The Herd with Colin Cowherd
THE HERD – HOUR 2 – LeBron & Lakers Break Up?, Best World Cup Ever
25 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: Why should the Lakers not re-sign LeBron James?
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Joy is essential and it's also elusive. But now, there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence. Joy 101. It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotb. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats. It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for.
Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breathe? and it's beautiful. The guys are young and cute and fit.
It's not just a game. It's your culture.
I like watching it with my dad.
It's a connecting force.
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Chapter 2: What is the importance of rim protectors for the Lakers?
This time I talk to scientists, biopunks, curmudgeons, blues owners, super seniors, and Goa's top cryotherapy lab to try to understand this obsession with living forever and what it means for all of us. And I get into a bit of trouble along the way.
I'd say probably start bone smashing.
That doesn't work. Make it look more defined. They say it works. I don't know.
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I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do.
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Chapter 3: How does NIL impact college and NBA players?
Oh, great to have you in. It's hour two. Oh, I got to talk about this LeBron thing. There are a lot of things in life that are really nice and really good, but I don't need them, so I don't buy them. I don't buy everything I want. I try to buy things that I need. And I'm not a stuff guy, so right now I don't have a car. I'm good. I don't need it. There's a lot of nice cars out there.
And so I would not re-sign LeBron because the Lakers don't need LeBron. They need a rim protector. More athletes. They drafted one and two elite wing defenders. And I know it's an incremental league. You can't solve all your issues.
But I'm with Brian Windhorst, who says if the Lakers could sign and trade LeBron for Jarrett Allen, a very good big shot blocker rim protector for Cleveland, they would do it today. There is a thought process out there in Los Angeles, and I think if the Cavs were interested in this, the Lakers would sit up at attention right now that they would sign and trade LeBron for Jared Allen.
And I think if the Cavs were willing to do that, they could have LeBron. Obviously, LeBron would have to want to sign with the Cavs, but if your pathway to pay LeBron the money is to trade Jared Allen for him, the Lakers would kill for Jared Allen.
Chapter 4: What are the potential benefits of a LeBron trade to Cleveland?
Kill for him. They would do that deal in 17 tenths of a second. No band needs three lead singers. Who's on drums tonight? Luka needs the ball. Austin needs the ball. LeBron needs the ball. None of them good defenders. And it's interesting because LeBron was recently with Steve Nash on his Mind the Game podcast. And he's kind of saying...
What we're saying, which is what the Lakers need, he could be a roadblock to that if he stays in signs with the Lakers.
if you want to be able to wear teams down and, but also build, a lot of teams are building that stamina.
You know, let's start early, let's build it up, you know, but you've got to have, you know, you've got to have that depth and you've got to have that youth and continue from the previous year, you know, to be able to add depth, to be able to add youth, continue with the pace, the pace is not slowed down. Yeah, I think that's kind of ingredients for where our league is, you know, at the moment.
He's right, and it will be hard to get depth and more youth if you're paying LeBron, Austin, and Luka. So that's my take. It's not an anti-LeBron. The Lakers feel a little bit like the Cincinnati Bengals. They're paying Joe Burrow a lot, Jamar Chase a lot, and Tee Higgins a lot. Bad O-line, can't run the ball, and can't make stops.
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Chapter 5: How does roster construction affect NBA teams?
It's a good watch. I love watching the Bengals play. I said it all year. I love watching the Lakers play. It's a fun watch, but it's not a great team. Look at what Minnesota has done. Minnesota was better than the Lakers last year, and they've added dimensions to their team since the trade deadline. More athletes, more shooters, ball stoppers, Julius Randle gone.
Like, the best GMs in this league are tweak, tweak, tweak, tweak, tweak. It's roster construction. I mean, San Antonio, in my opinion, had more, much more high-end talent than the Knicks. The Knicks had the better roster construction. The Knicks had a little bit of everything. Defensive wings, offensive big, defensive big, closer in the fourth. Josh Hart's mostly defense and rebounding.
They had a little bit of everything. Big athletes, shooters, defenders, passers. It was just a perfect construct of parts that fit. That's the new NBA. You can't have three stars anymore.
Chapter 6: What insights does Tiago Splitter provide about coaching?
You can have a couple, but if you pay both of them, like Tatum and Brown, and they eat 65%, 70% of the cap, you're going to have no bench. You're going to have no front line. Like Miami's going to be really big and really good up front. Bobby Portis, Bam, Giannis, not going to have a lot of bench. But again, who's got everything? We thought Oklahoma City had everything.
They couldn't get to the finals again. Right? Like, so that's the new league. You can't stack rosters. It is hard to pay a second star max money. Really, really hard. I mean, Oklahoma City drafted Adai Mara. I love that draft pick. One of the reasons they probably can't keep Hartenstein, who's a terrific player. The Knicks couldn't keep Hartenstein. Now the Knicks can't keep Mitchell Robinson.
So, I mean, again, the Lakers just have a ton of redundancy. The Bengals have a ton of redundancy. I love watching the Bengals and the Lakers play.
Chapter 7: What are realistic expectations for rookie Caleb Wilson?
But I think that's your big issue right now is LeBron's like a really talented lawyer, but the hospital needs surgeons and nurses. Like, that's not, we don't need LeBron. If you took the name away, you said he's not named LeBron. You just said, do the Lakers need, with Austin Reeves and Luka, and if they brought Rui back, do they need an average defender who's a streaky shooter,
who needs the ball to be effective. That would be the last thing you'd need, right? They've got that in bunches. So it's one of these things where you can think LeBron is excellent. I think he'd really clean up the decision-making and late game situations for Cleveland. I mean, I think Cleveland's got talent. I don't trust them late in games. I think Cleveland's got as much talent as New York.
I trust the Knicks late in games. I think they're really smart late in games. Mikael Bridges, OG, Jalen Brunson, that's a lot of brain power. Cleveland's got talent. I think LeBron would make Cleveland just better decisions out of the timeout, end of the clock, end of the game, end of the half. I think he'd really help. Now, I don't know if he wants to live in Cleveland again.
He's still got that unsellable mansion, so it's quite possible.
Chapter 8: How is the World Cup shaping soccer culture in the U.S.?
J-Mac, any thoughts? It's interesting. You're saying Jared Allen would come in. Who are you losing, LeBron and Rui in that scenario because you can't afford them? Yeah. Okay, so I just tallied it. Last season for the regular season, LeBron and Rui combined averaged 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Yeah. Where are you getting that from? That's a lot of production out the window.
Jared Allen ain't giving you any of that. Well, Jared Allen's going to give you about 16, 17 points. But on the other end, the Lakers couldn't make stops. So you're not going to give up as many points. You're going to be a better rebounding team. I mean, there's a way to play the Lakers. They're a half-court team. They are slow. Yeah. They are an incredibly unathletic, slow team.
All right, the Chicago Bulls have a new coach. And he got rave reviews in Portland. And I think the Bulls brought in a new GM, new front office, and a new coach. And Tiago Splitter, seven years with the Spurs, Hawks, and the 76ers is now joining us live. Tiago, first of all, I'm a Chicago Bulls season ticket holder. So I am going to be watching your every move. So I appreciate this. Let's start.
Congratulations. Let's start with the number four pick, Caleb Wilson. He is young. He is raw. What are realistic expectations for minutes and production? What would be realistic as a rookie?
Man, you ask a lot of things. First of all, thank you very much. I'm excited about this opportunity. And of course, Caleb Wilson is going to be a big part of our future and present, of course. Well, we don't know yet. He's still going to come here, work hard, work for his minutes, and we'll see. I will give you a better answer maybe by the beginning of the season.
Now between, I mean, you have some real length on this team. As a former big, Nick Claxton, Caleb Wilson, Josh Giddey's got length. You've got an emerging star in Matas Buzeli. So you've got a lot of components here. Is there a style, when you look at the roster, is there a style that you think this team will play with?
Well, when you see that length, of course, it means, you know, defense. It means they're all young and they can run the court. So you try to play fast, try to get, you know, easy shots at the beginning of those possessions and rebound the ball. I think that's something that we got to be extremely, you know, demanding the players to rebound the ball well on both ends.
And I think we have the players to do that.
Buzelas, by the way, Maros Buzelas. I got to ask you about him because I go to these games. He doubled his scoring output. What can he be at his best, right? I mean, he's a super talented kid. What can he be eventually in your eyes?
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