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Colin Cowherd
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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 at noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
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Colin Cowherd
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in hour two, NFL draft release. Tonight, everybody's getting into their James Harden fields. Settle down, everybody. Couple of nice playoff games. Settle down. It does not undo his playoff resume. I mean, forget his playoff resume. Even during the Cleveland Cavaliers playoff run this year, this postseason, he's had four plus turnovers in nine games. He's had as many or more turnovers and field goals made in four games. I mean, Toronto was an average team. Toronto took the Cavs seven. There was a four game stretch. He had more turnovers than field goals made. Let's go way back in history to games one and two of this series against Detroit where he had 11 turnovers in the first two games and nine made baskets. Listen, James has always been. Here's the good report card on James Harden's playoff history. Six different teams, he's had 30 plus points in a game. Here's the bad report card. Five times teams have said, yeah, thanks, we're good here. So with James Harden, you know, you get, you get a lot, a lot of activity, a lot of turnovers, a lot of points and a lot of teams that move on. I thought last night he had good playoff games, but at the beginning of this series it was brutal and the Toronto series was brutal. So and, and, and you hope if you're a Cavs fan, it doesn't go seven because James, who's got the ball a lot in his hands, not sure he's in the best shape relative to other NBA stars. He has been a bad game seven performer. He's a Hall of Famer, he's an all timer, he's a beautiful offensive player. But he, and he had a great game last night. He deserves credit. But it was mostly Detroit just couldn't get a basket. Here's hard and after I've only been
NBA Player (Donovan Mitchell)
here two and a half months, you know what I mean? So like the things that we were going through is all new, you know, so like learning how to be, you know, a second option and feed and play off Donovan, you know, when to be aggressive, finding when to be aggressive, when to be a playmaker and things like that. So. And then offensively finding what works for us, you know, for me to be successful, to get guys, you know, shots and open looks. So it all comes together and I think we're building in the right direction.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, we will have. This is one of these topics that during the commercial breaks and we have Laker fans. J. Mac's a Laker fan. I've always watched the Lakers. Ryan's a big Laker fan. So I keep asking everybody, am I missing something here? Which is there is a story, ESPN Dave McManaman wrote that it's good Reporting here and Jason knows him. I've met him, I don't know him. That LeBron. There was a big moment. LeBron broke the all time record for combined wins and he felt slighted. LeBron felt slighted that he didn't get the game ball. And my take is, and this is the video of it, that J.J. redick and LeBron are very, very, very, very, very tight. If J.J. redick, who got the ball from Rob Pelinka, if JJ thought it was a huge moment, I trust JJ's intellectual and his intuitive nature. He would have stopped everything and said, hey, before, before I get any love here, let's go to the King. And they didn't do it. Rob didn't do it. J.J. didn't do it. It wasn't that big of a moment. Now, LeBron could be getting more sentimental. I, in my life, maybe you can agree with this. As we age, we all get more sentimental. You cry easier, you're thinking about your legacy, your kids, your life, and maybe that's it. But I would say this. In Hollywood, in almost every industry, you know what the big moments are like in Hollywood. Winning the Oscar, being a number one box office hit, Those are the grand slams. Lifetime achievement award or a Golden Globe, which you basically buy aren't as big. Lifetime achievement award is like, hey man, you've been great. We had to give it to somebody. I mean, honestly, they give those things out. You've been a great steward for the industry. That's not as big as an Oscar. If you ask Martin Scorsese, he wants Oscars, he wants a number one movie, the Irishman. It's very nice to get that lifetime achievement award. It is very nice, but it's not that big. When LeBron broke the all time scoring record, they stopped the game. That, that, that is a big one. Like in football, I could see stopping a football game for you just broke the all time NFL touchdown record. You're a running back, you're Christian McCaffrey, let's say. I don't even know who has the record. Christian McCaffrey scores a touchdown and they stop the game, they take the ball. Most touchdowns ever by an NFL player. That is a most points ever in basketball. But I'm not real sentimental when it comes to records. I'm not a record guy. I'm not, I've never have been. I don't know. Brady probably has 30 records. LeBron could have 50 iron. I know when LeBron broke Kareem for all time points, that felt big. That block against the Warriors Game seven, that felt massive. His first title in Cleveland, his first title in Miami. The title. There's been five or six moments for LeBron. I'm like, hey, tip of the cap. You're unbelievable. You start getting into lifetime achievement awards, Golden Globes, most combined minutes, most combined wins. I don't know. But I'm not an awards guy. So Dan Woi will join us. I. Maybe I'm just too jaded, but I asked Laker guys, J. Mac doesn't think it's that big. Ryan is like, it's not that big. I think LeBron's aging. And I also think this LeBron's competitive. And I think. I also don't buy the Lakers haven't treated him well. They draft his kid. The AD move, the Luca move, the Westbrook move. They ran through coaches. They ran through. They've had four coaches in like six years. That's because LeBron wasn't happy. So it doesn't feel. And they, and they, they always say nice stuff about it. Now, again, LeBron can criticize. I don't like some of our moves. Well, that is fair, but that's not. You can't. I can't rip my boss because I don't agree with everything they did in programming.
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, it's tough. Listen, LeBron is. He's at a crossroads, Colin. He has two choices. Take a major pay cut and stay with the Lakers or retire. Nobody's paying him 50 million. We've established that. Yeah, but it's tough for LeBron, who's still an almost an all NBA level guy, to take a major pay cut. And I'm just telling you right now, I can sense it coming. There's going to be stories about Palinka's offseason moves when J.J. reddick on the bench and says, I can't play him about deandre Ayton. That's a Pelinka guy. Did you notice in game four, Ayton was benched in the fourth quarter? They went with Jackson Hayes and then, oh, by the way, Jake Laravia. That's a Palinka move. He was benched the last two games of the series. So you build this case against the guy, you don't like you. You get him rubbed out off the team, and then LeBron takes his pay cut because he feels like that's a win. You know, there's some guys like that, Colin.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, well, here's the thing. The new owners of the Lakers, they have. They don't owe LeBron anything.
Jason McIntyre
Correct.
Colin Cowherd
They. They remember when they, when that group Came in, they got rid of Cody Bellinger, Manny Machado, Corey Seeger, Trey Turner. Those are great. Trey Turner, didn't he win the batting title? Yeah, he's a great. Corey Seeger's the first or second best Texas Ranger. These are. Manny Machado's an All Star. The Dodgers moved off, I think at one point, Zach Greenke, early in the process, as they built, as they were building their greatness, they've moved off All Stars to get better players. This. This group, they know. Luca, is it, right? Luca. Six more years, hopefully five more in his prime. And I do think they like Austin Reeves. They're not going to let Austin go for nothing.
Jason McIntyre
One of Dan Wilkie's articles, Colin Luca said, I want Austin Reeves. I want to play with him. I want him wingman.
Colin Cowherd
And that matters.
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, no, that's huge. I know you don't think he's in the Kyrie Irving role. I did find some stats that say basically he's 85% of Kyrie and Dallas. And then you've just got to Wonder, where does LeBron fit on that kind of roster?
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, it's.
Jason McIntyre
I don't have an answer.
Colin Cowherd
Genesis. The genesis of this discussion is based on an article where LeBron felt slighted because he did not get a game ball when he broke Kareem's record of most combined wins, which I'm arguing they have gone out of their way to be pro. LeBron, and I mean drafting his son, which I said, bad draft, second round, why not? I mean, I throw a draft pick at DNA of LeBron.
Jason McIntyre
So let me ask you, Colin. So LeBron is. There's nothing wrong with just walking away from the sport.
Colin Cowherd
Right?
Jason McIntyre
John Elway won a Super bowl and retired.
Colin Cowherd
Well, he's still really good. Tom Brady didn't want to walk away. And at 45, he was still excellent.
Jason McIntyre
So there is a world where LeBron could just say, you know, I'm done. My problem is I think he's probably got some unfinished business. I think he would love one more title.
Colin Cowherd
Okay, let me throw this out there. This was rumored, I think Nick Wright. I apologize if Nick Wright didn't start this, but I think it was Nick who suggested just a trade. LeBron for Mikhail Bridges of the Knicks. Well. Well, first of all, Mikhail is. I'd like Jaden McDaniels more, but.
Jason McIntyre
But Mikhail G. You mean OG no,
Colin Cowherd
no, no, no, no. The T. Wolves have a player I think fits the Lakers and solves a lot of their problems, but Mikhail Bridges is. Mikhail kind of a Poor Man's Jaden McDaniels. Arguably they're three and the guys fine. But what's interesting about that, I've always believed this. If you're going to get a divorce, this has always been my rule. If you're going to get a divorce, you're going to let Brett Favre go, you're going to let Aaron Rodgers go. All you guys out there, you're getting a divorce. You do realize she's going to date a hunk and Favre's going to win and Brady's going to win. If you're going to let LeBron go to the Knicks, you better believe he is going to play his arse off to prove you made a huge mistake. He would be. I'll tell you something. If you put LeBron on the Knicks, I'll say it. Tape this. Ryan, are we taping? If LeBron goes to the Knicks, Knicks will win the championship. They'll win one, they won't win two. LeBron will be unbelievable. This is when. When Favre went to Minnesota or Aaron, you know, when you move off a player and he feels slighted. Yeah, because LeBron's big issue is LeBron's still great. And he would also go to a team that had Mitchell Robinson, rim protector Jalen Brunson. So LeBron would go to a much better roster.
Jason McIntyre
I'm sorry, the Lakers need more than Mikhail Bridges. Mikhail Bridges has turned it around recently.
Colin Cowherd
That's Mikhail Bridges. Two draft picks.
Jason McIntyre
I. I mean, listen, that Bridges could fit like the Derrick Jones role. Derrick Jones with the Mavs was like the wing defender, hit some threes. But by the way, it just got me thinking. So LeBron goes to New York, they win the championship. When, when people get divorced, I'm told usually one or both parties have what's
Colin Cowherd
called a glow up.
Jason McIntyre
Right. The guy will start on GLP drug and get ripped. Right. Or the lady will get like a makeover, get some work done, and all of a sudden they. Whoa, whoa. How did you let this person go? I just don't know how LeBron could play that much better than he has with the Lakers. Is that even possible?
Colin Cowherd
Well, he would go to a much
Jason McIntyre
better team and maybe do let less burden.
Colin Cowherd
I mean, if you took the Knicks roster and the Lakers roster. The Knicks roster has. It's way more complimentary. They have. I mean, they have like three guys. They have OGs and Elite Defender. Josh Hart's an elite defender. Mitchell Robinson's an elite defender. Lakers don't have a single elite defender.
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, when OG Anunoby goes down. Oh no, it could be a series. I mean, they still run away from the Sixers to win, too, because they got Landry Shamit, who's pretty damn good, Alvarado on the like, they got guys that they're deep. The Lakers, they don't have that right now.
Colin Cowherd
I know.
Jason McIntyre
I, I do like fake LeBron trades. It's going to get us good up until the World cup. We could do 30 more days of this, right?
Colin Cowherd
Yes. I just, you know, Channing Fries joining us today. Then Wikey will have some thoughts on this.
Jason McIntyre
Want more? Heard the herd streams 24 hours a
Colin Cowherd
day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
Jason McIntyre
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast Straight fire with Jason McEntire. This isn't your typical sports pod, pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the Sportsbook and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight fire with Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts
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Kyle Boone
Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.
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If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.
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Colin Cowherd
Drew Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting.
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Colin Cowherd
you get your podcast. I don't know if you guys have noticed this. I'm not gonna spend too much time on this. But if you noticed this week all the cat fighting in the sec, football coaches, Lane Kiffin taking shots at Ole Miss, Sark jumps in, shots at Ole Miss. Florida's coach weighs in and you know what it reminds me of? You ever see those shows Housewives, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City or New Jersey or Orange county or Beverly Hills, where you get these kind of dysfunctional, good looking, attractive couples that have wealth but not real wealth. Like, like the richest people in Beverly Hills have 35 foot hedges. They pay monthly fines, 60 security cameras. You're going to find in life, folks, that real power, real wealth, real works in the shadows, not in the sunlight. Those are the really wealthy people in Utah and Beverly Hills and Orange County. So, you know, I feel like the SEC has become the Real Housewives. They don't really have the power they used to and they've aged and they're a little dysfunctional. The real power now, the real wealth is the Big Ten. They've surpassed the SEC in revenue, the revenue expectations, they're 30% over that. They're in bigger cities. Natty, natty, Natty. All the sports. And I feel like the SEC has become the Real Housewives of the sec. Everybody's taking shots and throwing drinks in each other's face, and they're making a lot of noise, and there's a lot of commotion. And the Big Ten is quietly. You know, they're the CEO of the Waste Management Company, the founder of the Waste Management Company, who's actually the richest guy in town times 10, and he's just staying out of the sunlight. They're just keeping quiet. And the SEC got Kiffin throwing a drink, and old Mrs. Face and Starks throwing one, and they're throwing high heels at each other, and they're screaming and making all sorts of noise. And the real wealth in towns, the Big Ten, they're like, look at those silly kids. Big Ten, man. I just saw their. Their revenue. I just talked to a Big Ten athletic director yesterday. The. Their revenue projections were huge. They blew through them. Blew through them. You see Ohio State's roster? 45 million. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd line news.
Jason McIntyre
Real Housewives of the sec. That's. That's a top five take for you. I don't know. I mean, that's. I like it. You know what else I like is the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. Colin. Oh, boy. You know, like, listen, sometimes we're in the prediction business, and when you get them right, you get them right. Now, we did get a little lucky. Cleveland at the end of the crazy. Okay, so Jared Allen is going for a ball after Donovan Mitchell was stripped. And Thompson is going for it as well. Allen steps on his foot.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Jason McIntyre
But then kind of leg whips him. It looked unintentional. Here it is. And. But the problem is this leg whip right there looks like a trip. Now, Pistons coach J.B. bickerstaff was irate. Here he is after the game. Hey, Coach, did they give you a reason why there was no foul call on his. On Jared Allen on that trip?
Kyle Boone
He found a sar. It's bad. I mean, clear. He trips him when he's going for a loose ball in the game situation. You know, that's tough.
Jason McIntyre
Well, listen, I. I don't know. The announcers initially were like, oh, it's a trip. But then you look at the replay and you're like, it doesn't look intentional.
Colin Cowherd
It's.
Jason McIntyre
I don't want a game decided with one Second left on two guys going for a loose ball.
Colin Cowherd
Every Piston fan's going to say it's intentional. I've seen. Who's that kid that played at Duke in Milwaukee and Phoenix and Allen. Yeah. I've seen his trips. I've seen Draymond Green's trips. I've seen intentional Mac Jones kneeing people or kicking people in the groin. Like, I've seen intentional. That doesn't feel.
Jason McIntyre
I know Pistons fans are outraged. You guys lost. You blew it. Like you said, nine, nothing run at the end in the final three minutes. And then they weren't.
Colin Cowherd
They weren't even getting good shots. They had four. Loss of possession.
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
Colin Cowherd
Turnovers, shot clock violations in the fourth.
Jason McIntyre
Also, we haven't mentioned his name. Hour and a half in. We got to give Max Stru a shout out. Six threes last night. I mean, I don't know what took Kenny Atkinson, like, why are you playing Dean Wade? I'll just say this Max Stru was so impressive with, like, loose balls. Hustle. I looked up his contract to see if the Lakers could go get him, but he's on the hook for 16 million next year. Great game, Great win for the Cavs. But as you said, this is not 100% over.
Colin Cowherd
Listen, Cavs had not won a road game. They hadn't won a road game. And also James Harden, I know can go kooky. Maduki off the reservation here. He can have bad, bad turnover games. I mean, with James, you get. Usually you get a 30 burger or you get a bunch of turnovers. So you got to be careful here. I mean, listen, you and I know this. Detroit's got a better defensive roster. Cavs have a better offensive roster. I mean, you got Harden's cooking. Donovan Mitchell's a bucket. They just got more guys that can get. Mobley hit a big three for them last night. Like it. They've got more bucket.
Jason McIntyre
Who's your. What's your best guess in both game sixes Friday? Spurs close it out on the road or cast it out at home?
Colin Cowherd
Spurs close it out on the road.
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Jason McIntyre
I can see the Pistons being angry. Jalen Duran. I got benched.
Colin Cowherd
Listen, they led the game by nine. They were controlling the tempo. They were controlling the. I could see Detroit. I'll say we'll go to a game seven.
Jason McIntyre
Oh, if that happens, forget it. You know, Hardens history. It's over. All right, let's go. Hey, wnba. I think it was two years ago. We were talking about this league a ton, and now not as much. But Caitlin Clark was out here in LA last night. I didn't even know it or we would have tried to go to the game. My fans, my family or fans. Caitlin Clark kind of struggling. We'll talk about that in a sec. But the fever get the win over the LA sparks. Clark had 24 and nine assists. Here she is talking about recovering from an injury. Remember, she missed most of last season with soft tissue injuries.
Caitlin Clark
The hardest part of injury, it's still something I'm really battling, kind of almost struggling with is just like the mental hump of getting over everything. And like, I understand my body almost too well to a point now. And something. It's probably something I wasn't enough in touch with before my injuries, and now I understand it very well. And so it's like you just become hyper cautious to certain things. And, you know, I think that moment in the game where, you know, obviously my back tightened up, I think I almost got confidence from that because I came back in and I played eight more minutes, so. And I felt great the last eight minutes. So I think it's something I can take confidence from. But it's going to take me a little bit to, like, really get over this mental hurdle of, like, trusting my body.
Colin Cowherd
For the record, the WNBA officiating is the opposite of the NBA, where in the regular season they just let you attack each other and don't blow fouls. And women's basketball is not as vertical as men. It's a horizontal league. So there's a lot of contact at the wnba. A lot of times in the NBA, dudes jump over you. It becomes a very vertical game that you can't, you know, literally that just becomes vertical. That's not WNBA basketball. And so the game is officiated very loosely in the regular season, which has been a complaint. Wouldn't you think? The key to this league is keeping Caitlin Clark, at least in the regular season, on the floor.
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, 100%. Now you. Let's drill down on Clark for a second. So I, again, I'm not locked in on WNBA yet, Right. And I see your guy, Strauss. What's his face? Strauss.
Colin Cowherd
You know the guy, Ethan Strauss.
Jason McIntyre
Ethan Strauss. He put out a big article about Caitlin Clark struggles, you know, and I started looking online like an idiot. Right. If you get diagnosed with something, you don't Google it because it's all negative stuff. I start looking up Caitlin Clark and all these people are saying she's washed, she was overrated. She leads the league in turnovers. Okay? She's shooting 3 for 16 it's a two game sample size when she just missed almost all of last season. Can. Can we take a deep breath? I mean, I, I don't know, Kyle. I don't know if you've seen this yet or, or if it's worth getting into over two games, but there is a big backlash on Clark right now.
Colin Cowherd
From who?
Jason McIntyre
The Internet.
Kyle Boone
All online.
Jason McIntyre
Go online and it's all negative stuff. Now we know she's a divisive player just because she's existing and like, you know, whatever, but I don't know. Have you seen any of this? Do you put any credence in it?
Colin Cowherd
No, I think she's Paul. I mean, I think there, there was a certain Zeit just, you know, I mean, it. That. That existed for about a year. It was so new and fresh. Like Steph Curry, people still love him, but when he broke into the league for a couple years, it was like, oh my God, you got to see Curry play. I don't think it feels like that, but I think she was a. Her game is fun. She's Midwest America. I think she's liked. I mean, I think she's beloved.
Jason McIntyre
Well, you know, there are some struggles, but we, I believe in Clark. I mean, listen, when you come back off a major injury, they got some new players. Part of the thing was when she got hurt last year, the team went on a run, they got into the playoffs and did some damage. So I don't know, I mean, I'll watch a little closer, but it's weird, people. It's, you know, the Internet's stupid. They're rooting for her to fail. A lot of people, it's like 50, 50, right? All right, final story con. Let's go to the NBA. No game tonight. Game six tomorrow in Minnesota. Anthony Edwards trying to stave off elimination. He says he's not worried after the game five blowout. I mean, they lost by like close to 40. I don't see how he couldn't be. But here's ultra confident Anthony Edwards.
Kyle Boone
I don't see nobody in the locker room that's too worried. At the end of the day, man, it's another basketball game. So you come out, put your boots on and get ready to go to war.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, two really, really deep, good teams. I think the story of it has been to some degree Dylan Harper, who has been cooking people in the series.
Jason McIntyre
So by the way, do you want to guess who the highest paid player is on the Spurs? This is why they're so good.
Colin Cowherd
De' Aaron Fox.
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, he makes exactly what Luka Doncic does this year. Luka is by far the Lakers best player. De' Aaron Fox is like their third best player in the series. Well, in the series he's shooting terribly, he's struggling against Jaden McDaniels. But like if your third best player is your highest, it's like AJ Mitchell, he's the 16th highest paid player on the, on the Thunder and he just had an incredible series. That's how these guys are so good. Like Castle's making nothing. Harper, Wemby, they're all on rookie deals.
Colin Cowherd
Well, that's why we say this about the 49ers drafting matters.
Jason McIntyre
Oh, huge.
Colin Cowherd
I mean, it's easy. You know, the NBA used to be more of a big budget movie. You just collected stars. Whatever it cost, it cost. You know, the Lakers used to be when it was just like get to la, the old cba, you could collect stars. That's not the new NBA, that's not the new Hollywood. It is about how you can work around the cap, smaller budgets, it's harder to get movies made, it's harder to win in the NBA. You have to have elite front office personnel. You've got to have guys, three or four or five guys in your roster that are productive on one end of the floor, maybe both. And you're not paying anything to.
Jason McIntyre
By the way, you mentioned the Niners when I was hosting for you last week. A couple guys on staff, floating John lynch hot seat. I mean, I'm sure you see his draft is being picked apart every year. Yeah, I'm just The rope these GMs are getting is a lot less in basketball and football given the pressure to deliver these young guys in the draft.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, J. Mac with the news.
Kyle Boone
Well, that's the news.
Colin Cowherd
And thanks for stopping by the Herd line. I didn't address this much yesterday because we had other things to talk about, but. But a story that developed yesterday was LeBron James apparently loves JJ Redick, but kind of felt slighted in late March, didn't get a game ball for the all time combined wins record, which doesn't feel that significant. You know, I mean I said in Hollywood, Oscars matter. And number one at the box office matters. Lifetime achievement awards, Golden Globes, certainly. Nice. Maybe you have an extra glass of champagne that night, but it's not something, you know, you spend a lot of time worrying about or talking about. Apparently LeBron was a little. Felt a little disrespected. I just don't buy the Lakers have disrespected him ad Westbrook fired coaches until they got it right. Drafted Bronnie. They always are nice. Publicly. Dan Woieke covers the Lakers for the Athletic. That's what he does. I mean, let's just throw that out there. I feel that publicly they've been very upfront. They've made some moves. Brawny in a weak draft. I mean, I don't think there was a lot of people going to draft him. I don't think Polinka's anti LeBron. But I also think when. When you have superstars, the movie studio has to treat, you know, the Rock differently than everybody else. Do you think there's a belief in the LeBron camp that they. Palinka's not on their side?
Kyle Boone
Well, is LeBron the rock in this scenario? Because, I mean, I think that's. That's probably right. Like, is probably part of the issue. And, like, you would give the Rock the game ball. You wouldn't give it to the director. You know, I mean, like, I think. I think what it is. Colin and I can't speak to, like, you know, what LeBron felt in this moment. I think, though, more holistically speaking. Right. I do think that value and appreciation, particularly for a player at LeBron's stage of his career, is as important as anything. And just inherently, the way the Lakers have moved away from him towards Luka Doncic, which is smart. It's what the future demands. Right. Like, it's what you should do. It has come with things that have probably lowered their level of appreciation and lower their level of, like, sort of like they've. They've kind of. I don't want to say they haven't moved on, but, like, he's no longer their priority. Right. And when you're not, he's been the priority of every team he has been on for 27 years. And when you were not. And Sammy Mc and I wrote about this, you know, the messaging around the team was when they asked LeBron to take that. That kind of third option role was like, you need to be empathetic to this because the human being element of this is that it is not easy to slide back to that.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Kyle Boone
You know, like. Like, Colin, if you had to go sit in J. Mac's chair for. For a week, like, it'd be hard. Like, it'd be. It'd be rough. It would be tough in front of the Fox studio. You'd have. You'd have to listen to Jason's like, San Francisco 49ers takes. It'd be it'. Nightmare. Like, You. I think that that has been an issue, and I think LeBron handled it really well throughout the season. I think the Lakers obviously handled it pretty well. They went 15 and two in. In March. We're trending in a pretty good direction until everybody got hurt. I do think, though, that there are just some sort of inherent awkwardnesses that come from what they. What. What they tried to accomplish in terms of shifting the direction of their roster.
Colin Cowherd
Now, new owners who have moved off great Dodgers, Machado, Bellinger, Turner, Sager. This is a bus family didn't have the capital. Bus family felt maybe they owed something. I don't think this ownership group feels that way. I mean, how do you think the new owners view LeBron as necessary or not?
Kyle Boone
Baseball is different than basketball in the sense that it is. It is easier to replace stars, right? It just is like, you know, you. You move off of Trey Turner to get Mookie bets, right? Like, there's. There's always someone else next. I think the NBA doesn't work that way. I do think Mark Walter and their group understands that. But, you know, Rob Plinker said it. We've reported it. Priority number one, this offseason necessarily isn't LeBron James's decision. The top priority is how do we build the best roster on Luka Doncic. That is the priority. And. And LeBron fits in that. He does fit in that scenario. Again, 15 and 2 in March. Luca talked about it. Thought they had a chance to contend from that stretch. He enjoyed playing with them in that. In that they, you know, they get along fine in the locker room. Like, I think the issue is more just sort of like, they have a. They have a number of needs and, you know, how big of the piece is going to have to go to keep LeBron James. And, like, what does that do to your ability to make other moves, both in the short term and long term? And I think that is yet to be determined.
Colin Cowherd
I have had. For years, I have defended LeBron to friends of mine who are like, oh, they're always like, he's needy. It's always about him. He's always like, you know, on social media, he's. He cares too much about image. And I've pushed back, and I'm like, you know, so does everybody in Hollywood. So does every politician. I'm not going to crush him for that.
Kyle Boone
He's at the second best player of all time, at worst player of all.
Colin Cowherd
Whereas Jordan's like, you know, Jordan was always like, republicans buy sneakers, too. I don't care what you think? There is an argument. Kobe didn't care as much, Michael didn't care as much, Duncan didn't care. Is some of the. I guess what I'm saying is, is. Is LeBron a little thin skinned for how great he is? Shouldn't he just be able to be like, listen, man, I'm in year 23.
Kyle Boone
I mean, so I don't want. Actually, I do want to do this because I love doing this stuff. Colin, I know you do too. Let's psychoanalyze for a second.
Colin Cowherd
Okay?
Kyle Boone
Right. This is. This is our favorite thing. I mean, LeBron James is of the Internet in a way that none of those other people are. Like, the Internet has been a part of his life, you know, basically part of his adult life, like, in totality. Right. Like, there's that. That amazing photo or gif of him as a kid, you know, at 17, 18 years old, at a WWF event with, like, his flip phone taking pictures. Right. Like, he entered the sort of technological Internet space as he began maturity. And that is a place, like, where we all live. Like, you know, I'm. We're roughly the same age as LeBron James. I spend way too much time online and way too much time participating. Way too much time listening to what people say and what they think and, you know, what they're gonna say about my hair or how messy my bedroom is on this hit. Like, it's all part of, like, just life when you're on the Internet. And I do think it is actually like, one of the more. It's. It's a pretty off, like a pretty authentic thing about him is that he does, like, participate in this stuff. He hears things, he knows things, he's aware, he compartmentalizes. Obviously it doesn't affect him and how he, like, moves and how he handles a lot of the time. But I think, yeah, I mean, he knows it is to me. Is it thin skin? I don't think so. I mean, I think, again, like, the stuff that he is judging himself against are such high standards. It's not like, is he one of the best players in the NBA? Is he the best person to ever touch a basketball? Right. Like, that's the real argument. And the question isn't like, you know, am I. Am I an important player to the Laker? It's a. Am I the most important? Like, these are all, like, they're at such levels of extremes that. That I think, you know, when you deal with these questions with nuance, like, it gets lost. Like. Yeah, I mean, you. You kind of mentioned, you know, the, the all times, you know, it doesn't seem like that big a deal. Like, let's just take a step. If for anybody else, somebody who has won more basketball games in the NBA than anybody else is a big deal. But the real context of all of this stuff, Colin, was that happened in the same month that he set the record for making more baskets than anybody else in the NBA. It happened in the same month where he set the record for playing in more games.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, he just. Every, every month there's a more.
Kyle Boone
There's an unending number of these accomplishments. Right. The oldest player to ever have a triple double. He scored more points than anybody else. He's played more minutes in the NBA than anybody else. It's hard. I know for me, when I write about him, it's hard sometimes because you're like, like they're all these greatests and you can't, you can't keep writing Est at the end of everything. It gets boring.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Kyle Boone
And so you have to try to find your ways.
Colin Cowherd
I mean, J.J. reddick's busy. He can't wait. Hey, what records LeBron breaking tonight? I don't want to offend him. Like, at some point, JJ had, I
Kyle Boone
mean, nobody had anything to do with this. J.J. had nothing to do with this. And Dave reported this. And I mean, LeBron and JJ are fine. I think, you know, JJ coached LeBron while the reason, in part, while, like, and I'll just say this in general about, like, if LeBron was miserable with the Lakers like this, this stuff exists in the margins. But if LeBron was miserable with the Lakers, he wouldn't accept it. A third role he wouldn't have. If he hated Luka Doncic, he wouldn't have volunteered to have Luka be announced last and LeBron would be announced first. Even in these playoff games, when they were to announce starters, they announced LeBron James first, they announced Austin Reeves last. He has done selfless things behind the scenes to try to make this all work. He cares about winning.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Kyle Boone
Cares about his teammates.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Kyle Boone
I get, you know, and stuff like that. And is he occasionally annoyed with the fact that maybe, you know, after eight years, they, you know, they don't look at him the same way that they used to because they've got their eyes on someone else. I'm sure he does. That is such a human thing to do. And he's a very, like, he is very. To your point about him maybe being too thin skinned. He is very human in that way. Do I think this precludes The Lakers and LeBron James working together potentially in the future? No, I mean, here's the other thing we haven't said at all during the segment column. We don't know if LeBron James wants to play basketball next year. We don't know. We just don't know yet. He's going to figure that out here in the next few weeks. And my anticipation is it won't be like, he won't come out and say, like, I'm back. My anticipation is that it'll be something like, where it's like, all right, like, I think I'm willing to consider this. Like, let's take some meetings and figure out because, like, for the first time in his career, like, truly, like, he does not control what comes next. He is an unrestricted free agent, does not have an option he can opt into. There's not unlimited cap space all around the NBA to pay him what he's worth. He's definitely going to take a pay cut. It'll be the first time, Colin, in his entire career that his salary next year will be lower than the one it was the prior, the year prior.
Colin Cowherd
Dan Woicke covers the Lakers for the Athletic. Good scene. Your hair is good, by the way. I think it looks great.
Kyle Boone
Thanks, Colin. I appreciate it. Appreciate it. Yeah, I'm gonna mute the comments. Thanks. Good looking out.
Colin Cowherd
Dan Woikie. Yeah, you know, it's I, and, and by the way, I have a bias. I'm not an awards guy, you know that I've never been kind of like into that stuff. Some people really care about it. You know, I remember when I was in local TV and there were people that they, I mean, they wanted to win that local Emmy so badly. And I get it. You know, I'm out here giving sports scores and having a great life and they're, you know, they're out covering Metro beat and doing hard work and, and some people, awards matter more, too. So maybe I'm being too flip that I don't care. You know, there is a possibility that I'm wrong. It's infrequent, but whatever.
Jason McIntyre
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Colin Cowherd
the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio.
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Robert Smigel
SNL late night Comedy guy Not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier this week. My guests, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter.
Kyle Boone
Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.
Robert Smigel
Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Jason McIntyre
Hey, I'm Gerard o'. Donnell. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out help on the Internet.
Colin Cowherd
Somebody please.
Jason McIntyre
But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope From a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Psych. I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Cream of Chicken Soup Hey Cream. Cream of Chicken Soup. This is Help from a Hypocrite. The worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Cultura Podcast Network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The greatest spectacle in racing is coming. We're just 10 days away from the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. Don't miss the pageantry and tradition of the biggest race in Motorsports, the Indy 500. Sunday, May 24th on Fox.
Colin Cowherd
Listen, good news, bad news. J. Mac, as you sit there in the comfy studio in Los Angeles, the bad news is super El Nino's coming. It's going to get a little dry. And the good news looks like Spencer Pratt's going to be your mayor.
Jason McIntyre
Wow. Go in politics in the second hour. Dangerous, dangerous. How's Pritzker doing there in Chicago? I know nothing. That was a joke. I'm not following this stuff.
Colin Cowherd
No, you know, listen, there are some things I've always believed that what the America likes in sports, I like in sports. I love the NFL. I love college football. I love March Madness, I love Augusta. And then there's one or two things that you love that I don't get. I've never watched the Pro Bowl. I think it's, I can't watch football if it doesn't matter. If I see the number for it every year. I don't even get it. If I was commissioner of the NFL, I'd cancel it. And the other thing is the Home Run Derby, I don't get it. Like I, you know, I like postseason baseball. You know, a big Fenway Park, Red Sox, Yankee series 10 years ago was magic. But I'll tell you, and I don't know how you feel because I've never really seen the ratings of it. I love the schedule release. I'll spend three hours tonight going through schedule releases of the NFL. You know, I want to see the Monday night, the Fox games, the Thursday games. I want to see all of it. I said earlier, I'm very interested on the 49ers. We've talked about that. I don't think people, for years and years, people said that schedules don't matter. They obviously matter. I mean, like there, when, when you travel west to east, west to east, you, it's very difficult for a western team to travel east because you lose three hours. I know this now cause I live in Chicago and when I, when I go back to la, I love the fact that I, I pick up two hours. I love that, you know, you take off at a certain hour and it's not that late. You can get in, have some dinner. But it, if you're a Seattle team or San Francisco and you're traveling across the country and you're losing three hours and you have an early window 10am Eastern game. It is. There is. I mean, a lot of teams want to get there earlier. Sometimes they'll stay out east. Some teams that travel west east to west will stay out west. It matters. When is your bye week? Especially if you have an old team, San Francisco. When is your bye week? Now, I've said this before, like Denver was kind of a young team last year. I was like, I don't know, like certain times, if you're a young team, I don't want a buy into the playoffs. Like I want a young team. Seattle don't want to buy week. Get the Seahawks. They want to keep playing older teams. You know, you've got older teams. Toughest schedules. The Giants have the toughest schedule last year and did not do well. The if you go to the last 10 years, the Falcons are the last team to have the toughest schedule. The number one rated schedule and win a playoff game. They got to the super bowl and lost. You know, it's something I don't know how much it is. A lot of these teams weren't necessarily, you know, Raiders, Browns, Giants weren't necessarily very good. I think schedule matters less. The better your coach and the better your quarterback. Buffalo's gonna win games. I don't care what their schedule is. Now I think, for instance, I think Chicago and Detroit are very even. The Lions over under is ten and a half. The Bears is nine and a half. I think Chicago is better than Detroit because I like the coach and the quarterback. But I do think the schedule for Detroit is so much easier than Chicago. Or the perception is that's going to matter a game or a game. Game and a half. Like I think it does matter. But I think both I have both Detroit and Chicago getting into the playoffs. I don't think it knocks a good team out of the playoffs. Get you a better seat, maybe. Hour three Coming up. Channing Frank five Still hurting
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Colin Cowherd
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Robert Smigel
Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier this week. My guests, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter.
Kyle Boone
Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.
Robert Smigel
Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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This is an iHeart podcast.
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Date: May 14, 2026
Main Themes:
Hour 2 of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" explores the contrasting playoff careers of NBA stars James Harden and LeBron James, with debates over Harden’s legacy and LeBron’s role and recognition amidst Lakers’ transition. The episode features guest contributions from Jason McIntyre and Dan Woike, and covers recent playoff games, trade scenarios, WNBA storylines, and insights into organizational dynamics in both basketball and football.
Opening Analysis (02:21):
"You get a lot...a lot of activity, a lot of turnovers, a lot of points and a lot of teams that move on." — Colin Cowherd [03:11]
Supporting Player Thoughts (04:21):
Colin reacts to a report that LeBron felt underappreciated for not receiving the game ball after breaking the record for most combined wins.
Contextualizes the importance (or not) of such milestones:
Colin is "not sentimental when it comes to records," feeling this moment wasn’t significant enough for a halt in the action.
He attributes LeBron’s reaction partly to aging and increased sentimentality.
Suggests LeBron has been accommodated by Laker management, including drafting Bronny and making roster changes to suit LeBron.
Memorable Quote:
"I'm not real sentimental when it comes to records...Brady probably has 30 records. LeBron could have 50." — Colin Cowherd [07:10]
Colin: “It's hard...when you write about him, it's hard sometimes because they're all these greatests, and you can't, you can't keep writing 'est' at the end of everything. It gets boring.” [37:56]
Woike: LeBron’s ongoing records lessen the impact of each; for the Lakers, priorities have shifted, and there’s candid uncertainty about his level of involvement next season.
Notable Exchange:
"We don't know if LeBron James wants to play basketball next year." — Kyle Boone [39:55]
Opinionated, conversational, humorous, and sometimes irreverent—Colin Cowherd leads with strong takes, candid analogies, and approachable sports insights. Discussions transition fluidly between analytical breakdown, media gossip, psychology, and playful banter with Jason McIntyre and guests.
This episode is a definitive snapshot of contemporary NBA culture, star dynamics, and how both media and management narratives swirl around legacies like LeBron’s. Listeners curious about playoff context, front-office decision-making, and sports media’s role in shaping storylines will find rich, engaging commentary and plenty of bold predictions.