"The Hoop Collective" podcast, hosted by ESPN's Brian Windhorst, releases episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the NBA season. Windhorst and his guests break down what's happening on and off the court, evaluating the trends you need to know and examining the latest news from across the NBA.
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Latest episodes:
July 6 | July 3 | July 1 | June 29 | June 26
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'The Hoop Collective' episodes
July 6: Key factors in LeBron James' free agency and early standouts in Summer League
Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks to cover the latest on LeBron James' free agency, including what could be factors in his decision, what teams make the most sense and what his internal team is potentially suggesting. They then move on to a few standout players from the NBA summer league thus far before closing on some major extension talks around the league.
Topics:
2:40 Latest updates on potential LeBron destinations
5:14: Has the modern CBA impacted player movement?
12:13: Analyzing where LeBron stands in his free agency
21:05: What teams have a real chance at landing LeBron?
32:25: Potential ties for LeBron to the Denver Nuggets
36:21: Interesting Knicks comment from Rich Paul on LeBron
38:10: Will LeBron's decision shift the power in the NBA again?
41:11: Biggest early NBA summer league takeaways
44:18: Darryn Peterson and the Jazz: one of NBA's most interesting teams
48:36: Underrated NBA summer league standouts so far
51:34: Key extensions to watch from 2023 draft class
Windhorst's update on LeBron: "The last I heard was that the teams had not heard anything. The teams that were interested in LeBron, they had made contact and they hadn't heard anything. They're like, 'Well, we don't know what to make of it.'
"And this is what happened with the previous LeBron free agency when he switched teams. They didn't know, LeBron called in and was basically like, 'Yep, I'm coming.' And they're like, 'Oh, OK.' It wasn't like maybe they felt good. Like they said, 'Oh, I think the vibe is good.' But the Heat didn't know he was coming. The Cavs didn't know he was coming back.
"You want to know how I know they didn't know? Because they were about 10 minutes away from offering Gordon Hayward a max contract offer sheet. He was in the building in Cleveland. And when Mark Termini, one of LeBron's agents, found out that Gordon Hayward was in Cleveland, he called them up and he was like, 'What are you doing? Why are you spending your cap space?'"
MacMahon on LeBron's ties to the Nuggets: "Part of the whole LeBron-to-Denver thing, obviously, Joker is reason No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. But Josh Kroenke, who I believe his official title is chairman, but he's the day-to-day ownership presence, has a relationship with LeBron. They do stuff like hang out on yachts together, as friends tend to do.
"And another tie is Jared Dudley, who is on the front of the Nuggets bench as an assistant coach. He's a guy who's got a good relationship with LeBron, was a vet on that Lakers championship team. So there's some ties there."
MacMahon on who has stood out early in summer league: [Cameron Boozer's] vision is incredible. Like, he had four assists, but that does not even come close to explaining how great of a passing performance he had.
"His ability to create advantages, whether it's off the dribble or with power in the post, whatever combination, he sees the floor three steps ahead, plays the chess game of seeing the floor and then at that size just makes any pass he wants. He's an incredible power-point forward. Fun to watch."
July 3: Why Did The Jaylen Brown Trade Happen Now?
Brian is joined by ESPN's Vincent Goodwill and Tim MacMahon to cover the ripple effects of the blockbuster Jaylen Brown trade and why the Boston Celtics felt like they needed to make this deal now. They then move on to the Los Angeles Lakers adding Walker Kessler and whether the return was too high to improve the Lakers' roster around Luka Doncic. The trio closes on how much better Brown makes the 76ers and whether Philadelphia could be a potential home for LeBron James.
Topics:
1:45: NBA still trying to make sense of the Brown trade
14:38: Why did this Brown trade have to happen now?
16:00: Can Kessler elevate the Lakers' ceiling?
31:57: Windy Storytime: A wild time in free agency
36:14: Was the price too high on the Kessler trade?
40:28: Breaking down 76ers roster outlook with Brown
51:15: 76ers need to at least make a phone call for LeBron
53:58: Not sure what the approach is for the Pistons
MacMahon on why the Brown deal happened: "I had a primary decision maker for another team in the league say if you make $60 million, this is what you're worth in a trade. If he made $40 [million], every single team in the league would have been lining up for Jaylen.
"It reached a point where, for whatever reasons, the Boston Celtics believed they needed to move on from Jaylen Brown. I don't even want to get into the blame game on that, but they reached that point where they believed they needed to move on from Jaylen Brown. I'm pretty sure they reached that point before they put him in a in an offer for Giannis [Antetokounmpo].
"And then after that, they just had to find the best deal. I think that there's plenty of room to criticize the approach that the Celtics took in terms of they went out swinging for sky-high value. They went out trying to trade Jaylen Brown at the value of the sixth-most valuable player in the league, which is what he was in the MVP voting, when the league does not perceive him to be sixth-best player league -- in terms of the people who are making decisions on the trade. In part because of his contract and then, this is such a hot button issue, but the advanced analytics are not favorable to Jaylen Brown."
Goodwill on if the Lakers gave up too much for Kessler: "They don't have the breathing room [now], and the draft picks usually are your breathing room to get: A) cheap talent year over year to wind up augmenting your players being on big time salaries, to cost control all of that; B) being able to put a draft pick in a trade at the deadline if you need to.
"They don't have any of those any of those mechanisms right now. You look at, are they athletic enough? No, aside from Walker Kessler, who's clearly an above average athlete playing center. But do you have enough athleticism around this ballclub to make you a better perimeter defensive team? Because if you're not, it doesn't matter that you get Walker Kessler at the rim.
"If everybody's on a freeway down there, you're going to get this guy in foul trouble and or put him in so many damn collisions and pick-and-rolls that he can't cover all that space. A GM told me, 'Is Rob Pelinka trying to get fired?' That's what a GM asked me yesterday."
MacMahon on Detroit's lack of activity in the offseason: "Like Norm Powell, if they would've signed Norm Powell, I'd be sitting here saying, 'Hey, man, that's a really, really great fit for Detroit.' He's not a superstar, but he's an All-Star who fits.
"Can you trade for Tyler Herro? Can you pull off something in the trade market with the flexibility and the picks that you have? They've got to find something because bringing back a team that feels like it hit its head on the ceiling in the second round last year after barely getting out of the first round, that that's a tough look, man."
July 1: EMERGENCY REACTION: Boston trades Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia
Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks to breakdown the blockbuster Jaylen Brown trade between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, including why the Celtics would make this trade now, how big of a win the trade is for the 76ers and what the rest of the league is saying about the deal.
Topics:
00:16: Trade reaction
02:20: How did this trade happen between Boston and Philadelphia
17:35: The trade has given the 76ers life this season
20:50: Why this trade is so shocking around the league
Windhorst on the league reaction to the trade: "The league speculation -- it's not reporting, but I don't dispute it -- is that this was a trade that was made under duress. This was not a trade that you would make in a clinical setting. There's no deadline. Didn't have to do it by the end of July 1. You wouldn't do this trade under these circumstances if everything was equal. ... Something wasn't equal.
"We'll see what gets said about it, but that's been the multiple person reaction from the executives. I was actually on the phone with a general manager who was driving and I knew [the deal] was coming. I just didn't know the terms. And when I saw the terms, I read them to him and he was shocked and said, 'Thank God I'm at a stoplight.'"
MacMahon's reaction to the Celtics taking this deal now: "You can criticize the process, the approach that the Celtics took here, and you damn sure can criticize the results, but this was the best offer that they had on the table. And it wasn't for a lack of hunting, of searching or looking.
"Now, why didn't they pile more on to their offer to try to get Giannis [Antetokounmpo]? I believe what happened was they decided we're trading Jaylen Brown and then they tried to get Giannis and they got caught without contingency plans.
"The one thing I'll be honest about here: I don't understand why they took this offer now. Training camp doesn't start next week. Like, this seems to me to be an offer you take in late August or September because you feel like, well crap, I got to take the best thing on the table and there's not much good there."
July 1: LeBron's best landing spots, reaction to blockbuster Kawhi trade
Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks to break down an eventful first day of NBA free agency. First the trio talks about LeBron James' departure from the Lakers and which teams might make the most sense for him this season. Then, they pivot to a discussion over what the Lakers can do now to build a contender for Luka Doncic in L.A. in the near future.
Next, the guys talk about the Raptors' blockbuster trade for Kawhi Leonard, including whether this move makes Toronto a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. Finally, they examine why the Clippers are a very interesting team to follow after this move and a big change for the NBA Cup Final.
Topics:
1:22: LeBron not returning to the Lakers this season
7:39: Which landing spot is the best for LeBron?
17:08: A potential outlier team for LeBron
20:04: What do the Lakers do with LeBron not returning?
32:27: Raptors bring back Kawhi in trade with Clippers
41:42: A potentially fruitful pivot executed by Clippers
47:31: Could Nikola Jokic be looking to move soon?
49:06: Due diligence was done by the Raptors on Kawhi
52:18: NBA Cup Final officially moving to Hinkle Fieldhouse
MacMahon on LeBron's final chapter: "If it's just about maximizing the chance to win a championship, then he's going back home, right? I think that the Cavaliers would have the best chance if James Harden becomes their fourth-best player. That to me is their best chance. It's also the best storybook ending if this is indeed the last year. You know, the place obviously where it all started, where he delivered the first championship in 50-whatever years in the city's pro sports history. That's the storybook ending."
Windhorst and MacMahon on a wild-card team for LeBron:
Windhorst: "I have long believed that if there was an outlier team for LeBron, if he was willing to take some exception, it's Denver. if you noticed, during the year this year, he was overly effusive with Jokic."
MacMahon: "It'd be the two most brilliant basketball minds in the league joining forces, and they're complementary, where him and Luka was kind of a 'Who's got the ball in his hands?' Joker's all about having a guy who can run pick and roll either way."
Windhorst on whether the Aspiration investigation impacted the Kawhi trade: "Before they entered into this, Toronto and the Clippers, I believe, checked with the league office to make sure that there wouldn't be a holdup based on this Aspiration investigation."
June 29: EMERGENCY REACTION: Memphis Trades Ja Morant To Portland
Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim MacMahon to react to Ja Morant being traded from Memphis to the Blazers in exchange for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. The guys break down whether this was a good deal for Memphis, why it represents an interesting swing for Portland, and what the end of the Ja era means for the Grizzlies moving forward.
Windhorst on the Morant deal: "They're able to get out of Ja Morant and give him a fresh start without having to incentivize anything. So I think all things considered, I think the parties are probably happy to have this behind them."
MacMahon on what Morant has left: "Dude still looks pretty damn athletic for me. And I think the way that he was dumped in Memphis, if that ain't motivation, I don't know what is. So, I do anticipate there will be a very motivated Ja Morant. ... I'm curious to see, can Ja kind of be a reclamation success story?"
June 29: Hornets cultural reset, factors to watch for Jaylen Brown, LeBron and Kawhi
Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Vince Goodwill to break down the Hornets' continuing reset with the trade of Miles Bridges to the Suns. Next, the guys break down the latest on Jaylen Brown's future in Boston and how the Celtics' trade approach could indicate the future of the franchise. Then they discuss whether Kawhi could be on the move if the Clippers are allowed to make a deal and whether a reunion in Toronto is possible. Finally, they discuss where LeBron stands with the Lakers.
Topics:
1:52: Hornets' reset continues with Miles Bridges trade to Suns
12:45: Where does Jaylen Brown's situation stand in Boston?
22:23: What is the ceiling for the Heat this season?
24:23: Is a return to the Raptors possible for Kawhi?
29:01: Could the Aspiration investigation prevent deals?
34:51: Where do LeBron negotiations stand with LA?
MacMahon on the Hornets: "This is a cultural reset for the Charlotte Hornets. They are building around Brandon Miller, who's going to be 24 this next season and Kon Knueppel, who's 21. So they're taking a long-term view to build around a couple of top five picks who have already been very productive and they feel like can be cornerstones of that franchise moving forward.
"They didn't believe in LaMelo Ball as a cornerstone. They pounced on his value as soon as he had some. If they could have traded him last summer, they wouldn't say this out loud, but they would have. They did it as soon as they could. And then with Miles Bridges, a talented guy, he's had some major, major off-court issues. He's been productive these last couple years, but as soon as they could get off him, they did."
Goodwill and MacMahon on a possible Kawhi Leonard deal:
Goodwill: "If teams are actively looking at trading for Kawhi Leonard, they have to be getting some type of instruction from the league. Like, you can't let this get to the 2-yard line and Shams puts out the tweet and then all of a sudden the league comes in and says, 'No, you can't do that because we're probably going to suspend him for a considerable amount of time.' That's just bad business on the part of the league."
MacMahon: "You cannot put a team, whether it's Toronto or any other team, in a position where they're trading for Kawhi Leonard with no certainty about whether he's going to be available for them. So I cannot imagine if Kawhi Leonard is traded that he would then be suspended. The league's got to stop. They've got to put the brakes to it before. You can't do that after."