00:00Here's former Cavalier, former LeBron teammate Danny Green talking on the No Fouls Given show
00:06and what Donovan Mitchell needs to win an NBA championship.
00:10It's going to take LeBron.
00:11It's pretty simple.
00:12I mean, you get LeBron James and you get James in the postseason to play like we know James can
00:17play,
00:18you have a really good damn shot.
00:20Obviously, Evan Mobley, too, if he continues to grow, but they have a good setup.
00:24They have a good team.
00:25They have good pieces.
00:25You know, I don't know who they'll end up keeping if LeBron comes or getting rid of,
00:29but if you still keep Jared Allen at Mobley, great bigs.
00:32You got Max Drews who can shoot and is gritty defensively.
00:34Like, you still got, I don't know if Schroeder's there or not.
00:37Like, you got some pieces that can hoop, you know.
00:40Tyson, I like his game.
00:42So, yeah, you got some pieces, and it's in the East, so you have an opportunity.
00:45I do love that he was just starting to go through the whole damn roster.
00:49Here's the thing.
00:49I don't think Donovan Mitchell's going to win a championship in Cleveland ever unless LeBron comes here.
00:55I can't see them having the wherewithal to trade for a better player than Donovan while keeping Donovan.
01:02This roster is also, it remains wonkily built.
01:06Like, you would, I just can't believe how, again, you just neglect the wing
01:10and the most important era of the wing player ever in the NBA the way Kobe Oltman has.
01:15And so LeBron James is the guy that you can plug in to this situation
01:19and do the things that you need in the NBA postseason
01:23and is a guy that I think can carry you when Donovan falls short in games that he's not having
01:28his best game.
01:29Yeah, he's a missing piece.
01:30It becomes vital to have somebody like LeBron.
01:32That's why we're hanging on every word that is coming out of these different NBA reporters
01:37and people that don't even really know LeBron very well.
01:39I agree with you.
01:40I don't think Donovan's winning a title on his own.
01:41I can make a further argument that if you don't land LeBron,
01:45I don't think it's crazy to be talking about them trying to trade Donovan Mitchell next summer
01:48if things just go south.
01:50So I agree.
01:51And I want to make it clear, though, because I don't want to make this just...
01:54I don't know who's taking that contract, though.
01:55That's the hard part of that.
01:56But yeah.
01:56I'm sure there will be somebody.
01:58Now the question is, can you get dollar for dollar, which the answer is probably no.
02:02I think what's interesting about it, I want to make it clear.
02:04I'm not saying this just from the Donovan standpoint.
02:07I don't know that you can win a championship if Donovan's your best player.
02:10I just think...
02:12I know that you can't win a championship in this scenario with Donovan as your best player.
02:19And what I mean by that is, I think Donovan's path to a title is Jalen Brown's.
02:26If you look at...
02:27If you try and design a way to build around an undersized guard...
02:31In Jalen's case, I think he's a true point guard.
02:34In the case of Donovan, he's more of a combo guard.
02:36But if you try and build around an undersized guard, yeah, you've got a lot of athleticism,
02:42a lot of shooting, and a lot of athleticism, shooting, and defense around him, that's the
02:48way you do it.
02:48And that is...
02:49You just don't have a lot of that here.
02:51You have a guard-centric roster.
02:53Your bigs are maybe not the most developed or just never will develop offensively.
02:58Like, it's just really...
03:00This is just a...
03:01Like, I so much respect Kobe Ullman for making the Donovan trade.
03:07But then kind of just letting things take three and a half years before you ever get to truly
03:12tinker with the guys around Donovan.
03:14And not your bench guys.
03:16Not your, like, fifth man on the roster.
03:18We're talking about, like, the other guys that start with him.
03:21I think that's...
03:22If we write the post-mortem five years from now and why you didn't win a championship
03:25with Donovan, one, it'll be because LeBron never came home again.
03:28And two, it'll be because Kobe never got off his duff for the first three and a half years
03:32and he waited too long to where you were expensive and didn't have the right pieces around him.
03:36I don't think that's how we're going to talk about it five years from now.
03:38I think I will talk about it if they don't win a title, is that Evan Mobley never took
03:42that next jump.
03:44I think Mobley's going to take a lot of the brunt of that.
03:46I think that the way this was constructed, I really do think this is the downfall of
03:51this team is the idea that they thought Mobley, making max money, by the way, was going to
03:56be something that right now he isn't.
03:58And so you couple that with Donovan, who also turned out to be something that maybe it was
04:01promised and we thought he would be.
04:03He turned out to be not that guy because he's not the killer in the fourth quarter the way
04:06Brunson is.
04:07And he's somewhere between 10 to 12th when maybe you hoped he'd be somewhere between
04:11five to seventh.
04:12You couple that.
04:12You didn't miss by much, but you missed.
04:14I think it'll be a massive cop-out if that's the narrative for both Kobe and Donovan.
04:20I do.
04:20And I mean that with respect.
04:22I know I criticize them, but that doesn't mean I don't think Kobe is, at very least,
04:27a good GM.
04:28I don't think he's a great GM, but I think he's a good GM.
04:31And I think Donovan is a very, very good player.
04:34Top 15 player.
04:35But the difference between top 15 and top five is the position you play, how you're built,
04:41and whether you can win a championship as the best player.
04:45I really do.
04:46And again, there aren't 32 guys that can win a championship on their own.
04:50There's maybe five or seven guys.
04:52Well, even within this, though, you do need guys to have playoffs like you've never seen
04:55them have before.
04:56Part of the reason why the Knicks were so dominant in the first three rounds of the playoffs was
05:00Carl Anthony Towns was playing basketball like we hadn't seen Carl Anthony Towns play
05:03before.
05:04Yeah.
05:04Like deep voice Carl Anthony Towns, not zesty voice.
05:07Like he meant business, you know?
05:08And so there's an element of that that has kind of just eluded this Cavs team.
05:13And maybe we'll talk about that at some point, the idea that you just need to have the stars
05:17align almost when you get to the postseason.
05:19But there's like six different reasons why.
05:22But I would imagine when Kobe Altman puts his head down at night, he thinks to himself,
05:26if Evan Mobley had developed the way that we thought he would, we wouldn't be nearly in
05:30the situation that we're in right now.
05:312-1-6-4-7-4-00-9-2, is LeBron the only way Donovan wins a championship in Cleveland?
05:39Demos, you've been waiting patiently.
05:41We appreciate that, buddy.
05:42What you got for us?
05:43Hey, the answer to your question is probably.
05:46We'll see.
05:47But I want to just step back and look at the arc of LeBron's entire career, right?
05:53He comes here out of high school where he always wanted to play.
05:56He leads us almost to glory, and then he books for Miami.
06:01Burning of jerseys.
06:03Just the worst ending to his first chapter, right?
06:08Comes back.
06:10Delivers.
06:11Does what he said he'd do.
06:13All-time great Cleveland.
06:15But he's still going to be playing.
06:17And he goes out of town.
06:18He has to come back here.
06:20He has to come back here to finish the story.
06:23Third time's a charm.
06:24The arc of his narrative coming back here.
06:27Do you want to see him finish his career like Michael Jordan did wearing a wizard's uniform?
06:32I mean, come on.
06:34Right now, I think everything that's happening is all the lawyers are trying to figure out how they're going to
06:39turn this into a TV show.
06:41How they're going to maximize his, you know, the end of his career.
06:45And the only place it makes sense to have that story finish properly is here in town.
06:51And if God help us, he helps us bring another championship here, his glory will be unmatched, and Donovan will
06:59get his ring.
07:00But what if, so real quick, Demos, what if he goes to Philly and wins a championship?
07:04Isn't that, doesn't that completely refute the Jordan allegations?
07:07Because Jordan never really came close to winning a championship in Washington.
07:11That's true, but winning a championship is hard.
07:14And, you know, is Joel Embiid going to, you know, is he going to be a solid player or is
07:19he going to get injured again?
07:20Who knows?
07:21He is a solid player.
07:21He's just never healthy.
07:23Even without Joel Embiid, I've made the case that they can still be pretty competitive.
07:27I don't care about Philadelphia.
07:28How about that?
07:30Why are you getting mad at us?
07:31We're just simply saying Philadelphia's a pretty good spot.
07:34No, I want this arc.
07:35I want this arc.
07:36And I want the arc to be Cleveland.
07:38And I think that's what's going to happen.
07:39I think everybody wants that.
07:40Like, part of the reason why the Jordan Wizards time is looked at so whatever and so blah is because
07:46they won like 40 games that year.
07:48Like, they weren't even in the postseason.
07:50They weren't a good team.
07:51They weren't a good team.
07:52So if he goes to the 76ers, if he goes to the Heat, if he goes here, he's going to
07:55be on a good team.
07:56Like, it's already going to be different.
07:58I get that.
07:59I'm just saying the narrative demands he finish here.
08:03That's all I'm saying.
08:04So here's what I would say.
08:05I don't think you want LeBron back.
08:08I think you think you're entitled to LeBron being back.
08:12And I don't.
08:14I'm a season ticket holder.
08:15I really want it.
08:16Well, I get that.
08:18Yeah.
08:18Yeah.
08:18Well, congrats on all your success.
08:20I believe that's the...
08:21I really want that.
08:22All right.
08:22You said you wanted it.
08:23You didn't.
08:24Good Lord.
08:24You're real thirsty there.
08:25Be good, buddy.
08:26Thank you, Demos.
08:27Bye.
08:28The thirstiest we've heard that man in a minute there.
08:30Kind of a little scared.
08:31I did.
08:31I know.
08:32A little scared there.
08:33All right.
08:33I get it.
08:34I understand it.
08:36I just...
08:36Where Demos and I...
08:38Listen, I think Cleveland does allow him the cleanest ending to his story.
08:42Hold on.
08:42You said entitled there for Demos.
08:44Do you feel like there are a segment of Cavs fans that feel entitled to LeBron?
08:47Yes.
08:47All right.
08:47What do you mean by that?
08:48Let's break that down for a second.
08:49That LeBron owes them something.
08:52Or that LeBron owes it to Cavs fans to end his career here.
08:56I don't think he owes it to us.
08:58His debt was paid to Cleveland the second he won a championship.
09:02And people forget he left the second time because look at the state of that roster.
09:08That was not a good roster.
09:10And so that's where I can even take it a step further.
09:12And I could say the NBA world, LeBron doesn't owe you anything at this point.
09:16Yeah.
09:16Like the NBA world as a whole, that's why I'm kind of imploring people, whatever decision
09:20he does end up making, and we can push the Cavs fans aside for a second here.
09:24I'm just talking like broad NBA fan.
09:25I don't think they're going to go crazy over it and go, I can't believe it, LeBron.
09:29I hate you for this.
09:31No, I think he's above that right now.
09:34I don't know about that.
09:35I think he should be.
09:36I don't mean like unanimously, but I think...
09:38No, no, no.
09:39I didn't mean it that way.
09:40I just meant he should be.
09:41Not necessarily that.
09:42The reaction's always going to suck because people out there suck.
09:44That's the reality of it.
09:45But I think like if the world was filled with a bunch of me's, then the reaction would
09:51be, all right, LeBron, you're above criticism.
09:53You've earned whatever spot you want to take.
09:55And I can't get mad at you one way or another.
09:58Are we taking Donovan Mitchell for granted?
10:01I don't know about for granted.
10:03I feel like he falls in the umbrella of Cleveland athletes that'll just know they're just not
10:09beloved.
10:10It's fine.
10:11It's okay.
10:11I can never truly understand or explain why some athletes are beloved in this city and
10:16other athletes aren't.
10:17I wonder if this will start to change now that he's signed for a second time.
10:20Because I do think part of that conversation and part of why people were maybe, I don't
10:24know, hesitant to really wrap their arms around Donovan is because you just thought Donovan
10:27was going to leave.
10:28You thought he was going to go.
10:29And the idea that now he signed another contract here, maybe that builds him to goodwill.
10:33But I can't explain it.
10:35I mean, Myles Garrett was never really beloved.
10:37Shane Bieber, never really beloved.
10:38I'm talking about people that are really good.
10:40One Cy Youngs, one defensive player of the years.
10:42I don't get why in this city some people get that and some people don't.
10:46So the Myles thing, I felt like I had a better pulse on because we've just had so many incendiary
10:52conversations about Myles, you know, like, and it's just everyone had an opinion on Myles.
10:58When I heard Lima kind of first start bringing this up, uh, was that, was that Monday?
11:03I don't know.
11:04Well, whenever it might've been a video, it's been an ongoing thing.
11:07We did it last week.
11:08When I saw it, I was like, how, where are you getting this from?
11:12That he's not beloved because every Cavs fan.
11:15And I know when I say that I'd be comfortable trading Donovan looks at me like I'm the antichrist.
11:20No, I think there were a lot of people though.
11:22When you said that it was, it was more split than maybe you realized.
11:24Cause it felt like to me, there were enough people that were living in the world you are
11:28living in as well.
11:29That's interesting.
11:30I don't, I didn't feel that way at all.
11:31Like, and I'm not just talking about like, I'm talking about like any of my conversations
11:34about the Cavs.
11:35Like I feel like I have Donovan an appropriate level.
11:39Like he is like, if he fulfills his contract, he'll go down as the second best Cavalier in
11:45history.
11:46But unless he wins a championship, there's going to be a sizable gap between him and LeBron.
11:51He'll still only ever be number two, but with a championship, even with LeBron, he can at
11:57least move himself up and create a little bit more, a little less separation between the
12:02two.
12:03That being said, like, I think the idea that we're giving him LeBron power is asinine
12:09to me.
12:10And I, but again, that's another thing that when I say it, like, I, I just, I don't know
12:14where all these alleged Donovan haters are coming from that Donovan isn't beloved.
12:17Cause I don't, cause, because I'll tell you where it's coming from because we don't have
12:20a bunch of people lining up right now to be like, how dare you?
12:23We don't have a bunch of people right now to be like, uh, to tell you anything, like
12:27to even say and mention the idea of Donovan not being, uh, you know, unequivocally beloved.
12:33No one's, no one's calling up for that defense of that.
12:35And so like, there are people that I feel like when they struggle, you can't speak on
12:39Jose Ramirez is one of them.
12:41When J Ram struggles, we all just kind of, all right, it is what it is, right?
12:44Because he's beloved.
12:45He's earned that right, but he's also beloved.
12:47And we don't, we didn't talk that way about Nick Chubb.
12:49Nick Chubb's last year here.
12:51He wasn't good.
12:52Nobody wanted to say it.
12:53Nobody would discuss it.
12:54Like when Donovan struggles, people talk about it.
12:56No one's, no one's shy to do that.
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