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00:00How you do it?
00:01By the way, before we talk hoops here with Ira Winderman,
00:04the soccer tournament and what an unbelievable Argentina comeback over
00:10Egypt, but the soccer tournament is here.
00:12We're giving away a soccer swag bundle valued at around $300 from Sinbad
00:17Sports in the Coral Ridge Mall in Fort Lauderdale.
00:20And if you want to win the soccer swag bundle, text the word jersey,
00:26J-E-R-S-E-Y, text jersey to 20357.
00:32That's 20357.
00:35If you want more info, go to wqam.com.
00:38It's a text contest.
00:39Message and data rates may apply.
00:41Do not text and drive.
00:42And if you text the word jersey to 20357, you might win,
00:47courtesy of Sinbad Sports in the Coral Ridge Mall in Fort Lauderdale.
00:52So Ira Winderman is on the Toyota of Hollywood hotline.
00:56He has covered the Miami Heat for almost four decades, four decades,
01:01longer than you've been alive, Solana.
01:05He is.
01:05Yeah, that's true.
01:06He's heading to Vegas for Summer League tomorrow.
01:09Ira, you have packed your number 34 Giannis jerseys.
01:13I know you bought a few yesterday.
01:15And what else did you pack?
01:16Some sunscreen.
01:17And what do you bring, like tens of thousands of dollars in cash?
01:20You know, with my line of credit there in Vegas, I really don't need that.
01:23So I just show up.
01:25I get this thing that you comment people don't know is called a marker,
01:29and I sort of just go from there.
01:31I've heard about it from Joey Porter, I believe.
01:33Joey Porter had a marker.
01:36200 grand, Ira.
01:37Joey Porter had a $200,000 marker at the Palms.
01:41And like Joey, I also have a lien on my house at the moment
01:44because of last summer's trip to Las Vegas.
01:46I have a magic marker in case I need to highlight something.
01:51Ira, the misstep from the Heat yesterday,
01:55and I want to talk about Giannis and all this stuff.
01:56I just happen to find it fascinating that they're selling number 34 Giannis jerseys,
02:01and the Heat never make a mistake like that.
02:04They are the most buttoned-up organization, certainly in South Florida,
02:08but I would say in the nation.
02:10They never air that way.
02:12And I'm curious what you think happened.
02:14Do you think Giannis told them that he's taking 34, ends up doing that live stream?
02:18They suggest, hey, what about changing your number?
02:21And he made like a momentary split decision and decided to go with number seven?
02:26Yeah, I think they were totally caught off guard.
02:28I don't think there was any way they knew that was coming.
02:30I think just like all of us out there, it's, wait, what, really?
02:34And you could see it.
02:35Every marketing they did, it was with a number 34 jersey, and then they had a hustle.
02:40And you know what?
02:41It just shows the power the players have these days.
02:44Because any lesser player would be, you are not taking Ryan Conwell's jersey.
02:48That kid's already wearing it in San Francisco in Summer League.
02:51It's just so different.
02:52And you know what?
02:54We talk about LeBron and all these guys, and they come in,
02:56and people think that they're pushing it too much.
02:58The superstar in sports gets whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
03:03And here's the crazy thing.
03:05If Giannis decides today, yeah, you know I'm going to stay with 34, boom.
03:09They'll put him back on there.
03:10They'll undo him.
03:11They'll resell him.
03:12Because when you're the superstar, you make the decisions.
03:15And that's what Giannis did.
03:16I do think it started on a whim.
03:18I think that he had absolutely no idea.
03:20I mean, think about this, guys.
03:22They knew for two weeks that Giannis Antetokounmpo was coming.
03:24And they went ahead and gave number seven, a sort of storied number in the franchise.
03:29Obviously, Goran Dragic, the great Kyle Lowry, the great Kalil Ware.
03:32And they went and gave it anyway to Ryan Conwell, so they can have no idea whatsoever.
03:38And then I like what Ryan Conwell said after the game last night in San Francisco.
03:41It's like, well, did you sell him the number?
03:43Yeah, he's Giannis.
03:45He takes whatever he wants.
03:47And Ira, to that point of us normal people, like that communication with Pat and Spoh
03:54and, you know, all the people in the organization, when those guys come in,
03:57like we think everybody's sitting down in a room and deciding on everything.
04:01Is that realistic or is it when they get in town and when they're face-to-face every day?
04:06Oh, there is a ton of spontaneity.
04:08You know what?
04:09He don't even do their travel schedules.
04:11And before a trip, Giannis will go, yeah, 9 o'clock doesn't work for me.
04:15Let's make it 2.30.
04:16I got plans.
04:17My kid has to go to the dentist.
04:18And they change it.
04:19The superstar in basketball, maybe outside of Solano would know this, the superstar in soccer.
04:24I mean, Ronaldo gets whatever he wants.
04:25Messi gets whatever he wants.
04:27But I think even more than the quarterback in football, the superstar in basketball,
04:32because only five play at a time, gets whatever he wants.
04:35So you can say all you want.
04:37We have heat structure.
04:38We have heat rules.
04:39Look, what was the biggest story when LeBron left?
04:42They didn't let him have his damn chocolate chip cookies.
04:44Believe me, whatever – I know for a fact now, because I checked,
04:49the first heat flight for some reason, baklava for everyone.
04:52So believe me, he's taking care of everyone.
04:57Ira, perhaps a trivial question, because in the grand scheme, it doesn't matter.
05:02I think Wade and LeBron proved that this can be worked out.
05:05But when LeBron came here in 2010, the question was nationally, well, whose team does this belong to?
05:12Is it Dwayne Wade's team?
05:13Is it LeBron's team?
05:14And ultimately, I think LeBron James took that from Dwayne Wade,
05:18and Wade willingly gave that up.
05:21Whose team is this?
05:22Because Bam Adebayo is, you know, the guy who carries the culture forward after Wade,
05:27and then UD handed him the torch.
05:29And Pat Riley has said time and time again, he wants to build around Bam Adebayo.
05:34But Giannis Antetokounmpo, to your point, is the superstar.
05:38Does it matter whose team it is?
05:40And does Giannis want it to be his team?
05:43Well, first, we know it's still Mario Chalmers' team, but we'll go on from there.
05:47But when you look at this team, Bam is the perfect guy to have here,
05:51because he's been unassuming.
05:52He's let everyone else be the star.
05:54Boy, wonder Tyler Hero, petulant Jimmy Butler.
05:57He just does his role.
05:59He does it well.
06:00He goes back, you know, talks about his mom, family guy.
06:03It's the perfect guy to go from a number one to a number two.
06:06And guys, I got to be honest, Bam never was a number one.
06:10He was sort of foisted into that because of the Jimmy trouble
06:13and the trade they had made and other things that went sour.
06:16So, yeah, everyone knows this is Giannis' team.
06:19But like Giannis said in his farewell video,
06:21it's one thing to have been the guy in one place,
06:24but you still have to come in and reestablish.
06:26So a lot of you know this with Bumpgate and LeBron,
06:28with Eric Spolster in Dallas and all he went through
06:31and the whole villain thing.
06:32This is something that Giannis never has had to sort of go through before.
06:37So it's going to be interesting to see how much he sees at the moment
06:40and how much he tries to be team player.
06:42The two differences here versus anywhere else, the legacy of Pat Riley.
06:47We saw that when Tim Hardaway showed up yesterday.
06:49And Eric Spolster's worldwide respect from the Olympic Games.
06:54You know, Giannis has spent plenty of international time with Eric Spolster.
06:57So I think those two factors, who's the man in Miami?
07:00Until he leaves, Pat Riley's the man.
07:02Who's the man on game day for the Heat?
07:04Until he's done, Eric Spolster's the man.
07:06It's a lot easier.
07:07When you have that at the top, you can make anything work except Jimmy Butler.
07:11Now, when you add LeBron James into the mix, who's the man?
07:17I think LeBron knows.
07:19This is, you know, I was thinking about this Hawk last night
07:21and some of these cockamamie places LeBron might go to, Denver or Minnesota.
07:25And I keep thinking of things like Patrick Ewing
07:28in the Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic Jersey,
07:31Robert Parrish playing for Charlotte and even Chicago.
07:35Oh, I don't even remember him playing for Charlotte.
07:36Yeah, he did.
07:37This has to make sense.
07:39If LeBron goes to Cleveland, it's a beautiful story.
07:42If he comes to Heat, it's a fascinating return.
07:46But anywhere else, it's like, what's he doing here?
07:49This makes no sense.
07:50If he comes to Miami, it'll be seamless.
07:53I kid about the chocolate chip cookies that Pat Riley took off the plane,
07:56but there's plenty to commiserate.
07:58There's plenty.
07:58They they've been through the battles together.
08:00It makes sense.
08:01But if you're asking me, please don't aggregate.
08:03I know every writer says that these days.
08:05Cleveland makes too much sense.
08:06It's just if you're going to go out and you're not going to do it just for the money,
08:10to me, that makes the most sense.
08:12And I really can't wait to see him fight with the ball with James Harden at the end of games.
08:18Because if you think he went crazy with J.R. Smith,
08:20when J.R. Smith dribbled out the ball in a loss in the finals,
08:24can you imagine putting up with playoff James Harden?
08:29And do we need to add more?
08:32Because I use the analogy with bringing LeBron, like, build the most beautiful home and he'll move in.
08:37Do we have to add more?
08:38Because if we add more, now we're taking money away from LeBron.
08:41Like, how do the Heat get LeBron James?
08:44You know, this whole thing about the Heat not having enough,
08:47and Solana knows this.
08:48He was around the Heat all last year.
08:50What about Andrew Wiggins?
08:51What about Davion Mitchell?
08:53Like, there's talent here also.
08:54Everyone is sort of saying, they just have Giannis and Bam.
08:57But there are other players who contributed in a winning way on this roster,
09:00and they'll get a couple of other players.
09:02They have up to two spots left.
09:03To me, the most curious thing, again, I'm not thinking that LeBron comes here,
09:07but if he does, is the Bronny James factor.
09:10Because right now, it looks like the Heat are only going to fill two roster spots
09:14to stay close enough to the hard cap that they can add a player
09:17in case of injury, emergency, late in the season.
09:20So if LeBron is one, and you have to trade for Bronny with the Lakers in the other,
09:24then you're done.
09:25Then, Channing, we can sit here and say, is this enough?
09:28But they can get one more piece, whether it's a Bradley Beal, like you mentioned,
09:32and a resurrection.
09:33I happen to like DeMar DeRozan because I know he'll give you clutch baskets
09:37because the one thing this team doesn't have right now is a shot creator.
09:40As a matter of fact, I'll throw it around the horn with you three guys and ask you this.
09:44Tie game, five seconds to go.
09:46Heat out of timeouts.
09:47Inbounding from the far baseline, so they have to bring it up.
09:50Which Heat player right now is their shot creator at the close of a game on the current roster?
09:57Nikola Jovic.
09:58You know what?
09:59For Serbia's national team, you might be right because Jovic is too...
10:04He's hooping.
10:06He's hooping.
10:07He is.
10:07In FIBA, he's fine.
10:09They would have peddled him in his contract this offseason if they could have, yes?
10:13In a heartbeat, but they don't have any more draft capital that makes it easy enough to
10:18get off $62 million.
10:20My point being right now, I don't know who that is.
10:22I know I don't want Giannis shooting a jumper at the end of the game.
10:25I don't want Bam to have to go full court.
10:28It might be sort of a crazy run, you know, head down to the basket by Pella Larson, but
10:33they don't have that guy in an endgame who's the shot creator, Tim Hardaway.
10:37He's a shooter.
10:38He's not a shot creator.
10:39It might be.
10:40Remember how their last season ended?
10:42It was Davion Mitchell going full court and getting his shot blocked at the end of a
10:46game.
10:47That still might be as good as it is.
10:49So Channing, when you talk about is their roster full and complete, you can't have an
10:53NBA roster without a shot creator because you know you're going to play in clutch games,
10:57and in clutch games, you have to have the guy.
10:59Giannis doesn't play that game.
11:01Bam doesn't play that game.
11:02That, to me, is the plus one I'm still waiting on.
11:05I'll take DeMar Rosen.
11:06He will pull up into a mid-range jumper, and he's so good, he will either get fouled in a
11:10tie game for a free throw, or he'll make the jumper.
11:13At least he'll give you something.
11:14Right now, they don't have that.
11:16Hey, Hulk hates Bradley Beal.
11:17I don't know why, Ira, but he hates Bradley Beal.
11:19I hate the conversation.
11:21I don't hate Bradley Beal.
11:23We've talked about Bradley Beal for a decade.
11:26I'm done.
11:27I'm tired of talking about Bradley Beal.
11:29No, I mean, I still remember Bradley Beal helped Dr. Naismith, you know, hook up the
11:34peach basket there.
11:34He's been around in heat conversation so long.
11:37Literally, it's almost been a decade that we've been talking about Bradley Beal.
11:40Let's move on here.
11:42He's also three years removed, which it may be years is a long time from being a really
11:46good high-scoring player, but the injuries are a concern.
11:49That's why when people go, DeMar DeRozan, he's 36.
11:52He only shoots two-point baskets, but he does it, and he's available, and he can get it done.
11:57I think that's the direction they have to look right now.
12:00That's why I was surprised they didn't make a play for Anthony Simons.
12:03Yeah, he might be an out-of-control shot creator, but at least he's a shot creator.
12:08I mean, it's almost like they need to, like, go to a deed or something and advertise for
12:11one.
12:12Let's say they don't get Bradley Beal or DeMar DeRozan.
12:16Let's say the roster is what the roster is, essentially.
12:19You've got Bam, Giannis, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Pella Larson.
12:26Who am I missing?
12:27Tim Hardaway, Bobby Portis, Simone Fantecchio.
12:31Don't forget it.
12:31I was just in Italy.
12:33What are they in the East?
12:37Here's the thing.
12:38We talked about this at the top here.
12:40It depends on Giannis' level of motivation.
12:43If he's, I want to show I can still do it, I'm still the man, I'm still worth that extension,
12:48that's going to pay me $60 million a year.
12:50Ultra-motivated 70 game.
12:54Giannis Antetokounmpo, they're in the top three in the East.
12:57If he doesn't have it, this will turn into a horrible trade.
13:01Because all of a sudden, you've given up the whole ship, you've given up your entire draft
13:04future, and you're paying the guy $50 to $60 million a year.
13:08This is absolute blind faith.
13:11But desperate times, and that's what they were, Hawk, four straight years in the play-in,
13:16call for desperate measures.
13:17So this is an all-out Hail Mary, but at least you're doing it on a Hall of Famer.
13:23Does it feel like in your gut that it's going to work?
13:26I feel like it's going to work.
13:28I feel like he's motivated.
13:30I feel like last season was kind of an aberration.
13:33And I think Giannis and Bam, I was saying this yesterday, they're not load management guys.
13:38They're not guys who want to take time off.
13:40Those guys like to play.
13:42I think talent trumps all.
13:44And you're talking that at least 40% of your lineup is all-star, all-NBA level.
13:50And again, don't sell short Andrew Wiggins.
13:53Don't sell short Davion Mitchell.
13:54Don't sell short Tim Hardaway.
13:56Yes, in case of injuries, they're screwed.
13:58Everyone's screwed in case of injuries.
14:00I think there is enough there.
14:02And in East, that is very competitive.
14:04But there is no Thunder.
14:06There is no San Antonio Spurs.
14:08There's not that level.
14:09So I'm saying, can the Heat play 50-plus wind basketball?
14:13Yes, in the East, that's all you need.
14:15In the West, you got 60-win basketball with the Thunder and with the Spurs.
14:20It's a different league, which is why it makes so much more sense if LeBron at least wants to get
14:25back to the NBA Finals, that the East is his path.
14:28And that's where I think it goes through.
14:30And Ira, explain to me the Jalen Brown thing, because I've heard so much stuff and unnamed sources saying he's
14:36the smartest guy in the room and all.
14:38There is no way Jalen Brown should have went for a one or two and a 467-year-old Paul
14:44George.
14:44What happened?
14:45And why did the Celtics do that just to get rid of Jalen Brown?
14:49Because the NBA is a hard cap salary cap league more and more.
14:53And the percentage of his salary versus his productivity from a team standpoint, he wound up being overpaid.
15:00The problem with the NBA is this.
15:02Instead of guys negotiating contracts, there's a maximum.
15:05So what do you want?
15:06I want it all.
15:07And that's the only decision that the Celtics and other teams got to make is decide whether to give him
15:12all or not.
15:13He was overpaid, Channing.
15:15So in other words, Jalen Brown, is he a $60 million player?
15:18God bless him, no.
15:19Is he a $50 million player?
15:21We can debate it.
15:22And this sounds crazy.
15:23If he was a $40 million player, you wouldn't trade him.
15:27But when you have a hard cap, you have to make difficult decisions.
15:31It's almost like the Panthers with Bob Brodsky.
15:34Is he better possibly than any goalie they have now on their roster?
15:38You can make the argument.
15:39But for the money he wanted, they couldn't fit it in a hard cap.
15:43So Jalen Brown, in a no-cap baseball world, if he was Otani, I don't care if he's making $90
15:49million.
15:50There ain't no hard cap.
15:51There's just a tax I've got to pay.
15:53But in a hard cap sport, you have to constantly do this cost-effective equation.
15:59That's what the Heat did with Tyler Hero when they didn't extend him.
16:03And that's why they didn't want to extend Tyler Hero.
16:06Because they realized that his price point would be over his value relative to a hard cap.
16:12That's where Jalen Brown got into a trap.
16:14No fault of his own.
16:15He simply made too much money.
16:17And people ask me this all the time.
16:19You cannot renegotiate in the NBA.
16:21It's not like other sports.
16:22If you were due X amount, you can't walk in unless you rip up your contract and say,
16:27you know what, I'll take $50 million to help the team.
16:29You can do it ahead of time like Jalen Brunson did.
16:32But once you're locked in, you're locked in.
16:34Jalen Brown's biggest fault was not being the smartest guy in the room.
16:38No problem with smart guys.
16:39His biggest problem was he made too much money.
16:42He negotiated too good a deal for himself.
16:45And no one on this video stream can say the same.
16:48No one here makes too much money and no one has negotiated too good a deal for themselves.
16:57Wait, wait, wait.
16:57Ira on layoff paper university?
17:00Come on, guys.
17:00Come on.
17:01I'm glad I'm still here.
17:03Every morning I check the email to make sure it still works.
17:06Read Ira Winderman in the Sun Sentinel and follow Ira on social media at Ira Heat Beat.
17:14Safe travels to Vegas, Ira.
17:16Yes, read me the Sun Sentinel at least today.
17:18Thank you, guys.
17:19There you go.
17:20Ira Winderman.
17:20We'll take a break.