THE HERD - Hour 1 - Aaron Rodgers is close to coming back, Joel Embiid continues to make us scratch our heads

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1 Summary

Episode Date: May 7, 2026
Main Topics: Aaron Rodgers close to Steelers deal, Joel Embiid’s unpredictable impact, Draymond Green vs. Charles Barkley, NBA playoffs, NFL QB philosophies

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Colin Cowherd dives into breaking NFL news about Aaron Rodgers’ potential move to the Pittsburgh Steelers, thoroughly critiques the inconsistent role of Joel Embiid on the 76ers, covers an on-air spat between Draymond Green and Charles Barkley about the Warriors’ decline, and offers insights on major NBA and NFL storylines. The tone is candid, analytical, and occasionally playful, staying true to Cowherd’s signature style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers

[02:01–08:58]

• Colin breaks the news from Pittsburgh radio: Aaron Rodgers is expected to sign with the Steelers, and the move is all but done.
• Criticizes the Steelers’ lack of quarterback succession planning, contrasting it with franchises like the Eagles, Rams, or Patriots.
• Emphasizes the impact Rodgers had last season, calling 2024 “a Costco free sample year”—now the team must “buy in bulk.”
• Advocates for Rodgers getting a raise: “He had a better year than Baker Mayfield and made about 35% of what Baker Mayfield did.”
• Points out the revolving door at the Steelers’ QB position (five different opening-day QBs in five years), arguing it’s organizational negligence.

Quote:

“You can’t ask a Hall of Fame quarterback in back-to-back years to give you two freebies. Last year was sort of like that Costco free sample year. Aaron gave you some free samples. And now Aaron’s saying, this year I need you to buy in bulk, no freebie.”
— Colin Cowherd [03:10]

2. Joel Embiid and the 76ers’ Puzzle

[08:59–11:48, 19:25–23:27]

• Sixers lost to the Knicks; Embiid was out, but Philly arguably played better without him.
• Embiid’s presence is paradoxical: the team’s pace and net rating improve when he’s not playing.
• Over the last 11 games (with/without Embiid), the Sixers often score more and perform better without him—a recurring theme throughout his career.
• Embiid, described as a “ball stopper,” slows the team down and frequently battles injuries.

Quotes:

“It’s the Joel Embiid story next on A&E. Great, bad, can’t play. That’s what he is.”
— Colin Cowherd [08:19]

“Everybody loves the fun uncle who occasionally shows up for a holiday … but he misses too many holidays. You can’t really build around him or rely on him. And increasingly with Embiid, you just can’t.”
— Colin Cowherd [10:19]

• Sixers’ top-heavy roster is straining under injuries (Embiid, OG Anunoby) and a lack of bench depth.
• Philly got great looks late but couldn’t convert; fatigue showed, especially for Tyrese Maxey.

Relevant Soundbite:

“I thought we had maybe four wide open shots in a row that didn’t go. We just needed … to keep the scoreboard moving. And we played great offense. We just didn’t shot make.”
— Nick Nurse, Sixers’ coach [09:47]

3. Draymond Green vs. Charles Barkley: Warriors Dynasty Dispute

[14:09–19:20]

• Draymond and Barkley sparred on air, with Draymond mocking Barkley’s late-career Houston stint. Barkley retorted by pointing out Warriors’ current irrelevance.
• Colin sides firmly with Barkley, calling the Warriors “analog in a digital league” and contending the dynasty died when Durant left.
• Uses a Vegas analogy to drive home: “Just because you win $600 in two days doesn’t mean you extend your trip four more days.”
• Says holding onto the dynasty has made the Warriors uncompetitive.

Quotes:

“Barkley was great. One of the best players I’ve ever seen … Draymond was trying too hard and made it personal.”
— Colin Cowherd [14:30]

“The Warriors think there was a third version of the dynasty and there wasn’t. They won a title and circumstances matter.”
— Colin Cowherd [17:25]

4. NBA Playoffs: Knicks–Sixers, Spurs–T-Wolves

[19:25–30:56]

Knicks–Sixers:

• OG Anunoby injury could shift the series; Cowherd calls OG “maybe the best two-way player in the league.”
• 76ers’ lack of bench depth exposed; Maxey complained of exhaustion, and Kyle Lowry’s role is questioned.
• J Mac: “Pressure bursts pipes. And that’s what happened in Philly last night.” [23:27]

Spurs–Timberwolves:

• Spurs even series with a 47-point lead at one point—youthful energy overwhelmed a veteran T-Wolves team.
• “Minnesota is an old team. They play real defense, but they pick their spots.”—Colin Cowherd [28:45]
• Ant (Anthony Edwards) admits T-Wolves got complacent after stealing the first game.

Quote:

“My mama used to tell me a hard head make a soft … And that’s what happened tonight.”
— Anthony Edwards [29:55]

5. Milwaukee Bucks Ownership Drama & Giannis’ Future

[23:50–25:53]

• Browns owner and Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam hints at potentially trading Giannis before the draft.
• J Mac criticizes public handling of the situation: “Why are you rushing to get Giannis out of town?” [24:49]
• Colin downplays the drama, appreciating Haslam’s honesty.

6. NFL: Bills’ Super Bowl Window and Quarterback Evaluation

[25:53–27:41, 34:39–44:44]

• Some think the Bills’ window is closed; Colin disagrees: “I think the AFC is wide open … I got the best quarterback, so I’m good.” [26:23]
• Discusses evaluating QBs by traits over college success and how landing spot affects careers (Stafford, Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold).
• Kyler Murray’s future improvement tied to coaching and system, not unlike Darnold’s revival in a better setting.

Quote:

“You draft quarterbacks based on size … not stats. If you’re drafting a college quarterback based on stats, it’s Tim Tebow, you’re a hack.”
— Colin Cowherd [35:51]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “You can’t ask a Hall of Fame quarterback … to give you two freebies. Last year was like a Costco free sample year. Aaron gave you some Costco free samples. And now Aaron’s saying, okay, this year I need you to buy in bulk.”
  — Colin Cowherd [03:10]
• “Great, bad, can’t play. That’s the Joel Embiid story. And you’re never going to be able to really rely on him.”
  — Colin Cowherd [08:19, 10:19]
• “The Warriors think there was a third version of the dynasty and there wasn’t … you got lucky. You pulled that slot machine that Sunday … and then you booked four more days. That’s not how Vegas works.”
  — Colin Cowherd [17:25]
• "Pressure, burst pipes. And that's what happened in Philly last night."
  — J Mac [23:27]
• “You draft quarterbacks based on size. … If you're drafting a college quarterback based on stats, it’s Tim Tebow, you’re a hack.”
  — Colin Cowherd [35:51]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:01] – Aaron Rodgers/Steelers breaking news, Pittsburgh’s QB planning philosophy
• [08:59] – Sixers-Embiid breakdown, “fun uncle” analogy
• [09:47] – Nick Nurse on Sixers’ shooting woes
• [10:19] – Embiid critique: dependability and salary cap impact
• [14:09] – Draymond-Barkley argument, Warriors dynasty past its prime
• [19:25] – NBA Playoff recap: Knicks–Sixers, OG injury, Sixers fatigue
• [23:50] – Bucks owner Haslam talks Giannis, internal ownership rift
• [25:53] – Bills' Super Bowl odds, AFC/NFC competitiveness
• [28:45] – Spurs’ youthful energy vs. veteran T-Wolves
• [29:55] – Anthony Edwards on T-Wolves’ blowout loss
• [34:39] – Brad Stevens and Adam Silver on tanking and integrity; draft dynamics
• [35:51] – Evaluating NFL quarterbacks: “traits over stats”
• [42:19] – Steve Keim’s take on Kyler Murray’s NFL future

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Overall Tone and Context

Colin’s delivery is a blend of pointed criticism, storytelling, and wry humor. He leans on analogies (Costco, Vegas trips, “fun uncle”) to color his perspectives. J Mac and guest analysts’ interjections keep the tone bantering but focused. The hour is dense with topical sports analysis, big-picture takes, and direct quotes, providing value for listeners even if they missed the show.

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For Further Listening

• Coming in the next hour: Knicks ex-coach David Fisdale, A.J. deBonta draft discussion, continued QB debate.
• Skip commercials and intros for uninterrupted sports insights.

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Transcript

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[Colin Cowherd]

T mobile. T Mobile.

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[J Mac]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio. And noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

[Sports Analyst]

Now, let's get this.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right, here we go. It's Thursday. We got a good show. We got breaking news. We love that. All sorts of good stuff. Draymond and Charles Barkley going at it. Sixers should have won last night. Welcome in. It's Thursday. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening or watching, thanks for making us part of your day. All right, Pittsburgh Radio this morning, it is sort of official. Kind of official. Semi official. Here's the news from Pittsburgh, this is not a drill. This is real. Oh, boy. Aaron Rodgers expected to be in town tonight with the expectation of him signing this weekend. This is a big one. This is the real thing, folks, not speculation. This is what we have been told. Okay, so he wants more money and Steelers are going to cave. He deserves more money. They were actually a grown up functional offense. You can look at the numbers pre Aaron Rodgers In 2024, they were completely inept at virtually everything. And last year they may not have been special, but it was a massive improvement. They were actually, you know, didn't give the ball up much and honestly, pretty good in the red zone. So you can't ask a Hall of Fame quarterback in back to back years to give you two freebies. Last year was sort of like that Costco free sample year. Aaron gave you some Costco free samples. And now Aaron saying, okay, this year I need you to buy in bulk, no freebie. I mean, he had a better year than Baker Mayfield and made about 35% of what Baker Mayfield did. The bigger picture though with Cleveland is that I can remember having a discussion with a boss years and years ago at a television network and the boss said, you know, we've got about a 7 to a 10 year plan. I don't expect NFL teams to have 7 to 10 year plans, but most NFL GMs I talk to have between a 3 and a 5 year quarterback plan and the Steelers don't. That's why the Rams drafted Ty Simpson. They think they're going to get two great years. Stafford maybe a third. But most NFL teams have a three to a five year plan at quarterback. And the Pittsburgh Steelers, they treat quarterback like it's a slot corner or an off ball linebacker. You know, we may get to it at the trading deadline. Let's see what plays out in the preseason. That's how they do it. The Eagles, a great organization. They had Carson Wentz, they drafted Jalen Hurts, the Rams, Ty Simpson, Belichick. During Brady's best years, every couple of years he's drafting a quarterback. The Green Bay packers, it's an industry. They draft Aaron sit three years. They draft Jordan Love sits multiple years. The Pittsburgh Steelers don't do it that way. And I mean, basically Big Ben had his last great year. Was like in 2020, he had 33 touchdowns. He was old, but he had a great year. The following year, Big Ben fell off a cliff. Every number went down. Everything regressed. And their decision, their game plan was Mitch Trubisky, who had been a Backup in Buffalo and Kenny Pickett, a massive overdraft. And I said it at the time, I didn't have a single GM that thought Pickett was a first round quarterback. Most thought he was a middle third round quarterback. So they treat quarterback with absolutely no urgency at all. And it's, it's, it would be like running a television network. And what are you going to do for the fall football season? Ah, we'll figure it out in July. I mean, wait, wait at Fox. When it comes to the World cup or a Super bowl, literally the minute a World cup ends, you're planning for the next one. It's a global event. When a Super bowl ends, you got a few years, but it's a two year event. Planning for a Super Bowl? Well, it's the same with NFL teams, except the Steelers have had five different quarterbacks for their opening game in five years. So the good news is it appears they'll break that trend. And Aaron Rodgers in his early 40s for the second year in a row. No more free sample year at Costco. Guys, you gotta, you gotta buy in bulk. Aaron's not giving you another freebie. And I am critical of Aaron Rodgers and I have been for years, but I'm totally team Aaron. Last year he was the most underpaid player in the league by a long shot. It was virtually no cap hit. Okay, so the Philadelphia 76ers did not have Joel Embiid last night and yet should have won. They should have won. They went, they went 4 for 19 in the fourth quarter. They got great looks. They held the Knicks to 19 points. The Sixers, it was one of those games Philadelphia should have won and didn't. But I think what it really shows you is Embiid was out and they were much better than were in game one. And this happens a lot. If you go to their last 11 games, including the playoffs with Embiid and with without Embiid, they actually score more points without Embiid. And the record's just about the same. I mean, their net rating with him is -7. Without him, it's a plus category. But in the last week, you've really seen Joel Embiid's career. He was dominating in Game 7 against the Celtics, bad in Game 1 against the Knicks, and then not available for Game 2, dominates Game 1, bad game, not available. It's the Joel Embiid story next on A and E. That's what he is. And what you're going to find over the course of time is when he doesn't Play. And I said this earlier in the season, Maxi takes over, Edgecomb takes over. The pacing's better. I mean, last night, Maxi barely shot in game one last night, 47 minutes, 27 points. They're a different team. They're just. And Embiid's a ball stopper. He was at the Olympics. He's just kind of a guy that slows it down. He's the last guy up the court. He's a ball stopper. You have to kind of force him to go low where he's a dominant player. I want my bigs to want to go low, not have to push him there. He's too often out in the perimeter and he's always banged up and the pace is slower and their net ratings better when he doesn't play. Go to the last 11 games. I. And this has always been the story. And you're going to find in sports, championship teams almost all have one thing in common, continuity. They're not going through coaches every year. They can depend on their stars. And you're never going to have that with Embiid. You're never going to have that. And when you look at how they've drafted between Maxey and Edgecomb, those guys are bullets. They fly off the television screen. They are so athletic. That's the pace you got to play with. So I thought. I thought it was a great example last night. In the last week, you've gotten the real Joel Embiid experience. Great. Bad, can't play. And I'm sure he feels bad he can't play, but, you know, the reality is Jalen Brunson's a little guy. He's not playing it 100%. I mean, OG's banged up, and I think he's a tremendous player. My guess is he'll be available. Nobody's 100% healthy at this point in an NBA season. Nobody. Everybody's banged up. Austin Reeves, oblique, you got to get over it. I mean, he had a collapsed lung. For Kate Cunningham. Everybody's hurt. Here was Nick Nurse on a game. I mean, they had a ton of open looks late. This couldn't hit him.

[NBA Player or Coach]

I thought we passed the ball good. Assist numbers a little down, but it should be up if we would have. You know, I thought we had maybe four wide open shots in a row that didn't go. We just needed. We needed to keep the scoreboard moving. And we played great offense. We just didn't shot make. We play good enough defense to win that game, you know, especially in the fourth. But again, you know, I mean, hold them to 19 in the fourth. You gotta hope you can score more than 20 in a quarter.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, they really had looks. Listen, everybody loves the fun uncle who occasionally shows up for a holiday and makes everybody laugh, does magic tricks, but he misses too many holidays. You can't really build around him or rely on him. And increasingly with Embiid, I mean, let's face it, he missed his first two years in the league with an injury. Then he comes back. Year three is tremendous. He wins the MVP. Then he goes back to back years, plays 33 games like that. That's the fun uncle experience. Can't really rely on him, but he's great when he's around. And I think it's just time to move off that 30 large cap hit. 40 large cap hit. And I mean, there'll be a market, but I mean, I'm watching them last night. Played good enough to win in New York, should have won the game. Held the Knicks tonight, then in the force. Got great looks over and over and over. Great looks. All right, J. Mac, we got a big one today. David Fisdale, former Knicks coach, going to join us in an hour. The number one draft pick, A.J. deBonta from BYU, he's going to be the number one pick. I've talked over the last couple of weeks to scouts. It's a slam dunk. Everybody loves him. I mean, he's got springy, you know, people worried about going into the year. His shot. I've always said if the last thing you have to work on is a shot. Ray Allen was a great shooter in the NBA. He was a springy, athletic guy who could shoot a little bit. Then he got to the NBA and he spends all his time shooting. And that sometimes is the last thing to fully develop. But he'll be joining us today as well.

[J Mac]

And you want to tease the audience on our quarterback discussion carried over from yesterday. I know you're fired up about that.

[Colin Cowherd]

No.

[J Mac]

Because I see you smirking.

[Colin Cowherd]

No, no, no. We had an interesting. Maybe I'll bring that around in a couple of hours. We got stuff to talk about now. Aaron Rodgers looks like he's going to be a Steeler. And last night, Charles Barkley, Draymond Green. Whose side do you take? That's coming up next.

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[Colin Cowherd]

Hey, is Cabino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio.

[Rich from Fox Sports Radio]

Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. We're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yup, that's right. You can now watch Covino and rich live on YouTube every day.

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All you got to do, search COVINO and RICH FSR on YouTube again. Go to YouTube search COVINOENRICH FSR.

[Colin Cowherd]

Check us out on YouTube. Subscribe. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.

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[J Mac]

We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

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[Colin Cowherd]

Now entering the no bull zone, sponsored by credible Great rates none of the bull. So Draymond Green fills in from time to time will come in on the Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaq Ernie show and inside the NBA. You know, he tries a little too hard, I think yesterday. And never forget, I watched Charles Barkley's entire career his last year in Houston. It may have been a Keems team, but Barkley was still averaging more points than Draymond has any time in his career. So like, like, Barkley was great. One of the best players I've ever seen. I mean, he could score in transition, down low, shoot jumpers. He was ahead of his time. But last night, you know, Charles Barkley was 100% right. Like the warriors are shot. Everybody in the league except apparently the warriors can figure it out. And here's what transpired.

[Sports Analyst]

Sports are for young people. You hope to have a great long career, but sports, Nobody WINS when they're 37, 38. But you said what you said. I want to hear if he believes what you're talking. Yeah, I mean, I think the goal is just to not look like you in the Houston Rockers uniform. Yeah, it's ultimately the goal for us. Like we don't want to. What does that look like? Did you see it? I'm just asking. I saw it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I mean, it was pretty good team. They got to the conference finals, if I recall. Much better than Golden State, which last year against playoff teams with old Draymond, old Steph Curry and old Jimmy Butler and Steve Kerr were 14 and 33. The Rockets team was a lot better. So Draymond was trying too hard and made it personal. Listen, there was a point when the warriors dynasty was high speed Internet, but the world's AI and they're still grabbing onto it. And I mean, they've had one playoff series win in three years, so. And the fact they're getting. You know what, you know what it reminds me of is that, you know, when you go to Vegas, you go hard for two days and then you get the hell out of town. Just because at the end of day two, you get lucky in a slot machine and win $600 doesn't mean you extend it four days. You get in, you play hard, head down, gamble, drink, do what you gotta do. You get out of town. It's the same with dynasties. You can reinvent them maybe once. Like the MJ Bulls. You had the first repeat. Michael's in his 20s. Then you have the second repeat. It's a little older. It's Rodman, it's global, it's ku. Coach. It's not as MJ Reliant. It kind of looked like the same team. I thought it was the better of the two. But the Golden State warriors, same thing. They had pre KD young Splash brothers and then they had the KD warriors. The better version that woo. You had Splash brothers plus an Alzheimer. The difference is the warriors think there was a third version of the dynasty and there wasn't. They won a title and circumstances matter. The New England Patriots got to a Super bowl last year. They weren't the best team in their own division. They weren't. So if you go back to the year they won that title against the Celtics, it was a lot of luck. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter both got hurt and they beat Denver. John Morant got hurt, played I think three games, they beat Memphis. They never hit a go ahead shot in any playoff series in the fourth quarter. Then they faced a Celtics team that is young and not quite there, and they gagged a little and they win. And they're thinking, hey, pre kd, kd, post kd. No, no, no, no, no. You got lucky. You pulled that slot machine that Sunday. You're going to leave Vegas. And then you called up your travel agent or you went on southwestairlines.com and you booked four more days. We're going to bring this puppy back. We're going to stay here till Wednesday. That's not how Vegas works. You're going to lose and holding and clinging and grabbing on. I mean, Jerry Krause, the late Jerry Krause. Got it. Last dance. We're too old and expensive. Made a great documentary. Last dance. First three beat, second three beat. We're moving on. And I think when KD left, it was over. And you should have started dismantling it. And the record proves that's true. But I think Draymond and Kerr, for all the brain power, Joe Laka, Ben Kerr and Draymond, all these guys real smart that you. You. It's hard to believe they're still clutching this dynasty. You have not been competitive in three years. And you look. You look like analog. Everybody else is digital. It just feels old. And. And. And I thought. I felt last night. Draymond, why get defensive like that? You're proving the point. You're kind of proving what everybody sees, which is, forget the Rockets team with Barkley, which you couldn't compete with. You can't compete with anybody in the west. And that. That's. If Butler and Stefan Draymond are healthy, that. That would be the best version. And often because they're older NBA players, they get hurt. J. Mac with the news.

[Sports Analyst]

No, no, no.

[Colin Cowherd]

Turn on the news.

[Fox Sports Radio Announcer]

This is the headline news.

[J Mac]

All right, let's start in the NBA, where we gave out another winner last night. Knicks take down the 76ers with a weak Philly fourth quarter. Colin, they were out of gas. I mean, it was always awful. But the big news coming out of Game 1, Game 2, is OG Anunoby looked like he pulled up lame here in the fourth quarter. Watch him clutch at his hamstring. That is not good at all. Did not return. They went with McBride down the stretch. He couldn't really make any shots. Now, it didn't hurt them because Phillies, Philly is. Their tank is on empty column. They have nothing left. They're Exhausted.

[Colin Cowherd]

They have no bench all year.

[J Mac]

No bench. We'll get to nurse in a second. But this Anunoby situation. No update on his status. Would not be shocked if he were out for the rest of the series. You know hamstrings.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well yeah. I told you earlier this week I listed the 10 best players. I thought he was their second best player. Yeah. If you ask coaches in the NBA and GMs about OG they stole them from the Raptors. I mean that was a. He is one of the. He may be the best two way player in the league. Five years ago, six years ago it was Kawhi or Paul George. It's OG so he just is one of those guys that just size, physicality can d you up. He's not a flashy player. So you know Brunson and Cat can be flashy players. And then you have the scrappy Josh Hart. OG to me is so valuable to what the Knicks do. He is their tough guy. You can give him the toughest defensive assignment. He'll go at the teeth of a defense. I think it's a huge potential loss.

[J Mac]

Didn't you have as you're on your list of the top 10 players Embiid1 and OG2.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[J Mac]

And they're both now hurt and I don't. We don't know when they're going to return. That is terrible news for this series. A quick note on the Sixers. So Tyrese Maxey was cooking in the first half. I think he had 17. I bet his over 26 and a half points. Colin, if you watch him in the second half specifically fourth quarter, he had nothing left in the tank. The Knicks double teamed him near mid court and he was willingly giving up the ball. He had a bucket with 843 left, didn't score again until there was one

[Colin Cowherd]

minute left and it was basically Paul George is expensive. Embiid is expensive. Maxi is now expensive. So they, they. That's one of the things about what with Embiid if you're going to pay these big salaries you have to play because they've gotten very top heavy. The coach is good, they're starting five is good but they don't have. They need. They need two guys off the. We saw this with Denver, you know, pay Jokic and Porter and Murray and here comes Gordon and all of a sudden they had to get rid of some key bench guys in the next two years. You're like they there's a big drop off. Nuggets Sixers are a little like the Nuggets Great at the top. They had to get off. They got very expensive. And all of a sudden you wake up and you're like, we just. We are tired by the end of a season.

[J Mac]

To your point, on Paul George over five in the fourth quarter for PG 13. Quick note. Do you think the Sixers could use Jared McCain, who's currently on the OKC Thunder? They've traded him away this season. People are like, what are you doing? They have a Sixers fans that. My buddies are outraged that Kyle Lowry's on this roster because he was with Nick Nurse forever in Toronto. They're tight. Lowry doesn't play. It's like a wasted roster spot. And Jared McCain is now in OKC. He's splashing threes for and dancing TikTok nonsense. And he could. The Sixers could use him. Just disappointment. We'll see. On OG Colin. I feel like the Knicks are in control of the series right now. They just look like the better team.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, there's no question. But I will say sometimes circumstances matter. You know, I mean, let. Let's. They. Philadelphia got five great looks and they couldn't hit him. Remember that Blazer Lakers series? The legendary series? Shaq and Kobe Aliub? I was there for the game. Oh, it was great right behind the basket. But one of the things that was lost in all this is people blame Dunleavy or whatever. The Blazers had eight great looks. I mean, it was like they just got tight. And I felt like Philadelphia was a combination of tight and exhausted, but they got great looks.

[J Mac]

I'll quote the great Stephen Jackson. Pressure, burst pipes. And that's what happened in Philly last night. All right, let's move on to the Milwaukee Bucks. Colin, I don't know if regular fans know this, but Jimmy Haslam. Yes, that one. The owner of the Browns is a Bucs co owner. And he went and opened his mouth and said something about Giannis and a trade. I think people are a little surprised. Here we go.

[NBA Executive]

Before the draft is a natural time. Right, because you're going to. You know, if Giannis does play somewhere else, we ought to get a lot of assets. And that's Johnny's job to do it. If he's here, then you build the team differently. So. And it's. I think that's also necessary. I just want to stress so that our relationship with him, despite what is reported by certain ESPN writers, is very positive. It's a big one and you got to get it right. And John knows it and Wes knows it, and we didn't hold back With Taylor, we just said, listen, he may or may not be with us, so don't come because of that.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't. That doesn't bother me. He's asking questions. Well, here's the.

[J Mac]

Here's the real issue in Milwaukee Con. They have multiple ownership groups, and they seem divided. ESPN did a huge story on this months ago, and it's like, Haslam thinks one thing. The other faction is like, why would we trade our best player who brought us a title? We're not going to get anything in return. So they're. They're totally divided. And you've got now Haslam coming out and saying, if he's with us or he's not, you know, we want him. We want a decision before the draft. Man, slow your roll, Colin.

[Colin Cowherd]

Why.

[J Mac]

Why are you rushing to get Giannis out of town?

[Colin Cowherd]

I would move him. I think that. I think they need a total. I mean, they're not a good team at all. And, you know, correct what Haslam said. I mean, Haslam's issues to me are he meddles at quarterback with his football team. I don't. I. If you asked somebody a question, media does this. They ask you a question, you give them an honest answer, and then they're like, well, I can't believe you said it. Well, okay, so you want me to say no comment. I mean, he gave an answer to a question. It was thoughtful. I don't have a problem with it.

[J Mac]

You. You wouldn't play the whole, we love Giannis, we really want him to be here. Just play that then. It's not a sound bite. We're not talking about it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, but again, you want on offend it. You want to be lied to, you want to deal with. If your wife has an issue, you want to ask her a question, she goes, well, you know, I don't really want to. Everything's good. I'm not an everything's good guy. If you can't handle bad news, don't ask questions.

[J Mac]

So if Anne says, how does my hair look? Are you saying, I don't like that look tonight?

[Colin Cowherd]

I've said, I don't think that's your best look. She knows what she gets. You know what? If you're in a relationship with me, you know you're going to get some brutal honesty.

[J Mac]

Whatever. Final story. Let's go to the NFL and the Buffalo Bills. If you remember, last year, the super bowl window appeared to be closing, even though they've got the great Josh Allen. Well, here we go. According to an anonymous NFL executive, the Buffalo Bills super bowl window has closed as in shut. Now, this is after getting the immortal DJ Moore, who you feel like is a superstar and going to help this team. Do you believe the Bills super bowl window is shut?

[Colin Cowherd]

No. No. I think the AFC is wide open. Wide open. I mean, it. Who's favored Denver with Bo Nix? I mean, it's, it's. Why it's, you know, in the. In the nfc, it's not as wide open like Seattle. You know, Rams feel like they're a notch above other organizations. It's wide open in the afc and I got the best quarterback, so I'm good. And a really good offensive unit. I'm good.

[J Mac]

Interesting. Now, if you look at the super bowl odds, they seem to agree with you. Bill's plus 1,000 only behind the Rams. And it's Ravens. That's Ravens. Second is a bit of a shocker. I can't believe the Ravens are that high. I'm so.

[Colin Cowherd]

I.

[J Mac]

Chiefs plus 1500. I don't see your Broncos anywhere there. Bo Nix, huh? Not quite getting the respect in Vegas that you're giving him, huh?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, dumb. I mean, you're gonna tell me they're not one of the six super bowl favorites go look at? I mean, I think. I think. I think Buffalo is good. Really good. But put up Buffalo's roster to Denver's roster and Denver's got the better roster.

[J Mac]

Yeah, that's. You should do a top 10 on that one. Interestingly, I didn't see the Patriots there. Maybe because of the Mike Rabel stuff. They're off the board. I don't know.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, which never ends.

[J Mac]

Yeah, never ends.

[Colin Cowherd]

J Mac with the news.

[Fox Sports Radio Announcer]

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the Herd line news.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen, the spurs even the series. At one point, they led by 47 points. Points. Minnesota stole home court. Mission accomplished. And. And you see this a lot in a seven game series. One team is playing with absolute desperation and urgency and another team is content. And that's what you saw. And they've done this all year. I think that's the 10th straight spurs win off a loss. They're a young team with a ton of energy. Young, hungry team. Minnesota's not. The T. Wolves are older. I mean, they. They and their star ants planted about 80%. So Minnesota is an old team. Three of the starters in their 30s. And they play really hard when they decide to play really hard. Okay? They play real defense. Minnesota is a very, very physical team. So in the games, and we saw it this regular season, Minnesota was a 6 seed. But the Knights, they chose to play, they play really hard. They play real defense. They're a physical basketball team. I mean the oldest guy on the spurs is 28 year old De' Aaron Fox. It's a bunch of kids, I mean, you know, oldest like guy that's getting real big time minutes. So the way I look at the, the way I look at the T wolves is they spend a ton of energy as an old team on defense, but they are very much a pick your spots team. I don't care if you're an old dad, an old band, an old team, you're not going to give great energy. Seven games in a series like you have to pick your spots. And so I. The spurs responded, of course they did. I mean they had a prime example of their youth. San Antonio had a 29 to 5 fast break advantage. So they were off and run. They totally controlled the tempo. They were up the floor and you could see, I mean it's. Minnesota is an old veteran team when they pick their spots. Watch the energy and the physicality of the T wolves in game three. Here's Ant on the game two loss.

[Ant (NBA Player)]

I mean we've just been together so long, man, we know each other, we know what we got to do. And you know, I told the guys after, after the first game, like the natural tendency for teams that steal the first game, the away team, they get blown out game two, so we can't come out cool and we came out

[Colin Cowherd]

cool and what happened?

[Ant (NBA Player)]

We got blew out. So I mean, my mama used to tell me a hard hit, make a soft. And that's what happened tonight. So yeah, I mean those guys, I took my hat to those guys.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean this is what San Antonio's done all year. But you, you get this a lot. The NBA playoffs are mostly for older teams now. Golden State's too old, right? There are teams that get too old. Young teams have these nights, even against great old teams where the old team plays like they have a hangover. They're just not ready to go. And if you're trailing by 47 and you're in Minnesota with all that talent, they just weren't ready to go. And you see desperation from youth and content and satisfied from an old team that's banged up. That's what it looks like. Aaron Rodgers going to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. Thoughts on that? And Brad Stevens, one of the smartest guys in the NBA room of the Celtics finally says the truth about tanking. That's coming up.

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[J Mac]

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[J Mac]

Coming up Sunday, Tyler redick and Michael Jordan's 2311 race team look to continue their historic season as the NASCAR Cup Series hits Watkins Glen for Go Bowling at the Glen. Pre race coverage begins at 1:30 Eastern with the green flag at 3 only on FS1.

[Colin Cowherd]

So the 1 thing all commissioners fear is integrity issues. You can tweak rules, but it's integrity issues. You know, when Pete Rose was gambling on baseball, a lot of fans felt Major League Baseball was too hard on Pete Rose, but it was an integrity issue. And so the then commissioner was hard on Pete Rose. Like, you're done, you're out. Well, I mean, a lot of Americans bet well, there's no real proof. I mean, pizza. It was an integrity issue. And I like Adam Silver and think he's very smart, but I think he's, I think he's freaking out over the tanking issue. And that's not, it's a one year issue. I've been saying this. It is a historically great draft with like nine elite players and several of them will walk in and be like, change teams. Also, next year's draft is awful. So what you have is a historically great draft up against a historically awful Draft. What does that mean? The bad teams with GMs are like, this is the year to get a generational player. There are much bigger issues in the NBA like injuries and load management. Only 18 players played every game. You can go back a few years. It was 45, it was three times that. That's the bigger issue. But Brad Stevens, finally somebody else came out and said, this tanking thing, this is not the way it's going to be next year.

[NBA Analyst]

The other thing that you have to consider, especially for next year, is there were a lot of teams in the NBA that were playing for draft positioning this year. And that will not be the case next year. And so the league's going to be a lot better. The regular season is going to be a lot harder. And it will probably give you a better indication of what everybody really is.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, again, Utah is not as bad as they look this year. I mean, Indiana, once Halliburton got hurt, they knew the draft and they're like, let's get bad fast. So the league at the bottom was atrocious this year, but it wasn't that bad. And this is only because of a unbelievable decade best draft followed by an unbelievably bad decade worst draft, like the Anthony Bennett draft, like bad draft. You get one of those about every decade. So that forced a bunch of teams that weren't great to begin with. Let's tank. So I think Adam Silver, and this is what commissioners do, and I understand it, because integrity issues fall on the commissioner. We don't blame a commit commissioner. We don't blame Roger Goodell for the catch rule. We blame the officials. Right. Like the competition commit. You don't blame the commissioner for that. But if you had widespread cheating, then you blame the commissioner. So there's a lot of stuff the NBA needs to tweak. But the one thing that would fall on Adam Silver is tanking. Remember the Adam Silver tanking epidemic? That would fall on the commissioner. So I think the NBA is overly consumed with the tanking. And the much bigger issue is injuries and load management. I mean, outside of LeBron, nobody's ever healthy. Some guys embiid have been hurt forever, but it just feels like a lot of guys are going down because the pace of play is so fast. So we got into this. You know, I'll give you another example of this. It's like sometimes you have one offs. Like I don't play the powerball, but I do when it gets to be like $2 billion on average. If you look at who plays the Powerball in America, it tends to be lower socioeconomic groups and then it gets to be a billion dollars and almost everybody plays it. It goes up 188%, right? So it's like, oh, do you say to yourself, everybody plays the Powerball lottery? No, they don't. When you have circumstances like it goes to $2 billion, we're all stopping at gas stations, right? Like that's, that doesn't mean everybody sits and plays the Powerball, because there are studies there, we know who plays the Powerball. And it's the same with tanking. GMs don't want to tank, coaches don't want to tank, owners don't want to tank. But when you have like nine great players in a draft and you're, you're going to be like a 35 win team, why not, why not be a 25 win team? So you have these mitigating circumstances. So it's a circumstantial tanking year. The load management injury thing has been going on for five years and nobody's addressing that. That's the bigger, broader issue. That's not just about a great draft. That's a much bigger issue to me. All right, so yesterday we got into this discussion. I don't want to spend a lot of time on this, but it is interesting, is that there is a reason with most first round quarterbacks, they get drafted because they have. It's not about their college stats, it's about their traits. If you're drafting a college quarterback based on stats, it's Tim Tebow, you're a hack. He should be fired like you draft quarterbacks based on size. One of the reasons I always like Sam Darnold, big, thick, athletic, big arm, coachable, great traits. The minute he got to Carolina at the end, Minnesota, Seattle, he's win. He wins 75% of his games. Kyler Murray's not big, but he was a number one pick. And I know the GM that drafted him. Steve Kime's a buddy. He had great traits. He was the best high school football player ever out of Texas. He's incredibly elusive and he just, he, he's like Russell Wilson, but more athletic. He could have been a baseball player in the bigs, throws a great ball, but he's small. But what happens, and we see this now regularly in the NFL, if you get bad ownership chaos, wrong coach, bad old lines, quarterbacks can look really bad. And I was saying this yesterday, if you put Matt Stafford and Kyler Murray together, now think about this. Stafford has had five years of McVeigh, great ownership, Puka Nuku, A Cooper Cup, Devonte Adams, great running backs, top tight end groups. And yet Kyler Murray, who's had one Pro Bowler ever for a year that was a Pro Bowler on the O line. Ownership shaky front office now. Yikes. Average rosters. Kyler Murray not only has the same passer rating, a significantly higher completion percentage, and much more athletic and elusive than Stafford. And we all know Stafford's going to the hall of Fame. So do I think Kyler Murray's better than Stafford? No, I think Stafford's better, but it shows you if you and Matt Stafford, by the way, had Calvin Johnson, you know, like outside of Randy Moss, probably the best college receiver I ever saw play. So my take isn't that Kyler Murray's going to be a Hall of Famer. It's that he was a distracted guy from baseball to video games. Went to a bad organization that couldn't. Didn't have kind of the ability to get his act right. Right. Like he is one of those guys that will be as good as where he lands. Now. There are guys like Andrew Luck or Josh Allen. They're going to win everywhere. There's guys like Fernando Mendoza. He's going to be ethical. Good kid. Work ethic everywhere may not be great. Kyler's one of those guys to me that's very dependent on landing spot that you're going to see a massive difference in the quality of play based on where he lands. Because he is smaller, he needs more help. He, you know, his first three years in the league, people kept talking about baseball. He's also, I've been told this by players, he doesn't like to get hit. He's a smaller guy. He's a baseball guy. He don't want to get hit. But I think you're going to see a Darnold ish jump. Like again, not all quarterbacks like Daniel Jones is kind of the same guy everywhere. Big strong guy that moves well, some limitations throwing the ball. But he made the playoffs in New York. He could make the playoffs with the Colts. I kind of feel like Daniel Jones, he, you know, you're going to kind of get Daniel Jones. He's never going to be too high. Even if he had McVeigher, Andy Reid, Sean Payton, he'd never going to be, I mean, he'll always be able to like he's a big strong kid who can throw it and move very well. Limited see in the field. But I'm going to get different versions of Daniel Jones. But I know what Daniel Jones is, but Darnold Jets, Darnold Seahawks is two different quarterbacks. Baker, Cleveland Baker with Liam Cohen, OC is two different quarterbacks. I think, because Darnold wasn't a 10 out of a 10. He had a bad. He kind of had a mechanic. He had a very slow release. So he wasn't a perfect quarterback. And Baker, you know, wasn't that big and kind of overly emotional. So when you're kind of a B plus to an A minus prospect and that Kyler falls into that, where you land is a big deal. And I think you're going to see a massive jump with Kyler Murray because of Kevin o'.

[J Mac]

Connell.

[Colin Cowherd]

Now, J. Mac thinks he stinks. And he's thought this forever until they, like, meet at an event and they'll suck up to him like Mahomes. But no, here's Steve Keim.

[J Mac]

That's a red card, buddy.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, here's Steve Keim, who drafted, by the way, Steve Keim, drafted Josh Rosen, didn't work. Had to look himself in the mirror the next year, go to the owner and go, I screwed up. Let's get Kyler Murray. That's how good he is. Here's Kaim on him before the draft.

[Steve Keim]

To his credit, Kyler Murray has done some good things in the National Football League. That being said, Kyler Murray cannot play behind the sticks. Okay? He's got to eliminate negative plays and hopefully Coach, oh, Connell can do that. You know, the one thing that he cannot do is he cannot get into third and 17. He can't get into third and 12 on a regular basis. And that's sort of haunted him throughout his career. But to me, again, if you can sort of eliminate some of those flaws, you know, he's certainly got a chance to be a good player. He's got to learn how to play within the system, and he's going to learn how to do it consistent.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. And so again, when you're in a bad system and you're a player prone to kind of play out of a system, you need strong coaching and a strong system. That. That was a little Sam Darnold. Sam was such an athlete. Sam at USC played some hero ball in New York. He played some hero ball. The minute you gave Darnold the Clint Kubiak system or the Kevin o' Donnell system, all the interceptions go down, the recklessness goes down. So again, Baker, Mayfield, the ego, the emotion. When you let Baker kind of make it up, it gets ugly. When you put him in Lee and Combs system, you're like, hell, Baker's good. So again, when you have these athletes or emotional players, they're very dependent on strong coaching and a strong. Listen, you have kids and I have kids. J. Mac, not all kids are the same. You can have the same DNA, same parents. I mean, and they're wildly different. Some kids you trust when you go out with your wife. Some kids you're like, okay, you gotta sit down with a babysitter. He. You got to keep your eye on him. And I. And I feel like some quarterbacks are the same. The athletic, the elusive, the ones that have some real skills but are a little loose. They are very dependent on systems and coaches. And he never got that in Arizona.

[J Mac]

Well, when he had Cliff Kingsbury, he got to the playoffs. Cliff Kingsbury, of course, successful with Washington and the quarterback there. Here's my. My big question. You historically do not like small quarterbacks. You historically do not like guys who get injured a lot. KYLER Murray's missed 30 games in seven years. You don't like guys who wear their hat backwards. So why do you like Kyler Murray so much? Because I look at the data, Colin. He's not half the quarterback Brock Purdy is. He's not. That's what the numbers say.

[Colin Cowherd]

You'll. You'll see the truth this year,

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[Colin Cowherd]

What?

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Welcome to the history books.

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