WEBVTT - 76ers Deep Dive w/ Spike Eskin: LeBron James's fit, how Maxey & Jaylen fit, keep or trade Embiid?

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<v Speaker 1>The volume.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, welcome to him tonight here at the Volume

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<v Speaker 2>Heavy Friday. Everybody. Hope all of you guys had an

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<v Speaker 2>incredible week to this point. We have a very special

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<v Speaker 2>guest today in lieu of the incredible surprising news that

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<v Speaker 2>Lebron James is joining the Philadelphia seventy six Ers, one

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<v Speaker 2>of the largest voices in Philly sports, Spike Eskin, the

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<v Speaker 2>gentleman I met at Summer League a few years back

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<v Speaker 2>who have been wanting to have on the show for

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<v Speaker 2>a while, and now I can think of no better

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<v Speaker 2>reason than Lebron going to the Sixers than to have

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<v Speaker 2>Spike on. I will say, you know, it's been a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of optimism over the course of the last week,

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<v Speaker 2>since the news are less than a week, and Spike's

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit more of a pessimist when it comes

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<v Speaker 2>to Lebron, so I'm excited to dig into that a

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<v Speaker 2>little bit. But he's also going to give us some

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<v Speaker 2>perspective on some of the Sixers that have been more tenured,

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<v Speaker 2>that have been there over the years and help our

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<v Speaker 2>listeners get ingratiated to this Sixers team. Spike, first of all,

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<v Speaker 2>thanks so much for taking the time. What is this

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<v Speaker 2>last five days been like for you? Or should I

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<v Speaker 2>should clarify? How what has this last month been like

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<v Speaker 2>for you since you found out that Lebron was going

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<v Speaker 2>to be a free agent.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean the five days has been surreal. The

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<v Speaker 3>month has been more.

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<v Speaker 1>I just never thought it was a realistic possibility that

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<v Speaker 1>the Sixers would get him.

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<v Speaker 3>To me, and this is.

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<v Speaker 1>It from a generally a Lebron's skeptic, not of him

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<v Speaker 1>as a player, but like as a tea leaf reader,

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<v Speaker 1>just trying to figure out what's going on. I find

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<v Speaker 1>that part of all this to be pretty interesting. Why

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<v Speaker 1>is this person saying this?

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<v Speaker 3>Why is it? They always just felt like leverage To me.

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<v Speaker 1>It felt like here is a good team that made

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<v Speaker 1>a big move, and all the teams I want to

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<v Speaker 1>go to, Hey, look at this good team over here,

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<v Speaker 1>and if you don't improve your team, I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>go to that team. And it like it's gone through

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<v Speaker 1>am I at some point that maybe it was just

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<v Speaker 1>a game of chicken that you know, he was like,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna sign there if you don't train for anything

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<v Speaker 1>of this, and then he just woke up.

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<v Speaker 3>He's like, I guess I gotta do it now.

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<v Speaker 1>So I always thought they were their leverage and even

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<v Speaker 1>deeper tea leaf reading. It was always interesting to me

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<v Speaker 1>that Rich Paul would mention like Cleveland, Miami and the

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<v Speaker 1>Sixers and not mentioned Golden State. And to me, again

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<v Speaker 1>just trying to read the room, I thought to myself,

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<v Speaker 1>is he trying to send a message.

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<v Speaker 3>To them and that you are not in this group?

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<v Speaker 3>You got to get there.

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<v Speaker 1>So even I had some money on both the Sixers

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<v Speaker 1>and the Warriors, I dumped the money out of the Sixers,

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<v Speaker 1>put it into the Warriors, and just repeatedly telling people,

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<v Speaker 1>not only did I completely different issue, not a lebron guy,

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<v Speaker 1>so didn't want them to sign him. Though I understand

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<v Speaker 1>objectively it is the right thing to do. I just

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<v Speaker 1>kept telling people there's no way this is going to happen.

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<v Speaker 3>No way.

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<v Speaker 1>And fast forward to Friday. I actually had a day

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<v Speaker 1>off of work so I host my podcast, but I

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<v Speaker 1>also host the afternoon show at WIP in Philly, and

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<v Speaker 1>I had a day off of work on Friday and

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<v Speaker 1>my phone rings at eleven thirty as my co host

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<v Speaker 1>and producer, and I'm thinking to myself, I wonder what

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<v Speaker 1>he wants. Probably wants some help with the show and.

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<v Speaker 3>I just hearn you got Lebron.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like, no, they didn't. I'm looking at my phone

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<v Speaker 1>right now and he's just scuming. Look at jumps, look

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<v Speaker 1>at chumps, look at jumps.

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<v Speaker 3>And then and then uh and then.

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<v Speaker 1>The last week has been has been pretty surreal, positive

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<v Speaker 1>or negative on it.

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<v Speaker 3>It is objectively.

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<v Speaker 1>Hilarious to say that Lebron James chose to with the

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<v Speaker 1>Sixers for the last year or two of his career.

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<v Speaker 3>It's been there's been a lot to try to think through.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, I I think it's actually been really

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<v Speaker 2>funny after the signing has been announced, how many reporters

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<v Speaker 2>have come back in and been like, well, this is

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<v Speaker 2>what happened. And it's like, well, actually, none of you

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<v Speaker 2>guys had any idea what was going on. So it's

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<v Speaker 2>hard for me to believe that now you suddenly know

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<v Speaker 2>what happened because I was, like you, I was high

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<v Speaker 2>on the Warriors simply because I had put together this

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<v Speaker 2>list of reasons why Lebron would pick his next team,

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<v Speaker 2>and it was like, you know, closeness to his family,

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<v Speaker 2>what would it be like to be on a bunch

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<v Speaker 2>of airplanes and back to backs and the hotel room,

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<v Speaker 2>breakfasts and dinners, and you know, like what the personalities

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<v Speaker 2>of the guys would be like on court, fit you know,

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<v Speaker 2>chances to win a championship a combination of all these factors.

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<v Speaker 2>And it turns out there's really only one factor that mattered,

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<v Speaker 2>and it was talent. And you know, I think, honestly,

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<v Speaker 2>as we kind of zoom out, I think we all

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<v Speaker 2>kind of overcomplicated this process from the beginning. Even when

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<v Speaker 2>we think about the trades that he was allegedly pushing

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<v Speaker 2>for behind the scenes, they were all about the accumulation

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<v Speaker 2>of talent. And what you know, what Mike Yanzy and

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<v Speaker 2>Bob Myers had done is they had put together a

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<v Speaker 2>situation where they had an enormous amount of talent with

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<v Speaker 2>a gaping hole at a specific position where Lebron could

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<v Speaker 2>slot right in. And I think it was pretty straightforward

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<v Speaker 2>for him at that point. I think we can dig

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<v Speaker 2>into all these different particulars. Did he want to be

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<v Speaker 2>attached to Steph's legacy, did he want to you know,

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<v Speaker 2>retread old ground in Cleveland or Miami? But I really

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<v Speaker 2>think it was as simple as the talent play. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>before we start digging into the team, I got to

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<v Speaker 2>put you on the spot, so we were I was

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<v Speaker 2>on my I went to my brother's wedding in Houston

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<v Speaker 2>this weekend. Of course, Lebron had to wait until literally

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<v Speaker 2>last Friday, so I had to pack my recording equipment.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm at an aquarium with my brother and my and

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<v Speaker 2>my niece and nephew, and we're just having a moment

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<v Speaker 2>looking at fish. They had a tiger there for some reason,

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<v Speaker 2>no idea why there was a tiger at the aquarium,

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<v Speaker 2>And next thing you next thing you know, the signing

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<v Speaker 2>comes down and I'm in an uber and I'm rushing

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<v Speaker 2>back to the hotel. But on my flight home from

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<v Speaker 2>from Houston, I listened to the Rights of Rice to

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<v Speaker 2>Ricky Sanchez podcast, which, by the way, you guys absolutely

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<v Speaker 2>should check out, especially if you're looking for in depth

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<v Speaker 2>coverage of the Sixers. I just want to make sure

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<v Speaker 2>we get that shout out in there. But you you

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<v Speaker 2>you would expect rus. You're you know, it's no secret

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<v Speaker 2>that you're not a big fan of Lebron James, and

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that. I've

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<v Speaker 2>one of my thinks I'm a big Lebron James fan.

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<v Speaker 2>Who is willing to admit an acknowledge that he is

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<v Speaker 2>a person who behaves in a way that is unlikable

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<v Speaker 2>to many. And I think that, and I want to

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<v Speaker 2>dig into some of those specifics because I think some

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<v Speaker 2>of them are irrelevant here and some of them are

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<v Speaker 2>not when we get to that point. But for the

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<v Speaker 2>most part, even when I talk to my Warriors fans buddies,

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<v Speaker 2>they were like, yeah, I don't like the guy, but

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<v Speaker 2>let's do this. And one of the things you said

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<v Speaker 2>in your potet, I want to give you a chance

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<v Speaker 2>to defend yourself here. Sure you said I would rather

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<v Speaker 2>lose without him than win with him. So can you

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<v Speaker 2>kind of explain where you're, where you're coming from, and

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<v Speaker 2>how you ended up in that frame of mind?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>So, no, nowhere is putting me on the spot. That

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<v Speaker 1>has been pretty much my life since last Friday.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, when you.

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<v Speaker 1>Spend three weeks saying you don't want the guy, it's

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<v Speaker 1>been interesting reaction. This isn't answering your question, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>just as I'm thinking about, it's been an interesting reaction

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<v Speaker 1>to my reaction in that anyone who listens to podcast

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<v Speaker 1>knows I haven't been a lebrona I didn't want them

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<v Speaker 1>him in twenty eighteen, like I had the same view,

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<v Speaker 1>same view, so the three weeks leading up to it,

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<v Speaker 1>and even on the radio station. I've only been in

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<v Speaker 1>the air there a couple of years, but everybody knows

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<v Speaker 1>how I feel, saying for.

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<v Speaker 3>Weeks I do not want them, I do not want them,

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<v Speaker 3>I do not want them.

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<v Speaker 1>And then they sign them, and I'm like, I hate this,

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<v Speaker 1>and everyone's mad at me for saying. Yeah. I mean

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<v Speaker 1>I've been accused of You're just saying that to get

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<v Speaker 1>people mad. I'm like, I'm the only honest person here.

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<v Speaker 1>I am literally the only person said to my detriment

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<v Speaker 1>in some ways saying how I feel. So I used

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<v Speaker 1>to be a Lebron guy, I would say through Miami,

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<v Speaker 1>I was a Lebron guy and a big defender.

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<v Speaker 3>And my co host I Greece. We've known each other

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<v Speaker 3>a long time.

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<v Speaker 1>One of our long standing arguments pre me switching was

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<v Speaker 1>me being a pro Lebron guy and him being an

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<v Speaker 1>anti Lebron guy. It switched when I felt like he

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<v Speaker 1>changed and I found his presence to be.

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<v Speaker 3>Irritating.

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<v Speaker 1>I think is underselling it is like suffocating there's just

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<v Speaker 1>so much, and so much of it feels dishonest and

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<v Speaker 1>distasteful to me and self centered in a way that

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<v Speaker 1>I guess that he has earned the guy. I can't

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<v Speaker 1>deny that. I'm not denying he's obviously a great basketball player,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

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<v Speaker 3>But I find that other part of it to be

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<v Speaker 3>too much for me.

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<v Speaker 1>And when he's not on the Sixers, it's very easy

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<v Speaker 1>for me to mock him and say this is stupid,

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<v Speaker 1>and so on and so forth. When he is on

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<v Speaker 1>the Sixers, people have asked me, well, isn't the point

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<v Speaker 1>to win?

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<v Speaker 3>He isn't.

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<v Speaker 1>Isn't that the entire goal? And it's a different coversation

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<v Speaker 1>how close they are to winning. But I don't necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>believe it is just about winning for me, And I'm

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<v Speaker 1>never trying to convince anybody to not like this move,

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<v Speaker 1>But for me, I think the logical extreme of this

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<v Speaker 1>would be, Okay, let's say Lebron gets here, they trade

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<v Speaker 1>Embiid for ad Let's say they trade Edgecombe for some guy, right,

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<v Speaker 1>and then and let's say they win a title?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, what am I even cheering for at that point?

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<v Speaker 1>Right? Like MAXI is still there. Okay, I like Tyrese Maxie,

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<v Speaker 1>but I've never liked Lebron James. I've never had an

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<v Speaker 1>opinion on Anthony Davis, like emotionally one way or the other.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess he would be on the Sixers whoever they

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<v Speaker 1>trade Edgecomb for, unless it happens to be one of

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<v Speaker 1>my favorite players.

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<v Speaker 3>So in that case, I guess it would be nice

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<v Speaker 3>if the Sixers won a championship.

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<v Speaker 1>But the way that I've experienced this team over the

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<v Speaker 1>last fourteen years, as we've done the podcast is I

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<v Speaker 1>think just a little more a new one than whether

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<v Speaker 1>it is objectively it gets them closer to winning a championship,

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<v Speaker 1>I think because and this is just the last part

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<v Speaker 1>of it, and this, if I'm the Sixers, I probably take.

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<v Speaker 3>An opportunity to move Jo and beat if I can.

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<v Speaker 1>Probably, but me as a fan, if they win this

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<v Speaker 1>title without him, I just don't know what that will.

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<v Speaker 3>Mean for me. I'll be happy to see everybody else.

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<v Speaker 1>Happy, but I guess it just would have felt like

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<v Speaker 1>something entirely different than I've experienced over the last thirteen

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<v Speaker 1>or fourteen years. And everything that Lebron touches becomes centered

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<v Speaker 1>around Lebron and I just I've thought even if Joel's

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<v Speaker 1>on the team, and I would feel very good for

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<v Speaker 1>him if they want it just the the like, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>look at what Lebron bar brought us and like the

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<v Speaker 1>like the myth making of Lebron and the it's just

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<v Speaker 1>too much for me. So I think I would enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>the team more, not having a conflict about cheering for

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<v Speaker 1>somebody who I just actively find annoying, which was something

0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.400
<v Speaker 1>I had to do with Simmons after a couple of years.

0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:14.320
<v Speaker 1>I don't like this guy, but at least he was ours,

0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.000
<v Speaker 1>at least somebody we drafted him. He was our problem.

0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:20.559
<v Speaker 1>Lebron just seems like somebody else's problem problem, for lack

0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:22.200
<v Speaker 1>of a better word, that is on the Sixers now.

0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:24.880
<v Speaker 1>So it's a long way to get to how I feel,

0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:26.439
<v Speaker 1>but there's a lot to it, I think.

0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.240
<v Speaker 2>So essentially, if the Sixers were to win for you,

0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.640
<v Speaker 2>it would feel like a group of mercenaries wearing Sixers

0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:36.199
<v Speaker 2>jerseys rather than a group of guys that you have

0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:38.400
<v Speaker 2>grown to love over years of rooting for them.

0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:42.320
<v Speaker 1>Yes, and I guess I felt the same way when

0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:44.959
<v Speaker 1>they traded for Jimmy Butler, Now, I did not like

0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:47.839
<v Speaker 1>Jimmy Butler, but I really did like Robert Covington and

0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:52.120
<v Speaker 1>Dario Sarich. So you know, I got through it, and

0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:55.840
<v Speaker 1>I can't predict how I'm going to feel in six months.

0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:56.559
<v Speaker 3>I have no idea.

0:11:56.880 --> 0:11:59.800
<v Speaker 1>Maybe watching them all play together will be so much fun,

0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:02.960
<v Speaker 1>and Lebron's like Lebron will take it down a notch.

0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:07.199
<v Speaker 3>Unlikely, but let's say he does, and and and you

0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:08.280
<v Speaker 3>know and the other.

0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.079
<v Speaker 1>The only extra clutch guy we have is KCP. We

0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:13.920
<v Speaker 1>haven't done anything and they're playing great, and it's just

0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:17.240
<v Speaker 1>it's undeniable to me. I'm more than willing, like I

0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:18.640
<v Speaker 1>change my mind all the time.

0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:19.040
<v Speaker 3>I think.

0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:25.360
<v Speaker 1>I think there's a difference between being stubborn and knowing

0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:28.079
<v Speaker 1>what you think because you've thought it through. I think

0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:29.839
<v Speaker 1>I know what I think and I know how I feel.

0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:31.880
<v Speaker 1>But I don't think I'm stubborn in that if I

0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:33.719
<v Speaker 1>start to enjoy it, I'm not going to say I

0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:36.480
<v Speaker 1>don't enjoy it, just to stick to whatever guns I

0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.640
<v Speaker 1>feel like. So I suppose it could change, But right now, yes,

0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:42.160
<v Speaker 1>if if all the players were swapped out and the

0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:45.000
<v Speaker 1>Sixers happened to win a title, I don't.

0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:45.800
<v Speaker 3>I don't think it would be.

0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:48.599
<v Speaker 1>It wouldn't irritate me or anything, but I don't know

0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:52.600
<v Speaker 1>if it would feel as complete as it would if

0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:54.640
<v Speaker 1>it were players that I had grown to really.

0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:59.160
<v Speaker 2>Like, especially since it's almost a certainty that there will

0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:02.400
<v Speaker 2>be substantial turnover after this, like CACP won't be on

0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:04.200
<v Speaker 2>the team, Lebron James won't be on the team, Joel

0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:06.760
<v Speaker 2>Embiid will eventually reach a point where he can't play anymore.

0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:08.600
<v Speaker 2>Like it will be a different team after. It'll feel

0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:10.920
<v Speaker 2>like such a brief, small window. I think the stuff

0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:12.719
<v Speaker 2>you're hitting on is like very valid. I mean, I

0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:15.560
<v Speaker 2>think this is one of the overarching kind of problems

0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:19.000
<v Speaker 2>with the NBA. You juice up player movement. It makes

0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:21.320
<v Speaker 2>for exciting off seasons. We just had an amazing offseason.

0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:24.719
<v Speaker 2>It's fun for content creators, but it lacks that like

0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:28.480
<v Speaker 2>that slow burn and build that you get from like Baseball,

0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:33.319
<v Speaker 2>where fans are like so intimately and like like kind

0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:36.000
<v Speaker 2>of ingratiated with the roster over time. I think, I mean,

0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:39.560
<v Speaker 2>you'll see this, Like I talked to Laker fans who

0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:41.400
<v Speaker 2>still are like, man, I wish we wouldn't have traded

0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:45.280
<v Speaker 2>Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart for Anthony Davis. So it's

0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:47.559
<v Speaker 2>like at a certain point, it's kind of just a

0:13:48.360 --> 0:13:52.000
<v Speaker 2>like you. There's a certain type of fan that definitely

0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:54.920
<v Speaker 2>is is likes the idea of a real homegrown roster,

0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.199
<v Speaker 2>which I respect. The two things that I would say

0:13:58.200 --> 0:14:01.760
<v Speaker 2>about the Lebron thing that make that I would just

0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:06.679
<v Speaker 2>pitch to Philly fans that have some concern one his

0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:10.640
<v Speaker 2>off court behavior. What you defined is like kind of

0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:12.400
<v Speaker 2>taking all the air out of the room, which I

0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:14.839
<v Speaker 2>think is a fair characterization, like the stuff with Rich

0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:18.080
<v Speaker 2>Paul and Austin Reeves and the passive aggressiveness and even

0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.600
<v Speaker 2>just little comments like him saying on his podcast like oh,

0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:23.680
<v Speaker 2>I'll do this role for now. It's like, what are

0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.400
<v Speaker 2>you accomplishing by saying stuff like that, You're you're you're

0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:31.160
<v Speaker 2>taking you You're making a locker room deal with passive

0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:36.760
<v Speaker 2>aggressive behavior, that's all fair. Lebron in general has acted

0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:41.280
<v Speaker 2>out more in that way when he doesn't think his

0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:46.520
<v Speaker 2>team can win. When he has really believed in his

0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:50.240
<v Speaker 2>team's ability to compete for a championship, he's been on

0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:52.480
<v Speaker 2>his best behavior. The way I've described it is like

0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:55.080
<v Speaker 2>Steph Curry is the best leader in the league in

0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:58.600
<v Speaker 2>my opinion, because Rain or Shine's the same dude. Lebron

0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:02.280
<v Speaker 2>is a fair weather leader. When he has a group

0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:04.960
<v Speaker 2>that he really believes in, he's actually the best dude

0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:06.920
<v Speaker 2>in the lead to have, the best dude in the

0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:10.160
<v Speaker 2>league to have leading the team. It's when things aren't

0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:13.040
<v Speaker 2>going good that he can start to get passive aggressive.

0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:14.960
<v Speaker 2>And that's something to keep in mind. If things don't

0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:17.040
<v Speaker 2>go well this year, if Joel Embi gets hurt, if

0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:20.280
<v Speaker 2>there's weird chemistry issues. But there's so much talent on

0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:25.000
<v Speaker 2>this team that I think Lebron truly perceives a legitimate

0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:27.000
<v Speaker 2>shot for him to win his fifth that I actually

0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:29.760
<v Speaker 2>expect him to more or less be on his best behavior. Now,

0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:32.120
<v Speaker 2>the trade stuff, let's set that aside, because I'm not

0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.200
<v Speaker 2>even sure I would trade him beat for ad and

0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:36.760
<v Speaker 2>I want to dig into that concept here in a

0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:41.040
<v Speaker 2>few minutes. But the second piece of it is where

0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:44.560
<v Speaker 2>I cannot defend Lebron's off court behavior all the time.

0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:47.760
<v Speaker 2>There is a We've all seen the pictures of him

0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:49.960
<v Speaker 2>reading the first page of every single book, and the

0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:54.280
<v Speaker 2>tweets and the weird press conference moments and the behavior

0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:57.359
<v Speaker 2>of his agent. That stuff, to me is kind of indefensible,

0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.280
<v Speaker 2>and the people that don't like him for that, I'm

0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:02.600
<v Speaker 2>not going to argue it. Where I will defend Lebron

0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:06.760
<v Speaker 2>to the bitter end is as a basketball player. He

0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:10.280
<v Speaker 2>is so damn good at basketball, even at his old

0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:14.160
<v Speaker 2>age that, like with all of the stuff that comes

0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:16.960
<v Speaker 2>with it, the reason why the Sixers had to do

0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:19.680
<v Speaker 2>this and the reason why it's worth it is because

0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:22.960
<v Speaker 2>he's just so damn good. And I really do think

0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:24.600
<v Speaker 2>he's going to come in and help this team in

0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:26.880
<v Speaker 2>so many different ways, and I think they're going to

0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:28.840
<v Speaker 2>be a much better basketball team for it. And that's

0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:31.720
<v Speaker 2>the one thing where when some of the Lebron detractors

0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:34.000
<v Speaker 2>come out of the woodwork, I will fight to the

0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.680
<v Speaker 2>dirty end to defend him is say what you want

0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.800
<v Speaker 2>about the guy, but he can hoop. He can really hoop,

0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:41.520
<v Speaker 2>and I do think that he's going to take this

0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.760
<v Speaker 2>team to the next level. So on that note, is

0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:47.400
<v Speaker 2>there any part of you, even as a person who

0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:50.600
<v Speaker 2>doesn't like Lebron, who has allowed yourself over the last

0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:54.960
<v Speaker 2>five days to feel some optimism that this could be fun.

0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:58.200
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<v Speaker 1>Uh yeah, I mean I'm I'm not a nangry person

0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:55.560
<v Speaker 1>like that. I don't maybe I probably I'm forty nine.

0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.440
<v Speaker 1>I probably would have characterized myself different in thirty two

0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:02.320
<v Speaker 1>that I would hate watched every Sixers game because I

0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.080
<v Speaker 1>can't stand looking at this guy that that isn't.

0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:05.399
<v Speaker 3>How I am.

0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:10.040
<v Speaker 1>So, you know the idea of all of these guys

0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:12.760
<v Speaker 1>on one team, however much they play together, which is

0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:15.920
<v Speaker 1>a different conversation or part of the conversation, but not

0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:16.560
<v Speaker 1>this part.

0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:19.400
<v Speaker 3>Uh yeah, it could be fun to watch.

0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:22.840
<v Speaker 1>And I said it before, and I'm actually not minimizing

0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:28.119
<v Speaker 1>this part that I don't think the the objective, like

0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:30.680
<v Speaker 1>the absurdity of him on the Sixers will ever be

0:19:30.840 --> 0:19:34.040
<v Speaker 1>lost on me. This is absurd, not not in a

0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:37.359
<v Speaker 1>bad way, but in a what is he doing on

0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:39.879
<v Speaker 1>the Sixers? And I think I will have plenty of

0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:43.639
<v Speaker 1>moments where they just announced that Lebron's checking in to

0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:44.440
<v Speaker 1>the Sixers?

0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:45.920
<v Speaker 3>How did this happen?

0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:49.240
<v Speaker 1>So so I think I think, yeah, I don't have

0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:54.000
<v Speaker 1>very much optimism for them to win a title. I

0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:57.639
<v Speaker 1>think I'm lower than most probably definitely lower than all

0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:00.200
<v Speaker 1>of Philadelphia. I found that out on the show show

0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:03.440
<v Speaker 1>the other day. Slightly lower than the books. I think

0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:06.240
<v Speaker 1>there are some hurdles that I don't think that people

0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:10.440
<v Speaker 1>have addressed, some really obvious hurdles. But I don't deny

0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:13.560
<v Speaker 1>that he won't make them better. I do not deny

0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:15.960
<v Speaker 1>that it was the right thing for a Ganzy and

0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.639
<v Speaker 1>Bob Myers to do. So I'm not there. I'm not

0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:21.960
<v Speaker 1>the sort of Lebron hater unless I'm trying to tweak

0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:26.520
<v Speaker 1>Lebron fans that dismisses how good he is. Like, my

0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:29.600
<v Speaker 1>tweak is he's definitely top ten. I like saying that

0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:34.320
<v Speaker 1>to drive people crazy, but I don't like I know

0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:35.960
<v Speaker 1>how good he is, even at this age.

0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:37.280
<v Speaker 3>I understand how good he is.

0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:40.359
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, the simplest way I would describe it

0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:43.360
<v Speaker 2>as someone who's rooted for him obviously and watched him

0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:45.680
<v Speaker 2>and covered him very close over the last ten years,

0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:48.000
<v Speaker 2>is there will be times in the regular season where

0:20:48.040 --> 0:20:50.560
<v Speaker 2>he looks old, and it can come there can be

0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:53.320
<v Speaker 2>a combination of like nights where his body doesn't really

0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:56.440
<v Speaker 2>feel good and where his mind isn't really in it.

0:20:56.560 --> 0:20:58.400
<v Speaker 2>That's the real thing that shows up over the last

0:20:58.440 --> 0:21:00.720
<v Speaker 2>five years is he'll have knights where he's just focused

0:21:01.160 --> 0:21:03.840
<v Speaker 2>and he'll just be sloppy, and that will happen a

0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:05.880
<v Speaker 2>dozen or so times in the regular season where it's

0:21:05.880 --> 0:21:10.520
<v Speaker 2>infuriating to watch. But any big important game, the dude

0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:13.600
<v Speaker 2>is just always locked in and he always does his job,

0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:15.680
<v Speaker 2>and he's just super reliable in that sense. And so

0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:17.800
<v Speaker 2>it's kind of like the trade off. But let's use

0:21:17.840 --> 0:21:21.040
<v Speaker 2>your let's use your stance here as a framework to

0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:23.080
<v Speaker 2>kind of talk about the team for a second. Sure,

0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:28.160
<v Speaker 2>what can you give us the elevator pitch of why

0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:30.560
<v Speaker 2>you don't think this is a championship team. So just

0:21:30.640 --> 0:21:33.040
<v Speaker 2>kind of a quick breakdown of like what your concerns are,

0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:34.560
<v Speaker 2>and then we'll kind of branch out from there to

0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:35.240
<v Speaker 2>talk about the team.

0:21:35.480 --> 0:21:39.480
<v Speaker 1>Sure, I think they're even they're even more general than

0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:43.440
<v Speaker 1>a defense and rebounding and those sorts of basketball things.

0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:49.800
<v Speaker 1>If we say that Joel Embiid plays forty games, Lebron

0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:54.280
<v Speaker 1>plays fifty games, and Jalen Brown plays sixty three games,

0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:58.359
<v Speaker 1>my guess would be that the key figures on this

0:21:58.480 --> 0:22:00.560
<v Speaker 1>basketball team are probably going to.

0:22:00.600 --> 0:22:03.280
<v Speaker 3>Play twenty or twenty five games. Together during the regular season.

0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:08.120
<v Speaker 1>To me, that that is already that already takes their

0:22:08.480 --> 0:22:11.399
<v Speaker 1>title chances down to a fraction.

0:22:12.280 --> 0:22:12.800
<v Speaker 3>Be reps.

0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:16.200
<v Speaker 1>You need reps, and all the teams that you're going against,

0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:20.440
<v Speaker 1>these are not. The irony of this team observe jumping

0:22:20.440 --> 0:22:24.800
<v Speaker 1>around a lot is that this is kind of like

0:22:25.200 --> 0:22:28.240
<v Speaker 1>something that Daryl Morey would do and everybody would go

0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:29.840
<v Speaker 1>old injured.

0:22:30.000 --> 0:22:31.120
<v Speaker 3>No way it's gonna work.

0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:35.000
<v Speaker 1>And so anyway, so let's say they play twenty or

0:22:35.000 --> 0:22:38.879
<v Speaker 1>twenty five games together, you're going against teams that are

0:22:39.600 --> 0:22:43.400
<v Speaker 1>that have been together longer and are also kind of machines.

0:22:43.440 --> 0:22:46.920
<v Speaker 1>At this point, Boston, at least during the regular season

0:22:47.000 --> 0:22:50.800
<v Speaker 1>will be a machine, probably right, the Knicks, probably Cleveland

0:22:50.880 --> 0:22:54.239
<v Speaker 1>knows what they do. Indiana, most of those guys are

0:22:54.280 --> 0:22:58.240
<v Speaker 1>the same guys from before Halliburton got hurt. Atlanta played

0:22:58.240 --> 0:23:00.880
<v Speaker 1>all of last year together. Now they do have some changes,

0:23:00.960 --> 0:23:03.320
<v Speaker 1>but I think the fact that so many of the

0:23:03.359 --> 0:23:05.919
<v Speaker 1>players are new, so many of the high usage players

0:23:05.920 --> 0:23:08.440
<v Speaker 1>are new. Brown is new high usage, Lebron is new

0:23:08.600 --> 0:23:11.640
<v Speaker 1>high usage, and they're not going to play together very much.

0:23:12.119 --> 0:23:15.200
<v Speaker 1>First is that that's the first strike. The second strike

0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:19.600
<v Speaker 1>is Joel Embiid playing every other night in the playoffs

0:23:19.800 --> 0:23:22.680
<v Speaker 1>is just not a reality to me unless it can happen,

0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:27.280
<v Speaker 1>and it is the couch to do that or the

0:23:27.400 --> 0:23:30.000
<v Speaker 1>op the you know. The the other side of that

0:23:30.359 --> 0:23:32.240
<v Speaker 1>is people will go, well, they don't need as much

0:23:32.280 --> 0:23:37.639
<v Speaker 1>from him, and so, but his value is scoring points,

0:23:37.880 --> 0:23:40.280
<v Speaker 1>like his value is when he's on the court.

0:23:40.760 --> 0:23:43.040
<v Speaker 3>He is an offensive player. That's what he's good at.

0:23:43.359 --> 0:23:46.600
<v Speaker 1>So lowering his usage just makes him less valuable because

0:23:46.640 --> 0:23:50.760
<v Speaker 1>he's not really that good a defender anymore, so, I guess,

0:23:50.920 --> 0:23:53.640
<v Speaker 1>and we've seen him going in and out and being

0:23:54.240 --> 0:23:57.960
<v Speaker 1>like the center of everything and then nothing is tough

0:23:58.119 --> 0:23:59.960
<v Speaker 1>for the team to deal with. So we're depending on

0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:02.760
<v Speaker 1>him getting through the playoffs, which he's never done. And

0:24:02.840 --> 0:24:05.800
<v Speaker 1>then we're also depending on Lebron, who is still very

0:24:05.840 --> 0:24:08.560
<v Speaker 1>good obviously, but is older than he was last year

0:24:08.640 --> 0:24:10.320
<v Speaker 1>and will continue to get older than he was the

0:24:10.400 --> 0:24:13.080
<v Speaker 1>year before. And the last time that he lasted four

0:24:13.119 --> 0:24:16.720
<v Speaker 1>playoff rounds was twenty twenty, right, so, which is a

0:24:16.760 --> 0:24:19.480
<v Speaker 1>long time ago. And he had three months off before

0:24:19.560 --> 0:24:23.560
<v Speaker 1>that playoff that playoff run as well, because that was

0:24:23.600 --> 0:24:27.280
<v Speaker 1>in the bubble. So those are just the big picture.

0:24:28.280 --> 0:24:30.440
<v Speaker 1>If you just add those through two things together. What

0:24:30.560 --> 0:24:32.720
<v Speaker 1>are the odds that Joel Embiid gets it through a

0:24:32.720 --> 0:24:35.680
<v Speaker 1>playoffs healthy? I don't know, fifteen percent? And then what

0:24:35.800 --> 0:24:38.240
<v Speaker 1>are the odds that they're able to maximize the talent

0:24:38.320 --> 0:24:41.680
<v Speaker 1>they have even if that happens. Is a third of

0:24:41.760 --> 0:24:44.520
<v Speaker 1>that So that's how I end up on I don't know.

0:24:44.600 --> 0:24:46.520
<v Speaker 1>Maybe they have a five percent chance of winning everything,

0:24:46.640 --> 0:24:48.479
<v Speaker 1>but seems like everything's going to have to go right.

0:24:49.680 --> 0:24:51.200
<v Speaker 2>So what you broke it down with the Machines, I

0:24:51.280 --> 0:24:53.840
<v Speaker 2>totally agree? Like to me, okay, seeing San Antonio are

0:24:53.840 --> 0:24:55.800
<v Speaker 2>still in a tier by themselves, I think you have

0:24:56.000 --> 0:24:58.000
<v Speaker 2>to at the very minimum p with the Knicks above

0:24:58.080 --> 0:25:00.200
<v Speaker 2>the Sixers because their floor is just so, so so

0:25:00.760 --> 0:25:02.440
<v Speaker 2>much higher. I think they have the highest floor in

0:25:02.480 --> 0:25:04.399
<v Speaker 2>the league. Like they just got to be there and

0:25:04.440 --> 0:25:06.080
<v Speaker 2>they got a great chance to win because they've just

0:25:06.119 --> 0:25:08.840
<v Speaker 2>been playing together for so long. I think from that

0:25:09.119 --> 0:25:11.320
<v Speaker 2>point down the list, I have a hard time arguing

0:25:11.400 --> 0:25:13.760
<v Speaker 2>other teams over Philly just because of the sheer amount

0:25:13.760 --> 0:25:16.879
<v Speaker 2>of talent they have. I think the Embiid injury concerns

0:25:16.880 --> 0:25:19.120
<v Speaker 2>are legitimate. Lebron weirdly has been one of the most

0:25:19.160 --> 0:25:21.200
<v Speaker 2>reliable players in the league, over the last few years,

0:25:21.359 --> 0:25:23.720
<v Speaker 2>Like that Sciatica thing that caused him to miss the

0:25:23.800 --> 0:25:26.400
<v Speaker 2>start of last season really is the only injury he's

0:25:26.440 --> 0:25:29.200
<v Speaker 2>had in the last three years. He played seventy games

0:25:29.280 --> 0:25:31.560
<v Speaker 2>each of the previous two and then when he came

0:25:31.640 --> 0:25:34.520
<v Speaker 2>back from Sciatica this year, he played basically every game

0:25:34.640 --> 0:25:37.680
<v Speaker 2>the rest of the way, finished around sixty and looked

0:25:37.720 --> 0:25:41.120
<v Speaker 2>fantastic in the postseason, like looked athletic, looked, Spry looked great.

0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:43.639
<v Speaker 2>So like, that's not to say that there's not injury

0:25:43.720 --> 0:25:45.920
<v Speaker 2>risk there. There's always injury risk, but I do feel

0:25:45.920 --> 0:25:47.840
<v Speaker 2>a little bit better about him. The Embiid piece is

0:25:47.920 --> 0:25:51.959
<v Speaker 2>completely valid, and it's probably the best case for trading

0:25:52.040 --> 0:25:56.240
<v Speaker 2>him because when I talk about like an Embiid Anthony

0:25:56.320 --> 0:26:02.240
<v Speaker 2>Davis swap, I think about the sixerses and how Brunson

0:26:02.480 --> 0:26:05.240
<v Speaker 2>just annihilated Embiad in pick and roll and in a

0:26:05.320 --> 0:26:07.800
<v Speaker 2>way that was like impossible for them to cover four,

0:26:08.560 --> 0:26:10.399
<v Speaker 2>And I think, well, Anthony Davis is just a much

0:26:10.440 --> 0:26:13.000
<v Speaker 2>better pick and roll defender. But what I keep coming

0:26:13.080 --> 0:26:17.040
<v Speaker 2>back to is Embiid when he's at his best, is

0:26:17.200 --> 0:26:19.960
<v Speaker 2>just quite simply one of the top three or four

0:26:20.040 --> 0:26:23.680
<v Speaker 2>offensive players in the league. And he unlocks so much

0:26:23.720 --> 0:26:25.760
<v Speaker 2>for them in terms of five out spacing, like I

0:26:25.960 --> 0:26:29.919
<v Speaker 2>envision everyone thinks, oh, the twenty twenty four Celtics they

0:26:29.920 --> 0:26:31.720
<v Speaker 2>had five shooters. It's like, well, Jaylen Brown was a

0:26:31.720 --> 0:26:34.359
<v Speaker 2>sketchy shooter, Jewe Holliday was a sketchy shooter. Like what

0:26:34.520 --> 0:26:37.119
<v Speaker 2>it was was five guys who could play on the

0:26:37.160 --> 0:26:41.040
<v Speaker 2>perimeter just all together, and that is something this group

0:26:41.080 --> 0:26:43.399
<v Speaker 2>could unlock a look with Lebron and Jaylen Brown and

0:26:43.480 --> 0:26:46.520
<v Speaker 2>VJ Edgecom and Tyres Max and Joel Embiid. Not to

0:26:46.600 --> 0:26:49.040
<v Speaker 2>mention you have a bad matchup on him. He can

0:26:49.119 --> 0:26:50.920
<v Speaker 2>win a series like he did against the Celtics. You

0:26:50.920 --> 0:26:52.120
<v Speaker 2>don't have a guy who can guard him. He could

0:26:52.119 --> 0:26:54.600
<v Speaker 2>just literally single handedly win a series. I think you

0:26:54.680 --> 0:26:57.200
<v Speaker 2>could try to be a better drop team in terms

0:26:57.240 --> 0:26:59.520
<v Speaker 2>of keeping him be close to the rim on defense

0:27:00.200 --> 0:27:02.880
<v Speaker 2>virtue of having as much athleticism as this team has

0:27:02.960 --> 0:27:05.320
<v Speaker 2>on the perimeter. Not to mention, Lebron is actually a

0:27:05.480 --> 0:27:07.520
<v Speaker 2>very good back line defender, a guy who can cover

0:27:07.680 --> 0:27:09.480
<v Speaker 2>for Embiid when he has to go out to the perimeter.

0:27:09.600 --> 0:27:12.880
<v Speaker 2>So there's a lot that I think works when Embid

0:27:13.000 --> 0:27:16.960
<v Speaker 2>is healthy. But your point about whether or not like, again,

0:27:17.000 --> 0:27:19.280
<v Speaker 2>he has that great first round series and then immediately

0:27:19.359 --> 0:27:21.200
<v Speaker 2>misses a game and is dealing with the hip issue

0:27:21.200 --> 0:27:22.720
<v Speaker 2>and is dealing with the foot issue, and it's like

0:27:23.080 --> 0:27:26.080
<v Speaker 2>if he can't survive. That's just the answer to your

0:27:26.160 --> 0:27:29.399
<v Speaker 2>question as to whether or not you move on from Embiid.

0:27:29.440 --> 0:27:33.040
<v Speaker 2>It just it simply dramatically increases your championship chances, just

0:27:33.119 --> 0:27:35.800
<v Speaker 2>simply because that player can be available and on the court.

0:27:36.320 --> 0:27:38.439
<v Speaker 2>I do think it's worth mentioning that Anthony Davis has

0:27:38.480 --> 0:27:41.119
<v Speaker 2>had similar problems though, Yes, and that's why I have

0:27:41.200 --> 0:27:43.399
<v Speaker 2>a hard time there. So what's your take on the

0:27:43.400 --> 0:27:46.160
<v Speaker 2>flipping Embiid for a d think, Well, I ad.

0:27:46.080 --> 0:27:49.640
<v Speaker 1>Wouldn't be what I would do, right, Like, I don't

0:27:49.840 --> 0:27:53.840
<v Speaker 1>really care that this there is sort of like diminishing returns,

0:27:53.880 --> 0:27:57.359
<v Speaker 1>where your whole starting lineup what their best thing is

0:27:57.880 --> 0:28:01.200
<v Speaker 1>is getting you a bucket. I mean that's four out

0:28:01.200 --> 0:28:03.320
<v Speaker 1>of the five guys in the starting lineup. I'm not

0:28:03.400 --> 0:28:06.160
<v Speaker 1>saying that that is the ultimate skill of but that's

0:28:06.200 --> 0:28:07.879
<v Speaker 1>how they think of it. Oh, if you if this

0:28:07.960 --> 0:28:10.119
<v Speaker 1>guy can't score, then this guy's going to score whatever.

0:28:10.640 --> 0:28:15.200
<v Speaker 1>I from a center standpoint, I would just want a

0:28:15.280 --> 0:28:19.360
<v Speaker 1>guy who is a great defensive center who plays every game.

0:28:20.000 --> 0:28:22.920
<v Speaker 1>That's it and maybe can rim run, you know, like

0:28:23.040 --> 0:28:28.200
<v Speaker 1>the the Tyson Chandler, Clint Capella, whatever sort of thing.

0:28:28.320 --> 0:28:31.760
<v Speaker 1>You know, we had talked about Mitchell Robinson. Now he's

0:28:31.840 --> 0:28:34.920
<v Speaker 1>got the same injury issues. You know, in the offseason

0:28:34.960 --> 0:28:36.919
<v Speaker 1>when we were talking about a backup center, we had

0:28:36.960 --> 0:28:41.120
<v Speaker 1>talked about that. You know, ironically it didn't work. But

0:28:41.240 --> 0:28:44.720
<v Speaker 1>the Horford, you know, was when they signed Horford, I

0:28:45.040 --> 0:28:47.720
<v Speaker 1>understood why they did it. It didn't work, and he

0:28:47.920 --> 0:28:51.600
<v Speaker 1>got mad because they signed Horford. But like, you know,

0:28:51.840 --> 0:28:55.000
<v Speaker 1>somebody who can play defense and play every game I

0:28:55.080 --> 0:28:56.520
<v Speaker 1>think would be what they want.

0:28:56.880 --> 0:29:01.440
<v Speaker 3>And I just like AD. I think em beads better

0:29:01.480 --> 0:29:01.840
<v Speaker 3>than AD.

0:29:02.160 --> 0:29:04.520
<v Speaker 1>Now, I think if I had a bet, who has

0:29:04.560 --> 0:29:07.160
<v Speaker 1>a better chance of holding up through the playoffs, even

0:29:07.200 --> 0:29:09.560
<v Speaker 1>though he said injury issues, I would still probably bet

0:29:09.640 --> 0:29:12.160
<v Speaker 1>on a D at this point. But but I don't

0:29:12.160 --> 0:29:13.520
<v Speaker 1>want to trade for a D and give him some

0:29:13.840 --> 0:29:18.240
<v Speaker 1>giant contract extension either, given his health. And it also

0:29:18.320 --> 0:29:22.040
<v Speaker 1>seemed like offensively that the Bubble year, the Bubble playoffs

0:29:22.880 --> 0:29:25.320
<v Speaker 1>out liary. You know, It's just he's a good offensive player,

0:29:25.360 --> 0:29:27.880
<v Speaker 1>but he's not can't shoot really and can't a range.

0:29:27.960 --> 0:29:32.960
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so yeah, it's it's very That's kind of my

0:29:33.040 --> 0:29:35.200
<v Speaker 2>whole The whole thing is, like, I think it'd be

0:29:35.320 --> 0:29:39.720
<v Speaker 2>easier to mimic some of what Ad does defensively by

0:29:39.840 --> 0:29:43.000
<v Speaker 2>committee by bringing in other players. Then it would be

0:29:43.680 --> 0:29:46.800
<v Speaker 2>to in any way, shape or form, bring what Joel

0:29:46.800 --> 0:29:49.440
<v Speaker 2>and Breed brings. Joel Embiid brings offensively to your point

0:29:49.440 --> 0:29:51.280
<v Speaker 2>about the diminishing returns, and I think this is really

0:29:51.360 --> 0:29:54.680
<v Speaker 2>going to be the story of the season because if

0:29:54.720 --> 0:29:57.200
<v Speaker 2>they play your turn, my turn, spread pick and roll,

0:29:57.480 --> 0:29:59.520
<v Speaker 2>whoever doesn't have the ball is standing around on the

0:29:59.560 --> 0:30:02.920
<v Speaker 2>perimeter spotting up that I think will lead to the

0:30:02.960 --> 0:30:05.360
<v Speaker 2>diminishing returns. That's why I actually think the twenty twenty

0:30:05.400 --> 0:30:08.280
<v Speaker 2>four Celtics are an interesting kind of comp for this team. Obviously,

0:30:08.760 --> 0:30:10.800
<v Speaker 2>Joel Embiid is not the driving kick player that Al

0:30:10.880 --> 0:30:13.400
<v Speaker 2>Horford was, but he's capable of some of that. We

0:30:13.480 --> 0:30:16.240
<v Speaker 2>saw some of that with Team USA, even particularly I

0:30:16.280 --> 0:30:18.160
<v Speaker 2>think about the Serbia game on the right wing when

0:30:18.200 --> 0:30:21.240
<v Speaker 2>he pump fakes and gets Yokich off his feet and

0:30:21.320 --> 0:30:23.480
<v Speaker 2>drive baseline and dunks on the baseline, I'm like, oh, like,

0:30:23.560 --> 0:30:26.600
<v Speaker 2>that's him playing driving kickball. I envision this team as

0:30:26.640 --> 0:30:30.480
<v Speaker 2>a driving kick team because they have so much slashing talent,

0:30:30.720 --> 0:30:34.560
<v Speaker 2>like Lebron can really slash, VJ can slash, Tyreese can slash,

0:30:34.640 --> 0:30:36.920
<v Speaker 2>Jalen Brown can slash. I envisioned them as a team

0:30:36.960 --> 0:30:40.720
<v Speaker 2>that can stack drives, like multiple attacks on the same possession,

0:30:41.080 --> 0:30:43.640
<v Speaker 2>getting the ball at the floor quickly, making sure that

0:30:43.720 --> 0:30:47.680
<v Speaker 2>everyone is involved by virtue of not getting into late

0:30:47.760 --> 0:30:50.160
<v Speaker 2>clock situations where you're running io and pick and roll,

0:30:50.200 --> 0:30:52.400
<v Speaker 2>and so I think that really is going to be

0:30:52.800 --> 0:30:56.400
<v Speaker 2>the job that Nick Nurse has with this group. For

0:30:56.480 --> 0:30:58.120
<v Speaker 2>our listeners, Can you guys give it? Can you give

0:30:58.160 --> 0:31:00.520
<v Speaker 2>us a rundown of just what having Nick Nurses your

0:31:00.560 --> 0:31:01.280
<v Speaker 2>coach has been like.

0:31:02.560 --> 0:31:08.080
<v Speaker 1>It's underwhelming. I guess the thing that he hasn't been

0:31:08.120 --> 0:31:11.680
<v Speaker 1>dealt a great hand. To be clear, I also don't

0:31:11.720 --> 0:31:15.080
<v Speaker 1>think he's dealt with it well. My perception is that

0:31:15.240 --> 0:31:21.200
<v Speaker 1>he gets gets knocked off track by being irritated about

0:31:21.240 --> 0:31:23.600
<v Speaker 1>the situation. You know, I think the embied thing has

0:31:23.640 --> 0:31:27.160
<v Speaker 1>been irritating for him. That's just my reading the room.

0:31:27.720 --> 0:31:30.680
<v Speaker 1>We did expect this whole you know, he has the

0:31:30.760 --> 0:31:33.760
<v Speaker 1>reputation of you know, mad scientist. We're going to see

0:31:33.760 --> 0:31:35.840
<v Speaker 1>all this weird stuff. We haven't seen very much weird

0:31:35.920 --> 0:31:38.320
<v Speaker 1>of any weird anything. To be honest with you, I

0:31:38.400 --> 0:31:41.320
<v Speaker 1>thought he did his best job his first season with

0:31:41.480 --> 0:31:44.920
<v Speaker 1>the Sixers, and that was when they had to end

0:31:45.000 --> 0:31:47.920
<v Speaker 1>up trading Harden. You know, it was the hard and

0:31:48.040 --> 0:31:50.680
<v Speaker 1>holdout year, and it was a weird year. You know,

0:31:50.960 --> 0:31:53.880
<v Speaker 1>they ended up losing in the first round to the Knicks.

0:31:53.960 --> 0:31:56.000
<v Speaker 1>But I thought that team was way better than I

0:31:56.000 --> 0:31:57.720
<v Speaker 1>thought it was going to be. I thought he was

0:31:57.800 --> 0:32:02.360
<v Speaker 1>a net negative two seasons ago when they ended up

0:32:02.400 --> 0:32:06.560
<v Speaker 1>tanking because Embiid wasn't around. He did not handle that

0:32:06.680 --> 0:32:10.680
<v Speaker 1>well and he certainly didn't bring out the best out

0:32:10.720 --> 0:32:13.400
<v Speaker 1>of anyone. I'm not blaming him for the season, but

0:32:13.520 --> 0:32:16.240
<v Speaker 1>he certainly didn't add very much to it. And I

0:32:16.280 --> 0:32:21.560
<v Speaker 1>thought last year I was frustrated. I was frustrated with

0:32:21.600 --> 0:32:24.640
<v Speaker 1>the Jared McCain thing. I think one thing that became

0:32:25.120 --> 0:32:27.520
<v Speaker 1>a national talking point that wasn't right was that they

0:32:27.520 --> 0:32:30.920
<v Speaker 1>didn't play Jared McCain. They played Jared McCain quite a bit.

0:32:31.720 --> 0:32:35.120
<v Speaker 1>He never seemed to have any purpose out there. He

0:32:35.320 --> 0:32:40.440
<v Speaker 1>was either you know, not trying to not trying to

0:32:40.520 --> 0:32:42.920
<v Speaker 1>not disrupt anything, and then he would just be out

0:32:42.960 --> 0:32:45.440
<v Speaker 1>there for six minutes, or he would realize he's only

0:32:45.480 --> 0:32:47.120
<v Speaker 1>there for six minutes, and he would jack up as

0:32:47.120 --> 0:32:50.520
<v Speaker 1>many shots as possible, and literally, you know, some of

0:32:50.600 --> 0:32:53.240
<v Speaker 1>that was coming back from injury. I certainly can see that.

0:32:53.680 --> 0:32:56.280
<v Speaker 1>But then he goes to Oklahoma City and they're like, oh,

0:32:56.320 --> 0:32:58.680
<v Speaker 1>here's what you do with Jared McCain, And I was

0:32:58.720 --> 0:33:01.440
<v Speaker 1>frustrated with him on that. So it seems like offensively,

0:33:01.560 --> 0:33:04.240
<v Speaker 1>there's not a lot of creativity there. It is give

0:33:04.280 --> 0:33:08.160
<v Speaker 1>it to your best players and let them play. And

0:33:08.560 --> 0:33:11.440
<v Speaker 1>defensively there's a lot of you know, scrambling trying to

0:33:12.280 --> 0:33:15.200
<v Speaker 1>create turnovers. But they've never really had a roster that

0:33:16.120 --> 0:33:18.120
<v Speaker 1>I fit that, you know totally.

0:33:18.680 --> 0:33:19.800
<v Speaker 3>So I don't know.

0:33:19.920 --> 0:33:21.760
<v Speaker 1>He's a clutch client, so I imagine he will get

0:33:21.800 --> 0:33:24.240
<v Speaker 1>the full year to figure it out. But I think

0:33:24.320 --> 0:33:32.720
<v Speaker 1>he's been underwhelming. I would say, yeah.

0:33:32.800 --> 0:33:34.720
<v Speaker 2>The offense stuff, I think is completely fair because the

0:33:34.800 --> 0:33:39.440
<v Speaker 2>Jared McCain piece, he gets into OKC and then immediately

0:33:39.560 --> 0:33:41.680
<v Speaker 2>he's just coming off of a million dribble handoffs with

0:33:42.160 --> 0:33:44.440
<v Speaker 2>Isaiah Hartenstein and he's running around like crazy and the

0:33:44.480 --> 0:33:46.880
<v Speaker 2>offense is kind of built around him as a chaos agent,

0:33:47.440 --> 0:33:50.120
<v Speaker 2>and the only time he's ever really standing is in

0:33:50.200 --> 0:33:52.800
<v Speaker 2>the units with Shae, and he's always on the opposite

0:33:52.840 --> 0:33:54.800
<v Speaker 2>wing because Shay draws so much nail help and he

0:33:54.840 --> 0:33:56.640
<v Speaker 2>gets all these wide open catch and shoot threes off

0:33:56.680 --> 0:33:58.400
<v Speaker 2>of the left wing. They just used him in a

0:33:58.480 --> 0:34:01.840
<v Speaker 2>really smart way, and I think that I I think

0:34:01.920 --> 0:34:04.280
<v Speaker 2>that is an area where I think Lebron can really

0:34:04.320 --> 0:34:09.720
<v Speaker 2>help this team. Frankly, I I believe that more often

0:34:09.840 --> 0:34:14.879
<v Speaker 2>than not, we focus on the coach for offense, which

0:34:15.600 --> 0:34:19.320
<v Speaker 2>I think is fair in a lot of cases, But ultimately,

0:34:19.520 --> 0:34:23.080
<v Speaker 2>the basketball players themselves are the ones that generate the

0:34:23.239 --> 0:34:26.120
<v Speaker 2>flow on the court. Because while there are sets that

0:34:26.239 --> 0:34:29.560
<v Speaker 2>are run, and while there are you know, obviously you know,

0:34:29.640 --> 0:34:32.200
<v Speaker 2>baseline out of bounds or sideline out of bounds opportunities

0:34:32.280 --> 0:34:34.120
<v Speaker 2>for a coach to really get into his bag, so

0:34:34.280 --> 0:34:36.640
<v Speaker 2>to speak, I don't care if you're running horn sets

0:34:36.680 --> 0:34:39.440
<v Speaker 2>or if you're just playing free flow, five out basketball.

0:34:40.080 --> 0:34:43.000
<v Speaker 2>The players on the court being smart and knowing when

0:34:43.080 --> 0:34:47.160
<v Speaker 2>to cut, when to to uh to kick versus you know,

0:34:47.480 --> 0:34:49.880
<v Speaker 2>jack a shot up the shoot pass decision making that

0:34:50.280 --> 0:34:52.600
<v Speaker 2>that kind of read and react basketball is very much

0:34:52.640 --> 0:34:56.200
<v Speaker 2>a product of in my opinion of the cumulative basketball

0:34:56.280 --> 0:34:58.320
<v Speaker 2>skill that's on the floor, and so I think honestly,

0:34:58.960 --> 0:35:01.120
<v Speaker 2>having another guy like Lebron on the floor that can

0:35:01.200 --> 0:35:02.880
<v Speaker 2>kind of be a coach on the floor will go

0:35:03.000 --> 0:35:05.600
<v Speaker 2>a long way towards helping this group. Now, the piece

0:35:05.640 --> 0:35:09.279
<v Speaker 2>that you mentioned that I think is really important is

0:35:09.480 --> 0:35:13.200
<v Speaker 2>Nick Nurse is famous, dating back to the Toronto days

0:35:13.880 --> 0:35:17.160
<v Speaker 2>for being big on defense to transition, big on trying

0:35:17.200 --> 0:35:20.560
<v Speaker 2>to force turnovers. Now, I know Jaylen Brown doesn't have

0:35:20.600 --> 0:35:22.840
<v Speaker 2>a reputation for forcing a ton of turnovers, but I

0:35:22.920 --> 0:35:26.360
<v Speaker 2>do think that's something he's very capable of. And Lebron

0:35:26.520 --> 0:35:29.359
<v Speaker 2>is excellent as a back line turnover forcer. He's great

0:35:29.400 --> 0:35:32.919
<v Speaker 2>at like playing center field when teams are in scramble mode.

0:35:33.239 --> 0:35:35.960
<v Speaker 2>So I actually think this roster has the potential to

0:35:36.080 --> 0:35:39.880
<v Speaker 2>fit Nick Nurse's defensive identity really well in terms of

0:35:40.040 --> 0:35:44.279
<v Speaker 2>Ford aggression. Let's try to force these teams to win

0:35:44.360 --> 0:35:46.880
<v Speaker 2>in four on threes With Lebron playing center field, We're

0:35:46.880 --> 0:35:49.319
<v Speaker 2>going to force a bunch of turnovers and we're going

0:35:49.360 --> 0:35:51.320
<v Speaker 2>to get out and transition off of that where this

0:35:51.400 --> 0:35:54.239
<v Speaker 2>team is gonna be awesome, like's they're gonna be fit

0:35:54.320 --> 0:35:56.280
<v Speaker 2>issues in the half court as they try to figure

0:35:56.360 --> 0:35:58.400
<v Speaker 2>things out. But when this team is in the open floor,

0:35:58.680 --> 0:36:00.759
<v Speaker 2>they're just gonna be huge pain the ass to guard.

0:36:00.800 --> 0:36:02.680
<v Speaker 2>And so I think the defensive what I kind of

0:36:02.800 --> 0:36:07.879
<v Speaker 2>envision is Nick Nurse and his defensive ideologies fitting really

0:36:07.960 --> 0:36:11.759
<v Speaker 2>well with this group. And then you then you count

0:36:11.800 --> 0:36:14.520
<v Speaker 2>on Lebron and just the cumulative talent to kind of

0:36:14.560 --> 0:36:17.839
<v Speaker 2>figure things out on offense, because again, like Nick Nurse

0:36:17.880 --> 0:36:20.719
<v Speaker 2>can put him in position you know, oh, we're gonna

0:36:20.760 --> 0:36:24.720
<v Speaker 2>run horn sets with embiid Jaylen Brown and tyras Maaxy

0:36:24.840 --> 0:36:28.080
<v Speaker 2>or embiid Lebron James and Tyrae s Maxey. But ultimately

0:36:28.120 --> 0:36:29.680
<v Speaker 2>it's on the players on the floor to kind of

0:36:29.719 --> 0:36:34.440
<v Speaker 2>figure out the flow from there. I understand there's this

0:36:34.600 --> 0:36:37.400
<v Speaker 2>idea that a coach can just come in and and

0:36:37.800 --> 0:36:39.920
<v Speaker 2>just draw up a bunch of sets and all of

0:36:39.960 --> 0:36:42.080
<v Speaker 2>a sudden, everyone's just gonna have a lot easier time

0:36:42.160 --> 0:36:45.239
<v Speaker 2>on offense. And there's certainly a part of that, but

0:36:45.360 --> 0:36:48.520
<v Speaker 2>I think the players ultimately carry the majority of that burden,

0:36:48.600 --> 0:36:50.600
<v Speaker 2>and that's where I think Lebron's gonna be the biggest help.

0:36:50.680 --> 0:36:54.360
<v Speaker 2>Lebron is just a he greases the wheels of offense

0:36:54.440 --> 0:36:56.719
<v Speaker 2>with everything that he does as a connective passer. I

0:36:56.800 --> 0:36:58.719
<v Speaker 2>heard you guys talking about this in the podcast. Like

0:36:59.280 --> 0:37:01.560
<v Speaker 2>you you have lamented that this team doesn't have a

0:37:01.600 --> 0:37:05.000
<v Speaker 2>lot of passing talent. I think that Lebron comes in

0:37:05.120 --> 0:37:08.360
<v Speaker 2>and immediately brings a great deal of additional passing talent

0:37:08.480 --> 0:37:10.600
<v Speaker 2>to just kind of help make things a lot easier.

0:37:10.760 --> 0:37:14.200
<v Speaker 2>What's your kind of overall impression of what this team's

0:37:14.200 --> 0:37:16.160
<v Speaker 2>going to look like in the half court offensively? Do

0:37:16.160 --> 0:37:17.680
<v Speaker 2>you have any concerns? Let me actually put it to

0:37:17.719 --> 0:37:20.680
<v Speaker 2>you this way. I think Tyrese Maxi might be the

0:37:20.719 --> 0:37:25.239
<v Speaker 2>best offensive player on this team, and I'm, at least

0:37:25.280 --> 0:37:28.640
<v Speaker 2>in the conversation, I'm worried that he is the guy

0:37:30.160 --> 0:37:33.359
<v Speaker 2>that is going to suffer from the amount of air

0:37:33.480 --> 0:37:35.880
<v Speaker 2>in the room that Lebron and Jalen Brown take up.

0:37:36.080 --> 0:37:38.319
<v Speaker 2>Do you have any concern that ty Resee will kind

0:37:38.320 --> 0:37:40.040
<v Speaker 2>of take a back seat to these guys.

0:37:40.960 --> 0:37:44.080
<v Speaker 1>So I think when he's playing and beat is still

0:37:44.120 --> 0:37:47.560
<v Speaker 1>the best offensive player on the team. Okay, but I

0:37:47.640 --> 0:37:52.160
<v Speaker 1>think there's absolutely a fair argument for Maxi. I think

0:37:53.160 --> 0:37:57.600
<v Speaker 1>in the short term we will likely see what you

0:37:57.719 --> 0:38:01.680
<v Speaker 1>have suggested as he I think it might just be

0:38:01.760 --> 0:38:04.759
<v Speaker 1>his personality, though he is getting older and becoming a

0:38:04.800 --> 0:38:08.400
<v Speaker 1>little more you know, forward in what he wants and

0:38:08.640 --> 0:38:11.640
<v Speaker 1>those sorts of things. But like, he is probably the

0:38:11.719 --> 0:38:15.560
<v Speaker 1>one who is most likely to concede to these guys

0:38:15.640 --> 0:38:17.879
<v Speaker 1>to give them the room to figure it out, rather

0:38:18.000 --> 0:38:19.480
<v Speaker 1>than complaining or.

0:38:20.960 --> 0:38:22.680
<v Speaker 3>Going off script or any of those things.

0:38:23.120 --> 0:38:26.440
<v Speaker 1>But I also think he is, of any of those players,

0:38:26.840 --> 0:38:30.320
<v Speaker 1>the most equipped to be a great offensive player with

0:38:30.600 --> 0:38:32.200
<v Speaker 1>ball dominant players on the team.

0:38:32.920 --> 0:38:36.239
<v Speaker 3>His you know, he had a very high usage.

0:38:35.960 --> 0:38:38.160
<v Speaker 1>Rate last year and he was playing point guard. He

0:38:38.320 --> 0:38:40.480
<v Speaker 1>is not a point guard, and he is not like

0:38:41.120 --> 0:38:43.279
<v Speaker 1>he is fine off the dribble, but he's really got

0:38:43.360 --> 0:38:45.640
<v Speaker 1>two moves. He's got a step back and he's got

0:38:45.760 --> 0:38:48.560
<v Speaker 1>to try to blow by you. His handle, it's not

0:38:48.640 --> 0:38:52.160
<v Speaker 1>a loose handle, but he doesn't like he doesn't handle

0:38:52.200 --> 0:38:55.800
<v Speaker 1>the ball like Tim Hardaway or Steph Curry. It's not

0:38:55.960 --> 0:38:58.920
<v Speaker 1>like some creator or even Filon. We're watching LeBaron Filon

0:38:59.000 --> 0:39:01.919
<v Speaker 1>like dribble pass people or even Hardened can dribble pass.

0:39:01.960 --> 0:39:03.480
<v Speaker 3>It's not really what Max he is.

0:39:04.120 --> 0:39:07.399
<v Speaker 1>And he is way better off the ball and him

0:39:07.520 --> 0:39:12.160
<v Speaker 1>sort of flying around and you know, defenders trying to

0:39:12.280 --> 0:39:15.319
<v Speaker 1>chase him around and him coming off of screens. He's

0:39:15.440 --> 0:39:18.000
<v Speaker 1>way better off the catch than he is off the dribble.

0:39:18.440 --> 0:39:22.080
<v Speaker 1>So I think long term, you know, I don't know

0:39:22.200 --> 0:39:25.359
<v Speaker 1>how effective Jalen Brown is going to be off ball.

0:39:25.560 --> 0:39:28.000
<v Speaker 1>I don't know how effective that Lebron's going to be

0:39:28.320 --> 0:39:31.120
<v Speaker 1>off ball. I don't know how effective Joel Embiid can

0:39:31.160 --> 0:39:33.840
<v Speaker 1>be off ball. But I'm pretty confident that Tyrese Maxey

0:39:34.280 --> 0:39:36.520
<v Speaker 1>can can do it and do it to a high level.

0:39:36.840 --> 0:39:39.319
<v Speaker 1>So I think short term we will probably see why

0:39:39.440 --> 0:39:42.160
<v Speaker 1>isn't Tyras Maxey scoring? Why isn't he being more aggressive?

0:39:42.600 --> 0:39:45.360
<v Speaker 1>Long term, if it works, I think he will be

0:39:45.560 --> 0:39:47.040
<v Speaker 1>elevated by this entire thing.

0:39:48.480 --> 0:39:51.799
<v Speaker 2>Did you have any red flags or sirens go off

0:39:51.840 --> 0:39:54.400
<v Speaker 2>in your head when you heard that the plan is

0:39:54.440 --> 0:39:55.919
<v Speaker 2>to use Lebron James as a point guard?

0:39:56.480 --> 0:39:57.040
<v Speaker 3>Well, so.

0:40:00.400 --> 0:40:05.279
<v Speaker 1>I thought it was notable, only because you know, I

0:40:05.360 --> 0:40:07.520
<v Speaker 1>heard Seam say, well, this is the first time since

0:40:07.600 --> 0:40:09.640
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty that he's been the point guard, and I

0:40:09.760 --> 0:40:13.399
<v Speaker 1>just think to myself, well, I'm still a position guy.

0:40:13.520 --> 0:40:16.160
<v Speaker 1>I'm still a point guard shooting guard. But I thought

0:40:16.200 --> 0:40:19.160
<v Speaker 1>to myself, well, okay, I haven't watched every one of

0:40:19.280 --> 0:40:23.160
<v Speaker 1>Lebron's games but he has the ball most of the time.

0:40:23.400 --> 0:40:26.279
<v Speaker 1>At least until Luca got there, he was a de

0:40:26.400 --> 0:40:29.080
<v Speaker 1>facto point guard, even if he was listed in the

0:40:29.160 --> 0:40:30.640
<v Speaker 1>lineup as a power forward.

0:40:31.200 --> 0:40:34.080
<v Speaker 3>So here's what I think, and maybe this is because

0:40:34.080 --> 0:40:35.520
<v Speaker 3>of a hater and la la la la.

0:40:35.960 --> 0:40:38.719
<v Speaker 1>The first thing I think is it's important that he

0:40:38.840 --> 0:40:42.200
<v Speaker 1>is saying that along with the I think Sham's also

0:40:42.280 --> 0:40:42.680
<v Speaker 1>said the.

0:40:44.480 --> 0:40:48.719
<v Speaker 3>Buzzword is compromise. Is this is his fake compromise.

0:40:49.320 --> 0:40:51.960
<v Speaker 1>This is his Hey, guys, I'm just going to get

0:40:52.000 --> 0:40:53.880
<v Speaker 1>you buckets and I'm going to be the point guard.

0:40:54.520 --> 0:40:56.920
<v Speaker 1>But please understand that the ball is going through me

0:40:57.040 --> 0:40:59.040
<v Speaker 1>every time, every time we come up to the court.

0:40:59.520 --> 0:41:02.479
<v Speaker 1>The other thing that I think is notable is calling

0:41:02.560 --> 0:41:04.800
<v Speaker 1>him a point guard and a point forward. I know,

0:41:04.960 --> 0:41:07.719
<v Speaker 1>in real life shouldn't mean anything, but I start thinking

0:41:07.760 --> 0:41:11.640
<v Speaker 1>about the starting lineup and where they are deficient, and boy,

0:41:11.800 --> 0:41:15.279
<v Speaker 1>if VJ. Edgecomb didn't exist, Dean Wade would be a

0:41:15.400 --> 0:41:19.000
<v Speaker 1>nice player to have on that team. He defends multiple positions,

0:41:19.320 --> 0:41:21.919
<v Speaker 1>he doesn't need the ball, he will shoot when he's open,

0:41:22.360 --> 0:41:24.759
<v Speaker 1>those sorts of things, and I just wonder. I don't

0:41:24.760 --> 0:41:28.120
<v Speaker 1>think it'll start this way, but I wonder if they

0:41:28.160 --> 0:41:30.680
<v Speaker 1>don't come out of a gate super strong. If whether

0:41:30.719 --> 0:41:33.000
<v Speaker 1>there's a conversation about putting Dean Wade in the starting

0:41:33.040 --> 0:41:35.200
<v Speaker 1>lineup and having edgecumb.

0:41:34.880 --> 0:41:35.520
<v Speaker 3>Come off the bench.

0:41:37.200 --> 0:41:39.200
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, I'm curious about that too, because I

0:41:39.360 --> 0:41:42.279
<v Speaker 2>think VJ, you know, you would pitch the idea of,

0:41:42.480 --> 0:41:44.680
<v Speaker 2>like you know, Clutch maybe trying to pressure a trade there.

0:41:44.760 --> 0:41:46.160
<v Speaker 2>I think VJ is going to be one of the

0:41:46.239 --> 0:41:48.760
<v Speaker 2>key players on this team in so many different ways

0:41:49.400 --> 0:41:52.680
<v Speaker 2>because for starters, if Embiid's going to be able to

0:41:52.800 --> 0:41:54.759
<v Speaker 2>stay close to the rim, you need to have someone

0:41:54.800 --> 0:41:56.400
<v Speaker 2>that can get over the top of screens. And I

0:41:56.440 --> 0:41:58.759
<v Speaker 2>actually think in the starting lineup he's their best shot

0:41:58.840 --> 0:42:01.120
<v Speaker 2>there in terms of like a small kind of like

0:42:01.239 --> 0:42:03.280
<v Speaker 2>low center of gravity, get over the top of screens.

0:42:03.320 --> 0:42:03.480
<v Speaker 3>Guy.

0:42:03.920 --> 0:42:06.399
<v Speaker 2>They're gonna need him to guard the other team's best

0:42:06.440 --> 0:42:09.239
<v Speaker 2>guard every single night, and to do that job well

0:42:09.640 --> 0:42:12.799
<v Speaker 2>while also having the offensive responsibility of being a cog

0:42:12.920 --> 0:42:15.560
<v Speaker 2>in that system. I think there's actually a like when

0:42:15.560 --> 0:42:18.960
<v Speaker 2>I actually look at like potential trade options there at

0:42:19.000 --> 0:42:21.160
<v Speaker 2>his salary slot, it's just gonna be hard to find

0:42:21.200 --> 0:42:26.040
<v Speaker 2>a player that brings the combination of athleticism both as

0:42:26.080 --> 0:42:28.279
<v Speaker 2>a perimeter defender, but also as a transition athlete and

0:42:28.280 --> 0:42:30.680
<v Speaker 2>as a slasher in that system. But that also brings

0:42:30.760 --> 0:42:32.560
<v Speaker 2>like he can, Like I thought he showed some you

0:42:32.880 --> 0:42:34.720
<v Speaker 2>guys talked about in the podcast, he was very streaky.

0:42:34.719 --> 0:42:36.520
<v Speaker 2>He definitely had It was like he'd have games where

0:42:36.520 --> 0:42:37.960
<v Speaker 2>he'd hit a bunch of shots, and he'd have games

0:42:37.960 --> 0:42:39.440
<v Speaker 2>where he'd go oh for four to over five. So

0:42:39.480 --> 0:42:41.680
<v Speaker 2>he's definitely streaky. That's a thing he's gonna have to

0:42:41.760 --> 0:42:44.200
<v Speaker 2>fix this year. But in terms of a combination of

0:42:44.600 --> 0:42:48.520
<v Speaker 2>dribbleshoot pass talent plus like defensive versatility at his position,

0:42:48.560 --> 0:42:51.160
<v Speaker 2>I think he's just really important. And I think if

0:42:51.200 --> 0:42:54.200
<v Speaker 2>you go to a Dean Wade, there could be a

0:42:54.440 --> 0:42:56.759
<v Speaker 2>like a foot speed trade off where if you have

0:42:57.000 --> 0:42:59.719
<v Speaker 2>a Dean Wade and a Lebron and an embiid on

0:42:59.760 --> 0:43:01.680
<v Speaker 2>the floor, all of a sudden, it goes from what

0:43:01.800 --> 0:43:04.439
<v Speaker 2>feels like a very fast team to a very slow team.

0:43:04.960 --> 0:43:06.840
<v Speaker 2>That said, I think each of these guys actually is

0:43:06.880 --> 0:43:08.760
<v Speaker 2>going to be very important, and that's what that's actually

0:43:08.760 --> 0:43:10.360
<v Speaker 2>what I want to do right now. We'll do a

0:43:10.400 --> 0:43:12.200
<v Speaker 2>little rapid fire segment and then we'll get you out

0:43:12.200 --> 0:43:15.239
<v Speaker 2>of here for the day. Okay, So I'm going to

0:43:15.320 --> 0:43:18.680
<v Speaker 2>go over a couple of specific Sixers role players and

0:43:18.719 --> 0:43:20.600
<v Speaker 2>I just want you to give your take on what

0:43:20.719 --> 0:43:24.040
<v Speaker 2>you've thought of them in their time on the team.

0:43:24.120 --> 0:43:26.919
<v Speaker 2>So let's start with VJ. What has been your first

0:43:26.960 --> 0:43:28.640
<v Speaker 2>impression of VJ? And how do you think he fits

0:43:28.680 --> 0:43:29.120
<v Speaker 2>in this team?

0:43:29.719 --> 0:43:31.600
<v Speaker 1>Just way better in the first year than I thought

0:43:31.640 --> 0:43:33.840
<v Speaker 1>he was going to be. You know, he was a

0:43:33.920 --> 0:43:37.640
<v Speaker 1>way better offensive player. The shooting, it takes him a

0:43:37.719 --> 0:43:40.080
<v Speaker 1>minute to get the shot up. You know, I don't

0:43:40.120 --> 0:43:43.160
<v Speaker 1>know if that's a playoffs three point shot yet or

0:43:43.200 --> 0:43:45.440
<v Speaker 1>a three point shot that's going to scare anyone. But

0:43:46.640 --> 0:43:51.680
<v Speaker 1>love the physical profile, love the guts he showed, Loved

0:43:51.800 --> 0:43:55.359
<v Speaker 1>his attitude and willing to work. And I do think

0:43:56.080 --> 0:43:59.320
<v Speaker 1>in the best case scenario, you know, you're going to

0:43:59.400 --> 0:44:02.240
<v Speaker 1>need somebody in a dirty work person in the starting lineup.

0:44:02.320 --> 0:44:04.320
<v Speaker 3>You know, every team has one of those people.

0:44:04.760 --> 0:44:07.120
<v Speaker 1>And it might not it might not be what we

0:44:07.239 --> 0:44:09.520
<v Speaker 1>projected for him in year two to be, you know,

0:44:09.640 --> 0:44:10.480
<v Speaker 1>the dirty work guy.

0:44:10.960 --> 0:44:13.600
<v Speaker 3>But but I think he could be that.

0:44:14.040 --> 0:44:16.759
<v Speaker 1>And who knows what sort of leap I've been taught

0:44:16.760 --> 0:44:18.760
<v Speaker 1>a lot of the lessons about the leaps that MAXI

0:44:18.840 --> 0:44:21.840
<v Speaker 1>has taken offensively. Not that I'm going to expect that

0:44:21.920 --> 0:44:23.759
<v Speaker 1>out of VJ, but who knows how much better he

0:44:23.800 --> 0:44:25.040
<v Speaker 1>could be in year two than your one.

0:44:26.080 --> 0:44:28.440
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think I think the potential with him is

0:44:28.520 --> 0:44:30.360
<v Speaker 2>off the charts. It's just so hard to tell this

0:44:30.520 --> 0:44:32.879
<v Speaker 2>early in his career. But I mean, the dirty work.

0:44:32.920 --> 0:44:34.840
<v Speaker 2>He literally has to be the dirty work guy. Like

0:44:35.080 --> 0:44:37.960
<v Speaker 2>It's just it's that simple. They need him and Jalen

0:44:38.000 --> 0:44:42.600
<v Speaker 2>Brown in particular to be like perimeter workhorses defensively so

0:44:42.800 --> 0:44:45.120
<v Speaker 2>that you can take advantage of and beat size at

0:44:45.120 --> 0:44:47.200
<v Speaker 2>the rim. And lebron as like a back line defender.

0:44:47.239 --> 0:44:49.320
<v Speaker 2>But that doesn't work if you're not getting over the

0:44:49.360 --> 0:44:51.040
<v Speaker 2>top of screens. If you're not getting over the top

0:44:51.080 --> 0:44:54.040
<v Speaker 2>of screens, they're dead on arrival. I actually like Tyrese too,

0:44:54.160 --> 0:44:55.480
<v Speaker 2>is like a hedge and recover guy. I think he

0:44:55.560 --> 0:44:57.759
<v Speaker 2>gives a real effort. I think he gives real effort there.

0:44:58.200 --> 0:45:01.280
<v Speaker 2>So let's get into some of the bench guys. Dominic

0:45:01.400 --> 0:45:04.400
<v Speaker 2>Barlow was kind of featured pretty substantially last year, is

0:45:04.400 --> 0:45:07.240
<v Speaker 2>like a small ball five. I think that he's actually

0:45:07.320 --> 0:45:09.200
<v Speaker 2>a little bit more skilled with the ball than he

0:45:09.280 --> 0:45:11.279
<v Speaker 2>gets credit for. Is sometimes he gets lumped in with

0:45:11.360 --> 0:45:13.600
<v Speaker 2>all the other big, skill less forwards, like the Jared

0:45:13.680 --> 0:45:15.360
<v Speaker 2>Vanderbilt types. But I don't see him as that. I

0:45:15.400 --> 0:45:16.759
<v Speaker 2>think he's got a few a little bit more in

0:45:16.840 --> 0:45:18.759
<v Speaker 2>terms of ball skills. But I think we're going to

0:45:18.800 --> 0:45:21.160
<v Speaker 2>see a lot of him this year as like the

0:45:21.280 --> 0:45:24.560
<v Speaker 2>fifth guy alongside the other four perimeter guys in a

0:45:24.640 --> 0:45:28.520
<v Speaker 2>switching Look, what has it been like rooting for Dominic

0:45:28.600 --> 0:45:29.759
<v Speaker 2>Barlow over the last couple years?

0:45:29.840 --> 0:45:30.600
<v Speaker 3>So I like him.

0:45:30.760 --> 0:45:32.840
<v Speaker 1>He was a revelation in the beginning of this season.

0:45:32.880 --> 0:45:37.520
<v Speaker 1>You could tell Nurse really really liked him. He and

0:45:37.680 --> 0:45:39.640
<v Speaker 1>I agree with you about his ball skills. Every once

0:45:39.640 --> 0:45:41.080
<v Speaker 1>in a while, I'll put the ball on the floor,

0:45:41.719 --> 0:45:44.880
<v Speaker 1>dribble to the rim, and oh he can he can

0:45:45.000 --> 0:45:47.000
<v Speaker 1>do this, and I'll throw a nifty little pass or

0:45:47.440 --> 0:45:47.920
<v Speaker 1>something like that.

0:45:48.080 --> 0:45:51.839
<v Speaker 3>He is way more skilled that way. The shot is atrocious.

0:45:52.239 --> 0:45:56.480
<v Speaker 1>Now. He blamed He blamed an elbow injury that he

0:45:56.520 --> 0:45:59.680
<v Speaker 1>had early on in the year. I was told that

0:45:59.800 --> 0:46:02.280
<v Speaker 1>he he worked a lot in his form in the offseason,

0:46:02.440 --> 0:46:06.120
<v Speaker 1>and then when it came when he struggled a little

0:46:06.120 --> 0:46:08.120
<v Speaker 1>bit during the regular season, he went back, I mean

0:46:08.160 --> 0:46:10.400
<v Speaker 1>it looks ugly, it doesn't go in it takes a

0:46:10.480 --> 0:46:12.920
<v Speaker 1>long time to get up. And also the thing that

0:46:13.040 --> 0:46:15.920
<v Speaker 1>you don't really feel when you're watching him, but then

0:46:15.960 --> 0:46:18.440
<v Speaker 1>you look at the box square every time. He's just

0:46:18.560 --> 0:46:22.360
<v Speaker 1>not He was not a good defensive rebounder, defensive rebound

0:46:22.440 --> 0:46:27.280
<v Speaker 1>rate like ten eleven something like that, and when Embiid

0:46:27.600 --> 0:46:28.840
<v Speaker 1>is there, not really.

0:46:28.680 --> 0:46:29.760
<v Speaker 3>A rebounder anymore.

0:46:30.280 --> 0:46:33.440
<v Speaker 1>I guess Barlow just felt like a regular season player

0:46:33.560 --> 0:46:36.600
<v Speaker 1>until he can learn, until he can shoot. If he

0:46:36.719 --> 0:46:39.759
<v Speaker 1>can shoot then and the small ball five, he's just

0:46:39.960 --> 0:46:44.480
<v Speaker 1>like he's pretty, He's like, he's not tall. I mean,

0:46:44.520 --> 0:46:47.640
<v Speaker 1>he's not big. He's not six ten, six eleven, seven feet.

0:46:48.320 --> 0:46:54.360
<v Speaker 1>He is not physically imposing, and I don't know, I

0:46:54.440 --> 0:46:56.400
<v Speaker 1>didn't like, I didn't love the lineups with him as

0:46:56.400 --> 0:46:58.640
<v Speaker 1>a small ball five. So if he can shoot, I

0:46:58.719 --> 0:47:01.600
<v Speaker 1>think he ends up being real important player for them.

0:47:01.840 --> 0:47:04.600
<v Speaker 1>If he can't, he just feels like a regular season

0:47:04.760 --> 0:47:05.400
<v Speaker 1>minutes filler.

0:47:06.760 --> 0:47:09.040
<v Speaker 2>I agree with you in terms of like key core

0:47:09.200 --> 0:47:12.320
<v Speaker 2>lineups and the game stuff. I do think having the

0:47:12.480 --> 0:47:15.240
<v Speaker 2>size profile of Jalen and Lebron makes it a little

0:47:15.280 --> 0:47:18.400
<v Speaker 2>more tenable because then you'd effectively be looking at Lebron

0:47:18.440 --> 0:47:20.920
<v Speaker 2>as the small ball five. Alongside him as the four,

0:47:20.960 --> 0:47:22.279
<v Speaker 2>if you want to to view it that way. But

0:47:22.600 --> 0:47:24.880
<v Speaker 2>I always say that to say, like I think it's

0:47:24.920 --> 0:47:26.399
<v Speaker 2>a look we're going to see a lot this year.

0:47:26.960 --> 0:47:30.960
<v Speaker 2>Like it just simply is Justin Edwards. I actually really

0:47:31.040 --> 0:47:32.560
<v Speaker 2>like Justin so I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

0:47:32.800 --> 0:47:33.680
<v Speaker 3>I like him a lot too.

0:47:33.840 --> 0:47:38.200
<v Speaker 1>He's this rare player that is somehow better in NBA

0:47:38.400 --> 0:47:41.640
<v Speaker 1>games than he is in Summer league games. You see

0:47:41.640 --> 0:47:43.600
<v Speaker 1>summer league games and you're expecting him to go out

0:47:43.640 --> 0:47:44.240
<v Speaker 1>and cook.

0:47:44.040 --> 0:47:45.480
<v Speaker 3>And it's just not really who he is.

0:47:46.160 --> 0:47:52.680
<v Speaker 1>He almost immediately just right place, right time, pretty decent defender,

0:47:53.040 --> 0:47:57.279
<v Speaker 1>moves his feet well, not great. If you squint a

0:47:57.320 --> 0:47:59.520
<v Speaker 1>little bit, you do see Covington, like you could see

0:47:59.560 --> 0:48:03.359
<v Speaker 1>that few for him. He's I think his best he's

0:48:03.520 --> 0:48:05.680
<v Speaker 1>and he's also a willing shooter. He's not a great shooter,

0:48:05.840 --> 0:48:08.880
<v Speaker 1>but he's a good enough shooter. And he's really like

0:48:09.040 --> 0:48:11.800
<v Speaker 1>him on the wing like that that three point shot

0:48:12.120 --> 0:48:15.000
<v Speaker 1>on the wing was was pretty was pretty money. Toward

0:48:15.040 --> 0:48:18.319
<v Speaker 1>the end of that season. It Nurse always says nice

0:48:18.360 --> 0:48:20.520
<v Speaker 1>things about him. He was in and out of the

0:48:20.640 --> 0:48:23.400
<v Speaker 1>rotation all year. Uh, He'll have a game where you

0:48:23.520 --> 0:48:26.920
<v Speaker 1>wonder why he's why he doesn't play twenty minutes a game,

0:48:27.320 --> 0:48:29.399
<v Speaker 1>and then he'll have a game where you wonder how

0:48:29.560 --> 0:48:32.560
<v Speaker 1>he's even in the NBA. Occasionally, I like him a

0:48:32.640 --> 0:48:34.960
<v Speaker 1>lot and I'm I'm glad he's and they're going to

0:48:35.040 --> 0:48:37.040
<v Speaker 1>need him because they're not they don't have a lot

0:48:37.120 --> 0:48:40.279
<v Speaker 1>of like he's their first wing off the bench. It's

0:48:40.360 --> 0:48:43.240
<v Speaker 1>him and KCP, I guess are the if you consider

0:48:43.280 --> 0:48:46.600
<v Speaker 1>them both wings, sou so them getting something out of

0:48:46.680 --> 0:48:47.200
<v Speaker 1>him would be good.

0:48:47.239 --> 0:48:49.000
<v Speaker 3>This year, Yeah, he was.

0:48:49.040 --> 0:48:51.120
<v Speaker 2>Relatively streaky, but like he was one of those guys

0:48:51.120 --> 0:48:52.920
<v Speaker 2>when I was watching six Ers games last year where

0:48:52.920 --> 0:48:54.560
<v Speaker 2>I'm like, holy shit, he said three threes in the

0:48:54.640 --> 0:48:56.160
<v Speaker 2>last minute and a half, like he would he would

0:48:56.160 --> 0:48:57.880
<v Speaker 2>get he would get hot, all right, last one and

0:48:57.880 --> 0:48:59.200
<v Speaker 2>then we'll get you out of here at den Bona.

0:48:59.320 --> 0:49:01.000
<v Speaker 2>Do you think you if you him as a reliable

0:49:01.000 --> 0:49:02.600
<v Speaker 2>guy who can play some minutes at the center. It

0:49:02.640 --> 0:49:05.040
<v Speaker 2>blocks a lot of shots, athletic kind of helter skelter,

0:49:05.160 --> 0:49:06.440
<v Speaker 2>kind of out of control. What's your take?

0:49:07.040 --> 0:49:08.839
<v Speaker 3>Too small and fouls too much? Love him?

0:49:08.960 --> 0:49:12.839
<v Speaker 1>Great guy, works real hard, probably at his best. If

0:49:12.880 --> 0:49:15.200
<v Speaker 1>he's a forward playing with a center, you know, I

0:49:15.280 --> 0:49:18.320
<v Speaker 1>saw an Instagram video the Love offseason Instagram videos of

0:49:18.400 --> 0:49:19.399
<v Speaker 1>him shooting corner three.

0:49:20.120 --> 0:49:23.160
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it doesn't look terrible. And he's a hard worker.

0:49:23.280 --> 0:49:25.160
<v Speaker 1>He is a good athlete. He does block shots, but

0:49:25.520 --> 0:49:28.600
<v Speaker 1>he is a classic backup center that he comes in

0:49:28.680 --> 0:49:30.880
<v Speaker 1>the game and you're like, how does he have three fouls?

0:49:31.000 --> 0:49:33.239
<v Speaker 1>He's only been on the floor for ninety seconds. And

0:49:33.520 --> 0:49:36.600
<v Speaker 1>I think part of it is he he hasn't figured

0:49:36.600 --> 0:49:38.200
<v Speaker 1>out when to try to block a shot and when not.

0:49:38.760 --> 0:49:42.120
<v Speaker 1>But also that issue is he's not He's not that big, right,

0:49:42.360 --> 0:49:44.920
<v Speaker 1>so he's not really center sized. He's like a six' eight,

0:49:45.200 --> 0:49:49.640
<v Speaker 1>guy so like, him but he's he's run into. That

0:49:50.000 --> 0:49:53.680
<v Speaker 1>he's had that same issue since since they drafted.

0:49:53.760 --> 0:49:56.240
<v Speaker 2>Him, yeah and that's WHY i think the center position

0:49:56.360 --> 0:49:58.480
<v Speaker 2>is really the key if they're looking for another. Upgrade

0:49:58.520 --> 0:50:00.400
<v Speaker 2>I've i've talked about how on my, Show, LIKE i

0:50:00.400 --> 0:50:02.160
<v Speaker 2>think they should be Calling charlotte and being, like, hey

0:50:02.200 --> 0:50:03.360
<v Speaker 2>are you sure you want to give a bunch of

0:50:03.400 --> 0:50:05.960
<v Speaker 2>money To Mussa diabat because we'll give you a minimum

0:50:06.040 --> 0:50:08.880
<v Speaker 2>contract and some draft. COMPENSATION i think he'd be the

0:50:08.960 --> 0:50:11.160
<v Speaker 2>perfect guy as like a switchy five to your point from,

0:50:11.200 --> 0:50:14.400
<v Speaker 2>earlier in the show that can play big minutes in that.

0:50:14.600 --> 0:50:16.640
<v Speaker 2>Universe but we got to get you out of, Here So,

0:50:16.719 --> 0:50:19.120
<v Speaker 2>spike can you just really quickly before we head out

0:50:19.120 --> 0:50:20.520
<v Speaker 2>for a, day can you just tell everybody where they

0:50:20.520 --> 0:50:21.080
<v Speaker 2>can find your.

0:50:21.000 --> 0:50:25.920
<v Speaker 1>Work Write Strinkie sanchez podcast and THE Wip Afternoon show with,

0:50:26.040 --> 0:50:28.000
<v Speaker 1>Myself Ike grease And Jack fritz every.

0:50:28.080 --> 0:50:32.479
<v Speaker 2>Day you can both both wherever you get your. Podcasts Thanks,

0:50:32.520 --> 0:50:34.040
<v Speaker 2>mike this was a lot of, fun. MAN i sincerely

0:50:34.080 --> 0:50:36.359
<v Speaker 2>appreciate you for joining us and giving us your time.

0:50:36.440 --> 0:50:38.480
<v Speaker 2>Today that's all we have for today is Always we

0:50:38.560 --> 0:50:41.040
<v Speaker 2>sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the.

0:50:41.040 --> 0:50:42.600
<v Speaker 2>Show we hope you all have a wonderful weekend and

0:50:42.640 --> 0:50:45.040
<v Speaker 2>we will see you On monday for our summer player.

0:50:45.160 --> 0:50:45.719
<v Speaker 2>Rankings