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Big Stu-ey: NBA Free Agency (w/ Ramona Shelburne) · Stugotz and Company

• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Ramona Shelburne nice enough to spend some time with us.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: She's an MBA insider, a reporter for ESPN. She is
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: everything La Lakers. So let's start there. Obviously, Lebron James
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: and the Lakers. How surprised were you, Ramona, that Lebron
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: and the Lakers decided the part ways.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: You know, I feel like we saw this coming for
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: the past year and the writing was on the wall
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: and nobody either could read it or wanted.
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: To read it because this is this has been coming, right.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: They took Luca at a lunch at Craigs and they
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: gave him this binder and they were like, hey, we're
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: gonna have a bunch of cap spaces this summer at
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: twenty six because Lebron's not.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: Gonna be here, like you know, like where did that
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: capkas come from? And they said, we'll get you a
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: center and we'll get you who you want.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: You know, you should sign the extension here. And it
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: was kind of like and then you got that statement
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: from Rich Paul last year, and you know it was
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: this was like this very.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: Long goodbye.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: You know, it was kind of like we saw this coming,
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: and yet you didn't really believe it. And then is
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: you've you've been around Lebron, have you ever seen him
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: breakup with the team so like amicably visually.
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: No, No, not at all. I've never seen him not
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: have a plan. And it just seems like the Lakers
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: for a while now have not really been part of
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: his plan because they're building around Luca Austin, et cetera.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, look, you know, I'm in my mid forties.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: I don't know how old you guys are, but like,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: I felt bad for Lebron ever since that Luca trade.
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: Like, I cause I know what it's like to.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Be like, I'm a couple years older than him, but
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: as NBA years, he's ancient, right, And he's.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: Still really good. He works, really he's up every.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: Day at five training and he's holding off the young
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: guys like he's probably doing all these longevity hacks and
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: ten hours a night with his Ora ring and like,
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: and then they get this young guy who's this like
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: he's got a great smile and he plays the game
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: really well, and he's they call him Luca Magic. I mean,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: he was like one of Lebron's first draft picks on
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: the All Star team when he got to be the
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: Captain the first time. I like, it's like you just
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: got replaced by this younger, like cuter version of you.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: I mean it's we're in show business. We know how
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: this feels. It sucks, So I feel bad for him.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: He doesn't deserve that, and I'm happy that he broke
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: up with them rather than them breaking up with him.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: I mean, you know, like I like, I like.
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: The conscious uncoupling term.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: I think Gwyneth Paltrow just said that first when they
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: when she broke up with Chris Martin, right, and then
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: Winhors brought it back yesterday, and I'm just gonna keep
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: going with it because I think that's really what this was.
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: Ramona, you mentioned Craigs, Like this is a place that
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: the whole world is supposed to know. Oh yeah, can
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: you tell me more about Craigs because I just pulled
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: up the menu and it doesn't have any prices next
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: to the items.
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's kind of the spot.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: So is you know there are like I'm sure there's
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: the same in Miami. There's like a half a dozen
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: restaurants that you go to in La where you go
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: to c and be seen. You know, there's there's Craigs
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: there's Wally's right there. Uh, they're they're like on Melrose
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: or West Hollywood area, Beverly Hills. Uh, there's paparazzi outside
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: most nights. So if you pull up and go through
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: the front door, you're gonna be seen. People are gonna
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: take your picture, and half the time they're gonna go, wait.
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: Who is that?
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: You know, like you know, like they'll and then they'll
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: figure it out later, and if you're important, they'll try
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: to sell your photos.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: So Craig's is one of those spots, and you know
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: it's this is like the the Lakers always take their
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: important people to these places, right, Like a couple of.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: Years ago, forget where I forget where Genie.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Bus and Linda Rambus took Lebron and Rich Paul. They
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: went for a dinner like this, and they kind of
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: hashed out all their differences and it was like to
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: one of the other half dozen.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: Places in LA that are like this.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: And I always thought it was interesting because last year
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: there were photos of Luca and Rob Polnka and JJ
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: Reddick and Laura Beth Seeger who's his manager.
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: They all walked out at the front.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Door of Craigs together and Luca was holding this binder
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: and I was like, whoa, okay, like we're just we're
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: just letting the pop rizy take our picture, you know,
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: because if you don't want your picture taking, you just.
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: Go out the back door. This is kind of the
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: you know, there.
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: Will be reports that you were spotted at Craigs, but
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: there will be no photos. Okay, So that's how you
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: do it if you want to keep it on the downlow.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: But this was like a full on it's okay if
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: you take our photo. And so I did a lot
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: of really this is really you know, dogged reporting here.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: This is like I had to figure out why Luca
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: went out the front door. Did he also go in
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: through the front door. And what I came up with was.
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: That he.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: Went in through the back door, So there are no
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: photos him arriving, but there were photos of Rob and
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: JJ arriving.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: But and then they all four went out the back
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: the front door. That's interesting.
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: So Luca went in through the back door saying, we'll
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: see how this meeting goes and we'll see if we
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: leave together or not.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: And it must have gone well, yes, So it's probably.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Maybe he knew what he was doing, or maybe the
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: valet just pulled his car up around front away.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: We all heard about it because he went out through
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: the front door and there were pictures.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Is he it's bribe Once while in Miami it's Saint
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Elmo's In Indianapolis? How many hours have you spent at
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Craigs just lurking around? Robota?
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: I don't I went.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: I've been there two or three times, okay, both times
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: with people who were way more famous than me.
• 5:47
  Speaker 5: So it looks like the twenty nineteen meeting with Lebron
• 5:50
  Speaker 5: was at Wally's. I'm more of a John Viannies guy.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, Craig's Wally's. Yeah, that's right, you're more of
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: about that one too. I always write about.
• 5:58
  Speaker 5: The dinner, you know, John and Vinnie's guy.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: How's John and Vinnie's good?
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: It's good spot another Jerry Buss like to take to.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: He liked to take people to Dan Tana's. Have you
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: heard of Dan Tanna's.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: No, No, that's out there in West Hollywood. I've been
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: there a few times.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Really good chicken parm, like just best chicken parm in town.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: But like Craigs is this place they got It's like
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: elevated California food, so like you'll order pigs in the blanket. Okay,
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: that's a that's a like a an appetizer that's usually.
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: Passed around by cater waiders, but it craigs elevated.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, they're good.
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: Good to.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Ramona. How do you think Lebron's gonna be remembered by
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: Laker feds?
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: Okay?
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: I mean that's what Like the people didn't love him here, guys.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: And it's like I host radio in l A all
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: the time, and you wouldn't believe the callers and John
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: Ireon and I will sit on radio and we'll go,
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: you guys, this is like the greatest player of all
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: times for your team.
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: Like you should appreciate that.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: And I think people like respected him, and they appreciated him,
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: but there wasn't a real connection or love. And is
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: that because he followed Kobe? Probably right, like nobody's Kobe,
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: you know, And and Kobe had been here for twenty years.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: He was sort of Laker blood like her family. Lebron
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: came here, his best years were elsewhere. He's sort of
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: a like a Lake career arc. You know that It's
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: like you know when your show goes on for twenty
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: seasons and then there's like this, there's this three season
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: arc where they're in this random place.
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: I mean, it just it just was never this like
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: blood feeling. There's never real connection feeling and and and
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: I mean.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: I still get calls on the radio all the time
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: about this Blaze Pizza event.
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: Do you remember this Blaze Pizza event?
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: His first Yes, the first summer he sent he tells
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: the Lakers he's coming. There was no It was exciting
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: for Laker fans because they be I mean, you forget
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: how bad they were before he arrived. He was they
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: were terrible, Like they're in the lottery every year.
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: Every year, I would cover the.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: Finals and then I'd get some an NBA producer would
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: be like, Okay, so we're gonna have you stationed at
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: the Lakers for the draft, and I'm like, what, oh
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: the lottery again? Oh god, okay, that's next week. And
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: then I had to call everyone and get caught up
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: and be like who the Lakers picking. And I'd stand
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: out there and I think Rhys Davis was like the
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: host back then, or maybe with Sage, you know, and
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: I would stand out there and say the same three
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: things for ten hits in a day, you know, and
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: like this was like six straight years, six straight years,
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: like it was like you know, Julius Randall, D'Angelo, Russell,
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: brandon Ingram like we can't and it was.
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: It was a really rough time in Lakerland.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: And some of those years Kobe was still there, they
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: were just really bad.
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: He was either injured or he was old.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: And so Lebron came and he made them relevant again.
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: He made them interesting again. He chose them.
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: They really didn't do much to recruit him other and
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: you know, Magic came over to his house the night
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: before and was like let's go. You know, like I
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: don't think there was a big there was no production.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: You know, they need to sell him. He just was like,
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: LA sounds cool, and I you know, I like the franchise.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: The Knicks at that point were still dysfunctional. I think
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: Phil was there too, wasn't he still Yeah, they had
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: a beef, you know, so if he was gonna leave Cleveland,
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: he had to go someplace cool. And La was cool,
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: and you know, they they very quickly got him a
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: star and Anthony Davis they want a title. But I
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: just I don't think he ever really embraced La either
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: that he.
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: Didn't even do a press conference that summer.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: Remember his first press conference was an Akron after he
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: left Cleveland.
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: It was like I'm still one of you, right, And
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: and then there was supposed to be some event at
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: Blaze Pizza.
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: All these people showed up and Lebron didn't and everyone
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: got mad, and then it just sort of kind of
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: never escalated from there. I mean, I whereas like I
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: don't mean to you know, compare contrast, but like Luca
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: got here, was totally shell shocked, couldn't believe he got traded.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: But like the first two things he does, I think
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: he got parking for everyone or he like helped people
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: get like affordable parking to go to the game.
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: And then he fixed a Kobe.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: Murle like very quickly started doing like on point things
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: to say, I love La, And I don't know, I
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: just I never felt that from lak your fans, from
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: Lebron towards La. And and I frankly like when he
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: broke a lot of these all time records, I felt
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: kind of like it didn't feel right really, you know,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: it was he should have been in Cleveland or some
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: you know, the place that really loved him because you know,
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: we're gonna have the World Cup Final in a little
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: while and it'll probably be two nations that have nothing
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: that are not US, okay, and like if you go watch,
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: I don't know, let's say it's France and who do
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: they line up with?
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: Could they play Norway?
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: Is that on the same bracket? Yeah, you know, probably
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: Franz is going to be in at the probably the
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: best team. But like people are going to show up
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: and they're going to cheer really hard for two teams
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: that they are not natives of. And that's kind of
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: what this whole time in La felt like.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: You're surprised by that, is he he's breaking Kareem's record there,
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: you know, Well, I mean it was.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: A nice moment. Everyone got their phones out and threw
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: it up on the ground.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: I was just looking at the bracket to see France
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: plays Paraguay next, and I was just getting Ramona bad information.
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: So I'm curious about the Lebron James free agency situation
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: because as you mentioned before, it's like he's never broken
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: up with the team and didn't have a plan. I mean,
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: some would argue his move back to Cleveland was made
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: before he ever, you know, entered his fourth year in Miami.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: We felt that during those finals.
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and so this feels like when he says, hey,
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: let's see what you got doesn't feel genuine. It feels
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: like if this is the pattern of Lebron James, he's
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: got a very good idea of where he's going. Would
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: you agree or does this seem like a different situation
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: for him?
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: This feels different?
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: Maybe this Okay, you were closer to twenty ten than
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: I was. Did you feel like he was always going
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: to Miami in twenty ten?
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: No?
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: In fact, Dwayne Wade famously even though he had thought
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: Lebron was going to come, I didn't really know as
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: the announcement was happening.
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: So he left some mystery.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: There because people like they all came to that office
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: building in downtown Cleveland.
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: I always remember Wendy telling.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: Me about this, right, like it was like this office
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: building and then remember Donnie Walsh got out. The Knicks
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: guys came out and was like, Donnie Walsh had a
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: neck brace on.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Or is in a wheelchair? I believe, yes, a Wheelchairy.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: Just had a surgery, I think, right, And I was like, oh,
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: it's probably it's not good optics for the Knicks there,
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: you know.
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: And then Chicago was in it.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: I think Chicago was definitely in that because Dwayne was
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: from Chicago. And then you know, Pat had to make
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: a really strong case, you know. I think that the
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: way this history has been written is that Pat brought
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: his his rings into the room.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: And he set him on the table and he said,
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: come with me if.
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: You want to win, right, Like, I don't think that's exactly.
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: What happened, but better though, I might have written that.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: It's a good story though, right, But you.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Know, the sense was, I don't think he knew what
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: he was exactly going to do in twenty ten. I
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: think that was a true decision. Every other move I
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: think I think he knew what he was doing. A
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: back to Cleveland twenty eighteen to la though that had
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: been in the wind for a year.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: This just this is a different one.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: I think people are gonna have to audition, They're gonna
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: have to make cases. They're gonna have to he's gonna
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: and and by the way, and this is this is
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: the part where I root for me and and I
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: will cop to that, like I have my vacation schedule
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: next week on the fifth Jesus, because we're usually done
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: by then, Like the last few years it's been done,
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: like it's been July first and second, and maybe maybe
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: the third, maybe there's a few things to wrap up,
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: but like we're gone, We're by the fourth.
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: We're good. And that's like this is like old.
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: School free agency, where we keep working through the through
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: the fourth and it's bleeding into Summer league now and
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: then there's meetings and there's I mean, we're pretty close
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: to tracking planes.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: Is that's where I.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: Think we're yes tracking houses.
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: I mean he's in he's in Cleveland or Akron, he's
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: in his house there and like he's playing golf every day.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: So like I think the best people who are gonna
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: have the best intel on this are the people at
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: the are like the club the what do you call
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: those guys who work at the pros who work at
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: the club at the golf clubs, the.
• 14:34
  Speaker 6: Club pros now the clubs, the starters.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, guys like going to be the.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: Caddies there who Lebron play with, you know, showing up
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: for around.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: A golf You should like we should track the private
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: jets that fly into that airport there the you know,
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: the one right on right on the lake and Cleveland.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: I mean, it just feels like this is where this
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: is going. And I'm sure there are going to be cameras.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: Somebody reported this morning, like he's gonna film the whole thing.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: I feel it coming, right, Ramona, is he going by
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: the way, he's been filming everything.
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: Let's let me put this out there. I'll give you
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: something for your show.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: Okay, they've been filming lebron for the past two or
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: three years, Like there's been cameras in the locker room
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: filming him walking out. Like I don't think it's new
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: that he's been filming anything. I think he's been kind
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: of I think he saw what Michael did and what
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: Kobe did and what all these like, and this footage
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: is his, like, this is his NBA entertainment footage. Like
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: I there's a lot of times like the locker room
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: conversations in LA, like there's people standing there with boom
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: mics and you're like, we are we on air?
• 15:33
  Speaker 6: You know, Ramona.
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: How big of a is it stillron lebron comes with
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: Bronnie or is that a situation where hey, Bronni, you
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: can fly on your own net.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: I think that I would be shocked if Bronni wasn't
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: with him.
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: It's not that hard to make happen.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: Right, Well, he made it happen there.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: I mean, they guaranteed his contract the day before Lebron left, YadA, YadA.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: But like that's a two million dollar contract you can
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: easily just trade.
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: Are you buying Chams's report here that Lebron is willing
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: to accept a minimum contract?
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: I buy it. Do I think it's likely? No?
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: I think somebody will sweeten the pot a little bit.
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: You know, they'll they'll try to get him as much
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: as they can get him. But by waiting, you you
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: are putting yourself in this scenario. Yeah, right, Like teams
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: can't hold their cap space if they think they're gonna
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: get you or they have a chance at you, they
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: they have to make the team good. So you're gonna
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: lose everybody else because free agency. Again, like I said,
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: I was usually safe in scheduling vacation for next week.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, I'm sorry, Yes, yeah.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: It's okay, I'll just this is this is the life
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: we have chosen, right.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, but knowing Lebron the way, you know, Lebron.
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: Having covered him for as long as you've covered him,
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: what do you think is most important for him in
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: terms of this final stage? Is it winning another title
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: or two? Is it playing with friends? What's the most important?
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: I think I think it's having fun playing basketball, so
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: and that's winning obviously. Is he gonna If you really
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: want to win, you would go to the Knicks or
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: the Spurs because they were just in the finals?
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: Yes, Oklahoma, right, you know?
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: And I don't think you should cross either of those
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: teams off the list.
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: I can't really see the Knicks, I can't. I mean,
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: they just won and there's some awkwardness there with the.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: Former agent running the team, and okay, but he does
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: love New York, so.
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: I don't see that. I don't see that. But I
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: wouldn't cross.
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: The Spurs make sense to me too, they I mean, shoot,
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: if they would have had a guy like Lebron, I
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: think they win the series. This old veteran who knows
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: how to win, Like that's exactly what they needed. In
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: the last two minutes of every single game.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: Yep, I like this game. Can you see it? Or
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: can't you see it? Can you see him in Boston?
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Can you see him in Boston?
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: No, that doesn't fit all right?
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: Can you see him in Can you see him in
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: Oklahoma City?
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: No? Not on that side.
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: But yeah, these are the only ones. I'm saying, Okay,
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: keep going, let's go. We can go through all twenty
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: nine if you want.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: Can you see him where is? He wants to see
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: him in Miami because it's.
• 18:14
  Speaker 4: The best spot for Bronnie and the rest of his career.
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: I'm saying, if Lebron wants to be a good and
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: even better father, right, Miami is the only landing spot
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: for him.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: I don't think that would be the reason why I
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: think Giannics really likes Lebron. Yeah, I was out here
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: in LA and you know, Jannis has like signed Lebron
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: and Bronnie jerseys, and he told me last I remember
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: when he came through LA this year. He walked into
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: the locker room wearing Bron's jersey and it was signed,
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: and he was like giddy, and we all talked to
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: him about it, and he said how much he admired him.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: He said he thought that Braun playing with his son
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: is the greatest story in sports. And he said, I
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: you know, I wish I could do that with my
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: son one day and I go, well, how many more
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: years would you have to play? And he goes, don't
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: think I'm gonna make it. But I think I think
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: Jiannis like idolizes Braun. I think he thinks he's amazing,
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: and so that's interesting. I don't I don't think that's
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: in my That's what I don't think is gonna happen.
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: But I I'm interested because he does a familiarity there.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: I think he and Pat are fine by now. I
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: don't think there was ever anything bad. It just it
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: was like he was done there and he wanted to
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: go home.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: And it sounds like you think it's and.
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: They're in the Eastern Conference.
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: Ding ding ding number one reason they're in the Eastern Conference.
• 19:32
  Speaker 6: Yeah, premona.
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: It sounds like you think it's Golden State then.
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: Or yesterday I said Golden State. I don't know. I
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: did Cleveland radio this morning. They got me all talked
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: into the Cleveland thing. You know.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: I just think it sounds really fun for him to go.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: They just want a gold medal together, him and stuff
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: and Anthony Well, I don't know if Anthony Davis will
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: be part of that, but I'm sure they. I'm sure
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: le Bron and Steph would like that. He would certainly
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: help them. They'll have to give up a lot to
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: get him from Washington, and then they'll then they have
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: to decide if they want to pay him and extend him.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: And that's not really how they've been running anything in
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: Golden State. Is everyone's like on this two year window.
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: Nobody's getting long term deals there. So you know, lining
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: up with Steph, right, So do you really want to
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: extend Anthony Davis like three years beyond Steph. That's I
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: don't know, it doesn't really fit, but he would certainly
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: be good. But also think like he and Draymond both
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: live in LA very close to each other. Draymond, I think,
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: I love this detail on Draymond. He as of a
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: year ago, like when I last asked him about this.
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: He frequently flies commercial, Like he'll just get up early
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: early and take the first flight from lax up. Love
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: that there's like a six am so he'll just if
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: they have like a few days off, he'll come home
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: and hang out with Hazel and the kids, and then
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: he'll just take an early morning flight up and be
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: there in time for practice. So like you know Lebron
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: doesn't have to move. I mean, he could just get
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: a place up in the bay and fly back and forth.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: I mean maybe they could, Maybe they could chip in
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: and get a jet. Maybe they can ask Erica Glazier,
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: she's one of the co owners.
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: Maybe they can use hers. She lives in LA I mean,
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: it's that feels like an easy fit.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: Plus Pebble Beaches right down the road, and he's super
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: into golf right now.
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: And these are the free agency decisions that nobody talks about.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: It's unbelievable, Ramona. I think the crowning achievement on a resume,
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: a Hall of Fame resume, is that sixteen years after
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: the actual decision, we're still hanging on every word. This
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: man has to say.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: Yes, listen, we had three hours of television yesterday, three
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: hours NBA Free Agency Special. And I mean if you did,
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: like a time of possession on how much we talked
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: about Lebron, I like, what would it be of those
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: of those one hundred and eighty minutes. I mean, okay,
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: let's say commercials. So what is it forty forty five
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: minutes in an hour? I think each hour probably thirty
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: at least thirty Minutestes Lebron.
• 21:54
  Speaker 5: Yeah, then the rest of the time to Landry Shammant
• 21:57
  Speaker 5: yeh Yeah, we talk Kuhi.
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: A little, We talked a little Brown.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: We did a few other but a lot of free
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: agencies done right, Like a lot of freegency happens early
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: now because you can talk to your own free agents
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: a week in advance, so there's not that many. And
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: then we had some big ones today with the Lakers
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: getting Walker Kessler and then you know, Quentin Grimes and
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: Sandrew Mamu keshpheely did.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: I get it pretty close? I think there might be
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: another syllable in there, but it's good bye.
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: I'm going with Mamu.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Yes, all year should bless you?
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Quin Grimes calling sex. I mean, look, we had
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: a few things happened like that looked like real free
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: agency where people have meetings and then they you know,
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: they sign, I mean, but mostly those types of things
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: are over by now.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: Yes, I am concerned for both you and Brian Windhorst.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: Your vacation's going to get ruined, your summer's going to
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: get ruined, because he is going to enjoy this. He's
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: going to take his time because we're all just waiting
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: around and we're spending now ninety minutes available.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: I go to Oregon every year to visit my cousins.
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: I have two young boys, okay with my children. Think
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: of my kids like, this is our family vacation.
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: We have a pool.
• 23:08
  Speaker 4: This year, I'm only thinking.
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: We go to this beautiful little park and my cousins
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: are there.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm sorry, I'm gonna.
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: Be doing zoom hits for my Airbnb. It's gonna be great.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: Well, we appreciate you doing this. Thank you so much,
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: Ramona Shober check her out all over ESPN, NBA Insider
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: and reporter as well. Thank you so much for doing this.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: And I'm sorry about your summer.
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: That's okay, but you know this is the life we
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: have chosen.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: Yes, thanks