← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
THE HERD - Hour 2 - Miles Simon, Top 5 NBA predictions, too many red flags concerning Darryn Peterson.
00:42:52
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Now let's get this party started.
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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio
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welcome back. Our number two here on the herd, Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd. It's a, it's been a fun morning so far. Only one hour in the books. Two hours left. I'm joined by Rachel Nichols. And I don't think people are going to like us, Rachel, once you start talking about Mr. Darren Peterson of Kansas. Fun topic. We will talk to Miles Simon. Honestly, one of Jim Nance's best calls ever. Simon says championship back in the day when Arizona won an awesome national championship. Miles Simon will join the show in about five minutes. He's a Fox Sports college hoops analyst. You know, I love college basketball. Rachel loves college basketball. So we'll talk about that. But first, the NBA second half of the season starts tonight. Kudos to the league for a good, good matchup on paper tonight. And I, I have some hot takes on the second half of the season going forward. So we've narrowed them down to five. My five predictions for the NBA second half. Here we go. Number one, the Cleveland Cavaliers will get the number one seed in the East. Now they are seven games back at Detroit. I know you're going to say, Mac, you're crazy. That's insanity. It's all about the schedule, baby. And also the fact that Donovan Mitchell now has James Harden. They had no practices together and looked awesome. What's going to happen when they can actually work together with some with some time under their belt? This is a damn good team when you get Mobley Allen, Mitchell and Harden and the schedule is loaded with teams that are tanking. I know we don't like that word, but the Detroit schedule is much more difficult. I think the Knicks kind of start to maybe rest guys a little bit down the stretch to be fresh for the playoffs. I have the Cavs stealing the number one seed in the East. Number two, the Oklahoma City Thunder will not get out of the second round of the playoffs. I can hear the laughter in America, folks. As a reminder, no defending NBA champ has gotten past the second round of the playoffs in six straight seasons. Some of that is just circumstance, some is injuries. Some of it is unlucky. But I think there's something here. And what a great stat from our staff. So OKC started 24 1. Remember there was all that nonsense about 74 wins. They're 18 and 13 since. That's it. They're like slightly above league average now. Yes, they've had a ton of injuries, but if you drill down a little J Dub not playing great, Alex Caruso might be their second best player right Now SGA still hurt, folks. The Thunder are not in a great place. There is that lack of hunger that some teams have the year after winning the title. Just keep an eye. I think they go down to Denver or the Spurs. Third up, sorry, Boston. I don't think the Celtics will get out of the first round of the playoffs. Now a large part of this is I don't know if Jason Tatum's coming back, but everybody and their mom thinks he is. Here's the problem. The Celtics have gotten right here in the last few weeks largely against bad teams, but also they move Payton Pritchard to the bench, they ship out Simons and Jalen Brown is Clearly, their number one guy. He's playing at an all NBA first team level. So now you're going to thrust a star like Tatum in. I think there's going to be a learning curve and I don't know when he's going to come back. Do you start him off the bench? Is he on a minutes restriction? Does that kind of mess with the good vibes in Boston? And I do believe that if they're the three and they have to face a six or they're the two and they have to face dangerous Charlotte. Folks, listen, I love me some Tatum, but I don't know how this is going to work. If he comes back. I got Boston bounced in the first round. Number four. I do not like this one at all. You know, I love Cooper Flag. I'm predicting Khan Canippel is going to steal the rookie of the year for two reasons. Number one, I mean Charlotte, they're playing out of their minds right now. And Cannibal, folks, he's shooting 43% from three best among rookies, shooting 48% from the field. He's averaging 18 and five shot creation, playmaking. He's a total package. Now you know I'm a Cooper Flag guy. Love Cooper Flag, think he's the future of the league. I do wonder if Dallas, which has lost nine straight, decides, hey, hey, in the best interest of our franchise, we just announced Kyrie Irving. We're not bringing it back. Remember there was all that hope. We're not bringing Kyrie back. Do they say Cooper, let's power down. Let's say you played 35 games last year or whatever. Duke, now we're at like 55 and we don't want to get any injuries. And they shut down Cooper Flag in the effort to tank and get a high draft pick. Can you imagine Cooper Flag alongside Debanza or Boozer from Duke? Folks, it's the smart move. I know you don't want to hear that, but that's why I look at Con Canopel winning rookie of the year and finally my NBA Finals prediction. Knicks from the east and the spurs in the West. Love me some Wembanyama. I like that Rachel's all over Wembanyama being the face of the league. I think this is the year for my Knicks. You know, I'm a Knicks Lakers fan, which is not allowed, but I don't really care. That's who I root for. I think Jalen Brunson Co. Get it done. They show we don't need Giannis, which is good. Good news for the Lakers and the Spurs. I just love this team. Stephen Castle is already one of my like 5 favorite players in the league. I haven't seen a dude that confident. You know, I went to the Lakers Spurs a little while ago and we had really good seats. And if you just watch Castle walk around, dap people up in warmups, there's no nervous energy, there's no second year jitters. Castle essentially looks like the truth. He looks like a guy who's going to be a big time star in this league. He could guard anybody. Look at him shut down SGA in their regular season meetings. They own the Thunder already. Love me some Castle. Spurs, Knicks in the NBA finals. All right, let's bring in our guest, Miles Simon, Fox Sports college basketball analyst. I got to meet Miles back in the day, obviously in a amazing basketball player at Arizona. Tremendous run you guys had. Miles, we're going to start you right in the deep end. We're tossing you, dude. This Darren Peterson stuff is everywhere. Miles. I'll take a deep breath. He had an amazing first half last night and then he cramped up second half. The numbers are. Our staff put it together. He's had a hamstring, an ankle, an illness, cramping. He's missed 15 of 26 games. But he is a really talented basketball player. What do you make of this?
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There's a lot of concerns about Darren Peterson, obviously. And NBA teams are going to have to do a very deep, deep dive into one. His, his injury history, his, his mental makeup. Because when you can't get through a college season, the amount of money that NBA teams are about to invest in this guy as a top three pick, possibly number one pick, is very concerning. You have the, the anti flu game. Jordan had the flu game where, where he showed up in the finals and he, and he puts up amazing numbers. And Darren Peterson has the number one team in the country, in Arizona, in his building, goes through warmups and sits out with the flu and doesn't even give it a shot. That's super concerning for not only the Kansas Jayhawks this year, because that's what they're focused on, trying to win a national championship, but for NBA teams going forward, man, you know that. That's going to be tough. It's knocking him down, in my opinion, from the number one spot.
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Interesting. So the Texas Tech game was incredible. He hits two threes. Here's one of them. I mean, unbelievable. Two threes in the final 90 seconds. They come back and win. Then he skips the Arizona game, and they win without him.
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Right.
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And so I don't know, you. You probably know Bill Self. I'm sure he recruited you back in the day at some point, but, like, you know, you look around and Bill Self is even, like, answering questions after the game last night. He was like, I don't really know what happened. I mean, it was just very. I can't recall a story like this.
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Yeah, he. Bill Self was baffled last night. And I think you remember, like, even a week ago, he really defended the kid, as he should. It's his player. He probably cares for him a lot. But last night, you saw the clip where Peterson pulls himself out of the game, and Bill Self says, you know, I thought we were good to go. I thought he was good to go. And then all of a sudden, you know, he. I think he has 20 points or something in the first half, and the talent just. It's. It's tantalizing, and it's teasing because he's so good, and you just want to see him perform, you know, 30 to 35 minutes a night. And this Kansas team, like, they're on the brink. They win that game, like you said, against Arizona, number one team in the country without him, and they just want to see the complete package. If you're a Kansas fan, if you're Bill Self and. And if you're his. His teammates. But, man, the guy. The guy is not. Not coming on the court quite enough. And you got to be on the court to win the national title.
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So the only corollary I could find, and it's not an apples to apples, is, do you remember Jalen Johnson at Duke? I think it was the second year of COVID so he was another. I'm going to three or four high schools, which is fine. That's like the new thing for all these elite top guys. And then he kind of quit on Coach K. Remember, in I think it was February. He just basically was like, I'm. I'm done. We're not going anywhere. I'm quitting. And he got blasted by the media, but you could see the talent was there. So he fell a little bit in the draft. The Hawks get a steal. Here we are like, what, four years later. Jalen Johnson is like one of the. Maybe an all NBA player.
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He's an all star.
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So. So, I mean, I know you said you're. You're backing off Peterson a little, but seeing a guy like Jalen Johnson, does that maybe make you think, like, hey, it's the talent.
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Well, he's not dropping past like, three in the draft. Like, to me, to me, there's a clear top three. He's not going like 20 like Jalen Johnson because he's. It's going to be Devonsa and then Boozer and then him, because then you're talking about Caleb Wilson and Kingston Flemings. Those guys, Keaton Wagler, those are like, you know, 4, 5, 6. At some point still, the talent is going to override because he's better than. He's better than those guys. So he's not. He's not going past three in the draft. But, man, is it scary for those NBA teams, you know, once they do all their homework, because the guy can't get through a college season, his first college season, healthy.
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Yeah.
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Let me ask you about Michigan. One of the best teams in the country, if not the best. I may have a couple bucks on them to win the title. They had a great game against Duke. This is. It reminds me of the. Remember the Fab Five back in the day? Obviously you do. They had a couple games against Duke in the regular season. Those were like, holy, who are these guys? I don't know if this game will have that cachet, but Michigan, Duke. You mentioned Boozer. I kind of like Michigan in this game. Saturday is a great day for college basketball.
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Yeah, Saturday is a great day. And that is going to be an unbelievable matchup. And Cameron Boozer, he's. He's the clubhouse leader for national Player of the year right now. Like, he's been a steady hand for this Duke team, has kept him in the top five all season long. He's one of the most versatile players in the country. And, you know, he does. He doesn't have the flash of Peterson and the Bansa or even like a Kingston Flemings, but, man, he can post up. He's a. He actually is a very underrated passer. Okay. He can shoot the three he can shoot the three. He's a good athlete and he's an excellent defender. He's like everything that you want. And you know what you're going to get from him. Night in and night out. He's going to show up 30 to 35 minutes. He's going to give you the 22 points, nearly a double double, all the, all those things. But he's going to have a heck of a matchup on the other side. Yaxel Linda Board, okay, is going to be a first or second team All American. He's probably going to be a first round draft pick. And if you don't know Yaxel Lindenberg, get to know that name. I got to spend some time around that guy this summer at the Nike Basketball Academy where like a lot of the top players in the country, Braden Burries. Braden Smith, Thomas Hauck from Florida, they were all there. And Yaxel Lindenberg, man, he's a special type player. And if you watch the way Dusty, Dusty May uses him all around the floor. He gets to handle the ball. He's six, nine, he shoots, he shoots threes. He's a switchable, he's a switchable defender. I'm really looking forward to that, to that matchup right there of those two guys getting some head to head action against each other.
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Yeah, it's interesting. I love Linda Borg. I, I didn't realize this, I just looked it up. Mile, he's 23. 23 years older is 18. That's ridiculous. Five year age gap for Lindenberg. I like Michigan this weekend to win the game, but that, listen you, I know you played up playing AAU. Listen, an 18 year old against a 23, that's a humongous gap. That is kind of a new thing in college hoops. But you don't usually get elite guys like Linda Borg. Tell me about this Nike camp. Did he, did he dominate everyone?
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Yeah, he was one of the best players there. He really was. Braden Smith was probably the best player at that Nike camp. Like he, like he, like he dominated Braden Smith's teams, like won like all the scrimmages just because he, he's so smart and he could set guys up. But Linda Board just showed this like elite skill set of shooting the basketball, handling it at his size, the athleticism. And then like things I look for is kind of like some intangibles like how hard you play all the time, how you compete, how you go about your work in the, in the drill work. Because it's like it was really like Two a day sessions and he just brought the whole package for the three days that we were out in Thousand Oaks area. And he's become obviously one of the best players in college basketball this year. And Dusty May has really unlocked his, unlocked his talent with the way that he uses them.
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Damn. I got to get an invite to that next. That's not that far from me and I love me some.
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Let me drill down on for sure. Yeah.
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On the Big Ten real quick. So it looks like there are four Big Ten teams in the top ten. In Ken Palm. I like Illinois a lot. They've got a stack roster. Do you think we'll definitely see one or two Big Ten teams in the final Four?
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Yeah, I definitely think that. I think Michigan's one of them. I think they'll, I think they'll get there. And then you mentioned the other one. I think, I think Illinois. I had Illinois game against Purdue at Mackey arena and that was the Keaton Wagler show where he put up, where he put up 46 points. And this freshman here's a guy that's from the state of Kansas, right. And he doesn't end up at Kansas or Kansas State where he, he was a back to back state champion. A back to back state player of the year and he escapes the state of Kansas and ends up in Illinois. But the things I love about Illinois, they, they went on a run here over the last few weeks without one of their best players. Boswell was out with the, with the injured hand. He just came back within the last couple of games. They blew out USC last night with Boswell. He's been back in the lineup the last couple of games. But Illinois is a big team like they said when they start Waggler at the point they have Stojakovic, the EV such, the V6 brothers, both at 7ft. One plays inside and block shots. The other one shoots threes. Brad Underwood, one's like a spread ball screen type of offense. Like they're really, really fun to watch. And then their size, it's hard to, it's hard to score over them. So I think those two teams. Nebraska has taken a little bit of a dip as of late, so they struggled a little bit. Purdue obviously got beat at home by Michigan this weekend. I think there may be a second. I think they're probably like a second weekend team and that's mostly because Braden Smith is so good and he can lead you to winning like a couple games. I don't know that they're deep enough or can score enough as a To get to. To get to the final. To get to the Final Four.
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Hey, it's not on our sheet here, but I just remembered the Mick Cronin video from this week. I'm sure you've seen it. UCLA coach kind of ejects his player. I don't know if you can queue it up on the screen, but we did talk about it this week, and, you know, we watched it multiple times. Miles, you played a lot of basketball. It didn't look like a dirty play to me when you slow it down, but down 25, guy in the air. Maybe Cronin overreacted. Did you have a take on. On McCrone in there?
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I do, and I. The kid was making a play on the basketball. When you watch that play. Okay, like, I've been coach. I've been coaching for a long time. Like, I'm a former player, but I've been coaching for the last 18 to 20 years at all levels. And things that you ask players to do at all times, whether you're up 25 or. Or down 25 is play as hard as you can. Okay, so they're down 25 to Michigan State, and this kid is sprinting. Sprinting his butt back on defense to try to make a play and not give up a dunk. There was nothing they called a flagrant, but, man, he was making a play on the ball. Yeah, okay. And it was a good play. And this kid played hard. Like, I'm sure in practices, Mick Cronin had asked not only that young man, but the team to like, hey, compete. Play hard at all times. That's what he was doing. And I didn't think it was right that he ejected the kid from the game. Like, yeah, they called it a flagrant, but I thought the kid was. Was hustling his. Was hustling his butt off to like. Like, play hard. And that's the thing. That's. That's the things you ask from a player as a coach. So I don't think it was right that he. That he got eject. That he got ejected by his coach. Yeah. In that. In that moment.
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Yeah.
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Yeah. I didn't think that. I didn't think that was right at all.
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I mean, at full speed, it looks dangerous, but when you slow it down and realize, like, oh, there's no. No ill. Ill intent here.
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There was no. There was no. There was no. It was not the Providence St. John scenario.
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That was. Let's.
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Let's put it that way. And I think maybe that was like, maybe what Coach Cronin was thinking, but it's not. It's not even close. Like, the Providence St. John's thing was, like, he got hit in the face and, like, knocked to the ground, and then there's a melee and all this stuff. But this was a kid playing hard at the end of the game. Down 20, down 27 points. I would. I would ask that kid to do that thing 100 more times.
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I agree. You see on the screen, Miles won an NBA title with the Lakers. As an assistant coach, contractually obligated to ask you about LeBron, first of all, how was your run with the Lakers? And then, I don't know, have you given any thought to what you think LeBron may or may not do here?
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My run with the Lakers was amazing. Obviously, I was fortunate enough to win A championship in 2020 as an assistant coach with Frank Vogel and all the great players that we had. LeBron, Anthony, Davis, Rajan Rondo, Kyle, Kuzma, Caruso, all these guys. Like, I mean, amazing time as Lakers coach. And, I mean, nothing more special than winning. Winning the championship, by the way. It was the hardest championship in the bubble.
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Thank you.
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No, no, no. No disputing that on my end. Appreciate the backing. The backing of that. So LeBron, like, it's amazing what he. What he's doing, like, year 23 and still putting up these type of numbers and, like, competing at the highest level. Like, nobody's. Nobody. Nobody's done that. Just, like, special, special guy. Like, my time around him was. Was unbelievable. Just, like, how meticulous he is in his preparation. To stay at this high of a level for this long has been unbelievable. Yeah.
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All right. Miles Simon, Fox Sports college basketball analyst. Great stuff, man. And look forward to your game. What do you game? You got Saturday.
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I'll actually be where you're. I'll be in studio this weekend.
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Okay.
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Yeah, I'm in studio this weekend, and then the next one. I' I'll have AJ debonza next week.
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Yeah, we barely got to ask you about debona, but he a tremendous player. And keep up the good work, Miles. Thanks, man.
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Appreciate it. Thanks for having me.
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All right, Miles Simon, Fox Sports college basketball analyst. You guys know I love college too, Rachel. I try so hard. Crowbar in the show. Cowherd's a little reluctant on that. Listen, you and I will talk Darren peterson in, like, 20 minutes. Yeah, I can't wait to get into that. And hey, real quick, though. I saw you getting excited. You were like, yeah, the bubble championship for the Lakers.
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It drives me crazy. Can you believe it when people put an asterisk next to this? Like, here's how you know how hard it was. The teams were so, like unhappy and overwhelmed by how difficult it was. They wanted to go home. They voluntarily. Basically there was a vote. Do you remember that? There was a vote about whether they should leave among the players. It was so hard in there that players were like, nah, I'm good. Maybe I'll try for an NBA title next year. Guys who professionally are the best of the best at wanting to win a championship, there were a huge block of them who were like, it's not even worth it. This is so difficult. It was the toughest championship I've seen in a long time.
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100%.
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I'm with Miles. 100%. And great guy, by the way.
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Yes. Miles Simon. All right, coming up next, Rachel's going to tell us if an all time great should hang him up in the NBA. That's next year on the herd. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
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- [25:44]
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Great stuff from Miles Simon, college basketball legend. That Arizona team he was on, so good. Won a national championship. Oh, man, that was really when I fell in love with college hoops. Like 90s college basketball. So good. All right, let's go to Rachel Nichols with the news.
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No, no, no.
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Turn on the news. This is the Herd line news.
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C
All right, Jason. Steph Curry playing in, of course, his 17th season, still elite, but he was asked recently what his plans are for retirement. He said, quote, it will declare itself whenever the time comes to call it quits, which I don't think is anytime soon. I'm not really putting too much pressure on that now, Jason, I think Steph is completely correct. It's not anytime soon. But what do you think the factor will be in terms of him trying to figure this out when it time comes?
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So I think I've told you my favorite basketball player ever was Magic Johnson, right? I thought I was going to be the next Magic Johnson playing in my.
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C
We may have to have a longer talk about this, but continue.
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A
And then Steph Curry came along at Davidson and I was smitten. He actually came to my, my gym one day to like work out rehabbing. And I just went up and we started talking. It was like I got a picture. I don't want to get pictures with most people, but Steph Curry, sure. So he's my favorite player ever. I don't like him on the Warriors. I hate that you think this, but Rachel, he ain't making the playoffs. Maybe the play in. They're not going anywhere. There's no path. Butler is done. The roster's. I don't want to say garbage, but it's not good. Draymond is washed. They're not going anywhere. I want to see him in the playoffs. The postseason with Steph just hits different. It's totally amazing. It's must see TV every night. And I get it. Like, there's other Players. Hey, Anthony Edwards, 5. Curry is like, you know, like you said, he's 37. He's a few more years left. I need him in the playoffs. I said my part.
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I appreciate that you, Jason, need him in the playoffs. I'm more worried about what Steph Curry would like to do. I mean, he absolutely wants to win. He's still extremely competitive. You can see that. But also, how many championships do you need that you need to redirect a relationship that is so special between him and the franchise and the fans of that place and the other players on his team and his coach. All of that is also worth something. You know, I covered Michael Jordan both in Chicago and in Washington, and when he came back in D.C. there were so many people, of course, upset with that. How could you leave that perfect shot in Utah? The perfect ending. You had the perfect ending. You walked off the court after that, won a title and walked into the dust. I mean, how could you not want that to be the ending of your career? And he said that might be your perfect ending. It's not my perfect ending. Same thing with Vince Carter. People were not happy that he kept going to these sort of bad teams toward the end of his career because he wanted playing time. And he said, your perfect ending might be that I win the championship as a back of the bench, you know, rah, Rah, locker room guy. My perfect ending is that I play basketball. Steph gets to decide what his perfect ending is. And he has made it pretty clear he would like to stay with the Warriors. And I am all for it. I love that for the people of the city. I love that for him. I love that for his teammates. He will be beloved there forever. He has won so many titles, he can barely keep them on one hand. He's made more money than, you know, anyone. And I, I just. Why? Why are you doing this, Jason?
- [28:55]
A
Okay. What? That's what. Extremely well said. And you almost got me. I'm almost like, okay, fine. Okay. We heard that. That's Steph's point of view. What's best for him, Right. He. He loves. Okay, what. What do you think's best for the league?
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Steph Curry? Absolutely.
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In Golden State.
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C
Yes. 100.
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I don't think they're going to get the marquee TV games. They're not. I mean, they're not going to be good.
- [29:18]
C
Steph Curry is the marquee TV game.
- [29:20]
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So you just got to put, especially once LeBron retires, like a 19 and 28 warriors on a Saturday night game.
- [29:26]
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I don't I don't think the warriors are going to be terrible as long as he's on that team. They are continuing to try to improve. Just because. By the way, just because you're not in title contention does not mean you
- [29:35]
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are the worst team in the league. No, but my theory is you either want to be the best or the worst so you can get a good traffic. I don't want the middle. They're kind of middle below middle, would you say?
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C
I would say that. I mean, look, Jimmy Butler got hurt. That obviously is huge change to their season. They are going to try to make some more moves this summer. Jimmy obviously will get better. We'll see if he stays on that roster, that kind of thing. But they're not done. They're not done with all of this. And again, the middle is different. If you're Chicago bulls, you have 900 guards on your roster. You've been in the middle for your, you know, for what, the last decade plus, you. You seem to make moves that are only geared toward making the play and nobody wants to be that. Then, yes, you should just try to bottom out and rebuild. If you're the warriors and you have Steph Curry and Draymond and all the feelings in that building and Steve Kerr and. And you're always scrappy and you're always in it. Yeah. By the way, if. If you're not in the top four in the west, it's okay. It's a different situation.
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Rachel. Very vibes. I. And I get it. I totally get it.
- [30:32]
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Sp to have fun at. They are not for us to be able to have extra time prognosticating at roster moves.
- [30:40]
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I mean, they're also like, when the warriors go on the road, they're going to be one of the biggest draws because you want to see Curry.
- [30:44]
C
It's good for the league.
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Yeah. Trust me. My Laker buddies with season tickets are like, hey, Curry's in town. Do you want.
- [30:49]
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Yeah.
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They're not like, hey, the Bulls are coming. You want to check it out? You know, they're kind of giving those away.
- [30:53]
C
There you go. All right. Let's talk about one of my other favorite guys. Jaden Daniels. Right. His third season with the Commanders. This will be up. He's yet to win a game in Philly on the road. This is interesting. But in a recent interview, he said he loves making trip to Philadelphia because the fans are so passionate, which is one word for it. Take a listen here.
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They just embody what Philly brings and be able to go out there.
- [31:16]
C
And play against them.
- [31:18]
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It's kind of just that thing. And like their environment is kind of like the closest thing you could get to a college environment. You go out there, you could beat Philly.
- [31:25]
A
And Philly as. That's a different type.
- [31:27]
B
But their fans bring it, man, especially, you know, as we're rivals with them in the NFC in the East. So I love playing against them.
- [31:37]
C
I love this from Jaden. Right. Isn't this what you want to hear from an athlete? I want to go into the belly of the beast. I want to go into the tough places. He's not hiding for them from them. Obviously, injuries are what derailed him this season. It's going to be dependent next season. But what do you think about the NFC East? Are my guys getting back to the east championship? What do you think?
- [31:57]
A
I don't know. Quinn gutted the whole staff. Is he next? I don't know. They got an old. One of the older rosters in the league.
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They do, but again, it's February.
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Tis.
- [32:08]
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Let's talk in September.
- [32:09]
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And they have a quarterback who's on the cheap. So theoretically they could go get in the Max Crosby business. I don't know. I do like Dan Quinn. I. I don't. It's tough, man. Some of these young quarterbacks have so much early success and we just don't expect it. Joe Burrow hasn't been in the playoffs in a few years. You know, like, is Lamar Jackson going to get back to a conference championship game? We saw Drake May in the Super Bowl. I don't. What is the future? Like, I just. I don't know what's going to go on with your Washington team. I mean, I don't think they're in the basement, but I mean, if Jaden is missing a few games here or there, like, I mean, he's ever.
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That.
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That's got to be disappointing.
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You got no faith in my people.
- [32:47]
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I. I don't know. I, I just. I don't want to say shades of RG3 because that was. I remember that dude, the injury against Seattle and that was. That was it. It was done.
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C
Yeah.
- [32:57]
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You just. You got to keep Jaden upright.
- [32:59]
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think they're. They're working on that. All right, let's move to one of your favorite guys, Jalen Brunson. You Remember back in 2024, he signed a $156.5 million contract extension. Now that was of course, tremendously team friendly. He could have waited another season. He could have had a five year, $269 million deal, but he took more than 100 billion less because he wanted to help the Knicks build a contender. So now he's just in the first year of that four year extension, but he was asked recently about it and he said that he'd love for the Knicks to, quote, do right by him on his next deal. J. Mac, I don't see any problem with that, do you?
- [33:35]
A
Well, it's interesting. When I was, I was texting some people about that LeBron take that I had earlier, and one of the people said Jalen Brunson took $113 million less than he could have. What's the problem with LeBron taking $40 million less or so? I was like, good point. Listen, I, you know me, I don't believe in loyalty. I don't think these businesses care. If you're on top and helping them out, great. But that was second. Jalen Brunson goes down and he's not delivering and he misses some games and he's looking for the next extension. Hey, man, you're not really available. Sorry. I know you helped us out. They just. It's a ruthless business. You know that right there.
- [34:10]
C
I get it. But he wasn't, that wasn't a loyalty play on Jalen's part. That was, I'd like a better team around me because I want to win a title play. Which, by the way, that's fine for an athlete to be like, hey, I want to win championship. By the way, the contract he signed, where he did sign, $100 million less, which is just team friendly in a way. We just don't see any more in professional sports. He's still got $156 million plus all of the endorsements that come with being the best guy in the New York Knicks and just being so engaging nationally and all of the things. Jalen Brunson is fine now. I assume he would like more money as he plays throughout his career. And by the way, when he is eligible for his next contract, he's no fool though, because he'll be a 10 year veteran. So that is going to allow him to sign what could at the time. If he doesn't, you know, if things progress. The largest contract in the NBA at that time, just, it's set up to be like that. It could be $417 million over five years. That's five years.
- [35:04]
A
What.
- [35:05]
C
That would be more. That would be 83 million a season, which would be more than a million a game in the regular season. So that's, that's what's in his future if they give him and he takes the max deal when he hits that 10 year.
- [35:17]
A
I guess the wealth gap isn't just a thing in this country. It's in basketball. 83 million.
- [35:22]
C
More than a million a game every time you step out now, by the way, so many guys don't play games because of injuries or whatever, so they're already making more than a million.
- [35:28]
A
I thought that Jaylen Brown was, was extraordinary. He's at like 71 somewhere in there.
- [35:34]
C
Jason Tatum, too.
- [35:35]
A
It's interesting. I, I'm ready to do the Jalen Brunson test with my mom. He's like, only watches sports because I'm talking sports and she knows Curry, LeBron, the big names. Do you think you're, you think my mom will know Jalen Brunson? Do you think grandmas know like Jaylen? Is he at that stage where he's doing like Regis and, or whatever the Regis equivalent is now?
- [35:54]
C
Ryan Secretary I think the New York factor, if you're in the Northeast, certainly. Yeah, I think the grandmas know Jalen Brunson just because. It's just you can't understate that media market and how much that pushes to other things and how much national coverage he gets just because he's in New York. But look, we talked about earlier on the show. You gotta win. You gotta win to be the face of the NBA. You gotta win for all the grandmas to know you. And you don't just have to win once, you have to win a couple times. So let's see what he does. I thought what he did to take less money was smart. I don't know why more athletes don't consider this. I mean, the salaries are so high, the endorsement deals are so big. If you win a title A, that's supposedly what you've been waiting your whole life for. And B, I promise you that money will be there on the back end in endorsements and further contracts.
- [36:36]
A
Well, also, his dad was a pro, right. So he, I think he came from like a, you know, good upbringing. A lot of these other guys, they didn't have much.
- [36:44]
C
I understand. I'm not talking about your first contract again.
- [36:46]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [36:47]
C
Where he took this great team friendly deal and he did. He still got $156 million. Well, for four years.
- [36:56]
A
Okay, so half go to taxes and then the agent, manager, whatever. 150. You make it sound like he's set. And he pretty much should be set for life. 20 some odd.
- [37:07]
C
I don't know how much money you make over there.
- [37:09]
A
I do not make nearly enough. I'm.
- [37:11]
C
Are you making 156 million over four years?
- [37:14]
A
$156. Yes, $156. Rachel with the news.
- [37:18]
B
Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the herd lie news.
- [37:23]
A
All right. There's an interesting NFL story happening now with this Chicago situation. I almost want to get cowherd on the horn. Are the Bears going to leave Illinois? What? What is happening? Rachel obviously very plugged in on this. We'll do that. But also coming up, could one future NBA player's prospect be plummeting before our very eyes? That's next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific. Every sports fan knows step away during
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by Granger for the ones who get it done. It's Friday as Braden Smith leads seventh ranked Purdue in a Big Ten battle against Indiana. Tomorrow night, 8:00am Eastern. 8:00pm Eastern only on Fox.
- [39:09]
A
Oh, boy. All right. I don't know. This is a dicey topic, Rachel. The whole staff fired up about Darren Peterson. So we talked to Miles Simon earlier about. Can I use enigmatic to describe Darren Peterson? He's the young kid at Kansas who is ridiculously talented. He's going to go number one in the draft assuming the medicals check out. And then last night they're blowing out Oklahoma State early and he has like 20 points in the first half. He's just cooking. You know, they were going to bounce back after losing Iowa State. And then in the second half, I gotta, I gotta sit down. I got some cramps and it's like, what huh. And this is a recurring theme our staff put together. He's had a hamstring injury, ankle. He had a mysterious illness that missed the game against Arizona, and he had multiple cramping. And at this point, he's missed 11 of 26 games this season. Everyone thinks he's just dogging it. That load management has hit college basketball for the potential number one pick in June. And Darren Peterson, maybe he's just soft. And I got guys saying, wait a minute. Kobe would have never done this. Listen, let's just slow down, okay? Darren Peterson is 19 years old. I'm still doing the digging into his high school career. He had a foot injury, missed part of the season when he was 15. Like, maybe he's injury prone. I don't know. But there was. There's a lot here. I need you to listen to Bill Self, the coach at Kansas last night after the win, obviously. Hey, big win. What happened to Darren Peterson? Why. Why is he out again? Here's Bill Self.
- [40:45]
B
I thought we were past it, but. But obviously we're not. But it's certainly a concern. And, you know, you get into the NCAA tournament and you're playing a team
- [40:55]
A
just as good as you, and you need to have all your. All your best players available, so to speak.
- [41:04]
B
So, yeah, all it takes is for one day like that to derail not only a game, but a season. You know, one thing about it is it's happened often enough that our guys have learned to play without him, even though that's not the. The way we want to play.
- [41:20]
A
But that's certainly
- [41:24]
B
something that we're not unaccustomed to, you know, right now.
- [41:28]
A
Wow. I mean, that's a lot from a college basketball coach. Basically, hey, we need you in March to win the title. I mean, without him, there's still like a Sweet 16 Elite 8, maybe a final Four. If everything breaks right with him. They're one of, like, the five, six favorites to win the Natty. He's that good. I'm just telling you, this kid is unbelievable. The comparisons are, oh, he's got a little LeBron, he's got some Kobe because he's a wing and silky smooth game. So I've been looking for comparisons with this load management stuff, and someone smart said, do you remember the COVID year in college football? Because Jamar Chase and Micah Parsons. Micah Parsons at Penn State. I remember that vividly because I was doing radio with lavar Arrington, and I'm like, wait a minute. Micah Parsons is sitting out. You're a Penn State Guy, how's he. Why is he doing this? Micah Parsons is fine. Turns out. Okay, maybe Covid was, was a unique situation. I can't recall anyone in college basketball this high profile playing injured, playing illness, playing cramping. And, and what do you do? And I mentioned to Miles Simon earlier about Jalen Johnson quitting Duke. Again, this was during kind of the second year of COVID Pretty sure it was 20, 21. And essentially Jalen Johnson's like, we're not going anywhere. I don't want to pretend to do school.
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I'm out.
- [42:46]
A
I'm going to go train for the draft. And I'll never forget, guys, he was mercilessly ripped by every media hack out there. Just take it. Oh, he's a quitter. He's quitting on Coach K now. I don't know how much of that was planted by Coach K being unhappy that his star was leaving. Fast forward a few years. Jalen Johnson is a stud in the NBA, okay? They moved off of Trae Young and they're like, we're building around Jalen Johnson. So here's Miles Simon earlier on Peterson and how NBA teams are watching this situation closely.
- [43:17]
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NBA teams are going to have to do a very deep, deep dive into one his, his injury history, his, his mental makeup. Because when you can't get through a college season, the amount of money that NBA teams are about to invest in this guy as a top three pick, possibly number one pick, is very concerning. You have the, the anti flu game, okay? Jordan had the flu game where, where he showed up in the finals and he, and he puts up amazing numbers. And Darren Peterson has the number one team in the country in Arizona in his building, goes through warmups and sits out with the flu and doesn't even give it a shot. That's super concerning for not only the Kansas Jayhawks this year because that's what they're focused on, trying to win a national championship, but for NBA teams going forward, man, you know that that's going to be tough. It's knocking him down, in my opinion, from the number one spot.
- [44:11]
A
Interesting. So you guys know I'm a minority owner in a soccer team. I am obsessed with this team building stuff and doing homework on free agents and the lengths that teams go to to find out stuff about guys. I'll never forget this NFL draft probably within the last 15 years. I'm not going to say the guy's name, but wide receiver went in the top 10 awesome numbers in college. He was amazing. Look at that. Look at the measurables but what they didn't, the team that drafted him didn't know was that he was posted up like multiple nights a week at the, at the local bar on the college campus and then he gets to the league. And wouldn't you know it, he's, he's got some problems off the field and like, you've got to do your homework. I don't know if Darren Peterson has, is he a propensity for injuries or maybe it's, it is a mental makeup thing, as Miles Simon said. Now Rachel, you've covered a lot of NBA, NFL I, I, it's tough to quantify this stuff or know it's in his head or is he just saying, I'm good, I'm going to sit out the second half? I, I don't know the answer. No, nobody can. But we're all speculating.
- [45:10]
C
Well, you can know the answer. You can talk about it with him when he is doing his interviews with the teams that are in line to draft him. And that'll obviously happen more in earnest once we know who is in line to draft him. But if he has a good answer, that's part of it. And then, you know, look, Miles made a good point about mental makeup, right? I think we sometimes categorize that into like, oh, is he tough enough? But there's a lot of things that go into mental makeup and one of them is are you worried about protecting yourself from injury? Joel Embiid is a great example in the NBA. He was never worried. I mean, you know, he obviously had the injury problems at the beginning of his career, but for a lot of years he just played with abandon. Right? And then you saw over the last couple years he had so many more problems and he hurt himself for this last time by playing in a game he absolutely should not have played in, but was worried about proving something to people and that got him hurt. And so last season he played with a mental block against maybe I'm going to get hurt again. And he kept taking himself out of games. Right. Remember like 10 minutes before the game. Oh, right. Joel Embiid's not playing. Is that what's going on here? Well, if it is, do you still want to take him? Do you want to take him number one? Do you want to take him number three? You know who else really protects himself from injury no matter what? Kawhi Leonard. Guess what? Kawhi Leonard is a two time MVP and a lot of people would have liked to have him, especially for the first 10 years of his career. So you have to find out why. Is it because there's been a lot of hamstring injuries for him. And by the way, we've seen hamstring leads to Achilles and that's not going to help not only his NBA career, but Kansas in March if he has an Achilles injury. So why the. The question is why? And only he can tell you that.
- [46:41]
A
Yeah, the process is going to be fascinating because there are other really great players. Boozer, Danza, like, there's a lot of great. He's special, though. I mean, the talent is there. I, I just cannot, I can't recall anyone ever just keeps coming out of games and not wanting to play. It's like, feel a little bad for him.
- [46:58]
C
Well, look, there were questions about the way Ben Simmons played his last year at lsu and then there were problems in the NBA sort of with his approach.
- [47:06]
A
Does he love it?
- [47:07]
C
Right. So. So yeah. I mean, there, there are red flags and, and now he's going to have to come answer them in those interviews. Yeah.
- [47:14]
A
Tough one for Darren Peterson. All right, final hour coming up. We'll talk a little LeBron. You think you know what his future holds? Does it involve a streaming service? Which quarterback Needy teams are really on the struggle bus heading into free agency.
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