1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,960
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to

2
00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,720
Speaker 1: catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in

3
00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:09,600
Speaker 1: noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find

4
00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:12,119
Speaker 1: your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio

5
00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,880
Speaker 1: dot com, or stream us live every day on the

6
00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:18,440
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

7
00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,640
Speaker 2: You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go.

8
00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:32,440
Speaker 1: It is a Tuesday, NBA Free agency in full swing.

9
00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:34,880
Speaker 3: We are live. It is the Herd.

10
00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,519
Speaker 1: Wherever you may be and however you may be watching

11
00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,920
Speaker 1: or listening. Thanks for making us part of your day.

12
00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,560
Speaker 1: Tyler Adams, US men's national team, Urban Meyer, Albert rereerstop

13
00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,120
Speaker 1: by today, Jmac. It was a if you're a Laker fan,

14
00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,880
Speaker 1: it was a disheartening day. But they got new owners

15
00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,520
Speaker 1: and new owners have come. You know, you ever drive

16
00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,160
Speaker 1: by that restaurant, it says under new management and they're

17
00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,360
Speaker 1: going to change the entire menu. They're not going to tweak.

18
00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:05,039
Speaker 1: So I think I want to read everybody, Jamack the

19
00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,959
Speaker 1: headlines that are circulating about the Lakers, who are the

20
00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:10,840
Speaker 1: biggest brand in the NBA, the Yankees of Major League Baseball.

21
00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:16,000
Speaker 1: These are the headlines this morning. Lakers reportedly preserving cap

22
00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:23,959
Speaker 1: space for next season. Dorian Finney Smith exits disaster. Lakers

23
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,640
Speaker 1: gave up three draft picks for less than fifty games

24
00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:33,040
Speaker 1: of Dorian Phinney Smith. Jim rob Palinka facing mounting pressure

25
00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,319
Speaker 1: to keep the Lakers job, and I like this one.

26
00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:40,080
Speaker 1: Lebron James has no influence on free agency moves, says

27
00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:44,720
Speaker 1: an NBA front office insider. The Lakers are excluding him,

28
00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,680
Speaker 1: they should. He's forty one. So the bus family for

29
00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,400
Speaker 1: years has talked themselves into believing, I get it, this

30
00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,480
Speaker 1: is their life. They talk themselves into believing we were

31
00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:00,640
Speaker 1: just a rotational player away. And the new owners of

32
00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,120
Speaker 1: this restaurant are saying, no, no, no, no no, it's

33
00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:08,040
Speaker 1: just not a little better chicken parm recipe. We're changing

34
00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:13,080
Speaker 1: the kitchen staff, We're changing the entire menu. This is

35
00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,919
Speaker 1: not about a better chicken parm. It's a forty one

36
00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,799
Speaker 1: year old star, another star in Luca where it's notable

37
00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,080
Speaker 1: that he's really working out this offseason, and they have

38
00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:28,240
Speaker 1: absolutely no size and the real value they have is

39
00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,000
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves. But another headline today they are not even

40
00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:36,040
Speaker 1: taking calls or gauging interest on Austin Reeves. So the

41
00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:40,359
Speaker 1: new owners, they know what success is all about. They

42
00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,600
Speaker 1: own the Dodgers, And I've argued this before. I think

43
00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,960
Speaker 1: the Dodgers, Mark Walters, I think it's the best run

44
00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:52,320
Speaker 1: sports franchise in North America perhaps ever. These people know

45
00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,600
Speaker 1: what they're doing. They let stars go if they see

46
00:02:55,639 --> 00:03:01,200
Speaker 1: problems around the corner. And so this morning it appears

47
00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,000
Speaker 1: they're going big game hunting next year. They do not

48
00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,639
Speaker 1: think this is a championship team. They're not going to

49
00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,760
Speaker 1: lose any sleep over Lebron being bummed out. They're going

50
00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,920
Speaker 1: to upgrade scouting and my guests, they are eventually going

51
00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:18,639
Speaker 1: to find their wizard, their guru, their GM. So the

52
00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,920
Speaker 1: Lakers need two centers. Like yesterday, the good ones are

53
00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,000
Speaker 1: off the market. Clint Capella, he's back to the Rockets,

54
00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,160
Speaker 1: Luke Cornett Celtics now he's the Spurs, and Brook Lopez

55
00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,880
Speaker 1: to the Clippers. So let's not forget this. Put the

56
00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:37,600
Speaker 1: palm palms down. The Lakers got throttled in the first round.

57
00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:42,000
Speaker 1: They lost convincingly in the first round, and they are

58
00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,680
Speaker 1: worse today without Dorian Finney Smith, they are worse today.

59
00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,280
Speaker 1: You know who's not worse, Houston Houston is better. You

60
00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,040
Speaker 1: know who's not worse Denver. You know who's getting better fast,

61
00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:58,400
Speaker 1: san Antonio. So the ownership group knows what success looks like.

62
00:03:59,160 --> 00:03:59,440
Speaker 3: Okay.

63
00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:04,760
Speaker 1: The new owners are antique experts, and they're telling Laker

64
00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:06,800
Speaker 1: fans this roster is a knockoff.

65
00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:09,800
Speaker 3: I know what Grandma told you. It's not a van Go.

66
00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:11,400
Speaker 3: This isn't it.

67
00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,400
Speaker 1: The new Laker owners are telling you we know what

68
00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:19,440
Speaker 1: titles looks like. And an aging Lebron and a finally

69
00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,239
Speaker 1: working out in the offseason. Luca is not o Tawni

70
00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,080
Speaker 1: Betts and Freddie Freeman. I know it's painful, and I

71
00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:30,680
Speaker 1: understand the bus family for years. This is their baby,

72
00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,719
Speaker 1: this is their child, and they always believe, just like

73
00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,159
Speaker 1: we all do as parents, our kid's gonna be president

74
00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:44,080
Speaker 1: of the United States. Okay, maybe president of a company. Okay,

75
00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,320
Speaker 1: hopefully president of a frat. Okay, maybe a vice president

76
00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,280
Speaker 1: of something. You gotta be honest, you have to be

77
00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,280
Speaker 1: able to self evaluate. This is not a championship team.

78
00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,600
Speaker 1: Look what Denver's done in the last twenty four hours.

79
00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,360
Speaker 1: They finally got Yoki, shooters, multiple and a backup. Big

80
00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:03,920
Speaker 1: san Antonio is getting better by the hour. With all

81
00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:08,680
Speaker 1: their youth. Houston added more pieces. Oklahoma City, I've not

82
00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:13,159
Speaker 1: even mentioned them, and the brain trust in Golden State.

83
00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,920
Speaker 1: They already got their sidekick, the staff, Jimmy Butler last year.

84
00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:19,880
Speaker 1: So it's just you gotta be honest about this stuff.

85
00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,000
Speaker 1: People in Los Angeles. You know what well run looks like.

86
00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,600
Speaker 1: You know what championships looks like. It's called the Dodgers,

87
00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:31,400
Speaker 1: usc the Lakers, the Chargers a little bit until Harbaugh. Yeah,

88
00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,640
Speaker 1: they're selling you on that, and that's not what it is.

89
00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,719
Speaker 1: So the Rams brilliantly run, the Dodgers immaculately run, the

90
00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:44,000
Speaker 1: Lakers mom and pop shop. It's all changing big game

91
00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:49,120
Speaker 1: hunting next year. Not including Lebron in the discussions. He's

92
00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:53,480
Speaker 1: had a great career. He should not be dictating any

93
00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,719
Speaker 1: terms at this point, not saying you trade him. We're

94
00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:58,640
Speaker 1: gonna do the new guys say we're gonna do what

95
00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,000
Speaker 1: we're gonna do because we know what winning looks like.

96
00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,479
Speaker 1: It's Otanian Bett, not forty one year old Lebron and

97
00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:06,679
Speaker 1: perpetually out of shape or an average shape.

98
00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:11,800
Speaker 3: Luca. Okay, here's another one. This is interesting. This headline.

99
00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:17,440
Speaker 1: The Steelers are officially all in. I heard that a

100
00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:21,840
Speaker 1: lot yesterday because they got Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf,

101
00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,600
Speaker 1: and tight end John Husmith. Well, if they're all in,

102
00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,960
Speaker 1: that's a pair of eights. Okay, that ain't pocket Ace's folks.

103
00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:35,200
Speaker 1: So if that's all in, but it's I always. I

104
00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,000
Speaker 1: was asking somebody about three weeks ago, three or four

105
00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,479
Speaker 1: weeks ago about all the Steelers moves, and he said,

106
00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,159
Speaker 1: some gms just make moves to make moves. But do

107
00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:46,240
Speaker 1: they have a plan. And this is a prime example.

108
00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,239
Speaker 1: So they get rid of a safety who's a little

109
00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,719
Speaker 1: past his prime, and they add a corner who's more

110
00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,640
Speaker 1: expensive Jalen Ramsey who's past his prime. They get rid

111
00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,880
Speaker 1: of a very high maintenance wide receiver in George Pickens,

112
00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:03,160
Speaker 1: and then they inherit a wide receiver who can be

113
00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:07,719
Speaker 1: high maintenance, DK Metcalf, you're just making moves to make moves.

114
00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:08,560
Speaker 3: There is no plan.

115
00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,080
Speaker 1: If you would have moved off George Pickens and acquired

116
00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:15,240
Speaker 1: Terry mcclaurin, the adult in the room, can that's a

117
00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:16,080
Speaker 1: move I'd get.

118
00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:18,320
Speaker 3: So you're letting go of.

119
00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,400
Speaker 1: A guy passed his prime in the secondary and getting

120
00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:23,120
Speaker 1: a more expensive guy passed his prime in the secondary.

121
00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:24,480
Speaker 3: That's just a move to make a move.

122
00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:27,960
Speaker 1: Well, we're getting rid of a high maintenance receiver and

123
00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:30,240
Speaker 1: getting another receiver who's a bit high maintenance. You're just

124
00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:32,280
Speaker 1: making moves to make moves. You lost your left tackle

125
00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:36,360
Speaker 1: nagieras George Pickens, Miga Fitzpatrick, and I saw who you've added.

126
00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:41,120
Speaker 1: I would argue you're slightly less talented today. So this

127
00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,480
Speaker 1: goes there's no pattern with it. And this is what

128
00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,880
Speaker 1: I've said about the Steelers is that they're on the

129
00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,200
Speaker 1: wrong side of the ball. All their money now is

130
00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,640
Speaker 1: tied up in defense. They got more expensive moving off

131
00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:00,200
Speaker 1: Menca for Jalen Ramsey. Wrong, just move off Minca. Stop there.

132
00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:04,520
Speaker 1: And these are not moves that make any sense. They're

133
00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,880
Speaker 1: basically the Steelers of the kid who pays off his

134
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:09,920
Speaker 1: student debt and puts it on a credit card.

135
00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:12,360
Speaker 3: Yeah, I got rid of that debt.

136
00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,760
Speaker 1: No, it's still debt, bro, you still got debt at

137
00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,560
Speaker 1: a higher interest rate. That may make you feel better.

138
00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,880
Speaker 1: And remember this is an organization that has not signed TJ.

139
00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:24,920
Speaker 3: Watt yet. So when TJ.

140
00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:29,200
Speaker 1: Watt signs, at least for probably a period maybe six months,

141
00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,280
Speaker 1: maybe less, than that, he'll be the highest paid defensive

142
00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,440
Speaker 1: player in NFL history. So we're not even talking about

143
00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:35,920
Speaker 1: that yet, and you got to get that done.

144
00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:36,280
Speaker 3: TJ.

145
00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:36,679
Speaker 2: Watt.

146
00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,040
Speaker 1: I mean, there's jerseys are all over the stadium. That's

147
00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,199
Speaker 1: going to be a terribly sensitive thing. All these moves.

148
00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,760
Speaker 1: What do they mean. Well, Matt Hasselback yesterday said here's

149
00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:46,680
Speaker 1: what he thinks.

150
00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,440
Speaker 3: The Jalen Ramsey move means.

151
00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:53,480
Speaker 4: They do not care about the rest of the league.

152
00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:55,840
Speaker 4: They don't care about what anybody else does. They say, Hey,

153
00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,800
Speaker 4: we're the Steelers. This is how we operate. So I

154
00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,199
Speaker 4: don't think that's going to change. But I do think

155
00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,160
Speaker 4: this it looks like they're building a team to stop

156
00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,960
Speaker 4: the Cincinnati Bengals. It's almost like they have confidence in

157
00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,679
Speaker 4: what they have, like what we have can take care

158
00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,920
Speaker 4: of the Baltimore Ravens, like we're good. But like, man,

159
00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,520
Speaker 4: I don't know how we're going to stop the Cincinnati Bengals.

160
00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,840
Speaker 4: Like I do believe that there's a fear there of

161
00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:22,400
Speaker 4: like personnel wise, we don't match up well.

162
00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,960
Speaker 1: Well, a lot of teams matched up okay with Cincinnati

163
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,400
Speaker 1: because the Bengals didn't even make the playoffs. So if

164
00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,559
Speaker 1: that's your concern. I go back to being concerned about

165
00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:34,520
Speaker 1: Baltimore because the Ravens have separated over the last several

166
00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,480
Speaker 1: years from the Steelers since he didn't even make the playoffs. Okay,

167
00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,000
Speaker 1: j Mac, let me bring in here. The Austin Reeves

168
00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,559
Speaker 1: thing is interesting because obviously that's the piece, that is,

169
00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:50,199
Speaker 1: he's one of the few underpaid players in the NBA,

170
00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,000
Speaker 1: scoring about nineteen twenty a game. The Lakers are saying

171
00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:55,360
Speaker 1: now they're not going to gauge interest, but I do

172
00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:57,520
Speaker 1: think it's interesting the two things that jump out to

173
00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:01,440
Speaker 1: me Lebron's not being included at all. I do think

174
00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,040
Speaker 1: the Bus family felt like because of the COVID title

175
00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:08,280
Speaker 1: and the merchandise sales, they sort of owed Lebron something

176
00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,480
Speaker 1: a heads up that's done. And the other thing is

177
00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,120
Speaker 1: we're gonna go big game, honey next year. They've been

178
00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,160
Speaker 1: very I mean that that's a pretty clear signal that Lebron,

179
00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,040
Speaker 1: we know you want championships, but getting rid of Dori

180
00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:23,240
Speaker 1: and Finney Smith, not getting rid of him, him leaving

181
00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,480
Speaker 1: and then inheriting some small guard who's on, you know,

182
00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:28,960
Speaker 1: a young kid, but on like his third team. What's

183
00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:33,600
Speaker 1: the message to Lebron, it's bro, We're not We're not

184
00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:37,080
Speaker 1: a championship team. That's what the ownership is saying to me.

185
00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,600
Speaker 1: We are gonna figure out scouting upstairs, executives roster.

186
00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:43,600
Speaker 3: Next year is the big year.

187
00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,080
Speaker 5: Yeah, and next year it sounds like the Bucks are

188
00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:48,000
Speaker 5: gonna keep Giannest and make it. Try to make it

189
00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:50,480
Speaker 5: go this year, well next summer maybe be honest is like, hey,

190
00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:51,680
Speaker 5: I'm done, it's over.

191
00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:53,240
Speaker 6: And then Luca and Jannis.

192
00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,959
Speaker 5: Joined forces in La But let me ask you, if

193
00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,040
Speaker 5: you're Lebron and you're reading the tea leaves Colin, are you.

194
00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,120
Speaker 6: Like, you know what, guys, just get me to the East.

195
00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:03,320
Speaker 6: Just trade me Lakers.

196
00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:06,320
Speaker 5: We're not winning anything. I can't We're not a top

197
00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:07,560
Speaker 5: five team in the West.

198
00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:08,800
Speaker 6: Send me to the East.

199
00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:10,800
Speaker 5: I could get to the finals. Does he Do you

200
00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:12,600
Speaker 5: think Lebron would actually do that?

201
00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:16,640
Speaker 1: No, I think Lebron's business and it's a fair question.

202
00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:18,640
Speaker 1: I think Lebron has to look at it like this.

203
00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,160
Speaker 1: He knew his first couple of years in the league.

204
00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:22,679
Speaker 1: He's a smart guy. He knew the first couple of

205
00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:24,720
Speaker 1: years in Cleveland out of high school. They were not

206
00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:27,720
Speaker 1: a championship team in fact, getting to the finals against

207
00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,080
Speaker 1: the Spurs, despite the fact they were swept, they were

208
00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,040
Speaker 1: ahead of schedule. Oh wait, From about that year on

209
00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:36,720
Speaker 1: until this past year, Lebron has felt like the team

210
00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,520
Speaker 1: he has is a championship level team. But at some

211
00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,400
Speaker 1: point you have to acknowledge Michael Jordan did when he

212
00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,240
Speaker 1: went to the Wizards. You know, Shaq was bouncing around

213
00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:47,000
Speaker 1: the league. He knew the last three or four years

214
00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,439
Speaker 1: he was not a championship team. I think Lebron is

215
00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,960
Speaker 1: smart enough to know. This is the first year in

216
00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,160
Speaker 1: maybe fifteen years, Lebron. You have to go back to

217
00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,760
Speaker 1: that getting swept by the Spurs, and I'm sure going

218
00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:00,040
Speaker 1: into that finals, Lebron thought he had a chance the

219
00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,920
Speaker 1: first time in a long time. That Lebron sort of

220
00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:06,440
Speaker 1: being told without being directly told, dude, it's not about

221
00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,200
Speaker 1: a championship. The organization is first, second, and third. You've

222
00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:12,960
Speaker 1: had a great run, but we're not gonna include you

223
00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:14,920
Speaker 1: as we build going forward.

224
00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:16,000
Speaker 6: I get that, McCullen.

225
00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:18,679
Speaker 5: Let me just remind you, Lebron was an All NBA

226
00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:21,360
Speaker 5: player last year average like twenty five, seven and seven,

227
00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:24,240
Speaker 5: and he's paired with Luka Doncic, So you have two

228
00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:26,280
Speaker 5: of the ten best players in the league. I don't

229
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:27,120
Speaker 5: think you're out.

230
00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:29,400
Speaker 6: Of it, but I definitely think there's an uphill climb

231
00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:29,920
Speaker 6: in the West.

232
00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,520
Speaker 5: Like listen, wacky things happen in the East, Jason Tatum

233
00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:34,679
Speaker 5: and Aliburton. They look like they were gonna be in

234
00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:37,640
Speaker 5: the conference finals again next year. They're both out next season.

235
00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,400
Speaker 5: The East and wide open like things can happen. Let's

236
00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,000
Speaker 5: not write the Lakers off just yet.

237
00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:46,160
Speaker 1: Well, remember things do happen, especially to forty one year

238
00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:47,600
Speaker 1: olds in their twenty third year.

239
00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:48,840
Speaker 3: Also that you think.

240
00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:53,120
Speaker 1: Lebron's gonna play eighty games and forty two minutes, Lebron

241
00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,040
Speaker 1: has to pace himself. You know who doesn't, Lou dort

242
00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,840
Speaker 1: Sga Chet Holmgren, Jay Dubb. I mean those guys op

243
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,320
Speaker 1: O Hooma City can play nine guys a night. The

244
00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:06,600
Speaker 1: Lakers now have no center, very little depth, and you

245
00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:10,040
Speaker 1: know how it works, Jason. That means, hey, Lebron, we

246
00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,240
Speaker 1: need forty one minutes tonight and we need twenty nine points.

247
00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,560
Speaker 1: So it'd be one thing if this was the OKC

248
00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,120
Speaker 1: San Antonio Houston roster, like Kevin Durant's a great example.

249
00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:24,200
Speaker 1: So they Houston extends Jabari Smith, who, like Kevin Durant,

250
00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,480
Speaker 1: can shoot. He's got length. Kevin Durant, you could literally

251
00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,160
Speaker 1: tell him before the season starts, we're gonna play sixty

252
00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,000
Speaker 1: four games. We got Jabari Smith behind you. We want

253
00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,040
Speaker 1: you ready for the playoffs. Because of the depth, the youth,

254
00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,079
Speaker 1: the legs, and the athleticism Houston has. Lakers can't do that.

255
00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:42,760
Speaker 1: They just lost Orian Phinney Smith, that's one of their

256
00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,920
Speaker 1: better defenders. So what's gonna happen is Lebron's gonna have

257
00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,720
Speaker 1: to play thirty eight minutes and score twenty seven points

258
00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:50,280
Speaker 1: for this to be in the wet Maybe not in

259
00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:53,680
Speaker 1: the East, but in the West. So the great advantage

260
00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:58,440
Speaker 1: KD saw that with Houston. Don't I don't shen Goon

261
00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:00,920
Speaker 1: can drop twenty eight on any night. A men Thompson's

262
00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,480
Speaker 1: coming up. Jabari plays my position right behind me. So

263
00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,640
Speaker 1: Lebron is going to be once again and we don't

264
00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:10,720
Speaker 1: you know, you cross your fingers on Lucas's health. He's

265
00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,280
Speaker 1: in good shape reportedly, but Lucas a guy that misses games,

266
00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:15,199
Speaker 1: that gets banged up.

267
00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:16,400
Speaker 3: There are gonna be nights.

268
00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:19,560
Speaker 1: So that's Lebron and Austin Reeves having to both drop

269
00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,520
Speaker 1: twenty eight for them to beat at best compete with Oka.

270
00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:25,320
Speaker 6: See listen, It's not over.

271
00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,920
Speaker 5: I'm not writing them off and anything can happen here

272
00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:29,160
Speaker 5: in the next three four days.

273
00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:30,400
Speaker 6: Let's go out and get.

274
00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:32,680
Speaker 5: Some guys and get the Lakers back in contention where

275
00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:34,360
Speaker 5: Lebron needs to be.

276
00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,200
Speaker 2: Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays

277
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,760
Speaker 2: and noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio

278
00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,240
Speaker 2: FS one and the iHeartRadio app.

279
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:46,240
Speaker 7: Hey, it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben

280
00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:47,920
Speaker 7: Maller with me and a lot to have you join

281
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:51,080
Speaker 7: us on our weekly auditory journey. You ask, what in

282
00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:53,560
Speaker 7: God's name is the Fifth Hour, I'll tell you it's

283
00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:55,800
Speaker 7: a spin off of it. Ben Maler show, a cult

284
00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:57,520
Speaker 7: hit overnights on FSR.

285
00:14:57,920 --> 00:14:59,160
Speaker 3: Why should you listen?

286
00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:01,680
Speaker 7: Picture if you will World, where we chat with captains

287
00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,720
Speaker 7: of industry in media, sports, and war every week explore

288
00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,280
Speaker 7: some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to

289
00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,640
Speaker 7: The Fifth Hour with Ben Mather on the iHeartRadio app,

290
00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:12,800
Speaker 7: Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

291
00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:20,280
Speaker 1: So the ultimate sign of respect was paid to Nikota

292
00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,920
Speaker 1: Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, who is the most layered, productive,

293
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,360
Speaker 1: essential player in the NBA. There's a lot of good players,

294
00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:32,240
Speaker 1: Sga Jannis and the aging kd Luka Lebron, but there's

295
00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,440
Speaker 1: one Jokic. He's the best shooting big man ever. He's

296
00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:40,119
Speaker 1: the best passing big man ever, rebounding outlets, ball handling,

297
00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:42,840
Speaker 1: it's just nothing like It may not be pretty, but

298
00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:44,320
Speaker 1: there's nothing like it in the NBA.

299
00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:45,360
Speaker 3: I don't think ever.

300
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,680
Speaker 1: And so yesterday is a great example. Michael Porter's really talented.

301
00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,480
Speaker 1: They moved off him and just brought in a couple

302
00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:57,080
Speaker 1: of shooters, and suddenly the odds now have Denver as

303
00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:01,000
Speaker 1: the second best odds to win the title. That's like Adele,

304
00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,320
Speaker 1: give me a microphone in a stage, get out of

305
00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:07,040
Speaker 1: the way. I'll show you greatness. I mean, Michael Porter's

306
00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:10,520
Speaker 1: very talented, inconsistent, some injuries, but really talented. They just

307
00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:12,880
Speaker 1: got this guy, Cam Johnson and Bruce Brown. Brown won't

308
00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:16,160
Speaker 1: even start rotational guy, second, third guy after bench. Cam

309
00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,920
Speaker 1: Johnson always like can hit threes, but they just got

310
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:20,920
Speaker 1: him a couple of shooters. All of a sudden, the

311
00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,840
Speaker 1: odds go above Houston. It's okay, see it's Denver, and

312
00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:29,040
Speaker 1: I don't disagree that Jokics does not need KD. He

313
00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:32,600
Speaker 1: doesn't need Jannis, he doesn't need a big trade. Denver

314
00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,760
Speaker 1: can't shoot. Let's get Cam Johnson and Bruce Brown they can.

315
00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,240
Speaker 1: I mean, these are like the fifth best starter or

316
00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,640
Speaker 1: the second guy off a bench. And look at the odds,

317
00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:45,120
Speaker 1: and I think the odds are right. And that's really

318
00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,040
Speaker 1: what it is is that Jokicic today is on a

319
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:53,360
Speaker 1: roster that does not have another All Star. Even after

320
00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:56,240
Speaker 1: the trade, they do not have another All Star. And

321
00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:00,000
Speaker 1: yet in the loaded West they are odds on favorite.

322
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,600
Speaker 1: It's today because of getting Cam Johnson and Bruce Brown

323
00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:07,119
Speaker 1: to meet OKC in the Western Conference finals. So again,

324
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:11,440
Speaker 1: it just this guy doesn't need much. I think my

325
00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,520
Speaker 1: take is if I had to flip a coin today

326
00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:18,439
Speaker 1: and say who wins the NBA Championship next season, I

327
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:21,679
Speaker 1: would say Denver. I mean, this is a team, this

328
00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:26,960
Speaker 1: is a team with no bench. Was completely overwhelmingly because

329
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,600
Speaker 1: Michael Porter was so inconsistent and they couldn't shoot threes.

330
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:33,399
Speaker 1: They were basically it was Jokic Gordon against OKC, and

331
00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:37,760
Speaker 1: they took them seven, and they took them seven, So

332
00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,680
Speaker 1: I love what they did. I think you know, listen,

333
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,160
Speaker 1: I like Malone, he runs hot. They moved off him,

334
00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:48,639
Speaker 1: but I think this makes Denver really good. It's exactly

335
00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,359
Speaker 1: what they needed. And this is a guy that doesn't

336
00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:54,000
Speaker 1: need much. Give me a stage, give me a microphone.

337
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,480
Speaker 1: I'll get you open hit. Threes were good. Jmack with

338
00:17:57,480 --> 00:17:58,080
Speaker 1: the news.

339
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:02,879
Speaker 3: QUI no, no, the news.

340
00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:06,679
Speaker 5: This is the herd line news, John, This busy morning

341
00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:13,280
Speaker 5: of NBA chaos continues. Obviously, Damian Lillard has been cut, waved, dropped,

342
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,600
Speaker 5: like a bad habit, whatever you want to say. ATAM Milwaukee,

343
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,600
Speaker 5: he's done there. They are stretching a provision that allows

344
00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,680
Speaker 5: them to stretch the remaining one hundred and thirteen million

345
00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,040
Speaker 5: dollars on his contract so they don't take the entire

346
00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:27,640
Speaker 5: hit this year, and that enables them to go get

347
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,720
Speaker 5: Miles Turner, a bit of a shocker. They steal him

348
00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,320
Speaker 5: from the Pacers. They're giving him one hundred and seven

349
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,280
Speaker 5: million dollars. They lost Brook Lopez their center yesterday, so

350
00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,639
Speaker 5: they had to do something. But obviously these moves are

351
00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:41,639
Speaker 5: secondary to what does Yannis think?

352
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:43,960
Speaker 6: And Colin, we know what Yannis thinks.

353
00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:47,840
Speaker 5: He put out something on social media essentially saying I

354
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,960
Speaker 5: don't know what to think right now. Here's his little meme,

355
00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:54,080
Speaker 5: I don't know what's going on right now of.

356
00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,040
Speaker 6: Him celebrating when they won the championship.

357
00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:01,000
Speaker 5: And then you have a report that Yannis is unhappy.

358
00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:02,320
Speaker 6: With decision to move off Dame.

359
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:05,399
Speaker 5: That comes from Chris Haynes, the NBA insider who's like

360
00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:09,399
Speaker 5: type with Damian Lillard. So very clearly Milwaukee thought they

361
00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,560
Speaker 5: had a great plan here, and Giannis's first reaction appears

362
00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:12,840
Speaker 5: to be.

363
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:14,840
Speaker 6: What the hell's going on here?

364
00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:15,960
Speaker 3: What are we doing? Well?

365
00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:21,240
Speaker 1: Okay, but again we can blame everybody except Giannis. But

366
00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:25,320
Speaker 1: three years ago, almost everybody I trust in the NBA

367
00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:28,000
Speaker 1: was saying the same thing. They don't match up with Boston.

368
00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:32,359
Speaker 1: They're getting really old, really fast. Okay, So at some

369
00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:37,159
Speaker 1: point move on because what you're paying Yiannis Now, Miles Turner,

370
00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,240
Speaker 1: I like Myles Turneral lot, so I think you know,

371
00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:41,040
Speaker 1: with Brook Lopez going to the Clippers, I think you

372
00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:43,760
Speaker 1: had to make that. Movie's probably an upgrade. They can

373
00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:45,600
Speaker 1: both hit a three, they can both defend the rim.

374
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:50,000
Speaker 1: So but this is not a championship team, so not

375
00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:57,720
Speaker 1: even close. And by the way, I would say in

376
00:19:57,840 --> 00:19:58,960
Speaker 1: the weaker East.

377
00:19:59,119 --> 00:19:59,919
Speaker 3: It's not close.

378
00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:02,280
Speaker 1: Meaning if you put this team in the West, what

379
00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:04,159
Speaker 1: are they have? Six seed a seventh seed? Are they

380
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:08,280
Speaker 1: a playing team? So I mean again, I think it's

381
00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,000
Speaker 1: Yannis is the ten million dollar chandelier in a pretty

382
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,680
Speaker 1: empty mansion. So I just I don't see a lot here.

383
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:17,840
Speaker 1: But this is on at some point, Yannis, You're the

384
00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:21,000
Speaker 1: one that you wanted a move. So the organization kind

385
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,359
Speaker 1: of backed into a corner, went and got Dame, and

386
00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:26,240
Speaker 1: we said it when Dame came, he'll make them better offensively,

387
00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:27,679
Speaker 1: they'll be worse defensively.

388
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:28,960
Speaker 3: And that's kind of what happens.

389
00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,080
Speaker 1: So you can complain about stuff or be actionable and

390
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,560
Speaker 1: say listen, I want out. And this is what I

391
00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,000
Speaker 1: said two weeks ago. With you, j Mac, you could

392
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,240
Speaker 1: get five unprotected first rounds. You could get I would

393
00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,160
Speaker 1: have gone to Houston with Shen Goon, maybe a Jabari

394
00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,280
Speaker 1: Smith and you know, a bunch of picks. But if

395
00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:49,560
Speaker 1: you're gonna have this idea that Jannis is confused by

396
00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,720
Speaker 1: it all, bro, everybody in the world knows you're not

397
00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:53,560
Speaker 1: a title team, and they knew it three years ago,

398
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:54,879
Speaker 1: it's on you now.

399
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:57,719
Speaker 5: Does it feel like the bucks here you know, like

400
00:20:57,880 --> 00:20:59,720
Speaker 5: if a marriage is bailing, you're like, oh, well we

401
00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,280
Speaker 5: could buy a new house where let's have a new kid,

402
00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:04,560
Speaker 5: Let's have a baby, you know.

403
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,960
Speaker 6: To like try to fix things. Miles Turner's not gonna fix.

404
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,520
Speaker 5: Anything in Milwaukee, like just because he's a rim protector

405
00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,680
Speaker 5: and a good player. Their backcourt is like not a

406
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:15,760
Speaker 5: top ten back court in the East College.

407
00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:19,200
Speaker 6: Orlando's better, the Atlanta Hawks are better. I know you're

408
00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:19,919
Speaker 6: not gonna want to hear this.

409
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:23,280
Speaker 5: Embiid Sixers right now. They're a bit of a sleeper

410
00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:25,399
Speaker 5: in these they're better than the Bucks. So I just

411
00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:27,640
Speaker 5: don't like this at all. I will throw a Hail

412
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,080
Speaker 5: Mary at you. Okay, I did present it to you

413
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:35,800
Speaker 5: a few months ago. Is there a world where Lebron says, Lakers.

414
00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:36,159
Speaker 6: This ain't happening.

415
00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:39,600
Speaker 5: I'd love to play with Steph Curry, And there's a

416
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:43,800
Speaker 5: three way deal with the Warriors, Lakers, and Bucks where

417
00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:47,600
Speaker 5: Lebron goes to the Warriors to play with Curry, Jannis

418
00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,159
Speaker 5: goes to the Lakers to play with Luca, and the

419
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,520
Speaker 5: Bucks get everything else all the picks. The pick swaps

420
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,239
Speaker 5: Jimmy Butler, who's only got two years left, is there

421
00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,080
Speaker 5: a war where the Bucks entertained something like that. Because

422
00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:00,760
Speaker 5: you're gonna need to read pretty soon.

423
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:01,520
Speaker 6: Come yeah.

424
00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:05,760
Speaker 1: I mean, but my take is is Lebron at forty one,

425
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:07,879
Speaker 1: with maybe a year or two left.

426
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:09,400
Speaker 3: I just keep Jimmy Butler.

427
00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,160
Speaker 1: I mean, I get I think Lebron's consistently better than Jimmy.

428
00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,560
Speaker 1: Jimmy's the better defender. I don't think that's the answer.

429
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:18,040
Speaker 3: I don't. I think.

430
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,639
Speaker 1: I thought the answer for Milwaukee was sheng Goon, a

431
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,080
Speaker 1: bunch of picks and a couple of rotational young guys

432
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,760
Speaker 1: that didn't make a move on it. So listen, I

433
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:33,359
Speaker 1: Milwaukee twice in my life in mid seventies, and a

434
00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,280
Speaker 1: few years ago they got a title out of their

435
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:38,560
Speaker 1: all time historic great Big And there's nothing wrong with that.

436
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,560
Speaker 1: There's a lot of organizations like Sacramento Kings had great

437
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,960
Speaker 1: teams for years and didn't get anything. The Baltimore Ravens,

438
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,760
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bills, these teams have been unbelievable for five years.

439
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:49,560
Speaker 3: They don't have anything.

440
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,400
Speaker 1: If you can get Denver got one, Denver may never

441
00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:54,359
Speaker 1: get another one.

442
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:55,600
Speaker 3: The world we live.

443
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:57,840
Speaker 1: At in the NBA now, Jmac is you can win

444
00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:00,800
Speaker 1: one championship, but the CBA does not allow Wow a dynasty.

445
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:01,359
Speaker 6: I don't want that.

446
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:03,640
Speaker 3: So I think they not not Sam.

447
00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,320
Speaker 1: Milwaukee got greedy, but they got a bit self enamored

448
00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:09,440
Speaker 1: and a bit delusional. I think they should have moved

449
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,399
Speaker 1: off Giannis two years ago. I think after next year.

450
00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:16,160
Speaker 1: He I mean, I'm saying what guys are going for now?

451
00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,119
Speaker 1: Could you get six first round picks for Jannis if

452
00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,040
Speaker 1: he stays healthy this year and is again very productive?

453
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:24,520
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, anything possible. Let's go to the next

454
00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:28,119
Speaker 5: stricon in the NBA. SGA kind of lost in the

455
00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:32,240
Speaker 5: shuffle this morning. The league MVP and Finals MVP. He

456
00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:36,840
Speaker 5: just signed an extension four years wait for it, two

457
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:41,240
Speaker 5: hundred and eighty five million dollars Colin. It is the

458
00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:46,400
Speaker 5: He will be the highest paid annual salary player in NBA.

459
00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:48,720
Speaker 6: History and in any US major sport.

460
00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:53,240
Speaker 5: SGA is gonna make seventy one million dollars.

461
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 3: Yeah a year, Yeah, I don't. I don't.

462
00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,040
Speaker 1: Again, he provided a championship, a finals MVP.

463
00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:01,679
Speaker 3: He's the NBA leading scorer. He's a grown up.

464
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:07,439
Speaker 1: He's an absolute adult, refined offensive game. That's the market.

465
00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:09,160
Speaker 1: I don't have a problem and none of those guys.

466
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:10,960
Speaker 1: To be honest, Joe l MBI is the one I

467
00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:14,359
Speaker 1: struggle with, and Dak even Anthony Davis. I don't have

468
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,320
Speaker 1: a problem. He's the best defensive guy in the league.

469
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,920
Speaker 1: Most of these guys making that money. I don't have

470
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,199
Speaker 1: any problem. It's a lot of money, but that's what

471
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:27,320
Speaker 1: the supermax everybody agreed to owners, GMS, players agents. I

472
00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:29,280
Speaker 1: don't have a problem. But he's a total grown up.

473
00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,119
Speaker 1: You know he's going to be committed. He'll be in

474
00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,439
Speaker 1: the he's priority back in the gym. I got no

475
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:34,080
Speaker 1: problem with it.

476
00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:35,920
Speaker 6: So can we get that on the screen again?

477
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,440
Speaker 5: The list of the highest paid US athletes in team

478
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,040
Speaker 5: sports remove Otani because they don't have a salary cap

479
00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:45,560
Speaker 5: in baseball. Tell me which one of those teams is

480
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,640
Speaker 5: contending in their respective sport. The answer is none of them.

481
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,200
Speaker 5: Once you start paying guys sixty five plus million dollars, Colin,

482
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,520
Speaker 5: you can't build a team. That's very clear. The Celtics

483
00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:02,760
Speaker 5: are disbanding essentially right now, falling apart. Joel Embiid no shot.

484
00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,040
Speaker 5: Maybe they're a good playoff team this year. Anthony Davis

485
00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,359
Speaker 5: in the MAVs, I don't see it because of injuries

486
00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:09,080
Speaker 5: to Kyrie Irving.

487
00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:11,879
Speaker 6: So like, once you pay these guys and I get.

488
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,960
Speaker 5: It, they're worth it, but it's tough to build around them. Colin,

489
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:15,879
Speaker 5: and I see this.

490
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,480
Speaker 1: It is in the NBA, and it is in the NFL.

491
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:23,120
Speaker 1: It's not in baseball. I listen, SGA just got bank.

492
00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:25,800
Speaker 1: They'll be contending their favorites now to win it again.

493
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,320
Speaker 1: I don't know if they will. I just don't. I

494
00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:31,720
Speaker 1: don't think they're that special offensively to be. You know,

495
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,280
Speaker 1: it's an offensive league more than defense. I think their

496
00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,080
Speaker 1: defensive story is amazing and historic, but I don't think Okay,

497
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:38,639
Speaker 1: C's gonna win it again, Cody, I'll tell you, I

498
00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,479
Speaker 1: take Denver. I would take Denver right now to win

499
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,840
Speaker 1: it after those two moves. Cam Johnson is a long,

500
00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:49,000
Speaker 1: excellent shooter. That's all Denver. Denver did everything else fine.

501
00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:50,920
Speaker 1: They didn't have enough three points shooting. They got two

502
00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,600
Speaker 1: guys that can hit them with Yokich with occasionally Jamal Murray.

503
00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:56,600
Speaker 3: This morning, I like Denver.

504
00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:58,840
Speaker 5: I'll go to Houston, but we got a full summer.

505
00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,080
Speaker 5: Left finals three, Colin, how about your Mavericks?

506
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:02,000
Speaker 6: You love them?

507
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:06,879
Speaker 5: And honey, mammas you like D'Angelo Russell years thirteen million

508
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,080
Speaker 5: dollars for the guy.

509
00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:09,840
Speaker 6: I like to call me Angelo.

510
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,760
Speaker 5: Russell because he's all about himself. He'll basically take Kyrie's

511
00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,199
Speaker 5: spot at point guard. Listen, man, the guy's a scorer,

512
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 5: he's a pro, he's been around for a while. Ultimately, though,

513
00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,600
Speaker 5: the MAVs roster is looking quite good. When you get

514
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,520
Speaker 5: back Cooper Flag if they ever get healthy this year,

515
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,480
Speaker 5: that's a dangerous team either way.

516
00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,520
Speaker 1: I don't think, first of all, I love the Mavericks.

517
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,439
Speaker 1: I'm not a huge d Lo fan. They're doing this

518
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:36,920
Speaker 1: until Kyrie Irving's healthy, and then it's only a two

519
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,360
Speaker 1: year deal, so they just they just need a lead

520
00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,760
Speaker 1: dog who can score with Cooper. I don't like having

521
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:46,400
Speaker 1: Di'angelo Russell around Cooper Flag. That's not what I would

522
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,879
Speaker 1: want as a mentor. But I but I will say this,

523
00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,280
Speaker 1: I think Dallas excellent. I think Houston's excellent. I think

524
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,119
Speaker 1: okay See's excellent. I think Denver's excellent. So all you

525
00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,520
Speaker 1: like your fans out there, those teams are all better, deeper,

526
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:06,200
Speaker 1: and more assets going forward. So the truth that this

527
00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:08,240
Speaker 1: feel you know what the West feels like. J mckett

528
00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:10,880
Speaker 1: feels like the SEC for about that fifteen year run

529
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,760
Speaker 1: where Ohio State could compete with the SEC, and that

530
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,399
Speaker 1: was about it. There are not many teams in the

531
00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:20,320
Speaker 1: East with Tatum and Halliburton out. I don't think there's

532
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:23,760
Speaker 1: anybody in the East that can can beat those top

533
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:25,639
Speaker 1: three or four teams in the West. People are just

534
00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:30,119
Speaker 1: forgetting how good the Dallas roster is. With a d

535
00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:34,679
Speaker 1: returning and Kyrie just signed an extension, Dallas roster is

536
00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,399
Speaker 1: Cooper flag is going to be nineteen to twenty a

537
00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:41,000
Speaker 1: game as a rookie. Dallas is a really if you

538
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,080
Speaker 1: put Dallas in the East, I would take Dallas without

539
00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:46,640
Speaker 1: Tatum or Halliburton to win the East.

540
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:48,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would.

541
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:50,840
Speaker 6: I mean, we'll see regular season.

542
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:52,960
Speaker 5: You know the Cads, there are some tryhards and they're gonna

543
00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,840
Speaker 5: probably win sixty games. But I don't know the MAVs

544
00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:59,320
Speaker 5: can win like sixty without Kyrie for most of the season.

545
00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:01,640
Speaker 1: But that's what well you can tell. You can tell

546
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,480
Speaker 1: why they brought d low one and a two year deal.

547
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,600
Speaker 1: It's just we need offense until Kyrie is ready to go. Yet.

548
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:11,520
Speaker 1: Jmack with the News, well that's the news and thanks

549
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:12,840
Speaker 1: for stopping by the.

550
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:14,080
Speaker 2: Herd Line News.

551
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:19,720
Speaker 1: So the Knicks talk to Hall of Famer Don Staley,

552
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,960
Speaker 1: the women's coach at South Carolina, about the coaching job.

553
00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:27,040
Speaker 1: So Knicks are weird. So they just had their best

554
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,800
Speaker 1: year since two thousand, so a quarter of a century.

555
00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,440
Speaker 1: They had their best year. So let's try something that's

556
00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:36,160
Speaker 1: never been done in the history of the sport, man

557
00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:41,920
Speaker 1: or woman. College basketball coaches generally do not flourish in

558
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,200
Speaker 1: the NBA. They are two different sports. It's like film

559
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:47,840
Speaker 1: and TV. Well, they both have actors, they both have writers,

560
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,160
Speaker 1: they both have scripts, they're both on a screen. TV

561
00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:54,360
Speaker 1: and film are completely different industries. Let me tell you

562
00:28:54,560 --> 00:29:00,800
Speaker 1: college basketball is about coaching. It's methodical, it's possession. It's

563
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:05,240
Speaker 1: very fundamental. Coaches run the show. The NBA is fast

564
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,000
Speaker 1: and dynamic, it is up tempo, and the point guard

565
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,240
Speaker 1: and the best players run the show. Head coaches rarely

566
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:14,920
Speaker 1: call out plays, so even during timeouts you listen to

567
00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,320
Speaker 1: a Spolstra or a Steve Kerr and one like they

568
00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:22,520
Speaker 1: were diagramming plays. It's not the eighties. So the intensity.

569
00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,800
Speaker 1: And this is nothing against Dawn Staley because she's a woman.

570
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,360
Speaker 1: When Dan Hurley was up for the Lakers job. I'm like,

571
00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:32,040
Speaker 1: I think he's a college coach. The intensity, the barking,

572
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,560
Speaker 1: that's not going to play in the NBA. So I mean,

573
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:38,160
Speaker 1: JJ Reddick got the job partly because he was friends

574
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,200
Speaker 1: with Lebron. They knew it would work with Lebron. So

575
00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:44,080
Speaker 1: that's how it works in the NBA. So in the NBA,

576
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,240
Speaker 1: the coach is the fifth highest compensated person on the

577
00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,480
Speaker 1: team plane and probably somewhere between the fourth and the

578
00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:56,400
Speaker 1: eighth most important. Even even a Rick Carlisle, an excellent coach,

579
00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:58,400
Speaker 1: acknowledges it's the chemistry.

580
00:29:58,480 --> 00:29:59,440
Speaker 3: It's Halliburton.

581
00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,400
Speaker 1: You get the very infrequent during a time out, this

582
00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:06,440
Speaker 1: is what we're going to do offensively. So in what's

583
00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 1: troubling if you're a Knicks fan, the East is wide open.

584
00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:13,440
Speaker 1: Jason Tatum's out for the Celtics, Halliburton out for the Pacers.

585
00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:14,440
Speaker 3: It is wide open.

586
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:18,720
Speaker 1: It's like, and you just had your best season, and

587
00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:23,040
Speaker 1: you guys can criticize Tibbs all you want, but the

588
00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:27,480
Speaker 1: Knicks were something Tibbs created a culture. It's like Dan

589
00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,360
Speaker 1: Campbell with the Detroit Lions. Is he the best schematic

590
00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:33,880
Speaker 1: guy in the league. No, but I acknowledged I was

591
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:37,560
Speaker 1: wrong on Dan Campbell. He is a culture creator. That's

592
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,560
Speaker 1: what Tibbs did. And for the record, all the critics

593
00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:43,000
Speaker 1: of Tibbs said, well, he's not really creative. It is

594
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,680
Speaker 1: hard to be creative offensively when Jalen Brunts's game and

595
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:49,760
Speaker 1: I like Jalen Brunson a lot, his game is ball dominant.

596
00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:55,040
Speaker 1: It's hard to create things off Jalen Brunson. He's a

597
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,200
Speaker 1: great finisher, maybe the best finisher right now. He and

598
00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:01,200
Speaker 1: Kyrie Irving for their size and the league. But he

599
00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,080
Speaker 1: is pounding the ball. It's hard to create a lot

600
00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,959
Speaker 1: of stuff. If you get the ball for the Knicks,

601
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,600
Speaker 1: there's often six seconds left on the shot clock. So

602
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:14,160
Speaker 1: this idea that Tibbs wasn't creative enough. It's not easy

603
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:17,720
Speaker 1: to be creative when a James Harden or you know

604
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:22,520
Speaker 1: Luca Dantage. Now there's another guy that wants the ball

605
00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:26,760
Speaker 1: in his hands, wants to operate. Halliburton's different. Halliburton's pays

606
00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:30,440
Speaker 1: a play, Halliburton gets the ball up court. He's different.

607
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,560
Speaker 1: But this whole thing, well, he wasn't creative enough. All

608
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:38,160
Speaker 1: I know is TIBs created a culture, tough, physical Villanova

609
00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:38,840
Speaker 1: pro style.

610
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,880
Speaker 3: Now they're looking at college. That's not the answer.

611
00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:46,680
Speaker 2: Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays

612
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:48,680
Speaker 2: and noon Easter not a Empacific.

613
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,760
Speaker 5: The Road to twentyty six continues tomorrow on FS one

614
00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:57,800
Speaker 5: with the Gold Cup semifinal as the US men's national

615
00:31:57,800 --> 00:31:59,600
Speaker 5: team takes on Guatemala.

616
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:01,920
Speaker 6: No Easy Pass, No Second Chances.

617
00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:05,280
Speaker 5: Coverage begins tomorrow at six Eastern on FS one.

618
00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:07,520
Speaker 3: We have Tyler Adams on the show today.

619
00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:10,040
Speaker 1: He'll be a World Cup guy, Tyler Adams, He'll be

620
00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:11,600
Speaker 1: favorite over Guatemala.

621
00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,680
Speaker 3: So I think you know I've said this before.

622
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:17,880
Speaker 1: If I didn't do this for a living, my dream

623
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 1: job would be a general manager of an NFL team.

624
00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 1: And I just I love the draft. I like building stuff.

625
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:25,920
Speaker 1: And it's been like that since I was a kid.

626
00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:28,240
Speaker 1: I just like building stuff. And I think my best

627
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:30,800
Speaker 1: sources in the league I was talking to one last

628
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:34,080
Speaker 1: night are NFL execs, and I loved the sport and

629
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:34,880
Speaker 1: I always.

630
00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:35,560
Speaker 3: Thought, what a cool job.

631
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:40,760
Speaker 1: And so it's I like the idea of when you

632
00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:44,480
Speaker 1: get into these situations these executives on would you take

633
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,840
Speaker 1: an old star or an emerging young star.

634
00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:48,240
Speaker 3: That's one of the hard ones.

635
00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:51,400
Speaker 1: So everybody loves Luca, right, Luca Luca, But I've made

636
00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,520
Speaker 1: the argument for years he's a better version of Carmelo Anthony,

637
00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:57,000
Speaker 1: and Carmelo is a Hall of Famer two. But it's

638
00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:01,880
Speaker 1: very interesting, Avery Johnson saying right now he would take

639
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,080
Speaker 1: Cooper flag going forward over Luca.

640
00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:12,080
Speaker 8: Man, give me Cooper flag. Really, Cooper flag in this team? Yeah,

641
00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:14,000
Speaker 8: give me Cooper flag. Man.

642
00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,560
Speaker 6: You're talking about a team when they're healthy.

643
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:21,200
Speaker 8: Got three future Hall of famerus with Kyrie ad and

644
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:26,240
Speaker 8: Klay Thompson. So this is really exciting the Mavericks. Their

645
00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,600
Speaker 8: future is bright, but they have a window when they're

646
00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:31,280
Speaker 8: healthy if the next two to three.

647
00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 6: Years with this rostass currently constructed.

648
00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:36,360
Speaker 1: So I just want you to think about this. So

649
00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:40,200
Speaker 1: Luca has been in the NBA for seven seasons. That's

650
00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,320
Speaker 1: a grind, and he's been attacked for seven years, right,

651
00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:45,000
Speaker 1: he's a score, so people.

652
00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:45,840
Speaker 3: Are throwing bodies at him.

653
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:48,880
Speaker 1: He also played three years in Europe against older players,

654
00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:52,720
Speaker 1: so he has been grinding against men for ten years.

655
00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:56,840
Speaker 1: And we all know that athletes age differently based on

656
00:33:56,880 --> 00:34:00,400
Speaker 1: how good a shape they're in. Well mellow for Anton's

657
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:05,280
Speaker 1: Mike komp for Luca peaked at twenty eight. By twenty

658
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:10,359
Speaker 1: nine years old, his scoring dropped noticeably, was never again

659
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:16,839
Speaker 1: top ten MVP Mellow aged fast Lebron at thirty eight,

660
00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,600
Speaker 1: ten years older than Mellow's peak. I mean he treats

661
00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,000
Speaker 1: his body like a Temple twenty nine a game, fifty

662
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,000
Speaker 1: percent from the field, All Star Western Conference Finals. Okay,

663
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:30,320
Speaker 1: Tom Brady at forty five was better than Aaron Rodgers

664
00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:32,960
Speaker 1: at thirty eight, thirty nine or Big Bennett thirty seven.

665
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,879
Speaker 1: So Luca, to me, he is an old soul. Now

666
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,720
Speaker 1: he's about twenty six years old. Now he's an old

667
00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:45,040
Speaker 1: twenty six and I'm sure he has four more peak years.

668
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:49,319
Speaker 1: And Hayes working out this offseason, Cooper Flag may have

669
00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:53,680
Speaker 1: twelve peak years. And Cooper Flag day one in the

670
00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:58,719
Speaker 1: NBA will be a better defender than Luca. That's not disputable.

671
00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,920
Speaker 1: Cooper Flag will be a better defender first week in

672
00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,719
Speaker 1: the league. So to me, if Cooper Flag is seventy

673
00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:10,120
Speaker 1: five to eighty five percent, Luca the offensive player eventually

674
00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:14,120
Speaker 1: and I get four years of the rookie deal. Absolutely,

675
00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:18,040
Speaker 1: And here's the thing about Luca. Here's the thing about Luca.

676
00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:23,279
Speaker 1: Twenty five dunks in his rookie season one dunk last year.

677
00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:26,720
Speaker 1: We saw that, so you are the data is clear.

678
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:29,759
Speaker 1: Dude is aging. We saw this with James Harden. His

679
00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:33,320
Speaker 1: dunk numbers kept going back down and down and down,

680
00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:36,160
Speaker 1: and then James Harden is still good, but he's a

681
00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:40,000
Speaker 1: limited offensive player on what he can perform right now. Luca,

682
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:42,880
Speaker 1: this is all he is at twenty six. He's a

683
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:46,560
Speaker 1: step back guy. He's not a playdown hill, attack the rim,

684
00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:50,240
Speaker 1: dunkover guys. That's not what he does at twenty six.

685
00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:55,200
Speaker 1: Athletes age differently. I would argue Luca is an old

686
00:35:55,239 --> 00:35:59,200
Speaker 1: twenty six Cooper Flag is a young NBA rookie.

687
00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:00,799
Speaker 3: Jason Kidd.

688
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:07,919
Speaker 1: Remember the introductory press conference what Jason Kidd said. Here's

689
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:08,840
Speaker 1: Jason Kidd.

690
00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,520
Speaker 9: Just sitting here listening to him. Is it incredible. I mean,

691
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:14,120
Speaker 9: we're talking about eighteen year old who has all the

692
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:17,799
Speaker 9: right answers and it's talking about working out after this.

693
00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:23,759
Speaker 9: But you know, when you talk about his gift, he's

694
00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:27,440
Speaker 9: a basketball player and he's a winner.

695
00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:35,920
Speaker 1: Also, Luca still plays frequently for Slovenia, so you know

696
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:40,360
Speaker 1: he came into the NBA with three international seasons against

697
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:44,000
Speaker 1: older physical players seven years in the NBA, being a

698
00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:48,759
Speaker 1: lead scorer, score bodies being thrown at him isn't in

699
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:51,640
Speaker 1: great shape. Mellow is a Hall of Famer, But at

700
00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:54,719
Speaker 1: twenty eight peaked and that was just one year of college.

701
00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:57,400
Speaker 1: He played just one year of college at Syracuse, won

702
00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:58,120
Speaker 1: a title, it went.

703
00:36:58,040 --> 00:36:58,520
Speaker 3: To the NBA.

704
00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:01,880
Speaker 1: Twenty eight peaked quite the same player an age fast.

705
00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:04,160
Speaker 1: Remember that time when he laughed about being a bench

706
00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,440
Speaker 1: guy for Okac. That's what he was and so, and

707
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:08,879
Speaker 1: then all of a sudden, Mellow had to go, yeah,

708
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,600
Speaker 1: this is what I am. Luca didn't dunk anymore, he

709
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:14,160
Speaker 1: didn't play as down hill as he used to. And

710
00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:16,480
Speaker 1: I can like Luca. I like Luca a lot. I

711
00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:19,840
Speaker 1: think he's really good. But I think Laker fans remember

712
00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:23,920
Speaker 1: the day the Luca trade was made, The sense was

713
00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:27,960
Speaker 1: who Lakers are headed to the finals?

714
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:30,360
Speaker 3: They housed Dallas.

715
00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:33,080
Speaker 1: And then you're like, well, Max, Chris, he's not bad

716
00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:34,920
Speaker 1: in eighties, really good when he's healthy.

717
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,120
Speaker 3: And I look at Dallas today.

718
00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:40,279
Speaker 1: If Luca is as good as you told me, I

719
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,400
Speaker 1: look at Dallas today, I look at the Lakers today,

720
00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:43,800
Speaker 1: next five.

721
00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:44,840
Speaker 3: Years, who would you rather be?

722
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,920
Speaker 1: I would rather be Dallas best front line in the

723
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:52,960
Speaker 1: NBA Hall of Famer, and Ad still plays on a

724
00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:57,160
Speaker 1: nightly basis as an elite score and defender, and here

725
00:37:57,160 --> 00:37:58,040
Speaker 1: comes Cooper Flag.

726
00:37:58,640 --> 00:37:59,919
Speaker 3: So it just there.

727
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:05,400
Speaker 1: There are certain players, the closer you get to them,

728
00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:08,320
Speaker 1: you know, I always say this in baseball, nobody knows

729
00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:11,319
Speaker 1: that team's bullpen better than the fans of that team.

730
00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:13,320
Speaker 1: How do you feel when your team goes to the

731
00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,359
Speaker 1: setup guy? As a baseball fan in Atlanta, You're like, yeah,

732
00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:19,400
Speaker 1: I don't love this because baseball is such a long season.

733
00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:23,200
Speaker 1: The die hard baseball fans in a city know they're

734
00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:26,200
Speaker 1: bullpen better than any member of the media. They're covering it,

735
00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:28,160
Speaker 1: they're seeing it every night. How do you feel when

736
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:29,919
Speaker 1: your team goes to the pen and the seventh inning?

737
00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:32,879
Speaker 1: And I feel that with Luca, the closer you are

738
00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:36,120
Speaker 1: to Luca, it's not just highlights. You get all the warts.

739
00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:38,719
Speaker 1: You see that he can't defend, You see that he

740
00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:42,400
Speaker 1: can be ball centric and he's gifted. I'm not denying it.

741
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:44,680
Speaker 1: He's great, and I think he's got four years left.

742
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:50,799
Speaker 1: But Cooper Flag, I think you're going to figure out

743
00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:55,319
Speaker 1: by the All Star Game. You're like, Oh, it looks

744
00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,360
Speaker 1: pretty good and Cooper flag comes in. He does not

745
00:38:57,520 --> 00:38:59,640
Speaker 1: have to be a dominant scorer. Now with Dlo there

746
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,400
Speaker 1: is he ad didn't have to be a dominant score

747
00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:06,000
Speaker 1: eighteen play defense Gonna do just fine in Dallas now.

748
00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:10,600
Speaker 1: Jmack loves Luca. J Mack loves Luca. He likes guys

749
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:14,719
Speaker 1: that shoot. So just saying he's twenty six, he's an

750
00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:15,920
Speaker 1: old twenty six.

751
00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:19,280
Speaker 5: Colin Collin, my friend, I had to take some notes

752
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,000
Speaker 5: as you were dritting this down. Obviously tomorrow's a big

753
00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:25,320
Speaker 5: day here on the show, so I'm taking some extra notes.

754
00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:28,879
Speaker 5: Did you really just say Luca's basically a step back guy?

755
00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:29,120
Speaker 8: Now?

756
00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:30,879
Speaker 6: Did you say that that's kind.

757
00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:31,560
Speaker 3: Of what he is?

758
00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:32,040
Speaker 6: He sick?

759
00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:36,560
Speaker 3: No more dumbs Doesn'teen.

760
00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,279
Speaker 5: Months ago, he put the Mavericks on his back and

761
00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:39,600
Speaker 5: took them to the finals.

762
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:41,840
Speaker 6: Okay, then he played in the Olympics in the summer.

763
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:42,480
Speaker 6: Then he got hurt.

764
00:39:42,719 --> 00:39:44,960
Speaker 5: He barely played the list. He played fifty games due

765
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:48,239
Speaker 5: to the injury. Like, I can't believe you just called

766
00:39:48,239 --> 00:39:48,919
Speaker 5: he's been hurt.

767
00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:49,799
Speaker 6: He's guy.

768
00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:52,560
Speaker 1: He has been hurt twice since the Olympics. That's what

769
00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:54,239
Speaker 1: happens when you're not in great well they.

770
00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:56,320
Speaker 5: Made him run to the finals, and he was running

771
00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,799
Speaker 5: everything on that offense. Then he played in the Olympics

772
00:39:59,040 --> 00:39:59,959
Speaker 5: like that's a lot of mat.

773
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:02,840
Speaker 3: And then he got hurt and then they got hurt again.

774
00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:04,399
Speaker 6: He's working out.

775
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:06,959
Speaker 5: Let me just ask you, if Cooper Flag you would

776
00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:11,800
Speaker 5: take over Luca. Who is there anybody you're not taking

777
00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:12,840
Speaker 5: over Cooper Flag?

778
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:16,799
Speaker 1: Oh? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean if you yeah, absolutely,

779
00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:20,040
Speaker 1: there's there's I mean, yoh, honest, I mean there's First

780
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:24,560
Speaker 1: of all, Cooper Flag's the best, the best domestic draft

781
00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:26,960
Speaker 1: pick since Lebron.

782
00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:29,479
Speaker 6: Okay, are you taking Wemby or Cooper Flag right now?

783
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:30,440
Speaker 3: Right now?

784
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:35,040
Speaker 1: You take Wemby because he's such a dominant, game altering defensive,

785
00:40:35,080 --> 00:40:39,880
Speaker 1: But you take Wega or Cooper Flag right now? Going forward,

786
00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:41,240
Speaker 1: I'd probably take Cooper Flag.

787
00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:42,839
Speaker 5: I would too, And I know that people are gonna

788
00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:45,759
Speaker 5: hate that because Sga is amazing, But yeah, so I

789
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:48,120
Speaker 5: would put Cooper Flag in that like he's gonna be

790
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:51,400
Speaker 5: pretty soon a top ten guy in the league, probably

791
00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:52,359
Speaker 5: within the next five years.

792
00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:53,239
Speaker 6: Is that safe to say?

793
00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:57,600
Speaker 1: Oh? I yes, absolutely, And I'm just saying my whole

794
00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:01,440
Speaker 1: point is Avery Johnson's give me Cooper Flag, and my

795
00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:03,560
Speaker 1: take is that's what I think, and that's not a

796
00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:06,400
Speaker 1: knock on Luca Lucas still a top twelve player in

797
00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:08,880
Speaker 1: the league, top ten player depending on the night, depending

798
00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:12,600
Speaker 1: on his health. All Right, Hour two coming up, Urban Meyer,

799
00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:13,920
Speaker 1: Albert Brewan more so