 If the priority had been reaching a ninth straight NBA finals, it had to be Go to Philadelphia. If he thinks he's the first and second best player, good luck with that Houston. They stuck with Gronk for this year if they're going to continue to have Super Bowl aspiration. We have certainly seen better games overall here at this World Cup in Russia, but there are no style points for France, just a ticket to Sunday's final. What was the difference for them in the end? I thought France today showed a real maturity in this game, it was a performance that was fitting for a semi-final. It wasn't this counter-attacking style, it wasn't them opening themselves up, but when they needed to, they defended well. I thought Belgium were poor tonight. Martinez, as much as we talked about his tactics against Brazil, I thought he got it wrong. They had no width on the left side, they were very predictable. Probably by the way you played, he was fantastic. We know what you're going to get out of Cante, but we've still got more to come from in Bapé and Griezmann and the way Giroud played a coming up against, maybe if it is England, he'll be happy to play against that kind of defence. So you feel that there's a lot more to come from France and they won't be bothered who they play. I think France would fear anyone now. They're full of confidence, beating Uruguay, Belgium now. They're improving with every game, defensively and offensively, so they're in the final, they don't care. I don't think in the end that LeBron ever really, truly, heart-to-heart considered going to Philadelphia. In the end, this decision was about his priorities as he enters his 16th NBA season. If the priority had been reaching a ninth straight NBA finals, there is no doubt what this decision had to be. It had to be go to Philadelphia. He trusts Magic, he trusts Rafa Linka, that they're going to be able to surround him with the pieces he needs to not only go out and compete, but to win a title. So I absolutely believe the Sixers were in the running, but it just came down to lifestyle and fit. He felt moving forward. The Lakers would present the better chance for him to win a title. I'm all for the challenge of him going to the Lakers, knowing what he's up against. There's legends being hung. I mean, jerseys are hung and statues out front. To be able to go to a team like that and say, you know what, I want to challenge myself in the West to try to do this, I think it says a lot about him. Now, again, it was a dual situation. It was lifestyle. It was also professional. I think that the Lakers for him always made the most sense because it was the opportunity to resurrect basketball in LA, win a championship, put himself in the Magic, Karim, you know, that type of stratosphere, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Kobe, yeah, exactly. And the fact that Philadelphia was a little bit rudderless in the front office to me, not that important because Brett Brown was kind of the trigger man and they have ownership. And I never really thought that from a basketball perspective, the Sixers were a great fit. LeBron knew, no matter if they got Kawhi or not, that he obviously knew Paul George wasn't going there when he signed, he had Paul George already re-signed, that this was not the best place to win this season. This, if LeBron wanted to be mercenary LeBron and sign a one-year deal with Houston or with Philly and then potentially make another decision next year, do another short-term contract, there were places he could go that would be an easier path back to the NBA Finals. The 76ers general manager at this point with the talented roster that they have, they should have moved on. He shouldn't be sitting there talking about, you know something? The girl gave me a kiss on the cheek and we was getting ready to start going steady. But she wasn't even thinking about that. She was just trying to be polite. So I think it's really irrelevant who was second, who was third, and who was fourth. Carmelo is not the same offensive force. If you wanted to play like he did at the Knicks, get up 20 shots a night skill, you're not going anywhere. So if he's going to be willing to come up the bench and understand, you know what? I'm the third or fourth best player. But right now, this juncture in my career, this is where I am and this is what's best for this team. I think he can be a viable option. But if he thinks he's the first or second best player, good luck with that, Houston. Carmelo Anthony will be a liability for the Houston Rockets. He will be more negative than positive at this stage and age because unlike LeBron James, he has not stayed in supreme shape. His body is still the same body that he was dragging around in New York, and he never quite got back in any kind of shape. He plays little to no defense, and he's nothing but a spot-up shooter. He's going to be, for the first time in his basketball career, being teamed with a guy that he, I don't want to say looks up to, but that he looks even eye-to-eye with and that he has such respect for in Chris Paul if he does go to Houston and he is, for the first time, I believe, staring at his basketball mortality. He knows that if wherever I go next it doesn't work, I'm done. And so if that doesn't make you go through some type of adjustment, then nothing will. My biggest problem is going to be to buy in defensively because that's what I saw from these other players. I saw their stars, Chris Paul, Harden, Arisa, all these guys sacrifice everything, offense but more on the defensive end. I am not a Carmelo guy. I would not have had Carmelo come to the Lakers. But if there's a chance that it works for Mello, the only two places it could work and you could win with him in the league are the Warriors and actually the Rockets. Remember, Carmelo Anthony coming in on a minimum deal. That's what he would come in on. A minimum deal is completely different than Carmelo Anthony making $27 million. Darrell Morey runs the Rockets. He's an analytical whiz. He's on the forefront of analytics. Mello is no longer an elite analytic player. I know. And of the 82 forwards in the league, he's 72nd in defense for forwards. I think Houston's going to sign him. Are you going to be brutally honest with Carmelo when he comes in and says, this is your role? You got to do it. You have to do it from day one and say you're going to play 20, 25 minutes whether it's coming off the bench or whatever it is. You got to be honest. Second, Carmelo, and this is so hard, Colin, for a player of his caliber as he gets older. When he looks in the mirror, who does he see? Does he see Carmelo from 10 years ago? Or does he see Carmelo today? I'm very surprised considering Skip that we're two weeks away from most teams being a beheading to training camp. I would have thought this was something that would have happened if it was going to happen. It would happen if it started for agency. Or at least by the draft. Coach Belichick, normally he wheels and deals. He likes draft picks. He could have got something for him. Still doesn't mean it couldn't happen. But I'm surprised that we're still talking about Bronk possibly being a trade block. I'm stunned by this. And I also believe that this trade is still on the front burner, not on the back burner, but on the front. And I'm going to remind you about a month ago there was a report up in New England which was shot down by the Patriots PR staff. Yeah. But it said that there were offers on the table for Gronkowski from the Titans and the 49ers. Both teams with connections to Belichick, obviously. And here we go again. We have Belichick versus Brady and ultimately versus Kraft. I don't see it happening. It doesn't make sense that Tom Brady at this advanced age, him and Belichick trying to win Super Bowl number six, they would trade. It's too late for that. They got to eat that. They stuck with Gronk for this year if they're going to continue to have Super Bowl aspiration. Because if they do trade them, they will be off the books as far as me making it to Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta. Some people watch and they're like, man Belichick's always done stuff like this. Cuts lawyer Molloy two weeks before the start of the season. He gets rid of, doesn't bring back Deion Branch after he wins Super Bowl MVP. He trades Randy Moss as soon as he starts to talk a little bit. This would be different. Even it's different than trading cooks because he traded cooks before, he knew how old Tom Brady was, but he traded cooks before the draft when he knew he could use that draft pick to maybe replace their left tackle who they lost in free agency.