CLEVELAND, Ohio — In this episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Ethan Sands and Jimmy Watkins unpack what LeBron James’ return to Cleveland truly means for the city, both in the moment and in the long view.
Takeaways:
The Case for a LeBron James-Cavaliers Reunion
A potential reunion between LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers next season makes compelling sense for both parties, according to the hosts. From James’s perspective, his relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers appears to be souring, citing friction over contract extensions and a reported resentment from team governor Jeannie Buss. A return to Cleveland would provide a storybook ending to his career, allowing him to “land the plane” correctly and bolster his legacy in the G.O.A.T. debate. For the Cavaliers, who may need a “seismic” change if they underperform in the playoffs, James would fill a critical need for a big, playmaking wing and instantly raise the team’s championship ceiling, bringing invaluable veteran leadership and playoff experience.
Evan Mobley Sidelined by Re-Aggravated Calf Injury
Evan Mobley is expected to miss approximately one to three weeks after an MRI revealed a strain in his left calf, the same injury that sidelined him in December. This development is a significant blow, as Mobley serves as the irreplaceable anchor of the team’s defense and was beginning to show flashes of consistency as an offensive focal point. The hosts expressed major concern, highlighting the league-wide caution surrounding calf injuries due to their potential to escalate into more severe Achilles injuries, as seen with other NBA stars. The timing interrupts Mobley’s recent progress and places the team in a precarious position as they approach the All-Star break.
Mobley’s Absence Creates Domino Effect on Roster
Mobley’s injury has an immediate and significant ripple effect across the entire roster, placing an immense burden on the remaining players. The offensive and leadership load on Donovan Mitchell will be heavier than ever, while center Jarrett Allen is now expected to step up and replicate his dominant performance from when the team was previously shorthanded. The injury also creates pressure on other players like Sam Merrill and De’Andre Hunter to return quickly from their own ailments and contribute immediately. With the team already fatigued and counting down the games to the All-Star break, this latest gut check will test their depth and resilience to the limit.
Skepticism Surrounds Claims of LeBron’s Imminent Retirement
Despite the narrative surrounding LeBron James’s potential last game in Cleveland as a Laker, the hosts are skeptical that he will retire after this season. They argue that James is a “showman” who would want the “pomp and circumstance” of a planned farewell tour rather than an abrupt exit. This belief is supported by his attempt to secure a multi-year extension with the Lakers during the past offseason, which indicates a desire to continue playing. The conversation suggests that any sentimentality around his recent visit is premature, as all signs point to him playing beyond the current season, which keeps the door open for a future move.
A Mid-Season Trade for James is Deemed Unlikely
While discussing a potential LeBron James return, the hosts dismissed the idea of a trade-deadline move, referencing and refuting a complex multi-team trade proposal from Bleacher Report. The primary reason for their rejection is the Cavaliers’ belief in their current role players, arguing that the team would be unwilling to part with key contributors like Max Strus and Sam Merrill. Additionally, De’Andre Hunter is viewed as a valuable asset, specifically for his potential defensive role in a playoff series against the Boston Celtics. The consensus is that if a reunion were to occur, it would be far more plausible as an off-season free-agent signing rather than a mid-season roster overhaul.
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Transcript
NOTE: This transcript was generated by artificial intelligence and could contain misspellings and errors.
Ethan Sands: What up, Cavs Nation? I’m your host, Ethan Sands, and I’m back with another episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. Joining me Today, Jimmy Watkins, cleveland.com columnist. And we’re here to discuss a game that will always be. Remember the Cleveland Cavaliers welcome home LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to Rocket arena on Wednesday nights. And Jimmy, I don’t think there could be anybody better I could be talking to about this because you have the duality of growing up in LA while also having the perspective of working on this beat for multiple years. Jimmy, let’s start here. What does this moment mean to you, knowing that this could be the last time that The Cavs and LeBron James face off in Rocket Arena?
Jimmy Watkins: I mean, I’m a little less sentimental about it because I was not buying that this is the last time that LeBron’s going to be here. I was talking about this last night on my way out of the arena with two people have some experience reporting on the ground in LA, let’s say, and they, they’re in the same boat. LeBron is a showman. LeBron feels like the kind of guy who’s going to let us know, so to speak, before he retires. He’s going to want the send off, he’s going to want the pompet circumstance, certainly in Cleveland. He’s going to want it to feel like a moment. This just feels like it’s coming and going. It’s another day in the NBA schedule. I could be wrong. He could shock us all. He could walk away. I’m not approaching it that way. I’m not approaching that way. And maybe, I don’t know, maybe I should, maybe I should sort of recalibrate the way I’m looking at this because it’s certainly possible, like LeBron, knock on wood. LeBron could get hurt. LeBron could have a change of heart by the end of the season. He could be planning this all along. Maybe he’s in his older, older years, has realized, yeah, maybe I just want to go off in the sunset, but I don’t know that. We have a ton of evidence that suggests that it’s always cool when LeBron comes back here. He and the city are forever intertwined. I just don’t get the sense that he’s, he’s going to be done playing if he can help it after this season. So I don’t know.
Ethan Sands: I think that’s fair and I think that’s understandable for all intensive purposes. Right? But when we talk about the potential of all of it.
Jimmy Watkins: Right.
Ethan Sands: But especially on a night like tomorrow. The Cavs wearing the classic Edison jerseys, a nod to an era that didn’t just define a player, but it helped restore belief in an entire city. Jimmy. Right. Like the amount of people that throughout the season have gushed over the Navy uniforms. You feel a different vibe. You feel a different sense of just pride when you look at everybody that comes to the arena. The amount of people that were clamoring for, for a Donovan Mitchell jersey that had that, all of the emotions that come with that. And I think whether you’re ready for the discussion of is LeBron going to retire after this season or not, it forces a conversation we don’t get to have very often anymore, right. Like what LeBron still means to this city, what he’s accomplished, why the emotions remain complicated for some people, and how all of that collides with the very present of this Cav season. Because while Cleveland looks back tomorrow night, the Cavs are also looking ahead at the uncertain future of what they have. And that comes with injuries, that comes with the potential trade deadline. All of those different things are kind of going hand in hand. This city doesn’t necessarily just see LeBron James as their former star, but a reference point. And Donovan Mitchell has mentioned that multiple times. Like, they want to do what LeBron did, which is reinvigorate the city with life and bring a championship by doing so. And I think this is so difficult to walk this line because we have so many different entry points. Jimmy. But I think we need to start on the biggest one. If LeBron does not retire after this season, should he be a Cleveland Cavalier next year because he is a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. And there’s the opportunity that the Cavs, especially if they do not get past the Eastern Conference semifinals, as we mentioned on this podcast, will be making many, many, many decisions this summer. And one of them could be bringing home that franchise face to pair alongside Donovan Mitchell.
Jimmy Watkins: I think it makes so much sense for, for both sides in a lot of ways, from LeBron’s perspective, it just feels like the Lakers relationship is souring. We had the kerfuffle and some strongly worded statements from Rich Paul over the summer. When they were talking extensions, it seemed like LeBron wanted a multi year extension. Another reason why I don’t think he’s going to retire after this season. The Lakers sort of put their foot down there. He ended up opting into his contract, which I think a lot of people interpret as, oh, LeBron’s. That’s a power move. This is classic LeBron. He’s holding his leverage over the Lakers. He might leave. I think the Lakers look at that and say, okay, cool, if you want to leave, leave. Because they’re building around Luka Doncic’s timeline now and they’re trying to clear money for players that make more sense around Luka and on Luka’s timeline. Straight up. Luka and LeBron have very duplicitous skill sets. Straight up. I don’t think it’s been LeBron’s playing better as recent, but there have been moments where JJ Redick has been fielding questions, carefully worded questions about how all the pieces fit together and overlapping skill sets and things of that nature. Coded language for, hey, are Luke and LeBron working? Their three best players, Luka LeBron and Austin Reeve, last I checked, have a negative net rating on the court together. So something needs to change there. Obviously, Austin Reeves is going to be up for a big payday too. A lot could be changing on the Lakers then. But it seems like we didn’t even talk about the backshire home story last week where. Which was mainly about the Bus family’s infighting as it pertained to this, the selling of the team. But also therein there was the nugget about how Jeannie, who is still technically the governor of the Lakers and will hold that title for another five years, we’ve seen this happen with other governors who have sold their team. They stay on and name, but they don’t really have the same power. But she’s still around. And there was a report in there from Baxter that maybe Jeannie was starting to resent LeBron slash, clutch a little bit for the power they were trying to exert over the organization, for the credit they were getting for, quote, unquote, saving the Lakers from floundering in the mud. I mean, frankly, that’s what happened. The Lakers were nothing for about a half decade before LeBron got there. He got there. They orchestrated their power play for Anthony Davis, the team won a championship. They’ve been relevant. At least I think they’ve underperformed, but they’ve been relevant ever since. Right? So that’s the LeBron side of it. Sheesh, I’m exhausted. We’re not even done with the LeBron side of it. That’s the LeBron Lakers side of it. The next question would be, okay, if he doesn’t stay with the Lakers, where does he go for a potential retirement? Or if it’s two years, like LeBron already kind of has this reputation as a basketball mercenary. It would be a strange look, if not a bad look, for him to go play for another team to wind up his career like LeBron. No matter how good he is, LeBron ending his career with the Knicks or the Clippers or whatever, that’s going to look like fricking Patrick Ewing in the Magic jersey or Hakeem Olajuan of the Raptors. He’s better than all these guys at the end, where at the end of their career, he’s the best 41 year old basketball player we’ve ever seen, bar none. But it would just be weird. It would just be weird. So LeBron is very preoccupied, I think, with trying to land this plane, land the story of his career. It matters to him how this thing finishes. I still think he said, I wrote about this for the morning a little bit. I wrote about the LeBron Jordan goat thing. I still think he’s chasing that ghost. And I think that this is, this is one area where he could potentially have a leg up. Jordan had the perfect ending. Game six. I hit the game and a shot against Utah. He couldn’t, he couldn’t stop it there. He had to come back. He had to go to the Wizards. If LeBron lands this plane the right way, that could be a feather in his cap. And there is no better ending for LeBron’s story than coming back to Cleveland and pushing them over the top, winning a championship. And this is where he gets the Cav side of it. We don’t know where this season is going. We’re going to talk about Evan Mobley’s calf injury. It’s more uncertain than it’s ever been at this point, frankly. But my read still, even amid this recent stretch of gritty wins, is that the Cavs do not have what it takes to win a championship as presently constructed. I’m still not even sure. I’m not sure about the East. There’s a lot that they have to prove in the playoffs. I’m not sure about the conference finals still. So we’ve played the patient game now. This would be four years. Something seismic has to change after this year if the playoff results don’t change in a meaningful way. The one hole they really still have on their roster is big playmaking, two way wing, and LeBron’s 41, I don’t know about two way anymore. He can still tap into a little bit of juice on defense when it’s required. We’ve seen it in the playoffs. We’ve seen him guard Jokic at times. But he’s getting old. He’s still a massive plus at one of the most important positions in the sport. He would alleviate a ton of playmaking duty on Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland or whatever, whatever combination of play playmakers exists on this team in a world where the Cavs underwhelm again in the playoffs. And I think that there’s also a little bit of credibility. We’ve talked about this before. It might be an awkward power dynamic between Donovan and LeBron. And how are you, if you’re really trying to transition the baton to Evan, like, how does, how does that play in to everything? But there’s still a level of credibility with LeBron chooses you, does what he can do all the drama. He’s still one of the 15, 20 best players in the league. He puts you over the top. That can help you build toward the future as well by virtue of him being around and him pushing them to another level with the talent ceiling. He can teach you playoff lessons just because you’re along for the ride. Okay. I think he’d be great for Jaylon Tyson. I think he’d be really good for Evan Mobley. I think Donovan, I think he likes this being his territory. But who doesn’t want to play with LeBron, right? I think they’d figured it out and I think the Cavs would get to a place where it might cause Dan Gilbert’s heart to palpitate. But they could, they could submit, so to speak, to LeBron again for the story beginning of it all. And the mead that LeBron would meet on this roster, that was long. But I’m. I’m telling you, I think this is real. I think that makes a lot of sense for both of these sides, for there to be a reunion after this season.
Ethan Sands: Jimmy, two things before I forget them because you mentioned Donovan Mitchell, and I think it’s important to note this, and I’ve said this on this podcast before. Kobe Bryant used to say this leadership is lonely. Having someone else that knows how to lead the same kind of way that LeBron does. Like, maybe it’s a different kind of leadership than Donovan Mitchell style, right? Maybe it’s a little more passive aggressive. Maybe it’s a little more talking in the media and saying what might need to be said. The accountability piece that we’ve talked about on this podcast could rear its head if that were to happen. The second thing, Jimmy, I know we’re talking about this as an end of season signing in the off season and maybe a one year deal for LeBron James. You talked about Dan Gilbert’s heart palpitating. If they were to do that, if they were to sign LeBron James to a one year deal, I, I don’t know if that’s exactly what they’re looking for. If LeBron wants to play longer than that, who knows? Because he’s been playing really, really well. And Kenny Atkinson said, why not play more than just next year, why not play three, four more years?
Jimmy Watkins: Right?
Ethan Sands: Because of how he’s doing it and not taxing his body as much and all these different things. But if they were to sign him to a one year deal, Dan Gilbert would have to then have the conversation with not only LeBron James after next season, but also Donovan Mitchell about, hey, not only do we want to bring back a 42, 43 year old, but do we want to give this guy a supermax contract? It just feels like a really difficult situation for Dan Gilbert. It feels like potentially the right move for the organization. But also then you have to think about who’s signing these checks, who’s paying these bills and the decision that they have to make behind the scenes. The other thing is, and I know our listeners and fans are going to wonder this question, why not do it now? Why not do it before the trade deadline? And Bleacher Report came out with this massive, massive trade. And I’m just going to read off the players where they will be going if this trade happened. According to Bleacher Report, the Cleveland cavaliers would receive LeBron, Bronny A. Duthiro and the Los Angeles Lakers would receive Lowry, Markkanen and Jared Allen. The Utah Jazz would receive De’Andre Hunter, Max Struve, Sam Merrow, Lonzo Ball gave Vincent 2027 first round pick via the Lakers and 2031 first round pick via the Lakers. That’s a lot. And here’s why I don’t think that would happen there. There’s a couple of reasons but I’ll try and keep it short. The first being the Cavs know that they need one of Max Dresser, Sam Merrill. They believe in those guys. They really think that they can help them in the playoffs. They could be manufacturing Sam Merrill to be like Max Druce. You’ve seen the two man game with the bigs kind of similar to what Max Truce was doing. You’ve seen the sharpshooting, everybody knows that. You’ve seen the on file cutting, the movement, all these things. That’s all things that Max Druce was doing. Sam Merrill does it. And then now you’re seeing the defensive versatility, the impact and all those things from Sam Merrill, that’s kind of the same things. And as we know, Max Truce’s contract is nearing its end and the Cavs could look to move to get off of him in the next year, depending on what happens in this year’s playoffs. But again, for right now, the Cavs believe that both Max Schrooz and Sam Merrill could help them. The Cavs and Kenny Atkinson have been saying, wait till we get Max back before we can really start evaluating this team. Right. So it’s hard for me to believe in that sense, the other sense. I know we’ve talked about De’Andre Hunter getting moved at the trade deadline, potentially on this podcast at length, but I’m going to reiterate what I said on a recent podcast. If the Cavs somehow match up with the Boston Celtics in the playoffs and the Cavs look at their roster and go, we don’t have De’Andre Hunter, who already this Cavs team has pride in trading for, thinking that they were making the right moves for the playoffs, in particular because they were planning to see the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals last year. So if you look at the roster and De’Andre Hunter’s not there, and then you face the Boston Celtics and see the same problems, they’re going to be looking like they shot themselves in the foot. That’s the other portion of this, is trying to have 2020 vision when it comes to all the situations, what could happen, what has happened, and in particular for the Boston Celtics. If Jayson Tatum comes back, you’re going to really want Dean Wade and De’Andre Hunter on the floor together. De’Andre at the three, Dean Wade at the four, guarding up all these different things. So that’s why I think it would be difficult for this Cavs team to make this trade at the trade deadline. And I do agree with Jimmy that I think an off season move is much, much, much more likely. If the Cavs wanted to acquire LeBron James.
Jimmy Watkins: Yeah, you said it pretty well there. It’s a delicate dichotomy. Regardless, no matter how you split it, regardless of how they acquire LeBron, they’re going to have to shed salary. They’re going to have to lose important players to do it. Assuming, of course, that LeBron’s going to want to be paid like LeBron and that every, literally every single step of his career, except for when he went down to Miami, he took like a haircut him d Wade and Bosch took a haircut on the max. He’s always wanted to be paid his worth. He feels like he’s underpaid. I’m not going to argue with him. I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon. And that’s, that’s tough because I do think that these, the role players, some of them, role plus, role players plus are much more important. When you got a guy like LeBron, a 41 year old dude who load manages the regular season and needs to at this point rests on the court. You need the dudes who are willing to do the dirty work. You need the infrastructure. LeBron has passed the point where every offense is the LeBron offense. Although sometimes when he has the ball, you can, you can still see it, but that can’t be every possession. And the Cavs have a good infrastructure in place that, that LeBron can accentuate. Cavs are top. What are they? Top three. Top five and three point attempts, as is. Buddy, get LeBron on the block. Drawn two, LeBron getting into the lane at will. I mean those, those shots are only going to get prettier for guys like Sam Merrill, Max Struse, you know, and I would argue on the De’Andre hunter point, given the way things are going right now, Boy, is it hard for the Cavs to keep their toes in both waters right now. Right? Because frankly, De’Andre Hunter’s not. I mean, he’s hurt right now, so we’ll see. But he hasn’t been helping you win games a ton this year. And Jaylon Tyson’s just straight up better basketball player right now. Even if you try to keep De’Andre Hunter engaged, basically string him along at this point, he, he recognizes that at this point, I think Jaylon Tyson has surpassed him in the hierarchy and that’s a tough thing to come back from. If, you know, if the Cavs saw the Celtics down the line and De’Andre Hunter is whatever, like a seventh or eighth man instead of that fifth member of a closing lineup that we thought he was going to be. And Jaylon Tyson looks more like that guy right now. I still wonder, like, what are you getting out of him when you need him in the Celtics series, right when you up those minutes, can you. There’s a legitimate possibility that they could lose him, lose him from an engagement standpoint between now and then, we’ve seen he’s. He’s been riding the roller coaster this year with his jumper. The effort has come and gone. Chris was out on here talking about how De’Andre was upset about his role change at the beginning of the season. And I will reiterate, Buddy, that was done to help you because when you play. But the other main creators, the Evans, the Dons, the Dariuses, mostly the Dons and Dariuses who have the ball in their hands a ton. Sometimes you get lost in the shuffle. They’re trying to get you more touches. So it’s, it’s tough to have it both ways there, man. Like if independent of the LeBron discussion, the De’Andre Hunter situation is very interesting. Once he gets back there, I guess there’s a little bit of a fresh slate which can be an opportunity for him. Could also be, man, more opportunities for Jaylen Tyson to show us how awesome he is and. Hmm, I’m not saying, just saying. The recent Cavs run has been really nice. De’Andre Hunter hasn’t played a couple games, hasn’t he? The vibes. The vibes are better, are they not?
Ethan Sands: I don’t think you’re far off there. I. I definitely think that the vibes have been like. You’ve seen De’Andre walking around, he’s still smiling, still communicating with the guys and all this.
Jimmy Watkins: And by the way, he’s been part of this upswing, like it’s a 15 game swing. I’m not putting this on him. That’s super not fair. But he’s been a contributor to bad vibes this year and the vibes are much better the last two games when he has a play.
Ethan Sands: I would argue in the last 14 games they’ve been pretty good. But Jimmy, to your point, the reason that I think that De’Andre would serve better as a defender, I know he’s been really bad as a defender at points this season, but I think the reason he would be better against the Boston Celtics is because one, he would be more so on the ball and two, Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum are not known for their off ball movement as much. Right. Say if he had to guard Peyton Pritchard or Sam Houser, De’Andre Hunter might be in trouble, but we know that wouldn’t be necessarily his assignment. So if the offense is kicking and he’s able to be competent on defense, which we know, he’s one of the best one on one defenders in the league when it comes to body to body, being physical and not getting caught off guard off ball, in that sense, I think he could contribute. And I think that’s what the Cavs are trying to balance right now in their thought process. But back to the LeBron thing really quickly before we move on. Look, Jimmy, not everyone in the city will react the same way tomorrow night, right? Some never fully forgave him for leaving, others Never forgave him for coming back and being right about coming back.
Jimmy Watkins: Right.
Ethan Sands: But here’s the truth at the time makes harder to argue against, right? You don’t have to pretend LeBron was perfect to acknowledge he was transformational and that even at 41, 42 years old, he would still be arguably the second best player on this basketball team. Four championships, two stints here, longevity we’ve never seen before, and a standard that still echoes through this organization. You can critique the choices that he’s made without dismissing the impact and what he could bring to this team. And I think that’s more so for people that would be questioning the decision for the Cavs to bring him back, questioning whether or not he deserves a third shot in the city that they so gratefully and truly cheer for and all these things. But at the end of the day, what you were cheering for, what you are cheering for is winning. And if LeBron James can impact that, if LeBron James can make this Cavs team better, that’s the best choice to be made. But there’s another player who the Cavs are counting on to help them win games. And it’s not De’Andre Hunter. It’s not LeBron James. It’s Evan Mobley, the guy who the Cavs have pinned their future on since they drafted him, number three overall. He’s a player that the Cavs have talked about. We go where he goes or where he brings us to, right? And the Cavs have hoped for an offensive leap. He started to try and figure out this offensive focal point thing. Has he been consistent? Always. No. Has he had flashes? Yes. And I think that’s the biggest thing for Evan Mobley. But like this Cavs team, like this Cavs season, one step forward, two steps back. So the Cavs reported and announced on Tuesday that Evan Mobley injured his left calf during Monday’s game versus the Orlando Magic. And MRI on Tuesday revealed a strain and Evan Mobley will begin treatment and is expected to miss approximately one to three weeks. It’s notable, Jimmy, that this is the same calf that Evan Mobley injured in December that had him out from December 13th to December 25th. When he came back earlier than the two week window to play on Christmas Day. And I know everybody was looking in shock because he was supposed to be two to four weeks because they actually gave us a grade on that one. They said it was a grade one left Cav string. And now he’s out again and obviously with the All Star break coming up and the Cavs trying to make A push to be in the top four in the Eastern Conference when it’s all said and done come the 82 game season. I think this Cavs team is going to be extremely cautious with him because especially not only is it a Cav string, but we’ve seen around the NBA how calf strains can turn into something worse. And I think the Cavs have had too many. We dodged the bullets this year, right? Darius Garland aggravating another toe. Right, Evan Mobley aggravating a calf again rather than tearing an Achilles. Like those are positive things when you talk about the extent of how things could have panned out. But the only positive that came from Tuesday’s news is that Sam Merrow and De’Andre Hunter are probable for Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. But the Cavs will be without Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Max Truce. And of course that biggest name being Evan Mobley.
Jimmy Watkins: Yeah, this is a huge, huge loss for the Cavs given where they are in their season. Evan has huge for the Cavs because he is the anchor of their defense in a way that can’t be replaced. I love Jared Allen. Evan Mobley’s different on the defensive end. So I have questions about the defense now. I think you’re going to need Dean Wade more than ever. Um, I think De’Andre on defense will be more important than ever. Naquan Tom and all these guys. It’s a step up for all. And De’Andre’s on both ends. I mean, we thought Donovan Mitchell’s load was. Was heavy before. My goodness. Put the cape on, man. And De’Andre Hunter, now would be a great time to figure it out. Right? Sam Merrill, great time for you to come back and start hitting some jumpers on down the line. It’s a, it’s a step up for basically every player behind him in the rotation on both sides of the court. Now for him, it sucks. First of all, because it seemed like he was starting to put it together a little bit. At least get back to what we were seeing last year minus the jump shooting, which again, I don’t really know what to think of the Evan Mobley jump shot at this point. We have one good season of extended good shot making with undecent volume. We have the rest of his career that shows his sets kind of iffy. The shot looks flat to me. The free throws have not been great this year either. I don’t know, there’s always been. It seems like there’s always kind of been a hitch in the form, but that’s neither there important Thing was, he was playing through contact. He was getting downhill. He had. He had rediscovered the things that he does best. He was putting those things to a habit. He was doing it over and over and over again. Not always four quarters. We saw the Kings game where he was incredible the entire night. We haven’t really seen that since. It’s been flashes, but it’s been more flashes. And now this is going to interrupt that. And we know that his confidence has been a little bit fragile in the past. So I won. I worry a little bit about what he looks like comes back. The other thing is Yahoo. Sports Tom Aberstroke, who also does. I don’t know if he does the color commentary or he just does special stats for the Blazers broadcast. He wrote a story earlier this year about how NBA teams are just more scared than ever about calf injuries. Right. Because we saw what happened to Tyrese Halliburton in the Finals. We know the story with KD in the. In the finals back in 2019. Oddly enough, those are, I think, the only. The only two instances we have of documented instances we have of calf injuries directly relating to Achilles tears in recent years. But, I mean, that Tyrese Halliburton image left an impression on everyone across the league. No one’s messing around with it. And I think that’s part of the reason why we were also surprised to see Evan Mobley back so quick the first time around is because the rest of the league is playing it about as conservative as you possibly can with these calf injuries. And Evan came back. I mean, in the Knicks game in particular, he was getting his rhythm back. But during this stretch since that calf injury, that’s been his best stretch of the season. Right. Now that it’s back, you never like to see those things re aggravated. And I think the Cavs will be as careful as possible going forward with this one, but we’re going to have to see how it looks, too. You never want that to play a role, but I think it’s unrealistic to say it doesn’t. Right. Cavs really, really struggle without Evan. It’s a different evaluation timeline for him personally. He will push harder to come back sooner if they are struggling without him. And it just was feeling like they were starting to figure out a formula without Darius again. Was it pretty? No. Was the offense humming like it was last year? No, but they were. They were putting some wins together. They were playing good defense, and now the formula just gets shaken up in all crazy directions. They kind of have to rediscover new identity. Without one of their, their most important player on defense and one of their most important players on offense. We’re back to. I feel like this is a. They’re in a precarious position again as well as they’ve been playing recently. This is going to be a, A gut check in a season full of gut checks. No. No shortage of tests of adversity here. I’m concerned. You can hear my voice. I’m concerned.
Ethan Sands: Yeah. And I think it’s rightfully so, Jimmy, like you mentioned it early on, like, it’s not just Evan Mobley’s going to miss time. It’s. It’s going to affect the entire roster. Right. And it’s not only Evan Mobley’s going to be out for a while. You immediately were like, all right, De’Andre Hunter, you got to come back. Sam Merrow, you got to come back. Like, these guys are going to have pressure. You talked about Evan Mobley trying to rush back. Sam Merrill is going to want to play on Wednesday. He’s going to want to play heavy. He might be a starter. He might come back and be playing 25, 30 minutes the first game back. And that’s not necessarily realistic to ask someone who’s coming back from an injury that not only sidelined them for a week or more, but also the same injury that he was out for over a month for.
Jimmy Watkins: Right.
Ethan Sands: And then De’Andre Hunter, you know, he’s had knee issues his entire career and you’re going to ask him to, hey, not only can you get back to where you were offensively coming in, but can you do more defensively as well? Dean Wade had ice galore when we were in there after Monday’s game. Had an ice pack on his left shoulder. Had an ice pack on his knees like he was banged up. And I think Dean Wade deserves more credit than anybody because he’s willing to play through damn near anything. Because we know that from the Boston Celtics series two years ago now when he came back and then after the season, said there were still some things wrong with his knee. He was basically playing on one leg. We call these the dog days of the NBA for a reason. A lot of injuries take place during this little period. It’s cold. People get sick. People are trying to just get to the All Star break, begging, pleading, trying to get to the All Star break so they can have a little extra time off. You got. They were asking a lot from Jaylon Tyson before. A second year player that is basically a rookie is going to be tasked with guarding LeBron at points tomorrow is going to be tasked with scoring at least 15 to 20 points tomorrow or Luka Doncic, by all means. Jaylon Tyson is going to be out.
Jimmy Watkins: Austin Reeves too could be back. Austin Reeves.
Ethan Sands: Austin Reaves is out tomorrow. Austin Reaves is out. Shams was incorrect. Austin Reaves is out.
Jimmy Watkins: Damn. Shams swinging and missing recently.
Ethan Sands: I’m not going to touch that with a ten foot hole. But the injury report from the Lakers says that Austin Reeves is out with that calf injury as well.
Jimmy Watkins: Strom’s spending too much time getting jumpers up, getting ready for the celebrity All Star Game. Need more time confirming these injury reports. I’m sorry, I’m picturing Shams like Jordan Poole in the meme where Jordan Poole sees the baddies in the crowd. Shams looks to the side. K. Adams. K Adams is sitting courtside. Shams lifts his hand, gets some some traction on the bottom of the soles and Shams turns up. It gives Kevin hart like a 18 to 25 points. I assume Kevin Hart’s still in it every year. I haven’t watched this game in five years, but I’ll at least scroll the Internet looking for a sham celebrity game clip. I’m still not watching this thing. It’s an abomination. But it used to be fun. It used to actually be fun. Like back when to would play they used to have you have like real, real crossover athletes in the game. Now I feel like honestly the celebrity All Star game makes me feel old because I see the roster. I’m like these are, these are celebrities. Oh dear.
Ethan Sands: Yeah, that, that in the creator league games for like TikTok stars that like former athletes starring tiktoks. Not like it’s jaw dropping to me some, some of the things that they’re putting on trying to get more people to tune in, more viewership. They can’t even get people to the NBA dunk contest. How about we focus on that first? Anyway, to the point of the lineups of Wednesday’s game. Like I would not be surprised if the Cavs started Donovan, Sam, Jaylon, Dean and Jared out. That would be my ideal starting lineup tomorrow. And we know Donovan’s not going to tell us if he’s dealing with anything. We know he’s going to be dealing with fatigue. So there’s that. But Sam Merrill coming back from injury. Dean Wade always playing through injury. De’Andre Hunter coming back from injury. Still waiting to hear an update on Max Strus. All these things. Jimmy, I think you said it really well. This team has dealt with adversity in a season where the Cavs needed some adversity to see how they were going to respond, how they were going to act, how they were going to be prepared for the playoffs and what the adversity might come. There’s no better example than this season.
Jimmy Watkins: And then we haven’t. I mean, I think we’ve said it, but I don’t think we’ve hammered home Jared Allen. Man, it’s time. It’s time. It’s time for you to turn back into Mr. Dependable, who brings the energy every single night. This is, this is a little rem. It’s very reminiscent actually of the stretch where Darius and Evan were out for six weeks apiece a couple of years ago, the end of December into January, and him and Donovan took the league by storm for a little bit. The Cavs, Donovan especially needs Jarrett. They need him to produce. They were already. I’m already finding myself looking up at the, at the humongotron as they call it, and, and looking at the point tools, I’m just like, who else is going to score? It’s, it’s really, it’s oftentimes since Sam and De’Andre have been out, especially it’s like Donovan, Evan, Jaylon, Bueller, anyone else. And who else is, who else is going to help us with Jared Allen needs to, whether it’s garbage guy, buckets put backs, outrunning other bigs down the floor, rolling hard like he just has to. Everything he does has to be magnified a little bit more now because. Oh yeah, yeah. The saving grace here is that this All Star Game is a little over two weeks away. So that’ll be an extended. The, the back part of this, toward the back part of this Evan Mobley absence. The Cavs will just be off. They just have to survive to the offensive break. By the way, I don’t know if it was Monday or the game before that, but I’ve already heard Donovan telling people in the locker room, nine more games. Nine more games till they all star break. Like, these guys are fricking tired, man. Him in particular, no one has carried the load heavier than him on this team. So. Oh boy. There’s no more injuries. No more injuries. They can’t, they can’t withstand another one. And Donovan picked a good year to be in mid season shape to start the season, I guess. And the whole, the whole reign him in thing, that’s gone out the window. They just need him to, they need him at his best to survive right now.
Ethan Sands: And Jimmy, you mentioned it there. If Cavs fans came in and hoping for a dog fight. Well, you’re going to get a rock fight fight in half because this Cavs team, they haven’t won pretty in a while and it’s going to stay ugly for a minute. But if you are a fan that wants to see something beautiful or take respect into what is happening on Wednesday night, the past walks into the building wearing purple and gold and the Cavs are going to honor him in an era with jerseys that remind everyone where this journey really began. Jimmy the present asks for patience, right? The future is healing because what really matters for tomorrow’s game, what really matters for Wednesday is that it shows that timelines don’t really wait. It’s not linear, right? Nobody knows what’s going to happen. And it’s not about remembering what was, especially for this CAS organization, while still paying homage to one what was the only championship in 2016. But it’s also trying to protect what still could be for this organization, what could be coming down the line. And that’s not necessarily LeBron. That’s not necessarily Evan Mobley. It’s Donovan Mitchell being on the court and trying to preserve what is possible and showing the organization, the fan base, the NBA, that he can lead a team to where they want to go. But we’ll have to find out if he can match up with one of the best in the NBA. And I’m not talking about LeBron. I’m talking about Luka. But with all that being said, that’ll wrap up today’s episode of the Watch and Gold Talk podcast. But remember to become a Cavs insider and interact with Chris, me and Jimmy by subscribing to something. Sign up for 4014 day free trial or visit cleveland.com Cavs and click on the blue bar at the top of the page. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. All you have to do is text the word stop. It’s easy, but we can tell you that the people who sign up stick around because this is the best way to get insider coverage on the Cavs from me, Chris and Jimmy. This isn’t just our podcast, it’s your podcast. And the only way to have your voice heard is through crew subtext. Y’ all be safe. We out.