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00:00All right, it's time to bring in Danny Cunningham.
00:02He's on the Wise Heart Right.
00:03We make a right call Kyle Wright hotline.
00:04We got to hear the very latest when it comes to LeBron.
00:06He's the host of Locked on Cavs.
00:08The inside shot on Substack, Cleveland Magazine, 92.3 The Fan.
00:12Hello, Danny.
00:15Good morning.
00:15How are you?
00:16Where's LeBron?
00:17I'm doing well.
00:17Where's LeBron going?
00:19I think it's going to be Cleveland.
00:21I think a lot of things that have happened so far this offseason
00:25point in that direction.
00:26I don't think it's a dumb deal by any stretch of the imagination,
00:29but I think ultimately when this is all said and done,
00:32LeBron will probably be a member of the Cavs for the third and final time
00:35in his career.
00:37All right, so when do you think he's going to be able to make that announcement?
00:41I think if you want LeBron on the Cavs, I think this is a very big week
00:45because I think if this continues to drag on and get deeper into summer league,
00:50then I think you can start to feel a little uneasy about things
00:53because in a lot of the reporting,
00:55I know what Mark Stein and Jake Fisher said over the weekend,
00:58and that it seems as if Cleveland is the scenario to beat,
01:02or at least that's how rival teams view it.
01:05I think if we get past this week, like if we get late into this week
01:08and we've not heard anything concrete,
01:11then I think it maybe starts to feel a little bit uneasy.
01:13But as of now, I think like if you're a Cavs fan
01:17and you want LeBron back, you should feel good.
01:19I don't know that there is a firm timeline as to when this is going to happen.
01:22I know that Rich Paul has said it's not going to be a quick thing.
01:26I've heard from some teams that think this is going to go into summer league
01:30before we get a decision from LeBron.
01:32So I think obviously the sooner the better from a Cavs perspective
01:37if he's going to come back again.
01:39But I don't necessarily have a firm answer as to when we're going to hear about this.
01:44It seems like some of the national people weighing in on this
01:47are talking about this being some horrible basketball fit,
01:52which I just never thought of LeBron James as smart of a player as he is
01:57and a jack of all trades and still the master of many is somehow a bad fit.
02:02What do you think of the fit with the Cavs?
02:05I think it's fine.
02:06I think the way that the Cavs are being talked about nationally
02:08is kind of gotten insane, right?
02:11Like, would he be a really good fit in Denver from a basketball perspective?
02:14Yes.
02:15Him and Nikola Jokic would be incredible to watch play together.
02:18Would he be a good fit in Minnesota?
02:20Yeah, he would be.
02:21I think that fits become a little bit overrated.
02:23But there is nothing wrong with the way that he would fit in Cleveland.
02:27And I also think that you need to look at this as a,
02:29is LeBron going to play on this Cavs team as currently constructed
02:34or would the Cavs probably make some changes to fit the roster a little bit better
02:39around LeBron and Donovan Mitchell and James Harden and Evan Mobley?
02:44I think the latter is probably true.
02:45If they add LeBron, this is going to be a team that looks different.
02:49There's a reason the Cavs have not made a single move this offseason
02:52other than signing Thomas Bryant to a minimum contract.
02:55There's a reason for that because if they add LeBron to this team,
02:59there's a pathway that they need to go down to better this team
03:02and make them a championship contender.
03:04If LeBron decides he wants to play somewhere else,
03:07there is a different pathway that the Cavs probably need to go down
03:10in order to make themselves better and turn this current group
03:13into a true championship contender.
03:15I think both pathways are viable.
03:17I think the one with LeBron James is probably the better pathway.
03:20But I think that the basketball fits fine.
03:23Like LeBron and Donovan Mitchell, I think,
03:24could be really, really good together.
03:26I think LeBron provides some of the playmaking
03:28with the basketball in his hands that Donovan Mitchell
03:30maybe lacks at times.
03:32I think LeBron and James Harden is something that would work
03:34a lot better than anyone thinks it could
03:36because look at James Harden's career.
03:38He has played with a lot of guys that have needed the basketball
03:40in their hands, and it's worked out pretty well.
03:43I think having Evan Mobley on the floor with LeBron
03:45would alleviate some defensive concerns that a 42,
03:49soon-to-be 42-year-old LeBron James would bring to the table.
03:52So I think that the basketball fit is a lot better
03:54than it's given credit for.
03:56And like, this is the Cavs team that was in the conference finals
03:59two months ago, and they're being talked about
04:02as if there's some bottom feeder that has no hope
04:06of being in the playoffs.
04:07If they have LeBron, I think they are very clearly
04:10the second-best team in the Eastern Conference right now.
04:12And it's wild that we've just forgotten
04:14because they had a bad series against the Knicks
04:17in which they were out of gas.
04:17It's wild that we've just kind of forgotten
04:20what the Cavs are capable of.
04:22And the fact that if LeBron and this team,
04:24they probably have, what, four top 35 players in the NBA
04:28in their starting lineup, sounds pretty good to me.
04:30Danny Cunningham joining us right now, talking some NBA.
04:33So this is what I think is going to happen
04:37if they get LeBron.
04:39I do think they're probably going to end up trading Jared Allen
04:42and trying to work a little more spacing
04:44into their offensive flow.
04:46What do you think happens?
04:49I completely agree with that.
04:51I think that they wouldn't try and trade Jared Allen for a wing.
04:55Obviously, New Orleans has had a lot of interest
04:57in Jared Allen over the years.
04:58Is that somebody that they could trade
05:00to get Trey Murphy the third in return?
05:03I think Trey Murphy's become a little bit overrated
05:05with what the Pelicans have reportedly been asking for
05:08in order to obtain his services on the trade market.
05:12But I think that they would need a little bit more shooting.
05:14I think that they would need somebody
05:16that is a good point-of-attack defender on the perimeter
05:19because that is what this team is going to be missing.
05:22And losing Dean Wade in free agency
05:24is something that does hurt from that perspective
05:27if he was this team's best point-of-attack defender
05:29on the perimeter.
05:30So they do need to fill that hole,
05:32and that is not a hole that LeBron James is going to fill
05:34at this point in his career should he come.
05:36So I do think that Jared Allen is the obvious guy
05:39that you look at.
05:40I think Dennis Schroeder probably will be moved.
05:42I think it's likely we see Max Schroeder move.
05:44I think two of those guys probably get moved anyways
05:47to try and reshape this team,
05:49even if LeBron doesn't return.
05:51But I think if LeBron comes back,
05:53Jared Allen's the obvious answer
05:54because you have to move something of consequence
05:57to get something back that is going to make this team better.
06:01Obviously, they're not going to trade Donovan Mitchell.
06:03They're not going to trade Evan Mobley.
06:04I think just naturally you go to Jared Allen and say,
06:08you know what, maybe it's just time.
06:10Maybe, and especially, too,
06:12with what some centers have gone for on the open market,
06:16Jared Allen's contract, when he signed that extension,
06:19I looked at it and said, you know,
06:21I don't know if this is going to age very well.
06:22And then I see what Walker Kessler got,
06:24and I think Jared Allen's a better player than Walker Kessler,
06:26and I think Jared Allen's contract's going to age just fine.
06:29And I actually think he's probably a little bit more valuable
06:31on the trade market than I would have thought
06:34he would have been 12 months ago.
06:35Danny Cunningham joining us on the Wise Heart Right,
06:38We Make It Right, called Kyle Wright Hotline.
06:39Does it surprise you, their unwillingness to move Evan Mobley?
06:45No, because, and I think that when we saw OKC lose,
06:51and the first thing that came out was,
06:53man, the Thunder are interested in Evan Mobley.
06:55I think Sam Presley's pretty good at his job.
06:57And then we saw with Boston that Brad Stevens interested in Evan Mobley,
07:02and I don't necessarily know that I would put Brad Stevens as an executive
07:06in the same category as Sam Presley,
07:09but those are two front offices that I think have a lot of respect across the league.
07:13And the fact that both those teams were very interested in Evan Mobley,
07:17I think says a lot about who Evan Mobley is as a basketball player.
07:21And I think that we in Cleveland, because we're so close to the situation,
07:25I think sometimes that there are fans that can look at Evan Mobley
07:27and they see his faults first, as opposed to what he's really good at.
07:31And I think, too, if you look at the type of bigs LeBron has had the most success with
07:35throughout his career, they've been athletic bigs that can protect the rim,
07:39that can do a lot of different things.
07:40And I also think, too, if Evan Mobley gets a little bit stronger
07:43and plays more of the five in a lineup than has LeBron James,
07:46I think that can be a really, really successful thing.
07:49And I think you could have some five outsets that work,
07:51if Evan can shoot the ball from behind New York the way that he did in postseason,
07:54you would look at what he can do defensively.
07:57I don't think it's a surprise.
07:58And truthfully speaking, I think that no matter what you think of Evan Mobley,
08:03Ken, or what I think of Evan Mobley, what Lima thinks of Evan Mobley,
08:07I think the Cavs probably are higher on Evan Mobley than any of us,
08:12than any fans out there, and maybe than any other teams out there.
08:16So I don't think it's surprising at all that they're resistant to moving him,
08:19because I think that they still believe he's going to be a perennial all-NBA type of player.
08:24Do you believe, Danny coming in with us, that Evan Mobley, so you believe that,
08:28do you believe that he might have been a sticking point with Boston in a possible trade, or no?
08:37I somewhat did, and then I saw what Jalen Brown went for,
08:41and I thought, okay, there is no way Evan Mobley should have been on the table here.
08:45Like, if Jalen Brown went for Paul George, Evan Mobley absolutely should not have been on the table,
08:50and obviously he wasn't, because if he was, Jalen Brown would be on the Cavs.
08:54Like, that's, you cannot tell me that Evan Mobley would have been available,
08:58and the Celtics said, yeah, you know, we'd rather have Paul George at 36 years old.
09:03So I don't think he was available.
09:05I don't think he's been available for anybody.
09:06And I also think that if he would have been available for somebody, it would have been Giannis.
09:11And I think that if he were available for Giannis, the Bucs probably would have taken that deal
09:16instead of what they got for Miami.
09:18So I don't think he's been available.
09:20I'm not surprised he's not been available because, again, the Cavs are very, very high on him
09:24as a basketball player.
09:26And if it was a sticking point with Boston, I think the Cavs were wise to walk away
09:30because Jalen Brown, Donovan Mitchell, and James Harden, like, that is really,
09:35it sounds good on paper, but the basketball fit is a little clunkier than it sounds on paper,
09:40despite how talented it is.
09:42So I think that not trading Evan Mobley for him would have been the right thing.
09:45Now, if they would have traded Jared Allen for him, and the basketball fit's still a little clunky,
09:49but it's a much better value because you're not giving up a guy that you think can be
09:52a perennial all-NBA player, that's a different story.
09:55But I think the Cavs are the right to not make that move.
09:58I got a good one for you.
10:00Danny, you ready for this?
10:00Yeah.
10:02Do the Cavs have the right coach for LeBron James and the remainder of this team?
10:06I wrote that down.
10:07I wrote that down.
10:08Did you really?
10:08Yeah.
10:09All right, Danny, let's hear it.
10:10Go ahead.
10:10Go ahead, Danny.
10:11They have the right coach.
10:12Is this guy any good?
10:12I think it's something, I think that's a very good question.
10:15I don't think that you know the answer until you see it happen.
10:19Oh, come on, Danny.
10:19No, we need to know now.
10:20Come on, we want to know now.
10:21No, no, no.
10:22Who cares later?
10:23Let's go.
10:24Let me go through this.
10:24No, no, no.
10:25So, Kenny Atkinson obviously has his faults as a coach,
10:29and I think that the comments about being analytically up in the series against the Knicks,
10:35there were a lot of eyeballs rolled across the league.
10:37I think that it rubs some people the wrong way across the league, but I also do think,
10:42too, he's grown as a coach, and the fact that he has coached a lot of different stars with varying
10:47degrees of success
10:48has at least prepared him to be in this situation.
10:51Whether or not he's the right coach, the wrong coach, how adaptable.
10:54Like, I do think he's been an adaptable coach to some extent.
10:57The fact that I think they had a lot of success with James Harden is a good thing.
11:01They've had a lot of success with Donovan Mitchell.
11:03That's a good thing.
11:04And I almost can say, the fact that it went wrong in Detroit, or not in Detroit, in Brooklyn,
11:11is something that I do think could be something he has learned from.
11:15And I also think, at this point, like, if you land LeBron James, you're not going to fire Kenny Atkinson
11:20for him.
11:21Now, maybe it goes poorly, and there's a change made in the middle of the season.
11:25We have seen LeBron, and we have seen the Cavs navigate that pretty well.
11:28So, I do think that this is something where I don't know whether or not they do,
11:32but I do think some of the experiences that Kenny Atkinson has had,
11:35coaching Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, I think that does give him a chance to be the right coach.
11:42Danny, this is more of just a larger NBA question.
11:45All the analytic talk when our head coach said what he said during the Easter Conference Finals,
11:52he got widely mocked, and now the stuff about Jalen Brown, who was an MVP candidate last year,
11:58who some people feel apparently not one of the top six players or whatever on the Boston Celtics.
12:04Where do you weigh in on this?
12:06Because I know on a lot of your content, you talk about analytics.
12:11It scares some people away, especially Browns fans.
12:14Where do you end up on this?
12:17They definitely matter, and they have definitely shaped the way the NBA looks.
12:21Like, if you pull up a shot chart right now, it looks very different than just because this guy is,
12:27you know, the point of conversation right now.
12:28Go look at the team's average shot chart from when LeBron entered the league compared to what it is right
12:34now.
12:34Now, that's analytics.
12:35The fact that the mid-range jumper is a lost art, that's analytics.
12:40But I do think, too, there have been some times where teams have leaned in a little bit too far
12:45to it.
12:46I think you can look at the Houston Rockets with James Harden as a bit of an example with that,
12:51where they only ever took shots at the rim or from beyond the three-point arc.
12:54And what you get is 27 consecutive missed threes in a game seven against the Golden State Warriors
12:59with a chance to go to the NBA Finals on the line.
13:02So I think that you have to have – and the same is true here with the Cavs or any
13:08NBA team,
13:09as it is the Browns, as it is the Guardians.
13:13Analytics, whether you like them or not, are used in every single sport,
13:16and they're going to be used in every single sport forever.
13:19And I think that sports and teams have become smarter because they use them.
13:24But I think the best teams are the ones that use that information,
13:27but also say, no, this is the – to figure out what we are best at as a group.
13:32That's what the best teams do because there are some players and some teams
13:36where they're best because they can use the mid-range jump shot as an effective weapon.
13:42Go look at Shea Gilgis-Alexander who's one back-to-back MVPs.
13:45He lives in the mid-range, and you want that because he's really, really good at it.
13:48But what you don't want is players that are just average at it doing that
13:52because that is not a very worthwhile shot.
13:54So I think it's something that you have to use, but I think you have to use with a grain
13:58of salt.
13:59Like one – something that works analytically for one team doesn't work for another team.
14:04So I do think that there are some teams out there that have leaned in a little too far to
14:08them,
14:08but I think that they are a necessary part of figuring out how you can get the most out of
14:12a group.
14:15Danny, you're absolutely tremendous.
14:17We thank you very much.
14:18We got a lot out of this.
14:20Okay?
14:20I'm glad to hear that.
14:21I want you to know that.
14:22And we appreciate your time and your candor, Danny.
14:25Thank you so much.
14:27You too.
14:28Have a great day.
14:29Danny doesn't believe a word I'm saying, and I absolutely mean it
14:32because I think you asked a question that a lot of people are thinking.
14:34You remember the last time LeBron came back.
14:39David Blatt was dead in the water.
14:41Is Kenny Atkinson going to be that way if LeBron decides to come back this week
14:45or next week or as soon as possible?
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