Colin is joined by Nick Wright, host of “First Things First” on FS1!
They start with the contract showdown between Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers, compare the difference in player leverage between NBA and NFL contracts (2:45) and offer a theory on why Aiyuk declined the Patriots in order to join the Steelers (14:00).
They debate whether friction in Philly could lead to a divorce between the Eagles’ star quarterback Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni (22:30) and why the Colts could see huge success under Shane Steichen (26:00). Finally, they explain why Kevin Durant sealed his legacy during the Olympics with Team USA basketball (29:45)
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)
Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!
#Volume #Herd
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. All right, Nick Rite's about to stop on by.
We're going to go probably blow through an hour to
an hour and a half today. We've got a lot
of things to talk about. Hey, before we do that
with Nick Wright, I want you to download the game
Time app. Takes ninety seconds. I've used it. It's easy.
The game Time app authorized ticket marketplace for Major League
Baseball tickets get cheaper the closer you get to the
(00:23):
first pitch. And the thing about baseball now, the games
matter more, first of all. Second of all, baseball is
one of those sports because there's a big volume of games.
A lot of times I've decided to go to a
baseball game in an afternoon, somebody calls boom, I got
two tickets. You go game Time. By the way, if
you put in the redeem code Colin col i N
twenty dollars off your first purchase, take the guestwork out
(00:46):
of buying major League Baseball tickets with a game Time app.
You download the game Time app, put in the code
Colin twenty bucks off your first purchase, last minute tickets,
lowest prices guaranteed, really really easy for people with busy lives.
Game Time makes things simple quick and a twenty dollars
(01:07):
off discount. All right, Nick, Right, we haven't talked in
a while, so I thought this was here's an interesting topic.
And I bring this up because you're one of the
bigger NBA fans. Is that some things don't sound don't
(01:28):
sound comforting, and they may sound almost appalling, but they're true,
and that treating your employees and paying them more than
they deserve is really bad business. And that the reason
the NFL is king. It's virtually impossible to find a
bad contract in the league. I can remember Albert Hainsworth
(01:50):
for about a year got paid a ton with the Patriots.
You remember it because it's so infrequent. It may be
the only bad contract for the Patriots. Every NBA team
has a tear contract. Some have three. You know, before
James Dolan got distracted by the Sphere, it was like
half the half the contracts for the Knicks were bad contracts.
Is that One of the reasons that the NFL is
(02:13):
king is because they have a weak union. And that
sounds terrible to say. Players have like Brandon Ayuk, They're like, no,
we're not going to cave. There's a bunch of good
receivers in next year's draft, We'll just go draft them.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Now.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I think they want him. They're furious, they know the
windows shrinking, their players are getting older. But I think
I've talked to a lot of guys in the NBA.
I saw Frank Vogel viether night at dinner. You know, La,
you see a lot of pro coaches, like especially where
I live. There all are in the best communities, and
football coaches are happier. Basketball coaches are all miserable, even
(02:47):
the successful ones. And the reason being is they have
cost certainty, they have control. In the NFL, you can
be productive, but you're a pain in the ass. I'm
moving off you. I mean seven rounds of players if
the leagu's undrafted. In the NBA, after the fourteenth pick,
you run out of players. And this Brandon Ayuk situation
is interesting because in the NBA he would get paid
(03:08):
and he may go to coach fired. And in the
NFL they're like, now we got a bunch of good players.
Draft will give us nine receivers. We'll give you a number.
I mean, you didn't make like twenty three million, you're
not making thirty. And I think it really so. My
point being is it. Not giving the employee everything they
want is why the NFL succeeds. It forces players to
(03:31):
get their shit together. Like you don't get that nine
year baseball contract, We're like year four, five and six.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
You're like, I'm getting my money.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
The union so strong and Brandon Ayuke the Niners are
saying take it or leave it, Well, take it or
leave it.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I actually I so I think, I look at I
might I agree with some of what you're saying. I
wanted the well, yes, I'm definitely a union guy, but
I look at this, I look at the NBA and
the Ayuk thing separately. Let me deal with the NBA
thing first. I actually think a huge part of the
(04:06):
issues that you're describing with the NBA are caused by
the individual player, Max. I think so many of the
if the NBA salary cap was one hundred and fifty million,
and if you wanted to give Joker one hundred and
forty of it, you could so many of these. So
(04:28):
many of the complaints of the NBA go away for
two reasons. One is one of the reasons NBA guys
get what I would call non contract benefits, which is
I don't want to practice today. Let's not practice today
those types of things. Is because if you're artificially capping
(04:52):
what you can pay them and everyone can pay them
the same, you have to pay them elsewhere. You have
to be like, okay, actually worth one hundred million a year.
I can only pay you fifty so, and everyone can
pay you fifty so. Therefore we have to give you
these fringe benefits like you know what they give college
football coaches, country club memberships, whatever, in order to make
(05:15):
up that delta. The other thing the individual player cap
does is it makes it to where the middle class
NBA is wildly overpaid. And that's what fans. People think
fans are gonna get pissed when NBA guys are making
a million a game. They're not. They're not going to
be mad when Jason Tatum, who's the best player on
(05:36):
a champion, makes a million a game. Not more mad
than there are right now when he makes half a
million a game. Where people will get mad is when
they got mad at Tobias Harris. They're like, wait, you're
the sixty third best player in the league and you're
making thirty million a year. But that exists because of
the individual player Max So's the that's the first, that's
(05:59):
the NBA part. In my opinion, the ayuk thing. What
I think is fascinating about Ayu is people are wondering,
why are the Niners gonna cave? Why are the Niners
who are gonna get nothing back of substance for this
season when they've got to win, when it's the last
(06:19):
year theoretically, when perty's cheap, when Trent's thirty six million,
why are they going to cave and trade him at
an inopportune time? And I said it on the show today,
and I think it's I think people, I think this
will resonate with people if they think not of NFL teams,
but of their own workplace, which is it is the
(06:43):
leverage Ayukaz is I can make it miserable here and
people don't think about that. Think about any workplace you've
been in where someone who's important and unfireable or ish
comes in, has a bad attitude. Is shit talking other people?
(07:04):
Is bringing the morale? Like bringing every room they walk
into you like, oh, that kills the vibe, that kills
working anywhere. And I think that is oddly the leverage
au Caz, The leverage auk Haz is this can be
miserable guys and if people doubt how much of an
impact that can have. Read the ESPN article today on
(07:27):
what happened to the Eagles. Eagles were ten and one,
they had won like twenty three of twenty five games. Yeah,
went to Super Bowl, did all that, and then what
happened to them? Well, it seems like the coach and
the quarterback couldn't be in a room one on one
together and the whole thing collapsed. So I think, oddly
the leverage I Ukaz or any of these guys have
is I can be a dick and I can make
(07:50):
team meetings and the locker room suck. And you if
I'm too good to cut, what are you gonna do? So?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
But I think in the NFL people just move on.
I think in the NBA you don't. But in the NFL, Yeah,
I mean, I've said I said this today. I would
take that University of Washington offensive lineman first round.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Guy.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
I'll say, you can have Ayuk. You have to pay him, though.
We'll take that offensive lineman and the fans will think
what a terrible deal. But the Niners' biggest weakness is
their offensive line. Outside of Trent Williams, give us your
first pick because Ayuk's were the first rounder. We just
want a guy that can play now and the steel
And by the way, he's not scheduled to start for
the Steelers this year anyway. And by the way, the
(08:33):
utter part is that offensive coaches, I will say this
till I die, are better with offensive line than defensive coaches.
Andy Reid and Sean McVay reboot that thing every two
years brilliantly. Mike Tomlin can't get He cannot figure the
offensive line out. Pete Carroll in the Seahawks great draft picks,
couldn't figure it out. He hired terrible O line coaches
(08:55):
Sean McDermott outside a left tackle revolving door. Can't figure
the offensive line out mcvaghon Reid. Sean Payton goes to
the Broncos.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
It's terrible.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Last year his first on line seventh by PFF Dotson
was a guard the Steelers. Was not going to start
for the Steelers. Sean Payton gets them for like a
fifth round pick. Sean McVeigh gets them for a fifth
round pick for the Rams. He's the highest rated guard
in the league last year, was not going to start
for the Steelers. So yeah, so my takeaways, give him
(09:26):
a Yuke, we'll take that. We'll take that interior offensive lineman.
The fans will think we got just used, but we
don't have to pay that kid.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
That would be a great deal. Listen if you if
that's the guy the the Steelers spent their first round
pick on this past year. It was the first round
and right, and the problem with the problem with trading
Ayuk is not trading Ayuk. It's trading Ayuk in August
if the compensation is next year's draft when you're trying
(09:55):
to win this year's super Bowl. Like the I was.
I don't know if you remember it, but I was.
You broke the news to me live on TV that
Tyreek Kill had been trading. I was on with you
and it happened, and in the moment I was beside myself,
and then the details came out and then I had
(10:16):
more time and a little I will admit this is
a little bit playing the result because the Chiefs haven't
you know, they've won every Super Bowl has been played
since the trade. But the key was they're going to
get four players for this year's team, like it was
happening before so they're gonna lose Tyreek and they got
a first round pick, a you know, a third to
(10:37):
fifth or whatever it was. But the draft hadn't happened yet,
and so it's like, oh, they're gonna be able to
improve these different things and use it right now as
opposed to trading post draft for future picks, which is
just always such a bomber. It's like, man, he's gonna
help us today, and you're trading him for help down
(10:57):
the road. That's fine to do if you're or a
rebuilding team that doesn't care about winning. But the Niners'
best chance of winning a Super Bowl that hasn't already
happened is right now, because Rockberdy is gonna go from
wildly underpaid no matter what you think of him, to
comically overpaid, no matter what you think of him. So
the window is this moment, and that I mean, I listen,
(11:21):
I believe that he's going to the Steelers. Andrew Philipponi
out of Pittsburgh said, the Niners and Steelers have agreed.
They're waiting on Ayuk and the Steelers to come to
terms on the money. I also, can I ask you
another question for you move on to this stuff. Is
it a little odd to you that Ayuk is this
(11:43):
much more interested in Pittsburgh than New England because I
Pittsburgh does not have a settled quarterback situation. We don't
know who it is New England. I get it's a rookie.
This is the third pick of the draft. He wanted
to go to Washington, who second pick of the draft.
Now I understand he played with Jayden before. But it
(12:03):
was the reporting out of New England is they offered
upwards of thirty two million a year. The Niners accepted
the terms, and Iuk was like, I won't play there.
That would make sense if it's like, no, I want
to go to Baltimore and play with Lamar. I want
to go to Buffalo and play with Josh Allen. But
it's like, no, I won't play with the Patriots and
their defensive minded head coach with Drake Mayo quarterback because
(12:28):
I want to go to the Steelers, who are having
a quarterback competition between a first round pick that might
wash out and Russell Wilson's thirteen. That's weird to me
that I can't quite figure.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
So players are all and this is not a criticism
but a reality selfish, and they probably should be. A
GM can GM forever, an owner owns forever. A coach
can coach until the seventies. A player's got like seven
peak years in football and then it's over. So they're selfish.
So if you were twenty two to twenty three years
old and you looked around the NFL, if I said
(13:03):
you could go to this place, it is player friendly.
You can be dramatic, you can talk.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
That makes sense.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Pittsburgh is a player heaven. Tomlin's not a big disciplinarian Tomlin.
I mean Tomlin almost ran onto the field to make
a tackle himself once he is the.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Jones.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
He is very motivational. It's like Pete Carroll was viewed
player friendly. That's why when he didn't pay Earl Thomas,
Earl Thomas flipped him off because it was like players
just thought Pete gets guys paid. And so so when
you think of New England, their brand is rigid, the
crafts not player friendly. Take a pay cut, even though
(13:49):
it may not be the reality now that Brady and
Belichick are gone, the brand of New England is cold.
Boston is sort of fences make good neighbors. It's get
is a good time.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I mean, that's gotta be it, because it can't be.
I understand wide receiver being like quarterback quarterback quarterback, but
and I don't love Drake May but he's the third
pick of the draft. Like it's the Patriots would not
have traded the third pick of the draft for Russell
Wilson and justin fields like that, that would not have happened.
So it's just that part is weird to me. I
(14:24):
want to ask you one other thing for it. I
know this is your show.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
No.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I read that ESPN article about Sirianni and Hurtz, yeah
and man o man. It reminded me a lot of
what we learned about Carol and Russell Wilson, which is
make a super Bowl with a quarterback that some believed
in some didn't. The coach still views the quarterback a
(14:54):
certain way. The quarterback then's like, no, I view myself
a different I got paid and I want to play
a different way. And it obviously for Carol and Wilson
it lasted for years and then it broke up at
the end. But when I when I'm reading that, Sirianni
still wanted run the ball, do certain things in Jalen
Hurtz like, you paid me two hundred and fifty million dollars,
(15:16):
I'm want to show you what I can do. It
reminded me so much of Pete and Russ at the
end that for Philly, I think there's all that Philly
has a really good roster. There are a lot of
big warning signs about the GM picked the coordinators that
if the head coach and quarterback are not on the
(15:36):
same page. That was not a great article.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
No, but the difference is I'll give you an example. So
Russell Wilson has had three different coaches. Three his college coach.
He was a wildly successful, productive college quarterback. His coach
basically said I'm gonna I'm gonna go with Mike glennt Yes,
Pete Carroll him, I'm over you. Sean Payton actually resurrected
(16:04):
him a little bit, and he doesn't. So three coaches,
different levels of success, bailed on him. That tells me
that is a Russell Wilson issue. I've had multiple teammates
rip him like notable guys. So there's a Russell component
here and I think nothing. I'm not being you know,
(16:24):
anti Russ. But when three things happen if you rob
three banks.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
No, that's right, and where it's the the It's funny
you brought up the NC state thing. I think that's relevant.
I think it's like, wait, so that was that? That
was it? And then he goes to Wisconsin and it
is awesome. It's like he keeps aside from in Denver,
he produces everywhere and the coaches seem really hesitant to
(16:50):
give him the full keys to the car, which is
a weird thing. With that said, Colin Jalen Hurts did
have to transfer from Alabama, right, yeap.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
So it's twenty twenty four, and let's talk about something
really really important. If you're ever injured, check out Morgan
and Morgan's America's largest injury law firm, and they're there
for you. Over one hundred offices nationwide. Think about that,
more than a thousand lawyers with over twenty billion. That's
a b twenty billion dollars recovered for over five hundred
(17:26):
thousand clients. Things happen in life unexpectedly. Submitting an injury
claim with Morgan and Morgan is really really easy. Like
winning in the NFL is hard. We know that quarterbacking
in the NFL is hard, Submitting a claim is easy.
You're ever injured, check out Morgan and Morgan. Their fee
is free unless they win. For more information, go to
(17:46):
for Thepeople dot com slash Colin or dial pound law
from your cell phone. Pretty easy. That's for the people
dot com slash Colin or pound law pound five to
nine from your cell Morgan and Morgan has a proven
track record of fighting for you to get a full
and fair compensation if there's an unexpected accident in your life.
(18:09):
This is a paid advertisement. The difference is Pete Carroll
College and Pro is a championship level coach. So when
Sirianni got the job, I called I have six GMS
on my phone, a couple scouting directors and we talk
(18:32):
all the time. And I called various people, and I
didn't really actually want to call Chris Ballard because I
didn't want to put Chris in a bad spot. So
he wasn't one of the ones I called because Ballard
he came from Indianapolis. So it's it's like, for instance,
I can I can text Brett Veach and ask him
a quarterback question because I know he's not drafting one
(18:52):
right right, right, But I didn't want to ask Tom
te LESCo a friend about Tua and Justin Herbert, because
I knew he needed one and I didn't think it
was fair for me to poke in PROD in that space.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
So I tend to use US.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
I tend to source my people non sensitive areas.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Right, not neutral parties on whatever you're talking about. So
he asked Ballad about Sirianni when.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
He is there, Yes, I can ask him now about Sirianni.
I felt comfortable asking Chris post success be into Super Bowl,
but I called two people, two people that I went
and looked up Sirianni's resume where he'd been. Two people
both said the same thing. I don't know if he's ready.
I don't know if he's great on his side of
(19:36):
the ball yet. And there's a distinction here. You can
bang on Jim Harbaugh, but he gets the offense right
everywhere fast you can. You can bang on Nick Saban.
He didn't win big at Michigan State or LSU year four.
He was losing games. The defense gets better immediately wherever
Nick Saban was, including the Miami Dolphins Lincoln Riley offense
(20:00):
brilliant the minute he arrives Nick Siriani. That article at
ESPN said people didn't respect his ex's and no offense.
I know, and so that that literally was exactly what
I heard from my sources, which was he's not good
enough on his side of the ball. He's not viewed
(20:21):
as an expert. Like like, I'll give you another one,
Matt Eberflus. You can say what you want. That was
the best defense in the league the last seven weeks
of the year, and they didn't have the best person out.
Yeah yeah, yeah, so you can say what you want,
like Steve Spurrier may not have been the best this this, this.
His offenses were good at Duke, they were great at Florida,
(20:42):
Like he knew offense. So the difference with the Jalen
Hurts thing is is, yes, he did transfer, and there
may be some of that, but there's a competent coach
in Pete Carroll and one in Nick Sirianni. I mean
that opening press conference was a glimpse into he was
over his skis when he got that.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Job, So listen. And I also think you can't have
your coach be a shit talker unless you're a team
of shit talkers. If you're sorry, my dog's running around.
But it's fine if you're a if everyone on your
team is, you know, taunting and whatever, and that's the
motif you want to have. Especially if your coach is
(21:19):
maybe a former player, then maybe you can get away
with it. But what you can't have is a totally
buttoned up team led by a quarterback who is like
the best press conference in the league, and then a
coach he's screaming at fans and taunting. You can't have that.
That part I totally agree with. My concern is on
(21:40):
the flip side, which is, man, we've seen Jalen Hurts
play big time football for seven years. There's only been
one he looked like an NFL franchise quarterback? Is it?
Never in college, at no point with Philly except for
the Super Bowl year and he was brilliant that year,
and he was amazing in the Super Bowl. I just
(22:02):
don't know. I think that what happened to Peterson and
Wins absolutely could happen to Sirianni and Hurts, which is
that they're both gone within three years of the Super Bowl.
I think that's on the board.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
No, I think it is. And what also concerned you,
you know, it used to be this rule, don't draft
the Jeff Tedford quarterback in the NFL because all of
his college quarterbacks look amazing, right, yes, right, and then
and so the Alabama. So the other thing with her
is Shane Steiken. So the pre Stichen calling the play
(22:39):
is not good. Post Stikeen leaves the building, not good.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
You know, got Gardner Minshew to the damn playoffs last year.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
No, I mean that's why when the Raiders go and
get Gardner Minshew. I said this here day on the air,
You're not getting the Indianapolis Gardner Minshew. That's not what
you're getting. And by the way, Shane Stikeen, the best
Justin Herbert ever was was the first year where Shane Stikeen.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Oh I didn't even remember that he was there. Yeah,
I mean that is that only sounded rookie records.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Anthony Richardson, is he good?
Speaker 2 (23:10):
He's got Shane Stikeen, He'll be good. I mean that's why, man,
I think the Colts could be Listen, Anthony Richardson has
barely played more pro football than Jayden Daniels. You know
what I mean. I mean it's like sixty snaps. I
understand that, but man, what I saw was impressive, and
coming out of Florida, I thought the book on him
(23:32):
from the people that watched more Florida than me, was
all right, amazing physical gifts. But you know, two years
away from being an NFL ready quarterback. Then I saw
him playing, I'm like, seemed pretty fucking ready to me, Like,
I got hurt a lot, but I mean, it didn't
seem like the game was too fast for him, any
of it. Now, maybe he's the fact that he suffered
(23:55):
two significant injuries in four games makes you think, maybe
you know, that's gonna be a problem. I don't know.
But Indies, that whole division, to me is interesting because
you have Jacksonville, which I you know, I can't quit
my guy Trevor. I still believe in him. The Texans, who,
you know, some people are gonna, you know, that will
(24:17):
be the trendy team. They're like, this is the team
that will beat the Chiefs this year, that people like,
and then no one's gonna be on Indie or Tennessee.
Now I don't like the direction of the Titans. I
don't trust Levis, but the Titans. You know who thinks
the Titans are competing the Titans who are spending money
and doing things like a team that can win. And
(24:38):
then there's the Colts just sitting there like, hey, guys,
we were a completion away from being in the playoffs
last year. They were playing in Week eighteen on Sunday
Night Football for the playoffs. And if Richardson's good man,
they could be a dangerous team.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
So I had an I had a couple of Olympic
team rants today and I said one of the things
I said with KD, I said, actually being the all
time leading scorer cements his legacy. So KD is salt
(25:22):
to a chef. He makes everything better, eggs carmel. It
doesn't matter you put him on any team. He got
to the finals with Westbrook. Lebron couldn't decode Westbrook right.
He made the Warriors the best team arguably ever, even
in Brooklyn. He was outstanding the fact that his teammate
wouldn't get the vaccine. There's only so much you can do.
(25:42):
So and then you put him on this team. And
I said, if you look at even great players, you
put Tatum around great players. He kind of shrinks. Steph
has to adjust embiid clogs it. Lebron takes a leadership role,
but won't score as much. KD works everywhere. Now, as
(26:05):
long as you don't ask him to lead, don't ask
him to do that, just ask him to fit. He
is the salt to the chef. Oh, we've got it.
Everything will taste great tonight. So that is that's go ahead.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Finished. Sorry.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
So, so it's perfect that he on a collection of
the world's best players that thirty years from now in
a bar, you'll be like, who's the leading scorer?
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Jordan?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
No, well was Curry not even close? Lebron No not close? Okay,
what time out? Let me let me think was it.
Let's go back to the Olympics, was it Bill Bradley
will no, no, no, it's Kevin Durant. And you'll be like,
the fuck. Yeah, it is, like because when you ask
players Mark Fuse, a buddy of mine, he coaches the
(26:53):
Olympics assistant years ago. I said, I just asked him, like, like,
tell me one thing that's just crazy about coaching the Olympics,
and he just went, Kevin Durant, Man.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
That's all he said. Right, So the so the he
is probably if you take the this is something Brew
hasn't said, this exact thing but he's basically said a
different version of it. I think he's right. Take the
twenty greatest players ever. Okay, he's somewhere on them, close
(27:30):
to twenty, but on there, yeah, there is not a
single one of them that you can simply drop on
every great team in NBA history and it definitely works
other than Durant, Like I totally, it does not matter
(27:52):
the era, the rules, the what what redundancy, they already
have anything. Drop him on any great team and it works,
no great And so that is and your point is,
I think if if Kevin heard this, he would say,
(28:13):
that's what I've been saying, which is I don't want
to be the leader. When I'm asked about leadership, I'm like,
that's the coach's job. You know what I want to
do is play basketball. And you know what everyone seems
to say, I'm awesome at playing basketball, and you guys
tar me, I think, again, this is what I think
(28:34):
Kevin would say with I'm a bad leader, but luckily
my job is basketball player, not leader, So fuck off. Like,
I think that's what he's say And it's like, it's
not a terrible argument, except for the fact that it
seems like the other guys in that room of greatness
(28:54):
are kind of able to multitask it or have somebody
alongside him who's also great who can do it for him.
And so it is. It is such a unique thing
because I do think I do think Durant is. I
told you this on the podcast before, but I'll say
(29:14):
it again. I had somebody who is super close with
one of the greatest players ever and it's not Durant.
Say if you if we were to line the twenty
greatest players up and they're all at their peak on
(29:39):
a blacktop and ask someone who didn't know about resumes
or anything whatever, who they wanted who they think the
best guy is, and you described it, It's like, Okay,
the points at Michael Jordan and it's like, all right,
tell me about that guy. It's like, well, he's average size,
amazing athlete, good not great shooter, crazy, crazy competitor. They'd
(30:06):
be like, okay, next point it. Shit. I mean, the
most dominant physical force is you know, gonna come and
go with effort, is gonna be a liability at the
free throw line, but is gonna give you a guaranteed
thirty Okay, Nora. They point at Lebron all right, not
(30:27):
the best shooter in the room, not the best dribbler,
probably the best passer, and is probably the best athlete. Okay,
what about that guy, oh Durant, Well, he's the second
tallest person here. He's also the second best shooter. He's
also the fourth best dribbler. He also can pass, he
(30:48):
can defend. And they'd be like, well, I'm fucking taking him.
They're like, wait, he's the second tallest and the second
best shooter. They're like, oh, yeah, he can do that.
Is he durable? Well he's gonna play twenty years, Like,
uh can't? Is he a terrible defind or no, he can.
He can you know, credibly guard a bunch of response.
But despite that, he's probably kind of underachieved. And I like, so,
(31:13):
I like all of those things are true. And it's
because of that leadership component that he has been honest about, like,
I don't think that's my job, so I'm not going
to do it. And I think it's fascinating because when
he looks his best around the best, and then other guys,
when they're around the best, you're like, oh, you're a
(31:34):
grade lower, like Tatum. Tatum's around the best, and it's like, oh,
you're just a grade lower. Duran's around the best, and
you're like, are you the best player alive? Like it's
such a fascinating thing. Yeah. No.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
And I think somebody said this once that the greatest
athletes you wouldn't really want them to be your boss
because they have such bad personal tendencies. They're very selfish,
they're relentless, they're harsh. I mean, Jordan could be just
not just not a giver, a taker. Same with the
(32:07):
Lake Kobe Bryant. But Kevin Durant actually would be a
fun hang like he would be you could do eighty
two games and it'd be like he'd get a drink
with you, you know there, you would just he would
make you laugh when you were having a bad day.
He'd put his arm around you and goes, okay, bro,
let's just go ahead.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I totally agree with this, I and I it's one
of the and I've tried kind of I don't want
to say behind the scenes, but I know some people
that are tight with Kevin, and listen, at one point,
I you know, I know, I know definitively that Kevin,
(32:44):
you know, thought I was one of the people's kind
of a problem with the media, and that's like, that's
just right, that's fine. But I have tried to kind
of threw back channels like political stuff, like try to
set up a situation where he and I could sit
and talk basketball or sit and talk because over the
last four years, I have grown to have such affection,
(33:09):
if you will, for kind of just how comfortable he
is in his own skin, like the he's gone a
long way from the burners and all that stuff. It's like, nah,
if I think you're full of shit on the internet,
I'm gonna tell you, Like I thought it was hilarious that,
like a couple of days into the Olympics, on an
off day, he was arguing with strangers on the internet
(33:31):
on Twitter. It's like, dude, you're you got half a
billion dollars, you're single, you're wildly famous in the Olympic
village in Paris, and you're like, I got to get
these tweets off, man, I don't care. I'm gonna sit
here and argue with you guys about basketball. And I
was like, I just I found it charming. And I
(33:51):
also think he has such an immense respect for the
game itself that I really like so I like Durant.
I really like Durant, and I do I agree with
you like he would. I do think he'd be a
great guy to be uh, you know, to be on
a team with. And I do think he'd be of
(34:12):
all the superstars, one of the best hangs. And that's
also it's also probably helpful. He's one of the only
superstars of that level that's still like a single guy,
like hanging out with the fellas like Steph and Lebron.
Everybody's married with kids. Durant's like, Nah, I'm gonna play
video games, smoke a little weed and play basketball. Like
I don't know about you guys. Smell of a life man.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
The volume. Thanks for listening to part one of the
conversations with Nick. Don't forget the check back for part two.
The volume. All right, Nick Rite's about to stop on by.
We're going to go probably blow through an hour to
an hour and a half today. We've got a lot
of things to talk about. Hey, before we do that
with Nick Wright, I want you to download the game
Time app. Takes ninety seconds. I've used it. It's easy.
The game Time app authorized ticket marketplace for Major League
Baseball tickets get cheaper the closer you get to the
(00:23):
first pitch. And the thing about baseball now, the games
matter more, first of all. Second of all, baseball is
one of those sports because there's a big volume of games.
A lot of times I've decided to go to a
baseball game in an afternoon, somebody calls boom, I got
two tickets. You go game Time. By the way, if
you put in the redeem code Colin col i N
twenty dollars off your first purchase, take the guestwork out
(00:46):
of buying major League Baseball tickets with a game Time app.
You download the game Time app, put in the code
Colin twenty bucks off your first purchase, last minute tickets,
lowest prices guaranteed, really really easy for people with busy lives.
Game Time makes things simple quick and a twenty dollars
(01:07):
off discount. All right, Nick, Right, we haven't talked in
a while, so I thought this was here's an interesting topic.
And I bring this up because you're one of the
bigger NBA fans. Is that some things don't sound don't
(01:28):
sound comforting, and they may sound almost appalling, but they're true,
and that treating your employees and paying them more than
they deserve is really bad business. And that the reason
the NFL is king. It's virtually impossible to find a
bad contract in the league. I can remember Albert Hainsworth
(01:50):
for about a year got paid a ton with the Patriots.
You remember it because it's so infrequent. It may be
the only bad contract for the Patriots. Every NBA team
has a tear contract. Some have three. You know, before
James Dolan got distracted by the Sphere, it was like
half the half the contracts for the Knicks were bad contracts.
Is that One of the reasons that the NFL is
(02:13):
king is because they have a weak union. And that
sounds terrible to say. Players have like Brandon Ayuk, They're like, no,
we're not going to cave. There's a bunch of good
receivers in next year's draft, We'll just go draft them.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Now.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I think they want him. They're furious, they know the
windows shrinking, their players are getting older. But I think
I've talked to a lot of guys in the NBA.
I saw Frank Vogel viether night at dinner. You know, La,
you see a lot of pro coaches, like especially where
I live. There all are in the best communities, and
football coaches are happier. Basketball coaches are all miserable, even
(02:47):
the successful ones. And the reason being is they have
cost certainty, they have control. In the NFL, you can
be productive, but you're a pain in the ass. I'm
moving off you. I mean seven rounds of players if
the leagu's undrafted. In the NBA, after the fourteenth pick,
you run out of players. And this Brandon Ayuk situation
is interesting because in the NBA he would get paid
(03:08):
and he may go to coach fired. And in the
NFL they're like, now we got a bunch of good players.
Draft will give us nine receivers. We'll give you a number.
I mean, you didn't make like twenty three million, you're
not making thirty. And I think it really so. My
point being is it. Not giving the employee everything they
want is why the NFL succeeds. It forces players to
(03:31):
get their shit together. Like you don't get that nine
year baseball contract, We're like year four, five and six.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
You're like, I'm getting my money.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
The union so strong and Brandon Ayuke the Niners are
saying take it or leave it, Well, take it or
leave it.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I actually I so I think, I look at I
might I agree with some of what you're saying. I
wanted the well, yes, I'm definitely a union guy, but
I look at this, I look at the NBA and
the Ayuk thing separately. Let me deal with the NBA
thing first. I actually think a huge part of the
(04:06):
issues that you're describing with the NBA are caused by
the individual player, Max. I think so many of the
if the NBA salary cap was one hundred and fifty million,
and if you wanted to give Joker one hundred and
forty of it, you could so many of these. So
(04:28):
many of the complaints of the NBA go away for
two reasons. One is one of the reasons NBA guys
get what I would call non contract benefits, which is
I don't want to practice today. Let's not practice today
those types of things. Is because if you're artificially capping
(04:52):
what you can pay them and everyone can pay them
the same, you have to pay them elsewhere. You have
to be like, okay, actually worth one hundred million a year.
I can only pay you fifty so, and everyone can
pay you fifty so. Therefore we have to give you
these fringe benefits like you know what they give college
football coaches, country club memberships, whatever, in order to make
(05:15):
up that delta. The other thing the individual player cap
does is it makes it to where the middle class
NBA is wildly overpaid. And that's what fans. People think
fans are gonna get pissed when NBA guys are making
a million a game. They're not. They're not going to
be mad when Jason Tatum, who's the best player on
(05:36):
a champion, makes a million a game. Not more mad
than there are right now when he makes half a
million a game. Where people will get mad is when
they got mad at Tobias Harris. They're like, wait, you're
the sixty third best player in the league and you're
making thirty million a year. But that exists because of
the individual player Max So's the that's the first, that's
(05:59):
the NBA part. In my opinion, the ayuk thing. What
I think is fascinating about Ayu is people are wondering,
why are the Niners gonna cave? Why are the Niners
who are gonna get nothing back of substance for this
season when they've got to win, when it's the last
(06:19):
year theoretically, when perty's cheap, when Trent's thirty six million,
why are they going to cave and trade him at
an inopportune time? And I said it on the show today,
and I think it's I think people, I think this
will resonate with people if they think not of NFL teams,
but of their own workplace, which is it is the
(06:43):
leverage Ayukaz is I can make it miserable here and
people don't think about that. Think about any workplace you've
been in where someone who's important and unfireable or ish
comes in, has a bad attitude. Is shit talking other people?
(07:04):
Is bringing the morale? Like bringing every room they walk
into you like, oh, that kills the vibe, that kills
working anywhere. And I think that is oddly the leverage
au Caz, The leverage auk Haz is this can be
miserable guys and if people doubt how much of an
impact that can have. Read the ESPN article today on
(07:27):
what happened to the Eagles. Eagles were ten and one,
they had won like twenty three of twenty five games. Yeah,
went to Super Bowl, did all that, and then what
happened to them? Well, it seems like the coach and
the quarterback couldn't be in a room one on one
together and the whole thing collapsed. So I think, oddly
the leverage I Ukaz or any of these guys have
is I can be a dick and I can make
(07:50):
team meetings and the locker room suck. And you if
I'm too good to cut, what are you gonna do? So?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
But I think in the NFL people just move on.
I think in the NBA you don't. But in the NFL, Yeah,
I mean, I've said I said this today. I would
take that University of Washington offensive lineman first round.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Guy.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
I'll say, you can have Ayuk. You have to pay him, though.
We'll take that offensive lineman and the fans will think
what a terrible deal. But the Niners' biggest weakness is
their offensive line. Outside of Trent Williams, give us your
first pick because Ayuk's were the first rounder. We just
want a guy that can play now and the steel
And by the way, he's not scheduled to start for
the Steelers this year anyway. And by the way, the
(08:33):
utter part is that offensive coaches, I will say this
till I die, are better with offensive line than defensive coaches.
Andy Reid and Sean McVay reboot that thing every two
years brilliantly. Mike Tomlin can't get He cannot figure the
offensive line out. Pete Carroll in the Seahawks great draft picks,
couldn't figure it out. He hired terrible O line coaches
(08:55):
Sean McDermott outside a left tackle revolving door. Can't figure
the offensive line out mcvaghon Reid. Sean Payton goes to
the Broncos.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
It's terrible.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Last year his first on line seventh by PFF Dotson
was a guard the Steelers. Was not going to start
for the Steelers. Sean Payton gets them for like a
fifth round pick. Sean McVeigh gets them for a fifth
round pick for the Rams. He's the highest rated guard
in the league last year, was not going to start
for the Steelers. So yeah, so my takeaways, give him
(09:26):
a Yuke, we'll take that. We'll take that interior offensive lineman.
The fans will think we got just used, but we
don't have to pay that kid.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
That would be a great deal. Listen if you if
that's the guy the the Steelers spent their first round
pick on this past year. It was the first round
and right, and the problem with the problem with trading
Ayuk is not trading Ayuk. It's trading Ayuk in August
if the compensation is next year's draft when you're trying
(09:55):
to win this year's super Bowl. Like the I was.
I don't know if you remember it, but I was.
You broke the news to me live on TV that
Tyreek Kill had been trading. I was on with you
and it happened, and in the moment I was beside myself,
and then the details came out and then I had
(10:16):
more time and a little I will admit this is
a little bit playing the result because the Chiefs haven't
you know, they've won every Super Bowl has been played
since the trade. But the key was they're going to
get four players for this year's team, like it was
happening before so they're gonna lose Tyreek and they got
a first round pick, a you know, a third to
(10:37):
fifth or whatever it was. But the draft hadn't happened yet,
and so it's like, oh, they're gonna be able to
improve these different things and use it right now as
opposed to trading post draft for future picks, which is
just always such a bomber. It's like, man, he's gonna
help us today, and you're trading him for help down
(10:57):
the road. That's fine to do if you're or a
rebuilding team that doesn't care about winning. But the Niners'
best chance of winning a Super Bowl that hasn't already
happened is right now, because Rockberdy is gonna go from
wildly underpaid no matter what you think of him, to
comically overpaid, no matter what you think of him. So
the window is this moment, and that I mean, I listen,
(11:21):
I believe that he's going to the Steelers. Andrew Philipponi
out of Pittsburgh said, the Niners and Steelers have agreed.
They're waiting on Ayuk and the Steelers to come to
terms on the money. I also, can I ask you
another question for you move on to this stuff. Is
it a little odd to you that Ayuk is this
(11:43):
much more interested in Pittsburgh than New England because I
Pittsburgh does not have a settled quarterback situation. We don't
know who it is New England. I get it's a rookie.
This is the third pick of the draft. He wanted
to go to Washington, who second pick of the draft.
Now I understand he played with Jayden before. But it
(12:03):
was the reporting out of New England is they offered
upwards of thirty two million a year. The Niners accepted
the terms, and Iuk was like, I won't play there.
That would make sense if it's like, no, I want
to go to Baltimore and play with Lamar. I want
to go to Buffalo and play with Josh Allen. But
it's like, no, I won't play with the Patriots and
their defensive minded head coach with Drake Mayo quarterback because
(12:28):
I want to go to the Steelers, who are having
a quarterback competition between a first round pick that might
wash out and Russell Wilson's thirteen. That's weird to me
that I can't quite figure.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
So players are all and this is not a criticism
but a reality selfish, and they probably should be. A
GM can GM forever, an owner owns forever. A coach
can coach until the seventies. A player's got like seven
peak years in football and then it's over. So they're selfish.
So if you were twenty two to twenty three years
old and you looked around the NFL, if I said
(13:03):
you could go to this place, it is player friendly.
You can be dramatic, you can talk.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
That makes sense.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Pittsburgh is a player heaven. Tomlin's not a big disciplinarian Tomlin.
I mean Tomlin almost ran onto the field to make
a tackle himself once he is the.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Jones.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
He is very motivational. It's like Pete Carroll was viewed
player friendly. That's why when he didn't pay Earl Thomas,
Earl Thomas flipped him off because it was like players
just thought Pete gets guys paid. And so so when
you think of New England, their brand is rigid, the
crafts not player friendly. Take a pay cut, even though
(13:49):
it may not be the reality now that Brady and
Belichick are gone, the brand of New England is cold.
Boston is sort of fences make good neighbors. It's get
is a good time.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I mean, that's gotta be it, because it can't be.
I understand wide receiver being like quarterback quarterback quarterback, but
and I don't love Drake May but he's the third
pick of the draft. Like it's the Patriots would not
have traded the third pick of the draft for Russell
Wilson and justin fields like that, that would not have happened.
So it's just that part is weird to me. I
(14:24):
want to ask you one other thing for it. I
know this is your show.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
No.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I read that ESPN article about Sirianni and Hurtz, yeah
and man o man. It reminded me a lot of
what we learned about Carol and Russell Wilson, which is
make a super Bowl with a quarterback that some believed
in some didn't. The coach still views the quarterback a
(14:54):
certain way. The quarterback then's like, no, I view myself
a different I got paid and I want to play
a different way. And it obviously for Carol and Wilson
it lasted for years and then it broke up at
the end. But when I when I'm reading that, Sirianni
still wanted run the ball, do certain things in Jalen
Hurtz like, you paid me two hundred and fifty million dollars,
(15:16):
I'm want to show you what I can do. It
reminded me so much of Pete and Russ at the
end that for Philly, I think there's all that Philly
has a really good roster. There are a lot of
big warning signs about the GM picked the coordinators that
if the head coach and quarterback are not on the
(15:36):
same page. That was not a great article.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
No, but the difference is I'll give you an example. So
Russell Wilson has had three different coaches. Three his college coach.
He was a wildly successful, productive college quarterback. His coach
basically said I'm gonna I'm gonna go with Mike glennt Yes,
Pete Carroll him, I'm over you. Sean Payton actually resurrected
(16:04):
him a little bit, and he doesn't. So three coaches,
different levels of success, bailed on him. That tells me
that is a Russell Wilson issue. I've had multiple teammates
rip him like notable guys. So there's a Russell component
here and I think nothing. I'm not being you know,
(16:24):
anti Russ. But when three things happen if you rob
three banks.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
No, that's right, and where it's the the It's funny
you brought up the NC state thing. I think that's relevant.
I think it's like, wait, so that was that? That
was it? And then he goes to Wisconsin and it
is awesome. It's like he keeps aside from in Denver,
he produces everywhere and the coaches seem really hesitant to
(16:50):
give him the full keys to the car, which is
a weird thing. With that said, Colin Jalen Hurts did
have to transfer from Alabama, right, yeap.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
So it's twenty twenty four, and let's talk about something
really really important. If you're ever injured, check out Morgan
and Morgan's America's largest injury law firm, and they're there
for you. Over one hundred offices nationwide. Think about that,
more than a thousand lawyers with over twenty billion. That's
a b twenty billion dollars recovered for over five hundred
(17:26):
thousand clients. Things happen in life unexpectedly. Submitting an injury
claim with Morgan and Morgan is really really easy. Like
winning in the NFL is hard. We know that quarterbacking
in the NFL is hard, Submitting a claim is easy.
You're ever injured, check out Morgan and Morgan. Their fee
is free unless they win. For more information, go to
(17:46):
for Thepeople dot com slash Colin or dial pound law
from your cell phone. Pretty easy. That's for the people
dot com slash Colin or pound law pound five to
nine from your cell Morgan and Morgan has a proven
track record of fighting for you to get a full
and fair compensation if there's an unexpected accident in your life.
(18:09):
This is a paid advertisement. The difference is Pete Carroll
College and Pro is a championship level coach. So when
Sirianni got the job, I called I have six GMS
on my phone, a couple scouting directors and we talk
(18:32):
all the time. And I called various people, and I
didn't really actually want to call Chris Ballard because I
didn't want to put Chris in a bad spot. So
he wasn't one of the ones I called because Ballard
he came from Indianapolis. So it's it's like, for instance,
I can I can text Brett Veach and ask him
a quarterback question because I know he's not drafting one
(18:52):
right right, right, But I didn't want to ask Tom
te LESCo a friend about Tua and Justin Herbert, because
I knew he needed one and I didn't think it
was fair for me to poke in PROD in that space.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
So I tend to use US.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
I tend to source my people non sensitive areas.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Right, not neutral parties on whatever you're talking about. So
he asked Ballad about Sirianni when.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
He is there, Yes, I can ask him now about Sirianni.
I felt comfortable asking Chris post success be into Super Bowl,
but I called two people, two people that I went
and looked up Sirianni's resume where he'd been. Two people
both said the same thing. I don't know if he's ready.
I don't know if he's great on his side of
(19:36):
the ball yet. And there's a distinction here. You can
bang on Jim Harbaugh, but he gets the offense right
everywhere fast you can. You can bang on Nick Saban.
He didn't win big at Michigan State or LSU year four.
He was losing games. The defense gets better immediately wherever
Nick Saban was, including the Miami Dolphins Lincoln Riley offense
(20:00):
brilliant the minute he arrives Nick Siriani. That article at
ESPN said people didn't respect his ex's and no offense.
I know, and so that that literally was exactly what
I heard from my sources, which was he's not good
enough on his side of the ball. He's not viewed
(20:21):
as an expert. Like like, I'll give you another one,
Matt Eberflus. You can say what you want. That was
the best defense in the league the last seven weeks
of the year, and they didn't have the best person out.
Yeah yeah, yeah, so you can say what you want,
like Steve Spurrier may not have been the best this this, this.
His offenses were good at Duke, they were great at Florida,
(20:42):
Like he knew offense. So the difference with the Jalen
Hurts thing is is, yes, he did transfer, and there
may be some of that, but there's a competent coach
in Pete Carroll and one in Nick Sirianni. I mean
that opening press conference was a glimpse into he was
over his skis when he got that.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Job, So listen. And I also think you can't have
your coach be a shit talker unless you're a team
of shit talkers. If you're sorry, my dog's running around.
But it's fine if you're a if everyone on your
team is, you know, taunting and whatever, and that's the
motif you want to have. Especially if your coach is
(21:19):
maybe a former player, then maybe you can get away
with it. But what you can't have is a totally
buttoned up team led by a quarterback who is like
the best press conference in the league, and then a
coach he's screaming at fans and taunting. You can't have that.
That part I totally agree with. My concern is on
(21:40):
the flip side, which is, man, we've seen Jalen Hurts
play big time football for seven years. There's only been
one he looked like an NFL franchise quarterback? Is it?
Never in college, at no point with Philly except for
the Super Bowl year and he was brilliant that year,
and he was amazing in the Super Bowl. I just
(22:02):
don't know. I think that what happened to Peterson and
Wins absolutely could happen to Sirianni and Hurts, which is
that they're both gone within three years of the Super Bowl.
I think that's on the board.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
No, I think it is. And what also concerned you,
you know, it used to be this rule, don't draft
the Jeff Tedford quarterback in the NFL because all of
his college quarterbacks look amazing, right, yes, right, and then
and so the Alabama. So the other thing with her
is Shane Steiken. So the pre Stichen calling the play
(22:39):
is not good. Post Stikeen leaves the building, not good.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
You know, got Gardner Minshew to the damn playoffs last year.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
No, I mean that's why when the Raiders go and
get Gardner Minshew. I said this here day on the air,
You're not getting the Indianapolis Gardner Minshew. That's not what
you're getting. And by the way, Shane Stikeen, the best
Justin Herbert ever was was the first year where Shane Stikeen.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Oh I didn't even remember that he was there. Yeah,
I mean that is that only sounded rookie records.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Anthony Richardson, is he good?
Speaker 2 (23:10):
He's got Shane Stikeen, He'll be good. I mean that's why, man,
I think the Colts could be Listen, Anthony Richardson has
barely played more pro football than Jayden Daniels. You know
what I mean. I mean it's like sixty snaps. I
understand that, but man, what I saw was impressive, and
coming out of Florida, I thought the book on him
(23:32):
from the people that watched more Florida than me, was
all right, amazing physical gifts. But you know, two years
away from being an NFL ready quarterback. Then I saw
him playing, I'm like, seemed pretty fucking ready to me, Like,
I got hurt a lot, but I mean, it didn't
seem like the game was too fast for him, any
of it. Now, maybe he's the fact that he suffered
(23:55):
two significant injuries in four games makes you think, maybe
you know, that's gonna be a problem. I don't know.
But Indies, that whole division, to me is interesting because
you have Jacksonville, which I you know, I can't quit
my guy Trevor. I still believe in him. The Texans, who,
you know, some people are gonna, you know, that will
(24:17):
be the trendy team. They're like, this is the team
that will beat the Chiefs this year, that people like,
and then no one's gonna be on Indie or Tennessee.
Now I don't like the direction of the Titans. I
don't trust Levis, but the Titans. You know who thinks
the Titans are competing the Titans who are spending money
and doing things like a team that can win. And
(24:38):
then there's the Colts just sitting there like, hey, guys,
we were a completion away from being in the playoffs
last year. They were playing in Week eighteen on Sunday
Night Football for the playoffs. And if Richardson's good man,
they could be a dangerous team.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
So I had an I had a couple of Olympic
team rants today and I said one of the things
I said with KD, I said, actually being the all
time leading scorer cements his legacy. So KD is salt
(25:22):
to a chef. He makes everything better, eggs carmel. It
doesn't matter you put him on any team. He got
to the finals with Westbrook. Lebron couldn't decode Westbrook right.
He made the Warriors the best team arguably ever, even
in Brooklyn. He was outstanding the fact that his teammate
wouldn't get the vaccine. There's only so much you can do.
(25:42):
So and then you put him on this team. And
I said, if you look at even great players, you
put Tatum around great players. He kind of shrinks. Steph
has to adjust embiid clogs it. Lebron takes a leadership role,
but won't score as much. KD works everywhere. Now, as
(26:05):
long as you don't ask him to lead, don't ask
him to do that, just ask him to fit. He
is the salt to the chef. Oh, we've got it.
Everything will taste great tonight. So that is that's go ahead.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Finished. Sorry.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
So, so it's perfect that he on a collection of
the world's best players that thirty years from now in
a bar, you'll be like, who's the leading scorer?
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Jordan?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
No, well was Curry not even close? Lebron No not close? Okay,
what time out? Let me let me think was it.
Let's go back to the Olympics, was it Bill Bradley
will no, no, no, it's Kevin Durant. And you'll be like,
the fuck. Yeah, it is, like because when you ask
players Mark Fuse, a buddy of mine, he coaches the
(26:53):
Olympics assistant years ago. I said, I just asked him, like, like,
tell me one thing that's just crazy about coaching the Olympics,
and he just went, Kevin Durant, Man.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
That's all he said. Right, So the so the he
is probably if you take the this is something Brew
hasn't said, this exact thing but he's basically said a
different version of it. I think he's right. Take the
twenty greatest players ever. Okay, he's somewhere on them, close
(27:30):
to twenty, but on there, yeah, there is not a
single one of them that you can simply drop on
every great team in NBA history and it definitely works
other than Durant, Like I totally, it does not matter
(27:52):
the era, the rules, the what what redundancy, they already
have anything. Drop him on any great team and it works,
no great And so that is and your point is,
I think if if Kevin heard this, he would say,
(28:13):
that's what I've been saying, which is I don't want
to be the leader. When I'm asked about leadership, I'm like,
that's the coach's job. You know what I want to
do is play basketball. And you know what everyone seems
to say, I'm awesome at playing basketball, and you guys
tar me, I think, again, this is what I think
(28:34):
Kevin would say with I'm a bad leader, but luckily
my job is basketball player, not leader, So fuck off. Like,
I think that's what he's say And it's like, it's
not a terrible argument, except for the fact that it
seems like the other guys in that room of greatness
(28:54):
are kind of able to multitask it or have somebody
alongside him who's also great who can do it for him.
And so it is. It is such a unique thing
because I do think I do think Durant is. I
told you this on the podcast before, but I'll say
(29:14):
it again. I had somebody who is super close with
one of the greatest players ever and it's not Durant.
Say if you if we were to line the twenty
greatest players up and they're all at their peak on
(29:39):
a blacktop and ask someone who didn't know about resumes
or anything whatever, who they wanted who they think the
best guy is, and you described it, It's like, Okay,
the points at Michael Jordan and it's like, all right,
tell me about that guy. It's like, well, he's average size,
amazing athlete, good not great shooter, crazy, crazy competitor. They'd
(30:06):
be like, okay, next point it. Shit. I mean, the
most dominant physical force is you know, gonna come and
go with effort, is gonna be a liability at the
free throw line, but is gonna give you a guaranteed
thirty Okay, Nora. They point at Lebron all right, not
(30:27):
the best shooter in the room, not the best dribbler,
probably the best passer, and is probably the best athlete. Okay,
what about that guy, oh Durant, Well, he's the second
tallest person here. He's also the second best shooter. He's
also the fourth best dribbler. He also can pass, he
(30:48):
can defend. And they'd be like, well, I'm fucking taking him.
They're like, wait, he's the second tallest and the second
best shooter. They're like, oh, yeah, he can do that.
Is he durable? Well he's gonna play twenty years, Like,
uh can't? Is he a terrible defind or no, he can.
He can you know, credibly guard a bunch of response.
But despite that, he's probably kind of underachieved. And I like, so,
(31:13):
I like all of those things are true. And it's
because of that leadership component that he has been honest about, like,
I don't think that's my job, so I'm not going
to do it. And I think it's fascinating because when
he looks his best around the best, and then other guys,
when they're around the best, you're like, oh, you're a
(31:34):
grade lower, like Tatum. Tatum's around the best, and it's like, oh,
you're just a grade lower. Duran's around the best, and
you're like, are you the best player alive? Like it's
such a fascinating thing. Yeah. No.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
And I think somebody said this once that the greatest
athletes you wouldn't really want them to be your boss
because they have such bad personal tendencies. They're very selfish,
they're relentless, they're harsh. I mean, Jordan could be just
not just not a giver, a taker. Same with the
(32:07):
Lake Kobe Bryant. But Kevin Durant actually would be a
fun hang like he would be you could do eighty
two games and it'd be like he'd get a drink
with you, you know there, you would just he would
make you laugh when you were having a bad day.
He'd put his arm around you and goes, okay, bro,
let's just go ahead.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I totally agree with this, I and I it's one
of the and I've tried kind of I don't want
to say behind the scenes, but I know some people
that are tight with Kevin, and listen, at one point,
I you know, I know, I know definitively that Kevin,
(32:44):
you know, thought I was one of the people's kind
of a problem with the media, and that's like, that's
just right, that's fine. But I have tried to kind
of threw back channels like political stuff, like try to
set up a situation where he and I could sit
and talk basketball or sit and talk because over the
last four years, I have grown to have such affection,
(33:09):
if you will, for kind of just how comfortable he
is in his own skin, like the he's gone a
long way from the burners and all that stuff. It's like, nah,
if I think you're full of shit on the internet,
I'm gonna tell you, Like I thought it was hilarious that,
like a couple of days into the Olympics, on an
off day, he was arguing with strangers on the internet
(33:31):
on Twitter. It's like, dude, you're you got half a
billion dollars, you're single, you're wildly famous in the Olympic
village in Paris, and you're like, I got to get
these tweets off, man, I don't care. I'm gonna sit
here and argue with you guys about basketball. And I
was like, I just I found it charming. And I
(33:51):
also think he has such an immense respect for the
game itself that I really like so I like Durant.
I really like Durant, and I do I agree with
you like he would. I do think he'd be a
great guy to be uh, you know, to be on
a team with. And I do think he'd be of
(34:12):
all the superstars, one of the best hangs. And that's
also it's also probably helpful. He's one of the only
superstars of that level that's still like a single guy,
like hanging out with the fellas like Steph and Lebron.
Everybody's married with kids. Durant's like, Nah, I'm gonna play
video games, smoke a little weed and play basketball. Like
I don't know about you guys. Smell of a life man.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
The volume. Thanks for listening to part one of the
conversations with Nick. Don't forget the check back for part two.
Host
Colin Cowherd
Popular Podcasts
1. Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
2. Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
3. Crime Junkie
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.