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  • the one the only Jalen Rose with his reaction to all of this, because the hardened piece of this is fascinating.

  • Hello, Jay.

  • So let's talk about it.

  • If James Harden finds his way to Brooklyn with K D and Kyrie Irving, we don't know exactly what they have to give up.

  • But does that become, in your opinion, a championship team?

  • It becomes a championship level team because it's in the Eastern Conference, not necessarily a favorite to do it all.

  • And the one thing that you're seeing greeny is the power dynamics in the West.

  • If you look at the top tier teams, the Lakers have LeBron and a D.

  • The Clippers have Kawai in PG, but then, when you look down deeper, each team has a special all star level player, including James Harden, Luca Donkeys, Dame Lillard, John Moran, Donovan Mitchell, Yokich for the Nuggets.

  • So each team has that special player.

  • When you go to the Eastern Conference on Lee, the first four or five teams actually have that.

  • When Michael Jordan left the east in the early two thousands, it became a revolving door bond.

  • Then LeBron James took over and he made it to the finals nine straight years.

  • If you look at the East, it's a revolving door again.

  • Kawai goes to Toronto, wins the championship, the Miami Heat, make the MBA finals, and so for James James Harden for him to not only leave Houston, he's also leaving the Western Conference.

  • That's going to give them a better chance to get to the finals.

  • I hear you, but I'm looking at the at the trio, right?

  • I mean, if those three guys are together, if K D is totally healthy and everyone that we've heard from says that he looks really good working his way back from the Achilles, if he is totally healthy and Harden and Kyrie, you tell me if you think the mix works, because if it does, that's as good as anybody.

  • Even including the teams in the West, it's outstanding firepower because you have K D and Harden, two of the best scores in today's game, multiple times scoring champions, guys that get buckets in their sleep and Kyrie Irving, one of the best ball handling isolation players in the league.

  • And again, I'm I know that we're talking about hardened either one to go team up with D'Antoni it with the Nets or with Daryl Morey again with the Sixers, but in a vacuum greeny.

  • I don't love it.

  • Let me repeat that in a vacuum.

  • I don't love it Now, if you're the Houston Rockets, you better not be doing a deal for James Harden and don't include Kyrie Irving.

  • So I don't see those three actually playing together.

  • But if it does happen, here's what we're gonna see.

  • One guy with the ball and the other two guys watching.

  • And James Harden is not going to change his style of play after being somebody just averaged 35 points a game.

  • And also Kyrie Irving, you have to now integrate with K D.

  • Who is coming off an injury.

  • And guess what KD ain't trying to do.

  • Watch those two guys dribble all day.

  • He left playing with the Splash Brothers, The Splash Brothers, Greedy.

  • That's the funnest style of play, probably in the history of modern day basketball.

  • So for you to leave Golden State to go to the net, it ain't gonna be toe watch.

  • Kyrie and James Harden dribble all day.

  • I'm with you and I agree with that part and it will be fascinating to watch the dynamic if it happens.

  • One more thing.

  • The idea of hardened going there.

  • I saw some a note from you yesterday that said that this is a perfect illustration of why some of the older basketball players guys like yourself.

  • They don't love what we're seeing in the league right now.

  • What does that mean?

  • Basically, what ends up happening?

  • Greeny is the elite level M V P.

  • Caliber players like James Harden.

  • You hope that they stay in Houston and continue tohave them, be one of the top three teams in the West and ultimately build something around him that allows him to break through when you have a top tier player like that that up roots from a franchise because he feels like he can't lift them anymore and then not only leaves the team, but he leaves the conference, What does that do to the Rockets?

  • The one thing we do in the media and fans, we play fantasy basketball, and it's like, Okay, we're gonna put James with the Nets.

  • Okay, so now what about the Rockets?

  • And so we're gonna look up in multiple years and most of the elite players that have ring chased in this era are gonna have championships.

  • And that's a beautiful thing if you're the current player.

  • But if you're going to compete in the Western Conference and you're James Harden, they're clearly going to need to build some more help around him.

  • He sees that that probably is not going to take place.

  • So he's not just trying to leave Houston greeny.

  • He's also trying to escape the Western Conference.

  • I get it.

  • Jalen and Jacoby today and every day, two o'clock Eastern here on ESPN.

  • But before we let you go, Jalen people, they want to be a Renaissance man, right?

  • Like yourself.

  • The Renaissance man.

  • Here's a little tip.

  • This was Jalen Rose during our break as we were getting ready to come on here.

  • This this is what ISAT a goblin.

  • What exactly is it that you were drinking from there?

  • I got to get a little video of this.

  • What is it?

  • Well, this is one of those things that when I was poor growing up, I was like, you know, you used to go into the refrigerator.

  • We had great Kool Aid, Cherry Kool Aid and all of that.

  • And every now and then I sneak a little sip.

  • And then my mother caught me doing it, and she slapped me.

  • And so I was like, If I make it to the league one day, I'm gonna be able to drink out of whatever dish I want in my crib.

  • So that's just what I'm okay.

  • I'm just making sure Molly is aware of this, and she's comfortable with it, and we're all good.

  • We got no issues on that front.

  • Oh, no.

  • Don't tell her.

  • No.

  • I think you're the best.

  • Thank you for watching ESPN on YouTube for live streaming sports and premium content.

  • Subscribe to ESPN, plus.

the one the only Jalen Rose with his reaction to all of this, because the hardened piece of this is fascinating.

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