Pro Basketball Talk On Nbc Sports Podcast

Should Anthony Edwards be the No. 1 pick? Or James Wiseman? How would Obi Toppin fit with the Warriors? More importantly, how is anyone preparing for a draft when nobody knows when it will take place? Rob Dauster of NBC Sports joins Kurt Helin to discuss what they know and don't know about the 2020 NBA Draft, starting with nobody knowing when it will take place. They discuss players from the big schools and a sleeper to watch.

What if the NBA added two new teams this summer, an expansion rebirth of the Seattle Supersonics plus the Flint Tropics? What would that expansion draft look like? What players would teams protect, and could players like Blake Griffin, Gordon Hayward, and Kevin Love be on the move? Kurt Helin, Dan Feldman, and Keith Smith of NBC Sports perform just that mock draft and lay the foundations for their future teams.

The NBA has hit pause on its season after Utah's Rudy Gobert — and later, teammate Donovan Mitchell — tested positive for coronavirus. Now what happens? Is the season shortened, do they just resume where they are, and what could this mean for the draft, Summer League, and the Olympics? What will the reduction in income to the league mean to the salary cap? Kurt Helin and Keith Smith from NBC Sports talk about what they know, and a lot about how nobody really knows what happens in this uncharted territory. They also answer a couple of listener questions, including on what Giannis Antetokounmpo might do this summer and what it means for every other team.

Is Anthony Edwards out of Georgia a No. 1 pick? What about LaMelo Ball? James Wiseman? NBA teams are not convinced, they see this as a down draft year, but someone will have to go No. 1. Rob Dauster from NBC Sports joins Kurt Helin to talk about the draft overall and why you may not want a top three pick this year, which guys lineup to be good pros, a few sleepers, and they get into which teams can win the national championship. And yes, Baylor is one of them.

The NBA Trade Deadline saw the Clippers land Marcus Morris, the Timberwolves land D'Angelo Russell while getting out from under the contract of Andrew Wiggins, and Miami added Andre Iguodala to the mix while Memphis took on a lot of salary. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports break the biggest NBA trade deadline deals down, and talk about the winners and losers, whose moves they liked and did not like.

The NBA Trade Deadline is fast approaching and the rumors are flying. The Lakers want a playmaker, the Clippers want size up front, so do the Celtics, the Rockets want to trade Clint Capela to someone, and Andre Iguodala is still sitting out there. What is going to happen with all of this? Mark Medina of the USA Today joins Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to discuss all of that, plus they get into a little Kobe Bryant talk plus what is next for the Knicks after Steve Mills.

Zion Williamson's debut lived up to the hype — at least 3.5 minutes of it did — and that sparked a discussion between Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports about what should be the takeaways from the night. Was Alvin Gentry wrong to pull him out in the fourth quarter? What can we expect going forward? And can the Pelicans make a playoff push? Kurt and Dan then get into the All-Star vote, including who they think should start and be the reserves — and where the fans got it wrong.

Is it James Harden or Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP? Kawhi Leonard or Rudy Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year? Can anyone catch Ja Morant for Rookie of the Year? We've reached the midpoint of the NBA season, meaning it's time for Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports to break down where the NBA's awards races stand. They also get into Coach of the Year, Most Improved Player, and the All-NBA teams.

Buy or Sell: Carmelo Anthony will make the Portland Trail Blazers better.Buy or Sell: The Boston Celtics are contenders in the East.Buy or Sell: Luka Doncic is an MVP candidate. Buy or Sell: LeBron James will lead the league in assists. Early this NBA season there are a lot of surprises, so Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports either buy or sell them in this edition of the NBC Sports ProBasketballTalk podcast. Also on the table is a discussion of if James Harden can average 40 points a game, if the Suns are a playoff team, and is Karl-Anthony Towns the best center in the NBA.

The big question with the Knicks: WTF? On an entire podcast based around questions — mostly questions from you the listeners on a range of NBA topics — we had to start with that one about the Knicks. Tommy Beer from Forbes Magazine and NBC Sports Rotoworld joins Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to talks what has gone wrong with the Knicks this season, where they go from here, and just how worried David Fizdale should be about his job. From there we talk Kyrie Irving and the Nets, Kristaps Porzingis and the Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard and load management, and where the Celtics need to go to get a big man. Plus much more.

There is no easing into the NBA season. One week into the grind we have Stephen Curry with a fractured hand (on a block/charge play worth discussing), which is bad news but clarifies the path forward in Golden State. Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns are suspended (this was recorded before the news came down, but we discuss situation). And the first week saw surprises — players such as Trae Young in Atlanta, and Pascal Siakam in Toronto, and teams like Miami is playing well and Sacramento... what happened to them? Keith Smith from Yahoo Sports joins Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to break down the wild first week of the season.

Who will take home the NBA MVP hardware this season: Giannis Antetokounmpo? James Harden? Stephen Curry? What about Rookie of the Year? Can anyone top Zion Williamson? What would it take for Ja Morant or anyone else to get into the conversation. Finally, what team will hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy at the end of the season? Will it be a team from Los Angeles? What about Philadelphia? Milwaukee? Can Houston or Utah get in on the conversation. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman from NBC Sports get into all of that, making their season predictions for the NBA in this latest Pro Basketball Talk podcast.

What are the odds that one of the teams from Los Angeles is in the NBA Finals? Could the Utah Jazz surprise the Lakers and Clippers, returning to the Finals for the first time since Stockton and Malone? Is it Denver's turn to step up? James Harden and Russell Westbrook in Houston's turn? Maybe Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum? The NBA's Western Conference really is the Wild West this season where anything can happen, and Mark Medina of the USA Today joins NBC's Kurt Helin to break down the West, who could come out, and how, in a very deep conference, there will be no easy path forward.

Last season the Utah Jazz won 50 games and looked like a team on the rise with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert leading the way. This summer Utah may not have landed the biggest names, but it had one of the best summers of any team trading for Mike Conley and getting Bojan Bogdanovic in free agency. The Jazz are now a well rounded team with an elite defense and multiple shot creators who can make plays in the clutch. But without a top-eight superstar, can the Jazz knock off the Lakers or Clippers in a deep West? Andy Larson of the Salt Lake Tribune joins Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to discuss whether or not the Jazz are really threats to win it all for the first time in franchise history.

It's easy to select James Harden or Stephen Curry with a high pick in your NBA Fantasy basketball draft, but who are the sleepers to grab in the later rounds? When do you spend a pick on Russell Westbrook in Houston or D'Angelo Russell in Golden State? After Karl-Anthony Towns, who are the centers you can trust to get you points? Tommy Beer of NBC Sports' Rotoworld, and one of the authors of their fantasy basketball draft guide, joins NBC Sports' Kurt Helin to break all that down and more and get you ready for the upcoming NBA fantasy season.

There's a new sheriff in town in Washington, Tommy Sheppard has taken over as GM, but the big question remains: What's the plan? Trade Bradley Beal and go all-in on a rebuild? Or, re-tool on the fly and try to build around Beal? The latter seems to be the goal, Beal is not available in a trade and he wants to stay to try and get a supermax contract extension, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tells Kurt Helin in this NBC Sports Podcast. The pair get into how this Wizards team is not built to compete now, with Ish Smith and Isaiah Thomas at the point and rookie Rui Hachimura likely to get heavy run. They also discuss what happens next season when John Wall returns. It's going to be an interesting year in our nation's capital.

Kevin Durant is gone, switching coasts. Also gone are some of the veterans — Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston — that provided depth and continuity. Even gone is Oakland, with the Warriors moving into the brand new Chase Center in San Francisco this season. Everything feels different with the Golden State Warriors, but write them off at your own peril. They still have Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, they added an All-Star in D'Angelo Russell, they likely get Klay Thompson back late in the season? Is all of that enough in a deep West? Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area joins Kurt Helin of NBC to talk all things Warriors and the West in this season preview. The West may be wide open this season, but if the Warriors can stay healthy and things break their way... watch out.

Despite the fact that some of the best NBA players chose to sit out this World Cup — Anthony Davis, James Harden, Damian Lillard — as did the next tier of guys (Bradley Beal, Kevin Love), this was still a talented USA Basketball roster that was the tournament favorite. Then they got bounced by the French in the quarterfinals — Team USA will not even medal. What went wrong? Kurt Helin of NBC Sports and Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports and Real GM (and CelticsBlog) talk about everything from why players chose not to show up, how FIBA made things difficult for the USA and hurt the quality of the tournament overall, and what were the bright spots for the USA (such as qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics). There are not simple answers to any of it, and Kurt and Keith get into all of that.

What is the NBA going to look like in five years? Who will be the game's best players? The All-Stars, the guys on the cover of 2K24, the guys with signature shoe deals? As a fun summer project, the NBA team at NBCSports.com pulled out our crystal balls and tried to project forward who would be the 50 best players in the NBA in five years — in the summer of 2024.In this episode, Dan Feldman and Kurt Helin from NBC Sports break down the top 25 players in that ranking, including Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and more. We talk about why players were ranked where they were — are we too low or too high on a player like Embiid? — and why certain players are where they are on this list.

What is the NBA going to look like in five years? Who will be the game's best players? The All-Stars, the guys on the cover of 2K24, the guys with signature shoe deals? As a fun summer project, the NBA team at NBCSports.com pulled out our crystal balls and tried to project forward who would be the 50 best players in the NBA in five years — in the summer of 2024.In this podcast, Rob Dauster from NBCSports.com's college basketball page joins Kurt Helin to talk about players 26-50 on our list, which includes up-and-coming high school players such as James Wiseman and Emoni Bates. The back half of the list also includes a lot of current stars who will fade in five years — Klay Thompson, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, and more — but the question is how much. It's a fun discussion about the NBA's best and how they will fit into an evolving league.