00:00We've had the Mark Spears thing saying that people in Golden State feel like they're a dark horse now and
00:06that LeBron's going out east.
00:08Oh my gosh, what was the thing that we just literally talked about?
00:11Tyrese Halliburton.
00:12The Tyrese Halliburton thing.
00:13He says basically it's time now, LeBron, and he's got the 1.15 Eastern Time Mind the Game podcast tomorrow
00:19at Fanatics Fest.
00:20So what I actually have to give people like Tyrese credit for is they realize what this is.
00:26They realize that, okay, maybe they've got like a 3% chance of actually getting LeBron, actually less than that
00:31if you're Indiana.
00:32But we've got no chance of getting him.
00:34We can get some content numbers out of this.
00:36Yeah.
00:37So, all right, so we're going to get this before the 1.15 podcast or is there a chance we
00:41actually get this before it?
00:42And LeBron then puts out the decision and the podcast is him explaining everything and going through it that way.
00:47Because you are then signing yourself up to not only the Mind the Game podcast, getting all the numbers and
00:52everything.
00:53Is the idea that he's just trying to prop up Fanatics Fest and this will be remembered as one big,
00:57I don't know, tip of the cap to Michael Rubin?
01:00Is that really at the heart of this?
01:02I just would be really surprised.
01:03It seems a little odd, doesn't it?
01:04Well, I'd just be surprised if LeBron did anything that wasn't for LeBron.
01:08Meaning that it didn't directly pump up.
01:12And like, you know what?
01:13Actually, I could see Fanatics paying him a significant amount of money to do this.
01:20LeBron does own the Mind the Game podcast, so he benefits from that.
01:24And then obviously Fanatics is paying him not only, they're already paying him to be there and do everything for
01:28two days as is.
01:29I would imagine if part of the stipulation was, here's $25 million for appearances.
01:33That's a big number.
01:34But you know what I mean.
01:35But then here's 50% of whatever we're going to pay you more if you do the decision here.
01:39Because that does make Fanatics Fest, in the NBA world, that now, even if it's got a big name already,
01:45that makes it legendary.
01:46I don't think the $25 million thing is extraordinary, by the way.
01:51It's a big number.
01:52I was trying to think in my head, like ballpark it really quickly.
01:55It seemed like a big number.
01:56But not for this.
01:57Like, just to show up, I'm sure it's a million dollars.
02:00I'm sure it's like money that you and I would be like, oh, that's as much money as we're ever
02:05going to have.
02:05They get everybody always.
02:06I mean, Brady's been going there for years.
02:08I just think to build his decision around Fanatics Fest, I would imagine it is a healthy, healthy amount of
02:15money.
02:16Like, maybe $25 million.
02:17Like, it wouldn't surprise if it was like $10 million, $15 million.
02:20Like, this is a huge event.
02:22But, like, LeBron's announcement and where he makes it is also a huge event.
02:26And it makes it.
02:27It makes not only the Fanatics Fest as big as possible, but it also makes them.
02:30You remember that.
02:31We remember every decision LeBron has made, where it's been made, how it's been made, the process of it all.
02:36And, like, so this would be huge.
02:38And, by the way, the amount that Fanatics Fest has even gotten in the lead-up to this is incredible
02:42and worth whatever price of admission was as is.
02:45So, while we are having this conversation, Olden Polynes, longtime NBA backup center, was on Byron Scott's Fast Break podcast.
02:55And he had a different interpretation of LeBron, the LA exit, and LeBron's free agency tour.
03:02We are done, okay?
03:04Thank you for eight years, but we're done.
03:07We're moving in a different direction.
03:08To your point, they're scrambling right now.
03:11You know?
03:12It's not like 10 years ago.
03:13You're talking about Rich Paul and LeBron.
03:16Teams are not calling.
03:18Teams are not calling.
03:19They're not, please, we want.
03:20No, they're like, let's see if we can get him on the cheap.
03:24I don't know what the hell Olden Polynes is talking about.
03:27It's not, let's see if we can get him on the cheap.
03:29He's got to get anywhere he goes is on the cheap.
03:31And I kind of watched, you know, I watched a little bit of Byron Scott's podcast, which
03:34actually isn't bad, just for the record.
03:36Like, they've had some good stuff with the Showtime Lakers, with Kareem.
03:40I think Magic was on there one time.
03:43So, I don't want to, like, demean the format, because I actually think it's surprisingly good.
03:48Um, Byron Scott seemed bitter about LeBron leaving L.A.
03:53Olden Polynes seems bitter about this, and I'm like, I just don't get this.
03:56I don't understand.
03:58Like, I understand the Lakers organization having bitterness because they've forgotten
04:03who they were when LeBron saved their asses.
04:06Sure.
04:06Um, I understand Lakers fans gatekeeping for Kobe, and in doing so, feeling like they need
04:14to distance themselves from LeBron.
04:17Old Lakers?
04:19What the hell's your problem?
04:20Yeah, I don't know.
04:21It's weird.
04:21I'll also make the suggestion that LeBron doesn't have some robust market is one of the
04:25more laughable things you can make out of this.
04:26Yeah, like, um...
04:28We've seen this a couple times, too, by the way, in this stretch.
04:30We've seen a couple different people try to make that suggestion that LeBron is just
04:33not attractive to some of these teams, and I just disagree, and clearly, we have the
04:38evidence to show that that was wrong.
04:39Like, outside of the Lakers, give me a team...
04:43I think there are more teams LeBron would say no to than teams would say no to LeBron.
04:48Yeah?
04:50Obviously, yeah.
04:52I'm trying to find out what teams would say no to LeBron.
04:54Like, LeBron is worth it, just off the ticket sales alone.
04:58Well, that's why we posited before that idea of, if LeBron ever got so desperate, like,
05:03four years from now, and let's say he was averaging, like, ten points a game and was
05:07just out there because he wanted to play basketball and he just loved it so much, whatever you
05:11want to do, but, like, there's teams that would blow up their entire roster for 81 LeBron James
05:19bobblehead nights.
05:20Yeah.
05:20You'd blow up the whole entire thing to be able to say LeBron James played in your jersey,
05:24to be able to say that he was...
05:26And, like, you'd build everything around that, and you'd make sure...
05:28You could go in the hole for three years, but to give your fans that experience would
05:32be worth it for...
05:33There's enough teams out there that would do that four years from now.
05:35I mean, we used to have the conversation of, in a completely open market where there is
05:40no salary cap, how much would LeBron make a year?
05:43Right.
05:43And it would, like...
05:44At his peak, people are saying, like, a billion-dollar athlete, which always felt like
05:48hyperbole, but I understood why people said that.
05:51I would guarantee that if you paid LeBron Max in 26-27, I still think you're making out
05:59financially, as a team, better than if you didn't have LeBron and you saved the 70...
06:06What is it?
06:0665-70 million dollars.
06:08That's interesting.
06:09You know, the NBA is different than a lot of other teams, right?
06:12Because the NBA...
06:13You only got...
06:14It's a 20,000-seat arena, right?
06:15And you're not...
06:16And for the most part, NBA attendance is oddly good, all things considered.
06:19Like, the Bulls, for instance, lead the league in attendance for the past, like, 20 years.
06:23They haven't been good in a very long time.
06:25Like, it's odd how that works in the NBA, but yeah, you'd still make money hand over fist.
06:30It's just having LeBron matter so much.
06:31I also think, like, because people...
06:33The two cheap shots at LeBron is, there's no market for him.
06:36That's just not true.
06:37It's not true, yeah.
06:38And the second thing is, well, LeBron doesn't...
06:40You know, LeBron can't tell you what moves to make.
06:43LeBron doesn't have any power.
06:45I also don't buy that to be true.
06:47Like, I think...
06:48Just be...
06:49Because I think everybody keeps pointing back to who LeBron was in the power that he had
06:54at his peak.
06:56And I think people almost look at this of, like, good riddance because people get upset
07:00when players have power, which I think is...
07:02Especially if you're a former player, I think that's crazy.
07:06Like, Magic took flack in real time for the power that he had.
07:10It's never attacked his legacy.
07:12Michael had a lot of power with the Bulls.
07:15It never hurt his legacy.
07:16When this is over, the late GM thing is not going to hurt him.
07:20He also might not have the power he had even four years ago.
07:24That doesn't mean he won't have power.
07:26He's going to have power.
07:27And if he ends up with the Cavs, by the way, he's going to have a lot of power.
07:30At the deadline, we're going to make trades based off of what LeBron suggests.
07:33This is how this is going to work.
07:35And by the way, I'm kind of excited for this era of LeBron, if it does in fact happen.
07:38The idea that he has power because...
07:41I like Donovan a lot, but Donovan hasn't shown any interest in wanting to be the guy
07:45that wields any of his power outside of getting J.B. Bickerstaff out of town.
07:48So I think Donovan does like to use his power.
07:52But like Giannis, he'd rather not do it if people know.
07:55Meaning, like, I think there's a certain guy, LeBron is one of them,
07:59that will wield his power and actually wants you to know that he's doing it.
08:04And I think Donovan really...
08:08He'd like to wield his power, but not at the expense of people knowing
08:11and maybe, you know, having problems with him.
08:13He wants to be everybody's friends, basically, is the problem.
08:15And same thing with Giannis in Milwaukee, by the way.
08:17Yeah, no, Giannis is exactly the same way.
08:19In many respects, Giannis is the same way.
08:21But again, I don't want a superstar to be buddy-buddy with everybody.
08:25I don't need you to be buddy-buddy with everybody.
08:26I need you to do what's right for the team.
08:28And ultimately, LeBron, even sometimes gets it wrong,
08:31but that's where his directive always is.
08:33If LeBron doesn't choose the Cavs, is it an indictment on that?
08:36I don't think it is.
08:37I don't think you can look at it that way.
08:39I would just say it's just we just didn't have what he was seeking
08:42and what he was trying to have offered up, right?
08:45Like, how do I get mad if the girl's like, I don't love you.
08:49I'm sorry, I don't love you.
08:50Well, okay, that's your choice.
08:52That's your decision.
08:56LeBron, there's things that the Heat, for instance, offer up that the Cavs can't.
09:00The relationship with Giannis there, we can't offer up.
09:02Things that Golden State offer up that just aren't appealing or that we don't have.
09:06That relationship with Draymond.
09:07We've talked about Kerr and Curry and everything.
09:10Like, there's just we don't know what he wants, and they offer different things.
09:14How can I get mad at the Cavs in that instance?
09:16I think it's going to depend on what information comes out afterwards.
09:19If there's a report that LeBron was more interested in the Cavs
09:23and the Cavs are in on LeBron, it's going to be a real indictment on them.
09:27That would change things, sure.
09:29If LeBron didn't feel the love specifically from Donovan.
09:32But I'm not expecting any of that.
09:33Are you expecting any of that?
09:34What?
09:35That we're going to have any of those reports?
09:37Yes.
09:38As I'm not.
09:39Every time LeBron makes a decision, there's a flood of things that come out.
09:43Yeah, but the ones you mentioned specifically, I'm not expecting those reports.
09:48I have no idea what will and won't come out.
09:50I just think those are the kind of things that all of a sudden make the Cavs look bad in
09:55this.
09:55Those are the kind of things that if I heard, all of a sudden I go from,
10:00well, it is a team that got swept in the Eastern Conference Finals.
10:03Well, they've got Giannis.
10:04Or, well, they've got Jalen Brown and Joel Embiid.
10:07But at face value, if I have to answer the question at face value, you should have to as well.
10:10At face value, and what we have right now, would you consider it an indictment?
10:13Yeah.
10:14Because, quite frankly, I'd be wondering about their recruitment efforts.
10:18We talked about that.
10:19And I wondered about that myself.
10:20I've wondered about the idea that Steph Curry is going on Good Morning America today trying to make last pitch
10:25efforts.
10:26ESPN is putting out articles with three different 76ers and the relationships attached to that.
10:31I do think that's an important part of this.
10:33And it's one thing that I think they've missed in all of this as well.
10:35But I think if he doesn't end up choosing the Cavs, the reason why it's not an indictment is it
10:40just would have been offered up other things by these other spots that, frankly, the Cavs couldn't satiate.
10:46They couldn't take care of.
10:46Well, but isn't that also an indictment?
10:48Like, LeBron doesn't think he can win with you?
10:51No, that's not what I'm saying.
10:52Not if it's things like relationships and it's things like, hey, you can golf outdoors in California.
10:58And we also have a bunch of tech bros and everything out there as well in Silicon Valley.
11:04Like, I'm sorry.
11:05If you want to choose California because it's 50 minutes away in a private jet from L.A., there's nothing
11:11the Cavs could have done because of that.
Comments