00:00It is a valid conversation, and the or else is mighty big with the Cavaliers.
00:05And I do understand that.
00:06It's just not where I am today.
00:08Like, where I am today is...
00:09You know what?
00:10I just looked at the picture I posted.
00:12You're absolutely right.
00:14The, uh, whatever they call it, the lift, or whatever it is, is right in front of James
00:20Harden's beard.
00:22Yep.
00:22I should have probably maybe stayed for another five minutes to wait for that thing to get
00:26out of the way.
00:27I just want to make sure it was moved, because if we're putting it over anyone's face right
00:31now, it should be Jared Allen's.
00:33Right?
00:33He got bounced out of the court for it a year ago for DeAndre Hunter.
00:36When DeAndre Hunter got traded, we didn't necessarily...
00:39It kind of became the court three.
00:41Wink, wink, nod, nod.
00:43But, uh, no, I mean, it's funny.
00:44Like, I think everybody's all over the place emotionally with the Cavaliers.
00:48I'm just excited.
00:49Like, there's been a lot of hurry up and wait for the Cavs.
00:52And every time you thought they had gotten someplace, or were getting someplace,
00:57it ended up being the same damn place you'd been the two previous years before.
01:01So the idea that this could lead to more forward movement for the team, or that we could finally
01:08have a payoff for this, there's like no bad roads from here, even if this doesn't go the
01:14way we all want it to.
01:15Well, I think there's a few bad roads this could go, if it doesn't go how we're all hoping and
01:24praying.
01:24I mean, the worst case scenario is you rebuild around Evan Mobley.
01:27I don't think that's a worst case scenario.
01:29It's not like LeBron leaving.
01:30And by the way, even if it goes well, but not well enough, then I have to move on from
01:35Evan Mobley,
01:36maybe for Giannis.
01:37Like, these to me are, these are like first world problems here.
01:40I don't think that they're going to rebuild around Evan Mobley if this doesn't go well.
01:46I think that their priority is to keep Donovan Mitchell, get him to extend again.
01:52I really love what he had to say about, you know, his love for Cleveland and how comfortable
01:59he is here.
02:00I think that's certainly positive.
02:03Yeah, we'll see.
02:04Yeah.
02:04I mean, I don't mean, I know Donovan does love Cleveland.
02:07He was at the guards game last night.
02:08But what I mean, what I mean is their priority today is to keep Donovan in the fold long term.
02:14These playoffs have a pretty significant weight on, on what priorities will be coming up at
02:20about six weeks after this season.
02:21I mean, this could be seismic for the Cavaliers.
02:24This could be some of the largest changes organizationally we have seen in years if this does not go well.
02:31But I'm going to be positive today.
02:33They're just getting started.
02:35I'm very confident about this Toronto series.
02:39You know, I'm confident that if second round, they're going to get through it.
02:44The conference finals to me is where the rubber meets the road.
02:47Are they going to be good enough to take the ultimate step and get back to the NBA finals?
02:53I do want to get to that in a moment.
02:54We do have the great unboxing coming up in about 15 minutes as well.
02:58I just think it's so funny, like, and I understand why we're doing this from the Cleveland side of things,
03:04which is we don't want to lose Donovan Mitchell.
03:07So we've started to regress into the way we were both time LeBron were here,
03:12where we were like, all right, well, what do you have to do?
03:14How can we keep him?
03:15Right?
03:16You get kind of a little feverish.
03:17Like, oh, you want to trade Evan Mobley?
03:19I'll trade Evan Mobley.
03:20But every pick from between now and 2040?
03:22Sure, I'll do that.
03:23And the truth is, I do think while the Cavs and Evan and Tyson and the young Cavaliers,
03:31even James Harden, they do have to prove to Donovan Mitchell that they're not just along for the ride,
03:38but they can help elevate him and help put him in a position to deliver the second NBA title
03:44in Cleveland Cavaliers history.
03:46Yeah, I think Donovan has some things to prove for the Cavs.
03:49And it's so funny, like, with LeBron, I understood the desperate tone that we approached every deadline,
03:55that we approached every NBA offseason.
03:58I don't have that with Donovan.
04:00I love watching this guy play basketball.
04:02And I do think that he's almost become underrated because of the postseason narrative about him.
04:08I think it's so much more than just, well, he's the best player on this team,
04:12and so they didn't get it done, so put it on him.
04:15There's been structural things here.
04:17By the way, there were structural things in Utah as well.
04:20The guy's never played on a team where everything perfectly lines up to him,
04:24and that does matter in the NBA.
04:27At the same point, Donovan has to prove to the Cavs he can get to the Eastern Conference Finals and
04:33beyond.
04:33And I think in our desperation to not lose the best player that the Cavs have,
04:38and certainly one of the five best Cavaliers in Cavaliers history,
04:42we get into this stance of we've got to do whatever we can,
04:45we've got to prove to Donovan, and it's like, that's a two-way street.
04:48And I think as much as I, and again, I'm saying this from a spot of I love watching Donovan
04:53Mitchell play,
04:55well, I want Donovan now to prove to me that he can go ahead and elevate this team,
05:01and that's what this postseason is to me.
05:03Yeah, 100%, in agreement with you.
05:06It is a two-way street.
05:08Donovan has to show the Cavaliers that he can be the leader and help get them over the hump.
05:15He clearly signed off on the James Harden move.
05:19That's a gamble on the front office because you're giving up a younger player
05:23for a guy who is not just on the back nine of his career.
05:27You might argue he's on the 17th hole of his career as far as being able to play at a
05:34high level,
05:34and I love what I've seen from him so far.
05:37We have gotten the best of James Harden.
05:40What worries me is the worst of James Harden, and when does that arrive?
05:45I mean, that was one of the first things I think that came up after that trade.
05:49Okay, yeah, everything's, the honeymoon's now, okay, but how long is that going to last?
05:55By the way, I don't think we have gotten the best of James Harden.
05:57No, I mean, he's fit the role the Cavs designed for him, which is basically—
06:01We've gotten a good version of him, though.
06:02No, okay, so that I think's a little different.
06:04Like, because to me, the best of James Harden in the postseason is I'm getting the Darius Garland,
06:08you're going to give me 20 and, you know, 10 or 11 assists per night,
06:13maybe a couple rebounds per night, and then once a series, I'm going to need you to go turbo mode.
06:17That to me, like, if he just does Darius Garland, well, okay, I had that,
06:22and we've seen how that went.
06:23And I need Darius Garland plus in these playoffs, and again, it's only like one game a series
06:30because the rest of the time, Donovan's got to be the closer.
06:32Donovan's got to be proving that in those big closeout games,
06:36or if you've got a chance to close out the Pistons early or the Raptors early,
06:40he's got to be the guy taking over that series.
06:43But also, too, it doesn't mean he's got to take it over by playing one on five, okay?
06:49I don't need to watch the LeBron offense that we used to watch here at times
06:54where LeBron's just dribbling out the shot clock, winding it down,
06:57and then he tries to make something happen, whether it's Chuck or three or...
07:01I mean, there are going to be games where that's how you've got to win.
07:02I get it, but, like, I don't want to watch that on a regular basis.
07:05You have on this team right now, when you're talking about whatever you call them now,
07:11I guess you can't call them the core four because Darius is gone and James is here, but...
07:16The sore four.
07:17You've got...
07:21No, that was with Darius being here.
07:23I was...
07:24No, still.
07:25Jarrett's sore.
07:26We got a thumb.
07:27We got a finger with James.
07:28We got a lot with...
07:30They're sore.
07:31Yeah.
07:31But you've got four guys here that can score 20 points in a game with their eyes closed.
07:37And so, for me, it's not just about Donovan taking over down the stretch
07:44or James Harden taking over down the stretch.
07:46It's making sure that Jared Allen is just as involved, making sure Evan Mobley is just
07:53involved in these games.
07:54I agree with you.
07:55You need that every once in a while.
07:56You're going to need that turbo performance.
07:57But all four of those guys need to find a way to balance this thing out and carry this
08:03basketball team.
08:042-1-6-4-7-4-0-0-9-2.
08:06At Nick Wilson says, at right or wrong F-A-N on social media.
08:10Social media reactions on X.
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08:15Who has more to prove to the other?
08:17The Cavs to Donovan or Donovan to the Cavs?
08:20I think pretty much everyone slept walk on what Donovan has to prove to the Cavs.
08:25And that's what I need to see this postseason.
08:28And that's what I need to see this postseason.
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