

good I'm not sure the Raiders are with AB I'm not sure the Jets are with Labian Bell but Mike Tomlin steps to the mic and just once again this is why Mike Tomlin's a grown up he's like yeah I'm hearing stuff but you know we're nine six and one we got tightened it out And, you know, we're good. We still, just play it again. This is how a grown-up deals with nine, six, and one. Everybody's hyperventilating. This is why Tomlin, you know, I never had a losing season.

It's not my favorite game coach. I think it's a little loose like Pete Carroll. But here again is a grown-up. I have no problem with his play or his leadership. I've heard some of the scuttle budding what you mentioned. I'm focusing on the guys that within our group and on our team. I think that's what's appropriate for me. have no reaction to former Steelers and things of that nature.

You know, we were a 9, 6, and 1 football team last year. We all need to look in the mirror in terms of what we do and how we do it. Starting with me. That's like a perfect answer. I mean, that's got to look in the mirror. So does Big Ben. But this is what the good teams do. They move off guys.

If they get old, they get loud, they're not quarterbacks. This is how the league runs. It's not like the NBA. You know, baseball gives a guy a tenure. No other sport does that. Football, they give you a ton of guaranteed money, but they can cut you. Other sports don't do that. NBA basically builds around one or two superstar players on a team.

Other players, places don't do that. That's okay. Each one has a different system. They're different business models. They have different collective bargaining agreements and disagreements. They have different practice schedules, different levels of regulated violence. NFL, if you're viewed as disruptive or needy, and you're not a quarterback, you are sea crest out.

That's just the way the game works. But by the way, caveat MTOR, everybody knows that going in. NBA players know, Zion knows. He got to have a lot of leverage in the NBA. Okay? NBA kids, no, by the way, if I was an athlete and I was 6-7 and I could play any sport, basketball be a very attractive choice for me. I wouldn't want to go to small-town minor league baseball.

I wouldn't want to get hit as hard in football. I got to be honest, if I was talented and I was 13 or 14 years old and I could choose anything, I would like the NBA model as an athlete. I would like having more power, having more of a say over my boss. But if I did enter football as a quarterback, I would know that my coach and GM would trade Randy Moss and Wes Welker right when I fell in love with them and that Gronk would retire after less than a decade. All these sports are different.

This is not different. Last night in Portland, a grotesque, we're not going to show it. I showed it once. I'm not showing it again. Nurkich is their center. He's very good. He got hurt. His leg snapped.

He's gone for the season. It was an absolutely awful injury. I showed it once two hours ago. I'm not showing it again. Certainly not showing it on a loop. It is interesting, though. We think of football as a very physical sport and where you've got to have a lot of attrition. I was talking to a friend this year.

I said in Los Angeles, Brandon Ingram, LeBron, and Lonzo Ball, and Rondo had major injuries. The Rams play football, and they had fewer. I think if you step back,

it is remarkable how much more physical basketball is than we think. It's sprinting and jumping in a crowd for seven-footers and six-eight and six-nine guys, which is kind of a weird DNA anyway. Most people in America, most people in the world are not six-foot-nine, 6'10, 6 foot 11. It is remarkable how many injuries the NBA has to stars and how it affects the playoffs.

Chris Paul gets hurt last year. Houston leads Golden State, never the same series. Kauai got hurt in a series against Golden State. A couple years ago, LeBron went into a finals, game one, Kyrie hurt, series over. The Warriors, the one final they lost, Bogot and Steph Curry were injured. You know, we just think of basketball as the non-contact sport. folks, there have been so many key injuries. Victorola Depot this year, Paul George a couple years ago.

John Wall, by the way, John Wall in the last year has been hurt constantly. LeBron James suffered his first major injury. Anthony Davis, watch out. Joel Embed, this injury tanks the season for Portland. There's nothing they can do about it. It's awful. C.J. McCullough is awful. This was not a team that was going to win two or three series anyway, but they were an interesting team.

They made a really interesting. mid-season move to acquire Rodney Hood and Inas Canter. They were certainly capable of being an uncomfortable series for a Houston, an Oklahoma City, potentially beating a Utah, and their season is over. But I think sometimes we think about football. If you go look at the New England Patriot season this year, I thought it was kind of remarkable. They got to the Super Bowl, and they had the roster.

They just weren't missing many people. And in Los Angeles, the Lakers have had more season ending, more long injuries than the Rams have and the Chargers have. It's just been incredible. So basketball provides that. It's the dark side, the ugly side to it. There's a lot of injuries to a lot of good players. And Portland season as of this morning is absolutely done. Coming up next hour, we're trying to get a hold of Ryan Leaf. Reggie Bush will also stop by. Don't go anywhere. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Hour 3 live in L.A. Here we go. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, live in Los Angeles, Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Reggie Bush this hour. Joy Taylor is joining me. You know who I got, you know who I shouted me out yesterday? Who's that? Baker Mayfield called me his good friend. Oh, the sarcasm? Maybe a little. I got asked the context, obviously.

By the way, I'll say this. Baker Mayfield is always welcome on our show. Anytime all by dinner, you come out here to Hollywood. They make movies out here. It's very sunny. It's a very popular place for celebrities. Please spend here before. Oh, you has?

Okay. Oh, that's right. So, Baker, they'll show a picture of our studio. We now have two chairs. Last time Baker was here, we had a couch. Right. Now we've got two chairs. If you want to come out here by yourself, you can.

With your beautiful bride, you can. With Jarvis Landry, you can. With Odell Beckham, you can. I'm not sure about your crazy owner. That scares me a little bit. He's a little bit of a loose cannon. But people think I don't like Baker Mayfield. That is not true.

We can have a combative relationship. I've said before, Russell Westbrook is on the couch. I criticize people. They are always welcome on the couch. A lot of people in my business rip, and they don't want to talk to people. They avoid people. I don't. I hang out at nightclubs every night,

trying to find Baker Mayfield. That's not true. All right, it's not. But if he was living in town, I would. So Baker Mayfield, yesterday on Twitter, shout out to me. I think it was a little sarcastic. He called me as a good friend.

But if you're in town, you're on this couch, I'll buy dinner for you and your beautiful. Are they married yet? I think they're getting married. They're engaged, yeah. All right. So a tip of the cap, it'll be an offer, an olive branch. By the way, I watched every game.

I'm critical of you. You drive me nuts. I don't like to grabbing the stuff nonsense. I wouldn't have drafted you, but you had a good, dirty-durkey year, and I think I can't take my eyes off. I think you're fascinating to watch. And Cleveland's got a bunch of good players, but that also means you got a lot of pressure. All right. Channel 83, Sirius XM, the herd's also there.

Fifteen minutes, former Pro Bowl running back, new Fox colleague, Reggie Bush joins us. Later and best for last, there are three rule changes in the NFL being proposed, And two of them I absolutely hate, and I'll talk about that. So this came out from Paul Pierce the other day. He says, here's a hot take for you. All Zion Williams is is already a top 50 current basketball player in the world. That's not even a spicy take. That's not even a tempid take.

That's baby food. Top 50, of course he's a top 50 player. The question is, is he a top 50 player? top 20 basketball player in the world. Okay, all you need to know is this. USA Today, before the season started, came out with a list. They came out with a list of the top 50 NBA players. Gordon Hayward was 31 and Brandon Ingram was 33.

Stephen Adams, T.J. Warren, Kyle Lowry, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green. You don't think NBA teams tomorrow would trade those players for Zion? I mean, you really think today, Gordon Hayward, Zion Williamson, who's better? Really? Zion Williamson is 285 pounds. Gordon Hayward could play with dumbbells in his shorts. He's a super quick, super athletic, 285 pounds.

pounds. By the way, you keep telling me he's overweight. I've never seen a guy in my life carried 285 pounds at 6-6 and look that ripped. This is an all-time talent. USA Today's top 50 list, there are guys on that list I wouldn't want if you gave them to me. This kid's averaging 22 and a half points and eight rebounds this year, less than 13 shots. Under 30 minutes a game. In a strict college system, with lots of mouse to feed at Duke. He is massively improving month to month. Do you know what he's averaging since he got hurt?

28 points, 9 rebounds, and shooting 70% from the floor. In this one season alone, and college basketball seasons are short, they're like 40 games, he's already a different player from pre-injury to post-injury. He's giving you 30 a game now under 30 minutes, shooting 70%. He's shooting 47% on threes since he got hurt. Top 50 player, Toronto Raptors tomorrow could trade Kyle Lowry for Zion. Are you kidding me?

They couldn't pick up the phone fast enough. And Kyle Lowry's a nice player. He was one of the USA Today's top 50 players. Folks, when you're seeing a young player like this, for the next four to five years, Zion Williamson, like Tiger Woods when he was, 17 is going to make massive jumps. LeBron James, year one to year four in the NBA, made a massive jump.

He went from a bad defender to an excellent one. He went from couldn't shoot a three to starting to be able to hit a three. Zion Williamson within this season has gone from a 22 point of game guy who couldn't really shoot to a 29 point a game guy, 13 shots a game, who's shooting 70% from the floor. here's the night so I started listing players this morning here's who he will not be better than next year and for the record

my gut feeling is he's going to be better than most of these guys in three years but he will not be as good as LeBron James Harden Paul George Kauai Leonard Joel M. Bede Steph Curry, Janice Kevin Durant Damian Liller, Devin Booker Anthony Davis, Chris Paul Luca Dontich Nicola Yokic

Denver Kyrie Irving Clay Thompson Ben Simmons Jimmy Butler, Kemmel Walker. He will not be better than those players next year. That's 19. That's it. I know he won't be as good as those players. After that, you're giving me a lot of guys. Draymond Green, really?

If you watched Draymond play this year? Kind of peaked, right? This kid is getting better. He would be, I looked this morning, the best player on 14 NBA teams. I could argue 17, I'll say 14. And he, like Tiger Woods when he was a teenager, is making these incredible leaps every six months. This is an all-timer.

Folks, when the college basketball season started, legitimate people were arguing R.J. Barrett was a better player. Legitimate people. I talked to scouts. They're like, oh, no, no, no, he's number one. And so Paul Pierce saying top 50 player, Paul, bruh, that is not a hot take. That's not even a spicy take. He's absolutely one of the top 50 players in the world.

For the record, look it up. When LeBron James out of high school did not play college, walked into the NBA, go back to the top 50 reported players in the NBA that year. LeBron out of high school was one of the 50 best players. Do you remember LeBron James' first game in the NBA? I do. 20 points, 8 rebounds. LeBron was one of the 50 best basketball players in the world as a high schooler.

Basketball is not football where you have to redshirt and you have to get big and you have to get strong and you have to memorize a playbook. Basketball is in baseball where even if you're a great high school player, ooh, can you hit a 96-mile-an-hour slider? Like basketball, you get great fast. And there are gifts. Yonis's length. He's been that long for a long time. Zion Williamson is 285 pounds. Great passer.

Excellent touch. Absurdly transcendent speed for his size. Top 50, obviously. You know, it's interesting. When I look at Zion, one of the things that just pops to me, because we've talked about this joy, you eat with your eyes. That's why there's no blue food. Like if food looks disgusting, you won't want to eat it.

That's why when you go to a nice restaurant, they decorate the plate. They want it to look appealing before you eat it. I'm trying to think of blue food. Not a lot of it out there. Other than blueberries. Not a lot of it out there. The first thing I do when I watch athletes, I look at them. the last time I saw an athlete that weighed 285 pounds and just you would never guess it was Indomican Si.

Indomacan Sue, I remember I saw him playing high school because he was from Portland. And then I saw him up close. He came back in college. Indomacan Sue was 300 pounds and had no gut. Like it was a flat belly. And I remember thinking, okay, that's, he is going to be absurdly dominant. Now, Indomicon had other issues where I think he's a little bit of a freestyler. I don't think he's terribly coachable.

People in football think of him as Aaron Donald and Dominican Sue. One's a team guy. One's a me guy a little bit. But when I look at Zion, I just can't get past this. Most athlete at 285, especially at 18 years old, I mean, his high school didn't have a world-class nutrition system, I doubt. How many do? Did his high school have a world-class weight training facility?

I don't know. Most don't. when you can carry 285 pounds, I got no gut. I got no flab. I mean, I'm sorry, but that kid, that just does not come off the conveyor belt much. He carries 285. If you'd ask me to guess his weight, I'd be like 248. Like he is 285 ripped.

I mean, he's got definition. Wow. I mean, you just don't get that. I think the kid's going to be absolutely incredible. And I don't care that he doesn't have a position. What's LeBron's position? You know, I mean, I just, I mean, Tim Duncan, I still can't figure out. Was he a forward?

Was he a center? I mean, a guy can play. But remember this. The NBA, you cannot clog the lane. So in the NBA, he'll face better players. There'll be no double teams down. In college, the lane is congested. You can zone it.

It's hard. Yeah, Taco Falls, not going to be sitting there waiting for him. It doesn't work that way. In the NBA, what you do is your bigs now. can shoot, so they move outside, and your center has to go follow him. So if you can beat a big off the dribble, you score at the basket. Remember when LeBron James used to play the Indiana Pacers, and they had Roy Hibbert? Roy Hibbert's not a great player.

Roy Hibbert gave LeBron fits because at the time, Roy Hibbert would just sit in camp and LeBron couldn't finish at the rim. But in the NBA generally, and this is like seven years ago now, right? Now everybody can shoot. So Roy Hibbert, he'd have to move outside because, somebody on the floor could shoot. And so Zion's going to have a much clearer path in the NBA. I think he's one of those rare kids that will be, that's actually built for the NBA more

than college. I think college restricts him. And we've seen instances where, like Luca Donzich for Dallas, that kid's a better NBA player. He's really built for the NBA. If you look at his game and his spacing and some guys are just better in the pros. They're built for it. You know, years ago, an NBA scout told me this.

He said it's very hard to scout college guards because college coaches are so controlling that you never know if the guard is making the move or the coach is barking and yelling in plays. So when DeAngelo Russell came to the Lakers, they're like, is he leading it or is Thad Mata leading it? College guards, if they only play a year in college, how much is his leadership and he's calling plays and he's running the offense? college is a restrictive game. It's coach-dominated. NBA is player-dominated. Coaches let guys kind of play. By the way, Jason Tatum, to me, there's times he's a better NBA guy than he wasn't Duke.

I mean, you couldn't tell he was going to be that. In the NBA, the floor is open. Jason Tatum, there are 90s unstoppable. Duke, he was good. I didn't think he was that dynamic. Reggie Bush, a big disagreement with me on one potential NFL rule change. That's coming up. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you

context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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, because 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody

coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout, Kate Martin, and rising hockey star Layla Edwards.

If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone

and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world, Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard.

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Holden flu season, try Vixinex nasal spray. A couple of squirts up there, 12 hours when congestion strikes. Reggie Bush, you had the unique career. You played in USC a Glamour City. Yep. than a crazy city, party city, Marty Grandin, Orleans.

And then you went to Miami. Yeah. Your most productive years, we were talking about Odell Beckham. And Joy and I were talking about this earlier, that does the city matter for players? So I could make an argument. The four biggest party cities in America are L.A., Vegas, Miami, and New Orleans. You played in three of them, and all your productive years were in the party cities. So did you see teammates?

Unravel, why didn't you unravel? Because OBJ now is going to kind of boring Cleveland from New York and my takeaway is not a terrible thing. So talk about your own experience. 100% I saw teammates unravel. And so I think it's also predicated on the person. Like the personality,

like your character, right, is going to, it's not going to change, but it's just going to maybe if you go to a party, it may elevate. Like they say about money, money makes you more of what you are. Isn't that the saying? So a nice guy is really nice and a mean guy's a jerk. Yes.

And if you had a little bit of a party boy inside you already, then going to Miami or New Orleans, then, yeah, you could get lost in the parting. But I never, it's funny because I never looked at New Orleans as a party city. And I go back to 2006 when I first got there. I got there six months after Hurricane Katrina. So there was nobody there. And it was a ghost town.

And so one of the things that, and this speaks to O'Dell, I actually wanted to text am I hadn't done it yet, but when I look back on my beginning, the first couple years in New Orleans, I wish I would have appreciated the magnitude of the opportunity that we had in front of us. Because I was still stuck on, man, it's not sunny here like L.A. It's, you know, there's no palm trees here or, you know, there's not a whole lot to do here. And it took me about two years to really grasp that I have an opportunity to do something special here. nobody has ever done before. And that's to, one, help revive a city restore some faith, but also win a Super Bowl for a franchise that's never been done before. If Odell wins a Super Bowl in Cleveland, he would never have to pay for a drink, food,

nothing ever again. Because those are some of the most diehard fans that football has to offer. I mean, they go to games every year knowing that they have no shot, right? And now they're one of the most talented teams, at least on the offensive side anyways, in the NFL. and I just really hope that he can quickly grasp the opportunity that he has in front of him. Because you didn't. Because I didn't in my first two years.

And also it had something to do with Hurricane Katrina, the people not being there. And so for me, I was still, I still had the immature mentality as to, man, it's not enough to do here. And so when I was, sorry not to cut you up, but when I would get like two or three days off, I would fly back to L.A. and I did that for like my first year, whenever we would get time off in the off season or maybe a bi-week or something like that, I couldn't wait to get to L.A. And then as I got deeper into my career in New Orleans,

I really started appreciated the beauty of just what it had to offer. And I just hope that O'Dell can grasp that because, yes, it may not be as much to do as New York, but you got something special in front of you and an opportunity to do something in Cleveland that you didn't do it. By the way, when you in New Orleans, you didn't quite appreciate Sean Payton, Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham, you had a couple good offensive linemen. The reality is Odell Beckham should realize, I think he does. This offense for Cleveland, it's like dudes. Yeah. Like Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson and Jarvis Landry. They got players. Like dudes on offense, it's an all-star team. And now you have the quarterback who has the same energy as you, right? He has that same youthfulness as you. And he's, he's,

plays the game like you do, right? He's in the end zone celebrating, dancing. So I'm expecting to see a lot of that. But this is the energy and the youthfulness that I think Odell needs around him. I just hope that the chemistry has got to be right. Chemistry's got to be right. All right. So speaking in New Orleans, they got job last year at the end of the year. They're very upset, blah, blah, blah. So they want rule changes. I'm not a big fan of the new NFL rule changes. I've always had kind of a belief on, and I'll talk about it in best for last. Do you think think the NFL should make major alterations to replay because of the Ram Saints ending? Well, I don't think it should be just because the Ram Saints ending because that is just one of

many, right? There's a lot of times where games are more and more becoming decided by referees, and it shouldn't be like that, right? And so that play, as we're watching it right now, that is as blatant as it can get. You got two referees who are looking at this play, and the NFL has really done a good job at pushing this narrative as we're trying to protect the players more, right? We're trying to protect the player's head more. Well, you got helmet to helmet right there, and you got passing the fairness. You miss both of those, right? What are you looking at?

Because the one thing I go back to is as players, when we mess up, when we miss plays, we get chewed out. And if you miss enough of them, you'll get benched and somebody else will replace you. Steve Wilkes got fired after one year, right? And so referees need to be held just as accountable as the rest of the league. As the players, as the coaches, it all needs to work together. So why this is so significant is because, for one, guys sacrifice so much year and year out to get to this point. To get to the game before the Super Bowl, right? You sacrifice family relationships.

You sacrifice business. You sacrifice a lot. Your body, your brain, you're giving up. and for that call not to happen, to me, it just speaks volumes to where the NFL has gone lately. There's been more and more no calls or calls that decide games, and it shouldn't be like that. The players, the plays need to decide the games, not the referees, not these, you know, phantom holding calls that we see a lot of times. You got 300-pound linemen that are trying to block each other.

You could call holding every play, if that's the case, if it's going to be that tickey-tack. if it's not a blatant like the guy's pulling his jersey, then, you know, what are we doing? So I think they need to definitely use the replay if it's going to mean more fairness for the game. Reggie Bush joining us, Super Bowl champ 2009, 11 years in the NFL, number two picked by the Saints overall.

I want to talk about this. So you had a kind of college career. I have said this before. There's been only about four or five college football players in my life that I thought needed to get a check when they left the university because of the digital and the merchandising. You're one of them. Vince Young's one of them.

Johnny Mansell's one of them. Tim Tebow's one of them. Not many. None of the Alabama players, that stadium's going to sell out regardless. But you four players really were an industry. You were a cottage industry. You couldn't go anywhere in Los Angeles. It wasn't Leinert's jersey.

It was yours. And it's rare the running back over the quarterback. And Matt was great. So there's four guys that I've thought The university should just go, listen, you made us $38 million in merchandising. And I've always felt merchandising when you get the rare player, write him a check, boom.

So Zion, I couldn't tell you the last college player. Maybe it's Christian Leitner, maybe, Shaq, maybe. Yeah. That I'm like, oh, no, he's going to walk into the NBA, a star. You were the NFL jersey sales leader, your rookie year. Yeah. So you know what it's like.

USC was the glamour program. Yes. You were the glamour player. You were the most talked about running back, maybe in my life at a college. So what is he going to experience? If you could sit down with Zion and say, here's a couple of things, big fella. What would you say? He's going to experience the weight of the world.

He's going to experience a lot of pressure. People are going to look to him to have these big games week in and week out. and every game they're going to be looking to Zion to be the savior of the team. Savior is an interesting word because you were seen as a savior type. Yes. And if he goes to a team that's a struggling basketball team, then yes, they're going to look to him to be, to me, he has the kind of the LeBron James factor, right, of coming in, just his size, right, his height and his athletic ability.

You know, when he steps on the court, people watch and people notice. And people can't take their eyes away from the TV. And so he's going to experience a lot of pressure. The one thing, the one piece of advice, I would give him is to keep your circles small because everybody and their mom, if they're not already doing it, are going to be pulling at you. You're going to give friends. And it's usually the people closest to you. It's never the people that you think is, you know, distant relatives or distant friends

or a coach that comes out of nowhere. It's usually the people closest to you. And they start grabbing. And they start grabbing because, and if it's family members, you know, And God bless them, but they feel entitled, right? They feel entitled because maybe they helped raise you or, you know, maybe it's your brother or sister. And so those are the people that, yes, they do deserve, you know, part of, you know,

the credit for the journey. But when it comes to the financial side of it, where it comes to, you know, a lot of things that players deal with, he's going to have a lot of pressure. And if I can give him any advice, I would say, to keep your circle as small as possible. How small was yours? It wasn't small enough. It wasn't small enough. 8, 10, 12.

Yeah, something like that. I didn't roll with a big crew. No, in fact, I saw you one time. You wouldn't remember this. I was in, I think I was in Miami for the Super Bowl, and I was at a restaurant, and I looked over, you were in a T-shirt, and we made eye contact. And I was like, hey, I didn't want to bother you.

And you would come by yourself. You were in the corner with, like, a buddy, and it made me happy. I was like, Reggie's in a T-shirt, Reggie's by himself, Reggie ain't hanging out. And kind of what I'm speaking to is, I had somebody very, very, very close to me, extremely as close as you can possibly stole money from me. And it really messed me up, messed up my whole world because this was a person that, you know, I was family.

He wasn't my blood-related family, but he was family. And so then when it happened, it just, I couldn't believe it. And I didn't want to believe it. and it really those are the kinds of things that happen all the time and that's why I say you gotta keep your circle small

because you just never know and it's usually the people closest to you and God bless them, you love them but at the same time you have to protect your own and that's one of the hardest things to do as a young athlete

because you never want to look like a sellout, right? You never want to look like I made it and I just forgot about everybody. Right. You want to be the guy you know, look LeBron is doing a great job by he bringing his boy

into business. But you know what? LeBron demands that his boys have their stuff buttoned up. Exactly. Rich Paul is a rap. I mean, I know LeBron's boys. They got their stuff buttoned up.

Every young black kid or every athlete, young athlete wants to be able to do the things that LeBron James is doing with his friends. Elevate them on the business side. Help them make money. You know, bring them along with them. But they can't just be hangar honors. Exactly.

And that's the, and that's the issue. And you had like one or two hanger honors? Yeah. I had more than one or two. Hang owners. I had a couple. By the way, years ago, I was in Portland. I won't name the young player.

He was a tremendously gifted young player. And I did a story on him, and I went to his house. And, I mean, the kid was from way away from Portland. He had a beautiful house, and he had about six or seven guys in his house. And, you know, one or two, you meet. They're grown-ups. And then I went downstairs, and two guys were just playing video games for an hour and a half.

And I remember walking out of the house thinking, they just they're just video game guys yeah and I'm like and I remember thinking as I walked out I would want I would be so insecure about the money and protecting and you had a couple of those I had a couple of those and it's unfortunate because it's reality though it is life and it is life and you hate it and you hate to see other people have to go through it I know what I went through and how much that affected me and the kind of depression I went into and the kind of things I battled mentally because this person was so close to me. You also, you know what?

And you and Zion are also, you know, fun, joyful people. I never had that problem, Joy, because I had no friends. So I didn't have any hangar-owners. Yeah. But Zion's the kind of kid. Everybody's going to want a piece of Zion. Everybody. I mean, you'll watch the way he plays and the way it presents himself.

People don't want to be around him. He is fun. His game is fun. It is. And he seems like the kind of person that he just welcomes everybody. right and a lot of times what happens is people will take that kindness for weakness right and people will take that kindness for weakness to the point to where they do things that you know that they shouldn't they shouldn't be doing and so that's the only piece of advice

I would give Zion man it's just keep your circle small have make sure you have somebody close to you that you 100% trust yes because you can't always watch everything right like you got to have one person that you I mean like your ace like from day one your mom or dad, whoever it is, that you completely trust to watch things for you when you can't watch. When he's on that basketball court, somebody has to be watching this back.

By the way, I trust moms mostly. Yeah. Yep. You don't hear a lot of stories about mom screwing up. No, you don't. You don't. Yeah. I'm not picking on dads.

Dads are men. Yep. We mess up a lot. Egos. That's true. Not a lot of moms grew up. You very rarely hear, moms sold out her son.

You're like, what? That's like a national inquiry story. Yeah. And you're 100. 100% right there. I've never, I don't really hear too many of those with moms. Not a lot, not a lot bad mom stories. Dad's, though. We'd be messing up.

It's great seeing you. He's part of our new Fox College football crew. Reggie Bush, join with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So, Connor McGregor announced his UFC retirement last night. He posted the news on Twitter. Hey, guys, quick announcement.

I've decided to retire from the sport formerly known as. as mixed martial art. Today, I wish all my old colleagues while going forward in competition. I now joined former partners on this venture already in retirement. Proper Pinacoladas on me, fellas. Do you believe it? He did fake retire before. Yeah.

I don't know. To be honest with you, he kind of already felt retired to me. I mean, I know he's still sort of in that suspension period. Also, there's a fighter ahead of him that he just lost to that he doesn't match up with Joy at all. It doesn't serve him in any way to come back and lose. Again. We saw what happened with Rhonda. I kind of already felt like he was retired.

It does. I don't want to see McGregor get beat up in one final fight just to prove something. It doesn't. It's fine. I love watching him. He's making a lot of money with his whiskey. You know, you made a ton of money. He's completely marketable.

He'll make money on appearances for the rest of his life. And he's a legendary fighter. I don't know what else he has to prove. I mean, this is the sport. Stars don't last that long. It's just the nature of it. Everyone's going to lose. And when you lose, it's usually in horrible, devastating fashion.

And that's just the name of the game. And it's now that we've seen, now we have enough of body of work with the sport, there's not so much of a need to come back and prove something. Like, we know what it is now when fighters are done. I mean, Misha Tate said she decided she was going to retire when she was in the, in the Octagon. I mean, that's a bad place to decide you're retired. But, like, when you know, you know.

And I know he said he was going to retire before and he came back, but it just, it just already feels that way. You get $100 million in the bank. You don't want to get punched in the face. Yes, it is. You have to have a very disciplined, not that he's not disciplined, but a very specifically type of discipline mentality to want to continue to fight on that level when you have that much money in the bank. It's just you're not, you have a different kind of hunger, especially when you've come from that place. This is really why Mayweather is so impressive with his streak because he has made a colossal amount of money and he still comes back. Now, obviously, boxing is a little different and he's the best defensive fighter of all time.

So it's not like he's taking these kind of hits, but still a lot. But, yeah, I do think he's retired. It seems like his career, we want it a little more. Yeah, I mean, I think he had three fights that changed everything. The Diaz fight, the second one, the Mayweather fight, and the B fight are the three that really made him a superstar. But I think some of this is he's pretty smart. He's got a hell of a whiskey business. And number two is the guy in front of him just lost to,

he doesn't match up with him. And it's like, you know what? I'm out with my 100 mil. And UFC will be fine. Another star will come along. So there's been a lot of criticism of Ben this offseason concerning his leadership. And one current Steeler is giving Ben some praise.

Juju Smith-Schuster posted a picture of himself, hugging Ben, and out of the message. I was so blessed to enter the league and play with the Hall of Fame quarterback as a 20-year-old. Ben has taught me so much. He's a true leader, and I can't wait to rock with my guy this season. I like this. I like this picture.

I know everybody's going to be cynical. I still contend, Joy, I don't play fantasy football. The safest guy to pick. Ben is going to want to elevate Juju and say, see? Juju's a strong pick, for sure. He's going to have a lot of targets this year. I don't, the timing of this is obviously what will make people cynical. I don't doubt the genuine.

context of the picture. I'm sure Juju and Ben have a good relationship or he wouldn't post it. I don't think that anyone's really that over the top. It's just going to be completely fake about it. I'm sure they do like each other. And hopefully they do because they're going to be playing together next year. But the bottom line is this. After all the criticism

that Ben has received after them missing the playoffs, as Tomlin said, everybody needs to look in the mirror at this point. There's been plenty of criticism to go around. A lot of eyes are going to be on Ben because Levion and Antonio Brown are not there anymore. So there's literally no one to point the finger anymore at except for him.

So for his sake, they kind of need to have a successful season because otherwise it's going to fall on him. So finally, Jason Kidd's name has been mentioned a lot recently in connection with the Lakers. They are likely going to be looking for a new coach. Everyone is assuming that they're going to move off of Luke Walton. And apparently, Jason Kidd will be ready for the opportunity. He had this to say on the jump yesterday. We'll see what happens. You know, I would love to get back to coaching at any level, college or the NBA.

And so right now it's not. nice to be wanted. I think when you look at the Lakers as a whole, it's a franchise that is one of the best in the world, not just in the NBA, but the world. And so if you ever have the opportunity to wear the purple and gold, you

can't turn that down. As a coach, as a player, because they're all about championships. I don't like anything about this. Can we stop hiring famous people? If you look at the three seasons that he had in Milwaukee, and compared to the three seasons that Luke Walton has had in L.A.

Kind of similar, on it. I mean, he had more success. He took the team to the playoffs twice. The East was weaker in the head. I mean, yeah, I think you have to look at the full perspective of things. You can't just look just at the record. What kind of talent did he have compared to what Luke had to work with in this season, losing LeBron?

Like, there's a lot that you can look at when you pull those records. But to me, there's no adjustment period for LeBron and the next coach. It just can't happen. Whoever you bring in has to be locked, lock, with LeBron. Fast. Immediately. By the way, there can be no period of getting to know each other and what's the system and

what are we going to do and what kind of players work with this? Rob Parker said this about six months ago and people thought he was crazy. LeBron's got to win a title or compete for one in year two. Or there could be issues here because LeBron's not going to get better at this point. Right. All it takes is one more injury and we're all going to be like, oh, it's all different. Remember Kobe had one injury and it was like, okay, he'll come back. He was still giving you 25 a night, and then he had this second injury, and we're like, he's officially an old player.

Right. No, he feels mortal already. Yes. And with everything that happened this season off the court, and some of it, you know, obviously with the Anthony Davis trade, it looks more dramatic than it maybe actually is because we came in with all these expectations that we probably shouldn't have had. But the bottom line is everything's got to happen right now. That's just all there's to it. Yeah. The herd lie news. Coming up next, best for last.

Three proposed NFL rule changes. Hate to sort of get one. We'll talk about that next. Great news. Quick and easy way to save money. Switch the GEICO 15 minutes. And you can save 15% on car insurance. Geico.com.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Dollar Shave Club delivers products. Look, feel, smell your best of your door. Handsome discount. More you buy more you save. DollarShapeclub.com. slash Colin C-O-L-I-N for special offers.

All right. I think it's time. We haven't done the open in a while. Why don't we do it? It's one of my favorites. Best for Last. We have a good best for last today. After almost three hours, Colin apparently hasn't gotten to the point yet.

Quit holding out on us, Cowherd. It's the best for last. All right. The NFL, Sean Payton is proposing what a shock, losing coach, feels he got jobbed on a pass interference call. is proposing an NFL rule change on pass interference. He wants more of those to be reviewable. So there's three, three rules that are being examined

and they are proposing rule changes. I will show you each and what I would do for each. Number one, propose rule change. Adding pass interference to the list of reviewable plays. Oh, good hell. Do you want to slow the game down even more? Like, that's a baseball thing. You want to speed these games up.

sports are better when they're urgent and when they're quick. I don't want every pass interference call to be judged. For the record, it's subjective. There's contact. They allow a ton of contact. Now, this was a bad call. My solution has always been really simple. I call it the umbrella rule.

Under two minutes left in the game, the league has the right one time. not the coaches, not a tit for tat thing. The league one time, last two minutes of every game, can use the umbrella rule. Any one egregious mistake, doesn't matter what it is, is reviewable. Pass interference, off sides, motion, line up off sides, late hit. It's called the umbrella rule. And the league, not the coaches, the league can say this play, hey, we got a lot of questions going on here.

Guys, let's review it and you reverse it. It's called the umbrella rule. We don't need to review every pass interference. Folks, have you watched pass interference? Have you watched the contact down the field with receivers and corners? You could call pass interference virtually every time. Coaches, coach players to grab, jostle, wrestle. So the umbrella rule.

Propose rule change number two. What do you know? The chiefs didn't get the ball in overtime. They're proposing Andy read a new rule. Allow both teams to possess the ball at least once in overtime, even if the first team scores a touchdown. Oh, stop it. How many times do we have to change overtime?

My belief has always been the same. Get rid of the coin flip. The road team always gets the ball first in overtime. Everybody knows it before the game starts. And whoever scores first, regardless of who gets the ball first, scores. If the road team is getting the ball first late in games, home teams will be more aggressive. You'll see less teams playing for overtime.

You do not want longer overtimes. History shows the longer in overtime is it affects you the following week. More fatigue, more losses, more injuries. By the way, let's stop messing with overtime. If you can't as a home team, with all the advantages, the crowd, the travel, the rest that if you can't after 14 possessions, win a game outright, road team gets it first. What happens, then happens. Third was, instead of an onside kick, allow teams to attempt a fourth and 15 from their own

35. If they convert, they keep possession. Oh, Lord. Isn't that a little complicated? Here's my proposed rule. Don't change anything. If you're down by 10 with a minute and a half to go, that is a you problem. why would I ever create rules to help bad teams get another opportunity to beat a team that's out-coached them, out-played them, out-hit them, and out-executed them?

The on-side kick should be hard. It should be rare. You know what also is rare? Hitting a half-court shot to win a championship. What's also rare stopping Tom Brady and the Patriots. Sports isn't easy. And if you trail late in a game, the percentage you should be able to, get the ball back should be incredibly difficult and the onside kick is about 5%.

That's what it should be. You're trailing. That's your problem, not the team that's leading. So my solutions for the NFL rule controversies. Make all plays reviewable by the league last two minutes. Road team, and I felt this for a year, always gets the ball in overtime first and whoever scores scores. By the way, the road team has the choice.

If the road team is the Chicago Bears, they may say, we don't want the ball first. But the road team has the choice. And in most instances, defenses are tired. The road team will take the ball. But if you're the Bears and you're like, we'll put our defense out first. And then finally, stop changing gimmicky stuff. The onside kick is what it's always been. Dramatic, low probability.

But a bad team shouldn't get more opportunities if they've been outplayed for three and a half. powers. Colin, as you were saying that, we just got word that the 4th and 15 rule voted down. So the NFL agree with you. The overtime rule was tabled. So not voted down. Can I do my John Gruden

imitation again? On that news? I want to do my John Gruden imitation on that news. Did they get news on the reviewable plays? So what's the new thing, John? The onside kick was voted down. That was shot down. And then the new overtime rule tabled. All right. Give me some press conference here. Joy?

Hey. Coach Gruden, what do you think about the overtime rules being tabled? The Raiders don't go into overtime. We win the games in regulation. Oh. And by the way, onside kick, I don't even worry about that. Because the Raiders, you know, Raiders are going to win games late. You're going to be in the lead, okay?

Okay. We're building a culture here, okay? Best defensive draft in 20 years. I got three picks, four, top 35, okay? That's why I gave up Khalil Mack. Okay. I don't know why I sound almost Irish or something. Your earlier impression was so much better.

But I did bob. Hey, hey. You have the cadence down, I think. I love this visor. I really love this visor. It's the herd. See you tomorrow. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves.

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