The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - What Should The Cleveland Cavaliers Do With James Harden? | Postgame Show

Episode Date: May 28, 2026

"Game 5 is tonight!" JuJu got the biggest call of his life: Victor Wembanyama is not happy with what happened in Game 5, and he has his picks for Thursday Thunder as a result. Amin sticks around to weigh in on the contrasting reports on Giannis Antetokounmpo's likely trade destination, the New York Knicks' chances against the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs, and what the Cleveland Cavaliers should do in the wake of getting swept by the Knicks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify.

The Hulu original series Furious is coming to Disney Plus, starring Emmy Rossum. Furious follows FBI agent Alice Black on the hunt for a mysterious and calculating serial killer. Both walk their own paths toward justice, and as their lives start to intertwine, the line between right and wrong begins to blur. Don't miss the three-episode premiere of the Hulu original series Furious on July 27th, only on Hulu on Disney Plus. That's right. That's right. It's Thursday Thunder, and it's brought to you by Draft Kings. Draft Kings!

The Crown is yours, Jujia. What are we cooking with? Man, I just got a big call right now, man. The biggest call I ever had in my life. And it says that Victor Wimbignama is upset with how the last game went. So we're going over 25 points for my boy, Victor, tonight. Get him. What you say? Get him.

Okay. Next leg. Jared McCain. He is unafraid to shoot. He's shooting most shots in SGA right now. He loves to shoot. Zie TikToka. My boy will get 12 points tonight.

Lock that in. Kim's leg. Elmer Fudd. Excuse me, pardon me. Alex Caruso for eight big points tonight. You got to lock that in. Elmer Fud. That's disgraceful for a professional athlete.

No. I'm talking about Elmer in Space Jam, though. That's a whole different guy. That's a C. Last leg, Caldo, the man, I go through your chest if your name is Chet Johnson. I think my boy will have six points tonight in an elimination game. Lock in those four. Salute to Draft Kings.

We love you. Get them. I urge all of you to check out what it is that Amin and Zach Harper do on everywhere, actually, but also on Sirius NBA radio because what they do is excellent. And Chris Haynes told you a mean this morning on Sirius NBA show. Quote, I haven't heard Boston link to Janus. I haven't. And I'm not talking from the Boston Celtic standpoint.

I'm talking from Janus's camp. I have not heard Boston yet. Windhorst said the same thing. But Simmons and Mark Stein are saying something different. What's happening there? Yeah, I think there's a lot of different people talking in essence, right? There's Janus's people. There's the Milwaukee Bucks's people.

There's the Boston Celtics people. There's Jalen Brown's people, right? All of these things are conspiring, and we don't really have any clarity. We've kind of leapt to the assumption that Dylan Brown wants his own team. They may not be the case, right? But we want it to be the case because that infuses a level of energy to the conversation. So there's a lot of people who are interested in a lot of people. different things, but probably

not yet there. And you got to remember with the Milwaukee Bucks and with Yannis, we're talking about a process going back month now. So there are other suitors and other places, other destinations, have kind of taken precedent. And maybe Boston is just a little too early,

a little too soon, and hasn't really chimed in the way that would be a sales pitch to Yonitz or to the bucks. I mean, is there any reason to believe that Milwaukee is going to care about where Yonis prefers to go? I think so, yeah. Well, okay, it's tough.

On the one hand, I would say yes, because he won them a championship. He's the best player in franchise history. And they gave him 13 great years. There's nothing much more you could ask for from a player. The other hand is, I don't know, man, you know, like having the Haslums in there bring sort of a wild card element to this. Buck's already always going to be a weird situation because they have two owners, basically, and they've trade off as far as who's in control.

but that doesn't mean that everyone's always unanimous. To me, I would imagine that they would send him where he wants to go, but I could see them being kind of a little bit stickler, you know? Yeah, before I ask this question, I'd like to remind the audience to go listen to the Greg Cody podcast featuring Greg Cody today. But, I mean, am I tripping to think that, like, outside of your fandom, I really do think the Knicks, what they put on paper, what they've shown us, how they're running through opponents, they do have a legitimate.

legitimate shot to win this championship. I'm not saying I agree with Reggie that they should be favored. How do you feel about these Knicks actual chance to win the championship this year? So first of all, I'm not a fan of the Knicks. I stopped being a fan of the Knicks roughly 2004, which coincides with me going to work for the Knicks. Well, you see some things. You're like, oh, yeah, I can never be a fan of this. So I haven't had basketball fandom per team in like over 20 years now.

But they are a complete team, as I said in February. They defend. They have perimeter defenders. They have versatile defenders. They shoot threes. They have a clutch performer at the end of the game that they can give it to. They've got Biggs who both defend inside and out. They've got a big who's one of the best shooters in the league.

They have all the pieces. And by the way, they got a coach of Mike Brown, who I think is severely underrated. Again, I remind everyone that you guys are all questioning this dude at the beginning of the year because he tried to install an offense that is exactly what they're running. right now. Their decision to go away from a heavy pick and roll, heavy ISO, give the ball to Gailen Brunson offense, and make

it more kind of a golden state style with a lot more ball movement and body movement and cat being the Draymond Green Roll of kind of making plays except he can shoot and Dremont can't. Like all those things, that's Mike Brown and he deserves a lot of credit. Having said that, dude,

if it's the thunder, I don't think they're the champ. I think, again, they are just so good and so deep. They're missing two guys right now, two starters in AJ Mitchell and J. and J. Lynn William. And anyone else in the league, that happens like, man, we got to go to our bench. We've got to get some guy who was unproven or some guy who hasn't played in quite a while or he's an older guy and he's

past his spine. They're going to Kenrich William and Aaron Wiggins, two guys that were stapled in a championship run last year. No one else can claim to do that, can dust off the mothballs and go get guys who played extensively in the playoffs last year and then the finals towards the championship and just haven't played as much because they have so many people. So I would say Thunder

no. Spurs, I'll still keep going back. If they somehow miraculously beat the Thunder, I still go back to, man, the lack of experience is going to show its ass at some point. I think it already has in this Thunder series. If they do win against the Thunder, it'll be a pretty remarkable, miraculous

comeback by them. Greg, you know about so deep will put her ass to sleep. Damn right. I mean, What do you think the Claveliers, also known as the Cavaliers, what do you think that they should wind up doing next year? Because all signs are pointed, don't laugh at me, all right? I could feel your... He just put you in the chair in the corner, and that's how we're leaving the show today. He has sliced you to death today, and you are his mortal enemy, and objectively, you're better at this than he is, but you have taken...

No evidence of that. Yeah, really. I mean, he has a giant victory for Greg Cody. Well, but after you got off a rocket, like, you got off a rocket, and then he couldn't pronounce claviliers. Yeah, right, back to the important stuff. It feels like the cavaliers are going to run it back. Kenny Atkinson's going to return.

Harden, it looks like they're going to offer them a multi-year deal. What should they do? Yeah, it's tough. Look, I've been a, I don't want to call it defender of Hardin, but I think a lot of his past mistakes have been, like, over-bromatized and taken out of contact. He's sucked. Like, there's no two ways about it.

He was the best player in the Eastern Conference finals, except he was the best player for the other team. I think he had more assist to the Knicks than Jalen Brunson did. And he's only getting older. So, like, I don't think this thing gets better from here. And so he has a player option. He can opt out. They've got an ability to extend them and give him three years.

I just don't know. Their luxury tax situation is awful. They have the second highest payroll in the league next season on the books. And when you have that, it makes it very difficult to make changes. And for me, I just don't know. I think you've got to be a little bit more rapid. radical. Every other time they've lost, they were injured, well, this or that, like,

they had their full squad, this, that everything they wanted, they had a big leading game one. And instead of closing the deal, they got worse every game on. Like, they quit. They quit. I don't care what anyone says, hey, you can't say that about those guys. After game three, I remember

turning to my buddy and saying they look like they've got a back-to-back in Portland tomorrow. And so they're just trying to get through this game. Your life is on the line. Your career, you're a game, your legacies on the line, and they were jogging up and down the court. And game four was no better. So for me, I'm Kobe Altman, who I think is a really great general manager, I think I look at some drastic changes.

And whether that's maybe Evan Mobley's the guy that goes, maybe Donvin Mitchell's the guy that goes. If I'm not getting a hard back at a sweetheart deal, I don't know if I want them back. But I mean, they're not going to do any of those things. They've already said, we're going to run it back. Everything's fine. Analytically, I don't know if you follow all the analytics.

We're up to one. Game five's tonight. Hardin said we're the better team. I said, not even on paper. That's the crazy part. Usually when that happens, it's like if the Thunder lose to the Spurs, first of all,

we still think it's sour grades or whatever. Say that, but we like, okay, I could see how you think you're still the better team. I was like, you're not even the better team on paper, dude. Raymer was like, how the hell do you guys get here? Right? And then you proved to us, yeah, we should have been here. This is way above our heads.

You're pretty reasonable, though. I mean, when it comes to your analysis, and for you to be so strong on Atkinson was the best Nick? When the Knicks just, they've got... Hardin. I mean, I'm sorry, yeah, Hardin was the best Nick. When we're talking about, this is not hyperbole to say they've played the best 11 games of basketball that have been played, correct? The last 11 games of Nick's basketball have been the best 11 games that a basketball team has ever played in professional basketball.

Yes or no? I would just verge on no, because I haven't looked at the individual games. but I remember like 2017, the Warriors, sweeping everybody. No, but they've scored more points against three playoff teams and one by more points than any team, regular season or postseason has ever scored over 11 points, over 11 games, like empirically.

And I would phrase it as statistically they've had the largest margin. I wouldn't say this is the best 11 games. I wouldn't say that. But I would say, yeah, you're right. If it's the numbers say what the numbers say, you can't deny that. And I don't think it's a fluke. I think, again, I give a lot of credit to Mike Brown for making the adjustment that, again, he wanted to do at the start of the season.

And it didn't work out immediately. And the players are kind of grumbling under Tibb. He did this under Tibb. And you know what? That's a sign of a great coach. It's like, hey, whatever makes everyone comfortable and makes us successful. But knowing all along, this is the card he had in his back pocket that, hey, when it stalls and it will stall because it is an entirely too predictable. style of offense to be successful at a high level in the postseason.

He says, I have this Uno card. And he played it and it worked. And somehow some people still aren't giving them credit for it. What are you laughing about, Greg? What's so funny? Well, this is what's happened. The entirety that you were talking. He's checked out.

He had a great show and he's useless. Okay. Let me explain to people. I mean, I'm going to also let you look behind the curtain for a second. his son gave him 14 killer catchphrases to say at various points while you were talking. Doesn't make it right. 14 of them they gave him. And he shook him off every time like a catcher with a pitcher that's thrown a no-hitter.

He shook all of them off because he's like, I'm not saying anything the rest of the show. I crushed Zaz. I made him publicly a cuck. I'm not saying anything else I've won today. And his son eventually just threw his. hands up on the in the air on the 12th one they gave him that would have been a killer. Another crisis solved. That's right. Your brain beating me. Your brain beating me. Wanted to say, where's my knick, Nick? Ooh, that's pretty good. You know what?

Hard K.