- 2 days ago
Share, Thumbs Up & Subscribe to 92.3 The Fan for New Content Daily!
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@923thefan
Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/923thefan
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/923thefan
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/923thefan/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@923thefan
Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/923thefan
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/923thefan
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/923thefan/
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00I mean, this is the decision of all decisions for LeBron, because this is the last time in his career
00:04he's going to be able to be this wide-ranging, two weeks, everyone pay attention to me.
00:10Oh, I guarantee you there are people that know. And it's just nobody in the know.
00:13I don't even know that LeBron knows. I think I've established that as well.
00:16I don't know that LeBron knows.
00:18I just, I think the only, so we got to get to that part of the story.
00:21We might put the Bill Simmons thing in about 10 minutes here, because I think this is an important part.
00:25When national media members get upset about how long this is taking or fans get impatient, LeBron is a global
00:32entity.
00:33So to move this thing anywhere takes an incredible amount of focus, precision, and coordination.
00:41This isn't like when Dean Wade signs in Philadelphia, no offense to Dean Wade.
00:46So whether he's coming back to Cleveland, going back to Miami, going to Philly, going to Minnesota, like Nike has
00:52to know.
00:53You know, his own individual social media camps have to know.
00:56No, no, no. They have to prepare all angles.
00:59They don't have to actually know the decision.
01:01They do the work.
01:02They do the work as it, like Nike, for instance.
01:05Nike, so there's poor people at Nike.
01:07Poor people at Nike. They're working at Nike. They're fine.
01:09But there's people at Nike that are tasked with coming up with different slogans and taglines for every outcome imaginable.
01:18They have to do one for the Warriors if LeBron goes there, for the 76ers if LeBron goes there.
01:22Like, this is what they do all day.
01:24It's not LeBron tipping Nike off. This is how they do this.
01:27Oh, no, but it's his entire – you've got to understand the entire global business that is LeBron, whether you
01:33want to pick apart Nike or not, it doesn't move – it can't move with one piece going this way
01:40and every other piece going this way.
01:41And so I do think that's a part – that's why, like, a guy on LeBron's social media team might
01:47tell a friend that he went to high school with, looks like I'm moving back to Cleveland.
01:51I think you've got two weeks. You should have all the mock-ups ready for every single team.
01:55Like, LeBron's giving you enough time. Sorry, social media manager for LeBron.
01:59LeBron, you've got to put in a little extra work here and come up with all the different angles.
02:03Like, this is – that's part of the gig.
02:05I just – the other part of this that I really get – I don't want to say annoyed by,
02:08but why I'm actually amused by is I think we've taken the everything LeBron does is calculated.
02:14Like, is Instagram changing his profile pic today?
02:17It's to such a degree that it's like – LeBron is a very, very smart man.
02:22LeBron is a very successful businessman.
02:24LeBron has a team of really smart guys that work with him that are loyal and all that good stuff.
02:29But this idea that, like, well, LeBron took his first step out of his house today with his right foot,
02:34of course, that means he's closer to Cleveland, given the way he was pointed, than towards Miami.
02:39Clearly, he's telling everyone, like, it's so Pepe Silvia.
02:42I know, but it is fun.
02:43Well, but I think the point is –
02:44I do have fun with it.
02:45Like, I don't mind when, again, nameless guys on social media do it.
02:49The – when, like, just general media guys are doing it.
02:52It is – again, I'm not – it does not annoy me.
02:55It amuses me to no end.
02:57Even Scoop Robinson today –
02:59Oh, Scoop, I've had muted for, like, weeks.
03:01I didn't even know he had the Kyrie Irving thing ahead of Nick Wright because I just – I can't
03:04stand that guy.
03:05He did, like, this whole thing about every –
03:07Don't believe he knows anybody.
03:08Look at where Brandon Weems is sitting in the dinner with people from Akron with LeBron.
03:13Like, LeBron, everything's calculated.
03:15And it was just like, okay, guys, LeBron isn't like, Brandon, you have to sit there because I'm going here.
03:23And if you sit over here, it means I'd be going to Miami.
03:26No, that's a lot.
03:26Yeah, that's a lot.
03:27But every single LeBron conversation acts like every single part of this is to that degree of precision.
03:34And that's what makes this – again, I love the word amusing because I'm in the feel-good mood.
03:39Like, I'm just in, hey, LeBron, make your decision.
03:42I pray it's coming home to Cleveland.
03:44And I'll try to deal with any decision that isn't Cleveland.
03:47But I'm just enjoying this process.
03:49This is a fun story to me.
03:51And it's mostly fun because the national media is so in the dark.
03:54And because everybody is turning this into, like, now you see me, the fourth movie of that franchise.
04:04Like, everything is like – it's like a mystery or like how he met your mother.
04:08It's like some sort of grand mystery that eventually will look back and be like, all the signs did point
04:14to Minnesota.
04:15But that's the other funny part about this is that it doesn't matter what team he's going to choose.
04:19Everyone's going to rally around the idea of, like, it was always that team.
04:23You idiots.
04:24I can't believe – we'll probably get yelled at, Nick.
04:26I promise in some of the comments.
04:28Be like, you wasted three weeks of your life talking about that when it's all said and done.
04:31And it's like, guys, this is the job.
04:33This is the fun part of it.
04:34Like, I like this stuff.
04:36I like finding out all the different avenues that he could possibly go.
04:39I like talking about the basketball fits.
04:41I like talking about what matters and makes the most sense to LeBron.
04:44Trying to get inside his brain, something nobody's ever been able to do,
04:47I think is also an hysterical little jump that everyone has to take in this.
04:51It's fun.
04:52I don't know.
04:53I'm enjoying it.
04:53Like, I heard all sorts of people this morning talking about basically they're done with this
04:56and they're over it, and I got worried I would get at this point too.
05:00But, like, ten days into this, I'm having more fun with it than I've ever had.
05:03I don't really know what, like, leverage LeBron is trying to exert here.
05:07This – if any team is interested in doing business with LeBron,
05:12one, everybody can kind of pay him within, like, a million or two,
05:15pretty much the same thing currently.
05:16They have to make some moves to open up more money for him.
05:19But, two, I think you just kind of present, like,
05:22here are the moves that we'd like to make if you commit to us,
05:25and then that's it, right?
05:27Yeah, I don't understand the leverage part of it.
05:29I think Bill didn't understand it either.
05:31I think he just said it, and then Zach will push back on it,
05:33and then he's like, it's done.
05:33I think that's why he got to the it's done side of it.
05:36It's like, oh, maybe I made a mistake in even commenting on it
05:39because I don't get the leverage side of it either.
05:41Are you making any association in the idea that Bill Simmons is technically
05:45Rich Paul's boss?
05:46No.
05:47I'm not either.
05:48I don't understand why people think that's some sort of big, like,
05:50oh, gotcha, of course Rich Paul would share all the – no, he wouldn't.
05:54Yeah.
05:54No, he wouldn't.
05:55Like, I'm sorry.
05:56Technically, yes, Bill Simmons is his boss.
05:59He's not Rich Paul's boss.
06:01Yeah, his boss is LeBron.
06:03His boss is LeBron.
06:04Yeah, like, there's – like, a guy like Rich who's got, like, 12 jobs
06:08has, like, 12 bosses.
06:09The ultimate boss, right, the final boss, as it were, is LeBron,
06:14and that's as simple as that.
06:15Yeah, it's kind of like in radio terms where it's like, yeah,
06:17I'm sure Howard Stern technically has a boss, right?
06:20I'm sure he technically has somebody that is higher up that can have the power
06:24to fire him or whatever you need to say.
06:26He's his own boss.
06:27Like, at a certain point, you are your own boss,
06:29and so, like, Rich Paul isn't sweating whatever deal that he's got there
06:32at Spotify to be like, oh, yeah, this is part of the hookup.
06:35I tell you everything that's going on.
06:37No, because if he did, then he wouldn't have had Bill for a week and a half
06:41saying Golden State was locked in and that's all it was ever going to be.
06:44Well, that's why I think, like, I know Ken went on this thing today.
06:48Like, he's done with his story.
06:49He wants it to be over.
06:50Yeah.
06:50I think Bill's there, too.
06:52And, again, I just – I personally don't get it.
06:54I'm having fun with this.
06:55I think we should all be having fun with this because the stakes just aren't
06:59what they were in 2014 or 2018 or certainly 2010.
07:03Like, he is going to make an impact wherever he goes.
07:07He likely will swing the thing at least enough to get the Cavs to a spot
07:13where they could be competitive in the Eastern Conference Finals.
07:15So, like, a lot's at stake, but the pressure from my standpoint just isn't there
07:21because they won a damn title already.
07:23So, like, if they won a title again, that is cherry on top of LeBron's legacy
07:28and of being a Cavs fan in my experience with LeBron.
07:32But just look, even the idea of LeBron coming home just makes me so happy
07:36that it's like, man, if I get to dream, knowing that there will be a decision
07:40and that there are at least four other teams out there that he could go to,
07:43so that means it's not a done deal until it's said to be a done deal.
07:48Like, I'm cool with being in this bubble where we get to, you know,
07:52really think that LeBron's coming home because once it's over,
07:56well, then it's just about getting back to business
07:58and then the story kind of goes away until camp.
08:00Are we handling this better, though, because we are currently the top dog?
08:04We're in the driver's seat to land LeBron.
08:07Is that the only reason why we're doing this and kind of being so cool about it?
08:10Like, if we had the polymarket odds that the Warriors have right now,
08:14would we be feeling as cool as we are right now?
08:16Well, I think it's different because those towns,
08:20LeBron might still represent what he represented to us in the various times.
08:25Like, they might look at this and go, you know, the Warriors.
08:27Like, the idea with LeBron is you might still be best-case scenario
08:31Western Conference Finals team, but he's going to push your floor up
08:35so that LeBron and Steph alone is going to make sure you're not a playing team, right?
08:40Mm-hmm, yeah.
08:40I can get if you're a little desperate about that.
08:43Miami, you don't have a point guard right now.
08:45You have no one.
08:46I mean, they got the Jock Yunus kid that they drafted a year ago.
08:50Did he get traded?
08:51I don't think he got traded to Milwaukee.
08:53Miami's thinking that if they get LeBron,
08:55then all of a sudden they're in the driver's seat to win the East.
08:57That might be foolharded, but that's how they think.
08:59But, like, I mean, it's really the two teams with, like, the lowest stakes out of this.
09:05Us, because we have history here and there's so many good vibes there.
09:08But, again, we still have a pretty good team with the Cavs and Philly.
09:14Those are the two teams I think should be as carefree as possible
09:17because it's like LeBron coming here with this roster to me is a bonus.
09:21Same thing with Philly.
09:23Oh, a bonus?
09:24Yeah.
09:25Like, you were just in the Eastern Conference Finals.
09:26I know, but I still needed something different.
09:29I still needed a different look after this summer.
09:32LeBron was going to offer up that different look.
09:34There was a lot about, and this goes beyond just the reunion and everything,
09:37this goes to the idea that LeBron was going to not only shift our odds for winning the East,
09:43but he was going to shake it up in a way that I felt was necessary for this team.
09:47I can see why you'd say that, and I do think he would represent that.
09:51But, like, the truth is, after everybody's cap space has been used up,
09:55the big trades have been made, I think the best,
09:58if LeBron doesn't come here, I think the best thing he got going is maybe Kaminga on some sort of
10:03deal
10:03and then maybe turn Jared Allen into another player as well.
10:07And, again, those are fine moves, but they're not going to move.
10:10That's why it matters so much.
10:12Yeah, because, I mean, those moves are taking you fourth, fifth, sixth somewhere in the East
10:15with those type of moves, right?
10:16But LeBron added to this team might make you the favorite in the East,
10:20and if not the favorite, you're probably second favorite in the East.
10:23Yeah, but why LeBron's the added bonus to me and not carrying some sort of other weight
10:28is because I'm going to shift from I have definitive expectations,
10:32I'm holding Kobe and Dan and everybody accountable for what you've done
10:37and what you haven't done the last five years with Donovan
10:40and certainly what you might do with Evan.
10:42And then I'm going right into, oh, LeBron's here.
10:46Cool, I'm going to kick my feet up and be a Cavs fan for two years
10:48or for however long he's here.
10:50Like, there's an element to LeBron that LeBron just minimizes.
10:54Like, it's not that I don't care what happens if LeBron comes back,
10:58but I'll be so happy that I'm just not going to feel the same pressure that I did
11:02when they were getting swept in the Eastern Conference Finals this year.
11:05If you get what you're saying, ultimately you're not then just going to put a bunch on them to then
11:09win,
11:09which is funny because we're having a better team then.
11:11In many ways, I feel like we're saying the same thing, we're just getting to a different point, right?
11:15But what's interesting about it is that you're going to have a better team with LeBron.
11:19I mean, he's top 15, top 20 in the sports still.
11:22I think the weirdest part about this convo is actually how underrated LeBron's game seems to be for people.
11:30Do people realize he would have been all NBA
11:33if he didn't have his injury early on in the season last year?
11:36He put up some incredible numbers last year, all things considered.
11:39He's playing at an elite level.
11:40His defense has taken a step back.
11:42You want to rip him on that?
11:43Sure, that's fine.
11:44But offensively, he's still remarkable.
11:47So while we continue on with LeBron watch,
11:50it seems like everybody in the NBA fears a different team against the Cavaliers.
11:56Some people think it's Golden State.
11:57Michelle Beatles said that with us yesterday at 3 o'clock.
12:00Other people have said Philadelphia.
12:02They usually come from Philadelphia or somewhere around there.
12:05But Brian Windhorst was on ESPN today saying Miami as the legit threat to Cleveland.
12:11I'm just going to say, as this process has gone on,
12:14I've been thinking more and more about LeBron in Miami
12:17because when he went back to Cleveland, it was about making something right.
12:21The way it ended in Miami wasn't quite right,
12:23and there would be something about making something right.
12:25Look, I would go to Denver.
12:26I would seriously consider Denver if I was LeBron.
12:28But if it's not going to be Jokic, why not Giannis?
12:32Does that logic make sense to you?
12:34Does that track for you?
12:35That it didn't end right in Miami?
12:37You mean after four straight finals appearances and two titles?
12:41Yeah, but it ended weird.
12:42We can all admit that it ended weird.
12:44Everything down from the Pat Riley interactions and how that went down to...
12:48I mean, listen, I'm not in Miami.
12:50I don't know how they feel about it.
12:51We'll talk to people that are from there later in the show.
12:53But when Brian's saying it, it felt like a reach,
12:57but Windhorst doesn't have much of a reason to reach.
12:59Yeah, I guess...
13:00No, I mean, he is in the content game.
13:02I love Windy, but we're all servicing the same master here.
13:06We all got minutes to fill.
13:07But he hasn't done that.
13:08And really, he doesn't do that in general.
13:10But in this entire stretch, he hasn't done that.
13:12I think it would make sense if we're on day 10 of LeBron watch
13:15that we are starting to fill time.
13:18So listen, do I think Miami is a legitimate threat to LeBron?
13:21Yes, I do.
13:22He has history there.
13:24I think Miami makes as much sense as anybody that isn't the Cavaliers.
13:28I think it makes more sense to Golden State, Minnesota, or Philadelphia, or Denver,
13:33which he has no affiliation for other than him and Jokic together would be optically hilarious.
13:39But specific to the idea that he has to make it right, not really.
13:45Miami's not that kind of town.
13:46The reason why LeBron had to make it right in Cleveland was twofold.
13:50One, very obviously, the decision.
13:53The way he left hurt his image around the entire NBA, and I think he knew he had to make
14:00that right.
14:00And two, he was the prodigal son who couldn't win with what was constructed here.
14:06It wasn't his fault.
14:07It was poorly constructed around him.
14:08And he, if anyone was ever going to win a title with the Cavaliers, that first title, the guy to
14:14get him over the hump was LeBron.
14:16Those are the two ways in which LeBron had to make it right with Cleveland.
14:19He won two titles in Miami.
14:21Like, they did.
14:22The only thing they didn't do is win four straight titles.
14:24All right, so why does Windhorst feel like he's got to tie up some loose ends there?
14:27Because I think he's trying to find another reason to get – I think there's another narrative he wanted to
14:32kind of think about.
14:33And I think he's wrong.
14:34I think he's – I don't think LeBron gives a rat's ass that Dan LeBitard doesn't like him or any
14:41of those people in Miami.
14:42Because, again, that town, while it's a great place to live in, and while that organization had a lot of
14:48success with him, that town does not mean – they don't love him.
14:53They never loved him the way this town loves him.
14:56Well, maybe that's part of what he's trying to tie up then.
14:58Maybe he goes back there, he wins a title with Giannis and Bam Adebayo, and maybe they do appreciate him
15:03in a way that he feels like they always should have.
15:05I don't think it's happening.
15:06I would say you're searching for something you're not going to be able to find.
15:08It's like the Lakers thing.
15:10LeBron wanted Lakers fans to love him.
15:11He desperately wanted that, clearly, and they just were never going to do it.
15:16With the Heat, the thing I would say is that you're always going to be in the shadow of Dwayne
15:19Wade.
15:20It doesn't matter what happens to you in Miami.
15:22I'd say the same thing for Giannis.
15:23You're just going to be in the shadow of Dwayne Wade.
15:25Also, Miami is a lot like the L.A.
15:27You're just the next attraction.
15:29You're just the next attraction, yeah.
15:30And they forget about you so quickly because you're not – like, again, Kobe was a day one Laker.
15:37Even Shaq has been forgotten compared to his contributions of that early team's success.
15:43Do you think LeBron feels bad about the idea that when he left, it just went downhill for a stretch
15:48there?
15:48It did.
15:49I would be shocked if he cared about that.
15:51I mean, this is clearly what Windhorse is reaching at.
15:53I'm trying to figure out the angles to this.
15:55Is there a better story here that maybe we're giving credit to because we have the ultimate story?
16:00No, I think the media wants Windhorse to go to Miami because it's easier to go to Miami in December
16:06than it is to go to Cleveland.
16:07I think that's the better story for the media.
Comments