00:00LeBron and recruitment so here was the other thing so my first thing with you know why aren't
00:05the the Cavs more public in their recruitment of LeBron was you know whether they feel like
00:11they don't want to fumble the bag they think they're in the catbird seat and any public
00:15statement on it might be a threat to that the other thing is and I'm piecing this together
00:21I think I think this organization can have an incredible respect and love of LeBron
00:26and what he's meant to this town and also feel very prideful of the work they've done to separate
00:33themselves from the ashes of the LeBron era with I mean everything from you know drafting Evan Mobley
00:41and Darius Garland to trading for Donovan Mitchell and it wouldn't surprise me if the organization
00:46says well we love LeBron but we really like what we have here yeah I would tell them they have
00:52to
00:52get over that though like like that this is this is part of it yeah but I think that's easier
00:56said
00:56than done when when it's just you and me who want LeBron here do they want LeBron or do they
01:00not want
01:00LeBron like if you if you've decided you want LeBron then you have to get over the idea that LeBron
01:04would put the cape on and come save the day well do you see how though bringing LeBron back
01:09complicates their post LeBron legacy oh I mean definitely it then it definitely makes it I'm
01:14sure for Kobe Altman who does not get nearly enough credit for making this team competitive in a post
01:18LeBron world I'm sure he'd look at it and be like well geez I needed LeBron to come save the
01:22day again
01:23that kind of it's not as great as if they'd want it on their own without LeBron I think even
01:27I'm sure
01:28he could he'd never acknowledge that but I'm sure in the back of his brain he would acknowledge that
01:32somewhere right but if if I'm the Cavs I need to get over that side of things like I need
01:37that's
01:37where it's not humbling yourself it's not trying to make yourself seem any sort of way it's acknowledging
01:42that if this is the process that LeBron wants and he wants you to genuflect at the altar then
01:47maybe you have to do a little bit of that I and I just I just am empathetic maybe LeBron
01:51doesn't
01:51care about that but I find it interesting that Steph Curry is going on Good Morning America today
01:55and now the 76ers have gone through ESPN and laid down this whole we love LeBron mantra with everyone
02:01else attached to it I just am empathetic to the Cavs because they've just put so much hard work into
02:07and again it's not distancing itself but like Donovan like Donovan there are a couple moments over the
02:13last two years where Donovan's been like hey we love and respect that era but we're trying to build
02:18something here too like it would not surprise me if Donovan even had again it's not it's not 100%
02:24for 100% against but some reservation about well what does that mean to the work that we've put in
02:30and ultimately you and I would choose LeBron coming back that's what they have to decide though in this
02:34in this venture do they want LeBron or do they not want LeBron I mean if you wanted LeBron then
02:37you
02:38have to do the LeBron bidding well but to do so you have to understand the downside and what I
02:42mean
02:42by that is because I don't really see a downside to LeBron from a business perspective but if you're
02:47Donovan Mitchell and right now the knock on you around the NBA is you can't win big games if you
02:54if LeBron comes here and you win this is LeBron's team it's always LeBron's team LeBron's going to get
03:00a fair share of the credit for doing that if you if LeBron comes back and you remain an Eastern
03:05Conference Finals team as your ceiling I do think that's going to stick to Donovan Mitchell
03:11in a way that I think is is something he has to be cognizant about as well he's got to
03:15go for it
03:16because right now uh his the the perception on him right now is that he's not going to ever make
03:21it to the NBA Finals as a one he needs as much help as he can get and there's help
03:24out there and
03:25how does LeBron change that what do you mean he's one of the best one of the top 20 players
03:28in the NBA
03:29no I mean is if the knock on Donovan is uh you can't be the best player on the championship
03:33team
03:34because he would be the best player on this championship team if he had LeBron I don't
03:37know he'll get that kind of credit he will he will because he's the one he's the one that's
03:40going to be averaging 28 a night like LeBron will do things LeBron's going to get 27 and 5 like
03:45he's
03:45going to do things but Donovan's going to be the one averaging 28 a night now will it hurt Donovan
03:50and the idea that people will look at it and say well you can't close I already make those comments
03:54now
03:55I mean sorry I already make those comments now so add LeBron to the mix and if LeBron gets some
04:00credit
04:00but it gets you over the top at least people perceive you differently 216-474-0092 if LeBron
04:05doesn't come here is it a recruiting problem it is very interesting that ESPN's got a piece about
04:11the three sixer stars reaching out to LeBron individually it's you know Steph Curry on uh
04:17good morning America good morning America one of those good mornings football um well he's definitely
04:23not there he's not there certainly none of the syndicated version uh that's a little inside
04:27business no no real reason to even bring that up but I do think it's interesting that there's just
04:33there's a there really is a groundswell of people who just don't want to see LeBron and Cleveland again
04:38uh Kevin O'Connor who we've talked about I can't remember who the CBS sports writer was but of the
04:43potential destinations for LeBron uh it was basically he was the Cavs were last and it's funny and
04:51some of this goes back to what we talked about the other day is the perception that the Cavs don't
04:56have
04:57championship DNA and the Cavs are soft or the Cavs are this or that oh that was the old Jason
05:01Timp
05:01argument yes and the truth is I don't think LeBron fixes that immediately when he comes back because
05:07I think a lot of that is about two guys specifically it's about James Harden and it's about Evan Mobley
05:13two guys one guy that the NBA intelligentsia has been against for a decade and another guy who the NBA
05:21intelligentsia was all the way behind and has only started to slowly pull away from the last year
05:26so this is why though I've made the claim that uh if not all titles are weighted equally some titles
05:32we just give a little bit more like all right you did some heavy lifting there this is the one
05:35that
05:36for LeBron if he were to come here and then win a title with all these guys Donovan first time
05:40he's
05:40made it the conference finals was last year we've talked about Harden and his struggles we've talked
05:44about Mobley like if he's able to raise these guys up to a championship level this is I mean we
05:50talk
05:50about historical stuff you went all you went a ring with James Harden that is something people will talk
05:54about 20 years from now that is that is a heavy heavy ring as they call it in the NBA
05:58world but
05:59that's eight months in the future actually uh 11 months in the future at the earliest I think along
06:05the way I I think it's going to be really interesting it's just in terms of how people talk about
06:09the NBA
06:09the the the kind of scales of justice here are people that just hate James Harden and don't think
06:15he's a winning player versus people who still think LeBron could do anything at 42 I think that's going
06:21to play out in real time and I do think it's going to annoy the hell out of Cavs fans
06:25oh I think Cavs
06:25fans are going to be interested and intrigued can the one guy who's delivered us a title and the one
06:29guy that's basically done it when everyone says no can he pull off the trick again oh no no I'm
06:34not
06:34talking from that perspective because I think we're we're very in fair if most of us are happy to see
06:38that play out I'm talking about the last you know LeBron was here the first time the Cavs and LeBron
06:43were media darlings LeBron comes back in 2014 and you know there was nothing that held back the
06:50public perception of the Cavaliers uh even after winning the title people were still rooting for
06:54LeBron in the Cavs I think the heart and when I say rooting I'm not just talking about in Cleveland
06:59I'm talking about the Kevin O'Connors the Brad Botkins uh the Matt Moores the the reporters and
07:07analysts around the NBA and I think it'll be more split this time in part because I think there is
07:13some LeBron fatigue after 23 years they'll probably say he's 42 years old and he doesn't have it in him
07:17to go ahead and get those guys that we've discussed over the top that's probably what they'll say if
07:21you want to be you want to be pessimistic about it you can oh no but I think it's but
07:25see I don't
07:25think it's just going to be about LeBron I do think and again this is going to be the part
07:29that might
07:29turn more Cavs fans into James Harden fans is watching people talk about their character watching
07:35people talk about whatever whatever way you can knock their perception and they're going to do it
07:40even the slight thing I think it was Kevin O'Connor who said there's no way this can live up
07:44to the
07:44last time LeBron came home just trashes everyone we might need to make just a muting of of O'Connor
07:49on this show well I just what's funny about it is no duh it can't live up to the last
07:53time he just
07:54says things he was he was 30 years old and and brought a championship no bleep I don't do that
08:00with people because this business is very hard and I understand everything that goes into it and
08:03and trying to make content and everything like that but Kevin I've never met somebody more that
08:07just says things than Kevin O'Connor oh I agree I I've completely turned on him because it just seems
08:13like again it seems like I don't like James Harden so no I don't like the Cavs and I think
08:17that's he hates Mobley more than he hates anybody though that's that's the thing about O'Connor I
08:21feel like he bashed Mobley before before it was even fun to bash Mobley for people I feel like uh
08:27I
08:27feel like I noticed it most around the Harden thing but you're probably right there uh real
08:31Xavier P saying I think Cleveland and Cleveland fans need to get over trying to win without LeBron
08:35accept the LeBron era stop trying to win without LeBron just try to win period I agree like I don't
08:42think
08:42it shouldn't be that hard just try to win I don't care how it happens it shouldn't be that hard
08:46but they are humans like if I talk about Donovan Dan Gilbert Kobe Altman sometimes we hold these
08:53guys to other worldly standards when in our own lives professionally or personally we couldn't
09:00do like I think it's really easy to say shut up get over it and try and win well they
09:04they had
09:05they had four years with Donovan to try to accomplish what they needed to I'm in complete agreement like
09:09that's where I'm just kind of mentioning the human element if I'm Dan Gilbert and uh and Kobe
09:14Altman came to me and said you know what I mean LeBron is great but I I just really want
09:18to do this
09:18era without LeBron as Dan Gilbert I would tell him sorry that that time expired you had four years to
09:25figure this out without LeBron you did a great job all things considered we're adding LeBron that's how
09:29that's going to go I think it gives us the best chance to win I think you're maybe underestimating
09:33that that all three of them might have the reservation I'm just playing out a scenario right like if
09:38you're Kobe Altman and you're going to hold on to this and you're really and again you bring up a
09:42good point maybe Dan's also the one driving the bus of like I'd love to do this without LeBron uh
09:47but
09:48I I mean it would shock me at the end of the day if that's how if that's what we
09:52ended up finding out
09:53was that they just weren't interested in LeBron services because they wanted to do this on their
09:56own that would shock me that would really surprise so I don't think it's a lack of interest I think
10:01it's
10:01a reticence I think to get LeBron you have to be all in and over the top that's kind of
10:06what we're
10:06talking about with the recruiting thing I think to get LeBron your best star has to be calling him
10:11your brightest future piece and Evan Mobley gotta be calling him Dan's gotta send him like a
10:16edible arrangement like everybody's just putting your toes in the water exactly and so I think if
10:22LeBron senses there might be some reticence I think that might be the thing that could say
10:27well I don't want to go home unless it's a like again I think I think feeling the love for
10:31LeBron
10:32is as important to anything for his final stop because quite frankly it's going to be a victory
10:39lap whether they win a championship or not wherever he goes has to be a victory lap of LeBron which
10:44is
10:44why Cleveland makes so much sense unless Donovan's thinking well but what is this going to do to my
10:50legacy if it doesn't work out what's it going to do Dan saying we've worked seven years to get this
10:55thing right ask Donovan what getting bounced in the second round of the postseason next year does
10:58his legacy too I listen I agree I'm simply presenting the devil's advocate because I really
11:05do think sometimes we kind of do absolutist kind of things and we forget that these are human beings
11:10with their own egos their own their own goals their own mindset and the idea that anyone ever in any
11:16organization is a hundred percent unless it's LeBron circa you know 2014 I just don't think I guarantee
11:23you in 2018 there were people in the Lakers organizations that had reservations about LeBron same with
11:28Miami in 2010 well they clearly did over the past couple years that's why they that's why they made
11:31a complete change in a shift in philosophy off of LeBron and what he was then presenting well I mean
11:37I'm bitter on behalf of LeBron I would argue the Cavs are also a stupid organization if they looked at
11:40this and said we're we're too prideful to want to do this without LeBron and so then we're just gonna
11:45we're not gonna make a big pitch we're not gonna do this because we we feel like we need to
11:49show
11:49everybody we don't need LeBron because at this point I feel like you do need LeBron
11:52you
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