00:00Seems like when it comes to LeBron, it's down to three teams.
00:03Do you buy that?
00:05So Miami, Sixers, and Cleveland,
00:08like do you buy that those are the three that are left here?
00:11I don't know.
00:12I don't totally buy that it wouldn't be Golden State.
00:17Yeah, I heard that.
00:18Was there something that has disqualified them?
00:20I don't know.
00:20Because it's just been kind of quiet around that.
00:22Right.
00:22So I even saw one person say, one insider say,
00:28the Pacers may be a dark horse for him.
00:31I don't believe that.
00:32I don't think he's going to Indiana.
00:33If he's going to go anywhere, he's going to go to Ohio.
00:36How long is he going to drag it out for?
00:37I don't know.
00:38It's LeBron.
00:39Yeah, I guess.
00:40He's got a live stream tomorrow of his podcast.
00:42So I bet he says something.
00:44I hope so.
00:45I see this.
00:46All right.
00:46Anyway, Wiggy, your lead this morning.
00:48All right.
00:48Good morning.
00:49And speaking of JT and LeBron,
00:51I'm sitting here asking my question this
00:53because I saw Jay-Z sold out Yankee Stadium at his concert
00:58and there was a ton of basketball players there.
01:01And I sit there and I go, all right, Jason Tatum,
01:04coming off an Achilles, he's eligible for an extension in 2028.
01:10Does he get into the mode of Giannis where he looks around
01:15at this Boston Celtics team that went from championship contender
01:21to championships looking very, very far away for this team
01:26and the team that they're potentially building around them?
01:28Not according to Vegas.
01:31I don't know what the hell.
01:32Listen, where's Vegas having them?
01:35They still got them at number one in the East?
01:36Vegas has the Knicks ahead of them,
01:41but the Celtics are ahead of the Sixers, are ahead of Miami,
01:44and that is post-Jalen Brown.
01:45Yeah, I don't know how that works.
01:47Well, that's those that are wagering their money.
01:50Yeah, I think that's stupid.
01:51That would be like a coward saying that Brady's ninth.
01:54Anybody who believes that the Celtics are ahead of the Sixers
01:57and the Heat.
01:57Simms said that.
01:58Okay.
01:59Get the dumb list right.
02:00Oh, sorry.
02:01Simms said that or whatever.
02:02But I look at this, does Jason Tatum get to a point
02:05where he looks around and he goes,
02:08whether it's for financial reasons
02:09and the team not wanting to spend on another Supermax,
02:13does he look around and go in 2028,
02:16I'm not going to opt for another contract extension
02:19and I want out, I want you to then trade me.
02:22So we went from a Celtics team to how many championships
02:25that could they potentially win in the next three to five years
02:29to we are now, well, at least I am starting to look at,
02:32all right, 2028, do we see a Jason Tatum who gets frustrated
02:36and goes, all right, I want to trade very similar to what we saw
02:39with Giannis in Milwaukee.
02:41But isn't this what he wanted?
02:43I mean, if Jason Tatum didn't want Jalen Brown traded,
02:46Jalen Brown's not traded.
02:48I don't know about that.
02:49I don't, I mean, I don't.
02:50Oh, come on.
02:51I don't believe that.
02:52I don't believe that.
02:53How?
02:53I don't believe he was like, all right,
02:55once we didn't get Giannis, trade Jalen Brown.
02:57No, no, if Jalen, no, I'm going to restate it.
02:59If Jason Tatum did not want the team to trade Jalen Brown,
03:03Jalen Brown would still be a Celtic.
03:05But I think he wanted Giannis.
03:07But we're past that.
03:08I know, so, and I'm saying.
03:10But just in general.
03:11No, he didn't want Jalen Brown traded once they realized
03:13they didn't get Giannis.
03:14So why didn't he step in and say something?
03:15Right.
03:16At all.
03:17Ever.
03:17Why didn't he step in and say, hey, I'm Jason Tatum.
03:21Right.
03:21I don't want you trading Jalen Brown.
03:22The two of us work really, really well together.
03:25I don't think that's his personality to step in and say something.
03:29But I don't think.
03:29But it's his personality to all of a sudden demand a trade?
03:32Oh, I think when he looks around and he sees the team
03:34isn't going anywhere, I don't think he's.
03:36That's how NBA works.
03:38The head coach is his head coach, right?
03:38Who?
03:38The head coach is the guy he wants, right?
03:41No, Joe Mazula.
03:42Right.
03:43No, I think he wanted Imei and Mazula's a Brad Stevens guy.
03:46So you don't think Joe Mazula is Tatum's guy?
03:48Mago?
03:49Joe Mazula is Tatum's guy?
03:51I think that Tatum is a big Brad Stevens guy.
03:56Right.
03:56And Brad Stevens and Joe Mazula.
03:58Joe Mazula is Brad Stevens' protege.
04:00Let me restate.
04:01So I think through those relationships, he trusts Joe.
04:04I don't think Tatum's like, oh, I don't like Joe Mazula.
04:08Right.
04:08Let me restate.
04:09If Tatum didn't want Joe Mazula to be the head coach,
04:11would Mazula be the head coach?
04:12No.
04:13No, I don't think so.
04:14So what are we talking about?
04:15But he wanted Imei to be the head coach.
04:17And guess what?
04:17Imei's not the head coach.
04:18That was other circumstances.
04:19I would say this, Wiggy.
04:22Like, we haven't talked about this in a little bit.
04:24And I know people got super sick of it.
04:26But the optionality thing, I think what the Celtics were trying to communicate without
04:31disrespecting Jalen is that we didn't want this player on this contract.
04:36That doesn't mean that we'll never spend money again or that we'll never go out and get
04:42the right guys to support Jason Tatum.
04:44I think what they were trying to say is Jason Tatum is the tentpole of this franchise.
04:49Right.
04:49And so we will do what it takes to put the best team around Jason Tatum in the future
04:53before this year.
04:55Right.
04:55Except another bridge year because we got to get out of this Jalen Brown business.
05:00Right.
05:00I really think that's what it was, but they didn't want to be disrespectful to Jalen Brown.
05:05No, we have to pick between the two of them.
05:07Right.
05:07And we are choosing Jason Tatum.
05:09No, and I agree with that.
05:10But to act like they're not going to build around him is...
05:13Well, if you're telling me...
05:14If anything, this is more of a vote of confidence in Jason Tatum as this is the guy that we
05:19build
05:19around.
05:20If you're telling me the new NBA is, oh, they're not going to go in the direction of two
05:23max guys, then you're telling me that they're not going to build around him the best
05:28team to win a championship.
05:29Well, the one thing that will really, really bother me is if...
05:33Look, I said that a week or so ago that they need to account for some of these homegrown
05:39drafted stars when they're putting in a new CBA and basically punishing teams for drafting
05:45well, developing guys, and then paying them the super max that they earned.
05:48Like, they need to account for that.
05:50And now you have the CBA with the...
05:53Or you have, rather, the players union pushing back and saying, wait, wait, wait.
05:57Hey, look what just happened with Jalen Brown and the Celtics.
06:00Now we need to fix the CBA.
06:01Like, we're not going to be missing out on super max deals.
06:04And for me, I'm like, why wasn't this solved two years ago?
06:08Right.
06:08And it's also going to be a fine how-do-you-do if they change that and the Celtics are
06:15the
06:16only team...
06:17The only team that has to do this?
06:18...that got screwed by it.
06:19Like, that's...
06:20I'm going to want some kind of reparation on that from the NBA, if possible.
06:25Well, then I guess all I can do is wait, because if you're telling me it's going to be another
06:29bridge year, I've got to wait until next off-season to see us.
06:32Or trade deadline.
06:33You're going to have to wait.
06:34And I'm with Wiggy on this one, though.
06:35Like, you have Tatum in his prime and you have back-to-back bridge years.
06:39Like, that is not a good look for a new owner.
06:41You're playing with fire.
06:42Yeah.
06:42He's in his prime.
06:43Wiggy, thank you.
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