Hello and Welcome

Will is joined by Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports to chat about a potential Eastern Conference destination for Bruce Brown, the Raptors’ interest in Bulls forward Patrick Williams, the asking price for Jakob Poeltl, what the market looks like for Gary Trent Jr.’s next deal, the end of the Paul George-Clippers partnership, how teams are adjusting to the second apron, and what the Bucks can do to impro...

Will and Alex react to the slowest start in free agency history and chat about Paul George’s departure from the Clippers and what the future holds for Klay Thompson in free agency (Bonus: a live reaction to KCP signing with Orlando). Later, the two discuss whether Bruce Brown will remain a Raptor until next year’s trade deadline, Sasha Vezenkov looking to return to Greece, and Zach Edey removing h...

Will is joined by Baylor men’s basketball head coach Scott Drew to talk about Ja’Kobe Walter’s college career and what Davion Mitchell brings to the Raptors. Later, Will and Alex chat about Immanuel Quickley’s new five-year deal, the additions of Ulrich Chomche and Branden Carlson, and why Andrew Wiggins won’t be attending Team Canada training camp. Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemai...

Will and Alex react to the Toronto-Sacramento trade, reminisce about the Jalen McDaniels era, and discuss Davion Mitchell’s role on the Raptors. Later, the two chat about Toronto’s second-round picks Jonathan Mogbo and Jamal Shead before taking a deep dive into Sasha Vezenkov’s Wikipedia page. Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or email the guys info@hellowelcome.sho...

Will chats with The Athletic's draft expert Sam Vecenie for the in-depth scouting report on Ja'Kobe Walter. They discuss his freshman season at Baylor, how his game will translate with the Raptors, and other options with the 31st pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or email the guys info@hellowelcome.show Original Music by DIVISION 88. Hell...

Will and Alex give their initial reactions to Raptors first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter (1:00), the pros and cons of his game, and what his role might be this season. Later, the two chat about Bruce Brown (30:20), Mikal Bridges to the Knicks (41:30), KD potentially on the move (38:50), and Scottie Barnes’ max extension (48:40). Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or ema...

Will and Alex chat about Rich Paul’s recent comments on Masai Ujiri’s interest in Bronny James (3:40), the Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey trade (7:40), free agency updates on Malik Monk (11:50), Pascal Siakam (13:30), and OG Anunoby (17:00), and the Lakers hiring JJ Redick (21:50) as their new head coach before Will, Alex, and Jerome try to spend a minute saying something nice about the Celtics’ 18th cha...

Will Lou has an in-depth conversation with Canada Cricket team member Rayyan Pathan about the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, growing up in Toronto, the infrastructure for cricket in Canada and being a lifelong Toronto sports fan. Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or email the guys info@hellowelcome.show Original Music by DIVISION 88. Hello and Welcome is presented by...

Will and Alex are joined by Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard to chat about the Team Canada senior men’s national team, how he fell in love with basketball, playing with RJ Barrett, the draft process, the success of the Pacers, the Pascal Siakam trade, Tyrese Haliburton’s fits, growing up in Aurora, and the CNE. Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or email the guys...

Will is joined by ESPN NBA Insider Bobby Marks to discuss four key decision for the Raptors this summer: Immanuel Quickley’s restricted free agency (1:00), Bruce Brown’s trade market (7:30), Gary Trent Jr.‘s next contract (12:00), and a potential extension for Scottie Barnes (16:00). Later, Bobby shares his favorite stories from draft night (21:30), the emotions and buyer’s remorse that goes into...

Will and Alex chat about Dallas’ impressive Game 4 win (1:00), whether anyone wants to win Finals MVP (9:30), Charles Barkley’s retirement plans (13:00), a Grant Williams tribute video (17:10), and Klay Thompson’s free agency (21:00). Later, on this week’s edition of “Slow Raptors News Week,” the two debate whether the team should tank this season (26:00). Reach out to the show by leaving a v...

Will, Alex, and Jerome figure out how many great NBA Finals they’ve watched in the past decade by reviewing every matchup from 2014 to 2023 (01:00). Also included: Letterboxd rating and review for each series and the Ian Mahinmi All-Stars. Later, everyone picks their top 4 individual Finals games of all-time (44:00).  Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or email...

Will is joined by The Athletic senior writer and host of The Game Theory Podcast Sam Vecenie to break down the pros and cons of four players the Raptors could potentially select with the 19th pick: Jaylon Tyson (6:31), Tyler Kolek (12:21), Tristan da Silva (16:41), and Kel’el Ware (21:08). The two also discuss whether Zach Edey’s (27:45) college success can translate to the NBA. Later, Will shares...

Will and Alex discuss the 2024 NBA Finals (1:20) and chat about Jrue Holiday’s impact, Kyrie and the Mavericks looking ordinary, how the Celtics built a roster to overcome their flaws, Payton Pritchard as early contender for the Ian Mahinmi All-Star award, and their review of ESPN's broadcast (22:30). Later, the two discuss adjustments for Game 3 (34:00) before introducing their first “Slow R...

Will and Alex are joined by CBC senior contributor Shireen Ahmed for a behind-the-scenes look at how the WNBA ended up in Toronto (12:00), potential names for the franchise (18:40), and the present-day sports media discourse surrounding Caitlin Clark and women’s basketball (32:30).   Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or email the guys info@hellowelcome.sho...

Will is joined by TrueHoop’s David Thorpe to preview the NBA Finals. The two chat about the narrative of the Celtics having an easy path to the Finals (2:00), how Boston may approach defending Luka Doncic (13:00) and Kyrie Irving (22:05), and the key matchups for this series. Later, the two chat about Jrue Holiday’s defensive brilliance (27:00) and Brad Stevens’ run as general manager so far befor...

Will and Alex discuss the upcoming NBA Finals matchup between the Celtics and Mavericks (8:00) including top storylines, official predictions (25:00), and Joe Mazzulla’s best soundbites. Later, they share their winners and losers of the postseason (27:00) and chat about the next generation of NBA stars, best role players of the playoffs (32:30), which team should most regret passing on Luka Doncic...

Welcome to the May Banter Pod! Will and Alex answer Raptors questions including whether the team has enough core talent to start a rebuild (9:30), if they should consider drafting Bronny (15:30), expectations for Darko Rajakovic and Gradey Dick in year 2 (34:10), Immanuel Quickley’s restricted free agency (29:00), if the front office can survive another down year (41:20), and more. Later, Will, Al...

Will and Alex catch up on everything that’s happened since the end of the season, including the Raptors losing their first round pick (01:00), revisiting the Jakob Poeltl trade (08:00), Bruce Brown’s trade market (17:45), the Nets retiring Vince Carter’s jersey (24:00), and Jontay Porter’s lifetime suspension (35:00). Later, the two chat about the WNBA coming to Toronto (49:30), the potential end...

Will and Alex share some exciting news as they launch their new podcast in partnership with The Nation Network , introduce Jerome Cheng as the show’s editor and lead producer, discuss their coverage plan for this summer, and much more. Reach out to the show by leaving a voicemail at hellowelcome.show or email the guys info@hellowelcome.show Original Music by DIVISION 88. Hello and Welcome is prese...