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SportsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - I feel like Gilbert, and I hate to be like the old guy
00:08 yelling at the cloud here, but when I grew up in the NBA,
00:13 I loved breaking down the on-court product.
00:16 I still think that the NBA is in the best spot
00:19 they've ever been in the history of the NBA.
00:21 But somehow this guy ends up capturing the news cycle
00:26 year after year for things that don't happen on the court.
00:30 Like it's always about him not wanting to be where he is
00:33 and he wins in the end.
00:35 How does this keep happening?
00:36 - I mean, you say year after year, quite literally, Craig.
00:40 You think about it, it was January 21,
00:42 there was a trade from Houston to Brooklyn,
00:43 February 22, it was Brooklyn to Philadelphia,
00:46 and now October or November, 2023,
00:50 it's Philadelphia to Los Angeles.
00:53 Everything he's wanted every time.
00:55 But at least for now, we can put an end to the saga.
00:59 He asked for the trade, I guess, two and a half,
01:02 three months in the making,
01:04 since he opted into his final year
01:06 with the Sixers at the time.
01:08 Then he requested the trade,
01:09 then he called Darryl Mori a liar,
01:11 but finally the trade is here.
01:13 So I guess you can say we're putting a bow
01:15 on the storyline now.
01:16 And eventually we can focus on the on-court product
01:19 of whatever James Harden will look like
01:21 with this Clippers team,
01:22 whenever he suits up for the Clippers.
01:24 - I just, I can't believe that we're gonna do this again,
01:28 but let's do it here.
01:29 Now, let's go to the 76ers,
01:31 and I wonder what you think the message is here
01:34 for their season, Gilbert,
01:36 because their odds obviously lowered to win everywhere.
01:40 The Atlantic plus 370, the East 11 to one,
01:43 and their 28 to one to win the NBA championship.
01:46 Joel Embiid, usually in these situations,
01:48 will send out a social media comment.
01:50 I didn't really see one this time around,
01:52 so I'm not really sure what to make of that.
01:54 He's still one of the best players on the planet,
01:56 your future hall of famer, first ballot,
01:58 whatever that is, is Embiid,
02:00 and sort of the guys they have around him enough,
02:03 you think, to get them in a position
02:05 to at least compete for the East?
02:06 Because I think you would say
02:08 that they had a disappointing end
02:09 to their season last year.
02:10 - Definitely disappointing end for the 76ers last year,
02:13 something that they've become used to
02:15 over the past few decades.
02:16 But there's two things going on with Philadelphia.
02:19 First of all, you look at the Eastern Conference,
02:21 and I do think that the Celtics and the Bucs
02:23 are still in a class of their own.
02:25 But with the 76ers, maybe there is a little bit
02:27 of addition by subtraction here.
02:29 Tyrese Maxey is off to a great start to the season.
02:32 He was just named Eastern Conference player of the week.
02:34 He's averaging just under a shade of 31 points per game,
02:38 and maybe he'll be better without James Harden next to him,
02:42 and he comes from under the shadows of playing
02:44 next to James Harden.
02:45 Joel Embiid is the reigning MVP.
02:47 They did have a trade package that includes
02:50 Nicholas Batum, Marcus Morris, Kenyon Martin Jr.,
02:53 as well as Robert Covington,
02:55 who's back in Philadelphia for another stint.
02:57 I think the big question with the 76ers is,
02:59 are they done yet?
03:00 They've been linked to other stars.
03:01 Is it Zach Levine?
03:02 Is it OG Ananobi?
03:03 Maybe he's not a star, but he does have familiarity
03:05 with Nick Nurse, who's the head coach of the Sixers now.
03:08 So if they continue dealing,
03:09 and maybe they can continue to build that roster
03:12 and maybe get better, and a team that's better tailored
03:14 around Joel Embiid, because we know what James Harden was,
03:17 but we also know who he wasn't for that team moving forward.
03:20 So if the Sixers aren't done dealing yet,
03:22 then maybe they can make a play
03:24 and get on that same tier as the Bucs and the Celtics.
03:27 (upbeat music)
03:29 [MUSIC]