Lakers fire Darvin Ham, is Brunson a superstar, Joel Embiid's legacy | NBA | FIRST THINGS FIRST

something's good BR, do you want to go where the Lakers go from here? I'm not saying Daram was Red Arbach, okay, you keep saying no. My point is this Ty L, who do you want. Yes, you have one year left on this deal. the Clippers even if he doesn't coach the Clippers, which I don't know why he wouldn't next year, you think Balmer Steve Balmer, his owner is letting him go in the hall and the coach knows it, so my point is this instead of bringing in a retread or JJ reck, who knows what he could do, let Ham stay one more year if it doesn't go well then you can get him, what if you bring someone in next year?

Boen Hoser Reed, whoever and you don't know he's okay. it's like it's this year and then Ty is available now you're GNA, but you can't if you bring LeBron back, which they want, you can't do anything saying, I get it, you know, year 22 is going to be a pattern of wait and then we will do it, but you don't know what you are like. I just don't see any names out there, there's no Phil Jackson, do you know who I am? Saying that's fair, that's all I say, but I listen. I don't think Darham is the main culprit for the Lakers' season being over.

I think the biggest culprit is the tie that those who tied in the

first

round are the Nuggets. I know it sounds weird coming to me because I said if they were ever going to beat him, they should want to play him in the

first

round, but it was obviously the toughest possible first round matchup they could get. I think the second biggest culprit and you can. You won't blame the draft, it's the front office, you can read chapter and verse on this year's Miss Draft pick, the guy is taking, you know, three of the three picks directly after JHS, Jayen Hood, Chafino, who the Lakers took, everyone contributed this season, you can look back. to the fact that the Lakers drafted Jaden McDaniels and then traded him for Dennis Schruder, may you remember the fact that I watched last night, I know they lost, but hee dude, who was acquired mid-season for nothing like a team that was trying to get someone, the Mavericks, who I think we'll see for quite some time this postseason, remade their team without not paying for future first-round picks and making these moves, the Lakers didn't do any of that, so that I make the front office the most responsible unfortunately the front office seems to be Jeanie Bus, Linda Rambis and sponsored in her bus family, uh, Rob Palinka, so they're not going to be responsible, so you look at the coach in boss and you say, did we think this? year in which he got the most out of the team.

We cannot disagree. I personally don't, and then the next thing is whether we think it's fair or not, and I think it's fair that the team was the one that the players had parted ways with. If that's true and I think Darin, if there was any chance of saving his job, no matter how small, has the responsibility of having made a recorded quote saying without saying that it was Austin Reeves, we know who he's talking about. Austin Reeves was whistling. in bed with Dave McManaman, I had to know, so I'm not going to feel bad for him.

I don't think he did a great job and I don't think he connected with his guys and I think in the end I think he never did a good job of doing what I need to do to be better, it was a lot of what they needed to play harder. I think sometimes he did that and at the end of the season, who else was bringing it up? LeBron's injuries after they lost to the Nuggets LeBron was like, look, it was hard to know what we could be because every time you know, someone got hurt here, then we recovered and someone got hurt again, we were never complete.

I say this too, Nick. whether it's Darham or whoever, a front office can empower a coach and they never did that with Ham and I get it, there's no Pat Riley there, but we saw Pat Riley do it with his exposure, yeah, when the players wanted him

fire

d , he said, look if you're going to win, it's going to be with this guy, so they had no choice but to listen to CH's coach and buy the Lakers, they could have done that with h, but the front office is looking for a goat scapegoat is Notre, they are right, they are looking for it, let's put the blame somewhere else and again changing coaches every two years is ridiculous and Wilds says no, I'm not going to move on, no, you have a good tweet.

I saw it in your preparation. I think it actually speaks to the problems, I know, but since that supports your opinion, I don't want to start a fight so early in the day, no, but at 3:00, wait, wait, you're the tiger, I got it, I've got it all, just sit there. licking, can we post a tweet? I wrote the Bill Simmons tweet, here it is, what we're talking about, the front office moves were the Bill Simmons tweet, but go ahead, okay, then you shouldn't have picked them to be successful this year if that's the way . How I felt about the front office and they shouldn't have had a big piece of the title pie and they should have taken the Lakers and six instead of the Nuggets because all the problems you talked about existed before everyone had all this optimism and then once He went down the tubes because some people could see yours, he suddenly changes and says we needed Alex Caruso, well you didn't need him two weeks ago when the Lakers in seven were trending and had a big slice of the title pie. and LeBron can compete for a championship and you're saying they're the second best team, so now everything's changed and poor Rob Pinka's like, "Oh, geez, I shouldn't have traded Kcp seven years ago, whatever that was, No". so wait, but I guess this is where this and it's not going to start a fight, but this is where you can have multiple ideas in someone's head at the same time.

I thought this was not a very well-coached team and a poorly constructed second half of the squad. I won't call B, you know what I mean, I thought he was going to win the champion, well no, no, I never picked him to win the championship. I said I picked them to beat Denver. The Nuggets coming into this series is what I did. I made the mistake of I guess the mistake is fair. You know what I believe. This is the best player I have ever seen. He is healthy and I think he will have an incredible last act. on him and he's going to do it despite all that, isn't he, for example, Wilds, the 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the worst put together teams I've ever seen.

I thought the Kyrie Irving trade was a joke, what they got from him. They remade the template on the fly. I chose that team to go to the finals because I thought LeBron could carry it. He did it. The East was weak and the East was weak and LeBron was brilliant. That didn't mean at the end of it. year I couldn't say Kobe Alman, you did a bad job and now that team I thought was well coached by tyo and this is where the point and the point Bruise in the season tournament or when people like Vogle won a championship, sometimes you can Getting through training sometimes people may even believe that you'll get through training, but that doesn't mean that when the season is over you don't want to have a sober receiver and that would be, in my opinion, saying "oh, now you want the Chiefs to upgrade your receiver." ". they won the Super Bowl like no, they did it despite it, but they still need to improve there even if the Lakers had beaten the Nuggets.

I wouldn't have thought that oh daring Ham is a great coach, maybe he would have done something in the series that I changed my mind, but it would have been hard for me to believe, that's where I am, okay, okay, we have replacements or no you don't have anyone, that's my point, it will be a retread or someone we have no idea about. Whether or not you can cache JJ Reddit, that's the only option I'm on. Every coach they bring in will always have been criticized at some point to the same degree, if not more, than Darvin Ham Mike Boser Kenny Ainson Phil Handy each.

It would be that Cel has paid his dues. It would be interesting. I think Sam should have been out. You're right that guys, if they hire someone who already has a job, they will have been criticized sooner than those other guys will have. In my opinion, Ham didn't do it, there are also people who were like, "Hey, this guy was great at this, this guy was great during this time, people loved what Kenny Ainson did with the Nets before the trade, People appreciated it, yes, but that was completely different." There was a group of guys that weren't as talented, that's a different type of coach than a team with LeBron and AD, for sure, and I totally agree.

My point is that at least those guys would have a job interview and you have references of people that I would call to support them and people would call to say I'm not sure. I don't think Darin would be applying for a job right now. I don't think there were many people who said, "Hey, here's what I loved what he did with the Lakers, here's what his brilliance was. I don't think that was there. The bottom line is they were looking for a scapegoat. This It wasn't a horrible season for the Lakers, they just met the defending champions.

If they hadn't been champions in the first round, we both think they could possibly make it to the finals or at least the Conference Finals. This wasn't a terrible year. , but they feel like they got out early, so we have someone who has to pay the price, that's all, it wasn't going to be the buses, it wasn't going to be pink, it certainly wasn't going to be the star players, but all of them. They also have some responsibility, so I, but don't do it, but do you think scapegoat is the term that bothers me because scapegoat implies that someone didn't deserve it?

Yeah, totally innocent like innocent. I think I'm not saying that he was. innocent. I think Rob Binka is leading the way. He throws the blame pie, but after that, I know people and they'd be like, oh, we're not going to put anything on LeBron's feet. I think LeBron played up to his ability this postseason and I think all year long he looked like he was somewhere between eighth and eighth. the twelfth best player in the league I don't think he let the Lakers down. I don't think Anthony Davis let the Lakers down. If the Lakers' plan was that we needed that guy to be the best player in the league, then they overestimated a guy. who is about to turn 40, I think the coach let the Lakers down, I do, I don't think that makes him a scapegoat, okay, head to the east coast where Jaylen Brunson scored 41 points to send the Sixers home to Philadelphia. last four games RW 41 40 47 and 39 and has put the team on his back for the most field goal attempts in the last 20 postseasons that's the MVP Russ J Luca and LeBron, are you ready to say it's a Superstar?

Well, that's LeBron, the J Brunson like you said. By the numbers, it was phenomenal 35 and nine 40 points in the last three games 41 and 12 in a close, but no, oh, G was slower, slower because having a postseason like this doesn't mean you're a

superstar

, that's fair. Trey young shows off a Trey because here's Trey young and here's the difference between Trey and Rick or Jaylen one of the

things

one of the

things

just Lun we did it ahead here's the thing with Jaylen if he would have come if he would have been A lottery pick and come into the league and have been a star, then a postseason like this may have made you say he's going to be a

superstar

, but when you come in as a second-round pick, you spend four years as a role player, nobody. he thinks you're going to be a star i need to see more he's similar quickly to brock pie like me as much as i like pie i've called him a superstar not just league MP well that's fine but you could be that without being a the superstar we saw happen and J's candidate, Isaiah Thomas, is not the legend, the other one from Boston was an MVP candidate one year, so my point is that he has to do more and I mentioned Trey Young for this reason, Trey Young was chosen in the lottery.

Trey Young. It was B Hood, straight out of college. Trey Young came straight into the league and gave you 19 and nine and in his third season in the he went to the outfield and lit it up like we were saying the same thing. Reggie, it was Reggie he faced. the fans in the yard were chanting exploit against him and he took him down, then the next round he goes out and takes out Jo Embiid, then he takes Giannis and the Bucks who won the championship that year to six games and he averaged like 29 and nine during that time, that's true.

I ask you: Is Trey Young a superstar? No, but if the next year he had followed up with another good run in the playoffs, he would have been on the Knicks, they went to the second round two years ago. I'm in a row, that's what I mean, I'm not going to hold out, I'm not going to be a victim of Madison Square, let me finish, or the New York pixie dust Nicks, everything that happens in New York is magnified and I'm sure New York The media, which It's a lot of the national media in New York, it's GNA, oh my God.

I heard someone say today that I respect that. He will finish. He might end up being the best Nick ever. Can we stop? Well, that's that part. Can you take it to the conference finals? That is too much. He's better than Clyde Fraser. Patrick Y and Willis Reed. Well, and he's no better than Melo. Still, I agree that those guys are not okay. That part of the last one flourished. I'm glad you said:"Let me". I finished because I'm glad you said I agree. I think even though you're looking at Jaylen through a prism, I don't see it that way.

I don't see this as a year. about two years ago, well, two years ago, he was the second best player in a conference finalist last year for the first time in his career, he has his own team, so to speak, he gets them to win the playoff round for the first time time in a long time and He's very good in that postseason this year. He has a great year from start to finish on a team plagued with injuries and he has to be offensive because he will be an NBA player, probably second team and finish fifth or sixth in MVP voting and then in the postseason, this Four-game Run Brew is better than anything Trey has ever liked, if I may show you four games Run in context for a moment 35 and five in four straight playoff games Braun did it once Jordan did it twice times jaylen is doing it now for both braon and jordan that was before they started winning you know it was a similar style to this. about just averaging a 40 point double double in four straight playoff games look at the company he keeps, his legendary players and I'm not saying Russ isn't a legendary player, that one year was the year Russ had to do everything and so then I'll just show you the list of names in the Superstar club and then the potential new members Brew because I'm looking at it and again it comes out in 10 days a week starting Monday it will debut.

I am looking. three guys and I won't say them, I think they're completely out, well, I don't think there's three more deserving guys than Jayen on the right side, so I think, I mean, obviously, Ant-Man and SJ are in, there's no ask again, I think we're going to have to talk to the doormen, but I imagine if well, that's it, I don't think Murray or I and I said it Murray or Brunson not yet, I'm not willing to say. Superstar but all the fame yesterday. There is something about Nar, let's go to Emid. Does early departure impact Embiid's

legacy

?

I mean, obviously, every playoff year you know when you're still in your window and he's in his window, it impacts his

legacy

. I have to be. Honestly, I thought he blew his ass. I didn't think this was the

embiid

we've seen in previous postseasons where he feels like wherever the guy you know he woke up and gave you 30 every night. I thought we could show you his career. in the playoffs, which is disappointing, I get it: a losing record in the playoffs and 25 points per game when you know he's below his career average, but then you look at this series and recognize the context in which he wasn't up to par. 100%.

And I think the bells The Game Thing had to impact him in some way, like his lower body and his face. He had a Migra at one point, so he's dealing with a lot of things, so I and in the sixth game, two of your starting five scored zero, Kyle Lowry and Tobias Harris. he scored zero, so when I look at Joel Embiid's career I'm not going to be like a man and remember that series against the Knicks when they got eliminated in the first round, that's not how I felt and he could have been better in some fourth round . fourths, obviously, and it seemed like he, you know, wore himself down a little bit, but I thought Joel was the best six, as good as Maxi was in the fifth game.

I thought he was clearly the best six in the series, especially when you look at the plus minus. and the series ends up being Wilds might get mad at me for this, maybe it's just a Lakers thing, you know, a point like this was as close to a six-game series as one can get, so look, it only had four . ass actions yesterday okay this guy but no I agree with a lot of what Nick said, 33 points per game in the playoffs, career high, you know, he played F, he played well, especially dealing with the injuries in this playoff series, my feelings about Joel.

Embiid Honestly, I haven't changed one bit positively or negatively because I have to weigh the injury factor to some extent now, what I'm saying now is, going forward, I'm like he's, I'm preparing for, he's going to get injured. , yes So mom has Maxi, who we know will be very good, a very good partner, Robin, they are going to get another boy this summer, so I'm not looking, I'm looking for Joel MB, maybe to put numbers. playoffs, but I'm always going to need a maxi guy, another guy that does real damage because he's just, not me, he's just banged up.

I'm GNA, I'm counting on him getting beaten quickly every postseason with a horse. The idea came up that Philadelphia is keeping tabs on Jimmy Butler. Do you like that meeting? Heard. I personally think I think Jimmy could be H. I think the wall could hit Jimmy hard. I'm getting a lot older, yeah, yeah, just the style of play and the whole thing, I think he's getting there, yeah, and people are giving him a hard time because, you know, he didn't do his best in the regular season. . I think part of that is that he knows what's left in his body.

I think that's similar. to MB like, do you want your two, two of your three guys? Paul George is the most obvious, you know what I mean, that makes sense on a longer timeline, on a shorter timeline. Without a doubt, he would shake the Kevin Durant tree as hard as I would. They should absolutely try to trade for Durant, that should be the number one option because you say a longer and shorter timeline since we can't treat him like he's 30, yeah you have to treat him like he's 34 because you see how the body is. Durant would be perfect, there would be no adjustment period, you know, you can fit him in perfectly.

He will give you 25 to 30 points. Do you know what Maxi does? Do you know what MB does? That's option number one, number two, you and Paul George. call Rich Paul about LeBron like, hey, you know, bronny, you know, is there a place in Nova or somewhere in the corral? Thanks for watching, subscribe here to learn more about the show and see clips from other shows on FS1.