WEBVTT - Yaron Weitzman on the James Harden Saga!

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<v Speaker 1>Break was breaking down all the biggest NBA storylines. Lord

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<v Speaker 1>tuned in so the heat Check. The Heat Check was

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<v Speaker 1>just a crack the best podcast covering all the trauma

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<v Speaker 1>around the association.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, let's talk about the dumpster fire happening in Philadelphia.

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<v Speaker 2>Find out what's really going on behind the scenes that

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<v Speaker 2>cost a massive riff between the ones, very close relationship

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<v Speaker 2>between James Harden and Sixers GM Daryl Moury, and of

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<v Speaker 2>course what the fuck happens Next, we brought on your

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<v Speaker 2>own Whitzman. He interviewed a dozen people close to both sides.

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<v Speaker 2>He's here to break it all down. This is a

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<v Speaker 2>can't miss interview without further ado. Listen in. Thank you

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<v Speaker 2>so much for coming on my pleasure. I've already Uh,

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<v Speaker 2>what you guys don't hear behind the scenes is I

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<v Speaker 2>accidentally said your own who's very prominent reporter in the business,

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<v Speaker 2>love his work, that he didn't look good. So we're

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<v Speaker 2>off to the race.

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<v Speaker 1>This weird.

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<v Speaker 2>We're headed for the kind of relationship that James Harden

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<v Speaker 2>and Darryl Moorey. There you go, intense and fractured.

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<v Speaker 1>There you go.

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<v Speaker 2>How did we get to this place where Harden is

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<v Speaker 2>now at war with his team, the third team in

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<v Speaker 2>three years.

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<v Speaker 1>So that okay, so the third team in three years.

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<v Speaker 1>That's almost a separate conversation, right In terms of this

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<v Speaker 1>specific thing, his specific beef with Daryl Moury, we can

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<v Speaker 1>trace it. I wrote a long story kind of trace this.

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<v Speaker 1>This goes back years decade. But I think the real

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<v Speaker 1>answer is just the root of who him and Maury are.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what I wrote about. But that Daryl Moury at

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<v Speaker 1>his root. I mean, all NBA fans know what he is,

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<v Speaker 1>the cold, calculating guy who wins above loyalty. And the

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<v Speaker 1>way I phrased it is that emotions rarely play a

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<v Speaker 1>role in his decisions, and James Harden is somebody who

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<v Speaker 1>emotions are basically what or will mostly informed his decisions.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you have those two, at some point we

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<v Speaker 1>were going to hit this. At some point, We're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>hit this point where there was going to be an issue,

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<v Speaker 1>and there was going to be a problem. James Harden

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<v Speaker 1>was not going to realize that maybe he wasn't the

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<v Speaker 1>max player. And that's that's not a new story, right,

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<v Speaker 1>Like we can name Carmelo Russell Westbrook, Allen Iverson, like

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<v Speaker 1>we can name in all sports like the Aging Superstar.

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<v Speaker 1>That's that's an old story and that's one of the

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<v Speaker 1>hardest things, and some teams will deal with that maybe

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<v Speaker 1>and value the loyalty. Daryl Morry at some point was

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<v Speaker 1>going to tell James Harden no, and James Harden at

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<v Speaker 1>some point was going to be very angry that Daryl

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<v Speaker 1>Moury said no and it was going to end up

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<v Speaker 1>in this place.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you think that that, Yeah, because you talked about

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<v Speaker 2>how important loyalty is to James Harden and if that's

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<v Speaker 2>also something very important to me, And I don't necessarily

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<v Speaker 2>think in business relationships I'm going to get loyalty, but

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<v Speaker 2>this crossed the line from a business relationship ship to

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<v Speaker 2>a friendship as well, where Daryl Morey had James Harden's

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<v Speaker 2>painting in his house. So if I value loyalty above

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<v Speaker 2>everything else, the people around me I want to value

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<v Speaker 2>loyalty too, and I kind of suss out whether that's

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<v Speaker 2>something that's important to them. Do you think that James

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<v Speaker 2>Harden thought he was going to be different as it

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<v Speaker 2>related to Dyroll and or did he maybe think that

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<v Speaker 2>this was coming down the pipe?

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<v Speaker 1>No, that's a great question. I think he I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>we know the answer that he thought it was possibly

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<v Speaker 1>coming down just based on his flirting with Houston, and

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's that's I think it's a little more

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<v Speaker 1>complicated than it's made out to be. But he was

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<v Speaker 1>definitely interested and trying to work behind the scenes and

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<v Speaker 1>see if you's still to be interested in him. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>So you don't do that if you think that you're

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<v Speaker 1>about to get a max contract and that's locked in.

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<v Speaker 1>You do that to try to exact some leverage or

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<v Speaker 1>acts leverage over the guy you're in with. So I

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<v Speaker 1>think they were both pretty on the up and up.

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<v Speaker 1>And James Harden, I mean it's I think it's kind

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<v Speaker 1>of classic, right. He values loyalty in other people. I

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't say he's the most loyal person himself, right, And

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<v Speaker 1>so he saw plenty of There are plenty of examples

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<v Speaker 1>in Houston of guys who were major pieces in different

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<v Speaker 1>cores of teams. Was Louis Skola, Chuck Hayes, a different

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<v Speaker 1>you know, different people. Chris Paul was one who was

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<v Speaker 1>banished because of James Harden, Right, different people who are

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<v Speaker 1>part of the part of the group there and got

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<v Speaker 1>dumped by the Rockets for different reasons. A lot of

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<v Speaker 1>times the reasons were because James Harden was annoyed at

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<v Speaker 1>them for some reason. And when I to go back,

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<v Speaker 1>like when we talk about his emotions, it's also he

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<v Speaker 1>values loyalty. He's also very sensitive, right, And that's something

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<v Speaker 1>that's important to know in all this. And the idea

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<v Speaker 1>that if you I think I have a quote him

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<v Speaker 1>this in the story from a former coach, the idea

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<v Speaker 1>that if you cross James, he's just you're done with him.

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<v Speaker 1>If and that cross could be you're done to him

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<v Speaker 1>or in his yeah, just that cross can be the

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<v Speaker 1>smallest of things, right, Like it was the idea of

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<v Speaker 1>Chris Paul. We saw Chris Paul wanted to nudge the

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<v Speaker 1>offense a little away, a little more towards a more

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<v Speaker 1>egalitarian system as opposed to James Harden being ball dominant. Nope,

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<v Speaker 1>no good, right, Russell Westbrook. Let's go get me Russell Westbrook.

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<v Speaker 1>That doesn't go well, okay, I want to get rid

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<v Speaker 1>to west Russell Westbrook and I went out of here.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's not like he's being a he's a beacon

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<v Speaker 1>of loyalty himself, which is sort of the ironic part,

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<v Speaker 1>but I do think he probably saw something like this

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<v Speaker 1>coming down the pike in terms of the idea that

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<v Speaker 1>Darryl might try to break up with me, and therefore

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna see if I break up with him first

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<v Speaker 1>and get The problem for him was that the market

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<v Speaker 1>just wasn't there, and I think the mistake was they

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<v Speaker 1>didn't properly him and his team didn't properly adjust to

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<v Speaker 1>the to those circumstances.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Houston was kind of in the mix all last year,

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<v Speaker 2>which was kind of bonkers to me. When you have

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<v Speaker 2>a court right young core that you want to give

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<v Speaker 2>the ball to. Jalen Green went on that podcast Pee

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<v Speaker 2>interview and was like, Yeah, having hardened here would really

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<v Speaker 2>stunt my development. And then they bring an ema Udoka.

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<v Speaker 2>Now there's there's some not controvert but almost it's hard

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<v Speaker 2>to decipher how much I may Udoka played in the

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<v Speaker 2>role of James Harden not being able to come back

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<v Speaker 2>to Houston. I saw that you retweeted something from one

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<v Speaker 2>of the other contemporaries where Emy is trying to set

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<v Speaker 2>the record straight. What have you heard from people around

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<v Speaker 2>that situation in terms of like how that dynamic went down?

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<v Speaker 1>So, I mean, what I heard for a while is

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<v Speaker 1>that E may I don't want to I'm gonna say

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<v Speaker 1>didn't like James Harden. I'm saying like I'm purpose and

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<v Speaker 1>closes I don't. I don't think that means personally, right,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't. I don't think that means an issue with him.

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<v Speaker 1>I just think that means maybe as a player, well,

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<v Speaker 1>while he was in Brooklyn, I should say, right that

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<v Speaker 1>something about and I don't have the specifics of this

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<v Speaker 1>is why I forget how I phrased the story. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't a fan of his style or whatever, but

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<v Speaker 1>something about their time in Brooklyn made imay Udoka think

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<v Speaker 1>that this was not going to be James Harden would

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<v Speaker 1>not be a good fit for him for this team

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<v Speaker 1>that he was inheriting in Houston. And then the story

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<v Speaker 1>I went up today and Zach Low has a big

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<v Speaker 1>story on ESPN about Jalen Green and you can you

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<v Speaker 1>have the quote there, but may Be Dooka basically says, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I thought Fred van Vliet would be a better fit

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<v Speaker 1>for us than James Harden. He pushes back on the

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<v Speaker 1>idea that I don't like James Harden. He ever said

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<v Speaker 1>that which fine, he's also publice not going to say that.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think he necessarily has a personal issue, but

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<v Speaker 1>I just think it was very clear that when Imo

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<v Speaker 1>Doka got there, Euston's appetite for a hardened reunion was

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<v Speaker 1>really diminished.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and what was interesting too from your article was

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<v Speaker 2>that both sides have just this very disparate view of

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<v Speaker 2>the relationship that was going to continue moving forward in

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<v Speaker 2>the off season. You say James Harden doesn't feel wanted

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<v Speaker 2>and the Sixers really want James Harden. Can you just

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<v Speaker 2>expand on why those both you know, are so different

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<v Speaker 2>in terms of their opinions.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, this is kind of the root of it. Like this,

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<v Speaker 1>it's like this, So where is James Harden's problem James

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<v Speaker 1>Harden's promise? He says that, no, of course, way back up,

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<v Speaker 1>there's there's a there's an idea being that when James

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<v Speaker 1>Harden have been okay, anything but a max right, and

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<v Speaker 1>we for that, we have to go back to last year,

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<v Speaker 1>he takes the pay cut to re sign with the Sixers.

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<v Speaker 1>So then get PJ. Tucker and Daniel House really mostly PJ. Tucker.

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<v Speaker 1>Everyone assumes there's a wink wink that Okay, Harden's gonna

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<v Speaker 1>take a pay cut. Clearly they have a wink wink

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<v Speaker 1>that he's gonna sign a max next year. The league

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<v Speaker 1>even investigates that doesn't find anything. The Sixers have denied that.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, I wrote this like if there was an agreement,

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<v Speaker 1>it wouldn't be like a text message where Daryl Morey saying, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>you do the pay cut now, I promise you a

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<v Speaker 1>max contract next year, right, Like it just that's not

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<v Speaker 1>how these things go. I don't know what happened. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>gonna guess what happened is, yeah, we'll take care of you, right.

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<v Speaker 1>And what everyone takes that like, that's a very vague

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<v Speaker 1>sentence phrasing, and everyone takes that whatever to mean whatever

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<v Speaker 1>they think it's gonna mean. James Harden plays this year

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<v Speaker 1>most of the year, he probably thinks he's in good shape,

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<v Speaker 1>he's playing really well. Houston's there, So if Houston's there

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<v Speaker 1>also as interested as a team of interest or team

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<v Speaker 1>who's interested in him, the market's gonna be better. He's thinking, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>I'll be good with contract. He has another poor playoff

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<v Speaker 1>or poor game six or seven. I should say he

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<v Speaker 1>had a couple of good games in there. Houston is

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<v Speaker 1>no longer on the market. If there's anybody who would

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<v Speaker 1>know that Houston is off the market, it would be

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<v Speaker 1>dal Maurray, who's obviously really plugged into what's going on there,

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<v Speaker 1>even though he's not there anymore. But you know, teams

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<v Speaker 1>can find these things out. And Philly now is saying

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<v Speaker 1>that the reason we're not negotiating with James Harden earlier,

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<v Speaker 1>letting him know that he's wanted is because, hey, remember

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<v Speaker 1>last year we were adopted a couple of draft picks

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<v Speaker 1>for negotiating with PJ. Tucker and Daniel House early and

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<v Speaker 1>those guys. And therefore this year we're going to be

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<v Speaker 1>real sticklers for the NBA's rules, right, for the NBA's

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<v Speaker 1>tampering rules and free agency timeline. They've insisted on that

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<v Speaker 1>in private also, And I'm saying that because could because

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<v Speaker 1>they insist on him private too. I'm dubious on that, right.

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<v Speaker 1>I find that that's hard to believe. I think if

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<v Speaker 1>there was another team that was interested in Hard and

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<v Speaker 1>they knew of they would have adjusted accordingly. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's where sort of them breakdown really comes from,

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<v Speaker 1>is that Harden once to be told at that in

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<v Speaker 1>those moments you like me. I know I will actually

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<v Speaker 1>take less than the max, but just show me that

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<v Speaker 1>you want me. Philly is saying, now you know what

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<v Speaker 1>we were promising, We wanted you. We were going to

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<v Speaker 1>be there. The moment free agency open, you would have

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<v Speaker 1>been at your doorstep. We have to wait, we have

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<v Speaker 1>to wait. And this is where the breakdown is that

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<v Speaker 1>it's kind of like he said, he said, and I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know the answers that are probably both right right,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm both right and wrong, and how he got here,

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<v Speaker 1>and I just I don't know if they can come

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<v Speaker 1>back from this.

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<v Speaker 2>And James Harden's probably like, well, I've seen the way

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<v Speaker 2>Daryl Morey's rock for the last ten years for sure,

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<v Speaker 2>and if you are changing your the way that you

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<v Speaker 2>move now, it is sending me into red alert. Push

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<v Speaker 2>the button. I have now no other options but to

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<v Speaker 2>be strong armed by the Philly. So now I'm just

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<v Speaker 2>gonna sign. I'm just going to pick up my player

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<v Speaker 2>option because if it's a jump mollfuck you, I actually.

0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:54.960
<v Speaker 1>Think I actually use that. That's a great point. I

0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:57.520
<v Speaker 1>think that the idea that he would know and if

0:10:57.840 --> 0:10:59.560
<v Speaker 1>he knows, how do't what operates and if like you're

0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:02.839
<v Speaker 1>saying aging his methods, that's a red flan they know, right,

0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:05.160
<v Speaker 1>and this isn't I mean, the whole NBA knows how

0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:07.040
<v Speaker 1>dwal Morey operates. He's been around for twenty years as

0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:11.319
<v Speaker 1>a reputation as being a I'll say cold, you want

0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:15.760
<v Speaker 1>to say really uh you know yeah, which again that's

0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:18.680
<v Speaker 1>like these sometimes are negative words. That's you can argue

0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:20.600
<v Speaker 1>it's also his job, right, So I'm not I'm not

0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:24.320
<v Speaker 1>saying that and that he's doing anything wrong. And this

0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:26.440
<v Speaker 1>is the way the hardened thing becomes so complicated because

0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:28.520
<v Speaker 1>we can all agree James Harden should not be getting

0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:31.960
<v Speaker 1>a max right, And I don't know, Like, if you're Philly,

0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:34.920
<v Speaker 1>Dallas is a great example, right, Kyrie has no other

0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:37.200
<v Speaker 1>market none, there's no other market that they try pretending

0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:39.280
<v Speaker 1>he's meeting with Phoenix, and they do all these things

0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:41.800
<v Speaker 1>that there's no one else there and Dallas they could

0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:44.319
<v Speaker 1>have squeezed them. Instead they come with whatever three years,

0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:47.319
<v Speaker 1>one hundred. I forget the exact numbers were right, And

0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.600
<v Speaker 1>I don't know that if they held strong, like was

0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:53.120
<v Speaker 1>there anyone else coming close to that? Probably not. They

0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:55.760
<v Speaker 1>decided that to them it was more important to have

0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:59.120
<v Speaker 1>Kyrie in and signed and have him be happy. Right,

0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:01.080
<v Speaker 1>And I'm not saying that's move right. That could have

0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:05.200
<v Speaker 1>been wrong. We will see darl Morey's doing the opposite way, right,

0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:07.240
<v Speaker 1>going with a different it was going with different paths.

0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:09.679
<v Speaker 1>So again I guess I should point out they insist

0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:11.120
<v Speaker 1>that they were not going to go a different path,

0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:13.160
<v Speaker 1>that at some point they would have offered Hard in

0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:14.880
<v Speaker 1>a contract. I don't know, if I have no numbers,

0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:16.240
<v Speaker 1>I don't know, but at some point they would have

0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:18.880
<v Speaker 1>offered a heart in the contract that would have been,

0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:21.079
<v Speaker 1>you know, valuable, and he would have been happy with.

0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:23.480
<v Speaker 1>And this way you can go drive yourself in circles.

0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:26.640
<v Speaker 1>Also because like Daryl Morey knows as well as anyone

0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:29.160
<v Speaker 1>how sensitive James hard is, so he's probably also thinking,

0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:32.120
<v Speaker 1>I assume, wait, if he only wants a Max, is

0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:34.040
<v Speaker 1>he gonna be happy with anything we offer? Like I

0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:36.199
<v Speaker 1>can come day one and offer him I don't know

0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:39.240
<v Speaker 1>making I'm making this up three for one twenty and

0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.760
<v Speaker 1>he's gonna say, fuck you, no, I don't want that.

0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:43.560
<v Speaker 1>I want to Max. I'm James Harden And it creates

0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:45.600
<v Speaker 1>a whole issue there. So this is why. I go

0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:47.480
<v Speaker 1>back to the original thing we were talking about that.

0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:51.400
<v Speaker 1>I just think this relationship at some point was destined

0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:53.320
<v Speaker 1>to wind up in this area, in this in this

0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:55.880
<v Speaker 1>area where they're both well, someone has a problem with

0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:56.240
<v Speaker 1>the other.

0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:59.319
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and you mentioned Kyrie, and I think that's really

0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:03.160
<v Speaker 2>fascinating because Daryl Moury knows that Kyrie is even more

0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.920
<v Speaker 2>He knows that Harden is even more disruptive when he's

0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:10.880
<v Speaker 2>unhappy than Kyrie is. And Kyrie can be a big

0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:13.240
<v Speaker 2>thorn in your side as well, which makes sense why

0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:16.360
<v Speaker 2>Dallas wants to keep him happy, because they really ultimately

0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:19.800
<v Speaker 2>want to keep Luca happy. I'm curious if anyone brought

0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:23.240
<v Speaker 2>up the dynamic between hardened and embid and whether that

0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:26.480
<v Speaker 2>was something that was in the Sixer's mind. They put

0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:29.439
<v Speaker 2>all this effort into this process. You talked about that

0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:33.160
<v Speaker 2>in your book Tanking to the Top. Just how long

0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:36.080
<v Speaker 2>it's taken for them to become a contender and now

0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:39.760
<v Speaker 2>it feels like the lynchpin of this process is now

0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:42.880
<v Speaker 2>James Harden. So how much do you think that played

0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:43.760
<v Speaker 2>into it as well?

0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.040
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean that's a big part. Daryl Moury, like

0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:50.480
<v Speaker 1>the reason James Harden was that the root of that

0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:53.760
<v Speaker 1>relationship was the idea that Darna Morwy thought James Harden

0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.480
<v Speaker 1>was a top five, top three whatever player. He was

0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:59.560
<v Speaker 1>an all time great who could win them, carry them

0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:03.000
<v Speaker 1>to a title, and therefore building a team that accentuates

0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:05.240
<v Speaker 1>his skills and around him, and also doing certain things

0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:09.040
<v Speaker 1>on the fringes, whether it's practice times or certain teammates

0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:12.000
<v Speaker 1>or coaches, whatever, keeping him happy. That was. He wasn't

0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:15.280
<v Speaker 1>doing that because he loved James Harden as a person.

0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:16.640
<v Speaker 1>I mean he was. That was part of it, but

0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:18.520
<v Speaker 1>it's because, no, my job is to win, and the

0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:20.960
<v Speaker 1>best way to win is James Harden affect him and happy. Right,

0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:22.680
<v Speaker 1>The same thing is gonna be the case now with

0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:25.160
<v Speaker 1>Joel Embiid. Like that, that that relationship is now going

0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:29.000
<v Speaker 1>to be. That's gonna be the new Foundational relationship. And

0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:32.280
<v Speaker 1>Daryl Morey knows that right, and he knows I think

0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:33.840
<v Speaker 1>he said this before in the record, But you know,

0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:37.360
<v Speaker 1>managing up, whether it's a to his ownership or towards

0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:39.640
<v Speaker 1>the superstar, that's an essential part of being a GM.

0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:44.480
<v Speaker 1>So managing the managing jew Embiid and making sure he's

0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:49.320
<v Speaker 1>satisfied and feeling comfortable and happy in his current situation.

0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:51.600
<v Speaker 1>Like I think Daryn Morey would probably say that's at

0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.200
<v Speaker 1>the top of his priority list, like that is his

0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:56.800
<v Speaker 1>job and because it goes in his view, and he's

0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:59.400
<v Speaker 1>probably right, that goes hand in hand with that's the

0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:01.040
<v Speaker 1>same thing as trying to win a title. Like those

0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.440
<v Speaker 1>are the same. Those two things are the same. That's

0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:06.320
<v Speaker 1>the same thing. That's the same goal. So to bringing

0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:08.800
<v Speaker 1>full circle, like to bring answer your question, Yeah, he's

0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:13.240
<v Speaker 1>he's having conversations with him. I don't know what those are. Indeed,

0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:17.080
<v Speaker 1>somebody who likes to uh, he likes the Monday morning

0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.840
<v Speaker 1>quarterback basketball decisions. We saw Jimmy Butler right when Jimmy

0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:23.040
<v Speaker 1>He's talked a lot about how he always wanted Jimmy

0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:25.120
<v Speaker 1>Butler and he didn't want him to leave, and he

0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:27.080
<v Speaker 1>always wished to bring him back. That was he never

0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:28.480
<v Speaker 1>made that clear. I mean, I know that he never

0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:30.080
<v Speaker 1>made that clear to anybody at the time, like they

0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:32.280
<v Speaker 1>if if he had made clear that he wanted Jimmy

0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:34.720
<v Speaker 1>Butler to still be there, I don't know if he

0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:36.160
<v Speaker 1>he probably would have still been there or it would

0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:38.520
<v Speaker 1>have been a bigger discussion. He never made that clear.

0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:42.360
<v Speaker 1>Only after the fact did he did he say that.

0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:44.000
<v Speaker 1>You know, I think Jimmy Butler should have stayed. And

0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.240
<v Speaker 1>he's done this with other decisions too, you know, kind

0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:50.000
<v Speaker 1>of poke afterward. So then I think the Sixers perspective

0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:51.560
<v Speaker 1>on this would be like, Okay, if he's gonna Monday

0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:53.560
<v Speaker 1>morning quarterback us, we might as well do what we

0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:55.680
<v Speaker 1>think is best for our basketball team, because it's if

0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:57.920
<v Speaker 1>it doesn't work out, it's not like he's gonna say, oh,

0:15:57.960 --> 0:15:59.240
<v Speaker 1>you know what. I was on board with that, And

0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:03.200
<v Speaker 1>I was also so in terms of like and b

0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:05.280
<v Speaker 1>knows any Harden or he knows any other star. I

0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:06.800
<v Speaker 1>guess at this point, what's he gonna do. He's not

0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:09.160
<v Speaker 1>going to ask out for a trade now at the

0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:12.560
<v Speaker 1>end of this year. You know that season in basketball

0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:14.880
<v Speaker 1>is a long long time, but right now this that

0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:15.600
<v Speaker 1>it is managing it.

0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:22.359
<v Speaker 2>So I don't get the Nick Nurse hiring, uh, especially

0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:25.080
<v Speaker 2>considering in your article you talked about how James Harden

0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:30.760
<v Speaker 2>was consulted on the head coach decision in yeah, in

0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:33.280
<v Speaker 2>Houston or in Philly.

0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.000
<v Speaker 1>And those were in Houston. Here, I don't know if

0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:36.960
<v Speaker 1>I don't know if he was consulted here, I don't.

0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:37.840
<v Speaker 1>I don't know either way.

0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:43.480
<v Speaker 2>So Doc Rivers fired because mostly he was trying to

0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:47.560
<v Speaker 2>help hold James Harden accountable. Right, James Harden's traveling to Vegas,

0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:51.200
<v Speaker 2>He's you know, in the playoffs, he's back in Houston

0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:54.960
<v Speaker 2>whenever it's an off day. And what the reporting was

0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:57.360
<v Speaker 2>not yours, but other reporting was that, you know, that

0:16:57.480 --> 0:16:59.640
<v Speaker 2>was a key crux of Doc Rivers being let go.

0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:01.720
<v Speaker 2>Is it he was trying to put the screws on Harden.

0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:07.440
<v Speaker 2>Nick Nurse comes in. He's even more of a accountability

0:17:07.520 --> 0:17:10.679
<v Speaker 2>guy than even Doc Rivers is way less of a

0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:13.120
<v Speaker 2>player's coach we've now seen in terms of how he

0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:17.000
<v Speaker 2>moved when he was in Toronto. Does that like, does

0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:20.960
<v Speaker 2>that fit make sense for a James Harden led team?

0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.200
<v Speaker 2>In your opinion, it's.

0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:25.960
<v Speaker 1>Uh no, it's a little it's it's a little interesting.

0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:28.880
<v Speaker 1>I'm a little not surprising, confusing, here's a better way

0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:30.840
<v Speaker 1>to say it. I found I have found it really interesting.

0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:33.040
<v Speaker 1>So they started camp. I'm not there, but you're reading

0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:36.359
<v Speaker 1>the quotes coming out and Tobias Harris and Daniel House

0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.560
<v Speaker 1>both specifically forget even when the coach talks about their system.

0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:42.359
<v Speaker 1>That's different, right, because whatever they say, you coach speak.

0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:45.240
<v Speaker 1>But Tobias Harris and Daniel House have both specifically talked

0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:47.200
<v Speaker 1>about how it's going to be very different this year

0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.560
<v Speaker 1>with UH coach Nurse who's emphasizing ball movement and player

0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:53.560
<v Speaker 1>movement and gutting guys on the move, not just standing around.

0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:55.600
<v Speaker 1>And you know people can look up those quotes. I

0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:58.359
<v Speaker 1>think Daniel House even mentioned not like what Doc did,

0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:02.960
<v Speaker 1>I think, which I found funny. Those are not basketball

0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:06.879
<v Speaker 1>philosophies that you think of as as meshing with James

0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:10.560
<v Speaker 1>Harden's style and game. So I'm with you. I find interesting.

0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:13.680
<v Speaker 1>It makes me almost you know, as a basketball fan,

0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:15.359
<v Speaker 1>I'm fast. I kind of want to see James Harden

0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:17.160
<v Speaker 1>in the court and to see like what this looks

0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:19.280
<v Speaker 1>like and maybe there could be an interesting and cool

0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:23.040
<v Speaker 1>UH middle ground found that can lift it all up.

0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:27.199
<v Speaker 1>So that part is interesting, I think. But but I

0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:29.280
<v Speaker 1>think the answer your question is, I don't think Harden

0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:31.280
<v Speaker 1>is the one the six Ers are going to find

0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:33.399
<v Speaker 1>the head coach. I don't think Harden was the priority. Right.

0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:35.680
<v Speaker 1>It's embiid and Nick Nurse is somebody who they think

0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:37.600
<v Speaker 1>can unlock embed in new ways and to be fair,

0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:40.679
<v Speaker 1>doc Rivers like Embiid got much better under doc Rivers.

0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:42.119
<v Speaker 1>And again I don't know who to credit for this.

0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:44.200
<v Speaker 1>I never know. Everyone ends up taking credit for it,

0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:46.800
<v Speaker 1>all right, But with doc Rivers there and Bead evolved.

0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:48.840
<v Speaker 1>We saw the stuff with the on the elbow last

0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.680
<v Speaker 1>year where he became this unstoppable force. You have to

0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:53.679
<v Speaker 1>give Rivers a little credit for that at the least.

0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:57.640
<v Speaker 1>But I think they think that Nurse can unlock the

0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:01.000
<v Speaker 1>offense and an EMBIID centric offense ways that they haven't

0:19:01.040 --> 0:19:03.919
<v Speaker 1>seen and around the playoff time. Also, Nick Nurse has

0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:07.119
<v Speaker 1>a relationship previous relationship with Daral Moray going back to Houston.

0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:08.760
<v Speaker 1>He was the g lee coach for Morrity in Houston.

0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:11.720
<v Speaker 1>So I think those would be the Those are the

0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:15.080
<v Speaker 1>relationships and the people I look towards in terms of

0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:17.840
<v Speaker 1>trying to understand why they hired Nick Nurse, not trying

0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:20.199
<v Speaker 1>to build everything around James Harden. But I'm with you,

0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:22.159
<v Speaker 1>I'm fascinated to see what this would look like.

0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:26.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, me too. How Like those comments that James made

0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:34.800
<v Speaker 2>in China were really really interesting in terms of the location. Yeah,

0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:38.200
<v Speaker 2>in terms of the timing. Obviously, the Hong Kong free

0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:40.760
<v Speaker 2>Hong Kong stuff that Darryl Moury put out got him

0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:43.080
<v Speaker 2>a ton of heat from the league. It got the

0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:47.320
<v Speaker 2>league penalized in a big way. Do you think that

0:19:47.520 --> 0:19:48.520
<v Speaker 2>was premeditated?

0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:52.320
<v Speaker 1>I know people think that this is gonna sell me.

0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:56.320
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. James Harden is Uh, that's a lot

0:19:56.320 --> 0:19:58.920
<v Speaker 1>of dots to connect, right, I don't know if that

0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:01.720
<v Speaker 1>if it is, if if it were that almost respected more,

0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:03.760
<v Speaker 1>that's funny. That sounds like that would just be going

0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:07.080
<v Speaker 1>full blast. I think it was more a coincid well

0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:09.159
<v Speaker 1>two parts. I think it was a coincidence that of

0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:11.120
<v Speaker 1>the timing right, So that was I believe, like a month.

0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:13.000
<v Speaker 1>I don't remember. Was it a Monday or Tuesday. I

0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:15.840
<v Speaker 1>think it was a Monday, and like the previous Thursday

0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:19.840
<v Speaker 1>or Friday, ESPN had reported that the Sixers were ending

0:20:20.520 --> 0:20:22.960
<v Speaker 1>Trey conversations and expected hard in the camp. So I

0:20:23.000 --> 0:20:26.840
<v Speaker 1>think that's it was a reaction to that. I don't

0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:31.120
<v Speaker 1>I think the China, If I'm guessing, I think James

0:20:31.160 --> 0:20:32.960
<v Speaker 1>hard to make those comments in China have less to

0:20:32.960 --> 0:20:34.959
<v Speaker 1>do with him trying to poke it down more though

0:20:35.000 --> 0:20:38.440
<v Speaker 1>that'd be funny versus this clearly a comfort he feels

0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:42.080
<v Speaker 1>there and a love that he feels from the public

0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:46.080
<v Speaker 1>there that he doesn't necessarily feel in situations here right

0:20:46.119 --> 0:20:49.200
<v Speaker 1>and there. He thought he was talking to his part isans,

0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:52.080
<v Speaker 1>his people in that situation, and I feel like that's

0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:55.000
<v Speaker 1>why he that's where that came from. I don't think

0:20:55.000 --> 0:20:57.440
<v Speaker 1>the time was premeditated at least, you know, I don't

0:20:57.440 --> 0:20:59.560
<v Speaker 1>think his camp. If it was premeditated with his camp,

0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:01.920
<v Speaker 1>maybe you know, harden to say he was gonna do something,

0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:03.600
<v Speaker 1>but I don't think his camp and like laid that

0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:07.359
<v Speaker 1>out as a smart move, yeah, but I think it

0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:09.200
<v Speaker 1>was just as a comfort he feels there in China.

0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:13.680
<v Speaker 2>So you mentioned the comfort that he's not feeling here

0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:18.359
<v Speaker 2>sort of stateside. So he's kind of always to me,

0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:21.199
<v Speaker 2>from what I've heard from around the league, known to

0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:25.240
<v Speaker 2>be someone who, like you said, very sensitive, has a

0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:28.000
<v Speaker 2>chip on his shoulder, didn't play for a blue chip

0:21:28.040 --> 0:21:31.119
<v Speaker 2>school like Kentucky or Duke, ended up going to ASU,

0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:33.600
<v Speaker 2>was the number three draft pick, but still was a

0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:38.080
<v Speaker 2>six man on an OKC team. Like, from what you understand,

0:21:38.440 --> 0:21:43.560
<v Speaker 2>where is this sensitivity, this chip on the shoulder, This

0:21:43.960 --> 0:21:46.760
<v Speaker 2>crossed me once and I'll cut you off forever, Like,

0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:51.800
<v Speaker 2>what is it inside of him externally around him that

0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:54.720
<v Speaker 2>has created that? If you know, if anyone has mentioned

0:21:55.200 --> 0:21:57.520
<v Speaker 2>other circumstances that they could point to.

0:21:57.960 --> 0:21:59.680
<v Speaker 1>It's a great question. I don't have a good answer.

0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:01.359
<v Speaker 1>I wish I did. I profiled him last year and

0:22:01.400 --> 0:22:03.280
<v Speaker 1>I did like a forty feth minute interview with him,

0:22:03.280 --> 0:22:04.760
<v Speaker 1>which you don't you know, I don't pretend you get

0:22:04.800 --> 0:22:08.199
<v Speaker 1>to know people well on those, but it gives you

0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:12.840
<v Speaker 1>some insight and the biggest thing, my biggest takeaway from

0:22:12.840 --> 0:22:15.320
<v Speaker 1>that does a fully answered question. What's related is like

0:22:15.600 --> 0:22:20.000
<v Speaker 1>he was so his go to move is I don't

0:22:20.040 --> 0:22:22.679
<v Speaker 1>care what people think and or I don't pay attention

0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:25.199
<v Speaker 1>to what people say, like when they say X, Y

0:22:25.320 --> 0:22:26.880
<v Speaker 1>Z and then quote exactly what they say.

0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:27.120
<v Speaker 2>Right.

0:22:27.200 --> 0:22:29.359
<v Speaker 1>It was like it was like he did that repeatedly,

0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:30.520
<v Speaker 1>and I think I even said that to him at

0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:33.320
<v Speaker 1>some point I wish I hadn't remembered. I said, nicely,

0:22:33.359 --> 0:22:34.919
<v Speaker 1>you know, just you know you say this, but clearly

0:22:34.960 --> 0:22:37.520
<v Speaker 1>you do care, and he got to it. The answer

0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:39.600
<v Speaker 1>we ended up getting to that I found interesting is

0:22:40.560 --> 0:22:43.160
<v Speaker 1>there's a legacy play with him for sure that he's

0:22:44.040 --> 0:22:46.479
<v Speaker 1>aware of, right, and that goes back to the title chasing,

0:22:46.880 --> 0:22:49.200
<v Speaker 1>I should say title chasing. He knows he needs a title, right,

0:22:50.000 --> 0:22:52.800
<v Speaker 1>he wants to be remembered as an all time great.

0:22:53.040 --> 0:22:55.840
<v Speaker 1>If I'm guessing, I don't know. I don't know in

0:22:55.920 --> 0:23:00.560
<v Speaker 1>terms of like you know, psychology or child there's deeper,

0:23:00.600 --> 0:23:03.160
<v Speaker 1>more interesting answers that I wouldn't be able to touch

0:23:03.200 --> 0:23:06.120
<v Speaker 1>on or wouldn't have insight into. I do think there's

0:23:06.160 --> 0:23:10.120
<v Speaker 1>a tension between him correctly realizing that he's somebody who

0:23:10.160 --> 0:23:12.199
<v Speaker 1>changed the game of basketball, right. He said this to me,

0:23:12.320 --> 0:23:14.920
<v Speaker 1>like I changed a game of basketball, and he's completely

0:23:15.000 --> 0:23:17.280
<v Speaker 1>right about that. All time great, he changed the game

0:23:18.040 --> 0:23:19.399
<v Speaker 1>and he deserves a ton of credit for that, and

0:23:19.440 --> 0:23:21.520
<v Speaker 1>not change the game annoying way, like he's an all

0:23:21.560 --> 0:23:26.560
<v Speaker 1>time great offensive player. But there are these caveats to

0:23:26.720 --> 0:23:28.639
<v Speaker 1>his career, you know, if you look at his legas

0:23:28.680 --> 0:23:31.120
<v Speaker 1>his resume, where you know a lot of playoff failures,

0:23:31.680 --> 0:23:35.680
<v Speaker 1>no championship, and it's gonna be like he's almost at

0:23:35.680 --> 0:23:37.880
<v Speaker 1>the point. You know, with stars, they hit a point

0:23:37.880 --> 0:23:40.440
<v Speaker 1>where you're if you're so good in one category, then

0:23:40.480 --> 0:23:43.080
<v Speaker 1>we accentuate your negatives, where like if he wasn't quite

0:23:43.080 --> 0:23:44.880
<v Speaker 1>that good, we would kind of ignore the negatives, if

0:23:44.880 --> 0:23:47.359
<v Speaker 1>that makes sense. So he's where he's so good that

0:23:47.400 --> 0:23:52.119
<v Speaker 1>we have to then emphasize the the the problems or

0:23:52.119 --> 0:23:57.400
<v Speaker 1>the deficiencies, and that almost overshadows that conversation, overshadows the greatness.

0:23:57.440 --> 0:23:59.560
<v Speaker 1>And I think that's something that he's sensitive to, and

0:23:59.640 --> 0:24:01.840
<v Speaker 1>I get that. I don't think he's helping himself in

0:24:01.920 --> 0:24:04.280
<v Speaker 1>terms of how how he's going about trying to address that.

0:24:05.320 --> 0:24:07.520
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And I don't think he's really helping himself in

0:24:07.600 --> 0:24:10.080
<v Speaker 2>terms of getting him out either. It feels like if

0:24:10.119 --> 0:24:13.879
<v Speaker 2>he wasn't being so loud about things, then maybe it

0:24:13.920 --> 0:24:16.760
<v Speaker 2>would be easier for other teams to want to at

0:24:16.840 --> 0:24:20.480
<v Speaker 2>least explore trading for him. But he's kind of a

0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:23.600
<v Speaker 2>headache and a declining asset, and it seems like the

0:24:23.640 --> 0:24:26.680
<v Speaker 2>Clippers are the only ones with interest, and Darryl Moury,

0:24:26.800 --> 0:24:28.720
<v Speaker 2>like he did with Ben Simmons, is gonna want a haul.

0:24:29.000 --> 0:24:31.479
<v Speaker 2>They're gonna want at least a young player that they

0:24:31.480 --> 0:24:34.359
<v Speaker 2>can build around or some pieces to turn into another

0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:39.680
<v Speaker 2>marquee player. But what you're reporting is is that James

0:24:39.680 --> 0:24:42.800
<v Speaker 2>Harden is You would not be somebody said to you

0:24:42.840 --> 0:24:45.560
<v Speaker 2>close to you or a source close to Harden excuse me,

0:24:45.800 --> 0:24:50.920
<v Speaker 2>wouldn't be surprised if he returns and is destructive? What

0:24:51.600 --> 0:24:56.600
<v Speaker 2>is did they like expand on what destructive?

0:24:56.880 --> 0:24:59.960
<v Speaker 1>Could well see? Anyway? Right now? He was a good citizen, Yes,

0:25:00.560 --> 0:25:02.760
<v Speaker 1>we've seen it. The lazy passes like, well, we've seen it.

0:25:04.040 --> 0:25:05.439
<v Speaker 1>I don't know if he'll do well, is it, Ben Simmons?

0:25:05.440 --> 0:25:06.800
<v Speaker 1>If you have a phone in his pocket? I'm trying

0:25:06.840 --> 0:25:08.360
<v Speaker 1>to remember it was that we able to figure out

0:25:08.359 --> 0:25:10.040
<v Speaker 1>if it was a phone or if it wasn't a phone.

0:25:10.480 --> 0:25:11.719
<v Speaker 1>I do want to go back in a couple of things,

0:25:11.960 --> 0:25:14.280
<v Speaker 1>a few things what you mentioned dal Moury. This I

0:25:14.280 --> 0:25:16.199
<v Speaker 1>think is the two parts when you the things you

0:25:16.240 --> 0:25:19.679
<v Speaker 1>said right, you mentioned dal Moray wants a haul and

0:25:19.680 --> 0:25:21.480
<v Speaker 1>it is gonna hold out. It's more than that. It's

0:25:21.480 --> 0:25:24.840
<v Speaker 1>that he needs He's backed into a corner, right like

0:25:24.880 --> 0:25:27.320
<v Speaker 1>if he screws this up, if the Harden thing gets

0:25:27.320 --> 0:25:28.760
<v Speaker 1>screwed up, and let's say he just gave it and

0:25:28.760 --> 0:25:31.320
<v Speaker 1>traded hard for out of Norman Powell and some the

0:25:31.320 --> 0:25:34.280
<v Speaker 1>Clippers junk right and like they lose in the first round,

0:25:34.320 --> 0:25:36.960
<v Speaker 1>they get swept by the Celtics or losing five h

0:25:37.640 --> 0:25:39.920
<v Speaker 1>daral Moray his jobs on the line and Joel and

0:25:39.960 --> 0:25:42.560
<v Speaker 1>Beide might ask out and you and then you're you're

0:25:42.600 --> 0:25:45.680
<v Speaker 1>in charge of that. So it's not even like Ben Simmons.

0:25:45.920 --> 0:25:49.680
<v Speaker 1>You could argue that was more of a a ego player.

0:25:49.720 --> 0:25:51.040
<v Speaker 1>Right now, I'm not gonna I'm gonna hold out and

0:25:51.040 --> 0:25:52.520
<v Speaker 1>I show you guys, I can do this, like he

0:25:52.600 --> 0:25:54.560
<v Speaker 1>has no choice here. He cannot mess this up. He

0:25:54.600 --> 0:25:57.160
<v Speaker 1>cannot take fifty cents on the dollar. Otherwise the bead's

0:25:57.160 --> 0:25:59.879
<v Speaker 1>probably gonna be gone, right, And that's a huge issue.

0:26:00.000 --> 0:26:01.399
<v Speaker 1>And that's why I agree with you that Harden's not

0:26:01.440 --> 0:26:04.120
<v Speaker 1>handling this properly right, and I think his camp thinks

0:26:04.119 --> 0:26:07.080
<v Speaker 1>there's teams who are interested in him. I have done

0:26:07.119 --> 0:26:09.919
<v Speaker 1>this publicly. It doesn't seem like that. I haven't heard

0:26:09.960 --> 0:26:12.479
<v Speaker 1>of anyone. And you know we saw the Damian Lillard

0:26:12.520 --> 0:26:14.879
<v Speaker 1>like guys asking out. The way to do it is

0:26:14.920 --> 0:26:18.040
<v Speaker 1>you can ask out. You gotta let the GM the

0:26:18.119 --> 0:26:21.160
<v Speaker 1>team create a market. Like you can tell tell your

0:26:21.200 --> 0:26:23.919
<v Speaker 1>team quietly who your preference is. But if you do that,

0:26:24.000 --> 0:26:25.800
<v Speaker 1>you just make it harder for them to trade you.

0:26:26.440 --> 0:26:28.840
<v Speaker 1>The best example, everyone always talks about Anthony Davis going

0:26:28.840 --> 0:26:30.840
<v Speaker 1>to the Lakers, but if you remember like we all

0:26:30.920 --> 0:26:33.280
<v Speaker 1>knew he wanted to go to the Lakers, he didn't

0:26:33.280 --> 0:26:35.640
<v Speaker 1>say that publicly, like there was some oh wait, maybe

0:26:35.640 --> 0:26:37.800
<v Speaker 1>the Celtics or maybe the Knicks, Like there was enough

0:26:37.880 --> 0:26:42.480
<v Speaker 1>out there that New Orleans could, you know, work the market,

0:26:42.560 --> 0:26:44.360
<v Speaker 1>work the phones a little bit, or create some sort

0:26:44.359 --> 0:26:46.480
<v Speaker 1>of leverage and get a deal that worked for them

0:26:46.520 --> 0:26:48.159
<v Speaker 1>and in the end you get a win win, like

0:26:48.400 --> 0:26:52.560
<v Speaker 1>James Harden is preventing, has taken that opportunity away from

0:26:52.560 --> 0:26:54.480
<v Speaker 1>the Sixers, and that's a problem.

0:26:54.880 --> 0:26:58.640
<v Speaker 2>Well, what's interesting about what you said is, remember Rich

0:26:58.680 --> 0:27:01.959
<v Speaker 2>Paul did say out in the open, you know, Anthony

0:27:02.040 --> 0:27:04.600
<v Speaker 2>Davis is only going to re sign with LA. But

0:27:04.720 --> 0:27:08.359
<v Speaker 2>the thing that's different about the Clippers versus the Lakers.

0:27:08.640 --> 0:27:13.359
<v Speaker 2>In the circumstances, Kawhi and PG don't have nearly the

0:27:13.400 --> 0:27:16.520
<v Speaker 2>amount of power that Lebron James has within that organization,

0:27:16.640 --> 0:27:19.960
<v Speaker 2>or at least that Lebron James had back then in

0:27:20.080 --> 0:27:24.040
<v Speaker 2>terms of I want this guy. And even if Paul

0:27:24.080 --> 0:27:26.520
<v Speaker 2>George and Kawhi did have that power, they're not asking

0:27:26.720 --> 0:27:29.600
<v Speaker 2>for James Harden. James Harden's not at the caliber player

0:27:29.840 --> 0:27:32.439
<v Speaker 2>as Anthony Davis was, or at least has the upside

0:27:32.480 --> 0:27:33.800
<v Speaker 2>of Anthony Davis, Well, you could.

0:27:33.680 --> 0:27:36.199
<v Speaker 1>Say, you could say no on that if you're the Clippers. Now,

0:27:36.240 --> 0:27:38.040
<v Speaker 1>I think they actually are interested in him. I just

0:27:38.320 --> 0:27:41.199
<v Speaker 1>think they know that, like, what's our rush? You know,

0:27:41.440 --> 0:27:43.560
<v Speaker 1>there's no one else here? Why are we going to

0:27:43.600 --> 0:27:45.240
<v Speaker 1>give everything up? What's the point here? So we can

0:27:45.400 --> 0:27:46.000
<v Speaker 1>just wait it out?

0:27:46.480 --> 0:27:49.520
<v Speaker 2>And we could probably just wait until he's a free agent.

0:27:49.560 --> 0:27:51.800
<v Speaker 2>If he plays nice, you know, we can get him

0:27:52.119 --> 0:27:54.840
<v Speaker 2>at twenty cents on the dollar like we did Russell Westbrook,

0:27:54.880 --> 0:27:58.520
<v Speaker 2>which which is very fascinating that Harden and Russell Westbrook

0:27:58.520 --> 0:28:00.120
<v Speaker 2>could potentially be teammates.

0:27:59.800 --> 0:28:01.760
<v Speaker 1>That would be hilarious. And I'm sure they'll say that,

0:28:02.280 --> 0:28:04.119
<v Speaker 1>you know, no, we were never we never had issues.

0:28:04.160 --> 0:28:06.000
<v Speaker 1>We were always friends, and the media over blew it

0:28:06.040 --> 0:28:07.760
<v Speaker 1>blah blah blah blah blah.

0:28:07.880 --> 0:28:11.120
<v Speaker 2>Both dudes, though, are very stubborn, right Daryl Morey.

0:28:10.840 --> 0:28:14.080
<v Speaker 1>And Harden, uh for sure for sure, which is probably

0:28:14.080 --> 0:28:16.040
<v Speaker 1>what makes them great at what they You know, they're

0:28:16.080 --> 0:28:18.439
<v Speaker 1>both great in their respective fields and have you know,

0:28:18.480 --> 0:28:20.080
<v Speaker 1>become one percenters in their areas.

0:28:20.520 --> 0:28:22.600
<v Speaker 2>Who do you think breaks first?

0:28:25.200 --> 0:28:27.680
<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't say break. I think the sixers. I think

0:28:27.720 --> 0:28:30.199
<v Speaker 1>Harden has less leverage than the Sixers. Well, you know,

0:28:30.280 --> 0:28:32.359
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. I go in circles on this because

0:28:32.560 --> 0:28:35.720
<v Speaker 1>it's like I say that, but Harden could nup the

0:28:35.720 --> 0:28:37.959
<v Speaker 1>whole season. Like everyone is familiar now with the CBA

0:28:38.080 --> 0:28:39.720
<v Speaker 1>thing that's been getting a lot of press that you

0:28:39.720 --> 0:28:42.160
<v Speaker 1>have to show up if you go thirty days without

0:28:42.200 --> 0:28:45.360
<v Speaker 1>showing up, whatever the proper language is. But like you

0:28:45.400 --> 0:28:48.040
<v Speaker 1>can show up, but there's nothing against hamstring injury or

0:28:48.400 --> 0:28:51.160
<v Speaker 1>throwing you know, lazy behind the back passes or not

0:28:51.160 --> 0:28:53.680
<v Speaker 1>playing defense. Like it's team can't dock you pay for that,

0:28:53.720 --> 0:28:55.520
<v Speaker 1>they can bench you. But this goes back to what

0:28:55.520 --> 0:28:59.000
<v Speaker 1>I'm saying that, like, you know, if the Sixers season

0:28:59.000 --> 0:29:02.320
<v Speaker 1>goes in the tank, that's a big issue for them.

0:29:03.040 --> 0:29:05.760
<v Speaker 1>So do I break for I genuinely I have I

0:29:05.840 --> 0:29:08.000
<v Speaker 1>do not know. This is not a good answer, Like

0:29:08.080 --> 0:29:10.840
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. I don't see how this ends. I

0:29:10.840 --> 0:29:12.360
<v Speaker 1>don't know how this ends. I have trouble seeing it.

0:29:12.400 --> 0:29:15.040
<v Speaker 1>To me, the only way to me the answer is

0:29:15.080 --> 0:29:18.360
<v Speaker 1>that the season starts and stuff happens around the league,

0:29:18.360 --> 0:29:20.320
<v Speaker 1>and maybe another team decides, hey, you know what, we

0:29:20.400 --> 0:29:23.280
<v Speaker 1>will take a shot on him, and that changes the market.

0:29:23.320 --> 0:29:25.600
<v Speaker 1>That's kind of My answer on this that like I

0:29:25.600 --> 0:29:27.360
<v Speaker 1>don't know. Let's say Miami gets up to a bad start.

0:29:27.360 --> 0:29:29.400
<v Speaker 1>I'm making up a team, right, or Jimmy Butler gets

0:29:29.440 --> 0:29:31.960
<v Speaker 1>hurt or whatever. Okay, so maybe we'll take a shot

0:29:32.000 --> 0:29:33.760
<v Speaker 1>on James Harden and that would be a funny marriage

0:29:33.840 --> 0:29:36.680
<v Speaker 1>James Harden with pat Riley. He culture in South Beach.

0:29:37.240 --> 0:29:39.120
<v Speaker 1>But I don't know. Maybe, Like that to me is

0:29:39.160 --> 0:29:42.840
<v Speaker 1>the answer that just once the season starts and stuff happens,

0:29:42.880 --> 0:29:48.720
<v Speaker 1>and some teams have disappointing outcomes or events or results,

0:29:49.760 --> 0:29:51.880
<v Speaker 1>that then creates a bit of a market and that

0:29:52.040 --> 0:29:54.240
<v Speaker 1>allows this thing to kind of get kick started and rolling.

0:29:55.160 --> 0:29:59.520
<v Speaker 2>Do you think there's any possibility of reconciliation.

0:30:01.160 --> 0:30:06.040
<v Speaker 1>I guess the good. So that's a that's a James

0:30:06.080 --> 0:30:09.280
<v Speaker 1>Harden question, right, Like I Dannel Maury, I don't think

0:30:09.280 --> 0:30:11.360
<v Speaker 1>he can Like, yeah, he has like being called a liar.

0:30:11.600 --> 0:30:14.200
<v Speaker 1>If James Harden's back, he is not personal to him,

0:30:14.240 --> 0:30:16.480
<v Speaker 1>like he's fine with that. That's I guess the upside

0:30:16.480 --> 0:30:19.400
<v Speaker 1>of his approach to the job, right, It's not like

0:30:19.440 --> 0:30:23.680
<v Speaker 1>all this guy is blasting me, let me, let me.

0:30:24.280 --> 0:30:26.200
<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna I'm done with him, Like I'm done. So

0:30:26.560 --> 0:30:29.880
<v Speaker 1>that's a James Harden question, And for him it's more about, like, well,

0:30:29.960 --> 0:30:31.920
<v Speaker 1>he come to realize that the market for him is

0:30:31.920 --> 0:30:34.600
<v Speaker 1>probably not what it once was, and honestly, the best

0:30:34.720 --> 0:30:37.280
<v Speaker 1>like he wants to get paid again, the best answers

0:30:37.320 --> 0:30:39.240
<v Speaker 1>for him he's got. Now he's on an expiring deal,

0:30:39.280 --> 0:30:41.400
<v Speaker 1>which he probably shouldn't have picked up if you want

0:30:41.440 --> 0:30:43.640
<v Speaker 1>it out. But now he's on this expiring deal. Uh,

0:30:43.880 --> 0:30:46.520
<v Speaker 1>his best move is to just play really well. And

0:30:47.040 --> 0:30:48.600
<v Speaker 1>I mean, listen, I'm not gonna tell anyone to be

0:30:48.680 --> 0:30:51.960
<v Speaker 1>unhappy at work. But if he's, if he's prioritizing getting

0:30:51.960 --> 0:30:53.800
<v Speaker 1>paid again, his best move is to play really well

0:30:53.840 --> 0:30:56.040
<v Speaker 1>and hit the open market next year as a free agent.

0:30:56.120 --> 0:30:58.560
<v Speaker 1>So I do think there's a path there, and I

0:30:58.600 --> 0:31:02.680
<v Speaker 1>guess the good the good news about all the gray

0:31:02.720 --> 0:31:04.960
<v Speaker 1>areas about who's offended who and who was offering who

0:31:04.960 --> 0:31:07.160
<v Speaker 1>a contract and a what time that I mentioned earlier

0:31:07.280 --> 0:31:10.120
<v Speaker 1>is that it leaves a bit of wiggle room for you.

0:31:10.200 --> 0:31:12.560
<v Speaker 1>Oh you know what, this is actually misunderstanding. We won

0:31:12.720 --> 0:31:14.400
<v Speaker 1>you the whole time, and you just did realize, And

0:31:14.480 --> 0:31:16.280
<v Speaker 1>let's actually get our room and talk about it, and

0:31:16.720 --> 0:31:19.720
<v Speaker 1>maybe they can all convince themselves that, like, no, we're cool.

0:31:19.800 --> 0:31:22.640
<v Speaker 1>So I do think it's a possibility. I wouldn't say hi,

0:31:22.800 --> 0:31:24.560
<v Speaker 1>but I do think it's a possibility.

0:31:25.360 --> 0:31:29.640
<v Speaker 2>Man. So you wrote a book tanking to the top

0:31:29.720 --> 0:31:32.920
<v Speaker 2>the Philadelphia seventy six Ers in the most audacious process

0:31:33.040 --> 0:31:35.960
<v Speaker 2>in the history of professional sports, which basically is agreed,

0:31:36.040 --> 0:31:41.480
<v Speaker 2>just tanking, nine win seasons, just stuff that was I mean,

0:31:41.560 --> 0:31:45.560
<v Speaker 2>only the Portland Trailblazers trying to get Scoot Henderson and

0:31:45.560 --> 0:31:49.040
<v Speaker 2>Shape and Sharper probably on the level of that. So

0:31:49.920 --> 0:31:56.240
<v Speaker 2>if Philadelphia does not actually ever get a championship as

0:31:56.280 --> 0:32:00.440
<v Speaker 2>a result of how badly they were on purpose, is

0:32:00.480 --> 0:32:03.200
<v Speaker 2>this the in your opinion, like, just to wrap it up,

0:32:03.240 --> 0:32:08.440
<v Speaker 2>the greatest NBA failure in or at least the biggest

0:32:08.480 --> 0:32:11.280
<v Speaker 2>failure in their franchise is history and the Sixers.

0:32:11.320 --> 0:32:15.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Like, so failures, there's there's a they're up there.

0:32:15.240 --> 0:32:16.880
<v Speaker 1>It's a different kind of list, right, So you can

0:32:16.960 --> 0:32:19.800
<v Speaker 1>think of there's like the Dwight Steve Nash Lakers, which

0:32:19.840 --> 0:32:22.360
<v Speaker 1>was a fun one, the nets twice, right, the Kevin

0:32:22.360 --> 0:32:25.080
<v Speaker 1>Garnett Dedren Williams nets, and then I think the Kyrie

0:32:25.160 --> 0:32:28.120
<v Speaker 1>Kevin Durant one that I take the cake in terms

0:32:28.160 --> 0:32:33.520
<v Speaker 1>of just biggest what if this though, I do think

0:32:34.000 --> 0:32:36.440
<v Speaker 1>it's one of a kind. And I'm not a Philly guy.

0:32:36.480 --> 0:32:38.080
<v Speaker 1>I live in New York, Like it's not like people,

0:32:38.120 --> 0:32:40.600
<v Speaker 1>I'm not a Sixers fan. I just I just attracted

0:32:40.680 --> 0:32:44.280
<v Speaker 1>this story because it's just so ridiculous, Like it's it's

0:32:44.320 --> 0:32:47.360
<v Speaker 1>not just that they haven't made it past the second round,

0:32:47.400 --> 0:32:50.520
<v Speaker 1>like there was the process started with trading Drew Holliday

0:32:50.560 --> 0:32:54.719
<v Speaker 1>after a second round, after losing the second round and

0:32:55.480 --> 0:32:58.600
<v Speaker 1>ten love whatever year is. Now eleven years later, they

0:32:58.640 --> 0:33:00.440
<v Speaker 1>still have in the advanced past the second around, Like

0:33:00.480 --> 0:33:03.960
<v Speaker 1>that's wild, right, And it's not like they got you

0:33:04.040 --> 0:33:05.720
<v Speaker 1>all them beads so they have the MVPs. It's not

0:33:05.760 --> 0:33:07.560
<v Speaker 1>like they haven't had the ability to be there, just

0:33:07.880 --> 0:33:10.040
<v Speaker 1>they didn't derailed by all sorts of nonsense. And it's

0:33:10.040 --> 0:33:13.720
<v Speaker 1>all the nonsensible scandals that make this a unique story, right,

0:33:13.800 --> 0:33:16.959
<v Speaker 1>the Frank Klangel Burnergade and two number one picks who

0:33:17.040 --> 0:33:19.239
<v Speaker 1>forget how to shoot, Like that's on that's unheard of, right,

0:33:19.360 --> 0:33:22.360
<v Speaker 1>Fulton Simmons, uh Is you can go down the list,

0:33:22.400 --> 0:33:24.920
<v Speaker 1>is Sam Pinky being ousted and just it's it's just

0:33:25.280 --> 0:33:27.640
<v Speaker 1>down Boyd and coming back like San Pinky's mentor coming

0:33:27.680 --> 0:33:31.840
<v Speaker 1>back and just it's just the I don't know, it's

0:33:31.880 --> 0:33:33.680
<v Speaker 1>like it's straight off a TV show, right, It's like

0:33:33.720 --> 0:33:36.400
<v Speaker 1>it's too it's too ridiculous to be true. So that's

0:33:36.440 --> 0:33:38.080
<v Speaker 1>what I think separates it. It's not just the on

0:33:38.160 --> 0:33:41.640
<v Speaker 1>core failures, it's that what have it's the uh, the

0:33:41.920 --> 0:33:44.760
<v Speaker 1>scandals are issues that have led to those on core failures.

0:33:44.840 --> 0:33:45.720
<v Speaker 1>Is what makes this different.

0:33:46.960 --> 0:33:49.080
<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm gonna be fascinated to see how this ends.

0:33:49.800 --> 0:33:55.200
<v Speaker 2>Awesome stuff. Probably the most comprehensive breakdown into Daryl Morey

0:33:55.280 --> 0:33:59.160
<v Speaker 2>and Harden's relationship and why it was, you know, really

0:33:59.200 --> 0:34:01.720
<v Speaker 2>beneficial for very long time, but always doomed to fail.

0:34:01.920 --> 0:34:04.800
<v Speaker 2>Definitely check that out at foxsports dot com. Do you

0:34:04.840 --> 0:34:06.080
<v Speaker 2>have anything else you're own that you.

0:34:06.120 --> 0:34:09.120
<v Speaker 1>Want to plug? Yeah? Check me on Twitter at your

0:34:09.160 --> 0:34:11.520
<v Speaker 1>own wife X. Excuse me X all right right? Uh

0:34:12.040 --> 0:34:13.480
<v Speaker 1>the linkless X these days.

0:34:13.880 --> 0:34:17.320
<v Speaker 2>Y A R O N W E I T Z

0:34:17.600 --> 0:34:19.600
<v Speaker 2>M A N. Thank you so much for joining us.

0:34:19.800 --> 0:34:22.200
<v Speaker 1>Let's do it again sometime my pleasure. Thank you for

0:34:22.239 --> 0:34:22.640
<v Speaker 1>having me.

0:34:22.760 --> 0:34:24.440
<v Speaker 2>That's all the time that we have for this episode

0:34:24.440 --> 0:34:27.399
<v Speaker 2>of the Heat Check. Thanks a million to your own

0:34:27.520 --> 0:34:30.480
<v Speaker 2>for coming on last minute. That interview is dope. Come

0:34:30.480 --> 0:34:32.560
<v Speaker 2>back next Monday for an all new episode and check

0:34:32.600 --> 0:34:35.400
<v Speaker 2>out the feed for past interviews and many episodes that

0:34:35.560 --> 0:34:38.640
<v Speaker 2>drop unexpectedly as well. Follow the heat check as we

0:34:38.960 --> 0:34:43.319
<v Speaker 2>head into the new NBA season, Do not forget to download, subscribe,

0:34:43.320 --> 0:34:45.719
<v Speaker 2>and tell all your friends, every single one of them.

0:34:45.800 --> 0:34:47.759
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0:34:47.800 --> 0:34:50.840
<v Speaker 2>social id at this heat check, I'm Trista Creek on TikTok,

0:34:50.880 --> 0:34:54.080
<v Speaker 2>Twitter and Instagram. Thanks again for listening in. We'll see

0:34:54.080 --> 0:34:54.680
<v Speaker 2>you next time.