July 24, 2026 • 24 mins
Colin reacts to the news that LeBron James has chosen the Philadelphia 76ers as his landing spot for the 2026 NBA season. He argues that choosing a championship ready team makes sense for LeBron at this stage of his career and there’s nothing wrong with LeBron ring chasing. He compares the move to Tom Brady going to Tampa, rather than KD joining a title winning Warriors team.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. What's one money lesson you wish you had
learned earlier, and how are you trying to pass that
down to your kids? For all your parents out there
with teenagers, we know you're already trying to keep a
million different things under control. Cash app is here to
make sure your teen's money and they're spending isn't adding
to that craziness. With a cash app card available to
(00:23):
teens thirteen to seventeen with sponsorship by an eligible parent
or guardian, every transaction triggers a real time notification for
you to see, empowering your team to practice independence while
giving you peace of mind by keeping track of their spending.
Cash App designed to help teens thirteen to seventeen where
(00:43):
they are intuitive educational tools available through sponsorship by an
eligible parent or guarding Teens gain access to a personalized
cash app card. Comes in different colors patterns fit the
style you know. Instantly access money from family and friends.
Cash app makes managing money feel easier and honestly cooler
than the other options out there, so you can manage
everything directly from your own cash app account without having
(01:05):
to switch between the two. Make it simple, stay connected
to your team's financial activity. New cash app customers earn
ten bucks if they use the code family ten in
their profile at sign up and sent five bucks to
a friend within fourteen days. Terms apply. Cash app is
a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided
by cash apps bank partners. Prepaid debit cards issued by
(01:27):
Sutton Bank Member FDIC, cash App, Visa Debit Flex cards
issued by Sutton Bank Member FDIC and the Bankcorp Bank
NA pursue it to a license from Visa USA Inc.
See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid Card, Sutton
Debit Flex card, and Bankcorp Debit Flex Card. Savings provided
by cash App, a Block Inc. Brand. Visit cash dot App,
(01:49):
Slash Legal, Slash Podcast for full disclosures. All Right, So
I just got off a plane so and rushed home.
On the Lebron News. First of all, I always kind
(02:11):
of laugh Philadelphia. I've said I thought Golden State was
camaraderie with Draymond and Steph. I thought Cleveland was comfort.
I thought Miami was confusing. I mean, they don't have
bad backcourt, just a bunch of bigs. Bam portis Giannis.
It just doesn't feel like floor spacing would be where
(02:32):
we're Philadelphia's contention. You go in a championship in Philadelphia,
you gotta make it work. There's a lot of high
ushes guys. You know, Lebron needs the ball. John Brown
wants the ball, Maxie wants the ball. Embid too often
outside of the paint has the ball. VJ. Edgecomb's a dog.
I love him so, but Philadelphia is the one. I said.
I did an essay. I do Sunday essays at about
(02:54):
twenty five thirty times a year, and I'm like, don't
listen to people in any other industry, especially as you age,
you get older, you're you're you know. I've seen rumors
he's not going to do it. But a couple of
years ago there was Nick Saban's going back into coaching.
Do you really think he should take over a small
brand in a mediocre program, Go to Kentucky, go to
(03:16):
Arizona football. No if Ohio State called, or you know,
you know, the greatest Georgia called, or somebody like that.
Once you've been through it, and Lebron's been doing this
for a long time, a lot of years, a lot
of grinding. Once you've been doing that, I don't care
if it's a law firm or a restaurant group. When
you get older and you're successful, you just want to
(03:39):
have a really really good time and do amazing things.
And Lebron right now is at the point where he's
got two years left. He didn't have any interest win
in forty two games. He not did digging dishes in
the NBA anymore. He's not putting in those early Cleveland
years where you're building something that's for guys in their twenties.
You know, I don't care if you're a broad caster
(04:01):
or a politician. You know, Phil Jackson, Okay, I'll come back. Yeah,
I'll come back after you coach the Chicago Bulls. You
know you're you're not going to Charlotte, right, So yeah,
I just I've never had a I don't buy it.
People say, well, basketball is different, No, it's not. Basketball
is like everything else. If you know, Patrick Mahomes doesn't
(04:23):
have the tackle situation figured out, he gets his butt
kicked in a Super Bowl against Tom Brady. Speaking of Brady,
this move by Lebron feels like Brady to Tampa. This
is not Kady to the Warriors. I mean, the Sixers
haven't one of an Eastern Conference championship in like twenty
five years. I think only the Hornets and the Wizards
have had longer droughts. This is not ring chasing, it's
(04:45):
Tampa Brady. Brady's like, Okay, I've got a defensive head coach.
We don't draft receiver as well. I need wide receivers,
a coach, head coach with an offensive sensibility. Maybe I
go to a little weaker division so I can get
stock stack some wins, you know, in my final couple
of years. So Brady wants to go somewhere where he
(05:07):
can stack wins, right, a little easier lift. Well, Lebron similarly,
Brady needed wide receivers, right, he needed he needed explosive
players on the perimeter. They didn't have that in New England.
He needed an offensive coach. Okay, well, what does Lebron need.
(05:27):
He doesn't need old James Harden. He doesn't need Donovan Mitchell, right,
guys that don't defend anymore. Lebron's smart, high IQ EQ.
He needs young two way players, athletic, twitchy, explosive. Lebron's
not one of the slowest guys in the NBA. I
think he and Harden were the two slowest guys. So
(05:49):
if he put Harden and Lebron together, you're gonna get
cooked on the defensive end. So now you go to
bj Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxi, Jalen Brown, a lot of speed, youth, athleticism,
guys that are willing to go play both ways. Ed
Chulm's going to be a great defender. He's really really
incredible effort guy. Now were their issues in Tampa. You know,
(06:14):
they had to figure out their offensive line. They drafted
Tristan Wurfs. They were a mess kind of at right tackle.
They brought in Grom They had good tight ends, but
he needed his safety blanket. You know. They Tampa, like
the Sixers, had a previous championship, and they had pieces,
but they really needed a leader. And that's where Lebron's
(06:34):
going to be for them and the huddle on the floor,
He's going to be a leader, the distribution guy, get
the ball to the right spot. It's not about Lebron's
scoring or making money. Basically, this contract eight million dollars
a year after taxis he gets half of it, I mean,
but his private jet flights home to see his family.
He's not gonna make any money, you know, for Lebron's
standard of traveling, doing things. And yeah, eight million for
(06:57):
Lebron is nothing right for rest of it A lot
for the rest of us. You know, it's enormous, but
for Lebron it's not. And he's not doing it because
it's the city that he's probably most comfortable living in.
He's doing it because like all people, as they age,
you want to chase big things. You know, if you've
been a Michelin Star chef and you're sixty three years old,
(07:20):
you know, relative to the industry, that's an old chef.
Lebron's now an old basketball player. You're not going to
a second tier restaurant group and building it from the
ground up. You know, if some great restaurant in Paris
or New York City calls, I'm interested. You know, we
can be the best restaurant in the world within two years.
That's what Lebron's thinking right now. The chasing ring thing
(07:41):
is stupid. In every other Otani went to the effin Dodgers.
He could have gone to a lot of places. He
went to the Dodgers, all right, So and again like
Tampa and like this Philly t You know, the Dodgers
were winning, but you were, you know pri Otana. You're like, man,
shouldn't they win more? Haven't we been saying about that
(08:02):
about the Sixers forever? They are too manyton players. But
they've had bad injury luck and personnel luck, and you
know they've got some chaos and coaching and GMing, and
you know Lebron will just bring the temperature down, make
the right basketball play. Be a coach in the hubble,
(08:23):
a coach on the floor. I never blame anybody for
selecting better teammates. I don't care if it's a high
school recruit choosing Ohio State or Texas, a Notre Dame
Miami now, I don't care, or a basketball recruit choosing
Yukon and Dan Hurley. I don't care. In life, if
(08:43):
you can choose better teammates, better outcomes, and you can
skip a couple steps, do it. It's just such a
mediocre thing to say you're chasing take rings out for success.
You're chasing success. Well, when entrepreneurs are angel investors, you
(09:04):
know they're putting money into these smart kids who own
these companies. Listen, we got about five years here to
make it. I'm choosing you because I think I can
have success quicker than if I bought a giant company
and had to rebuild it. You're looking for smart people, entrepreneurs,
aspirational people, driven people. I mean, I'll never never criticize people,
(09:27):
even the KD to the Warriors it was weird, But
I was more critical of KD when he left for Brooklyn.
Who leaves a dynasty for Brooklyn. That'd be like Patrick
Mahomes saying I'm done with Andy Reid, give me the Jets.
That's ridiculous. But people wanting to play with Andy Reid
(09:48):
and Mahomes or whoever, the Dodgers or the Yankees or
the Braids, I get it. I told I don't always
support that. I've never been a hypocrite on that. The
other thing is everybody's talking about Cleveland. He bailed on
him twice. But we already did the you know, the
love story, the letter, We did that. It's redundant. And
(10:10):
again Harden and Lebron and they got some rim protection.
But Harden, Lebron and Mitchell to bad fit defensively, it
doesn't work it, I said, it's the Lakers with rim protection.
Austin Reeves and Luca can't defend right. So you add Lebron,
who's a slow player now. He used to be a
great defenderies not anymore. It's just a bad mix. So
(10:30):
I like it. I don't think it guarantees anything. Chemistry,
tweaks by Nick Nurse, the coach, there's a lot of things.
You have to figure it out. I've said before, Philadelphia
is captivating because Jalen Brown does not fit a very
analytically driven Celtics in Philadelphia. For the record, they don't
(10:53):
know if he's gonna work there either. I've got somebody
that I trust that it knows people upstairs with the Sixers,
and they just thought the value was too good on
Jdalen Brown. But they know there's going to be usage issues.
I mean, they know exactly what they're getting into with
Jalen Brown and bj Edgecomb and Joel Embiide and and
(11:14):
you know Tyrese Maxie, who's amazing. They know. So you
say to yourself, well, there's one ball. Well, I mean,
Klay Thompson, Steph KD. Draymond doesn't score a lot, but
he wants the ball. He's a catalyst offensively. There were
a lot of mouse to feed. Usually players overtime, overtime,
all work with Lebron, right, not everybody worked with Michael Jordan.
(11:36):
His Washington teammates couldn't stand him. Early Bulls teammates pre
titles not all love Michael, even when you watched the documentary.
Even his teammates he punched Steve Kerr, Will Pardue called
him out Will Purdue. So the other thing about Lebron
is that he just makes everything better in basketball, like
(11:58):
every place he's gone. He's wont of type, right, like
Michael Jordan didn't fit necessarily with every player. Like Michael
needed the ball, Michael was taking the shot. Lebron's got
criticism early in his career because sometimes he wouldn't take
the shot, he would make the right basketball move. And
(12:20):
I think that's always something I defended Lebron on I
was thinking about the move, and I was thinking about
Adam Silver. So here's Adam Silver. I think this whole
thing irritates it if I had to guess, like Adam
Silver is ready for Wemby to take over the league. Right,
because the NFL, it doesn't really matter who wins. You
could have dynasties, non dynasties. I mean, the Seahawks played
(12:43):
the Patriots. Everybody watched it. Great story, Sam Darnold. Everything
works there. Baseball needs you know, your Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers, NBA.
You know, you get better ratings if you have like
a narrative or a star. And here you have Wemby
the Knicks. What a home run, the next great all
(13:03):
time player and New York a renaissance for the Knicks.
It was so good for the NBA, and I think
Adam Sober was proud of it. He loved it. And
you know, we've had eight champs in eight years. But
I think it's like, oh, okay, we're ready for this
San Antonio explosion and here comes Lebron from Philadelphia, and Lebron,
(13:29):
you know, there's reports out there and he was just
sort of tweaking the league. He's like, I'm gonna do
it on my timeline. The league wanted him to announce
it so they can get the schedule right on Christmas Day.
But I wonder if they're just a little annoyed with
Lebron right now. They kind of want to turn the page,
you know, I mean, listen when when when Brady went
to Tampa. That was a great story, but by the
(13:51):
end of it, it's kind of like, Okay, it's at
Mahomes turn, Josh Allen's turn, Lamar Jackson's turn. You know
everybody wears out there. Welcome a little bit, but I'll
defend Lebron James to the end of the earth on choosing.
I think Philadelphia is gonna be exceptional. Here's the other
thing is that Embiid's gonna miss thirty games because he's Embiid.
(14:12):
The rest of those guys VJ, Maxi Brown, you know
they play hard. Maxi doesn't miss games at all. Lebron
James can give you sixty games. Lebron James doesn't have
the burden of carrying the team. So and that's another
reason this works. Lebron just think like Lebron thinks. You
(14:33):
go to Miami, he got portous Bam and johnis big
team you gotta have. You gotta score a lot down there.
You gotta play a lot of minutes down there. They
had a week back Cord. You don't know what you're
getting with Andrew Wiggins. You gotta play a lot of minutes.
They gave away really interesting rotational players for the Bucks
to get you on this. Lebron knows I don't have
thirty seven minutes in me every night. I can't defend
(14:54):
that an elite level. Now, they have great rim protection
in Miami, but weird floor spacing, not enough really depend
dole shooters. You never know what you can get day
to day, game to game with Wiggins. You look at Cleveland,
Okay Harden and Donovan Mitchell. This is what Lebron's thinking.
You know, this is the Lakers, poor defenders, guys that
need the ball, Luca Austin, Mitchell, Harden, and so does Lebron.
(15:18):
Then you look at Philadelphia and you're like, they're explosive
and they're athletic. They've got rim protections and beads get
a miss game. So Lebron knows Listen, I can play
sixty games. The three younger guys in their athletic prime,
Edgecombe probably two years out from entering it like, they're
gonna play a lot of games, a lot of minutes.
(15:38):
They're gonna play defense, They're gonna protect me. It's just
like when Tom Brady went to Tampa. They had a
really good interior, old line, good tight end, offensive coach,
weapons on the outside. They get Lenny Fournette, Gront and
they draft the right tack on it. It's like, oh,
because the interior of the old line was good, left
tackle was fine, and it's like, Okay, this works for
me at my age. What do I need? I need
(16:00):
people to do the lifting downfield, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Gronk,
I need that. He didn't have that at the end
in New England. Lebron knows at this point, I'm a
slower player. I need youth and explosion. I need dynamic,
athletic young talent around me to hide some of my issues.
Fact that's just called intelligence. That's just smart. So as
(16:23):
we all age, we don't have quite the energy if
you're an athlete, not the foot speed. That's just the
reality of aging and putting parts around. You know what
you are, you know what you're not. You're not trying
to prove anything to the world. Lebron's got the money,
the legacy, the rings, the great family. He knows what
he's not. He's not forty four minutes a night, seventy
(16:45):
four games, that's not what he is and playing great defense.
He gets beat down the floor. I nobody beat him
down the floor for fifteen years. He gets beat down
the floor all the time now, So don't buy a
ring chasing it's bs. All of us in our careers
go chase rings. Chase great law firms, restaurant brutes. You're
(17:08):
a surgeon, go to the best hospital. Chase top coworkers, period,
every sport, any time. A lot of the stuff that's
that's negative for Lebron is just they're pissed because they
know they're gonna be good. Who's not gonna want to
watch that team? Like Miami would have been a weird watch,
like it would have been a weird, clunky offense. Cleveland
(17:33):
they have chemistry issues. I mean, the minute Lebron leaves
Cleveland five minutes later, the franchise doesn't feel the same.
I never bought Minnesota at all. Golden State would have
been a fun watching. I mean, it's it's old. It's old, guys.
I'm not sure how many games Draymond Stits Lebron would
have played together. Philadelphia has got everything. It'll have a
(17:56):
little dysfunction speed temple Lebron. Yeah, it's listen. The New
York Knicks were lost a couple of games into that
series with Atlanta. They made it tweak. They were a
bad defensive team. End of the year. Then they became
a very good defensive team. I mean, that's the Knicks, right,
(18:17):
Like the next guys had played together for years. They
had a new coach, but it was the Knicks. They
were tweaking the middle of an Atlanta series, then they
went on a championship run. This stuff's not easy. There's
egos and inexperienced Lebron's super experience. It's gonna be a lot.
It's gonna be a fun jigsaw public puzzle. It's gonna
be a rubeks cube for several months. Nick Nurse is
a good coach. Philadelphia is an amazing sports down so
(18:40):
it's going to be combustible. I think it's fantastic, the
whole ring chasing to give me a right and then
this is the one Now. So let's say Lebron. I
don't know if they'll win the champion. I think I
think San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and Knicks. I think
Celtics will still be good and Dead Grill'll still be good.
Minnesota will be really good. Can't wait once the melobon
and you know, dysfunction. Perhaps I think Minnesota feels a
(19:04):
little bit like Philadelphia East, where LaMelo at a lot
of diod pieces. I'm not sure if they work. Feel
the same way about Philadelphia, but I mean, you start
looking at Lebron's legacy. Let's say he does win a
tie it He's the one thing Michael Jordan was not
(19:25):
as adaptable. You know, a lot of teammates didn't like
him even when they was winning. Lebron's adaptable. He's a
very joyful player. He's got Jordan beat and adaptability and longevity.
You know, Michael was just a different player entirely, a
different human being, very intense both. I mean, the greatest
(19:45):
player ever. Whatever, throw Magic Johnson near the top, Kareem
Bill Russell, whatever you want to do. But the adaptability,
the longevity, and everybody that plays with Lebron, they always
come out. It's like almost everybody that played under Phil Jackson.
Phil Jackson got the best out of said player. Everybody
(20:06):
that's played with Lebron. He just makes the smart basketball
play all the time. I mean, it's amazing. He goes
to the Lakers, Anthony Davis is great, but can't stay healthy,
not in great shape. Then they think they solve it
with Luca who can't stay healthy, never in great shape.
Like in the end, that divorce was perfect. It was time,
(20:26):
Lebron la. It was time for the Lakers to rebuild.
They dide a nice job. I don't know how great
they are, but they're good. They're longer, they're younger, they're whider,
they're bigger, they got youth. And then Lebron's like, all right,
let me go, I'm over Philadelphia. Philadelphia has got a
better starting five than the Lakers, and it's not particularly close,
(20:47):
much more athletic, much better defensively. So part of what
makes the NBA fun is the soap opera. Philadelphia's got
a little soap opera, LaMelo and Minnesot's got a little
soap opera. I think you know the Miami thing to me,
like I said very early in the process, I get Miami.
(21:09):
Savannah may like it, Lebron may like it. You know,
it's it's awqua water. It's a winter League. Like I
understood the Miami thing, I didn't like necessarily the basketball thing.
I think Wiggins is a better shooter than people give
him credit for it. You just don't know what you're
getting with him, and he's getting older now, he's out
of his athletic prime, and it's a big team with
great rim protection. Portals will come off the bench. Bam.
(21:30):
You're honest. But it's gonna be a weird offense. And
I think Lebron looked at it thought, man, I'm gonna
have to do a lot of the lifting, ball handling, distribution, scoring,
and you know I don't. They got a week back
corporate Miami basketball wise was weird lifestyle. I totally get it.
Love Miami. I just flew back from Florida. By the way,
(21:51):
It's not as hot Florida in the summer as everybody says.
I mean, it's taught from like one to four. Go
read a book. Going side this wild NBA loved soap operas,
Gotwin and Philly fan base, that media it is is great.
Philadelphia is what sports should be. Phillies, Eagles, sports Talk
(22:13):
radio file at six. Just a great American city, tribal
and nuts the provincial at times. That's great Philadelphia. Like
when Andy Reid got the job. There's that legendary video,
like NFL Films video when Andy Reids, a young Andy
(22:35):
Reid gets the job in Philadelphia and Bill Parcells, who'd
been coaching in New York's like, you know, you got
the toughest job in my league. It's not New York,
it's Philadelphia. I mean, I would just love to be
on Philadelphia sports talk radio tomorrow. How great is that?
That city's just gonna go crazy? And let's be honest.
Tampa Bay for years, Jason like great GM, Bruce arians
(22:58):
great coach, had great talent, but Jamis Winston, you know,
it's you get thirty touchdowns, you get thirty picks. They
were just they just needed somebody to bring it all together,
synthesize it. Right. That's Stillbron and Philadelphia. They've always had talent.
It's just it's it always feels just off. Whose team
(23:18):
is it? You know? I think Lebron will really not
give it over to Tyresse Maxi, but he'll realize very
quickly is this guy's got a lot of juice and energy.
I want him touching the ball a lot. And I've
been on that Tyrese Maxi train for a couple of
years now. That guy jumps so TV. Jesus, he's good
and Edgecombe is going to be kind of the Stefan
(23:41):
Castle of the Spurs. Like a really good defender can score,
but tremendous athlete, tough dog, it would not shock me.
Spurs sixers NBA Final. The Nicks will have something to
say about that. The Thunder and Minnesota have something to
say about that. Spurs Sixers NBA Final. God, that'd be magical,
(24:06):
all right. Going back to my vacation, m hm. The
volume
The volume. What's one money lesson you wish you had
learned earlier, and how are you trying to pass that
down to your kids? For all your parents out there
with teenagers, we know you're already trying to keep a
million different things under control. Cash app is here to
make sure your teen's money and they're spending isn't adding
to that craziness. With a cash app card available to
(00:23):
teens thirteen to seventeen with sponsorship by an eligible parent
or guardian, every transaction triggers a real time notification for
you to see, empowering your team to practice independence while
giving you peace of mind by keeping track of their spending.
Cash App designed to help teens thirteen to seventeen where
(00:43):
they are intuitive educational tools available through sponsorship by an
eligible parent or guarding Teens gain access to a personalized
cash app card. Comes in different colors patterns fit the
style you know. Instantly access money from family and friends.
Cash app makes managing money feel easier and honestly cooler
than the other options out there, so you can manage
everything directly from your own cash app account without having
(01:05):
to switch between the two. Make it simple, stay connected
to your team's financial activity. New cash app customers earn
ten bucks if they use the code family ten in
their profile at sign up and sent five bucks to
a friend within fourteen days. Terms apply. Cash app is
a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided
by cash apps bank partners. Prepaid debit cards issued by
(01:27):
Sutton Bank Member FDIC, cash App, Visa Debit Flex cards
issued by Sutton Bank Member FDIC and the Bankcorp Bank
NA pursue it to a license from Visa USA Inc.
See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid Card, Sutton
Debit Flex card, and Bankcorp Debit Flex Card. Savings provided
by cash App, a Block Inc. Brand. Visit cash dot App,
(01:49):
Slash Legal, Slash Podcast for full disclosures. All Right, So
I just got off a plane so and rushed home.
On the Lebron News. First of all, I always kind
(02:11):
of laugh Philadelphia. I've said I thought Golden State was
camaraderie with Draymond and Steph. I thought Cleveland was comfort.
I thought Miami was confusing. I mean, they don't have
bad backcourt, just a bunch of bigs. Bam portis Giannis.
It just doesn't feel like floor spacing would be where
(02:32):
we're Philadelphia's contention. You go in a championship in Philadelphia,
you gotta make it work. There's a lot of high
ushes guys. You know, Lebron needs the ball. John Brown
wants the ball, Maxie wants the ball. Embid too often
outside of the paint has the ball. VJ. Edgecomb's a dog.
I love him so, but Philadelphia is the one. I said.
I did an essay. I do Sunday essays at about
(02:54):
twenty five thirty times a year, and I'm like, don't
listen to people in any other industry, especially as you age,
you get older, you're you're you know. I've seen rumors
he's not going to do it. But a couple of
years ago there was Nick Saban's going back into coaching.
Do you really think he should take over a small
brand in a mediocre program, Go to Kentucky, go to
(03:16):
Arizona football. No if Ohio State called, or you know,
you know, the greatest Georgia called, or somebody like that.
Once you've been through it, and Lebron's been doing this
for a long time, a lot of years, a lot
of grinding. Once you've been doing that, I don't care
if it's a law firm or a restaurant group. When
you get older and you're successful, you just want to
(03:39):
have a really really good time and do amazing things.
And Lebron right now is at the point where he's
got two years left. He didn't have any interest win
in forty two games. He not did digging dishes in
the NBA anymore. He's not putting in those early Cleveland
years where you're building something that's for guys in their twenties.
You know, I don't care if you're a broad caster
(04:01):
or a politician. You know, Phil Jackson, Okay, I'll come back. Yeah,
I'll come back after you coach the Chicago Bulls. You
know you're you're not going to Charlotte, right, So yeah,
I just I've never had a I don't buy it.
People say, well, basketball is different, No, it's not. Basketball
is like everything else. If you know, Patrick Mahomes doesn't
(04:23):
have the tackle situation figured out, he gets his butt
kicked in a Super Bowl against Tom Brady. Speaking of Brady,
this move by Lebron feels like Brady to Tampa. This
is not Kady to the Warriors. I mean, the Sixers
haven't one of an Eastern Conference championship in like twenty
five years. I think only the Hornets and the Wizards
have had longer droughts. This is not ring chasing, it's
(04:45):
Tampa Brady. Brady's like, Okay, I've got a defensive head coach.
We don't draft receiver as well. I need wide receivers,
a coach, head coach with an offensive sensibility. Maybe I
go to a little weaker division so I can get
stock stack some wins, you know, in my final couple
of years. So Brady wants to go somewhere where he
(05:07):
can stack wins, right, a little easier lift. Well, Lebron similarly,
Brady needed wide receivers, right, he needed he needed explosive
players on the perimeter. They didn't have that in New England.
He needed an offensive coach. Okay, well, what does Lebron need.
(05:27):
He doesn't need old James Harden. He doesn't need Donovan Mitchell, right,
guys that don't defend anymore. Lebron's smart, high IQ EQ.
He needs young two way players, athletic, twitchy, explosive. Lebron's
not one of the slowest guys in the NBA. I
think he and Harden were the two slowest guys. So
(05:49):
if he put Harden and Lebron together, you're gonna get
cooked on the defensive end. So now you go to
bj Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxi, Jalen Brown, a lot of speed, youth, athleticism,
guys that are willing to go play both ways. Ed
Chulm's going to be a great defender. He's really really
incredible effort guy. Now were their issues in Tampa. You know,
(06:14):
they had to figure out their offensive line. They drafted
Tristan Wurfs. They were a mess kind of at right tackle.
They brought in Grom They had good tight ends, but
he needed his safety blanket. You know. They Tampa, like
the Sixers, had a previous championship, and they had pieces,
but they really needed a leader. And that's where Lebron's
(06:34):
going to be for them and the huddle on the floor,
He's going to be a leader, the distribution guy, get
the ball to the right spot. It's not about Lebron's
scoring or making money. Basically, this contract eight million dollars
a year after taxis he gets half of it, I mean,
but his private jet flights home to see his family.
He's not gonna make any money, you know, for Lebron's
standard of traveling, doing things. And yeah, eight million for
(06:57):
Lebron is nothing right for rest of it A lot
for the rest of us. You know, it's enormous, but
for Lebron it's not. And he's not doing it because
it's the city that he's probably most comfortable living in.
He's doing it because like all people, as they age,
you want to chase big things. You know, if you've
been a Michelin Star chef and you're sixty three years old,
(07:20):
you know, relative to the industry, that's an old chef.
Lebron's now an old basketball player. You're not going to
a second tier restaurant group and building it from the
ground up. You know, if some great restaurant in Paris
or New York City calls, I'm interested. You know, we
can be the best restaurant in the world within two years.
That's what Lebron's thinking right now. The chasing ring thing
(07:41):
is stupid. In every other Otani went to the effin Dodgers.
He could have gone to a lot of places. He
went to the Dodgers, all right, So and again like
Tampa and like this Philly t You know, the Dodgers
were winning, but you were, you know pri Otana. You're like, man,
shouldn't they win more? Haven't we been saying about that
(08:02):
about the Sixers forever? They are too manyton players. But
they've had bad injury luck and personnel luck, and you
know they've got some chaos and coaching and GMing, and
you know Lebron will just bring the temperature down, make
the right basketball play. Be a coach in the hubble,
(08:23):
a coach on the floor. I never blame anybody for
selecting better teammates. I don't care if it's a high
school recruit choosing Ohio State or Texas, a Notre Dame
Miami now, I don't care, or a basketball recruit choosing
Yukon and Dan Hurley. I don't care. In life, if
(08:43):
you can choose better teammates, better outcomes, and you can
skip a couple steps, do it. It's just such a
mediocre thing to say you're chasing take rings out for success.
You're chasing success. Well, when entrepreneurs are angel investors, you
(09:04):
know they're putting money into these smart kids who own
these companies. Listen, we got about five years here to
make it. I'm choosing you because I think I can
have success quicker than if I bought a giant company
and had to rebuild it. You're looking for smart people, entrepreneurs,
aspirational people, driven people. I mean, I'll never never criticize people,
(09:27):
even the KD to the Warriors it was weird, But
I was more critical of KD when he left for Brooklyn.
Who leaves a dynasty for Brooklyn. That'd be like Patrick
Mahomes saying I'm done with Andy Reid, give me the Jets.
That's ridiculous. But people wanting to play with Andy Reid
(09:48):
and Mahomes or whoever, the Dodgers or the Yankees or
the Braids, I get it. I told I don't always
support that. I've never been a hypocrite on that. The
other thing is everybody's talking about Cleveland. He bailed on
him twice. But we already did the you know, the
love story, the letter, We did that. It's redundant. And
(10:10):
again Harden and Lebron and they got some rim protection.
But Harden, Lebron and Mitchell to bad fit defensively, it
doesn't work it, I said, it's the Lakers with rim protection.
Austin Reeves and Luca can't defend right. So you add Lebron,
who's a slow player now. He used to be a
great defenderies not anymore. It's just a bad mix. So
(10:30):
I like it. I don't think it guarantees anything. Chemistry,
tweaks by Nick Nurse, the coach, there's a lot of things.
You have to figure it out. I've said before, Philadelphia
is captivating because Jalen Brown does not fit a very
analytically driven Celtics in Philadelphia. For the record, they don't
(10:53):
know if he's gonna work there either. I've got somebody
that I trust that it knows people upstairs with the Sixers,
and they just thought the value was too good on
Jdalen Brown. But they know there's going to be usage issues.
I mean, they know exactly what they're getting into with
Jalen Brown and bj Edgecomb and Joel Embiide and and
(11:14):
you know Tyrese Maxie, who's amazing. They know. So you
say to yourself, well, there's one ball. Well, I mean,
Klay Thompson, Steph KD. Draymond doesn't score a lot, but
he wants the ball. He's a catalyst offensively. There were
a lot of mouse to feed. Usually players overtime, overtime,
all work with Lebron, right, not everybody worked with Michael Jordan.
(11:36):
His Washington teammates couldn't stand him. Early Bulls teammates pre
titles not all love Michael, even when you watched the documentary.
Even his teammates he punched Steve Kerr, Will Pardue called
him out Will Purdue. So the other thing about Lebron
is that he just makes everything better in basketball, like
(11:58):
every place he's gone. He's wont of type, right, like
Michael Jordan didn't fit necessarily with every player. Like Michael
needed the ball, Michael was taking the shot. Lebron's got
criticism early in his career because sometimes he wouldn't take
the shot, he would make the right basketball move. And
(12:20):
I think that's always something I defended Lebron on I
was thinking about the move, and I was thinking about
Adam Silver. So here's Adam Silver. I think this whole
thing irritates it if I had to guess, like Adam
Silver is ready for Wemby to take over the league. Right,
because the NFL, it doesn't really matter who wins. You
could have dynasties, non dynasties. I mean, the Seahawks played
(12:43):
the Patriots. Everybody watched it. Great story, Sam Darnold. Everything
works there. Baseball needs you know, your Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers, NBA.
You know, you get better ratings if you have like
a narrative or a star. And here you have Wemby
the Knicks. What a home run, the next great all
(13:03):
time player and New York a renaissance for the Knicks.
It was so good for the NBA, and I think
Adam Sober was proud of it. He loved it. And
you know, we've had eight champs in eight years. But
I think it's like, oh, okay, we're ready for this
San Antonio explosion and here comes Lebron from Philadelphia, and Lebron,
(13:29):
you know, there's reports out there and he was just
sort of tweaking the league. He's like, I'm gonna do
it on my timeline. The league wanted him to announce
it so they can get the schedule right on Christmas Day.
But I wonder if they're just a little annoyed with
Lebron right now. They kind of want to turn the page,
you know, I mean, listen when when when Brady went
to Tampa. That was a great story, but by the
(13:51):
end of it, it's kind of like, Okay, it's at
Mahomes turn, Josh Allen's turn, Lamar Jackson's turn. You know
everybody wears out there. Welcome a little bit, but I'll
defend Lebron James to the end of the earth on choosing.
I think Philadelphia is gonna be exceptional. Here's the other
thing is that Embiid's gonna miss thirty games because he's Embiid.
(14:12):
The rest of those guys VJ, Maxi Brown, you know
they play hard. Maxi doesn't miss games at all. Lebron
James can give you sixty games. Lebron James doesn't have
the burden of carrying the team. So and that's another
reason this works. Lebron just think like Lebron thinks. You
(14:33):
go to Miami, he got portous Bam and johnis big
team you gotta have. You gotta score a lot down there.
You gotta play a lot of minutes down there. They
had a week back Cord. You don't know what you're
getting with Andrew Wiggins. You gotta play a lot of minutes.
They gave away really interesting rotational players for the Bucks
to get you on this. Lebron knows I don't have
thirty seven minutes in me every night. I can't defend
(14:54):
that an elite level. Now, they have great rim protection
in Miami, but weird floor spacing, not enough really depend
dole shooters. You never know what you can get day
to day, game to game with Wiggins. You look at Cleveland,
Okay Harden and Donovan Mitchell. This is what Lebron's thinking.
You know, this is the Lakers, poor defenders, guys that
need the ball, Luca Austin, Mitchell, Harden, and so does Lebron.
(15:18):
Then you look at Philadelphia and you're like, they're explosive
and they're athletic. They've got rim protections and beads get
a miss game. So Lebron knows Listen, I can play
sixty games. The three younger guys in their athletic prime,
Edgecombe probably two years out from entering it like, they're
gonna play a lot of games, a lot of minutes.
(15:38):
They're gonna play defense, They're gonna protect me. It's just
like when Tom Brady went to Tampa. They had a
really good interior, old line, good tight end, offensive coach,
weapons on the outside. They get Lenny Fournette, Gront and
they draft the right tack on it. It's like, oh,
because the interior of the old line was good, left
tackle was fine, and it's like, Okay, this works for
me at my age. What do I need? I need
(16:00):
people to do the lifting downfield, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Gronk,
I need that. He didn't have that at the end
in New England. Lebron knows at this point, I'm a
slower player. I need youth and explosion. I need dynamic,
athletic young talent around me to hide some of my issues.
Fact that's just called intelligence. That's just smart. So as
(16:23):
we all age, we don't have quite the energy if
you're an athlete, not the foot speed. That's just the
reality of aging and putting parts around. You know what
you are, you know what you're not. You're not trying
to prove anything to the world. Lebron's got the money,
the legacy, the rings, the great family. He knows what
he's not. He's not forty four minutes a night, seventy
(16:45):
four games, that's not what he is and playing great defense.
He gets beat down the floor. I nobody beat him
down the floor for fifteen years. He gets beat down
the floor all the time now, So don't buy a
ring chasing it's bs. All of us in our careers
go chase rings. Chase great law firms, restaurant brutes. You're
(17:08):
a surgeon, go to the best hospital. Chase top coworkers, period,
every sport, any time. A lot of the stuff that's
that's negative for Lebron is just they're pissed because they
know they're gonna be good. Who's not gonna want to
watch that team? Like Miami would have been a weird watch,
like it would have been a weird, clunky offense. Cleveland
(17:33):
they have chemistry issues. I mean, the minute Lebron leaves
Cleveland five minutes later, the franchise doesn't feel the same.
I never bought Minnesota at all. Golden State would have
been a fun watching. I mean, it's it's old. It's old, guys.
I'm not sure how many games Draymond Stits Lebron would
have played together. Philadelphia has got everything. It'll have a
(17:56):
little dysfunction speed temple Lebron. Yeah, it's listen. The New
York Knicks were lost a couple of games into that
series with Atlanta. They made it tweak. They were a
bad defensive team. End of the year. Then they became
a very good defensive team. I mean, that's the Knicks, right,
(18:17):
Like the next guys had played together for years. They
had a new coach, but it was the Knicks. They
were tweaking the middle of an Atlanta series, then they
went on a championship run. This stuff's not easy. There's
egos and inexperienced Lebron's super experience. It's gonna be a lot.
It's gonna be a fun jigsaw public puzzle. It's gonna
be a rubeks cube for several months. Nick Nurse is
a good coach. Philadelphia is an amazing sports down so
(18:40):
it's going to be combustible. I think it's fantastic, the
whole ring chasing to give me a right and then
this is the one Now. So let's say Lebron. I
don't know if they'll win the champion. I think I
think San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and Knicks. I think
Celtics will still be good and Dead Grill'll still be good.
Minnesota will be really good. Can't wait once the melobon
and you know, dysfunction. Perhaps I think Minnesota feels a
(19:04):
little bit like Philadelphia East, where LaMelo at a lot
of diod pieces. I'm not sure if they work. Feel
the same way about Philadelphia, but I mean, you start
looking at Lebron's legacy. Let's say he does win a
tie it He's the one thing Michael Jordan was not
(19:25):
as adaptable. You know, a lot of teammates didn't like
him even when they was winning. Lebron's adaptable. He's a
very joyful player. He's got Jordan beat and adaptability and longevity.
You know, Michael was just a different player entirely, a
different human being, very intense both. I mean, the greatest
(19:45):
player ever. Whatever, throw Magic Johnson near the top, Kareem
Bill Russell, whatever you want to do. But the adaptability,
the longevity, and everybody that plays with Lebron, they always
come out. It's like almost everybody that played under Phil Jackson.
Phil Jackson got the best out of said player. Everybody
(20:06):
that's played with Lebron. He just makes the smart basketball
play all the time. I mean, it's amazing. He goes
to the Lakers, Anthony Davis is great, but can't stay healthy,
not in great shape. Then they think they solve it
with Luca who can't stay healthy, never in great shape.
Like in the end, that divorce was perfect. It was time,
(20:26):
Lebron la. It was time for the Lakers to rebuild.
They dide a nice job. I don't know how great
they are, but they're good. They're longer, they're younger, they're whider,
they're bigger, they got youth. And then Lebron's like, all right,
let me go, I'm over Philadelphia. Philadelphia has got a
better starting five than the Lakers, and it's not particularly close,
(20:47):
much more athletic, much better defensively. So part of what
makes the NBA fun is the soap opera. Philadelphia's got
a little soap opera, LaMelo and Minnesot's got a little
soap opera. I think you know the Miami thing to me,
like I said very early in the process, I get Miami.
(21:09):
Savannah may like it, Lebron may like it. You know,
it's it's awqua water. It's a winter League. Like I
understood the Miami thing, I didn't like necessarily the basketball thing.
I think Wiggins is a better shooter than people give
him credit for it. You just don't know what you're
getting with him, and he's getting older now, he's out
of his athletic prime, and it's a big team with
great rim protection. Portals will come off the bench. Bam.
(21:30):
You're honest. But it's gonna be a weird offense. And
I think Lebron looked at it thought, man, I'm gonna
have to do a lot of the lifting, ball handling, distribution, scoring,
and you know I don't. They got a week back
corporate Miami basketball wise was weird lifestyle. I totally get it.
Love Miami. I just flew back from Florida. By the way,
(21:51):
It's not as hot Florida in the summer as everybody says.
I mean, it's taught from like one to four. Go
read a book. Going side this wild NBA loved soap operas,
Gotwin and Philly fan base, that media it is is great.
Philadelphia is what sports should be. Phillies, Eagles, sports Talk
(22:13):
radio file at six. Just a great American city, tribal
and nuts the provincial at times. That's great Philadelphia. Like
when Andy Reid got the job. There's that legendary video,
like NFL Films video when Andy Reids, a young Andy
(22:35):
Reid gets the job in Philadelphia and Bill Parcells, who'd
been coaching in New York's like, you know, you got
the toughest job in my league. It's not New York,
it's Philadelphia. I mean, I would just love to be
on Philadelphia sports talk radio tomorrow. How great is that?
That city's just gonna go crazy? And let's be honest.
Tampa Bay for years, Jason like great GM, Bruce arians
(22:58):
great coach, had great talent, but Jamis Winston, you know,
it's you get thirty touchdowns, you get thirty picks. They
were just they just needed somebody to bring it all together,
synthesize it. Right. That's Stillbron and Philadelphia. They've always had talent.
It's just it's it always feels just off. Whose team
(23:18):
is it? You know? I think Lebron will really not
give it over to Tyresse Maxi, but he'll realize very
quickly is this guy's got a lot of juice and energy.
I want him touching the ball a lot. And I've
been on that Tyrese Maxi train for a couple of
years now. That guy jumps so TV. Jesus, he's good
and Edgecombe is going to be kind of the Stefan
(23:41):
Castle of the Spurs. Like a really good defender can score,
but tremendous athlete, tough dog, it would not shock me.
Spurs sixers NBA Final. The Nicks will have something to
say about that. The Thunder and Minnesota have something to
say about that. Spurs Sixers NBA Final. God, that'd be magical,
(24:06):
all right. Going back to my vacation, m hm. The
volume
Host
Colin Cowherd
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