00:00You know, the big story now in this offseason for the NBA has to be what does LeBron James do?
00:08Where does LeBron James go and play?
00:11Does he stay in Los Angeles?
00:13And do they try to work a contract out with Rob Palenka, the general manager, and keep him there?
00:19What they've just done with contracts there in Los Angeles, you know, unless LeBron takes less money, he will not
00:27be a Los Angeles Laker.
00:28And if LeBron's willing to take some lesser of a salary, LeBron James would have an opportunity to pretty much
00:36pick his team and go to a place that could end up winning him his fifth NBA championship.
00:44LeBron had a pretty good season last year.
00:46I mean, for any age, let alone the fact that he's 41 years of age.
00:50What better place for him to go to than to go back to the Miami Heat?
00:57Could he mend fences with Pat Riley and with Eric Spolstra and go back to South Florida, a place that
01:06taught him how to win championships?
01:08Let me give you a story about Pat Riley.
01:10When I was down in South Florida and I was on the radio and I was able to interview Pat
01:17Riley.
01:17Pat Riley told me how he got LeBron James to go in and become a Miami Heat.
01:22So they invited him down.
01:24Riley had a casual full of his championship rings.
01:29Remember, Riley had won one as a player and won one as an assistant under Paul Westhead in 1980.
01:34And let's not forget, he was also on those Adolph Rupp teams that ended up winning a national championship when
01:40he was at Kentucky.
01:42He had LeBron across the desk for him.
01:44He goes, pick one of those rings up.
01:46LeBron picked one of those rings up.
01:47He goes, you can have one.
01:49Put one on.
01:50Feel how it feels to be a champion and wear one of those championship rings.
01:54I'll get you one if you listen to me.
01:57And in that time frame, LeBron James learned how to win as a champion.
02:01And for the record, it's really the only time in his entire career he's ever had a coach that told
02:07him no.
02:08Every single great player has had that coach tell that alpha dog player, no.
02:14Tom Brady had Bill Belichick.
02:16Phil Jackson was the guy that told Michael Jordan, hey, you want to win scoring titles?
02:21No problem.
02:22If you want to win NBA championships, follow me.
02:25You've got to make everybody better on your team.
02:28Phil Jackson was able to connect with Jordan, and the rest is history.
02:32That's exactly what Eric Spolster and Pat Riley did in South Florida to LeBron.
02:36It was the toughest he had ever been coached, and it was the toughest that he had ever played for
02:43an organization.
02:44Was there when he was with the Miami Heat.
02:46That great run when they were down 3-1 when he was with the Cavaliers, and they came back against
02:50that 70-plus team at Golden State,
02:53was one of the most iconic games and one of the most iconic series in NBA history.
02:57He learned that when he was down in South Florida because of Pat Riley.
03:02Going back and now playing with Giannis, they need a shooter.
03:07Could you imagine putting Bam, Giannis, and LeBron on the floor at the same time the Miami Heat would challenge
03:17for the Eastern Conference Championship
03:19if LeBron goes back and does the right thing?
03:22If LeBron wants to sit in Los Angeles and run the table out, no problem.
03:28But if he wants one last shot at the glass slipper and one last shot at being a champion, Miami's
03:38the place for him.
03:39Go play down there with Giannis.
03:42Giannis and LeBron and Bam, folks, make no mistake.
03:48That would be an incredible threesome.
03:51It would rival what they did back in the day.
03:54I love Riley.
03:56Pat Riley is by far one of the greatest executives in team sports history.
04:03Here's the guy that brought Shaq in.
04:05Here's the guy that went and got Chris Paul.
04:08Here's the guy that went and got LeBron James.
04:10Here's the guy that drafted Wade and all those great players down there and developed a guy like Eric Spolstra.
04:19When Eric Spolstra was put in that position of head coach, I was like this.
04:25You took a quality control guy and a video guy and you think that guy is going to be the
04:30next coach and the next great thing?
04:32Riley was right again.
04:34Riley's the greatest executive next to Jerry West in all of NBA history.
04:39Jerry West, obviously.
04:41The logo and all the big teams that he built in Los Angeles.
04:45Hell, he was also part of that whole scenario in Golden State with Bob Myers.
04:49He was even responsible for building up the Memphis Grizzlies.
04:53He goes down, in my opinion, as the greatest, but Riley is right there.
04:57He goes down, in my opinion, as the greatest, but Riley is right there.
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