WEBVTT - #thisleague UNCUT: James Harden traded (again) 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:04.320 Welcome to this league uncut in the rule of twenty 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:10.200 four hour NBA News. This's you, Chris Haynes. It's so time, 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:18.800 work's time, It's so time. This league uncut is underway 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:19.800 and on fire. 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:23.960 This should be a good one. 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:32.280 Happy Halloween everyone, Welcome in to this league uncut. Mark 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:38.440 Stein here with Chris Haynes. Holiday Podcast. You could even 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:41.080 call it an emergency podcast if you want to throw 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:45.680 it into that genre, because we have a blockbuster trade 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:50.519 to react to. The Philadelphia seventy six Ers and the 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:54.240 Los Angeles Clippers. With an assist from the Oklahoma City Thunder, 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:58.640 they finally have a deal to send James Harden back 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:02.640 home to Los Angeles. The Clippers now just rack. They 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:07.280 have extended it to four future Hall of famers who 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:12.440 all played their high school ball in southern California, Kawhi Leonard, 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:17.600 Paul George, and Russell Westbrook now to be joined by 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:22.280 James Harden. You know both of these sides. You know, 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:25.520 we heard so much in recent weeks about how the 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.360 Clippers were not going to put Terrence Mann in this deal. 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:31.840 The Sixers were not going to do the trade unless 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:35.360 they got either Terrence Man with an unprotected first round 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:39.200 pick or two future unprotected first round picks. It's the 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:44.160 Clippers who win that face off. Yes, the Sixers did 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:48.040 ultimately get two future first round picks in the trade, 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:52.000 but one of the two is far from unprotected. It'll 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:55.720 be the worst of three selections that currently belong to 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.880 the Oklahoma City Thunder in twenty twenty six. The worst 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:01.440 of those three picks will go to Philly. We are 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:04.920 gonna break it all down now. Chris Haynes is here 0:02:04.960 --> 0:02:07.520 with me. You know, Chris, really, when you think about 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:09.840 it now, he got a lot of this rolling last 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:15.160 week when he reported the chaos that erupted in Philadelphia 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:19.679 when James Harden, after a ten day absence, rejoined the team, 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:23.440 showed up at practice after missing a bunch of time, 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:27.160 wanted to fly with the team to Milwaukee, went to 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.440 the airport, was told that he could not get on 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:32.920 the team plane. And now this week, it was today, 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:37.600 on this Halloween, that James Harden was supposed to return 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:42.760 to the practice floor and supposed to join the Sixers 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:47.440 for full speed practices. And instead, what we've seen here 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:52.280 is the Sixers deciding, after a pretty chaotic month of October, 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:55.639 no we don't want to go forward with this James 0:02:55.639 --> 0:03:00.160 Harden situation anymore. Things are going well, Tyrese MAXI looks 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.680 like an All Star. We are going to do this 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:04.760 trade now. So now I'm going to bring in Chris 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:09.360 Haynes after that extended bout of Halloween rambling for me, 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:13.839 mister Haynes, what do we think? What do we think 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:16.320 that this guy? I have tons of thoughts that I'm 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:18.680 going to unload on you here in a moment, but 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:20.880 I'm going to give you the floor first. Just give 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:27.320 me your immediate reactions to the fact that after months now, 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:30.680 the Sixers and the Clippers finally got a hardened deal done. 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:35.680 Yeah, James got what do he wanted? It happened. You know, 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.800 you have to give credit to his representation, Troy Payne, 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:44.680 Mike Silverman. This was something that was ongoing for I 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:50.040 believe about four months, and we heard the Clippers were in, 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:53.320 they're out, they're in, they're out, and whatever, And you know, 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:55.680 you were hearing that there just wasn't a market for 0:03:55.760 --> 0:04:00.160 James Harden, and there really wasn't, you know not Is 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.000 it the usual market that they would be for a 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:06.000 player of his caliber. Obviously, there's stinguwaighting circumstances to why 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:10.280 that's the case. But James got to La, he got 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:15.080 to the Clippers, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi, Leonard, Paul George, 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:19.839 ty Lou. You know, I can say that James as 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:24.800 spoken to Kawhi, spoken with Paul George, You've spoken with 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:28.039 Russ and Tyere already spoken with those four that I 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:32.760 know for sure already, and they're ecstatic. They they're talking 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.039 about their partnership, what they what they're trying to do. 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:39.080 And ultimately, you know, within all those conversations that he had, 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:43.440 championship kept coming up. So that's the mindset that they're in. 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.680 And uh, you know, I'm I'm looking forward to seeing 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:48.839 how it's going to work. You know, it's it's definitely 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:51.680 a great storyline. You know, all those guys you know 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:56.160 playing being from southern California, so you know that's going 0:04:56.200 --> 0:05:00.520 to be cool to see. But I think Ali from 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:04.279 the Sixers standpoint, I was told Stein that the ownership 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:08.400 group got involved. Why did they, I don't know, but 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:14.120 I do believe that they didn't feel like it was 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.320 worth bringing James Harden back in the fold or trying 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:20.680 to bring him back into the fold. Not to say that, 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.719 not to say that James was going to ever play 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:29.719 a game another game for the Sixers, but you know, 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:34.680 I think the episode just got tiresome for everybody, and 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:39.200 I think for whatever reason, they felt like they need 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:42.000 to cut it right now, and so they ended up getting, 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.440 you know, got some two first round picks, you know, 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:48.320 out of the deal swap, and you know, Sixers aren't done. 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:51.080 You know, they're gonna try to flip that into bringing 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:55.640 in a key player, maybe a star player, borderline star 0:05:55.720 --> 0:06:00.320 type player, because they have to. You know, from here 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:03.640 on out, it's about appeasing Joel Embiid and putting the 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:08.000 right roster around him. So ultimately, James Harten got his way, 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:12.920 Daryl Morey got some assets in return to try to 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.040 improve the roster even more. So now we've got to 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:17.919 see what Daryl go you know, what he does from here. 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:21.880 I think it's fair to say with when you look 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:28.159 at these four guys together again for Southern California legends. 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:34.840 Really when you look Kawhi, Paul, George Russell Westbrook, James Harden, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.720 so it is the best team in cif history. Are 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:39.320 they gonna win? 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:39.800 The West. 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:41.880 Can they get out of a West that is still 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:45.920 ruled by the Denver Nuggets, that still houses the Phoenix 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:50.200 Suns and their super team trio with Durant and Booker 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:54.359 and Bradley Beale. Golden State has looked really good to 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:58.240 start the season. Chris Paul has not only accepted a 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:00.920 move to the bench, but has really four to the 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:03.760 Warriors bench. When Stephen Curry goes out of the game, 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:07.800 the Warriors are not getting roasted like they have been 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:12.600 in the recent past. And if Chris Paul stays in 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.600 that role and continues to lead the bench, I mean 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:19.840 he is going to address a major shortcoming that the 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:23.480 more modern Warriors have faced. You know, we can go 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:25.840 on and on and on about how deep the West is, 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:29.920 but we will get we will we will get to 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:34.360 both how this impacts the Clippers and the Sixers. But 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:36.760 I want to start with what you said about James 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:39.120 Harden because I wrote a call about this already I 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:42.000 posted on my sub stack. It is it is amazing 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:48.680 what James Harden has pulled off here. And people are 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:52.000 going to point to his resume and say, no championship rings, 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:56.520 and that is the fairest of criticisms. It's fair and 0:07:56.560 --> 0:08:02.120 it's factual. But James Harden the Beard. He is the 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:07.800 NBA's undisputed champion when it comes to getting what he wants. 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:11.160 He opted in, He picked up the player option thirty 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:15.360 five point six million, and appeared at that time. He 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:17.800 picked up the player option and demanded a trade in 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:21.760 the same swoop, and all the know it alls league wide, 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:26.200 including myself, said, you just forfeited all control. You don't 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.760 have a lot of leverage. There isn't a market for 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:32.520 you. You're thirty four. Now, You're not the James Harden who 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:35.320 forced his way out of Houston to Brooklyn, or even 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:38.839 went from brook Brooklyn to Philly. And with all the 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:44.840 naysayers being very loud, James Harden again for the second 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.760 time in his career, more than a decade since the 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:52.360 last time, he wins Halloween. He is the champion of Halloween. 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:55.440 He gets the trade to the team. There was only 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.600 one team on his list, and he got the trade 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:01.920 to the Clippers. And I remember, I will never forget 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:05.160 what it was like in October twenty twelve, how stunning 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:10.000 it was just a few days before Halloween when Oklahoma 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:15.839 City abruptly traded him to Houston. Halloween came, Harden got 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:18.640 a new deal. On the same day as Opening Night. 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:23.320 He torched the Detroit Pistons thirty seven points, twelve assists, 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:29.240 six rebounds for steals, and now eleven years later, he's 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:32.800 the He wins Halloween again. He scoops up all the treats. 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:36.320 And this is the same guy he he bailed on 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:39.800 media Day, He missed most of training camp, he played 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:43.800 zero preseason games, and despite all that and all the 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:44.959 naysaying around. 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:48.920 The league, he gets the trade he wants to the Clippers. 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:55.240 It's truly truly astonishing, and I think what you suggested 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:59.680 is exactly right. The Sixers. Things are going well. Maxie 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:02.680 looks better than ever. Joel EMBII just started the season 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:05.240 very plugged in, and I think it's pretty clear they 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.800 just didn't want to mess with that. They didn't want 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:13.400 to bring the unpredictable Hardened back into their team program 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:18.160 in fear it's already been a chaotic October with the 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:20.360 scene you described in your story about him trying to 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:22.840 get on the team plane to fly to Milwaukee. They 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:25.360 clearly just didn't want to deal with that anymore. And 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:25.880 here we are. 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:31.959 Yeah, and unpredictable very good way to put it. They 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:38.280 didn't know what to expect, and they could not they 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:40.920 could not reasonably go to I'm talking about day, I'm 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:44.720 talking about management ownership. They couldn't reasonably tell the players 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:51.160 that another scene or episode would not occur. They couldn't 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:57.560 promise that, and so unpredictable is a very fair descriptor. 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.839 So you know it again, I think you're you're right. 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:05.800 I think with everything that's going on right now, it 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.679 seemed like there's just good vibes right now with the Sixers. 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:13.680 It probably would Lightweight probably would have been irresponsible to 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:16.920 bring him back. And you know, it's funny. I remember 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:19.959 when you know, Dame Dame Damian Lillard is going through 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:22.520 his situation where he tried to get traded to Miami, 0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:26.320 and obviously he did got to the Bucks, and then 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:31.640 everybody was like, well, this is the tide changing now, 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:36.680 is it? Is it? Empower player? Empower is over? Well? 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:37.800 What nobody? 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:42.920 What does what does this say? Right here? I don't know? 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:48.240 Yeah, I mean this is when like he we've all 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:51.640 been saying for months, he's got no leverage, he how 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:54.080 can he how can he expect to just pick up 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:57.200 his option and demand that they trade him on a 0:11:57.280 --> 0:11:59.840 one team wish list. But he got he got his 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:02.480 way in the end. I mean, it's it is. It's 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:06.480 amazing how many times Harden has been able to do this. 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.319 Clearly he has a talent for this sort of thing 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:15.240 right here, Clearly like there's there's something that he knows, 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:18.880 his representation knows, inner circle that something they know about 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:24.400 some little loophole and which when they can pull off 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:29.040 every single time they he got it done. And I'm listen, 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:32.920 I'm telling you he's in From what I'm told, he's 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:35.679 in good shape. He's gonna take some it's gonna take 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.360 some practices. I can't produce a Ryan. You have to 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:41.640 tell me when the Clippers next game is, but it's 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:44.040 gonna He's not gonna be available for their for the 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:46.240 Clippers next game. I can tell you that it's gonna 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:50.079 take a few practices to get them, to get them acclimated. 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:52.679 But I know he's gonna be I know the Clippers 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:55.200 are in Dallas on November tenth, and that I'm sure 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.480 he'll make his debut before November tenth. Yeah, but I'm 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:01.400 I'm gonna see him pretty early which I'm really looking 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:06.400 forward to, and because you know, if I have to 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:11.240 judge it, you know, and it's a hard call right now. 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.160 I mean, like like in this column I wrote, if 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:18.360 you're looking for winners and losers in this trade, immediate 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:22.240 winners and losers. Right now, to me, there is only 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:27.000 one party you can say that is indisputably triumphant, and 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:31.200 that's James Harden himself. Because, yes, Damian Lillard, we all 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.800 know Miami was his first choice. He's happy in Milwaukee. 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:37.360 But we can't sit here and pretend that the Bucks 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:42.599 were his first choice. Donovan Mitchell a year ago, everybody 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:46.559 was expecting Donovan Mitchell to land with the New York Knicks. No, 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:50.000 he got traded to Cleveland. In that scenario, and one 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:53.600 I forgot hat tip to our buddy Jake Fisher. I 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:56.320 probably shouldn't have forgotten this since this involves a player 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.720 who plays in the city in which I reside. But 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:03.120 Kyrie Irving, you wouldn't have said that the Dallas Mavericks 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:05.800 were at the top of his initial list when he 0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:08.480 wanted out of Brooklyn. That would have been the Lakers. 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:11.600 But Kyrie ended up getting traded to Dallas. So we've 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:17.440 seen recent examples, multiple recent examples where star players didn't 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:21.000 get to go where they were hoping, and James Harden, 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:26.960 with seemingly no leverage, gets to go precisely where he 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:30.000 wanted to go. But if we're now talking about the teams, 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:33.120 I think in both cases, you know we're going to 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:37.200 need six months to decide if either the Clippers or 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:41.240 the Sixers can be classified as a winner in this situation. 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:46.040 If you force me today to grade it, I would say, 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:51.280 I think, underline, think that I like it better for 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:56.320 the Clippers than the Sixers as we speak, because, for one, 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:58.960 I think it was clear to them that they knew 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:02.600 they didn't have an around Kawhi and PG to get 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:05.280 out of the West the way this team is currently built, 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:08.640 and we know for so long they've needed a point guard, 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:12.040 a floor leader, and organizer. And no matter what criticisms 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:15.040 you want to level at James Harden, the man averaged 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:18.920 almost eleven assists per game last season and certainly helped 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:23.360 Joel Embiid a huge amount in Joel Embiid's quest to 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:28.760 finally win the MVP Award. B The Clippers are thrilled 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.960 that they didn't have to include either Terrence Man or 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:36.160 Norman Pouinis Powell in this deal, and they were able 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:41.200 to get it done with Covington, Batoom, Marcus Morris and 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:44.760 all the draft compensation. And the Clippers also get PJ. 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:46.320 Tucker in this thing. And I remember it was way 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:48.240 I mean, it must have been June when you sat 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:51.040 on this podcast, and I remember you were the first 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:54.000 person I heard say it. Don't be surprised if PJ. 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:57.680 Tucker ends up with the Clippers with James Harden. And 0:15:57.960 --> 0:16:00.560 you called that shot about four or five months ago. 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:03.280 He's tied. He's been tied with James for a very 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:04.080 long time now. 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:09.720 Now on the downside, with the Clippers, all these Kawhi, 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:13.960 Leonard Paul George, James Harden, Russell Westbrook all free agents 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:17.760 potentially at season n In both Kawhi's case and pg's case, 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:20.520 they've got a player option to decide on. James Harden 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:23.960 is ineligible to do a contract extension during the season. 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:26.840 Russell Westbrook is on a one year deal. The Clippers 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:30.400 have traded away a bazillion first round picks to put 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:33.840 this team together, too many for us to even count. 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:38.040 They are the ultimate win or bust championship or bust team. 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:41.760 It's their last year in Staples Center, and yes, I'm 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:44.440 still calling it Staple Center. It's their last year at 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:49.680 Staples as the Lakers co tenant. There's gonna be a 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:52.840 lot of questions about what this means for Russ, who's 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:56.000 gotten off to a good start this season. But the 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:59.600 Clippers have a lot riding on this season, a lot 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:04.239 to figure out. But my sense is that, you know, 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:07.520 they're hoping that all these veterans, because of the contract 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:11.000 uncertainty that they all face, that it's going to motivate 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:15.680 them to coalesce quickly and form a contender quickly. We'll 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:18.080 see if that's the way it actually plays out. 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:22.040 I was also told that James Harten is suspected to 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:26.159 land in LA today at five pm. And thanks to 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:29.760 producer Ryan who gave me the Clipper schedule, the Clippers 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:33.200 play tonight at home against the Orlando Magic, and then 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:36.480 they got tomorrow night, they got the Lakers. So the 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:41.639 plan is for James Harten to attend tonight's game. He 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:44.840 lands at five, and I believe the game will be 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.520 either at seven o'clock or seven thirty tonight against the 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:48.359 Orlando Magic. 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:51.119 So it wouldn't shock me if he's out there against 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.960 the Lakers. I know he's not gonna have any practice time. 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:57.920 I know they could say it's too soon, but I 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:02.879 guess I still remember his holdout season with the Rockets, 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:08.600 when you know, he was participating in almost nothing and 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:11.240 then showed up and went to your old stomping grounds 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:14.240 in Portland and and threw up a forty spot with 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:19.240 like no preparation whatsoever. So I have no inside information there, 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:22.720 but something tells me that I wouldn't. I'm just saying 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:24.399 I would not be shocked to see him out there 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:25.680 against the Lakers. 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:27.760 Got you. Yeah, that would be surprising right there. That 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:29.800 would be This is a back to back, so yeah, 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:32.360 no practice at all, just jump right in there. Yeah, 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:34.280 if anybody could do it as him, but yeah, that 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:35.320 that would be surprising. 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:37.879 I don't want to make too much of this, but 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:42.080 if I understood you, right, he has spoken to Kawhi 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:44.800 and PG and Tylu, but not Russ. 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:50.240 No, and Russ and Russ and Paul Kawhi, Russ and Tylu. 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:53.960 Okay, So I'm glad I clarified that. So I mean, yeah, 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:56.359 because I think everyone will be curious how kind of 0:18:56.400 --> 0:19:00.240 he blends in with you know, the reunite, reunite with 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:02.720 Russell Westbrook as well again with Russ off to a 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:06.640 very good start this season. But yeah, the Clippers are 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:08.080 going for it, and they have to go for it 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:14.240 all right. Now, let's look at this from the Sixers perspective. 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:22.480 I think you can't just reflexively assign them a trade 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:26.359 grade from the jump, because we know they're going to 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:31.040 try to take the draft picks they've acquired and turned 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:35.399 that into something else to form a new star trio. 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:39.160 Who's going to be the third star who joins Joe 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:43.000 l Embiid and Tyrese Maxi, you know, and there's already 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:46.879 names out there like o Jannanobi from Toronto, Zach Levine 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:50.280 from Chicago. Though, I think if you've really studied Darryl 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:53.520 Mory's history, something tells me that he has a list 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:57.679 of even loftier targets, because that's just the way Daryl 0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:00.720 Morey has always operated. Now, the question will be, though, 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:03.399 can they pull this off? They're also going to have 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:06.439 a lot of cap space in the summer, But the 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:11.200 question will be, as always, this is still all about 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:16.000 Joe L. Embiid, Is he going to be okay with 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:21.160 this trade? Is you know, how does he feel about 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:24.160 his Philly future? There have been murmurs around the league. 0:20:24.160 --> 0:20:27.399 I'm sure you've heard them too, that the relationship with 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:31.199 Darryl Moray has been dented to some degree. You know, 0:20:31.280 --> 0:20:35.359 to what degree I think is hard to pinpoint, but 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:38.679 you know, what is the state of his relationship with 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:42.880 Darryl Moray after this saga? After losing some talent here? 0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:46.520 There's no question that although the Clipper veterans coming in, 0:20:46.760 --> 0:20:51.440 all these guys can play and be contributors, but none 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:53.360 of the players that Philly is getting in this deal 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:56.440 in the short term you would classify as stars. They've 0:20:56.440 --> 0:20:59.520 got a new coach and Nick Nurse Maxy, the reigning 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:02.399 Eastern Conferences Player of the Week is certainly, you know, 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:06.359 played even better than Philly was hoping. But really, what 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:09.840 only Joel Embiid knows the true answers to all these 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:14.679 questions and how he feels about his future there. He 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:21.000 turns thirty in March and can just the subtraction of 0:21:21.080 --> 0:21:28.480 the hardened saga cannot become additioned by subtraction until the 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:32.719 Sixers can make the move they make to bring that 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:36.399 new third star in. And I can't answer that question 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:37.080 on Halloween. 0:21:38.640 --> 0:21:41.879 Yes, I mean only MB can answer that question for us. Well, 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:43.520 what I can tell you is that, you know, he 0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:48.920 was Joel's a professional and when I had their game 0:21:49.080 --> 0:21:54.879 last week, the Bucks Sixers opener last Thursday, you know, 0:21:54.920 --> 0:21:57.439 he gave me a little bit of time right before 0:21:57.480 --> 0:22:00.919 the game, after he did his pregame warm up, and 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:04.080 he knew the line of questions that was coming and 0:22:04.240 --> 0:22:07.480 he has he hadn't spoken spoken on it, you know, 0:22:07.760 --> 0:22:13.760 in a while. But he's a professional and you know, 0:22:14.400 --> 0:22:17.080 and he's cool with me, so he gave you know, 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:20.480 he gave me something on James at that time. It 0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:24.639 was like, listen, you know, I gotta control what I 0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:26.960 can control, and I got to worry about the guys 0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:31.000 that are in uniform now, he said, but we are 0:22:31.040 --> 0:22:36.439 a better team with James Harden. And so from that standpoint, 0:22:36.840 --> 0:22:40.879 my hope is that he comes back. But you know, 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:44.280 he's the way he said it, Steinn, it was like 0:22:44.359 --> 0:22:47.520 he was fatigued, that's the way. That's the way he 0:22:47.600 --> 0:22:51.560 came off. He was fatigued with just everything that's going around. 0:22:52.200 --> 0:22:56.840 By the way he was answering my questions and and I, 0:22:57.000 --> 0:22:59.080 you know, I know Joel so I you know, so 0:22:59.520 --> 0:23:03.480 I got that feel. So, you know, look, at the 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:07.160 end of the day, the move was made, but there's 0:23:07.200 --> 0:23:09.920 still work to be done. What is Daryl going to 0:23:10.000 --> 0:23:13.639 do on the flip side to improve his roster? Because 0:23:13.920 --> 0:23:16.440 nice pieces, nice core pieces that you know, they got 0:23:16.480 --> 0:23:18.960 our guy, Nicholas Patuno over there. 0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:20.960 Now, I was gonna say, I think I think Batum 0:23:21.200 --> 0:23:24.760 is one of the underrated, you know, aspects of this deal. 0:23:24.760 --> 0:23:27.520 And I don't think anybody's gonna be really talking about 0:23:27.520 --> 0:23:29.920 that today, But I think Nick Patum can help them. 0:23:29.960 --> 0:23:32.760 He is going to be a useful addition to that team, 0:23:32.800 --> 0:23:33.280 no question. 0:23:33.560 --> 0:23:35.639 It's going to be definitely be a solid contributor. So, 0:23:36.680 --> 0:23:41.480 but they need more, they need more. This is this 0:23:41.600 --> 0:23:42.840 is going to be a big move. This is going 0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:48.119 to be a big move on So you know, Daryl's 0:23:48.160 --> 0:23:48.800 on the clock. 0:23:51.280 --> 0:23:53.200 Yeah, no question. And look, there's a lot of talk 0:23:53.240 --> 0:23:57.199 around the league that he's under huge pressure, and I 0:23:57.240 --> 0:24:01.520 don't believe that it's huge job pressure. I think Sixers 0:24:01.600 --> 0:24:06.520 ownership has invested a lot of money in hiring Darryl Morey, 0:24:06.720 --> 0:24:11.080 and I think you know, I don't think at this 0:24:11.240 --> 0:24:17.080 point he's GMing for his job as as people sometimes suggest, 0:24:17.200 --> 0:24:20.800 But yeah, he's got he's got to get the next 0:24:20.800 --> 0:24:25.560 move right. And you know, I feel like I can 0:24:25.600 --> 0:24:27.399 say that because I you know, he. 0:24:30.880 --> 0:24:31.080 Right. 0:24:31.440 --> 0:24:35.120 He was very patient with Ben Simmons, and he took 0:24:35.160 --> 0:24:37.359 a lot of criticism from around the league, and a 0:24:37.359 --> 0:24:40.159 lot of people thought that the Sixers were crazy to 0:24:40.280 --> 0:24:42.560 hold on to Ben Simmons as long as they did 0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:46.600 that season, But and they got the trade they wanted 0:24:46.640 --> 0:24:50.679 then because he got hardened. But my question then was, 0:24:50.920 --> 0:24:53.480 you know, is Harden the right guy? Is? You know, 0:24:53.600 --> 0:24:57.320