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Sports Live! With Steve and Justin
Georgetown Legend vs NBA Coach, Lebron and other NBA Stories.
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The NBA never stops rewriting its own stories, and we’re right in the middle of a few that could swing the league. We start with Patrick Ewing and the question people keep dancing around: what kind of coach is he now, after the Georgetown run, the early bumps, and the growth that came from taking the job seriously? We talk about why his biggest impact may be as a mentor who can protect young players from the noise, the pressure, and the stuff that eats careers alive.
From there, we dig into the coaching ecosystem itself. Billy Donovan landing with the Spurs as an assistant raises eyebrows, and we unpack why teams do this, what it does to a young head coach’s authority, and why one blown lead can change how a franchise evaluates “promise” versus “results.” It’s a real look at NBA coaching pressure, job security, and how fast the league can move when it thinks it’s in a win-now window.
Then we hit the headline: LeBron James possibly going back to Cleveland to close it out. We argue both sides, from legacy and emotion to pure strategy, salary cap reality, and what it does to the Eastern Conference playoffs. We also zoom out to the biggest LeBron questions: longevity, era context, NBA rules, spacing, and why his numbers may look even more untouchable a decade from now. We even get into the James Harden pay cut rumor and the cap gymnastics that could turn Cleveland into a true contender.
Subscribe for more NBA conversations, share this with a friend who never stops debating LeBron, and leave us a review with your take: does a Cleveland finale change how you judge his career?
Patrick Ewing’s Coaching Growth
SPEAKER_02But I I can't throw everything.
SPEAKER_04Just couldn't throw it. So let me switch it up a little bit, and that is what do you think about Patrick Ewing going to the Washington Wizards?
SPEAKER_03I really thought Patrick Ewing developed well as a coach when he was at Georgetown. I wasn't impressed with him early on. Um, you know, he had been in he had been an NBA assistant before with the Magic and a few other teams. I really thought Charlotte or something too, right? Yes. And by the time he had gotten, you know, his first year at Georgetown, I wasn't crazy about what he was doing. They brought Louis Orr in, uh, which was kind of bizarre as a Syracuse fantasy Louis Orr coaching at Georgetown because it was like the mortal enemy. But Orr sort of tutored, you know, uh Ewing. And Ewing really, I think, became a very good coach in his time there. They didn't win much in his last year or two. They did win the Big East, but they they had one lead and won a game the next season. Ewing, I think, is gonna get another shot somewhere. I actually thought he was a guy who, you know, it was funny because he and Mullen started at the same time in terms of coaching. And Mullen never developed, and I don't think Mullen really was into coaching, but I think Ewing was. And I really believe Ewing probably will get a shot at some other college at some point and be very good.
SPEAKER_01I think Patrick likes to be a mentor for younger players. I think that's where his strength is. I think because of what he went through as a rookie, and I guess maybe at George Sound, but what he went through as a rookie with the Knicks and early in his career and just the abuse that he took from the fan base early on, and the nasty rotten things that were said about and things are written about him. I think his strength is getting through the young players how to tune that out and and still be able to play the game rather than the X's and O's. Not that he doesn't know them, just that some guys have a knack for teaching X's and O's. And I think Ewing is more of a mentor where he can take young guys under his wing and say, look, you have to be able to ignore those things. This is the pitfalls you have to look out for. These are the things that happened to me, and you can make it relative to their game today. And I think based on the players that have played for him, they appreciate that part of it. I just don't know that that's you know, a guy who's gonna be a head coach in the NBA and it's gonna resonate with the entire team, whatever it is he's trying to push on it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think the younger team, but yeah, I I agree. I I I think I honestly And I want him to win. I'm not trying to be a distractor.
SPEAKER_01I no, I like him.
SPEAKER_03I love Patrick. I actually think, and I think the X and O's stuff has gotten better. I would love to see him at a mid-major or somewhere like that, really, because I think or really at a I I think he probably a low major could do very well, somewhere like Boston College or something. I mean, he he could win. I mean, uh what I saw out of him in terms of development in his time as a coach was really impressive. I I, you know, and yeah, I mean, the stories about him in high school, just what he was, I think it was a Boston Latin when Mike Jarvis was coaching there, was tormented in high school. And yeah, like, you know, he's always had a thing looking out for younger players. I like the idea of him either with a young NBA team or with a college team. I mean, I I really do. I think he got kind of a bad rap because, you know, he was a player, and so he, you know, he kind of, you know, he hadn't had any other college coaching experience before they put in Georgetown. So it felt like he jumped up a little bit
Mentoring Young Players Vs X’s And O’s
SPEAKER_03fast, but legitimately he he took that very seriously and made himself the best possible coach he could. And I really do think he's got another act in him. So I'm I'm hoping that the I'm hope, I mean, he might stay in the NBA. Uh as we saw with this week, Billy Donovan took an assistant job with the Spurs.
SPEAKER_01So, you know, I thought that was a big move for the Spurs.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I was stunned. I mean, I you know, I I was I was astonished in that like Billy Donovan, if you know, there are rumors all every two weeks about Billy Donovan going back to college, and they're always like, oh, Billy Donovan's gonna get this big time job here or there. People were talking about him as a potential guy for Carolina, but the NBA is like he's an assistant coach, which is strange, you know. Uh, and Donovan, but Donovan could get those types of jobs in college. For some reason, he really is drawn to the pro game. And I think they have a younger coach there. I think Donovan's gonna be more experienced as an assistant, and I do think that might be a problem because, you know, again, he's gonna, you know, like I mean, you're talking about a guy who's won two national championships, been in the NBA for a decade, and you you got a coach who's just turning 40.
SPEAKER_01You know, uh He's got a pretty pretty stellar resume, Billy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he does. And that's that's you know, for Mitch, that's a tough, you know, that's now you got the ghost to pop over one shoulder, and you got the ghost to you got the presence of Billy Donovan over another. That's that's about as win right now a situation as you can be in as a coach.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, I think that's why they did it. I think they realized they're in their window. And I don't I really don't think they expected to be a team that that was guaranteed the finals this year. I think they thought they could beat Oklahoma before that, the series before the the the conference finals, you know, and we talked about Wemby throwing that elbow, and I thought it was a a moment where I think I said, you know, they know they're in their window, and he knows they can win right now. And this is kind of the guy putting down his foot and saying, look, you guys have to play. It can't just be me. Now, the way it transpired, the way it played out in the finals, I mean, he just became the villain and he exhibited things that I, you know, didn't expect to come from him, and I think he probably took it too far. Hopefully he can reel that in and mature next year, and that's probably why Billy Donovan's there as part of that.
SPEAKER_04Well, I think I think even though the team did not do all the things to win, I think the coach could have given them more opportunities to win, and because of that, so it's not completely because of him they didn't win. It's partially because of him, because they could have won spite despite themselves.
SPEAKER_0129-point lead in a finals game, you have to win. And that's on the coach.
SPEAKER_03That's gonna haunt him.
SPEAKER_01That's on the coach.
SPEAKER_03I mean I agree with you.
SPEAKER_01You know, you could have put six high school players out there with, you know, and I'm not trying to disparage anybody, but a high school coach, and they would have won that game.
SPEAKER_03Well, with with Mitch Johnson, the problem becomes that there's you know, that's a huge problem, right? Now he's at a point where he's gotta win pretty quickly because you know, the next coach is right there. And also, if you look at it, it's like I I don't know, it's weird. It's it's it's I was thinking about like places LeBron might end up, right? And I'm looking at San
Billy Donovan Joins The Spurs
SPEAKER_03Antonio and it's like they gotta bring in a guy who's two years older than their head coach, you know. So it's it's it's a it's an odd dynamic, right? It's the same thing with Boston with Joe Missoula, he's done a great job and he's won a title. But I mean, like, you know, some of these NBA coaches are coming in, are very young coaches, and like I think that's great with a young roster, but when you start to bring veterans in, I'm not sure that's ideal, right? Like, uh, you know, if you want to, if you want to put together a team that's a balance of veterans and young players, which I think is typically what wins, you're gonna need a coach with some kind of experience. And I think that's I think that's kind of the method with that job. I was stunned they hired him for that, though, because that feels like a coach and waiting job. You know, behind a coach, I mean, you know, Ms. Johnson, like like I say, he he yeah, no disagreement on the blowing the lead, you know, in two games actually. It wasn't great coaching in certain situations, but also he got a team really a year ahead of where they should have gotten to the finals to the finals.
SPEAKER_01They're gonna know by the trade deadline where they are.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01That's basically what they set themselves up for. Are we are we able to progress from where we were last year at this point? And if you're in the same position and you don't feel like your head coach has grown, you make the move right then and there.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And that's, you know, but I I'll tell you, that job seemed, you know, when he got when he got to the finals, you're thinking, all right, this guy's got a pretty safe job, right? And it's like, you know, you like the fact that he may be, he could be done at the break if they start slow, that's unreal. But that's the idea. I mean, they they they blow guys out and and head coach.
SPEAKER_01Guys were look at look at the Knicks. They fired Thibodeau. Nobody thought he was getting fired. They didn't realize who they were, right? We didn't no one had uh Coach Brown right in in their hopper as a replacement. No one was thinking that far ahead, you know.
SPEAKER_03Who who was also talking about the Knicks? Yeah, who was a guy who won Coach of the Year and got fired the same year. The amount of DBA who've been fired the year they won Coach of the Year is unbelievable.
SPEAKER_04You know, but it's so it's so let me ask you let me ask you guys a question. And I should have made this the question in uh in the podcast, but maybe I'll make it out when I edit it all and put it out there. And that is no one's I don't I don't think anyone's criticized LeBron James more than me. I really don't. I every movie makes seems seems self seems selfish to me, everything all about him, not about the game, not about anything. And then what does he do? He goes back home. And maybe that is selfish too. Which he did once already. Yep, yeah, but I but I think him to play his final season in Cleveland really makes him look a little more human in my eyes.
SPEAKER_01He knows that though. Yeah, he knows that.
SPEAKER_04Whatever his motivation, others aren't gonna look at it that way. The people of Cleveland aren't gonna look at it that way.
SPEAKER_01No, no, they love him. I mean, that's basic.
SPEAKER_04And I think that I think that was a a classier move than if he would have went somewhere I mean. Whatever you say about him, and we say a lot, whatever you say about him, and I critici and you know, I say I'd rather have Bird, I'd rather have Magic, I'd rather have I say that all the time, right? But when a bot push comes to shove, he's one of the greatest players of all time. Absolutely. And maybe maybe just based on longevity, yeah. If it yeah, that's part of the mix, right?
SPEAKER_01I think there's two things happening at once here for LeBron. One, like you said, he can go home. It looks good, right? It's an easy move for him. He's gonna get paid one way or the other. Cleveland is a playoff team, respectively. And if he's the guy that adds to their lineup to help push them over the top, whether it's past the Knicks in the f in the semifinal, whatever it is, if he's there and they're floating around the three, four, five or higher, you know, if they're looking like a two-seed or they can win the conference, obviously he's not going anywhere. If he goes there and they're like a seven or eight play-in team when the trade deadline comes around and they don't think that they can get the players to push them over the top, what do you think is gonna happen? They're gonna trade him to whatever team is in first place, give him an opportunity to win and get back draft picks like everybody else did this year in the draft. They traded, traded, traded to stockpile more draft picks for the future. It's a win-win for both of them.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so I think they go that he goes there with no trade clause. Yeah, I I I yeah, I I think I think he's gonna fit in.
SPEAKER_01No, that doesn't mean anything. He can waive that if they want.
SPEAKER_03He probably could. He probably could, but I think they're gonna be real good.
SPEAKER_01Unless you're saying they're they're saying they're not trading him.
SPEAKER_04Well, you gotta what they're who knows what anybody's doing.
SPEAKER_01I think they put themselves to beat the Knicks. That's what I think they
Young Head Coaches Under Instant Pressure
SPEAKER_01did. I think they know that the history with of LeBron with the Knicks and how he tortures the Knicks was it's an easy move for them to go get LeBron. They were already a playoff team, right? So if they're the same team virtually, they should, for all intents and purposes, be better than they were last year with LeBron there.
SPEAKER_03So I I was trying to Even though he's 42 years old. Yeah, the tenth oldest player in the history of the game, by the way. Like the oldest guy ever played was 45. Nat Hick. And he matters, right?
SPEAKER_01He matters on that roster. He matters as a starter for whoever he goes.
SPEAKER_04Let me ask the question. Do you want to go one-on-one against LeBron James? I'm 51. But I mean, as a player, can you how many? How many players are gonna say I'd go one-on-one against LeBron James?
SPEAKER_01Well, listen, the young guys always want that smoke. They want to beat the best. I'll give guys credit where credit is due. Any young basketball player that's worth his salt is gonna want to be go against them. Whereas LeBron, ironically, took a lot of heat for the way he approached those all-star games and was more of a facilitator than a scorer, right? That's part of the his legacy that he has to overcome, or it's it's you know, the Kevin Garnettes of the world will call him out for those things. So yeah, I think young players want to take that. They want to go, you know, the best against the best. You know, when him and Kobe went at it in that team USA game back in, I want to say it was 2014 or 2015. There was like a split squad, you know, whoever wins makes the team kind of thing. And Kobe took LeBron to school in that, you know, and I don't think LeBron ever forgot what happened there. And as a result, you either become you step into the role where you're supposed to be the guy, right? Not that he ever wasn't, or you be you try to round off your game and become more of a a facilitator. I think LeBron was a different player in the first half of his career than the second half of his career. And I'm not talking about the very end year. I'm talking about before he won a championship and then after winning championships. Because the kid that took Cleveland to the finals, that dragged him there in the conference finals, that scored the last 24 points of the game all by himself is it is not you. I don't know that we ever saw that guy again.
SPEAKER_03Right. Yeah. Well, he he never hit him right.
SPEAKER_01He certainly looked like he was going to be the best player of all time then. I mean and that was like his rookie season or his second season. Then he leaves Cleveland, goes to Miami, and listen, I'm not you go to Miami, do I you don't have to stay in Cleveland. It was a circus with the decision, right? And then it becomes more of a clown show when him and Dwayne Wade are on stage talking about winning six, seven, eight championships, and they won two and lost two, or won two and lost one. So you know, he left a lot to be desired for a lot of people that were.
SPEAKER_04Wade had won one before he got there. Yes. Yes, with Shaq.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04With Shaq. So I mean, that we forget about Dwayne Wade sometimes. I mean, you know, you know why?
SPEAKER_03He retired seven years ago. And he was in the same age as LeBron. Yeah, like like it's it's wild. Like, you know, Wade
LeBron’s Cleveland Homecoming Debate
SPEAKER_03played a pretty, he had a pretty full career. He played, you know, LeBron, when we look back, I mean, one of the things I think is gonna change about how people see if if LeBron, if the thing in Cleveland sticks, and I'm thinking it will, they got they still got some cap gymnastics to do, but it's doable. If he ends up going back to Cleveland, it takes a lot of the edge off the story. And I gotta say, man, like that if he goes and wins there, I mean, like at the end of his career, his last he's walking off with a championship with Cleveland.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you know, statistics I don't think he even has to win the championship. No, I don't think so. If they win the conference, that's enough.
SPEAKER_03But but but the story of the thing.
SPEAKER_01Not that he needs to prove anything else at this point.
SPEAKER_03I mean, the durability hit, you know, I mean, you look at his career, there is nobody like him. You know, he's played what eight more years than Michael Jordan played at this point, you know, and has and these aren't eight years where he was kind of like just like you know, hanging around the league. They were eight years where he's playing 70 games, scoring 25 a game, 10 boards, you know, ton of assists. Longevity, I mean, you know, I remember, I remember years ago hearing people say one of the records that'll never get broken is Kareem's point record. That's never he blew through that two years ago. You know, he's he's like his numbers are so astonishing compared to everybody else who's played the game in terms of, you know, it nobody's been this good this long. I mean, he may not, he may not, you know, he'll never be six and oh in the championship, anything like that. But I mean, like, I think 10, 15 years down the road. I mean, I remember seeing this like when Jordan came up, you know, was winning, people were like, he's great, but you know, he's he's he's not bird or magic. Now it's like, you know, bird or magic who? And I think in 10 to 15 years, people are gonna look at LeBron's numbers and there's gonna be nobody near him in almost any statistical category. And the question's gonna be like, you know, because I I remember, you know, I remember there were a lot of people didn't like Jordan, you know, when Jordan was, you know, was on top. Nowadays, try to find somebody who doesn't like Michael Jordan. It's like saying you don't like milk, you know, or but life was intolerant. I don't know. I don't like water, you know.
SPEAKER_01I'm MJ intolerant.
SPEAKER_03Exactly. I mean, everybody loves Michael Jordan. It's like it's it's it's synonymous with greatness. It's like saying Jordan is another adjective.
SPEAKER_01How much of the NBA rule changes, add-ons, addition, whatever you want to call them, benefited LeBron versus how much they benefited players before?
SPEAKER_03You know, to a degree, I think LeBron probably saw a lot of different things. Uh, you know, I think each era has its own idiosyncrasies.
SPEAKER_01Like they're only now cracking down on the flop.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. But also, you know, LeBron saw bigger players, he saw stronger players, I think. Uh, you know, again, it's it was a different game. He had to evolve his game to where he where three-point shooting was a major component of it, although in the last few years it's dropped off. Like he's really kind of rolled with with the time. So, yeah, he has benefited from rules, but also he's adjusted. You know, he's been able to be successful consistently from 18 years old to 42. You think that I mean, like the chances of that happening again in either in any of our lifetimes, you know, like I mean, his career is. I mean, I was looking at the stats before the show, like, I've never seen a career like this, nothing close. And I thought Kareem, like I say, I didn't I thought Kareem had one of those untouchable careers where you could say, okay, you know, like there's never going to be one of those again, but this is that guy. And the idea of anybody, you know, sticking around, like is Jokic going to play 20 more years at this level, because that would what he would be what he'd have to do. Giannis wouldn't need another 15 or so years at this level and a bunch of championships, you know, like there's nobody close.
SPEAKER_01So this I I think something that helped LeBron was the difference in the way the league is structured. Like he played in an era where big men were not big men, yeah, right. And in in the two previous eras of basketball, the big men in this game where you could still bang underneath, where you still had to get the ball inside to score, was vital to this league and its survival and everything else. And they kind of did away with that. And when you look back to even the earlier eras, like Bill Russell era, Will Chamberlain era, where they were the big men, right? What were the point guards and the ball handlers like in those eras, right? They had to be like kind of like a globetrotter-esque style player. Sure. They had to up their game, they had to get better because they couldn't go inside, they couldn't bang underneath. They would get absolutely flattened. So they had to learn how to facilitate and trap and pick and roll and all those things because the big men dominated the game. And in the second era, where it was, you know, illegal defense and you know coming out of the pistons, beating up on everybody and the the the uh the Celtics beating up on you and the Knicks beating up on you, facilitating the basketball was of vital, of vital importance to this league. And by the time LeBron flourished or got here, I mean he flourished right away. Were there any was
Longevity, Rules, And Era Advantages
SPEAKER_01anything stopping him? Like obviously he had to be as he's a great talent. I'm not taking that away from him. I'm just saying he played in a different era pretty much his whole career, where it wasn't about being inside and getting banged around. There's nobody gets called for traveling and all the other things. There was so much there for him to take advantage of, on top of the fact that he was probably the best athlete we may have ever seen in our lives.
SPEAKER_03I think so too. And, you know, in the thing that's interesting is I don't know that he would have had the career he had in the 80s, not necessarily because of the type of player he was, but the type of player they would have allowed him to be. I mean, you know, he would have been he would have been looked at as like Carl Malone, you know. Like, I mean, that's how he's built. I mean, they're they're they have him, you know, the fact that he was able in in key games to run the point. You know what I mean? Like to like the ball was always in his hand. He's taking outside shots. You know, there, you know, I remember hearing Red Holtman talking about it.
SPEAKER_04Let's remember too that he also on the team, but he never shot outside, you know. He didn't go to college, right? He got drafted at a high school.
SPEAKER_01So you have to be an incredible talent to be successful in the NBA, regardless of area if you're coming out of high school.
SPEAKER_04You have to be a physical specimen to play in the NBA. Yeah. At an 18.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Yeah. And he was he was all that, you know, but I think I think, you know, you might have not seen, like if he had a coach who was really innovative like Don Nelson, Don Nelson would have figured out what LeBron James was. But there are a lot of players who I think come from other eras, you know, when you look back in other eras who just really weren't developed to be anything but a certain thing. And, you know, every coach who looked at LeBron James, except Don Nelson in the pros when he came up, or Doug Moe, maybe, would have said, okay, big guy, let's put him inside, teach him some drop step moves, things like that. The idea of being able to use him as with the versatility that he's been used with, that's more of a function of the modern game. So I think some of it's about the rules, but I think some of it's also about how he would have been coached and used, right? I don't know that a guy with his type of physique would have really ever been given the opportunity to do these things. Again, like I I think in a lot of ways, Willis Reed could have been like this, but wasn't, you know, but was never really allowed to be that, you know. So so so it's it's it's I I do think he's probably he probably came along at the perfect time.
SPEAKER_04Reed also had weak knees. He wasn't unless he didn't.
SPEAKER_03He didn't have well, that's the other thing with LeBron with durability. Like Willis, is that you? Well, like look at LeBron, LeBron's career is like 70, 70, 70, 70, 60, 70, 70, 70. It's not like he's got these years where he had like where he only played like 32 games. He's always, you know, he's he's I mean, he's played through a lot. Physically, he's been stronger than a lot of players, but also like he takes he he he used to get the he used to get knocked around perfectly.
SPEAKER_04So get get get back to Justin's point. Who did LeBron have to play through to win? Who was that? Who were those big guys?
SPEAKER_03Who is the tried to see so so the the the really the first title was you know the the I think the real group that they hit and they hit him at an interesting time, the real first, you know, team that when he went when he went to Miami was that Thunder team. Because you got Harden, you got Westbrook, you got Durant, right? And that at the time they were young, but at the time, like that, you know, looking back, it's like that's pretty actually amazing that they were able to get through that. You know, then you have the Golden State, you know, the great Golden State team that he went through, you know, with Cleveland, which is still mind blowing. You know, but again, early in his career, I remember I remember watching him at Cleveland. I felt terrible. It was like there were they would bring in like, you know, they'd go and get like, you know, like a c you know. They'd go get a center, a backup center. It was like him and Zudrinus Algaskis out there. You know, there was just there was nothing around him. No, I remember the Pistons game. He scored 33 points in a row because like nobody else could, you know. And so I think he I really understood when he went to Miami because like Cleveland just could put the team around him that he needed. But when Cleveland Kyrie and they had a team around him, you know, they brought in love. I mean, they really brought in a team that was built around him.
SPEAKER_01Pretty well-rounded team.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I mean, and you know, I think throughout most of his career, you know, you know, after he went to the Heat, he's been in places that really have been custom made for what he does well. I think the Cavs this year going back to the Cavs, especially because supposedly Harden is willing to take Harden, Harden, you know, turning on a $42 million extension. I was like, what the heck's he doing? And Harden is willing, is supposedly willing to take like $12 million less with an additional year on his contract, because he's only 36 to come back and play. So they could actually have Harden on that team. They could have LeBron on that team. They're gonna have to probably get rid of Max Struss, who's a pretty good, pretty good role player. Is he gonna make them take Anthony Davis? No, no, I I don't I don't think cap-wise that's doable. I think if he goes to Golden State, that's doable with the cap. But with you know, for him to actually get paid reasonably at Cleveland, I I, you know, last week when
Harden Pay Cut And Cavs Cap Math
SPEAKER_03I was looking at it, I was like, there's no way that Harden would do that. And now Harden's like, no, I'll take. I mean, the it Harden's idea was he wanted to take less money, so they bring with they might bring LeBron in.
SPEAKER_04So that's actually to say this about Harden. I don't think I've ever seen a player more of his caliber, because he could play. We all know that, was dejected, rejected, he'd given up in the playoffs this year. It seemed like he decided the game was over and they weren't gonna win, and he walked away. He doesn't have a killer instinct in him. I mean he's just not I'm not sure he ever did.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I when he was the sixth man in Oklahoma City all those years ago, you thought maybe that that guy was more than just lightning in a bottle, and he just seemed to disappoint, you know, year after year wherever it was that he went. And I don't know that you can really put a finger on it because he has been asked to do more than he can by his coaches. And a lot of times the way, you know, if you listen to Perkins talk about Harden, because he gives him a break sometimes about what he's asked to do versus what he can do, but he just seemingly always comes up short. And you're right, when he gets dejected, when he's mentally not in the game, I you can't get anything out of it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I I I love the idea though, him taking a pay cut to bring LeBron in, right? Like that's a redemption story in itself. LeBron goes back to Cleveland, they make a run. I mean, like I say, if if the Knicks can win this year, anybody can win, right? But I mean, what what I mean, like you want to talk about like the like the Disney movie version of this, right? LeBron goes back home, not once, but twice and wins titles.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I I you know, again, it's the Who says you can't go back home again?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly. I mean, I couldn't think of I mean, really, in one of the great careers of all time, this would be the most amazing possible last act. It would have been if Jordan went to Washington and you know, willed them to a title there, right? Like, you know, I think LeBron's narrative is almost perfect. And I I judge, I think you're right. Like Cleveland is the end of the story that really makes the most sense. And if they make a run this year, you know, I mean, you know, again, Donovan Mitchell is a great, you know, he's gonna be the best player on the team. And then they got Harden, and then they got, you know, and I I mean they're gonna have talent. You know, pretty good team. Pretty good team. So they're they're they're you know, I really do believe, and I thought in that Knicks series, honestly, if they hadn't, if they hadn't blown that first game, they had a very good shot to win that series. I you know, I yeah, I if if they add him in, you know, then because then then the whole Harden not having a killer instinct, you got LeBron, you got a killer instinct.
SPEAKER_04I don't think they had a chance to win. I don't think I I think we we with anything we learned about the Knicks is that what we learned about the Knicks is that they weren't gonna be denied.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I mean I mean, come on.
SPEAKER_03But I can see that, you know, I after after this, I I don't know if they have if if they could just pull that off again. But if I were looking, if LeBron goes to Cleveland, I mean, you know, the I mean the East is gonna be filthy.
SPEAKER_01Sometimes things break your way. A lot of things broke the Knicks' way. Not that they didn't earn it, they certainly did. But when that happens, sometimes after that you gain more confidence that you can do it without having things break your way, that you can will yourself in it, you buy in even more. And if you're prepared and you stay on, you stay focused and you keep, you know, all the intangibles, the winning looks even easier the second time around.
SPEAKER_03Think about how good the East is gonna be with them. It's gonna be great.
SPEAKER_01Everybody wants to play in the East because they think the East is weak and they can win.
SPEAKER_03Celtics, you know, have Tatum back for a full year. Pacers get, you know, get uh Halliburton back. I mean, like, you know, the Hawks are getting better. Like, this is really the East is, you know, for for a long time it's felt like the West has been dominant. I think the East is really gonna be a lot of fun now, you know. I mean, like I say, this is if LeBron sticks in Cleveland, there's still some possibility of Miami or something like that, but it looks like it's pretty much a done deal with Cleveland. They just have to figure out the cap space thing. And they might have to end up giving up Jared Allen in it because it might have to be a sign and trade to make it work with the Lakers. That would be a problem, but it's not insurmountable. I mean, they got four absolutely top flight players on that team at that point. And the East, like I say, and and the Knicks could come back and win again, too. You know, it's like the the the East this year is gonna be a blast. So I'm hopeful. I mean, oh yeah, and Miami's got that Giannis guy now and bam out of bio. So it's like, you know, like that. I mean, think about think about what the first round of that playoffs is gonna look like. Yeah, like 10 years ago.
SPEAKER_04I'll give you I I'll give Giannis one month before he's injured and after the season. He might be. I'm just telling you now. He might be who you think's out first, Embiid or him? It'd be like a race to the I'm surprised Embiid's Embiid will be out in in in preseason. They better hope so. So anyway, they're better off without just give the money to the poor. Give the money to the poor. They're not gonna have enough basketballs. Yeah. All right, brother. I
The East Gets Filthy Plus Farewell
SPEAKER_04I think we're gonna call it here. Uh I'm gonna go back go back to uh to dinner time and uh without I think it was good. I I'd still like this, you know, other things to talk about. Justin's gonna talk to Mark again about soccer, and uh we'll see.
SPEAKER_03What thanks for dropping in from Maine, man. You're on vacation, you took some time out. Yeah, thank you, Josh. Awesome, man.
SPEAKER_04You know what am I gonna what else is I gonna do? You know, we're gonna say, by the way, things we haven't talked about. Please like and subscribe. We didn't mention that we are past 6,000 subscribers, and I I give you all a lot of credit. So 10 grand, I'll do a whole show without a hat.
SPEAKER_02That's incentive right there. Look at that cranium, right? Look at that, huh? Thank you all. We'll we'll look like not rushmore missing a guy.
SPEAKER_04We'll see you all next week. There'll be little bits and pieces and parts of shows and other shows coming out all week long. Please like and subscribe. If you have subscribed already, thank you. Let us know what you want to hear, what you want us to do, and try to keep it clean. Thanks very much. See you all next week.
SPEAKER_01See you next week, Judge.