00:00Before the show, we were talking about how much credit Kobe Altman will get if LeBron comes back,
00:04and I thought you had an interesting take here.
00:06Yeah, I mean, I feel like for Kobe Altman inside of the organization, this is everything.
00:11You get LeBron back one more time, you build a team that is going to be, in theory,
00:15better than the team was the last four years, get you closer to a championship,
00:19you have LeBron back in the city, it probably buys Kobe a ton of goodwill.
00:23With the organization, I imagine to some degree with the fan base as well,
00:27whereas I sit back and look at this and go,
00:30Kobe Altman essentially gets almost zero credit in the idea of bringing LeBron back in my eyes.
00:35Like, I don't think he gets very much of it, because you built the roster to be what it is
00:39right now,
00:40but in my eyes, LeBron is the, I have to choose the Cavs,
00:43and I'm giving you a get-out-of-jail-free card from the situation you just created.
00:47I don't know about almost zero, only because, and even if LeBron is the get-out-of-jail-free card,
00:51I don't hate that logic, but the idea that he built this roster to be competitive enough
00:55that LeBron would find this enticing enough to end his career here.
00:58I don't think LeBron would come here if this team was just going to fall flat on its face and
01:03win 45 games.
01:05And so, like, that's maybe where I'd give Altman the credit for assembling a team that has Donovan,
01:09made the trade for Harden, who has now become one of the focal pieces of why LeBron would come here,
01:13because they're such good buddies and everything associated with that.
01:16Had to have seen that coming, right?
01:17And so, like, I think there was a setup here, and I think part of the setup,
01:21and I think that's why I don't want to go too hard with what happened last season,
01:24even though you made it to the conference finals, is the idea that I think this was part of Kobe
01:29Altman's plan.
01:30Now, that's a dangerous way to operate.
01:32If part of your plan is relying on LeBron James in any sort of way, that's a dangerous part.
01:37But I do think there was an element there where he thought to himself,
01:40all right, we get Harden, and then this offseason sets up, and now we got, I mean, look at the
01:44contracts.
01:44Everything sets up for, like, another two-year window, essentially,
01:47and they're all kind of lined up for this next two years.
01:50And so, I think there was a little bit, now there'd be a stroke of luck attached to this, obviously,
01:54but I think there was a stroke of maneuvering and play that Kobe Altman does, in fact, deserve credit for.
02:00Kobe Altman feels like the guy who feels like he has the roulette table figured out.
02:03Like, I have a method. I have a method.
02:06And he might walk into the casino at some point this week, and that method might look like it works,
02:10but I guarantee you, Kobe Altman goes back there.
02:12You're just describing me is all you're doing now.
02:13I mean, just put my name on it or whatever you want.
02:15It could be the blackjack table. It could be whoever thinks they have a method.
02:19The method, we know it doesn't work.
02:21You haven't seen my method, Jake.
02:23You haven't seen mine.
02:25I'd like to see it so I can debunk it at some point. I'll break it down.
02:28Revolves around rolling dice eights.
02:30A lot. A lot.
02:32I'm not going to get into my method right now.
02:33I'm not going to do that to you guys right now.
02:35But that's what it is. He has a method, and it might, listen, LeBron might come here.
02:39His method might play out.
02:40It might be his lucky day at the casino where it just goes.
