The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Big Suey: Promo Code "TripFromHell'

Episode Date: April 26, 2024

We are sending Taylor to Game 5 at Madison Square Garden between the Knicks and 76ers thanks to Gametime, but it's going to be hellish for him to reach New York. Then, with Izzy in-studio and Jeremy far away, Mike Ryan wants to have a rational conversation about the Miami Heat and Bam Adebayo. Mike believes the Heat could have a top tier defense without Bam and asks if a player like Donovan Mitchell could contribute more to actually winning a championship in Miami. Izzy explains why he believes Bam is a two-way superstar and why Erik Spoelstra says Bam is essential to what the Heat do. Plus, are the Lakers and LeBron James somehow boring? Izzy and JuJu lead us through a conversation on LeBron's future, the entertainment value of Lakers basketball, and potential landing spots for LeBron should he leave Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Please drink responsibly. Welcome to the Big Suey! Presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBattard podcast. I'm sorry, I'm not going to apologize for that. In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there.

That hasn't happened to you guys? I've done it. And now, here's the marching man to nowhere, fat face, and the habitual liar. So sometimes it's more beneficial to wade closer to puck drop because the team that you've had all the faith in the world in ends up going 3-0 and you didn't necessarily see that one coming in like an idiot. I locked in my tickets on the primary market instead of waiting closer to puck drop time, I would have gotten a hell of a deal on the game time map. Download the game time map, create an account, use code DAN for $20 off your first purchase,

terms apply, last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. I wish I had that low price guarantee on the primary market to match it up with them. Game Time would have had my back. But Game Time is also helping us out with a little exercise that we're doing with Taylor. Taylor, rough go of it. And by the way, we found out exactly

why Joel Embiid's body language was bad after that Game 2 loss. He didn't want to show his face because he's currently battling through Bell's palsy. So T's and P's over there. 50-point game, dealing with everything he's dealing with right there.

That is an all-time Philadelphia sports moment. And I want to apologize on air. I didn't know what was going on, so I was making light of the situation. So upon hearing the news, I felt terrible. Like, oh my goodness. So accountability. Sorry, bro.

You weren't alone. A lot of people around the country were saying things. Yoakim Noah, like, no, we didn't know that. You weren't alone. A lot of people around the country were saying this. Yoham Noah, we didn't know that, and that's important. I understand feeling bad, but that's a huge chunk of data that we were missing over there. But Taylor, you're still in control of the series.

Philadelphia had a huge momentum building, potentially win, emotional, and being crazy performance. But we're sending you to game five of that series as a reward for how great you were with Mero yesterday. So. Get okay. But because you kind of stumbled out of the gates, we're gonna send you there, thanks to Game Time,

but it's gonna be a little trickier than you'd imagine. Why don't you detail for the people efficiently how you're getting to game five. In Spanish. Yeah, so, game time was gracious enough to give me the tickets, but Mike said I have to earn the tickets, so I have to take a train from Miami to Madison Square Garden.

Oh my God. It's a 28 hour Garden. Oh my God. It's a 28 hour train. Oh my God. But my team needs me at the garden, and I'm going to be there. I'm going to fight for my team. Only ground transportation. We're talking trains, we're talking buses,

maybe the occasional city bike, and all of this. Take your scooter. All of this. I'm looking at that graphic right now, and it looks daunting. Well, you're not driving the train. I've made that drive before. Yeah, exactly. The drive stinks.

You're in a train. They're doing all the work for you. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the East Coast of America for 28 hours. Yeah, so if you want to play the Game Time promo code game, because I know a lot of you out there are sly, and hopefully you've already used promo code Dan, we've got a special promo code for Taylor's trip from hell.

Download the Game Time app and redeem code, trip from hell, for $20 off your first purchase, term supply, how many hours again is this trip? It looks like 28. Are you gonna be speaking into a Timbo? Maybe, maybe the boot will come back. You're gonna be? You're? You're? Okay,'re going to be doing all that stuff.

All right, wish you luck. When do you have to leave? I think the train leaves Monday at 9 AM, and I get to New York 11 AM the next day. What did you think of the Jets pick last night? It's an all lineman, never too exciting. Do you come back on train also? TBD.

Oh no. If the Knicks lose, I'm not coming back. Well thank you, Taylor, for that. Let's pivot to some, let me take a deep breath, rational heat conversation. Because I don't necessarily think I'm saying things that aren't already openly acknowledged by the fan base and by the organization just because of their offseason pursuits and failures in trying to acquire talent that is better than what they presently have. And I don't want to take anything away from BAM on a bio. I really don't. And I want BAM on this team. My primary hope, even though I've occasionally said in character

voice and emotionally like blow it up, if they fail to get another superstar to improve this team, then I think that's an option that you can look at. My primary hope is that they add a superstar to this team that is better than BAM, that is better than Jimmy without having to give up any of those two players. They've tried this for several years, it hasn't worked. I think Bam Atabayo, I agree, when Amin says he's the best defender in the NBA, I think he's an alien. He's uniquely qualified, he's got this skill set to be a defensive force. But if you're evaluating why you failed to acquire superstars, it's because your offers haven't been as good.

Or there's collusion by the NBA. You don't think that there's a Pat Riley success hurting him? You don't think that there's an element of, I'm not gonna be the one who lets Pat Riley fleece me. And so therefore I'm not gonna make the trade with that guy. I do, I genuinely believe, and this is my heat homerism coming out, that there is a subtle collusion

amongst the league in that look what they've done with the pieces that they have, and we're not going to be the ones that give them a superstar and just have a redux of 2010 through 2014. I do think that there is something to that. And I get all the arguments that are spoon-thread from the organization on down the media that are then regurgitated by the fan base of, BAM on a bio is essential to this team's defense. I get it. But also this organization has proven to you time and time again that championship level defenses do grow on trees. And because you trade, potentially, the most gifted defender in the NBA and

get a superstar in return doesn't mean automatically that you will have a bad defense this team has shown you they can dial that up and for all the great things that you say about SPO if you don't think you can figure out a way to have a good defense without BAM out of bio you're playing yourself and that's all I'm trying to say. So I think your best argument against BAM is that basketball, NBA basketball, is an offensive sport. It's an offensive sport before defense. Look at the scores.

It's not like soccer. No offense. Sorry. Soccer didn't need to take that straight. But when you talk about being a fan, do you just want move pieces around, get me the right thing, put on a uniform, and go win me a championship? Or do you want something the way the Celtics have done it, where they sort of fought through everybody

telling you trade one of those two, they're not the perfect pair, and now they seem to have found the right pieces around them? Because if you say next year that they are in a position to potentially get Donovan Mitchell, where maybe it's the right situation because it's a franchise

that doesn't really have a history with him outside of a couple of years, is willing to take on something else and say, we'll deal with it, we're the mid-franchise, a small franchise, we know. You're counting on Dan Gilbert to play ball with Miami Heat. Effectively. And if that happens next year, and you have a Donovan Mitchell, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo pairing with still some pieces around them, and you say, wow, this team could be overwhelming.

Aren't you then, at that point, looking at the whole picture and saying, man, we did it. We got to the finals a couple of times, we improved, now we're here, this is our cash-in moment. Yeah, I'd say we did it, and much like the pursuit of Jimmy Butler in 2018, where he goes to Philadelphia, and they almost beat the eventual champion in Toronto, unlucky, Jimmy Butler was great in that series.

They get Jimmy Butler for the same asking price that they could have had him for before, but Pat Riley didn't wanna give up certain pieces. You never know what would have happened in that season. Jimmy Butler, with the pieces on that roster, and keep in mind Dwayne Wade was on that team having contributions. He would have deferred to Jimmy. That could have been a frisky team.

It was a team that didn't end up making the playoffs. But the pursuit of Donovan Mitchell, they've had several and it hasn't worked out. Now, if they end up landing him, I guess you can say mission mission accomplished but it doesn't take away from the fact that they could have done this sooner. They could have done this two years ago. But you're saying by trading BAM out of bio to do it. Potentially and it's very convenient for people to hold up to NBA finals appearances and say BAM is so crucial to the defense but you don't have the results on the other side. You don't know what your roster would look like

with Donovan Mitchell and Jimmy Butler and the pieces that you could have had around it that might not have included BAM out of bio. I have faith in this organization, unlike the people that are yelling at me, who are just totally satisfied with back-to-back play-in seasons, that you find it impossible for this team

to find success without BAM. I'll tell you right now, they're never trading BAM. Like they're so tied in with BAM, more so than even Alonzo Mourning, because this franchise didn't draft Alonzo Mourning. Which fair, if they get the superstar without giving up a big piece, then fine. But you say that, right?

But look at what BAM is doing. You say superstar. Demar DeRozan, a superstar no star at the very least so I put him you put BAM on that star absolutely shut him down BAM yeah center yeah you put BAM on Jason Tatum a superstar yeah look at Jason Tatum no guts no guts okay well so what you're saying is so now you're going down the list of a first-team all-MBA guy and saying that guy's got no guts so would you trade Jason Tatum

for Bam Adebayo? I think you're just- Counterpoint, counterpoint. You put Robert Williams on Bam Adebayo. What the hell happens? Is it a one man team? Is Bam Adebayo, that's just like when you're playing the 76ers, I don't expect Bam Adebayo to get many points,

all right, because somebody's gonna eat him up. You said it's an offensive league. He gets enough. He gets enough off of his teammates, but what he does on the other end, and it's not just taking that one guy out, because, and this is the sort of propaganda that I'm accused of writing by yourself as well.

Yeah. When I quoted Spoh, where I asked him the whole thing, why he decided to put Bam on Demar DeRozan, and he said, I was looking for inspiration. And who else? And you can't quantify that. You don't know what that actually means,

but if, just like we talked about with playoff hockey, it's an effort thing, if that convinces the rest of those people on that floor to play with the effort that makes them a ridiculously great defensive team, then that's a value you can't really put and you can't put in the box score, right? You can't read that.

I just think like a superstar of the ilk of Donovan Mitchell is more important to this franchise's title hopes and chances. Yeah, I just think you're wrong. I just think you look at it. Then BAM would be, because I trust the organization to find a way to piecemeal a replacement for what BAM gives you defensively.

You'd be going about it a different way. It's an unbelievable toy to have, just like having LeBron James was an unbelievable toy to have. And then without draft assets, without trade assets, they find a way to get back to the finals twice in record time. I mean, when LeBron left this organization, just like when he left Cleveland for the first time,

he nuked them and put them behind the eight ball and this franchise found a way. I think that they can navigate finding a way if they ever had to bring themselves to the point that they had to trade BAM. Now, I don't think that they have to. I think that the Donovan Mitchell scenario is a good one. It's ripe for them to finally do this thing

where we can acquire a superstar that plays ball, the way that Damien Lillard did, you can argue maybe he played it a little too aggressively. By the way, both of those guys want to play with Bam. Yeah. Not with Jimmy, not for the Heat, play with Bam. I get, well. That is a factor.

The real awkward conversation, I have immense respect for Jimmy Butler and what he's accomplished here. And I'm not arguing trade him, but that's another discussion to be had. If you don't want to be team trade Bam guy, and you want to acquire a young superstar that's better than Jimmy Butler, another conversation that you could be having is if our packages aren't

great enough to get us there, to get us there to a point where we have a superstar is more offensively gifted than Jimmy Butler at this moment another conversation I have is Trey Jimmy. Trey Jimmy for who like Kevin Durant? No, no, that's actually a great idea. That's a great idea. I mean it's just the recent years are littered with offensive talents that they've tried to do this thing. No, we'll give you Tyler Hero. Remember the hubris of this Damian Lillard pursuit. Remember how the Miami Heat approached this and speaking through Dan, just saying,

Tyler Hero, take it or leave it, and that what results in is that franchise not calling you for two months and spite-training Damian Lillard to a conference rival. But they said Tyler Hero, take it or leave it, because the Blazers were basically like Jimmy or Bam, or we're not talking. And so it was a standoff from the beginning.

It takes two to stand off, does it not? And I don't think that Portland's the first franchise to say, no, your offer's not good enough, we want Bam, and the Heat have made a conscious decision to be like, well, no, we value BAM, and it's resulted over the course of two years, two NBA Finals appearances, but also two consecutive playing appearances.

It hasn't resulted in a championship. There can't be a lot of history of that. No. I know it's not playing, but even eight, it's just such a weird couple of years. And 2020 was a year to do it, because if BAM stayed healthy, and Goran Dragic stayed healthy in that series against the Lakers, as they proved,

they could hang with him. It took an all-world performance, the lasting image from that bubble. Jimmy bent over because he's exhausted. But that series could potentially go a different way. Is there an example anywhere in sports history of what the Heat's last couple seasons have been, where they struggle the whole regular season

but then make a, it's. That's D2 Lila Ducks with Emilio Estevez. I think that's why Heat fans are so splintered because it's such a weird couple seasons. It's been fun but it's like, nobody knows what to make of any of this. It's an excellent point and the only thing that I can really combat it with is yeah,

I know the finals appearances, but they're just not championship holding Larry above your head. Well, can I offer you this? Because this is, I don't know if this is just because I'm older growing up here, but I grew up watching the 90s heat and praying for a finals appearance. Like, the finals itself, the stage felt so distant.

But Michael Jordan was in your conference. Right, but that doesn't matter, because after Michael Jordan, it was still that, right? 2005, do you know how hard it was, how much it hurt that Dwayne Wade, because he had to take a shot in the rib, it's the only reason he could play, they lost to Detroit Game 7 at home, just to get to. I was there, unnecessary. Richie Wallace was yelling in the rib, it's the only reason he could play. They lost to Detroit, game seven, at home. Just to get to.

I was there. Unnecessary. Richie Wallace was yelling in my face, show him that ring, I was like, Jesus. And so, yeah, it felt like such an accomplishment just to get there. And when they got there, and they lose those first two games to Dallas,

I'm just like, well, this is just how hard it is. Like, it has to. And then they won, it's just like, you can't like take for granted how difficult that is and how good it makes a fan feel to get just to that level. Last year felt great, especially the path that they took. Get in vengeance on the Bucks after they tweeted out this ain't no bubble.

Remember that? Cause they swept Miami the year after the bubble. And they thought that that was a legitimate championship, when if you hold the two up side by side, I mean, the post-COVID is still lockdown, kind of adjacent year of the Milwaukee Bucks, that one's looking real funny in the light. And last year's path was super fun,

and you get to the NBA Finals, and you go up against a guy who potentially no one has an answer for, no one has an answer for, and you realize we're not just like, we're not remotely close to this team. We don't have an answer for this team. And yes, I'm with you. I wanted a Finals appearance when I was a kid in the 90s in the worst way, but a lot of that was because Michael Jordan was dominating the conference.

The path is here for this franchise to get, as they've shown, they've done it as an eight seed, they've done it as a five seed. And they're a victim of their own success. We sound like the spoiled kid that gets to go to Disney every year. And it's like, I need to go to Disney every year. And if I'm not at Disney, I'm not happy.

I want the championship now because I'm turning into like post-LeBron. Some kids only go to Disney like once in their life when they're like nine and that's it. You mentioned Denver. The Buffalo Bills I'm sure after the fourth one were like we wanna win it. Too soon, too soon, too soon.

They wanted to win it. Mickey Mouse and the Heat. But Denver, if you look at them, are one superstar, one star I would argue in Jamal Murray, and a handful of perfect role players for what they have. Who'd you rather have, Jamal Murray or Jimmy Baller right now? Right now, Jamal Murray's healthy. But if you're asking me if they're both healthy,

probably Jimmy. Yeah. You said you had Jalil. No, no, he's more settling, like independent of Mikhail Yolkich. I'll take the cop out of Jalil's like, well, Jamal's younger. He said probably Jimmy. No, I would take the cop out of Jules, like, well, Jamal's younger. But he said probably Jimmy. No, I would take Jimmy just because, look, show me Jamal Murray leading a team.

Let me know what that looks like. I'll tell you, it doesn't look anything like it does when he's next to Nicola Jokic and running that pick. Well, he was kind of leading the team when he was going toe to toe in the bubble. Because Jokic was there. Because he had, it's not like a one for one, 100%.

It's hard to evaluate. Jamal hasn't even made an All-Star. I know, it's not like a one for one, 100%. It's hard to evaluate. Ty hasn't even made an All-Star. I mean, Aaron Gordon looks like a totally different player. But a perfect role player. Like, you're not paying him through the roof. You're not paying Michael Porter Jr. through the roof initially, right, until they prove

that they're perfect for you. And so you can do that with Miami, if you are Miami. Tyler, hero, an imperfect fit. Okay, maybe you find the right one next to him, although that is even still debatable. If he becomes, or not becomes, if he plays the point guard role, and that's what he's been working toward for the last several years,

if he plays it the way he did in game two. There's no fixing that. He does, he does turn the ball around. He's never gonna fix that part of his game, and he's a playmaker, but it's a lot of pick sixes going back the other way. So, I think we know what Tyler is at this point, He's a playmaker, but it's a lot of pick sixes going back the other way. I think we know what Tyler is at this point. And years prior.

He's Jamal Murray. He's a fringe all-star. Whoa, whoa. At his peak, he's a fringe all-star. That's what Jamal Murray is. At his position in his conference over the course of his career, it's been a lot harder for Jamal Murray to make it there.

And he had a pretty devastating injury. I don't think they're remotely close. I don't think they're remotely close. I don't think they're remotely close. Let's talk again in five years. When Tyler's not on his roster? Done. Yeah, yeah. All right, set the calendar.

24? Can we talk again in five months? Come on. You get to walk that one back. You get to the end of the segment to walk that one back. That's fine. Maybe the conversation is to have Jimmy, but I just assumed invoking Jimmy's name as someone that you look at when you're trying

to improve this roster, I felt like that was sacrilege. But it seems as though Bam is in that class. And Bam is like the analytics nerd's favorite player, and I think the Miami Heat fan base is really well educated in part because they had LeBron, and they were really plugged in analytics in ways that other fan bases didn't have to be. But I also trust the organization and that's the argument that Heat fans are making but we're making the same argument and you just

can't get over the fact that I'm invoking something that draws so much emotion out of you. I think it's abundantly clear they have to do something. Now they can stick to the plan, and maybe in year five it works out, because all the stars are aligning, you have a superstar saying, I wanna go to Miami, and I'm not gonna do this long-term deal.

We've tried that before, it hasn't worked. Maybe this is finally the time, and if that's the case, that is, sign me up. That is my preferred option, to keep these people that we have emotional connections with, that have won Eastern Conference Finals before, add someone that is the most gifted, offensive superstar into this team, and it'll take ya,

with this staff and this front office, it'll take ya where you need to go. But I have five years of evidence that suggests that plan doesn't work And you've potentially missed out on a championship because of it Potentially you think they missed out on a championship which year I think You think the one piece would have made a difference to be Denver last year three years ago when we're talking about Bradley Beale three years ago when we're talking about James Harden for Tyler hero

Which seems like a goddamn joke and I was over there. I was over there saying I don't want to trade're talking about James Harden for Tyler Hero, which seems like a goddamn joke, and I was over there saying, I don't wanna trade Tyler Hero for James Harden. The three misperseutes, I think, on Kevin Durant, at least one misperseute on Donovan Mitchell. I think if you look back at any of these, and by the way, as I mentioned earlier, Jimmy Butler was a misperseute that they circled back around on and eventually got.

I think if you look back at the last five years, there were plenty of superstars that Eric Spolcher could have brought onto this roster and gotten better results than what they had. And I do think if they actually went through and they got a Kevin Durant two years ago, or what have you, that would have resulted in a championship.

I really do. I think when you look back 20 years from now when it's all said and done, you'll look at your Heat fandom era from the early 2000s until whenever this Jimmy Butler era is over, whenever the Eric Spolster era is over, and you'll recognize how fortunate you are. I will never say a bad word about Eric Spolster.

He's the best thing about this franchise. It's incredible. This is all you can ask for as a fan. You are just proof, and this is not a bad thing. You are just proof that fans can be spoiled by a very good thing. And they have been a very good thing for a really long time now, and you're just spoiled.

Not in a bad way, you're spoiled. Fair accusation, totally fair. There's winning and misery. I'm a byproduct of what this franchise has propagandized and I've been a willing participant in their marketing strategy. And I think one of the opinions that you're probably not, if you love Eric Spolster so much, not paying attention to is Eric Spolster's opinion. Eric Spolster is telling you, Bam out of bio, absolutely crucial to what I... I as a coach can work with Bam Adebayo

in so many different ways that I, can't with other people. But he's a sicko. Never heard of Eric Los Monser, is that his sister? He is a sicko, the same way that Jimmy is a sicko, in that I think low key Jimmy appreciates that there hasn't been someone better here. If you turn on an NBA game and you see all the commercials,

if you can get past Shane Gillis, Alexander, and Chet Holmgren commercial. I can't avoid this. It's on during hockey games. It's my least favorite commercial. I yell at the top of my lungs until I find the remote to mute it. I cannot listen to that song.

Give me Franklin and Bash. I miss Franklin and Bash so much. What is with this Chet Holmgren and Shane Gillis Alexander commercial? They're getting away with being small market stars because if you played for New York or LA, no, they don't let you do that commercial. That's too embarrassing.

And that's just one of two of the most annoying commercials that's happened since March Madness. It's the other phone commercial where they're just singing Don't Let Me Go in auto-tune. Those two commercials are the most annoying commercials that are on TV right now. I've never been so alone on a take. I like the one where they're singing.

Oh my god. How? The little pro wants. No, don't do that. It's repetitive, right? It's the amount of times they played it. My point is, Jimmy doesn't get all these spots if he doesn't have this roster construction.

And I think part of Jimmy's whole deal is, I want it to be hard and I'll say nonsensical things about our chances to win this championship because I want to prove that I can be the number one on a team that everyone discounts. I think Spoh is kind of built the same way, that he, low key, he sees that injury happen

to Jimmy Butler and he's like, I'm gonna go into the TD garden. Yes. And I am going to steal one from Joe. Bam's on Team USA, Jimmy isn't. Hey everybody, it's Mike. And typically I record these Miller Lite spots in the studio, but I requested that I specifically

record this one from my home office because I got a window and I'm looking outside at those beautiful fish tail palms knowing that in just a few seconds, I'm gonna go out there. I'm gonna crack open a can of Miller Lite because while sitting outside by my fish tail palms is usually a good time, I'm gonna go out there, I'm gonna crack open a can of Miller Lite because while sitting outside by my fishtail palms is usually a good time, I like to take it up a notch and make it a Miller time. That's right, you crack that puppy open

and you don't have to think about what you're drinking for a darn second. A lot has changed over the years, including my backyard. Lots of landscaping being done right now. But the one thing that hasn't changed is the undebatable quality of Miller Lite. You don't have to choose what quality is the best. Miller Lite has great taste and it's less filling.

Tastes like Miller time. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit MillerLite.com slash Dan, or you can find it pretty much anywhere that sells beer. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories per 12 ounces, fewer Stugats. They'll play D and show threes as they chase the Nats for the sixth seed. These five words in his head, scream are we winning games yet? This is the Dunlavatar Show with the Stugats. The other night when the Lakers and Nuggets were playing, the Nuggets were up like 20, or sorry,

the Nuggets were down 20. And I did an in-game bet, which was the first time in my life. And I was like, the Nuggets are gonna win this game. Like, they're absolutely gonna win this game. And that was the buzzer beater with Jamal Murray. And you know, got a little couple bucks out of that. And I realized when I was doing that, that I was only doing that to just kind of make the game

a little more interesting because I had, obviously everybody does that, right? But it was because I just wanted to watch and I knew that Denver, I could have comfortably turned the TV off and said Denver's gonna win this game and I have no interest in seeing how the Lakers are going to fall apart. The Lakers to me with LeBron James

have become so boring. Like, they're deathly boring to me, and I'm curious what this next stage in LeBron's career is because it's always gonna be a championship chase, although the other side note of him playing with Bronnie is that one little extra plot that he's got there. But what is that going to look like and what does it have to be to get you excited?

Don't forget the IST. That's an important thing. It's a banner that they have on. They've also, I complain as a Heat fan that has gone to two NBA finals, not won one, they've won one. But outside of that title in the IST, been a very confusing experience for LeBron in Los Angeles. Yeah, and so the appeal for LeBron currently is,

all right, we've got this guy at 39, 40 doing this. Okay, we've seen that. We don't have to watch the entire games to sort of marvel at that. It really just becomes a championship chase. And there isn't a role player you can put next to him and Anthony Davis that I think puts that team over the top. I don't think even a Trey Young with that team puts them over the top. I don't think so.

Not only does it not put them over the top, I don't want to watch it. Like I don't want to watch Trey Young struggle defensively and LeBron. Is LeBron still not capable of driving and dishing? No. Because I feel like Trey Young is kind of, if we're talking about LeBron from eight years ago, you want to surround him with a guy like Trey Young is kind of, if we're talking about LeBron from eight years ago, you want to surround him with a guy like Trey Young. Sure, I mean, if you're talking about driving and dishing,

it could be any three point shooter. Yeah, he's a good shooter though. Doesn't have to be a max guy like that. To me, I just don't think, unless you're bringing in a superstar, like Donovan Mitchell does it for me potentially. You don't think Trey Young's a superstar. I don't think Trey Young is a two-way player.

I think he's a very strong offensive player. Little Jordan Pool-ish if you change teams with him, I think. Not that kind of a drop-off, because I don't think he's got Jordan Pool. Highest evolution of the Pokemon, Jordan Pool. Yes. Well, no, I guess the highest evolution. He's more like, after Squirtle, what was there?

What was the second stage beyond Squirtle? Jigglypuff. Megatron. Sorry, audience, I'm just gonna... Megatron. War Turtle was the second stage beyond Squirtle? Jigglypuff Megatron sorry audience. I'm just you know who war turtle was the second stage What was he what was he who's a premium? What's a top stage? Who do you think has this answer here blast? I'm gonna say who is the who is the blast? Yeah, I asked me this question so Squirtle is pool I don't think you can say that on the radio. Are we on radio? No, we're not we're not live on YouTube And you can say damn near any what's blast toys. That's the final stage of the Squirtle evolution

So that's better than war turtle. Yeah, which is Trey young so it was like the third stage Who's ivy sore? When I walk back I shouldn't have said Trey young and Jordan pool in the same sentence you're saying Second stage of level four. This one I'll walk back. I shouldn't have said Trey Young and Jordan Poole in the same sentence. You're saying, because you're accusing LeBron of being Snorlax right now.

I don't know what that means. Is he like an old guy who's still really good? Snorlax, to the best of my knowledge, his Pokemon power was he fell asleep. Hmm. Very, really confusing, really confusing Pokemon. Him, Jigglypuff, and Psyduck. Psyduck would just say, Psy-y-y-y,

and that would be the power. What's Munchlax? I don't know. That's an evolution of Snorlax. That actually sounds like something that I take after a Stanley Cup game in which I've been drinking the entire time. Remember when people three years ago were just

running around with their phones taking pictures of imaginary Pokemon? Dude, it's shocking how long ago it was. You said three years ago? No, this was like- That was like 2016. Yeah. 16? Yeah, Wiz ago it was. You said three years ago? No, this was like- That was like 2016. Yeah. 16?

Yeah, we was doing a tour. Four years ago. I lived next to town and country at the time, and it was insane traffic, Jim, because everyone was trying to get water Pokemon at the Lovelock Bridge. They took those locks off, I think. Just ate a bunch of cheese.

Yeah, all those relationships. Takes a bunch of legs. Okay, I'm sorry, you're trying to say that LeBron James is boring, which I wanted to work up the conviction in that, no, I don't find you're trying to say that LeBron James is boring, which I wanted to work up the conviction in that no, I don't find him boring. I do find him doing things at an unprecedented age interesting, but also I'm not watching those 1030 tips.

No. And when he's got an East Coast start on a Saturday, it's on third TV at best. I'm not watching the guy with sound anymore. And what LeBron has done to kind of spoil fans nationally is, oh yeah, he keeps changing superstar teammates everywhere he goes after Miami, Kyrie, everywhere, Anthony Davis. And so that, to me, is the only thing that makes it interesting going forward.

Because you don't think this Arvin Ham thing is interesting right now with AD? No, I think it's crazy interesting. What I'm saying is for LeBron James, his goal at the end of his career is not to You know sit next to a feuding coach and superstar It's to win a championship And so the only options is to create a super team another super team that sort of you know

melds and gets its stuff together within that first year or to go to another team that's already sort of ready and Just can plug LeBron Jameson. And I know you guys have talked about New York. New York would be interesting. But to me- But Nick's fans don't want him. Right. And I also don't think it's ready-made.

Like I don't think you plug him in and that's absolute championship. I think if you put him on the Golden State Warriors, I'm interested. Then you're talking about the ultimate. It's almost like, I talk this way about the Heat, like the Heat are like the Marvel series, like the enemy has to get greater and greater.

They have to put you in, they have to tow me in, they have to put me on the parade of gas bags to seem like this big enemy that they have, and all of a sudden they beat them, and they beat the Celtics, and that's what you have to do. Is this a bit? No, no, no, it's a bit. Is this a bit?

Are you actually saying LeBron James is boring? I'm listening. I'm thinking like, he's gonna say the bit. No, no. Like, no, this is a 38 year old man in the NBA. You're an NBA fan. Absolutely, yes. Rank the Lakers on your list of teams

that you would watch on League Pass. I watch every single game on League Pass, including the damn, the Magic and all the Cleveland Cavaliers. I watched all that yesterday. So you're including the damn, the Magic and all the Cleveland Cavaliers, I watched all that yesterday. So you're a terrible person to ask this question. No, but if you were ranking the teams you enjoy to watch, where would the Lakers be?

Bro, I like basketball, that's what I'm saying. Like, bro, what happened to loving the sport? I don't give a damn about the storylines as much as the people do. D'Angelo Russell was on the bench texting and eating. So, rank your love. Rank your love. Which team, where in the ranking of loving teams?

D'Angelo Russell was on the bench last night texting and eating. That's like, what are we, like, did you not, this is, he has zero points. Like, brother, I'm sorry, but that is interesting as hell to me. And then Vanderbilt on the, bro, they got a lot going on with the Lakers right now

that is just 100% interesting. Anthony Davis, can he get over the hump? The Joker has had his number the entire time. No matter what the heroic effort is, the face full of sweaty ass. He failed into the, bro, I don't. As an NBA casual observer

and someone that only really locks in during the playoffs, that storyline has not worn on me. I do find this interesting and there's no way it climbs back into this series, but I can see someone who night in and night out like Izzy, although you're the on the opposite side of the spectrum, I can see where that gets. I understand what you're saying. I think it's hilarious that D-Lo was doing that. I think all those things are funny. I'm talking in the context

of LeBron James. He is only about one thing. He's not about being on some fledgling seventh seed He's about winning a championship so being or being the talking point in the league, right? So he's not doing either right now and when you're on his team when he is the center of your team all that stuff is side Interesting stuff. It's side plots, but it's not it's not the actual thing It's not I don't tune in on a Tuesday in February to a Lakers game and say, I wonder if D'Angelo Russell is going to be eating on the sidelines tonight. No, I think I'm watching basketball. In the basketball, the pursuit was not that entertaining.

It's hilarious to make fun of it, but brother, literally every single NBA game to me is interesting, dawg. I just don't understand. Like every game, every game the Lakers play, it's seeing such a great player 20 years later still do this against kids. You just love the sport. I'd rather watch Tyrese Halliburton. Yeah, you love the sport. I'm watching flame sharks too.

That's what I'm saying. Like you love hockey. We all love our sports. I think it's a disservice to call LeBron James boring at this point. He's the most interesting thing happening He's all of us watched uncles that think that we still got it. He's our representation out there still doing it I don't want to watch my washed uncle play basketball. I traded Riley for LeBron next season. I

Also want to say we're going to get crushed for saying the Lakers are boring when they are essentially the Heat They have the same record of women Nothing but talk about how great the Heat are, and they're the Lakers. We did two hours on the Heat, and they're not the Lakers boring, how? Yeah, the Lakers, and they won an IST this year. Juju, the snow goggles.

I've been crying all morning. Rust night for the Bills. Tears from my eyes are just showing. The Bills did, Juju, so dirty last night. The whole draft, Juju is just like, wanting the Bills to do something, get a receiver, and then they get to their pick, and the Chiefs, their Chief rival,

trade up and take a receiver. From the Bills! Painful night. The Bills traded their pick to the Chiefs to have the Chiefs come in and take a receiver that could've helped the Bills. And the last time they traded, wasn't it, like, there was a Patrick Mahomes,

tangential Bills Chiefs thing, so you think it's gonna go the same way? What I'm saying is, your swag is such that you walk in and no one notices. That you're wearing snow goggles, where that goes completely different for me, say I just decide I'm gonna wear snow goggles. I don't know, I think you try it on Monday or Tuesday

next week and see how it goes. You think we'd go like an hour and a half without mentioning the fact that bag of our snow goggles? It's not even just the snow goggles, it's the nose piece. Like over the top. Yeah, you got like a scuba mask. Yeah, it's literally holding the tears, bruh. It's insulation.

Like the Chiefs call my phone, guess what? The fuck outta here, like take a walk. Like when I see the Chiefs on my phone, are you kidding me? And we doing business, brand and being. I'm still a loyal fan, I'm supporting. I'm not jumping off the ship, but I need answers. We got Stefan, we took a second round pick from next year for Stefan.

That already had me. And now we trade, we do, it's not the trading of the pick, it's doing it with the chiefs who are, why would we contribute to making them a decibel better? I've got a question for your NBA fandom. Now, because we tapped into your NFL fandom and kinda on the heels of his conversation, let me paint a hypothetical for you.

Cause I'm not the biggest Jalen Brown guy and they've tried all these revolving pieces and if they once again fail, then I think you need to have a more earnest conversation, not unlike the one that we've been having about Bam on a Bio, with regards to Jalen Brown, where you have enough sample to realize we're not good enough. Yeah, I mean- Would you entertain trading Jalen Brown, and I know that's a large piece of your Celtics fandom, and you bring in a LeBron James?

That's very interesting. I mean, look, I wouldn't do it just because the future is brighter for Jalen Brown, but I wouldn't be mad if that just happened overnight. I'd be like, oh, well damn, we got LeBron. I think your team is better both this year and next year, more suited for Jason Tatum's talents, where Tatum can have someone that's been there,

show them the way. We all know that Tatum goes missing sometimes. I think for Tatum's game, LeBron would be a better fit. And I understand being high on Jalen Brown and understanding his career's gonna go a little bit longer, but also, respectfully, as a casual observer, not during those Heat Celtics series though, and I'm not afraid of that guy.

And I'm pretty sure I know exactly who that guy is. I know exactly what that, now that Sealing may end up in an NBA championship, I think if they get in an NBA finals against Jokic, there's no beating that guy. There's no beating that guy. But you put LeBron on the Celtics. Mike gets it. Not only is LeBron more interesting,

not only does he have a chance at a championship, and that's going to be really weird for Boston fans if LeBron's there. It's probably going to be weird for LeBron too. But you improve the team? That is a conversation, my friends, that if the Celtics fall on their face with their head coach it's entirely possible. You should really have Jaylen Brown and getting LeBron

Jameson returned for him. Hey everybody it's Mike and typically I record these Miller light spots in the studio but I requested that I specifically record this one from my home office because I got a window and I'm looking outside at those beautiful fishtail palms knowing that in just a few seconds I'm gonna go out there I'm gonna crack open a can of Miller Lite because while sitting outside by my fishtail palms is usually a good time I like to take it up a notch and make it a Miller time. That's right you crack that puppy open and you don't have to think about what you're drinking for a darn second. A lot has

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