00:00Former NBA star, now NBA analyst for Sirius XM NBA, Eddie Johnson joins us now.
00:05Eddie, welcome to the show.
00:08Is he still in the boat?
00:09He might still be on that boat.
00:10No, there you go.
00:11Thanks for having me.
00:12I'll put you on mute for a minute.
00:14A lot of people do that.
00:15That's common.
00:16I'm in for us.
00:17I know, I mean, I'm sure you're all used to that.
00:19I get put on mute all the time, so there you go.
00:21All right, so let's get to the news of the day.
00:24LeBron to Philadelphia, were you surprised by this news?
00:29No, I felt at the beginning of all of this, I felt that Philadelphia would be his choice.
00:37Because the thing with LeBron, and you all know, look, they do want to win.
00:41He wants to win, and he's going to take the best situation.
00:44I just thought there were two teams that had great situations.
00:48Obviously, the Cavs.
00:50I thought with James Harden and LeBron, that could be sort of an issue.
00:55But I thought James Harden, over the last number of years, has really gotten used to
01:01maybe getting off the ball, right?
01:03And being unselfish and not thinking the whole system is around him.
01:07So I thought that just going back home, closing the book on Cleveland, I thought was a very
01:14good story.
01:15And the Cavs, definitely capable of getting out of the Eastern Conference with LeBron on
01:20that team.
01:21But let's be honest, I just thought when Jalen Brown got traded to Philadelphia, I just thought
01:28the one thing that the 76ers were missing was somebody alongside Embiid.
01:35You're talking about three dudes in Brown, Maxie, and Edgecombe.
01:40That's three of the fastest guys in the league running the floor.
01:44And now to give Embiid some help on the interior, on the rebounding, I thought LeBron would sit
01:52well.
01:52So I'm not shocked by it at all.
01:54I know a lot of people in Cleveland are because it looked like you all had a great chance.
01:59But I think you know him, guys.
02:01I mean, this dude wants to win.
02:02He just doesn't want to just end the season, just his career.
02:07He wants to win.
02:08And I think this is probably his best opportunity.
02:11What do you think this means for LeBron's legacy?
02:15Well, look, I think, you know, first, who has played this year, this long, this good?
02:21So I think a lot of it is unfair that we continue to judge a guy that's going to be
02:2642 in December.
02:28I mean, please find me a 41-year-old that is doing the things that he has done at this
02:35age.
02:35Now, we've had a lot of guys playing to their 40s.
02:38I'm one of them.
02:39I played to 40, and I stunk.
02:42You know, I mean, Kareem wasn't Kareem in his 40s.
02:47You know, Karl Malone wasn't Karl when he got to that certain age.
02:51I mean, Robert Parrish, Kevin Willis.
02:55You talk about big guys that played that long, guys that played in their 40s.
02:59They lost a step, right?
03:01We just saw Chris Paul not be Chris Paul, you know, when he was in that age.
03:05So we know it's difficult, but to see him, and I truly believe he's still one of the top 15
03:11players in the NBA at this age,
03:13we've just never seen anything like this.
03:15And so I think it's unfair for us to keep judging him like he was that guy in Cleveland.
03:22I just think, you know, it's just unfair to do that.
03:24So I don't disagree with you, but I do think if the whole logic behind this is to chase a
03:32championship,
03:33then I think there is a requisite thing that he has to get to in Philly to not have some
03:38sort of criticism,
03:39at least in the short term.
03:40What do you think that floor would have to be in Philadelphia for him to avoid, again,
03:45the level of criticism that usually comes with LeBron if expectations aren't met?
03:50Well, you know, it comes with everybody, to be honest.
03:52But it's going to come towards him at a higher level.
03:55You know, most guys are going to get criticized.
03:58LeBron is not the only one.
04:00But to the level that he does, no one reaches that height.
04:05You know, Jordan, at the end of his career, went to play for the Wizards.
04:07Nobody thought the Wizards would win.
04:09So Jordan was a little bit saved with that, right?
04:12So, yeah, I mean, look, I think Nick Nurse is going to give him the ball, which he should.
04:20I think Maxie, obviously, in conversations with him, for him to decide to come there,
04:24is okay with him getting the ball.
04:27And I think if they give him the ball and those guys just run and play,
04:31because he's going to find them, one of the best passes ever, it will flow.
04:36And they'll have a great chance to win.
04:38I think they're the best team in the East right now.
04:40I do.
04:41And I know Joel Embiid is always the question mark.
04:44And look, he doesn't have to play 70 games with this group.
04:48You know, he can play 50 with this group.
04:51And those four guys will be able to hold their arm doing any given night in the NBA.
04:56So, yeah, it's a championship contending team.
04:59And if he comes up short, we all know what's going to happen, right?
05:03Everybody's going to complain.
05:04Everybody's going to get on them.
05:05And I think he realizes that.
05:07So he's not running from the smoke, right?
05:10When he left Cleveland and went to L.A., everybody said,
05:16oh, he can only win in the East, and he was scared to come to the West.
05:19So he goes to the West, and he wins a championship.
05:22And now the East, arguably, is a better conference than the West.
05:28So what's going to happen?
05:30Now he's going to a place where it's going to be extremely difficult.
05:33You got the Pacers that's going to be better next year, okay,
05:36coming back from their injuries.
05:38He's like, the East is stacked.
05:40And so I think the challenge is right there in front of him,
05:43and he's willing to accept it.
05:44Where do the Cavs fit in the East now for you?
05:46If you have the Sixers at the top,
05:48and you mentioned all these good teams that are coming in,
05:50where do we now sit?
05:52I think you're up there, too.
05:53I think, you know, the thing with the Cavs,
05:55and look, you got to just get over the hunt.
05:57That's all.
05:58You got the talent.
05:59I just think the key is Mobley.
06:02I think Mobley's got to come to a realization
06:04where he's got to get ultra aggressive.
06:06I think he's passive.
06:08And you can't be passive and have the talent that he has.
06:13We know Harden is going to take his shots.
06:15We know Donovan Mitchell is going to take his shots.
06:17If you all remember,
06:19when Donovan Mitchell first came in the league,
06:22he went to a veteran-laden team in Utah.
06:26And as soon as he stepped on the floor,
06:28he straight gangstaed everything.
06:30He took all the shots.
06:32He took all the shots on a veteran Utah team.
06:36Mobley's got to develop that kind of mentality.
06:38And I don't think he has, but I think he can.
06:41And I think if he does,
06:43with that duo of he and Jared Allen on that front line,
06:46oh, yeah, I think the Cavs have a great opportunity
06:50to do well in the playoffs.
06:52They've come up short over the last number of years,
06:54but I think they are a problem.
06:56So, Eddie, I don't want to put words in your mouth,
06:58but it sounds like you're okay if the Cavs just run it back
07:01with the core they've had the last couple years
07:03in spite of not breaking through yet.
07:06No, I think they need improvement.
07:08I do.
07:09I think they need better shooting.
07:11I think their shooting was inconsistent last year.
07:15I thought Donovan Mitchell and James Harden played okay together.
07:19I wouldn't give it a high-ranking, you know,
07:22but I think Harden over the years is, you know,
07:25he has really, I think, understood that he's had to change his game
07:30and be a little bit more unselfish.
07:32But, yeah, no, I think they still have to make some subtle changes,
07:36without a doubt.
07:37All right.
07:38Can I interest you in any of Jonathan Kaminga,
07:40Mario Izzonia, or DeMar DeRozan?
07:43I like, well, we know what DeRozan can do.
07:46All right?
07:47So, you automatically know any given night,
07:50he's going to lead the team in scoring.
07:52You automatically know that.
07:54You know he's going to be mid-range.
07:55You know he's going to take good shots.
07:58You know, look, obviously you get older, the defense is not there.
08:01He's not a tremendously gifted rebounder,
08:03but you don't need to have a great rebounder
08:05when you've got those two giants on the floor.
08:07So, his scoring is something maybe they would need,
08:10especially come playoff, right?
08:12Because James Harden, quite honestly, is having trouble, right,
08:15in the playoffs where, you know,
08:17he's had some meltdowns in certain games.
08:19I don't think that's in DeRozan's category.
08:22So, yeah, I think he's a good pick up.
08:24DeMinga, I think he's damaged from what all happened in Golden State
08:28and obviously damaged again by, you know,
08:30the Atlanta Honks not being ultra-aggressive and signing him.
08:34So, if I had to pick, I would say DeRozan without a doubt.
08:38But you better hurry up and get to it
08:40because DeRozan might say, I want to go to Philly.
08:45Eddie, if LeBron was waiting on the Cavs to make either a trade for Anthony Davis
08:51or Kyrie Irving, should they have if it would have meant LeBron coming back to Cleveland?
08:58Yeah, well, you know, look, of course guys want to play with guys that they're familiar with, right?
09:05I thought it would have been great if Kyrie had come back, right?
09:08Kyrie should have never left.
09:09Kyrie hasn't been Kyrie since he left, okay?
09:13Boston was a failure, right?
09:15Brooklyn was a failure.
09:17And Dallas is a failure, but more complicated because of his knee injury.
09:21They did go to the finals, right?
09:23And he didn't play well in those finals.
09:25So, yeah, I mean, Kyrie without LeBron has not seen the success that he saw.
09:31So, yeah, I'm sure those two guys joined at the hip
09:34would have made it really very appealing for Cleveland
09:38in regards to what they want to get done.
09:40And Kyrie's a guy, he gets injured, but he always gets himself back in shape.
09:44So, I know he would have been ready.
09:46So, yeah, I think if you all had gotten Kyrie,
09:49I think LeBron probably would have decided to come there.
09:52Eddie, great stuff.
09:53We know, you know, you probably had other plans
09:56than talking to these two jamokes here in Cleveland on a Friday.
09:59I'm fine, man.
10:00Look, I'm on a family reunion.
10:02I was on a big boat.
10:04I was enjoying myself, having a mango margarita, enjoying my day off.
10:10And, you know, that's what we do when we get old.
10:12We got to enjoy our days off and then talk sports.
10:15I love it.
10:15All right.
10:16Well, hey, have a mango margarita for John and I as well,
10:18Jonathan and I as well.
10:20Eddie, we appreciate you.
10:22All right, guys.
10:22Take care.
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