00:00Welcome back. The Heat caused an uproar Tuesday night when they posted a link to a scheduled live stream titled
00:06LeBron James introductory press conference followed by the date July 27 to the team's YouTube channel. A Heat spokesperson told
00:15our Shams that the club's social media department was preparing for the possibility of James signing and mistakenly posted the
00:21link to the team's YouTube page. So mistake, not a mistake, maybe an Easter egg here.
00:28Maybe it's where LeBron's going. Stephen A, is this gaffe something or nothing?
00:36Nothing. In my opinion, nothing. That's an honest mistake. You know, every team has to prepare. The second LeBron James
00:43announced where he's going, if you're the team that he picks, you better be prepared with something immediately for public
00:52consumption.
00:52And that, to me, is all that it was. You know, with LeBron and how close to the vest he
01:00holds things, you know, that's why I didn't take Steve Kerr seriously when he was caught at some stoplight talking
01:07to people saying LeBron's coming, put it on Twitter and stuff like that.
01:10Because, obviously, it's a decision that LeBron wants to make and it's a decision that he wants to reveal. He
01:17doesn't want somebody else doing that.
01:19And so for Steve Kerr to say something like that, you know that's something that Steve Kerr wouldn't do if
01:24he was serious about that.
01:25And you know that's something the Miami Heat wouldn't do because you know that LeBron wouldn't want that either.
01:29And so because of that, that's why I say it's just an honest mistake. And that's how I look at
01:34it. It's stuff like that. It happens. It shouldn't. But nobody's flawless. Things happen from time to time. And I
01:41think, Wendy, this was just one of those times.
01:45It says a lot more about us as sports consumers and content creators than it does about the Heat because
01:54we're in this point right now where there's this dearth of information on the sports calendar and there's this really
01:59kind of an irresponsible frothing at the mouth on this LeBron stuff.
02:04First off, I'll give a free piece of consulting to all the teams who think they're going to sign LeBron.
02:10There's not going to be an introductory press conference. You don't got to get it ready.
02:14After not five, not six, not seven, LeBron's done with introductory press conferences. He didn't do one when he came
02:19back to Cleveland. He didn't do one when he came to Los Angeles.
02:21And if he does one, it's going to be on his platforms. It's not going to be an open thing
02:25that you're going to have. So you don't got to worry about creating stuff like that.
02:28And I promise you, I promise you, I swear to all the people out there. I know that there's this
02:36this unquenchable desire to know.
02:38I know that the league is somewhat frozen right now. I know that there's an assumption about things.
02:44Stephen A., I am talking to players and the teams involved. I'm talking to owners. I'm talking to everybody in
02:50the league all day long.
02:52Nobody knows. So am I.
02:53I know it's an unsatisfactory answer. And I'm not saying that somebody might not say something that ends up being
03:00partially based in some source.
03:02It ends up being right. But I'm telling you, nobody knows.
03:06LeBron is going through his own process this time. It's possible he's made a decision, Courtney, in the last 10
03:12minutes.
03:12And people actually know right now. And they can say, I knew beforehand.
03:16But I am telling you, I swear, I promise you, this is not based on what Adam Silver said in
03:23an interview.
03:23It's not based on anything. He hasn't made up his mind. And nobody knows but him what he's doing.
03:29It's unsatisfying. And it's true.
03:31All right. Wendy is a thousand percent correct.
03:36Not to remind everybody, but I am the one that broke the story about him going and taking his talents
03:40to South Beach back in 2010.
03:42And I'm hearing the same thing. Everybody says he doesn't know. He doesn't know.
03:46But here's the important thing to point out.
03:50LeBron has earned the right to take his time and make the decision.
03:56Do I suspect he knows? Sure.
03:58But the point is, is that if he says he doesn't know, there's no reason to not believe him at
04:04this particular moment in time.
04:06And here's the reason why. There's some intriguing opportunities out there.
04:10Minnesota is supposedly not in his top three.
04:14Minnesota has Ant-Man. Ant-Man with LeBron James.
04:17That ain't something bad to watch.
04:19You know, when you look at the Philadelphia 76ers, that's Jalen Brown there now with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecone.
04:28With a Joel Embiid that you're praying he's at least 50 percent ready come playoff time.
04:33LeBron James in Philadelphia. That's a damn good situation.
04:38Golden State. Well, the babyface assassin, the greatest shooter God has ever created, still looking like a superstar, is there
04:50for LeBron James.
04:52You talk about 20 points, dipping from 27, 26, 25 points to 20 points a game last season.
04:58How much you want to make a bet his assist total will go up significantly if he were in Golden
05:02State throwing the basketball at that brother?
05:04How about that? That's an option.
05:07Oh, by the way, do you understand, Courtney and Wendy, that LeBron James, after practice or after a game, can
05:17hop on a jet and be back in L.A. in 45 minutes?
05:22Ladies and gentlemen, do you understand that I'm from Queens, New York?
05:26And I spent the vast majority of my young life taking an hour and a half traveling on New York
05:31transit to get to work or to get to school?
05:34You understand? When I went to Thomas Edison High School in Queens, New York, it took me an hour and
05:3915 minutes every morning to get to school.
05:41When I went to college, it took me, and I worked in the city, it took an hour and a
05:45half to get to the city, the bus to the E or the F train.
05:48Okay, 45 minutes is nothing. In L.A. traffic, sometimes it'll take you 45 minutes just to get from Brentwood
05:56to the facility.
05:57I mean, you can't make this stuff up. 45 minutes ain't nothing.
06:00So for him to be in Golden State, you near your family.
06:04Or he could go back to South Beach with Giannis as his teammate with a familiar territory and a Hall
06:11of Fame coach and Eric Spolstra and a Hall of Fame executive in Pat Riley.
06:15Or he could go home. These are big-time options. It's not an easy decision. He's got to make sure
06:22that wherever he goes, he's going to be happy for the next couple of years.
06:26Because I believe he wants to play a full 25 years in the NBA, 25 seasons. He wants to play
06:32a full century.
06:32I believe you're right, too. I think that's his target. And then he's going to walk away, right?
06:36Agreed.
06:36The next two years of his life, this is likely his last move. He wants to make sure. Ladies and
06:44gentlemen, there's nothing wrong with it.
06:46He's got a bevy of options. But most importantly, it's a bevy of good options. He has to make sure
06:53he does his best to choose the best one.
06:57Whatever time he needs, he's earned the right to take that time and to make the best decision for himself.
07:04I got no problems with it.
07:05Well, we're going to need you to channel some of that 2010 energy. Stephen A., if you do get tipped
07:10off on where he's going, do like you did back then.
07:12I could kill us.
07:13Tip us off here on Thursday about 10 days beforehand.
07:15I could kill us.
07:16Courtney, I didn't believe him in 2010.
07:18No.
07:18I didn't believe him on his own with Steph Castle and Dylan Harper and has probably told the San Antonio
07:23Spurs, let's not do that. Let's do it this way.
07:27Giannis hasn't done that.
07:28But there's no way that Pat Riley and Eric Spolstra and the entire organization is going after LeBron without the
07:36blessing of Giannis.
07:37So I think LeBron is smart enough to know that.
07:40And that's the recruitment, that they're going after him in the first place.
07:44No, Giannis doesn't have to call every single day or send voice notes to Rich Paul, as Shamshiranya reported.
07:50That doesn't need to happen.
07:51LeBron knows.
07:53Okay.
07:54Kirk, how do you see it?
07:55Should LeBron be pitching him or Giannis be pitching LeBron?
07:59It better happen.
08:01Giannis better get uncomfortable if he's trying to get LeBron James.
08:05Look, we're in the moment right now where LeBron James wants to feel loved.
08:10Okay.
08:10And he wants his flowers.
08:12And I'm not talking about from the entire basketball world.
08:16I'm talking about from his peers.
08:18We're talking about Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the greatest power forwards to ever play the game of basketball.
08:24Steph Curry has made his pitch and picked up the phone and called LeBron James.
08:30Giannis is on the clock, by the way.
08:33Pat Riley just said, I don't have time to wait.
08:35Pat Riley is 80 years old.
08:37I believe 80 or 81 years of age.
08:40He's trying to win now.
08:42He brought Giannis in to win the NBA championship.
08:45When Pat Riley lands his big whale or his big fish, Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, whoever it
08:55may be in the past, they delivered in great fashion.
08:59He didn't bring Giannis down here to wiggle his toes in the sand.
09:02Giannis has to get uncomfortable, put his pride aside, pick that damn phone up, and call LeBron James.
09:10Like, it's to that point now.
09:13Like, we can't hear the reports of Tyrese Maxey and Jalen Brown and Vijay Edgecomb.
09:20All of these guys are making their pitch and picking up the phone.
09:24Like, Giannis better do his damn job.
09:26Because the one thing that the Miami Heat is missing is they're missing a guy that could be a facilitator
09:32and be that floor general.
09:34Well, LeBron James is that missing piece.
09:37You put LeBron on that squad, they instantly become title contenders, legit title contenders.
09:44Without LeBron James on the Miami Heat, they're still a year away.
09:48Pat Riley not trying to wait, and Giannis shouldn't be trying to wait either.
09:52You don't waste these type of moments.
09:54You don't have regrets.
09:56Giannis better pick up their phone and dial LeBron James personally.
10:00Well, if LeBron goes to the Heat, we may retroactively look at this and say maybe it was LeBron actually
10:06recruiting Giannis.
10:07Well, that's for a goodOME time.
10:07Well, let's see.
10:07Take care.
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