LeBRON is going to PHILLY + How did the Rockets play a part in this?

Summary

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Payne & Pendergast (Audacy): "LeBRON is going to PHILLY + How did the Rockets play a part in this?"

Date: July 27, 2026
Hosts: Sean Pendergast (C), Brandon Scott (D, in for Seth Payne)
Main Topics: LeBron James signing with Philadelphia; the ripple effect on the NBA and Rockets’ involvement; NBA roster maneuvering and franchise narratives.

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Episode Overview

This episode is all about LeBron James’ bombshell move to the Philadelphia 76ers. Sean and Brandon break down how the saga unfolded, the insider chess moves behind the scenes, and—of crucial interest to Houston listeners—how the Rockets played a surprising but pivotal role. They dissect why LeBron chose Philly, how Rockets’ playoff performance factored into his decision, and the multi-team domino effect triggered by modern NBA roster rules and trades. The guys also riff on fan reactions, the legacy of some polarizing former Rockets, and wrap with a hilarious bit on the NBA’s top "whiners." Throughout, they keep the banter sharp, unfiltered, and seriously Houston-centric.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. LeBron to Philadelphia: The Decision and Speculation

(01:26–03:53)

• LeBron’s free agency was a closely-guarded saga, with odds shifting between Cleveland, Miami, and Philly. Houston was on the periphery.
• Rich Paul (LeBron’s agent) emphasized, “None of these people know anything. Nobody knows nothing. …We’re not making this about attention and a spectacle.” (Rich Paul, 02:48)

Notable Quote:

"Rich Paul was accurate when he was saying last week, nobody knows anything."
— Sean (C) [02:46]

• Journalists like Brian Windhorst and Shams Charania showed visible frustration at being left in the dark—a rare feat for a LeBron story.

2. The Rockets’ Surprising Role in the LeBron Saga

(04:27–06:49)

• LeBron's competitive fire was rekindled—at least according to Rich Paul—by Philly’s six-game playoff win over the Rockets.
• “That series…convinced him to keep playing.”

— Rich Paul (E) [04:43]

• Despite missing stars, LeBron led an underdog playoff run. Had the Rockets’ young core performed better, or if Kevin Durant had been healthy, LeBron might have retired or made a different decision.
• “The Rockets, ideally…should have been good enough…And despite that...LeBron won a playoff series without a single average starter…” — Brandon (D) [05:22]

3. Trade Dominoes: Cleveland, Harden, and Why Philly Won

(06:49–09:48)

• ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that if the Cavaliers hadn’t traded Darius Garland for James Harden—a direct Rich Paul client tie—LeBron may have returned to Cleveland.

• The Harden trade, a short-term win for Cleveland, gutted long-term possibilities with LeBron.

• “James Harden in a weird way has a role in this whole thing…It’s just the NBA offseason. We haven’t had it like this in a while…Free agency almost doesn’t exist in the NBA anymore.” — Sean (C) [08:21]

• LeBron signed with Philly on a two-year, $8M deal—remarkably cheap for a legend.

4. Houston’s Missed Window & The Evolving West

(09:44–11:48)

• Houston’s playoff failure (losing to a depleted Lakers squad) exposed their "young core" as not quite ready.

• “That’s not the young core that maybe Kevin Durant thought was right, that he thought he was joining…” — Brandon (D) [10:48]

• The emergence of other Western Conference powers (e.g., Spurs, OKC) further complicated Houston’s ability to lure stars.

5. Jalen Brown Trade: The True Tipping Point

(12:23–14:15)

• Jalen Brown’s arrival in Philly was “a definite tipping point” for LeBron’s decision, per Windhorst.
• The Celtics traded Brown for Paul George, opening up salary space—a move that indirectly brought LeBron to a rival.
• “It’s almost like LeBron James was part of the Jalen Brown trade.” — Sean (C) [14:09]

Memorable Fan Tweet (Acknowledged on Air):

“So Jaylen Brown didn’t want to be Robin in Boston. Now he’ll be Alfred in Philly.” — Davor Vikovic (21:49)

6. Addressing the LeBron-Jaylen Brown "Beef"

(16:07–17:41)

• Flashback: Jaylen Brown was caught courtside criticizing Bronny James, leading to a minor media flap. LeBron publicly downplayed any tension:

“Besides what he said about Bronny in summer league...we’ve been all right.” — LeBron (16:33)

• Hosts agree: any awkwardness is behind them; LeBron prioritized winning.

7. Sixers’ New Lineup: Championship Implications

(18:52–19:47)

• Philly now boasts the most talented starting five in the NBA (with LeBron, Embiid, and Brown).
• The move boosted Sixers’ title odds, making them neck-and-neck with the Knicks atop the Eastern Conference futures.

8. NBA's Modern Free Agency & Salary Cap Realities

(13:14–14:51)

• New CBA rules and high salaries have restricted true free agency moves.
• The hosts highlight how only a handful of teams can realistically attract superstars under the current economic climate.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On LeBron’s secrecy & media frustration:
  “You could sense the frustration of guys like Brian Windhorst…anytime they were brought on a show to talk about LeBron.” — Sean [03:46]

• On Rockets’ play influencing LeBron:
  “If the Rockets…young core is just a little bit better, they could have sent LeBron James packing.” — Brandon [05:22]

• On NBA modern free agency:
  “We haven’t had it like this in a while. Free agency almost doesn’t exist in the NBA anymore…team salary caps are so clogged up.” — Sean [08:21]

• On Jalen Brown trade’s impact:
  “It’s almost like LeBron James was part of the Jalen Brown trade.” — Sean [14:09]

• Fan Tweet:
  “So Jaylen Brown didn’t want to be Robin in Boston. Now he’ll be Alfred in Philly.” — Acknowledged by both hosts [21:49]

• On Rockets’ legacy:
  “You can’t deny…it would say a lot about your franchise if the best player of his generation wanted to come here in his twilight years.” — Sean [12:19]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Topic | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Episode Start (skip to real content) | 01:26 | | LeBron Decision Hype, Media Secrecy | 01:26–03:53| | Rich Paul Audio, Keeping Decision Quiet | 02:48 | | Playoff Series vs. Rockets Impacting LeBron | 04:27–05:44| | KD Injury & Rockets’ Missed Opportunity | 05:44–06:49| | Windhorst: Garland/Harden Trade, LeBron to Cleveland? | 06:49–09:48| | Why Houston Didn’t Lure LeBron | 09:48–11:48| | Jalen Brown Trade as Tipping Point | 12:23–14:15| | LeBron-Jaylen Brown Past Beef | 16:07–17:41| | Sixers’ New Superteam Status | 18:52–19:47| | Fan Tweets Acknowledged | 21:39–24:56|

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Additional Segments

"Acknowledge Me" (Fan Reactions & NBA Humor)

• Hosts read select tweets about the LeBron move, including Fresh Prince puns and Cleveland fans' analytics jokes [21:39–24:56].

Rockets’ "All-Whiner" Team: NBA Humor

(29:02–34:44)

• Inspired by Dylan Brooks’ “NBA’s Top Whiners” rankings (Luka, Steph, LeBron, Jaren Jackson, Giannis), the hosts build the Rockets’ own “all-whiner” squad, with Eric Gordon, Alperen Şengün, Chris Paul, P.J. Tucker, and even Hakeem Olajuwon getting mentions.

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Tone & Style

The hosts stay sharp, candid, and occasionally tongue-in-cheek (“He did. I felt…I was like, man, the Rockets are getting beat by Sanford and Son”), mixing serious analysis with insider banter and classic Houston sports fandom. Their chemistry keeps things lively and relatable, especially as they intermingle in-depth NBA analysis with jokes and listener engagement.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

You’ll walk away understanding:

• Why LeBron chose the Sixers, and how Rockets’ playoff woes pushed that domino
• How subtle league dynamics (injuries, roster moves, agent connections) shape NBA power structures
• The economic realities throttling NBA free agency in the modern era
• Why Houston missed its window to draw another generational star—and what they need for next time
• Plus: Fans’ takes, insider humor, and plenty of classic Payne & Pendergast attitude

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End of summary.

Transcript

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[C]

Sports Radio 610 presents Payne and Pendergast. Hi Pain and Pendergast. Brandon Scott in for Seth Payne. Today and tomorrow, LeBron James made his decision over the weekend. On Friday, he will be a Philadelphia 76er. So that was the news that kind of rocked the NBA. We played this audio from Rich Paul last week, but I like looking back at it now because at one point the Sixers were the favorite. There were like six or seven different points along the way where different odds came out on LeBron and where he was going to go. And it was always shifting. Now some you know, Cleveland was the favorite at three different points. Cleveland was never out of the top two on the odds boards. And I think that's why if you were to listen in on any cities today outside of here that were involved with the LeBron James sweepstakes. And as it turns out, the Rockets were somewhat involved. We'll get to that in just a second.

[D]

Not the way we wanted them to be, but involved nonetheless.

[C]

The Sixers were the favorite at one point like a month ago, but since then, like the highest they were was third, maybe Miami was the most recent favorite, even before that link on YouTube leaked, of a hypothetical LeBron James introductory press conference. Right.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

So Philly ends up winning the. Winning the services of LeBron James. It turns out Rich Paul was accurate when he was saying last week, nobody knows anything.

[E]

I'll say it again. None of these people know anything. Nobody knows nothing. And I say that respectfully because we haven't made it to where anybody knows anything.

[D]

But let me take your temperature on something.

[E]

Sure. But no, let me finish first. Let me finish. So I think it's important for people to understand we're not making this about attention and a spectacle. It's not about a decision or anything like that. He has a choice to make. He has a business choice to make. We're not going to sit here and decide or allow someone else to decide when he makes that decision.

[B]

Right.

[C]

So that was. That was Rich Paul. And as it turns out, I. I think we even knew during the whole process of him making that decision that nobody knew anything. You could sense the frustration of guys like Brian Windhorst.

[D]

Shams.

[C]

Shams.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

You could sense the frustration anytime they were brought on a show to talk about LeBron James.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

LeBron did a pretty good job of keeping this whole thing under wraps.

[D]

Yeah. Sean. Just like there's nothing else.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

The decision needs to be made.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

This is like toward the end of last week.

[C]

Windy, too, man. Windhorst was like.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And especially for Windhorst, who goes back to high school with LeBron.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Covering him in high school.

[D]

Yeah. I mean, he's.

[C]

He was spent not playing with him in high school. That would be a sight to behold.

[D]

But did go to the same high school. He's just a few years older than LeBron.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. Covered him. Covered. You know, he's covered every game practically that LeBron's played.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

In the. In the state of Ohio. So this was Rich Paul over the weekend, once the decision got made. Sitting down with Max Kellerman is the second voice you're hearing on this. The two of them sitting down on their podcast.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

For the ringer. And said the. You know what made a big difference in LeBron's decision to. To even come back at all was the way he played in that six game series win over the Houston Rockets.

[E]

That series, in my opinion, that series

[D]

convinced him to keep playing.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah, I can see why.

[C]

I can see why.

[D]

And it really is a perfect puzzle piece for the Sixers, because if Embiid's in and out of the lineup, it's the playoffs. You just need to win this series and worry about the next one. If he can come back, LeBron can get that done.

[E]

Yeah, I think if they somehow get swept or lose 4:1 in that series,

[D]

he's like, what am I doing?

[E]

Yeah, it could be different. I think that gave us. And I'm so glad because I think it gave us another.

[D]

Luke Canard and Marcus are your two best players. LeBron won a playoff series without a single average starter in the lineup. So what you're telling me is, is if the Rockets quote, unquote, young core is just a little bit better, they could have sent LeBron James packing or at the very least not sent him to Philly.

[C]

Well, how about the fact that Kevin Durant only played one game in that.

[D]

Yeah. Any combination of that.

[C]

Kevin Durant's. I think you can connect the dots to say Kevin Durant's ankle injury may have spawned the Philadelphia 76ers era of the LeBron James saga.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Chapter I should say.

[D]

I think it's a combination of the Kevin Durant injury slash. Because here's the thing that was frustrating about that. Right. If you're a Rockets fan, even with Kevin Durant's injury, the Rockets, ideally, with this young core, these talented guys, Albert Shingoon, a two time all Star, you got guys that are coming up and supposed to be developing here. They should have been good enough. As Max Kellerman is laying out for you there, there was not even an average starter playing alongside LeBron James. And despite that, Marcus Smart and Luke Canard and Rui Hachimura and the DeAndre Aiden Jackson Hayes center combination Cook, the Rockets young core, had they been better or if Kevin Durant has simply been healthy. Oh, but by the way, you would have still needed them to be better. Then things could have turned out a lot differently.

[C]

Not a Rocket tangent, but a tangent that involves one of the more polarizing former Rockets in this whole thing. Cause Brian Windhorst of ESPN had a long article once the decision was made. He had a long article about. Okay, now here's all the things I'm hearing as to how he arrived at Philly. You know what the decision process was, evidently, at least according to Windhorst, is that if Darius Garland were still with the Cavs. Darius Garland, a Rich Paul client.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Rich Paul's LeBron's agent for the. There may. There may actually be people wondering who's this Rich Paul guy that you're playing this audio from? He's LeBron's agent.

[D]

Very important, this agent Agent and friend.

[C]

Longtime friend, yes. The three of them, Rich Paul, LeBron James, Maverick Carter, perhaps his agent because

[D]

he's his friend here nor there, but

[C]

he's built a big empire.

[D]

Very successful.

[C]

Clutch sports has a lot of NBA guys, including Darius Garland. So that's one of the things Windhorst had said was if the Cavs just didn't make the Garland for Harden trade, there's a decent chance he might have gone to Cleveland. Yeah, but there's no other clutch sports guys on that roster right now.

[D]

But see that's, that's, that's chest, not checkers. Right. Because they, they only made that move in the immediacy because they were trying to make a run right then and there. Like I don't know if they were necessarily already looking ahead or even factoring in how that move could impact what's going to be ahead as opposed to, hey, right now we're the most expensive team that there is. We've got like this, this, this chance, this run and, and Darius Garland doesn't play. James Harden does.

[C]

James Harden does. And they got them out from under the second apron. All that other stuff like they like in a vacuum. They won that trade, the James Harden trade. And I know they got swept by the Knicks, et cetera, et cetera. I don't think they make it to the Eastern Conference finals without James Harden on their team. So there's that. But so, so James Harden in a weird way has a role in this whole thing. It's just the NBA off season. We haven't had it like this in a while. Free agency almost doesn't exist in the NBA anymore because team salary caps are so clogged up. You know, pretty much any team that matters operates way over the cap because you can pay your own guys to go over the cap. So there's, whereas you know, a decade, decade and a half ago it was easier to clear out cap space and go make a run for Kevin Durant or LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony or whatever it may be. Yeah. It just doesn't happen anymore. So for there to be a free agent and keep in mind LeBron signing for two years, 8 million bucks. And do you, do you feel any kind of way about this as a Rocket fan? Like hey, if you were to do like did the Rockets, it's almost like a double edged sword because if the Rockets, if, according to that Rich Paul audio, if the rockets had Mollywop LeBron, then LeBron doesn't even, maybe even come back. Yeah, but I feel like the Rockets have a talented enough roster where if A, they had shown that they are capable of at least winning a playoff series and B, didn't have all this extra going on all the time.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

That this would have been a good spot for him to sign for two years. Eight million bucks.

[D]

Well, it is the, it is the big part of the frustration and disappointment of the season is that it turns out, and this was before we even got to this LeBron piece of the narrative. But just getting bumped out by the Lakers or knocked out of the playoffs by the Lakers, exposed or revealed to you that this quote unquote young core, this talented young core might not be quite as talented as you once thought and certainly not quite as ready to win a playoff series on its own with no Kevin Durant out there like you thought that they would have been, and I don't think we've mentioned this enough, they were going up against a Lakers squad that did not have Luka. LeBron's out there, but Luka's not out there. Austin Reeves is not even himself by the time he gets back. And they still could not do anything. So to your question, as a Rockets fan, it was already disappointing that they could not beat a ragtag Lakers squad to begin with. But then on top of that, the implication is that, you know what? That's not, that's not the young core that maybe Kevin Durant thought was right, that he, that he thought he was joining the year before. I'm not going to make that same mistake if I'm LeBron.

[C]

Well, I don't think. And when, when Durant made his decision, and I know it was a trade, but Durant had say in where he was going to go. It was as much a decision by Durant as it was the Rockets trading Jalen Green and Dylan Brooks, etc. But if, like, I don't think anybody thought that the spurs were going to get in the HOV lane like they did this year either.

[D]

No.

[C]

Then all of a sudden there's going to be two 60 win teams with young cores, with young MVP candidates that you've got to deal with in the West. So that's what would have made it interesting. If the Rockets had been able to win that Lakers series and then in the second round they'd have gone up against okc. I think the way the brackets would have laid out.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And if they'd gotten into like just even like a seven game brawl with OKC and lost, then I think this would have been a really interesting place for LeBron to to go for two years, 8 million bucks.

[D]

Well, it's not even just that he didn't come here. It said he didn't even. I don't even think he gave it a look.

[C]

No.

[D]

Or a thought.

[C]

No.

[D]

Or a consideration when Rich Paul puts out that list of teams. And maybe if you're a Rockets fan, you don't want LeBron. I know there are a lot of Sixers fans who Talk, talk about LeBron taking up all the oxygen in the room, and they don't want him coming over there and taking over their entire franchise. I get it. Maybe you're a Rockets fan who is similar, like, like minded in that way, but you can't deny that it would say a lot about your franchise if the best player of his generation and arguably a top three to five player of all time wanted to come here in his twilight years. That would have been a major. A major pool for the Rockets had they been able to do that.

[C]

Yep. Um, text messages on these. Didn't Kevin o' Connor and a few others have a pretty detailed explanation of what LeBron was waiting on? And he went with Philly. Cause he couldn't get the warriors or Cavs to do what he wanted. They. Rich Paul denied that. Brian windhorse said that LeBron's camp denied that they were asking teams to go get guys. I'm not saying that they're telling the

[D]

truth necessarily or that they're not being lied to. Yeah, potentially.

[C]

Right. But yes. I mean, there, there's all sorts of discussion. Now this. We know he ended up going to the team that traded for Jaylen Brown. This is a great question on the, on the text pages. What if the Rockets had traded for Jaylen Brown? Does LeBron still go to Philadelphia? Maybe not. I don't think it means he would come to Houston or that the Rockets were in the market for LeBron, but

[D]

it's a good point.

[C]

It's a great point. It's a great point. No, Jaylen Brown going there, according to Windhorse, was a definite tipping point.

[D]

Yeah, it was the domino effect. And then you were mentioning this earlier, like the different era of basketball and salaries. Like, we got to go back to the original point of the Jalen Brown trade. There was a lot to be discussed about how unhappy or happy he was or discord with him in the franchise. But. But it did come down to an accounting thing. They've been getting rid of their. Like, at one point, they had six guys making over $20 million a year a couple of years ago. Now, all of those Guys are gone, except for Jason Tatum.

[C]

That's it.

[D]

So there was a.

[C]

They've got Paul George on there, and they won.

[D]

They did add Paul George to the team for part of that trade.

[B]

But.

[D]

But the point is, like, there was an accounting issue there. Yeah. That is collectively bar. That is part of the collecting a bargain agreement that forced them to make some business decisions about their team. And they decide to send Jaylen Brown to one of their arch rivals in the Philadelphia 76ers, and which subsequently brings in LeBron James.

[C]

Yeah. No, it's. It's almost like LeBron James was part of the Jalen Brown trade.

[D]

It is very much like that.

[C]

If you hate it. If you're a Celtics fan who hated the Jalen Brown trade, and most of them did, what the hell is this? He's sixth in the mvp, and we're bringing back Paul George, who hasn't played good basketball in however many years and is not a good postseason player. Jaylen Brown is a Finals mvp. Paul George is someone who named himself Playoff P. And everybody laughs at him.

[D]

Yeah. Quite ironically.

[C]

Ironically. So. So they already hated that trade. But if Jaylen Brown is a big reason LeBron went to Philly, it's almost like LeBron was part of the trade. He may as well have been. I mean, there's hardly any salary cap implications for it. He signed a two year, $8 million deal.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

It's a cheapo deal that he signed. Now, as far as the Jaylen Brown angle goes, it was just about a year, or was last year. Last summer was Bronnie's first summer in the summer league. Right.

[D]

Well, last summer would have been going into a second year, so it would have been two summers.

[C]

Two summers ago.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah. So.

[D]

Which is wild to think that Bronny is about to go into his third NBA season. Yeah, but that's where we are now.

[C]

Well, he's, you know, he's played, like 200 minutes, so it doesn't feel like that much, but. Yeah.

[D]

Hey, look, I don't feel like it. I've been a position man. He kind of cooked the Rockets a little bit, too.

[C]

He did.

[D]

I felt. I was like, man, the Rockets are getting beat by Sanford and Son. Like Bronnie.

[C]

You big dummy.

[D]

You big dummy.

[C]

You big dummy.

[D]

This is the big one. Coming to join you, Elizabeth.

[C]

Coming to join you.

[D]

What's happening here?

[C]

I gotta watch me some Sanford and Son today.

[D]

That's what it felt like, man. Getting beat by Sanford and Son. You've got to be kidding.

[C]

TV Land. It's gotta have Sanford and Son on there. But. So anyways, Jalen Brown, like a lot of guys do, they use the summer league, even if not playing it, as a reason to go to Vegas and sit courtside. So Jaylen Brown sitting courtside with a nice young lady. And you could read his lips. And he was saying some. Some. Some pretty, like. Like derogative things about Bronnie's game.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, just. You could read his lips. The Internet read his lips. Clearly, LeBron did. So LeBron. This was actually from this past or the season after that happened. Like, this is from, you know, like, over a year ago. But this is LeBron being asked about his relationship with Jalen Brown. You know, our relationship has been, you know, pretty respectful.

[D]

You know, besides, he said about Bronnie and summer league, I was wondering if

[C]

you guys were able to get.

[D]

But other than that. Other than that, you know, we've been.

[B]

We've been all right.

[D]

You know, you guys able to get past that? You know, we'll be all right. We'll be all right. Yeah, we'd be all right.

[B]

I think he went on.

[D]

He went on social media and said something about it was all good, but

[C]

Ronnie got a long way to go.

[D]

But that's another story.

[C]

Okay, so that was LeBron. That was. That was. That. That's a while back. That's not audio from over the weekend or anything like that. I'm guessing as meticulous as LeBron and his camp are about picking where he goes.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Executing plans, things like that. I'm guessing that they've. He. He and Jalen Brown have squashed everything and that he's looking forward to having Jalen as a teammate, I'm assuming.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Cause that is.

[D]

I mean, that's not like, just a couple of days ago, but that is fairly recently. Cause that's this past season.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

Cause part of the. So part of that media scrum is them asking LeBron about Jalen Brown's MVP year or MVP caliber year, and what he's doing in the absence of Jason Tatum. So that clearly that. That timeline gives you this past year when Jason Tatum was hurt, and most of that is LeBron giving Jaylen Brown his flowers. I don't know what led them into actually getting into, like, the relationship between the two. A little bit of.

[C]

I think. I think the two. I think they're about to play each other. I think maybe that's it. I think it was right before Celtics, Lakers, upcoming game, that kind of thing.

[D]

Even then. Like, are you. Were you guys Able to get past the Brian. I was like, okay, okay. I mean, it's very much relevant now.

[C]

If anything, you would want him not to have gotten past it because you're talking about an opponent that's coming up.

[D]

Right, right, right. Which is, you know, oldies but goodies are always kind of cool to go back and look at. But yeah, man, you gotta figure that. That they can obviously, like, coexist, right? Yeah. I mean, and. And let's just be real about it. It's not like Jalen Brown was saying anything about Bronnie, that other folks. I mean, LeBron James had to go check Stephen A. Smith courtside at a game for some stuff that he was talking about about Bronnie and the family. So it's not like this is the first time he's had to deal with that and. Or from LeBron side. And let's just be real about it. This was. This. At least this was my perspective last week before he even made this decision. This was the best group for him to join. I thought that once the Jalen Brown trade happened and part of the reason why it made sense for them to be favorites, that was the. The clear and most logical place for him to go. The place with the highest upside. If you just plop him onto the

[C]

team, it's the most talented starting five in the NBA.

[D]

And if I could recognize that, certainly LeBron James could. That was the way I looked at it.

[C]

Yeah. Like, it's the most talent starting five when healthy in the NBA. More talented than the defending champion Knicks, more talented than the two juggernauts in the West. Like just. Just one through five, pure talent. I'm not saying they're going to be the best team. And if you're wondering what the effect has been on the odds board with. With LeBron going to Philly, they and the Knicks are right there neck and neck with each other to win the Eastern Conference. It almost depends on which outlet you go to as to who's the favorite to win the Eastern Conference.

[D]

Yeah. And also more talented than the other three possibilities or popular destinations out there. Going back home to Cleveland, going back to Miami where he once won before, or going to go join his friends in Golden State or in San Francisco and play for the Warriors. Like this makes more sense than all three of those options.

[C]

All right, let's do acknowledge me. We. We do it each and every. We do it each and every Monday right about this time. We acknowledge tweets, performances, news items, anything worth giving that extra lanyap of acknowledgment that extra layer of acknowledgment elevate them. I will say a name. Byron, who's producing with us today. Play the Roman Reigns. Cut right there, Byron. You know we've got several different ones in there, right?

[D]

Yes.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They all say acknowledge me, but they say it's sometimes a little different inflection. We like to mix it up, keep the people on their toes. I actually want to acknowledge a few of the tweets about this LeBron James signing in Philly. Let's acknowledge me. Gotta say the name first. Byron, We've done this. This is the second Monday.

[D]

Hey, baby. Trigger happy, man.

[C]

He's just excited.

[D]

He's ready.

[A]

Are you a.

[C]

Are you a fan of the tribal chief also, Byron? Yeah, but I'm a bigger Seth guy. You're a bigger Seth guy. Okay. SummerSlam coming up, right?

[D]

Yes, sir.

[C]

This weekend. All right.

[A]

All right.

[C]

Ready? Byron Devor. Vikovich.

[A]

Latte for Keenan.

[B]

That's me.

[C]

Hey, you're.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Buying a car online on Autotrader.

[B]

Really? But unlike other sites, you can start online, test drive with a local dealer, then finish online or at the dealership.

[A]

Cool. Enjoy.

[B]

Buy your car online on Autotrader. Really?

[A]

Sometimes it feels like the news is full of things that have never happened before, and that is not exactly true. In fact, it may have happened this very week, hundreds or thousands of years ago. I'm Sally Helm, host of the podcast History this Week from the History Channel. Trade embargoes. Thomas Jefferson tried them. Rent too high. We've been arguing about that for a while. Each episode is proof the past isn't that far away. Listen to History this Week, available now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[D]

Acknowledge me.

[C]

Who is that? I don't know, but he tweeted this. So Jaylen Brown wanted or back up. So Jaylen Brown didn't want to be Robin in Boston. Now he'll be Alfred in Philly.

[D]

It's a funny tweet.

[C]

It's hilarious, and I love the name.

[D]

What is his name? Vikovic.

[C]

Davor Vikovic.

[D]

Yeah. Good for him. That's an interesting name.

[C]

And that's. That's not only his. His name on the Twitter account, but he's at Davor Vikovic, too. So, yeah, so I got to be his real name.

[D]

Dude, I respect this. Whatever his real name is, this is a funny tweet. Now, don't let the truth of the matter get in the way of a. Of a funny joke, right? Because I. I think Jaylen Brown, actually, on any given night, could be the Batman on this team. I think he could be the best player on the team on any given night or perhaps even throughout.

[C]

NBA player.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

He finished top six in MVP voting. All NBA player, Finals mvp. He's at least as good as anybody else on this team, especially at this stage. But I still like the joke. I still find it to be a funny joke because he's now with a cast of. If he didn't like playing in Jason Tatum's shadow, now he's in a cast of shadows, the other guys around him. Yep.

[C]

Jot that down as a topic for later. B. Scott, we're looking up at the screen in the studio here and they're talking about C.J. stroud. Yeah, jot that down. Yeah, take a picture of that. We'll use that as a topic later. Okay. Another tweet about the LeBron signing with Philly. This is from McNeil, who's a big. I. I don't know who exactly he is, but he's a really funny follow. His name is just McNeil on Twitter and he's a Cleveland guy, so he's obviously got Cleveland views on this. But McNeil, he's got a picture of Kenny Atkinson, the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who's probably. Who probably most famously or infamously said that while they were down three to one or whatever it was to the Knicks in the conference. Or 3, 0.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

In the conference finals because they got swept.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

He's like, we've really won two of these three games if you look at it through analytics.

[D]

And one of those games was like an epic collapse.

[C]

They blew a 29 point lead.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

But analytically, it's got a picture, right? It's got a picture of Kenny Atkinson with a goofy look on his face and it says, quote, analytically, we actually landed LeBron.

[D]

This is hilarious. This is. I like this one even better. I think that it's a shame for Kenny Atkinson. He should have never said this, obviously, but for a dude that's such a decent coach, he's been an accomplished head coach in the NBA. I think he's going to be known for this comment for the rest of his career. Yep, a solid coach, really good coach. Going to be known for this. This gaffing.

[C]

When you Google his name, it's going to be a bunch of articles about being up 2 to 1 analytically, the Eastern Conference finals. All right, last one that we last tweet that we'll acknowledge. And we got some other Elon Altman acknowledgement. It was also Elon Altman on Twitter. Now, I wonder if he's in a relation to Kobe Altman, the GM of the Cavaliers. But he points out LeBron is the first person to move from Bel Air to West Philadelphia.

[D]

It is a Fresh Prince kind of spoof.

[C]

Bizarro Fresh.

[D]

Bizarro Fresh spin. Fresh Prince. Exactly, exactly. That's exactly what it is. It's normal. Normally not how the story goes, but it's not. Leave it to LeBron to buck the trend.

[C]

Absolutely. All right, so we acknowledge those tweets. Hey, let's acknowledge Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent, two guys with Astro ties. Yeah. Who went into the hall of Fame this weekend. I don't know. I was trying to kind of dip my toe in the water. This didn't get a lot of attention on my timeline. It's. It was a three person class. It was Kent Beltran and Andrew Jones.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Who obviously. All great players.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

And Beltron. Beltran, the more polarizing figure than Jeff Kent. I think among Astro fans. I think most Astro fans are. Think positively about Jeff Kent because he was so good for the few years that he was here. Yes. Beltran, much more polar. Beltran was great. His first stint as an Astro. I mean, postseason Goat. Great.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

That level. Eight home runs in the postseason that year. Out of 20 hits.

[D]

Well, between the two of them. Yeah. Did they spend more like. Between the two of them, did they spend more than three seasons with the Astros? Forget the 2016 season for a second.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think he was just 2017.

[D]

That's what I mean to say. 2017 for Beltron. Yeah, for Beltron.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

But like the. The real prime of their careers. Beltron just had half a season. Had the half a season. And Kent was here for like two season.

[C]

Two years. Yeah, I think so.

[D]

I don't think they had three. I think that's part of the reason why there wasn't a lot of buzz, at least for Astros fans. For two guys that were great players and former Astros, they just didn't spend enough time. Even though Beltron's half a season was one of the. Some of the best Astros performance that we've ever seen. They just. Neither one was here for long enough to even fully be thought of as an Astro.

[C]

No, but Beltron. But Beltran, there. I mean, there's. There's a lot there with Beltran.

[D]

Oh, for sure.

[C]

The way he left. He was booed incessantly for the next decade in whatever uniform he was in because he played for The Mets for a bunch of years, played for the Yankees. He was a Ranger there. And for a little bit, he got boo. Anytime he'd come here to Minute Maid, he got booed. Because what happened after the 04 season, the way that Astro fans felt led on.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

By him. And then his role in the sign stealing scandal complicated things again, because it almost felt like 2017 when he re signed back here.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

The fact that he was a veteran leader of that team and we didn't know anything about the sign stealing at

[D]

that point, kind of felt redemptive at the time.

[C]

It cleansed it. It did.

[B]

It did.

[C]

It did. Like, we forgive you. We won a World Series. It's all good. And then it, you know, come to find out he's the brains of the operation. At least that's what he was portrayed as by Major League Baseball.

[D]

So it's almost like you're dead to us again.

[C]

Again. Yeah. Yeah. So now he's going into the hall of Fame. To me, my biggest Astro takeaway in this whole thing is that Beltran going into the hall of Fame. It tells me that I don't think we have much to worry about with Altuve.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Nor should we. I mean, he's. He's the one guy that didn't use it at all, but he's still portrayed as. As a user of the sign stealing.

[D]

Yeah, still portrayed. But I think even around that. And I don't think it helps helps Altuve that his MVP season was that year as well, but we're still talking about a dude with three batting titles and they won a World Series at. So I think that's a couple of things that help the sign still an era Astros, especially if they were still around on that 2022 team, which Altuve obviously was and still is here. If you were a part of the team that. That won later, you know, and you've got more to your resume beyond that, I think that the. There's going to be some. I think there's going to be some forgiveness there.

[C]

Was that a stray that we just caught right there? No, my bad. What?

[B]

What.

[C]

What happened? Dude, I. I just blanked down my fingers, man. He's getting really.

[D]

My fingers always on the mouse whenever there's.

[C]

Okay, you got Twitchy.

[D]

He's got to get a safety on that thing.

[A]

My bad, y'.

[C]

All. You got Twitchy. That's okay. That's all right.

[D]

Got to get a safety on that radio Glock.

[C]

Yeah. Dylan Brooks. I want to acknowledge Dylan Brooks for answering the question. Acknowledging in his mind. This is from a podcast of some sort. He's doing this like standing up at a court somewhere. Probably at summer league.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Not that Dylan Brooks is playing in it, but as we pointed out earlier, a lot of the guys go to Vegas just to chill during summer league, watch guys play. So Dylan Brooks was doing an interview where they asked him to power rank his. The five biggest complainers, the five biggest whiners. Five guys. So it's almost like you're all whiner team in the NBA.

[D]

This is really good. Yeah.

[C]

Here, here's who, here's who he has.

[D]

First one that come to mind for me, obviously, Luca. Luca's obviously a big ass complainer. When we go down the line. Curry 1. I actually gave him a shot. You seen that play? I gave him a shot Right in his chest contest.

[B]

Damn.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

You just, you know, you just.

[D]

You just fed up. I just, I just.

[B]

I lost.

[E]

That's two.

[D]

Yeah, two people. Um, who else complains the most? LeBron for sure.

[A]

That's three latte for Keenan.

[B]

That's me.

[C]

Hey, you're.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Buying a car online on autotrader.

[B]

Really? But unlike other sites, you can start online, test drive with a local dealer, then fly, finish online or at the dealership.

[C]

Really? Wait, are you.

[B]

Yep, It's Keenan.

[A]

Able to finish in person without starting the process over.

[B]

Really? Your info stays with you every step of the way.

[A]

Cool. Enjoy.

[B]

It's Kenan Thompson. Buy your car online on autotrader. Really?

[A]

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[C]

Let me see.

[D]

Last, but he named his old teammate.

[C]

You ain't seen nobody from my team, so I ain't. So we. We're good. So we acknowledge all five of them collectively. Lucas, Steph, LeBron, Jaren, Jackson, Giannis. Five headed Mount Rushmore of Whiners, according to Dylan Brooks. Here's my question for you. Be God if you had to put that list together for the Rockets. The biggest whiners in Rockets history.

[D]

Ooh, Rockets history.

[C]

In Rockets history. And with mine, a lot of recency bias for me.

[D]

Yeah. I mean, the. The recency bias. I can't get past Albert and Shingoon.

[C]

Shingoon's on it.

[D]

Like, Shingoon is.

[C]

Acknowledge him for being a whiner. Yeah, acknowledge me.

[D]

I mean, Shingoon is at the top of the list now. It doesn't help that Shingoon plays in the era of reviews and. And like, this is an ongoing joke at Toyota Center. Like, you should see us on press row. Every time something happens.

[C]

We kind of twirly.

[D]

We kind of do like this to see is he going to do it because he does it so much.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[D]

I mean, he's clearly leading the. Leading the clash right now by. By, like. By a lot.

[C]

Okay, can I throw some other names at you?

[D]

Please do.

[C]

There was never a call made on Eric Gordon that he agreed with.

[D]

Oh, yes.

[C]

Ever. Ever. The face Eric Gordon and P.J. tucker of that era of Rockets basketball. Keep in mind, they're in a team with Chris Paul, who I think is also on this list. Yeah, they, like. I actually had to think about Chris Paul a little bit because PJ Tucker and Eric Gordon are such whiners.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Every call. Eric Gordon never thought he committed a foul. Ever. Yeah, it's annoying.

[D]

Yeah. I mean, he's a. He's even got a. At least among Rockets fans, like a meme or. Or a gif of his face. Like, yeah, this is perplexed face.

[C]

He's number one.

[D]

He's never committed a foul.

[C]

He's number one on my list. But I would say Alpi is a good one. I would say Alpi, Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, P.J. tucker. Boy. So that 2018 team had a lot of whining.

[D]

It's basically alpine on the 2018.

[C]

I'll be in the 2018 team. Although ironically, Dylan Brooks probably belongs on there, too.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

If we're putting rockets on there. Ironically, the man who spawned this very topic, Dylan Brooks, who had been acknowledged, and I'll acknowledge again, acknowledge, should also be acknowledged for being a whiner as well. Hopefully he's not listening.

[D]

Can established tough guys be whiners, though? Like is a. Or is this, is it complaining and whining? Like is whining, complaining and vice versa.

[C]

It's just if I, if, if you just it. Whining and complaining are almost in the same neighborhood for, you know, but because

[D]

you know who also used to kind of get on the rest a little bit. And it's, it's basket. It's Houston royalty.

[C]

Hakeem Keem did.

[D]

Yeah, Hakeem. Hakeem would give the refs the business here. Now it's hard to see him as a whiner cuz he's such a proud man.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

But at the same time he, he, he'd give it to him. Right.

[C]

Because Hakeem's the opposite of a livewire off of the court.

[D]

Right. And not a whiner. Like.

[C]

No.

[D]

But a complainer though.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay, we'll get, we'll get Hakeem. You're in the mix here. We'll acknowledge him for that.

[D]

Acknowledge me.

[C]

All right, so where I acknowledge food? The crab cake Benedict at Bloomin Bee.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

At the Post Oak Hotel, you have my attention.

[E]

Knowledge.

[C]

Do you like crab cakes? Yes, I love crab cakes.

[D]

Yes, I do.

[C]

So we had breakfast, Amy and I, as I mentioned earlier, we did a little, nice little staycation. Let me acknowledge the Post Oak Hotel too. Especially, especially Kenneth, the front office director there, who left us a nice note on the. We got it to our room and there was a note there waiting for us with some charcuterie bottle and the note, handwritten note. And he was congratulating us on the move to 95. 7 the fan, dude. So they're, they're excited for it there as well.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

The Post Oak, the FM life is going to be amazing. But what's a better combination when you get to your room than a bottle of wine, charcuterie board and a personalized

[C]

handwritten note and some of those nice ball caps that they have.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Post Oak, they gave us a couple nice, like, you know, the little ball caps you wear at the pool. So shout out to them. We had a great stay there. Was awesome. Dude. This crab cake Benedict. So the Bloomin Bee, which is where we ate our breakfast there on Saturday, they've got a sort of customize your own Benedict thing. I love eggs Benedict. It's one of my favorite breakfast hollandaise sauce and everything else. But you had your choice between, you know, the Canadian bacon, which is sort of the staple, or a crab cake.

[E]

Come on.

[C]

And I'm Like, I gotta go. Crab cake here or salmon. Salmon was the other one. There were three choices.

[D]

I'm a salmon guy, too.

[C]

I have two. I like this. The salmon Benedict at first watch is really good. Okay.

[D]

So I gotta check that out. I go to first watch all the time.

[C]

Salmon Benedict, really good. This crab cake Benedict. I. I'm. I'm eating this thing, and I'm saying to Amy, I'm like, I might come here and just valet and come here and eat breakfast sometime and not have to stay here to eat the breakfast. Like, not a bad idea for this dish. And it's not, you know, and it's not cheap or anything like that, but it was so good. The crab cake Benedict, crab cake bench. It was just simple, man. It was English muffin crab cake. The poached egg right there, and the hollandaise sauce drizzled all over it there.

[D]

Oh, I'm in.

[C]

Acknowledge it again. Byron.

[D]

Byron, go get one now.

[C]

I know, dude. I'm hungry.

[D]

Hours left in the show.

[C]

You're a young guy, Byron. I feel like eggs Benedict is one of those things you eat as you get older, as your palate gets more sophisticated. Are you a fan of the eggs Benedict? I've never had it. Never had it. Okay. See, that kind of proves my theory.

[D]

I think that makes.

[C]

I didn't eat sushi for the first time until I was, like, 25 years old.

[D]

Yeah. Same here. And my kids are only in the sushi now because somebody older has put them on to it.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

And so, like, they're a little bit more sushi savvy than even.

[C]

I never ate it in our house growing up.

[D]

Not at all.

[C]

I don't even know if the town I grew up in had a sushi restaurant.

[D]

Yeah, it was not a thing for me, but it is now. Same thing, though, too. If I would have it last night in my mid-20s, 20s, like. Like Byron, I don't think I would have been eating no Ick.

[E]

No.

[D]

Crab cake Benedict. Crab cake Benedict. I'm here for it now.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's. Boy, it is. Thumbs up on that, man. It was really good.

[D]

Yeah, man. Good time. Shout out to you, man. Yeah. That sounds like a heck of a weekend for you and the lady. For you and Amy.

[C]

We had a blast.

[D]

Well deserved for both of you.

[C]

Sat by the pool on Saturday. It was good. Thank you. Yeah, it was. It was good. Bought one night in an auction at the Texans season premiere. There was an auction for one night at the Post Oak, and so we tacked on a second night. So we wouldn't have to like check in and check out in the same 24 hours. Like, you know, if I'm gonna do this, this is the nicest hotel in town. If I'm gonna do this, I want a full day to just look around, man.

[D]

Yeah, when you're supposed to be doing. Nobody wants to be rushed, period. But especially in the midst of luxury or some type of luxurious experience like that.

[C]

And it's the weekend before training camp too. You know this as well as anybody. The work work amps up in two days. 100% in two days. To that end, we enjoyed. Acknowledge me as always. That was a good one. I want to talk a little Texans here. We are going to have to start pocket watching at a certain position on the field and we got a gauge for exactly what the market looks like over the weekend. We'll let you know what that is.

[A]

Latte for Keenan.

[B]

That's me. Hey.

[A]

You're buying a car online on Autotrader.

[B]

Really? But unlike other sites, you can start online, test drive with a local dealer, then finish online or at the dealership.

[A]

Cool. Enjoy.

[B]

Buy your car online on Autotrader. Really?

[D]

Most people would rather attend a corporate team building workshop than search for auto and home insurance.

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Go team.

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