First, Doug dives into LeBron ending his painfully manufactured retirement drama at the ESPY’s.
Then, from the inaugural NBA Con in Las Vegas, Doug is joined by ESPN reporter Israel Gutierrez to discuss if Dame Lillard to the Heat is as inevitable as it seems, LeBron’s Miami legacy, the media overreaction to Victor Wembanyama’s Summer League debut, and if the NBA’s Euro-style midseason tournament will resonate with fans.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey, what a welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlie. This is
All Ball, man. I hope you've been enjoying some of
these that we were able to capture live when we
were in Las Vegas at NBA con. Remember to go
through your All Ball list and be like, man, I
missed this one. I missed that one. There's a really
good it's really good stuff. We'll get to this this
(00:27):
podcast guest in a moment, but let me start with
the Lebron James man. That was weird where he gets
an award at the SPIS for the best record breaking performance.
I just it just sounds like a fake award and
that's not his fault. I mean, that's that's the SPS
kind of in a nutshell, right. Then he goes into
(00:49):
this kind of soliloquy about how he doesn't want to
achieve the game and that's why he's not retiring and
I didn't did anybody think he was retiring? And it's
just it's an odd thing, and I think one of
the things that I try to be cautious of. And
I'm not going to sit here and tell you that
I've been perfect in my life, but I try to
be cautious of, and I think star athletes for the
(01:10):
most part try to be cautious of as well, which
is like, how can you grow in status and stature
and still just be a regular dude? Right, Like that's
the best part of Tim Duncan. People make fun of
him dressing like a dork, but like he's the same
guy before he won championships, after he won championships, Like
he's super laid back, Like that's just who he is.
(01:31):
And I truly think it's fascinating to watch Lebron or
listen to Lebron and he'll say these things about you know,
want to be viewed as like a great dad and
a great mentor and a great leader. And I think
all those things are true. Like I don't think he's
a bad person. He's not doing evil things or wrong
to anybody else. But the ego to in a room
(01:53):
full of the greatest athletes in our country say hey, guys,
guess what, Like I'm not retiring and no one thought
you were retiring was just such a similar what cry
for attention? So what if I like to anybody else,
I like that to be so when I listened to it,
I just I don't know if I should. I feel
kind of just strange with Lebron because when you're saying
(02:15):
things that don't fit the normal context of a conversation
because you're a SuperStar's he's lost that ability to be
a regular human being, Like you had people who gotten
went on TV and said negative things about him when
he would say taco Tuesday. But that's kind of a
dad thing. I kind of think that's a normal thing.
(02:38):
I don't see the negative in that that so many
others want to see. So when he says taco Tuesday,
I'm like, Okay, maybe Lebrun is a normal guy. And
in dealing with his kids, especially with watching them, he's
great at watching them at high school games. You know,
yes he sits up front, and yes he's caused ust
(02:59):
he's Lebrons. Like, what do you want him to do?
I guess he'd go hide out and stands. Jordan used
to hide out kind of the stands. But you're not
really hiding, not just because you're Lebron, you're also six
foot seven, six foot eight, two hundred and six pounds.
So I don't think that he's a bad human being.
But when you look back at the timing of the
(03:20):
man maybe I should retire, and oh, yeah, it's not.
It wasn't really that out of place. People made it
out like I can't believe you said it. He did
to take away the shine from the Denver Nuggets. I
didn't think that's what's about. But I do believe that
because the entire NBA world has revolved around Lebron in
the media for as long as we can remember, it's
(03:42):
not crazy for us to know that Lebron thinks the
world still revolves all around Lebron. You wouldn't say these
things otherwise, you wouldn't act this way otherwise. So then
in front of you know, what was it, three hundred
and fifty of the best athletes in the world. And remember,
all of these athletes have grown up or been grown
(04:04):
ups during Lebron's twenty years of dominance in the NBA.
That's what's unique is you take a snapshot of that
room and there's not one human being that can't recall
a Lebron game moment when loss, whereas if Michael Jordan
is on the exact same stage. Let's be honest, there's
a good portion of especially the younger athletes, they never
(04:27):
saw him play live so everyone already respects Lebron and
he was already getting great gratitude and oh yeah, by
the way, if you really want to get down to it,
I mean, for me, Aaron Judge's accomplishment was greater in
a record breaking season than Lebron's accomplishment in a record
breaking season. That's just reality because he broke Roger Merris's record.
And please don't start with me with the Barry Bonds.
(04:49):
That's just silly. If you cheated on the SAT, would
the SAT score stand when you apply to college? Of
course not so why would it stand that you cheated
to hit more home runs than any human being to
ever play baseball? You wouldn't. So for me, I would
personally say that Aaron Judge's accomplishment is greater. But instead
(05:12):
of talking about the accomplishment, talking about doing it as
a Laker, doing as a Laker with Kareem who was
also a Laker standing by, or even hey, you know,
the greatest gift I think I ever bring to the
NBA is not scoring. It's actually I like to pass
and I like to win. When people think of my career,
I don't want you to thank me as the all
time scoring leader. I want you to think of me
(05:33):
as somebody who took great joy in the success of others.
All of these things are great things to be said,
but instead it was just I love the game. I
don't want to cheat the game. So guess what, y'all
you get to watch me play more. Let's just it
was weird, a little off putting. And remember, like a
lot of these guys say things that are a little
(05:53):
off putting. If we're being totally fair and candid. You know,
Michael Jordan called the guy up who beat him out
in ice school at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony,
kind of felt like he humiliated him one more time.
Why because he's Michael Jordan. That's very much on brand.
And in regards to the Lakers, I do find it
(06:14):
interesting that you have people who and whether it's like
a knee jerk, we want to defend and support Lebron.
I think Rob Plinkett did a very good job, but
Rob Blinkt can do a very good job. And they're
not a championship team, and you sit there and say, well,
they got to the Western Conference finals. Okay, Well I
could point out that the Grizzlies, you know, didn't have
their starting center, or they're small ball five as well. Right,
(06:38):
they were a different team and the Lakers beat him
up inside? Did they beat him up inside? If they
have those two now? Probably not. Does that mean that
the Grizzlies win the series? I think it does, but
I don't know that for a fact. But you fast
forward a year and let's see what happens with jaw
and if he can stay out of trouble. But you
would think that the Grizzlies will be better next year.
(06:58):
You would think that the Pelicans, if Zion's healthy, are
better next year. The Clippers were a better basketball team.
They always beat the Lakers, they just aren't healthy. In
the playoffs, you would think they'd be better. You know,
Phoenix lost to Denver, so to the Lakers. Phoenix didn't
have Chris Paul. I think they're better. But regardless, what
did they add? Well, he had Gabe Vincent, who might
(07:19):
be a starter, might not, but he's not a game changer.
But the bigger part that we have to remember is
Lebron James not getting younger. So the likelihood that he
and Anthony Davis are one both healthy, I mean, what's
the likely to that not a lot. And two that
he's as good or better next year, which you know,
(07:39):
he's been able to keep father time at Bay for
a long time. Can't he do it for another year.
He's been hurt every other year and was hurt this
past year with the Lakers. So the idea that he's
going to be healthy, they're going to be better despite
the fact they're a year older and you brought back
D'ansel Russell. They couldn't play Danzel Russell in the way
(08:00):
from conference finals. Austin Reeves is the one guy who
was kept getting better and better and better. But the
idea that Austin Reeves goes from you know, an undrafted
bench player, guy who played well when Lebron was out,
to what Darvin Ham said he'd be an All Star.
I think we may need to take a breath there
(08:21):
just a little bit. He's a tremendous, tremendous pickup and
they had to resign him, and he's an improving player.
He has versatility, he can shoot, he's got positional versatility
with his size. He's tough, nothing not to like. But
I mean he's not Devin Booker, you know, He's just
(08:42):
not I mean kind of go through the all stars
in the West and Man's that's a tough butt. My
point is you can say I like what Blinka did,
I like what the roster looks like, solid team and
ever since they trade away Russell Westbrook, they look like
an organization that was much more put together. And Darvinham
did an excellent job coaching them. Played to their tantrums,
(09:05):
maybe slightly above it, but a championship team, you're depending
upon Lebron to play at his peak level when he's
passed his peak. You're depending upon Lebron and Anthony Davis
to be healthy, and there just isn't a guy who
makes them demonstanly better. Yes, they got to the Western
Conference Finals, they also got swept, so you're not that close.
(09:26):
You may think you're that close and you sit there
and go, yeah, yeah you are. Go and look at
other teams that have had kind of a random finals
Western Conference Finals appearance. Happened to Portland, happened to Atlanta Hawks,
It's happened to other teams. They make a little bit
of a run. You kid yourself and think you're really good,
when the truth is it's more about an injury along
the way. A really good draw or another team that
(09:46):
underachieved beginning of Lebron. Joining me in Las Vegas live
here on the All Ball Podcast is Israe Gutierres. Whose
whether it's written word, which is how he started, the
spoken word, which is what he's known for. Israel gutiras well.
He's seen it all with the Miami Heat, including the
(10:07):
Dwayne Wade Championship before Lebron even got here, back when
they had Shaquille O'Neal. He joins me on the All
Ball Podcast as we discuss all things NBA, including Lebron.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live. Let's welcome in is He Gutierras.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Of course you see here all over ESPN, ESPN personality
and a bunch of things. I want to get to
with you. You've been in Miami forever and I just
I saw a clip I think it was on social
media either yesterday the day before, which is the anniversary
of lebron announcement, right the decision, and it's I don't know,
(10:54):
it's fascinating to me that Look, obviously Shaq went to
Miami that kind of started this ball role. But it
is interesting on how it's become. It's kind of become
a basketball sort of town maybe since Lebron's decision. That
is that fair because because when he and I'm sorry
to catch out before I even let you answer, but
(11:14):
I did, Jim Rome is burning the day of the
announcement and the big line that the writers came up
with was like Miami's basketball fan very excited. We showed
it's like some sports bar and they're like six dudes
high fiving, right and we're like, did you go somewhere
they don't care? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Well, I will say, and first of all, I've been
in Miami since I was two years old, so a
long time, and it wasn't a basketball town. Even when
Alonzo and Tim Hardaway were there getting to a conference
finals and getting blown out by Michael Jordan. It wasn't
really a basketball town. When Dwayne Wade and Shack won
a championship like it legitimized it. It's sort of set
a foundation. And I would say what Lebron those four
(11:53):
years did was really sort of developed the fan base. Okay,
Young fans, a little bit of the older fans really
just develop it. And the way it was going to
become a basketball town was if that somehow.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Continued after Lebron.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
And so now with Jimmy Butler taking this team surprisingly
to two finals in whatever that was four years now,
it's become that. So now you've got a full generation
of fans who maybe at eight, nine, ten years old,
wats Lebron.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
They're graduating high school.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Now they're in the prime of their NBA fandom, and
Miami is their team, and Miami is relevant at the
highest level again, so way more actually than it was then.
You got a lot of sophisticated basketball fans in Miami,
and I would say it's a basketball town more than
a football town now. And that's even with the Dolphins
having you know, a lot a little bit of successfully.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Well, I think that's that's the one question though, is
what happens if the Dolphins get really good? Right, because
there's the old if you track like Cleveland sports, all right,
Cleveland sports people will tell you that that the Indians
drew really well when they didn't have the Browns, and
then as long as the Browns are bad, they draw well.
The second. The Browns are good like and every town
(13:05):
is different, but most cities only have the ability to
prioritize like one professional sports team.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
And then it's going to be king if they're back
up top. Right, But the U has been down as well.
That takes a little bit something as well. Right, So
U's been down. The Dolphins have been down, although decent recently. Okay,
Damian Lillard, is it a done deal? I mean I
believe it to be a done deal. I've heard things
third hand this weekend that maybe are closing things down
(13:34):
on that deal.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Not sure yet.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
This to me is almost the most obvious of these situations, right,
I mean we've seen this so many times with the
Superstars after seven years, what have you? Hey, I'm either
going to go somewhere or you're gonna trade me. And
with Anthony Davis, you know, we waited and it happened eventually.
This one is Damian Lillard has been more loyal than
(13:57):
any of those guys were. You know, he gave them
three or four extra years and he has been playing
along the entire time. He has been following the script,
if you will, to this experience.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
And even his agent.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Coming out and basically apologizing for the Will Smith song
on his IG live. Like it's mind blowing to me,
Like you shouldn't even have to address that. But they're
doing it because they're respecting Portland in this process and
they're doing everything the way they're supposed to be doing it,
and Portland is kind of stuck in this situation.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
And I know, like people kind of laugh when.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
They think, Oh, is Portland really going to pay down
the road for not doing right by Damian Lillard.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, they are, there are in different ways.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
It's not going to be something as obvious and heavy
handed like everybody. You know, nobody's ever going to sign
there again, but it's going to affect them as a
franchise and they're going to be way better off doing
this the right way for Dame and just taking in
a bunch of young talent and a bunch of draft
picks and doing the Oklahoma City thing because they're never
going to get the big free agent and they have
to draft themselves at homegrown super smill.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I don't think that's that. I don't think anyone's arguing that, right.
It's the what does Miami actually have to trade?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
What does anybody else have to trade, Well, who has
the better offer? Somebody tell me where the better offer is,
because the only thing I've heard was somebody saying, oh,
an offer built around Tyrese Maxi, a budding superstar, is
better than anything Miami has to offer. Compare those resumes
Tyler Hero tyres Maxie pretty dig similar. In fact, Tyler's
probably a little bit more accomplished. So everybody knocking Tyler
(15:22):
in this is what's creating this as a bad deal.
When you look at the draft picks, when you look
at the young talent, they don't have to have a
perfect mixed doug.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
They're not trying to win it next year.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
They're trying to have guys that they can maybe if
they are sort of duplicating in talent, trade one of
those guys away and get back something really good.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
They're not trying to be competitors next year.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
So this idea that they need this whole you know,
haul back of star, No, they need a guy that
they can justify. Tyler's that guy, and they need draft picks,
and they've got draft picks.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
In this deal. Lebron, It's interesting. I grew up in
Los Angeles, I moved away, moved back and so I've
been there, I think eight of the last eleven years. Right,
he plays for the Lakers. This was the first year
that he kind of felt like a Laker. But even then,
(16:09):
it's super weird. Yeah, I feel like I feel like
he's going to go down not only as you know,
obviously an all time great. We can have the the
goat debate or whatever, but he's going to go down
as a Miami member of the Miami Heat.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
It feels like that because they want you to another one,
you're saying, yeah, they're not one. Okay, So here's the
way I see this. You remember how David Stern sort
of created this whole idea of hey, let's not push
the team, let's promote the individual. Course, right, We've been
writing that this entire time. But yet somehow we still
think that the individual has to be tied to a
singular team.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
He doesn't. Lebron James will go down.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
As the whatever you say, top two greatest basketball players
of all time. He doesn't have to have a team
attached to him. He's Lebron freaking James. Like he did
it for Miami, he did for Cleveland, LA. And it's
an incredibly unique path let's just took that next.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
It is weird though. It is weird though that like,
like Laker fans, the first time they really embraced him
was when Dylan Brooks talked trash out of this year,
Like that was the first time they're like, no, Lebron's
our guy.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
That's just on Lakers fans really, Like, it's just on
you know, they've had a long history. They have, you
know a lot of people that they can be fans
of that they can call their own, that they can
you know, put posters up and if they have you know,
levels for that, if they have you know, entry points,
so that then that's fine. Lebron maybe just just hit
it this year, but that's that's to them. So the
rest of the country, he's been a Laker.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Yeah, Yeah, I think it's hard because it was such
a Kobe town and during peak Kobe, post Jack Kobe,
he was the best player, and though they never matched
up against each other, there's some form of rivalry there,
and it feels like cheating on Kobe to cheer for Lebron.
(17:53):
It just does. It feels kind of icky. You know.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It's like, I mean, look, I even for people in Miami,
it was tough for them to cheer for Lebron when
he left for Cleveland, because yeah, obviously he did the
town a huge favor when a couple of championships made
them into a basketball town, but it still felt kind
of weird after a few years. After some time, you're
just like, all right, why would I not appreciate that?
Like why am I so tied to the Miami Heat laundry?
(18:17):
If you know Lebron James is doing that, I can
appreciate that. And I think if you are a Los
Angeles Lakers fan, like what's the alternative just to kind
of sit back and not enjoy what you're watching? Just
embrace it, just like the guys playing on your team
might be the greatest player of all time.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Right, And then if you look at you know, in
Laker history, you know, Shaq wasn't homegrown, Kareem wasn't homegrown. No,
Wilt wasn't homegrown. And so there is in fact a
history there of getting somebody else's best player and then
winning a title and their putting their number up up
into the rafters. Victor Webbin Yama, We've seen him once,
(18:52):
We'll see him tonight. This is going to be really
interesting because he has gone to the perfect place, right,
Like Lebron went to the perfect place because he's from there. Yep,
you know, this guy's gone to the perfect place because
you have a coach who's coached foreign players to incredible success,
a coach who has kind of complete control of the organization. Right,
(19:14):
they're not running him off anytime soon. They've always been
into whether it's resting players or developing players. There's no expectations.
And I mean, like, look, he wasn't particularly good the
other night. He'll have plenty of nights like that. But
the best place to have that is San Antonio, where
we only watch games in the highlights.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Yeah, and I do think he'll drift into the background
a little bit and we'll only show those highlights when
he has a huge game. I think it's a good place.
But I think regardless, I think we need to just
pull back a little bit and recognize that this whole
label of being like the greatest prospect of all of sports,
it's over the top.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
It's ridiculously over the time. Okay, so where look, I
work there, You work there. Now here's my hypothesis. Okay,
here's my hypothesis. I don't blame ESPN, but I do
blame ESPN, and I don't blame because there's just no
buzz about the draft anymore. Nobody knows who any of
these guys are, right, you know, because you have several
(20:11):
playing G League at night. Nobody watches that. You have
guys playing overtime elite nobody, you know, mainstream, they don't
watch that. You have some foreign players. Nobody watches that.
So what used to be a huge buzz and a
huge night is now eh. And so you're almost hyper
sensitized to give much more bolder. Hotter takes and he
(20:33):
is seven three and a half, right, right, But he's like,
there's nothing bigger than Lebron.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Here's the part that just bothers me about it is
it's not just based on what he's done, it's just
based on his size and what he can do.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Like when Lebron was.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
This prospect that we had on national TV as a
sixteen year old, he was, you know, dominating in high school.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
And he looked like a guy that you said, okay.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
You can put him in the NBA with Wembin Yama,
it still felt like, wow, super potent but needs to
get way stronger, and we can't make comparisons to Kevin
Durant just because he's tall, like he's got to make shots.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I'll have him. He's tall, skinny and black, and you're like, okay,
well he's Kevin Rant like you.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
No, no, and so like you see the clip with
him in an empty gym missing those shots, and you're
just like, all right, let's let's get let's refine these skills.
Let's let him evolve to the player that he's going
to be, because he is nowhere near that, right man.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Well, I'll also point out that I don't think people understand.
I know, Luca didn't go number one overall. Luca was nineteen.
He was the best player in Europe. He won a
European Championship, and he hit the game winning shot to
win the European Championship. He was, at least internationally, way
way more well regarded than Victor webin Yama. Victor webbin
Yama is the oh my god, he's seven to three
(21:46):
and a half. He you know, he looks like an
X man, right, so he's got to be a great
basketball player. All right, here's here's the last one. You have,
Like a James Harden, who immensely talented guy, but like, look,
he has a rep of kind of like an unlikable superstar.
(22:07):
Not as a person, that's the weird thing, right, No,
just as a player like h When he was with Houston,
he was great, But man, I just hate the way
he plays. What does some of these guys' legacies where
they're they're made a ton of money, they have a
ton of respect as players. Kyrie's another guy who people
just struggle to like personally. What do you think they
(22:31):
look like five ten years from now?
Speaker 3 (22:33):
It's tough because I already think there's been a drop
off with James, Like look at the Houston footage and
look at him in Philly. It's just a little slower
and just not not as explosive getting to the rim.
And so I think it becomes a self awareness thing
at some point, and I think opting into this.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Deal was maybe a bit of self awareness.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Because he realized he wasn't going to get more than
that over long term. And I think he is essentially
settling in probably now, into.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
What he really has to be going forward, because I.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Think last year, last Playoffs was kind of an eye
opener for him, Like, yeah, he can have a forty
point game in an important round of the playoffs, and
maybe even two of them, but he can't do that consistently,
and he can't be what Joelle needs that much that regularly,
and so I think he's going to probably one more
year at this big money and then just sort of
settle into where he can be, you know, let's say
(23:20):
the third guy, the fourth guy, whatever it takes, whether
it be next to Kadi.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
And Phoenix or something like that.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I think he will eventually have that level of self
awareness and be, you know, just the setup guy who
doesn't try to.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Do too much. I think the NBA con is great.
I like the cup idea. I'm not sure I like
the timing of it right coinciding with playoff foot playoff
college football and the late season in the NFL, but
I like the idea of it. I think the big
question is, like, I'm mutching Steph play in the playoffs,
and I look down. He's thirty five. Yeah, lebron all right,
(23:52):
so we got probably two years, right, gonna play a
year with Bronni, So that's his deal. So they both
probably have two or three years left, and people want
to make the ratings about a lot of things. It's
not about it's really about Lebron and Steph. One they
got time zone issues playing in the Pacific time zone,
and two when they're not playing, there's just a drop off.
(24:14):
So you have these two factors or three factors going in. One,
you have aging superstars. You don't have anybody that has
an American born player that's that level of likability. And
then the best players in your league, a lot of
them are foreign born, which it doesn't make you like.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
To say for the intrigue for the for the NBA
playoff tournament, or just in jet our NBA in game
turn just the.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
NBA in general. Right, Like, look at the ratings this year.
Jokich is an incredible player. And granted some of it's
that he's in Denver and they haven't won anything, but
Jokich can win three or four titles. I don't necessarily
know if it's going to move the meter with mainstream America.
Whereas Steph in it, Lebron in it, it's a whole
different vibe. And we're like two years away from neither
of them being in this game. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
I do think though that there are the next wave
and I think people are paying close enough attention, Like
I think it really it really hurts to have Zion
not around as often. It really hurts to have John
Moran in this situation because those two really sort of
filled a gap, if you will. I personally think that
this particular draft class because it's not just about Victor.
I think the Thompsons are spectacular. I think Scoot's gonna
(25:21):
be really good. I think Brandon Miller is going to
be solid. I think it's going to be really good
draft class with probably three or four franchise type players
coming out of it, and you know, two of them
the top ten twins being American born.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I think there's a lot there.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
I think the league still has a lot and I
think when Lebron, I think all eyes alone Lebron, because
you're trying to bring in a little bit more of
the casuals, a little bit more of the you know,
the non necessarily NBA fans, especially at this point of
his career with the nostalgia and everything else.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
But I just think there's a lot there.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
I think Victor Webb Begnam is going to bring a
lot of attention, and you know this in season tournament
where you know, I was critical of the play, and
then eventually, even though it might not be exactly what
you know, it might.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Not solve take looking forever.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
It was just good for business, Like it was set
up for some few games and play where the.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
End of the regular season is interesting to get in
or jockey for position. And I think the.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Yeah, if you you set up you know, a semi
final in Vegas where you know a guy on a
minimum might be getting an extra five hundred k like that,
that brings a little juice to the game. And if
there's a little juice with the players, you're gonna see
it on the floor and the fans are going to
appreciate it. So I think you know timing of it, like, yeah,
you're competing against everything else, but you were competing against
that stuff with regular regular season games, So why not
prop them up a little bit?
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Make that makes it? That makes a whole whole lot
of sense. Last thing you've gotten to do, Like you
get to cover this thing forever. Who's the best dude?
Like just like that's a really good however question, who's
a really good dude?
Speaker 3 (26:48):
I mean, the most experiences I've had, like Dwayne Wade
is always going to be my guy, like from day
one till you know, even after he retired and didn't
even more impactful things. Uh, he's genuine. He's super nice,
great guy. Shane Battier is one of the most you know,
straightforward and nice guys in the league. And I mean
(27:08):
I've been a Ray Allen fan, as you know when
we used to have the all Interview teams.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Anybody else know about the.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
All Interview teams back then, I used to have all
interview teams and he was always my vote. And so
I mean he was a MIT Milwaukee. So yeah, I'll
say those three and yeah, they all play.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
For the heat. How about that? Yeah, they did all
is he good Tierras? Of course you see him on ESPN. MA,
you're great man. I appreciate you. I appreciate that. Ami,
Thanks to Israel good Tierras. That was awesome. He's a great,
great dude. I've done him for a long time and
the honesty with which he shares his information and his
passion for it is unmatched. Loved having Israel good Tierras
(27:43):
with me. Thanks so much for listening. Remember the Doug
Gotleib Show is daily three to five Eastern time, and
of course We have the in the bonus podcast, which
is the third hour, and that one No Holds Barred.
I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is all ball, the bomb,
Hey, what a welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlie. This is
All Ball, man. I hope you've been enjoying some of
these that we were able to capture live when we
were in Las Vegas at NBA con. Remember to go
through your All Ball list and be like, man, I
missed this one. I missed that one. There's a really
good it's really good stuff. We'll get to this this
(00:27):
podcast guest in a moment, but let me start with
the Lebron James man. That was weird where he gets
an award at the SPIS for the best record breaking performance.
I just it just sounds like a fake award and
that's not his fault. I mean, that's that's the SPS
kind of in a nutshell, right. Then he goes into
(00:49):
this kind of soliloquy about how he doesn't want to
achieve the game and that's why he's not retiring and
I didn't did anybody think he was retiring? And it's
just it's an odd thing, and I think one of
the things that I try to be cautious of. And
I'm not going to sit here and tell you that
I've been perfect in my life, but I try to
be cautious of, and I think star athletes for the
(01:10):
most part try to be cautious of as well, which
is like, how can you grow in status and stature
and still just be a regular dude? Right, Like that's
the best part of Tim Duncan. People make fun of
him dressing like a dork, but like he's the same
guy before he won championships, after he won championships, Like
he's super laid back, Like that's just who he is.
(01:31):
And I truly think it's fascinating to watch Lebron or
listen to Lebron and he'll say these things about you know,
want to be viewed as like a great dad and
a great mentor and a great leader. And I think
all those things are true. Like I don't think he's
a bad person. He's not doing evil things or wrong
to anybody else. But the ego to in a room
(01:53):
full of the greatest athletes in our country say hey, guys,
guess what, Like I'm not retiring and no one thought
you were retiring was just such a similar what cry
for attention? So what if I like to anybody else,
I like that to be so when I listened to it,
I just I don't know if I should. I feel
kind of just strange with Lebron because when you're saying
(02:15):
things that don't fit the normal context of a conversation
because you're a SuperStar's he's lost that ability to be
a regular human being, Like you had people who gotten
went on TV and said negative things about him when
he would say taco Tuesday. But that's kind of a
dad thing. I kind of think that's a normal thing.
(02:38):
I don't see the negative in that that so many
others want to see. So when he says taco Tuesday,
I'm like, Okay, maybe Lebrun is a normal guy. And
in dealing with his kids, especially with watching them, he's
great at watching them at high school games. You know,
yes he sits up front, and yes he's caused ust
(02:59):
he's Lebrons. Like, what do you want him to do?
I guess he'd go hide out and stands. Jordan used
to hide out kind of the stands. But you're not
really hiding, not just because you're Lebron, you're also six
foot seven, six foot eight, two hundred and six pounds.
So I don't think that he's a bad human being.
But when you look back at the timing of the
(03:20):
man maybe I should retire, and oh, yeah, it's not.
It wasn't really that out of place. People made it
out like I can't believe you said it. He did
to take away the shine from the Denver Nuggets. I
didn't think that's what's about. But I do believe that
because the entire NBA world has revolved around Lebron in
the media for as long as we can remember, it's
(03:42):
not crazy for us to know that Lebron thinks the
world still revolves all around Lebron. You wouldn't say these
things otherwise, you wouldn't act this way otherwise. So then
in front of you know, what was it, three hundred
and fifty of the best athletes in the world. And remember,
all of these athletes have grown up or been grown
(04:04):
ups during Lebron's twenty years of dominance in the NBA.
That's what's unique is you take a snapshot of that
room and there's not one human being that can't recall
a Lebron game moment when loss, whereas if Michael Jordan
is on the exact same stage. Let's be honest, there's
a good portion of especially the younger athletes, they never
(04:27):
saw him play live so everyone already respects Lebron and
he was already getting great gratitude and oh yeah, by
the way, if you really want to get down to it,
I mean, for me, Aaron Judge's accomplishment was greater in
a record breaking season than Lebron's accomplishment in a record
breaking season. That's just reality because he broke Roger Merris's record.
And please don't start with me with the Barry Bonds.
(04:49):
That's just silly. If you cheated on the SAT, would
the SAT score stand when you apply to college? Of
course not so why would it stand that you cheated
to hit more home runs than any human being to
ever play baseball? You wouldn't. So for me, I would
personally say that Aaron Judge's accomplishment is greater. But instead
(05:12):
of talking about the accomplishment, talking about doing it as
a Laker, doing as a Laker with Kareem who was
also a Laker standing by, or even hey, you know,
the greatest gift I think I ever bring to the
NBA is not scoring. It's actually I like to pass
and I like to win. When people think of my career,
I don't want you to thank me as the all
time scoring leader. I want you to think of me
(05:33):
as somebody who took great joy in the success of others.
All of these things are great things to be said,
but instead it was just I love the game. I
don't want to cheat the game. So guess what, y'all
you get to watch me play more. Let's just it
was weird, a little off putting. And remember, like a
lot of these guys say things that are a little
(05:53):
off putting. If we're being totally fair and candid. You know,
Michael Jordan called the guy up who beat him out
in ice school at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony,
kind of felt like he humiliated him one more time.
Why because he's Michael Jordan. That's very much on brand.
And in regards to the Lakers, I do find it
(06:14):
interesting that you have people who and whether it's like
a knee jerk, we want to defend and support Lebron.
I think Rob Plinkett did a very good job, but
Rob Blinkt can do a very good job. And they're
not a championship team, and you sit there and say, well,
they got to the Western Conference finals. Okay, Well I
could point out that the Grizzlies, you know, didn't have
their starting center, or they're small ball five as well. Right,
(06:38):
they were a different team and the Lakers beat him
up inside? Did they beat him up inside? If they
have those two now? Probably not. Does that mean that
the Grizzlies win the series? I think it does, but
I don't know that for a fact. But you fast
forward a year and let's see what happens with jaw
and if he can stay out of trouble. But you
would think that the Grizzlies will be better next year.
(06:58):
You would think that the Pelicans, if Zion's healthy, are
better next year. The Clippers were a better basketball team.
They always beat the Lakers, they just aren't healthy. In
the playoffs, you would think they'd be better. You know,
Phoenix lost to Denver, so to the Lakers. Phoenix didn't
have Chris Paul. I think they're better. But regardless, what
did they add? Well, he had Gabe Vincent, who might
(07:19):
be a starter, might not, but he's not a game changer.
But the bigger part that we have to remember is
Lebron James not getting younger. So the likelihood that he
and Anthony Davis are one both healthy, I mean, what's
the likely to that not a lot. And two that
he's as good or better next year, which you know,
(07:39):
he's been able to keep father time at Bay for
a long time. Can't he do it for another year.
He's been hurt every other year and was hurt this
past year with the Lakers. So the idea that he's
going to be healthy, they're going to be better despite
the fact they're a year older and you brought back
D'ansel Russell. They couldn't play Danzel Russell in the way
(08:00):
from conference finals. Austin Reeves is the one guy who
was kept getting better and better and better. But the
idea that Austin Reeves goes from you know, an undrafted
bench player, guy who played well when Lebron was out,
to what Darvin Ham said he'd be an All Star.
I think we may need to take a breath there
(08:21):
just a little bit. He's a tremendous, tremendous pickup and
they had to resign him, and he's an improving player.
He has versatility, he can shoot, he's got positional versatility
with his size. He's tough, nothing not to like. But
I mean he's not Devin Booker, you know, He's just
(08:42):
not I mean kind of go through the all stars
in the West and Man's that's a tough butt. My
point is you can say I like what Blinka did,
I like what the roster looks like, solid team and
ever since they trade away Russell Westbrook, they look like
an organization that was much more put together. And Darvinham
did an excellent job coaching them. Played to their tantrums,
(09:05):
maybe slightly above it, but a championship team, you're depending
upon Lebron to play at his peak level when he's
passed his peak. You're depending upon Lebron and Anthony Davis
to be healthy, and there just isn't a guy who
makes them demonstanly better. Yes, they got to the Western
Conference Finals, they also got swept, so you're not that close.
(09:26):
You may think you're that close and you sit there
and go, yeah, yeah you are. Go and look at
other teams that have had kind of a random finals
Western Conference Finals appearance. Happened to Portland, happened to Atlanta Hawks,
It's happened to other teams. They make a little bit
of a run. You kid yourself and think you're really good,
when the truth is it's more about an injury along
the way. A really good draw or another team that
(09:46):
underachieved beginning of Lebron. Joining me in Las Vegas live
here on the All Ball Podcast is Israe Gutierres. Whose
whether it's written word, which is how he started, the
spoken word, which is what he's known for. Israel gutiras well.
He's seen it all with the Miami Heat, including the
(10:07):
Dwayne Wade Championship before Lebron even got here, back when
they had Shaquille O'Neal. He joins me on the All
Ball Podcast as we discuss all things NBA, including Lebron.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live. Let's welcome in is He Gutierras.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Of course you see here all over ESPN, ESPN personality
and a bunch of things. I want to get to
with you. You've been in Miami forever and I just
I saw a clip I think it was on social
media either yesterday the day before, which is the anniversary
of lebron announcement, right the decision, and it's I don't know,
(10:54):
it's fascinating to me that Look, obviously Shaq went to
Miami that kind of started this ball role. But it
is interesting on how it's become. It's kind of become
a basketball sort of town maybe since Lebron's decision. That
is that fair because because when he and I'm sorry
to catch out before I even let you answer, but
(11:14):
I did, Jim Rome is burning the day of the
announcement and the big line that the writers came up
with was like Miami's basketball fan very excited. We showed
it's like some sports bar and they're like six dudes
high fiving, right and we're like, did you go somewhere
they don't care? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Well, I will say, and first of all, I've been
in Miami since I was two years old, so a
long time, and it wasn't a basketball town. Even when
Alonzo and Tim Hardaway were there getting to a conference
finals and getting blown out by Michael Jordan. It wasn't
really a basketball town. When Dwayne Wade and Shack won
a championship like it legitimized it. It's sort of set
a foundation. And I would say what Lebron those four
(11:53):
years did was really sort of developed the fan base. Okay,
Young fans, a little bit of the older fans really
just develop it. And the way it was going to
become a basketball town was if that somehow.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Continued after Lebron.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
And so now with Jimmy Butler taking this team surprisingly
to two finals in whatever that was four years now,
it's become that. So now you've got a full generation
of fans who maybe at eight, nine, ten years old,
wats Lebron.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
They're graduating high school.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Now they're in the prime of their NBA fandom, and
Miami is their team, and Miami is relevant at the
highest level again, so way more actually than it was then.
You got a lot of sophisticated basketball fans in Miami,
and I would say it's a basketball town more than
a football town now. And that's even with the Dolphins
having you know, a lot a little bit of successfully.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Well, I think that's that's the one question though, is
what happens if the Dolphins get really good? Right, because
there's the old if you track like Cleveland sports, all right,
Cleveland sports people will tell you that that the Indians
drew really well when they didn't have the Browns, and
then as long as the Browns are bad, they draw well.
The second. The Browns are good like and every town
(13:05):
is different, but most cities only have the ability to
prioritize like one professional sports team.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
And then it's going to be king if they're back
up top. Right, But the U has been down as well.
That takes a little bit something as well. Right, So
U's been down. The Dolphins have been down, although decent recently. Okay,
Damian Lillard, is it a done deal? I mean I
believe it to be a done deal. I've heard things
third hand this weekend that maybe are closing things down
(13:34):
on that deal.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Not sure yet.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
This to me is almost the most obvious of these situations, right,
I mean we've seen this so many times with the
Superstars after seven years, what have you? Hey, I'm either
going to go somewhere or you're gonna trade me. And
with Anthony Davis, you know, we waited and it happened eventually.
This one is Damian Lillard has been more loyal than
(13:57):
any of those guys were. You know, he gave them
three or four extra years and he has been playing
along the entire time. He has been following the script,
if you will, to this experience.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
And even his agent.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Coming out and basically apologizing for the Will Smith song
on his IG live. Like it's mind blowing to me,
Like you shouldn't even have to address that. But they're
doing it because they're respecting Portland in this process and
they're doing everything the way they're supposed to be doing it,
and Portland is kind of stuck in this situation.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
And I know, like people kind of laugh when.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
They think, Oh, is Portland really going to pay down
the road for not doing right by Damian Lillard.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, they are, there are in different ways.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
It's not going to be something as obvious and heavy
handed like everybody. You know, nobody's ever going to sign
there again, but it's going to affect them as a
franchise and they're going to be way better off doing
this the right way for Dame and just taking in
a bunch of young talent and a bunch of draft
picks and doing the Oklahoma City thing because they're never
going to get the big free agent and they have
to draft themselves at homegrown super smill.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I don't think that's that. I don't think anyone's arguing that, right.
It's the what does Miami actually have to trade?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
What does anybody else have to trade, Well, who has
the better offer? Somebody tell me where the better offer is,
because the only thing I've heard was somebody saying, oh,
an offer built around Tyrese Maxi, a budding superstar, is
better than anything Miami has to offer. Compare those resumes
Tyler Hero tyres Maxie pretty dig similar. In fact, Tyler's
probably a little bit more accomplished. So everybody knocking Tyler
(15:22):
in this is what's creating this as a bad deal.
When you look at the draft picks, when you look
at the young talent, they don't have to have a
perfect mixed doug.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
They're not trying to win it next year.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
They're trying to have guys that they can maybe if
they are sort of duplicating in talent, trade one of
those guys away and get back something really good.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
They're not trying to be competitors next year.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
So this idea that they need this whole you know,
haul back of star, No, they need a guy that
they can justify. Tyler's that guy, and they need draft picks,
and they've got draft picks.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
In this deal. Lebron, It's interesting. I grew up in
Los Angeles, I moved away, moved back and so I've
been there, I think eight of the last eleven years. Right,
he plays for the Lakers. This was the first year
that he kind of felt like a Laker. But even then,
(16:09):
it's super weird. Yeah, I feel like I feel like
he's going to go down not only as you know,
obviously an all time great. We can have the the
goat debate or whatever, but he's going to go down
as a Miami member of the Miami Heat.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
It feels like that because they want you to another one,
you're saying, yeah, they're not one. Okay, So here's the
way I see this. You remember how David Stern sort
of created this whole idea of hey, let's not push
the team, let's promote the individual. Course, right, We've been
writing that this entire time. But yet somehow we still
think that the individual has to be tied to a
singular team.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
He doesn't. Lebron James will go down.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
As the whatever you say, top two greatest basketball players
of all time. He doesn't have to have a team
attached to him. He's Lebron freaking James. Like he did
it for Miami, he did for Cleveland, LA. And it's
an incredibly unique path let's just took that next.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
It is weird though. It is weird though that like,
like Laker fans, the first time they really embraced him
was when Dylan Brooks talked trash out of this year,
Like that was the first time they're like, no, Lebron's
our guy.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
That's just on Lakers fans really, Like, it's just on
you know, they've had a long history. They have, you
know a lot of people that they can be fans
of that they can call their own, that they can
you know, put posters up and if they have you know,
levels for that, if they have you know, entry points,
so that then that's fine. Lebron maybe just just hit
it this year, but that's that's to them. So the
rest of the country, he's been a Laker.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Yeah, Yeah, I think it's hard because it was such
a Kobe town and during peak Kobe, post Jack Kobe,
he was the best player, and though they never matched
up against each other, there's some form of rivalry there,
and it feels like cheating on Kobe to cheer for Lebron.
(17:53):
It just does. It feels kind of icky. You know.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It's like, I mean, look, I even for people in Miami,
it was tough for them to cheer for Lebron when
he left for Cleveland, because yeah, obviously he did the
town a huge favor when a couple of championships made
them into a basketball town, but it still felt kind
of weird after a few years. After some time, you're
just like, all right, why would I not appreciate that?
Like why am I so tied to the Miami Heat laundry?
(18:17):
If you know Lebron James is doing that, I can
appreciate that. And I think if you are a Los
Angeles Lakers fan, like what's the alternative just to kind
of sit back and not enjoy what you're watching? Just
embrace it, just like the guys playing on your team
might be the greatest player of all time.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Right, And then if you look at you know, in
Laker history, you know, Shaq wasn't homegrown, Kareem wasn't homegrown. No,
Wilt wasn't homegrown. And so there is in fact a
history there of getting somebody else's best player and then
winning a title and their putting their number up up
into the rafters. Victor Webbin Yama, We've seen him once,
(18:52):
We'll see him tonight. This is going to be really
interesting because he has gone to the perfect place, right,
Like Lebron went to the perfect place because he's from there. Yep,
you know, this guy's gone to the perfect place because
you have a coach who's coached foreign players to incredible success,
a coach who has kind of complete control of the organization. Right,
(19:14):
they're not running him off anytime soon. They've always been
into whether it's resting players or developing players. There's no expectations.
And I mean, like, look, he wasn't particularly good the
other night. He'll have plenty of nights like that. But
the best place to have that is San Antonio, where
we only watch games in the highlights.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Yeah, and I do think he'll drift into the background
a little bit and we'll only show those highlights when
he has a huge game. I think it's a good place.
But I think regardless, I think we need to just
pull back a little bit and recognize that this whole
label of being like the greatest prospect of all of sports,
it's over the top.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
It's ridiculously over the time. Okay, so where look, I
work there, You work there. Now here's my hypothesis. Okay,
here's my hypothesis. I don't blame ESPN, but I do
blame ESPN, and I don't blame because there's just no
buzz about the draft anymore. Nobody knows who any of
these guys are, right, you know, because you have several
(20:11):
playing G League at night. Nobody watches that. You have
guys playing overtime elite nobody, you know, mainstream, they don't
watch that. You have some foreign players. Nobody watches that.
So what used to be a huge buzz and a
huge night is now eh. And so you're almost hyper
sensitized to give much more bolder. Hotter takes and he
(20:33):
is seven three and a half, right, right, But he's like,
there's nothing bigger than Lebron.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Here's the part that just bothers me about it is
it's not just based on what he's done, it's just
based on his size and what he can do.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Like when Lebron was.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
This prospect that we had on national TV as a
sixteen year old, he was, you know, dominating in high school.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
And he looked like a guy that you said, okay.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
You can put him in the NBA with Wembin Yama,
it still felt like, wow, super potent but needs to
get way stronger, and we can't make comparisons to Kevin
Durant just because he's tall, like he's got to make shots.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I'll have him. He's tall, skinny and black, and you're like, okay,
well he's Kevin Rant like you.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
No, no, and so like you see the clip with
him in an empty gym missing those shots, and you're
just like, all right, let's let's get let's refine these skills.
Let's let him evolve to the player that he's going
to be, because he is nowhere near that, right man.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Well, I'll also point out that I don't think people understand.
I know, Luca didn't go number one overall. Luca was nineteen.
He was the best player in Europe. He won a
European Championship, and he hit the game winning shot to
win the European Championship. He was, at least internationally, way
way more well regarded than Victor webin Yama. Victor webbin
Yama is the oh my god, he's seven to three
(21:46):
and a half. He you know, he looks like an
X man, right, so he's got to be a great
basketball player. All right, here's here's the last one. You have,
Like a James Harden, who immensely talented guy, but like, look,
he has a rep of kind of like an unlikable superstar.
(22:07):
Not as a person, that's the weird thing, right, No,
just as a player like h When he was with Houston,
he was great, But man, I just hate the way
he plays. What does some of these guys' legacies where
they're they're made a ton of money, they have a
ton of respect as players. Kyrie's another guy who people
just struggle to like personally. What do you think they
(22:31):
look like five ten years from now?
Speaker 3 (22:33):
It's tough because I already think there's been a drop
off with James, Like look at the Houston footage and
look at him in Philly. It's just a little slower
and just not not as explosive getting to the rim.
And so I think it becomes a self awareness thing
at some point, and I think opting into this.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Deal was maybe a bit of self awareness.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Because he realized he wasn't going to get more than
that over long term. And I think he is essentially
settling in probably now, into.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
What he really has to be going forward, because I.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Think last year, last Playoffs was kind of an eye
opener for him, Like, yeah, he can have a forty
point game in an important round of the playoffs, and
maybe even two of them, but he can't do that consistently,
and he can't be what Joelle needs that much that regularly,
and so I think he's going to probably one more
year at this big money and then just sort of
settle into where he can be, you know, let's say
(23:20):
the third guy, the fourth guy, whatever it takes, whether
it be next to Kadi.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
And Phoenix or something like that.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I think he will eventually have that level of self
awareness and be, you know, just the setup guy who
doesn't try to.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Do too much. I think the NBA con is great.
I like the cup idea. I'm not sure I like
the timing of it right coinciding with playoff foot playoff
college football and the late season in the NFL, but
I like the idea of it. I think the big
question is, like, I'm mutching Steph play in the playoffs,
and I look down. He's thirty five. Yeah, lebron all right,
(23:52):
so we got probably two years, right, gonna play a
year with Bronni, So that's his deal. So they both
probably have two or three years left, and people want
to make the ratings about a lot of things. It's
not about it's really about Lebron and Steph. One they
got time zone issues playing in the Pacific time zone,
and two when they're not playing, there's just a drop off.
(24:14):
So you have these two factors or three factors going in. One,
you have aging superstars. You don't have anybody that has
an American born player that's that level of likability. And
then the best players in your league, a lot of
them are foreign born, which it doesn't make you like.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
To say for the intrigue for the for the NBA
playoff tournament, or just in jet our NBA in game
turn just the.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
NBA in general. Right, Like, look at the ratings this year.
Jokich is an incredible player. And granted some of it's
that he's in Denver and they haven't won anything, but
Jokich can win three or four titles. I don't necessarily
know if it's going to move the meter with mainstream America.
Whereas Steph in it, Lebron in it, it's a whole
different vibe. And we're like two years away from neither
of them being in this game. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
I do think though that there are the next wave
and I think people are paying close enough attention, Like
I think it really it really hurts to have Zion
not around as often. It really hurts to have John
Moran in this situation because those two really sort of
filled a gap, if you will. I personally think that
this particular draft class because it's not just about Victor.
I think the Thompsons are spectacular. I think Scoot's gonna
(25:21):
be really good. I think Brandon Miller is going to
be solid. I think it's going to be really good
draft class with probably three or four franchise type players
coming out of it, and you know, two of them
the top ten twins being American born.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I think there's a lot there.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
I think the league still has a lot and I
think when Lebron, I think all eyes alone Lebron, because
you're trying to bring in a little bit more of
the casuals, a little bit more of the you know,
the non necessarily NBA fans, especially at this point of
his career with the nostalgia and everything else.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
But I just think there's a lot there.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
I think Victor Webb Begnam is going to bring a
lot of attention, and you know this in season tournament
where you know, I was critical of the play, and
then eventually, even though it might not be exactly what
you know, it might.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Not solve take looking forever.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
It was just good for business, Like it was set
up for some few games and play where the.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
End of the regular season is interesting to get in
or jockey for position. And I think the.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Yeah, if you you set up you know, a semi
final in Vegas where you know a guy on a
minimum might be getting an extra five hundred k like that,
that brings a little juice to the game. And if
there's a little juice with the players, you're gonna see
it on the floor and the fans are going to
appreciate it. So I think you know timing of it, like, yeah,
you're competing against everything else, but you were competing against
that stuff with regular regular season games, So why not
prop them up a little bit?
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Make that makes it? That makes a whole whole lot
of sense. Last thing you've gotten to do, Like you
get to cover this thing forever. Who's the best dude?
Like just like that's a really good however question, who's
a really good dude?
Speaker 3 (26:48):
I mean, the most experiences I've had, like Dwayne Wade
is always going to be my guy, like from day
one till you know, even after he retired and didn't
even more impactful things. Uh, he's genuine. He's super nice,
great guy. Shane Battier is one of the most you know,
straightforward and nice guys in the league. And I mean
(27:08):
I've been a Ray Allen fan, as you know when
we used to have the all Interview teams.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Anybody else know about the.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
All Interview teams back then, I used to have all
interview teams and he was always my vote. And so
I mean he was a MIT Milwaukee. So yeah, I'll
say those three and yeah, they all play.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
For the heat. How about that? Yeah, they did all
is he good Tierras? Of course you see him on ESPN. MA,
you're great man. I appreciate you. I appreciate that. Ami,
Thanks to Israel good Tierras. That was awesome. He's a great,
great dude. I've done him for a long time and
the honesty with which he shares his information and his
passion for it is unmatched. Loved having Israel good Tierras
(27:43):
with me. Thanks so much for listening. Remember the Doug
Gotleib Show is daily three to five Eastern time, and
of course We have the in the bonus podcast, which
is the third hour, and that one No Holds Barred.
I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is all ball, the bomb,
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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