00:00All right, are you ready for the LeBron stuff again?
00:02Because I think you asked a hell of a question.
00:04I wish I would have been able to ask it.
00:05I wrote it down about Kenny Atkinson being the right coach for LeBron.
00:08Yeah, if LeBron decides later today or tomorrow,
00:12I know there were staffers that thought it was going down yesterday.
00:16If it happens over the next few days,
00:18we're going to have a lot of questions about fit.
00:21Is Jared Allen getting traded?
00:23What's the deal with Strews?
00:24But also, what's the coaching situation?
00:28It's an impossible question to ask the fans.
00:31Because if it was almost any other sport,
00:36especially, you know what?
00:38If it were football, baseball, I think people take it the same way.
00:41If it were football, people make decisions based on coaches and not on players.
00:45Like, you and I have had that argument of giving up a first-round pick for a coach.
00:49And I've told you, you are insane.
00:51I'm never giving up a first-round pick for a coach.
00:53I think I can find, no, I'm not going to find another Sean Payton.
00:57Sean Payton's already there, and he's proven to be an excellent head coach.
00:59As much as I don't want to admit it, you were right in that argument.
01:03But I'm not giving up first-round picks for Sean McVay or any of the top coaches that I think
01:08are great.
01:08I might give up second through seven, but I'm not giving up that type of capital for a coach.
01:13And I think that that's the only place where coaches are seen as that dramatically important,
01:18at least in the sports that we care about, right?
01:21I think in basketball, if I just ask, hey, would you get rid of Kenny Atkinson to get LeBron?
01:25I don't think it's a question worth asking.
01:27I think 99 out of 100 people, and the only people who wouldn't is Kenny Atkinson himself,
01:31would give up Kenny Atkinson for LeBron James.
01:34But I do think it's a worthwhile wonder going, if you do bring back LeBron,
01:38because LeBron's not going to sit there and make his decision or publicly make his decision based on the coach.
01:43He doesn't want that reputation as a coach killer.
01:45He's tried to stay away from it for 20-plus years.
01:48He's going to try to stay away from it here at the very end.
01:50That's true.
01:51But do you believe that he'd be the right coach for LeBron?
01:54I think is a question that can be brought up.
01:57Because I think a lot of people look at players coach, and before this last postseason, Anthony,
02:04I think a lot of folks like Kenny Atkinson, players coach was a good thing.
02:10I think people look at players coach in a different way now.
02:12I think that they think that Kenny Atkinson just gets walked over by these guys.
02:16It's just an upsetting thing to say, and it's unfair.
02:20But when you're telling me that they were kind of going and doing their own thing during the Eastern Conference
02:25Finals,
02:26okay, are you a player's coach, or are you just a guy that gets walked over by Donovan and all
02:30these other fellas?
02:32Because remember, during that, while things were going bad, you started hearing the rumors about,
02:37well, they really wanted James Mauricio anyway.
02:39Like Nick was bringing that up.
02:40Everybody was bringing that up.
02:41Yeah, it was hard to stomach, though, watching Kenny Atkinson go on national TV and say,
02:49yeah, you know, it's about getting back on defense, and we really worked on it.
02:52And then two plays in to the next game, they're not getting back on defense again.
02:57Yeah.
02:58And it's a team-wide thing.
02:59And I know they were out of gas, and the people do not want to hear excuses,
03:03but it was pretty clear the 14 games to get to the Eastern Conference Finals definitely wore on them.
03:09But it just seemed like you would have expected at least like five minutes of getting back on defense to
03:14start the game.
03:15Not, oh, we just threw away everything that was told to us.
03:18Look, I'm not letting the players off the hook, but could a better coach have gotten through to them a
03:25little bit better,
03:25or a different type of a coach, I should say.
03:27I think that that's something that people are going to wonder, especially if you are able to bring in LeBron.
03:31Let me get to Diane in Brooklyn.
03:33You're next up on the fan.
03:34Hello, Diane.
03:36Hi, I called you guys the other day.
03:38Remember me?
03:38I remember well, because I remember not to say Brooklyn, New York,
03:41because I thought you were calling from Brooklyn, New York.
03:43No, you're calling from Brooklyn here in Cleveland.
03:45Go ahead, Diane.
03:46Okay, well, do you guys remember when LeBron came back to Cleveland from Miami?
03:52Do you remember what the date was?
03:54I don't remember.
03:55No, I do not remember the date.
03:57Lyman might remember.
03:57He was on live when that was going on.
03:59Yeah, I think I remember the date.
04:00Wasn't it 7-Eleven?
04:02Is that what it was?
04:03No, it was July 11th.
04:06That's 7-Eleven.
04:09Oh, okay.
04:09Well, I think he's going to announce it on July 11th.
04:16I've got to wait five more days for this day.
04:17I've got to wait until Saturday.
04:18He's going to do it on a Saturday?
04:20No, it's just my prediction.
04:21I mean, you know, LeBron's always calculated in everything he does and his dates and everything.
04:27So, I think it's going to be on the 11th.
04:31And as to whether he's coming back or not, has anyone brought up about the tribute that was done for
04:37him when he was here the last time he played down at Rocket Arena?
04:41Do you guys remember that tribute where he was bawling his eyes out?
04:45Have you guys ever seen LeBron get that emotional at a game?
04:50I do remember that seemed like that meant a lot to him.
04:54Diane, thank you very much for the call.
04:55You know, he's obviously become the NBA's all-time scoring leader.
04:58He's got all these playoff records.
05:00That day did seem, that moment in time did seem to tug at the heartstrings and get him emotional in
05:07a way that nothing else has in his entire career.
05:11Here is Joe yesterday with Daryl and Lance about the Cavs being a fit.
05:16Why?
05:17Well, because LeBron has people he shares something in common with.
05:21One thing I do like about Cleveland as a fit for him that nobody's talking about.
05:25On this team, there are contemporaries.
05:28Now, yes, he would have that in Golden State as well.
05:30And that would be reason one why he would go to San Francisco.
05:34Because Steph Curry and Draymond Green are actual contemporaries of his.
05:39But the same can be said here in Cleveland.
05:43Like, James Harden is going to be 37.
05:44They have been in the league together for a long time.
05:47They actually know each other.
05:48Like, they can relate in a way that, like, LeBron can't really do that in Dallas, Minnesota.
05:54I know he played with Ant in the Olympics, but there's still a huge age difference there.
05:59And you name a couple of the other teams, like, it's not the same.
06:02He's contemporaries with James.
06:03He knows Donovan well.
06:05And then, of course, all the other ties that have been mentioned and didn't even need to be mentioned.
06:09Because we all know them anyway.
06:10So, I do think that is a reason for him to pick Cleveland that doesn't get discussed as much.
06:15Hear more of that interview, 92.3thefan.com.
06:17Joe's fantastic.
06:18We had him last week.
06:19I'm glad Daryl and Lance were able to run him down yesterday.
06:21You hear what Joe Vardin says.
06:23He did not mention that.
06:24He mentioned some of the guys who obviously have history.
06:26I mean, again, James Harden is 37 years old.
06:30What about Mobley, though?
06:32Because I wondered, you know, are we too much with Mobley?
06:36But then, with Boston being a team that we heard was interested in him, we heard Oklahoma City was a
06:42team that was interested in Evan Mobley.
06:43You have two champions over the last eight years that are familiar with him and have been teams that have
06:48been very strong with their draft picks
06:51and holding on to their draft picks, almost obsessed by that thought.
06:56And they wanted Evan Mobley with them.
06:59And whether or not that gave me pause, the reason I bring this up, Tone, is that I thought that
07:04they were almost too tunnel vision on Evan Mobley.
07:07I thought he had a good postseason, though.
07:09Do you think that they're on the cusp of something special with him, and that's why they need to hold
07:13on to him?
07:13And do you think LeBron might be a part of that thinking?
07:16Wow.
07:17There's a lot there.
07:18There is.
07:19There's a hell of a lot of it there.
07:20With Evan, I feel like...
07:22Because Rich Paul was on that pod, and he's like, nope, they ain't getting rid of Evan Mobley.
07:25I ain't having it.
07:26And pretty clearly, pretty clearly, just the Cavs have been tight-lipped.
07:30I shouldn't even say tight-lipped.
07:32That's wrong.
07:33That's inaccurate.
07:33They have been staunchly, publicly supporting him in every way.
07:41So I think it's pretty telling.
07:43Like, sometimes I just don't believe teams, but I kind of do, also, just considering all the reporting that's been
07:50done.
07:51No team should probably have 100%.
07:52I mean, we did just go through a Miles Garrett trade, and they were saying Cleveland to Canton.
07:57Everything's true until it's no longer true.
07:59100%.
07:59Yeah.
08:00With Mobley, I've changed my mind a bunch of times, and I found myself changing my mind on him in
08:06the playoffs.
08:06Because there were times in the playoffs where I was like, holy cow, he is just walking into three-point
08:14shots now with confidence.
08:16He, at times, has been putting just offensive players in a straight jacket defensively, and we know how the switchability
08:26is huge with him, and contesting at the rim.
08:29And then there would be games where I'm like, did Evan Mobley play in that half?
08:33So, he's still not nearly a finished product.
08:37He, this year, he's going to be 25.
08:40He's got so many good years ahead of him.
08:42The question is, what is their trajectory?
08:45How fast can he make up some of the stuff that I think has been missing from his game?
08:53And is he going to be able to do it while Donovan Mitchell is still in that prime?
08:59Some people think he's already starting to fall out of his prime.
09:02And, you know, there was also a game where Donovan Mitchell had 39 points and a half.
09:06So, I just need this.
09:08I just need this to really reach a crescendo right now.
09:12Do you think he's the type of player that excites LeBron, and LeBron would like to play with him at
09:1625, 24, 25 years old?
09:20Yes, I do.
09:22Why did it take you so long to answer that question?
09:23I don't think he's not Wemby, okay?
09:26He's not in that category.
09:29I don't even know.
09:30Well, he doesn't have the chance really to play with Wemby.
09:32I mean, I guess they could probably finagle some things, but I don't think anybody's really interested.
09:36I don't think he's Cade Cunningham either.
09:37But, he's a very unique player because defensively, he can make up for a lot of mistakes.
09:44And, you know, LeBron's not going to be a defensive player in the regular season.
09:47James Harden is, certainly we've gone over his defensive issues, even though I think James Harden held his own against,
09:54like, forwards and wings and at times even centers.
09:58But, guard and guards?
09:59No, that's not James Harden's thing.
10:01Donovan Mitchell has defensive issues that we saw both in a regular season and the playoffs.
10:06So, Evan makes up for a lot of that stuff.
10:08They need more.
10:09They need more of that.
10:11I do think LeBron can step up his game defensively.
10:13But, the answer to your question is, yes.
10:15I do think he could salivate at some of the things he could do with Mobley on the floor, on
10:21both ends.
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