WEBVTT - Best Of - Is LeBron James sending Lakers a WARNING? Patrick Mahomes still owns Allen, Lamar & Burrow 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.480 Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right 0:00:02.560 --> 0:00:05.200 with Nick Right the best takes and moments from this 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:09.920 week on the show Enjoy Soul. 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:13.000 Lebron opted into his fifty two million dollar contract, and 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:16.159 then came the trade rumors. Rich Paul came out with 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:18.800 a statement and said, Lebron knows the Lakers are building 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:21.599 for the future. He understands that, but he values a 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:24.600 realistic chance of winning it all. You thought they were 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:26.920 going to come away with a sinner. They ended up 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:29.520 hitting DeAndre Hayton, who was a sinner. Yeah, but something 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:31.000 about this whole process. 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:32.600 Has been peeing you off. Do you care to share 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:38.840 with the Audien? Yes? So, I have just been mystified 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:54.720 at the combination of misinformation, disingenuous commentary, and almost huffing 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:59.600 and puffing from the media, Like, ah, I guess we're 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:04.000 four first to talk about Lebron again. What the fuck 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:07.640 else has happened in free agency? The Kevin Durant trade 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:10.880 that all of us knew was coming, that we that 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:14.280 we talked about. That that was awesome, that was exciting. 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:19.520 Other than that, it's been the deadest free agent agency imaginable. 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:22.959 One team at cap space. It was the nets. They 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:26.200 they decided to use it just to take other teams 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:30.600 bad contracts. Sham's was telling us a month ago this 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:35.840 could be the craziest offseason ever. Nothing's happened other than 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:39.240 the Durant move. The most notable move is Norman Powell 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:43.600 getting traded to Miami. Norman Powell, who, by the way, 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:47.800 oddly enough, the only time Norman Powell's been discussed on 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:54.200 regularly on podcasts and TV shows aside from once focused 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:56.840 on the Clippers was a different Lebron James thing when 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:59.720 people were like, oh, what did anyone think of Norman 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:03.320 Powe and his all Star spot? If Lebron knew he 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:07.320 wasn't gonna play and so but but I'm listening to 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:14.040 and reading folks basically be like, all right, I guess 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:19.960 will feed the content and engagement monster and have the boring, 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:27.000 tired discussion of could Lebron James be traded? You mean 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:30.240 the greatest player of all time? Or you know what? 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:33.520 Do not argue with, folks, the at worst second greatest 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:37.320 player of all time who's never been traded, who is 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:42.160 open now potentially to being traded. That's a boring discussion. 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:48.760 We'd rather talk about the Pacers losing Miles Turner because 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.600 they don't want to pay the tax because Halliburton got hurt. 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:54.919 That's what we'd rather talk about, Cam Whitmore for two 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:59.440 second round picks, Like what are we doing? This is 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:02.280 and it's not lost on me today, this very moment 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:07.280 is the fifteen year anniversary. I didn't know that until 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:10.800 I saw an article wading about it this morning. Today's 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:15.920 the fifteen year anniversary of the decision, which means we've 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:24.440 had fifteen years of enhanced more, round the clock, more, 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:27.519 twelve month a year, three hundred and sixty five day 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:34.360 NBA transaction interest, from player empowerment, to the owners trying 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:39.240 to rustle it back, super Team's homegrown, all of it. 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:43.680 It came because Lebron and Maverick put together a TV 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:47.280 show and changed the whole paradigm. And fifteen years later, 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:53.560 he's still one of, if not the most interesting person 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.760 in the league, and folks who cover the league for 0:03:56.840 --> 0:04:02.040 a living seem almost resentful that this is a story. 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.480 So I don't understand that. But that's I guess a 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:09.320 matter of taste. That's a personal preference, so be it. 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:16.839 But then there is what I considered the outright misinformation 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.560 might be too strong, especially in today's climate, but just 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:30.560 misleading and incorrect. I guess opinions on Lebron's money and 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:37.520 Lebron's value and Lebron's impact on winning, because here's what 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:43.360 I know. Last year we played, we had an offseason. 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:47.359 By the way, we're in the Olympics. They had a 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:50.560 whole All the best players in the world came together 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:54.000 in Paris to play a basketball tournament, and then they 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:57.400 voted on who was the most Valuable player in that tournament, 0:04:57.680 --> 0:05:00.760 and it was Lebron James. Now, I argue you could 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:04.280 have gone co MVPs because Lebron carried the team up 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:07.440 until the final, and then Steph was so utterly brilliant 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:09.919 in the semifinal and the final. If you want to 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:13.000 split the baby, so be it. That's fine. But he 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:16.120 won the MVP of that. Then this year, we had 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:21.960 a whole NBA season, and then the entirety of basketball 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:26.160 media voted on awards, and after this season, if your 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:32.160 name was not Shay Gilgess, Alexander nikola Jokic, Giannis Antena Koumpo, 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:36.680 Jason Tatum, or Donovan Mitchell, basketball media said you were 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:40.000 not as valuable as Lebron James. Those are the five 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.280 guys that finished higher on MVP voting. Those are the 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:46.880 five guys who received more First Team All NBA votes. 0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:53.000 That's the entire list, Not Steph, not Kawhi, not Durant, 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:57.559 not who's the younger guys that I'm leaving out, not Kid, 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:03.680 not Halliburton in the regular season. He obviously came on 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:09.720 huge in the postseason. None of those guys we had 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:13.320 an awards. We had a season sixth most First Team 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:17.760 All NBA votes, sixth most, sixth in the MVP voting. 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:23.719 And the reason I bring that up is then the 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:30.000 discussion around Lebron James being the thirteenth highest paid player was, well, 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:36.640 doesn't Lebron understand that a huge impediment to winning is 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:41.800 his salary? In what world? In what world is the 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:46.680 league's I don't know all be conservative eighth best player 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:53.080 being the thirteenth highest paid player an impediment to winning. 0:06:54.600 --> 0:07:01.200 We just saw the Golden State Warriors trade for and 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:05.320 then extend Jimmy Butler, and the narrative surrounding that is 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:11.520 that open steps championship window. Jimmy Butler makes more money 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:18.280 than Lebron and is worse than Lebron. They say it again, 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.320 but no, I'm talking about the right now, the right now, 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:25.200 because by the way, I would bet Lebron's got as 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:29.320 many all NBA caliber seasons, more All NBA caliber seasons 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:32.240 left in him than Jimmy Butler does. Jimmy Butler's done 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:36.040 being an All NBA player. Lebron was last year, and 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.600 Steph and Lebron probably have about the same amount of 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:42.120 seasons left, give or take. And I'm talking about the 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:48.360 here and the now. People thought that the Warriors made 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:54.000 a great move giving Jimmy Butler that money, and it's 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:57.679 a touch more than Lebron makes, and he's a worse player, 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:04.160 great player, but a worst player. He like, in what 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:09.080 universe is Lebron James making less than Karl Anthony Towns 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:15.520 and the same as Paul George a bad contract, not 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:18.320 a world where he was second team All NBA and 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:22.440 sixth in MVP voting. So there's that piece of it 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:25.040 that if you're the seventh or eighth best player in 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:28.880 the sport and you're the thirteenth highest paid player in 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:34.600 the sport, you're on a bargain contract, then there was 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:38.280 this piece of it, Well, if he was really focused 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:43.559 on winning, he should have taken less to help the Lakers. 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:49.680 And that was that is a understandable opinion by fans 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:57.320 and a just abhorrent job by the media in perpetuating 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:03.440 that because Ron James, if he had cut his salary 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:06.520 demons from fifty if he had opted out of the 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:10.040 fifty two and said, you know what, I'll play for twiny, 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:12.679 you know how much cap space that opens up for 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:18.079 the Los Angeles Lakers zero dollars, not a penny, because 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:22.480 they're that far over the cap already. If Lebron James 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:28.040 had said I'll go from fifty two million to the 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:33.680 league minimum, it would have opened up roughly ten million 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:37.120 dollars in cap space for the Lakers. Ten million bucks. 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:42.720 So this idea that the Lakers could have been these 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:46.959 major players in free agency if Lebron had simply taken 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:52.440 a discount is belied by just the facts. And it's 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:58.400 also it's also, and we all know this is true, 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:03.000 a disingenuous to discussion because had Lebron, let's say Lebron 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:06.960 opted out and said, I'm going to be a free 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:11.680 agent and guess what, guys, I'm going to play for 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:18.160 the minimum, the entire conversation would be about stacking the deck, unfair, 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:25.400 faking like that. So there was him simply saying, I 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:28.520 don't know, I'm the thirteenth ice paid guy in the league. 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:32.239 I'm probably pretty underpaid. And that's even before you consider 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:36.000 all of the off court stuff that I bring to 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:39.640 the table. So yeah, I'll just play for my fifty 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:44.000 million is more than totally reasonable? Was there? 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:47.360 Like, so you have to but he opted into the contract, 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:49.760 Like what would his other options have been? 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:52.400 He could have opted out and been a free agent. 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:54.960 He could have opted out and been a free agent 0:10:55.679 --> 0:11:00.520 and signed anywhere for the literally any where for the 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:05.080 league minimum and leave fifty million on the table or 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:08.920 a lot of places for the mid level, which is 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:13.320 about fourteen million bucks. And the only team that could 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:16.720 have signed him for more than fourteen million dollars would 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:18.520 have been the Nets, which would have made no sense. 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:21.520 So those were go ahead? And why did he not 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:21.840 do that? 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:23.760 Are you saying, like because he thought the Lakers were 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:25.840 going to do a better job with secure in a 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:26.320 better SAE. 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:32.400 Well, yeah, I mean I think it's a I don't 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.880 think there is a perfect solution here for you know what, 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:38.360 they're trying to accomplish all these things. And I'm a 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:43.320 big believer of you can't have everything you want in life, 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.320 and sometimes, like you, you know, you have to make 0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:52.480 trade offs. I'm not sitting here arguing that the Lakers 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:57.480 owe him something more than they owe Luca, which is 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:01.360 to try to win a damn chancepion chip this season. 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:02.959 And I'll get to the Lakers piece of it in 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:07.760 a minute. I'm not saying that there is a perfect 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:13.400 solution for what he's trying to accomplish. What I'm saying 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:22.480 is the narrative that a huge impediment to winning is 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.720 you know, when you pay a player way more than 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:30.040 he's worth, that's gonna hurt you. Like the example of 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:34.559 people use is you know, Kobe at the end when 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:38.800 Lebron was, according to NBA voters, which I am not, 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:42.319 was the sixth best player in the league last year. 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:48.679 So that part is to me just erroneous. Then there 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:52.760 is the Okay, you've made over a billion dollars, you 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:57.000 want the Lakers to be more competitive, take less money 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:02.400 Dirk style and give them flexibility. When you look at 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:05.880 it that him taking less money would not have given 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:11.840 them any flexibility. And then there is this other part 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:17.360 of it which I mentioned on TV yesterday, and it 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.959 was the way it was captioned made it seem like 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:23.839 more of a shot at Durant than I wanted it 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:27.719 to be. But I said what I said, which was 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:31.360 and this is the part to me demans that I 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:38.560 find no one can explain this to me correctly, nobody. 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:44.680 Do who do you think right right now this moment, 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:46.760 And there's no wrong answer here to monse because you 0:13:46.840 --> 0:13:49.040 might disagree with me. Who do you think right now 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:54.640 this moment is better Durant or Lebron? And do you 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:56.560 think it's close in either direction? 0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:02.280 Offensively, I'd say Kevin Durant. But as far as who's 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:06.080 a better player, the better players just yeah, better all around. 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:09.000 I'd have to give it to Lebron. But it's either way, 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:12.079 it's pretty close, probably, right, yeah, exactly, like the like 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:14.640 if one guy's the eighth best player in the league, 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:16.800 the other guy's the tenth best player in the league 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:21.000 or nine to twelve or whatever. Right, So I and 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:26.520 despite the age, I think we can agree that Lebron 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:30.400 is the more durable player has been Like you know 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:36.760 what I mean? Lebron is less likely to miss thirty 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.200 games with an injury. That's just that's not a matter 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.160 of opinion. We just we just know it. Okay. So 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:50.200 here's what I don't understand. Kevin Durant was available for trade, 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:58.200 and the media lost its mind. Who should go after him? 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:02.600 These are the teams Rant doesn't want, the Minnesota Should 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:05.920 Minnesota trade for him? Anyway? If you trade for him, 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:07.760 do you just do you want to just give him 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:11.200 a contract? The Rockets were the two seed, gave up 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:14.800 their leading scorer, a valuable defender who I don't like 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.200 in Dylan Brooks, and the tenth pick of the draft, 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:20.720 and everyone's reaction was like, what a great job by 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:24.680 the Rockets. They might win the title. A guy who 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.280 at the very least is as good as Durant and 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:32.760 I think a touch better is available potentially, and the 0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:36.360 same media is like, who fucking want him? I mean, really, 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:40.200 it doesn't make any sense. That's what I don't understand. 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:46.400 Like last year, last year, Lebron was better than Steph. 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:51.280 They are similar, and Lebron's older, but again like the 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:55.080 kind of similar port places in their career. Steps team 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:58.040 was in twenty four and twenty five when they traded 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:00.600 for Jimmy Butler, you felt like it made them contenders. 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:03.200 They lost to the Timberwolves and five in the playoffs. 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.800 Lebron's team was hanging on to the three four seed. 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.440 They trade for Luca you felt like it made them contenders. 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:13.920 They lost to the Timberwolves and five in the playoffs. 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:18.920 That's like they had after very similar Olympics, very similar seasons. 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:23.000 They Lebron finished hire an MVP and all NBA voting, 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:26.800 But it was very close. Right If Steph Curry had 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:29.520 released a statement like I don't know about the future 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:32.560 of the Warriors and people thought he might be available, 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:39.120 it would be a full stop freakout about what teams 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:45.120 should package, what things to try to get him. And 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:49.200 we just saw it happened with Durant when last year 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:53.440 Lebron was better than both those guys, and the collective 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:59.320 reaction is well, I guess maybe maybe a team or 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:06.000 two should make a courtesy call and a collective eye 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:11.520 roll of I can't believe we're having this discussion. Has 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:15.200 everyone lost their mind? 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Please play responsibly on behalf of boothilk 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:55.439 is cinemin Resorting, Kansas twenty one on over agent eligibility 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:58.159 varies by jurisdiction, Void and Ontario. Bet must win to 0:18:58.240 --> 0:19:01.480 receive reward minimum minus five one hundred odds required. Bonus 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:03.800 BET's expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issue. 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:07.280 In four additional terms and responsible gaming resources see DKNG 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:08.800 dot co slash audio. 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:09.760 So Aiden is. 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:12.720 Getting settled in in La, getting all comfy and all that. 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:16.840 Luca sent him a welcome message, you know, welcome to 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:19.400 La DeAndre. Aiden decided to play with you next year. 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:22.240 Lebron James not said anything to him though. Is there 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:23.680 something to read into here? 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:36.080 It's not nothing? Yeah, uh so this DeAndre did this 0:19:36.359 --> 0:19:44.080 interview two days ago, I think one whatever it was, 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:48.320 the interview that he did, we played a piece of 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:53.760 on the TV show yesterday, and we did not play 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:57.400 this piece because it was a radio interview in La 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:01.840 and I, you know, I had I didn't know that 0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:06.840 this was said. So credit to whomever clipped this and 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:11.639 you know, posted it, because I didn't. I hadn't listened 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:14.800 to the full fifteen minute or whatever radio interview it was, 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:18.840 and so I had only seen kind of what had 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:24.960 made mainstream, so to speak. But I saw this and 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:32.399 I was like, oh, well, that's something. So And the 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:41.520 reason it's something is because it is either how do 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:45.359 I phrase this properly, Lebron's not gonna be there? Well, 0:20:46.880 --> 0:20:52.000 to me, it's not that is so that is by 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:56.000 no means like, oh lock it in because of that this, 0:20:56.960 --> 0:21:03.680 but it certainly added a little more fuel to the 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:07.960 idea that Lebron James might not be a Laker next year. 0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:12.840 That it's that so famously or I shouldn't. I don't 0:21:12.840 --> 0:21:15.320 know if it's famous, but at least to me, it 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:20.760 is Lebron when he announced he was going back to Cleveland, 0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:25.480 and he did it with Lee Jenkins. In an SI article, 0:21:27.720 --> 0:21:31.760 he listed all the guys he was excited to be 0:21:31.880 --> 0:21:35.840 playing with with the Caps, and he had not listed 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:42.440 number one overall pick from a week prior, Andrew Wiggins. 0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:46.879 And one way to read that was the article was 0:21:46.920 --> 0:21:50.920 written before the draft, or that he was you know, 0:21:51.080 --> 0:21:55.439 he was only thinking about or including the active veterans. 0:21:55.560 --> 0:21:59.800 And another way to look at it was Lebron exp 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:03.800 did that they would be trading Wiggins as part of 0:22:03.920 --> 0:22:08.119 getting a veteran win now guy, and that is exactly 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:10.600 and so he did not want to include Andrew Wiggins 0:22:10.680 --> 0:22:12.280 when he did not think he was ever going to 0:22:12.359 --> 0:22:17.000 be playing with Andrew Wiggins, which is exactly what they did. 0:22:17.960 --> 0:22:22.119 So here are before I give my opinion on what 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:27.480 I think this actually is, let's lay out all of 0:22:27.800 --> 0:22:32.920 the available options for this and we can, you know, 0:22:33.040 --> 0:22:35.040 put a percentage on each of them at the end. 0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:43.280 Option one busy guy forgot. Let's like again, like these 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:46.600 are not power ranked in order. I'm just saying, if 0:22:46.720 --> 0:22:50.160 we want to lay out all of the possibilities, right, 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:55.080 Option one Busy guy forgot. I guess Option two is 0:22:56.040 --> 0:22:59.000 not that Busy didn't forget, but has some feud with 0:22:59.119 --> 0:23:01.960 DeAndre eight we didn't know about, and he's furious about 0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:04.200 this trade. I would say of all these, that's probably 0:23:04.240 --> 0:23:06.280 the least likely. I think if there was a DeAndre 0:23:06.359 --> 0:23:08.399 eight and Lebron beef, we would have known about it right. 0:23:09.000 --> 0:23:15.200 Option three he did and DeAndre didn't see the text. 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:19.320 Deandre's wrong because he said Luca texted him and Lebron 0:23:19.480 --> 0:23:22.160 didn't so at night and he didn't say anyone talked 0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:24.320 to him on the phone. They missed the text. Got 0:23:24.400 --> 0:23:27.680 so many texts that you know, when the news broke 0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:29.800 that he got a text from a number that he 0:23:29.880 --> 0:23:33.360 didn't have, it was like, yo, congrats man, let's get 0:23:33.440 --> 0:23:35.879 it and he was like, okay, whatever, and it turns 0:23:35.920 --> 0:23:40.240 out that's Lebron James. Again, these are not power ranked 0:23:40.280 --> 0:23:42.680 in order. I'm just trying to lay out all of 0:23:42.760 --> 0:23:48.159 the available possibilities. Those first three, by the way, slim 0:23:48.359 --> 0:23:52.239 to very very slim, but they're on the possibilities all 0:23:52.320 --> 0:24:01.920 right now. The more salacious ones that Lebron does not 0:24:03.400 --> 0:24:07.760 want to tell DeAndre Ayton excited to play with you 0:24:08.480 --> 0:24:11.439 when he does not know if he will be playing 0:24:11.480 --> 0:24:22.200 with him, and then the last option is Lebron wants 0:24:22.320 --> 0:24:27.480 to expect to be playing with DeAndre Ayton, but wants 0:24:27.640 --> 0:24:33.560 to keep maximum pressure on the Lakers to make every 0:24:33.760 --> 0:24:37.760 move possible to make their team better going into this year, 0:24:38.280 --> 0:24:42.760 and the only leverage he has over them right now 0:24:43.040 --> 0:24:47.760 is the specter of well maybe I don't think I'm 0:24:47.800 --> 0:24:52.200 going to be on this team. That to me, those 0:24:52.240 --> 0:24:59.120 are the those five possibilities cover you know, ninety nine 0:24:59.320 --> 0:25:05.280 percent of the call it one hundred percent of what 0:25:05.480 --> 0:25:09.760 the reason could be. Here's how I would apply the 0:25:10.000 --> 0:25:15.160 likelihood of each my first draft pick of that would 0:25:15.200 --> 0:25:18.920 be Lebron thinks he's going to be on the Lakers, 0:25:20.520 --> 0:25:24.080 did not reach out to DeAndre because he had a 0:25:24.160 --> 0:25:27.680 feeling it would be become public that he had not 0:25:27.840 --> 0:25:31.480 yet reached out to DeAndre and wants to keep the 0:25:31.680 --> 0:25:37.600 pressure on Rob Polenka to continue to improve the roster, which, 0:25:38.200 --> 0:25:44.639 if we're being honest, they have had a underwhelming off season. 0:25:46.440 --> 0:25:48.280 On that note, if I may, then I'll get back 0:25:48.280 --> 0:25:50.520 to the percentage's parts. Because Brew and I got into 0:25:50.640 --> 0:25:55.080 this yesterday. Going into this off season, we felt like 0:25:55.240 --> 0:26:01.720 the Lakers. It was an absolute lock and mandatory that 0:26:01.840 --> 0:26:05.720 they upgrade the center position. They did do that, and 0:26:05.880 --> 0:26:08.280 they did that in an interesting way where they didn't 0:26:08.320 --> 0:26:10.239 have to give up assets, where it didn't cost them 0:26:10.280 --> 0:26:13.920 a lot of money, and the talent upside is quite high. 0:26:14.560 --> 0:26:17.359 But it's also a guy who's six years into his 0:26:17.520 --> 0:26:21.520 career has been unreliable and not that mature and really 0:26:21.680 --> 0:26:23.480 alienated teammates and coaches. 0:26:23.880 --> 0:26:27.240 So I really think Lebron James is like, man, y'all 0:26:27.280 --> 0:26:29.120 got DeAndre and that's not the center I wanted. 0:26:29.280 --> 0:26:32.800 I'm not texting him, I'm not welcome. Oh it's got 0:26:32.880 --> 0:26:35.000 to the team. Oh so youth. Oh so you think, 0:26:35.080 --> 0:26:37.719 oh I should have included that one. I guess as 0:26:37.760 --> 0:26:41.560 a good Lebron is Lebron is pissed that it was 0:26:41.640 --> 0:26:46.639 a Yeah, Oh so I didn't. Actually, So the reason 0:26:46.720 --> 0:26:48.760 I didn't even think of that, but that's obvious. I 0:26:48.960 --> 0:26:52.280 definitely should have. I guess that's kind of that, you know, 0:26:52.400 --> 0:26:56.720 in the lock of de Thief. Oh yeah, for sure. 0:26:58.119 --> 0:27:05.280 So here's the reason that I'm I don't put a 0:27:05.320 --> 0:27:06.960 pin in that real quick, and let me finish this 0:27:07.080 --> 0:27:08.640 other thought. Then we'll get to that one. Because that's good. 0:27:08.640 --> 0:27:14.400 I'm glad you mentioned that one. So they did get 0:27:15.080 --> 0:27:17.639 a center, and we can argue about if it was 0:27:17.720 --> 0:27:20.160 their best option, if it was the best of bad options, 0:27:20.240 --> 0:27:22.960 whatever it is. But the rest of the roster not 0:27:23.119 --> 0:27:28.480 only remained basically unchanged, but got to touch worse because 0:27:28.560 --> 0:27:33.000 switching out Dorian Finney Smith for Jake Lauravia is at 0:27:33.040 --> 0:27:36.399 the very least in the short term of downgrade and 0:27:36.560 --> 0:27:42.639 so there would be real frustration there. So I would 0:27:42.760 --> 0:27:48.159 put Lebron expects to be a Laker but wants to 0:27:48.359 --> 0:27:51.360 keep the screws on the Lakers to continue to make 0:27:51.480 --> 0:27:56.119 moves as the reason for him not reaching out. I 0:27:56.160 --> 0:27:59.600 would put that at sixty five percent. I think that 0:27:59.840 --> 0:28:07.399 is the biggest percentage here. I would put Lebron didn't 0:28:07.440 --> 0:28:10.119 reach out because he does not think he's going to 0:28:10.200 --> 0:28:16.760 be a Laker next year at twenty percent. I think 0:28:16.840 --> 0:28:21.560 there is a one in five shot right now that 0:28:21.800 --> 0:28:26.400 Lebron thinks, yeah, I'm not going to be on the team. Now, 0:28:26.480 --> 0:28:32.959