ESPN’s Dave McMenamin Talks LeBron, Bronny, USA Basketball & More with Rich Eisen | Full Interview

Dave McManaman joining us from Las Vegas Nevada where Wednesday nights um what showcase wown between Team USA and Team Canada joining us here from the worldwide leader in sports good to see you Dave how are you sir I'm I'm doing well I'm not doing as well as you know Steph and LeBron and AD after getting the full wind up dap from the uh the president of the United States yeah I'm doing okay very doing better than a handshake out here yeah well that is good very good uh Hey listen um you're set you're sit down with LeBron James uh how did you find LeBron um when you sat down with him tell me tell me what you gleaned from a guy who's been around this guy for a while he's someone and you know this quite well Rich being around you know sports figures that kind of have an outside influence with their presence um he recognizes his ability to push button um if he's not necessarily happy about his lot his situation he did none of that in my sit down with him on Sunday uh listen the Lakers are an imperfect team right now there's a lot of work to be done to really talk about them as a true Championship Contender LeBron chose not to express that to me when I asked them about it and to me that's an olive branch to Jeanie bus and to Rob pinka um there will be a time I'm sure if this roster looks the exact same as it does right now and the Lakers aren't shooting up the Western Conference standings that he has the Playbook and he knows the buttons to push in the public sphere to apply pressure to to try to coer Rob pinka Genie bus and the Lakers brass to make some moves but he didn't choose to make that call right now and um you know perhaps is a sign of both sides looking forward to having a less Rocky partnership over what could be the final stage of his career well I mean I'm glad to hear he's happy they they drafted his son they gave him $100 million over two years the coach that got uh hired one would think LeBron had um I don't know how would you term it you know approval um or you know handpicked or or none of the above Dave I certainly wouldn't use the term handpicked um approval for sure he put his approval online um through you know stamping that mind the game podcast with JJ with his endorsement that this is someone that speaks the game on the level that he does and LeBron's long been considered to have one of the greatest basketball cues we've ever seen in the sport and so of course the approval part was there listen I you know maybe I'm drinking the Kool-Aid too much here but I actually believe that LeBron and JJ did not have a discussion behind the scenes about what JJ should be telling Rob and genie in the interview process and what he needs to know about coaching the Lakers when he was interested in the job just because LeBron knows that virtually everything that he does ends up getting back to the public sphere at some point and I I think he has become Savvy enough to know that he can sidet some stuff and it doesn't mean that JJ didn't speak to anyone else associated with LeBron I'm not reporting that but like that could have occurred and there could have been a surrogate for whatever LeBron's feelings were but you know I I tend to actually believe that they didn't have a discussion until after JJ was offered the job from Rob pinka at that point you know just kind of let's let's get to work and the important thing and LeBron did make note of this when we sat down to bring it up they hired Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan and so JJ's not flying blind as a first-time head coach he has one guy who led the Thunder to the NBA finals and has years of experience on the bench another guy who helped coach the US Olympic teams on gold in Beijing and again plenty of experience on on the bench in McMillan and and so I think that is as important as the team hiring JJ in order to get LeBron's buay in going to the next year Dave McManaman here on the Rich Eisen show and what is your opinion of the Lakers Drafting bronny and how that came about if you want to just go factual as well I'll give you the floor and whatever you'd want to say on this subject matter Dave I I think he is the most discussed 55 pick in the history of the league there's no doubt about it there's no question about it there's no question and based on what we've seen so far did he earn a spot in the NBA um you know like what JJ said at his introductory press conference when bronnie said I just want to thank uh Rob and thank JJ for what they given me and JJ tried to you know correct the record and said no no no you earned this bronnie I I don't know if you can really say that based on his body of work at the NCA level and all the kids around the country and quite frankly around the world that ended up going undrafted that he earned it um what I truly believe and I you I've just seen him you know basically observed him as an older brother to his younger brother and his younger sister and you just kind of get a sense of someone's character that way and I've seen him from the time he was at my waist level or whatever you know four feet tall to where he is is now um over the last decade and and I believe he's a person of High character and I think what you can look to his concrete example of his determination to make it is coming back from a heart attack last summer and to put himself in position to even be playing basketball now yeah a lot of people could say that's should that be enough to get drafted into the NBA to League's glamour franchise maybe it's not but at the same time I don't see it's a bad play for the Lakers to put the investment into Bron if it means they're going to get a better version of LeBron and also like if we're going to have this conversation can we also acknowledge that janisan tupo has had his brother playing with him in Milwaukee for years now and I don't think that's caused nearly the same uproar that this Bry situation is currently no I I'm I'm again just so you're aware my my opinion of is is who who's who are we to say you know what I mean and I I think just nailed it that if you're going to get a better version of LeBron for the first you know for the first two years of Bron's career then that that alone means um so much and on top of it we have no idea what conversations they've had for years over the importance of this moment that would be uh I believe a highlight leader for the worldwide leader in sports as well as everybody else that is in business with the NBA if the two of them get on the court and one assists the other I mean we we'll be talking about that over any other result the night before in the NBA which is awesome so what do I care I I I don't again it's not as if LeBron is defrayed and they're doing this just to keep him around and it hurts the team um or they use the first round selection on him they didn't so of it is just as you said um an odd Spotlight for a 55th overall selection but their last name is James and we're talking about LeBron too so I just wanted to you know take a a minute here to so to round out our discussion with my opinion of it so uh what is and then we'll move on to the the rest of the summer league and the new Dream Team what what is the sense of what JJ reck's going to bring to this team like what's the vision here that you're hearing about with reic Dave I mean the name excuse me the word that keeps get thrown around is accountability um and then alongside that you know thinking the game um and whether that be through what JJ brings to the table in terms of out of timeout plays uh in terms of their overall schemes offensively and defensively in terms of rotations and substitution patterns that's all one part of it but you know they really want their players to be kind of starting this culture of if you play on the Lakers uh you are a player that understands the game at a higher level um it sounds great in a press conference Rob pink even suggested that they may develop some sort of app for the players to gamify JJ's offensive principles and so they could like on on some level be filling out questionnaires or or some sort of like video game on their phone in order to kind of reinforce the basketball knowledge he's trying to give to his players on a daily basis I mean maybe that's what basketball is in 2024 it sounded a little wonky to me personally but if the idea is pure as it is and you can find other ways to get your players to just become sharper in understanding the game I think it's kind of a noble uh first step in terms of what the Lakers aspire to be under JJ reic Dave McManaman here on the Rich Eisen show from Las Vegas what was it like in U in the building last night with the USA versus Canada Dave Rich it was amazing I I've been covering USA Basketball events since 2007 in Las Vegas and I thought it would be really hard to beat the blue white game that I covered in 2007 you had Kobe on one team LeBron on the other Kobe ends up hitting the game winner that was at the Thomas and Mack it's a smaller venue and it didn't have quite the buzz that this one did last night I mean there was sellout 20,000 plus USA chance fans on their feet when LeBron and Dylan Brooks started get into it a little bit the crowd was smart enough to know the history uh between LeBron and Dylan when Dylan was with the Memphis Grizzle and the Lakers played them in the playoffs a few years back honestly it was like it was a treat to cover and there's this's part of me as these Seasons get longer and longer like man do we really need to be in in a gym with NBA players in uh July right but that that was well worth the trip um to cover and um if this USA team continues to approach the rest of the runup to the Olympics and their time in France the way they did last night they're going to make their Mark as you know there will be an argument that they're the best USA basketball team in history I mean they're poised they are poised in in terms of obvious resume and I understand what the original Dream Team was and and stood for but they're certainly poised to to back that up Dave and that's that is a mouthful what was the chatter about Derek white over Jaylen Brown that you were hearing last night yeah I mean Grant Hill tried to diffuse the situation um with a joke that went over like a lead balloon in the room and you know obviously the insinuation here is that Jaylen Brown was left off the team because Nike made the decision and Jaylen Brown was critical of Nike online more than a year ago when they severed their relationship with Kyrie Irving after Kyrie Irving um shared uh that documentary on a social media channels that included some anti-semitic themes um Grant Hill goes well I was wearing feles for most of my career and look at me being part of Team USA and it just it didn't work to explain the situation now I I can say this there was consideration for Derek white before the finals was over before Jaylen Brown was named the NBA Finals MVP and he's been someone who's been a part of USA basketball from the you know under 18 Junior tournament level as well so it's not like just all of the sudden they decide that you know what we're not going with jayen brown because of the controversy and we want to sell SE sell sneakers and you know just to rub it even more so we're gonna take his teammate like this has been something that's been discussed by USA basketball now for months um because you also need to have contingency plans when uh you know that injuries is a part of the sport and so you know Derek White I'm sure whenever he speaks to the media for the first time um once he joins the team overseas he's gonna tell us that he wasn't necessarily caught off guard or shocked by this decision because I'm sure that Grant Hill and USA basketball and Company kind of prime the pump to to T ask him before we got to this point hey if someone does drop out are you ready and willing to step in and so it it it it definitely looks bad for jayen Brown and I can empathize to the spot that's he's in because kind of the the facto I'm the best player in the world title that gets passed around summer to summer is the guy who wins the NBA Finals MVP award and that's what he just did right and to not be included something doesn't smell right necessarily at the same time I can't totally fault USA basketball and say this was just some sort of spiteful decision by them I think the Derek white decision was months in the well I mean the answer lies I think somewhere in between what you just said Dave right I mean it's not some sort of spiteful decision decision that came down from on high in the state of Oregon by Phil Knight right um but there is something to the fact that Team USA or USA Basketball has been identifying DK white instead of Jaylen Brown you know I mean he he didn't have to be NBA Finals MVP to make this more Awkward he was already um a top player in the world prior to the NBA finals this year and and throughout the playoffs he was already showing that and so if you're putting together the team of the best of the best you you choose Jaylen brown but Grant said something along the lines of he's choosing a he's trying to make up a a puzzle piece team right I mean so what yeah I mean seen like look at the redeemed team right like that was topheavy with stars obviously LeBron Kobe Melo Dwight Howard Dwayne Wade but then they had someone like taan Prince on the team to fill a role and you know the same people that are involved in putting that team together the Jerry Colangelo of the world the Mike shesis of the world they were have been Consultants to Grant Hill in the process of putting this team together and so I'm sure he has you know anecdotal evidence from guys who had success at this level and how they thought about putting together a team and and why he would feel like he'd be justified um and and being making the right decision by putting a player with the kind of profile of a Derek white into a group that is is already so Superstar heavy um and again I don't think that's necessarily any sort of criticism of Jaylen Brown at all but because we are here and because again since they were starting to lean in that direction months ago we are now talking about jayen Brown being the current reigning NBA Finals MVP it does change how the conversation looks and and that's just something they decided they were comfortable living with well I'm just trying to get you ready Dave for the first episode of First Take when wimbledon's over I mean this is this this may be the first hour when Stephen A has uh the microphone back on you know just trying to get you ready I appreciate that rich yeah listen we try to help Dave there may be an eye and Rich and eyes and I'm a team player um before I let you go what what is the story that I'm not asking you about uh of Vegas so far is there one what did we discuss it I mean C Cooper flag was all the the talk over Monday and Tuesday and um I'll say this I I spoke to one of the scouts who was in the gym and saw the entirety of the scrimmage and you know the media was only privy to some of it so some clips that you see online doesn't reflect the entirety of the scrimmage the the varsity team so to speak had kind of already done their work like they had kind of been dominating the select team they were up double digit Midway through the fourth quarter or so and that's when flag went on his little flurry and end up making a competitive game there now that's not to take anything away from what he did he got a switch on Anthony Davis when Drew holiday was the initial Defender and he makes step back uh you know shot from Beyond the three-point line he catches a ball at The Rim is able to finish and take contact and get the an one made another um you know turnaround jumper over Drew holiday and was making plays defensively too so he was excellent in that moment there's just it wasn't like he was starting on the select team and had this moment when the varsity team had all their juice all their energy to start the game and it's like I'm giving you my best against your best he kind of Found A Lull in the game and struck and took advantage of it he deserves a ton of credit for that but Cooper flag is going to be a fantastic player Duke and a very good NBA Prospect I'm just not ready to say like he's gonna be wanyama part two when he gets to the league uh in the fall of 2025 no what you want to you got the anointing oil W what I'm saying is is this Syracuse on Syracuse violence going on flag from the basketball hotbed of Maine Dave as you know I a fellow Hooper from the 207 oh my god fellow Hooper why would they just put him on the te why wouldn't he replace Kawai wouldn't that be cool for Vibes because he's he could play five minutes a game and be the 12th guy who isn't really gonna play much anyway it's not a terrible idea but as I was talking with Rich Chris like this has been a discussion months in the making and they had to make sure obviously that Derek white would have been able to clear his schedule to some extent to be kind of the replacement in waiting so these discussions were happening before Cooper flag had that wonderful day before Jaylen Brown was Finals MVP this just shows you how much Chris either loves Cooper flag or wanted to point out he's a fellow Hooper from Maine that he's contradicting a fellow Syracuse orangeman and on top of it what you're complaining about they chose the wrong Celtic I mean come on man how many yach how many Yachts are you water skiing I prer just one Celtic play these guys need rest oh my God oh God Dave thanks for the time man appreciate it stay stay cool there brother that's Dave McManaman right here from Las Vegas catch the rich eyes and show every single day on the Roku Channel 12 to 3 Eastern for free