Latest / OneLegUpAlex Sports / OneLegUpAlex Media and Pags Perspective Collab to Talk King James Departure from the Lakers 6-30-26

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OneLegUpAlex Media and Pags Perspective Collab to Talk King James Departure from the Lakers 6-30-26 · OneLegUpAlex Sports

0:00
Speaker 1: In this fall. Man, it's very tough. And this fall
0:04
Speaker 1: I'm gonna take my town it's to South Beach and
0:07
Speaker 1: join the Miami Heat. That was nearly sixteen years ago.
0:11
Speaker 1: And though he's gone from the Heat to the Lakers
0:14
Speaker 1: and just you know, won a couple of championships here
0:17
Speaker 1: and there in a sixteen year span, I feel like
0:21
Speaker 1: we're back to that moment upcoming. Because if you didn't
0:25
Speaker 1: here already, Lebron James is leaving the Lakers, and Ryan
0:30
Speaker 1: Pagana with me in studio as well, you're more of
0:33
Speaker 1: a basketball guy than I am. But even I could
0:36
Speaker 1: say this is a big loss for the Lakers, who
0:39
Speaker 1: wanted him obviously to the donc Lebron combination. And what
0:44
Speaker 1: do you think to me, I feel like we're about
0:47
Speaker 1: to undergo another aggrandizing tour where he's going to just
0:51
Speaker 1: humiliate seven cities on a random Thursday night.
0:54
Speaker 2: What do you think, Yeah, humiliating seven cities even at
0:59
Speaker 2: his advanced age for NBA standards, I mean, it's still incredible.
1:02
Speaker 2: Just the fact that he could still be a top
1:04
Speaker 2: fifty player in this league even right now, and even
1:08
Speaker 2: having his own son still in the league is just
1:12
Speaker 2: kind of wild as it stands. But I don't know
1:14
Speaker 2: what's more wild that or the fact that he will
1:16
Speaker 2: be on a new team for what is twenty fourth
1:19
Speaker 2: NBA season and he says it's his last. But we'll
1:21
Speaker 2: have to say about that now. It wasn't he saying
1:24
Speaker 2: that though a couple of years ago, that oh, this
1:26
Speaker 2: season might be my last. This season might be my last.
1:30
Speaker 2: And sure enough he's still in the league, terrorizing everybody
1:33
Speaker 2: else like it's still two thousand and three, two thousand
1:36
Speaker 2: and four.
1:38
Speaker 1: Well, and this is interesting also because I don't know,
1:42
Speaker 1: I felt like we didn't think he would say with
1:43
Speaker 1: the Lakers.
1:44
Speaker 2: I didn't think he'd say with the Lakers, nor did I.
1:46
Speaker 2: I mean the way that their franchise had been starting
1:49
Speaker 2: to trend for a little bit now, you know, building
1:51
Speaker 2: the team more around Luca and especially with the recent
1:54
Speaker 2: extension that they gave out to Austin Reeves to be
1:57
Speaker 2: that bona fide second star that Lebron is no longer now,
2:03
Speaker 2: don't get it twisted. He's still very much a top
2:05
Speaker 2: player in the league. Is he his second option on
2:07
Speaker 2: the Lakers? Though? I mean that ship has more or
2:11
Speaker 2: less sailed at this point. But it also shows where
2:14
Speaker 2: the Lakers want to go as a franchise. They want
2:16
Speaker 2: to get a little bit younger, they want to build
2:17
Speaker 2: around Luca and they are and fortunately Lebron just is
2:22
Speaker 2: no longer in the equation right there. And I'm sure
2:26
Speaker 2: the Lakers organization they're greatly appreciative of all the efforts
2:30
Speaker 2: that Lebron gave to their franchise over the years, especially
2:34
Speaker 2: with that twenty twenty ring. And you could say, what
2:35
Speaker 2: do you want, Alex about that being a Mickey Mouse
2:38
Speaker 2: Championship whatever, But look, they still won the finals. Lebron
2:42
Speaker 2: still brought glory back to la in a just trying
2:46
Speaker 2: year for them, and that's something that Lakers fans are
2:49
Speaker 2: not going to forget anytime soon.
2:52
Speaker 1: I only this will be a burden your jersey moment.
2:54
Speaker 2: I think, not like Cleveland. No, But that for my
2:57
Speaker 2: next question, does Cleveland take him back?
3:01
Speaker 1: I feel like that ship sailed also, So here's where
3:03
Speaker 1: I think he might go. He might either, you know,
3:05
Speaker 1: go with the Warriors because I know him and Curry.
3:08
Speaker 1: I guess, you know, maybe there's something there, or you know,
3:12
Speaker 1: the Nets seem to be shopping around. They are looking
3:14
Speaker 1: at Mitchell Robinson. No way he comes to Brooklyn.
3:16
Speaker 2: Though, right, How would he go to Brooklyn for I mean,
3:20
Speaker 2: I just don't get that at all personally. But No,
3:24
Speaker 2: what you were saying about the Warriors, though, is very
3:27
Speaker 2: much true. As per Mark Stein, he's been saying throughout
3:32
Speaker 2: the past twenty four or so hours that the Warriors
3:34
Speaker 2: are very much at the front of the line in
3:36
Speaker 2: pursuit of Lebron, And to be honest, if they were
3:39
Speaker 2: to get him for what would be his twenty fourth
3:42
Speaker 2: NBA season, I mean that that would just be such
3:44
Speaker 2: an interesting Warriors squad and certainly more more interesting paring
3:52
Speaker 2: Curry with Lebron, especially considering where those two guys were
3:56
Speaker 2: just a decade ago, fighting each other's squad for the
4:00
Speaker 2: NBA title and all that, Warriors Cavs being a huge
4:03
Speaker 2: rivalry of course in the mid twenty tens, and then
4:05
Speaker 2: suddenly their teammates on the same team to probably top
4:09
Speaker 2: ten players of all time, if we're being honest, on
4:12
Speaker 2: the same team, which would just be kind of wild
4:15
Speaker 2: in and of itself, and it will blow every basketball
4:18
Speaker 2: fans mine circa twenty sixty.
4:20
Speaker 1: All right, here's where I think it's going to happen.
4:22
Speaker 1: By the way, the announcement he's probably come back to
4:24
Speaker 1: Fanatics Fest this July. What a perfect stage for him
4:28
Speaker 1: to make that announcement wherever he goes.
4:30
Speaker 2: What didn't you say, Oh, certainly, I mean, and especially
4:32
Speaker 2: because he has been confirmed I believe to be at
4:36
Speaker 2: Fanatics Fest. I can't recall at the top of my
4:38
Speaker 2: head which days, but we know for certain he is
4:41
Speaker 2: going to be back indeed, But man, that would be
4:44
Speaker 2: such a huge stage for Lebron to just go announce that. Now.
4:48
Speaker 2: I'm not going to say he's going to New York
4:50
Speaker 2: by any means. I mean, although, don't get me wrong,
4:52
Speaker 2: it would be very, very cool to see him announce
4:56
Speaker 2: where he's going to be playing next season at Fanatics
4:58
Speaker 2: Fest in New York at the Javits Center. And if
5:02
Speaker 2: he were to say come to the Knicks on a
5:04
Speaker 2: minimum deal, I'm not saying that's gonna happen. In fact,
5:06
Speaker 2: I definitely do not think that's gonna happen.
5:09
Speaker 1: You Brunson heart the team there. And then this announcement that.
5:13
Speaker 2: Javits under roofe would explode. Okay, it would, but we'll
5:16
Speaker 2: have to see also goes to show that where Lebron's
5:19
Speaker 2: going to be picking next season to spend for him.
5:23
Speaker 2: It's not gonna be about the money. I mean, he's
5:26
Speaker 2: already loaded as it stands, and he's making more than
5:28
Speaker 2: enough with endorsement money anyway. But it's more so what
5:34
Speaker 2: roster Kenny join that is capable of winning now, and
5:37
Speaker 2: the Knicks most certainly are one, even with their salary
5:40
Speaker 2: cap troubles that you know, well, we'll have to see
5:43
Speaker 2: what happens in the offseason for them. They just brought
5:45
Speaker 2: back Shamit the other day. Mitchell Robinson's status to still
5:49
Speaker 2: to be determined whether or not they're going to be
5:51
Speaker 2: able to get him back, But one thinks for certain
5:54
Speaker 2: the Knicks definitely looking for more depth, and I'm sure
5:57
Speaker 2: they would be more than happy to have Lebron's services,
5:59
Speaker 2: however unrealistic that might be. But also going back to
6:03
Speaker 2: what you were saying, Alex, perhaps he finishes his career
6:06
Speaker 2: where he started it in Cleveland. Now, I'm not one
6:08
Speaker 2: hundred percent sure how exactly they get that to work,
6:12
Speaker 2: because if I'm not mistaken, I believe they would have
6:14
Speaker 2: to trade Jarrett Allen to make that work or something
6:19
Speaker 2: like that. But then also you take into account the
6:22
Speaker 2: fact that James Harden declined his player option and worked
6:26
Speaker 2: out a new multi year deal with the Calves to
6:30
Speaker 2: stay put and hopefully make another run or two in Cleveland.
6:33
Speaker 2: So whether or not that makes things a little bit
6:36
Speaker 2: easier for a third Lebron reunion, I mean, we'll just
6:39
Speaker 2: have to see what happens with that. But don't get
6:41
Speaker 2: me wrong, it'd be pretty cool to see the King
6:43
Speaker 2: finish it out where he started.
6:44
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I forget they did take him back even
6:46
Speaker 1: after that announcement in twenty ten. I believe he's on
6:49
Speaker 1: in their sixteen and whatnot. But anyway, you know, the Knicks,
6:53
Speaker 1: and we're going to expand this a little bit because
6:55
Speaker 1: since we last talked, the Knicks lost out on Giannis.
6:58
Speaker 1: But I don't feel like we lost on Gianni's. I
7:00
Speaker 1: think we weren't supposed to get Jihannas in the first place.
7:02
Speaker 1: He goes to Miami, and then yesterday, yesterday John Buruh
7:07
Speaker 1: going to the Blazers. I mean, all these moves, it's
7:10
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, the blockbuster summer. I mean, yes,
7:13
Speaker 1: the Knick's winning the title, but people seem to be
7:15
Speaker 1: forgetting well, this NBA off season is on fire right now.
7:18
Speaker 2: Ooh man, Yannis going to Miami, jagoing to Portland. I mean,
7:23
Speaker 2: it's just a spicy offseason. And at the time we're
7:25
Speaker 2: recording this, free agency hasn't even technically opened yet, which
7:29
Speaker 2: is just the wild part as it stands, so you
7:31
Speaker 2: can only expect more chaos to come in the following days,
7:35
Speaker 2: even the following hours here. But you know, getting back
7:39
Speaker 2: to what you were saying, Alex about Jannis and the
7:42
Speaker 2: Knicks rumors and all that, Absolutely, that ship definitely more
7:46
Speaker 2: than sailed, and especially with them winning the ship just
7:51
Speaker 2: a few weeks back, I just didn't see any way
7:54
Speaker 2: that that was gonna happen, at least without having broke
7:58
Speaker 2: up the chemistry. To be honest with you, it definite
8:00
Speaker 2: would have. But also, and this is the point I
8:02
Speaker 2: want to make here, it would have followed the tried
8:05
Speaker 2: and true old Knicks formula. And what I mean by
8:08
Speaker 2: that is their old formula of pivoting towards big, blockbuster
8:14
Speaker 2: names that will usually look very good on paper, but
8:17
Speaker 2: then when it comes to the actual basketball not really
8:20
Speaker 2: so much. I mean, you saw that in the past
8:22
Speaker 2: with guys like Stephan Marbury, Stodomeyer even with Mellow. I mean,
8:27
Speaker 2: they tried the exact same thing with the Carmelo Anthony
8:30
Speaker 2: deal back in twenty eleven, giving up their depth for
8:33
Speaker 2: a guy who was gonna sign with them six months
8:36
Speaker 2: down the line anyway. And look, if they had traded
8:39
Speaker 2: for Giannis after the Eastern Conference Finals disappointment in twenty five,
8:43
Speaker 2: I would have been banging the table about the fact
8:45
Speaker 2: that this would be the old, true and tried Knicks formula,
8:49
Speaker 2: that this is pretty much a script that I've seen
8:53
Speaker 2: playoff before over and over and over again. But you
8:56
Speaker 2: also have to appreciate this new Knicks formula here where
9:00
Speaker 2: they're building up a team really through the power of friendship.
9:03
Speaker 2: And I know that's kind of a cliche joke now,
9:05
Speaker 2: but it's true. This truly is a power friendship team
9:10
Speaker 2: who's big priority has been on the chemistry aspect of
9:16
Speaker 2: it and not just getting big names. Now. Sure, a
9:18
Speaker 2: name like Cat that's definitely a big name, don't get
9:21
Speaker 2: me wrong, definitely a bigger name than say rand.
9:24
Speaker 1: Changes that we've had to mention Randall going to the
9:26
Speaker 1: Nets last week. I mean again, oh yeah, that's summer.
9:30
Speaker 2: Yeah that too. Julius Randall back in New York, but
9:34
Speaker 2: with the Nets should be an interesting pairing. But look,
9:36
Speaker 2: if you're Brooklyn, I mean, you really need all the
9:39
Speaker 2: talent that you can get at this point. So he
9:41
Speaker 2: should definitely be a big addition to that pretty young
9:44
Speaker 2: core that they have going on over there, and somebody
9:47
Speaker 2: very good to learn from. Two. Especially with all the
9:50
Speaker 2: draft capital that the Nets have, he should definitely be
9:53
Speaker 2: a very good addition for them. And I think by
9:55
Speaker 2: that logic that might mean we see a NETS championship
9:59
Speaker 2: in twenty to thirty three, right exactly.
10:01
Speaker 1: And I wonder if they picked out Randall while he
10:03
Speaker 1: was at the Wolves practice facility like they did the
10:06
Speaker 1: Knick sid with kat all Right. You know, the only
10:08
Speaker 1: interest thing about this is I believe Lebron still has it, obviously,
10:13
Speaker 1: but he's doing it in different ways. I mentioned this
10:14
Speaker 1: with Lou Turmanello as well. The assists willily went up.
10:17
Speaker 1: I mean, he actually knew he couldn't really shoot as
10:20
Speaker 1: much or whatever, and all of a sudden he's assisting
10:23
Speaker 1: almost every play like he built his assist this year
10:27
Speaker 1: for sure. And who's this year referring to again, Lebron James. Oh,
10:31
Speaker 1: of course, I mean, he's found a way to evolve
10:34
Speaker 1: his game, even with the decrease in his scoring touches
10:39
Speaker 1: and all that, not being that bona fide superstar first
10:42
Speaker 1: scorer anymore. But that's also a big part of why
10:45
Speaker 1: he's still a top fifty player right now, is because
10:47
Speaker 1: he keeps finding ways to evolve his game one way
10:51
Speaker 1: or another in ways that even somebody like Michael Jordan
10:54
Speaker 1: wishes that he could have been able to do at
10:57
Speaker 1: that age. And he didn't even make it that long
10:59
Speaker 1: in the way league as far as he age is concerned.
11:01
Speaker 2: To believe he retired only at age forty and Lebron's
11:04
Speaker 2: now what forty one?
11:06
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, he's.
11:07
Speaker 2: Something like that, and he's still a top fifty player.
11:09
Speaker 1: All right. This also reminds me of a moment where,
11:13
Speaker 1: you know, in the NBA playoffs, we were all swept
11:15
Speaker 1: up by the Knicks run that we didn't really follow
11:18
Speaker 1: that the Okac thunder. I believe it was knocked out
11:20
Speaker 1: the Lakers, right, if I'm not mistaken. I don't think
11:23
Speaker 1: Lebron ended wanting to end like that, much like Tom
11:26
Speaker 1: Brady didn't want to end his career being intercepted by
11:29
Speaker 1: the Titans as a Patriots, so he went to Tampa
11:31
Speaker 1: Bay and want to ring. I feel like there's a
11:34
Speaker 1: parallel here that Lebron does not want to end his
11:37
Speaker 1: career losing out of the playoffs.
11:39
Speaker 2: No, he doesn't want to end his career the way
11:42
Speaker 2: that Jordan unfortunately did. And I'm just talking about his
11:46
Speaker 2: overall playing career. I'm not talking about his well both
11:50
Speaker 2: endings with the Bulls and all that back in the nineties,
11:54
Speaker 2: retiring on top as a champion. So yeah, they're very
11:59
Speaker 2: much is that argument that that's not how Lebron wants
12:03
Speaker 2: to go out and all, and really who could blame him,
12:05
Speaker 2: especially with his finals record and with however many times
12:10
Speaker 2: that has been compared to Jordan's finals record. I mean,
12:14
Speaker 2: that's more or less been a horse that's been beaten
12:17
Speaker 2: dead over and over and over again, bringing up their
12:20
Speaker 2: respective finals records and all that. But man, how cool
12:24
Speaker 2: would it be to see Lebron go out on top
12:26
Speaker 2: as a champion. And again, that's why he's making it
12:30
Speaker 2: more of a priority. It seems to choose a roster
12:33
Speaker 2: that is built to win a championship right now compared
12:38
Speaker 2: to a team that's loaded. And I don't want to
12:40
Speaker 2: bring up the Miami heat here, because I mean, they're
12:42
Speaker 2: dealing with some salary cap issues of their own, especially
12:44
Speaker 2: with Giannis being in the mix. There's all these questions
12:47
Speaker 2: now about whether or not they're going to be able
12:49
Speaker 2: to bring Norman Powell back into the fold and all that,
12:51
Speaker 2: because he's got about a thirty million dollar cap hold,
12:54
Speaker 2: if I recall. But it's again more so who can
12:59
Speaker 2: deliver lebronip right now? Although if he went to Miami
13:02
Speaker 2: on say a minimum deal, paired up with Giannis for
13:05
Speaker 2: what could be perhaps or could not be the final
13:08
Speaker 2: season of his career, then if that hasn't already put
13:12
Speaker 2: Miami in contention, they sure Attacker are going to be
13:15
Speaker 2: at the very top of the East power rankings with that.
13:19
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, no, they'll be back up there.
13:21
Speaker 1: And look almost I wouldn't say it was bad terms
13:25
Speaker 1: with Lebron and the Lakers, but you look at the similarities.
13:29
Speaker 2: It wasn't. But also they wouldn't really be going anywhere
13:31
Speaker 2: no as a franchise.
13:32
Speaker 1: I think that's why Giannis wanted to get out of
13:34
Speaker 1: Milwaukee too, Although there was a lot of bad blood
13:37
Speaker 1: there between those two, the Bucks and Gianni's crazy I
13:40
Speaker 1: think they only won the championship five years ago.
13:42
Speaker 2: It feels so long ago now, doesn't it. Yeah, it
13:44
Speaker 2: feels like an eternity ago too. I mean having the
13:47
Speaker 2: Bucks in the finals. But then how about also the
13:49
Speaker 2: Phoenix Suns as an NBA finals team, the fact that
13:53
Speaker 2: they were able to make it with CP three. Devin Booker,
13:57
Speaker 2: current nixt NBA champion. Mcal bridges at that, it's crazy
14:02
Speaker 2: that that was only five years ago. But it feels
14:04
Speaker 2: like such an eternity. And yes, DeAndre Ayton was still
14:07
Speaker 2: on the team as well. Ironically, I believe he actually
14:10
Speaker 2: just accepted his option to return to the Lakers for
14:12
Speaker 2: the upcoming season. I believe he's eight million dollar option,
14:15
Speaker 2: so he will be back unlike Lebron.
14:18
Speaker 1: And yes, that's true all right, By the way, McCall bridges,
14:21
Speaker 1: I mean, is that a testament to like, Okay, if
14:23
Speaker 1: you have draft picks, trade him for a content, you know,
14:26
Speaker 1: trade him for a potential guy that can boost your roster.
14:29
Speaker 1: Is that what we're seeing now? Is that gonna be
14:31
Speaker 1: a trend that the nick start something the year.
14:33
Speaker 2: No, they very much might have. And look, you saw
14:35
Speaker 2: what mccaal was saying at the Parade FM picks and
14:39
Speaker 2: all that. And look, I know a lot of people
14:41
Speaker 2: were laughing at the Knicks when they gave up five
14:43
Speaker 2: first round picks for mccal bridges, And yeah, it was
14:47
Speaker 2: a bit questionable. I mean, we are talking about the
14:49
Speaker 2: first option on a on one of the worst teams
14:52
Speaker 2: in the NBA at that point, more or less being
14:55
Speaker 2: relegated to a third op, third even fourth option on
14:59
Speaker 2: a title win team. But look how it paid out.
15:03
Speaker 2: I mean, he had so many big moments in the
15:06
Speaker 2: playoff run just this season without mcal I mean, who
15:09
Speaker 2: knows what would have happened from him.
15:10
Speaker 1: His defense is really and he scored a bit, but
15:12
Speaker 1: his defense really shined, and I think that's what they
15:14
Speaker 1: saw on him in Brooklyn.
15:15
Speaker 2: His durability, too, the fact that he can play literally
15:19
Speaker 2: every given night for a title contender, was absolutely huge.
15:24
Speaker 2: And that's the big thing that people talk about with
15:27
Speaker 2: Mikal Bridges is the fact that he quite literally never
15:30
Speaker 2: misses a game these days. His durability has just been
15:33
Speaker 2: all the charts, and especially when you compare that to
15:36
Speaker 2: some of the Knick's former shooting guards right now, nothing
15:39
Speaker 2: against Dante de Vincenzo of course, I most certainly would
15:42
Speaker 2: have loved him to be on this championship winning team.
15:46
Speaker 2: I think I speak for every Knicks fan in existence
15:49
Speaker 2: when I say that, but I mean he also tore
15:52
Speaker 2: his achilles in the playoffs. It's just very unfortunate there.
15:56
Speaker 1: Speaking of big moves, you look at how all of
15:58
Speaker 1: this paid out the last few years alone. I'm thinking
16:02
Speaker 1: about how, Yeah, I liked RJ Barrett, but boy, oh boy,
16:05
Speaker 1: did we come with the CeAl without Anobi?
16:07
Speaker 2: Who?
16:07
Speaker 1: I don't think anybody really knew when we got him, like,
16:11
Speaker 1: why are we trading r J?
16:12
Speaker 2: At least I asked that question, why are we quickly?
16:14
Speaker 2: As well? They gave up Emmanuel quickly in the deal
16:16
Speaker 2: as well to go get ogn Andobi. And I mean
16:21
Speaker 2: to say that moves also paid dividends is a massive understatement,
16:24
Speaker 2: but Alex, just like the mckel Bridges trade, people were
16:28
Speaker 2: laughing at the Knicks for making it too. They thought
16:29
Speaker 2: Toronto won the trade and look at it.
16:32
Speaker 1: Now and now I guess I heart left. I don't
16:35
Speaker 1: think we got any trade out of that, but I
16:37
Speaker 1: do miss him too. I thought he was a big.
16:38
Speaker 2: Part, so do I. I believe he actually also re
16:41
Speaker 2: signed with his incumbent team in the Thunder, for another
16:45
Speaker 2: three year deal. If I'm not mistaken, but yes, he
16:48
Speaker 2: did leave the Knicks in free agency, signed a big
16:50
Speaker 2: deal with the Thunder, immediately won a championship with them,
16:53
Speaker 2: So major props to him, and I couldn't be happier
16:56
Speaker 2: to see him get that ring, just as I as
16:59
Speaker 2: I am happy to to see the Knicks as a
17:01
Speaker 2: franchise get their ring just a few weeks back.
17:04
Speaker 1: All right, Well, working on what Shams is talking about,
17:06
Speaker 1: because this is gonna be a whirlwin the next few days.
17:09
Speaker 1: You could just feel it, Ryan, So keep it right
17:11
Speaker 1: here with Pack's perspective.
17:12
Speaker 2: One only got Alex as most certainly. But also before
17:15
Speaker 2: you wrap this up, if I may, Alex, I just
17:17
Speaker 2: want to ask how you're feeling about all these Jalen
17:21
Speaker 2: Brown rumors right about now, because you're seeing all the
17:24
Speaker 2: rumors out there over the past few days and all
17:27
Speaker 2: that of Brown being disgruntled in Boston. His name was
17:31
Speaker 2: definitely floated around in a potential deal to get Giannis
17:35
Speaker 2: in Boston, which would have been a terrifying duo to
17:38
Speaker 2: see the great Freak paired with Jason Tatum and I mean,
17:42
Speaker 2: that would have been a duo I would have absolutely
17:45
Speaker 2: hated to face as a diehard Knicks fan. But then
17:49
Speaker 2: also you have these other rumors.
17:51
Speaker 1: J I mean, it's a shame, it is what it is.
17:54
Speaker 1: But Jalen actually was one of the more productive Celtics
17:57
Speaker 1: this year, and obviously he picked up the slack where
17:59
Speaker 1: Jason was not able to Look, he's a vital part
18:02
Speaker 1: and I don't blame him from being mad. Anytime your
18:05
Speaker 1: name's floated in rumors, you're gonna get pissed off.
18:08
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there's always going to be an uncomfortable uncertain
18:11
Speaker 2: around one way or another.
18:12
Speaker 1: We know in July, by the way, when the MLB
18:15
Speaker 1: trade deadline comes up, there'll be tons of guys floated.
18:18
Speaker 1: I mean I saw the other day or last year,
18:20
Speaker 1: Spender Jones for maybe Paul scenes. I mean, when these
18:23
Speaker 1: guys are in the rumors, you don't think they feel that.
18:26
Speaker 1: I'm sure they do. Ryan in any sport.
18:29
Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, I mean, and that's even going to be
18:32
Speaker 2: the cares the guy cried thinking he got traded mid
18:35
Speaker 2: mid game, then walks it off, and that actually in
18:38
Speaker 2: twenty fifteen was the catalyst along with sesspenists for them
18:41
Speaker 2: to win the World to get to the World Series,
18:42
Speaker 2: not win it, but get to the World Series that
18:44
Speaker 2: year exactly. But even if you want to make a
18:46
Speaker 2: bit of a Lebron comparison here, because I know that's
18:48
Speaker 2: more or less the big headline of today's One Leg
18:52
Speaker 2: Up Alex podcast, But even with the Lebron comparison, just
18:55
Speaker 2: look at Brandon Ingram on the eighteen nineteen Lakers being
18:58
Speaker 2: floated around in a bunch of trade rumors in a
19:00
Speaker 2: deal for Anthony Davis, which did eventually happen, but after
19:05
Speaker 2: the eighteen nineteen season. But let's not forget that there
19:07
Speaker 2: were rumors mid season that the Lakers, who are going
19:09
Speaker 2: to trade the entire team at minus Lebron of course,
19:13
Speaker 2: to go get Ad from the Pelicans and swallow Solomon
19:17
Speaker 2: Hill's god awful contract at the time, and during a
19:20
Speaker 2: game in Indiana, Pacers fans where channing Lebron's going to
19:24
Speaker 2: trade you at Brandon Ingram as he's trying to take
19:27
Speaker 2: free throws at the line. So I mean, look, if
19:30
Speaker 2: you're an athlete, all you can really do is just
19:32
Speaker 2: try to put your head down and not focus on
19:34
Speaker 2: that stuff. But sometimes it's a little tough too, because
19:37
Speaker 2: what people forget is that these guys are human too.
19:41
Speaker 2: And bringing it back around to Jaylen Brown, there's no
19:44
Speaker 2: faulting him for expressing his frustrations and all that, making
19:48
Speaker 2: a public that he could consider playing in China for
19:51
Speaker 2: the right amount of money or something like that. That's
19:53
Speaker 2: not stuff that regular NBA superstars would be coming out
19:58
Speaker 2: and saying, whether it's to a news reporter or even
20:00
Speaker 2: on their own Twitch stream.
20:02
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's true, all right. And one more thing you
20:04
Speaker 1: mentioned a very good point. I mean, Walton was there
20:07
Speaker 1: when Lebron started right and all of a sudden he
20:10
Speaker 1: gets fired. I always thought he played a hand in that,
20:13
Speaker 1: But it did seem like Lebron changed personnel around him,
20:16
Speaker 1: not just on the court, but like as coaches in
20:20
Speaker 1: the front office. Did you feel that too.
20:22
Speaker 2: Oh, most certainly. I mean he he definitely has not
20:25
Speaker 2: beaten the legitm allegations, let's put it that way. But
20:29
Speaker 2: I mean it was very much a regular theme in Cleveland,
20:33
Speaker 2: bringing in a lot of his friends in the seventeen
20:37
Speaker 2: twenty seventeen offseason to try to win another NBA championship. That,
20:42
Speaker 2: of course did not work out, getting swept at the
20:44
Speaker 2: hands of the Warriors, and then it was very much
20:47
Speaker 2: a thing too, even with the twenty twenty squad bringing
20:51
Speaker 2: some of his old friends back into the fold, although
20:54
Speaker 2: although I don't really know if you can call JR.
20:56
Speaker 2: Smith a friend per se, given how Game one of
20:59
Speaker 2: the twenty eight team finals ended up with the very
21:02
Speaker 2: infamous meme with Lebron yelling at j R. Smith after
21:07
Speaker 2: he dribbled out the clock in a tie game, or
21:10
Speaker 2: even Tristan Thompson for that matter, who I know. I
21:13
Speaker 2: know Lebron was pretty good friends with back in the
21:15
Speaker 2: Cleveland days.
21:17
Speaker 1: Well, it will be interesting, and I think for the
21:19
Speaker 1: Warriors it would be sort of a rebirth, if you will.
21:23
Speaker 1: They've kind of been, you know, lackluster. They've broken up
21:26
Speaker 1: the team here and there. I mean Steve Churs coaching,
21:29
Speaker 1: but I mean, and this would bring them back to life.
21:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, they've been threatening probably to just dismantle the team
21:35
Speaker 2: because there really isn't that much potential for them now.
21:39
Speaker 2: But hey, maybe you get a year or two if
21:41
Speaker 2: you have Lebron in the fold. Who knows. Although it
21:45
Speaker 2: might be a little bit more difficult too now that
21:47
Speaker 2: they brought back Porzingis into the fold Tingus. Pingus says,
21:51
Speaker 2: Knicks fans know him as these days, but they brought
21:55
Speaker 2: him back on it. I believe it was a two year,
21:57
Speaker 2: forty million dollars deal to remain with the Warriors at
22:01
Speaker 2: least two more years. So who knows how much that's
22:04
Speaker 2: going to complicate things, especially because they're already shelling out
22:07
Speaker 2: enough money for the likes of Jimmy Butler and of
22:11
Speaker 2: course Curry. So we'll see if that somehow we're to
22:14
Speaker 2: make a difference at all. But man, that would be
22:16
Speaker 2: a pretty loaded forward corps definitely for the Warriors on paper,
22:20
Speaker 2: if they were able to add Lebron onto that as well.
22:22
Speaker 2: I mean having Jimmy Butler, Porzingis and Lebron in the
22:27
Speaker 2: same front court. I mean that would have made all
22:29
Speaker 2: basketball fans in twenty nineteen probably salivate, all right.
22:33
Speaker 1: And so Luca just posted this on his Instagram an
22:38
Speaker 1: honor to play and play with and learn from you
22:41
Speaker 1: at King James. So that was his tribute to mister
22:44
Speaker 1: Lebron James, who is leaving LA. And by the way,
22:48
Speaker 1: I know they've won like three in a row World Series,
22:51
Speaker 1: but something like this actually dings LA more than if
22:55
Speaker 1: like Freddie Freeman were to leave. You know, I don't know.
22:58
Speaker 1: I just feel like LA basketball is so sacred that
23:02
Speaker 1: this loss is bigger than any world champion Dodger that
23:06
Speaker 1: might leave the team in the near future, you know
23:08
Speaker 1: what I.
23:08
Speaker 2: Mean exactly, because you know what, Lebron after a decade,
23:13
Speaker 2: brought basketball glory back to the city of LA And
23:17
Speaker 2: you could say what you want about the Angelinos not
23:20
Speaker 2: really caring about Lebron's pass achievements when he first signed
23:23
Speaker 2: with the Lakers and all that. I mean, I mean,
23:24
Speaker 2: I do remember a lot of them did not at
23:27
Speaker 2: all like Lebron the second he stept foot in LA
23:30
Speaker 2: for the very first time after signing with them in
23:32
Speaker 2: twenty eighteen. Because here's the thing about LA sports. I mean,
23:35
Speaker 2: you could bring on all the big names you want,
23:39
Speaker 2: but unless you bring championship glory to their city, nobody's
23:44
Speaker 2: gonna care. And that's the exact perception that they had
23:48
Speaker 2: with Lebron in twenty eighteen when he first came. That's
23:51
Speaker 2: all completely out the window now that he brought the
23:53
Speaker 2: Lakers even just one championship, and you could talk about
23:57
Speaker 2: how they probably could have won more, which yeah, now
24:01
Speaker 2: fair enough, as it stands, but he brought a championship
24:05
Speaker 2: back to LA after ten tumultuous seasons. That part cannot
24:10
Speaker 2: be understated as it stands.
24:12
Speaker 1: And the West has undergone so many transformations as you
24:15
Speaker 1: mentioned the suns Okayses rise right even to an extent,
24:20
Speaker 1: I don't know if they beat them, but Memphis had
24:22
Speaker 1: a bit of a run there. I mean, the West
24:24
Speaker 1: is definitely different than when he first got there.
24:26
Speaker 2: Almost certainly. It's a I mean a whole new ball
24:29
Speaker 2: game out there in the West right now, and especially
24:32
Speaker 2: with the Spurs rise too, I mean Wemby and his crew,
24:36
Speaker 2: they'll most certainly be back in the fold, albeit with
24:39
Speaker 2: probably not really a lot of big offseason acquisitions for them,
24:44
Speaker 2: because really they're in a great position now where they
24:46
Speaker 2: can just run back their core and continue chugging along,
24:51
Speaker 2: and especially having that playoff experience with a lot of
24:53
Speaker 2: the young guys experience in the finals, it's definitely gonna
24:58
Speaker 2: help out with their future runs moving forward. And not
25:01
Speaker 2: that this is really major or anything like that, but
25:04
Speaker 2: bringing back Harrison Barnes for another year will certainly help
25:07
Speaker 2: with that, especially given his finals pedigree with the Dynasty Warriors. Well,
25:12
Speaker 2: we'll have to see.
25:12
Speaker 1: And I'm just thinking of all those teams between now
25:15
Speaker 1: and then and Jokich's nuggets also in the.
25:20
Speaker 2: Thing, They're still very much going to be around. Whether
25:23
Speaker 2: or not they will win another finals with their current cores,
25:26
Speaker 2: who knows, but they'll most certainly be a force to
25:28
Speaker 2: still be reckoned with even now.
25:31
Speaker 1: So it'll be interesting how this shapes up. I know
25:33
Speaker 1: all the you don't bet, I don't bet really like that.
25:36
Speaker 1: I guess all the betting markets are like, where's it
25:38
Speaker 1: gonna go?
25:39
Speaker 2: Where'd you go? And they exactly today, And especially if
25:42
Speaker 2: Jalen Brown goes to the Western Conference, if you were
25:45
Speaker 2: to move over there, I mean, that would be huge
25:49
Speaker 2: for sure. I know the Clippers have been one of
25:50
Speaker 2: the teams involved in a bunch of Jalen Brown rumors,
25:54
Speaker 2: but then not to say that this is going to
25:58
Speaker 2: be a landing spot for Jalen Brown. But then you
25:59
Speaker 2: also have the Timberwolves too. Just adding LaMelo Ball over
26:03
Speaker 2: over there, I mean, that's gonna be a pretty fun
26:06
Speaker 2: team to watch, a pretty fun backcourt to watch with
26:09
Speaker 2: LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards and all. But then also Charlotte,
26:14
Speaker 2: if we're gonna keep talking about Jaylen Brown a little
26:16
Speaker 2: bit getting a forty one million dollar trade exception in
26:20
Speaker 2: the LaMelo Ball trade. So don't rule Charlotte out as
26:24
Speaker 2: a potential Jalen Brown destination too, because they realistically have
26:27
Speaker 2: the money to make it work and the assets too,
26:30
Speaker 2: So we could see the Hornets making noise in the
26:33
Speaker 2: Jaln Brown sweepstakes. Perhaps imagine that off season.
26:39
Speaker 1: Ryan Pagano, always a pleasure having you, and I guess
26:42
Speaker 1: my final question to you is are we about to
26:45
Speaker 1: undergo that summer like we did twenty ten? Where's Lebron going?
26:48
Speaker 1: Is he gonna do a hole of a special? Is
26:49
Speaker 1: that gonna happen again? I think it will.
26:51
Speaker 2: It might, but definitely not to the extent of a
26:53
Speaker 2: whole ESPN special because I think I think that ship
26:56
Speaker 2: is more sale. Maybe it'll be something similar to twenty
27:00
Speaker 2: fourteen when Lebron returned to Cleveland for the second time,
27:06
Speaker 2: and he didn't do a whole television special about it,
27:09
Speaker 2: even though he probably could have at that point, but
27:13
Speaker 2: he instead announced his decision in a Player's Tribune article,
27:17
Speaker 2: just announcing that he was going to come back to
27:19
Speaker 2: Cleveland and kind of outlining his plans for not just
27:22
Speaker 2: the team, but also the local community. If he were
27:26
Speaker 2: to come back to Cleveland for a third time, a
27:28
Speaker 2: final time at that I could perhaps see something similar.
27:32
Speaker 2: Maybe he takes out an article to just let the
27:35
Speaker 2: public know I'm coming home again, or as we were
27:39
Speaker 2: talking about just minutes ago Alex Fanatics Fest, he's going
27:43
Speaker 2: to be there. I don't know about. You be a
27:45
Speaker 2: pretty cool stage to announce where you're going to be
27:48
Speaker 2: playing next, especially with how hyped up that weekend is
27:50
Speaker 2: going to be coinciding with the World Cup final and
27:53
Speaker 2: all that. The spotlight is going to be on New York.
27:55
Speaker 2: The spotlight is going to be on Lebron, and there's
27:59
Speaker 2: no better time to make that spotlight even bigger on
28:02
Speaker 2: you if you're embracing it holy like Lebron.
28:06
Speaker 1: James Absolutely, And I just want to give a little
28:10
Speaker 1: note here. I don't know if you got this word today,
28:13
Speaker 1: but the basketball that OG got the tip in with.
28:16
Speaker 1: Did you hear about this, Ryan Pagano?
28:18
Speaker 2: Is this what the auction? Yeah, the basketball.
28:20
Speaker 1: Southebs was going to auction it off, and then thirty
28:23
Speaker 1: minutes before the auction, the OG game football was pulled
28:27
Speaker 1: and the ball will go to the New York Knicks.
28:29
Speaker 1: I have a couple thoughts on that before we wrap up.
28:32
Speaker 1: I think you should make a public appearance of that basketball.
28:35
Speaker 1: I think people would line up to get a picture
28:36
Speaker 1: with it and then put in a nice glass case
28:39
Speaker 1: around the garden someplace.
28:41
Speaker 2: What do you think, Oh, that might not be such
28:43
Speaker 2: a bad idea, Alex, especially with all the other artifacts
28:47
Speaker 2: hanging around the garden and all that, all the different
28:49
Speaker 2: Knicks artifacts, Rangers artifacts, I mean even just MSG artifacts
28:54
Speaker 2: in general, with all the boxing matches and all that
28:57
Speaker 2: that have taken place in the past. But I don't
29:00
Speaker 2: know about you, that'd be a pretty good addition to
29:01
Speaker 2: the concourse, or like.
29:03
Speaker 1: The shoe from Josh Hart, the signed shoe for Jimmy
29:06
Speaker 1: Fallon and maybe raised to the rafters up there. I
29:09
Speaker 1: don't know if that would work enough.
29:11
Speaker 2: I mean maybe not, because I mean it would go
29:13
Speaker 2: the same as But I'm glad the Knicks have it.
29:15
Speaker 1: I'm glad they got it, and that Dolan shelled out
29:18
Speaker 1: some money for that, because look, I wouldn't want that
29:21
Speaker 1: in a fans home. I'm sorry. I just think the
29:23
Speaker 1: Knicks should have that basketball.
29:25
Speaker 2: Exactly because you can't put a price on that kind
29:28
Speaker 2: of history, especially history that's fifty three years in the making,
29:32
Speaker 2: and there's gonna be much There's gonna be a ton
29:35
Speaker 2: of other pieces too to auction off from that anyway,
29:37
Speaker 2: So they'll still be getting their money one way or another,
29:39
Speaker 2: but maybe not as historical as the tipping ball, but
29:43
Speaker 2: you know, I'm still you got a lot of other
29:45
Speaker 2: artifacts too that play historical significance that the fans, if
29:49
Speaker 2: they're loaded, can bid.
29:50
Speaker 1: Them absolutely all right. Do you think he made this
29:53
Speaker 1: decision now? Is it because of free agency? Is it
29:55
Speaker 1: because he's got another team in mind already or what?
29:59
Speaker 2: Oh well, I mean, you never know. Could perhaps be
30:04
Speaker 2: exactly that, but we'll just have to see what happens there.
30:09
Speaker 2: Sixteen years later.
30:10
Speaker 1: I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Whirlwind Tour
30:14
Speaker 1: continues for Lebron James because Ryan and I have been saying,
30:18
Speaker 1: all eyes will be where the King goes next, and
30:22
Speaker 1: that's my message at one leg A alex Media