Pro Basketball Talk on NBC Sports podcast

Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish of Duke are the big names, the top five pick stars we've watched all season. But what can they show us in the ACC and NCAA Tournament that will translate to the NBA? Just how good is Ja Morant? When watching Virginia, should I be focused on De'Andre Hunter? What can Jarrett Culver of Texas Tech bring to the NBA? Rob Dauster, NBSports.com's college bas...

James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, or Paul George for MVP? What team is going to come out of the East? When Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and the rest of the league's free agents are making their decisions next summer, will the Clippers dark past hurt their chances? Listeners asked those questions and more, and Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports answer and discuss them and more in the lates...

David Griffin is a hot commodity — any time a general manager opening comes up in the NBA, so does his name (most recently New Orleans). What does Griffin want in a job if he returns to an NBA front office? He discusses what he learned from his experiences at the helm of a LeBron James team, as well as how that applies to what the Lakers went through at the trade deadline. We also discuss his new...

Anthony Davis is still a New Orleans Pelican, for now. However, while that shoe didn't drop at the trade deadline (wait for this summer) a lot of other ones did that have changed the landscape of the NBA. Philadelphia added Tobias Harris, Milwaukee added Nikola Mirotic, and Toronto traded for Marc Gasol — there is an arms race at the top of the East. Kristaps Porzingis is in Dallas, setting the Kn...

Kristaps Porzingis is a member of the Dallas Mavericks in a blockbuster trade that has sent ripples from Boston to Los Angeles. The Mavericks have gambled that Porzingis can return from his ACL to full Unicorn status and form a contender with Luka Doncic. The Knicks cleared out cap space for two max deals and are betting there are stars that want to fill those slots. Dennis Smith Jr. gets to shoot...

Now things get crazy. Anthony Davis' agent has informed the Pelicans he will not re-sign with the team and wants to be traded. It has opened up a floodgate of rumors and led to a lot of questions: What are the Pelicans looking for in a trade? Who has the hammer and gets to make the call on the trade? Do the Pelicans feel pressure to act fast or do they have the patience to wait until this summer,...

LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the captains — they were voted in by the fans and they will be picking their teams for next month's All-Star Game in Charlotte. Nobody should have a problem with those two as starters, but the fans didn't everyone they wanted in the 10 to open the game — Derrick Rose was out and James Harden was in, and Luka Doncic was out Paul George was in. Kurt Helin o...

The NBA has no chill — we were talking MVP race the first week of the season. Which is way too early. However, now teams are more than halfway through the season and we have seen enough games, we have enough data to start discussing who is the frontrunner for the NBA's end-of-season awards. Is it James Harden or Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP? Can anyone challenge Luka Doncic for Rookie of the Year...

Blockbusters? Probably not. But the NBA trade deadline is coming Feb. 7 and there will be some deals — salary will get moved around and a few players who could help teams will change cities and jerseys. Put more directly, Anthony Davis and John Wall aren't getting traded, but Jeremy Lin, Terrence Ross and a few others may be. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News joins Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to talk...

We know the big moves: LeBron James went Hollywood, Kawhi Leonard went north. Very north. But while the NBA World has been focused on those, now that we are a couple months into the season, what were some of the best — and worst — pick-ups of the NBA summer that went under the radar at the time. Danny Green as a throw-in when Leonard was traded to Toronto? Brook Lopez in Milwaukee? And what were s...

Zion Williamson is a force of nature, an athletic freak that has become must-watch television and silenced the doubters about his game. Before the season, scouts questioned his shot and fit, but his play for Duke so far has moved him past teammate R.J. Barrett on everybody's draft board. Actually, Cam Reddish may be the second Blue Devil taken in next June's draft. Rob Dauster of NBC Sports joins...

Philadelphia has won 8-of-9, coming together quickly after the Jimmy Butler trade. The All-Star guard brings them floor spacing they were missing on offense, he certainly can defend, and the man loves to be the guy closing out games with the ball in his hands — something the 76ers needed. But even with all that, do the Sixers see themselves as contenders in the East right now, or do they need anot...

The Utah Jazz are confounding this season. Nearly everyone went into the season picturing a top 3 team in the West, but a quarter of the way into the season the Jazz are the 14 seed at 11-13, with a middle-of-the-road defense and a bottom five offense. Donovan Mitchell has been flat to start the season after a phenomenal rookie campaign. The Jazz defense has been good but not dominant when Defensi...

We are 20 games into the NBA season — no more talk of small sample sizes, we have enough data to start drawing conclusions. What teams have surprised us? Boston, Utah, Houston... how worried should we really be about them? Is Sacramento for real? Are teams still ramping up the pace this season? Then there is awards talk: Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP? LeBron James? And is it Luka Doncic or Deandre...

Jimmy Butler is in Philadelphia. Carmelo Anthony is in Houston, but not for much longer. And the Lakers have Tyson Chandler and a three-game winning streak — there is never a dull moment in the NBA. Kurt helin of NBC Sports welcomes in Eric Pincus, who covers the Lakers for Bleacher Report plus is a salary cap expert you have seen on NBA TV, to talk about it all. The pair talk about what the Sixer...

The Portland Trail Blazers are hot out of the gate: 9-3, including a big win over Milwaukee (which turned around and beat Golden State), with the third best net rating in the league and Damian Lillard playing like an MVP candidate. But I hear what you're saying, "We've seen this movie before and it ends in a first round exit." What is different this time around? Have the Blazers matured and are th...

The Sacramento Kings have been the biggest positive surprise in the young season, a 6-4 start that includes wins over the Thunder, Grizzlies and Heat. This is now De'Aaron Fox's team and the Kings are running — the second fastest pace in the NBA, and that has become their identity. With Buddy Hield running to the arc and knocking down threes, and Willie Cauley-Stein rim running, the Kings have bec...

Only six games into the NBA season, Tyronn Lue is unemployed, fired as the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. That was a quick trigger but it brings up some questions: What direction does Cleveland go now? Will Lue get another shot as a head coach somewhere? What other coaches are on the hot seat early this NBA season (think Washington and Oklahoma City)? Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports de...

The NBA has been impossible to ignore the first week of the season — and not just because players are spitting on each other and throwing punches. Pace and scoring are way up, some teams — Denver, Milwaukee, even Detroit — have been very hot, and a couple of teams we thought would be good have stumbled. Keith Smith from Real GM and Celtics Blog joins Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to talk about their ea...

Will James Harden repeat as MVP or will someone else — LeBron James, Anthony Davis — grab the award away from him? Luca Doncic and DeAndre Ayton seem to be the favorites for Rookie of the Year, but could Trae Young or Jaren Jackson Jr. push their way into the conversation? Who will win Coach of the Year? Is Jamal Murray a guy to watch for Most Improved Player? Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Spo...

It's a Finals or bust season for the Celtics, who last won a title in 2008 but now are not only the favorite in the East but also are seen as maybe the team in the league with the best shot to dethrone the Warriors. They have the coach in Brad Stevens, the system, and the talent with Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the overlooked Al Horford. A. Sherrod Blakely, who co...

We know what teams the league wants you to watch and has put all over national television — Golden State, Boston, Houston, Philadelphia. But what teams should you be watching? What teams are fascinating and will draw the NBA Twitter/League Pass crowd. Keith Smith of Real GM and Celtics Blog joins us to talk about all the teams we'll be watching — yes the Lakers and their circus are on the list, bu...

What the hell is going on with the Jimmy Butler trade? That's been the big topic around the league for a week now, and it was the big topic when we asked you for questions to do a mailbag podcast. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman from NBC Sports dive into the topic of Butler's trade, where he lands, what teams should and will offer — will Miami put Josh Richardson in a deal? — and how nervous teams shou...

Last season Victor Oladipo burst on the scene, making the leap from solid rotation player to All-NBA level star who could score and defend, and he dragged the Pacers up to being a solid playoff team with him. The Pacers were the surprise of the NBA, which leads to the question: Can they do it again? More than that, how can they take a step forward? Kurt Helin of NBC Sports talks with J. Michael of...

Can any team beat the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors this season? Maybe, although the Warriors will need to participate in their own downfall, one way or another — an injury to Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant, the lack of regular season focus finally catching up with them, or maybe they become too focused on free agency the next summer. Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News, an...