The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - Warriors Deep Dive: Is LeBron joining, Anthony Davis trade takes, Yaxel's upside, building w/ Steph

Episode Date: July 13, 2026

Jason is joined by Sam Esfandiari of the ’Light Years’ podcast to react to the latest rumors involving LeBron James potentially joining the Golden State Warriors, Anthony Davis for Jimmy Butler trade talks, Yaxel Lendeborg's upside after his impressive NBA Summer League, how the Warriors can build a roster around Steph Curry, and more. All lines presented by Hard Rock Bet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. The Volume. Welcome to Hoops Tonight here at The Volume. We are at the Serious XM Studios at the Wynn in Las Vegas. We have a very special guest today. My good friend, Sam is Fondiari, my go-to guy for all things, Warriors. Sam, earlier today, we heard from Rich Paul that the LeBron Saga is fun for the fans as it drags out.

And I'm in the content space. and it was fun for like a week or two. I'm no longer having fun. I'm ready to know what's going to happen. So as our representative of the Warriors fan base for Hoops tonight, how are you feeling about this whole saga? How are Warriors fans feeling? Where are you at with the LeBron James thing?

So if I was to rank the possible scenarios, it goes one, you acquire the players you actually want to acquire. Two, you have hope. You're going to acquire the players. you want to acquire. Three, you don't get them and you're in the sunken place and everything is miserable. So the way I'm looking at it, given that the warriors have, you know, kind of strike out more often than not like the last four years. I know they got Jimmy, but outside of Jimmy, it's been a lot

of that's too many picks. Oh, they don't want to trade them here. Oh, we can't afford them. The XYZ. I'm looking at it through the lens of, look, we haven't heard no yet. So as long as I haven't her to know, I'm in an okay place. I can't speak for everyone, but I can't speak for me. You know, it's interesting because I would argue the Warriors probably need LeBron more than all of these other teams in the sense that like Cleveland was a conference finalist. Wiggins, Bam, Janus, Davian Mitchell, it's a pretty strong foundation in Miami regardless of what happens. Minnesota is going to be fine. I mean, obviously they need a power forward, but Denver's going to be fine. Golden States in this.

weird predicament where if they pull off something, and we're going to talk about Anthony Davis in a minute, but if they pull off something involving LeBron plus another player, it's the difference between them, as currently constructed, we're going to get into the roster. There's exciting things. Yax looks great in his first couple of summer league games, but they're looking at being a playing team if they don't pull something like this off. But at the same time, I also don't necessarily think they have another great option in the sense that other than making an all-in trade around just Steph versus is making it all in trade around Steph and LeBron. There's a lot at stake here.

Do you guys feel that? Yes, I'm 100% on the same page as you hear. Like, when you're describing those teams, you're leaving out kind of the obvious point, which is the Warriors have the potential to be an incredibly depressing story for the end of Steph's career. Look, if you told me three years ago, they were going to try to acquire LeBron,

I would say, I'm good. there's got to be a different route to go. It's actually not a disrespect thing. I just think like the rivalry is cool and let's keep it separate, that sort of thing. Then the Olympics happened in 2024, which I think everyone will agree was awesome. It was fun to watch. And then you have kind of the reality of where we're out with the Warriors, which is Jimmy Butler got injured. The roster is subpar.

They don't really have a lot of options. And Steph's 38 years old. He'll be 39 next season. So when I look at it through all those lens, even taking like the romanticism of how fun it would be for the two and them to play together, you're just not getting an opportunity to add an all-star caliber player.

And let's be clear, LeBron is still an all-star caliber player. I could argue he's better, but at worst, he's an all-star caliber player. You do not get the opportunity to add a player of that caliber for the mid-level exception or below. Like, we're seeing this around the league. The Celtics just traded Jalen Brown, not because he was bad,

but because he's too expensive. Yeah. And we're seeing more and more of that around the league where it's about value. It's about your ability to control contracts and maneuver. Dude, LeBron, I don't care that LeBron's 41. LeBron willing to take between 3 and 15 million a year

is like a God sent team building wide. Team building wise. Sorry. You got to go for it. And then just to take it back to my first point, bro, if he says no, and they do nothing. And we go into next season with this idea that Jimmy's going to be back sometime in January. Who knows what that looks like, 37 year old off an ACL tear with the roster of OK players asking Stefan Kurey at his age to average 30 to keep them in games. Like, I just, he's going to get hurt.

I don't want to see his career end like that. Like, I don't know that adding LeBron and let's just say Anthony Davis makes them a contender. I do know it puts them in the mix and makes the end of his career far less depressing than the opposite. And it puts them within striking distance, especially if they have the tools to make another deal

to potentially be in a situation in February where they feel comfortable making that kind of move. I want to zoom in on like the fan piece of this first second though. Sure. It was like, you and I met on Twitter. We met being fans of our teams, of our players. You are a staunch defender of Steph Curry. And I have been known as a person who got into the sport of basketball,

literally because of LeBron James. I'm a huge LeBron James fan. And I don't want to play fan police. I hate telling people how to be fans. And if there are people that get a sick feeling in their stomach at the idea of LeBron and Steph playing together. I'm not going to tell them they're wrong. But like, as the years have gone by,

I've just grown to love and appreciate and respect Steph so much, to the point where he's literally become my second favorite player behind LeBron. And I know that you have a great deal of respect for LeBron as well. The idea of LeBron and Steph playing together was quite literally never a negative feeling for me at all. It was immediately like, this is awesome. Like I just think these are the two greatest competitors of our era. both of them are completely stamped.

They have four championships each. They don't have anything else to prove. At this point, it's just their basketball games fit fantastically well. I think the two of them just want to win together. I only experienced like positive feelings about the two of them playing together. Did you have any hesitancy at all about the partnership? At this point, no. Like being honest with you, would I have had hesitancy two years ago, four years ago?

The answer would be different. Yes, of course. but I'm like looking it through a realist lens, which is, the Olympics, honestly, was a big thing for me, watching the two them together. It made me, it made it easier for me to reframe this as just like, look, dude, if they play together at the end of their career,

it does not change anything that's happened before. You need to stop looking at it through the 90s lens. You need to stop giving credence to like, I'm not going to name players or ex-players. Like, oh, it's not the way we used to do things. Well, you know, back in the day, you didn't have 25-year careers. It's hard to stay one place.

for 25 years. So the way I look at it is this would be fun for the end of their career. And that really only came to me through the lens of they're old, man. It's a long time. You know, like, I don't know if you feel this way. I don't know how much you're into the World Cup right now. But you're watching the World Cup. You see like Rinaldo.

You see Messi. These guys are past their prime. Messi's still more capable than maybe Rinaldo's at this point. they've moved how many clubs they're at different stages and there's a certain level of who cares about the narrative who cares about the rivalry

this is their last tournament they're going to play it at this point so let's just appreciate it because they're two of the best who've ever done it and it's going to be fun and you're going to enjoy it you're going to enjoy it far more

than the other side where they're like proudly retire versus play with each other and then we're sitting here with what ifs which ironically is kind of how people look at Michael Jordan's career in certain ways. I'm like, I love Jordan. I'm a Jordan guy.

But like a lot of mystique is tied to the fact that he retired before he wanted to. And there's a lot of what happened if he kept going. What happened if this happened? So I've evolved on this view. I don't have the right word for it is, change, whatever. I'm into it because look, man, the alternative of them retiring or like having this crappy team where they win 31 games, like that sucks. Yeah.

I just have some fun with it. Yeah, I think to me, the point you're making about the World Cup is the interesting one to me, because essentially I just am enjoying watching these guys. That's the key. And like I like watching Steph play in that playing game, watching LeBron get to be the primary ball handler for a playoff series again. Like the fact that I was watching like a big huge game six on the road in Houston, LeBron's going to be the primary ball handler in the year 2026.

Like you don't think that was fun for me as a fan to watch. And I actually think they're in this unique situation where they kind of, of need each other in the sense that Steph is stuck in this situation. We're going to talk about the Warriors in a minute. He's stuck in this situation where the team's just flat out not good enough. And then with LeBron, as you look at the options, I'm not excited about the idea of watching him play the Rui Hatchamura role

for Donovan Mitchell and James Hardin. I'm not excited about him doing that for Anthony Edwards and LaMella Ball. I'm not excited about him in this weird, janky, spacing situation with Janus and Bam. like this specific situation that Golden State presents is an opportunity for both of them to increase their chances of competing for a title, but also to play in a style that reminds us of why both of them were great. Yeah, they get to do it their way. And I think that's, that's actually a great point to it because look, like, this is true of LeBron, but this can be true of Stephanie a year or two. Steph can chase a title as like a shooter off the bench for five more years of you. He can he could play the Ray Allen in the Miami Heat role if he wants to.

But is that satisfying to me as a fan? No, like only in so much as like he's my favorite player and he means something to warrior fans. But what you really want to see is them have the ability to compete with the best in a role that, you know, it's suited for them. And so I agree with you that way. Like if you look at the basketball situations, there are situations that are easier for LeBron. I don't think there's any other situation that allows him to play the role he wants to play, while also not demanding him to play the role of hero and savior 24-7, which like physically is probably not realistic for a guy in his age range.

Probably for either of them. Yeah, exactly. And like that's that's kind of the fun of it, which is like they're the protagonist of the team. They're the necessary engine of the team. But the way that the Warriors play also allows them to, I don't want to say take games off, but like kind of play in the flow a little more. Whereas like in Minnesota to your point, you know, I'm just going to use an example, it's going to be Ants Lamello.

And it's kind of going to be a different version of what you saw last year with Luca and Austin Reeves and him having to be like the gap. Phila, playing like a supercharged Sean Marion role, like with a little more upside. Yeah, it's, I'd include Philly in this list, too, where it's like, I think there's, I think there are basketball situations for every player that, where they become almost a force multiplier versus something where there's a diminishing return. Sure. And I think, like, do I think LeBron can fill gaps and do all these little things to help a

basketball team? Yes, but I think he could do that anywhere, like rebounding, defending, making plays off of advantage. Like that exists in every single basketball situation. You're going to have an opportunity where you're attacking a closeout or you're playing on a four on three. Like that exists everywhere. Golden State has the unique situation of actually having an offense built around having bigger players that have the basketball for their split cuts and for their five out action where they're operating with the dribble handoffs out, you know, at the elbow extended. And so that's a specific situation where with all the off ball movement whirling around, it takes advantage of LeBron being a threat to score and pass.

out of those spots on the floor. And we literally saw France get beat. Steph hit the shots, but it was a two-man game. It was Steph and LeBron attacking Gorsan Yabuselli with inverted screens and regular screens with the two of them and just getting open shot after open shot because you have this incredible shooter

and this incredible power forward that you can't switch the action with. And I think there's a lot naturally fitting there. Now, I want to, I want to quick describe what I think is going on here. And then I want you to tell me if you think it's a fair characterization. Let's do it. From your perspective. I think LeBron

knows deep down the basketball situation he wants. He knows what playing in Philly will look like. He knows what playing in Cleveland will look like. He knows what playing in Miami

will look like Denver, Golden State, so on and so forth. And I think he knows deep down. He said it. I mean, on the day of the Lakers report, his podcast released a clip talking about how playing with the team USA was like the most funny.

he's had in years playing basketball. So I think deep down, he knows playing with Golden State would be a blast. I think, and you and I've talked about this in the last few days, I think that LeBron is waiting for one of these teams to make a move, to bolster whatever he thinks that situation is. Golden State did make a move for Jimmy, and it's worth mentioning that. They put a first round pick on the table to get Jimmy Butler. That is worth mentioning and at least giving them some credit for. But there have been multiple opportunities over the past. After he, he burnt the house down. After he birthed the house down, after it went very far south. There, over the course of the years, there have been lots of opportunities. Like, they missed on

OG and Anobie. O'G. Ninobe led his team to a championship. They didn't lead, but was a key factor in a championship team. They passed on Pascal Seacum, literally was one win away from a championship and might have gotten finals MVP, depending on how the rest of that game seven would have gone if Indiana won. And I'd even argue, like, the last year and a half, like not making a move on like a Trey Murphy, be not making a move that's a bigger splashier move. Do you think that one of the potential hangups here is potentially LeBron's concern

that Golden State has this incredible control over their draft future, but they might be, they might hesitate when it comes to pushing their chips in around LeBron's stuff. Today's show is brought to you by presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bed, Florida's Sportsbook. We talk a lot of basketball here,

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podcast. Potentially. I mean, I think there's a trust factor with Steph and Dremont, but those guys haven't been able to push the front office to move things in a different direction. Now, if you listen to the Warriors talk and there's always kind of like read in between the lines, my general impression has been that those two players

have also been aligned with the front office more often than not, doing the whole, oh, we'd rather make the bigger swing for a Janus. and maybe they're being upsold by the front office. Maybe that's the thing. But the reality is, it's not like those guys have got into a pissing match at the front office and walked out the door. So you can't say they're not culpable in some capacity.

But yeah, I think that's part of it. I do. I think taking back to your original point, look, if LeBron's signing for less than the max, this isn't about cap space. Yeah. So why hasn't he signed yet? I don't buy Rich Paul saying he's going through a process that he knows what he wants to do.

This is the most calculated player of all time. I think they're waiting for something and it could be like the most obvious thing would be like waiting for a trade to prove that the roster they're going to matches their expectations because you're dealing with parties they haven't worked with in the in the past. Like no matter how much he likes as Stefan to Draymond, he hasn't worked with the Lacobs. He doesn't work at Mike Donleavy. the way maybe he worked with Pat Riley or Dave Griffin in the past and those stops, right? So maybe it's that or maybe it's something else. I'm not sure. But like I agree with your initial point, which is this is being dragged out for a reason.

And the reason's not money because we know it's not money. He's not like, he's not waiting for someone to clear cap space. He's waiting for something to do something. And we're just waiting to see what it is. Yeah, and that's where I think, unless he's literally just playing with us in the sense that he's dragging this out for fun to make a story. And by the way, as possible. It's possible that that's at least part of it. Sure.

But I, I, so let's say for instance that he is thinking, okay, Golden State, but if they get a guy like Anthony Davis, how would you feel about the risk for the Warriors in potentially making an Anthony Davis deal? but not being 100% sure that LeBron's going to come. Because I would argue if LeBron was like, hey, because we talked about this in the last couple days. If LeBron's like, I'm going to Golden State deep down, like deep down, he's like, that's where I want to play. Then he should know that they probably need AD and another move because this is a team that's a little thin on wing depth,

especially at the two and the three spot. And so with that being the case, LeBron has to know that they probably need to make a second trade. and if they do, the last thing they need to do is get raked over the coals by Washington for Anthony Davis. So then you go, okay, well, why doesn't LeBron approach Golden State privately and go,

let's, I'm coming to you guys. I want AD, you guys want AD, we're going to do this, but we need to hold the line a little bit with Washington to get a better deal. If that was the case, though he would have agreed. So if there is risk in going after a guy like Anthony Davis, how would you feel as a Warriors fan, if you made a deal for AD and LeBron didn't end up coming to the team.

Me personally, which does not speak for every Warriors fan, I'd be okay with it. Assuming the price is not so prohibitive that like you're effed for like five years. I think this sucks to say, I'm going to be honest with you, because I was on an island saying they should trade for Jimmy Butler when the vast majority of people were opposed to it because the fit wasn't there and he's old and X, Y, Z. And, like, to be fair, the old thing kind of played out.

He looked good when he was healthy. He did, and it worked when he was healthy. By the way, putting all that aside, I have very little faith that the version of Jimmy Butler we're going to see when he returns from an ACL tear in January or February. And I think it's more,

I know the Warriors are posturing that he's attacking his rehab, have well, and I have no reason to believe otherwise. He's always been maniacal with physical training. Older players take longer to recover. They do. Yeah. Average player takes 12 months to come back from ACL. He tore his ACL on January 20th.

I would be thrilled if we saw him before the All-Star break. And I would be thrilled if he looked anywhere like Jimmy Butler at any point next year. I think it's unrealistic. I think the most likely scenario, is he comes back, he's minutes restricted, he's a smart player, because he's always going to be a smart player. Yeah. But there's that lack of like star level pop on a game to game basis

that he used to be capable of because he's 37 years old off an ACL tear. So from that perspective, I'm like, I don't know what you have to lose. I know it sucks because he fit in the culture and... Oh, he's great. He's awesome. Like, I like him. But it's just like, if you want to be serious about putting a team

around, Stefan Curry that has a puncher shot, you got to move off him. And to take it home to your final point, I think Anthony Davis is being undervalued right now, mostly because the last year has sucked for him. He was playing

really good basketball before the Luca Dantia trade. He's traded Dallas. At least part of the reason he didn't play post trade deadline is because the backlash and like they ended up in a deep tank. And players get rested when they're taking.

I know he had like an abductor strain, but like, look, if they had a chance to make a run, he's playing. You know? So I think that's part of it. And then everything fell out on the other side of it. I mean, Nico Harrison got fired. They traded him. He goes to the Wizards.

The Wizards didn't just rest him, by the way. People are going to say he was injured. Trae Young played five games. I don't care what anyone says. They were deep in the tank of we want to get the topic. and to their credit, it worked out for them. So I think he's being a little undervalued here because the situation he's been in

has been as much of a factor of him not being on the floor as his health, which, like, to be fair, has been dubious. And so when you take that all into it, if you believe he's not completely cooked physically, that's a very good player. And a player that no matter where you land in terms of the final compensation,

would help them. Like, they would be a playoff team with Anthony Davis and Stefan Curry and some semblance of depth. Absolutely. I think, I think one of the most under-discessed parts of that specific decision is what happened at the end of last year.

Steph works his butt off all year to try to carry the team. Jimmy gets hurt. He's pushing it even harder. Ends up taxing his knee to the point where he has to take time off. when he comes back, he straight up says, like, this is something I'm going to have to deal with now, with his knee. And so I would argue above and beyond anything involving how you feel about Anthony Davis as a player,

having a salary slot that large occupied by a player who's going to miss two-thirds of the season, especially as a star shot creator, which is going to foist more usage and responsibility onto Steph, which could then lead to the balcony continuing to become a problem. Like that to me is, it's deeper than just, oh, we got to survive Jimmy being out for the next two, two, three months, two thirds of the season. We got to, we have to find a way to get Steph, because say LeBron comes, you got to find a way to get Steph to April for any of this to make any sense. And so to me with Anthony Davis, it just makes your basketball team better in the stretch from October. to whenever Jimmy would have come back and give you a better chance of surviving with Steph. And to your point, there's no guarantee that Jimmy will be ready by the All-Star

break. There's no guarantee you won't have a setback. There's no guarantee he'll be ready for the role that they need him to fill. And it is unfortunate as it is. And I get it because he's such a good fit for the team. And when they were healthy, they were legitimately scary when that team was all put together. But it's just, it's an unfortunate casualty of the situation. Jimmy, you can't play for the most of the part this year. As much as we would love to be loyal to you and have you stay here, it has these trickle-down effects that could hurt the team. And I do think Anthony Davis is a very good basketball player. Like, again, I've been through this roller coaster with him rooting for the Lakers when he would be

healthy and in rhythm. He was an absolute monster. And then he would get hurt. And then he'd be out for a little while. And then he would come back. And when he would come back, he'd be out of rhythm for a little while. But like, even when he was out of rhythm and out of shape and a little overweight, he's just so good at so many little things that just raise your floor as a basketball team.

And I would take it a step further to say, in a Western conference with San Antonio and OKC, Anthony Davis is like the archetype of player that gives you a fighting chance in those types of series. If you can really protect the rim and if you can actually have enough offensive skill at the five spot to make Wemby think twice before he leaves the paint or before he decides to stay in the paint for one reason or another, I think it's a talent play. And again, irrespective of LeBron, you're kind of operating in a space where how often do you get to add a player with that. type of upside without mortgaging your entire future. And you should be able to, in theory, if you hold the line, get Anthony Davis at somewhat of a discount. I agree with you there. I think the other thing with Anthony Davis is he's held to the standard of Tim Duncan and Wembe because when he came out of the draft, he was painted as the next Garnett, the next Tim Duncan,

the franchise big who's going to win five, six titles. To his credit, he's been excellent. I mean, he's been All-Star every year, he's been healthy. They did win a title with him. I mean, he's been great. Like, the biggest criticism you can give of him is he has not been the best player in the world. He's just been, like, the eighth best player in the world, right? But the reality is, to your point, like, his bad seasons, he's still giving you

24, 25 points per game. And when you look at the Warriors' single biggest issue, and they have a lot of issues, but the single biggest issue is if you're asking Steph to give you a 30, and B 2016 Steph in terms of usage, three guys chasing him at all times, I don't think his body's gonna hold up. I don't think it will in any capacity.

And that's where it's like, the Jimmy injury sucks, but you have to find an alternative because if you don't, this whole, we're going to fight to hold it together until he's back, I think Steph's going to get hurt again.

I think he is. Whereas in your scenario, where you're, you get to Anthony Davis and, you know, LeBron comes on like a veteran minimum. Now it's the scenario of nobody has to be superman. Everyone can give you 30-ish minutes, average 20-ish. One night's a step night. One night's an A-D night.

And all of a sudden, everyone's a little healthier that way. So I think that's what they need to do. I don't think they're getting that scoring boost from internal development. As much as I've loved, Yax-L so far, as much as I'm a fan of Pods, Guy, like the guys they have, like, those are not guys who score effortlessly. Anthony Davis scores. Anthony Davis bad games are 20. Yeah, yeah.

He's a great play finisher and offensive rebounder in a way that he kind of just finds his way to 18, 24 points, even on nights where he's not involved in the offense. I mean, one of the biggest critiques of Anthony Davis with the Lakers, and it's more of a critique of the Lakers was that he wasn't involved enough. And it came down to several different reasons. Some of it was AD's fault. And again, like, I'm glad you mentioned this. because if you start to compare AD to Janus or Victor Women Yamma or you're going to be disappointed.

You're going to be frustrated. And I thought even Laker fans, when they would try to put AD in that tier, I'm like, hey, listen, like this is not a conversation you really want to get into. But again, you're talking about a guy who is still in the NBA is a top 20 player. And when he's healthy, probably closer to top 15, top 12, I'd say the exact same thing about LeBron. And if you could theoretically get both while still having enough draft compensation left to make an additional move. You're talking about an interesting team there. And I like betting on AD because you mentioned this earlier and it's the truth. Like, we have to at least account for the fact that it's been a rough

year for him. Okay. Like you're, you are sent out in a trade that is universally panned as certainly the most shocking trade in NBA history in one of the worst traits. Do you remember where you were, by the way, when that trade went down? I was on a ski trip. I was at dinner. I had a couple of beers. The next thing you know, I'm like, I like, I like, I like, can't even focus. I'm looking at the TV and there's Shams on TV. Yeah. It was my dad's 70th birthday. So we had a nice night. I had a couple class of wine. I get home. I put my son down. I fall asleep on the couch at nine like an old man. I wake up and my phone has 500 texts. Oh my God. 30 minutes later. So like I have this very vivid memory of it. But you're right.

It's like the most shocking thing ever. Like I wake up and I'm like, why are people texting me? Like, what is this? Dude, it was, it was unbelievable. And like, so then he goes out and he immediately is on a team that has no shot to compete. And then he gets traded to the Washington Wizards. So like imagine going from playing in L.A., one of the mechas of basketball in the world with LeBron James. And you're like in this championship robust, by the way. That's the other part of it. Like the expectations are like, we're competing.

And then you get sent somewhere where it's like, it'd be great if you just rest. Yeah. And now, and I know Trey Young makes things a little bit more interesting in Washington, but now you're just playing on a young rebuilding team. And so I do think like if you were to get AD to the Warriors, there's a version of that story where you get a, I'm going to prove everybody wrong about me kind of season. And he's just in that age two in his early 30s, whereas like there's there's enough juice in there for like one or two epic flashback Anthony. Davis seasons. And that's to me where I like the, and there's, it's hard to find a team that makes sense for AD. It's hard at his salary and with his injury history and like given the fact that, you know, Washington's going to want at least one first round draft pick back. Like, there's a lot that goes into that. Let's talk a little bit about the roster though. Irrespective of anything with LeBron and AD, how are you feeling about the rest of the Warriors roster? How do you feel about Yoxel Lendonberg? How did you feel about losing Quentin Post? Like,

where are you at with the rest of what the Warriors have to offer? offer. I mean, they've built the perfect roster for AD and LeBron. The fun thing about their roster is they've done a good job the last four years, sorry, four years, that's wrong. Last couple years of

acquiring these young, energetic players who help you win in the margins, but none of them are going to be guys you really build an offense around. Now, maybe Yaxel is better than that. I don't want to put a ceiling on him right now, but like, let's just go through the list. Like,

Pajamski is objectively a good player. Most teams can use him. I think LeBron's going to like him because he plays hard. I think he'll take two or three shots a game that drive him insane. Sure. But I think he's going to like how much he, like, scraps. You know what I mean? You know what's going to actually annoy LeBron?

It's the same thing that annoys Draymond and Jimmy. It's the two or three shots he doesn't take. Oh, where he gets past the ball and he's thinking instead of just putting it up. Because, like, LeBron's maybe the best driving kick passer of all time. He's certainly one of the best, like, point forwards of all time, kicks it to the guy. in a corner, they get fed up when they kick it to someone, passes in rhythm, hit the shot, and they think about it too much. And Pods, that was his biggest weakness. Like, you could literally define his good and bad games by in his own head versus letting it rip. So putting

him aside, he's a good player, though, overall. Guy Santos, good player, scraps, competes. Sometimes the offense is there. Sometimes it's not, but he's always going to get rebounds, always going to defend, do these little things. Will Richard, he may be a good player. He may not same concept. Yaxel, better version of Ghi Santos. Like all the guys they've acquired the young players, they are hyper-valuble, multi-skilled role players. And they make sense.

And I like them all. And maybe pods and Yaxel Lenderberg have higher upside than that. I would argue against it because usually guys who are like, foundational pieces let you know it immediately, offensively. I think it's more likely they're going to be really good glue guys. I think that's all useful if you acquire the main guys to go with them. So they're kind of in this weird situation where they've built this perfect roster

for Steph and a true second, third option, but they don't have the true second third option. I'm Munges shit together, and I'm back with a new season of the podcast Skyline Drive. This time I'm diving into a rabbit hole of peptides, organoids, blood boys, blue zones, and brain replacement to try to understand what this longevity. obsession is all about, and what it really means to live forever, for all of us. I learned about some rad science. I can make a brain for you, and then we can test what draw is the best for your brain,

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to interrupt the inertia of your fear, your ego and judgment. Here to help you connect with yourself before the noise of the day takes over. So let's start our days together with a moment of calm, a moment of reflection and meditation, a moment that's just for you. Listen to waking up with Ryan on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, there's a lot of slotting issues that the Warriors have had with the injuries to Steph and Jimmy that like if you watch pods and he's running 25 pick and roles in a game, it's going to come with some frustrating shots. It's going to come with

some of those Porsingus. It's going to come with some of those kinds of things. But if he's in a situation where he is allowed to function as a glue guy, that's where the stuff that he's great at, like, he's an amazing rebounder for a guard. He's a very good connective passer. He's a guy that, like, is very good at making the reeds that naturally manifest in Golden State's offense when when they're in the flow. And to your point, if you get a LeBron, if you get an Anthony Davis, it slots everyone properly. I think an underrated part of this rock. I think an underrated part of this roster specifically for a LeBron AD discussion is front court depth. Like if if LeBron needs to take a night off, Yax, Yax and, uh, and Guy Santos are both like guys who can start in a pinch at a

power forward spot in the NBA. If AD has to take a night off like Christops forzingis, if he happens to be healthy, can just, Al Horford can play. Like, you can, there's even, it's like, okay, Horford and AD are both out tonight and Christops is sick. Okay, Draymond at the five, LeBron at the four, Yax at the three, like we're big still. You know, like they, they're set up specifically to handle front court depth-related issues in the regular season. As someone who rooted for the Lakers for years, like a team built around a younger version of LeBron in AD, when one of them got hurt,

it was a huge problem. It was a huge problem because they didn't have any forwards other than LeBron. That was why they made the Rui trade to begin with, is they didn't have any forwards, and their backup centers were bad. And so they had no, like, if it was, that was the discussion for years. was like, what if LeBron and AD are healthy? And it's like Golden State has the flexibility in their front court. The flip side of that, though, is, and I do like pods, like you said, you and I were talking

a little bit over the last couple of days about DeAnthony Melton. We really liked De Anthony Melton. I think he's just another one of those, like, glue guys who does everything really well in the role player spot as a guard. And once again, there were times last year where even in the playing games where I thought he was a little overtaxed as a ball handler and he's like driving into traffic and throwing up stuff that doesn't have much chance of going in, but it's like, that's not going to be anything he has to do when the team is healthy in this, in this theoretical universe. I do think that's the next piece of

this, though, where I think if you get AD and LeBron and you find yourself in January, February, and the team looks good, I think there's a secondary deal here that has to be done for some sort of like higher level, two, three, either a multiple piece kind of depth move or like, oh, we, like a Tray Murphy, Like we think this guy could be like in our closing five kind of move. I do think that that is the one weak point of this roster is like like rotate playoff rotation level two, three like swing players. Yeah, you're betting on Melton being more of the player he was pre-injury, another year removed from his injury.

Maybe Pods takes a step. Maybe Giants or yes, I'll take a step. But if they don't, then clearly you need a swing player, like you said. the point of attack defender, the hyper athletic 3 and D wing. The players having their roster right now are, I don't want to call them gambles,

but they're young players coming into it. Maybe they come into it. Maybe they don't. We don't know. I still think you're in a good spot. If you're actually able to acquire an Anthony Davis and a LeBron and you build the expendables

or whatever the hell you want to call them, I think you're in a good spot to win enough games from October to January with those young players to then make a informed decision in January. Is it worth it? You know, Pods, he's fine. It's just not going to be good enough in the playoffs

and let's move him for a KCP type or a Caruso type or whoever's available who's like ready to play that role in the playoffs or like Melton who we talked about. I actually think Melton can be that player because he was that player before his injury. But there's always a chance that it just never comes fully back. You never know.

Like I think the reason he shot 30% from three last year is because Stefan Jimmy got hurt and he had to play first option basketball and he's not that guy. Yeah. I think it's highly likely in the construct we're talking about he'll probably shoot 38, 39% and be that 3-n-D guard everyone wants.

But maybe he isn't. Maybe he isn't. Maybe you've got to readdress that. The point is if they were actually able to make these things happen in and they get LeBron for, again, I keep coming back to this. If he's willing to sign for a veteran minimum or a mid-level exception, like you just don't add talent like that at any age at that price. That's why it's the story in the NBA.

It's impossible. Yeah. And then, you know, hopefully you get Anthony Davis without giving up all your draft capital. You have the ability to your point in January to add that final piece if it doesn't happen internally. And I think that's what's really exciting about. They have the, you know, everyone's favorite of what. They have the optionality.

Well, that's why the Melton thing, I think, was big than being able to retain him. Because I actually do think he's a legitimate placeholder. Like, he's a guy that is like a real, like can give you the facsimile of a starting level two-way two-guard. And then to your point, if you get to January and his body's feeling great and he's doing awesome and he's feeling the role and he's like, he's like, KCP was on the 2020 Lakers and he's just a great fit. Then we're great. but then also if you find yourself in a position where you're like, I like him, but I wish he was our seventh man in our playoff rotation, you can make that type of move.

Before we get out of here, what has been your first impression of Yaxson-Lendon-Borg? He's awesome. He's a fun personality, by the way. Like, one of the more underrated things is getting young guys who have personality who, like, bring it a little bit that way. Like, he has no filter when he talks. Yeah.

It's hilarious. in that standpoint. But the other part of it, getting back to the basketball point, I think people are underrating his upside. Everyone knows he's 23. Everyone points out the, like, older college story. What they often lead out of it

is he didn't play high school basketball. He's late to the game. I think there's more to unlock there. And when you're talking about a guy who has not just positional size, plus positional size, 610, 7-4 wingspan. I mean, he's built like, he's built like somewhere in between OG and Nobi and LeBron.

I'm not going to compare him to LeBron physically, but he's a big wing, and he reads the game at an incredibly high level. I think people are sleeping on the upside there because typically guys who see the floor well and have plus physical measurements, like they only get better, you know? The shot looks amazing right now.

Coming into the draft, the number one weakness that people would point out about him was the shot. Maybe he's a shooter. Maybe he could become a shoot. Why can't he become a better ball handler? He's already a good ball handler. He's a fun player.

He's an interesting. seeing player. Honestly, this draft in general has been great. These are fun young players to watch. I'm so glad you brought out this point about the ceiling because I think people get hung up on the age piece of it, but I really do think that it's more about like how long have you been playing basketball? And more importantly, how long have you been playing basketball under a structure that's actually helping you get better every day? Because like, I didn't play high school basketball either. And the time in my life when I improved most as a basketball player was from 25 to 30. because I hit a phase that most players hit younger in their life.

And it's like, it didn't matter because I was done playing at that point. So I just became unnecessarily good for men's leagues and stuff like that. But like the point is, is like I would, I, the dramatic improvement in myself as a basketball player took place after the how old Yaxel is right now. And again, I in the other thing too, like Yax, Yax actually came up through Arizona Western. And my one of my Juko coaches, uh, who was coaching at a different. school at the time in Utah, but then he was originally from Yuma, and he went back to Arizona Western to coach their Carter Row. He, uh, him and I were working together quite a bit around the draft because like, NBA people were hitting him up and asking about Yax. And he was like,

love to do hard worker, just a guy you wanted to have in the locker room. And he had him back when he was raw and like nowhere near as good as he is now. And like, all I had heard from Carter was like, he's just a dude that just keeps getting better because he's always putting in the work. And so if he's on a similar trajectory where he didn't play in high school, and he's kind of like developmentally where many 16, 17-year-olds are, and he's going to continue to comparing him to like a kid who's been playing since he's seven.

You know what I mean? If he's still on that trajectory, there's no reason in the world why he can't continue to get better. And there's like key factors that you're always looking at there. What does the touch look like? Well, when I looked into the stuff with Yax,

he was great shooting when he was open. Sure. And some of the drop-offs came in off the dribble and in movement shooting situations. that tells me that he's got the touch, but he just has to improve some of the fluidity and some of the stuff that comes with tons and tons of reps.

The feel for the game stuff, and I think this is an underrated part of that position, because when you start to dig into some of the other fours, like Kaminga, Ruja, Mura, John Collins, like when you start to dig into some of those guys, like, one of the big separators for that position is like, are you just a good catch and shoot guy, or like, can you play in the flow and can you play with other good basketball players

and make the reads? And I've seen this in all the summer league games. Yax just makes every simple easy read when he's when he's got the ball in his hands. He just plays easy, breezy flow basketball. And I think that just fits wonderfully with what Golden State likes to do. And then you'll see Flashy plays like that transition play where he goes and jackhammers the dog. Yeah, that spin move yesterday was disgusting. Like that was a nasty move.

Like he has there's clearly flashes of upside in there as well. And then like just the last point, which is all that's true, he's doing it in like an ideal NBA. because that's like the real separate. Like, I could say everything you said about pods, late to the game, innate feel, touch, all those things. But he's fighting the fact that he's 6-4, he doesn't have the quickest first step. Everything is a lot easier and harder to find

when you're talking about a guy 6-9, 6-10 with a 7-4 wingspan. So, like, even if he isn't the most explosive athlete, you can make up for a lot of your deficiencies in terms of, like, lightning first step when you're 6-10. Just be big. seven four wingspan. Like a lot of his Michigan highlights were him kind of allowing guys to get on his hip

because he knew he could just block him from behind. Because he knew he could do it. And a lot of the, and he listened to him talk about it. He knew it the whole time too, which lets you know he has feel for it. He understands the game. Because ultimately what matters is did you stop the play?

Right. There's not one specific, perfect way to do it. But he had a feel frame wants to play. So I'm with you. And the last point I want to say on him is He's a perfect warrior because the tradeout would define most by Dremont and Stefan Curry is being overlooked. In their cases, size, Steph, you know, everyone knew Steph could shoot,

but it's like, how good can he really be? In Dremont's case, okay, you know he's how to play basketball, what position is he play? In Yaxel's case, it's kind of the same concept, like, okay, he can play, but he's 23, like, how good is you really going to be? So I think from that standpoint, it's easy to root for him. And I think he's got a higher upside because they know what to do with players like that far more than they knew what to do with a Jonathan Kulinger or James Watson. I like last thing I'll say about it is just I think some of the concerns with him like the ball handling.

And there was a couple sloppy reps in some of the summer league games. Again, especially if the warriors are able to pull off something with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, I don't think he's going to have a ton of ball handling responsibility. early so he can develop that in time. The switching piece of it, like, can he guard quick guards? Like, he picks up a couple of fouls against Ryan Nemhard yesterday, when Red Nemhard just as hard right-handed drives and he just kind of fouls him. And, like, all I can think about is, like, if I had to have a defender that has some deficiencies in certain types of switches, I want him in a Draymond Green lead defense where he can

he can scram him out of switches. He can captain from the back line, give him pointers in the game. Like, hey, he just beat you with this. Dude, try this next time. Like, that kind of stuff. I just, I think the Warriors have the infrastructure to take the most advantage of Yaks, both in the short term, but in the long term as well. I agree.

They do better with players who have kind of feel, but they got to work through some skill stuff and some of like the fine points than taking like a raw ball of clay where they have all the athletic tools, but no feel. And that's been proven over the last decade. Yeah, no, totally agree. Last thing before we get out of here, how, like it just, just briefly define where you're feeling in terms of optimism on the level. broad front. I want to believe.

Believe it there. It's like, it's like we believe, we want to believe. Probably more optimistic than the current public consensus. The current public consensus is Cleveland or Miami. Yeah. And my thought on it is if you want, if you want to go to Cleveland, he will do it by the end of this weekend. And he hasn't so far. So we'll see. It could still happen. But maybe I'm holding out hope. Maybe it's cope. I don't know. But like, I, I feel better about it than I did a couple days ago. And I'm going to ride with that.

Copium is the drug of the NBA offseason for every fan base. And I thought Golden State made the most sense from the beginning. And what I keep coming back to, too, is like if it was as simple as he's going home, he would have committed already. Like, so I, my heart still says Golden State. I actually have a little group chat with some of my friends at the volume. And we made each other make our final prediction today. and I did say Golden State was my final prediction.

I was the only one who said Golden State. But it is my belief at this point of time. Everyone else said Cleveland. There was no Miami, guys. No Miami. There was no like wild card. Did you punch LeBron out of Cleveland today? That's the other question that I have there.

But anyway, Sam, thank you so much for taking the time to come by today. I really appreciate you, man. Appreciate you, man. Anytime. That is all we have for today, guys. As always, I sincerely appreciate you for supporting us and supporting the show. We'll see you next time. This is an IHeart podcast.

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