00:00Odyssey NBA insider Nick Friedle. Insider Call is brought to you by Hyundai. Now you can buy a
00:05new Hyundai at Amazon. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for more details. Nick, thanks for joining us today.
00:11Guys, it's great to be with you. I obviously, you know, you covered Golden State. You've been
00:16around the NBA for a long time. Now you're our Odyssey NBA insider. But I checked out your latest
00:21on The Athletic. Why LeBron James joining Steph Curry and the Warriors would make sense for his
00:25final chapter. That's not what we want to hear locally here, Nick. Tell us why you feel like
00:31he's going to end up with Golden State. Well, I don't feel as strongly as I might have
00:39as far as Golden State all the way, guys. And I'd give anybody in Cleveland hope that I think it
00:46comes down to the Warriors and the Cavs. And from where I'm sitting right now, it feels pretty 50-50
00:54because as far as stories go, if LeBron is looking for happiness at the end of his career
01:02and he can play with his friends and Steph Curry and Draymond and he knows Steve Kerr from Team USA,
01:09then the Warriors make a hell of a lot of sense. You know, Northern California is gorgeous. He loves
01:15his wine. He loves his golf now. He can do all those things. And the Warriors have a culture in
01:21place
01:21where they let the players kind of do what they want so long as they show up and they play
01:27whenever
01:27they're ready to roll. So on a lot of different levels, the Warriors make sense. But from a storybook
01:34standpoint, I mean, come on. You can't beat Cleveland. He started in Cleveland. This could
01:41potentially be the final year. You know, we'll see what happens a year from right now. But Cleveland
01:47is where everything has kind of come back to always, always for LeBron. My only question is,
01:58I think if you're looking for a realistic chance to win a title, I don't think either of those places
02:06are going to provide it. But as we sit right now, I think the Warriors, if you're looking strictly for
02:14a quality of life and enjoying a final season, they make sense. If you're looking to complete the circle
02:22and you still have so many people that you feel close to in and around that Cleveland area, then go
02:29with
02:29the Cavs so long as they can get the money to make it happen. What do you think LeBron is
02:34waiting for
02:35right now? And how long do you think he's going to drag this out?
02:39Yeah. And having watched this LeBron stuff, guys, for years and years from a distance,
02:44I don't think there's any way to answer the second part of that question. Because I don't
02:50think even he knows right now for sure exactly which direction he's going to go. I think he's
02:59going to sit down at some point in the next day or two with Rich Paul and say, all right,
03:03well,
03:03what are our options here? But as far as trying to read into it, I go back to one of
03:10my closest
03:10friends in the business is Dave McManaman. He has a really strong line into the thinking always
03:18with what's going on with LeBron and the people around LeBron. And when he's sitting there saying
03:24that I think he wants a basketball happiness, I think was the exact terminology yesterday at the
03:35end here, then it's pretty clear to me that, again, we go back to two teams. If he wants to
03:42go try to
03:43find a ring in his last year, the team to make complete sense and where he'd be an absolute fit
03:49on the floor is San Antonio. But I mean, guys, you think LeBron James is going to go sit in
03:55San
03:55Antonio, Texas for a year at the end of an incredible career? I wouldn't bet on that. But
04:01I guess you never know. But as far as when the decision goes, I just know when talking to people
04:07in the last 24 hours, I don't think anybody's expecting it to be imminent. I don't think it's
04:12going to happen, you know, today, we're going to get some kind of news. I think this could drag
04:17for a little while. And when you have a player who means as much as LeBron does, he calls the
04:23shots, as we've seen so many times before. You mentioned the friendship he has with Steph,
04:28with Draymond. I got to ask, because I'm a little old school. I miss players hating each other's guts
04:33like the old days. I don't know, just me, I would probably hold a grudge against guys that won three
04:40or four NBA championships for me. That's just me. Just how have those, I know the Olympics had a lot
04:47to do
04:47with the Steph and LeBron and Steve Kerr relationship. But is the bond really that strong
04:53between LeBron, Steph and Draymond all of a sudden that, you know, he'd do his swan song with a fourth
05:00different team? I think it is. And I would tell you, I agree with you. I grew up in the
05:06days where
05:06people really didn't like each other. And it made the game more compelling.
05:11I mean, Magic and Bird didn't talk until they retired, right?
05:15Absolutely. And then you've got like, I remember talking to Reggie Miller about this and he's like,
05:20man, I hated Michael Jordan. You know, people just, they didn't have that kind of friendship
05:28during their playing careers. But what I would tell you to that point is the game's changed.
05:34And it changed in a lot of ways when LeBron went to Miami and he left Cleveland the first time,
05:40as you guys well know. So everything about how people are viewing the league is different than
05:48it might've been 20, 30 years ago. With that said, as far as the Warriors go, yeah, I do think
05:56that
05:56bond is, is pretty strong. I mean, LeBron and Steph have known each other 20 plus years dating back to
06:03when Steph was still at Davidson. And that relationship got icy, certainly when they were
06:10going through all those finals runs. And I think there was some jealousy a little bit on LeBron's
06:17side that Steph kind of came out of nowhere and then became this gigantic star. And aside from 16,
06:24they couldn't beat them. Uh, but in time, the greats always seem to find respect for one another.
06:32And when it comes to Steph and LeBron, I think that's the word that we would go back to is
06:38there's
06:38just a really strong respect between those two and Draymond and LeBron, they built their own
06:44relationship. They're both, uh, represented by rich Paul and they've gotten to know each other more
06:51over these last few years. But when you're trying to look at, again, a basketball situation,
06:57Kerr is one of the best coaches to ever do it. LeBron's been coached by him. They had that success
07:03in Paris at the Olympics. Steph's still at the top of his game, but you just wonder if he can
07:08stay
07:09healthy and Draymond isn't, but Draymond has that relationship and he knows what he would need
07:16to get LeBron feeling comfortable as a warrior. So I don't think that's lost on anybody. And it's
07:23why I think if we're kind of bouncing between the two, I don't buy guys that either one of those
07:30teams, the Warriors or the Cavs are going to win a title next season. It just comes down to where
07:35LeBron feels most comfortable and only he's going to know that answer.
07:40Nick Franella joining us in the wise heart, right? We make it right. Call Kyle, right? Hotline
07:44insider calls brought to you by Hyundai. Now you can buy a new Hyundai from the comfort of your new
07:48home at Amazon. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for more details. Nick, you'd mentioned the idea that like
07:54the Warriors culture and what they do for players is just different than other spots. In your time
08:00around Golden State, take us into what that is and why that would be something that maybe he wouldn't
08:05be offered here in Cleveland. Guys, I'll give you a perfect example and it's Jimmy Butler and I have
08:12covered him hell since he came into the league in Chicago. When Jimmy got out here to the Bay,
08:20they basically told him, look, you can travel wherever you want. You can come and go as you
08:27please. We trust you to get your workouts in wherever you are. We believe in you as a person
08:34and we're going to let you do your own thing. And Jimmy, for all the blowups that there have been
08:41in previous destinations, has really been drawn to that. And I think he feels very respected here
08:47that people trust him enough to just take care of his own business. So I say that because if LeBron
08:53comes here and he wants to go back to LA for a couple of days, they do that in a
08:58heartbeat.
08:59I mean, they let Drayvon go back and forth. He's got a house out there in that area and they
09:05trust
09:05that when practice is there, they'll be there. And when the game time hits, they'll be there too.
09:11So how exactly the culture is different to Cleveland, I can't speak to for sure because I'm not around
09:19that team as much. What I do know is, especially with the treatment of star players, and I go back
09:25to Kevin Durant from now 10 years ago, stars need to be in the NBA usually treated differently.
09:33And when you have a star, you have to find their comfort level and how that can work within the
09:40framework of your organization. And Steve Kerr and Bob Myers, and now Mike Dunleavy and Joe Lacob,
09:48they say, hey, this is the place that stars can feel comfortable because we've got Steph,
09:53Steph, and Steph sets the tone every day in the building. And we're going to let you be and live
10:01whatever kind of life you want to lead in between the days of these games. And I can promise you,
10:07it is not always like that in organizations around the league. So in that regard, I mean, LeBron,
10:13I'm sure knows all this stuff and has talked to everybody, but anytime that he were to talk to
10:19Draymond or Steph or if he's crossed paths with Jimmy in the last year or so, they'll tell you that
10:27you can do whatever you want out here with the Warriors so long as you produce when the lights
10:34come on. So what do the Cavaliers have to do to get LeBron to buy back into them, do you
10:40think?
10:41I think they just have to hit him with all the nostalgia possible. They can say, you started
10:47here, you helped us win a title in the middle here, and you can end it here. And there's symmetry
10:54there. And the storybook is there. What would scare me, guys, is you can sell, hey, we're going to try
11:02and win a title. Again, I don't believe that Donovan Mitchell and Harden and whatever other
11:09pieces, you know, Mobley, throw anyone you want into the conversation. I don't believe that
11:16they are better than the Knicks. And now with Toronto getting Kawhi back, I just wonder if
11:24Cleveland got to the top of wherever their ceiling is as a group, and they're just not going to be
11:31able
11:31to be there again. Again, if we're debating between Cleveland or Golden State, I'm not sitting
11:38here telling you at all that the Warriors have a better chance to win a title. I don't believe
11:43that. Their roster is old. The difference is, night to night, you're playing with one of the
11:48greatest players that's ever played in Steph, one of your close friends in Draymond, and you're being
11:53coached by Kerr. And you're getting to live out in a place where it's 65 and sunny most days as
11:59compared to the brutal cold that we all know that can happen in that area of the country. So
12:08there are a lot of different factors, but if you're Cleveland, you say, hey, we know you the best,
12:13we love you, and we'll do everything we can in your final year to make you comfortable on and off
12:20the
12:20floor. And I think that's the best sell that Kobe Altman and that group can make.
12:24You mentioned you don't think that the Cavs are title contenders is currently constructed,
12:27and there's not anyone listening right now that disagrees with that. But if they trade it for
12:31Jalen Brown, and then we treat this as a BOGO, a buy one, get one. So you get Jalen Brown,
12:35that shows LeBron enough that you were making the moves necessary, and so you get LeBron as well.
12:40Let's say Mobley is the piece that gets shipped out because it's what we've previously discussed.
12:45Is that iteration where it's James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Jared Allen,
12:50and then LeBron and Jalen Brown, is that a title winner?
12:53I don't believe so, and I can only speak for myself here, but I don't believe guys that the
12:58Cavs would still have the number one guy. And we could go back and forth and everybody would have
13:04a different opinion, but Donovan Mitchell's a hell of a player. I've never believed he was the number
13:09one guy on a title team. Jalen Brown is a hell of a player, and he had a hell of
13:14a year last season.
13:15I don't believe he's the number one player on a title team. LeBron certainly has proven it time and
13:21again, but LeBron's 41 years old. It's just a different time in his career. So when you have
13:28all those pieces together, are you really good? Sure. Are you interesting? Of course, especially
13:35if this indeed is LeBron's final year. But even if they made some moves, and I keep name dropping
13:44my friends here, but Brian Windhorst said, look, you want to get LeBron's attention, you make a move
13:49to show him you're interested. And I agree with him completely. I know he's right. You can make the
13:55move, but if you're having the honest conversation, I just don't think any of those moves gets you that
14:02much closer to where you just were in the Eastern Conference final. So it all makes sense to try and
14:09make it happen. I actually think this is a fan. It's a cool story. If you landed back in Cleveland,
14:15I just don't believe there's any move out there that the Cavs can make that puts them closer to
14:21where they just have been. Nick, fantastic insight. We appreciate you as always. We'll catch you with
14:25you later. Thank you so much. Guys, it was great being with you. Thanks. Good stuff right there. Nick
14:30for now.
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