May 31, 2022 • 40 mins
Colin previews the NBA Finals and gives his prediction
Baker Mayfield would be a good fit on the Saints
Would the Nets trade Kyrie Irving?
Guest: Sam Amick
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. It is a Tuesday.
(00:28):
We're live in Los Angeles. It's The Herd. Wherever you
may be, however you may be listening iHeartRadio, Fox Sports
Radio FS one once again, incidentally, join our match. This
is if we have a department that is trying to
make us. She walks in one minute before the show
every day and about once every two weeks. It's like
(00:50):
we were dressed by this stylist. We are coddressed by stylist.
But I have you only have one option in your room,
right mostly yea yeah. So they put like my whole
week's worth of clothing. So if I'm not feeling something
on a particular day, I swap it out. So it
is actually completely accidental that we match joy with this
body and face. I don't have many options. This was
(01:10):
the shirt that was there and I picked it. Or
one could argue that you don't have to do a
lot of work. So let's start with this finals Thursday.
My dad, you still always say this, Tiger he called me.
You're a good talker. Good talkers are usually good arguers.
But most of the employment decisions in your life will
be decided when you're not in the room. Be good
(01:33):
to people. It'll matter. And that's a lot about life.
It's inches, not feet that decides careers and legacies, and
it shouldn't be that way, right, you work hard, but
it is. Take the Boston Celtics in November and December.
In January, this team was struggling with a new coach,
and there were strong rumors from credible sources Jason Tatum
(01:57):
and Jaylen Brown, we're gonna be broken up. I mean, hey,
what have they done? Seriously? Why not Philadelphia look better?
I mean, Brooklyn just got thrown together. Miami was playing well.
I mean one of these guys giving us. They're trying
to pay all these guys a lot of money. Real rumors,
real sources, and the players heard it. I'll get to
that in a second, but think about this. If the
(02:19):
Celtics win Game seven, tied to the hundred final shot
win the finals, or game tied to a hundred Game
seven with the Warriors miss, they come down and hit lose.
It changes the arc of careers, It changes reputations, it
changes money. Nobody talks about the loser of an NBA finals.
(02:42):
You're just a loser. Nobody talks about the bronze and
silver medals in the Olympics. You're just a loser. It's
the way our sports work. Inches, not feet. Think about this.
Jerry Seinfeld is the richest comedian in American history, and
it's not particularly close. He worked with Larry dave It,
a wildly influential comedian and mostly writer. Curb Your Enthusiasm
(03:05):
in Seinfeld two massive comedy hits. Julie Lewis Dreyfus created Veep,
one of my favorite comedies of all time on HBO.
Those are three powerhouse, massively influential comedic voices in America.
Massive Brandon tartekof after one year, the head of NBC
(03:28):
wanted to cancel the show. Warren Littlefield. You've probably seen
him as a character in a couple movies before, Like
this story has been told before, right. He was the
head of development. Very rarely does the head of development
argue with the president of a network. And Brandon Tartakoff
was the most influential person in network television at the time.
(03:53):
Brandon Tartikof, he was on the cover of magazines. He
was the genius. He goes, oh, I'm done with it,
and Warren Littlefield convinced him the show about nothing was
really going to be something just just another year. It
changed everything. Otherwise, Larry David, is it David Larry or
(04:13):
Larry David? Who Julie Lewis trifus is probably happy in
her life, but she doesn't make veep And Jerry Seinfeldt
isn't worth nine hundred million dollars. He's probably at the
comedy club on Sunset this weekend. That's the difference inches
nut feet. That is not taking anything away from those
brilliant people, but that happens a lot. Let's say the
(04:34):
Celtics lose, Oh, they'll get back. Interesting Kadie Westbrook and
Harden never didn't didn't necessarily get that close. Let's say
the Celtics lose, well, Milwaukee, Chris Middleton returns. That's a
really good culture Miami, like they always do already good.
Now took him seven games. They'll add a piece. Players
(04:54):
like to play in the winner near Awkwall Water. Let's
look at Philadelphia. They have a deal making GM. Maxie
continues to grow and Beat stays healthy. Also, if you're
the Celtics, Al Horford's about to be thirty six and
Robert Williams struggles with health, you'd lose your two bigs
potentially going into the playoffs. Oklahoma City had Durant, one
(05:15):
of the great players ever hardened the Hall of Fame
talent and Westbrook will make the Hall of Fame, got
to the finals, never got back. One guy didn't get along,
one guy wanted more money. It is a salary cap league.
Tatum and Brown. There were discussions as this team was
under five hundred in January to break it up. Remember,
(05:35):
even great teams in the NBA, they don't last long.
In the NFL, they last longer. New England lasted twenty years. Steelers,
when I was a kid in the seventies lasted seemingly forever.
They were good. The Cowboys with Landry were good forever.
I think the pressures on the Celtics. Draymond Greene got
his money, got his rings, gonna be the Hall of Fame.
Steph Curry got his Money's ring, Hall of Fame, Clay
(05:57):
Thompson check check check, Steve Kerr getting in the Hall
of Fame. All those legacies are cemented. The money, the rings,
the legacy cemented. Now let's flip it and say the
Celtics win and beat the Warriors. Now it changes everything.
Could be one shot. Now Brooklyn starts to get really impatient. Okay,
(06:18):
this is embarrassing. Those guys and that chemistry are beating us.
Kyrie's done, Darryl Morey and Bead gets hurt again. We're
making a big deal. You start changing who the pressures on.
Milwaukee sits there and thinks, okay, now these guys have
a championship. They're better than us defensively, Jalen Brown's now
averaging twenty four. Maybe Milwaukee overreacts, moves, a player brings
(06:42):
somebody in, ruins the chemistry. How long can brook Lopez
be there? Remember they weren't as good without Lopez this year.
You think all this stuff it's big gaps. It's yes, yes,
Shack and Kobe were way better and Michael Jordan absolutely
and Belichick and Brady would have one in any era.
But this Boston team is pretty good. When Marcus Smart scores,
(07:05):
they're really good. But everything could change. The pressure is
on this team. It's inches in life, not feet. It
is a single catch and a touchdown in a big game.
It is one shot that falls Kyrie Irving against the Warriors.
It's single decisions by a coach. It changes bank accounts, legacies, everything.
(07:28):
And Jason Tatum said, yesterday, we heard the rumors. We
heard that we were gonna get broken up. We weren't
very good. And here's how they responded, you know, from
saying it we need to split the group up and
get rid of you know somebody or me and JB
can't play together. That fueled us to figure it out
(07:51):
and you know, not run from it that you know
we obviously gonna be here for a while, and that
we trusted each other and that we had to be better.
So yeah, I think instead of separating, we became closer.
And I think it is shown, you know, throughout the season,
(08:11):
sure has. I'll take the Warriors in six because I
think Boston's lack of experience is a thing and the
pressure is on the Celtics. But can't wait it starts Thursday.
So I am often viewed as mister negative with Baker Mayfield.
I think it's unfair. But I've said a lot of
things that end up on YouTube and aren't that complimentary.
Let me flip it today. I finally found a place
(08:34):
for Baker Mayfield and I actually think he could be
really successful. So I saw a story yesterday about Jamis
Winston of the Saints. OTA's limping around. Remember he tore
an a CEO last year. He wasn't a great athlete
to begin with. He's always been perpetually goofy. But Baker
(08:56):
Mayfield and his agent should really try to get to
New Orleans. And I'll tell you why. Number One, they've
already moved Taysom Hill, I think smartly out of the
quarterback room. Drew Brees Taysom Hill. That was come on,
give me a break. That was a Sean Payton idea.
Maybe Sean Payton can make it work. Now they have
(09:17):
a defensive coach. They've moved Taysom Hill out of the
quarterback room. Number Two, nobody really is all in on Jamis.
He's always been you know, Jamis. I mean, let's be honest.
He went seven and nine. They brought in Brady and
they won the Super Bowl. That was not a great
day in his career. So there's a lot of doubters
with Jameis Winston and now he's limping around. Number three
(09:38):
is Saints are actually an effective quarterback away from in
the NFC making the playoffs. It's a bad division, and
they have a real defense. I mean, they want to
win now, Atlanta, we know what they're doing, Carol Lina,
We kind of know what they're doing. Saints aren't in
a rebuild. Maybe they'd be in a rebuild if you
(09:58):
put him in the AFC West or the NFC West
in that division, that's not a rebuild. This is not
a team that's gonna go four and thirteen and five
and twelve, especially if you've got Baker Mayfield. And what's
really important is to see around the corners. And I
think Baker and his people probably know this. Tom Brady,
this is the last year. I mean it feels like
it right. There are multiple stories out there that he
(10:21):
was going to go to the Dolphins to be a
co owner. He's done. Like this offseason, it's a lot
of golf, it's a lot of branding, it's not a
lot of football last couple of years, little less football
in the offseason, a little more fun. Tom's moving on. Okay,
So that means if you acquire Baker Mayfield with that
defense in a week division, with two other teams rebuilding
(10:41):
in one year, Baker's the best quarterback and you say
to yourself, well, you never liked him anyway. Now I
think he's I think he needs to grow up. But
let me give an example. The Chargers in San Diego
at the time bailed on Breeze. He found the culture
that bought into him. Well, he's Breese. Here's some interesting numbers.
(11:03):
Here's the numbers for Baker Mayfield in Cleveland and Drew
Breese with the Chargers. They are virtually identical. You didn't
know Drew Brees was great either. Until he was surrounded
by really good old lines and great defenses. You didn't
know he would be that. I don't think Baker is
as good a thrower as Drew Brees. I don't think
(11:25):
he's quite as committed, or as focused or as accurate.
But Baker can play. Baker's absolutely a top twenty five
quarterback in this league. But at the time Breeze moved over.
We didn't think he was a top fifteen quarterback. Chargers
gave up with him for Philip Rivers. Just something to
think about. This one works, Carolina really doesn't. It really
doesn't work because their owner, the billionaire, he wants, he
(11:49):
wants super Bowls, and I don't think Baker's a super
Bowl quarterback. And I think they're rebuilding. But New Orleans
has a reputation of drafting really well and giving their
quarterbacks a lot to work with. And now that Jamis
Winston is limping around, it's not exactly like everybody's all
in on Jamis and Taysom Hills out of the room.
(12:11):
And this is going to be too good of a
team in New Orleans to go five and twelve or
four and thirteen, and in my opinion, probably way too
good even with Jamis Winston to go like six and eleven.
So you're not gonna get Bryce Young, You're not gonna
get Strout at Ohio State. You're you're not going to
be in that class. There's too many bad teams out there,
(12:33):
and I can name them right now, two of them
in your division, Atlanta, Carolina. Baker to the Saints makes
a ton of sense. And by the way, the Browns
roster is very good. They don't need a ton what
they could probably use because they're getting kind of expensive.
There's a draft picker two. This isn't the NBA where
(12:53):
salaries have to match. Saints could use. Browns could use
some draft picks because they've they're gonna pay the new quarterback.
I don't know, a zillion dollars all guaranteed. In a
really tough division. What they need is to make sure
that great quarterback has weapons and they're a little shaky
wide receiver. So to me, this works. It's very positive.
I hope I have pivoted off my negative Baker brand
(13:15):
into mister Glass half full, mister Sunshine for Baker Mayfield.
But I think his career would be to some level reborn.
It's a reboot. It's a good organization. It's a week division.
Brady retires, best quarterback may not last long. Atlanta may
get the number one pick, But that makes sense to me.
(13:35):
See it's see in the end, very optimistic person, always
rooting for other success, and sometimes obnoxious. Be sure to
catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter
nine a Empacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeartRadio app. Great to have you in today, Joy
Taylor joining me as Alwa's you don't know what you
(14:01):
don't know. So that's why examples are really important. Good examples,
bad examples. I say, my wife has a saying, kids,
you can be a great example or a horrible warning.
Kids can learn from both. Steve Kerr and some of
this is just good fortune. A lot of it is,
and I think Steve Kerr would be the first to
(14:21):
admit this. Played in three great cultures. Lude Olsen at
Arizona was a top five program. Steve Kerr played there.
Then he goes to Greg Popovitch and San Antonio, that's
one of the great cultures in NBA history. And then
he goes to the Chicago Bulls and I mean, you
talk about mentors lud Olson, Phil Jackson, Greg Popovitch. Now
(14:43):
he also knows what a bad culture was. I covered
it in Portland when they were the as the Oregonian
dubbed them the Jailblazers. It's not a great culture, just
a lot of talented players. So you know what you know.
And he talks about Steph Curry and and why he
is so important and what the Warriors have been doing
(15:04):
for over a decade. What culture means to me is
what the players feel when they enter the building every day.
You know what, what do they experience, what's the vibe
in the building and whatever that is, that's that's the culture.
I think Steph embodies everything that we believe in, all
the values that we believe in, and so Steph's presence
(15:28):
from the very beginning allowed that culture to blossom. I
think it's harder for NBA coaches to build cultures. And
here's why you and I, all of us me joy
everybody here. We kind of agree who the best basketball player,
best football players are, best baseball players are, hockey, soccer, boxers.
(15:50):
Basketball is different, though the imagery given to young basketball
players is individuality is very important. Style points, get you paid,
get a shoe deal, forget college, get to the pros.
That's what's constantly being sold to a talented eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen,
(16:11):
fifteen year old high school football players. He got to
go three years college minimum probably four. And those coaches
are going to hard coach. You're not gonna sniff an
agent for years. Even with nil. You got limitations. Same
with baseball players. You're gonna be Bryce Harper, Mike Trout,
get to the miners, enjoy Appleton, Wisconsin for a year
(16:33):
or two. Everybody knows that. Everybody knows that, especially the athletes.
It's hard to build a basketball culture when twelve and
thirteen fourteen year olds are told and sold hardening staff,
same player, Westbrook better than staff, mellow staff, same guy,
(16:56):
Hall of famers. No, they're not. It's hard to do.
What Golden State's doing is to take players, especially after
they get rich, and tell them it's about us, not
about you. And I think that's where Steph's really important.
And I don't think it is a coincidence that Draymond
Greene went to college for four years and was a
(17:17):
second rounder, and Steph went to college for three, and
Clay went to college for three, and Jordan Pool went
into college for two. The kid that's had trouble with
the Warriors is James Wiseman. The number one pick played
like three college games. There's a whole different ballgame here.
You're gonna be coached hard, You're gonna sit on the bench.
It's a complex defensive system. Talent has limitations. That's why
(17:41):
I think what curs done. And Steve's arguably the smartest
guy I've ever covered in this sport. I covered him
in Portland. Is that some of it is good fortune?
Lud Olson, Greg Popovich and Phil Jackson. That is, you
talk about influences, those are those are right up right
up top on the mountaintop of influences. But I think
(18:03):
what they're doing is something that's really hard. I think
it's easier to create a culture in football because players
have less power. I think it's easier in baseball because
until you get that big contract, I can send you
back to the minors. Let's be honest about hockey. Star
players are on the ice for forty five seconds and
(18:25):
off the ice for forty five seconds. It's really hard
to be wildly influential and less perhaps your Gret Skier
in the net. Basketball is hard, man. The messaging to
young people is you get yours, you get yours. Shoot
deals are as big as winning. We of course know
that's not true. But when you're twelve and thirteen and
(18:45):
fourteen and you're watching basketball and everybody's telling you how
great this guy is and this guy is and this
guy is, and none of them are winning players, and
Steph is all about winning. It can be confusing. So
what Golden State is created is the basketball culture that
everybody should copy. Yet how many are I mean, really,
(19:05):
how many are Rick Buker earlier this week on Curry
and how he embodies what the Warriors are. I've always
said he's a very unique superstar in that he has this,
He has the utmost confidence, and yet he is ego
less in terms of inviting everybody into the party. Generally,
(19:26):
the Kobe's and the Michaels are like, no, get out
of the way, let me get it done. Steph's like, oh,
I think you might be able to help me here.
I'll utilize you, and I don't have a problem if
you're the Finals MVP. I truly think he thinks that way,
as do I. Again, I'll take the Warriors in six.
I think we got ourselves a perfect final, East versus West,
(19:47):
defense versus offense, and two remarkable cultures. One was struggling
in January, stuck with it, and the Celtics are now here.
Joy with the news. Turn on the news. It is
the herd line news O. The Cowboys. They got rid
of a lot of pieces that I like. Your introduction
(20:07):
to that story Cowboys. Well, I mean you're giving this,
you know, eloquence, talk about culture and consistency and success,
and then I got a transition to the Cowboys. We
pivot to do oh. You know, off the field have
a tremendous amount of success, but on the field, it's
it's debatable. Dak Prescott does not agree. He doesn't think
(20:29):
the team has taken a step back. He said, talent
is one thing, but if you don't fulfill it, it
doesn't really mean anything. I'm excited for those guys to
be able to do that and for them to prove
people wrong. I know with this team and the men
that they have and the coaches and the leadership, and
we definitely didn't take a step back. We're going to
continue to get better. And that's what the soft season about.
That's what's moving forward. Is Well, the divisions still very
(20:52):
dicey and shaky. So it is. I do think Philadelphia
is had a really nice season last year, and they
had a really a much more impressive offseason than Dallas did.
In my opinion, well, I think they I think one
team got worse and Philly got better. That's not even debatable. Well,
Dallas trained to Mary Cooper. They lost Randy Gregory, Connor Williams,
(21:12):
Cedric Wilson in free agency. They cut Lyle Collins and
Greg's airline. DAK is one in three in the postseason,
and well, obviously the Giants are the Giants. I do
think that, you know, Washington is interesting. At least they
can be competitive within the division. I don't think it's
I don't think it's walk away Dallas's division like last years,
(21:34):
like it's Dallas's division, like that's they're gonna win this year.
I do think Philly could easily win this division, and
Dallas once again has not shown the ability to be
competitive in the postseason. And they've had two I would say,
um uninspiring back to back drafts where they've taken some
like red flag guys. You know, they hit on a
(21:58):
lot of draft picks and suddenly got very good, DAK
being one of those. I don't the last two years.
I don't like the momentum in the off season for
this team. I mean, Michael Parsons was home run, but
they moved off the Jaalen Smith deal. They I mean
it's it's Randy Gregory. Their pass rush will not be
as good. Watching that postseason game just kind of shut
(22:23):
the door for me. Yeah, because I was that was
as a defender of Mike McCarthy, but I did think
that the exit from Green Bay was a little dramatic. Yeah.
How how much more success have they had since he left? Yeah? None?
What's the difference? They beat the Bears and Lions more. Okay, seriously,
that's it. Congrats, So so I don't it's nothing. I'm
(22:43):
a defender, but I do think that that the way
that the season ended last year was a disaster, and
I put that on Mike McCarthy. I don't know how
much longer he's going to be there if they don't
have success this year. I just I'm not buying into
the Cowboys again. Yeah, go out there and do it
on the field and win in the postseason, and then
I'll buy in again. They just don't have postseason success.
So Trevor Lawrence is a huge fan of his new
head coach, Doug Peterson, and he was talking about how
(23:05):
he feels they are a great fit together. I think
you can always tell the way a coach communicates with
a quarterback, you know, they because he's been in my shoes,
so quarterbacks an interesting position. It's not a big rara,
you know, cho somebody out, I mean some you know,
you have some coaches that are like that. But for me,
that's just not what That's just not what I need.
I can have a conversation and Coach Peterson's great about that.
(23:28):
In every play he gives you a piece of feedback
that another coach might not give you, just because he
knows what it's like and it's something little that he
might see that someone else doesn't see. You know. I
was thinking about this going over this story today. How
just unfortunate for football fans it is that Trevor Lawrence
went to Jacksonville. And that's no knock on Jacksonville, but man,
what an awful, awful year for that organization and for
(23:51):
that team, and it's just hard for me to get
really optimistic about it. I like this higher, I like
Doug Peterson. I think Trevor Lawrence is it has the
potential to be a trancendent talent. But I've never seen
jackson they'll be able to put it together. Well, I've
seen him put it together for about a year maybe
half year. Yeah, I mean so listen, this is one
(24:12):
of these classic uh not not like a Drew Brees situation,
because the Chargers actually were winning some games. But this
is one of these like where you land matters a lot,
and sometimes you have to dig yourself out of it.
Like there's a there's the Aaron Rodgers or a Kobe.
You end up with the Lakers or the Packers, that's ideal,
but there's there's a lot of these guys in sports
(24:33):
where there is no question where they land irreparably damages
the rest of their career. Because the NFL is different.
You you you have a hard time getting out, they
can franchise tag you. It's the one thing I do like,
I mean, I tend to be. I signed a contract,
I stay with a contract. But the one thing I've
criticized the NFL for years is I don't like the
(24:54):
franchise tag for quarterbacks. Yeah, it's great for a running back,
it's great for a guard. But to be able to
say to Aaron Rodgers, none, this is what we're gonna do,
and the players signed off on it, I think it's
I think it's the worst. I mean. Matt Stafford was
essentially trapped for twelve years in Detroit was at thirteen
or twelve. The minute he escaped, he went to Super Bowl.
(25:16):
I mean literally the year he leaves. That's how great
he actually was. Like he was so it was so
bad there. I had no faith in Matthew Stafford at all. No.
I was talking to friends about this after the one
the Super Bowl. I said, I'm rooting for Matt Stafford.
Not because I know people with the rams where I
live in California, but I feel like I've been very fortunate.
I mean, I landed at a huge sports network, I
(25:37):
had great bosses when I was local. I've I've really
rarely had a bad boss or a bad situation. I
can't imagine if the first thirteen years of my career
it was Mayhem upstairs. I've been totally fortunate. This is
why I think both of us like to help others.
We've had some good breaks in our career. Matt Stafford
got nothing for thirteen years, and it's like Trevor Lauren
(26:00):
may have to just and by the way, you get
hit a lot with bad teams and bad drafting and
battle line. So I have. I know, I know they're
all rich, and he's got a great life, but I
have I want to see this thing succeed major league
in Jacksonville. Yeah, I do too. I mean it's it's
not about a sympathy thing. It's I want to see
Trevor Lawrence be able to play to the potential that
(26:21):
he can possibly play in the NFL. I don't and
I don't know if that's posib I mean, it's the
same thing with Justin Fields in Chicago. Like I love
Justin Fields, Is he gonna be able to overcome Chicago
a great brand, great fan base. I think most of
them would agree. They haven't put their quarterbacks in the
best situation right now. I think Chicago is the fourth
best roster because I think Detroit's offensive roster is a
(26:44):
little better than people think. Yeah, so the Nets seem
to be dissatisfied with Kyrie Irving. It's one way reporting
that everybody. There were reports last week that they refuse
to offer him a long term deal, and Ian Begley
of SNY reported that teams believe the Nets would be
willing to do a sign and trade if Irving opts
out this postseason. He has a thirty six point five
(27:05):
million dollar player option he can decline this summer and
become an unrestricted free agent. He said on multiple occaions
he wants to stay with Brooklyn. He has about a
month left to decide if he wants to opt into
the final year of his contract. So if he wants
to get a multi year deal and Brooklyn doesn't want
to give him one, then the sign and trade is
an option for him. Yeah, and the Nets he played
(27:25):
in twenty nine games this season. Let me ask you this,
let me throw this joy. Lakers say, we'll take it.
You take Westbrook And the Nets say, I don't know
if it's possible. And the Nets say, we'll go to
Katie and say, listen, we're not going to play him,
but we will it will be able to move Westbrook potentially.
(27:46):
Would you play with Westbrook briefly, okay? Or you're stuck
with Kyrie for four years? Like I mean, Katie's way too.
Can Lebron want to play with Kyrie again? They want
a title? And what are his option? It was kind
of a different Kyrie You're I'm just saying this is
the kind of stuff I think people call on in
the NBA. I mean, they owe Westbrook's ode forty seven
(28:08):
million next year, but I don't know if they could
make the money work. Yeah, but you can. You could
move him at the All Star break because you know,
the one thing we know, expiring contracts are gold bars
in the enemy. No, that's that's that is something that
That's why the Westbrook trade is even something worth discussing,
because someone might be willing to take on that expiring contract. Hey, Lebron, Hey,
Kyrie just said in a podcast, I wasn't mature enough
(28:30):
to understand Lebron. Lebron may think to himself better than Westbrook.
He can play off ball. I don't think it's crazy.
When Kyrie's on the floor, he is a better player
than Westbrook's not even that's not even a conversation. They
almost have opposite problems because Kyrie doesn't play that much
and Westbrook plays all the time. But Westbrook isn't good
when he's on the floor. Am I crazy right now?
(28:50):
Kyrie said, I should have. And by the way, Kyrie's
got to do some rebuilding and rebooting here, and Lebron's like, well,
tell me the Laker options. I don't know if Lakers
fans I'm here for. I am here for I mean,
I'm here for the chaos of it. I love it.
That's It's would be amazing. This is gonna make somebody's
gonna now this may be impossible. This just popped into
(29:12):
my head. Yeah. I don't know if the money matches up,
or if they would be able to fit him under
that or how you know, all those that that contract
stuff would work. But I'd be interesting if Lebron would
be willing to play with Kyrie again, or for that matter,
if Katie would be interesting to say Lebron didn't want
to bail on the first time. Lebron liked Kyrie. It
was Kyrie that couldn't make it work. Lebron liked him right,
But Kyrie played in twenty nine games this season. I know,
(29:33):
I didn't listen. It was a vax thing. I know.
I mean, I'm not anticipating that's gonna pop up again,
But what else will That's not the only reason why
he's missed games before. All right, joy with the news
I got Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping
by third line, So starring for me. H check in
a lot of stuff today. Oh, we do this every
(29:55):
time there is a championship game, a super Bowl, a
conference championship, a final. We take the ten best players,
We rank them one through ten and generally whoever has
more players. We thought this was the case with the Rams,
they win the game or the series. We'll do that
top of the next hour. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Easter ninety and Pacific. Hey,
(30:17):
what's up everybody. It's me three time pro bowler Levarrington
and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new
podcast called Up on Game? What is up on Game?
You asked, along with my fellow pro bowler t J.
Hushman's OTTA and Super Bowl champion Yep, that's right, Plexico Birds.
You can only name a show with that type of
talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be
(30:40):
sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen
to Up on Game with Me LeVar Arrington, t J.
Hushman's OTTA, and Plexico Birds on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast from. It's great to
have you. And Sam Amick's been covering the NBA for
(31:00):
a long time, senior writer for The Athletic Sports Illustrated
locally Sacramento being we love bringing them on. I think
there's a great finals. I think the playoffs have been
all sorts of drama and fun from Katie getting bounced
early with Kyrie. It is interesting these finals are Katie's
former team and Kyrie's former team, and that's not lost
on us. Let's talk about this though. Our view is
(31:24):
Boston's better defensively. They made k D struggle. Janis wasn't
as efficient. Jimmy Butler though at them for lunch multiple times.
So my feeling is Steph will be fine because they
have multiple players. You have to defend. What is Steph's
recent history against this Celtics defense. Yeah, it's pretty wild, Colin.
(31:46):
When I looked this up, I was shocked. If you
take out the last matchup, remember Marcus Smart falling on
Steph Curry's ankle and that injury that costs in the
late regular season. Yeah, the six previous games, Steph Curry
averaged thirty five point one point per game, fifty two
percent from beyond the arc, around fifty percent from the field.
And that's obviously pretty damn interesting when you talk about
(32:09):
a Celtics defense that just doesn't give up that type
of production to anybody. You know, you talked about this
during the break, and I think it's I think you
make a really good point on this. You know, people
complain about the officials all the time, even my friends,
and as a sportscaster, I can't go to a sports bar.
I can't hear people complain about officials. I'm just over it.
And by the way, the Miami Celtic officials were dicey,
(32:30):
but officials, when you get physical defensive teams, how a
series is officiated. This could be a series in which
we're complaining about the officials a lot, right for sure.
And I think it's one of those where it's going
to have everything to do with, you know, the power
struggle between these two teams. Because the Warriors offensively, we
(32:54):
know what they do. They are a free flowing, egalitarian
system where they need to be able to have those
backcuts and double screens and do what they do. But
if the refs are going to look at it with
a freedom of movement, you know perspective, that bodes well
for Golden State. If they're gonna let Boston have a
nineteen eighties style playoff basketball, you know, touch them up
(33:15):
bulls pistons from back in the day, then the Warriors
are going to be in trouble, especially if you look
at guys like Jordan Poole and some of the Warriors
defenders that aren't as stout as what the Celtics are
bringing to the table. But if that whistle keeps coming
time and again against Boston, then they can't do what
they do defensively. Yeah. You know, I'll say this about Boston. Now,
(33:35):
if I was a Celtic fan, I would say, hey,
we won back to back game seven, so we're a
clutch team. And you can make that argument. And watch
this Boston team, Sam, and they look so tight and
sometimes at the end of quarters and at the end
of games, and there's just this mountain of experience on
one side and then a mountain of optimism on the other.
(33:55):
And I said this the other day, I could see
Boston out playing Golden State and lou in five because
they can't seal games off. They can't. Yeah, I mean,
that's what it feels like to me, is even if
it's even Golden State wins, right, if Boston slightly outplays them,
I think Golden State wins. I think Boston has to
really control the physicality of this series. That's my interpretation.
(34:19):
What say you yeah, I mean the experience wise, I'm
going to give it to the Warriors. You're talking six
finals in eight years, No, you can't trump that. But
the Celtics four conference finals in the last six years,
a ton of experience obviously hadn't kind of piers through
to this stage until now. And I think what you
are alluding to and rightfully hitting on, is that on
(34:39):
the offensive end, Boston's you know, occasional stagnant problem, if
you will, Marcus Smart, you know, some nights looking like
Pete Merivitch in terms of finding guys on the floor,
and the next night, you know, Game seven, taking five
ill advised shots down the stretch that make you scratch
your head, and you know those games when Taylum and
Brown are not shooting enough in the fourth quarter. The
(35:00):
offensive inconsistency is something that I think, you know, makes
the Celtics at a little bit vulnerable. And then again,
on the defensive end, can they dominate like they have
against this Warrior's team that is, you know, so different
offensively than they were with Kevin Durant. They have layers
to them, they have multiple threats, and they're gonna make
it tough for sure, you know it's um you have
(35:20):
a lot and you don't have to be specific, but
you have this labyrinth of sources. You're you're in these
locker rooms, and I can see your sources saying we
are over the smugness of the Warriors, and that the
league privately would really that not only would coaches be
rooting for Boston, but what Boston. The message they're sending
is be coachable, play defense, be all in. That's a
(35:43):
great message to send to your star players. You don't
have to have the best shooters. You don't have to
I when you talk to a lot of your sources,
my sense is there's a lot of people in the
league rooting for Boston here. I don't know if I mean,
I think the previous iteration of the Warriors that would
have been the case even more right because it was
a super team. They went out and got Kevin Durant. Like,
(36:04):
it's not enough that you won, you know, a title
and then seventy three games you had to go get
one of the best players on the planet. I actually
think Colin, this team, you know, has deserved and earned
a lot of respect. When you talk about Clay Thompson
and what he came back from after two years. You
talk about Draymond Green looking like maybe he was gonna
be one of the worst contracts in the NBA, like
(36:24):
he was falling off all of a sudden. If he
had played more games, he would have been Defensive Player
of the Year. You know, Steph Curry kind of shepherding
them all the way through this stage. So I would
probably argue that I think both these organizations, both these
programs are among the most admired across the league. But
your point out Boston for sure stands. I mean, they
are everything that's right within the league. Defense first, sacrifice
(36:46):
and then and then you know, trying to find a
way to share that ball on the other end too.
So I got to ask, I want to ask you,
Jimmy Butler question, because if you look at the Eastern Seaboard, Philly, Washington,
New York, Brooklyn, Kevin dur Aunt, choosing Kevin and Kyrie
choosing the Eastern Seaboard was rare. Over the last ten
fifteen years, it's been Miami that has the ability in
(37:09):
a winter league to get free agents, to get stars,
and they feel like, to me, pat Riley's the ultimate dealmaker.
They feel like, if Boston doesn't win this, Miami's coming
back and Jimmy's gonna have some help on the offensive end.
We've just been talking about different things and throw something
out there to me, because I just don't see them saying, Okay,
(37:30):
you can't have Tyler hero on the floor when Duncan
is and Jimmy's knee inflammation and BAM's more of a three,
and I think everybody knows it. What do you think
Miami does in the offseason with Butler? Any ideas? I mean,
I think it's gonna be hard. The other day and
on ESPN they mentioned a duelmb dream scenario. That's not happening.
(37:50):
You know, the Kyle Lowry move obviously at the end,
did not have the impact they were hoping for. You know,
I don't know, is there a way to get Zach
Levine down to Miami. You know, you've got the Bradley
Beale thing that it certainly seems that he's leaning towards
resigning in Washington. I think the options are limited, but
I do think that that gravitational pull, if you will,
(38:10):
of kind of what the heat have built. The fact
that Jimmy is still at the front end of this
massive contract, like he needs help. Yeah, and that heat.
You know, he made his money this year. He had
a few bad games in the Conference finals, but they
wouldn't have been anywhere close to that Game seven without him.
And then they need the rest of that investment to
be worth it, which means to your point, he does
(38:31):
need some more help. And if Lowry is not going
to be healthy enough to get it done, they're gonna
get creative. That's what pat Riley and that crew does.
But I'm not sure what that looks like just yet.
Sam Ammick the athletic does great stuff. Good seeing you,
gemm a man, you too, Colin, Thanks brother. I would
like to go back to my suggestion, although not vetted,
(38:52):
just throw it out there. You're the Lakers. Westbrook goes
to Brooklyn. Katie's on board because he wants out of
the Kyrie stuff, right, he wants out of that. We
all know that he didn't want Westbrook. But you have
to play with them very little. You'll move them at
the trading deadline. He'll get assurances and the Lakers get Kyrie.
(39:12):
And you can say, Colin, it didn't work before it,
Yes it did. And Lebron liked him, and Lebron was
crushed when Kyrie wanted to move. He was crushed, He'll
tell you that. And Kyrie came out recently and said
I wasn't mature enough. It's like, oh, that's a moment.
We talked about this yesterday. Young people make mistakes. Long
as you on it, I'm good with it. Yeah. But
(39:33):
he also played in twenty nine games this year. Facts issue.
He chose not to play nine games, to only play
in twenty nine games this year. These comments are accurate,
and I am not denying them. All I'm saying is
that might work in Brooklyn. Lakers fans are not going
to be okay with you playing in twenty nine games. Okay,
So if he played in sixty, like we don't have
(39:55):
another pandemic. He plays in sixty, Lebron, You're not winning
the West Kyrie is. Kyrie is a better player, absolutely
than Russell. Westbrook was naven a conversation. Kyrie is great
when he's on the floor. Fantastic, fantastic player. I think
be a very Lakers move to do that. Of course,
that this is not a draft pick team. And by
the way, can we to me the market now is
(40:17):
so competitive here the Dodgers are the best team in baseball.
You have to keep taking big swings. If people the Lakers,
you're in it now. That's what you gotta do. I
think I've solved the dilemma of the Lakers in one
dumb comment. All Right, our two next,
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday from twelve to three eastern,
nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS one.
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 Herd. You're listening to Fox
Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. It is a Tuesday.
(00:28):
We're live in Los Angeles. It's The Herd. Wherever you
may be, however you may be listening iHeartRadio, Fox Sports
Radio FS one once again, incidentally, join our match. This
is if we have a department that is trying to
make us. She walks in one minute before the show
every day and about once every two weeks. It's like
(00:50):
we were dressed by this stylist. We are coddressed by stylist.
But I have you only have one option in your room,
right mostly yea yeah. So they put like my whole
week's worth of clothing. So if I'm not feeling something
on a particular day, I swap it out. So it
is actually completely accidental that we match joy with this
body and face. I don't have many options. This was
(01:10):
the shirt that was there and I picked it. Or
one could argue that you don't have to do a
lot of work. So let's start with this finals Thursday.
My dad, you still always say this, Tiger he called me.
You're a good talker. Good talkers are usually good arguers.
But most of the employment decisions in your life will
be decided when you're not in the room. Be good
(01:33):
to people. It'll matter. And that's a lot about life.
It's inches, not feet that decides careers and legacies, and
it shouldn't be that way, right, you work hard, but
it is. Take the Boston Celtics in November and December.
In January, this team was struggling with a new coach,
and there were strong rumors from credible sources Jason Tatum
(01:57):
and Jaylen Brown, we're gonna be broken up. I mean, hey,
what have they done? Seriously? Why not Philadelphia look better?
I mean, Brooklyn just got thrown together. Miami was playing well.
I mean one of these guys giving us. They're trying
to pay all these guys a lot of money. Real rumors,
real sources, and the players heard it. I'll get to
that in a second, but think about this. If the
(02:19):
Celtics win Game seven, tied to the hundred final shot
win the finals, or game tied to a hundred Game
seven with the Warriors miss, they come down and hit lose.
It changes the arc of careers, It changes reputations, it
changes money. Nobody talks about the loser of an NBA finals.
(02:42):
You're just a loser. Nobody talks about the bronze and
silver medals in the Olympics. You're just a loser. It's
the way our sports work. Inches, not feet. Think about this.
Jerry Seinfeld is the richest comedian in American history, and
it's not particularly close. He worked with Larry dave It,
a wildly influential comedian and mostly writer. Curb Your Enthusiasm
(03:05):
in Seinfeld two massive comedy hits. Julie Lewis Dreyfus created Veep,
one of my favorite comedies of all time on HBO.
Those are three powerhouse, massively influential comedic voices in America.
Massive Brandon tartekof after one year, the head of NBC
(03:28):
wanted to cancel the show. Warren Littlefield. You've probably seen
him as a character in a couple movies before, Like
this story has been told before, right. He was the
head of development. Very rarely does the head of development
argue with the president of a network. And Brandon Tartakoff
was the most influential person in network television at the time.
(03:53):
Brandon Tartikof, he was on the cover of magazines. He
was the genius. He goes, oh, I'm done with it,
and Warren Littlefield convinced him the show about nothing was
really going to be something just just another year. It
changed everything. Otherwise, Larry David, is it David Larry or
(04:13):
Larry David? Who Julie Lewis trifus is probably happy in
her life, but she doesn't make veep And Jerry Seinfeldt
isn't worth nine hundred million dollars. He's probably at the
comedy club on Sunset this weekend. That's the difference inches
nut feet. That is not taking anything away from those
brilliant people, but that happens a lot. Let's say the
(04:34):
Celtics lose, Oh, they'll get back. Interesting Kadie Westbrook and
Harden never didn't didn't necessarily get that close. Let's say
the Celtics lose, well, Milwaukee, Chris Middleton returns. That's a
really good culture Miami, like they always do already good.
Now took him seven games. They'll add a piece. Players
(04:54):
like to play in the winner near Awkwall Water. Let's
look at Philadelphia. They have a deal making GM. Maxie
continues to grow and Beat stays healthy. Also, if you're
the Celtics, Al Horford's about to be thirty six and
Robert Williams struggles with health, you'd lose your two bigs
potentially going into the playoffs. Oklahoma City had Durant, one
(05:15):
of the great players ever hardened the Hall of Fame
talent and Westbrook will make the Hall of Fame, got
to the finals, never got back. One guy didn't get along,
one guy wanted more money. It is a salary cap league.
Tatum and Brown. There were discussions as this team was
under five hundred in January to break it up. Remember,
(05:35):
even great teams in the NBA, they don't last long.
In the NFL, they last longer. New England lasted twenty years. Steelers,
when I was a kid in the seventies lasted seemingly forever.
They were good. The Cowboys with Landry were good forever.
I think the pressures on the Celtics. Draymond Greene got
his money, got his rings, gonna be the Hall of Fame.
Steph Curry got his Money's ring, Hall of Fame, Clay
(05:57):
Thompson check check check, Steve Kerr getting in the Hall
of Fame. All those legacies are cemented. The money, the rings,
the legacy cemented. Now let's flip it and say the
Celtics win and beat the Warriors. Now it changes everything.
Could be one shot. Now Brooklyn starts to get really impatient. Okay,
(06:18):
this is embarrassing. Those guys and that chemistry are beating us.
Kyrie's done, Darryl Morey and Bead gets hurt again. We're
making a big deal. You start changing who the pressures on.
Milwaukee sits there and thinks, okay, now these guys have
a championship. They're better than us defensively, Jalen Brown's now
averaging twenty four. Maybe Milwaukee overreacts, moves, a player brings
(06:42):
somebody in, ruins the chemistry. How long can brook Lopez
be there? Remember they weren't as good without Lopez this year.
You think all this stuff it's big gaps. It's yes, yes,
Shack and Kobe were way better and Michael Jordan absolutely
and Belichick and Brady would have one in any era.
But this Boston team is pretty good. When Marcus Smart scores,
(07:05):
they're really good. But everything could change. The pressure is
on this team. It's inches in life, not feet. It
is a single catch and a touchdown in a big game.
It is one shot that falls Kyrie Irving against the Warriors.
It's single decisions by a coach. It changes bank accounts, legacies, everything.
(07:28):
And Jason Tatum said, yesterday, we heard the rumors. We
heard that we were gonna get broken up. We weren't
very good. And here's how they responded, you know, from
saying it we need to split the group up and
get rid of you know somebody or me and JB
can't play together. That fueled us to figure it out
(07:51):
and you know, not run from it that you know
we obviously gonna be here for a while, and that
we trusted each other and that we had to be better.
So yeah, I think instead of separating, we became closer.
And I think it is shown, you know, throughout the season,
(08:11):
sure has. I'll take the Warriors in six because I
think Boston's lack of experience is a thing and the
pressure is on the Celtics. But can't wait it starts Thursday.
So I am often viewed as mister negative with Baker Mayfield.
I think it's unfair. But I've said a lot of
things that end up on YouTube and aren't that complimentary.
Let me flip it today. I finally found a place
(08:34):
for Baker Mayfield and I actually think he could be
really successful. So I saw a story yesterday about Jamis
Winston of the Saints. OTA's limping around. Remember he tore
an a CEO last year. He wasn't a great athlete
to begin with. He's always been perpetually goofy. But Baker
(08:56):
Mayfield and his agent should really try to get to
New Orleans. And I'll tell you why. Number One, they've
already moved Taysom Hill, I think smartly out of the
quarterback room. Drew Brees Taysom Hill. That was come on,
give me a break. That was a Sean Payton idea.
Maybe Sean Payton can make it work. Now they have
(09:17):
a defensive coach. They've moved Taysom Hill out of the
quarterback room. Number Two, nobody really is all in on Jamis.
He's always been you know, Jamis. I mean, let's be honest.
He went seven and nine. They brought in Brady and
they won the Super Bowl. That was not a great
day in his career. So there's a lot of doubters
with Jameis Winston and now he's limping around. Number three
(09:38):
is Saints are actually an effective quarterback away from in
the NFC making the playoffs. It's a bad division, and
they have a real defense. I mean, they want to
win now, Atlanta, we know what they're doing, Carol Lina,
We kind of know what they're doing. Saints aren't in
a rebuild. Maybe they'd be in a rebuild if you
(09:58):
put him in the AFC West or the NFC West
in that division, that's not a rebuild. This is not
a team that's gonna go four and thirteen and five
and twelve, especially if you've got Baker Mayfield. And what's
really important is to see around the corners. And I
think Baker and his people probably know this. Tom Brady,
this is the last year. I mean it feels like
it right. There are multiple stories out there that he
(10:21):
was going to go to the Dolphins to be a
co owner. He's done. Like this offseason, it's a lot
of golf, it's a lot of branding, it's not a
lot of football last couple of years, little less football
in the offseason, a little more fun. Tom's moving on. Okay,
So that means if you acquire Baker Mayfield with that
defense in a week division, with two other teams rebuilding
(10:41):
in one year, Baker's the best quarterback and you say
to yourself, well, you never liked him anyway. Now I
think he's I think he needs to grow up. But
let me give an example. The Chargers in San Diego
at the time bailed on Breeze. He found the culture
that bought into him. Well, he's Breese. Here's some interesting numbers.
(11:03):
Here's the numbers for Baker Mayfield in Cleveland and Drew
Breese with the Chargers. They are virtually identical. You didn't
know Drew Brees was great either. Until he was surrounded
by really good old lines and great defenses. You didn't
know he would be that. I don't think Baker is
as good a thrower as Drew Brees. I don't think
(11:25):
he's quite as committed, or as focused or as accurate.
But Baker can play. Baker's absolutely a top twenty five
quarterback in this league. But at the time Breeze moved over.
We didn't think he was a top fifteen quarterback. Chargers
gave up with him for Philip Rivers. Just something to
think about. This one works, Carolina really doesn't. It really
doesn't work because their owner, the billionaire, he wants, he
(11:49):
wants super Bowls, and I don't think Baker's a super
Bowl quarterback. And I think they're rebuilding. But New Orleans
has a reputation of drafting really well and giving their
quarterbacks a lot to work with. And now that Jamis
Winston is limping around, it's not exactly like everybody's all
in on Jamis and Taysom Hills out of the room.
(12:11):
And this is going to be too good of a
team in New Orleans to go five and twelve or
four and thirteen, and in my opinion, probably way too
good even with Jamis Winston to go like six and eleven.
So you're not gonna get Bryce Young, You're not gonna
get Strout at Ohio State. You're you're not going to
be in that class. There's too many bad teams out there,
(12:33):
and I can name them right now, two of them
in your division, Atlanta, Carolina. Baker to the Saints makes
a ton of sense. And by the way, the Browns
roster is very good. They don't need a ton what
they could probably use because they're getting kind of expensive.
There's a draft picker two. This isn't the NBA where
(12:53):
salaries have to match. Saints could use. Browns could use
some draft picks because they've they're gonna pay the new quarterback.
I don't know, a zillion dollars all guaranteed. In a
really tough division. What they need is to make sure
that great quarterback has weapons and they're a little shaky
wide receiver. So to me, this works. It's very positive.
I hope I have pivoted off my negative Baker brand
(13:15):
into mister Glass half full, mister Sunshine for Baker Mayfield.
But I think his career would be to some level reborn.
It's a reboot. It's a good organization. It's a week division.
Brady retires, best quarterback may not last long. Atlanta may
get the number one pick, But that makes sense to me.
(13:35):
See it's see in the end, very optimistic person, always
rooting for other success, and sometimes obnoxious. Be sure to
catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter
nine a Empacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeartRadio app. Great to have you in today, Joy
Taylor joining me as Alwa's you don't know what you
(14:01):
don't know. So that's why examples are really important. Good examples,
bad examples. I say, my wife has a saying, kids,
you can be a great example or a horrible warning.
Kids can learn from both. Steve Kerr and some of
this is just good fortune. A lot of it is,
and I think Steve Kerr would be the first to
(14:21):
admit this. Played in three great cultures. Lude Olsen at
Arizona was a top five program. Steve Kerr played there.
Then he goes to Greg Popovitch and San Antonio, that's
one of the great cultures in NBA history. And then
he goes to the Chicago Bulls and I mean, you
talk about mentors lud Olson, Phil Jackson, Greg Popovitch. Now
(14:43):
he also knows what a bad culture was. I covered
it in Portland when they were the as the Oregonian
dubbed them the Jailblazers. It's not a great culture, just
a lot of talented players. So you know what you know.
And he talks about Steph Curry and and why he
is so important and what the Warriors have been doing
(15:04):
for over a decade. What culture means to me is
what the players feel when they enter the building every day.
You know what, what do they experience, what's the vibe
in the building and whatever that is, that's that's the culture.
I think Steph embodies everything that we believe in, all
the values that we believe in, and so Steph's presence
(15:28):
from the very beginning allowed that culture to blossom. I
think it's harder for NBA coaches to build cultures. And
here's why you and I, all of us me joy
everybody here. We kind of agree who the best basketball player,
best football players are, best baseball players are, hockey, soccer, boxers.
(15:50):
Basketball is different, though the imagery given to young basketball
players is individuality is very important. Style points, get you paid,
get a shoe deal, forget college, get to the pros.
That's what's constantly being sold to a talented eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen,
(16:11):
fifteen year old high school football players. He got to
go three years college minimum probably four. And those coaches
are going to hard coach. You're not gonna sniff an
agent for years. Even with nil. You got limitations. Same
with baseball players. You're gonna be Bryce Harper, Mike Trout,
get to the miners, enjoy Appleton, Wisconsin for a year
(16:33):
or two. Everybody knows that. Everybody knows that, especially the athletes.
It's hard to build a basketball culture when twelve and
thirteen fourteen year olds are told and sold hardening staff,
same player, Westbrook better than staff, mellow staff, same guy,
(16:56):
Hall of famers. No, they're not. It's hard to do.
What Golden State's doing is to take players, especially after
they get rich, and tell them it's about us, not
about you. And I think that's where Steph's really important.
And I don't think it is a coincidence that Draymond
Greene went to college for four years and was a
(17:17):
second rounder, and Steph went to college for three, and
Clay went to college for three, and Jordan Pool went
into college for two. The kid that's had trouble with
the Warriors is James Wiseman. The number one pick played
like three college games. There's a whole different ballgame here.
You're gonna be coached hard, You're gonna sit on the bench.
It's a complex defensive system. Talent has limitations. That's why
(17:41):
I think what curs done. And Steve's arguably the smartest
guy I've ever covered in this sport. I covered him
in Portland. Is that some of it is good fortune?
Lud Olson, Greg Popovich and Phil Jackson. That is, you
talk about influences, those are those are right up right
up top on the mountaintop of influences. But I think
(18:03):
what they're doing is something that's really hard. I think
it's easier to create a culture in football because players
have less power. I think it's easier in baseball because
until you get that big contract, I can send you
back to the minors. Let's be honest about hockey. Star
players are on the ice for forty five seconds and
(18:25):
off the ice for forty five seconds. It's really hard
to be wildly influential and less perhaps your Gret Skier
in the net. Basketball is hard, man. The messaging to
young people is you get yours, you get yours. Shoot
deals are as big as winning. We of course know
that's not true. But when you're twelve and thirteen and
(18:45):
fourteen and you're watching basketball and everybody's telling you how
great this guy is and this guy is and this
guy is, and none of them are winning players, and
Steph is all about winning. It can be confusing. So
what Golden State is created is the basketball culture that
everybody should copy. Yet how many are I mean, really,
(19:05):
how many are Rick Buker earlier this week on Curry
and how he embodies what the Warriors are. I've always
said he's a very unique superstar in that he has this,
He has the utmost confidence, and yet he is ego
less in terms of inviting everybody into the party. Generally,
(19:26):
the Kobe's and the Michaels are like, no, get out
of the way, let me get it done. Steph's like, oh,
I think you might be able to help me here.
I'll utilize you, and I don't have a problem if
you're the Finals MVP. I truly think he thinks that way,
as do I. Again, I'll take the Warriors in six.
I think we got ourselves a perfect final, East versus West,
(19:47):
defense versus offense, and two remarkable cultures. One was struggling
in January, stuck with it, and the Celtics are now here.
Joy with the news. Turn on the news. It is
the herd line news O. The Cowboys. They got rid
of a lot of pieces that I like. Your introduction
(20:07):
to that story Cowboys. Well, I mean you're giving this,
you know, eloquence, talk about culture and consistency and success,
and then I got a transition to the Cowboys. We
pivot to do oh. You know, off the field have
a tremendous amount of success, but on the field, it's
it's debatable. Dak Prescott does not agree. He doesn't think
(20:29):
the team has taken a step back. He said, talent
is one thing, but if you don't fulfill it, it
doesn't really mean anything. I'm excited for those guys to
be able to do that and for them to prove
people wrong. I know with this team and the men
that they have and the coaches and the leadership, and
we definitely didn't take a step back. We're going to
continue to get better. And that's what the soft season about.
That's what's moving forward. Is Well, the divisions still very
(20:52):
dicey and shaky. So it is. I do think Philadelphia
is had a really nice season last year, and they
had a really a much more impressive offseason than Dallas did.
In my opinion, well, I think they I think one
team got worse and Philly got better. That's not even debatable. Well,
Dallas trained to Mary Cooper. They lost Randy Gregory, Connor Williams,
(21:12):
Cedric Wilson in free agency. They cut Lyle Collins and
Greg's airline. DAK is one in three in the postseason,
and well, obviously the Giants are the Giants. I do
think that, you know, Washington is interesting. At least they
can be competitive within the division. I don't think it's
I don't think it's walk away Dallas's division like last years,
(21:34):
like it's Dallas's division, like that's they're gonna win this year.
I do think Philly could easily win this division, and
Dallas once again has not shown the ability to be
competitive in the postseason. And they've had two I would say,
um uninspiring back to back drafts where they've taken some
like red flag guys. You know, they hit on a
(21:58):
lot of draft picks and suddenly got very good, DAK
being one of those. I don't the last two years.
I don't like the momentum in the off season for
this team. I mean, Michael Parsons was home run, but
they moved off the Jaalen Smith deal. They I mean
it's it's Randy Gregory. Their pass rush will not be
as good. Watching that postseason game just kind of shut
(22:23):
the door for me. Yeah, because I was that was
as a defender of Mike McCarthy, but I did think
that the exit from Green Bay was a little dramatic. Yeah.
How how much more success have they had since he left? Yeah? None?
What's the difference? They beat the Bears and Lions more. Okay, seriously,
that's it. Congrats, So so I don't it's nothing. I'm
(22:43):
a defender, but I do think that that the way
that the season ended last year was a disaster, and
I put that on Mike McCarthy. I don't know how
much longer he's going to be there if they don't
have success this year. I just I'm not buying into
the Cowboys again. Yeah, go out there and do it
on the field and win in the postseason, and then
I'll buy in again. They just don't have postseason success.
So Trevor Lawrence is a huge fan of his new
head coach, Doug Peterson, and he was talking about how
(23:05):
he feels they are a great fit together. I think
you can always tell the way a coach communicates with
a quarterback, you know, they because he's been in my shoes,
so quarterbacks an interesting position. It's not a big rara,
you know, cho somebody out, I mean some you know,
you have some coaches that are like that. But for me,
that's just not what That's just not what I need.
I can have a conversation and Coach Peterson's great about that.
(23:28):
In every play he gives you a piece of feedback
that another coach might not give you, just because he
knows what it's like and it's something little that he
might see that someone else doesn't see. You know. I
was thinking about this going over this story today. How
just unfortunate for football fans it is that Trevor Lawrence
went to Jacksonville. And that's no knock on Jacksonville, but man,
what an awful, awful year for that organization and for
(23:51):
that team, and it's just hard for me to get
really optimistic about it. I like this higher, I like
Doug Peterson. I think Trevor Lawrence is it has the
potential to be a trancendent talent. But I've never seen
jackson they'll be able to put it together. Well, I've
seen him put it together for about a year maybe
half year. Yeah, I mean so listen, this is one
(24:12):
of these classic uh not not like a Drew Brees situation,
because the Chargers actually were winning some games. But this
is one of these like where you land matters a lot,
and sometimes you have to dig yourself out of it.
Like there's a there's the Aaron Rodgers or a Kobe.
You end up with the Lakers or the Packers, that's ideal,
but there's there's a lot of these guys in sports
(24:33):
where there is no question where they land irreparably damages
the rest of their career. Because the NFL is different.
You you you have a hard time getting out, they
can franchise tag you. It's the one thing I do like,
I mean, I tend to be. I signed a contract,
I stay with a contract. But the one thing I've
criticized the NFL for years is I don't like the
(24:54):
franchise tag for quarterbacks. Yeah, it's great for a running back,
it's great for a guard. But to be able to
say to Aaron Rodgers, none, this is what we're gonna do,
and the players signed off on it, I think it's
I think it's the worst. I mean. Matt Stafford was
essentially trapped for twelve years in Detroit was at thirteen
or twelve. The minute he escaped, he went to Super Bowl.
(25:16):
I mean literally the year he leaves. That's how great
he actually was. Like he was so it was so
bad there. I had no faith in Matthew Stafford at all. No.
I was talking to friends about this after the one
the Super Bowl. I said, I'm rooting for Matt Stafford.
Not because I know people with the rams where I
live in California, but I feel like I've been very fortunate.
I mean, I landed at a huge sports network, I
(25:37):
had great bosses when I was local. I've I've really
rarely had a bad boss or a bad situation. I
can't imagine if the first thirteen years of my career
it was Mayhem upstairs. I've been totally fortunate. This is
why I think both of us like to help others.
We've had some good breaks in our career. Matt Stafford
got nothing for thirteen years, and it's like Trevor Lauren
(26:00):
may have to just and by the way, you get
hit a lot with bad teams and bad drafting and
battle line. So I have. I know, I know they're
all rich, and he's got a great life, but I
have I want to see this thing succeed major league
in Jacksonville. Yeah, I do too. I mean it's it's
not about a sympathy thing. It's I want to see
Trevor Lawrence be able to play to the potential that
(26:21):
he can possibly play in the NFL. I don't and
I don't know if that's posib I mean, it's the
same thing with Justin Fields in Chicago. Like I love
Justin Fields, Is he gonna be able to overcome Chicago
a great brand, great fan base. I think most of
them would agree. They haven't put their quarterbacks in the
best situation right now. I think Chicago is the fourth
best roster because I think Detroit's offensive roster is a
(26:44):
little better than people think. Yeah, so the Nets seem
to be dissatisfied with Kyrie Irving. It's one way reporting
that everybody. There were reports last week that they refuse
to offer him a long term deal, and Ian Begley
of SNY reported that teams believe the Nets would be
willing to do a sign and trade if Irving opts
out this postseason. He has a thirty six point five
(27:05):
million dollar player option he can decline this summer and
become an unrestricted free agent. He said on multiple occaions
he wants to stay with Brooklyn. He has about a
month left to decide if he wants to opt into
the final year of his contract. So if he wants
to get a multi year deal and Brooklyn doesn't want
to give him one, then the sign and trade is
an option for him. Yeah, and the Nets he played
(27:25):
in twenty nine games this season. Let me ask you this,
let me throw this joy. Lakers say, we'll take it.
You take Westbrook And the Nets say, I don't know
if it's possible. And the Nets say, we'll go to
Katie and say, listen, we're not going to play him,
but we will it will be able to move Westbrook potentially.
(27:46):
Would you play with Westbrook briefly, okay? Or you're stuck
with Kyrie for four years? Like I mean, Katie's way too.
Can Lebron want to play with Kyrie again? They want
a title? And what are his option? It was kind
of a different Kyrie You're I'm just saying this is
the kind of stuff I think people call on in
the NBA. I mean, they owe Westbrook's ode forty seven
(28:08):
million next year, but I don't know if they could
make the money work. Yeah, but you can. You could
move him at the All Star break because you know,
the one thing we know, expiring contracts are gold bars
in the enemy. No, that's that's that is something that
That's why the Westbrook trade is even something worth discussing,
because someone might be willing to take on that expiring contract. Hey, Lebron, Hey,
Kyrie just said in a podcast, I wasn't mature enough
(28:30):
to understand Lebron. Lebron may think to himself better than Westbrook.
He can play off ball. I don't think it's crazy.
When Kyrie's on the floor, he is a better player
than Westbrook's not even that's not even a conversation. They
almost have opposite problems because Kyrie doesn't play that much
and Westbrook plays all the time. But Westbrook isn't good
when he's on the floor. Am I crazy right now?
(28:50):
Kyrie said, I should have. And by the way, Kyrie's
got to do some rebuilding and rebooting here, and Lebron's like, well,
tell me the Laker options. I don't know if Lakers
fans I'm here for. I am here for I mean,
I'm here for the chaos of it. I love it.
That's It's would be amazing. This is gonna make somebody's
gonna now this may be impossible. This just popped into
(29:12):
my head. Yeah. I don't know if the money matches up,
or if they would be able to fit him under
that or how you know, all those that that contract
stuff would work. But I'd be interesting if Lebron would
be willing to play with Kyrie again, or for that matter,
if Katie would be interesting to say Lebron didn't want
to bail on the first time. Lebron liked Kyrie. It
was Kyrie that couldn't make it work. Lebron liked him right,
But Kyrie played in twenty nine games this season. I know,
(29:33):
I didn't listen. It was a vax thing. I know.
I mean, I'm not anticipating that's gonna pop up again,
But what else will That's not the only reason why
he's missed games before. All right, joy with the news
I got Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping
by third line, So starring for me. H check in
a lot of stuff today. Oh, we do this every
(29:55):
time there is a championship game, a super Bowl, a
conference championship, a final. We take the ten best players,
We rank them one through ten and generally whoever has
more players. We thought this was the case with the Rams,
they win the game or the series. We'll do that
top of the next hour. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Easter ninety and Pacific. Hey,
(30:17):
what's up everybody. It's me three time pro bowler Levarrington
and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new
podcast called Up on Game? What is up on Game?
You asked, along with my fellow pro bowler t J.
Hushman's OTTA and Super Bowl champion Yep, that's right, Plexico Birds.
You can only name a show with that type of
talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be
(30:40):
sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen
to Up on Game with Me LeVar Arrington, t J.
Hushman's OTTA, and Plexico Birds on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast from. It's great to
have you. And Sam Amick's been covering the NBA for
(31:00):
a long time, senior writer for The Athletic Sports Illustrated
locally Sacramento being we love bringing them on. I think
there's a great finals. I think the playoffs have been
all sorts of drama and fun from Katie getting bounced
early with Kyrie. It is interesting these finals are Katie's
former team and Kyrie's former team, and that's not lost
on us. Let's talk about this though. Our view is
(31:24):
Boston's better defensively. They made k D struggle. Janis wasn't
as efficient. Jimmy Butler though at them for lunch multiple times.
So my feeling is Steph will be fine because they
have multiple players. You have to defend. What is Steph's
recent history against this Celtics defense. Yeah, it's pretty wild, Colin.
(31:46):
When I looked this up, I was shocked. If you
take out the last matchup, remember Marcus Smart falling on
Steph Curry's ankle and that injury that costs in the
late regular season. Yeah, the six previous games, Steph Curry
averaged thirty five point one point per game, fifty two
percent from beyond the arc, around fifty percent from the field.
And that's obviously pretty damn interesting when you talk about
(32:09):
a Celtics defense that just doesn't give up that type
of production to anybody. You know, you talked about this
during the break, and I think it's I think you
make a really good point on this. You know, people
complain about the officials all the time, even my friends,
and as a sportscaster, I can't go to a sports bar.
I can't hear people complain about officials. I'm just over it.
And by the way, the Miami Celtic officials were dicey,
(32:30):
but officials, when you get physical defensive teams, how a
series is officiated. This could be a series in which
we're complaining about the officials a lot, right for sure.
And I think it's one of those where it's going
to have everything to do with, you know, the power
struggle between these two teams. Because the Warriors offensively, we
(32:54):
know what they do. They are a free flowing, egalitarian
system where they need to be able to have those
backcuts and double screens and do what they do. But
if the refs are going to look at it with
a freedom of movement, you know perspective, that bodes well
for Golden State. If they're gonna let Boston have a
nineteen eighties style playoff basketball, you know, touch them up
(33:15):
bulls pistons from back in the day, then the Warriors
are going to be in trouble, especially if you look
at guys like Jordan Poole and some of the Warriors
defenders that aren't as stout as what the Celtics are
bringing to the table. But if that whistle keeps coming
time and again against Boston, then they can't do what
they do defensively. Yeah. You know, I'll say this about Boston. Now,
(33:35):
if I was a Celtic fan, I would say, hey,
we won back to back game seven, so we're a
clutch team. And you can make that argument. And watch
this Boston team, Sam, and they look so tight and
sometimes at the end of quarters and at the end
of games, and there's just this mountain of experience on
one side and then a mountain of optimism on the other.
(33:55):
And I said this the other day, I could see
Boston out playing Golden State and lou in five because
they can't seal games off. They can't. Yeah, I mean,
that's what it feels like to me, is even if
it's even Golden State wins, right, if Boston slightly outplays them,
I think Golden State wins. I think Boston has to
really control the physicality of this series. That's my interpretation.
(34:19):
What say you yeah, I mean the experience wise, I'm
going to give it to the Warriors. You're talking six
finals in eight years, No, you can't trump that. But
the Celtics four conference finals in the last six years,
a ton of experience obviously hadn't kind of piers through
to this stage until now. And I think what you
are alluding to and rightfully hitting on, is that on
(34:39):
the offensive end, Boston's you know, occasional stagnant problem, if
you will, Marcus Smart, you know, some nights looking like
Pete Merivitch in terms of finding guys on the floor,
and the next night, you know, Game seven, taking five
ill advised shots down the stretch that make you scratch
your head, and you know those games when Taylum and
Brown are not shooting enough in the fourth quarter. The
(35:00):
offensive inconsistency is something that I think, you know, makes
the Celtics at a little bit vulnerable. And then again,
on the defensive end, can they dominate like they have
against this Warrior's team that is, you know, so different
offensively than they were with Kevin Durant. They have layers
to them, they have multiple threats, and they're gonna make
it tough for sure, you know it's um you have
(35:20):
a lot and you don't have to be specific, but
you have this labyrinth of sources. You're you're in these
locker rooms, and I can see your sources saying we
are over the smugness of the Warriors, and that the
league privately would really that not only would coaches be
rooting for Boston, but what Boston. The message they're sending
is be coachable, play defense, be all in. That's a
(35:43):
great message to send to your star players. You don't
have to have the best shooters. You don't have to
I when you talk to a lot of your sources,
my sense is there's a lot of people in the
league rooting for Boston here. I don't know if I mean,
I think the previous iteration of the Warriors that would
have been the case even more right because it was
a super team. They went out and got Kevin Durant. Like,
(36:04):
it's not enough that you won, you know, a title
and then seventy three games you had to go get
one of the best players on the planet. I actually
think Colin, this team, you know, has deserved and earned
a lot of respect. When you talk about Clay Thompson
and what he came back from after two years. You
talk about Draymond Green looking like maybe he was gonna
be one of the worst contracts in the NBA, like
(36:24):
he was falling off all of a sudden. If he
had played more games, he would have been Defensive Player
of the Year. You know, Steph Curry kind of shepherding
them all the way through this stage. So I would
probably argue that I think both these organizations, both these
programs are among the most admired across the league. But
your point out Boston for sure stands. I mean, they
are everything that's right within the league. Defense first, sacrifice
(36:46):
and then and then you know, trying to find a
way to share that ball on the other end too.
So I got to ask, I want to ask you,
Jimmy Butler question, because if you look at the Eastern Seaboard, Philly, Washington,
New York, Brooklyn, Kevin dur Aunt, choosing Kevin and Kyrie
choosing the Eastern Seaboard was rare. Over the last ten
fifteen years, it's been Miami that has the ability in
(37:09):
a winter league to get free agents, to get stars,
and they feel like, to me, pat Riley's the ultimate dealmaker.
They feel like, if Boston doesn't win this, Miami's coming
back and Jimmy's gonna have some help on the offensive end.
We've just been talking about different things and throw something
out there to me, because I just don't see them saying, Okay,
(37:30):
you can't have Tyler hero on the floor when Duncan
is and Jimmy's knee inflammation and BAM's more of a three,
and I think everybody knows it. What do you think
Miami does in the offseason with Butler? Any ideas? I mean,
I think it's gonna be hard. The other day and
on ESPN they mentioned a duelmb dream scenario. That's not happening.
(37:50):
You know, the Kyle Lowry move obviously at the end,
did not have the impact they were hoping for. You know,
I don't know, is there a way to get Zach
Levine down to Miami. You know, you've got the Bradley
Beale thing that it certainly seems that he's leaning towards
resigning in Washington. I think the options are limited, but
I do think that that gravitational pull, if you will,
(38:10):
of kind of what the heat have built. The fact
that Jimmy is still at the front end of this
massive contract, like he needs help. Yeah, and that heat.
You know, he made his money this year. He had
a few bad games in the Conference finals, but they
wouldn't have been anywhere close to that Game seven without him.
And then they need the rest of that investment to
be worth it, which means to your point, he does
(38:31):
need some more help. And if Lowry is not going
to be healthy enough to get it done, they're gonna
get creative. That's what pat Riley and that crew does.
But I'm not sure what that looks like just yet.
Sam Ammick the athletic does great stuff. Good seeing you,
gemm a man, you too, Colin, Thanks brother. I would
like to go back to my suggestion, although not vetted,
(38:52):
just throw it out there. You're the Lakers. Westbrook goes
to Brooklyn. Katie's on board because he wants out of
the Kyrie stuff, right, he wants out of that. We
all know that he didn't want Westbrook. But you have
to play with them very little. You'll move them at
the trading deadline. He'll get assurances and the Lakers get Kyrie.
(39:12):
And you can say, Colin, it didn't work before it,
Yes it did. And Lebron liked him, and Lebron was
crushed when Kyrie wanted to move. He was crushed, He'll
tell you that. And Kyrie came out recently and said
I wasn't mature enough. It's like, oh, that's a moment.
We talked about this yesterday. Young people make mistakes. Long
as you on it, I'm good with it. Yeah. But
(39:33):
he also played in twenty nine games this year. Facts issue.
He chose not to play nine games, to only play
in twenty nine games this year. These comments are accurate,
and I am not denying them. All I'm saying is
that might work in Brooklyn. Lakers fans are not going
to be okay with you playing in twenty nine games. Okay,
So if he played in sixty, like we don't have
(39:55):
another pandemic. He plays in sixty, Lebron, You're not winning
the West Kyrie is. Kyrie is a better player, absolutely
than Russell. Westbrook was naven a conversation. Kyrie is great
when he's on the floor. Fantastic, fantastic player. I think
be a very Lakers move to do that. Of course,
that this is not a draft pick team. And by
the way, can we to me the market now is
(40:17):
so competitive here the Dodgers are the best team in baseball.
You have to keep taking big swings. If people the Lakers,
you're in it now. That's what you gotta do. I
think I've solved the dilemma of the Lakers in one
dumb comment. All Right, our two next,
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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