Pro Basketball Talk on NBC Sports podcast

NBA free agency is the Wild West, and just about anything can happen. LeBron James is leaning toward Los Angeles, but can he get Paul George to jump with him? What about the Kawhi Leonard trade — is it going to happen with the Lakers? If it does, is LeBron to Los Angeles a lock? If LeBron and Leonard are in L.A., is George going to ditch his OKC plans and follow? Kurt Helin from NBC Sports and Sea...

The Phoenix Suns didn't screw up the No. 1 pick landing Deandre Ayton, but they also made an interesting — maybe safe — move getting Mikal Bridges in a trade. The Atlanta Hawks got their man in Trae Young, but the Dallas Mavericks did better getting theirs in Luka Doncic after a trade. The Sacramento Kings got their man in Marvin Bagley. Michael Porter Jr. and Robert Williams fell down draft. Kurt...

Luka Doncic? Marvin Bagley III? Jaren Jackson Jr.? If you were in the shoes of Vlade Divac and the Sacramento Kings, who would you draft No. 2? Kurt Helin and Rob Dauster of NBC Sports get into that topic as well as breaking down the rest of the draft such as the risers, the sleepers, and is Michael Porter Jr. worth the risk? Also, in the bigger picture, are we focused too much on the bigs at the...

It was both expected and one of the strangest stories ever in the NBA: Bryan Colangelo is out as the GM of the Sixers because his wife — he contends without his knowledge — ran a series of Twitter burner accounts which defended him and savaged players on the team. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports get into why Colangelo had to go, even if you believe he didn't know about the accounts, and w...

Golden State vs. Cleveland. Again. LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry. Or, more accurately, LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Which is why when Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports starts breaking down the 2018 NBA Finals there's a lot of talk about what needs to go perfectly for Cleveland. They need Kevin Love back (and ideally Andre Iguodala to...

Both NBA Conference Finals are tied 2-2 in both the East and West — and breaking that down is not even the best part of this podcast. That's because NBA champion Metta World Peace joins us to talk about his new book, "No Malice: My Life in Basketball or: How a Kid from Queensbridge Survived the Streets, the Brawls, and Himself to Become an NBA Champion. " World Peace discusses the time he cracked...

Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk was joined by Rob Dauster, the host of College Basketball Talk, to put together a mock draft podcast. On Part 1, here on the CBT feed, you can find a breakdown of the first seven picks in the draft, with Rob providing player breakdowns and Kurt bringing the knowledge on team needs and player fit. Part 2 of the podcast, which includes picks 8-30, can be found right...

Most of the NBA Draft focus right now is on the handful of guys at the top of the draft. However, at any given time up to 20 percent of the guys in the league were undrafted (Robert Covington, Jeremy Lin, Seth Curry, Aron Baynes, Wes Mathews, and Kent Bazemore, to name a few). How do those guys get the attention of scouts and GMs and get their chance? Jake Kelfer with the Professional Basketball C...

Houston vs. Golden State is the showdown we've been waiting for since before the season began. LeBron James has just one more team between him and an eighth straight trip to the NBA Finals, but the Boston Celtics with Al Horford and a smart defense are going to present challenges the Toronto Raptors did not last series. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports get into each series and look at the...

It was embarrassing, and left both fans and players of the Trail Blazers angry and frustrated — Portland was swept out of the playoffs by the New Orleans Pelicans. Now what happens in Portland? Is Terry Stotts in danger as the coach? What about GM Neil Olshey? Would they consider trading C.J. McCollum? Is there anyway to offload the contract of Evan Turner? Kurt Helin and the Northeast's own Dane...

LeBron James' team looks to be in a battle royal in the first round — and they could lose. Miami is challenging the Sixers and shaking the faith of all those that just jumped on the bandwagon. Utah stole a game in Oklahoma City showing great grit and resolve, not to mention a lot of Donovan Mitchell. Anthony Davis has done everything but walk on water for the Pelicans. The first round of the NBA p...

Golden State seemed like the anointed one, the team destined to return to the NBA Finals and claim another crown before (and through much of) the season. Not any more. With Stephen Curry out until at least the second round, with other injuries to role players, and with some sloppy defense down the stretch (and some disinterested play), the Warriors look like they could be beaten. How vulnerable ar...

James Harden or LeBron James for NBA MVP? Donovan Mitchell or Ben Simmons for NBA Rookie of the Year? Out of a crowded field who should be the NBA Coach of the Year? It's a fascinating field and debate, and while the NBA will not announce the official winners until late June, Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports give you their picks and get into all of the NBA's postseason awards in this podca...

This will be the last chance to watch Trae Young before the draft — just how good is he? Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter Jr. are going to take Duke deep into this tournament (and maybe win it all), but how will their games translate to the NBA? Does Deandre Ayton look like he deserves the No. 1 pick? NBA scouts and GMs will be out at NCAA Tournament sites from San Diego to Pittsburgh this weekend...

Are the Cleveland Cavaliers for real? And how are you going to define "for real?" Who is going to make the playoffs in the West? Is Utah going to get in? Is James Harden going to be MVP? Is it Ben Simmons or Donovan Mitchell for Rookie of the Year? Those are just some of the storylines as the NBA races down the stretch run of the season (most teams have around 25 games left). Kurt Helin and Dan Fe...

Nobody saw this coming. The 2018 NBA trade deadline day turned into one of the most insane days in recent memory — and all because of the Cleveland Cavaliers. In an unprecedented couple of moves, the Cavaliers sent out six players they saw as part of the problem and brought in four players who are younger, more athletic, and might actually try on defense. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports b...

Author Jonathan Abrams, who has written about the NBA for years, has a new book out, an oral history of the legendary HBO series "The Wire." Abrams joins Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to discuss how the book came about, what he learned about the show writing it, and the show's cultural impact now, many years after it shut down. The two also get into what is going on in Cleveland with LeBron James — Abr...

Blake Griffin is headed to Detroit. Nobody saw this coming (not even the teams a week before). Griffin had just inked a $175 million deal with the Clippers months before, when Los Angeles told him he would be a "Clipper for life." But there is no loyalty in the NBA — Griffin was traded Monday to the Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, a first and a second round pick. Why di...

Our old friend Matt Moore of the Action Sports Network swings by to talk first about the firing of Jason Kidd in Milwaukee and what the Bucks do now. Then the topic shifts to the All-Star Game reserves, where Matt and Kurt Helin of NBC Sports conduct a mock draft of the All-Star starters and reserves, with Matt as LeBron James and Kurt as Stephen Curry. Unlike the real draft, we do ours in public....

The votes are in, and LeBron James and Stephen Curry are your All-Star captains — this year that means they are picking their own teams, playground style, first from the pool of starters, then the pool of reserves. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports take on the roles of LeBron and Curry and pick their All-Star starters, from James Harden through Kyrie Irving. Then the pair gets into who shou...

James Harden or LeBron James for MVP? Is Ben Simmons the runaway Rookie of the Year, or has Donovan Mitchell made a good enough case to take the award? Is anyone the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year? With the NBA reaching the midway of the season, Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports break down their end-of-season awards ballots to this point. That includes all the big awards, plus...

The Toronto Raptors have the fourth best record in the NBA and the third best net rating — the best point per possession rating in the Eastern Conference. But are they are they for real? DeMar DeRozan is having his best season, Toronto is moving the ball and passing more, they are shooting more threes, and they are defending the best they have in years. The question is can they continue that into...

For the start of the podcast, Frank Ntilikina joins NBC's Kurt Helin to talk about his adjustment to the NBA, how Jarrett Jack and Jeff Hornacek help him out, and how he's getting used to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the locker room (Ntilikina is helping The Boys & Girls Clubs of America because every time anyone uses #PBJLikeAPro on social media, Jif and Smuckers will donate $1 to the Cl...

The trade deadline is less than two months away, and DeAndre Jordan could well be on the move from the Clippers (and Lou Williams, too). But what is Memphis going to do about Mark Gasol? New Orleans with DeMarcus Cousins? Oklahoma City with Paul George? And if any of those guys are available, who is a buyer? Cleveland? Milwaukee? Portland? Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports break down the hi...

The "Free Jahlil Okafor" crowd got their wish — the former No. 3 pick has been traded to the Brooklyn Nets, where he will get the chance to prove he can impact the NBA (and the Sixers do well in the trade getting Trevor Booker back). Kurt Helin of NBC Sports brings in the well-connected Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders to break down that trade. Then the two get into a discussion of what is real...