Hoops Tonight - 76ers Deep Dive w/ Spike Eskin: LeBron James's fit, how Maxey & Jaylen fit, keep or trade Embiid?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hoops Tonight: 76ers Deep Dive w/ Spike Eskin
Episode Date: August 1, 2026
Topic: LeBron James’s Fit in Philadelphia, Team Building Questions, and the Sixers’ Championship Path
Guest: Spike Eskin (Host of Rights to Ricky Sanchez Podcast, WIP Radio Philly)

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Main Theme

The episode offers an in-depth conversation on the seismic impact of LeBron James signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. Host and guest analyze LeBron’s fit, address Sixers fans’ conflicted feelings, evaluate the roster construction and the future of Joel Embiid, and break down how both talent and chemistry may (or may not) produce a championship window.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. LeBron Signs with the Sixers: Initial Reactions

[02:25]

• Host introduces Spike Eskin in light of the “incredible, surprising news” of LeBron joining the Sixers.
• Spike: “I just never thought it was a realistic possibility that the Sixers would get him… Even deeper tea leaf reading was always interesting to me—why is Rich Paul mentioning Cleveland, Miami, and the Sixers, but not Golden State?”
• Both agree that, despite the speculation, the choice came down to raw talent accumulation, not location or legacy.

Memorable Moment

• Spike recounts hearing the news while off work:

  “My phone rings at 11:30… and I just hear, ‘You got to work. They got LeBron.’ I was like, no, they didn’t… The last week has been pretty surreal. Positive or negative, it is objectively hilarious to say LeBron James chose to sign with the Sixers.” [04:45-05:45]

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2. LeBron’s Fit and the “Mercenary” Dilemma

[08:08-15:05]

• Spike is upfront: He'd “rather lose without [LeBron] than win with him.”

  “There's just so much, and so much of it feels dishonest and distasteful to me and, and self centered in a way that I guess that he has earned…I don't know if it would feel as complete as it would if it were players that I had grown to really like.” [09:52, 13:48]

• He describes the move as making the team feel like “a group of mercenaries” instead of a Sixers squad long-time fans grew to love.
• Host argues: LeBron is “so damn good at basketball even at his old age, that all of the stuff that comes with it...it's worth it.” [16:50]

Notable Quote

• On Sixers fan identity vs. championships:

  “For me, I think the logical extreme…let's say LeBron gets here, they trade Embiid for AD…let's say they win a title. Well, what am I even cheering for at that point…It's just too much for me.” – Spike Eskin [11:48]

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3. Chemistry, Player Usage, and Team Concerns

[23:04-25:52]

• Host asks whether Spike feels any optimism for the upcoming season—with all the talent assembled.
• Spike: “Yeah, the idea of all these guys on one team, however much they play together…could be fun to watch. But I have very little optimism they’ll win a title. Probably lower than all of Philadelphia.” [23:04]

Spike’s “Elevator Pitch” for Why They Won’t Win

• Key players (Embiid, LeBron, Jaylen Brown) likely to play only “20 or 25 games” together before playoffs—lack of reps kill chemistry vs. “machine” teams like Boston, Knicks. [25:52]
• Embiid’s playoff health is unreliable, and decreasing his usage makes him “less valuable.”
• LeBron “will continue to get older,” and hasn’t lasted four playoff rounds since the 2020 bubble (with three months rest).

  “What are the odds Embiid gets through a playoffs healthy? I don’t know, 15%.” [28:00]

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4. Embiid vs. AD: Should the Sixers Trade Their Star?

[31:57-33:46]

• Host and Spike debate whether swapping Embiid for Anthony Davis increases title odds.
• Spike: “AD wouldn’t be what I would do…From a center standpoint, I’d just want a guy who is a great defensive center who plays every game and maybe can rim run.”
• Both agree: Embiid is more offensively dynamic; AD offers more defensive reliability, but neither ensures playoff health.

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5. Nick Nurse: Coach Evaluation

[35:19-37:47]

• Spike calls the Nick Nurse era “underwhelming”—notes lack of creativity, frustration with handling young players (e.g., Jared McCain), and Nurse’s tendency to get “knocked off track by being irritated.”

  "He certainly didn’t bring out the best of anyone…I think he’s been underwhelming." [37:19]

• Host points out that the players themselves—especially LeBron as a “coach on the floor”—will shape the offense.
• The defensive vision (perimeter aggression, forcing turnovers, LeBron as a backline defender) could play to the roster's strengths.

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6. Roster Fit, Offensive Roles, and Maxey’s Future

[40:12-46:13]

• Host worries Tyrese Maxey “might be the best offensive player on this team” but could get squeezed by the ball dominance of LeBron and Jaylen Brown.
• Spike: Maxey is “the most equipped to be a great offensive player with ball-dominant players on the team”—his off-ball skills make him an ideal fit if he’s assertive enough.
• The “LeBron at point guard” plan is met with skepticism. Spike views LeBron’s “compromise” rhetoric as a way to keep control of the offense.
• Discussions about whether rookie VJ Edgecombe or veteran Dean Wade should start at the two/three, and the value of Edgecombe’s athleticism and defense.

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7. Rapid-Fire: Bench & Young Talent

[49:54-56:45]

VJ Edgecombe:

• “Way better in the first year than I thought…love the physical profile, love the guts he showed, loved his attitude and willingness to work…in the best case scenario, you need a dirty work guy in the starting lineup, and it might be him.” – Spike [50:40]

Dominic Barlow:

• “A revelation…more skilled than people think. If he can shoot, he’ll be a real important player. If not, he’s just a regular-season ‘minutes-filler.’” [51:54]
• Major need to improve defensive rebounding and shooting mechanics.

Justin Edwards:

• “Rare player that is somehow better in NBA games than in Summer League…right place, right time, pretty decent defender…” Potential for first wing off the bench if he can bring consistency. [53:57]

Adem Bona:

• “Too small and fouls too much…probably at his best if he’s a forward playing with a center…he just hasn’t figured out when to try to block a shot and when not to.” [55:31]

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Notable Quotes

• "I would rather lose without him than win with him." – Spike Eskin on LeBron's arrival [08:46]
• "Everything that LeBron touches becomes centered around LeBron." – Spike [12:25]
• "LeBron is a fair-weather leader...he’s the best dude in the league to have leading the team when he believes in them.” – Host [15:50]
• "If they play your-turn-my-turn, spread pick and roll, that leads to diminishing returns." – Host [34:00]
• "You’re going against teams that have been together longer and are machines at this point." – Spike [26:30]
• "Maxey is way better off the ball and him sort of flying around…he will be elevated by this." – Spike [44:50]

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Key Timestamps

• 02:25 – Show opens, Spike’s initial reaction to LeBron news
• 08:46 – “I’d rather lose without him…”: Fan identity and mercenary rosters
• 13:36 – The homegrown vs. superstar-build debate
• 23:04 – Spike’s realistic optimism about the Sixers’ ceiling
• 25:52 – Elevator pitch: Why Spike doubts this is a title team
• 31:57 – Embiid vs. AD debate
• 35:19 – Nick Nurse coaching assessment
• 44:05 – Maxey’s fit with new stars
• 46:13 – Skepticism around LeBron running point
• 49:54 – Rapid-fire: VJ Edgecombe and the young core

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is candid and nuanced, steeped in a mix of Philly fan pessimism and realistic basketball analysis. Spike Eskin brings a down-to-earth, fan-centric view, questioning the soul of a team built around outside superstars at the expense of homegrown ties, while the host brings perspective on the “necessity” of landing all-time talent, even with baggage attached.

The talent is undeniable, but chemistry, health, and identity remain unresolved questions for the Sixers juggernaut. Listeners are left with a thorough understanding of the emotional and basketball stakes surrounding this new era in Philadelphia.

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Find Spike Eskin at:

• Rights to Ricky Sanchez Podcast
• WIP Afternoon Show (with Ike Reese and Jack Fritz)

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For in-depth Sixers breakdowns and more NBA analysis, subscribe to Hoops Tonight from The Volume.

Transcript

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[A]

The Volume.

[F]

All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight here at the Volume. Happy Friday, everybody. Hope all of you guys had an incredible week. To this point, we have a very special guest today. In lieu of the incredible, surprising news that LeBron James is joining the Philadelphia 76ers, one of the largest voices in Philly sports, Spike Eskin, a gentleman I met at summer league a few years back, who I've been wanting to have on the show for a while, and now I can think of no better reason than LeBron going to the Sixers than to have Spike on. I, I will say, you know, it's been a lot of optimism over the course of the last week since the news, or less than a week, and Spike's a little bit more of a pessimist when it comes to LeBron, so I'm excited to dig into that a little bit, but he's also going to give us some perspective on some of the Sixers that have been more tenured, that have been there over the years and, and help our listeners get ingratiated to this Sixers team. Spike, first of all, thanks so much for taking the time. What is this last five days been like for you, or I should clarify, what has this last month been like for you since you found out that LeBron was going to be a free agent?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, the five days has been surreal. The month has been more. I just never thought it was a realistic possibility that the Sixers would get him. To me, and this is from a. Generally a LeBron skeptic, not of him as a player, but like as a tea leaf reader just trying to figure out what's going on. I, I find that part of all this to be pretty interesting. Like, why is this person saying this? Why is it they always just felt like leverage to me, it felt like here is a good team that made a big move and all the teams I want to go to, hey, look at this good team over here. And if you don't improve your team, I'm going to go to that team. And it like, it's gone through my mind at some point that maybe it was just a game of chicken, you know, he was like, I'm gonna sign there if you don't trade for Anthony Davis. And then he just woke up, he's like, I guess I gotta do it now. So I always thought they were their leverage and, and even deeper tea leaf reading was always interesting to me that Rich Paul would mention like Cleveland, Miami and the Sixers and not mention Golden State. And to me, again, just trying to read the room, I thought to myself, is he trying to send a message to them and that you are not in this group, you gotta get there. So even I money on both the Sixers and the Warriors. I dumped the money out of the Sixers, put it into the warriors, and. And just repeatedly telling people, not only did I completely different issue. Not a LeBron guy, so didn't want them to sign him. Though I understand objectively it is the right thing to do. I just kept telling people, there is no way this is going to happen. No way. And fast forward to Friday. I actually had the day off of work. So I host my podcast, but I also host the afternoon show at WIP in Philly, and I had the day off of work on Friday, and my phone rings at 11:30 as my co host and producer, and I'm thinking to myself, I wonder what he wants. Probably wants some help with the show. And I just hear you got to work. They got LeBron. I was like, no, they didn't. I'm looking at my phone right now, and he's just screaming, look at chomps. Look at chomps. Look at chomps. And then, and then, and then. The last week has been. Has been pretty surreal. Positive or negative on it. It is objectively hilarious to say that LeBron James chose to sign with the Sixers for the last year or two of his career. It's been. It's been a lot to try to think through.

[F]

Yeah, you know, I. I think it's actually been really funny. After the. The signing has been announced, how many reporters have come back in and been like, well, this is what happened. And it's like, well, actually, none of you guys had any idea what was going on. So it's hard for me to believe that now you suddenly know what happened, because I was like you, I was high on the warriors simply because I had put together this list of reasons why LeBron would pick his next team. And it was like, you know, closeness to his family. What would it be like to be on a bunch of airplanes and back to backs and the hotel room breakfasts and dinners and, you know, like, what the personalities of the guys would be like on court fit, you know, chances to win a championship. A combination of all these factors. And it turns out there's really only one factor that mattered, and it was talent. And, you know, I think, honestly, as we kind of zoom out, I think we all kind of overcomplicated this process from the beginning. Even when we think about the trades that he was allegedly pushing for behind the scenes, they were all about the accumulation of talent and what, you know, what Mike Gansey and Bob Myers had Done is they had put together a situation where they had an enormous amount of talent with a gaping hole at a specific position where LeBron could slot right in. And I think it was pretty straightforward for him at that point. I think we can dig into all these different particulars. Did he want to be attached to Steph's legacy? Did he want to, you know, retread old ground in Cleveland or Miami? But I really think it was as simple as the talent play. Now, before we start digging into the team, I got to put you on the spot. So we were, I was on my. I went to my brother's wedding in Houston this weekend. Of course, LeBron had to wait until literally last Friday, so I had to pack my recording equipment. Yeah, I'm at an aquarium with my brother and my. And my niece and nephew, and we're just having a moment looking at fish. They had a tiger there for some reason. No idea why there was a tiger at the aquarium. And next thing you, Next thing you know, the signing comes down and I'm in an Uber and I'm rushing back to the hotel. But on my flight home from, from Houston, I listened to the rights of Ricky Rice Ricky Sanchez podcast, which, by the way, you guys absolutely should check out, especially if you're looking for in depth coverage of the Sixers. I just want to make sure we get that shout out in there.

[A]

Sure thing.

[F]

But you, you, you had express your. You know, it's no secret that you're not a big fan of LeBron James, and I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that. I, I, one of my. I'm a big LeBron James fan who is willing to admit and acknowledge that he is a person who behaves in a way that is unlikable to many. And I think that. And I want to dig into some of those specifics because I think some of them are, are relevant here and some of them are not when we get to that point. But for the most part, even when I talked to my warriors fans, buddies, they were like, yeah, I don't like the guy, but let's do this. And one of the things you said in your pod, and I want to give you a chance to defend yourself here.

[E]

Sure.

[F]

You said, I would rather lose without him than win with him. So can you kind of explain where, what you're, where you're coming from and how you ended up in that frame of mind?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So no, no worries. Putting me on the spot. That has been pretty much my life since last Friday. You know, well, when you spend three weeks saying you don't want the guy, it's been an interesting reaction. This isn't answering your question, but it's just as I'm thinking about, it's been an interesting reaction to my reaction in that anyone who listens to the podcast knows I haven't been on LeBron guy. I didn't want them in 2018. Like I, I had the same view. Same view. So the three weeks leading up to it, and even on the radio station, I've only been in the air there a couple years, but everybody knows how I feel. Saying for weeks, I do not want him, I do not want him, I do not want him. And then they sign them and I'm like, I hate this. And everyone's mad at me for being accused.

[C]

It.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I've been accused of. You're just saying that to get people mad. I'm like, I'm the only honest person here. I am literally the only person to my detriment in some way, saying how I feel. So I used to be a LeBron guy. I would say through Miami. I was a LeBron guy and a big defender, and my co host, Ike Reese. We've known each other a long time. One of our long standing arguments, preemie switching was me being a pro LeBron guy and him being an anti LeBron guy. It switched when I felt like he changed. And I found his presence to be irritating, I think is underselling. It is like suffocating. There's just so much, and so much of it feels dishonest and distasteful to me and, and self centered in a way that I guess that he has earned. I can't deny that. I'm not denying. He's obviously a great basketball player, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but I find that other part of it to be too much for me. And when he's not on the Sixers, it's very easy for me to mock him and say this is stupid, and so on and so forth. When he is on the Sixers, I've, people have asked me, well, isn't the point to win? Isn't that the entire goal? And it's a different conversation how close they are to winning, but I don't necessarily believe it is just about winning for me. And, and I'm never trying to convince anybody to not like this move, but for me, I think the logical extreme of this would be, okay, let's say LeBron gets here. They trade Embiid for A.D. let's say they trade Edgecombe for some guy, right? And. And then. And let's say they win a title. Well, what am I even cheering for at that point, right? Like, Maxi still there. Okay. I like Tyrese Maxey, but I've never liked LeBron James. I've never had, like, an opinion on Anthony Davis, like, emotionally, one way or the other. I guess he would be on the Sixers, whoever they trade Edge come for, unless it happens to be one of my favorite players. So in that case, I guess it would be nice if the Sixers won a championship. But the way that I've experienced this team over the last 14 years, as we've done the podcast, is, I think, just a little more nuanced than whether it is objectively gets them closer to winning a championship, I think, because. And this is just the last part of it, and this. If I'm the Sixers, I probably take an opportunity to move Joel Embiid if I can. Probably. But me as a fan, if they win this title without him, I just don't know what that will mean for me. I'll be happy to see everybody else happy, but I guess it just would have felt like something entirely different than I've experienced over the last 13 or 14 years. And everything that LeBron touches becomes centered around LeBron. And, and I just. I've thought, even if Joel's on the team, and I would feel very good for him if they won it. Just the. The, like, you know, look what LeBron Bar brought us. And like, the, the, like the Myth making of LeBron and the, I, it's just too much for me. So I think I would enjoy the team more not having a conflict about cheering for somebody who I just actively find annoying, which was something I had to do with Simmons. After a couple of years, I was like, I don't like this guy, but at least he was ours, at least some bit. We drafted him. He was our problem. LeBron just seems somebody else's problem. Problem, for lack of a better word, that is on the Sixers now. So it's a long way to get to how I feel, but there's a lot to it, I think.

[F]

So, essentially, if the Sixers were to win for you, it would feel like a group of mercenaries wearing Sixers jerseys rather than a group of guys that you have grown to love over years of rooting for them.

[A]

Yes. And. And I, I, I guess I felt the same way when they traded for Jimmy Butler. Now, I did not like Jimmy Butler, but I really did like Robert Covington and Dario Saric. So, you know, I got through it. And I can't predict how I'm going to feel in six months. I have no idea. Maybe watching them all play together will be so much fun and LeBron's like. LeBron will take it down a notch. Unlikely, but let's say he does. And, you know, and the only other. The only extra clutch guy we have is kcp. We haven't done anything, and they're playing great and, and it's just. It's undeniable to me. I'm more than willing. Like, I change my mind all the time. I think. I think there's a difference between being stubborn and knowing what you think because you've thought it through. I think I know what I think and I know how I feel, but I don't think I'm stubborn in that if I start to enjoy it, I'm not going to say I don't enjoy it, just to stick to whatever guns I feel like. So I suppose it could change, but right now, yes, if. If all the players were swapped out and the Sixers happened to win a title, I don't. I don't think it would be. It wouldn't irritate me or anything, but I don't know if it would feel as complete as it would if it were players that I had grown to really like.

[F]

Especially since it's almost a certainty that there will be substantial turnover after this. Like, KCP won't be on the team. LeBron James won't be on the team. Joel Embiid will eventually reach a point where he can't play anymore. Like, it will be a different team after. It'll feel like such a brief, small window. I think the stuff you're hitting on is, like, very valid. I mean, I. I think this is one of the overarching kind of problems with the NBA. You juice up player movement. It makes for exciting off seasons. We just had an amazing off season. It's fun for content creators, but it lacks that, like, that slow burn and build that you get from, like, baseball, where fans are, like, so intimately and like, like, kind of ingratiated with the roster over time, I think. I mean, you'll see this. Like, I. I talked to Laker fans who still are, like, man, I wish we wouldn't have traded Brandon Ingram and Josh Hard for. For Anthony Davis. So it's like, at a certain point, it's kind of just a. Like, you. There's a certain type of fan that definitely is. Is likes the idea of a real homegrown roster, which I respect. My. The two things that I would say about the LeBron thing that make that I would just pitch to Philly fans that have some concern. One, his off court behavior. What you defined as like kind of taking all the air out of the room, which I think is a fair characterization. Like the stuff with Rich Paul and Austin Reeves and the passive aggressiveness and even just little comments like him saying on his podcast, like, oh, I'll do this role for now. It's like, what are you accomplishing by saying stuff like that? You're, you're, you're taking, you're, you're making a locker room deal with passive aggressive behavior. That's all fair. LeBron in general has acted out more in that way. When he doesn't think his team can win, when he has really believed in his team's ability to compete for a championship, he's been on his best behavior. The way I've described it is like, Steph Curry is the best leader in the league in my opinion, because rain or shine, he's the same dude. LeBron is a fair weather leader. When he, when he has a group that he really believes in, he's actually the best dude in the lead to have the best dude in the league to have leading the team. It's when things aren't going good that he can start to get passive aggressive. And that's something to keep in mind if things don't go well this year, if Joel Embi gets hurt, if there's weird chemistry issues. But there's so much talent on this team that I think LeBron truly perceives a legitimate shot for him to win his fifth that I actually expect him to more or less be on his best behavior. Now, the trade stuff, let's set that aside because I'm not even sure I would trade him bead for AD And I want to dig into that concept here in a few minutes. But the second piece of it is where I cannot defend LeBron's off court behavior all the time. There is a. We've all seen the pictures of him reading the first page of every single book and the, the tweets and the weird press conference moments and the behavior of his agent. That stuff to me is, is kind of indefensible. And the people that don't like him for that, I'm not going to argue with it. Where I will defend LeBron to the bitter end is as a basketball player, he is so damn good at basketball even at his old age, that like with all of the stuff that comes with it. The reason why the Sixers had to do this and the reason why it's worth it is because he's just so damn good. And I really do think he's going to come in and help this team in so many different ways, and I think they're going to be a much better basketball team for it. And that's the one thing where, when, when some of the LeBron detractors come out of the woodwork, I will fight to the dirty end to defend him is say what you want about the guy, but he can hoop. He can really hoop. And I do think that he's going to take this team to the next level. So on that note, is there any part of you, even as a person who doesn't like LeBron, who has allowed yourself over the last five days to feel some optimism that this could be fun? Today's show is brought to you by presenting sponsor Hard Rock BET Sportsbook. Some sports fan call this the slow period until football season, but on Hard Rock Bet, we call it baseball season. 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Listen to Math and Magic Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[E]

I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 3 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous situation that destroyed two families. It started more than seven years ago when Cindy and Kenny were two 40 somethings who had just gotten engaged. Days later, they walked into a scorched earth war they never saw coming.

[F]

Turn around and place your hands behind your back. The cops came into my house and threw me in jail.

[E]

And to Cindy's surprise, her fiance Kenny was charged with abusing one of her children.

[A]

I never once doubted Kenny and I

[F]

always doubted the accusation.

[E]

On season three of Burden of Guilt, you'll hear a story about the lengths someone will go to in order to get what they want.

[A]

This case has got to be one

[F]

of the most despicable.

[E]

Listen to Season 3 A Burden of Guilt on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm not an angry person. I, I, I don't. Maybe I, I probably. I'm 49. I probably would have characterized myself different at 32, that I would have hate watched every Sixers game because I can't stand looking at this guy. That. That isn't how I am. So, you know, the idea of all of these guys on one team, however much they play together, which is a different conversation or part of the conversation, but not this part. Yeah. Could be fun to watch. And I, I said it before, and I, I'm actually not minimizing this part that I don't think the, the object, like the absurdity of him on the Sixers will ever be lost on me. This is absurd. Not, not in a bad way, but in a. What is he doing on the Sixers? And I think I will have plenty. They just announced LeBron's checking into the Sixers. How did this happen? So. So I think. I think, Yeah, I, I don't have very much optimism for them to win a title. I think I'm lower than most, probably. Definitely lower than all of Philadelphia. I found that out on the show the other day. Slightly lower than the books. I think there are some hurdles that I think that people have addressed, some really obvious hurdles, but I, I don't deny that he will make them better. I do not deny that it was the right thing for Gansey and Bob Myers to do. So I'm not there. I'm not. I'm not the sort of LeBron hater unless I'm trying to tweak LeBron fans that. That dismisses how good he is. Like, my tweak is he's definitely top 10. I like saying that to drive people crazy. But. But, But I don't like. I, I know how good he is. Even at this age, I, I understand how good he is.

[F]

Yeah. I mean, the, the, the simplest way I would describe it, as someone who's rooted for him, obviously, and watched him and covered him very closely over the last 10 years, is there will be times in the regular season where he looks old. And it, it can come. There can be a combination of, like, nights where his body doesn't really feel good and where his mind isn't really in it. That's the real thing that shows up over the last five years, is he'll have nights where he's just not focused, and he'll just be sloppy, and that will Happen a dozen or so times in the regular season where it's infuriating to watch. But any big important game, the dude is just always locked in and he always does his job and he's just super reliable in that sense. And so it's kind of like the trade off. But let's use your, let's use your stance here as a framework to kind of talk about the team for a second. Sure. What can you give us the elevator pitch of why you don't think this is a championship team? So just kind of a quick breakdown of like what your concerns are and then we'll kind of branch out from there to talk about the team.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

I think they're even, they're even more general than a defense and rebounding and those sorts of basketball things. If we say that Joel Embiid plays 40 games, LeBron plays 50 games, and Jalen Brown plays 63 games, my guess would be that the key figures on this basketball team are probably going to play 20 or 25 games together during the regular season. To me, that, that is already, that already takes their title chances down to a fraction because they need reps. You need reps. And all the teams that you're going against, these are not. The irony of this team, I'm sorry, jumping around a lot is that this is kind of like something that Daryl Morey would do and everybody would go old, injured, no way it's going to work. And so, so anyway, so let's say they play 20 or 25 games together. You're going against teams that are, that have been together longer and are also kind of machines at this point. Boston, at least during the regular season, will be a machine probably right? The Knicks, probably Cleveland knows what they do. Indian, most of those guys are the same guys from before Halliburton got hurt. Atlanta played all of last year together. Now, they do have some changes, but I think the fact that so many of the players are new, so many of the high usage players are new, Brown is new high usage, LeBron is new high usage. And they're not going to play together very much. First is that, that's the first strike. The second strike is Joe, Joel Embiid playing every other night in the playoffs is just not a reality to me unless it can happen. And it is the couch to do that or the opposite. You know, the other side of that is people will go, well, they don't need as much from him. And so. But his value is scoring points, like his value is when he's on the court. He is an offensive player. That's what he's good at. So lowering his usage just makes him less valuable because he's not really that good a defender anymore. So. So I. I guess. And we've seen him going in and out and being, like, the center of everything, and then nothing is tough for the team to deal with. So we're depending on him getting through the playoffs, which he's never done. And then we're also depending on LeBron, who is still very good, obviously, but is older than he was last year and will continue to get older than he was the year before. And the last time that he lasted four playoff rounds was 2020. Right. So, which is a long time ago. And he had three months off before that playoff, that playoff run as well, because that was in the bubble. So those are just the big picture. If you just add those through two things together, what are the odds that Joel Embiid gets it through a playoffs healthy? I don't know, 15%. And then what are the odds that they're able to maximize the talent they have, even if that happens is a third of that. So that's how I end up on. I don't know, maybe they have a 5% chance of winning everything, but seems like everything's going to have to go right.

[F]

The way you broke it down with the machines. I totally agree. Like, to me, OKC and San Antonio are still in a tier by themselves. I think you have to, at the very minimum, put the Knicks above the Sixers because their floor is just so, so, so much higher. I think they have the highest floor in the league. Like, they just got to be there, and they got a great chance to win because they've just been playing together for so long. I think from that point down the list, I have a hard time arguing other teams over Philly just because of the sheer amount of talent they have. I think the Embiid injury concerns are legitimate. LeBron, weirdly, has been one of the most reliable players in the league over the last few years. Like, that sciatica thing that caused him to miss the start of last season really is the only injury he's had in the last three years. He played 70 games each of the previous two. And then when he came back from sciatica this year, he played basically every game the rest of the way, finished around 60, and looked fantastic in the postseason. Like, looked athletic, looked spry, looked great. So, like, that's not to say that there's not injury risk there. There's always injury risk. But I do feel a little bit better about him. The Embiid piece is completely valid and it's probably the best case for trading him. Because when I talk about like an Embiid Anthony Davis swap, I think about the Sixers Knicks series and how Brunson just annihilated Embiid and pick and roll in in a way that was like impossible for them to cover for. And I think, well, Anthony Davis is just a much better pick and roll defender. But what I keep coming back to is Embiid, when he's at his best is just quite simply one of the top three or four offensive players in the league. And he unlocks so much for them in terms of five out spacing like I envision. Everyone thinks, oh, this, the, the, the 2024 Celtics, they had five shooters. It's like, well, Jaylen Brown was a sketchy shooter. Sketchy shooter. Like they, what it was was five guys who could play on the perimeter just all together. And that is something this group could unlock. A look with LeBron and Jaylen Brown and BJ Edgecomb and Tyrese Maxine, Joel Embiid, not to mention you have a bad matchup on him. He can win a series like he did against the Celtics. You don't have a guy who can guard him. He could just literally single handedly win a series. I think you could try to be a better drop team in terms of keeping him be close to the rim on defense by virtue of having as much athleticism as this team has on the perimeter. Not to mention, LeBron is actually a very good backline defender, a guy who can cover for Embiid when he has to go out to the perimeter. So there's a lot that I think works when Embiid is healthy. But your point about whether or not like again, he, he has that great first round series and then immediately misses a game and is dealing with the hip issue and is dealing with the foot issue and it's like if he can't survive. That's just the answer to your question as to whether or not you move on from Embiid. It just, it simply dramatically increases your championship chances just simply because that player can be available and on the court. I do think it's worth mentioning that Anthony Davis has had similar problems though.

[A]

Yes.

[F]

And that's why I have a hard time there. So what, what's your take on the flipping Embiid for AD thing?

[A]

Well, I, AD wouldn't be what I would do. Right. Like, I, I don't, I don't really care that this. There is sort of like diminishing returns, where your whole starting lineup, what their best thing is, is getting you a bucket. Right? I mean, that's four out of the five guys in the starting lineup. I'm not saying that that is the ultimate skill of. But that's how they think of it. Oh, if you. If this guy can't score, then this guy's going to score. Whatever.

[B]

I.

[A]

From a center standpoint, I would just want a guy who is a great defensive center who plays every game. That's it. And maybe can rim run. You know, like the Tyson Chandler, Clint Capella sort of thing. You know, we had talked about Mitchell Robinson. Now he's got the same injury issues. You know, in. In the off season, when we're talking about a backup center, we had talked about that. You know, ironically, it didn't work. But the Horford, you know, was when they signed Horford, I understood why they did it. It didn't work and people got mad because they signed Horford. But. But like, you know, somebody who can play defense and play every game, I think would be what they want. And I think I just like A.D. i think Embiid's better than A.D. now. I think if I had a bet, who has a better chance of holding up through the playoffs, even though he's had injury issues, I would still probably bet on AD at this point. But. But I don't want to trade for AD and give him some giant contract extension either, given his health. And it also seemed like offensively that the bubble year, the bubble playoffs, it

[F]

was an outlier, outlier.

[A]

You know, it's just. He's a good offensive player, but he's not. You can't shoot, really, and doesn't have range. Yeah.

[F]

So, yeah, it's. It's very. That's kind of my whole. The whole thing is like, I think it'd be easier to mimic some of what AD does defensively by committee by bringing in other players than it would be to in any way, shape or form bring what Joel and breed bring. Joel Embiid brings offensively to your point about the diminishing returns. And I think this is really going to be the story of the season, because if they play. Your turn, my turn, spread, pick and roll. Whoever doesn't have the ball is standing around on the perimeter spotting up. That I think will lead to the diminishing returns. That's why I actually think the 2024 Celtics are an interesting kind of comp for this team. Obviously, Joel Embiid is not the driving kick player that Al Horford was, but he's capable of some of that. We saw some of that with Team USA even, particularly, I think about the Serbia game on the right wing. When he pump fakes and gets Jokic off his feet and drive baseline and dunks on the baseline, I'm like, oh, like that's him playing driving kickball. I envision this team as a driving kick team. And because they have so much slashing talent like, like LeBron can really slash. Vijay can slash, Tyrese can slash, Jalen Brown can slash. I envision them as a team that can stack drives like multiple attacks on the same possession, getting the ball up the floor quickly, making sure that everyone is involved by virtue of not getting into late clock situations where you're running ISO and pick and roll. And so I think that really is going to be the job that Nick Nurse has with this group for our listeners. Can you guys give it, can you give us a rundown of just what having Nick Nurse as your coach has been like?

[A]

It's underwhelming. I guess the thing that he hasn't been dealt a great hand, to be clear. I also don't think he's dealt with it well. My perception is that he gets knocked off track by being irritated about the situation. You know, I think the Embiid thing has been irritating for him. That's just my, my reading the room. We did expect this whole, you know, he has the reputation of, you know, mad scientist. We're going to see all this weird stuff. We haven't seen very much weird of any weird anything, to be honest with you. I thought he did his best job his first season with the Sixers, and that was when they had to end up trad Harden. You know, it was the Harden holdout year and it was a weird year. You know, they, they ended up losing in the first round to the Knicks. But I thought that team was way better than I thought it was going to be. I thought he was a, a net negative two seasons ago when they ended up tanking because Embiid wasn't around. He did not handle that well. And I don't. He didn't. He certainly didn't bring out the best out of anyone. I'm not blaming him for the season, but he certainly didn't add very much to it. And I thought last year I was, was frustrated. I was frustrated with the Jared McCain thing. I think one thing that became a national talking point that wasn't right was that they didn't play Jared McCain. They played Jared McCain quite a bit. He never seemed to have any purpose out there. He was either, you know, not trying to, not trying to not disrupt anything and then he would just be out there for six minutes or he would realize he's only there for six minutes and he would jack up as many shots as possible and, and literally, you know, some of that was coming back from injury. I, I certainly can see that. But then he goes to Oklahoma City and they're like, oh, here's what you do with Jared McCain. And I was frustrated with him on that. So it seems like offensively there's not a lot of creativity there. It is, give it to your best players and let them play. And defensively there's a lot of, you know, scrambling, trying to create turnovers, but they've never really had a roster that, that I fit that, you know, totally. So I don't know. He's a clutch client, so I imagine he will get the full year to figure it out. But I think he's been underwhelming. I would say

[B]

you bought a sofa, you didn't have to assemble a suit someone measured just for you, and now you're taking a guys trip that actually matters. You've upgraded a few things in life.

[F]

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[D]

Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. I also led the team that created MTV and my co founders and I are celebrating MTV's 45th anniversary this month on my podcast Math and stories from the frontiers of Marketing. You'll hear the untold origin story from the people who built MTV from the ground up.

[A]

I want my mtv.

[E]

Those are powerful words.

[A]

My something for me that felt like mine and want.

[E]

What a powerful word.

[D]

Listen to math and magic stories from the Frontier on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[E]

I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt season three podcast. This is a story about a horrendous situation that destroyed two families. It started more than seven years ago when Cindy and Kenny were two 40 somethings who had just gotten engaged. Days later they walked into a scorched earth war they never saw coming.

[F]

Turn around and Place your hands behind your back. The cops came to my house and threw me in jail.

[E]

And to Cindy's surprise, her fiance Kenny was charged with abusing one of her children.

[A]

I never once doubted Kenny, and I

[F]

always doubted the accusation.

[E]

On season three of Burden of Guilt, you'll hear a story about the lengths someone will go to in order to get what they want.

[A]

This case has got to be one of the most despicable.

[E]

Listening to Season 3 A Burden of Guilt on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[F]

Yeah, the offense stuff I think is completely fair because the Jared McCain piece, he gets into OKC and then immediately he's just coming off of a million dribble handoffs with, with Isaiah Hartenstein and he's running around like crazy and the offense is kind of built around him as a chaos agent.

[A]

Yeah.

[F]

And the only time he's ever really standing is in the units with Shay and he's always on the opposite wing because Shea draws so much nail help and he gets all these wide open catch and shoot threes off of the left wing. They just, they just used him in a really smart way. And I think that I, I think that is an area where I think LeBron can really help this team. Frankly, I, I believe that more often than not we focus on the coach for offense, which I think is fair in a lot of cases. But ultimately the basketball players themselves are the ones that generate the flow on the court. Because while there are sets that are run and while there are, you know, obviously, you know, baseline out of bounds or sideline out of bounds, opportunities for a coach to really get into his bag, so to speak. I don't care if you're running horn sets or if you're just playing free flow five out basketball, the players on the court being smart and knowing when to cut, when to, to to kick versus, you know, Jack a shot up the shoot pass decision making, that, that kind of read and react basketball is very much a product of, in my opinion, of the cumulative basketball skill that's on the floor. And so I think honestly, having another guy like LeBron on the floor that can kind of be a coach on the floor will go a long way towards helping this group. Now the piece that you mentioned that I think is really important is Nick Nurse is famous dating back to the Toronto days for being big on defense to transition, big on trying to force turnovers. Now I know Jaylen Brown doesn't have a reputation for forcing a ton of turnovers, but I do Think that's something he's very capable of. And LeBron is excellent as a backline turnover forcer. He's great at, like, playing center field when teams are in scramble mode. So I actually think this roster has the potential to fit Nick Nurse's defensive identity really well in terms of forward aggression. Let's try to force these teams to win in four on threes with LeBron playing center field. We're going to force a bunch of turnovers, and we're going to get out and transition off of that, where this team is going to be awesome. They're like, there's, they're going to be fit issues in the half court as they try to figure things out, but when this team is in the open floor, they're just going to be a huge pain in the ass to guard. And so I think the defensive, what I kind of envision is Nick Nurse and his defensive ideologies fitting really well with this group. And then you, then you count on LeBron and just the cumulative talent to kind of figure things out on offense, because, again, like, Nick Nurse can put him in position, you know, oh, we're going to run horn sets with Embiid Jalen Brown and Tyrese maxey, or Embiid LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey. But ultimately it's on the players on the floor to kind of figure out the flow from there. I, I, I understand there's this idea that a coach can just come in and, and just drop a bunch of sets, and all of a sudden everyone's just going to have a lot easier time on offense, and there's certainly a part of that, but I think the players ultimately carry the majority of that burden, and that's where I think LeBron's going to be the biggest help. LeBron is just a, he greases the wheels of offense with everything that he does as a connective passer. I heard you guys talking about this in the podcast. Like, like, you, you have lamented that this team doesn't have a lot of passing talent. I think that LeBron comes in and immediately brings a great deal of additional passing talent to just kind of help make things a lot easier. What's your, like, kind of overall impression of what this team's going to look like in the half court offensively? Do you have any concerns? Let me actually put it to you this way. I think Tyrese Maxey might be the best offensive player on this team. And I'm, at least in the conversation, I'm worried that he is the guy that is going to suffer from the amount of air in the room that LeBron and Jalen Brown take up. Do you have any concern that Tyrese will kind of take a back seat to these guys?

[A]

So I think when, when he's playing, Embiid is still the best offensive player on the team. But I think, I think there's absolutely a fair argument for Maxi. I think in the short term we will likely see what you have suggested as he, I think it might just be his personality though. He is getting older and becoming a little more, you know, forward in what he wants and those sorts of things. But like he is probably the one who is most likely to concede to these guys, to give them the room to figure it out rather than complaining or, or, or going off script or any of those things. But I also think he is of any of those players the most equipped to be a great offensive player with ball dominant players on the team. His, you know, he had a very high usage rate last year and he was playing point guard. He is not a point guard and he is not like he is fine off the dribble, but he's really got two moves. He's got a step back and he's got to try to blow by you his handle. It's not a loose handle, but he doesn't like, he doesn't handle the ball like Tim Hardaway or Steph Curry. It's not like some creative, even Phylon we're watching lebaron Filon like dribble past people or even Harden can dribble past. It's not really what Maxi is and he is way better off the ball and him sort of flying around and you know, defenders trying to chase him around and him coming off of screens. He's way better off the catch than he is off the dribble. So I, I think long term, you know, I don't know how, how effective Jaylen Brown's going to be off ball. I don't know how effective that LeBron's going to be off ball. I don't know how effective Joel Embiid can be off ball, but I'm pretty confident that Tyrese Maxi can, can do it and do it to a high level. So I think short term we will probably see. Why isn't Tyrese Maxi scoring? Why isn't he being more aggressive long term? If it works, I think he will be elevated by this entire thing.

[F]

Did you have any red flags or sirens go off in your head when you heard that the plan is to use Lebron James as a point guard.

[A]

Well, so I. I thought it was notable only because, you know, I heard Sean say, well, this is the first time since 2020 that he's been the point guard. And I just think to myself, well, I'm still a position guy. I'm still a point guard, shooting guard. But I thought to myself, well, okay, I haven't watched every one of LeBron's games, but he has the ball most of the time, at least until Luca got there, he was a de facto point guard, even if he was listed in the lineup as a power forward. So here's what I think, and maybe this is because I'm a hater and. La, la, la. The first thing I think is it's important that he is saying that along with the. I think Shams also said the, The. The. The buzzword is compromise, is, this is his fake compromise. This is his, hey, guys, I'm just going to get you buckets and I'm going to be the point guard, but please understand that the ball is going through me every time, every time we come up the court. The other thing that I think is notable is calling him a point guard and a point forward. I know in real life shouldn't mean anything, but I start thinking about the starting lineup and where they are deficient. And, boy, if VJ Edgecombe didn't exist, Dean Wade would be a nice player to have on that team. He defends multiple positions, he doesn't need the ball, he will shoot when he's open, those sorts of things. And I just wonder. I don't think it'll start this way, but I wonder if they don't come out of the gate super strong, if. Whether there's a conversation about putting Dean Wade in the starting lineup and having Edgecombe come off the bench.

[F]

Yeah, you know, I'm curious about that, too, because I think vj, you know, you had pitched the idea of, like, you know, clutch, maybe trying to pressure a trade there. I think VJ Is going to be one of the key players on this team in so many different ways, because, for starters, if Embiid's going to be able to stay close to the rim, you need to have someone that can get over the top of screens. And I actually think in the starting lineup, he's their best shot there in terms of, like, a small, kind of like low center of gravity, get over the top of screens guy. They're going to need him to guard the other team's best guard every single night. And to do that job well, while Also having the offensive responsibility of being a cog in that system. I think there's actually a, like, when I actually look at like potential trade options there at his salary slot, it's just going to be hard to find a player that brings the combination of athleticism both as a perimeter defender, but also as a transition athlete and as a slasher in that system. But that also brings like, he can, like. I thought he showed some you, you guys talked about in the podcast. He was very streaky. Definitely had. It was like he'd have games where he'd hit a bunch of shots and he'd have games where he'd go over four, over five. So he's definitely streaky. That's a thing he's gonna have to fix this year. But in terms of a combination of dribble shoot pass talent, plus like defensive versatility at his position, I think he's just really important. And I think if you go to a Dean Wade, there could be a like a foot speed tradeoff where if you have a Dean Wade and a LeBron and an Embiid on the floor, all of a sudden it goes from what feels like a very fast team to a very slow team. That said, I think each of these guys actually is going to be very important and that's what, that's actually what I want to do right now. We'll do a little rapid fire segment and then we'll get you out of here for the day. Okay, so I'm going to go over a couple of, of specific Sixers role players and I just want you to give your take on what you've thought of them in their time on the team. So let's start with Vijay. What has been your first impression of Vijay and how you think he fits in this team?

[A]

Just way better in the first year than I thought he was going to be. You know, he was a way better offensive player. He, the shooting, it takes him a minute to get the shot up. You know, I don't, I don't know if that's a, a playoffs three point shot yet or a three point shot that's going to scare anyone. But love the physical profile, love the guts he showed, loved his attitude and willing to work. And I do think in, in the best case scenario, you know, you're going to need somebody in the start, a dirty work person in the starting lineup. You know, every team has one of those people and it might not, it might not be what we projected for him in year two to be, you know, the dirty work guy. But, but I think he could be that and who knows what sort of leap. I've been taught a lot of lessons about the leaps that Maxi has taken off. Not that I'm going to expect that out of vj, but who knows how much better he could be in year two than year one.

[F]

Yeah, I think, I think the potential with him is off the charts. It's just so hard to tell this early in his career. But I, I mean, the, the dirty work. He literally has to be the dirty work guy. Like, it's just, it's that simple. They need him and Jaylen Brown in particular to be like perimeter workhorses defensively so that you can take advantage of embiid size at the rim and LeBron as like a backline defender. But that doesn't work if you're not getting over the top of screens. If you're not getting over the top of screens, they're. They're dead on arrival. I actually like Tyrese too, as like a hedging recover guy. I think he gives real effort. I think he gives real effort there. So let's get into some of the bench guys. Dominic Barlow was kind of featured pretty substantially last year as like a small ball 5. I think that he's actually a little bit more skilled with the ball than he gets credit for is sometimes it gets lumped in with all the other big skill less forwards like the Jared Vanderbilt types. But I don't see him as that. I think he's got a few. A little bit more in terms of ball skills, but I think we're going to see a lot of him this year as like the fifth guy alongside the other four perimeter guys in a switching look. What has it been like rooting for Dominic Barlow over the last couple years?

[A]

I like him. He was a revelation in the beginning of this season. You could tell Nurse really, really liked him. He. And I agree with you about his ball skills. Every once in a while he'll put the ball on the floor, dribble to the rim and oh, he can, he can do this and he'll throw a nifty little pass or, or something like that. He is way more skilled that way. The shot is atrocious now. He, he blamed. He blamed an elbow injury that he had early on in the year. I was told that he, he worked a lot in his form in the off season and then when it, it came when he struggled a little bit during the regular season, he went back. I mean, it looks ugly. It doesn't go in. It takes a Long time to get up. And also the, the thing that you don't really feel when you're watching him but then you look at the box score every time. He's just not, he was not a good defensive rebounder. Defensive rebound rate like 10, 11, something like that. And when Embiid is there not really a rebounder anymore. I guess Barlow just felt like a regular season player until he can learn how, until he can shoot. If he can shoot then. And the small ball five, he's just like, he's pretty, he's, he's like he's not tall. I mean he's not big, he's not 6, 10, 6 11, 7ft. He is not physically imposing. And I don't know, I didn't like, I didn't love the lineups with him as a small ball 5. So if he can shoot, I think he ends up being a real important player for them. If he can't, he just feels like a regular season minutes feller.

[F]

I agree with you in terms of like key core lineups and a game stuff. I do think having the size profile of Jalen and LeBron makes it a little more tenable because then you'd effectively be looking at LeBron as the small ball five alongside him as the four, if you wanted to view it that way. But I, I, I only say that to say like I think it's a look we're going to see a lot this year. Like, like it, it just simply is. Justin Edwards. I actually really like Justin, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

[A]

I like him a lot too. He's this rare player that is somehow better in NBA games than he is in like summer league games. You see summer league games and you're expecting him to go out and cook and it's just not really who he is. He almost immediately just right place, right time, pretty decent defender, moves his feet well, not great. If you squint a little bit. You do see Covington like you could see that future for him. He's I think his best. He's, and he's also a willing shooter. He's not a great shooter, but he's a good enough shooter and he's really like him on the wing like that. That three point shot on the wing was, was pretty, was pretty money toward the end of that season. It nurse always says nice things about him. He was in and out of the rotation all year. He'll have a game where you wonder why he's, why he doesn't play 20 minutes a game and Then he'll have a game where you wonder how he's even in the NBA occasionally. I like him a lot and I'm. I'm glad he's. And they're going to need him because they're not. They don't have a lot of. Like, he's their first wing off the bench. It's him and kcp, I guess, or the. If you consider them both wings. So. So them getting something out of him would be good this year.

[F]

Yeah, he was relatively streaky, but like, he was one of those guys when I was watching Sixers games last year where I'm like, holy. He said three threes in the last minute and a half. Like, he would, he would get. He would get hot. All right, last one, then we'll get you out of here. A Dembona. Do you think. Do you view him as a reliable guy who can play some minutes at the center? It blocks a lot of shots. Athletic, kind of Helter skelter, kind of out of control. What's your take?

[A]

Too small and fouls too much. Love him. Great guy. Works real hard. Probably at his best if he's a forward playing with a center. You know, I saw an Instagram video that I love, off season Instagram videos of him shooting corner threes.

[F]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. It doesn't look terrible. And he's a hard worker. He is a good athlete. He does block shots. But. But he is a classic backup center that he comes in the game and you're like, how does he have three fouls? He's only been on the floor for 90 seconds. And I think part of it is he. He hasn't figured out when to try to block a shot and when not. But also that issue is he's just not. He's not that big. Right. So he's not really center size. He's like a six, eight guy. So like him. But he's. He's run into that. He's had that same issue since. Since they drafted him.

[F]

Yeah. That's why I think the center position is really the key if they're looking for another upgrade. I've. I've talked about how on my show, like, I think they should be calling Charlotte and being like, hey, are you sure you want to give a bunch of money to Musa Diabate? Because we'll give you a minimum contract and some draft compensation. I think he'd be the perfect guy as like a switchy five. To your point from earlier in the show, that can play big minutes in that universe. But we gotta get you outta here. So Spike, can you just really quickly, before we head out for a day, can you just tell everybody where they can find your work?

[A]

Work writes to Ricky Sanchez podcast and the WIP afternoon show with myself, Ike Reese and Jack Fritz every day. You can both. Both wherever you get your podcast.

[F]

Thanks, Mike. This was a lot of fun, man. I sincerely appreciate you for joining us and giving us your time today. That's all we have for today. As always, we sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and we will see you on Monday for our summer player rankings.

[B]

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[A]

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