Full Transcript for Optionality - NBA Free Agency Stalls on LeBron Decision

was uh interesting to say the least. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:08.560 Brad Stevens said trading Jalen Brown cost him sleep, and for once, that's not you know just regular old PR speak. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:25.040 Ten years, six conference finals, uh two finals trips, a NBA championship, a finals MVP trophy, and the Celtics never missed the playoffs with him on the roster. 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:30.560 Then Boston sent him to Philadelphia for Paul George and four picks. 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:38.399 Optionality was the word that Stevens married himself to in Monday's press conference. 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:45.199 This stripped the buzzword away from this one thing, money. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:59.199 You don't trade two years removed finals MVP for an oft-injured, six-year-old Paul George, unless the second apron is functioning as a de facto hard cap. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:04.079 And with that being said, I want to talk about that real quick. 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:09.920 He said something very important in that um press conference. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:13.519 He talked about how Jalen Brown was a hell of a player. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:36.000 He talked also about how he couldn't have 70% of his cap tied into two guys, and this is where the second apron it was going to stop guys like Steve Balmer and now like Mark Walter and Joseph Lacup to not be able to just spin their way out of trouble. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:50.639 But the unforeseen circumstances in the in the kind of the byproduct of this is also you got guys who like Jalen Brown is a homegrown talent in Boston. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.399 They drafted him out of Cal. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:06:00.959 It was one of those situations where it they bet on the athletic traits, and they absolutely absolutely hit. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:13.759 It's one of those things where I as as now as somebody who works in a situation where I'm trying to scout these players and the ones that are coming into the draft, like the guys who came in this year. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:22.240 One of the things that I actually absolutely have taken myself out of is just scouting the athletic traits. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:26.160 You know, do you have actual basketball sk skill? 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:34.800 And then now you have Jalen Brown, I'll be it, this was 10 years ago, so it's not like we've had a lot of Jalen Browns come into the league. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:39.680 But Boston was the one team to hit on this guy. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:45.759 And did they hit I mean immaculately? 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:50.000 So, what does it all mean? 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:56.319 Well, it means that Boston is gonna be seeing a lot of Jalen Brown, obviously in the future. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:06.240 Um Brown and Tatum uh couple years ago combined for 47% of the cap in the 2024 title season. 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:15.519 And what Steven's saying, that number was trending towards 70% of the cap, such a high percentage for

our usage tied to into two players. 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:20.800 Brown was traded for financial architecture, not performance. 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:37.439 His career high obviously in 2028.7 per points per game, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, uh with 56 wins, and he was sixth in MVP voting, second all-team NBA. 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:48.720 These are things that you already know, but it was his best individual season of his career, and it came a year, uh, came a year, and then they moved him. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:54.079 You know, so this was his best year that he just had, and they moved him. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.759 So you can never say, well, we made our team better. 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:06.480 You know, there was this there was this discussion in the well, I I applaud the Boston press. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:14.639 I applaud the Steve Buckley's of the world, the Dan Shaughnesses of the world for asking the hard questions. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:15.120 I think A. 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:23.199 Shirach Blakely was in there, and a couple other cats that really are in tune with the with the goings-on in Boston. 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:27.839 And they asked, hey, you traded Jalen Brown. 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:31.120 How does this make your team better? 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:33.919 And there was no answer for that. 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:38.159 It was basically kept on going back to the word optionality. 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:42.080 This gives us more optionality down the road. 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:52.399 This doesn't make our team better now, but this makes our way, our pathway to a better team in the future easier. 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:56.720 I don't know if any Boston fan wants to hear that. 00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:00.320 I don't know if anybody really wants to hear that. 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:15.919 Cause here's the thing that you're giving up motor, character, adversity, response, all these things are what Brad Steven knows about Jalen Brown. 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:22.480 He's the defining player of this era for the Boston Celtics, along with Jason Tatum. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:29.360 Any way you look at it, losing Brown is a talent decline. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:38.480 Framing it outright, like in a situation where you're saying, okay, well, it's cap math, it's not scouting, you can tell me all of those things. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:40.960 You can give me all the buzzwords you want. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:47.200 But at the end of the day, you're losing a really good player. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:53.279 Now, the analytics will tell you that Jalen Brown is inefficient. 00:09:53.279 --> 00:10:05.679 Brown's pick and roll ball handling turnover rate set at uh 60 68th to 83rd percentile, which basically is elite ball handling from 2019 to 2021. 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:12.159 Then it slipped back towards uh 38th to 57th percentile from 22 on. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:15.039 Okay, so there's a there's a slippage there. 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:28.240 So I'll say this again pick and roll ball handling turnover rate was in between 68th and 83rd percentile from years 2019 to 2021. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:36.159 Then it slipped from 38th to 57th percentile from 22 till now, present day. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:46.320 Boston learned leaned on him for more table setting uh and not just scoring, his uh efficient field goal percentage held steady. 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:50.240 It was in the low to mid 50s the whole time. 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:58.960 Now, if you want to talk about like his splits or what have you, we can do that. 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:07.600 55% of his career positionally, he was a small forward, 38%. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:13.120 He was a shooting guard, he really wasn't never a coin guard. 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:21.120 He's a second-side initiator only, you know that and where he's going. 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:23.200 That's what they're gonna ask him to do. 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:27.120 He's paired with Tyrese Maxie now in Philadelphia. 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.279 He's gonna be the lead guard. 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:38.799 Obviously, he was third all NBA, shooting close closer to the rim, and more efficiently than the year before. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:56.799 All this means is that they got another stud to pair with another stud, and hopefully Jalen Brown's availability will kind of counteract what you're gonna lose with Embiid and his pending injury that he usually has during the season. 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:14.559 So if you want to talk about more stats or like how lopsided this deal was, Paul George played 41 games in 2024 and 2025, and then he played 37 games in last year's uh tilt season tilt. 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:26.240 Uh, so two thing two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he basically averaged less than 50 games a year. 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:32.240 Um went healthy, he's an efficient type of dude. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:45.600 He shoots uh 53.6% efficiently uh efficient field goal percentage last season, but obviously it's the durability situation that is going to hold back Paul George. 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:53.440 Now ground said Boston showed him a lack of respect once the trade talks went left. 00:12:53.440 --> 00:13:02.720 A real relationship was fractured, separate the front from the on card uh case and stuff like that. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:06.879 So basically, he said he felt disrespected. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:18.639 He said that he felt like the relationship went completely left once the Giannis trade was talked about and what have you. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:29.039 Now, Brad Stevens says that he talked to Jalen Brown before all of this happened, and now we're in this situation. 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:36.080 Now, you want to talk about anything else when it comes to Jalen Brown in Brad Stevens? 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:43.919 Stevens called him a force, and that's exactly the problem for projecting George into the squad. 00:13:43.919 -->

00:13:53.440 George can fall into a lower usage complimentary role in a way that Brown by nature was never going to accept. 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:54.879 You can tell me that. 00:13:54.879 --> 00:14:01.600 That's the real stylistic swap being sold as a like-for-like trade. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:24.320 But you know, and I know that the Tatum Brown tandem might touch the ball close to evenly, but the inherent value in a Tatum possession over Brown's possession, that's the got in shot value, is arguably the real reason Boston kept Tatum and Moo Brown. 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:29.840 The cap story and the value story point in the same direction. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:46.000 So the what they're saying, what what I'm saying through all of this, in layman's terms, and I think somebody can't remember who said this, but having two similar guys. 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:52.320 Now I don't think they personally play the same type of game. 00:14:52.320 --> 00:15:00.879 I think Tatum shoots more threes and Brown shoots more long twos than anything else. 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:04.559 I think that was the real reason why Brown was let go. 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:07.039 They wanted to play a different style of basketball. 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:24.720 I don't know if it's gonna still be the same style of basketball that was played the last three or four seasons with Joe Mazzula at the helm, but I do believe that what we're looking at right now is that they are pivoting, and I think they want to skew. 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:30.960 They're not gonna skew younger this year because of Paul George, but I think at some point they want to skew younger. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:42.080 Uh, they want to get uh contracts that are more controllable, that are more reasonable for them, but they don't get that relief for another two years. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:47.120 So you can't tell me that this was a a right now issue. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:58.799 You can tell me that you're preparing for the future, and there's no Boston fan that I know of that really gives a rat's ass about what's gonna happen in two years. 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.919 Here's the other point that I want to make to this. 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:15.279 In your saving of money in two years, not right now, not this moment, not when the season starts, in two years, is that gonna ultimately cost you JC Tatum? 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:34.159 How frustrated is this guy gonna be if for some reason he's the one who holds the keys to the castle, but he doesn't have any knights and he doesn't have any army to help him win the ultimate prize, which is the NBA championship. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:52.240 Now I will say this about Philly and Jalen Brown with Brown Maxie MB and now he's not a rookie going into his second year, VJ Edgecomb, who needs touches to develop still. 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:55.120 That's a lot of miles to feed at one table. 00:16:55.120 --> 00:17:03.919 Nick Nurse will have to manage this with real finesse as or it will turn into a shot distribution problem by Thanksgiving. 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:20.240 Boston didn't lose Jalen Brown because he stopped being great, they lost him because great got too expensive to stack twice, and optionality is just a nicer word for budget problem. 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:29.599 Don't build a fully armed operational battle station and then act surprised when the budget office comes for it. 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:42.720 You know, you you sit there and you and I'm gonna tell you right now, this is a Bill Chisholm situation, and his uh private equity group that that's behind him. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:51.039 Them dudes is crunching the numbers and saying, Hey, hey, we we gotta we gotta cut costs a little bit. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:53.119 We gotta figure this out. 00:17:53.119 --> 00:18:08.160 And I'm gonna tell you right now, it's gonna get real loud in Boston when the product on the court is going in a downward, you know, cycle. 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:11.279 It will be a real problem. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:19.440 Optionality is a nicer word for we can't afford both of them anymore. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:32.960 That's what you should have just said, and you should have said that thanks to Bill Chisholm and Sixth Street, you know, private equity, this is where we are. 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:48.160 Now, obviously, Brad Stevens would have lost his job job over something like that, and we don't want that to happen because you know here's the thing: we can judge Brad Stevens on his body of work. 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:56.640 You can tell me that this trade was awful, and I would 100% agree with you. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:00.400 The problem is is that I don't think this came from Brad. 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:03.519 I don't think this came from Stevens whatsoever. 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:20.079 I think this was a absolute call from up top, and I don't care what Bill Chisholm tells me, he can tell me all of this stuff that this is a move towards winning down the road. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:34.160 This was a move to clear up your budgetary constraints for the next two seasons, you know what I'm saying? 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:44.240 So this is something that you can tell your shareholders and your board of directors, hey, we're gonna make some cash at the end of this. 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:46.000 So there is that. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.240 Now, you won't talk about some cash. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:50.480 Let's talk about Donovan Mitchell. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:20:12.559 Donovan Mitchell had the leverage to wait another year and sign for $353 million next summer, but he gave the Cavaliers a break, and he signed this season, taking on a he signed a $273 million extension ext instead. 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:16.480 And again, I was wrong. 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:18.799 I was wrong on this one. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:37.119 I had the situation trending toward Mitchell asking out after two disappointing playoff runs

that ended abruptly had me thinking the frustration was gonna build towards a trade request, not a nine-figure vote of confidence. 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:41.039 So this raises two real questions. 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:47.200 Does Donovan Mitchell know another domino is about to fall? 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:50.640 Is LeBron landing in Cleveland? 00:20:50.640 --> 00:21:00.160 Or is this just a just a faith in Kobe Altman and Kenny Atkinson to build the right thing around him? 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:03.200 So let's get into the numbers. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:13.039 My man signed a four-year extension for $273 million that does not kick in until the 2027-28 year. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:21.119 This includes a $75 million player option when Donovan Mitchell hits 34 years of age. 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:26.000 He left a bigger extension on the table by not waiting. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:35.440 Mitchell in April on record, he said this organization that's willing to do anything for its players. 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:45.200 Uh, it was direct, it was uh something that you sit there and you go, his verbiage has always said like he wanted to stay. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:52.160 This wasn't something like PR put in his head, this is something that you got from Donovan Mitchell himself. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:58.079 Now, what is the Cleveland Cavaliers getting with Donovan Donovan Mitchell? 00:21:58.079 --> 00:21:59.759 Well, they're getting a lot. 00:21:59.759 --> 00:23:06.000 I mean he is a almost a 27 point per game guy over five assists four and a half rebounds a game and one and a half steals a game on 46 well damn near 47% shooting across 264 games since the trade playoffs every year and now confirm the first true deep playoff run ever after LeBron you know saying betting on a smaller guarantee now versus a bigger one one year later is a differentiator between this situation this dude craves stability he also again must love where he's at in Cleveland this is a win for the front office of Cleveland this is a win for that uh for that franchise it's a win for the Cleveland fans because you your guy left money on the table. 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.960 He left money on the table. 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:12.000 Jokic didn't is not going to do this. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:19.279 Jokic is going to sign the contract next year, and he's gonna get the 353 million. 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:23.680 Our guy left like 80 million on the table. 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:34.960 So Donovan Mitchell should be uh applauded for his uh his virtue towards the Cleveland Cavaliers for this situation. 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:40.799 Now, I will say this, he has been snake-bit in the playoffs. 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:49.279 His Cleveland era, his Cleveland era playoff averages are still stellar, 27.3 points a game. 00:23:49.279 --> 00:24:08.319 He's shooting uh 52.1 uh effective field goal percentage, 2.6 turnovers, it beats his Utah era, not in points, but if you look at it, it's a little more efficient. 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:29.920 He was averaged 28.3 points a game in Utah with an effective field goal percentage of five point uh 50.4, and he also averaged like a half a turnover more, so his efficiency and his ball handling have gone up in Cleveland. 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:34.079 So what does this that basically tell you? 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:35.440 That tells you two things. 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:46.640 One, he's grown as a player, and two, he trusts his teammates, and his teammates have you know rewarded him with their with his trust. 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:59.920 Now, this is what I also will say a full year of James Harden, another full season of both bigs and real continuity for once. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:07.599 Can this version of the Cleveland Cavaliers actually make the run that the Cleveland fans have been wanting? 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:09.599 I'm still skeptical. 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:16.960 Me, Vince Carter, host of Front Runner Podcast Collective, Cleveland, you can sing all your hate towards me. 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:27.680 And the reason why I say that is it's not about the roster construction as it sits today, and it's not about Mitchell's game. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:29.759 The numbers above say it all. 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:36.400 He's trending up, and I'm not just sold on the roster around him that's getting caught that's caught up yet. 00:25:36.400 --> 00:26:05.599 And the reason why I say that is I don't think I've had real high expectations for Evan Mobley, and I don't know if he'll ever be more assertive than he is now, and that really bothers me because I expected this dude to be Chris Bosch-esque, okay? 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:09.599 Not Chris Bosch himself, but Chris Bosch-esque. 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:26.880 And I just don't know if he'll ever get there, and I think if the Cavaliers want to go where they do want to go, kind of waiting on LeBron James seems to be something of a sticking point. 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:55.119 And here's the one thing I will say if LeBron James is willing to go ahead and take that like that tertiary road of role, well, tertiary road of a role player in Cleveland, where he doesn't have to score 20 points a game, and whatever the case may be, and he can give some more effort on the defensive end, he's going to be an upgrade from Max Struce. 00:26:55.119 --> 00:27:11.759 Now, I'm worried about the spacing in Cleveland, you know, because Evan Mobley, even though he shoots threes, he doesn't shoot them at a volume that scares anybody to have to like really rotate out to him. 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:15.119 So that's a problem, but we'll see. 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:21.759 Every artist got the album where they finally sound like themselves. 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:26.720 The one where the singles stop feeling like warmups. 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:34.480 Cleveland is betting on last season's conference or conference final run and was Donovan Mitchell's version of that

album. 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:40.240 And they just signed him to make three more like it. 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:43.839 I'm not fully bought in yet. 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:52.240 It's whether the roster has the features to back him up. 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:55.920 And here's the one thing I am going to say. 00:27:55.920 --> 00:28:06.960 I have my right to change my mind anytime I want on this particular situation because the sticking point, and we'll get to a little bit later. 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:08.799 Go ahead and drink on that. 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:15.759 I know I say that a lot, but we will get to a little bit later because we're going to talk about LeBron and what's going on with him. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:17.359 The tension. 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:20.640 Here's the thing that I want to say about Donovan Mitchell. 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:29.279 He's getting paid like he's already won a championship with this extension. 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:37.839 This is a belief that there'll be a Larry O'Brien trophy in that building sometime in the near future. 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:47.599 That is a big bet on Donovan Mitchell as a player, as a leader, and as a person. 00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:56.480 Now, do I think all of those three things have the capability of getting an NBA championship to Cleveland? 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:58.079 100% I do. 00:28:58.079 --> 00:29:00.880 My thing is this. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:10.799 What are you getting from James Harden and what are you getting from Evan Mowgli to help him achieve this goal? 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:15.519 Because it will take those two guys, even if. 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:19.519 Now LeBron comes, whole different story. 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:23.279 We can talk about how that makeup of that roster looks then. 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:28.160 But for right now, we just got to go off the roster that we have right now. 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:46.480 Speaking of the Eastern Conference and dominance, our guy Jalen Brunson, who just won a title, playing through a torn up left wrist on his shooting on his shooting hand, nobody knew up until the surgery that got confirmed after the parade. 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:52.960 This dude averaged 28.4 a night through the run. 00:29:52.960 --> 00:30:03.519 He dropped 45 in the closeout game and walked away with the finals MVP with his hand quietly falling apart the whole time. 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:22.000 Now he's doing it with one hand tied behind his back, literally. 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:35.920 For the New York Knicks fans, who are still basking in the glow of the NBA championship after 53 years. 00:30:35.920 --> 00:30:40.640 His postseason splits by month tell the whole story. 00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:49.839 In April, he shot 52.4% effective field goal percentage with a 56.9 true shooting percentage. 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:58.559 Then in May, he shot 54% effective field goal percentage and 60.8 true shooting percentage. 00:30:58.559 --> 00:31:02.319 A plus 17.8 with him on the floor. 00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:09.920 Then in June, finals month, effective field goal percentage craters to 47.4%. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:13.599 True shooting percentage drops to 53.6%. 00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:19.519 And the plus minus collapsed to one to uh a positive 1.6. 00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:27.599 Now here's the twist: his scoring average went up to a series high 32.6 in June. 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:28.720 You know what I'm saying? 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:37.279 He scored more and got less efficient at the same time with his team's margins shrinking around him. 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:43.279 That's the box score fingerprint of a guy playing through a wrecked shooting hand. 00:31:43.279 --> 00:32:02.960 We got more stats for you that we, you know, we pulled his field goal percentage in these playoffs, was sitting at 47.2%, with the is a 58 percentile below his 2023 postseason peak of 52.7, which was 71st percentile. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:13.519 His three-coin stroke actually held up fine, 36.3%, which is 51st percentile mid-pack for his career. 00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:23.680 So this wasn't the shot being gone, it was specifically the contested shots at the rim, pressured looks, getting harder. 00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:28.079 That's consistent with his wrist issue, not a slump. 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:31.359 This is the Rocky training montage in reverse. 00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:35.839 Rocky got months to get right before the fight. 00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:42.799 Brunson showed up every night for two months and manned up. 00:32:42.799 --> 00:32:58.000 And he just rolled through the Eastern Conference and then got to the NBA finals and just continued to come back on San Antonio. 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:01.039 And this is what I want to say about that. 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:06.640 Jalen Brunson and the Knicks reminded me a lot of the chick for the ring. 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:07.920 What is it, Samira? 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:11.599 She never sleeps. 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:14.480 She never sleeps. 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:22.960 And as much as San Antonio came out like a house on fire, it was never enough. 00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:31.680 It it didn't matter what lead you had, it was gone, it was gone by the end of the fourth quarter, baby. 00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:35.680 Because Brunson and the Knicks walked you down. 00:33:35.680 --> 00:33:44.000 Now, here's the other thing with him, and just just you know, again. 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:49.039 I'm so impressed with Jalen Brunson in so many ways. 00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:51.519 The four-year averages are ridiculous. 00:33:51.519 --> 00:34:00.880 26.3 points per game, 6.8 assists a game, back-to-back east final trips, and now a title. 00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:07.680 This isn't a one-series fluke, it's sustained four-year climb to a franchise great. 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:14.400 And he did it the hardest part of it, very compromised. 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:30.239 Now, the injury might have been

a mystery, but what we're hearing from leave sources is they expect him to resume basketball activities late in the summer, and it shouldn't uh linger into camp. 00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:35.119 Pair that with the June dip, and Reed is clean. 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:43.039 This is an is a basically an in-season injury he played through, not a chronic issue that's gonna build enough for years. 00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:51.039 The great thing about that is that Knicks fans, your boy will be back on the court as the season starts. 00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:53.760 That's what they are saying right now. 00:34:53.760 --> 00:34:54.880 We'll see. 00:34:54.880 --> 00:35:00.559 I believe that's listen, Brunson is a hard worker, he's a dedicated dude. 00:35:00.559 --> 00:35:05.119 He puts a lot of time into his um preparation to get ready for the season. 00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:11.119 He's a complete Iron Man, and uh I expect him to be back on the court post-haste. 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:16.079 The Knicks ran it back with basically the same roster for a reason. 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:18.880 Why break up the team that just won it all? 00:35:18.880 --> 00:35:23.039 And their best player being hurt. 00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:27.440 The real story isn't that Brunson gutted it out for the title. 00:35:27.440 --> 00:35:41.119 The June numbers prove it cost him something real down the stretch, which makes him fully healthy and Brunson next spring genuinely scary proposition for the rest of the East. 00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:44.960 So I'm gonna say this right now. 00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:50.719 The Knicks, I'm not saying they're gonna repeat. 00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:58.239 I think there are a lot of teams that are building up to to go ahead and and challenge them. 00:35:58.239 --> 00:36:04.559 But tell me a team that's better prepared for what they need to do. 00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:12.000 Cause I think that what we also saw is the emergence of of OG and Anobi. 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:16.880 And I think that he played such a critical role, not just with the block. 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:22.239 I mean the block was the block was special on the tip end was even more special. 00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:35.440 But when you needed him to step up and put some points on the board, and then continue to play the stellar defense that he normally plays, he did that. 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:40.800 Now you lost Mitchell Robinson, you gained Andre Drummond. 00:36:40.800 --> 00:36:48.400 We'll see how much of a a downgrade that is, or or if it's kind of like a rock steady even situation. 00:36:48.400 --> 00:36:54.639 But as far as your core is concerned, it's the same. 00:36:54.639 --> 00:37:02.639 And it got another year of continuity, and now it has what we call NBA finals confidence. 00:37:02.639 --> 00:37:07.920 We got championship swagger, and we walking into this year. 00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:10.559 So good luck with that. 00:37:10.559 --> 00:37:14.400 Good luck with the East dealing with that. 00:37:14.400 --> 00:37:19.440 Basically, Josh Hart is still gonna be a maniac. 00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:23.760 But I want to caution New York Dicks fans this way. 00:37:23.760 --> 00:37:27.840 There's a team that's lurking out there. 00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:31.199 Maybe a team that you forgot about. 00:37:31.199 --> 00:37:33.599 And that's the Indiana Pacers. 00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:41.360 Now the Indiana Pacers, they picked up Kelly O'gray during this uh free agency frenzy that we got going on. 00:37:41.360 --> 00:37:50.000 Uh two years, 16.5 million guaranteed to solve a problem that Chad Buchanan named out loud last week. 00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:51.679 No size on the wing. 00:37:51.679 --> 00:38:08.800 Ougre's 6'8, and he is a band scorer, he's a cutter, and which matters a lot when you have a healthy, healthy Tyrese Halliburton finally back from missing all of last year with a tornado Achilles. 00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:11.760 Also, my guy got shingles last year. 00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:14.000 It's been a hard year for our guy. 00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:23.440 Do not sleep on a team that also acquired Ivica Zubots during the trade deadline. 00:38:23.440 --> 00:38:29.840 Now, did it cost them a high drawdy uh a high draft lottery pick last year? 00:38:29.840 --> 00:38:31.039 Yes, it did. 00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:41.440 But you're getting Tyrese Halliburton healthy and Avisa Zubat healthy back into the lineup. 00:38:41.440 --> 00:39:00.239 Now, with everybody chasing LeBron and his sweepstakes, let me give you some things that I want to kind of give back to you as far as people who are trying to figure out what supremacy in the East is going to look like. 00:39:00.239 --> 00:39:03.199 Kelly Ugray Jr. 00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:22.000 last year was 14.1 points per game on a slash line of 46.7% field goal percentage, 36% three-point shooting percentage, and 76.6 percentage from the free throw line. 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:26.960 41 of his 50 games were starts. 00:39:26.960 --> 00:39:30.320 He played 31.5 minutes a night. 00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:32.639 This wasn't a bench cameo. 00:39:32.639 --> 00:39:35.360 This was a near full-time role. 00:39:35.360 --> 00:39:40.880 In Indiana, he's going to be a bench scorer. 00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:47.519 He's going to come off and he's going to play significantly less minutes than he did last year. 00:39:47.519 --> 00:40:00.000 But this his ability to slash and score and then stand out by the three-point line is going to be absolutely critical to the Pacers team. 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:05.920 Now I will say his three-point percentage of 36% is a career high. 00:40:05.920 --> 00:40:10.960 That means his stroke is trending up. 00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:13.119 I like that feature. 00:40:13.119 --> 00:40:20.960 Over his 11-year career, he's played in 705 games. 00:40:20.960 --> 00:40:24.239 He's averaged 13.3 points a game. 00:40:24.239 --> 00:40:27.840 His field goal percentage is about 44%. 00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:32.639 His career

three-point shooting is 32.7%. 00:40:32.639 --> 00:40:38.719 And he's very close to what his his free throw percentage is from last year. 00:40:38.719 --> 00:40:46.719 The reason why I'm telling you that is that a lot of things are trending up. 00:40:46.719 --> 00:40:50.480 And now also you're going to tell me that he's going to get better shots. 00:40:50.480 --> 00:40:53.280 The one thing that I will say about Kelly Ubre Jr. 00:40:53.280 --> 00:40:53.679 is this. 00:40:53.679 --> 00:40:55.920 He's played on some god-awful teams. 00:40:55.920 --> 00:40:59.599 He played on a pretty good team with Philadelphia last year. 00:40:59.599 --> 00:41:04.960 This year he's playing on an Indiana team that is getting Tyrese Halliburton back. 00:41:04.960 --> 00:41:07.599 And they'll have their full complement of players. 00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:16.320 Plus, they will also have the just bruising brute Avisa Zubots also in the mix. 00:41:16.320 --> 00:41:26.079 Now you want to talk about what he is, his positional size at 6'8, um for a wing. 00:41:26.079 --> 00:41:34.639 The league benchmark is 6'6, 211 pounds, and we got this dude at 6'8. 00:41:34.639 --> 00:41:45.119 He also is a cutter of the highest level, which will help Halliburton in live ball situations. 00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:55.119 We know what Halliburton's vision is like, and he stylistically fits the cutting frequency of the Indiana Pacers. 00:41:55.119 --> 00:41:57.760 Keep moving, keep moving at with pace. 00:41:57.760 --> 00:42:02.639 This is the type of thing that our guy, Rick Carlisle, loves to have. 00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:04.639 So he's getting, guess what? 00:42:04.639 --> 00:42:09.519 Our fame our most famous word of the week. 00:42:09.519 --> 00:42:10.960 Optionality. 00:42:10.960 --> 00:42:17.440 Now, what does this do for Jarrett Walker? 00:42:17.440 --> 00:42:20.400 This might be the end for our guy. 00:42:20.400 --> 00:42:23.519 I was I had high hopes for him coming out of Houston. 00:42:23.519 --> 00:42:26.320 It just never clicked, as far as that's concerned. 00:42:26.320 --> 00:42:36.719 Now, he did score 11.6 points per game because he actually got some run last year on 25.7 minutes. 00:42:36.719 --> 00:42:40.559 And he also chipped in with 41 starts. 00:42:40.559 --> 00:42:44.000 The last season was awful for Indiana. 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:46.400 They just kept getting injured. 00:42:46.400 --> 00:42:50.719 People in and out of the lineup, no kick cohesiveness whatsoever. 00:42:50.719 --> 00:42:58.800 So I am really looking forward to seeing what they're going to look like this uh next offseason or next season. 00:42:58.800 --> 00:43:01.039 Also, the same thing for Ben Shepherd. 00:43:01.039 --> 00:43:03.599 He's going to lose some time off of this situation. 00:43:03.599 --> 00:43:10.480 This deal pushes Indiana 6.5.5 million dollars over the luxury tax. 00:43:10.480 --> 00:43:12.960 Uh 1 million below the first apron. 00:43:12.960 --> 00:43:14.480 Doesn't matter. 00:43:14.480

--> 00:43:23.199 Because at the end of the day, you are looking at a championship, you know, or bus type of team. 00:43:23.199 --> 00:43:27.360 This is why they let go of Miles Turner last year. 00:43:27.360 --> 00:43:33.039 But they replaced him with something even more awesome. 00:43:33.039 --> 00:43:44.000 Because when you get a Visa Zubots, now again, first round picks, all that very I can understand what we're talking about. 00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:49.760 But what a Visa Zoobots gives him is a physical presence in the lane. 00:43:49.760 --> 00:43:52.880 He's a decent, he's a good shot blocker. 00:43:52.880 --> 00:43:59.280 He's also going to be a good target for our guy, uh Tyrese Hatlenburton, and also. 00:43:59.280 --> 00:44:04.480 A visa Zubat sets bone crushing picks. 00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:10.159 Like these picks are going to be physical. 00:44:10.159 --> 00:44:13.519 My man is not out here playing games. 00:44:13.519 --> 00:44:39.360 He's out here to make sure that he gets Tyrese Halligan a real release cost to be able to get into the lane, put pressure on the paint, and then allow the defense to be able to collapse on him so then he can make a move to shoot it out, to shoot to kick it out to shooters who are sitting on the wing. 00:44:39.360 --> 00:44:47.199 So I am really high on what this team, uh, the roster construct is of this team. 00:44:47.199 --> 00:44:55.840 I am obviously even more thrilled that Tyree Talliburton is back, which is great. 00:44:55.840 --> 00:44:59.760 I'm gonna take a sip of coffee because my throat is about to close. 00:44:59.760 --> 00:45:02.960 Everybody's obsessing about LeBron where he lands. 00:45:02.960 --> 00:45:10.079 Meanwhile, Indiana quietly assembles a top-tier East roster without needing him. 00:45:10.079 --> 00:45:25.679 Zubats inside, Ubre in top and coming off the bench, McConnell with McConnell running the second unit and a healthy Tyrese Halleckburton to go in and then slot everybody back into their position again. 00:45:25.679 --> 00:45:45.039 So our guy, Nim Hard, not gonna have to shoot it as much, our guy Neesmith playing crazy defense, and Pascal Siakum being the bet being one of the better uh Robins to Tyrese's Batman that we have in the league. 00:45:45.039 --> 00:45:55.119 Again, to all the Eastern Conference teams out there, I understand that the Pacers weren't a factor last year. 00:45:55.119 --> 00:45:58.800 You can best believe they're gonna be a factor this year. 00:45:58.800 --> 00:46:02.159 Oh, and then they got also uh Larry Nance Jr. 00:46:02.159 --> 00:46:07.599 as a backup big, so we'll see what that looks like as well. 00:46:07.599 --> 00:46:18.239 You're not gonna need a lot from him, but just in case, another live body, not gonna ask him to do much, but damn. 00:46:18.239 --> 00:46:22.239 Now, let's talk about the Clippers real quick, shall we? 00:46:22.239 --> 00:46:26.480 As you know, Kawhi Leonard is back in Toronto. 00:46:26.480 --> 00:46:33.199 The aspiration cap circumvention grueling is still hanging out there unresolved. 00:46:33.199 --> 00:46:40.000 The Clippers are turning the page whether they're fully ready to or not. 00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:58.000 What they got back in retiring, Brandon Ingram is a very good player, but he is not Kawhi, he's never impacted winning anywhere close to his predecessor, and for someone as long as Ingram, you think he would cause havoc on the defensive end. 00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:05.360 We have not seen that part of Ingram's game really since his like rookie season with the Lakers. 00:47:05.360 --> 00:47:12.559 Now, let's give you some stats that kind of hold hold this all to be true. 00:47:12.559 --> 00:47:20.320 Over the last seven years, Leonard's Clippers numbers are ridiculous. 00:47:20.320 --> 00:47:29.280 When he's in the lineup, they have a winning percentage of 65.6% without him, they're 48.4%. 00:47:29.280 --> 00:47:33.760 Obviously, they are better with him than without him. 00:47:33.760 --> 00:47:42.559 Tyloo's Clippers 11 out of 13 head-to-head. 00:47:42.559 --> 00:47:47.920 He averaged 22 points per game while shooting 51.4% shooting. 00:47:47.920 --> 00:47:58.880 And but his first season in Toronto and his last season in Toronto, the Clippers held him to 30 30 37 points on 31 shots. 00:47:58.880 --> 00:48:04.159 That is bad efficiency over two games. 00:48:04.159 --> 00:48:09.760 His assist to turnover ratio was six to eight. 00:48:09.760 --> 00:48:11.199 Not great. 00:48:11.199 --> 00:48:13.360 Small cycle size, right? 00:48:13.360 --> 00:48:18.719 Here's the thing that I want to everybody to understand. 00:48:18.719 --> 00:48:29.280 Ingram has posted a defensive box plus minus for every season he has played in this league in a negative situation. 00:48:29.280 --> 00:48:30.079 Okay? 00:48:30.079 --> 00:48:37.199 He has never had a positive defensive box plus minus in his entire career. 00:48:37.199 --> 00:48:42.320 His career steal percentage is 1.1. 00:48:42.320 --> 00:48:49.199 Well below plus defender wing norms for a player his size. 00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:54.159 This is exactly the number that I was worried about. 00:48:54.159 --> 00:49:00.960 His length has never translated into this defensive disruption at all. 00:49:00.960 --> 00:49:03.599 It's not one year blip. 00:49:03.599 --> 00:49:05.519 This is his entire career. 00:49:05.519 --> 00:49:15.199 Both of Ingram's last two teams defending better with him off the floor than with him on it. 00:49:15.199 --> 00:49:18.559 And the Clippers will have to hide him. 00:49:18.559 --> 00:49:22.000 Um, and here's the best card. 00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:28.480 He was on a team last year with uh Colin Mark Murray Boy Boyles. 00:49:28.480 --> 00:49:30.400 Uh say that three times fast. 00:49:30.400 --> 00:49:41.760 Colin Murray Boyles, Scotty Barnes, RJ Barrett, who's I would say a at least a break-even type of defender. 00:49:41.760 --> 00:49:44.719 Actually, he was more of a plus defender last year. 00:49:44.719

--> 00:49:55.679 And now you're telling me that Brandon Ingram is going to have like assignments where he's going to be guarding like Kevin Durant, Luca Doncic, maybe. 00:49:55.679 --> 00:49:57.440 You know what I'm saying? 00:49:57.440 --> 00:50:01.360 Like he's gonna have to guard Lori Marketing. 00:50:01.360 --> 00:50:15.599 Oh, don't forget the three terrors that are on San Antonio of Stefan Castle, Devin Vassell, Dylan Harper. 00:50:15.599 --> 00:50:23.440 I mean, this is going to be hard for our guy, Brandon Ingram. 00:50:23.440 --> 00:50:28.400 Because he's gonna have to average like 32 to 36 minutes a game. 00:50:28.400 --> 00:50:31.440 That means that he's gonna be on the quarter lot. 00:50:31.440 --> 00:50:35.039 And if he's on the quarter lot, guess what? 00:50:35.039 --> 00:50:37.760 Teams are gonna seek him out. 00:50:37.760 --> 00:50:49.840 Now, what the Clippers are losing with Leonard, Leonard posted positive deep defensive box plus or minus every season on record. 00:50:49.840 --> 00:51:00.159 So he was he was plus 0.9 plus 0.6 plus 0.6 plus 0.6. 00:51:00.159 --> 00:51:19.039 He averaged his career average is plus one point eight with a career steals percentage of 2.7, nearly a full point above his 2025-2026 usage similar level. 00:51:19.039 --> 00:51:28.000 Next to Ingram's negative 0.7 career average defensive box plus minus. 00:51:28.000 --> 00:51:46.480 And I understand that the salaries might have matched and what have you. 00:51:46.480 --> 00:51:55.039 But I am re I mean, I'm not saying they would have gave you Colin Murray Boyle. 00:51:55.039 --> 00:51:56.559 I'm not saying that. 00:51:56.559 --> 00:51:58.639 But I think I would have asked for something else. 00:51:58.639 --> 00:52:04.880 I think I would have, I don't know what I would have asked for, but we will see. 00:52:04.880 --> 00:52:07.039 Also, here's the other thing. 00:52:07.039 --> 00:52:11.280 You got Darius Garland on that team, and I love Darius Garland. 00:52:11.280 --> 00:52:12.960 I think he's a really good player. 00:52:12.960 --> 00:52:22.400 The problem is that he is six foot one, and him being six foot one, he is going to be absolutely hunted. 00:52:22.400 --> 00:52:39.199 And if you don't have somebody who is defensive minded on the wing, which we have been waiting for Brandon Ingram to show us this his entire career, and he has not, you're gonna have some issues on the defensive end. 00:52:39.199 --> 00:52:41.039 That's just what it's gonna be. 00:52:41.039 --> 00:52:57.760 Now, where Ingram is very valuable, he shoots 47.1% from the mid-range on 5.4 attempts, which is top three in the in League Y. 00:52:57.760 --> 00:53:02.000 He shoots 52.2% on corner threes. 00:53:02.000 --> 00:53:05.440 He doesn't get to the rim a lot, personally. 00:53:05.440 --> 00:53:15.920 He averages 52 games across eight seasons before this last past season, where he played in a lot more games as far as that's concerned. 00:53:15.920 --> 00:53:19.280 I don't it's a downgrade. 00:53:19.280 --> 00:53:21.280 For sure. 00:53:21.280 --> 00:53:25.199 You don't have a center to really speak of. 00:53:25.199 --> 00:53:33.360 But can he replace some of the productivity that Kawhi left? 00:53:33.360 --> 00:53:34.320 Yes. 00:53:34.320 --> 00:53:35.280 100%. 00:53:35.280 --> 00:53:41.360 Are you getting Keaton Waggler and uh Darius Garland in the backcourt? 00:53:41.360 --> 00:53:43.440 And will that help? 00:53:43.440 --> 00:53:46.159 Maybe a little bit, yes. 00:53:46.159 --> 00:53:54.800 But you still don't have the type of center you need to be uh the the rim protector because Brooke Lopez is old. 00:53:54.800 --> 00:54:11.679 Now he might still be decently effective at the rim, but you know what helps is having strong defensive wings that can help keep dudes out of the paint. 00:54:11.679 --> 00:54:16.079 Just saying. 00:54:16.079 --> 00:54:26.960 Every long running show has a moment where the lead actor leaves and the studio recasts the role. 00:54:26.960 --> 00:54:32.559 Same name, on the call sheet, completely different show. 00:54:32.559 --> 00:54:34.239 That's the Clippers right now. 00:54:34.239 --> 00:54:47.599 Ingram can hit every line Leonard used to hit on offense, but the show DNA was the two-way force that LA was scary in the playoff series. 00:54:47.599 --> 00:54:55.760 Because that's one thing that we always thought of is that with Kawhi, we had no idea what the upside of the Clippers were. 00:54:55.760 --> 00:55:12.400 Now he's walked out the door, went back to Toronto, and the numbers say his midseason replace or his uh his his replacement this year, say there's gonna be a gap. 00:55:12.400 --> 00:55:19.840 Tyron Lewis not directing the same series anymore. 00:55:19.840 --> 00:55:28.480 He's directing a spin-off, and the front court is still an okay casting call because they're gonna need some listen. 00:55:28.480 --> 00:55:30.079 Derek Jones Jr. 00:55:30.079 --> 00:55:31.920 is going to be vital. 00:55:31.920 --> 00:55:40.000 Okay, he is going to be vital to help that defense because Keaton Waggler is a rookie. 00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:53.519 Darius Garland is small and is going to be hunted on pick and roll um actions, and then Brandon Ingram is not obviously Kawhi Leonard. 00:55:53.519 --> 00:56:03.519 And we still don't know what Wayne Brooke Lopez is going to be officially super old and can't play anymore. 00:56:03.519 --> 00:56:09.199 Right now he's still okay, but we'll see how this works out this year. 00:56:09.199 --> 00:56:13.840 Because he is the sands in the hourglass are ticking on our guy. 00:56:13.840 --> 00:56:22.400 So we're gonna get to the LeBron situation. 00:56:22.400 --> 00:56:23.679 Yeah, sir. 00:56:23.679 --> 00:56:25.840 I told you we were. 00:56:25.840 --> 00:56:30.400 So LeBron James obviously still hasn't kicked the team yet. 00:56:30.400 --> 00:56:31.840 We're still waiting. 00:56:31.840 --> 00:56:33.360 The world is waiting. 00:56:33.360 --> 00:56:36.159 He left the

Lakers a couple weeks ago. 00:56:36.159 --> 00:56:42.079 Told them, hey, we we're not coming back before the Lakers could tell them we don't want you back. 00:56:42.079 --> 00:56:49.199 Um athlet the the athletic beat writers are checking in with all their sources. 00:56:49.199 --> 00:56:53.440 Shout out to the athletic, because you know I read them a lot. 00:56:53.440 --> 00:57:02.239 The man has an entire NBA free agency in gridlock. 00:57:02.239 --> 00:57:06.000 Denver clearly needs to make moves and hasn't. 00:57:06.000 --> 00:57:13.840 The Lakers now are starting to announce some of their signings because what they're doing is saying we can't wait. 00:57:13.840 --> 00:57:15.119 We can't wait on this. 00:57:15.119 --> 00:57:16.639 We gotta figure some stuff out. 00:57:16.639 --> 00:57:22.320 They renounced him yesterday so they can go ahead and start signing some of their guys. 00:57:22.320 --> 00:57:27.280 But Gold State is also waiting. 00:57:27.280 --> 00:57:29.599 Philadelphia is waiting. 00:57:29.599 --> 00:57:31.840 New York is waiting. 00:57:31.840 --> 00:57:34.639 Yeah, that's a real story right there. 00:57:34.639 --> 00:57:42.800 So, while all this is going on, Giannis obviously has made his situation official. 00:57:42.800 --> 00:57:44.800 And now here's the other thing with that. 00:57:44.800 --> 00:57:55.760 Giannis almost had a heart attack in the car yesterday or a couple days ago when there was a fake report of LeBron going to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 00:57:55.760 --> 00:57:57.679 He he started to freak out. 00:57:57.679 --> 00:58:02.400 Like he thinks that he has a chance in Miami to get him as well. 00:58:02.400 --> 00:58:06.320 I don't think so, but we'll get to that momentarily. 00:58:06.320 --> 00:58:19.199 Now, around the league, we are sitting here waiting on a guy who is 41 and who's going to be 42 in this season. 00:58:19.199 --> 00:58:23.679 This is year 24 for LeBron James. 00:58:23.679 --> 00:58:39.039 And to think that this man has this type of leverage at this point in his career, that's a testament to how he still is playing the game and how badly these franchises want him. 00:58:39.039 --> 00:58:43.519 So, where do we go from here? 00:58:43.519 --> 00:58:45.360 Let's tell you where we are. 00:58:45.360 --> 00:58:51.039 Okay, Denver can only afford the 3.9 veteran minimal. 00:58:51.039 --> 00:58:56.079 Miami, Philly are also near that same situation. 00:58:56.079 --> 00:59:04.159 The real, every real contender, LeBron's looking at a serious pay cut relative to his value. 00:59:04.159 --> 00:59:09.360 This isn't market, it's a legacy tour with a discount sticker. 00:59:09.360 --> 00:59:24.960 Now, Jokic told reporters in Belgrade he plans to re-sign with the Denver Nuggets long term, removing is this even real timeline a risk for LeBron if he picks the Nuggets. 00:59:24.960 --> 00:59:37.519 Listen, our guy Jokic doesn't care whether LeBron's coming, not coming, gonna play for the Monsters, going to play for the Holland Glow Trotters, is he gonna join the WNBA? 00:59:37.519 --> 00:59:38.559 He doesn't care. 00:59:38.559 --> 00:59:41.360 All Jokic cares about is two things. 00:59:41.360 --> 00:59:44.480 One, his horses. 00:59:44.480 --> 00:59:55.039 Two, I'm getting paid $353 million when I sign on the dotted line this time next year. 00:59:55.039 --> 00:59:57.519 That's what our guy Jokic is talking about. 00:59:57.519 --> 00:59:58.719 Alright. 00:59:58.719 --> 01:00:17.199 Minnesota still is opening up or keeping open up rocture spots to keep LeBron on their altar where he is going to pick them. 01:00:17.199 --> 01:00:30.400 Philly fit case leans on the open power forward spot and the mutual respect with Maxie and the King. 01:00:30.400 --> 01:00:38.559 But their own Greek writer says it's probably not enough to make Philadelphia the favorite, even with Jalen Brown already at it. 01:00:38.559 --> 01:00:43.440 What do you get in LeGron? 01:00:43.440 --> 01:00:45.679 Well, he's gonna miss some games. 01:00:45.679 --> 01:00:47.599 Okay, he missed 22 last year. 01:00:47.599 --> 01:00:48.960 He played 60. 01:00:48.960 --> 01:00:51.519 Now, he's still a brawler. 01:00:51.519 --> 01:00:54.559 20.9 points per game. 01:00:54.559 --> 01:00:59.280 He shot 51.5% field goal percentage. 01:00:59.280 --> 01:01:03.119 He had an effective field goal percentage of 55.7. 01:01:03.119 --> 01:01:08.000 He averaged 7.2 assists a game on three turnovers. 01:01:08.000 --> 01:01:09.440 So he was a 2.1. 01:01:09.440 --> 01:01:13.039 He was a 2 to 1 turnover ratio. 01:01:13.039 --> 01:01:19.760 Actually, it was more like 2.4 to 1 turnover ratio. 01:01:19.760 --> 01:01:23.360 He had an all-star nod. 01:01:23.360 --> 01:01:29.840 He didn't have any MVP votes, nor all NBA votes for the first time in ages. 01:01:29.840 --> 01:01:37.360 The scoring is down significantly, but that's because his role changed in Los Angeles last year. 01:01:37.360 --> 01:01:44.880 His assists towards his career were not that far off. 01:01:44.880 --> 01:01:50.320 He had 7.2 assists versus his career average of 7.4. 01:01:50.320 --> 01:01:53.440 His turnovers were actually down. 01:01:53.440 --> 01:01:59.920 He only averaged 3.3 turnovers a game to his career of 3.5. 01:01:59.920 --> 01:02:10.480 So as far as ball handling, distribution of the ball, all good signs there. 01:02:10.480 --> 01:02:29.440 Isn't just a recruiting angle, it's the most accurate description of what LeBron's tape already looks like. 01:02:29.440 --> 01:02:32.480 That's the thing. 01:02:32.480 --> 01:02:39.280 LeBron begrudgingly played the third option role in Los Angeles. 01:02:39.280 --> 01:02:45.199 Now, when the when the Lakers needed him in the playoffs, guess what? 01:02:45.199 --> 01:02:52.559 He reverted back to the number one option because Luca and Austin Reeves were hurt in that first round series. 01:02:52.559 --> 01:03:12.480 With that being said, if you go to Philadelphia, you are playing a role, my guy, because you

got Maxie, you got Jalen Brown, you got Joel MB, so you are like the fourth member of the four tops. 01:03:12.480 --> 01:03:13.760 You know what I'm saying? 01:03:13.760 --> 01:03:15.599 Like you are that guy. 01:03:15.599 --> 01:03:18.239 Is that going to be enough for you? 01:03:18.239 --> 01:03:39.840 Now, if you go to Cleveland with what we talked about earlier with Evan Mobley, the playoff struggles of James Harden, does LeBron James play a more significant role in Cleveland than he would any other place? 01:03:39.840 --> 01:03:40.320 Right? 01:03:40.320 --> 01:03:42.559 So we got Philly looking at him. 01:03:42.559 --> 01:03:44.400 We got the Knicks looking at him. 01:03:44.400 --> 01:03:50.400 If he was playing for the Knicks, he's definitely not going to be the first or second option there. 01:03:50.400 --> 01:03:56.719 With Carl Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson in the building and a title already won. 01:03:56.719 --> 01:04:01.360 In Miami, he's going to be the third option there. 01:04:01.360 --> 01:04:04.400 Because you got Giannis and Bam. 01:04:04.400 --> 01:04:06.079 Denver. 01:04:06.079 --> 01:04:18.000 If they keep Murray, if they keep Jamal Murray, you know, he is going to be the third option there. 01:04:18.000 --> 01:04:21.039 Oh, by the way, Peyton Watson is still there, too. 01:04:21.039 --> 01:04:28.480 Not saying that Peyton Watson is going to be that guy, but at the end of the day, who the hell knows? 01:04:28.480 --> 01:04:39.519 At Golden State, that's the only other team to me where he could be like a secondary role player. 01:04:39.519 --> 01:04:45.840 So what I mean by that is that Steph is still going to hold the keys to the castle there, obviously. 01:04:45.840 --> 01:04:54.800 But Jimmy Butler's not going to be there at least until the second half of the season, if not longer down the road. 01:04:54.800 --> 01:05:02.480 So to me, it's Golden State and Cleveland are the two favorites for LeBron James. 01:05:02.480 --> 01:05:05.840 Do I think Cleveland is going to get him? 01:05:05.840 --> 01:05:14.000 I don't think LeBron wants to have on his legacy that I played for four different teams. 01:05:14.000 --> 01:05:35.920 For me to go back to Cleveland, where I grew up, right? 01:05:35.920 --> 01:05:40.400 I played my first seven seasons in the league in Cleveland. 01:05:40.400 --> 01:05:45.519 We, you know, we got to the finals, got destroyed, whatever the case may be. 01:05:45.519 --> 01:05:48.800 Um, I came back, won a title here. 01:05:48.800 --> 01:05:52.960 Now I can come back and finish out my career in Cleveland. 01:05:52.960 --> 01:05:55.280 Storybook shit, all of that. 01:05:55.280 --> 01:05:56.719 You know what I'm talking about. 01:05:56.719 --> 01:05:58.639 It's gonna be magical. 01:05:58.639 --> 01:06:01.599 That's all well and good. 01:06:01.599 --> 01:06:13.679 But I will say this Rich Paul out here making content about his on Max Kellerman and his podcast with a whiteboard. 01:06:13.679 --> 01:06:19.119

Yo, I mean he got all these teams up there. 01:06:19.119 --> 01:06:28.559 He got like conspiracy theories and where's Bigfoot and what is actually going on in Area 51 and all of this other stuff. 01:06:28.559 --> 01:06:37.599 But at the end of the day, the one thing I think LeBron wants is the capability of being like a real decision maker on the court. 01:06:37.599 --> 01:06:38.719 Right? 01:06:38.719 --> 01:06:40.400 Ball in his hands. 01:06:40.400 --> 01:06:42.880 What does Steph do very well? 01:06:42.880 --> 01:06:45.199 Play off the ball. 01:06:45.199 --> 01:06:51.599 He's going to have a better scoring Draymond Green on the court with him in LeBron James. 01:06:51.599 --> 01:06:56.400 Now, what is Donovan Mitchell really good at? 01:06:56.400 --> 01:06:58.239 Playing off ball. 01:06:58.239 --> 01:07:00.320 Yeah, I can play on ball. 01:07:00.320 --> 01:07:02.320 I can play off ball. 01:07:02.320 --> 01:07:22.159 But if you have a bully like LeBron James barreling down the paint area and then kicking it out to Devon to Donovan Mitchell and or James Harden or whatever the case may be, that is going to be better, easier for everybody involved. 01:07:22.159 --> 01:07:27.119 And also it does the thing that matters most to LeBron. 01:07:27.119 --> 01:07:37.440 I have the capability of being a real difference maker on a team that has a chance to win. 01:07:37.440 --> 01:07:49.679 Gold State can give him the luxury of being a ball handling decision maker, but I don't know if it necessarily gives him the um the opportunity to win. 01:07:49.679 --> 01:07:53.119 No shade to my folks in the back. 01:07:53.119 --> 01:08:02.000 But I think you know and I know that LeBron probably wants a chance to win. 01:08:02.000 --> 01:08:04.639 I can't believe that we're here. 01:08:04.639 --> 01:08:17.359 I can't believe that in year 24 or going into year 24 with half the leaks transition uh transaction frozen. 01:08:17.359 --> 01:08:22.960 Draymond Green literally opting out of his guaranteed money on a hunch. 01:08:22.960 --> 01:08:30.800 And everybody going to Vegas, you know what I'm saying? 01:08:30.800 --> 01:08:34.560 Trying to get any morsel of information. 01:08:34.560 --> 01:08:39.279 When will the king make his announcement? 01:08:39.279 --> 01:08:40.720 I don't know. 01:08:40.720 --> 01:08:43.439 But I do know this. 01:08:43.439 --> 01:08:45.920 The Lakers have renounced his rights. 01:08:45.920 --> 01:08:48.560 Meaning like he can go anywhere he wants. 01:08:48.560 --> 01:08:59.119 They did not help him get a higher salary, which means that he's gonna be playing for the veteran minimal more likely than not. 01:08:59.119 --> 01:09:09.680 I think that Draymond can go ahead and resign with the Golden State Warriors because I think he's going home to Cleveland. 01:09:09.680 --> 01:09:14.399 Alright, so we talked our talk. 01:09:14.399 --> 01:09:15.920 We emptied our clip. 01:09:15.920 --> 01:09:18.880 That's what we do here at FRPC. 01:09:18.880 --> 01:09:20.960 Now, do us one favor. 01:09:20.960 --> 01:09:24.800 Share this episode with one person in your group. 01:09:24.800 --> 01:09:30.800 You know, let them know, hey, Frontrunner Podcast Collective dropped another pod. 01:09:30.800 --> 01:09:40.239 It had a lot of jewels in there, had a lot of gems in there that you're gonna need to pick up because we're trying to ride this NBA offseason till the wheels fall off. 01:09:40.239 --> 01:09:51.760 Now, you can check up on us on X, which is at FrontrunnerPC or at socially underscore FRPC. 01:09:51.760 --> 01:09:56.000 Uh our Instagram page is at frontrunnerpc. 01:09:56.000 --> 01:10:08.319 And also check us out on YouTube because we will probably have polls up there, we will have clips up there, we're gonna have the pod and video form up there in the next couple days for show for show. 01:10:08.319 --> 01:10:10.239 So keep that in mind as well. 01:10:10.239 --> 01:10:23.039 And you can get that through FRPC Vince, or you can just put in the little search engine Frontrunner Podcast Collective, and that will also get you to the pay window. 01:10:23.039 --> 01:10:35.920 Now, before we get up out of here, what I want to say is this the best part of you is still you, not your win-loss record, not your timeline, nor your algorithm, just you. 01:10:35.920 --> 01:10:45.520 Now remember to surround yourself with people who actually give you light, the ones who bring you insight, the joy, and the real accountability. 01:10:45.520 --> 01:10:47.520 That's your max deal. 01:10:47.520 --> 01:10:51.119 Appreciate them out loud and do not hesitate. 01:10:51.119 --> 01:10:55.920 Do not wait till later that nobody has promised you. 01:10:55.920 --> 01:10:58.239 We're a hoop family. 01:10:58.239 --> 01:11:02.159 We're gonna get loud, we're gonna be wrong sometimes. 01:11:02.159 --> 01:11:05.600 Hell, I was wrong on the Donovan Mitchell thing. 01:11:05.600 --> 01:11:10.960 But we're gonna come back and we're gonna own it like I did on the Donovan Mitchell thing. 01:11:10.960 --> 01:11:16.239 But we always respect your brain because anyone can yell a take. 01:11:16.239 --> 01:11:19.439 Very few can actually defend a thought. 01:11:19.439 --> 01:11:26.319 So until next episode, keep your mind sharp, your heart open, and your circle tight. 01:11:26.319 --> 01:11:33.760 Protect your peace like cap space and never waste it on bad basketball or bad energy. 01:11:33.760 --> 01:11:38.640 I'm Vince, this is Front Runner Podcast Collective, and we are out.