48 Minutes: OKC Wins Title, Durant Traded, Lakers Sold, Knicks Drama

0:00 Intro 1:30 The crew breaks down the NBA matchups they’ve got circled on next season’s calendar 1:56 Knicks @ 76ers matchup 2:58 Spurs @ Thunder matchup 5:01 Knicks @ Celtics on Opening Night 6:04 Knicks @ Pacers 7:25 Bucks @ Grizzlies 9:13 Suns @ Clippers 10:53 Nuggets @ Lakers 12:47 Suns @ Timberwolves 13:45 Warriors @ Celtics 15:08 Lakers @ Warriors on Christmas Day 16:02 Bucks @ Blazers 17:00 Bruce shares a quick rafting story 17:39 Mavericks @ Warriors 18:31 76ers @ Clippers 19:30 Sixers signing Guerschon Yabusele after his success this summer with France 20:29 Kings @ Rockets 21:31 Best Offseason Move Around the League 21:41 The OKC Thunder adding Isaiah Hartenstein & Alex Caruso 22:54 The New York Knicks adding Mikal Bridges 26:25 The Phoenix Suns signing Tyus Jones 27:31 Bruce gives a shoutout to a Spurs super fan 28:27 Chris Paul & Harrison Barnes joining the Spurs 29:44 Paul George joining forces with Joel Embiid in Philadelphia 31:57 The Bucks significantly improving their wings by adding Gary Trent Jr & Taurean Prince 32:58 The Magic signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 34:09 Klay Thompson making the move to Dallas to play with the Mavericks 37:03 The Kings adding DeMar DeRozan while also retaining Malik Monk 38:32 Caitlin Clark & the Indiana Fever are making noise in the WNBA 45:44 NBA Wedding Bells were ringing! Bruce shares the news

20 Aug 202447min

0:00 Intro 1:27 Initial Reactions to Team USA winning the Gold Medal Game 3:19 Steph Curry’s epic finish down the stretch 9:57 Devin Booker’s standout play & development this summer 13:12 Jayson Tatum’s interesting summer 17:00 Joel Embiid becoming a worldwide villain 18:52 LeBron James continues to impress us all 21:22 Victor Wembanyama did not disappoint! 26:38 Team USA Women’s team continue to dominate Olympic competition 29:44 Nikola Jokic’s historic Olympic performance 33:17 Reactions to LeBron James winning MVP of the Olympics 34:43 All-Olympic Team Selections & Reactions 37:27 What could Team USA look like in 2028?

13 Aug 202448min

0:00 ... Hello and Welcome ... Ross introduces the panel and dedicates episode #116 to james Johnson, who wears #16 and begins his 16th NBA season in October. 1:00 ... Ross live read for Bet Online 1:47 ... The crew reflects on last week's show with Luke Kornet of the Celtics and what a unique guest he was. 3:33 ... Tyus Jones joins the Phoenix Suns and will be the steady point guard the Suns need. 6:45 ... The Suns rotation will change drastically and they were a poor 4th quarter team last season but Jones will solve many of their late game woes. 10:08 ... The Knicks re-upped Precious Achiewa as a backup big but their center situation is still tenuous with often injured Mitchell Robinson still on the team but reliable backup Isaiah Hartenstein  has moved on to Oklahoma City. 15:17 ... Reed Sheppard of Houston is favored by many to win the Rookie of the Year Award but Ross and Bruce feel Stephon Castle of the Spurs will win it while World B likes Zach Edey of Memphis. 19:34 ... Charles Barkley is talking about retirement but nobody takes it seriously since he has 7 years left on a 10 year $210 million dollar contract.  If he leaves Turner, ESPN could be a possibility but his deal would need to be different than most talent at ESPN because he probably would balk at the type of workload that ESPN analysts typically have to handle. 23:59 ... Inside The NBA could be a vastly different show next season as the sad reality of losing the contract with the league wears on the guys and some bitterness may show up on the air.  Ross appreciates how Charles always would stick up for the people behind the scenes whose jobs will be in jeopardy. 26:47 ... World B shares a personal story about being told he was being let go by the Golf Channel but that he had to work his final two months before his time expired.  It was a trying time and the Turner crew will probably experience something similar. 28:19 ... Turner operates NBA TV but if they retain control over the network, they could move Inside the NBA to NBA TV and make that low rated network much more prominent in the marketplace. 30:32 ... The Quarterfinals at the Olympics are set to begin on Tuesday with four games.  Team USA will play Brazil and should have few problems as long as they keep Brazil off the offensive glass. 33:17 ... Germany will play Greece and Giannis will be a force, but Germany is a more balanced team with Dennis Schroeder, the Wagner Brothers, and Daniel Theis and the Germans should advance. 35:43 ... Serbia plays Australia but nobody ever has an answer for Nikola Jokic.  The Ozzies have lots of NBA talent on their team but the crew likes Serbia. 37:37 ... France plays Canada and while France has Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, they never really seemed to mesh on the court and Canada looks like the team that should advance. 39:58 ... Team USA's 3-on-3 team was eliminated on Sunday, so we each selected our "Dream 3-on-3 Teams" from among American born NBA players.  Ross took Donovan Mitchell, Myles Turner, and Damian Lillard.  Bruce chose Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaylen Brown, and Mike Conley.  World B chose Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, and James Harden. 45:25 ... Ross says goodbye   TRT 45:43

6 Aug 202445min

0:00 Intro 1:50 Ross introduces 2024 NBA Champion Luke Kornet 3:15 What makes playing for the Boston Celtics different from any other NBA team? 5:49 Did the outside noise & championship doubt ever reach the Celtics locker room? 8:47 Having previously played with Kristaps Porzingis in New York, how has Porzingis’s game matured? 11:41 Luke shares his favorite memory for the Celtics championship duck boat parade 13:40 Where did Luke get his sense of humor? 15:45 How much of the team success this year falls on Joe Mazzula? 19:57 Luke shares his thoughts on the new head coach of the Charlotte Hornets Charles Lee 22:38 How competitive was the very impressive Kornet household growing up? 26:50 Could Luke see himself becoming an NBA media personality in the future? 29:53 Who is Luke’s funniest teammate on the Celtics? 31:26 Word Association with Luke 31:48 Derrick White 32:45 Jaylen Brown 33:42 Cedric Maxwell 34:17 Al Horford 35:05 Jrue Holiday 36:24 Eclipse Shot Contest 40:42 Is Luke getting used to these shorter offseasons?

30 Jul 202441min

0:00 ... Ross hello and welcome ... introduces Bruce, Michael, and guest Kevin Winter ... this is episode #114 in honor of Scotty Pippen Jr. 1:20 ... Ross's Bet Online live commercial read 2:15 ... Bruce complains that with two Celtics fans on the show, show #114 is NOT in honor of Boston legend Bob Cousy.  Ross expertly shuts Bruce down with a zinger that left a mark! 2:46 ... Bruce introduces our guest Kevin Winter, the long-time studio host of the NBA on ESPN Radio. 3:53 ... Ross tees the crew up for a discussion of Team USA as they finished their tune-up games on Monday against Germany.  Kevin feels the teams around the world not only can compete with team USA, but want to kick some American butt. 5:40 ... Bruce points out how LeBron James has been the dominant player for Team USA in their "friendly" matches. 7:04 ... Stephen Curry will be a huge factor and Kevin discusses some lineups he'd like to see Steve Kerr try. 8:13 ... Jaylen Brown was passed over for Team USA in favor of teammate Derrick White and Kevin said that Grant Hill always wanted White on the team, although he feels Jalen Brunson would have also been a solid choice. 10:02 ... Bruce asks if White's time in the San Antonio Spurs system prepared him to become the winning player he's turned out to be.  Kevin feels that former Spur players become excellent fits on the teams they end up playing for. 11:50 ... Ross wonders if Chris Paul will be a great fit in San Antonio and be successful.  Kevin is not so sure. 13:17 ... Bruce asks Kevin what it was like to be in the middle of hosting the NBA Finals live on the radio while riding the emotional roller coaster as a fan of the Celtics. 16:20 ... World B wants to know if Kevin feels the Celtics can repeat as champs next year?  Kevin has his eye on the Bucks with Giannis and Damian Lillard but is less high on the Sixers. 18:56 ... Bruce asks Kevin about his fellow ESPN Radio analyst PJ Carlesimo and some of their adventures in dining and how the coach makes sure food for the team is a priority and everyone on the radio team is properly fed. 22:32 ... Bruce tells a quick story about another "old school" coach, the late Paul Silas who worked with Bruce at ESPN and was like PJ in that he always picked up the tab for dinner for the crew because coaches knew that armies travel on their stomachs. 23:03 ... Ross asks Kevin about the mysterious Twitter/X fan "Yanos," and gets a hilarious response. 24:14 .... The LA Clippers have made some very strange moves as they get ready to move into their new building next season and Kevin is not optimistic about their chances for the upcoming season. 27:17 ... What do we make of the crosstown Lakers?  Can LeBron continues playing at such a high level as he approaches his 40th birthday?  Kevin says his days of winning championships are gone. 29:15 ... World B feels the Lakers have been good, but the conference is really tough and Anthony Davis & LeBron may not be physically up to the task of winning big in the postseason. 31:45 ... What about the Denver Nuggets?  Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, as always, are the indispensable guys.  Russell Westbrook and his aggressive style will work well off the bench for Denver next season. 35:18 ... Bruce tees Kevin up for a nice rant on Evan Mobley's max contract. 36:52 ... Jalen Brunson left money on the table on his recent contract and while it was a great gesture on Brunson's part, there could be unintended consequences. 38:44 ... Brunson's move puts the pressure on the Knicks front office to use the money to bring in more talent. 39:39 ... Kevin thinks Brunson may have gotten some grief from the Players Association over his act of generosity. 41:34 ... Bruce wants to know how Klay Thompson will fit in with the Mavs ... Kevin thinks Klay will help Luka Doncic learn how to win and he also likes the potential of Dereck Lively. 45:45 ... The guys discuss NBA executive Pat Williams and what he meant to the NBA and also to the Orlando Magic, the franchise he co-founded.  Williams passed away this past week at the age of 84. 48:27 ... Ross thanks Kevin for joining us and says goodbye TRT 49:29

23 Jul 202449min

0:00 Intro 1:37 Jalen Brunson’s decision to leave $113M on the table for the New York Knicks 11:01 Bruce shares a quick fun fact on Tom Thibodeau you’ve never heard before! 15:22 Underrated free agent signings across the league 21:16 NBA Las Vegas Summer League Notes! 21:23 Stephon Castle is officially shut down due to injury 23:24 More bad injury news for the Denver Nuggets with their top pick 26:31 Bronny James offensive struggles 30:27 Reed Sheppard is dazzling with the Houston Rockets 33:16 Bruce provides a summer league fun fact! 34:10 The Charlotte Hornets remain undefeated this summer 35:27 Brandin Podziemski continues his successful summer in Las Vegas 36:40 The NBA released the groups for next year’s NBA Cup 37:05 Bruce explains how group play works in the NBA Cup 38:02 The crew dive into their initial reactions into the groups & which team they like winning each one 48:13 The crew reacts to the breaking news on Russell Westbrook’s future with the Clippers

16 Jul 202450min

0:00 ... Hello, welcome, and introduction of panelists 0:43 ... This show is dedicated to Leaky Black 1:16 ... Bet Online live commercial read 1:56 ... NBA Summer league news, including Bronny James' impressive defensive skills 6:48 ... Zach Edey is off to a great start and could have an immediate impact in Memphis. 10:02 ... San Antonio's Stephon Castle is Victor Wembanyama's new wingman and Bruce predicts he'll be the NBA's Rookie of the Year.  World B thinks he could eventually be the starting point guard for the Spurs. 13:33 ... Ross wonders why Scoot Henderson is not on the Portland Summer league roster when he could really use the reps, especially when it comes to building chemistry with rookie big Donovan Clingan. 17:39 ... Cooper Flagg has been crushing it for the Select team in games against the Olympic team.  The 17 year old incoming Duke freshman appears to be "NBA Ready." 20:24 ... Anthony Edwards wants to be the "Number One Option" for Team USA ... stay tuned! 23:10 ... Kawhi Leonard was replaced on Team USA by Derrick White, but the crew is scratching their collective heads as to why White was chosen over his teammate Jaylen Brown when it made sense for Leonard to be replaced by another forward rather than a guard like White.  Brown did not appear to be happy based on a cryptic social media post. 26:48 ... Ross liked how Brandin Podziemski and Devin Booker seemed to have some beef with each other after one of the Team USA vs the Select Team games. 27:30 ... We switch to the WNBA and the battle for Rookie of the Year between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.  Bruce is getting a WNBA version of the "Larry vs Magic" vibe from four decades ago with Angel and Caitlin. 31:23 ... The crew discusses the curious exit of Caleb Martin from Miami after he left millions of dollars on the table in Miami to sign with the 76ers. 35:44 ... Future Hall of Famer DeMar DeRozan signs with Sacramento and it leads to a discussion about which of the four California-based teams is the best in the mythical "California Division." 39:47 ... Final Thoughts ... World B on how the potential of Cooper Flagg as the likely #1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft could lead to a frenzy of tanking this season by teams eager to draft him. 41:31 ... Bruce will be hosting the "Hoop Hall Hangout" later in the day on July 11th with University of North Carolina All American guard RJ Davis at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. 43:28 ... Ross sizes up his top Summer League performers including GG Jackson of memphis. 45:24 ... Goodbye and we're back next week! TRT 45:39

11 Jul 202445min

0:00 Intro 2:00 The 76ers big start to the offseason 7:52 LeBron James & the LA Lakers 12:02 The LA Clippers offseason moves thus far 17:02 Chris Paul signs with the San Antonio Spurs 20:35 Is Klay Thompson the missing piece in Dallas? 24:22 The New York Knicks big trade acquisition of Mikal Bridges 30:26 KCP joining forces with the Orlando Magic 33:03 Should Nuggets fans be concerned that the team has let 2 valuable players walk for the 2nd straight offseason? 34:54 Reactions to the big moves by the OKC Thunder this summer 39:17 Boston Celtics big signings & a sale of the team on the horizon? 44:30 Final Thoughts: Our Winners & Losers of the offseason so far

2 Jul 202449min