NBA Takedown

The Trae Young era in Atlanta is over! On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jonathan Macri and Shawn Hardie consider all angles of the deal, from whether this was a salary dump, what historical comps there are for the trade, how much of a threat the Hawks are now, and what we can expect from Washington (and their draft pick) moving forward. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswi...

On the very first NBA Takedown mini-pod, Jon is joined by Matt Modderno of Bleav in Wizards and Bullets Forever to discuss the report yesterday that the Wizards are showing interest in Trae Young. What might the Wiz be thinking, why would they make this move at this stage of their rebuild, what could it mean for their top-eight protected pick, and how might it impact Washington's young core? Hoste...

It's the first Monday of the month, which can mean only one thing: NBA tiers! On this episode of NBA Takedown, Jonathan Macri, Jeff Johnson and Shawn Hardie group the 30 NBA teams into six tiers based on NFL contenders & pretenders. They start with teams who have already been virtually eliminated from the NBA playoffs, work their way up through a mix of surprising bad teams (hello, Brooklyn) and d...

Happy New Year! On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jonathan Macri and Jeff Johnson take one final look back at 2025 before tapping into their crystal ball for 2026. Among the NBA predictions they make for the year ahead: Where will Giannis get traded? Which East team will shock the world? What will the NBA do about tanking? What superstar will fall farthest from grace, and... Who will be the b...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jonathan Macri and Shawn Hardie bring the holiday spirit in full force. After questioning the statute of limitations on Ben Simmons "breaking" news items, they buy or sell 5 major NBA storylines involving tanking reform, the Pistons' regression, the Clippers' rise, the LeBron vs JJ maybe-feud in LA, and the impossible situation with Trae Young and the Hawks....

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jonathan Macri, Jeff Johnson and Shawn Hardie get into the holiday spirit and give out some much needed Christmas gifts around the NBA. Presents are handed out to a key Knick reserve, the shooting-deprived Pistons, the lowly Wizards, the Northwest Division, the Timberwolves centers, Steve Kerr, Mavs fans, the NBA commissioner, and the city of Seattle. Hosted...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jonathan Macri is joined by Matthew Geist of Six Rings of Steel to talk everyone's favorite NBA topic: Trades! Jon and Matt each rank their Top 5 most uncertain trade value guys in the NBA. Among the topics discussed: Would any owner sign off on giving up a significant package for LaMelo Ball? Is Domantas Sabonis a fit for a team looking to win the championsh...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon, Jeff and Shawn show the NBA Cup some much deserved love before looking ahead to the NBA Cup Finale between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. To break down the championship game, they draft the most important players from both teams over six rounds, selecting 18 players in total in order of importance to their respective teams. Hosted by Simpleca...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon is joined by Fred Katz of the Athletic to talk NBA Cup and East All-Stars. They start by trying to assemble a starting lineup composed of players from the Knicks and Magic that might give Oklahoma City a run for their money. They then turn to the All-Star game and pick 12 players to represent the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Questions include: How many Pisto...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon and Shawn react to the NBA Cup's East Quarterfinal wins from New York and Orlando before engaging in some bonus Knicks talk. They then pick 12 Western Conference All-Stars based on the season so far, going through the locks first before hashing out tougher arguments surrounding Victor Wembanyama, Julius Randle, James Harden, Devin Booker and others. Hoste...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon, Jeff and Shawn start off with their takes on the Knicks as East favorites, the Celtics as house money, and the Cavs and Magic as teams in trouble. They then play "Buy or Sell," where Jon gives 6 NBA storylines that Jeff and Shawn can take or leave, including: Is LeBron James still an All-Star level player? Did OG Anunoby underact to Desmond Bane? Should...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon is joined by Nathan Grubel of No Ceilings NBA to rank the Top 5 Most Intriguing Rookies & Sophomores in the NBA. Nathan offers some insight on Cooper Flagg's changing role in Dallas, how Kon Knueppel and his fellow rookies are giving Charlotte fans hope, why Alex Sarr needs to be paid attention to in Washington, how Reed Sheppard might be the key to Houst...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon, Jeff and Shawn start with some takes about Chris Paul, the Thunder and the Kobe/Duncan all-time ranking debate before moving on to play GM of the Atlanta Hawks. They go deep on the value of Trae Young, whether the Hawks should look to trade him, what he might be fetch in return, and whether any other distressed assets make more sense in Atlanta. Finally,...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jonathan Macri and Jeff Johnson sort all 30 NBA teams into 6 tiers based on Christmas movies of varying quality. Among the topics discussed:  Are the Wizards a real threat to be the worst team of all time?  Could the Kings actually be buyers at the deadline? Is something good happening in Memphis (and can Ja Morant be a part of it)? Is an AD-to-Chicago trade...

In Part II of the first ever NBA Takedown Mailbag, Jon answers the rest of your questions, including: Can anyone use Domantas Sabonis? Who are the true NBA sleeper teams? Is there a suitor for AD that makes sense? Top 5 non-star trade deadline candidates? Who will get traded first, Zion or Ja? and... Who are the Top 10 Point Guards ever? Thank you to everyone who submitted questions! Hosted by Sim...

Happy Thanksgiving! As a thank you to all of the amazing people who have helped support the show through its first month of existence, we opened up the mailbag to answer any and all questions you had. In Part I of the mailbag, NBA Takedown intern Izzy Randazzo tosses Jon a 10-pack of questions, including: Who is the biggest NBA name that will be traded at the deadline? Which NBA team besides the K...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon, Jeff & Shawn go six rounds for the 1st Annual NBA Takedown Thanksgiving Draft in which they pick the players, teams and coaches they'd be most (and least) thankful to root for this NBA season. The 6 categories they drafted are: NBA star we'd be most thankful to root for, NBA coach we'd be most thankful to have guiding our team, role player we'd be most t...

On the latest episode of NBA TakeDown, Jon and Shawn are joined by Dexter Henry of the New York Post. The begin with the Takeoff, dropping their takes on the depressing Kings, player podcasts, and the unfathomable start to Nikola Jokic's season. Then they get into weeds on the top 10 big men in the NBA right now. Debates include how large the gap is between Jokic and everyone else (and how often w...

On this episode of NBA Takedown, Jon, Jeff & Shawn begin the show by getting off some takes about the sneaky fun Jazz, Austin Reaves' All-Star chances and Detroit Stans getting ahead of their skis. They then turn to the return of LeBron James to discuss what the rest of this season might look like for the NBA's all-time leading scorer and whether anyone can realistically catch him on the points le...

On this episode of NBA Takedown, Jon, Jeff and Shawn debut a new segment, "The Takeoff," where they each get off one NBA hot take based on this weekend's games. Then they dive deep into everyone's favorite NBA surprise story, the Atlanta Hawks, to figure out just how legitimate they are and whether there's a Trae Young young trade that makes sense for both teams. Finally they explore Anthony Davis...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jonathan Macri is joined by Fred Katz of the Athletic. They talk briefly about one of the NBA's pleasant surprises before revealing their respective Top 5  NBA teams that should be hitting the panic button. Can the Pelicans move past one of the worst NBA trades in recent memory? Where do the Clippers go from here? Will firing Nico Harrison save the Mavs? And...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon, Jeff & Shawn react to the breaking news that Nico Harrison has been fired from the Dallas Mavericks. They discuss the state of the fan base in Dallas, whether Harrison has an argument for the worst general manager in NBA history, how things got so bad in Big D, why the Mavs need to scour the NBA for an Anthony Davis trade, and why today's news doesn't ne...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon, Jeff and Shawn debate and ultimately slot all 30 NBA teams into 5 tiers based on the films of Brad Pitt. Tier 1: The Joe Black Tier, reserved for NBA teams who not only resemble death, but are boring as well. Tier 2: The Wolfs Tier, reserved for NBA teams who are not nearly as good as they should be based on their personnel. Tier 3: The Troy Tier, reserv...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jonathan Macri and Jeff Johnson go 5 by 5. Jon dishes 5 eye-popping early season NBA stats while Jeff guesses the player or team each stat applies to. Then they turn to 5 burning questions related to each stat, including whether the Lakers are currently the NBA's most interesting team, who is the best player who might realistically be moved before the deadlin...

On the latest episode of NBA Takedown, Jon & Shawn are joined by Dexter Henry of the NY Post to debate the current state of the point guard position in the NBA and decide whether Ja Morant belongs anywhere near the top 10. Among the topics they tackle: Who takes the cake between SGA and Luke? Has Jalen Brunson surpassed Steph in the NBA hierarchy? Is Devin Booker a point guard? Ha Tyrese Maxey don...