February 13, 2025 • 32 mins
Colin reacts to the Jets officially announcing they will move on from Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback and why Rodgers is in need of a third act in his NFL career. He looks at the disconnect between Matthew Stafford and the Rams and believes there is one clear team Stafford could play for next season if it's not in LA. Plus, NBA insider Ethan Strauss joins the show to give insight on why the Warriors brought in Jimmy Butler to play with Steph Curry at this point in his career
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Oh, it suddenly becomes a very interesting day in a Thursday,
live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Wherever you may
be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making
us part of your day. We've got a lot of
things Jmack brewing today. Yesterday Jmack just threw out a
little nugget, a little McNugget. He said, you know, Matt
(00:47):
Stafford giants. This was actually two days ago. Keep your
eye on it. All things are percolating. Also, a story
that Jay Glazer and Jordan Schultz broke. I think it
was on Super Bowl sund Here Saturday, Jets. We're gonna
move off Aaron Rodgers. Well, that is official this morning,
So it came down late this morning. This is clearly
(01:10):
was a Jets decision. Last week, we met with Aaron Rodgers,
said NW Jets head coach Aaron Glent, and we informed
him we're moving off. I can see j Max pumping
his fist over there. That has been his mantra for
the last six months. So this was this is pretty interesting.
(01:31):
Aaron contacted the Jets much like he contacted the Packers,
and they both dumped him. In my opinion, Aaron will
tell you, hey, I'm gonna wrap it up. Heck of
a career. He can say that, that's all BS. Aaron
needs a third act. You do not want to be remembered.
Farv had success in Minnesota, Peyton Manning wins a Super
(01:54):
Bowl in Denver, Tom Win ones in Tampa. You're known
as a quarterback that leaves Green Bay and the Packers
the next year are better without you, and you bomb
in New York and become kind of a zany conspiracy theorist.
That is not what you want to be remembered as
Aaron's going to tell you, I don't listen to traditional news.
(02:15):
I do my own homework. I don't care about criticism.
That's BS. Everybody hears it. People care what you say
about him. You do. I do, everybody does so. And
what's really interesting here is the Jets do not have
a succession plan. Okay, the Jets don't have a quarterback.
It's a bad quarterback class. I want you to think
about this because this is what I told you Monday
(02:37):
on the show, and I said it's Sunday night in
my podcast on the volume, I told you this. This
is not just moving off Aaron Rodgers the quarterback. What
the Jets are telling you is in a quarterback league,
they have no succession plan. And they told Aaron, yeah,
we're good here. This is not an indictment of Aaron
(02:59):
the order back. He was good. It's an indictment on
Aaron the person. They don't want him in the building.
This is a coach of the rebuilt. He didn't want
him in the building because Aaron's last ten games hit
a ninety seven passer rating. He was actually pretty darn good.
That's why I was surprised they didn't bring him back.
Aaron's got a market and by the way, with an
(03:22):
incompetent coaching staff, he put up those numbers so Aaron
can play is And I'll say this, if it was
about giving Aaron the control of the franchise. Hard pass,
but if you give him a competent staff, I'm all
in and I think this is a real moment here.
The second franchise dumped you, and I don't care about
(03:44):
your resume. I don't care if you're a supermodel. If
you get dumped by a long haul trucker. Time to
look in the mirror and work on that personality. Aaron
has sort of had this, I'm above football. I'm not
going to do this. I'm off the Egypt. Stop the nonsense.
You're not You're not that quarterback anymore. Okay, you could
have done that seven years ago. It's a different time.
(04:06):
So the New York Jets, who do not have a quarterback,
basically said we are good here. Not only do the
Jets not have a quarterback, it's a bad quarterback draft class.
I had another executive tell me last night, there's a
reason the Giants want Matt Stafford. They're telling you they
(04:27):
don't like the quarterback draft class that I don't like
cam Ward, and they don't like saduor Sanders, and they
don't like Jalen Milroe. That's why that story is surfaced now.
Albert Breer is on Next Hour. So there is a
quote this morning in an Albert Breer story that Matt Stafford.
(04:49):
The big domino in this year's quarterback market is Matt Stafford.
So I am going to propose something. I'm just proposing it.
But I made a couple of calls yesterday a couple
of Texas morning I'm gonna propose something. And yesterday I
was talking to a long time NFL exach and he said,
(05:11):
this is not crazy. Okay, the Rams like Matt Stafford,
but they're tiring of the constant quarterback talk, his wife
saying things publicly. They're not real happy with Cooper Cup
going public with something they tried to keep quiet. They're
kind of over Cooper Cup and with that a little bit.
Matt Stafford. They like him, but they don't want to
(05:33):
restructure his deal and give him a big contract. Meanwhile,
the Giants do not like the quarterback class, and Brian
dabol the head coach, and Joe Shane the gm have
got a win or they'll be fired by Thanksgiving. Okay,
they're gonna get run out of the building because if
they don't have a quarterback, Washington now is big time.
Philadelphia will steamroll them, the Packers, the Bears, the Rams.
(05:54):
NFC's getting better, and the Giants have some good players,
so they are going to make a move. I believe
on Matt Stafford. And the first person to talk about
this on the air was Jmack. I'm going to give
him credit on this. He was like five days ago.
So what the Rams want. I'm told they want the Giants'
first round pick at number three, So they probably want
(06:16):
a first, a second, a first, a third. But you
gotta pay Stafford. If you're the Giant, you have to
give him a new deal. They'll probably get a first
and a fourth. But let's just talk about that number
three pick. The Rams want that number three pick in
the draft because they're drafting away later. They want to
take that pick, move down and get more picks. Why
so they have extra picks for next year when they
(06:37):
have to move up to get a quarterback. So what
the Rams will be in the market for if Matt
Stafford moves is a one to two year rental at quarterback.
Aaron Rodgers. Hear me out, Aaron needs a rehab. Packers
(06:59):
got better without him, his image, big advertisers, not interested,
Jets was a mess. He needs a rehab got a
house in Malibu, West Coast guy, by the way, in
a division with Geno Smith, Kyler, Murray brock Perty. Aaron
Rodgers last ten games last year. He was good. He
(07:20):
was actually and remember that was with a third tier
coaching staff. Now he gets McVeigh an established o line,
an excellent young defense. Remember Matt Lafleur's brother is the
OC with Sean McVay. Well, he's been in that system before,
so Aaron knows the system. With the Rams, I believe
(07:42):
Aaron is craving infrastructure, stability. A head coach, he respects
organizational excellence. If the Rams do move down and do
get the Giants number one pick, don't be surprised if
they don't draft Team Ac the Arizona wide receiver to
(08:02):
replace Cooper Cup who they're moving off of. He is
easily the best receiver in this draft. So this sounds crazy.
The Matt Stafford of the Giants thing is real. I'm told,
I am told they like Matt Stafford, but he's old.
Let's be honest. You look at the playoffs. There were
two immobile quarterbacks, Stafford and Golf. It is a mobile
quarterback league. We just had another mobile quarterback. Win Brady's
(08:25):
the last pocket guy right like that, That's Stafford's the
last great pocket quarterback. Ramsmont inexpensive rental quarterback for one year.
So and I'll say this again, giving Aaron Rodgers the
key keys to the kingdom, I'm not interested in that.
(08:46):
I know what his personality is, right, I'm not interested
in that. But having Aaron come as a one or
a two year rental rehab absolutely Aaron to the Rams,
Stafford to the Giants. Remember Aaron Rogers last year with
a third tier coaching staff through more touchdown passes than
(09:07):
Patrick Mahomes, Jaden Daniels and Justin Herbert. What are you
rolling your eyes?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
He did?
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Okay? So uh I'm just I am. I am saying Stafford,
the Giants, that GM and that coach got a vote
of confidence. They're not winning, they're done. And now with
Jayden Daniels, those are two l's. If you have the
quarterback situation you have, you just put down zero to
(09:37):
four Eagles commanders put it down. Matt Stafford gives you
instant credibility. Malik Neighbors, you gotta one Thomas a left tackle.
You got that. That solves a lot of problems to
the Giants, a lot of problems for the New York Giants,
the team. You don't like it, so you're you're torn today.
You hate the Giants and love the Jets, so you're torn.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Yeah, I do like Stafford a lot.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
What were your quarterbacks that you said that Rogers is
better than Justin Herbert?
Speaker 5 (10:03):
And no?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
I said this morning the guys as I was doing
this rant and write notes, the guys said, do you
know he threw more touchdown passes last year than Herbert?
That I had heard, but I didn't know. Jayden Daniels
are Mahomes.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Yeah, well those three guys had something that Rogers didn't have,
playoff trip and some playoff success. I know Herbert lost,
but still, I Colin, I don't hate this idea of
Rogers or the Rams.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I just don't know that LA's ready for Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Oh, I think LA's fine. It's a big city. They're fine.
Now ask yourself again.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
It's lesson e gonna let him do podcasts and conspiracy?
Is that gonna fly?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I don't think anybody cares.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
I think now here I'll give you an example. I
think if you're Aaron Glenn and you're taking over the Jets.
I under I understand. I want you camp, I want
you off podcasting. If you're Sean McVay, do you give
a rip? This is a big city, it's successful, it's
organizationally excellent. I don't think they give a rip. And
I also think Aaron is not coming as a savior.
(11:07):
When he went to New York, like Russell Wilson went
to Denver, he was a savior. Okay, when these quarterback
Deshaun Watson the Cleveland a savior, Russell, Aaron and Deshaun
Watson knew they were running the organization. Aaron's coming here
rent a quarterback for a year or two.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
By the way, did you see the other note this
morning that all of a sudden the Giants, Hey, Sam
Donald didn't play for the Giants. You know that's obviously
a leverage play. Hey, Rams, you don't want to trade
us Stafford. We'll just go out to Sam Donald. He's
on the market and nobody seems to want him.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
We'll take him. Obviously, the Giants don't want Donald.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
But it's this game of chess where the Rams, Hey, listen,
they're kind of struck with an unhappy quarterback. He's underpaid again.
He just lost his guy, Cooper Cup.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
What the Jets are telling you in a league of quarterbacks,
it's not that Aaron camp play. The numbers tell you
we can play. They didn't want Aaron the dude in
the building, so I'm telling you the Packers got better
without him. The Jets was a mass. Aaron will maybe insinuate, Hey,
I can just wrap it up.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Play golf.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
That's fine. He's got a lot of money. Peyton ended
with a ring, Brady ends with a ring. Old Stafford
gets a ring like I'm sorry. The Jets is not
how Aaron Rodgers' career should end. He deserves it himself.
He deserves better than that. Do you remember when Kyrie.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
Irving went to Brooklyn and was burning stage in the
locker room and James Harden's like, what the hell get
me out of I don't want anything to do with this.
I wonder if that young rams locker room. They got
a lot of young guys now, right, the verse.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Leading the defense, Pook and Coo.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
I wonder how they're gonna take to Aaron Rodgers, because
remember Garrett Wilson had some beef with him in New York,
and it was like, I don't know that it's gonna
go as swimmingly as you think with Rogers.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
No, I don't think you're a super Bowl team with him.
I'm saying for a one year rental, so I don't
get tied to a massive contract. This is not good
quarterback class. It's just not. The Giants are telling you that.
I mean, the New York Giants are telling you, we
just don't see we got the number three pick. We
could move up or stay there. We're not interested. That's
what they're telling you. That's why the Donald story. They
(13:12):
like Darnald's better than the quarterbacks. They like a forty
million dollars Sam Darnold over the college quarterbacks who were
basically free for a few years. So the Jets are
trying to establish a new culture. The Rams are trying
to add Rogers to a great culture. That's a totally
different quarterback. And again, I'm not saying it makes the
Rams super Bowl team. I don't think Aaron's as good
as Matt Stafford right now. I don't think he is.
(13:34):
But don't we cannot deny. We have to be fair
on this show. Aaron in his last ten games with
a bottom five coaching staff in the league put up
real grown up numbers. You have to be fair. The
old line wasn't great. The running game was okay. He
had good receivers, but no tight end of note. Aaron
put up good numbers.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
I mean they were three and eight at the time.
Season over no pressure. What happened?
Speaker 4 (13:57):
I mean, yeah, it was like Kevin Love in Minnesota.
Remember he was He's stack in twenty five and twelve.
Oh my gosh, Kevin Love's awesome goes to Cleveland. He's
a day go stand in the corner and makes in
trees like I mean, I just I can't be Helen Love.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
It's a Hall of Famer, by the way, everybody gets
in the NBA Hall of Fame, right, I mean you're
I think you're in there. No, they've put a few
officials in there. Two globetrotters, I will admit.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 1 (14:27):
You are now entering the No Bull Zone sponsored by
Credible Great Rates. None of the bulls. So the Lakers
played Utah again and got blown out, and uh, listen,
Luca has never been known as a cardio master, is
not in good shape. He had a team low minus
sixteen plus minus lost. In all of this Ad Luca
(14:49):
movement is that Ad was a sensational defensive player, and
Luca is an atrocious defensive player, especially when he's out
of shape. So he hadn't played until Christmas until few
days ago. So the Utah Jazz started three centers, John Collins, Kessler,
Lori Marknen who's a seven to one three. I mean,
(15:09):
they were huge, and Jackson Hayes got hurt. The Lakers
are tiny and totally outclassed. So what's fascinating about the
Lakers and Luca. They're gonna transition as a team. They're
now a very bad defensive team and they're gonna have
to make up for it by shooting threes. Last night,
the Lakers shot fifty threes. They're not a team that
shoots a bunch of threes. But now with Luca and
still Austin Reeves Dalton connect, they're gonna shoot a ton
(15:31):
of threes. Lebron's gonna shoot more threes. They shot fifty
last night, so you're basically asking a team that was
a very strong team defensively around the rim, not that
great in the perimeter, but pretty good around the rim.
Now they're awful and now they're small, so they're not
gonna match up well with a team that's big like
Memphis or Denver or like last night Utah if Jackson
(15:52):
Hayes gets into trouble. Now Utah is not a great team,
but it was funny to watch them start three of
their bigs. Everybody in the league knows what the lakers
Are weakness is, and right now one of the weaknesses
is actually Luca. Defensively, he is by Lucas standards and
those aren't very high. It's not in good shape. I
mean he picked up. I looked this morning. Five fouls
(16:13):
in twenty three minutes. He can't stay in front of
that chair next to me. Here was Luca after.
Speaker 6 (16:20):
I think we can we can go very far. Obviously
today I felt a little bit rusty, you know, two games,
saying enough to my injury turnover miss Ritos, so I
got it the way better. But no, I think we're
approaching this break. So we got arrests for me. I
(16:40):
think it's more romantic rest than anything else, but still
gotta work. So I'm excited about this breaking.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
I can't wait to go back to play so again.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
So much attention was paid offense in Luca, but you
were replacing, in my opinion, the best defensive player in
the league with the worst defensive player in the league. Now.
I still think the Lakers when Luca is scoring thirty
at night, not sixteen, and it is not plus minus.
(17:12):
I think it was plus minus. Maybe it was nineteen
last night. But you went best offensive player to worst,
and boy, Utah figured it out really quickly, like go big.
Houston's also a team was size. Memphis has size O
case He's got sized, Denver's got real size. I still
think this team can shoot their way to the Western
Conference finals, but boy did Utah figure it out the
(17:33):
second time they play the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays
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Speaker 1 (17:40):
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, they are broken offensively as a franchise,
so this is interesting. A reporter in Jacksonville, Ryan Burr, says,
the Steelers, you have to applaud them for just making
a phone call to an offensive player the Steelers are
calling the jaguar for Trevor Lawrence Man discovers fire, Steelers
(18:06):
discover quarterback. Give them credit. Nine of the last ten
Super Bowl champs were top ten offenses. Pittsburgh is broken offensively.
So yes, they're competitive in the regular season, they are
not a competitive franchise in the postseason. Listen to this.
This is nuts. In their last five playoff games, this
(18:28):
is crazy. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been outscored in the
first quarter seventy three to nothing in their last six
playoff games. They have trailed by twenty one points or
more in all six playoff games. So it's sad that
it's taken this long to realize the league is pivoted
to offense. But it's a start, so you can say that.
(18:50):
You know, defense wins championships. The Eagles were a head
thirty four to nothing, and that thirty four, that number
is like scoring points and stuff. So you know, I've
been saying this now a couple of years. Let's stop
pandering to Mike Tomlin's He's never missed the playoffs. Who cares.
They're not a competitive playoff team. So I mean, to me,
(19:11):
this story is it's it's real progress. Yesterday there was
a billboard in Pittsburgh that a fan bought. Trade Tomlin
or sell the team. Now, as I noted, it's right
next to a chain link fence. It doesn't look like
it's an ideal location on a busy freeway. It could
be somebody's backyard. But nonetheless, do we have a new one?
(19:34):
Is there a new one out there? Don't worry, Kevin,
We're making calls. Okay, there we go. I just think
it's I think we have to be honest. I think
it's I think it's progress. I think it's it's progress.
So Kevin Adams Steeters bought a billboard. They're making calls
(19:55):
for you coming up free in the NFL. It is
suckerville or you can change your franchise. There is one
player in this free agent class I would absolutely pay
(20:15):
for now. Last year, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, there were
some hits. Saquon Barkley there were absolutely I think Derrick
Henry there were some hits. Last year, there were more
hits than average. But this free agent class, man buyer, beware,
(20:35):
there's some things to worry about. This year. There is
one free agent I would empty the bank for I'll
talk about that my buddy Ethan Strauss, NBA writer House
of Strauss around the corner as well.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
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Speaker 7 (20:51):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 7 (21:05):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. We have a lot of fun talking
about the stories behind the stories in the world of
sports and pop culture, stories that well other shows don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together. I mean that says something, right.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
So check us out.
Speaker 7 (21:24):
We like to get you involved too, take your phone calls,
chop it up. As they say, I'd say, the most
interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive
show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino
and Rich live on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio
app from five to seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific,
and if you miss any of the live show, just
search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcasts, and
of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Probably my favorite podcast in the country. I think I
had listened to him on More Walks and Treadmill Johnts
as I do anybody in the country. Ethan Strauss, NBA writer,
really does culture business. House of Strauss is what it's called,
and he's done a great job ditching traditional media and
starting his old little mini empires. I'm always proud of him,
(22:08):
and I like guys that do that. So you have
really interesting stuff. Of course, you wrote the book years
ago about making an unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty. You
had a contentious relationship with Kevin Duran, a good relationship
with other Warriors, so there's a bunch of stuff here
on Unpack. You had an interesting relationship with Nico Harris
and the GM of the Mavericks that pulled off this trade,
which is being labeled as the worst NBA trade of
(22:29):
all time. I have somewhat defended it, saying if they
got two more first round picks, seventy four million, extension
out of shape, hurt a lot, missing camp. I kind
of get it, it's still a bad trade. Take my
audience back to why you think they ultimately made this
deal and was Nico just a lone rogue agent here
(22:51):
making it happen.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
Well, you said it they'd gotten more picks, Maybe you
could justify it. But I think the issue with Nico
and the issue with the hire a lot of people
they don't know about the origins. Nico is a former
Nike marketing rep. That kind of job. It's somebody who's
good with people, somebody who can help recruit players and
(23:14):
make them happy. They're assigned to a player, they hang
out with the player. And so what I think might
have happened is that Nico is used to having a
relationship with the star, that is his raison detra view
Will that's what he's supposed to do. I think Luca
might have shut him out, and at that point, from
his perspective, given his background, he's going, well, the relationship's bad,
(23:35):
then what am I doing here? And then you had
this other problem column, which is that Mark Cuban never
said it, but he was gm of the Mavericks. He said,
I'm the owner and I've hired a GM. But he
was the guy on the phone call who was doing everything.
The idea is that they had a symbiotic relationship where
Nico helps recruit the talent and then Mark makes the
(23:56):
big decisions. So Mark high tails it out of there.
He's the team to new ownership. And I don't think
he told them. I don't think he's said, look, guys,
you know I was really the GMGM. This guy sort
of operated in a role where he was helping me.
I think he just said, Nico Harrison's the GM, good
luck with it. We've done pretty well. Go MAVs and boom.
(24:16):
You have a situation where the GM does not understand
the asset climate and does not get enough back when
he makes this major decision that is upset the Dallas
Fort Worth area.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
So the Lakers ownership group, the Bus family, is one
of the poor ones. They've been saved largely Kobe Bryant's
last five years they were abysmal. Lebron kind of saved them.
They got the COVID Championship, which was wonky, but it
is what it is. I do believe they got a gift. Now,
they got a gift with Kobe Bryant from Charlotte for
Vlade Divots, who wasn't even an All Star. They got
(24:47):
a gift when Paul Gasol. So that either the smartest
or the luckiest franchise in the history of American sports.
Do you think Luca because there are conditioning issues, he's
more offense than defense. I just argued eighty is the
best defensive player in the league, lucas the worst. That
was very visible last night against a big front line
with Utah. Or do you believe that Luca's gonna change
(25:07):
it and going forward? He is their Kobe, He is
their Kareem, he is their magic.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
Well, it's funny that dumont in the new ownership group
for the Mavericks, was talking about how we need guys
who really work hard, and he named a few NBA players,
and it felt as though chat ChiPT might have been
helping him because one of the guys he named that
wasn't a guy you would name. He named Shack right
that famously Shack all.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Time great winner, not known.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
To be the hardest worker. And so I think you
look at Luca like that, You take him warts and
all because he's so brilliant with the basketball, and he
has physical advantages. Even if he's not great at defense,
he's so physically imposing. I think what you look at,
you try to build around him and account for some
of the deficiencies. You can do that. Steph Curry. Obviously
(25:57):
I covered the Warriors back in the day. His effort
level was clearly higher than Luca. But he is not
an ideal defensive player if you were building one from scratch,
and the Warriors managed to build the perfect team around him.
So the Luca situation is about the future. What makes
it a little strange, Colin is that Lebron is here
right now, and right now it feels like a big
(26:18):
deal that Lebron is here. But in the future it
might be one of those weird footnotes where you go, hey,
you remember when Lebron and Luca were on the same team.
I totally forgot about that because it doesn't quite fit
to have a liability on perimeter defense alongside a guy
who's going to be in his forties. But we'll see
them try.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Yeah. So I don't know how good Jimmy Butler makes
the Warriors. He absolutely makes them more captivating when Steph
is off the floor before Jimmy Butler arrived. They're unwatchable.
What do you make of it? It kind of rinked
a little bit of desperation, did it not? What do
you make of the move? Somebody that's covered the Warriors
for a long time, Well.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
I think unwatchable is the key word, Colin. I think
a lot of the time, don't make perfect the enemy
of good? Everybody's looking at every situation through Does this
completely optimize our ability to win a title? With the Warriors?
I almost felt like, don't make perfect the enemy of interesting.
They were boring, yes, very boring. The story had run out.
(27:18):
They were a rough watch. I know they lost last night,
but the shots were better. Jimmy Butler's impact on the
game makes you want to you know, it makes you
want to tune in. I'm not saying they're gonna be
able to beat the Thunder. They still have to make
the playoffs. They've got a tough road ahead of them,
but they're not depressing and you want to watch. You
want to know how those two are going to play
off each other. It does work. Jimmy puts pressure on
(27:41):
the paint, he gets fouled, that's been a problem for
this team, and you can work off of him in
the post and trying to get Steph Curry open shots.
So I understand people were making that argument saying, I
don't even know if Jimmy Butler is better than Wiggins. Look,
all I can tell you is right now, there's energy
in the bay. People are excited about this team and
for the last two seasons of what might be Steph
(28:02):
Curry's career. I will take that, even knowing that Jimmy
Butler has a little bit that scorpion in the frog
fable where the scorpion hops on the frog's back and
something bad happens across the pond. Every single time it
seems to go bad. Even with that, with Jimmy Butler,
even with the burn bridges that you would expect, I
will take it because the present until he got here
(28:23):
was just so dang boring.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Yeah, totally agree. So Kevin Durant taking shots at Ramona Shelbourne,
who I think is an excellent reporter. That was a
couple of days ago when she said the toxicity in
the locker room of Phoenix was palpable. He didn't like that.
I really like Kevin Durant. He's pushed back on you.
He hears everything. I love him. He's one of my
favorite players ever. I think he's an all time I've
said before he'd win a one on one all time
(28:47):
NBA tournament. If he took out centers, he'd beat Jordan.
You can't stop him, that said. I saw a story
this morning Phoenix is gonna probably move him. Are you surprised,
I said yesterday, it's almost like he tanked his career
leaving the Warriors. Are you what's happened since he left
Golden State because you kind of knew him and followed him. Yeah,
I'm not surprised, I have to say, and I want
to as an aside on the Ramona thing, I did
(29:09):
find that to be totally absurd. But he was saying
about Ramona, this idea that she walked in the locker
room and didn't know what was happening and maybe just
made a mistake. I mean, Ramona is reported on some
of the calamitous locker room situations on the Lakers. She
was way ahead of when Mike Brown got run out
of there with Kobe back in the day.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
She's a veteran reporter. He was very well connected. Yes,
and I think this is fitting the Durant pattern where
he hears everything, as you said, but he'll tend to
angrily respond to what's true. You know when he got
mad at me, I said, Kevin, Durant wants to get
out of here. He doesn't want to re sign with
the Warriors. That's what he got mad at. Now, for
all the drama with Durant, the interesting thing about him
(29:49):
is that the people around him like him. He's somehow
likable and also impossible. He's a really interesting guy. As
I've said, the open book nobody can read. But this
doesn't surprise me because you've said it.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Colin.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
Did you say he's like an artist. Yeah, he's like
an artist. He's an individualist. He's somebody who wants to
do the coolest thing that he can do with his
skill set, which is at a genius level. But I
don't think he's ever bought into the idea that the
whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I
don't think he's bought into the idea that he should
sacrifice or he should lead. That's just not what he does.
(30:24):
And in the right situation, it's been something that worked.
But at the same time, he's not somebody who really
thinks much about situations, and so he keeps choosing the
wrong situation.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
I said this yesterday. Is that Lebron all basketball players.
To me, of all sports that's got the most artist
three and most asthetic appeal is basketball. Every shot looks different,
every player's got his own game, and both Lebron and
Katie are artists. One of them is the guy that
cancels the two or halfway through, ensues ticketmaster, and the
other Lebron is like Gordon Ramsey or Bono, just keeps stalking,
(30:58):
you know, stacking win win. They're different personalities, but I
can admire both, and I admire you Ethan Strauss. It's
called the House of Strauss. It's a great listen, excellent writer.
As always, my friend. You know, I love having you
on speed dial whenever you can make us smarter, and
I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
Thanks so much, Colin, thanks for having me okay.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
House of Strauss. He's author of The Victory Machine, The
Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty, which is a
great read. Everything he does is really interesting, always makes
you think. A very curious guy. Albert Breer next hour
as well. So aren't you kind of what's interesting about that?
I like the way he said it about the Warriors.
It's not about winning a championship. Is I was watching
(31:44):
the Warriors early this year as you and I kind
of cherry picked basketball during the football season, and when
Steph was off the floor, they were impossible to watch.
And there are teams in this league that aren't great
the Spurs, but they're a fun watch. Spurs are a
fun watch. There are teams that may not win the championship.
Knicks great television. But when Steph Curry, a fascinating player,
(32:06):
is on a team that's boring, you gotta make a move,
if nothing else for the fans you pan of the
Bay Area top dollar?
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Weren't they in the finals two years ago against the Celtics?
And then Curry at the Olympics was just unbelievable, And
now you got to watch him with like these guys. Guys,
I don't even know if they're getting out of the
play in Colin assuming they get to the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
I think mads are in trouble.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
But he pointed out because I like the Warriors last night,
they did get better shots. They are a better team
with Butler. Yes, they could not stop Kyrie Irving last night,
who was easily the best player on the floor. All right,
Albert Breers around the corner, Jets have moved off. Aaron
Rodgers almost sounded kind of personal.
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three eastern nine am to
noone Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at
Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every
day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio
or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Oh, it suddenly becomes a very interesting day in a Thursday,
live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Wherever you may
be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making
us part of your day. We've got a lot of
things Jmack brewing today. Yesterday Jmack just threw out a
little nugget, a little McNugget. He said, you know, Matt
(00:47):
Stafford giants. This was actually two days ago. Keep your
eye on it. All things are percolating. Also, a story
that Jay Glazer and Jordan Schultz broke. I think it
was on Super Bowl sund Here Saturday, Jets. We're gonna
move off Aaron Rodgers. Well, that is official this morning,
So it came down late this morning. This is clearly
(01:10):
was a Jets decision. Last week, we met with Aaron Rodgers,
said NW Jets head coach Aaron Glent, and we informed
him we're moving off. I can see j Max pumping
his fist over there. That has been his mantra for
the last six months. So this was this is pretty interesting.
(01:31):
Aaron contacted the Jets much like he contacted the Packers,
and they both dumped him. In my opinion, Aaron will
tell you, hey, I'm gonna wrap it up. Heck of
a career. He can say that, that's all BS. Aaron
needs a third act. You do not want to be remembered.
Farv had success in Minnesota, Peyton Manning wins a Super
(01:54):
Bowl in Denver, Tom Win ones in Tampa. You're known
as a quarterback that leaves Green Bay and the Packers
the next year are better without you, and you bomb
in New York and become kind of a zany conspiracy theorist.
That is not what you want to be remembered as
Aaron's going to tell you, I don't listen to traditional news.
(02:15):
I do my own homework. I don't care about criticism.
That's BS. Everybody hears it. People care what you say
about him. You do. I do, everybody does so. And
what's really interesting here is the Jets do not have
a succession plan. Okay, the Jets don't have a quarterback.
It's a bad quarterback class. I want you to think
about this because this is what I told you Monday
(02:37):
on the show, and I said it's Sunday night in
my podcast on the volume, I told you this. This
is not just moving off Aaron Rodgers the quarterback. What
the Jets are telling you is in a quarterback league,
they have no succession plan. And they told Aaron, yeah,
we're good here. This is not an indictment of Aaron
(02:59):
the order back. He was good. It's an indictment on
Aaron the person. They don't want him in the building.
This is a coach of the rebuilt. He didn't want
him in the building because Aaron's last ten games hit
a ninety seven passer rating. He was actually pretty darn good.
That's why I was surprised they didn't bring him back.
Aaron's got a market and by the way, with an
(03:22):
incompetent coaching staff, he put up those numbers so Aaron
can play is And I'll say this, if it was
about giving Aaron the control of the franchise. Hard pass,
but if you give him a competent staff, I'm all
in and I think this is a real moment here.
The second franchise dumped you, and I don't care about
(03:44):
your resume. I don't care if you're a supermodel. If
you get dumped by a long haul trucker. Time to
look in the mirror and work on that personality. Aaron
has sort of had this, I'm above football. I'm not
going to do this. I'm off the Egypt. Stop the nonsense.
You're not You're not that quarterback anymore. Okay, you could
have done that seven years ago. It's a different time.
(04:06):
So the New York Jets, who do not have a quarterback,
basically said we are good here. Not only do the
Jets not have a quarterback, it's a bad quarterback draft class.
I had another executive tell me last night, there's a
reason the Giants want Matt Stafford. They're telling you they
(04:27):
don't like the quarterback draft class that I don't like
cam Ward, and they don't like saduor Sanders, and they
don't like Jalen Milroe. That's why that story is surfaced now.
Albert Breer is on Next Hour. So there is a
quote this morning in an Albert Breer story that Matt Stafford.
(04:49):
The big domino in this year's quarterback market is Matt Stafford.
So I am going to propose something. I'm just proposing it.
But I made a couple of calls yesterday a couple
of Texas morning I'm gonna propose something. And yesterday I
was talking to a long time NFL exach and he said,
(05:11):
this is not crazy. Okay, the Rams like Matt Stafford,
but they're tiring of the constant quarterback talk, his wife
saying things publicly. They're not real happy with Cooper Cup
going public with something they tried to keep quiet. They're
kind of over Cooper Cup and with that a little bit.
Matt Stafford. They like him, but they don't want to
(05:33):
restructure his deal and give him a big contract. Meanwhile,
the Giants do not like the quarterback class, and Brian
dabol the head coach, and Joe Shane the gm have
got a win or they'll be fired by Thanksgiving. Okay,
they're gonna get run out of the building because if
they don't have a quarterback, Washington now is big time.
Philadelphia will steamroll them, the Packers, the Bears, the Rams.
(05:54):
NFC's getting better, and the Giants have some good players,
so they are going to make a move. I believe
on Matt Stafford. And the first person to talk about
this on the air was Jmack. I'm going to give
him credit on this. He was like five days ago.
So what the Rams want. I'm told they want the Giants'
first round pick at number three, So they probably want
(06:16):
a first, a second, a first, a third. But you
gotta pay Stafford. If you're the Giant, you have to
give him a new deal. They'll probably get a first
and a fourth. But let's just talk about that number
three pick. The Rams want that number three pick in
the draft because they're drafting away later. They want to
take that pick, move down and get more picks. Why
so they have extra picks for next year when they
(06:37):
have to move up to get a quarterback. So what
the Rams will be in the market for if Matt
Stafford moves is a one to two year rental at quarterback.
Aaron Rodgers. Hear me out, Aaron needs a rehab. Packers
(06:59):
got better without him, his image, big advertisers, not interested,
Jets was a mess. He needs a rehab got a
house in Malibu, West Coast guy, by the way, in
a division with Geno Smith, Kyler, Murray brock Perty. Aaron
Rodgers last ten games last year. He was good. He
(07:20):
was actually and remember that was with a third tier
coaching staff. Now he gets McVeigh an established o line,
an excellent young defense. Remember Matt Lafleur's brother is the
OC with Sean McVay. Well, he's been in that system before,
so Aaron knows the system. With the Rams, I believe
(07:42):
Aaron is craving infrastructure, stability. A head coach, he respects
organizational excellence. If the Rams do move down and do
get the Giants number one pick, don't be surprised if
they don't draft Team Ac the Arizona wide receiver to
(08:02):
replace Cooper Cup who they're moving off of. He is
easily the best receiver in this draft. So this sounds crazy.
The Matt Stafford of the Giants thing is real. I'm told,
I am told they like Matt Stafford, but he's old.
Let's be honest. You look at the playoffs. There were
two immobile quarterbacks, Stafford and Golf. It is a mobile
quarterback league. We just had another mobile quarterback. Win Brady's
(08:25):
the last pocket guy right like that, That's Stafford's the
last great pocket quarterback. Ramsmont inexpensive rental quarterback for one year.
So and I'll say this again, giving Aaron Rodgers the
key keys to the kingdom, I'm not interested in that.
(08:46):
I know what his personality is, right, I'm not interested
in that. But having Aaron come as a one or
a two year rental rehab absolutely Aaron to the Rams,
Stafford to the Giants. Remember Aaron Rogers last year with
a third tier coaching staff through more touchdown passes than
(09:07):
Patrick Mahomes, Jaden Daniels and Justin Herbert. What are you
rolling your eyes?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
He did?
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Okay? So uh I'm just I am. I am saying Stafford,
the Giants, that GM and that coach got a vote
of confidence. They're not winning, they're done. And now with
Jayden Daniels, those are two l's. If you have the
quarterback situation you have, you just put down zero to
(09:37):
four Eagles commanders put it down. Matt Stafford gives you
instant credibility. Malik Neighbors, you gotta one Thomas a left tackle.
You got that. That solves a lot of problems to
the Giants, a lot of problems for the New York Giants,
the team. You don't like it, so you're you're torn today.
You hate the Giants and love the Jets, so you're torn.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Yeah, I do like Stafford a lot.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
What were your quarterbacks that you said that Rogers is
better than Justin Herbert?
Speaker 5 (10:03):
And no?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
I said this morning the guys as I was doing
this rant and write notes, the guys said, do you
know he threw more touchdown passes last year than Herbert?
That I had heard, but I didn't know. Jayden Daniels
are Mahomes.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Yeah, well those three guys had something that Rogers didn't have,
playoff trip and some playoff success. I know Herbert lost,
but still, I Colin, I don't hate this idea of
Rogers or the Rams.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I just don't know that LA's ready for Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Oh, I think LA's fine. It's a big city. They're fine.
Now ask yourself again.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
It's lesson e gonna let him do podcasts and conspiracy?
Is that gonna fly?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I don't think anybody cares.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
I think now here I'll give you an example. I
think if you're Aaron Glenn and you're taking over the Jets.
I under I understand. I want you camp, I want
you off podcasting. If you're Sean McVay, do you give
a rip? This is a big city, it's successful, it's
organizationally excellent. I don't think they give a rip. And
I also think Aaron is not coming as a savior.
(11:07):
When he went to New York, like Russell Wilson went
to Denver, he was a savior. Okay, when these quarterback
Deshaun Watson the Cleveland a savior, Russell, Aaron and Deshaun
Watson knew they were running the organization. Aaron's coming here
rent a quarterback for a year or two.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
By the way, did you see the other note this
morning that all of a sudden the Giants, Hey, Sam
Donald didn't play for the Giants. You know that's obviously
a leverage play. Hey, Rams, you don't want to trade
us Stafford. We'll just go out to Sam Donald. He's
on the market and nobody seems to want him.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
We'll take him. Obviously, the Giants don't want Donald.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
But it's this game of chess where the Rams, Hey, listen,
they're kind of struck with an unhappy quarterback. He's underpaid again.
He just lost his guy, Cooper Cup.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
What the Jets are telling you in a league of quarterbacks,
it's not that Aaron camp play. The numbers tell you
we can play. They didn't want Aaron the dude in
the building, so I'm telling you the Packers got better
without him. The Jets was a mass. Aaron will maybe insinuate, Hey,
I can just wrap it up.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Play golf.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
That's fine. He's got a lot of money. Peyton ended
with a ring, Brady ends with a ring. Old Stafford
gets a ring like I'm sorry. The Jets is not
how Aaron Rodgers' career should end. He deserves it himself.
He deserves better than that. Do you remember when Kyrie.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
Irving went to Brooklyn and was burning stage in the
locker room and James Harden's like, what the hell get
me out of I don't want anything to do with this.
I wonder if that young rams locker room. They got
a lot of young guys now, right, the verse.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Leading the defense, Pook and Coo.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
I wonder how they're gonna take to Aaron Rodgers, because
remember Garrett Wilson had some beef with him in New York,
and it was like, I don't know that it's gonna
go as swimmingly as you think with Rogers.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
No, I don't think you're a super Bowl team with him.
I'm saying for a one year rental, so I don't
get tied to a massive contract. This is not good
quarterback class. It's just not. The Giants are telling you that.
I mean, the New York Giants are telling you, we
just don't see we got the number three pick. We
could move up or stay there. We're not interested. That's
what they're telling you. That's why the Donald story. They
(13:12):
like Darnald's better than the quarterbacks. They like a forty
million dollars Sam Darnold over the college quarterbacks who were
basically free for a few years. So the Jets are
trying to establish a new culture. The Rams are trying
to add Rogers to a great culture. That's a totally
different quarterback. And again, I'm not saying it makes the
Rams super Bowl team. I don't think Aaron's as good
as Matt Stafford right now. I don't think he is.
(13:34):
But don't we cannot deny. We have to be fair
on this show. Aaron in his last ten games with
a bottom five coaching staff in the league put up
real grown up numbers. You have to be fair. The
old line wasn't great. The running game was okay. He
had good receivers, but no tight end of note. Aaron
put up good numbers.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
I mean they were three and eight at the time.
Season over no pressure. What happened?
Speaker 4 (13:57):
I mean, yeah, it was like Kevin Love in Minnesota.
Remember he was He's stack in twenty five and twelve.
Oh my gosh, Kevin Love's awesome goes to Cleveland. He's
a day go stand in the corner and makes in
trees like I mean, I just I can't be Helen Love.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
It's a Hall of Famer, by the way, everybody gets
in the NBA Hall of Fame, right, I mean you're
I think you're in there. No, they've put a few
officials in there. Two globetrotters, I will admit.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in neon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
You are now entering the No Bull Zone sponsored by
Credible Great Rates. None of the bulls. So the Lakers
played Utah again and got blown out, and uh, listen,
Luca has never been known as a cardio master, is
not in good shape. He had a team low minus
sixteen plus minus lost. In all of this Ad Luca
(14:49):
movement is that Ad was a sensational defensive player, and
Luca is an atrocious defensive player, especially when he's out
of shape. So he hadn't played until Christmas until few
days ago. So the Utah Jazz started three centers, John Collins, Kessler,
Lori Marknen who's a seven to one three. I mean,
(15:09):
they were huge, and Jackson Hayes got hurt. The Lakers
are tiny and totally outclassed. So what's fascinating about the
Lakers and Luca. They're gonna transition as a team. They're
now a very bad defensive team and they're gonna have
to make up for it by shooting threes. Last night,
the Lakers shot fifty threes. They're not a team that
shoots a bunch of threes. But now with Luca and
still Austin Reeves Dalton connect, they're gonna shoot a ton
(15:31):
of threes. Lebron's gonna shoot more threes. They shot fifty
last night, so you're basically asking a team that was
a very strong team defensively around the rim, not that
great in the perimeter, but pretty good around the rim.
Now they're awful and now they're small, so they're not
gonna match up well with a team that's big like
Memphis or Denver or like last night Utah if Jackson
(15:52):
Hayes gets into trouble. Now Utah is not a great team,
but it was funny to watch them start three of
their bigs. Everybody in the league knows what the lakers
Are weakness is, and right now one of the weaknesses
is actually Luca. Defensively, he is by Lucas standards and
those aren't very high. It's not in good shape. I
mean he picked up. I looked this morning. Five fouls
(16:13):
in twenty three minutes. He can't stay in front of
that chair next to me. Here was Luca after.
Speaker 6 (16:20):
I think we can we can go very far. Obviously
today I felt a little bit rusty, you know, two games,
saying enough to my injury turnover miss Ritos, so I
got it the way better. But no, I think we're
approaching this break. So we got arrests for me. I
(16:40):
think it's more romantic rest than anything else, but still
gotta work. So I'm excited about this breaking.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
I can't wait to go back to play so again.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
So much attention was paid offense in Luca, but you
were replacing, in my opinion, the best defensive player in
the league with the worst defensive player in the league. Now.
I still think the Lakers when Luca is scoring thirty
at night, not sixteen, and it is not plus minus.
(17:12):
I think it was plus minus. Maybe it was nineteen
last night. But you went best offensive player to worst,
and boy, Utah figured it out really quickly, like go big.
Houston's also a team was size. Memphis has size O
case He's got sized, Denver's got real size. I still
think this team can shoot their way to the Western
Conference finals, but boy did Utah figure it out the
(17:33):
second time they play the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays
and noon Easter not a em Pacific baby steps.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, they are broken offensively as a franchise,
so this is interesting. A reporter in Jacksonville, Ryan Burr, says,
the Steelers, you have to applaud them for just making
a phone call to an offensive player the Steelers are
calling the jaguar for Trevor Lawrence Man discovers fire, Steelers
(18:06):
discover quarterback. Give them credit. Nine of the last ten
Super Bowl champs were top ten offenses. Pittsburgh is broken offensively.
So yes, they're competitive in the regular season, they are
not a competitive franchise in the postseason. Listen to this.
This is nuts. In their last five playoff games, this
(18:28):
is crazy. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been outscored in the
first quarter seventy three to nothing in their last six
playoff games. They have trailed by twenty one points or
more in all six playoff games. So it's sad that
it's taken this long to realize the league is pivoted
to offense. But it's a start, so you can say that.
(18:50):
You know, defense wins championships. The Eagles were a head
thirty four to nothing, and that thirty four, that number
is like scoring points and stuff. So you know, I've
been saying this now a couple of years. Let's stop
pandering to Mike Tomlin's He's never missed the playoffs. Who cares.
They're not a competitive playoff team. So I mean, to me,
(19:11):
this story is it's it's real progress. Yesterday there was
a billboard in Pittsburgh that a fan bought. Trade Tomlin
or sell the team. Now, as I noted, it's right
next to a chain link fence. It doesn't look like
it's an ideal location on a busy freeway. It could
be somebody's backyard. But nonetheless, do we have a new one?
(19:34):
Is there a new one out there? Don't worry, Kevin,
We're making calls. Okay, there we go. I just think
it's I think we have to be honest. I think
it's I think it's progress. I think it's it's progress.
So Kevin Adams Steeters bought a billboard. They're making calls
(19:55):
for you coming up free in the NFL. It is
suckerville or you can change your franchise. There is one
player in this free agent class I would absolutely pay
(20:15):
for now. Last year, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, there were
some hits. Saquon Barkley there were absolutely I think Derrick
Henry there were some hits. Last year, there were more
hits than average. But this free agent class, man buyer, beware,
(20:35):
there's some things to worry about. This year. There is
one free agent I would empty the bank for I'll
talk about that my buddy Ethan Strauss, NBA writer House
of Strauss around the corner as well.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern non a em Pacific.
Speaker 7 (20:51):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 7 (21:05):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. We have a lot of fun talking
about the stories behind the stories in the world of
sports and pop culture, stories that well other shows don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together. I mean that says something, right.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
So check us out.
Speaker 7 (21:24):
We like to get you involved too, take your phone calls,
chop it up. As they say, I'd say, the most
interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive
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Speaker 1 (21:47):
Probably my favorite podcast in the country. I think I
had listened to him on More Walks and Treadmill Johnts
as I do anybody in the country. Ethan Strauss, NBA writer,
really does culture business. House of Strauss is what it's called,
and he's done a great job ditching traditional media and
starting his old little mini empires. I'm always proud of him,
(22:08):
and I like guys that do that. So you have
really interesting stuff. Of course, you wrote the book years
ago about making an unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty. You
had a contentious relationship with Kevin Duran, a good relationship
with other Warriors, so there's a bunch of stuff here
on Unpack. You had an interesting relationship with Nico Harris
and the GM of the Mavericks that pulled off this trade,
which is being labeled as the worst NBA trade of
(22:29):
all time. I have somewhat defended it, saying if they
got two more first round picks, seventy four million, extension
out of shape, hurt a lot, missing camp. I kind
of get it, it's still a bad trade. Take my
audience back to why you think they ultimately made this
deal and was Nico just a lone rogue agent here
(22:51):
making it happen.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
Well, you said it they'd gotten more picks, Maybe you
could justify it. But I think the issue with Nico
and the issue with the hire a lot of people
they don't know about the origins. Nico is a former
Nike marketing rep. That kind of job. It's somebody who's
good with people, somebody who can help recruit players and
(23:14):
make them happy. They're assigned to a player, they hang
out with the player. And so what I think might
have happened is that Nico is used to having a
relationship with the star, that is his raison detra view
Will that's what he's supposed to do. I think Luca
might have shut him out, and at that point, from
his perspective, given his background, he's going, well, the relationship's bad,
(23:35):
then what am I doing here? And then you had
this other problem column, which is that Mark Cuban never
said it, but he was gm of the Mavericks. He said,
I'm the owner and I've hired a GM. But he
was the guy on the phone call who was doing everything.
The idea is that they had a symbiotic relationship where
Nico helps recruit the talent and then Mark makes the
(23:56):
big decisions. So Mark high tails it out of there.
He's the team to new ownership. And I don't think
he told them. I don't think he's said, look, guys,
you know I was really the GMGM. This guy sort
of operated in a role where he was helping me.
I think he just said, Nico Harrison's the GM, good
luck with it. We've done pretty well. Go MAVs and boom.
(24:16):
You have a situation where the GM does not understand
the asset climate and does not get enough back when
he makes this major decision that is upset the Dallas
Fort Worth area.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
So the Lakers ownership group, the Bus family, is one
of the poor ones. They've been saved largely Kobe Bryant's
last five years they were abysmal. Lebron kind of saved them.
They got the COVID Championship, which was wonky, but it
is what it is. I do believe they got a gift. Now,
they got a gift with Kobe Bryant from Charlotte for
Vlade Divots, who wasn't even an All Star. They got
(24:47):
a gift when Paul Gasol. So that either the smartest
or the luckiest franchise in the history of American sports.
Do you think Luca because there are conditioning issues, he's
more offense than defense. I just argued eighty is the
best defensive player in the league, lucas the worst. That
was very visible last night against a big front line
with Utah. Or do you believe that Luca's gonna change
(25:07):
it and going forward? He is their Kobe, He is
their Kareem, he is their magic.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
Well, it's funny that dumont in the new ownership group
for the Mavericks, was talking about how we need guys
who really work hard, and he named a few NBA players,
and it felt as though chat ChiPT might have been
helping him because one of the guys he named that
wasn't a guy you would name. He named Shack right
that famously Shack all.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Time great winner, not known.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
To be the hardest worker. And so I think you
look at Luca like that, You take him warts and
all because he's so brilliant with the basketball, and he
has physical advantages. Even if he's not great at defense,
he's so physically imposing. I think what you look at,
you try to build around him and account for some
of the deficiencies. You can do that. Steph Curry. Obviously
(25:57):
I covered the Warriors back in the day. His effort
level was clearly higher than Luca. But he is not
an ideal defensive player if you were building one from scratch,
and the Warriors managed to build the perfect team around him.
So the Luca situation is about the future. What makes
it a little strange, Colin is that Lebron is here
right now, and right now it feels like a big
(26:18):
deal that Lebron is here. But in the future it
might be one of those weird footnotes where you go, hey,
you remember when Lebron and Luca were on the same team.
I totally forgot about that because it doesn't quite fit
to have a liability on perimeter defense alongside a guy
who's going to be in his forties. But we'll see
them try.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Yeah. So I don't know how good Jimmy Butler makes
the Warriors. He absolutely makes them more captivating when Steph
is off the floor before Jimmy Butler arrived. They're unwatchable.
What do you make of it? It kind of rinked
a little bit of desperation, did it not? What do
you make of the move? Somebody that's covered the Warriors
for a long time, Well.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
I think unwatchable is the key word, Colin. I think
a lot of the time, don't make perfect the enemy
of good? Everybody's looking at every situation through Does this
completely optimize our ability to win a title? With the Warriors?
I almost felt like, don't make perfect the enemy of interesting.
They were boring, yes, very boring. The story had run out.
(27:18):
They were a rough watch. I know they lost last night,
but the shots were better. Jimmy Butler's impact on the
game makes you want to you know, it makes you
want to tune in. I'm not saying they're gonna be
able to beat the Thunder. They still have to make
the playoffs. They've got a tough road ahead of them,
but they're not depressing and you want to watch. You
want to know how those two are going to play
off each other. It does work. Jimmy puts pressure on
(27:41):
the paint, he gets fouled, that's been a problem for
this team, and you can work off of him in
the post and trying to get Steph Curry open shots.
So I understand people were making that argument saying, I
don't even know if Jimmy Butler is better than Wiggins. Look,
all I can tell you is right now, there's energy
in the bay. People are excited about this team and
for the last two seasons of what might be Steph
(28:02):
Curry's career. I will take that, even knowing that Jimmy
Butler has a little bit that scorpion in the frog
fable where the scorpion hops on the frog's back and
something bad happens across the pond. Every single time it
seems to go bad. Even with that, with Jimmy Butler,
even with the burn bridges that you would expect, I
will take it because the present until he got here
(28:23):
was just so dang boring.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Yeah, totally agree. So Kevin Durant taking shots at Ramona Shelbourne,
who I think is an excellent reporter. That was a
couple of days ago when she said the toxicity in
the locker room of Phoenix was palpable. He didn't like that.
I really like Kevin Durant. He's pushed back on you.
He hears everything. I love him. He's one of my
favorite players ever. I think he's an all time I've
said before he'd win a one on one all time
(28:47):
NBA tournament. If he took out centers, he'd beat Jordan.
You can't stop him, that said. I saw a story
this morning Phoenix is gonna probably move him. Are you surprised,
I said yesterday, it's almost like he tanked his career
leaving the Warriors. Are you what's happened since he left
Golden State because you kind of knew him and followed him. Yeah,
I'm not surprised, I have to say, and I want
to as an aside on the Ramona thing, I did
(29:09):
find that to be totally absurd. But he was saying
about Ramona, this idea that she walked in the locker
room and didn't know what was happening and maybe just
made a mistake. I mean, Ramona is reported on some
of the calamitous locker room situations on the Lakers. She
was way ahead of when Mike Brown got run out
of there with Kobe back in the day.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
She's a veteran reporter. He was very well connected. Yes,
and I think this is fitting the Durant pattern where
he hears everything, as you said, but he'll tend to
angrily respond to what's true. You know when he got
mad at me, I said, Kevin, Durant wants to get
out of here. He doesn't want to re sign with
the Warriors. That's what he got mad at. Now, for
all the drama with Durant, the interesting thing about him
(29:49):
is that the people around him like him. He's somehow
likable and also impossible. He's a really interesting guy. As
I've said, the open book nobody can read. But this
doesn't surprise me because you've said it.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Colin.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
Did you say he's like an artist. Yeah, he's like
an artist. He's an individualist. He's somebody who wants to
do the coolest thing that he can do with his
skill set, which is at a genius level. But I
don't think he's ever bought into the idea that the
whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I
don't think he's bought into the idea that he should
sacrifice or he should lead. That's just not what he does.
(30:24):
And in the right situation, it's been something that worked.
But at the same time, he's not somebody who really
thinks much about situations, and so he keeps choosing the
wrong situation.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
I said this yesterday. Is that Lebron all basketball players.
To me, of all sports that's got the most artist
three and most asthetic appeal is basketball. Every shot looks different,
every player's got his own game, and both Lebron and
Katie are artists. One of them is the guy that
cancels the two or halfway through, ensues ticketmaster, and the
other Lebron is like Gordon Ramsey or Bono, just keeps stalking,
(30:58):
you know, stacking win win. They're different personalities, but I
can admire both, and I admire you Ethan Strauss. It's
called the House of Strauss. It's a great listen, excellent writer.
As always, my friend. You know, I love having you
on speed dial whenever you can make us smarter, and
I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
Thanks so much, Colin, thanks for having me okay.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
House of Strauss. He's author of The Victory Machine, The
Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty, which is a
great read. Everything he does is really interesting, always makes
you think. A very curious guy. Albert Breer next hour
as well. So aren't you kind of what's interesting about that?
I like the way he said it about the Warriors.
It's not about winning a championship. Is I was watching
(31:44):
the Warriors early this year as you and I kind
of cherry picked basketball during the football season, and when
Steph was off the floor, they were impossible to watch.
And there are teams in this league that aren't great
the Spurs, but they're a fun watch. Spurs are a
fun watch. There are teams that may not win the championship.
Knicks great television. But when Steph Curry, a fascinating player,
(32:06):
is on a team that's boring, you gotta make a move,
if nothing else for the fans you pan of the
Bay Area top dollar?
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Weren't they in the finals two years ago against the Celtics?
And then Curry at the Olympics was just unbelievable, And
now you got to watch him with like these guys. Guys,
I don't even know if they're getting out of the
play in Colin assuming they get to the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
I think mads are in trouble.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
But he pointed out because I like the Warriors last night,
they did get better shots. They are a better team
with Butler. Yes, they could not stop Kyrie Irving last night,
who was easily the best player on the floor. All right,
Albert Breers around the corner, Jets have moved off. Aaron
Rodgers almost sounded kind of personal.
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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