March 14, 2019 • 26 mins
It's The Best of the Odd Couple with Chris Broussard and Rob Parker! Chris and Rob discuss whether or not LeBron James' nightmarish season in Los Angeles has damaged his reputation and stature around the League, and Bleacher Report NBA writer Ruc Bucher stops by to discuss his report that Jeanie Buss contemplated trading LeBron earlier this season. And, the guys use Zion Williamson's return to the hardwood to debate whether or not guys like Zion would have been better served playing basketball in the G-League rather than going to college.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcast.
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Couple at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us
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(00:21):
s R. You're listening to the Best of The Odd
Couple with Chris Brush and Rod Harker. Los Angeles Lakers,
and in particular, Genie Buss considered trading Lebron James before
Jeff Van Gundy brought it up. Here's the story that
(00:43):
Rick Bucker wrote. He said that when rumors engulfed the
team at the February trade deadline, it's for Bleacher Report
that it was willing to trade anyone other than James
to acquire All star forward Anthony Davis from New Orleans Pelicans. Basically,
let me summarize it for you. Genie Buss was upset
that these rumors were out there that everybody on the
(01:05):
team was available, right because she knew that that wouldn't
sit right right, and she thought that rich Paul Lebron's
agent was the one leaking them. And she then got
upset and thought about it. Actually just says it crossed
her mind that she wanted to part from Rich and
(01:25):
Lebron and maybe trade him. But she didn't make a
phone call from Rich call right well her did they
have a Rich spoke with her, She thought about trading it,
and then Rich spoke with her, reassured let her no,
look I'm not the one leaking this stuff, and then
everything was cool. So hold on, She never made a
(01:47):
call to anybody about trading Lebron. So how did he
know to call her or that she had reservations? That's what?
Where did you know what I mean for Rich Paul?
Rich Paul called her? Why did he call her? Why
would he even contemplate or think that she wanted to
get rid of you know what I mean to reassure her?
(02:09):
So it was Rich was Rich caught wind of that
that Genie Genie felt felt believed this, and he contacted her.
This is according to the story. Okay, I'm just trying
to map it out. He reached out to her and
they cleared the air. Now, I obviously have been an
NBA reporter myself, so I've talked to people close to
(02:32):
this situation, and they have emphatically denied it. Okay, they've
denied what Rick Bucker wrote, and we'll ask him about
this when we get him on the show. Um, they
say it's they used the phrase total fabrication, and so
you think it's a total fabrication, not from Rick Buker,
but from the people who fed them all the sources
(02:55):
that they you know as that saying that you're only
as good as your sources. So he made they're saying
he's wrong, and we would say he got bad info.
I don't think Rick would make that up. That's what
I'm That's what I'm saying. Who don't understand that ricks
sit in front of a laptop and make up a story.
(03:16):
Just there have been reporters, yea that, but I don't
think knowing Ri and his long history in the business,
I would if he's wrong, he's he got bad sources.
And again I've been told he's wrong, and m we've
all had some bad story, right, Sometimes your sources just
are wrong bad And so here's the we got quotes
(03:41):
I needs from anonymous people, right GMS. Yeah, basically the story.
And here's the thing with the story. He didn't lead
with that. So if you if you got it solid.
Typically you lead with Genie, but in the Pruss box,
when you got a big story like that, right it
just write it. You don't have to massage and so
(04:05):
he but he maybe one of the bigger things is
that he quoted some owners and executives around the league
as basically saying they you wouldn't get that much for Lebron. Wow.
One Eastern Conference owner says, at this point what he
would give up for Lebron probably would not make an
(04:27):
offer given where we are. I wouldn't want to gut
the team for a player that isn't committed, and it's
toward the end of his career. But that that committed
part is interesting. Well, but you know, I mean, if
he gets he's committed to LA and if he gets traded,
he's not gonna be happy. So I get that part, uh,
(04:48):
And it's toward the end of his career. I wouldn't
roll up the truck and give more than one protected
first round pick. And then a Western that's from a
Western Conference owner says, I wouldn't roll up the truck
and get more than one protective first round pick. A
Western Conference assistant GM says, I still think you could
get a decent package for him from a bad team,
a first round pick and a good young player, but
(05:10):
it would have been a lot more a year ago,
for sure. So here's the question, Rob, I want to
throw to you. Has this season damaged Lebron's reputation or
image or stature around the league that much? I think
it's damaged him. It's not that he can't repair it,
(05:35):
because all he has to do is come out next
year and play like right and ball out and play
hard and everybody knows he's committed and whatnot. I think
it's not just that they didn't make the playoffs. You
might say, okay, injuries, young guys. It's just that there
was a point where you just didn't know really if
Lebron was interested or he was as committed that. That's
(05:56):
what I watched him play. We talked about the numbers,
because he pauled up to numbers, but we act like
that's easy to do. No, I'm just saying to do.
But I'm saying that were moments when you watched him
and how he dealt with his teammates, how he didn't
play defense and some against some of these bad teams.
And I think that's where people looked at and goes,
does this guy even does he really want to win?
(06:18):
Or what's going on? It just seemed weird because he's
so competitive. I think of Lebron as a competitive guy
who wants to win. I don't think I saw that
every time out this year. I think I don't know. Yeah,
I mean when you look at these quotes from these
executives and owners, I mean it makes sense. Lebron's about
(06:39):
to be thirty five early in next season December, and
you're not going to when you you got your team
for just anybody who's thirty five. I don't know that
people would have done that from Michael Jordans. No, no, no,
you know. And so it's not like he's twenty seven.
We thought he was this great but all of a
(07:00):
sudden nobody wants him. If you have the poll of
GM's who you're starting your team with. But you're not
gonna be Lebron James anymore because of his age. So
and when you bring in Lebron, you gotta bring the
pressures on front office. People know, hey, Lebron's gonna want
to have his say, and it might their jobs might
(07:22):
be in jeopardy. No, there's no doubt. But it's just
I get it why a team might not trade for him,
to give up a ton for him right now, because
you got to bring in other superstars too. But here's
the other part which makes it a little different, because
it's the idea that Lebron no matter what, Nope, just
there might have been a couple handful of people who
(07:44):
thought that this first year in LA would be this
like where Lebron is getting the brunt of a lot
of pushback from people, team is not making the playoffs.
That Anthony Davis thing didn't work out for him. I
mean a lot of bad thing. He got, hurts he
could have ever imagine. I'm just saying when you add
up all of those, him and Luke Walton didn't really
(08:05):
connect when he got here. He never got to Los Angeles.
I don't know. Was it a weaker show before even
David had contact, which was weird. He never had a
press conference here. It was just like a lot of
things that that just didn't seem to to to go
smoothly for him. So all you had all of that
up and then the idea that at this point nobody
(08:26):
would want Lebron, like like I think that's the part
of it, which which is a lot. Yeah. I mean
a year ago he was the consensus for the most
past player in the world. Now he's not. Most people
probably don't still consider him the best player in the world.
But I think a lot of it. You can't deny
it's not sexy and all that, but the injuries were
(08:48):
a factor. And you're right when he came back, they
still lost to bad teams. He didn't play all that well.
But that also just throwing it out because it's realistic
that may have been related to him injury too. Because
you saw him another night against Chicago. They're throwing the
ball off the glass, He's dunking it backwards out of you.
It's like he looks like a different, more athletic player
(09:10):
than he did two weeks ago. Is it and maybe
that was was that conditioning from the injury. Was it
you're still a little hesitant because of the injury. Was
it you're not a hundred percent because of the injury,
or was it just he was lunching, he was relaxing.
I mean, we don't know. Or is it that the
heat is off, like like the pressure is off. I'm
(09:32):
just saying where you could just relax and just play
ball and put up numbers and there's no pressure involved
at all. He's the only reason, yeah, you throw it out.
The only reason I would push back on that is
just that, I mean, this is a guy that's played
in the finals of last eight years. I got it,
you know what I'm saying. This is a guy that
came back from a three one deficit. So I don't
(09:53):
think the pressure of trying to get the Lakers into
the playoffs would shake him. But you know, it's a
theory to throw out there. I'm just one just like
you know, once it's all over, just go on to say,
I'm just I'm just gonna play man. Yeah, do you
know what I mean? I'm just gonna play feel good
and maybe feels a little bit better. Fox Sports Radio
has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch
all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com
(10:15):
and within the iHeart Radio app. Search f SR to
listen live. Let's bring in our friend, our former colleague
and author of this Bleacher Reports story that has everybody talking,
also the host of Buker and Friends. That's a podcasts
Bleacher Report Senior NBA writer Rick Buker Rick, Man, what's happened?
(10:35):
What's up, Brick? What's happening? Fellows? How we doing? We're good?
I know you a busy man today. You know how
this works? MANA yeah, so you're never quite ready for it,
but yeah, right it comes. Look, you know the business, Rick,
You know when a story like this breaks, and you
know that you saying Genie Buss contemplated it crossed their
(10:59):
mind of trading Lebron. You know, you get calls, you
talk to other people, and I've I've talked to people
who have denied the story. They said it's not true.
And then so I want to throw that at you.
What do you say to those who you know are
hearing being told this or that people are saying this
is not true? And then secondly, the story, you know
(11:21):
that the notion that Genie was contemplating trading Lebron you
put it, I don't know, six seven paragraphs deep whatever
in the story. Why didn't you lead with that? You know,
because obviously that's huge news. So I'm throwing those two
questions out at you. Well, the premise of the story
wasn't that that Genie Buss considered trading him? Because I
(11:44):
didn't look did you consider it at one point? Was
it a flash point because she was frustrated with Rich,
Paul and Clutch From the way it was described to me,
that's what it was. Did they now, as far as
them contemplating it, I have no doubt that they did,
because they took a look the team did at Lebron's
(12:05):
contract to know whether they could or not. Is there
a no trade in there? What's the what's the kicker? Like?
They went back and looked at it. And maybe you'd
think that they would know that stuff off the top
of their head, but they went to check it. So
theyd be a magic and polink like, yeah, okay, yeah, yes,
that it was. It was a matter of, uh, let's
refresh ourselves on this now. Did they make any calls. No,
(12:27):
they didn't make any calls. And so to me it
was did they think about it at one point? Yes?
Did they take any action on it? No? And for me,
that's why it was an interesting note to know less
I think less in terms of the move that they
were going to make, rather than a reflection of how
(12:48):
frustrated they were at the time with the way things
went down with Rich and the the attempts to get
a d and the names of the players going out
that was that to me was the reason to have
that in the story. But the overarching element for me
was talking to people around the league and saying, Okay, look,
(13:10):
if if he was made available, if the Lakers did
change their minds or they did explore this, what would
they be able to get for him? Because there was
at a time where it was like, well, what do
you need? What do you want? Like everybody in the
league would want Lebron James now at thirty four and
you're trading and you're going to get him locked up
for a couple of years. So that's not the issue
(13:32):
that you know that he's it's pending free agency. But
with everything that transpired with the Lakers this year, my
big number one question was how much has this season
affected his value? Do people blame him for what occurred?
How much do they put it on him? And the
(13:55):
answers that I got, I believe tell the story that
and maybe more than any thing, it's it's the injury
as much as anything else. Yes, it's you know, some
of the other things that you have to deal with
when it comes to Lebron and his stardom, but it
really more than anything. It was at thirty four, he's
missing seventeen eighteen games, he comes back, he's still not
(14:16):
the same player. Is are we seeing for the first
time his age and his durability coming into question? And
then it comes like, okay, so if that's the case,
are we selling the farm to get a guy who
may be on his way down? That seemed to be
the prevailing notion from the teams that I talked to
(14:36):
Rick hal I'll prepare what the Lakers to deal with
Lebron today, not know that you know what I mean?
When you get this guy, this is gonna be. As
Chris always says, drama follows him, that this kind of
stuff seems to happen. And it seems like the Lakers
were kind of taking a back by it that this
is all Lebron operates and I'm talking about the trade thing. Yeah. Look,
(14:59):
Magic Magic has been in the big time. He's been
in controversy, in controversial situations. If there was a level
of confidence there, I would understand why it was there.
I would also say that it was probably misplaced because
what went on in Magic's day isn't the way things
happen today. If there is a there's a sound and
(15:23):
a fury when it comes to events today. When when
when controversy hits, that is that the stuff in the
past pales in comparison. As far as what comes along
with getting Lebron, I think look, desperate times result in
desperate measures. The Lakers were just happy that they got
(15:47):
Lebron because they were looking around and Paul George turns
them down and Kawhi Leonard is the indications are he's
not interested. It's how are we going to for magic?
In particular, how am I going to fulfill this? Am
I going to get the peace? And I would say
that what they've taken ownership is what we got Lebron here,
I don't. I think that's the wrong read, to be honestly.
(16:09):
I think Lebron decided to go to LA and decided
to play for the Lakers based on when he did
it and how he did it and who was around
him when he did it. This was his choice, not
something that the Lakers sold him on. It's the eye.
Couple were joined by Bleacher Reports senior NBA writer Rick Buker, Rick,
(16:29):
what do you think this summer is going to look
like for the Lakers? And you know, there have been
a couple of reports that New Orleans will not trade
ad to the Lakers under any circumstances. Are you hearing
that same thing? Yeah, Look, they're certainly reluctant. Everything I've
been told is there is reluctant, as san Antonio was
(16:49):
and dealing with them when it came to Kawhi Leonard,
I would expect that they would hold to that. The
one uncertainty here is we don't know who's going to
be running that New Orleans franchise, and so depending on
who comes in, do they come in with a new
different idea, do they come in with a different approach.
(17:10):
I don't know that that enmity toward the Lakers is
and it may be, but I don't know that it's
coming from ownership or Mickey Loomis. The pieces that are
that we know are going to be there. So not
knowing that, I would suspect, you know, standard operating procedure
is I don't want that guy in my backyard. I
(17:30):
don't want to see I want to see him once
a year in my building and once a year in his.
And so if if we are going to move him,
let's move him to the Eastern Conference, much like the
San Antonio Spurs did with Kauai. So I that's as
far as I know that when it comes to or
what I know about that, when it comes to the
(17:51):
summer and the Lakers, man, I gotta tell you right now,
it just looks bleak. If you can't make it these
play for a d who are you going to get? Okay,
So maybe you can go get it, Tobias Harris, Maybe
you can make a play for Kema Walker, Jimmy Butler.
But those to me, those guys are all, you know,
(18:14):
second tier. They're not the Kauis, they're not the Kyries,
They're not the Kevin Durant. Now, I will say the
one one thing I am curious about is you know
where's Kyrie and all this? Because I was told a
while ago that he was open to the idea of
(18:35):
playing with Lebron again, and you know obvious see how
things happen in Boston. But you get to this summer
and Kyrie's looking around, and Lebron is desperate, Lebron wants Kyrie.
Labron goes out of his way to recruit Kyrie and
lets everybody know it. That to me is what Kyrie
kind of wanted in Cleveland. He wanted to be recognized
(18:56):
as being needed, being wanted, and being on the same
plane as with Lebron. Would that be enough to have
him say, oh, Lebron, Lebron needs me right, let's go
and ride again. Let's go see if we can get
another ring. Would that be enough to attract Kyrie? I
don't know, but when I look across the landscape, but
(19:17):
the potential, you know, superstars that could get there, that's
really the only avenue I see in which they land
one rick thirty seconds your gut do you expect Lebron
James and I know a lot has to happen, but
to win a championship in his final three years in
La Chris and I don't think it's going to happen,
even if he goes and gets another start to go
(19:38):
with him. But I'm just asking, what's your gut feeling.
I don't see any way in which it happens any
because I know I don't, and it's it's just a
matter of the timeline. I don't expect it. Lebron. I
think he's his abilities are going to recede. You get one,
so you get a superstar player. Okay, that makes them better,
(19:58):
does it? As you guys know, I mean, when we're
we're talking championship, right, that's what we're talking. It's as
much the ancillary players as it is the core, right,
Like all the pieces have to fit and do you
can you put those pieces together? And by the way,
everything will that magic is done and Lebron has done.
(20:19):
Nobody's going to do them any favors. Nobody's looking at
some out, no doubt about it. Man, thanks for joining us.
Keep doing your thing, but all right, be sure to
catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris Brussard
and Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app.
(20:42):
Let's get designon though, and this leads us to Mark Cuban.
He had a strong core. Remember, the NBA is putting
together this G League. Well, just a new rule for it,
and next season high school players will be able to
go straight to the G League for one hundred and
be paid one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars. But
they can't go to the NBA with this new role.
(21:03):
They can not yet. I mean I think that will
change too in the legal be what will be wasted
well for next year, they not because kids that aren't
drafted into the NBA or kids that maybe they'll probably
have two way contracts as well available, but kids that
aren't drafted into the NBA in those two rounds, if
(21:23):
you still don't want to go to college, you'll be
able to go to the G League and get paid.
The only thing I'll say about this, and this is
if you want to play in the NBA. And I
don't want to get off to the topic, but you
already have a an NBA team. You got how many players, Chris?
It's thirteen, right, yeah, then you got a couple of guys, right,
there's like two or three guys who don't dress. I
can't remember the exact numbers. If fourteen twelve dress, twelve dress,
(21:48):
and then there's two or three that don't dress. It
was fifteen, I don't know, thirteen to fifteen, right, So
it's fifteen players. Those guys can't get in. How can
anybody from the G League get to play out? There's
a lot of players from the G League that make
their way today. Really yeah, like cool? Who's good to
check this? Right? If I'm not mistaken. They've been over
(22:10):
the years. There have been several really yeah, yeah, most
guys can either when it was the CBA or now
the G League. But that's not uncommon. I don't see
this this tweet. Guys not getting dressed on on at
the NBA level. Now, it's not it's not uncommon. I
think it's most players don't. But there are guys who've
made a name for themselves after spending some time in
(22:33):
the G League. But Mark Cuban says that, let me
just read the quote. If you're if you're a strong
enough brand and a good enough basketball player, you're crazy.
I think if you don't take the one hundred and
twenty five thousand dollars salary in the NBA G League,
because they can also do their own marketing deals, they're
not constrained by the NBA Players Association. Pick a very
(22:55):
popular player that has a couple of million Instagram followers,
you can go right to the G League and probably
signed a multimillion dollars shoe deal. Why wouldn't you do
that instead of going to college? So Mark Cuban is
saying he thinks the smart move for high school players
in the future is to go straight to the G League.
I think he's overstating it. Everybody doesn't get a multimillion
(23:18):
dollars deal. I mean there's a lot of great players, Chris,
everybody doesn't get a deal. It's not that's not true everybody.
I actually think everybody gets a shoe deal. No, he's
not saying that, but he's saying, if you if you're
that everybody. Everybody has two million follow but a lot
of these kid LaMelo Ball, I don't know how he's
got tons of Instagram follows. Zion Williamson was was a
(23:41):
known commodity and tons of people knew him before he
even went to Duke. Now he got bigger at Duke.
But if he goes to the G League and it's
dunking on people the way he is at Duke, he's
going to his stature and legend is going to grow.
Now not quite to what it had as it Duke,
but it still would be very large and he be
(24:03):
able to get paid for that one season hit. My
biggest problem is this. Now, I think a lot of
people won't go to the G League. It's certainly in
the first few years because we all grew up. Rob
you know that even though the system is exploited, if
we all grew up watching NCUBA basketball, you know, rooting
for certain teams, all the great players played in the
(24:25):
in the college basketball set for the handful that came
straight out of high school, and so there's a tradition there,
march madness, all of that. But I think as we
get further away from that and players a few players
do go to the G League get that money, I
think you'll see more and more players do it. My
biggest problem with I wouldn't do it. If I was
(24:47):
if I would go to a college for one year,
I'd rather do that be big man on campus. I'm
just saying nor again, it's everybody's strugging and playing in
New Haven, Connecticut or wherever they play. I don't even
can you give me a play? What are they play?
We're the games? I don't know. Off you play West
Shot City something like that. But here's the thing to
(25:09):
city I could get. My biggest the biggest challenge is this.
The G League cats can ball all right, They're they're
they're better than the NC Double A tournament, guys better
than the NC Double A Division one players. They're old
men they're some of them are thirty twenty seven their
(25:31):
life there. They're legit players, and a guy coming out
of high school. At least when you go to college,
you're not playing grown men. These guys are eighteen to
twenty one years old. You getting the GI League, you
would grown men that are physically mature. And I don't
think most high school players are gonna come out and
(25:53):
just dominate the league. Some will, but if you come
out and you don't, that could hurt your staff at you.
That's my biggest concern for the high school kids coming out.
That's what I say. It's not it's not. I mean,
I get it. I'm not saying I would go to
the G League. I love college basketball in the pageantry
and march madness and all that. I get it. But
(26:16):
at least that needs some money. But they got co
eds in Sioux City. They really in Westchester, but they're
working at the waffle house. That's all right. I'm just
saying that's all right.
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday from seven
pm to ten pm Eastern four to seven Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for The Odd
Couple at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us
live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching f
(00:21):
s R. You're listening to the Best of The Odd
Couple with Chris Brush and Rod Harker. Los Angeles Lakers,
and in particular, Genie Buss considered trading Lebron James before
Jeff Van Gundy brought it up. Here's the story that
(00:43):
Rick Bucker wrote. He said that when rumors engulfed the
team at the February trade deadline, it's for Bleacher Report
that it was willing to trade anyone other than James
to acquire All star forward Anthony Davis from New Orleans Pelicans. Basically,
let me summarize it for you. Genie Buss was upset
that these rumors were out there that everybody on the
(01:05):
team was available, right because she knew that that wouldn't
sit right right, and she thought that rich Paul Lebron's
agent was the one leaking them. And she then got
upset and thought about it. Actually just says it crossed
her mind that she wanted to part from Rich and
(01:25):
Lebron and maybe trade him. But she didn't make a
phone call from Rich call right well her did they
have a Rich spoke with her, She thought about trading it,
and then Rich spoke with her, reassured let her no,
look I'm not the one leaking this stuff, and then
everything was cool. So hold on, She never made a
(01:47):
call to anybody about trading Lebron. So how did he
know to call her or that she had reservations? That's what?
Where did you know what I mean for Rich Paul?
Rich Paul called her? Why did he call her? Why
would he even contemplate or think that she wanted to
get rid of you know what I mean to reassure her?
(02:09):
So it was Rich was Rich caught wind of that
that Genie Genie felt felt believed this, and he contacted her.
This is according to the story. Okay, I'm just trying
to map it out. He reached out to her and
they cleared the air. Now, I obviously have been an
NBA reporter myself, so I've talked to people close to
(02:32):
this situation, and they have emphatically denied it. Okay, they've
denied what Rick Bucker wrote, and we'll ask him about
this when we get him on the show. Um, they
say it's they used the phrase total fabrication, and so
you think it's a total fabrication, not from Rick Buker,
but from the people who fed them all the sources
(02:55):
that they you know as that saying that you're only
as good as your sources. So he made they're saying
he's wrong, and we would say he got bad info.
I don't think Rick would make that up. That's what
I'm That's what I'm saying. Who don't understand that ricks
sit in front of a laptop and make up a story.
(03:16):
Just there have been reporters, yea that, but I don't
think knowing Ri and his long history in the business,
I would if he's wrong, he's he got bad sources.
And again I've been told he's wrong, and m we've
all had some bad story, right, Sometimes your sources just
are wrong bad And so here's the we got quotes
(03:41):
I needs from anonymous people, right GMS. Yeah, basically the story.
And here's the thing with the story. He didn't lead
with that. So if you if you got it solid.
Typically you lead with Genie, but in the Pruss box,
when you got a big story like that, right it
just write it. You don't have to massage and so
(04:05):
he but he maybe one of the bigger things is
that he quoted some owners and executives around the league
as basically saying they you wouldn't get that much for Lebron. Wow.
One Eastern Conference owner says, at this point what he
would give up for Lebron probably would not make an
(04:27):
offer given where we are. I wouldn't want to gut
the team for a player that isn't committed, and it's
toward the end of his career. But that that committed
part is interesting. Well, but you know, I mean, if
he gets he's committed to LA and if he gets traded,
he's not gonna be happy. So I get that part, uh,
(04:48):
And it's toward the end of his career. I wouldn't
roll up the truck and give more than one protected
first round pick. And then a Western that's from a
Western Conference owner says, I wouldn't roll up the truck
and get more than one protective first round pick. A
Western Conference assistant GM says, I still think you could
get a decent package for him from a bad team,
a first round pick and a good young player, but
(05:10):
it would have been a lot more a year ago,
for sure. So here's the question, Rob, I want to
throw to you. Has this season damaged Lebron's reputation or
image or stature around the league that much? I think
it's damaged him. It's not that he can't repair it,
(05:35):
because all he has to do is come out next
year and play like right and ball out and play
hard and everybody knows he's committed and whatnot. I think
it's not just that they didn't make the playoffs. You
might say, okay, injuries, young guys. It's just that there
was a point where you just didn't know really if
Lebron was interested or he was as committed that. That's
(05:56):
what I watched him play. We talked about the numbers,
because he pauled up to numbers, but we act like
that's easy to do. No, I'm just saying to do.
But I'm saying that were moments when you watched him
and how he dealt with his teammates, how he didn't
play defense and some against some of these bad teams.
And I think that's where people looked at and goes,
does this guy even does he really want to win?
(06:18):
Or what's going on? It just seemed weird because he's
so competitive. I think of Lebron as a competitive guy
who wants to win. I don't think I saw that
every time out this year. I think I don't know. Yeah,
I mean when you look at these quotes from these
executives and owners, I mean it makes sense. Lebron's about
(06:39):
to be thirty five early in next season December, and
you're not going to when you you got your team
for just anybody who's thirty five. I don't know that
people would have done that from Michael Jordans. No, no, no,
you know. And so it's not like he's twenty seven.
We thought he was this great but all of a
(07:00):
sudden nobody wants him. If you have the poll of
GM's who you're starting your team with. But you're not
gonna be Lebron James anymore because of his age. So
and when you bring in Lebron, you gotta bring the
pressures on front office. People know, hey, Lebron's gonna want
to have his say, and it might their jobs might
(07:22):
be in jeopardy. No, there's no doubt. But it's just
I get it why a team might not trade for him,
to give up a ton for him right now, because
you got to bring in other superstars too. But here's
the other part which makes it a little different, because
it's the idea that Lebron no matter what, Nope, just
there might have been a couple handful of people who
(07:44):
thought that this first year in LA would be this
like where Lebron is getting the brunt of a lot
of pushback from people, team is not making the playoffs.
That Anthony Davis thing didn't work out for him. I
mean a lot of bad thing. He got, hurts he
could have ever imagine. I'm just saying when you add
up all of those, him and Luke Walton didn't really
(08:05):
connect when he got here. He never got to Los Angeles.
I don't know. Was it a weaker show before even
David had contact, which was weird. He never had a
press conference here. It was just like a lot of
things that that just didn't seem to to to go
smoothly for him. So all you had all of that
up and then the idea that at this point nobody
(08:26):
would want Lebron, like like I think that's the part
of it, which which is a lot. Yeah. I mean
a year ago he was the consensus for the most
past player in the world. Now he's not. Most people
probably don't still consider him the best player in the world.
But I think a lot of it. You can't deny
it's not sexy and all that, but the injuries were
(08:48):
a factor. And you're right when he came back, they
still lost to bad teams. He didn't play all that well.
But that also just throwing it out because it's realistic
that may have been related to him injury too. Because
you saw him another night against Chicago. They're throwing the
ball off the glass, He's dunking it backwards out of you.
It's like he looks like a different, more athletic player
(09:10):
than he did two weeks ago. Is it and maybe
that was was that conditioning from the injury. Was it
you're still a little hesitant because of the injury. Was
it you're not a hundred percent because of the injury,
or was it just he was lunching, he was relaxing.
I mean, we don't know. Or is it that the
heat is off, like like the pressure is off. I'm
(09:32):
just saying where you could just relax and just play
ball and put up numbers and there's no pressure involved
at all. He's the only reason, yeah, you throw it out.
The only reason I would push back on that is
just that, I mean, this is a guy that's played
in the finals of last eight years. I got it,
you know what I'm saying. This is a guy that
came back from a three one deficit. So I don't
(09:53):
think the pressure of trying to get the Lakers into
the playoffs would shake him. But you know, it's a
theory to throw out there. I'm just one just like
you know, once it's all over, just go on to say,
I'm just I'm just gonna play man. Yeah, do you
know what I mean? I'm just gonna play feel good
and maybe feels a little bit better. Fox Sports Radio
has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch
all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com
(10:15):
and within the iHeart Radio app. Search f SR to
listen live. Let's bring in our friend, our former colleague
and author of this Bleacher Reports story that has everybody talking,
also the host of Buker and Friends. That's a podcasts
Bleacher Report Senior NBA writer Rick Buker Rick, Man, what's happened?
(10:35):
What's up, Brick? What's happening? Fellows? How we doing? We're good?
I know you a busy man today. You know how
this works? MANA yeah, so you're never quite ready for it,
but yeah, right it comes. Look, you know the business, Rick,
You know when a story like this breaks, and you
know that you saying Genie Buss contemplated it crossed their
(10:59):
mind of trading Lebron. You know, you get calls, you
talk to other people, and I've I've talked to people
who have denied the story. They said it's not true.
And then so I want to throw that at you.
What do you say to those who you know are
hearing being told this or that people are saying this
is not true? And then secondly, the story, you know
(11:21):
that the notion that Genie was contemplating trading Lebron you
put it, I don't know, six seven paragraphs deep whatever
in the story. Why didn't you lead with that? You know,
because obviously that's huge news. So I'm throwing those two
questions out at you. Well, the premise of the story
wasn't that that Genie Buss considered trading him? Because I
(11:44):
didn't look did you consider it at one point? Was
it a flash point because she was frustrated with Rich,
Paul and Clutch From the way it was described to me,
that's what it was. Did they now, as far as
them contemplating it, I have no doubt that they did,
because they took a look the team did at Lebron's
(12:05):
contract to know whether they could or not. Is there
a no trade in there? What's the what's the kicker? Like?
They went back and looked at it. And maybe you'd
think that they would know that stuff off the top
of their head, but they went to check it. So
theyd be a magic and polink like, yeah, okay, yeah, yes,
that it was. It was a matter of, uh, let's
refresh ourselves on this now. Did they make any calls. No,
(12:27):
they didn't make any calls. And so to me it
was did they think about it at one point? Yes?
Did they take any action on it? No? And for me,
that's why it was an interesting note to know less
I think less in terms of the move that they
were going to make, rather than a reflection of how
(12:48):
frustrated they were at the time with the way things
went down with Rich and the the attempts to get
a d and the names of the players going out
that was that to me was the reason to have
that in the story. But the overarching element for me
was talking to people around the league and saying, Okay, look,
(13:10):
if if he was made available, if the Lakers did
change their minds or they did explore this, what would
they be able to get for him? Because there was
at a time where it was like, well, what do
you need? What do you want? Like everybody in the
league would want Lebron James now at thirty four and
you're trading and you're going to get him locked up
for a couple of years. So that's not the issue
(13:32):
that you know that he's it's pending free agency. But
with everything that transpired with the Lakers this year, my
big number one question was how much has this season
affected his value? Do people blame him for what occurred?
How much do they put it on him? And the
(13:55):
answers that I got, I believe tell the story that
and maybe more than any thing, it's it's the injury
as much as anything else. Yes, it's you know, some
of the other things that you have to deal with
when it comes to Lebron and his stardom, but it
really more than anything. It was at thirty four, he's
missing seventeen eighteen games, he comes back, he's still not
(14:16):
the same player. Is are we seeing for the first
time his age and his durability coming into question? And
then it comes like, okay, so if that's the case,
are we selling the farm to get a guy who
may be on his way down? That seemed to be
the prevailing notion from the teams that I talked to
(14:36):
Rick hal I'll prepare what the Lakers to deal with
Lebron today, not know that you know what I mean?
When you get this guy, this is gonna be. As
Chris always says, drama follows him, that this kind of
stuff seems to happen. And it seems like the Lakers
were kind of taking a back by it that this
is all Lebron operates and I'm talking about the trade thing. Yeah. Look,
(14:59):
Magic Magic has been in the big time. He's been
in controversy, in controversial situations. If there was a level
of confidence there, I would understand why it was there.
I would also say that it was probably misplaced because
what went on in Magic's day isn't the way things
happen today. If there is a there's a sound and
(15:23):
a fury when it comes to events today. When when
when controversy hits, that is that the stuff in the
past pales in comparison. As far as what comes along
with getting Lebron, I think look, desperate times result in
desperate measures. The Lakers were just happy that they got
(15:47):
Lebron because they were looking around and Paul George turns
them down and Kawhi Leonard is the indications are he's
not interested. It's how are we going to for magic?
In particular, how am I going to fulfill this? Am
I going to get the peace? And I would say
that what they've taken ownership is what we got Lebron here,
I don't. I think that's the wrong read, to be honestly.
(16:09):
I think Lebron decided to go to LA and decided
to play for the Lakers based on when he did
it and how he did it and who was around
him when he did it. This was his choice, not
something that the Lakers sold him on. It's the eye.
Couple were joined by Bleacher Reports senior NBA writer Rick Buker, Rick,
(16:29):
what do you think this summer is going to look
like for the Lakers? And you know, there have been
a couple of reports that New Orleans will not trade
ad to the Lakers under any circumstances. Are you hearing
that same thing? Yeah, Look, they're certainly reluctant. Everything I've
been told is there is reluctant, as san Antonio was
(16:49):
and dealing with them when it came to Kawhi Leonard,
I would expect that they would hold to that. The
one uncertainty here is we don't know who's going to
be running that New Orleans franchise, and so depending on
who comes in, do they come in with a new
different idea, do they come in with a different approach.
(17:10):
I don't know that that enmity toward the Lakers is
and it may be, but I don't know that it's
coming from ownership or Mickey Loomis. The pieces that are
that we know are going to be there. So not
knowing that, I would suspect, you know, standard operating procedure
is I don't want that guy in my backyard. I
(17:30):
don't want to see I want to see him once
a year in my building and once a year in his.
And so if if we are going to move him,
let's move him to the Eastern Conference, much like the
San Antonio Spurs did with Kauai. So I that's as
far as I know that when it comes to or
what I know about that, when it comes to the
(17:51):
summer and the Lakers, man, I gotta tell you right now,
it just looks bleak. If you can't make it these
play for a d who are you going to get? Okay,
So maybe you can go get it, Tobias Harris, Maybe
you can make a play for Kema Walker, Jimmy Butler.
But those to me, those guys are all, you know,
(18:14):
second tier. They're not the Kauis, they're not the Kyries,
They're not the Kevin Durant. Now, I will say the
one one thing I am curious about is you know
where's Kyrie and all this? Because I was told a
while ago that he was open to the idea of
(18:35):
playing with Lebron again, and you know obvious see how
things happen in Boston. But you get to this summer
and Kyrie's looking around, and Lebron is desperate, Lebron wants Kyrie.
Labron goes out of his way to recruit Kyrie and
lets everybody know it. That to me is what Kyrie
kind of wanted in Cleveland. He wanted to be recognized
(18:56):
as being needed, being wanted, and being on the same
plane as with Lebron. Would that be enough to have
him say, oh, Lebron, Lebron needs me right, let's go
and ride again. Let's go see if we can get
another ring. Would that be enough to attract Kyrie? I
don't know, but when I look across the landscape, but
(19:17):
the potential, you know, superstars that could get there, that's
really the only avenue I see in which they land
one rick thirty seconds your gut do you expect Lebron
James and I know a lot has to happen, but
to win a championship in his final three years in
La Chris and I don't think it's going to happen,
even if he goes and gets another start to go
(19:38):
with him. But I'm just asking, what's your gut feeling.
I don't see any way in which it happens any
because I know I don't, and it's it's just a
matter of the timeline. I don't expect it. Lebron. I
think he's his abilities are going to recede. You get one,
so you get a superstar player. Okay, that makes them better,
(19:58):
does it? As you guys know, I mean, when we're
we're talking championship, right, that's what we're talking. It's as
much the ancillary players as it is the core, right,
Like all the pieces have to fit and do you
can you put those pieces together? And by the way,
everything will that magic is done and Lebron has done.
(20:19):
Nobody's going to do them any favors. Nobody's looking at
some out, no doubt about it. Man, thanks for joining us.
Keep doing your thing, but all right, be sure to
catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris Brussard
and Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app.
(20:42):
Let's get designon though, and this leads us to Mark Cuban.
He had a strong core. Remember, the NBA is putting
together this G League. Well, just a new rule for it,
and next season high school players will be able to
go straight to the G League for one hundred and
be paid one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars. But
they can't go to the NBA with this new role.
(21:03):
They can not yet. I mean I think that will
change too in the legal be what will be wasted
well for next year, they not because kids that aren't
drafted into the NBA or kids that maybe they'll probably
have two way contracts as well available, but kids that
aren't drafted into the NBA in those two rounds, if
(21:23):
you still don't want to go to college, you'll be
able to go to the G League and get paid.
The only thing I'll say about this, and this is
if you want to play in the NBA. And I
don't want to get off to the topic, but you
already have a an NBA team. You got how many players, Chris?
It's thirteen, right, yeah, then you got a couple of guys, right,
there's like two or three guys who don't dress. I
can't remember the exact numbers. If fourteen twelve dress, twelve dress,
(21:48):
and then there's two or three that don't dress. It
was fifteen, I don't know, thirteen to fifteen, right, So
it's fifteen players. Those guys can't get in. How can
anybody from the G League get to play out? There's
a lot of players from the G League that make
their way today. Really yeah, like cool? Who's good to
check this? Right? If I'm not mistaken. They've been over
(22:10):
the years. There have been several really yeah, yeah, most
guys can either when it was the CBA or now
the G League. But that's not uncommon. I don't see
this this tweet. Guys not getting dressed on on at
the NBA level. Now, it's not it's not uncommon. I
think it's most players don't. But there are guys who've
made a name for themselves after spending some time in
(22:33):
the G League. But Mark Cuban says that, let me
just read the quote. If you're if you're a strong
enough brand and a good enough basketball player, you're crazy.
I think if you don't take the one hundred and
twenty five thousand dollars salary in the NBA G League,
because they can also do their own marketing deals, they're
not constrained by the NBA Players Association. Pick a very
(22:55):
popular player that has a couple of million Instagram followers,
you can go right to the G League and probably
signed a multimillion dollars shoe deal. Why wouldn't you do
that instead of going to college? So Mark Cuban is
saying he thinks the smart move for high school players
in the future is to go straight to the G League.
I think he's overstating it. Everybody doesn't get a multimillion
(23:18):
dollars deal. I mean there's a lot of great players, Chris,
everybody doesn't get a deal. It's not that's not true everybody.
I actually think everybody gets a shoe deal. No, he's
not saying that, but he's saying, if you if you're
that everybody. Everybody has two million follow but a lot
of these kid LaMelo Ball, I don't know how he's
got tons of Instagram follows. Zion Williamson was was a
(23:41):
known commodity and tons of people knew him before he
even went to Duke. Now he got bigger at Duke.
But if he goes to the G League and it's
dunking on people the way he is at Duke, he's
going to his stature and legend is going to grow.
Now not quite to what it had as it Duke,
but it still would be very large and he be
(24:03):
able to get paid for that one season hit. My
biggest problem is this. Now, I think a lot of
people won't go to the G League. It's certainly in
the first few years because we all grew up. Rob
you know that even though the system is exploited, if
we all grew up watching NCUBA basketball, you know, rooting
for certain teams, all the great players played in the
(24:25):
in the college basketball set for the handful that came
straight out of high school, and so there's a tradition there,
march madness, all of that. But I think as we
get further away from that and players a few players
do go to the G League get that money, I
think you'll see more and more players do it. My
biggest problem with I wouldn't do it. If I was
(24:47):
if I would go to a college for one year,
I'd rather do that be big man on campus. I'm
just saying nor again, it's everybody's strugging and playing in
New Haven, Connecticut or wherever they play. I don't even
can you give me a play? What are they play?
We're the games? I don't know. Off you play West
Shot City something like that. But here's the thing to
(25:09):
city I could get. My biggest the biggest challenge is this.
The G League cats can ball all right, They're they're
they're better than the NC Double A tournament, guys better
than the NC Double A Division one players. They're old
men they're some of them are thirty twenty seven their
(25:31):
life there. They're legit players, and a guy coming out
of high school. At least when you go to college,
you're not playing grown men. These guys are eighteen to
twenty one years old. You getting the GI League, you
would grown men that are physically mature. And I don't
think most high school players are gonna come out and
(25:53):
just dominate the league. Some will, but if you come
out and you don't, that could hurt your staff at you.
That's my biggest concern for the high school kids coming out.
That's what I say. It's not it's not. I mean,
I get it. I'm not saying I would go to
the G League. I love college basketball in the pageantry
and march madness and all that. I get it. But
(26:16):
at least that needs some money. But they got co
eds in Sioux City. They really in Westchester, but they're
working at the waffle house. That's all right. I'm just
saying that's all right.
Hosts And Creators
kelvin washington
Rob Parker
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