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On the latest episode of the Liberty Ballers Podcast, Dave Early interviews CEO of Pure Sweat Basketball Drew Hanlen. It’s Drew’s second time on, and his clients have wrapped up another ridiculously successful NBA campaign. And in the second part, we host our own Jackson Frank to talk offseason possibilities.
Coach Hanlen
Sixers superstar Joel Embiid led the NBA in scoring and was runner up MVP again (despite being the most valuable player as Drew will explain). Jayson Tatum led his Celtics to the NBA Finals. Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls and Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards are both heading for max extensions. Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro was Sixth Man of the Year, while both Herro and New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett are looking at some big money themselves after breakout years.
So we had to have Hanlen on to talk hoops.
We asked coach Hanlen:
- What’s the latest on Embiids’ injury status, is he back to working out after two hand surgeries?
- What are the keys he wants to improve upon this off season, what’s the next evolution in his game? Is it true he’s working on perimeter skills?
- How did he ramp up to play such effective pick-and-roll with James Harden without much time to practice?
- Joel left some of us wondering what he meant when he said it might be a “few years before I retire,” last month. Can Drew lend us any clarity on Jo’s mindset there? How much longer does he wanna play?
- Having come so close to a pair of MVPs and missing out on the All-NBA First Team squad again is Joel going to go for MVP again next season or might he pivot and just prioritize winning a championship?
- Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report sort of called Drew a possible “shadow” influencer because of his connections to so many All-Star talents heading into free agency. Does Drew ever angle to try to get a few of his top clients on one team? Like...(coughs) in Philly?
- How close were the Sixers to landing a guy like Bradley Beal, and what do his clients' text chains sound like? Do they recruit each other to their respective teams?
- What was it like appearing in the movie “Hustle?” How long did it take to film his ten-second scene, do they really do that resistance drill he did with Juancho Hernangomez, and what was the true reason Adam Sandler wanted coach Hanlen specifically around for the movie’s filming?
In the next segment, we have our own Jackson Frank. Jackson talks about:
- recent posts he’s written on potential Sixers FA targets like Gary Harris and Gary Payton Jr. and others. Who else does he have his eye on if the Sixers finagled some MLE to utilize?
- a couple of trade targets he’s eyeing if the Sixers were to shop Danny Green and pick no. 23 like rumors suggest
- the latest on James Harden’s possible short-term contract to stay in Philly and how we should feel about something in the three-year $150M range. Does it leave Daryl Morey enough room to improve the rest of the squad?
- What about the rumors the team might explore trading Tobias Harris and the phrasing that Tobi’s camp may want him to get a larger on-ball role? Was it odd how that was sort of sneaked into bigger ticket reports?
You can listen to the full episode below:
Or through one of the following links:
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