"The Hoop Collective" podcast, hosted by ESPN's Brian Windhorst, releases episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the NBA season and Tuesday and Friday during the offseason. 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:
Aug. 18 | Aug. 14 | Aug. 13 | Aug. 11 | Aug. 7
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'The Hoop Collective' episodes
Aug. 18: Eastern Conference win total reaction
Brian is joined by ESPN's Vincent Goodwill and Tim MacMahon to breakdown the win totals for each team in the Eastern Conference, including which totals are too high, who is being overlooked and what they expected from the loaded conference.
Topics:
0:41: Eastern Conference win total reaction
04:24: New York Knicks
12:22: Boston Celtics
20:34: Philadelphia 76ers
32:17: Detroit Pistons
40:08: Cleveland Cavaliers
50:28: Miami Heat
52:57: Toronto Raptors
55:16: Indiana Pacers
57:48: Orlando Magic
1:00:32: Atlanta Hawks
1:02:32: Charlotte Hornets
1:05:10: Washington Wizards
1:07:39: Chicago Bulls
1:09:24: Milwaukee Bucks
1:10:39: Brooklyn Nets
Aug. 14: Western Conference win total reaction
Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim MacMahon to go over the win total projections for the Western Conference, including which totals are too high, which teams are being overlooked and the most interesting projections.
Topics:
0:34: An infamous hoop time zone confusion
3:52: Western Conference win total reaction
4:39: LA Clippers
7:34: Oklahoma City Thunder
11:29: San Antonio Spurs
15:39: Denver Nuggets
18:49: Minnesota Timberwolves
23:57: Houston Rockets
26:40: Los Angeles Lakers
31:30: Portland Trail Blazers
35:55: Golden State Warriors
38:21: Phoenix Suns
40:52: Utah Jazz
44:03: Dallas Mavericks
47:33: Memphis Grizzlies
49:15: New Orleans Pelicans
51:13: Sacramento Kings
Aug. 13: EMERGENCY POD: Lakers sold again! What does it mean for the franchise?
Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne to react to the Los Angeles Lakers getting sold in a record-breaking $12.5 billion deal to businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. They break down why the stunning sale happened now, what it means for the future of the franchise and more in this emergency podcast.
Topics:
0:45: Lakers sold in a stunning $12.5 billion deal
6:48: Why did this deal happen now?
16:27: Big changes continue for Luka's career
22:46: What does this change mean for the franchise?
34:02: An interesting statement from Excel Sports
40:18: Remembering an electrifying career from Russell Westbrook
Shelburne on why this deal is happening now: "The way this came together was that Josh Kushner and Bob Iger were one of the bid groups in Las Vegas and they've been trying to get an expansion team in Vegas.
"From what I understand, the bidding on that franchise has gotten close to that $10 billion number or, at least where they were in that in that moment, was around $10 [billion]. And that's the same price Mark [Walter] paid Jeanie Buss when he bought her shares of the Lakers. And I think both of them being L.A. natives go, you know, we want to buy legacy brands. Like, why buy something new and start it all new and spend another two or three billion building an arena in Vegas without at least checking with Mark Walter?
"And I think we should talk about the the backstory here, which is that there's been some reports over the last few months, Mark's under investigation with the Department of Justice. Everyone involved [has a] blanket denial that this had anything to do with it, but you and I are smart. ... Look, did he intend to sell the team and flip it? I mean, he's made a lot of money in 10 months, but are Josh and Bob Iger smart enough to know that somebody who's dealing with a lot of other issues might be receptive to a call like that? Yes."
MacMahon on the rarity of the Lakers being sold twice in 10 months: "You don't buy the Lakers to flip them. You know, it's not like a a house you buy and do a quick remodel and flip. This is the freaking Los Angeles Lakers and it's just crazy. You see the top two purchase prices of professional sports franchises, this broke the record that Mark Walter set less than a year ago. Look, I get a 25% profit by $2.5 billion. That's more than Tilman Fertitta paid for the [Houston] Rockets not that long ago."
Windhorst on what this could mean for the franchise: "Now, one of the big questions, Ramona, is the thing that was exciting Laker fans is they watched Walter and his partners and his leadership, some of whom were also going to be leading the Lakers, right? They watched him modernize the Dodgers.
"Not only inject a bunch of money into the Dodgers, and we all know that you can't spend money in NBA like you can in baseball. But there was this excitement that the Lakers were sort of a mom-and-pop operation and [general manager] Rob Pelinka talked about [how] that money was going to be injected into the Laker franchise. They were going to modernize and that this was going to potentially hopefully go down the Dodgers path.
"Now, I have no idea what Josh and Bob have planned or what they're financially going to be able to do by buying at this level. And it's going to be a little unsettling. I mean, Bob Iger knows the NBA as well as anybody. Josh Kushner has again been a part of of the league. Like, these are not people who are naive, but this is a different level of pocket that is coming in."
Aug. 11: What's latest on Kawhi and the Clippers? And updates on Nuggets, Suns
Brian is joined by ESPN's Anthony Slater to discuss the latest in the ongoing Kawhi Leonard-LA Clippers situation, including how it could impact the Toronto Raptors and the Eastern Conference during the 2026-27 season. They move on to cover Dillon Brooks' new contract and how it impacts the future spending plans for the Phoenix Suns. The duo then closes on how the Denver Nuggets' books put them in trouble moving forward, and a remembrance of Don Nelson.
Topics:
0:45: How NBA players and teams are spending their summers
4:36: NBA teams getting new jets soon
8:13: Windy Storytime: wild LeBron travel story
10:34: The latest updates on Kawhi and the Clippers
19:22: What does this Kawhi situation mean for Toronto?
24:50: Dillon Brooks inks contract extension with Suns
27:10: What are the Suns' plans moving forward?
34:58: What is Denver's approach to this season?
45:30: Remembering NBA legend Don Nelson
Windhorst on the newest Kawhi Leonard intel: "That's obviously key: Did he get money from Daktronics? Slater, if this is accurate, the Clippers' side of it is devastating.
But let's put that aside for right now. For the actual business of the NBA for the 26-27 season, this is not just a Clippers issue. Last year was a Clippers issue. Now, it is no longer just a Clippers issue. Whether Kahwi Leonard is on the Raptors or not has a huge circumstantial fallout in the Eastern Conference and then obviously, you know, DeMar DeRozan is held up to a certain extent, for example. James Harden hasn't done his business with the Cavs because they're waiting on things.
"But even beyond the free agent logjam, the Raptors have been building their team around Kawhi, and they've been ready to extend his contract. Brandon Ingram has been ready to be a Clipper. Do you think Brandon Ingram is in the headspace to go back and be a Raptor at this point?"
Windhorst on future Suns rosters: "So what you're basically looking at with Phoenix is the quintet because it is what it is. [Devin] Booker, Jalen Green, Miles Bridges, Dillon Brooks, and Bradley Beal. You're looking at just south of $175 million [per season].
"I like what the Suns have done like, obviously Jordan Ott had a great first year. Brian Gregory, their GM, did a really nice job. Collin Gillespie, they signed to a nice extension this summer. They signed Mark Williams to a reasonable extension, a short deal that wasn't out of line, below the midlevel. They signed Jordan Goodwin to a long-term deal.
"A lot of the league liked that. Those are all nice singles. You know, Khaman Maluach looked great in summer league. That's what you want to see from your second-year player. You want to see him dominate. He looked good. Those are all things that if you're a Suns fan that you are like, 'This is really good.'
"They got Luke Kennard at a really nice number, two years and $12 million. I think the second year is a player option, but you know, getting Kennard for six months. These are all moves that I really like. But then I look at that top of that line of that salary structure and I look at the rest of the West, Slater. I'm just like, 'Are you happy with your $170 million a year?'"
Slater on potential Nuggets roster problems: "They may hold the cards, but it's not a super appealing hand considering their financial constraints and their relationship with Peyton Watson, which, we'll see where that goes.
" ... But Denver is in a bind right now, right? I mean, that's why the Spencer Jones offer sheet, while small to a degree, it was a very interesting offer sheet from a rival -- the Thunder -- [which] further complicated Denver trying to maneuver in the second-apron world with all these finances.
"And again, as we both know, the [Nikola] Jokic non-extension for reasons that he has quieted down, right? He still plans to be in Denver for his career, but this isn't necessarily the time to be making salary-slashing moves as you're still long term trying to convince your franchise player to be there. But also it's like you said, I wouldn't necessarily want to be Peyton Watson in this situation, but I don't think is Denver sitting there like, 'Man, what a beautiful spot we're in.'"
Aug. 7: Re-drafting the 2023 NBA draft
Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Vince Goodwill to re-draft the 2023 NBA draft, including which teams got their picks right and what players moved up the draft board a few seasons later.
Topics:
01:00: Re-drafting the 2023 NBA Draft
02:31: Windy Storytime: Wemby draft lottery night
14:30: No. 1: Spurs draft Victor Wembanyama
16:00: New No. 2: Hornets draft Amen Thompson
20:41: New No. 3: Blazers draft Brandon Miller
21:25: New No. 4: Rockets draft Cason Wallace
23:46: New No. 5: Pistons draft Ausar Thompson
27:38: New No. 6: Magic draft Keyonte George
31:30: New No. 7: Pacers draft Dereck Lively II
35:43: New No. 8: Wizards draft Toumani Camara
38:47: New No. 9: Jazz draft Scoot Henderson
40:15: New No. 10: Mavericks draft Anthony Black
41:58: New No. 11: Magic draft Jaime Jaquez Jr.
44:51: New No. 12: Thunder draft Brandin Podziemski
52:00: New No. 13: Raptors draft Brice Sensabaugh
54:56: New No. 14: Pelicans draft Bilal Coulibaly